Ahsoka walked down the stark halls of the Jedi Temple, exhausted from her most recent mission. Her mind wandered in thought and she was hardly aware as she bumped into a haughty Jedi Consular, mumbling an apology and continuing on towards her quarters. There were few things that would distract Ahsoka Tano this much, but this certain thing was very close to her heart. This 'thing' wasn't a mere thing, either. It was a person.
Her most recent mission had been to the Outer Rim planet of Helios, to free a few captured clone squads and capture a Separatist general. She'd gone on the mission with her master Anakin Skywalker and his friend Obi-Wan Kenobi, along with their clone commanders Rex and Cody, respectively. Like many of her other recent missions, Obi-Wan had opted to bring one of his and Master Skywalker's jedi friends along, a Rodian by the name of Presdin Rynd. Rynd was a knight, quick to think but still rather wise in his own sense.
Rynd had, again like most missions, convinced his friend, the smuggling pilot/rogue Cliffe Rychards, to come along. He had rescued Cliffe from the First Battle of Christophsis, the same battle when Ahsoka met her master. Cliffe had worked with Rynd for nearly every mission since, effectively becoming an unofficial Republic agent. The Republic began to 'overlook' his smuggling profession, usually 'failing' to capture him in the act and then dismissing it, never actually putting up a bounty or even placing him as a wanted criminal.
It was Cliffe Rychards that was currently on Ahsoka's mind.
She had begun to like him for more than just a friend once he assisted in personally rescuing her from The Son's clutches on Mortis. They'd bonded closer since then.
There was so much that she liked about the dashing smuggler; his charmingly rogue-ish smile, the way his emerald eyes glinted in any light, his air of humor and light-heartedness. He was so akin to her master that she felt perfectly comfortable in his presence. Something about him and his quick wit and laid-back attitude made her heart thump out of beat. She was picturing him smiling down at her, encapsulating her in a friendly hug like he had after Mortis when she rammed head on into another jedi, causing them both to fall over.
"Sorry, sorry, I-" She stopped as she looked up into the icy-blue eyes of her master.
Anakin Skywalker grinned. "Have your head in the clouds again, Snips?"
She smiled ruefully. "Sort of. Sorry, master."
"It's okay, Snips. Happens to us all sometimes." His grin widened. "What were you so distracted with?"
The young Togrutan blushed, her eyes darting away from her master's gaze. "Nothing, just...thinking."
Anakin smiled. "About what?"
His apprentice quickly changed the subject. "Oh! I was supposed to meet with Madame Jocasta a few minutes ago, master. I'm late, talk to you later!" Ahsoka said, slipping past her master and running off towards her quarters.
A perplexed Anakin watched her go as Presdin Rynd approached. "Why is your padawan in such a hurry, Anakin?" The Rodian said in his reedy voice.
"I dunno, Presdin. She's been like this a lot recently." The two watched the padawan disappear down a hallway. "If I didn't know her better, I'd think she was thinking about some guy all this time." He laughed. "She'd tell me...right?" Presdin's purple-blue face remained impassive."Maybe you don't know better. She is at the age where-"
Anakin silenced his friend with a sweeping motion. "Don't even start that conversation, Presdin. I'm sure she'd let me know if there was someone she was thinking about. It's forbidden by the Jedi Code."
The Rodian nodded sagely. "I suppose. It is only natural, however, and I wouldn't be surprised if the thoughts were at least in her mind." With that, the Rodian left, leaving Anakin to think.

Ahsoka sat in her quarters, leaving the lights dim and locking the door. She sat at her small desk, looking at the cluster of holograms that rested there. Many depicted her and Anakin, but several included Obi-Wan, Presdin, Rex, Cody and Cliffe. Her eyes lingered over a shot of her standing next to Cliffe, just after they'd rescued the smuggler from a Separatist stronghold. She sighed, setting the hologram gently down again amongst the others before plopping down onto her bed. She shoved her face into her pillow, sighing deeply. She wished that it wasn't forbidden to love, and that she had the courage to speak up to Cliffe. After several minutes, Ahsoka heard a knock. "Snips? You in there? We need to go debrief with the council." After several moments, Anakin spoke up before leaving. "Meet me up there." His footsteps faded away and Ahsoka groaned into her pillow before standing up and leaving to go debrief.

