Title: Not Fair

Author: Emjen Enla (Fanfiction)/emjen_enla (Wattpad)

Teaser: The food in the mess hall was awful, so it only seemed reasonable that they find somewhere else to eat. Anakin/Ahsoka friendship fluff with some angst mixed in because it's me.

Rating: K+/PG

Canon: Disney or Legends (maybe a little more Legends than Disney)

Timeline: Directly the Clone Wars Movie

Dominant Characters: Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano

Pairings: Anidala

Warnings: mentions of Jabba's...illegal...activities

Notes:

-Ever since I reread Sacrifice by Karen Traviss I've imagined Toydarian food like Chinese…well, Americanized Chinese (oh the joys of living in a country that's culture basically the cultures of every other country in the world thrown into a blender). That's the kind of food I was thinking when I wrote this.

-You'll notice the cruiser in this story is Spirit of the Republic. That's because Resolute wasn't in the Clone Wars Movie. Wookieepedia identifies the Venator-class Star Destroyer in the Clone Wars Movie as Spirit of the Republic, though I'm not sure if it's ever called by name in a Canon source. According to Wild Space by Karen Miller, the first time Resolute is ever in the Clone Wars is Downfall of a Droid (s 1, ep 6). Since, Wild Space obviously isn't Canon anymore, I'll let you decide whether that's accurate or not.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars.

It was at least 21:30 hours, Coruscant Standard Time. Anakin was exhausted but too emotionally charged to rest. He'd spent the entirety of the hyperspace jump back to Coruscant (save the time spent in the showers trying to wash off the stench of Huttlet) on the bridge filling out reports or staring out into space. When the Spirit of the Republic had dropped out of hyperspace, he'd left the bridge and sent a discreet message to Padmé saying he was home. He'd received a depressing response. There was an emergency meeting of the Senate Security Committee (apparently, someone didn't like the idea of making deals with the Hutts), Padmé wouldn't be home until late.

So that meant he wouldn't be able to spend time with her tonight. That also meant that he wouldn't be getting any nightmare-free sleep.

He thought of Ahsoka with her bright, fresh-faced enthusiasm. She would want to do something in the morning, even if it was just endless lightsaber drills. He remembered his first few days of padawanhood. Everything had seemed interesting.

He stifled a yawn as he headed for the hanger bays. Tomorrow promised to be a very long day.

When he reached the hanger, Ahsoka bounded up to him, a happy smile stretching across her face. "Hey, Skyguy! Happy to be home?"

"Very." Anakin said, and it was true. He just wished Padmé wasn't busy. "You?"

"I guess." Ahsoka said. "But I do kinda wish I could have seen more of the galaxy first. I spent most of my life here."

Anakin shrugged. "You'll see a lot more galaxy soon, youngling. Pretty soon you'll give anything to be back on Coruscant for just one day."

Ahsoka looked at the ground, her head-tail stripes blushing a deeper shade of blue. "I'm sorry, Master. I didn't to complain…" as she trailed off her stomach growled audibly.

Anakin glanced at her as they started to walk across the hanger together. "Didn't you get something to eat during the flight back?"

"I did." Ahsoka said, then, looking embarrassed, muttered. "But the food's terrible."

Now was probably the time for the tried-and-true lecture about Jedi being above petty opinions about things like food and how they should just eat whatever was offered to them. He opened his mouth, then thought better of it. When they set out on a long campaign Ahsoka would have no choice but to eat the food in Spirit of the Republic's mess or starve; the lecture wouldn't be necessary. Besides, the mention of food made his belly grumble angrily, reminding him that he hadn't eaten on the ride home either.

"You know what." He said instead, stopping by the gunship that would carry them down to the surface. "I know a really good Toydarian place that's open late, we could go there."

Ahsoka blinked, surprised. "You want to take me out to eat?"

"I'm hungry too." Anakin said.

