It Takes Two to Tango

Part 4: Home

It was late at night when Ahsoka reached Onderon. She had lost tract of how long she'd been gone, and she was more than ready to go home and stay home for a while.

Home.

It was still strange for her to call Onderon home, especially since she'd been on the move since her last real home had kicked her out. The servants in the palace had gotten used to Ahsoka being there and always made her feel welcome. It was a warm place where she felt safe and cared for, which was a definite change from the way things had been in the last few months living in the Jedi Temple.

She crept in through the back doors, careful to lock everything up behind her. She walked briskly through the empty halls, trying to be as quiet as possible. Palace staff were everywhere all the time, and the last thing she wanted was to disturb anyone.

Once she reached the upper floors, her pace slowed, and she stopped at her door. She twisted the old-fashioned brass knob and walked inside to find her bed made, room clean, and pajamas carefully folded on her dresser. She smiled. Lux always found a way to make her feel like a princess.

Ahsoka put away her things and changed before sneaking over to Lux's room. She wanted to at least let him know she was back and okay before she went to sleep.

She opened the door and saw him standing outside on the balcony staring up at the stars. She turned on a lamp by his bedside and followed him outside. It must've rained recently; there were small puddles on the ground, and she could smell the petrichor in the air. The city below was quiet and dark; the only light came from street lamps scattered between buildings. It was strange for Ahsoka, having grown up on a planet that never slept, but she could definitely get used to it.

He jumped as she slid her hand into his and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Didn't meant to startle you, but I thought I would tell you I'm home."

He squeezed her hand and kissed the top of her lekku. "Good. You were gone a while this time. I missed you."

"I know, I know. I'm sorry it was so long. I only thought it would be a few days, but I was wrong."

He sighed and turned to face her, letting her rest her head on his chest. His arms around her felt natural and calming. "It's okay, 'Soka. I know how you are about these things."

"What do you mean?" She closed her eyes and let Lux rock her back and forth just slightly.

"You always see everything through. If that means you have to spend extra time with it, you will."

"I suppose. Speaking of spending extra time with things, I've decided that I'm going to take a break for a while. I need it, you need it, and our relationship needs it."

He let go and took a step back, his eyes wide. "Are you serious? The great Ahsoka Tano wants to take a break?"

She smiled. "Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. That way, I can rest and adjust to the life I have here. And I can spend more time with you, if course."

"I like the sound of that," he said, kissing her gently.

His kiss deepened as he slowly brought his arms to rest on her hips. She closed the space between them and rested her hands on his shoulders. His hands slid up her sides to cup her face.

Though she could feel raindrops, she didn't notice until a drop hit one of the puddles. The sound instantly took her back to the pipelines of Coruscant all those years ago.

Her heart beat faster as she ran through the empty pipes, her footsteps echoing around her. Darkness surrounded her, preventing her from escaping the hundreds of clones chasing her.

She heard Anakin's voice call out her name. "Ahsoka! What are you doing?"

Her eyes snapped open, and she fell backwards. She felt her throat close and her mouth go dry just thinking about it again. The sky spun above her as she collapsed, her hands beginning to shake.

Suddenly, she felt cold, and the darkness consumed her.

Ahsoka woke up a few moments later, Lux clutching her hand. He had moved her inside and laid her on top of his bed. She opened her eyes and tried to sit up but couldn't without being incredibly dizzy. She felt like she had taken a knife to the stomach, but there was nothing there.

"Ahsoka, are you okay?" Lux asked. She could hear the worry in his voice. "You just stood there for a second and then you fell and stopped breathing and started shaking and–"

"I'm fine. I don't know what happened." Both were lies, and Lux could see through them easily.

He helped her slowly sit up and brought her a glass of water. "You and I both know when there's something wrong with either of us. Ahsoka, you're not okay."

She took a sip of water and put her glass down on the table beside the bed. "It was the rain. It made me think of my trial and Anakin. I think maybe some of the things I was doing on Lothal put me in the mindset."

Lux nodded. "What happened to Anakin isn't your fault. You know that. And your trial... that was a situation that should never have happened."

"I know," she said, laying back down. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes, but she refused to cry. At least not over this again. "They're just so easy to forget about until I hear or see something that brings me back."

He kissed her cheek and laid down beside her, rubbing the back of her hand with his thumb. "Stay in here tonight. Stay with me. I'll protect you."

She chuckled. "Of course you will, dear." Usually, it went the other way around. She brushed his hair out of his face and kissed his forehead. "We're some duo, huh. The king of Imperial Onderon and an ex-Jedi rebel."

"Yeah. But that's what makes us perfect, right?"

She smiled. "Right."

A/N: And so Part 4 begins! The next few chapters will focus more on Ahsoka confronting her past and developing her relationship with Lux. It's been a while since I wrote a chapter solely about either of those things, and I think it's important to see Ahsoka's changes as she gets older and has a chance to reflect on the things that happened to her.

Another update will hopefully be coming soon! The end is in sight for this book. I've done a terrible job of building an overall arc, so it may not seem like it, but I'm hoping everything will make sense in the coming chapters.

Stay tuned for more soon, and may the force be with you!