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[ Obi-Wan had barely said anything about what happened to the Duchess of Mandalore. He read the reports, of course, but discussing it, he's not sure he or Obi-Wan is ready for that. ]

If you-- [ He starts, paused and wondered what he was doing then push forward when he was answered with 'helping'. ] If you ever want to talk about her, Obi-Wan.

[ He nods. The offer is well meant. Obi-Wan isn't sure he could talk about what happened to Satine. How much of it is tied to guilt, loss and the one man who would not stay dead, who hunted Obi-Wan down with a possessive need to overcome him.

He's spoken about her in pieces, little parts that did not hurt to give away. ]

I know. Just . . . not yet.

[ He squeeze Obi-Wan's shoulder and returns to his machinery.

Jedi do not grieve for the lost, they celebrate their return to the Force. They never talked about his mother's death after the initial backlash, they probably won't talk about this either.

So he turns it around for lighter conversation. ]

"Old Ben" kind of catches on. You never know what kind of things an "Old Ben" could get up to.

I imagine they'd be old things and nothing special.

[ Though Luke's Jedi education is still a strange thing to him. How little he had done and what happened that made Obi-Wan direct Luke to Yoda? ]

I think I knew a Ben, a clone.

[ But there were so many. It gets hard to keep track of the ones that are alive and the ones long gone.

He's quiet for a moment then he spills it, that dull ache in his chest. ]

Rex. That's who I miss.

. . . I'm sure no matter where he is, Rex can take care of himself. He's done it before.

[ Though the fate of the clones hangs over their heads. No point in bringing it up. He runs a hand through his beard, before admitting whom he misses. ]

For all of Yoda's cryptic wisdom, I do feel I could use it right now.

[ He almost rolls his eyes, sighs and shakes his head at the same time. He'd do all those things if there wasn't a wrench in his hand that takes away all the need to. ]

It's not really about that. Rex's a good person to talk to. I miss his company, that's all. You couldn't talk to Master Yoda the same way you could talk to Rex. [ He adds, quickly and under his breath: ] ... At least I can't.

[ Ah. He nods calmly. It is difficult for Anakin to talk to any of the Masters, for obvious reasons. ]

I do wonder how the clones are doing.

Well, Rex might be doing better at not losing at Sabacc. Statistically speaking, of course.

[ He gives Obi-Wan a sheepish look then laughs. He'd add that he hasn't been gambling a little with the Clones, on their off hours but what's the point. It's only a bit of fun. ]

[ He's hardly going to make a big deal out of it. A small sign that he's mellowed a little. Or learned to pick his battles. ]

I'm sure he'll pass on his techniques to the new recruits.