A/N: I greatly enjoyed this chapter because I saw the prompt and fell in love with it. The prompt was more of a question that said, "Did Anakin ever tell Ahsoka he had a prosthetic arm and if not, how would she react to him taking it off one day?" And the responses were all so funny, I just had to put my own down and given how heavy the last chapter was, I figured a lighter one was in order. Hope you guys are doing well, thanks for the support as always!

Summary: The explosion of the Sith Temple places Darth Vader and Ahsoka in a situation neither of them imagined possible. Now in an unfamiliar place that is eerily similar to Mortis, Darth Vader and Ahsoka must face the echoes of their past and work together to find their way back home.

Chapter Ten: Downside of Growing up 2/?

War was not easy. Granted Ahsoka didn't expect that war would be simple and easy, but sometimes she hadn't expected it would be this hard. While she thrived on action and constantly moving, she was a bit grateful for the downtime she currently had. It made her think of Barriss's words from the second Battle of Geonosis, just before the clones had been taken over by crazy worms. Barriss had told her to enjoy the peace while it lasted, then almost immediately later, chaos still found them.

Taking advantage of the downtime she had now, it lead to Ahsoka working on some of her assignments from the Temple. Having to still be in class despite the fact that she was fighting on the frontlines did bother her and she had been pleased to find that her master agreed with her. Only for him to also state how important it was for her to continue her studies. That had made her scowl, but she did understand why her classes were still important. Just, it seemed silly for her instructors to be on her about getting her assignments in on time when she was a little busy fighting in a war. Bitterness wasn't the Jedi way, but she couldn't help it.

At the moment she was finishing one of her political assignments, she really struggled in this one and was grateful for Padme's tips and tricks. Ahsoka was in the hangar bay with her master, who was currently working on his Starfighter, always tuning it up and upgrading it himself instead of letting the engineers or even the droids do it. The Togruta padawan glanced up from her data pad to her master who was working on the wing of his ship, finishing up on it actually. Ahsoka had never been one to pay attention to mechanics, at all. When she had mentioned that to Anakin, he had been downright scandalized to hear it and made it his mission to change that.

Now it wasn't like she didn't know about mechanics, there was one class at the Temple that went over the basics of fixing droids or data tablets, how to use everyday machines and of course lightsaber structure. But other than that, she didn't really care too much for learning about that stuff. SO long as she knew how to fix simple and more cosmetic things like a broken data pad or adjusting an antenna on a droid, there didn't need to be anything else. Anakin Skwyalker wouldn't have it. "

No Padawan of mine will only have the basics of machinery," he had, so seriously it was like he was on the battle field, "Get ready Ahsoka, I'll make an expert out of you yet."

He absolutely loved machinery, loved to tinker and fix things, all the time. The man was always ready to tinker with a droid, with a ship, anything with wires. He was incredibly good at fixing anything to whether it was a droid, a ship, an engine, a light, a door and just about everything in his path. If it was broken, Anakin Skywalker could fix it. It had surprised Ahsoka a little bit to see him so… passionate about mechanics. And even if she hadn't been that interested before, she found she liked listening to him talk about the inner working of the reactors or the wiring of a common appliance.

Anakin was like no other Jedi she had ever encountered, he felt things in a way she had never known others to do. It was similar to the way she would feel things, maybe not as strongly, but stronger than the average Jedi. When she got passionate about something, he never shut her down or told her that Jedi shouldn't be so invested into something as silly as a show or concept, but Anakin encouraged it. It was only fair that she return the favor and dove into his teachings on mechanics. Sometimes the lessons did get a bit old, but usually when they did he would move through it a bit faster or give her break and they would go back to it later.

Ahsoka returned her attention to her data pad, though she was tempted to put it away and watch him work on his fighter some more. While she was not exceptionally skilled when it came to fixing fighters, he still never let her mess with his, but he could mess with hers. It had been incredibly unfair, but he actually pulled rank on her which he didn't often, or when he did do it, it was usually poking fun at her. Regardless, he never let her mess with his fighter.

Right now she guessed he was trying to make it more efficient, let it fly smoother and faster, gain. Working on her Starfighter had been a lot of fun, it was one of the first things he taught her to tinker with and had subsequently, gotten her just a little bit hooked on. Though she didn't admit that to him, he'd never let her live it down and she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of being right about her new interest in mechanics.

