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Light rain pattered softly on the tops of the 501st’s tents. The constant hum of insects accompanied the falling raindrops. Large neon-glowing plants loomed overhead, their broad, luminescent fronds swaying gently in the breeze. The soft blue and violet light reflected in the shallow water pooled around the camp, casting an unearthly glow over everything in sight.
“For kriff’s sake, what does the GAR have against Torrent Company to send us here for the third time this quarter?” Fives groaned, his voice muffled into the top portion of his bedroll. Jesse, sitting cross-legged by the glow of his helmet lamp, barely spared him a glance before returning to his Sabacc hand.
“Might have something to do with the picture of nose art with Tarkin’s face that was sent in a GAR-wide chainmail.” Jesse said, while Tup snorted and Echo shook his head.
“You know I had nothing to do with that.” Fives shot back, rolling over onto his back to face Jesse.
“Yeah, maybe this time. But it’s easy to believe you would pull something like that.” Jesse said without looking up.
Fives answered with a dramatic sigh and kicked with boots off in Jesse’s direction. Tup laid down his cards with a grin.
“And that, gentlemen, is how you lose to a shiny.” He swept the small pile of credits toward himself.
“It’s not like that shabuir Tarkin didn’t kriffing deserve it.” Fives mumbled into the humid air. Low murmurs of agreement enveloped the tent.
Echo spoke while putting the cards away, “Alright, it’s going to be a long day tomorrow. General Skywalker is going to have us walk half the planet with mud up to our shebs. Let’s turn in.”
Jesse flicked off his helmet lamp, plunging them into the muted glow of the alien flora outside. The sound of the rain seemed louder in the dark. Fives closed his eyes, letting his muscles relax, but only partially. This was Felucia, after all. He never allowed himself to fully relax while on a mission.
---
By the time dawn came, the rain hadn’t stopped. It had only softened into a fine mist that clung to everything.
“Alright, men, we’ve got a couple of hours of trekking through his stupid jungle before we reach the rendezvous. Let’s get to it.” Skywalker called out while rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
Camp broke quickly. Troopers moved in a practiced rhythm, collapsing tents and stowing gear. Fives spotted Ahsoka across the clearing, one hand pressed to the side of her neck as she rolled her shoulder. He looked away quickly, but not before something warm and unwelcome curled in his chest.
It wasn’t that he hadn’t noticed her before. But after three months away from the 501st, she’d come back… different. Matured. Taller montrals and lekku that brushed lower against her back. Skywalker had joked that her montrals were almost eye-level with him now. As if sensing him thinking about her, she walked toward him.
“Hey, Fives. Have you seen Kix around? I think I need a stimshot for my neck. Feels like I slept on a pile of Anakin’s spare parts,” she said while stretching the muscle.
“Don’t tell me your time away has spoiled you to senatorial-style beds, Commander,” he grinned. “But no, I haven’t seen Kix.”
She laughed at his joke and mouthed a silent ‘thank you’. Before she had turned around fully, he said, “I do have a stim on me, and I could be persuaded to part with it for the right price.” He added a wink for good measure.
“Oh?” Her lips curved into a playful smile. “What about a night together in a senatorial-style bed?”
The joke caught him off guard. Their relationship had never drifted to this type of teasing. He had always tried to refrain from making his cruder jokes when she was around. His eyes widened before he caught himself and smirked, fishing the slim syringe from a belt pouch. A sprinkle of rain drove them under the arching leaves of a massive purple-blue plant.
“Kriff, I wanted to be dry for at least a standard hour this morning,” she sighed, while wiping the side of her neck with a disinfectant pad. “Maybe I am getting used to diplomatic missions.”
Fives grinned before mumbling, “Better get used to being wet, especially if we share a bed,” he murmured the last part extra quiet as she finished injecting her stim shot. Not forgetting she had incredible hearing with her lekku headgear.
She looked up quickly with surprise, and for a brief second, he thought that he had overstepped respectful boundaries. He instantly thought of apologizing, but her laugh came a second later, which was both light and genuine. It made something in his stomach flutter. He quite liked this new and exciting dynamic with the Commander. Even as he knew that this was a very dangerous game to play.
“Company! We move out in five!” Rex’s loud voice cut through the camp. The Captain’s voice made the pair both jump slightly and break their eye contact.
The captain strode toward them, scanning their faces, landing on Fives. “Whichever shiny or veteran painted that Tarkin ‘art’ on the gunship will have the next three campaigns’ worth of latrine duty, mark my words.”
“I swear that wasn’t me, Rex. My painting skills are better than that,” Fives said, flicking the ARC helmet attached to his belt.
“I also better not have to get used to being wet on most missions,” Rex muttered, pulling his helmet into his head.
