A/N: Thanks for sticking with me so far, I appreciate you guys and I hope you enjoy this update. This chapter is really my interpretation of Ahsoka's fabled 'heat' cycle and what it is like from her perspective. Along with insights on how she grapples with it alongside her conflicting feelings. It explores how she navigates the raw battle between desire, duty and emotion. This story is after all intended to show the parallels between both her and her Master.

Also fair warning: the pairing herein isn't the most popular but it does fit seamlessly into canon. And I'm a slave to canon, lol. Bear with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Lucasfilm or its characters.


Primal Heat

Ahsoka slipped soundlessly through the apartment's maintenance door. She found the West Central Senatorial District far too public for her liking, particularly now that her Master's suspicions had been aroused. As a result, she decided against any future, front-door entries and was now officially sneaking around.

Covertly, her hooded form stepped into the room which remained unlit, save the glow of passing speeders through the glass wall. Adrenaline coursed through her steadily on entry, as hints of cedar and cinnamon hit her senses. As she set foot into the luxury suite, her excitement toward the forbidden endeavor, gave way to the gravity of the reality that she was actually here, and about to break the Jedi Code. Being an adolescent Commander in the Galactic War, meant her sexuality had been the final remaining piece of her innocence; it wasn't something she'd parted with lightly. And this room would always be a reminder of that fact.

While visibly smaller than Padme's, the apartment she arrived in was just as well furnished, it was a good fit for a Junior Senator-in-training. Unveiling herself, Ahsoka stepped toward the large table that was the centerpiece of the room.

"We can't keep meeting like this," she spoke to the figure in the shadows. "Getting here isn't easy."

"All the more reason I appreciate that you came." Lux Bonteri rose from his seated position with a gentle smile as he stepped towards her.

"I hate that it's like this. I hate that we have to hide." He paused. "Let me pour a drink to make it up to you."

Meeting her at the table, his form was gently illuminated by the cast lights of Coruscant's eternal glow. A loose vest hung around his firm chest, as their seams fell just below the waist of his fitted pants. He poured slowly from a decanter into two glasses, before handing her one to drink.

Ahsoka hesitated. "Maybe I shouldn't, I have a rigorous training exercise with my Master tomorrow, and I don't exactly have the best tolerance in the Galaxy."

Lux paused. "Wait, are Jedi even allowed to drink?"

She choked back a laugh, as her nerves gave way to humor. "Now you care about what we're allowed to do? This late in the game?" Her rhetoric was intended to be a thoughtless jest, but the words lingered a moment, playing on her conscience.

Lux shrugged and teased playfully. "Maybe I'm just afraid of being the sole bad influence in your life."

"Believe me," she retorted. "This heat cycle is the worst influence in my life right now. Maybe I'll drink to forget what it's put me through." Her fingers clasped around the glass as she took a long sip.

Lux had arrived on Coruscant months prior for his stipulated senatorial training, and the pair had since reconnected, forming the makings of a new friendship. Having only been recently onboarded into the Republic side of the war, life in the Senate felt very new to Bonterri. With all the unfamiliarity, he had welcomed Ahsoka's offer to accompany him as he adjusted. Following the death of his mother, and later Steela in the battle of Onderon, while renewed with purpose, Lux was in many ways, still quite lost. It was easy for him to find a constant in Ahsoka's supportive presence, and her company seemed to steady him.

As for Ahsoka, she had welcomed his friendship in kind; the path of the Jedi offered very little in the way of a social life. She had hoped to find friendship with Barris, but lately she found the Mirailan Padawan isolative, temperamental and often moody; a far cry from the girl she fought alongside at the Geonosian weapons' factory. And with the clones spending most of their time planet-side getting wasted at 79s, downtime companionship was in short supply. That is of course, excepting Rex, whom she'd actively been avoiding like the plague. It was too risky now that her body raged so egregiously for him.

