The last time Riyo was in a hospital voluntarily, her mother was alive. She hasn't thought of hospitals the same since, and avoids them so much that Magnus must drag her into one when something is wrong with her health. So when she steps through the front doors of the First Republic Hospital, it's with sinking trepidation. The hospital smells like stale Bacta and anesthetic, and it's incredibly busy. Medical personnel and droids help transfer patients between floors and rooms. Others distribute medicine. Because the hospital is so packed, the patients recovering from the Blue Shadow Virus are split up between rooms. Half of Ahsoka's room is curtained off, obscuring her roommate, but every now and then, an electronic sentence plays from behind it: "I am in pain."

Whenever that happens, a medical droid comes into the room carrying a syringe of morphine and an IV bag of Bacta. It disappears behind the curtain, and comes out a couple minutes later with an empty syringe and an empty Bacta pouch. Titon, who keeps watch from just inside the doorway, can't stop staring at the curtain. Riyo drops her bag on the floor and sinks into the visitor's chair beside Ahsoka's bed.

Ahsoka's still asleep. Her usual orange skin is streaked with sickly, bluish-black veins and there's an IV needle stuck in her arm. The IV line leads up to a Bacta bag that hangs from a rack off to the side.

Riyo's heart drops into her stomach at the sight. Ahsoka's hand is feverishly warm, and Riyo traces the thin bones in her fingers with her thumb and finds that her palm is roughened with calluses. Riyo leans back in her chair and closes her eyes. She concentrates on the steady beeps of the vitals sensor and tries not to think about worst case scenarios.

Ahsoka squeezes back. It's a weak squeeze, but it's there. Riyo opens her eyes and sees that Ahsoka's awake.

"Riyo," Ahsoka whispers. She gives her a small smile and Riyo can't help but smile back.

"They said you were well enough to get visitors," Riyo says. "So I got you something."

Riyo pulls a tupperware out from her bag while Ahsoka clumsily fiddles with the controls of the bed so that she can sit up. Riyo pauses.

"Can you eat solid food?" she asks. Ahsoka shrugs. She still looks exhausted.

"They've been feeding me some kind of protein mush in a tube. That's kind of solid, right?"

"Good enough. I cooked you some Bantha and gravy."

"Oh Force! Thank you." Ahsoka reaches out and takes a fork that Riyo holds out for her, only to fumble and drop it onto the bed. She tries to pick it up again, but drops it into her lap. The two girls stare at it.

"Protein mush from a tube," Riyo repeats.

"Yeah."

"A tube that doesn't require much grip strength."

"Yeah," Ahsoka says. "Or finger articulation. Or movement in general. I still can't lift my hands above my head."

Riyo gives Ahsoka an apologetic look, then takes up the fork. "Say 'ah.'"

"No way!" The stripes on Ahsoka's montrals and lekku darken into a deep blue and she covers her face in her hands. "Riyo, don't make me do that!"

Riyo giggles. "Do you want to eat real food or not?"

"I do! But…" Ahsoka peeks at Riyo through a gap in her fingers. Then she glances past Riyo at Titon.

"Oh," Riyo says. "Titon?"

"Huh?" Titon's transfixed by the curtain.

CLICK. "I am in pain," comes from behind the curtain again.

"Titon," Riyo says, more firmly this time.

"Oh! Yes, Senator?"

"Can you keep watch from out in the hallway?"

"Of course," Titon mutters. Just like that, he's gone, as if he can't leave the room fast enough.

Riyo turns back to Ahsoka. "Are you going to open up, or will I have to make speeder noises?"

Ahsoka groans.

"Ahsoka! I'm only teasing." Riyo's voice softens. "Let me take care of you."

"…Okay." Ahsoka lowers her hands. "But only because I don't want the food to get cold."

"Ah." Riyo stabs a piece of meat and holds it out for Ahsoka.

"Ah," Ahsoka says. The meat is gone with a flash of pointy teeth. Riyo slowly lowers the fork.

"May I ask you something? At the risk of sounding incredibly ignorant?"

"Mm-hmm?"

"Are Togruta teeth really venomous?"

Ahsoka quirks an eyebrow marking up and stares. To her credit, however, Riyo powers through her discomfort to stare back.

