burnthecheshirewitch - Tumblr blog

burnthecheshirewitch · 2 years ago

Text

This is how I saw Readers face when she saw our boi, Henry.

My Very Soul (Chapter 3)

Anakin Skywalker x Jedi!Reader

Link to Chapter 2

Warnings: Teen angst (we're diving HEADFIRST into jealous Anakin, hope you're ready). Also, I'm sure I got details about the Banking Clan wrong, but I tried.

Summary: You, now a teenage Padawan, are assigned to a mission with your frenemy (there's really no better word) Anakin Skywalker, leading you to an unexpected reunion with a friend from your past.

(TIME TO BLAST BODYBAG BY CHLOE MORIONDO) 🖤🖤🖤

Word Count: 4.5k (me: this is just the first part of the mission, it'll be short / also me: writes and writes and writes)

Anakin stood, his hands clasped behind his back, looking out over the Coruscant skyline. He breathed in the hum of the passing speeders below, allowing his face to briefly lift as the sun warmed him. He watched the light dance through his lashes. It was a beautiful day, but Anakin was not thinking of the beauty of the city planet beneath him, nor was he focused on the sun, or the sky. He was waiting. He kept his ears perked, his attention attuned to any changes in the Force. He stood with his back to the door—this made him appear less eager, he assumed, more nonchalant—and kept still, awaiting the arrival of his sparring partner.

He sensed your presence before you pressed the panel to open the doors, and his heart swelled. His lips twitched up at the sides. He worked to push all of this down in him, to allow himself to have this emotional reaction before you were facing him, so as to make sure you couldn't read it in his Force presence.

"You're late," Anakin said as you walked out onto the balcony, his tone casual, still facing away from you and looking out over the city.

"I am not," you responded shortly. Anakin turned around to face you as you walked the length of that same balcony on which you had first sparred together. That had been years ago, and you'd practiced together countless times since then. It was common for Padawans of similar age and ability to practice together when their Masters returned to the Temple. And it made sense for the two of you to spar together—you were the two most skilled of your rank. Few Jedi Knights, let alone Padawans, were able to keep up with Anakin. Obi-Wan would say this thought was arrogant, but Anakin didn't see it that way. He was the best. You, he conceded, were second, as far as Padawans were concerned—and Anakin knew that his skill level was the reason you even agreed to spar with him in the first place. In order to be the best, you had to beat the best, and Anakin used your desire to improve to his advantage. To an outsider, it would appear that you were not keen on Anakin, with his overconfident nature, his ability to get under your skin, his aptitude for beating you in combat practice. Still, Anakin felt he knew better. You were warming to him, slowly but surely, and he knew it, no matter how good you were at manipulating your Force presence. Anakin himself pestered Obi-Wan to arrange these practices every chance he got, seeing as Obi-Wan knew of the dealings of the council, and knew when Master Yuma returned from assignments with her Padawan. He watched your face turn defiant in front of him, striking as it was, and he gave you a self-satisfied smile.

"I know what you're thinking," you warned him coolly, drawing your saber from your belt.

"Now who's cocky?" Anakin asked, his lips parting, his smile contagious.

"It's not cocky to understand your opponent," you replied, your face expressionless. "You should try it some time." Anakin watched as your poker-face twitched, ever so slightly, you biting your smile with your bottom lip and keeping your face stony.

"I understand enough," Anakin replied, lighting his saber and matching your stance. He watched you, took in your form, your hair, half of it tied back, your Padawan's braid swinging as you lit your lightsaber and adjusted your footing. You were only a year younger than he was, now newly 15, and you were small for your age. Many would underestimate you. But Anakin wouldn't.

"Are you ready?" Anakin asked with an open-mouthed grin.

"Are you?" you responded, your eyes narrowing, your mouth pursed in focus. Anakin nodded, and with that, you rushed toward him. He moved to meet your blade, but at the last second, you pivoted, flipping over him, and he ducked, narrowly avoiding your saber.

