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june-girl-86 · 11 months

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Chapter 53

Ahsoka's healing

Pairing: Din Djarin x OC Female!

ReaderRating: Mature/Explicit (+18)

Warnings: Canon-Typical Violence / Love / Action&Adventure / Blood&Violence / Drama & Romance / Slow Burn / Fluff&Smut

The night was lit up by the glow of the fire. Blood-red glowed the dark sky, no starlight to give hope. On the ground it ate away, so powerful, hateful. A figure tried to run away from it, leaping over rocks whose surface was boiling hot; fallen trees, the roots dead; stumbling through streams that had bubbled a short time ago and were now dried up by the heat. Her lungs burned, the smoke trying to suffocate her. She tried to run even faster despite everything, but the roller of fire kept coming closer, swallowing everything and taking her too.

Ahsoka's eyes snapped open, she was shaking all over and gasping for air, which she was not denied. Irritated, she looked around, realised where she was and stared at her hands, looking for injuries, but it had only been a dream, once again. She felt that trepidation and jumped out of her bed, she had to get out, get some fresh air. Ahsoka glanced at the sleeping Morai in her bed of straw. The Convor lady was feeling a little better, but her feathers were still pale. Ahsoka kept the curtains closed so as not to wake Morai and quietly left her room and the building. It was early morning, the sun was just rising, the birds were chirping happily, but Ahsoka barely noticed. The cheerfulness could not infect her. The images in her head depressed her too much.

"Up so early?"

Startled, Ahsoka jumped to the side as Luke stepped out from between bushes. In his hand was a basket of picked berries. The Togruta lowered her head dejectedly and Luke touched her on the back. He led her to a stone circle, took a seat and waited until Ahsoka sat down too.

"Tell me about your dreams!"

Ahsoka looked at him in surprise.

"I hear your pleas when dreams plague you!"

His counterpart shook his head and he held the basket out to her. She took one of the dark berries and ate it. The sweetish taste did her good and she tasted a few more. Then she sighed.

"I see fire eating the inside of a mountain, destroying it. I see it burning the trees, even the souls have no chance. The wind spreads the blood and as soon as it touches the ground the flames overpower it. The sky is devastated and no life is possible!"

Ahsoka noticed the dismayed look on Luke's face.

"You must find a way to take up the fire, to kindle your extinguished flame so that your spirit can be brightened!"

The Togruta raised her arms and lowered them in resignation.

"How?"

Luke rose to his feet.

"Take your time!"

With those words, he left her and Ahsoka gazed after the young man thoughtfully.

Take your time... Ahsoka decided to use it and not just sit around doing nothing. She wasn't as powerless as she had been a few days ago and packed her bag of provisions. Morai squealed and Ahsoka crouched down. She held out her arm to Morai and the convor lady umped on it. She made herself comfortable on Ahsoka's shoulder and left the shared quarters with her.

The Togruta walked past the bamboo grove, left the pond on her left and headed down an unknown path. Morai was curious to see where it would lead, the convor lady nestled against Ahsoka's cheek, feeling no connection other than skin-to-skin contact, and once again sadness befell her. Morai hoped that they would soon find each other again and that Ahsoka would regain her inner contentment. She had witnessed every nightmare, every escape from her quarters and had seen Ahsoka's despair. Now, however, the Jedi seemed a little more relaxed, as if going for a walk would do her good. Morai let her gaze wander, watching as they walked across the grass, crested a hill and entered the forest that followed. The trees let in the sunlight, but the temperature dropped a little.

Morai shivered, she saw that Ahsoka was getting goosebumps too. And yet they kept walking until Ahsoka stopped. The sun's rays broke through the branches, dust danced up and down in them. Small swarms of mosquitoes buzzed on the spot and threads of loose spider webs moved gracefully upwards with each breath of air, only to slowly float back down. Ashoka breathed deeply, inhaling the smell of the forest. Morai sniffed, smelling the different aromas. Wildflowers had squeezed through the moss, the red and yellow blossoms wide open, giving off their scent. Butterflies had taken up residence on some of them, pausing like the walker and her companion. They stood still for a while, then Ahsoka went on.

The forest cleared, but before they got to the edge, sheltered by bushes, Ahsoka stopped. Morai looked ahead, then at her. Her gaze seemed focused, she was listening. Morai followed suit and sure enough, she heard a rustling and soft sounds that sounded like someone smacking their lips. Slowly Ahsoka started moving again, but ducked the closer she got to the thicket. There she crouched down, pushed aside a few branches and was able to pinpoint the source of the sounds. In a meadow, the tall grass lush green, a group of kybucks moved about with their young. While the adults ate, the young ones jumped back and forth and played with each other. Morai noticed a change in Ahsoka, her expression alternating between amazement, happiness and sadness, in the end the smile won. Ahsoka swallowed as she watched the animals and she felt warm. She remembered a time when she was still at home and she felt that love again. Her mother had often taken her for walks, shown her the nature of her home. She could remember when she had just walked off by herself without telling her parents. She had strayed into a meadow where she met a lone Kybuck cub.

Both of them had hesitated, the young one whimpering, trying to find his parents. Ahsoka had walked slowly towards him, he had approached her too and then looked at her in wonder as he heard her words in his mind. The boy lowered his head and Ahsoka stroked it reassuringly until they heard several sounds. On one side a humming, on the other voices. The Kybuck boy had run in the direction of his, Ahsoka had watched him for a while longer, then she answered her mother's calls. She didn't scold, though, she just pulled her daughter into her arms and was glad to have her with her, knowing that Ahsoka wouldn't be with them much longer.

A few days later, Luke watched as Ahsoka set off again in the direction of the forest. She had told him about her sighting and Luke sensed that the animals had triggered something positive in the Togruta.

Ahsoka took a different path this time, penetrating other areas of the forest. A small stream meandered through, dragonflies hovering above with their translucent wings. Morai on her shoulder watching her friend's every step. Watched her take care not to step on the blue mushrooms on which the morning dew still sparkled. And then they arrived back at the clearing, the Kybucks had gathered there again as well. As they did, Ahsoka noticed something. She pointed out Morai, the pregnant Kybuck grazing at the edge of the clearing, the cover of the thicket behind her. She had a much lighter coat than the others.

When she looked up, she was staring in Ahsoka's direction and she had the feeling that she was being seen by her. Only slowly did the Kybuck lower her head and retreat into the bushes. They stayed for a while, then the two of them made their way back. Morai carefully picked the red berries she had collected from Ashoka's hand and slowly became full. The Togruta suddenly stopped and pointed to a fallen tree. Many mushrooms had accumulated on its trunk, orange, with white spots. Ahsoka frowned for a moment, crouched down in front of it. She smelled them, ran her thumb along the surface, then nodded with a smile before she began to collect them. She noticed Morai's questioning look: "On Shili, these grew too and were delicious!"

When Luke returned from his meditation, Grogu, who had been with him, was no longer present. He did not find him in the building, so he went outside to search. A delicious scent wafted to him and he followed the trail. Smiling, he stopped after a while. Grogu sat next to Morai, both tilting their heads curiously, watching Ahsoka cook. A pot hung over a campfire, the smell emanating from it. A homemade fishing rod lay nearby. The Togruta nodded to Luke and offered to eat with them. He noticed the plates she had brought.

"There's fish in a mushroom herb sauce!" explained Ahsoka and that this meal reminded her of her childhood. She poured some into a bowl for Morai to taste. Grogu she also put down a plate, handed the boy a spoon. Luke took a seat next to Ahsoka and started eating with her. It tasted delicious and he could understand Grogu asking for seconds several times. Luke let his gaze slide over Ahsoka, who smiled as she watched Morai regain her strength with the food as well. Perhaps, Luke thought, Ahsoka was also smiling because of the first two splashes of green that had found their way back into Morai's feathers.

Time passed, the nights got better, Ahsoka woke up less and less from nightmares and as they walked through the forest, she heard a very soft whisper. Nature was speaking to her. She also slowly sensed Morai's thoughts again.

No matter which way they took, they always came back to the clearing with the Kybucks. This time, too, they were on their way there. But something was different about this day. The clouds had not let the sun through and a fresh wind made the treetops sway back and forth. It was quieter in the forest, hardly a bird to be heard, let alone seen. The whisper of the trees mingled with the rush of the wind. Morai heard the sound first, listened several times and became uneasy on Ashoka's shoulder. She paused and looked questioningly at the convordame, but before she could react, Ahsoka heard it too. The painful moan echoed to them and Ahsoka felt the fear emanating from it. She started to run, it wasn't far and she could see the pregnant Kybuck lying among the bushes. Her sounds of pain increased. But before Ahsoka simply dashed into the clearing, she drew her vibrating blade and made her way through the bushes. The Kybuck saw her and began bleating loudly, but her strength quickly waned. Her light fur was bloody and she had a deep bite wound on her right side. As Ahsoka approached her, she noticed the black body of a wolf-like animal. This one was no longer moving, as you could see it had taken many kicks, had died from its injuries. The Kybuck had fought for her life and won the first fight. But now her strength was failing. Again she wailed, but quieter now. Ahsoka knelt in front of her, touched her to her stomach and closed her eyes. She hadn't really expected anything, and yet there was this feeling that ran through her body. The excited pounding of the little creature's heart and its plea to survive. As if she had burned her hands, she let go of the Kybuck. Ahsoka swallowed, then looked at the Morai.

"Can you make it to Luke?"

Morai cooed several times and pushed off from the shoulder to float into the forest.

Ahsoka quietly entered the hut where Morai had been some time ago when Luke had nursed her. Now the injured Kybuck lay sleeping on the straw. Ahsoka slowly crouched down, touched the sleeping woman on her shoulder joint and she opened her eyes a little. You could see the exhaustion in them. Ahsoka knelt in front of her, removed the bandage and checked the wound. It finally looked better. The Togruta opened a tin, inside was an ointment which she spread generously on the wound. She had made this herself after discovering the coral-shaped, golden-yellow flowers of the witch hazel in the forest. In addition to the Bacta that Luke had on hand, it helped heal the wound.

She also kept instilling the injured woman with a tea made from the golden root to help her regain her strength. All of her energy was going to her unborn child to keep it alive. Ahsoka felt it even now as she placed her hands on the Kybuck's belly. In the last few days, the calls of the herd had also been heard, searching for her, but the Kybuck had been too weak to respond. Ahsoka hoped she would be able to return soon.

More days had passed, each one progress in healing, not just from the Kybuck. Luke sensed Ahsoka coming back, she wasn't really aware of it herself yet.

Ahsoka awoke in the middle of the night, but no nightmare had startled her. A feeling of warmth had come over her, touching her skin, soft and gentle. A whisper came through the open window, she heard the happiness within. She left the building without putting on her shoes, walked barefoot to the hut and could see the open gate from afar. When she got there, she spotted Luke inside. He pointed to the straw, stained with a little blood and slime, otherwise the room was empty. The Togruta turned away, ran off, into the forest. She was aware of the whispering that led her through the dark forest. Ran faster, ignoring when she stepped on sharp little stones, scratched herself on thorns and tripped over roots. And then she reached the clearing, the moonlight shining on it. The Kybucks had taken their old and new member protectively into their midst. She could feel the joy, the love that the herd felt. The many pairs of eyes stared at Ahsoka, watching as she tried to steady her breathing. Ahsoka stared back, finding the small creature standing behind its mother, still a little wobbly on its feet. The mother bowed her head, bleating several times. Her conspecifics joined her before turning and disappearing into the thicket together. Gratitude accompanied Ahsoka back.

A few stars could be seen through the cloudy night sky. It was quiet at the pond, only the crackling of wood could be heard. The campfire was reflected on the smooth surface of the water. Ahsoka sat in front of the fire, not far from her Morai, whose green feathers shone in the firelight. She watched her friend, who had not moved for hours. She sensed a restlessness, but didn't know if it was hers or Ahsoka's. Morai cooed softly. The Togruta opened her eyes, staring into the flames. Fire... The last few nights she had dreamed of fire again, of anguished screams, the voice of Anakin. After so long, she felt things she had repressed. The battle at the Neti, the ambush of Bo-Katan... But there was another fire in her past. Her eyes fixed on the flame as it fought the others, clinging along the wood to get enough oxygen and subdue her sisters. The flame whispered, whispered, it sounded like it was saying her name. The red of the flame reminded her of her fight, against the Inquisitor. She had felt safe on Thabeska, but the temptation of reward and the fear of the Empire had betrayed her. She had had no anger, probably would have acted the same. The Inquisitor's appearance was terrible, his viciousness too. And this had been his fault, because his arrogance was damaging him. She thought of the moment after she had defeated him, the relief of the crystals in his lightsabers.

Ahsoka had not only freed the farmers from evil, but the crystals as well. She had given them back their purity. A breeze brushed across her skin, she heard that whisper again. Her arms began to tingle, something was moving in the grass somewhere. Before Ahsoka had opened her eyes, she had already jumped up. Grogu backed away, startled, as the lightsabers were pointed at him. He grumbled, had he hungrily made his way to the lake, hoping to find a frog.

"I thought Luke showed you how to approach without being noticed!" smiled Ahsoka, hearing an excited coo. She looked to Morai who was jumping around the fire agitated and approaching her. Ahsoka blinked. The whisper of flames had joined, with a familiar hum. Her gaze drifted down to her hands, there she held, as if naturally, her two lightsabers. Her fingers tightly gripped the hilts. As if she were seeing the white blades for the first time... The light gave her hope and a tear ran down her cheek.

