i have two requests to write, but im doing this first because i saw something on tumblr and it put me in my feels (something about how small people love being hugged by tall people, and tall people love hugging small people, so you know where this is going)

so enjoy this VERY mushy gushy, sappy, self-indulgent cuddle fic

ft. bby kanan and mama depa

Caleb was the first to fall asleep between the two Padawans. He had subconsciously tucked himself under Depa's arm, and she had been quick to reach up, ruffling his hair gently as he quietly snored into her shoulder.

Ahsoka tried her hardest not to giggle at the sight of her friend- she knew that Master Billaba was not as lenient as Anakin when it came to joking around or teasing. But when she turned to see her own master grinning fondly, she decided that it was alright for her to follow suit.

As the two masters spoke, it didn't take very long before Ahsoka felt her own eyes growing very heavy. The bench of the cafeteria table she and Anakin were sitting across from Depa and Caleb on suddenly felt extremely uncomfortable.

She looked up at Anakin, who was currently laughing at something that Depa must have said. Without even looking at her, he dragged his arm back a few inches, inviting her to snuggle up to him. She scooted closer until they were touching, shyly turning her head into his ribs as he brought an arm around her stomach.

"It was very nice to talk to you, Master Skywalker, but I believe that it is time to get our Padawans off to bed." Depa dipped her head before picking Caleb up bridal style. He squished his face into her neck as she carried him out of the cafeteria.

"'Soka," Anakin whispered, squeezing her side. He leaned down to rest his chin on one of her montrals. "'Soka, I know you're awake."

She didn't budge.

"I'll still carry you if you're awake," he offered. Her face broke into a smile, and he laughed in response. "I knew that would get you."

"'m tired, Master," she sighed, her voice slurred.

"I know, I know," he replied, turning sideways so he could pick her up. "Just lift your arms up, okay?"

"No, you'll tickle me, you liar," she mumbled.

"I promise I won't. Don't you trust me?"

"No."

Anakin sighed, shaking his head. He hooked his arms under her armpits, standing her up on the floor.

She fell forward, arms wrapping around his waist as her droopy eyelids fell closed. Anakin grunted with the effort of lifting her up against him.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs swinging awkwardly into his.

"Just go to sleep, Snips," he whispered as she shuffled her head around on his shoulder, trying to get comfortable.

"Okay," she murmured into his neck, finally laying her head down.

"Alright," he said, hoisting her up once before exiting the cafeteria.

His knees knocked into her feet with each step, and Force, she was tiny. He had known this already, of course, but somehow it didn't register just how small she was in comparison to him until she was snugly pressed up against him.

Then again, it had to be factored in that he was even taller than Obi-Wan, so maybe she was average-sized, and he was just tall.

Either way, he still couldn't help but smile as her breaths tickled his neck. Whether she really was tiny or not, he felt like he was carrying his own daughter, and perhaps he was.

Of course their age gap said otherwise, but he was content to be either her brother or father. As long as they never lost this- this blissful familial comfort with one another -he would be happy.

She groggily woke up once more on their walk to Anakin's quarters, but he quickly shushed her, nuzzling his cheek against her right lek. She turned her head the other way, blinking sleepily at the door to Obi-Wan's quarters while Anakin typed in his passcode.

The door let out a hiss as it opened, and Anakin walked her over to his couch. He leaned forward to sit her down first, setting the pillows up while she slumped against his chest, arms still hooked around his neck.

He knelt to the floor so he could lay her on her back, gently tugging his head away from her arms. Her features wrinkled in protest as her grip tightened, pulling his head across her chest, and onto her inside shoulder.

"Snips, you've got to let go," he chuckled. With a sigh, she loosened her grasp, allowing him to slip his head out of her grip.

He scooted over to her, sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Goodnight, Ahsoka..." he took a deep breath before sitting up on his knees to gently kiss her forehead, "... love you."

And with one last squeeze of her shoulder, he stood up to leave.

But just as he was about to climb into his bed to the left of the little couch that she was somehow still too short to fully occupy, he heard her say back to him,

"Love you too."

Anakin froze. He had been certain that she was fully asleep when he said that. He knew that she knew that he loved her (at least he hoped she did), but she wasn't supposed to hear it.

He wasn't supposed to say it.

And as her master, he certainly wasn't supposed to allow her to say it back.

But he was unconventional, and he knew she was too.

So he sighed, lifting the one leg he had placed on his bed up, and back onto the floor. He tiptoed over to her, kneeling back down beside her.

"You just said you loved me," she whispered with a grin.

"Don't be so quick to forget that you said it back," he retorted, running a hand over her montrals, his palm stopping at the top of her left lek. He gently kneaded his fingers into the appendage, and she smiled, closing her eyes.

"That feels nice."

"I'm glad," he replied, stooping forward to softly kiss the diamond above her eyes again. He smiled against her forehead, his hand trailing down to the bottom of her headtail.

He brought his head back to the edge of the cushion, finding a slightly-more-awake Ahsoka staring at him, a huge smile plastered across her face.

"Hey, scoot over," he said, nodding his head towards the middle cushion. Ahsoka was quick to oblige, sitting up slightly until Anakin had situated himself beside her.

"You're really warm," she whispered as he wrapped himself around her, laying the both of them down against the pillows he had set up for her earlier.

"Thank you...?" he answered. She turned her head upward on his chest, and he looked down at her to meet her eyes.

They both fell into a fit of giggles, burrowing as closely as they could to one another. 

"You're small," Anakin said back, and Ahsoka arched an eye marking even though he wouldn't be able to see it while she was facing away from him.

"Thank you...?" she replied, imitating his voice. Anakin rolled his eyes.

"It's just... cozy to hold you," he explained, "It's like you're my little teddy bear," he joked.

"Excuse me?" she laughed quietly. "I am no one's teddy bear."

"Hmm... nah, I'm pretty sure you're mine right now," he teased, squeezing the arms he'd wrapped around her stomach for emphasis. It was Ahsoka's turn to roll her eyes.

"Fine, then you're... my blanket," she decided.

"You're blanket, huh? How d'you figure?"

"Well, you're big and I'm small. You're basically swaddling me with yourself right now, and like I said- you're really warm. And... it's cozy for me too."

"What?"

"You just said that it was cozy to hold me. It's cozy to be held too," she explained. She felt Anakin's understanding nod as his chin brushed the top of one of her montrals.

"I'm glad your cozy."

"I'm glad you're cozy too," she yawned, grinning as she squirmed in a half circle, nuzzling her face against his collarbone. 

She pushed her hand between the space where the side of his stomach weighed down the cushion, curling it around his back. Her other arm came over his back, so she could embrace him the same way he was doing to her.

They were quiet for a few moments, and Anakin was almost certain that she had fallen asleep. He was exhausted as well from the late hour. He lifted his arm off of her for a few moments in order to pull the blanket from his bed over the two of them with the Force.

"Anakin?" she asked, her voice dripping with drowsiness.

"Yeah, Snips?" he answered, adjusting the blanket around them before encircling his arm around her again.

"I love you."

Warmth swarmed in his stomach, piling up all the way up into his chest where her head was pillowed. She sighed sleepily against him, and she was close enough to him that he could feel her eyelashes blink as she waited for his answer.

"I love you too," he answered, because of course he did. 

He really, really did.

yeah. i melted a lot while writing this. if anyone needs me, just look for a huge disformed puddle of fluffy happiness.

also, i just wanted to say that the story i posted last night abt my brother was not meant to insult anyone who does ship that. i respect it even if i disagree with you, but since it was my brother obviously i could just bully him about it because... well, that's just what siblings do lol