「 star-crossed ⭒ anakin skywalker 」

chapter eight

A/N: omg thank you for 1k reads!! i never thought people would actually read this hahah. anyway i'm finally updating this after like 2 weeks, sorry about that lol

—

Anakin's POV:

The silence was torture. Only our rapid footsteps echoed through the halls.

I don't even know what I expected her to say, or why I'm surprised she backed away. I don't even know what I should say.

Thankfully, she spoke first.
"You never told me why you and Obi-Wan changed the plan... and didn't tell me."

I knew she'd be mad about that. Honestly though, if I were her I wouldn't be too happy either. I mean, when I was a padawan, being told what to do wasn't exactly my favorite thing— not that I ever listened anyway.

"Vienna, we had to convince you to get out of there. You wouldn't have come otherwise."
She scoffed. "Not true."

"Oh, so it's not true that you have some weird desire to prove yourself? That you can never accept help because you think you'll look weak?" Vienna stopped dead in her tracks.

My brutal assumption was not intended to be so harsh, really. The only reason I even knew those things is that I am just as guilty of them myself.

"I didn't come on this mission for a therapy session, Anakin." At first her eyes appeared hurt, but that was quickly replaced by a cold glare.

"You sure you don't need one?" I snapped, almost shocked at how rude I sounded.

Vienna only scowled in response, and the silence returned once again.

I know she was most likely disappointed that I had resorted back to the asshole I was when we first met. To be completely honest, I myself was starting to loosen up around her, perhaps a bit too much.

The Jedi are forbidden to form attachments: that's what Obi-Wan has reminded me over and over throughout my training. He says that it will cause me to lose my focus and act out of emotion, rather than logic. But he and the council just don't understand. They don't understand that a piece of me will always be gone with my mother. They don't understand that I'm being held together by the only people I have left.

The fear of growing any more attachments than I already have is becoming more evident every moment I spend with Vienna. There is just something about her that I can't put my finger on— something that absolutely terrifies me. As much as I try to push her away, I'm afraid it will never change my feelings.

My mind was pulled back to the present at a familiar clanking noise. We didn't even bother to share a glance before we rushed into the next hallway, the blades of our blue sabers prepared to strike.

The droids began to fire, forcing us to deflect the blasts. It wasn't all that difficult. In the matter of a few moments, we cleared the area and were standing amidst the sliced battle droids.

Vienna let out a sharp sigh and walked over to the elevator— the elevator that leads to the command center.

"What are you doing? The hangar is that way," I pointed in the opposite direction.

She rolled her eyes. "Anakin, are you really just gonna sit back and let your master finish the mission? I'm going to help him, whether you come with me or not."

"But Obi-Wan told us to—"

She laughed quite obnoxiously. "You? Telling me to follow orders? That's hilarious."

"Yeah, yeah. I heard it." I shook my head in defeat as I joined her in the elevator. Not that I would ever admit it, but she had a point.

After slicing through a few more droids, we had full access to the Malevolence's command center. Huh. Vienna's plan actually worked.

She briskly made her way to the control panel.
"Done," she smiled proudly. "I hotwired the ship. Grievous will be in for a nice surprise."

"Good. Now all we need is to get the hell off this thing before it happens."

—

As we ran back to the docking point, I was just about to call Obi-Wan over the comm when he suddenly appeared from the next hall over.

"There you are," I said, relieved, "We have to get out of here now."

"I'm fine thanks for asking," he said with his usual dry sense of humor, while joining us as we proceeded to run. "Grievous escaped, like the coward he always has been. But Master Plo made contact, and I'm assuming by now he and Ahsoka have engaged the escaping fighters."

Vienna and I both nodded. It wasn't good news, but it could always be worse.

By the time we reached the hangar, the Malevolence was in really bad shape, putting it generously. Flames engulfed nearly the entire perimeter— I can't imagine what the exterior of the ship looks like by now.

Unfortunate for us, we only had two fighters left, since the rest of the squadron had already evacuated and Vienna's was still on the whole other side of the ship. As if things couldn't get even more unfortunate, one of them was being sucked into the growing fire.

"Blast. We need to hurry," said Obi-Wan.

He ushered Vienna and I over to his fighter, and we somehow managed to pile into the gunner's seat, while Obi-Wan started it up.

It was quite uncomfortable in the seat, not surprising since it was intended for one person to sit in. Vienna kept, not so subtly, trying to gain any sort of distance between us, but was unsuccessful.

Our legs continuously brushed against each other, making the situation more awkward by the minute. What happened earlier while we were hiding from the droids certainly didn't help.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan shouted from the cockpit. "You two doing okay back there? I know it's probably a little tight."

"Just fine," Vienna said as quickly as she could, stiffening up even more.

Perfectly timed, Ahsoka's voice came over the comm. "Master! Grievous is retreating, we're heading back to dock at the cruiser."

"Great work, Snips. We'll meet you there."

—

We all watched from the Republic cruiser as what was left of the Malevolence continued to burn.

"Wait! The hyperdrive was repaired! They'll be able to get away!" Ahsoka yelled.

I peered over and saw Vienna's smirk. "3... 2... 1." When she got to one, the remains of Grievous' ship attempted to go lightspeed, only to erupt into a massive explosion.

The bright light was reflected in her eyes as they shined full of pride. The council will be happy with her, that is what she wanted after all.

I don't know if I'll get to go on another mission with Vienna Kryze again, but what I do know is that our story is only just beginning.