Warning: some PG-13 stuff in this next chapter.
Ahsoka swallowed hard, a sudden sensation of dizziness washing over her as she looked down at Carter. He was still bent on one knee, still looking imploringly at her.
Was he serious? Everything about the situation- his expression, his passion, his tone of voice- told her he was. But how could he be? She was sixteen. He was seventeen. Sure, they were old enough for marriage by Coruscant's standards, but that didn't automatically mean that they should get married. They were in the middle of a galaxy-wide war, a war that demanded their full focus and attention.
She sighed. "I... Carter..." she searched for the words. "I don't know if we can handle that right now."
His face fell. "Why not?"
Ahsoka felt an ache in her chest as soon as she saw the emotion in his perfect green eyes. "Don't look at me like that. Before you get the wrong idea, you have to know that I love you. More than anything." She reached down to take his hand and pull him to his feet, pressing her lips to his cheek comfortingly before continuing. "But don't you think we're a little young? I'm still trying to sort out what these feelings mean, as amazing as they are. Remember that it was only two years ago that I was afraid of falling in love. And we're at war! I hardly see you as it is. The galaxy is falling apart right in front of us, and we're in the middle of it. Things are just... they're too uncertain right now."
Carter glanced down at their joined hands, running his thumb back and forth across the skin of her hand with a touch gentle enough to send shivers up and down her spine. He said nothing as he kissed the back of Ahsoka's hand; his emerald eyes, staring deep into her sapphire ones, told her what words couldn't say. He continued kissing up her arm, tracing circles on the small of her back with his fingertips. She shivered involuntarily as he lingered on her neck, and gripped his shoulder tightly as she bit back a moan.
"Stop teasing," she growled, jerking his face by the chin to meet hers. With all the force she could muster, Ahsoka rammed her mouth to his. Carter accepted the kiss wholeheartedly, pressing his toungue to her lips in a silent question of permission. She almost immediately parted her lips for him, this time unable to contain the groan as she dug her nails into his hair. His hands were getting dangerously low on her back, and one of them had managed to find its way inside her shirt. The feeling of bare skin against skin was too much, and Carter pulled back to return to Ahsoka's neck, this time with his teeth.
"Carter..." she breathed. "We... We need to... to stop."
He pulled back, eyes widening as he realized how far they'd already gone, and how far they would have gone had they not stopped. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I just... I was trying to..."
"Shh," she said soothingly. "It's hard."
Carter sighed, running his fingers along her cheekbone. "In a galaxy full of chaos, don't you realize that the one thing that is certain, and will always remain certain, is what we have? Our love? I don't know a lot, but I know that this is real."
She closed her eyes and rested her forehead on his chest. "I know."
"Ahsoka, I know you want to wait until after this war is over, but what if we don't get that chance?" A lump formed in her throat as she considered the possibility. "I want to be with you for the rest of my life, even if the rest of my life isn't that long."
Ahsoka didn't say anything. She couldn't. She blinked back tears as she tightened her grip around his shoulders.
"Marry me, Ahsoka," he said pleadingly.
The tears that had been brimming in her eyes finally escaped, and she pulled back to press her lips against his. "Okay," she said quietly. Carter smiled, a lone tear trailing down his cheek, before pulling her closer to him, letting her bury her head in the crook of his neck, and sobbing with her, both teens overcome with emotion. Carter held her tightly, for some reason fearing that if he let go, he would lose her forever.
Anakin sat down in his quarters aboard the Resolute. He couldn't stop thinking about what he'd discussed with the chancellor. About saving people from the icy grip of death.
"Is it possible to learn this power?"
"Not from a Jedi."
Not from a Jedi? The Jedi were powerful enough to know all aspects of the Force. Anakin knew that more than anyone. So if it was impossible to learn it from them, it wasn't that they didn't know how. It was that they refused to teach the methods.
He wasn't surprised. In fact, he'd been expecting that for months. Anakin had been losing faith in the Jedi more and more lately. He'd been learning to lean less on the support of the Order as a whole, and more on certain individuals, and even the list of people he trusted was dwindling. He trusted Obi-Wan, but knew that if worst came to worst, Anakin would be put at odds with his old master. Ahsoka he put above all other Jedi. She was his student, and he knew his influence over her made her the most loyal of his allies. And if he could trust Ahsoka, he could trust Carter. The boy had already trusted him with the biggest secret he could keep. A secret that Anakin supported wholeheartedly.
