Intuition - Book 1 - Captain Rex

{Chapter 23 - Observant}

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As it turned out, Lenora  had not been the only one unfortunate to catch a nasty case of fester lung. A few other troopers had caught it, but most were on the other side of it. Tup had been one of the unlucky few to catch a bout of it and was absent from the table when Lenora and Rex went to the mess hall to catch up on all they'd missed in their two week quarantine. 

Kie'sha was looking particularly chipper when Lenora and Rex sat across from her, Fives, Jesse, Kix, and Calliope that morning. 

"What's got you all giddy sunshine?" a now completely healed Calliope ruffled Kie'sha's hair, to which the girl gave a scowl. 

"Nothing." 

Lenora could tell that she was hiding something, and she had a feeling she knew what- "Been in contact with Ahsoka at all?" 

"How did you know!?" 

"Who else could make you smile like that?" Lenora rolled her eyes as the girl blushed profusely. 

Fives looked around confused- "Did I miss something here? Since when did Keeks actually accept her little crush?"

"I guess you're just not as observant as you think you are Fives." Lenora batted her eyes mock-innocently. 

"Yeah? Well I'm observant enough to spot the scratches on the Captain's back when he's getting changed in the barracks-"

Lenora just glared at him, daring him to finish the thought. He did the smart thing and shut his mouth.

The group continued to dig into their meals, chatting along the way. Eventually they broke away into smaller groups as per usual. Lenora and Kix headed to the med bay to pack supplies for the next mission, with Rex and Calliope tagging along. 

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"I'm glad Kie'sha's doing okay." Lenora observed as she placed a container of stim canisters into a pack.

"Yeah, she's a tough kid- she'd make a good soldier." Rex agreed.

"She already is a soldier." Calliope pointed out grimly. 

The air in the room staled. Calliope noticed the effect of their words and immediately changed the subject- "What's your guys's next mission anyway?"

"We're headed to Ringo Vinda. There's a space station that surrounds the planet, we're gonna take it." Rex answered. 

"Isn't that where Generals Tiplee and Tiplar have been at a stand still for several rotations?" Kix queried. 

The group went silent once again. 

Once Kix and Lenora had finished packing, Rex and Lenora decided to head off to her apartment, leaving Calliope and Kix in the med bay together. 

"Your hair's starting to grow out a bit." Calliope observed.

"Oh- yeah, I need to go get it cut again soon." Kix rubbed the top of his head subconsciously. 

"You don't have to, I'd like to see how you look with hair." 

"I have hair-"

"I know Kix, I was exaggerating." Calliope raised an eyebrow and smiled at Kix, who went bright red. 

The pair sat in an awkward silence for a while, before Calliope decided to break it- "Hey, we should grab drinks together some time." 

"Wha- I-"

"You know, drinks? Me and you?"

"I- I- er- uh-" 

Calliope could have sworn Kix was malfunctioning before their eyes.

"We don't have to if you don't want to, it was just an idea."

"No! I would love to." Kix assured. 

"Alright then. You and me, 79's, when you get back from Ringo Vinda." Calliope went to leave but Kix grabbed her arm. 

"Is- did you-" Kix took a deep breath to clear his whirring mind- "Are you asking me on a- a date?"

"It can be whatever you want it to be." Calliope removed his hand from her arm, giving it a quick squeeze before heading off to check up on things on the Resolute. 

Kix was left in a complete daze. 

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"Do you think she's asked him yet?" Rex asked his partner, who was pacing around the kitchen giggling like a little girl.

"They said they'd shoot me a message when they got to the hangar." Lenora spun around giddily.

Rex smiled at his partner, the pure glee that shone off of her when she knew that she was helping people out was one of his favorite things about her. 

"You love playing Cupid, huh?" Rex stood up from the couch, making his way over to her- "Honestly I don't think you were even this excited when I first asked you out." Rex wrapped his arms around her from behind.

Lenora squirmed around to face him- "I think you underestimate how good I am at hiding things when I need to. You should have been there when I went home that night, Calli would tell you- I didn't shut up about it for hours." 

Lenora could still remember coming home that night, Calliope had waited at the apartment because she 'wanted to hear all the gossip'- which was code for she wanted to get all of Lenora's nonsensical rambling over and done with as soon as possible so she wouldn't have to deal with it in the morning. Lenora had come home that night with a huge smile plastered on her face. She'd ran into the room and all but bowled Calliope over in her excitement.

"I'm pretty sure I actually cried that night." Lenora said quietly, smiling to herself.

Rex chuckled, running a hand through her hair. The pair stood in silence for a while, just soaking in each other's presence. 

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So you may have noticed the title change- all I'm saying is it'll make sense in the future 🤭 anyway are we ready for some devastating stuff in the next few chapters!!? remember to vote and comment, peace and love <3

{also work may or may not have begun on book 2 ;) so prepare yourselves}