Post Mission

Rex caught Ahsoka's stare bare moments before the familiar click of blaster's being readied to fire reached him, both of them suddenly awash in light. Throwing his arms up to shield his eyes, he wasn't disappointed when a challenge rang out from behind it.

"Halt! State your business!"

"Stand down," he ordered, dropping his arms and squinting into the light, letting his brothers see him. "And point that light elsewhere!"

"Captain!"

"Captain Rex, sir!"

"It's the Captain!"

"Who's that with you, sir; she's quite-"

"I'd stop there, Trooper." Rex knew his tone was dangerously harsh as he stepped forward, motioning Ahsoka to join him. She did, walking at his side through the men and towards the boarding ramp of the Resolute. There was a pause and then shock rippled through the ranks as the men seemed to realize her identity.

"Commander?!"

Rex's jaw tightened, his hands clenching on his sides as the revelation made its way through the ranks. Shock, coupled with a very real male appreciation he could feel resonating from his brothers, made his gut clench hard. Each step they took, Rex could see the men leering at her; watching her with a new knowledge as she inspired their baser natures - not unlike the lowlifes at The Catalyst. The idea only put him more on edge.

Wanting to keep their gazes off her, Rex shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around her shoulders. If he'd thought of it sooner, he'd never have given them even that much of an eye full. Leaving one of his arms around her, he shot his brothers a dark look. "As you were; back to your assigned positions!"

The men reacted to his order as they'd been trained to; slapping buckets back on their heads and resuming their watches but Rex knew it did little to stop their regard. Tucking her close to his body, Rex scowled as they reached the ramp and Coric stepped forward.

"I couldn't help but notice you're injured, Commander, may I-"

"As you were, Sergeant," Rex's tone left no room for argument, the very thought of having anyone, even one of his trusted brothers, touch Ahsoka at that moment was abhorrent. She was his to care for, his to protect and, if he as any judge of her expressions, she wasn't ready to be seen by anyone just yet. "The Commander will see you in the morning."

"Sir-"

"As. You. Were."

Coric backed off, the medic looking nonplussed as he snapped to attention. "Yes, sir!"

Ignoring the reproach in the other man's tone, Rex led Ahsoka up the boarding ramp and into the Resolute, his gut a knot of nerves and frustration. Shielded by the weight of his coat, she was quiet under his arm. Rex wasted no time in escorting her through the corridors, casting anyone who looked at her a foreboding look.

They arrived at her door without being challenged, Rex looking down into Ahsoka's vulnerable gaze and wishing he could say something; say anything. He couldn't. They were back on the Resolute, back in their guises of Captain and Commander, and no longer just Rex and Ahsoka. Still, it didn't stop him from lifting his hand and gently, after a moment's hesitation, touching his fingertips to her cheek.

She didn't say anything, simply clutched the edges of his coat together like a shield, eyes wide. He didn't want to let her go, but knew he had no choice. Rex swallowed hard. "Get some rest, Ahsoka."

Nodding, she hesitated a moment before shrugging out of the jacket he'd given her and handing it over. Otherwise, she made no move to leave. Rex reached around her, palming open the door, and nodded towards it. Ahsoka shook her head, visibly reluctant to be parted from him as her hand reached out and caught his.

Bending down, Rex shifted her grip and, using a move he'd seen Rhyn - of all people - use, brushed his lips across the backs of her fingers. It was all the contact he would allow himself; all the contact he could bear. Anything more and he wouldn't be leaving her there alone. "Goodnight, Ahsoka."

Turning, he left her in the corridor and headed back the way he'd come, ignoring the outstretched hand that hadn't fallen when he'd released it. Each step was more difficult than the last, a self-inflicted torture as the image of her achingly vulnerable expression hovered before him as if trying to convey some sort of message he couldn't understand. He was at the end of the corridor, reaching out to grasp the wall when his resolve failed and turned to go back to her - only to see her door closing, locking him out as the access light turned from green to red.

