#How about Scarlet is Anakin

[anki-of-beleriand]

What do you think of Scarlet Witch as a sith?

I think that would be such an amazing idea!!

I can imagine walking down the hall inside the Jedi Temple, looking for the last remanants of the Jedi ready to destroy the last of them until she finds R waiting for her.

A green lightsaber on R's hand, standing protectively in front of two young padwan that Scarlet finds familiar but doesn't think much of them. Her goal is to destroy the Jedi...Even is R is making her heart beat a tad bit faster, even if her mind falters at the sight of such a beautiful figure exuding power and confidence.

[starlazergazer]

Senators Shadow

Pairing: Anakin x Reader

Summary: Anakin is your regular Jedi guard whenever your job in the senate brings you to Coruscant which wouldn’t be a problem if he didn’t spend the entire time practically ignoring you making It clear he didn’t really want to be there. Until something changes on this trip and the two of you start to become close.

Warnings: Swearing, some jealous Anakin, scene where the readers being shot at from a crowd, that should be it

Word Count: 10K (may have gotten a bit carried away with this one but I hope its worth it!)

A/N: I’m a sucker for an enemies to lovers type thing plus a jealous Anakin moment so I wrote this to amuse myself (cause what’s the point of being a writer if you can’t write a fic for yourself once in a while?) Easily the longest one I’ve written so I hope you enjoy!!

You never really liked having to be on Coruscant. Things moved too fast here, you were always rushing from one meeting to another, prepping for speeches, consulting others, it often felt like you never got a chance to breathe only making you long for the minute you could leave and go back home.

And the longer you had to stare into Anakin’s eyes, the more you felt that longing grow.

“I appreciate the concern Jedi Skywalker” you addressed the man before you formally, interlacing your fingers and setting them on your desk, pushing forth an air of professionalism and authority “but I do not need a jedi guard for the time that I’m here”

A hint of a smirk graced his lips at your words, however, nothing more than its ghost ever appeared, a twitch in the corners of his lips. Often you wondered if you simply read too much into his expressions. “and I’m afraid your excellency that both the senate and the jedi council disagree”

There was no denying that Anakin was incredibly good looking, even if you tried to ignore that as much as possible, this simple fact was enough to have the people within the capital constantly whispering about him. Beyond this, however, he also had the reputation of being devilishly charming. You never got the chance to know that side of Anakin.

Sometimes you see glimpses of that version of him, you certainly did when you first met him as he introduced himself with a boyish grin and a look that had your cheeks stained scarlet, but since that first encounter it has been nothing but this stoic, aloof jedi that was now before you. And some stupid part of you wondered if it had been something you said that first night that pushed him away.

“Alright this is, however, my person we are talking about” you argued back, fighting down your own annoyance at his persistence “I get final say in what happens to it and that includes whether or not I have someone guarding it”

His answer was quick and to the point, as it always was “that is not how this works”

And oh how you loathed his complete lack of emotion, here you were out on a limb trying to reason with him, trying to compromise, trying to get something, anything out of him and still he responded as if you were little more than a talking brick wall.

“Then tell me Jedi Skywalker” You tried to take a deep breath, tried to calm yourself down, unable to keep the bite completely out of your words “how does this work?”

He leaned back in his chair causally, crossing his ankle over his knee, exuding confidence as he stated simply “either you let me act as your guard or you don’t make the speech next week”

You raised an eyebrow back at him, your voice dropping to a dangerous level “excuse me?”

“the jedi council has it on good authority there is going to be an attempt on your life so the senate is not going to let you on the floor unless they have reason to believe you aren’t going to die upon it” he explained indifferently, as if you were the one being ridiculous here.

“Wouldn’t resources be better spent actually looking for the person threatening my life then?” you pointed out with a sigh, posture slumping over slightly as you spoke, resigning yourself to the shadow being forced upon you for the next week.

“Oh we do have people on that” he assured you “just not me”

“No you’re on guard duty” you rolled your eyes at him.

“I’m on guard duty” he echoed back and you tried to ignore how hollow the words came from him, it would seem he was as happy about this assignment as you were.

And you wished you had a biting remark back for that, not fully ready admit just why his words bothered you so much, but you didn’t, instead you were left staring at Anakin in the chair before you, him doing the same as a brief silence fell over the two of you before a knock at the door broke it, one of your aide’s, head popping through the doorway.

“I have Jace here to see you senator”

You felt the smile grown naturally on your face at the news, unaware that your best friend and quite possibly the only person who could make this week better was even on Coruscant.

“Thank you please send him in” you nodded at her, eyes flicking back down to Anakin’s form, smile slowly dropping from your face as your gaze met his small glare “are we done here jedi?”

“It would appear so” he nodded stiffly, pushing himself up to a standing position, his mouth open, ready to say something when a new voice cut him off.

“Y/N Y/L/N it has been far too long”

A giggle escaped past your lips as Jace slipped into the room with wide arms, you not hesitating to meet him halfway across the room, more than happy to be caught up in his bone crushing hug as a greeting.

“Jace how could you not tell me you were going to be here” you chastised him with a small hit of his arm once he set you down, the grin never once leaving your face, you weren’t sure you could admit to even him how badly you needed someone on your side this week.

“Thought I’d surprise you” he shrugged with a wink and you were so excited to see him you almost missed the other voice as it spoke up from across the room.

“Senator”

Your head whipped around to meet Anakin’s gaze, a raised brow silently asking your question for you.

“I’ll be outside the room”

You didn’t have time to give any response before he was ducking out the door, finally leaving you and Jace alone.

“You have a babysitter” Jace mused with a smirk on his lips as he made his way to the bar cart in the corner, making the two of you a drink without being asked as you slumped down into one of the chairs before your desk.

“I have a babysitter” you groaned. The words, now that they were in the open, cementing themselves in reality “and it just had to be Anakin fucking Skywalker”

Jace snorted as he brought the drinks over, wordlessly handing you one as he sat in the chair next to you “of course it’s Anakin Skywalker, it’s always Anakin”

You furrowed your brow at him, taking a sip of your drink “it is not always Anakin, last time I had Master Obi-wan”

“Because Anakin was on a mission in Crait for nearly a month at that time” Jace pointed out with a smirk making you frown.

“I’m sorry you just know Anakin’s schedule at all times?”

“I knew about it last time because like I said you always get Anakin as security” he chuckled shaking his head at you as if it were obvious.

“I do not” you insisted still, mind racing as you thought back to the last time you had been assigned a jedi that wasn’t Anakin “Just last year I had Master Kuno”

“mmmm when you made that speech denouncing the banking clan” Jace hummed softly as he thought “I believe Anakin was on medical leave then”

You shook your head at your friend, sipping your drink “you do acknowledge that it’s weird that you know that right? It’s important to me that you know that”

Jace chuckled at that shaking his head softly at you “and it’s weird that you’ve never noticed that Anakin, if he is available, is always your guard”

“Alright so the jedi order decided to assign their young padawan to guard the young senator” you thought as you talked, more or less making up your own rationalizations on the spot “pair the two people who are up and coming in their respective careers”

Jace didn’t even bother to refute that, sending you no more than an unimpressed expression with a raised brow. You realized with a sigh you already knew exactly where he was going with this as he opened his mouth to speak.

“no” you held up your finger, interrupting him “don’t even try”

“Y/N it’s obvious” he sighed nearly making you choke on your drink.

“Obvious? Really Jace, obvious?” you nearly laughed “I can’t even get the guy to talk to me for longer than like two minutes”

Jace just shrugged at that, as if it made no difference “He’s a jedi, they’re weird maybe he’s nervous or something”

At that you did laugh, not liking how bitter it sounded out in the open “you’ve seen how he talks to every other woman in the capitol he’s definitely not nervous”

At that Jace froze, a single eyebrow raising as he nearly gaped at you “I haven’t, but I’m very interested to learn that you’ve noticed this”

You groaned inwardly, feeling your cheeks heat up on the spot “that is not the point I’m trying to make”

“It’s the point now” Jace cut you off with a wicked grin “Y/N Y/L/N is there something you want to get off your chest”

“I will have him come in here and throw you out” you threatened, unable to keep the small smile off your face as you did so.

“Hey if you wanted time alone with him all you had to do was say so” Jace held his hands up defensively, smirking down at you.

You nearly threw your drink at him.

-

You would think after all of these trips to Coruscant you would learn to pack properly. That, however, would make things just too easy.

You were prepared for meeting rooms, for the senate floor, for your bedroom. You had professional clothing, comfy clothing, pajamas, you were prepared for anything within the capital building that could take place.

What you were not prepared for was a walk to Dex’s diner.

You were supposed to meet a senator at the diner, the man absolutely insisting on dinner while you were meeting, and you could never really say no to eating at Dex’s.

But you could see Anakin’s look of confusion at your outfit choice as you immerged from your room, the man giving you a simple raised brow but still you refused to give into the embarrassment of admitting to your mistake.

“Is that what you’re wearing?” there was no malice in his question but still you felt your cheeks burning at its asking, looking back down over yourself, pretending to not notice that the clothing was much too light for the cold weather outside.

“Yeah why? Is there something wrong with it?”

“Uh no you look” and Anakin paused here, his eyes scanning your form briefly in a way that had you squirming slightly on the spot, his eyes finally making their way back up to your own, Anakin’s voice much softer than before “you look good Y/N”

And if you had thought you had blushed hard before.... Your gaze was quickly thrown to your shoes, a desperate attempt to hide the blush as you mumbled out a thanks before clearing your throat awkwardly, nodding slightly to the door, Anakin nodding back and stepping aside, letting you exit first.

Keeping your head held high you whisked past him, only regretting your situation as soon as the crisp air hit your mostly bare arms.

Warm clothing, how could you forget any and all forms of warm clothing.

You tried to hide your slight shiver, wrapping your arms around yourself to conserve body heat, rubbing a hand up and down your bicep.

“Where’s your coat?” the voice beside you startled you, all too used to walking in complete silence with Anakin, to nearly tuning the man out completely.

“I forgot to pack it” you shrugged, almost wishing you had something more to say, something to keep the conversation going.

Instead the familiar silence fell back over the two of you as you walked, your mind already starting to tune the jedi out once again when you felt something being draped over your shoulders.

In surprise you froze, Anakin following suit as he came to a stop in front of you, hands still on the ends of his robe that now hung around your shoulders, holding it carefully around you. Slipping your arms into the sleeves you held them up to your eyes taking a moment to admire the simple brown robe, how surprisingly soft it was, the way it smelled like Anakin.

“Am I even allowed to wear this?”

“It’s just a robe” Anakin shrugged, already trying to push past the gesture “besides breaking a rule like that is worth you not freezing”

“but it’s a special jedi robe” you protested “am I going to get special jedi powers now?”

And god help you you saw the corners of his mouth twitch up at that, a laugh that came out as more of a cough following shortly that had your heart skipping a beat in your chest “that’s not how that works. Now come on” he tried to usher you forward but you stopped him.

“Hold on what about you” you asked “aren’t you cold”

And you weren’t sure if Anakin noticed the small smile that grew on his lips, didn’t notice or didn’t care, either way you were glad to finally see it “no I’m okay, let’s just-“ and he paused out of nowhere, smile slowly dropping from his lips as he looked up into the sky.

Furrowing your brows you started to do the same, pausing only as Anakin started to approach you, hands coming just beside your ears as he reached behind you, your breath catching in your throat at his closeness. Slowly, grabbing the hood on the cloak he pulled it forward, shrouding your head in it just as you started to notice the fat water droplets that began to stain the ground beneath your feet.

“keep your hair dry” he all but whispered, taking just a second longer before retracting his hands and taking a step back, turning on his heel and ushering you forward with a nod in that direction “come on let’s hurry”

And then he took off as if nothing had happened, as if that wasn’t the most emotion you had gotten out of him since you had met, as if he hadn’t just spent the last several seconds standing closer to you than was strictly necessary, as if your heart wasn’t hammering in your chest so hard you could feel it.

-

Too much of your mental space the rest of the day was spent trying to come up with ways to get Anakin to interact with you again. Like an itch you couldn’t quite scratch you felt this desire to talk to him again, to see that hint of a smile grace his lips, to see that small twinkle in his eye as he huffed and shook his head in amusement down at you. Something, anything that could clue you into what was going on inside of that jedi brain of his.

Beyond proposing a trip to the library, however, you had nothing.

A small nod was all you got for your efforts before he fell into place behind you, always a few feet back, hands held behind his back, head held high, not a single word uttered in your direction, a true return to form even after what had occurred earlier.

And a part of you scolded yourself for thinking it would ever be different, that you had let Jace’s words weasel their way under your skin like that, that you ever thought you’d be anything other than a job to him.

So wordlessly you led on, entering the library with him in tow, doing as you always did and completely ignoring your shadow’s existence for the time being, trying to turn your mind to the task at hand.

But why had that never been as hard before as it was now?

Taking a brief trip around the shelves, Anakin in tow close behind, it was a bit before you could find the exact copy you needed, of course on the top shelf well outside of your reach.

You took a tentative look back at Anakin to see his eyes wondering aimlessly around the library not even paying attention. And for a brief moment you debated asking him for help, he’d given his cloak so freely the other day, had yet to even ask for it back, you’d taken to the habit of wearing it around your rooms when cold. It had been a crack in the walls he erected between the two of you so long ago.

But it was just that, a crack. You’ve spent years at this point with whatever small amount of time spent in Anakin’s company more or less ignoring him, used to his curt nods and short answers, it wasn’t quite so simple to get over that.

