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Anakin sighs as his comm beeps. He only has his work comm setting on, so it must be time to find out what the Council is going to do with him. He jumps back, switching off his saber as he watches Ahsoka do the same. He flashes Ahsoka an apologetic grin that he mostly feels at his Padawan before clicking his wrist comm.
“Skywalker.”
“The Council requests your presence in ten minutes.”
Anakin internally sighs.
“On my way,” he says before cutting the comm and turning back to his Padawan.
“Sorry, Snips,” he says. Ahsoka just shrugs.
“That’s alright,” she says, “Just don’t let them push you around.”
“Hey, when have I ever—”
“Well I don’t know what to think, Master!” Ahsoka yells before suddenly noticing their watchers, a common sight whenever Anakin and his direct line were sparring, though it wasn’t as bad as if Obi-Wan had been there. Lowering her voice, she continued.
“How do I know what to think when you tried to get yourself killed less than a week ago?” she asks quietly, a reminder to Anakin that she’s only sixteen in the way that she says it.
He sighs, putting a hand on her shoulder and locking his eyes with hers.
“Ahsoka…” he trails off, for a second, not quite sure what to say, “I… don’t worry, I… if I don’t call them on their bad calls, who will?”
Ahsoka’s face hardens.
“I will,” she says, “If they do anything less than make you a Master.”
Anakin couldn’t help but laugh at that. A Master? After the way he’d killed Sidious?
“I’ll just stick with trying to get them to let me stay in the Order long enough to see you Knighted if I’m lucky,” he says, “I have a wife, Snips; I’m not exactly the type of Jedi they’d promote . You know as well as I do that they should kick me out.”
Ahsoka just huffs.
“They’ll probably let you stay just to keep their public relations from getting any worse,” she mutters which makes Anakin laugh because, well, that was basically his only chance of leaving the Council chambers with his lightsaber still on his belt.
“I don’t deny it,” he says, “Now, I’d better go. I promise to call you after I find out my verdict, and we can hopefully do something normal. You still haven’t told me why you begged to borrow a ship and drop us out of hyperspace to send you off who-knows-where, and I simply must know.”
Ahsoka grimaces at that (and did her lekku darken? Now he really wants to know).
“On second thought,” she says sarcastically, “They’d better lock you up.”
And Anakin laughs a laugh entirely real because this is so normal, so normal that he can almost forget.
“Whatever you say,” he says, turning to begin the walk up to the Council chambers, “But you’re still telling me.”
“I’m… What?” Anakin asks, admittedly confused.
“Take a seat, Knight Skywalker.”
Well. Huh. That happened.
Well… he was still in the Order.
Ahsoka will probably be wondering where he is, soon.
(He’s glad they didn’t make him a Master, though, because that is one thing he’s most definitely not ; a pity vote and apology that he neither needed or deserved would have him out the door in a second. At least now he’ll have a way to help the Counci— his fellow Councilmembers (and isn’t that strange) get their heads on straight.
Although, this hadn’t ever been done before.
To be fair, though, this wasn’t exactly a normal time in Jedi history.)
“Master?” Ahsoka asks in surprise, “What took you so long?”
His had not been the only issue on the table. The still-very-messy political happenings of the Senate, debating what to do about what was now a sham of a sham war, recovery and aftershocks from Order 66…
Anakin hadn’t missed the fact that half the Council had perpetually been in the Council chambers since before he’d awoken, depending on who was needed.
He’d just been in there for five hours straight.
“I’m not a Master,” he says, “But it’s definitely more than I expected.”
“What-”
Anakin laughs.
“Information trade, Snips,” he says, “You first…”
But, then, Anakin has a wonderful idea.
“We could go somewhere more fun to have this conversation” he says, “Unless it’s bad news?”
Ahsoka just sighs.
“I’ll meet you at the hangar,” she says.
“...So, if they come back, I may need some help backing up the ‘Skywalker’s brat’ standard warning…” Ahsoka says, continuing her awkward ramble that Anakin has, thus far, found both hilarious and unbelievable, but, well, he would have thought the same of a future where he kills Obi-Wan, Padme, and countless others who didn’t deserve it, so…
Well, his Padawan helping a bounty hunter and former Sith Acolyte that she obviously has a crush on barely even makes it to the top ten craziest possible things that could have happened in his life.
“…Then Rex called back, and I was on my way in less than twenty minutes,” Ahsoka says, finishing her ramble-story and obviously not sure what to do with his lack of negative reaction. Which, honestly, if it weren’t for… everything, would probably have been a very strong one.
But, instead, because of normalcy mixing with new knowledge…
“If we need to,” Anakin finds himself saying, “I’m sure that I could talk my fellow Councilmembers into helping out the Nightsisters and your new friend.”
Ahsoka’s lekku get really dark, there, at his tone.
“Asajj isn’t—” Ahsoka starts before noticing the full statement, “Wait…”
Anakin smirks (filing the fact that his Padawan’s on a first name basis with Ventress for future teasing and worry).
“Councilman Skywalker at your service,” he says (somewhat sarcastically since he’s still fairly sure this wasn’t the typical treatment of someone who’s done all that he has).
“But you said you weren’t a Master.”
“I’m not.”
“But—”
Anakin laughs.
“If they made me a Master,” he says, “After everything they know I’ve done, now, I’d… I’d leave the Order. It would be no different than… Knighting you before you were ready just to keep you in the Order, or something.”
Ahsoka scoffs.
“That would just make me want to leave sooner,” she says, “Although I can’t think of a reason why I’d leave.”
Anakin nods.
“It’s the same principle,” he says, “I’m not a Master, and to call me one would go against the more unspoken rules of the Jedi.”
Ahsoka sighs.
“I guess that makes sense,” she says, “And you’re… you’re really fine about Ventress?”
Anakin just laughs.
“Snips,” he says, “You could be ‘friends’ with just about anyone and still be smarter than me.”
Ahsoka splutters at his insinuation, and Anakin laughs.
(But, internally, Ahsoka sighs. As much as she’s glad for Anakin’s acceptance, his survival, his freedom from Sidious (still a strange thought), she… she hasn’t missed how her Master’s already-low levels of self esteem have plummeted…
But, in his situation, she probably wouldn’t be much better.)