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"The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief – but the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love."

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Anakin had a special dislike for desert planets for obvious reasons. Grascow V wasn't as bad as most; it was a tiny, desert moon orbiting the gas giant Grascowa that boasted a breathable atmosphere, but didn't appear to support any life other than a bioluminescent lichenoid lifeform that fed on mineral veins. He'd brought along Ahsoka and a small team to investigate a cave complex near the south pole; intel said that one of Doctor Nuvo Vindi's protegés, another Faust named Miro Toba, had set up a secret lab miles underground and was synthesizing chemical weapons for the CIS.

"Alright, any questions?" Anakin leaned back from the holotable and crossed his arms, looking at Kix, Tup, Vaughn, Ridge, Greene, and Rex all bunched up on the opposite side.

Ahsoka, standing on his left, pursed her lips. "Master, what do you think about splitting into two teams instead of just one?" She pointed at the holomap of the cave complex. "There's so many tunnels, we can find Doctor Toba a lot faster if we split up."

Anakin shook his head. "I agree, but we only have Artoo with us to help navigate. A second team would have to navigate on their own. One team will have to do. Plus, this is a stealth mission. We need to stay quiet, and whenever I put you in charge something inevitably blows up." He winked at her.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and smiled at the ground. She was sweating a little and she smelled spicier than normal; Anakin did the math. Had it already been three months since her last heat? Time was flying by ridiculously fast.

Anakin nodded at the men. "You're dismissed."

Ahsoka and the boys filed out of the command tent, minus Rex. He stood at attention, waiting for the others to leave. "Sir, may I have a word?" he asked once they were alone.

Anakin nodded. "Go ahead."

Rex's hand flexed nervously on his helmet and his eyes were tight. "Permission to speak freely, Sir?" he asked, clearly anxious about whatever he had to say.

Anakin raised an eyebrow. "Granted."

"Did I do something to make you feel as though I can't be trusted around Commander Tano, Sir?" Rex blurted out.

Ah, zisiyeni, he should've known this was coming. Ever since Anakin had overheard that stupid conversation in the hangar between Jesse and Ahsoka he'd been on edge, unable to stop himself from hyper-analyzing every interaction between his Captain and his Padawan. Ahsoka didn't just have a crush on Rex, she had feelings, and that was a Problem.

"If I did something I apologize, Sir, but I can't fix it if I don't know what I need to fix," Rex continued, frustration evident in his voice. "I'm willing to–"

"You didn't do anything, Rex. It's me. I'm…" Anakin held his hands up, frustrated, then let them drop. He heaved a heavy sigh. "Ahsoka's growing up fast, and… I worry too much sometimes."

That was an understatement, but Anakin wasn't sure how to phrase my Padawan is sort of in love with you and I'm terrified that you're going to develop feelings for her too if I leave you alone together for more than thirty seconds without making it excruciatingly weird.

Ahsoka had told Jesse that Rex didn't feel the same way and probably never would, and she'd felt so sad about it through their bond that Anakin knew she was telling the truth. Still, it got under his skin, and he'd been unfairly taking it out on the captain. It was just… Ahsoka was growing up into a beautiful young woman and whatever she had for Rex had to be nipped in the bud before he realized it, or before she did something stupid like run away from the Order to be with him.

Anakin would not lose his apprentice to a man. No way. Not in this lifetime.

"I assure you, Sir, I have nothing but the utmost respect for Commander Tano," Rex said warily. "As both my commanding officer, and my friend."

Anakin planted his hands on his hips and huffed a small laugh at the way Rex emphasized the label for their relationship. Nobody could ever accuse the clone of being slow on the uptake. "I'm sorry, Rex." Anakin clapped the Captain hard on his pauldron. "Even Jedi get in their own heads sometimes. You didn't do anything. I'll try to get my act together."

Rex nodded and looked relieved. "Thank you, Sir."

"Go ahead and get the rest of your prep done. I'll meet you at the LAAT/i."

"Yes, Sir." Rex backed out of the tent and left Anakin on his own to stare at the holomap and stew.

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"Artoo, bring up the map." Anakin ordered. Three hours into their cave exploration the team still hadn't found evidence of sentient life, let alone a secret chemical weapons lab. The lichen that was feeding on visible veins of copper in the gray stone walls pulsed with light in response to the sound of their footsteps and voices.

Artoo beeped and projected the holographic map of the maze of tunnels they'd worked their way through. Without Artoo, Anakin had a feeling that they'd have gotten lost a long time ago.

"Here, Sir, we missed one." Rex pointed at a small fork in the tunnels behind them.

"Kriff, we were just there, too," Ahsoka huffed.

"Language," Rex muttered under his breath.

Anakin looked at Rex, then at Ahsoka, and decided that it was time to get over it. He could trust Rex, and Ahsoka wasn't about to seduce him in a dusty tunnel. "Ahsoka, go ahead and double back with Rex. Follow it to the end, but don't engage anyone or anything without backup. And no blowing anything up."

Ahsoka grinned. "If you insist, Skyguy." She tipped her head at Rex for him to follow.

Anakin almost bit his tongue in half to stop himself from switching out Rex with Vaughn. "Be careful!" he called after them, and Ahsoka waved at him without looking back.

"We will, Sir," Rex answered for her. They both disappeared into the dark, their path marked only by the lichen glowing at the sound of their steps.

"They'll be fine, Sir," Kix assured him.

"I know," Anakin said, trying not to squirm. It was fine. They were on a mission, it wasn't like they were sneaking off to kriff around the corner.

"Shall we continue on, Sir?" Vaughn asked hesitantly.

