"𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙖 𝙛𝙪𝙣𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙤𝙢𝙚. 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨. 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣 𝙨𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙖𝙢𝙚. 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙯𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪."

"You're all set for Tatooine," Anakin informed me with a smile as he entered my room.

"I still don't get how you convinced the Council to let me go," I grinned as I rushed to get my old desert rags. I ran a hand over the clothing, dust lying in between the threads. It looked the same as the day I had left that planet.

Once I was ready to go, Anakin led me to the ship. I went in and he followed.

"Are you coming with me?" I asked. I had been under the impression that I received permission to go on my own.

"Yes," Anakin confirmed as he took a seat in the cockpit. "I don't want you to go there alone."

I looked at him quizzically. "What, why not?"

He had a troubled look in his eyes. "When I went back to Tatooine for the first time after the Jedi had taken me, I found my mother dead. I... I did some things I'm not too proud of," Anakin said quietly. "Tatooine isn't a safe place. In case something bad happened to the person you're going back for, I don't want you to be alone."

"That's really nice of you, Anakin," I smiled gratefully at him. "But I'm just visiting my old home and master. It's nothing like what you had," I waved off his concerns.

Anakin shook his head. "That's not true. Based off what you've told me and what I've sensed, your old master was like a father to you."

I visibly froze at his words. What he said was something that sat in the back of my mind all the time, but I refused to admit it. I never dared to say the word out loud.

"You've been in denial for a long time, but you know it's true," Anakin said.

"Maybe," I mumbled. "But I'm not gonna say it."

Anakin chuckled. "All right."

We set course for Tatooine and were soon en route for the desert planet. It was a long journey and the two of us grew bored. Anakin suggested we try getting more in tune with the Force, similar to how he showed me I could wield it after the mission to Felucia.

"So you want me to use the Force to guess whatever picture is on your datapad," I repeated his instructions.

Anakin made a face at my word choice. "I don't like saying 'use'," he said. "You don't use the Force, that's not what it's like. It's more like being in harmony with the Force. Letting the Force control you."

"Okay..." I said not quite understanding what he meant, but I did my best to implement what he said. I gave myself to the Force and told Anakin the images I thought were on his datapad. Sometimes I was right, other times I was wrong.

"Hmm," Anakin thought. "You're definitely Force sensitive, but probably on the lower side."

I paused at his deduction. "Is that a bad thing?"

His eyes snapped towards mine. "No! Not at all. I just find it interesting. I bet there are a lot of beings like you who have mild Force sensitivity, but maybe not enough to necessarily become a Jedi."

"Maybe if I just..." I rubbed my hands together and tried to connect with the Force.

"What are you doing?"

"Warming up the Force."

We shared a look and burst into laughter. Anakin and I decided to give the Force lesson a break and continued to enjoy each other's company on the rest of the way to Tatooine.

***

When we arrived at the dusty spaceport of Mos Eisley, it somehow he seemed worse than when I'd left it. The volume of dangerous people increased as crooks and pirates gained more freedom with the war dragging on. Cheating traders sat by their rusted and busted speeders, counting the money they probably didn't even earn.

We finally arrived at my old home and my heart sank at the sight. It had been worn down by countless sandstorms. The restaurant portion of the building looked just like the rest of the beaten city.

"Is this the place?" Anakin asked looking at me.

I nodded and headed for the entrance with Anakin close behind me. I knocked on the door and held my breath as I waited for someone to answer. It finally slid open to reveal my old friend, Wes.

"Sil?" he looked at me in disbelief. "You're back?" Wes pulled me into his arms and I smiled as I hugged him back tightly. We pulled away from each other and I realized how much older he had grown.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" I said smiling.

Wes nodded and looked towards Anakin. He held out a hand to shake and they introduced themselves. Wes stepped aside to let us in and had us seated.

"Enzo will be so happy to see you, Sil," Wes smiled.

"Where is he?" I asked feeling my anticipation grow. I wasn't sure how much longer I could handle being here without meeting him.

"He's probably out yelling at someone for dining and dashing," Wes chuckled.