"You don't have to answer that," Riyo finally says, but Ahsoka shakes her head.

"I just didn't expect it, that's all." Ahsoka wipes her mouth on a napkin. "No, we're not venomous. Don't tell anyone though. It comes in handy when people think that we are. My turn. Ah."

"Your turn?" Riyo gives Ahsoka another piece of meat. "What do you mean?"

"Hmm. You asked me something, now I get to ask you something."

"That's fair."

"What do your tattoos mean? The ones on your arm and hands?"

Riyo's mouth drops in surprise. "That is a good question."

"I saw them a couple months ago, but I never asked about them. Ah."

"It's a full sleeve. A lot of Pantorans have tattoos, but we cover them up when we want to appear professional. Facial tattoos are like clan markers, but the ones on our arms, they're family history." Riyo sets the tupperware aside, then unclasps the sleeves of her jacket. She shrugs it off.

Ahsoka realizes that she's staring, and turns away for a moment. When she looks back, Riyo's undoing her shirt sleeves, and for a thrilling moment, Ahsoka thinks that she's going to take off her shirt too and wonders what the hell is wrong with herself. But Riyo, unaware of Ahsoka's predicament, doesn't take off her shirt; she only rolls her sleeves up and points to a design on the outside of her left forearm.

"These two, for example, represent mountains and grain. My ancestors on my mother's side were farmers, they helped create the ancient steppe farms in the mountains. It goes all the way up," here Riyo traces the design up over her sleeve to her shoulder, "to the moon, because the Moon Goddess created everything."

"What about your father?" Ahsoka asks. "Is he in there too?"

Riyo brings her forearms together. Compared to her left arm, the right is a smooth, even blue. "Pantorans usually have two sleeves: left for their mother, right for their father. But there's no way I'm putting any mark from that man on my body."

"What about the ones on your hands?" Ahsoka asks. Riyo places her hands on the bed between them so that they can both see. Both hands have the same design.

"These are personalized. They represent my career, who I am as a person. A Pantoran tattooist can tell you exactly who that person is from one glance of their tattoos, because they tell their story."

"Ah." Ahsoka imagines what the rest of Riyo's tattoos look like and wonders where they could be on her body. Just as quickly as the images pop into her mind, Ahsoka banishes them.

CLICK. "I am in pain," comes from behind the curtain.

There is a wide courtyard on the roof of the Jedi Temple and in the courtyard is an ancient tree planted in one end, which seems to preside over the entire space as if a benevolent god. The majority of the courtyard is divided up into smaller areas by long planters and benches, making it a perfect place for Jedi of all ages to spar with each other. Ahsoka and Plo Koon bring up two cushions and a Holochess board and play a couple games in the fading sunlight. A few younglings gather around.

"There, Padawan Tano." A six year-old wriggles her way onto Ahsoka's lap and points at a particular space. "Move there."

"I like your mask, Master Koon."

"Is your headband made of teeth?"

They're cute. Honest. But Plo gives Ahsoka a helpless look that makes her giggle. Give Plo one afternoon with one youngling, and he'll be fine, but it's been years since he's taken charge of a creche, or even taught a youngling class.

"Younglings," Ahsoka says once she's gotten herself under control, "have you heard the story of the Ancient Tree?"

"The Tree?" The younglings grow still to listen to her talk.

"It's a wise thing that has seen many things across the eons: the creation of systems, ancient battles between Jedi and Sith, and more. They say that if you meditate under it, it will tell you what it's seen."

"What?"

"Cool!"

The younglings run off towards the other end of the courtyard. Ahsoka giggles again then turns back to Plo, who hums with appreciation.

"You're welcome, Master Koon."

The ground shakes under them, throwing them from their seats. The Holochess board tips over and crashes onto its side. Ahsoka and Plo share a look of concern.

"What was that?" Ahsoka picks herself off the ground and runs to the side of the courtyard, where other Jedi gather.

"It's coming from the Senate District!" an older youngling points to the horizon, where thick plumes of black smoke rise into the air.

"It must be that Zillo Beast they brought in today," a knight says. "Remember? It was all over HNN."

