#r2 training courses

[dailydragon08]

Nightmare I

Pairing: Luke Skywalker x F!Jedi!Reader Summary: Luke gives you all the touch and comfort you need during a rough night. Warnings: reader has a nightmare (but it isn't described), Star Wars universe curse words. A/N:  "Remnants" is a series of one shots in no particular order about the budding relationship between you and Luke as he trains you in the ways of the Force. Comments, likes, and reblogs are greatly appreciated. Enjoy!

***

You watched rain slide down the Redeemer’s front windshield, the crashing thunder in the distance a comfort you didn’t know you needed. You and Luke had located another Force artifact on the jungle planet of Kenari and landed your ship near the cave it was supposedly found in. Since it was getting dark and the current storm had no intention of letting up, you and Luke had opted to get some sleep and start out in the morning instead. 

You sighed as you dug through your bag where it lay on the main hold’s large, circular table. “Kriff.”

“What’s wrong?” Luke turned from where he was tinkering with R2 in the corner. 

“I forgot to pack enough nightshirts,” you grumbled. You lifted a shirt you’d worn previously on this trip to your nose, barely biting back your gag at the smell. “Well, definitely not that one.”

“Here.” Luke quickly disappeared into his bedroom—which had been converted from one of the imperial shuttle’s many cargo holds, just like yours—before emerging with a large dark shirt in his hands. He almost looked nervous as he held it out to you. “I always keep a stash of clothes onboard, just in case, so I have extra.”

You hesitantly reached out to take the soft black fabric in your hand. “Are you sure? I don’t want to take it from you if you need it.”

He smiled softly and nodded. “I’m sure.”

You held his eyes for a moment before taking the shirt in your hand. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Borrow it as long as you need to.” He turned his focus back to the astromech in front of him. “I’m almost done with R2’s repairs and then I’ll be heading to bed, too. But let me know if I’m too loud.”

“I will.” You paused in your bedroom doorway, clutching the soft fabric in your hand. “Goodnight, Luke.”

“Goodnight, Y/N. I’ll see you in the morning.”

You let the door close behind you with a whoosh, staring at the shirt in your hand before taking a deep breath and shedding your clothes. You didn’t usually sleep in pants, but as you let Luke’s shirt fall over your shoulders, found it sank down mid-calf on you anyway. The v-neck that only exposed his collarbones went much lower on you, your hands disappearing inside the sleeves. You held them up to your nose and breathed in his scent before sinking into your sheets and letting sleep overtake you. 

***

You woke in a panic, screaming loud enough to wake the dead and clutching your sheets to your chest. You panted as you looked around frantically, feeling relief surge through you at the familiar walls of the Redeemer. 

You jumped again as your door flew open and Luke rushed in, wearing loose sweatpants and a tank top that he was still hastily pulling down over his torso. He took in your panicked stare, his blue eyes racking over your body for injuries. 

“I-I’m sorry,” you stuttered, feeling the tears building behind your eyes. “I had a nightmare. I…I’m so sorry—”

His eyes turned soft. “It’s all right. I get them, too.” He took a few steps closer, then hesitated. “Can I sit with you for a minute? Or do you want some space?”

“Stay,” you said before you even realized you’d spoken. “I mean…if you want.”

“Of course I will.” He made his way over to you and gently sat on the edge of your bed. He stared at you unsure for a moment before taking your hand in his, gently rubbing soothing circles with his thumb. “Is this okay?”

You nodded, biting your lip. His eyes were so full of genuine concern, it made your heart flutter. The dream, however, still had its claws sunk deep into you and you couldn’t stop your face from crumbling as the tears started to flow. 

His face fell and he looked like he was about to cry himself as he murmured your name. 

You futilely wiped a few tears from your cheek as more poured steadily down your face. “I’m sorry—”

“Hey, please don’t apologize. I want to be here for you.” He squeezed your hand in his before continuing softly. “Can I hold you?”

You looked up in surprise, your sleep-addled brain taking a moment to process. You could feel his hurt through the Force as more tears fell and he looked at you so tenderly and carefully, his fingers still gently caressing yours, it made your heart thump twice as hard in your chest. 

“It’s all right if you don’t want me to—”

“No, I—I do,” you answered, your voice cracking. “I…Please.”

Luke let go of your hand and didn’t hesitate to wrap his arm around your shoulders, pulling you tightly against his chest. You buried your face in the warm skin of his neck and clung to him. The movement made his shirt slip down your shoulder and your heart skipped a beat at the feeling of his warm fingers gently stroking your skin there. He pressed his cheek to yours and you closed your eyes, breathing in his closeness and warmth like an antidote. You could feel your pulse settle as his fingers traced gentle shapes against your bare shoulder, his gloved hand gently massaging your back. 

He moved to press his cheek against your forehead and gently pulled the collar of the shirt up to cover your shoulder again. His flesh hand moved to gently stroke your hair away from your face and he pressed a feather-light kiss to your forehead. You felt his sudden embarrassment through the Force and he cleared his throat quietly. “Sorry, that was just…sort of instinctual.”

“It’s okay,” you breathed into his skin. “It feels nice.”

He hesitated a moment, his fingers still gently playing with the strands of your hair before kissing your forehead again. You pulled back to look him in the eye and felt your heart swell at how adorable his bedhead was. His hair looked so silky and it took all your strength to resist running your fingers through it—although with how much he was still playing with your hair, you’re not sure he would’ve minded.

“Thank you,” you breathed, realizing as your lips moved how close they were to his. 

He nodded, his eyes drinking in your form. His face suddenly bloomed an adorable shade of red as his shirt collar slipped down your shoulder again. His eyes tracked the movement before snapping up to your face as another tear escaped you, gently wiping it away with his thumb. He gently tucked your hair behind your ear, his fingertips lingering on your jawline. 

You stared openly, glancing at his skin that peeked out from underneath the white tank top. It honestly didn’t cover much and really put his toned shoulders and arms on display. Your sleep-drunk brain couldn’t help but think his skin was such a nice golden color. 

His eyes went wide and you frowned for a moment before yours did, too. “Oh, Maker, was that out loud?”

He chuckled, looking down bashfully. “Um, yes, but…thank you.”

“Sorry, I’m…really tired.”

He met your eyes again, his gaze soft and holding something you couldn’t identify. He licked his lips, his thumb lingering over your collarbone momentarily as he inhaled deeply. His hand traced a gentle line up to the column of your neck and it took everything in you not to brush your lips against his. His voice was so soft, you almost didn’t hear it. “That looks so good on you….” He blinked and cleared his throat, quickly pulling the collar back up over your skin and scooting so there was more distance between you, although his arm was still securely wrapped around your waist. “Sorry, apparently I am, too.”

You held his gaze briefly before you both looked away, laughing nervously. “Um…t-thank you for checking on me and for the hug.”

He nodded, his lips curving slightly and highlighting his cheekbones. “Anytime.” He stared for a moment before letting out a shaky breath and dropping his arm from your side. You suddenly felt empty at the loss. “How are you feeling now?”

“Better.”

“Do you think you could go back to sleep now?”

You nodded. “If I can ever return the favor though…please let me know.”

He squeezed your hand. “I will. Thank you.” He hesitated, holding your gaze before standing and walking towards the door, pausing near the frame. “You do…look good…in that shirt. Keep it for as long as you need.”

You could feel the butterflies fill your stomach. “I will…Goodnight, Luke.”

“Night, Y/N.” He gazed at you for a moment before tearing himself away, the door closing behind him with a hiss. 

You settled back down into the mattress, holding onto the feeling of his arms, hands, and skin as you fell into the land of dreams once more. 

[alicent-vi-britannia]

Why was Lelouch's manipulation effective on Rolo?

One of this year's "resolutions" I set for my Code Geass page was that I was going to give more space to Rolo. Rolo is my favorite secondary character in Code Geass, even above Shirley and Euphemia, but I haven't talked about him much and I wanted to rectify that. This Monday I published a survey to my followers in which I invited them to vote for the analysis of Rolo that they were most interested in me doing. There were three options:

⭐Why was Lelouch's manipulation effective on Rolo? ⭐Why did Rolo kill Shirley? ⭐The parallels between V.V. and Rolo

There was a close competition between the second and the winner, which is what you can read in the title of the publication. Don't worry if you didn't win the analysis you wanted because those analyzes will come gradually. Furthermore, there is an important point in common that we must take into consideration in the two most requested analyzes: Rolo's background.

So who the fuck is Rolo? He is a trained assassin who works for the O.S.I. which, in turn, is in connection with the Geass Order and both organizations answer to the Emperor and V.V. (the devilish brothers). Episode 3 of R2 gives us an overview of him and how he normally acts if Lelouch is not with him (yes, being Lelouch's shy and devoted brother is Rolo's mask, but, as a professor told me in a class a while ago, masks are not necessarily fake and this mask is actually a side of him that not even Rolo himself knew). At the same time, episode 3 drops some seeds (problems) that will bloom over the course of the season:

His extreme loneliness: Rivalz casually comments that Rolo does not talk to anyone at school and, additionally, we see that it is difficult for him to work as a team (there is a scene with Villetta in which the members of the O.S.I. complain to her because Rolo has killed some of them for stupid reasons). All of this results in his poor social skills and him distrusting everyone (and himself). I won't use the enneagram right now, but Rolo is undoubtedly a 6w5 one-to-one subtype and with that information, a connoisseur of this tool can get a general idea of the motivations behind Rolo's strange behaviors.

His budding interest and need to understand the meanings of "having a family" and "birthdays," which tie into the heart-shaped locket that Lelouch gave him (and for which he killed a member of the O.S.I. just for touching it). It isn't until we reach episode 4 of R2 that we are introduced to Rolo's past that we understand this curiosity he has.

Rolo and Mao are similar in several ways. They are both orphans, given a Geass that was too powerful for them at a very young age, and are amoral as a result of their particular lives. Specifically, Rolo wasn't raised as a human, but rather he was trained from birth to be a killing machine. Therefore, he has no social skills or moral codes, he has no notion of what is right and wrong, he has never had a family, he doesn't know how to make friends and, of course, he has no idea what love is nor does he know how to love (this last part is important because that's what his narrative arc is about, by the way).

Rolo was taught to follow orders, solve problems and repress his social, emotional and affective needs. Rolo has convinced himself that it was okay for him to live as he has been because he has focused on the present by completing the missions assigned to him. It's Lelouch who motivates him to think about the future and find meaning in life: "Rolo, what is the future? The future is hope. Without hope, your life is empty. And you have no hope beyond your mission. Rolo, if you capture C.C., what kind of future will it open up for you? Things will remain as they are and nothing will change." It's more or less the same situation that Kallen goes through in the first season since she also has to define her objectives and motivations and, in fact, the mental breakdown that Rolo suffers is similar to the one that Kallen had on Kaminejima Island because both they see how the lie that they believed to be true crumbles before their eyes. In Rolo's case, after all, Lelouch does care more than the mission (or, in other words, that his emotional ties are real).

The difference between the two is that Rolo isn't mentally healthy and here we find other parallels with Mao. Both are, first and foremost, victims of child abuse by people who should have protected them, but decided to use them for their benefit (C.C. in the case of Mao and V.V. in the case of Rolo) and both are hungry for love for their loved ones (C.C. and Lelouch respectively). I would add that they are also children who didn't grow up well. That's why Rolo's locket is shaped like a heart: it symbolizes the love (of Lelouch) that Rolo desperately wants.

Even if Rolo sees himself as a weapon because he has been dehumanized by the Geass Order, he is human and, like every person, wants to be loved (C.C. literally wants to die because she believes there is no love in her life). This need combined with Lelouch's search for meaning based on his agenda (being his little brother) leads Rolo to turn such meaning into his reason for living. "I made you a promise. I promised you a new future. Your future is with me" (or, what is the same, "your future is me").

Of course, there is a difference between Mao and Rolo (which is the same difference between V.V. and him) that I won't reveal now. I will say that, although the relationship between Rolo and Lelouch will evolve into a dependency on the boy's part that will aggravate his mental state, it constitutes a turning point in his narrative arc since, in addition to giving him a goal and motivation, this is the first time that Rolo thinks about himself and what he wants for himself, which is good for Rolo since he begins to value his life and Lelouch won't face consequences for manipulating, lying and using an amoral young murderer with strong emotional deficiencies who has been indoctrinated by a malevolent organization, right? RIGHT?!

No, forget it. Shirley dies.

But I'll reserve that for the next analysis. Honestly, I'm glad this analysis came out first because when I release Shirley's I'll be more direct in touching on Rolo's background and focus on Rolo's fears and feelings and explaining something nonsense called "anxious attachment." React and share, if you want to see it soon, as well as other analyzes of Rolo (I need to analyze his death scene because it is heartbreakingly beautiful and meaningful, even more so with the music).

Thanks for reading me.

[entropy-game-dev]

The Astronaut and Assistant

Finally, we come to the last two animations in the demo, and of course they are the main characters of the game! There was a lot riding on these animations due to how important they are (and their backstory) and so I was nervous that I wouldn't be able to do these two justice, based on the ideas I had in my mind's eye.

At first, I had grandiose plans for the astronaut's idle animation. I toyed with the mechanical chest tilting upwards and the oxygen pipes swinging around, but after seeing this in action, it looked way too comical.

Instead I went with a more subtle animation, having only 3 unique frames and the longest animation cycle of any of my sprites. I think the notion of breathing is something we take for granted a lot of time, and it's something that absolutely cannot be done while in space or underwater. So I wanted to contrast this slow deliberate movement against the more gaudy animations of the various robots, in order to highlight the human-ness of the astronaut.

As for the assistant, it had many moving parts (both figuratively and literally). Its frame - everything except the R2-D2 style droid in the center, is cobbled together from various bits and pieces to fit his unique form. That means I wanted the parts to move more or less independently from one another to demonstrate that this isn't much of a cohesive robot.

I knew I wanted the claw to flex menacingly, and I think having the assistant look at it while he does it (to show they aren't yet used to it/checking it works as intended/in disbelief etc) quite cute. On the other hand (pun intended), the constant discharging of it hints at some of its E-M attacking capability.

Overall, I'm really really happy with how these turned out, super satisfied to have the main characters done, and, most importantly, I hope you like them too!! Now that all the enemies/characters in the demo have been completed, it's on to the train boss unit!

[artoodeetootired]

how you get the girl (1)

🌌 now you say 'i want you for worse or for better, i would want for ever & ever' 🌌

part ii

it is widely known that anakin skywalker excels at nearly everything- except one: how to get the girl of his dreams.

words: ~4.5-5k (warning: did not proofread)

aotc anakin skywalker x padawan!ofc (+ besties padme & artoo)

best friends to lovers, miscommunication, a little angst ig?, fluff, whiny emo teenager padawans

As far into her training as she could remember, Evelyn Iblis had known Anakin Skywalker; which, really, was an understatement.

The two Padawans had first met after a fateful crash in their youthful flurry in the temple’s halls- a feisty girl, and a reckless boy. Although, the latter was more bashful than the former, being a rather late newcomer after all.

In the haze of her mind, Evelyn can remember her harsh personality softening as he repeatedly warmed her up to him; gaining her trust even as a child was not easy due to her childhood before the Jedi, yet her rebellious counterpart managed to befriend her.

After days and weeks and months of Anakin constantly showing her nothing but persistent friendship, Evelyn had no choice but to fall into it, no matter how competitive they both were with each other in training- in both of their opinions making their friendship even better.

So, as the years flew by, so did the memories they made together. From younglings to Padawans, the pair were inseparable. Best friends ‘till death do they part.

And thus comes about their shared mission to protect Senator Amidala of Naboo, a close and personal friend to both. After an assassination attempt amongst a harrowing time for the Republic, the Jedi Council assigned Evelyn to escort the former queen back to her home planet, where she would wait out any danger that could jeopardise everything The Light worked for.

But Anakin being Anakin, had refused to stay behind without a fight (which, of course, he won against his Master Kenobi). Since then, Evelyn had teased him for his aggressive need to join the mission as a projection of his crush on Senator Padme.

“It’s beautiful here,” Evelyn admired as they stepped out of Theed Palace. She had never seen such an incomparable city despite her various travels to many for her missions.

“Yes, I can’t help but agree,” Padmé beamed as she led the two towards the palace, “Definitely not because I’m biased.”

At that, she gave Evelyn a sly look over her shoulder, causing the younger one to softly smile. Evelyn knew Padme as an older sister throughout the years, not only because she was just over 5 years older, but because she had had the privilege to work with her (and R2) multiple times with her Master Adi Gallia as she grew up. The unrelenting kindness, courage and intelligence Padme showed as a young leader inspired her, so she couldn’t help but feel peculiar at how the tables had turned.

As the two Padawans, R2D2 and Padme ventured out to the next transport after their meeting with the queen, a comfortable silence fell over them, save for the faithful droid’s commentary beeping.

With one hand holding a suitcase, Evelyn used her other to help R2 down the stairs with more grace than his loud thumping, laughing at his grateful whirrs.

“I’m not exactly thrilled about hiding out, but I do hope you both will find solace in where we go next,” Padme mused, “It’s incredible there, and you guys deserve a break.”

“Don’t worry, it’s peaceful enough knowing we get to ensure your safety,” Anakin assured after a beat later; and like most of the time, Evelyn faded behind them to give them space, smirking at R2 as they watched the pair.

Evelyn can just about remember a conversation with Anakin, long when she was just 10, and Anakin had just turned 11. It detailed his observation of a fellow youngling that seemed to have taken a liking to Evelyn, despite her many attempts to avoid him.

