Anakin Visits Ahsoka:
D200/4 ABY, Unknown (but slowly getting charted at a speed only a snail would envy) Space.
Ahsoka was smiling in her sleep, draped over a man's chest, and held loosely in his arms when Anakin found her by following the faint hint of the bond he used to have with her.
The first thing Anakin wondered was what she was doing so far out in the middle of nowhere. The second thing he thought was that she looked incredibly happy and well cared for, which made him glad. Then he marvelled at how much she'd grown up, because that hadn't really registered when they were fighting on Malachor in his hate filled mind. The fourth thing he wondered was who this dude was that she was obviously having a relationship with. Anakin studied the man with narrowed eyes for a moment, thinking he couldn't possibly be good enough for his Snips, but then the older version of a young man's facial features clicked in his mind and Anakin couldn't help but grin. Of course it was Lux. Ahsoka had been so taken with the young Senator back then. Aside from a warning or two to make sure her missions came first, Anakin did nothing to discourage her attraction to Lux, because who was he to talk about breaking the code? Anakin broke it upside and down at a whim on a daily basis. He still thought that code was stupid and antiquated.
Anyway, back to his padawan. Using the Force, Anakin tugged the sheet over the pair a little higher so he wouldn't accidentally embarrass her, before he tried strengthening their old bond, hoping to wake her up quietly so as not to disturb Lux. This was between him and Ahsoka. Lux could sleep through it and she could tell him later if she wanted. Anakin figured it was working when her smile disappeared abruptly, turning into a confused frown.
While Ahsoka slept, somewhere in her subconscious she registered that the Force was practically celebrating, making her dream of the old days when she, Anakin, Rex, and the other clone brothers (sometimes joined by Obi-Wan, Cody, and his core group of brothers if they were present as well), would have a victory party after they won a battle. The brothers had made up a game of catch that they'd play with a battle droid's head, where the goal was to get the head past the other team's line of defence and into a crate. Ahsoka and Anakin weren't allowed to play with them because they cheated with the Force. Sometime's they'd play on their own, much to the amusement of the clones, since it would become almost a battle to the death with lots of leaping and Force pushes. And laughter. She missed the laughter. Ahsoka remembered how much fun they used to have. Obi-Wan (if he was there), would stand on the sidelines as well, always making some sarcastic comment about Anakin's unusual but possibly effective methods of training his padawan. Only once did they ever talk Obi-Wan into joining their game, where Anakin and Ahsoka had teamed up against her poor grandmaster and soundly beat him. He'd declined to play again, saying watching was much safer for his health.
As Ahsoka dreamed of Anakin, it almost felt like he has with her again. So much so that she began to wake up at her own wishful thinking, because she knew she was never getting HER Anakin back. He was lost. Lost to the Dark side. He'd turned into a monster and become someone she could never call hers again. But oh, how she'd wished and prayed that Anakin could come back. Ahsoka missed her Master. She missed him terribly. The day she'd walked away from him and the Order had been one of the worst days of her life and how she regretted it now.
No longer happy with the wandering path of her sleepy mind, Ahsoka shook her head a fraction, rubbing her cheek against Lux's bare chest. Lux. Now there was a good thought. She cracked her eyes open and looked up at the sleeping face of her husband. He was so handsome and relaxed looking in his sleep. Ahsoka smiled a little and pressed a kiss to his chest, before snuggling back down in the loose band of his arms, ready to catch another hour of sleep before the automatic pilot would need resetting in their tedious journey across a very large section of space that had too many obstacles in it to use the hyperdrive. Ahsoka had just about settled back into sleep again when she realized that she STILL felt Anakin's presence, and she most certainly wasn't dreaming anymore.
Ahsoka's eyes snapped back open and she turned her head so she could see the open area beside the bunk. She very nearly screamed when she saw Anakin's blue glowing Force ghost grinning at her just like he used to. "Hi, Snips," she heard very distinctly in her mind. "Took you long enough to wake up."
Ahsoka gaped at him for at least a minute as her mind shut down, and then suddenly tried to think everything at once. Anakin was dead? Anakin was back! Anakin was talking in her mind! (Even when they were alive and their bond was at its strongest, they'd hardly ever gotten such distinct thoughts as that. More like general feelings, and sometimes, if the situation was dire enough, they'd get a few real words across, like 'HELP!') What happened to Darth Vader? Wait, was the Force happier? What was he doing here? Was this a trick? This could be a trick! Don't trust him. Don't trust him! DON'T TRUST HIM!