Ahsoka looked a little less embarrassed. "You don't like the food in the mess either?"

"I forgot to eat." Anakin answered the words coming out tenser than he'd meant.

Ahsoka frowned. "How can you forget to eat?"

"Good question." Rex said walking up. "He forgets to sleep too. Hopefully, he doesn't intend to pass on that nasty habit."

Anakin rolled his eyes like Rex was teasing him, but he couldn't deny that the clone hadn't said anything that wasn't true. "Be quiet, Rex."

"Will you be wanting you cloaks, sirs?" Rex asked, amusement and a slight undercurrent of worry fluttering across his face and through his Force presence. "I think they got put in a storage locker after you ditched them on the deck of a gunship when we landed on Teth."

Anakin gave the man a small smile. "That would be great, Rex."

"Do you want to come with us, Rex?" Ahsoka asked.

Rex gave her a surprisingly gentle look. "Probably, not a good idea, little'un. You're already going out to eat with a famous person, let's not make it any easier to recognize him, huh?"

"Oh…" Ahsoka said and looked quizzically up at Anakin. "Are we going to be mobbed?"

"Not if we're careful." Anakin said. "In other words, don't let anyone see that you've got a laser-sword that can cut through solid durasteel."

Ahsoka thought about it. "That shouldn't be too hard."

"Sure." Anakin said deciding to have a little fun with her. "As long as we don't get attacked by any local scum and villainy."

Ahsoka's eyes got huge. "What?"

Anakin laughed, and Rex grinned.

"I'll get your cloaks." The captain said and walked off

Less than a half hour later, Anakin and Ahsoka were down on the planet's surface (or what counted as surface on Coruscant) inside a nondescript, nonmilitary vehicle flying through the skylanes. They sat in awkward silence, Anakin focusing on his flying, Ahsoka watching the scenery.

"You know you can listen to music if you want." Anakin finally said to break the silence.

Ahsoka turned to stare at him. "Listen to music?" she asked, sounding both shocked and excited. "You mean, like, on the radio?"

"Yes." Anakin said. "What's so strange about that?"

"The Masters never let us listen to music in the crèche." Ahsoka said. "Aside from the instrumentals they sometimes play when we meditate. They said other music would pollute our minds."

Anakin snorted.

Ahsoka stared at him. "What?" she demanded.

"Just kinda funny." Anakin said. "You're forgetting I never lived in the crèche."

Ahsoka sounded embarrassed. "Sorry."

Anakin shot her a confused glance. "What are you even apologizing for?"

Ahsoka's shoulders sunk. "I don't know."

Anakin couldn't hold back a laugh. "You are an interesting being, Ahsoka."

"Oh." Ahsoka said.

"You really have nothing to be sorry about." Anakin said, more seriously. "Most music is about attachment, so I guess I can see why the Temple Masters wouldn't want you listening to it, but it's not going to pollute your mind. At least not the stuff I listen to."

"Do you listen to bad music?" Ahsoka asked.

"Obi-Wan would claim that I do." Anakin said. "But he's obviously never been in the hanger bays while the maintenance clones are working." He rethought his statement when he saw the look on Ahsoka's face. A look of curiosity. Cursing mentally, he realized he and Ahsoka were a little too much alike. "If I ever figure out you were sneaking down to the hangers to hear that music, you won't want to know me."

Ahsoka's face fell. "Yes, Master." She said, then reach out and turned the radio on.

The station was set to a popular music station. Currently, the personality was nearing the end of a list of relevant war news.

"The Battle of Christophsis has ended with the planet in Republic control. The Separatists have also been driven off the planet Teth. Both crucial victories are credited to Jedi Knights Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin bit his lip. The only crucial thing on Teth had been Stinky. The planet itself had no strategic value save as a place with hard-to-storm monasteries for hiding prisoners.

As the personality went on to some celebrity's love-life, Anakin glanced at Ahsoka to see that she actually appeared kind of disappointed. Frowning, Anakin risked another look. No he hadn't been imagining it. "You okay, Snips?"

