It
is undeniable.

Mace
really likes these Jango Fett clones, these men and his heart breaks
as he knows what he must do.

The
Jedi are put between a rock and a hard place thanks to the Senate and
of course they could refuse but if they did…

Mace
has heard the whispers about the Jedi, he’s kept his ear to the
ground and he knows that not even half of the Senators trusts the
Jedi, sees them as little else than a strange order of warriors and
have forgotten what they really are.

And
so Mace takes his command of these men and burns his heart and soul
in the process to try and keep them safe and yet still lead them out
into battle. But he doesn’t stop himself from getting to know them,
learning their names, their faces, what they like and seeing the
wonder on their faces.

He
knows as the days go on that the clones will become even ‘younger’
with less training because there’s less time but he hopes… well
maybe if he burns his soul out, maybe they can end this war because
there is no victory for the Jedi order here.

So
he lets himself know them, gets comfortable with Commander Pond and
asks the man often about tactics and the best way to station the men
as Pond knows better a multiple men assault than Mace ever will and
knows the men’s capabilities a hell of a lot better.

So
he fights at the front with them and tries, Force does he try,
to keep his men safe and pull them away from danger when he can but
he is just one man and he is a flawed man who can not do the
impossible even if his Jedi abilities make it seem so to certain.

And
the men see him tired, they see him bleed and they see him collapsed
and knows better than anyone that isn’t a Jedi or Ranger that the
Jedi aren’t perfect as they steam the bleeding and props him up and
out of danger.

Clones
of Jango they may be, but they are men of their own making, of their
own colors as they paint their armor and shave their hair or let it
grow, tattoos with color and eyes with humor or pain. It is
undeniable, Mace Windu adores
his men.

And
he sees the same in Obi-Wan’s eyes when they meet up, a tired sort
of understanding passing between the two before Obi-Wan in good humor
suggest a decent sparring as, in the man’s own word, ‘sheering
down a droid a size isn’t really good for dueling’ with a warm
laugh and twinkling green eyes.

With
a hum of amusement, Mace accepts.

It’s
a breath of fresh air in the war, to settle into each their own
position, Soresu against Vapaad and Mace lets himself sink into the
style even if Obi-Wan has very little darkness to draw on to fight
against the man.

But
it feels good, chasing after Obi-Wan with aggressive thrusts and have
them parried as the Soresu master stands firm against the aggressive
Vapaad as Mace knew he would.

With
a touch of Ataru mixed in as Obi-Wan bounces into the air and spins
around only to land easily and once more go in a tightly controlled
arch against Mace with a grin on his face as this duel is more like a
play than an actual battle.

And
Mace can feel these men he adores have come to watch and well…
maybe he’s showing off a bit but if the glittering in Obi-Wan’s
eyes and the grin lurking his lips are any indication than he is not
the only one showing off.

So
they twist and twirl and they spin and they sweat and he can hear
Obi-Wan laugh and his own men cheering him on while Obi-Wan’s hoots
at him to win and its just a moment, a moment in all this strife that
Mace finds a little bit of peace as they kick up grass and dirt.