Her boots tapped along the stone floors as she walked, her hand trailing along the wall as she went and her fingers danced over ridges in the cool rock. Anakin's request, or she should really say demand, was still echoing around in her head like a rogue beam from a blaster. Stay put. She clenched her jaw at the words, annoyed that she was being treated like some pet on house arrest.

He wasn't in control of her, he wasn't allowed to dictate what she could and couldn't do. He may have been her Master, but when he decided the Order's time was up he also gave up his authority over her. Something she was beginning to realize he probably didn't believe or even consider. Anakin had always liked being in control of things since he never seemed to have a good grasp of himself. The Order and Obi-Wan tried to keep a tight leash, but it was never going to last long. The aggression and anger that fueled Anakin was always going to outweigh his agency to serve the Order and the Republic.

So he had done what he could. Leading thousands of troops into battle, all of them obeying his beck and call. Fighting in the stars, a master of piloting space crafts and controlling the mechanics of war. Training her, guiding her to be the best warrior the galaxy had ever seen and taking her place in the legacy of untraditional Jedi. None of it had been enough, he didn't have what he needed for fulfillment. He couldn't control the trust that the Council lacked, couldn't control his emotions over Padme, couldn't control his fear over losing the love of his life, couldn't control the greed for power that ate at his insides.

Despite Ahsoka's anger towards him, she couldn't help but feel pity for Anakin. Yes, she had been through her own hell with the Order. But Anakin was never going to come out of it unscathed. Too many had unreasonable expectations for him and when he didn't follow what they had visioned he was villainized. He was too old when he was first brought to Coruscant, too old to be fully indoctrinated into the mindset the Jedi deemed acceptable. He was a wayfaring child that would never have a secure restraint on himself, and despite everything, Ahsoka loved that about him.

When talking to other Padawan's about their Master's, she had always been put off by their lack of a deep connection. Hell, she'd even witnessed some Master's leave their Padawan's to die. Claiming there was nothing to do, and though they would mourn they couldn't dwell. Sure, that should be the correct way to operate in the Order. That's what she should tell herself. The greater good. But she always felt comforted in the fact that Anakin would do anything for her, she knew he would always be there for her when everyone else might've left. She could be stranded and thought to be dead for years and she knew in her heart Anakin would never stop searching for her.

Which both ripped her apart and stitched her back up all at once. Anakin would do anything for her, but she was horrified by what that might entail. He had committed atrocities for Padme and he justified them, deranged in his own definition of love.

She came to a stop in front of a massive door, and it groaned with its own weight as it slowly slid open. Light poured into the hall she was in, a bright and hot orange that glowed from the lava that poured. Ahsoka blinked as the hangar came into view before her, its ceiling opened and the far wall nonexistent, giving view to the volcanic terrain of the planet. She slowly walked forward and looked around but there wasn't much. There were a few ships, most looking battle worn and her stomach sunk at the thought of what might've happened.

There was a clang of metal and flinched, turning quickly but it was just a group of droids fixing up another ship on the other side of the hangar. Her eyes flicked around, trying to find one that was in one piece as her mind began to race at the possibility of actually leaving. Anakin wasn't here, and to be honest she didn't think she'd get another opportunity. Her eyes found a small cargo ship in a corner and she took off in a sprint, staying alert in case anything jumped from the shadows.

Ahsoka nearly laughed in hysterics when the platform lowered and she walked on, but she knew she couldn't waste any time. She made her way through the small ship to the cockpit and sat in the pilot's chair, her eyes flicking over all the controls to try to get a good measure of it. Thanks to Anakin, she could pretty much fly anything. It was all essentially the same in one way or another, as long as she was patient and didn't try to overpower the ship, it would let her maneuver it easily. Turning on the power, the engines roared to life and her head buzzed with the sound which made her ignorant to the other ship that had just landed.

However barely a moment had passed when a feeling of anger and dread much stronger than her own tore through her and she shivered. Ahsoka looked at the goosebumps that littered her skin and the Force tilted her chin up so she could see a familiar dark haired man making his way to her. Rather quickly and clearly not happy given the way he rolled his shoulders.