Sooner or later, she shrugged him off with Anakin’s help (beating said admirer in a lightsaber duel), but it led her curiosity to his own interests- something she felt through his Force signature.

And that was when she giddily found out about Padme, the childhood crush he reluctantly told her about. In all honesty, she was mostly happy she had leverage over him after the embarrassment of her admirer.

Yet now, seeing it in person for Maker knows how long, Evelyn’s curiosity peeked to see how it would go.

“Anakin’s hopeless, Artoo,” Evelyn said to the droid, “As his best friend, I don’t know whether to be helpful or whether to give him hell for it.”

A series of beeps and a mischievous rattle of his legs made it seem like the two were conspiring, and in a lot of ways, they often were.

Evelyn grinned, “No, no, you’re right. Hell is funnier.”

•〰️•

“I will go with Artoo,” Evelyn said firmly after some time of her arguing with Anakin. She welcomed his happy chirps following the light blush that crept up Anakin’s neck.

It didn’t help that they were both stubborn, and that Padme was patient enough to watch in amusement. Anakin could feel that even the gondoliers were relishing the childish behaviour.

They were standing by the docks, ready to board two gondolas headed for the villa. Bickering as always, the two friends argued for who would go with who- Anakin stating he’d travel on one alone with the rest of the luggage, while Evelyn proposed an even split amongst the group.

“Eve,” Anakin sighed.

R2 chimed up as he wheeled his way to Evelyn, as if mirroring her defiance. Anakin scratched the back of his neck, eyes flittering back and forth between the brunette and the droid, and muttered his defeat.

There was only ever one person who frequently won against Anakin, and he was often tired of it, if not fuelled by the challenging dynamic.

As the group moved to the majestic boats, Evelyn grabbed the last bag from the boardwalk, beating Anakin to it.

“Artoo and I weigh less,” she reasoned as a response to his scrunched expression, then dropping her voice, “You’re welcome, by the way.”

She didn’t give him a chance to respond, picking the bag up and whirling away towards the waiting droid; she could feel his eyes on her, though. Calculating and nervous was his fleeting gaze, and she suspected it was due to his upcoming time alone with Padme.

Water had never felt fresher. Weaving through her fingertips, the lake was a comfort to Evelyn as she lazily dipped her hand throughout the journey. The Force was strong here, what with the energy coursing through the creatures and their hunt, the breeze and the heat, the moon threatening the sun to conquer, the lives on these boats; it was empowering in the sense that she could feel everything.

R2 suddenly made a series of beeps and boops over the music he was playing as if to say, “You seem sad.”

Evelyn regarded him with amusement, “I’m not. Why do you ask?”

“You look more aloof than usual. Is it because of the mission?”

“No,” Evelyn smiled at the droid, “Well… part of it.”

R2 let out a sad whine, encasing his sympathy for the girl, “What else is bothering you, then?”

She fidgeted with her Padawan braid.

“It’s not important, Artoo,” she settled, trying her best to keep her eyes forward, “I might just be tired from the past few days.”

The astromech droid let out another trill, choosing to believe his friend instead of questioning her; there was potential she could push him into the water, he wouldn’t put it past her tough exterior.

“At least you can rest more here! Master Padme and Ani, and I will be with you.”

Evelyn expressed her gratitude for his comfort with a pat on his head with one of her bandaged hands, letting the air around her turn pleasant as opposed to the current gloom. Besides, she was afraid that Anakin could sense it gleaning off of her from just a few feet away.

And she wouldn’t want that. Not when part of her personal mission there was to ensure his happiness, their happiness-it had been since she found them alone in Padme’s room, the atmosphere intense through the Force.

Even if, for some reason, it had stirred up a feeling in her gut, something dark and unpleasant. She didn’t know what it was. And she didn’t like the unknown.

She pulled her knees closer to her chest, choosing to look anywhere but to her left. Just the quiet moments, let her have the quiet moments to think and feel and look completely in tune with the growing conflict inside her, one that she was already trying to push away.

The Jedi Code was something Evelyn had always been touchy with, not completely agreeing with its ideals and expectations. Anakin knew this, her Master Gallia knew this. And so, if getting the senator to reciprocate what Anakin had felt- everyday of his life for the past decade- would seal his happiness in his tough life, then she’d do it.

Because they were best friends.

That’s all they were.

Trying to engage in the conversations Padme brought up in between silences was hard, because in the corner of his eye, Anakin could see the gleeful interaction between Evelyn and R2.

There, in her combat clothing, her thick mane of wavy hair in an outrageously messy bun and her attention undivided to the landscape, she looked more serene than he had ever seen her. More thoughtful in these slow moments, a contradictory calm to her fierce persona.

Was it because he wasn’t with her? Because his incessant chatter wasn’t there to annoy her?

He knew of her motives throughout the day, playing his wingman for him and Padme. And in an alternate universe, he was sure he would be grateful. But not in this one.

“You know, if you keep this charade up, it’s going to get worse.”

Anakin shifts out of his side-glance in a snap, finding the senator bemused as she raised a pretty brow at him.

“Pardon?” Anakin slipped over his words, trying very hard to hide his fluster at him being caught.

“Ani,” Padme laughed, “It may be hard for anyone else to see, but there’s no use hiding it from me.”

She tilted her head towards the gondola a few meters next to them.

He studied her for a moment. Padme certainly wasn’t talking about the droid or the gondolier.

Anakin shook his head, looking the opposite way in avoidance of the other pair, “What am I ‘hiding’?”

“If there is one thing I’m sure about you after all these years, it’s that you weren’t and still aren’t very good at hiding your emotions.”

The Padawan let out a deep breath, cursing himself for letting the one thing that he thought strengthened him become a weakness this once. Hopefully this once.

What felt like halfway into the ride, as Artoo distantly played relaxing music in the boat next to theirs, Anakin felt more jittery than ever. He did not know whether it was because of the tight space, or the sweat dripping down his robes, but it was most certainly not because of why Evelyn thought so.

He could feel it: the mocking, the encouragement. It was flowing across the space between them as a form of communication. Through the Force, he knew what Evelyn was thinking, and it was making him more nervous than it should have.

The young Skywalker had tried to focus on the scenery he had the privilege to witness; the lush water beneath him; the unbelievably green mountains that framed the sky; the wildlife one would never see on his home planet. But in the few minutes the group had been travelling, he couldn’t.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said, uncharacteristically gloomy. In the span of a few days, he had turned from being his usual smug, confident and charismatic Chosen One self to feeling like a simple, confused blob in the galaxy.

“Well you could start by telling her that, you know, I don’t mean what I used to mean to you back then, Ani,” Padme advised lightly.

She met Anakin as a 9 year old, and she definitely knew that he had a childish crush on her after their first encounter.

“You’re all grown up,” she continued, “Both of you are- I’ve seen the two of you with and without each other. It’s…”

At her pause, Anakin peeked back at the 24 year old, hanging on to the last word with anticipation.

Padme smiled at him, her eyes lighting up with recognition of the right word.

“Different.”

Anakin had never been more lost. Even his first time picking a lightsaber up had been easier.

Padme started to chortle at the look on his face.

“Wha- no, now you’re not making any sense,” he protested, “She’s always been my best friend. And we’re jedi, we’re meant to be different. Besides, if I tell her about you, then it just means she’s gonna draw the truth out of me.”

“Well, isn’t that the goal?” Padme said incredulously, “Isn’t that why you’ve been ‘subtly’ asking for my help since we met again?”

Anakin pondered about this. What was ‘the goal’? No matter how he felt, the both of them were bound to their duties first and foremost. He knew Evelyn, and thus he knew she would see to it that what she had worked for since she was a child would pay off. But he also knew himself- albeit not very well- and his knack to break a few rules, and to follow his heart.

It was a dangerous gamble.

“Can I ask you something?” Padme asked calmly, in a manner that reflected the soothing waves embracing them.

“It’s not like you’d care if I said no…”

Ignoring his attitude, Padme continued, “Do you like her? Yes or no?”

“Yes,” the Padawan retorted almost immediately, “I mean, yeah, I think I do.”

Feeling the way he did because they were best friends versus wanting to be more than that- he did not know yet.

Even though the former queen was seemingly happy with his answer, she dug deeper, “And when did you find out that you did? As in, as more then just friends?”

The teenager was visibly troubled. When he felt the gravity of the question, he threw his hands up and shrugged.

“Why does it matter?” he complained. Feeling cornered at that moment, Anakin didn’t care whether he looked like a child to the Senator of Naboo; he was certain that the gondolier was also listening intently, even with his back to them.

“Anakin,” Padme warned with a look, “Just think about it.”

He could feel more heat creeping up his neck, taking over his cheeks and his whole chest. He blamed it on the sun.

Anakin thought hard despite himself. Unable to give her a solid answer, he let his train of thought slip out without fault.

“When she first stood up for me against the lackies of our class.”

He quickly contradicted himself.

“No, actually, it was when we had our first talk talk,” he snorted, “She was stone cold before then.”

“It might’ve been when she comforted me the first time my nightmares started.”

“I don’t know… or when I realised I didn’t like it when other guys liked her,” he smirked nostalgically, “I’m glad I beat Damon in that duel.”

“Or when she fought too hard to protect everyone on a mission, and I… I almost lost her.”

While Padme let him spill all that was on his mind, she watched his every movement- from his eyes, to the way his hands would fidget, to his small, savoury glimpses towards said woman.

Then Anakin trailed off, the distant focus perpetuating his stature like a spell.

To him, the world went quiet.

The splashing waves that were once loud in his ears mitigated, the once stinging sun simply gave him warmth, the birdsong that distracted him aided his relishing into the back of his mind.

“It was when I first bumped into her my first time at the temple,” he slowly said, chuckling fondly, “I was so lost, and I didn’t know where Obi Wan was… but when Evelyn first looked me in the eyes with so much…”

He struggled for a word.

“Indifference?” Padme suggested.

“Detachment,” Anakin countered, “She changed. I knew I was pretty much a loser when we first met, so I took her sympathy for pity. But she asked me if I needed help, and guided me back- the scrawny, dirty child- when no one would.”

He trailed off, with his hands playing with each other as they rested on his knee, the azure of his eyes unmatched by the glittering blue of the lake, his lips curved up into a small smile.

“I was so, so determined to see her again- to make sure I was good enough to see her again. One could say that… that she really was the reason I went ahead with the training. That she is the reason I’m here at all.”

It all came rushing back to him, after he realised what he had just gushed out to Padme. He didn’t think he had ever felt so overwhelmed.

“See, now was that so hard?” Padme teased lightly; he rolled his eyes in reponse.

She knew all that she had to, and she herself was delighted with having the right to know- Anakin Skywalker didn’t just have a crush on Evelyn Iblis, he was in love with her. He may not have known it yet, but it was as clear as the skies above her.

“Now,” she said, down to business, a twinkle in her eyes far brighter than any star.

“Here’s what you’re going to do…”

•〰️•

Evelyn had never felt more detached, more awkward, more lonely.

From the moment they had arrived, she had made sure to stay out of the way and keep to herself.

Like the good old days, she thought.

Once Anakin and Evelyn were escorted to their rooms shortly after their arrival, the group agreed to have dinner right away due to the hunger their travels brought.

But as they made their way to lounge on a rustic balcony for the sunset, she excused herself to bed, ignoring Anakin’s protests.

As the stars graced her with their presence, Evelyn prepared for bed in the luxurious bathroom she greedily took her time in. Her heavy hair finally dried as she sat by the window alcove- she was delighted with the lavender soap- her tired body clad in the nightgown Padme had generously provided her.

Evelyn stayed buried in the lush covers for an hour now, sinking in like the quicksand of Tatooine. She sighed in contentment, never having felt this kind of comfort in a bed before.

Yet close to finally being taken away by sleep, her mind set to work to flash thoughts behind her closed eyes.

The impending war, where her Master Gallia might be at the moment, her plan for this mission, her plan for that mission.

She also wondered if Anakin would find it easier to sleep a dreamless night.

No.

She groaned, twisting aggressively to her side at the thought.

Stop it.

And yet she wondered what would happen if he couldn’t. Would he come knocking on her door like he always did?

The judging looks they got from the other younglings were ones she couldn’t forget, not when the two had openly defied the attachment rule as children. Anakin would sneak across the temple intersection for her room, and would knock on it to find Evelyn already awake for him. It was practically a pact- one must be awake if the other is sleepless.

But no, he would probably go down the opposite direction, for she was sure that she wasn’t his first choice in this hallway.

At that, Evelyn frustratedly slammed her head the opposite side into the pillow, suddenly disdainful of the thick sheets swallowing her in.

It was going to be a long night.

•〰️•

"Did you find her, Artoo?" Anakin asked at the sound of the astromech droid wheeling into the room.

"Yes," the blue droid beeped, "But I would be more... cautious at the moment."

Anakin and Padme exchanged a look across the round dining table, the slice of fruit still floating in between them by his command.

"What do you-"

The blue-eyed Padawan shut his mouth instantly, sensing her approach through the Force- tired, frustrated, grumpy.

Evelyn appeared by the archway a second later, her long hair in its usual ponytail, showcasing the white and yellow bands in her Padawan braid- healing and combat; she was in her casual under-blouse rather than her tunic, and her face was set in a mean rest.

It wouldn't take a Force-sensitive person to recognise the chills emanating from her.

"I hope I didn't hold you guys up for breakfast." she strode to the table swiftly, her lightsaber bouncing along her leg until she pulled up a chair.

"It's quite alright, I understand you were on patrol this morning," Padme said as kindly as ever, knowing that this was still a mission to them. Accepting the slice with a light stab in the air, Padme thanked Anakin for such an amusing trick.

She looks..... exhausted.

Anakin thought as he allowed his eyes to roam around his best friend's face; dark circles hugged her sharp eyes, and even though he still thought her radiant, the tension between her brows and shoulders betrayed her.

He knew better than to ask of her troubles in public.

"Someone tumbled a bit too hard out of wrong side of the bed," he tried joking, eyes trained on her throughout while the food arrived.

"Hm, not as bad as how you got lost on your way to the sink" she gestured to his face with her fork. A small tug on the corner of her lips.

Anakin relished in their banter, and while he was relieved to know she was still herself, he wanted to find out what was bothering her.

On one end, Padme looked a bit perplexed by their blatant insults shooting across the table.

"Why didn't you tell me you were taking first watch?" he asked amidst the clashing of cutlery, "| didn't even know we were starting rounds today."

The addressee shrugged, "It's fine. You can take the 2 hours before dinner, it's just a safety precaution. We'll discuss it more later."

She directed it towards Padme more for the sake of its purpose.

In truth, Evelyn had impulsively shot out of her chambers when it was evident she wasn't going to br gifted with sleep. Taking a walk around the perimeter, her moody self only came up with the rounds after she had been caught by the villa guards.

The air hung heavy above them, even driving R2 to leave the premise.

"So, Evelyn," Padme started, "Did you like your room okay?"

Also implying 'Did you sleep at all?’

She gulped down what looked like only her 3rd bite, nodding stiffly, "Oh, yes. It is quite comfortable."

"That's great to hear."

Silence resumed.

“And thank you again for the nightgown," her hesitant addition sliced through them, “I’ve never felt anything like it."

Evelyn may be in a mood, but Maker forbid she would take it out on Padme. She didn't even know what she was in a mood about yet.

"Hey, why didn't I get a nightgown?" Anakin smirked.

"Why? Would it aid your sleeping troubles?" Evelyn feigned curiosity.

“Certainly.”

"Well then you can have mine," the female Padawan's tone dripping with sarcasm.

Padme's delicate features lit up, "Well, of course! You know, you could even take a few when you leave."

Both Anakin and Evelyn halted slicing their food, looking bewildered at the proposal.

“Wh- what?" Padme asked, unsure of the offence she might have just done.

Anakin snapped his stare at Evelyn, mind now flushed to the point of his lungs betraying him.

As he choked and hastily reached for his glass, Evelyn looked just as taken aback.

"I, uh, it's nothing to do with you, Padme," Evelyn quickly consoled, "It's just that... we're Jedi."

She hoped it was explanation enough.

“Well... yes," Padme said slowly.

She guessed not.

“We have a certain conduct to follow... and as much as I liked the nightgown, I don't think it's... the design is a bit.." Anakin's ragged choking distracted Evelyn greatly from making her point, feeling flustered by it all.

"She means to say,” Anakin gasped through the glass of water he had just gulped down, "That it's not entirely appropriate in the Jedi Temple. It would be too...”

He looked at Evelyn for help, only to find her aggressively slicing pastry into unnecessarily samll shreds.

"Revealing," he cleared his throat. The man may not have seen it for himself, but it wasn't hard to imagine-

"Oh," Padme took her time to understand, "I see.”

She started to chuckle almost uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realise sooner," Padme said delightfully, a stark contrast to the rattled pair, "I’ve always thought that you'd look lovely in a dress, Evelyn.”

"Careful now," Evelyn said nervously, slicing away, “You might make Ani here jealous."

Anakin mumbled something under his breath before taking another sip, but she couldn't make out any words.

"Please, it would make me feel better while we're here," Padme said imploringly, "Especially since l've planned for a few picnics and activities and whatnot to occupy us."

This was the first time Evelyn heard of this.

“Planned activities...?"

“Yeah, we were discussing it yesterday when you went up to bed,” Anakin said, finally recovered from his fit, "Whatcha get for being a buzzkill."

Evelyn sighed internally, At least they're getting the time I hoped they would.

She ignored the comment.

"I couldn't."

Padme raised a brow.

"The dresses, I mean," the Padawan clarified,

"Besides, I don't know how to wear one."

Ever the friend, Anakin snorted; he slapped his hand to his mouth to try recovering from it, but Evelyn did the honour herself and kicked him in the shin.