Anakin blew air hard out of his nose. "Yeah," he said sullenly. "Let's move." Artoo wheeled alongside him as they moved down the tunnel, updating the map as they walked. Every so often he scorched a mark in the lichen with his blowtorch, marking the way out in case they were separated or lost.

"Do you have a bad feeling, Sir?" Tup asked after they'd walked for a few minutes in uneasy silence.

"What?" Anakin turned.

"It's just…" Tup hesitated. "You seem nervous, Sir."

"I'm not nervous," Anakin said nervously. He wasn't thinking about what could be going on in that tunnel. About Rex following Ahsoka and watching her back. And her legs. Jesse had said that Rex was a leg man, and Ahsoka had ludicrously long legs–

"As you say, Sir," Tup said politely.

"This lichen is neat," Greene said, peering at it closely while bringing up the rear. "You think I can get it to grow on The Resolute? Bet I can get a copper rod from engineering to feed the ol' gal."

"Feel free to take a sample," Anakin replied absently. Greene carefully scraped off a healthy chunk with his vibroblade, put it in a glass vial, then secured it in one of his pouches.

Anakin stopped and listened to the feeling in his gut that told him to stop walking. "Heads up," he said. "Something–"

The floor of the tunnel rumbled ominously and Anakin was almost thrown to the ground. "Ahsoka, come in!" he immediately barked into his wristcom.

"Tunnels are blocking comm signals, Sir!" Ridge said.

"Back. Go back, now," Anakin ordered, nearly knocking over Ridge in his hurry. "That shock came from behind us. We need to make sure they weren't trapped in a cave-in."

Artoo squealed behind them, trying to keep up with both Anakin and the troops, and the lichen pulsed like a blue-green strobe light as they sprinted by. He tugged on his Force bond with Ahsoka as he ran and instantly got a return nudge from her. He almost laughed. She was alive, and very annoyed. He made it back to the fork in less than half the time that they'd been walking and charged after his apprentice.

"Sir, we should send Artoo first to scan the integrity of the tunnel!" Vaughn called after him.

Anakin stopped in his tracks. Vaughn was right, as much as he hated to admit it. He couldn't help Ahsoka if he got trapped as well. "Artoo, hurry," he ordered the astromech.

"𝙳𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢, 𝚗𝚘 𝚗𝚎𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚎𝚕𝚕 𝚖𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚋𝚎 𝚌𝚊𝚛𝚎𝚏𝚞𝚕 𝚒𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚝𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚕," Artoo snitted, wheeling forward with a whine and a grumble.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Be careful," he said. "And hurry."

Artoo flipped his blowtorch at him in what he was fairly sure was a thumbs up facsimile. After a minute, he wheeled back and looked up at Anakin. "𝙱𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚔𝚊𝚐𝚎 𝚊𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍. 𝙸 𝚌𝚊𝚗 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚕𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚛𝚘𝚌𝚔."

"Good job, buddy." Anakin patted him on the dome and Artoo made a pleased series of beeps. "Snips!" Anakin called, carefully picking his way through scattered rock and lichen. "You alright?"

"We're fine!" Ahsoka called back, sounding very disgruntled.

"What did I say about not blowing things up?" Anakin examined the chunk of rock blocking their path.

"I've never seen a detonator like this, Sir!" Rex added. "We're lucky that we made it past the blast radius before it went off."

"For the record, we didn't blow anything up, whoever set the trap did!" Ahsoka snipped.

"Take it easy, little one, I'll get this debris moved." Anakin turned to his droid. "Artoo, will the structure of the tunnel be compromised if I move this rock?"

Artoo's scanner popped up, then back into his dome. "𝙽𝚎𝚐𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚟𝚎."

"Great. Everyone, stand back." Anakin waited for clearance then reached out with the Force. It was a massive chunk of the tunnel ceiling blocking their way, but he could probably scoot it enough to crawl around.

"Oh hey, a lizard!"

"You should probably leave it alone, Commander."

"Aww, he's shy. Hey little guy! I didn't think there was anything like you on this planet!"

"Snips, don't touch the lizard," Anakin said through gritted teeth, concentrating on moving the rock.

"He's adorable, Master! He's fuzzy!" She made a barely audible ekekeke sound.

"Vod'ika, don't touch it!"

"I'm not, I'm just look– ack!" Ahsoka started coughing and spitting.

"I told you not to touch that!"

"I didn't touch it, it touched me!"

"Ahsoka!" Anakin stopped trying to move the debris and instead pressed himself up against it, trying to see through the narrow gap. "What did I just say?"

"I didn't touch it, it just spat at me and flew away!" Ahsoka coughed again. "Right in my mouth, too."

Anakin heaved a huge sigh. "Just stand back and stop touching things."

"How many times do I have to say that I didn't?" Ahsoka asked crossly, but he heard her kick away rubble on the other side of the rock.

Concentrating, Anakin got the heavy rock to float, but as he went to move it he quickly realized that there was nowhere to move it to. It wasn't as if it would stay if he reattached it to the ceiling. He lowered it back down and wiped away the sweat beading on his forehead. "Okay, new plan," he called out, trying to not sound like he was out of breath. "I'm gonna have to shatter it."

Ahsoka snickered. "Why, is it too heavy for you?"

"No, there's nowhere for me to put it," Anakin snapped defensively. "Scoot back."

"Fine."

Anakin waited until he couldn't hear footsteps anymore and then placed a hand on the chunk of rock. He focused the Force around it, willing the atomic bonds holding the stone together to weaken. The massive hunk began to vibrate, then all at once collapsed into a pile of dust.

