Heyo, human beings from outer space!
I am literally a human press machine right now, cranking out these fics like it's a marathon.
This one was a bit of a roller coaster for me to write, first I was cackling, then I was hating a little, and then I was lovin' it. And also, I actually tried this really cool thing called "proof reading." Fun stuff. Very helpful.
This was requested by mushycloud
Read on if you dare.
Stang.
Today was just not it, Kanan decided. The mission he, Ezra, and Ahsoka had gone on had gone south (not surprising) and of all the people they could've encountered, it just had to be Vader, a kriffing Sith Lord.
Kanan really wished he would've called in sick today, but then he remembered that he wasn't offered sick days in the first place.
Double Stang.
Ahsoka had previously been verbally battling with Vader, a slow, cold fight as they spat words at each other like acid with practiced precision.
"Are you implying I should fear you, your metallic majesty?" Ahsoka asked, her words dripping with mocking venom.
"Anakin Skywalker's padawan rarely won a duel without his assistance, much less against her master or any superior Jedi," parried Vadar.
"What about Mortis, you dimwitted magnet stub? Does Anakin Skywalker remember when I fought both him and Kenobi, or does his prideful shebs only remember the times he pushed a 14-year-old to the floor?"
"That wasn't you who held off the Jedi, you had the power of the Dark Side with you, and neither Jedi exhibited their full abilities in that fight."
Ezra's eyes went wide and Kanan felt his flash of terror upon hearing that Ahsoka had used the Dark Side. Kanan worked to mask his own surprise.
"I was possessed!"
Relief washed over Ezra and he glanced up at Kanan, whispering, "it's like they knew each other."
They did, but Ezra didn't know that, and Kanan wasn't going to be the one to tell him.
"You were weak, like Anakin Skywalker, and I will kill you like I killed him."
"My master was the strongest man I knew," Ahsoka shrieked, and at the same time, she and Vadar pounced at each other. Their sabers crashed and swung and Kanan and Ezra leapt forward to join the fight.
"Ezra!" Kanan shouted over the chaos. "Coms are down, go get Hera, we're gonna need a pick up!" He didn't foresee them winning this battle.
"But–"
"Now is not the time for backtalk, get Hera!" Kanan screamed.
Ezra took off like a shot.
"Running again? You've always been a cowered," Vader said.
Kanan took personal offense to that one, especially because it was true, and aimed low for his feet while Vader was busy guarding his chest for Ahsoka. But, Vader, being a sith Lord, anticipated this and Force-shoved Kanan powerfully. Kanan felt the air whizzing past him, felt his head crash into something hard, and his consciousness was ripped from him.
He flickered back to awareness what couldn't have been too much later, because he could still feel the cold floor beneath him. But he couldn't hear the sounds of lightsabers crashing, and when he lifted his head, Ahsoka and Vader were gone. Since he was still alive, he assumed they'd danced to another room. Vader would've killed him if he'd already defeated Ahsoka.
Kanan sat up, rubbing his head and sensing around for Ahsoka. He caught wind of her in the next room over and stumbled to his feet. He ignited his saber, jogging into the other room, but stopped dead in his tracks at what he saw.
Ahsoka and Vader were both on the floor, lightsabers discarded.
And they were either trying to strangle each other by the torsos or hugging. Half of Vader's mask had been walloped away, the corners still smoldering, and his visible eye was squeezed shut and streaming with tears.
"I hit my head too hard," Kanan groaned. "I'm hallucinating. Where are you, Hera? I need a medical evac."
Ahsoka laughed and turned to face him, eyes dripping with tears. "You're not hallucinating, Kanan. I'd like to introduce you to my Former Master, Anakin Skywalker."
The man wearing Vader's suit cried harder, sobs wracking his frame. He made an attempt to look up at Kanan but he was weeping too violently.
Kanan really wished he called in sick.
///
Anakin Skywalker could feel nothing but shame.
The things he had done were terrible, unforgivable, and yet Ahsoka somehow forgave him in a heartbeat anyway.
She'd lead him onto a Twi'lek woman's ship, a Twi'lek who so obviously didn't trust him, and he didn't blame her a single bit for that. None of the crew trusted him. And he didn't ever dream of any of them reacting differently.
Ahsoka was the only one who didn't have some nasty aversion to him. He had quite the opposite effect on her, she instead clung to him like a child.
He didn't deserve it, didn't deserve her affection or those looks of pure joy she shot him throughout the day.
The Ghost crew, run by the green Twi'lek and a man Ahsoka told him was who Caleb Dume turned out to be, dropped him and Ahsoka off at Rebel Home as soon as they could. He thought they were glad to be rid of him, and he thought they were right for that.
At Rebel Home, Anakin was fitted with new prosthetics, fresh limbs that were much more efficient and painless than Vader's suit. He looked in the mirror Ahsoka had gladly led him to and he glanced himself up and down.
