Learning to Live (COMPLETE)

8.14.1

Ahsoka lifted the goggles from her eyes and wiped the sweat from her brow. She had been working with the flamethrower to weld a pipe back in place, and while laying underneath a speeder, it could get very hot. Nothing she couldn't handle, for sure, but it was the reason the shop had AC.

One of the advantages of having the shop trespassed and damaged was that they had an excuse to renovate it. They had replaced the air conditioning, the heating system, about half of the lights, and the lobby had gotten a bit of a makeover. Fuller had been very happy with the changes, as had his customers and employees. The thugs that had tried to rob them had actually done Gauges and Gears a favor.

Granger had left last week, and the entire staff had gone up to the surface to send him off to Alderaan. He had promised to keep in touch, but it was a bittersweet departure all the same. Ahsoka was just glad he had been able to move on after losing Kalifa, again. Hopefully he could start over fresh in a new environment and maybe find a new family somewhere along the way.

Lowering the jack, she ran diagnostics on the speeder to make sure everything was now in working order. Without one of the mechanics, everyone else's load had increased slightly. Fuller was cracking down on everyone, making sure that no one was taking any longer breaks than the lunch break they were allowed. Jake kept complaining that it was 'just like after Frand left', and that they 'needed to find another Tano'.

After completing the report on the speeder, Ahsoka looked around her workbench. She had a choice: she could pick up one more product to fix up before she clocked out, but it would run over her normal time and it might take a while. On the other hand, if she tidied up and clocked out now, she could probably idle long enough to make her normal exit time.

Unable to decide, she closed her eyes and exhaled, clearing her mind. It was a silly question, and hardly one worth so much attention, but reconnecting with the Force certainly wasn't going to hurt. She blocked out all of the distractions from the workshop and focused on herself and the balance she had been nurturing. Only after a moment did it register that she could feel Anakin quite easily as well.

He must be on Coruscant again, she thought, and she focused on it. He seemed to pick up on her presence as well because she felt his Force signature strengthen in her mind. Before long, Ahsoka heard the same tunnel noises she heard months ago before all noise silenced except for her breathing and someone else's. Anakin.

She opened her eyes, and sure enough, he was sitting on...something, Ahsoka couldn't see what, not far from herself. Probably the bed in his quarters at the Temple. When he saw her, his face lit up and he turned to face her. "Long time, no see," he commented, and Ahsoka laughed.

"I wonder why," she retorted. "It's almost as if you've been fighting a war."

"Not tonight," he told her. "I've been on duty for a week and I finally got a break. I'm not supposed to receive any assignments tonight."

She smirked. "Keyword: supposed to."

Anakin smiled and rolled his eyes, before thinking of something and standing up. "Are you working tonight?"

Ahsoka shook her head. "I don't work evenings, and I knock off in...ten-ish minutes. I was about to clean up, actually."

"Do you think you could make it to Halda's in half an hour?" He asked. "I don't know how fast travel is for you..."

"Half an hour is perfect," she replied, eager to finally see him again. "See you there."

He smirked. "Race you," he taunted before their concentration broke and he disappeared.

Ahsoka didn't realize until then that Wheeler was outside her workbench. "Hey, Tano, you okay?"

She looked around and realized she had probably looked like she had been talking to a wall. "I'm fine. I just need to clean up." She gathered up her mess from the day, putting forth minimal effort to do so. Wheeler noticed her rush.