Ahsoka cheered from where she sat on her haunches ten paces down the tunnel. Rex leaned against the wall beside her. "Fantathtic work, Thkyguy," she said, then frowned. "My tongue ith wollen."

"Osik. Everyone, move." Kix was easing her to her rear in an instant, his duo-headlamp activated and his pack already half-undone. "Hey. Look here, Commander." Kix pointed at his left lamp and watched her pupils. They were slow to react. He pried open her mouth and started examining every millimeter.

"Is this because of the lizard spit?" Anakin asked, crouching down to join them. Rex did the same, much to his annoyance, and he placed a big hand on her shoulder.

"Bwa," she said around Kix's finger. Her tongue was bright red and twice the size it should be.

"Antihistamine," Kix announced, extracting a meltable sheet of medication from his kit. He placed it on her tongue. "Big dose. There you go, good girl."

"That tastes like duth," she winced. "Thraight duth. Whatth it made out of, blaxorn turdth?"

"It's made of diphenhydralex and love, Commander," Kix snickered, then patted her on the knee. "Coric made them special for the 501st, isn't that swell?"

A chorus of groans sounded from the men at his pun.

"Mmmakem for everyome," Ahsoka slurred. "Heeey, I thimth that the lizzer." She was starting to drool. "Thimk erm, lizzer. Lozzer thlit. Thpot? Thpit." She pointed down the tunnel.

Anakin followed her finger and saw the lichen lighting up as something scurried over it. He reached out and grabbed it with the Force before it could get any further and brought it to him.

It was, in Ahsoka's defense, a pretty cool lizard, but given what it had done to his apprentice's mouth he barely resisted the urge to pop it like a jellyfruit. It was scaleless, had lacy wings like a dragonfly, and its back was covered in what appeared to be iridescent-green down. It struggled in the grip of the Force, trying to breathe. It had black eyes with no sclera and they bugged out of its head slightly from Anakin's hold.

"Hiiiiii, babeeeeee!" Ahsoka cooed at it, waving. "Cuhmere. I'm your mommy nyow."

Anakin side-eyed her. "Ahsoka, no."

"Mmmy thiiiiiild–"

"Kix, do you know what this is?" Anakin spoke over her babbling.

"I know!" Greene piped up, peering closely at it. "That's a male hairy agama! It's native to Ryloth. The twi'leks have used it for medicinal purposes for forever. Spitting is its defense mechanism."

Kix yanked the datapad that he kept as a field reference from his pack and began to search.

"What kind of medicinal purposes?" Anakin loosened his grip on the lizard before it suffocated.

"It's used to treat depression," Kix said, reading off of his datapad. "Its venom contains an alkaloid that lowers blood pressure and triggers euphoria."

Ahsoka giggled and pointed finger guns at Anakin. "Ayyyyyy."

"Great." Anakin let Greene capture the lizard in another glass vial. "So she's zooted."

"To put it lightly," Kix said. "But she should be fine once it metabolizes, Sir. It did kick in fairly quickly, but the little bugger is probably dehydrated. She most likely got a concentrated dose, hence the swelling." He put his datapad back in his pack.

Anakin put his hands on his hips and gave his giggling Padawan a stern look. "Did you learn anything?"

"Nooo," Ahsoka sang gently. Her chin was covered in drool.

Anakin wiped it off with a grimace. "Alright, let's get moving. Kix, go ahead and get her out of here, we'll meet you back–"

"No!" Ahsoka squawked, then lunged for Rex and locked her legs around his waist. "Doomt leeeeave meeeeee–"

"Nobody's leaving you, Commander, but you need medical attention." Rex tried to gently pry her legs off of him to no avail.

"Ahsoka, no!" Anakin barked, trying to not rage over the fact that Rex was touching her very long legs.

She turned and glared at him. "Yeth!" she snapped.

Anakin barely stopped himself from growling and reached out to detangle his apprentice. "Alright, c'mere."

"No!"

"Commander, please–"

"Ahsoka, let go of Rex!"

"Rrrreeeexxxxx–"

"Come on, vod'ika, let go–"

"Gotcha!" Anakin finally untwisted her stupidly long legs and tossed her over his shoulder before she could latch on to Rex again. "Kix, take her."

"No!"

"Ahsoka, you're high, you are no longer in a state to continue this mission."

She started to cry. "Ani, noooo–"

Anakin turned his head so quickly that he felt his neck pop. She hadn't called him Ani since she was six. "You're hungry," he said firmly. "You have to go to the ship and get snacks. Don't you want snacks?"

She immediately stilled. "Yuh," she sniffled.

"You gotta go to the ship if you want snacks, okay?" Anakin took a chance and put her back down on her feet. She swayed slightly.

" 'Kay." She took his hand and laced her fingers with his, beaming. "Leth get thnackth."

"You have to go with Kix to get your snacks, kiddo."

Her face fell and her big blue eyes filled up with more tears. "But you turm purmple whem I leave."

Anakin was familiar enough with her synesthesia to know that purple meant sad. "Snips, come on," Anakin pleaded.

"Sir, may I suggest a compromise?" Rex asked. "How about we have Tup bring up the rear with her on his back? If we run into any clankers, he can run her back to the ship. Either way we're down a Commander and a trooper."

Anakin chewed on the inside of his cheek and tried not to feel bitter about Rex coming up with a solution. He was his captain, that was his damn job. "Alright. How are you going to keep her on Tup?"

"Easy, Sir." Rex turned to the trooper. "Bucket off, Private."

"Uh, yes Sir." Tup bared his face, attached his helmet to his belt, and blinked in the low light of the lichen.

"Hair down."

