My Unfortunate Fate

chapter 15

To live in resentment is to not live at all.

"So, it's been a while," I state the obvious.

"It barely feels like we haven't seen each other in years," Anakin adds.

"Yeah, time goes by fast nowadays."

He sighs while we stare out at the lake in front of us. A valley surrounded the water, and sunlight hit it at the right angle to make it shine. The scene was truly beautiful. "Y/n, I'm sorry I came off a bit strong before. I just didn't know how to react when I saw you again."

Any sense of panic I had dissipated with the statement. I just wanted us to be honest, and that was finally a possibility. "Me too. To be quite honest I was terrified when I ran into you outside the Council chambers."

Anakin chuckles. I join in, knowing that we were both extremely surprised to have seen each other after all that time. "You can say that again. I feel like they planned this out or something."

A smile grew on my face. I love these simple moments, and speculating about the High Council definitely wasn't something we wanted anyone to hear. There were guards and maintenance staff running about, but they wouldn't bother us. Essentially, we were finally alone.

"Either way, the decision wasn't all bad."

"I agree. So, how have you been doing?" Anakin asks, leaning on the stone railing.

"I finally went to Alderaan," I answer, excitement lingering in my voice at the mere mention of that planet.

He knew how much that place meant to me, it was one of my greatest dreams to go. What he didn't know, was why I was so glad to be there, that I liked being as far away from Coruscant as possible. "Was it everything you expected?"

"And more," I chuckle.

There was no need to say more than that for now, he'd catch on eventually. Either way, we had a job to do here, and surely more time to catch up.

"I don't know if this is the right time to tell you this, but I, uh, I've been putting it off for years now," Anakin stammers, reluctant to tell me whatever was burdening him.

"You can tell me anything."

Anakin sighs in relief before continuing, letting a slight grin settle on his face for a moment. "On Tatooine, I was enslaved, with my mother. I don't tell many people about it—who didn't know me at the time—I guess I don't like to bring up the past."

I reach my hand over his back and up behind his neck, comforting him. We were friends, after all, and friends help each other out. At least I think we were friends. "It's okay, I'm glad you let it out."

He meets my gaze and we lock eyes for a bit. "It doesn't change anything?"

"Of course not." I smile, offering my unconditional support.

Anakin cups my face and smiles back in relief. This kind of thing should've made me uncomfortable, it should've made me run away or punch him in the face, but it didn't.

The one thing I failed to notice was how Anakin actually looked now. I've always seen him as the pretentious, arrogant, overconfident teenager I knew five years ago, but now he's more than that. Even if we're both fully grown adults, I'll still see him as that boy. Unless... No. I cannot allow myself to think that way. We're friends, Jedi, peacekeepers, not—nothing more than that. Right?

"I've missed you," he says. Anakin leans in closer to me, still holding my face gently in his hands.

"I missed you too," I mumble nervously, hoping he wouldn't hear. But I knew he did, he always does. This was the truth I had been dreading, I did miss him, more than I should, and more than I'd like to admit. I've never said that to anyone, and I shouldn't have said it to Anakin Skywalker—of all people.