"How to... wear one?" asked Padme, "Why, you just slip it on!"

"Well, yes but- stop it-" Evelyn pinched Anakin's shaking arm, "But, as in, I wouldn't know how to run in it, or- or fight in it. It seems too free."

"Eve,” Padme said soothingly, reaching out to grasp her hand, "You're not going to face off an army here. The most you'll really do is patrol- and even then, I wished you guys wouldn't- and maybe shake off some wild animals."

Evelyn contemplated. It just seemed so... awkward.

As well as pitiful, given that she used to hope of a time where she would dress up nicely for herself and for...

But now, it seemed like an uncomfortable idea.

Especially when she thought she'd look ridiculously stiff next to Padme's natural grace in them.

"C'mon, Eve, I think it'd be cool," Anakin said on a more serious note, his signature smirk and oceanic gaze feeling warm on her skin.

R2 made encouraging toots from the corner of the room.

It's just fabric... you've almost died in worse situations before.

Evelyn made a move to stand, feeling too squirmish to stay in the dining room anymore. She thought it nice to let the two lovebirds have a private day together anyways, or days she decided.

“| suppose," she gave the oldest a tight smile, "Whatever you'd see fit Padme."

"Great." she responded, a hint of confusion.

"Wait- where are you going?" to Evelyn's left, asked Anakin.

"I'm quite full now, thank you" she said politely, "Plus, I’d like to visit the library here."

"Of course."

"Do you want me to-"

“I'll see you both later." Evelyn departed without letting Anakin finish. Stoic, rigid, cold.

The male Padawan gaped after her. He did not know whether this was part of her mood, or if she was maybe, possibly, probably upset with him. Padme discerned his worry and hushedly reminded him to be patient for what was to come.

Before she had turned into the corrider, however, Evelyn threw over her shoulder almost abrasively-

"Oh, and maybe next, Anakin can make a meat skewer with his lightsaber for you.”

•〰️•

To Anakin's absolute vexation, Evelyn remained withdrawn from them (specifically him?) for a while.

No matter how much he tried tracing her by asking the staff, going where she would most likely be, and even following her Force signature, his trusted friend slipped through his fingers.

So much for Jedi training...

She had always been the better of the two at that: stealth with using the element of surprise.

He hadn't spoken to her for almost 4 days now.

When he took the night round, she would already be in bed. When he took the morning round, she would already be off in her own adventures. When Padme tried to initiate rendezvous, she would excuse herself to stay at the villa for security, as Anakin would be with the senator anyways.

He would hear reports from multiple members of the staff:

"She stayed in the library."

"She is off meditating' in the gardens... whatever that means."

"I last saw her swinging that laser sword of hers around, probably practicing or something."

"Oh yes, she was sitting by the lake with a book, sir."

And even R2, who told him, "She is spending time in the property's stables."

But what bugged him most, was that whenever he knocked on her door at night, she never opened up.

Not like she used to.

"I'm telling you, she's mad at me for something else!" Anakin huffed into his hands. By the north of the lake did the politician and Padawan stay idle; the latter had been complaining since they got there.

"Anakin, don't you see?" Padme urged excitedly.

“What are you so happy about- look, this is going way worse than I thought it would! She’s never acted this way before," he groaned.

He felt utterly vulnerable. While he was never one to be afraid of emotional expression, he had never felt so aggravated, dejected and lovesick. It made him feel incorrigible.

The day beautiful, the view picturesque, the breeze calming, it was everything one would hope for at a violent time like the one they were living in.

Out of everything Anakin could have, should have, been worrying about as a Jedi, he found himself stuck in the loop he was always warned never to fall in.

He didn't care.

"Anakin," Padme giggled as she rocked back and forth, her hair intricately framing her face, "Don't you see what this could mean?"

"No," he immediately scowled, "Is it that she hates me? And I don't even know why? Like, what did I do?All I've been trying to do is figure out these- these feelings and how to get closer to her than I already am!"

"Ani, you really can't see why she might be upset?"

He threw his hands in front of him, "I don't know! Is it ‘cause I always steal her cookies? Look, she's my best friend, and she's not been acting like it since we got to this place. And I get that she's trying to play matchmaker with us, and maybe that just means that she just doesn't feel the same way- but all she's doing is driving me crazy. And she doesn't even know it!"

His rant was well-received by Padme, and when he finished, he spaced out on the ruffled lake by the breeze.

"Ani, do you remember when you mentioned Damon?"

A surge of old bitterness grew in his chest.

"What about him?"

"And what did you say you realised when you beat him in that duel?" Padme asked ever-patiently.

He scoffed, “That I didn't like it when other guys liked her-"

Suddenly, he whipped to Padme, realisation dawning on his face.

"Oh."

"Jealousy. I told you it'd get worse if you let her think of us like that," a hint of pride seeped through her humble personality.

H sighed, "It's not that simple when we're both Jedi- hell, or even if only one of us was. If I can't have her as more than just my best friend, then I don't want to try at all and then lose her completely."

"But that's the thing, Ani!" the tiny senator fought back, "You guys are lucky in that regard- no, hear me out. You have been and are best friends. Most people don't even know where to start with the love of their life; a lot of people would wish to have their partner be their best friend, too. I would.

You have to remind her how you two used to be before this whole mission, you guys were practically a married couple. Then you've gotta tell her you absolutely lost your mind trying to suppress your feelings, tell her that it drives you mad to try and hide away from her while you went and left her in the dark.

Then you tell her what you've always wanted to. And don't. Hold. Back."

•〰️•

part ii

a/n: had to split it into 2 parts, sorry for any confusion!

[rose-sophia-isabella-rogers]

Worth the Risk: Chapter I - Before

Chapter Summary: You've known Anakin ever since you were a youngling. It was hard to see one of you without the other. It's different when the Clone Wars start. But then, you're finally paired together for a mission and you're almost always together again. However, an argument after you almost die, may ruin your relationship. Or maybe it will do something completely else?

Pairing: Anakin Skywalker/Reader

Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Reader, Shaak Ti (only mentioned), Obi-Wan Kenobi, Yoda, Mace Windu, Ahsoka Tano, Rex, Jesse, Sketcher, Bunker, R2-D2

Word Count: 4338

A/N: This was supposed to be a one-shot. Once again, I'm proving myself I can't write those. Oh well. Anyway, I've got into "Star Wars" a few months ago and this is the result. I haven't watched everything yet, but I couldn't stop myself. I hope you will enjoy this. Happy reading! P.S.: The gif is not mine! Same as the Star Wars franchise. Nor you, for that matter. Oh, and I didn't know if the people on the tag list wanted to be only in my fanfictions about Aleksander Kirigan or in all my works. So, I address you guys now: if you're not into the Star Wars or this pairing, let me know in the comments and I will remove you from the tag list and won't tag you in the next chapter.

Tag list (let me know if you want to be added or removed):

@intothesoul

@mizelophsun11

@pansexualwitchwhoneedstherapy

@zeeader

@marrymonrich

@wonderland2425

@chelseyyouraverageluigi

@thehufflepuffavenger1

@drinix

@astro-kitty-launch

Anakin Skywalker has been your best friend since you were little. When he arrived to the Jedi Temple, the rumors about him being the Chosen One quickly spread. Other younglings were a bit afraid of him or treated him as someone amazing already. You were having none of that. During your first training together, you beat him up. He may be the one to save you all, but you were here longer. He was not going to get any special treatment from you.

However, after the training was finished, you hurried to him and took him on a tour of the Jedi Temple. You didn't want to treat him like he was better than you, but you didn't want him to be your enemy either. He was a kid, like you. And you could tell he appreciated that.

Ever since that, you spent every free moment together. Everyone knew that wherever you two showed up, chaos followed. He was advancing quicker in the Order, but you were an apt student and were close behind. After the Initiate Trails you were honored to be chosen by Master Shaak Ti. She's a good mentor and you really valued everything she had to teach you.

Then, the Clone Wars started. Your Master was asked to oversee the Clone production and training. You accompanied her and also took part in some battles, sent as a Commander. Soon after, you took your Jedi Trials and the Council granted you the title of the Jedi Knight. It was time to leave your Master and become a General of the Grand Army of the Republic. Of course, Anakin has been one already for some time, having passed his trials before you.

Because of the war, you and Skywalker have been spending less time together. But wherever you two manage to meet, you always try to take the most of it. But for some reason, the Council have never asked you to go to the battle together. Until now.

*

Anakin is walking through the Jedi Temple with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Master Yoda. They're discussing the new mission Skywalker has been given. He needs to free another planet from the Separatists.

'Don't worry, Master Yoda,' he says, as they exit the Temple. 'Obi-Wan and I will not fail you.'

'Go with you, Obi Wan cannot,' Yoda says, surprising them both. 'A different task, he has. Send someone else with you, we will.'

'Who?' Anakin asks, frowning. At the same moment they notice Master Mace Windu approaching with you. He's saying something to you and you nod, absolutely concentrated. Until your eyes fall on your best friend. Then, you grin. He does the same. But Obi-Wan's face falls.

'Master Yoda, are you sure about this?' he asks. 'The two of them together…'

'What is needed to save this planet, exactly is,' Yoda finishes.

'We'll be fine, Obi-Wan,' Anakin says, already heading your way. Kenobi sighs.

'This is gonna end badly,' he murmurs. 'Or at least in an explosion.'

You and Anakin meet halfway. At once you start talking strategy amatively. Windu passes you and joins other Masters, eyeing you skeptically.

'Are we sure about this?' he asks. 'There is a reason why we haven't paired them up together for a mission. They tend to be… destructive together.'

'To put it lightly,' Obi-Wan adds. But Yoda smiles.

'Trust them, we must,' he says. 'Powerful together, they are. Win the battle, they will.'

And so, an hour later you're at the docks, getting ready to board the Resolute, Anakin's Venator-class Star Destroyer. Anakin's Clone Legion, 501st, is to join you, same as yours, 98th. They greet each other and chat, waiting for you and Anakin to declare you're ready to fly. Ahsoka Tano, Skywalker's padawan, stands a bit to the side, talking with Captain Rex, one of the clones.

'Ahsoka, do me a favor and keep an eye on these two,' Obi-Wan says, glancing at you and Anakin.

'Why?' Tano asks, puzzled.

'Wherever they go together, chaos follows,' Kenobi explains and pats Rex on the shoulder. 'Good luck to you all.'

'Thank you, sir,' the Clone says, already fearing his future.

'All set?' Anakin asks, joining the group.

'We were waiting just for you,' Ahsoka answers and smiles at you, as you approach them. 'And [Y/N]. Hi!'

'Hey,' you say, grinning at the young padawan. 'Shall we?'

'Let's destroy some droids,' Skywalker says, smirking at you. You smirk back and board the ship with him.

'May the force be with you,' Obi-Wan calls after you. You and Anakin turn and salute him.

'And with you!' you say at the same time and head inside. Kenobi sighs.

'Please, be careful,' he asks.

'I'll keep an eye on them, sir,' Rex promises.

'Thank you,' Obi-Wan says. Ahsoka smiles at him and boards the ship with others. She can't wait to see you and Anakin in action together.

*

When Obi-Wan returns from his mission, you and Anakin are still away. The task is going well, but he hears there are some complications. Still, you return not long after him. The Clones from your legions are the first to get out of the Resolute. They all look weary.

'How did it go?' Kenobi, who is there to greet you, asks. The Clones look at him. Rex walks forward and brings his hands together.

'Please, sir, please, never put the two of them on a mission together again,' he begs. Obi-Wan raises his eyebrows.

'That bad?' he asks.

'They were crazy,' Jesse, a Clone from 501 says with wide eyes.

'That bad?' Obi-Wan sighs.

'It was quite fun, actually,' Ahsoka says, joining them with a small smile, also looking tired. 'But… they are something else together.'

'They're chaos, that's what they are,' Jesse mumbles. Just then you and Anakin show up. You're having a bacta patch on your forehead.

'And what happened to you?' Kenobi asks.

'Skywalker,' you answer, but don't sound angry.

'Yeah, well, it worked, so I'm not sorry,' Anakin says. You roll your eyes.

'But we're not doing it again,' you say.

'How about next time you can throw me into a swarm of droids?' Skywalker suggests. Your eyes light up. Obi-Wan's go wide.

'You did what?!' he demands from his former padawan.

'She had two lightsabers!' Anakin defends himself. You grin and decide to quickly evacuate yourself, not wanting to be berated by Kenobi as well. Ahsoka and Clones take that as their cue as well.

While you retreat, Skywalker glares at you, feeling betrayed. You wink at him and walk away gracefully. Until you hit a droid and trip over him. You can hear Anakin's laughter very clearly.

'Damn you, Skywalker,' you murmur and stand up. You stick out your tongue to Anakin and walk away.

'How can one change their personality so quickly?' Jesse asks Rex. 'On the battlefield they both have been professional, focused and very scary. And now they are…'

'Young people having fun,' Rex finishes with a small, sad smile. They observe you walking away in silence, pondering about the cruelty of the war.

A few days later the Clones from 501st and 98th legions get bad news. The Senate and Jedi Council were so impressed and satisfied with how the mission went, they want to pair you, Anakin and your legions for more missions. All Clones groan in unison at the news. Some actually cry.

However, with time it changes. Yes, you and Anakin can still be crazy, not only on the battlefield. But 501st notices that you tend to have a calming influence on Skywalker. And 98th notice that you seem to thaw around Anakin. They're used to see you calm, collected and serious. Sometimes even a bit too much.

501st Legion takes a quick liking to you, not only because you calm down their general's temper. You are fun, compassionate, kind and you are a very warm person. Sometimes, Anakin even thinks they like you more than him. He is probably very right.

98th Legion is fast to warm up to Skywalker, too. They admire his skills, intelligence and strategies. They also love his fun side and to joke around with him. And annoy you with it.

Both Legions have a chance to see more than anyone, maybe with an exception of Ahsoka, the chemistry between you and Anakin. While others see it as some sort of connection, good sync in the Force, they see it's something… more. And they're determined to see what exactly it is. The opportunity for that comes with one of the missions.

*

The Clones stand awkwardly outside the medic bay. They look at each other. No one dares to speak. They wince, hearing something clattering inside.

'So… they expect a report,' Sketcher, one of the Clones from 98th, says.

'Do you want to go in and tell them that?' Bunker, his companion, asks. Sketcher gives him a horrified look.

'None of us does,' Jesse murmurs. Just then Ahsoka, who had to take a shower because she was completely covered in slime, shows up. Everyone looks at her with hope.

'Commander, the Jedi Council expects a report,' Rex quickly says. Tano raises her eyebrows.

'Shouldn't Master Skywalker and Master [L/N] do it?' she asks. All Clones look at the door to the med bay. As on cue, Anakin's and then your voices can be heard:

You could have died!

But I didn't!

'I see your point,' Ahsoka sighs. 'I'll get right to it.'

She turns to go and contact the Council. The Clones hurry after her, no longer feeling guilty for not stepping in. Only Rex and Sketcher stay behind, ready to assist you and help if necessary.

Inside the med bay, you and Anakin are glaring at each other. You're covered in bacta patches. But you don't see why your friend is making such a fuss. You're fine. Nothing serious has happened to you.

'But you could have,' Skywalker says. You roll your eyes.

'What's your deal?' you ask, putting a hand on your hip. 'Usually, you don't hesitate to do things like that. You do even more dangerous stunts.'

'You're supposed to be more responsible one,' Anakin argues. 'Besides… you're not me.'

'I know, but what's that supposed to mean?' you ask, narrowing your eyes. Skywalker clenches and unclenches his fist.

'It's less risky when I don things like that,' he says after a tense moment. 'Dangerous things.'

'And why is that?' you ask, crossing your arms over your chest.

'Because I'm a better Jedi,' he blurts out. 'I've always progressed faster than you.'

He regrets his words the moment they leave his mouth. You look as if he's slapped you. For a long moment you stare at each other. Finally, you huff.

'You can be a really unsensitive jerk, Skywalker,' you snap and march out of the med bay.

'[Y/N], wait, I didn't-!' Anakin starts, panicked. But you push past Rex and Sketcher, and hurry away. The Clones stare after you, then look at Skywalker judgingly.

'What?' he asks. Rex sighs and Sketcher shakes his head.

'What?' Skywalker repeats, annoyed, crossing his arms. 'Come on, spit it out.'

The Clones exchange a look. Sketcher waves his hand and walks away. Anakin and Rex stare at each other. Skywalker raises his eyebrow, waiting. The Clone sighs again.

'You should have just told her you were worried, sir,' he says and the Jedi quickly opens his mouth to protest. 'You and me know she's just as good as you. You're angry with her, because you were scared. You know that, I know that, but she doesn't. So, give her time to cool down and talk about it. But calmly now. And explain your reasoning. And apologize.'

'Are you giving me orders, Rex?' Anakin asks, a bit amused.

'Just a suggestion, sir,' the Clone answers, salutes and walks away. Skywalker sighs and runs a hand through his face. He knows Rex is right. But how to talk to you?

Nevertheless, he gathers his courage, and once you're getting close to Coruscant, he searches for you. He finds you in one of the storages, checking for supplies. The furrow of your eyebrows tells him you're still angry. But he has to clear the air now, before it's too late.

'[Y/N],' he says, walking inside. 'Can we talk?'

'Talk or yell at each other?' you ask after a beat.

'Talk,' Anakin answers, walking slowly to you, and scratches the back of his neck. 'I… I owe you an apology.'

You finally look at him, raising your eyebrows at him. You clearly haven't expected that.