Staring at the closed portal, the knowledge of what he'd been about to do, of what he'd been willing to do, tightened his jaw again. Turning on his heel, he shrugged into his coat and marched away.

Much later, after Rex had escorted the too quiet Ahsoka back to her room and left her there and he'd handed over the data crystal to the Admiral for safe keeping, he had the presence of mind to stop in and check on his General. Anakin, he was told by the droid, had been released that morning, but was on strong sedatives and wasn't to be disturbed until morning.

With no other distractions, Rex returned to the barracks. The joking remarks from some of his brothers - from other companies - about his choice in attire quickly died as soon as he'd turned his gaze upon them.

He was in no mood to be teased and it showed.

Collecting his fatigues from his locker, he hit the showers. Mercifully alone, but painfully hard and aching, he was physically sensitive to the point of wincing as he'd peeled off the leathers of his costume. He'd found no relief in the shower beyond a momentary one, the images of these last few days replaying in his head in a kind of painful, exquisite torture.

Of Ahsoka's trepidation in the initial stages to the confidence in which she'd carried herself the moment they were on display.

Afterwards, Rex lay in his bunk, staring at the ceiling without seeing it; images and sensations plagued him - his own personal hell. He could see Ahsoka's expression the first time she'd come to him, swaying with the beginnings of what would be a torturously glorious experience of her first attempt at a lap dance.

He could see the improvements in her movements from the following night, after she'd had the chance to observe professionals in action. Felt the heat of her in his hands that final time as she'd encouraged him to touch her, knowing now how she'd needed to feel his touch to prepare herself for being touched by someone else.

The knowledge of her later admission, that she'd been thinking of him, now colored his view of her assigned task as it was executed. The sway of her hips, her body undulating, as her half lidded gaze met his from across the room, her body whispering tantalizingly across the legs and lap of their target. How she stretched-

Chirp. Chirp.

Rex bit back a groan as his comlink sounded, reaching for it and flicking it on. "Rex here."

There was a pause and then-

"Rex... It's Ahsoka."

Her husky tones were enough to have him closing his eyes against the surge of protectiveness they generated. She didn't need to identify herself; he'd have known her voice even if he were deaf; he could feel the way she formed the words vibrating through his pores. He threw one arm over his eyes.

"What do you need, Ahsoka?"

"You."

There was a pregnant pause as Rex's imagination catapulted him back to earlier that night and the sofa at The Catalyst; to having Ahsoka on his lap, uninhibited and his for the taking. He swallowed hard against the image, deliberately having avoided it until then, and opened his eyes as he pushed himself up on one elbow.

"That is, can you come to my room?"

The strain in her voice was noticeable now and Rex frowned. Despite the implication he heard in her request, he knew it wasn't what she was asking. He threw his legs over the edge of his bunk. "Your room?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Now?"

"It's about the mission, Rex; it's important. Will... will you come?"

Rex was already on his feet and clipping on his armor as she asked the question, foregoing his gauntlets and helmet, knowing this was a bad idea but unable to deny her. Sealing his fate, he keyed the comlink one last time. "I'll be there shortly."

Before Ahsoka opened her door to his light knock, Rex glanced left and right, firmly reminding himself he was here to speak with her at her request, nothing more. He wasn't there to alleviate the burning in his gut that had been his companion since day one of their mission.

Ahsoka had asked him to come, said she needed to talk to him and she'd sounded… broken; like nothing he'd ever heard from her before. He couldn't have not come and he was already kicking himself.

His restraint and control were frayed and worn from a week of temptation and he knew it; this was a bad idea no matter how much she needed to see him.

Then the door was opened and she was there.

"Rex."

There were tears in her eyes and a sheen to her skin that spoke of a recent shower. Dressed in a shirt he'd never seen before, it covered her from neck to hip, buttoned up the front and clinging ever so slightly to her frame, the edge of her normal skirt peeking out beneath it. Despite the fact he'd watched her parade practically naked across a stage for hours over the last few days, the covering was a relief as much as it was an allure.

