Cody woke up to darkness. That was nothing new, he had been totally blind for almost two weeks now.
What scared him is that he wasn't in the market place, and he couldn't remember where he was.
He was laying on something firm with just enough give not to be comfortable. A hand was on his shoulder.
He struggled a bit as he tried to remember where he was when the person he was laying on spoke.
"Cody? What's wrong?" A brother's raspy sleep ridden voice whispered softly. The memories of the previous day came rushing back and he stopped moving.
"Rex?" He breathed. So it wasn't a dream.
"I'm here. I'm here ori'vod." The hand on his shoulder slid to his hair, pulling slightly as he worked out the matts some more.
"What time is it?" Cody asked. Rex shifted under him. Cody heard the soft tap of his finger against his wristchrono.
"Just after two in the morning." He whispered. "Ahsoka's asleep in the next room over."
Cody pulled his knees to his chest. A thick and fuzzy blanket had been thrown over him. He felt for the edges of it and pulled it up a little higher. He used Rex's knee to help him lever himself into a half sitting position.
Rex lifted his arm up and settled it around his shoulders gently.
"I didn't know there was anybody else." Cody whispered. "Is there...any other vode who've been freed?" He asked.
"Only one other that I know of. He was with his girlfriend when it happened. Had a month leave he was planning to spend with her and their newborn daughter. He agreed to have the chip removed for his family's sake." Rex said softly. "Other than him... nobody else."
"She saved you?" Cody asked. "Ahsoka, that is." Rex nodded before remembering that Cody couldn't see him.
"Yeah."
Cody ducked his head and curled a little closer to Rex, pressing into his side. He knew he was being more than a little clingy, but he couldn't help it. Rex was alive. He was free. He found Cody and was going to take him to Onderon. He wasn't alone anymore.
Rex seemed to understand. He wrapped the blanket around Cody's frail frame and hugged him tightly.
"We were in Hyperspace when it happened." Rex said quietly. "The hyperdrive was destroyed. I lost my entire cruiser and every man in it. Ahsoka, a mandalorian representative, and I were the only survivors as far as I know."
His voice was haggard. Cody sniffed a little, his face pressed into Rex's shoulder. Something wet hit Cody's head. It was only then he realized Rex was crying.
"Seeing that smoking wreck on some force forsaken moon broke me. I shut down completely. Ahsoka-" he cut off with a shaking breath. "She gave every single one of those men a proper burial. Worked her shebs off to make sure they wouldn't be forgotten while I sat by in my own little world." He hugged Cody a little tighter.
It occurred to Cody that he might not be the only one desperate for the company of a vod.
"We leave early. Try and get some sleep, Ori'vod. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow." Rex murmured softly. Cody shook his head.
"You need sleep too." He protested. Rex sighed.
"Here." He whispered. He carefully pulled away from Cody and shifted, moving around him. Then he gently took Cody's hand and gently pulled him down so they were laying flat against each other. Cody sighed contentedly, wrapping his arms around Rex like a stuffed animal.
Rex did the same, the two brothers clinging to each other like the end of the universe. Cody fell back asleep with Rex's heartbeat steady against his own chest.
~
Rex woke up to the sound of a datapad taking a picture. He opened one eye to glare at Ahsoka as she snapped another picture of Cody and him cuddled up.
"Good morning sleepyhead." She said, kissing his forehead. "I stopped by the docks. We have to be out of here by noon." She said. Rex frowned.
"Where did you go?" He grunted.
"Forgot something while we were at the bazaar. Went back to finish shopping and paid the docking bill while you snuggled with your brother." She listed, packing some things in the kitchen into her bag.
Rex frowned. "When did you have time to do all that?" He asked, willing himself not to dwell on the fact she had been roaming Corascant's underbelly alone this morning.
"Rex, it's almost nine." She said, coming back over to the brothers and sitting on an armrest above their heads.
