Pulling his soulmate with him, holding onto the others hand, Anakin felt his heart throb with panic as he almost ran out of the theater he had been invited to.
He wanted to be anywhere but here, anywhere but where the Chancellor was, desperately stuffing his wild panic behind his shields along with his fear and anger as he clung to Rex hand, pulling his soulmate with him.
Rex didn’t even try to stop him, though he was sending a soothing, worried emotion through their bond, the other blond recognizing that Anakin needed to be away and therefore waiting to question the other man.
Finally though, in the darkened parking hall where Anakin had stashed the skycar earlier, Anakin slowed to a stop, shuddering before he turned and pulled Rex to him, pulling the helmet off with with the Force.
Rex might have had something to say about that, if it wasn’t for the desperate look on Anakin’s face as he reached up with his flesh hand and started gently rubbing the flowers mimicking the scar on Anakin’s own face.
Recognizing the desperation, Rex leaned into the touch, settling his hands on Anakin’s waist so he could rub slowly with his thumbs in the V of the others hips, murmuring quiet, reassuring words.
Shuddering, Anakin let out a little hiccup before burrowing forward and pressing Rex under his chin, holding onto the other tightly as he nosed at Rex short shaven blond hair. “…Cyare?” Rex whispered into the others throat.
“No one’s taking you away from me, I won’t let them. They can’t, our souls fit together.” Anakin whimpered out, Rex blinking heavily as he shifted his hands to the others back and started rubbing, both bemused and concerned.
What in the world had happened with the Chancellor?
They were suppose to be watching some kind of weird play, a charity thing for the Senators to pretend they cared about clones that Senator Amidala had managed to talk a troupe of actors into with actual vode appearing in the play, giving their own spin on old, classical warrior roles.
So why was Anakin…
Didn’t matter, at least not right now, right now Anakin needed reassurance and Rex focused on that, knowing that Anakin needed to feel him as he continued rubbing, cooing quietly in comfort. “You’re right, our souls fit together. I carry your flowers and you carry mine,” He assured quietly. “Cuun manda slanar tome.” Rex whispered tenderly, smiling when Anakin instantly eased his tight grip just enough to peer down.
Swallowing thickly, blue, slightly wet eyes peered at him. “That’s… mando’a… right?” He questioned quietly. Anakin was good with languages but only the ones he had learned when he was young, having a harder time picking up on new languages as an adult.
Thankfully, huttese were similar enough to rodian and aqualish, meaning it was easier to learn those when he had tried.
Rex tugged off a glove on one hand and reached up, cupping Anakin’s cheek. “It is. It means, our souls go together. So even should one of us fall, ee are simply marching before each other, but our souls are still entwined, still together even in death. Even vode know that.” He rubbed gently.
Nuzzling the hand, feeling the blaster calluses against his skin, Anakin let out a low noise and pressed a kiss to the inside of the others palm. “Don’t say that. Even vode, don’t put yourself down like that…” He mumbled, hands now tracing the blooms of Rex face with more affection and less desperation.
Rex just shrugged. “Some will always see us as simply ‘clones’. But I know you don’t. I can feel you, my dearest tranyc jetii.” Rex reverently ran his thumb beneath Anakin’s eye, trying not to feel flustered when Anakin pressed another kiss to his palm.
“Tranyc?” Anakin questioned quietly, now calmer as he made a mental note to talk to Obi-Wan, get his opinion before he spoke with the council.
“It quite literally means star-burned…” Rex face turned mischievous. “Or sunny. My sunny Jedi.” He teased gently, grinning when Anakin’s cheek pinked slightly.
Despite the teasing name, Anakin smiled, drawing Rex towards the skycar as he took the helmet out of the air, handing it back Rex. “Tease…”
“Only for you. Just for you ner jetii.” Rex countered quietly, tucking his helmet beneath his arm as he followed.
The bridge of the Resolute was
frozen in disbelief, the lazy glittering of stars around Coruscant
shining in through the viewfront before Cody finally broke the
silence that had descended upon them. “If you had just asked, I
would have told you.” Cody stated, a tad dryly as he stood there,
his flowers bright and colorful as Anakin stared at the commander.
