𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐎. the anchor that kept him harbored long enough in his bed to realize just how plush were his pillows, how crisp the sheets, or how the mattress cradled the contours that constantly occupied his attention so perfectly. what use was there in denying her devastating effect on him. a slippery slope of flirtation yielded to a landslide. now the satisfactory solitude of a man who made no distinction between his career and personal life was irrevocably spoiled.
ancient lullabies and tidal hymns were no longer adequate companions. during nights without her, boba knew no peace. hours stretched past their natural length, defying the tick of the vintage analog smothered by the towers of masrani-backed hardcovers collecting on his desk. quiet festered into thunderous silence. a wound that made him itch and fidget, forcing him to pace the houseboat in search of the source of his disquiet. a disquiet boba refused to name her absence out of a hermit’s pride.
any attempt to sleep when they were apart was an exercise in futility. rustling fabric accompanied egregious tossing and turning. covers were flung off then replaced. tossed, then retrieved until boba surrendered to a book light in an attempt to make use of idle. which only served to frustrate him more when the man realized he’d read the same sentence fourteen times because his thoughts insisted on drifting to the lack of ahsoka beside him.
tano. damn her, she ruined him, and he was completely and utterly in love with it.
when they were together, boba dreamed. dreamed of things other than teeth and spent shells. it was the morning after their first elope from professionalism where boba discovered what rest actually tasted like. closing his eyes with arms enveloped around her, boba sunk into the depths of an alien world far stranger than the crushing black of the ocean floor.
ahsoka introduced him to the tranquility of nothing. an acquaintance he never expected to make even in death. he assumed only with cremation, the total incineration of every solid material that made up his existence and he was little more than decorative dust, would boba experience the euphoria of fuck all.
boba actually resisted the call of responsibility when she called his sanctuary hers for the night. resistance he never surrendered to, but on a reckless amount of occasions was boba tempted to ring up wu or dearing. to encourage them to pound bedrock so he could stay in bed and do nothing ( or something ) for the day. ignoring that he was integral to reducing the chances of a family vacation devolving into the end of a bloodline.
last night, boba was tempted to be the bane of a busy day. with midnight came a labor day, one of the many that littered the company’s international calendar. and in honor of the holiday, boba thought to steal masrani’s top talent away from her workload. but he’d gotten himself distracted, as he usually did around said talent, and missed the chance to tease her with the idea. and any chance to disappoint leadership came and went with the woe of sunrise.
instead, he slept still as stone. sunken into his off-white silhouette. stirred from the comfortable fathoms of cotton only because the radiance beside him drifted away. a slip of awareness lazily pursued her to the edge of the bed, then stopped, lulled by the still-warm impression that befuddled it.
the slip blinked again, vaguely aware of a soundless tread through the room. the rest of boba was slow to follow. only when the bedspread cooled sufficiently was he convinced that ahsoka was gone.
an involuntary spasm woke him. lids parted for a heavy, yet calculative squint. boba propped himself on forearm, taking in the room. dappled sunlight laid like gossamer curtains across the bedspread. singers from the jungle enshrining the cove and the distant aviary reminded him he had functioning ears.
boba shook off the seductive shackles of the sheets. he found ahsoka’s clothes abandoned, still warm. mischief replaced the grog as he mistook the invitation for a different sort until his keen senses detected movement in the water bordering his home.
the mischief remained as boba tracked ahsoka to the deck and found her swimming beyond reach. his first instinct was to backtrack, sneak around to a covered shoreline and surprise her. not wanting to disturb the relaxed mood, he reconsidered. for a moment, boba’s lips parted, her name half-formed when he stopped himself, suddenly aware of the sanctity of the scene.
no mistake, ahsoka tano’s intensity was intoxicating. whether she was absorbed by her work in his company or passion-deep in a conversation. enrapturing too was the way that intensity melted into a uniquely she brand of bliss when they were alone together. but witnessing the harmony she was feeling with just herself was a more sublime discovery than man’s wresting of extinction from god’s plan.
damn, she really did outshine the sun. the comparison, in fact, was far too humble. he needed to tell her that more, how beautiful she was. boba just had to figure out how.
a soft smirk gentled him. his brow unfurled as he leaned against the rail to watch her for as long as possible. he absorbed the way the water moved around as if ahsoka swam among a thousand shimmering diamonds. couplings of bluegreen chromis and purple queens flashed beneath her like sunken gems, startled but undeterred by the bipedal dancer exploring their stage. a sluggish bullethead nearly bumped into her leg, only veering off in a sudden spook. amusement melted boba further. his chin came to rest on a calloused palm as he continued to spectate what wouldn’t last much longer.
the magic of the scene was destined to be brief. besides, he was expected and entertained no desire to keep her waiting.
with unusual abandon, boba plunged into the pacific. even under the tropical sun, the deepest and largest of the earth’s oceans maintained a proud nip. the electric current chilled his skin as his vision darkened blue. lead by a chain of bubbles, boba kicked back to the surface and crossed the turquoise distance in perfect butterfly strokes where he found ahsoka waiting.
the mischief dismissed before returned with impish vigor but boba was immediately outgunned by her ambush.
boba’s taken aback ack! was submerged with the rest of him as his anchor did as anchors do. deeper into the shallows they went. an eruption of bubbles blocked his view of her but her very literal bubbly giggle was pure clarity.
enticed, he matched her ascension, breaking the water tension a fraction of a moment behind her. boba tried to school his expression straight but the farce proved impossible. his mouth wouldn’t let him, lips refused to flatline let alone dour. and while his chuckle was quieter, resonating from his chest, it was no less honest than hers.
ahsoka’s arms went high, his went low, finding a utopian curve to wrap around. he squinted through the briny drip that stubbornly clung to his lashes, enduring the prickle so as to not waste a single moment to look at the siren in his arms.
as they bobbed in the dichotomy of brisk and heat, boba answered her hope with a prolonged kiss. at its end, he kept her close, blurring where she ended and he began as he pressed his forehead to hers, counting the slow rain running off their skin to return to the mother marine.
limbs numbed by the intimacy, boba drew back. he cleared his throat of the lingering saltwater he’d swallowed and reclined his head. ❝ hmm, a race? ❞ he repeated with feigned contemplation. one dark brow arched. ❝ are we capable of friendly competition? you and i make for a pair of sore losers. ❞