Anakin understood the plan once Tup shook out his very non-regulation-length hair. It was a very solid plan.

Beside him, Ahsoka gasped. "Thoft," she whispered, eyes wide.

Rex chuckled. "Alright, Commander, up you go." Tup got onto one knee and she leapt onto his back immediately. Her legs locked around Tup's waist, her skinny orange fingers ran through his hair, and she purred loudly.

"Alright, well, I guess we don't have to worry about being quiet anymore." Anakin bit down a laugh at the rapturous look on Ahsoka's face as she stroked Tup's head like it was a tooka. "Let's move."

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"Bidi bidi bom bom," Ahsoka sang, starting over for the thirteenth time. "Bidi bidi bom bom."

Greene removed the vial containing the lizard from his pouch and opened the lid so it could get some air. "Sorry, buddy, I would have brought something else for you if I knew you were here," he said sympathetically.

The lizard didn't look impressed. Greene recapped the vial and pocketed it.

"Can we name it?" Ahsoka asked hopefully. Her meandering fingers had somehow managed to braid the left side of Tup's head into a collection of chunky, messy braids as they walked down the tunnel.

"It's going to the Temple for study, Snips, don't get attached," Anakin said.

"Noooo, it's just a baby!" Ahsoka cried. Thankfully, the antihistamine had relieved her tongue swelling and she no longer sounded like she was trying to speak with an entire nerfburger in her mouth. It had been cute for about thirty seconds before becoming obnoxious, but now they were ten minutes into their journey down the tunnel and she was only getting loopier.

"It's not a baby, Commander, it's a lizard," Rex said gently.

"My baby," she pouted. "Rexxxxx–"

"Yes Commander?" he sighed.

"Rexaroni and cheeeeese–"

Vaughn made an unholy noise.

"Bidi bidi bom bom–"

"I'm glad she's having a good time," Kix said quietly to Anakin while she sang the same line over and over again. "Honestly, I was worried that she'd have a worse reaction."

"Worse how?" Anakin asked, looking at her over his shoulder. She was singing directly into Tup's ear, now, and he was trying hard not to laugh.

"Well…" Kix glanced back at her. "I did mention the aphrodisiac part, right?"

"No?" Anakin squeaked, then cleared his throat. That was the last thing she needed, she was already in a hormonal thunderstorm. "That would have kicked in already, right?"

"Probably?" Kix shrugged. "As long as she's not humping Rex's leg we should be fine."

"Zoyipa," Anakin mumbled under his breath. "Artoo, bring the map up again."

Artoo beeped and obliged him.

"Bidi bidi bidi bidi–" she clapped on Tup's shoulders.

"Bom bom," he finished.

"I think we're almost to the end," Anakin said.

"Love you, Rex" Ahsoka said dreamily.

Anakin tripped over his own feet and almost killed himself on the wall of the tunnel.

"Thank you, Commander," Rex said stoically.

"You… you don't love me too?" she asked sadly.

"Ahsoka, stop," Anakin ordered, feeling a snake of panic slither through his gut.

"Yes, I love you too, vod'ika," Rex said fondly, and Anakin could hear the smile in his voice.

Anakin didn't glare at him, because he had already decided that he was over it, but inside he was boiling.

"No red!" she said crossly.

Anakin bolstered his shields.

"And I love you, Tup," she continued in a loud whisper. "And Vaughn. And Kix. And–"

"We get it, Ahsoka–"

" –and Greene, and Ridge, and you too, Ani."

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Love you too, little one."

"I love you all so much," she sighed. "But I love you the most, Ani."

The corners of his mouth turned up despite himself. "Thanks, Snips," he said, slightly mollified. He beat down the insane urge to rub his Most Loved status in Rex's face.

"No offense," she assured the troopers.

"None taken, Commander," Ridge assured her.

"Can we go to Biscuit Baron on the way home?"

"Obi-Wan would say that there's plenty of food at the Temple," Anakin chuckled.

"Bobi!" Ahsoka said excitedly, then sagged and stopped purring. "He doesn't love me anymore."

"Ahsoka!" Anakin protested. "Of course he does!"

"No, he doesn't," she said sadly. Her fingers moved up to scratch at Tup's scalp and his eyes rolled back into his head.

"No, don't say things like that." Anakin let Tup catch up to him and patted the valley between his stoned apprentice's montrals.

Her purring returned. "He used to," she said softly. "But he changed."

Anakin wished he could disagree, but his Master had changed. The war had made him distant and cold in a way that he never had been before. He'd drawn away from Ahsoka and Anakin long before his stunt as Rako Hardeen.

"How about we get you a quad-stack nerfburger with blue sauce?" Anakin whispered conspiratorially. "And we won't get Obi-Wan anything."

Ahsoka snickered. "Can I get two quad-stacks?" she wheedled, blinking porg eyes at him.

Anakin sighed theatrically. "I guess," he said, and the wicked little cackle she made in response had his heart thumping.

"General!" Rex called from the front of the line. "Tunnel widens just ahead."

Anakin patted his apprentice on the back and hurried forward to his captain's side. He drew his lightsaber and looked back at Tup. The clone nodded, already prepared to make a break for it with his Commander on his back.

"I smell bones," Ahsoka piped up.

Anakin and Rex exchanged looks. "What does that mean?" Rex muttered, drawing his blasters.

Anakin shrugged. "Means she smells bones." Usually she'd call out the colors she saw in the next room through the Force instead of just being weird and ominous, but it was better than no warning at all.

