Chapter Text
Raa Woo…Raa Woo…Raa Woo
Flashing red lights and sirens wake up Obi as he lifts his head from his knees. Obi looks around confused and then remembers everything that led up to this. His eyes go wide as he realizes that he had fallen asleep from the exhaustion of the day’s events, he fell asleep in the underworld of Coruscant.
And Anakin left him here. In the underbellies of Coruscant, with criminals and gangs. Obi looks around nervously and sees the fire team trying to stop the fire and some Coruscant guards questioning the people that stayed. He looks at the scene as a speeder arrives and two robe figures step out. He turns to walk to them, hoping they are Jedi, but suddenly his arm is yanked back by clawed hands.
“Hey!” Obi shouts, panicked. He looks behind and sees a tall black Wookie, with a tall green Togruta, and a black and blue Zabrak, who is currently grabbing his arm tightly.
“Quiet, scum.” The Zabrak snaps and holds his hand to his mouth.
“Huh, lucky us to find a wandering kid.” The Togruta snickers and the Wookie snorts.
The Wookie speaks but Obi doesn’t understand his language.
“I know we won’t make many credits for this thing but it will get us credits.” The Zabrak says and Obi’s eyes go wide. They’re going to sell him.
“We’re wasting time, let’s go sell him already.” The Togruta says and Obi thinks fast. He quickly kicks the Zabrak in the shins and makes a run for it.
“Help! Please help!” Obi screams as the Wookie uses his long arm and grabs Obi tightly around the arm, making him shout in pain. He turns around and kicks at the Wookie but the Wookie squeezes his arm even more and it hurts, it hurts so bad.
“Put the kid down.” The alley lights up with green and blue colors. Obi stops struggling as he recognizes his friend’s voice.
“Hey, there’s no need to get violent, we were just helping the kid.” The Togruta lies and the Zabrak nods his head. The Wookie releases him from the death grip and Obi quickly backs away. The three criminals run away as the two Jedi put away their sabers. Obi sighs in relief and turns around to see Quinlan Vos and Plo Koon.
“Little one?”
“Obi?”
Obi bites his lip nervously and tries to figure out what to say. Plo senses his discomfort and hastily pulls him into a hug.
“I’ll go investigate some more and then we’ll meet up later,” Quinlan states and leaves the two, giving them privacy.
“Are you okay, dear one?” Plo gently asks and Obi nods his head, Plo hums in acknowledgment and checks his arm, nonetheless. “It will be bruised but bacta should help heal it faster.”
“Although, I do have a question.” Plo gently states. “Why are you here all alone?”
“I’m sorry, Buir,” Obi says, tears leaking down his cheeks. Plo looks at him confused.
“It’s okay, little one, we’ll talk more when we go back to Padme’s place,” Plo says and he picks up Obi as Obi hugs his neck. Plo walks to his speeder and gently buckles Obi in and then he proceeds to get in himself, he starts the speeder and takes off toward Padme’s apartment.
“Do you miss him, Buir?” The soft little voice whispers, Plo jumps a little at the sudden question.
“Who, dear one?” Plo however has a feeling he already knows who Obi is talking about.
“Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.” Obi whispers and Plo hesitates at the question.
“Yes, he was like a son to me. We had great memories together and I loved him deeply with a special kind of love, a father’s love.” Plo fondly states.
“I’m sorry!” Obi cries, tears leaking down his face. Plo pulls over the speeder and turns to Obi confused.
“Whatever are you sorry for?”
“I’m sorry I replaced your son. It’s all my fault! The Force wanted me to have a perfect childhood, so it took him away from you. I’m sorry!”
“Oh, child. What would make you think that? You are not a replacement, and the Force didn’t take Obi-Wan away from me.”
“Yes, it did; it wanted me to have a fairytale childhood, so it took away your real son.” Obi sniffles.
“No, it didn’t. Now, who told you this?”
“Anakin, and he’s right! It’s all my fault! I took his brother from him!” Obi sobs, and Plo hugs him, running his fingers through his auburn curls.
“Oh, my child, it’s not your fault. And Anakin was wrong to say that. I will be making sure to speak to him about this later, but Obi, it wasn’t your fault.” Plo pulls Obi away from him and lifts his head, so Obi is looking him in the eyes.
“It wasn’t your fault. The Force did this, and you had nothing to do with it.” Plo comforts Obi ,and Obi looks at him with his big blue/grey eyes. “The Force didn’t take my son, Obi; he’s right here.” Plo puts his hand on Obi’s shoulder in a firm but gentle grip. “Yes, I miss him, and every time I look at you, you remind me of him, but that’s because you are both the same person…
The Force didn’t take my son away, dear one; the Force gave me a second chance. I love you, little Obi, as a father would his son. You are my son, Obi. My smart, curious, and brilliant son and I wouldn’t trade another chance to raise you for the galaxy. Do you understand, dear one?” Plo gently asks, and Obi nods, wiping his nose as he sniffles with his little hands.