Ahsoka gasps. Anakin is in the Senate District, keeping Padmé company while she works late hours. Ahsoka tries calling his comlink, but doesn't get an answer. She tries again. Nothing.

Ahsoka huffs, but doesn't give up. She takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and drops into a kneeling position. In her mind, she grabs one end of the Force Bond she shares with Anakin and traces it across the city until she receives feelings that aren't hers. There are traces of stress, but also an overwhelming sense of calm. Amusement, strong and intentional, shoots back into her through the bond.

Don't worry Snips, Anakin seems to think at her. I got this.

He also flashes images of Padmé and the Chancellor, confirming their safety.

Ahsoka sighs and drops the bond, content. This peace lasts only for a moment before she's gripped with panic again.

"Riyo!" Ahsoka fumbles with her comlink again to call her. It doesn't even go through and she ends the call, disgusted. Everyone must be trying to com everyone else at the same time, jamming the comlink towers.

"'Soka?" Plo touches Ahsoka's shoulder. "We must have faith. Mace and Anakin will handle the situation."

"Of course, but it's not them that I'm worried about," Ahsoka says. Senators who are a part of the same camp tend to keep to the same schedule, so if Padmé is working late tonight, then so is Riyo. And yeah, Magnus and Titon are capable guards, but Ahsoka guesses that they probably didn't think that they'd have to protect Riyo from a Zillo Beast. Ahsoka sinks herself into meditation once again.

There are billions of people on Coruscant and billions of non-sentient creatures. All of them sing out through the Force. Ahsoka concentrates on the lilt of Riyo's voice, the way her eyebrows crinkle with complex thought, and rifles through the Force as quickly as she can, looking, looking, looking for Riyo.

Ahsoka finds her alive in one of the Senate bunkers. Before she can slump in relief, however, she brushes up against her, which—really—is something only an unpracticed youngling would do. Ahsoka's world explodes in phantom sensations.

The floor trembles underneath her with every step the Zillo Beast takes. Plaster dust rains down on her head from the ceiling. The Zillo Beast's roars vibrate right through her chest.

Ahsoka realizes that Riyo would like very much to be…not there, thank you very much. But then Ahsoka feels a warm, solid presence sitting beside her.

Captain Sterno, she realizes, and he's a bastion of calm compared to RIyo. If he's not worried about the Zillo Beast, then that's enough. Satisfied, Ahsoka pulls away. She doesn't ask herself why she found Riyo so quickly.

Riyo drags her hands down her face and takes a deep breath. Calm. Peace. Senators aren't supposed to lose their tempers. She's been trying to beef up her security, but the Pantoran Assembly won't increase the budget for another guard, so she must sign up for Senatorial guards. The problem is that because of the Zillo Beast, every other senator has also requested extra guards. Security has no more guards to assign, so they put her name down on a waiting list.

A waiting list is not going to keep her safe. She's messaged Security multiple times, but every reply has been the same: we're working on it. So while they work on that, Riyo's been working from her home office on Pantora, where it's safer. Even though she must bus her own coffee mugs, she considers it a good enough trade off, because whenever she needs to attend a hologram meeting, she puts on one of her suit jackets, and when the meeting is over, she gets to take it off and lounge in pajama bottoms and a tank top.

The hologram comlink on her desk chimes, and Riyo answers it. It's Magnus, in a frayed henley shirt. Traces of his full chest tattoo peek out over the collar of his shirt.

"Senator Chuchi," he says.

"Yes, Captain?"

"We'll just have to make do with what we have."

Riyo grimaces. Magnus's brows knit together.

"Your safety is my job, not yours. Please let me handle it."

"Captain…"

"No, Senator. You cannot continue to play hooky from the Senate. People depend on you. Trust me to keep you safe. I will be enough."

Riyo nods, and Magnus gives her something that might be called a smile before he ends the call. She wonders if she can request a Jedi detail like how Padmé has been doing lately. She always seems to get Anakin Skywalker as her assigned guard, and what are the odds of that? She chuckles.

BEEP BEEP. The hologram comlink chimes again and Riyo answers it. It's Ahsoka.

"Hey you," Ahsoka says.

"Hello yourself," Riyo says. "Congratulations on your victory in Geonosis."