Anakin crept around the opening with Rex at his back and was stunned at the difference of environment once he passed the sharp corner. There had been a laboratory here, once; instead of stone there was white tile everywhere and steel tables, broken glass, and various scientific instruments scattered at random across the ground. A few fluorescent lights hung dimly flickering from the ceiling. The room could fit hundreds of people but now it stood empty, save for a few thousand lizard skeletons scattered across the tile.

Ahsoka gasped from the tunnel opening, her face sweaty and coral-tinged. "No! The babies!"

Anakin picked his way forward, crunching lizard skeletons as he walked. What were they all doing here? On the floor was a stained set of clothing next to a holoprojector that lay on its side, the power long dead.

"Artoo, scan all of the hardware left behind and send the results to Ridge," Anakin ordered. "The rest of you start cataloging what's left, but be careful. We have no idea what Toba was making here." He crouched in front of the clothing; it had clearly belonged to a tall, lean being, and looked to be laboratory wear. There were hundreds of lizard skeletons on top of it and a disturbing amount of fluid had been baked into the clothing and turned it rock-hard, but thankfully the lack of insect life on the planet meant no maggots. There were a pair of goggles a few feet away underneath more bones.

Greene crouched down. "There's thousands of the little guys. This is a completely arid planet, Sir, and while these are desert reptiles they do still need water. That body has been there for weeks, at least."

"You think they died of dehydration?" Anakin asked, mussing a pile of skeletons with his foot.

"They would have started cannibalizing each other, Sir." Greene gave a small gasp. "Our little friend must be the last survivor! He's been eating his vode! Oh, poor thing." Immediately Greene got out his canteen and the vial with the lizard and with utmost precision, dripped a few drops from the lid into the vial.

The fuzzy dragon blinked, then licked the droplet off of its own head with a magenta tongue.

"Yaaaaaay!" Ahsoka sang, then nuzzled Tup's neck and sniffed him hard. To Anakin, she felt a little different in the Force than she did a minute ago; too warm, like an ember in a dead fire about to reignite.

They needed to finish and get the hell out of there before Ahsoka started crawling on the ceiling. "Ridge, I need your power pack." Anakin waited for him to hand it over, then plugged it onto the discarded holoprojector. The men fanned out through the abandoned facility to search for any remaining evidence of chemical weapons while Ahsoka, Tup, Rex, and Anakin stayed and watched the holoprojector.

"Greetings, Republic fools!" Miro Toba's ugly mug popped into view. He wore the same clothing that was on the floor, stiff as a board. "If you are here, then it is already too late for you! You activated my atomic laser detonator, the tunnel behind you has collapsed, and I have long since escaped!"

"Ow, Commander!" Tup suddenly yelped. Anakin looked around to see that his Padawan had latched onto Tup's throat and was sucking on his pulse point like it was a Felucian mango seed.

Anakin rolled his eyes. "Ahsoka, no," he said firmly, then turned back towards the holoprojector.

"I hope you have enjoyed my surprise, a little biological marvel from the planet Ryloth. You see–"

"Littl'un, no more biting," Rex said, exasperated. "Private, put her down and go help Ridge."

"Ow– yes, Sir." Tup pried his Commander off of his neck. There was already a massive hickey forming where she'd been attached.

Rex gently pushed her down until she was sitting on her haunches, then held a hand up to her in a stay signal like she was a puppy. He kept an eye on her as he started scanning for remnants of any lab equipment or chemical residue.

Anakin chewed on the other side of his cheek, since the one he favored had been bitten raw. He couldn't keep acting like a lunatic every time Rex spoke to her. He was annoying even himself by his constant overreacting.

" –discovered the how to alter the creature on my journeys within the scientific underworld, and amplified some of its effects," Toba cackled maniacally, "As you are no doubt beginning to discover!"

Anakin felt weirdly warm all of the sudden. He tugged at the neck of his robes and cleared his throat. No, he wasn't just warm, he was boiling.

"Rex, what's the temperature say on your HUD?" Anakin called.

"Twenty six-six, Sir," he replied.

So it hadn't gotten hotter. Anakin frowned. Did guys get hot flashes? Wasn't that just an old lady thing?

"Reeeeexxx," Ahsoka crooned from behind Anakin in a sultry tone. The Force slapped him on the back of his head like a scramball bat with a strong warning.

Anakin spun, deaf and blind to everything except for the look of adoration on his Padawan's face as she swayed enticingly towards Rex. She was pouring sweat, her pupils had swallowed up her irises until there was barely a sliver of blue left, and even her lekku had gotten in on the act, the stripes undulating in distracting, hypnotic waves. A pink wave of pure lust-possession-love emanating from her skimmed Anakin's Force signature and almost made him gag.

He wasn't having a hot flash; it was Force Sympathy, and Ahsoka wasn't just tripping balls from the stupid lizard, it had thrown her off of the precipice of the heat cycle she was on the edge of. With no small effort he redirected the lust that was burning his body from the inside out into the Cosmic Force until it was dim enough to suppress entirely. Force, she was strong; despite the insanity of the situation, Anakin felt an inappropriate surge of pride knowing that she was so strong partially because of his tutelage.

"Ahsoka, stop!" he yelled, but she ignored him. He wasn't sure that she even heard him.

Rex took his helmet off and looked at her, confused. "Vod'ika?" he asked in a voice a full octave lower than usual. He swayed where he stood, visibly dizzy and sweating, clearly affected by whatever she was putting off in both the air and the Force. His hand found a rolling desk chair and gripped it like his life depended on it.

Anakin's vision went red. How dare he? How dare he? Ahsoka was his Padawan, he had no right to look at her like that and there was no universe where she should have been looking at fucking Rex like that. She was his Padawan, his little sister. HIS.

