Anakin, returning to his quarters from the parking lot, almost fell dead at the sight that met his eyes.
Ahsoka was sitting on the porch, holding a pot of dinner in front of her to cool it down. He stared, unable to believe his eyes. She was cooking. And not just any cooking, but cooking especially for him, clearly thinking of him.
The setting sun, still visible behind the trees, bathed her petite, fragile figure in a soft golden light. The Togrutta's face was also flooded with bright light, which brought a blush to her cheeks, caused by either the heat or embarrassment. Skywalker noticed that she looked different than she had recently, and noticed what the girl actually looked like. She was even more fragile than the man had thought. Her huge shirt hid all her contours and prevented him from seeing the smooth lines and graceful movements honed by years of training. Their training. How much Asoka now resembled her former self, or rather, the little girl who had appeared before Anakin on the first day they met. However, as soon as she turned to face him, the deceptive impression vanished in an instant. It immediately became clear that Tano was no longer a child. She was a woman.
Hearing or perhaps sensing his approach, Asoka looked at him, and for a moment their eyes met. Hers were confused and a little frightened, and his were distant and cold. To look at Anakin, the Togrutha had to turn her head slightly, revealing her slender neck with a blue vein pulsing at the neckline of her tight dress, the buttons of which were struggling to contain her full breasts.
Skywalker couldn't help but look at the deep hollow between them and found it extremely difficult to look away."Master Shaak Ti said I need to walk more," she said, adjusting the top button, which had been the focus of the man's gaze until now.
"Where are Luke and Leia? Are they alive?" he asked, barely restraining himself, but his tone still betraying Anakin's true feelings at that moment. It was excitement, intense, almost unbearable. He was also annoyed that Asoka now looked and behaved as if everything between them was still the same. As if she had never left the Order, as if she were still a Padawan, not the person she had become after leaving the temple. She had become that person because of Skywalker's deep conviction. However, what hurt and clung to the man most was what he felt the moment he saw Ahsoka — the joy of seeing her sitting by the house, waiting for him to return. He desperately prayed to the Force, hoping to forget how his children had greedily pressed their lips to her breasts. To forget the sight of those very breasts. The colour of her nipples. Her tender smile. He didn't want to look into her eyes and remember the huge lakes.
"There they are, near the entrance. If they wake up, I'll hear them," the girl said peacefully, pointing to the cradle standing in the doorway. She didn't know that he had only asked that to distract himself from thinking about her, and she tried to tell him in detail what they had been doing in his absence and what she had learned about the children.
"Don't turn them over, they like to sleep on their stomachs," Asoka explained, looking at the twins with sincere love. "Here's the coffee, by the way.
"Thanks," said Anakin, taking off his cloak and hanging it on a hook inside the door.
Ahsoka poured him a mug of coffee, trying to keep her hands from shaking. Then she handed it to Skywalker, her fingers briefly touching his left hand, feeling not the cold leather glove and metal beneath it, but the soft warmth of living flesh. But not giving in to the sensation, Tano quickly pulled her hand away.
"What's that?" he asked, nodding towards the pot. "It smells pretty good."
"It's a meat stew that Shaak Ti made," explained Ahsoka.
"That's good, I'll go wash up," said Skywalker.
"Petro brought enough water, and by the time you're done, the stew will have cooled to the right temperature," said the Togruta, letting him go.
Everyone around them was noisy and shouting, but the two of them didn't care; they could only hear each other. Anakin took the basin and bucket, then went behind the hut, and Asoka heard him start splashing around. Skywalker quickly took off his shirt and trousers and was surprised at how hot he felt and how, no matter how much cool water he poured over himself, the desired refreshment did not come. Meanwhile, Ganodi, a shy little Rodian girl, approached Ahsoka and, a little embarrassed, handed her a bouquet of yellow wildflowers.
"Here, take these, I think they'll go well with your dress," said the girl, adding, "Bend down."
Tano did as Ganodi asked, and Ganodi, unbuttoning the top button, which had been fastened with incredible effort, inserted the bouquet into the loop and covered her chest with the flowers.
"I think it's very beautiful," said the Rodian woman, rubbing her webbed hands together.