"Hah! Yeah, that was actually kinda fun. Whoops!" Ahsoka's image wavers for a second. Someone else giggles offscreen.

"Ahsoka, get down from there, you'll hurt yourself!"

"Aww, come on! Jedi aren't clumsy."

"Sober Jedi aren't clumsy," Riyo says. "Go home, Ahsoka, you're drunk. Who's with you?"

"Come here. Come here!" Ahsoka beckons to the mystery girl, then reaches out and pulls her close so that the hologram comlink will pick them both up.

"This is Senator Riyo Chuchi. Introduce yourself" Ahsoka says. The mystery girl, a Mirialan around Riyo's age, giggles as she stumbles against Ahsoka and gives Riyo a shy curtsy.

"Hello, Senator," the girl says. "I'm…uhm…padawan learner Barriss Offee at your service."

"Force, you're too polite," Ahsoka says.

"Hello, Master Jedi." Riyo gives her a warm smile. "And please, call me Riyo. A friend of Ahsoka's is a friend of mine."

"Thank you, Riyo," Barriss says. "Please feel free to call me 'Barriss' as well."

"How many shots are you giving her, Ahsoka?"

"We just had a thank-Force-we're-alive drink," Ahsoka says. "Just one."

"Lies."

"Okay, fine uh…more than one." Ahsoka rolls her eyes, then her smirk softens into a bittersweet smile. "When are you coming back? I miss you."

Something jumps in Riyo's chest. Why did she leave Coruscant in the first place?

"Soon," she says. She wonders how quickly she can cross half the galaxy.

Ahsoka has her lightsaber at Sib Canay's throat when the corridor, already littered with dismembered droids, quickly fills up with Neimoidian guards who are ready to fight. There's too many of them, and the corridor is too contained for Ahsoka's fighting style. She deactivates her lightsaber with a disappointed click of her tongue.

Riyo comes out of the prison cell into the corridor behind her, followed by Chairman Papanoida's daughter, Chi Eekway. Another Trade Federation official sweeps into the corridor behind the guards.

"Thank you, Ahsoka," Riyo whispers as she pushes past her to meet the official head on. "Leave the rest to me."

She proceeds to give the official the most vicious dressing down that Ahsoka's ever heard.

Later, aboard the Jedi Shuttle, Chi Eekway excuses herself to comlink her father, leaving Ahsoka and Riyo to themselves in the cockpit.

"Can I see your shoe?" Ahsoka asks.

"What?" Riyo asks.

"Let me see your shoe."

"Why?"

"Because I've never seen anyone put their foot that far up a guy's butt."

"Ahsoka!" Riyo bursts into laughter and Ahsoka's heart does acrobatics in her chest. "I did, didn't I?"

"I didn't know you could do that!"

"Well, you were quite impressive yourself."

"Really?" Ahsoka grins. They're cut off when Chi Eekway emerges from the cockpit of the ship.

"My father wants to invite you both to dinner," she says.

Chairman Papanoida, before he was Chairman, was an entertainment baron, and he got his start writing several plays that were received with great praise and acclaim. His earliest works are easily adapted by smaller troupes, and thus are widely studied by Pantoran academies. When the Papanoida family, Riyo, and Ahsoka sit down for dinner that evening, the topic inevitably turns to these plays.

"Do they show them here on Coruscant too, Master Jedi?" Papanoida asks halfway into the meal.

"They do, Chairman," Ahsoka says, surprised at how much she's enjoying herself. She's eating some kind of sour reindeer soup and she gets to sit next to Riyo during a meal for once, instead of across from her.

"My favorite one—I forget the title—but it's about two pairs of twins who get mixed up with each other," Ahsoka says.

"I'm quite fond of that one," Papanoida says. "I rarely get time to finish anything these days; I'm in the market for a collaborator. What do you say, Senator? Are you open to trying your hand at fiction?"

Riyo's ears turn indigo. "Chairman, please. I'm more suited to treatises."

"You do yourself a great disservice! Your essays are full of passion."

Ion, Papanoida's son, nods in agreement. "How else could you move the people to action so often? And your letters to your cousin were exquisite."

Riyo gives a forced smile. "Thank you."

Ahsoka tries to distract them. "What's your favorite play, Chairman? Out of all the plays you've written? There must be one."

