I AM NO JEDI.

❝     did anakin put you up to this?     ❞    spoken with a laugh,     padmé knows that ahsoka will pick up on her gift of repartee.     whatever had pushed ahsoka to accompany her on her trip,     padmé knew it wasn’t without reason.    she could push her insistence all she wanted about being able to handle herself,    but ahsoka was a friend the senator would continuously put all of her faith in:    in the face of any wind of rumour,    padmé would make the cradle for the other’s soul,    together they will provide the very fabric to keep each other warm     …    that was what family does for one another.     [    thank you,     council,    for weaving their life paths so intricately together.    ]

❝     —     come,    you look like you haven’t slept in days.    is everything okay?     ❞

the  question  strikes  fear  behind  warm  eyes,  and  all  ahsoka  can  do  is  offer  a  smile  that  she  hopes  is  reassuring.      how  do  you  tell  someone  you  love  that  you  have seen  them  dead?      to  lose  padme  would  be  to  lose  the  warmth  from  the  world,  to  forever  miss  the  feeling  of  coming  home.      there  was  safety  here,  something  ahsoka  was  not  ready  to  lose,  not  ready  to  release  that  tight  grasp  on.      how  could  she  be?      ahsoka  had  never  had  a  mother,  not  one  she  remembered  anyway,  but  this,  this  felt  like  home.      and  it  was  the  sweetest  thing  she  could  have  ever  hoped  to  taste.