Just an idea that popped into my head.
Disclaimer: Don't own anything from Star Wars. Only my hopeful dreams.
The Force has many paths set out for us; all with their own challenges and rewards. However, to decide which path to take there are always those moments - perhaps they will seem important, perhaps they won't - but these are the moments that can move one's destiny down a new path.
Ahsoka Tano had made one such decision already. She stood outside her once home trying to tell the one she perhaps held most dear goodbye. But - as to be expected - he was being stubborn about it.
"Ahsoka - please." He begs again, facial features loosing any bit of anger to reveal the true desperation hidden beneath. She knows he's told her not to leave the Order, not to leave her life behind...
Now all she hears is him telling her not to leave him.
And it is that plea that keeps her from walking away.
She hugs her arms to her chest in an effort to feel more secure, but meets his eyes with determination. "Why do you stay?"
The question, one she had wondered countless times yet never asked slips out of her lips unexpectedly for both of them. Her Master...no, Anakin's eyes widen and if it were not such a serious question - she would have joked about how she finally made him speechless. "What?" The word sounds like it had been punched out of him; perhaps it had been.
She keeps eye contact and repeats: "Why do you stay?"
He flounders for another moment before seeing to gain some control of himself. "Snips - I have a duty to the Republic..."
"Oh, come on!" Ahsoka snaps marching up to him so that they are only inches apart - a sudden bout of anger fueling her next words. "How many times have you told me how much you disagree with the rules regarding attachment? About how you think the council is clinging on to the old ways too much? What happened to all that?"
"It's not that simple Ahsoka -" Anakin began, his tone gaining a slightly firmer edge to it.
Ahsoka let out a whoosh of air. "Kriff if it isn't." She growls, making his eyes widen as she jabs a finger at his chest. "How many times have they left you? How many times have they dismissed you or refused to listen simply because you are different? Because you actually care." She draws in a deep breath looking up at him in a desperate attempt to understand. "Are you going to forget about me, Master? Put all your feeling into the force until I am nothing?"
"I would never do that!" Anakin shouts suddenly, coming closer to grasp her arm. His blue eyes meet hers with a burning intensity, emotions playing freely across his face as he whispers hoarsely. "You know I would never do that."
"But they would expect you to." Ahsoka tells him quietly. "And it will kill you inside when you can't. When not even Obi-wan can understand..." Anakin sucked in a sharp breath, as if she had stabbed him through with her saber. But Ahsoka went on: "How can you be expected to save others when you can't save yourself?"
Anakin stared at her in shock, his grip briefly loosening on her arm before it tightened again with a ferocity. "Ahsoka..." He whispers, and he sounds tired, defeated. "Where would I go? What would I do?"
Ahsoka steps closer as he bows his head, feeling no small amount of guilt for making him this way. Gently, she places her finger under his chin and lifts his face towards hers; admiring the blue of his eyes. She thinks of everything they have been through together - every joke, battle and near-death experience. Every victory...She manages a slight smile: "I don't know where I'm going, or what I'm going to do...I'll have to figure that out. But, it would be easier figuring it out with you."
He blinks once, then twice as he gazes at her for a long while with his handsome face perfectly composed. Ahsoka lets out a quiet sigh, about to tear herself away to leave when he lets out a soft chuckle. "We do make a pretty good team, don't we?"
Hardly daring to hope, Ahsoka grins. "The best."
His smile is a rare one (something Ahsoka mentally notes to change) - all tenderness and mischief. "You know - I always wanted to be a deep space pilot." He whispers at last, pressing a warm kiss to her forehead as she laughs loudly while throwing her arms around him.
I~I
Two days later - the holonet was brimming with news about how the Hero With No Fear and his padawan had left the Jedi order and the war.
A ginger haired man concealed a smile as the masters argued over what had caused their 'Chosen One' to abandon them. Some sniffled and said it was in his nature - but Obi-wan was quick to correct them: "We let his Padawan, and hence Anakin, down quite spectacularly." He states calmly thinking of the holo in his quarters that showed the two ex-Jedi on some tropical planet with a note containing contact information:
In case you ever want to have a real vacation with better meditation views.
From, Anakin and Ahsoka.
I~I
Meanwhile a young Senator smiled slightly at the news playing; having accepted the fact that the little boy from tatooine had grown into a man who did not need an angel to guide him anymore. Now he was finally able to walk away from his demons.
I~I
Palpatine let out a scream of anger - furious that all those careful years of planning had been for naught. It didn't help that the boy hadn't even bothered to send him a goodbye card; no doubt because of his role in Tano's trial.
To think, all that time he spent on friendship with a nine year old. The Sith shudders. How revolting.
I~I
On a beach in some far off planet away from the war, a human male and tortuga female sit comfortably in chairs with the beautiful sunlit sea as a view. "This is different." Anakin notes thoughtfully, taking a sip of his umbrella drink as Ahsoka turns to him with a grin.
"Really? What was it that stood out for you? The lack of battle droids, the nice climate..." Ahsoka trailed off into a laugh as Anakin swatted at her arm, managing to spill some of her own drink as she tried to dodge. "Hey!"
Anakin smirked leaning back into his beach chair with casual ease. "We had breaks from that before Snips." He reminds her gently, making her eye him curiously.
"Then what's so different?" She asks.
Anakin looks over to her and beams, his expression so bright that for a moment Ahsoka honestly thinks it rivals this planet's sun. "I can actually enjoy it this time without worrying about having to go back." He informs her, sounding unusually giddy. "I'm happy."
Ahsoka feels her heart swell at the new sincerity in his tone - the openness. Through the Force, she goes along their bond, basking in the joy she found there. Smiling, she raises her glass. "To happiness."
Coping her motion, Anakin tips his glass against hers, blue eyes reflecting the water. "To a new life."
I~I
Yes, the Force has many destinies laid out for every single individual...
But it was glad it's child had chosen one of the happier ones.
This can be taken as a friendship or pre Anakin/Ahsoka. Whatever you like.
Feedback is much appreciated.