here ya go randomwriter2007 (at long last LOL)! hope you enjoy! this is just setting up the scene for your req, there'll be a part 2 :)

***

With her hands clasped behind her back, Ahsoka watched anxiously as the blue and white stripes of hyperspace passed them by. The war was finally about to draw to an end, and peace could be restored to the galaxy at long last.

She'd received word from the Council that Kenobi had defeated Grievous on Utapau, Master Yoda had succeeded in his negotiations with the Wookies on Kashyyyk, and all that was left to do before the end of the war her return to Coruscant with a captive Maul in-tow.

And despite the firm reassurances of the High Council, Ahsoka couldn't help but worry. She had detected no trickery, no malicious intent in Maul's words, only truth. What if what he'd said was true? What if Anakin was the key to it all?

Worse yet, she hadn't heard back from her old Master either.

She had to get in contact with him now.

***

Back inside the Council chambers, the Chosen One himself sat, excluded from the action. While the Clone War raged on outside, he struggled to fight a losing battle between his logic and his conscience.

Palpatine, the father figure and mentor he'd looked up to ever since he joined the Order, was a Sith Lord. The Sith Lord the Jedi had been looking for, the person who had played both sides since the very beginning, sacrificing the lives of so many innocents in his own lust for power.

Someone like him could not be trusted.

But he'd succeeded, hadn't he? After decades of planning, Palpatine had able to get what he wanted. And surely, someone with so much power and intelligence could point an old friend in the right direction? In the direction to save Padmé and his unborn child?

That isn't planning, it's scheming! Someone who had managed to catch the entire Republic, arguably even the galaxy, in his deceit, would easily be able to ensnare him in another elaborate web of lies.

But he had to save Padmé. Her life was easily more valuable than anyone else's.

At the cost of even more innocent people?

No matter what cost, he had to save her. He couldn't bear to lose anyone else close to him.

In a split second, he'd made his decision. Abruptly vacating his seat, he sprinted towards the Chancellor's office; time was running out, and that was something Padmé just didn't have. He was nearly halfway there when an irritatingly incessant sound sounded from his wrist.

His comlink.

Anakin skidded to a halt, gnashing his teeth together in frustration. "Skywalker."

"Anakin?" came Ahsoka's voice. "Anakin, where are you? What are you doing?"

He couldn't quite put his finger on why, but the urgency and desperation in her voice chilled him to the bone. In his quest to save his wife, he had completely forgotten about his former apprentice's mission to Mandalore. "Ahsoka? What's wrong? How was your mission? Were you able to capture Maul?"

"No time. Where are you? What are you doing?"

"I'm in the Temple hallway."

"If you're about to do what I think you're about to do, you need to clear your head. Stay away from Palpatine at all costs. The chancellor is not your friend!"

He tried to protest, but her tone took a pleading turn.

"Please, Anakin, listen to me. This is much larger than what you and I know, or what any of us knows. But I'm certain now that you have some important role to play in Palpatine's game, and it's not a position you want to be in. He is using you!"

Ahsoka's words had reignited the conflict within. She must've taken his silence as intransigence, so she tried once more. "Anakin, please... Stay safe."

Her voice was on the verge of cracking. "I don't know what I would do if...if you... weren't here anymore. Please don't do anything you'll regret."

"I know," he said softly, all trace of irritation now gone. "Be safe, Ahsoka. May the Force be With You."

***

"Anakin, I knew it," Palpatine wheezed, Windu's amethyst blade at his throat, "the Jedi are taking over! Help me!"

"What... must be done, Chancellor?"

"Good, Anakin, good," the Sith wheezed. "Kill him. Kill him now to prove your allegiance to the Empire."

This was far too similar to Dooku's death. Palpatine had ordered the Count's execution swiftly without mercy; how could he know the same fate wouldn't befall him when he was no longer of use?

"Skywalker, no!" Windu interjected. "He's too dangerous to be kept alive!"

Ahsoka's words rattled around in his head. Stay away from Palpatine at all costs, she'd said. The chancellor is not your friend! He's using you!

Well, that much was clear now. He shuddered to think what kind of monster he would become had he chosen to become Sidious' new apprentice.

Anakin's blade sprang to life as he stood beside the Jedi Master. "I agree. Your reign ends here, My Lord."

Together, with the combined forces of the Chosen One and one of the most powerful Masters of the Order, Sidious was soon defeated, and with him, ended the legacy of the Sith. Powerful as he was, he had been no match to his two incredibly skilled opponents.

The Clone Wars was finally over.

***

Given the action-packed short few days that had just passed, everything was alright. Loose ends still had to be dealt with, of course, but the Jedi could finally rest easier at night knowing the root of the conflict was gone for good.

All seemed well. Life at the Temple was settling down, looking more like how it had been during peacetime. To Anakin, however, one key figure was still missing: Ahsoka. She'd made contact a couple of times, just to update him on the situation and let them know she would be back within that same rotation.

Anticipation ate away at the newly-appointed Master as he waited out the long hours for his beloved apprentice's return, zoning out what his fellow Council members were saying. Right now, nothing could be as important as her safe and sound return.

As soon as her ship reentered the atmosphere, he sensed her familiar Force signature. Knowing that their strained but not broken little family hadn't been destroyed by some Sith psycho in disguise was enough for him to rejoice.

He bounded up from his chair.

"Anakin!" Windu called out, frowning. "Where do you think you're going?"

He barely suppressed an eye-roll. He really didn't have the patience to deal with Windu's games right now, but he obliged anyways. "Surely you sensed it, Masters? A change in the Force so obvious even an Initiate would've felt?" The largest grin split his face. "Ahsoka's back. And she has Maul with her."

After the formalities and mission report were over, most of the Council had left, leaving only Anakin and an exhausted Ahsoka on the platform.

"Ahsoka," Skywalker breathed, "Welcome back, I'm so glad you're safe. How-"

She threw her arms around him in response. "Anakin," she whispered. "Shut up."

Her sudden enthusiasm took him slightly by surprise, but it was a welcome one. He'd missed the familiar weight of her arms around his neck and instinctually, his own hands drew her closer to him. Her head had nestled into the crook of his neck; he could feel her soft inhales and exhales the same way she could feel his steady, calming heartbeat. 

They just stood there for some time. Where words failed them, actions filled the void. 

So when Anakin finally pulled back just enough to look at her, his hand shifted to cradle her cheek for a brief second, his thumb gently wiping away a stray tear. "You're alright, Snips," he said softly, a promise in those three words that he was there, always just a call away.

So much had been said in such a simple interaction, but neither of them would have it any other way.

Finally, after going so long with no contact, brother and sister were reunited at long last.