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Rex had known General Kenobi cared for Cody. But what he now realized was that those feelings ran far deeper than he had ever imagined. The only word to accurately describe how General Kenobi was looking after an injured Cody was tenderly. He wasn’t treating Cody like he was breakable; he was treating him like he was precious. That really didn’t fit with some of the things General Skywalker had said about him. There was no denying General Skywalker cared deeply for his former Master, but the way he described the other General made it seem like General Kenobi was constantly emotionally distant and untouchable. That was NOT what Rex was seeing.
After the blast, the Generals had used the Force together to destroy the enemy canon. The canon’s destruction took some of the enemy’s other defenses with it. The 501st and 212th were now ready to press the advance.
General Kenobi gently checked Cody’s wounds himself, before calling for a medic. Once the medic deemed the Commander safe to move, the General used the Force to carry Cody to the tent they were using for the wounded, while issuing orders to the 212th.
Rex wasn’t sure he had ever actually seen a General tend to an injured trooper directly. It made him rethink a few things. Cody had told him that he and his General were very close. Rex wondered if it was more than that.
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“Easy, my dear, easy. You were hurt in the battle and have been unconscious for several hours. We don’t want you aggravating your injuries. Just lie still,” Obi-Wan said gently as he eased Cody back down to rest.
“How bad?” Cody asked, trying not to wince.
“Bad enough that we would all prefer you to be in a bacta tank right now,” the Jedi told him. He sighed before continuing, “Unfortunately that isn’t currently an option. The blast that caught you caused a number of injuries, some of them quite severe. We haven’t been able to evac you back to the Negotiator yet. Do you need anything for the pain?”
The clone Commander mentally assessed himself. He was in pain, yes. But they weren’t due a resupply for weeks and if there were as many injuries as it sounded like there were…really, there was only one answer.
“I’ll be alright.”
His beloved Jedi frowned.
“I can feel your pain in the Force. If you won’t take pain medication, will you let me ease your pain? At least enough that you can rest?” Obi-Wan asked.
Cody nodded his agreement. He trusted this man completely. He knew there was nothing to fear.
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and concentrated; Cody felt his pain receding. It was still there, but it was much more bearable.
“Vor entye,” Cody murmured softly as his eyes drifted closed.
Obi-Wan pressed a gentle kiss to Cody’s forehead.
“I will always take care of you, however you will allow me.”
“How did the rest of the battle go?” The Commander asked without opening his eyes again.
Injured though he was, he needed to know about the fight. If there was any hope of resting, he needed to know where everything and everyone stood.
The Jedi ran a gentle hand through the clone’s hair, hoping to relax him.
“We turned the tide in the chaos following the blast. Anakin and the 501st pushed hard against the droids and their flank collapsed. Ghost and I assisted with the push while much of the rest of the 212th saw to the injured and held our line here. As of two hours ago, the planet is clear of Separatist battle droids. So, you can rest. Our men are safe. You are in the next round of medivacs back to the Negotiator, should only be another hour or so.”
Cody let out a breath but tried to move.
“Just sleep now, Cody. It’s all right. I have you,” Obi-Wan said gently.
“With so many injuries…the men…I should…” Cody tried.
“Shhh,” The older man soothed, once again running his fingers through the younger's hair. “Udesiir. The men are safe. I have the watch, my darling Cody. Rest.”
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Cody was relatively certain he hadn’t slept so much at any point in his life. With so many injuries, both the 212th and the 501st were given two weeks downtime. They weren’t technically on leave, but they also weren’t being sent into battle. The planet they had been fighting on had a moon with a temperate climate and a number of large lakes. Most of the uninjured vode from the 212th and 501st had gone down to the moon, either for a few days or for the full duration of their downtime. Cody’s injuries meant he hadn’t gone yet, and he wasn’t sure he was going to. Neither his nor Obi-Wan’s bunks were the height of luxury, but they were certainly softer than a bedroll on the ground. Normally, he would enjoy camping on a nice moon with no one trying to shoot at them. However, at the moment, his ribs would prefer a bed to the ground. It could have been worse though; they could have been broken instead of just cracked. His body was also littered with healing cuts, scrapes, and bruises. The worst of it, really, was the wound to his side. That was the one that had prompted a few hours in bacta, though that had also helped speed the healing of everything else. He’d be fine soon enough.
So no, no nice moon vacation for him this time. The good thing was, since Skywalker was uninjured, he had joined his men on the moon. Skywalker not being around meant they could relax and not worry about being caught. The 212th had some idea that their Commander and their General were together, but they all pretended not to know. It was never spoken of, at least not where Cody or Obi-Wan could hear. Skywalker, on the other hand, didn’t understand things like boundaries so whenever he was around, Cody and Obi-Wan couldn’t risk anything more than professional behavior.
Obi-Wan, however, had chosen to remain on the Negotiator. Cody had no problem trading a few days of camping for a few quiet, relaxed days with his beloved Jetii. Even if said beloved Jetii was that galaxy’s biggest hypocrite when it came to resting while injured. Rex had been the one to notice that Obi-Wan was favoring his left wrist. Rex told Skywalker who promptly badgered his former master until he went to see the medics. It was a sprain, so not much could be done. It did mean Obi-Wan was supposed to be taking it easy and trying to avoid aggravating the injury. Which naturally meant that Obi-Wan was trying to do both his job and Cody’s while Cody recovered.
