you’re a good captain, rex. familiar sentiment has been echoed throughout the years, but it does precious little to soothe his pain. you’re a good cadet. a good soldier. a good leader. why, then, does rex feel as though he is drowning in the responsibility of it all? in the sorrow? they hadn’t prepared them on kamino, not really - they knew they were built to die, but no one had taught them how to shoulder the responsibility of those deaths and keep moving forward. rex nods because he has to, zeroes in on the feeling of the general’s heavy palm on his pauldron, and swallows hard. “ thank you, sir, ” anger burns hot in the pit of his stomach in the worst way. he lets it simmer there ; fuel for another time, he thinks. it will consume him now, if he lets it. “ permission to speak freely, sir? that was a bloodbath. ”
“ yeah. it was. ” try as rex might , anakin can feel the fury just beneath the surface , particularly now , when he’s touching the other man. “ but that doesn’t make it your fault. sometimes we just ... do all we can , and it’s not enough. ”