eclipse
summary: someone tries to take advantage of senator chuchi’s childish crush on a jedi hero.
word count: 0.9k
character(s): anakin skywalker x riyo chuchi, ahsoka tano, padmé amidala, and obi-wan kenobi (mentioned)
notes: my pinterest board for rinakin
warnings: anakin being a little manipulative, ahsoka annoyed with riyo’s crush (as a friend)
“I admire him, nothing more.” Riyo muses a reply to an invasive question, watching longingly as The Hero With No Fear converses with her dear friend Senator Amidala.
Ahsoka tilts her head at her companion. “Oh, my mistake. Seemed like you can’t take your eyes off of him.” The layer of sarcasm goes unnoticed by the Pantoran, nervously wringing her fingers in front of her. Still, her gaze remains, despite Ahsoka’s verbal suspicions.
From what Riyo gathers, Padmé says her farewells, and departs, leaving the Jedi General to pensively idle. “Do you think he’s coming over here?” Riyo asks, anxious, and pivots her attention to the padawan for the first time since Anakin wandered within her view.
Ahsoka raises her tattooed brows. Toying with the situation out of annoyance for her friend’s denial, “Probably. You better get out of here while you still can. He looks mad.” An empty warning that Chuchi regards severely.
“What do you mean? Genuinely? Oh—“ Interrupted before she can make her getaway, Anakin invites himself to the pair, and catches her off-guard.
“Senator Chuchi,” he greets, a polite tone of voice and Riyo falls silent. “A pleasure to see you again.” His words heat her up like a hearth, and she swears he could hear her heartbeat. Her tension intensifies when he takes her hand in his to clasp. Further still as he palms atop hers. Both appendages, in such a sincere form of reception. She could hardly scramble for thoughts let alone words. There’d been rumors flitting about how the Jedi Knight had metal for a right hand; she could feel it now, underneath her weak grasp.
All she manages in response is a subtle, acknowledging nod. “General Skywalker.” she concedes in a near whisper. Praying he’d release her. Paranoid he feels her sweat through his leather gloves. The connection severs, and Riyo tears her gaze off of the Jedi, gluing it to the red flooring, in order to catch her breath.
Ahsoka clears her throat loudly. “Master, the ship is prepared. If you’re all done here…” she trails off, hoping for Anakin to interject and finish the sentence to confirm his answer.
Luckily, he does. “Thank you. Wait for me there.”
A sigh, “Yes, Master.”
Anakin’s eyes follow his padawan to ensure she exits. “Forgive her indelicacy, we’ve had minimal rest in recent days.”
Riyo didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. Ahsoka is her ally, which comes with a number of jobs. Such as pulling Riyo’s head out of the clouds. The largest, and most distracting cloud, being the one who stands in front of her now.
“Oh, no problem. No worries.” After the dismissal, there’s nothing left to say. Her mind doesn’t work like it should, words won’t form. An awkward reticence occurs and she contemplates tearing her skin off. “Oh, oh, goodness, I’m sorry. How insensitive of me, how are you doing, General Skywalker? I haven’t seen you since…”
“Since Pantora.” he completes for her, and she dwells on the dimple that’s created when his lips curl. Get a hold of yourself, Ri, this is unprofessional. “Busy. A lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. You’re looking well.”
Looking well? In what way? Healthy? Or… or beautiful? She’s getting carried away. Her mouth is so dry, she worries she’ll hitch if she tries to speak. How embarrassing that would be. She clears her throat. “Thank you,” She condemns her weakness. “Um, you as well.” So handsome. Perfect, muscular form and broad shoulders encased in stylish Jedi robes he’s altered to his preferences. His hair had grown out, curling around his neck. Her hand itches to run her fingers through it, and her cheeks burn at the idea of actually following through with it.
“I’ve been meaning to speak with you directly for some time now. I apologize again, it’s been too long.”
She’s quick to derail that notion. “No, of course not,” Talk to me anytime. It’s never too late.
“The Talz, Obi-Wan seems to think there’ll be no problems, but I can’t shake a feeling. The assimilation, this is off the record, how’s it coming? Peaceful?”
The subject being changed allows Riyo to fill into herself, to shift her mindset towards her career. “Oh, yes. Near seamless. They’re responding well to our scouts, everything’s running smoothly in our dig sites… What were you looking for?”
Anakin pauses, and folds his arms behind his back, rounding her and she follows. “Is there a reason you said, ‘near seamless’?”
“Um, I suppose I was keeping the possibility open, didn’t want to be too sure that…”
Anakin advances on her, slowly, but enough for her to register how close in proximity he is, his intense gaze boring into hers. So near, she could feel his body heat radiating off of him, see the details in his scar. “Riyo,” he says, his voice low, as if keen on deterring eavesdroppers. She nearly chokes over how he invoked her first name. “You can tell me.”
There’s a mist. A mysterious inkling she did not care for. Something dark, and hidden that picked at the stray strings of her mind, searching for the one that would unravel her careful veil. She recoils, and hardens. “There’s nothing to tell, General, if the Pantoran system has a public issue, you’ll hear it addressed in the Senate.” The phrases that emit from her mouth surprise her own self.
It does not perturb her companion as he searches her eyes. “Very well.”
She stifles a shiver, a cold spot must’ve passed over her. “Is there anything else I can do for you, General?”
“No,” He steps back. “No, I don’t imagine there is.” His last words before he bows his head, “Senator.” and departs. Riyo views him as he recedes, and swallows hard.