"That's a difficult question, Master Jedi!" Papanoida gives a gruff chuckle, but launches into a spiel about his work nonetheless. While he talks, Riyo gives Ahsoka a grateful smile.

One day, Riyo gets a message on her black data pad from Senator Bail Organa. It's about a meeting between all the opponents of the Enhanced Privacy Invasion Bill that's to take place in one of the atriums of the Senate Office Building late that morning. Riyo releases her aides and her guards for an early lunch before walking into the atrium, but then Cad Bane swaggers into the room and fires his blaster into the air, and his posse surrounds them. He shoots Senator Philo in the back and a pit of fear opens in Riyo's gut. After an emotional rollercoaster during which Anakin reveals his presence in the building, is captured, but then frees all the hostages by cutting the floor out from under them, Riyo dusts herself off and limps out of the atrium.

The entire building is still on lockdown, so no one else can come in, and Riyo doesn't meet anyone else on her way to her office. When she gets to her office, she sinks into her chair and rifles through her desk drawers for the back-up comlink that Magnus set up for her just in case.

It's full of missed calls and messages. Riyo calls Magnus, and he picks up right away.

"Senator Chuchi!" Magnus bellows. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Captain," Riyo says. She tells him about Anakin's daring rescue as she collects her belongings and leaves the office. There's no way she wants to stay here for the rest of the day.

"I should have been there."

"This was not your fault. Perhaps if I had a blaster, I might have been able to do something."

"I'll have the derringer ready for you tomorrow."

The call ends. Riyo slips the comlink into her pocket and opens a door. She almost runs into someone on the other side.

"Riyo!" Ahsoka gives her a hug. "You're okay!"

"Ahsoka!" Riyo drops her bag on the floor to hug her back. "How did you get in here?"

"The building's no longer on lock down," Ahsoka picks up Riyo's bag and hands it back to her. "So here I am! Where you off to now?"

"Honestly, I'm ready to get drunk," Riyo says. Ahsoka whoops and takes her arm. "Gods, Senator Philo is dead, and I just had lunch with him last week."

Ahsoka gives her an apologetic look. "We'll pour one out for him." She looks down. "You're limping."

"Yes, I landed funny when your master dropped us fifteen feet without warning." Riyo pauses, then says, "don't tell Magnus."

"Okay, but he's gonna notice anyway."

"Don't say that! Senator Amidala and your master are very close."

Ahsoka snorts at the clumsy change of subject. "They are."

Riyo hesitates, unsure of how to say the next bit. "I think I heard something that I wasn't supposed to hear."

"What?"

"Padmé had your master's lightsaber. She said afterwards that she found it, but no. I don't think that's what happened."

Ahsoka squints at her. "But a Jedi's lightsaber is their life! Why would Padmé have it? Why would Anakin give it to her?"

"Why indeed." Riyo and Ahsoka board a shuttle and hold onto the dangling handles as it takes off. "It's none of my business. Forget I said anything."

"Too late," Ahsoka murmurs, lost in thought. "It's not just you, I've noticed things about them too."

"Whatever you find out, you don't have to tell me," Riyo says. "That way I can have deniability."

Riyo gazes out of the shuttle window and loses herself in the vivid colors of the sky. Ten minutes ago, she had the business end of a blaster stuck in her face. Now, she watches sunlight glint off of the glass and metal of Coruscant's skyscrapers. The streams of speeders cross in an intricate net over the city. Even the steady throb of pain and blood in her sprained ankle reminds her: she's alive.

She's alive.

On the holoscreen, the music swells to a forte as one of the characters, a female Togruta, presents her lover with a knife.

"Will you marry me?"

But her lover backs away.

"I can't! I'm sorry!" The music swells again in minor key as the lover runs off, leaving the Togruta by herself, heartbroken. Ahsoka shrieks with schadenfreude delight and pulls a blanket over her face to hide her smile. "Toothless! She's gonna go Akul hunting now, watch."

"'Toothless?'" Riyo asks. "What does that mean?"

She and Ahsoka are sitting on the couch in Riyo's apartment, watching a hologram show about an ancient warrior princess and a poet who travel around an ancient planet. Ahsoka's wrapped in a blanket like she's a burrito and Riyo's lounging in sleep shorts and t-shirt.

