'I heard Jedi Knight Skywalker has a Padawan, now!'

'That is the luckiest Padawan in the galaxy, I tell you.'

'It's Tano. That Togruta somehow landed him even though he's not even a Master yet!'

Sol gripped the edges of her tray as she made her way through the cafeteria. With the hum of fellow Jedi, clones and Padawans low, the voices of the giggling female Padawans was all that Sol could focus on. With their bright teeth gleaming behind their cupped palms, the Padawans barely ate their tiny breakfasts as they gossiped. Sol had half a mind to give them a scare like she had previously done when she heard their conversation topic, but confronting them a second time could prove suspicious. 

Why did she care that Padawans were giggling about Anakin? Sol had to be careful when it came to defending her co-worker, as that was all he was in the eyes of the Order.

With a roll of her shoulders and a strained huff, Sol continued to her table and took a seat on the bench facing the sliding doors of the exit. This way, she could avoid looking at the giggling Padawans who had picked a different table from last time. It was an ideal people-watching spot, and after returning from the mission to Ahch-To, Sol had done a lot of the sport in the Jedi Temple.

After they blew up the underwater base, the party resurfaced and was greeted by Master Obi-wan's congratulations. He and Commander Cody's legion had watched the explosion from the island, where water burst into a sprout of splashes . Without a base, any battledroids that had left the base powered down from the loss of the connection. Ahch-To was saved, and the Jedi could return to Coruscant accomplished and proud.

'Well done, you two,' Master Obi-wan had said once Sol and Anakin had climbed out of their ships.

'Ahsoka also had a hand in it,' Sol made sure to mention the Togruta who took down the enemy before the final blow to the base. Ahsoka had attempted to be modest, but didn't shy away from the acknowledgement as she stepped forward to be next to the Jedi Knights.

'After some push, Snips was helpful in the end,' Anakin had said, and despite its back-handed tone, Ahsoka beamed.

'So, you'll train me?'

Sol knew that the blank expression that Anakin gave Ahsoka was playful. After a tense moment, Anakin's lips curled into half of a smirk, and he clapped a hand on his new Padawan's shoulder.

'Only if you can keep up.'

Sol scooped her oatmeal into her mouth and stared at the grey table beneath her tray. To those around her, she appeared to be staring absently and was assumed to be in her world. And this observation wasn't completely wrong, as Sol was in her thoughts and would be ignorant if someone were to call out to her from across the room.

Since arriving back on Coruscant, Sol had been invested in the gathering of information about Satele Shan. The claimed Jedi Force ghost was yet to appear to the woman again and her dreams were yet to be invaded by some vague conversation from someone else's memories. Sol assumed this could be because of her departure from the first Jedi Temple on Ahch-To, where there was a strong connection with the Force.

The last time Sol had seen Satele's ghostly form was during the battle with the droids before Obi-wan arrived with reinforcements. She remembered how Shan's appearance had distracted her and caused Sol to lose focus while in battle. The blaster burn that Sol had gained from Shan's distraction had healed from the bacta patch, but the reasoning for the ghost's appearance still intrigued the female Jedi.

'Commander Sol? Are you okay?'

Sol blinked in surprise. She was pulled back into the large cafeteria in the Jedi Temple, where her oatmeal was half eaten, and Ahsoka Tano was sat staring at her from across the table.

'Sorry, I was just thinking,' Sol was able to say, before clearing her throat. 'Are you going to the sparring yard today?'

'Yes. Master Skywalker said there's a tradition of spars between Padawans while in the presence of Master Yoda,' Ahsoka said, her tone high with excitement and interest. 'Did you do this when you were a student?'

'I may have...'

Sol forced a spoonful of oatmeal into her mouth to stop herself from grinning. She remembered her first encounter with Anakin, and how she had sparred with him with a deep desire to impress Master Yoda. Back then, Sol had never ventured off Coruscant besides the single journey to find her kyber crystal on the planet, Ilum. And thanks to Senator Padme Amidala, Sol played bodyguard with Anakin on Naboo, Tatooine and Geonosis, where Sol realised her infatuation with the young Skywalker. 

The spar had been their first interaction, and although Anakin had stormed out of the yard when he had lost the duel, Sol had been interested in him ever since.

'You'll need more of a breakfast than that, Snips.' 

Ahsoka and Sol looked to the newcomer of their table. Anakin slipped onto the same bench as Sol while he lowered down his tray of fruit, bread, a protein pouch, and an unknown piece fried meat. While Ahsoka went to defend her meal choice, Sol unconsciously shuffled her feet to connect her knees together under the table. Because of Anakin's broad shoulders, his arm that rested on the table was within inches of Sol's. His knees were sat apart, making his left leg brush against her's, causing her heart to jump and for her legs to clamp together in an attempt to keep her distance. She wasn't sure if his touch was intentional, and since they were in a cafeteria full of Jedi and clones, she didn't want to risk appearing too close. 

'I don't want to feel bloated,' Ahsoka continued. 'These protein pouches are enough to keep a Jedi energised for five hours. This extra fruit is just for taste.'

'A Jedi needs substance as well as protein,' Anakin replied while digging into his own breakfast. 'Don't come crying to me when you're near death from hunger.' 

Just as Sol began to relax her rigid posture, she felt her knee brush against something once more. But unlike before, she calmly straightened her leg and angled her knee to sit normally. Even from the smallest of touches, Sol's chest filled with butterflies at the thought of touching Anakin in the presence of another Jedi. It was an addictive feeling, but it was also nerve-wracking as too long of a touch could be seen and taken with all seriousness by an on-looking Knight or Master.

