"AHSOKA!" Anakin screamed in desperation for his Padawan. Around him, dust and debris flew through the air. He couldn't see, couldn't breathe. The explosion of the weapons factory still rang in his ears, but he could hardly notice.

Somewhere, deep underneath the wreckage, his Padawan was dying.

Anakin's primal roar bellowed across the wasteland of Geonosis. Images of Ahsoka trapped, left to asphyxiate and die, played over and over in his head without reprieve.

The Jedi Knight fell to his knees and curled in on himself. His hands clawed at his scalp as if he was trying to tear his own brain out just to stop the pain.

He could feel her weakened form through their bond, sense that she had accepted her imminent death. She was at peace with the idea of releasing her soul back to the endless expanse of the universe.

Anakin, however, was not. The universe could get kriffed. It couldn't have her. It didn't deserve her.

Anakin struggled to his feet, eyes steely with determination. Luminara placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before she spoke. "Their time has come, Skywalker, but their sacrifice has saved the lives of many. Let your Padawan go."

"How can you say that?" Anakin shrugged her hand away in anger. "They're still alive, and I have every intention of keeping it that way."

He barely finished his sentence before he felt a spark of hope surge through him like lightning.

The bond between Master and Padawan was flooded with relief seemingly out of nowhere. Anakin knew then that Ahsoka had a plan. His worry marginally subsided, he trusted her with his life. Whatever she was thinking, he knew she could do it.

The Jedi Knight closed his eyes and tried to reach her through their bond. "Come on, Snips, I believe in you."

A faint beeping originated from the communicator on his wrist, and he couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. Luminara questioned him as to what the noise was, but Anakin gave no response. He was too busy sprinting towards the source of the faint pulse.

"I'll move the heavy machinery over sir," Captain Rex spoke with urgency once he caught up to where Anakin and Luminara had stopped. He too was anxious about his commander.

"No time," Anakin responded, adrenaline and instinct taking over. He closed his eyes and lost himself in the force.

As the ground began to shake, Luminara's eyes widened in shock. Everyone at the temple knew of Anakin's immense power, but she almost couldn't believe the sight in front of her. The Mirialan Jedi had never been one to preach the prophecy of 'The Chosen One.' Still, the strength of which he commanded the force around him was enough to make her question her own beliefs.

Anakin hurled the wreckage away with a yell of exertion. He stumbled as fast as his exhausted body would allow towards the destroyed tank that had been buried moments earlier. He needed to know she was safe, needed to hold her in his arms to prove that he hadn't lost her.

The hatch of the tank swung open, and Ahsoka barely adjusted to the brightness of the Geonosian sky before she was wrapped in a desperate embrace.

"I'm so sorry, Ahsoka," Anakin breathed, enveloping his bruised Padawan with his body. He acted as a protective cocoon, shielding her from a planet he was convinced was trying to hurt her. Anything that wanted to get to her from now on would have to go through him, and they both knew he would die before he let that happen.

He wasn't just apologising because he felt responsible for her getting hurt, Ahsoka realised. They had argued before the mission. She had foolishly mistaken his concern for her as a lack of trust, and he had been terrified that her last memory of him would be a negative one.

The Togruta understood his fear. She housed a similar one when she was trapped underneath the wreckage of the factory.

None of that mattered to them now, their argument was trivial in comparison to how close they came to losing one another. Ahsoka nuzzled further into Anakin's chest, cherishing that she was lucky enough to be close to him once more. "I'm sorry too, Skyguy."

Daring not let go of his Padawan, Anakin slowly tilted his head to the sky, glaring at it with a look of victory plastered across his face.

One day the universe would take back Ahsoka's unbreakable soul, transform it into the brightest star in the galaxy.

But today was not that day.

Today was another day he got to spend with his incredible Padawan. Another day he would cherish for the rest of his life.

Miraculously, Ahsoka had only sustained minor injuries from her ordeal. Kix released her quickly from the Medbay with strict orders that she rest for the next 48 hours. The events of Geonosis had rightfully left her exhausted, so for once, she didn't argue with the medic. She fell asleep the moment her head hit her pillow.

Anakin, however, had not been so lucky.

Sleep eluded the Jedi Knight at the best of times, and since his brain insisted on visualising hundreds of different ways that their mission could have ended in catastrophe, he found himself tinkering in the 501st hanger bay long into the night.

"Kriff," Anakin cursed to himself as he, once again, dropped the bolt he was trying to fasten in place on his head. Working on machines was therapeutic to him. Despite how tedious it could be at times, it gave him an outlet to focus on something other than the seemingly never-ending war.

