Anakin was never really prepared for the responsibility of teaching another Jedi.
Hell, he had a hard time learning everything himself. The Council were hesitant to grant him the rank of Padawan due to arriving in the Temple at the overly ripe age of nine; why did they think he was capable of becoming a Master when he had only just become a Knight himself? He wasn't ready to teach.
And yet, the Council had quite literally thrown Ahsoka onto his shoulders. He supposed they were a match (if he dared admit it) in that they were both headstrong and confident. With that also came arrogance, recklessness, and stubbornness- all qualities he had never noticed in himself until the sparky Togruta came along.
"What's this?" He asked, stepping into Obi-Wan's quarters without asking, showing him the document that the Council had sent to his datapad.
Obi-Wan lifted an eyebrow, skimming the text and then looking up at Anakin, "That is an agreement of responsibility."
"For what?"
"For Ahsoka."
Now he was even more confused.
Obi-Wan chuckled at his bewildered expression, shaking his head so his hair became tousled. "Anakin, now you are a Master to a Padawan, the Council expect you to commit to being responsible for her. That means taking care of her needs, being an advocate for her, teaching her everything you know, and most importantly, making sure she doesn't get herself killed."
Anakin screwed up his face, "Have you seen Ahsoka? She's practically a magnet for dangerous situations."
"Then you have yourself a challenge." His former Master smiled gently.
"She isn't going to like this," Anakin crossed his arms over his chest, "and I'm not her parent."
"I did the same when you became my Padawan." Obi-Wan's expression shifted as he recalled the events leading to their own partnership, though he quickly carried on. "You may not be Ahsoka's parent, but she's a minor, and you're now her caregiver. That means making sure she eats three square meals a day, gets enough sleep, and follows any instructions from medics to the letter. It's not an easy job."
"I didn't ask for this responsibility," he hissed.
"I know it was a sudden change," Obi-Wan sympathised, "but I think you're highly capable of this, Anakin, or else I wouldn't have supported Master Yoda's decision to give you a Padawan."
"I should've known you had something to do with that," Anakin sighed, uncrossing his arms to snatch the datapad away, "Thanks for signing my life away, Obi-Wan."
His former Master laughed again, waving a hand dismissively, "It becomes natural, Padawan-mine. You'll look out for Ahsoka without realising it. When she becomes a Knight, you'll start to miss her."
Anakin's wrist-comm beeped, an incoming message from the Togruta herself. He completely forgot about their sparring session that he promised her. Grumbling, he tucked the datapad away and turned for the door, "I doubt that."
"Give it a month!" Obi-Wan called after him, "Please, close the door behind you."
Anakin made sure to slam it.
Obi-Wan collapsed onto the mat, rasping for air as Anakin pulled his arm behind his back. His lightsaber was deactivated a few feet away, though Anakin's hissed at the back of his neck.
"Defeated again, old man," Anakin laughed heartedly, standing up. Obi-Wan rolled onto his back, panting hard. That was the third time he had been pushed to the mat in the last hour.
"I went easy on you," Obi-Wan said, though they both knew it was a lie. Anakin held out his metal hand, pulling him to his feet. It was getting late in the evening, with the speeders outside being nothing more than blurred lights whizzing past. Even if Anakin wanted to go again, they were both tiring now, and this was supposed to be restful leave.
"Yeah, yeah," Anakin hooked his lightsaber back onto his belt. "That's what Ahsoka says too."
Obi-Wan shook his head, sweat dripping onto his forehead. "I say we go back to your quarters for tea and then to bed. Otherwise, my eyes will be falling shut in the Council meeting tomorrow morning."
"Sounds like a plan." Anakin collected their water bottles and towels, leading the way to the exit of the training room. "I need to make sure Ahsoka's alright anyway."
Obi-Wan followed him out of the room, "How is Ahsoka?"
Anakin half-shrugged, "Bored out of her mind, but I think she's relieved she's taking the time off."
Obi-Wan nodded slowly. An injury to Ahsoka's shoulder had been the underlying reason for the duo's premature return to the Temple.
What had initially been a strained ligament getting treated in the field with mild painkillers had eventually worsened without proper rest to severe damage to the cartilage. Kix had contacted the Jedi Healers himself, only when his stubborn Jedi refused to do so, and all but ordered medical leave for the girl.
"She was pretty much always in pain." Anakin continued, "Even with the strong stuff, I could sense it was causing her agony. She was putting on a brave face for the boys, but it was making her sloppy. It was downright dangerous to have her continue to fight."
"How long until she's frontline ready?" Obi-Wan asked, knowing that Anakin and Ahsoka never liked to be benched for very long. They got too restless on Coruscant.
Anakin sighed, "A while, at least. Master Vokara Che is adamant that surgery is too risky. The recovery period is insane. Ahsoka seems to be responding well to the Force healing, but it takes a lot out of her. Once medical clear her, she'll need some conditioning to get back into fighting shape."
"And she'll have her Master keeping her on track with that." Obi-Wan assured, knowing that Anakin was blaming a lot of this on himself. It wasn't anyways fault (except maybe the Council for sending a child to a warzone before they finished developing). What mattered now was that Ahsoka was on the mend, and wouldn't be fighting in pain anymore.
"The Healer might still be in," Anakin told him as they stopped outside his shared quarters with Ahsoka. He entered the code swiftly, "We'll have to be quiet."