"Ahsoka!" he roared. He sent a bolt of pure Force energy through their bond like electricity thrumming through a live wire, and the shock of it distracted them both enough to snap out of whatever the hell was happening for a few seconds.

"Come here, Padawan," Anakin ordered, back in control of himself. He held out a hand to her. "Now."

Ahsoka looked at Anakin, looked at Rex, looked at Anakin again, then dropped to all fours and lunged for Rex like a raxshir after a kybuck. Anakin snatched her with the Force mid-leap and yanked her over to him, catching her in a beskar-strong wampa hug that pinned her arms. The world at large snapped back into his range of hearing, his focus widened now that his target was currently thrashing in his arms and trying to bite him.

" –shame you will not live long enough to see it, hah! Ha ha! Ha ha ha– ow, ow you little bastard, what did you– ack! Oh, oh no! You stupid creature, what have you done! Noooooo–"

Anakin was too distracted by his apprentice fighting his hold to laugh at how the lizards swarmed the Faust scientist and ate him alive. Ahsoka snarled and the sound of it made every hair on his body stand up. "Not you," she growled in a primal voice that made him flinch so hard that he nearly dropped her.

Anakin was simultaneously relieved and a bit offended at her rejection of him as a potential victim, but he shook away the fear of the apex predator in his arms and squeezed the air out of her until she was wheezing. Rex was shouting something, enraged, but he ignored him. He centered himself in the Force and ran a hand over her forehead.

"SLEEP" he Commanded her. Ahsoka instantly fell limp in his arms. Anakin sagged with relief.

He hadn't been sure if it would work; she felt both stronger in the Force right now, and somehow weaker. She just felt so bright, like a red giant on the verge of going supernova, with all of the heat and instability that came with it. She had no control right now and that made her dangerous. Jedi were strongly encouraged to avoid any severely mind-altering substances not just because of how much harder it was to call upon the Force while impaired, but because in some cases it could be a disastrous loss of control.

"Put her down, now!" Rex bellowed at him; he was bright red, sweaty, and blinded by a combination of heady pheromones and Force Empathy.

Anakin carefully lowered Ahsoka to the floor. Rex charged at him with furious intent, kama whipping back and forth with every step. He met Anakin fearlessly, his plastoid chest puffed out and a vein popping out of his forehead. His hand was on his holster.

"If you hurt her–" Rex snarled; Anakin waved a hand over his forehead and repeated the Command. He caught Rex before he could fall and smash his head, then lowered him to the ground.

"What the hell?" Kix jogged towards Anakin and his two unconscious companions. "Sir, what happened?"

"Remember what you said about Rex's leg?" Anakin asked him grimly.

"Kriff." Kix looked between the two of them. "Is she in shabla heat? Poor thing, Rex is lucky she didn't mount him right there with how high she is."

Anakin did gag at that line. "I'm taking Ahsoka back to The Resolute. I'll send Nax down with the return shuttle but I don't want her around anyone but me and maybe Coric, if I can get her tied down in time, until this garbage is out of her system."

"Yes, Sir." Kix knelt down to examine Rex.

"It's just a Force Command, he'll wake up in a few minutes." Anakin heaved a very sweaty Ahsoka into his arms. "But so will she, so we're leaving before she does something even dumber. Vaughn's in command."

"Sir, yes Sir." Kix saluted, adjusted Rex's head, then jogged across the room to Vaughn to pass on the message.

"I've got you, kiddo," Anakin murmured against her montral as he walked her out of the lab and back into the tunnels. The lichen glowed softly as he walked, illuminating their path. "I'm here. Don't worry about Rex, I've got you. Skyguy's here."

◿♢◺

Coric slid the giant needle from Ahsoka's arm and pressed a wad of gauze over the hole it left behind. The dialyzer on The Resolute had never been used before, much to Anakin's chagrin. He wasn't excited about his Padawan being its first patient, given that it would be a really inconvenient time to find out that it was defective, but it had put the girl through two rounds of flawless dialysis and scrubbed her bloodstream clean of any residual hairy agama venom.

The heat cycle, unfortunately, would have to work itself out.

Anakin held the gauze firm while Coric disposed of the sharps. "You know, Jedi actually know how to purge their bloodstream of toxins through meditation," Anakin said softly. "There's a narrow window to do it since you have to be able to concentrate enough to meditate, but it's possible."

"She missed her window, then?" Coric shucked his gloves off into the trash, sanitized his hands, then slipped on a sterile new pair.

"No, I haven't gotten around to teaching her yet." Anakin sat back in the chair next to her bed and gave the conked Ahsoka an apologetic nudge in the Force. "Guess what you get to learn tomorrow?" he cooed at her.

Coric laughed. "Well, that sedative has worn off by now, she's just asleep. Want me to send some rations up, Sir?"

"That'd be great, Coric. Do we still have those frozen meiloorun chunks somewhere? She gets low blood sugar when she's in heat." Anakin let him bandage her arm up. There was a huge purple bruise where the dialysis needle had gone in; the damn thing was almost the diameter of one of her nerf jerky sticks.

A knock sounded on the door of the isolation room. Coric peeked through the glass window. "It's Rex, Sir," he said to Anakin.

"Go ahead and send him in." Anakin paused. "Maybe wait a few minutes on those rations."

Coric raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Sir." He let Rex in and himself out, peeling his gloves off as he went.

"General Skywalker," Rex said formally, standing at attention with his helmet under his arm.