As a Jedi, he pledged himself to better the galaxy in any way he could, only to discover that everyone had a different idea of what better was. The Republic fought off Separatist occupation with the intent of spreading freedom and democracy, but that often came at a high cost. He had seen so many innocents killed in warzones, so many cities reduced to rubble. Not once, however, had he observed The Republic provide aid to broken families, or offer to help rebuild what they had destroyed. Once the fighting stopped, they simply moved onto the next warzone to repeat the process, leaving behind a trail of ravaged planets. Planets that now had the freedom to choose how they recovered from a war that the vast majority of them wanted no part in.

Nothing about being a Jedi had certainty, and right or wrong was merely a matter of perspective.

Anakin liked mechanics because it was one of the few things in life where a grey area didn't exist. When he repaired a machine, no uncertainty clouded his mind when he walked away from it. He had fixed something, made it better.

Machines had always made sense to him. These days, they were about the only thing that did.

Anakin finally secured the bolt and crawled clumsily out from underneath the speeder, smacking his head as he did so.

"Ow! Son of a b-"

"Such language is unbecoming of a Jedi," Ahsoka sat perched atop a crate, observing her Master with an amused expression. "Is what Master Kenobi would say at least. Personally, I think swearing is a great outlet for stress, second only to talking about the problem." Her expression shifted into one of concern as she continued. "What's wrong, Skyguy?"

Anakin chuckled. He should have known better than to think he could slip away without her noticing, even if she was sound asleep. "Firstly, how you are so good at sneaking up on me, I'll never know," he mentally facepalmed as his Padawan flashed him a smug grin. "Secondly, shouldn't you be asleep?"

"Shouldn't you?" the Togruta retorted.

"Touché, but I'm not the one who blew up a factory full of explosives while still inside of it. I'd say you need sleep more than I do," Anakin thanked the force he had managed to change the subject.

Now, if he could just keep it u-

"You're avoiding the question."

The Jedi Knight sighed. Nevermind. "If you were anyone else, I'd tell you I had no idea what you were talking about," he grinned at the warning glare his Padawan shot him. "But, since we promised to be honest with each other, I'm just rattled from the mission. I… I nearly lost my incredibly brave, but dangerously reckless Padawan over a stupid droid factory and a stupid war."

"But you didn't, Anakin. Look, I'm fine," Ahsoka beamed at him. "You saved me, remember? We had each other's back like always, and everything worked out okay."

Anakin prayed at that moment that the war would never extinguish the uncompromising sense of hope his Padawan always seemed to hold. He gave her a sad smile. "I know Snips. It's just…"

Ahsoka noticed him trail off and recognised he wasn't ready to talk more about it just yet. That was okay. She knew him well enough to know that he would open up in his own time. "I understand Skyguy, here if you ever need."

Anakin wondered for the hundredth time that day what he had done to deserve her. "Thank you."

The Togruta hummed a response before tilting her head in confusion as she observed her Master rummaging through a worn, yellow toolbox. "Anyway, whatcha doin'?"

A celebratory cheer escaped Anakin's mouth as he finally found the socket he was looking for. "Something came loose in the engine a few weeks ago, but I can't seem to figure out what. Think you can give me a hand?"

The Togruta frowned. "You know I don't understand the first thing about mechanics, Master. I doubt I'll be much help."

"Luckily for you, your teacher is a genius, so I'm sure you'll pick it up in no time. Come on, I'll show ya," he gestured her over eagerly with his hand.

"Genius is a stretch," Ahsoka smirked as she flipped over towards him. "Over-confident, on the other hand, is much more fitting."

"I'm choosing to ignore that harsh comment, but only because I know you're jealous of my superior intellect."

Ahsoka giggled. "You don't have intellect, Skyguy."

"Okay, that's more than enough out of you for one day," Anakin stifled a laugh at his Padawan's trademark snippiness. "Besides, you have a speeder to fix."

Ahsoka blinked as a socket wrench was thrown into her hand. "Okay… what do I do?"

"Beats me, I've been trying to figure this out for weeks," Anakin, of course, knew exactly what the problem was, but Ahsoka often learnt best when she was thrown in the deep end.

He hoped his Padawan would be as eager to learn about this as he was to teach it. His mechanical knowledge had helped him countless times in his own life. Maybe, one day, it would do the same for her.

To Anakin, Ahsoka was the most talented and intelligent being in the galaxy, which is why he wasn't the least bit surprised when she identified and fixed the problem in five minutes flat. The proud look on her face made him forget all about Geonosis.

For now, they were safe and together.

And at the moment, that was all that mattered to both of them.