'I am not a better Jedi than you,' he says. 'And I have no right to tell you what you should or shouldn't do. I'm… I'm sorry.'

'I'm sorry, too,' you say after a pause, looking at him with sorrow. 'I… I shouldn't have stormed off like that. You… I… Truth is, I've always been a bit jealous of you being promoted quicker than me. Because I was in the Temple longer than you. Ever since I was a baby. I've tried to get over it, but I guess a part of me is still angry about it. But the truth is, the time spend on the training doesn't matter, but talent does. And you're a natural, Anakin. I just… I just wish you'd trust my skills as well. I may be not as good as you are, but I'm capable of doing risky things, as well.'

'I do trust your skills!' he hastily says, taking a step toward you. 'And you are as talented as I am. I just… I… You…'

'Yes?' you ask when he trails off. He gulps and looks into your eyes. His pulse speeds up. He can do it. He can.

'I was worried about you,' he confesses softly, surprising you. 'When I saw you jumping into that fire… for a moment my heart stopped. I thought… that you're not gonna come out of it. I feared I had lost you. When you emerged, I… I was so relieved. But then I became angry. For you to putting yourself in such risk and for making me so scared. I… lashed out at you and I'm sorry for it. But the thought of losing you is…'

You eye him warily, your heart beating fast. He looks at you like a kicked puppy. There's deep sadness in his eyes and… and something else you don't dare to name. Probably, if you reached out, you could read him. But you don't. And you beg him in your mind not to speak.

'It was unbearable,' he finishes softly anyway. You gulp. His eyes are begging you to say something. Your heart screams at you to answer him. But you can't.

'Well… I'm still here,' you say and smile nervously. 'Still in one piece. But I promise to be more careful. And as responsible as usual at least.'

You stare at him, expecting him to smile back. To finally get rid of this tension between you two. So everything could be back to normal. But he doesn't. He stares back at you, his eyes serious and… Oh, no. Determined.

'What if I do lose you one day?' he asks. You quickly put your guard up.

'You'll move on,' you answer, softly but sternly. He scoffs and looks at you with disbelief.

'Do you really think I can do that?' he asks. 'Could you move on if something happened to me?'

'Yes,' you answer with difficulty, forcing the tears back from your eyes.

'Seriously?' Anakin huffs, narrowing his eyes at you. You gulp, feeling a burning sensation in your throat.

'I'm not saying it would be easy,' you say. 'But I'd have to. That is the Jedi way. No attachments. Letting go of those we lost. Moving on.'

You give him a pointed look and walk past him. You press the button to open the door, but suddenly Skywalker grabs your wrist and presses the button again, closing the door. You stare at it, stunned. Your breath hitches when you feel his chest pressing into your back.

'What if we weren't Jedi?' he asks quietly, straight into your ear, causing you to shiver.

'Then… I'd mourn you,' you answer, also quietly. 'Openly. Letting everyone know how… hurt I am.'

'No, that's not the word you wanted to use,' he says, gently squeezing your wrist.

'Heartbroken,' you whisper. 'I'd be heartbroken.'

Anakin lets go of your wrist. But his hand moves to your waist, his other landing on its other side. He starts to turn you around. You panic and press the button to open the door. But it doesn't budge. You frown, confused. You can't wonder about it, however, because your eyes meet Skywalker's.

'Let me go,' you plead, for both your sakes. But he leans toward you, allowing his eyelids to drop a bit. You want to give in. Oh, you want it so much. But…

'What about Padmé?' you ask. He freezes. He looks at you with a frown.

'You've been going on about her ever since I met you,' you huff. 'And then you were reunited and… you always wanted to be on the missions that were connected to her and I always felt… how much she means to you.'

'She's just a friend,' he says, but you give him a skeptical look. 'Truly. Yes, I thought Padmé is… someone more for me. But then I met you and I realized… She was the first beautiful and kind girl I've ever met. What I felt for her was a childhood crush. Nothing more. I'm certain of it. Because what I feel for you is stronger than what I've felt for her.'

'Don't,' you say harshly, attempting to move away. 'Stop it here, Anakin.'

'No,' Skywalker says sternly, looking at you with passion. 'I've been hiding my feelings for too long. I almost lost you today and I can't… I can't continue without you knowing about them. Without knowing about yours…'

He reaches out and cups your cheek. He wipes out a stray tear you weren't even aware of. You open your mouth to protest more, but he quickly leans to you and your lips touch… and it's everything you've ever dreamt of and so much more.

You've been in love with your best friend for years. You've tried to deny and hide it. Because you are both Jedi and you also believed he has some feelings for Senator Padmé Amidala. But now he's kissing you. He's almost devouring your mouth and you just want more. You don't even realize when you put your hand behind his neck and pull him closer to you.

'[Y/N]…' he groans, deepening the kiss.

'Anakin…' you whisper and finally get enough clarity to push him away. 'We… we can't. The Jedi code…'

'Is wrong,' Skywalker says strongly and cups your face, looking at you pleadingly. 'It must be. Because how can this be wrong? Kissing you is the rightest thing I've ever done. I was made to love you, I'm sure of it. How can this be wrong?'

'Attachments lead to fear,' you say, forcing yourself to ignore what he said. 'Fear leads to hatred. Hatred leads to the Dark Side.'

'I'm certain that if I ever was tempted by the Dark Side, you'd beat that idea out of me.'

'Ha. Maybe. What if I turned to the Dark Side with you?'

'You couldn't. You're too strong for it. Too good.'

'I don't know. I've already broken so many rules for you.'

You look at him softly. His breath hitches. For the first time he can see past your walls. He can see the depth of your feelings for him. He opens his mouth to say something, but then voices destroy the moment:

What are you all doing here?

Uh… nothing! Everything is fine!

Yes, perfectly fine, General! No need to worry!

Alright… Where are Anakin and [Y/N]?

Uh…

Um…

… They're in there, aren't they?

No, General, don't!

They need to clear some things out!

The door start opening and Anakin quickly lets you go, stepping away from you. Once it's open, you're met with Obi-Wan, arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Next to him is Ahsoka, looking at you with curiosity. Behind him are the Clones, looking at you sheepishly. You huff.

'Seriously, guys?' you ask, putting hands on your hips.

'We were just trying to make you up,' Sketcher says, grinning. You roll your eyes.

'Did we at least manage that?' Jesse asks hopefully.

'We're good,' you answer and look at Anakin. 'Right?'

Skywalker nods without a word, staring you in the eyes. You turn your gaze to Obi-Wan.

'You didn't have to come and get us,' you say.

'You've been docked here for minutes and no one was getting out,' he explains. 'I was beginning to get worried.'

'Seriously?' you ask, annoyed, glaring at the Clones. They grin at you. You huff and head toward your room. Kenobi shakes his head and follows you. Ahsoka looks at her master. He snaps out of his reverie and walks away, his padawan close behind him.

Not much later he's getting his things, when Rex shows up in his room. He closes the door behind himself. Anakin raises his eyebrows at him.

'What is it?' he asks. Captain straightens up.

'I just wanted you to know, sir, that none of us is going to tell anything about it to anyone,' he says seriously. Skywalker looks at him, confused.

'About what?' he asks.

'Exactly, sir,' Rex says and gives his supervisor a pointed look. 'We also erased all the recordings from the camera in the storage room.'

Anakin's eyes go white and his face goes pale. He opens his mouth to say something, but the Clone interrupts him by saluting.

'Sir,' he says and turns to leave.

'Uh, thank you, Rex,' Skywalker quickly says. Captain turns his head and smiles.

'To be honest, sir, we all have been waiting for that for a long time,' he says and has an audacity to wink, then chuckle at the dumbfounded look on Anakin's face, and walks out.

'Those Clones,' Skywalker huffs after a moment, running a hand through his hair. He quickly gathers his things and leaves.

He finds you in the docks, talking to R2-D2. He hurries to you. You frown at his flushed cheeks.

'What's wrong?' you ask and look at him alarmed. 'Does Obi-Wan know about…?'

'No, and unless one of us says something, he won't,' Anakin denies. 'Rex and others deleted the recordings from the camera in the storage room.'

'The… camera, oh sweet Maker,' you groan, hiding your red face in your hands.

'And they won't tell anyone either,' Skywalker adds and huffs. 'Apparently they ship us.'

You let out a nervous laugh. But you uncover your face. Anakin looks at you softly.

'I meant what I said,' he says. 'I-'

'Don't,' you interrupt him, looking around. 'Not here. Besides, I got the message.'

'What about your feelings?' Skywalker says and grabs your wrist. 'I won't let you go until I hear about them. Please. I need to know.'

You could tell him you don't feel the same. You'd break his heart but maybe it would allow you two to move on. But you know he'd recognize you're lying. Especially since you kissed him back…

'It has always been you, Anakin,' you decide to say softly and look him in the eyes. 'My heart has always belonged to you.'

'Can we… give us a chance, then?' he asks hopefully, moving his hand so he could hold yours.

'I'd like nothing more,' you admit, your heart literally hurting. 'But you know we can't.'

'If I ever try to turn to the Dark Side, you have my permission to beat me out of it,' he quickly says. You snort.

'What if you already turn to it?' you question.

'I know you'll never let that happen,' he answers, grinning. You scoff and roll your eyes. Anakin takes your other hand in his and looks at you pleadingly. In the corner of your eye, you see your Legions discreetly observing you with bated breaths.

'If the Council finds out, I'm the one taking the blame,' you say after a long moment. 'You're already a controversial figure in their eyes. While I am their favorite.'

'Works for me,' Skywalker says, starting to smile.

'And you also have to let me take risks sometimes,' you insist. 'Trust in my abilities.'

'I will,' Anakin promises hastily nodding. You sigh.

'I can't believe I'm agreeing to this,' you murmur. Skywalker smirks and squeezes your hands.

'I'm that good of a kisser, huh?' he teases.

'Oh, you are,' you confirm, loosing yourself in the memory of his lips on yours… You quickly shake yourself out of it and pull your hands away.

'We will have to be careful,' you say. 'I'd like to remain a Jedi at least until the war is over. And you're needed, oh the Chosen One.'

'We will,' Anakin assures you softly, leaning toward you. 'But can I kiss you again?'

'Someone can see,' you protest.

'There are only Clones and R2, they're not going to tell,' Skywalker says. 'I saw Ahsoka walking away somewhere with Obi-Wan. Please. So I would know you're serious and this is not a dream.'

'Fine, but only one,' you give in after a moment. Anakin quickly cups your face, before you change your mind, and joins your lips for a short, but passionate kiss. He leaves you breathless when he pulls away.

'Damn you, Skywalker, you'll be the death of me,' you say weakly. Anakin chuckles and lets you go.

'I'll come to your room later and take you out on a date,' he says, winks and walks away. You blink and turn after him.

'You'll what?!' you call, but he doesn't stop. 'What have I done?'

You sigh, troubled. You know this is wrong. You should resist the temptation. But you can no longer deny yourself what you've wanted for years. Anakin Skywalker.

A/N: Thank you for reading! Let me know your thoughts! Reblog, like and comment if you could. Every comment makes my day!

This can also be found on Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/53898226/chapters/136425739

[burnwater13]

Grogu greeting R2-D2 on Moff Gideon's ship after Luke Skywalker's arrival on the ship. Image from The Mandalorian, Season 2, Episode 8, The Rescue. Calendar from DateWorks.

Grogu recognized R2-D2 immediately. It had been a long time since he'd seen the mech roaming around the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. A long time. So many things had happened since then. Grogu hadn't really expected the mech to survive it all. Even back in those days, R2-D2 was known to be risk taker. But somehow, here it was tootling a ‘hello there’ as if they had just missed each other at the flight training center canteen.

Grogu replied ‘Long time, no see' or words to that effect and the mech had laughed, as mechs do, in a stream of binary that was far too fast for the humans to understand. Grogu asked R2 who had trained the ‘Kid’, because it was clear to him that the young human male was not what he would have called a Jedi.

R2 shared what it knew. Grogu was impressed. Obi-Wan Kenobi? Master Yoda? A holocron? Wow. He kind of wished he'd been able to do things that way. Instead, he had to deal with the old fashioned go to classes, take tests, practice, practice, practice method. It did at least explain why Luke was wearing the wrong colors. No Jedi worth their kyber crystal ever dressed all in black. That's what had Grogu worried about going anywhere with the youngster. Obviously no one had bothered explaining how the exterior was a reflection of the interior. 

R2 commented that the Kid was in mourning. Huh? That was a reason to dress plainly Grogu supposed, but given the number of people he had lost, his coverall’s color should have duplicated a Sith’s heart. Grogu had often imagined that was like looking into a void in the space/time continuum. But you couldn't just order your robes in the color of despair, so you put up with what you had and made do. 

Grogu asked who the Kid was mourning and was surprised at the answer. Vader? Why would anyone mourn Vader? He looked at the Kid again and wondered if he could just slowly back away? But the Mandalorian really wanted him to go with the Kid and learn something. Grogu chirped at R2 and asked him the obvious question, was the Kid a Sith?

A gale of laughter met his ears when the mech replied. Of course Luke wasn’t a Sith. He was Anakin Skywalker’s son. Anakin had become Vader and had never known he had children until it was too late. 

Oh. Alright then. Huh?

Grogu asked R2 to explain it to him like he was back at the Jedi Temple. It took a few moments because R2 streamed the information to him at a frequency that Grogu could hear but the humans simply ignored. To them it probably looked like the two of them were just sizing each other up, but that was just a convenient cover for their intense discussion. 

So Luke (Grogu still thought of him as ‘the Kid’) was Anakin’s son, had a sister, Anakin’s daughter, and had grown up on Tatooine, not far from Tosche Station. Ben Kenobi (Obi-Wan’s cover name) kept an eye on Luke and eventually helped him reunite with his sister, Leia, while helping her escape from Imperial captivity, thwarting Darth Vader's plans to get the princess (princess? Yup) to betray the Rebel Alliance. Kenobi helped them escape by tricking Vader into fighting him instead. That hadn't worked well for Obi-Wan, but then it wasn't supposed to. Anyway, then there was a bunch of running around with the Rebel Alliance and eventually Luke went to Degobah to train with Master Yoda. On the plus side, Master Yoda recognized R2, on the downside, Luke really struggled with balance. A lot. A lot a lot. That made sense. After some training from Master Yoda, Luke had to go back to the Rebellion, met Boba Fett, sort of, and ended up not being able to finish his training after he returned to Degobah and Master Yoda became one with the Force. But Luke still had to help the Rebellion because he was the only Jedi anyone knew about. Wow. That’s how he ended up meeting Vader again. Again? Yup, the first time he met him was when he was trying to help his sister and her friend Han. It turned out that the whole thing was a trap! R2 had done what he could to help, but Luke ended up getting his hand cut off by Vader's lightsaber (Grogu had wondered about the gloves) and had to recover from it. It had been a tough first meeting. 

Grogu had wanted to know more, but he sensed that all the humans in the room were getting a little antsy. Was he staying or going? He sighed. He really didn't want to leave the Mandalorian. Din Djarin needed a friend and that’s what Grogu was. His friend. But… he really wanted to know what happened when the Kid met Vader the second time. He felt like he would learn something pretty important. It felt just like the the time he met the Mandalorian. That had worked out pretty well, all things considered. 

This is the Way?

R2 whistled to him that they needed to go. It was a long flight to Ossus. 

Ossus! Why didn't the mech lead with that?! Ossus had amazing history within the Jedi Order. Of course Grogu wanted to go there. He could go for a couple of weeks and check things out, get the rest of the Kid’s story from R2 and then head back to Nevarro or Tatooine or wherever the Mandalorian was at the time. Grogu would find him. They were part of the same clan. You couldn't keep them from finding each other, even if you tried. 

This is the Way.

[superfanficnatural]

The Son: Chapter 15

Pairing: Poe Dameron x Male!Reader (The Son)

Summary: You’ve finally broken free of the forces controlling you at a great cost, though the cost of doing so was even greater than you thought. Now, you fight for the antithesis of what you had been representing, and have to grapple with finding your own place in the galaxy while grappling with the person trying to find their way into your heart. Will The Son choose the light? Or the dark? Whatever the answer may be, may the force be with us.

A/N: Our reader and Rey are off to find Luke! I wonder how it'll go for them... As always, I hope you enjoy!

Warnings: None.

Word Count: 3,627

Italics are your thoughts

Masterpost

As you gave Poe one final look, you turned to head into the Falcon along with Rey. Chewie was already inside as you entered, waiting in the cockpit along with R2 who you hadn’t expected. You sat down in the pilot’s seat while Rey was behind you, Chewie in the co-pilot seat. 

“We ready to go meet Luke Skywalker?” you asked aloud.

Chewie growled in response and flicked a few buttons to help get the systems online while you primed the engine.

“To think you need to press so many things to even get this thing off the ground…” you muttered as you took the controls and began to pilot the three of you off of the ground.

As you broke the atmosphere, you tried to remove Poe from your mind and how the two of you had left things off. Poe was important to you, more than anything else, but you had a job to do and it took precedence, after all, if you failed you’d never be with him. You hoped Poe would be ok while you were gone and maybe when you got back you would be able to finally tell him, regardless of how he responds. Chewie locked in the coordinates for hyperspace and you pulled the lever, sending your group into the endless void of blue and white. It took a while, along with a few instances where the ship shook a little too hard and you wondered if you were flying straight through an asteroid field. The entire time, you could feel Rey’s trepidation over meeting the famed Luke, along with being able to learn more about herself and being a Jedi. So much so in fact, that she had pulled you off to the side for a moment.

“Y/N, may I ask you something?” 

“Of course,” you warmly replied.

