Promise - Anakin Skywalker

.24

Ella heart literally stopped and skipped several beats. She felt Ella and Barriss freeze on either side of her, their eyes wide and locked on Anakin. Her stomach sunk, while Anakin seemed unphased.

"Right!" Ella managed to choke out, "totally."

Changing the subject as if it were nothing, Anakin spoke once more. "Obi Wan offered to have you tag along with him and Grant today, it'd teach you negotiation. I told them I already had stuffed planned with you," he said making Ella cringe at the thought of spending the day with them. "You're welcome."

"You have stuff planned?" She asked, a tad scared about what he was thinking. This had to be good.

"Flying lessons," he exclaimed proudly, holding his chin up with a smile and straightening his posture. "I'm not sure if this is going to make you even more reckless or not, but it's important in the long run."

"Flying lessons," Ella repeated in disbelief, "so I can, like, fly on my own?"

"I'm not going to be able to fly you around forever, El," he said.

"I think we'll leave you two alone," Ahsoka smirked as she and Barriss stood up at the same time as if they'd been discussing their exit this entire time. They probably had been.

"How nice of you," Ella said sarcastically as they slid out the door. She groaned and fell back into her empty bed. Ella shut her eyes and pretended to sleep. "We just got done destroying the Malevolence, do Jedi ever get breaks?"

Anakin smiled and shook his head as he looked down at her. She opened one eye and looked up at him, wondering if he'd respond. He started to laugh.

And she watched him. Watched the way his eyes lit up, the way he cracked a rare wide smile, the way he looked at her when she said something funny. She realized that she loved the way he laughed and just as quickly that she could never, ever admit it.

She couldn't help but notice the way his shoulders bounced with the rhythm of his stifled laughs, the dimples at the corners of his mouth, the slight tilt of his head, and the glow in his eyes when she made him laugh.

Still chuckling, he grabbed Ella's hand and tugged her up. "Get up, Padawan," he smiled, "we're going flying." 

As they walked through the vast corridors of the Jedi Temple, Ella kept noticing Ahsoka and Barriss hiding in various places. Each time she and Anakin would pass the two girls, they would be smirking and giggling. Ella would shoot them a teasing glare, and then look up at Anakin innocently with wide eyes if he looked down to see what the commotion was about.

She followed him all the way to Hangar 4- the restricted one at the very end of the hall. Ships sped in and out of the runway tunnel which was surrounded by glass so people could watch. During her free time the first week she was at the Temple, she'd come down and watch the ships, intrigued by their power and speed. Now a starship gliding down a runway was an ordinary sight she almost ignored.

"Isn't this one restricted?" Ella asked as Anakin stopped them at the metal door that towered above them.

"When have you cared about restrictions Miss I-Was-Going-To-Steal-My-Master's-Freighter?" Anakin asked as he scanned the door's perimeter for the lock pad.