He was Anakin Skywalker, and almost looked the part, and it shrouded a light on him. Ahsoka had brought him robes, not unlike the ones he wore during the Clone War, and his limbs looked close to natural. The difference was his face, his scared and weeping skin. He looked horrific but his eyes were blue and Ahsoka's were full of tears.
"Anakin," she breathed, and it was all she could say. "Anakin."
Ahsoka led him down the hall, and they spotted Organa in passing. Bail smiled when he saw them, Ahsoka's child-like joy radiating off of her as she led her tear-stained former Master through Rebel Home.
"It's good to have you back, Master Jedi," Bail said, and it was clear he trusted Anakin. But Anakin wished he wouldn't. He didn't deserve it.
Bail and Ahsoka exchanged a few words before they went their separate ways and Anakin squeezed his eyes shut to pointlessly rid a few tears, trusting Ahsoka to guide him.
They ended up in a room with someone Anakin had thought he'd never see standing before him.
Rex.
And he broke down for the millionth time.
///
"I don't trust him, he's a Sith!" Sabine said, hand whacking the table and face hot.
"You don't trust anyone," Zeb scoffed.
"Oh, so you're defending Vader now?" Sabine spat.
"I never said I trusted him either! Who actually does? I'm just saying..." Zeb huffed.
"I know you don't trust him," Hera said, breaking the two out of their glaring fight, "but Ahsoka trusts him, and we trust Ahsoka, don't we?"
"I don't," Sabine burst.
"Yeah, like I said, you don't trust anyone." Zeb jabbed an accusing finger at Sabine and she smacked it away.
"Sabine Wren, Garazeb Orellios, you will stop this right now."
Hera's firm mom voice made the two shrink away from each other like venomous snakes.
"I don't trust him," Ezra said slowly, "but I do trust Ahsoka. And if she thinks he's good now then I'm not going to be afraid."
"Good man, Ezra," Kanan said from the counter, where he was flipping pancakes.
"Thank you, Ezra," Hera said.
"Do you trust him?" Sabine said to Hera suddenly, startling the older woman a bit. "You never said you did."
"It doesn't matter," Hera said, "because I know Ahsoka would never put us in danger. Now I'm going to get her and Anakin, and I'm expecting you all to behave." She pushed herself up from the kitchen table and marched down the hall to find Ahsoka and Anakin sitting in the common room playing Dejarik.
Hera cleared her throat, even if she had a feeling they both knew she was there. Both looked up out of courtesy and Ahsoka smiled at her.
"Dinner's ready," Hera said.
"Wonderful, thank you, Hera," Ahsoka said, powering down the game board and rising. Skywalker followed suit and he trailed after the two women, who walked side-by-side down to the kitchen.
Skywalker did look much different now, dressed in robes and sporting new limbs. He was much less intimidating as a whole and Hera felt more relaxed in his presence now.
"I know it's not much, but that's how we live," Hera said.
"Nonsense," Ahsoka waved the apology away. "We're grateful for anything you offer to us. It's more than you have to, you know."
Hera smiled as they stepped into the kitchen and gestured for the two to seat themselves at the table. Anakin and Ahsoka did, sitting side-by side, Anakin on the end so that no one but Ahsoka had to sit next to him.
The atmosphere over their dinner of pancakes turned tense and quiet.
"You ever keep a kill count just for funzies?" Sabine asked abruptly, and everyone froze.
"Sabine Wren," Hera hissed.
Anakin held up a hand, a ghost of a chuckle on his lips. It was the happiest any of the crew had seen him. "It's fine," he told them. "And actually, yes. 'Soka and I made it a competition to take out more droids every battle."
"Wicked," Ezra said, grinning through a mouthful of syrup-soggy pancakes. "Who won?"
"Me, mostly," Anakin said.
"Hey!" Ahsoka elbowed him and he nearly choked on a laugh. "Liar. I won sometimes, too."
"Sometimes, Snips," Anakin said.
"Only because you somehow found a way to tie it when I won because you were too kriffing prideful to be beaten by your padawan!"
"Wait, wait, wait, Snips?" Zeb said, genuine confusion etched on his features. "What does that mean?"
"My nickname," Ahsoka explained.
"She was a sassy padawan," Anakin said.
"Ahsoka, sassy? Never," Sabine waved her fork in the air dramatically, voice dripping with sarcasm.
Anakin laughed again, a full, genuine laugh, and suddenly it felt as if he was right where he needed to be, at home. The tension in the room had long since dissolved.
And as he spoke of his great times with Ahsoka, he knew that it would one day be okay again.
They all knew that it would be okay.
And it would.
-----------------
Word Count: 1,699
Published: 09 September 2023
Have I ever mentioned how much I love Sabine? And especially the dynamic between her and Ahsoka, particularly when they're getting along. They're so alike and so different at the same time I could rant about it from an author's point of view for hours but I won't because I don't want to scare everyone away :)
I've been reading awesome fics about Ahsoka and our favorite rebel crew today and I literally can't get enough of them.
Requests are open, feel free to message me or make a comment if you have any ideas!
Hasta la vida, peoples!