It has only taken a little bit (a lot) of conspiring with the medics to get Obi-Wan to agree to take the entire afternoon and evening off. He had just commed to say he was on his way with midmeal. They would spend the afternoon relaxing together. Cody really didn’t want to sleep, but he knew Obi-Wan needed it. Maybe he could convince his Jedi to curl up next to him and nap while he read. That would be nice. Just being together with nothing pressing that would drag them away after a few minutes would be wonderful. They didn’t get a lot of uninterrupted time.
“I risked a little frivolous use of the Force so that I didn’t carry anything with my injured wrist,” Obi-Wan declared as he entered the room.
Cody couldn’t help his laugh at that. He had fully intended to scold Obi-Wan for overdoing it.
“I don’t think anyone around here would report you for it,” he teased.
His Jedi smiled.
They focused on light topics while they ate. Obi-Wan shared a few anecdotes that had been relayed back to the Negotiator so far from the men enjoying the moon.
“Apparently there are several large fish in one of the lakes. A few men from Torrent decided to try to catch them. By hand. According to Anakin, the fish came out the winners of that contest.”
The clone snorted. He could just imagine the chaos that had to be. Leave it to Rex’s boys to find trouble when they were supposed to be relaxing!
“And what have you been up to, my dear?” Obi-Wan asked.
“Sleeping. I swear it's all I’ve done for days!” Cody groaned.
“You need to rest to heal.”
“I know.”
“And I know it is still frustrating.”
“I never thought I’d say this willingly, but I could at least do some reports! Or go over requisition requests. I can do that from bed,” Cody pointed out.
Obi-Wan frowned.
“You’re supposed to be taking it easy.”
“And so are you. But you’re trying to do both of our jobs while I recover.”
The General frowned heavily. His Commander wasn’t wrong, but it wasn’t as if they could both stop working. The Third Systems Army and the Open Circle Fleet needed them too much. He bought himself time by picking up their empty trays and excusing himself briefly to return them to the mess hall. He crafted a compromise to offer when he returned.
Cody did the same while his beloved was running his errand.
“You haven’t been sleeping enough. I’ve done nothing but sleep. I’m more than awake enough to do some work but can’t do anything strenuous. A deal then. I’ll do some paperwork, sitting up in bed, if you lay down next to me and try to rest,” Cody offered.
Obi-Wan smiled ruefully. It wasn’t the same offer he was going to make, but he had to admit that he didn’t want to turn down a chance to curl up with Cody. They hadn’t spent the night together since the battle. Between the Jedi working too much and the clone needing to heal, it just hadn’t worked out.
“You drive a hard bargain, my dear. But I accept your terms.”
Cody smiled victoriously.
“I think you will be pleased with what you have agreed to.”
Cody grabbed one of his datapads and logged in. It was easy enough to review messages with one hand, so that’s where he would start. He had a plan to help his Jedi rest.
Obi-Wan stripped down to his under tunic and leggings, then settled down on the bed with his head resting on Cody’s thigh.
“You are always so warm,” The Jedi murmured.
“I know you like it,” The clone said with a chuckle.
“Indeed I do.”
After a few moments, Cody began to run his hand through Obi-Wan’s hair. The red-haired man practically melted under the touch.
“That’s cheating, cyare,” Obi-Wan muttered drowsily.
“What’s the saying? All’s fair in love and war? Or in this case, rest?”
A soft snort was the only reply that was received. Cody grinned. It was only a few minutes before his Jedi fell asleep. Once he did, Cody removed his hand and got to work. He logged in to the GAR requisitions system. Requisition requests were easy enough to do, they just tended to take time. Cody would work for a while, and then maybe he would nap with his beloved after all.
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“You love your General,” Rex said. “And he loves you.”
It was said quietly. Simply. Completely without judgment. Cody tensed anyway.
The two weeks downtime was almost up, and Cody had been pleased when Rex came back from the moon early so that they could spend a day together. He loved his brother and wished they got to spend more time together outside of battle. That did not mean he had been expecting, or was prepared for, Rex to say something like that.
“I don’t know what….” He started, ready denial falling from his lips without conscious thought.
If someone outside the 212th knew, if they were found out…
“Udesii, ori’vod. Udesii! It’s me, Codes. Just me. I would never do anything to hurt you; you know that. I’m just curious, is all.”
The Commander tried to force himself to relax. This was his most trusted brother. If he could have this conversation with anyone, it was him. After he calmed, he answered honestly but simply.
“The answer is yes. On both counts.”
The Captain’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected his ori’vod to be so blunt.
“How?”
“I have no idea. It just…happened. We got to know one another since we spend so much time working together. It just sort of evolved from that. One day we were working, and I had a headache, but I didn’t want to take the time to go to the medics. He just...offered to help. He eased the pain from the headache with the Force and it was like that just shifted things for us. Discussions started getting more personal. We both started doing little things for each other. I learned how to make his favorite tea. He started sharing his books with me. And then one night I took the chance and asked if I could stay with him for the night. His smile when I did…Force. I’ve never seen anything like it. He admitted he had wanted more for some time, but he never would have asked because he didn’t want me to feel pressured at all. Knowing he cares so much about what I want and making sure everything that happens is truly my choice too, it’s completely unexpected but so amazing. Everything with him feels so right, Rex. I hadn’t known that anything could feel like this.”
The blond clone smiled softly.
“Then I’m happy for you, Cody.” Rex continued, “I watched him. When you were hurt. The way he touched you, the way he looked after you…it was sweet, and beautiful, and you deserve it. You deserve whatever happiness you can find in this mess.”
The dark-haired clone didn’t even try to stop the smile that bloomed on his face.
“Thank you, Rex. That means a lot.”
“But if I even walk in on anything, I swear I will....”
The Commander cut the Captain off with a pillow to the face.