Imagine the Star Wars [The Rewrites]

sanctuary. [anakin x reader]

You leave the Council chamber on shaking limbs that tremble like they have no bones to hold them up. And Anakin... poor Anakin has been waiting for you outside the door the entire time you've been inside. And you've been inside from the afternoon until the sunset when everything was dark. He's felt your anxiety from the other side of the door all the while, and still, he's waited for you.

The doors slide open, and there sits your husband with his head bowed as if in prayer and his knees twitching up and down like he can't keep them still. The minute you walk through, he lifts his head and springs up to meet you. "What did they say?" he asks, his voice quiet but desperate. "Tell me everything."

You grip Anakin's shoulder to comfort him and to keep yourself standing. The shock of everything that just happened is still rippling through your system. "Not—Not here, Ani," you breathe out, squeezing his shoulder gently. "I'll explain in a moment. I want to sit down."

With a nod and a careful hand on the small of your back, he guides you through the fog to his quarters. There, you collapse on the cot, doubled over with your head buried in your hands as you just try to breathe. Anakin's hand moves smoothly up your spine to push soothing fingers gently onto the back of your neck. But though he doesn't verbally press the issue, you can sense how anxious he is to know.

Since you were summoned to appear before the council, the fear that your marriage had somehow been discovered has loomed over both of you. He deserves to know the truth about what's happened.

Eventually, you lift your head and clasp your hands together in front of you. Deep breath. "They don't know," you tell him.

He says nothing, but his shoulders visibly relax as he exhales through his nose. With a nod, he urges you to continue.

Another deep breath. You're not sure how to say the next part. It's so... so ridiculous. Yet, at the same time, it's so dangerous to your way of life. "They promoted me," you continue, breathing it all out at once.

Anakin's brows furrow. "What?"

"They made me a Master," you say. "I'm a Jedi Master, now." Repetition is doing nothing to cement the fact. The idea of you as a Master is floating in a vacuum, unable to take root.

With your own words echoing in your mind, you don't even realize that Anakin is calling your name until he grabs your hand and says it once more, pointed but gentle. "That's wonderful," he says. "This means that they've finally recognized your potential."

"What it means," you counter, sitting up straight, "is that the council has made a terrible mistake."

"How is that possible?" Anakin questions, lifting his chin. There's a wave of righteous anger buried under his voice. "You're a great Jedi. One of the greatest there is."

"I'm a good warrior," you allow. "But I am not a good Jedi."

His grip on your hand tightens."Don't say that."

You shake your head. "What am I supposed to say, then?" you question. "I've broken one of the most fundamental rules of the order. We're married, Ani. I don't just have an attachment; I have one that runs deeper than anything else I've felt. I keep on breaking that rule and breaking it and breaking it every day, and I have no intention of ever stopping."

"So do I," Anakin reminds you. "Listen to me. You will be a good Master because you were meant to be a Master. The fact that the council recognizes that despite everything we've done—everything we do—doesn't mean that they've made a mistake. If anything, it shows that the code needs changing, and you have the power now to make changes in the order."

His logic is not solid, but he believes it sincerely. You can tell that much from the fierce look in his eye. He dares the world to challenge him with that look. As for you, you don't have the heart to challenge him anymore. So, you squeeze his hand twice before lifting yours to brush his hair back from his face. "I'm one person, Ani. I can't change the entire code..." you say softly.