Chapter Text
“I gotta be honest, Cody.” Rex puts his hands on his hips. “I thought you loved me better than this.”
“You’re being dramatic,” Cody says, the absolute hypocrite. “You knew it was coming.”
When Rex was an up-and-coming, stubbornly blond young tubie, Cody had seemed like the coolest and most important person on the planet. Maybe even the whole galaxy. The standard two years he had on Rex had seemed like a century’s worth of wisdom and experience, and Rex had treasured each word that came out of Cody’s mouth as Cody had taken him under his wing.
Now, of course, he’s seen Cody cry over tooka kittens and he knows most of that’s ridiculous; but he had hoped Cody’s leftover fondness for the scrawny little cadet he had once fostered would carry over to Cody’s brand new position as Marshal Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, and his first ever task in said position of assigning troopers to Jedi battalions.
Rex had hoped for one of the good ones. Somebody austere and thoughtful in the way Jedi are supposed to be, somebody who could help him grow into a man and not just a trooper, however far-fetched the thought might be. Maybe even somebody who Rex did not personally watch throw himself out of a battleship in order to fight a Sith Lord.
Maybe he had set his expectations too high.
Cody folds his arm on his entirely unnecessary desk. Rex strongly suspects he requisitioned the temporary office solely for the power trip. “Anakin Skywalker is, reportedly, a very prolific Jedi.”
“Yeah, I know,” Rex scoffs. “I was on Geonosis. Kid’s a disaster.”
Tellingly, Cody does not deny this. “Technically, he’s older than you.
Rex crosses his arms stubbornly. “Technically, he’s an idiot.”
Cody stares up at him impassively, unyielding. Rex is self-aware enough to know that he’s a stubborn person, but when it comes to obstinance, Cody always has him beat. A staring contest will not help his cause.
Rex tries reason. “I simply feel like my abilities would be better served elsewhere.”
Reason falls flat in the face of Marshal Commander Cody’s sheer force of will. “I think you two will complement each other.”
“I’m taking that personally,” Rex says. Cody doesn’t smile, but he looks like he’s thinking about it. Rex gives up and flops dispassionately into the chair Cody has also requisitioned for his sham office. Cody seems content to let him sulk for a beat. “Will you at least tell me why?”
Cody gives it a moment of thought. Rex does his best not to twitch.
“There’s a lot you can offer this army, Rex,” he says at last. “General Skywalker can push you to be a better soldier. Do you understand what I mean?”
Cody has an awful lot of faith in Rex, for reasons Rex has yet to fully parse out. But apparently, he thinks Rex has what it takes to live under the command of someone as fully insane as Anakin Skywalker. Who is Rex to undermine the Marshal Commander of the 7th Sky Corps?
“Maybe,” Rex says reluctantly, with a clear undertone of, that doesn’t mean I have to like it.
Cody lets the insubordination slide. He drums his fingers on the desk, considering something. “You know, he and General Kenobi are said to be close. Master and Padawan, whatever that means. They’ll probably work together often.”
Rex knows of Obi-Wan Kenobi, the other Jedi leading the charge on Geonosis. Supposedly, he’s very knowledgeable or wordy or something. The not-insane one out of the two Jedi up for discussion here. Rex takes a moment to mourn the life he could have led under General Kenobi’s command.
“What does that have to do with anything?” he says, a little snottily.
“General Kenobi of the 212th, that is,” Cody clarifies, unhelpful at first until Rex remembers: Cody’s designation is the 212th.
Cody has this rare pinch around his eyebrows, crinkling up his scar. He clears his throat. “I’ve got to keep an eye on you somehow.”
“Oh,” Rex says. He is, actually, very touched by this. Cody likes him enough to have opinions on their vicinity to each other. Rex knows Cody cares–he wouldn’t have let Rex get away with so much if he didn’t–but it’s something different to see it so clearly displayed.
But if either of them acknowledge this, they’ll break out into hives and die. Instead, Rex says, “You couldn’t give me the normal one?”
Cody scoffs, rolls his eyes. “You couldn’t hack it.”
Rex taps his fingers against his folded arms and tries, for the first time since he got the assignment, to picture what serving under General Skywalker might actually be like. Sure, he took a senator on a jaunt through a droid factory, got kidnapped by bugs, and then lost a hand when he willingly engaged a sith, but maybe he won’t be that bad.