"He didn't mention me." She murmured.

Oh, of course. To a green, little practically-youngling being publicly recognized for what she'd done on Christophsis and Teth would be like proof she was ready for the role she'd been forced into. Proof she was ready to be padawan.

"That's probably a good thing." Anakin said. "The media rarely sees things as they really are. The longer you stay out of their sight the better." She didn't look convinced. "Just wait until they inevitably start claiming we're together."

Surprisingly, for a Temple-raised child she didn't take long to figure out what he was implying. Her nose wrinkled. "What? That's gross! You're ten years older than I am!"

"Nine." Anakin corrected. "Don't push it."

"It's still gross." She said.

"True." Anakin agreed. "We're close enough in age to be siblings not lovers."

That thought took him off balance. When he'd lived on Tatooine, he'd known a fellow slave who was being raised by his older sister because his parents had been sold away. Those siblings had been nine years apart.

The idea of being totally responsible for Ahsoka's life and education hit him full force. He only barely managed to keep the speeder flying in a straight line. He wasn't ready for a padawan. He'd only just become a knight. How was he supposed to teach a child to be a Jedi and a commander when he was still trying to figure those things out himself?

He pushed those thoughts away. He was the Hero With No Fear, not some green kid.

He and Ahsoka didn't speak again until they landed in a parking structure a block from the restaurant. There Anakin got out of the speeder and adjusted the hood of his cloak so the majority of his far too recognizable face was hidden from view. He noticed that Ahsoka did the same without having to be told. No matter what she might outwardly seem, she was a smart kid.

They walked through the darkened streets to the restaurant and found a corner table that offered a good view of the rest of the restaurant while being hidden from most of the occupants. While explaining the necessity of this to Ahsoka, Anakin found himself marveling on how second-nature it had become.

Since Ahsoka didn't know what she wanted Anakin did the ordering. While they waited for their food, Ahsoka stared around the restaurant with a slightly slack jaw.

"What's so interesting?" Anakin said. "It's just a restaurant, and not a very nice one."

"I've never been in a restaurant before." Ahsoka said, eyes wide. "I mean, a couple years ago, the masters set one of the dining halls up like a restaurant and taught us to order and pay for your own food, but they never actually took us to a real restaurant."

"Yeah, well restaurants, especially joints like this aren't exactly Jedi flair." Anakin said. "You probably shouldn't tell Obi-Wan, we came here. Obi-Wan can't stand Toydarian even when it's the gross, expensive, low-fat stuff that they sell in the higher levels."

"There are a lot of things I shouldn't tell Master Obi-Wan aren't there?" Ahsoka asked.

"Let's just say Obi-Wan's a little too perfect and isn't exactly happy when I do things that aren't textbook 'Jedi.'" Anakin said. "But let's not worry about that now."

At that moment a droid waiter arrived with their food. Ahsoka fell ravenous onto the food, marveling about how good everything was. Anakin ate more slowly, idly pursuing the faces of the patrons, looking for anyone who might be dangerous.

They were about half done with their meal when a pair of raggedly, burly Nautolan males sat down in the booth next to theirs. They were at Anakin's back but talking loud enough that he could hear them.

"Did you hear what they were saying about Christophsis?" one asked.

"Yeah." The other replied. "Victory my foot. I heard that the Republic did more damage than the Seps did. Christophsis would have been better off just surrendering once the Seps took the planet; they'd be in better shape if they had."

"You're totally right." The first agreed. "Not that the Jedi would have listened if they had surrendered. They'd have come in laser-swords blazing anyway talking about how they were rescuing Christophsis from Dooku's mind control or something like that to spare their consciences."

"Did you hear about the real reasons the Jedi were on Teth?" the second asked.

"No, I didn't. Why?"

"They were rescuing Jabba the Hutt's son." The first whispered.

