Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan sat silently in his chair, listening carefully to each beep the heart-rate monitor made. Desperately, he tried to focus on the blank white walls of the healers ward, but his eyes kept wandering back to the place where the Sith Lord impaled Qui-Gon. It was a few days after the battle on Naboo, although the days he spent in council meetings and the days he spent at Qui-Gon’s bedside had all helplessly merged together. Until now, Obi-Wan hadn’t had much time to think about what happened, let alone untangle the jumble of feelings in his brain. He had failed Qui-Gon, that much was very clear. If he was just a little faster, a little better at fighting, a little bit more agile, then maybe he wouldn’t have been separated by the ray shields and maybe Qui-Gon would have been okay. He had always known that he was incompetent, even after spending twelve grueling years as Qui-Gon’s padawan, but he hadn’t realized how incompetent he actually was. 

Absently, Obi-Wan reached up and brushed the spot where his padawan braid used to be. The council knighted him as soon as he got back to Coruscant, amazed that he killed the first sith in hundreds of years. Countless times over his apprenticeship, Obi-Wan would daydream about how his knighting ceremony would look. The entire council room would be pitch dark, twelve unison lightsabers would light up in hues of green, blue, and purple, and there in the center of the room would be Qui-Gon, standing tall and proud with his green blade ignited. Instead, it was Master Yoda who did the honors while his master floated lifelessly in a bacta tank. He had waited for that moment his whole life, the triumph of finally being knighted, to watch Qui-Gon cut his braid with only pride shining in his eyes. But now that it was over, Obi-Wan didn’t feel like he accomplished anything. He didn’t deserve the recognition, especially looking at Qui-Gon’s cold body, attached to millions of tubes all pumping air into his lungs. 

“Obi-Wan?” a small voice hesitantly asked.

Breaking out of his thoughts, the knight turned towards the boy sitting next to him. “Yes?”

The boy’s eyes stayed glued to the floor. It didn’t take a genius to realize that he was extremely uncomfortable with talking to the older male. “C-can I go to the bathroom?”

Obi-Wan’s face softened slightly. “Of course, Anakin. You don’t have to ask me.” After a second, he added, “Do you know where it is?” 

“Yeah,” the boy nodded, sliding off his seat, “Master Che told me yesterday.”

Once Obi-Wan made sure the boy was safely out the door, he drifted back into his thoughts, this time with a new subject of interest. The boy, he should get used to calling him Anakin, was... strange to say the least. For most of the time, he silently tailed a few steps behind Obi-Wan like he was his shadow, once in a while asking a question about the temple or about being a jedi. When they first met, it seemed like the boy was only going to be another one of Qui-Gon’s stowaways, another pathetic lifeform as Obi-Wan usually called them, but then they returned to Coruscant and Qui-Gon claimed Anakin as his newest apprentice. 

Or maybe you should just call Anakin the Chosen One, after all Qui-Gon threw his own padawan away just because of the damn prophecy, a voice in his mind said bitterly. 

He sighed, running one of his hands through his gingery locks. It was hard to resent Qui-Gon for his actions, given the fact that he was currently in a coma, but what he did still incredibly hurt. He barely even made it through the horrible meeting without opening blanching in front of the entire council. Not only that, but Qui-Gon seemed to brush Obi-Wan off the entire time they were on the planet, only focusing on his new prize student. That night, when the sudden change got too much for Obi-Wan, he eventually collapsed in his room and shoved down the tears that threatened to come wailing out. Did twelve years of training not mean anything to the man? After all they had been through, it seemed almost unnaturally easy for Qui-Gon to cast him to the side. What did Obi-Wan do? When did he lose all of Qui-Gon’s respect? 

Attachment, a voice rang out, pounding unpleasantly in his head. 

Obi-Wan shoved the voice out with a growl and focused back on Qui-Gon. There was a certain reality of the situation that Obi-Wan needed to grasp. Qui-Gon wasn’t going to die, that would have utterly broken Obi-Wan forever, but he also wasn’t going to wake up tomorrow. In the meantime, Obi-Wan just had to deal with it to the best of his abilities, for his own sake and for Anakin’s. He had spent enough time doing absolutely nothing at Qui-Gon’s bedside, now he was a Jedi Knight and he had to act like one.  

A small beep interrupted his thoughts. Reaching to his side, Obi-Wan pulled out his comlink and opened the new message. Not to his surprise, he was once again summoned to the Council Chambers. 

“Oh well,” Obi-Wan sighed, quickly squeezing Qui-Gon’s hand and then standing up to go find Anakin. 

~~~~~~~~

The council meeting was just like the others Obi-Wan was forced to attend that week. Speculations about the sith’s existence, long and winding questions directed towards Obi-Wan about what happened on Naboo, and discussions about Qui-Gon’s health. The only thing different was the bright presence directly outside the room washing over everybody like a storm cloud. Everyone, including Master Yoda and Master Windu, were struggling to stay focused with the uncontrolled projections of confusion, apprehension, and fear coming from Anakin. Only the young knight standing in the center of the room was able to ignore it, only because of the mound of grief and misery taking up the majority of his brain.  

“Discuss young Anakin we must,” Yoda asserted with a tap of his cane, after the fifth time one of the younger masters tried to off-handedly mention the distraction. 

“Agreed,” Master Windu grimly frowned, clutching the side of his head from all the shatterpoints Anakin’s presence was setting off. 

Obi-Wan stepped forwards. “Masters, if I may…” 

“Continue, Kenobi,” Master Windu nodded. 

Swallowing the knot in his throat, Obi-Wan continued, “I believe that the best course of action is for me to look after Anakin until Qui-Gon wakes up. Then you can discuss whether or not Anakin should be accepted into the order when that time comes.”    

Yoda’s eyes stayed firmly planted on Obi-Wan. “Believe you do, that young Anakin should be accepted into the order, hmmm?” 

“That’s not for me to decide, masters, “ Obi-Wan carefully replied, ignoring the growing curiosity he could sense from Anakin’s bright presence, for he could almost certainly tell that Anakin knew they were talking about him. “But, I do not think that it is a wise decision to send him back to Tatooine, especially with the threat of the sith at hand.” 

“Knight Kenobi is correct,” Master Koon remarked from his seat across the room. “If there truly is a rule of two within the sith lords, with one gone, who knows which unfortunate force sensitive will be manipulated to the dark side.” 

A murmur of agreement circled around the chamber. 

“It’s settled then,” Master Windu declared, a thankful look etched across his face, “the boy stays until Qui-Gon is strong enough to come here himself and argue on his behalf. Any objections?” 

There was a beat of silence. “Then this meeting is adjourned.” 

~~~~~~~~

Anakin sighed, impatience washing over him like a desert dust storm. The days following Qui-Gon’s accident were filled with fear of Qui-Gon’s health and boredom. Even the wonder of looking out the windows at the biggest city in the world and the excitement of getting to use new technologies, were overshadowed by the uncertainty of what would happen to him. And then there was Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon’s apprentice. Obi-Wan never really warmed up to him when they were first introduced to each other, and he certainly didn’t try after Qui-Gon was put in the healers ward. The man barely even acknowledged Anakin, often choosing to look at blank walls in deep contemplation rather than talk to him. In some dark part of his brain, Anakin wished that it was Obi-Wan who got stabbed and not Qui-Gon, then at least he would have someone who actually cared about him. But even as a complete outsider to the Jedi world, Anakin knew that he wasn’t supposed to feel that way about the situation.  

Anakin knew that this council meeting was about him. He couldn’t explain how he knew, but it almost felt like a shift in whatever energy field was surrounding him, the force or whatever Qui-Gon was trying to tell him that one time. He desperately wanted to know what they were talking about, whether he would be sent back to Tatooine or if he was still going to be trained. So, when Obi-Wan finally exited the council chamber, Anakin felt his entire body freeze with anticipation. To his surprise, a look of pain momentarily flashed over Obi-Wan’s face, right before it was quickly hidden once he saw that Anakin was looking at him. Anakin quickly sprung up from the bench, trying to ignore the feeling of dread that clawed at his stomach. 

“The council agreed for me to watch over you,” Obi-Wan said with a small smile. “Of course it isn’t permanent, just until Qui-Gon’s better.” 

Anakin’s face lit up with relief before his eyes suddenly widened. “Qui-Gon’s going to be okay?” he asked incredulously. 

“I believe so, after all he’s just in a coma. Master Che says that with the amount of brain activity they detected this morning that it won’t be too long. I thought I told you about the detected brain activity.” 

“Yeah, but you also told me that you couldn’t sense him,” Anakin accused, crossing his arms in a pout. 

Obi-Wan eyed him funny. “I told you that if you continued to fiddle obnoxiously with droid parts, then I wouldn’t be able to meditate, therefore I wouldn’t be able to sense what was going on inside Qui-Gon’s brain.” 

“Obnoxiously?” Anakin gagged. What was this man implying?! “I was barely making any noise! It’s not my fault that meditating is sooo boring that you need complete silence to actually do it.”

This time it was Obi-Wan’s turn to look aghast. “Boring?” Obi-Wan gasped, like Anakin just insulted a sacred Jedi shrine or something. “Meditating is an incredibly peaceful experience that is of key importance in-” 

“It looks like someone drank too much caf and fell asleep while standing up.”  

“Well I have some good news for you, buddy. If you want to be a Jedi then Qui-Gon’s going to have to teach you how to meditate.” 

Anakin scoffed, frustration quickly building up inside of him. “If Qui-Gon wants to teach me how to meditate, then he can drag me out of my room kicking and screaming.”   

To Anakin’s shock, Obi-Wan burst out laughing, his entire pinched expression that Anakin thought would never change completely shifted. For the first time ever, Anakin felt the entire room light up with pure uncontained joy. In all his nine years, he had never felt something like that. Something like that never happened in Tatooine while he was in slavery, even his joy at winning the podrace and being free was mixed with heartbreak about leaving home. All he could do was watch with wonder while Obi-Wan struggled to collect himself. Finally after a few seconds, the joy was gone and replaced with a sheepish smirk. 

“Apologies,” Obi-Wan snorted, his face going back to its default blankness. “It’s just that… well, I can very well picture Qui-Gon doing just that while lecturing you banthashit about how important the living force is… Well let's just get going, shall we?”

All Anakin could do was nod as Obi-Wan awkwardly led him towards the elevator. Maybe just maybe if he got to know the young man better, then this wouldn’t be that bad. 

Chapter Text

The only three places Anakin had been in the temple so far were the healers ward, outside the council chamber, and Qui-Gon’s quarters. He only saw the latter of the two the day before they flew back to Naboo. All of his meals, which only consisted of large nutrition bars the healers wanted him to eat, the place he slept in, and the place he spent most of his time, was the healers ward. Only that morning was he actually cleared to exit the place, after millions of blood tests, surgery to remove the slave implant, and being pumped with weird-colored fluids that he would never understand. But through it all, the sensation of being in a glass elevator would never cease to amaze Anakin. The smooth gliding motion without any hiccups along the way, the ability to go to a higher level without having to use stairs, and the fact that you could see out of the tube and into the sprawling metropolis. 

He was currently contemplating how the mechanics of the thing worked before Obi-Wan’s voice interrupted his thoughts. 

“I suppose I should ask what you’ve been up to while I’ve been… attending Qui-Gon.” They both knew that attending wasn’t exactly the right word to describe what was actually happening: Obi-Wan miserably staring at the lightsaber wound in complete silence. 

“I dunno,” Anakin shrugged, looking down at his feet, “eating these chunky food bars, asking questions about how things work to the healers, getting measurements done to get me Jedi clothes, and sleeping. That’s it, I guess.” 

A look of guilt flashed across Obi-Wan’s face. “Sounds charming I’m sure. I do apologize, Anakin, for not helping out with your transition here. It’s… well it’s been quite hard for me to adjust to not having Qui-Gon around, and I know that saying that doesn’t excuse anything, but I wanted you to have an honest answer.”    

“Oh,” Anakin breathed, not entirely sure that he was hearing the ginger-haired man correctly. No one had ever really apologized to him before, other than his mother. “Thank you?” 

“Your welcome,” Obi-Wan answered, giving him another strange look before the two of them lapsed into silence again. 

As the elevator doors flew open, Obi-Wan turned to him again with a smile. “Care to explore the temple a little? Or would you rather just go back to the healers ward and stare at Qui-Gon?”  

“Definitely the first option,” Anakin grinned, completely relieved that their regular routine wasn’t going to continue.  

“Excellent!” Obi-Wan exclaimed, although Anakin could tell that there was a lingering feeling of grief still present in his voice. “I’m sure Qui-Gon wants some privacy anyways. I suppose… hmmm… well we could start with the Room of a Thousand Fountains.” 

~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan was not expecting the levels of amazement radiating off of Anakin. It made sense, given the fact that Anakin was from a desert planet, but it still took him off guard. After an entire week of sensing nothing but fear from Anakin, the boy was suddenly filled with giddy joy. A part of his heart warmed at seeing the young boy dart around, touching every little plant and dipping his fingers in the crystal blue water, the other part of his heart constantly reminded Obi-Wan that he wasn’t supposed to be here. Qui-Gon should have been the one who took Anakin to see the room for the first time, he should have been in Obi-Wan’s place to witness the utter joy of his apprentice.

You thought you could just ignore the guilt, huh? The obnoxious voice returned in full force, causing Obi-Wan’s face to scrunch up in pain. How does it feel to be the reason why Qui-Gon is half-dead right now? I mean, what kind of padawan are you? Did he really finally pick you just for you to fail so tremendously bad? Who are you going to fail next-

“Obi-Wan?” 

“Yes?” Obi-Wan quickly asked, turning towards Anakin who was sitting on one of the fountains. 

The boy hesitated for a second before gaining enough courage to ask, “Are you okay?” 

Obi-Wan was suddenly very grateful that his shields were still in place. “Of course, Anakin. Why wouldn’t I be?” Before Anakin could grace that with an answer, Obi-Wan continued, “What do you think about the room?” 

“It’s wizard!” Anakin grinned, jumping off the fountain and taking his place back on Obi-Wan's side. “I never thought a room could hold so much water!” Then he frowned, his presence darkening for a moment. “Tatooine barely had any water.” 

“Yes, it’s quite a dry planet,” Obi-Wan carefully answered. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that Anakin didn’t like thinking about Tatooine, which he hoped Qui-Gon would address at some point, but at the moment it wasn’t necessary to dive into that certain topic. “You know, many Jedi come here to meditate, including myself. I always found it peaceful to sit by the tall oak trees and just daydream about life. When I was your age, I was constantly running off to this place just to clear my head.” 

“Really?” Anakin perked up, curious to hear something about Obi-Wan’s life. 

“Certainly,” he smiled. Suddenly, a mischievous grin overtook his face. “Do you want to know something that I’ve never told Qui-Gon?” Obi-Wan took Anakin’s ecstatic face as a yes, and leaned over to whisper in his ear. “I once told him that I was going here to meditate, but instead I snuck out of the temple in one of the temple’s speeders, and crashed it in the shopping district.” 

Anakin’s mouth hung open in shock. “No way…” he breathed, suddenly looking at Obi-Wan like he was a completely different person. 

“Obviously I didn’t read the Coruscant traffic manual before going out, and obviously it wasn’t the most thought out plan, but it certainly was an adventure.” 

“How didn’t you get caught?!” Anakin gagged. 

Obi-Wan shrugged, his cheeks blushing a bright red. “I may have hotwired the security controls that dictated what speeders could be used at what time. The jedi normally in charge of that area of the temple are jedi on probation after getting in trouble. I did it during the changing of a rotation, so the speeder wasn’t exactly missed. When Qui-Gon asked about the cuts and bruises I acquired from the accident, I lied and told him that I fell off one of the bridges in this room.” 

“You know how to hotwire speeders?!”

“It certainly was a useful skill to know on missions that went awry,” Obi-Wan replied, happy that Anakin was completely distracted from thinking about Tatooine. “Do you promise to not tell Qui-Gon about this?” 

Nodding furiously, Anakin held out his hand for Obi-Wan to shake. As the older male shook Anakin’s hand, Obi-Wan couldn’t help but mentally note that it was almost like their first meeting, but something he couldn’t pinpoint was different. He would have to meditate on it later when he was finished exploring the temple with Anakin. 

“If you don’t have any more questions about this place, how about we go visit the archives and then get some dinner?” 

Beaming, Anakin followed after Obi-Wan, bubbling with excitement to see the next place in the temple. 

Chapter Text

For a second, there was only the peaceful sound of water, in the next moment, there was a loud crash followed by a series of swears that were obviously not in Basic. 

“Obi-Wan?” a voice called from the kitchen. 

With a sigh, Obi-Wan stuck his head out of the fresher and tried to keep an impartial look on his face. “What is it, Anakin?” 

A beat of silence, then, “I think I broke something.” 

The ginger-haired man could barely keep himself from saying, “No kidding.” Instead he hummed as if he was contemplating something. “Okay, step away from whatever you broke and then tell me whether or not it’s sharp.” After a second, Obi-Wan cried out in panic, “Do not touch the object to see if it's sharp!”

“Okay okay,” he heard Anakin mumble. “... I don’t think so?” 

“I’ll be out soon, just don’t touch anything!”  

Since Anakin was cleared from the healers ward, Master Che thought it was unnecessary for the boy to keep staying there, so the two of them moved into Qui-Gon’s quarters. While Anakin was grateful to get out of the healers ward, the transition back to his old quarters was harder for Obi-Wan than he initially thought. The first reason being the fact that Obi-Wan was used to Qui-Gon’s presence being only room away from him. It was hard to sense the man because the healers ward was on the opposite side of the temple, and because Qui-Gon’s force presence was severely muted from his injuries and from his coma. Then there was the jolt of pain that would rack through Obi-Wan’s body every time he came across one of Qui-Gon’s many belongings. Every plant was a reminder of his failure. Every book was a reminder of his training. Every stone, every piece of clothing, every little thing, was a reminder of their relationship before Naboo. It was like a time capsule, one that Obi-Wan didn’t deserve to have access to. 

Whenever this happened, the snarly voice would return, normally scoffing something along the lines of: You’re not Qui-Gon’s padawan anymore. He doesn’t even want you. In fact, he wanted to get rid of you so bad that he repudiated you in front of the entire council. Why do you even care about him? 

The voice always seemed to be present, unless Obi-Wan was talking to Anakin. The boy served as a distraction, and it worked. Whether they were talking about the Jedi way of life or about starships, it would cut through the wall of emotions threatening to drown him. Even in his misery, it almost made him laugh to think that he first viewed Anakin as a nuisance that got in the way, and now the sandy-haired boy was the only thing keeping him from floating into insanity. However, Obi-Wan started to learn through trial and error that teaching a former slave from a desert planet in the Outer Rim wasn’t as easy as one would think. 

“There you are,” Obi-Wan sighed, his hair still wet from the shower. “Lets see… oh.”

There on the floor was a ripped tea bag, a few knocked over pans, and a broken teapot that was definitely sharp. Anakin was making… tea? 

“I’m sorry!” Anakin blurted out, fear radiating from him in waves. “You said that you liked tea yesterday while we were at the refectory, so I thought that I would make some to thank you for ummm… helping me around?” 

Raising an eyebrow at the boy, Obi-Wan asked, “Do you even know how to make tea?” 

“No…” Anakin mumbled, looking at his feet. 

“Ah,” was all Obi-Wan could say as he digested what Anakin just told him. Force, he really needed to meditate if a simple act of kindness was making him feel like crying. “Thank you, Anakin, but that wasn’t really necessary. Showing you around the temple was truly the least I could do.” 

“So you aren’t mad about me breaking the teapot?” Anakin asked hopefully. 

“Of course not,” Obi-Wan chuckled, bending down to sweep up the mess. “Although, I am glad that you didn’t get cut on the shards of the teapot. Then you would have had to go straight back to the healers ward, and then we wouldn’t be able to leave until the next ten-week.” 

Anakin gasped, “Oh no, I’m so sorry! That wasn’t what I was-” 

“Peace, young one,” Obi-Wan quickly interjected, before realizing that what he said was something Qui-Gon used to say to him whenever he would get too worked up. Shoving down the usual rising emotion of misery, he quickly barreled on, “I was only joking about how long we would have to stay in the healers ward. Trust me, I don’t like spending time at the healers anyways.” 

Relief quickly replaced the fear radiating off of Anakin. To Obi-Wan’s amusement, he realized that his shields were growing much stronger from having to constantly shield Anakin’s uncontrolled emotions so the other Jedi weren’t disturbed. On a darker note, his shields were also getting better because of the practice he was getting from shielding his own emotions from everyone else. 

“How about we eat,” Obi-Wan smiled, dumping the remaining spilled tea in the trash. “Then, I can show you how to make tea, only if you would like me to of course.” 

Anakin’s eyes widened, “You would do that?” 

“Of course,” Obi-Wan replied. “Besides, if you want to be Qui-Gon’s padawan, then you must know how to make a good cup of Sapir tea. The man drinks more tea than everyone in the temple combined, including myself.” 

At Anakin’s laughter, Obi-Wan realized that for the first time since Naboo, he mentioned his old master without feeling like he was going to puke. 

~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan could barely keep his expression neutral as Anakin scrunched up face. Displeasure was practically raining from the boy after he took a sip of the tea they made.  

The two of them sat silently at the kitchen table, with Anakin’s cup almost entirely full and Obi-Wan’s half-way empty. After a few seconds of staring into the dark liquid with a look of pure betrayal, Anakin finally turned towards Obi-Wan. “Is it supposed to be this bitter?”

“It’s an acquired taste,” Obi-Wan answered with a grin. “Of course, I prefer Madalorian tea which has a little bit more flavor, but Qui-Gon would only stock up on Sapir and I was never brave enough to ask for anything else.” 

“You don’t happen to have anything like that lying around, no?”     

Chuckling, Obi-Wan lazily reached out his hand and used the force to open one of the lower cabinets in the kitchen. With a twist of his fingers, three small packets flew out of the cabinet and into his outstretched hand. Handing one to Anakin, he replied, “No, but I always hid sweeteners in that cabinet in case Qui-Gon would make me drink large quantities of tea during meditation. Try the blue one, it makes it taste like marshmallows.” 

“You just did that to show off,” Anakin groaned, but he took the blue packet anyway and dumped the entirety of the contents into his cup.  

“Hey, I spent twelve years as a padawan, I have to show off somehow,” Obi-Wan smirked, only receiving an unimpressed glare from his young charge. 

At that moment a knock on the door startled them both. As Obi-Wan dashed to the door to receive their guest, Anakin leaned over his seat to try and see who was on the other side. After a moment, Obi-Wan came back with a small datapad in his hands. Curious, Anakin abandoned his cup of tea and plopped down on the couch in the living room. 

“What’s that?” he asked while trying to read the ginger-haired man’s face to see if it was bad or good. 

Sitting next to him, Obi-Wan held out the datapad. “Remember when I told you that all Jedi padawans had to take classes? Well, this is the place where you choose what to take. Since you started later than everyone else, there are certain… limitations on what you can choose currently. Of course, Qui-Gon’s going to teach you all the basics you need to know, but the council thinks that it will do you good to interact with some people your age.” 

“Oh,” Anakin mumbled, curling in on himself. 

It was a little surprising for Obi-Wan to see Anakin act so vulnerable, especially since the boy tended to try to act tough, even when he knew everyone around him could sense his actual emotions. Yet, the facade completely dropped when Obi-Wan mentioned interacting with his peers. Obi-Wan silently cursed himself for not thinking ahead on how to get Anakin to adapt to the temple. Actually, he knew why he hadn’t. This was supposed to be Qui-Gon’s job, not his. Force , the boy wasn’t even necessarily going to stay.  

Focus on the here and now, my padawan. Try to approach the problem from a different perspective, Qui-Gon would have said if he had heard Obi-Wan’s thoughts. 

“I found a class you might like,” Obi-Wan casually remarked. Once he knew that he piqued Anakin’s curiosity, he continued. “Did you know that the temple has a hanger?”

“Like a starship hanger?”  

“Exactly,” Obi-Wan smiled. “They have over fifty operating starships all lined up in a row. Did you know that the temple gets all the newest models?”

Anakin’s eyes widened considerably. “All of the newest models?”  

Nodding, Obi-Wan dropped into his sales pitch. “As a Jedi, you’re required to be versatile in many areas of expertise, but many padawans and initiates choose hobbies rooted in their strengths. Quite a few Jedi your age are incredibly interested in piloting and mechanics, two areas that you are incredibly strong in. There’s plenty of courses that I believe you will quite likely enjoy.” 

“Really?” Anakin questioned, a little bit disbelieving.

“Oh, definitely,” Obi-Wan grinned, leaning back on the couch. “Let’s see… there’s a course that teaches you all the basics of flying in the first week and then spends the rest of the time teaching you how to do crazy maneuvers and tricks… there’s a course that dives deep into the aerodynamics of a starfighter and then teaches you how to design, enhance, and construct your own… there’s plenty of advanced mechanic classes but those tend to have older participants in them rather than people your age… one of my favorite classes that I took as a junior padawan was a course called Intermediate Transportation Studies which taught me how to fix completely totaled speeders, although I suspect that you’re too advanced for that course after what happened on Naboo. But you get my point.” 

Anakin stared at the older male, his jaw hanging open in amazement. “Th-that’s… I don’t even know where to start.”

“How about you start by telling me what you're most interested to learn? Then we can work on finding a course that best suits whatever it may be.”

For a moment, Anakin stayed silent, obviously in deep concentration. Then, his eyes lit up as he started babbling away at all different subjects. Some were impossible, like learning how to fly inside the temple hallways, but some were definitely available for the boy to learn, and Obi-Wan could only lean back and smile as the boy prattled on. 

Chapter Text

“Don’t look back, Ani,” his mother smiled with tears in her brown eyes. 

Normally he could sense her emotions, but today was the expectation. It almost felt like something had locked them away in a tower far away. Maybe it was the slavers, or maybe it was one of the shadowed monsters he would see in his nightmares. 

“Mom?” Anakin whispered, slowly reaching out his fingers to brush against her rough hand. 

Just as he made contact, she disappeared in a thick cloud of dust. In her place stood the red and black face of the Sith, igniting his red lightstaff with a thundering cackle. Memories of the Naboo hangar and the lifeless face of Qui-Gon rushed through his head, forcing himself to cry out in fear. Turning around, he tried to call for help, only to be stopped by the splitting image of Qui-Gon cradling Obi-Wan’s limp body, a lightsaber wound clearly visible in his chest. 

“Please,” Qui-Gon begged the force, his face filled with pure anguish. “Please bring him back to me.” When the man was met with only silence, he carefully wrapped fingers around Obi-Wan's ginger braid of hair as tears rolled rampant down his cheeks. “I’m sorry, my dear padawan, I’m so sorry. It should have been me, it should have been me...” he trailed off brokenly. Finally, he took a deep breath and used his free hand to close the young man’s eyes. 

Horrified, Anakin tried to step backwards only to be held firmly in place. Turning back around, he saw that the Sith was still there, only this time with a horrible smile on his face. 

"Don’t look back, Ani,” the Sith mocked, inching closer and closer until- 

Anakin jolted from his sleep, sweat and tears rolling down his face. His room, or Obi-Wan’s since the older male hadn’t exactly moved his stuff out of the way yet, was pitch dark with only a faint light seeping from under his door. Carefully, he crawled out of the bed and cracked open the door. Qui-Gon’s room was directly across the hall, the door slightly ajar. Taking a deep breath, Anakin padded open the door and looked in. To his surprise, Obi-Wan wasn’t there.  But Anakin was sure that sensed him… and there in the living room by the windows leading out to the balcony was the ginger-haired man, sitting crossed legged with his eyes closed. 

Anakin inched closer, careful to not startle the man since he obviously didn’t sense him. A strange look was on his face, it wasn’t quite sad… but it wasn’t really happy either… it was just empty. A sigh escaped Obi-Wan’s mouth, breaking through the silence of the night. Standing up, the ginger-haired man walked over to the windows and stared out into the city. 

“Oh, Qui-Gon,” Obi-Wan sadly smiled, his forehead thunking softly on the glass, “you always stressed how important the attachment rule was, yet here I am, staying up late into the night just because I can’t get used to the absence of your presence.” Pausing, he let himself register the tears leaking down his face before brokenly laughing, “Of course, it doesn’t really matter what I do now, it’s already almost completely unraveled anyways. It’s almost like it was never there to begin with, which is impossible because you were always there. Even when we argued, even when we were angry out of stubbornness, even when you shut me out out, it was still there, present like a shining star. When you wake up you probably won’t even care, but I guess a part of me wished that we could have kept it. Of course I… You know, eavesdropping is quite rude, young one, even when it’s a one-sided conversation.” 

Obi-Wan turned around, not bothering to try and hide the tears that were still swiftly flowing down his cheeks. Anakin felt his stomach drop in shame, it was a lesson he normally had a hard time following. 

“I’m sorry,” Anakin whispered, wrapping the blanket he had brought with him around himself tighter. “I had a nightmare and I-I just wanted to… make sure that you hadn’t disappeared or something… I’ll just go-” 

“Wait,” Obi-Wan interrupted, quickly rubbing the tear tracks off his face. “I accept your apology. Besides, I don’t think I want to be alone at the moment. Care to sit?” 

Hesitantly nodding, Anakin took a seat next to Obi-Wan on the couch. They both stared off into the living room in silence. 

Finally, Anakin broke the silence as he downcasted his eyes. “Is it okay if I ask you something?”

Obi-Wan’s face stayed neutral, although Anakin could sense his hesitancy. After a moment, he shakily answered, “I suppose so.” 

“What’s almost completely unraveled?” Anakin quietly asked.

Looking up, Anakin saw Obi-Wan flinch. “I suppose I was talking about Qui-Gon and my bond.” 

“Your relationship?” 

“Sort of,” Obi-Wan softly smiled, already anticipating the confusion. “I was talking about a force bond. It’s… hmmm you haven’t started meditation yet... it’s like an invisible  tunnel leading from my head into Qui-Gon’s. All master and padawan pairs develop one at some point to help expedite the training process. With it, I can sense Qui-Gon’s more inner thoughts and emotions, unless one of us blocks the path.”  

“Does that mean you can sense what Qui-Gon’s thinking right now?” 

The older male gave him a sympathetic look. “Because he’s in a coma, Qui-Gon isn’t thinking about anything right now. His brain basically went to sleep.” 

“Oh,” Anakin mumbled. “Then what’s so special about the force bond?”

Only silence followed his question. Obi-Wan’s eyes drifted back towards the window, clearly mulling over what to say. 

“There’s a lot you don’t know,” Obi-Wan finally said, a sad wistful expression taking over his face. Slowly, his eyes swept over the traces of Qui-Gon in the room; the books, the plants, the furniture, and then finally Anakin. There, his eyes stayed put. “I’m twenty-five, that’s twenty-five years of my life that are blank to you. As far as you’re concerned, the moment I came into being was when you first met me on Tatooine. You’ve only known Qui-Gon for a week, I’ve known him since I was twelve and still an initiate.” He paused for a moment, strengthening his shields a little bit tighter. “There’s quite a lot that has happened over the years, things that I think Qui-Gon should tell you only if he feels comfortable rather than me. I suppose my padawanship with Qui-Gon is far more complicated than I would care to admit. Our bond has always been at least a little strained. There would be little moments and periods where it wasn’t, but it wasn’t often. Only starting a few years ago did we actually come to a point where it started to strengthen rather than weaken. But then…” Misery and pain radiated off of the ginger-haired man uncontrollably, causing his voice to die out. 