@rain-on-kamino

#the burden of responsibility #din djarin fanfic #din djarin x female oc #din djarin x original character #din djarin x oc #din djarin #grogu #luke skywalker #ahsoka tano fanfiction #star wars ahsoka #ahsoka tano #ahsoka tano fanfic #ahsoka #the mandalorian fanfic #the mandalorian #star wars fanfiction #morai

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loveoaths · 2 years

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𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐓.

lio, he/they, 20+. i write fic and talk about the mandalorian, star wars, and other shit i like here. sometimes that shit is nsfw. follow at your own discretion. AO3: waterdeaths.

star wars content you’ll find here: mauldin, darth maulposting, ANDOR ANDOR ANDOR, cassian/din aka cassidin, din djarin’s sad little life, star wars meta, jedi love, mace windu, kit fisto powerhour, maulsoka, anadin (anakin/din djarin), quinobi (quinlan vos/obi-wan), lots of love for the star wars ladies (reva, padme, leia, ahsoka, luminara, asajj ventress, etcetera), dinluke, star wars: visions, and much more.

other content you’ll sporadically find here: hades (game), interview with the vampire, barbie (2023), poetry, and more.

core writing concepts: the sins of the father as the backbones of their sons, selfish sacrifice, unearned forgiveness, thriving in spite of trauma, self-destruction as a survival mechanism, degradation of the human spirit, destruction necessitating change, what makes a man a monster, and love as the question and the answer. dark subject matter is present; this blog is not for everyone. again, follow at your own discretion.

on fic: reblogs, likes, and commenting on my fic in the tags are all HEAVILY ENCOURAGED. i love to see everyone’s thoughts on what i’m writing. don’t be shy. let me be nosy.

i accept writing prompts and requests! i have the right to decline requests as well. this is for fun, people.

in-progress fics

Attachment Theory (Rating: E) Din is a Mandalorian, but when Luke comes for Grogu on Moff Gideon's ship, he acts like a Jedi: he selflessly gives the child up. Grogu is a Jedi-in-training, but he acts like a Mandalorian: he is territorial and attached to his buir, and his protectiveness easily manifests as violence. Luke is supposed to be Grogu's Jedi Master, but how is he supposed to teach Grogu how to let go, when he himself struggles not to hold onto parts of his past?

The answer: the trio go on stupidly a dangerous cross-galaxy road-trip in the rebuilt Razor Crest to a lost Jedi library in search of Jedi training tools. Pairing: Dinluke, DinMaul(ish).

The Father, The Son, and the Unholy Ghost (Rating: T) Luke likes Din. Din likes Luke. Din is less crazy about Luke's insane, evil father who keeps trying to kill him from beyond the grave. Pairing: Dinluke. Now featuring art by @its-not-a-pen!

Fate Lays Her Heavy Hand (Rating: T, Eventually E) Darth Momin, heretic of the Sith and galaxy’s greatest hater, time-travels to the Republic Era to end Sidious’ reign before it begins. Why? Because he hates Sidious almost as much as he loves the Force. Pairing: Maul/Padme/Momin, Vader/Krismo Sodi

Nothing is My Name (Rating: T/Gen) An exploration of Din Djarin’s life, from his childhood on Aq Vetina to his early years as the Covert’s lead hunter. Pairing: Mild Din/Armorer, Din/Paz Viszla, unrequited!Din/OC

The Devil’s Red Right Hand (Rating: T, Eventually E) Through sheer orneriness and force of will, Maul rejects death, rips a hole in the Force, and propels himself back in time to destroy Sidious by stopping the Clone Wars from ever happening. First stop: Naboo. Pairing: Potentially Maul/Padme

In the Shadow of the Valley (Rating: T, Eventually M) AU. The first Mandalorian Jedi was Tarre Viszla. The second was Din Djarin. AKA, the one where Din is a padawan, and everything is terrible. Pairing: Potentially Din/Padme/Anakin

The Bitten Hand Holds the Bounty (Rating: M for torture and graphic death) Someone hires Cad Bane to kidnap Grogu. Din sets the galaxy aflame to get him back. Pairing: DinCobb

Negative Space (Rating: T, Eventually E) Nature, they say, hates a vacuum. Which explains why Din, someone who is force negative or totally cut off from the Force, touches the Force beacon on Typhon and screws up the time-stream so bad he winds up in the Old Republic Era.

finished fics

creature of desire, you’ve a fever for the fire: (Rating: M, graphic animal death | Wordcount: 3000) In which godhood is a thing with teeth, sainthood was made to block the light, and Kimimaro is just a man looking for divinity in the flesh.

patches make the quilt (Rating: T | Wordcount: 5633) The war is over. Haku and Zabuza rebuild their lives on a farm, and find themselves growing in the process.

death of a bellflower (Rating: T | Wordcount: 1238) Even for a Kaguya, Kimimaro is especially out of touch, with a naivety that seems incongruous with his family name. Privately, Kimimaro’s milky, wide-eyed stares remind Haku of a newborn kitten’s: seeing without discerning. Zabuza thinks he's a liability. Haku thinks he’s cute. Pairing: Haku/Kimimaro, first crush

death is a friend of mine (Rating: T | Wordcount: 5676) Haku’s never feared dying; he’s done it many times. It's finding something to live for that's the hard part.

blood under the bridge (Rating: T | Wordcount: 1302) Zabuza dies during the battle for the bridge. Haku dies with him, though his heart yet beats.

a kicked dog still bites (Rating: T | Wordcount: 600) Yamato is assigned surveillance duty over a Yuki, of all things, and he’s 100% certain the next six months are about to be cold and miserable. Pairing: Gen

din djarin posting

force negative!din

fic about din and grogu time traveling in the stupidest way possible and meeting anikin and obi-wan

dinluke

padawan!din au (wip)

cassadin

fic and rarepair tags

all fic tag.

rarepair tag.

rarepair of the day tag.

oc content

clone trooper cake.

gen oc tag.

ryogi tag.

writing stuff

words/writing i like.

yearly writing recap

2021 + 2022

#pinned.#walkie talkie.#fic tag.

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lifblogs · 1 year

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Lif’s Writing Year in Review*

*fics included are from multiple fandoms**

**star wars, httyd, lucifer, spn, gone (iykyk)***

***as always, please read ratings and tags

The Chaos - Vi Moradi is being interrogated by Cardinal, and his anger needs a more personal outlet than the electrocution chair. She must not crack under interrogation, but what he has planned... Can she endure?

Ride the Pain - Sam gets injured in a hard-to-patch-up place during a hunt, and he is all alone.

Fill It In - Ruby forces her blood upon Sam and in that moment he thinks it's all he's really needed.

Fermented Jogun - Ahsoka wants to partake in an eating contest. However, with her multiple stomachs filled up, the fruit she was eating had time to ferment. She's drunk, and Anakin wants an explanation.

Sweet Fat of the Hog - Ruffnut proclaims it's a special day, and Hiccup's about to find out why.

daddylucifer69 - Lucifer has created a TikTok.

Fixer-Upper - After a battle against the Empire, the Ghost is damaged, and the crew is stuck in hyperspace. They work together to fix up the ship.

Jedi Slaves - Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka have become prisoners on Zygerria, and suffer the torment of slaves.

Less Than Ideal - Obi-Wan and Anakin are surrounded by enemy forces, and need to find a way out.

Not Your Average Crew - Kanan and Hera get into a fight, a fight that leaves Kanan feeling a little too hot. As he takes care of matters, Hera walks in on him.

Home In the Person Beside You - Ahsoka and Rex are hiding out on Carlac, and the guest room they are put up in only has one bed.

The Clinging Past - Sam doesn't want Jack awoken from the nightmares he's tormented with, so he finds a way to try and deal with them. But is he ready?

Are You Strange Like Me? - Sam has been broken in many ways throughout his life. Broken in the Cage, broken while his soul and body were separated. Now broken as a being with all the right parts where they belonged, but broken in his head.

Rain - The sky had opened up and rain was pouring down, but it did nothing to quench the fire that had taken over the FAYZ. The rain didn’t reach through the barrier. Sam held Astrid, watching the rain. Lana had healed his back and shoulder, so he was good as new, but he still had the memories of intense pain, the memories of trying to drag himself down the highway as fire burned behind him. Now it was raining. It was raining and it was out of their reach.

Why? - Dean doesn't think he deserves Castiel's love.

Abrion Major - Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan lead their men in a battle on Abrion Major. In his arrogance, Anakin breaks the Jedi Code.

Right Now? - Kanan gets a migraine in the middle of a space battle.

A Sore Defeat - Kanan and Ezra go in to get supplies that the Rebellion badly needs, but it's all a trap set by the Inquisitors.

Who Is Caleb Dume? - After the genocide of the Jedi, Caleb Dume faces the exile ahead of him by becoming someone else--someone he's not proud of.

To the King - Dean is captured by demons and is taken to face his brother for the first time since he became the King of Hell.

In a Pitch Black World - Sam is having visions and dreams again from drinking demon blood. This night, he dreams of something he cannot put a name to, a future he could never want.

Like a Dream I Can’t Escape - Sam is having a PTSD flare-up, and a new symptom arises. The trigger seems to be his bed.

I Couldn’t Stand the Person Inside Me - Sam wakes early in the dark in his room, not feeling like his body is his.

Hidden In My Bones - Dean Winchester has a realization about Castiel, one that hurts beyond belief.

The Wail of Dying Stars - Sam comes back from the Cage speaking Enochian.

Hottie With a Body - Cas has an odd run-in with a man at a Gas N' Sip, and he tells Sam and Dean about it.

Don’t Call Me Sammy (Rewrite) - Sam Winchester throws himself into Lucifer's prison, ensuring that the Devil is locked away. But now, he's locked in there with him, and Lucifer has nothing better to do but to hurt him.

Blow Me, Dean - Castiel says "blow me, Dean," during an argument and sexy times ensue.

The Bone Faerie - Dean tries to draw the creature he's hunting away from civilization. He ends up violently attacked, helpless, and to make matters worse? The angels find him.

SAVE DEAN WINCHESTER - Castiel goes to Hell to save Dean Winchester, but something goes wrong, weakening Castiel, and Dean doesn't want to be saved.

On the Slopes of Aneine - During the battle against Infernua for the slopes of Aneine, Sam is impaled by a spear.

Running Out of Air - Lucifer decides to do more than just touch Sam's soul when he reveals himself to be possessing Castiel.

Glass Dolls - Sam is led to a room in the prison that he and his family are being held captive in. He doesn't know what twisted game will be played until he hears Dean screaming from across the hall.

#writing #my writing #fanfiction #2022 writing summary

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laughingphoenixleader · 2 years

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Padawans AU

This is my first time making an AU post…do those exist? @kanerallels makes them, so…I was inspired to.

@commandersnips41 and I made this one together!

After Ahsoka leaves, Anakin gets a new Padawan. Guess what? It’s HERA! She’s a little Padawan in this one!!

She was picked up from Ryloth at around 6 years old—later than most. Her skills of empathy seemed like they might could just be natural—but when she was caught making several of her toy ships actually zoom around the room…they knew.

Cham didn’t want to give her up at first. But when Aayla Secura came to retrieve her, she was able to convince him that this is what’s best for Hera. It broke his and Eleni’s hearts, but they knew that she’d do great things as a Jedi, that their strong, caring, empathetic girl would help so many people.

Plo Koon and Aayla both raised her well. They obliged her in teaching her to fly at an early age—she begged and begged them to let her, seeming more interested in that than lightsaber form training or meditation

She saw Ahsoka Tano as her older sister—she did lots of training with her. So she’s heartbroken when Ahsoka leaves the Order.

When Anakin takes her in, she can feel how much he misses Ahsoka. A month into being his Padawan, she states that she knows that she will never replace her. And that she’s sorry that she isn’t Ahsoka.

Which melts our Skyguy’s heart, and he tells her that he cares about her, too.

Hera still longs to fly and feels like she wasn’t meant to have the Force…that she’s meant to be a pilot. They teach Padawans to pilot ships, but that isn’t first priority for the Order. So she knows how to fly a ship…she just isn’t satisfied with the training she’s gotten. Would she ever be, though?

When she’s put with Anakin, she’s ECSTATIC because she’s heard of how great of a pilot he is.

She eagerly asks if he’ll teach her to fly, and he loves her enthusiasm. Ahsoka wasn’t a huge fan of flying…and she ended up crashing any ship she flew. He takes her out flying every day, if possible. She LOVES it. They bond over their shared love of flying.

If Anakin needs a quick meet-up with Padmé, he typically sends Hera off with her fellow Padawan, Caleb Dume. Because he ships it.

They’re 4 years apart, so they don’t have feelings for each other yet. Hera’s only 9 when she’s put with Anakin, and Caleb’s only 13.

Hera and Caleb didn’t get along at first. Her rapid-fire responses to his teasing ended in their bickering often…until they worked together on a mission and bonded. Then they became close friends.

They become best friends because of how many rendezvous Anakin ends up needing.

Caleb loves to hear about all of Anakin’s reckless adventures.

Hera enjoys answering all of his questions.

Ironically enough, she’s much more carefree as a Jedi, having not lived under her father’s too-strong hand.

Because of the aforementioned abundance of Anakin disappearances, Hera ends up hanging out with Depa and Caleb a lot

They become an iconic trio

Depa and Hera bond a lot, what with both of them being super witty and glib

They sometimes go on missions together and it’s a fantastic time—they make an amazing team

Depa’s battalion bonds with Hera, too

They joke about her being Caleb’s girlfriend

“SHE’S NOT MY GIRLFRIEND SHE’S A LOT YOUNGER THAN ME”

“I’m not that much younger than you, Mr. Don’t-Call-Me-Kid.”

