Anemoia | (Anisoka +18 ENG version)

Chapter I

Another rotation, another argument. That was how his life felt lately. Not even battles or disagreements with the Council occupied his mind as much as the constant feeling that his wife was taking his heart in her hands and crushing it until it broke.

She was older, and so, she was supposed to know more about life and relationships than he did, right? Or at least, that's what she tried to convince him of. But he had seen so much at such a young age that he felt like he could easily be in his fifties, not in his twenties.

Slavery.

Death.

War.

Injustice.

Darkness.

He shook his head, running a hand over his face in frustration as his footsteps echoed chillingly through the Senate building halls.

He wasn't a child anymore. In fact, he never was; he didn't have time for that. It had been taken from him. First by Watto, then by the Jedi Council.

He stopped in his tracks, analyzing that thought. His breathing was labored, and his heart pounded in his ears. A bad sign"or as Obi-Wan would often tell him, a warning sign. He took a deep breath and leaned against one of the walls, letting the cold marble against his back soothe him. He clenched his fist, the only one with which he could still feel something real, until the pain brought him back to reality. He blinked a few times, looking around.

This wasn't the life Anakin had imagined when he dreamed of marrying Padmé. Yes, he knew the risks and costs it would involve, but this didn't resemble the happiness he had fantasized about as a child during those long, hot nights on Tatooine.

Had that been taken from him too?

His communicator beeped twice before he bothered to check who it was. A green light"it meant Obi-Wan, and he wouldn't answer right now. But not the yellow light. He always answered those, no matter the time or place.

"What is it, Snip""

"Anakin! I need to see you, *now*!" The urgency in his padawan's voice made his heart skip a beat. Adrenaline surged through his veins, and his senses sharpened.

"Are you okay? What's going on?"

"Just come to the Temple!" Ahsoka's voice cracked for a moment. Then she was heard taking a deep breath and continuing more calmly, "Please, just"come."

"Of course." It was all Anakin could manage to say. He couldn't think, he just had to run.

On the way, he thought hundreds, thousands of things as he sped up his speeder to an illegal and dangerous speed, weaving between other vehicles with pinpoint precision. The wind in his hair reminded him that he was alive, but if he kept driving like that, he might not be for much longer"and he couldn't allow that. Not when she needed him.

He entered the Temple with long strides, ignoring the curious and irritated looks from Jedi and Padawans crossing his path. It wasn't anything new to him; they had never looked at him sincerely"there was always judgment in their eyes. He had learned not to care about it many years ago.

When he finally reached Ahsoka's quarters, he had to press his palm against the reader three times before it allowed him in. He was so anxious that he couldn't think straight, and his movements were clumsy. He burst into the room like he was jumping into hyperspace and frantically searched for her with his eyes. He couldn't even stop himself from calling her name.

"Ahsoka?" There was more desperation in his voice than he was willing to admit.

The seconds it took for his padawan to come out of the bathroom felt like an eternity. He looked her over from head to toe, searching for injuries or any sign of what was going on, but his body moved on its own, and before he realized it, he had already closed the distance between them with long strides. He looked at her closely; her eyelids were red, and she was sniffling, looking down. He didn't know when he had taken her by the shoulders, but with his mechanical hand and extreme care, he lifted her chin to meet her eyes.