The others had come at a perfect time, really. Ahsoka still had half a ham and plenty of potatoes left, but they were starting to go bad and she needed to eat them before she ran to the market again or she wouldn't have space in her fridge. Now, though, she had two generals and a captain to feed, even if one of them was still unconscious.
She got Anakin and Rex started on peeling the potatoes, just because she knew they didn't have any experience with cooking. Ahsoka got to work on the ham, remembering to add her favorite flavors to the mix. It was already prepped, she just had to reheat it. This was going to blow Rex's mind once it went in his mouth.
While they were working, Rex leaned over to Anakin and mumbled, "So is this what knives are supposed to be used for?" Anakin snickered, and finished the potato he was working on. He brushed his hair to the side, but it still kept falling into his face.
Rex paused in his peeling. "Ever consider getting a haircut?"
"Hey, don't talk about my hair," Anakin threatened, holding the knife up at him jokingly. "You're one to talk, you have a buzz cut."
"Well, one of us wears a helmet," Rex argued, going back to his potato. "Do you have any idea what you would look like if you wore a helmet every mission?"
Ahsoka snickered behind them, clearly amused by the idea. "I want a picture of that."
Anakin whipped around and glared at her. "You're supposed to be on my side, Snips."
"Actually, I'm with Rex on this one."
"WHAT?"
"Thank you!"
"Shhh!" She held a finger up to her lips and pointed at Obi-Wan. "People are sleeping! And for the record, I've never had to deal with anything like hair. All I have are three solid lekku, but you have hundreds of tiny strands to deal with all the time."
Grumbling, Anakin turned back to the potatoes. "You're a traitor to the cause, Ahsoka."
Rex laughed, and Ahsoka paused long enough to grab something from the drawer. Moving a stool behind Anakin, she stepped up so she could reach the top of his head. She pulled his bangs out of his face, as well as most of the hair on the crown of his head, into a ponytail behind his head. "There, now you can see."
"Thanks," he said, flipping the tail back and forth a few times. Rex was grinning like a fool, but Anakin whipped him with his hair. "Shut up, Rex, it looks amazing."
"It's been a while since I've seen you with your hair pulled back, Anakin," Obi-Wan groaned from the couch, surprising the three of them. He was smiling at Anakin's hairstyle. "You should wear it like that more often."
Rex wanted to see that, but Anakin shook his head. "And get lectured every five seconds about it? No thanks."
Ahsoka put the ham in the oven and walked over to him. "I got your side stitched up and bandaged while you were out. You should still probably stop by the Halls of Healing when you get back to the Temple, but it should work for tonight."
"Wonderful," he replied, sitting upright with Ahsoka's help. It was manageable, with the bandages to support his abdomen. She got him to his feet, and let him try standing alone for a moment but staying close to make sure he wouldn't collapse.
Pointing to the bathroom with a potato, Anakin told him, "There should still be some hot water left if you want to clean up."
"I probably should," Obi-Wan decided, taking a few hesitant steps in that direction. When he didn't fall over, Ahsoka let him walk by himself and went to grab the last stack of clothes and towel for him. She brought it to the bathroom and set it on the counter, before catching a glimpse of the mirror.
The fan hadn't cleared the mirror yet, so water was still fogging it up. Rex and Anakin had both written their names with their fingers. Ahsoka just smiled and shook her head, before leaving to make room for Obi-Wan. "Take your time," she told him, walking back to the kitchen to give him some space.
She raised an eyebrow at the others. "I saw that you autographed the mirror," she teased, looking over at their work. "You two almost done with that?"
"Close," Rex answered, starting the last one. He looked over his shoulder at her. "Where do you want us to put these??
"Right here," Ahsoka answered, holding up a pot. "We'll boil these and drain them, and mash them afterwards. You'll love it."
The men started heaping the potatoes into the pot while Ahsoka started the stove. The pot was filled with water and set in place, and then all they had to do was wait for a while.
Rex, with absolutely no idea what table manners were, climbed onto the bar counter he and Anakin had been working at. He sat with one leg hanging over the side, but thankfully kept his feet off of the surface. Ahsoka leaned on her elbows and smiled at them. "Not bad for your first time," she teased them.