Ahsoka bit her lip as she watched him approach. Her conflict raging within her and her head began to hurt. Anakin had been everything to her, and she knew she meant a lot to him. But what he had done... she began to wonder if the roles were reversed, would Anakin stand by her side? He did during her trial but this was on such a larger scale. She cared about him deeply. And it broke her heart for what he had become, but they were different.

Ahsoka closed her eyes and began to rise, guiding the ship up as quickly as she dared in the hangar. She couldn't bear to look at him, terrified of what she might see. Either the creature that lurked under his handsome features or the look of a man who was heartbroken at the fact someone else he cared about was leaving him again.

Just as she rose above the castle and was about to zoom off into the smog covered sky, the ship suddenly halted and she lurched forward so hard the console dug into her ribs and she let out a violent cough as the wind was knocked out of her. Panic gripped hold of her so tightly that she thought her spine might crawl out of her back and all of her bones felt stiff. She began to move backwards and she scrambled over the controls to get all power diverted to the thrusters. She took hold of the controls in a vice-like grip and summoned what she could of the Force to push the ship onward.

The ship began to give a little, but a smile barely reached her features when the world seemed to upend and she screamed as the cockpit quite literally ripped away from the ship with her in it. The ground spinning into her peripheral as wind ripped past her and all she could think about was the mangled metal about to tear into her body. But just before the cockpit collided with the ground, her body got yanked away with such force that it gave her whiplash and she came to a stop in front of a furious Anakin who had his arm outstretched as it kept her hovering in front of him so they were at eye level.

He was seething as he spoke. "I told you to stay put."

She struggled against his hold and gritted her teeth as she felt the rage of his power tighten around her. "When have I ever listened to you?"

Anakin brought her closer, and she narrowed his eyes at him, not appreciating being so close. Their noses brushed and his eyes were bloodshot and looked bloodthirsty. It was severely unnerving to not know if it was directed at her or not and she feared where he may have just gotten back from.

"Why were you leaving?"

She looked at him incredulously. "Why wouldn't I?" Ahsoka then gestured with her chin to the now mangled ship and the crumpled cockpit he had just ripped her out of. "Look what you're doing."

He shook his head as if he wasn't hearing her. "You can't leave." Anakin set her down on her feet but kept her close to him, his hands gripping her arms painfully as if he was scared she would turn to dust should he let go.

"Anakin, you can't just keep me here."

"I can, and I will."

"Why?"

He clenched his jaw as his eyes searched hers, looking as if he was barely keeping his temper in check. "You need to finish your training-"

"That is such bullshit!" Ahsoka ripped herself away from him and she felt the sharp sting of cuts rip across her arm from his metal hand but her mind was too far away to mind the blood. "What aren't you telling me? There has to be a reason you're keeping me hostage."

"I am not..." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not keeping you hostage, don't say it like that."

"How the fuck else am I supposed to say it. Look at what you just did to keep here! You're insane."

Anakin's eyes darkened and his voice turned into something almost demonic, his cadence a promising threat. "I am not insane."

She closed her eyes, knowing that pissing him off would cause her nothing but problems. Ahsoka took a deep breath and tried to start again. "Why am I here? You don't need me. Let me go-"

"I do need you, Ahsoka. I always have."

She squeezed her eyes tighter, hating the way she loved those words and let them fill her up. When his hand touched her cheek she flinched slightly and looked up at the pain stricken face of her Master. His features etched in regret and longing, though she hadn't a clue what for.

His thumb gently ran along her cheekbone and his eyes were shadowed by his lashes, making his blue eyes look like the black sands of Mustafar. "You can't leave again."

Anakin's breath was warm and it dusted over her own lips that tugged into a frown. She knew she should pull away from him, that his touch should disgust her. But she hadn't felt so held in so. There was such a strange comfort in knowing someone completely had you, ready for whenever you might fall.

Ahsoka's voice was quiet as her words swirled between them. "Is that what this is about?"

His eyes locked onto hers and it felt as if she could see the tsunami wave of grief and suffering that constantly was drowning him, never allowing him to catch his breath and get closure.

"Anakin, you know I had to leave the Order."

"I know."

"It wasn't personal."

There was a pause and his thumb stilled.

"I know."

"Then why-"

"Everyone left, Ahsoka. Everyone."