"Careful, Y/N," he said as he swung his lightsaber at you, watching you block each of his blows. "You'll take off one of my fingers, fighting like that."

"I thought that was kind of the point," you responded, rolling on the ground underneath him to get a better vantage point. He jumped, blocking your next blow. The two of you danced, locked in combat, two practiced warriors unable to best one another.

"Oh, so now we're fighting dirty?" Anakin asked, laughing and grunting as you rose behind him, and he turned to meet your blade.

"A clean fight has never been your strong suit, Ani," you told him through gritted teeth, swinging your laser sword through the air. Anakin broke into a broad smile. He loved it when you called him that.

"You'll have to teach me, then," he said, beaming, watching your face as you tried not to let your mouth turn upwards at the corners. The two of you continued your fight, you leaping around him, him keeping his stance firm, grounded as he moved his arms faster than any normal person would be able to.

"All in good time," you panted, swinging your saber blade in a circle along with Anakin's. This was a move you'd used on him before, and he let his wrist turn along with your blade, trying to catch it at the right angle so that he might push back, but your momentum was too strong, and as you kept your blade spinning, Anakin felt his wrist twist too far. It was only a moment—only a split second in which Anakin's grip on his lightsaber was loosened by the motion of your spinning blade—but it was enough. You pushed with your lightsaber, hard, and Anakin's clattered out of his hand, spinning to the ground at the edge of the balcony. You held your blade up to him, wearing a peaceful half smile, your face lowering as you looked up at Anakin with a haughty, confident stare.

"Damn it," Anakin said, feeling inside him a stir of frustration and anger. No matter whom he was fighting, Anakin didn't like to lose. It wasn't something he had to experience often.

"There's no need to become hostile," you said in a superior tone, walking over to pick up Anakin's lightsaber. Anakin snorted.

"Yeah, you wouldn't ever dream," he said, walking forward to wrest his lightsaber from your grasp, "of acting hostile, would you flea?"

"Don't call me that," you told him, scowling, finally letting emotion snap your carefully cultivated Force presence. Anakin smiled wider. This nickname—which he had given you based on your fighting style—was one of his favorite ways of baiting you.

"Why not?" he asked, getting closer to your face, watching it turn red. "Little flea," Anakin whispered, using the tips of his fingers to poke you around your arm, mimicking a flea's jump. You shrugged him off, your eyebrows forming an angry pout out of your pretty features.

"If you two are done," a tired voice said from the balcony's entrance, "we've been called to briefing." Anakin turned, watching his Master stride toward the two of you, Obi-Wan's robes rustling behind him. Anakin observed you shuffle inconspicuously to stand farther away from him, putting your head down.

"My apologies, Master," you told Obi-Wan, always deferential. "We've finished." Obi-Wan smiled at you, and then turned to Anakin, a hint of snark crossing his features, his unspoken question hanging in the air.

"She won this round," Anakin admitted, his own face growing hot, as he looked down and pressed his lips together. Obi-Wan smiled, but said nothing in response. Anakin watched his Master turn back to you.

"Y/N, Master Yuma is waiting for us in the briefing room."

"We're all expected?" you asked, suddenly looking exhausted in your posture.

"Yes," Obi-Wan said to you both, swallowing what looked like an amused expression. "Come along."

It was all you could do not to groan and drag your feet along the corridors as you followed Anakin and Obi-Wan toward the briefing room. Assigned to another mission with Anakin? There was only so much you could be expected to take. You understood the council's logic, of course. Master Yuma and Master Obi-Wan got on very well, and had known each other and fought alongside one another since they were younglings. Their Padawans—you and Anakin, that is—were two of the most promising up and comers. It made sense to send you on missions together, particularly when the council preferred having two Jedi Knights present, which was often. Still, there was something about being in Anakin's presence that caused you to struggle to control your impulses. Was he an excellent fighter? Yes. Was he intelligent? Yes. Was he annoying? Absolutely.