She looked off for a moment in thought before returning to you, “You told me what the force was, and that Jedi and Sith are those who are able to influence it. Is that all that makes a Jedi or Sith? You said you weren’t a Jedi exactly, does that mean we are both on our journey to becoming Jedi?”

You sighed, “It’s hard to explain, and honestly everyone probably has a different answer to it. What makes a Jedi… it would have to be using your power in order to protect those who cannot protect themselves. I’m no Jedi myself so I can’t exactly give you the best answer, though I know that respectable Jedi from what I have seen, use their power to aid and assist, and well, have lots of wisdom.”

She took in your words carefully and thoughtfully, the gears turning behind her large round eyes, “Do you think Luke would train us?”

You thought for a moment, taking into consideration the memories of him you saw from Leia, “Honestly? I have no idea. I’d like to say yes but then again, he abandoned everyone and everything to live in solidarity. There’s a rather large chance he’ll turn us away the second we get there. Even so, we must try.”

She nodded in response and the two of you returned to comfortable silence.

After a while, a beeping noise notified you that you were about to exit hyperspace and you took at the controls in preparation. The ship exited hyperspace and you were faced with a blue planet of many shades in front of you, most likely an aquatic focused world. You didn’t bother trying to feel for Luke as you had tried that months ago, shortly after first getting to the Resistance. You could feel Leia across the galaxy if you had focused but no matter how hard you tried, once more, Luke was nowhere to be found. You hypothesized that he removed himself from the force, something extremely similar to what you had done when you had sealed yourself away.

“Alright guys, eyes open,” you said as you checked the scanners, trying to see if you could find anything.

As you entered the planet’s atmosphere, you came to understand that this was primarily a water world as there were only a few island structures that held land. The scanners picked up life forms on an island not far from your position and you immediately piloted the three of you towards them. As you arrived, you landed the ship and set out with Rey, Chewie and R2 staying back at the ship just in case. While you were on the ship, you could make out a human-like figure at the top of one of the hills and that’s where you and Rey headed towards first. As you walked along, you took notice of the strange animal life that lived there, the birds a strange shape along with various other land and water dwelling creatures. The walk wasn’t too long as you had reached the incline towards the hill where you suspected Luke was.

As you began to trek up the hill, you could feel Rey’s nerves rising, “You doing alright?”

She snapped to you a bit too quickly, “Yeah.”

You raised an eyebrow expectedly at her.

She sighed, “That obvious? We’re about to meet the Luke Skywalker, the Jedi who finally defeated Darth Vader. How are you not excited?”

“I know this is going to raise more questions in your head but, the reason I’m not excited is because for one, I knew his father, Darth Vader before he turned to the dark side, and he was a fine man. On top of that, with respect to Luke, I can’t condone him just… abandoning his family and the galaxy when they needed him the most,” you explained. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate the guy or anything of the sort, just don’t agree with some of his choices.”

“You knew-“ she began with enthusiasm before she cleared her throat. “That’s a fair opinion.”

You didn’t realize it but as you were talking, you had managed to nearly get to the very top of the hill. As you took the last steps, you finally saw him. He had his back turned to the two of you and was at the edge of the cliff looking off into the water. After a few moments, he slowly turned to face the two of you, as if he knew you would be there all along. You made no motion to move or speak, knowing that Rey wanted to initiate, even though she didn’t verbally tell you that. Rey looked down at her belt, where Luke’s saber was clipped and removed it, walking forward and extending the saber out with her hand. You watched as you could see the familiarity shine through Luke’s eyes at his saber along with the excitement and nervousness you could feel from Rey. You almost thought the three of you would stand there forever until he finally grabbed the saber from her hands. After a few seconds of Luke looking at the saber in his hands, he suddenly flicked it and threw it behind him which shocked you and Rey. You didn’t even have time to react as he immediately began walking off. 

You and Rey shared a look of confusion before she turned to follow him, “Master Skywalker?”

The two of you followed him down the hill and around the mountain until you came up to a small village area with smaller creatures you had never seen before. You hadn’t paid much attention but there was a special feeling you had since you had come to the planet, as if it was much more than it seemed on the surface. A door was pulled shut in one of the buildings and you two understood that as Luke. 

“Master Skywalker?” Rey said hesitantly as she inched closer to the door. “I’m with the Resistance, your sister Leia sent me. We need your help.” After no response for a few moments, she tapped on the door with her staff, “Hello?”

“I don’t think he wants to speak with us,” you stated the obvious as you took a look around.

She sighed before she turned to look at you for a moment as she was in thought, “I’ll go retrieve the lightsaber.”

“Alright, I’ll head back to the ship and let Chewie know what’s going on,” you responded.

The two of you went your separate ways and after you had gotten to the ship, you explained what happened to Chewie and R2. It didn’t take much but Chewie had gotten right up, growling about how we’d see if Luke ignored us the whole time we were here, and set out towards the small town. You didn’t really mind as you knew they were old friends so you simply followed him, meeting back up with Rey who was still in front of Luke’s door, the saber in her hand as she contemplated how to knock.

“Chewie,” Rey said as she noticed the two of you approach.

He didn’t say much and simply walked up to the door and knocked on it.

“Go away,” you heard from inside.

“Wow, he actually got a response,” you mentioned.

With force, Chewie raised his leg and you knew what was about to happen. Next thing you knew, the door went flying off the hinges.

Chewie walked inside and began growling immediately towards Luke while he responded, “Chewie, what are you doing here?”

“He said you’re coming back with us,” Rey translated.

“How did you find me?” he furrowed his eyebrows.

“Long story. We’ll tell you on the Falcon.”

You internally sighed as you knew she might not have understood what that meant.

“Falcon?” Chewie’s head dropped while Rey finally understood. “Wait. Where’s Han?”

It was rather awkward and difficult but Rey recounted the story of what had happened to Han Solo, the group moving outside as Luke processed the information. He dropped to a sitting position as Rey’s words overtook him and you could sense the sadness within him, along with regret.

“There’s no light left in Kylo Ren,” Rey spoke with conciseness. “He’s only getting stronger. The First Order will control all major systems within weeks. We need your help. We need the Jedi Order back.” She took a step forward towards him, “We need Luke Skywalker.”

He looked at her knowingly, “You don’t need Luke Skywalker.”

Confusion burst within her, “Did you hear a word of what I just said?”

Incredulously, Luke responded, “You think what? I’m gonna walk out with a laser sword and face down the whole First Order?”

“It would at least be different than what you’ve been doing,” you commented.

He gave you a short look before standing and responding, “What did you think was going to happen here? You think that I came to the most unfindable place in the galaxy for no reason at all? Go away.” 

Rey was quick to respond as he turned and walked away, “I’m not leaving without you!”

The three of you shared a look and you spoke, “Rey, we might have to accept the fact that he’s given up, I think he has for a long time.”

“And if it was you? If you had given up, would you not have wanted someone to remind you that you could make a difference?” Rey asked you.

You thought for a moment before you smiled, “I would.” You rose and took a breath, “Alright, Chewie get back to the ship with R2 see if you can get a signal out to let the Resistance know our status.”

Chewie nodded and began heading towards the ship.

You looked at Rey, “Me and you? Let’s follow him around for the day, see what we see.”

Rey nodded with determination as the two of you began following where Luke had headed towards. As you walked up one of the many hills, you saw Luke up ahead and began to shadow him. He didn’t pay the two of you any mind as he kept walking, pausing at certain locations and continuing on. You eventually came upon a large creature that was laid onto the rocks near the shore. As you approached, Luke got ever closer and you noticed udders on the stomach area of the creature. Luke took out a bottle and began squeezing and milking the udders. It was quite the uncomfortable sight and you looked a bit to the side as he did so. The disgust and shock you felt next to you told you Rey was watching him do so as well. You looked back at the worst moment as he took the bottle to his lips and took a sip, a gooey liquid dripping down his lip into his beard. To say you had to fight a gag was an understatement as you took a deep breath and looked off to the distance. After that you kept walking once again until you reached another small peak and Luke threw his stuff down. You and Rey shared a look as he suddenly rushed forward and jumped! As you rushed forward, you realized there was an extremely long stick that stuck out from the bottom of the chasm where there was water waiting. 

He crossed the distance and hit the wall on the other side when Rey shouted, “Careful!”

He looked back with a knowing smirk on his face as he raised the stick. You looked down to see the bottom of it had sharp edges and realized it was most likely a spear. As he thrusted downwards, a rush of lightning suddenly struck the area and he pulled out the spear to reveal a fish! A storm was beginning to brew around you so Luke rushed back over and pulled the spear up to get the fish off. Afterwards, he threw it around his shoulders and began walking off once more as rain began to fall around you. The wind picked up rather quickly as well and you found yourself using your clothing to protect your eyes from the storm as you made way back to the small village. After getting back, he went back into his small house and shut the door behind him, leaving you and Rey to walk back towards the ship to hide out from the storm.

The next morning, you and Rey waited outside of Luke’s house once more to shadow him for the day. She played with the binary beacon that Leia had given her so that you could track where the Resistance was to meet back up with them and you wondered what was going through her head. After a while, the door finally opened and Luke came out. 

“You’re wasting your time,” he said, annoyed as he walked off. 

Neither you nor Rey said anything as you knew you wouldn’t be able to convince him with words, at least not yet. So, once more you began following him as you did the day before. Though, as you had just begun following him, Rey slowed down and even took a knee.

“Rey? What’s wrong?” you turned and asked.

She didn’t respond as she turned her head to look off in the distance on the far side of the island. You relaxed a bit as you came to understood she had just then felt the light presence on the island. You had felt a strange connection with the force ever since you had gotten to the planet and understood it as a place with deep connection with both the light and dark sides of the force. 

She stood and began walking towards it and after taking a breath, you began to follow. You didn’t turn, but you could tell Luke had stopped and turned to see the two of you walking away. As you got closer to the location, you made out a tree in the fog, strange looking as its branches came together like bricks to a building. You stayed silent and allowed Rey to fulfill her own curiosity as the two of you entered the tree. As you entered, you made out a small bookshelf in the center of the small space left inside of the tree, a few books resting with a faint glimmer of sunlight coming through the cracks of the branches. You could hear faint whispering and knew that the texts were likely written by those sensitive to the force. Rey had just begun reaching out for the books and nearly touched them before you heard a voice behind you.

“Who are you two?”

The two of you turned to see Luke at the front of where you entered.

“I know this place,” Rey responded, actually shocking you as well.

“Built a thousand generations ago to keep these,” he had walked forward and now taken one of the books off of the shelf. “The original Jedi texts.” He opened one of them and ran his hand across the page, “Just like me, they’re the last of the Jedi religion.” He turned suddenly, “You’ve seen this place. You’ve seen this island.”

Rey looked around as she began to put things together in her head, “Only in dreams.”

“Who are you?” Luke repeated once more.

“The Resistance sent us,” you commented. 

“They sent you, what makes the two of you special?” he pressed as he approached.

You looked off to the side as he got closer to Rey, “Where are you from?”

“Nowhere,” she replied simply. 

“No one’s from nowhere,” he retorted.

“Jakku,” she finally answered. 

“All right, that is pretty much nowhere. And you?” he directed towards you.

You sighed, “Not that you’d know, but Mortis.”

His eyes widened impossibly as he stared at you but he quickly covered his reaction and moved back to Rey, “Why-why are you here, Rey from nowhere?”

You caught on to his reaction and furrowed your eyebrows as you analyzed him, does he know about Mortis? Would that mean he knows...

“The Resistance sent us. We need your help. The First Order’s become unstoppable-”

“Why are you here?” he inched ever closer to her, trying to goad the information out of her.

There was a silence that overtook the room and you could feel Rey’s attempt to put her feelings into words, “Something inside me has always been there. But now it’s awake. And I’m afraid. I don’t know what it is, or what to do with it. And I need help.”

“You need a teacher,” Luke was quick to respond. “I can’t teach you,” he turned away from the two of you.

“Why not?” Rey was quick to respond. “I’ve seen your daily routine. You’re not busy.”

She had gotten in his face and he cooly responded, “I will never train another generation of Jedi.” He turned around to leave the tree, “I came to this island to die. It’s time for the Jedi to end.”

“Why?” both you and Rey said simultaneously. 

Rey looked at you for a moment before returning to Luke, “Leia sent us here with hope. If she was wrong, she deserves to know why. We all do.”

Without giving a response, Luke left.

Poe’s POV

We had just come back out of hyperspace after narrowly escaping the First Order back at Yavin-4. We managed to take out that dreadnought but... we lost so many. It was my fault. I knew it was but I also knew I couldn’t let it cloud my judgment or else I’d risk getting even more soldiers killed. I walked up to Leia intending to talk to her, but right when I got up to where she was, she slapped me.

“You’re demoted.”

“What? Wait!” I tried to stop her from walking away. “We took down a dreadnought.”

“At what cost?” she refuted. 

“You start an attack, you follow it through,” I reasoned. “Poe, get your head out of your cockpit,” I turned away. “There are things that you cannot solve by jumping in an x-wing and blowing something up!” I couldn’t argue with her, “I need you to learn that.”

“There were heroes on that mission,” I managed, stopping her before she walked away.

“Dead heroes. No leaders,” she responded before walking away.

“We’re really nowhere, how are Rey and Y/N gonna find us now?” Finn asked. The general pulled her shirt sleeve up slightly, “A cloaked binary beacon.”

“To light their way home,” Leia smiled at him.

I knew about the beacon because it was the first thing I asked Leia when I found out Y/N was going on the mission. I needed him to be able to find me, to find us so we could be together again. I’m gonna do everything I can to make sure this fleet stays safe for Y/N to get back.

Your POV

You were outside of Luke’s house with Rey while she slept, watching over her. You had wanted to make sure Rey was ok after the events of the day. Whether she liked it or not, she connected with the force just slightly more after her confession with Luke, not to mention the island was a natural conduit. You could tell she was having dreams akin to nightmares as her emotions swirled violently. You didn’t look into them as you weren’t so close with Rey you would do that without her permission. Though her dreams were cut short as Luke walked up to the two of you and Rey awakened.

“Tomorrow at dawn. Three lessons,” he turned to enter his house. “I will teach you the ways of the Jedi, and why they need to end.” Without further notice, he closed the door behind him.

You and Rey shared a look between yourselves before you shrugged and she set her lips tightly, the both of you preparing to sleep for the day ahead of you.

Next Chapter

Forevers Tag List: @magssteenkamp @shadowsinger11 @donnaintx @flamencodiva @impalawrites-blog @talesmaniac89 @malfoysqueen54 @writercole @hintsofhoney @lassie-bird @never--doubt

Male Reader Tag List: @myybebe @denim-devil @spnfanboy777 @brymalibu

[just-dreaming-marvel]

The Bond Between Us ~ 72

THE BOND BETWEEN US MASTERLIST

< previous chapter

Word Count: 2,670ish

Summary: You and Luke return to Dagobah.

Notes: I know that some of you are going to be happy with the ending of this chapter. Also, I absolutely hate that I have to say this, but please react more than just leaving a like. Please reblog, comment, send in an ask or a dm. Please just interact if you are liking the series. And to those who continually interact, I see you and I appreciate you so much!

Luke was piloting the two-person fighter away from Tatooine, with the Falcon leading the way.

“We’ll meet you back at the fleet,” you told those in the Falcon over the comms.

“Hurry,” Leia implored. “The Alliance should be assembled by now.”

“We will.”

“Hey, Luke, Y/N, thanks,” Han’s voice came over the headsets. “Thanks for coming after me. Now I owe you both one.”

“Just stay alive long enough to get me a drink after all this.”

“Will do.”

You cut the transmission and R2 whistled.

