In the End {1}

xii: Slap in the Face

Ahsoka stood on the balcony Senator Amidala's apartment, waiting for Anakin to return from his council report. With any luck, they would be sending some more help to sort this case out so Anakin and Ahsoka didn't have to do it all themselves.

No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't stop thinking about the kiss. It had been an accident, right? No, she knew it wasn't an accident. She wanted to kiss him, and she knew he wanted to kiss her. Everything about it felt so wrong yet so right at the same time.

"Hey, Snips," Anakin said, startling her.

"Oh, hi Master." She turned around.

"Something on your mind?" he asked. "You seem jumpy today."

She knew he was going to have plenty of opinions, but regardless, she wanted his advice. "Lux and I kissed when I visited him in the hospital. I don't know why or what it means, and I'm confused."

"I doesn't sound that confusing to me. You still have feelings for him."

"What? No, I'm with someone else now."

"I can read you like an open book, Ahsoka. Ever since your trial, you've been running. I know you've been through a lot. It's hard to make sense out of the things you feel sometimes, but it's okay to slow down and process."

She crossed her arms. That was the most Obi-Wan response Anakin had given her in a long time. "I don't know what to do. I want to move on from that time in my life, and in order to do that, I can't live in the past. Lux is the past."

"So am I," he observed, "but you haven't cut me out."

"Don't tempt me, Skyguy," she joked. "What did the Council have to say?"

He sighed. "Nothing new. The general consensus is that this is a lost cause, especially now that we don't have access to everything Ventress had already done."

"Well that's ceratinly great to hear. Nice to see they haven't changed."

He chuckled. "Yeah, you'd think they'd get the memo by now. Master Windu wanted me to drop it entirely. He was convinced the local police were more than capable of catching a psychopath serial killer set on destroying the Jedi."

"Of course he did. What a slap in the face to us. It's like he doesn't even care that we're trying to help." She wasn't sure what Master Windu had against Anakin, and because she was Anakin's padawan, she was also subject to Windu's selective lack of compassion. Had Master Windu not pushed so hard for her to be thrown out of the Order, maybe she'd be on the front lines leading the charge where she belongs.

"We're on our own now," Anakin said. "We're going to get to the bottom of this, and I know exactly where to start: Barriss's past. Once we figure out what happened to her to make her crack, we can start putting the pieces together. I'm going to pull some files from the archives and see what we can get our hands on."

"Perfect. Can I meet you back here when you're done?"

He paused a moment. "Aren't you going to come with me? You're the studious one, remember?"

She smiled. "That I am. No, I don't think me going back there is such a good idea." She wasn't ready for the judgmental glances or rude stares that she was bound to encounter if she were to spend any time in the archive library.

"I understand. See you soon, then."

He turned and walked back inside.

"May the force be with you, Skyguy," she muttered under her breath as he left. She really hoped he would find something worth investigating. She was dying to get out back there and save some lives.

While she waited for Anakin, Ahsoka stopped by Nyx's apartment. She still wasn't sure what she was going to say about Lux or if she was even going to say anything at all. He would almost certainly be mad, but she would feel guilty if she kept their kiss from him.

The door was unlocked, which was odd. She crept inside, her senses alert.

"Nyx, you home?" she called out.

"Yeah, bedroom," he yelled back.

She let down her guard and walked into the bedroom. Nyx was sitting on the bed shirtless, watching a show on the holonet. He looked terrible. He had several cuts all over his arms and chest, and his right arm was in a sling.

"Holy kriff, Nyx, what happened? Are you okay?"

"That depends on your definition of okay, Ashla," he responded coldly. "I got into a fight with someone a couple of levels down. I just got back from the hospital not too long ago."

She sat down beside him and kissed his cheek. "Can I do anything to help?"

"Yeah, actually. I'm really hoping it was a side effect of the drugs I was on, but I could've sworn I saw you there. Were you at the GAR hospital last night?"

She sat up and faced Nyx. There was no way Nyx could've been in a Republic army hospital unless he knew someone who could get him in, which would have to be a clone, an officer, a Senator, or a Jedi. "Hang on, how did you even get in?"

"A friend of a friend. I called in a favor. So, answer my question."

"Yeah, I was." There was no point in lying if he had seen her there. "I was visiting an old friend."

"Oh, so that's what it was then. A visit. Tell me, Ashla, do all of your visits with friends involve you kissing a Republic Senator?"

She felt the blood drain from her face. "I... uh..."

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that's your ex. You know, the one who worked for the Republic that you mentioned? You didn't think it was worth mentioning to me that you used to date Republic Senator Bonteri? Or that you were making out with him behind my back?"

"Um... I... I'm sorry, Nyx. He–"

She was cut off my a cold slap on her cheek. Her hand instinctively flew to her face as she scooted back on the bed.

"I thought I told you to stop talking to him. If I wasn't clear before, I hope I am now."

Normally, she would stick up for herself, but he had a point. She went behind his back and did something she shouldn't have, so it was only fair for him to lash out. She deserved it.

"Yes, you are. I'm sorry. It didn't mean anything, I promise." As soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them. It had meant something to her, but she wasn't sure what yet. She would sort that out on her own and in her own way.

"Good. I don't want him trying to take you away from me and sabotaging our happiness."

He pulled her back to him, and she rested her head on his shoulder. With his good arm wrapped protectively around her, she couldn't help but wonder—was she happy?

A/N: Hello friends! I think I'm a little overdo for a life update, so here's where I'm at with things. I am going back to school in the fall (yay we love college), which means I really want to get this book done and the sequel at least started before August rolls around and my quarantine-induced writing habits dissipate. I'm just about done writing this book (I have a few bits to fill in for the middle and very end), so the sequel writing process will commence very soon. In the meantime, though, updates for this book will be more often so I can get to the sequel stuff faster. I like double updates, but I may post a chapter on an off day as well. I'm sure you're not going to complain about that XD

Also, I'm pretty sure it goes without saying, but as we get into future chapters, I want to make it clear that I do not condone Nyx's treatment of Ahsoka in any way at all. He's a meanie. I don't like meanies.

I'm so excited to get the rest of this book up for you to read! See you in the next update, and may the force be with you!