Ahsoka narrowed her eyes at her ex Master, even as his shoulders slumped a little and his face fell at her thoughts. She went to sit up, but then remembered she was butt naked. "Leave," she thought as distinctly as she could, using her chin to indicate the doorway. Snaking a hand out from under the sheet, she held up two fingers, indicating she'd be two minutes.
Anakin nodded and walked through the closed door into the hallway of the shuttle, internally sighing at how Ahsoka's thoughts had gone from happy to see him to outright malice. He meandered up the hallway, thinking this shuttle looked awfully familiar. As he wandered into the bridge area, he knew it was familiar. This was one of Padme's personal shuttles. One she used occasionally when running diplomatic missions. How Ahsoka ended up with it after all this time, Anakin didn't know, but it brought back a lot of memories. Good memories for the most part. Happy memories of when Padme and him would steal some time alone, and sometimes not so alone when Ahsoka would come along on the mission. But they'd been like a little family, the three of them, so he never could resent her presence interfering with his precious time spent with Padme. Anakin sat in the pilot chair and stared up at the ceiling, reliving some of his best days.
Ahsoka slipped off the bed soundlessly, so as not to disturb Lux's sleep, and hastily dressed, including her belt and lightsabres. Not that she could harm a ghost with a lightsabre, she didn't think, but their presence was a comfort that she needed right now. She also summoned her staff to her hand before walking through the door and making sure it closed behind her, so there would be less of a chance of Lux waking up from any unusual sounds that might occur shortly.
She stalked down the hallway, chin set in a determined line, following the sense of Anakin that she could feel distinctly. She didn't know why he was here, but whatever he wanted, she was ready for him. Ahsoka glided into the bridge on her toes, every muscle in her body ready to fight. It was kind of a letdown to find him sprawled in his favourite chair, arms crossed over his chest, legs crossed at the ankles, and staring up at the ceiling. That was about as far from a combat stance as you could get. And the memories of seeing him like that in that exact same spot made Ahsoka want to cry. He looked so much like his old self. More so, if that was even possible. Ahsoka came to a stop about a metre away and regarded his shimmering form suspiciously, her heart aching to see him. "Why are you here?"
Anakin had sensed her entrance of course, but he hadn't felt like moving just yet. Now he did. Only turning his head, he remained sprawled in the chair to appear as unthreatening as possible, he soaked in her grown up appearance eagerly and proudly. She was covered in a light grey warrior's outfit from neck to knees, armour covering her chest, forearms, and shins, with tall black boots. Her usual belt and lightsabres adorned her middle, and in her hand was a tall staff with a circle on the top. Anakin studied the staff for a moment, surprised to feel the Kyber energy radiating from it. He'd never seen anything like it, but it looked cool, whatever it was. Anakin's eyes finished their journey of her new look with her face. He couldn't believe how much her lekku and montrals had grown, nor how tall she was, as she practically loomed over him in his seated position. Her big blue eyes were watching him warily, waiting for his reply, her white markings looking the same as he remembered on her pretty, mature, yet still young looking face, no lines yet to mark the passage of time. At the top of her forehead was a new headdress, made of silver and set with blue stones that matched her eyes. It was only a step short of a crown and marked her status as a married togrutan, which Anakin was glad to see. She deserved to be happy, and if Lux did that for her, then Anakin was happy with Lux too.
Ahsoka tapped her staff on the floor and growled out again, "Why. Are. You. Here?"
Opps. Anakin hid a wince. Apparently he'd been staring too long. "Ahsoka," he finally managed to breathe out. He couldn't bear to sit anymore, staring up at her, so he rose to his feet (his own feet!) and faced her, raising a brow to see that her eyes were almost level with his and the tops of her montrals had definitely reached his height now. Yeesh. He'd missed a lot of years. "I missed you," he blurted out.
Ahsoka raised a brow marking, not impressed, but a little place in her heart jumped for joy. She was ignoring that for the moment. "You missed me," she said dryly. "I think you can do better than that, Anakin," she said, with extra emphasis on his name. "If that's who you really are."
