CHAPTER TWELVE.

Upon Anakin's return, the events of the previous day were forgotten. Well, at least, Elly tried to forget them. It was hard but she was distracted with Anakin's presence once again. He seemed exhausted yet had a new sense of energy after the mission.

When Obi-Wan came to pick Elly up before breakfast, Elly was thankful that Anakin interrupted and joined them on their walk. It meant that neither of them could speak about it, it wouldn't be addressed and hopefully the awkwardness could be left firmly in the past where she wanted it to be. Well, where she wished she wanted it to be left. But those were not feelings she wanted to grapple with so early in the morning.

Instead, she focused on breakfast and eating. They had to train together soon and she hoped that Anakin and Ahsoka's presence could serve as some sort of distraction from her incredibly cluttered and un-Jedi like thoughts

But, they were not so lucky as to get a distraction. Anakin, instead, seemed to sense the awkwardness between the two and he was ready to ask what it was but he knew he couldn't. He knew something must have happened. He had sensed them both in his room. But he couldn't ask what, he knew he couldn't, Obi-Wan would scold him for being nosy and for suggesting that he went against the code. So he waited for Ahsoka to appear instead. She, he had no doubt, would happily point out the awkwardness. He was counting on her outspoken nature.

So as the trio sat down and began to eat, the small talk was to the minimum. Anakin felt suffocated by the awkwardness. Despite his attempts to make conversations and lighten the mood, the pair simply could not enjoy their time. So, when Ahsoka sauntered through the door, he had never felt so relieved.

"Hey Snips," Anakin said as she appeared next to Elly, holding a breakfast tray. Ahsoka sat down and looked from Elly to Obi-Wan who had been sitting in silence eating their food. It was obvious that something was wrong.

"What happened?" Ahsoka asked as she looked to the Jedi Masters. Elly looked to the girl and smiled, swallowing the rest of her food before she let out a response.

"Nothing, I was just thinking. I had a late night," Elly smiled as she cut up some more food and began to eat it. Ahsoka then looked to Obi-Wan who hadn't even bothered to look up from his food which he had been pushing around his plate for the past few minutes. Ahsoka had never seen Obi-Wan so quiet and... awkward. It was odd.

"Did you two do something you weren't meant to?" Ahsoka asked as she continued to eat her food. It was so blunt that it caught Elly completely off guard. Elly practically glared at Ahsoka, silently scolding her for her words. Elly gently shook her head as she finished off her meal, a soft sigh escaping her lips. Obi-Wan then dropped his cutlery and got up from the table, leaving promptly. Elly watched as he disappeared out the door. They had already arranged to meet in half an hour since Elly needed to check on the Gardens before training.

"Will you tell us?" Anakin asked as Elly looked back at the pair sitting at the table. Elly sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. She picked up her glass and took a long sip, leaving them in the silence while she mulled over what to say, unsure whether to tell the truth.

"Something happened during training and I think he's worried he's going against the code," Elly responded before she pushed her tray towards the pair, "Take that for me, I'm going to talk to him." Elly took no questions and didn't even give them time to respond before she was out the door of the mess hall. She knew that if she let them ask questions, it would only make them both look worse and it would spiral into questions that Elly did not have the answer to. Not right now, anyway.

Elly came out of the mess hall door and glanced around. She caught the back of Obi-Wan's head heading down the corridor towards the bedrooms.

Her feet worked faster than her brain and they took her after him. She couldn't run, it would look suspicious and after the morning they'd both had, it would make everything worse. So instead, she fast-walked after him, catching up with him just before he closed his bedroom door. Her hand slammed into the gap before it closed. The door whooshing open before it even got a chance to close.

"May I come in?" She asked as she looked directly at him. Obi-Wan turned acutely and she had a genuine half-smile on her face. She didn't want them to be like this. He gave her a glance, rubbing his eyebrow before he took a deep breath and gestured for her to come in.

She stepped inside and the door whooshed shut behind her, "I'm sorry, I should have told them to be quiet. I didn't tell them about what happened. I left them to speculate. You know how curious they can be," Elly informed the Jedi Master as he crossed the room to sit on the edge of his bed. She looked at him and the frown spread across her lips. His eyebrows were pulled together as he moved to put his head in his hands. She had never seen him look so distraught, so worried before. It was jarring. He was usually the composed of the two.

"Obi-Wan, don't feel bad." She said as she walked over to him. She sat down next to him and gently placed a hand on his leg. He flinched a little and she watched as his hand rested over hers but he hesitated - part of him wanted to take her hand away but he knew he couldn't  so he left it in place.

He turned to face her, looking into her eyes and she smiled softly at him, attempting to be reassuring but she wasn't sure if it came off that way. Her hand moved to take his as she gently stroked the top of it. She kept a tight hold but he didn't bother to try and pull away. If anything, the gentle touches seemed to calm him down a little.

"It's not evil for something like that to happen. It's completely natural and a lot of the time, it's not possible to control," She continued, trying her best to have a calm tone. She wanted to soothe him not make him feel uncomfortable, "And it's definitely not going against the code to have certain feelings about people," She added as she smiled softly at him. His eyebrows furrowed as he looked at her, a small frown appearing on his lips. Those words did not have the intended effect and she felt like curling in on herself but she had to stand by them.

