Prologue

Lux POV

I stood in the command center of our secret underground base on Jeosyn. The Empire had somehow managed to infiltrate our ranks, get spies into our midst who gained our trust and learned our secrets. They had strategically chosen today for their attack, the day that we sent some of our ranks to Yavin to help reinforce the rebels in driving out the rest of the Imperial presence in the system.

I stood content, I knew this was probably the end for me, and those still here. I had lived a full life even if I was only 37. I had lived through two wars now, and seen countless friends and others die. I had but one regret...

Suddenly the door burst open and I turned to see a woman in black stormtrooper armor with red highlights. Her long black hair was braided and tied tightly in a bun at the base of her head.

"Iden... I should've known you never actually defected from the Empire. Staven never trusted you, but I stupidly fell for it," I said shaking my head.

"Yes, your desperate need for more people, more support, any way to get info on the Empire was your downfall. The Dreamers are done, Staven and his crew have already been intercepted over the planet by the Imperial fleet. You're all that remains," she said pointing her blaster at my head.

I sighed and looked down to the ground. My life flashed before my eyes, from the death of my father, to living with my mother on Raxus and her death, joining Deathwatch, the rebellion on Onderon, marrying and divorcing my wife, joining the rebels, but there was one thing that connected them all: her. I had let her go too soon, and that was my one regret, though I had still held out hope these last 19 years that I would see her again.

"A good friend once told me to always have hope... you will see the light soon." I saw Iden grit her teeth before reluctantly pulling the trigger. I awaited the impact of the bullet, but it never came. Instead I felt a shock go through my body and I fell to the floor.

~~~

I had been locked in this cell for who force knows how long. It could be one year, five years, I have no clue. There's no clocks or calendars or even a window to the outside for me to count the days with. I only knew it had been a long time because I now had a long beard. I didn't really like it, but I didn't have a choice. The Imperials had only allowed me to shave a few times.

Everyday was the same: a guard would bang on the door of my cell early in the morning (at least I assumed it was early), slide a disgusting meal through the slot (usually consisting of some grey mush, a piece of rotten fruit, and water that could barely be considered drinkable), I'd go back to sleep or stare at the wall blankly for a few hours, and then later I would get a stale piece of bread tossed into the cell. That was pretty much it, except for the few days I would be allowed out of my cell to go to "rehab" as they called it. There they filled my mind with lies about the Empire and tried to brainwash me, but it never worked. The only other time I would get human interaction was the few times they interrogated me, trying to get me to spill rebel secrets, which, again, never worked.

I had thought a few times about ending my life, but I had no means of doing so. The guards made sure I never had anything that could be used to harm me or them or aid in an escape. The food also kept me weak enough so I was unable to overpower them. It seemed like I would be spending my entire life in this cramped cell. I had lost hope of rescue a while ago.

Being locked in this cell also gave me a lot of time to think about a number of things. To reflect on my past, the wars, the death. What peeved me the most was that the whole time, my whole life, Palpatine had been behind the scenes, playing both sides just using everyone. I wished someone puked just put him in his place.

However, the thing I thought about the most was her. All those years ago, during the rebellion, I did some stupid things. I hurt her, I knew we could never be together, so I tried to replace her with Steela. That was wrong, I know she tried to put on a brave face and act like she was okay, that she was happy for me, but I knew her too well. I knew that u was hurting her, but there was nothing I could do. She was a Jedi.

I wanted to tell her before she left, but with Steela's death, it didn't feel right. It felt like I would be betraying Steela. I told myself the next time I saw her, I would make things right, that I would tell her how I felt, regardless of her status as a Jedi.

Alas, that time never came and I've spent the last however many years regretting every decision I ever made with regards to her. From Deathwatch, to leaving her to go to Onderon, to what happened with Steela. I regretted it all, and just hoped, prayed that one day I would get to tell her how I felt, though I knew at this point I'll probably never see her again.

It was ironic. I had told Iden to always have hope, but it's me that has lost hope.

Suddenly I heard the banging on my cell door, and the piece of bread was tossed through the slot on the bottom. At first I ignored it, but soon my stomach rumbled. I reluctantly crawled out of the stiff bed— if you could even call it that— and shuffled across the cold floor to the piece of bread. I sat cross legged and held the piece in my hand. It was small, no bigger than my hand, and very hard— I could probably use it as a chisel to dig my way out of here if I wasn't so hungry.

I brought the bread up to my mouth and nibbled on it. I didn't want to down it all in one bite as this was my only food until the grey mush which was still hours off. I finished the bread quickly, despite trying to make it last.

I crawled back over to the bed and laid down, but my stomach rumbled, begging for more food, but there was none. I tried to ignore it, but it kept begging. I finally caved in and swung my legs out of the bed and made my way to the door. I peered out of the bars that acted as a window and saw that there was a singular guard outside.

I tried to get his attention. "Sir..." I was taken aback by the sound of my own voice. I hadn't spoken in so long, so I had forgotten what it really sounded like, though it wasn't really my normal voice, it voice came out weak and strained.

"What is it prisoner?" I couldn't see his reaction under the helmet, but I could sense he was annoyed by the tone in his voice.

I took a deep breath. "Do you... do you have anymore food you could give me?" I asked meekly.

"No," he replied sharply. "Now stop bothering me before I give you a hole in your head."

I looked down and frowned. I was dismayed, but not surprised. I would've been more surprised had he given me something. I sulked back over to my bed and laid down on the rock hard mattress. My stomach rumbled again, and I knew this was going to be a long night.