"Ah hmm," Ahsoka hesitates as she tries to find the right words to explain. "To Togruta, two things matter: your physical prowess and the head. The elders believe that energies from the universe flow into us through the montrals, and down into the head and into the lekku."

"Is that why it's taboo to touch a Togruta's montrals and lekku?" Riyo asks.

"Yeah! It's pretty intimate stuff. Anyways, that's also the reason why we have Akul tooth headdresses instead of Akul tooth belts, or Akul tooth bracelets; powerful items should be worn on the most powerful parts of the body. Since we go to hell and back for our headdresses, the only time we'd ever permanently take them off is to make a knife."

Riyo gasps. "You make the knives out of the Akul teeth? From your own headdresses?"

"Yup."

Riyo's silent for a couple moments. "So when the knife was rejected…."

"You can't unmake a knife, so now she's 'toothless,' poor thing."

The two of them return their attention to the holoscreen, which shows the hapless Togruta crying silent tears as she makes a spear. When it cuts to commercial, Ahsoka undoes Riyo's world with only four words: "I met a boy."

Riyo says nothing, believing herself to have misheard.

"Last week," Ahsoka continues, "when I went with Padmé to visit the Separatists."

"Is that so?" Riyo gets a bad feeling in her gut, but ignores it for now. "Who is he?"

Ahsoka giggles, actually giggles, and Riyo pastes a smile on her face and tries to ignore how her heart plummets into her stomach.

"Lux Bonteri. His mom's a senator for the Separatists and yeah, I know we're supposed to be fighting them, but Lux is pretty cool."

"Does that mean he's handsome?"

"You could describe him that way."

"Fantastic." That's all Riyo manages to say. Isn't she supposed to be happy for her friend? Ahsoka, unaware of Riyo's turmoil, presses on.

"I mean, I know Jedi aren't supposed to have attachments, so there's no way it's ever gonna fly, but I can still admire him from afar, right?" Ahsoka glances at Riyo and does a double take. "Are you okay?"

Riyo shakes her head. "I think I ate something bad earlier."

"No, that's not it. It's something else." Ahsoka squints and scoots closer to get a better look at her. The edge of the blanket slips from her montrals and pools around her shoulders.

"You are not using the Force on me." Riyo's pulse spikes in warning in her ears. "Ahsoka, please. Not now."

"Yeah fine, but it's not like I can just turn it off. I already know it's something big. Let me help!"

Riyo might not know what's going on with herself, but she knows that whatever it is will make her implode, and that can't happen in front of Ahsoka.

"I don't think it's something you can swing a lightsaber at," Riyo says.

"Not with that attitude, it isn't."

"I suppose not." Riyo gives Ahsoka an apologetic smile. "It's still not one of those problems."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Perhaps not now. It'll keep, Ahsoka."

"I guess," Ahsoka says, still not convinced. The both of them watch the rest of the hologram show, but are no longer interested in it. Ahsoka leaves soon after that, after one last lingering hug and also only after Riyo has promised to call her if there's anything she can do to help. After sending Ahsoka off, Riyo stands in one spot for a long moment, trying to keep herself together. She calls Magnus on the hologram comlink.

When it rings, Riyo panics and checks the time, thinking that she's called him late at night, but it's still early in the evening. Magnus picks up.

"Senator Chuchi?" he asks. "Did you need something?"

Unable to keep her composure any longer, Riyo lets her shoulders slump and grits her teeth. "Captain. Help."

After confirming that no, Riyo isn't in immediate physical danger, and that yes, she does need help, Magnus swings by to pick her up in a speeder. She pulls on a hooded jacket and a pair of soft boots before heading out the door to meet him.

"Senator," Magnus says when Riyo slides into the passenger seat.

"Captain," Riyo tries to say. Her voice catches in her throat. Magnus's eyebrows knit together in concern.

"What's wrong?"

Riyo sinks down in her seat and hugs herself. "Please don't laugh. It sounds stupid."

"I don't believe you're capable of stupid, Senator."

