POV: Ahsoka Tano
Anakin and I found a small apartment that he paid for. I had offered to pay, but he just wouldn't let me. He told me that he would take care of me, that he would love me the way I deserved to be loved, and I believed him. My Master had always been a sweetheart. His aggressive and protective side got the better of him at times, but he would always be a sweetheart.
We had no possessions whatsoever. I had lost my lightsabers as a result of the chase from the Clones and my duel with Ventress, who actually turned out to be Barriss. He still had his lightsaber, however, and I knew he wouldn't return it even if the Jedi ordered him to. He was moving furniture around in the apartment. Lucky for us, we were given an apartment that people had recently moved out of and they hadn't taken any of the furniture with them. He shifted the couch and the bed and I just watched him. He asked me where I'd like everything to be and he immediately started fixing the room to be exactly what I wanted it to be. "Anakin," I whispered, resting my hand on his back after he stood straighter and examined his work. He smiled down at me and I continued. "I love you. Thank you for coming with me."
"You're welcome, Ahsoka." He leaned towards me and kissed me delicately. His strong hands held the sides of my face and, as he pulled back, I stared into his beautiful, cobalt eyes. "I love you," he said very quietly. His thumbs, both flesh and artificial, rubbed my cheeks and he smiled beautifully.
I took him towards the bed and we curled up against one another. This was the first time we'd been so close. We had hugged very few times as Jedi, but this was the closest our relationship has ever been. I felt a renewal in our bond. It had collapsed while I was on the run, but we had to rebuild it. I knew he trusted me and he knew I trusted him. He knew I was so grateful to him for all that he'd done. He had risked so much to prove my innocence and I had turned my back on him. I felt like a fool for leaving the Order, but that was because I was leaving the one man who never lost faith in me. "Thank you," I whispered into his tunic. I rubbed along his left side and held his hip.
His silence was enough for me. I could feel the happiness emanating from his warm body. He was happy to be away from the Order and happy to be with me. I kept seeing his betrayed and hurt expression when I told him I wouldn't go back to the Order. It replayed over and over, his heart breaking on his face. Right there, I had wanted to stroke his cheek, his jaw, his hair…something. I wanted him to know that he wasn't at fault for any of what happened, but that he was the one who had saved me.
When I had run from him, when I leapt from that sewer tunnel and onto the transport down into the depths of Coruscant, I felt like I had betrayed him. He was my only hope then, and he still is. Anakin Skywalker, the Hero with No Fear, the Chosen One, my Master, had given up so much to find me and prove me innocent before my life was taken from me. He looked so happy once he proved Barriss to be the true mastermind. I will admit, I was happy as well, but I knew then that I couldn't go back to the Jedi. The Jedi had turned their backs on me. Even Master Plo. I wasn't sure how much he believed me, but he hadn't shown nearly an ounce of determination as Anakin had throughout the entire ordeal.
Anakin went to great lengths, even seeking out Ventress, to get answers. I would never be able to thank him enough. Tarkin decided that, should I be found guilty, my punishment would be death. I wasn't sure if Anakin knew that, but he'd gone out of his way to save me from it. For as much as I resented Barriss now, I would never wish that upon her. If I were to have died, I would have done so valiantly. I knew, and Anakin knew, that I wasn't guilty, but there was the possibility that he wouldn't have been able to find evidence, that I would have been executed. Barriss deserves to live out her days in a cell. I don't want the Coruscant guard to torture her, or even execute her. That would be inhumane. Even though she betrayed me, I didn't want her to suffer as I would have for her actions.
Anakin's chin nudged against my cheek gently. I lifted my eyes to look up at him and his smile faltered. "What are you thinking about?" he asked, his voice concerned. His arms were around me and he held me to his chest. I didn't realize how lost I'd been in my own train of thought.
"I was just thinking about how much I owe you," I whispered. I owed him everything. If he asked anything of me, I would give it to him without question. This man, this sweetheart, put me above all else, and saved me. I would give anything to show him how thankful I was. He laughed quietly and kissed one of the diamonds on my forehead, stroking my arm gently.
I closed my eyes, enjoying the warmth of his lips. I found it funny how nearly every bit of him was warm. His heart, his body, his hand, his lips… He was just a natural heat source. "You don't owe me anything, Ahsoka Tano." He kissed my eye markings and smiled again. "The only thing I can ask of you is for you to be happy."
