Accismus⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.• Anakin Skywalker⋆౨ৎ˚⟡.•

31.

'I-I'm close to the chancellor. He's been there for me since I was a boy,' Anakin admitted with his gaze shifting around the hanger. 'He told me about the separatist bases and about how he's concerned. The Council doesn't like that I talk to him as much as I do, but I don't care. The chancellor is different from Jedi. He has more of a ... realistic view on things.'

'I'm not opposed to you being friends with the chancellor, Ani. That's your choice,' Sol said, and Anakin's tense shoulders sagged, relieved to not be judged. 'But I can see why the Council don't like your friendship with him.'

Sol left the subject at that, and Anakin was grateful for this. He rolled back underneath the ship and Sol heard the ignition of his lightsaber. The hum of its searing blade slicing through something was heard before the blade was sheathed. The curiosity got the better of Sol and she slid off the wing and dropped to the ground next to Anakin's legs. Her boots let out a soft thud and she dropped onto one knee. While R2 whistled from behind her, Sol lowered her head to look underneath the starfighter to see what he had needed his weapon for.

What Sol didn't account for, was the sudden roll of the creeper as Anakin pushed himself out from underneath the ship. Before she could jump to stand, Anakin's face stopped to be inches from hers. The only difference was that Anakin was reclined on his back, allowing Sol to be the one hovering over him, when he was usually the taller one. Sol was speechless as she saw the harsh blue eyes that stared back at her, and the raised blonde eyebrows at the sudden closeness, was all that Sol could process.

Anakin didn't move an inch and would usually struggle to keep his head up in the awkward position, but he didn't seem to notice the strain in his neck. Sol was a breath away and she wasn't moving. The hanger was quiet, and the faint sounds of mechanic droids became a whisper. It would be the perfect, secluded opportunity to act. No Jedi were around, and they were ducked behind the starfighter from any droids that happened to wander by.

Lips were close and Sol could feel their Force signatures flaring. She was drawn to Anakin, as if the Force was pulling her downwards. Her lips parted and she noticed Anakin's do the same, making it even harder to pull herself out of the moment. They were closer and getting closer, and Sol could smell the sweet scent that he always carried. Sol's judgement was dulled, and she didn't hear her Jedi mind that told her to stop. There was only Anakin and his lips.

A whistle pitched in their ears and Sol jumped backwards. Anakin shot up from his laying position and had to stop the creeper from rolling him back into the belly of his starfighter. His legs flew up to regain his balance, while Sol fell onto her backside with her palms on the floor behind her. The two met eyes; now out of their trance and their hearts racing, before they looked to the culprit of the whistle.

R2 had moved to be in the space between Anakin and Sol, the droid having moved from his original place in a matter of seconds while the Jedi were preoccupied. His whistle had left a ring in their ears, and they were about to scold the droid before they heard in pursuit footsteps from behind the ship. Sol and Anakin mutually thought to get to their feet as the footsteps moved around the ship and in their direction. R2 backed away as the two stood beside each other, turning just in time to see Master Obi-wan appear.

'There you two are. I've been looking for you everywhere,' he said, his hands on his hips and his tone seeming oblivious to what he had interrupted. Anakin and Sol's cheeks had flushed a light pink and R2 stayed silent beside them as they tried to keep themselves together.

'Sounds like we've got a mission together. We're going to Ahch-To,' Obi-wan cheered. 'It'll be a bit of a history lesson for us all. Did you know that it's said that Ahch-To was where the first Jedi Order was? How exciting.'

Neither could find their words to reply to Obi-wan. Anakin attempted to at least acknowledge the man, but was too flustered to be able to form a sentence. Slurs tumbled out of his mouth, and his attempt drifted off into nothing, making the Jedi Master look at the young man with creased eyebrows. Sol wanted to groan and R2 let out a beep, making Obi-wan's eyes flicker to the droid before returning to the two Jedi Knights.

'Are you two alright?' he asked in concern. 'Is there something wrong with your ship, Anakin?'

'N-No... we were just... talking,' Anakin was able to gather a sentence together, but it wasn't enough to throw Obi-wan off their trail.

'About what?'

'About Padme,' Sol jumped in, feigning a happy attitude and tone. 'I went to see her yesterday and we were laughing at something she said. You know some of the things that come out of that senator's mouth.'

'I see...' Obi-wan narrowed his eyes for a moment and looked between Sol and Anakin, before his suspicions dropped and he clapped his hands together. 'Well, anyway, we'll be leaving this afternoon. I think we'll take Captain Rex's team, don't you think, Anakin?'

'Yes... of course.'

'Right. I'll be off then. Hello, Artoo.'

The droid whistled and Obi-wan turned to leave. Anakin and Sol leaned to the right in synchrony to make sure he was out of hearing distance before their stiff postures slacked with loud sighs. Their heartrates slowed and they looked to each other, knowing that their situation was now even more complicated, but the rush of the exciting events was enough for them to ignore that for the time being.

'Thanks, Artoo,' Anakin said through his sighs to regain his stature. The tone that he was going to have with R2 changed from irritated to thankful in minutes, as Obi-wan could have seen the way Sol and Anakin were inches away from kissing with the droid's interuption.

Sol followed suit and turned to the droid who had made them aware of Obi-wan's impending presence. Although she was flustered and struggled to look at Anakin as he packed away his toolbox, she nodded her head at R2 and said,

'Yes, thank you, Artoo.'