“Yeah, I know, Hera—“

“But I’m still definitely not your girlfriend”

“No just my best friend”

“If you want it to stay that way, then stop acting like I’m a little kid :)”

The clones: “yeah they’re gonna get married one day”

And they’re so right

And Depa secretly supports it

Anakin isn’t so secret about it

Depa and Anakin hang out sometimes and discuss their Padawans

Sometimes all four of them go on missions

And the 501st with Depa’s battalion is the most chaotic combination

When Hera wants to be really annoying she calls Caleb kid

“I’M LITERALLY OLDER THAN YOU”

“I didn’t say I’m not also a kid who happens to be younger than you. My statement still stands :)”

Depa’s battalion: YEAHHHHH

Order 66 still happens but Depa girl survives and becomes both Hera and Caleb’s master

Kasmir helps out all three of them right after 66—they’re pretty badly wounded

Depa joins the Rebellion, of course

Kanan and Hera (who probably also changes her name) still form the Ghost Crew while Depa is more involved with Bail Organa and Fulcrum

Hera’s still the pilot—she ends up focusing more on that than on Jedi training and Depa teaches her all she knows about flying

She finds the best pilots around and gets some training from them while Depa and Kanan are off doing Jedi training

So K & Hera end up getting together and both go to Depa to talk about their feelings

She fully supports it

Depa and Ahsoka discuss the two’s blossoming relationship often

Then when they start picking up kids off the street Depa and Ahsoka are thrilled

Speaking of Ahsoka, Hera’s delighted to see that she’s okay

Kanan and Hera join the Rebellion together and share all the intel and are even more of co-leaders

And Depa gets to meet the Ghost Crew and they LOVE her—especially Ezra

Kanan asks her to be Ezra’s master and Depa’s like “no my Padawan you’re ready”

Hera helps out with training sometimes, but again she kind of dropped off of Jedi training once Order 66 happened to be a pilot

Depa’s the one who marries Kanan and Hera

I’m obsessed with this. Definitely gonna be writing it VERY soon. Will I make a whole gigantic fic detailing the whole thing? …probably. But I’ve gotta get all my current WIPs out of my system first.

#star wars rebels #kanan jarrus #hera syndulla #star wars #swr #kanera #kanan x hera #ezra bridger #sw rebels #depa billaba #my AU #au #padawans au

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tennessoui · 3 years

Note

hello 👋 I was catching up on your tumblr like it's my weekly newspaper of choice and, um, if you ever fancied writing a snippet of obi wan getting the call after a concert about fire fighter anakin getting hurt it would be much appreciated 🥺

alright yes of course!!! i always try to give my asks whatever they want 🥺🥺🥺 here's a snippet of singer!obi-wan getting an 'anakin is hurt' call

(1.8k)

When Obi-Wan gets offstage, the first thing he does is check his phone. That’s what he’s been doing for months now, ever since he and Anakin started dating. It’s not like he can look at his phone onstage in front of all the people who paid to see Obi-Wan Kenobi, rock star. He has to wait, to not carry his phone with him at all up to the stage in order to triumph over the temptation of seeing what Anakin is doing right now, what silly thing he wants Obi-Wan to see.

It’s almost better like this. He gets offstage and he gets little presents from his boyfriend: horrifically cooked meals at the station, complaints about one of his coworkers’ new taste in music, awful jokes his sister has told him.

Tonight, there’s nothing.

He doesn’t think much about it though, not when he doesn’t have his boyfriend’s work schedule memorized. Sometimes the firefighters’ schedules shift on random days; someone calling out sick, someone available to cover a shift they weren’t assigned….It’s a big city, but a small firehouse. Obi-Wan isn’t worried.

Disappointed, maybe, that he doesn’t get to see Anakin’s twisted, disgusted face at Jesse’s attempt at dinner. Or his string of laughing text emojis to accompany a joke from Ahsoka. Disappointed, but not worried.

He chats with Kit and Quinlan the entire time back to his dressing room. The drummer thinks the opening song could use a little more rehearsal. The guitarist thinks it’s fine. Obi-Wan hadn’t heard anything definitively out of place, but he’s always alright with more rehearsal. He wants to give the best performance he can to the fans. It’s that simple.

He’s alone for a few minutes when he changes from his performance outfit into his normal clothes. It’s just after ten p.m.

He thinks about calling Anakin, as it’s only 8 in the evening in his city. Surely that’s too early to go to bed, even for a night off-shit. He thinks about it the entire time he’s changing into jeans and a t-shirt, the entire time he’s wiping off his stage make-up--nothing drastic of course, but just enough to be visible in the stage lights, just enough to look a little ghoulish in the warmer lights of the dressing room.

It doesn’t take much to break him, he’ll admit. He really, really likes Anakin. They’ve been dating for eight months now. He’s almost completely comfortable saying that he loves Anakin, but he doesn’t want to scare the other man off. Sometimes he thinks that everything he feels is too big and too dramatic for everyday life, that being in the spotlight from such a young age ruined him for anything private and selfish ever again.

But loving Anakin feels private, feels selfish. It feels right, amazing, like he’s a bandit robbing a small bank and just hopping on the train leaving town. It feels like he’s getting away with something he never should have even expected to have.

Anakin doesn’t pick up.

This too is excusable, as Obi-Wan hardly expects his boyfriend to wait by the phone, anticipating his call. Anakin’s messages during his concerts are gifts for a reason. They’re not mandatory, they’re unexpected.

Going into a serious relationship like this, they’d both understood the importance of their already established lives. Obi-Wan could no more give up a concert in favor of a call with Anakin as Anakin could go off shift and call Obi-Wan.

He packs the necessities he’d carried with him into the dressing room and looks around, if only to make sure he has everything and he’s not leaving too big of a mess.

Ahsoka calls him on his cell, when he’s halfway between his dressing room and the bus. He almost doesn’t pick up because he doesn’t have Ahsoka’s number saved into his contacts. But her city area code is the same as Anakin’s, and he picks up the call.

“Obi-Wan?” Ahsoka sounds like she’s half on the call and half not. “I couldn’t unlock Anakin’s phone, but I saw you were trying to call him.”

Obi-Wan pauses and leans against the wall. “Yes, I was,” he says slowly, his gut trembling with a bad feeling. “Why are you calling me, Ahsoka?” He hates sounding so abrupt, but he can’t help it. He needs to know. Perhaps Anakin is asleep, and Ahsoka is trying to ward off any further calls in order to let her brother sleep.

“Anakin’s in the hospital,” she says grimly and straightforwardly. Faintly, Obi-Wan thinks he can appreciate her no-nonsense attitude. She gets directly to the point, even though the point iis dangerously sharp.

“No,” Obi-Wan shakes his head, even as he slowly slides down the wall he’s against until he’s sitting on the floor. “No, he can’t be. I talked to him a few hours ago.”

“There was a call,” Ahsoka sounds so close to crying. No, Obi-Wan thinks. Impossible.

“But I just talked to him,” he says, clearing his throat. “I just….”

“There was a fire out on Temple Street,” she says thickly. “He’s in the hospital because a pillar fell on him. Trapped him in...in a burning house.”

Obi-Wan inhales sharply. If he hadn’t been sitting down already, he would have fallen to the ground. “But I--” I just talked to him, he thinks. As if it matters.

“He’s not critical anymore,” Ahsoka tells him. “But he’s still in surgery. Invasive, but. Not overly risky is what they told me.” She sniffles.

“I’m twenty hours away,” he says faintly.

“I know,” Ahsoka says into the phone. “I know. You’re almost on the other side of the country. But...they didn’t know to call you and I thought you needed to know.”

“I’ll be there as soon as possible,” Obi-Wan hears himself say. He needs to move. He needs to catch a plane. No matter expensive. He needs to get to the airport, get to Anakin.

Anakin’s hurt. Anakin needs surgery.

It’s Quinlan that finds him in the hallway, guitar slung over his back.

“Obi-Wan?” he asks, offering a hand out without explanation.

“Anakin’s in the hospital,” he says blankly, staring straight forward at the other wall. “He got hurt in a fire.”

“Then let’s get you there,” Quinlan replies instantly, pulling Obi-Wan up. “Come on. We’ll get you straight to the airport. I’ll tell the fans of the next concert.”

“We need to give them a refund,” Obi-Wan says distantly as he lets himself be led out to the tour bus. There are screams of fans, but it’s like he can’t even hear them. He’s underwater. Nothing matters as much. Nothing matters at all. Anakin needs surgery. Anakin’s in the hospital. Anakin’s hurt. He’s in the hospital. He needs surgery.

“We will,” Quinlan reassures him, leading him onto the bus. He tells the driver something harshly, quickly, and then not even a minute later, the wheels are in motion.

Anakin is in the hospital. Anakin had been hurt. He’d been in a building when it’d collapsed. How had Obi-Wan never even thought to worry about this? He worries about everything, but he’d never even thought of Anakin, of what Anakin’s career means. Sometimes he doesn’t get out. Sometimes Anakin doesn’t save the day. Who saves him?

Obi-Wan only realizes he’s making a weird noise with his throat when Quinlan clasps his hand. “We’re going to the airport,” he says with absolute surety. “We’ll get you to him, alright?”

Obi-Wan nods. What else is he supposed to do? He just talked to Anakin. He was fine then. How can someone go from fine to needing surgery in less than three hours?

He calls Ahsoka within the next fifteen minutes, as soon as it sinks in that this is happening. It doesn’t make sense, he can’t wrap his head around it, but it’s happening anyway. He’s ten minutes from the closest airport. Quinlan’s already got him a ticket. He’s coming. He’s almost there. He just...he needs to know Anakin is….that Anakin is……

“He’s still in surgery,” Ahsoka tells him softly. She sounds so small, so unsure. He’s only met her a handful of times, but he knows this tone does not belong anywhere close to her. “I don’t know, Obi-Wan. Please get here.”

Around the sixth hour after his concert ends, Obi-Wan cries. He leaves the official announcement to Quinlan, because he’s a coward. But he loves Anakin enough to type out a tweet anyway. It’s nothing too dramatic, nothing too honest either. There’s been an emergency. He’s sorry. He’s not sorry enough to not go, but he’s sorry enough to talk to fans. There’ll be a refund, maybe a rescheduling.

His entire life feels up in ends, but he talks about rescheduling. He doesn’t know what else to do. When the flight attendant tells him to turn his phone off, he puts it down until she’s passed by.

He looks out the window of the airplane and he can feel his tears soaking into his beard. Anakin is alright, he keeps telling himself. Anakin has to be okay. He doesn’t know what he’ll do if Anakin isn’t okay.

It’s suddenly so amazingly clear to him that if Anakin were to--to not be alright--Obi-Wan’s life would never, ever be the same. Never. They’re intrinsically linked together. Why wasn’t he contacted when Anakin was first brought to the hospital? He needs to know this. He needs to know as soon as Anakin is hurt. He can’t stand the idea that Anakin had been injured halfway through his set, maybe at the end, maybe before it even started.

He needs to know as soon as it happens, if it ever happens again.

He never wants it to happen again. He never wants Anakin to be hurt, to be unresponsive, to be so far from him that Anakin’s sister has to let him know what’s going on.

He needs to be something different, something more. Something that makes everyone understand that he needs to be informed immediately when anything happens to Anakin, his Anakin. His….

Husband. Husband would work. If Anakin were to marry him, Obi-Wan would get preference to every medical incident experienced. Obi-Wan could be there. Yes. Husband

Husband.

Obi-Wan wipes the tears from his eyes slowly as he stares at the backside of the seat in front of him. Husband. If he were to be Anakin’s husband, he’d never be third in the information chain. He’d know immediately when something happens to his...to his husband.

Anakin could be his husband. Obi-Wan would ask him. It would make everything easier. It would mean Obi-Wan would know anything wrong as soon as it happened. He’d be the first in the chain of information.

He wants that, he decides as he cries into his airplane food napkin somewhere over the Great Plains. He wants to be the first. He wants to know. He wants to be there everytime Anakin wakes up from an injury. He wants to hold his hand.

Nothing else will ever make him feel any better. He needs it.

#asks #firefighter au #he does marry anakin in the next few months #as soon as anakin gets out of rehab #for his injury #the tour is postponed so obi-wan can take care of his boyfriend/fiancee

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phoenixyfriend · 2 years

Text

The Way to a Boy's Heart is Through Violent Defensive Measures

Read on AO3

My last entry for @anakin-rarepairs-week! A bit late, but it's 7k so hopefully that makes up for it.

It's Rexwalker, arranged marriage, royalty AU. POV cycles through Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Rex. We are featuring the forbidden flavor of blorbo: Early AotC whiny teen Anakin

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“I just don’t see why it has to be me.”

Obi-Wan counts to ten. He breathes deeply. “Ahsoka’s too young, and I’m already married.”

“Feemor—”

“Isn’t technically in the line.”

“Xan—”

“Would ruin his own marriage for the fun of it.”

“Asajj—”

“Is not breaking off her own carefully-negotiated engagement for you.”

“Koma—”

“Is still institutionalized.”

Anakin crosses his arms and huffs, glaring out the window at passing hyperspace. “Okay, but we already have a connection to Mandalore.”