"It is me, Snips," he said eagerly, packing as much sincerity as he could into the words. "I came to apologize and to hopefully restore our friendship. I know it's a lot to ask, after everything I've done, but I MISS you. I'm sorry I tried to kill you on Malachor. I really am. And you saved me anyway. Weakening the floor with your sabres saved me from the explosion. In some ways, I wish you hadn't, as I was not worth saving, but thank you. If I was myself, you have to know I would never try to hurt you. Not in a million years. But I haven't been myself, not for a very long time. But I'm back now, thanks to my son. Have you met him? Oh, and Leia. You must know Leia. I hope you have met them. They're amazing. Leia's so much like Padme. And Luke... He wouldn't give up on me, Ahsoka. I did terrible things to him as Darth Vader, but he wouldn't give up. He just kept insisting that there was still good in me until he finally forced it to come back to the surface by letting himself be killed by Sidious. I saved him, Ahsoka! I saved my son! And I killed my Master. And I died. And now I'm finally free! And... yah." Anakin's words ran out as he realized he'd been babbling for who knows how long. He hung his head with a sigh and waited to see what Ahsoka would respond with.
Ahsoka stared at Anakin with increasingly wide eyes as words spilled from him. When he stopped, she didn't know what to say. He'd said so much that only raised more questions. But the most important was; did he want her to forgive him? And if so, could she?
"Bloody hell!" Lux said from the doorway in his cultured accent, making both Ahsoka and Anakin spin to see him wearing only his sleep pants. "YOU were Darth Vader?!"
Lux's grey eyes were wider than Ahsoka had ever seen them. She was so distracted by Anakin that she hadn't even felt Lux wake up and follow her. Her Master would be so disappointed. Speaking of...
Anakin shrugged bashfully at Lux. "Ummm, yes? Not my best years, really."
Ahsoka couldn't take it anymore. She burst into laughter, literally falling into a chair she was laughing so hard. After all this time, he just came traipsing back as if nothing was ever wrong, hoping she'd forgive him, acting so much like his old self. What was she supposed to do? Crack up like a kriffing lunatic, that's what.
Lux walked over and joined Anakin as they both stared down at the woman snorting and giggling uncontrollably in the chair behind the co-pilot seat. He glanced over at the Force ghost with a raised brow. "I think you broke her."
Anakin snorted. "Nah. She'll be okay." They waited a minute, but Ahsoka was still lost in her own world of mirth, so Anakin went for some polite small talk to pass the time. "Sooo. You married my Snips?"
Lux nodded, looking proud of himself as he crossed his arms over his bare chest. "Sure did. Many, many years later than I wanted to, but, enh, better than never." He glanced up and down Anakin's glowing blue form, looking almost exactly as he remembered him, down to the Jedi warrior outfit and everything. "Sooo. How's it like to be dead?"
Anakin shrugged and smiled a little. "Enh. Better than when I was alive for the last few decades. I really don't have much to go on yet though. I only just died a couple hours ago. I think."
"And seeing Ahsoka was the first thing on your list of 'things to do'?" Lux said incredulously, blinking at him.
Anakin grinned. "Second, actually. I already made up with Obi-Wan and the other Jedi. They took me back," he said in obvious disbelief that something so amazing could happen.
That caught Ahsoka's attention and she abruptly stopped giggling. "You saw Master Obi-Wan?" she said, standing back up and practically getting in Anakin's face eagerly, wanting to hear how her grandmaster was.
Anakin beamed. "Yes, I did. And he looks great, before you ask. Pretty much the same as when you first became my padawan. For that matter, all of the Masters looked younger than I've ever seen them. And now that I think about it, Yoda almost looked like a youngling, which makes sense considering his ridiculous sense of humour."
Ahsoka snorted a little. "He's the right size for one." She sighed and got serious again, closing her eyes for a moment as she thought, and then meeting her former Master's eyes in a searching gaze, seeing only sincerity and hope in his blue eyes. "Okay, Anakin. This is what I've decided. I'm going to forgive YOU for falling to the Dark side due to circumstances that you should never have been placed in. I, however, will never forgive Darth Vader for everything that he's done to the galaxy." Anakin opened his mouth to protest or something, but Ahsoka cut him off quickly. "What I'm saying is that I don't see you and Vader as the same person and I haven't for a long time. Not after Vader killed Obi-Wan. In my heart, I know that YOU could never even so much as hurt him, never mind kill him, so that's how it's going to stay for me."