She raised a brow at him. "Because of your actions, or do you not see it that way?"

Anakin shook his head, his hand sliding down to cup the side of her neck and he squeezed slightly. "You don't understand."

Ahsoka laughed. "How would I not understand? Everyone left me when the Council decided I was guilty." Except for him and Padme but she didn't feel like giving him any credit at the moment. "The Order had no faith in me and seemed all too keen to send me to my death on false charges. And when the truth came to light, they refused to acknowledge their faults. I know what they're capable of. They failed me, and I know they failed you. I know you tore yourself apart trying to earn that seat on the Council only to have the rank of Master yanked out from under your feet the moment you thought they finally found you worthy. I know you're in pain. But... Why turn to such darkness, Anakin? There are better roads to go down."

"Like what?" He bit out. "The Republic was going to fall, anyway. The Chancellor had been plotting it for years."

"And you had to help him?"

"He promised he could help me save Padme's life. That's why I didn't end up leaving the Order like I had originally planned to."

Ahsoka blinked at him. The shock of what he had said slamming into her chest so hard her heart stopped beating.

"You were going to walk away from the Order?"

His eyes flicked away from hers for a moment. "It had always been a fantasy of mine. But with her position as a Senator she always put duty first, it was fucking exhausting but I loved her so I continued to keep my affections to the shadows. When she told me she was pregnant, I wanted to march right up to the Council then and there and tell them I was done." His mind wandered off, looking dazed with a happy memory and he looked so much younger. He looked his age for once. "I was going to be a father, nothing else mattered. But Padme and her politics she wanted to..." he shook his head and sighed. "She wanted to continue to keep us in the dark, which I don't know how she thought that would work. She didn't want either of our images ruined but she didn't understand that I didn't care. I just wanted her."

Ahsoka reached up and took hold of his wrist, looking at him right now for who he was. She knew he wasn't the sole one at fault, in war everyone plays a part. Not to mention if what Maul said really was true, Anakin had been groomed for his role as a bringer of chaos ever since he was a boy. Built up over the years to be used as a tool and a weapon by the people he trusted. That would drive anyone mad, knowing people thought your only purpose was to be a puppet. The lack of control he must've felt in his life was surely exhausting.

As she looked into his eyes she felt as if she was seeing everything yet nothing at all. He was frightened, she could feel his fear through the Force and how badly he was trying to keep it in a tight hold but was eating at his heart. Anakin was a boy who had been abandoned by so many, whether through his own faults or not. Yet, he had stood by her when no one else had. Anakin had always been there and never judged, never left her behind.

She had a thought, a stupid and arrogant one.

Perhaps she would never have been able to keep him from turning to the dark side, but maybe she could help pull him out before he drowned himself. Scared that if she did leave now, it would drive the final nail into the cracked stone of his soul and he'd shatter, the broken bits scattering across the galaxy and others would suffer the consequence of his heartbreak.

Ahsoka knew it wasn't her responsibility to fix him, but she couldn't help how guilty she might feel if she didn't try. How she would actually go about this new task, she had no idea. But it was a new path that would hopefully be brighter for the both of them and could save millions of lives. Trying was the least she could do.

"Anakin," his name was an oath on her tongue and with the way he was looking at her it felt as if he understood. "I won't leave you. Not this time."

They stared at each other for what felt like hours, stars in his eyes and she got reminded all over again of how much she missed him.

There was a clang of metal in the distance as the rubble of the ship shifted and the bubble that had formed around them broke, Anakin suddenly realized how close they were and he stepped away from her swiftly. Ahsoka felt cold creep in and she wrapped her arms around herself but winced when she grazed the cuts he had left on her bicep.

Anakin winced himself. "I'll help you wrap that."

She shook her head, not trusting the way her heart was racing and she thought that maybe some distance was needed between them. Anakin touching her wasn't smart nor appropriate. "It's fine. I have plenty of experience in cleaning blood off of myself."

He furrowed his brows, embodying the persona of a concerned Master and the familiarity of it felt safe compared to whatever that had been a few moments ago.

"Do I want to know?"

Ahsoka shrugged. "Maybe we can finally catch up over dinner?"

He smiled slightly, it being crooked and lovely and she felt warmth creep into her blood again.