“One that hasn’t been renewed in the past century,” Obi-Wan reminds him, ignoring the very, very not-valid way that it sort of was, because that argument isn’t going to help anyone. “We’ve been over this a million times Anakin.”

His little brother, as is his habit, rolls his eyes and sprawls. ��I don’t want to get married. I want to go out and fall in love and then do that.”

“Well, we’re royalty,” Obi-Wan reminds him, without adding ‘unfortunately’ to the end. “If you wanted to out, you should have disowned yourself like Uncle Rael.”

“Xanatos and Komari both tried that and it didn’t stick.”

“Yes, well, one out of three isn’t a terrible success rate, given the context.”

Anakin is quiet for about five seconds.

“Okay, but why—”

Obi-Wan throws a cushion at him.

When Obi-Wan was fourteen, he had an adventure. That adventure had been unintended by everyone except himself, and had resulted in a number of people near-shaking him with the effort to impress upon him the very delicate nature of politics and his own safety.

Obi-Wan had befriended two youngsters on the planet of Melida-Daan, and had helped them resolve a war that had lasted generations. He was very proud of this. He was somewhat less proud at a solution the adults had hammered out after it was over. The adults saw Obi-Wan fretting about leaving without ensuring everything was fine, because there were so many children still without food, so few teenagers that knew how to farm or fish or fire up an oven, only fire up a gun. The adults decided, without consulting him, on a solution to allow their planet’s continued involvement in the affairs of The Young.

Cerasi was a leader of these people, yes? And, with two leaders, one could be spared? Good!

This was how Obi-Wan had ended up engaged, at fourteen, to a girl he’d only known a few weeks.

Their marriage has endured, even if their feelings have long since grown past what they were. They’d been children, and first loves were an important thing, but perhaps not something to base the rest of their lives off of.

Cerasi is Obi-Wan’s dearest friend, but they have been allowing each other a variety of sexual discretions since they were in their early twenties.

One of said discretions resulted in Korkarius Kryze, and that, Obi-Wan knows, is the main reason Anakin is angry at his own sacrifice to a marriage in the name of treaty with Mandalore. If Obi-Wan had only been allowed polygamy, this would have been handled ten years ago.

He wasn’t. It couldn’t. Divorce was, for a mess of reasons relating to Mandalore’s requirements of a marriage treaty, not a solution.

And so, here they were, on the way to marry Anakin off to a virtual stranger for the sake of politics.

Anakin stays back, arms crossed and well aware that he is being huffy, thank you, watching as Obi-Wan and Cerasi greet the Duchess and her ‘nephew.’ There are a lot of lingering touches and yearning gazes going on. Korkie looks as though he’d like to run away just to make it stop. Cerasi looks about ready to join him.

“Still bitter?”

Anakin elbows his sister-niece-whatever. She elbows back. He wonders if he can get away with dragging her into a headlock in public.

They are on Mandalore…

It’s too late. Korkie’s spotted them. He jogs over, grinning at Ahsoka. “Sister!”

Ahsoka rolls her eyes, but accepts the hug. “We are just throwing subtlety out the window, huh?”

“Excited?” Korkie asks, ignoring her in favor of Anakin. “Or at least, not fuming?”

“I wish it wasn’t happening,” Anakin says immediately. “I wanna get married for love, not politics.”

Korkie blinks at him. “Okay, you do know you’re a prince, right?”

“As people keep reminding me.”

“Ah, the joys of being actually related by blood,” Ahsoka snickers, and ducks forward to slip her arm through Korkie’s. Anakin squawks with betrayal.

Rude.

“Have fun meeting your fiancé!” Ahsoka calls over her shoulder, “I’m going to go cause trouble with my definitely-not-related friend!”

Anakin leans back against the ship and resigns himself to waiting. It’s his wedding, arranged or not. Shouldn’t people be paying attention to him?

Cerasi’s wandered off. Anakin doesn’t know where. He doesn’t care. She can do what he wants, since apparently she’s not going to hang out with him. Why did they have to disembark before everyone else? It’s not like it was that important for Obi-Wan and Satine to be weird about each other in public.

“You’re moping.”

Anakin does not scream as he jumps away, thank you very much. He coughs, maybe. He definitely glares at his sister-in-law.

“I thought you left.”

“Oh no,” Cerasi says, amused as anything. “I know better than to leave a moping Skywalker alone. I’ve known you since the day your mother showed up at the door with you.”

“Yeah, and?”

She rolls her eyes. “And I know that if I leave you alone, you’ll work yourself into a strop that Xanatos would be proud of.”

“I would not!”

“You would,” she says, putting a hand on his shoulder and steering him away from the ship and towards the Mand’alor’s compound. “Come on. Let’s go greet your husband-to-be.”

“But Obi-Wan—”

“Will catch up,” Cerasi assures him. “Let’s move.”

Anakin is technically not the heir to his throne, but only barely. It’s a complicated situation, because everyone kept adopting or having illegitimate children with inconvenient people, but technically, Ahsoka is heir, because Obi-Wan got crowned king when Anakin was nine, when Dad died. Xanatos had been removed from succession because of the murder attempts, and Feemor was… Anakin still didn’t get it, which was a problem since he was supposed to know these things, but whatever. Fee was a former ward and not a prince and, for reasons beyond Anakin, this was a problem.

Cerasi had never wanted to get pregnant. Obi-Wan had people coming after his head, now that he was king, for only having an illegitimate heir that was by all rights going to inherit the civil leadership position of his mother, rather than being legitimized to Obi-Wan’s line for the crown.

And so, Obi-Wan and Cerasi had adopted Ahsoka.

(Some people had been very annoyed that they’d adopted outside the species, but they always found their speeders mysteriously blowing up in the night.)

(How strange.)

(Cerasi slipped Anakin extra sweets, those nights.)

Anakin calls Ahsoka his sister. Ahsoka calls him her brother. She also refers to Obi-Wan as her father, and then Obi-Wan calls Anakin his brother, and then everyone gets very confused until someone takes pity and explains that it’s just the inconvenience of very large sibling age gaps.

That person is usually Cerasi, because Obi-Wan feeds on other’s discomfort and Anakin self-identifies as a hellion.

(Continue on AO3)

#rexwalker #star wars #arranged marriage au #captain rex #anakin skywalker #the clone wars #phoenix files #obi wan kenobi #royalty au #anakin and obi wan #ahsoka tano #cerasi #jango fett #commander fox #satine kryze #korkie kryze

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mominousrex · 2 years

Text

The Jola Moon (A Rexsoka FanFic) - Chapter 11: THE FEAST

NSFW - 18+ ONLY - EXPLICIT/MATURE

SUMMARY: Rex and Ahsoka finally sit down to eat dinner.

A/N: Happy New Year, tumblr-verse. Sorry for the delay in posting this one! I let the holidays do their thing and take over my life😏

Our story continues and I’m very curious what the response will be for this chapter. But that’s all I’ll say for now🙌🥰🙌

Thanks to @shannon-lynn-21 for her help with describing that one sexy moan I cannot for the life of me manage to describe to my own satisfaction.

Thank you to @chromia7567 & @elsaanna007 and the great Catmama9 for helping me out and reading my early drafts! 🙌😍🙌

You can also read the whole fic in AO3 by clicking here- kudos and comments appreciated🥰🥰🥰

Chapter 11 - The Feast

The fog was thick with smoke and dirt. The air she breathed in was putrid with an unpleasant smell and taste. Ahsoka immediately sensed danger and gripped her lightsabers tight behind her back.

Why do I have two lightsabers again? That’s not right.

She was certain one was left at the crash site, and the other was in the hangar with the Y-wing.

She tried to look around to get her bearings but only felt the scene around her hover in her vision. The hazy daylight served her no purpose other than to outline the silhouettes of gnarled lifeless trees. It was impossible to tell if it was dawn or dusk. For miles, she took in the endless rows of scorched earth; the giant trunks resembled desperate fingers trying to claw their way out of the ground.

What happened here?

The charred forest had lost all life and foliage. Was she still on Splendor? She moved to begin a run but could not. Something was wrong. She couldn’t move. Her body was heavier, and she felt sore in places she never had felt before. She seemed…older, by decades.

“The people already suffer under your rule.”

That was her own voice, though she had no idea to whom she was directing the accusation.

Suddenly, blaster fire shot out at her from all sides, and though she couldn’t move, none of them hit her. She then saw her two glowing sabers, a shocking white she had never seen, now ignited as they easily cut down the masked figures one by one at her feet.

Her surroundings shifted, and she was caught in a different fog that was misty and wet. This new fog drifted in the same haunting and barren forest. Through the mist, she saw an armored figure,

“Rex?” No, that was not his armor; it looked…Mandalorian?

She called out to the figure. “Who are you?”

The only response the figure gave was to continue towards her. The armor appeared to be that of a man’s, and his approach was steady and non-threatening. She began to feel someone else’s thoughts; another being was with this unknown man. It was a child, but more importantly, another Jedi. The presence spoke to her through the Force, but the youngling was still unseen. As the armored figure approached her, the reflection in his beskar helmet and glass visor revealed her reflection as she saw herself presently. She might as well be looking in the bathroom mirror in the lodge. Shifting her gaze beyond the armored man’s shoulder plate, she saw the distinct silhouette of Master Yoda.

“Master! Are you alright?”

Yoda’s voice was clear, soft, and humbled as it responded to her.

“Found me, you have not. But found you, hope and love have. Yes. Safe, we will be now. Hope we have, now. Look to the Force, Ahsoka. To me, look not. To the Force…only,” Yoda’s voice trailed off, but she knew it was really him. He was alive…somewhere. He knew she was alive too.

“Good or bad, they are always memorable,” once again her own voice rang in her ear, but she no longer saw the Mandalorian or felt the presence of the youngling.

She was alone again and had no idea where she was or what any of this meant. In an instant, the light from two suns beaming down shined so brightly it blocked out all that she saw before. Her eyes squinted to look as she felt the warmth pour over her skin. Soon the bright blinding lights shifted into the warm glow of Rex’s amber eyes looking into hers as he spoke,

“Ahsoka? Time to wake up, Tano,”

Ahsoka’s eyes opened to his familiar and comforting face. Rex’s smile pushed aside the confusion in her thoughts caused by her dream. She let out a great big glorious yawn as her body twisted and stretched itself awake.

“Mmm…Rex,” she smiled as she cupped his face, “What time is it?”

Rex laid beside her, propped up on one elbow, tracing the long sleeve of the light blue tunic she chose to nap in.

“I have no idea. Night time? I woke up a while ago. It was already dark and I took a quick shower.”

“It finally stopped raining?”

“Yeah, it had stopped by the time I got up.”

Ahsoka looked him over then cuddled up to him to ensure he was really there with her. Seeing Rex wearing only his upper blacks again, she noticed the high neckline, his now hidden chest, and muscular arms. It stirred her memories of post-battle briefings and innocent downtime on The Resolute. Then she noticed he had on the black drawstring pants that she had found in the closet for him this morning.

This morning. Even that felt like a lifetime ago. Time was completely out of sorts on this moon.

With her next breath, her senses were delighted as her nose took in a whiff of a delicious scent that opened her eyes wide and made her mouth water,

“Did you start cooking already?”

Rex smiled with self-satisfaction, “I did. I am attempting to make us dinner, or at least I hope it's edible. I was so hungry when I woke up. I ate an entire jar of nut paste!”

“With your fingers again?” Ahsoka laughed and traced his mouth clumsily.

“No, not this time. I did find a spoon, eventually.”

Rex grabbed her hand and started kissing her fingers. He then playfully began to make fun of himself by pretending to eat her fingers. Their laughter filled the bedroom with the sound of uninhibited joy that quickly turned into adoring kisses and affection.

This once abandoned lodge built by Anakin and Padme Skywalker for their secret, hidden, and unspoken love had new occupants now. The marriage that was never supposed to happen was replaced by Ahsoka and Rex’s newly discovered and growing love, a love that was battle-tested, unashamed, and inevitable. Their partnership would be needed for the years to come. The happiness and joy they felt right now would have to carry them both through the dark and lonely days that were indeed ahead.

Ahsoka could not help but still process the visions from her dream. Still, she was set afire again with her desire to touch Rex’s skin, kiss him, and especially have him in her again. Even as they lay calmly in the bed, her hips ached for that feeling to return. These moments of laughter and playfulness were so new, yet it felt like they had always been this intimate. Ahsoka was a bit breathless with how he was looking at her at this moment. Rex’s golden amber eyes had looked at her many times before they ever arrived on Splendor. Have they always appreciated her this much? Had she always looked at him so adoringly?

She wondered if Rex was as perplexed by their connection now.

“I feel so close to you now, Rex,” she traced his bicep, feeling the curves and strength of this arm.

“Me too. I was nervous that you would feel differently after we…you know.”

She sat up in the bed and took his hand in both of hers.

“I do feel different, Rex, wonderfully different.”

Rex’s bashful grin was trying so hard not to beam a huge smile. He was still learning how to accept this much affection. He knew now that he could only share this side of himself with Ahsoka. He couldn’t imagine anyone else understanding just how difficult it was to be adored by someone like this. Moved by this awareness, he began to trace his fingers over her face and wanted to treasure her whole body.

He started at the diamond markings on her forehead then down across the markings on her cheek. He kissed her gently, laying her back into the pillows as his touch continued down her neck, where it landed on her lekku. Ahsoka’s lips quivered against his, revealing that her sensitive lekku tails may be more than just ticklish, given the proper attention.

