Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended. But if someone who works for Star Wars likes the idea of Rexsoka, DOO IIITT.

All up in his hair

It was just after the Republic's victorious destruction of the blockade strangling the planet Ryloth that General Skywalker's fleet received unexpected news. An intercepted and subsequently decrypted Separatist message informed them that a contingent of droids was en route to Delaya, Alderaan's sister planet. The holorecording faded after the battle droid conveyed its minimal message, leaving Anakin, Ahsoka, Captain Rex, and the intercepting officer staring at the dark holocom on the bridge of the Resolute.

"That's all we caught, sir. It was transmitted two hours ago, at most," the gray-clad officer announced as Anakin crossed his arms, his face etched in concentration.

"They're bold to infiltrate the core worlds," the general muttered. "There are no outposts on Delaya... what could they possibly be doing there?"

"Delaya is much more industrialized than Alderaan, General," supplied the officer. "They've been contributing to the Republic war effort. Considering the Seps are sending only a small force, it's possible they're not looking to overtake Delaya, but just to disrupt or destroy enough of the industry to keep them from helping us further."

"There's no way the Seppies could invade the core worlds with any substantial force without our fleets stopping them long before they reach their target," Rex added.

"Well, if they're only sending a small group, so are we," Anakin said with the mischievous grin his friends knew all too well. "Rex, assemble a squad of your best. We're heading out within the hour."

Delaya was a world with massive oceans and great forests. Even though the inhabitants had carved out a sizable part of the world on which to build homes and industrialize, there were still places for a small Jedi cruiser to land unnoticed, consumed by the wilderness. Ahsoka was one of the first off the ship to marvel at this new world full of tall trees, exotic sounds of hidden animals, and the general sense of calm permeating the area amidst the soft sunset. The clearing they landed in was about twice the size of their ship, and presented the crew with a picturesque view of a muted Alderaan hanging low in the sky.

"I want the communications beacon erected over there," ordered Anakin as he marched down the ramp followed by R2-D2, Rex and two other troopers. "Start scanning for any enemy chatter on all their known frequencies. I'll be leading a recon mission to the capital at daybreak."

Ahsoka helped the group set up camp at the opposite edge of the clearing, about one hundred meters from the ship. All camp was was a large tent, open on both ends, merely a roof to shield the two rows of bedrolls from the elements. Captain Rex determined the guard schedule for the night and Ahsoka was the first one to fall onto her mat for some sleep. She had had a long week, leading fighters to break through the blockade, both in victory and defeat. Her losses still weighed on her mind and all she wanted was a night to be numb to the galaxy, serenaded by a chorus of calls from Delaya's nocturnal creatures.

It felt like two minutes later that she woke to a trooper shaking her shoulder, whispering, "It's your watch, Commander." The Togruta gave a sleepy mumble and allowed the clone sniper, Longshot, to help her to her feet.

"It's a quiet night so far, Commander. It'll be an easy watch," Longshot reported with a nod before heading to his own bedroll.

Ahsoka took her place outside one entrance to their tent, casting a glance behind to confirm a sentry was also posted at the opposite entrance. A thin fog wandered through the camp, and the padawan rubbed her arms to ward off the stark night chill. The cold was beneficial for keeping her awake because her exhausted limbs just wanted to curl back up on her mat and rest.

Sudden movement from somewhere in the fog scattered the self-pitying thoughts from her mind, and one hand reflexively flew to her lightsaber hilt. A second later Ahsoka breathed a sigh of relief when she recognized a clone adorned with blue Jaig eyes approaching. Captain Rex gave her a nod in passing.

"Rex, where are you coming from?" the Togruta asked, crossing her arms across her chest and casting him a comically suspicious gaze.

"I had the last shift guarding the ship," he replied as he removed his helmet and poked a thumb over his shoulder. The cruiser was invisible beyond the fog and darkness. "You gonna be okay with this shift, Commander? Early morning is the worst."

Ahsoka stretched briefly before flinging her arms back around herself, shivering. "No problem. I volunteered for it, after all. You learn a new lesson every day, apparently." Rex smirked in reply. He entered the tent only to return moments later with his mat rolled under his arm and a large metal disc in the other hand. Ahsoka watched him curiously. He dexterously unfurled his bedding next to the last sleeping trooper in the row, which left his mat only halfway under the shelter of the tent. The disc he dropped heavily outside on the other side of his bedroll. Rex pushed a button on the side of the disc and the entire center section rose up several feet to hover above the ring base- a trooper chair for the field.

"In case you get tired and need a seat," Rex informed her before sitting on his own bedroll and beginning the task of unbuckling his armor. Ahsoka immediately took him up on the offer and joined him. Once Rex discarded his gloves, the Togruta snatched them up and donned them. Her hands experimented with every strange contortion she could accomplish as if she had never seen gloves before. The captain just chuckled.

"Thanks for the chair, Rex, but you didn't have to move all the way over here. I'm not gonna steal it." She crinkled her nose at him. The soldier, now only dressed in his undersuit, leaned back against one of the tent supports, his armor neatly stacked next to him.

