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

32.

This was all because of their moment in the hanger. Rather than try to work out what Sol and Anakin had between them, they had further complicated their situation. Sol knew that she would have kissed Anakin if R2 hadn't graciously warned them of Obi-wan's presence, and she liked to think that Anakin would have kissed her back without the interruption. But because the kiss didn't happen, there was now a new question to their situation; would the kiss have made Anakin finally tell Sol why he has not expressed his feelings to her since Geonosis?

---

Seated in one of the four passenger seats of the cockpit, Sol sat waiting for take-off. Obi-wan was making some final checks in the hull and the clones were ready to depart the Jedi Temple. Sol hoped that Obi-wan would arrive in the cockpit first and take the driver's seat, meaning that Anakin would have to sit in one of the two seats behind them. But Sol wasn't known for her luck in these instances, and Anakin was the next one to arrive and took the driver's seat.

'That was cute, you know?'

With raised eyebrows, Sol looked to Anakin who was flipping switches and pressing buttons with both hands. He didn't turn to her as he powered up the ship and Sol felt a thump in her chest at the extra weight of anxiety. With one foot propped up on her seat, Sol stared at Anakin with a look that begged for some relief from the embarrassment she hadn't stopped feeling since the hanger.

'What?' was all she could manage. This made Anakin turn his head to her, his blue eyes piercing through Sol unintentionally. She expected him to hold a face of tease with the classic Skywalker smirk and raised eyebrows, but she was surprised to see a soft look. His lips held a close-lipped smile, and he looked as if he was comforting her; like he was aware of her anxiety.

'Your little moment out there in front of Rex,' Anakin elaborated with a motion of his head to the outside of the ship. 'It was cute. I've never seen your eyes turn to that dark of a purple before.'

'I-I didn't have a moment. I just forgot what I was going to tell you-'

'Don't worry, Solaris. I'm not making fun of you, this time,' his voice was low and gentle, making Sol want to melt into a puddle. 'I know that we nearly kissed in the hanger and it's messing with me, too. But I'll make sure to set up my tent next to yours when we land, so don't destroy that pretty head of yours.'

'Are we ready?' Obi-wan said, making their heads whip to the man who sat himself behind Sol.

'When your strapped in, we're all set.'

Obi-wan put on his seatbelt and Sol shakily went to do the same. Her hands trembled as they secured the latch while Anakin pulled the ship off the landing pad and sent them into the sky. With his eyes out the windshield that was graced with the sight of stars in the black of space, Sol sat in a ball of mush in the passenger seat.

In one sentence, Sol had gotten more out of Anakin than she had ever done. Without even one joke, Anakin had acknowledged their potential kiss, mentioned the colour of her eyes, their advantageous tent placement, and had called her head 'pretty'. Sol spent almost a whole year confused at what Anakin felt and wondered if he really despised her as much as he portrayed, to be told all these things in the cockpit of a carrier ship.

'Force, I hope this isn't some long winded joke of yours, Ani,' Sol thought, looking in her peripheral at the man who was about to put the ship into hyperspace. A lopsided smile etched into his face, and he made sure that Obi-wan occupied with a hologram of Ahch-To before he said through the Force,

'I'll just have to keep you guessing, then, won't I?'

---

Since they would be arriving at night in Coruscant time at their destination, Sol thought it was a good idea to have a small nap. The ship was larger than the one they had taken to Scariff, so there were quarters for everyone to rest. She instructed R2 to wake her in an hour and a half and the droid stationed himself in the corner of the room, which was small with only a cot as its only furniture. With the lights dimmed, Sol was able to slip into sleep within minutes.

In the cockpit, Obi-wan and Anakin sat in the white noise of space. Stars and planets whizzed past them in hyperspace, lighting the Jedis' faces with rushes of pink, blue, green and red. Anakin observed a screen on the controls that showed the terrain they should be expecting on landing and Obi-wan was looking through the limited archives the Order had on the planet.

'I'm not sure what interest the separatists have with Ahch-To,' Obi-wan pondered aloud. 'I can't imagine it has to do with the ancient temple. If they are being led by Dooku, then I don't see why this planet, of all of them in the galaxy, is one to have in their sight.'

'Maybe it's where they thought we'd least expect them to be. Afterall, it was only from the Quarrens that we know about this move, right?' Anakin asked as he looked over his shoulder at his ex-Master.

'I suppose...'

---

'Master... there is a great fear I carry...'

'What is it? Are you ill?'

'Yes, but not with a cold or an illness. I fear... that I have made a terrible mistake.'

'Is it about the battle on Alderaan? Have you hurt yourself?'

'No, Master... I... I'm with child.'

---

The white noise continued but an ache in the Force echoed throughout the ship. Anakin and Obi-wan paused in their acts and turned to each other. With the same parted lips and furrowed brow, the two Jedi stood from their seats and rushed out the cockpit.

Despite Obi-wan being the first one to make it into the hallway, Anakin was in the lead as they ran to the quarters of the ship. His expression was one of focus and panic, his legs making their own way to the origins of the trembles in the Force. He didn't have to look into the spiritual realm to know that it was something to do with Sol, who had told him and Obi-wan that she would retire for a few hours.

At the slam of Anakin's hand against the button, the sliding door opened and the two rushed in without losing their speed in their pursuit. In the dimness of the room, Anakin and Obi-wan paused as they were blocked from seeing Sol on the quarters' cot. A figure that was sheer with a light blue haze stood beside Sol in the slim walkway of the room. At the sight, Anakin ignited his lightsaber that he had pulled from his belt during their sprint down the hallway. Its blue light filled the small room, and the figure turned its head from where it faced Sol, who was still in a coma-like sleep.

At their entrance, the figure faded, but not before Obi-wan was able to see black hair that was tied in a low ponytail with beads encasing two strips of hair on either side of the figure's face.

R2 beeped and the lights brightened, making Sol stir and sit up abruptly. She stared at the Jedi who stood in her quarters, the three barely fitting with the accompaniment of R2 in the corner. Eyeing Anakin's ignited weapon, Sol looked between the two who shared a look of bewilderment.

'What is it?' Sol asked through her confusion and haziness from her short sleep. Anakin opened his mouth but couldn't find the answer within explainable reasoning . He glanced at Obi-wan, who blinked at the space where they had seen the apparition, before looking to Sol who was beginning to look fearful.

Obi-wan's beard moved as his mouth opened, before the man said,

'I think you were just visited by a Force ghost.'