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WARNING: Nothing, I think.

A/N: This one is dedicated to louispersonalbitch ! Hope you enjoy this piece, cutie! Thank you for being here!

We're finally going to figure out what Qui-Gon is gonna tell them lol Any guesses?

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—Good evening, master. — I was the first to speak, dying in the awkward silence that gravitated to the room.

"Suck up." Anakin sneered at me through our mental bond, earning a glare from me.

—Evening, Phoenix. Gentlemen. —Qui-Gon fixed his napkin over his lap and saluted us with a tilted head.

The deadly silence came back, glooming over us. My eyes found entertainment in the pattern on the plates and made it my job to overanalyze the quite simple paintings, waiting for anyone else to talk.

A loud bam made me look up, only to find Anakin picking up his fork from the floor after playing with it.

"It's a fork, Ani. One uses it to eat, it's not a toy."

My condescending tone made him squint his eyes at me. I just limited myself to, in the fakest way possible, politely smile at him. A waiter brought Qui-Gon the wine selection for him to pick from.

Another waiter brought some pieces of bread with a slice of nice cream cheese with herbs over it and I allowed myself to be the first one to pick from the plate. The bread crunched under my teeth and the smoothness of the delicatessé invaded my tongue, the flavors melting. A delighted hum inevitably fell from the inners of my throat. I heard Anakin chuckling and I directed my eyes to him, with a raised eyebrow.

"What?" I put the appetizer down.

"Nothing." He chuckled again under his breath, taking a sip of water afterward.

Qui-Gon looked up from the menu to glance at us, switching his gaze back and forth from both of us. We tried to act normal and continue our previous actions like nothing had happened. Once Qui-Gon returned his attention to the paper in his hand, I insisted on finding an answer.

"What?" I whispered louder in our mental bond. "And don't say nothing."

Anakin sure took his sweet time picking a tomato to bite it whole in one motion.

"That's the sound you make when you suck my cock." And I spit my water back on the glass.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon stared at me while I was coughing, asking me if I was okay and if I needed air. I assured them that I was okay and dismissed the topic quickly, not wanting to be in the spotlight any longer. Anakin was laughing on the low, face red and his hand on top of his mouth to hide his enjoyment.

"Asshole." I growled and he winked at me when no one was watching.

—I will take the Cabernet, thanks. —Qui-Gon told the sommelier and then cleared his throat when he finally directed himself at us. — How's everyone been doing?

We looked at each other from the corner of our eyes, in expectation of who would talk first. The sommelier came and poured the red liquid into the rounded cups next to our plates.

—Well... —I began and everyone directed their attention to me. —I've decided that I want to learn how to drive in Coruscant's traffic.

—Don't you know how to pilot a ship? —Obi-Wan furrowed his brows.

—Well, yeah... But that is in combat. Somehow the Coruscant streets are way worse than being chased by X-wings. —I bit a breadstick, but I immediately put it down when I noticed how it could be misinterpreted by Anakin.

—I think that's a great new challenge, good for you, young one. —Qui-Gon put his cup up, like he was cheering.

—Thanks! Now I just need a speeder to practice. —I shrugged my shoulders.

The waiters brought the first entreé, a creamy green soup with cheese on top and a funny little leaf. It looked really fancy, very unlike the cafeteria's daily lunch. We all took our spoons and dug in.

—You can use mine, you have already seen it when we went to the market. —Anakin spoke casually, sipping on his soup.

Did he ever use his brain?

Qui-Gon slowly turned to Anakin, with a frown and a suspicious stare. From my end, I just tried to drown myself in the bowl of cream, begging the universe would open a sinkhole below me. I didn't have to look at Obi-Wan to know that he was scratching his beard and peeking up to the ceiling, wishing that Qui-Gon wouldn't ask him about Anakin's statement.

—You two go to the market? —Qui-Gon said in disbelief.

—Uh... I mean...—Anakin began to say, not sure of what he was even going to make up.

—How often? —Qui-Gon insisted, his spoon still in mid-air.

—Well, n-not very often...

—Anakin drives me there to buy some things I don't trust the troopers to get me. Like my camera. —My tongue moved faster than my brain. I was just spilling words without knowing what was going to come out next, but if I stopped talking I would start to notice the sweat in my palms and that would enhance my nerves. —He does it whenever I beat him in training. It's like a bet. Very effective.—I affirmed, trusting that my cover-up was good enough to save both of our asses.

—Yes, exactly that. —Anakin snapped his fingers and hopped on my lie. —So, as you can see, it's not often. —He smirked confidently.

I glared at him for his nerve.

—Oh, I wasn't aware. I thought one of the troopers did. I supposed Hunter was the one. —My master slurped on his soup, complaining it was too hot.

—No, but I will consider it in the future. —I felt a kick on my leg and I couldn't hide my pain. —Auch!

