Star Wars the Clone Wars - One shots

Icy Hands

Anakin did not like the cold.

He supposed that was ironic, seeing as he grew up hating the twin suns and endless volumes of sand on Tatooine.

Even now, the thermostat in his quarters was lower than what most humans would be comfortable with.

This was different.

This was an icy blizzard that made his nose feel like a separate part of his body. He was having to sit with his hands tucked in his armpits, clenching his jaw to stop his teeth from chattering embarrassingly.

The snow had been falling for about six hours now, and even in the emergency bunker, Anakin was still very much cold.

The clones had set up gas warming lights and the medics were pushing hot cups of caf (or just hot water now they'd run out of Relgim Instant) towards anyone within reach, but it was still awful.

This was miserable cold.

He wanted nothing more than to snuggle up under his duvet, preferably with Padmé in his arms- the woman was like a radiator. He wanted a hot meal that wasn't mushy rations, and he wanted his toes not to feel numb.

Until they got off this planet, those luxuries would have to wait.

The storm had cut off their communications with the cruiser, and the snowfall would prevent any gunships from safely flying through the atmosphere anyway.

They were quite literally stranded.

To make matters worse, Ahsoka had gone out on patrol in the morning, and he hadn't heard from her yet.

He tried not to panic, knowing that the snowstorm would make it difficult to navigate the BARC speeders, and hopefully, Captain Rex had advised her to hold off from making the journey back until it cleared up.

Even he wouldn't travel in weather like this.

Then again, Ahsoka could surprise him.

"How are you doing, sir?" A helmet appeared in front of him, the markings distinguishing it to be Coric.

"I'm cold, Sergeant," Anakin replied dryly, accepting the ration bar from the medic. "Got any remedies for that?"

"I'd offer to run you a hot bath, but that might have to wait until we're space-side again." Coric joked back, "I'm not sure what the GAR's rules are about Generals bathing in front of their men."

"I think I'm past the point of caring." Anakin leaned back, marveling at the chill of the metal walls that he could feel through his coat. Their tents were better insulated than this so-called emergency bunker.

Coric hesitated from moving on.

"Any word from the Commander, sir?"

Anakin shook his head, "Hopefully, she's found some shelter to wait out the storm. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway."

The medic chuckled, his Force-signature still radiating unease. All of the 501st saw Ahsoka as their little sister- they were very protective.

"You'd know if she was in distress, wouldn't you?" Coric tilted his helmet to the side, "Through your Force bond."

"I would," Anakin said, which wasn't completely true, but he didn't want to panic his men.

As the Sergeant moved on, Anakin discreetly tapped his commlink. He tried to dial Ahsoka's frequency, but it only showed static. Damn snow.

Pushing his worries aside for now, Anakin tried to get comfortable. Exhaustion was pulling at his eyelids, and even though he knew it would be impossible to get a good amount of rest whilst feeling so kriffing cold, he could at least pretend to sleep.