“It’s not too late to change your mind,” Rex tries. “Give me Kenobi. You can have Skywalker.”
Cody clicks his tongue, faux-sympathetic. “Already signed the paperwork.”
Luckily, Rex has one last tool in his arsenal. He clasps his hands together, summons up his best impression of that wide-eyed tubie, and says, “Please, Cody?”
Cody is unsympathetic. “That’s Commander to you.”
***
Before Rex had joined the 501st, three near death experiences would have seemed like a lot. Now, it seems like a breeze.
General Anakin Skywalker grins like an absolute maniac. “I feel like that went well.”
It went terribly. Rex dry-heaves over the side of the smoking gunship. He’s never gotten airsick before, but General Skywalker is testing his limits. “Those were some very effective evasive maneuvers, sir.”
“Well, thanks,” General Skywalker preens. “Now, to get to the command center. I think we should fake a surrender.”
Rex stuffs his fist into his mouth so he doesn’t say something insubordinate like, that’s technically a war crime, sir. General Skywalker continues babbling—something about hiding troopers in the surrendered supply crates—and Rex wishes, once again, that Cody had done the kind, brotherly thing and given him General Kenobi instead.
By the end of the day, the near death experience tally has rocketed up to nine.
But—and this is, perhaps, the most frustrating part about working with General Skywalker—the plan works. It gets a whole platoon behind enemy lines without sacrificing any men. And even though Rex has nine near death experiences, possibly ten if he counts the thing with the cannon, he does not actually die.
General Skywalker is reckless and impulsive and their first strategy never, ever survives contact, but he is also ruthlessly efficient. And his self-sacrificial streak only extends to himself, which means they walk away with very few casualties.
Rex still eagerly awaits the day that he never has to fly on a ship with General Skywalker in the cockpit again. But he supposes it could be worse.
“Ha,” Skywalker mutters as he flies their squad back to the Resolute. “I’d like to see what Obi-Wan would say to that.” Then, in an exaggerated Coruscanti affect, “Oh, Anakin, you can’t do a barrel roll in a low-gravity atmosphere–”
This goes on for some time. Rex mostly tunes it out. He has yet to meet General Kenobi, but everything General Skywalker says about the man makes Rex wistful for what could have been. Sure, he seems long-winded and boring as hell, but Rex would do anything to have a boring conversation right now.
Cody probably has lots of boring conversations with Kenobi. Cody is probably having a boring conversation with Kenobi right now, instead of clinging to a harness like Rex is, because he’s stuck with Anakin Skywalker. Rex wishes Cody were with him for a split second, before he realizes Cody would probably find this whole situation very amusing, and apply himself to being as unhelpful as possible.
But Rex still misses his brother. He looks up at the stars–zipping by the windows way too fast, has Skywalker ever considered slowing down?–and he hopes that Cody is doing well.
Cody is not doing very well.
The first sign of this comes not too long into the war, when Cody reaches out to him on a private comm channel they’ve never had occasion to use before.
CC-2224: Hello
This strikes Rex as odd, because Cody has never been the one to reach out first. Rex is still happy to hear from him. Not a lot. But maybe a little bit.
CT-7567: hey
CC-2224: How is your general?
Rex has to think about how to put it into words.
CT-7567: it could probably be worse
CT-7567: if you ask me this to my face i’ll deny it, but you might have been a little bit right.
CC-2224: Always good to hear
CT-7567: he’s a lot to handle but i’m learning a lot here
CC-2224: That’s good
CT-7567: i suppose
CT-7567: how about you
Cody takes an uncharacteristically long time to answer. Normally, he is direct almost to a fault. Rex has enough time to consider and then summarily reject the thought of finishing filling out the handful of engagement reports he has left to do. The data pad finally beeps again. Rex glances back down.
CC-2224: he’s a fucking idiot
Rex blinks in surprise.
CT-7567: kenobi???
CC-2224: Yes
Rex isn’t sure how he’s supposed to respond to this. Cody is still typing.
