Accismus?????.? Anakin Skywalker?????.?

45.

'I would hate to embarrass myself like that!'

'I just know that Master Skywalker is ripping his hair out at the idea of training Tano.'

'Did you see how angry he looked?'

'Hey!'

Sol froze as Ahsoka's small form stopped in front of her. Quieter than last time, but with the same strong base, Ahsoka's exclamation made the table of Padawans jump. Sol held her tray with her eyes wide as Ahsoka blocked her path and glared down at the girls who sat with empty trays in front of them.

With a face like thunder, Ahsoka made sure to eye each of the girls from the edge of their table. Sol had never seen the Padawan hold such an unimpressed expression. Her large eyes were solid with their glaze like stone, and her orange skin flared like fire in her anger. The Padawans who were all of the human species looked intimidated, but tried to appear unbothered at the Togruta's presence.

'Watch your mouth, Cyprutus. How my Master sees me is none of your concern,' Ahsoka seethed. 

'Sorry, Tano, but I'm just looking out for you,' the blonde Padawan who seemed the most confident out of the group. She leaned forward to fold her arms and lean her elbows on the table, and Sol hoped that they would slip and send her face into her tray. A slight use of the Force could grant Sol this desire, but she knew that it would be dishonourable as a Knight to do such a thing to a Padawan.

'I don't need you to. I don't think you could even look into the Force for me, since you're known for being untuned to its connection.'

Sol coughed a laugh, making the cup of water wobble on her tray. The look that overcame the blonde Padawan's face was to die for, and the confidence that she feigned fell onto the floor underneath her table. Her friends shrunk even further into their seats and Ahsoka, who held her icy glare, turned away and continued her journey to her Master's table. While the Padawans sat low in shame with their leader defeated, Sol hurried after Ahsoka to the man who waited impatiently for their arrival. 

'You two sure like making a scene,' Anakin said, his tray finished but still sitting on the opposite bench that Ahsoka and Sol slipped onto. Sol noticed his hard eyes, which she only ever saw soft when they were alone together, and saw how he eyed Ahsoka specifically for her performance in the cafeteria. 

'I couldn't help myself, Master. They were talking about you, and they're the biggest nerf herders in here-'

'Ahsoka!'

'What? They are!'

Sol shook her head at the Padawan's language. She huffed as she ate her food, impressed with Ahsoka's confidence against the Padawans she personally disliked, but the event had caused Sol to question whether she should have told her about Satele Shan.

If Ahsoka had as loud of a mouth with Sol's situation with the Force ghost, Sol could be in deep trouble when the Council undoubtedly hears about it. She wanted to trust Ahsoka as nothing had given her a reason to think otherwise, but Sol only chosen to intrust Ahsoka with the information because she was new to the ways of the Jedi. As a Padawan, Ahsoka was yet to learn the true workings of the faith, and Sol thought that she would be open-minded to the subject of an ancient Jedi that became pregnant while part of the Order. She hoped that Ahsoka's loud opinions were subjective, and that if a secret was sensitive, she would keep it to her grave.

'Obi-wan used to say the complete opposite to me, but if you held your tongue like you worked your saber, you'd be the politest Jedi I'd ever met,' Anakin said with a hint of mocking. 'Besides Sol here, of course. Although you have your moments, too.' 

Sol looked through her eyelashes at Anakin, noticing how the edge of Anakin's lips was hitched up as he looked at her. She was about to bite back with an equal amount of playfulness, but she stopped when she realised why Anakin was bringing up the topic of Ahsoka's swordsmanship.

'Oh, how did your sparring go today, Ahsoka?' Sol said, turning to the Padawan next to her.

'It was great! I won ever dual but one,' Ahsoka beamed as she ate her dinner. 'Grand Master Yoda looked really impressed, right Master? He even said that I could rival the Chosen One-'

'He didn't say that.'

'-and it wasn't until I faced Revan Shan that I fumbled the-' 

Ahsoka paused in her rambles and Sol jerked her head up from her tray. A silence fell over the table, and Anakin sensed the urgency in the two women who stared at each other. He raised an eyebrow, thinking that they were having a form of medical episode, before he cleared his throat to try and wake them from their depths. Sol's mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out, leaving Ahsoka to glance to her Master with the same wide-eyed expression. Anakin looked around him to see if someone was playing a Jedi mind trick on him, but when he saw everyone was hunched over their meals, or deep in conversation, he looked back to his table confused.

'I have to go!' Ahsoka stood and heaved her legs over the bench, her mind set and her actions frantic.

'Ahsoka, wait-' 

Sol's attempt to stop the Padawan went unheard. The Togruta ran to the doors of the cafeteria and didn't slow when the doors slid open to let her through to the halls of the temple. Her tray was left half-eaten, and Sol didn't want to be left with Anakin to explain why they had both reacted the way they had. The truth was that whoever Revan Shan was, they could be a resource for Sol to find out about Satele Shan, as it couldn't be a coincidence that they shared the same last name. Although Sol was eager to find out more about Satele, she didn't want Ahsoka to sacrifice her dinner just to find the possible lead that could be a dead end. 

'Usually, I would question what's gotten into Snips, but I won't,' Anakin stated after he watched the cafeteria doors close after the departure of his Padawan. Sol shifted her gaze to the man across from her, surprised to hear his statement, but felt her stomach turn when she saw the close-lipped smile on his face. His eyes had begun to soften, like they did when in private, and Sol wanted to stare into their blue all night long.

'Because I want you to finish your dinner, and then I'm going to take you to Padme's,' he said.

'Padme's? Why?'

'Never mind why. I'll need your keys, though, because I'm driving.'

--- 

The ride from the Jedi Temple to Padme's penthouse was short. Sol had only ever been in the passenger seat of her own yellow speeder twice, and both was with Anakin behind the controls. She remembered speeding through the city after the assassination attempt of Padme, and how Anakin had forced himself into Sol's speeder without her permission. His brash actions had shocked her, and she learnt that Padawan Anakin Skywalker, the supposed Chosen One, wasn't the average Jedi.

The cold wind was brisk with the speeder having no roof. Sol never found the need for a convertible as they were expensive, but when she felt her exposed arms begin to shake, she wished she had splurged just a little bit. The passing of other speeders in the adjacent lanes didn't help, as they created winds that chilled to the bone.

Trying to appear discrete, Sol placed her hands on her biceps and squeezed them in an attempt to stop their shakes. She looked out to the city, while Anakin looked away from the windshield to see the shivering woman in the passenger seat. 

'My robe is in the back if you want it,' he mentioned, feeling the cold breeze on his cheeks as he drove. 

Sol wanted to resist, but she couldn't when she looked over to the backseat where Anakin's large, dark brown laid in a heap. She leaned over and grabbed the robe, already smelling the fresh scent that Anakin always carried with him. Putting her arms through the hole, Sol was doused in the oversized robe and felt immediate relief as it shielded her from the cold winds of Coruscant. 

'Better?' Anakin asked with a glance and smiled when Sol hummed in response.

It felt good to know that Sol was covered in something of Anakin's, as he was forbidden to show any sort of connection or relationship with her when in the presence of others. Without the eyes of the Order, Anakin could know that Sol was in his protection, and that they could feel safe under the roof of Senator Padme Amidala's private penthouse apartment.