Chapter Text
Rex had had his fair share of missions throughout the war, but this? This was a battlefield he knew nothing about. In the casinos of Canto Bight, B1 battle droids were replaced with members of the elite, his DC-17’s with tokens, his armor for a suit, and the sound of explosions with that of raucous laughter. It was jarring.
“Your suit looks nice.”
Rex turns at her voice, the woman’s arm linked with his as they walk along. “You clean up good, Captain.” Rex lets out a soft laugh at that before responding. “Thank you, Commander.” He says. “Your uh, dress looks nice as well.”
She was a padawan, one that had been reassigned to Obi Wan Kenobi shortly after the war had started. She gives him a smile, raising an eyebrow. “I thought I told you to stop calling me that?” Rex shrugs.
“Habit.”
He says, looking around the Casino. “Well, you’ll have to break it.” She responds. “At least for tonight.” Rex’s eyes return to her, unable to stop the slight quirk of his lips at her insistence. “Alright. For tonight.”
They walk along, past slot machines and dejarik tables. Shouts of joy and frustration ring out from a table nearby, a game of Sabacc ending. “Don’t even know why they sent me on this mission.” She says, snagging a glass of champagne from a waiter walking by. “I’m no gambler.” Rex raises an eyebrow in amusement. “No?” He asks. She rolls her eyes playfully.
“No. They should have sent Master Kenobi instead.” She says, taking a sip from her glass. “He’s far more talented at gambling than me.” He laughs at that, she was right. It was a well known fact in the GAR that Kenobi was notoriously hard to beat at such games. “Well, that’s probably exactly why they didn’t send him.” Rex says. She looks up at him, waiting for him to elaborate. “He’s too good. He’d probably win too much, draw attention to himself.” She murmurs in agreement, nodding. “I suppose so. He’s more recognizable than me, too.” She says, before a slightly smug smile comes across her lips. “At least it’s the Republic’s credits we’re gambling tonight, not mine.”
The two split up, her towards the slot machines, and Rex towards the Dejarik tables. They’d been sent to the casino to collect intel on a separatist senator. He was supposed to be there tonight, meeting an associate about the construction of a new droid factory.
A while later, they meet up again, heading towards the bar area. Rex grabs a booth while she gets herself another drink.
He sighs in frustration. He’d kept his eyes peeled, between sabacc moves, but still hadn’t seen a trace of the senator. A moment later, she slides into the booth next to him, drink in hand. He looks between her and the drink, raising an eyebrow. “You sure you’re supposed to be drinking on a mission?” He asks. She huffs a laugh. “Relax, will you? It’s fine, two drinks isn’t enough to dull my jedi senses .” She teases. Rex can’t help the way his lips twitch into a small smile at that.
They sit for a while, keeping their eyes peeled. Eventually, she nudges his leg with her foot. “Wait a moment, but look at your 5 o’clock.” Rex nods, waiting a good few seconds before turning his head. The senator. “That’s him, right?” She asks, angling her body so that she’s facing Rex more head on. “Yeah, that’s him.” Rex says, slight frown on his face, his eyes locked on the man. “What’s the plan?” He nearly jumps when he feels her palm come to rest against his cheek.
“Stop staring.” She says, turning his face back towards her. “We stay here for a bit, enjoy our drinks, but keep an eye on him.” Rex nods, his eyes following her hand as it falls from his face, returning to where it had rested previously on the table. “So we play the part.” He says. She gives him a small smile, taking another sip of her drink. “Exactly.”
So, they play the part of casino guests, lounging at the bar as she sips her drink. If he was honest with himself, Rex would much rather be out on the battlefield. As they chat about this and that, Rex sneaks subtle glances at her, thinking to himself that at least this part of the mission is worth it. Being with her is worth it. He thought she looked gorgeous in the evening gown she had on, the sleeves flowing loosely over her arms, the front showcasing a moderate amount of cleavage. The deep blue of her gown was so different from the browns and tans of her usual tunic and pants, and it rattled him.
“You should wear stuff like that more often.” He blurts, immediately wanting to punch himself in the face.
“Hm?” She asks, turning to look at him. Rex glances away, clearing his throat softly. “I said that outfit looks nice on you.” He responds, clearly lying, though she doesn’t call him out on it. “Oh, thank you.” She says, with a slightly bashful smile, one of her hands reaching up to straighten out his tie. His eyes flick back to her, before dropping down to her hand, his ears feeling warm. It was hard enough to keep himself composed while she looked like that, and now she was touching him.
“There we go. Now…” She says, patting his chest before removing her hand, beginning to scoot towards the edge of the booth. “I think I’m going to go get some water.” Rex nods, silently following behind her, throwing a glance back at the senator as he does so.
They’d made their way to the bar, finding an empty spot to stand as they waited. It was only moments after the bartender had given her water when she steps closer to Rex, all but pressing herself against him. He nearly chokes when her hand comes to the back of his head, pulling it down towards her until her lips are level with his ear.
Reflexively, he sets a hand on the small of her back.
“I think we’ve been made.” She whispers. It takes him a second to compose himself, his ears burning at her proximity, but he does. “You’re sure?” He whispers back. “Fairly.” She says, her breath hitting his ear. “One of the senator’s men has been eyeing us for a while.” Rex’s hand on her back pushes her slightly closer, almost protectively.
“It’s your call.” He says. She nods, pulling back, her hand slipping from the back of his head to rest on his shoulder. “Don’t look back over at them, just follow my lead.” He nods, and her hand slides down his arm until her fingers interlock with his. His eyes flit around her face, and she gives him a small smile, before beginning to lead them away from the bar.
They wind their way through the crowds, Rex’s jaw dropping slightly as she reaches a hand down the front of her dress, pulling out a commlink. “Been made, need an exit.” Is all she says before shoving the commlink back where it came from.
“What?” She asks, noticing the look on his face. Rex coughs, returning his expression to one of neutrality. “Nothing, just…that’s an interesting place to store a commlink.” He says, slightly awkwardly. She laughs.
“No pockets in this dress.”