You sighed, and Anakin turned back to look at you, a delighted expression crossing his face as he raised his eyebrows. You ignored him. You couldn't dislike Ani, as much as you might want to. Sometimes he acted like an overeager puppy, one that wanted to be let outside to run, and you felt now through his Force presence his excitement at receiving a new mission. Other times, though, your blood boiled at the thought of him—how highly he thought of himself and his talents, how he believed he knew everything there was to know about the Force. The intensity with which he regarded you vexed you even more than his ability to beat you in combat—but that was a train of thought you refused to follow, a door in your mind you kept locked shut. Anakin, at times, seemed to be pushing at the other side of the door with all of his strength, but you refused to acknowledge you could read these thoughts in him. It was a subject you would not entertain, even in your own mind.

"How was combat practice?" Master Yuma asked you as the group entered the darkened briefing room, the shades of the windows fully blocking out the light of the day.

"Productive," you answered simply, and though you kept your face stoic, you felt Master Yuma intuiting your desire to gloat. She pressed her lips together. You felt her mood lift through the Force, and rolled your eyes. Was the rivalry between you and Anakin really that amusing?

"Saw that," Anakin said quietly, standing close behind you. You turned around to glare at him.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan warned, and Anakin sucked his lips in, communicating his agreement to be quiet.

"Master Kenobi. Master Ohno," Mace Windu greeted as he swept into the room. He waved the door closed behind him. You, Anakin, and both your Masters bowed to Master Windu, and he gave a short nod in return.

"We've received word from our emissaries overseeing the Banking Clan's transition away from the aurodium standard," Master Windu said, pulling up a complicated chart via the holodeck in the center of the room. You leaned forward, trying to discern the mathematical figures presented in front of you. "Though it has been some time since aurodium has been used as currency in the inner rim, we had long expected that the transition of those outer rim systems off of the standard would be complete by now." Master Windu pulled up a star chart, showing highlighted planets in the Outer Rim. You tried to keep up, but the financial sector was unfamiliar territory for you. "The Jedi ambassadors we have placed within the governance of the Clan worry that there is motive to keep these systems from ever adopting the credit system." At this, Master Windu switched off his holo-projector, turning to face Obi-Wan and Yuma.

"I sense there is substance to these suspicions," Master Windu explained. "I would like for you to discover what persons or forces might be behind this plot."

"An investigative objective?" your Master asked. Master Windu nodded.

"I do not wish for the leaders of the Clan to know of our suspicions. You will be going in under the guise of implementing a new record keeping system."

"Do you believe it plausible," Obi-Wan began thoughtfully, "that there is still such anti-Republic sentiment in the outer rim to suggest an organized effort to destabilize the use of Republic credits?"

"We cannot be sure," Master Windu said, rubbing his chin. "But any information you can glean in regards to this matter will allow us to see more clearly." Master Obi-Wan nodded, and bowed again. You and Master Yuma followed suit.

"You leave in the morning," Master Windu said, and without a glance to you or to Anakin, he swept from the room.

"An investigative mission, my young Padawan," Obi-Wan said forcefully, as if intuiting Anakin's thoughts. You'd sensed it too, Anakin's emotions jumping toward a desire for confrontation.

"I know, I know," Anakin said. "There's more I'm good for, you know, aside from killing gundarks."

"Don't remind me," Obi-Wan said, putting a hand to his head at the memory.

"I sense your abilities might be of some use, here," Master Yuma said to you, as an aside. You nodded, trying to pull your focus away from Anakin, away from his presence as it swelled out of him, surrounding you. You knew you must concentrate if this mission were to be a success.

"We're coming up on Muunilinst," Master Obi-Wan announced over the comms from the ship's cockpit. You sat in the main hull.

