#there’s a chance i’ll write this abt ahsoka too

[dexters-bluemilkshakes]

rex says goodbye

so we all know rex fought at the battle of endor, right?

so let’s imagine something, shall we?

luke comes back from burning his father’s body to a celebration of the empire’s defeat

he pushes his grief aside to be with his friends for the night

later, when he sees anakin’s ghost, his chest feels lighter and he is filled with an overwhelming sense of reassurance from the force

when the moon is high in the sky, our heroes are sitting around the fire, talking

more specifically, luke is doing his best to explain what happened on the death star

by this point, most have gone to bed, opting to hear the story when luke inevitably re-tells it in the morning, or perhaps hear it from a friend

so only a handful remain

and rex is there

he listens with his heart in his throat how anakin fulfilled his destiny as the chosen one

how he saved his son in the same reckless, impulsive way he would save ahsoka or obi wan or one of rex’s brothers back in the old days

when rex heard that anakin came back, his blue eyes shining, rex cried fast, hot tears

all the deaths of his brothers would never stop hurting

but they were worth it

in the end, they won

not the the war they thought they were fighting

but the true war, the war they were fighting all along without knowing

the war against palpatine

they finally won

rex stays up all night, talking to luke and leia, smiling at how much luke reminds him of his mother, and leia of her father

and while leia still couldn’t forgive vader, it was she who asked rex to tell stories of the war

of anakin

she couldn’t forgive vader, no, but she wanted to get to know that man who was her father

so rex tells it all

from the moment he met his jedi general, to the moment he realized he was gone

he told the sky twins the wonderful things obi wan told him about the golden haired boy

and the stories ezra, kanan, and kallus told him of the golden eyed man

luke barely moves the entire time, his forearms braced on his knees, his expression tight with longing and…

was that love?

it was

a similar expression was mirrored on leia’s face

anakin skywalker was a great man. rex smiled at the twins pride in their father

and he grinned when he imagined how that pride would go right to their fathers head, had he been around

luke asked questions about the jedi, about anakin’s childhood, and they slowly untangled the knot that was anakin’s skywalker’s heart

and they figured out exactly what was the catalyst for his Falling

luke’s mind was so much like padmé’s it hurt

leia, however, had commentary to add to the stories. cracking gentle jokes and letting the galaxy know that “i would never throw you off a wall, rex.” or “our father got electrocuted so many times i bet it didn’t actually hurt when palpatine hit him with it on the death star.” more than a few times she fondly rolled her eyes and said “dramatic much?”

rex was more than inclined to agree

later, after leia had fallen asleep on her brother’s shoulder, luke asked if rex would like to say goodbye to anakin

rex didn’t hesitate

so luke gently carried leia to her room, and then led rex to the clearing in the woods where anakin skywalker was laid to rest

his suit was gray with ash and had begunto crumble, heat still emanating off of his suit

luke’s gaze lingered on his father for a moment before he nodded to rex and stepped away to give him privacy

rex got as close as he dared to the suit, before deciding he would regret it for the rest of his life if he didn’t put a hand on his friend’s shoulder one last time

so he did

and he talked

“general,” he cleared his throat. “ah, i mean, anakin.”

he swallowed, barely holding back tears

“anakin,” he repeated

and then he cried

harder than he did around the fire

his sobs echoed off the trees as they heaved their way out of his chest and ran down his face and into his beard

“i missed you.”

“we all loved you general,

force, if i could have helped you. if i had known.

sir, anakin, there was nothing i wouldn’t do to help you, had i known.

i’m so sorry

i’m so so sorry.”

rex didn’t know that anakin was watching him in the Force Afterlife,

his hand on rex’s shoulder

murmuring “it’s okay, it’s alright, it wasn’t your fault. i’m sorry, i love you, it wasn’t your fault.”

after a few minutes of the taste of salty tears and the butter flavor of regret,  rex smiled down on the body of one of his closest friends, his chest still burning the way it does when you aren’t finished crying but push it all inside.

“there’s still so much work to be done to bring down this empire. i guess i just gotta live to fight another day, huh?”

rex looked to the stars as he wiped his eyes

dawn would be breaking soon

his voice still had a slight tremor as he said,

“i don’t know where you are or what you’re doing in the life after this, but whatever it is that youre doing,

i hope you at least told padmé i said hello.”

anakin was laughing through his tears as rex placed his hand on anakin's shoulder one more time

and turned back into the dark forest,

walking towards luke

and the light of the campfire