CC-2224: His reputation as a thoughtful anything is entirely unearned
CT-7567: uh
CC-2224: He is proud, prone to inappropriate and unhelpful dramatic outbursts, and his glibness only ever serves to distract
CT-7567: wow
Rex never would have pegged Cody as the type. He seemed to get along fine with every superior officer they had on Kamino. Didn’t he?
CT-7567: is this treason technically
CC-2224: Is it treason to attempt to flirt an army of droids into submission
CT-7567: did he
CT-7567: did he try to
CC-2224: take a fucking guess
Once the Kenobi floodgates are opened, they cannot be closed. Cody has apparently been keeping an itemized list of disagreements, and he is determined to tell Rex each and every one of them.
Kenobi refuses to listen to Cody’s input. Kenobi throws himself into battle with no regard for previously established battle plans. Kenobi uses the Force so recklessly and obviously that every undercover assignment is blown within the first few minutes. Kenobi is a hypocrite who berates Cody for sidestepping protocol, but flouts it himself at every opportunity.
Rex sends consistent one word responses, reluctantly finishes his engagement report, and preps for bed with Cody steadily blowing up his data pad. He wakes up the next morning with 33 unread messages from the night before.
CT-7567: bet you wish you had skywalker now
CC-2224: I wish for nothing but the cold embrace of space
Right. And he says Kenobi’s dramatic.
No matter where Rex turns, he cannot escape mention of General Kenobi. General Skywalker tells tales of a man capable of both feats of great daring and great nagging. Skywalker’s Kenobi is brilliant and overbearing in equal turns. Rex has Cody as a brother, so he understands this.
Cody’s Kenobi is, in essence, a fucking disaster.
Cody’s Kenobi barely has the oversight to take care of himself, much less a whole battalion. He is single-minded and stubborn to an extreme degree. Privately, Rex thinks this sounds very much like Cody, but he does not express this for fear of death.
The contrasting images built up in Rex’s head are so towering that meeting the real thing was bound to be a disappointment. The man himself is tall, but not in a particularly noticeable way. He is surprisingly soft-spoken, with a lilting Coruscanti accent that Skywalker has mocked relatively accurately, and a practiced bow that he directs towards Rex, of all people.
“You must be Captain Rex,” Kenobi says. Rex blinks. Cody stands at perfect attention just behind him. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Who is talking about him? General Skywalker? Cody? Both options seem awful. “Yes, sir,” Rex says stiffly. “I’ve, uh. I’ve heard a lot about you too, sir.”
Cody twitches in the background.
There is a siege that is terrible and desperate enough that they need two Jedi masters instead of one. Skywalker wants to sneak a squad of fighters past the defenses and drop supplies hidden in missiles. It’s ridiculous and overblown, just like every other Skywalker strategy.
Rex indulges in a glance over at Cody. See what I have to deal with? Cody doesn’t respond, visor narrowed in on the glowing blue holomap.
“Absolutely not,” Kenobi says to Skywalker, very measured. “The fighters will be defenseless going in, and we don’t want to risk losing the supplies in transit. We need a plan with long-term results.”
Rex braces himself for the inevitable Skywalker tantrum. But Skywalker just rolls his eyes and sighs. “Fine. What’s your idea?”
Rex can’t help it: he is impressed. Who cares about Cody? Anybody who can wrangle Skywalker is good as gold in his book.
Cody is impassive as ever at his side.
“Simple enough.” Kenobi points at a spot on the glowing blue holomap. “We send a platoon over here, in order to draw their ground force away from their defenses. With no ground force, we can slip into the city with relatively little struggle and provide support going forward.”
It’s a true, fleshed out battle strategy. Something more than, yeah, throw some grenades at it, see what’ll happen. It even has multiple detailed steps, which is more than anything Skywalker’s ever come up with.
This is the man Cody’s obsessed with? A competent, reasonable general? Rex looks over at Cody again, as if he can parse out anything about Cody’s emotional state through the bucket.
Cody must sense Rex’s attention because he clears his throat, just once. Rex is surprised to see Kenobi’s face twitch just once before it drops back into pleasantness.
“Commander Cody,” Kenobi says brightly. “Do you have anything to add?”
“Of course not, sir,” Cody says. Immediately, Rex is suspicious. When has Cody ever let anything drop?