"I'll be doing a perimeter sweep," Master Yuma told you and Anakin, standing up. "I'd like to make sure we aren't being followed, seeing as we aren't sure what we're facing, here."

"Taking the dingy?" Anakin joked, referring to the small ship stowed aboard the larger transport. Master Yuma nodded.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like me to go with you, Master?" you asked her. You'd been stuck in this hull with Anakin for almost eight hours now, and you were more than ready to depart.

"Stay here with Anakin and Obi-Wan," Master Yuma told you. "I shouldn't be long." She exited the main hull, heading toward the back of the ship. You looked out the side viewport as the larger ship descended, seeing ranges of mountains.

"Cool," you couldn't help but let slip, as you took in the height of the snowy summits. Beneath you was a sprawling city, and above that, a giant hovering disc of an orbital port, which you recognized as your destination. High Port was the size of a city in and of itself. You'd heard of cloud cities, of course, but you'd never visited one.

"You act like you've never seen mountains before," Anakin teased, getting up to look out the viewport with you.

"I've seen plenty," you scoffed.

"If I were flying this ship," Anakin said, "I'd take us right in between those peaks." He stood behind you, pointing over your shoulder at the two tallest mountains in your view. "I'd want to see them right up close," he continued, turning his head to look at you, his face inches from yours. You felt your heartbeat quicken, all of a sudden conscious of goosebumps arising on your neck.

"That," you said, trying to dodge around his outstretched arm, "would be one of the last ways I'd want to die." Anakin laughed.

"I'd never crash," he said arrogantly. "You'll see. Someday I'll show you." Anakin smiled as you felt the ship touch down on the orbital city.

"Highly unlikely," you said, stepping away from Anakin and rolling your eyes. Obi-Wan exited the cockpit, the three of you making your way to the back of the ship, to exit down the ramp.

"Follow my lead," Master Obi-Wan instructed. You nodded, falling into step behind the Jedi Knight as you waited for the ramp to open. You looked outward, seeing the landing hangar, feeling the crisp air, when—

"Henry!" you cried out, unable to help yourself. Your old classmate stood on the hangar in front of you, beaming. You ran forward down the ramp, feeling like a small child, throwing yourself into his arms. He hugged you back graciously, and you felt his surprise at your reaction.

"You look...different," Henry said, half teasing as he pulled back and held you at arms-length. You felt your smile taking up your whole face, so great was your joy at seeing Henry again after so long. You looked him over, noticing how much his appearance had changed. How was it possible that Henry was now grown? He was tall, towering over you, and though he was still skinny, his shoulders had broadened, his jaw sharper. Still, he had the pale skin, the freckles, the kind eyes and playful grin, the dark brown hair falling over his forehead, all of these features familiar to you, enhanced as they were by age.

"Wow, you sprouted," you told him, looking up at him in wonder. He looked happy to see you.

"Tends to happen," Henry said, shrugging. You saw him turn his attention to look behind you, confusion flickering over his face.

"Master," Henry said, politely greeting Obi-Wan with a small bow. Obi-Wan nodded back to him. You felt behind you a shift in the Force, and Henry's eyes crinkled. You turned around.

"What's with you?" you asked, focusing back in on Obi-Wan's Padawan, sensing in Anakin's presence a deep anger, bordering on animosity. Anakin seemed to try to compose his face, but he wasn't able to fully bring his features back to normal. He didn't have your gift for masking emotions. Or, you thought, the ability to mask any of his emotions, ever.

"Nothing," he grunted. You watched as he struggled in himself, working hard to relax his face muscles. What on earth? You almost looked around you, trying to find the perceived threat.

"Anakin, this is Henry," you said cautiously, trying to read through the currents in the Force, to understand what was happening. "Henry, this is Anakin, Master Obi-Wan's Padawan." Henry gave Anakin a polite smile.

"Hello," Henry said. Anakin seemed like he was having trouble looking at Henry.

