Lux
As the week wore on, slowly but surely, Lux began to get better. A physician was called in to ensure he was healing properly, both in terms of his sudden fever and his shoulder wound.
Upon having been examined for the fourth time – and the last until further notice, much to Lux's relief – he was cleared to return to the negotiating table, on the condition that he didn't overexert himself. But Lux knew that it would be easy to fulfill the doctor's requirement, as the negotiations were between two parties who wanted an alliance between Naboo and Onderon to work out. The Queen was a very smart woman whose interests for her planet were mostly aligned with Onderon's own, so it wasn't particularly strenuous work.
As he had predicted, the negotiations had gone very smoothly; no ruffled feathers or bruised pride anywhere that he knew of. The Naboo were by nature a very accommodating and kind people, and it was a pleasure to work with them – they were even planning a ball in a few days' time to celebrate the alliance.
And it wasn't just on the negotiation table that their welcoming nature applied: the more he talked to her, the more Annina found ways to fascinate him. Gradually, what had started out as Annina's interview project had begun to turn to other matters. Lux had begun talking a little about himself, and not just his work.
But it wasn't just that. With some careful persuasion, Lux had gotten her to talk about her past, as well as her hopes for the future. Although he had been a little younger than her when he had first expressed his interest to his mother in working in politics, Annina had that same sort of enthusiasm he remembered feeling back then shining in her intelligent green eyes when she spoke.
And while on him it had probably looked pretty silly, on her he thought it looked very beautiful.
And it was that same glow that he was basking in at the moment.
"But I've never thought Kharyr's Theorem had any validity. How can you negotiate with a friend with completely polar opposite points of view to yours instead of a stranger? A friend would know exactly how you were going to react before you'd even thought of the reaction yourself!"
"But you know, there are definitely advantages to working with – or should I say against – someone who knows you well. For one, you'd know when to stop pushing; when they've reached their limit and won't go any further without causing a scene. It's applied to many experiences I've had in the Senate."
Annina smiled. "Well, you've had that sort of experience. I still have a lot to learn if I want to follow in my aunt's footsteps."
"Why do you think the opposite of the Theorem works better, though?" Lux asked. "I'm curious."
"Well, sometimes the conversation flows easier with people you don't know. You don't have shared experiences weighing it down – you can talk about literally anything and they won't understand the subtleties that another person closer to you would. It's quite refreshing, actually... Just like talking to you has been for me."
Lux's gaze moved from the view of the lake back to her as she shifted a little closer to him on the carved stone bench.
"I'd like to get to know you, though. The Theorem doesn't have to affect anyone off the negotiating table if they don't want it to."
Lux smiled. "I'd like to get to know you, too."
She hesitated for a few seconds, biting her lip. Then she kissed him, and, after a moment, he kissed her back.
Kissing her was a completely different experience from kissing Ahsoka. Wait, why was he even thinking about Ahsoka? He was with someone else!
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.)