“Excellent,” Kenobi says. “Now, moving on-“
“It’s only that, respectfully, sir,” Cody continues, even though respect clearly has nothing to do with it. “Ground support means nothing if we don’t have a method of consistently moving in supplies and troops. Sir.”
Kenobi’s face grows flatter by the second.
Cody’s furious messages snap into a sudden sense of clarity. Kenobi does not look surprised by Cody’s unsubtle insubordination. There is a simmering fury, sure, but not surprise. The intense staredown carries the familiarity of a well-worn battlefield.
Skywalker remains oblivious. “Hm. I see what you mean, Commander.” Coming from Skywalker, this is quite the concession. Kenobi looks at him sharply, and then back at Cody.
“What do you suggest, then?” Kenobi asks. There is poison in his words.
“Our priority needs to be taking over a segment of the ground defense,” Cody says, gesturing to a wooded section of the holo map. “If we create a safe zone in an area they’re not focusing on, such as the forested areas, we can consistently funnel supplies and troops into the inner city.”
“The cost of defending that opening would drain essential resources from the campaign within the city itself,” Kenobi says. He is not breaking eye-contact with Cody.
“A single embedded platoon does not a campaign make,” Cody tells him, and then belatedly and pointedly, “Sir.”
It’s only here that Skywalker starts looking nervous. “Uh.”
“While I appreciate your input, Commander,” Kenobi says, with grave finality. “I am not willing to risk my troops to hold a non-essential position.”
Cody, clearly, does not give two shits about finality. “Except it is an essential position.”
“It–” Kenobi starts, and then visibly brings himself down. “Feel free to explain, Commander.”
“Marshal Commander,” Cody corrects–corrects! His superior officer! Rex gives in to panic and tries a hand sign: cease all action now. Cody doesn’t even spare him a glance.
Kenobi grits his teeth. “Marshal. Commander. I would love to hear your reasoning.”
“I would have assumed it was obvious,” Cody says. Either he is oblivious to the warning signs or he is embracing them openly. “As I stated previously, if we want to permanently reclaim the city and the planet as a whole, we need to establish an outpost and a supply route. This is our best chance to do it.”
“As I have stated previously,” Kenobi says, and oh Force, they’re stepping closer. Rex accidentally locks eyes with Skywalker, who also looks panicked at the prospect of cleaning up a brutal double homicide. Jedi General versus Clone Commander; who wins? Not their little brothers. Rex is sure of that. “We do not have the resources to keep such an outpost. I am not willing to risk–”
“With all due respect,” Cody snaps, with even less respect than the first time. “I would not be willing to risk a platoon on a doomed ground campaign-“
Kenobi scoffs. “Isn’t a bit premature to-“
Against his will, Rex finds himself stepping forward.
“Possibly, sirs,” he tries, and they all look at him in unison. Cody and Kenobi furious, Skywalker clearly relieved. “We could send some troops to the forest outpost as the distraction General Kenobi discussed in his briefing. If we take it, we take it. If we don’t, we cut our losses.”
Before Cody or Kenobi can say anything or start shouting again, Skywalker is nodding enthusiastically. “Good work, Captain,” he says. “A great, er. Compromise.”
“Compromise,” Kenobi mutters, as if the word personally snuck into his home and murdered his kin.
Cody takes a step back, closer to Rex, standing back at parade rest as if nothing had ever happened.
Kenobi swipes the holomap away with an elegant flick of his wrist. “Yes, very good, Captain.” Rex does not start at the compliment, but it’s a near thing. “We’ll start there. Captain, Marshal Commander, gather up your men and prepare to set out at oh-eight hundred hours.”
They are dismissed. Cody and Rex snap out identical salutes and turn on their heels out the door. Out of the corner of his eye, Rex can see Kenobi glaring at Cody’s back.
The doors slide shut behind them. Rex grabs Cody’s arm. “What the fuck was that?”
Cody shakes him off. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You can’t talk to a general like that!” Rex says. Cody stares straight ahead. “You’re going to get decommissioned or worse, court-martialed!”
“I’m not going to let him waste a platoon of good men so he can put a bacta patch on a siege,” Cody says through his teeth.
Before Rex can get another word in edgewise, he stalks off. Rex puts his face in his hands. Since when was he the smart one?
