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Cody handed his General’s lightsaber back for the fourth time in one month. It seemed that now that General Skywalker was no longer around for General Kenobi to lecture about how his lightsaber was his life, General Kenobi had forgotten the lesson himself.
“You know, Cody, I must say, I’m quite embarrassed. I can’t imagine what you must think of me.” General Kenobi hooks his lightsaber back to his own belt. “I suppose I had better ask the quartermaster for a new hook, though.”
“That would be good, General. I think I speak for all the men when I say that we would prefer that you stayed armed.” Cody’s eyes, safe behind his bucket, flick to the conspicuously empty holster for a blaster on the General’s belt. “If there’s nothing else, I‘ll compile the after action reports for you.”
“No, nothing else. Thank you, Commander.”
And Cody honestly thought that would be the end of that. The General got a new clip for his belt, and for a while, his lightsaber stayed firmly in his own hands, and on his own belt. Cody kept going through blasters at a rate that made Penny want to strangle him, but the quartermaster kept supplying them, so really, there was someone to blame, but it wasn’t Cody. When the damn things jammed or broke they were only good for improvised weaponry, and everyone knew it. So he had a part of the budget set aside for funding his blaster habit and that was fine. He brought the old ones back, anyways. Spare parts were always needed in any case.
Regrettably, that was not the end of it.
After a few months the General had managed to drop both his lightsaber and large portions of his armor. The lightsaber he took back, but the armor was lost. Cody handed the lightsaber back again.
And again.
And again.
Over, and over, until eventually he started to get a sixth or seventh or whatever sense for where the lightsaber was. He could almost hear the crystal inside of it hum when he picked it up.
“General.”
“Commander.”
Handed over with a smile on one side and an increasingly clear tone of exasperation on the other.
It got to the point that Cody knew where the General was, if he had his lightsaber, and he couldn’t really explain that. Bly admitted to the same, on a heavily encrypted call, but Rex denied anything. Wolffe just raised his damn eyebrow and said that some people’s Jedi were competent. Trauma and Fox and Ponds were also of no help, and Monnk just said he was too busy enjoying the fact that his Jedi basically gave everyone free reign to ogle his abs.
So it was just Cody, his General’s lightsaber, and his General’s habit of dropping it everywhere he could. Cody would almost wonder if he was doing it on purpose, but who would drop their weapon in the middle of battle? Especially when it couldn’t even jam.
Cody got a lightsaber clip installed on his own belt, and from there it felt like the beginning of the end. General Kenobi would be in the middle of a briefing and somehow the damn lightsaber would slip off its belt clip. And then he would lean down and pat around for it, and somehow every single time his robes would slip and his ass would be right there.
Cody had to wonder if it was in fact some sort of punishment from the Force that made this happen over and over. Every single time. Sometimes, in the middle of combat, Kenobi would end up losing parts of his robes and armor, and Cody feared it was only a matter of time before he started stripping just like General Fisto.
Feared, but also, he wasn’t really sure he would complain if it did happen. He did his best not to notice, because the General was a Jedi, and Cody was a clone, and it definitely wasn’t his place to have a crush. Or find him attractive. Or anything of the sort, really, Bly, not all of us decided that falling into bed and in love with your Jedi was a good idea.
So Cody wouldn’t do that but he would, perhaps, admit General Kenobi was hot.
Then the General kept on doing things for them. He extended rest periods to eight hours, and got them all at least one meal a day that wasn’t the kriffing terrible ration bars, and he stocked a room for them to use on break with games and couches and books and Cody just. There was really only so much he could be expected to take.
So maybe he had a tiny, tiny crush. Not one that he expected the General ever sensed, and not one that he wanted him to sense, because he was, again, a Jedi. And they couldn’t all be General Secura. No, some of them had to be General Kenobi, who might have been polite enough to ignore General Skywalker’s marriage, but wouldn’t be having any of it for himself.