With a small sigh you walked over to a nearby table and grabbed a chair, pushing it back in front of the shelf, giving it a small test with your hands before stepping one foot up.

Anakin was by your side in an instant, hands out before him, coming up to grab you but remaining just a bit too far away “What are you doing?”

“I need a book on the top shelf” you shrugged, pushing your weight onto the foot on the seat of the chair, Anakin shifting closer as you did so.

“Alright then I’ll get it” he urged, “this thing spins would you just get down”

“I’m already up here I’ll get it” you brushed him off, one hand on the back of the chair to steady yourself as you brought your other foot up, trying to react quickly with every small movement in the base of the chair as it swiveled slightly.

“Senator-“ Anakin tried again, practically begging you to get down.

“I’m like two feet in the air I’ll be fine” your hand left the back of the chair and immediately the thing pivoted slightly beneath you, your legs reacting by crouching slightly so you could keep your balance.

“Y/N” and you felt him grab you by the forearm, a shock surging through your arm at his sudden touch, effectively freezing you in place, your eyes coming back to connect with his for the first time, noting the concern they carried. His other hand reached out, a book flying off the top shelf and coming right into his palm, Anakin not even breaking eye contact as he did it “Look I’ve got it would you please get down”

And for a second it was like you had forgotten how to breathe, you can’t even remember the last time he had looked into your eyes so intently let alone touch you, the simple act had left you absolutely breathless with gorgeous blue eyes bouncing back and forth between your own and for the first time you felt what it was like to truly be the sole object of Anakin’s attention. You could feel yourself practically shrink within it, your knees aching slightly though you were quick to blame that on your attempt to balance on the chair.

“Uh-yeah” you hadn’t realized how long you had remained still and silent beneath his gaze until you broke its spell, forcing your gaze from his down to your shoes, using his hand as an anchor as you carefully stepped down, not missing the sharp hiss of air that left Anakin the minute you had both feet on the ground.

“here” he sighed almost in relief, holding the book out to you, you carefully taking it from his hands as he moved quickly to push the chair back to the table you had stolen it from.

Looking down at the cover you couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, casting your eyes back up to Anakin only to see him already looking at you, a faint smile pulling up at his lips “what?”

“I actually need the one next to this one” you bit the inside of your cheek to contain your own smile as he sighed dramatically, looking back up at the self before easily picking the one you needed off of the top.

“Thank you” you traded books with him, just barely catching the slightly wider smile on his lips as he placed the first back on the shelf. And you decided that you liked that smile, liked being its cause.

Wordlessly he ushered you towards the exit with an extended arm, you nodding sheepishly at him before walking out the doors, Anakin’s footsteps as usual following close behind but this time, to your surprise, he sped up once you got to the hallway, falling into step beside you as opposed to behind.

“So what do you need the book for?” The question startled you, your head whipping around to him on instinct though you tried desperately to restrain your surprise, worried expressing too much of it would scare him off.

“Oh-he’s just one of my favorite writers” you tried to keep your tone as casual as possible, only making you worry it sounded forced, you didn’t like how easily you came to second guessing your every move in the jedi’s presence “I’m hoping I could use some of his style to influence my speech, make it sound a little better”

His brow furrowed at that, his gaze never leaving yours as he spoke “why? I like your style”

You nearly stopped walking, quick blinks coming as you tried to wrap your head around his words, the question slipping out of you before you could think better “you’ve seen me speak before?”

“When I’m free” he shrugged as if it were a given, as if there was nothing better for a jedi to do than listen to a junior senator give a speech.

And for the first time you started to wonder if Jace was right, if there was a reason Anakin always ended up as your guard, if there was more to this tough, distant demeanor than you had previously thought.

“Do you want a drink?” You regretted the offer as soon as it left your lips, easily catching the hesitation on Anakin’s face the minute you asked “I just mean I’m going to be up for a little longer and since you’re stuck keeping me company it’s the least I could do” and he seemed to relax slightly at that only making you tack on more “plus as a thank you for grabbing the book for me”

And there was that small smile again, his features lighting up ever so slightly as it graced his lips, your own mirroring it of their own volition.

“Yeah I’d like that”

-

“You did not!” You exclaimed with a loud laugh, hand coming out instinctively to slap his chest as he grinned back at you, smile hid behind his glass as he raised it up.

“I had no other choice” he defended weakly in a voice that told you he had many.

“That make for three ships you’ve crashed in this story alone” you shook your head with a chuckle “you know someone has to pay for those, namely the people of the republic”

“A small price to pay for peace” he shrugged with a lazy grin, taking a sip of his drink.

“Have you tried this thing, I think they call it landing?” You teased earning a chuckle from the jedi, the sound making your cheeks ache as you tried to contain your grin.

“I’m sorry senator how many ships have you ever flown and landed successfully?” he taunted with a raised brow.

And you could blame it on the alcohol, could blame it on the sleep deprivation, could blame it on the cozy atmosphere in the room. But really it was just Anakin that had you pulling out childhood stories, the way he put you at ease, the strange familiar air of a man who’s spent the last several years practically ignoring you. In all honesty this was the most you had ever gotten from the man in terms of real conversation and you weren’t ready to let that go just yet.

“My father actually taught me to fly as a kid” you offered with a soft smile, watching Anakin’s brows shoot up ever so slightly.

“Really?” he prompted simply, leaving the door open for you to continue if you so choose.

“Yeah” you chuckled softly, casting your eyes down to your drink “he loved the freedom it gave him, the idea that he could go anywhere he wanted at the drop of a hat, could live amongst the stars. I think he wanted to instill that same feeling in me”

“and did he?” he asked with a sentimental smile and briefly you felt like he wasn’t just looking at you but rather watching you as you told your story, something you took a strange comfort in.

“He did” you nodded “he died a few years ago and I associate flying with him so much I feel like I’m working to fall in love with it all over again, just this time alone”

And at your words you watched his smile slowly melt off his face, his eyes casting downward into his own drink, and you prepared yourself for the inevitable. The sympathy, the condolences, the pity, instead Anakin surprised you with a story of his own.

“As a kid I was a pod racer, thought I was significantly better than I actually was ya know” he chuckled softly, eyes glancing up at yours for a brief moment before casting back down “but I knew my mother never really approved, thought it was too dangerous, but she always was my biggest supporter despite everything. I had to leave her years ago for the order and sometimes I wonder if I’m reckless now in some ridiculous bid to be closer to her”

“that’s not ridiculous” you shook your head, Anakin’s eyes coming back up to meet yours “it was a comfort to have your mother care for you in that way, only makes sense that when you miss her you seek that sense of comfort all over again”

And he chuckled softly at that, smiling to himself “I suppose you’re right”

And this time you could definitely blame it on the alcohol, or maybe the slight pink hue you thought you could see in his cheeks, but suddenly you felt yourself forcing your next words to the surface, a desperate need taking over you to have them out in the open. “I know we never really do this but I really like talking to you Anakin”

And for some reason the name felt weird on your mouth this time, felt weird being addressed to him rather than said behind his back, yet still you rather liked it.

A small smile grew on his lips as he looked back at you, eyes bouncing back and forth between your own before he spoke “I like talking to you too Y/N”

And you certainly liked the way your name sounded when he said it like that to you, soft and sweet, less a call to attention and more an affirmation.

His eyes darted to the clock and he sighed softly, leaning forward to set his glass on the edge of your desk “Come on its way past your bedtime”

You chuckled softly at that, shaking your head even as you knew he was right “I’m a senator I don’t have a bedtime”

He laughed back at that, taking your glass from you and setting it onto your desk next to his “and senators need 8 hours of sleep just like the rest of us”

“You expect me to believe you get a full 8 hours of sleep a night” you asked with a raised brow, watching in amusement as he shook his head softly from above you.

“Alright like the rest of us except for jedi knights”

Despite that ridiculous answer you relented, hands coming to the armrests of your chair ready to push yourself up when a hand suddenly entered your field of vision, Anakin’s hand offered simply to you. With a slightly furrowed brow you looked up at him as you took it, standing up with his small aide, coming to a position that had the two of you standing nearly chest to chest and instinctively you felt a small panic rise.

Instead his other hand came to the small of your back as he ushered you forward softly, hand slipping easily from your own as you walked forward out of your office, focused entirely too much on the feeling of his touch as it slowly slipped from your back, on the way he fell into step behind you as usual though this time mere inches away instead of feet.

Too quickly you reached the door to your room, spinning around to face him “this is me” you regretted the statement as soon as it left your mouth, wincing slightly at the sound of your own words which just had him laughing softly.

“Need me to clear it?” he asked in a low tone, his voice barely above a whisper as he inched closer “see if there’s a monster hiding under your bed”

“I think I’ll be okay” you chuckled softly back, scolding yourself for the way your gaze slipped down to his lips, the way your fingers twitched, eager to reach out.

The moment of silence stretched and still you felt yourself drifting closer, felt the friendly atmosphere give way to one of thick tension as the two of you stared back at one another, daring the other to give in and make the first move.

Instead Anakin stepped back, the smile slowly slipping from his lips though never entirely leaving “goodnight Y/N”

And with a sigh you couldn’t entirely contain you nodded softly, leaning against your doorway as you watched him walk back down the hall to his own room, “goodnight Anakin”

-

You dragged yourself from sleep with shallow quick breaths, bolting upright in place, eyes desperately scanning the room for anything that looked familiar.

But of course this was Coruscant and nothing really was.

This wasn’t the first time your sleep has plagued by nightmares, nor the first time you’ve woken up unsure of where you were, of what was going on, of where the threat was coming from.

And logically you knew where you were, in your room, safe, with a jedi guard just next door. So you tried to force yourself to take deep breaths, a hand on your chest as if you could physically push the air into you. And for the most part you had succeeded, your breath slowly but surely returning to normal.

But it didn’t rid you of the initial panic, of the overwhelming sense of dread, of the crushing loneliness of going through this in a room that wasn’t your own.

And for the first time your mind jumped to Anakin, afterall he was just next door.

This past day had been the closest you had ever felt to the jedi, approaching something that resembled friendship as he made an effort for the first time to actually talk to you. And based on that you really didn’t think he would mind, even if it was just him sitting in silence next to you, it was nice just having something there.

But still waking him would be welcoming him to a part of you you weren’t sure you were ready to show him yet. It was a level of vulnerability you weren’t ready to show him yet. Not to mention the man was a jedi, faced death on a near daily basis, was always putting himself in dangers way, what right did you have to go to him with nightmares?

Making up your mind you slipped silently out of your room and made your way to the front door, heading as you usually did to Jace’s apartment.

-

You tried to slip out of the room quietly, more than enough experience at this under your belt to know that you could probably force your way through the front door with a sledge hammer and Jace wouldn’t wake up but still wanting to take precautions nonetheless.

Up on your toes you snuck through the door, pressing the button on the other side to close it, waiting till it fully shut to relax, spinning around to begin the trek back to your rooms, when movement out of the corner of your eye caught you off guard. With a small gasp you stepped back from the mysterious object, nearly stumbling over your own feet, when you realized you recognized the mystery man lurking outside of the door.

“Anakin” you breathed out in relief, hand instinctually coming to your chest in an attempt to slow your racing heart “you scared me”

At first he didn’t say anything, stayed leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his posture telling you that he couldn’t have been more at ease, but his expression... His jaw was set, clenched hard enough you could see the muscle tensing even from your position, his gaze hard and unflinching as it bore down into you, Anakin was pissed.

“Imagine how I felt when I woke to find your room empty” His tone was cold and biting, as if he were spitting the words at you rather than conversing.

“Alright maybe I should’ve left a note” you conceded “but I figured I’d be back in an hour or two tops, and it’s Jace’s place you’ve met him”

“A note” he scoffed back at you, pushing himself off the wall to come close to you, forcing you to crane your neck in order to make eye contact, refusing to give in and take a step back “What part of this do you not get?”

“What part of what?” you demanded, crossing your own arms over your chest “you found me quite easily what is the harm?”

“What is the-“ he chuckled bitterly as he echoed you under his breath, a hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose before he burst “you suck out on me!”

“for like an hour” you protested, rising your voice to match his, not caring at this point who heard you

“That doesn’t matter” he paused briefly between each word, putting emphasis on each as he glared at you “I was tasked with guarding you that means I go where you go, everywhere you go, that means you don’t sneak out on me especially not to just spend the night with some guy” he gestured almost in disgust back at Jace’s door “this isn’t some joke Y/N”

“And I’m not treating it like one” you countered, clenching your jaw as you fought back the urge to push him back “you’ve come with me to everything for the entire time you’ve been my guard, I haven’t left your side, I’m playing by your rules”

“this” he gestured vaguely in your direction, a bitter laugh in the back of his throat “this is not playing by my rules, this is disobeying my orders, and a fucking note is not the correct fix to this situation”

“So I should’ve what? Asked you to escort me to Jace’s room at three in the morning?”