~~~

The next morning, I wasn't awoken by the normal banging on the door. No, I was awoken by shouting and the shuffling of feet. I groggily stood up from the bed and slowly walked to the door and peered out the cold, metal bars. I saw countless stormtroopers streaming past my cell. I wondered what could have them in such a frenzy. I mean from what I had seen and been told, this was the most secure prison the Empire had, surely they could handle whatever the rebellion threw at them?

I could hear blaster fire bouncing off the walls of the prison, but still couldn't see who they were shooting at. I assumed it was the rebels, but there was a chance it was someone else. Perhaps a bounty hunter or someone else unaffiliated with the Empire or the Rebels. Maybe that was why they were able to get into the building without be shot down before landing because it was juts a small ship. Or maybe it was someone trying to escape. Though it was a slim chance, it was still a possible explanation.

I sighed as I walked back over to my bed and sat down on it. The odds that whoever it is is going to take me with them are slim. The Dreamers weren't really a part of the larger rebellion, and it's not like anyone knows that I am still alive anyways. All the rest of the Dreamers at the base with me that day were killed, so everyone probably just assumes I am too.

I tried to go back to sleep, but the blaster bolts and the screams of dying stormtroopers wouldn't allow me to. I tried covering my ears with my hands, but that didn't help, not to mention it was an uncomfortable position to sleep in.

Suddenly, the blaster fire and screaming stopped. The troopers must've stopped whoever got into the prison. I got up from the bed and headed to the door. I wanted to see if I could figure out who it was that they were shooting at. However, before I could make it to the door, it was thrown off its hinges and landed next to me with a loud thud. 

I was so startled that I fell to the ground. Once I looked back up, I saw a person standing in the doorway. I couldn't really tell who it was as their white cloak covered most of their body, and the hood covered their whole face. The person just stood there for a moment, looking at me, studying me before they finally reached up and removed the hood.

As the hood came down, I looked on in shock. Standing in front of me was none other than Ahsoka Tano. She was obviously taller than the last time we had met, though I still estimated I was a few inches taller. Her lekku were much longer reaching down to about her waist. Her facial markings had elongated and become larger with the ones on her cheeks now running up to her temples, and the ones above her eyes tracing down to under her eyes. 

I opened my mouth to try to speak, but I couldn't find any words. I was absolutely speechless. I never thought I'd see a friend again, let alone her, the one I had been searching for for years.

I was only broken from my thoughts when she spoke. "So are you just gonna sit there on the floor drooling like a hormonal school boy or do you want to get out of here?" She asked me with a smirk. I quickly closed my mouth, I hadn't realized it was open until she pointed it out.

"Ahsoka... I—"

"Lux now's not the time to catch up, more stormtroopers could be coming at any moment, we need to get out of here."

"But—" I started to protest until I was cut off by a blaster bolt whizzing by her head. She narrowly dodged it and produced two sabers from under her cloak, however they weren't the ones I remembered from Carlac or Onderon. No these sabers were thinner, and when she activated them, they glowed a snow white color.

"Lux!" Ahsoka shouted snapping me from my thoughts yet again. "We need to go NOW!"

