Work Text:
Rex's stylus had been making the same scratching sound against his datapad for the past three hours. The sound of a man trying to stay awake through sheer determination, fighting the inevitable pull of exhaustion that threatened to drag him under with each blink.
The chronometer on his desk read 1147 hours. He'd been at this since... when had he started? This morning? The night before? Time took on a strange, fluid quality when you survived on nothing but caf and determination.
Just finish the supply requisitions, he told himself, squinting at the screen. Then the duty rosters. Then the after-action reports.
The stylus slipped from his fingers, clattering onto the desk with a sound that seemed unnaturally loud in the quiet of his quarters. Rex blinked hard, picked it up, and went back to work.
He didn't hear his door chime the first time.
Or the second.
It wasn't until the door slid open without his permission that Rex looked up, wide eyes blinking sluggishly at the four figures silhouetted in his doorway.
"Fives?" Rex's voice came out rougher than intended, gravelly from too much caf and too little sleep. "Jesse? What are you –"
"Commander Tano sent us for you," Fives announced, stepping into the room with a purposeful stride and a certain look that Rex had learned to be wary of when it came to his troublesome vod'ika.
Rex glanced past him to see Jesse, Kix, and Tup filing in behind, all wearing identical expressions of resolve. "All of you?"
Four heads nodded in unison.
"What in the Force does she need me for that she'd send all four of you?" Rex asked, setting down his stylus and leaning back in his chair. His spine protested the movement. When was the last time he'd stood up?
"She doesn't," Kix said, crossing his arms and fixing Rex with the particular look that had made countless troopers confess to hiding injuries. "She’s concluded, and rightly I might add, that you need to take a break. Sleep for more than thirty minutes at a time."
"That's why we're here," Jesse added, stepping up beside Fives with a grin that Rex didn't trust at all.
Rex felt his jaw tighten. "No, that's ridiculous. I have too much work to do.” He pointed back at the door, a clear dismissal. “Now please leave."
No one moved.
Rex gave an irritated sigh, gaze raking over the four of them, then felt a spark of hope when he caught Tup's eye. Perfect. Tup was the youngest, and therefore, should be the easiest to crack.
He stared at him, using a combination of his stern captain and disappointed ori'vod expressions to intimidate his kih'vod.
But Tup didn't back down.
"Tup."
Despite Rex's sharp tone, the trooper just straightened his shoulders, meeting Rex's gaze without flinching. "No can do, sir. Commander's orders and medic's orders both override yours. So..."
"I'm not leaving," Rex said flatly, turning back to his datapad with what he hoped was finality.
"Respectfully sir," Fives said, and Rex could hear the smirk in his voice without looking up, "you are. Even if we have to carry you."
Rex crossed his arms, settling back in his chair with the pure stubbornness that had gotten him through countless impossible situations, and earned him a place on Alpha-17’s CC squad as a cadet. "I'd like to see you try."
The silence that followed almost made Rex regret the words. Because the next thing out of Fives' mouth was surely going to be –
"That can be arranged."
What happened next was less of a coordinated military operation and more like controlled chaos with a side of complete insubordination.
Jesse moved first, lunging for Rex's left side while Fives went right. Rex, despite his exhaustion, still had decent reflexes – he managed to duck Jesse's initial grab and twist away from Fives' reaching hands.
"What the – get off me!" Rex protested, scrambling backward until his chair hit the wall.
"Come here, you stubborn captain!" Fives called out cheerfully, making another grab that Rex narrowly avoided. "Let us love you!"
"This is mutiny!" Rex shot back, but he was fighting a grin now despite himself. The absurdity of the situation was starting to override his indignation.
Kix, ever practical, had circled around during the commotion and was now blocking Rex's path to the door. "Technically, it's an intervention," he corrected. "Mutiny would require us to be overthrowing your command. We're just... temporarily relocating you."
"That's kidnapping!"
"Medical mandate," Kix replied without missing a beat. “Honestly Rex, don't make me sedate you.”