With her ascent into sexual maturity entering its prime, Ahsoka found she had most naturally been drawn to the Jaig-eyed warrior, who eternally stood by her side. Rex had found her after the battle of Onderon, broken and torn with pain; rife with grief. The clone warrior had been the one to hold and console her, as her emotions came undone. Her initial hurt feelings over Lux, and later the acceptance he didn't return them, funneled downwards into the shame and pain surrounding the death of Steela; all in all mixing terribly with the guilt of her failure. It had all come crashing down on the young Commander in a moment of vulnerability in the Resolute's hanger. And he, Rex, had been there, as he always had, to strengthen her resolve. Hard plastoid had flushed against her form in a solid hold, steadying her as grief wracked her slender frame. Rex had displayed a protective tenderness for her that she had never seen in him before then. His hands, strong hands, shared by millions of his brothers held her close, as he cooed reassuring words against her montrals, comforting her. Ahsoka had held onto him like her life depended on him, with certainty in that moment that it did. She had needed him. She needed her Rex.

In the days that followed she found herself craving the feeling of his safety again, and the security of being held in the strength of his arms, perhaps this time without his armor. Ahsoka had long admired Rex, he was undeniably handsome, and his graceful militant form and stride gave him an appeal that seemed less pronounced in his brothers. That admiration had been innocent, but now, now that she'd broken down in his arms, things felt different; as though there was a new dimension to their bond. Admiration soon grew into longing, and with no barrier in the galaxy to prevent her descent, Ahsoka had fallen headlong and unhindered, for the Captain. As her cycles hit, she found herself craving him in new, and primal ways. Ways that were not of the Jedi.

Many of her sleepless nights aboard the Resolute were the cause of her entire being filling with unrelenting desire, for the blonde clone whom remained just beyond her reach, tucked perfectly behind regulation and code. And once planet-side again, the months of restraint and frustration accumulated in her cot, had come undone quite suddenly, and incidentally in the arms of Lux Bonterri. He was the safer choice, the only choice. At worst, if they were discovered, Skywalker would threaten him in paternal rage, but he would not kill him, and unlike Rex, he could not be court-martialed.

Lux was not Rex, and he certainly was not her love, but he was here, and in a moment of primal need, her body decided: he would do. The conflict of it all, added its own flavour of tension to the discreetly, skillful maneuvering she had to undertake to keep all of this outside of Skywalker's awareness. And while necessary, it was all a bit much.

She had paused sipping her drink to stare pensively off into the night lights, causing Lux to speak up, breaking the unsettling silence that had fallen between them. "You know, tonight I really was worried you wouldn't make it. I was afraid I wouldn't get to see you again before your next mission."

"I'm sorry." Ahsoka began slowly. "I had to shake my Master. He's been overbearing lately, and he hasn't taken kindly to my absences. It's been a lot harder for me to leave my quarters at night."

"Anything I can do to make it better?" His eyes met hers. They weren't touching but they were temptingly close and it wouldn't be long before they did.

"I'm sure we can think of something." Ashoka smirked.

He raised his glass to clink with her own. Using the opportunity to initiate physical contact, he rested his free palm suggestively at the small of her back.

"Cheers." Ashoka looked off into the distance again, before downing two large gulps of her drink.

"You still seem a bit preoccupied Ahsoka; it's not just your Master that's on your mind, is it?"

Ahsoka sighed, unsure of where to begin to unfold the weight of the conflict within her. "Lux…you know Jedi can't form attachments right. Are you sure you're still alright with that? If something happens and we have to end this abruptly…"

"Ahsoka." Lux set his drink down and covered her hand with his. "We've been over this, I understand."

Conceding, Ahsoka nodded firmly. For her own conscience, she needed him to remember that this was temporary, and not an affair of the heart. Particularly since said heart was being plagued with memories of white and blue armor, strong arms, jaig-eyes… Stop! She reprimanded herself.

"So you understand we can't do this forever?"

"The present moment is enough for me." Lux cracked a half-smile, as he gently ran a finger down the side of her jaw, curving under her chin. "Getting to experience you like this is worth it, even if only for a moment."

Ahsoka wasn't entirely convinced he meant it, but she did not have the luxury of time to ponder.

"Speaking of the present," she said, changing the subject. "We don't have much time tonight, I have to get back to the Temple before sunrise."

"Then we better get busy." Lux chuckled as he removed her drink, and turned to put both glasses away.

