Signature Bonds - Star Wars TCW

Chapter 36

Anakin was extremely upset.

Ahsoka had almost died just for the sake of the mission, and it was not sitting well with him. He was pretty aggressively sparring with his old master, Obi-wan Kenobi, and Ahsoka was no where in sight.

She wasn't in sight, and she was blocking him off from her mind. That in itself was frustrating, but there wasn't really much he could do about it until he finally calmed down.

It probably wouldn't happen anytime soon.

He slashed again at Obi-wan. In his anger, he hadn't noticed that Obi-wan could disarm him, which was exactly what his old master did.

Anakin, finally exhausted, fell to the floor, feeling his mood subside a little as he stayed there.

"Anakin, you really need to go talk to her."

Skywalker didn't respond, staring up at the ceiling, trying to break through the block Ahsoka had put on their bond, only to find that she was still holding firm. He scowled before standing up and sighing.

"You're right..." He mumbled, leaving a smirking Kenobi in his wake.

---

Ahsoka was hurt.

Anakin yelled at her and was pretty disappointed in her, all right after he ki-

Never mind that. She wouldn't think about that.

She was just doing what needed to be done to finish the mission. It saved millions of lives, and even if she and Barriss didn't make it, millions of others would have. So, she was hanging with the clones - literally.

Her perch was in the rafters of the docking bay, and even if she was upset, she had to admit that it was pretty comfortable to be up high and away from most people. The clones were milling around below, and the jedi had been so far avoided. At least, she had been avoided until-

"Commander?"

She looked down instantly, spying her captain and greeting him halfheartedly.

"Hey, Rexter."

Said clone frowned a little; her chipper tone was completely missing, instead replaced by an unhappy monotone. 

"You going to come down, Little 'un?"

Ahsoka sighed and shook her head.

"No. I don't want You-Know-Who to find me. I don't know if he can even fit up here." Rex looked up to her perch and then back at the ground and nodded slightly.

"Okay, then."

He walked away then, and Ahsoka looked back toward the ceiling only to come face to face with something that definitely wasn't the metal sleekness of the ceiling.

"GAH!" Two blue eyes were staring straight at her, and she pressed back against the support that held the rafter to the ceiling in panic. After a few seconds it registered in her brain that it was Anakin and not some weird monster that lived in the rafters.

"Anakin?"

He nodded and sat down next to her, his mouth opening to say something before it clicked in her brain that she was supposed to be mad at him. She hopped gracefully off of the rafters, using the force to cushion her landing while simultaneously rolling to get away and absorb some of the shock.

"Ahsoka! Wait!" 

Anakin's frantic calls sounded behind her, and she almost felt compelled to stop and see what he wanted, but she kept walking. The moment he landed, she slipped away into the crowd of clones, knowing full well that he could still trace her, even with the blocked bond. Eventually, tired of running, she force-jumped back up into the rafters and sat there.

Anakin followed a few minutes later, but Ahsoka didn't even look at him.

"Ahsoka?"

There was no response.

"Ahsoka? Look, I...."

Still no response, not even after a couple of minutes in complete silence, barring the noise of the clones working below.

"I'm sorry, Ahsoka."

She looked up at him finally, face completely devoid of emotion, but she motioned for him to go on.

"I'm sorry for shouting at you, I know I was being a bit overbearing, but I was really worried, Ahsoka. I was scared... scared I was going to loose you forever, scared you weren't going to be okay when we found you... I'm sorry."

Ahsoka opened her mouth and then closed it before opening it again.

"I'm sorry for almost dying, Master. And I accept your apology. Just..."

Anakin tilted his head a little in confusion, eyebrows scrunching together.

"Why did you do it?"

He stared at her for a few seconds.

"Do what?"

She stared at her hands and let out a sigh.

"Why did you kiss me?"

Anakin blushed- really blushed- and let out a sentence of complete nonsense. He just kept rambling on, no real answer in his stuttering, and Ahsoka raised an eyebrow.

"So you just kissed me for no reason, then?"

He stared at her for a few moments, mouth gaping and eyes wide open.

"No- Ahsoka, no, I - what I mean is-"

She laughed bitterly.

"You didn't even ask for permission, Skyguy. And you don't seem to have a reason, so since you apologized, let's just forget it ever happened, okay?"

Like she'd forget. Ever.

Anakin grabbed Ahsoka's shoulder and sighed.

"Ahsoka, Snips, it's not that I don't have a reason. I just don't really know how to say it."

She stared at him a single eyebrow raised, lips pursed. He frowned, running a hand through his hair before speaking again.

"What I mean is... Oh, forget it, I was scared, Ahsoka. And I thought you were gone, and it just felt empty, and then when I saw you I was just so relieved.... I-I love you, Ahsoka. I've known you most of my life, and I just... I didn't want to lose anyone else." Ahsoka smiled in a bittersweet way, remembering when Anakin had lost his mother, and gently dropping the block in their bond.

"Love you too, Skyguy," She murmured, throwing her arms around her mentor and bond-mate, snuggling against him. Anakin rubbed her back gently, a hand gently stroking her back lek, causing her to sigh contentedly.

After a few moments, Ahsoka spoke up.

"So, could we try that again?"

Anakin smiled, titling her chin up and slowly pressing his lips to hers.

Ahsoka smiled, barely feeling the mental 'guffaws' the clones were sending out.

---

Yes.

We did it!

I'm back with a nice long chapter to say, 'sorry-for-being-gone-forever-because-I'm-a-busy-procrastinator'.

Also, a reader asked if I would be writing a sequel to this story. I was unable to reply as the reply button seems to be broken for me at the current time, so here is the answer:

I have a sequel planned, but there are no promises that it will be written until next year. This book should continue until the end of the clone wars, which should be relatively soon, so I am hoping to have this story done by Christmas. This may not happen, but it's what I'm planning on. The next book would take place in the 'Star Wars Rebels' era, and it would focus on a certain blue-eyed and blue-haired padawan. :)

Thanks for being so supportive, guys!

-FlamingStarbird