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Something shattered downstairs.
That was normal.
It might just be Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Artoo in their little one story house, but the two men and Anakin’s dog weren’t exactly the quietest people out there. Anakin was clumsy and always tripping over anything on the floor—usually left by him—oftentimes causing him to knock things off whatever surface was nearby. Artoo added to the chaos, forever tearing up cushions and chewing on the table legs, sometimes trying to get onto the table to eat whatever meal was left there. Even Obi-Wan was a disaster. Anakin couldn’t count on two hands the number of times Obi-Wan had broken a mug because he had been trying to carry too many things at once.
It was not, however, normal for something to shatter downstairs at two in the morning when Obi-Wan was out of town for work and the other two occupants were asleep in Anakin’s room.
Anakin was no longer asleep, however, having startled from the noise and now tangled up in his bedsheets on the floor. Artoo was barking frantically and Anakin stared as his dog pressed his paw down on the door handle and sprinted out into the hallway.
He regretted teaching Artoo how to do that.
He scrambled to his feet and glanced around, grabbing his phone and typing in 911 before his gaze fell on his sword, hanging on his wall. It wouldn’t exactly do to call 911 immediately, maybe Obi-Wan had just got home really early?
Except Obi-Wan wouldn’t do that without texting him, and his only unread text message was a photo from Aayla in the groupchat. She was on vacation and in a completely different time zone, so it was normal for her texts to come at weird times.
He grabbed his sword and held it out in front of him as he slipped out the door. Artoo’s barkings had died down which made something cold clutch at his heart. If some robber had hurt his dog he was fully prepared to murder the shit out of them.
He paused at the edge of the kitchen.
The crash had come from there.
He loosened his grip on his sword, letting out a soft exhale before lunging forward and flicking the lightswitch on. The lights momentarily blinded him but he held out his sword in a defensive position, hoping that the robber would be momentarily blinded as well and then would be terrified of a random nineteen year old brandishing a sword at them.
The bright spots faded from his vision and he blinked in confusion.
“Ahsoka?”
The fourteen year old looked like hell.
She was standing in the center of the kitchen, a broken glass on the counter—that must have been the crash—and Artoo was sitting at her feet, wagging his tail excitedly. She was absolutely soaked in water and he realized it was raining. He hadn’t even noticed. Her braids weren’t styled in their usual twin pigtails, her clothes were jeans, a hoodie, and flip-flops, and her eyes were red and puffy as if she’d been crying, her mascara running, whether from the rain or tears he didn’t know.
“Hi.”
She said, giving him a weak attempt at a smile.
He didn’t…he wasn’t entirely sure what to do. Sure, he kind of mentored Ahsoka during classes and the two of them loved messing with Rex, but it wasn’t like they had ever hung out outside of the HEMA gym. He didn’t even know how she knew his address.
“I broke in.” She blurted out, avoiding his eyes by looking down at Artoo and rubbing his ears. “Uh, well, your key was under the mat.”
He had told Obi-Wan it should be hidden somewhere else, but his older brother hadn’t listened to him.
“Okay.”
He said, watching as she looked guiltily over at the glass.
“Sorry I broke—”
“It’s fine.”
They stood in awkward silence.
Yeah, she had definitely been crying.
“Wanna watch a movie?”
He finally said, jerking his head towards the living room. She nodded silently and he led the way, flicking more of the lights on and grabbing the remote. He pulled up The Princess Bride—she had mentioned that movie was one of the reasons she started sword fighting—and Ahsoka plopped down onto the floor, Artoo automatically trying to lick her face.
“You can sit on the couch.”
He said but she shook her head, gesturing to how she was already starting to drip a puddle on the floor.
“Okay.”
He said.
She was still silent.
Weird.
He left the living room and hurried back to his bedroom, digging through his closet. There was a chance he had some of Padme’s clothes from the last time she had spent the night there, but Ahsoka was a little taller than his girlfriend and Padme’s style was…a lot more extravagant than Ahsoka’s.
He ended up just grabbing an old pair of his pajamas from when he was younger, plain old pants with red polka dots and an oversized AC/DC t-shirt. He also grabbed a towel from the closet, figuring that she’d want to dry herself off from the rain.
Had she walked all the way here?
Where did she even live?
He opened his phone and searched through his contacts, trying to figure out who would be awake at two in the morning.