"Hi," Anakin said, looking out past the edge of the orbital city. You looked back to Henry, trying to read in him any clues that might explain Anakin's reaction, but he seemed as confused as you were.

"Master Faer is waiting for us inside," Henry told Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan turned back to the ship.

"Right. We'll just await word from Master Yuma, and then—"

"I can show you around, if you'd like," Henry offered. He certainly hadn't changed, you noticed. He was polite and helpful as ever.

"No, thanks," Anakin said gruffly.

"Y/N, you go along," Obi-Wan instructed. "Get the lay of the land. We'll meet you inside to speak with Master Faer." You nodded. Anakin's face seemed to shrink into itself, his pout bringing his features together in a way that was a bit unsettling. Henry watched him, looking concerned.

"Certainly," Henry said, his eyes still on Anakin. He looked back to you, smiled again, and gestured for you to follow him.

"How long have you been here?" you asked Henry. "On assignment, I mean," you added, following him around the outer deck that surrounded the floating city. You walked slowly, looking down over the side railing, seeing the valley far below you, the city's lights gleaming. It would take some getting used to, you thought, living in a tower without a base.

"Two years, now," Henry answered, looking with you. "Master Faer and I are happy to assist the Banking Clan." He continued walking, leading you along. "Still, I do miss home."

It interested you, when other Padawans spoke this way about the Temple. Though you felt most comfortable within its walls, to you, home would never be anywhere but Batuu.

"Home missed you, too," you said, giving Henry a small smile.

"How are things, with you? How is your training going?" Henry seemed genuinely curious, looking to you as he walked along, neglecting his promise to give you a tour.

"It's going well," you told him. "Master Yuma seems to be the perfect fit, for someone like me. I'm improving quite a lot, with her help." You didn't mean to prove your point, but you felt Henry's thoughts turn to Anakin, and you stopped walking, looking at him curiously. Henry looked to you, seeming to wonder why you'd stopped.

"I forgot," Henry said, shifting his weight. "There are no secrets around you, Y/N."

"That's not exactly how it works," you noted, looking out over the mountain ranges that surrounded the city beneath High Port. It was quiet for a moment.

"He's the one they found on Tatooine," Henry asked, thoughtful. "Isn't he?" You nodded. You wondered, at times, how rumors about Anakin had found their way to every Jedi in the order. Henry looked out over the mountains. You'd missed his soft presence, his considerate way of choosing his words carefully, of thinking before he spoke. "He seems very taken with you," Henry said, polite as ever, seeming as if he were trying to sound off-hand. You snorted.

"He's taken with being a pain in my ass, if that's what you mean," you said, laughing. Henry smiled, looked down, and shook his head. You knew he was filtering his thoughts, and for this you were very grateful.

"I've heard he's a powerful warrior," Henry continued, smiling, turning back to you. "I'm glad you've finally found someone to practice with." You grinned back at him, remembering your days of sparring with him back when he was young—when you both were.

"He's all right," you admitted, exhaling in a small puff. You both laughed. Henry knew how much you hated to be beat in combat.

"You've grown quite a lot," Henry told you, and you looked back at your old friend. "I was expecting a wild little kid, hair flying everywhere."

"Tunic belted wrong," you said through your laughter, remembering. Henry chuckled.

"I guess those days are long past," he mused. You nodded, looking away, back out over the mountains. Time was a new concept for you to try to grapple with—how quickly it moved, how much you had changed, how everything seemed to be sand falling through your fingers. As this metaphor passed through your mind, you again thought of Anakin—how you'd felt his sadness that first day you'd met him, how it had felt like sand swirling, storming around you. You sighed.

"What?" Henry asked, touching your shoulder kindly. You sensed his thoughts had followed yours.

"I'm just," you started, struggling to phrase your feelings, looking at the snowy caps in the distance. "I'm wondering how much more things are going to change." Henry nodded, looking out in the same direction you did.