Anakin leaned up against the wall with his arms crossed. "It's not our fault, it's not like we've ever lived on our own."
"I know, I'm just saying, for having never done it..."
"Whatever, Miss Tano," he mocked her. Ahsoka stuck her tongue out at him, making a face.
Rex cocked his head towards the stove. "Do you have to do this every night?"
Ahsoka went back and forth for a second before deciding on an answer. "More or less. I'll eat out with my coworkers every once in a while, but it's cheaper to eat at home. On weekdays, I bring food to work for lunch."
"How's that going?" Anakin asked. "Still liking working as a mechanic?"
"Sure. I just got a raise last week, so that's nice," she told them, shrugging. "Better than getting sliced in the stomach."
"Or shot," Rex added, glancing down at his shoulder. He still had scars from places where his armor had broken from blaster shots.
"Or killed," Anakin reminded her, and Ahsoka groaned.
She couldn't see her own back, but she tried anyways. "Don't remind me. That scar is still there."
Rex's face went blank, before holding his hands up in a 'T'. "Timeout. What?"
Ahsoka and Anakin exchanged glances, silently fighting over who was going to tell him. Anakin won, and Ahsoka sighed. "You remember that one time our ship disappeared, even though we were at the same coordinates?"
"Yeah, you said it was complicated, and then no one ever explained it," Rex reminded them, narrowing his eyes. "Are you saying you guys died?"
"No, we ended up on a...planet? Moon?" she shook her head. "I don't know, some kind of place. I was stabbed to death, and then brought back to life in the space of about five minutes."
Rex was about to call her out for making stuff up, but then he remembered something he had seen every day afterwards. "That's what that giant scar on your back was? You got stabbed in the back?"
"Chest, actually," Obi-Wan corrected, limping out of the bathroom. He was carrying his towel and the rest of his robes, and was wearing a sweater and sweatpants, no longer shirtless. It was also thankfully hiding his bandages so he looked a little better.
Glaring at the three Force-users, he asked, "And I'm just hearing about it now?"
Ahsoka, while taking Obi-Wan's laundry from him, answered, "Well I didn't exactly want to talk about my death. Not the greatest highlight of my life."
"If it was anything like what I felt, I understand," Obi-Wan admitted, sinking into a stool next to the bar counter. "Not a very pleasant experience."
"I think I should be worried," Anakin confessed while Ahsoka got the rest of the bloody towels and switched the loads in the laundry machines. "First Ahsoka got stabbed in the chest, then you got sliced tonight, what does that mean for me?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "Anakin, you were first. Or are you forgetting that you are missing a hand?"
It was true. He had his glove off, so his robotic hand was exposed. "Good point. In that case, I'd be careful around knives, Rex."
"Hey, you don't have to tell me," he promised, raising his hands. "I learned from watching you all."
"At least someone is," Obi-Wan muttered, giving Anakin a look.
Not that it did any good. Anakin just rolled his eyes and looked over at Ahsoka, who had just returned. "Do you hear this? Unbelievable."
She kicked his shin at that. "Says the man with one hand."
"It wasn't my fault!"
"Nonsense, it was entirely your fault," Obi-Wan corrected, pointing at him. "I told you to attack Dooku with me, and you ran off to take him by yourself. You only have yourself to blame."
"And I told you to not go by yourself into that house, and here we are," Anakin retorted back, pointing at Obi-Wan's side.
The Jedi Master glared at his apprentice. "You never said that."
"I was going to, if you had waited five seconds longer."
"It's true, he was," Rex vouched, much to Obi-Wan's annoyance. "We were talking about it after you left."
Ahsoka giggled. "And you wonder how I knew someone was hurt." She reached into a cabinet above the sink and pulled out three glasses. She knew Obi-Wan liked to drink when he got hurt, he always claimed it worked better than the painkillers. Pulling a half full wine bottle from one of the pantries, she filled the three glasses and handed them out. To the Jedi.
"Hey, where's mine?" Rex complained, and Ahsoka faked a clueless look.
"You can't drink until you're eighteen, Rex," she told him, dead serious. Anakin nearly choked on his drink laughing. Furious, Rex leaned across the counter and stole Ahsoka's glass before she could object, and drank from it while looking at her dead in the eyes.
