Work Text:
Rex swallows heavily, flexing his hands underneath the table unseen, trying to release some tension. It feels like his whole life had been nothing but a continuous trainwreck, and his General trying to kill them all certainly hadn’t helped with that.
He still feels guilty, somehow, sitting across from another Jedi, like he should have guessed Skywalker’s grim plans and put a stop to it before anyone could be hurt. Thankfully, very few people had been hurt—the Council Members who had confronted Skywalker and Darth Sidious were all in recovery, though it had been touch and go for a while.
Now, Rex and the rest of the 501st are grounded as they wait with baited breath to hear what will happen to them next.
Somehow, Rex never expected this.
“A number of clone troopers have been found among the remnants of a Separatist base,” the General says. Rex doesn’t know their name, too scattered to recall much of anything these days. “Including your former Commander.”
Rex stares, blankly.
“W-What?” he croaks out, after far too long of a silence.
“CC-1010 has been identified among the recovered troopers, Captain,” the Jedi says gently, something understanding in their eyes. “Commander Fox, yes? It is entirely possible that other former troopers of yours are there as well. Torrent Company is welcome to join us on the retrieval.”
“Fox,” Rex gasps out, still processing it. “You found Fox.”
It’s—It’s been a long time since he’s thought of Fox.
In the early days it was inescapable—every time a trooper turned to him for orders, every time Skywalker smiled and congratulated him on a successful mission, the memory of Fox hit him like a blaster bolt.
He’d been so excited when he was told that he was going to be transferred to the newly-created Torrent with Fox as the Commander. Fox was a bastard and a menace, but he looked out for his vode. Rex trusted him, knew that Fox wouldn’t steer him wrong.
And he hadn’t—for the short time he’d been Commander, anyway.
See, the thing is; Fox and Skywalker never got along. In fact, Rex is sure that Fox will be downright gleeful when he hears about his former General’s arrest.
In the beginning, it wasn’t that bad. Skywalker would come up with these reckless, madcap plans, and Fox would smooth them out into something reasonable, something workable. And though Skywalker had been obviously put-out by that, he’d been willing to accept it given their results.
But then resentment grew and Fox turned more and more cold—staunchly professional, of course, but less willing to indulge in the General’s antics, even when off-duty. It wasn’t long before Skywalker would bypass Fox at every given opportunity, passing things off to Rex instead. Ahsoka, still unsure of her place in those early days, would avoid Fox as well, if only to prevent a bad reaction from Skywalker if she was seen with him.
Rex should have known. He should have seen how far Skywalker was willing to go, how much he was willing to destroy for the sake of his own ambitions.
It had always made him uncomfortable, of course, but Skywalker was so brilliant. He was a Jedi, a hero out of every story that Rex had grown up in. He trusted Fox, but he thought this was just a case of clashing personalities; something that could be remedied with enough time and a few heart-pounding adventures.
Then Skywalker had sent Fox and a small squad out on a scouting mission on a planet crawling with Separatists, and none of them had come back. They’d found bodies later. But they never found Fox.
And then…
Then Skywalker ordered the retreat. Without Fox. Without even looking for him.
And knowing what he knows now, about what Skywalker was willing to risk for the sake of his wife, his friends, his karking droid, Rex knows it wasn’t out of practicality.
Skywalker purposefully left behind a fellow soldier, a trooper under his protection, his second-in-command—and he did it out of spite.
There’s a lot that he did that was unforgivable. Rex isn’t going to pretend that he has ownership of that grudge, or even that he’s the first in line. But knowing that even after everything, Fox was still alive when they abandoned him?
Rex has another grudge to add to a very long list.
“Torrent can join the mission?” he says, dragging himself back to the present. “Even with…?”
He trails off, too ashamed to say it aloud, but the Jedi only smiles, reaching across the table to very gently pat his arm.
“It would be an honor to have you with us, Captain Rex.”
Rex’s heart swells, and he squares his shoulders. “Right. Okay, thank you. We’ll be ready to depart immediately, General!”
***
For all his brave words, Rex had no idea how he was going to react when Fox was actually in front of him. Would he cry? He felt like he was about to cry basically all the time now, so he wouldn’t put it past himself.
But when he finally sees Fox again, his cheeks are dry. He feels… numb.
Storming through the Separatist facility, Rex had already been psyching himself up. Echo had changed drastically after they recovered him, and time to rest (along with the semi-helpful presence of Fives, who decided the best way to welcome back his vod was to be an absolute menace) had done him some good, but he would never be able to return to his previous life. Not fully.
Fox will undoubtedly be the same. Rex knows that. But—
“Commander Fox, sir,” he says, voice flat. “It’s Captain Rex of the 501st. I’m here as part of the recovery effort.”
Fox twitches. He gazes up in Rex’s direction, but his eyes are clouded and unseeing. Chemical burns cover his face, casting sharp lines between the damaged and undamaged skin. His jumpsuit hangs limply off his thin frame—his hair, long and unruly.
Fox is laying on the cold concrete, clearly tortured, and Rex can’t even bring himself to kneel down next to him.
“R-Rex?”
God, his voice sounds awful. It’s like he hasn’t spoken in a very long time. (Or like he’s done nothing but scream.)
“Yes sir.” Rex thinks he’s gonna be sick.
He wants to scream at himself. Why is he acting like this? Why can’t he just say it?!
I missed you, vod.
That’s all he wants to say, and it just isn’t happening.
Fox’s lips split into a smile, blood trickling down from his cracked skin. “S-Shit. Skywalker finally get his head outta his ass?”
“No, sir,” Rex replies, voice suddenly shaking. “He’s been arrested, sir. He betrayed the Republic.”
For a long, long moment, Fox is silent.
Then he throws his head back, booming laughter echoing through the tiny cell, whole body shivering with the force of his amusement.
“Ah, serves the bastard right!” Fox says with relish, and suddenly, even with how much everything has changed, it’s like no time has passed at all.
Rex falls to his knees without even a thought, crowding close to his vod, reaching out for him like a child.
“Fox, Fox —”
“Shh, shh.” Fox’s hand cups the back of Rex’s helmet, dragging him closer even though Rex knows he has to be crushing his fragile Commander with the heavy weight.
Fox’s voice is a soothing wall, protecting him from the outside world. “It’s alright, vod’ika. You made it here to me. That’s all that matters.”
And finally, head bowed, Rex weeps.