The door opened and Obi-Wan followed Anakin inside. Their quarters were slightly messier than usual, which was expected as Ahsoka had all but been confined there. Her injury was not serious enough to warrant an overnight stay in the medbay, but she was still banned from any strenuous activity.
Knowing that she couldn't be cleared for the field until Healer Che deemed her well enough, Ahsoka had listened- for once.
On the couch in the middle of the shared living area sat Ahsoka. She was upright, though her head was tilted back onto a cushion, her slightly open mouth and closed eyes a clear sign that she was deep in sleep.
On her left, sat the Healer. The Twi'lek woman had her hands pressed against Ahsoka's shoulder, the Healer's brow furrowed in concentration as she focused on the trance that would repair the damage. Trances were generally more comfortable than being unconscious in bacta, but the sight of Ahsoka so still made Obi-Wan's stomach tighten.
Anakin was apparently used to the scene, and walked into the kitchen area as if it were an ordinary day. He was already getting mugs out of the cupboard when Obi-Wan joined him at his side. The rumble of the kettle was subtle background noise against four people breathing.
Occasionally, Ahsoka would let out a little whine or trill, as if she were in pain or discomfort, but Anakin wasn't bothered by the sound. In fact, it was like his Padawan weren't here at all. He was content to fiddle with his prosthetic that had been playing up whilst they were on leave. It wasn't until the Healer was stood in the entrance of the kitchen, smiling tiredly, that Anakin seemed to acknowledge her.
"Knight Skywalker, Master Kenobi," the Twi'lek greeted with a dip of her head, graciously moving to the sink to wash her hands.
"Healer," Anakin nodded back.
"I hope we didn't disturb you," Obi-Wan said, bowing out of politeness.
"Of course not," The Healer assured with her velvety voice reserved for the critically ill. "We were coming to the end of our session."
"How's progress?" Anakin asked, pouring the hot water from the kettle into two mugs, the tea bags floating to the surface.
"It's steady," the Healer said, a kinder way of saying 'slow'. "The damage was significant, and I don't want to breach Ahsoka's pain tolerance. This was an intense session- I suspect she will remain tired for most of the night."
Anakin furrowed his brow, "Anything else I can do?"
"You're doing a fine job, Knight Skywalker." The Healer bowed to him with a smile, "Ahsoka tells me that you're doing the physiotherapy and managing her pain well. My only suggestion would be to get her off the grounds for a while. Some light walking, or even a drive around the city, would do her a world of good. Socialisation is a remedy on its own."
"Of course," Anakin bowed, "Thank you, Master."
Obi-Wan showed the Healer out, thanking her for her work. Once the door was closed, he turned back to the living area. Anakin was placing the two mugs on the table, mindful of his sleeping Padawan, and then glancing at Obi-Wan.
"I'm going to try to put her to bed," he said quietly, "I don't want to overexcite her with your presence."
Obi-Wan nodded, understanding even though he would've liked to speak to his Grandpadawan to hear how she's faring. He moved to the kitchen area, out of immediate sight, and watched around the corner as Anakin crouched in front of Ahsoka.
"Snips," he shook her knee slightly, "Ahsoka, open your eyes."
The girl groaned, her eyelashes fluttering. When she opened her eyes and groggily looked at Anakin, the Knight beamed. Obi-Wan felt his heart warm when the girl gave him a small smile of her own. She tried to take a deep breath, but was cut off by a wince.
"Do you need painkillers?" Anakin immediately asked, already reaching for the packet on the counter.
Ahsoka hummed, holding out her hand. It was a testament to her pain that she was accepting the medication as Obi-Wan once remembered Kix restraining her so Coric could inject painkillers directly into the bloodstream after a nasty concussion left her aggressive and irritable.
She put the pills in her mouth- carefully calculated by her Master- and swallowed them down with the water he gave her. Obi-Wan smiled as he saw her eyes already slipping shut. The sessions with the Healer were really taking a lot of energy from her.
"Let's go to bed, Snips," Anakin mumbled, standing up to lift her into his arms. Ahsoka went without a fuss, and Anakin made sure there was no pressure on her bandaged shoulder. Once she was securely in his hold, Anakin nudged Obi-Wan's presence on their bond and left the living area to take Ahsoka to her room.
Only then did Obi-Wan dare breath and step out of hiding. He cleared up the area where Ahsoka had been for the last few hours whilst Anakin got her settled, putting away empty glasses of water that were for the many breaks a Healer and their patient would take during a session. Force healing was particularly dehydrating, for both parties.
Anakin returned a few minutes later, just as the tea became drinkable. He gave Obi-Wan a tight smile as he sat down, sighing when his back touched the cushions.
"She's practically dead to the universe," he said, though it was obvious he wasn't speaking at full volume. "Couldn't even sit upright long enough for me to take her socks off."
Obi-Wan chuckled at that, sipping from his tea. He deliberated his words in his head for a moment before speaking. "Ahsoka is very lucky to have you as her Master, Anakin."
Anakin shrugged, though there was a blush on his cheeks from the compliment. "She's a good kid. It's more⦠rewarding than I thought it would be."
"Oh, I know," Obi-Wan smiled over his cup, and Anakin nudged him playfully through their bond. "Now, let's finish our tea, and then we can meditate. Before you know it, you'll be running around after your sparky Padawan and will be desperate for some respite again."
