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Cody didn’t like holidays. Holidays felt like an elaborate scheme to engage civilians in the greedy corporate schemes to steal their credits. And clones…well, they didn’t have any credits to speak of. Most clones wouldn’t get the chance to survive through the holiday seasons of the galaxy and Cody never bothered to get Life-day presents for his troops. He would celebrate, sometimes. But it never felt worth it.
His Jedi General on the other hand? Obi-Wan Kenobi found a great deal of comfort and joy in the holiday season. He would do just about anything to get the troops involved in the spirit of the season and had tried unsuccessfully to get Cody roped in for two consecutive holiday seasons. And then their dynamic had shifted. The long-time mutual crush they’d had on each other had morphed into something stronger, and more tangible. Of course the Jedi Council wasn’t aware, but the 212th was. And this holiday season, Cody had a feeling that Obi-Wan was going to do his best to get Cody into the holiday festivities.
The mock snowball fight in the mess, first thing in the morning had resulted in spilled Kaf. And the Marshal Commander was not pleased. It wasn’t yet 0600, and he wasn’t in the mood for these sorts of games. They were currently in hyperspace, on their way to their next assignment. He didn’t have time for a bunch of foolish nonsense that wouldn’t matter in the end.
-
Obi-Wan Kenobi, High General in the Grand Army of the Republic, skilled negotiator, Jedi Master on the Council, and brilliant tactician was stumped.
He didn’t understand. Cody had lost the caf cup, the treasured drink splattering everywhere as the plush “snowballs” bounced around the room. Tense silence had filled the area and the troopers quickly cleared out. Ahsoka had given him the idea for a pseudo snowball fight, but…he hadn’t expected his Commander to react like this.
Commander Cody had stalked off, leaving pale faced, shaking rookie clone troopers and a stunned General behind. The mess hall was swiftly put to rights and a plan slowly began to form in Obi-Wan’s mind. He and Cody were…a
thing
now. Not just a thing, they were partners, a couple. It had taken a long time to make that choice, and then they’d both realized there was no telling when they would have to March On. Why waste the time they could be spending together on arguing with the organizations that would never understand.
Plan in place, Obi-Wan went to gather the necessary materials to convince Cody that holidays weren’t the commercialized craziness he’d been shown. That they meant a whole lot more than that and were worth the time and energy. He was sure he’d win this argument. He was the Negotiator, after all.
-
Cody marched through the halls, damn near hellbent on his mission. There were
decorations
. EVERYWHERE. These were a severe safety hazard, and Cody was making it well known that despite the General’s go-ahead, that there was no shortage of dangerous situations these silly decorations could cause.
The further he went around the Venator, the worse he felt internally. He could see the troopers flinching away, their cheer and joy melting away. Finally, he found something to ream about that wasn’t stupidly holiday oriented.
One of the shiny troopers kept trying to interrupt him. “Sir…Si-”
“If you leave your gear in this condition, Wooley, you and I are going to hav-”
“Sir, I really thi-”
“What. What is so important?” Cody finally snapped, turning to glare at the shiny, all while Wooley slowly backed away from Cody.
“Sir. You’re standing under mistletoe. And uh…” the shiny trailed off as Obi-Wan reached out and tapped Cody’s shoulder.
“Hello dear. Do you know what mistletoe is for?” Obi-Wan asked, that charming smile, dimples and all peeking through his beard.
All Cody had to do was look up, catching a glimpse of the pesky plant decoration. “You’re kidding.” He started to say, only for Obi-Wan to lean in and kiss him soundly, effectively shutting the Commander up.
When Obi-Wan finally pulled back, he examined the commander’s expression. He was flushed with embarrassment that the soldiers around them had seen, but had a dopey smile on his face.
“Come along, Commander. We need to have a discussion.” Obi-Wan said finally and took Cody’s hand, leading him away from the deceptive mistletoe.
-
“Your face when that caf went flying was absolutely hilarious. Just priceless!” Obi-Wan teased lightly as he opened the door to his quarters. The afterkiss glow had faded now and Cody moped behind him, frustrated that he’d been duped by the chance to kiss Obi-Wan.
“I wanted to drink that though.” Cody pointed out and moved to sit on the bunk. Obi-Wan joined him after a moment and hummed.
“Cody…why do you hate these holidays so much?” The Jedi General finally asked, watching the clone’s body language closely. He didn’t want to make Cody uncomfortable, but understanding was important.
Cody fiddled with his bracer for only a moment before speaking. “It…seems so silly. And stupid. And another way to lose credits. I don’t even have any credits so I end up feeling pretty terrible when I can’t give anything back. Or participate because I’m…well…” Cody’s shoulders slumped.
Obi-Wan’s expression fell as he finally started to understand why Cody had such a hard time with holidays. As the Marshal Commander, he was held to a whole other level of professionalism. Being silly with his troopers wasn’t something he could justify. Not even for a little bit of holiday cheer.
“I see.” Obi-Wan said slowly, debating things and then looked around. “Cody, dearest. Are there any GAR officials on our Venator?” He asked, studying the commander’s expression.
It took Cody a moment but he shook his head. “No. There’s…there’s not.” He accepted and then hummed. “It…wouldn’t hurt to…to let go and play a little. And just enjoy the holidays some.” He decided, and Obi-Wan smiled broadly. Here was the Cody he was used to seeing.
“Good, because I have a gift for you.” Obi-Wan reached under his bunk and pulled out a small box. The ribbon was 212th gold, and Cody took it gingerly.
“But, I didn’t get you anything…” He started to protest, but Obi-Wan only shook his head and motioned for Cody to open it. Inside the box was a small caf cup with Cody’s name carefully engraved in it.
“It’s insulated. So your kaf, tea, or whatever else you end up drinking when you’re doing paperwork stays warm.” Obi-Wan explained with a broad grin. Cody stared down at it in silent awe. He hadn’t even known he needed this. Well, he didn’t need it, but it would be nice to have, would make it just that much nicer and he would always know from where he received it.
“Thank you.” He said and then looked up at Obi-Wan. “I guess holidays aren’t actually all that bad. Now come here…I’ve got a present for you after all.” Cody reached out, drawing Obi-Wan into a kiss, mind whirling with a dozen ways to give Obi-Wan a good time, not just as a thank you, but a celebration as well. Holidays weren’t really all that bad. In fact, they were one of the things that made all of life worth living.