Her hand quickly met his hand to urge him to continue exploring her body over the dreamsilk fabric of her tunic. Then she guided him under the hem. Rex’s hand grabbed her hip, still warm from her nap, as he kissed her passionately with every ounce of longing and desire for her. Ahsoka reciprocated as she slid her hands to his back under the hem of his shirt to scratch the skin of his back lightly. Rex moved his body over hers and settled between her legs that spread wide to fit him in. His thoughts went wild when he remembered she had nothing on underneath her borrowed long-sleeved tunic.

When she started rolling and bucking her hips towards him perfectly, his growing excitement underneath the fabric of his pants thrust deep to feel the warmth moistening between her legs. Bracing himself on one strong arm, he caressed her breast. She let out a sigh into his ear as he pinched at her nipple.

“Oh Rex, I want you in me again,” she sharply traced her tongue along his ear lobe.

He whispered a growl into her montral just before confessing, “Stars, when you say that Ahsoka….”

She whispered into his ear again, “Rex? Is there still food that’s cooking?”

“OH KRIFF!” he jumped off the bed to his feet, adjusted himself, shaking his head and even one foot to get his balance, “I completely forgot! So sorry!”

“Don’t apologize! Just go save our dinner,” Ahsoka laughed and shooed him away. He started to hurry out of the bedroom,

“I’m not done with you though!” Rex shouted from the hall as Ahsoka sat up and called back,

“Save the dinner, Rex!” She shook her head with a smile, then collapsed back into the enormous bed.

She had not laid in the bed by herself yet. She pulled the velvet comforter up to her chest as she let the heated sensations still resonating in her body move her to twist and turn. She was thinking about how Rex felt between her legs with his body on top of hers. She was biting her finger just thinking about the feeling of him pressed against her bare down there. She knew they had to eat, sleep, and all the normal functions of life, but she wondered if they could just keep having sex and pleasuring each other endlessly.

Then she recalled her dream again. It was more than a dream, she knew. She had a vision and had made a connection with Master Yoda. It also seemed that the wise old Master sensed what was happening here on Splendor between her and Rex. That realization made her sit up straight and cooled any heated passion leftover from her and Rex’s recent actions.

She got quiet and crossed her legs. There, in the center of the bed, she drew a breath to recall the words of the Jedi Master,

“But found you, hope and love have…Safe, we will be now…Look to the Force, Ahsoka. To me, look not. To the Force… only .”

Ahsoka was struck by the confirmation that another Jedi was indeed alive out there in the galaxy. He also encouraged her to continue on her current path and not seek him.

She thought she would have a much more insightful reaction. Instead, she just really needed to use the refresher.

Rex did what he could to save the well-overdone potatoes, but he was glad the rice grains were perfectly cooked. He fluffed the rice in the pot with the large wooden fork, tasted a bite, and decided on just a bit more salt for some flavor. As he put the lid back on the pot to keep the steam in, he grabbed one more burnt potato wedge and popped it into his mouth,

“Not that bad, I guess.”

He looked over at the serving platter and two large bowls Ahsoka had found earlier in the day. It had been almost three rotations since he and Ahsoka had eaten a decent meal. The breakfast this morning was meager but certainly tied them over, considering the activities of the day. The best part of cooking was that he could get something done, feel useful, and more importantly, assess how much food they actually had to last however long they would stay.

Every time he thought about when they would leave or what their next move would be, Rex found himself immediately trying to figure out how much longer they could stay. He tried not to dwell on the conflicting thoughts by looking through the pantry again to hunt down more food options. It was a dreamy thought, but there was no way Splendor could be a permanent refuge for them. It was never meant to be more than a hidden temporary retreat. But he did think about it, maybe a little more than he wanted to admit.

Additionally, he had a nagging concern about what happened to his clone brothers, the Skywalkers, and even the whole damn Republic. A comm to Cut tomorrow would help him navigate all of these new feelings and any updates on what was happening in the galaxy.

He pulled the wyrg jerky out of its packaging and tried to arrange it on a platter. There really wasn’t any way to make strips of jerky look nice. Still, they looked delicious . His mouth was watering at the smell of the spicy, savory flavor that filled the bag. He was determined to hold out and not start eating out of solidarity, but he did lick his fingers to taste. Rex didn’t even like jerky; he always loathed the texture and how it never felt like you had thoroughly chewed it properly. Skywalker, though, could have eaten it for every meal if available. It occurred to Rex that his general had probably eaten from this very bag, and he paused for a moment, unsure how to feel or what to do,

“Sorry, general. If I ever see you again, I’ll owe you.”

Rex opted to retake stock of how much jerky they had. There was only so much in the two packages left at the lodge, and as their primary source of protein, it was a special treat just for tonight.

Ahsoka soon appeared rushing down the hallway, causing Rex to stop what he was doing and take in her giddiness. She was practically leaping towards the kitchen. She then slowed her step to a very suspicious stroll right up to him. Rex signaled his curiosity, raising one eyebrow,

“You look very proud of yourself. What are you up to there?

“Kiss me.”

“What? Of course I will,” He stepped closer to pull her to him. Rex gently traced the thickest part of her montral down to her shoulders, not sure what she was up to, before leaning in for a kiss that contained a surprise that made him pull back with eyes wide,

“You found a toothbrush?!”

“ Four toothbrushes, actually, and two tubes of toothpaste. Rex! We can brush our teeth!”

“Where did you find them?”

“I had a feeling you may have not looked as thoroughly through Padme’s drawers. Just a hunch. Why are men so weird about going through women’s things?”

“You say that like it's a bad thing. I’m…quite certain that is a good thing.”

“Do you remember that time, I think just before the Zygerrian mission, I grabbed the wrong data pad and asked you to get the one I needed out of my trunk for me?”

Rex easily replied, “And I brought the whole trunk? Yes.”

“The entire trunk, Rex! I told you exactly where the datapad was in the top tray, but no. There in the mess room you set down my entire trunk on the table in front of Boomer, Vaughn, and Appo.”

“If I may, most men just don’t want to, how do I say this? Find something feminine that we aren’t supposed to see like… intimate things.”

“My underwear wasn’t in the top tray, Rex, it was underneath, you wouldn’t have even seen it.”

“Well that alone confirms I did the right thing. What if the datapad hadn’t been where you said it was? I was trying to be respectful. You just gave me the code to your quarters without even thinking twice, Ahsoka! You didn’t see the look Skywalker gave me when you did that!”

“Ridiculous.”

“If you say so. How about this? I promise, in the future, I will be more thorough when going through a female’s personal belongings, even if I am not intimate with her.”

“Oh, very funny, Rex.”

He smiled as he met his hands with hers and gently interlaced their fingers, “Am I?” He then leaned in to taste the sweet mint of her kisses again. He pulled back slightly and hitched her chin between his thumb and trigger finger,

“Mmm…I‘ve never been so excited to brush my teeth.”

Ahsoka stretched up to kiss his nose, “I’d keep kissing you even if you didn’t. But it does feel so much better.”

“I’ll be right back,” he turned to head down the hallway and called back, “Food’s ready to go if you want to get it on the table!”

“It looks delicious. Hurry up!”

Ahsoka was more than impressed when she took in all that Rex had prepared. Hot steaming rice grains, perfectly crispy potato wedges (just the way she liked them), a plate of jerky, wheat wafers, and a bowl of dried cherries and nuts. It was quite the spread. He had done all this for tonight, for them.

She looked over at the spot in the receiving room where she had stood, laughing to herself at the idea of Rex being a romantic.

And now? Now, she was on the other side of the room, about to happily feast on how romantic and thoughtful Rex could be. She knew better now. Rex was so much more than a captain, soldier, and friend. Ahsoka considered how fortunate she was to see the man he was without the war, the man he could choose to be on his own now.

Rex was always an officer that stood above other men by standing with them side by side. He immediately earned their respect because he was always respectful of others. She had seen him mold young soldiers with his stern but easy manner that they all admired. Every clone undeniably had their own personality, but Rex seemed to have this extra charm of class and distinction unique to him. For him to now desire her, care for her, like this, she couldn’t help but straighten her shoulders, lift her chin and feel honored.

He had even put out the plates and cutlery on the table already, all while she slept and dreamed of distant visions of time.

There were no placemats or fancy centerpieces to add more decoration, but that was fine with Ahsoka. The craftwork of the table shouldn’t be covered by anything anyway. Its half-moon shape, detailed aruk paw pedestal feet, and the wood’s craftsmanship were a work of art to behold. One that she wished she knew more about and could only accept her lost history.

The scattered knots and imperfections in the wood table top had an inlay of Daga turquoise that could only be found in the rocky cliffs overlooking the Great Daga Sea, far from Shili’s capital city of Corvala. Like Togruta’s natural markings, the rare blue and black turquoise marked the wood with sleek hints here and there.

Her homeworld of Shili was known throughout the galaxy for its healers and unique insular culture. It was most certainly not known for exporting traditional wooden furniture made of timber from its impressive sacred forest valleys.

To make a clan’s feast table for a Togruta binding ceremony required yet another ritual and ceremony just for choosing the tree. The tree would be giving its life for the benefit of celebrating many unions and births, hopefully over generations. A council of elder clan mothers would sleep outside, around the chosen tree for three rotations. There was a continuous routine of blessings, smudging of sage, and ceremonial dances that the elder mothers performed. The ritual was to deem the tree worthy and praise the worth of the female who would take possession of the table for all of her future binding ceremonies.

Ownership of the table would then pass down to the first daughter, who would be responsible for both the table and ensuring that her sisters obtained suitable warriors, always of their own choosing. This table was where the couple would sit and be celebrated by all who loved them. The table would be placed up high on a dais for all to have a view as hundreds would sing, drink, dance, and revel in hope for the future that the pairing would bring.

And yet, somehow, somewhere, and at some time, all of that supposed importance was sold to Padme and placed here, only to be hidden in the lodge. Something had happened to disrupt hundreds of years of generational tradition and ceremonial ritual. The table was hidden here, lost to time, just like Ahsoka’s knowledge of her species and native culture. Sadly, whatever legacy the table was meant to ensure was stuck here on Splendor, concealed in secret.

“You alright there, Tano?”

Rex had just come out of the hallway heading towards the open kitchen. Ahsoka was shaken out of her fascination with the table. She looked at Rex and spooned the rice into the serving bowl,

“Yes. Why?”

“Nothing, just saw you staring at the table in a daze. I think I’m still on edge from the last time we tried to sit down and eat something at night.”

Ahsoka then thought of something strange and bold; it was a wild idea. She wasn’t entirely sure how Rex would react, but she at least had past evidence that he had gone along with plans of hers that were undoubtedly riskier. This one was very different and would be significant. But she felt like it was right.

“Rex I’ll finish up getting the food and drinks on the table. But can you do me a favor?”

Standing next to Ahsoka at the kitchen’s island, he then turned and leaned his back against the counter as she busied herself to get the food ready. He tapped her right shoulder with his right shoulder, “A favor huh? As long as I get a kiss first, I’ll do anything you ask,”

“Oh yes, clean teeth! Let me kiss!”

She should have known better than to keep holding onto the spoon full of potato wedges, but there they were kissing sweetly again with Ahsoka’s hand awkwardly holding the wooden spoon. Not wanting to let their lips part, Rex smiled on her lips and peeked one eye to help her release the captive utensil and set it down on the counter.

Ahsoka could barely register what was happening as she delighted in the taste of him combined with the fresh sweet mint. She parted her lips to let her eager tongue lick and taste every part of his mouth. She let a small moan escape at the way he moved his tongue and lips with hers, keeping in time and steady with her hunger for more of him.

Rex slowly traced, barely touching, both of her lekku tails down to the tips against her breast, causing Ahsoka to quiver her lips and lose command of her mouth completely. He took that signal for what it was, a sure sign that it gave her pleasure. He closed his lips over her bottom lip before giving it a slight bite, and she gripped his bicep tightly. Now ghosting his fingertips back up her tails, he kept his lips close to hers as he spoke,

“So…what’s this favor I’m going to do for you?”

Ahsoka was a bit breathless and dazed from the combination of touch and kisses,

“My–my cloak. It’s hanging…by the….”

“By the front door? Yes?”

“Yes…front door…Rex, that feels so good.”

“You want me to get your cloak? For dinner?” Rex couldn’t help that his confusion invaded his tone and made them both calm down a bit.

“Yes, please,” Ahsoka returned the favor with a nibble at Rex’s earlobe and a scrape of teeth just underneath. She wondered if the Kaminoans knew that a stellar clone officer could be completely undone and disarmed with a few nibbles and licks. Now he was the one who was breathless as she whispered in his ear, “You’ll see why very soon, Rex,” she then pulled back, “I hope you’ll like my idea.”

Rex headed towards the front door where her cloak had been hanging on a hook by the entryway without another hint of inquiry. As he brought it back to her, he had that familiar “What next” posture she knew too well.

“You sit at the table. Get off your feet already.”

“You sure? I want to know what this little surprise of yours is?”

“You will see. Sit and I’ll get the food on the table, I’m starving.”

She left the cloak on the counter, finished setting up the food as quickly as possible, and brought them over to the table. As she headed back to the kitchen, she noticed that Rex had served her plate first.

There. That is the reason I know I am making the right choice.

She poured two tall glasses of water and came back to place them on the table.

Rex was serving himself as he spoke,

“I went ahead and gave you a bit of everything. Whatever you don’t want, I will gladly eat.”

“It’s perfect, thank you.”

“Sit down already.”

“Real quick, Rex. I promise. You can start eating.”

