Author's Note:

I've been in a rather creative mood lately, so expect several rewritten chapters from now until New Years.

In Love With A Master

Co-Author: Brandon66

Chapter Two

Ahsoka was practicing her lightsaber skills in the Temple training room. She used her Jedi reflexes to anticipate her opponent's every move, and counter it with a flurry of quick strikes from her two lightsabers. She had frequently seen her master use rather elaborate moves when facing off in one-on-one combat, and she was trying to imitate him. She eventually bested her attacker by force-leaping over him, landing behind him and delivering the final blow. She deactivated her lightsabers, and shook his hand. She had to admit, despite the looks she was getting from some of the other Jedi in the room, she liked all the attention her flashy moves got her.

She was about to head to the cafeteria, when her communicator started beeping from her waist. Instinctively, she pulled it from its holster, and saw that her Master was calling.

"Yes, Master?"

"Hey Snips! Is this a bad time? I wanted to ask you something."

"What's up, Skyguy?"

He paused for a moment before speaking. Ahsoka waited patiently for her Master's response.

"Sorry, just had to check something. Master Ti has invited me to help her oversee training of new clones on Kamino. Would you be interested in joining us?"

"Absolutely Master! I know that we just got back from deployment, but I'm getting kinda bored here without somebody trying to kill me every day."

"Great! We'll meet you on the Resolute tomorrow, bright and early."

"Ok Master, I'll see you then!"

With that, she ended the call, and continued towards her original destination.

After she had finished lunch with Barriss and some of the other padawans, she decided to go see if she and her Master could go spend some time together.

As she approached the door to his quarters, she could hear something from behind the door. She knew he wouldn't mind her entering, so she opened the door.

She found him sitting on the couch with his head resting in his hands.

"Master?" she said, the concern apparent in her voice, "what's wrong?"

He removed his hands from his face, and she could see that he had been crying recently.

"Master?"

She had never seen her master cry before. Come to think of it, she had never seen any Jedi cry. This must be serious.

She sat down next to him, and rubbed her hand on his back in small, reassuring circles.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, I'm fine. It's just the remnants of that cold I got on our last mission before leave."

Ahsoka didn't buy it, but she also didn't want to push her master for answers when he clearly didn't want to share. So, she just stayed with him, rubbing his back, until he got up.

"Snips, why don't we go and grab some dinner at Dexter's with Obi Wan? I think he had a few stories he wanted to tell you that he's been saving for when we're on leave," he said with a grin.

Ahsoka didn't know what he meant by that, but thought that getting out and spending time with the closest thing he had to a brother might do him some good. She agreed, and Anakin asked Obi Wan if he was free.

"Master Yoda wants to talk with me, but once I'm done I'll meet you there. Plus, I don't trust you behind the wheel."

"Master, when have my piloting skills ever steered us wrong?"

"Well, there was the time we crash landed a Separatist flagship near the spaceport not far from here, the time you crashed us on Felucia, the crash on Maridun… Should I continue?"

"No, Master, that's fine. Just for the record, I think that landing in Grievous' ship went rather well."

"Oh Anakin, always the optimist."

"I think you're just jealous of my piloting skills."

"You mean your acute ability to destroy our ships? Yes Anakin, I am so jealous of that."

"Obi Wan-"

"Anakin, we can go on for days like this, so we'll agree to disagree and end this call, ok?"

"If you say so."

"I do say so. I'll see you soon."

Obi Wan ended the call, and Anakin went to grab his things. He told Ahsoka to do the same, and meet him at his speeder in the hangar. She watched him for a few moments, making sure that he was ok. Once she was satisfied, she quietly exited the room.

# # #

Ahsoka still wasn't sure what had made her Master so upset and caused him to cry, but she decided that he would talk to her if and when he was ready. She took a quick glance at her Jedi robes.

Why do I even have these, if I never wear them?

She grabbed some credits (just in case), and made her way to the hangar.

When she arrived, she saw Anakin intently working on his speeder. He was lying on his back on a cart underneath, doing Force knows what.

He must have sensed my arrival, because before I had said anything to him, he was talking to me.

"Hey Snips, can you hand me the hydrospanner?"

I found the one he was looking for, and used the force to deliver it directly to his hand. He didn't ask for anything else, so I assumed that he was satisfied.

When he emerged, he was miraculously clean - normally he was covered in grease and grime.

"Ready to go, Skyguy?"

He nodded and hopped in the speeder, patting his hand on the seat next to him and waiting for me to do the same.

# # #

Once we were seated at Dexter's with Obi Wan, he began making some small talk.

"So Ahsoka, how was the ride here?"

"Surprisingly Master Obi Wan, Skyguy didn't have his normal air of recklessness when he was driving. I think this leave has calmed him down."

Obi Wan looked slightly taken aback.

"Anakin, is this true? Does leave after six months of fighting really improve your piloting skills?"

