Ugh I'm sorry I just realized that the formatting in the last chapter was a mess

"Ahsoka?" He breathed, his eyes locked with hers. He slowly moved towards her as if in a trance, unable to look away. She took a few hesitant steps forward. Part of him was afraid that she wasn't real.

She stared at him, an expression akin to guilt on her face. Force, he had missed her eyes.

Anakin closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her and burying his face in her shoulder. She reciprocated, looping her arms around his neck. Anakin breathed in, closing his eyes.

Raala bark.

He held her tighter.

6 months. For 6 months, he had been missing her every day, imagining this moment. And now it was a reality. A tear rolled down his cheek.

"Snips..." He whispered. He tore himself away from her, resting his hands on her shoulders. She was taller

"Anakin," She said softly, looking at him with a sad expression on her face. She glanced over at Obi-Wan. "Master Kenobi?"

"Hello, little one." Anakin heard Obi-Wan respond. He didn't turn around, refusing to look away from Ahsoka. "Anakin," Obi-Wan continued, resting his hand gently on Anakin's shoulder. "I'm going to give our report to Saan. Comm me when you're on your way." Anakin nodded distractedly, barely noticing as he walked past them.

Ahsoka looked up at him with a sad smile. He cupped her face in his hands, drinking in every detail of her features. Anakin pulled her into another hug.

"I missed you." He mumbled into her shoulder, memorizing the way it felt to hold her.

"I missed you, too." She responded.

Anakin pulled away, letting his hand— the real one —linger on her shoulder for just a moment. Then he took a step back, looking behind her. There stood three Togruta, looking incredibly confused.

There was a tall man with lavender skin and red stripes on his lekku. His eyes were deep blue, like Ahsoka's. Next to him was a woman who looked so similar to Ahsoka that it was startling. Her skin was pinker than Ahsoka's, however, and her eyes were dark. This must be her family, Anakin thought, shocked.

Next to the man and woman, who Anakin assumed were Ahsoka's parents, there was a boy who looked to be a year or so older than Ahsoka. He had grey lekku stripes and golden yellow skin. He had a starstruck look on his face, his striking blue eyes filled with wonder as he stared at Anakin.

"Who are you?" The man with lavender skin asked, seeming slightly protective over his daughter.

"This is Anakin Skywalker," Ahsoka answered for him, turning to the others. "He was my master when I was a Jedi." The man frowned slightly at the word master. Anakin didn't blame him. He knew better than anybody that that word meant something different outside of the Jedi order.

"Are you Ahsoka's family?" Anakin asked, feeling slightly awkward.

"Yes," The woman smiled at him, extending her hand in greeting. "My name is Coraa Tano." Anakin shook her hand, offering what he hoped was a warm smile.

"Sulo Tano," The man spoke gruffly.

Anakin turned towards the boy. He looked nervous. He must know me from the holonet, Anakin thought.

"Ovota, sir, Ovota Ri. I'm Ahsoka's friend." He said. "You're the Hero With No Fear!" Anakin hated that title. He simply nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Anakin," Ahsoka said, no doubt reading his unease. "Are you on a mission?"

"Yeah," he said, turning his eyes back to her. "I'm here to make sure that Shili remains peaceful."

"The rebellion?" Coraa asked, looking surprised. "I thought that was just a rumor."

"We don't know what's going on yet," Anakin admitted. "But the Senate saw fit to send me and master Kenobi to maintain order." Coraa nodded.

"Can you come over for dinner?" Ahsoka asked him.

"Sure, if that's alright." He said, turning towards Ahsoka's parents.

"Of course, we'd be happy to have you," Coraa said, nodding politely.

They began walking to Ahsoka's house, the sun dipping lower in the sky. Ahsoka grabbed his arm, leading him ahead of the group.

"How long have you been living here?" Anakin asked her.

"About four months," She responded, a guilty expression on her face. A moment of awkward silence passed. "How are the troops?" She asked.

"They're doing alright, considering we're in an active war zone." He replied. "They miss you."

"I miss them too." She said sadly. "I wish I would have said goodbye before I left.

Anakin felt a twinge of anger. When she left.

"Yeah," Anakin said, keeping his voice level.

"What about Padme?"

"She's doing well," Anakin replied, his mood lightened at the mention of his wife. "Elbows deep in some taxation issue at the moment."

Ahsoka chuckled. "That sounds like her."

"What about you?" Anakin asked.

"I'm doing really well." She said. "I was so happy to meet my parents." So happy that you forgot about me, I suppose? Anakin thought.

"I'm sure," He said.

"Ovota is a family friend. I've been tole that we were very close when we were little. Not that either of us remember it, of course." She continued.

"He clearly pays close attention to the news," Anakin replied.

"Yeah," She sighed. "I'm sorry about that."