And Cody would admit that he kept an eye out. Just to see. It was strategic reconnaissance that he needed to complete before he could do anything. And in the end, he made the quite reasonable decision that apparently General Kenobi was chaste, unlike many of the Jedi. Although he had noted that his friends, when they came by, teased him. Cody had heard General Vos tease General Kenobi about past conquests and losing his touch.
Being chaste during the war was much the same thing, though. That’s the only time Cody will have for that. After all, no one would want to add three million, and rapidly rising, clones to their planet. But decommissioning won’t be until the end of the war, so he has time.
Or it could be now! Now, as Cody watched General Kenobi hold out his lightsaber.
“Come on, Commander, it doesn’t bite. You should know that by now.”
Cody looked at Kenobi with an eyebrow raised.
“See, normally I’m picking it up from the floor. The ground. Occasionally small nooks and crannies that you’ve managed to get it wedged in. Having it be handed to me, though, that’s new.” Cody allowed his natural tendency towards sarcasm to slip through, because General Kenobi likes it, and that meant he wasn’t going to be reprimanded.
“Well, I thought you might learn how to use it, when it ends up in your hands.”
“... They’re for Jedi, sir, not for clones. I’m fairly certain you’ve lectured General Skywalker on this?”
“We don’t have to tell him. Besides, I’m sure he would have if he’d thought of it. And I’ve heard Aayla’s already taught Commander Bly. Quinlan is trying to follow in his Padawan’s footsteps, but I’m afraid that when he suggests it to anyone he gets laughed at.”
“Fox said he threw the lightsaber back at him. I didn’t realize he’d offered to teach anyone else.”
General Kenobi laughed, and it was frankly unfair how good he looked bending in slightly to hide a smile behind a hand.
“Well. Apparently he thought he could make Fox jealous by offering to Stone. And Thire. And Thorn. I think he’s been laughed at every time.”
“More likely he’s making himself easy to laugh at. Quinlan is... unique, and a very good friend, but sometimes I can’t say I understand his motivations all the time. But that’s not the important bit. Yes or no, Cody? No pressure, but I do think that it could be useful if you knew a few simple moves.”
“... It would be more useful if you could get a lightsaber clip that works, sir, but if you insist.”
The General frowned, and Cody felt a pang in his heart.
“... No, Cody. If you don’t want to learn, we don’t have to. I just thought you might enjoy it.”
Oh Cody is being looked at as though General Kenobi is very upset now.
“It’s- I’m not sure it would fit in the schedule, boss, but if you do have a time we can do it, then I would like to know how to handle your lightsaber, yes. Just put it on the schedule, or I’ll end up forgetting and working through it.”
“Right! I can do that, Commander. Perhaps we could start now? I believe you had an empty space on your calendar.”
“... Ah... sure. Just let me get my tea.”
Cody decided that lightsaber practice was actually further punishment from General Kenobi’s- no, Obi-Wan’s (“really, Commander, if I’m going to be training you I must insist,”) Force. There was a lot of touching. Obi-Wan pressed up against Cody’s back while he guided him through forms. Cody just had to be glad that no one else was around during these training sessions. The teasing would not be worth enduring.
“Alright, my dear, just reposition yourself a bit.” Obi-Wan moved Cody’s hand up just a bit. “There. Try the form.”
That was something else. Cody had been fully aware of Obi-Wan’s tendency to give anyone he worked with or even fought with pet names, but before this, he hadn't experienced it. And now he was being called my dear, and dear Commander, and wonderful Cody, and Cody frankly did not need this much practice in controlling his facial expressions.
So he was just going to die during one of these sessions. It would probably be better than getting decommissioned. At least he would be being gay at the same time.
Cody did not die, and managed, instead, to get better, until he reached the point that Obi-Wan started to have Cody use his lightsaber in fights.
“Cody! Catch!”
Cody threw up his hand and grabbed Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, igniting it and using it to swipe through the droids in front of him before throwing it back to Obi-Wan.
“Get a damn blaster before you start throwing away your weapons!”
“That’s what the Force is for, Cody!”
