A/N: This story will be two chapters. The first chapter will be set about a month before the events of Drifting Starlight, and the second will be set sometime after. If you haven't read Drifting Starlight, I highly recommend reading that before reading this story!

For those of you who did read Drifting Starlight, welcome back! :)

The apartment was empty. Ahsoka let out a slow breath of relief and slowly walked towards one of the nearby couches, legs trembling slightly. The door closed behind her, and she fell onto her knees next to one of the couches. Her breaths hitched, and cold tears streamed out of her eyes and ran down her cheeks.

Ahsoka gasped silently, not allowing herself to cry loud enough for anyone to hear her. It wasn't fair! She'd tried so hard to show Anakin, to show the Council that she could go back to the front now, but they deemed her not ready. It wasn't that she didn't like staying at the Temple anymore, but she would rather be with Anakin than not.

Anakin had a choice to stay at the Temple while Ahsoka caught up on her studies. And he chose to not stay. He chose to leave her behind.

Ahsoka's shoulders shook as she curled forward, letting her forehead touch her knees as she rocked back and forth next to the couch. She failed. Anakin didn't want her, she was sure of it. Yoda assigned them together, but she could see clearly that he didn't want her anymore. It wouldn't be long now before…

"Ahsoka?"

She looked up, breaths still hitching. Her vision was all blurry from the tears, but she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, heard a soothing voice just barely over the sound of her sobs.

"Ahsoka, take some deep breaths for me, okay?"

She did as she was instructed and reached tentatively into the Force to calm herself. She closed her eyes and breathed slowly.

"Breathe."

All the rushing emotions swirling within her slowed down and everything seemed clearer now. She still felt a sense of unsteadiness with her emotions, but she felt as though she could control them, and that would be enough for now.

She opened her eyes.

"Better?"

She looked up to see Master Kenobi kneeling next to her, his hand resting on her shoulder.

Ahsoka nodded and rubbed furiously at her eyes. She made a complete fool of herself in front of him, and he'd tell Anakin, and then…

"Relax, Ahsoka," Master Kenobi said, probably sensing her anxiety. "You've been through a lot over the past few weeks. It's alright to have emotion, you know that."

She nodded again and exhaled slowly. The Force was calm. She was a Jedi, regardless of what would happen.

"I'm sorry, Master, I didn't know you were here," she rasped, cringing at how hoarse her voice sounded.

Obi-Wan shook his head. He wasn't at the Council meeting today for some reason. He didn't know.

"Don't worry about that, Padawan," Master Kenobi said. "Now, I was about to make some tea. Do you want some? It should help soothe your throat."

Tea? She wasn't really much of a tea drinker, but the thought of saying no was…wrong. She'd already messed up so much. "Okay," she said finally.

Obi-Wan smiled gently at her. "Good," he said before pulling himself to his feet and padding into the kitchen. She followed.

He spent a few minutes showing her the different types of tea that he had and explaining how it should be prepared before asking her which one she wanted. At random, she selected one of the tins sitting towards the back of the cupboard.

Obi-Wan paused for a moment, but before she could say anything, he reached for the tin she pointed to and opened it. There weren't many tea leaves left, probably enough for one pot.

"Oh, I didn't know it was…" Ahsoka stuttered, feeling knots form in her stomach now. "We can drink a different one, Master, we don't—"

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "No attachments," he murmured before pouring the last of the tin's contents into the boiling pot and reducing the heat to almost nothingness. He covered the pot with its lid and stepped away from the stove to allow the tea to heat from the steam trapped inside the pot.

Ahsoka watched as he picked up the now-empty tin. "I'll have to get more," he said finally. Ahsoka suddenly felt like she was intruding on something important. She wished Anakin was there to diffuse this.

"What is it?" she asked finally.

"It's a rare blend," he answered after a moment, and placed the tin on the counter next to him. "Sapir." There was now a strange look on his face, and Ahsoka was itching for her comm. But Anakin had already left Coruscant; there wasn't much he could do to help her now. She was on her own.

