Chapter Text
Rex hated the color blue.
It reminded him of so many things he tried to forget about : the blue planet he and his brothers called home, the cold and judgmental eyes of his creators, the Kaminoas...
Come to think of it, he didn’t hate the color itself, no. He hated the things it made him think of, especially the blue planet, the one covered in vast oceans. Sure, it was his home and he was ready to die for it, but he still hated it. Those long, white corridors where the longnecks used to stare at them with disgust as they walked by, the cantina where everybody was eying each other, waiting for an opportunity to steal the other’s one food, the training area where he and his brothers had to show that they had what it takes to be sent out on the battlefield and fulfill their only life’s purpose, which was to die for the Republic...
Rex hated Kamino.
He hated it until he saw it in Anakin’s eyes.
They went to Kamino to oversee the training of the cadets while Shaak Ti went back to the Jedi Temple to take care of some... Jedi stuff. She asked for them specifically, saying that the cadets could learn a lot from an experienced warriors like Rex and Anakin.
They landed and Anakin went to talk with the Kaminoas, giving his troops some free time. Fives and Echo immediately ran off to flex in front of the cadets and shinies while the rest explored the base, wanting to see their old rooms and training areas.
Instead of going with the rest Rex went to the cantina, where he sat in the corner and started going through the reports from the most recent missions. He could feel his younger brothers staring at him, some of them even pointing at him and whispering to each other, but to his relief no one approached him.
He sat there for a couple of hours, slouched over his datapad and typing away until he heard footsteps approaching. He looked up and saw his general, which made him stand up and stand at attention.
“Sir!” he said.
“At ease, soldier.” Skywalker smiled in response before sitting down across from him. “Please, sit down.”
Rex looked around nervously, noticing that his brothers were staring at the Jedi, curious and full of respect for the higher rank. They turned away one they saw the captain looking at them, avoiding his eyes and focusing on their food. He sat back down and reached for the datapad, but the man was already holding it in his hands.
“Is everything okay?” he asked, looking up at the clone. “You’re acting weird.”
“Yeah, everything’s fine, but... What do you mean by weird, general?”
“Why aren’t you with your brothers?” he asked, placing the device down. “You’re usually inseparable in your free time, so why are you here?”
“I just... needed some time to think, that’s all.” he cringed at his own words, knowing that’s he’s bad at lying.
His lover raised one of his brows, but after a moment his face expression softened.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, instinctively reaching out to take his hand, but stopped himself, glancing around.
“Not really...”
“Then how about we go to the training area and blow off some steam? Show the cadets how’s it done? The training facility should be empty, the training doesn’t start until tomorrow.”
Rex thought about it for a moment before nodding his head and standing up. It was a good idea : both he and Anakin often sparred together when they were dealing with something and didn’t want to talk about it. It was a good tactic, mainly because after they were done they could put their thoughts into words and express their feelings.
They walked out of the cantina and down the corridor until they reached their destination. The training facility was almost completely empty, the only thing in it were the obstacles and the citadel. Cadets and shinies were walking around on the audience stand, talking.
Anakin walked up to a panel and clicked a few buttons, mumbling to himself before scanning his access card. The training area started to change, the obstacles slowly disappeared into the ground as is leveled, creating a flat surface.
“C’mon.” he said and both of them walked to the center of the room.
This seemed to catch the cadets’ attention as they all stopped talking and focused on the men. Some of them started pointing and commenting, excited. Anakin smirked and turned around to face his companion, who only shook his head and let out a sigh.
The Jedi slowly reached up and took off his robe, letting it fall to the ground. Some of the cadets cheered and wolf whistled, which made Rex go completely red.
“Go get the boys!” he heard one of the cadets yell to another, who nodded and sprinted out of the room, yelling at the top of his lungs that the Jedi and the captain are going to fight.
“Well, captain?” Anakin asked and they started circling each other. “Are you ready?”
“Ready to kick your ass, sir? Of course.”
The audience laughed at his response which made Skywalker chuckle.
“We’ll see whose ass is going to be kicked, captain.”
Before Rex could respond the Jedi jumped in his direction, his first blow aimed at the clone’s shoulder, to knock him off balance. He followed up with a kick to the back of Rex’s knee. The captain grunted and almost fell to his knees, but was able to regain his balance and block the next punch with his forearm. He pushed Anakin’s arm away and swung at him, but he dodged and took a few steps back.
The audience stand was now completely full, some of the 501st were there, cheering loudly.
Anakin ran towards Rex who swung his fist at him, but at the last moment he dodged and found himself behind his lover’s back. Before the blonde could turn around he wrapped his hands around his stomach, arched his back and threw the man over himself, performing the suplex move. Rex fell hard to the ground, his shoulders and upper back taking most of the impact, but quickly got up. They exchanged a few more punches and kicks between each other until Anakin tried to kick him in the stomach, but aimed too low. The cadets all groaned loudly when Rex fell to the ground, clutching his crotch and groaning in pain.
“Can you not? I kinda need those!” Rex chocked out, glaring at him.
“The Force, I’m so sorry!” Anakin said, covering his mouth with his hands. “I didn’t mean to!”
“Do you need a moment or...?”
“Nah, I’m good, I just need a second.” he took a few deep breaths before standing up and looking at the Jedi. “Thank the Force I was wearing armor.”
