"Master, can I ask you a personal question?"

Anakin glanced down at his Padawan, noting the way her hands twisted together. For a moment, his stomach echoed the gesture. Does she know? He tried to shove the thought away. "Sure, Snips. What's on your mind?"

One foot snuck back to wrap around the other ankle. "…Can I touch your hair?"

The knot disappeared, relief plastering a smile across his face. "What?"

Her montrals darkened. "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked. It was a silly—"

He held up a hand. "Who, whoa, it's okay. You just surprised me, is all." He bent over. "Feel away."

Hesitantly, Ahsoka stretched out her hand, and brushed her fingertips over his head. Even without seeing her face, he could hear her excitement. "It's so soft!"

He chuckled, bemused. "I guess." Straightening, he raised an eyebrow at her. "Do I get to hear the back story to this?"

She still looked embarrassed, but her eyes sparkled. "I guess I've just always been curious. I never knew my human crechemates well enough to ask."

"Well, now you know." He knuckled her playfully between the montrals. "Anything else?"

"Since you asked… do different people have hair that feels different? What about beards? Does long hair get—"

He stepped back in mock terror. "Slow down there, Commander." She lapsed into silence, and he rubbed his chin in his best Obi-wan impersonation. "I think someone else might be better qualified to answer these questions."

Ahsoka frowned. "Who?"

…

"You want me to teach you about hair?" Padme looked from one to the other, skepticism etched between her brows. To her surprise, the earnestness in the two pairs of blue eyes didn't waver.

"Yes please." Ahsoka glanced eagerly at her master. "Anakin said you would be the best person to ask."

"Did he?" Mentally, she ran through her to-do list. Meet with Bail, prepare her speech for the Senate session tomorrow, go over the notes from the cabinet meeting… "I appreciate the compliment, I really do. It's just that…" Those blue eyes followed her face expectantly.

Oh well. The cabinet meeting could wait.

She motioned them to the couch, and seated herself beside Anakin. "What do you want to know?"

Ahsoka sat cross-legged, grasping her ankles and leaning forward. "I have a lot of questions." Anakin snorted, but she ignored him. "You have so much hair… what's it like? What do you enjoy doing with it?"

"Well, I can't say I've ever been without it." Padme chuckled. "At least not that I could remember. I suppose it gets a bit heavy sometimes, especially when I have ornaments in it, but I don't mind. Braiding it at the end of a long day is relaxing." Ahsoka's elbows rested on Anakin's knees now, and she was soaking up every word. "I can teach you to braid, if you like."

A surprised smile revealed a pair of sparkling fangs that disappeared just as quickly. "I appreciate the offer, Padme, but I don't think it's a skill I have any use for."

The senator put her hand on Anakin's shoulder, and pointed to the ground. "Braiding is for more than just hair. You never know when it might come in handy." Anakin slid to the floor, and Padme scooted closer to Ahsoka. "Watch closely."

…

Bail Organa rapped on the ornate door. After a moment, frowning, he knocked again. This time a gold-plated protocol droid answered his summons, and stammered his way through an lengthy greeting.

The senator tried not to let his weariness show. "Is Senator Amidala available? She was supposed to meet me half an hour ago."

"Mistress Padme is indeed here, but—"

"Is she in a meeting?"

"Well, no—"

"Then I won't be a minute." He sidestepped the droid, eyes flicking automatically over the familiar quarters. The chatter of voices caught his attention, and he stepped towards the sitting room. It took a moment for him to convince himself he wasn't hallucinating.

Padme Amidala sat on her sofa, a young Togruta girl next to her. Between the two of them, slouched on the floor, Anakin Skywalker had his hair in a dozen different braids. The number was increasing, the girls working busily over his head. The tip of the Togruta's tongue stuck out, as she tried to imitate Padme's movements.

The peal of baritone laughter startled them from their reverie. By the time Bail had wiped the tears from his eyes, Skywalker and Senator Amidala were on their feet, distress lines appearing around the woman's eyes. "Bail! I'm so sorry, I lost track of time."

He took a shaky breath, composing himself. "Don't apologize. I haven't had a good laugh in months." A mischievous glint came into his eyes. "Would you mind if I joined you?" The Togruta girl, who he now recognized as Skywalker's Padawan, stifled a snort. He smiled at Padme. "Or do you think my only talent is giving speeches?"

She managed to return his smile, still flustered. "You know I don't think that, Bail. But are you sure?"

"You've met Breha. I think you'll find I can braid with the best of them. Besides." He allowed his voice to take on the slightest note of recrimination. "Perhaps we can discuss the new trade embargoes while we work."

…

"I confess, Anakin, when Captain Rex told me you were in the Senatorial District, I had no idea this was what he meant."

Behind Obi-wan, Rex coughed. "To be fair, sir, neither did I."

Anakin and Padme had switched places by now, and the woman was leaning back against his knees while he tied her hair in laborious knots. Bail and Ahsoka perched on the opposite corner of the sofa, the senator deep in an explanation of tooka's cradle. Glancing up, Ahsoka's eyes lit on Rex's short-cropped head, and she waved him over.

Obi-wan stifled a rueful smile. "Anakin, the Council has been trying to reach you for the last hour. We have a new assignment."

The young man extracted himself from the sofa. "What is it?" Most of the braids had come out of his hair, leaving it in tight waves, but one still clung in the hair below his ear.

"It would seem that the Separatists have attacked an outpost near Mon Cala." Obi-wan's eyes caught the remaining braid, and a husky note jumped unbidden into his voice. "We're to leave immediately."

Anakin's fingers followed his friend's gaze, and connected with the braid. "Understood. I'll have Rex get the boys ready."

"I'll tell Cody to do the same." They shared a warmer look than the conversation merited, tinged with awkwardness.

"See you up there, Master."

…

Ahsoka had by this time persuaded Rex to sit at her feet, and was running her hands delightedly over his bristly fuzz, but she caught the conversation between the two Jedi, and the hand Obi-wan briefly rested on Anakin's shoulder. She smiled, enjoying the sandpapery feel under her fingers. Hair was an amazing thing.

…

Sheev Palpatine stared at his informant's report, face drawn in a perplexed scowl. Try as he might, there were things about the Jedi he would simply never understand.