In some ways, it was only more of a tease than if she'd answered the door unclothed.

It made his hands itch to remove it, to grab it by the lapels and jerk, to reveal the soft, supple skin he knew he'd find underneath. His fists clenched at his sides and he deliberately folded them together behind his back in an attempt to diminish and manage the impulse. It was a losing battle; he could already feel the shreds of his hard won control slipping away before the conversation had begun.

She motioned him into a room lit only by candles, the dimness unable to mute the bright azure of her eyes. He entered only a step, enough to ensure the door closed behind him, watching her, waiting, as she stared back at him.

The look in her eyes was vulnerable, wounded, calling to every protective instinct, to every feeling long denied between them, urging him to make things right. She needed something; needed something from him and what he wanted to give her was wrong for the moment and the situation.

She needed the confidante, the friend he'd always been. What she didn't need was a man who wanted her so badly he'd been in tumescent agony every moment of their assignment. A man who was silently condemning the rules and regulations and personal code of honor that kept them apart.

Biting her lower lip, she crossed her arms over her chest, low that it was more around her ribs. The fabric pulled tight across her body as she gazed up at him. One hand plucked nervously at the fabric on one shoulder.

"I… Rex; I… I wanted to… "

And none of the reasons why they had to remain apart suddenly mattered as she struggled to find the words. The leashed desires - the want and the need - in her eyes spoke to him in a primal way no utterance could.

An inferno had begun as an ember and smoldered, roaring into fully banked heat the past week in her constant company. He'd managed not to fully act on it, focusing on the mission, their objective; on controlling himself because she deserved better than the raw deal she'd been given. She deserved better than the man he was and his inability to give her a future no matter that she was the brightest spot in his sorry existence. That she was a major reason, the only good reason, he had for continuing to fight; his inspiration and drive - the woman who held his soul, his deepest admiration and loyalties - and didn't know it.

Couldn't.

That heat which ripped through him now made the inferno of before feel like a whisper of warmth, tearing down his defenses and obliterating reason as lust roared through his veins.

Ahsoka gasped as his hands shot out, capturing her. Lifting her, he spun her against the wall next to the door. His armor clad body came down hard on hers as he stared deeply into her wide eyes. Eyes that were stormy, darkening from glittering cerulean to deep sapphire. His hands pinned hers at the wrist, just above shoulder height on either side of her head, his mouth coming down on her with the savage hunger he could no longer contain.

Her gasp parted her lips, a mewling sound of surprise that echoed through the room as his own partially open mouth descended on hers. The taste of her was like some exotic, forbidden spice. A taste he'd never forgotten; one he'd never forget.

He took her reaction for granted. Her response, her eagerness was a given in his mind; she wanted this as much as he did. Had teased and taunted, flaunted herself for him to get this very end. Her mouth open under his as his instincts raged, the blood surging through his system with a single intent.

Claiming her, branding her, as his.

He let her get no word in edgewise, allowed no escape, no room for thought; no chance to finish what she'd deemed she needed to say. Deliberately silencing her, Rex took from her what he wanted; needed.

In the heat of their passions, her clothes were torn from her body, his armor strewn across the floor as they writhed together against the wall. Rex controlled the frantic pace of their coming together; forcing her to submit to his needs, completely unmindful of his strength. They moved from the wall to the bed where he finally, forcefully, claimed her completely as his while surrendering all of his self to her.

Morning would come quickly for the pair of young lovers, but morning would bring only further heartache and pain and a misunderstanding that would, after a single moment of mutual glory, tear them apart.

Fin

Continued in Journey of Revolution by emjalen - which now being re-written as she decided she wanted to do more with it than what she just had before. It's going to be fun!

Author's note: for the full adult chapters [yes, two; one from Rex's POV and now one from Ahsoka's], visit my profile on AFF. It is rated MA [or NC-17] so make sure if you're going to read it that you're of age *shakes finger*

Thanks for reading guys and massive thank you to emjalen for letting me play in the sandbox of her AU 'verse ;)