“That’s right, R2,” Luke responded, from where he was sitting in front of you. “We’re going to the Dagobah system. We have a promise to keep.”

~~~

Dagobah was still as foggy and mucky as it was the last time you were here. As you climbed out of the fighter, you glanced around the area, looking for your lost love. 

“I’m sure Ben is waiting for the right moment to surprise you,” Luke smirked, noting how you were looking around.

“Shut up,” you muttered.

You headed for Yoda’s hut, where the yellow light of fire escaped out of the oddly shaped windows and the open doorway. Before you could crouch down and enter the hut, Yoda waddled to the doorway. You noted how he was heavily relying on his cane.

“Hmmm, my former Padawan has finally returned,” Yoda hummed, looking up at you. He looked past you. “And brought your nephew along, you have.”

“We both made you a promise to return,” you responded.

“Took your time, you both did.”

Yoda turned around and headed back into his hut. You and Luke followed him, finding spaces to sit along the walls.

“We are sorry about that, Master Yoda,” Luke said.

“Mhm, I am sure,” Yoda responded.

You and Luke sat in silence as you watched Yoda move around the small hut. You knew that Yoda was old, close to 900 years, and yet this was the first time you ever saw his age showing. His manner was frail and his voice was weaker.

“Hmm, that face you both make,” Yoda noted. “Look I so old to young eyes?”

“No, of course not,” Luke quickly responded.

Yoda chuckled. “I do, yes, I do! Sick have I become. Old and weak.” He pointed a crooked finger at Luke. “When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not. Hmm?” Yoda chuckled to himself before coughing and hobbling over toward his bed. “Soon will I rest. Yes, forever sleep. Earned it, I have.” 

You could see that it was taking a lot of effort for Yoda to get onto his bed. You leaned over and helped him, earning a thankful smile.

“Proud of you, I am,” he told you softly. “Strong woman and Jedi Master, you have become.”

“But I have not completed what I need to,” you argued. “There is still darkness in me… I do not deserve to be a Jedi Master.”

“Darkness, in everyone, there is. Must learn to balance and control it… as you have.”

“It means a great deal to me that you see me worthy to be a Jedi Master.”

“Long time coming, it is… just as is my death…”

“Master Yoda, you can’t die,” Luke pled.

“Strong am I with the Force, but not that strong! Twilight is upon me and soon night must fall. That is the way of things… the way of the Force.”

“But I need your help. I’ve come back to complete the training.”

“No more training do you require… My former Padawan has seen to that… Already know you that which you need.”

“Then I am a Jedi?”

“Ohh. Not yet. One thing remains: Vader. You must confront Vader. Then, only then, a Jedi will you be. And confront him you will.”

“Master Yoda… is Darth Vader my father?”

“Trust not what Y/N confirmed, do you? Hmm?”

“I do—It’s just—“

“Told you the truth, she has… Mmm… rest, I need. Yes… rest.”

“Master, I have lied to him and kept it a secret,” you said softly. “He needs to hear it from you.”

Yoda sighed. “Your father he is. Told you, did he?”

“Yes,” Luke replied.

“Unexpected this is, and unfortunate…”

“Unfortunate that I know the truth?”

“No. Unfortunate that you rushed to face him… that incomplete was your training. Not ready for the burden were you.”

“Well, I’m sorry.”

“Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware. Anger, fear, aggression. The dark side are they.” Yoda beckoned Luke closer to him. “Luke… do not… do not underestimate the powers of the Emperor or suffer your father’s fate, you will.” He coughed, struggling to breathe. “When gone am I, the last of the Jedi, you two will be… the Force runs strong in your family. Pass on what you have learned… There is… another… Sky… Sky… walker…”

Yoda catches his breath. A shiver runs through the old Master before he dies. You turn your head away, wiping the tears from your eyes. When you look back, Yoda’s body has disappeared—becoming one with the Force. You leave the hut first, heading toward the fighter. You suddenly halt when you see Obi-Wan’s Force ghost just a few feet away.

“Obi-Wan,” you breathe out in relief.

He smiled softly at you. “My little star,” he responded.

You rushed toward him, hoping that your bond will allow you to hug him. You were thankful when it did and you wrapped your arms tightly around him. His arms were quick to wrap around you, holding you close to him.

“Why must I watch my Masters die?” You mumbled to your husband.

“I wish I knew, little star,” Obi-Wan responded quietly.

Luke came out of the hut, not noticing you or Obi-Wan, and headed for the fighter with R2 at his side.

“I can’t do it, R2,” Luke said. “I can’t go on alone.”

“Yoda will always be with you,” Obi-Wan said as he let his arms fall from around you. He took your hand and guided you closer to Luke. “As will myself and Y/N.”

“Obi-Wan! Why didn’t you and Y/N tell me? You told me Vader betrayed and murdered my father.”

“Your father was seduced by the dark side of the Force. He ceased to be Anakin Skywalker and became Darth Vader. When that happened, the good man who was your father was destroyed. So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view.”

Luke shook his head and scoffed. “A certain point of view!”

“Luke, you’re going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.”

You and Obi-Wan sat on a log facing Luke, who didn’t respond.

“I don’t blame you for being angry,” Obi-Wan continued. “If I was wrong in what I did, it certainly wouldn’t have been for the first time. You see, what happened to your father was my fault.”

“Our,” you corrected, placing a hand on Obi-Wan’s knee. “It was our fault.”

“Yes,” Obi-Wan nodded. “Anakin was a good friend.”

“And brother.”

This piqued Luke’s interest. He settled himself on the log as well.

“I believe it’s time that you know more of our story,” you continued. “Anakin and I had no father. We were born of the Force and our mother, Shmi. We were slaves on Tatooine until one day everything changed…”

“My Master, Qui-Gon, and I were tasked with protecting Queen Amidala of Naboo. The ship got damaged and we ended up landing on Tatooine. Qui-Gon went out with our friend Jar-Jar and one of the Queen’s handmaidens, Padme.”

“Padme?” Luke questioned.

“Yes,” you answered. “Padme was actually the Queen disguised as a handmaiden. They ran into Anakin as they tried to buy a part. Anakin brought them home and ended up convincing everyone to let him pod race for the parts needed. He ended up winning, getting our parts and freedom for himself and myself.”

“What about your mother?”

“We had to leave her. Qui-Gon took us to the ship, where I met Obi-Wan for the first time,” you looked back at him fondly. “We were taken to the Jedi Council to be determined if we could be trained.”

“You see, Luke, the twins were nine at the time, which was deemed too old for the Jedi Order,” Obi-Wan continued. “But my Master fought for them. Both Anakin and Y/N had a strength in the Force that no one had ever seen—still do, to this day. My Master died, making me promise to train them. The Council would not let them train together so Y/N offered to be separated from Anakin and that Anakin be my Padawan… that was the first mistake. Anakin and Y/N should have never been separated. For both of their sakes.”

“But we had no choice… Attachment was forbidden by the Jedi Code… I was trained by the Jedi Council and it was another ten years before we reunited.”

“I took it upon myself to train Anakin as a Jedi. I thought I could instruct him just as well as my own Master instructed me. I was wrong. My pride has had terrible consequences for the galaxy.”

You turned your head toward your husband. “You know that it’s not all your fault, Obi.”

He knew it was not wise to argue with you. “Yes, dear.”

You turned your head back toward Luke to continue. “Upon first meeting her on Tatooine, Anakin loved Padme. The two had a love that was so strong, but it was a great secret, as Jedi weren’t supposed to love.”

“But the two of you,” Luke said. “The two of you are married.”

“We broke the rules for love, and had our own consequences,” Obi-Wan responded. 

Luke nodded. “And my father fought in the Clone Wars with the two of you?”

“He did. He was a very wise and stubborn General.”

“You should talk,” you muttered playfully.

Obi-Wan ignored you as he continued, “A lot of Jedi had special gifts. Anakin would sometimes have visions.”

“Yes,” you agreed. “And in one of his visions, he saw Padme dying in childbirth… He couldn’t stand the thought of losing her, so he turned to the Dark Side.”

“Since entering the Jedi Order, Anakin formed a close relationship with the then Chancellor, who was the Sith Lord in disguise and current Emperor. He helped turn your father to the dark side.”

“Your mother died in childbirth, but not before naming you and your—and promising that there is still good in your father.”

“There is still good in him,” Luke said with conviction. 

“I also thought he could be turned back to the good side. It couldn’t be done,” Obi-Wan said with a shake of his head. “He is more machine now than man. Twisted and evil.”

“I agree with you Luke,” you said. “There is still good in him. I should have been dead a long time ago if there wasn’t.”

Luke sighed. “I can’t do it,” he told you both. “I can’t confront him.”

“You cannot escape your destiny,” Obi-Wan said.

“I tried to stop him once. I couldn’t do it.”

“Vader humbled you when you first met him, Luke, but that experience was part of your training. It taught you, among other things, the value of patience. Had you not been so impatient to defeat Vader then, you could have finished your training here with Yoda. You would have been prepared.”

“But I had to help my friends.”

“And did you help them? I think it was Y/N who had to rush to save you and them. You achieved little by rushing to them prematurely, I fear. To be a Jedi, Luke, you must confront and then go beyond the dark side—the side your father couldn’t get past. Impatience is the easiest door—for you, like your father. Only, your father was seduced by what he found on the other side of the door, and you have held firm. You’re no longer reckless now, Luke. You are strong and patient. And now, you must face Darth Vader again.”

“I can’t kill my own father.”

“Then the Emperor has already won… you were our only hope.”

You closed your eyes at that. You knew that Obi-Wan was trying to convince Luke that he was the Chosen One to free you from that burden. But you would rather kill your own brother than have your nephew have to kill his father.

“Yoda spoke of another,” Luke said.

You sighed. “The other he spoke of is your twin sister,” you replied.

“But I have no sister.”

“To protect you both from the Emperor, you were separated and hidden from him,” Obi-Wan explained. “The Emperor knew, as we did, if Anakin were to have any offspring, they would be a threat to him. That is the reason why your sister remains safely anonymous.”

“Leia!” Luke exclaimed. “Leia’s my sister.”

“Your insight serves you well. Bury your feelings deep down, Luke. They do you credit. But they could be made to serve the Emperor.”

“I will not let her have to bare this burden.”

“You must confront Vader then.”

Luke nodded, looking off as he thought. “I will.” He stood up to get the fighter ready.

“Before you rush to go, may I steal my wife away for a few moments?”

You turned to look at Obi-Wan, brows furrowed. “What?” You questioned.

“Of course,” Luke smirked. “I will get everything situated here.”

Obi-Wan took your hand as he stood up, pulling you up with him. “Thank you.”

He turned and headed toward the swampy forest, dragging you along with him.

“Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan, where are you taking me? What are we—“

You were cut off by Obi-Wan’s lips pressing against yours with great desperation. You allowed him to kiss you long and hard before pushing him away slightly.

“Obi-Wan, what is the matter?” You answered.

“You have to let Luke do this,” he whispered against your lips. His eyes were blown wide with worry and fear. “You have to let him be the Chosen One.”

“I cannot promise anything, Obi. The Force will lead us to do what needs to happen and I will do my best to follow… Luke shouldn’t have to kill his own father.”

“And you shouldn’t have to kill your own brother.”

“It is better that I do it instead of Luke.”

Obi-Wan sighed, his head falling onto your shoulder. “I just want you safe… I’m not ready for you to join me yet. There’s so much out there, so much life you can still live.”

“Oh, Obi… please look at me.” His head slowly raised so that your eyes could meet. “I will do my best to stay safe, but I will protect the people I love at all costs. Even if that cost me my own life… it’s okay that you are okay with that, but you have to at least understand where I am coming from.”

“I do, little star… I do.” His hands came up to your face, holding it tenderly. “How is it, that even after all this time, you are still the most beautiful woman in the galaxy?”

“Obi,” you looked down, embarrassed.

“Little star,” he guided your head up to face him. “I… I… I don’t know how to say this, but—“

It was your turn to cut him off with a kiss. You could feel what he was getting at through the bond. Obi-Wan wanted to try and be intimate with you but was wary of what the bond would allow. You weren’t going to let that stop you though. You wanted—needed—to feel Obi-Wan against you, Force ghost or not.

“I understand,” you mumbled against his lips.

“Good,” he responded, tearing your cloak off and using the Force to lay it out on the ground. “It’s been too long, little star. “Far too long.”

“Then you better make up for lost time, Kenobi.”

next chapter >

TAGLIST IS CLOSED - Taglist Information

[nightcovefox]

Love At First Sight?

Pairings: Sullivan x Jeanie

Characters: Sullivan, Jeanie, Beep-O, R2 (Oc), and Sparks

A/n: Takes place in BATB AU

Plot: After their long journey they finally made it to France! Jeanie started to open up her little stand in the village. Beep-O and Spawny unpack their stuff in their new home. Meanwhile, Jeanie making a new invention, but that invention of hers goes bonkers and attacks a poor train conductor… That's a great way to say Hi to him

Warnings: Fluff, a bit of angst, My bad grammar, Ooc??!

Enjoy Reading!<3

>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Jeanie just opened up her stand next to the other villagers' stands. The inventions she showed were a bit strange. Hey.. I mean it was just the beginning! One day, her inventions will sell and help people! Just takes time...

On a sunny morning, Jeanie was sitting down to work on her inventions. She was making something.. Starburst tilted his head (Giving Sparks their genders-). “What are you making this time, Jeanie?” Starburst asks her. “Well, making Spawny a friend..” Jeanie said, closing the panel. Jeanie sets him down gently and turns it on. “Hopefully he works..!”

Jeanie and Starburst watch the little robot turn on. The little robot's eyes pop up and look at Jeanie and Starburst. “It won’t attack us… right?” Starburst ask. Jeanie shakes her head, “Of course not-”

“AHHH!! GET THAT THING AWAY FROM ME!!!” a lady screamed. Jeanie and Starburst turned around seeing the little robot poking the elderly woman. Both of them gasp. “Wait!!! R-”

The TV robot looks at his creator and runs off, giggling madly. “Stop!! Oh!!” said Jeanie lifting her dark blue dress a bit and running after him. Starburst the following close behind.

Meanwhile a little Rabbid, well not so little Rabbid was walking around the wiggler station. The Rabbid pulled out his pocket watch. “Hmph.. 12 already?” he murmured. He shouted, “BREAK TIME!!!”

All the Rabbids, Toads, and Koopas stop what they’re doing. “Finally!! I was so tired passing the boxes in and out!” a Koopa exclaimed. “Me too, but thank god Conductor Sullivan said it was break time!!” a Toad added.

The Rabbid named Sullivan shook his head and put away his pocket watch. He felt a small tap on his arm. “Hm?” he hummed looking at who touched him. The Tv robot smiled and waved hello. Sullivan lifted his eyebrow but waved slowly. “Hello? Who are-” Sullivan was cut off by the tv robot who pounced on him. “oOF!!! W-Wait-”

Jeanie and Sullivan arrived just in time. “Jeanie!!! Look over there!!” Starburst pointed. Jeanie gasps and rushes over. “Omg!!! R2-D203 shut off!!” Jeanie shouted. R2 shuts completely off, now lying on the poor conductor. Jeanie picks up her invention and looks over at the conductor who is covered with scratches. “Oh dear… Mister are you okay..?” Jeanie ask him.

Sullivan looks up at her. (My dude is definitely a simp-) “Oh gorgeous..” he murmured to himself.

“Umm?” Jeanie mumbled, feeling confused. Starburst pokes Sullivan’s cheek. “Mister..?”

Next thing you know, Sullivan fainted. “OMGIKILLEDHIM-” Jeanie panicked. “No!! You didn't-!! He just fainted..! We need Beep-O’s help!!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“So let me guess? Your invention accidentally attacked him?” Beep-O asks the two of them. As Beep-O set Sullivan down on the couch. “Yeah.. My fault..” Jeanie murmured, holding her arm. “It's not your fault Jeanie.. At least… he’s not dead..?” said Beep-O putting his hand on her shoulder. “Dude.. Are you trying to comfort her? If so you’re so bad at it.” said Starburst. Beep-O huffed, “Well excuse you-”

“I healed all his scratches!!” Regenesis exclaimed interrupting the conversation. “Thank you Regenesis..”

*CRASH*

“SPAWNY ARE YOU OKAY?!” Beep-O shouted, worried fill in his voice. “EWW THE ICE FLOWER DOES NOT TASTE GOOD!!”

“Isn't he supposed to absorb it not eat it-?” Starburst questioned. “Young man! What did I say about eating power-ups in the house?!” said Beep-O, going upstairs. He stops and turns to Jeanie “If he wakes up make sure he’s okay.”

“Will do..” Jeanie mumbled, watching her brother go upstairs. Jeanie sighed and sat down next to Sullivan. “I’m sure he’s alright Jeanie..” said Starburst trying to reassure her. “I hope you’re right..” replied Jeanie, her bunny ears drooping down.

Sullivan's eyes flutter open, adjusting his eyesight, and looking around. “Ugh..?” he mumbled, sitting up straight. “Where am I..?” he mumbled. “You’re in my house monsieur… my friend Regenesis healed you up..” Jeanie explained, “Are you alright? I’m very sorry that my invention..”

Sullivan couldn't help to look at her. He was kinda listening to her but was lost in her voice. “No..no.. It’s alright Mademoiselle..” said Sullivan. “But yes, I’m okay..” Sullivan laughed a bit. “Well, I’m glad you’re alright.. Monsieur. Hmm. What is your name?”

“My name is Sullivan! And you?”

“My name is Jeanie..” she said, holding her hand out. Sullivan held her hand, pulling her hand to his lips, and kissed it gently. “What a beautiful name, Jeanie..”

Jeanie's ears perked up and felt a strange warm feeling inside of her. “U-Umm thanks..?” she mumbled, honestly she didn't know what to say-

Jeanie shakes her head. “Do you need water Sullivan?” she asked him. “Yes please.. If thay’s not a problem?”

“Not at all!!! You’re our guest after all!” said Jeanie as she stood up getting him a glass of water. Sullivan watched her leave and felt two of the Sparks looking at him. “Ummmm…”

Jeanie came back holding a glass of water in her hands. She saw two of her Sparks cuddling Sullivan. “Aww..” she cooed. “They like you..!”

“Heh.. I guess so..”

“Here,” as Jeanie handed Sullivan the glass of water. Sullivan thanked Jeanie took the water and drank it. “That hits the spot.”

Regenesis played around Sullivan’s whistle. “Careful not to blow on it.. That's loud..” he warned the magenta spark. “Are you a train conductor?” Jeanie guessed. “I am! Train Conductor of the Wiggler Express!”

“I never knew there was a train in this village!”

“Really? Don’t you live here..?”

“Mm.. No. My brother and I just moved here if you can tell all the boxes lying around..” explained Jeanie, gesturing her hands to show the boxes on the floor and wooden tables. “Ah!! The newcomers! Yes, everyone in town has been talking about.. Mostly the ‘crazy lady’ but eh..”

“I'm that crazy lady everyone was talking about..” Jeanie mumbled. Regenesis and Starburst floated over to her. Hugging her, trying to make her feel better. Sullivan’s ears droop down. “Well, you’re not a crazy lady..”

“I am, Sullivan, my inventions.. Are not the greatest..”

“Not true!!”

