Beep.

Anakin stirred, groaned, and ran a hand over his face.

Beep.

He reached over to his chrono and flicked the alarm switch to "off."

No, wait. It was already off.

"What the…" he muttered.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Oh. The door.

But who could it be? It was—he glanced back at the chrono—2342.

Anakin stood up and staggered over to the door. He hit the button and the door slid up.

His brain only had time to register that Ahsoka was there before she crashed into him, her face pressed against his sternum.

"Whoa, Snips," he chuckled, trying to peel her off. "What—" He broke off when he noticed that she was shaking.

And why did his shirt feel wet?

Oh… she was crying.

Oh, boy.

What is it? he wanted to ask. Did I say something? Or do something?

"Uh… something wrong?" was what came out.

Nice one.

She flinched and tensed up, swallowing her sobs as she began to pull away.

"No," he said quickly, reaching up to hold her, "no, it's okay."

She melted into his embrace and started to cry again.

"Shh," Anakin whispered, "you're okay. I'm right here." He hesitated for a moment before reaching up and gently petting her head, like he remembered his mother doing. Even though Ahsoka didn't have hair, Anakin hoped it still felt nice.

Ha. Hoped. He was such a terrible Master.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, Anakin continuing to lecture himself on how bad a Master he was while Ahsoka wept into the front of his shirt.

Finally, he bent his head downwards to look at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She nuzzled her head against him and held on tighter, her nose digging into his ribs, her breathing shaky and uneven.

"Do you not want to talk about it?" he said. "That's okay."

"I was… alone," she sobbed, her voice muffled by his shirt, "Someone… chasing me… I couldn't… couldn't…"

"It was just a dream," Anakin told her, still stroking her head as if she had hair. "I'm right here."

"Scared," she whimpered.

"I know, I know," Anakin whispered. "I used to have bad dreams too. But you're safe now. I would never let anyone hurt you, Ahsoka. Never."

Ahsoka didn't say anything, but just kept holding on to him and crying.

Remembering something else his mother had done, Anakin leaned down and gently kissed the top of Ahsoka's head. He rocked her back and forth until her sobs slowed and became no more than shaky breaths.

"All right…" he said softly after a while. "Here, let's sit down…" He led her over to the bed and sat down with her. Letting go for a brief moment, he grabbed a blanket and wrapped her snugly in it before putting his arm around her again.

There was silence for a while.

"How about some of Master Qui-Gon's hot chocolate?" Anakin asked finally.

She pulled back and looked up at him, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. "I thought Master Qui-Gon liked tea."

"Well, yes. But he also had a top-secret recipe for hot chocolate. Obi-Wan showed me how to make it."

Hesitantly, Ahsoka looked up at him and nodded.

Anakin smiled back. "Okay, I'll be right back," he said. He adjusted the blanket around Ahsoka's shoulders, patted her on the back, and got up and went to the kitchen.

It didn't take long for Anakin to make the drink. He just had to heat up some milk and add a few other secret ingredients.

He poured the hot chocolate into two mugs and took them back to his room. Ahsoka was curled into a ball, hugging her knees under the blanket, but she uncurled when she saw him.

Anakin laughed. "You look like a droideka," he said, handing her a mug and sitting down next to her again.

Ignoring that comment, Ahsoka took a sip of her hot chocolate. Her eyes immediately widened.

"How did you make this?" she asked.

"It's a secret, my young Padawan," Anakin said. "I will teach you when the time is right."

They sat in silence for a moment, enjoying their drinks and each other's presence.

Eventually, Ahsoka yawned.

Anakin smirked over at her. "Getting tired, Snips?"

She nodded, then froze and looked down at the floor.

"What is it?" Anakin asked.

"Um… can you… can I…" she said slowly, stuttering.

"What?"

"I don't want to be by myself," she said, rubbing one arm with the other hand. "It's a Togruta thing."

Anakin knew there was more to it than that, but he didn't mind.

"Yeah, sure," he said, answering her unspoken request with a smile and a pat on her head. "Be right back." He got up again, taking their mugs. He dropped those off in the kitchen and then went to Ahsoka's room to get her pillow and blanket (they both only had one of each).

He returned to his own room, where Ahsoka was still sitting on the edge of the bed. He put her pillow down on the bed and gestured for her to lie down. She started to hand him back his blanket.

"No, that's fine," he said, gently taking it and putting it back around her shoulders. "Here, lie down." Ahsoka did so, albeit hesitantly. Anakin laid down next to her and used the other blanket to cover them both.

"All right," he said, mostly because he felt he should say something to break the silence. He shifted around to get comfortable and shut his eyes.

After a moment, Anakin felt Ahsoka snuggle up next to him. Her small hand reached out and found his. When she realized it was the prosthetic, she let go and grabbed the other.

Anakin twisted his head to look at her. "Good night, Snips," he whispered, smiling.

"Good…" she interrupted herself with a yawn, "good night, Master."

Anakin opened his eyes. He tried to move, but he couldn't.

His sleepy mind kicked into action. Where was he? Why couldn't he move? Where was his lightsaber?

Then said sleepy mind suggested, Look down. Discover source of immobilization.

Anakin did.

Ahsoka's arms were wrapped tightly around him and her cheek was resting on his chest. As Anakin shifted to look at her, she stirred slightly, snuggling against him in her sleep.

Anakin smiled and closed his eyes, reaching an arm up to return Ahsoka's sleepy embrace.

A/N: I don't know where this came from. My feels, I guess.

Please give feedback (good or bad) if you have any!

-JimPen

UPDATE (4/28/2020): Fixed up some clarity and/or grammar.

UPDATE (4/29/2020): Made some changes based on feedback. Thanks for reviewing!