I nodded and rose from the ground and ran over to her. She began to weave down hallways as I followed close behind. She was slowly gaining on me, as I slowed down due to exhaustion. I hadn't ran like this in years, and it was showing.

"Ahsoka... slow... down..." I managed to gasp out.

The togurta quickly whipped around and shot me a look. "If we slow down, we'll both die!"

"I... can't go... on." 

Ahsoka huffed and rolled her eyes. She jogged back over to me and picked me up with the force. "Come on slowpoke."

Now that she didn't have to keep stopping to wait for me to catch up, we were moving much quicker down the hallways. Ahsoka used one of her hands to levitate me with the force, and the other hand held her saber which was redirecting blaster bolts away from us.

"The exit is right around this corner," Ahsoka said before she made a sharp left. However, she skidded to a halt as soon as she rounded the corner. Standing in front of the door was a squad of 10 stormtroopers, blasters aimed at us.

"Halt!" One of them shouted, presumably the leader. "Lay down your weapons and come quietly and maybe we'll let you live." Ahsoka bent down to the ground and began to place her lightsaber on the ground

"What are you doing? We can't just surrender!" I whispered harshy.

"Relax," she said calmly. "I have a plan." 

I rolled my eyes. "I hope you know what you're doing."

As the stormtroopers came closer, they began to lower their blasters. One bent down to pick up Ahsoka's saber, and that's when it started. Ahsoka gave the trooper a swift knee to the head and he fell to the ground in a heap. The other troopers quickly raised their blasters in an attempt to shoot us.

I panicked and ran at one of them, grabbing his weapon. We struggled for possession of the blaster, each throwing punches at each other, though I wasn't sure if I was hurting myself or him more with my punches. After a few more moments of struggling, he threw me to the ground and aimed his blaster at me. I closed my eyes and braced for impact, but it never came. I heard the stormtrooper fall to the ground and when I opened my eyes, I saw a lightsaber hilt protruding from his chest.

"It's like Carlac all over again. I have to save your ass," Ahsoka said rolling her eyes and giggling.

"Hey! I had it under control," I defended.

She snorted. "If you call being moments from death 'under control' then yea I suppose you did." She reached her hand out to help me up, and I gladly took it. She pulled me to my feet and I brushed off the clothes I was wearing. "Now come on, let's get out of here." I nodded and we made our way out of the prison.

As soon as we were outside, I could see that it was dark out. Maybe I had been wrong all these years, they fed me at night and I slept through the days. Not that it made much of a difference, but it was just odd to know that my whole perception of time had been thrown off by being locked in that cell.

"Lux? Luuuux? Did you hear what I said?" Ahsoka said waving a hand in front of my face.

"Huh? Oh uhhh... sorry. My mind must've wandered off," I replied sheepishly.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "I said my ship is in those woods over there," she said gesturing to the woods off to the left of the prison. "Follow me and stay in the shadows as we make our way to the forrest. If you stick with me you'll be fine." And with that, she took off for the forrest.

Every couple seconds she would pull me behind some crates or another sort of cover as a search light came near us. The move to the forrest felt like it took hours, but realistically probably only took about 10 minutes. Once we were in the cover of the trees, Ahsoka bolted for the ship. I tried my best to keep up, but she was so fast.

I had my head down as I was running to the ship, so I didn't see Ahsoka had stopped. I ran right into her back and we tumbled to the ground. When we stopped and I opened my eyes, I saw that I was on top of her, our faces mere inches apart. This is your chance Lux, do it, I thought.

"Uhhh Lux? You good?" Ahsoka asked laughing a bit.

"Yea I'm fine why?" I responded confused. 

"You looked like you were thinking really hard about something and your face looked like you were trying to hold a shit in."

"Oh uh... it was nothing," I said as I felt my face go red. We said nothing for a second, just looking at each other until Ahsoka spoke.

"Lux, would you mind getting off of me so we can get out of here?"

"Oh uh yea sorry about that," I said standing up. I offered her my hand, which she gladly accepted and I pulled her to her feet. I must've pulled a bit hard because we ended up in a sort of hugging position. We stayed there for a breif moment before Ahsoka quickly moved out of my grasp and turned around.

"Sorry..." she whispered before walking onto the ship. I tried to say something and stop her, but she was already on the ship. I sighed and followed her on board. When I reached the cockpit, she was already initiating the launch sequence. I took a seat in the open co-pilot's spot.

"Is there anything I can help with?" I asked.

