I called her "Snips"

Darker

Anakin Skywalker was ready. But even though nobody realized it- his thoughts and the way he was began to turn darker. One of his gems rusted. The shiniest one gave him light. Three of his gems were gone. So with the shiniest one, he put it in a safe and made sure that nothing would make It rust. And that gem was shinier than any new clone. It was Padme Amidala. And so Anakin Skywalker opened the safe. But then- when a spot appeared, he put it back in, and never opened it. But then someone stole it, put it back, and It began to rust.

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Anakin was with Rex and Fives, who we're talking about something he couldn't hear. He was studying holo-maps- one thing Ahsoka always did. She wrote the reports, made sure that When Anakin didn't eat or sleep that he did those things. He remembered on Geonosis, the small quarrel that they had gotten in. "This is another fine mess you've gotten us into." "You were supposed to study the holo-maps!" "I did! Remember, when I told you about the big giant wall, and you said: "Don't worry snips, we won't be anywhere near that!" The quotes recited in his head, But now all of that help was gone, and his eating and sleeping problems were worse. Obi Wan wanted him to see a doctor. He forgot. The stress of the war had become worse. He was still a poster boy. He was still famous. He had his personal life, which he barely got to attend to. Guilt whispered into his ear that it was because he wasn't grateful. 

He wasn't grateful for the life that he had. But people thought his life was so cool and amazing. They thought we grew up in a nice place. Yeah, Tatooine was definitely a five-star hotel. You got everything you wanted and everything you desired. But that's not how it was. He was beat with light whips and Sci-staffs. He was scarred on his back until the guards were pleased. But reality was reality.

The only thing that was lifted off his shoulders when Ahsoka left was her using a tactical droid to find him. She had almost found him at Padme's and had previously found him at abandoned buildings. She never told Obi-Wan how to find him though, which was helpful, because he knew Obi Wan had better chances at catching him than Ahsoka. 

But he always came back to reality. He wished tons of things were dreams- but they weren't.  "Hey General, we are going to meet General Cruwan. He's going to be giving us weapons upgrades!" Said Fives, looking really excited. "But the problem is... they are customized." "By who?" He said in reply, hoping the weapon shortage didn't get worse. "Dunno. Think its General Cruwan's Padawan or something." "Thanks Fives, I'll contact Cruwan now." 

He contacted Cruwan, to find a clone picking up. On the Jedi channel. The clone had its helmet off, and it looked like it wasn't working whatsoever. "Oh- um, General Skywalker, nice to see you." The clone then shouted a name, "LEAP!" And another clone with green and black armor appeared. Another clone came too, this one had a deformed helmet with green and red armor. The clone with the deformed clone spoke. "General Skywalker, General Cruwan is currently unavailable. But Commander Quinlay is, and she would like to speak with you." 

Commander Quinlay was a teenage girl with a pony-tail and standard Jedi robes. She had an unreadable expression on her face, yet it wasn't plain. She didn't stare at him like most people did, instead she just had her arms crossed until she started speaking. "Skywalker, you want my weapons for your men, correct?" He replied with: "Uh- Yeah. My men want your weapons because they feel that it is better than the republic-class weapons." She shot back an answer immediately. "Skywalker, I cannot give you new rifles, pistols or standard blasters. Or even hand-grenades. They requested accessories for those items." "Well then, we don't have much to discuss-" "Actually, Skywalker, we have everything to discuss." He took a moment to reply, because she would just shoot back with another answer if he didn't pause and wait. "I- I'll meet you and Master Cruwan soon, then?" And with a final reply, "It's settled, then", he hung up.

Anakin Skywalker looked at Fives and said; "You sure about this?" Fives nodded his head and said; "General, I'm sure." And Fives and the other men in the room walked off to go to the barracks. He, however, got on his speeder and went home. That was the upside. On the downside, Padme would not be there until another hour. 

He parked the speeder in the garage and went up the steps in the 500 Republic. He opened one door and walked throughout the room, entering another until he reached the bedroom. He opened the door and walked inside. He sat and waited for an hour. He heard footsteps, and he smiled. Maybe it wasn't the best time to surprise his wife, but he was going to anyways. He stood right next to the door, and he heard a swish, sensing his wife. He pulled her into an embrace  and sealed her lips with his. 

The kiss was the best part of both of their days because they hadn't seen each other in a week. Sure, they had gone months without each other, but even after a week, it felt like months. Every month it felt like years. And the 10 years felt like an eternity. 

They broke apart, and she whispered "Ani...", and he whispered back; "Hey..."

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And that night, the rust cleared off until it started to rust again. It rusted when he possesed the gem. It shone when they were equals. 

The gem eventually broke, leaving him in the night.

His actions haunted him, Anakin Skywalker, The Chosen One, The Hero With No Fear, for the rest of his life behind the mask.

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Word Count: Just over 1000

A/N: The intro and outro is an explaination of what happened. Ahsoka was a gem that rusted once she left. His mother was also a gem that rusted. Padme as a gem began to rust as his thoughts and actions became darker. This chapter just showed he was ready to move on. 

But he could never move on truly.