Ahsoka Tano stood by the window, letting the gentle breeze cool her off.
It had been what, two months? Three months? since she left the Jedi temple. Ahsoka wasn't sure. It felt so long ago, like a different lifetime altogether. In her head, she had even started labeling the different memories "after I left" and "before I left."
It had been much to long, Ahsoka decided, because even her memory of Anakin's face had started to fade. She still remembered his voice though...
"They're asking you back, Ahsoka." His words...gentle and full of hope and trust, but somehow commanding, prompting. He held out her padawan braid. "I'm asking you back."
She looked into his eyes. They were big and sad, but full of ...well...love. Every instinct screamed at her to reach out and grab those beads in her Master's hand. She came so close to taking them to, but something stopped her, and she closed his hand around the beads instead.
Maybe it was the warning her future self had given her: "Be warned, you may never see your future if you remain his apprentice." Maybe it was the seed of darkness she felt in Anakin. Maybe it was the spark of rebellion she knew was in herself. Maybe it was how the Jedi had treated her
Or maybe it was just the childishness left in her. The naive part of her that dreamed of seeing the world, and was still mad at Master Plo for something that had happened over two weeks ago, and wanted to get back at him, even though she knew it was wrong.
But that look in Anakin's eyes when she pushed his hand away... It broke her heart. Told her she had made the wrong decision and that there was no going back.
"I'm sorry Master," she had cried. "But I'm not coming back." And then she had run.
"Ahsoka, wait! Ahsoka, I need to talk to you!" She had stopped in her tracks."Why are you doing this?" In that moment, her master had perceived Ahsoka's actions as trying to hurt him.
And her pained words. "The council dido t trust me, so how can I trust myself?"
"But what about me?" he asked. "I believed in you. I stood by you!" And with that, the full force of what she was doing finally hit her: she was giving up her entire life... For nothing.
"I know you believed in me, Anakin," she told him gently. "And I'm grateful for that. But this isn't about you. I can't stay here any longer!"
Ahsoka shoke her head, ending the memory. It was fresh and still too painful.
Suddenly, she heard a knock on door. "Open up!" someone called. "Jedi!"
Now this was interesting. What were the Jedi doing here?
Making sure she had her lightsaber, Ahsoka cautiously pried open the door. She was met with the face of Anakin Skywalker.
"What are you doing here?" she cried.
Anakin held up a datapad. "Making sure that the apartments in this section of the Coruscanti Underworld meet the written standards."
Ahsoka let out a muffled laugh. So this is what she had left? Seeing her face, Anakin whispered, "Obi-Wan assigned me. He said he was tired of watching me mope around." He glanced around the filthy, threadbare room. "By the way, your apartment has yet to meet the standards."
Ahsoka glared. "What did you think? The Council just let me walk out of the temple with a bag full of credits?"
"Well, no, but..." Anakin's gaze softened. "You live here?"
Ahsoka sighed. "Yes. Yes, I do. Now if you'll excuse me, I have things to do. Good-bye, Master!" And with that she attempted to close the door on her old master. On her old life. Again.
"Woah, woah, woah," Anakin said, forcing the door open a crack. "You're trying to get rid of me?" His voice cracked. "Again?"
"Anakin," Ahsoka sighed. But she couldn't continue her sentence, because of the lump that stuck in her throat, and she soon found herself crying in her old master's arms again.
"You're okay," he muttered. "It's all right, Ahsoka. You're fine."
"No," she begged. "Anakin, don't do this to yourself. Just leave. Please."
Anakin frowned, "Remember you said that you'd rethink your choice to leave the Order?"
"I know," Ahsoka sighed. "And I did. I'm sorry Master, but I'm not coming back."
Pain. That was all he felt. Hot, excruciating pain that tore his heart apart.
Ahsoka had refused to come back, thinking only of her self instead. What about all those lessons he had given her in selflessness?
"Was it something I did?" he asked. Ahsoka sighed, shaking her head.
"No, Anakin. Believe me, this isn't about you."
"Then who is it about?" His words came out harsher than he expected, and Ahsoka flinched. "Is it about Lux?"
"No," Ahsoka muttered. "It's about the council. They still don't trust me, after thirteen years!"
"Believe me when I tell you this, Ahsoka," Anakin said. "The council did trust you... It's just that there was so much evidence against you..."
"So you didn't believe in me either," Ahsoka whispered. "Goodbye, Skyguy." She slammed the door on his fingers.
"Ahsoka! You know I believed in you!"
Ahsoka covered her montrals with her fingers, so she couldn't hear.
A/N: Not really sure where I want to go with this... Should I try to fit it into canon, or have Ahsoka come back?