"Very funny," Anakin quipped, "but to be honest, I'm still kinda exhausted from the campaign."

Obi Wan and Ahsoka nodded in agreement.

Now it was Anakin's turn to ask a question.

"So Obi Wan, what are you doing to occupy your time while we're on leave?"

"To be honest, I've been filling my time meditating and Cody even convinced me to come watch a bolo game with him in a couple days."

"You, Bolo? I never would've guessed."

"Oh yes, it's quite an interesting sport once you learn the rules."

"Huh," Anakin replied, unsure of how to respond.

"What about you, Anakin?"

"Shaak Ti asked me to join her tomorrow while she oversees the training of new clones on Kamino. I asked if Ahsoka could come, and she seemed pretty excited by the idea. So, I guess that fills up my schedule for about the next week or so."

"Well congratulations, Anakin. What sparked Master Ti's sudden interest in you? I don't think I've seen you two work together very often."

"Well if you must know, she saved my life," Anakin said, switching to a more hushed tone, "while we were confronting Darth Sidious. If she hadn't stabbed him through the back, I'm sure that his Sith lightning would have killed me."

Obi Wan looked deeply concerned.

"Anakin, why didn't you tell me sooner that Shaak Ti saved your life? I think you left that part out when you told me about the incident."

"Master, I just didn't feel comfortable telling anyone, to be honest. Ahsoka was the first person I told, and that was only earlier today."

"I see. Knowing you, you probably offered to assist her in some way to repay her. She said she didn't need anything, but you insisted, so she decided to take you with her to Kamino. Correct?"

"Well I didn't insist… but otherwise, yeah. You know me too well, Obi Wan."

Obi Wan and Ahsoka started laughing, much to the confusion of Anakin.

"What's so funny?" Anakin asked them.

"I didn't think you'd admit that I was right so easily, that's all," he said, "You have really matured, Anakin."

Anakin accepted the comment politely, and looked around for their waiter. He was about to say something when the droid came over with their food.

"Here you go, sweethearts," it said with its metallic voice.

They were all so hungry that they didn't speak for most of the meal, each one devouring their food like it was their last meal.

At some point while they were eating, Obi Wan looked at Anakin as if he wanted to ask him something. Noticing the sudden eye contact, Anakin stopped eating as well and waited patiently for his former master to speak.

"Anakin, did you refer to Master Ti by her first name?"

"Why yes, Master. She asked me to address her that way. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. Just interesting."

"I see."

With that, they continued eating.

After they were finished, they bid each other farewell, and returned to the Temple.

Ahsoka turned to her Master as they were heading back.

"Master, do you consider the Jedi to be your family?"

"Why of course, Ahsoka. Why do you ask?"

"Just because you and Master Obi Wan seem to get along like brothers."

"Well, I've always considered him my brother. Even if we aren't related, he's the closest thing to family I have left."

They spent the rest of the ride in silence, each one surrounded by their own thoughts.

# # #

The next morning, Anakin woke up bright and early to get ready for his trip to Kamino. He made sure to bring his full robes, remembering something Obi Wan had once told him about the incessant rain on the planet.

He decided that he didn't want to appear overly eager in front of Master Ti, so he went to the cafeteria to get something to eat before he would meet her in the hangar.

As he was walking to get breakfast, his wrist-comm started beeping. It was Master Ti.

"Yes Mas- Shaak Ti?"

"Anakin, can I meet you in the hangar at 0900? I almost forgot that I have to discuss something with Master Yoda, and knowing him, it will not be quick."

"Absolutely Shaak Ti. I'll see you then."

"Great!" she said before ending the call.

That sounded rather enthusiastic.

Anakin finished his food, and went to the hangar to do some work on his starfighter. He had just received some new, advanced sensors from the Outer Rim, and he was eager to install them. He found them in a small box simply marked "SKYWALKER." He looked at his Chrono, and realized that he still had almost an hour before he was expected to meet Shaak Ti.

Well, this shouldn't be too difficult. At least I won't get dirty.

Anakin was lying on his back on a cart beneath his starfighter, intently focused on his work. He didn't hear Shaak Ti arrive, so he was a bit startled when he heard a woman's voice giggling. He decided to investigate, and as he was pushing himself out from under the ship, caught sight of red skin. It could only be one person.

He tried to quickly get up from under the ship, but in his haste instead banged his head on the underside of the starfighter with a loud bang. He didn't want to show any weakness, so he played it off and stood up to greet her.

"Shaak Ti! I didn't hear you come over."

"You looked so focused on your starfighter, that I didn't want to disturb you," she said, trying to hold back her laughter. She saw that the contact with the ship had left a small bump on his forehead, causing her to let out her laughter.

"Anakin, are you alright?" she said, still laughing.

Anakin was turning bright red.

"I'm ok. How are you?"

"Well I was great until you hit your head. Now, I'm even better because I can't stop laughing!"