"Hey, I wasn't done with that." Ahsoka retorted.

"You can finish it later. Right now you have other business to attend to." he said.

"And just what business is that?" She smirked knowingly.

"I guess we'll find out." He breathed barely above a whisper.

Maneuvering himself to hug her from behind, Lux pressed himself firmly against her buttocks, and breathed against her montrals. Ahsoka shuddered on contact; feeling his erectness firmly through the fabric of her robe. The eager, hormonal teenager had been half-ready for her the moment she entered the apartment.

A rush coursed through her as the familiar heat began to build deep and low in her abdomen. It was a primal rush, not much unlike the one she felt when charging into battle. Dangerous, seething, hot, ready… The desire, initially on-set by her clone captain months ago, slowly rose within her again. Except this time, it would be appeased, unlike the lonely nights of longing, aboard the Resolute, tonight, her need would be filled. Contrasting the desire of her heart, the sexual beast within did not care that this was not Rex; so long as it was sated, Lux would do.

Ahsoka flushed at the seductive contact, her mind was a bit giddy from the drink, and suddenly the air felt hot and thick as desire pooled into her center. Slowly and carefully from behind, Lux began to disrobe the young Jedi, peeling away her tunic and robe, before rolling her leggings carefully down the length of her shapely legs, drinking in her beauty as he stripped her layer by layer.

He cupped her supple, firm peaks as they broke free from her top, and his hands hungered for more sienna skin. Longing to fuse her flesh with his, he swiftly removed his own garments. His painfully constricted hardness sprang free, rubbing against her from behind, as skin pressed against skin…finally. Ashoka loved the feeling of such raw, primal contact. The masculine firmness of him against her seemed to fuel the fire which raged within her on the inside. This was the pure, erotic bliss the beast within her had craved: touching and teasing consumed by the feeling of masculine flesh, nude, aroused and uninhibited.

Ahsoka turned to face him and Lux didn't waste a second capturing her lips in a heated kiss, as their hands roamed each other's bodies clumsily, earning moans of approval and pleasure as they went. Every point of contact was impassioned, as they kissed and nipped at each other's flesh, hungering for more exposed skin. Slick moisture pooled between Ashoka's folds, readying her for entry, and the familiar heat built within her, though not yet at its peak.

Pressing her body flush against the table, Lux began a slow, sinful descent with his lips down the length of her form. Across her torso, his breath tickled her navel, as he went further still. Ahsoka's breath hitched in her throat as he kneeled before her, firmly lifting and holding a velvet leg over his shoulder.

With one last diabolical glance at her reaction, he began to devour her sweet flesh. Ahsoka bucked against the table as her core moistened more at every swish of his tongue. A curse escaped her lips, at the pressure of entry as Lux slipped a digit, then two, in and out of her slowly. The sheer force of the pleasure was enough to drive her mad, but she held her composure; not quite ready to dominate him yet. Lux increased the pace of his fingers and the sweet pressure against her sensitive nub, until she was sure the pleasure would drive her mad. Crashing into her climax, Ashoka came undone, as ripples of her orgasm coursed through her body.

The drinking glasses across the room rose and clattered where Lux had placed them, splintering, as waves of the Force filtered from her being spreading out from her center. As the ethereal flow subsided, a brief downpour of her mixed emotions washed over her: there was her guilt about breaking the code, and then there was regret, that this wasn't her Captain… 'He not Rex, but he's here, and I need him.' she told herself, silencing the rampaging conflict within her.

Breaking her reverie, Lux straightened, wiping her moisture from his lips.

"Turn around." he whispered huskily, "I want you to get the best view of this city you've ever had."

Restraining the Commander within her, Ahsoka humored him with submission, obeying as he guided his hands around her waist from behind. Gently, he bent her form until her torso rested firmly on the table, exposing her entrance for the taking. Ahsoka flattened against the broad surface in wait for him. Before her, the endless city of Coruscant went on for miles into the distance, weaving its glow over their heated bodies.

'Gently and slowly'. Lux silently coaxed himself, remembering how quickly she had brought him to an end the last time they tried this position.

