Ahsoka Tano One-Shots

Padawan to Padawan

Heyo, human beings from outer space!

Sooo this one was just a random little scene I couldn't get out of my head, so I put a short little thing on tumblr, and everyone loves me so here we are!

Read on if you dare.

Caleb Dume was going to have a heart attack. Right here, on the floor of the Padawan quarters, Caleb Dume was going to go into cardiac arrest and die. He was sure of it. His heart was beating way too fast and his lungs refused to inflate properly and his eyes stung with tears and images that came straight from the nightmares he lived on the battlefield.

But then two hands slipped into his, squeezing his fingers gently, and a soft voice said, "It's going to be okay, Caleb. What do my hands feel like? Hot or cold?"

Caleb couldn't see who it was, but he squeezed the oddly cool hands and said. "Cold."

"Rough or smooth?"

He felt the grooves of scars and the tough callouses. "Rough."

The questions continued, and before Caleb knew it, he was no longer in danger of a heart attack. He blinked and his vision cleared, revealing his hands laced with a leaner pair. He followed the hands to the arms until he was staring into the face of a smiling Ahsoka Tano. He almost had a heart attack again, but this time it was the surprise of seeing the Chosen One's padawan smiling at him.

And Caleb ran.

He shot off the floor and scrambled through the doorway, breaking into a full-fledged sprint. The hallways blurred together as he plowed aimlessly through the temple until he somehow ended up in the Room of a Thousand Fountains. A few knights shot him strange looks and Caleb, still panting from the run, hurried into the heart of the gardens in search of his favorite spot.

It only took him a minute to find it: a tiny waterfall spitting out between rocks. No one was ever here-- it was tucked away behind boulders and vine-laced trees so perfectly he had to know exactly where to slip through.

Caleb plopped down on a mossy rock, kicked off his boots, and stuck his feet into a glassy spot sectioned off from the tiny main stream. He watched the ripples it caused slowly settle back to the still, reflective water and stared at himself through it.

Why was he like this? Why the kriff did he have to go around embarrassing himself at every chance? First of all, he'd probably be mocked for crying on the floor. Second of all, Ahsoka Tano probably thought he was the weakest padawan alive. Third, she probably also thought he was stupid and rude for running away like that. He mentally kicked himself again and again, frowning deeply at his mirror image in the water. Why was he like this?

Another head popped into the reflection, and Caleb would've started mentally beating himself for imagining it if another set of feet hadn't splashed into the water next to his and sent him into his third near-heart attack of the day.

"Hey, it's okay," Ahsoka told him, trying to grab his hands again.

Caleb whipped his hands back, scooting out of her reach, but froze in place when her gentle voice said, "don't run."

Ahsoka shifted closer, close enough to take his hands, but didn't touch him. "Sorry if I'm being pushy, I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Caleb stared at her, throat too tight to form words.

"If you want me to leave I'll just---"

"No," Caleb blurted out, too quickly, and he wanted to punch himself in the face. But that would make things more awkward, so he decided to add, in as casual of a voice as he could muster, "You can stay if you want." he threw in a shaky shrug for effect.

"Thanks," Ahsoka said, flashing him a careful smile. "So... you're okay now? You still seem stiff."

"Yeah, I'm good," Caleb squeaked. The silence that followed was very awkward for Caleb, who felt like Ahsoka's eyes were boring through him, searching down to his bones and darkest, deepest secrets.

"You don't have to be embarrassed, you know," she finally said. "Panic attacks happen to everyone."

"Not to them," Caleb muttered, thinking back to his roommates.

"They're also not all fighting in the war," Ahsoka pointed out, "They don't know what it's like to be on the front lines, to know you could die at any moment and to watch others die in front of you."

The two shuddered in tandem.

"The ones who know won't make fun of it. And the ones that do make fun of you---"

"Ignore them," Caleb interrupted, reciting what every adult seemed to tell him. "They'll lose interest eventually."

"I guess you could do that, but I was gonna say send them to me."

Caleb's head shot up and he stared at Ahsoka with an expression that must've looked stupid because she snorted back a laugh. "I'd almost think you were afraid of me, Caleb."

He scoffed three times, mind reeling for a witty response. "Scared? Wha-- no! Why would-- of course not!"

This time Ahsoka didn't swallow her laughter and Caleb shrank into himself. He knew he'd never be "cool" enough to just hang out with the Chosen One's padawan. For some reason, it stung, even though he should've expected it.

"Aw, hey, I didn't mean anything bad," Ahsoka promised, sobering. "I'll make it up to you. You can stay in Anakin's quarters with me tonight."

"You stay in your master's room?"

"Only when he's gone," Ahsoka agreed.

"You mean he's on a mission without you?"

She nodded.

"Why?"

"Because sometimes he can be an overprotective bantha butt."

Caleb froze again at that, not sure if he should ask the Force to forgive her for blasphemy or to laugh.

"Oops, I forget people think Anakin's all high and mighty," Ahsoka said. "Don't worry, and you can stop walking on egg shells around me. I'm just another padawan. Like you."

This time Caleb laughed, because the whole idea was absurd.

"Really," Ahsoka said, frowning. "Everyone thinks I'm special but I'm not. I'm just Obi-Wan's way of trying to get payback at Anakin since he wasn't an easy padawan. Oh, don't look sad, it's not like I'm not learning. It's an honor-- don't get me wrong--- but you can stop treating me like something special."

"But you're advanced in---"

"So are others," Ahsoka interrupted. "It's not that rare. Others are better than me. I'm not perfect." She stuck out her hand. "So, padawan to padawan, let's be friends."

Caleb stared at her hand. Could this be real? Could the Chosen One's padawan be asking to be friends with infamous Caleb Dume?

"I don't have many friends. Everyone thinks I'm too special or stuffy to talk to me." There was a note of resent and pleading in her voice, and Caleb chanced a look up at her face. It was Ahsoka Tano alright, but really, she was just another padawan. An extremely talented one, yes, but she was a kid, and so was he.

Caleb took her hand and shook it. 

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Word count: 1,246

Published: 20 May 2024

Yeah I'm pretty sure I wrote this same thing about three times but i can't stop cause i love these two sooooo much

Requests are open, feel free to make a comment here or on my profile if you have an idea!

hasta la vida, peoples!