“Yes, Buir. I love you too!” Obi says and hugs him tightly.
“You too, my child, you too.” Plo hugs him as well. “Now how about we head to Padme’s, you need a little nap, I can sense your exhaustion without the Force.” Plo chuckles and Obi shyly smiles. Plo gently places Obi back in his seat and then proceeds to drive to Padme’s.
Plo lands the speeder and opens his door, he is immediately met with furious yelling. He looks to the left and sees Padme climbing aboard a ship, yelling at Anakin, and Anakin looking guiltily at her.
“And not only did you not listen to him and bullied him, but you also left him there! You left Obi in the underworld of Coruscant!” Padme furiously yells. “It’s been two hours since you arrived, two hours! What if he gets kidnapped or gets hurt? It will be all your fault!”
“Padme, wait…” Anakin says but is interrupted by Padme.
“No, I am doing what you should have done! Except, this whole thing shouldn’t have happened in the first place!”
“There is no need to retrieve little Obi.” Plo interrupts, after he had gotten Obi out of the speeder and walked a little closer to them.
“Oh my, he’s safe!” Padme exclaims and quickly rushes off the Plo and Obi. Anakin follows behind her. Padme kneels down to Obi, where he is standing behind Plo, and picks him up, hugging him to her chest, Obi hugs her tightly.
“I am so sorry, Plo! I was just picking up some stuff from the market, I had no idea any of this would happen otherwise I would have stayed. I am so sorry!” Padme rushes.
“It’s alright, Padme, although I would like to know how Obi ended up in the underworld.” Plo states and Padme glares at Anakin, nodding her head to Plo. Anakin nods his head and Padme sighs. She looks over Obi and leads him to the side while Anakin and Plo talk in privacy.
“Why did you bring little Obi to a pod race?” Plo raises his brow, questioningly.
“I thought it would be a good idea to hang out together.”
“Even as an adult, you knew Obi-Wan did not like pod races, why would he like them as a child?”
Anakin stares at him and tries to find something to say but he comes up with nothing.
“Did you know there have been bombs going off in the underworld? And most of the bombs have gone off at pod races?”
“No, but Obi-Wan sensed the bomb, he’s the only reason a lot of people didn’t die, including myself.” Anakin sighs, rubbing his neck.
“How then, did he end up in the underworld? Alone.”
“After the bomb, he lectured me! Acting as if he was my master! He’s been acting like him the whole day!” Anakin states angrily.
“Acting like who, Anakin?”
“You know who I mean!”
“Acting like who? Whom is Obi acting like?”
“He’s acting like Obi-Wan! He’s acting like my master!” Anakin yells and Plo sighs.
“I understand that you are still grieving Obi-Wan, we all are----” Plo comforts but is interrupted.
“You can’t say you’re grieving him! You’re not grieving him; you replaced him with a mini version of him! All I see you do is coddle and spoil that kid! Master Che and Ti do it too! Even Padme.” Anakin pauses. “I don’t understand how you are able to look at him… He stole your son! Just so the Force could give him a “perfect” childhood. I hate to break it to the Force, but not everyone gets a perfect childhood. I grew up as a slave! And what, he doesn’t have parents, so his childhood is automatically bad!”
“He’s still Obi-Wan, Anakin!” Plo says, angry. He goes on to continue but Anakin interrupts him.
“No! Obi-Wan Kenobi is dead! The Force killed him… The kid over there, he’s just a person who thinks he can steal my Master’s life and family.” Anakin finalizes and Plo moves to argue but a little voice shouts.
“I didn’t ask to be placed here!” Obi cries, angry tears falling down his cheeks. “I didn’t ask to be hated by you! Or to steal a man’s life.”
“I just want to go back home, with Quin and Bant and Reeft and Garen! Where I belonged!” Obi sobs and Padme hugs him closer as she glares at Anakin.
“Do not say another word in front of young Obi, Skywalker.” Plo protectively growls and nods, guilty.
“Let’s take a nap, okay, Obi?” Padme gently asks and Obi nods tiredly. Padme smiles a little and picks him up, she turns around and walks into the apartment, and then shuts the door.
“That little boy, that child filled with light, did not choose this. He didn’t choose to suddenly be thrust decades into the future with people who either grew up or he has no idea who they are. All his friends are either dead due to the war or grown up. This is a whole new galaxy for him and he’s trying so hard to be brave but he’s just a child. So do not start speaking ill of him, especially in front of him.
And he will continue to act like Obi-Wan because he is Obi-Wan. All those quirks, his intelligence, everything is a part of him. You can’t tell him to stop being who he is.” Plo declares. “And for his childhood, he might not had grown up as a slave but his childhood still was awful. He was a slave at one point in his life though, he was twelve and it was in the mines of Bandomeer, I am grateful however that he is not old enough to had experienced that.