You watched him clench his jaw at that, a harsh glare sent back at you as he silently loomed over you, neither of you saying anything for a few seconds, before a deep breath escaped him, his chest deflating slightly as he grabbed your elbow, pulling you down the hallway “let’s just go back Y/N”

But you weren’t giving up on this so easily, weren’t letting him get away with chastising you in the middle of the hallway like you were a child. You ripped your elbow from his grasp, slowing your pace “I can walk myself”

“Really you sure you won’t get lost?” he condescended with a raised brow, crossing his arms in front of his chest “won’t accidentally end up in some other guys room for ‘just an hour’, I think senator Passel’s in this hall I’m sure you’ve heard the rumors about him”

You reacted without thinking, your hand coming up and slapping him across the cheek before you could fully process your action, though even after you couldn’t find yourself to regret it. And you knew that on some level Anakin had to have let it happen, it was nearly impossible to catch the Jedi by surprise. But the wide eyes he gave back to you could have had you fooled. You watched as his own hand came up to his cheek, touching the skin lightly, him mouth dropping open ever so slightly, his anger completely dissipating on the spot.

Yours, however, had yet to do so “You’re mad I disobeyed your ‘orders’ fine I can take that, but you do not get to treat me like this and you do not get to throw that kind of insinuation at me” you seethed back at him, hands clenched by your side so hard you could feel your nails digging into the palms.

“Y/N” and you name came out of his mouth on an exhale, a hand coming up to your elbow with a touch much softer than before, a plea in his eyes as he said it.

But you weren’t sure you could take any more of being in Anakin’s presence tonight. As you took a step back his hand fell easily from your arm and you tried to ignore the tingle on your skin it left in its place, tried to ignore the lump you could feel growing at the base of your throat, tried to ignore his silent plea for you to come back.

“Goodnight Jedi Skywalker” and before you could crumble you turned and walked back towards your rooms, hearing Anakin’s reluctant footsteps fall into place a few feet behind you.

-

You felt strangely energized the next morning at breakfast, shoveling food into your mouth as you jotted down notes and took pleasure in the fact that Anakin had yet to wake. Perhaps Jedi did need a full 8 hours of sleep. Senators, it would turn out, can survive on a fraction of that in combination with pure spite.

Your eyes barely glanced up at the sound of approaching footsteps that halted a few feet in front of your desk, taking no more than a second to note Anakin’s form as he stood before you.

“Y/N” your name came out of his mouth almost hesitantly, still you refused to look up at him just yet, pretending most of your attention was still captured by the document before you.

“Jedi Skywalker”

You heard a small sigh escape him, a hollow chuckle filling the air “back to titles huh”

“what can I do for you jedi?” you asked, interlacing your fingers and setting them before you, pushing your posture straighter as you looked up at him in front of your desk, not letting a single emotion betray you with your expression.

Another sigh and he held up a piece of paper before you “we’ve received our first official death threat against you” and though you knew it had to be coming a part of you expected to be more shook by the news, expected to be more scared, all you felt at this point, however, was tired. Tired of being on Coruscant, tired of your job, tired of dealing with every consequence that came from these threats.

“Ok” You could see Anakin’s expression melt a little at your simple reply, could see the pity and guilt plain on his face, you wanted neither “anything else?”

Anakin nodded slowly, placing the piece of paper on your desk, taking care to step back from you after he had done so “because of it we’re more or less going into lockdown, the only people permitted access to this room are the one’s on this list provided by your security team”

You scoffed slightly as your eyes scanned the list, noticing immediately that one name was missing “Jace isn’t on here”

Anakin’s tone dropped slightly, his hand going into a fist at his side as he repeated “the only people permitted access to this room are the one’s on this list”

You shook your head, a bitter laugh escaping as you threw the paper down onto your desk “you want me confined to my room fine, restrict who I have access to fine, one of those people will, however, be Jace, not only because he is my friend and I trust him but because he is instrumental to getting the work I need done”

And you could see him clench his jaw from across your desk, an angry hand running through his hair before he crossed his arms over his chest, eyes breaking from yours down to the paper before he sighed “fine”

And that put you off guard, if there was one thing you had learned about Anakin throughout your limited interaction it was that the man didn’t back down easily. Giving him a small nod you all but whispered a thank you, casting your eyes back down to your document, a silent dismissal.

The paper was wordlessly picked up from your desk before he started to leave, a new voice filling the silence left in his wake.

“Y/N I just heard-“ Jace’s voice was cut off suddenly, your eyes coming up from the document to see him in the doorway, held in place with a simple hand on his chest by Anakin, the jedi’s other hand resting on the hilt of his lightsaber as he glared down the man.

“he’s fine” you called out simply, eyes casting back down to the document without a second thought.

But you didn’t hear any change, Jace hadn’t started talking again, there had been no footsteps as he entered the room. Looking back up you saw the two men in the exact same position, glaring daggers into one another, each daring the other to make the first move.

“Jedi Skywalker he’s okay to come in” you instructed Anakin again, watching as the grip on his saber only tightened if anything.

“Anakin”

His gaze snapped to yours at the sound of his name, his expression softening ever so slightly as it did, his grip dropping from the saber.

“he’s okay”

And reluctantly he nodded, hand dropping from Jace’s chest as he righted himself, before his gaze snaped back to Jace, his next words coming out almost as a threat as he spoke them more to your friend than you “I’ll be just outside the door”

-

You’d be lying if you said you had forgotten about the other night, in fact you had done just about everything you could to do so, but despite your best efforts his insinuation still rang loudly in your head, his angry gaze as he spit the words at you still living in your minds eye, the fury that sparked in your chest then had yet to dwindle with time.

You tried to tell yourself that it didn’t really matter, so what if you were seeing Jace like that you were both single there would be no harm done. But another part of you hated the idea of Anakin thinking that, the same stupid, selfish, naive part of you that clung onto his every word and laugh that night.

But you had a job to do, a job that had pulled you halfway across a galaxy away from home to try and convince a small group of relevant senators that your position was correct and morally righteous which would be no small feat. That was exactly why you couldn’t have your attention pulled away from the matter at hand by some guy, least of all some guy as emotionally stunted as Anakin Skywalker.

“Y/N” you ignored the small plea from that very man, pointedly keeping your gaze on your notes as you paced back and forth from behind the stage.

Anakin sighed softly, an anxious hand running through his hair before he tried again “Y/N please I’m sorry I didn’t-“

“No” you cut him off simply, refusing to give him your attention, your anger, your anything. You had a job to do and he was being an active hinderance to that and you were not going to treat him as anything but that “I don’t want to hear it right now”

He nodded softly at that, gaze casting down to his shoes “yeah we can talk after your speech”

You scoffed at that, shaking your head before countering under your breath “or you can go back to ignoring me, I much preferred that”

Anakin furrowed his brow at that, taking a step closer to you “what do you-“

“Senator” one of your aides interrupted you with a smile, nodding her head towards the shut curtain before you “they’re ready for you”

“Thank you” you smiled back at her, squaring your shoulders and facing the curtain separating you from the stage, pointedly ignoring Anakin’s intense stare down at you.

Another soft sigh before he whispered “I’ll be off to the right side in case anything happens” and he was reaching for the curtain before you could respond, most likely knowing that you wouldn’t, holding it open for you to duck under slightly and be met by the bright lights and polite applause you were used to.

You smiled widely at the crowd as you walked up to the podium, setting your stack of notes on top of it and waving, giving them a practiced small nod and a polite “thank you senators”

Slowly the applause dwindled and you were faced with a silent room, milking the sound for just a moment before beginning “I want to thank you all for making time in your busy schedules-“ and you launched into the usual political fluff that began most speeches, stroking the senators egos before you got into the real meat of the issue.

You didn’t make it far, however, before you felt a sudden tug at your elbow, the force strong enough that you were pulled back from the microphone a few steps, a confused murmur making its way through the crowd before you.

Spinning around you followed the hand upon your elbow up to the jedi who owned it, only to see that he wasn’t staring down at you but rather up at the point where the walls met the ceiling, his eyes searching for something that was surely drowned out by the stage lights.

“What’s going on?” you asked him pulling your arm back into you, Anakin’s fingers not putting up a fight against it as he kept his gaze up, searching.

“we need to go” the words were spoken softly and with little weight only confusing you further.

“Anakin what-“ he cut you off before you could even get the question out, crashing his body into yours as he tackled you to the floor, arms wrapping around you to break your fall as he ducked the two of behind your podium. And you were ready to ask him again what was happening when you noticed it, a new burn mark on the wall just behind where your head had been moments ago.

It was only then that you realized the world had fallen silent on your ears, your mind tuning out the panicked yells and scraping of chairs as the people you had just been addressing scrambled for the exit.

Then there was a blaster sound.

The podium before you shook as it took the brunt of the shot, the furniture groaning telling you it wasn’t going to be able to take much more.

With wide eyes your gaze finally connected with Anakin’s to find his already on you, your name on his lips though you don’t remember hearing it.

“What?” You asked much too softly for the sound level in the room, a small look of relief still edging into Anakin’s eyes as he looked at you.

“There’s a door behind you to your left, I’ll cover you you make a break for it on the count of three” he instructed loudly but still calmly, the small panic in his eyes doing a fantastic job of never making its way to his voice. You nodded quickly at him, eyes darting over your shoulder to take a quick look at the door. His hand came up and squeezed your shoulder softly, pulling your gaze back to his “stay low okay. 1..2..3 go”

There wasn’t a moments hesitation before you broke for the door, no drop of doubt in Anakin’s promise to cover you before you left the safe haven of the podium, throwing yourself at the door to force it open and pushing it back closed behind Anakin the second he was through.

He never let up, however, not wasting any time before he grabbed you by the hand and pulled you off the door and down the hallway, you never fully being able to escape the panicked screams from that room.

“The others in there” you protested weakly, letting Anakin pull you further and further away from the room.

“Not important right now” he answered harshly, taking seemingly random turns down a labyrinth of hallways.

And your mind was spinning too much to protest any further, still struggling to bridge the gaps of the last few minutes and comprehend what had happened “did you see them?”

“No” Anakin grumbled “but I think the shot came from the vent system”

“So they could be anywhere by now”

Anakin didn’t respond to that, dragging you a few more feet forward before coming to an abrupt halt before a door you didn’t recognize, eyes checking both ways down the hall before throwing it open and ushering you inside, shutting the door behind the two of you.

It was jarring how silent it was within the room, the way the entire world seemed to suddenly stop spinning, finally giving you the chance to catch your breath, your mind reeling in such a way that made you wonder if you even really wanted the silence.

“Okay” Anakin spoke up, hand coming back to your shoulder, thumb hooked softly under your chin to physically pull your gaze to his as he hunched over slightly “you stay in here I’ll go-“

“What-“ the question came out before he could even finish his statement, your head shaking rapidly as you took a step back from him “you’re leaving me in here?”

“Just for a bit I need to track down-“

“No I can’t-” you interrupted him again, the same panic as before surging within you as you shook your head again, an anxious hand bunching up in your hair as you started to shift your weight from foot to foot “you can’t just- you can’t leave me here alone”

“Hey hey” and you could see his attempt to calm you down as he reached out, could see the fight behind his eyes between staying with you and finding the guy who shot at you, his hands resting on both of your shoulders halting your nervous movement “you’ll be safe in here but I need to track down-“

“Please” you interrupted him again, your single world making his argument die on his lips, his expression freezing slightly at the sound of it “Please Ani don’t leave me”

And you watched his chest deflate, a small nod before he answered “okay”

Before you could think better of it you surged forward, wrapping your arms around his torso, burying your face into his chest. Again there was a moment of hesitation, a brief hiccup before his arms wrapped around you in response, and you heard him mumble against your hair “I’ve got you, it’s going to be okay”

And at that words you let a shaky breath out, feeling the weight on your chest decrease slightly at the promise, nodding softly against him before slowly letting go, untangling your arms from him “Thank you”

His eyes bounced back and forth between your own for a second before he nodded softly, taring his gaze from you as he stood up straighter, taking a good look around the room “We’ll just wait here for a bit, the rest of the order is going to be working on tracking the shooter down”

You nodded back at him again, taking a few steps aside to rest against the wall, finally fully feeling yourself relax as a comfortable silence fell between the two of you.

“I really am sorry for what I said the other night” the sudden voice breaking the silence caught you by surprise, your brows furrowing as you looked up at him “I was angry and I took it out unfairly on you and for that I’m sorry”

“Is now really the time to be doing this?” you asked with an edge of frustration to your voice, trying to hide it behind a soft laugh.

“You’ve been refusing to talk to me, now’s the first time I’ve really had your attention” he shrugged as if it were the obvious conclusion.

“yeah well try dealing with that for about three years then you’re allowed to complain about feeling ignored to me” you grumbled crossing your arms over your chest, unsure if you had really wanted him to hear those words or not.

His brows furrowed as he looked down at you, genuine curiosity on his voice as he asked “what does that mean?”

And a part of you wanted to scoff, as if he hadn’t noticed how he’d treated you for the entirety of knowing him “This trip is the most I’ve ever talked to you” you huffed, pointedly avoiding eye contact with him “When I first met you you were nice and talkative and normal, and all of a sudden the next time I’m around you’re nothing but cold and distant, could get barely more than two words out of you at a time. Made me wonder what I had done wrong”

You heard his deep sigh at your words, eyes glancing up at his form to see his gaze planted on his shoes, a soft reply coming in a voice you almost couldn’t hear “you didn’t do anything wrong”

Another silence passed between the two of you before you broke it, unsure exactly why you felt the need to justify yourself to him “I get nightmares sometimes, nothing too bad but sometimes it’s like I forget where I am and I can’t breathe and I just need someone there to anchor me, to remind me that I’m okay. Jace has been that person for me a lot so when I woke up I sought him out, I really didn’t think about how I was sneaking out behind your back”

Another sigh came from across the room before you heard a back sliding against the wall, eyes casting up to see Anakin had moved to sitting on the ground, back resting against the wall, eyes planted somewhere across the room before he laughed almost hollowly “I’m an idiot aren’t I”

And you couldn’t help but chuckle at that, moving to sit down next to him, careful to keep a good amount of distance between the two of you as you did so “I mean I certainly won’t argue with you on that point”

And this time his chuckle was realer, a warm sound you felt yourself despite everything drawn into “you know you could’ve come to me”

“If the roles were reversed” you asked him with a soft, sad smile “would you have come to me?”