Meanwhile, Tup had somehow gotten behind Rex and was now wrapping his arms around the captain's waist, pinning his arms to his sides. "Got him!"
"Tup!" Rex twisted in his grip, but the younger clone held on with surprising tenacity, and Rex didn’t want to hurt him.
"Sorry, sir," Tup said, though he didn't sound sorry at all. "Orders are orders."
That was when Fives and Jesse struck, each grabbing one of Rex's legs while Kix moved in to support Tup's hold around Rex's torso.
"Put me down!" Rex demanded, though his protests were somewhat undermined by the fact that he was now horizontal and being carried by four of his own men like a particularly uncooperative piece of cargo. "This is completely undignified!"
"Yeah, well, so is falling asleep in your rations," Jesse pointed out. "Which you did yesterday."
"I was just resting my eyes!"
"Your face was on the tray, Rex," Kix said dryly.
They maneuvered him toward the door, Rex still struggling halfheartedly in their grip. It was like being carried by a particularly determined set of battle droids, if battle droids could laugh at your protests and make encouraging noises.
"I'm going to write you all up for insubordination!" Rex threatened as they carried him into the corridor.
"Insubordination my shebs," Fives replied cheerfully. "If Cody were here, he'd give us a medal. Now let go of the door frame!"
Rex hadn't even realized he'd grabbed it. He was clinging to the door frame with both hands, knuckles white with the effort of trying to keep himself anchored to his quarters and his unfinished work.
"Rex," Kix said, his voice taking on the patient tone he used with particularly difficult patients, "you're being ridiculous."
"I have reports to finish!"
"The reports will still be there tomorrow," Jesse pointed out. "The war's not going to end because you went to bed at a reasonable hour."
"Let go, Captain," Tup added, and there was something almost pleading in his voice. "Please? You're scaring us a little."
That made Rex pause. He looked down at Tup's earnest face, then at the others. They were still grinning, still treating this like an elaborate game, but underneath the humor he could see genuine concern.
They looked worried. About him.
The fight went out of him all at once. His hands released the door frame, and he let them carry him down the corridor toward the barracks.
"This is still completely undignified," he repeated.
"Yeah, but you love us anyway," Fives said fondly. "Now stop squirming before Tup drops you."
"I'm not going to drop him!" Tup protested.
"You dropped that supply crate last week," Jesse pointed out.
"That was different! That crate wasn't Rex!"
"I should hope not," Rex said, finally allowing himself to smile. "I'd be concerned about my eating habits if I was the size of one of those things."
The laughter that followed was warm and familiar, the sound of his vode, and Rex found himself grinning for the first time in days.
Maybe, just maybe, he could afford to take one night off.
Rex stared wide-eyed at the sight that met him in Fives and Jesse's shared ARC quarters. The mattresses from both beds were on the floor, plus one more squeezed into the space, presumably from the main barracks.
He had no idea where their little table had gone.
A nest of blankets and pillows were piled on top – far more than the four of them could have procured from their own bunks.
"Did you plan this?" Rex asked as they set him down, gesturing at the obvious preparation.
"Commander Tano may have suggested we give you somewhere more comfortable to crash," Jesse admitted. "Kix provided the extra mattress."
"And I provided the blankets," Tup added proudly. "I collected them from everyone who owed me favors."
Rex looked around at the makeshift sleeping area, then back at his men. "You realize I could just go back to my quarters after you fall asleep."
"That's what the Rex-sitting schedule is for," Fives announced, producing a datapad with a flourish. "We've divided the night into shifts. Someone will be awake to make sure you stay put at all times. Jesse's got first watch."
"Rex-sitting?" Rex repeated, not sure whether to be amused or appalled. "I'm not a child who needs a babysitter."
"No," Kix agreed, settling down into the pillows and patting the space beside him in invitation. "You're a stubborn captain who needs a full night's sleep. Same principle, different approach."