Not much later, I could hear the commanding voice of my former master from outside. "Wes! Take care of this kri-"

Enzo froze when he walked in to see me sitting inside. Silence washed over the room and I didn't utter a single word. Once he realized he wasn't dreaming, Enzo finally spoke.

"You actually came back."

"Of course I did," I smiled and blinked away the tears that threatened to surface.

"You shouldn't have come back to this dusty, old planet," Enzo said even though I could hear the relief in his voice. He sped over to me and I stood up to meet him in a strong embrace. After pulling away, we sat down to talk about what I had done after arriving on Coruscant. During this time, Enzo eyed Anakin who sat next to me. Anakin seemed to grow uncomfortable under Enzo's watchful gaze and it took everything in me to not break out laughing.

"So... a Jedi," Enzo said with interest as I spoke about how I knew Anakin.

"Yes, sir," Anakin replied respectfully and shifted in his seat.

"You know, he's from Tatooine too," I brought up earning a nod from Enzo. I knew he'd respect the fact that Anakin didn't always have it so easy.

I finished my story and Enzo smiled. "Well I'm glad you decided to stop by, Sil. It really made me happy to see you again."

I grinned widely at his words.

"How about you and Wes go try the blue milkshakes? I want to see what you think of my new recipe," Enzo said.

I stood up with Wes and nodded. We left the room and headed to where we usually made the drinks.

"So, what's in the new recipe?" I asked.

Wes turned away smiling. "There is no new recipe," he said and I gave him a confused look. He had an amused expression on his face. "Enzo just wanted to send you out so he can talk to your new boyfriend."

I blushed hard at his statement. "He's not my boyfriend..."

Wes scoffed. He obviously didn't agree with me. "Whatever you say, Sil."

***

Later that day, Enzo reappeared smiling with a nervous Anakin under his arm.

"He's a great kid," Enzo decided. "Nice job, Sil."

I stood confused but Enzo just walked away.

"What was that all about?"

Anakin glanced downwards rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's just say I was right when I said he's very much like a father towards you."

A laugh escaped me when I realized what Anakin had probably gone through. "But at least he likes you, right?"

"Yeah... although I think the whole Jedi thing got me bonus points," Anakin said.

I chuckled in agreement. I looked around the place and realized Anakin had never tried one of the best burgers in the galaxy. I headed into the kitchen and started pulling out the things I needed, smiling as my muscle memory kicked in. Soon I had the food going and Anakin followed the aroma.

"What's cookin', good lookin'," Anakin gave me a twisted grin as I worked.

I rolled my eyes. "A knuckle sandwich."

His eyes widened and I shoved him playfully. When I finished making him the burger, Anakin agreed that it really was top notch. Of course, Enzo had to come in and say that mine was terrible and made a new one for Anakin to try. Anakin was already stuffed, but he was smart enough not to refuse Enzo's food.

As evening fell on Tatooine, Anakin and I sat outside and watched as the suns made their slow descent below the horizon.

"This was always my favorite part about this planet," I smiled as I watched the sky change colors faster than I could appreciate them.

"It really is something else, isn't it," Anakin agreed.

The memories I had since I was small came flooding back. I used to look at these two suns thinking and making up stories about them. But now that Anakin sat here next to me, it took on a whole new meaning.

"You know, when I was a kid I always thought those two suns were a couple of friends who were lost in the sky," I began.

"But as long as they were together, everything would be alright," Anakin finished for me. He turned to look at me and I saw in his eyes that he used to think the exact same thing. Something about his gaze drew me in. I laced my fingers with his and I knew I never wanted to be separated from him.

"I never thought I'd fall in love with someone just by talking about some stupid sunsets," Anakin whispered to himself.

I looked at him in shock. "You love me?" I asked with my thumb sliding over his finger.

He looked at me deeply and nodded. "I love you." Each word carried its own weight. I held his hand a little tighter.

"I love you too."

Anakin smiled and slowly leant down to capture my lips with his. His arms found their way around my waist and I felt secure. Nothing in the world could top the feeling I was experiencing in this moment. There was no other place I'd rather be than in his arms.

😂✨