37. Mutual (1/1)

rila: so here's a bit of interaction during the kiros/kidnapped togruta arc, because there should have at least been a tiny bit of how ahsoka felt. i mean, we already know how anakin feels above slave-traders/slavery, but come on - those are ahsoka's people. and i know she didn't know any of them personally, but still. also, slight mentions towards a shoulder to lean on, but you don't have to read that to understand this one.

disclaimer: if someone kidnapped the people i love and then called for ransom, the only thing i would say is, "i've seen both taken movies. i know what to do." ...i'm a dork. xd

word count: 671

chapter description: he knew that it had to be difficult for her.

she was kneeling before r2-d2, her attention focused soley on the astromech as he approached. bucket under his arm, he shifted from one foot to the other and glanced around, finding anakin and obi-wan conversing not far off. though he was certain that they could not hear him, he pitched his voice low, meaning for only her to hear as he inquired, "are you alright?"

she didn't answer right away, and when she did, her voice was flat and without inflection to how she felt, her face carefully neutral. "i'm fine."

he knew her well enough to know that she was not, and he frowned. she was trying to keep him at arm's length, not unlike how he had treated her in the aftermath of umbara - and as she had done, he wanted to try and help ease the burden on her shoulders.

"i can't imagine what you're going through," she had told him, and that statement rang true now - though the roles had been reversed. he could not imagine how she felt at the moment, with the missing togruta. from past conversations, he knew that she had not been home or seen many of her people since recieving her akul-tooth headdress. and so now, to see her people missing en masse - it had to be difficult.

because even though she didn't know them on a personal level, she still had a connection to them - and it had to hurt. movement caught his attention, and he found that she had placed her hands on her legs, her head bent as she stared at the ground before she turned, eyes locking with his. "do you think we'll find them, rex?"

her tone was quiet, the emotions in her eyes swirling - hope, anxiety, fear - and searching for an answer. an answer from him, though for what he was not sure - perhaps an answer for why the zygerians had taken her people, an answer to if her people would be alright, if they would find him - and he found that he wasn't sure how to answer.

but she needed comfort, some kind of solace - even if he couldn't quite relate to how she felt - just as he had after umbara. a confirmation that they were doing the right thing, that though it didn't seem like it now, everything would be alright - and in that way, though she had visibly matured in both emotional and physical strength, she was very much like a child. a lost one, clinging to a desperate hope.

he stepped forward and extended a hand, watching as she took it and allowed him to pull her to her feet. he didn't let go of her hand, however, maintaining a firm, reassuring pressure as their eyes locked once more. "we'll find them, ahsoka."

he could not promise, because he did not want to give her false hope - he just wanted to bolster the hope that she already had, to keep her from losing it, just as she had done for him. ahsoka's eyes slid away from his and down to their joined hands before she looked back up, mouth curving into a smile.