And he sighed at that, gaze breaking to study your face for a moment, before he shook his head “no I suppose I wouldn’t have”

Another silence fell between the two of you, this one considerably less uncomfortable than the ones before, and for a brief moment you wondered where exactly this left you and Anakin, certainly closer than before but friends? Is that what you wanted? Is just that what you could be okay with?

“The jedi have a code” Anakin’s voice pulled your attention smoothly back to him, finding him a few inches closer than before, you weren’t sure who it was that had shifted “we can’t form attachments”

And you found yourself focusing on how hard the words seemed to be for him to say, how he was practically pulling them out of himself, you eagerly latching onto each one, nodding softly.

“So when I met you and you were incredibly nice and funny and easy to talk to…” he let the end of his sentence hang in the air, let the implication remain unsaid “Obi-wan noticed it before I did, was over my shoulder reminding me of the code right away and I figured if I remained distant then I wouldn’t be tempted to break it”

You felt the air leave your chest realizing that hearing it form Jace was one thing but from Anakin himself was completely different, the last few years spent around him clicking into place in your mind and you felt the need to reach out to him, if not to just hold his hand in yours. “Then why are you my guard every time I need one on Coruscant” you asked instead, forcing the distance back, giving Anakin what he wanted, what he said he wanted “Wouldn’t it have been better to avoid me entirely?”

A bitter laugh came forth at that, Anakin throwing his head back against the wall as he stared up at the ceiling “yeah, yeah it would have.” He paused briefly, a small smile pulling up at the edges of his lips “do you know how excited I get every time I hear you’re going to be on Coruscant? I tell myself every time that I just want to make sure you’re safe, that I want to be able to see for myself that no harm comes to you, but I know they’re all just excuses. Because even if it’s in complete silence I relish every moment spent in your presence”

And a huge part of you felt relief at his words. Relief that your feelings were reciprocated, relief that he didn’t actually hate you as you suspected, relief that it was all finally out in the open. But still there was a new weight on your chest, the burden of the jedi code no longer resting on Anakin’s shoulder’s alone, a burden that as not a jedi it felt unfair for you to carry.

“Where does that leave us now?” you asked quietly, eyes bouncing back and forth between his hopefully.

“The jedi order have their faults” he started after a bit, gaze skipping around the room, everywhere but meeting yours “there’s a few things I just don’t agree with them on and one of them is that having attachments makes me a worse jedi, I’m starting to wonder if remaining at a distance from you is really worth it, after this past week I’m not sure I can do it anymore”

“what if I don’t want you to remain at a distance?” you asked softly, watching almost with amusement as Anakin’s gaze rushed to meet your own, his eyes searching yours with hope for sincerity.

Finally his lips turned up at your words, he gaze flicking down to your lips for a moment, inching himself closer still till your shoulder grazed his “Darling if that’s the case then I shall live to make you regret asking me to stay close”

[kyber-crystal]

scarlet ibis (songbird) || anakin skywalker

summary: they say the purest love takes the longest time, and your story is nothing short of that. there’s fragility within beauty and to him, you’re a mosaic of stained glass (alt title: 5 times you call anakin skywalker by his last name, and 1 time you finally call him by his first.)

words: ~3.2k

warnings: angst, mild violence, mentions of blood + death (but no major character death dw), two oblivious idiots in love

a/n: 2nd place fic from my mini poll! not my best work LOL, but i think this is one of my favorite fics i've written (so far). i've had this in drafts for about a year or so as well...

one

It was safe to say that even a nanosecond of interacting with Anakin Skywalker made your blood boil. 

He knew just how to push all your buttons and you hated it. How could one person exist for seemingly one purpose only—to piss you off—you didn’t understand it and weren’t sure if you ever would. “Loyal Jedi” my ass. 

If you were the first person to speak up during meetings, he was also the first to counter your points and shoot you down. If you were late to meals in the mess hall, he took the last roll of bread, so you’d have to wait an extra half hour for more to come out. If you were dueling together, he would always point out every microscopic flaw in your technique. You were sure that your head would explode at any moment by his existence alone.

This is so ridiculous—you’re ridiculous.

“You know I can hear you, right?” Anakin glanced at you in his peripheral vision. “Don’t be mad because my plan worked, and yours didn’t. There’s this thing called accepting defeat.”

“Just because I don’t do things the way you do doesn’t mean they’re wrong.”

“They’re not wrong, but they’re not safe. You can’t declare safety compromisation a success. There’s a clear difference between the two.”

You scoffed. “Since when did you, out of all people, account for safety?”

“I should be asking you the same thing.”

“You’re not answering my question.”

“And you’re not answering mine, either.” He reaches behind his ear and turns his comms on. “Now are we going to head home or what?” 

“Aye aye, General,” you responded sarcastically, rolling your eyes. “Let’s embark on the journey of a lifetime.” 

Awkward silence pierces the air like a dozen tiny needles, but you’ll take it over arguing with a wall any day. You knew what you were fighting for and why. You were confident in your actions and believed you always stood on the right side. 

Except, he didn’t. 

It was a quick two day recon and you got the job done in half the allotted time. In and out faster than you could blink. Of course, Anakin would find fault in that one way or another…and he did. You got caught as you were escaping…dragging the mission duration out by an extra day.

Granted, you were only delayed by a few hours, but it was enough to upset him. You couldn’t even feel the ropes digging into your wrists after hour two, anyway. But from the moment he broke in and saw the first speck of blood on you, a look of fury flashed across his eyes. I’d be surprised if he had even half a heart under all that thick skin, you grumbled to yourself. He’ll slice at anything that moves. 

“You know—” Anakin’s voice breaks through the tension-filled air. He wants to say something else, but the words get stuck in the back of his throat and his tongue goes numb.

“I don’t care.” You pick at your scabbing wounds, not caring that they’re starting to sting and peel all over again. Before he can catch you doing so, you tug your sleeves over them and grit your teeth. “We got the job done, Skywalker, that’s all that matters.”

two

Maybe it was time to stop trying to commit mass murder on the punching bags. They weren’t going to do anything except break after two minutes of merciless attacks. 

Hopefully…you wouldn’t get in trouble for the glass vase that happened to get in your path. Nobody ever bothered to wander to the west wing of the Temple often enough to notice, anyway.

As you clenched and unclenched your fists, the cracks in your knuckles slowly started to stretch out like thin, red spiderwebs. The dots of brilliant ruby seemed to glitter among the pristine flooring—almost like they were meant to be there from the start. 

With every shard you threw away, the cracks and fury dug themselves further into your skin, threatening to explode.

You didn’t even need to look up afterward to know his scalding gaze was on you again.  

“Are you trying to get an infection?”

“Fuck off.”

He ignored your biting reply and kneeled down to clean up the mess. Once he was done, he stood back up and grabbed you by the wrist, leading you down the hall to his quarters.

As soon as he sat you down at the edge of his bed, you shot him a death glare. “What in Force’s name is your problem?”

“My problem,” Anakin replied, “is that you’re about to bleed all over the place. Let me help.”

“I don’t need fixing, Skywalker,” you snapped. “It’s just a cut.”

Anakin raised a brow at you, then looked down at your hands. “Too bad, I think you do. Broken glass will buryinto places you don’t expect.”

“Then you’re severely underestimating what I’m capable of. So let me go,” you snapped, jerking your wrist out of his grip. You unfortunately did this too fast, and hissed in pain as a result. “I’m fine.”

Sighing, the young Jedi reaches for the bacta pads next to him and works carefully to patch you up. He pretends not to notice the tears welling up in the corners of your eyes. Or the way you pick at the skin by your thumb, or the way your left foot taps the floor in a nervous rhythm. He pretends not to notice everything you do, but you’re everywhere. It frustrates him because he can’t escape. 

“Why do I have a feeling that exterminating the centuries-old vase of magic and splendor wasn’t in your original plan?”

“I was,” your voice wavers, fingers twitching. He notices this, too. “Leave me be.”

Shadows of the late afternoon light dance across the bridge of your nose, and he lets himself stare for a bit longer than normal. And…being who you two are, neither of you realize the fact.  

“You can go now, if you want,” he finally says after the sun begins descending into the horizon. “But make sure not to overexert yourself again.”

You don’t move. You stay there; quietly sitting in the middle of his room with glistening cheeks. Anakin doesn’t bother asking you to leave a second time. 

A fallen angel trapped in an endless prison; a halo and fractured wings that rendered her unable to fly. And yet, amidst all that death and despair, nothing could mar her beauty.

He feels those same little spiderwebs running through his palms, and he feels them shorten. Just a little bit.

three

The halls of the Temple were eerily quiet early in the morning. You would expect more Jedi to be up before the sun rose, but today, all activity had seemed to stop. Gathering the ends of your cloak into your arms, you made a careful climb up onto the rooftops to watch the sunrise. 

It seemed like you weren’t the only one who had this in mind, though.

“The hell are you doing at this hour?” 

“I could ask you the same exact thing,” Anakin replied as he stood up and turned around to face you. “You’re going to fall.” 

“I’m fine, don’t—” You let out a small squeak as you lose your footing and slip. Luckily, though, he catches you in time by wrapping an arm around your waist and holding on tight. Fire shoots through your veins at the feeling of him pressed up against you. “Let go of me, Skywalker!”

Once he leads you to where you can get more stable footing, he lets you go. But even then, there’s a hand that hovers over the small of your back. 

Brilliant bursts of sunlight stream over the horizon and wash over the world in pale red and pink. It stops you from saying something snarky to Anakin because you’re speechless at the breathtaking sight above. 

“I have…something for you,” he clears his throat. “—And don’t hit me. I’m not trying to poison you.” 

“Okay…?”

He reaches into his cloak pocket and pulls out what appears to be jewelry of some kind. 

“How many innocent beings did you kill to get this? Please don’t tell me it was smuggled. Or that you robbed someone for it. I can’t keep something like that.” 

“Y/N.” 

“What?”

“Do you…like it?”

You paused and took one good look at the necklace in his hand. It had to be the most beautiful thing you’d ever seen in all twenty years of living, and even that was an understatement. A teardrop-shaped, deep vermillion stone encased by tiny, glittering jewels—it was as if he had captured the stormclouds himself. It was perfect—too perfect, almost. 

Your voice came out in a whisper. “It’s so pretty.”

He takes a careful step to stand behind you in response. His fingers brush against your neck as he puts the necklace on, and fireworks explode behind your eyes.

Without another word, you turn towards him and rest your chin on his shoulder. He pulls you closer, and your heart feels a little fuller than before. 

four

The warzone was an ugly place. 

If hell was a real thing, this had to be it. The sky is bleeding red and each burst of lightning splits it further apart, the smell of death swirling around with the debris. Battle droids push forward in a stampede and you try your best to ignore the sickening crunch of bone beneath their metal feet. You squeeze your eyes shut as you tighten your hold around your lightsaber and pray to every god out there in the universe because war was cruel and mean and you just wanted to go home and sleep forever because anything, absolutely anything, was better than the suffering you were having to endure now. 

When the shot originally meant for Anakin hits you in the side, you’re unable to fully comprehend the pain because your brain won’t let you. You force yourself to keep going. Pain was temporary…you’d deal with the aftermath later. You could afford to.

What feels like hours passes by and the gunfire doesn’t stop. The incessant ringing in your ears is something you’ve forced yourself to grow accustomed to. 

“Y/N!” Anakin’s voice manages to cut through the howling winds. “You need to—”

He doesn’t get to finish his sentence before a grenade detonates near you and throws you against the walls. A searing pain shoots through your body at the impact and the world tilts on its axis. Scarlet seeps into your tear-stained vision and suddenly, the whole world is drenched in blood.

This was it…

If you were going to die now, it would be as far from pretty as you could possibly get. 

It’s another slow few minutes before he finally finds you slumped against the stone. Somehow, you manage to shoot him a small smile before wincing. “Took you long enough to get here.” 

“You…”

“Oh, wow, I’ve been shot,” you let out a dry laugh, pressing a hand over your wound. The color immediately drained from his face as he saw blood seeping through your fingers. “That’s a whole lot of red.”

He crouches down next to you to assess your state, pressing the commlink in his ear as he does so. “Why is it that you’re always getting hurt?” 

“My middle name is Trouble, that’s why.” You cough, and more red drips down your lips. “Trouble follows me around wherever I go.”

“It’s not fair,” Anakin mumbled under his breath, applying pressure to your torso as you wince again. “I’m supposed to be jumping in front of bullets for you and getting close to being blown up, not the other way around.” 

“I decided that your massive ego needed a little break so I took the workload for you,” you snarked. “Happy now, Skywalker?”

For the first time ever, he doesn’t bite back with an equally sarcastic response. You don’t question it. “No. I’m not.”

The returning journey's dead silent, save for your labored breathing due to your cracked ribs. You try to sit up, but he places a firm hand on your shoulder to keep you from moving. 

“I told you I’m fine—”

“You need to rest,” he exhales, the distress and tiredness evident in his eyes. “Please.”