The doors behind him open again. Kenobi walks out and storms away to the left. Skywalker comes out after him and gives Rex a sympathetic look. “You too?”
Rex only sighs.
***
Somehow, Rex ends up with General Kenobi as they work to burst through the defenses into the besieged city. Cody is stuck with Skywalker. Good. Let him see how the other half lives.
Kenobi, for his part, cannot know how carefully Rex is watching him. He’ll admit: he’s very curious. What about him inspires such devotion in Skywalker and such endless ire in Cody?
Rex can’t really find anything. He seems competent enough. Maybe a little on the chatty side, but nothing Rex can’t handle. And he’s perfectly polite and respectful to the men, like the barely contained mutual explosion from earlier was less of a subordinate thing and more of a Cody thing.
It’s not like Rex can’t understand. Sometimes he also wants to strangle Cody very badly.
At the front of the line, Kenobi holds up a hand in a clear signal. Rex pulls himself and all of his men to a stop.
“Sir?” he asks. “What appears to be the issue?”
“I sense ... “ Kenobi says, and then trails off. This is another thing Cody had complained about: a vague tendency to pin everything strange on “the Force,” the air quotes clear and devastating even through text.
Before Rex can ask for clarification, Kenobi tackles him to the forest floor. A blaster shot rings out from nowhere and embeds itself in a tree, right where Rex’s head would have been.
“Alright, Captain?” Kenobi asks, easily pulling Rex to his feet.
Rex catches his breath. “Think so, sir. Thanks for the assist, sir.”
Kenobi waves him off. “It’s those damned tactical droids,” he mutters. “They’ve laid traps.” He looks around the woods before he seems to come to a decision. “Head back and take the long way around!”
Somebody groans loudly until Rex cuffs him on the back of the head. “You heard the General! Move out!”
Taking the long way around adds an extra hour or so to their travel time, but it’s better than getting shot through the head with a blaster or whatever kind of traps are laid out for them. Maybe it says a lot about Kenobi, that he’s flexible enough to change up plans if it puts too much at risk.
Rex watches Kenobi, putting himself at the front just like Skywalker, and thinks that he might not be such a bad general to follow after all.
Kenobi leads them at breakneck speed, and cutting around the woods only takes forty-five minutes instead of an hour. The outpost they end up stumbling upon is far more guarded than the one they would have approached in the forest. The platoon is ducked behind a trench, just avoiding the view of the droid sentries.
“Not ideal,” Kenobi says, mostly to himself. “But as good a place as any.”
It’s not, really. Cody was right in that the forest outpost would be a perfect place for a surprise distraction. But Kenobi’s right in that they’re cutting it close to the clock as is. Rex feels distinctly caught in the middle.
“Sounds like a plan, sir,” he says.
“One does what one can,” Kenobi hums. Then, he huffs. “Although I do wonder what the Marshal Commander would have to say about the creative licenses we’re taking.”
Rex cannot get involved in this. He can’t. He stands, uselessly wipes mud off of his arm guards. “I’ll go prepare the men, sir.”
“And, Captain?” Rex turns back to find Kenobi wearing a grin edged with danger. “Tell them to make a ruckus.”
Rex salutes as he leaves. If there’s one thing the 501st is good at, it’s making a ruckus.
They have to fight long and they have to fight hard, dragging other outposts and forces into the battle so the ground platoon can slip into the city. Rex can see why Kenobi ended up on this mission instead of Skywalker. Skywalker would want to get it over with as quickly and dramatically as possible. Kenobi knows how to stretch it out without overextending their resources or their men.
Kenobi’s relative competence doesn’t make it any easier, though. Rex is sore all over by the second hour when the reserve droids start rolling in from the city.
“Excellent!” Kenobi says, deflecting blaster bolts in a blur of blue. “Our distraction was successful! If you would bring out the heavy artillery, Captain?”
“It would be my pleasure, sir,” Rex says, and he means it. It’s grenade time.
Now, they’re finally fighting to win. If Cody and Skywalker have done their job, then they and their platoon will be in the city by now. All Kenobi and Rex have to do is hold the outpost. Rex takes a brief moment to hope his brother is okay before he throws another grenade into a pile of clankers. They make a very satisfying sound when they go boom.