Cody refused to justify that with an answer. In the middle of a canyon, holding the line while backup arrives with rocks falling all around is not the time for that argument, which he has failed to win for almost a year now.
Instead, he picked up a droid and used it to start breaking the other droids, which was a much more helpful way to express frustration. And was, right up until he heard an explosion and looked up with dread.
At least it was just him and Obi-Wan. At least Obi-Wan was likely to survive.
“Cody!”
Cody turns and sees Obi-Wan, hand outstretched, and then everything goes black.
A droid reached out and brushed Cody’s face, and he awoke with a jolt, and in a moment that he was glad no one saw, he punched through its shitty metal chassis.
He looked around, after shaking his hand. He felt air across his face, and noted that somehow, rocks had landed around him in a way that formed a pocket.
He couldn’t feel his legs. Which was not- the best. He didn’t want to get decommissioned before the war was over. He hadn’t made plans, because he wasn’t an idiot, and he knew that that jinxed you. But he still had things that he wanted to do. He attempted to remember what you did, if you couldn’t feel your legs. What the medics would tell him to do.
Stay still, he was fairly certain. Stay still and don’t try to move. His bucket helpfully informed him that there were no GAR signals in range, but the fact that it was still functional meant that if there was a rescue mission that reached him and not just Obi-Wan, they would be able to find him. Which would be better than dying slowly.
His helmet rang with an incoming call, and he picked up, because what else was he supposed to do? Not answer the probably hallucinatory call? Although given that his bucket had only said no GAR signals, he supposed he could be being called by Separatists, which might be worth a laugh.
“Hello?”
“Cody!”
The relief of his probably hallucinatory General was almost intoxicating.
“Hello, Obi-Wan. How are you calling me from a non-GAR signal?”
“Don’t tell anyone, but I will admit that I have a personal comm, which did survive.”
“Ah.” Cody stared at the ceiling. “My bucket’s working. Will they be able to find you, without your comm?”
“Oh, they should be able to once they’ve found you. Just stay on the line, yes? Wouldn’t want to lose you.”
“... Boss. It would be... more cost efficient to leave me. But I can pass on the signal.”
“That’s not an option, Cody.” Obi-Wan’s voice was firm, and Cody realized that he was going to have to be more direct.
“Obi-Wan. I can’t feel my legs. They’re not going to approve healing me. I’d need a full tank, assuming I’m not bleeding out right now. You know how the Senate is, you know what the budget looks like.”
“No.” Obi-Wan’s voice is still firm. “We’ve gotten bacta rations increased, Cody, and if I assign my after-battle ration to you, we can get you in a tank.”
Cody didn’t know what to tell him. He knew what was going to happen to him. He’d left a list of upcoming Command-class clones that might work well with Obi-Wan, just in case. A list of what the men needed, and how to take care of them. A list of how to take care of their Jedi.
“Alright, General.” Cody knew his voice was perhaps overly gentle. “Sure. Can you tell me what the time is?”
“Roughly 17:40, ship time. Why?”
To distract you, Cody avoided saying.
“I just want to know when the backup is likely to arrive. It sounds like we don’t have long. So just hang on, Obi-Wan, and they’ll get you out.” It was cowardly of him to let someone else explain this to Obi-Wan after. Explain the cost-benefit analysis of keeping Cody alive. He didn’t have the heart to do it.
“They’ll get you out too, Cody.” Obi-Wan’s voice sounded desperate, but Cody didn’t think anything he said should help. “We’ll both get out.”
“It’s fine, Obi-Wan.” Cody wondered if he would have woken up if the droid hadn’t tried to get him. “I don’t have many regrets, really. And I lived longer than I would have if you hadn’t come to Kamino.”
“And you’re still going to live longer, Cody. Keep on talking to me. What do you want to do, after the war?”
Cody laughed quietly.
“I don’t imagine I’ll be doing much, Obi-Wan. Getting decommissioned and resting. There were a few things I wanted to do during the war, though.” He sighed, staring at the ceiling. He was fairly certain that his continued energy drain meant that he was bleeding out. Not good. He had to keep Obi-Wan on the line until rescue got there. “Keep on meaning to ask you why you bother teaching me lightsaber tactics.”