Anakin's mouth opened and closed a few times as he processed and tried to come up with a response. Eventually, he just sort of slumped and nodded. "Okay. Okay. I can live with that. And you're right. I never could hurt my real Master. My brother." He glanced up at her from under his eyelashes, a hint of pleading still apparent. "So, can I come and visit you every once in awhile? Because I do miss you, Snips." Anakin fidgeted with a fold in his tunic while he stared at the floor, waiting for her answer with bated breath.
Lux watched the interplay as well, curious to see what Ahsoka would say. He honestly was ambivalent right now. He'd never really been friends with the intimidating Jedi Knight, but he knew Ahsoka used to care about him a great deal.
Ahsoka raised a brow as she contemplated this version of Anakin, wondering when their roles had reversed. Anakin still acted like a twenty year old almost man and she felt like she'd lived a couple of lifetimes. She heaved a very exaggerated sigh. "I suppooooossseee," she said, drawing out the word as long as possible. "That it would be alright if you visited every other day or so, Skyguy."
It took a moment for Anakin to register her words, but when he did, he looked up and whooped, grabbing Ahsoka in a bear hug and spinning around a couple times, making her laugh. "Oh, thank you, thank you, Snips. You just made me so happy. I feel like I'm getting a second chance at life right now." Anakin put her down and then looked at his own glowing hands ruefully. "Alright. A sort of new life. But whatever. It comes with all my limbs so I'll take it."
As Lux wrapped an arm around her waist, needlessly reminding everyone that Ahsoka was taken, Ahsoka smiled at Anakin, not even surprised that he'd managed to pick her up in his ghost form. If Kanan could figure something like that out, then there was no question in her mind that Anakin could do it as well. He'd always had such an instinctual knowledge of how to use the Force. So much so, that there'd always been the odd rumour in the halls of the Temple that the other Masters and Knights were kind of jealous of how fast he advanced in his Jedi skills.
Anakin glanced between Ahsoka and Lux. "So what now?" he asked. Because he honestly had no clue as to where to go from here and he didn't want it to get all awkward.
Ahsoka looked up at Lux, who was about the same height as Anakin now as well, and smiled at him sweetly. "Luxi, why don't you go get dressed and make us some breakfast? Anakin and I will talk for a bit, kay?"
Lux nodded and smiled, putting a finger under her chin to hold her still for a brief but possessive kiss, before he walked out of the bridge briskly, determined to get back as quickly as possible. The two Jedi might view each other as siblings or whatever but you never know when something like that could change. And Lux knew perfectly well that a Force ghost could have a physical relationship with a living person, cause he'd seen it with his own eyes from Kanan and Hera.
Ahsoka watched him leave with her heart in her eyes, love and amusement radiating from her, before she turned back to see Anakin grinning at her knowingly. "Don't even start," she warned with narrowed eyes.
Anakin raised his hands innocently, backing up and sitting back down in the pilot's chair. "Hey, I wasn't going to say anything. Out loud at least," he added quite clearly in her mind, earning him a semi fake scowl from the togrutan.
"Since when did you learn to do that, anyway?" Ahsoka asked, in regards to the mind talk, as she leaned her staff against a wall and sat beside him in the co-pilot chair.
Anakin shrugged, resuming his customary sprawl in the chair. "Don't know. The Father just mentioned that I can do anything I believe I can do, so I believed I could mind talk to you, and poof, it worked."
"Oh, boy," Ahsoka muttered, wondering what kind of trouble he could get into now that he had that kind of belief backing him up. Not that he wasn't already overly confident in himself before, but geez, the galaxy better watch out now.
"Hey!" Anakin protested her tone. "I think it's fun and I wish we could have done that years ago. It would have made some things a great deal more entertaining."
Ahsoka grinned at him. "You mean like those very boring war meetings? Or the even more boring Council meetings?"