"Master Skywalker?"Carter's voice came loud and strong as he confronted the Chosen One in the Jedi Temple hangar.
Anakin smiled at the young man. "Carter!" he exlaimed, pleasantly surprised. "Good to see you. It's been too long."
"I agree, Master," he replied with a grin. "But I haven't come up for small talk. Well... We can small talk if you want, but I'd like to get to the point first." Anakin gave him a look that told him to continue, and the teenager took a deep breath. "I really wanted to make this right, and wanted to be a gentleman about it, and since I don't know who her parents are..." Carter stopped, ran a hand through his hair, and swallowed before starting over. "Sorry. I was just wondering... since you're kind of the closest thing to family to her... like an older brother... I mean you are her guardian."
Anakin chuckled. "Say what you need to say, Carter."
He rocked back and forth on his heels. "Well, I was hoping that I could have your permission to marry Ahsoka."
The older Jedi rose his eyebrows in genuine surprise. "Marry my student? You do realize that it's against the Code, right?"
"Master, we've had this relationship against the Code for a little under three years now. We get the risk. And I know you don't have a problem with it. I know your views on attatchments, Ahsoka tells me all the time."
Anakin laughed. "Well, you're right about my views on attachments, but you marrying my Padawan is something completely different. I have to know that you're going to treat her right."
"Master, you know I will."
He nodded. "I do. I was just testing your commitment. And your resolve. You go ahead and propose, Carter, you have my permission. But I can't help whether or not she says yes."
Carter shuddered visibly. "That's what I'm afraid of."
The Chosen One chuckled quietly to himself as he remembered the memory. Even if he couldn't trust Carter completely, which he did, he could always blackmail the boy to keep him in check.
Anakin felt a chill run down his spine as he felt the dark spin his thoughts had taken. What was his problem lately? He could feel the beckoning hand of the dark side stronger than he ever had before. It promised him things he knew he shouldn't indulge himself in... glory, power, freedom. And he liked it.
And he feared for his soul. Because he knew he wasn't strong enough to resist. He was going to do anything to save Padme, and that included turning his back on everything he stood for.
The wedding was a quiet one, with no one present aside from Padme Amidala, who was using her political status to make the marriage official, Barriss Offee, who Ahsoka had trusted with their relationship ever since the incident in which Carter almost left the Order, and the droid performing the ceremony. Carter and Ahsoka exchanged vows tearfully, hand in hand. Ahsoka kept fidgeting in her dress, worrying about how rediculous she looked dressed in nothing but white from head to toe in a simple strapless number that extended to the ground, covering her stilettos that made her only a few inches shy of surpassing Carter's height. Her groom could think of nothing but how beautiful she looked, and planned on telling her that white was her color later on that night.
His heart swelled with pride as he stared at his bride, unable to comprehend that the girl standing in front of him was going to be his wife. It didn't seem possible. Before he'd met her, marriage wasn't in the picture for his life, much less at such a young age. Sometimes he wondered if they really were too young for this. But he knew he loved her, and he loved her as much as, if not more than most husbands loved their wives. And through their Force bond, he knew she felt the same way. They were ready.
His hands shook as he held up the ring, causing him to miss a few times before he finally slipped it onto her left hand finger. They both giggled quietly at the moment like the young and in love teenagers they were, eyes full of joy and brimming with tears. Ahsoka pulled out Carter's wedding band and slid it onto his finger with finesse on her first attempt. Carter gave her hand a squeeze.
"Always gotta be one-upping me, huh?" he joked, winking.
"Get used to it," Ahsoka laughed. "You're committing to it for the rest of your life."
As soon as the droid announced that they were Mr. and Mrs., Ahsoka flung herself at Carter, their lips meeting with energy and fervor. Carter felt as if his heart was about to pound right out of his chest as he clutched his wife -his wife!- to him tightly.
And for one moment, everything was perfect. He didn't pay mind to the gnawing feeling in the back of his mind that it wasn't going to last. Not until that feeling became reality.
Sorry it's so short! :/ I just figured it was about time I got the next chapter up.