The next week, despite his newfound level of self-control, Anakin mom walks the halls of the barracks hall, a giant smile plastered on his face as he stops at the door that he's become so familiar with over the past seven months.

He doesn't even have to knock, the door swings wide open, "Hey, you," Evelyn says softly, leaning on the door, getting used to the beskar implant in her ankle, seeing Anakin's smile as one grows on her face as well, "Everything alright?"

Anakin nods, a bright smile on his face, "The council needs to see us," Evelyn tilts her head in confusion, knowing that Anakin hates council meetings, "Something about the war ending soon," he elaborates, lying through his teeth.

Evelyn nods, "We don't want to keep them waiting, do we?" She says smoothly, grabbing her brown cloak, walking out of her room, and joining Anakin in stride toward the central elevator.

"I'm proud of you," Anakin says in the elevator as Evelyn looks at him with a smile, "I hope you know that."

Evelyn nods, "You never cease to remind me," she says, still trying to catch a rhythm in her strides.

Anakin nods happily, "Good. You're coming into your own," he continues, "You stopped me from killing Count Dooku in cold blood, you stood toe to toe with Darth Maul, and you're alright with a lightsaber," he says teasingly, knowing that she rivals even him in that regard.

Evelyn bumps his shoulder, "You're not too bad yourself, Master," Evelyn says as both of them cringe at the title, knowing that she has to keep appearances by calling him that.

Even though that is absolutely not what he is.

Anakin reaches out to open the door, "Please," he says, the doors slamming open to the pitch black room a warm smile on his face, "In the eyes of the Jedi, it's Anakin from now on."

Evelyn looks at Anakin, confused as he slips into the darkness, Evelyn follows suit, but finds herself in the middle of the council chambers as 13 lightsabers ignite, Yoda standing on his chair, catching her off guard.

She looks towards Anakin, standing right next to Obi-Wan, both wearing proud smiles on their face, "Step forward, Young Zaad," Yoda demands. Evelyn does as the Grand Master asks, kneeling before him, honored to be a part of a legendary lineage of Jedi.

"Evelyn Zaad," Yoda intoned, moving his saber to her right shoulder, "By the right of the Council," he continued, shifting the saber to her left, "By the will of the Force," Yoda hovered his saber over Evelyn's head, "I dub thee, Jedi," he declared, severing Evelyn's braid, "Knight of the Republic."

Evelyn rises and is shocked when the last person she expected puts his hand on her shoulder, "Congratulations, Zaad," Mace Windu says with a smile, "You have been through a lot of adversity to get here, and speaking for the council, we know you will do right by the order and the galaxy."

Anakin's jaw drops in shock, as does Evelyn's, but she contains it, "Thank you, Master," Evelyn responds, bowing her head in respect before walking over to Anakin and Obi-Wan, giving a huge hug to Anakin, who swings her off of her feet in pure excitement, and a hug to Obi-Wan as well, celebrating together.

Anakin's again in the halls of healing, trying to figure out what his next step would be. He's trained Ashoka, he's guided Evelyn, but what does he want to do for the next few years?

He snapped out of his thoughts when the doors behind him slid open and he heard an audible gasp. He whips his head around and sees Evelyn with a hand clasped over her mouth, tears threatening to pour out of her eyes.

Anakin knows immediately that she saw the scars on his back - the ones he got from the war, from Watto.

She saw them all.

He stands up, putting his hand out, "Who did this to you?" Evelyn demands, walking over to Anakin, quickly turning him around, and running her hands over his scars as if she's trying to take them away from him.

She's not happy when Anakin doesn't respond, so she spins him around again, grabbing his face with her hands, feeling his pain, "Ani," she says, her voice full of love and compassion, "How did you survive this?"

He opens his mouth, trying to find the words, but he can't get them out, but she knows. It's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Obi-Wan?" Evelyn asks, coming to the realization that Obi-Wan will never know how much he really means to Anakin. Anakin nods, knowing that he would be completely lost without Obi-Wan Kenobi - his brother.

