Give Me Love

epilogue

You will be forgiven, Obi-Wan had said. And he was right. Although Anakin committed the ultimate betrayal, he came back– because of you. This forced the Council to reevaluate their views on attachment.

Love wasn't a bad thing. In fact, rejecting love made for a life of indifference and emptiness. Devoid of passion. And without those things, what made life worth fighting for?

It forced them all to admit each of their flaws as Jedi. They each had something they were attached to, but were too afraid to admit it. They cared for each other, their clones, the people spread far and wide across the galaxy. Others were in love, like Anakin, but never pursued it because of the consequences.

The Council was in the process of redrafting new Jedi scrolls currently, with Anakin and Obi-Wan helping. As Masters.

Both of them.

Anakin being promoted to Master while you were unconscious on drugs in the medbay was also on the growing list of things you were going to kick his ass for once you were strong enough. You can't believe you missed it.

Maybe you should start going through the list now. It was going to take a while to get through everything.

"Remember how you guys tried to kill each other," you mumbled again in the elevator of your apartment. You were growing sleepy, head lolling against Anakin's shoulder as both of their heads whipped to you. "'Didn't try to talk it out with each other or anything. Just immediately went for your sabers. Idiots."

"We did try to talk it out," Obi-Wan argued. "At least, I did."

"I listened, didn't I?"

"You could have kissed and made up long before you went darkside," you pointed out. "You said you would."

That morning when you convinced him to tell Obi-Wan he cared about him. Just in case he lost someone else... you weren't going to call it premonition. But your ass called it.

"You're right," Anakin relented. "I did say that."

If he just accepted you were right about the whole list, you might get through it faster than you anticipated. And you had a feeling he would.

You knew he felt guilty for it all. But really, you couldn't blame him. He was at wits end, and that was his last resort. You just wished he had told you before turning.

"Also, do you remember how–"

You busted their asses all the way up to your apartment, while they both cooked you dinner, and up until you knocked out cold. And they let you, taking it all in swing, admitting you were right. Because you were. They were kind of idiots, but before you fell asleep, you made sure to slur one last thing.

"--but I'm glad we're all here now. And I love you both. A lot."

A warm feeling on your lips, and Anakin kissed you off to sleep.

In the months after, you spent them training with Anakin in the temple, growing stronger everyday. You became pretty good at using the dagger he had gifted you, and he practiced alongside you with his new blue saber. Obi-Wan kept the green saber he found in the armory, abandoned by its Jedi master. He said it "called" to him, whatever that meant, and he thought it was his new good luck charm. Because it helped defeat Darth Sidious, and all.

Anakin stowed the double-sabers he had used back in their original box, for if Ahsoka ever came back.

She didn't come back.

There were scouts all over the galaxy reporting on her whereabouts everyday. You knew the vague galaxy she might be in. But Anakin never went after her.

"She'll come back if she wants to," he told you. "We can't force her to face the Jedi again after what they did."

The hole she left in your hearts hadn't filled yet. You didn't think they ever would. You wondered if she knew about Anakin going to the darkside, if she had felt the shift in the force, too, and if she ever thought to come back because of it. You were sure she had seen the news of the war ending, and how that came about. It was everywhere on the holonet, and in the papers. Everyone across all of the Rims were talking about it. The final battle in the Senate Galactic Chamber. Showstopping.

Heartstopping.

You also wished she knew how things were changing. You were sure she would love to be a Jedi again if she knew that their ways were being rethought, their values improving. There was no more war, so no more source of hypocrisy. They could be keepers of peace again, and prepare for what they would do in a future where that peace was threatened again.

She would be welcomed back with open arms, because she was not at fault.

The topic had been a source of many small arguments with Anakin. You wished you could just sent her a message, sent someone out there, anything to let her know. But he was right. She would face it all again when she was ready.

You knew she would come home someday. You just had to be content with the fact that she had someplace to come home to. That her family was still here and okay. Until then, it was just you and Anakin and Obi-Wan. And Artoo.

...And sometimes C3PO.

Your old friends moved off-planet, last you heard, except for Padme who was still in the Senate, but she stayed out of your way. Celesta was the last to go. You don't think it was because of you– you heard in passing, from news sources and headlines, that they had been sent here or there for their jobs. You're sure they would be back, but you didn't really care anymore. They were irrelevant. They had been for a long time. And you were immensely proud to say that thinking of them didn't burn a hole in your chest anymore like it used to.

You had finally healed.

You found the people who loved you, and who would be there for you through thick and thin. Through life and death. Through sickness and in health–

Anakin kept begging you to marry him already.

You told him you had only been together for a few months, and it was far too soon. He said he didn't care, and you said you thought having a wedding was embarrassing, and he said there didn't need to be one. Just a few close friends. And you said you would think about it, but secretly you knew you didn't want to have a wedding unless you knew Ahsoka would be there.

"Every morning can be like this," Anakin murmured as the waking light shone through the blinds of your apartment. You both had just returned from a mission to the Outer Rim to free the slaves there, just like he had always wanted, and agreed to sleep in.

"Every morning is already like this," you argued back, eyes still closed.

"But every morning can be like this, plus you can have my last name."

You couldn't even argue with that. It did sound nice.

"'Still too soon," you said. "Hasn't even been a year yet."

"So?"

"So, what if we hate each other in a couple of years? The honeymoon phase only lasts two."

"I will never hate you," he said all too seriously. Then, "will you hate me...?"

You smiled. "Of course not."

"Then marry me."

You were leaving again soon to go to Tatooine. The next destination on his slave-relief effort. He was leading the missions all over the galaxy, overseeing them from Coruscant. But Tatooine, he wanted to do himself.

"I have to meet your mother first," you told him. "It's only right."

He went very quiet at this. It was the first time either of you had brought up his mother in a long time. It had also been a very long time since he'd last visited her grave, you were aware. And you really did want to see her resting place. Anakin's old home. It was an important part of who he was.

You opened your eyes after a moment, afraid you overstepped. But when you saw his face, you realized you had said just the right thing. His face was completely melted, eyes soft and sad, and probing into your own.

"Deal," he whispered, and brought you in for a kiss that rivaled even the warmth of the sun's golden rays.