Something was wrong.

Ahsoka felt… aggravated. A dull ache resided in her neck and the pain gave no hints of dissipating anytime soon.

If she didn't know any better, she would say she was stressed. For once in her life, however, she simply wasn't.

She had nothing to be stressed about. Her Master had pacified her self-doubts about being his Padawan, and together they had successfully thwarted Cad Bane's attempt at stealing sensitive information off a Jedi Holocron, all the while saving many force-sensitive children from being kidnapped.

She and Anakin had become even more inseparable since they developed their force bond, so it definitely wasn't their relationship that was stressing her out.

Rex and the other clones would often crack jokes at the behaviour of the Master-Padawan duo. He was a perceptive man, which meant he had no difficulty noticing how the two of them seemed instinctively attached at the hip, or how one of them always seemed unfocused and tense if they didn't know where the other was.

Ahsoka dismissed Rex's jokes with a roll of her eyes and a snippy remark, but she really was proud of the bond she had built with her Master.

Through that very same bond, she knew he was proud of it too.

She smiled at the thought, though her expression descended instantly into a grimace of pain. Her hand shot to where the nerves had spiked in her neck. Then, just as quickly as it had flared, the same pain subsided back into a dull ache.

Ugh. It had been like this for days now, and it wasn't like she had done anything out of the ordinary in the time since she and Anakin had returned to Coruscan-

Anakin.

Come to think of it, he had been acting differently the last few days.

It wasn't anything significant, and to be honest, she was certain she wouldn't have noticed anything before they developed their force bond. They were still basically inseparable. They still laughed and trained and enjoyed spending time with each other.

But… maybe that was it. Nothing had changed.

Nothing at all.

Before everything happened with Bane, it seemed to Ahsoka that she and her master were getting closer each day. They learnt things about each other and gradually grew more comfortable with one another on an almost hourly basis.

Since the mission, their relationship seemed to stagnate. Their bond, while still strong and flourishing, had seized to grow as it constantly had before.

Ahsoka sighed. It was almost as if the force knew that something between them was off, that something was hindering their connection. But that couldn't be possible, Anakin seemed almost unnaturally bright every time she saw him, and she saw him a lot.

Ahsoka mulled over her thoughts at length and found herself coming back to one word.

Unnatural…

He was hiding something from her.

It all made sense. Their bond had stopped growing because he had stopped contributing his thoughts and feelings towards it. Instead, he had been putting up shields, sending false signs that everything was normal and that nothing had changed.

She knew it was possible, he taught her how to do it himself. Since the initial lesson, the only reason she ever put up her barriers was to practice. She hated that exercise. It was draining, she felt so disconnected from everything. It was like trying to hold back a Tsunami with the force.

The Togruta cursed her Master in her native language. They had finished the mission three whole days ago. His shields were slipping, he must be exhausted. The anxiousness and pains of tension she had been feeling with increasing intensity over the past few days weren't because of her own emotions, they were snippets of her Master's that he had let slip past his defences.

Ahsoka sprinted madly to the quarters that she and Anakin shared.

He was being an idiot. Even by his colossal standards.

Her insecurities and self-doubts resurfaced on their own accord. Why was he hiding things from her? Did he change his mind about keeping her as a Padawan?

No. He wouldn't. This was Anakin, her master. He would never do that to her.

Still, tension and fear coursed through every fibre of her being as she came crashing through the door of their room.

Sitting calmly on his bed, Anakin barely had time to process how his very small Padawan had nearly knocked a rather heavy door clean of its hinges, or why she was so out of breath for someone he had seen run rings around him on the battlefield without so much as breaking a sweat before she spat out a very bluntly phrased question.

"Why?"

Anakin blinked. "Why what?"

Ahsoka clenched her fists in frustration. "With all due respect, cut the shit master."

"AHSOKA! What has gotten into you?"

The Togruta shook her head in disbelief. "Are you really going to do this to me? Are you really going to let me walk around wondering what I did to deserve to be blocked out of your life for three days straight?" She was shaking now. She felt so many emotions wash over her at once and it was impossible to process any of them.

A sigh escaped the Jedi Knight's lips. "For the last time, I d-don't know what you're talking about."

There it was. His stutter was nearly imperceptible, but it told Ahsoka everything she needed to know.

Her Master didn't stutter, not when he was telling the truth or when he believed in what he was saying. In that brief stutter, he had considered letting go and telling her the truth.

But he hadn't.

That alone broke Ahsoka's heart.

"You know, Anakin," she emphasized his name, spitting it out of her mouth with venom. Her tone was one of utter defeat and betrayal. "The day we first developed our bond was one of the greatest moments of my life. So many times before have people promised to be there with me forever, and not one of them was telling the truth. They were lying to make themselves feel better, so they could tell all their real friends about how nice they were to the 'the weird alien girl' who seemed to linger around like a bad smell. The day we developed our bond, everything about it seemed so genuine. I thought that I was no longer alone, that I finally had someone who cared about me just as much as I cared about them." Ahsoka let out a humourless chuckle as tears pooled in her blue eyes. "Guess I was wrong. Maybe I'm just meant to be alone."

The Togruta wiped away a tear before she turned towards the door. She couldn't stand to be around him a second longer, especially since he hadn't even reacted to her words. He looked unfazed as if he hadn't heard a word she just said.

Her hand wrapped around the handle of the door.