Anakin nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! I knew we still thought along the same lines." He sighed in happy contentment. "It's nice to talk to you again, Ahsoka. Actually, it's nice to talk to ANYONE again. My life as Darth Vader was terribly lonely. And cold. And pain filled. And just flat out sucked to be honest." He glanced at Ahsoka and saw that she was starting to look uncomfortable again so he hastily changed the subject. Anakin waved a hand at the black expanse of space they were currently travelling through at something resembling turtle speed. "So, what ARE you doing out here anyway, in the middle of nowheresville?"
"Do you really want to know?" Ahsoka asked with a warning twinkle in her eyes.
"Yes, I do. I've actually been dying of curiosity for the past half hour," Anakin admitted.
"Alright. You asked for it," Ahsoka said with a teasing grin. "You want the long version or the short version?"
"Oh, the long, most definitely. I want to know everything you've been up to lately. And by lately, I mean since I last saw you when I was still myself," Anakin said with mixed emotions in his voice. Regret, longing, curiosity, and more all were conveyed through his tone and the emotions he was freely sharing through the bond that Ahsoka was slowly starting to let past her shields.
So Ahsoka told him everything. Maul and Mandalore. Order 66 and how she and Rex faked their deaths. Her time as Ashla on Thabeska and Raada. How she joined Bail Organa in his quest to start a Rebellion and her primary job as the Director of Intelligence under the codename Fulcrum. Her friendship with his daughter, Leia. How she eventually met a young twi'lek called Hera Syndulla, who in turn found Kanan Jarrus aka Calub Dume, who in turn found Ezra Bridger. She told Anakin about how Ezra had saved her from Vader by pulling her into the World Between Worlds which he exclaimed over, having never heard of such a place. How Ezra had saved Lothal with the assistance of his friendship with the purrgil, who weren't actually animals as everyone presumed. Her last meeting with Obi-Wan. How Ezra was lost in Unknown Space somewhere and her promise to find him. She told him about the dying planet and the new knowledge about the Force she'd learnt and the Kyber staff she'd found. And finally, she told him about meeting Luke, and her abbreviated lessons she'd been able to teach him about the Force and lightsabre fighting on the few occasions they'd managed to be in the same place at the same time over the last four years.
At some point, Lux had come back in with a plate of breakfast for Ahsoka, which she ate while she talked. He'd also done the calculations and reset the auto pilot, after shooing Anakin out of the pilot's chair and into the one behind it, so as not to interfere in Ahsoka's life story too much. He'd heard almost all of this before of course, but he couldn't help but listen for any new tidbits that she might have missed out in previous talks they'd had over the years. And she was simply just fascinating to him anyway. He could listen to her voice all day and consider himself in heaven.
And as for Anakin? He was just flat out proud of his former padawan. She was so brave, and courageous, and mature, and giving, and a million other things he could think of. He tried to sum it all up when she finally finished and was looking at him expectantly to see his reaction. "Thank you, Ahsoka. Thank you for taking care of the galaxy when I didn't. Thank you for taking care of my children when you could. Thank you for being YOU. Taking you on as my padawan was one of the only good decisions I ever made and I'm forever grateful that you survived my insanity all of those years, both when I was myself and when I wasn't."
Ahsoka smiled somewhat mistily and simply said, "You're welcome, Master, and I missed you too. I'm sorry I ever left."
As Anakin chatted with Ahsoka and Lux about their future plans for after they found the missing Knight (a boy Anakin vaguely remembered as being courageous but seriously lacking in training for his age), he couldn't help but rejoice at how well this was going. He'd never expected it to be this easy. Yes, she hadn't trusted his intentions at first, which was understandable, but the longer they talked, the more it felt like they'd never parted. And her admission that she wished she'd never left him; that had struck him to the core, because he'd also wished with all his being that she would have stayed as well. Would it have made a difference in regards to the end result? Anakin didn't know. Maybe he would have confessed to Ahsoka about his terrible nightmares about Padme dying and she would have talked him into telling Obi-Wan. Would that have been enough to change everything?
Anakin's whole focus returned to the conversation when Ahsoka mentioned something about children. "Sorry, what?" he interrupted. "I didn't quite catch that."
