Chapter 3 - Reunion Aboard the Rebel Ship

After years of searching for Rex, Ahsoka sends the Ghost crew to request his aid in the rebellion. Reunited after 15 years apart, the two pick up right where they left off and address the lingering feelings between them. Rated M for sexy times.

Rex fiddled with his gauntlets as he listened to the quiet hum of the Ghost's engines. He relaxed in his seat in the ship's common area, not minding that it was his bed for the night. He had slept in all kinds of strange places and conditions over the years, and this was actually quite comfy compared to most. He couldn't sleep, anyways. He was too anxious.

The past day had been a whirlwind for the aging clone. He had resigned to his current lifestyle, and was content to live out his remaining days fishing in the desert with his brothers. Rex held out for a long time, wondering if he'd ever see her again. But years and years past, and there was nothing. He feared she may had perished, killed by one of the many assassins and bounty hunters hired by the Empire to eradicate the remaining Jedi. He also feared she may have forgotten him, that he was a distant memory, a name and face that blurred with millions others like his. Rex didn't know which thought made him feel worse.

Then this motley crew of rebels shows up, telling him they were sent by her, that Ahsoka Tano had been searching for Captain Rex for the better half of 15 years. Then over the course of several hours he traversed a sandstorm, fought the Empire, had his home destroyed, bid farewells to his brothers, and now was on his way to fight for the rebellion. Yes, it had been a whirlwind of a day.

Rex glanced at the datapad on the table next to him. In addition to the abandoned stations and bases and other useful information the rebels needed, Wolffe had also uploaded the messages from Ahsoka that he had hidden from Rex over the years. Rex had read through them several times already, but something about reading his old friend's messages made him feel a little less anxious about seeing her again and this new adventure that awaited him. Most of the messages were simple - "Rex, it's Ahsoka. If you're alive, please respond." Others were more detailed. Ahsoka was careful to never reveal her location or anything to do with the Jedi or rebellion, but she talked about her life and how she hoped to see him soon. Other messages sounded desperate, and the old clone wondered what had ran through her mind when Rex never answered her. Were they the same thoughts he had? That he was dead or had forgotten her? He hoped not.

His anxiety eventually succumbed to sleepiness, and Rex drifted off with the datapad still in his hands.

It was early in the afternoon the next day when the Ghost rendezvoused with the rebel command ship. "We'll be docking in a few minutes," stated Hera, the Twi'lek pilot and captain of the Ghost. Rex liked her. She was a lot nicer than her Jedi companion, Kanan. Hera turned back and gave him a warm smile. "Welcome to the family, Rex. Ahsoka will be glad to see you."

"The feeling is mutual," he replied. "Glad to be back in the action and fighting for the Republic again."

Rex followed the Ghost crew aboard the rebel command ship. The group stopped suddenly, and Rex peered over their shoulders at the figure with blue and white lekku with her back to them. The Ghost crew parted to allow Rex to move to the front.

"Commander." Rex greeted her, his arms folded behind his back military style. He took a moment to take her all in. She had gotten so tall, Rex thought. Her lekku were long, their patterns stretched out dramatically like Nexu stripes. Her face was was longer and slimmer, but her eyes were still big and blue and her lips full and red. She covered up more now, with various pieces of armor and thick clothing, he noted with amusement. Rex had imagined a lot over the years what Ahsoka would look like as grown adult, and what he saw before him didn't disappoint. She was as beautiful as ever.

Ahsoka's eyes widened at the sight of the old clone, and a familiar smirk crept on her face as she approached him. There was a beat of silence between them. "You got old," Rex spoke first.

Ahsoka laughed, and Rex could have sworn he heard her voice hitch with emotion. "Had to happen sometime, Rex."

Rex was about to reply when Ahsoka threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer, and felt Ahsoka lean her head against his. There was so much swarming in Rex's mind, so much he wanted to tell her, but he became acutely aware of the Ghost crew standing awkwardly behind them. "I'm glad you're still alive," he said finally.

"You too," Ahsoka replied as she pulled away smiling. She shared some kind words with the Ghost crew, then politely excused the two of them from the group and told them she and Rex had a lot of catching up to do. She took him on a tour of the ship, showing him certain rooms and introducing him to certain people. Eventually they made their way to the cafeteria.

Ahsoka poked Rex playfully in the stomach. "Looks like you'll be spending a lot of time here," she teased.