'Don't you worry, Master. I won't be bothering anyone with that,' Ahsoka said and if Sol didn't know any better, she would think that Ahsoka had a tinge of sarcasm in her voice. Anakin seemed to notice the same tinge and rolled his eyes with a shake of his head. 

'Well, I'd love to come watch, but I have to head to the archives,' Sol noted once her tray was empty. She was reluctant to stand from the table, as her knee had found its home leaning against Anakin's, and he had made no move to jerk it away.

As Sol stepped over the bench, Anakin looked over his shoulder and watched her gather her finished breakfast. Despite Ahsoka's presence, Anakin took the time to admire Sol's side profile. As she leaned over the bench to reach the table, she was close enough for him to notice her miniature pores and to see the way her nose arched slightly upwards towards its end. He allowed his eyes to bore into her skin, which was yearning to be touched by his rough fingertips, and her lowered gaze gave Anakin a view of how her lashes curled to thin tips. 

Anakin knew he had stared for too long when Sol's gaze met his, and a certain glaze overtook her violet eyes. He could have stared into the bursts of purple hues and darkened edges for hours, but Sol's eyebrows arched in worry, making him resist his ongoing admiration. She looked concerned, forcing Anakin to turn away and see that Ahsoka was watching the two Knights from across the table. The Padawan's eyebrows were raised in question, but only a mild expression of confusion occupied her heart-shaped face. Sol and Anakin would have panicked if Ahsoka had looked appalled at what she witnessed, as it could mean that Ahsoka had worked out what was going on between them. But when Ahsoka used her fork to place a piece of rock melon into her mouth, they assumed that she was intrigued, but not suspicious of the two Jedi Knights.

'U-Um, eat up, Snips. We shouldn't keep Master Yoda waiting,' Anakin stammered while pointing at Ahsoka's nearly finished tray. Ignoring her Master's obvious unease, she quickened her eating pace while Sol cast Anakin a 'that was close' look before announcing her leave.

'I'll see you guys later today. Good luck, Ahsoka.'

'Thank you, Commander!'

Sol headed for the door and placed her tray on the bins that were routinely emptied by service droids. With a quick turn of her head, she caught Anakin's eyes, which she always found across a room no matter how crowded it was. Ahsoka was occupied with her tray and Anakin took the opportunity to smile at Sol, making wrinkles appear beside his eyes from the lifting of his cheeks. Sol smiled back and the redness of her ears from a blush could be seen even from Anakin's place.

With a lasting look, Sol left the cafeteria, and Anakin forced Ahsoka out of her seat. 

---

The Jedi Temple library was extensive. With shelves of traditional books and Holonet files, Jedi and droids walked the aisles for information and knowledge of the furthest reaches of the galaxy. Droids rolled around returning resources to their original places, while keepers of the archives wandered to younglings and Jedi to help them find topics and authors they were searching for. 

Sol was on the top floor of the large hall. The large windows that stretched from ceiling to floor bathed her in sunlight, which was welcomed by the woman who was near shivering from the cold, winter air that circulated the hall. The city was going through a cold spell, and as most Jedi walked around in large robes, there was little need for a heating system throughout the temple. But Sol's arms were bare, as she hadn't brought her over robe, so looking through the shelves while in the sun's glare was near bliss.

'Is there anything I can help you find?' a keeper of the archives said as she approached Sol. The woman was older with greying hair that was held in a bun at the back of her head. She was in a robe that had gold twirls over a light green pattern, and her expression was warm and inviting as she stood with her hands together in front of her. 

'Do you have anything about The Old Republic?' Sol asked while turning to the woman.

'Why yes, we have a whole section,' she replied and started walking, making Sol follow. 'Is there anything in particular about this period that you're looking for?'

'What about who was part of the Order at this time?'

'Yes, we should have something about that.' 

While the keeper led Sol along the top floor, Sol looked down to the centre of the archive hall. Younglings sat on the Holonet computers researching for their training, while some Jedi spoke to other archive keepers about where to find certain files. It had been some years since Sol had ventured to the Holonet computers, as up until the previous year, she had nothing to research. Master Yoda hadn't let her travel for missions, so all the information she needed had been in her mission briefs, as they were simple and tedious.

She wondered if Anakin had ever been in the hall. He was always one to appear as if he knew everything, and sometimes, he proved that he did. Maybe he ventured to the archives in his free time so that he could impress others and boast about his knowledge. Obi-wan was bound to have made Anakin research planets and species during his Padawan days, as the Jedi Master was a wiseman who wanted his student to be prepared for any situation. Maybe she and Anakin could go to the archives together one day, and find a spot where they couldn't be seen. That way, they could spend some time together where it was quiet, secluded and-

'Here is a history of the Order. There'll be a chapter on The Old Republic in here,' the keeper said as she pulled a Holonet file from a shelf. Sol's thoughts were brought back to reality and she took the file from the keeper with a forced smile.

'Thank you.' 

'And this is about the main events during The Old Republic. Perhaps there will be some significant members of the Jedi Order mentioned in here,' Sol was handed a traditional book, which she took in her free hand.

'Thank you. I'll get to work on these,' Sol said, and the keeper smiled.

'My pleasure. Is there a specific person that you're researching?'

Sol thought about mentioning Satele, but she thought better of it. Although the keepers of the archives weren't field Jedi, they still had an obligation to inform the Order of any suspicious research. If the Force ghost that had been interacting with Sol was malicious in any way, the keeper might inform the Council about Sol's interest in Satele Shan. Until she knew for sure, Sol would keep it to herself.

'No, not really. Just interested in some history of the Order.'

'I see. Well, enjoy. I hope you find it interesting.