Rex's eyes flew open. He untangled one arm from Cody and squinted at his chrono.
"Kriff." He swore. Cody grunted and flipped onto his stomach, basically hiding under Rex.
"'S ok. None of the spice heads get up until noon anyways." He grumbled into the couch.
"Is that how I always act in the morning?" Ahsoka asked. Rex chuckled and gave a sleepy smile.
"Yeah, but you're smaller and cuter." He said, opening his eyes to stare up at her lazily.
Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Rex, I'm almost as tall as you are." She pointed out.
"Nah, montral hight doesn't count."
"And Rex is almost a full inch shorter than your average clone." Cody put in. Rex elbowed him gently.
"Traitor. Why not list all of my mutations while you're at it." He grumbled.
"Blond hair, slightly shorter and more wiry, gold eyes rather than hazel or brown, smarter, extremely independent, lightweight when it comes to alcohol, and force sensitive." Cody rambled.
Rex and Ahsoka froze.
"What was the last one?" Ahsoka asked.
"Force sensitive." Cody said, a hint of bitterness in his voice. He pushed himself up to face Rex.
"What makes you think that. Cody, I'm a clone." Rex said.
"Yes. And you have a lightsaber. And your eyes glow. I've seen it through your visor from time to time." Cody said softly. "I figured if you could tell me you would. But I also didn't want you to feel like you had to keep it a secret."
Rex closed his eyes. "I don't deserve an ori'vod like you." He whispered. "I'm sorry for not telling you."
"You're forgiven, vod'ika." He leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. "Is there anything else I should know?" He asked, pulling back and using the armrest Ahsoka was sitting on to pull back and sit up.
"I'm pregnant." Ahsoka said. Cody jumped a little. He had forgotten she was there. He snorted.
"Took you two long enough." He grumbled. "May I?"
Ahsoka sighed in fake exasperation. "There's nothing there yet. Won't be obvious for about two weeks. Then it'll be really obvious really fast." She complained, all while guiding Cody's hand to press gently against her belly.
Cody grunted a little, poking her in the stomach good naturedly. "Still too skinny." He teased.
Ahsoka groaned. "Do you know how hard it is for a carnivore to put on weight? I can't just eat a lot of bread and call it good. That's how I get sick."
Rex snickered. "So perfectly good bread is a no go, but you'll eat a live poisonous snake?" He asked.
"Snakes are delicious thank you very much." She scoffed, smacking him on the back of his head.
"Thanks, I'll pass." Cody made a face at the air between Rex and Ahsoka.
"Rex, can you help me finish packing? We need to leave soon." Ahsoka swatted at his head once more. Rex sighed.
"Yeah yeah. I'm coming." He sat up, carefully crawling around Cody so he wouldn't bump him.
"I know I'm not much use right now, but is there any way I can help?" Cody asked quietly. "It doesn't feel right, letting you two do it all after you've helped me."
There was a long pause. Rex and Ahsoka exchanged silent glances. Ahsoka carefully put a hand on Cody's shoulder. He flinched a bit but relaxed a second later.
"Tell you what, if you wouldn't mind washing the dishes, that'd be great. The dishwasher is broken, so we've had to do it by hand." Ahsoka said. "I'll put them away once you're done."
Cody brightened a bit. Ahsoka took his hand and helped him to his feet. She guided him over to the small double sided sink. She glanced through the dishes to make sure there was nothing sharper than a fork in there.
She placed Cody's left hand on the edge of one side of the sink and his right hand on the other.
"Dirty dishes on the left. Clean ones on the right. Soap pump," She moved his left hand to a small nozzle near the faucet. "Is here. Dishrag is here," she moved his right hand to the small divider between the two halves of the sink. "And faucet is here. Make sure you know which side the water is going into, ok?" She asked. Cody nodded.
"Thank you." He said softly, picking up the dishrag and feeling for the soap pump.
Ahsoka smiled, giving his arm a squeeze. "No, thank you."