There's a moment of silence that's filled with the whoosh of the wind against their ears and the hum of the other speeders around them. Riyo sighs and tells him what's happened. While she talks, Magnus keeps flying. Riyo doesn't ask where they're headed, and Magnus doesn't tell her. When she's done, the silence comes back around them.

"I forget how old you are sometimes, Senator," he says.

"Magnus," Riyo gives him a pleading look. "I don't need help from a bodyguard right now."

"Riyo then," he says, as if testing the name. It comes out with a sort of tenderness that she's never heard from him before. "Are you worried that Padawan Tano will stop being your friend over this boy?"

"No." The answer tumbles out of Riyo's mouth before she can stop it, but the more she thinks about it, the more she realizes that it's true. "She's a Jedi, and therefore married to her work. A boy's not going to change that, she said so herself."

"I see," Magnus says. "And you have yet to succumb to Titon's charm."

The bridge of Riyo's nose wrinkles in disgust and Magnus gives her a rare smile.

"I don't see what Titon has to do with any of this," Riyo says.

"Indeed. Do you want to hear my diagnosis?"

"Please."

"It sounds like you're jealous."

"How can I be jealous of Ahsoka?"

It must be one of those nights, because Magnus chuckles and says, "not jealous of Padawan Tano, but of the boy she's in love with."

"But that would mean…." The gears in Riyo's head grind to a halt. In the past, when she's reached this point, her mind would quickly shift into reverse, keeping her away from that line of thought. This time, however, her mind powers through it, and every barrier that she has subconsciously put up between herself and Ahsoka comes crashing down. Suddenly, Ahsoka isn't just Ahsoka-the-really-good-friend-who's-kickass-with-a-lightsaber, but Ahsoka, whose eyes light up when she hears a good joke, whose sharp teeth fit in her warm smile, and who stands close, but not close enough.

Riyo's mind shifts into overdrive. All these little details that she's noticed about Ahsoka before, but has dismissed, come back with a vengeance. The way her muscles shift in her back, the curve of her lekku as they drape over her shoulders, all of it endearing and beautiful and just beyond her reach. Riyo sinks deeper in her seat and buries her face in her hands. She groans.

"Riyo?" Magnus asks. Riyo drops her hands and sighs.

"I can't believe I…I have feelings for Ahsoka. And she…. " Riyo's wonder sours into mortification. "I've become that one woman in Papanoida's play. The one who falls in love with her best friend. A walking cliché."

"The Trickster God does seem to be funning with you," Magnus says. "What will you do?"

"I could tell Ahsoka, but she can't return my feelings because she's a Jedi, so that's a guaranteed rejection."

"She could return your affections."

"That doesn't mean she would act on them. She would still say 'no' either way. If I tell her anyway, I risk the destruction of our friendship."

"You should give your friendship more credit than that, Riyo."

"What am I going to say? 'Hi, I like you, so please disregard Jedi teachings so that we can go see a holomovie together?' Relationships like the one I might want with Ahsoka are forbidden to Jedi. How can I ask her to give up the only lifestyle that she's ever known just for me?" Riyo's chest tightens painfully and she turns away.

"No, we're friends, so we'll stay friends. I'll just have to carry on as if nothing's changed between us. Ahsoka doesn't owe me anything, and I won't ask something from her that she can't give."

Riyo stews in her misery for a few long moments before Magnus glances at her with pity and some sympathy.

"Shall we get ice cream?"

"Yes, please."

In the Jedi temple, while she meditates, Ahsoka feels a shift. It's subtle, but it's wondrous and terrible at the same time. She's doesn't know what it is, and after letting it wash over her for a moment, she resolves to let it be. Whatever it is, it isn't hurting anyone.

Ahsoka forgets about it the next day.

Note Bene: Christ, Riyo. If you're so determined to be a martyr, then you can just sulk on that cross. Let the pining begin. Are you having fun? I'm having so much fun. We've reached high levels of gay in this chapter.

I didn't want to include Lux Bonteri in this fic. He's just…so…boring? But Ahsoka did have feelings for him in the show, so I guess that makes him relevant. Fucking mayonnaise motherfucker. No, I'm not bitter. Don't look at me.

Is reindeer sinigang a thing? I wanna try it. It probably tastes like beef sinigang tho.

Thanks for reading! You're all such lovely people and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you think about it.