Fives noticed, out of the corner of his eye, that the stripes on Ahsoka’s montrals darkened slightly. He was also sure his ears were burning. Luckily, Rex didn’t seem to notice.
---
The company set out, boots sinking into mud that clung like cement. Overhead, vines as thick as a clone's arm dripped rainwater in steady streams. Insects buzzed in and out, occasionally bouncing off armor plates. The air smelled of wet flora and clone sweat. Fives couldn’t wait to peel off his blacks and take a sonic as soon as his boots hit the Resolute. Their mission was relatively simple: trek through a jungle, destroy a separatist recon facility, and leave, hopefully never gracing this planet again.
Ahsoka fell into step beside him. For several minutes, they walked in a comfortable silence, their footfalls swallowed by the sounds of the jungle.
“Do you think the Jedi are wrong in this war?” she asked at last.
He glanced at her, but she kept her focus straight ahead. After a brief minute of silence, he said, “That’s a loaded question, Commander. I think they’re wrong about wanting this kriffing planet under Republic control so bad. But I have a feeling that’s not what you mean.”
“No. I guess I mean how tied the Jedi Order has become to the Senate and politics.”
They walked on, listening to the drip of rain from leaf to leaf.
“Respectfully, Commander,” Fives said at last, “I’d have a hard time choosing between hiking on this planet forever and giving a bantha’s ass about politics.”
It earned him the laugh he’d been aiming for.
“Fives, I’ve missed you these past couple of months. Everyone in politics is so fake, apart from Senator Amidala.”
“We’ve missed you as well, Commander.” His chest tightened, wishing he could tell her how much he specifically missed seeing her.
“Snips come up front, would you?” Skywalker yelled from his position at the front of the group. Ahsoka rolled her eyes and picked up her pace to meet him at the front.
“How much you wanna bet that he wants to ask me how his 'good friend' the senator is doing?” She quipped back at Fives before practically skipping away.
Fives laughed out loud and momentarily thought to himself that a night in a senatorial bed together would be great betting stakes before quickly shutting down the images his mind threw up. He needed to get a hold of himself before he took the innocent joke too far.
---
As the sun was setting over the jungle horizon, they had arrived at the rendezvous location. They were about two clicks from the recon facility. The steady sprinkling of rain had transformed into a full downpour, causing the 501st to have to hastily pitch camp for the night. Fives could barely see through the dense rain, making it impossible to locate his usual bunking campaions. He felt a hand guide him into a shelter, slightly dulling the thunderous roar of rain outside. He pulled off his bucket and turned on the headlamp, and saw Ahsoka looking at him shyly.
“You wouldn’t mind if a hard-working ARC trooper stayed in your humble abode until the storm let up, right, Commander?” He said, while trying not to notice how close they had to sit together in the tent, which was made for a single person. Loud thunder shook the camp outside.
She grinned at him before kicking off her mud-covered boots towards the corner of the tent. More thunder struck outside as more rain poured onto the 501st's makeshift camp.
“It sounds like the storm won’t be letting up anytime soon. Looks like we might have to get used to being wet.” She said, grinning and barely making eye contact with him. It was too hot in this stupid tent, Fives thought. He could feel his ears burning.
“Uh, are you sure, Commander? I don’t want to…inconvenience you,” He said even while removing his belt, which had his kama attached, and pauldron to make sitting in cramped quarters more comfortable.
“Not at all, I owe you. I used your stimshot this morning, thanks by the way.”
“No worries, Commander.”
“You can call me Ahsoka, you know,” she said quietly, almost like she was scared of his rejection.
“Well then, no worries, Ahsoka. But I think sharing your tent should count as two favors, so I now owe you,” he said the last part quietly. His voice was unintentionally deeper than normal, which had him cursing himself.
He felt an “energy” shift in the atmosphere inside the tent, like their relationship was going beyond what a GAR clone and Jedi Commander should share. He needed to figure out how to stop the butterflies in his stomach, but there was also part of him that wanted to relish in the feeling.
“Is your neck feeling better?” He asked as the glowing plant life outside the tent seemed to glow brighter, enjoying the heavy rainfall.
“Much better, but I still think I need to have it worked on by the Jedi healers when we get back to Coruscant,” she said as she rubbed her neck and left shoulder.
“I could…take a look at it for you,” Fives said, the words, again, coming out quieter than he intended.
Ahsoka tilted her head, her lekku shifting slightly with the movement. “You know anything about neck massages?”
“I know enough to keep an ARC’s body in working order,” he said with a small shrug. “Unless you’re afraid I’ll break you.”
She huffed a laugh. “You couldn’t if you tried.”
That was all the invitation he needed. She shifted so her back was towards him. His gloved hands hovered for a moment before she reached up, tugged them forward, and placed them both on the left side of her neck. He made sure to be very careful to avoid her lekku. The heat of her skin radiated through his gloves, and he swallowed hard before starting to work his thumbs in slow circles.