“My invention attack you!! I-I’m just a failure.. God.. He.. Was right..” said Jeanie feeling her tears dripping down. Great crying in front of someone who’s not her brother or nephew. This is embarrassing.

Sullivan stood up and walked over to her. Holding her hands gently. “I know we just met Jeanie, but you are not a failure! The look from your determination just shows your beauty and strong look! You must never give up!!” Sullivan wiped away her tears, using his handkerchief. “You really think so..?”

“I know so..”

Both of them just look at each other. Well.. More like Jeanie looking down at him. Jeanie’s blue color turn to a lighter shade of pink and smiled. “Thank you Sully.. That was the nicest thing that anyone said to me.. Besides my brother and friends..”

Sullivan blush at the little nickname. Sheepishly smiled back, “Gee..”

The clock ticks very loudly. Sullivan picked up his watch and saw the break was almost finished. Shoot!! “I wish, I could stay Miss Jeanie but I have to go!!-” said Sullivan letting go of her hand. “Will I see you again..?” said Jeanie, watching him leaving. Sullivan stop and look at her. “Maybe when I’m done.. I will..”

“Then goodbye Sullivan..”

“Goodbye my dearest Jeanie..”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

IF NO ONE IS WRITING A FIC ABOUT THEM, I WILL. WITH MY BROKEN GRAMMAR. (/hj)

I love them so muchhhh.. 🩵💛

Thank you for Reading~!<3

I create a ship name of them- Startrain.. Eh bad right?

[lxstfathier]

Princess

Luke Skywalker x Reader

Summary: headcanons of the reader being Luke’s little. That’s it.

Warnings: DD/LG, age-gap relationship, mentions of sex. Nothing explicit, just fluff.

A/N: please, remember that english is not my first language, so there might be some errors. And let’s pretend that Grogu is still training with Luke. Hope y’all enjoy this! <3

♡ He wakes you up everyday with a kiss on your forehead.

♡ You bathe together, and he makes sure to wash your hair and put some mask to make it extra soft.

♡ Sometimes, if he’s in the mood, he’ll choose you clothes for the day. If not, then you can choose by yourself, even though you try to always use crop tops and short skirts cause that’s what drives him crazy.

♡ You have a list with different tasks for every day of the week, and if you complete them all, he calls you a “Good Girl” and gives you a pretty sticker.

♡ Whenever he goes away for Jedi business, he always comes back with new clothes for you and a plushie of your favorite animal.

♡ Every year, for your birthday, he gifts you a necklace with a beautiful pendant. (They all have a tracker on it, but you don’t know that).

♡ Luke absolutely loves watching you play with Grogu or his nephew Ben, it brings him joy to see you happy, just running around without a single care in the world.

♡ If you fall and scrape your knees, he immediately comforts you, wiping the blood with a wet cloth. “Aw, princess, does that hurt?” he asks, and when you nod he uses the force to heal you faster. “It’s ok, you’re fine, daddy’s here to help”.

♡ Sometimes, when it’s just the two of you, Luke lets you play with his lightsaber. But don’t you dare touch it when he’s not looking!.

♡ Of course, you have matching bracelets. His has green and black beads, and says “Daddy” and yours has white and pink beads and says “Princess”.

♡ After every meal, he gives you a cookie, but only if you eat everything, even the vegetables. Anyways, sometimes you sneak into the kitchen and grab some more, thinking he won’t notice, but he does, and you end up getting spanked :(

♡ When Luke is out training by his own, you like having tea parties with Grogu and R2.

♡ At night, if he isn’t too tired, you cuddle and watch a movie on the holo net, and sometimes that cuddling turns into something else.

♡ When it’s time to sleep, you rest your head on his chest, cause the sound of his heart is soothing, and you feel really happy knowing that this man is your daddy ¡and the best one in the whole galaxy!

[multicolour-ink]

I- don't know why a Star Wars AU never occurred to me as a massive fan! I come to your inbox as a Resident SW Nerd™ to absolutely info dump about George's six films. For your AU, how it'd play out would really depend on what part of the timeline you're going for. If it's during the Original Trilogy (Episodes 4-6), the Jedi are all dead and gone save for Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi. Luke was sent to live with his aunt and uncle, and Leia was sent to the Organas. Both were meant to stay hidden from their father, Anakin, who became Darth Vader. They were deemed the last hopes for the galaxy to be re-balanced and so had to grow up in hiding. Heck, Obi-Wan and Yoda both had to keep exceedingly low profile to avoid the Empire catching on. I'd argue Obi-Wan never would've taught Luke anything had he not gotten Leia's message from R2-D2, begging him for help. That message set fate into motion. I'm sure mentally, Obi-Wan was going 'Heavens, not again.' Poor guy couldn't escape Skywalker Antics til the day he died. Literally.

Now, if you set this idea in the Prequel Trilogy era (Episodes 1-3) or before it, then the gates are kinda wide open in terms of what you can do??? During the prequels, the biggest thing going on in the galaxy is the Clone War. It's a massive-scale thing, encompassing pretty much all of known space, and it was all put into motion by Darth Sidious/Chancellor Palpatine. He did it to create the Galactic Empire, to be Emperor and hold all the power for himself. By this point, the Jedi have been sucked into fighting in the Clone War when they're meant only to be peacekeepers. They lose their way. They become hypocritical and jaded as a whole. And from the moment Qui-Gon Jinn brings Anakin to them, they act like total jerks. He's too old to be trained, they say. He's too attached to his mother, they say. And then when he's the most powerful Jedi they have, they're threatened by him. And yet they don't allow him to form attachments and love in healthy ways, they don't counsel him when he needs it most in ways that could've helped him. They only tell him what he shouldn't and can't do, or how it's wrong to think/do X, Y, Z. They're harsh and inflexible. Had Qui-Gon lived, he probably would've turned out alright. But he didn't, and it fell to Obi-Wan to train him. Obi-Wan was a pretty by-the-books sort of fellow, and so didn't really know how to guide Anakin in ways he needed. If we roll back further still, the Jedi often tried to do something about people they felt were threats to themselves within their own organization. In Knights of the Old Republic, for example, you play as a character you come to learn was power nerfed AND memory-wiped because you were once a Jedi and became a Sith. It's been ages, so I forget if there's dialogue options to react positively and negatively to that fact. I think there was though. For sure you can choose to stay with the light or go right back to being evil. Anyways, I can't say it's out of the realm of possibility that the Jedi would cast infants into exile or otherwise try to stifle their power if they had an alarming potential of being threats in the future. The foremost way Jedi would determine such a thing in the first place would be if one of their own was especially good at precognition. Almost like a fortune-teller, or clairvoyant of sorts? Basically whoever can see into the future and be pretty much always on the money. Of course- the future is ever-shifting, hard to really see with certainty. Often, if and when the Jedi try to stop something from happening by any means necessary, it happens. The Order did everything to try and make sure Anakin didn't become Sith, but he did. Anakin tried way too hard to keep Padmé alive, she died because of him. Stuff like that.

ANYWAYS THAT'S SOME SEMI LIGHT READING AND KNOWLEDGE ON STAR WARS I'M GLAD I GOT TO SHARE ALL OF THAT WITH YOU.

Star Wars AU

Thank you for that info dump, @timid-plumber . It's always nice to have one with actual knowledge on Star Wars contribute to the AU, considering I only know the barebones of it 🤭

Note: TW for death during childbirth

For the AU, Pio and Mia's story takes place in the time set in the prequel trilogy, while the events with the bros happen during the original trilogy. Sure there are some roles that are different from the source material, but I argue that does make the AU its own thing somewhat.

For example: my idea of the AU was that (during Pio and Mia's story) the Koopas are ever more on the rise with the help of their powerful King, Bowser's father. During these early days, King Koopa Sr is training his very young son how to rule when he takes over, which of course means the Jedi want to stop them as soon as possible before this happens.

Long story short, it all fails. I don't have the necessary details figured out, but I imagine that at some point, Pio and King Koopa Sr battle it out, and Koopa Sr and Pio are killed in the struggle. Leaving Bowser an orphan and taken away by Kamek and the Toadies for his safety. Meanwhile, a heavily pregnant Mia hears of her husband's death, and attempts to flee the base they are on, before it's attacked by the koopa army. During the escape, Mia is gravely injured, then goes into labour not long after. She safely delivers two healthy baby boys, but succumbs to her injuries and dies, leaving her children orphans as well.

The Jedi at this point know that the koopas will be looking for these two, plus one of the Jedi wizards, Merlon (who let's just say is the Yoda and/or Obi Wan in this AU) can sense that there is great force power with these twins. Knowing the koopas don't know there's twins, the decision is made to split them up, in order to lower the chances of the koopas finding them.

[dailydragon08]

Random cute Luke x Reader headcanons that live in my head rent-free pt 2 (Force sensitive reader edition)

- Luke is completely mesmerized by you when you first meet. Just the fact that there’s someone else out there who is like him (especially after Yoda told him he’d be the last Jedi) fills him with so many emotions.

- Luke’s gotten used to sensing other people’s emotions, but isn’t used to someone else being able to sense his. He really loves and appreciates how in tune you are with him and always seem to know just what he needs. You never push but just knowing there’s someone out there who cares and notices makes him feel incredibly lucky.

- He’s a bit shy at first, especially if you’ve had a lot of experience/training. There are a lot of things with regard to the Force that he just doesn’t think about since it wasn’t part of his life for a long time. Sometimes, before you have a chance to use the Force to grab something out of reach, he’ll get it for you and hold it out to you with a shy smile.

- The first time you two spar, he really has to make an effort to regain his composure seeing you in such revealing, form-fitting clothes.

- You both teach each other things about dueling and the Force that you learned from your respective masters/training.

- But that doesn’t mean you don’t have fun. Pranks via the Force are practically a requirement. After you two get together, you have a habit of Force-flinging his towel across the room as he steps out of the refresher. “Oh noooo ~ guess you’ll have to walk around naked.” “Maker, you’re ridiculous” (but of course he’s laughing and fully planning on doing it to you later).

- He can’t help but daydream about running a Jedi academy with you by his side. Once he had a dream about the two of you with a little stone hut on a forest planet surrounded by padawans, a few other masters, and of course R2. He wasn’t sure if it was a dream or Force vision (but hopes it’s the latter), but hasn’t been able to let it go since and prays one day it will be a reality.

- Your presence always soothes him (and vice versa). When you first meet, it’s a bit distracting for him cuz he’s just so starry eyed over you, but as your relationship progresses, having you there actually helps him meditate better cuz of how calming and relaxing he finds your presence.

- When you first met though, he was definitely peeking his eyes open every few minutes during meditation to just stare at you (and you were doing the same).

- The two of you send cute little communications to each other through the Force. Whether it’s just a wave of love and affection or less innocent teasing, your ability to connect to each other through the Force is something Luke prizes above all else. Even though it drives everyone else crazy when you can communicate with just a look (“oh, maker, they’re speaking Force again”).

- You and Luke get looooots of one-on-one time going off on Force-related adventures. Although he knows you can handle yourself and respects (and a lot of times is in awe) your abilities, he still worries for you and dives in harm’s way to protect you more than once.

- Lots of cute, gooey, doe eyed post-mission injury care.

- You both have a great sense of what the other person likes and doesn’t like based on the excitement or disgust you can feel through the Force. After one particularly hard mission, the way his face lit up when you returned to the ship with a giant box of hot chocolate packs could’ve powered Home One for a week (of course he insisted on making you some).

- He feels so privileged to have met you, and feels even luckier when you decide to be with him, and does everything he can to show you how grateful he is everyday.

[ruby-red-inky-blue]

gonna be a bit mean about these tags so i won’t reblog the actual post but

these tags. These tags are everything i hate about the writing of Disney era Star Wars and the fandom that has grown around it.

“Watch him just be Some Guy” yes that is in fact the point of the thing we are watching?? People be acting like The Jedi That Was Promised won the galaxy from the Empire in single combat, like it was down to blood and rank and special objects handed down over the generations. And looking at RotJ, I see how they came to that conclusion! Everyone thought the Jedi were gone, and then boom! Luke turns up! So he was special! And he had the super special magic sword handed down and hidden for decades! And nobody but a Skywalker could have defeated the Emperor because Anakin likely wouldn’t have switched sides for someone other than his child, right?

Except Luke wasn’t the guy with Force sensitivity, he was just a guy - a timely guy, sure - with Force sensitivity. And his super special lightsabre was lost on Bespin and he had to go and make a new one. And RotJ goes out of its way to make the point that there is, in fact, at least one other person who could have filled Luke’s position just fine - his sister. So yeah, he’s kinda special, but he’s not The Chosen One.

And, most importantly, without the Rebellion, Luke would have been a farmer. He was fantasising about joining (one of his friends did join!), he played with a model X-Wing, the Rebellion ship. And the Rebellion set his whole journey into motion, though not on purpose - if 3PO and R2 hadn’t crashed on Tatooine, nobody would have killed Luke’s family, and he’d have probably never left.

(OT) Star Wars isn’t about heroes giving “just Some Guys” a fighting chance. It isn’t about the special people that made the Rebellion. It’s about the Rebellion making “just Some Guy” into a hero, by drawing him into something much bigger than himself, and giving him a reason to turn himself into something special. If it had been about how special Luke was and about how he was the sole lynchpin, he would have stayed to complete his training in ESB, and RotJ would have ended with the death of the Emperor. Rogue One understood that. Andor understands that.

And yes, there are other sides to the story - the Jedi, the mysticism, the being mired in old traditions and fatally stuck in the past, the father/son dynamic of Luke and Vader, the mentor/mentee dynamic that is mirrored in the light and the dark side of the Force, the folklore aspect of the hero come to save the princess and the kingdom. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the fact that the Prequels and the Sequels chose to expand on that side instead of the other, even if I personally think it’s the less interesting one.

But over the years, it built up this weird, weird expectation we see in the tags above. And this isn’t just Star Wars, this is most mainstream YA lit, especially fantasy - think Harry Potter. (It’s also the MCU conditioning viewers to think that a movie serves mostly as a recepticle for as many cameos as the studio can pay for.) The people who do something important always have to be special. And, more importantly, our protagonists should always be the people who do something important, and, as per rule n°1, these people have to be special. They have to come with something to recommend them that the viewers already respect - a family name, a rare inherited ability at least, better still they should be someone they already know from a previous story. But it always has to be something about who they are. People want to know why they should care to follow this character before they even start the show/ the movie. They don’t want to watch “just Some Guy”, regardless of what that person will do over the course of the story. We saw this in TLJ, when that movie, clearly seeing this exact trend, went “you know what? Rey is just some girl. She’s just some rando who’s good with a stick and who is Force sensitive by sheer chance, and she’s here and she’s our hero. Live with it.” and people lost their minds over it.

This is what I’ve hated about the way people talk about R1. No matter if people were attacking or praising the movie, it was almost always some version of “it’s about the people who aren’t special!”. And like... have you seen movies? Have you read books? Do you think audiences in the Thirties were disappointed and raging in pubs because they read that whole book and then Bilbo turned out to be just Some Hobbit? Do you think people cared that Indiana Jones was just Some Professor while there appeared to be genuine magic in the world? The measure of a character isn’t their Degree of Specialness or the amount of stuff you know about them going in - the measure is are they interesting. Does what they do and say over the course of the narrative give your brain something to chew on. Did they grow on you as the narrative progressed. Did you care about the narrative they served - because characters are there to serve a narrative. They are tools to tell a story, damn it.

Because Luthen won’t be “just Some Guy” of no importance other than being “the guy who brought Cassian into the Rebellion”. He’ll be the guy who brought our protagonist into the Rebellion. There, you wanted to know who he is, and this is it. He’s the catalyst. He’s the character who sets Cassian on the path that will lead him to Scarif. And OP is clearly intrigued by the character, so Luthen is not only serving his narrative function perfectly, but he is interesting as he does it. Congratulations, OP, you’re enjoying an original character! I promise it’s not as disappointing as you’ve been lead to believe!

And also, it wouldn’t be as good if he were special. If he were a former Jedi or someone special’s ancestor, if he turned out to be some super special Rebel commander. Because the point of Andor so far has been that these people aren’t special. None of them. The characters are just people, and each of them tries to change the course of where things are going, only to find out that it’s nearly impossible, because they’re all cogs in a perfectly oiled machine (see: Cassian trying to get back to his semi-legal life instead of becoming a full-blown criminal, Dedra Meero trying to branch out into other people’s territory, Mothma trying to make her husband see that his friends are actual space fascists). They’re blocked in from all sides, not because someone actively considered them a threat, not because anyone was actively hindering them in particular, but just because the system is built so rigidly. You can almost look at Andor as a story about predetermination. Not just because we all know where Cassian’s headed, but because he and the other people in the story didn’t wake up one day in their adequate lives and decide to overthrow an empire. They’re outcasts, unfit to live in the Empire’s rigid society: Cassian is literally an illegal alien with some obscure knowledge of a government athrocity; Lt. Gorn fell in love with a person the Empire doesn’t consider a valid person, Skeen seems to have spent a lot of time in prison and is grieving someone the Empire trampled without a care in the world, and Mothma is seeing much clearer behind the facade of the pseudo-democracy than is good for her. And once you’re out, you can’t get back in. They’re being driven into active rebellion by circumstance more than by their own choices. So if Luthen were somehow “special”, it would destroy the narrative. Then it would suddenly turn into Cassian being touched by some higher force, being called to arms by a superior being. Then he’d be chosen. And his story doesn’t work as the story of a chosen one. Because the chosen one doesn’t get burnout, doesn’t find his calling in another person, and the chosen one doesn’t die before the movie is over. So yes, I fucking hope Luthen isn’t anyone “special”. Because that’s very much the point.

