The Senator And The Jedi

Chapter Twenty: Growing Closer But Further Apart

The Togruta Jedi Padawan had been keeping mostly to herself the past couple of days – he assumed meditating or using some other Jedi technique to pass the time. Either way, he hadn't seen much of her except during mealtimes. But even then, her presence wasn't a guarantee.

Annina suddenly pulled away, bringing him back to the present.

"That was... sudden," Lux admitted when they parted.

She fixated him with a green gaze, tucking a golden blonde ringlet back behind her bejeweled maroon headband. "When I said I wanted to get to know you, I meant it, Lux." she told him. "I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you..."

"Me neither." He leant in again, and, tilting Annina's face up to his, he kissed her again gently.

But hardly a moment later, he heard footsteps. He pulled away the second he recognized them, turning quickly to face the person who had stopped in front of them.

It was Ahsoka. And she was as lovely as ever, but Lux had never seen her look so cold or detached.

"Annina," she said, her tone icy, "Padme is going dress shopping for the ball in a few days. She wants to know if you'd like to come."

"Thank you, but I already have something," Annina said.

"Fine." Then, without so much as a glance in his direction, Ahsoka left.

If Lux had been anyone else, he would have thought she was oblivious to Ahsoka's taciturnity. But to the trained eye, she was very carefully pretending not to notice; giving her no reaction that could be used to compromise her.

Annina, he suddenly realized, was a very good liar. And there was something about people who bluffed freely out of the political arena that made him want to stay away.

"I just remembered, I have a few things to go over before I meet with the Queen tomorrow," Lux said, which wasn't a total lie. "If you'll excuse me..."

She smiled, but the more he looked at it, the more there seemed to be something off about it. "Of course. See you later, Lux."

Then, absorbed in his own thoughts, he left.

Ahsoka

"Do I have to come?" Ahsoka whined as she and Padme were boarding a small boat that would take them back into Theed.

"Yes," Padme insisted. "I already have a gown waiting for me at the dressmaker's, but we need to find something for you, too. It's a costume party, and Jedi or no, you won't go without being properly dressed for the occasion."

Ahsoka huffed, sitting back in her chair.

Padme shot her a look. "What's going on with you? You haven't been the same since..." She paused, choosing her next words carefully. "Since what you told me on the balcony."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"No, but maybe you need to talk about it."

Ahsoka said nothing. The Senator and her Master each knowing a part of what was going was already too much between them. And now that Annina had gotten involved, she wanted to talk about the whole matter even less.

Ahsoka's head hurt. She'd made it clear to him that herself and him couldn't work together as anything more than a Jedi and a Senator, and had been accepting of the fact that she was cutting him free. But even so, seeing him with Annina so soon after the fact...

It sort of made her want to hit something and cry at the same time.

"Can we bring Anakin?" she inquired finally in a bored tone. "If someone of the opposite gender isn't there you take hours to shop."

Padme's eyes widened. "You know about him? How?"

"I figured it out eventually. He couldn't shield himself from me forever."

The Senator was quiet for a moment, trying to absorb the sudden revelation. "You know what my answer will be, Ahsoka. We can't compromise him."

Ahsoka nodded, leaning back in her seat as the motor on the boat purred to life and started off towards the capital. But despite the tediousness of the task ahead – finding a dress that they could both agree on – with all that had happened, maybe a change of scenery was what Ahsoka needed.

*HOLY CRAP I FEEL SO BAD IT'S BEEN WAY TOO LONG SINCE I UPDATED THIS I'M SO SORRY

REALLY I AM D:

FIVE MONTHS IS SOMETHING YOU REALLY DON'T DESERVE

Well, here's your chapter, ahsokatanoxx. I hope all of you people liked it though... Nope, no real Luxsoka moments in this chapter, but those are definitely coming up...

*cough cough* THE BALL *cough cough*

Ahsoka is really starting to wonder what to do about the whole Lux situation. She has feelings for him, but, determined to uphold the Jedi Code, Ahsoka told him that anything other than a professional relationship between them couldn't work. And, while he doesn't really want to believe that, Lux is willing to let her go her own way. 

But it's quite possible that coming events will pull the back together, in ways they don't at all expect... We'll just have to wait and see...

I'll do my best to update soon... The end of the fanfic is near, my friends, and it will be a spectacular end indeed...

Bye! :D

PS: ROGUE ONE STAR WARS REBELS AHSOKA NOVEL THRAWN NOVEL SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO STAR WARS STAR WARS STAAAAARRRR WARRRRRSSSSSSSSSS (That was what was going through my brain when I woke up this morning. Huh.)