My eyes opened slowly as I felt Anakin shuffle next to me in the bed we both shared. My wet hair laid messy and tangled on my pillow as my body stayed snuggled underneath the blankets that we had used throughout the night.

As I glanced over at Anakin, I saw him pull a fresh clean shirt over his torso, seeing as the damp one that laid on the ground from the previous night was unusable.

Through the small crack of the hut, I could see the faint pink and orange ombre colors that emitted from the sky. It was around sunrise, which meant it was still extremely early.

It was still a bit dark in the hut, but I was able to somewhat make out Anakin's figure, and I could tell that he was putting on his robe.

Where is he going...?

"Hey-", I spoke groggily as my eyes focused on his back.

He glanced back at me, seeming surprised that I had woken up, even with the lack of sleep we both shared during the last few days.

As I continued to stare at him, he walked over and placed a gentle but warm kiss on my forehead.

My stomach immediately filled with butterflies as a cheesy, tried grin spread across my face. Anakin Skywalker, the man who I thought just a few hours prior hated me, just kissed my forehead...

"I'm going back to the ship with Tee Watt Kaa to assess the damage, and to check on R2," he stated in a whisper. "Stay here until I come back, you'll be safe."

I groaned drowsily and nodded as I continued to stare up at his tall figure that seemed to tower over me, still laying in the bed. Anakin stared a me for a moment too, almost like he was admiring me. A small smile grew on his face, and he bent down to kiss my forehead once more. He then grabbed his saber, along with a few more of his belongings, and walked out of the hut.

Letting out a deep sigh, I tried to steady my rising heartbeat. I laid in the bed, now alone, and stared up at the ceiling. I still couldn't believe what had happened last night, and every event that led up to it...

To get things straight, all Anakin and I did was share a kiss.

Nothing more.

I'm a Jedi, and so is he. We couldn't risk anything, seeing as we had so much on the line, and sharing a kiss was already risky enough.

Though, what did happen was that Anakin and I just confessed our feelings for each other, both things a Jedi should not be doing, especially with one another.

A million thoughts rushed through my brain as I fully started to process what had happened.

Holy shit. Anakin and I just confessed our feelings for one another.

And truthfully, these weren't just any feelings. These feelings were... deep. This wasn't just a quick meaningless kiss that we had shared. No, this- this was something more. This was something that I had longed for my entire life.

As depressing and horrible as it sounds, I never believed love was worthwhile. I mean, come on, I was a Sith. They know no such thing as love.

But I won't lie and say that I've never pondered what it felt like to be in love, or to have strong feelings for another person... not that I love Anakin, but I've never felt these feelings before.

I've never experienced someone who truly cared about me the way I felt Anakin did.

It all seemed so fake.

Unreal.

And that is something that I am so incredibly afraid of.

What if this wasn't real? What if this was nothing more than a mere kiss, and it was all a big mistake?

Yes, attachment is forbidden for a Jedi, but as someone who grew up with the Sith, it was much more intense than that.

Attachment, and therefore love, wasn't just forbidden for a Sith- it was something that I was taught to loathe.

Having any sort of feelings of love, happiness, or content, was seen as weak, and in-turn, very much resented.

God, what am I doing?

I am overthinking- that's what I'm doing.

I rubbed my eyes slightly as a new wave of tiredness rushed over me. I must've just exerted a lot of energy with my overanalyzing of everything that had happened, because now I was once again incredibly tired.

As I closed my eyes and turned to lay on my side, my mind couldn't help but think about the kiss we had shared.

So passionate.

So real.

It was playing on repeat in my brain, like a broken record, and I was honestly enjoying it too much to change it or turn it off.

This had to be real. The way he looked at me, the way I felt it in my soul. There's no way that was just a small, meaningless kiss.

As I replayed the moment in my mind, smiling every so often as I relived the event over and over again, I found myself slowly drifting back into my deep slumber...

"Y/n-"

I jolted upwards and glanced around the room I was in, unable to process what was going on. Suddenly, my eyes came in contact with Anakin's as I saw him standing near the entrance of the hut. We shared the same perplexed expression as one another, though I'm assuming for different reasons.

"Grab your things, we're leaving now," he asserted as he made his way further into the hut.

I shot a quick glance outside the now open hut entrance, and it looked to be about mid-day. I guess I really needed that sleep...

I began to grab my belongings as my mind raced.

"The ship's fixed?" I questioned.

Anakin continued grabbing the necessities we needed with newfound rush.

"It's fixed enough so that we can fly and still make it to Dathomir in time," he spoke, too preoccupied with what he was doing to make eye contact with me.

Oh my god. Obi-Wan...

My mind had been so distracted with thoughts of Anakin and our kiss, that I completely forgot about the reason we were on this planet in the first place.

"R2 received a transmission from Master Yoda," he continued to speak. "He and a few other Jedi have arrived on Dathomir with a few troops, but a good portion of them are still on their way there. They need more troops and more help, and we can still make it on time to save Obi-Wan and Master Windu if we leave now..."

I stayed silent as I contemplated what to say, but came up with nothing. I could see that Anakin was still holding onto the hope that Obi-Wan and Windu were okay and safe, but I think we both knew the possibilities that could've occurred to them.

"How far away is Dathomir?" I finally spoke.

Anakin sighed: "We're currently in the Rolion sector of the Outer Rim. Dathomir is in the Quelli sector. It'll probably take us a few hours if we use hyperspace, but it's still better than nothing."

I couldn't help but let out a small laugh. "Plus with your speeding..."

Anakin shot me an unamused look. "Not funny," he retorted.

Guess he's not in the joking mood right now...

As if almost timed perfectly, a small smile grew slightly on his lips, but he turned swiftly so that I could only catch a glance of it.

This made my heart really happy...

No- focus. Obi-Wan and Windu.

As Anakin and I grabbed the last of our things, we made our way outside the hut and through the Lurmen village. To my surprise, Anakin's ship was right near the entrance of the village. he must've flown it back here once he and Tee Watt Kaa repaired it.

Greeting us at the entrance of the ship was Tee Watt Kaa and Wag Too, as well as a few other villagers that were bidding us farewell.

We gave our thanks to the Tee Watt Kaa and Wag Too, grateful for their generosity during our stay here, and made our way onto the ship.

R2 let out a few beeps as I saw him for the first time in what felt like years.

"I'm glad to see you too, buddy," I responded with a smile. Surprisingly enough, I was glad to be making amends with the droid, especially after our rocky start with him shocking me numerous times...

"Buckle up, this is going to be a bumpy ride," Anakin called out.

"Try not to crash the ship again, Skywalker," I retorted with a grin.

He let out a fake laugh. "Ha ha, very funny," he spoke as he side-eyed me. "You try flying a ship in these conditions."

I let out a small laugh as I glanced at him, and for the first time, I was genuinely feeling okay. Things obviously could've been a lot better for us, but I felt as if we were finally back on track.

Anakin started up the ship and prepared for take-off while I buckled myself in.

As we started to make our way outside the atmosphere of Maridun , I let out a small, quiet sigh, one that Anakin wouldn't be able to hear.

The mood had somehow lightened, and there was still something that we were desperately holding onto: hope.

Hope for Obi-Wan and Windu.

Hope for us.

I still had a lot to contemplate and figure out with Anakin, but now was definitely not the time. My priorities at this moment were to save Obi-Wan and Windu, and to get back to Coruscant safe.

My anxiety started to kick in as I imagined what they must be going through.

God, I hope they're okay.

Obi-wan and Windu, don't worry: we're coming to save you.