Was Obi-Wan about to say Anakin’s name? Or was he going to say Tatooine? Or maybe it was something completely unrelated? Anakin would never know, for Obi-Wan’s breath suddenly hitched followed by him abruptly standing up. His blue eyes widened in slight horror before a wave of pain forced him to clench his entire face. 

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin quickly asked, worry seeping into his voice. 

To his surprise, Obi-Wan immediately turned around with a clearly forced smile. “No worries, Anakin,” he quipped, holding out his hand for Anakin to get up. “It’s quite late, and you have your first class tomorrow, so why don’t we both try and get some rest? Unless you want to tell me about your nightmare first?” 

“I…” Anakin stammered, completely confused while grabbing the older male’s hand only out of pure instinct. Wasn’t Obi-Wan going to tell him about the force bond? “I guess I don’t really want to talk about what I dreamed, so I’ll just go back to bed?” 

“I'll be right out here if you need anything else,” Obi-Wan assured him, plopping right back onto the couch. 

Anakin didn’t budge. “You’re not going to go to sleep?” 

A little guiltily, Obi-Wan explained, “I’ve been sleeping on the couch rather than in Qui-Gon’s room.” At Anakin’s distressed face, Obi-Wan quickly added, “As a knight I’m supposed to get my own quarters anyways, and I would rather not make his room a disheveled mess while I temporarily stay here.” 

“I don’t think Qui-Gon would mind,” Anakin frowned.

“With all due respect, you don’t have no idea who Qui-Gon is. You might think you do, but three days by his side doesn’t count.” 

What Obi-Wan said should have hurt, but it didn’t, and that surprised Anakin. The coldness in the older male’s voice was laced with pain, and it wasn’t just mental pain, it was also physical pain. As much as he wanted to keep asking the young man questions, the force was basically screaming at him to let the man sleep. And Obi-Wan was right, Anakin didn’t know Qui-Gon or Obi-Wan as well as he wanted to. He just hadn’t spent enough time with either of them, and that was okay. Because even though he almost lost Qui-Gon in real life and even though he saw Obi-Wan die in his dream, in reality, the two men were still alive and they were going to stay alive if Anakin had anything to say about it.  

“I’m sorry that was-”

“You know what,” Anakin smiled, “why don’t you go to sleep. I’ll be fine on my own for the night, just try and fall asleep, okay?”

“I’ll try my best,” Obi-Wan replied with a little smirk. “But I’m right here if-” 

“I know I know.” 

As Anakin climbed back into his blankets, his brain raced. He was starting to suspect that Obi-Wan wasn’t just sad that Qui-Gon was in a coma. Sure, there he had to do some more research on why force bonds were important and why Obi-Wan was sad about it, but there was also something else, something that the older male was trying to hide from the world. Obi-Wan as a person was a mystery to Anakin, especially with the complexity of his emotions regarding Qui-Gon. Anakin tended to see things as only two options: good or bad, happy or sad, love or hate, it was all in pairs just like binary code. Yet now he wasn’t so sure about that. In fact, he was starting to realize that he was thinking about this whole situation completely wrong. 

~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan laid motionless on the couch. He had already spent all morning there, delicately fishing around his mind like the big gaping hole wasn’t there. It didn’t hurt as much as he thought, and it certainly wasn’t like the rumors the initiates would tell, but it still tremendously hurt and it even made him feel slightly nauseous. He just hoped that Qui-Gon’s coma would save him from the receiving end of the pain. There wasn’t much use in dwelling on it, especially since he was no longer Qui-Gon’s padawan, but Obi-Wan couldn’t stop touching the open wound in the hopes that it would somehow rebuild itself. 

“What a useless waste of time,” Obi-Wan groaned, propping himself up with one of the pillows. “This may be the only time when Qui-Gon’s rule of living in the moment does not apply.”  

In some form of habit, his right hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a smooth little stone. It was a gift from Qui-Gon when he first started being his padawan, a river stone that would warm up whenever someone would touch it. Over their many many missions, he never actually had to use it as a source of warmth, but it served as a symbol of their companionship. 

Your companionship? The voice in his head all but snarled. Oh be honest with yourself, Kenobi, you love Qui-Gon like he’s your father, or should I say “loved” because there’s no way that you’re going to forgive him for what happened, right? Please tell me you’re not going to forgive him. 

“Oh shut up,” Obi-Wan scoffed, just as the door opened.

“How was class?” Obi-Wan asked, turning his head so that he was facing Anakin. 

“Okay,” Anakin shrugged as he dumped a pile of papers on the coffee table. “Has your migraine stopped yet?”  

“My wh- oh yes, it’s getting quite better thank you.” Obi-Wan mentally cursed himself not remembering the lie he told Anakin, well he did have migraine from a certain perspective. 

Thankfully, Anakin didn’t seem to notice his slip up and headed directly towards the kitchen table. Obi-Wan willed himself to get off the damn couch and tried to casually lean on the kitchen counter. They hadn’t talked about what happened last night yet, to Obi-Wan’s relief, but obviously that wasn’t on the boy’s mind. “Want to tell me about it?” Obi-Wan asked. 

Grumbling Anakin gave him an annoyed look as he grabbed a cookie. “It was fine, okay? I met a couple of initiates my age that were also really good at mechanics, we learned how to do oil changes on some of the new starfighters, and that was that.” 

Obi-Wan hummed, raising his eyebrow at the younger male. “That was that?”

Anakin just looked him in the eyes. “Says the man with a fake migraine.” 

“W-what?” Obi-Wan stammered. 

Anakin grinned, puffing out his chest. “I’m the Chosen One, remember?” 

“Well it seems that you’ve grown quite the ego in the last couple of hours,” Obi-Wan scoffed, using the force to yank the cookie out of his hand, receiving an indignant grumble. “Spill.”

Rolling his eyes, Anakin snatched the cookie right back out Obi-Wan’s hands and headed towards the coffee table. “If you must know, I have homework.” 

The older male couldn’t stop an undignified snort from coming out. “Homework? You’re annoyed about homework? Oh wait until you’re a senior padawan, homework is going to be the least of your worries. You haven’t yet experienced hours upon hours of standardized testing, or hourly training sessions with people ten times more advanced than you, or for the matter of-” 

To Obi-Wan’s surprise, he was hit with a wave of embarrassment and shame. Looking across the room, he saw that Anakin had dropped to the couch and was currently burying his face in his hands. 

“Anakin?” he quietly asked, sitting down next to him. 

“It’s nothing,” Anakin grumbled, curling further into himself. “Just go away, Obi-Wan.”

“Unlikely,” he replied, draping an arm around the boy. “It’s okay if you need a moment, but I think that you’ll feel better if you just tell me.”

Anakin paused for a second, clearly debating something. Finally he replied, “I’ll tell you if you tell me why you’ve been in pain all morning.” 

“It’s complicated.” 

“Oh that’s a big surprise-” 

“Anakin -” 

“What,” Anakin yelped, “I’m truly truly shocked into oblivion that you obviously think that just saying ‘it’s complicated’ is going to answer all of my questions!” 

“Anakin, please,” Obi-Wan sighed, pinching his nose, “I don’t need your sarcasm at the moment or your impersonations of my voice. I’ll leave you alone if you want to be left alone, but I’m not going to sit here and let you berate me for not telling you something that is extremely complicated, and is extremely personal to the point where I don’t even know the implications of what happened!” 

And like boiling hot water being poured on ice, Obi-Wan’s anger evaporated, leaving behind a nauseous man who just wanted to hide under a rock and a worried little boy who was looking at him with large eyes. “I’m sorry, Anakin, I-I’m not feeling too great.” 

“Should we go to the healers?” 

“No, it’s alright,” Obi-Wan breathed, leaning backwards into the cushions. 

“It has something to do with Qui-Gon, and why you’ve been so sad, doesn’t it?” Anakin quietly asked, although it was more a statement than a question.

Somehow that got a broken chuckle out of the older male. “Isn’t everything about Qui-Gon?” 

“Mine isn’t,” Anakin mumbled, closing in on himself again. 

“Anakin-” Obi-Wan started before getting interrupted by a stuttering breath. 

“I-I-I c-can’t read or write,” Anakin stammered out, his cheeks flushing a bright pink. “I can’t even do it in the tatooine standard let alone the republic’s. I didn’t think it would be a problem, and it wasn’t a problem, no one even knew! But, then the teacher asked us to read over these manuals for homework and… Do you think the others could sense what I was feeling? I didn’t want to embarrass myself in front of the new people I met, especially since I actually liked them a lot… ugh!” Anakin buried his face back into his arms. 

Obi-Wan could only stare at him. “You… I… well… I-I suppose that makes sense given the circumstances, but I just assumed… oh force , Anakin, I’m so sorry that I didn’t even stop to consider that.” 

“No,” Anakin shook his head, “it’s my fault that-” 

“It’s not even marginally your fault,” Obi-Wan interjected, rubbing his own face with a look of pure exhaustion. “Let’s… let’s just make a plan on how to proceed, sound alright? I guess… well I suppose I could just teach you, if you want me to of course. Or maybe…  do you just want to wait for Qui-Gon? I mean he probably is more-”

“Y-you would teach me?” Anakin gasped, his face lighting up in some strange emotion. 

Looking down at the boy, Obi-Wan shrugged. “I don’t see why not.” 

Suddenly, Anakin darted forward and wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan’s middle. Petrified, he could only find the strength to awkwardly pat the boy’s back. The boy was… hugging him?  Before he could ask why the boy would have possibly wanted to hug him, Anakin whispered into his shoulder, “Thank you.” Those two words, two words that were never really directed towards him from Qui-Gon, were filled with so much gratitude. He didn’t deserve it at all, but then again… this wasn’t about him, it was about Anakin. Wasn’t that what a Jedi was supposed to do? Help those in need. He was helping Anakin overcome a problem, so maybe it didn’t matter that he wasn’t Qui-Gon, maybe it just mattered that he was there for the boy when he needed him. 

Sitting there, Obi-Wan found himself smiling. I might have a whole list of problems to deal with, but at least I know that I’m not completely useless in the world . 

Chapter Text

If there was a place that Obi-Wan hated the most, it would be the healers. The constant smell of air sweeteners to cover up the stench of vomit, the endless beeping of the medical equipment, and the shivers that would always run down his spine whenever he saw the sharp needles the healers used for surgery. Strangely enough, the place that he hated the most became the place he spent the most time in. 

“You’ll be pleased to know that Master Jinn’s brain activity increased by ten percent during our morning rounds,” Master Che pleasantly smiled, handing him a datapad with the figures. “If this continues, it shouldn’t be too long until he wakes up.” 

“That’s good news,” Obi-Wan agreed, although a part of him was dreading the moment his master, or should he say former master, woke up. “I’m sure Anakin will be happy to hear the news, I can practically see the anticipation bouncing off of him in the waiting room.” 

The chief healer thoughtfully hummed. Careful to not jostle the man, she slowly reached her senses out to try and get a read on Obi-Wan’s emotions. Instead of finding anything, she was immediately blocked by the ginger-haired man’s shield. After a beat of contemplative silence, she questioned, “How are you doing with the news?”

“Fine, I suppose,” Obi-Wan replied, expertly keeping his face neutral.

Giving a sad smile, Master Che placed a hand on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, followed by a frown when she saw the man uncomfortably wince. “No one expects you to walk away from Naboo completely unscathed. Perhaps it would be beneficial for you to see a mind healer. I know several that would gladly speak to you, Jedi who have gone through the same trauma as you.” 

Oh I seriously doubt that, the voice inside Obi-Wan’s head snickered, you see, mind healers aren’t attached to their masters, unlike yourself. 

“I do not think that will be necessary,” Obi-Wan quickly assured her, taking the healer’s hand off his shoulder and then inching himself closer to the door. “Besides, I have more important things to attend to than going to therapy sessions.”

Before the chief healer could ask anymore questions, Obi-Wan bowed and made his way out of the door, firmly keeping his shields in place. Outside her office, he was immediately greeted with the peculiar sight of his charge surrounded by the other padawans in the waiting room. Since Anakin wasn’t radiating any negative emotions and hadn’t noticed him, Obi-Wan stopped walking and watched on. 

“And then boom!” Anakin exclaimed, jamming what seemed to be the eraser of a pencil into the white wall. “The pod racer crashed into the sandy dunes of the Tatooine Wastelands as a million particles of sand flew up into the air! The tortuga was brutally thrown off his seat and into a Sarlac pit. Horrified, I had to continue flying or my fate would have been the same as the tortuga and- Obi-Wan!” 

Like a spell, the story was broken and everyone was staring at the ginger-haired knight with mutual looks of displeasure. 

“Don’t let me interrupt the story, Anakin,” Obi-Wan sheepishly smirked. “It sounds… enthralling.”  

But it was too late, Anakin had already jumped out of his seat. “How’s Qui-Gon?” Anakin interrogated, fear bubbling up inside of him like acid. 

“Actually, quite well,” Obi-Wan answered truthfully. “Master Che is hopeful that it shouldn’t be too long now. Honestly, it truly depends on his progress over the next few days.”

“Wizard!” Anakin cheered, then his smile fell. “Is it bad that he’s waking up? You don’t seem too excited.”

“Of course it’s good!” Obi-Wan grinned, shoving down every single other emotion he was feeling at that moment. “Come on, let’s go get some lunch.” 

The boy didn’t fail to notice the narrowing eyes of Master Che from her spot behind the older male, but he still followed Obi-Wan out of the healers ward without another word. 

~~~~~~~~

It was a little after noon when Anakin and Obi-Wan returned back to Qui-Gon’s quarters after eating lunch. Anakin immediately plopped down on the couch with a big grin on his face. 

“By the way,” Anakin grinned, “I did exactly what you wanted me to do. I picked five objects in the waiting room and spelled them out perfectly. Annnnd… I even have a couple of other words. When the other padawans realized what I was doing, they started a contest to see who could give me the longest word to spell out. One of the older padawans came up with sesquipedalian, which was incredible, but then one of the healer’s padawans came up with Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia! She won, but some of the other padawans thought it wasn’t fair because it was two words.” Anakin paused. “I don’t think I want to become a healer if I have to constantly write down words like that.”

“Good for you,” Obi-Wan laughed. 

“Yeah and…” Anakin stopped talking and looked up at Obi-Wan with curiosity. “Why aren’t you closing the door?” 

“Well,” Obi-Wan beamed, “since it seems that you have no homework from your classes and have finished all the work I assigned, I figured that I would take you to the city today.” 

“Really?” Anakin gasped, his eyes going wide in excitement. “Where would we even go?”

“Well, that’s up to you,” Obi-Wan remarked. “Coruscant has thousands of districts, not to mention all the levels. Although, I suspect that we won’t be going anywhere near the lower levels. We could go see the senate building, afterall I know that the new Chancellor wants to personally thank you for helping Naboo. Or maybe you would prefer to go with me to the shopping district, you can help me pick out curtains to give as a wakeup present for Qui-Gon.” 

Anakin could only groan at Obi-Wan’s playful grin. 

“I’ll take that as a no,” Obi-Wan snorted. “Of course there’s also a couple of fascinating museums we could go to; I especially find the one displaying artifacts of the Old Republic intriguing. Or we could just bypass the locations and just walk around the city.” 

The boy’s entire face lit up with uncontained excitement. “Let’s do that! Back home, I only had Mos Espa and Mos Eisley to explore, and they aren’t exactly tourist destinations. I just can’t wait to walk under all the speeders and just breathe the city air.”      

Chuckling, Obi-Wan held the door open for him. “Just wait until you smell the exhaust, then you won’t be as giddy as you are now.” 

~~~~~~~~

Wondrously, Anakin stared at the over-passing speeders as they walked through a marketplace on one of the upper middle levels. Bright vibrant stands filled with fruits and vegetables of all kinds laid on both sides of the street, bartered by loud salesmen and chattery children. It almost reminded him of Mos Espa, not the places by the run-down cantinas, but the wide open boulevards filled with desperate farmers and gruff scammers wanting to steal a buck. His mother always warned him about them, she even told him all the secrets to their illusions and tricks… Suddenly, the fantasticalness of their trip into the city seemed to fade away. Looking down, Anakin frowned. He was wearing comfortable clothes that fit, he was learning how to read and write, he was free to do what he wished; no one else from Tatooine had those privileges, not even the greedy scammers waiting at every fork in the road. How could he look himself in the eyes and think that he was worth something when he couldn’t even help those at home. 

“I do believe I was telling you about the history of the temple’s architecture before you dozed off.” Obi-Wan’s accented voice cut through Anakin’s thoughts like a knife. 

“Sorry,” Anakin winced, quickly straightening up. “I was just… nevermind, keep talking.”

Obi-Wan dramatically sighed. “All I was saying was that the temple’s design was influenced by…”

Obi-Wan spent the entire trip as Anakin’s tour guide, excitedly babbling away about certain buildings and traditions of Coruscant that Anakin had no idea about. It was nice to have a steady bright presence to rely one, instead of having to constantly guard himself against the world. If Anakin was being honest with himself, he rather liked the young man. At first he only saw him as the cold apprentice of Qui-Gon, but now… Anakin wasn’t so sure if he wanted Obi-Wan to leave. Deep down inside, he knew that once Qui-Gon woke up, Obi-Wan would no longer be constantly at his side… and he wasn’t so sure if he wanted that to happen.  

“...fifty years ago, there was an uprising in the core worlds that led to an architect by the name of Drezen… Anakin?”

At the sound of his name, he broke out of his thoughts and asked, “Yeah?” 

Obi-Wan glanced down at him with concern shining through his blue eyes. “Are you alright?” 

“I’m good,” Anakin answered with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “I was just thinking about how Qui-Gon’s going to wake up soon… I know that you were joking about the curtains, but do you think that we should get a gift for Qui-Gon?”

Obi-Wan frowned slightly, “Anakin, you know that-”

“I know that you told me that the Jedi don’t accept gifts, but Qui-Gon almost died. The council can’t be too mad if we get him a small present." 

“Well, I suppose it can’t hurt,” Obi-Wan conceded.  

Satisfied, Anakin was about to keep walking, but then he stopped. “What does Qui-Gon even like to do?” he questioned. Damn, he really had no idea what Qui-Gon liked to do.   

Mischievously, Obi-Wan’s eyes lit up with mirth. “You’re not going to like the answer,” he snorted. “It involves immersing oneself in the force in the form of-” 

“Meditation,” Anakin finished with a grim face. “Is there anything else? Hobbies, interests… anything?” 

Obi-Wan thought for a moment, then he looked up with a small smile. “He likes plants.” The man’s face became wistful as he looked around the marketplace. “His favorites are the big leafy ones you would find on Callum. Whenever we were on a mission that happened to be on a temperate planet, I would always end up carrying a bundle of saplings that he wanted to plant when we got back to the temple. I always saw it as a burden, and when it finally got too much for me, I turned to Qui-Gon and told him that I would no longer carry his pathetic lifeforms from that moment on. I never saw him laugh so hard; he ended up leaning against a tree trunk with tears in his eyes. I just stood there flabbergasted as he got up and handed me some rare plant he collected that morning, it was like he hadn't heard me tell him that I wouldn't carry his plants anymore. With a big grin, he turned to me, patted my head, and said, “Then it’s a good thing that I’m the master and you're the padawan, my pathetic life form.” I suppose that I walked into that one, but at least…” Obi-Wan trailed off, his eyes narrowing in some unexplained emotion. 

“Obi-” 

“Plants,” Obi-Wan forcedly smiled, refocusing back on Anakin, “you should get him a plant. There’s a few stands that I saw up ahead that seem to be selling them.” 

Anakin decided not to comment on Obi-Wan’s sudden mood change and walked with him to go pick a plant. He quickly settled on a large leafy plant, it wasn’t from Callum, but he figured that Qui-Gon wouldn’t mind. As they continued walking, Anakin looked down at his gift with both happiness and pain. Back on Tatooine, he never had the time or means to give his mother a present she actually wanted. Maybe someday in the future, he would get Qui-Gon to bring him back to the marketplace so that he could pick out a present for his mother, maybe one of the crocheted shawls or feathery coats she used to dream about. Maybe he would buy a gift for Obi-Wan as well, maybe a book or trinket. The ginger-haired man certainly deserved one. 

“Obi-Wan?” Anakin asked out of the blue. 

The man smiled down at him. “Yes?” 

“What are you thinking about?” 

Obi-Wan paused for a moment and then replied, “I suppose that I’ve been thinking quite a lot about what’s going to happen after Qui-Gon wakes up.” 

“What is going to happen afterwards?” Anakin questioned. “Are you going to stick around, or are you going to do something else...?” 

“I’m a Jedi Knight,” Obi-Wan replied, like that was supposed to answer Anakin’s question. 

“Am I ever going to see you again?”

“I’ll go wherever the council wants me to go, and you will have a master to train you in the ways of the force, it’s a win-win situation.” 

Now, that did not answer Anakin’s question at all. 

Thankfully, Obi-Wan decided to elaborate. “Now that I’m a knight I get to travel the galaxy and help people, who could ask for anything more. I’ll be fine… on my own.” 

To Anakin, it felt like the force quivered as the man said, “On my own.” 

“But you’ll have me and Qui-Gon, you’re not going to be alone,” he quickly interjected.  

GIving him a small smile, Obi-Wan stopped walking and placed his hands on Anakin’s shoulders. “I’m sure that you won’t miss me once you go off on adventures with Qui-Gon, Anakin.” 

“But-” 

Suddenly, a beep came from Obi-Wan’s side. Fumbling around, Obi-Wan handed Anakin the bundle of Mandalorian Tea they had bought earlier at one of the tea houses, and grabbed the comlink off his belt. Shaking his head in slight annoyance, Obi-Wan transferred the bundle of tea back to himself and sighed, “The council wants to meet with me again. Unfortunately, that ends our tour around the city. The elevator leading up should be just over there.”

Anakin was disappointed, but he was far more concerned about what Obi-Wan said before the summon. “Obi-Wan, why do you not want to talk to Qui-Gon when he wakes up?” 

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened slightly before his face went blank again. “Pardon?” 

“I don’t know,” Anakin faltered, losing all his confidence. “It’s just that I keep seeing you act negatively whenever someone mentions Qui-Gon waking up.” 

“If you’re talking about what happened at the healers then-” 

“No, it’s not that!” Anakin groaned, rubbing his face with embarrassment. “Just forget it, okay? I wasn’t thinking clearly.”

The two of them lapsed into uncomfortable silence as they walked into the elevator. It looked like Obi-Wan was a little guilty, which was slightly concerning, but Anakin couldn’t sense any of his emotions. This isn’t going to get us anywhere, Anakin mentally growled. I need to ask him or he might spend the rest of his life ignoring the issue. 

“Obi-Wan I need to ask-” 

Before Anakin could even finish his sentence, a flash of emotions slammed into Anakin’s mind, revealing a memory. It wasn’t his, in fact he didn’t recognize it at all. There was a ship… it must have been a ship from Naboo. But what stuck in his mind wasn’t the scenery, it was who stood in the center of the ship.

“Master,” Obi-Wan quietly remarked, a ginger braid still trailing down the side of his face, “I do not think this is a good idea.”

Qui-Gon turned around, a look of disinterest plastered on his face. “Oh, really?”

“I have a bad feeling about this. The sith, if he really is a sith, I most definitely involved in the timing of this attack on Naboo,” Obi-Wan continued, his voice going into a whisper. “The force is telling me that he’s going to be waiting for us on Naboo and that… something that I cannot pinpoint is going to happen if we don’t change tactics.”

“And what’s your point?”

For a brief second, Obi-Wan looked shocked at the older man’s harshness, but then his face flattened out in perfect neutrality. “My point is that we shouldn’t walk right up to him without a plan. He’s chosen to attack Naboo for a reason, let’s find out why-“

“With all due respect, our goal is to protect the queen, not to go on a wild goose chase,” Qui-Gon snapped. “I already have the council refusing to train Anakin when he’s obviously the chosen one, I don’t need you making up your own opinions on what’s going to happen. Now do you have a point or not?”

“I don’t understand,” Obi-Wan sighed, frustration bleeding out of his voice, “you’re the one who’s convinced that this zabrak is a sith lord. Did you change your mind?” 

Qui-Gon looked at him distastefully. “Of course I haven’t. I must say that I’m more than disappointed that my original assessment was correct. If you weren’t so busy agreeing with everything the council said, then maybe you would have been able to come to the same conclusion as me.” 

“I don’t think that I ever said that the council was right-” 

“You agreed with them about Anakin.” 

Obi-Wan gagged, disbelief raining off of him, “You’re mad at me for being skeptical that a random nine year-old we have no idea about is the ‘Chosen One’ from a thousand year-old prophecy?” 

“Which one of us studied the prophecy in depth?” 

“You took a single blood sample. Having high force-sensitivity doesn’t make someone the chosen one!” 

“The boy has no father!”

“He’s a former slave from kriffing Tatooine!”

“I’m following the will of the force,” Qui-Gon spat, “like any Jedi should.”

Coldly, Obi-Wan replied, “No, no you’re not. You’re following your own stubborn head-” 

“Oh, I see what’s going on right now,” Qui-Gon chortled humorlessly, “you’re taking out your anger on me, aren’t you?! You’re mad at me, you’re angry at me for taking Anakin on as my padawan!” 

“I honestly couldn’t care about what you do with the boy,” Obi-Wan snapped, “but I refuse to stand here and let you shove words in my mouth when it’s not true.” 

“So you aren’t at all angry at me? Well isn’t that a pile of- wait a second, you’re mad at me for recommending you for the trials, aren’t you? Well isn’t that ridiculous!” 

“I think you’re looking for the word ‘repudiation’ rather than ‘trials’” Obi-Wan growled. 

“Repudiation?” Qui-Gon repeated incredulously. “You can’t be serious! You were ready to be knighted years ago!” 

“Then why didn’t you recommend me years ago?!” 

“That’s besides the point!” Qui-Gon yelled. “You may be taking the trials when we get back to Coruscant, Padawan, but I do believe that I’m still your master. If I knew that you would start acting all high and mighty, then I wouldn’t have even broached the subject to the council. Do you want to know why I didn’t recommend you last year? Your constant impractical use of the unifying force, which may I point out, was bluntly showcased by your insistence that the sith is going to pose a threat on Naboo!” 

“The force,” Obi-Wan spat, “is practically screaming at me to be careful. I have zero idea why the force can’t make it through your stubborn-“

“That’s enough, Obi-Wan!” 

“I can’t do this anymore!” Obi-Wan cried out, “I can’t watch the both of us dance around the real issue-“

“The real issue,” Qui-Gon growled, “is that you seem to agree more with the council than with your own master. I don’t think we have to keep arguing about this, unless we want to repeat what happened on our mission to save Tahl. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to see if Anakin’s awake.”

In a flurry of robes, the older man left, slamming the door behind him and leaving Obi-Wan alone. After a few seconds of staring blankly at the door, the young man slid to the floor with a whimper as silent tears ran down his pale face. The scene immediately changed, now showing a series of red shields all snapping up at the same time. Horrified, the ginger-haired man watched his master parry the zabrak’s attacks alone. Anakin didn’t have to wait long before a strangled scream came roaring out of the young man. As Qui-Gon’s body crumpled to the floor, the shields all fell down and Obi-Wan ran to fight the zabrak. The rest was a blur of motion, the clashing of blue and red, and the sweaty pants of the two fighters, and finally the hiss of a lightsaber unigniting. Not wasting a second, Obi-Wan rushed to Qui-Gon’s side, completely out of breath. 

“Obi,” Qui-Gon gasped, his hand reaching out to clutch Obi-Wan’s robes as blood poured from his chest wound. 

The younger man quickly dropped to both his knees, ripping a section of his beige robe and dabbing at the wound. Cursing, Obi-Wan picked up his fallen comlink and punched in a frequency. After he gave instructions for the medical team, he turned back to the man lying on the floor. 

“Master, I’m so sorry,” Obi-Wan hopelessly whimpered, unable to really do anything to soothe the older man until the healers arrived, other than run his fingers through his long brown locks of hair. “The medical team is coming soon, just hold on.”

Qui-Gon coughed, forcing a big ungly stream of blood to run down the side of his mouth. “N-not your fault,” was all he managed to get out before his body spasmed again. When it finally stopped, he weakly held up his hand and cupped Obi-Wan’s cheek. “You were right as always, my dear padawan.” Another series of coughs, forced Qui-Gon to curl up against Obi-Wan’s side vulnerably.  

“Master-” 

“Please listen before It’s too late, dear one.” Fear and regret radiated from Qui-Gon in waves. Shaking with pain, his blood soaked hands found Obi-Wan’s and clung to them. “I have a lot of things to say in a s-short amount of time. Train the boy, promise me you’ll train him if I don’t make it. I c-can’t let him f-fall into the wrong hands. Padawan listen to me, oh force it-t hurts, I-I need you to know I’m sor- kriff it, I lo…” a huge spasm kicked in, causing Qui-Gon to yelp with pain and drift off into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan could only cry out in horror as the first medical team barged into the room. Like a spinning whirlpool, the memory began to blur in beat with the crescendoing emotions coming from the young man. Every beat was louder than the next, every beat pounded like a symphony in his ears. 

Failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure failure-

The trance broke and Anakin felt himself get abruptly pulled back into reality. He was still standing in the elevator that was gently rising to the top level, but now Obi-Wan was backed away from him with a wild look in his eyes. They both stared at each other, both pairs of eyes never leaving the other. It was only the chime that indicated they were at the top that broke the trance. Obi-Wan stumbled out, nearly retching everything he ate for lunch out on the sidewalk. 

“You weren’t supposed to see that,” Obi-Wan heavily breathed, his face pale and his body shaky. “My shields must have slipped.”

Anakin didn’t entirely want to know what else almost slipped from the man’s shields. He didn’t even know how to describe what he just saw. Even after being thrown out, he still felt nauseated from the high levels of depression coming from Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon’s projections of pain in the memory. Then there was the matter of how the force was acting during the memory. The normally fuzzy warm entity was raging around the two men like a dust storm on Tatooine, yelling incoherent words in the hopes that either one of them would be able to decipher it. For the first time in Anakin’s life, he felt the force act cold and dangerous, and that terrified Anakin to his very bone. 

“I’m sorry that you had to go through that,” Anakin finally said, his voice in a shaky whisper.

“We should head back to the temple,” Obi-Wan firmly stated, his eyes darting everywhere but Anakin. “I’m sure the council wants to speak with me about something important.” 