"I'm not that much... whatever," he brushed her off with a laugh, grateful that the past fifteen years seemed to melt away instantly between them.

"Care to join me for a bite? We have lots to catch up on."

"Sure," Rex replied. He followed her inside, and Ahsoka motioned for him to find a table while she grabbed food. The hall was sparsely populated, but Rex still chose a pair of seats in the corner that gave them some extra privacy. Ahsoka returned shortly after with a tray of food and two cups of caf.

"Where do we even begin?" Ahsoka wasted no time in striking up conversation. "How did you get out of the army? Have you been in hiding from the Empire? Your number wasn't on the list of clone deserters."

"My men stunned and arrested me shortly after you got off Mandalore." Rex began. "Accused me of disobeying a direct order from the chancellor, conspiring with a Jedi, and treason." Ahsoka gasped in horror, her eyes wide. "Don't worry, I was acquitted." Rex reassured her. "Technically you weren't a Jedi. I made my case and luckily the senate was still enough intact at that point to agree with me. Also seemed like the newly appointed emperor was preoccupied with other matters."

"Then what happened? Did you desert the army?"

"Never got a chance to. This new... Empire..." Rex spat the word out bitterly. "They did an evaluation of each clone to make sure they were still fit for service. If you had extensive injuries, any prosthetics, were getting too old, even had too many tattoos, anyone like that was seen as a liability and was discharged. In my evaluation, they found out I had removed my chip, so they gave me the boot." Rex crossed his arms. "They claimed they were going to take care of the retired clones. Thank them for their service and 'assistance in establishing the new galactic government.'" He exaggerated with air quotes. "But nothing ever came of it. We were tossed aside like trash. Decommissioned like the droid army. Except we were living beings."

Ahsoka reached out and squeezed one of Rex's hands. He caught her gaze, and her eyes were sad and sympathetic. He could almost feel the compassion radiating off her, and found it smoothing. Rex wonder if that was some kind of Jedi mind trick, or something that was uniquely Ahsoka.

They continued talking well into the night. Rex shared his distraught over being unable to reunited with any members of the 501st, and how he hoped none of them went on to serve the Empire. He talked about how he, Wolffe, and Gregor lived together, and went into detail about their rigged up AT-TE. Ahsoka rolled her eyes at this, and Rex ran a hand over his head in embarrassment, commenting how retired life had been very boring and uneventful.

Ahsoka's stories were much more exciting. She recounted tales of planet hopping, vigilante work, and close encounters with the Empire. She talked about old comrades, some names that Rex vaguely remembered, who had helped her form this rebellion. Many of them had been killed. Rex didn't realize the level of involvement Ahsoka had in this rebel movement, and he could sense the burden it weighed on her. Yet here she was, full of hope and ready to pull him along for the ride.

Rex glanced around the mess hall and realized they were its only occupants. Ahsoka followed his gaze and checked her chrono. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "It's really late. How long have we been chatting?"

"A while," Rex said as he brought their dishes to the recycler unit. "What's that old Kel Dor saying? 'Time slows not for old friends.'"

"Sounds about right." Ahsoka was smirking at him again.

"What?" Rex asked. "What is it?"

"I'm taller than you now." She stepped close to him and drew an invisible line in the air above their heads."

Rex rolled his eyes. Granted, he no longer had to physically lower his head to look down at her, but his eyes still had to glance downwards to make contact with hers. "Montrals do not count, Ahsoka."

"Yes they do, Rex." Ahsoka nudged him playfully with her shoulder and led the way back to the barracks.

"Space is limited, and bunks freeing up is rare." Ahsoka led Rex down the barracks corridor. "Which is a good thing." She added. Rex nodded at her implication. Bunks freeing up were not a good thing. That meant dead men not coming back.

"Anyways," Ahsoka continued. "You're bunking with me. I have space in my room for an extra cot." She stopped in front of a barrack door and entered the key code. Inside was a decent sized bed, some shelves and drawers built into the walls, and a rug in the corner that Rex assumed Ahsoka used for her meditations. There was no cot.

Ahsoka tutted her tongue. "Hmm, they must have not brought in the spare cot yet. Free feel to make yourself at home. I'll go find one." She waved Rex inside and continued down the barracks corridor.