She stepped back as Cody got to work. Rex wrapped an arm around her waist and pressed a kiss to the tip of her montral.
Cody smiled as he washed the dishes. Menial work, yes, but it felt good to be doing something with his hands. Even without his sight, his biggest challenge was really just finding the faucet to rinse off the dishes once he finished. It was simple, really.
Find a dish. Scrub it until the surface was smooth, rinse it off, check for sticky, stack it as neatly as he could in the other side of the sink. He was almost done when disaster struck.
He tried to wash a spoon.
The dip of the curve was just right for him to get a face full of water as well as a good amount on the floor.
He quickly shut off the water and put the spoon back in the sink, swearing vehemently as his face and chest were soaked. He took a small step back and slipped on the water, falling on his butt in the puddle.
"Cody!" Ahsoka's voice was worried as light footsteps marked her rushing over to him. Heavier footsteps marked Rex's approach on his other side. "Are you hurt?" She asked.
"Just my pride. Got sprayed by a spoon and slipped." He grunted, finding the ledge of the counter and pulling himself to his feet.
Rex started to laugh. Just as Cody was about to ask what was so funny, Rex let them in on the joke.
"You can't call me out for losing a drinking contest to a little girl." He wheezed, gasping as he continued to laugh. "When you just got your butt handed to you by a spoon."
Ahsoka tried to keep a straight face. She would have succeeded if Cody hadn't picked up said spoon and sprayed Rex. She let out a little giggle as Rex spluttered.
"And you just lost a water fight to a blind man." Cody said smugly. Ahsoka laughed even harder at that.
"Oh force, you two really are siblings." She snickered. Rex groaned and shook the water off him. His front was soaked through. He grinned at her.
"Hey 'Soka. Want a hug?" He asked, holding out his arms to show off all his dripping wet glory. Ahsoka glared at Rex.
"Don't you dare." She said warningly. Rex advanced on her slowly.
"You look like you need a hug." He said, lunging forward and grabbing her by the arm. She struggled as he pulled her into a tight and very, very wet embrace.
"reeeEEEEX!" She shrieked as her husband laughed and kissed her on the cheek. She gaped at her wet clothes then at him. She turned stiffly on her heel and marched to the refresher. Without looking over her shoulder she threw a towel at him.
"Guess who just signed up for cleanup duty." She snarled, storming into the bedroom and locking the door behind her. Rex stood there for a second, stunned. Cody snickered.
"You heard the lady. Get to it." He finished washing the last of the silverware and dried his hands on his borrowed sweatpants.
Rex obediently mopped up the water and even put the dishes away for her. His shirt dried as he worked.
Once he was finished he carefully knocked on the door. "Ahsoka?"
There was a sniff from the other side of the door. "Go away. I currently hate you right now." Her voice was slightly muffled.
"Please, Cyare?" He asked, pressing his palm flat against the door. Nothing. He sighed. "I'm sorry for getting you all wet. Can I please come in?"
The lock clicked. Rex cautiously opened the door and stepped in, shutting it behind him.
Ahsoka's clothes were still wet, probably from the fact she was curled in a ball on her bed. Rex sat next to her and put a hand on her back, rubbing small circles in the middle of her spine where she almost always was sore after a day of walking like yesterday.
She sniffed a little but said nothing. Rex tugged at the hem of her soaked shirt.
"Let's get you out of this, ok?" He asked. Ahsoka nodded, sitting up and letting him hike the wet tunic up off over her head. He grabbed one of his clean dry shirts from his backpack and carefully pulled it over her montrals.
She cuddled against him and he pressed his lips to the valley of her montrals, wrapping an arm around her.
"I love you." He whispered.
"Love you too." She grumbled back. Ok, so she was still a little angry. She glanced at the chrono on the wall.
"Time to go. Let's get Cody and head to the shuttle?" She asked. Rex nodded.
"Alright."