Anakin shouldn’t have been surprised that Obi-Wan didn’t mention the incident again. He also shouldn’t have been surprised that it was the eighth time he could hear Obi-Wan relentlessly pacing around the living room when the man was supposed to be sleeping. The only two times he actually mentioned their trip into Coruscant was to ask whether or not Anakin liked the city, and whether or not he wanted to help him prepare the Mandalorian Tea they bought. It was good, a little less bitter and more flavorful than the Sapir Tea, just like Obi-Wan said it would be. But the tea tasted slimy in his mouth, serving only as a reminder of the things left unsaid between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon.

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan was pacing again. 

This time it was at three in the morning, and it didn’t look like he was going to stop any time soon. There had to be some way to help Obi-Wan, but Anakin was lost on what to do. He knew that it was just getting worse and worse the closer Qui-Gon’s date was, and he was scared that the lack of sleep was going to hurt Obi-Wan. Anakin felt miserable, miserable because Obi-Wan was miserable, miserable because he had no idea why he was miserable, and miserable because there was nothing he could do to help. 

Finally, after listening to Obi-Wan make another cup of tea that he wouldn’t even drink, Anakin couldn’t take it anymore. Jumping out of his bed, he left his room and sat down on the couch. The older male didn’t even notice him until he was directly in front of him. 

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan gasped, surprise lighting up his entire face. “What are you doing up?” 

“I…” 

Shoot, Anakin cringed, what do I do now?    

“Can you teach me how to meditate?” Anakin blurted out, not even registering what he said until he saw Obi-Wan’s shocked face. 

After a second of gaping at the small boy, Obi-Wan looked at him suspiciously. “I thought you told me that meditating looked boring, and that Qui-Gon would have to drag you kicking and screaming from your room if he ever wanted to teach you.” 

Wincing, Anakin quickly explained, “Yeah, but I can’t sleep and you told me awhile back that meditating calms you, so I thought that maybe it would calm me too.” 

Obi-Wan’s face softened. “Of course, if it makes you feel better. But I do have to warn you, I haven’t been able to meditate lately. In order to meditate you have to calm your mind, which is something that I’ve been struggling with these past weeks.” 

“It’s fine,” Anakin grinned, grabbing Obi-Wan’s arm and leading him to the meditation mats. 

After they sat down, Obi-Wan frowned. “I suppose I’ve never taught this before. Are you positive you don’t want to just wait for Qui-” 

“Nope,” Anakin assured him with a smile, “it has to be you.” 

“Alright,” Obi-Wan conceded, “but don’t decide to hate meditation because of my lack of teaching skills.” 

“Can you stop degrading yourself?” 

“Alright alright, just follow me closely. I don’t want to start you off with something complicated, so we’ll just do a simple breathing exercise and then go from there. Breath in through your nose, count to five, and then breathe out through your mouth.  Make sure that you concentrate on each breath and try to feel your body claiming down.”  

Nodding, Anakin went along, breathing and breathing out. It was hard to just concentrate on his breaths and not on something else, but after a while his breathing became a pattern and it was easier to follow. Strangely, he actually did feel his body calm down, and he also felt Obi-Wan calm down as well, which he counted as a double win. They just sat there breathing in and out, and it was the most peaceful thing Anakin had ever experienced. 

Finally, Obi-Wan's soft voice interrupted his thoughts. “I hate to interrupt, but it’s quite late and I feel your exhaustion. Why don’t you head off to bed?” 

“That’s meditation?” Anakin asked incredulously. “It doesn’t sound like the stuff the other Jedi do. I thought you’re supposed to get premonitions.”       

“Premonitions?” Obi-Wan repeated, disbelief coloring his face. “Now who told you that?” 

“One of my friends,” Anakin mumbled. “So you don’t get premonitions?”

Snorting, Obi-Wan remarked, “It is possible, but it truly depends on how far you immerse yourself in the force. The meditation I had us do barely touches the surface, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you, especially since Qui-Gon needs to explain to you certain aspects of the force before you even try joint meditation.”

“Ah,” Anakin sighed, deflated now that he realized that his plan to get Obi-Wan to come to some kind of inner peace wasn’t going to happen. “There’s no way for you to... I don’t know, drag me with you into the force just for a bit?” 

Obi-Wan rubbed his chin for a moment, clearly contemplating something. Then he leaned forwards and said, “Well, I suppose there is, but… I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

“I do not think this is a good idea.”

“Oh, really?”

Anakin shuddered; he hated what he saw that day in Obi-Wan’s memory. If the ginger-haired man was correct about what was going to happen on Naboo, then maybe he wasn’t so wrong about what would happen now. 

“If you don’t think it’s a good idea, then I trust you,” Anakin replied, standing up with a big smile on his face. “Thanks for showing me how to do simple meditation, it really helped.”

“So you don’t hate meditation anymore?” Obi-Wan playfully grinned, lightly punching him in the arm. 

“Well, let’s not get too hasty.” 

Hearing Obi-Wan’s laugh was enough to make Anakin feel like he actually accomplished something with his mission. 

And who knows, Anakin wondered, maybe he felt as much peace as I did. 

~~~~~~~~

Sighing, Obi-Wan closed his eyes and tried to concentrate. Instead of falling asleep after Anakin went back to bed, like he probably should have, Obi-Wan stayed on his meditation mat. He hadn’t slept well in an entire month, not since the day Qui-Gon and he left for Naboo. The solution was simple, but he couldn’t bring himself to dissect all the emotions he had pushed down deep inside. He needed to meditate, and he needed to untangle the mess of feelings that he tried to ignore for the last three weeks, or he would only be an even bigger mess when Qui-Gon finally did wake up. 

Come on, Kenobi, Obi-Wan mentally growled, his eyes flying open in frustration, you’ve got this. Sink into the force, just like Qui-Gon taught you. That can’t be too hard, right?

“Make sure that you concentrate on each breath and try to feel your body claiming down,” that was what he told Anakin, wasn’t it? He could do that, everyone could do that. 

Closing his eyes again, Obi-Wan concentrated on his breaths and felt himself begin to calm down. Before long, the force wrapped around him like a warm blanket, welcoming him like he was an old friend. The first thing he could see was the green waves of the living force coming from each plant in the room he was sitting in, each with their own little bright auras. Then he could see the bright luminous presence of Anakin, slightly muted because the boy was asleep. Right under the white light, were the darkened colors of orange and red, small but present, showing the boy's darker emotions. It made Obi-Wan frown a little, but he stopped probing Anakin’s presence and pushed on to feel Qui-Gon’s presence. A smile crept up his face when he brushed up against the older man’s bright aura. When Qui-Gon was in good health, little green wisps of the living force would spark off his aura. Slowly but surely, Obi-Wan could see the wisps begin to spark off again. (Apparently, little purple wisps of the unifying force would spark off of himself when he was in good health, but he couldn’t see it and Qui-Gon was the only one who mentioned it.) After a quick survey of the man’s health, Obi-Wan retracted his senses and took a deep breath. Now it was time to do the one thing he was dreading. Carefully, he peeled away the outside of his shields and looked in.         

Grief hit him like a runaway speeder, causing his concentration to slightly waver before he could push past the emotion and look at the rest.  

Regret, Pain, Horror, Misery, Depression

Each and everyone of them slithered across his mind, darkening his aura and sending nausea into his stomach. He wanted to let them go, he wanted to release all of them into the force, but It was too much, it was just too much.

Anger, Betrayal… Love? 

Obi-Wan was used to the first seven emotions, but the last one? Pausing in his path, Obi-Wan latched on to the last emotion and carefully observed it. It doesn’t make sense, Obi-Wan thought to himself, why would that emotion be in the center of the others? 

Perhaps, your love for Qui-Gon has something to do with the other seven emotions, the force helpfully supplied. 

Perhaps, but it still didn’t make sense. If he truly loved Qui-Gon, then it had to be completely one-sided. Qui-Gon obviously didn’t care about him…  right? Didn’t their argument on the ship back to Naboo further prove that the man hated him? Desperately, Obi-Wan tried to reach out to the force, dragging himself further into his mind than he had ever gone before. Just as he thought he could brush against the entity itself, a bright array of colors abruptly blocked his path. There in the center of the array, were little glimpses of his padawanship to Qui-Gon, all twelve years layered on top of each other. Obi-Wan watched in amazement, as he saw memories from the moment he first met Qui-Gon to right before the sith appeared in the hangar. Throughout it all, the growing fascination of seeing everything was replaced with dread. Obi-Wan yanked himself out of the force, gasping as he came back up to the surface. Nothing had changed, Anakin was still sound asleep and Qui-Gon was still immobilized, but something had changed inside of him.     

I don’t deserve him, Obi-Wan realized with horror, hiding his shaking hands in the folds of his clothes. If I look at every problem in our entire relationship, one variable is always the same: my inability to correctly handle the situation. I was incompetent from the beginning, I constantly failed missions and constantly disappointed Qui-Gon. What happened on Melida/Daan was just the final straw. If I was faster in finding Tahl, then maybe Qui-Gon wouldn’t have had to choose between helping her and helping the Young. I should have left, I shouldn’t have stayed with Qui-Gon. If I had just disappeared, then Naboo would have never happened. If I had just accepted the fact that Qui-Gon wanted to train Anakin and get rid of me, then maybe I could have got through to him about my premonition on the sith. So much of Qui-Gon’s pain and suffering was caused by my poor choices. No wonder he wanted so desperately to get rid of me, I’m practically a death sentence for him. His life was so much better without me. 

Obi-Wan abruptly stood up, pausing only a second to steady himself from the blood rushing to his head. Then, he stumbled into the kitchen and made himself another cup of tea, this time with the bitter Sapir tea that Qui-Gon liked so much. Standing there with his back against the counter, Obi-Wan decided something. 

I can’t fail him again. I guess, if I truly love him, the nicest thing I can do is distance myself from him. Anakin’s his padawan now, not me. I’ll make it as easy as I possibly can for him to forget me. It shouldn’t be too hard, the man probably doesn’t even want to see me anyways. 

After a few hours of just thinking about his choice, Obi-Wan laid down to try and go back to sleep. Around him, the force shifted in uneasiness. The young man didn’t come to the conclusion it wanted him to come to. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan bowed in respect as he entered Master Yoda’s meditation quarters. It was strange to have so much freedom without Qui-Gon walking by his side. Normally, he wouldn't have been allowed to waltz into anyone’s quarters by himself without a summon, but now, all he had to do was knock. If he was honest with himself, it felt more unnerving than freeing. 

“Knight Kenobi,” Master Windu smiled from his seat next to Yoda, “I’m glad to see that you’re doing well. I hope that you can give your former master my regards when he’s finally conscious. The senate requested that I go to Alaris Prime during the next rotation, so I won’t be able to come and visit until he’s already out of the healers ward.” 

“Actually, Masters,” Obi-Wan began, keeping his shields firmly in place, “since Qui-Gon is stable and about to be fully functional again, Anakin won’t need my guidance any longer. If it’s alright with the two of you, I would like to go to Ilum and build a new lightsaber since I lost mine at the Naboo Palace.” 

Master Windu raised an eyebrow at the ginger-haired man, not entirely surprised about the timing of the knight’s request. “Is that so?”  

“Wish you do, to leave the temple directly when Master Jinn awakes, hmmm?” Yoda asked, his eyes penetrating right through the young knight. 

“Well…” 

“Does this have something to do with what happened before the Battle of Naboo?” Windu questioned with a certain amount of disdain in his voice, although it was not directed at Obi-Wan and instead directed towards a certain Jedi Master in the healers ward. 

Careful not to wince, Obi-Wan replied, “If you mean the repudiation, then no. I just think that it would be more beneficial if I took care of my lightsaber than if I stayed here and fretted over Qui-Gon’s health. Besides, he has Anakin to look after him now.”

“Careful, Kenobi,” Windu interjected. “We still haven't decided as a whole council to let the man train him, heck we haven’t even decided whether or not he’s the chosen one yet.”

“Regardless of your decisions, Qui-Gon no longer needs me,” Obi-Wan retorted. “I’m already going to move out today, there’s not much else for me to do other than to go on my first mission.”

The two masters glanced at each other for a moment before Yoda stated, “First mission go on you may. Planet Ord Mantell, help they need. Not far from Ilum this planet is. Go visit them you will after build lightsaber you do. Send information we will, when on route you are.” 

“I guess I’ll inform Knight Rebec that he can have his two week’s leave,” Windu dryly remarked, bending over to grab his comlink. 

“Thank you, Masters,” Obi-Wan bowed. “May I be dismissed?” 

“Of course,” WIndu snorted, “this isn’t a classroom, you don’t have to raise your hand to leave, especially since you’re a knight now.”

Blushing, Obi-Wan bowed again and scampered out of the room. Inside, Yoda and Windu looked at each other suspiciously. It didn’t escape anybody’s notice that the newly knighted man was keeping his shield’s at maximum heights.

~~~~~~~~

“Are you almost done eating?” Obi-Wan asked with a small smile, interrupting Anakin’s furious devouring of his lunch. “I have something I need you to help me with.” 

“Is everything okay?” Anakin asked, slightly worried about where the conversation was going to go. Obi-Wan seemed to be in a good mood, which meant that the meditation must have helped him… but there was also a strange sliver of sadness that was present on the man’s face.

To Anakin’s surprise, the older male dropped a big box on the table. “I’m moving out today.” 

Anakin’s entire expression immediately dropped. “What?!” he yelped, quickly standing up in shock. 

“Calm down, Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighed in response to Anakin’s growing horror. “Remember when I told you that all knights eventually move to their own quarters? Well, since Qui-Gon is going to wake up soon, I thought that it would be best if I moved out before you and Qui-Gon officially move in. You can help me bring my belongings to my new quarters after you’re done eating.” 

“Oh.” Anakin felt like he swallowed a hot vial of disappointment. “Is it really necessary for you to move out? I mean, you weren’t sleeping in Qui-Gon’s room anyways, so can’t you just keep sleeping on the couch?”

Frowning, Obi-Wan leaned forwards and placed his hands on Anakin’s shoulders. “Anakin, I can sense your fear, but I assure you that you and Qui-Gon are going to be just fine without my presence.”

“I know, but why can’t you stay?” Anakin whined. “Is it because you think Qui-Gon won’t want you to stay or something?”

Instead of cringing at Anakin’s question, Obi-Wan actually snorted. “I’m not entirely sure how Qui-Gon would react if I asked to be a permanent resident on his couch, but I’m assuming that he wouldn’t be pleased. Besides, becoming a Jedi Knight and receiving all the privileges that come with the title is of the highest honor.”

“Really?” Anakin asked wryly. 

“Indeed,” Obi-Wan smirked, playfully ruffling Anakin’s sandy hair. “Go on, finish eating your lunch and then let's start packing up the things from my room.” 

It turned out that there wasn’t much to pack up. The majority of Obi-Wan’s belongings were books or journals that documented some of his past missions. After they divided everything into piles to organize, Obi-Wan kindly let him pick out old starship models, tools, and other knick knacks that he had lying around the room to keep for himself. The man even let him take some of the journals (although it didn’t escape Anakin’s notice that Obi-Wan tried to discreetly bury a few of the older journals deep into the pile of clothes they had to pack). After going through Obi-Wan’s room, they went through the entirety of Qui-Gon’s quarters. They ended up spending three hours cleaning up the quarters before Anakin was finally too tired to continue without a break. With Obi-Wan’s permission, he walked to the refectory and picked out a few fruits that he thought the both of them would like. As he walked back into Qui-Gon’s quarters, he noticed that Obi-Wan was…  

Anakin paused and put down the tray of fruits. There, through the cracks of the door, he saw Obi-Wan walk around Qui-Gon’s room with a wistful smile on his face. Every so often, a small chuckle would come out of the ginger-haired man’s mouth as he would stop and brush his fingers along the edge of a plant or book that brought back a certain memory. It didn’t make any sense; the nostalgic gleam in the man’s eyes, the sadness floating through the air, the exhaustion etched into Obi-Wan’s face. It was almost like the older male was saying goodbye to Qui-Gon… but that still didn’t make any sense, Qui-Gon was alive and he was going to wake up soon. Why would Obi-Wan want to say goodbye to him? Anakin wasn’t able to linger any further on the mystery, for as quickly as the trance started, it abruptly stopped. With a little shake of his head, Obi-Wan suddenly took a step backwards and forced himself to divert his eyes from the objects scattered around the room. Sitting on the edge of Qui-Gon’s bed, he pulled out two objects, barely visible to Anakin from his position by the door. But, when Anakin finally got a look at the first object, he was slightly taken back. It was the man’s ginger padawan braid that Anakin saw him wearing during the Battle of Naboo. He had assumed that Obi-Wan threw away the braid after he was knighted, but apparently the man felt some need to keep the jumble of hair and to leave it on Qui-Gon’s bedside table. 

As soon as he thought that, a pang echoed in his stomach. He kept it to give to Qui-Gon, Anakin realized with wonder. 

Before he could untangle why that realization made his heart ache, his thoughts were interrupted by seeing the second object get held up to the light. It was a smooth black stone, barely the size of a lightsaber hilt. Instead of leaving the stone next to the braid, Obi-Wan hesitated. A look of uncertainty passed across his face before he swallowed the lump in his throat and determinedly looked back down at the stone. Quickly, almost like he was going to get burned if he lingered too long, Obi-Wan pressed a kiss to the stone and then shakily lowered it down to the table. 

It was then clear that Anakin was intruding on a very private moment. Grabbing the tray, Anakin swiftly made himself scarce right as Obi-Wan walked out of the room, his eyes obviously lost in thought. After a moment of silence, the ginger-haired man noticed Anakin in front of him and gave him a forced smile. 

“I thought I left something in Qui-Gon’s room,” the man lied, brushing past Anakin and towards the kitchen, “but I didn’t.” 

“That’s nice,” was all that Anakin managed to get out.   

When they finally finished getting all of his belongings into boxes, they walked to Obi-Wan’s new quarters, which happened to be pretty far away from Qui-Gon’s. Sensing Anakin’s thoughts, Obi-Wan explained that the quarters were assigned through an automatic system and that no one could actually choose where they lived. It made Anakin feel a little better to know that Obi-Wan didn’t choose to be two floors and forty rooms away from him. The quarters did end up being just as nice as Qui-Gon’s, although it was a little smaller (which Anakin made sure to mention in the hopes that Obi-Wan would choose to stay).  

“That should do it,” Obi-Wan grinned, after they finally unpacked all of the boxes. “This is a monumental moment, Anakin. I’m finally worthy enough to have my own quarters.” Obi-Wan paused for a moment as he looked around the room with a melancholy look in his eyes, then he turned to Anakin and said, “Looking around, it’s hard to believe that I’m actually here, that I actually passed my trials. Honestly, I’m not so sure how to feel about it.” 

Anakin gave him a lopsided smile. “You should feel proud, you deserve it.” 

“Then why don’t I feel that way,” Obi-Wan groaned, momentarily forgetting that Anakin was next to him. 

“Obi-” 

“Forget what I said,” Obi-Wan interjected with another forced smile. “It's almost six, let’s just go get some dinner from the refectory.” 

Anakin could only sigh as he followed Obi-Wan down the hallway and towards the turbolift. After the first few moments, Anakin thought that the entire walk would end up in dead silence, but then Obi-Wan's voice finally rang out. 

“Anakin, I need to tell you something.” 

Fear quickly bubbled up inside of Anakin, “Is everything okay?” he asked. 

“Of course,” Obi-Wan softly smiled, “I just have to… inform you about something that happened this morning.” Pausing only to wait for Anakin’s nod, Obi-Wan continued. “There’s a planet called Ord Mantell located in the Mid Rim that requested Republic assistance in order to seal a treaty. It shouldn’t be a very hard mission to complete, but I-”  

“Wait what.” Anakin abruptly stopped walking as his eyes widened with raging fury. “You’re leaving, aren’t you? You’re going to leave me here all by myself!” 

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan heavily sighed, squatting down so that he was at the same height as Anakin, “you’re going to be fine, okay? I’m just going on a mission, I’ll probably be back in a few weeks. Other Jedi can look after you, probably better than what I’ve been doing, not to mention that Qui-Gon’s going to wake up any day from now. I can’t stress enough that you’ll be fine.” 

“I know,” Anakin mumbled, quickly losing all of his anger. “It’s just that… I don’t want you to go. I really really really don’t want you to go.” 

The ginger-haired man’s face softened as he gave him a sad smile. “I’ll miss you too.” 

To his own surprise, Anakin’s heart lit up with joy at those four words. It shocked him to realize that he felt… love.   

Looking up, he saw that Obi-Wan had happened to stand back up without sensing the amounts of affection radiating off of Anakin. “Come on, Anakin,” he smirked, “let’s go see what’s for dinner.” 

~~~~~~~~

Dutifully, Anakin sat at Qui-Gon’s side. He tried to not fiddle with the loose threads on his clothes, and he tried to stay quiet to not disturb the healers. It was so much harder to keep a serene facade with Obi-Wan gone. 

Standing in the doorway of the hanger, Anakin had felt his heart thump in anticipation 

“Goodbye, Anakin,” Obi-Wan smiled, ruffling the hair on Anakin’s head. 

Jumping off of the ground, Anakin bypassed the gesture and crashed into the man, throwing his arms around Obi-Wan’s neck and wrapping his legs around the man’s middle. A muffled exclamation of surprise came out of Obi-Wan before he caught his footing and hugged Anakin back with the same amount of ferocity. Anakin didn’t know how long he hung there, burrowing his face in Obi-Wan’s neck and clutching at the man’s robes, before he was finally gently lowered back to the ground by the flustered knight. After a final pat on the head, Anakin watched Obi-Wan glance backwards towards the healers ward, take a deep breath, and then mount his ship.  

The day went by quickly after that, but it didn’t stop him from feeling down. He felt strangely empty after the young man left, and nothing seemed to fill that space. Eventually he gave up on trying to be useful, and decided to try to keep himself busy by talking to Qui-Gon. 

“You told me that I would like the Room of One Thousand Fountains, and you were right! Obi-Wan took me there and it was incredible!”

“Did you know that my partner in Engineering class is fluent in Ewokese?” 

“I like the archives, obviously not as much as Obi-Wan, but I think that I’m a little scared of Master Nu.” 

“Bantha meat is weird.” 

“Why is it taking so long for you to wake up? Is it because I’m talking so much?” 

“Why does Obi-Wan always brood?” 

“Qui-Gon… I-I’m not entirely sure how to ask you about what happened between you and Obi-Wan during the Occupation of Naboo. I just… I just don’t know what to think. You rescued me from slavery, but… I just don’t know, I feel like there’s a lot about you that I don’t know.” 

As he sat there, something shifted in the force. Almost directly afterwards, a series of healers walked into the room and started observing Qui-Gon. It was almost time, and the healers needed to concentrate, so he sat there quietly, just like Obi-Wan would have done, and waited. For what felt like hours, nothing changed, in fact, Anakin was beginning to think that Qui-Gon was actually dead and that everyone was lying to him. But then, a bright presence suddenly filled up the room, like fire on a matchstick.     

A pained gasp came from the man lying on the bed as his eyes flew wide open. Everyone stared in shock as his pupils frantically dashed around while his arms thrashed harshly against the bed. 

“Obi…?” Qui-Gon rasped in horror before promptly collapsing.

Chapter Text

The next time Qui-Gon woke up was only a day later, followed by a sentence of incomprehensible gibberish, cut off by the shrill beeping of the heart rate monitor. He didn’t even make it past the thirty second mark before collapsing again.   

Only four hours later, Anakin had just finished reading the final chapters of his book, when Qui-Gon woke up again. This time it was followed by a strangled yelp, forcing Qui-Gon to lurch forwards and out of the bed. The healers did their best to restrain him, but Qui-Gon managed to latch onto Anakin’s arm and yank him towards him. 

“I won’t let you take him from me,” Qui-Gon snarled before the sedation kicked in and he collapsed again. 

Anakin barely registered being ushered out of the room until he felt himself bump into the reception desk. There wasn’t much to do after that, other than curl up against one of the seats in the waiting room and stare off into the distance. All he could think about was how lonely he felt, and how much he wished Qui-Gon would suddenly wake up and take him under his wing. More than anything, he desperately wished that Obi-Wan had stayed.  

After that certain incident, Master Yoda often stopped by to check on Qui-Gon. It was strange and unnerving to see the little green Jedi Master sitting across the room from him, quietly meditating like Anakin wasn’t even there. Anakin would always try to be quiet and still whenever the Jedi Master would join him, but Yoda didn’t seem to acknowledge him much apart from saying a brief “Hello” or “Goodbye.”     

After the initial waking, it took three entire days before Qui-Gon was actually able to stay awake for a solid five minutes. During that brief period of time, the only thing Qui-Gon accomplished was blearily looking around the room. Even though nothing happened, it marked the start of an hourly occurrence that consisted of the man talking to thin air. 

“I told you to be careful and yet here we are, surrounded by fire-beetles.” 

“Of course I don’t trust you, you always burn the spinach.” 

“Will you quiet down? Can’t you tell that I’m trying to peacefully deal with the rock?”

“Stop jumping off of buildings! Yes, I’m aware that the force will cushion the fall, but wouldn’t it be easier to just use the stairs?”

“It’s my tea! It’s not Yoda’s tea, it’s mine!”

The ridiculousness of the entire situation put everyone in a good mood. Even the stoic chief healer couldn’t resist it, although she might have just been focused on the fact that the ramblings were a good sign that Qui-Gon’s body was getting ready to fully wake up. 

On the fifth day, everything changed. 

Anakin had finished his last class of the day when he went to visit Qui-Gon, fully intending to just peacefully read a book. It was one of the rare moments where he was completely by himself. Master Che didn’t expect Qui-Gon to move anytime that day, so she hardly spent more than a couple of minutes observing the man, and the other healers were busy taking care of the other patients. Even though he was alone… it felt strangely peaceful. His chair felt comfy, the room wasn’t too cold, and the heart rate monitor was set to a low volume. Curled up against the wall, Anakin couldn’t help but let the darkness enclose around him as his eyebrows began to stutter close… 

… Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep Beep!

The heart monitor wailed. 

Anakin’s eyes flew open. “Wha-”

Nothing could have prepared him from the shock of seeing a very much awake Qui-Gon staring right back at him.  

“Ani,” Qui-Gon whispered in horror, weakly grabbing onto his elbow just as Master Che rushed into the room with a look of frenzy on her face, “you need to tell me, where’s Obi-Wan? I can’t sense him, oh force, is he…” 

“He’s fine!” Anakin laughed with tears in his eyes. Qui-Gon was fully awake! “It’s going to be okay, Qui-Gon, he’s alive and healthy. He’s just on a mission.” 

“Thank the force,” Qui-Gon breathed in relief as the adrenaline drained from his body. 

Master Che stepped forwards and lowered Qui-Gon back down. “You really shouldn’t be sitting up that fast,” she berated, although Anakin could tell that she was happy he was awake as well, “your muscles need time to regain strength.”  

Qui-Gon rolled his eyes, but he didn’t bother arguing.

“I need to ask-” 

Qui-Gon hunched over in agony as he entered a coughing fit. Cringing, Anakin quickly grabbed onto Qui-Gon’s nearest hand and gently squeezed it, just like Obi-Wan would periodically do when the man was still in a coma. He wasn’t sure if it actually helped Qui-Gon or if Obi-Wan just did it to make himself feel like he was soothing Qui-Gon, but nevertheless, it seemed to help the man ground himself back into reality.   

After Qui-Gon managed to control his erratic breathing, he looked back at Master Che with a look of misery in his eyes. “What I was trying to ask was how long I was out. I would imagine that it was more than a week.” 

The chief healer hesitated for a moment, before finally deciding to tell him the truth. “Around three and a half weeks.” 

“Well at least it wasn’t a year,” Qui-Gon chuckled, although everyone could tell that it wasn’t entirely genuine. 

Master Che gave him a sympathetic smile before turning her eyes back to the boy. “Anakin, hand me the cup of water on the table next to you. You need to drink up, Master Jinn, or no one’s going to be able to understand you with that horrible rasp in your voice.” 

Qui-Gon shot Anakin a look. “She’s kind as usual.” 

“Don’t get sassy with me or I’ll keep you here for another rotation,” Master Che playfully scowled as Anakin handed her the water. “I want to keep you here for at least a week so I can monitor you, but I’ll be happy to increase the time as I see fit.” 

“And here I thought that you were going to take pity on a man who just survived being impaled. I could have been in the temple’s morgue right now for all you know,” Qui-Gon quipped, but he still took the water and drank a good portion of it. 

Throughout it all, Anakin couldn’t wipe the ecstatic smile off of his face, even when he had to let go of the man’s hands to give Master Che some space. He couldn’t help but let his mind race in jubilee. He’s awake! Qui-Gon’s awake! Everything’s going to be okay now. I’m going to be a Jedi, I’m going to be trained, and we can be happy again. Just wait until Obi-Wan gets back, then all of us can- 

“Skywalker, control your emotions or I’ll have you removed,” the chief healer scowled, narrowing her eyes at him. “I don’t want you to overwhelm him.” 

“Sorry,” Anakin quickly apologized, downcasting his eyes in shame. Qui-Gon was already in enough pain, he didn’t want to hurt him more.  

A deep chuckle broke through his thoughts like a calm ocean wave. “Relax, Vokara,” Qui-Gon croaked with a warm smile on his face, “the boy’s not going to hurt me, in fact, I appreciate his company.”  

In response, Master Che just sighed, but she didn’t press it farther. Anakin felt himself smile again. If Qui-Gon was okay with him staying, then he wasn’t going to hurt him. 

“Well, everything looks good,” Master Che said with a smile. “If you don’t have any more immediate concerns that need to be addressed, I’ll leave you to rest.” 

“Thank you.” 

With those two words, Anakin was left completely alone with Qui-Gon. 

It was… awkward to say the least. They both sat there quietly, each looking everywhere but each other. He waited so long to finally be able to talk to the man in front of him, and now that he could… he had no idea what to say, and neither did Qui-Gon.  

It was Qui-Gon’s scratchy voice that finally broke the silence. “So… how are you?” 

Anakin gave him a lopsided grin. “Pretty good, you?” 

“Oh, I’m doing just fine,” Qui-Gon softly chuckled.  

“I-I got you this,” Anakin stammered, clumsily reaching to his side and pulling out the potted plant he picked out at the market. “It’s a ficus plant, Obi-Wan told me that you liked them so I thought…” he trailed off in embarrassment. So much for trying to have a normal conversation.   

To his surprise, a warm hand gently lifted his chin up. 

“Thank you, Anakin,” Qui-Gon smiled, looking him in the eyes for the first time since he woke up. “That was incredibly thoughtful of you.” 

Anakin sheepishly blushed. “It was nothing,” 

The two of them drifted back into silence. One of them stared off into a far point in the distance, and the other one waited patiently. He knew very well that the man’s thoughts weren’t on Anakin but on a young man half-way across the galaxy. 

“When did they knight him?” There was no need to ask who “him” was.

“A few days after we got back from Naboo,” Anakin replied. Before Qui-Gon could recoil back into his mind, Anakin quickly added, “I don’t think he was too happy about it.”

Qui-Gon’s brow furrowed. “Oh?”

“I think that he wanted you to be there with him.” 

Instead of the happy response Anakin was hoping to inspire, Qui-Gon looked off into the distance and let out a strangled laugh. “I guess the council doesn’t wait for -” Without warning, Qui-Gon abruptly stopped talking as all the distaste drained from his face. Desperately, he grabbed onto Anakin’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Did Obi-Wan… did he give you anything to give to me?” 

“I-I…” Anakin stammered, unable to understand what was happening, “I don’t think so?”  And just like that, all the energy drained from Qui-Gon’s body as a look of dejection overtook his face. 

“I should have realized,” Qui-Gon sighed, running a hand through his hair before tiredly looking back at Anakin with a strained smile. “Thank you for the gift, Anakin, and I’m glad that you’re doing well. Is it okay if I rest for a bit? I’m a little worn out.”  

Anakin nodded. “Yeah, of course! I’ll just step out. It was great seeing you awake.” 

Qui-Gon gave him a grateful smile before leaning backwards into his bed. As Anakin walked out of the room, a feeling of dread settled in his stomach. What did he completely miss about their conversation?  