I stroked his cheek and nodded. "I am happy. I'm happy with you, Anakin." It was odd every time I called him by his name. I'd done it a few times during my fugitive period and he always seemed to swell with pride as I said it. Even as I ran from him, he liked hearing his name from my lips.
He rolled over onto his back, pulling me on his chest. I giggled as he held onto me. I shifted my legs to straddle his waist and I smiled down at him. He stroked my cheeks. "That's all I want for you. If you're happy, so am I." It was…odd how fast our relationship changed. Just earlier, we were Master and Padawan, but I was the wayward Padawan leaving her Master… Now, now Anakin was my lover.
"I love you, Master," I said, teasing him with the title. He rolled his eyes, but his smile didn't fade. He leaned up slightly and touched our lips together. I brushed his hair out of his face and held both sides firmly as we kissed. He whispered those three words around my lips and I couldn't help but laugh.
Eventually, we just chose to relax beside one another. I laid next to him, my hand on his chest, head on his arm, legs bent and against his thigh. His eyes were closed and he breathed slowly, smiling beautifully. "I never knew how easy it would be to walk away," he whispered after some time. His eyes slowly opened and he stared up at the ceiling. "I believed leaving was impossible, that starting over was impossible." His mechanical fingers rubbed my shoulder gently. "It's so simple and I feel as though I'm free, Ahsoka."
"You are free," I whispered, kissing his jaw. "You aren't bound by the Jedi Order or by anything else. You are free to be yourself with me. We're free to be together." I felt his heart pounding in his chest and it made me very happy. After everything that had happened recently, this was just a happy ending. I was betrayed by someone I claimed to be my best friend, and now I was in love and running away with my Master.
His real hand rested on the one I'd placed on his chest and he gripped my fingers gently. "We're both free. No one can stop us now, Snips." No one would ever stop us. Everyone knew I would never come back. I wondered how they would handle their Chosen One drifting off of the face of the galaxy for a little while since we planned to lay low for as long as we could. There was no reason for us to be involved in any Republic or Jedi ordeals anymore. I know it bothered Anakin to be out of the war effort. He loved saving lives whenever he could. He liked feeling that he could make something better.
It was one of the many reasons I'd taken on more feelings for my Master. He was very protective of me. He would be extremely defensive when I was threatened or in danger. I was always at the front of his concerns, even though I blamed myself for a lot of our failed missions because he'd been too busy trying to save or protect me. Anakin was compassionate, caring, bold, daring. He was a lot of things that a lot of people only dreamed of being. Anakin is a dream. "I feel like I'm going to wake up any minute now and be alone," I whispered sadly.
He tensed beneath me and sat up a little to look down at me. "This isn't a dream, Ahsoka. This is very real." Just to prove it, he rubbed along my montral tips, tracing the stripes all the way down to the lek tip, and then he traced my facial markings and lips gingerly. "See? This is real."
The sensations that shot through me were definitely real. There was still that shadow of a doubt that I was only imagining that Anakin loved me. I knew I loved him. I have since I met him. I just…doubted he could ever love me. He was so powerful and had a reputation. I wasn't anything special. I was just…his Padawan. That's all I had been during the war. No one saw me any differently. Padawan Tano.
No. That wasn't true. I wasn't just his Padawan. Anakin made sure I knew he didn't see me as just his apprentice. Anakin gave me a nickname, albeit because of my attitude, but it was a sign of adoration over time. At first, my attitude was pretty…bad. He had quite the attitude as well, but it was something we would both become accustomed to over time. We learned each other's personalities and we knew each other much better. He knew he was willing to throw his life, his mission, his duties away just to keep me safe and that made me feel special.
He put me in charge of a mission that was devastatingly risky in regards to his own life. He had given up our mission to retrieve a holocron in order to save me from being sucked out into space. He'd spent days searching for me after I was taken from him on Felucia. Anakin stood by me through every harsh moment I'd gone through while I was his apprentice. He saved me, protected me, stood up for me, and above all else, loved me.
If I ever doubted that this man cared about me, I would be a fool. No one would give up so much for you if they didn't care, if they didn't love you. Anakin did love me. Anakin and I were in love. It was real. I smiled and nuzzled my face into his chest. "We are real," I said happily. My life over the last three years has seemed surreal, but Anakin had to be the only thing I could ever see and understand clearly.
