Revised May 26th, 2019.

There was a sticky glob of burnt something stuck to one of Rex's pistols, and it wouldn't come off. He scraped it with this; sprayed it with that. He slapped it with various rags and brushes.

Where did that even come from? He asked himself. The rag he was using didn't do anything but smear the black goo all over the rest of the pistol, so he wiped his sweat away with it instead. He was sweating?

Rex sighed, folded the rag up and tossed it across the weapons room. It fell in a corner and sat there, opening back up, begging him to pick it up and clean with it.

"Hey, Rexter."

Rex stiffened. Kriffing Jedi. You never knew when one was going to sneak up  on you.

He turned to face Ahsoka Tano, and shot her a grimacing smile.
"Sir!" he shouted, snapping to attention. He didn't even have to check his form; the position came naturally. Rex even had time to smoothly slide his pistol into its holster as his arms went by his sides.

"At ease," Ahsoka said, saluting him. Rex returned the gesture, then returned to his work.

His commander came up by his side, uncomfortably close, and stared at his hands as he replaced the gun on the table.
"What're you doing?" She asked, watching him closely.

Rex grabbed his vibro-blade and attempted to scrape the glob off. It had no effect.
"I got my blaster dirty, sir," the clone captain informed his commander. "I'm trying to get them clean."

"'Trying?'" Ahsoka asked, propping up on the table. "Is it hard?"

Rex slammed the blaster down on the table and rubbed it against the surface vigorously. It left waxy streaks across the table and he muttered a few Mando'a curses under his breath.

"Do you need help with it?"

Rex glanced over at her as she spoke.  There was nothing in Ahsoka's expression that suggested she was playing with him. Her blue eyes were wide and expectant.

"If you wouldn't mind, sir," Rex said, stepping aside. He probably would've gotten it eventually, but if he could let his Jedi speed things up, then he would, in a heartbeat.

The Togruta shot him a smile, then placed her hands on the goo, closing her eyes in concentration.

Rex watched in fascination, as he always did when someone used the Force. There was a slight humming sound, and Ahsoka had pried off the junk.

She stared at it, then at him, and then placed it in the disposal can.

Standing, Ahsoka met his gaze.
"Rex," she said, moving closer to him.

"Commander," he said, trying to copy her tone to glean her meaning.

"Ahsoka," she corrected, taking another step forwards.

"Ahsoka," Rex repeated.

She stopped a metre in front of him.
"If you ever need help —and this goes for all the five-oh-first men —just ask. Master and I will try to make time for anyone who needs help."

Rex stared at her, feeling a tense feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Thank you, sir," he breathed.

Ahsoka smiled and made for the door, straightening her sash. "Just ask next time," she said, and then she was gone.