"I'm scared, Ahsoka."

The hand remained firmly in place.

"You don't get scared," her reply was shaky, and she was fairly certain her voice cracked on the last word.

Without warning, Anakin let down his mental barrier.

For the first time in three days, the bond between Master and Padawan flowed freely.

Ahsoka's death-grip on the door handle all but fell away as she sensed every emotion that radiated from her Master.

He had lied to her again. He wasn't scared.

He was kriffing terrified.

Terrified of losing her.

As if he had sensed her thoughts, Anakin choked out an explanation. "Everyone I care about dies or leaves me. People love the idea of who I'm supposed to be. They love the idea of a near-omnipotent General who holds no fear, A hero who could walk through hell a-thousand times and not get burnt. By the time they realise he doesn't exist, more often than not, it's already too late, and the ones who do survive my failures want nothing to do with the Jedi who can't live up to the expectations of a prophecy he knows kriff all about."

The pain her Master spoke with filled her with an overwhelming need to make him feel better. To fix him.

Force, she wished she knew how.

"I can't let the same thing happen to you Ahsoka. I can't fail you, I can't let you down like I did my mo-" Anakin's hands tugged at his hair as he let out a yell of pure agony. He had to say it. She deserved the truth. "Like I let down my mother. I'm afraid that if I get too close to you, you'll end up dead just like her and I refuse to let that happen."

Guilt pooled in Ahsoka's stomach. How could she have been so cruel? Here she was accusing him of not caring about her when in reality, he cared about her so much that he was willing to suffer the crushing weight of loneliness just because he thought it would protect her.

She knew how to fix him now. She just didn't know if she was strong enough to do it.

"One of the only memories I have of home is my father," the Togruta smiled as she reminisced. "He always seemed so vibrant and full of life, as if nothing bad in the world was strong enough to affect him. He was the leader of our village, and his ability to inspire our people was second to none," Ahsoka paused and shot a smile at Anakin. "Well, maybe second to one."

The Jedi Knight chuckled despite his sombre mood. His Padawan always found a way to cheer him up. He found himself eager to hear the rest of her story. "Then what happened Snips?"

The Togruta's expression visibly dulled. "A week after he finished leading our people to rebuild after an Akul attack, he announced that he was very sick. He had known for months that he would die, but he kept it to himself so that his people wouldn't lose hope after they had already lost so much else," another pause. "You two would have gotten along well you know."

"I think you're right about that Snips. He sounds like an incredibly brave man. He'd be so proud of you," he smiled a real smile for the first time in days, suddenly wishing he had the opportunity to meet one of the people who helped shape his Padawan into the amazing girl she was today.

Anakin held back his urge to ask her more questions about her home. He could tell she was working up the courage to say more.

"He died less than a month later," she continued. "I don't remember much from back then, not with any significant clarity anyway, but the last words he spoke to me will never escape my mind. 'Love is to be cherished. Nothing more. Nothing less. To find another who reciprocates your care is the greatest gift the gods can offer. Do not live in fear of losing this gift, for to live without love and care is nothing more than premature death.' Honestly, I didn't have a clue what he was talking about at the time, I was only a small child." Ahsoka's eyes locked on to Anakin's. "I think I understand now."

Only as she finished her story did Anakin notice two things.

One, the tears in his eyes had morphed from ones of agony to ones that stemmed from a much happier place. Belonging. Throughout his own life, he had often felt just as alone as his Padawan. Now that the universe had thrown them together, he had someone he could truly trust and depend on. It would take both of them some time to break their old habits of keeping everything to themselves, but that was something they were willing to work on as a team.

The second thing Anakin noticed was that they had subconsciously drifted closer together. They were sitting across from each other, knees almost touching, in a meditative position.

Emotions still high, Anakin reached out and pulled his Padawan into the tightest and warmest embrace he could manage. "I understand too, more than I ever thought I could. I'm sorry I lied to you Ahsoka, you deserve a better Master than that. I just… panicked and got confused and I didn't want to hurt you and-"

"Master, stop," Ahsoka interrupted his rambling. "I forgave you the second you dropped your mental shields. I understand why you did it, and while I don't agree with it, I can't say I would have done any different were I in your position. You're new to being a teacher just like I'm new to being a Padawan. We're both gonna make mistakes, but we'll be fine if we work through them together. I truly couldn't ask for a better Master. That being said…"

The sound of a playful slap reverberated around the room.

"Ow," Anakin extracted his arm, that he previously had wrapped around Ahsoka, and rubbed the side of his head.

"If you ever lie to me again, I'm telling Master Kenobi and the entire 501st about the time 'The Greatest Pilot In The Galaxy' crashed our speeder into a light-post because he was trying to steer with his forehead," the Togruta deadpanned.

Anakin gasped and shot her a scandalised look. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

Ahsoka begrudgingly wriggled out of her Master's hug until she was directly behind him on the floor. She began to massage his neck.

"Uh, Snips? What are you doing?"

"Testing my theory. Now stop moving," her response served to confuse Anakin even further.

The pain Anakin had been feeling in his neck for three days rapidly dissipated under Ahsoka's touch, and he was so relieved in his newfound comfort that he didn't even think to question just how she knew about the discomfort he had been in.

Ahsoka smiled as the pain in her neck evaporated too.

Her theory was right.

Their bond knew no bounds.