Healing Hurts (Anakin Skywalker)

Chapter 13

(A/N: Hi everyone! This chapter is a little shorter BUT I wanted to go ahead and post and also let you all know that I've made a Spotify playlist for this fic!

Here's the link: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/39mfbjVbZZ8pIGJ6MOEsA2?si=eRIEYjnTTHOZ11QCMR08Zw&pi=u-WTNIZcSuTea4

)

Havena didn't sleep that night. Well, technically not night, but... during those hours alone. She couldn't stop her mind from racing a mile a minute and stuck on where she was and who was surrounding her. The few moments of rest that she did get were because Kix gave in and gave her something to help her get some sleep. He'd been exceptionally helpful at that point, walking her through her injuries (namely a broken ankle and a potential minor concussion) and explaining his concerns regarding her heart rate and other health concerns (of course, she wasn't a stranger to this line of questioning, but she humored him anyway) until she finally nodded off.

    It was around 12 standard hours later when she finally opened her eyes. Again, she was blinded by the blinding white light coming from above her bed. She rubbed her eyes gently and held back a yawn. Without thinking, Havena stretched and then let out a hiss as she jostled her broken ankle.

    "Shit!"

It was then that Havena heard shuffling coming from her left. When she turned her head, she was shocked to see Anakin Skywalker sitting in a chair near her bed. His eyes were drooping, like he'd been fighting off sleep, but still he managed to jump himself awake once he heard the girl's cry.

"You okay?" He asked.

For a moment Havena was silent. She was still in a tired haze, but more than that? She was half stunned. She'd spent her entire life seeing him in her dreams and watching him on tv, and she never, not once, thought she would end up with THE Anakin Skywalker standing - well, sitting - right in front of her. Part of her was star struck, but another part of her thought back to what he'd done only 12 hours earlier and couldn't tell if she wanted to run or smack him the most.

"I'm fine... just moved my leg a little too much," she responded. Her eyes met his, and she found herself wondering how long he'd gone without sleep. He looked completely different than she'd expected. Everything about him seemed to scream exhaustion. His robes were wrinkled, his eyes were dark and heavy, and even his hair seemed to be a bit more... erratic, than usual. "Why... why are you here? You look like you've not slept in days."

Part of her felt bad for him. Taking part in any sort of war had to be extremely stressful, especially if it was a galaxy-wide endeavor.

He nodded and gave the girl a sheepish look. "Well... I kind of haven't. Not much, anyway."

"That still doesn't answer why you're here."

Anakin quietly cleared his throat. "Well- it's just been a hectic few days."

"Yeah... you're telling me." Havena huffed and silently fiddled with the fox laying beside her.

She avoided Anakin's gaze, eyes on the stuffed animal as she let the conversation temporarily die down. But Anakin was okay with that - it gave him more of an excuse to look at her. To be able to see her in person was still something that seemed so foreign to him - like seeing a fish out of water.  He couldn't process in his mind that she was really there. Not fully. It was like a foreign concept to him.

"So... what's the story behind that?" Anakin finally broke the uncomfortable silence and pointed toward the stuffed fox in Havena's lap. It was nearly the same color as her hair - Anakin hadn't noticed that until just then, even though he'd been staring at it off and on for a couple of hours by then. "What is it?"