Rex looked around the room, but there wasn't much to see. Both Jedi and clone troopers were minimal in their material possessions, and he mused that both he and Ahsoka carried this trait with them as they got older. He also pondered about sharing a room with Ahsoka. Not that he minded, he preferred sleeping in close vicinity to his brothers during the war. On the occasion that he had private barracks, Rex always felt this weird sense of loneliness that made it difficult to sleep. But would it be awkward for the two of them to share a room? Rex thought about the kiss they shared back on Mandalore when he helped her escape. Two kisses if you count the one he had given her the night before that. Three if you count the one Ahsoka gave him the night she left the Jedi Order. Not like he was counting or anything.

They never had a chance to talk about those intimate moments, or what either of them had felt for each other. Rex had wonder about it a lot over the years. Why had she kissed him? Was it the heat of the moment? Gratitude? Pity? Were they going to address it now? It was so long ago, did it even matter anymore?

Rex shook his head. She probably had forgotten all about it. They were friends first and foremost, as they had always been, and Ahsoka had reached out to Rex for help because he was her friend and she knew she could trust him. That meant more to him than any strange and confusing emotions that would decided to bubble up to the surface after 15 years. Besides, Ahsoka was still young, as beautiful as ever, and no longer a Jedi. Rex bet she had her share of companions over the years that made her forget about the clone captain she had kissed as a teenager. Still, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy at the thought.

Ahsoka returned to her room in a bit of a huff, carrying a large stack of blankets. "Well," she began as she dropped the blankets on the floor near the rug. "We are out of spare cots." She knelt down and started to prepare a makeshift bed on the floor. "But not to worry, the next time we stop for supplies, which will be in a few days, we'll pick one up. We'll make due for now."

Rex bend down to help arrange the blankets. "Not a problem, I've slept in far worse spots than the floor of a ship."

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, Rex, it's you're first night here. Take the bed." She motioned with her hands. "Please, I insist."

"Commander, I couldn't." Rex shook his head. "That's your bed. The floor is fine."

"Rex," Ahsoka began in a patient tone. "It's Ahsoka. You can call me Ahsoka. We're all on equal standing here. You're not below everyone because you're a clone. I am not above everyone because I was a Jedi. Everyone here is equally valuable. We're all here of our own free will because we believe in the same mission - to destroy the Empire and restore peace to the galaxy." Ahsoka sank back on her knees to sit on the blankets. "Take the bed."

"Fine, Ahsoka. Sorry, that will take some getting used to again." Rex stressed her name in a teasing tone. "As your equal, I suggest you sleep in your own bed. I'm sleeping on the floor."

Ahsoka crossed her arms, and Rex sensed some of that same stubbornness that he knew too well from when they were younger. "Rex, I am not moving from this spot, so if you decide to sleep on the floor, not only will there not be enough floor space, but a perfectly good bed will go wastefully uninhabited tonight."

Rex put up his hands in defeat. "Alright, I'll take the bed for tonight. But we'll switch tomorrow night."

She smiled at him. "Deal."

Rex stirred awake in the middle of the night, hearing some kind of disturbance going on in the room. He squinted his eyes to focus in the dark, and saw that Ahsoka was awake and fumbling with the blankets on the floor. "You alright?" he asked groggily.

"Sorry, Rex. I didn't mean to wake you." Ahsoka rubbed her eyes. "Couldn't sleep."

"What's wrong?" Rex sat upright and swung his legs over the side of the bed to face her.

"It's stupid..." Ahsoka looked a little embarrassed. "Guess I haven't slept on the steel floor of a ship since I was a kid. My lekku are too big and it's really uncomfortable."

Rex chuckled. "See? This is why you should have taken the bed."

Ahsoka wagged a finger at him. "Don't you start with that again." She sat next to him on the bed and rubbed the muscles on her neck. "Don't really feel tired anymore, anyways."

"Wish I could say the same." Rex replied. "I'm always tired. Being old sucks."

"You're not that old, Rex." Ahsoka patted him on the cheek. Her fingers lingered, and she ran them over his beard. "You know, I never thought you the type to grow a beard."

"What, you don't like it?" Rex said with fake offense.

"No, I like it!" Ahsoka responded, a little too enthusiastically. "It's make you look... distinguished." She grinned and patted his bald head. "I miss the blonde hair, though."

"A lot has changed since the old days, Ahsoka," Rex said thoughtfully.