However, even at the age of seven, it wasn’t perfect. When he was a baby, his parents tried to drown him in a river because they didn’t understand the Force, they thought he was a curse to them. He was constantly bullied by other initiates because he was smaller and smarter than them. He was very rebellious as a child and the master’s often distrusted him. This was all when he was seven.
He was left on a war-torn planet by Master Jinn when he was thirteen, he was a General to children. He had to watch an initiate die, one of his bullies, Bruck Chun. Chun was jealous of Obi and became a Padawan of Jinn’s first student, Xanatos, a Darksider. Xanatos is the same person who sold Obi into slavery, all to get back at Jinn. And he had to save his friend, Bant, from drowning because Xanatos tied her to the bottom of a pool. And this is only within two years of his Padawanship.” Plo takes in a breath and finishes lecturing Anakin.
“He may not have been a slave, Anakin, but his childhood was no picnic.”
“I’m sorry, Master Koon. I had no idea, about any of that.” Anakin states, guiltily.
“Obi-Wan was a very private person, he never liked sharing his burdens with his family because he didn’t want to be a burden to them, no matter how many times I told him he wasn’t,” Plo says sadly.
“One more thing, Anakin. I do miss him, every single day, and I will continue to do so until it is my time to join the Force. It pains a father to lose their son. You always think that the father would die first, but sadly, sometimes it doesn’t…” Plo pauses. “I still grieve him, Anakin. I loved him greatly. But I am grateful that my Obi-Wan, my son, didn’t completely go away. The Force didn’t take him away completely and have him join the Force, it gave me a second chance to have him and love him. I consider myself lucky, I didn’t completely lose my child, I just lost a part of him, and that part of him, I will miss. But now, I must help him, raise him, guide him, and love him. So, I am grateful that the Force gave me a second chance with little Obi, and I will forever be grateful that it didn’t take him away from me.”
Anakin nods and wipes his eyes. “It’s okay to grieve, Anakin. He was your brother and your father. But he’s still here, and he needs you. You and him might now know it, but the both of you need each other. Meditate on my words, Anakin and then you should talk to Obi.” Plo states and leaves to go into the apartment.
“Oh Force, I messed up…” Anakin mutters and he finally lets all the grief that has been building up inside out as he sinks to his knees and cries.
“Is Obi alright?” Plo asks as he walks into the apartment.
“He’s sleeping right now. I am so sorry about Anakin. It’s been hard for him but that is no excuse for how he treated Obi.” Padme apologizes and Plo shakes his head.
“There is no need to be sorry, you are not the one at fault.” Plo states and Padme gives him a small smile.
“If you want to check on him, his bedroom is right next to mine in the hallway,” Padme suggests and Plo nods, thankfully. He walks into the hallway and sees a half-open door, he opens it and lets out a surprised gasp, it was not only nice to give Obi his own bedroom here, but to decorate in his interests, that woman is an angel, Plo thinks.
“I know you’re awake, young one, I can sense you.” Plo fondly states and Obi turns over in his bed toward him.
“I’m sorry, Buir, for yelling,” Obi says guiltily.
“There is no need for that, little Obi. You were hurting, and you shared your feelings.” Plo says and walks over to the bed and sits on the side.
“Is Anakin okay?” Obi asks and Plo smiles, although no one can see it, because even when Obi is hurting, he still cares about other people, even the ones causing him the pain.
“Yes, he is okay. He just needs to think about some things right now.” Plo states, and Obi nods.
“Do you have to go back to your mission?”
“Yes, but I will only leave if I know things will be alright here.”
There’s a knock on the door and the door opens, revealing a messy-looking Anakin.
“I want to speak Obi-Wan, if you don’t mind.” Anakin requests, softly.
“Call me if you need anything, little one,” Plo says and leaves the room. Anakin stares at Obi for a second and then talks.
“I’m sorry for how I treated you and for how I have been treating you. It wasn’t right and my master wouldn’t have wanted that. I haven’t been handling my grief well but that’s no excuse to take it out on you…” Anakin pauses. “I’m sorry that I keep comparing you to him. It’s just all those little quirks you have, he had too so it’s hard to not remember how he used to do the same.” Anakin smiles a little. “My master was a great Jedi and person. I loved him so much and he was like a big brother and father to me.”
“I’m sorry,” Obi says softly.
“It’s okay because I realized I didn’t lose him completely. Some of him still lives in you. Your kindness, your smart thinking, your ability to care for everyone and put everyone before yourself, those were all his best attributes.” Anakin smiles. “I know I’ll always miss him, but parts of him will always live on through you. I’m thankful for the time I was able to have with him and I’m thankful that he didn’t completely die. So, I’m sorry, will you forgive me?” Anakin asks and Obi hugs him.
“I forgive you and I promise I’ll be who Master Kenobi was,” Obi promises.
Anakin smiles and hugs him. “I don’t want you to be who my master was and I don’t think he would either, I just want you to be you. And that’s the best thing anyone could ever ask of you, to just be who are.”