He took a sip from his glass and kept his eye on her, thoroughly intrigued.

What is she up to now?

Rex watched in astonishment as Ahsoka took a knife to her cloak, a cloak that Anakin had given her just before they left for their mission on Mandalore.

“What are you doing?!” He stood up from the seat at the table to look over the island counter.

“Rex will you calm down, I’m almost—” she grunted as she yanked a long strip of fabric from the entire bottom hem of her cloak.

“There!” She walked back over, carrying the long, ratty, and depressing strip of useless fabric that looked like a dried dead eel carcass. Then she rolled it up neatly, attempting to make it neat, and set it down on the table before taking a seat in the chair next to his. The arrangement of the table was same side seating. The half-moon shape made the table’s arrangement only for a couple to sit close, facing out together as opposed to facing each other.

“Eat, Rex.”

They both finally dug in, but Rex was still looking at the bizarre addition of a giant strip of her cloak.

“You going to tell me what that’s all about?”

“Hmmm…later. Once we are done eating.” She said with a twinkle in her eye and a sneaky grin as she crunched on a potato wedge,

“These came out perfect by the way. ”

“Good, because we almost burned them. Thank goodness you said something.”

“I can’t believe you're eating jerky. Rex, you hate jerky.”

“I know, but right now I could eat our whole stock of it.”

“There’s not much, right?”

“No. There isn't. We probably have five days of food, you and I could stretch that to another week. But uh, we’d have to reconsider our… recreational activities and not use too much energy.”

“Oh, well that's bad news all around. I’m rather enjoying our—”

“Here it comes.”

“—, recreational activities.” Now, Rex’s laugh at Ahsoka making fun of him was layered with a soft adoration for how beautiful she looked, even when she did that goofy expression. She was chewing food he couldn’t stand, making fun of him with that silly voice, and all he wanted to do was kiss her. Kiss every inch of her and let her drive him crazy again and again.

“It’s not as funny anymore? I’m sorry, I’ll stop doing it.”

“Oh, no it's still funny. I’m just….”

I’m just in love with you, Ahsoka. Don’t mind me.

“You look so cute when you do it.” Rex went back to eating, not only to satisfy his hunger but also to get himself to calm down a bit and not look like a lovesick sap.

“I look cute?” Ahsoka appeared flattered but confused and was blushing. He noticed the markings on her tails looked darker, and her eyelashes were blinking rapidly until she somehow managed to look up from under them at him. His breath escaped him, and Rex wasn’t even sure he would be able to finish the meal without leaning over to kiss her and let it sweep them both away.

“Yes, you do.” He braved his hand onto her bare thigh. When she responded with her knowing and welcoming grin, he gave a squeeze and made himself finish the meal he had planned to savor.

Ahsoka reached over for more dried cherries and offered them to Rex first before she took some more.

“Yes, thank you. So please tell me what that is all about over there with the fabric from your cloak?”

“It’s something that we can discuss after we finish eating. So impatient, Rex?”

“Hmmm…okay. It's very odd. Like that bottle with the metal shards in the kitchen. Oh I noticed.”

“You hate it, don’t you?”

“I don’t hate it, I get why you saved them. But I’m not thrilled that it's in the kitchen where I was cooking food.”

“Alright, I hear ya, Rexter. I will find a new home for them.”

Rex put his fork down, reached to squeeze her thigh again, and leaned in closer to her, “Somehow, I think you know that you can do whatever you want and I’ll still be nuts about you right?”

“I’m learning quickly.”

“You tend to do that,” Rex moved in closer to give her the signal for a kiss, and she happily gave him one on the lips but reminded him,

“If we start this up Rex, this whole meal will get cold.”

“Well, whatever we don’t eat is our breakfast anyway,” he helped himself to some dried cherries, never taking his eyes off of her. Rex was looking at her like she was the next thing he would help himself devour. She felt herself slightly pant before licking her lips. She quickly reached for her water.

Ahsoka was determined to eat something, but Rex’s eyes were making her stomach do backflips as her cheeks flushed. It occurred to her that they may not get through this magnificent meal he prepared, and Rex seemed completely fine with that. She attempted to eat some more rice to prepare herself for revealing her mysterious big idea.

“Fine! Here it is…I tore that piece of my cloak because I needed it to do something special with you tonight, at this table .”

“Okay? What is this ‘something special’?”

“Remember I told you this table was for Togruta binding ceremonies, when a female takes a warrior.”

Rex knew his eyes went too wide when he saw Ahsoka get a little nervous at his response. He reached his hand to hold hers as she continued to let her know he wasn’t scared right now, not one bit. He was in love…with her. Rex may not know how to say it plainly, but he understood what she was proposing now and was so moved by it, he may have been squeezing her hand a little too tightly. He eventually relaxed some.

“I remember.”

“Right. So I don’t really know what exactly happens in the ceremony, because my memory of my mother’s ceremony seems to be images of people’s ankles and looking up at the big table. But I want to make this a little different than what Togrutas usually do. I want this to be our way of doing this. So I’ll ask you to choose whether—”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, Ahsoka.”

“Rex! I didn’t even ask you the question yet?”

“Either the question is, ‘if you have chosen me, then do I accept?’ The answer is yes. Or the question is, ‘do I choose you to love and fight beside?’ Absolutely, yes. So…the answer is: yes.”

“You didn’t even think about it.”

“Oh, I have thought about it. I can’t stop thinking about it. That's all I think about now, Ahsoka.”

His face was soft, but his tone was grave, with his honey golden eyes looking straight into hers that were widened and hanging on his every word.

“Ahsoka, when we were making our escape from the Tribunal, when you missed your landing, leaping to the ship? I almost had a heart attack, thinking I would lose you then. I would not lose you again. Then yesterday, when you were choking and then just, kriff ! You just flopped over and wouldn’t move at all. I sat with you outside on the balcony, just devastated. You don’t know this, but I was a slobbering mess. I…I had no idea whether you were hurt, dying, would ever come back.

She was tracing his stubbled cheek now and settled her palm to cup his face to help him get out his admission.

“I had just got you back in my life and was so happy for the first time, after a very difficult year without you, and then I thought you were gone…again.”

He kissed the palm of her hand, as his energy grew animated,

“But I swear, something came to me, and you know I‘m no good with this Force stuff, but something, a bird, but not just a bird, it changed its shape, I can’t explain it. It made me feel better, it made me see what you mean to me. And ever since we kissed, I can’t stop thinking about how much I love you, Ahsoka. I really am in love with you.”

Ahsoka’s fingers went to her mouth with how moved her emotions were and how golden and genuine Rex’s Force signature felt. It filled every cell in her body with light and joy.

“So, yes, Ahsoka, I have chosen you and would be honored that you chose me as your first warrior.”

“ First ? Rex, what do you mean, first?”

“You will outlive me, Ahsoka. We both know that will happen. But as long as I am alive—’

“As long as you are alive, Rex, I choose you to be my only warrior . My only love , Rex.”

They were both allowing the happy tears of emotional relief to puddle up and fall from their eyes. Rex stood her up with him to hold her closer to him. Ahsoka melted into him; her face pressed up against his black liner to feel his heart beating steady and strong.

Ahsoka had thought this would go a lot differently, but here they were, confessing their love for each other. Neither of them knew if it was the years they had fought side by side or the time apart when the absence forced them to see how much they needed each other.

But this devastating and challenging week they endured together finally broke all defenses: the victory on Mandalore, Order 66, and now ending up here on Splendor.

No matter what was waiting for them when they would leave here, they chose to bind their hearts as one incredibly powerful love.

Ahsoka took the long strip of brown fiberweave in her hand, unraveling it as Rex let the length of it fall into his. They already knew how to follow each other’s instincts and needs without words.

“So, I’m pretty sure we, um, say some words to each other as we wrap our hands together.”

“Okay. Sounds good. You’ve thought of some already?”

“I did, if I can remember them now. I’m a bit scattered, but very happy right now.”

“Me too, Ahsoka. I’ll follow your lead and will make it my own.”

“Okay,” both of their left hands were holding different ends of the cloth, and she stood up on her toes to kiss him before they took the next step.

They took each other’s right hand and clasped them together, interlacing their fingers. Ahsoka and Rex placed their right hands in the center of the strip of cloth with the extra length hanging down on either side. Then they crisscrossed the fabric one wrapping at a time to symbolize the binding of lives and their love as they spoke words that came to them,

“Rex, I have chosen you. I am bound to your life and you are bound to mine. There will never be distance between our hearts. They are one now. My love for you is like no other. Your love for me is mine to protect. Wherever I am, I am always yours. Now and forever, until I die.”

“Ahsoka, I have chosen you to be mine. I am bound to you with loyalty and honor. You and your love are mine to protect. My love for you is like no other I’ll ever know. Wherever I am, I will be yours. Now and forever, until I die.”

The quiet, heavy realization of what they both had professed rang like the bells from the top tower of the Jedi Temple. It was impossible to ignore as it signaled that a new life for them would begin from this moment forward. There was no turning back to their old life; it was gone now. They had survived, escaped, and were now together. The only way was forward, and all they could feel now was the elation and love that pulled them together like magnets to share the fiery kiss that sealed their ceremonial union between them.

Rex squeezed Ahsoka in his one-armed embrace around her waist. Their bound hands rested in between their hearts. Ahsoka’s free hand was tracing his neck and up through his buzzed golden hair. Her touch sent a wave of rolling warm sensations throughout every muscle of his body, and he couldn’t help but respond by lifting her off the floor with all the strength in his one arm.

Pressed against his body as he lowered her back down, Ahsoka began to feel a great revelation in the Force. From the tips of her montrals, down to her toes, the power was growing from a small trace of light to a shining beacon within her chest and down to her core. She would remember this moment as the sum of so many chaotic parts that made them both whole now.

Rex wanted both hands to pick her up and swing her around, but he also didn’t want ever to let go of their bound hands pressed against the scar on his chest that proved he may actually be the luckiest bastard in the galaxy.

“I want to carry you into the bedroom right now.”

“Well I want you right here on the table, Rex.”

He growled into her neck and lekku tail, even allowing his face stubble to softly trace her lekku, causing that wonderful sensation of wetness to slick her bare thighs again.

Rex reached behind her with his one free hand and pushed the food out of the way to the edges of the table. The basket of wheat wafers was the first to fall, followed by the burnt potatoes. She eased herself up into the table and spread her legs to bring his hips toward her by closing her legs around him.

“Help me take off the binding, Rex. Something tells me we’ll need both our hands and I’m nervous one or both of us would tear it.”

He quickly moved to help her loosen their hands,

“Here, I got it. Good call,” as they both smiled and giggled, moving the fabric to slide off in a bundle. Rex began to roll the material back up neatly with a reverence for what it symbolized. He dropped it on the chair seat as it seemed the table might not be the safest place for anything right now.

“I um, I have a surprise of my own for you, if that’s alright?” His fingers were gently kneading the flesh of her thighs wrapped around him.

“You do? What…what’s that, Rex?” she pulled his black liner up for him to take off and she kissed the scars on his chest as he pulled off his shirt quickly.

He was nudging the chairs out of the way as he spoke,

“I’m not exactly sure. I’ve never done this before. So you’ll have let me know if I’m doing it right, okay?”

“I have no idea what you’re going to do, but I’ll do my best?” Ahsoka watched him, but her sense of him was full of excitement and desire. Rex leaned into her mouth, knowing she could hear the slightest whisper,

“Ahsoka, I want to kiss you down here,” Rex pulled back slightly to see her reaction.

Her realization clicked before his eyes. Her imagination had not been creative enough even to realize this was something that was done. But the moment Rex made his request, Ahsoka could barely contain her lust for what this would feel like.

She was speechless and only could eagerly nod as she bit her bottom lip to hold on to the smile that was stretching from cheek to cheek.

Rex began to kiss her neck and moved his hand to trace her lower lips that were bare, slick, and warm. He guided his kisses to gently follow a slow but hungry path over her breasts, letting his nose trace her lekku tail.

Rex moved to kneel down before her, taking command of his position, the same way he would confidently take command of a ship’s control panel. He looked back up at her puzzled face, breathing heavy and focused on every move he made. The full lips of her mouth were parted, her tongue licking with desire, and her chest was moving up and down with her heavy breaths. The image was fanning the flame of heat building within him, and he moved to kiss her stomach gently. Even though he technically didn’t know what he was doing, he didn’t need to worry about wanting to figure it out. He licked his lips, anticipating how she would taste and feel. He wanted to please her with this act. Rex wanted Ahsoka to know that the man she chose was capable of satisfying her like this whenever she wanted him to, and it would equally please him to do this for her.

Speechless with desire, she watched the hungry look in Rex’s eyes as he moved from looking up at her to looking down to see all of her down there. He hadn’t even kissed her yet but her body was writhing with anticipation.

“I’m flying blind here, Ahsoka. So you’ll have to tell me what to do. I want to make you feel good right now, okay?”

“Okay.”

He pulled her legs over his shoulders as she braced back on her hands. He kissed her outer lips gently. The wetness of his lips on her soft skin down there caused Ahsoka to heave her shoulders over. She had to reach for his head to catch herself, and she curled with delight watching him taste her.

Rex let his tongue follow the stripes that adorned her outer lips before pulling his lips together over one of the sensitive spots she casually had pointed to in the bathtub. Hearing her moan “oh” so deep and low was incredible. He started using his tongue to explore her most sensitive spots. She whimpered each inhaling breath and keened out her exhaled breaths. Rex looked back up to see the overwhelmed expression on her face as she then softly begged him, calling out his name,

“Rex, please don’t stop. Please keep going.”

