Building Attachment

Chapter 21

6 days later

POV: Anakin Skywalker

Ahsoka sat by the fireplace reading something on her holopad. She looked so beautiful. I watched her for a moment from my bedroom door, and then looked away. There was no point in staring anymore. It would only torture me further.

I crossed my arms and made my way into the room. "Good morning Snips," I greeted.

She tensed up at the sound of my voice, but then calmed herself. "Hey," she said as if nothing was different between us.

I sighed to myself. Things had been like this the past few days. We would both pretend everything was normal and act accordingly, but we knew that wasn't the case.

Throughout these past days, Ahsoka would occasionally drop her barrier, only to put it right back up whenever I looked at her. I could tell she was still trying to distance herself from me, despite her hardest efforts to hide it.

It hurt that she was trying to get away from me, but at the same time, something in the force told me she almost... didn't want to.

l spent all these past few days leading up to today, her seventeenth birthday, feeling nothing but, confusion, agony, frustration, and then love.

I felt powerful agony come over me as I debated what to do in my situation. Over this leave, I realized my true feelings. I loved her, and I knew I shouldn't, but what could I really do about that. I couldn't unlove her. I loved her with all my heart and it terrified me.

I couldn't hide anything from her forever. Not even this. She would never stop her pursuit for the reason of my struggle.

Ahsoka wanted to be a Jedi more than anything and I could never take that away from her. She would never love me the way I loved her and that only made my pain more unbearable. Once she pried my feelings out of me, I would lose her out of my life forever.

I knew that there was no way of getting out what was going to happen today. She knew I hadn't gotten over my struggle. My struggle being... her.

POV: Ahsoka Tano

I continued absentmindedly scrolling through my holopad, not reading a single word. This was just my way of stalling as I knew Anakin stood directly behind me.

After a few more minutes, he sat down beside me and took my holopad out of my hands.

"What are you reading Snips?" he asked. He read the title of my article out loud. "Top ten reasons to fly to Hoth on your next traveling destination," he said with false enthusiasm.

"Hmm, wow, this looks really interesting," he said with a smirk as he handed me my holopad. "I guess I will just leave you to it then. Enjoy..."

I took the holopad from him and raised an eye marking in his direction. He chuckled and then stood up and walked towards the door.

I put my holopad down and stood up. "Wait! Where are you going?"

"Don't worry about it Ahsoka, it's nowhere near as entertaining as your article," he told me as he put on his shoes and walked outside.

He was definitely planning something. I put my shoes on him and followed him outside where he stood waiting for me as if he had intended for me to follow him all along.

He smiled ever so slightly as I walked up to him. "Where are you going?"

"Why don't you just follow me and find out?"

And with that, we began walking into the lush, green forest.

He let me through a maze of almost identical trees and grasses as if he knew exactly where he was going.

We hiked up countless steep hills and rocky ledges, until I was almost out of breath, wondering if we would ever arrive.

"Come on, Ahsoka," he whispered. "We're almost there."

After a few more minutes, we came to what looked like a thick wall of rock. Anakin jumped up then held out his hand to pull me on top. I was perfectly capable of getting up by myself, but I accepted his jester anyways.

He pulled me up and then released my hand. I slowly walked forward a few steps and then gasped in awe as I was greeted with a breathtaking view.

I walked to the edge of the rocky gray cliff and sat down. A sparkling waterfall ran from beneath my dangling feet into a green river.

I could hear the strong and calming sound of the water pouring into the river below as the sun reflected off the water and into the surrounding trees.

Everything about this place was breathtaking, as well as strong with the force.

After taking in the view as well, Anakin walked towards the cliff and sat down next to me. We were both silent as we took in the pure force all around us.

After a few minutes, I felt Anakin's attention move from the view around us to me. I turned to look at him as he smiled at me.

"Happy birthday Snips," he told me.

I smiled back at him in awe. "It's beautiful Anakin," I whispered. "Thank you."

I then turned back to admire the view in front of me until he spoke again.

"I have one more thing for you Ahsoka," he whispered.

I looked back over to him and raised an eye marking. Jedi didn't celebrate birthdays, but I knew my master was no normal Jedi.

"Close your eyes," he whispered.

I looked into his eyes in a confused manner and he smiled ever so slightly. It was almost as if he were... nervous. That in itself was very unlike him.

I gave him a questioning look before closing my eyes just as he asked. The galaxy around me became completely dark and silent around me, the only sounds I heard being the water below and Anakin's soft and steady breathing.

I was becoming more and more confused with each passing moment as I wondered what was happening.

I opened my eyes only enough to find my master's face centimeters away from my own. "Anakin, what are you-"

I was cut off as he fiercely closed the distance between us, pressing his lips against my own. A gasp escaped my throat at the sudden contact, unable to control the emotion and shock exploding inside of me. Needless to say... I couldn't find the strength to pull away.

He kissed me passionately as he wrapped his arms around my waist, and then moved his hand up to my lekku, holding them affectionately. I sighed softly at the action, and at the feeling of his soft and firm lips against my own.

He pulled away slightly keeping his face near mine. His tongue traced across my lips one last time before pulling away completely and looking into my widened eyes.

"Anakin," I whispered in between my heavy breathing.

He took one of my hands in both of his and gave me a broken look.

"Ahsoka," he whispered, his voice fighting emotion. "Ahsoka, I love you."