Learning

Chapter 23: La Casa Skywalker

Ahsoka looked curiously around the interior of Mr Skywalker's car. He'd allowed her to sit in the passenger seat beside him and had remained impressed with the vehicle thus far. Her mum had rarely driven after the divorce so Ahsoka didn't have much experience sitting up at the front like an adult. The car itself was a sleek, shiny and black sports car. It looked a bit like a superhero car in Ahsoka's opinion. It also had a bunch of modern technology that fascinated Ahsoka as well: The dashboard was interactive, the windscreen wipers had little lights on the side of them, there were a bunch of buttons that Anakin was kind enough to explain the functions of and a cool little screen perfectly visible to the driver.

Right now Ahsoka was looking out the window as the rain fell around them. She realised that she would've gotten drenched if she'd gone home by herself. It also looked cool when they went under a street light and the wipers were wiping the rain away. The car was also pretty big so Anakin had just put her stuff in the back and made sure they were secure. He'd also taken the time to check that she was strapped in well and let her chose the music. She was impressed with his selection and chose a playlist from a band Ashla had liked. Anakin informed her that that band was also his wife's favourite. Ahsoka hoped that his wife liked her, her appearance was kind of unexpected and two women had already said no to her today. Ahsoka realised that this was what a dad was meant to do. Not that she saw Mr Skywalker as a dad, however she meant it when she said that he would be a good parent.

His house was along a street near the library and cinema. Ahsoka had gone past this street millions of times before but it was strange to stop in front of number 10 this time. The lawn outside was trimmed and neatly cut however Ahsoka could see that there were flower beds around it. "Well, welcome to la casa Skywalker. I hope you enjoy your stay." Anakin laughed as they got out the car and quickly dodged the rain. The gate was slippery with the rain but he managed to open it with ease.

Padme stood in the doorway, shielding her eyes from the rain as they approached. "Well don't just stand there, get in here." She laughed as they ran inside.

Ahsoka quickly stamped her feet against the doormat and hung her coat up on the coat hanger. "Hi, I'm Ahsoka Tano." She introduced herself to Padme with a handshake but the wife quicky enveloped her into a hug.

"It's good to finally meet you Ahsoka, Ani talks about you a lot. And the rest of your class as well." Padme smiled at her and led her into the living room. "This is the living room and the kitchen is next door. Our bedroom is upstairs with an ensuite bathroom and your bedroom is two doors down from ours. It's a guest bedroom but it should be okay. The main bathroom is also just beside your room." Padme stopped talking after gesturing up the stairs and turned to her husband. "Am I forgetting anything?" Anakin and Ahsoka both laughed while she looked confused.

Anakin stopped laughing and turned to Ahsoka. "The only other things you need to know is there is also a back garden and a garage out front filled with things. You can find practically anything in there. There's an airing cupboard next to the stairs and a cupboard under the stairs for your shoes and bags to go. Homework goes on the table here." He gestured to the wooden table beside the door. "Any questions?" That was a lot of information to throw at Ahsoka all at once. It also kind of fell into the premise of her staying for more than the unexpected evening.

Ahsoka shook her head. "No, but thank you. You're both being very kind to me." She cursed her eyes for filling with tears but was pleased when Mr Skywalker hugged her rather than look awkward. "Thanks Sir." She whispered, softly crying onto his shirt.

Anakin hated seeing other people upset, especially those who were suffering something he had. "Hey it's not a problem Ahsoka. And you can call us Anakin and Padme. No need for Sir here." He pulled away slightly and wiped her eyes. "Padme's going to show you to your room while I prepare dinner, is that okay? We're having a stir fry." Anakin asked her, checking to make sure that she was okay.

Ahsoka nodded, smiling at his kindness and the warm atmosphere around them. She gladly followed Padme upstairs who engaged her in pleasant, albeit slightly boring, conversation. "You know Ahsoka, the weather people assured us it wouldn't rain this week. This is hardly what I would call dry weather..." Anakin laughed at the dryness of the talk but was pleased that Padme was making her feel welcome. The truth was that Anakin had talked a lot about Ahsoka and so his wife knew as much about her as he did but it was nice that she was letting her tell her herself.

He walked into the kitchen and made a start on dinner when Ahsoka came back downstairs. "You okay?" Anakin asked, concerned.

Ahsoka nodded. "Yeah, I just remembered that I should probably tell people where I am so that they don't get worried." She went over to her phone and started to call someone. "Hi Miss Tekla, yes I know it's late. I'm sorry I worried you all. I'm okay though. I didn't want to talk about where I'm going to live in the future so I stayed behind after school. Mr Skywalker, Anakin, he offered for me to sleep at his home for the night... Yeah okay, you can talk to him." Ahsoka walked into the kitchen. "It's my lawyer, speaking on behalf of herself, my therapist and social worker. She wishes to talk to you. Make sure you and your wife aren't weird." She handed him the phone and went back upstairs where Padme was making her bed.

Anakin lifted the phone to his ear. "Anakin here. Yes, yes, I'm her teacher and Tutor. I drove her here. My wife is upstairs with her making her bed. We've babysat for children before; you can call Obi-wan Kenobi to check. No, neither of us have a criminal record nor any records of violence, any child related crimes or addiction. We are all clear. Yes we only intend for it to be one night. Okay thank you, goodnight." He ended the call with a sigh and placed Ahsoka's phone carefully down on the counter before returning back to the food.

"What did they say?" Her sudden voice caused Anakin to jump about a mile as he whirled around to see his wife. Padme laughed as she came over to calm him down. "Oh sorry, sorry. I'm not laughing at you, I just.... Haha." She straightened her posture and tried to control her laughter. "I just wanted to know what they said." Padme asked him as she took the ingredients from him.

Anakin huffed. "They just wanted to check that we were good people who didn't have any records of anything bad. Ahsoka is to definitely stay here for only one night though." He told her although she could hear the want in his voice.

She kissed him. "Ahsoka isn't our kid Ani. She's a young girl who has just lost her Mum and is spending the night with people she barely knows because of other relationship strains. We cannot add to her stress." Padme hugged him. "I've gotten Ahsoka's bed sorted and right now she's just familiarising herself with the house. Maybe when she's finished the two of you could bond in the living room? Over TV? Perhaps a game show?" Anakin laughed for he knew what she was doing but went along with it anyway.

Tonight would be a good night. Ahsoka would finally get the right thing she needed. A loving and supportive household regardless of how temporary it was to be.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, reasonable length and cute with the little family moments. I will update again tomorrow. Adiós.