“Okay…”

Wordlessly, Anakin reaches over to cup his hands over yours and and brings them to his lips. A pleasant sense of warmth overtakes you and you can almost pretend like the ship’s heater isn't broken and you’re melting, little by little. And if you look closer, you can see clusters of galaxies and shooting stars behind his steel blue eyes. The thought alone comforts you and starts to lull you to sleep. 

His eyes shift to the necklace; the gemstone sits still against your sternum as your chest rises and falls. Beauty among chaos. He wonders every day how such stark differences can coexist in a peaceful manner. 

“For what it’s worth,” he murmurs long after you’ve drifted off, “I never really hated you.”

five

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

You placed your hands on your hips as you observed the pitiful scene before you. The Jedi Order could host extravagant events and use expensive artillery and clones, but wouldn’t account for comfortable sleeping accommodations. Making a mental note to politely complain to Master Windu, you let out a long sigh. 

“If I stretch out, I’ll fall off,” Anakin pointed out as he too stared at the small queen bed (you were sure it was a twin, though). 

“I’d fall off, too.”

“You know what…I’ll take the floor. I don’t want to hear you complaining about back pain in the morning.” 

He was about to take his pillow and toss it to the floor before you grabbed his wrist. “Are you nuts? I can’t let you do that.”

“Then what do you want me to do?” 

You rolled your eyes. “I don’t know, share the bed without kicking me in the middle of the night?”

Both of you stopped and stared at each other at this. 

“The audacity you have to say that when you’re the kicker…” Anakin began. 

“I’m using the bathroom first.” You pushed past him to go wash up. “Don’t be a bed hog, Skywalker.”

Minutes later, you’re both settled in under the covers and have fallen into a comfortable silence. The only things you can hear are the crickets chirping outside and Anakin’s steady breathing. If you ignored the fact that you were on a mission and crammed into an incredibly tiny motel room, you could imagine that this was a peaceful weekend getaway to some tropical planet. 

You’re the first one to break the silence and speak up. “Do you wonder when the war will end? Or if it’ll end at all?”

“All the time.” He rolls over on his side to face you. “And what I’d do afterwards.”

“Where would you go?”

Anakin hums for a moment before responding. “I don’t know. You?”

“I’d go back to Naboo. To the lakes, where the water is so clear you can see your future, and the roses are redder than your face under the summer sun. Padme would take me there all the time when we were younger.” 

“I think I’d follow you, then.”

“But there’s sand, and lots of it,” you laughed. “Are you sure?”

“I’d be willing to bear its coarse, rough, and irritating qualities for you. Only once, though. I have my limits.”

Your heart warms at the mini confession. “I wish we could just end everything now. Call off the troops, sign a few treaties or something…end the war. I’m tired of the violence and bloodshed. I know everyone else is too.”

“I know.”

Anakin’s hand finds its way into yours, and the tension in your shoulders slowly unravels as your fingers lace with his. 

And all the cracked and bleeding crevices on your skin start healing the longer you lean into his touch. It’s like he has a needle and spool of thread in hand, and he’s slowly but surely stitching you back together. 

plus one

The giant metropolis of Coruscant had gone quiet under blankets of snow—it was a sight unlike any other. You hadn’t seen a speck of snow hit since you stepped foot onto the Jedi Temple as a child. 

You stood alone in the hangar bay with bated breath and reddened, frostbitten fingers. Like you’d dipped them in blood before letting them dry for a bit.. He had to be here any minute now; you didn’t want him to return and not have anyone to welcome him back. So despite the subzero temperatures and barely-healing knuckles, you remained in place. 

When his ship touches down and he hops out with a wide smile, you can feel a giant weight being lifted off your chest. He jogs toward you and brings you in for a crushing embrace, and for once, you finally feel at home. 

“It’s freezing. What are you doing here?” He’s sweating, even though he looks like he should be cold. “You should’ve headed inside.”

“I waited for you, what else would I be doing?”

Anakin grins again and hugs you even tighter. “I missed you. More than anything.” 

Your heart suddenly starts to ache at his admission and that’s when the realization kicks in. “I thought I lost you, Anakin. You could’ve died. I couldn’t sleep for three days after I lost your signal. And yet you’re standing here acting like it’s no big deal because at least you’re alive and in one piece.”

“Y/N…”

A chill runs down your spine and you know in that moment that it has nothing to do with the weather. You knew this wasn’t right; you weren’t supposed to be doing this, but it felt more natural than anything you’d ever done.

That’s when you find an Anakin-shaped shard of glass wedged deep in your heart and you don’t know how it found its way there, but you don’t even bother pulling it out. Glass splinters are supposed to be these jagged, disfigured things, but this one is beautiful and even shines amongst the rubble. It’ll bury its way into places you don’t expect. With the way he fits against your body, you can’t help but feel like he was meant to fill the gaping hole in your heart. So wholly, so perfectly without a single scratch or flaw. 

You look up at him and feel your breath get caught in your throat. Since when did he make you so nervous? 

He’s even closer now and so are you, so you press your mouth to his as if doing so would save you from falling apart. Your brain short-circuits, and as you sink into the sudden burst of warmth you realize you don’t want this to end.

“Took you long enough,” he mumbles against your skin as you pull apart. “I was starting to wonder when…”

“Shut up. Don’t ruin the moment,” you muttered before bringing your hand to his cheek and kissing him a second time. He doesn’t object and tightens his hold around you, and a fire spreads through you from head to toe. 

“I love you,” Anakin says after a while. “Even though you like sand, and I don’t.”

“I knew that already,” you joked with a smile and close your eyes, taking in a deep breath. “You’re not exactly the most subtle person ever.”

“Neither are you,” he chuckles.

“But I love you too.”

tags, including people who may be interested: @arkofblake @dameronology @fl0ating @voguesir @lady-elena-adeline @aliciaasky @katelynnwrites @freeshavocadoooo @buckysbeloved @kelieah @kaleidoscope1967eyes @lam-ila @unstablecaffeinatedmind @elenavampire21 @joyfullyswimmingface

add yourself to the general taglist/top gun specific taglist !

[tennessoui]

i decided to reread ur foolproof, foolhardy fic, and "“You dropped into my lap about five meters away from both our masters in a very unsoundproofed ship and asked all sultry, Wanna fuck? How could a man say no?”" how WOULD poor master skywalker have responded if baby!obi-wan had done that instead of his long seduction? (maybe not where qui-gon could hear)

fun fact!! one of the original ideas for the last chapter of foolproof foolhardy was to go full-circle with this moment and have them fuck before they talk it out - fuck in the ship "because we should just get it out of our systems" on their way to the mission, a fling obi-wan proposes by dropping into anakin's lap and asking him wanna fuck?

and then after they have rough angry sex, they go do the mission they're assigned and something goes wrong and they talk about their feelings then in a big and dramatic way

but that would have meant like. 3 more chapters at least and the last step of the plan was to "be honest and direct" so i figured i had to make them be honest and direct lol

BUT! obi-wan does the lap sitting and proposition thing twice in the story, both times with vos (the one you quoted and then once in the interlude chapter when vos gently turns him down because he's not going to be a stand-in for anakin skywalker)

and then in the last chapter when he and anakin are kissing, it's referenced again:

He doesn’t think he realized until this moment that there is no need to coax Anakin into anything. He’s already wanted, past all logic and reason. He does not need to play on Anakin’s possessiveness, his anger, his jealousy. All he has to do to be wanted by Anakin Skywalker is to drop into his lap and say please. 

so really 'dropping into his lap and saying please' is sort of padawan obi-wan's MO lol i think master skywalker would have turned scarlet and i think he would have caved but it would make their love story even more complicated if they had slept together before they talked about anything

(aka in a stacy's mom au au, let's say instead of master skywalker comming ahsoka to tell her to come back in the first chapter, he goes to get her and decides to personally escort all padawans back to the temple - not vos though as he is a knight and can choke. ahsoka ends up passed out in her bed and obi-wan is really planning to leave but now it's just him and master skywalker and there's something about the man that makes him seem...approachable right now...willing. it may be the exhaustion around his eyes, it may be because this is the first time they've really been alone together since zygerria, it may be because master skywalker had his hand on his lower back the entire time he escorted him and ahsoka back to the temple, it may be because he caught master skywalker looking at his lips at least once tonight, it may be because obi-wan has had way too much to drink really and anakin's pouring a drink of his own because apparently there's important paperwork he must do and and and and it may be a thousand different things that make obi-wan feel just confident enough to drop into master skywalker's lap and ask him if he wants to fuck around - but they have to be quiet because ahsoka is asleep in the next room

and because neither would be able to just do it once, because they're both still in love with each other, they start sneaking around to do it more. there's no bet, just a lot of guilt. quinlan doesn't know, ahsoka doesn't know, and it turns out in the shadows is a good place to kiss and a bad place to have the conversations they need to have....so they don't have them and they don't have them and they don't have them and obi-wan tries to tell himself this is enough this is more than he deserves, more than he ever thought he'd get and anakin tries to tell himself that this is all he deserves and more than he ever thought he'd get)

[delqcate]

so scarlet it was maroon . | a.s.

hello everyone - i have risen. i know i haven't posted in a while but it's the final month of school so i've been extremelyyy busy ! also the fact that i had no idea to write for maroon until just yesterday so anyways i hope i did anakin justice🥲🫶

summary: anakin comes home with a surprise, and y/n gives him one back—just not one he expected.

word count: 0.8k

warnings: not sure actually- lmk if you notice anything

paring: anakin skywalker & reader

🕛 - meet me at midnights masterlist !

Y/n looks at the roses on her table, sighing softly. She and Anakin have been dating for about a few months now, and while they had to do it in secret due to the Jedi code, lately she felt as if the spark wasn't there anymore. When she and Anakin first got together, the love was bright and passionate; it was a burning red. Now it's dull and dim, like maroon. She found it weird that she was comparing their love to shades of red, but she found it to be oddly correct.

When they first started dating, the thrill was there; they knew the risks, but they loved sneaking around, hiding their relationship, and how every night ended with both of them in bed. But ever since Anakin had been spending more time with Padme, she'd had her doubts; she feared that Anakin had found someone else, and she couldn't blame him. Padme was..perfect.

She wished she hadn't been this insecure about their relationship, but it was one of those nights where Anakin had been out late again. Every time she asked, Anakin would simply say that he was out with Obi-wan or looking for scrap parts, and as much as she wanted to believe him, she felt a sting in her chest. She would shake the feeling away and nod with a smile.

She snaps out of her thoughts as the door opens. She looks over and sighs as she sees Anakin. She breathes heavily and stands up, looking at him with a slight frown. Even in the dimly lit room, he could tell from the slight downward curve of her lips that something was wrong.

"Y/N, what's wrong?" He shuts the door and walks closer, reaching out for her hand, but frowns as she turns around, looking out the window. "Nothing, Ani.." she sighed quietly, the sting in her chest rising. "That doesn't seem like nothing." He frowns more, "Tell me, please." He comes closer, almost towering over her. His hand goes down her arm, and she shivers at the cold metal. "It's just that, lately, I feel like our relationship hasn't been..stable." She shuts her eyes.

"Stable? What do you mean?" He looks at her, confused. He hasn't noticed anything wrong lately, but he has been rather busy lately, and he wouldn't dare tell her the reason why. "Well, you've been so busy lately, and I can't help but wonder if..." She looks out the window, watching the ships pass by as she tries to control her teary eyes. She tries to speak, but her voice is the softest it's ever been. "If you've found someone else..like Padme.."

Instantly, Anakin's eyes widen. "Padme? "No, no, y/n, you don't understand-" He tries to continue, but y/n interrupts him. "Don't understand? Why have I seen you and Padme together all the time? Whenever you say you're out with Obi-wan or looking for scrap parts, there's a part of me that feels like... you're lying." She now faces him, her arms crossed.

He feels his heart instantly break, and he comes closer, cupping her face with both hands. "Y/n, you're the only one that I care for so much, and nothing will ever change that." He looks into his eyes, trying to find a glimmer of something that represents love. Their love was rusting, and he knew it; they both knew it, but they both desperately wanted to salvage it.

"I want to believe you, but I don't know, Anakin. Maybe we should take a break first." She feels tears prick her eyes, staring at his soft lips before looking away. His mouth parts a little and he nods slightly before backing away. "Alright, but I will never, ever, stop loving you. Please remember that, y/n." He swallows harshly, the lump in his throat not helping as he tries to control his tears.

"I know, Ani, but we both need this." She smiles sadly, cupping his cheek and kissing him gently. her tears running down her face as his eyes had just begun to form tears, they slowly pull away, and y/n sends a soft, sad smile before walking out.

Anakin sits on the couch, digging his head into his hands. After a moment of crying, he pulls out a small box from his pocket and opens it, finding a ring with a ruby in the middle. The reason he's been out all the time with Padme is because he needed her help with proposing to y/n. He knew the possible risks of her wearing a ring around, but he had fallen deeply for her. If only she knew when Anakin came home that evening that he was planning to propose to her, but now he would only have to hope that he could trust him once again.

'the lips I used to call home, so scarlet it was, maroon.'

[starsfic]

Everything R.O.T.S.

Summary: Luke and Leia Organa-Skywalker, upon their aunt and uncle’s sudden death, receive the home of Anakin Skywalker- a long-missing former child actor and their father. Up in the attic, they discover a series of old tapes, related to Anakin’s most popular show as a child: Anakin the Adventurer. However, something is strangely sinister about the tapes and the twins find themselves trapped in the attic. Can they survive?

