The flight to Tatooine was silent. No one said anything as they all descended towards the sand-covered planet. Anna and Luke were in the closest proximity since the end of their battle, yet by first glance, it looked as though the two of them didn't even notice each other. Anna had the hood of her cloak up and her head turned away from Luke, but her eyes were trained on the small area that she could see. There was a part of her that wanted to be in his arms again, and to have not a care in the galaxy, but her mind was holding her back. The last thing that she needed was to have rumours going about them.
"Master Luke, sir, we are entering the Tatooine system," the voice of a familiar droid rang out, cutting through the silence.
"Good, Threepio," Luke responded, keeping his voice low. "Now, you know the plan. I trust that you and Artoo will execute it."
"We will definitely do our best, sir," Threepio responded. His voice seemed to quiver a little bit, and Anna knew that he was not comfortable with what had been put in place.
"Relax," she said, not turning to face the two. "If you worry, something will go wrong, I can tell you that. Everything is set up for you."
"She's right," Luke said. "You'll be fine. Now go and find Artoo. You will be the first ones to go to the palace."
"Yessir," Threepio said, and he began to shuffle away. Luke let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair. Even though she couldn't see his face, Ana knew that his eyes were on her.
"We're not going to be able to complete this mission successfully if the two of us aren't talking," Luke said, his voice carrying an irritated tone.
"There's nothing left unsaid," she said, still not looking at him. "I was very clear after our kiss."
"But you were wrong," Luke said. "It wasn't a mistake. You feel something, as well as I, and we both know it. We can both feel it. What Master Yoda told you…"
She turned to look at him as he trailed off. "Are you going to tell me that what he says doesn't matter anymore?" she asked. "That because the Republic is gone and the Jedi are nearly extinct, that his words mean nothing anymore?"
"Not in that way," Luke said. "I understand that the traditions of a Jedi are set, but you and I are both human. I'm sure that it's not just what Master Yoda told you."
Anna turned away. "The rest of my backstory is not going to be relayed," she said. "The last few years of my life have not been kind to me in terms of falling in love."
"You're afraid of it," Luke said. "And that's why you can't accept your feelings. Fear is an emotion of the dark side."
"It goes much deeper than that, but if you want to think that way, fine," she said.
"Look, if we're going to get through this successfully, the two of us need to not be at odds with each other," he said.
Finally, she turned to face him. Even though she had known him for months, it was the first time that she realized the change he had gone through. Instead of talking sporadically like he had been when she had first met him, he seemed to be much more relaxed and at peace.
As if he knew what she was thinking, he answered her.
"I've learned how to control my emotions," he said.
"And so have I," she responded.
"By not acknowledging them," he said back, and she turned away. There was no reason for her to be lashing back at him in the way she was, butshe couldn't help herself. Taking into account everything that had happened in her past, letting someone in was her greatest fear.
"We have a full day before we're to leave," Luke said. "I want to solve this. I'm tired of the silence."
Anna sighed and let the side of her head rest in her palm. "I'm not going to tell you everything," she said. "But, I will tell you what you need to know. I was always afraid of my feelings, from the time that I was young. I lived in fear. It's something that I've become accustomed to. Even when I left home, and began to, associate myself with men for the first time, the feeling of fear never left, and they never did anything to comfort me. Not that it was their job in any way, but I've always feared falling in love. Now, with you, I know that you're nowhere near the other men that I've been with, but the psychological aspect of what I've been through will always stick with me. That's why I have been withdrawn to myself the past few days, and acting rather cold. Mater Yoda told me, when I was training, that he knew of my fear. It will take time to tame, and I can't have you taking it so personally. However, when he told me of the restrictions of the Jedi, I saw it as an excuse." She paused and turned away from him. "I'm only trying to protect myself."
Instead of reacting, like she expected him to, Luke stayed silent. He was thinking, no doubt, but she still couldn't turn to look at him. After all, what she had just said was something that had been building up within her for years, and he was the only person she had met that she felt comfortable sharing fractions of her backstory with.
The silence was broken when Leia walked into the room. Anna turned to look at the former princess.
"Sorry to break this up, but the droids just left," she said. "Are you two clear as to when you are to leave?"
"I'm leaving first," Luke said. "Anna is to follow, and is to ensure that our exit plan is going to go as smoothly as possible."
Anna watched the two of them and began to wring her hands. She would be lying if she wasn't nervous. There were so many ways that the plan could go wrong. Leia seemed to notice the other girl's fidgeting.
"Lando has everything taken care of," she said. "We have backups all over the place. I'm sure everything will be fine, as long as the two that just left don't screw anything up."
"It's not Artoo I'd be worried about," Luke said. "Threepio is much more on edge, and I wouldn't put it past him to distract him and put our plan in jeopardy."
Anna glanced away, looking out the small window that allowed somewhat of a view into Tatooine. It was far from her favourite planet, as the heat, the sand, and the overall tan colour never appealed to her. Still, she wasn't about to insult Luke's home planet in front of him, even if he felt the same. In the months that they had been seemingly trapped on the medical bay, the insight that the two of them gained into each others lives was pretty significant.
"I'll let you know if anything new arises," Leia said, and walked out. Luke turned over to where Anna sat quietly, her hands resting on the table in front of her.
"Just relax, okay?" he said. He wanted to place his hand on her shoulder, but there was a part of him holding the motion back. He couldn't deny that there were feelings between the two of them, but until she figured out how to control her fear of emotion, he wouldn't act on the impulses that he felt anymore.
"I'll be fine," she said, then turned to him, and grinned. "Just make sure your exit strategy works."
Just kidding, one more development chapter. Action will start up again next chapter (and it should be pretty long. I have a lot of ideas that have built up). I won't be able to get it out in the same time I did with this one, but it shouldn't take more than a week.