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Anakin keeps his face all but plastered to the window as the shuttle flies from the Senate Rotunda to the Jedi Temple. From the seat beside him, Padawan du Crion leans over Anakin's shoulder and points out various landmarks as they travel through the skies of Coruscant. The young Jedi has an endless stream of stories, whether of criminals he has chased into this building or that canyon, or where the best local diners can be found for a meal during an illicit trip to the underlevels of the great city-planet.
As the Temple looms larger in the viewport, Padawan du Crion points out each of the Temple towers by name, and Anakin carefully repeats them, checking the sun for direction. If he's going to be a Jedi, then that's definitely important information to know.
“Uh-oh,” du Crion murmurs as they near the landing platform.
“What's wrong?” Anakin asks, concerned. He doesn't see anything dangerous on the platform - just the ground crew moving around, and a few people standing at the edge of the landing zone, probably waiting to meet them. Nothing's on fire or anything.
Padawan du Crion snorts. “Nothing's wrong, just…” he bites his lip on a smirk and glances across the aisle, to where Master Qui-Gon has been sitting, silently, eyes closed for the entire shuttle ride. “I think Master Qui-Gon is in trouble.”
Whatever this supposed trouble is, Padawan du Crion seems more amused than worried. Anakin frowns and looks out the viewport again, but all he can see now is the skyline of the city, before it’s cut off by the side walls of the landing bay as the shuttle delicately maneuvers into its resting spot.
Master Qui-Gon opens his eyes when the shuttle engines start cycling down. Anakin is watching closely enough to see a faint grimace cross the Jedi’s face, before his expression smooths out.
“Xan,” Master Qui-Gon calls across the aisle as he stands up, “will you keep Anakin with you until we report to the Council?”
“Yes, Master,” Padawan du Crion says, and then a sly smirk appears on his face. “After all, we can't tarnish your dignified reputation before you have a chance to make Anakin's status as your next Padawan official. What a shame that would be.”
“Imp.” Master Qui-Gon glares, but there's no heat to it, and the corners of his mouth are twitching as if he's holding back a smile. “Off with you. Anakin, I'll see you in a few hours, and Xanatos will take good care of you until then.”
“Psshh,” Padawan du Crion waves his hand dismissively. “Depends on your definition of ‘good care’. C’mon kid, we're getting ice cream.”
“What's ice cream?” Anakin asks as he follows the two Jedi down the ramp.
“Kid, trust me, you're gonna love it,” Padawan du Crion promises with a huge grin. “Aaaand step this way,” he adds, tugging Anakin sideways as another Jedi marches straight towards them across the landing bay with a thunderous scowl on his face.
The approaching Jedi is a human male, middle-aged although maybe not quite Master Qui-Gon's age, with a neatly trimmed beard and ginger-brown hair just starting to turn silver at the temples. He looks as regal as the Queen of Naboo in her fancy dresses, despite the fact that he's wearing the same brown and tan robes as Padawan du Crion, and his scowling face promises trouble.
“Hi, Obi-Wan,” Padawan du Crion calls out as the man passes by them. The other Jedi gives him a distracted wave in response and then strolls right up to Master Qui-Gon, until they're standing almost toe-to-toe. He has to look up to meet Master Qui-Gon's eyes, but his glare is no less intimidating for it, and he isn't even aiming it at Anakin.
“Qui, where in the seven Sith hells have you been?” the new Jedi hisses.
“I left you a message,” Master Qui-Gon protests, eyebrows raised in faint surprise.
“You call that a message? You didn't say where you were going, your mission wasn't logged in the roster, and the Council refused to tell me where you were!”
“They wha- Plo promised me he would tell you about it!” Master Qui-Gon looks upset, but the other Jedi shakes his head.
