Work Text:
Tano’s and Skywalker’s relationship status was probably one of the most closely guarded yet open secrets in the Jedi Temple.
For the most part, the Jedi Council decided to collectively ignore that secret.
From the way the two were almost always seen together in their spare time at the temple, even though Tano had been knighted months ago. Even though Tano almost never even went to her own assigned knight apartments, let alone spent any significant time there. Even though frequently enough, Mace would walk out of a High Council meeting with the other council members and find Tano patiently waiting for Skywalker (Either Skywalker was somehow discretely comm’ing her when they were finishing up or the two were communicating over a bond they hadn’t severed). Despite the times the two would be sighted rounding a corner with their hands intertwined only to snatch them away when they realized there were people to notice.
Between dealing with the Senate, investigating just how deep Palpatine’s corruption had gone, and the general war cleanup effort, the Council didn’t have the time, energy, or desire to deal with that can of worms. The more they all pretended not to notice, the longer they could push off dealing with it. Until the two did something so blatantly obvious that they had no choice but to address it, that was.
Mace was very tempted to suggest that now was the time to intervene.
He wasn’t the only one.
“That,” Plo said from next to him, “Was painful to witness.”
“That’s putting it incredibly mildly,” Mace deadpanned as he watched Skywalker and Tano finally leave in opposite directions after the briefing.
He’d suspected Skywalker’s more than usual brooding mood lately had something to do with Tano after he’d stormed in late into a Council meeting without a morsel of respect, hardly anything to contribute to the meeting, and a fair amount of turbulent emotions that he was projecting into the Force a couple of weeks ago. Now, after watching the two stand on opposite ends of the briefing room and pointedly ignore each other when they usually stood side by side, there was no doubt.
“I’m tempted to run an intervention at this rate,” Mace added.
“Why Master Windu, if I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were invested in the well-being of this relationship,” Shaak teased.
“I’m invested in the peace of the Temple and the Jedi Order. At least when they were blatantly disregarding the rules, there was that. Especially on Skywalker’s end,” Mace grumbled.
Plo and Shaak gave him wry looks. Mace lightly shrugged.
It was no secret that he and Skywalker butted heads. Mostly because Skywalker was a walking vergence and, until a few months ago, a balance tipping shatterpoint with a flagrant disregard for anything that looked like rules. For whatever reason that should be criminal, the Force had granted Skywalker the power to set the tone and atmosphere in the Force and, by proxy, the temple. Somehow over the years, Tano developed a significant amount of influence over Skywalker’s mood. Generally, if things were okay between the two of them (barring a Sith Lord trying to lure Skywalker to the dark side), there was peace. Them fighting meant Skywalker was uneasy and restless, which meant unease and unrest in the Force. Thus, unfortunately and like the rest of the council, Mace had to distantly concern himself with the goings-on of Tano’s and Skywalker’s relationship. Whatever the parameters of that relationship were. Something else the Council decided to ignore.
“Is there a mission we can assign them both to for a few weeks?” Mace asked. “If only so the Force can stop being so tense around the temple.”
“Quiet, you have been, Master Kenobi. Some insight, surely you can give us,” Yoda said, reminding everyone that Obi-wan was standing quietly near the door as though waiting to make an escape. If Master Yoda hadn’t pointed him out, Mace might not have even noticed Obi-wan was still in the room.
“Nothing that would amount to much more than any speculation any of you could contemplate,” Obi-wan replied.
“Cut the shit, Kenobi,” Mace stated bluntly. No doubt he’d already talked to both Tano and Skywalker about whatever it was.
Obi-wan sighed. “From what I can gather, just the normal growing pains of youth, complicated by the commitments they’ve both made.”
“So they had a fight?” Shaak asked bluntly.
“In short. But I’m sure once Ahsoka realizes she’s overreacting and Anakin realizes exactly why she’s pushing him away, they’ll work it out.”
“So what you’re saying is that any intervention needs to be on Ahsoka’s end?” Plo asked thoughtfully.
“What I’m saying is that they’ll eventually sort it out all on their own. Without any of our intervention,” Obi-wan said, giving them all that look that said he expected them to behave. A look he’d perfected from raising Skywalker.
Mace hoped the Order’s two problem children figured it out soon. Otherwise, he was throwing the two on a mission together to force them to sort it out for all their sakes.
In the end, they didn’t need to. Three weeks later, as they were dispersing from a long Council meeting, found Tano patiently waiting outside the Council chambers, face buried in a datapad. Like she hadn’t been absent from that spot for the last month. She was probably looking at something to do with the Clone Relief Movement. Tano had practically thrown herself into that project after the war. As much as she dealt with the Senate lately, there were talks among the High Council of making her their representative to the governing body while she was at it.
She looked up as soon as the door opened, her face lighting up as soon as she saw Skywalker come out. Skywalker immediately dismissed himself from where he was talking to Master Ti and went to her side. They fell into instant synced steps with each other away from the Council chambers, the back of their hands just brushing the other's as they headed towards the lifts while Tano laughed at something Skywalker said.
“Well,” Plo said, clearly having been watching the two also. “I was sure it would take those two much longer to sort things out. Stubborn as they both are.”
“Agreed,” Mace replied. But frankly, he didn’t care.
“They had a little help,” Obi-wan admitted. “Anakin’s friend, Senator Amidala, intervened.”
“Forcesend, that woman,” Mace said. Never mind that before it became clear that Tano and Skywalker had some type of commitment, they’d suspected it was the Naboo Senator Skywalker was closer than friends with.
“Agreed,” Plo replied.
“I’ll make sure to pass along the Council’s gratitude,” Obi-wan quipped.