Part 5 - In Her Master's Footsteps

Summary: Rex and Ahsoka bond over their shared suspicion that Anakin has feelings for Padme.

Rex shifted uncomfortably on his feet as he trailed behind the general and his senator friend. They had just been assigned to escort Senator Amidala back to Naboo for a diplomatic meeting with the queen and a few neighboring allies. Well, no. Rex had been assigned to escort the senator. Anakin had declared that he was taking on this mission himself, and even after the council disagreed and demanded that he remained on Coruscant for other Jedi duties, he whispered to Rex as they left the room that he was still coming along.

It was not the first time this has happened. Rex had been asked to escort Senator Amidala on multiple occasions, and each time Anakin had figured out a way to tag along. You would think the council would have caught on by now and would start assigning someone other than Anakin Skywalker's commanding officer to protect Padme Amidala. Rex chuckled at the thought. He was no expert on love, but it was pretty obvious how Anakin felt about the Naboo senator.

That being said, he dreaded these escort missions. He liked Senator Amidala - she was smart and kind, and he could understand why the general was infatuated with her. But every time it was just the three of them, Rex felt like an awkward third wheel, and General Skywalker always seemed irritated by his intruding presence. He wished Commander Tano was coming along. At least then he'd have someone to talk to.

As if reading his thoughts, Anakin spoke to him. "Rex, call Ahsoka and brief her on the mission. I'd like to use this as a... umm... learning opportunity for her."

Rex rolled his eyes inside the privacy of his helmet. Learning opportunity? Yeah right. Alibi for himself? More likely. "Yes, sir," he responded. Still, he was looking forward to Commander Tano's company.

"I can't believe this." Ahsoka was sitting in the pilot's chair of their Naboo cruiser, her legs propped up on the control panel. She spun back and forth in the chair in a failed attempt to amuse herself. "I thought Master Skywalker was supposed to be training me. Isn't that why he brought me along on this escort mission? It's been ten hours and I've barely seen him for more than five minutes."

"Welcome to 'escort missions with General Skywalker,'" replied Rex. He was lounging in the co-pilots seat, equally bored. "Lots of waiting around and doing nothing."

"What even is he DOING?"

"Can't said I know." Though Rex did have a pretty good idea.

"I'm sure he's off following Padme around like a lost puppy." She shrugged. "I know they're close friends and everything, but my master is way too obvious about his feelings for her. He's gonna get himself in trouble one of these days."

Rex chuckled. "Guess I'm not the only one who noticed."

"You see it too!" Ahsoka perked up in her seat. "He's ridiculous, right? You know one time he asked me to lied for him to Master Kenobi? We were supposed to have a meditation session, and Padme asked him if he wanted to join her at some senatorial dinner. So he blew me off and said 'Hey Snips, if Obi-Wan asks where I am, could you still tell him we're mediating?'" Ahsoka puffed out her chest and did a mocking impression of her master.

Rex nodded. "You know this is the ninth or tenth escort mission of mine that he's hijacked? All involving Senator Amidala. Every time he makes up some excuse to come along and commandeers the mission. This time the council ordered him to remain on Coruscant, and he still came anyways."

"My master has always had a... questionable interpretation of the Jedi Code and the orders of the council." She shook her head. "You know, I wouldn't really care if he was just honest with me about it. I get it. The Code can seem a little difficult to follow and contradictory at times."

"How so?"

"They expect Jedi to be filled with compassion and unconditional love, assign us life-long mentors, surround us with friends, send us across the galaxy to meet all walks of life, and yet we are forbidden to become attached to any of that. It's an impossible expectation to live up to." There was a wistful look upon Ahsoka's face.

"That does seem impossible," he responded as he studied her. Rex wondered if a certain padawan would follow in her master's footsteps of disobeying the Jedi Code. He wondered if maybe she had already?

"Clones have similar rules, don't they?" Ahsoka asked him. "I've overheard some of the men talking about it."

"I guess so," Rex said thoughtfully, with a strange feeling bubbling in his stomach. "Relations are strictly forbidden during times of war. I've seen a few men get into some trouble with that."

Ahsoka's eyes lit up. "Juicy! Do tell. Anyone I know?"

"Commander, that's not really appropriate..."

"C'mon Rex, what else are we gonna talk about while we wait for Master Skywalker?"

"Alright, alright," he began. "You remember Vault? He tried to bring a lady friend back into the barracks one time. Would have been assigned to sanitation duty if General Skywalker hadn't intervened. Then there was Torbo who sneaked off one night during a mission to shack up with some local females. That one was out of the general's hands. Don't know where he winded up. I've heard a few guys from General Windu's battalion got into some serious trouble regarding a cantina visit in the Outer Rim." He considered telling her about the clone deserter and his non-human wife he met on Saleucami, but decided against it. He hadn't been able to shake the feeling of how similar Cut and Suu were to himself and Ahsoka, and the less he thought about that, the better.

"Has anyone ever been court-martialed for it? Jedi get excommunicated if they are discovered to be in a secret relationship."

"I don't think so. Most get off with a slap on the wrist. Some of the worst offenders, or those with a general not as lenient as Skywalker, get reassigned or put on probation. They usually won't court martial a trooper for something like this unless it was with a commanding officer."

Ahsoka crinkled her nose in disgust. "A fellow soldier? Like, another clone?"

"Haha, no!" Rex laughed. "Those I have heard some disturbing rumors about that... I think they're referring to the Jedi."