Anakin Skywalker had been...unstable.

That was what their aunts and uncles had said when the twins got old enough to better understand their father. Uncle Ben had known him best, being his adopted brother and suddenly father figure when Grandpa Qui-Gon had passed in a car crash, the ink not even dry on the adoption papers. Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru had only met Anakin once or twice when he came back to his hometown for his mother's funeral, and Anakin kept the barest contact with his stepbrother. Uncle Bail and Aunt Breha knew his wife, Padme, better.

It was what they all agreed on.

Anakin had shitty mental health all his life, and the death of Padme, just weeks after they were born, had slid him into instability. Giving them up to the Whitesuns had been for the best. Still, as Luke got out of the car and eyed the Victorian-style house, there was no reason for him to barely get in contact with them.

At least he left them the house in case the Whitesuns ever died.

"Looks good," he said, eyeing the place. It looked to have been a cheerful cherry red once, but the color had darkened into a more menacing scarlet and the touches of white were now chipped and stained. "Some of the wood looks warped and the garden definitely needs a clean-up," It went up to his waist.

"Let's hope the inside looks better," Leia said, her voice no-nonsense. Only the tension in her jaw and eyes revealed how angry she was. "I just want to get this done."

"Right, yeah, wedding planning." It wasn't just the wedding planning that Leia was mad about, Luke knew that, but if he brought up the difficult topic of their father and his sudden disappearance, then Leia would get mad at him.

The key sank easily into the lock. The door opened with a creak that sounded more like a scream. Luke added oil to the mental list as he and Leia walked in. He felt a brow raise when he looked around.

Anakin Skywalker had been a famous actor up until his disappearance. Adding to the salary of first a mayor and then a senator that their mother brought in, he had been wealthy.

The house didn't show it.

It was incredibly barebones. A simple couch and coffee table sat in the living room, facing a small TV. The kitchen was small, with bare counters and a small table with only one chair. Luke couldn't see the rest of it, but he could imagine how spartan it had to be.

"I guess...he didn't really feel the need for anything fancy," he said, wiping at the couch. His hand came back grey. "I don't even see any decorations."

"I do."

Leia hovered by the coffee table. There was one book on there. Luke had assumed it was just a book with a grey cover, something to break up the emptiness, but as Leia wiped at it, it revealed a lovely green book. She flipped it open, revealing what appeared to be a picture of their ninth birthday party. The camera had caught Luke sobbing over the fact that Leia was allowed to wear a pretty dress while he wasn't.

"I guess Aunt Beru must've sent him all our pictures," Luke said, filled with a sudden hunger to see more. Is that what was in the attic, according to her note? More signs that their father loved them?

Leia seemed to not share his hunger, her eyes oddly blank. "Y...yeah," she said, very quietly. "I guess so."

He didn't let the awkward silence settle. This house was already full of it. "Wanna go find the attic and whatever Aunt Beru wanted us to see?"

"...Yeah."

The two headed up together. The stairs didn't go up to the second floor, but there was a trapdoor in the ceiling. Luke grabbed the rope and yanked it with all his might, but it stayed shut. Leia wasted no time in grabbing his hands and helping him yank until the trapdoor opened, just like the door downstairs, with a loud creak. A plume of dust announced the stairs coming down.

Luke gestured grandly. "Ladies first."

Leia sighed but headed up the stairs. Luke followed suit, wincing as a light clicked on above.

The attic was about the length of the house, except there was so much junk that there was just a clear path. Luke glanced over his shoulder at a rumble of thunder, making a face when his eyes trailed down and he realized that there was a rat trap.

"Anakin the Adventurer."

"What?"

Leia hovered at the end of the attic, next to a small old TV. There was a desk set up next to it, with one of those conspiracy corkboards. "This was all that was here marked with our names," she said, holding up a VHS tape, a sticky note stuck on top with their names. Unlike everything downstairs, it wasn't grey and dusty. The image had faded a bit, but there was no hiding the smile of a cartoon blonde boy. "Why have us come here just to watch some old series?"

"I don't know. I...think I know the series?" Luke took the tape from Leia and eyed it. Now that he was closer, the boy on the front did look like the few pictures he had seen of their father as a kid. "It was some kind of Dora the Explorer rip-off?"

Leia sighed. "I didn't come here to watch that."

"Maybe they taped something over it?" Luke suggested. "Wouldn't hurt to look."

His sister stood there for a few seconds, clearly weighing it in her head. She finally sighed, grabbing at her coat and shrugging it off. "Fine. Just one episode."

Luek nodded as he slid the tape into the player.

[canon-can-fight-me]

Drabblecember Day 9: A Walk Outside

Okay listen. Is it like ten days after the ninth? Yes. But I was too busy to write that day and this prompt was really cute so I wanted to post something for it 🥺

875 words

Pairing: Kai3po (pre-dating)

He was so tired.

While promised that the event wouldn’t go on for long, and that he was sure to be an invaluable asset to the mission, Threepio served little purpose that night other than to be his former master’s coatrack. Granted, he was told to be on standby, should his services be needed, but at this point it appeared whatever Anakin and Obi Wan assumed was going to happen at the gala was nothing to warrant the lightsabers securely stashed away. The night had drone on for long enough, and while no verbal or physical labor had been required of him, he felt exhaustion coupled with utter loneliness. Standing still for hours, let alone with no one eager to use him for the one thing he was good for, was upsetting. That is, until his attention was brought to a flash of scarlet, in the form of a shiny red dress. The owner of said dress a familiar, not completely unwelcome sight.

“Well, don’t you clean up nicely.”

He turned to see Kaiyo grinning, gesturing to the bowtie Anakin had fastened to him earlier that evening. It had gone a tad crooked at this point.

“Thank you…you look quite radiant yourself.”

“I know,” she teased, darting her head around before facing him again. “Did you come by yourself, or is your date just in the restroom?”

He mimicked a scoff. “I do not have a “date”. Master Anakin asked me to accompany him and Obi Wan here for a mission, supposedly…although I’m unsure why my presence is even necessary at this point.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” She jerked her head towards his shoulder, suit jacket draped over.

“I believe that further proves my point.” He said.

“Well…if you’re not too occupied, maybe you could join me outside for a walk?” She sighed dramatically. “It’s so stuffy in here, not even the food is worth staying for. You’d think with how wealthy the owners are they’d at least have a decent menu.”

“A-As lovely as that sounds, I must remain here. What if I’m needed?”

“I’m sorry, how long have you been standing here doing absolutely nothing? Two hours?”

“…Three.“

“Oh, you poor thing.” She took hold of his arm, tugging him towards the exit. “Let’s get you some fresh air.”

“I must remind you, that as a droid I do not require ‘fresh air’.”

————————

He hadn’t protested much. Keyword much, though he knew realistically Kaiyo saw through his protests and was aware he was grateful for an excuse to take a break. While unaccustomed to the chilly night air, he slowly started to prefer it to the stuffiness of the ballroom.

“Soooo, what’s this mission about, exactly?”

“I can’t tell you that! It would go against my protocol to reveal such information.”

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

“They didn’t tell you much of anything, did they?”

“Well—“ he began to protest, “I—um, of course they did…”

Kaiyo gave a small laugh, her suspicions all but confirmed.

Heat ran through his faceplate, and he glanced away.

“L-Let’s not talk about that. I’m rather curious to know what you’re doing here.”

She shrugged.

“You have your mission, I have mine. Let’s just say I wasn’t able to gather the intel I was looking for.” She pressed her lips together, hoping he wouldn’t question further. He wasn’t always adept at picking up cues, but he had someone grown to recognize her tells. One of which, he noticed, was what he understood was the natural human response to the cold: shivering. He could tell she was trying to power through it, slightly increasing her pace, and he wondered why she didn’t simply suggest going back inside.

“Kaiyo…” he began.

She paused, turning back to face him, eyes widening when she realized that she had outpaced him by quite a few feet in an attempt to generate heat.

“Oh, sorry! Am I walking too fast?”

“Well yes, but—“ she hurried back to his side as he spoke, “I was going to point out that you seem cold.”

Her cheeks flushed slightly. “It’s pretty chilly…”

Wordlessly, Threepio slowly slid Anakin’s suit jacket off his shoulder, gently placing it around Kaiyo’s shoulders.

“Oh!” Kaiyo glanced up at him, further burying herself in the jacket. “Are you sure Anakin won’t mind?”

“I’m sure if he needed it, he would have asked for it back by now,” Threepio explained. Kaiyo nodded, a small smile gracing her face. Threepio forced himself to look away.

She had no business looking so cute.

He thought if he just avoided looking at her, focused his gaze on the grass, the sky, anything else, that the rush of energy through his circuits would subside. That is, until she seemingly read his mind and decided to make it worse.

Granted, while she could technically read some minds (a perk of her mastery of the Force), he thanked the maker that such a trick didn’t work on droids.

But as she reached to adjust his bowtie, patting it down slightly with a satisfied smile that made him feel like his circuits were melting, he wasn’t so sure.

All he knew is that he was pleased that he had decided to walk with her that evening.

[graylinesspam]

Been trying to sparse out some thoughts on Ahsoka handling the ASOI timeline events. Been trying to figure out which elements actually fit into the story and which I just day dream about a lot. Themes that continue to pop up include:

Ahsoka spends years hearing about how much of a trouble maker Anakin was as a padawan. How much he snuck away from the temple and participated in illegal street racing and got arrested.

Ahsoka proceeds to join a speeder board racing ring to make some money when it's clear that few legitimate businesses are willing to hire someone with such a famous face.

She makes decent money racing but finds her talents in mechanics lead to better opportunities. Still she races occasionally when she needs the extra income.

Several times footage of the races have ended up on the holonews and Ahsoka skating around the nasty alleys of Coruscant in her iconic big pants little shirt outfits become big news.

Some jedi masters talk shit about her for this. Ahsoka retaliates against the shit-talking in very specific keep my name out of your mouth kinda ways

Ahsoka as a celebrity makes some friends with other famous kids/young adults which goes pretty portly for her. Whether it's getting made fun of for not profiting off her career/ being poor. Or having rumors constantly flying around about who she's sleeping with. Or just not having the freedom to relax and dance at a party without footage of her showing up on news sights and tabloid covers bitching about how inappropriate it is for a young Togruta girl to 'behave so provocatively in public'. She cannot catch a break. Turns out rich kids are just not good company.

Ahsoka takes up drinking. Let's be honest she's like 16/17 and loose on Coruscant at the lowest point of her life. Every decision she makes is wrong in some way and she can't escape the gaping loneliness. It makes sense for her to drink. Not enough to be a lasting problem but she definitely gets in trouble.

The coruscant guard is some kind of fucked up about hunting her. Ahsoka is spotted by several troopers visibly flinching away when she sees them in the street and because of this, they do their best to respectfully avoid her.

This also becomes kind of a superpower for her because no matter how many illegal races she participates in or how many government buildings she breaks into they refuse to arrest her. Fox feels so bad about everything that he ordered them not to even speak to her.

With the exception of ending up in the Drunk tank a couple of times Ahsoka never interacts with the Corrie guard.

Also on a few occasions. (at really really low points for her) Ahsoka disguises herself with a shit ton of makeup baggy clothes and a hooded cloak and sneaks into 49s just to sit in a corner and listen to the men act a fool.

She's not nearly as subtle as she thinks (come on a hood is a jedi regulation disguise). And a few clones have tattled on her to her brothers. But she never shows up when any of the 501st are planet side.

Ahsoka also gets a tattoo on her wrist. It starts as just Echo's handprint. Something blue and super small, subtle even. And it ends up being a whole charm bracelet of subtle clone symbols all around her wrist. (I always think of Scarlet Johanson's tattoo).

Ahsoka has to start wearing a head covering over her montrals because of 'cultural modesty' shit like so many of the twi'leks do through out star wars. She doesn't do it by choice tho.

[disabled-characters-showdown]

Disabled Characters Showdown

Notes:

1.) Characters are listed below the cut because there’s a ridiculous amount of them.

2.) This is going to be a 128 person showdown. Because of this there are going to be a few adjustments from how we normally do our polls. First- not all characters will have character descriptions, because we have neither the time or inclination to do so. There still will be character images along with image descriptions, but that’s about it. Second- because of how many polls this is, the first round will be released in waves of 16 polls per day over the span of 4 days. The other rounds will not be impacted. Third- the first wave of polls will be dropping on the 28th.

3.) If you want to submit propaganda about any of these characters feel free to because otherwise you will get things like this: “Haven’t the faintest clue who this is, so you get no context.” You can also submit character images because most of them will be horrible due to us just pulling most of them from the fandom page.

4.) If you have any issues about any characters feel free to shoot us an ask. That being said, this poll isn’t really about who is the best representation. See more details here. If you are wondering why a character is on the list feel free to ask and we’ll tell you but we’re not gonna put on reasoning for all of the characters.

5.) We tried our best with some of the names, but also are not familiar with some of the characters on this list so if there’s any issues there please let us know.