Ahsoka gave him a faint eye roll from her position on Lux's lap, where she'd moved to at some point, sensing his mind had wandered. "I said; Lux and I were hoping to find an orphaned Force sensitive child to raise as our own after we settle down on Lothal. There has to be one out there somewhere. And if we stumble on a few who still have parents, we're going to try and convince them to move to Lothal as well so that Ezra and I can teach them. There's a serious lack of trained Force users in the galaxy right now. The Inquisitors did too good a job at finding them before I could. I do know where two younglings used to be. I hope they're still where I left them whenever we finally finish with our current mission."
"Are you planning to train them as Jedi?" Anakin asked curiously, knowing that she didn't much believe in the old Jedi code either.
Ahsoka shrugged slightly. "Ezra and I talked about that the last time I saw him and we've come up with a mostly Jedi like system that suits us both. In our opinion, the days of the old Jedi code are long gone and shouldn't be brought back. But there is a great deal about the system that did work. The connection to the Light side of the Force is a must. The ability to control your emotions is also going to have to be a major factor. We don't want to turn off emotions and attachments like you and I were taught, not that we were any good at it," Ahsoka said with a grin at her Master, which Anakin returned. "But Ezra, Kanan, I, and the whole planet of Cerulia have proved that you CAN love and have a real family and still maintain a solid connection to the Light side."
Anakin winced inwardly at the gentle rebuke from his grown up padawan. He hadn't been too good at that one, had he? "But what about the Dark side?" he asked. "You mentioned earlier that you've learnt how to find the balance between the two and use it to some extent. Are you going to teach that as well?"
Ahsoka absently played with Lux's hair while she contemplated that very important question. "I think I may. To the older one's perhaps. There is strength in the Dark side that you can't find in the Light."
Anakin hmmphed softly, as he knew that all too well.
Ahsoka gave him a look, and continued as if he hadn't interrupted. "But you have to be VERY strong in your connection to the Light to use the Dark without falling to it. It requires a great deal of discipline and mediation to balance the two."
Anakin hummphed again, knowing that was a dig at this own lack of discipline and his loathing for meditation. Sitting still had never really been his forte.
Ahsoka gave him another look that made Anakin roll his eyes at her, which made Ahsoka wrinkle her nose at him with a teasing light in her eyes. "I know you hate meditation, but I've had plenty of time to work on it over the past few years." Ahsoka gave Lux an affectionate peck on the cheek. "Not that Luxi here hasn't done a marvellous job of keeping me from going stark raving mad from the monotony of our lives right now, but there's only so much time we can spend in bed, training, or playing card games. Somewhere in there, there's still too many hours left over for meditating," Ahsoka said with mock despair.
Lux grinned at Anakin from where he had his chin resting on Ahsoka's shoulder, arms wrapped casually around her middle, when the Force ghost said with ALMOST real sincerity, "Oh, you poor thing. Your life is so miserable. How DO you stand it?"
Ahsoka replied with an equal amount of fake sincerity. "I really don't know. All that meditating should have turned me into Obi-Wan by now."
"Hey! Meditating is good for you," a slightly pouting Obi-Wan said as he appeared in the bridge as well. "I don't know how many hours I tried to teach you two that." He crossed his arms over his chest and gave an exaggerated sigh.
Ahsoka leapt from Lux's lap with a very undignified squeal. "Master Obi-Wan!" She threw herself in the slightly shorter man's arms, trusting he'd turn solid enough to catch her.
Obi-Wan chuckled softly and stroked a fond hand down the back of her head. "Hello, little one," he said, the irony of the old endearment not lost on either of them. "You're looking well."
Ahsoka pulled back and studied her grandmaster. "As are you, Master. It's good to see looking so..."
"Youthful?" Anakin said helpfully as he rose to stand beside them.
"That works," Ahsoka said with a smile in her eyes for her Masters.
Obi-Wan shrugged negligently. "Well, why look old if you don't have to? I do say that I'm enjoying the afterlife much more than my years on Tatooine." He gave Anakin a look of sympathy. "I take back all the times I teased you about grouching about sand. I completely understand your loathing for it now."
Ahsoka laughed while Anakin huffed out a, "Finally!"
Obi-Wan smiled in that knowing way he had for a moment before his expression changed to apologetic. "I do hate to break up your entertaining little reunion, but Anakin has a few more people to talk to. You two can chat some more another day."