—Sorry, Phoenix, a spasm. —Anakin grinned condescently.

—Oh, don't worry, Ani. Hope you don't choke on your food. —I smiled back.

Once we finished the first course, the servers came out of the kitchen and placed the food in front of us.

—You're probably wondering why I had you called in. —Qui-Gon spoke after a while, when we were in the middle of our meals. Unsure if it was a rhetorical question or not, we chose to remain quiet. —As a team, we are bound to hit bumps on the road. —He began, his eyes glued to the centerpiece. —We had a good run for the last two years, almost flawlessly. —He nodded to us with a toothless smile. —But even the great things in life run out of luck and it seems like we have reached our limit.

The atmosphere shifted to an uneasy state, the only sound was our nervous gulping.

—I think I've been a good leader, haven't I? I trust you guys, give you the freedom you want and I don't bother you much when it comes to missions. You can do as you see best. Or can any of you tell me otherwise? —Qui-Gon inspected our faces with furrowed brows, on stand-by for any defense.

—No, Qui-Gon. —We responded in unison.

—I believe that the trust I have invested in you has shown me the desired results. Our system works. Or so I thought.

—Qui-Gon, if I may intervene-

—I'm not finished, Obi-Wan. —Qui-Gon glared at him. —There have been many mistakes, much more than we can tolerate, under my watch and I'm putting an end to it. —He clenched his fists.—Ki-Adi-Mundi first, now Mace Windu is out on the loose too. —Qui-Gon put his hand on his forehead to massage it, and then took a second to glare at Anakin, forcing him to look down on his food. —The riots are getting out of control and we are not moving fast enough to end the rebel movement. —He spoke tirelessly and inhaled deeply. —Not to mention that little parade in the Imperial Convention. Huh, Obi-Wan? —Qui-Gon raised his voice so slightly, but it was enough to make me flinch.

"You okay, baby?" Anakin asked me.

"Yeah, everything is fine."

"I'm right here."

Obi-Wan just dedicated himself to deviating his gaze to the wall on his right, ignoring the Sith Master's stare.

—I tried to be patient and you give guys the benefit of the doubt. Maybe it was just a bad streak...However, I can't allow this to be normal for us. We are better than this. —He sighed. —So I'm ordering some changes.

—What changes? —Anakin was the first to spill his doubts.

—In the Hoth mission, we retrieved all the data about their bases. We left that job to the clones when we were right here. —He laughed humorlessly. —So... we're starting a series of missions to go and destroy those rat holes ourselves. —Qui-Gon picked up his fork and aggressively cut through the meat. —I will section the bases and assign them to different pairs. Hopefully, this will bring us closer together and make you guys take your heads out of your asses. —He smiled widely while he raised his eyebrows and put a piece of turkey in his mouth. —But most importantly, this will allow us to move faster in our Mace Windu hunt. This cannot go any longer. We need to find him ASAP. —He snapped. —The longer he is out there, the higher the risk for us and everything we have working for.

The meal didn't seem so appetizing now.

After being out of the Outer Rim for so long, I didn't know how to come back to the roughness of it. I knew my muscle memory would easily remember how to survive and if the rebels were as dumb as usual, the missions would take that long (even when we are talking about more than 75 bases), but being deployed wasn't as fun as before. Not when something was holding me near this place...

—Anakin and I will go first to Dantooine. Then Phoenix and Obi-Wan will be deployed to Jabiim.

—And when do we start? —My question came out more shy than I wanted to.

—Tomorrow. —We all almost spilled our wine.

—Tomorrow? —Anakin repeated in shock.

—Yes, any problems with that? —Qui-Gon stared expectantly at the long-haired man as he chewed.

—I mean... what's the rush? —He scratched his hair. —We can begin the day after tomorrow. —Anakin proposed, looking me through his eyelashes when he came back to messing with his food.

—Why wait? Got something better to do? —Qui-Gon drank his wine confusedly.

I fought the urge to meet his gaze, nonetheless, it was too dangerous. One wrong move, one look too sentimental and we would be doomed. So I remained with my eyes nailed to the green vegetables, praying that Anakin would play along just right.

—No, master...

—Good. You two will begin next week, Jabiim is kind of tricky so you need to prepare accordingly. —Obi-Wan nodded in understanding. Qui-Gon placed his knife and fork on the plate, a signal that he was done with his dinner. Like the empty plate wasn't enough.

—How long have you visualized these missions to go for? —Obi-Wan whispered, afraid to trigger Qui-Gon.

—I don't know... it could easily be months. It all depends on how fast we move. —He rolled his shoulders and chugged down the cup. —But don't worry Phoenix and Anakin, I have crafted all the plans so you don't have a mission together. I wouldn't like to stir the pot between you two. —He grinned like he just had the best idea ever.