Marvel:

Clint Barton

Maya Lopez

Makkari

Matt Murdock

Professor X

Nick Fury

Bucky Barnes

Madame Web

Stick

James ‘Rhodey’ Rhodes

Daniel Sousa

Nebula

Jeri Hogarth

Jessica Jones

Phil Coulson

DC:

Barbara Gordon

Joseph ‘Joey’ Wilson/ Jericho

Destiny of the Endless

Freddy Freeman

Roy Harper- Young Justice

Animes/K-Dramas:

Jin Bu-yeon- Alchemy of Souls

Edward Elric- Fullmetal Alchemist

Might Guy- Naruto

Hatori Sohma- Fruits Basket

Vash the Stampede- Trigun

Yang Xiao Long- RWBY

Neopolitian- RWBY

Nunnally vi Britannia- Code Geass

Jean-Pierre Polnareff- JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure

Ali Abdul- Squid Game

Naruto Uzumaki- Naruto

Sasuke Uchiha- Naturo

Yuuri Katsuki- Yuri!!! On Ice

Star Wars/Trek/Aliens:

Geordi La Forge- Star Trek: The Next Generation

Luke Skywalker- Star Wars

Anakin Skywalker- Star Wars

Kanan Jarrus- Star Wars

Shiro- Voltron: Legendary Defender

Keyla Detmer- Star Trek: Discovery

Alex Manes- Roswell, New Mexico

Commander Wolffe- Star Wars

Chirrut Îmwe- Star Wars

River Tam- Firefly

Saw Gerrera- Star Wars

Wrecker- Star Wars

Visas Marr- Star Wars Legends

Darth Traya/Kreia- Star Wars Legends

Fennec Shand- Star Wars

Tahl- Star Wars Legends

Darth Maul- Star Wars

Echo- Star Wars

Breha Organa- Star Wars

Non-Animated TV Shows:

Connie- The Walking Dead

Eileen Leahy- Supernatural

Joel Miller- The Last of Us

Christopher Diaz- 9-1-1

Aaron- The Walking Dead

Ben Scott- Yellowjackets

Fei- The Umbrella Academy

Ian Gallagher- Shameless

Sara Eriksson- Young Royals

Mateo Chavez- 9-1-1 Lone Star

Lucius Spriggs- Our Flag Means Death

John Silver- Black Sails

Prince Wilhelm- Young Royals

Theo Dimas- Only Murders in the Building

Books:

Adam Parrish- The Raven Cycle

Hearthstone- Magnus Chase

Dezi- The Sunbearer Trials

Katniss Everdeen- The Hunger Games

Ambrosius Goldenloin- Nimona

Lord Blackheart- Nimona

Genya Safin- Grishaverse

Peeta Mellark- The Hunger Games

Kaz Brekker- Grishaverse

Oscar Silva- Renegades

Erik- The Tea Dragon Society

Linh Cinder- The Lunar Chronicles

Wu Zetian- Iron Widow

Wylan Van Eck- Grishaverse

Nova Huang- Mooncakes

Percy Newton- The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue

Jack Wolcott- Wayward Children

Ty Blackthorn- City of Heavenly Fire

Scarlet Benoit- The Lunar Chronicles

Carswell Thorne- The Lunar Chronicles

Adrik Zhabin- Grishaverse

Maedhros- The Silmarillion

Beren- The Silmarillion

Frodo Baggins- Lord of the Rings

Ettiene- The Invention of Hugo Cabret

Kate Rose- Cosmoknights

Alex Claremont-Diaz- Red, White & Royal Blue

Jack Zimmerman- Check Please!

Charlie Spring- Heartstopper

Movies:

Reagan Abbot- A Quiet Place

Jia Andrews- Godzilla vs. Kong

Carl- Up

Hiccup- How To Train Your Dragon

Toothless- How To Train Your Dragon

Gobber- How To Train Your Dragon

Hermann Gottlieb- Pacific Rim

Massimo Marcovaldo- Luca

Imperator Furiosa- Mad Max: Fury Road

Drago Bludvist- How To Train Your Dragon

Animated TV Shows:

Amaya- The Dragon Prince

Toph Beifong- Avatar: The Last Airbender

Teo- Avatar: The Last Airbender

Eda Clawthorne- The Owl House

Entrapta- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Finn Mertens- Adventure Time

Jewelstar- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Tallstar- She-Ra and the Princesses of Power

Villads- The Dragon Prince

Marcy Wu- Amphibia

Mr. Poolcheck- Gravity Falls

Principal Bump- The Owl House

Captain ‘Grime’ Grimothy- Amphibia

Ida, Bev, and Florabel- Kipo: Age of the Wonderbeasts

Ming-Hua- Avatar: Legend of Korra

Sol Regem- The Dragon Prince

Combustion Man- Avatar: The Last Airbender

Other Stuff:

Janice Palmer- Welcome to Nightvale

Nessarose Thropp- Wicked

Kotallo- Horizon Forbidden West

Norma- Dead End Paranormal Park

[veloursdor]

📚 ❄️ 🌸 for the ask game!

hi winter 💕 thank you for helping me with my endeavour of procastinating my wips 🫡

for this ask

📚 ⇢ what's the last thing you wrote down in your notes app?

the last thing i wrote was how to connect further the scarlet letter for my fic 'love at first sight, at last sight, at ever and ever sight'

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

i've talked about it before here but is a student/teacher au and the focus (besides their relationship) would be on how morally questionable the affair is; it would be focused on anakin’s insanity and his possessiveness of obi-wan (who would be married to satine and decide to cheat on her with anakin because he can't escape anakin's pull) and obi-wans own dilemmas (moral and ethical) about getting involved with a younger man who's future sorta rests in his hands.

i think i once described it as 'anakin holding a match, the gasoline can on the floor, as everything around them burns'

“What is a wife to what you and I have?” Anakin asked, a dangerous crazy wide eye look in his eye as he smiled at Obi-Wan. “What is a stupid piece of paper that can be burned in the blink of an eye to the other half of your soul?”

🌸 ⇢ do you have any pets? if you do, post some pictures of them

when i was 4 years old i asked my dad for a dog for christmas. he said he'd make it happen. come christmas morning and i go to the christmas tree waiting to see a dog. instead, my dad gives me a box that contains a stuffed animal in the form of a puppy and said "that's the only dog you're ever gonna get". his name is gua-gua and i love him very much

[starplusfourletters]

I know I'm years late to this party but does anyone want to be feral with me about Ahsoka's lightsaber color changes

Because I gotta get this out before the show comes out and tells me all of it is wrong

I feel like I'm being bonked on the head with a rolled up copy of a ninth grader's essay on symbolism in the scarlet letter and I'm loving every minute of it.

There are two major changes to Ahsoka's lightsaber color and both of them have given me so much to unpack and neither of them make any sense the more I think about it. This is basically a collection of thoughts I've had on the subject, but maybe I can write my way into a thesis here.

I want to talk about the second one first actually. In the novel, Ahsoka takes an inquisitor's lightsaber and turns the crystals from red to white, effectively the opposite of bleeding a crystal from its natural color to red. (Which is baller. I'm not going to stand here and say it's not baller.)

This imagery is so obviously redemptive except WHAT THE HECK WHY? This character is explicitly destined NOT to redeem Vader, and she doesn't need a redemption arc herself. The novel deals with this by framing it as Ahsoka "freeing" the crystals, not redeeming them (and freedom is very The Rebellion / Fulcrum), and a lot of the hilt construction imagery focuses on combining old or broken parts, making it also an act of healing. I buy that the novel is telling the story of how she goes from survival mode to getting back in the game through the Rebellion, and I buy that recognizing the contradictory parts of herself is part of that, but I'm not sure this color change image really conveys those things. Making new lightsabers for herself evokes reclaiming the Jedi part of her (or at the very least the time she spent as a Jedi), but purifying the crystals removes not only their red Sith-associated color but ALSO their original Jedi-associated color. And Ahsoka is neither Jedi nor Sith, sure, but if this is about healing through integration of personal history, turning the crystals white ERASES their history (since she senses that they were looted from the Jedi Temple but can't identify their source). Since lightsabers are used both by the narrative and in-universe as a proxy for the character wielding them, the color change suggests that Ahsoka has become something else entirely, and I don't think that's inherently positive. It suggests loss of self, not recovery.

I'm very tempted to go into a "white light is actually all colors of light" argument, because that would be more internally consistent, but that also gets more physics-y than star wars is or ought to be. This is space fantasy. White = Good. White = Absence.

(Meanwhile the hilarious thing is that if this scene IS about reconciling with her past, then like, she ain't seen nothin yet. She's like "I solved my personal history puzzle" and I'm like "ehhh wait 15 years before you declare victory there." But I digress.)

But okay, whether red to white is supposed to evoke a reckoning with the past OR redemption, then it's still associated with a dark side history that she doesn't have - unless we’re saying that mere association with Anakin requires a redemption arc?? Or could it reflect redemption of Anakin's teachings specifically? Ahsoka is very literally turning a weapon of the Empire against it at the same time as she's integrating the things she learned from Anakin and using them against Vader. IF her time with Anakin was damaging / corrupting - if his teachings were inherently flawed - then changing the crystals from red to white evokes purging that influence and keeping the useful bits. The thing is that I don't think this is an actual character beat in the novel - there's not a moment where she realizes that Anakin went too ham or questions his influence over her. So if that's what we're supposed to get from this image, it's not a realization Ahsoka herself benefits from. Overall I think I find this interpretation - redeeming a troubled past and turning it into a tool she can use - the most compelling, but still not 100% satisfying. I would buy it more if I thought Anakin's mentorship screwed her up more than it did, but honestly I think it was a net positive for both of them.

TLDR there are two ideas in opposition here - healing via recognizing the past and redemption via erasing it - and the imagery doesn't match what I think the audience is supposed to be picking up.

The other time Ahsoka's lightsabers change color is in TCW S7 (so first from her POV, but second in the audience's chronology) when Anakin returns the lightsabers she used as a Jedi, and they've inexplicably gone from green to blue. (Yes I know that Filoni has already said the color change symbolizes how Anakin is controlling but he's wrong about that one, see here.) First: just HOLD THE HECKIN PHONE WHAT IS THIS ADDITION TO CANON. I don't buy that Anakin would have swapped out the crystals themselves - crystals are too Jedi-specific within Jedi theology (the crystal is the heart of the blade and all that), but I also firmly believe that a kyber crystal's color is an intrinsic property. That's the imagery we get in The Gathering; the crystals found on Ilum range from green to blue, and their colors determine the colors of the younglings' lightsabers. (Also if we want to bring the Disney theme park - which is supposed to be canon consistent - into this, park guests build their lightsabers by choosing a crystal with an intrinsic color that determines the color of the blade.) So just the fact this scene exists is already wild to me because who gave Filoni the green light on this?? (Heh heh no pun intended.) Was Pablo Hidago sick that day?? But okay, sure, Anakin is literally so good at electronics + the Force that he can change the color of lightsaber blades, I can roll with that. That gives us the image of Anakin altering something that the audience AND in-universe Jedi philosophy understand as a reflection of Ahsoka's soul on a fundamental, almost-canon-breaking level, AND altering it in a way that makes it more closely resemble Anakin himself (since his lightsaber is currently blue and he also, incidentally, used to have a green one).

And that would be a really cool bit of color symbolism - if it actually matched Ahsoka's arc at all. If anything, I think the opposite is true - Ahsoka's character is established during early TCW as more similar to Anakin's than different, but as the show goes on, it underscores the differences they do have and how those differences put them on different paths. Anakin certainly has some Bad Habits that Ahsoka emulates, but she started out that way; Anakin values and validates who she already is. 

The second possibility is a stretch to me, but there could be an argument that the lightsabers were "truly" blue all along. Back in the novel, when Ahsoka reveals that she changed the Inquisitor's crystals from red to white, Bail asks “You changed their nature?” and Ahsoka says "I restored them," and goes on to talk about how the wielder - specifically a Dark Side wielder - can affect blade color. This reiterates the idea that crystal color is an intrinsic property (like, even Bail knows that) but suggests that it could be possible for someone to "bend [a crystal] to their will" outside of bleeding it. Not saying there's real evidence for that, but I like the idea of crystal colors being just sliiiiightly different depending on a wielder's mood or in response to a big character beat. And the Mandalore arc is a PRETTY big character beat for Ahsoka. However, 1) the way Ahsoka looks at Anakin makes it pretty clear the color change is his doing and not hers and 2) SHE DIDN'T RESTORE THEM THEY DIDN'T USED TO BE WHITE THAT'S NOT WHAT RESTORATION IS AHSOKA PLEASE GO TO THERAPY.

Anyway that brings me to the third (and I think most likely) possibility, that the crystals are still green and Anakin has somehow tuned the mechanics to make them appear blue. That imagery suggests that Ahsoka hasn't herself changed, only what she appears to be has, which does check out for both her S7 arc and post-Order 66. BUT she also intentionally leaves the lightsabers behind at the end of S7, which AGAIN suggests a loss of self. Overall this loss of self makes more sense to me than the red-to-white one; she is literally hiding her identity. The thing is that because the lightsabers are now blue they're ALSO inextricably tied to Anakin's influence over her, and leaving them suggests that she's leaving THAT behind, and she absolutely is not.

So I think this color change is hitting the same character beat as the other one: Anakin's influence changed Ahsoka, and she has to somehow undo that influence as part of her arc (in the novel by erasing a bit of her new crystals' history; in S7 by leaving her original lightsabers behind entirely). But what I'm seeing on the screen is that Anakin DIDN'T change her and she's also making NO effort, conscious or otherwise, to be less like the person she was when she was his student. 

Maybe I'm refusing to pick up what the canon is putting down. But consider: the canon doesn't always know what it's talking about.

[snivy-with-a-stylus]

I have had this AU idea and since Ahsoka (2023) has come out and the DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet is coming out soon, I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about how I want to throw a freshly traumatized, post-Wrong Jedi Ahsoka Tano into the role of the Pokémon Legends Arceus protagonist!