"Yes, Master," Ahsoka and Anakin said in chorus obediently, making Lux crack a smile behind them. They really were a lot alike, underneath Ahsoka's veil of maturity.
Obi-Wan beamed at his padawans, proud of both of them at that moment. "Oh, and Ahsoka, I have something for you to think about," he said, the glint of mischief in his eyes making the blue / grey orbs lean towards silver. "Did you ever wonder how the humans on Cerulia had families with the amphibious humanoid natives? And I doubt anyone ever told you this, but Anakin doesn't have a biological father."
Ahsoka's eyes widened and she stared at her grandmaster and Master in shock. Anakin shrugged and nodded, confirming what Obi-Wan had said. "I'll come back in a few days," Anakin said in parting, just before he and Obi-Wan disappeared. Ahsoka turned slowly, mind whirling, as she took a step and kind of fell back into Lux's lap.
Lux caught her, his stormcloud coloured eyes curious. "What? What did he mean by that?"
Ahsoka looked at her husband, her eyes still wide, but now with dawning wonder. "He meant that amphibious humanoids and humans aren't naturally compatible for reproduction, which I can't believe I never clued in on cause I knew that, and If Anakin doesn't have a father, he was made by the Force."
Lux raised a brow. "And this means...?"
Ahsoka leaned closer, smiling widely and cupping his face in her hands. "It means, my sweet Luxi, that they used the Force to change things just enough so that it COULD work and that the Force can make things at will if it wants to."
Lux was starting to get the idea, a thrill of hopeful anticipation shooting through him. "And you could do the same?"
Ahsoka swivelled around so she was straddling Lux's lap fully, pressing tighter against him, smiling softly. "I think I can, yes. We'll find out for sure in about a month when I'm cycling again."
"Soka," Lux breathed reverently. "If we could have our own..."
"I know," she answered, just before closing the last fraction of distance between their mouths for a kiss filled with hope and desire.
As Anakin and Obi-Wan travelled through the Force back to Endor, they had a bit of a conversation in their minds about Ahsoka's current views on her use of the Force.
"Did you hear Ahsoka's plans for teaching younglings?" Anakin asked, wanting to know what his by-the-books Master thought of it all.
"Yes, I did," Obi-Wan replied without any inflection to his tone on purpose, knowing it would frustrate Anakin.
"Annnddd?" Anakin said expectantly.
Obi-Wan hid the smile in his mind. "And I think the path she has chosen is the right one for her."
Anakin wasn't as good at hiding his relief. If Obi-Wan could accept Ahsoka as a non-Jedi, then he might be okay with Anakin also following the same path. "And what about me?" Anakin's mental voice was tentative, almost a whisper. "Are you okay if I don't consider myself to be a Jedi either?"
Obi-Wan paused in his flight, his Force essence brushing against Anakin's soothingly. "Anakin. I'm okay with practically anything you want to be, so long as it's yourself. I'm just happy to have you back. I wish I was a better Master for you, and that I could have guided you better. I wish I had the knowledge that would have let you be the balancing force in the galaxy like you should have been, but all I knew was how to follow the old Code to the letter, so that's how I tried to train you as well. I'm sorry I failed you."
"Oh, no, Master!" Anakin cried. "I failed you! Not the other way around. I was consumed by my fears and turned to the wrong person for help. That will always be my biggest regret."
Obi-Wan grazed his essence against Anakin's again, sending reassuring feelings through their bond. "We both have regrets, Anakin. Many of them. All we can do now is go on. There is much that is good left still, and spending all of our thoughts on regrets will leave no room for other things, better things."
"Like my children?" Anakin said with a hint of fatherly pride in his hopeful tone.
"Yes, Anakin. Like your amazing children. Luke had more faith in you than I did, and that is yet another of my regrets." Obi-Wan sighed at his own lack of trust in the Force. It always had a plan, and in this instance, he hadn't seen it until long after Luke had.
"It's okay, Master," Anakin said as he started zooming towards Endor again, suddenly really eager to see his children as himself and not the monster they knew. "Not even I had any hope in Luke's faith in me. I don't know how he saw the Light side buried amidst so much Dark."
Obi-Wan followed after Anakin, thinking that Luke wasn't the only one who'd had unwavering faith in Anakin. There was one more who'd never given up on him, and she had been waiting a very long time for her Ani to return.