—Why, oh Force... thank you Qui-Gon... —My muscles were working double shifts to make my beam look real.— Boy, what am I going to do with all the quietness once this one is gone? —I joked, masking my pain. Qui-Gon chuckled and Obi-Wan followed, trying to alleviate the mood.

I didn't want quietness. I hated the silence and space Anakin left whenever he was away.

I wanted his hurricane-like energy. I wanted his chaos.

I wanted him.

—And what will I do when you're not there, tormenting me every morning? —Anakin looked at me, hiding the same sad eyes I had. Thankfully our record of fights masked the true meaning of our words, but we both knew the real feelings behind them.

"Try to have some peace?" I suggested with a playful wince.

"Sweetheart, I haven't known peace since you arrived. You're in every thought that crosses my mind." He grinned charmingly.

—Who wants dessert? —Qui-Gon clapped. —I ordered them to make cheesecake!

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I heard a knock on my door, forcing me to immediately sit on the bed and glance at the clock. It was past midnight.

My feet walked me to the entrance, my socks tapping on the cold, marbled floor.

—Anakin? —I whispered, searching the hall. He was wearing his plaid pajama pants.—I thought you weren't coming here tonight.

After dinner, Qui-Gon had asked Anakin to follow him to his office to talk about the details of the mission. After three hours passed, I had given up the hope that he would come, so I just curled up under the covers of my bed. Needless, I was incapable of falling asleep.

—Unfortunately, I'm not here to stay. —He sighed. —Qui-Gon will come and wake me up tomorrow morning to leave early. So I don't want to risk him seeing us. —He leaned on the door frame.

—Yeah, yeah, I get it... —I put a messy strand of hair behind my ear. —How was the meeting?

—Same old... he is desperate to catch Windu, so it was all focused towards that. —He stretched his back and yawned.

—He is worrying too much. —I rolled my eyes. —I bet Obi and I will find him within days. — I flicked the air, minimizing the matter.

—Here she comes again, utterly confident.... —Anakin got closer to me, laughing in my face.

—I have my reasons. — I shrugged my shoulders.

—What do you say if we turn this into a bet? —Anakin raised his eyebrow.

—What type of bet?

—A fun one. —His eyes sparked in risky anticipation.

—Okay... how brave are you, Ani? —I put my hand on my hip and leaned on the door frame as well, our faces inches away.

—What's on your mind, pretty girl? —He smirked and pulled me closer by my waist.

—How about... a tattoo? —My offer was inspired by the softness of his skin underneath my fingertips. —I've been wanting to see you with one. —I chuckled, biting my bottom lip.

Anakin hummed for a while, looking down at me. He reached for the hem of my pants and removed it enough to see the ink on my hip.

—What are the rules? —He asked further.

—The first one to catch Mace Windu is the winner and gets to choose the loser's tattoo design... and location. —I whispered against his lips.

Anakin thought for a moment, his eyes glued to my lips.

—Scared, Ani? —I teased, fondling the skin of his naked shoulders.

—No... I was going to propose anal, but- —I slapped him on the shoulder and he burst into laughter.

He had been putting it on the table for some time now, however, I hadn't agreed to it because it was not something I had done before. I knew he would lose his mind if he knew he would be my first and that was a bonus card I would use later.

—So, are you in or are you a chicken? —My eyebrows wiggled.

—Fine. It's a bet. —He offered me his hand to shake and I gladly took it.

—It's a bet.

Anakin took advantage of the grip and used it to make me clash in his chest.

—I will miss these lips. —Anakin murmured before lowering himself and dropping a kiss on my mouth.

—You're saying it like we are not going to see each other ever again. —I chuckled nervously.

—Well, it's not like that... but a night without you already seems long enough.

He played with my hair at the same time I rubbed circles on his pecs. In the stillness of the night, we froze in time, reluctant to say goodbye to one another. Like magnets, our lips danced around; grazing cheeks and taking in our breaths, until they finally found their way to each other, hating to be away more than necessary.

—Oh, screw it. I will just wake up early. —And Anakin pushed me inside the room by grabbing my ass and kissing me passionately.

He left a number of  "remember me" gifts on my neck and chest before taking off the next morning.

The only trail of his presence were the messy sheets and the comforting scent of his cologne on my pillows.

And a little note on my nightstand:

"Don't you dare forget we have another deal.

As soon as I come back: I will pick you up at 7.

-Ani. "

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A/N: You have noooo idea how much I have missed you sweeties! Coming back last week was one of the most beautiful experiences! Being embraced with so much love warmed my heart! Thanks for sticking around!

Ohh, the date... I know there's a lot of fuss going around it. I will not say anything but 2 words: domestic Anakin. That's all I'm sharing!

Following some of my requests, next chapter is going to be about deepening the friendship between Obi-Wan and Phoenix!

Thanks for being a safe space :) y'all are amazing <3