"What's so funny?" Anakin asked, looking a bit hurt.

Shaak Ti, seeing that she had hurt his feelings, put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"Anakin, I'm not laughing because you hit your head - although I am very flattered that I have that effect on you," she said, "I'm laughing because I always thought Obi Wan was exaggerating about how much you enjoyed working on your ship."

The look of hurt washed away from Anakin's face, and he joined in her infectious laughter.

"I've loved working on ships since I was little."

"Well, you must tell me more on the way," she said, "Ahsoka's already waiting in the ship. Would you care to walk with me?"

Anakin nodded. He probably showed too much excitement, he thought to himself.

Oh well.

Anakin turned to R2D2 as the droid was carrying over a box of assorted tools.

"R2, can you finish up for me? I'll be back soon, I promise."

The droid let out a furious series of beeps and whistles.

"I am not just giving you my dirty work, R2! I have an important mission to go on, and I need these upgrades."

The droid didn't seem very happy with this answer.

"I know you think I'm taking you for granted, but I promise that I am not. Look, I'll make it up to you when I get back. How about I give you a nice, thorough cleaning, hmm? I know you haven't had one of those in a while."

R2 let out a series of high-pitched beeps.

"Alright, I promise. I'll see you when I get back."

The droid extended one of its arms to "wave" goodbye to its master. Anakin did the same, and walked with Shaak Ti.

"You can communicate with it, Anakin?"

"Yep. If you grew up around droids, it's not too hard to understand them."

"Well, you might have to teach me at some point," she said with a grin, "to repay me for saving your life and all."

He smiled.

"I'd be happy to, Shaak Ti."

# # #

They were aboard the Twilight, and Ahsoka had decided to try and sleep on their way to Kamino. Shaak Ti and Anakin were sitting up front, engaged in a lively conversation about what they'd like to after the war.

"I have always wanted to go to the beach, but so far all the planets I've been deployed to have been seriously lacking in that department," she said to Anakin.

"I'd like that too. I know that the Council keeps saying that we are getting close to defeating the Separatists, but it doesn't feel that way. I know it's true, but sometimes I think this war will go on forever."

She nodded her head in agreement.

They were silent for a while, so Anakin decided to change the subject.

"How about I get us something to eat? I bet you're hungry."

"Yes please. I didn't even get a chance to eat breakfast this morning."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would've offered sooner if I had known!"

"Anakin, it's quite alright."

"Hold on, I'll be right back with something good to eat."

She saw him go into the back, and waited patiently until she heard a commotion. She placed her hand nervously on her lightsaber, expecting the worst. Instead, what she heard almost made her fall out of her chair laughing.

"R2! What are you doing here? I thought you were going to finish working on the ship?"

She couldn't hear the droid, but she could guess what it was saying.

"Now, I'm going to make something to eat for Shaak Ti and I, so why don't you go talk to Ahsoka or something?"

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T TRUST ME IN THE KITCHEN? I know what happened last time, but I know not to make that mistake again.

"I DON'T NEED YOUR SUPERVISION WHILE I COOK, R2!"

Shaak Ti was dying of laughter.

"FINE, IF I'M SUCH A BAD COOK, WHY DON'T YOU MAKE A 5 STAR MEAL?"

He came back to the cabin to the sight of Shaak Ti still laughing on the floor.

"What's so funny?"

"You and your droid argue like an old married couple," she said between laughs, "and I love how it talks back to you!"

Anakin started laughing too.

"I've never thought of it like that before, but I guess you're right."

"So, what's the story behind your droid's lack of trust in your cooking abilities?"

"Well, that's an interesting story…"

She pulled herself closer, placing her elbows on her knees and resting her head in her hands.

"Do tell!"

"Alright then. Last time I tried cooking, Ashoka and I were on a long journey back from the outer rim, and we had managed to snag some prime beef on a refueling stop. I offered to cook, since this was before the Council created cooking classes for Jedi. So, Ahsoka has no idea how to cook, but I had learned (somewhat) when I was much younger. So, I tried making steak. I left it unattended too long, and by the time I smelled smoke and rushed back to the kitchen R2 was already using the fire extinguisher on the charred remains of the meat. R2 told me it was quite a fire. Since then, he doesn't' trust me within 10 parsecs of a kitchen."

She was doubling over laughing, and Anakin pulled himself closer to catch her before she face planted onto the floor. She ended up resting her head on his shoulder until she stopped laughing, finally pulling away when she had composed herself. Their eyes locked, and he saw a spark in her eye that he couldn't quite identify. They kept their gaze fixed, until she finally broke the connection.

"I think we'll be on Kamino in a matter of minutes. Should I get Ahsoka?" Anakin said.

"Probably. I wouldn't want her to miss anything."

# # #

I hope everyone enjoyed this!

P.S. I'm still finding my footing in this new writing style, so bear with me people.