"It's alright." Anakin risked a glance back at the boy. Ovota was looking straight at him. Anakin turned back quickly, more than a little unsettled. "I noticed that you haven't told your family about me." He said, changing the topic.

"I didn't want them to know that I've been on the battlefield. My dad is a bit overprotective if you didn't notice." Ahsoka offered him a wry smile. Anakin chuckled.

"I bet you're glad that I kept you off of the holonet now, huh?"

Anakin remembered when, during the beginning of her apprenticeship, she would whine to him after he spoke to the news or posed for a picture.

It's not fair, She would say, crossing her arms. I don't get any recognition!

Trust me, you'll thank me later, He responded.

"Oh god," Ahsoka said, rolling her eyes. "Don't remind me. I didn't have a clue what I was talking about."

"Told you so," Anakin said, grinning down at her.

"Thank you," She said, returning the smile.

Anakin didn't understand how the two of them were acting so normally. It felt wrong to laugh together when, just last night, he had been sobbing over her absence.

"Although," She mused, her smile melting away, "I'm sure my parents will find out about it now."

Sorry to intrude on your perfect little family, Anakin thought bitterly, slightly startled by his thoughts. He shook them away. He was happy for Ahsoka. He was.

"I can lie if you want," He said.

"That's alright, ma-" She stopped, taking a deep breath. "Anakin. You're a horrible liar anyways."

Anakin felt a horrible wave of sadness go through him as she almost called him master. It reminded him of a time when the two of them were happy together. When they felt free.

"No I'm not!" He insisted, trying to ignore the ache.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say." There were a few moments of silence. Then, she pointed to a hut that was a few dozen feet away. "That's it."

The hut wasn't small, but it certainly wasn't large either. The walls were made of wood, but it wasn't anything like the glossy, carved doors and furniture at the Capitol building. Anakin had to admit that it looked a bit drab from the outside, although it was light-years better than the depressing, monochromatic apartments at the temple.

Ahsoka led him up to the front door, grabbing a weathered key out of her robes and fitting it into the lock. She swung open the door as the others caught up to them.

Unlike the unimpressive exterior, the inside of the hut was clean and neat. The floors were made of pale stone, and Anakin could feel the temperature drop as he ventured into the small entryway. A narrow hallway led to what Anakin assumed to be the kitchen, and branched off into several other rooms. Perpendicular to the hallway, near where he was standing, there was a staircase that went downwards.

Anakin followed Ahsoka through the hallway towards the kitchen, observing a small living room, a fresher, and a closed door which he assumed to be a bedroom. Around the doorways, there were dozens of photographs. As they walked, he could see them change from tattered, black and white pictures to modern, colored photos. There was one picture that stood out to him in particular, a black and white photo of a man and a woman. It must have been hundreds of years old judging by the quality, but the woman in the picture looked exactly like Ahsoka, right down to the smile.

Anakin could only imagine what it would be like to know so much about one's family. He knew nothing of his grandparents, and he didn't have a picture of his mother, much less the rest of his ancestors. As for his step-family, he hadn't seen or heard from them since that awful day on Tatooine. That was fine with him.

Right before the entrance to the kitchen, there was a glossy photo that looked like it had been taken merely days before. It showed Ahsoka with her parents, all three of them beaming up at the camera. Anakin tried to ignore the pang of jealousy he felt when he looked at the perfect, shiny family. He couldn't help but wonder if she had ever been that happy with him.

Anakin sat down at a circular wooden table, watching his ex-padawan as she grabbed a kettle and filled it up with water.

"Do you want tea?" She asked. Again, Anakin marveled at how she could act so normally after everything that had happened. How she could pretend like she didn't abandon him.

"Sure," He responded evenly. He hoped that she couldn't feel his emotions right now. How ironic, He thought. After months of hoping— praying to the force that she would let down her shields, now he didn't want her to. Anakin reached out hesitantly in the force, making sure that she wouldn't be able to sense him. Her shields were still there, but unlike the fortress that she had maintained ever since she left, these shields were simply rudimentary, without any of the heartbreaking elements of 'I don't want to talk to you'.

Sulo walked into the kitchen, eyeing Anakin suspiciously before grabbing a cutting board and starting to chop up a dark vegetable.

"Dad, stop looking at him like that," Ahsoka said, her back still turned.

"Like what?" He asked innocently.

Ahsoka faced Sulo, an exasperated smile on her face. "Seriously."

Anakin couldn't help but feel jealous watching their interaction. Maybe, a little voice sounded in the back of his head. Maybe she left because you weren't good enough. It was a thought that he had had many times since her departure.

"So, Anakin," Sulo said, grabbing a leafy plant and chopping it finely. "You're fighting on the front lines, right?" Anakin could sense Ahsoka stiffen slightly. He couldn't help but relish in the fact that her movement was so undetectable that only somebody who had been close to her for years would be able to notice.