Once they’re not holding back, the outpost is theirs in under an hour.
Rex could get used to working under a general like this.
“Excellent work, Captain,” Kenobi says once it’s all over, slightly out of breath. He’d fought just as hard as the rest of them. Rex salutes again, but Kenobi brushes it aside. “No, no, there’s no need for that. We wouldn’t be here without you.”
“Very kind of you to say, sir,” Rex tells him. Cody, especially, is going to love it.
Kenobi opens his mouth as if to say something else, when his eyes lock onto something over Rex’s shoulder. He scowls fiercely.
“You cannot be serious,” he says. Rex turns.
General Skywalker and Cody crest over the hill, followed by half of a platoon. Cody sees Kenobi and his whole face goes blank with fury.
“Hey!” Skywalker says casually, sliding down the other side of the hill. “Thought you guys were supposed to be in the forest.”
“And I thought you were supposed to be in the city,” Kenobi says dryly. He makes his way over with a barely noticeable limp, leaning on his left leg. Rex has no choice but to follow.
“We were,” Skywalker says. “And we did! But when we circled back to the forest outpost to rendezvous-“
“You weren’t there,” Cody snaps out. He is clearly favoring his right leg, a perfect mirror to Kenobi’s injuries.
“They had traps in the woods,” Kenobi shoots back immediately. “We didn’t have the time to disable them, so we simply adapted the plan–“
Rex forgets the hand signals that were drilled into him at four and gestures at Cody wildly, hoping desperately that he’ll get his point across: stop this. No. Do not engage.
Cody does not listen.
“No,” he says instead, hobbling closer. “No, you enacted your plan, refusing to consider the potential consequences–”
“It was a successful engagement regardless!” Kenobi tells him.
“Whoa, hey guys,” Skywalker tries. He is soundly ignored as Cody jabs a finger towards Kenobi’s chest.
“Successful until the tanks come back and there’s no cover!” He sweeps an arm over the landscape pointedly. “Would be a lot harder for tanks to get through a forest.”
Kenobi draws himself up. He only has an inch or so on Cody, but he makes it count. “We adapted our plans in the field of battle and even you, Commander, cannot be too stubborn as to ignore the virtue of flexibility-“
“It’s Marshal Commander,” Cody corrects, stepping closer again. “And I think you’ll find that-“
Rex grabs him by the arm before he digs his grave any further. Cody looks at him with great offense, as if he had forgotten Rex was there and capable of being embarrassed.
“He must have hit his head, General,” Rex says. Kenobi frowns.
Cody tugs, but Rex’s grip is durasteel. “I did no such thing–“
Rex is already dragging him away. “I’ll be taking him to the med tent if you don’t mind, sirs.”
Skywalker says, “We’ll be right behind you!” Clearly, he must be in a similar state of mind.
Kenobi mutters something indistinct, but it doesn’t seem to be directed at Rex. Rex salutes–Cody does not–and then he takes his leave, belligerent brother firmly in tow.
“I had him,” Cody mumbles. He must be delirious.
“Are you insane?” Rex asks. Cody makes a non-committal noise. “No, I’m serious, vod. Are you actually fucking insane?”
“You’ve worked with him now,” Cody pushes. “You know what he’s like.”
“I stand by what I said,” Rex says. Cody purses his lips. “He seems about as stupid as the rest of them.”
“He’s worse,” Cody insists. He can’t see Rex roll his eyes since he still has his bucket on, but Rex makes sure to roll his whole head so Cody gets the point.
Cody is starting to stumble in a more pronounced sort of way, so Rex takes his arm and loops it around his neck. “You’ve got to stop talking like that. Did Skywalker behave?”
“Skywalker,” Cody says, considering. Rex wonders if Cody’s ire will finally, finally move away from Kenobi, but alas. “Skywalker is what he says he is. Unlike General Kenobi-”
“Let’s not get into Kenobi again,” Rex says quickly. Cody huffs. “Cody, I’m telling you. If you keep on talking to him like that, you’re going to get in trouble.”
Cody draws himself up straight against Rex’s side. “I am the Marshal Commander of the Third Systems Army-”
Rex cuts him off. “And he’s a Jedi general.”
