Chapter Text
Rex found her sitting in the hallway of Coruscant Junior High. She’s sitting between to brackets of lockers, her knees pulled up to her chest, and her nose buried in her knees. The short, skinny seventh grader has sandy blonde hair that hangs just below her shoulders, with blue highlights blended in the strands.
“You okay kid?” Rex asks, crouching in front of her.
She looks up at him and shakes her head, tears are streaming down her face.
“What’s your name?” Rex asks, his voice so very gentle.
“Ahsoka,” the girl whispers.
“Nice to meet you Ahsoka. I’m Rex,” Rex says.
The girl studies him, cataloguing every blink, every swallow.
“Can you tell me what’s, um, wrong?” Rex asks, stuttering. Growing up in a house full of boys, he’s not too good with verbal confrontation.
“I can’t go home,” Ahsoka whispers.
“Why not?” Rex asks.
“My big brother called me. He says that it’s not safe. He said to go home with a friend, but I don’t have any,” Ahsoka tells him.
“Well, I can be your friend,” Rex offers.
“Really?” Ahsoka asks, hope creeping into her voice.
“Sure,” Rex shrugs.
That gets a tiny smile out of Ahsoka. Rex offers a hand and Ahsoka takes it so he can pull her to her feet.
“Now, you want to come to my house and meet my brothers?” Rex asks.
“Okay,” Ahsoka says. She pulls her backpack up from where it was sitting next to her, and throws one of the straps over her shoulder.
“How old are you Ahsoka?” Rex asks.
“I’m thirteen,” Ahsoka says.
“Nice, I’m fourteen. My brothers Jesse and Kix are 13,” Rex says.
“Jesse and Kix Fett?” Ahsoka asks.
“Yup, I’m Rex Fett,” Rex says.
“Do you have any other siblings?” Ahsoka asks.
Rex laughs. “Yeah. Fox is the oldest, he’s nineteen. Wolffe is seventeen. Cody’s sixteen. I’m fourteen and a half. Jesse is thirteen. Kix is almost thirteen, mom had them in the same year. Fives and Echo are eleven and Tup is seven,” Rex lists off.
“Eight boys?” Ahsoka asks.
“Yeah,” Rex says, with a laugh. “Want to meet them?”
Ahsoka, whose two older brothers are 20 and 27, nods eagerly.
“Then let's go,” Rex says. He grabs her hand and pulls her towards the late bus.
They sit together on the bus, and Ahsoka notices that the route to the Fett house is almost the same as her. Turns out, they only live two blocks apart. Rex opens the door to the house and Ahsoka is immediately bombarded by Jesse, Kix, Fives, and Echo. Jesse and Kix want to know why Rex brought the quiet girl home. Fives and Echo ask Ahsoka if she wants to wrestle with them, to which Ahsoka sincerely answers, “Maybe later.” The chaos only subsides when Rex’s mom, Casla, pushes her way through the door, Tup following behind her. Rex pulls Ahsoka into the kitchen and Casla follows.
“Who is your friend Rex?” Casla asks in a soft voice.
“Mama, this is Ahsoka,” Rex says.
“Pleasure to meet you dear,” Casla says.
“Nice to meet you Mrs. Fett,” Ahsoka says politely.
“May I ask why my son brought you home?” Casla asks.
“My older brother called me and said it wasn’t safe to come home. He told me to go to a friends house,” Ahsoka explains.
“I see, what is your brother’s name?” Casla asks.
“I have two brothers. Anakin Skywalker, and Obi Wan Kenobi. They’re half brothers. Anakin’s the one who called me,” Ahsoka tells her.
“Anakin Skywalker. Okay. Dear, what’s your last name? Skywalker or Kenobi?” Casla asks.
“Tano. I’m adopted. Anakin and Obi Wan’s mom, Shmi, and her third husband Cliegg Lars adopted me, but I kept my last name. They died in a car accident three years ago. I live with Anakin and his girlfriend Padme most of the time. But sometimes I live with Obi Wan and his wife, Satine. I love my brothers a lot,” Ahsoka says, her voice lowering an octave at the last sentence.
“Okay. Wow. But why couldn’t you go to Obi Wan’s house?” Casla asks.
“Obi Wan and Satine are on Scarif for their 5th anniversary,” Ahsoka tells her.
“I see. Do you know your brother’s, Anakin’s, phone number?” Casla asks.
Ahsoka pulls out her cell phone, a small black flipper that Anakin got her for her birthday, and pulls up Anakin’s contact. Casla calls Anakin. About one minute into their conversation, Casla walks into her bedroom and locks the door behind her. Ahsoka and Rex look at each other. Ahsoka’s lip starts trembling and Rex puts a hand on her shoulder.
“It’s going to be okay,” Rex tells her.
About half an hour later, Casla comes back out, her face pale and eyes wide.
“Looks like you’re staying here tonight. Now, where should we put you?” Casla says, slightly breathless.
“I can sleep on the couch Mrs. Fett, it’s no trouble,” Ahsoka says.
“Nonsense. We can have Tup stay with Rex and Cody, and you can sleep in Tup’s room. Rex?” Casla says.
“Sounds good. Ahsoka?” Rex says.
“Okay,” Ahsoka whispers. She wants to know that her brothers are okay.
“Everything is okay. Your brother just has some things he needs to take care of,” Casla says.
Ahsoka knows it’s not the full truth, that everything is not okay, but right now, she’s too overwhelmed to care.
“Hungry?” Rex asks, passing her an apple. Ahsoka takes it and nervously bites into it.
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Later that night, after Padme’s sister Sola dropped off some clothes for Ahsoka, she gets ready for bed, but she’s still extremely worried about Anakin.
There’s a soft knock at the door, followed by Casla asking if she could come in. Ahsoka wants to say no, but there’s something about Casla that’s comforting.
“How’s the room? Do you need anything?” Casla asks.
“No, it’s good. Thank you,” Ahsoka says. Having a duchess and a senator as sisters in law, Ahsoka has learned a thing or two about manners.
“Okay, dear. Don’t hesitate to wake me or one of the older boys if you need something, alright?” Casla says. Ahsoka nods and Casla closes the door.
Ahsoka lays back on the twin sized bed and pulls the dinosaur comforter up to her chin. The sticky green and orange dinosaurs stuck to the walls are a glowing reminder that she’s not at home. She misses Anakin and Obi Wan. Her brothers.
Before she can fall asleep, however, her phone rings and the caller ID reads Padme’s name.
“Hello?” Ahsoka says.
“Hey Snips.” It’s Anakin.
“What’s going on?” Ahsoka asks.
“There’s some trouble with work, Obi Wan and Satine are cutting their vacation short, but Obi Wan’s going to be helping me out. You might have to stay with the Fetts for a while, okay?” Anakin says. He sounds tired.
“Oh. Okay. When will I see you again?” Ahsoka asks.
“I don’t know, kiddo. Soon, I hope. But Mrs. Fett is a nice woman, and she’ll take care of you,” Anakin says.
“Okay. I love you Anakin,” Ahsoka says.
“I love you too kiddo. I’ve got to go now though. Get some sleep,” Anakin says. And hangs up before she can answer.