His hardness slipped between her thighs venturing to the center of her warmth. Hovering in anticipation, Ahsoka felt the tip of his length glide around her outer folds massaging her womanhood before angling himself for entry. In one swift thrust he found himself once again sweetly consumed, enveloped by her warmth.

The gentle rhythm of his motion within her began to drown Ahsoka's senses in a pleasing sensation, lulling her into a form of erotic trance, steadily with each thrust. Lost in the fog of pleasure, she could feel the friction of the primal heat, once again building within her. And suddenly she required more: more strength, more flesh, more passion…more aggression even. She hungered for more, and instinctively knew her heat would not be sated without it.

Unconsciously, as if bidden by an unseen force, she pressed her palms backwards against his hips, beckoning for him to stop. Lux paused, withdrawing carefully, unsure if he had done something wrong.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Without responding, Ahsoka turned to face him and the vision he saw incapacitated him momentarily. She was terrifying, beautifully terrifying. Ahsoka's pupils had dilated almost completely, transforming her azure blue eyes to mostly black. She didn't seem present; and instead of looking at him she seemed to look through him.

"Ahsoka? Ah - Ahsooooooaka…" Lux's breath quickened, as he felt the heady sensation of his body being lifted off the floor by a fluid force-gesture of her hand.

Ahsoka tilted her wrist and him along with it as though he had said nothing. Pulling a chair towards them, she sat him down on it in an audible plop. Lux settled into the chair, stilling himself before chuckling nervously to conceal just how much the gravity-defying motion had unsettled him. "You could have just asked me to sit."

Ahsoka heard him but scarcely so, in her perception he sounded far away, almost as though she were hearing him from under water. Her conscious senses were fading with each moment, as her body slipped into a state of pure, predatory need. The last sound she lucidly deciphered was a gentle sigh which escaped his lips as she straddled his thighs, mounting him with precision.

Lux looked up to meet her blank eyes, a sight that unnerved him despite how many nights he'd seen it. And with his hands resting firmly on her hips, he braced himself for what he'd later remember as the ride of his life. Slowly, Ahsoka began her onslaught grinding against him, as her mind faded into pure primal, predatory bliss…


/Hours Later/

Morning found the deviant teenagers sprawled across a large, lush rug on young Senator's apartment floor. Beneath and around them, pillows lay cast about, this way and that in the wake of the previous night's activities. A gentle warmth spread into the room as the mid-morning rays of Coruscant Prime filtered through the glass doors.

Lux lay awake lost in thoughts of the Torgutian that slumbered gently across from him, as he watched her upper body rise and fall with her soft breathing. Ahsoka seemed to not be one to cuddle, not that it bothered him. He was content to simply watch her.

Memories of ecstasy from the night before flashed across his vision. 'The feeling of her; the shape of her,' he thought with certainty they would be etched into his mind for an eternity.

The flashbacks heated his skin, and stirred his loins back to life, tempting him to rouse her for another romp. But he found he could not bring himself to do it. Usually ,Ahsoka was gone by the time he woke, slipping over the balcony and down to the surface in a practiced descendent, vanishing as though she'd never been there. But this time she slept like the dead, clearly spent. He would let her rest.

This secret of theirs enthralled him, and a part of him longed for it to be more than what it was. But this dangerous game he knew, had no romantic ending. She was a Jedi and he could not attach himself to her, any more than she could to him. Lux sighed, desire aside, he perhaps should have been wiser and avoided the lovely Jedi altogether. But youth and wisdom were seldom friends.

-Thud!-

Suddenly, a sharp sound outside the apartment door pulled him from his spiraling thoughts, and he could have sworn he'd heard the crunch of metal. Was that his protocol droid? Before he could process what might have happened, the bedroom doors were suddenly flung open and the single, threatening motion of a robed figure materialized before them.

In the blink of an eye Lux found himself face to face with an angry Jedi. In a voice laced with deadly venom, the General's roar was singular and clear.

"Ahsoka!"


A/N: And this is where the fun begins! I hope you enjoy reading these cringy moments as much as I enjoy writing them. Thank you so much for your patience, it has been a struggle for me to publish a pre-holiday update. I'm doing my best to have the next chapter out by Boxing Day.