|| Uninvited || An Anakin Skywalker Story

Chapter Sixty

You guys! We hit 50k!  So insane. This story has brought me so much joy and I have you all to thank for that. I cherish each and every one of you.

Here we goooooo <3

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Anakin's POV

Nothing in my life has ever been fucking easy.

And I don't say that as a way to illicit some sort of pity or half-assed sympathy. I embrace the challenge. As if I fucking made for it; specifically created to fight for every inch, every single good thing I have in my life. And I am damn good at it.

Not many people can go from an insignificant slave on Tatooine to a gods damned Jedi war hero.

More and more, I actively seek out the challenge. Chasing the thrill of standing toe to toe with seemingly impossible odds. Because each and every time, I beat them.

But Kels was a challenge I never anticipated.

While I had proven myself time and time again when it comes to physical feats or demonstrations of instinctual wit, my emotions had never truly been challenged. The Jedi way of life has taught me to suppress, to create an impenetrable separation between my mind and my heart. The two have never had a moment of true reconciliation. 

However, I haven't quite been able to quiet those swirling emotions that claw at the back of my mind. And then in walks Kels Remlik with her understated ferocity and eyes that make my heart fucking ache. The girl who directly calls to those long-neglected emotions. She brings them to the forefront, and it takes every single ounce of strength and training to keep them at bay.

Kels doesn't hold any prisoners. She wears her emotions on her sleeve, and the closer I get to her, the more I succumb to her powerful pull of her heart. She feels so gods damned deeply. And the connection that continuously binds us together through the force has those emotions channeling directly into my psyche.

I fucking hurt when she hurts.

I was never taught to ask why, to question beyond blind obedience. Despite the desire to do just that coming very naturally, I never was given an outlet to properly work through this compulsion of mine that pisses off so many of my Jedi counterparts. According to the Jedi, the word "no" is a final, full sentence. And despite my natural inclination to rebel and protest, I try to bite my tongue. I truly have tried...

But arguing with Kels is almost as if the force is playing some cruel joke on me. It's like sparring with my very own reflection. Because she also doesn't back down. She challenges my words and demands rationale. She doesn't blindly accept my logic as the sole truth. It has me completely unravelling and it takes everything in me to cling to the waning control I have on my thoughts.

I don't know how to respond; the words feel elusive on my tongue. As if the only words I ever learned were short, brisk and leave no room for debate. I was never trained to have these conversations. They feel foreign and uncomfortable. So, I revert back to the military stoicism and curtness that has carried me thus far.

But it only seems to make everything worse. Because she's correct. I don't have authority over her. She is not one of my soldiers who look to me for direction or command. She has every right to question me, to seek full transparency from me. And we both know I am not giving that to her.

I found myself surrendering morsels of truth out of pure panic. My meeting with Jabba, the deal I made, the real reason we are here on Tatooine. Anything to keep her from trying to leave the ship, to keep her willingly with me. I didn't want to resort to trapping here, but I clearly wasn't above it. There was no fucking way in hell I'd let her wander this port alone. Apart from the cantina, it's an epicenter for all the debauchery and corruption that takes place on this waste of a planet.