She loved his hair. Long ago, during her apprenticeship, Togruta had noticed how beautifully it shone when the sun fell on it and began to shimmer on every curl. Anakin's hair had always been the object of her admiration, and she could look at it for a long time, sometimes imagining how it felt to run her fingers through it. After all, she knew how it felt. Wavy strands hung down almost to his shoulders, sometimes falling onto his face when Skywalker sat and rummaged through the drawers. He woke up before dawn and immediately began rummaging through them. Asoka did not get up, continuing to pretend to be asleep, not daring to ask what he was looking for. However, she did notice that none of Padmé's things were left in the house. No one knew where Anakin had put them, but they were nowhere to be found. In fact, the first morning of their married life was quite ordinary. The weather had improved slightly, but no one felt like going outside. Skywalker preferred to spend the day at home, rummaging through his tools. Asoka noticed that he kept brushing strands of hair away from his face. His hair always looked clean and neat, even when it was covered by his hood, and Tano wanted to touch it again. However, she knew she wouldn't do it even if Anakin allowed her to. Yes, he was polite and reserved with the Togruta, but he never spoke to her of his own accord. In general, their new relationship was as different from their old one as a bow is from a ballerina. Would it ever change for the better? Hardly. Ahsoka herself hardly believed that there had ever been a time when they were different. She believed and didn't believe that this cold and distant young man, who could barely tolerate her presence, was the same Skywalker with whom she had fought side by side in countless battles, closer than family, ready to jump into fire and water for each other... So why was it like this now? Tano didn't know the answer, but it was obvious and too obvious to even say out loud. Of course, the reason was what had happened between them shortly before they left the Order. That was why Asoka had really left, and not because of the terrorist attack. She couldn't believe that Anakin could have treated her like that. To do that because his wife had returned and there was no longer any need to replace her. Neither of them, nor anyone else, had thought about Asoka at the time. That's why she left, deciding not to stay where she was no longer needed.
"Tell me, what are you going to do when the Empire falls?" asked Asoka, trying to distract herself from unnecessary memories of the past.
"I don't know much about that myself yet," Anakin replied, glancing at the bed where Asoka was sitting, rocking the children. "All I know is that we won't be building a new Jedi temple. Most people think it's best to build separate dwellings; they say it will help us avoid past mistakes.
The desire to share his long-held plans overcame his usual thoughtfulness, and Skywalker began to tell her what he had recently told Petro. Everything he had wanted to do before. And he didn't know if he wanted to do it now. After all, he hadn't wanted it alone, but with Padmé. For her and for their love. And now... It was completely unclear.
"I think first we need to decide on a place for a general meeting," Skywalker said aloud. "After all, the Council will meet anyway, no matter what. And then we'll build homes for the others. They'll be very modest at first.
He was trying to warn Ahsoka not to count on a sweet life, to get used to the fact that it would not be easy.
"Whatever they are, I'll be very happy," Tano replied without hesitation.
Anakin should not have shared her optimism; it could be contagious. After all, he knew that he would hardly ever be happy again if he stopped looking back at the past.
"How far are we from Coruscant now?" the Togruta asked a new question.
"About half a day's flight," Skywalker replied, not turning so she wouldn't notice the sadness on his face. "That's what the star map says. There shouldn't be any problems with the local houses; the Ewoks are just waiting for the chance to get them for their own needs.
Ahsoka listened to him, but her mind was elsewhere, and soon she couldn't hold back:
"If you want, I can cut your hair.
Anakin's offer didn't inspire him and even seemed too bold, but for some reason he couldn't keep quiet.
"Your hands are full," he nodded at the children she was holding.
"It's okay, I'll put them in their cribs," Tano said, not at all embarrassed, and began to get up. Today she was wearing a yellow tunic and beige leggings, clothes that Anakin had bought for her. He couldn't let his friends think badly of him, especially suspect him of treating his young wife badly. He knew how it looked when he let her wear someone else's old clothes and slept in the hallway. Yes, it was difficult for Skywalker to sleep in the same room with her and hardly get any sleep, but his pride was still strong. Nevertheless, he knew that as soon as everything settled down, he would go back to sleeping in the porch. After all, many men did so. By the way, Asoka liked her new clothes. She unfolded them several times a day and looked at them with a smile. Skywalker didn't understand why. Maybe she hadn't seen normal clothes anywhere except the Order, or maybe she had gotten used to them outside the Order. He had no idea how she had lived after leaving the temple. The only thing he could find out was that she had experienced the love of a man. Realising this, Skywalker couldn't shake the vision of Ahsoka being covered by the weight of a man's body, his kisses slowly moving down her face, lower and lower, to her neck, to her chest... And then... And, damn it, everything inside him began to tighten unpleasantly and tremble with vague anger. And when that man turned around, Anakin recognised his face perfectly. It was familiar to him from birth.
"Do you have scissors?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts, and Anakin, looking doomed, sat down on a stool and opened the desk drawer where the item she needed was. Yes, it looked like he wouldn't be sleeping tonight either. How he wanted to hate this girl, but even more he wanted to continue what he had started almost a year ago. And he would have done it back then, if Padmé hadn't returned.
Meanwhile, Ahsoka tied a towel around his neck, held the scissors over his head, and took the first strand of hair.
"Do you even know how to do this?" Skywalker asked before she began, hinting that she had nowhere to learn, as Togruts didn't have hair.
"Of course," she replied with a smile. "I can even paint my nails. Want me to try?"
And she immediately began to carefully trim his luxurious thick hair. It was soft to the touch and very pleasant, and Asoka touched it more than she cut it and wanted to continue for as long as possible. She had already finished the left side and the middle, and was now finishing the right side when one of the cut strands fell behind Anakin's ear. Asoka leaned forward slightly and blew it away, and immediately almost fell over when Anakin suddenly straightened up and almost jumped away from her.
"Enough," he said, barely restraining himself. For if he had somehow tolerated Asoka's closeness before, the feeling of her breath on his skin simply broke the dam. Desire overwhelmed him in an unbearable and vivid wave of hot passion. So strong, so painful, he wanted to grab her by the shoulders, throw her on the bed and then...
"I'm not done yet," Tano tried to protest. "There's one more strand left."
"If I said enough, then get lost," he replied harshly, pulling himself together with some unknown effort. "You'd better get everything out of here.
Asoka couldn't stand such blatant rudeness and contempt towards herself. She grabbed his hand sharply, almost sticking a broom in it, and, kicking a dustpan towards his feet, said coldly and almost contemptuously:
"No way! Clean up your own hair! And yes, such a trifle as gratitude is obviously still unknown to you!
With these words, she slipped into the room, took off her tunic and leggings, climbed onto the bed, covered herself with a blanket, and turned away to face the wall. Enakin had no choice but to get down to work, barely suppressing his rage.
The next day was sunny, and on the third day, Asoka decided to go hunting on her own for the first time ever.
***
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