—There's a few spoilers for the Republic Commando book series. If you want to read the books, be cautious because I wrote some things that may spoil it, so tread lightly please—
About a day later, Rex and Wolffe met up again, this time in the mess hall. Both of them sitting at a table and having a light snack before the day started.
"So," Rex said after he took a sip of his caf, "I'm assuming Plo told you about the bill?"
Wolffe started to fumble around with his fork. "Mm-hmm, he did."
Rex rose an eyebrow since the commander looked preoccupied with his thoughts. "You seem distracted, though. Did something happen?"
Wolffe set the fork down. "No, not really. It's just, after the talk about my... rash behavior, we steered away from the political topics and got to talking about other things. You see, after the somewhat sensitive conversation, instead of shaking my hand like a normal person, he hugged me. It was very strange."
Rex stared blankly for a second. "Wait a tick. So he... huh? And you're confused— okay. Do you need me to explain it?" Wolffe did even bat an eye or shrug, he just sat there. "...Okay, well I know you'll never admit it, but Plo is your dad. Don't deny that. He's your dad, and you're his son. That bond you two share is insane. It was a father-son type thing, you get what I'm saying?"
"...maybe."
"You know, I'm surprised he hasn't adopt— oh, wait, never mind. That stupid no attachment rule would make that almost impossible." Wolffe gave him a really? look and Rex shrugged. "Okay, well they're more guidelines than rules... anyway, why are you confused about the hug?"
"Well, it was odd. And I got a weird feeling, it felt like... like..."
"Like you felt all mushy inside?"
"Never say that again."
"What? Mushy?" Rex smirked, but Wolffe gave him a death glare so he wiped that expression away. "Sorry. You felt... soft. Right? Maybe warm inside? I don't know what goes on in that mind of yours, but I'm positive you get feelings and emotions, too. It's not wrong to feel things, you're not human if you don't."
"Well, then I'm not human because I don't have feelings." Wolffe scowled.
"Uh-huh, sure. I mean, I hate to bring it up, but the Wolfpack? How that all started? Yeah, that was sorrow tugging at your heartstrings to do something. Like it or not, you're soft on the inside and Plo sees straight through the stone cold outside." Rex started to get a bit more serious. "You gotta let down some of those walls, Wolffe, it's not healthy. And believe me, I know a lot about bottling things up."
"I know it's not good to bottle things, but I can't help it. You have Ahsoka to spill your guts out to, Bly has Secura, Fox has Chuchi, and who knows how many other clones are in secret relationships. I have no one, Rex. No one."
Rex sighed. "See, that's where you're wrong. Look around, you've got Plo, the entire Wolfpack, you've got me, Ahsoka, Cody, Bly, I could go on if you'd like. You might not realize it, but you have so much support. Even if you are the grumpy one and people are scared of you, that doesn't mean they don't have your back or that they won't listen to y—" Rex got interrupted by the alarm on his chrono beeping. He clicked a button and sighed. "Sorry, but I have to go." He drained his cup of caf before standing up and saying with a pointed finger, "Go talk with Plo again. It'll do you some good." He then put his tray and cup away and walked out of the mess.
~
Roughly two months later, the Separatist senate was slowly coming around with the Republic's political terms. The Battle of Coruscant was one of the last large battles in the Clone War and it costed many lives and depleted the Republic's sources, but it always took the Sep resources too. Ahsoka and Rex were having a talk in Rex's quarters about the future, since it was something that needed discussing now that things where slowly wrapping up.
"Do you have any plans once this war is officially over?" Ahsoka asked.
Her and Rex were sitting up in bed, backs against the wall, cuddling.
Rex exhaled. "Not yet. I'm not sure if I want to leave the Army or stay in it. I was born to be in the military, heck, I was bred to do it. Part of me wants to stay, but the other part wants to see what's out there. The galaxy's large place with so many different opportunities."
"Yeah. I've been thinking about that, too. I mean, I'm a Jedi. I'm a keeper of the peace, but if I remain a Jedi, I'd still have to keep our relationship a secret. It's hard enough as it is, and I doubt we'd see each other much when the war ends."
"Mmm, that's what's also causing a conflict in me."
Ahsoka rose a face marking. "How so?" She asked.