Outside, the rain pounded against the tent, a steady roar punctuated by deep cracks of thunder. Inside, the air felt too warm, the space too small, the light from the glowing flora outside casting their faces in shades of violet and blue.
Ahsoka let out a low sigh, tension leaving her muscles. “Force, that feels good.”
Fives tried to focus on the task, but her voice, soft and genuine, kept threatening to blur any form of respectful boundaries he had left.
“You’re surprisingly good at this,” she said after several minutes of massage.
“They didn't make me an ARC without good reason,” He laughed, leaning a little closer without meaning to. “Guess I also don’t like seeing you in pain.”
Her montrals tilted toward him slightly, and for a second, their eyes caught. The air between them shifted into something more intense, dangerous. He forced himself to break eye contact, giving her shoulders one last squeeze before sitting back.
“There. That should keep you moving tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Fives,” she said quietly, a small smile forming on her lips.
Thunder rolled again, even louder this time. Neither of them moved apart for several minutes.
“We should probably try and get some sleep, big day tomorrow and all,” Ahsoka said, breaking their silence.
She stretched out onto her side, facing the tent wall. He flicked off his helmet light and lay down on his back, trying to ignore how close he was to Ahsoka. They were practically on top of each other thanks to the tent's size. He instead tried to focus on the pouring rain, the sticky humidity, anything to distract himself from the silhouette of Ahsoka’s thin but muscular frame pressed up against his plastoid armor. It was hardly a romantic setting, he tried to reason with his stupid brain. They were covered in mud and hadn’t showered in days. All Fives knew was that peaceful sleep would not find him tonight.
---
Fives awoke to find himself still on Felucia, with the humidity and stickiness from the previous night's rainstorm. He was also highly aware of Ahsoka being tucked very close to his side. As Ahsoka started to stir, he quietly sat up to start donning the few pieces of armor he had removed the previous night. As he turned back around, he found that Ahsoka had already pulled on her boots and was tucking her bedroll back into its pouch.
“Good morning,” she said, avoiding direct eye contact with him.
“Good morning, Ahsoka,” he said, hating that his voice was an octave lower than normal.
They packed up the rest of the tent without another word. The silence was slightly awkward, which was understandable considering that they slept virtually cuddling. They both made excuses to leave each other's company quickly after packing the tent. Fives claimed he needed to check in with his regular tent mates and Ahsoka with Anakin.
Camp broke at a slower pace this morning because several tents and pieces of gear were waterlogged.
“Fives!” Echo yelled at him from several yards away. “Where'd you end up sleeping last night?” As he was pulling out several ration bars.
“Oh, you know, just the armpit of hell,” Fives said, taking the offered ration bar and motioning around the muddy ground.
“I'm terrified to take this bodyglove off once we get on the Resolute. I think the Republic should just incinerate these things directly off our bodies to avoid the cleaning costs.” Fives said, very aware that he was trying to distract both Echo and himself from his bunking adventures of the previous evening.
Echo rolled his eyes but didn't press the issue. Rex's tired voice commanded move out in five minutes.
They had a forty-minute hike before arriving at the recon facility. The facility was actually more secure than the reconnaissance information first thought. This mission was supposed to be a stealth operation. The plan was then changed to accommodate the extra security. The company would travel to the East side of the facility and cause a distraction to allow Ahsoka to sneak inside the West entrance undetected. Ahsoka had volunteered Fives to be her backup. At least last night had not made her unable to work with him, Fives thought.
Once they arrived at the West entrance, he quickly followed her lead into the gray, utilitarian building. It stood out against the lush greens, blues, and purples of the jungle. He belatedly heard Ahsoka’s gasp and a splash of water before also stepping into the building and a hallway full of murky brown water.
“Well, Kriff,” Fives mumbled. He glanced at Ahsoka, who was grinning despite standing in water up to her waist.
“Maybe we need to share a senatorial-style shower now that I’m used to being wet,” Ahsoka said while laughing. He joined in the joke, and he felt the remaining awkwardness fade from the previous night.
“Let's get this mission done ASAP, then, Commander!” He laughed as he started down towards the command center. They passed a few waterlogged battle droids but no other forms of resistance before reaching the command center.
Fortunately, the command center console was just out of the reach of the muddy water. Fives set down the tech pack to transfer the Separatist data when a choppy message came over his helmet comm.
“Fives do … copy?” Rex's voice said over the comm.
“Fives here with the Commander, you are breaking up.”
“Do…. get …. “ his voice cut out.
Fives turned towards Ahsoka, who had heard the exchange as Fives had turned his helmet to external speakers. She looked slightly concerned but shrugged.