Around
them, the bridge was frozen as they all stared at Commander Cody’s
still vibrant, colorful flowers all over his face and body, creeping
up his neck and all.
But
Obi-Wan was dead, he had been hit and…
When
he had seen the flash of tanned neck with blue
on it as Cody had turned around, Anakin had felt his stomach drop
with shock.
In
any other situation he wouldn’t have ripped the helmet off the
commander, but Obi-Wan was dead.
And
that meant that Cody should not have color, he should be one of the
Grey, one of the Lost.
But
he wasn’t lost, his color was still there and yet Obi-Wan was gone.
“What the kark is going on?” Anakin finally choked out, feeling a
hazy darkness entering his line of vision that eased out when Rex
cupped his elbow, offering his unconditional support in a very trying
moment as Ahsoka shifted uncertainly between the humans.
Cody
rubbed the back of his neck before sighing. “I was suppose to wait
until we were away from Coruscant but…” He reached into his belt,
pulling out a holo disk that he activated.
Opening
his mouth only for it to shut with a click of his teeth, any words
that Anakin might have said went down as Obi-Wan appeared in the
holo.
Alive,
well, standing straight backed in his usual position with his hands
resting behind his back in a nice little parade rest. “It’s
recording?” Obi-Wan questioned, smiling when a hum of affirmation
went off. “Oh good, because we don’t have much time before I need
to leave and this all gets set into motion.” He sighed deeply,
visibly slumping a bit.
“For
the record, I think you should tell him in person and I think this
mission is a terrible idea.” Cody’s voice echoed from somewhere
the microphone had of whatever recording device was used had picked
up.
Snorting
deeply, scrubbing his hand over his face, Obi-Wan gave a nod. “Noted
Cody…and for the record, also agreed. But I can’t go against the
entire council all at once, it was ten against two and majority won
and unfortunately, I am the best person to take on the undercover
assignment. And I don’t have time to find Anakin and tell him, the council would know I told him if I did, I have to remain on the council to do something good or effect it.” He sighed tiredly.
‘Undercover
assignment?’ Anakin blinked, feeling dizzy with sudden suspicion
and rage but also overwhelming relief as he stared at his master, the
man tilting his head up as if he was looking at Anakin in a holo.
“Anakin,
if you’re seeing this, the first thing I need to tell you is that I
am not dead and I am
so sorry for any pain or turmoil I have caused,” The older Jedi
sighed deeply and paused while rubbing his face, clearly conflicted.
Feeling
like he was somehow out of his own body, Anakin stared greedily at
the other man, desperate to take in and understand what in Sithhell
was going on. “Cyare?” Cody’s voice broke in, gentle and soft,
clear worry in his voice as Obi-Wan continued to flounder.
Finally
the older Jedi pulled himself together. “…I don’t want to do
this but I don’t have time to inform you in person or warn you and
I am so sorry for that Anakin, I am sorry for the pain I’m about to
inflict on you and I am so sorry for making you go through the pain I
went through at seeing Qui-Gon’s death,” Obi-Wan breathed out
heavily, dropping his hands again to stare up at Anakin. “Please
believe me if there was any other choice, I wouldn’t do this. But
the council has completely overridden me and Plo, our judgments are
considered clouded by our… bonds to the living world and I hope
that one day you can forgive me Anakin. But right now I don’t
expect you to and I hope yo-”
“We
need to go General,” Cody suddenly cut in, his tone curt. “The
alert went off in the hall, General Yoda is on his way.” He growled
unhappily.
Obi-Wan’s
face spasmed through several emotions before he cursed vulgarly and
focused back on the camera, Anakin feeling as if the other was
staring into his soul. “Anakin, I’ll explain everything when I
get home, I promise. But please, please
Anakin, trust me. Stay
away from Hardeen…” He tacked on, a knock echoing in the holo
before it wiped out, throwing the bridge into a second of silence
before chaos broke out.
And
yet Anakin could only remain standing with Rex support, his arms warm
around Anakin as the blond stared at the blinking stars with two very
clear thoughts appearing in his mind.
‘Obi-Wan
is still alive.’
‘Oh
my gosh I kicked Obi-Wan in the balls and choked him, he’s wearing
Hardeen’s face!’