If Asoka had looked at herself from the side, she would have seen that the flowers gave her appearance a sensuality and feminine tenderness. But Tano knew nothing about femininity and beauty, nor about the attractiveness of women in the eyes of men. After all, the Jedi Order taught everything except the skills of communicating with the opposite sex and the ethics of family life. And it certainly did not tell them anything about the carnal pleasures of heterosexual relationships.
And even Ahsoka herself, although unlike most of her fellow Padawans, had managed to learn what intimacy and childbirth were, had no idea about love and romance as such. In her mind, intimacy was something terribly disgusting and painfully humiliating, and she sincerely did not understand how a woman could willingly subject herself to such torment.
Anakin heard this chatter, but didn't pay much attention to it, thinking about his own affairs. Whatever you say, it's still nice when someone is waiting for you at home with dinner ready. And Asoka was good with the children, not afraid, like Anakin, to even touch them. Seeing that he wasn't particularly eager to look after the twins, she uncomplainingly took on all the care for them. There was no need to ask her; she considered it a matter of course. But hadn't he, Anakin, done enough for her? No more than she did for him, repaying the debt for the man who had taken her into his home after what Tano had done to him in the past, and what he himself had almost done to her?
Anakin put on a clean shirt and, taking a small mirror from his shaving kit, began to comb his unkempt hair, something he hadn't done in a long time. He couldn't understand why he had suddenly decided to think about his appearance today. Probably because Padmé had managed to instil in him the idea that when going out in public, one should always look neat and presentable. And it certainly wasn't to impress Ahsoka. They owed each other nothing; they were no longer Master and Padawan bound by the duty of apprenticeship. It was just a coincidence that they had to live side by side for a while. And Anakin thought again that it would be much easier if they had a good relationship. Of course, not the same as before, but enough to not feel awkward when they were in the same room.
Meanwhile, Shaak Ti called Ganodi to her, and she ran away. Ahsoka tried the stew with a spoon; it had almost cooled down.
"Good evening," Asoka heard a male voice, quite pleasant, with an unfamiliar alien accent.
He didn't seem to say anything rude or offensive, but the Togruta still tensed up involuntarily. She hadn't forgotten the look Madame Jokasta had given her a minute ago as she walked past with a teenage girl. And when the latter was about to greet Ahsoka, she silently pulled her back and turned her sharply away from Tano.
Trying not to betray her excitement, Togruta straightened up and looked at the speaker. It was a tall young man, about the same age as Anakin, just as strong and tall, with dark hair, one strand of which was golden. His brown eyes looked at her with sincere kindness, not mockery.
"My name is Ferrus Olin," he said after a short pause. "And this is Master Tolm," he nodded to the short man beside him. His hair was completely grey, his right leg and left eye had been replaced by prosthetics, but he looked surprisingly cheerful and content with life. "Come to us if you need help.
Asoka was so unaccustomed to receiving kindness that, when she met these people, she could think of nothing better to say than this question:
"Do you even know who I am?"
Yerrus smiled broadly in response and said just as warmly:
"Forgive my rudeness, but even though I left the Order long ago, back when I was still a Padawan, I am well aware of who survived Order 66, and I have heard much about how exceptional Skywalker's apprentice is. And now I see that I was not lied to.
"Thank you, I am very touched," said Ahsoka, lowering her eyes and blushing at such unexpected praise.
"I know that you took it upon yourself to care for the newborn children of your former teacher, which is extremely noble, considering what you yourself have been through not so long ago," Ferrus continued to surprise her.
"Thank you, but it's not difficult at all. Luke and Leia are wonderful children," Ahsoka replied.
"I have no doubt of that, for I have always been sincerely impressed by the beauty and courage of their mother," Ferrus paused at this point and, pressing one hand to his chest and the other to his lips, sighed heavily for a moment, clearly embarrassed, and continued: "Therefore, I can confidently offer you my help if the need arises.
"I will gladly accept it," Tano said without smiling.
"I very much hope so," said Ferrus, and suddenly noticed how his companion's face had changed. He soon understood why, as soon as he looked back.
***
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