"Like you said, we probably wouldn't see see each other much, and I miss you when I don't see you for a while. But possibly many months at a time? I'm not sure how I'd handle it."
"So... what should we do?"
Rex felt torn between his love and what he was made to do. Would it be bad to choose army life over his relationship? He thought so, but it wasn't that simple. He had a duty to the Republic, to his brothers and civilians. He was part of the backbone of the Republic, so no, it wasn't simple at all. Why was everything in life so difficult? Couldn't something be easy for once? "...I don't know." Rex finally said.
"Okay. Well, if I stay in the Order, I'm able to help keep the peace and save lives, but I won't see you much. If you stay in the Grand Army, you, too, would be saving lives. That's not something many people can say they do, save lives. It's a wonderful thing, but our relationship would be stretched. I guess I know why Jedi don't form strong attachments, but I don't regret the decision I made about being with you."
Rex placed a light kiss to her montral. "You better not regret it," he smirked.
Ahsoka chuckled softly. "It was the best decision I made. So, of course I don't regret it and I never will. But, Rex, I worry that the other Jedi could find out about us. What if they do?"
"Well, I don't know much about the Order, but you'd be kicked out, right? So once that'd happened, I could leave the army, you know, if that bill goes through and it wouldn't be treason..."
"Yeah, well, we'll find out tomorrow if it will. But if it does, what then?"
Rex shrugged. "I'm not sure. Things will change, that I know. But it could be a good change or a bad change, everything nowadays is so uncertain and confusing."
"Mm-hmm," Ahsoka glanced at her wrist chrono and sighed. "We should go to bed."
"We are in bed."
"Very funny. We should go to sleep."
Rex let out a small huff and kissed her montral again. "Okay." He said.
~
"Big news!" Anakin said with a large grin spreading across his face as he walked over to Rex. "Guess what?" He asked eagerly.
"What?" Rex deadpanned.
"Oh, come on. You can be more enthusiastic than that." But Rex kept a neutral expression. "You are kill-ing my mood, Rex. You're destroying it."
Rex's amused face slowly broke through his neutral one at the look of Anakin's expression. "What is it, sir?" He asked.
"There we go! Okay. So. Uh, long story short, once the war ends, you have the option of being a citizen. Of course, you can stay in the army, but yeah... the bill got approved!"
Rex blinked a few times. "Really?"
"Really. Padmé just told me. If things continue on like this, I don't see why the war won't end soon. It's just a matter of time before the Seps and their senate and all that give in. And those extra clones from Centax-two have really helped move everything along."
Rex furrowed his brow. "Extra clones?"
"Yeah. Did you not hear?" Rex shook his head. "All right, well, we found some Spaarti cloning facilities on Centax-two, you know, one of Coruscant's moons. Anyway, as young as they are, the clones have proven to be resourceful and useful. Does that clear things up?"
"Not really. Why have we just now figured out about them? They would've been useful during so many hard times."
Anakin shrugged. "I only know so little. Do you know the Skirata's? As in Kal Skirata? He's the main one who also adopted the Omega commando squad. He and others did investigations and he's also part of the reason how we found the cure for your fast aging. Anyway, I've only heard snippets and stuff. Now, let's go and tell Ahsoka and the other commanders and captains."
~
Ahsoka and Anakin where in an incredibly large room filled with the 501st many weeks later. The Separatists had finally agreed to give in, making the Republic gain control. The Sep senate had ordered others to surrender to the Republic. The extra clones and supplies had really made a huge difference in the outcome of the war. The only thing left was telling everyone else.
"Can you believe it?" Ahsoka asked blissfully as she stood onto top of crates overlooking the crowd of clones. "It's over, guys. We did it."
Once Ahsoka said those words, there was an irritably loud silence before a clone rose his hand and didn't even bother to be called on before he said, "What do you mean, we did it?"
"How else am I supposed to say it?" Ahsoka asked. "We did it. We won the war."
It was strange how quietness could have such a loud sound. Nobody moved, nobody spoke. Ahsoka looked over at Anakin thinking maybe she accidentally said something in her native tongue, but by the way the room soon erupted into deafening loud shouts and cheers, she figured the news needed to sink in for a second.
