8A/N: Hey, everybody, look! I'm doing an author's note at the beginning!
Well, a super-long chapter today. This chapter singlehandedly triples the length of the story. Enjoy!
"Hey, Snips!" Anakin called over the rushing wind.
She turned her head. "You don't need to yell," she yelled.
"Well, why are you yelling?"
"So you can hear me over the wind."
"Well, then I should yell so you can hear me."
"I don't hear the wind as much. Montrals. Anyway, what were you going to say?"
"Do you remember how to catch yourself with the Force?"
"It's been a while, but I should be fine."
"Try it right now."
She closed her eyes and concentrated.
Suddenly, Anakin couldn't see her anymore. He looked frantically around.
"Hellooo…" came from above him.
He looked over his shoulder. Ahsoka was now about fifty feet above him. She had apparently succeeded in slowing the rate of her fall.
"I think I'm good," she called.
Anakin held up an OK sign.
Then he realized that he was still falling at 9.8 meters per second per second and the ground was getting a little too close. Quickly, he slowed his fall with the Force as Ahsoka had done, but not as much as he would have liked.
"Oof," he groaned as he hit the ground, rolling to absorb some of the impact. He lifted his head to find people staring at him.
"Uh… hey," he said, waving awkwardly.
Ahsoka landed lightly on her feet next to Anakin and smirked down at him before addressing the bystanders. "Everything's under control," she said. "We're all fine here, thank you. How are you?"
They kept staring.
Ahsoka helped Anakin up and brushed off his robes. Patting him on the shoulder, she smiled brightly at the crowd. "See? Perfectly fine."
After a moment or two more of staring, the people around them began to go about their business again.
Ahsoka turned to Anakin. "I haven't really used the Force in months, yet I'm not the one who lost their edge," she said, smirking.
"Hey, that was only because I was busy worrying about you!" Anakin protested.
"Well, that's nice of you, but I was fine. You, on the other hand, wouldn't have been."
Anakin rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go."
"Yeah, I want my milkshake," Ahsoka said, nudging his shoulder.
They set off in the direction of Dex's Diner.
"Hello, hello!" Dex called in his usual cheerful manner. He lumbered over to Anakin and Ahsoka and crushed them in a four-armed hug.
"Nice to… see you… Dex," Anakin gasped.
"Yes, yes it is!" Dex clapped them both on the back before pulling away and turning to Ahsoka. "I saw on the news what happened, young Ahsoka, and let me tell you—I never! Ever! Not for one second! thought you had done it. And I'm not just saying that because your master here proved it. I knew you would never do that. And…" he spread all four arms in an apologetic gesture, "I'm so very sorry for everything you went through."
"Thank you, Dex." Ahsoka said. "That means so much." She paused. "Aaand it's also one of the best apologies I got."
"Any time. Now, what can I get you two today?" Dex asked, leading them to a booth. "It's on the house."
"Oh, thank you," Ahsoka said, "but he," she nudged Anakin, "owes me a milkshake. Sooo…"
Dex chuckled. "All right then. I won't take away the satisfaction of making him pay. So what'll it be?"
"Chocolate, please," Ahsoka said.
"Same," Anakin said.
"Coming right up!" Dex disappeared into the kitchen.
Anakin settled down into the booth, and Ahsoka sat across from him. For a moment, neither one said anything.
"So… what have you been up to?" Anakin asked.
Ahsoka shrugged. "Not much."
"Ahsoka Tano, stop trying to evade the question." He grinned playfully to show that he was kidding.
"Fine. My speeder bike crashed, so I met some people, so I did some work as a mechanic. And that's how I supported myself."
Anakin narrowed his eyes. "You know, somehow I get the feeling you're not telling me everything, Snips."
She waved her hand. "Don't worry, I didn't do anything you wouldn't have done."
"That's what scares me," he muttered.
Just then, Dex returned. "Here you go," he said jovially, plunking two chocolate milkshakes and a sandwich down on the table.
Ahsoka tilted her head to one side, as she always did when confused. "Sorry, Dex, but we didn't order any sandwiches."
"Just my way of making up for what happened." He winked.
"Oh… thanks, Dex!" Ahsoka said happily. She inspected the sandwich. "Is this…" She looked up at Dex. "It's my favorite! How did you remember this?"