Cody stubbornly slides down Rex’s arm. “He’s an asshole.”
Rex hikes him back up. “So are you.”
Cody sighs once in sharp acknowledgement. He seems to have run out of Kenobi-related disgruntlement, at least for the moment, and Rex is running out of ways to tell him to shut the fuck up. The med tent comes into view. Kix takes one look at Cody’s limping form and shakes his head in disappointment, disappearing back into the tent and emerging with a handful of bacta patches.
“Careful,” Rex says, setting Cody down gently on one side of the tent.
Cody scoffs, even as Kix gets down to his eye level and starts squinting at his pupils. “I’m fine, Rex. You don’t have to worry about it so much.”
Ultimately, Cody is probably more capable and confident than Rex is by a parsec, but Rex does still worry about him. They were joined at the hip on Kamino. Cody couldn’t have shaken Rex even if he tried and, thankfully, he hadn’t. But now they’re on opposite sides of the galaxy more often than not, and Cody won’t stop instigating fights with his superior officer, and there’s only so much sense Rex can shake into him.
He tries a different tack. A final sentimental resort. “He saved my life, you know.”
Cody looks up, with an undertone of disbelief. “The General?”
Rex shrugs. “I’d have a hole in my head if he hadn’t shoved me out of the way.” Cody narrows his eyes, as if weighing Rex’s words. Rex sighs “Look, I’m not saying you have to kiss and make up. But you’ve got to take it down a notch. It’s war. We’re all doing the best we can.”
Cody glares for a second longer. He looks away. “I’ll consider it.”
For Cody, this is as good as capitulation. Rex kicks lightly at his non-injured leg. “You better.”
He’s about to take his leave when he hears General Skywalker coming up behind them. “-for the love of Force, Obi-Wan, you’ve got to-”
“Yes, yes, I hear you, Anakin,” Kenobi’s saying, aggrieved. “You do see the irony in you lecturing me on thoughtfulness-”
“Yeah, yeah,” Skywalker grumbles. Rex turns to see Kenobi draped over Skywalker’s shoulder, much like Rex had draped Cody over his. Rex salutes. Skywalker nods at the both of them. “Captain. Commander.”
“Generals,” Rex responds. Skywalker sets Kenobi down on the other side of the med tent, opposite from Cody. Rex swears he hears Skywalker hiss out, “be nice,” but he’s sure that’s irrelevant.
Slowly, Cody and Kenobi look at each other, like two wary predators assessing the competition. Kix is smart enough to move out of the way.
“Marshal Commander,” Kenobi says, through gritted teeth.
“General Kenobi,” Cody replies in kind.
Skywalker pats Kenobi’s shoulder before straightening up. Kenobi looks ready to bite. “We’ll leave you to it, then. The Captain and I have reports to go over.”
This is news to Rex, but Cody and Kenobi are still eyeing each warily, and the further away Rex gets the more plausible deniability he has. He gives Cody one last significant look-behave, dumbass-before following Skywalker away from the med tent and back onto the field.
Chatting about endlessly stubborn older brothers could be the perfect way to bond with General Skywalker. But Rex doesn’t know how to start that conversation, so he holds his bucket by his side and walks a step behind.
Skywalker clears his throat first. “I, er. I have to apologize for General Kenobi’s behavior.”
Rex looks at him in surprise. “Sir?”
“He’s not usually like that,” Skywalker explains. “I think he’s stretched thin and taking a lot of it out on the Commander.”
This is a surprisingly astute emotional observation on Skywalker’s part. “Kind of you to say so, sir.”
Another silence, before Rex remembers his duties as a younger brother.
“I have to apologize for the Commander as well. I’m more used to him being the…professional one.” Rex thinks back for a moment. “Usually.” Thinks on it some more. “He doesn’t say it out loud.”
Skywalker actually snorts at that. “Boy, I understand that. Obi-Wan’s the same way.”
This…actually makes a lot of sense. “For two people who hate each other,” he muses, before he can think the better of it. “It seems like they have a lot in common.”
“Yeah, no kidding.” Skywalker shrugs. “Who knows? Maybe this will be the push they need to overcome their differences.”
Personally?
Rex would not bet on it.