Clearly my brain stopped working on me, because I was informed I posted one chapter twice. I'm terribly sorry about that, and in attempts to make peace, here you go!

She knew the moment Padme had nonchalantly brought up Ahsoka attending a senatorial ball that something bad was going to happen. Really, she should have expected it. Trouble seemed to follow her and Anakin around; and with the horrified and grim face Anakin had worn at the suggestion, she really should have expected something.

A chaotic explosive argument from him. Point blank refusal.

To be fair, there had been, but it appeared he and Padme had several previous conversations on the same topic, because she calmly objected at every turn to his protests.

Ahsoka wasn't sure if she should be appreciative of Padme's support, or annoyed that something so trivial (about her, none the less) had been discussed at such a length. Eventually though, Padme convinced Anakin into a reluctant agreement.

Several hours later she found herself half buried in colored fabrics, jewelry and shoes, and didn't even see Anakin until just before the ball.

When she entered the ball room with Anakin she firmly erased the thought of anything ruining the night from her head. Just one night to herself, and she was going to enjoy it.

Or at least, she had tried to.

She'd been thrilled when a son of a Senator asked her to dance shortly after she'd arrived. They'd swept around the floor, engaging in polite chat, which quickly had turned into something friendly, once she'd admitted she was a Jedi, and he'd confessed to thinking about enlisting as a medical personnel in the GAR-a point of contention between him and his father.

Everything had been going wonderfully until halfway through the dance, when , for no apparent reason, all color drained from his face. After that, he'd stuttered, mumbled and went stiff until the dance ended, at which he practically fled from her.

Confused, she'd checked herself over quickly, and wondered what he'd seen that had suddenly scared him off.

Nothing. She huffed, and exited the dance floor, irritated more than hurt.

She was too much of a Jedi to say anything as vain as calling herself beautiful, but she was, admittedly, enough of a teenage girl to know she wasn't ugly, or unapproachable.

When several more dances went by, and only Skyguy danced with her, she began to regret thinking that nothing bad would happen, and her mood slowly started to decline.

Finally a young man she thought she might have recognized from her occasional jaunts in the Senate asked her to dance, and she accepted with a pleased grin.

It was nothing, she told herself as the two of them joined the masses of people on the ballroom floor. She was still going to have fun here. The other boy was just—

Her eyes narrowed as her partners skin faded from a pleasantly tan color to white in a matter of seconds, as her heart fell. Not again!

"What?" She asked him, trying to keep her voice innocent and calm.

"Nuh-nothing," he told her, forcing a shaky grin, but his eyes flickered over her shoulder, and the smile vanished.

With a huff, Ahsoka took the lead, and spun so she was facing whatever it was he had been looking at. It didn't take her very long to find the source of his nervousness, and she felt something between amusement and mortification swell in her when she did.

There, along the fringe of the crowd off of the dance floor, stood the squad of her men in a perfect row, their dress uniforms doing nothing to soften the barely hostile aura that came off them in waves as they stood, arms crossed, and looked at her-no, behind her. Almost immediately after she faced them, the menacing looks disappeared, and many of them dropped their arms to their sides, nodding respectfully at her, while Fives waved cheerfully and grinned.

They weren't glaring at her, she realized suddenly, as she turned back to her pale partner. Oh. Oh, no, they didn't.

They were intimidating her partners-What were they even doing here anyways?

Her eyes narrowed again."Skyguy.." She muttered, and her partner looked even more on edge.

"They, uh, friends of yours…?" He tried lightly.

Ahsoka sighed. This was so typical of him."Yeah. They're a bit.." She started sheepishly, feeling embarrassment wash over her.

Fortunately her partner seemed to understand, and they exchanged a weak smile. "Protective?" He offered up lightly, trying to be nonchalant.

"Something like that," Ahsoka grumbled, as he chuckled wryly. She shot him a look, before realizing how truly absurd the entire thing was, and they two shared a laugh.

"Well I think this is the most…forward..threat I've ever received," he informed her with a chuckle, before stopping suddenly, and she just knew her men were glaring again, because he started fidgeting.

"Don't mind them," She said firmly and he shot her an amused but pained look.

"That is fairly difficult when they keep glaring at me like that, " he strained to point out, and she huffed and rolled her eyes, but felt better when he didn't continue to stutter or fidget, and they managed to finish their dance in an awkward silence.

He bowed to her. "Well, it's been fun," he said politely, and she scowled despite herself.

"Really," he insisted, his eyes flickering warily to the men on the sidelines, but smiling.

"A small price to pay for dancing with the most beautiful girl here," he told her, which left her blinking, and her montrals turning black from embarrassment and pleasure as he kissed her hand.

"But, for the interest of my well being, I must depart," he told her lightly, and like that, he was gone.

She turned to face her men after a moment, a pleased smile plastered over her face, despite the downright scowls that were on theirs. Tamping down her anger, she crossed slowly to them.

"Well gentlemen," she began sweetly, taking in their expressions, which varied from unrepentant glee to feigned indifference, or, in Rex's case, still trying to find her former partner and continue with a death stare.

"Since you insisted on scaring off my partners all night," she said slowly, as Rex looked stubbornly unremorseful as Fives grinned guilelessly, and she couldn't help but let her anger melt into resigned fondness-and then mischief.

"And I don't intent to sit like a wall flower all night," she continued nonchalantly, even as her lips turned upwards.

"I hope all of you know how to dance," she finished with a smirk, as she grabbed a startled Rex and hauled him off onto the dance floor as another song started up.

The remained of the squad stared at the two of them, bemused and slightly worried.

"You don't think she meant that, do you?" Hardcase ventured finally.

Fives clapped his shoulder and grinned. "Better start learning," he advised cheerfully.

Based on true events. I wish I could be kidding you, but I'm not.
Hope you enjoyed!