“Our lovely flooded command center is probably jamming the transmissions. Would you like to do the honors so we can go save the boys’ shebs?” She said, motioning towards the tech unit.
Fives grinned and turned towards the controls, pushed the button, and immediately regretted it; the command center was rigged to explode. He turned instantly and dove to cover Ahsoka and hopefully take the brunt of the fallout. The last thing he remembered before passing out was the shocked look on Ahsoka's face.
---
Fives regained consciousness and slowly opened his eyes. He immediately regretted it when the too-bright fluorescent lights of the med bay greeted him. The pounding in his skull told him everything he needed to know. What he couldn’t remember was what had caused his injury. He groaned when he spotted Kix walking over to his bed.
“Look what the wookie dragged out of the trash,” Kix teased him lightly. Fives rolled his eyes but stopped when the movements made him dizzy. Kix handed him some medicine while saying, “Did you get any sense knocked into that thick skull of yours?”
“Nope,” Fives said with a grin. He tossed back the pills which started to ease his headache instantly. It did not help fill in the gaps in his memory. “What happened? And how did I get here?” He asked Kix.
“You destroyed the recon facility very well,” Kix said while looking at Fives's monitors.
Fives's stomach immediately dropped when he remembered the rigged control center and diving to cover Ahsoka from the direct blast.
“Is Ahsoka alright?” he said faintly as Kix's eyebrows shot up at the use of their Commander's first name. He cursed himself for the slip up.
“Nothing serious, fortunately. According to her you jumped in front of her shielding her from most of the damage. Somehow she managed to get you out of the wreckage in decent shape. She should be here any second for me to look at her ribs again. You both smelled like sewer water so I had her go take a sonic before I applied the bacta. That is your next order after I clear you from your concussion.” Kix said. A shit-eating grin appeared on his face.
“Now would you like to hear about your injuries or just talk more about the Commander…because,” Kix was cut off as Ahsoka entered the medbay with her arms crossed in front of herself. Fives's eyes widened as he realized she was wearing her old bandeau top. A top a couple sizes too small. There was a reason she didn’t wear that in the field anymore Fives thought as his cheeks started to heat up. He decided to blame his inappropriate thoughts on his concussion.
“Hey Kix I just thought that wearing this would help give you more room for the bacta and band…” she started to say before seeing Fives in the bed behind Kix.
“Fives!” She yelled but lowered her voice when she noticed his flinch at the volume.
“How are you feeling?” She asked in a voice barely a whisper while walking over to his bedside.
“Oh, ya know, like I lost a sparring match against General Grevious.”
Kix cleared his throat loudly, “Commander I'll grab the bacta and bandages. Try to keep this unruly patient in bed while I'm gone,” pointing to Fives in the bed. Fives gave Kix a rude hand gesture once he turned his back.
“How is your head really doing?” Ahsoka asked after taking a couple more steps towards his bed and lowering her arms to let them hang by her side.
“Good now you're here,” he said, patting the edge of his bed for her to sit. She hesitated for a moment but did sit on the very edge.
“You shouldn't have jumped in front of me,” she said, looking down not meeting his gaze.
“It's my job because you're my Commander,” he said but regretted it when she frowned. “I also don’t like seeing you hurt,” he added, not catching her gaze. His hand twitched, wanting to reach out and grasp her hand.
He was surprised when he looked up at her and she was leaning in close to him. He stiffened as she wrapped her arms around him in an embrace. He took a moment before returning the hug.
“Thank you, Fives,” she said into his ear.
“Thank you for pulling me out of the wreckage, Ahsoka,” he said. He expected her to pull back out of the hug but she remained, and even put her head on his shoulder the best she could with her headgear. He became very aware of how close she was, of the warmth pressed against him, of the fact that his hands didn’t quite know where to settle. He hoped that his heart rate monitor wouldn't start to climb.
“This isn't a senatorial-style bed but it could work,” she joked. He laughed at her joke but he knew his pulse accelerated when his monitor started beeping at him. Fortunately, Kix arrived with bacta and bandages in his hand and Ahsoka didn't seem to notice his heart rate increase.
Kix eyed the pair with raised eyebrows at the seating arrangement and hug but said nothing.
“Ready for bacta Commander?” Kix asked.
“Yes, thank you,” as she removed herself from the embrace with Fives. She reached over to the side table with a cup of water and tried to hand it to Fives. Before he could take it the bottom of the cup broke. Water dumped straight into her lap. The three of them froze as droplets hit the medbay floor.
Kix rolled his eyes, “I'll be right back again with some towels this time,” mumbling something about them always making a mess.
“Well…I told you if you share a bed with me you better get used to being wet,” Fives said with a grin.
She grinned and shoved his shoulder but her montrals and lekku were near black.
Oh he definitely liked this new dynamic with the Commander.