“Ah.” Obi-Wan sounds a bit embarrassed. “I just wanted to spend more time with you. And besides, my lightsaber’s kyber crystal’s taken a liking to you. Which I didn’t know happened, but apparently it does. Have you noticed that?”
“It sings. I can hear it clear across the Negotiator. How do you think I always hunt you down?”
“Frankly, I assumed you were tracking my comm.”
“No. I don’t have the clearance levels for that, boss.”
“Well, we can get that changed. I’ve promoted you from Captain to Marshal Commander, what’s one more?”
“Sure, Obi-Wan.” Cody yawned. “Should’ve talked to you. Asked you some things earlier.” What the hell, he thought. If he was about to die, he might as well go out having confessed. “Were you flirting on purpose? With the- bending, and the managing to end up naked, and how you always manage to basically hug me every time you teach me?”
“I may have been attempting to sound you out, yes. But I wouldn’t press myself on you, Cody-” Cody snorted and broke into laughter, and Obi-Wan continued, flustered. “Alright, I would press myself against you when teaching you lightsaber techniques, but you said that was fine and you didn’t feel as though you were lying, but I wouldn’t force anything. And I’m aware that at the moment I am your General, and it would be inappropriate to do anything other than maybe light make outs and some dates, but after the war.”
Cody blinked at the rock ceiling, which was becoming hazy, even with his visor.
“Could have bought me so I wouldn’t get decommissioned, I guess. Bly thinks General Secura will. That would have been nice.”
“Bought- Cody. Cody, the Council is going to fight for your rights, but in any case, as the Kaminoans keep on pointing out, you are all technically the property of the Jedi, not the Senate, and we will free you. We have plans to do that, the moment the Senate won’t call for us all to be exiled.”
“Seems like you’d have better luck during the war,” Cody pointed out, sleepy. “More pressure. But that’s nice. That’s a nice dream.”
“Cody, you aren’t going to die here. Don’t fall asleep on me, Cody, the backup was scheduled to get here in just a few minutes. Hold on. Please.”
Obi-Wan’s voice was desperate, but Cody wasn’t sure that he could hold out, much longer. He stared at the ceiling, and hummed a soft affirmative. After that, things went slightly strange. The rocks moved above his head, and Cody assumed that it meant that hallucinations had begun. Hopefully he didn’t upset Obi-Wan.
Then there was a flash and hum of a lightsaber, and suddenly Cody’s bucket changed the light settings, and he turned his head just enough to see Obi-Wan, who held the rocks back and stood above him.
“Cody.” Obi-Wan kneeled next to him and slowly removed his bucket. Cody saw Obi-Wan’s face lit by his saber, and was just glad that he had not lost it. “Cody, they’re going to have to rescue both of us, now. You see? You’re not dying.”
Cody smiled and raised a hand to cup Obiwan’s face.
“Okay. If you say so. But get a better lightsaber clip, okay?”
“The clip wasn’t the problem, Cody, I was using the Force to make it fall off. Anakin thought I was disgusting because I was flirting so obviously.”
“Oh.” Cody couldn’t tell, because there wasn’t any light, but he was fairly sure he was about to faint. “I’m afraid they don’t teach flirting on Kamino. But can you kiss me, then?”
“Yes. Yes, of course.” Obi-Wan leaned in and pressed their lips together softly, and Cody mentally catalogued the feeling so he could take it with him when he marched on, and as Obi-Wan pulled away Cody realized that he was, in fact, about to faint.
But he didn’t really have regrets, anymore.
The next time Cody woke up, Rex was standing over him looking very threatening, and his entire lower half was still submerged in bacta, and Cody could have almost wished that he had died, because at least then no one would be attempting to yell thanks at him about the changes that the Jedi were making, wholesale, to Kamino, while also attempting to tear him a new one for lacking self-control.
But that was fine.
Cody could feel Obi-Wan and his lightsaber getting closer.