Or who wouldn’t kill him for waking them up at two in the morning.
flyguy: sos
flyguy: SOS
bluedinosaur: what the hell man
flyguy: do you have any idea why ahsoka would just show up at my house
flyguy: and by show up i mean steal the key from under the mat and enter
flyguy: also i think she walked here???
bluedinosaur: what
bluedinosaur: is she okay????
flyguy: I DUNNO
flyguy: shes barely said anything
flyguy: i turned the princess bride on and shes sitting in the living room with r2
bluedinosaur: i have no idea
flyguy: i wasnt at the gym today
flyguy: was she normal??
bluedinosaur: yea
bluedinosaur: she and barriss were obnoxiously in love as always, she and fives attempted to prank me, she acted like an angel around master koon instead of the little shit she actually is
flyguy: so nothing weird
bluedinosaur: nope
flyguy: damn
bluedinosaur: i can’t sneak out cody would kill me
bluedinosaur: ill come over in the morning
bluedinosaur: if shes still there??
flyguy: okay
flyguy: ill keep you updated
flyguy: i wish obiwan was home
bluedinosaur: shit yeah master kenobi’s still gone isnt he
flyguy: yeah
flyguy: okay ill figure this out ttyl
flyguy: gnight
bluedinosaur: I want updates
bluedinosaur: night
Anakin pocketed his phone and entered the living room again. The movie was now on the kidnapping scene and he couldn’t help but grin at the antics of Inigo, Vizzini, and Fezzik. Ahsoka was still sitting in the exact same position, absentmindedly petting Artoo.
“Here.”
She looked up as he dropped the clothes and towel next to her.
“Bathroom’s down there, go change.”
He paused the movie and she got to her feet, disappearing down the hall silently. Artoo whined at his feet and he sighed, stepping over his dog and into the kitchen. He made two cups of hot chocolate in the time it took for her to change, managing to sit down on the couch and place the cups on the coffee table right as she emerged from the darkness of the hall.
His old clothes were absolutely gigantic on her.
She placed her wet clothes in a pile on the floor next to the backdoor and plopped down onto the opposite side of the couch. Her phone was clutched in her hands and she cast a suspicious gaze towards the steaming mugs.
“It’s hot cocoa.”
He said but she just sighed and buried into the couch, staring at the tv screen as if she wasn’t really looking at it. They watched another ten minutes of the movie before she finally put her phone down and picked up the mug.
He could see her phone screen.
She had fifty-seven unread texts.
Artoo fell asleep after another ten minutes of the movie, his snores adding an odd vibe to the already comedic movie. Ahsoka mouthed along to some of the words and Anakin grinned, reminded of watching this movie over and over again when he was little.
After half an hour she had slumped over, leaning against him and yawning every few minutes. He was starting to get tired himself. He was used to staying up late and waking up at weird hours, he didn’t exactly have the greatest sleep schedule and he had used to sneak out to see Padme at all hours of the night, but apparently this was making him tired.
Maybe it was emotional exhaustion?
Ahsoka’s phone buzzed again and he glanced down at it.
She whacked the off button and kicked her phone across the room.
“Are…are you okay?”
He questioned and she sniffed, wiping at her face.
“No.” She said and he sighed, grabbing the nearest blanket and wrapping it around her shoulders. She looked up at him with a hopeless expression on her face and he raised his eyebrows, hoping that she would trust him enough to tell him what was going on.
“They found out.”
Ah.
He pulled her into a tight hug and she buried her face into his shoulder.
He didn’t comment when her shoulders shook with tears.
It was common knowledge at the gym that Ahsoka’s parents were homophobic and not aware that their daughter was pansexual and had been dating Barriss for almost a year.
Pieces of shit.
Ahsoka’s tears subsided after five minutes and she resumed watching the movie, still curled against his side, the blanket bunched up around her shoulders. He hugged her close to him as Artoo slept by their side.
“It’ll be okay.”
He said as the movie passed the half-way point.
“Will it?”
She questioned and he shrugged.
“I dunno.”
“You’re no help.”
She said, a little laugh in her voice.
Another fifteen minutes and her breathing had evened out and she was fully slumped against his side. He sighed, glancing down at her to see that she was fast asleep. He paused the movie and nudged Artoo, waking the dog up and convincing him to move off the couch.
He maneuvered his way off the couch without disturbing Ahsoka and put their mugs of cold cocoa away. He’d have to do the dishes in the morning—okay, he’d forget about them in the morning and they’d go unwashed for days before Obi-Wan got back. He flicked the rest of the spare lights off and re-locked the front door.
He picked Ahsoka up off the couch, making sure to leave her bundled up in the blanket. She curled up against him like she was a child.
He supposed she was.
Just fourteen years old.
He walked to the spare room and nudged the door open with his foot, thankful that Obi-Wan always kept the room ready for guests. He managed to yank the covers back with one hand before placing Ahsoka on the bed. She sprawled out almost like a starfish and almost immediately started to drool against the pillow.
He suppressed a laugh and pulled the covers over her, Artoo jumping up onto the bed and curling up by her feet.
“Oh, you’re gonna abandon me?”
He whispered in mock-hurt at the dog, who just wagged his tail.
Ahsoka finally looked peaceful, lying there.
He smiled down at her.
Was this what Obi-Wan had felt like, tucking him into bed when he was just a little boy?
Something full of warmth and protection blooming in his chest?
He leaned down and kissed Ahsoka’s forehead just like Obi-Wan had used to kiss his.
“Goodnight, Snips.”
He whispered, moving to exit the room.
“Night, Skyguy.”
He smiled as he flicked out the light.