She could hear him now, "Sorry, what was that Snips? I thought you said you couldn't stand mechanics and machines."

The master and padawan pair hadn't been together for a year yet, but she had grown a lot under his teachings, not just in the ways of the Jedi. When had passed her Initiate trials, she had been more than thrilled to take the next step in becoming a true Jedi warrior. Though at first she thought she would end with Master Plo given their already close-ish relationship, she had been equally excited to become Master Skywalker's padawan. He was a brilliant Jedi and she knew she would learn a lot from him.

"Mind handing me that tool there Snips," Anakin asked from under his fighter.

Ahsoka lifted her gaze from the data pad to see him pointing at some wrench, she should have known the name of it, but she knew what it was for regardless. Setting her data pad down, she got up from her spot and grabbed the wrench. In three more steps, she handed it to him.

"Thanks," he said taking the wrench from her, "How's the homework coming?"

"Boring and painfully slow," Ahsoka said with a groan.

Anakin let out a chuckle, "Yeah, that sounds about right. I was never a big fan of their assignments. It's your politics class right?"

Ahsoka nodded with a huff, "It's just so confusing and tedious. Why can't they just find a solution that makes everyone happy and be done? What do they need all this extra fluff for?"

"Wish I could tell you, it makes little sense to me. Have you sent Pad- Senator Amidala a message? I know she'd love to answer any questions you have," Anakin told her as he continued working on the fighter.

Ahsoka leaned her back against the wing, the cold metal sent a brief chill through her body when it touched her bare skin, "She has more important things to do than be bothered with my questions."

Even though Ahsoka couldn't see Anakin's face, she felt his pout, "It wouldn't be a bother. I promise, she was thrilled to help you before and would be happy to do so again."

Ahsoka made a slight face at that, but her blue eyes were intrigued. The Jedi and Senate did not often get along, quite frankly they butt heads far too often. So to find out that her master was good friends with a senator had certainly been interesting. Senator Amidala was a wonderful woman, she was as passionate as Anakin, but in a different way and she cared deeply for the galaxy and the billions of life forms out there. It wasn't often that Ahsoka felt that genuine care from a senator, it was a nice change.

"I guess," Ahsoka muttered to herself, louder she said, "You've known Senator Amidala a long time?"

Anakin answered her after a brief pause, "Yeah. She was one of the first people I met."

Ahsoka frowned, she wanted more information than that, but had a feeling he wouldn't give her more. He was very guarded about his life before the Temple. It was already strange that he had been brought to the Temple at the age of nine, she guessed he got enough questions and odd looks because of it. When they had been on their second mission to Tattooine, she could feel how much he didn't like his home world which had shocked her. Ahsoka loved being able to visit Shilli, even if she didn't remember her life there, it was still her home world and she loved it.

Ahsoka called her data pad over to her with the Force. Most Jedi masters would have scolded her for using the Force so frivolously, but she had the ability and thought making the most of it was a good idea. Anakin agreed with her, Obi Wan had rolled his eyes at that, but never chastised her for it.

A warning ran out in the Force, but before Ahsoka could even blink, her right arm felt like it was on fire causing her to drop her data pad in surprise. It took another blink for her to hear the pained cry of her master from under the starfighter and a third blink for her to realize her pain was second hand. The bond between the two of them, if they weren't paying attention, could send some very strong messages to the other. Typically overpowering emotions or in this case, pain.

Ahsoka clutched her arm to her chest, "Master! What happened, are you okay?"

Anakin released a series of curses in Huttese from under the starfighter. Sometimes, he needed to really watch out for those sparks better. Usually they weren't a problem, but he had been lost in thought and it had gotten him by surprise. His prosthetic arm for all it was good for it seemed could be a great conductor. The pain reminded him of the pain when he had initially lose the arm, that wasn't a pleasant memory to have. It also didn't help when he heard Ahsoka cry out to him, he pulled up his shields and hopefully the pain would leave her quickly. If he had paid better attention then she wouldn't have had to feel that.

"I'm fine Snips," Anakin said with a groan.

He needed to get his arm off or else the pain would just keep on coming. Plus, he needed to tinker with it some more anyway. Though he realized if he wanted to make sure he did it right, then he needed to keep it attached. No matter, he would just remove it for a few moments. Plus as he lightly moved it, he could tell it had loosened from it's once secure hold and he definitely needed to fix that. Couldn't have his arm falling off in the middle of a battle.