"It's my job," Dex chuckled. "Enjoy!" And with that, he slipped away to attend to his other customers.
Ahsoka took a bite of her sandwich. "So," she mumbled around her food, holding a hand in front of her mouth in a halfhearted attempt to be polite, "how are Rex and the boys?"
"Rex is doing fine. He misses you, though. They all do."
There was an awkward pause.
Ahsoka swallowed. "Can you… tell them I said hi?" she asked.
"Ah… sorry, Snips. But no."
"What? Why not?" She leaned forward, her brow furrowing.
"Because you can come do it yourself," he said with a smirk.
"No," Ahsoka said, her gaze dropping to the table, "no, you… you know I can't do that. Not after everything that happened."
"You didn't even do anything, Ahsoka! They don't blame you, because there's nothing to blame you for."
She didn't say anything, just kept poking at some little imperfection on the table with her fingernail.
"And… they miss you. They all do. Even the shinies want to meet the Commander they've heard so many great things about."
She took her eyes off the table to look at him. "Anakin."
He stopped rambling.
"I can't go back there," Ahsoka said. "Not so soon. Maybe later, but… not now. I know they want to see me, and I understand. I want to see them too. But I can't do that right now."
Anakin sighed. "Okay. All right, Ahsoka."
"Thank you," she said softly. "For understanding."
Anakin nodded.
Ahsoka took another bite of her sandwich.
"I'll, uh…" Anakin said, "be right back."
She nodded.
Anakin strolled over to the bathroom. He slipped into a stall and pulled out his comlink. "Rex?"
"Yes, General?"
"Bring the guys and come to Dex's Diner. I have a surprise for you."
Just then, someone flushed a toilet in an adjacent stall. Anakin winced.
"Uh… sir? What—"
"Nothing," Anakin said quickly, "Just come. I promise, you'll like it."
"Um… all right, if you say so, sir."
The call ended with a beep.
Anakin left the stall and washed his hands (because why pass up an opportunity to wash your hands?). He opened the door with a paper towel (because why get your hands dirty again right after washing them?).
"Everything okay?" Ahsoka asked when Anakin sat down. Her sandwich had already disappeared.
"Um, yeah, yeah, of course, why wouldn't it be? I should be the one asking you that, my young…" His voice trailed off.
There was a moment of awkward silence as they both realized what Anakin had been about to say.
"Well, uh…" Ahsoka said, clearly trying to think of something to say. Her eyes widened. "Oh! I forgot to ask! How's Padmé doing?"
"She's doing fine. A bit busy, maybe, but she's doing great, actually."
Ahsoka smirked. "Okay, maybe I should ask… how are you two doing?" She sipped at her milkshake.
"Well, it's funny you should ask that, Snips, because…" Anakin took a dramatic pause to drink some of his own milkshake, "Padmé is pregnant."
Ahsoka stared at him for a solid seven seconds.
Then she gasped in an overdramatic way Anakin was pretty sure she wasn't faking before screaming, "WHAT?"
Anakin chuckled nervously, trying to ignore the turned heads of the other customers.
"Is that a yes or a no?" some random person asked.
"I'm not proposing. Go back to your sandwich," Anakin called. He pulled up his hood and lowered his head, trying to hide from his own humiliation.
"What are you going to name it?" Ahsoka asked eagerly, leaning down so she could look under Anakin's hood. "Is it a girl or a boy? When is it due?"
Anakin lifted his head. "We don't know yet," he said. "And we haven't thought of any names."
"Well, when's the baby due?"
"I don't know."
She flopped back in her seat. "Come on, Skyguy! Don't you know anything? Just do the math!"
"What math?"
Ahsoka's stripes darkened. "Um… never mind. Forget I asked."
Anakin felt a flush creeping up his face. "Oh, you mean…"
"Yeah."
"Can we… not?"
She nodded uncomfortably, then froze.
"What?" Anakin asked. "What's wrong?"
"I can hear a gunship." She twisted to look out the window.
Anakin threw off his hood and listened. "I don't hear anything. And anyway, they're not… you know, looking for you. Don't worry."
"I'm not worried," Ahsoka muttered. Turning back to him, she smiled playfully. "Togrutas 1, humans 0."
"What?"
"I heard something you couldn't." She tapped her montral.
Anakin rolled his eyes. "Well, just so you know, I can hear it now too. 1 all."
