Chapter Text
She barely gave him a chance to say anything before beginning her rambling.
“Okay, so I know we’ve never met, hi by the way, I’m Ahsoka, but I locked myself out of my apartment and I need to ask you a favor.”
The man that answered didn’t seem perturbed by her knocking on his door at the unfortunate hour of eleven thirty, when she was supposed to be in bed to get to work early tomorrow. He was tall- taller than she cared to admit with her 5’4” stature and his that had to be six feet. Ginger tinted hair in a mess that suggested he may have been in bed when she knocked, although by his clothes that were clearly not ones he was sleeping in, she didn’t feel too bad.
“Obi-Wan. Come on in, my dear, and we’ll figure it out. What favor do you need from me?” He led her inside the door, another man sprawled on the sofa with a textbook hanging dramatically over his head. “Anakin, this is Ahsoka.”
He waved, shutting the book, glad for the excuse to stop. “Nice to meet you. Who are you, exactly?”
“I’m your downstairs neighbor, and I locked myself out of my apartment. I need to do something crazy.”
“Like asking that witch of a landlady to open it at this hour? I’m not being your fall guy,” He joked.
“Anakin,” Obi-Wan spat, reprimanding him. “I’m sorry for him. What can we do?”
“I need to climb down your balcony onto mine.”
A few moments of silence. Ahsoka was suddenly conscious of how she appeared, having both sets of eyes on her. She hadn’t bothered removing her apron from work before both going grocery shopping and heading inside. And recalling leaving her house keys off the ring. On her counter. In her apartment.
“Look, I have groceries sitting outside my door and I’m not going to let my milk get warm, so can I get a yes or no answer?”
“Absolutely,” Anakin answered enthusiastically, jumping up from the couch in a moment. “This is the most interesting thing to happen all week, let's go.”
Obi-Wan seemed hesitant, but didn’t object, only following the two of them to the balcony. “Okay,” Anakin began, opening the door and leading over the edge. “It’s not too bad of a drop, I can hold onto you while you climb so nothing terrible happens.”
Ahsoka leaned over to observe, finding that it should only be ten feet or so, and if she did it right she could probably jump. “Sounds good to me.”
Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “Are you quite sure that’s the better option than asking Mrs. Danvers to open your door?”
“ Yes ,” They both replied in unison, Ahsoka already climbing over the edge and Anakin holding onto her arms.
As she lowered, Ahsoka could focus only on Anakin’s hands holding her arms in a vice-like grip, instead of the rushing wind or the recollection that she was hovering somewhere between three and four stories. Before she thought too much, she added, “I think I can jump from here.”
“I wouldn’t,” Anakin warned. “I don’t want to take you to the hospital. Hang on, I’m going to grab you through the bars to get you farther.”
A breath in, out, and he was holding back onto her. Her toes brushed metal. “My feet can reach the railing,” She called. “I’m jumping!”
“Go for it!”
Before she could regret it, Ahsoka let go of his arms and she was tumbling down onto her balcony. “You okay?” A voice shouted as she got her bearings. Arms, legs, everything was moving and she only felt a bruise on her arm as she rose.
“I’m good!” She called back. “Thank you guys!”
“No problem!” Anakin answered, Obi-Wan copying. “Go find your key before witch lady raises your rent.”
She laughed as the door slid open. “Will do!”
The key back on her lanyard and her groceries put away, Ahsoka was finally able to go to bed sometime after midnight.
It wasn’t until a week later did she see them again, knocking on their door, this time not for such dire reasons.
“Hey, balcony lady,” Anakin answered.
Obi-Wan sighed somewhere behind him. “I swear, I live with a toddler.”
“Hey. I have my key this time,” Ahsoka joked, jingling her lanyard. “I wanted to invite you two for dinner on Saturday. As a thank you for actually being awake to save me.”
Anakin laughed, Obi-Wan joining them at the door. “That sounds lovely, Ahsoka,” He answered for them. “What time should we be there?”
“Six. I look forward to it.”
She left without another word, throwing a smirk over her shoulder. “I hope you like Italian!”
========
“ Where did you learn to cook like this?” Anakin asked, shoving another forkful of alfredo into his mouth. “It’s heavenly.”
Obi-Wan nodded, swallowing a bite of his own. “Neither of us can cook. This is the best meal we’ve had in far too long.” Ahsoka laughed along with them, seeing the grateful expressions on both their faces and reveling in the praise.
“My mom, mostly. I just enjoy it I guess. I haven’t had anyone to share it with in quite a while though so I’m glad we were able to do this.”
“Thank you, Ahsoka, for inviting us. It’s been amazing to get to know you.”
“And thank you guys for saving me from the landlady. She never had to find out,” She joked. “And for the wine.”
(The statement, Even though I can’t drink it, was left unsaid. She wasn’t quite sure how to tell them at first that she didn’t even have a bottle opener. Obi-Wan had asked for one, and she had to admit that she had just turned twenty a few months prior. “It’s better as it ages though,” She consoled. “We’ll just have to save it.”)
“We’ll have to do this again, since it seems neither of you really cook. I don’t get much company anyway.”
“I think you can tell by the sad state of our apartment that we don’t either,” Anakin butted in. Obi-Wan had that ‘you are such an idiot’ look on his face again, one Ahsoka had a feeling he’d become numb to.
“So,” She began, changing the subject. “You two are roommates?”
“Brothers, actually.” Anakin swallowed his last bite. “Adopted. I don’t know how I managed to convince Obi-Wan to let me live with him for any longer than we already did, but he just couldn’t get rid of me.”
“Believe me, I tried.”
Laughter echoed through her tiny dining room, a welcome sound since it’d been so long since her apartment had seen guests at all. The night continued smoothly, the two men sharing stories of their respective lives that merely merged at their home, branching off with jobs, school, and girlfriends. Both, apparently, the most beautiful women on the planet.
Before leaving, they both promised to be available for any impromptu breaking in of apartments, fire alarm mishaps, and couches to crash on for any unfortunate infestations that required a place to sleep.
She didn’t expect friends to come out of locking herself out of her apartment, but it was certainly a good situation now.
(They drank the wine on her twenty first birthday- piled in her apartment with a store bought cake and candles pulled from the back of a kitchen drawer. It wasn’t gourmet, of course, but it felt like home.)