This was inspired by a few things:

@thehappiestgolucky's A Moth in Hisui au, where they threw Markoth from Hollow Knight (another fandom I love) into the role of the protagonist of Pokémon Legends Arceus (you can clearly see how this inspired this). Please check out this AU and their other stuff over at their blog, where they also talk about stuff like Splatoon, Monster Hunter, Rain World, and more!

@webtrinsic1122's Star Wars X Pokémon one-shot, "I Know It's My Destiny," where she specifically had Ahsoka go on a Pokémon journey and I-I just loved it so much because it literally had all I needed (Pokémon and Ahsoka having a happy found family in Anakin, Obi-Wan, and Rex). Please go check out her stuff if you love Star Wars, especially Rebels!

And a ton of Pokémon X Star Wars art that I Google Imaged!

This AU idea has been tumbling around in my brain for months now and since the stars have aligned in a way in which something Star Wars related and Pokémon related are happening in a pretty close timeframe, I thought it would be the perfect time to get it out in the open!

I wanted to make this story for a couple of reasons. The main one being that I just want to give Ahsoka a support network filled with incredibly protective magical monsters that can kick ass while looking fantabulous. The other reason is that I also want Ahsoka to then return to the galaxy with her team of Pokémon and just absolutely wreck Palpatine's shop with their power of friendship and actual power.

Here is some main story points that I've thought up so far, as well as some ideas I have for the story. However, I do have to warn you all that it has been an incredibly long time since I've last seen a full episode of Clone Wars (I really am hoping to somehow rewatch them soon, college is just a time-sucking birch), and most of these points are based off of my vague memories of how the episodes went down, the plot summary/descriptions of episodes that I have/will read, and all the fanfics I've read (because fanfics let me live in happy denial of all the horrible things that have happened to my favorite characters :) ) so if there's anything I might be contradicting or forgetting, let me know:

Ahsoka is brought to the Pokémon World/Hisui almost immediately after she walks away from the Jedi Order.

The reason Ahsoka gets chosen for Hisui is because Morai/the Daughter recommended her to Arceus, stating how it would be "the most beneficial to everyone involved".

Since this is going to be a fix-it, I'm going to fix as much as I can so, of course, Fives is going to live!!!!!!! Right before he gets shot by the Coruscant Guard, a Space-Time Distortion swallows him up and drops him right into Hisui.

*The problem with that is I don't know when he should get dropped off, but I'm leaning more toward right after Ahsoka closes the giant Space-Time rift over Mt. Coronet.*

*There are two ideas I have about where exactly the Pokémon World is. Option 1: It is in its own far, far away galaxy. Option 2 (And one that I feel could be a little bit more interesting): It is actually in the same galaxy that Star Wars takes place in, but it is not only hidden deep within the Unknown Regions but also by Arceus themself to protect both the Pokémon and the people of the galaxy*

*I'm debating on whether to keep Ahsoka as her normal togruta self or have Arceus temporarily turn Ahsoka human to help her blend in better with the people of Hisui (well, blend in as best you can after suddenly falling out of the sky one day).*

*On the one hand, people are obviously going to be even more weirded out and wary of her, but it would make when they start trusting her (after doing a bunch of sidequests) all the more potent as they are looking past her alien attributes and instead are focusing on her personality and traits and trusting her on who she is and moving past what she is.*

*On the other hand, Ahsoka now has to deal with suddenly being a human which includes finally realizing what a hassle hair is, being able to experience a wider array of food now that she's an omnivore and not a carnivore, and the growing fear of what will happen if she ever reveals that she's actually an alien and how that could potentially destroy all the trust they have in her.*

*Also debating on whether Ahsoka should keep her Force abilities (but, obviously, needing to keep them hidden from the very isolated people who don't even know what the Force is) or have Arceus put a sort of block or limiter (for the same reasons that she needs to be hidden) that could gradually weaken as Ahsoka continues her journey.*

I have more ideas (most of them being more suggestions and possibilities than actual ideas) but that's all I think I should mention for now. This post is already really long, so I think I might actually stop it here for now.

But in the next post for "Hisuian Jedi" (that's the best name I could come up with for this AU so that it'll be easier to find, if you have better ideas for names, please let me know), I'll talk about my most favorite part of any crossover with Pokémon!

CREATING THE POKÉMON TEAMS!

[lady-of-the-spirit]

👀👀

brief premise of story: au where anakin is a cis girl, gets her first perod, and obi wan freaks the fuck out. (I know genderbends can be a controversial thing so warning up front for it.)

Anakin was out of bed, standing next to her mattress, tears smeared across blotchy pink cheeks. There was a stain of scarlet red blood on both the front of her pajamas and her bedsheets. 

Obi-Wan's heart dropped out of his chest. 

Time seemed to slow as his mind ran through every possible thing that could have happened to her between last night and this morning to cause this, how she could have been hurt, if she was sick, how quickly it would take to run to the healers if he carried her, before he remembered key facts - that Anakin had recently turned twelve and had spent the last two days complaining about an achy feeling that had Obi-Wan considering sending her to the Healers if it didn't get better. 

Obi-Wan let out a breathy laugh in his relief as the dots connected. Anakin was fine. She was just menstruating. She had gotten her first period. Everything was fine.

Except now instead of panic or relief he was feeling a strange, painful squeezing feeling in his heart and his chest felt tight as he looked from the blood stain on the bed to Anakin. She had grown since entering the temple. Once she had been too small for her age, and now she was a little taller than average. She reached just a little below his shoulders. When had that happened? 

He could still remember meeting her for the first time, her shy but cheerful smile as she shook his hand and introduced herself, practically a baby, and now she was-

Anakin was growing up

send me a 👀 and i’ll post a snippet of art/writing that i never got around to finishing this year (r.i.p)

[phoenixyfriend]

Don't Want that Scarlet Letter

Read on AO3

Written for @anakin-rarepairs-week, Day 4: Instincts

Anakin is an alpha. Anakin is poisoned. Anakin enters a rut. Anakin will very possibly die of an adrenaline-induced heart attack or fever if he does not satisfy his rut. Mace is an omega. Mace is emphatically not Anakin's mate. Mace is willing to do what is necessary to keep his fellow Jedi alive. A mated alpha does not treat a homewrecking omega kindly, but Mace can put up with that for tonight.

WARNING: So this fic has very dubious consent of the 'situationally necessary' variety. Both characters agree to it while in their right minds, due to the risk of death if they don't, but it's clear that neither of them would like for this to be happening.

Mace pulls Anakin into the empty wreckage of a house, windows long since broken in and larders emptied. They won't get much shelter from the wind, but there are still some threadbare blankets and a bed with a mattress. If they're lucky, there aren't even any pests nesting in it.

They're cut off from their men, and rescue won't be possible for days yet. Mace would risk it on his own, but Skywalker is stumbling and dazed, bleeding sluggishly from a wound in his abdomen; it is small, from a dart carrying something, and would have likely ended up quite a small hole if not for how the fabric had been yanked to one side by a passing droid during a flipping maneuver, and torn the projectile out in the most damaging way possible. Skywalker is likely concussed and almost certainly poisoned. Mace doesn't trust that the boy would make it, if left to his own devices while Mace runs for backup.

Skywalker growls low, and Mace hums a little as he starts pulling away the layers of tunic. The growl raises to a snarl, and Mace looks up. He meets Skywalker's eyes, trying not to let himself believe that this is turning into a battle of wills. Skywalker's just too unmoored to think clearly, that's all.

"I just need to access the wound," he says, clearly as he can. "I have bacta in my bag. It won't be enough, but it will help. Does that sound doable?"

Skywalker stares at him for a moment, struggling, and then his head falls back with a groan.

Mace takes it for agreement. At the very least, Skywalker doesn't protest when the muddied robes and tunic are pulled away. Mace wastes some precious water washing the wound out, and then smears it with bacta and covers it with the sealant.

Skywalker grunts. "We might've needed that, later. It was just a flesh wound."

"It was worse than it looked," Mace counters, "I suspect it would have gotten infected sooner rather than later without some kind of antiseptic applied, and bacta is what we have."

Skywalker huffs, but doesn't argue.

"I'm going to look for more blankets," Mace says. "Try not to move. See if you can meditate to neutralize whatever that poison was."

He gets an affirmative grunt out of the Knight, which is about as much as Mace could hope for right now. He heads off, scouring the small building for anything useful. There is one blanket he finds that's worth taking, heavy and thick, though too scratchy to place against the skin, and some towels that don't yet smell musty or overly stale. There is even a drawer of table linens, and he takes a few of those as well; they will make for a good barrier between them and the scratchy top blanket.

There isn't any food, but the water runs. He doesn't trust it. However, he does have a few purification tablets, so that'll still work fine. It runs clear enough after a minute or so.

By the time he makes it back to Skywalker, the young man is pretty clearly trying to meditate, but Mace has doubts as to how successfully. There's a pinch to his brow, and sweat that Mace can smell from across the room.

Frustrated, anxious alpha.

Frustrated, anxious, aroused alpha.

"Skywalker?" he asks, hoping he's wrong about the assumption he's got brewing.

"I think they dosed me with a rut-inducer," Skywalker says, jaw tight and voice tighter. He does not yet open his eyes. "If they're using it as a weapon, it's going to be a strong one, isn't it? The kind that the medics warn can be deadly?"

Probably. Mace isn't a medic, though, and he's more familiar with his own anatomy than that of an alpha. Being older than Skywalker doesn't mean much when it's a subject like this.

"Is there still time to flush the toxin?" Mace asks. "I may be able to help."

Skywalker grimaces. Finally, he opens his eyes. "It's worth a shot."

--

(Continue on AO3)

[tennessoui]

Oh kit!! I was all 😳😳🥵🥵 with every interaction older Anakin had with Obi-Wan in your latest update. Whew, this is a dynamic I didn’t even know I was super into until reading this fic

older anakin is having the time of his life tbh I think part of why he’s so interested in flustering obi-wan is because it makes younger anakin so fucking mad and he finds that hilarious — also obi-wan is so easy to fluster, Set is flirting at like fifty percent and the man’s bright red. all they’re doing is playing a little bit of footsie under the table and this Jedi master is scarlet in the face

I can’t wait to write Set’s chapter, because it’s from his pov but he’s observant — more so than anakin at least because he isn’t blinded by his emotions — so sort of outsider pov 🙏🙏 but an outsider that is going to be fully present and perhaps participating in the final dick down that happens between younger anakin and obi-wan

(And after anakin makes it very very clear that set is no longer allowed anywhere close to obi-wan, set gets a bit bored on their way to Jedha. and then when obi-wan remains easily flustered by the mere mention of their time together, Set starts to wonder if he could so easily fluster his Obi-Wan or if it’s a Jedi Master thing. Then he starts wondering how he can set about finding his obi-wan, just to see if he blushes the same when he’s nearing 60)

(as it happens, he doesn’t get to find out — the Obi-Wan Kenobi he finally tracks down in the middle of a rebellion is hardly a day over 20)

[khentkawes]

OMG, why do I keep watching Captain America: Civil War every time I find it on tv when I know that I'm just going to spend the whole time yelling at Team Cap!

Every time! My cat has to listen to me yelling at Cap and Comapny for their stupidity, their arrogance, their refusal to take responsibility for literally anything while spouting nonsense about how signing the accords would mean they weren't taking responsibility (seriously, how does Chris Evans say this dialogue? It makes no bloody sense!), and trying to murder Team Iron Man by crushing them underneath cars/planes/whole pieces of an airport/Scott's gigantic shoe. Team Cap escalted that fight almost immediately to possibly lethal levels. And then Scott acts like a child, relishing the destruction, when he literally almost KILLED Rhodey when he tried to step on him! Scott is a funny, lovable character in the Ant Man movies, but here, he's a frightening child with unspeakable powers and no limitations who is apparently willing to kill other avengers just to "be in the cool club"? And Team Cap is all like, "we can't call Tony, he'd never believe us and he'd never help us," when literally the first time Tony is presented with a shred of proof that they are right, he drops everything and puts himself at risk to help them--no questions asked. And Cap is all "my faith is in people" at the end of the movie, but earlier he complained that the accords were bad because the UN was "people and people have agendas." Um, dude, you have an agenda too. So you don't actually put your faith in individuals then? And hold up, Captain America should put his faith in the IDEALS THAT THIS COUNTRY IS MEANT TO REPRESENT! Ideals like justice, democracy, standing up to dictators, embracing immigrants, holding our leaders accountable, protecting the weak, etc. But the MCU's Cap doesnt care much about ideals. He cares about people... and only certain people apparently.

This time around I've realized that I only like two members of Team Cap: Bucky and Scarlet Witch. But I like Wanda mostly for her development in WandaVision, and even then, I like her in the same way I like Anakin Skywalker.... they are both a couple of hot messes always on the line between doing the right thing and committing mass murder / supporting nazis or facsiats because its convenient. Wanda was always a villain! A sympathetic and fascinating villain, but she's no less of a villain than Anakin (well, marvel is a little less murdery than SW... but still... Wanda has always been willing to do drastic things to get what she wants, no matter who gets hurt along the way).

I do have to hand it to the Russos... parts of this movie are compelling and nuanced... and then there are all of the Team Cap lines (which aren't). But either way, it makes me feel too many feelings every damn time. So... if they wanted to evoke feelings, they sure as hell succeeded!