~~~~~~~~

Qui-Gon couldn’t fall asleep. Everything felt wrong. The mattress felt slimy, the pillows felt hard, and the blankets felt suffocating. And then there was the matter of his pada- former padawan. 

What did I do? 

The worst part was that he knew very well what he did. 

“The real issue is that you seem to agree more with the council than with your own master. I don’t think we have to keep arguing about this, unless we want to repeat what happened on our mission to save Tahl. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to see if Anakin’s awake.” 

Force, he really did say that to Obi-Wan, didn’t he? He really threw Tahl’s death in his face and then walked away without another word. He regretted doing that, he really regretted doing that, but did his actions truly warrant not receiving the braid? It was the pinnacle of their entire relationship with each other, it represented everything Obi-Wan had achieved under his guidance. And he didn’t care enough about me to give it to me. 

No, Qui-Gon decided with determination, I’m not going to sit here and guess why he didn’t give the braid to me. I can’t let our relationship end like this. Weakly reaching to his side, Qui-Gon grabbed onto the comlink that Master Che had left him, and quickly dialed into a frequency he knew by memory. 

[...  beep… beep… beep… beep……….] 

“Come on Obi-Wan, pick up,” Qui-Gon growled under his breath as he tried it again. 

After hearing another series of meaningless beeps, it was obvious that Obi-Wan wasn’t going to pick up. Qui-Gon just sincerely hoped that it was because the young man was busy and not because he didn’t want to talk to him. It wasn’t worth spamming the young man, especially since Qui-Gon had no idea what Obi-Wan’s mission even was, but he wasn’t ready to give up. Of course, Obi-Wan wasn’t the only one he could call. 

“Windu speaking, who is this?”  

“Mace, thank the force you picked up,” Qui-Gon exclaimed, so thankful that the man picked up, “I need-” 

“Qui-Gon?!” Windu practically choked on thin air. “W-what… Qui-Gon why are you even calling me right now?! Look, I’m sorry that I had to leave right when you woke up, but do you even know what time it is for me? Of course you don’t, because you never bother to check before you call-”  

Qui-Gon cringed at the tone of the man’s voice, but it wasn’t going to distract him from his original purpose. “Mace,” Qui-Gon interrupted as gently as he could, “I need you to tell me something-” 

Obviously, he misunderstood how tired his friend was. 

“What can be so important that you have to call me now?! You couldn’t have been awake for more than a day, aren’t you supposed to be resting? Does Master Che know that you’re-“

“Mace!” Qui-Gon snapped. “Calm down for a moment!” 

A dejected sigh came from the other end of the frequency. “Alright, fine. What do you desperately need to know?” 

“What did Obi-Wan do with his braid?” 

Silence. At first Qui-Gon was terrified that Windu didn’t hear him, or that the answer was so bad that the other man was too scared to tell him, but then a growl slowly ripped out of his throat. “You!” Windu gritted out sharply. “You called me at midnight to ask me what your padawan did with his braid?! This has to be the most ridiculous thing that I’ve ever had to-”     

“Mace…” Qui-Gon winced, suddenly really regretting that he even picked up the comlink in the first place. 

“I-I can’t believe this… You have his frequency, Qui-Gon! Call him yourself!” 

“He didn’t pick up!”  

Instead of more anger, a deep sigh came out of Windu’s mouth. Qui-Gon did not like the sound of that sigh. “Honestly, Qui-Gon, with the amount of problems the two of you have gotten into, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had some apprehensions about giving it-” 

Throughout the entire rambling sentence, Qui-Gon felt his heart beat harder and harder until he couldn’t take it anymore. “Mace! ” 

“Qui-Gon it’s almost one, what do you want me to say?” Windu cried out in exhaustion. “I have no idea what he did with the braid, okay? I didn’t ask, I didn’t want to ask, and I certainly didn’t put up surveillance cameras to find out myself. You were in a coma for almost a month. He might have just left it in a safe spot to give to you later for all I know. Relax, okay? He’ll be back in a few weeks, a month at most.” 

Disheartedly, Qui-Gon grumbled, “I know.” Then after a beat of silence, he ventured to ask, “How is he?” 

“He’s fine,” Windu replied, this time with a lot less coldness in his voice. “He’s a little awkward, but all new knights are. Whether or not he’s mentally okay is another question. He refused to speak to a mind healer, but you did raise him, so that’s not much of a surprise.” 

That got a chuckle out of Qui-Gon, although he did make a mental note to ask Obi-Wan about it when he returned. “Oh yes, go ahead and blame me for all I care. Where did you send him anyways?”

“I’ll tell you right now, you’re not going to like it very much… Ord Mantell.”

“Mace! ” Qui-Gon exclaimed in horror. 

“He wanted to go!” Windu said in lieu of any reasonable explanation. “The knight we already had wanted to have a two weeks leave to teach a class, and he was more than willing to do it-” 

“You sent him alone?! ”  

“Qui-Gon, calm down! He’s a fully capable knight now, you can’t protect him forever. Besides, it should be a pretty straightforward mission. All he has to do is make sure a treaty gets signed by both parties.” 

“I know that I can’t protect him forever,” Qui-Gon sighed, “it’s just that… he’s my padawan, Mace.” 

“I know that it’s hard, but now it’s your job to sit back and watch him grow up into knighthood. And I’m sure that it’ll be just as amazing as teaching him.”  

I hope you’re right, Qui-Gon thought to himself as he hung up a few seconds later. I hope you’re right. 

Chapter Text

“Well this wasn’t what I had planned,” Obi-Wan groaned as he stood on top of a storage building deflecting blaster shots. Rain heavily pounded against the roof, making it incredibly difficult to pinpoint where all of the bounty hunters were, but it was easier to detect where the squirmy force presence of the governor was if Obi-Wan was out in the open.  

On cue, a spike of fear shot up through the force, radiating from one of the outer fields directly behind him. So I was right, the bounty hunters are trying to get the governor off planet to hold him for ransom, Obi-Wan thought to himself, while he barely managed to turn around in time to kick an advancing bounty hunter in the ribcage.  

The mission had gone sideways as soon as he arrived. Ord Mantell was always known for its large criminal underworld, but the republic, or at least the Jedi, hadn’t realized that the government was no longer trying to fix the problem. In fact, it was starting to become very clear that the criminals were more in charge than the actual governor himself. 

So much for trying to get a damn treaty signed, Obi-Wan spat as a blaster bolt singed his robe. No wonder they needed Jedi intervention. I’ve never seen a government so disorganized that it took only one bounty hunter to break in and abduct the governor. 

A warning flashed through the force from behind him. Turning around, the Jedi knight had barely any time to swing his lightsaber in front of him before three shots ricocheted off the light blue blade. Through the darkened sky and foggy ground, he could barely see the silhouette of a sniper perched on top of one of the transportation buildings. 

“I should have expected that,” Obi-Wan muttered under his breath. 

It was times like these where he was thankful for Qui-Gon’s penchant for following the will of the force. Whenever Qui-Gon abandoned a mission to do so, it would normally fall on Obi-Wan to complete the mission without his master. Not unexpectedly, as a brash padawan, the mission would normally go incredibly awry until Qui-Gon randomly showed back up to solve the problem. As frustrating as it always was, it certainly helped prepare Obi-Wan to deal with bounty hunters by himself… yet without Qui-Gon’s steady presence fighting alongside him, he couldn’t help but feel incredibly inexperienced and under-prepared for his current situation. 

Come on, Kenobi, the voice in his head scoffed, Qui-Gon isn’t going to show up anytime soon to save the day. You need to do this by yourself, and you need to do it now. They wouldn’t have sent you on this mission if they didn’t think that you could do it. Now focus and save the governor. Only then do you have the chance to salvage the treaty.   

Quickly so that the sniper wouldn’t have enough time to reload, Obi-Wan slid off the roof of the building and landed on the muddy ground of the courtyard. Insects swarmed his face as he ran through the shrubbery, using his lightsaber to slash through the thick vines and roots. In a normal mission, Qui-Gon would have berated him about disrespecting the living force, but this wasn’t a normal mission and Qui-Gon wasn’t going to show up. Obi-Wan just had to get used to it. 

Breaking through the last barricade, he jumped onto the roof of the nearest building and immediately spotted the bounty hunter’s ship start to lift off. Running across the terrace, Obi-Wan managed to gain enough momentum to jump into the ship right before the hatch closed. Not even taking a second to breathe, he immediately ignited his lightsaber and advanced towards the surprised mercenary. 

“I suggest that you let go of the governor,” Obi-Wan slyly smiled. “I wouldn’t want you to become my new floor mat.” 

“Is that a threat, Jedi scum?” the bounty hunter hissed, jamming his blaster into the head of the squeamish governor tied up next to him.   

“It depends,” Obi-Wan smirked, letting his eyes narrow dangerously. “Test your luck if you want to, but if I were you I would make a long-term investment.” 

The alien snarled, swiftly ripping the blaster off the governor's head and firing on Obi-Wan. Already anticipating the response through the force, he easily blocked the blasts, forcing the bounty hunter to change strategies and fire cables at the knight’s legs. Just as the ginger-haired man twisted out of the way, one of the remaining blaster bolts rebounded into the control dashboard. A screech of pain erupted from the mercenary as one of the sparks sizzled up and singed him. Reaching out his hand, Obi-Wan used the distraction to yank the governor out of his seat with a tug of the force. Cruel realization spread across the bounty hunter’s scaly face as he watched the governor fly out of his reach, but if there was one thing Obi-Wan knew for sure, it was that bounty hunters always had multiple plans. 

Abruptly, the bounty hunter jammed his hand into the control panel, causing the hatch to jolt open and the ship to spin. Instead of sliding out of the hatch like the alien wanted, Obi-Wan clumsily fell backwards into the side wall and slammed his head against the metal behind him. Through his swirling vision, he blurily saw the ship start to pass over a large lake while the sound of a blaster reloading echoed in front of him. It was clear that he needed to get the governor out of there before the alien decided that the award was no longer worth his effort . Gritting his teeth, Obi-Wan forced himself to concentrate on the governor. Once his mind was able to latch onto the man, he used the force to fling him out of the hatch and into the underpassing water, just before the automatic lock-system shut the hatch again. The bounty hunter cursed, realizing that his only other option to survive was to stabilize the ship by bringing it into orbit. 

The ship kept wildly accelerating, even as it entered the uppermost atmosphere of the planet. Almost immediately afterwards, an explosion in the hull caused the entire ship to jolt forwards, throwing both Obi-Wan and the bounty hunter into the viewport. Gasping in pain, the Jedi Knight barely had time to find and crank down the thrust before his entire body collapsed onto the floor. In a millisecond, the ship broke out of its flight path and began spinning out of control into one of the planet’s outer moons. 

“Well shit,” Obi-Wan mumbled before he felt the ship buckle and saw his vision go black. 

~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan groaned, immediately hit with a wave of nausea before he even tried to sit up. Weakly squinting his eyes, Obi-Wan managed to focus long enough to pinpoint the outline of the bounty hunter’s ship, minus the lights and the entire front of the ship. When he couldn’t see the alien, he tried to reach through the force to find out whether or not the bounty hunter was still alive, but all of his attempts were blocked by a strange haze clouding his brain. Only the basic field training Qui-Gon forced him to undergo made him remember to check on the medical state of his own body. Other than the numbness in his right arm from being stuck under debris, and a weird sticky substance that coated his face, nothing seemed to be life-threatening at the moment. 

A noise a few feet away from Obi-Wan broke through his haze like a bomb. Feebly, he craned his neck in time to see a bright blue light illuminate the room. Was it the bounty hunter? It was possible, but if Obi-Wan barely survived the crash with the help of the force, what were the odds that the alien survived?    

“Oh, for forcesakes!” a voice snapped, jolting Obi-Wan wide awake from his partial daze. “Are you blind?! How in the name of the force do you not see me in the blue light? Lookup, boy, before I leave you here to die from your own stupidity.” 

“I-I…” Obi-Wan sluggishly craned his head upwards. After blinking a couple of times, his vision cleared, revealing the blue blade of a lightsaber followed by the shadowed face of an older man. At least he wasn’t entirely doomed if the man was a Jedi. “Lovely, to meet you,” Obi-Wan mumbled before closing his eyes in exhaustion.   

In response, the older man let out a dramatic sigh. “When I ship you back to Coruscant, make sure to pass on my congratulations to the council,”  the man drawled, sarcasm heavily dripping into his voice. “They’ve managed to simultaneously annoy me and put a child in danger, a true victory on behalf of their precious republic. How old are you even? Twenty? Twenty-five? Twenty-eight? It just utterly pains me to see that your prestigious council believes that I’m so incapable that I need a man who’s practically a youngling to assist me… and look, you’ve even given me a crashed ship as a welcome present. What more can I possibly ask for?”    

When Obi-Wan didn’t respond, the man unpleasantly growled. “Get up,” he snapped, reaching down and yanking Obi-Wan off the ground with a heave.

Obi-Wan yelped in agony as a shot of pain ripped through his arm. “W-who are y-you?” he managed to grit out before collapsing back onto the floor. 

The question seemed to greatly surprise the strange man, who felt that it was completely  necessary to pick Obi-Wan back up by his shoulders. “Has the council fallen so deeply that they no longer brief their knights on what their missions entail?!”

“I’m not quite sure what you’re talking about,” Obi-Wan mumbled, already starting to drift asleep. “I didn’t know that the council assigned another Jedi to help negotiate the treaty for Ord Mantell.” 

A beat of silence passed before the man let out a strangled chuckle of disbelief. “How did your master not teach you basic navigation and how to properly fly a ship! I would like to know why the council gave a person that incompetent a padawan! Yes, I’m a little relieved that you’re not here to interfere with my studies, but by hell, you almost got yourself killed and you certainly got your co-pilot killed.”   

“N-not a co-pilot, a b-bounty hunter. T-there were some p-problems involving the treaty signing. D-didn’t mean to bother y-you…”  

The man sighed again, this time with a little more sympathy intertwined in his voice. “I realize that it’s wrong of me to jump to conclusions without hearing the entire story.” The man briefly  paused, taking a moment to actually look Obi-Wan in the eyes. “What’s your name?” 

“Kenobi,” Obi-Wan mumbled, “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”  

The man was taken back in shock. A series of emotions jumbled across his face, first disbelieving and then slightly horrified. Finally, the man looked back at Obi-Wan with all the previous coldness gone from his pale face. Softly, he replied, “My name is Yan Dooku.”   

Chapter Text

As soon as he sat down in the center of the temple gardens, Qui-Gon felt the living force rush around him in perfect unison. The auras surrounding the plants, water, and soil all blended together, welcoming and beckoning his mind into the security of the force. If it wasn't for the waves of curiosity radiating off of the boy next to him, he would have lost himself in the force. 

“I brought you here today so I could teach you how to sink into the force,” Qui-Gon softly remarked as Anakin looked at him eagerly. “I’m still a little unsteady when it comes to using the force, but I have a simple exercise for you to try that doesn’t require my assistance.” 

The days after waking up were both filled with relief and agony as he tried to navigate the trauma of almost dying. It took him half a week to finally have enough strength to stand up for a long period of time, and it took him even longer to regain his ability to walk. Throughout it all, Anakin loyally stood by his side, never failing to start a conversation whenever Qui-Gon needed a distraction. Teaching the boy how to connect to the force was the least he could do, but Qui-Gon couldn’t help but feel uneasy about teaching another student so quickly after waking up. 

Why? Qui-Gon would always ask himself whenever the reservations came up. The council hasn’t even summoned you yet, why would you deliberately choose to not get a head start on Anakin’s training? 

He didn't know why, and it hurt to think about it. 

“The force is always with you, it helps guide you and can be used to defend yourself. Whenever you close your eyes, the force surrounds you and washes your mind of all negative emotions. Now, try to take a deep breath and feel the force wrap around you.” Qui-Gon paused and watched Anakin close his eyes, scrunching his face up in concentration. Then he added, “When you’re ready, try to describe what you feel.” 

Anakin merely shrugged. “I’m a little cold if I’m being honest.”  

Chuckling, Qui-Gon shook his head and squeezed Anakin’s shoulder in reassurance. “I should have worded that a little more clearly. Describe what you feel surrounding you, try to leave the comfort of your own self and reach out to the garden around you. Now what do you feel?” 

“Hmmm,” Anakin mumbled, clenching his eyes and looking back into the force. “It’s tingy, like there’s something… pushing against me, but not in a bad way.”

“That’s the force,” Qui-Gon grinned as a sudden wave of excitement rose through his body. Anakin was picking up faster than he thought. “Let it push against your conscience, let it guide you. Where is it directing you?”   

“Tow-” 

“-wards the refectory," a ginger-haired padawan grinned, playfully twirling his short braid against his shoulder.

As his eyes lit up with mirth, Obi-Wan cheekily leaned forwards so that his knees brushed against Qui-Gon's before continuing, “I have to say that I agree with the force’s guidance, Master. The refectory’s serving dessert today, and I would hate for us to miss it. Besides, I know that you’re not one to reject the will of the force.” 

“Padawan, the force is clearly not guiding you towards the refectory,” Qui-Gon groaned as he palmed his head in avid frustration. “It’s barely four, and we aren’t leaving yet until you do this exercise correctly. Come on now, concentrate on the living force and reach out to the plants… where is the force directing you now?”

“-wards the plants on the far side, the ones that feel like the desert sand back in Tatooine.” 

Qui-Gon blinked. A second ago, he could have sworn that Obi-Wan was the one sitting across from him instead of Anakin. “T-that’s great, Anakin,” he managed to say. Over the past days, Qui-Gon often tried to forget about the broken bond, missing braid, and absence of his former padawan, but once in a while, an old memory or thought would weasel it’s way back into the man’s brain, sending him off into misery. For Anakin’s sake at the moment, Qui-Gon tried his best to shove the memory away, it wouldn’t do him any favors to think about his last failed apprenticeship while trying to start a new one. 

“Try to explain why those certain plants were drawn to you.”

“I don’t know,” Anakin mumbled, downcasting his eyes to the grassy ground, “I don’t even like sand.” 

“Maybe,” Qui-Gon gently pushed, “it’s because Tatooine was on your mind at that moment.” 

“Maybe, or maybe not,” Anakin grumbled, obviously displeased about where the conversation was going. “It’s not like I have anything to go back to.” 

His thoughts are on his mother, a mother who I left in slavery, Qui-Gon suddenly realized with a jolt. 

Looking back, he thought that it would help Anakin become more connected with the temple if the boy cut all ties with his past life… but looking forwards at the miserable boy in front of him, Qui-Gon wasn’t so sure if that was the right decision. 

“Let’s move on,” Qui-Gon decided to say, bypassing the awkward confrontation, “try to reach out again, but this time, focus only on the force.” 

Qui-Gon sent the boy a wave of warmth in the force, immediately making the tension drain from Anakin’s shoulder. Slowly, the boy reached his senses out, this time clearly trying to avoid the plants he felt before, only to once again drift back towards them. Patiently, Qui-Gon watched Anakin try and fail over and over again to leave the orbit of the desert plants. 

“This is impossible!” Anakin shouted, breaking out of his trance with frustration written all over his face. “I hate this!” 

“Relax and breathe,” Qui-Gon gently soothed him, giving his shoulder another reassuring squeeze. “Try again, this time I’ll help guide you.” 

Begrudgingly, Anakin closed his eyes and waited for Qui-Gon’s presence to surround him and lead him into the force. Once he was as far as the man could take him, Qui-Gon pulled back, only to see the boy begin to squirm. 

“Foc-”

“-cus padawan, focus,” Qui-Gon asserted, as he saw Obi-Wan begin to squirm again. “The point of this exercise is to help you utilise the living force, not have you space off.” 

“Sorry,” Obi-Wan mumbled, downcasting his eyes in embarrassment. 

It was a lecture that they had both gone through many times over the last month, to the point where Qui-Gon already memorized what he was going to say. “If you want to be a Jedi, then you have to be more attuned to the living force. Try it again, but this time take a moment to locate the plants and then reach out.”

As Obi-Wan tried again, Qui-Gon rubbed his eyes in exhaustion. He was starting to think that his original plan of not letting the boy leave the garden until he succeeded was impossible. It was already almost six and they were still at square one. Why was it so hard for the boy to understand such a simple concept? Qui-Gon didn’t remember it being that difficult for any of his former padawans.

“Ugh!” Obi-Wan groaned only a moment later, opening his eyes in frustration. “I can’t do it, okay? I can’t do-”

Reaching out, Qui-Gon suddenly grabbed Obi-Wan’s hands and closed them around a stone. “It’s a river stone that was passed down to me from my own master,” he explained to his dumbfounded apprentice. “I often used it to ground myself after sinking into the force when I was your age, now try it yourself.”  

Instead of some awe-inspired response like Qui-Gon expected, the usually stoic padawan let out an undignified snort that made Qui-Gon completely freeze. 

“Why is it so warm?” Obi-Wan giggled, using one of his fingers to poke at it. “Where were you even putting this before you gave it to me?!” 

“My pocket,” Qui-Gon stammered, appalled beyond belief. “The stone is supposed to be warm, it warms up whenever someone touches it. I-I still can’t believe it… you laughed at my gift! This was supposed to be a serious moment between us, and you were giggling!” 

“You gave me a stone, Master,” Obi-Wan retorted, not bothering to wipe the cheeky grin off of his face, “and it’s not even a big stone. You see, if you gave me a boulder then I would understand the significance.” 

Qui-Gon choked. “Do you really think that I have access to an entire boulder?!”  

“With the amount of plants you hord, I honestly wouldn’t be that surprised.”

Not in a million years would Qui-Gon ever guess that a simple meditation lesson would end with his padawan leaning against a tree, laughing his head off… yet, it was the most connected he had ever felt towards Obi-Wan since he took him on. Sitting there under a tree, surrounded by joy and the living force, made Qui-Gon stop and think for just a moment. Maybe it was wrong to base the boy’s worth on his mistakes. Maybe Qui-Gon should have spent less time criticizing Obi-Wan and more time trying to help him. Besides… it was a little hilarious that after almost no instruction from him, Qui-Gon’s response to Obi-Wan failing meditation was to just hand him a stone.  

“Alright, I see how it is,” Qui-Gon chuckled, leaning forwards with a twisted smirk on his face. “Try to do the exercise again, but when you enter the force, focus on my presence. Use it to ground you to reality, just like we practiced earlier, and then let your senses naturally reach out towards the plants. And… if you succeed, I’ll give you a boulder.”  

“That better be a promise,” Obi-Wan snickered, crossing his legs and relaxing back into the force, “I already know what I’m going to name it.” 

“I did it, Qui-Gon! I did it!” 

Anakin’s voice broke through Qui-Gon’s thoughts like a bulldozer. Startled, he sat there petrified for a moment before he realized that Anakin’s force presence was indeed immersed in the living force. The boy wasn’t experienced enough to hold himself there nor skim more than the surface, but even dipping a toe in the pool was a huge achievement. 

“Congratulations!” Qui-Gon exclaimed, jumping forwards and dragging Anakin into a hug before his brain could even catch up with what was happening. “I’m so proud of you, Anakin, I’m so proud of you.” 

“T-thank you,” Anakin stammered.

Cold realization dawned on Qui-Gon as he quickly distanced himself physically from Anakin. “I-I think that’s enough for today,” he mumbled, shakily getting off the ground and lending a hand to the boy. “It’s getting quite late and I still want to briefly visit my old quarters before submitting myself back into the healers ward.” 

Anakin shrugged, still filled to the brim with joy, “Sure.” 

The walk to Qui-Gon’s old quarters was silent. Anakin spent the entire time running ahead of the man, while Qui-Gon spent the entire time in slight horror. It was hard to feel happy for Anakin’s achievement when the only person he could think of was his old apprentice, alone and half-way across the damn galaxy. The thing that plagued his mind was no longer the whereabouts of Obi-Wan’s braid, but the reasoning behind Obi-Wan’s absence. Training Anakin in the garden made Qui-Gon realize how different his approach was towards Obi-Wan’s training. Instead of sharing happiness with his old padawan whenever he accomplished something, he merely checked the problem off the checklist and moved on to scrutinize the next issue. 

Qui-Gon ran his hand through his locks of brown hair and paused. I’ve never hugged Obi-Wan before, have I? How did I spend twelve years with the man and never hug him once.  

“Qui-Gon?” Anakin asked, careful not to startle the man. “Are you okay?”

“Of course,” Qui-Gon replied, only to notice that they were already inside his old quarters. 

What he saw stopped him in his tracks. The plants, the books, the carpet; everything was almost exactly as he remembered it, the only difference being the room itself, which was far more clean than he would have ever kept it. All his previous thoughts disappeared as he looked around the living room, unable to stop a large smile from splitting his face. After spending so long stuck in the healers ward, it was hard to believe that only a month passed since he last saw it.

Warmly, Qui-Gon turned towards Anakin and exclaimed, “Welcome home!” 

Anakin grinned and plopped down on the worn-out couch, obviously happy to feel the radiant joy coming off of Qui-Gon. 

“I have to say, you’ve done a good job keeping it clean,” Qui-Gon chuckled, moving into the kitchen to check on all of his more water-needy plants, “I’m not sure if I even recognize the living room.” 

Slightly frowning, Anakin followed him and leaned against the doorway. “I think that you should thank Obi-Wan for that. He cleaned up the quarters right after he moved all of his stuff out.” 

Qui-Gon shouldn’t have been surprised, but it somehow caught him completely off guard. “So, Obi-Wan moved out already.” Of course he moved out already, a voice in his head snapped, he’s a knight now, what did you expect? 

“I even helped him move boxes,” Anakin triumphantly declared, not realizing the sudden shift in Qui-Gon’s mood. “We had to walk all the way to the turbolift, take it up two whole levels, and then we had to walk to the end of the hallway. Anyways it was worth it, because his quarters are really really nice.” 

I didn’t realize that his quarters would be that far away, Qui-Gon thought distractedly to himself as Anakin continued to babble on. He didn’t understand why that simple fact made him feel so miserable.

After a few seconds, Qui-Gon rubbed a hand over his eyes and sighed. I don't need to deal with this right now, he thought to himself before interrupting Anakin. “You know what we need right now?” 

“What?” 

“Some tea,” Qui-Gon smirked. “This wouldn't be home sweet home without a good cup of tea. I’ll go get the teacups, you can grab the tea bags, and Obi-Wan can start the-” Qui-Gon’s heart plummeted straight into the pit of his stomach as soon as realized what he said. He knew very well that Obi-Wan wasn’t there, so why did he have to keep ruining his day by reminding himself about it? Sighing again, the man turned around and faced Anakin with an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry Anakin.”     

Thankfully, Anakin didn’t seem too thrown off. “No no no, it’s okay,” the boy quickly reassured him. “Do you still want tea? Obi-Wan taught me how to make it so you don’t have to do anything.” 

“Only if it isn’t a bother,” Qui-Gon softly replied. Even in his somber state, hearing what Anakin said made his entire inside warm up. Of course Obi-Wan taught him how to make tea. 

“Do you want Sapir or Madalorian?”

That made Qui-Gon frown. “I wasn’t aware that I bought Mandalorian Tea.”

“Oh,” Anakin sheepishly blushed, “Obi-Wan did.”

“And here I thought I had enough tea to last through fall,” Qui-Gon chuckled as he felt a strange fondness spread through his heart. That little brat, I always knew that he secretly disliked Sapir.

As Anakin scampered off towards the cup cabinet, Qui-Gon felt himself gravitate towards the doorway of Obi-Wan’s old room. Somewhere deep inside of him had suspected that Obi-Wan had already moved out before Anakin mentioned it… but nothing could have stopped the shock of seeing how void the room was without his old padawan’s belongings. The little room was no longer filled with the books and journals that Qui-Gon had grown accustomed to, nor the plants that Qui-Gon gifted him over the years. In fact, all he seemed to recognize were the stray dust balls on the window ledges. It was like a vacuum had sucked away all the slivers of Obi-Wan’s personality, leaving behind only the drab white walls that every Jedi’s quarters had. 

Reality suddenly set in like a cold glass of water. Twelve years. Twelve years were really gone. 

Breathing heavily, Qui-Gon turned around and forced himself to walk the opposite direction. He didn’t understand why all of sudden he was so fixated on Obi-Wan. Wasn’t he the one who recommended the young man for the trials? Wasn’t he the one who wanted him to leave so that he could take Anakin on as his newest apprentice? Was Obi-Wan even ready? 

Of course he was ready, Qui-Gon reassured himself. He had to leave soon anyways, all I did was give him a little nudge. I did the right thing. 

But did he? Did he really do the right thing? Did he choose to never hug Obi-Wan because of the rule of attachment, or was it because he didn’t care enough about the man to do so? Did he- 

A simple nudge from the force broke Qui-Gon out of his thoughts. Surprised, the man realized that he had unintentionally walked into his old room. As ridiculous as it was to see that his room was completely untouched since the last time he was there, what really caught his attention was the strange behavior of the force. The force was rampant, swirling around the room, urgently directing him towards the back of his room. Hesitantly, Qui-Gon swallowed the lump in his throat and let the force guide him. 

He didn’t even make it half-way across the room before his heart stopped. 

There on the dusty surface of his bedside table, was an innocent little ball of ginger hair, a little shorter and a little messier than Qui-Gon remembered it, but all that mattered was that it was there. 

“He left the braid,” Qui-Gon cried out in disbelief. “He left the braid!”  

Gently, like it was going to turn to ash at the slightest touch, he picked up the long coil of hair and cradled it against his chest. An insuppressible amount of joy racked through Qui-Gon’s body, making his head feel light-headed and dizzy. Nothing else mattered at that moment. All that mattered was that he succeeded. It might have been a long crooked road, it might have been mostly a disaster, and it might have been executed extremely poorly, but it didn’t matter anymore, because no matter what, they both succeeded. Obi-Wan was a knight, he made it to knighthood, and I helped get him-  

Qui-Gon paused as his eyes slowly fixated on the remaining object on the table. In only a heartbeat, the warmth of the force was gone, cruelly replaced by a cold emptiness. A harsh realization washed over Qui-Gon like a storm, forcing his legs to buckle to the ground in order for him to catch his breath.  

