Give Me Love

chapter twenty

You knew what Anakin was thinking without him even opening his mouth. It was written all over his face.

You wanted to say something to reassure him, but the anger that twisted his handsome features had you completely silent and stoic as he pulled you into a resting room, slamming the door closed with his fist, and immediately got to work ridding you of your jumpsuit.

His hand found the zipper by the back of your neck, when his com broke the silence.

"General Skywalker, you're requested at the command center immediately."

"Not now."

"Sir, we're on standby for departure."

"Force, you don't need me to take off. Tell Admiral Yularen to set course for Coruscant."

"Copy, sir."

He sighed quietly and then pulled the zipper down, leaving you in just your moisture-wicking undersuit. It was black and skin tight and easy to move around in, but left little to the imagination. You held your jumpsuit up around your waist, shielding your body from him.

"Come on, drop it. I have to see if you're bleeding from anywhere."

Normally that tone and that face would make you do anything. Not from arousal, but fear. Having anyone's anger directed at you reduced you to a trembling ball of mush, usually-- one of your worst traits. But this time, your insecurities were winning the battle on whether to stay silent or not.

"I can do this on my own, Anakin," you pleaded quietly, hoping he wouldn't become angrier at your defiance. "Plus... your face is bleeding. Let me help you."

"Skywalker, sir, you're requested in the command center immediately."

"I said not now. I'm busy."

"Sorry, sir, but it's important."

"How important?"

"The Council's called in."

Anakin swore under his breath. You weren't sensitive to expletives, but hearing them come from his mouth made you flinch.

"I'll only be a minute. I want that suit off and every inch of you checked before I come back. There's clothes under the cot for you to change into."

You nodded silently and watched him punch back out of the room.

In a way, you and Anakin would be a terrible match for each other. The boy with anger issues, and the girl who crumples around anger. It would be a nightmare, in any hypothetical world where he happened to share the same feelings and you and him could be together.

This realization came to you suddenly, as you stood frozen in place for a second too long and then remembered that he would be back soon. You immediately got to work ripping the jumpsuit off, and then the undersuit, fingers pulling at your skin to check for any damage like he had demanded.

It wasn't because he had asked you to. It was because you were afraid of what he might do if he came back and found that you hadn't.

Realistically, you knew he would never hurt you. The man brought you back to life after you had died, admitted he was scared of losing you, and almost fired you from your dream job so that you wouldn't be put in any danger. He would never lay a hand on you, ever, no matter what.

It was just your stupid brain falling back into it's old wirings, the one setting it had from when you lived on Noxella.

But Anakin was not your mother. He was not your mother. He would never hurt you the way she had.