A bit uneasily, Anakin rolled himself from under the starfighter. Once he was in the open, he sat up and grimaced at the pain in his prosthetic arm. His gaze flickered to Ahsoka, she was looking worriedly at him, but he was more focused on how she was holding her right arm. Just a bit gingerly, she felt the echo of his pain and he felt the guilt for that. Some master he was, couldn't he stop from projecting some uncomfortable feelings.

"Are you alright," Ahsoka asked him again.

Anakin nodded, "Yeah, just fine. Wasn't paying attention to the wires there."

Ahsoka was ready with a quip on her tongue on that, considering how often he always told her to pay attention tot he details when she watched him grasp his elbow then…. proceeded to… take his arm off. That wasn't normal, that was the opposite of normal. People couldn't just remove their arms like that. She was usually in better control of her shock, but to see him just casually take off his arm had shattered that control.

For Anakin taking the arm off was nothing out of the ordinary for him and the hangar was relatively peaceful, there was no danger, so he had no idea why Ahsoka screamed. Not a battle cry, not a cry of a warrior or the ones he had heard from her on the field. This was a genuinely surprised scream that left her. He lifted his gaze up to her in confusion, wondering why in the galaxy she had cried out like that. It made little sense to him, especially when he saw the absolutely horrified look on her face.

Recovering from her initial horror, she asked just as surprised, "What are you doing?!"

Anakin looked at her like she had two heads or something as he said, "The electrical current from the ship might have fried it so it was a little lose and needed to be taken off?"

"Your arm's off," Ahsoka said with wide eyes.

"Yeah, because it was loose," Anakin said holding up the glove hand and forearm, "Yes? Like I said the electrical current went straight in here, the wires jolted in response and-"

Ahsoka cut him off, "Skyguy, your arm is off! It's not supposed to be off! You need to get to the med bay right now. How could it have cut off your arm and you're not even concerned that it- stop laughing, this is serious!"

In the middle of Ahsoka's spiel, Anakin realized why she was so horrified and couldn't stop the bubbling laughter in his throat and it went out intot he air. He hunched over slightly, it was too funny. The look on her face no longer confused him and the reasoning behind it wasn't funny, she was genuinely concerned, but her expression of pure horror was priceless.

"I'm- I'm sorry Snips," Anakin said through the laughter, "It's, it's, your face."

Ahsoka scowled at him, her glare cold.

Anakin let his laughter die, he shook his head and held up his arm, "It's a prosthetic Ahsoka, it's not real."

Ahsoka watched as he took off the black glove to reveal the metallic hand and forearm for her to see. It wasn't that Anakin was that self conscious about it, but the prosthetic reminded him of how dangerous his arrogance was. Losing his arm hadn't been a fun adventure, especially considering he had found- he shook those thoughts from his mind, he didn't need to think about that now, didn't need the anger or pain.

"Prosthetic," Ahsoka said quietly, the horrified expression leaving her face.

Anakin nodded as he rose to his feet, "Yeah. I never told you I had a fake arm?"

"No, you definitely did not tell me that," Ahsoka cried back at him.

"Sorry about that," Anakin told her, slightly teasing, "Must have slipped my mind."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes and crossed her arm over her chest, "How does that slip your mind?"

Anakin shrugged his shoulder, "Guess I'm just so used to it."

Ahsoka guessed that made sense, but Anakin could tell she wasn't satisfied with that answer and was itching to ask him just exactly how he lost that arm. If it was one of those past questions he would dodge or if it had happened later. For a moment, Anakin considered how he should approach it. Telling her how he lost his arm wouldn't be a bad thing, plus it could even be a lesson on the dangers of arrogance, something he still struggled with.

"I bet you're wondering how it happened," Anakin said as he set the arm down on the wing next to her.

Ahsoka nodded, but didn't say anything.

Anakin let out a small sigh, he pulled out some tools from his belt and started to work on the arm as he answered her, "It was at the first Battle of Geonosis. Obi Wan and I had gone after Count Dooku. With my master hurt, it was up to me to take him on, but I had been arrogant. Dooku was a master duelist, the best in the Jedi Order before he left and I thought I could take him without a problem. The battle didn't last long, he cut off my arm and intended to finish Obi Wan and I, but then Master Yoda arrived and he left."