All of this to say I wish I knew how to teach the average Star Wars fan how to engage with a story the way one engages with a story instead of the way one engages with A Disney Product.

[coruscantguard]

OH WAIT ALSO I UPDATED THE TRUTH LIES

[[MORE]]

Just like the first time, the Battle of Bothawui is a roaring success.

And just like the first time, Grievous flees like the coward he is.

Anakin watches it happen for a moment, sees the familiar course Grievous is taking through the asteroid belt, and—

He knows what Grievous is going to do. Force hells, he knows what Grievous is going to do. He could cut him off successfully this time. He could get Grievous off the playing field before he commits so many atrocities.

"I know what to do this time,” Anakin says to Rex over the comms as he guns it. “I’m going in, I know what he's going to do,"

"Sir—"

“He’s gonna power up his hyperdrive, R2, hang on, get us some more speed—”

“Sir!”

Rex, per usual, sounds perfectly professional, so Anakin doesn’t feel too bad ignoring him. He’ll make it up to him by capturing Grievous now and ending his reign of terror years early.

R2 beeps out a message— same message as last time, warrants the same response—

“See what you can do about that, buddy,” he says, right as he goes to dodge the incoming debris he knows is about to hit him, and he does dodge it, it’s fine, but seconds later—

“Oh, fuck.”

Everything goes black.

---

Waking up is slow, blurry, and painful.

Anakin blinks, and blinks again. Oh, no. He remembers this.

“What happened?” he asks wearily, already anticipating the response.

"You owe Rexster your skin, Skyguy," Ahsoka says, just like before. Anakin opens his eyes, ready to see Rex standing behind her, and—

He’s not there.

Shit. Why isn’t Rex there?

“Is Rex okay?” Anakin asks hurriedly, forcing himself upwards into a sitting position, despite the way his head screams at him for it. Rex was here last time. Rex should be here this time. He knows Rex, he knows there’s no way Rex would leave unless something really serious happened—

“Yeah, he’s fine,” Ahsoka says flippantly. “I mean, he’s systematically destroying every training droid on the ship, last I checked— he really was not happy with that stunt there, he introduced me to like seven new words I’d never heard before— but physically, he’s fine.”

… Ah. Right. Rex had been really determined to stop R2 from going missing this time, to stop them from having to lose anyone hunting him down.

Anakin shuts his eyes. Fuck. Fuck. He fucked up. The one thing Rex asked him for, and he couldn't even do that. He can practically hear Obi-Wan’s lecture in his head already.

"R2's missing, isn't he." It's not a question. He opens his eyes again just in time to see Ahsoka wince.

"Yeah, he is. I'm sorry, Master. But Grievous's ships are all now spare parts! And they’ve already delivered your replacement astromech droid!"

"Force fuck a sith," Anakin mutters under his breath, ignoring Ahsoka's sudden giggle at his language. She’ll hear worse from him over the course of her padawanship. "Jetpacks."

"What?"

"We're getting Torrent jetpacks. Rex wants a jetpack, trust me."

"... Okay?" Ahsoka's giggle sounds distinctly more uncertain this time, but Anakin can't find it within himself to care— at least Ahsoka is here. Ahsoka is safe. Ahsoka is where he can make sure she stays that way. And he’ll make sure Rex stays safe too, even if he did mess this one up a little. It’ll all be fine. He’s certain of it.

---

The new replacement astromech droid is a demon.

Within five seconds of meeting him, it’s easy to remember why Anakin hated R3-S6 so much the first time around. And that’s not even including the whole “Separatist spy” aspect.

“I’m not taking him on the mission,” Anakin says, point blank, when Ahsoka tries to get him to.

“Master, you need an astromech droid!” Ahsoka argues back. “The R3s are faster in thinking skills than the R2s, and this little guy here is gold! A gold droid for the Gold Leader of Gold Squadron! It’s practically fated!”

“No, and that’s my final answer,” Anakin snaps in return.

R3 beeps sadly. Anakin glares at him. He knows what that droid is hiding, and there’s no way he’s risking this mission by bringing him along. He’s going to get R2 back from that scavenger successfully this time, and Rex is going to forgive him, and it’s all going to be fine. He’s certain of it.

---

They head straight to the Trandoshan Scavenger this time around. There’s no reason to waste time going back to find his ship when Anakin knows R2 won’t be there, and, well—

He’s not hiding from Rex, he’s just… not finding him. Big difference. If Rex wanted to talk to him, Rex could find him. Anakin is just… respecting Rex’s distance. Yeah. That’s all he’s doing.

To be fair, they didn’t find R2 in the scavenger ship last time, but when Anakin thinks about it, he remembers hearing those beeps, remembers his suspicion. R2 had to get to the listening post somehow after all, and the scavenger was suspicious as the Sith.

Just like last time, Ahsoka immediately complains about the smell. Anakin doesn’t laugh at her, cause he’s a good Master, but it’s just as tempting as it was last time.

She wouldn’t last a day on Tatooine. Probably a good thing, ultimately, he wouldn’t want her to ever be in a position where she would have to last a day there, but it’s still funny as hell.

“We’re looking for an R2 unit,” Anakin says as they meet the owner of the ship. “You happen to pick up any recently?”

“An R series?” the Trandoshan asks, and he looks down, shaking his head. “No, not for a long time.”

Force hells. Anakin doesn’t want to go through this whole song and dance again. The Trandoshan is just as irritating as he remembers.

“I know you’re lying,” Anakin says coldly, and pulls out his lightsaber. "I'm not fucking around."

"Woah," the man says, "woah, woah, woah, hey, there's no need for that—"

"Show me where my kriffing droid is—"

"I told you, I don't have it—"

"Don't lie to me—"

"Master—"

“I’ll go through you if I must—”

“Fine!” the Trandoshan squeaks, “fine, fine, there might be an R2 unit in the hold, you can look around! Go knock yourself out!” He shakes his head, mutters under his breath, “Jedi, so rude.”

Anakin ignores him, instead focusing on striding in the moment the door is open. Ahsoka runs after him.

“Master, come on,” Ahsoka pleads. Anakin keeps going. Thank the kriffing Force R3 isn’t here this time, no one here to set off those Force forsaken Assassin Droids.

“Be careful,” Anakin says shortly as they move. “You don’t want to set off the assassin droids.”

“What assassin droids?”

Anakin points.

“Those ones.”

“Oh.” A pause. “They don’t look too scary to me.”

“Nothing looks scary to you, Snips. Stick close to me.”

“Fineeeeeee.”

They walk further in. Suddenly, the sound of beeping—

“Did you hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“That was R2!”

“How do you know that?”

Anakin ignores the question. “It came from down here.” He pulls his lightsaber out, and starts carving open the door.

“Master, you can’t just—”

“Watch me.” His tone of voice leaves no room for argument.

“Hey!” a voice comes from the other side of the doors. “Hey, hey, stop carving my doors open you fucking freak—”

“Let us in,” Anakin orders.

“Fine!” The Trandoshan says. “Fine, fine, fine, Maker, if you didn’t have a lightsaber you’d be a dead man.”

“Where’s my droid?”

“Master, R2 isn’t here!”

“Be quiet Ahsoka.” Anakin glares at the man. “Tell me where my droid is, or I’ll find it myself.”

“There’s no R2 droid here—”

“Cut the crap. We both know you’re lying.” Anakin pushes him to the side and stalks past, heading towards the cockpit. “Now tell me where my droid is, or I’ll pilot this ship to the nearest Republic cruiser, and you can spend your next few years ruminating on whether or not an R2 droid was worth a prison sentence.”

Ahsoka makes a squeaking noise behind him. He’s quickly distracted from that by the sudden reappearance of those familiar beeps, this time much louder.

Wordlessly, Anakin takes off towards the sound.

“Hey—”

The Trandoshan reaches for him, and Anakin pulls his lightsaber out. The Trandoshan stops dead in his tracks.

Despite how tempting it is, Anakin does not use his lightsaber to cut the Trandoshan’s head off. Instead, he brings it up to the wall, and starts carving open the paneling near where he heard R2’s beeping. He sees nothing at first, so he switches walls, ignoring the Trandoshan’s offended sputtering, and—

There!

R2 beeps again, and Anakin sighs in relief as his familiar blue shell comes into view. “Knew I’d find you here, buddy,” he says, grinning. “Lemme get that restrictor bolt off you, and we’ll be good to go.”

“Hey!” the Trandoshan says, “you can’t just steal my merchandise—”

His merchandise? R2 isn’t kriffing merchandise. R2 is his friend.

Anakin spins around, lightsaber still in hand, and brings it up to the man’s neck. “You’re lucky I’m not taking your life for lying to me,” he says, voice cool. “Now get the hell out of my way before I decide otherwise.”

---

“I got R2 back!” Anakin crows when he gets back to the ship. Rex is waiting for him, arms crossed, and he feels distinctly unimpressed in the Force.

Still, Rex replies with, “good job, sir,” and it sounds just as sincere as always. Good ol’ Rex. Loyal as ever. “Now we just need to find Skytop Station.”

Anakin waves that off. “Eh, we haven’t even gotten the orders for that yet.”

“We’re also lacking the tracking ability we had originally, sir.”

Ah. Right. That is a solid point.

“Get the men started on scanning the area, and come up with a game plan for what we’ll need to do,” Anakin orders, and Rex nods once, before spinning on his heel and taking back off towards the bridge.

Ahsoka finally disembarks off of the ship, feeling distinctly uncertain in the Force. He gets the sense that she’s dragging her heels a bit. Probably annoyed that she won’t be able to force him to bond with the demon unit now.

If it was up to Anakin, he’d push it out of the airlock, but they still need to figure out what caused it to turn traitor.

“Hey, Snips. Mind bringing R3 to my workshop? I want to check something out.”

[desireandduty]

@starsburnt asked for fluff, and I am happy to oblige!

"Momma, stowwy pwease!" "Yes we needs stowwies to sweep."

With two precious little faces staring up at her like this, how can Padmé decline? Her children are not even four years old, yet they have already perfected their puppy dog eyes. And while she is the stricter parent at this stage of their lives, when the request is something as innocent as a bedtime story, Padmé has no resistance against their adorable wiles.

"Alright, my little loves. A story it is. Come here," she says, smiling, as she climbs onto Luke's bed. This is followed by a chorus of cheers as both twins clamber onto the bed to snuggle beside her, with Luke tucked under her left arm and Leia under her right. Once they are both settled in, she turns her head to kiss first Leia's thick, chestnut hair, then Luke's sandy blonde waves. They squirm and wiggle a bit, but she can see the smiles on their faces at this familiar gesture of affection. One day she knows they will be old enough that they will protest parental kisses, so Padmé savors every bit of affection she can bestow upon them for now.

"Once upon a time, on a far away planet of sun and sand, there lived a little boy and his mother. Their life was hard, and they did not have very much, not even their own freedom, but they were both very brave and very kind," she begins, looking down from one twin to the next and enjoying the rapt attention on their sweet faces.

"And then one day a girl who was the Queen of Naboo crash landed on that planet with her handmaidens and two Jedi Knights-"

"Dat's you, Momma!" Leia interjects, her eyes round with wonder.

"Yes, Princess," she says with a smile, kissing Leia's temple before continuing her story: "She needed help to fix her ship and to save her planet from invaders. And by a very happy chance, she met the little boy and his mother in town. They shared their home and food with her, even though it was small. And the boy offered to enter a dangerous podrace for the girl queen, for a chance to win her the missing part for her ship - and his own freedom."

"Whatsa podwace, Momma? Can I do one?" Luke chimes in, his hands clutching the toy-sized Naboo Cruiser that he has been lately taking to bed with him every night.

"It's a very, very dangerous form of racing. Very fast, on a difficult course. No human being had ever won a podrace, much less survived one, before. But this boy was very strong in the Force, and that day, it guided him to...." She pauses for dramatic effect, looking from one twin to the other and hiding a smirk at their wide eyes and open mouths. "Victory!" she exclaims, squeezing both twins tightly while they giggle and squeal in celebration along with her.

"So the girl queen got her ship fixed. The boy said goodbye to his mother and flew off into the stars with the queen and the two Jedi Knights, because he was going to train to become a Jedi himself. When they returned to Naboo, the boy helped the girl queen and her army to defeat the invaders and free her planet, with the help of a droid named R2-D2."

"Like our Awtoo?!" Luke asks, his eyes nearly as big as saucers now.

"The very same," she responds. "The girl queen was me, and the little boy... was Daddy. That's how we first met so many years ago."

"Daddy saved your planet?!" "Daddy flew podwacers?!"

The twins exclaim, talking over each other in their excitement.

"He did. He's always been very brave and generous, even when he was a little boy, because you don't have to be an adult to be a hero," Padmé says, unable to resist adding in a little bit of a life lesson for them at the end of their bedtime story. "And now, my loves, it's time for you both to get some sleep." Keeping her right arm around Leia, she shifts her onto her hip while she slides out of Luke's bed and bends over to kiss him goodnight.

[burnwater13]

Fennec Shand holding two would be assassins at bay on a roof top in Mos Espa. Image from The Book of Boba Fett, Season 1, Episode 1, A Stranger in a Strange Land. Calendar by DateWorks.

Really? Really? Someone was trying to take down Fennec Shand with two assassins? That hardly seemed fair… to them. Fennec was a master assassin and was hardly going to be a push over for a couple of people who obviously spent their time harassing moisture farmers and crafts people. She had gone after people much dangerous than that. Even Grogu knew that much about his friend.

Of course that was just about all he knew about her. He’d asked his dad, the Mandalorian, if he knew more about her, but that sigh, head shake, and toe tap, were all Grogu needed to understand that even the best bounty hunter in the Outer Rim didn’t know much about Fennec Shand. That was both weird and a pity. Grogu would have to work a bit harder to find the details he was interested in and that was highly likely to cut into snack time, a price he was willing to pay.

What were those details? For starters, where was Fennec born? There were hundreds of thousands of inhabited planets in the galaxy. One of them must have been the place where she was born… unless she was born on a starship, which would complicate that kind of data even more! Did you just use a coordinate? But how could you if the galaxy kept expanding? The place you were at when you were born is no longer there because it moved with the rest of the galaxy. Ouch. He just gave himself a headache with one simple question.

How could he even get a handle on any of the questions he wanted to get answers to when that one question was so problematic? That just felt like an enormous amount of work. He supposed he could ask his dad for some help, but he doubted that Din Djarin was as curious about Fennec as he was. After all, the Mandalorian had depended upon Fennec to help him recover Grogu from the Imps without knowing anything about her other than her name and her reputation. Hardly the normal in-depth background check the Mandalorian employed before he let anyone help him do anything with Grogu these days.

Maybe the Majordomo would be able to help? He knew an enormous amount of information about Tatooine, the syndicates, the smugglers, the former mayor of Mos Espa, the Hutts, and the people who had attacked Fennec… Okay, maybe not. Knowing about Tatooine was not the same as knowing why Fennec had come to Tatooine. 

As far as Grogu had learned from talking to the Daimyo, Fennec hadn’t actually spent a lot of time on Tatooine before they met each other. And he didn’t need to talk to the Daimyo about any of the rest of it. That first conversation had covered the fact that when Daimyo Fett had found her left for dead in the desert by that obnoxious kid, Toro Calican, it was actually the first time they met. No compelling backstory or shared experiences to be had there. Dank Farrik.

That also eliminated Peli, the protocol droids, the rancor keeper, and just about everyone else on Tatooine. Cara Dune might have known more but then she was on some double naught secret project for the New Republic and Grogu didn’t think his curiosity about Fennec was worth blowing her cover. 

Yes, he knew where she was and what she was doing and all the rest. R2-D2 knew so many things and didn’t just blab them to anyone. And R2 was back on Ossus which meant that Grogu would have to convince his dad to take him there and he really didn’t think that the Mandalorian was interested in doing that. 

Any way, Luke would probably question why Grogu needed information like that, no doubt also taking the time to lecture him about leaving Ossus without finishing Luke’s training. Grogu didn’t want to have to explain that all over again. That eliminated Ossus as a potential source of information. 

Just as Grogu was sighing a deep sigh and wondering if tracing Fennec’s prior activities could conveniently be considered a ‘bounty hunting exercise’, one of the monks of B’omarr crept past Grogu using it’s spider droid transport. Grogu called a cheery ‘good day’ to the monk because it wasn’t their fault that he didn’t know what he wanted to know. He could still be polite.

“Young one, you know enough. She is who she is. Turn your thoughts to better questions.”

Dank Farrik! Now the monks were lecturing him and he didn’t even ask for their help.

“You think quite loudly. Your friend? Yes. Skilled? Yes. Loyal? Yes. Good cook? No. Share yourself? Yes. Now go.”

The spider had never stopped moving but Grogu could sense that the monk was satisfied that Grogu understood what it was conveying. He didn’t need to know Fennec’s whole backstory, planet of origin, birthdate, best friend from school, least favorite teacher, favorite subject, job she’d like to do if she hadn’t become the best at what she does, and all the other questions Grogu had contemplated. 

She was Grogu’s friend. She had amazing skills and used them unstintingly. She was loyal to her friends and that meant a lot to him and to his dad. And Grogu had no idea if she was a good cook or not. Anytime he didn’t like something she yelled at the droid in charge of cooking and told them to leave out the veggies the next time. Now that was a clear sign of friendship. 

As far as sharing more of his own stories, Grogu wasn’t really sure that Fennec wanted that…

“Hey, kid? Got some free time? There’s a little job I have for you and I’ll make it worth your while.”

How in the name of all the Jedi Masters had Fennec suddenly appeared on that stairwell?!

Grogu nodded his head.

“Good. There’s some pests in the palace and I think it’s time we trapped them in their own webs.”

Fennec was grinning and Grogu just laughed. 

The monk was right. Now he had a thousand different questions on his mind and none of them were about Fennec.