"Fight me," Rex challenged her. Instead, she just floated a fourth glass from the cabinet and filled it for herself. They started debating the technicalities of his accelerated aging, but Anakin just smiled on while he watched.
He kept staring at each of them in turn. Everyone looked so...carefree, and the casual civilian clothing was definitely helping. No one was thinking about war, or dying, or the reality they would have to face once they left Ahsoka's house. At least for a few hours, they could pretend that everything up on the surface was some nightmare that didn't exist. The Clone War was the least of their worries, and the most important thing right now was whether Rex was fourteen or twenty-eight.
Obi-Wan was in the same headspace, if he was being honest. For some reason, the hot shower had washed away the burden that had been weighing on his mind earlier. Right now, the Jedi Council just felt so pressuring. They were still struggling with their open position issue, but the problem felt like it was a million lightyears away. Maybe it was the wine talking, but he didn't feel like he had to be some...authority figure anymore. Rank and mastery had no meaning here. Besides, even if Rex was born fourteen years ago, he was an adult in his mind, and Ahsoka had matured so much as well. It didn't feel like he was looking out for them as much, and right now? This was rest, and casual conversation among friends that trusted each other. He didn't need to be a Jedi Master right now, just Obi-Wan.
"You do realize the drinking age is more of a safety guideline, right?" He asked the bickering group. "A teenager wouldn't be able to digest this as well, that's the reason the law exists."
"Exactly," Rex affirmed, satisfied. "The accelerated aging took care of that. So you can shove off, Ahsoka."
She rolled her eyes, taking another drink. "Fine, just don't come to me if Cody socks you in the head for it."
Smugly, he took another sip himself. "Cody's not going to know. And neither is Kix, for that matter."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Anakin teased, not making eye contact. "We live on the same cruiser, and I could tell him for you."
"You're a bloody traitor to the cause, Skywalker," he grumbled, reaching over and flicking his ponytail. "Do that, and I'll show the shinies what you look like with helmet hair."
Obi-Wan opened his hand to the other two, looking at Ahsoka from across the counter. "You see, this is what happened when you left. I've had to deal with this for over a year, by myself."
Ahsoka just raised an eyemark, well aware that she had not been the cause of that. Anakin just grinned at Rex, who made air quotes with his hand. He was well aware that if they were on duty right then, he could be demoted for making fun of a general, but he wasn't even slightly worried about that. For once in his life, there was no authority hierarchy. Civilian, captain, or general, it didn't matter here. It was so lighthearted and silly, but Rex loved it. There were no orders, no missions, just the four of them bickering together.
It was this that made Ahsoka trust them. The Jedi Order didn't allow for emotions or attachments, and she understood why, but look at what happened when they weren't outlawed! Now that the mission was over, and everyone was safe, they didn't have to set their love aside anymore. There was no denying it, they were attached, all of them. No one would dare say it, but it was true. Ahsoka was the only one who didn't have to hide it to her superiors, and she was the one who had decided that love wasn't as dangerous as the Order had made it seem. There were amazing things that happened when people let down their guard. It had taken Obi-Wan getting sliced to do so, but with food in the oven, and drinks on the counter, everyone relaxing and at peace, her house felt more like home than ever before.
Author's Note: This has been a moment I've really looked forward to writing. Rex isn't under orders anymore and can express his full sass potential, Ahsoka doesn't feel like she has to prove herself anymore, Anakin isn't afraid of losing anyone, and Obi-Wan finally isn't carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Also, Rex has never been in a house before, why the hell are you sitting on the counter?
I kind of feel like the clothes they are wearing suit them, just personal preference. It looks like they're all at a sleepover at Ahsoka's house. Obi-Wan is a sweater kind of person, am I the only one who feels this way? I kind of like Ahsoka in soccer(futbol) shorts. Anakin and Rex are both in basketball shorts, and Anakin's in a t-shirt. A t-shirt. With a ponytail. Filoni, give us Anakin with a ponytail. Also, Rex in a tank top?
Someone please fix this, I love this scene, but I can't draw.
Edit: Huge shoutout to @AidanKantmann for offering up his own take on the drawing. This next art piece is theirs not mine!