No, Qui-Gon trembled, weakly brushing his fingers over the small stone, please no. 

The braid might represented their apprenticeship, but the stone represented more, it represented… it represented their friendship. 

Qui-Gon couldn’t breathe. What did leaving the stone even mean? This wasn’t going to be it… was it? Was Obi-Wan just going to disappear, never to be seen again? Was this… was this supposed to mean goodbye? Obi-Wan had already left and cleared the quarters of all of his belongings, was leaving the braid and stone the last step?

I can’t lose him this way. 

I won’t lose him this way. 

Overcome by some indescribable emotion, Qui-Gon yanked his comlink off his belt, his heart pounding in his chest after each second that passed. He couldn't ignore this anymore, he had to do something before it was completely too-  

A voice silenced the room, cutting through Qui-Gon's heart like a knife. "Hello?" 

Chapter Text

Distantly, Obi-Wan could hear the crackling of a fire, but he was too tired to open his eyes. 

Everything felt like a blurry dream: the Occupation of Naboo, the red and black sith, the repudiation, Qui-Gon getting stabbed, the broken bond, teaching Anakin, Qui-Gon waking up, the new mission, the bounty hunter, and then the ship crash. It was just too much to deal with in such a short amount of time. 

“So, you’re awake,” a deep voice rang out.  

The voice jolted Obi-Wan’s eyes open. The room was mostly bare, apart from a couple of chairs and the cot Obi-Wan was lying on, so all of his attention was on the a strange hooded man, crouching behind the fire.  

Dooku. The name soon came back to him, only making the entire situation even more mysterious. Vaguely, Obi-Wan remembered hearing it mentioned by his own master… but in his current state of weariness, it was hard to pinpoint who the man actually was.

“Where am I?” Obi-Wan decided to ask, only for it to come out as a croak.  

“One of Ord Mantell’s temperate moons.” As the man moved to face Obi-Wan, his hood shifted, making his previously shadowed face illuminated by the fire. 

Panting as sweat poured from his temples, Obi-Wan watched the other padawan’s blade dance through the air, parrying every one of his attacks. It was only a matter of time before the other padawan forced him back on the defensive and won. They had been fighting for over ten minutes, both boys sticking it out in the hopes that they would impress their masters who were waiting in the wings. It wasn’t a fair fight, the other boy was far older and far more advanced, but Qui-Gon was the one who challenged him to win, and Obi-Wan wasn’t going to leave until he did. Logically, he knew that the man was most likely trying to teach him a lesson in understanding one’s limits, but Obi-Wan was tired of all the “lessons.” He wanted to win.

With a sudden surge of energy, Obi-Wan flipped over the boy’s head and launched into a series of attacks, forcing the boy backwards. Every attack pushed him further and further, until he finally lunged forwards, nicking the boy in the chest. Swiftly, he used the distraction to knock the lightsaber out of the boy’s hands and into his own. 

For a moment, he just stared at Obi-Wan in disbelief, but then the shock was gone and the spar was over. Grinning with excitement, Obi-Wan turned towards Qui-Gon, only to feel his smile drop when he saw his master shake his head in disappointment. 

Defeated, Obi-Wan staggered towards the locker room door. He knew that Qui-Gon wanted him to learn a lesson, but did it really matter that much? He won by outsmarting the other padawan, wasn't that enough?  

“I think that you did excellently,” a voice suddenly remarked from behind him.

Surprised, Obi-Wan turned around, coming face to face with an older man. He had a narrow face and gray pepper-speckled hair, and he didn't look like the other Jedi Masters. 

"T-thank you, sir,” he managed to stammer, just as he felt Qui-Gon’s cold hand protectively clutch his shoulder from behind. 

“Master, what are you doing back at the temple?” Qui-Gon asked, obviously annoyed. “Last time I checked, you were on an extended mission.” 

“Last time I checked, it wasn’t illegal to visit my own padawan," the man retorted, his voice bordering on frustration, "besides, I had to see if the rumors were correct about your new youngling. I would have come sooner, but I thought that it was false, especially since you recently told me that you didn’t want any more padawans.” 

“Well there you have it, the rumors were correct,” Qui-Gon growled as he pushed Obi-Wan towards the lockeroom. “Obi-Wan, go change… now.”  

Over the years, the memory stuck in his head, only because of the lingering worthlessness he felt afterwards. Now, looking at the man in front of him, Obi-Wan’s heart couldn’t help but skip.  

Was it him? The man who Qui-Gon hated, the one who thought that I wasn’t important enough to get to know, the one who abandoned me? Or is he just another old hermit?  

Like he sensed the knight’s thoughts, the hooded man slowly leaned forwards, and carefully studied every corner of Obi-Wan’s face before asking, “You know who I am, don’t you?” It was a statement more than a question, but nerverless, it caught Obi-Wan off guard. 

“Y-yes,” he stammered, “you’re Master Dooku… or would you prefer that I called you grandmaster instead.” The last part came out a little bit more cold than Obi-Wan had intended, but somewhere deep inside of him felt satisfied to see the older man cringe. 

“You’re here by yourself and you have no braid, so I assume that you were knighted. Therefore, you have the privilege to call me whatever you wish.” 

It was clearly a standard diplomatic answer. 

“I’ll try to make your stay here as short as possible," Dooku dryly remarked as got up to tend the fire. "There’s a couple of old fighters scattered around by the nearby junkyard. I would prefer it if you fixed up one of them, rather than borrow my own vessel and leave me stranded here… unless you don’t know-” 

“I know how to fix a fighter," Obi-Wan interjected, "I’m not that incapable.” 

With an unreadable expression, Dooku turned back towards him and said, “I never assumed that you were.” 

~~~~~~~~

As soon as Obi-Wan could get out of bed without his head exploding, he spent all day working on the broken fighter. The moon itself was extremely dull. The sky was a purplish blue and the ground was littered with small brown roots, but the rest of the moon was covered with junk and gravel. 

At first, Obi-Wan tried to avoid talking to Dooku, but on the third day, curiosity finally got the best of him. When he saw Dooku’s feet approach the junkyard that afternoon, Obi-Wan pushed himself out from under the fighter and asked, “What are you even doing on this moon? There’s nothing but trash and lothcats.” 

To his surprise, Dooku actually looked interested in telling him. “For the last fourteen years, I’ve been on an extended mission to try and further document all of the ancient Jedi and Sith temples. I’ve been on this moon for months now, but all I was able to find was a small shrine.” 

Fourteen years? “That seems like an… ambitious goal.” 

“It certainly keeps me occupied.” 

“Don’t you ever miss the temple?” 

At that question, something in Dooku’s face suddenly shifted. “Dinner is ready," was all he said. 

~~~~~~~~

Later that day, Dooku handed Obi-Wan a cup of tea and gestured for him to join him by the fire. After sitting there for a few moments, he turned to Obi-Wan and said, “The republic is not as it should be.” 

“Is that how you start every conversation?” Obi-Wan wryly remarked. 

Dooku just gave him a pointed look. “If you’re going to live under my roof for the next week, then I want to understand what your beliefs are.”

“I’m a Jedi,” Obi-Wan snorted, “doesn’t that say enough?”   

Leaning forwards, Dooku’s face narrowed in contemplation. “Don’t you find it intriguing that we follow a code of neutrality, yet we strive to be good? Sometimes I wonder…” 

“Wonder what?” 

The fire crackled, illuminating Dooku’s pale face with an eerie red glow. “I wonder what the world would be like if we had no codes,” he softly replied.

Something in the air shifted, sending a strange shiver down the knight’s spine. The room suddenly felt suffocating, and Obi-Wan wanted to leave.

“I-I’m going to go work on the fighter again,” Obi-Wan stammered, quickly standing up and heading towards the door. “Call me if you need anything.”

It was both relieving and unnerving that the older man didn’t respond.  

~~~~~~~~

A part of Obi-Wan knew that Dooku would eventually snap out of the trance and come find him, but either the force or his own inner fear made him recoil when he saw the man enter the junkyard. 

To Obi-Wan’s surprise, the man just tossed him his comlink. “Someone’s calling you.” 

“Great,” Obi-Wan mumbled, changing the settings so that it came out audio only. “I sincerely hope that isn’t the council asking about my progress.”  

“Hello?” he duly answered.  

After a beat of silence, a deep voice cut through the air, petrifying the young man’s entire soul.   “O-Obi-Wan?” 

Horrified, Obi-Wan’s eyes bulged out of his head as he dropped the com onto the ground. Frantically he looked around his surroundings, only to realize that Qui-Gon wasn’t actually there, and that he was answering a call. 

“Obi-Wan?”

No no no no, Obi-Wan practically screamed as his hands fumbled around the dirty ground for the com. It’s too soon. I’m not ready, I’m not ready to talk to him yet. I can’t talk to him yet.  Finally accepting his fate, Obi-Wan swallowed the lump in his throat and shakily grabbed the comlink. Relax, it’s just Qui-Gon, he tried to tell himself, but somehow that just made him feel worse.

“Master-'' Obi-Wan started to exclaim before accidentally sitting up too fast and slamming his already bruised head into the ship’s hull. 

Cringing in pain, he barely heard Qui-Gon ask him, “Are you alright?” 

Somehow that simple question only thrust the dagger deeper into Obi-Wan’s heart. He hated that the man sounded so worried. Why couldn’t their first conversation after Naboo start with a positive emotion? 

“Yes,” Obi-Wan quickly reassured him, ignoring the growing dizziness in his head, “I’m just fine.” 

“You sound distracted, should I call back?” Qui-Gon hesitantly asked. 

Overcome by some strangled form of desperation, Obi-Wan quickly shouted, “No! No, I can talk now.”    

Qui-Gon let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t even- I don’t- I don’t know what to say. I guess I can start by asking how you are.” Just hearing the softness of the words made something inside of him buckle. 

“I’m alright,” Obi-Wan laughed, barely holding a choked sob. “What about you?” 

Lightly chuckling, Qui-Gon replied, “Oh I’m doing just fine.” 

A surge of energy lifted through Obi-Wan, filling his body with exaltation. His head spun in circles, and it wasn’t because of his concussion. He cares, he cares about me. I was wrong the entire time. I was wrong about the repudiation, I was wrong about what he said on Naboo, and I was wrong about leaving. When I get back to the temple, everything’s going to go back to what it was like before. He’s not casting me out, he still cares about- 

“I thought I would ask because Anakin’s worried about you.”

In only a second, Obi-Wan’s entire heart shattered. The blinds on his eyes were gone, revealing the cruel truth. He should have seen it a mile away, but no, he had to get himself excited first and then leave himself vulnerable. So, I was right all along , Obi-Wan miserably scoffed. He never cared, he was just asking for Anakin. How naive was I to possibly think that for once, he would only care about me?        

Before he could stop it, an uncontrollable feeling of anger rose rampant throughout his body. He was done. He was done dealing with Qui-Gon. “If that’s why you’re calling, then I would hate to keep you any longer,” Obi-Wan spat, relishing in picturing the shocked look that was bound to be on Qui-Gon’s face.  

“W-what?” Qui-Gon stammered. “No, no that’s not why-” 

“Goodbye, Master Jinn.” 

“Padawan-” the voice cut out after a satisfying beep. 

Rolling out from underneath the fighter, Obi-Wan started to stand up, only to be quickly stopped by Dooku’s looming shadow. 

“The whole ‘Master Jinn’ business was a little over the top, don’t you think?” 

Coldly, he crossed his arms and replied, “I think that it was justified.” 

With a sigh, Dooku leaned against the fighter and gave Obi-Wan a sad look. “I understand that it feels satisfying right now, but I guarantee that you will regret what you did, because one day you’ll realize that all you have left of him is a bunch of memories, and nothing more.”

“At least I didn’t abandon anyone,” Obi-Wan shot back. 

Dooku’s jaw clenched as his eyes burned with an indescribable emotion. “I’m willing to live with that,” he gritted out. 

“Then I won’t take up anymore of your hospitality,” Obi-Wan growled, grabbing the tool box and pushing the older man out of his way. 

When he finally got far enough, Obi-Wan sunk against a wall and burrowed his face in his hands. The anger had quickly disappeared, replaced by cold emptiness. He had felt so triumphant seconds ago, but now, all he could think about was how much he missed Qui-Gon… and it hurt, it hurt so much. Tears rolled down his eyes as he tried to reach for his braid, but all his fingers could do was slide through air.

I hope he found it, Obi-Wan thought to himself, I hope he has the braid, and I hope that he doesn’t just throw it away. I know that if I was him, I would have.       

Suddenly, a tissue box was shoved into his hands. Looking up, he blurily saw Dooku sit down next to him. 

“What are you doing here?” 

“Sitting down,” Dooku replied, like their argument didn’t just happen. “You?” 

Obi-Wan let out a nasally laugh. “Same.” 

For some reason Dooku stayed with him, quietly handing Obi-Wan tissues whenever the young man started crying again and deliberately not asking about any of the thoughts that escaped through his shields. 

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan mumbled when he realized that Dooku wasn't going anywhere. 

“Of course.” For the first time, Obi-Wan saw Dooku sincerely smile.

Chapter Text

“Goodbye, Master Jinn.” 

His padawan’s voice had never sounded more cruel. Everything felt like a blur, everything felt like he was in some kind of twisted nightmare.   

“Why?” Qui-Gon whispered, slumping brokenly to the ground, “why?” 

Why did he say what he said? Why didn’t he tell the truth? Why was he so terrified to admit it? He knew it was his fault, the force didn’t even try to correct him, but it wasn’t fair. Every night was plagued with nightmares, every day hurt to live through, every moment was filled with regret. Why, why out of everything did they have to take his padawan away from him?  

A shatter broke through his thoughts, stunning him in place. In the corner of his eye, he saw the remnants of his comlink scattered across the floor, completely obliterated by the force. Qui-Gon felt himself crumble as the anger quickly drained away. 

“It isn’t fair,” he sobbed, clutching onto the little ginger-haired braid like it was somehow supposed to summon Obi-Wan, “it isn’t fair.” 

The next days felt numb. He would smile when other people smiled, he would talk when other people talked, but when it was all over, Qui-Gon could only stare blankly at the darkness above him as he avoided sleep for the third night in a row. He was used to sleepless nights, plagued by the horrors of Naboo, but now he couldn’t even find peace while he was awake. Everytime he closed his eyes the conversation would replay over and over again, driving his mind insane until he finally gave up and got out of bed. Normally he could ignore it, but tonight, it was impossible. 

Turning over, Qui-Gon fumbled around his bedside cabinet until his hand found the braid. It was strange to see the little braid severed and not trailing down the side of its rightful owner, but it was enough to make reality set in. 

“He’s gone,” Qui-Gon trembled, ignoring how watery the words came out, “he’s really really gone.”  

The realization hurt more than anything else. It hurt more than seeing the empty room, it hurt more than finding the stone, and it hurt more than the three words themselves. The idea that Obi-Wan wanted absolutely nothing to do with him from then on, was enough to break him. 

“Release your emotions into the force,” that was what his master would have told him to do. Once, Qui-Gon would have thought that he was great at it, but now, he wasn’t so sure. 

“Qui-Gon?”  

Startled, Qui-Gon yanked his lightsaber from across the room and ignited it, only for him to realize that it was just Anakin. “I’m sorry, Anakin,” Qui-Gon sighed, placing the lightsaber down and turning on the lights, “I didn’t see you there, but you’re welcome to come in.”  

Hesitantly, the boy walked in and sat on the edge of his bed. “Are you alright?” Anakin asked, obviously noticing the dark smudges that were bound to be under his eyes. “You're... you're acting really weird.” 

Qui-Gon couldn’t help but smile at the boy’s compassion. “You don’t have to worry, Anakin, I’m alright, just a little shaken up." Now wasn't that an understatement. "Now, how can I help you?” 

“I-I had a nightmare.” 

Carefully reaching out, he pulled the shaking boy close and wrapped his arms around him. In only a moment, Anakin buckled in his arms and started sobbing.  

“I-it’s always the same thing,” Anakin whispered, burrowing his head into Qui-Gon's chest, “why is it always the same thing? Why can’t it stop. ” 

“It’s going to be okay, Ani.” His voice broke as his mind drifted back to Obi-Wan, back to the words he said, back to Naboo. Something in Qui-Gon's chest constrcited. “It’s going to be okay,” he repeated, but this time, he didn't believe it.  

Chapter Text

“Wake up, Kenobi!” 

Obi-Wan jolted out of bed, only to realize that there was nothing in front of him but the faint silhouette of Dooku. “What could possibly be so important that you had to wake me up in the middle of the night?” he asked, although it came out more as a petulant whine. 

“I wanted to show you something,” Dooku exclaimed, with a certain amount of giddiness that Obi-Wan had never thought he would hear from the man. “Get dressed and come outside.” 

“Fine,” Obi-Wan muttered as he slowly dragged himself out of bed. It wasn’t like he had much choice in the matter anyways. 

The two men trudged through the junkyards in silence, both of them too tired to hold up a full conversation. In some strange part of his brain, the seemingly useless hike reminded Obi-Wan of Qui-Gon, who always had some excuse to string Obi-Wan on an adventure no matter what hour it was. For a man who supposedly taught his master, there wasn’t much evidence to prove it. The two men couldn’t have been more different. Dooku was cold and apathetic, only warming up when something interested him, but Qui-Gon… Qui-Gon was… Obi-Wan's face scrunched up as the memory of their conversation before Naboo came back to him, how Qui-Gon berated him mercilessly, how the man casted him away after Anakin showed up. Were the two men really that different? … Or was Dooku just the outcome of his master’s decisions? 

“We’re here.”  

The voice broke through his thoughts, leaving him to stare off into a strange little pit, surrounded by dead roots and scattered vines. Dooku took out his saber, lighting the previously eerie space with a calming blue glow. “See that chest under those vines? Go ahead and open it.” 

As careful as he could, Obi-Wan pulled the small chest out and slowly cracked the lid open. Instantaneously, the blue glow was replaced by dark crimson. Shocked, Obi-Wan stumbled backwards, only to be blocked by a steady hand. 

“Relax,” Dooku chuckled, stepping forwards and gently picking up the box, “it’s just a holocron. In fact, it’s the one that I’ve been trying to find since I came here. I thought that you would want to see it in its natural habitat.”

Obi-Wan peered closer at the geometrical cube. It was unnerving being so close to a Sith holocron, especially since the only ones he really interacted with were the ones Qui-Gon sometimes borrowed. “What’s in it?” 

“Just statistics,” he replied. 

The words sent a shiver down Obi-Wan’s spine. What exactly were the Sith counting?  

“Holocrons were used during the Sith Wars to store information,” Dooku continued, without noticing the uncomfort of the knight. “Each side had their own codes and triggers to unlock them, so low security holocrons normally have unclassified information. If you look at the symbols on the side of the cube, you can see that it was someone’s personal kill count.”

A personal kill count? Obi-Wan nearly choked on his own saliva. “What part of you thought that I would want to see this?” 

Something shifted in Dooku’s face as he looked at the young man next to him. With a small smile, he turned towards Obi-Wan and softly said, “That’s what your master used to say to me whenever I tried to show him my findings… sometimes it’s remarkable how similar the two of you are.” 

“Oh,” Obi-Wan mumbled, downcasting his eyes to the dusty ground. How many times in his life did he hear the exact opposite? That he would never amount to anything compared to what his master had done, that he would never be as powerful or wise. How many times did he hear it from Qui-Gon himself? 

Obi-Wan’s eyes drifted back towards the holocron. There was… there was a darkness surrounding it that he could no longer ignore. The longer he looked at the small cube, the more nauseous it made him feel. It felt suffocating, just like the smile the Sith had when the ray shields snapped up, just like air around him after Qui-Gon fell… and just like the cruel satisfaction he felt when he finally cut down the Sith Lord. 

“Feels strange, doesn’t it?” 

Obi-Wan almost jumped. “What?” he stammered.  

“The darkness,” Dooku gestured towards the holocron, “it feels strange because you’ve felt it before. The same darkness, the same destruction, the same horror. I have to say, I wasn’t expecting such a strong response… then again, maybe I should have.” 

“You know about Naboo.” The words came out small and distant, almost like they didn’t even come out of his own mouth, but Dooku heard him anyway. 

“Master Yoda called me after it happened,” the man softly explained, like it was somehow supposed to fix everything. “At first, I thought that it was an elaborate ploy to get me back to the temple, but… the force made itself very clear after I tried to shrug it off.” 

Obi-Wan tried to take a deep breath, but he couldn’t stop the heavy breaths coming out of his throat. He knew, the thought almost destroyed him then and there. He knew and he still didn’t come back. 

“Why didn’t you come back?!” Obi-Wan hissed, overcome by the same anger that he felt just the other day with Qui-Gon. “Do you care that little about him? About me? About your own lineage? Do you even know how hard it was to see the blood pouring from his chest and realize that you could do absolutely nothing to stop it?!”   

“Ob-”

“He was your own padawan! He was your own student! He almost died .” 

A small click next to him made both of the men freeze. The red light slowly retracted into the holocron as the sides of the cube folded open. The holocron was barely open before Dooku leaned down and clamped the sides shut. 

“I see that you forgot that Sith holocrons activate in the presence of negative emotions.” 

“T-This isn’t funny,” Obi-Wan trembled, slowly backing away from the holocron. “None of this is funny.” 

With a sigh, Dooku walked forwards and placed his hands on Obi-Wan’s shoulders. “Relax, Kenobi, all you did was trigger the hatch and nothing more. Maybe, if you spent less time fearing the darkside and more time understanding why you chose the light, then you would understand why you touched it back on Naboo.” 

Obi-Wan felt his shoulders sag. It was the one part of Naboo that he always tried to forget. For so long, he tried to be the perfect apprentice, to never disappoint Qui-Gon under any circumstances… but it didn’t work, and in the critical moment, he let his emotions determine his actions. And it didn’t even make him any better. 

“You’re right,” Obi-Wan whispered, “I’m terrified that it’s going to happen again.” 

“And I’m terrified to see Qui-Gon.” 

“W-What?” Obi-Wan’s eyes widened as he stared at Dooku. “What do you mean?” 

Dooku gave him a sad smile. “You want to know why I didn’t go visit him? It was because I was scared. We never had a very good relationship, in fact, it ended rather abruptly. Afterwards, he didn’t want anything to do with me, and I’ve been terrified to come back ever since. You were right, I abandoned you, and I didn’t even try to get to know you, but it wasn’t because I didn’t want to, and I hope you realize that. I understand why you hate me... but I hope you learned something about holocrons at least.”    

With that, Dooku squeezed his shoulder and started back towards the chest. Before he could go any farther, Obi-Wan reached out and grabbed his forearm. “Wait, just wait…” he paused and took a deep breath, “thank you, thank you for telling me.” 

As the sun rose, shedding its hues of yellow and orange across the empty ground, the two men walked back, and this time, they weren't silent. 

Chapter Text

Condensation clung to the air as Qui-Gon waited patiently by the landing pad. In only a few minutes, a bright smile lit up his face as he saw the ship descend from the dark cloudy sky onto the landing pad. Soon, the engine stuttered to a stop and a familiar bald Jedi Master trudged down the ramp.  

“Mace!” Qui-Gon started to exclaim, only to pause when he got a closer look at the man. He knew that Windu’s mission was difficult from their brief comcall, but he wasn’t expecting the man to look so disheveled. “By god, you look horrible.” 

“It’s good to see you as well,” Windu drawled, barely refraining from rolling his eyes. 

Even with the man’s obvious annoyance, Qui-Gon couldn’t help but grin. “Come on,” he smirked, playfully draping his arm around his friend, “let’s get inside before it rains.” 

~~~~~~~~

“So, how did the mission go?” Qui-Gon asked as he poured the two of them a cup of tea. 

Dejectedly, Windu slouched over the kitchen table and rubbed his head. “As well as usual,” he sighed, “I ended up getting chased by a gundark… for the tenth mission in a row.”

“It sounds like quite the adventure,” Qui-Gon remarked.

What Qui-Gon didn’t say was that he was dying to go back into the field after spending so long dormant at the temple. Even when he knew that Windu was probing his shields, he forced that part of him to retreat. Clearly, it wasn’t the time to try to convince the man to overrule Master Che’s orders. Besides, Qui-Gon felt a certain amount of guilt after the disastrous council meeting and his call to Windu in the middle of the night.  

Of course, it was too much to hope that the man wouldn’t ask Qui-Gon any questions. 

“How are you doing?” 

Qui-Gon felt the man’s eyes pierce through his soul, but he managed to keep his face bland and disinterested. “I’m doing fine,” he calmly answered. It wasn’t necessarily a lie persay. Qui-Gon was fine at the moment… whether he was fine outside of it was debatable.  

Suspicion practically dripped off of Windu’s face as he observed Qui-Gon’s face from the brim of his cup. “Well, if that’s the case, then you won’t mind me mentioning that I heard from Obi-Wan recently.” 

In only a split second, all the air left Qui-Gon’s lungs. Obi-Wan? Mace heard from Obi-Wan recently?

“He ran into some trouble with his mission,” Windu continued, like he didn’t see the look of absolute horror on Qui-Gon’s face, “but it should be cleared up soon.” 

Some trouble. He ran into some trouble. Qui-Gon vaguely felt his hands grip the sides of the teacup harshly as his brain replayed Windu’s words. How bad was it? Was Obi-Wan hurt? 

“What kind of trouble?” As hard as he tired, he couldn't stop his voice from quavering. 

“Bounty hunters attacked the capital,” Windu shrugged, nonchalantly taking a sip of his tea. “Apparently, his ship crash landed on some deserted moon. Knights these days always get up to trouble.”   

Ignoring how his stomach churned, Qui-Gon’s right hand let go of his teacup and gently rubbed against the braid hidden deep in his pocket. He knew what Windu was doing, not to mention that he had seen Obi-Wan defeat harder odds than a couple of bounty hunters, and yet, the only reason he didn’t openly cringe at hearing the words “bounty hunter” was his years of working in diplomacy. 

“Relax, Qui-Gon,” Windu sighed, “he was well prepared to deal with them, besides, you forget your part in all of this. Not many first-year knights can pull off what he did, and as smart as the young man is, he didn’t learn it by himself.” 

Qui-Gon downcasted his eyes as a feeling of despair came over him. How much did he actually do? Was he really such an esteemed master if he had three failed apprenticeships? “I don’t think that Obi-Wan shares the same sentiments.” 

That certainly got Windu’s attention. “Now what happened?” 

“I-I…” 

“Goodbye, Master Jinn.” 

The words pounded against his skull, making his vision swim. Where could he even start? The comcall? The beginning of their entire relationship? He hated it. He hated Naboo and not being able to leave the temple, he hated Obi-Wan for not staying with him while he recovered, he hated the council for rejecting Anakin, he hated how Windu was probing his shields, and most importantly, he hated himself. He hated himself for taking on the Sith alone, he hated himself for fumbling his words, and he hated himself for every little other thing that went wrong in his life. He was tired, tired of holding it all.

"Qui-"

Pushing himself off of his chair, Qui-Gon slammed his fist against the table, making the tea fling out of the cups. “I called him,” Qui-Gon barked, “that’s what I did, and I-I… why did I call him?! Why couldn’t I have just waited?! Why did I- why- damnit, Mace! Everything would have been so much better if I had just kept my damn mouth shut!” 

“I’m not sure, Qui-Gon,” Windu spluttered, shakily grabbing the teacups before they rolled off the table. “I-I mean… you can’t hang onto him forever.” 

“So I should just let him go?” Qui-Gon seethed, his eyes burning into Windu’s skull. “Is that really what you’re-” 

“Maybe you should!” Windu yelled, the frustration finally overwhelming him. “Where the hell is this even coming from?! You were the one who wanted to knight him! Not me, not Master Yoda, it was you. ” 

“He deserved to be knighted,” Qui-Gon spat, “in fact, I should have recommended him for the trials years-” 

“Instead, you waited until you found someone to replace-” 

“Mace!”  

“What do you think happened that day?!” Windu hissed. “Is your perception so distorted that you can’t see the mess you caused?! I didn’t send Obi-Wan on that mission, he sent himself. So either take my advice and forget about him, or get off your damn knees and fix it yourself!” 

Before Qui-Gon could say anything else, a crash brought him straight back to reality. With a jolt, he realized that there was another person in the room. 

“Skywalker,” Windu groaned, slumping back into his seat, “did no one teach you how to knock?”   

Qui-Gon blinked. Turning around, he was shocked to see a small boy with sandy hair guiltily sulking by the doorway. How in the name of the force did he miss Anakin’s presence? 

“Anakin,” Qui-Gon sighed, “now’s really not the time.” 

“I-I’m sorry,” the boy stammered, his cheeks blushing uncontrollably, “I was just getting my homework… it’s the stack of papers next to you.” 

Flustered, Qui-Gon could only stare at his overturned teacup as Anakin scampered across the room and left. He wasn’t sure how long they sat there in silence after the boy left before Windu finally broke the silence.  

“He’s a sweet kid,” the man softly remarked. “You should have seen him when he first started his classes at the hanger. He was practically brimming with joy when the teacher let him sit in the cockpit of one of the new fighters.” Windu paused as a lopsided smirk overcame his face. “I do have to say, however, that these scattered droid parts are getting a little out of hand. I feel like I’m sitting on a minefield.” 

Qui-Gon let himself smile for a moment before drifting back into silence. Finally, he looked Windu in the eyes and asked, “What am I going to do, Mace?” 