"Nope. I heard it first," she said happily. "And it's not fair. There's billions of humans on this planet and, like, three Togrutas. And I'm one of them."
"Well, maybe you can go get Master Ti to help you."
She shook her head. "No, I don't think I will."
Looking out the window, Anakin saw a bunch of clones from the 501st approaching with Rex in the lead. "Well, uh, then you'll have to, um, think of other things to listen for."
"Okay. Right now that guy right there is talking about his job. Togrutas 2, humans 0. Dex is telling the droid to come take orders. Togrutas 3, humans still 0. And I hear clone—" She frowned. "Wait a second, what?"
Rex opened the door and came in.
A collective gasp went up from the customers in the diner (with the exception of Anakin).
The other clones tried to come in too, but Rex was blocking the way. So they all just hovered in the entryway, whispering things like "what are we here for again?" and "shut up, I can't hear."
Rex addressed the customers, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "Now, before you all freak out…"
The customers stood up and scrambled out through the back door.
"Or… just go ahead and freak out. Works for me," Rex muttered, shrugging and looking around the diner. When his eyes landed on the one table that had not been vacated, Anakin felt surprise flare up in the Force.
"…Commander?" Rex said.
"Wha…" Ahsoka breathed. She turned to Anakin for an explanation.
"I think this is worth at least one point for humans, huh?" Anakin said with his practicedsmirk.
Ahsoka leaped up from the table and charged at Rex. Anakin just had time to see Rex's eyes widen before Ahsoka tackled Rex in a hug. The troopers behind him just barely managed to save him from falling over.
After a moment, Rex gasped, "Commander… can't breathe…"
She quickly let go of his neck and pulled away, sheepishly mumbling apologies.
Rex reached up and disengaged his helmet with a click-hiss. He yanked it off, gasping for breath. But even after Ahsoka had nearly strangled him, he was wearing a huge smile. "Glad to… see you, Commander," he panted.
Suddenly, Rex stumbled forward as an ARC trooper shoved him aside. "Commander, you're here?" the ARC asked.
"Um…" She looked the ARC up and down. The giant Republic emblem right smack in the middle of his helmet gave it away. "Jesse?"
"Yeah!"
"Hey! You're an ARC trooper now?"
"You better believe it!"
"Hey, Commander!" another called.
Anakin watched, smiling fondly, as Ahsoka was engulfed in a crowd of her joyful clone friends.
Dex came out to see what was going on. When he saw that all the other customers had left, he just chuckled. "Good thing they paid in advance," he said to Anakin.
Anakin awkwardly ran a hand through his hair. "Uh, yeah… Sorry about that, Dex."
"Don't worry, Anakin. Like I said, they paid in advance!" Dex let out a jolly laugh.
Anakin nodded, smiling. "Yeah, I guess it's their loss." He turned back to watching Ahsoka and the clones.
"We should sit down," Ahsoka was saying. She moved towards her previous seat with Anakin.
"No, sit in the middle, Commander!" Rex urged. A chorus of agreement went up from the others.
Ahsoka sent Anakin an apologetic look as the clones gently pushed her towards the center of the diner.
He just smiled and waved her on. Then, making sure she was watching, he reached across the table and took her milkshake.
Ahsoka's eyes widened. "No!" she cried, pulling her milkshake out of Anakin's hand and into hers with the Force.
"Come on, Snips, I paid for it," Anakin fake-whined.
"Mine," she said, taking a drink. "I jinxed you, remember?"
Anakin just smiled and shook his head. "Fine."
Ahsoka flopped down in a seat and took another victorious slurp of her drink before turning to Rex. "So, what have you been up to?" She poked at his helmet. "Did you add anything new?"
"I did add some things, but… you'll have to find them." He handed his helmet to Ahsoka.
She turned the helmet around in her hands, running her fingers gently over the worn plastoid. When she saw what Rex had done, her eyes widened.
Rex had painted markings onto his helmet imitating those on Ahsoka's face. He had merged the forehead markings seamlessly into the jaig eyes, while the little wing-shaped cheek markings fit nicely into the streamlining of the helmet. All the markings were in the dark blue of the 501st (which also happened to be the same shade of blue as Ahsoka's stripes).
Ahsoka looked up at Rex. "It's beautiful," she whispered. Then she laughed. "As oddly narcissistic as that sounds."
