Ahsoka watched Anakin begin to walk over to her. She leaned over to Barriss.
"Hey, would you meet me back at Lux's? I've got something that I need to do." Barriss nodded and walked off towards Lux's mansion.
Ahsoka made her way over to her master, mentally preparing herself. She stopped in front of him.
"Are you crazy?" he asked sharply. "What are you doing, running away from Ilum? The Council is furious. If they find you, you're in so much trouble!"
"I know what I'm doing, master," said Ahsoka.
"Do you?" he asked. "Do you really? Because it seems like all you've done is pissed off the Council. Seriously, I've never seen Master Windu so mad. And how do you plan to survive, anyway? You don't have anywhere to stay!"
"I've been staying with a friend," said Ahsoka.
"Who do you know who lives here?" asked Anakin. Then realization struck. "If you've been staying with that Bonteri kid, I'm gonna puke."
"Master, come on, why are you even here? It's not like you cared enough to try and help me when I was back in Ilum," said Ahsoka, suddenly angry. "You just left me there, all alone! I could have died for all you knew!"
"I couldn't exactly come and get you," said Anakin. "How do you think the Council would have reacted if I'd taken you? Besides, I knew you weren't dead. I would have felt it. Ahsoka, you're breaking the rules! Just come back! They'll punish you, but it won't be that bad! I'm sure they won't expel you or anything!"
Ahsoka shot Anakin a glare. "I'm breaking the rules! How about you and Padmé?" She laughed at his shocked expression. "That's right, I know all about that! At least I'm not trying to get into a senator's pants!"
"Are you sure about that?" said Anakin. "I seem to remember you and that Bonteri kid seeming pretty cozy last time we were here."
Ahsoka's lekku darkened in embarrassment. "Master, I don't want to be a Jedi anymore! You can't force me!"
"Actually, I can," said Anakin. He pressed a button on his com link, and Ahsoka could see a group of clones starting to approach. She could just make out the blue of Rex's armor.
"Master!" protested Ahsoka. "Just let me go!"
"No can do, snips," said Anakin. Ahsoka balled her hands into fists. She released her anger as a powerful Force wave, which sent Anakin tumbling to the ground. Ahsoka used the Force and jumped to the rooftop of the cage she was just in. She relished the feeling of the sun shining on her face momentarily before jumping to the next rooftop, staying high up so that she could avoid the stun blasts that the cloned were now shooting at her. Ahsoka continued her path above the streets until she'd left Anakin and the troopers far behind, and reached Lux's mansion, where she found him and Barriss waiting for her.
Her two friends were sitting on a couch, laughing about something.
"No way!" said Lux. "She really did that?"
"What are you two laughing at?" asked Ahsoka, squeezing next to them on the couch.
"I was just telling Lux some stories about what you've gotten up to at the Temple," said Barriss.
"She just told the one about how you and Master Skywalker hid Master Kenobi's lightsaber," said Lux.
Ahsoka laughed, remembering that day. It had been on a long break that they'd had, and they'd been so bored that Anakin had decided to steal Obi-Wan's lightsaber. "I remember that," said Ahsoka. "It lasted for two weeks before her figured out that we had taken it."
"So what did you need to do?" asked Barriss.
"Well," said Ahsoka, "Master Skywalker kind of knows I'm here. And her might know that I'm staying with Lux."
"Looks like we've got to get out of here," said Barriss. "Do you know how long we have until he finds you?"
"He doesn't know where Lux lives," said Ahsoka. "But I'm assuming that we've got about a day."
"It's settled then," said Lux. "Tomorrow we can leave on my ship."
Ahsoka raised an eyebrow. "We?" she asked.
"Do you really think I'm not coming?" asked Lux.
"What about your conference?" asked Ahsoka.
"That can wait," said Lux. "It's not every day that you get the opportunity to go on the adventure of a lifetime."
"If you're sure," said Ahsoka.
"If we leave tomorrow," said Barriss, "then I think we should get some rest."
"Agreed," said Lux. He showed Barriss to a room that she could stay in, which was near Ahsoka's, before going of to his room.
Ahsoka removed her lightsabers from her belt and placed the Holocron on the nightstand with it. She took off her white boots, but decided to just sleep in her day clothes. It's not like anyone would care.
She was fixing to go to sleep when her door opened and Lux walked in, dressed in his sleepwear.
"Lux?" asked Ahsoka. "What are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you," said Lux. Ahsoka sat up and patted the bed next to her, where Lux sat.
"What's on your mind?" Ahsoka asked him.
"I wanted you to know how much I've missed you," said Lux. "I couldn't stop thinking about you after Carlac. Then, when you came to Onderon for the rebellion, I was really happy, but then there was that whole Steela thing. It's just…really good to see you again."
"I've missed you a lot too, Lux," said Ahsoka. "I'm glad to see you again, too."
"Sometimes I wished that you weren't a Jedi," said Lux. "I hated never knowing if I was going to see you again. Plus, the whole 'no attachments' thing."
"I don't exactly consider myself a Jedi anymore," said Ahsoka.
"Good," said Lux. "If you did, I wouldn't be able to do this." He leaned forward and captured Ahsoka's lips in a kiss.
At first, Ahsoka almost pulled back. But then she realized that there was nothing stopping her from being with Lux. She wasn't a Jedi, so she didn't have to follow the Code, and there was no reason for her to break away.
Ahsoka decided that it was time for something new. She wanted an adventure. Sure, she'd had plenty of adventures. But always with Anakin or Obi-Wan or even Rex. Maybe she was selfish, but she wanted this purely for herself. She kissed Lux fiercely, holding him close to her and wishing that she'd never have to let go.
Ahsoka woke to rays of sunlight coming in through the window, illuminating the room and, of course, Lux, who was asleep next to her on the bed. Ahsoka silently slid out from under the sheets, trying not to wake him, pulled on her boots, and picked up her lightsabers and the Holocron.
She quietly left the room and went into the kitchen, where Barriss was already preparing breakfast. It smelled wonderful and full of flavors, nothing like the dull government rations she'd had to live on previously.
"So…" said Barriss with a mischievous grin. "I noticed that Lux snuck into your room last night. And he didn't leave."
"I don't know what you mean," said Ahsoka. "And how would you have even noticed?"
"I couldn't sleep," said Barriss. "I came out for a cup of hot chocolate and I noticed a certain senator sneak into the room of a certain Togruta."
"You must be mistaken," said Ahsoka. Naturally, that was when Lux chose to come out of Ahsoka's room and get himself some caf. Barriss smiled triumphantly and Ahsoka's lekku darkened.
"So, what's for breakfast?" asked Ahsoka, hoping to change the topic, although Barriss's expression said that they'd finish the conversation later.
After they'd eaten, Lux showed them to his ship. As they approached it, Ahsoka got a peculiar sense from the Force, something telling her not to go towards it.
"Wait!" Ahsoka cried, grabbing Lux's arm to prevent him from going forward. Then the ship exploded.