Star Wars the Clone Wars - One shots

To lean on

Anakin moved swiftly through the crowd of beings. He dodged tentacles and snouts, horns and shiny shoes in an effort to make it across the room.

He kept his eyes down, knowing that stopping for short conversations would only turn into draining encounters with people he didn't know or care about.

Padmé called it socialising, but he preferred to call it torture.

He hadn't wanted to come to this ball in the first place.

The entire ordeal was uncomfortable. From the restrictive suit, the infinite social cues, and even trying to park outside, he hated all of it.

It had been Padmé's idea- something about neutralising the presence of the Jedi by having a number of them attend these events.

He'd tried to avoid being roped into it, but she'd managed to convince him this time by promising to arrange a trip to the lakehouse. She even said she would tell the Council that she supposedly needed him for a week to act as her security at an off-world conference.

And now, here he was.

He just had to survive the evening, and a week of lake-side paradise was waiting for him.

Anakin was just glad that he was able to bring Ahsoka along, if only to have someone around who wasn't raised with silver platters and nannies.

Except, Ahsoka had managed to sneak away, right under his nose, as a diplomat started telling him a painfully long story about how he once rescued a Princess from a team of hijacked cleaner droids.

It was unlike Ahsoka to leave his side at events like this, as her species and gender often put her at risk of being leered at, or even grabbed- though, thank the Force, nobody had tried to touch her at this particular event.

He punched the last person who asked him where he bought Ahsoka from during a diplomatic mission with Obi-Wan.

Fair to say, those negotiations went to shit.

Ahsoka's absence was even more peculiar tonight as she'd been attached to Anakin's hip since she returned from Wasskah.

Everyone thought she was alright in the aftermath. Rig Neema said she recovered faster than expected from her physical injuries, and after just one week of leave, Ahsoka was cleared for active duty.

Anakin wasn't so sure if she was ready to go back to the field.

It wasn't like the first night she was back, when he found her sitting on the fresher floor, staring blankly at the wall. She wouldn't talk to him, and she was covered in blood that wasn't hers.

He'd helped her get cleaned up and get settled on the sofa with a hot meal and bacta for her multitude of cuts and gashes. She'd needed a sleep-suggestion to get rest that night.

It had taken a few days of minimal activity until she seemed back to her usual self.

She visited Jinx and O-Mer in the Halls of Healing (they had both been assigned Masters who didn't frequent the front lines), she was attending her classes, and she no longer had a dull look in her eyes.

However, that didn't mean everything was perfectly fine.

Ahsoka had been unusually clingy, wanting to follow him around like a shadow all day and night. She would sit outside the Chancellor's office whilst he had meetings inside, and even pulled her sleep mat onto the floor of his quarters so she didn't have to be alone at night.

Obi-Wan was sure that these behaviours would blow over soon enough. Once Ahsoka processed that Wasskah was over and she was safe, she would be back to normal.