In the End {1}

~ The Lake ~

"Oh, so it's like that, huh?" He picked her up by her waist and pulled her underwater for a few seconds. When the came up, Ahsoka laughed.

She wrapped her legs around his torso and rested her hands on his shoulders. "This totally beats that party," she said.

"I completely agree." He wrapped his arms around her back. Ahsoka took a sharp breath in as he and pulled her closer, eliminating the space between them. The feeling of his bare skin against hers was... intoxicating. 

She couldn't help but notice as his gaze dropped. She smiled, remembering the first time he'd sized her up. "Well, it seems boys are the same, whether they're Republic or Separatist," she said, smirking.

He blushed. "Sorry. It's not every day I'm half naked swimming in a lake with an incredibly attractive girl."

He reached down and lightly traced his fingers along her thighs, sending a warm sensation through her body.

"Stop that," she said. "It's making it incredibly difficult for me to think."

What was she doing? She couldn't do this. Not here, not now, and not ever. She relaxed her legs and peeled her body away from his.

"Lux," she said, sounding more confident than she felt, "You know I can't."

His face fell. "Don't remind me."

But she couldn't bring herself to leave him alone. Jaryn's words rang through her head as she weighed her options.

Stay true to who you are and what you feel.

The Jedi Code didn't define her, but it was still important that she honor its tenants. However, her heart wanted Lux, and it was incredibly hard to argue with it.

"Which is why I can't believe I'm doing this." She took a step forward, and without giving herself time to talk herself out of it, she pressed her lips to his.

Lux reacted almost immediately, kissing her back just as sweetly. Her heart skipped a beat as his hand slowly traveled down her side and rested on her hip. He lifted her up, and she hooked her legs around his waist again. His lips were soft. So kriffing soft. She could taste the faint bitterness of the caf he had been drinking earlier.

He pulled her body against his and covered her mouth with his. She could feel his passion as he kissed her harder, wrapping his arms around her back.

It was a good thing her master wasn't around. She'd be thrown out of the Order for sure if anyone found out, and she was sure that kissing a Jedi didn't bode well for a Senator, either.

She reluctantly pulled away, steadying her breathing.

"I'm sorry," she said. "That was... not planned." That's one word for it.

He smiled. "No, but it certainly wasn't unwelcome."

"Look, Lux," she said, unhooking her legs from his waist, "I'm a Jedi. You're a Senator. We can't."

"Believe me, I know."

Ahsoka could sense his heartbreak in his words. She shouldn't have kissed him. It wasn't fair for her to get his hopes up like that. Now, their friendship was going to be awkward.

She turned away from him, not wanting to see his reaction to what she was about to say. "I couldn't live with myself if I let this whole assignment go by without at least telling you how I feel. Now you know, I guess. I'm sorry."

"Me too," he said. "Sometimes, I wish we could just be normal, you know?"

"Trust me, you have no idea," Ahsoka said, smiling, in spite of herself.

She swam back to the pier and pulled herself out of the lake. After drying herself off with her t-shirt, she walked back to the cottage and cleaned up. When she walked out of her room, Lux was sitting on the couch in the living room.

He was lost in thought, and Ahsoka had a feeling it had something to do with what had happened in the lake. She sat down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He reached his arm out and snaked it around her waist.

"We're never going to make it past this," Lux said. "You're just as stubborn as I am. Be honest with me, Ahsoka. Is the only thing standing in the way of this—of us—the Jedi rules?"

"Yes," she breathed. If she weren't a Jedi, she would've made a move a long time ago.

"Could we give it a try? At least until you have to go back to Coruscant. That way, no one has to know."

"It's against the Code, Lux." She and her master had broken the rules more times than she could count, but breaking the Jedi Code? That was more serious than disobeying the Council. "Not to mention that you're going to be a Senator. You're going to be in the public eye constantly as soon as it's official. This is exactly the kind of thing that'll end your career."

"I know, I know. But I really want to make it work. Let me worry about the Senate thing. There has to be some loophole for your Code, right?"

If there was, she was sure Anakin would've found it and exploited it by now. "No, unfortunately, there isn't."

"So what are we going to do?"

"I don't know." She wanted to talk to her master about it and get his perspective, but she already knew what he was going to say.

Purpose must come before feelings.

A/N: Hello friends. I hope this chapter was as fun to read as it was to write :)

This is actually one of many versions I had for this scene. Because I can't resist writing some classic fluff, I could be convinced to post them somewhere or do some editing to use them down the road in a new project. We'll see what happens. I dunno what I'm going to do yet.

I finished up writing the last chapter of this story this week, and let me just say, I'm excited for where this story is going. Bad news: it's going to get worse before it gets better. Good news: the ending is a perfect segue into a sequel! More details on that when I sit down and plan out book 2!

Have a great weekend, and may the force be with you!