She was entirely at his command like this. Rex had one hand sneaking under her tunic to grab at her breasts and could start to feel his own excitement growing in his now thankfully looser pants. She responded by taking her whole tunic off and was now laid out on the table completely nude.

He remembered some idiot told him this was the best way to keep from finishing too early, but he quickly realized that may have been bad intel. For Rex, hearing and feeling Ahsoka getting off from what he was doing to her was getting him as hard and ready as an ion cannon. He decided to pace himself and get serious about getting her to climax. He began assessing all of her body to establish the best plan of action before launching into his fully coordinated action.

He kissed her inner thighs, keeping his eyes on her to watch her desire. She pouted those lips, and he couldn’t help it, he felt bared his teeth, and it took everything in him to only bite gently, but Ahsoka’s response that was half a growl and half a giggle, leading him to ask,

“Did you like that?”

“Yes! Do it again, Rex.”

He kissed her inner thigh wet with his tongue and kept his eyes looking at her as he bit, enough to mark he knew, and she yelped gloriously, clenching her teeth.

He wanted to keep working on where to please her with his mouth, but each time he looked, he would get lost in fascination,

“I just want to keep looking at how beautiful you are down here,” he moved his hands to grip her thighs and kissed her outer lips again.

Then he moved them to gently spread her lips open and look in wonder, as he then kissed and licked, adoring the beauty of what he saw. His eyes closed in ecstasy each time he did. He could taste her wetness, and it was the sweetest flavor of Ashoka’s scent, mixed with the wet intimate desire for him. Rex pulled back to study her inner lips and wanted to find exactly where her clit was before he got lost in his own pleasure of tasting her. He had to tell her,

“Ahsoka, it's incredible. It reminds me of a fire lily in bloom.”

“Wha-what?” Ahsoka could barely have a conversation right now, but she was pretty sure Rex just said her vagina looked like a flower and could only smile at how sweet and gentle he was being.

“Your lips, the inner ones here,” he kissed and licked them, up towards where he was sure her clit was, “they’re soft like flower petals.”

“Oh Force, Rex! Please do that again.”

“This?” He licked again and couldn’t help but want to kiss her there the way he would on her mouth, letting his lips and tongue work together to please her”

“Keep it doing that…there! Oh, there!”

Rex then let his mouth do what it wanted to in that very spot as he listened and peeked his eyes for her response. She was definitely responding now, and so was he. He kept the rhythm of one movement and listened to her call out for more when he attempted another. She then started arching her back, causing the bowl of cherries to fall off the edge of the table when her hands tried to find a better position.

“Rex, please, I want you in me now.”

He moaned at her plea, and the vibrations of his voice against her caused her to squeal with delight. Rex was more determined than ever to get her over the edge. She certainly sounded like she was close. He decided to slide his finger inside her as he continued to satisfy her with his mouth. He could feel her clenching around his finger, so he slid another one in, and she groaned with pleasure,

“Rex, yes. Use your tongue too, oh it feels so good,” she was grabbing at her breasts and twisting her nipples.

Rex easily continued but was longing to kiss her mouth and breasts too. He so wanted to watch her beautiful face when it was sultry and heated. He sucked on her down there like he wanted to suck on and lick her nipples.

Then she really started to clench around his penetrating fingers.

Her breath was caught at the pleasure. Every muscle was tight and tense at the approaching climax. Her throat ached audibly as it too seized up - cracking at the strain - allowing nothing more than a long choked whimper to escape past clenched teeth and pursed lips. Rex was now holding her hips down to keep her from bucking off the table. She reached her peak and cried out his name with an exhaled moan of astonishment at the enormous wave of pleasure he had just given her. He rode it out with her, easing up when he heard her breathing sound steady again.

Ahsoka looked spent but quickly recovered and sat up immediately. She pulled his face to bring his whole body up to hers. Rex complied readily and was now standing over her. She was kissing him, his face covered in her wetness, and she didn’t care one bit. If he wasn't mistaken, she seemed to love it. She kissed him all over, practically drunk appreciation,

“That was incredible, Rex! It felt so good.”

Rex was enthralled and palming at his erection when Ahsoka placed her hand on his to feel him. He let her take over and mimic the movement while he cupped her face, pressed his cheek to hers, and felt the warmth and power of her hand excite his lust further.

He then noticed she had slight tears in the corners of her eyes, which made his eyes widen with concern as he wiped them away.

“Were you crying?”

She chuckled, “Probably!” She was now undoing the drawstring of his pants, and he gladly experienced her take command of their next moves,

“I want to feel you in me, Rex.” She pulled his pants down, and they fell to the floor. There she saw his manhood in that wondrous state, thick, hard, and commanding attention from her instantly. She noticed that some of his own slick had already started leaking. The thought of Rex getting so turned on from pleasing her drove Ashoka wild.

He had a hold of his hardened length now and brought her hand to hold it too. Ahsoka held it firmly. She wanted to feel his skin in her hand and the grip that could excite him. He then guided his hips to slide himself into her slowly. Ahsoka‘s breath was stuck as she took in the feel of him sheathing himself into her. Then he went in even deeper, and he practically collapsed against her shoulder. He worked at his pace as he kissed her neck and lekku. Gripping his back and shoulder muscles, Ahsoka was mesmerized by the sight of him thrusting into her when she looked down. His facial expressions were intoxicating as the friction and pounding shook her and made her body yearn for him to keep going.

By now, she had given up trying to make sense of the noises her body was calling out with each roll of pleasure that he rocked into her. When he would close his beautiful eyes, she saw him curse quietly about how she felt so good. And just when she thought she could keep up with what he was doing, he would then get a rhythm that would cause her both to brace herself and completely let go.

She noticed one particular shift in his facial expressions that she will never forget. In a matter of moments, when she pushed up on her arms to match his hips, Rex’s face went from a grown man’s intense and determined snarl to the mesmerized wonder of a boy, completely in awe of her.

He grabbed at her breasts to squeeze, lick and bite, causing her to lean back some more, and she widened her legs. She then arched her back fully and bucked her hips against him, and now they both were grunting and moaning with abandon.

The table was sturdy, not budging one bit with all they were doing. Rex then growled, and she heard his voice tremble,’

“Ahsoka, stars! Fuck…I’m…uh….”

“Do it, Rex. I want to feel you finish in me. Pleeeeeease don’t stop!”

His pace went from deep, strong thrusts to a wild man out to ravage her. Her back was flat on the table, and Rex braced his arms on either side of her. Rex’s pounding didn’t stop him from letting his lips and tongue express all his pleasure on her breasts and her curled lekku tail and as Ashoka was nearing a peak of climax. When Rex fully released his, her Force sensitivity took in his orgasm, and she wailed in the bliss of white light that ran through her veins and burst from her chest.

She wasn’t even sure where she was for a few seconds. Her whole body was experiencing an overwhelming cascade of pleasure beyond her mental ability to register in real-time.

When she finally got her bearings, she felt Rex’s body as it collapsed onto her chest. They were both smiling and laughing as they praised each other’s skin with kisses.

“What am I going to do with you, Ahsoka? Kriffing Maker of Men , that was the best thing I’ve ever experienced in my life!” He was kissing her all over as she tried to remember how to speak. When Rex stood up and slowly pulled out of her, she whimpered. She felt so good and satisfied,

“Rex, that was incredible. You’re incredible.”

“You’re going to make me blush, Ahsoka. ”

Still smiling, Rex then looked up towards the balcony; soon, his face was frozen. Then he quickly darted his eyes and turned to scope the entire perimeter of the balcony.

“Rex, what is it?” She sat up and turned to look out where he looked and was equally shocked.

The quiet night and once darkened lagoon and forest outside were now lit with vibrant colors, glowing with bioluminescence. The lagoon swirled with a purple light. In the forest, outlines of glowing pink and red moonflowers, bright glowing yellow tendrils revealed the vines from the trees. An electric orange and soft yellow revealed pathways on the ground through the trees.

Perched on the balcony was a small, green bird with green eyes that glowed right into Ahsoka’s connection to the Force.

Splendor was now alive.

#rexsoka #thejolamoon #tcw rexsoka4ever #long reads #really long post #i love rexsoka #rex and ahsoka #ahsoka and rex #togruta hc

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glimmerglanger · 3 years

Note

Hi, are you planning to write some Cody and Rex reunion prompt in Make you Bed? After everything I mean (I hope that it makes sense sorry if not). Because you wrote about their brother relationship amazingly ^^ Btw you proved once again that you are really good writer. Wonderful, angsty and soft fic. Can't wait for more things from you ~

wavelengthdream said:

If you're still taking snippet prompts for 'Make Your Bed Lie in It', could I suggest Cody and Obi-Wan reuniting with Rex and Ahsoka?