“Don’t blame Plo,” he sighs. “He left for a border dispute on Malastare just hours before I returned. I just- I was out of the Temple for less than 48 hours and you kriffing vanished. For Force’s sake, Xan is halfway through his Trials, what was so important that his Knighting had to be delayed for it? You can't go gallivanting off on clandestine missions and not take me with- not even tell me-”
“I'm sorry, dearheart,” Master Qui-Gon rumbles, pulling the other Jedi into a tight hug. The ginger-haired Jedi growls and grumbles like a territorial krayt dragon, but returns the embrace just as fiercely. Master Qui-Gon says something else, too soft to hear, and then Padawan du Crion tugs at Anakin's arm and pulls him away from the shuttle.
“Alright, time to go, drama’s over,” du Crion whispers. He pulls Anakin back into the depths of the loading bay, where the foot traffic is thicker. They dodge around a loader droid’s shipping crate, and the long ebony braid behind the Padawan’s ear sways back and forth with the motion.
“Who was that?” Anakin ventures to ask. “I didn't think Jedi were allowed to, uh…”
Padawan du Crion snorts. “Yeah, I know that rumor. Stuck-up, cold-hearted Jedi with no emotions, no love, no family. It's not true, it's just hard for non-Jedi to understand our way of life, and most of us are very private about our relationships.”
“Obi-Wan and Master Qui-Gon are life-bonded - they're mates, partners,” du Crion clarifies at Anakin's puzzled frown. He leads them into a hallway as he talks, touching Anakin's shoulder to steer him through the crowd of other Jedi entering and exiting the landing bay.
“They're the Jedi equivalent of being married, basically. Obi-Wan is technically my brother-Padawan, too - he was orphaned just a couple years before his Knighting, and Master Qui-Gon finished his training right after he'd just been Knighted himself. They life-bonded before I was around, while Master Qui-Gon was still training Feemor. Feemor is our other brother-Padawan,” du Crion clarifies. “He's away on a long-term assignment right now, but he'll be back in a few months. He always comes to visit after his missions, I'll introduce you.”
They move from the industrial hallway of the loading bay into a larger, much grander walkway, with a colonnade along one side that opens into a cavernous multi-level space lined with stairs and other hallways around the perimeter. Padawan du Crion steers Anakin to one side of the wide hallway, to allow a group of little kids dressed in matching white tunics to walk past them. Some of the little ones wave at them and call out hello, and Padawan du Crion waves back cheerfully, greeting a few of the younglings by name.
“Anyway,” he continues, once they start walking again, “since Obi-Wan is practically the same age as Master Qui-Gon, and they're life-bonded, I basically have two Masters. It's great, Obi-Wan is wicked smart, you'll like him,” du Crion assures Anakin, smiling.
Anakin takes all of that in, chewing his lip thoughtfully. “So then, after you finish your tests-”
“Trials,” du Crion interjects, and Anakin nods.
“After your Trials, you'll be a Knight, and then I'll be Master Qui-Gon's new Padawan, and both you and Knight Obi-Wan-”
“Master Obi-Wan, or use his family name, Master Kenobi, if you're being formal.”
“Alright. So then you and Master Kenobi will both be my brothers?”
“That's right, kiddo!” He ruffles Anakin's hair. “And I'm almost done with my Trials too. I only have my Combat Trial and the Chamber left, and if we hadn't gone to Naboo I would have done those last week. As soon as this karking invasion from the Trade Federation gets sorted, the Council will set a new date for my last Trials and I'll be a Knight. You'd better get used to calling me Knight Xanatos,” he teases, grinning proudly down at Anakin.
Anakin smiles back. “Is it nice, having older brothers?” he asks.
“Yeah, it's really nice,” du Crion says, his grin gentling into a soft smile. Then he rolls his eyes. “Except for when Obi-Wan and Master Qui-Gon get all sappy, or worse, hornnn...nevermind that.” He coughs. “Ice cream. We need ice cream. My favorite refectory is this way, c’mon kiddo, let's go.”
Anakin blinks at the sudden subject change, but leaves it be. If Master Qui-Gon and Master Kenobi and Padawan du Crion are going to be his Jedi family, then he'll have plenty of time to figure out what that was all about.
And he's eager to figure out what's so great about ice cream.