"Have any clones and Jedi... you know..." Ahsoka seemed a little too interested in this conversation, Rex noticed.

"Not that I know of." He paused. "A buddy of mine got into some trouble with that."

"Who?" Ahsoka was on the edge of her seat.

Rex was hesitant. "Bly."

"No!" Ahsoka gasped in surprised. "With Master Secura?"

"Nothing was going on between them," Rex assured her quickly. "Bly, he was... is... pretty infatuated with her."

"I could have guessed that," Ahsoka leaned back with a grin. "The way he acted with her on Maridun, he's almost as bad as Master Skywalker. So what happened?"

"Bly is pretty tight-lipped about it. That is until he gets some alcohol in his system. A few times I've gone drinking with him, he's gotten completely smashed and spilled his guts. Or he'll stay completely quiet, then cry every a Rutian Twi'lek would pass our table."

"Aww," Ahsoka leaned her head in one of her hands. "That's kind of sweet."

"Anyways, someone must have overheard one of his confessions and reported him to the Jedi council. They brought him in for questioning, and were going to reassign him to a different general, but he convinced them it was just drunk rambling. They're still keeping an eye on him, I've heard. Bly doesn't go bar-hopping anymore."

"How did Master Secura react? She must have been fine with it if she allowed him to continue to serve as her commander."

"I don't know. Bly said he wasn't sure if they told her. They've never spoken of it. Though gossip travels quickly among clones, so I'm sure she found out from someone."

"Hmm." Ahsoka sat with her thoughts for a moment. Rex watched her, wondering what was going through the young Jedi's head. He felt a little guilty about gossiping about his brothers with her, but he trusted she would keep it to herself. Telling her about Bly felt good in a weird way, like it was his own confession of his questioning feelings for her.

He wasn't quite sure what those feelings were. Of course he cared about Ahsoka, in the same way he care about his men, his other brothers, and Anakin - they were family. And although the captain of the 501st would never admit to having a crush on his commander officer, he knew he felt something more for Ahsoka. But he had more important things to worry about, like keeping his men alive and winning this war, and if Bly's situation was any indication, it would not end well for the clone captain if he was to act on any of those feelings.

"What about after the war?" Ahsoka's question pulled Rex out of his thoughts. "Are you guys allowed to pursue relationships then?"

"Well the policy does say 'active war time,' so I would hope any clones that survive the war would be free to do what they want." He gave her a sly grin. "Why are you so interested in the love lives of clones, anyways?"

Ahsoka's lekku blushed a deep shade of blue. "N-no reason... we were talking about Master Skywalker and got off topic..." she stammered. "Do you think they would force him out of the Jedi Order if they found out about him and Padme?"

"I hope not," Rex replied. "I doubt they would for something as silly as having inappropriate feelings for someone.

"I hope so too. I think a lot of us would get kicked out then," Ahsoka said quietly. She looked at Rex, and moved over to sit on the arm of his chair.

Rex watched her intently, and stiffened in his seat when she sat so close to him. After everything they just talked about, what was she doing? She placed a hand on his chest, tracing the chipped paint, dents, scratches, and other imperfections in the plastoid. He hoped she couldn't feel his heart pounding through his thick armor.

"Ahsoka," he warned. "What are you doing?"

"Following in my master's footsteps, it seems..." Her voice was low, and it sent a jolt down Rex's spine that went right to his unmentionables. She was biting her lip, hesitant to move closer. He had to hold back the instinct to close the distance between them himself, not daring to be the first to initiate anything. Finally her lips pressed against his cheek, smooth against his rough stubble. They stayed there for several seconds, which felt like an eternity to Rex. His arms remained frozen at his sides, and before he could reciprocate any affections, Ahsoka pulled away. She wore a satisfied smile, but there was a strong blush on her face and lekku.

Rex himself was flustered, feeling unbearably hot inside of his armor. He was sure his face was almost as dark as her maroon tunic. "What... was that for?" he managed to choke out stupidly.

"Let's call it... a little revenge at my master for breaking code, sneaking around, and leaving us to wait and cover for him." Ahsoka hopped off the arm chair and returned to the pilot's seat.

Rex nodded at her, and shut his mouth when he realized it was slightly agape.

Their awkward silence was interrupted shortly after when the cockpit door buzzed open and Anakin Skywalker strolled in. His hair was disheveled, and he looked just as flustered as Rex.

"Pad- Senator Amidala is finishing up with the diplomats. You guys can prep the ship, we'll head out in a few..." He trailed off for a moment and looked at Rex. "Captain, are you alright?"

Rex eyed up Anakin's appearance, realizing the general's feelings for a certain senator... might not be completely futile. "I'm fine sir," he responded. "Are YOU alright?"

Anakin looked at Rex, then at Ahsoka sitting suspiciously quiet next to him, then back at Rex. His eyes narrowed, but Rex swore there was a hint of a smile on his lips. "I hope you two weren't too bored waiting for us," he said. "Sorry we didn't get to any training, Snips. I thought I should sit in on the meeting with the senator. You know how Obi-Wan hates when I get involved in this political stuff, so if you could tell him we were practicing forms..."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "As you wish, master. This beats boring temple seminars, anyways. I actually don't mind accompanying you the next time you need to escort Miss Padme somewhere."

"I agree, sir. Commander Tano's presence is quite appreciated." Rex added.