Rex laughed. "No worries, kid. I just hope I did you justice."
"You sure did. But… do you have a permamarker? I want to add something."
"Go ahead, if we can find one."
Ahsoka heard the whirring of mechanical limbs as someone approached the table. She was expecting a droid, but the voice that spoke was that of a clone.
"Right here, Commander."
Ahsoka looked up, and her mouth dropped open. "Echo? But… the explosion… how…"
"I survived," he said.
She rolled her eyes. "No really."
"Just… slightly different." He held up his right arm. A compartment opened and a permamarker popped out, which he tossed to Ahsoka. "Here you go, Commander."
She caught the marker without taking her eyes off his arm. "That is so cool… I mean, it's too bad you got injured, but that arm is great."
"It is," he agreed. "And my legs are the same."
"Whoa…" she breathed. "Can you run really fast?"
"Not yet. Buuut the General said he'd work on them so I could. Can't wait."
"That's gonna be awesome," Ahsoka said. She set Rex's helmet on the table and looked at it critically. "This needs some adjustment…" she mumbled, pulling the cap off the marker. "No offense, Rex."
"Let's see it," Rex said, leaning forward and clasping his hands together.
Ahsoka pushed the cap onto the back of the marker and leaned down to get a closer look at the helmet.
"Not on the visor, please," Rex muttered.
"Wasn't going to…" She touched the marker to the crest of the helmet and carefully wrote down it in Aurebesh: Hi it's Ahsoka. "Here," she said, putting the cap back on the marker and handing Rex's helmet back.
He looked at her work and chuckled. "I like it. Thanks, kid."
"Hey, Commander! Do mine too?" Jesse asked.
Ahsoka smirked and uncapped the marker again.
After Ahsoka got through all the helmets, she and the clones exchanged a lot of stories and jokes. Time flew by, and nobody showed a sign of wanting to leave.
"So I just added these here. See?" Echo said. He lifted up a cybernetic leg so Ahsoka could see the bottom of his foot. Four wheels popped out.
"Echo, don't you have better things to do than put roller skates in your feet?" Ahsoka asked.
"You never know when it could be useful. So anyway, the other day I went to go try them out. And there's this shiny skating. Looks like he's not quite used to it, you know. And of course, eventually he falls." Echo paused to take a drink of water. "No big deal, he's fine. Except this other shiny isn't paying attention, so he trips over him!"
Everyone (except Rex) burst into laughter.
"And then, another one comes over. 'You need some help?' he asks. But then he trips and falls on top of them!"
The laughter intensified (again, with the exception of Rex).
"Stupid shinies," Jesse muttered.
"It gets better," Echo said.
Rex put his helmet on.
"So, the Captain comes over and he looks down and says, 'Stop fooling around and get up.' But right then, for some reason, he slips! He doesn't even trip on anything. He just falls."
Everyone except Rex roared with laughter.
"Good job, Rex," Ahsoka gasped between giggles.
Rex just shook his head and sighed.
Echo recovered himself enough to continue. "So I go over to him and I say," Echo had to hold back a laugh, "'Sir, stop fooling around and get up!'"
The laughter reached a maximum.
"Okay, did you not see the floor?" Rex protested. "There was a little seam there that they messed up. Anyone could've fallen."
"Key word little," Ahsoka said, wiping her eyes.
Rex sighed and slipped his helmet off. "Hate to end your mockery of me, but I think we'd better be getting back."
Ahsoka's smile disappeared. "No! Already?"
"Echo, what time is it?" Rex asked without even looking away from Ahsoka.
"0128," Echo replied immediately. At Ahsoka's questioning glance, he added, "I have implants in my brain, too. They tell me stuff."
"Yeah, we need to be going," Rex said. "I'm sorry, kid."
"No, no, it's okay, I get it," Ahsoka said quickly. "Don't get in trouble. And you need your rest."
"What are you, my mother?" Rex groaned.
"I am older than you…" she pointed out. Then she smirked. "Oh, and don't forget to eat your carrots. And drink all your milk."
Rex rolled his eyes. "We'll see you later. General Skywalker will make sure, because we'll all nag him about it."
Ahsoka gave an evil smile. "Yes. Good," she said in a creepy voice, rubbing her hands together.
Rex chuckled and stood up. "See you around, Commander."
