First and Last Night
Part XVI: First and Last Night
Bo-Katan looked around her with her helmet on. Yep, the viewplate was clean enough for her to see. She slid her rangerfinder over it and her vision was immediately enhanced as the visor focused and zoomed in on various objects across the dining room. She had never really doubted the quality of her equipment, but she wanted to make sure that, after all those weeks without using it, her armor would be handy to use again.
A few days ago, Korkie had finally called her back after receiving the message she had sent from the Imperial base. He had put together a small team of Mandalorian loyalists who were willing to fight to resist the Imperial occupation and Bo-Katan had decided to join them without a second thought. They were not so many but Bo knew more people would join them once they knew they were not the only ones opposing the Empire; once they knew they had a chance to stand against it. You only needed a spark to start a rebellion. After all, Death Watch had remained a minority among Mandalorians for a while before being able to convince the people to join their cause. History really was repeating itself.
Satisfied to see her armor was still fully operational, she raised her hands to remove her helmet when a sound caught her attention. It was a faint groan coming from upstairs that she would have never heard without her helmet on. She took it off and carefully put it on a small table next to the rest of her gear before climbing the stairs leading to the second floor. The sound was coming from Rex’s bedroom. She pushed the door, only to find him sitting on his bed, shirtless, with one end of a bandage loosely wrapped around his shoulder and the other end between his teeth. The Mandalorian immediately understood the situation.
“Alright, give that to me,” she said with a sigh. “You won’t be able to do it alone.”
“I whas jus about to sucsheed,” he managed to say with the cloth in his mouth.
“No, you were not.”
She grabbed his cloth and removed it entirely from his arm in order to start the bandage all over again. The wound was almost entirely healed, now. The bandage was more of a formality.
“Thanks,” Rex said. “Cut usually helps me with that, but as he wasn’t here, I thought I could…”
“Handle it youself?”
He nodded. The Lawquanes had gone to a festival in town and would be out for the evening. Both Rex and Bo-Katan would’ve gladly come with them, but even if months had passed since their arrival on Saleucami, it was still risky for them to show their faces in public. And since it was her last day on the farm before leaving to meet with Korkie, Bo-Katan had decided to take the opportunity to pack her things.
“You could’ve asked for help, you know. It’s not because I don’t have the same face as you that I cannot help.”
“I know, I just…. It’s not something I’m used to. Having people who are not brothers or Jedis helping me, I mean.”
But both the Jedis and the Republic were gone, now. And Rex would have to learn to trust other people. But she knew he was smart enough to understand it by himself so she didn’t say it out loud and focused on her task. That’s when she noticed something on the upper part of his chest. It looked like a scar.
“How did you get that?” She asked, nodding towards the mark.
He looked down.
“Oh, that? It’s the wound that brought me here in the first place.”
“The first time you met Cut?”
“Yes”
He chuckled.
“When I think that I lectured him about being a deserter and leaving the army…”
He lowered his head.
“For many months after that first encounter, I convinced myself that I would never become like him. I would stay loyal to the Republic; to my Jedi; to my men, until my death. I had been created for that purpose; trained for it. The war — this war — was my life. Without it I was nothing.”
The young soldier looked at his palms as if he didn’t know what to do with them anymore.
“Still, after meeting Cut, I began to see things differently. More and more of my brothers were dying and everything was losing its sense.”
He raised his eyes to stare at something only he could see.
“Then I caught myself wondering when all of it would be over. Wishing for it to be over. And every time I tried to picture myself free, in a peaceful world, I couldn’t help but see the picture of Cut Lawquane and his family on their farm.”
“A peaceful world…” She repeated, trying to imagine what it would look like.
She was fighting since she was only a teenager and hadn’t stopped since. And it didn’t look like things were about to get any better. Rex was right. Those months spent with the Lawquanes were the closest thing to peace she had experienced in a long time. And it would probably be long before she could experience it again.
“When my sister took power, a lot people became farmers so the system would be less dependent on imports. It was also a way for those who had fought to return to civilian life and reintegrate into society after years of civil war. I used to despise these people; these farmers. To me, real Mandalorians were supposed to be warriors. They would take from others what they needed to survive, not cultivate it.”
She briefly closed her eyes.
“Now, I would gladly give everything that I have to see Mandalore at peace, inhabited by thousand of farmers.”
That was painful to admit, but it was the truth.
She suddenly felt something brushing her fingers and realized it was Rex who had taken her hand in his to squeeze it. It was an intimate gesture she hadn’t share with anyone in a long time. Not since Pre’s death. But at this very moment, it felt right. She knew Rex understood her.
They remained still before Rex finally let go of her hand to allow her to finish his bandage. Which she did, in silence. She was almost done when she saw another scar on his right side that looked like it had been made by a series of stitches.
“What about this one? Where does it come from?” She asked.
To her surprise, he smiled.
“I got this one from my brother Wolffe. He broke my ribs during a Mandalorian wrestling match back in the days when we were still training on Kamino.”
“Wait,” she said, shaking her head. “You know Mandalorian wrestling?”
“Well, yes. Our instructors had taught us without the Kaminoans knowing. We use to fight during the night when nobody was watching us. It was a game; a training and a way to solve the problems we had with a brother at the same time.”
“Were you good at it?”
He grinned.
“I won our little tournament three years in a row.”
**********
Rex hit the floor with a thud. Fortunately, the bed of hay covering the floor of the barn where they had chosen to fight was thick enough to cushion the impact.
“Lost your touch, captain?” Bo asked with a knee against his throat.
He had mistakenly thought that, being smaller and thinner than his brothers, she would be easier to beat. He should have known better.
“Giving up, yet?” She added with a victorious smirk.
But it looked like she was underestimating him as well. And he wouldn’t do the same mistake. He remained still a few more seconds only to let her drop her guard. Then, he swiftly grabbed her knee and pulled it towards him, causing the to lose her balance. And when he lifted his hips, it was enough for her to fall on the side, allowing him to perform a new hold. Now, he had the upper hand and she was the one nailed to the floor. She was on her stomach; the victory seemed within reach.
“Not yet,” he answered.
Spitting out the hair she had in her mouth, she slightly turned her head on the side. A broad smile was spread across her face.
“Ah… A challenge, then…”
And before he even got the time to figure out what she meant; she had moved again. And before he knew it, his legs went over his head and once more, he was the one in the hay.
Sitting astride him, Bo-Katan was smiling again.
“I bet your instructors never showed you this one, huh? Probably wanted to make sure they would always win against you.”
Rex was usually a sore loser, but not this time. He was glad to admit she had made a brilliant move.
“Alright, I give up. You won.”
“Of course, I did!” She answered, her eyes shining.
Normally, after the end of the round, the fighters would rise and salute but for some reason, Bo-Katan didn’t move. And Rex suddenly became very aware of her warm skin against his; her heavy breath on his face; her strong thighs around his sides…
And when she leaned over to kiss him, he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her back without even thinking about it.