Ahsoka frowned at that, "He really cut off your arm?"

Anakin lifted his gaze to say yes when he noticed the expression on her face. It wasn't pity, but there was definite sorrow written on her face. Lightly, he probed at their bond and was able to pick up on what she was feeling as well as why. Thus far, Ahsoka had only cut up droids, she hadn't cut up a living thing yet and the look on her face told Anakin that she wasn't sure she could do such a thing.

Jedi were taught a code of honor when it came to dueling, cutting off limbs was the alternative to killing the opponent, that was true, but it was still a second to last resort. There were a few things running through Ahsoka's mind right then. Wondering how one of their own, a former Jedi master could cut off the arm of a padawan learner and if she would ever be able to do that.

It was different droids, they had some sentience sure, but it was artificial and not real the way she and Anakin were. Would she be able to cut off someone else's arm in the right circumstances? Granted, she knew fighting an enemy or someone like Ventress, it wouldn't weight heavily on her mind, but it was different in what she was thinking. Dooku cut off his arm then intended to kill him. That seemed wrong. Then there was also the matter of wondering if something like that would happen to her. If she would lose her own arm or leg or even her life.

"He really did," Anakin said, "I can't say something like this won't happen to you, because frankly I don't know. I never thought I'd lose this arm, but I did. Better than losing my life though."

Ahsoka nodded, but didn't say anything.

Anakin spoke again, "In any battle, not just in war, most opponents do not play fair and will hurt you in whatever way they can. Dooku hurt me that day, but I learned my lesson and now I am better prepared. There's a chance you could be in that situation, there's a chance for you to be the one to lose an arm or the one to take an arm."

"That's reassuring," Ahsoka mumbled.

"It's the truth," Anakin corrected her and then, she looked more like a fourteen year old than she had a minute before.

Ahsoka looked at his missing arm, "I'm sorry that it happened."

Anakin gave her grin, "It's not so bad. I can still feel with the prosthetic and use a lightsaber. Losing my arm didn't mean I was out of the fight yet."

"I doubt there's anything that could keep you out of the fight. Even if you lost more than just one arm," Ahsoka said with an air of certainty in those words.

Anakin let out a laugh, "Yeah, it'll take more than to get me down. What do you say you help me with my arm?"

Ahsoka raised an eyemark, "You won't let breathe on your ship the wrong way, but you'll let me fix your arm?"

"I said help me with my arm, you get to pass me tool and I explain all the inner workings to you," Anakin told her, "The only way you are messing with this is arm is if I'm unconscious and no one else is around to fix it."

Ahsoka rolled her eyes, "Yay."

Anakin playfully shoved her and he was pleased to see her laugh at that. For the next hour he explained to her how his arm worked, what wires did what, how he was able to still feel it and anything in between. She watched in silence, content to listen and he could feel through the Force that she was beaming. It took him awhile to realize what she was beaming about, but when he did, he didn't fight a smile. Talking about his past wasn't something he ever did, telling this story to Ahsoka had been a step in the right direction, trusting her with the past knowledge he didn't want to share. It may not have been a secret that his arm had been taken, but it certainly wasn't well known and he trusted her with that information.

That first day they met, he had rejected out of hand and it was something he wished he could take back. That day, he had blatantly showed her that he didn't want her, didn't trust her. Of course after that first battle he accepted her and wanted to keep her at his side, but the trust had come a little after the bond was formed between them as well their next few training sessions until their first official assignment together. Since then the two had grown to trust each other, but still Anakin struggled to let her in.

There were plenty of things he kept hidden from her and she knew that he was hiding something, a lot of somethings and didn't pry about them. However he realized just because she wasn't constantly asking or trying to gain answers from him, it didn't mean that she wasn't thinking about it. It didn't mean that she thought he didn't trust her enough to know. Him telling her this one story meant a lot to her, it was a show of his trust in her. Anakin made a silent vow to get better at that. He did trust her, more than she would ever know and he was going to change that. Starting now, she would know how much he did trust her.

"I trust you Ahsoka," Anakin said to her, "Don't ever forget it."

Ahsoka grinned at him, "I won't, I promise."

I promise.