𝗙𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗦 | anakin skywalker

✰ 17: bringing balance back

"Again, Akya."

"Again? Master, I'm getting seriously tired of this."

"You've only been at it for thirty minutes."

"Twenty-nine minutes too long."

Obi-Wan and Akya had just succeeded in bringing a success to the Republic on Alderaan, where Separatist forces had taken over some lookout posts. Luckily, the droids in these areas were not so prepared for two Jedi and a battalion of clones, so their defeat and the Republic's retaking of these posts was rather inevitable. After that, Obi-Wan had decided he wanted to take her back to Coruscant to teach a few lessons. Akya still had little confidence in her skills with the Force, even if she had passed the Initiate trials. Obi-Wan intended to change that, and so, he often combined something she was confident in, such as lightsaber training, with training with the Force.

The exercise he had her do that day was very repetitive. She'd pull a holographic droid toward her, then slash it just before it got too close, a tactic often used by Jedi on the battlefield. However, she wasn't the best at gauging when to use the lightsaber, because she wasn't sure what was close enough. Her distances varied often, and on her first try, the hologram went right through her because she had used a bit too much strength when pulling the droid. Now, she was slightly better at it, but when you do one thing so many times, it gets tiring.

"This will help you keep balance between your use of the Force and your lightsaber skills," Obi-Wan said. "You must hone in more on your abilities with the Force if you ever want to become a fully-fledged Jedi."

"I know," said Akya. Once again, she pulled the hologram toward her with one hand, and slashed it just before it got too close.

"You're a hard worker, Akya. I understand why there is low confidence in your own abilities, but you can do this. I've seen it."

Akya raised a brow. "When?"

"On Alderaan, there was a droid coming up behind Commander Cody, and you saw it before he did, so you pushed it aside and ran your lightsaber through it before it could take a shot at him."

"You saw that? That wasn't really—"

"It was quite the show of strength, Akya," he said. "When you want to, you can be very strong with the Force. You have the power, you just need to shape them into abilities you can use all the time, not just when there is danger. You should have confidence in yourself, Akya, like I have confidence in you."

Akya nodded.

"You will make a very good Jedi."

"Thank you, Master."

"You deserve a break," he said. Akya smiled and retracted her saber blade as Obi-Wan turned off the hologram. "But we will come back to this in a little while."

"Yes, Master," she said.

Obi-Wan watched her leave the training room with a smile on his face. He was indeed very proud of how far she had come, especially for someone who had begun their journey with the Force so recently. He had spent some months with her now, and he was very adamant that she learn to hone in her abilities. He knew she could do it if she really tried, but to try had to be her decision. He hoped that she would soon realize this, because the war was becoming more potent, and she would need to have faith in the Force and in herself if she was ever going to make it in such a world. Akya was very headstrong— Obi-Wan knew she would understand it all soon enough. He was very glad to have her as a Padawan.

— ★ ✰ ☆ —

[some days later.]

"Anakin, I'm trying to get dressed."

"Keep it off." He laid kisses down her neck and her arm.

Akya laughed. "No," she said with a smile, taking her arm out of his grasp. She got up off the bed they sat on and grabbed the sash from the chair across the room, then wrapped it around her waist.

"Come back," Anakin said. He was still sitting up against the headboard, wrapped in the blankets. It was particularly cold that day, but hopefully soon they would be somewhere warmer that Coruscant— they would be getting reassigned that morning, in about thirty minutes, in fact. But they'd had a long night in the city at a hotel... so they'd woken up a bit late.

"Anakin, we have things to do," she told him.  She clipped her belt around her waist over the sash.  "The briefing, remember?"

"That can wait," he said.  She hadn't even noticed he'd gotten out of the bed, and only realized when he leaned over her shoulder, wearing nothing but his trousers.  He put his arms around her, hugging from behind.  Akya turned around, still in his arms, and put hers around his neck over his shoulders, bringing him in for a long, well-deserved kiss. 

"You know it can't, Ani."

Anakin sighed, looking at the ground, then back up at Akya.  "I know," he said. "But what if we get split apart again?"

"No, Anakin. No. No attachments, remember?" Their embrace broke apart. Akya picked up her cloak from the chair and put it over her robes. "We can't do it like this." She didn't look at him when she said it. She knew that she was undeniably beginning to form an attachment to him like she had no other person. She was beginning to fall in love with him, and that... that was a place she could not go. She thought about him all the time already, and that was too much. She couldn't want— no— need him any more than she already did.

"I'm sorry."

"Get dressed," she said softly. "I'll see you at the Temple." She grabbed her lightsaber from the dresser, next to Anakin's, and hooked it on her belt. She made her way toward the door of their hotel room when a metal hand stopped her, taking ahold of the door handle before she could.

"No attachments," he agreed.

Akya turned around and gave him one last kiss. She pulled away, then ran her fingers through his messy curls with a smile. Finally, she walked out, closing the door behind her.

a.n.:

little filler chapter.  I looooove throwing my guys into little situations.  this is great.

i know, i know, it's friday. but I'm on a writing grind rn and i just wanted to give you this one for funsies. it gives some of akya and Obi-wan's dynamic during their free time as well as Anakin and Akya's, and there's a lot to unpack. i loveeeeee my guys. in their little situations. next chapter is filler-y too, but it also means a lot to Obi-wan and Akya's relationship. That one is a good one.

i love you all, don't forget to vote!!

molly