𝗙𝗔𝗨𝗟𝗧𝗦 | anakin skywalker

✰ 45: former padawan

"You stay here for this one," said Anakin, as he and Akya rushedly made their way toward the section of the Temple that housed the Jedi Knights. 

"What? Why?" 

Anakin pushed the button on the lift.  "Because I asked you to," he said. The doors opened and he stepped inside.  Their eyes stayed locked together until the doors were fully closed, and Anakin was out of view.

Wonderful.  More waiting. 

— ★ ✰ ☆ —

Bliss.  That's what this was.  But it didn't last long.

With evidence and a confession from Barriss Offee, Ahsoka Tano was found not guilty of all the crimes she was accused of.  Obi-Wan told his Padawan that Ahsoka would be allowed back into the Jedi Order.  Akya waited for her outside the Council Chambers, overjoyed to be able to see her friend again.  But when the Togruta stepped through the blast doors, she looked distraught and upset.

"Ahsoka," Akya said, taking a couple steps forward.  Her smile faded away once she realized that Ahsoka did not don one upon seeing her.  She noticed that the Silka beads she wore in place of a Padawan braid were not attached to the rest of her headpiece.  "What's wrong?" she said.  Akya didn't know what was going on.  "Where's your..." she gestured to her own Padawan braid. Her sentence trailed off once she realized what was going on. 

Ahsoka looked down.  "I'm not coming back, Akya."

"What?"

Ahsoka looked back up at her friend.

"No," Akya said, shaking her head.  "You have to come back.  They're taking you back.  This was your trial."

"This wasn't my trial, Akya," she said. "This was a breach of trust.  I can't be a Jedi anymore.  Everyone abandoned me, Akya.  Everyone."

"I never gave up," she said, her voice getting louder and quicker.  "Anakin never gave up.  You can't go, Ahsoka.  Please.  I understand wanting to leave the Order. But you can't do this.  Not now."

Ahsoka took a deep breath.  "I can't stay here anymore. I'm sorry, Akya." She walked around her friend through the doors that led into the front hall of the Temple.  Akya turned and watched her friend leave without looking back, her head down.  She then watched Anakin run past her without stopping, in a hurry to catch up with his Padawan.  His former Padawan.

Obi-Wan and the rest of the Council stepped out after him. They all looked solemn, but it was none of their jobs to stop Ahsoka from leaving. Only she could decide her path, and it went the way the Force willed it so. Perhaps this was not Ahsoka's trial. Perhaps it was a test... not one for her to pass, but for the Council. And they failed.

Akya stared at the doors as the Council walked out, still in shock about what had just happened. She felt a hand on her shoulder and finally turned around to see Obi-Wan, the last person in the room with her. Akya did not smile when she looked up at him, and instead took a step closer to her master, wrapping her arms around his back. He was surprised for a moment, then put his arms around her in return, and the both of them stood there together, in a hug that should have happened long ago. Obi-Wan and Akya. Master and Padawan. Father and daughter.

— ★ ✰ ☆ —

Ahsoka heard her master's voice behind her as she made her way out of the Temple. His voice echoed off the eons-old walls as his footsteps sounded after her. "Ahsoka, wait!" She didn't listen. "Ahsoka, I need to talk to you." Here, she stopped. She wanted to listen. But this would have to be the end. The sun was setting over Coruscant, and the rays shone brightly over the entrance to the Temple.

She turned around to face him, her face blank. But she knew her master would be able to tell what she was feeling.

He sighed. "Why are you doing this?"

"The Council didn't trust me. So how can I trust myself?" She crossed her arms and turned her gaze away from him.

"What about me?" He gestured to himself. "I believed in you. I stood by you!"

Ahsoka knew this would make him frustrated. She knew he cared for her. But she couldn't stay here for him.

"I know you believe in me, Anakin," she said, looking back up at him, "and I'm grateful for that. But this isn't about you. I can't stay here any longer." She paused. "Not now." She looked back at the ground.

"The Jedi Order is your life," Anakin said. Pleaded. "You can't just... throw it away like this! Ahsoka, you are making a mistake."

Tears wanted to well in her eyes. She didn't let them. Not here. Not with Anakin to see. "Maybe," she said, looking up at him. "But I have to sort this out on my own. Without the Council." She looked back away. This was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do. "And without you."

Anakin's face pleaded with her, begged her not to go. But he couldn't stop her. "I understand," he said. "More than you realize, I understand wanting to walk away from the Order."

Ahsoka took a breath. "I know," she said. She didn't see Anakin's face, but she assumed he raised his brows in surprise and looked back at her. She didn't look at him.

She knew about all of it. About Akya. She'd known for a while now about what had been going on. Perhaps it was the way they held hands under the table during briefings, or the way she'd seen them fall into each other's arms when they thought no one was looking. But Ahsoka knew about all of it. Deep down, perhaps Ahsoka wanted Akya and Anakin to come with her, live their lives with her away from the Jedi Order so that they could all simply trust each other. But she knew that wasn't in the cards for Anakin.

She walked away, finally letting the tears make their way into her eyes. She could feel her master's eyes stay on her as she walked away. She felt his sadness. It made her own worse. She felt Anakin's eyes watch her as she walked down the first step down from the Temple, then the second, then the third. She felt her master's eyes on her even when she knew he couldn't see her anymore, because she could feel how much he called her to come back.

But Ahsoka was no longer a Jedi.

a.n.:

this chapter.  UGH this chapter.  first ahsoka leaves the order.  tearing up.  then akya and Obi wan hug and they are referred to as father and daughter.  Crying. then "i know." bawling.

i literally can't believe i wrote this sometimes.  i know just how to make me emotional.

ily, don't forget to vote!

molly