For the first time in their entire conversation, Windu truly met Qui-Gon’s eyes. “I honestly don’t know.” 

~~~~~~~~

What felt like hours later, Qui-Gon walked into Anakin’s room, intent on figuring out how much the boy heard. As he entered, the sight that he was met with stopped him in his tracks. There was no artificial light in the room, just the fragments from the outside and the shadows on the walls. Anakin sat by one of the windows, completely and utterly still. With one hand, he slowly traced each raindrop that fell against the glass with his hand, mesmerized by the watery display. 

Slowly, Qui-Gon sat down next to him. When the boy didn’t respond, he asked, “Mind if I join you?” 

The only answer he got was a small nod. 

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Qui-Gon softly asked. 

“Yeah,” Anakin whispered as he pressed his face into the foggy glass. 

Qui-Gon always marveled at how well-adjusted Anakin was to Coruscant, to the point where he sometimes forgot that the boy didn’t live there his whole life. Looking at him now, Qui-Gon suddenly realized how little the boy actually knew, how little of the universe and its wonders the boy had seen. 

And I can help him discover it.  

“Have you ever felt rain before?” 

The question caught Anakin off guard. “N-not really,” he stuttered.

A big smile lit up Qui-Gon’s face. Taking Anakin’s hand, he stood up and guided him towards the living room. When he was sure that Anakin was following him, he opened the balcony doors wide open and let the wind whip through the quarters. Gasping, Anakin inched forwards, his eyes wide in amazement.

Qui-Gon kneeled down and draped his brown robe over the boy’s shoulders. A breathy chuckle escaped his throat as he saw how oversized the garment was. "Go on," he smiled, ruffling Anakin's hair, "go on and feel the rain."

With a finally hair ruffle, he stepped backwards and watched the boy step forwards. Rain drenched his tiny body, matting down his hair and making his face wet, but the joy surrounding him never went away. Anakin laughed as he held out his arms and let the whirlwind of water swirl around him. A clap of thunder echoed the sky, and yet, the boy didn't move his arms, and even with everything hanging over him like a gigantic weight, Qui-Gon couldn't stop smiling. 

Chapter Text

Slipping his comlink back onto his belt, Obi-Wan tiredly leaned against an old rickety fence and watched the sun begin to set. He only had to wait a few seconds before Dooku finally lurked out of the shadows from behind him and sat next to him. It was almost funny how much a man who claimed to passionately hate the Jedi Council seemed to enjoy listening in on his conversations with them. 

“What did the council say now?” Dooku asked.   

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. Was the man really going to pretend that he wasn’t eavesdropping the whole time? “You must have already heard, afterall, you weren’t very far away from me when I made the call.” 

“If you must know, I was only observing the scraps of junk you discarded on the ground,” Dooku scowled. 

“Well,” Obi-Wan continued, a frown taking the place of his previous smile, “they want me to return to Ord Mantell and finish my mission. I took care of most of the bounty hunters, and the governor reports that everything’s fine, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.” 

“If that’s the case, then why the long face?” 

“I don’t know,” Obi-Wan mumbled, running his hand through his hair, “I just… I just have a bad feeling about it, that’s all. The last time the force was this adamant, Qui-Gon was impaled.” 

“Then be cautious,” the man advised.

“I suppose,” Obi-Wan shrugged, although he couldn’t stop the twisting and turning of his stomach. 

If it only was that simple. If only being careful would prevent all of his problems. Obi-Wan thought that he would feel more confident after surviving the first part of his mission, but he still couldn’t shake the feeling of inadequacy off of himself. He wasn’t ready. He wasn’t ready to finish the mission by himself, and not even the force would argue that with him.

Swallowing the sticky feeling in his throat, Obi-Wan stood up. “I’m going to go.”

“Okay,” was all the man bothered to say before staring back at the sunset in silence. 

Trudging away, Obi-Wan felt something constrict inside of his body. Some part of his brain had hoped that Dooku was going to react a little more… sad? 

It’s useless, Obi-Wan thought distastefully to himself. The longer time I spend with him, the more it’s obvious that he’s nothing like Qui-Gon. The idea that he could possibly transform into some compassionate figure and take me under his wing is not only impossible, it’s also ridiculous. I will never be able to understand him, and I can’t even project the image of Qui-Gon onto him, so what’s the point? In fact, the two men are so different that it’s a wonder how they got paired up in the first place.

And yet, the voice in his head cruelly laughed, they both abandoned you. 

Glancing backwards, Obi-Wan watched the man for a moment. There he was, sitting hunched over in the same position he left him in, stuck in a indefinite loop of isolation, never to be seen again. 

~~~~~~~~

“I’m going to go.” 

How many people had said that to him and never came back? Qui-Gon when he was finally knighted, his first padawan before he left on the mission that would kill him, even Yoda had said the same thing in his own eccentric way. 

“Okay,” Dooku replied, keeping his eyes firmly on the sunset in front of him. 

Distantly, he heard Obi-Wan walk away, but he didn’t try to move. He was happy and content to just sit there and watch the sunset, afterall, he always thought of the young man as a nuisance, an obstacle blocking his research and discovery. 

The force prodded him, as if it was trying to say: “Really? Is that really how you view him?” 

“Yes, it is,” Dooku asserted to himself, crossing his arms in frustration. “He’s as insignificant as the bugs crawling on the ground next to me. At first, I was hoping that there was some resemblance to me in him, but there’s absolutely nothing, I can’t even see Qui-Gon in him.” 

The last part was very much a lie. In fact, he had to constantly remind himself that Obi-Wan wasn’t Qui-Gon. During his most tormenting hours, if he blinked hard enough, the ginger-haired boy would shape-shift directly into Qui-Gon. It wasn’t fair to the young man, and he knew that very well, but he couldn’t help it. 

The force prodded at him again, but this time Dooku didn’t understand the message until he realized that his hand was resting innocently on top of his comlink. 

“Oh,” he mumbled, his heart dropping into his stomach. He really hated the force sometimes. 

With a shaky breath, Dooku held up the comlink and let his fingers hover over the keys. A million old conversations rushed through his head, all their arguments, all their yelling matches, each and every one displayed openly in his mind like a whirlpool. Almost immediately, it chipped away all of his confidence… and yet, something in his mind twitched as a different com frequency came to mind. Before he could stop himself, he dialed into a frequency he knew better than his old padawan’s, one that he usually hated to hear from.  

The holographic form of his old master quickly came to life, looking just like the same old wrinkly Jedi Master that taught him how to hold a lightsaber decades ago. 

“Master,” Dooku bowed, the familiar honorific fitting strangely nice on his tough.

For only a moment, the Jedi Master stared dumbfoundedly at him, before his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Trouble you must be in,” Yoda remarked. “Call me you never do.” 

“I’m not in any trouble,” Dooku reassured him. A faint smile slowly spread across his face as he added, “you just aren’t an interesting conversationalist.”  

Not to his surprise, Yoda wasn’t amused. “Hmph,” the Jedi Master scoffed, jabbing his wooden stick towards the holoprojector, “mock me you do. Ungrateful you are.” 

“Well, I don’t know about ungrateful…” Dooku found himself trailing off as a strange wave of displeasure washed over him. The small sliver of darkness he always kept hidden away managed to swivel its way around his neck, suddenly making him feel disgusted. Why did he call Yoda? Why would he waste his time by calling the one person who opposed almost every one of his beliefs? 

“Clouded your future is.” 

The feeling quickly disappeared as Dooku looked back up. “I thought that you didn’t believe in superstition,” he remarked, knowing full well that the Jedi Master was observing every single one of his movements. 

“Come back to the temple you should,” Yoda grunted, sliding seamlessly right back into the same argument they always had.  

“Why should I?” Dooku scoffed, frustration quickly building up throughout him. “If I come back, all I’ll see is the council getting strung around the senate in a ball and chain, again.”

Yoda sighed, shaking his head in sadness. “Always say this you do.”

“It’s true.” 

“True it may be for your conscience, false it is for your choice.” 

Dooku didn’t even bother to hide his disdain. “Oh by all means, Master,” he drawled, “do continue with your whimsical pieces of deluded advice.” 

“Hmph, listen you should,” Yoda scolded. “Pride you have, much pride. Leave because of pride you did, leave because of mission you did not. Angry you were that disagree we did, acted out of spite you did, help the situation your leaving did not, know this you did.” 

“I beg to disagree-” 

“Passed it on, you did,” Yoda continued without any pause. “Your padawan, much ignorance he has.”

Something in what the Jedi Master said made Dooku pause. Qui-Gon was always known for causing problems, but… was it possible that he finally broke the last straw? Unwittingly, the image of Obi-Wan came to mind, and along with it, came the conversation he overheard him have with Qui-Gon. No matter how much he thought about it, he was never able to figure out what catastrophic event ripped Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon apart.

“What did Qui-Gon do this time?” Dooku asked, his eyes quickly scanning around the nearby areas to see if the young man was around.  

Yoda sighed again. “Annoyed the council he has. Brought back a boy he did, powerful and dangerous he is. Train him he wants, prophecy he believes-”

“Oh lordy, not another useless prophecy!” Dooku seethed, clenching his face in frustration. He was well aware about the man’s useless obsession, and he was hoping that Qui-Gon’s knighting would put an end to hearing about it… apparently not. “Hasn’t the man indulged himself enough?” 

“The chosen one, he believes the boy is.” 

“Of course he does,” Dooku scoffed. Suddenly, right before he could say another word, his body froze as all the air in his body was sucked out. 

Qui-Gon wants to train the boy… Qui-Gon wants to train him.  

Oh no, Dooku weakly thought to himself, memories rushing through his head of the great lengths his old padawan used to go through to prove prophecies correct. Qui-Gon didn’t… did he? 

“Doesn’t he already have an apprentice?” Dooku shakily asked, dread pooling in his stomach. 

To that, Yoda could only answer, “Knighted Obi-Wan was.” 

“Interesting,” Dooku mumbled, tucking in the information for later, “very interesting.” 

The dots were starting to connect in a way that he wasn’t expecting. 

“Off topic we are,” Yoda grumbled, tapping his cane to the floor with a resounding thud. “Why call me you do?” 

Why did he call Yoda? “I honestly don’t really know,” Dooku shrugged, “it was a split second decision.”  

“Hmph,” Yoda grunted, “lie you do.”  

Dooku frowned. “I’m not lying.” 

“Pride,” Yoda chuckled, eyeing him knowingly, “pride you still have.” 

The holoprojector sizzled out with a beep, leaving Dooku to gawp at the device in silence. Pride? What did Yoda mean?  Sure, he was annoyed about the stubbornness of the Jedi Council, but he wasn’t ignorant about it. He left on his mission because he was interested in holocrons, not because he wanted to leave the Council in shambles, and not because he knew that it would hurt his master… right?  

Do you regret your decision? The force whispered in his ear. Or was Master Yoda right, you’re just too prideful to admit it?  

Dooku looked back at the sun, and then at the junkyards piling up the moon. He was alone, isolated from society. Was this what he wanted? Was this really what he wanted? He wasn't getting any younger, was this really the way he wanted to spend the rest of his life? Treasure hunting without an intended destination?

Without another word, Dooku slid the comlink back into his robe pocket and started walking towards the small fighter parked near his own ship. Just as he descended the hill, Obi-Wan’s ginger-puffed head poked out of the cockpit, his hair shaggy and sticking up in all directions. 

“Is everything alright?” the young man asked, his face scrunched up in worry. 

“I j-just…” Dooku felt the words jumble up in his mouth. “How blaster-proof do you think that fighter is?” he finally questioned. 

“I’d say that it’s got a good few shots before going down,” Obi-Wan replied. “Why do you ask?” 

“Well,” Dooku shrugged, “don’t you think that it would be a little… irresponsible of a grown Jedi Master, like myself, to let a newly knighted padawan fly off into what could potentially lead to a battle in a useless ship?” 

“Useless? I wouldn’t say that,” Obi-Wan frowned, “it’s certainly better than flying off into battle with nothing at all.”

“Don’t… well don’t you also think that it would also be a little irresponsible for me to let someone fly a ship after they recently crashed one?” 

“Well I didn’t crash the ship, the bounty hunter did.” 

Dooku sighed. There wasn’t really any way of asking what he wanted to ask without saying the words, was there?  “Obi-Wan… I-I’m asking a favor… well, you see…” the force gently pushed against him encouragingly, “Look I’m trying to say… well… m-may I come with you?” 

Silence.

Obi-Wan stared at him in disbelief, his mouth hanging wide open in shock. Dooku's heart pounded as he watched the young man slowly grasp what he was asking. Finally, after who knows how long, Obi-Wan took a deep breath and looked Dooku in the eyes. 

“Sure,” came the simple answer.

Chapter Text

Darkness warped around the ship as it rose above the small moon and into the orbit of Ord Mantell. Only the small dots of stars and the faint artificial light from the control panels illuminated the cabin. Sitting in the co-pilot seat, Obi-Wan stared at the incoming planet, his face tingling from the coldness of space. The unease he felt earlier only increased the closer they got to the planet, but the force didn’t give him much of a hint as to why. 

“Are you still worried?” Dooku asked, his voice somehow sounding both sympathetic and sarcastic. 

“No,” Obi-Wan stubbornly replied, averting his eyes back towards the window, “I’m just enjoying the view.” 

“Oh yes,” Dooku drawled, “the view is marvelous …   However, I think that it would be more productive if you took this time to request permission to land from ground control.” 

“Alright alright, I’ll get on it,” Obi-Wan groaned. He was still on his first mission, he had every right to still be nervous. Entering the land frequency into the ship’s computer, Obi-Wan gave Dooku a dirty look before turning back towards the interface. “Good morning,” Obi-Wan said, “this is Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi requesting permission from ground control to land.” 

To his surprise, all he heard was static. “Hello?” he asked, only to be met with the same static noise. “Strange,” Obi-Wan frowned, “they knew that I was coming. Maybe we’re too far away for a stable connection.” 

“I highly doubt that.”  

“Then what?” 

“Relax,” Dooku sighed, leaning back in his seat and stretching his arms, “I’m sure that they’re just preoccupied.” 

“Look, all I’m saying is-” Obi-Wan paused as he saw the older man’s face suddenly darken. “What is it?” he questioned. 

“We seem to have attracted a friend,” Dooku muttered, pointing to the scanner gauges in front of him. “There’s a ship not too far away from us, and it’s getting closer.”  

“Intriguing,” Obi-Wan mused, “I wasn’t aware that Ord Mantell was a popular vacation spot. When will the ship come into view?”

“Right about… now.” 

Just like Dooku predicted, the silhouette of a ship broke through the wall of stars, slowly gliding into the orbit of the planet below before entering the atmosphere. Obi-Wan’s frown only deepened as his eyes watched the ship leave. What was a ship like that  doing in Ord Mantell? It didn’t make any sense. Not only did the ship look familiar, it was also far more sophisticated than anything the locals would have. It didn’t make sense, unless…  

“It’s from the Republic,” Obi-Wan exclaimed. “It has to be, I would recognize those red markings from anywhere.” 

Dooku frowned. “What’s a Republic supply ship doing here? Did the Jedi Council send reinforcements?” 

“No, they didn’t....” Obi-Wan trailed off.  

Silently, they both glanced back down at the planet down below, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Dooku broke the silence. “We have ourselves an interesting mystery, don’t we?” 

“I guess we do,” Obi-Wan quietly replied, “I guess we do.” 

“So… what’s your plan?”

Obi-Wan felt his heart shoot up into his throat. “I’m supposed to have a plan? Don’t you already know what to do?” 

“This is your mission,” Dooku scoffed, “you’re the one who has to make the calls.” 

He had assumed that Dooku was going to take control of the mission as soon as they got to the planet, afterall, Obi-Wan only needed one hand to count how many times Qui-Gon dared to ask him for his opinion on their past missions, and yet, the image of Qui-Gon yelling at him for not following orders was enough to make his old feelings of worthlessness come back. It was almost funny to think about how frustrated he used to get, when all he could do now was reminisce about his padawan days.  

“Obi-Wan?” the voice broke through his thoughts like a sledgehammer. 

“I-I…” Obi-Wan paused and took a deep breath. Reminiscing about things of the past wasn’t going to help him, besides, what did Qui-Gon always tell him? Everything would be okay if he let the force guide him. “I think, I think that we should follow the ship. Ground control isn’t going to respond anytime soon, and it will just waste time if we sit in orbit. If  the Jedi Council did send reinforcements, then we can meet them at the planet’s surface.” 

“And if they didn’t?”

Despite everything, Obi-Wan felt himself grin. “Then we’ll just have to trust in the force.”

~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan felt his heart pound against his chest as he watched another unmarked ship land on the capital’s landing pad. For almost an entire hour, the two men had sat hidden behind the capital’s main ventilation pipes, patiently waiting for the last of the ships to land. Through it all, the force rippled around him dangerously in anticipation, almost like a warning for more danger to come. 

“Look,” Dooku whispered from his side, “they’re stepping out.” 

In only a moment, the final hatch opened, revealing three disheveled aliens, each wearing heavy armor and holding blasters. As he watched them load their weapons, the realization finally set on Obi-Wan like cold ice. They were bounty hunters. Every ship had bounty hunters in them, even the Republic ships. The same realization must have dawned on Dooku as well, for the man immediately pulled out his lightsaber. 

“Wait,” Obi-Wan stressed, “don’t attack them yet.” 

Dooku shot him a glare, but he still lowered his lightsaber. “I thought you took care of them the last time you were here,” he glowered.  

“I-I don’t understand,” Obi-Wan stammered, shaking his head in disbelief. “I did take care of them.”  

“Clearly not.”  

“This doesn’t make any sense!” Obi-Wan gritted out. “They shouldn’t be here! The council said that everything was clear, and so did the governor.” 

Obi-Wan couldn’t sit still any longer. Jumping off the ground, he peered over the edge and watched the bounty hunters’ movements. From the looks of it, they were just guarding the entrance, but if only he could know for sure… 

“Get down,” Dooku growled, yanking him to the ground. “Force, Kenobi, do you have any common sense in that brain of yours?”

“This doesn’t make any sense!” 

“Saying that over and over again isn’t going to change anything,” Dooku snapped. “Now think, Kenobi, think! I’m not going to sit here and wait for them to kill us! For all we know, they could have already taken over the entire capital with the numbers they have.” 

Obi-Wan ran a hand through his ginger hair. “Alright, it’s not looking good, but we just need a plan… let’s start from the obvious, we need to get inside.” 

“And how do you suppose we do that?” Dooku scoffed.

“I-I…” Obi-Wan paused as he felt the force nudge him. Slowly, his eyes drifted towards the pipes in front of him. 

“You can’t be serious!” Dooku gagged. 

“This pipe leads straight to the vents, and the vents lead to every room,” Obi-Wan explained, already screwing open the nearest hatch. “Besides, do you have any other ideas?”

With a sigh, Dooku finally caved in. “Fine,” he grumbled, “but you better realize that I gained more than I bargained for on this little mission of yours.” 

“I’ll be sure to bring it up with the council.” 

Dooku chose to ignore the comment. “There’s a left pipe and a right pipe, which leads to where?” 

“There’s only one way to find out,” Obi-Wan grimaced, glancing one more time at the bounty hunters, “there’s only one way to find out.” 

~~~~~~~

Dooku sighed. He had no idea how long he spent crawling in the darkness of the tube, but nevertheless, every part of his body was sore. Why did he agree to go with Obi-Wan? Why didn’t he just stay on the moon and continue his mission? 

You know why you went with him, the voice in his head whispered obnoxiously. It’s because you miss Qu- 

With a growl, Dooku ignited his lightsaber and slashed through the thin ventilation shaft. In only a second, the entire structure crumbled, slamming him painfully onto the ground below. 

“Infernal tube,” Dooku grumbled, brushing the dust off his clothes.

Just as he was about to leave, the entire room was illuminated by a blue light. Surprised, Dooku backed up against the wall, only to realize that the light was coming from a holoprojector a room away from him. 

“You’ll be pleased to know that we have secured the governor,” the snarly voice of a bounty hunter rang out. “The Jedi scum will soon find him, and my associates will be waiting for him.” 

Slowly, Dooku pushed himself across the room and peered into the room. At first, all he saw was the scaly skin of the bounty hunter, but then his eyes slowly drifted towards the holoprojector. 

“Excellent. Don’t forget, I want the knight killed before the other politicians have the chance to contact the Jedi Council.” 

“Understood,” the bounty nodded. 

Dooku felt everything inside of him crumble as he watched the image of a black-robbed man fizzle out.

Chapter Text

In a perfect sweep, Dooku's lightsaber cut through the bounty hunters in front of him as his left arm crashed the remaining bounty hunters onto the floor. A million distractions pounded through his head, but he forced himself to focus. He needed to figure out where Obi-Wan was. He needed to get to Obi-Wan before it was too late. Nothing else mattered at the moment. Not his aching arm from the fall, not the sound of blaster fire a few hallways away, and not the image of the Sith Lord. Nothing mattered except getting to Obi-Wan before the bounty hunters killed him.   

Nothing? The voice in his head asked, almost like a taunt. The Sith have always intrigued you, ever since you were a little boy.     

“No… no they haven’t,” Dooku stammered. 

Something dark slithered around his heart. Admit it, you’ve never felt entirely like a Jedi, it jeered.  

“T-That’s not true.” 

The darkness slowly started to squeeze around him. Even Master Yoda knows it. Why do you think he took you on in the first place? 

“Shut up!” Dooku suddenly cried out in horror. “Shut up shut up shut up! I don’t care, I don’t care right now, okay? I know… I know that there are things I’m not admitting to myself, I know that there’s something wrong with me… I just… I just can’t let Qui-Gon’s boy die because of my own problems.” 

That was it. He had said it out loud. After years of hiding, he finally said it… and there was no going back now… no going back. Dooku was falling, and he could no longer lie to himself about it. 

~~~~~~~~

With a resounding thud, Obi-Wan felt himself slide out of the vent and into the connecting shaft below. After a moment, he ignited his lightsaber and began cutting through the thick wall in front of him. Obi-Wan wasn’t sure how long he spent crawling through the dusty tunnels, but all he knew was that he was getting closer and closer to the governor… and more importantly, he was getting closer and closer to understanding who the man’s mysterious abductor was. Obi-Wan would be lying if he said that he wasn’t at least a little intrigued. It was simple enough to figure out how the bounty hunters were able to penetrate the capital so easily, but why they did it was a whole other question. Sure, whoever orchestrated the attack was obviously in possession of a great deal of money, but why Ord Mantell specifically? Why would they choose to attack such an insignificant planet, when there were far more valuable resources on planets nearby? 

It certainly is a mystery, Obi-Wan thought to himself as he pushed against the wall, and the force seems quite keen on not giving up the answer. 

As the wall collapsed, Obi-Wan stepped forwards and looked into the adjoining room, only to feel his brain halt as soon as he looked in. It was... an office. It was just an ordinary office, in fact, it looked completely untouched by the bounty hunters' pillages. Obi-Wan felt himself frown. He knew for certain that the bounty hunters were rummaging through every room in the entire building... so why wasn’t this one turned over as well? Why didn’t this office get the same treatment as the others? The same bad feeling from before pounded against Obi-Wan’s head unpleasantly, almost like it was mocking him instead of warning him. Follow the will of the force, that was what Qui-Gon would have said if he was there… but, his old master never specified what he had to do if he couldn’t read the force. Was he supposed to run, or was he supposed to continue on? 

To his surprise, a warm feeling suddenly came over him. What do you think? The voice in his head asked. Forget reading the force, forget Qui-Gon, listen to yourself. What do you think you should do? Do you think you should run, or do you think that you should continue on? Either way, this is your mission, it’s your choice, and only you can make it.   

For once, Obi-Wan couldn't disagree with the voice. “Alright,” he finally sighed, “this is it, I’m going in.” 

He was both terrified and relieved that the force didn’t respond. 

Quietly, Obi-Wan stepped across the threshold and into the office, careful to not make any noise that would alert the bounty hunter he sensed a room away. There wasn’t much to look at, just a few pieces of furniture and stationary, but something nagging in the back of his mind made him continue searching. Finally, after Obi-Wan opened the last cabinet in the main desk, the feeling disappeared as quickly as it came, leaving him to stare blankly at a small holopad tucked innocently between a thin piece of cloth. With a shaky breath, he gently pushed the cloth away and powered it on. 

“Please receive message,” Obi-Wan read under his breath, “shipment of parts will arrive this week. Destination: factory district. Contains armed droids and-” 

Before he could even finish reading, a shrill warning flashed through the force, making him drop the holopad. It only took a mere second for the blue blade of his lightsaber to slice through the air and deflect the blaster shot. Obi-Wan turned around just as the attacking bounty hunter jumped forwards with their knife, and quickly immobilized him. 

“Well, that’s just grand,” Obi-Wan mumbled to himself as the number of bounty hunters he could sense nearby suddenly quadrupled. 

Bending down, Obi-Wan quickly slid the holopad into his robe and ran out of the room. He didn’t get very far before blaster bolts started to whizz past him, each nearly hitting him in the head. Twisting his lightsaber through the air, he moved away from the office and started deflecting the shots towards the bounty hunters. Sweat poured down his forehead, his heart thrashed against his chest, a blastershot singed through the side of his body, and yet, Obi-Wan still found himself biting his lip to stop himself from looking over his shoulder. No matter how hard he tried to shake the feeling off of him, it kept coming back. He just couldn't help it. 

He’s not here you fool, Obi-Wan spat, Qui-Gon’s not-

Suddenly, Obi-Wan’s heart lurched as all the bounty hunters were flung into the ceiling. Amazed, he watched each of their bodies thud against the floor like broken marionettes. For a second, his heart leaped into the air, but then it crashed down again, just like the bounty hunters.  

“Obi-Wan!” Dooku exclaimed, stepping over the dead bodies. “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” Obi-Wan mumbled, running a hand through his ginger hair, “I’m good, you?” 

“Just fine,” Dooku answered, although Obi-Wan noticed the slight hesitancy in the man’s voice. “I heard the blaster fire and figured that you were in trouble. Did you find the governor?” 

Dammit, Obi-Wan cursed himself, I forgot about the governor. “I think he’s on the floor below us,” he eventually said. “I didn’t get very far before the bounty hunters found me.” 

“Alright then,” Dooku stiffly nodded. “Let’s go.”   

Without any other words the two men started creeping towards the stairs, both of them too tired to put up any kind of conversation. As they made their way into the basement levels, Obi-Wan couldn’t help but notice the tension in the other man’s face. The logical part of him determined that it was just exhaustion, but there was a more paranoid part of him that wondered if there was something that the man was hiding. 

“So,” Obi-Wan casually asked, “where did your vent lead you anyways?” 

“I-I’m sorry?” Dooku stammered, clearly just coming out of his thoughts. 

Obi-Wan felt himself frown. “Where did your vent lead you?”

“Oh…” Dooku abruptly trailed off. “We’re here,” he suddenly exclaimed, shaking Obi-Wan’s shoulders. “We found him. Look, Kenobi, look, he’s in the bunker! There’s your precious governor, tied helplessly to a chair like a weasel!” 

“Come on, let’s go-”

“Wait!” Dooku hissed, grabbing onto his forearm. “That place is crawling with bounty hunters. If you go in there, you’re just going to end up as a corpse.” 

Sighing, Obi-Wan crossed his arms and replied, “If you must insist so persistly, I do have a plan. I’m going to hide, and you’re going to draw them out so that I have a clear entrance. I’ll grab the governor and we’ll get out of here.” 

“Alright alright,” Dooku sighed. Before Obi-Wan could fully hide behind a wall of crates, Dooku reached out and stopped him. “Just… just be careful, okay?” 

Obi-Wan's frown deepened. “Why wouldn’t I be?” 

Dooku clenched his face, almost as if he was debating something. Finally he settled on saying, “Just... just be careful.” 

“Alright,” Obi-Wan softly smiled, "I will be." 

In only a moment the entire hall filled with the sound of blasters. After the last bounty hunters left, Obi-Wan ran into the bunker and ignited his lightsaber. As quickly as he could, Obi-Wan started to cut through the governor’s ropes, only for a snarly voice behind him to stop him in his tracks.   

“Going somewhere, Jedi scum?” a voice rang out, echoing sharply throughout the entire room. 

Turning around, Obi-Wan wasn't too surprised to see a blaster pointed directly at him. “I don’t believe that I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you yet,” Obi-Wan carefully replied, his eyes never straying from the alien. 

The bounty hunter only harshly chuckled. “Well well well, the pleasure is all mine.” 

Obi-Wan didn’t even need the force to see the shot coming. Raising his lightsaber, he brought it in front of him, only for the shot to completely miss him. It wasn’t until he heard a sharp gasp behind him, when he realized that the bounty hunter wasn’t trying to hit him. In horror, Obi-Wan watched the governor slump over dead in his seat as the bounty hunter cruelly laughed. 

“You killed him,” Obi-Wan whispered in disbelief. “Why would you kill him? You went through all this trouble to capture him, and you killed him anyway.” 

“Oh dear, how unfortunate,” the bounty hunter smirked, “but don’t worry, he was never the actual target… you were.” 

Chapter Text

There was only darkness in front of him. A faint buzzing noise echoed around his ears, but it couldn’t distract him from the frantic pounding of his heart. 

“Concentrate, Anakin.” 

The voice was warm and steady, just like it always was, but he still couldn’t stop the shivers that ran through his hands and around the metal hilt that Qui-Gon had handed him only seconds ago. A lightsaber. An actual lightsaber. Anakin almost couldn’t believe it. For so long he had wanted to touch one, to feel it in his palms, to know that he was going to be a Jedi… but he never mustered up the courage to ask Obi-Wan or Qui-Gon. So imagine his surprise when Qui-Gon just handed the thing to him like it was merely a trinket. Then again, maybe Qui-Gon did see it as a trinket, afterall, the training blade wasn’t anywhere as powerful as the deadly blade he watched Obi-Wan use to cut up droids during the attack on Naboo. Nevertheless, he still felt like he was holding something sacred, something that he wasn’t supposed to touch. 

“It’s very important for a Jedi to learn how to wield a lightsaber, Anakin,” Obi-Wan had said as he wiped a layer of sweat off his forehead. “It might be the most important thing you’ll learn.” 

Only a few days after Naboo, Anakin had found the young man ruthlessly sparring against a training droid, to the point where he was half convinced that Obi-Wan was going to plunge his lightsaber into the wall if he missed. 

“But, if Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers, then why learn how to fight?” Anakin had asked. “Isn’t that just making conflict inevitable?” 

At that, Obi-Wan could only lapse into silence. Finally, his eyes hardened with an unexplainable emotion. “Then maybe conflict is inevitable,” was the only answer he bothered to give, but Anakin could tell that the young man wasn’t really looking at him, and was instead looking through the wall and into the healers ward. “Just remember, Anakin,” Obi-Wan whispered almost distantly, “the most important thing to remember is that it’s the padawan’s job to protect the master, not the other way around. Learning how to fight stops bad things from happening. You have to be fast enough, strong enough, good enough... If things go wrong, it’s up to you to figure out a way to fix it… and if… and if you don’t…” His face clenched as his voice wavered. “Just remember that, okay?” 

“O-Okay,” Anakin had stammered, unsure how to truly respond. 

The answer seemed to satisfy Obi-Wan, but Anakin couldn’t help but feel a weird sticky feeling in his stomach. As he watched the man walk away, he was almost tempted to ask him whether or not he would have died to keep Qui-Gon out of the healers ward… but he already knew the answer… and he would be lying if he said that it didn’t scare him at least a little bit. 

A hand gently cupped his shoulder, breaking him out of his thoughts. “Relax, Ani. I wasn’t lying when I said that you’re ready. Just tell me when you want me to start the drone, okay? I promise that it won’t hurt you.” 

“Y-You can start the drone, I’m ready.” It came out a bit more shaky than he had intended, but it was the best he could hope for. 

To his dismay, the warmth on his shoulder disappeared, but the disappointment was quickly replaced with fear when he heard the small drone begin to power up. 

“Trust in the force, Anakin. Don’t try to predict where the blaster shot is going to come from, feel the pulse of energy coming towards you,” Qui-Gon continued. 

Anakin felt his hands squeeze against the hilt until they hurt. Qui-Gon says you’re ready, so that means that you’re ready, he tried to reassure himself, but it only seemed to make him tremble more. What if he disappointed Qui-Gon? What if this was a test that the Jedi Council was making him to do? Were they going to kick him out if he failed?