"Probably quite a bit," Henry said quietly.

"That's what worries me," you confided, looking down at your hands on the railing. "I'm not sure if I'm good with change."

"It's part of the Jedi way, isn't it," Henry said, a comforting tone infusing his words. "To let things pass, as they do. We mustn't resist the cycles of life, mustn't get too attached to certain moments, lest we fail to move forward." You looked up into Henry's eyes admiringly.

"What?" he asked again, returning your smile.

"I might have beat you in combat," you told him, "but you were always the more wise."

Anakin stood in the entrance hall of the Banking Clan's headquarters, at the edge of the floating city. Obi-Wan had told Anakin firmly to wait here, that he was going to speak alone with Master Faer before they spoke as a group. Anakin couldn't see why this was necessary—if they were all on the mission, they all needed to have all of the information, did they not? Anakin felt himself fuming, feeling hot in his Padawan robes despite the mountain air, his muscles tightening under his tunic. Anakin heard laughter, and walked forward, from the smaller entrance hall toward an open door to a larger room surrounded by windows.

Anakin balked. From his vantage point, in the doorway to this larger conference room, he could see you, clear as day through the window, standing on the deck outside, talking to Henry. You were supposed to be assessing the layout, Anakin thought angrily, and yet here you were, laughing and looking out at the view, like you were vacationing in Canto Bight. He watched as you looked out over the mountains, the same mountains he himself had just tried to promise to show you, someday. Anakin felt his feelings churning inside of him, and he made an effort to quell them, an effort that felt futile. Who did this young man think he was? Why did Henry act so familiar with you? For all Anakin knew, you hadn't seen each other in years.

But she hugged him, Anakin thought desperately. She was happy to see him. Anakin had gotten so used to you keeping your walls up around him, speaking to him only with snark, that he hadn't thought you might greet another Padawan this way, so willingly showing affection. He'd seen you act that way with your Master, sure, and with a few of your classmates—Eha, he remembered her name was—but not ever with...

Not ever with a young man, who had no business speaking with you so intimately, Anakin affirmed, and his anger grew. He felt it in the tips of his fingers, down into his toes. Henry had to be at least 18, if not older, and that was way too old for him to be speaking with you as if you were his contemporary. Anakin watched as the two of you conversed, looking at each other so thoughtfully. He couldn't understand why your face was so open, your eyes so wide. You seemed to at ease with Henry. You'd never looked at Anakin that way, never spoken to him with such vulnerability as he saw you showing now. Watching it made him ache, but more than that, it made him furious.

Anakin saw Henry place his hand on your shoulder, and it was as if Anakin had lost control of his own limbs, some other force pushing him forward from the doorway, looking for a way to get out to you. He'd be happy to throw Henry over the edge, as far as he was concerned, for acting that way with you, when you were—

"Anakin." Anakin had made it all of one step into the room when a voice called him back, a hand grabbing onto his forearm. Anakin turned to see Obi-Wan's face gazing back at him. Anakin was already taller than Obi-Wan, but something in Obi-Wan's presence towered over Anakin's, figuratively speaking. As Anakin looked into his Master's eyes, he felt logic return to him, felt the fire filling his muscles slowly empty out.

"Take a moment," Obi-Wan instructed, reading his Padawan's mood easily, understanding without needing to be told. "You control your thoughts, Anakin. Remember that."

Anakin turned, watching you and Henry gazing out over the railing toward the mountainside, and then turned back, his face composed, nodding to his Master. He could control himself—for now.

************************************************************************

The Banking Clan mission continues in Chapter 4!!! Out now, go give it a read :)

For a treat--Anakin's face when he saw us walking off with Henry:

divider credit: @racingairplanes

taglist: @iyoogi @cluelessgurl @layazul @annadastra @graciexmarvel @galaxiasy @organasith @indigoblues1207 @lydiamartinslover @outoftheregular

625 notes · View notes