Anakin
started to laugh hysterically, to the worry of all the troopers and
in particular his own soulmate.
Jumping
a bit as he felt a hand press to his shoulder, Anakin turned wide
eyes over his shoulder to stare at Obi-Wan, finding the older Jedi
smiling gently at him in sympathy. “He’s going to arrive very
soon Anakin, the shuttle is already en route and you’ll see Rex in
minutes, he’s coming with the secondary shuttle.” He murmured
assuringly.
Swallowing
harshly, Anakin opened his mouth, only a soft for a soft whimper to
escape him.
Obi-Wan’s
face crumbled in sympathy, squeezing Anakin’s shoulder. “He’ll
be here soon.” He whispered, hoping that for his former padawan’s
sake that he was right that it wouldn’t take long.
Anakin
wrapped his own arms around himself, biting his bottom lip hard.
Rex
had been injured on Saleucami, shot while working with Obi-Wan by a
sniper droid.
It
was only pure luck that lead to the other simply being injured and
not dead
and every time Anakin’s mind as much as strayed in that direction,
his heart started beating wildly with his fear. The fear of his
flowers losing color, the fear of losing his
soulmate.
That
lead to Anakin meeting the shuttles on the landing platform on top of
the east barracks by the temple, cold wind whipping his clothes and
hair, hoping that Rex was on the first one only to be… well, not
disappointed, he’d never be disappointed to see his master after
all but a bit forlorn when Obi-Wan and only 212th
came out of
the first shuttle,
Obi-Wan informing him quietly that the 501st
were coming with the second one.
Snapping
back into the here and now as Obi-Wan pointed beyond them and up,
Anakin looked up with his wide eyes as he took in the shuttle coming
towards the landing platform.
With Rex
in it.
Anakin
could feel him, could sense his soulmate and it made his heart cry
out as he felt a tired and sore Rex reach out to him through their
bond, sending the soft sensation of care and love that Anakin thought
he’d loose when he felt Rex pain all those planets away with a
giant flower spreading on his shoulder and chest.
Only
Obi-Wan’s hand on his shoulder was keeping him from sprinting
towards the shuttle as it touched down in
a cacophony of noise,
the durasteel beneath their boots vibrating at the weight of the
shuttle as it settled along with the wind whipping their hair and
clothes from the motors and then powered down.
The
door slid open and Anakin’s breath hitched.
Because
there he was.
Rex
was right there in front of him, a worried smile on his face with his
helmet under his arm.
‘He
must have removed it when
he felt I was here.’ Anakin absently thought before starting
forward as Rex stepped off the shuttle, others from the 501st
following him.
But
Anakin only had eyes for his soulmate, practically crashing into the
man and wrapping his arms around Rex waist, lifting him off his feet
to hug the armored man as tightly as he dared while burying his face
in Rex neck.
He
whispered the others name against the skin, knowing the other would
feel it even if he couldn’t hear it.
An
armored arm wrapped tightly around Anakin, reassuring hands brushing
through his hair.
Rex
was back, Rex was back on Coruscant and in his arms and Anakin
couldn’t help but release a quiet sob as his eyes teared up against
Rex neck and dripped against the warm caramel colored skin.
There
was a light thump on his back and reluctantly Anakin settled his
soulmate and captain down on the landing pad, lifting his face to
peer at the other as
he kept his arms around the other man.
Smiling
softly, Rex reached up and gently dried Anakin’s face with a gloved
thumb. “I’m here cyare, I’m alive my golden flower.” He
murmured, eyes creased up with his smile to wrinkle the flower around his eye as he
reassured the other.
“…Are
you in pain?” Anakin whispered, leaning into the touch.
“Not
anymore I’m not,” Rex murmured, sliding his hand back into
Anakin’s hair to pull the other down, pressing their foreheads
together. “Not when I’m with you.” He chuckled, ignoring the soreness Anakin could feel through their bond.
Laughing
shakily at the sappy words, Anakin couldn’t help but smile,
tightening his grasp on the other while ignoring Obi-Wan and
Commander Cody chuckling behind him, the quiet, gently teasing
catcalls and whistles of the 501st
sounding over the wind.
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