They both chuckled and once again started circling each other.
When the Jedi got closer Rex swept his legs from under him, making him fall to the ground. He tried to get back up, but the clone put his foot on his chest and pushed him back down. Anakin responded by grabbing his leg firmly and rolling to the side, pulling him to the ground. Rex groaned when his back hit the ground, but he didn’t have a lot time to recover, as Anakin grabbed his right wrist and used his legs to block him. Now Rex was trapped in the armbar submission, with no way of getting free. He trashed around for a minute before he gave up and went limp.
“Do you yield?” Anakin asked with a smug look on his face.
“I yield.”
The crowd erupted with loud cheering and laughter, along with loud applause. Anakin let Rex go and stood up before helping his lover. The clone stood up, groaned and massaged his right shoulder, sending the other man a soft smile.
“Do you want a rematch?” the Jedi asked.
“Yes! Round 2!” the cadets started chanting loudly, which made Rex laugh.
“Sure, why not.”
...
When they were done sparring, they were both covered in sweat and panting loudly. In the end they had 5 rounds, Anakin won three while Rex won the last two.
Now they were both laying on the floor, gasping for air and trying to collect themselves. Most of the cadets were already gone, only a few stayed to see the end of the training session. All of the 501st was there, placing bets and arguing who would win, laughing and joking.
“One more?” Anakin asked, sitting up and looking at Rex with a soft smile.
“No, I’m good. Not everyone has magic Jedi stamina.” the clone got up and stretched, groaning. “Let’s go to the cantina, I’m hungry.”
He extended his hand to the general and helped him to stand up before turning around and starting to walk in the direction of the cantina. They took a longer route to avoid crowds and found themselves in one of the side corridors, where one of the sides was made out of glass and was overlooking the ocean outside.
Suddenly Rex realized that Anakin wasn’t walking alongside him. He stopped and looked around, spotting the Jedi, who was standing a few meters away, staring out of the window.
“Ani?”
“It’s raining.” he whispered in response, a soft smile appearing on his lips.
The clone blinked a few times, glancing at the view and then back at his lover, trying to understand what all of this was about.
“Yeah, it’s raining...?” before he could finish, the Jedi ran past him and towards the nearest exit, leaving him no choice but to follow him. “Wait!”
He ran after him through a few corridors until they reached an emergency exit that lead to the landing platform outside. Anakin scanned his card and walked outside, into the rain, while Rex stopped just outside the door and watched.
Skywalker stopped in the middle of the platform, looking up at the sky before closing his eyes and taking in a deep breath. It caused Rex to relax, as he was scared that something bad happened. He leaned against the wall, crossing his arms on his chest and smiling softly to himself.
He knew exactly what was going on.
He knew about Anakin’s past on Tatooine, Anakin told him one night when the clone asked him about the scars on his back. He said that the faint ones were whipping scars from when he was a slave and the rest was from the war. He also mentioned that it never rained on his home planet, although once in few years a massive thunder would rip its way through the planet’s atmosphere, but he didn’t get a chance to see it. It was a childhood dream of his, to see a proper rain, not a toxic one that would burn his flesh away which happened once on a remote planet a few years back. When it did rain he was usually too busy fighting or inside, going through reports. He wanted to know how it feels, to stand in a rain and just listen as the drops hit the ground.
Now, he finally got what he wanted.
Suddenly Rex felt something touch his hand.
He snapped out of his thoughts and saw Anakin, who was smiling brightly at him and holding his hand in his. He lead Rex out in the open, with a smile still plastered on his face.
“What...?” the blond man didn’t get to finish as Anakin turned to him and placed his other hand on his waist, his eyes glowing with happiness. “What are you doing?”
“Dance with me.” Anakin responded.
“But I don’t know how!”
“I’ll lead. Just do as I say.”
Rex hesitantly placed his free hand on his lover’s bicep as he started to move.
“I step forward with my left foot, while you step back with your right. Now I step to my right using my right foot and you go to your left with your left foot.” he instructed. “I close my left foot to my right and you do the same, but with your right to the left. Now repeat, but you step forward with your left while I step with my right.”
They slowly moved across the platform, stepping gently and cautiously in the puddles. After a moment Rex relaxed and returned the bright smile before pulling the other man closer and placing his hand on Anakin’s cheek, caressing his skin. His skin was wet from the rain, but warm. Water was trickling down his face and hair, contrasting against the small blush on his cheeks.
The Jedi leaned into his touch, putting his forehead against Rex’s, giving him a Keldabe kiss. They closed their eyes and stood like that for a moment, rain pouring down on them.
Anakin leaned in closer and gently kissed Rex on the mouth, who smiled into the kiss and chuckle. They held each other tightly, soft kisses full of adoration exchanged between them.
Rex opened his eyes and felt his breath catch in his throat : staring back at him were the most beautiful eyes he has ever seen.
Blue orbs that looked like an ocean, no, like a blue planet, were looking at him with so much love that it made his heart ache. It looked like Kamino from afar, but without the dark clouds that surrounded the planet.
Just looking into those eyes made him feel warm, safe, loved.
What he saw was Kamino, his home planet, in his lover’s eyes.
And it made him realize that his home wasn’t on the planet, no.
His home was with Ani.