OOOOOOOOOOO. I do love writing about Cody and Rex. So! This is set... a few months after the end of MYB. :D General warnings for fall-out from Order 66, but other than that....nothing really to worry about.

~~~~~

Cody flinched, preemptively, when Crys announced that they’d received a comm from Hondo. They’d been forced to work with the pirate more often than he liked, since the fall of the Republic. They’d needed ships, after all, to handle all the troopers still in training on Kamino; there was no way they could fit all the shinies onto the Vigilance.

And staying in one place had felt like the wrong decision in every way.

They couldn’t just remain on Kamino, after destroying the facilities there, including the tremendous system that regulated the chips. They would have made an easy target for any Imperial forces.

The massacre at the Jedi Temple had already proven how dangerous it was to stay in a location where your enemies could find you.

So, they’d taken to the stars. Their fleet was growing regularly, now, as other troopers took care of their nat-born officers and came to find them. But in the early days, they’d needed whatever ships they could get.

Ohnaka had provided them, claiming that the Empire was bad for business.

“Kenobi!” the pirate shouted, when they accepted his comm. He was grinning, and Cody ground his back teeth together, wondering what ridiculous request Ohnaka had for them, this time. He turned aside, planning to ignore the conversation, as Hondo went on, “I’ve found something of yours.”

“Oh?” Obi-Wan asked, mouth quirking up. Cody got the feeling, privately, that Obi-Wan quite liked Hondo in his own way, though Cody would never understand why. “What’s that?”

“Who’s that is the better question,” Hondo said, “Let me in your docking bay, I’ll show you.”

Hondo cut off the comm, then, without saying anything else. Cody reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose, glancing over to find Obi-Wan staring forward, suddenly, expression open and shocked. “Obi-Wan?”

Obi-Wan blinked over at him, wide-eyed, and then whispered, “Oh,” before turning and striding hurriedly from the room.

Cody followed Obi-Wan to the docking bay, swallowing frustration when Hondo strolled off his shuttle with a swagger in every movement. Sharp words formed on Cody’s tongue only to wither away, because there were other people following Hondo off the ship, and--

Obi-Wan made a pained sound, stepping forward as Tano hesitantly descended the ramp before spotting him and lurching forward. She hit him at a run, arms going around his shoulders, and for a moment Cody could only stare at them, thinking about desertion and abandonment and--

And the fact that Tano had, somehow, escaped death, too, and found her way back to Obi-Wan.

Movement drew Cody’s attention away from the pair of them. He sucked in a startled breath to find Rex standing, awkward, by the shuttle. He had a shirt and cloak over his armor, trying to disguise the shape of it and not doing the best job. He looked tense, guarded, gaze jumping away when Cody looked over at him.

Rex made a low sound, ragged, when Cody crossed to him and pulled him into an embrace. For a moment, he stood stiff and unyielding, and then he collapsed, all the tension going out of him at once. He buried his face down against Cody’s shoulder and gasped out, “I can’t believe we found you.”

Hondo, of course, insisted on getting payment for leading Ahsoka and Rex to them. Cody felt in less a mood to deal with the man than usual, and ordered Mav to see it taken care of, before leading Rex off.

Rex looked like he needed somewhere to sit down. There were dark circles under his eyes and new lines around his mouth. He nodded his thanks when Cody brought him back to their quarters and made him a cup of caff.

Rex held the cup for a moment, staring down at it when he said, finally, “Knew it had to be you and General Kenobi who hit Kamino.” He shook his head, snorting just a little. “Only you two would come up with a plan like that.”

Cody shrugged, moving a few pads off of the little table in front of the couch so he could sit on it, facing Rex. He said, softly, “It worked.”

Rex gave a sharp little laugh. “Of course,” he said, and then hurriedly set down his caff and put both hands over his face.

“Sh,” Cody said, reaching out to rub a hand over Rex’s arm, finding him tensed. “Hey, it’s alright. You’re--”

“Everyone else died,” Rex blurted, voice in tatters, and Cody stopped trying to talk, just...rested both hands on Rex’s arms. Rex looked up at him, eyes shining. “On our ship. Everyone else died, during the - the fight and the crash.”

Cody winced. He hadn’t gotten around to asking what had happened to the rest of the men sent with Rex and Commander Tano. He’d suspected, but--

“I killed some of them,” Rex whispered, looking to the side abruptly.

Cody’s fingers tightened, momentarily. He made himself relax his grip, exhaling. He said, softly, thinking about ordering the Vigilance to fire on the other cruise, thinking about Kamino, thinking about other fights, “Rex, you had--”

“I killed some of my brothers,” Rex cut in, again, and Cody wondered how long he’d been carrying the words around inside of him, struggling not to let them out. It had been months since the fall of the Republic. “I--”

“I know,” Cody said, shifting to pull Rex closer, listening to his breathing get rougher, uneven.

“I didn’t want to,” Rex told him, the admission torn out of him. “But I--they were going to kill her. Ahsoka. And she’d - woken me up. She saved me, I--”

“You saved her, too,” Cody said, hating Palpatine anew, for all the myriad ways he’d caused agony throughout the galaxy. He tightened his hold on Rex, hoping that Obi-Wan was having a more pleasant reunion with Ahsoka and doubting it, and listened to all the admissions Rex needed to spill into the air.

#glimmer replies #ask me anything #make your bed lie in it #snippets #T_T

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shatouto · 3 years

Text

bare his neck on the execution block

[gen fic, 2.5k. obi-wan and anakin discusses ahsoka’s apprenticeship early on. vent fic + character study, sort of. read on ao3]

“…I can’t do this anymore.”

Obi-Wan glances up. Anakin has uttered those words so quietly, so unlike his usual tone of voice when he is upset in some ways. There is none of that off-kilter lilt of minor irritation, nor the somber reverberation of suppressed but boiling rage in his voice. He sounds… defeated, the resignment almost nothing like Obi-Wan has heard before – and that is saying something, considering the ten-odd years they have broken bread and shared quarters and matched blades. Concern sinking coldly in his stomach, he stands up, paces over and settles beside his former apprentice, setting a hand on Anakin’s back in a tentative offer of comfort.

Anakin doesn’t really respond, just slumps lower, his forehead propped against his fingers, his face hidden behind his hands. Obi-Wan keeps his frown to himself, merely brushing his hand up and down Anakin’s back. He has a thousand guesses as to what Anakin means exactly, and no less than nine hundred of them would pertain to this grueling war that has covered their life in a grey pall. But assumptions are the enemy of comprehension; one who speculates will judge instead of listening at all, whereas Obi-Wan strives to be a good listener first and foremost. So he merely asks, “Would you like to talk about it, Anakin?”

Anakin lets out a slightly shuddery sigh. Obi-Wan studies him for another few moments of a silence that is not quite tense, just somewhat suffocating, like the humid air before a rainstorm. His eyes wander from the guarded curve of Anakin’s shoulders to the exhausted slouch of Anakin’s back. Between the back armor plate and ringlets of baby hair at the base of his skull, a pale strip of skin is exposed where his neck slopes like a prisoner bowing over the execution block. Obi-Wan shudders and pushes the intrusive macabre image all the way down to the bottom of his mind. He must focus on the here and now, especially the irregular pulses that spread from Anakin’s signature into the fabric of the Force around him like the throb of a dull ache.

“Ahsoka…” Anakin trails off just as he begins, but the fact that he opened up at all is already a relief. Obi-Wan says nothing, only brings his hand up to cover Anakin’s nape, giving it a grounding squeeze, in a way shielding it from the phantom blade that still haunts his mind’s eye. A minuscule intake of breath – too sharp, too much like the ghost of a sob for Obi-Wan’s liking – preludes Anakin’s wavering voice.

“I can’t—can’t train her, Master.”

Obi-Wan blinks, brows shooting up in surprise. Anakin and his own Padawan haven’t had the easiest of beginnings – what with Yoda’s doublespeak orders that led to misunderstandings and unpleasant surprises on the part of young Master and Padawan both – but Obi-Wan was almost sure that they have smoothed things out between them since. He doesn’t doubt Anakin’s care for his apprentice and Ahsoka’s respect for him likewise.

“I was under the impression that Ahsoka has been making great progress under your tutelage,” Obi-Wan says in a hushed tone, tilting his head down a little, not to force eye contact with Anakin but simply to suggest Anakin to turn to him. “What makes you say so?”

“Everything,” Anakin grits out at once, his voice taking on a watery edge. He slumps down lower, full on burying his face in his hands now, and Obi-Wan’s heart twists. “She’s been making progress because she’s just that good, Master. I didn’t do anything… She’s already trained in the reverse grip before I even taught her anything, remember?” Anakin gives a brittle laugh, breathless and humorless and fooling no one, least of all himself.

Obi-Wan bites the inside of his lips, his forehead creasing deeply in frowns as he shifts closer and slides his arm around Anakin’s shoulders in reassurance. “Lightsaber techniques are not nearly everything about being a Jedi, and you know it, Anakin. She needs a Master—”

“Then I’m not what she needs! I’m not a Master!” Anakin’s voice climbs to a near-cry. He takes in a shaky, stuttery breath and suddenly turns towards Obi-Wan, his eyes red-rimmed and downcast, a miserable frown etched into the downturned corners of his mouth. “I can’t pretend to be one anymore. I can’t take this anymore!”

Anakin’s pain pierces through his word and lodges into Obi-Wan’s heart as well. “Anakin…”

“There’s so much to do. I have to lead my battalion, I—I have to fight this war. We all have to, but I… I don’t know! I can’t do so many things at once! I can’t do right by her like this,” Anakin continues, sniffling, his flesh hand clawing into his gloved one so hard that his fingers blanch from the pressure. “I’m just—I just got Knighted this year, I don’t know anything about this. Aayla is even older than me. Why did <i>I</i> have to be the one to take on a Padawan? What, am I the only Knight in the Order who’s available to take an apprentice? I don’t get it. Anybody could have taught her better than I do.”

“Anakin, that isn’t true—”

“Oh, don’t give me that,” Anakin unceremoniously cuts him off, his voice dripping with dismissal and disdain – at himself. He glares up and flinches back as soon as he meets Obi-Wan’s eyes as though only realizing then what he has been trying to hide. His gaze immediately drops, but by then Obi-Wan already saw the furious tears in his eyes. “Don’t lie just to reassure me,” Anakin mutters, roughly dragging his hand over his eyes. “Anybody else would’ve been better for her. You know that, the Council knows that, Ahsoka knows that.”

Anakin droops completely, and Obi-Wan finds it somehow both relieving and alarming that Anakin isn’t pushing off. Anakin’s need for comfort – physical comfort, especially – is nearly always at war with Anakin’s need to prove himself capable of handling everything on his own. This certainly isn’t unique to him; what is unique to him is the intense manner in which he feels, no less aggravated by the expectations that he carries on his shoulder and his incredible attunement to the Force. This is not the first time Anakin has broken down in tears from the stress of it all – his words, in fact, distinctly remind Obi-Wan of that one occasion, years ago, where he begged Obi-Wan to quiet the noise in his mind and take away the burden of being the Chosen One – but the pain it brings to Obi-Wan’s chest is the same.

“I’m sorry, Padawan mine,” Obi-Wan murmurs, squeezing Anakin lightly. He regrets making light of it when it turned out that Ahsoka was to be assigned to Anakin instead of him, to the young Knight’s surprise. He regrets taking it for granted that Anakin would just find a way to get along with this fourteen-year-old Padawan – an adolescent chock in the middle of her rebellious years and prone to challenging any authority, especially the one closest to her, the most insecure and inexperienced figure of authority, the easiest one to snip and quip at. At least when he took on Anakin as a Padawan himself, Anakin was only nine – unsure and outright frightful of his new life, but sweet and earnest – which allowed Obi-Wan a period of respite before the boy’s childish idolatry turned into a teenager’s testiness and brooding.

It’s easy to see Anakin as older than the nineteen-year-old he is; easy to believe him as capable and competent as he tries to prove himself to be; easy to consider him as bearing the full responsibility of a Jedi Knight and more, for being a prodigy, for having accomplished what he had. It’s much harder – and much more painful, especially for him who loves Anakin so – to dwell over and over on the fact that Anakin struggles in ways that one can neither fathom nor help with. There are burdens Anakin cannot share with him, phantom blades that will hurt Anakin only even if Obi-Wan volunteers to bare his neck on the execution block in his stead.

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan repeats. “I did not know you were suffering. I should have stood up for you – and I would, had you objected the apprenticeship.” He pauses for a moment, rubbing up and down Anakin’s arm in soothing motions. “Why did you not say anything?”

Anakin leans limply against him, the remaining tension in his body suggesting exhaustion rather than relaxation. Obi-Wan simply holds up that weight with his own. He has always thought of it this way: if he cannot bear his former Padawan’s burden for or with him, then the least he could do is to provide shelter, absorb his hurt, cushion his fall. He would embrace Anakin’s fire with both arms until all the stars in the universe have burned out, and even then.

“I didn’t want to,” Anakin shudders out the words, turning and hiding his face in the crook of Obi-Wan’s shoulder like he’s a Padawan again and Obi-Wan welcomes the gesture like ocean waves cradling the setting sun. Anakin often hid in closets or even cracks in the wall as a child – until he apparently discovered that the safest hiding place in the universe was where he could tuck his head under his Master's chin and let himself be covered by Obi-Wan's great billowing sleeves. “Didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She’d feel rejected,” Anakin mumbles. “And… I don’t know. It felt like a mission – being her Master, I mean. I don’t—I don’t want to refuse a mission.”

“Anakin, you…” Obi-Wan lays his cheek atop Anakin’s head, letting his eyes fall shut for a moment in frustration at himself. Inane question, Kenobi. Of course he would not even try to say no to the Grandmaster’s order. This is not the time to think about who to blame, yet Obi-Wan cannot help feeling immediately at fault. He knows and has always known Anakin to be this way, ruled by not only pride but a deep-seated fear of being seen as anything less than utterly competent and fearless. He knows better than most, and so he should have known better. Of all people, he should have been the one to check on Anakin, discuss his feelings with him, speak up for him.

And how hard must it have been? How hard was it to earn the respect of someone barely five years your junior? How hard was it to assert your authority over someone you would rather just be a good friend to, just because you need to prove yourself to the authority above you? How hard was it to do all of that while trying to grow into the too-large mantle of General of the Republic, at the age of nineteen?

“Forgive me, Anakin,” Obi-Wan whispers, shattering inside out – from guilt and in empathy. “You are not wrong – it was a difficult and awkward situation you were in. I’m truly sorry. I wish I had come to your aid sooner.”

“I feel like I never got to be a Knight,” Anakin mumbles into the crook of his neck, his voice nasal and dangerously close to cracking. The confession is a bolt to Obi-Wan’s heart. It was how he’d felt as well, when he took Anakin under his wing immediately after his hasty graduation that followed Qui-Gon’s death. But at least it was a choice he made himself – a choice he doesn’t at all regret, looking back. He can say so with surety and fondness. Can Anakin even say so about his own apprentice? Anakin didn’t have any say in the matter to begin with. Even if he has grown close to Ahsoka, he is clearly tormented by the responsibilities that have been thrust upon him.

“It’s not like I don’t like her,” Anakin adds all of a sudden, shuffling up a little bit, clearly disquieted by Obi-Wan’s pensive silence. “She’s brilliant, I just… I’m going to fail her. I know I will. I’m not you. I wouldn’t have been able to do this even if I were twenty-five and she was nine.”

“Anakin, no,” Obi-Wan firmly hushes, frowning. Comparisons hurt. A comparison without context can poison self-perception like nothing else. He wraps his arms tighter around Anakin. “Please do not say such things. We are different – because we are different people. Look—Can you look at me, Padawan?”

He cradles Anakin’s face, and Anakin looks up through matted, darkened lashes, slightly biting down on his lower lip. With a tone as gentle as he can possibly muster, Obi-Wan speaks.

“If you’re thinking you aren’t capable of being a Master, or a good Master, then I assure you that isn’t true. I have seen your capacity for teaching, both in your methods and the results thereof. You have made progress just as Ahsoka did. I have faith in you, Anakin. However”—Obi-Wan absentmindedly wipes half a droplet of tear at the corner of Anakin’s scarred eye with the pad of his thumb—“what matters is whether you want to continue this apprenticeship. You are capable, but being capable of doing something doesn’t necessarily mean you have to force yourself to do it. Do you understand?”

Anakin watches him with a wariness that has Obi-Wan’s heart aching almost physically. It pains him so, when Anakin feels the need to tread carefully when speaking to him; he’d rather Anakin balk and brag and act brash than this. “I do, Obi-Wan,” Anakin utters syllable by syllable, chewing on his lip. “I just—don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”

His voice is rough and fragile at the same time, tearing at the raw edges like a gauze that Obi-Wan wishes he could singlehandedly hem. Anakin looks drained, with circles under his eyes that suggest he would’ve looked ashen if it wasn’t for the flush of fury and frustration from earlier, and puffed-up eyelids that look ready to shut for the rest of the day. Obi-Wan holds back a sigh and brushes Anakin’s hair from his face, tucking it behind his ear.

“That’s alright, Padawan mine,” he says, prompting Anakin to draw closer to him with a light touch. Thankfully, Anakin does, and finally wraps his arms around Obi-Wan in a returning embrace this time. “That’s quite alright. You don’t have to decide everything right now. You can take your time and rest – you’ve done enough.”

Anakin lets out a sigh so deep that Obi-Wan can physically feel the way his chest constricts against his own body. He wraps Anakin’s signature with his presence in the Force, lighting up candle after candle in the gloomy aftermath of the hurricane. Anakin shudders, and whispers. “Thank you, Master.”

“Anytime, dear one,” Obi-Wan says against the crown of his head, softly stroking his hair. “I’m here. I’ll be here.” And I will stay by your side for as long as you will have me. Here I am and here I shall remain, be it to hold up the night sky before it crumbles in your chest or patch up the stars that burn and bleed from invisible blades. I will, until the day I cannot do it any longer.

#anakin skywalker #obi wan kenobi #shatou writes #star wars prequels #canon is indeed questionable don’t you think

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