𝕧𝕠𝕚𝕕 | 𝔸. 𝕊𝕂𝕐𝕎𝔸𝕃𝕂𝔼ℝ ₁

» 25

It was time for Anakin to face the inevitable. Padmé no longer loved him and it was time for him to come to terms with it.

He didn't want to. He didn't want to lose the woman he'd constantly thought of for the last decade, he didn't want to lose her compassion, her kisses, her hugs, her love... Anakin wanted to keep all of it.

As he rode the lift up to her penthouse, Anakin stood tall, feet planted a bit wider than his hips and hands tucked behind his back. What was he going to say to her? How was he going to speak to her? He knew his temper was not something that he could easily control. That much had been evident with his previous interaction with Padmé when they were alone, and even with Princess Venus— a complete stranger.

The elevator came to a halt and the doors opened up. Anakin stepped out into the hall, making his way towards the common area. As soon as he turned the corner, he spotted not only Padmé, but Senator Organa as well. If she'd wanted to talk after the meeting with the Chancellor, why had she invited him over while she had company? It was frustrating.

Anakin ducked back behind the corner, thinking of a way to get her attention. He could reach into her mind, use the force to knock something over or—"

"General Skywalker?"

Anakin looked across the hall, surprised to see one of Padmé's handmaidens. How had she snuck up on him so easily?

"Dormé." He whispered. "Do you think you could get me a moment alone with Padmé?"

Dormé gently shook her head, most likely due to annoyance. She then proceeded to go fetch the Senator, whisper something in her ear, and guide her back to where Anakin was.

"Anakin— I forgot—"

"I know that you're busy." He held his hands up. "I'll sign it and be on my way."

The two women looked skeptical at first, but Dormé then went to fetch the holo-pad.

"I hope that we can still be friends Anakin." Padmé sadly smiled. "You're a good person and I'd like to keep you in my life, it's just that... my feelings for you aren't like your feelings for me. I'm sorry, Ani."

Same excuse from before. Anakin didn't have much to say back to her. "You can go back to whatever it was you were doing. I'll wait here for Dormé."

"Anakin—"

"I'm going to sign it, Senator." He snapped. "I have no reason to pull anything on you, go ahead."

Padmé was smart enough to know that this would go nowhere. "Okay then... I'll see you around, General Skywalker." She went back to what she was doing before, leaving Anakin to himself. If he ever had to see her again— which he knew he would— it would be too soon.

And yet despite what he had just told her, he found himself in the lift as soon as she was out of sight.

»—»«—«

Ahsoka had given up on asking her master what was wrong. Maybe it was that he didn't yet trust or maybe he just didn't like talking about his feelings, but whatever the reason, he just wouldn't open up to her.

The padawan knew from the start that Anakin wasn't too thrilled to receive her apprenticeship— that was something that often lingered in her mind. Ahsoka felt like a burden to him.

Now, whatever was bothering him got in the way of her training. He rarely trained with her outside of the battlefield. He believe that she could learn more from the constant fighting than she could ever learn from him. But how could she know when he never taught her the proper way.

Once again, she found herself searching for Master Kenobi, hopeful that he could help with her concerns. Ahsoka was nearly to his room when she spotted him walking towards her from the opposite direction.

"Ahsoka," he waved. "What brings you here?"

"Forgive me, Master." She nervously looked to her boots as he approached. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Obi-Wan had a bad feeling that this would be about his former student. "Something? You mean Anakin?"

Ahsoka sighed, a shameful smile on her face. "I don't mean to tell on him or get him into any trouble, I'm just worried— for my master and my training."

"You have every right to be worried, young one. I appreciate that you came to me." He steered away from his door and motioned her to follow. "Anakin hasn't been training you?"

"Not really. He believes that I'll learn more from the battle field." She shrugged, keeping up with his pace. "Not to mention, his head is in a different place."

"It's never in the right place." Obi-Wan joked. "Anakin had a very different upbringing than the rest of us. He joined the order when he was about ten. He was taught to embrace himself. He processes his emotions differently than we as Jedi are supposed to."

Anakin never told Ahsoka that he'd joined the order so late. That explained some things. "I didn't know..." she couldn't help but feel guilty for snitching on her master.

"How could you when Anakin fails to tell you about his previous life?" Obi-Wan went to pat her back. "Do not worry too much about Anakin. I assure you, he will come around. It took almost a year for him to be comfortable around the Jedi and I."

Those words did make her feel somewhat better. At least she wasn't the only one who had issues with her master.

"Why don't we go ahead and do some sparring?" He suggested. "That way you could show me your forms."

"But I'm not your padawan—"

"Never mind that." Obi-Wan chuckled. "I admit, I do miss having a student of my own. I enjoy sharing my knowledge, Ahsoka, it's no problem."

A wide smile appeared on her face. "Sounds like a plan to me! Besides, it'll be an honor to train with an actual master."

Perhaps this was something that they both needed. Maybe after that Obi-Wan thought, he would go and put in a request for a padawan learner.