Anakin had seen Rex after a lot of rough campaigns. Teth, Ryloth, Felucia; Umbara had been the worst, but this one was a close second. His entire bearing had shrunk in on itself, even in the Force, like he was trying to make himself disappear.

Anakin could sense Rex's shame and despair eating away at his bones like acid, and… he couldn't blame him. He refused to consider the scenario where he hadn't been able to redirect Ahsoka's overwhelming projection of lust. It had barely grazed him, and it had been broadcasting at full strength towards Rex. He gave the soldier a sympathetic look. "At ease, Captain."

Rex's shoulders slumped and he gripped his helmet so tightly that Anakin thought he heard the plastoid creak. "Sir, I watched the footage back from my helmet-cam," he muttered. "I… I have no memory of what happened, but I understand if you want to send me back to K–"

"Rex," Anakin stopped him before he could even suggest it. "You never would have challenged me like that in your right mind, I know that. She got me, too." He couldn't bring himself to resent Rex over it, as enraging as it had been at the time. He had been as out of his mind as she was, and clearly, the guilt of his reaction was eating him alive.

At least Anakin knew for sure now that Rex could be trusted. If he was able to stop himself from advancing on her with a projection that strong, he could resist any temptation she threw at him.

Rex looked devastated. "I swear, Sir, what I said before the mission, I meant every word. I have no idea what came over me. I… I'd never–"

"She caught us in a personal projection," Anakin explained. "When she isn't in control of herself she can accidentally project her own desires onto other people. It happened the first time she met Obi-Wan, actually." Anakin wiped sweat off of her forehead. "She was a toddler fresh out of quarantine. She was hungry and lonely, and as soon as Obi-Wan saw her all he wanted to do was cuddle her and feed her." Anakin laughed and looked fondly at the sleeping girl.

She looked younger when she was asleep.

"Still, Sir, we're trained to resist mental manipulation," Rex said miserably. "I-I could have hurt her. I'm not fit to be around her, Sir."

"Rex, I don't think you heard me. She caught me in it." Anakin looked at him pointedly. "I mean this respectfully, but you never stood a chance."

Rex stared down at her as if he were seeing her for the first time. "I had no idea she was that powerful," he said softly.

"I don't think she is, normally. Well, she's strong, but not stronger than me. Whatever Doctor Toba did to enhance those lizards really did a number on her. It'll be interesting to see what the Jedi Temple has to say." Anakin leaned back and shrugged. "I'm not mad, Captain. It is what it is."

Rex looked like he wanted to jump out of the airlock. "Why don't I remember, if you do?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"You were her target, not me. I got swept up in the edge of the quicksand, so to speak. You were a full banthafoot under the surface."

"But why me?" He looked completely befuddled. "I'm…"

"You're…" Anakin trailed off. He could either be the galaxy's best wingman right now or a responsible Master to his Padawan. He remembered the look on her face, the one she wore as she walked towards Rex; it was the same look he saw on his own face in the one-and-only holo he had of him and Padmé together, hidden way down deep in Artoo's memory banks. It had been taken the morning after their wedding, when they were still so love-drunk on one another that it seemed as though the entire universe had ceased to exist outside of their bedroom.

He hadn't been prepared to see that look on his Padawan's face.

"You're her best friend," Anakin lied with a shrug, silently apologizing to Snips, then grinned. "Besides me. Don't forget, she loves me the most."

Rex closed his eyes and scrunched his nose up in a quiet laugh. "Don't worry, Sir, I promise I'm not trying to compete with you there."

Anakin gave him a tight smile. "Just… when you write your report, leave this bit out, alright?"

Rex blanched.

"You already wrote it, didn't you?"

"It wasn't submitted, Sir, I can still edit the final draft."

"Go ahead and do that, then. And if the other guys ask, just tell them that she tried to bite you like she did Tup. No Empathic hypnosis. If they get all skittish around her because of this, she'll never forgive herself."

Rex nodded in grim agreement. "Understood, Sir."

"Go yell at Coric on your way out, if you would. Ask him to send us up some food, I'm starving," Anakin said, gently dismissing him.

Rex looked down at Ahsoka one more time with a confusing expression on his face that Anakin couldn't quite decipher, but guilt and self-disgust and disappointment colored the Force around him; not literally, nothing like what Ahsoka experienced, but Anakin could feel it swirling around him like a tornado.

"Just… delete the footage and try to forget that it happened, okay?" Anakin asked him softly. "She's going to be a guilty wreck when she wakes up. Try not to make it worse for her."

Rex nodded, gave him a smile that didn't reach his eyes, then quietly left.

Anakin waited for the door to close before slipping into the bed beside her. Togrutas needed touch from their clan-mates; they would wither away and die without it. Obi-Wan had made him go through multiple trans-xenoparenting modules when he'd first been assigned Ahsoka, and they had emphasized that a Togruta's need for physical affection was as crucial as their need for meat. Now that the venom was out of her bloodstream he felt comfortable touching her again, even though she was uncomfortably warm.

When Ahsoka went into heat, she didn't normally turn into some sort of horny predator stalking and snatching troopers to mate with; that was the lizard spit. Usually she just got hangry, smelly, and overly affectionate. She'd be horrified if she saw whatever Rex's helmet-cam had captured.

Anakin tucked her against his side and stared at the ceiling. He knew that he couldn't keep pretending that she was a little girl anymore. She was on the edge of seventeen, and despite technically having been considered a legal adult on Coruscant at sixteen because of immigration laws and something else Padmé had explained while he wasn't really listening, she really was a grown-up now. His snippy little sidekick had become a woman when he wasn't looking and he hated it.