Fists flew up and some clones tossed their helmets into the air. There was loud clattering from clones' armor clacking into each other and Ahsoka looked back at Anakin, both of them beaming with excitement and happiness. Ahsoka turned back to the crowd and held up her hands to try and silence the cheers. "Hold the celebrating for a moment." She said loudly and the room slowly came to a manageable level of sound. But a clone ended up shouting "Shut up, Hardcase! I'm trying to listen."
Ahsoka smirked and the room finally quieted down. "Okay. One other thing." She looked over at Anakin who nodded his approval. "There is a bill that got put into place a bit ago. This bill makes it so that any clone can leave the army without it being counted as desertion, treason if you will. Everyone will also be treated as a civilian and paid. Those who choose to leave will get some creds enough to sustain in life a while. So, go ahead and celebrate because you've all earned it and the Republic couldn't have done any of this without you."
Voices started to overlap and Ahsoka saw two clones in the crowd hug each other, which brought warmth to her heart. Others must've noticed the two's embrace because more joined in the hug. It finally grew into one huge group hug, the room quiet once more. Ahsoka picked up on some occasional sniffles or small laughs and she slowly hopped off the crate. She let the brothers have their moment so she walked over to Anakin. "It's really over isn't it? After all these years?"
Anakin grinned. "Yeah." He said softly. "It finally is."
She sighed a breath of relief. "I feel like I can actually breathe clearly now."
"Yeah..." He slightly held out his arms and Ahsoka grinned.
She accepted the hug and tightened the grip around him. "Thank you."
"For what?"
"...everything." She said before she pulled away. Ahsoka looked down at the ground and lightly scuffed the toe of her boot on the ground. "When we get the chance of a private moment, could I talk with you?"
"Sure. Why not now?"
"Well, It's just... oh, because they're bringing us into the hug."
~
A day later after small celebrations, Ahsoka and Anakin finally got the time to speak with each other, and Rex was there as well, but mostly for moral support.
"Okay," Ahsoka started. "Me and Rex had a discussion about what we'd do if all this happened. You know, the bill and the war ending. If you want, I can go into more detail about it once I tell you--"
"You seem nervous," Anakin pointed out. "Just say it."
"All right ..." she took a breath. "Now please don't get mad, but I'm... I'm going to leave the Order." Ahsoka immediately grimaced after the words came out of her mouth. Was Anakin going be furious? Was he disappointed in her?
"Okay."
Ahsoka blinked a few times. That wasn't what she was expecting. She had prepared for him to blow up and she had a script she would follow if he did. "Okay? Just okay? Are—are you sure your fine with it? Because if not then I c—"
"Ahsoka. You know that I understand, right? If anything, I probably influenced you to take initiative and protect your relationship with Rex. You can do whatever you feel like. Don't let me stand in your way if you feel I won't approve. And..." he rocked his head side to side. "I was thinking about doing the same thing. Padmé is going to need lots of help raising the babies and—"
"Babies?" Ahsoka said, flabbergasted.
"Yeah. She's carrying twins."
"Awww, really?"
"Yep."
"Oh, terrific," Rex said sarcastically. "Two mini generals are gonna be running around the place. But in all seriousness, at least they'll be cute."
Anakin snorted. "Yeah, nothing says seriousness like 'cute.' Anyway, Ahsoka, you can leave the Order if you want. I won't stand in your way. My only piece of advice is to stay for a little longer. Just wait until everything gets settled down, okay? And really prepare for life, it can come as a shock because of how hard and different it is from life at the Temple and in space."
"Okay." Ahsoka took a breath of relief. "That takes the pressure off greatly. Thanks."
"No problem, Snips," Anakin said.
———————
I wasn't going to include the part with Rex and Wolffe in the beginning, but I kept playing it throughout my head one night and decided to put it into words so the scene would finally get out to my brain lol. So yeah, that's why there was a sorta big time jump and all that.
Anyway, the next chapter is going to be the last one (it'll probably be really long...), however, I can do an epilogue type thing if you'd like. It could be a short/long snippet of the Tano's life after the war and stuff, the setting up of the next book, etc (just wanna make my readers happy, so it's up to you if you want it sooner rather than later :) ).