"What?" the other gasped. "He's a known criminal."

"I know." The first said. "The Jedi want to use his hyperspace lanes. That, apparently, was the deal."

The second made a disgusted noise. "See, what have I been telling you? The Jedi are no good. They're just a cult grabbing power anywhere they can find it by claiming to have magic powers. They claim to be defenders of justice, but they'll get chummy with organized crime if it suits them. The end of their time is coming, I tell you, and I'll be happy when it does."

Anakin didn't realize Ahsoka could hear the conversation too until the little Togruta leaped out her seat, spilling food all over the floor, and landed on the Nautolan's table. "A cult claiming to have magic powers, huh?" she asked, every one of her pointy Togruta teeth showing as she leveled the two men with a snarl that was even intimidating on a tiny eleven-year-old. "Really?" and she lifted her hands, yanking them out of their seats and banging their heads on the ceiling.

"Ahsoka!" Anakin jumped out of his seat, spinning as he did so he was facing the Nautolans' table. There wasn't time to worry about his lightsaber being exposed, because he marked himself a Jedi the next instant when he used the Force to yank Ahsoka off the table and throw her onto the floor. The Nautolans dropped and he broke their fall with the Force, depositing them into their seats a little less gently than he probably should have, but he was frustrated by their gossip as well.

On the floor, Ahsoka struggled against his invisible Force grip. Anakin could feel her nervousness when she realized there was no way to throw him off and get up, when she realized just how much stronger than hers his connection to the Force was. Anakin alternated his glare from her to the Nautolans, hoping the fact that his hood still shaded his eyes made him even more terrifying. Then he used the Force to lift Ahsoka off the floor, grabbed her arm with his organic hand and dragged her along as he started to walk towards the restaurant door. When he reached the restaurant owner he pulled a credit chip worth far more than the food they'd ordered cost and handed it over. "Sorry about the mess." He said, voice gruff and unapproachable. "The youngling has no sense of tact."

And he left, dragging Ahsoka in his wake.

He didn't let go of Ahsoka's arm until they reached the parked speeder. There he dropped her onto the concrete and glared down at her. She looked a little scared, she'd probably never been manhandled before. That was another thing she'd have to get used to; compared to the Seps, he'd been gentle.

"What. Exactly. Where. You. Thinking?" Anakin snarled.

"I-" Ahsoka swallowed. "They were saying horrible things about us. How can you just let that slide?"

"They're just a couple civilians who don't know their heads from holes in the ground." Anakin said. "They're full of hot air. It doesn't matter what they say, it doesn't mean anything."

"But they were saying such horrible things." Ahsoka said.

"Yes, they were." Anakin said. "And they weren't entirely wrong."

Ahsoka stared at him like he'd just told her Tatooine was covered in snow. "What?"

"Jabba makes his living off murder, drugs and slavery, all things the Republic and the Jedi Order claim to be against." Anakin ranted. "The Council just threw aside those ideals and made a deal with the king of organized crime. Is that really what we're fighting for—is that what we're dying for—to make friends with horrendous beings just because they can give us what we want?"

"But…" Ahsoka stared up at him, eyes wide. "But we're fighting to save people, for freedom. Shouldn't we do that no matter the cost?"

"What about the thousands of beings Jabba alone enslaves?" Anakin snarled. "The thousands he could kill—would kill—on a mere whim, just because it pleased him. How they are safe? How are they free?"

Ahsoka chewed her lip looking scared and confused, it was obvious she'd never thought about their rescue mission in this way before. "I don't know, Master…"

The sight of Ahsoka's fear drained his frustration like a hole punched in the hull of a starship. He leaned back against the speeder and heaved a sigh. He had a headache, though he wasn't sure if it was from his rush of anger, Ahsoka's stunt in the restaurant or the general stress of the last few days.