Anakin took a deep breath and closed his eyes, pushing all his negative thoughts away. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then a spark of adrenaline rushed through his veins, shocking his system. Surprised, he almost dropped his lightsaber, only holding onto it through sheer luck. Distantly, he heard something whizz past him and hit the wall behind him, but he managed to keep his focus on the strange feeling that was rushing through his body. The next time, he let the strange feeling wash over him and let it guide his hands. He swore that he could see the red and orange blaster bolt rip out of the drone just as he moved his blade. And then the moment was over and he heard the drone turn off. 

Two calloused hands lifted the visor off his head, flooding light into his eyes. Immediately, his eyes met Qui-Gon’s. The normally sullen eyes were shining brightly, filled with energy. A grin stretched exuberantly across his face, somehow diminishing the wrinkles that aligned his forehead. 

“You did it, Ani,” Qui-Gon chuckled happily. “You did it!” 

Anakin felt his entire body light up with joy. I did it. I really did it. I’m a Jedi, I really am a- 

“Master Jinn, I must say that your padawan is quite impressive.”

The loud voice almost made Anakin jump in surprise, and looking at the frazzled expression that took up Qui-Gon’s face, it was obvious that the man had almost done the same thing.    

“Sen- Chancellor Palpatine, I apologize for my surprise, I didn’t see you there,” Qui-Gon quickly said as he bowed in respect, although Anakin could see the tension running down the man’s shoulders. 

The Chancellor only laughed. “And here I thought that Jedi could sense everything.” 

Anakin found himself carefully watching every movement the older man made. He hadn’t seen much of the Chancellor since their single encounter in Theed, but from the stiffness Obi-Wan and the council seemed to exhibit everytime the Chancellor’s name was mentioned, he could tell that none of the Jedi were too fond of the man. Anakin couldn’t figure it out. From the looks of it, the Chancellor was just an old man trying to do a good job for the Republic. Whenever he saw him giving speeches on a holopad or talking to council members, he was always smiling and happy to be there. That didn’t seem bad to Anakin. The old man couldn’t have been much worse than a Hutt. 

“Chancellor,” Mace Windu stepped out from behind a pillar, his arms crossed and his brow furrowed, “I believe that we were walking to the council chambers.” 

The Chancellor seemed to brittle at the interruption, but Anakin couldn’t blame him. How anyone could survive a meeting with Mace Windu was a mystery to him. 

“I sincerely apologize for intruding,” the Chancellor smiled, “I merely wanted to pass my compliments to Padawan Skywalker.” 

At that, the giddy feeling came back. “Thank you, Sir,” Anakin beamed, his hand lightly patting the lightsaber hanging down from his belt. 

“You're welcome,” the Chancellor nodded, the smile never leaving his wrinkly face, “I’m sure that you’re going to be quite the Jedi Master when you’re older.” 

“Oh, I’m sure he is,” Qui-Gon answered proudly, although Anakin couldn’t help but notice that the Jedi Master’s hand seemed to curl protectively around his shoulder. 

The Chancellor turned his attention back to Qui-Gon. “It is truly lovely to see you again, Master Jinn, and I am truly glad that you’re off bedrest. I can hardly find a way to repay you after your tremendous service not just to Naboo, but also to the Republic. Do tell me if there’s anything I can do.” 

“I will,” Qui-Gon replied. 

Just as the Chancellor started walking away, he came to a halt and shook his head in disbelief. “I can’t believe I forgot!” the Chancellor groaned, turning back around. “Master Jinn, will you pass my gratitude on to your… other padawan? I was hoping that he was with you, afterall you are still recovering, but I’m afraid that I’ve missed him.”

Anakin flinched as he felt Qui-Gon’s hand tighten considerably from its perch. “Of course,” Qui-Gon managed to get out, his voice barely staying steady enough to not waver, “I’ll be sure to mention it to him when he returns.” 

With that, the Chancellor and Windu left, leaving the two of them to stare off in silence. Slowly, Anakin glanced up at Qui-Gon, dreading to see the empty look that he had whenever Obi-Wan came up. Sure enough, the man was staring off brokenly into the distance, his hand toiling with Obi-Wan’s severed braid. Anakin hated seeing him like that, but there wasn’t much he could do until the ginger-haired knight returned. 

“Qui-Gon?” Anakin asked hesitantly, the memory from before coming back into his head. “Is it really the padawan’s job to protect the master?” 

That certainly sparked a reaction from Qui-Gon. “Good heavens, Anakin!” Qui-Gon exclaimed in utter horror. “Where did you hear that?!” 

Anakin debated telling him that Obi-Wan of all people told him that, but then he remembered Qui-Gon’s long line of sleepless nights and decided that it wasn’t the best decision to tell him while Obi-Wan was still on a perilous mission. 

“I… I heard it from somewhere,” Anakin vaguely explained. “Probably some padawan said it.” 

“Well, it’s most certainly not true,” Qui-Gon shook his head in frustration. “It’s not good for padawans to start thinking that way or they’re just going to get themselves killed. Are you sure you don’t remember who said it?” 

Anakin could only find the strength to give a half-hearted shrug, but Qui-Gon seemed to drop it. 

“Come on,” Qui-Gon sighed, slipping the braid back into his pocket and walking towards the hallway, “let’s go get some lunch.” 

Dutifully, Anakin followed after him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get what Qui-Gon said out of his head. What did he mean by Obi-Wan getting himself killed?

Chapter Text

He was never the actual target… you were. 

Obi-Wan’s eyes locked with the bounty hunter’s as he felt the dim presence of a sniper somewhere above him. What did that even mean? Obi-Wan couldn’t help but ask himself. The entire mission couldn’t have been orchestrated. I wasn’t even supposed to be here. 

“Your time is up, Jedi,” the bounty hunter continued, his smug smile never leaving his face. “It’s a shame that you happen to be so young.”

Narrowing his eyes, Obi-Wan forced himself to take a deep breath. So, he thought bitterly to himself, this was the master plan all along, wasn’t it? But why? Why is it so necessary for these bounty hunters to kill a Jedi? 

Slowly, Obi-Wan felt his hand slip into his pocket. Somehow, he had completely forgotten about the broken datapad. What did it say exactly? Large shipment of parts… Ord Mantell… droids… armed droids… armed droids. In only a flash, memories from Naboo came spiraling back to him. The failed negotiations, the ship blowing up, the poisonous gas, the droid armies. Through it all, they had never wondered where the droids came from or even who commissioned them. Even afterwards, the Jedi Council was far more concerned about the return of the Sith than Naboo, and the senate was distracted from the election. 

Could there be more droids? Could there be entire factories producing droids that the Republic had no idea about?

“Ord Mantell is quite the planet,” Obi-Wan found himself slowly saying, “but I can’t imagine that it’s valuable enough to send this many bounty hunters to attack it.” 

The fact that the bounty hunter’s smug face disappeared in an instant was all that Obi-Wan needed to know. As Obi-Wan’s eyes drifted back towards the dead body of the governor, he felt his heart stop. Instead of the gray-haired thin alien with little green markings, the body morphed into a tall man with long brown hair. Blood flowing from the center of the man’s body stained his clothes until there was no color left. In only a second, the body was replaced with the governor again, and Obi-Wan was left with a cold sickly feeling that settled at the bottom of his stomach. 

“What are you hiding about Ord Mantell?” Obi-Wan growled, his hands digging painfully into the sides of his lightsaber. “Answer me!”  

The bounty hunter took a step backwards, clearly surprised by the response. “Kill him,” was all the alien muttered before Obi-Wan sensed the sniper behind him start firing. 

Diving to the floor, Obi-Wan rolled off the ground and reached his hand out, using the force to fling the sniper off his feet and throw him into the wall behind him. Turning around, Obi-Wan raised his lightsaber and started blocking the shots the bounty hunter was firing at him. It didn’t take very long for a lucky shot to ricochet off his blade and into the alien. 

The silence that spread across the room afterwards was deafening. Shakily, Obi-Wan looked back towards the dead governor. The previous frenzy he felt was replaced with cold guilt. He had failed. No matter what had happened, no matter what conspiracy might have been going on, he had failed to protect the governor, and now he was dead. How useless was he if he couldn’t even complete one mission? 

“Kenobi!” 

Obi-Wan turned around and saw Dooku rush into the room. The hopeful smile on the man’s face was replaced with dread when he saw what was next to him. 

“The governor?” he softly asked.

“Dead,” was all Obi-Wan bothered to say before walking towards the door. “No issues on your end I presume?”

“I took care of it pretty quickly,” Dooku replied, worry for Obi-Wan evident on his face. “What do we do now?” 

“I need to speak to the council as soon as possible,” Obi-Wan sighed, “but first, I sense the other politicians in the other bunker. We should probably free them.” 

“Alright,” Dooku slowly nodded, following him out of the door.  

~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan rested his forehead on the viewport in front of him. The ship was quiet except for the faint beeping of the engine, which left Obi-Wan alone to think about what lay ahead of him. Since he left the temple, he hadn’t really thought about what would happen when he returned… or what would happen when he saw Qui-Gon again. If he was being honest with himself, he didn’t want to think about it. 

Obi-Wan sighed. There wasn’t much left he could do to prolong it any further. If the forty-something missed calls on his comlink were anything to go by, Qui-Gon would probably seek him out as soon as he stepped foot in the temple. Why the man cared to keep calling him was a mystery, afterall, Qui-Gon made it completely clear that Anakin was his only priority. 

“This datapad is completely broken, Kenobi,” Dooku’s voice cut through his thoughts. “What did you even do to it?”

Sitting up, Obi-Wan frowned as Dooku sat down across from him. “You really can’t get anything out of it?”

Dooku huffed. “I doubt even Master Yoda could conjure up enough power to fix this.” 

With the mention of the old Jedi master, Dooku’s voice trailed out. Obi-Wan couldn’t help but notice that the man had grown quieter and quieter the nearer they were to the temple. 

“Having second thoughts?” Obi-Wan quietly asked. 

“We’re coming out of hyperspace,” Dooku said in lieu of an answer. 

The ship lurched and the brilliant blue light that surrounded the ship broke free. Suddenly below them lay the blue and gold planet of Coruscant, shining in all its glory. Dooku’s breath seemed to hitch at either the beauty of the planet or at the nostalgia of it, but Obi-Wan could only grimace. Somehow, even though he was supposed to be safe from the dangers of his mission, he still had the same bad feeling from before. 

“Hello,” Obi-Wan said, “this is Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, requesting permission to land.” 

Chapter Text

With a thud, the ship landed on the landing pad as dust blew off the platform. Clipping his lightsaber to his belt, Obi-Wan slowly walked down the ramp, his eyes wandering across the hangar and the sprawling metropolis behind it. Before he could even make it to the bottom, he saw the familiar figures of Master Yoda and Master Windu walk towards him. 

“Masters,” Obi-Wan bowed.

Windu gave him a bright smile, but Yoda’s eyes immediately widened as he looked towards the ship behind him. 

“Vistor, you have brought,” Yoda declared, tapping his stick to the ground. 

“Vistor?” Windu asked, clearly surprised. “What’s this about, Kenobi?” 

Obi-Wan shrugged, a small smile creeping up his face, “I think that I have a little explaining to do.” 

At that moment, the latch opened and Windu’s eyes widened in shock. Slowly, Dooku made his way down the ramp, his face hard and stoic. Once he got to the end, he raised his eyebrow, looking unimpressed. “I was hoping for a bigger serenade, Master Windu. I do hope that this isn’t the way you welcome everyone back to the temple after an extended mission.”  

Windu narrowed his eyes. “With all due respect, Master Dooku, you have far exceeded the length of any ‘extended mission.’ It's been over 14 years for forcesakes.” 

“Talk with you privately, we must,” Yoda huffed, “many questions we have for you.” 

“Yes, we should talk privately. The council has enough problems to deal with, without involving your sudden disappearance.”   

“I’m overjoyed,” Dooku drawled, giving Obi-Wan a side-ways glare. 

Windu pinched his nose with frustration. “Kenobi, you can go find something else to do before your council meeting. This might take a while.” 

Flashing the masters one last smile, Obi-Wan slipped back into the temple.       

~~~~~~~~

“You’re back,” Windu snapped once the three of them entered a room near the council chambers. 

Dooku didn’t really expect to get a happy welcome from the man in front of him, but he was a little surprised that it was so cold. For the life of him, he couldn’t remember what the last conversation he had with Windu was… all he knew was that it was unpleasant.     

“I thought that it was a pretty obvious observation,” Dooku drawled, keeping his face stoic. 

From the corner of his eye, he could see Yoda give him a disapproving glare, but he ignored him. Besides, Dooku wasn’t in the business to make any new friends. 

“Hmmm come with Kenobi you did,” Yoda remarked as he wobbled over to his seat and sat down. "Surprised I am."   

“I was stationed on one of Ord Mantell’s moons, if the two of you forgot.” 

With that, Windu’s frown deepened. “Did you concoct this?!” Windu whispered irritably, leaning towards Yoda.  

“Hmph,” Yoda scoffed, crossing his arms, “always blame me, you do. Know that Kenobi volunteered to go on this mission you did.” 

“Why do I not believe you?” Windu scowled.

Dooku fought the urge to palm his head. “If all the two of you wished to discuss was your own personal dilemmas, then I shall excuse myself from the room.” 

“Stay you will,” Yoda ordered, turning back towards him, “done me and Master Windu are.” 

“Why did you return?” Windu spat, not even waiting for Yoda to finish his sentence. 

“So that I can be privy to your lovely hospitality, Master Windu,” Dooku remarked sarcastically.  

Windu’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t see why you can’t treat me with civility, Dooku.” 

“Enough!” Yoda exclaimed, thudding his stick on the ground. “Pointless this bickering is. Honest, my padawan will talk.” 

“I decided to come back,” Dooku glowered. When he saw Windu begin to speak, he gruffly added, “That. Is. All.” 

Yoda and Windu exchanged a look before Yoda finally looked him in the eye. “Hmph, talk later we will. For now, make yourself comfortable, you will. Long time it has been since you’ve stayed here.”

Swiftly, Dooku stood up and exited the room. He had forgotten how frustrating his conversations with Yoda were. Maybe he shouldn’t have come back, it certainly would have made his life easier. 

As he stepped into the turbolift, he was so lost in his thoughts that he hadn’t realized that he nearly walked into the master and padawan coming out of it. 

“Apologies,” Dooku muttered, not even looking at them before letting the turbolift doors close behind him. 

~~~~~~~~

Obi-Wan sighed as he took in the bright temple halls. It was nice to be back in the safety of the temple rather than stranded on a dull spacecraft, but on the other hand, it was almost impossible to avoid the stares of the Jedi Masters he walked past. The sith killer, the forgotten apprentice, the third repudiation. Each name sounded worse and worse the more times he heard them, and Obi-Wan was desperate to escape. Finally, he gave up on walking to his quarters and slipped into the private confines of the mediation wing. At least there the Jedi Masters would all be too busy to pay him any attention. 

Sliding his hood over his head to hide his face, Obi-Wan started to close one of the room’s doors behind him when he heard a familiar voice suddenly ring out.  

“Qui-Gon!”

Obi-Wan paused, his heart shooting up into his chest. Turning around, his eyes immediately fixated on a small boy with sandy hair running full-speed down the hall. Before Obi-Wan could even form a coherent thought, a door just across from him slipped open and a tall Jedi Master leaned against the doorframe. 

Obi-Wan felt his breath hitch as his entire body froze. For a moment, he thought that the man’s eyes locked with his, but then it was clear that Qui-Gon didn’t even notice that there was a person standing across from him.

“Please, Anakin,” Qui-Gon’s exasperated voice sent shivers down Obi-Wan’s spine, “let a man have a break.” 

“But I just got back from class!” Anakin gleefully shouted, already taking hold of Qui-Gon’s arm and dragging him away. “I need to show you what I built!”

Qui-Gon sighed, but Obi-Wan saw a small smile of fondness light up his face. “I suppose I’ll save my meditation for a later date.” 

Even as the man started to walk away, Obi-Wan’s eyes were transfixed on him, tracking his every movement. The jiggling of his lightsaber on his belt, the squint of his eyes when he walked into a ray of sunlight, the way his hair swung as he walked. He was alive. It was almost surreal, almost impossible, and yet, there was no sign of anything happening on Naboo. 

As the horrible image resurfaced, Obi-Wan slammed the door shut and forced himself to take a shaky breath. There was no more escaping it. There he was. Strong, tall, and nothing like the pale body he last saw in the healers ward. Qui-Gon’s long brown hair was a little longer than usual, and his boots seemed to be in a darker shade than what he normally wore… but it was him. His master.  

“I’m going to have to face him at some point,” Obi-Wan whispered to himself as he tightened his robes around him. 

And you’re going to have to face the fact that Anakin’s his apprentice now, the voice in his head cruelly laughed. Didn’t they look so happy together? And here you thought that no apprentice would ever satisfy Qui-Gon. Clearly, it was just because of you-   

“I-I should meditate,” Obi-Wan whispered, cutting the voice off and shoving the resurfacing feelings of self-worthlessness into the pit of his stomach, “I need to recollect myself before meeting with the council.” 

~~~~~~~~

Anakin couldn’t stop himself from fiddling with his sleeves as he watched the city sink below him. As much as loved going into turbolifts, he never enjoyed going to visit the council, and he never seemed to be able to calm himself before going there. 

“Peace, young one,” Qui-Gon smiled from his side, “all they’re going to do is ask you questions about how you’re enjoying the temple.” 

Anakin nodded, but he still couldn’t stop the jittery nervousness that filled his entire body. What if they found something wrong with him? What if they kicked him out? 

The feeling of his shoulder being squeezed jolted him out of his thoughts. “I can hear your thoughts, Anakin,” Qui-Gon sighed, giving him a sad smile. “They’re not going to kick you out, not on my watch.” 

A small beep from Qui-Gon’s side interrupted their conversation. Reaching over to his side, Qui-Gon opened his comlink and frowned. 

“Is something wrong?” Anakin asked, fear quickie bubbling up inside of him. Oh no, was there something with the council? 

“The council has to delay,” Qui-Gon answered, clearly annoyed about the change, “apparently there’s an important mission report that they need to hear before they receive us, and they didn’t bother to give me an earlier warning.” Sensing the emotions he was projecting, Qui-Gon tightened his shields and gave Anakin a small smile. “It’s alright, young one. We’ll just go back down once we get to the top.” 

“Okay,” Anakin nodded, slightly relieved. At least the message wasn’t about him. 

As the lift opened, Anakin barely darted out of the way before a man swiftly walked in and bumped straight into Qui-Gon. 

“Excuse me-” Qui-Gon started to say, before his face suddenly scrunched up.

“Apologizes,” the man muttered, not even looking up. 

As quickly as it came, the turbolift dropped back down, leaving Qui-Gon to stare at the closed doors with his mouth hanging wide open. 

“Qui-Gon?” Anakin questioned, concerned about the sudden change in the man’s attitude. “Is everything okay?” 

“It couldn’t be,” Qui-Gon shook his head in disbelief. “I must be seeing things. That couldn’t have been him.” he paused, his eyes wandering back towards the lift. “If that was him then he knows about Naboo.” After a long pause, Qui-Gon gave a weary sigh, his mind clearly made up. “Anakin, stay here. I need to check on something really quickly.” 

Anakin didn’t even have time to answer before Qui-Gon ran into the other turbolift. Sitting down on the nearest bench, Anakin waited patiently. There wasn’t much to do in the empty tower. Distantly, he could hear the council talking in their circular room, but everything said was too faint to pick out. Finally, he gave up and started to pace around, only for the turbolift doors to suddenly open. 

“Qui-” Anakin stopped mid-sentence as he realized that it wasn’t the long-haired man who walked through the door. After a second of staring at the man in front of him, Anakin snapped out of it.  

“OBI-WAN!” Anakin yelped, running towards the man and crashing into his arms. 

The young man made a little “oof” sound before falling to the floor with Anakin’s full weight on top of him. “Well well well,” Obi-Wan laughed, his arms circling Anakin, “it’s good to see you as well, my young friend.” 

With that, Anakin only hugged him tighter, burrowing himself in the man’s dusty robes. He hadn’t even realized how much he truly missed the young man until that moment. “You were gone for so long!” 

Obi-Wan grimaced. “The mission… well it went a little sideways,” then with a bright smile he added, “But I’m back now.” 

After savoring the moment for a little while, Obi-Wan slowly helped Anakin off of him before kneeling down so that he was eye-level with the little boy. “So, how are you doing?” he asked, his eyes twinkling with mirth. 

“I’m doing great!” Anakin beamed, already feeling more happy than he had been in the last few weeks. “I built an entire speeder from scratch, and then there was this weird blue stuff we had for breakfast that tasted super good, and then there was this-”

“Woah woah woah,” Obi-Wan laughed, giving him a lopsided smile. “Slow down a little, alright?” 

“I’m sorry,” Anakin whispered, looking down at his feet, “I just really really missed you. I wanted to call you but I didn’t have your com number, and I didn’t want to ask Qui-Gon because he gets all sad whenever you’re mentioned, and-” 

Before he could continue, he felt Obi-Wan drag him back into the warmth of his arms. “I-It’s alright Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, his voice strangely quavering. “Speaking of… speaking of my old master, why isn’t he with you?” 

“He was… well he said that he was going to check on something. Do you want me to go get-”

“No no,” Obi-Wan quickly interrupted, “it’s alright, I was just curious.” 

“Okay,” Anakin mumbled, burrowing his head back into Obi-Wan’s shoulder, before feeling something strange tickle his cheek. 

“Egh- you’re ticklish,” Anakin whined. Leaning back, he couldn’t help but snicker as he took a closer look. “You need to shave,” he giggled, poking Obi-Wan’s cheek.

Obi-Wan face turned aghast. “So soon?” he joked, “I thought that I looked stylish.” 

“Nah,” Anakin giggled, “you just look like Qui-Gon.” 

At that, Obi-Wan’s smile faltered. “I suppose you’re right,” he quietly remarked, suddenly looking very self-conscious.  

“Are you okay?” Anakin asked, worried that he had somehow said the wrong thing.

“Oh don’t mind me,” Obi-Wan smirked, ruffling Anakin’s head, although Anakin could tell that there was still something bugging him, “I’m just fine.” 

Suddenly a beep dinged from Obi-Wan’s belt. Anakin groaned, knowing full well what that meant. 

“You have to go, don’t you?”

Obi-Wan gave him a sad smile. “I’m sorry to do this to you Anakin, but I have to report to the council.” 

“Don’t worry! I’ll just see you afterwards though, right?” Anakin asked, trying his best to hide his disappointment. 

“Of course.” With one last hair ruffle, Obi-Wan headed towards the council doors. 

~~~~~~~~

“Knight Kenobi,” Plo Koon remarked, a smile spreading across his face, “we’re glad to finally have you back.”

“As am I, masters,” Obi-Wan replied, bowing. “I hope that you didn’t mind me bringing back Master Dooku as a visitor.” 

Ignoring Windu’s sudden scowl, Yoda answered cheerfully, “Long has my padawan been here, good for him it is.”  

“Let’s move to the topic at hand, shall we?” Windu sighed, shaking his head at Yoda’s comment. “You told us a little bit about your mission on the holocall, and I have to say that you’ve certainly captured our full curiosity.” 

Obi-Wan blushed. “Well, it was certainly one of the more strange missions I’ve been on.” 

“Tell us more you should,” Yaddle beckoned. 

“Of course," Obi-Wan nodded. "Clearly, the bounty hunters sent to kill me were trying to hide something. While I was trying to find the governor, I came across a holopad. It broke during the course of the mission, but I brought it back in case there's anything we can get out of it. What I read when I first looked at it was that there was supposed to be a shipment of droid parts to the factory districts of Ord Mantell."

"Droid parts?" Windu asked.

"Not just droid parts, armed droid parts. Like the ones we saw on Nab-"  

Suddenly the doors flew open and a man with long brown hair stepped in, his face burning bright red from being out of breath. “Master Yoda!” the man exclaimed, striding to the center of the room, “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I swear that I just saw Master Dooku of all people in-”

The council chamber went dead silent as they watched the tall Jedi Master’s eyes suddenly lock onto the young knight in front of him. Both of the men froze in place as neither of them dared to move a muscle. Slowly, as if he was afraid that Obi-Wan would evaporate into thin air if he moved too fast, Qui-Gon reached his shaking hand out and placed it on Obi-Wan’s shoulder.  

“Obi-Wan?” Qui-Gon’s voice quavered.  

Chapter Text

For a moment, all Obi-Wan could do was stare motionlessly at the dark brown eyes in front of him, then all at once, his brain crashed back down to reality and he took a shaky step backwards to escape Qui-Gon’s outreached hand. 

“Master,” Obi-Wan forced himself to say, although his rigid and tense voice betrayed the inner pools of anxiety that lapped against his stomach. 

“As… lovely as this reunion is,” Windu quickly interjected, clearly sensing the shift in the room’s atmosphere, “we were in an important conversation before you interrupted, Master Jinn.” 

“I-I apologize,” Qui-Gon promptly answered, although it didn’t escape anyone’s notice that his words were also strained. “I was just… just… just… surprised… that-” Qui-Gon let out a shaky laugh. “I seem to have forgotten why I came in here in the first place. Can you refresh my memory, Mace?”   

"You were discussing Master Dooku's suprise visit."

Even while Windu was talking to him, Obi-Wan never felt Qui-Gon’s eyes shift away from him. It was as if the man was tracking his every move.

Keep it together, the voice in his head snapped, just get through this council meeting and you can go back to avoiding him.

“Master Jinn?”

“I-I yes,” Qui-Gon coughed, his eyes finally leaving Obi-Wan’s face. “You were saying?” 

Windu and Yoda exchanged a quick glance. “Correct you were. Here Master Dooku is,” Yoda remarked, a small frown evident on his weary face. 

“Right, yes, that was the reason,” Qui-Gon exclaimed, finally regaining his footing. “I was surprised to see him after so long. I thought that maybe you didn’t know, which is why I- well I.... anyways.” As his eyes drifted back towards Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon let out another nervous chuckle that only made the young knight cringe more. 

“Do we need to postpone this meeting?” Ki-Adi-Mundi lightly asked after a moment. “It seems that there are some things that need to be discussed before we continue.” 

Obi-Wan could hardly wait for the Jedi Master to finish before crying out, “NO!” Then, after seeing the Jedi Master’s eyes slightly narrow, he took a deep breath and calmly added, “I think that I should finish what I have to say in case there are any new developments.” 

“I agree,” Plo Koon slowly answered after a beat of hesitancy, his expression impossible to read under his mask, “we should finish the mission report, especially since we need to report to the senate. Master Jinn, you may leave.”

~~~~~~~~

The moon had already risen by the time the council meeting finished. Most of the Jedi had already hidden themselves in their rooms, with a few stragglers still wandering through the temple halls. Other than the faint sound of wind blowing from outside, the entire temple was basked in an eerie silence. 

As Obi-Wan exited the council chamber, he closed his eyes and let himself sink into the silence, just to let himself feel a brief reprise. In only a moment, he heard the footsteps of someone in front of him, and braced himself for the conversation that would follow.   

“You had quite the adventure, didn’t you?”  

Glancing up, Obi-Wan gave Qui-Gon a small smile before quietly remarking, “I guess so.” 

The two Jedi lapsed back into silence as they started walking down the hall and towards the turbolift. As he walked, Obi-Wan found his eyes wandering around the hall. A ray of white moonlight had flooded the dusty floor, giving it a faint glow, while the orange-lit candles on the temple walls had spread a warm light on both of their bodies. It was almost enough to distract him from who was walking beside him.

“I never told you congratulations.” 

Qui-Gon’s soft voice caught Obi-Wan off guard. “I-I’m sorry?” he asked, pausing in his step. 

“You were knighted,” Qui-Gon explained, also stopping. “I believe that warrants a congratulation on my part.”      

“Oh,” Obi-Wan breathed, his eyes lowering back to the floor. 

The feeling of a warm hand lightly cupping his shoulder forced him to look back up. “Obi-Wan,” Qui-Gon sighed, “I need to talk to you.” 

“About what?” Obi-Wan coldly asked, not bothering to stop the sarcastic quip from escaping his mouth. “Isn’t this just a normal step in ending an apprenticeship and moving on? Haven’t you lectured me about attachment since you first took me on?”

“I don’t think that I ever mentioned that this conversation was about attachment,” Qui-Gon slowly replied, his eyes drilling into the back of Obi-Wan’s head.  

When Qui-Gon didn’t continue, Obi-Wan flinched and turned away, unable to look at the man any longer. A part of his brain had always thought that he would have been able to avoid it. That he would have been able to avoid the conversation that he so desperately didn’t want to have. It was the part of his brain that had ignored their severed bond, and had decided that if he just managed to stay away from the temple long enough, then he would never have to talk to Qui-Gon again. And yet, even as the very man he wanted to avoid was standing right behind him, he found himself unable to tell Qui-Gon the truth, not because of his anger from being repudiated, but because he was back where he was when it all started. No matter how much easier it was to pretend that he hated Qui-Gon for everything that went wrong during his apprenticeship, eventually it all came down to one thing. Nothing changed the fact that he wasn’t enough when Qui-Gon needed it the most .  

I might have failed as a padawan, Obi-Wan thought to himself, but it’s Anakin’s turn to succeed. Besides, maybe our apprenticeship was supposed to end like this. 

“I-I should leave,” Obi-Wan decided to say, suddenly feeling very lightheaded. “It’s getting late and I’m sure Anakin’s waiting for you.” 

Before Obi-Wan could move far, he felt a hand quickly grab his arm. “Wait, please wait.”

Turning his head, Obi-Wan found his eyes lock with Qui-Gon’s. The light from the lamps casted a warm glow on Qui-Gon’s face, making him look older than he normally looked, and Obi-Wan was certain from the way Qui-Gon’s eyes softened that the light made him look older as well. After only a moment, Qui-Gon’s hand loosened its hold, and Obi-Wan stepped away. 

“Obi-Wan? Qui-Gon?” 

The two Jedi turned around as a young sandy-haired boy trudged into the hall, his face clearly tired from staying up so long. “Is the council meeting over? Can we go home now?” 

“Anakin,” Qui-Gon smiled half-heartedly, clearly struggling to pretend that everything was alright, “me and Obi-Wan were just talking.” 

A sad smile snaked its way across Obi-Wan’s face as his eyes washed over the small braid hanging down over the boy’s shoulders. Glancing at Qui-Gon one last time, Obi-Wan softly said, “Goodbye, Qui-Gon,” as he started to walk towards the turbolift doors.  

"Padawan-" Qui-Gon started to say before he watched the doors slip shut. 

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan couldn’t stop himself from shaking. 

Even after he managed to somehow make it into the turbolift without stumbling, his heart wouldn't stop pounding frantically against his chest. His mind replayed his conversation with Qui-Gon over and over again, each time focusing on a new detail. The firmness of Qui-Gon’s hand when he grabbed Obi-Wan’s arm, the strange quietness that came over the man after they locked eye contact, and the way the darkness of the hall hid Qui-Gon’s expressions until the very end, where his weary face was illuminated just long enough for Obi-Wan to see the pain on his face. Every detail hurt his brain to think about, and yet he couldn’t stop thinking about it. 

“I don’t think that I ever mentioned that this conversation was about attachment.” 

Attachment, a word that Obi-Wan shuddered just thinking about. Qui-Gon had said it so calmly, and yet it had made Obi-Wan’s heart stop beating at once. Obi-Wan should have denied it when Qui-Gon said those words, he shouldn’t have even mentioned it in the first place when they first started to talk… and yet he did, he proclaimed it loud and clear for anyone to hear. There was no going back now, there was no time machine to rewind the clock. All he was left with was a horrible feeling at the pit of his stomach and the knowledge that he screwed up. He screwed up so badly. All of Obi-Wan’s plans to let go of the man, to tell Qui-Gon that he didn’t need him anymore and that it was time for him to focus on Anakin, went crashing to the floor just because he couldn’t keep his mouth shut.     

“I need to get out of here,” Obi-Wan whispered to himself, “I need to leave before I cause even more problems. I need to leave before Qui-Gon finds me again.” 