"Yes it has, Rex." She caught his hand in hers and held it. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying each other's company. Rex felt Ahsoka's fingers run lightly over his hand, tracing his faded scars and sun freckles.

Rex watched her, feeling overwhelmed with the thoughts and emotions that had laid dormant for 15 years, that he so desperately wanted to share with her. What was stopping him now? Back then there were rules and regulations. He was a soldier and property of the Republic, she was a Jedi and forbidden from emotional attachments. Not to mention that she was a teenager, and despite the fact that he was chronically younger than her, biologically he was not. But now, they were both nobodies. No orders to follow, no laws to abide by.

But the age thing still bothered him. Ahsoka had to be around 30 now, but Rex had no idea how old he has biologically. 50? 55? The accelerated aging was still a mystery to him. He had hoped the acceleration would plateau at a certain point, but he had continued to age rapidly. Sometimes a few years would pass without any noticeable changes, but other times he would wake up with joints hurting he never knew he had and new patches of gray hair. Rex didn't know how much longer he had in this galaxy. 10 years, 20 years, who knows. What the clone did know was that he had a hell of a lot less time left than Ahsoka, and that wouldn't be fair to her.

Ahsoka broke their silence. "Something is troubling you." She said it as a statement, not a question. "I can sense it. What's wrong?"

Rex shook his head. "I just have a lot on my mind."

"You're thinking about the last time we saw each other on Mandalore."

Rex's eyes widened. "I am. How did you know?"

"Because I'm thinking about that too..." Ahsoka commented softly. "You know, I don't think I ever properly thanked you for saving my life and helping me escape."

"You did," Rex grinned slyly at her, but he felt his heart pounding in his chest. "You kissed me, remember?"

"I do." Ahsoka leaned closer to him. "But that wasn't to thank you."

"What was it for then?"

"That... has a complicated answer," Ahsoka replied. "Besides, you kissed me first."

"I did."

"And why did you?"

Rex paused. "That has a complicated answer too."

"Well, we've got time now to figure these things out." She closed the distance between them and kissed him gently on the lips. Rex closed his eyes and leaned into the kiss, enjoying the delicateness of it, wanting more, but not daring to take it a step further. Suddenly, he snapped to his senses and pull away.

"Ahsoka, I'm sorry..." Rex trailed off. "We can't, this isn't fair to you."

Ahsoka frowned, her eyes big with confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Look at me," Rex motioned to himself. "I'm old. I've got maybe a good 10 years left in me. You have the rest of your life ahead of you. If we continued anything like this, all you'd be doing is watching me waste away."

"I don't care about any of that," Ahsoka said firmly, squeezing Rex's hands. "Who knows what this rebellion will turn into. We could die tomorrow, or 6 months from now, or 2 years from now. Whatever time I have left, I want it to include you." She smiled reassuringly at him, then her eyes lit up mischievously. "Besides," she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You're still quite handsome. I do really like the beard."

Rex chuckled, not needing any more convincing. "You're not too bad yourself, you know." He ran a hand along her jawline and pulled Ahsoka in for a passionate kiss. She respond enthusiastically, her hands snaking along his neck to play with his ears. Without breaking their kiss, Ahsoka lifted herself up and over Rex to straddle him. Her hips pressed against his and Rex let out an involuntary groan as he felt his pants begin to tighten in arousal.

Ahsoka smiled as they continued kissing, clearing enjoying the response she received from the clone. She continued grinding against him, and Rex nearly threw his head back in ecstasy, this level of intimacy completely new and electrifying to him. He traced his hands down her backs and across her lekku, enjoying the way they twitched and Ahsoka hummed in response. She broke their kiss and began planting kisses along his jawline and neck. A few moans escaped Rex's mouth. She had grinded him to full hardness in a few short moments, and even through the layers of both their clothes, the friction felt amazing. He wasn't going to last much longer at this rate.

A few moments later, Rex felt a pressure building in his stomach. "Ahsoka, I'm gonna-"

Her voice was breathy. "Do it." Her kisses trailed back to his mouth and he felt her grinding intensify.