Ahsoka hugged him again. She raised her head, making sure to point away from Rex's ear. "Come on, all of you guys," she called. "It'll take forever if we do this one by one."
The other clones quickly gathered around and joined the group hug.
"Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!" Jesse yelled.
"Shut up, Jesse! This is an emotional moment!" Echo snapped playfully.
"Yay! Yay! Yay!"
After a few minutes, everyone broke apart. The clones made their way to the door, calling goodbyes to Ahsoka and Anakin.
Rex was the last. He gave Ahsoka a nod. "See you, little'un."
Ahsoka frowned. "I'm not little! I'm almost 18!"
"Okay, little'un." He leaned his arm on top of her head.
She giggled and shoved his arm away. "Bye, Rex."
"Bye, kid." Still smiling, he put his helmet on and followed his men back outside.
Ahsoka turned and saw Anakin and Dex, who hadn't really moved other than to go to the bathroom or get a glass of water.
"Oh… sorry, Dex," Ahsoka said. "You need to close, don't you?"
"Don't worry," he chuckled. "It was delightful. And I already did most of the closing."
"Thanks for having us."
"Any time!" Dex said jovially, going back into the kitchen.
"All right," Anakin yawned. "Let's get going." He stood up, stretching.
Ahsoka stared as Anakin somehow managed to pop his knees, elbows, neck, and back at once.
"What?" he asked, lowering his arms from his stretch.
"Nothing."
"Okay. Thanks, Dex!" Anakin yelled as he made his way to the door.
"Thank you!" Ahsoka called, following Anakin.
"You're very welcome!" came the muffled reply.
Thunk.
"AAH! Kriff it, this is a diner, not a junkyard! What's that doing there?"
Anakin laughed. "Come on, Snips."
They stepped out into the cool Coruscant air.
"So, where you staying?" Anakin asked.
"I have an apartment."
He nodded. "You know, you could stay with Padmé. She wouldn't mind."
"No, that's okay," Ahsoka said.
"Nope. I insist."
"No, really, it's fine."
"But I insist as your friend."
"It's not even your house."
"Well… it kind of is, if you think about it."
Ahsoka sighed. "Okay, fine, but just to make you stop begging."
"Yay! Come on, let's go find a taxi."
"Ahsoka!" Padmé cried, pulling her into a warm hug. "It's so good to see you!"
"It's good to see you too, Padmé," Ahsoka said, smiling brightly.
"Come in, please." Padmé led Ahsoka and Anakin into the living room. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
Anakin cleared his throat. "Ahsoka would like to stay here tonight, if that's all right."
Ahsoka gave him a look. "I can talk, you know."
"But you didn't."
"You didn't even give me time!"
"Okay," Padmé said, looking like she was trying not to laugh. "You are most welcome to stay, Ahsoka. You can use the guest bedroom."
Ahsoka smiled awkwardly. "Thank you, Padmé, but… do you mind if I sleep on the couch?"
Padmé blinked. "No… of course not. May I ask why?"
"It's just… your couch looks really cozy," Ahsoka replied awkwardly, staring off at nothing.
Padmé laughed. "It's fine. I'll go get some blankets." She left the living room, followed by Anakin.
Ahsoka sat down on the couch, leaning against a cushion. She took off her boots and pulled her legs up in front of her, resting her chin on her knees.
She meant to wait for Padmé.
But before she knew it, her eyes were falling shut.
Ahsoka was awakened by the sensation of moving.
She opened her eyes sleepily.
Padmé was holding on to her legs, while Anakin had her shoulders. They seemed to be shifting her position on the couch.
"Wha…" Ahsoka mumbled, squirming.
"Shh," Padmé said softly. "Just getting you settled."
Anakin carefully slipped a pillow under Ahsoka's head. Padmé picked up a blanket and gently tucked it around her.
Ahsoka smiled to express her thanks and snuggled into the blanket, closing her eyes again. "Night," she murmured.
"Good night, Ahsoka." Padmé rested her hand on Ahsoka's arm, rubbing it gently.
"Sleep well, Snips." Not to be outdone, Anakin laid his hand on top of Ahsoka's head, his thumb tracing little circles on her forehead.
As Ahsoka drifted off, her last thought was that these were her two favorite people in the whole galaxy.
A/N: Anakin, Padmé, and Ahsoka make a nice little family :)
I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
-Jimmy