"It was Qui-Gon's favorite."

Oh.

Oh no.

She looked at the chrono on the wall next to her and stared at the date. Today was…It all came together now. The reason why Anakin told her not to bother Obi-Wan today. The reason why he wasn't at the Council meeting earlier. The reason he was acting so strangely now.

Today was the anniversary of the Battle of Naboo. She remembered hearing that on a broadcast this morning, but she wasn't really paying much attention to it. But that had to mean that it was Master Qui-Gon's death anniversary. Which meant that…

"Master, I…"

He shook his head. "None of that, Ahsoka," he said. "If I held onto that sapir for any longer, it would probably get spoiled. Better we drink it."

She wanted to protest, but the tea was already heating in the pot. There wasn't much she could do now.

It wasn't right for her to be here instead of Anakin. Anakin knew Master Qui-Gon. He always said that it wasn't for a very long time, but still…what was she supposed to do right now? She was pretty sure she never met Master Qui-Gon, and even if she did, she would have been too young to properly remember what he was like.

"Master, I'm sorry," she said finally. Was that right? Was that what she was supposed to say?

"I've had enough people saying that to me, Ahsoka," Master Kenobi answered. His voice was bland enough, but she could feel flickers of grief slipping through his shields.

"What should I say?" she pressed.

He didn't reply. Instead, Obi-Wan moved forward to take the tea off the stove. "Tell me this," he said instead, changing the topic deftly. "Why were you so upset earlier? Did something happen?"

"Anakin left," she answered after a moment.

"And you think he won't return?" he asked. Obi-Wan finished pouring the tea into both mugs. She took one of them and took a tentative sip. The tea had a strong, overwhelming flavor and it burned her tongue and mouth instantly. She winced. "Take slow sips," Obi-Wan suggested.

Ahsoka did just that. The flavor remained, but now that she was drinking it more slowly, she found herself appreciating it. Her throat was not that raw anymore, and she felt calm and sure.

"Anakin has very high expectations for me, and I'm just worried he'll think I'm too slow and…"

"You worry that he'll repudiate you."

Ahsoka nodded. "That day on Christophsis, he was already set on sending me back, but for some reason he kept me. But I'm just so worried that he'll realize that I'm…not good enough," she murmured.

"Why do you think you're not good enough?" Master Kenobi asked after taking a long sip of his tea.

"I'm different from the other padawans, Master. You know that," she answered. She took another sip, then another. Force, this tea was good.

Obi-Wan hummed. "Anakin was different, too. You know that, Ahsoka. I'm sure the rumor mill hasn't disappeared over the years. You know what they say about him."

"Is it true?" she asked.

For a brief moment, a strange emotion flickered across his features. "My thoughts on whether or not it's true will not change the truth of the matter," he answered. Obi-Wan walked to the kitchen table and sat down.

"What matters is this: you are his Padawan. You now have an important bond with him because of it. Anakin feels things more deeply than any other Jedi, but he cares about you, Ahsoka. He will not leave you behind, trust me," he continued.

Ahsoka sat down too. "But…"

"You need not worry about these things, Ahsoka."

"I can't help it," she admitted. There were deep knots of anxiety within her, almost overwhelming her senses at times.

"I know," he answered.

She slowly finished drinking her tea and put the mug on the table. She felt warm and confident, and the Force felt simply right.

"I think you've convinced me to drink tea more often," she commented, secretly wishing there was more of the sapir to drink.

Obi-Wan grinned and finished the last of his tea before putting his mug on the table as well. "That's a relief," he responded. "Anakin absolutely detests the taste of it, no matter how much tea I've poured down his throat."

Ahsoka laughed. Force, it's been too long since she's laughed like that. It felt good to laugh, after so many weeks of being at the front and dealing with war and death and destruction. Maybe spending some time off in the Temple would be good for her. Maybe this was what she needed.

"Thank you, Master," she said finally.

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, Ahsoka," he responded, eyes shining, "thank you."