Rex remained standing, arms crossed. "I don't need an intervention. I need to finish my work."
"What you need," Jesse said, gently but firmly pushing Rex down next to Kix, "is rest."
"I rest," Rex protested weakly.
"Not enough," Kix muttered, as Rex was unceremoniously herded to the center of their little arrangement and tucked in under the blankets, the others piling in after him.
"See Rex?" Tup said, curling up next to Rex like a particularly large tooka. All four of his troopers were pinning at least one of his limbs to the mattress beneath him. "Don't you feel better now?”
Rex wanted to argue, wanted to insist that he was fine, that he could handle the stress and the workload and the responsibility. That he needed to get up and get back to the endless stream of datawork waiting for him. But laying here surrounded by his vode, feeling the warmth of their concern and care, he found he didn't have the will, or the energy, to keep protesting.
"Yeah Tup," he replied finally. "Much better. But I'm going back to work tomorrow,” he added, because he really did have deadlines to meet.
"Go to sleep, Rex," Fives said, snuggling closer. "We'll see about tomorrow when tomorrow gets here."
Rex was pretty sure that was not actually an agreement, but decided to let it go, at least until morning. It was hard to argue with his vod'ika when he got all cuddly.
He glanced around at his brothers surrounding him, letting out a fond sigh. Times like this, Rex remembered it wasn't just his batch that loved him, that would watch out for him. He was the captain, the one who was responsible for taking care of everyone else, and he bore that burden gladly. But it was nice to know that the love he felt for his closest brothers in Torrent was returned.
"Thank you,” he whispered into the dark. “All of you."
They were quiet for a moment. "You don't have to thank us for caring about you, Rex," Fives said finally. "That's what vode do."
"I know, but..." Rex paused, trying to find words for the tangle of emotions in his chest. "I forget, sometimes. That I'm not in this alone."
"You're never alone," Tup mumbled against his shoulder. "Not as long as we're here."
"And we're always going to be here," Jesse added sleepily. "Even when you're being a stubborn di'kut who won't take care of himself."
"Especially then," Kix corrected. "That's when you need us most."
Rex closed his eyes, feeling something tight and painful in his chest start to loosen. They were right, of course. They were his vode, his family. They'd follow him into hell if he asked them to, and they'd drag him out of it whether he wanted them to or not.
"Suppose the reports can wait," he admitted quietly.
"Glad you think so," Fives replied, satisfaction clear in his voice. "Because I've already hidden your datapad anyway."
Rex's eyes snapped back open. "You what?"
"Jesse's got your spare too," Tup added helpfully. "And Kix programmed the door to your quarters to require medical override for the next twelve hours."
Rex huffed. "You're all completely insubordinate."
"Yep," they chorused, without a trace of shame.
Rex rolled his eyes, but settled deeper into the pile of warm bodies and soft blankets. "Well, when you put it like that... I suppose I can spare one night."
"Twelve hours," Fives corrected. "Minimum. Kix's orders."
Rex opened his mouth –
“Sedation is still on the table, Rex.”
– and promptly closed it again. He'd learned the hard way that Kix's threats shouldn't be taken lightly.
"Alright," he said quietly. "Twelve hours."
"See?" Tup said, settling more comfortably against his side. "That wasn't so hard."
Rex couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him. "Guess you got me, vod'ika," he whispered fondly,
"Good," Fives said, his voice already heavy with approaching sleep. "Because we're just getting started."
"Excuse me?"
"This is just the intervention," Fives mumbled. "Tomorrow we start the ongoing maintenance program."
"Ongoing what now?"
But Fives was already snoring.
Rex knew better than to try to get the others to talk at this point. Besides, all of them were drifting off, even Jesse, who was supposed to be taking ‘first watch.’
Ah, well. He'd make them run laps in the morning until they either spilled their plan or dropped from exhaustion.
He closed his eyes, happy and content. Rex fell asleep cocooned by his brothers and with a soft smile on his face.