"I'll take another Red Marik," Cliffe Rychards announced and the bartender turned to obey his wish.
The smuggler was currently seated in a small bar on Coruscant, overlooking a seedy district. As he took a careful sip from his new drink, he thought about Ahsoka. He really liked her. She was nice, and shockingly beautiful for her age, too. If only it wasn't forbidden by the Jedi, and maybe if she returned my feelings... he thought, gazing out the window towards the Jedi Temple and Upper City.
He'd began to feel strangely about her after they began to grow closer friendship-wise, after they'd escaped Mortis. He had had many flings and girlfriends in his years, but there was something...different about Ahsoka. He didn't feel mere lust when thinking about her, rather an unfamiliar feeling. He cursed himself mentally. He was able to be incredibly brave and relatively fearless, but he couldn't even get the courage up to talk to Ahsoka about his feelings towards her. He downed a final sip of the alcohol before pushing away from the bar and heading for the door. He was going to go to the Temple and talk to Ahsoka. If she didn't feel the same, then he'd have to live with it. But he had to get it off his chest.

"...And then the General attempted to kill Ahsoka, but Rychards intervened in time." Anakin finished, looking around at the council.
Ahsoka stook next to him, hardly paying attention. She was trying to decide about talking to Cliffe. If he denied her, she might never recover from the rejection, in her opinion.
"Ahsoka?" Mace Windu said.
"Huh? Yes, master Windu?" She said, shaking herself out of thought.
"We were wondering if your take on the mission was any different than Skywalker's." The Jedi Master replied.
"No, masters. I saw the mission the same way, I don't think my master missed any points."
"Good. Then you're both dismissed." Windu leaned back in his chair while Anakin and Ahsoka left.
Anakin started talking as they exited the Council chamber. "Okay Snips, I'm betting there's going to be some work for us tomorrow, so go get some sleep." He said as the elevator doors opened, patting her on the back as they exited and went their separate ways. In her quarters, Ahsoka didn't bother to turn the light on. She slipped out of her boots and changed out of her robes before she climbed into bed. Sighing mentally, she closed her eyes and began to drift off.

Cliffe's speeder pulled up to the Jedi Temple landing pad, and he exited. He was stopped at the door. "I'm here to visit Padawan Tano. She left something with me last mission, and I'd prefer to deliver it personally." He said and the Jedi Guardian let him pass after confirming his identity. He headed towards the Padawan quarters hall and walked down it, trying to remember what Ahsoka's room number was. Eleventh one down on the left, he thought as he approached the door. He stopped outside. The light above it showed it was occupied. He knew he wouldn't have to wait any longer. He lingered outside the door. "C'mon, be a man," he whispered to himself, not wanting to wake up other jedi. He raised his hand and knocked on the door, lightly.

Ahsoka was deep in a dream of her and Cliffe when a light tapping arose her. Her eyes flickered open, and she groaned as she sat up, looking at her chrono. It was 1:20 in the morning. She sighed and a second tap, slightly louder, caused her to stand up. She walked over to the door, dressed in nothing more than her nightgown, extremely revealing for her panties and bra. She pressed a button next to the door and a figure stood in the door. The first two buttons on his black button-down shirt were undone and the sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, his dark brown hair tousled and his light dusting of stubble was evident. His emerald eyes gleamed in the dim blue light of the hallway.
"Cliffe?" She stuttered. This was shockingly similar to her dream. "W-why are you here this early in the morning?"
The smuggler's mouth contorted in a nervous ghost of his grin. "I have something to tell you, Ahsoka. Something that couldn't wait until the morning."
Ahsoka was now indeed curious. Her heart skipped a beat. "W-what's that?"
He took a deep breath. "I-I love you."
She gasped. "W-what? Cliffe!"
"I have for a while now, I think." He said, gaining some courage. "Whenever I think about you, I feel like I could spend the rest of my life with you. You're different than any other girl I've ever met, Ahsoka! I-" He was cut off by her leaning up to kiss him.
Ahsoka planted her lips on his, feeling a slight spark. She'd never kissed anyone before, but she still felt the heat and passion of the kiss as Cliffe leaned into it, taking dominance. The burning intensity continued and Ahsoka moaned into the kiss. The two broke apart after another moment, gazing into each other's eyes. She leaned up to his ear.
"Why don't you come in?" Ahsoka whispered. Cliffe shivered with pleasure at the thought and he planted another kiss on her cheek and followed her into the room, the doors locking behind them.