Rex fought back the overwhelming urge to match her thrusts with his own. "Ah, I can't." He moaned between their kisses. "Ahsoka, these are the only pants I own-"

He heard her laughed and she rolled off him. His body protested but his mind (and pants) were thankful. "Then take them off," Ahsoka said. She hopped to her feet and began stripping her own clothes. Rex was mesmerized as her articles of clothing were dropped to the floor one by one and more of her orange skin was exposed. Her breasts looked bigger now that they were free of their restraints, and her nipples were the same dark red color of her lips. The other parts of her were equally soft and curvy and womanly. He tried not to let his gaze linger on her womanhood for too long. Standing there completely naked, Ahsoka arched an eyebrow marking at him and crossed her arms.

"Are you going to gawk at me with that huge tent in your pants, or are you gonna take your clothes off?" Rex immediately obeyed, ripping off his shirt and pants and tossing them to the floor.

With both their clothes strewn across the floor and Rex's erection free and throbbing with neglect, Ahsoka resumed her position on top of him. A hand reached between his legs to stroke him, and she hummed in satisfaction to see that he was still rock hard. This time Rex's head did fly back, and he bit his lip to keep from moaning her name too loudly.

Ahsoka stroked him for a few moments then started to guide his erection towards her womanhood. "Wait!" Rex interjected. "You got me worked up pretty good. Don't I need to... you know... do the same for you?"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. She grabbed Rex's hand and guided it to her entrance. He felt her wet arousal, and his erection throbbed painfully in response. "I'm plenty ready," she whispered breathily in his ear. That was all the convincing Rex needed. He began to kiss her, imitating the jaw and neck kisses she had given him earlier, as she lowered herself onto him. Their breaths hitched at the same time when he fully entered her.

Ahsoka took up her grinding again agonizingly slow. Rex's hands explored the curves of her back, and he found her skin cool to the touch. It felt amazing against his own, which was warm and beaded with sweat. Her lips traveled over his face and neck. She nipped an extra sensitive spot on his collarbone that caused the clone's hips to buck. He had been on the edge of finishing since they started, and it took all his will-power not to lose control. Rex thought to himself that if this was going to be a regular thing for them, he needed to build up more... stamina.

Ahsoka push him onto the bed so he was laying down. With a better angle, she continued her grinding at a quicker pace. Rex groaned in the back of his throat and gripped the blankets on either side of them. She took his hands and guided then to her breasts. He cupped them eagerly, enjoying the fact that they still spilled out of his large hands. Tiny noises came out of her when he brush his thumbs over her nipples, so he continued to draw circles around them, feeling them harden under his touch.

Rex wasn't sure what he enjoyed more - the amazing way Ahsoka was making him feeling right now, or the fact that he was providing her with the same amount of pleasure. He tried to keep his eyes open and focused on Ahsoka riding him, her breasts bouncing and face content with pleasure. It was extremely erotic to Rex, this image of her being dominant on top of him. He wouldn't know from lack of previous experience, but he mused that he enjoyed being dominated like this, having Ahsoka lead the way. Maybe it was a clone thing.

Rex felt his climax quickly approaching, and he knew this time he wouldn't be able to stop it. "A-Ahsoka, I'm close..." Was all he managed to choke out.

"Me...too..." Ahsoka moaned between thrusts. Rex sat up and pulled Ahsoka closed, erratically meeting her thrusts with his as he reached his climax. She moaned and whispered words of encouragement in his ear, and he buried his face in her shoulder and groaned her name as he came. Ahsoka continued to ride him, and Rex felt her womanhood clench around him as she reached her own climax, giving him a pleasant aftershock. Her fingers dug into his back and a loud sigh escaped her lips.

Rex laid back on the bed, delving the afterglow of their intimacy. Ahsoka rolled off him and laid next to him, resting her head on Rex's chest. "We have a lot to talk about tomorrow." She said.

"We do," Rex replied as he pulled Ahsoka closer to him. Together they shimmied under the covers. "At least we don't need to get that cot anymore."

Ahsoka fell asleep on Rex's chest soon after. He held her close, and made a mental note to tease her about it later that she was the younger of the two but the first to fall asleep. For the first time in a very long while, Rex felt strangely complete, like he was finally in the right place, with the right person, doing the right thing. Those confusing feelings that had swarmed around his head for so many years were finally starting to make sense. He knew how much he had missed this girl and needed her back in his life. He also knew how much he loved Ahsoka, how much he had always loved her - as a friend, as family, and as something more. And despite the dire state of the galaxy, he was in the perfect situation to finally tell her.

He whispers those three words to her as she laid sleeping in his arms, and went on to say it many times after that.