"Yeah," He responded, doing his best to sound friendly. "I command the 501st Legion."

"Oh, we know," Sulo chuckled. "Ovota is practically obsessed with the war. You're one of his biggest heroes."

"Really?" Anakin was genuinely surprised. Of course, he knew that he was a public figure, but it had never occurred to him that he might be a role model. That someone who he had never met and had no connection to might know his name. At that thought, he was grateful for the second time that day that he had kept Ahsoka's name and face off of the holonet. "Well," He continued humorously, shaking himself from his thoughts. "I hope that I can live up to the expectation."

Coraa entered the room, putting a pot of water on the stove. "Ahsoka, honey, you left your sabers on the couch again." She took some sort of grain out of the cupboard and measured a few cups of it into the pot.

"Oh, sorry," Ahsoka responded, leaning against the counter by the stove.

Anakin looked at her questioningly. Last time he checked, Ahsoka's lightsabers were sitting on her bed in their apartment at the temple. Because she had left them there. Just like she had left him.

"They aren't real lightsabers," She explained, noticing his confusion. "They're just metal rods. I made them so I could practice my katas."

"Oh," Anakin responded. There was an uncomfortable tension in the room.

The teapot started to scream, and Ahsoka poured the water, reaching across the table to offer him a steaming cup. Once again, he was thrown back into a memory.

Thank you, master, Ahsoka said as he placed a cup before her. He sat down, facing his brand new padawan on the floor.

We'll be talking about shielding today. He said, taking a sip of his own cup. As you already know, shielding is one of the first things a Youngling learns. Ahsoka nodded. You have very strong shields, but there are a few things I'd like to work on. For instance, I've noticed that your shields get a lot weaker when you're experiencing strong emotions. As a Jedi, you must stay aware of your presence in the force at all times. Ahsoka nodded eagerly, drinking in the information.

Also, He continued, You're only used to shielding against other younglings. Some force users are exceptionally good at breaking down shields. And if you have a training bond with somebody, the shielding is a little bit different.

Ahsoka tilted her head to the side. But if I have a training bond with somebody, why would I want to shield myself from them?

Anakin snapped back to the present, looking at Ahsoka as he took the cup. What a good question, He thought. Why would you want to block out the one person who has always been there for you? Why would you walk away from him and let him drive himself insane thinking about you? Why wouldn't you just let down your kriffing shields and let him know that you were ok? Anakin would have laughed at the hypocrisy if he wasn't so angry.

Ahsoka sighed. She set her tea down on the table but remained standing. "Mom, Dad, can we have the room for a moment, please?" Anakin gripped his tea in his hands, his knuckles turning white. He stared at the table.

Sulo looked like he was about to protest, but Coraa took his arm and led him out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

"You're angry at me, aren't you?" Ahsoka said sadly. He could feel her gaze but refused to meet her eyes.

Anakin set his tea down hard. He could feel his anger draining away, leaving him with only the sadness. He felt vulnerable and weak.

"How could you leave me?" He asked, his voice breaking. Ahsoka didn't say anything. "How could you shut me out?"

"I'm sorry," She whispered. "I'm so sorry."

"Why didn't you let me in?" He pleaded. "How could you do that to me?" Anakin looked up at her.

"I don't know." She said in a small voice. "I didn't know what to say."

"So you just didn't say anything." Ahsoka flinched. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. "For six months. I called out to you every single day. How could you just ignore me?" His voice was shaking. Ahsoka sat down, putting her head in her hands. "How could you?" He repeated.

"I am so sorry." She said again, her voice thick.

"I want to hate you so badly," Anakin confessed. "But no matter how hard I try, I can't. I just miss you." She looked up at him. "You have no idea how much I missed you." He whispered. Anakin stared at her. He had never seen her look so ashamed.

Over the past six months, Anakin had become aware of the fact that, even though he treated Ahsoka like a sister (which he didn't want to change), he loved her like a daughter. She was his light, his joy, his humor; all of the good things about him. Padme was his Angel, but Ahsoka was his little Angel. A different kind of love, but equally strong. And as much as he pretended to be ok, as much as he ran from the fact that she was gone, he couldn't ignore the truth. When Ahsoka left, it completely and utterly broke him. He thinks that it broke her a little bit, too. And Anakin knew that if he shut her out, it would only hurt them more.

He reached across the table and took her hand. "I forgive you," He whispered. It was barely audible.

She gripped his hand tightly, letting her shields come crashing down.

I love you, She called out to him through their training bond.

I love you, too.

Ahhh! I've been planning that in my head for so long...

But this fanfiction is not over! I have a ton more stuff I want to write so stay tuned :))

Also, I have absolutely no clue how shielding works lol