"I figured I'd keep you company some, littl'un. Make sure you don't fall asleep," he replied with a pointed stare. He folded his arms across his chest and shifted against the tent support, getting comfortable.

"That was one time! Once! You have nothing to worry about, Rexter," Ahsoka defended, coloring. A sleepy voice from nearby told her to quiet down and prompted the padawan to shoot a chiding glare at Rex. He only chuckled again. She removed the gloves and dropped them onto his armor, allowing her hands to hug her arms. The nocturnal animals had all but given up by that time of night; aside from the crawling fog, the motionless landscape made the captain a far more interesting object of attention.

"You've seen a lot of the galaxy already, Rex. What's your favorite planet?"

"Hmm, favorite?" he mused quietly, his head leaning back against the support and his eyes closed. "I haven't seen most of these worlds outside of a military objective... don't know what they're like not as a warzone." He paused to yawn. "Kamino will always be home, but beyond that, I wouldn't mind going back to Pantora."

Ahsoka remembered hearing about the mission Anakin and Obi-wan conducted to a Republic outpost on an apparently uninhabited frozen world under the control of the moon of Pantora. Rex had lost good soldiers there.

"We didn't get to stay long, only long enough to return the Pantoran senator to her home and refuel. It was built up, but it wasn't imposing like Coruscant. A little swampy, but it reminded me of home. And the people... were..."

Ahsoka leaned closer with a prodding nod in vain; Rex's eyes were still closed. "And the people were...?" she repeated. The captain's head slipped to the side and his breathing grew louder.

The Togruta smirked. "Thanks for the company." Another slow sweep of the area showed that absolutely nothing had changed in the past couple of minutes. Ahsoka checked the chrono in her comlink and sighed when she saw she still had over an hour and a half to go before her shift was done. This was one of the most annoying parts of missions: the late night guard shift where nothing happened. The padawan almost wished that battle droids would discover their camp during her shift, attack, and give her something to do. At least then she could prove herself on the battlefield. After the first defeat against the Ryloth blockade, Ahsoka felt she had to reclaim the unit's trust in her abilities to fight, no matter how much Anakin tried to convince her otherwise. The fact that her first time leading a mission was into a Separatist trap didn't change the truth that her pilots were dead.

A soft sigh from Rex brought the Togruta's wandering mind back to the present. He looked peaceful sitting there, sleeping against the tent support. A curious thought flittered through her head as she watched him. I wonder what human hair feels like... Ahsoka had seen such variation in the clones' hairstyles that she sometimes caught herself thinking about how it just stuck straight up on the clones, but then hung loose the way her master wore it. With all the action above Ryloth lately and now this impromptu mission, Rex had not trimmed his hair in days and a fine layer of blond crowned his head. He was even sporting stubble from one day's absence of shaving his face.

A cautious glance around. The other guard was dutifully watching outward. Everyone in the tent was soundly asleep. The Jedi cruiser still was invisible, obscured by the fog. The only noises came from the infrequent gusts of a fickle wind. Ahsoka reached out a hand, touched Rex's head as lightly as possible and drew back immediately. Nothing happened. Nobody stirred. Emboldened, Ahsoka settled her hand on Rex's head and let it trail around. She was surprised to find that when she felt one way, his hair was soft to the touch, much softer than it looked, but when she felt the opposite direction, it was prickly. This baffling experience of Rex's hair had to be scientifically studied, which clearly called for more experiments. Ahsoka rubbed his hair sideways, longways, diagonally, criss-crossed, and even ruffled it.

Somewhere in there, Rex's head jerked and he opened his eyes to find a young Togruta completely engrossed in running her hand through his hair.

"Lookin' for clankers?" he mumbled with half a smirk. Ahsoka jumped in her seat and retracted all limbs, wide-eyed.

"Rex!" whispered the girl, "I'm... sorry, I-I was just..."

The captain worked up enough energy to shrug one shoulder. "After a certain point at night, I don't give a flying kriff. Knock yourself out, kid." He repositioned himself against the tent support and leaned his head back once more, settling in for sleep. That was permission enough if ever she'd heard it.

At this angle, Ahsoka took advantage of her perfect access to his stubble and brushed a couple fingers across his chin. This elicited an immediate cringe from Rex coupled with an irritated grunt. The padawan was fine with returning to his hair because his new beard was unpleasantly rough. Ahsoka couldn't believe how interesting it was running a hand through human hair. If she were human, she would be doing this all the time. Ahsoka noticed the smirk cemented on Rex's face as she continued her methodical experimentation. She began to imagine what it would be like if someone did this to her, if someone stroked her lekku... It would be borderline sensual.

Color immediately flushed across her cheeks and darkened the chevrons on her lekku. Her hand withdrew a second later; holding it did nothing to suppress the tingling sensations that still danced across her palm. Ahsoka bit her bottom lip and grimaced at her carelessness. This was hardly how she should be acting in the field. She hunched over on her chair and hid her hands in her lap as best she could.

Rex stirred, mumbling a low, "Clanker-free?"

"Yep," replied Ahsoka with a wince. "Good to go."

A.N. I hope this was cute and fluffy! My original intention was to make drabbles... but then I realized I can't write succinctly. :(