Cyare (A Rexsoka SWTCW Fanfic)

61

Rex stopped, panting. His hands were almost completely healed but the muscles were still weak. The more advanced saber forms were grueling, and they haven't even moved to katas. After he had the first form down to almost muscle memory Ahsoka took him through forms two through five. He had done some work with each, but she didn't drill him like she used to. Didn't mean it was any easier.

Rex moved through from three... Sorsu, Ahsoka had called it, feeling the blade hum and sing as it cut through the air around him. He liked form three in the short term, but it required a patience that he didn't possess. He could tell why Kenobi had enjoyed it so much. He was walking through the basic defenses now with Ahsoka and Anakin, both using their normal fighting style but he could tell they were going easy with him.

Anakin's more aggressive Djem So and Ahsoka's odd Shen-Ataru combinations were really hard to counter at his level. Maybe they were testing him, and that's why they were doing this exercise.

Rex pulled back, feeling the slight drag as the cerulean blade hummed through the air around him. He parried a strike from Ahsoka's practice saber then ducked under Anakin's personal saber, turned down as to not hurt him.

He just managed to deflect another strike from Anakin when Ahsoka's blade slipped through his guard and caught his saber hand. He yelped and let out a hiss of mando'a oaths as his hand seized and went numb from the elbow down. It would take forever for him to regain use of it.

His saber clattered to the ground and the other two extinguished their blades. Kix, who was sitting and watching them after pestering Rex for some sort of demonstration opened him mouth and started to stand up. Rex waved him of as he tried to get his numb hand to relax.

"That happens. Touch a practice saber blade and it deadens the affected limb." He explained through gritted teeth. Kix sank back down. Anakin threw a towel over his neck and grabbed a water bottle. Ahsoka snickered and passed Rex his own towel and water bottle which he gripped in his good hand easily.

"It doesn't hurt? I know pinched nerves burn." The other clone asked. Rex shrugged.

"It aches a little when I start to regain the ability to move, and you get pins and needles like when all dead limbs wake up, but other than that, no. It's just annoying" Rex took a sip of the water and fumbled to get the cap on. Ahsoka giggled and just took the bottle from him and screwing on the lid.

Rex huffed and glared at her, but she either didn't notice or pretended not to. Anakin's commlink beeped, and he excused himself to go answer it.

Rex sighed and went to collect his things. One of the best things about having merged the broken remains of the 212th with the 501st was that he was no longer the highest ranking clone in the battalion. He still worked closely with Anakin for familiarity's sake, but Cody now handled a great deal of the paperwork that had fallen solely on his and Ahsoka's shoulders. Even better, Cody seemed to enjoy the extra paperwork.

It also meant more free time for Rex to spend with Ahsoka and working on his lightsaber skills and meditations. It had become a part of everyday life to meditate before the day got too crazy. Helped clear his head.

"Ahsoka?" Anakin called, and she scampered off from her spot on the wall to join her master after blowing Rex a kiss. Kix groaned slightly at their antics. If love conquers all then these two would be impervious. Except that it didn't, and those two seemed to spend more time in bacta then out.

Rex sighed and gathered his and Ahsoka's things with his good arm. His other hand tingled and seized as the nerve endings regained function. Rex gritted his teeth and resisted the urge to squirm. In the week and a half since their wedding and Rex's advanced training had seen him get hit with the training saber and Anakin's lightsaber many times. He had bacta patches over minor burns from the real blade, but in his book the other training saber cased the worst sensation. His hand twitched a few times as it came awake and he held it as still as possible to avoid the dreaded pins and needles. 

He glanced at Kix. "I'm done here, this is normally when the general works with the commander on her own forms. If they're not on holocall, that is." He sighed. Kix nodded and stood. 

"Thank you, Sir, for letting me sit in." His voice was slightly awed now that the concern was gone. Probably because he had seen Rex testing his hand to see if the pins and needles were gone yet. 

"You're welcome. I'm not some god Kix, just..." He blew out a long breath. "Defective." Kix shuddered slightly at that word. 'Defective' was pretty much synonymous with 'Corpse'. The kaminoans considered anything wrong with the clones that wasn't somewhat intentional, like his hair being blond, an impurity in the genes. It tended to get you euthanized. 

"Understood, sir." The other clone blew out a long breath. "If you'll excuse me then, I have patients in the medbay to see too. Fives is worse than you are about staying in bed. I don't think Hardcase was the only one with ADHD." He sighed. Rex winced.

"What'd he do this time?"

Kix snickered. "Usually, I invoke the 'patient confidentiality' card, but since half the battalion saw what happened, I guess that it's ok to tell you." He paused, chuckling some more to himself. "Was visiting my two sunburnt patients and he made the mistake of calling Cav 'lobster.' She growled 'I'll show you lobster' then proceeded to cover him in red paint. He had a bad reaction to it, and now has a red rash that she seems to find hilarious."

Rex winced. "At least she didn't try to gut him like she did with Bane." 

Kix shivered slightly, even though there was no breeze in the cruiser. "Who thought it would be a good idea to give a fourteen year old knives?" He asked. Rex laughed dryly. 

"Same people who give nine year olds guns and send them off to fight a war that they were engineered to win." He reported. Kix rolled his eyes. 

"Tell me about it. They seem to be getting off Kamino earlier and earlier." He sighed and Rex stopped at his and Ahsoka's rooms. 

"This is my stop. I'll see you later, Kix." The captain dismissed his subordinate. Kix nodded and continued on his way to infirmary. Rex tested his hand again and sighed in relief that he could move it freely again. He typed in the code and dropped the stuff off as his commlink went off. 

"Captain Rex." He answered it. 

"Just me, love. We need you at the bridge. Meeting briefing and all that fun crap in five." Ahsoka's voice crackled over it. Rex slumped slightly. 

"I'll be there."