sith_happened | Office hours [all day]

This was a terrible idea. Elsa was pretty certain of it, as she made her way to Professor Skywalker's office, not certain with every step if she was going to be able to make another one, or if the next would see her turning and running in the opposite direction.

Sure, turning and running meant that she'd have to account for not being here probably next week, in class. Or perhaps she could run away from that, as well. Perhaps she could run away from all of her classes. Maybe she could get a nice little cottage in Bali and never face anybody again...

She was being ridiculous. And fidgeting nervously at her gloves. She needed to stop doing that. She needed to stop doing that and start doing something productive, instead.

Last chance to run.

"Excuse me, Professor Skywalker?"

Blew it.

"Come in," Anakin said, glancing up and sounding pleased.

He'd had a bet with himself to see if she'd really come by.

But did he win?

"Of course," Elsa murmured, slipping into his office and eyeing the door for a moment before pulling it shut behind herself. It kept prying ears at bay, but it also made it that much more difficult for her to panic and run. Probably. "I hope your day is going well so far?"

Step one had been actually showing up. Elsa was still working up to step to, here.

And lost! It was the peril of betting against yourself.

Anakin smiled. "Relatively uneventful. So far, I've only heard three conversations from people who aren't in the room."

"My little sister keeps knocking on my door," Elsa replied, with a small, knowing nod. "I'm thankful that it's not only happening to me. Anna is still in Arendelle."

Or else she was far more persistent in her quest to get Elsa to build a snowman with her than Elsa had anticipated. One of those.

"That's a little weird," Anakin admitted. "I haven't had any visitors from home."

And that was a good thing. Home wasn't exactly chock full of people who would be thrilled to see Anakin.

"Oh." Elsa's face fell a little. "I was really hoping I could go on thinking I wasn't going crazy."

Sucks to be you, Elsa.

"But... I suppose that's not what I'm here to talk about, either."

Though now she was wishing that it was.

"Oh, you're not crazy," Anakin assured her. "The people from my home galaxy might be avoiding me. I haven't been there for more than a few days in almost a decade."

He was giving her a chance to smalltalk a little longer if she needed it.

And she appreciated that. A lot.

"Avoiding somebody back there? Or just far more invested in something that's here?"

Elsa was actually really big on avoidance, so...

"A little bit of both," Anakin admitted. "I'm here to teach you students not to be as stupid as I was as a teenager and young adult...the lack of a warm welcome back home is the price I pay for a string of terrible choices."

"Oh..." And now Elsa was feeling distinctly as though she was putting her foot into something she probably shouldn't wander too deeply into. Which wasn't going to stop her from wandering in a little more, apparently. "Has... the teaching worked out well, at least?"

Or were they all lost causes, bound to make terrible decisions no matter how much guidance they had?

"Very," Anakin said, smiling. "I've been here almost a decade."

"As opposed to back home," Elsa agreed, attempting a little smile of her own. "It's good to see that this place has some sort of long-term appeal for some, at least."

She wouldn't have that luxury, herself. But it meant that the next few years here might not be absolutely horrible. Right?

"Have you ever had any students that were," she hesitated for a moment while she tried to pick out the right words, "afraid... for the people around them, more than for themselves?"

She would get to her point eventually, if she had to make broad circles around it a few times, first.