They were silent for a very long time, then Anakin looked back to Ahsoka. "Jabba's a monster, Ahsoka." He said quietly. "Just like Dooku is. Sure, he might not be trying to destroy us right now, but that's only because it's profitable for him not to. As soon as it isn't, he'll turn on us and we'll regret making this deal."

Lips pressed together, Ahsoka nodded, then she slowly got up off the ferocrete and brushed off her robes. "Can we go home now, Skyguy?"

Home. To Ahsoka, that meant the Temple. Anakin sighed again and ran a hand over his eyes, suddenly so tired he wanted to collapse where he stood. "Yeah." He said. "Let's go home."

They didn't talk much on the way back to the Temple. The radio was on, which wasn't helping Anakin's headache, but it seemed like Ahsoka was listening to it so he let it be.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." He said when they were about halfway back.

"That's okay." Ahsoka said. "I did ask for it."

"I meant my rant about Jabba." Anakin answered. "You didn't need to hear that."

"That's okay." Ahsoka said.

Anakin shrugged. "It was going to happen eventually." He admitted. "Maybe it was best it was you and not the Council."

They lapsed back into silence.

When they had finally reached the Temple and parked, Anakin turned in his seat to look at Ahsoka. She'd fallen asleep, her head resting against the speeder's door.

A smile, crossed Anakin's face. She looked so small and innocent, he didn't want to wake her. A little voice inside him was whispering to carry her off to bed the way his mother once had. However, he realized suddenly, he didn't know where Ahsoka's room was. Did she even have a room? Or had she been assigned and sent to Christophsis without being given the chance to move out of the crèche?

He decided to worry about that in the morning. He got out of the speeder and walked around to Ahsoka's side. Then he opened the door and carefully lifted the little Togruta out. He kicked the door closed with his foot and set off through the mostly dark Temple.

Thankfully, the few people who were walking the Temple weren't paying enough attention to give him many strange looks. What he was doing now might be sweet in the greater galaxy, but in the Jedi Temple it was stranger than having two heads and fifteen arms; no Jedi would dare do anything that reeked so obviously of attachment.

Was he attached to Ahsoka? He'd only just met her, so probably not. However, she was a girl thrown in one of the worst situations a being of any age could be faced with, that gave him some empathy for her and made him want to care for her.

He reached his quarters and opened the door with the Force, ignoring every "don't use the Force for frivolous things" lecture Obi-Wan had ever given him. He carefully sidestepped the various pieces of machinery lying on the floor and laid Ahsoka on his bed. Gently, he removed her belt, boots and gantlets and put them aside, then he covered her with a blanket.

Stepping back, he looked down at her. She was a small child asleep peacefully after a long day. Where had he been at eleven? Learning to meditate and hold a lightsaber, probably. Definitely not risking his life in a dangerous war. Granted, his innocence had been torn away before he could speak just like all slaves, but that didn't change the fact that he hadn't gone on an official mission with Obi-Wan until he was at least twelve.

It isn't fair. She shouldn't be in this situation.

No. He pulled away from that line of thought, shaking his head sharply. She was just a youngling who was going to slow him and get killed within a couple months. He'd be better off if he just avoided getting attached to her. It would make everything easier when the inevitable happened.

Abruptly exhausted, he stepped closer to the bed and sank down onto the floor. Resting his head on the edge of the mattress, he sighed and stared at Ahsoka's sleeping form.

Yes, she'd be dead in a couple months, but she was still so young.

And it just wasn't fair…

Yes I did make a stand against Anisoka, why do you ask?

I know I'm behind on Running Rampant updates, it's been a crazy week. I'll try to update that tomorrow or Sunday.

The general sentiment of Anakin's rant about Jabba is influenced by The Clone Wars Movie Novelization by Karen Traviss. I really liked her explanations of why Anakin finds the idea of working with the Hutts so abhorrent and I felt like that kind of explanation was kind of missing from the actual movie.

Fav/review/follow please!

Emjen