"Those feelings are against the code, Elly," He muttered in response. His gaze averted. She sighed softly and let him pull his hand away, "They're very against the Code," He added, gently shaking his head as he looked to the floor. He seemed almost disappointed.

"Sexual desires are not against the Code," She attempted to argue but they both knew that those feelings are not the ones she was referring to. Well, Elly knew that is not what she was referring to and Obi-Wan was acutely aware. Though, that was mainly because of their bond.

"They are dangerous." Elly shook her head. It was such a delicate topic. They both knew that they had had these desires before and acted on them. But that didn't make them bad. They had created bad situations but they were not inherently dangerous to either of them. Elly had not fallen because she wanted to fuck somebody. She fell because she got too attached. But she didn't know how to say it without sounding wildly out of line. She was already toeing a very dangerous line with the Order and with him.

"If the desires are only used to blow off steam, they are not a bad thing. You know that first hand," Elly responded. Obi-Wan put his head in his hands and she tucked her hair behind her ear. That had not been something he had expected to think about. She could feel it down their bond. The surprise and the pain that came with those memories. The memories of her. It was painful for both of them but Elly had more pressing matters on her mind.

"My youth only created problems. It is not a good example," He mumbled in response. Elly was at a loss for words. But she seemed to have somewhat gotten through to him. However, there was clearly something. Something she was missing. Something she didn't know about. She had never seem him look so regretful

-

The Meditation Gardens were quiet and Elly hadn't expected to meditate. She had originally gone to do some gardening but when Anakin appeared and asked her to join him, she found it hard to refuse. Even after their conversation earlier and her incredibly awkward training session with Obi-Wan, she wanted to spend time with him.

It had been three years since she had truly spent time with Obi-Wan but she could tell things were different. Not in his training techniques or how he treated her but with his entire demeanour. He seemed more cautious and secretive than he used to be. As if he knew something that nobody else did, Elly knew that Obi-Wan would never tell her what it was. So, a friendship with Anakin seemed central to understanding Obi-Wan again.

And Anakin was good company. He struggled with meditation but with Elly's guiding hand, they slipped into it easily. She was surprised by how cluttered his mind seemed to be. With Obi-Wan as his Master, she had expected him to have a more organised mind but she couldn't blame him. Hers was just as messy.

It was the first time either of them had meditated together, sharing the space. It was the first time that she was able to look around Anakin's mind. It was all cautious first steps, Anakin only let her see what he wanted her to see but she did the same. Though, he was a little more forceful with his presence. She could feel him pressing against her mental barriers.

There was a playfulness to it and it made the usually dull meditation feel somewhat more interesting. It was an hour or so before they came down from it. Elly's head felt lighter and she knew that she had done at least some good work for her emotions. The embarrassment had dissipated, thrown off into the Force and the guilt was mostly gone.

But she found herself enjoying Anakin's company so when he offered for her to come with him while he was checked over in the med-wing, she agreed. The walk to the med-center was full of talk of war and his mission. Descriptions of separatists and his strategies. Anakin seemed to enjoy discussing it. There was not a single mention of death. He liked the strategy of war and she couldn't blame him. She had always been fascinated with the military history of the Republic before her Padawan died. That death had put her off the talk of war.

Hearing Anakin talk about it with such passion and genuine interest though, made her think again. Maybe it was worth another try.

They reached the med-centre promptly and Anakin went first. The droid did the routine checks before a doctor came in. It was one that they knew well. Elly was sure that she had had that same doctor her entire life on Coruscant. Anakin made it clear that it was okay that Elly was there before the Doctor began her work.

It was bloodwork and then she checked Anakin's heart-rate, blood pressure, the basics. He had been on a planet that was dangerous and he could have run into any manner of dangerous plants. They were doing their due diligence to keep him alive.

"The bloodwork will only take another ten minutes and I'd like you to stay here if that's okay. We'll monitor your heart the entire time to make sure we don't miss anything," The Doctor said. Anakin nodded and send her a polite, charming smile.

"No problem." The Doctor left with a little extra bounce in her step and Elly joined Anakin on the bed. She perched on the edge as Anakin fiddled with the gauze the Doctor had put on where the needle had been.

"We never got this treatment," Elly teased softly. A small smile on her face. Anakin rolled his eyes.

"You weren't in war," Anakin retorted. Elly hummed, nodding her head. He was right. It was a different time. It's a different time now, "Speaking of that, before the mission, were you in my room?" He cocked his eyebrow and Elly's eyes widened.

She tried to cover up the surprise but it was obvious. Anakin chuckled softly and pushed the gauze down firmly against his arm. He hated needles, he always had but Elly's presence was a good enough distraction for now. He just missed Lili.

"You stole my driver," She retorted. Anakin rolled his eyes.

"I'm still willing to make the deal," He shrugged. Elly scoffed and shook her head firmly. There was no way in hell that she would ever give in to him.

"I'll get it back my own way." There was a playfulness to her tone and Anakin quirked an eyebrow. He looked at her and she knew that he knew.

"My Master would love that." Elly's jaw dropped and she stared at the younger man. She smacked his arm harshly and he chuckled. Her reaction was beyond amusing to Anakin and despite how unconventional and wrong the topic was, he couldn't help himself.

"Stop it." There was a stern warning to her tone but Anakin wouldn't take it seriously. He was simply amused by the entire situation.

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