Evelyn reaches down to grab a shell-shocked Anakin's robes and puts them over his chest, covering Anakin up, "Come on," she says, grabbing Anakin's hand, lacing their fingers together as she helps him out of the chambers, and takes him to her room.

She never truly realized how much pain Anakin's really been through. He's the most kind and loving man she's ever met, how could some monster do this to someone like him?

She'll never know, but that's not going to stop her from scouring the galaxy to find and kill the person who did this to him, "Stop thinking so loud," Anakin says with a hint of a smile as they walk through her door.

"How do I?!" Evelyn shouts, outraged that somehow, he's okay with all of this pain he's been put through, "You, the most compassionate one out of all of us, YOU are the one who has to experience all of this!" Evelyn rants, tears slowly flowing down her cheeks, "You don't deserve this," she says, tears starting to flood down her cheeks, "How could they?" She asks, voice breaking with each word she says.

Anakin rushes over to Evelyn, cupping her face with his hands, wiping all of her tears away, "Our hardships make us stronger, who we are today as people," Anakin says wisely, "Yours was losing your masters," Anakin takes a deep breath, knowing once he tells Evelyn, there's no going back, "Mine was being a slave on Tatooine," he whispers, finally opening up about his past to her.

Evelyn gazes at Anakin, her heart aching for the pain he's endured, the weight of it seeping into her very being. "All the struggles, all my complaints? You had all of this done to you and I was whining over the things that didn't matter," she whispers, her voice laced with empathy.

Anakin's expression tightens, a battle raging within him. He knows he should restrain his emotions, but the desire to let go tugs at him, "Don't say that," he pleads, his voice quivering on the edge of just saying fuck it to let himself finally feel the happiness that he's always wanted with her, "Everything that matters to you matters to me."

Anakin momentarily loses himself but then forcefully steers away from that precipice. "Come on," he says, pulling her close as they head towards the coffee machine.

As Evelyn starts preparing the drink, her back pressed against Anakin's chest, she leans into him before turning around and enveloping him in a warm hug. Tear tracks still mark her cheeks as she looks up into his eyes, arms encircling his shoulders while his hands gently rest at her waist.

In a moment of recklessness, Evelyn decides to act on her feelings, knowing that what she's about to do violates the very code she's sworn to serve.

She rises on her toes and kisses his left cheek, then his right, feeling his grip on her tighten. "You're so brave," she murmurs, her lips inching closer to his, locking onto his gaze before flickering down to his lips.

Fuck it.

Anakin closes his eyes and presses his lips to Evelyn's, and she instantly returns it. Their kiss both firm and tender. He wraps his arms around her waist as she clings to the back of his neck, both of them wanting to stay in that moment forever.

When they finally pull away, Anakin has a warm smile as he rests his head inside the crook of her neck. Evelyn holds him for a moment before lifting his head, kissing him with more urgency, eager to continue, finally being able to act on the feelings that she's had for months.

One, two, three more kisses as Evelyn flips Anakin around, his back to the counter as she continues to smother Anakin with her love.

"Wait," Anakin pants, pulling away, concern in his voice, knowing where this is headed, "Are you sure?"

Evelyn doesn't initially answer with words but rather with a gentle brush of her lips against his, "I've never been surer of anything in my life," she conveys, her eyes filled with love.

Anakin's smile widens, a surge of relief washing over him, "Evelyn?" he starts, his voice trailing off, his eyes revealing the unspoken emotions that words can't express.

Evelyn, knowing exactly what Anakin is feeling at this moment, responds with a soft certainty, "I know, Anakin," Anakin exhales as she smiles at him, love evident in her eyes, "I know."

She pressed her lips to his once more, sealing their unspoken love confession in the only way she knew how. Her fingers twitch and the kitchen lights are turned off, plunging the room into a dimly lit aroma as she slides the brown over-cloak off her shoulders.

"Stay?"