"No, I've got it, thanks though," she responded with a smile that made my heart flutter. I had to say something.

"Ahsoka—"

"DAMMIT!" She screamed slamming the control panel. "Gimme a second Lux, I gotta get this piece of junk going." She got out of the seat and ran to the back of the ship. I couldn't see what she was doing, but I assumed whatever it was would help get the ship going.

After a moment, she returned to her pilot's seat. "C'mon baby, just work for me," she said pleading for the ship to start. She pushed a few buttons and the engine sputtered. She mumbled something harshly and tried again and the ship turned on. "Yes!" Ahsoka said pumping her fist. "Now what do you say we get out of here?"

Ahsoka lifted the ship off the ground and into the air. Once we were in the air, she turned to me. "So what was it you were going to say?"

"I—" I was cut off by the sound of a tie fighter flying over us.

"Hold that thought Lux, I gotta shake these guys and get into hyperspace. If you could man the guns, that would be great." I nodded in determination and headed up to the top of the ship where the gun was located. I sat in the seat and turned it around to face the chasing tie fighters. I pressed the trigger and shot. The recoil was something I was not anticipating, and it sent me shooting back into the seat.

Soon enough I got the hang of the recoil, but my aim was still poor. I only managed to clip the wing of one of the tie fighters, but my shots were keeping them from advancing on us.

"Alright strap in! I'm ready to make the jump!" I heard Ahsoka shout from the cockpit. I complied and buckled in.

"Ready!" I shouted back. I didn't get a response, but seconds later I felt the ship accelerate and saw the blue light of hyperspace. I unbuckled and climbed down from the gun. Once on the main floor, I walked back into the cockpit and plopped down in the co-pilot's spot.

Ahsoka turned to me when I sat down. "So, what is it you kept trying to talk to me about?" She asked with a smile.

"I uhhh..." I had practiced this conversation so many times in my head, but now that it was finally here, I was at a loss for words. I saw Ahsoka cock her head to the side in confusion. "Why did you come for me? Better yet, how did you know I was even alive?"

"Oh well... I don't know if you know, but when Jedi form a close relationship with someone we can sense their presence. I never felt yours leave, so I knew you were alive and out there somewhere. The hard part was finding out where you were; however, after Iden Versio defected to the Rebellion after the destruction of the second Death Star and subsequent death of the Emperor—"

"Wait there was a SECOND Death Star???"

"Yup, construction started right after the first one got destroyed, and it was supposed to be even bigger and more deadly than the first. Luckily the Rebellion got to it before it was finished and it's no more."

"And you said Iden defected to the Rebellion?" I questioned.

"Yup."

"Are you sure? She did that before and infiltrated the Dreamers and brought me here."

"Yes I'm sure. She's how I found you. She mentioned your name while talking to someone else and I overheard. I asked her about you and she told me where you were being kept, and well... here I am," she explained with a shrug.

"But why would you come for me? Especially after the way I treated you the last time we were together?"

"It wasn't that big of a deal, I've gotten over it by now. Besides, you're my friend."

"No Ahsoka, it is a big deal. I've spent the past however many years since I saw you regretting everything I did. I regretted playing with your feelings like I did. I knew we could never be together with your status as a Jedi, so I tried to replace you with Steela. It took until she passed for me to realize what I was doing to you and myself, it took me until then to realize that she wasn't the one for me. It was at that moment I knew that you were the one for me. I wanted desperately to tell you, but I didn't want you to throw your whole career for me. 

"I told myself the next time I saw you, I'd tell you how I felt, but then Order 66 happened and the Empire took over. I thought you had died, but held out hope all these years that I would get to see you again. In those years apart, my love for you was never lost, despite my attempts at getting over you. You always had my heart, and always will. I love you Ahsoka Tano." I looked up to see Ahsoka crying and smiling the biggest smile I've ever seen.

"I've been waiting for nearly 25 years to hear those words," Ahsoka said, her voice strained. I reached my hand up and wiped the tears from her face. She smiled at me, and then leaned in and kissed me. I kissed back without hesitation. We pulled out of the kiss after a few seconds and rested our foreheads on each other's. This felt right, like it was exactly where I belonged.

"I love you too Lux Bonteri."

Alright and it's finished! I think that's the longest chapter/one-shot I've ever written lol, so I hope y'all like it.

(Avril, your sister said you sometimes read my stuff, so if you're reading this, have fun in Cali!)