He thought about the possessive feelings he had been drowning in while watching her slink towards Rex. It had nothing to do with lust; he'd stick his member in a hydraulic press before it went anywhere near his Padawan, but something about the way she had looked at Rex and ignored him had just… infuriated him. He'd felt so unimportant at that moment, like he didn't even exist to her anymore. It scared him to see her look at someone with that much intensity.

Maybe that was why the situation with Rex got under his skin so much. Though he thought of her as a little sister most of the time, Ahsoka was the closest thing he'd ever have to his own child. He'd die for her in a heartbeat. As hypocritical as it was, given that he was married, he just didn't want her to love anyone else. He liked being the one she loved the most too much.

"Skyguy," she mumbled, startling him from his reverie.

"Hey." Anakin rubbed the arm that the dialysis needle had been in gently.

"What's wrong with you?" she asked groggily, blinking one giant blue eye at a time.

Anakin snorted. "Oh, good morning to you too, Snips."

"No, your aura, it–" she winced as she moved her compromised arm. "Shabla osik, what happened to my arm?"

Anakin stroked between her montrals and set off her motor. "Dialysis needle," he said over her purring. "It was the size of a drinking straw."

"Dialysis?" She screwed her eyes shut. "What happened? Did we find Doctor Toba?" She sniffed the air and the lek against his face went even hotter, somehow. "Why… how long have I been out?"

"Not long, but to start, we found Toba's bones. Turns out the whole thing was a trap, but he either expected us a lot sooner or forgot to leave some kibble out for your babies."

She flopped a hand up at him. "Ubongo wanga ukupweteka, chonde lankhulani Chibasic," she mumbled in Toydarian.

Anakin grinned. "I am speaking Basic, little one, but I'm sorry your brain hurts. I'll be brief. A lizard with hallucinogenic venom spit into your mouth. You got really high and it kickstarted your cycle. I had to knock you out once you got too frisky."

"Frisky?" she asked in disbelief. Her purr died out.

"Yep. And you kept calling the lizards babies, for some reason."

She rolled her eyes. "Please tell me that I didn't humiliate myself too much," she groaned.

"Only a little bit," Anakin teased. "You tried to seduce me."

She whipped her head around, shock and horror plain on her face. "What?" she squawked.

Anakin nodded stonily.

"Oh, Force, kill me," she said faintly. Her head dropped down to the pillow.

Anakin laughed. "I'm kidding. I stopped you before you got out of hand."

"Define out of hand."

"I, uh, I wasn't the one that you were trying to seduce." His head dropped onto the pillow beside her and he gave her a sympathetic look.

"What did I do?" she whispered, staring at the ceiling in horror. Anakin had been trying to make her laugh, but he had a feeling he had just made it worse.

"Hey. You weren't in your right mind." Anakin squeezed her hand. "It's okay. Nobody even knows but us, Coric, and Kix. Everyone else just thinks you were trying to bite him."

"Bite who?" she asked, still staring at the ceiling like she was hoping that it would open up and suck her into space.

"Rex," he said softly. "You tried to… well, I don't actually know what your plan was, but you were kind of… hunting him."

She shuddered and her face burned with humiliation.

"I, um…" Anakin trailed off and hugged her a little tighter. "I know, Ahsoka. I know about Rex."

She didn't respond, but the way her whole body went rigid with fear spoke for itself.

"You know you can't, right?" he asked gently.

She nodded, eyes wide open, still staring through the ceiling. "It's not a big deal," she lied. "It's just hormones."

"No it's not. We both know it's not."

She took a deep, shuddering breath. "I don't want to feel like this," she said in a quivering voice, after a few moments of silence. Her hand rested on her heart. "It hurts."

Anakin's heart ached for her. It wasn't fair, but it would be worse for both of them if it went any further. Rex could die in any battle; so could she, he knew, but Rex didn't have the Force to call upon. As skilled as he was, he was only human.

And she was a Jedi.

"How do you do it?" she whispered.

He wanted to tell her that it wasn't supposed to hurt. That loving another person was supposed to fill you with pleasure and joy and warmth, not make you miserable, but he couldn't in good conscience encourage anything between her and the captain. Besides his own immature jealousy, he needed her to keep at least a little emotional distance from Rex. With the way she loved with her whole heart and soul, losing him in battle would destroy her.

"Me and… we could lose everything at any moment," he admitted quietly. "I'd be expelled, she would very likely be recalled. It's a risk that we chose to take. I don't want that for you, and I don't think it's fair to ask it of Rex when he already has almost no say in his own life."

She rolled over and tucked her face into his robes, shuddering with silent tears.

"It's gonna be okay, Snips." He laid there with her in silence for a few minutes, just letting her work out whatever she needed to in his robes. They were beginning to feel wet down to the skin where she'd burrowed in.

"Wanna go to Biscuit Baron?" he asked after her breathing had stopped being so choppy.

She laughed into his robes and nodded.

"Good, because I'm dying for some rings." He hugged her close and breathed in the warm, spicy smell of her lekku, much more intense than it normally was because of her surprise heat. "Don't worry. It's going to be fine. And you'll always have me, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

"Me neither," she said in a tiny voice.

"Good." Suddenly, Anakin was dog tired and in desperate need of a nap. He kicked his boots off over the side of the bed. "Good."

He'd tell her about Tup's hickey tomorrow.

◿♢◺

TOYDARIAN TRANSLATIONS

Ubongo wanga ukupweteka, chonde lankhulani Chibasic: my brain hurts, please speak Basic
Zoyipa: shit
Zisiyeni: damn it

MANDO'A TRANSLATIONS

Shabla osik: fucking shit
Vod'ika: little sister