~~~~~~~~

Dooku slammed his hand against the table as the frustration that had steadily built inside of him throughout the night became too much for him to contain. “I swear, Windu,” Dooku growled, “if you continue to act so ignorantly, then I will-” 

“Then you will what?” Windu spat. “You haven’t changed at all, Dooku. All you’ve done since you’ve come back is lecture me like I’m an idiot. I would like to remind you that I’m the master of the order-”

“Then start acting like it!” Dooku barked, “Why am I the only one who sees how corrupt the senate is! How can you be so dense as to-” 

“That’s enough, Dooku!” Windu snapped, “If you think that yelling at me is going to change my opinion then you’re clearly delusional.”   

“I-I’m sorry, Masters, am I interrupting something?” 

The young voice made Dooku almost jump out of his seat. Looking up, he was surprised to see a ginger-haired knight standing tentatively in the doorway, awkwardly waiting for one of the two men to say something.

“It’s alright, Kenobi,” Windu interjected, also caught off guard by their visitor, “We were just finishing up.”

Paying Obi-Wan no mind, Dooku bristled at Windu’s comment. “Just finishing? I believe that we haven’t even started yet.” 

“I’m really sorry to be a bother,” Obi-Wan interrupted, after wincing at the tone of Dooku’s voice, “I could come back another time-” 

“Nonsense,” Windu reassured him, “what can I help you with?” 

“You’re only trying to stall, Windu,” Dooku seethed. 

Windu glared at him in response. “Let the boy speak for forcesakes.” 

Clearly sensing the tension in the room, Obi-Wan hesitantly approached the two men. “I request to be assigned on another mission.” 

Dooku frowned. Clearly there was something not entirely right with the boy, he just didn’t know what. He hadn’t seen the knight since they landed that morning, but something must have happened since then, something to scare the boy enough to get him to leave. 

“Already?” Windu asked, slightly surprised. “We haven’t even finished discussing your previous mission yet.”

“Please, Master Windu,” Obi-Wan insisted, his pale face betraying his inner desperation, “You must have at least one mission available.” 

If he wants to leave so soon, then he must have bumped into Qui-Gon before I did, Dooku realized as he studied the rattled young man. That must be it, otherwise I have no idea what could have shaken him up this badly. 

Shaking his head, Windu took a sip out of his tea cup. “Kenobi, I’m not sure if you’ve forgotten or not… but you do know that it’s mandatory for all first-year knights to take an entire week’s leave before requesting another mission, right?”

“But-” Obi-Wan started before Windu cut him off with a glare. 

“I'm not moving my foot on this,” Windu declared, crossing his arms. 

Dooku shot Obi-Wan one last concerned look before turning back to Windu and focusing on the argument they were having before. “With that settled, may I continue on with what I was saying before?” Dooku dryly asked. 

Sighing, Windu rubbed his forehead in tiredness. “Do I have the choice to not listen?”

“Certainly not!” Dooku snapped, immediately jumping back into the argument. “I’m not leaving until you understand how irresponsible and incompetent the galactic senate is!”

“Dooku-” 

“How can you not see their mistakes?!” Dooku bellowed, “Has the security of your job made you blind-”

“We’re Jedi, we have no part in the senate’s affairs,” Windu growled, “I don’t see why it’s a problem for me to keep it that way.”

Dooku laughed a humorless laugh. No part in the senate affairs?! Was Windu mad?! “Every decision you and the council has made so far has only put us further and further into the chains of the senate,” Dooku spat. “With all the missions you’ve been going on for them lately, you’ve practically become their plaything!” 

“Clearly being away from the temple for so many years has not quelled your need for dramatics,” Windu glowered. 

“Please spare me from your ignorance, Windu, it’s hurting my brain.”  

“What you clearly don’t understand, Dooku,” Windu gritted out, “is that I’m trying to prevent something far bigger than what you foresee from happening. With all due respect, you haven’t been present to observe the political climate of the senate after the Occupation of Naboo. The Jedi were sent by the previous Chancellor to undergo diplomatic discussions with the Trade Federation, but instead, we walked straight into a trap and ended up fighting in their war for them.”

“But, isn’t that a good thing?” Obi-Wan quietly asked, reminding Dooku that the young man was still in the room. “Wouldn't Naboo have fallen to the Trade Federation if we hadn’t interfered?”

“Helping a planet is different than fighting a war for them, Kenobi,” Windu sighed, his face growing weary. “I don’t want us to become soldiers, and the best way to avoid that is to stay out of the senate’s internal affairs and to not use our own power to try and dictate them, which is what Dooku here wants us to do.”

“A peaceful resolution is a lovely thought, but it’s not realistic!” Dooku interjected. 

“Dooku-” Windu began only to stop when Dooku gave him a dejected look. 

“I fear that if we don’t put a stop to their internal affairs, then becoming their soldiers will only be inevitable,” Dooku softly explained, draining the anger from his voice once he remembered that Obi-Wan was also part of the conversation. “Afterall, when has the galactic senate ever handled power well?” 

“It’s getting late,” Windu finally said after a long pause, “we can continue this tomorrow.” 

Just before the man could get out of his chair, Obi-Wan’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Wait,” Obi-Wan suddenly interjected. “Master Windu, I was wondering-”

“Oh please tell me that the man didn’t corrupt you as well,” Windu groaned, already burying his head in his hands.  

“No no it’s not about what you were talking about, Master, it’s just ummm,” Obi-Wan trailed off awkwardly before finally taking a breath and continuing. “I-umm was wondering… I was wondering if I could be placed on senate duty for the next week.” 

Both of the men paused in their places. 

“Senate. Duty?” Windu asked in disbelief. “Senate duty?! What part of the conversation we just had makes you want to go on senate duty?!”  

“I-” 

“Kenobi,” Windu growled, “you do realize that we normally give senate duty to misbehaving knights that need to be put on probation, correct?”

“I know, I just think that it would be…” Obi-Wan paused, “...beneficial.” 

With that, Dooku couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. “I swear, Windu, if the boy is willing to go through abosulte torture just get out of here then maybe you should give up on trying to stop him.”  

Windu shot him another glare. “Senate duty is not torture. Besides, Kenobi, you don’t even know how senate duty works! I wouldn’t dare send you without having someone knowledgeable by your side, and I frankly do not have the time to find a chaperone for you, not to mention-” 

“I will go with Kenobi,” Dooku interrupted him.  

“You?” Windu incredulously gagged. “You hate the senate!”

“Precisely,” Dooku replied, “Going with Kenobi will give me the perfect opportunity to catalog all of the mistakes the senate has made into a complete list to present to the council.” 

Groaning, Windu palmed his face. “I’m going to regret this… but alright, go with the boy. I’m counting on you to not cause a scene, Dooku.” 

And for the first time since Obi-Wan walked in, Dooku saw the boy smile.

Chapter Text

A strange feeling would always pass over Obi-Wan whenever he stepped into the galactic senate. Over the years it began to fade away and become normal, but there was always at least a little bit of it lingering behind. Even now as he walked peacefully around the luminous white pillars that aligned the senate hall, he felt the strange feeling lurking behind every surface and wrapping around everyone else who walked the hall, but he could never pinpoint what it was, or if he was imagining the feeling in the first place. 

“Nothing has changed,” Dooku mumbled from his side. “Absolutely nothing has changed.” 

There was a tinge of disapproval in the older man’s voice, but Obi-Wan wasn’t too surprised. They hadn’t spent more than ten minutes in the building and Dooku had already started writing down complaints on a small datapad.

“Did you expect it to look any different?” Obi-Wan couldn’t help but ask. 

“Perhaps,” Dooku tersely replied, his eyes still fixed on the datapad. “But I doubt that any change would result in something beneficial.” 

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and focused back on the bustling hall around him. The building was buzzing with all kinds of activity. Senators of all kinds crowded the hall, some chatting with others and some lost deep in thought on their way to their next meeting. Aides to the senators ran frantically around the pillars, carrying holopads and thick binders that were filled with old policies. A couple older aliens sat on chairs in the very back, clearly arguing about some new decision that irked them, and the younger ones with their shiny name tags and business suits had a look of hope in their eyes that would disappear completely in only a couple years. 

If there was one thing that Obi-Wan actually enjoyed about being in the senate, it was observing the way the force interacted around each person, even if they were completely oblivious to its presence. Most of the aides had lively force presences that dipped and propelled with each spike of stress they had. Some senators had this type of presence as well, but it was rare, and usually only pertaining to the youngest members who were still inexperienced and naive. Most of the older senators had constant and smooth force presences around them, showcasing their civilness and diplomacy. For some, the force repelled away from them, as if their corruption was too much for it to handle, and for only a select few, there was no presence at all. It was a mystery Obi-Wan could never figure out for the life of him, and one he never bothered to ask.

“Master Dooku, I think-” Obi-Wan started to say before he suddenly crashed into Dooku’s back after the man abruptly stopped in front of him. 

Obi-Wan looked puzzledly at the man. There was nothing in front of them except the hall to the Chancellor’s office. “What now?” he asked. 

“They changed the wallpaper,” Dooku replied, his eyes drifting across the hallway. “They changed it all to red.”

“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” Obi-Wan asked, slightly amused by the fixation the older man had on wallpaper above else. 

“No,” Dooku remarked, before he started to walk forwards again, “it was just an observation.” 

The two men didn’t make it very far before a high pitched squeal suddenly erupted through the air. Just before Obi-Wan could take his lightsaber off his belt, a familiar bright presence collided painfully into his mind. 

“Obi-Wan!” Anakin shouted, a huge smile tugging at his lips as he ran towards him. “Qui-Gon didn’t tell me you were in the senate!”

Self-consciously Obi-Wan glanced around the hall to make sure no one was startled, but everyone seemed either too tired or too preoccupied to notice the little boy. 

“I wasn’t expecting you to be here either,” Obi-Wan answered in return, a small frown creeping up his face. “What are you doing here, Anakin? And where’s Qui-Gon? He didn’t just leave you here, did he?”

“Qui-Gon’s in the bathroom, he told me to wait on the seat over there until he got back.” 

“This is the so-called Anakin?” Dooku scoffed, eyeing Anakin with judgment. “He looks like a pathetic little child, I thought he would be older.” 

Ignoring Dooku’s comment, Obi-Wan addressed Anakin again. “Still, Anakin, what are you doing here? I can’t imagine that Qui-Gon wanted to show you around here of all places.”

“I get to meet with the new chancellor!” Anakin beamed, before his face fell a little. “I’m a little scared though, what if he doesn’t like me?”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine, Anakin,” Obi-Wan tried to say reassuringly, even though he was still a little confused about the circumstances that led to the meeting. 

“New chancellor?” Dooku interrupted, his voice strangely flat. “What happened to the old one?”

“During the occupation of Naboo there was a vote of no confidence,” Obi-Wan explained, eerie of the shift in Dooku’s attitude. “He lost to a man named Palpatine.” 

Dooku’s eyes narrowed as he tried to place the name. “Palpatine? I feel like I’ve heard that name before. He was a senator, wasn’t he?” 

“He was Naboo’s.”

“Was the other guy bad?” Anakin asked, curiosity filling his face. 

“Well-”

“I wouldn’t say he was horrible, just ineffective,” Dooku interjected. “The new one isn’t going to be any better, let me tell you that now, Skywalker. Politicians never change.” 

“I dunno,” Anakin shrugged, “he seems nice. He watched me spar a droid once.” 

It was Obi-Wan’s turn to act surprised. The chancellor was in the temple? Sure he could have had a meeting with the council, but what was he during the training rooms? 

“I’m sure he just happened to see Anakin on his way to a meeting with the council,” Dooku said, clearly hearing Obi-Wan’s thoughts. “Afterall, it wouldn’t surprise me too much. All the council ever does is play politics.” 

“Well, that seems a little harsh,” a new voice piped up. 

Surprised, Obi-Wan turned around. There in front of the three of them was an old man. He donned a set of thick black robes that touched the floor, and his countenance had morphed into a smile.

“I hope I wasn’t intruding,” the old man said, a look of bemusement passing over his face, “I haven’t been here for long if that makes you feel better.” 

“Apologies, Chancellor,” Obi-Wan quickly said, with only years of diplomacy keeping him from blushing in mortification. “Me and Master Dooku were only passing through. We were supposed to have a meeting with Senator Organa this afternoon, but he had to postpone it an hour.”  

“Ah yes, there was quite an uproar this morning,” the chancellor sadly shook his head. “A senator had proposed a new law that was quite controversial. Senator Organa is unfortunately forced to deal with the fallout since his planet has a trading alliance with them.” 

Obi-Wan nodded along, but he couldn’t stop himself from feeling on edge. There was something about the cheerfulness of the man that unnerved him. Nothing seemed inherently wrong about him, in fact, he looked like a stereotypical normal man… but, there was something not quite right. 

Then it hit Obi-Wan like a sack of bricks. He had no force presence. 

Everything around that man had some presence in the force. The potted plants on the floor, the senators that lingered nearby, even the blank red walls behind him. But not that man. He was one of the few people Obi-Wan ever met that had nothing at all. Glancing at Dooku, Obi-Wan wondered if he noticed the same thing as him, but there didn’t seem to be any indication that he did.

“Well I would hate to keep the two of you waiting,” the chancellor finally said, “I’m sure Master Jinn will arrive shortly.” 

Obi-Wan started to protest, but Dooku nudged him with alarm. “I sense him coming towards us at this very minute. Come on Obi-Wan, let's go meet with Organa.” 

“It was a pleasure meeting you, Master Dooku,” the chancellor smiled, holding out his hand for Dooku to shake before the man could fully walk away. “I’m sure we will watch your career with great interest.”  

“Thank you,” Dooku said, shaking his hand. “Thank you, very much. 

~~~~~~~~

“I liked the man,” Dooku declared as the two of them started walking back into the steady stream of senators. “He wasn't as bad as I expected. Although, I swear I’ve heard his voice before, I just can’t place where.”

When Obi-Wan didn’t respond, Dooku stopped walking and turned towards him. “Everything alright, Kenobi?”

“Oh it's nothing,” Obi-Wan sighed, “it's just… did you not sense it?”

Dooku frowned. “Sense what? I didn’t sense anything.” 

“That’s the problem, you can’t sense anything. He doesn’t have a presence in the force.” 

“I’m sure he has some presence,” Dooku replied, “you must have just missed it. Besides, out of the two of us, you’re the most apprehensive about being in the senate.”

“I suppose so,” Obi-Wan mumbled, still not convinced. “I do wonder why he’s meeting with Anakin though.” 

“I wouldn’t have the slightest clue,” Dooku shrugged. "I wouldn't have the slightest clue."

Chapter Text

“Are you sure you’re alright?” 

Anakin looked up from the holopad he was holding to see Qui-Gon’s concerned face hovering above him. 

“Of course,” he tried to smile. “I’m just tired, that's all.” 

Qui-Gon didn’t look very convinced, but after a moment of hesitation, he seemed to decide that it was better to let Anakin stew than to press him further. 

“Alright then,” Qui-Gon slowly replied, clearly conflicted. “I’ll see you after my council meeting ends, okay?” 

“I’ll be here,” was all Anakin bothered to say in response.  

With one last weary look, Qui-Gon wrapped his robe around himself and stepped out of the door. After the door closed, Anakin turned back to the podrace that was on his holopad and slumped his body further down into the couch. Ever since they came back from their meeting with the chancellor, Anakin was in a foul mood. He refused to talk to Qui-Gon and he spent the entire rest of the afternoon with his head inside his holopad. 

“So, tell me Anakin, how are you enjoying the temple so far?” the Chancellor kindly asked once Anakin and Qui-Gon sat down in front of his desk. 

“It’s great!” Anakin found himself beaming. “Yesterday I even got to fly one of the new starships! Well, one of the masters did most of the flying, but I did get to sit in the co-pilot seat. Soon I’ll start flying lessons for real.” 

“But aren’t you already more advanced than your peers at flying?” the chancellor asked, with a curious tilt to his voice. “Afterall, during the Occupation of Naboo you flew one of our starships remarkably. I would say that you’re more capable of flying than most of our pilots.”

The compliment made Anakin blush. “Thank you, sir, but the ship was only on auto-pilot for the most of it.” Then he added with a bit of a sly smirk, “Soon I’ll be able to blow up a trade federation ship without it though.” 

“How wonderful,” the chancellor grinned, amused by his enthusiasm. “I do doubt, however, that the Jedi will have you blowing up ships anytime soon. The Jedi code frowns upon it, isn’t that right Master Jinn.” 

“Well we do try our best to be peacekeepers before warriors,” came Qui-Gon’s diplomatic answer. 

The strain in Qui-Gon’s voice made Anakin turn towards him. He knew even before they stepped into the room that the man was apprehensive about the meeting, but he just couldn’t understand why. His home world had no senate or laws, discounting the horrible Hutts. So, how could the galactic senate be any worse than having neither of those things? 

“Is flying much different from podracing?” 

The chancellor’s voice brought Anakin out of his thoughts. “Very different,” he answered, before pausing and thinking it over a little more, “well, there’s similarities, but it’s still different.” 

“I must say that podracing sounds quite frightening,” the chancellor shuddered. “I wouldn’t have been brave enough to do it if I was in your position. Your mother must have had a heart attack every time you raced.”  

The comment was made so off-handley that Anakin was convinced that he misheard what the man said until he noticed Qui-Gon tensing up next to him.

“Yes,” he forced himself to answer, even as he felt his entire body go rigid. “Yes I’m sure she did.” 

The rest of the meeting went by fast. Both Qui-Gon and the chancellor seemed to notice his withdrawal from the conversation, with the chancellor quickly steering the conversation away from Tatooine and with Qui-Gon making weak excuses to cut the meeting short. When Qui-Gon got a comcall from the council an hour after they returned, Anakin found himself both thankful and terrified that Qui-Gon would have to spend the next few hours in a council meeting. On one side, he no longer had to look at the pity on the man’s face, on the other side, being alone only served as another reminder that he was far away from home. 

As Anakin sat on the couch in silence, he started to hear the sound of water pattering on the windows. His eyes were immediately drawn to the little beads of water tapping gently on the window panes before rolling down to the streets below. In only a few moments, a thunderous boom echoed throughout the entire room as a streak of light zipped across the sky. Anakin watched in wonder as the sky darkened into an ominous dark gray. 

Finally, Anakin made up his mind. He needed some company. 

~~~~~~~~

The day was more boring than Obi-Wan could have possibly imagined. After a day of dull senators, piles of paperwork, and a vengeful Jedi Master who seemed to take every little thing as an insult to his intelligence, Obi-Wan was suddenly very well aware why Mace Windu decided that the best punishment for knights of probation was senate duty. In a way, it was his own fault for agreeing to go in the first place, but Obi-Wan wasn’t willing to admit that to himself just yet. 

When they finally returned from the senate, Dooku had immediately set off towards the council chamber with his first list of complaints, leaving Obi-Wan to go back to his rooms and collapse onto his couch in exhaustion. 

Just a few more days of this nightmare and I’ll be gone on my next mission, Obi-Wan told himself wearily. Just a few more days.  

Just as Obi-Wan began to feel his eyelids shut, someone knocked on his door. Obi-Wan groaned at the noise. Whoever it was could wait at least a couple of minutes. If it was the council they would have already called, and if it was Qui-Gon… well, then it was better for Obi-Wan to pretend he wasn’t there anyways. But no matter how hard Obi-Wan tried to block out the noise, the piercing knocks only continued the longer he tried to ignore them. Frustrated, Obi-Wan forced himself to stand up and open the door. 

“Who is it-” Obi-Wan blinked in surprise as his eyes landed on the young boy in front of him. Out of everyone who could have possibly been there to see him, he wasn’t expecting the young sandy-haired boy from Tatooine. 

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan remarked, “everything alright?”  

“Errr,” Anakin mumbled, his eyes looking pointedly at the floor, “can I come in?”

“Of course,” Obi-Wan quickly said.

Obi-Wan watched Anakin with curiosity as the young boy stepped across the room and slumped dejectedly onto Obi-Wan’s couch. He had seen Anakin act this way before: cold, detached, unwilling to speak to anyone; but it had been awhile since he last saw it at play. 

“Where’s Qui-Gon?” Obi-Wan couldn’t help but ask as he sat down next to the boy. 

“At a council meeting,” Anakin mumbled, curling into himself even more. “He’s not going to be back for awhile, they said it was important.” 

When it became clear that Anakin wasn’t planning to elaborate anymore, Obi-Wan gave him a small smile and said, “Well now that you’re here, what do you want to do?”

“I dunno,” Anakin shrugged, his eyes still not meeting Obi-Wan’s. 

Obi-Wan inwardly sighed. He had always assumed that Qui-Gon would have all the answers to helping Anakin. Instead, it was starting to become pretty clear that neither he nor his old master knew where to start. What Anakin needed was a distraction. Something to take his thoughts off of whatever was bothering him so immensely. 

“Have you ever learned how to play sabacc?” Obi-Wan suddenly asked. 

He had always enjoyed the card game. It passed time on long hyperspace flights, and he had gotten quite proficient at it during all the times he had to play against smugglers when he was forced to hide out in a bar or cantina on a mission. Qui-Gon had always preached to Obi-Wan about the danger of the gambling aspect of the game, but both men knew that the real reason why Qui-Gon started to stop playing against him was because the older man could no longer beat him at it. Since Anakin grew up on Tatooine, he was sure that the boy must have heard of the game at some point, but Obi-Wan would have to use something in place of Republic credits, since he had no desire to take any of the credits Anakin had. 

“Sabacc?” Anakin’s eyebrows briefly furrowed until a spark of recognition lit up his face. “The spacers used to play it all the time in the cantinas,” Anakin grinned as he thought back to the dusty tables and thick stacks of cards. “They never let me play though.” 

Obi-Wan leaned forwards with a mischievous grin on his face. “Well what do you say then? You think you can beat me?” 

“Easily,” Anakin replied with a smirk, his eyes narrowing. 

~~~~~~~~

“And I win again,” Obi-Wan grinned as he laid out his cards on the table.

“It’s not fair,” Anakin whined. “You can read my mind with your Jedi mind tricks.” 

They had sat there for almost an hour. Even the heavy rain had already stuttered to a stop by the time they finished their last game. Obi-Wan begrudgingly had to admit that Anakin was a fast learner. The small boy had almost beat him more than once, and yet still, Obi-Wan would always manage to beat him by the very end. 

Of course, it was a pretty low bar considering the fact that he was playing against a ten year old.  

“You’re being too aggressive with your bets, Anakin,” Obi-Wan calmly replied as he shifted the pile of crackers they were using as credits back into two piles. “You would have won if you hadn’t started making risky decisions.” 

“Mind tricks,” Anakin stubbornly declared, ignoring Obi-Wan’s advice. 

At that moment, the clock in the room struck six, reminding Obi-Wan that Qui-Gon was most likely finishing his council meeting soon.  

As if he read Obi-Wan’s mind, Anakin’s face dropped. “You’re going to make me leave, aren’t you?” 

Obi-Wan gave him a sad look. “Qui-Gon will wonder where you are.”  

“But he said that he wouldn’t be back for hours! Can I please stay? At least for dinner?”

Strangely enough, Obi-Wan felt himself smile. As much as he knew that Anakin was probably over exaggerating how long Qui-Gon’s meeting actually was, it was endearing to know that the young boy was that desperate to spend time with him. Finally, Obi-Wan conceded. It wouldn’t hurt to spend another hour with the boy, would it? 

“Alright,” Obi-Wan sighed, playfully ruffling Anakin’s hair, “give Qui-Gon a com to tell him that you’re with me…” Obi-Wan paused as the words left his mouth. “Actually, tell him that you’re with your friends,” he decided instead. “Then grab your robe.” 

“My robe?” Anakin asked with surprise. “Where are we going?” 

“It wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you,” Obi-Wan smirked, standing up to put on his own robe. “We’re going into the city.” 

~~~~~~~~

Anakin quickly followed Obi-Wan through the crowded streets of Coruscant. They had taken a speeder from the steps of the Jedi temple to one of the middle levels. After Obi-Wan parked, they entered the largest crowd of people Anakin had ever been inside of. Aliens of all kinds swarmed around them. Some jostled into each other, and others shrunk into themselves as they struggled to get to where they needed to go. It was as if the endless flow of people would never stop. 

“Obi-Wan,” Anakin whispered, unable to stop fear from etching into his voice. “There’s so many people.” 

“It’s alright,” Obi-Wan ressausred him. “We’re almost there.”  

When Anakin didn’t respond, Obi-Wan grabbed Anakin’s hand and gently tugged him alongside him so that he was closer. The simple gesture made Anakin feel safer, and he was grateful that he was able to squish himself into the older man’s side for the rest of their walk. Finally after a few minutes, Obi-Wan brought them out of the crowd and opened the door of a building to their right. 

The inside of the building was strange. There was a smooth tiled floor, shiny glass windows on every wall, and a row of red booths. Behind a large curved counter, a large besalisk washed dishes as two robotic waiters swiveled around the room to serve customers. 

Anakin found himself at a loss for words. “We’re… we’re at a diner?” He had only heard of them in concept, given the fact that Tatooine wasn’t the type of place for a buzzing restaurant industry. 

Before Obi-Wan could respond, a loud booming voice proclaimed, “Well I’ll be damned. If it isn’t Obi-Wan Kenobi!” 

“Dex!” Obi-Wan grinned as the large besalisk came out from behind the counter. “It’s lovely to see you.” 

Instinctively, Anakin took a step backwards when he watched the alien approach Obi-Wan, only to be surprised when he just saw him pat the younger man on the back. 

“You’re all grown up now, kid!” the besalisk continued, his toothy smile not wavering for even a moment. “The last time I saw you, you were three feet shorter than me.” 

“I’m sure you’re over exaggerating, Dex,” Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. Then, he turned towards Anakin and gave him a little nudge. “I want you to meet my friend, Anakin Skywalker.” 

“Hi,” Anakin softly said, burrowing himself further into the side of Obi-Wan’s massive robe. 

The besalisk gave him a bright smile. “Nice to meet you little one.” Glancing back at Obi-Wan he asked, “You’ve got a padawan now?”

Obi-Wan blushed at the question. “Well not exactly,” he stammered. “This is Qui-Gon’s new apprentice. I’m just showing him around.” 

“Oh is Qui-Gon tagging along then?” 

“No, he got hung up back at the temple,” Obi-Wan replied nonchalantly, even though Anakin could tell that the statement was anything but. “I’ll be sure to tell him you say hi.” 

“Be sure to,” Dex nodded. “I haven’t seen the man, or you as a matter of fact, in years. Should I get you the usual then?”

“Yes, please. Come on, Anakin, let’s sit down.”

Before Anakin could ask any questions, Obi-Wan ushered him into one of the booths and sat down across from him. In no time at all, one of the robotic waitresses swiveled over and placed down two glasses of foaming blue liquid and two plates with burgers and a collection of curly fries. 

“What’s the blue stuff?” Anakin questioned, eyeing the liquid suspiciously. “It looks like bantha milk.” The memory of the sour tasting milk that merchants would collect every Monday morning made Anakin nearly gag. 

“It’s a milkshake,” Obi-Wan answered, his voice sounding strangely sad. “I promise it’s not bantha milk, though. It’s actually quite sugary.”  

Still slightly suspicious, Anakin slowly brought the drink towards him and took a tentative sip. To his surprise, Obi-Wan was completely correct. The drink tasted nothing like anything he had ever drank before. It was cold with a strong taste of chocolate and vanilla. Anakin immediately drank more, loving the sugary taste of the drink in his mouth. 

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan laughed, when he finally took the straw out of his mouth. “Your face is covered with chocolate. Here, take a napkin.” 

The burgers were another welcome surprise. At first Anakin assumed they would be like the synthetic-tasting meat back at the Jedi temple, instead, the little meat patty that was sandwiched in between two flourly buns was filled with a rich and greasy flavor. He ate his meal in less than half the time Obi-Wan did, and then stole almost every single one of the salty fries off of the man’s plate. 

It was around seven when the two of them finally left the diner. Since it was later, the huge crowds that roamed the streets were far less, making the journey back to the temple quick and simple. Even though Anakin got to spend the entire evening with Obi-Wan, he still felt like it wasn’t enough time. It wasn’t until they arrived at the door to Qui-Gon’s quarters when Anakin realized that he had no idea when he would see the man again. It could be in a week, or it could very much be for months if he went on another mission. 

It’s now or never, Anakin realized with a start. I need to talk to him about Qui-Gon before it’s too late.  

“Well,” Obi-Wan smiled, “I had a fun time going out to eat with y-” 

“Qui-Gon misses you,” Anakin blurted out.  

Obi-Wan’s entire face froze as if all the air got sucked out of the room. 

“He really does,” Anakin quickly barreled on before Obi-Wan could reply. “He might not say it, but you can just… you can just see it…” he trailed off, unable to think of anything else to say. 

The silence stretched until finally Obi-Wan took a shaky breath. “Qui-Gon repudiated me.” The words were spoken so softly and brokenly that Anakin almost didn’t hear them. “He repudiated me, Anakin.” 

“What do you mean?” Anakin whispered. He looked at Obi-Wan for some clarification, but the man wasn’t looking back. 

“That day in the council chamber on your first night in Coruscant,” Obi-Wan continued, his voice eerily quiet, “Qui-Gon recommended me for the trials.”

“Because you’re a great Jedi.”

Shaking his head, Obi-Wan gave a strangled chuckle. “No, Anakin, I’m not. He recommended me because he didn’t want me anymore.” 

Anakin felt his entire stomach drop. That couldn’t be true… was it?   “But the two of you were so close.” 

A pained look spread across Obi-Wan’s face. “I-I used to think we were, at least at some point, but I’m not…” Obi-Wan’s eyes dropped to the floor, “...I’m not so sure anymore.”

Anakin didn’t know what to do. All this time he thought that whatever happened between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon was fixable, and that if he just talked to either of them it would change, but now… now Anakin didn’t know what to think. 

“I think he regrets repudiating you.” Anakin knew that it was a half-hearted attempt at persuasion, but he couldn’t think of anything else to say.     

“Maybe he does, maybe he doesn’t.” Obi-Wan shook his head like he was banishing the thought for good. “It doesn’t matter anyways, it’s too late now. I’m not his padawan anymore.” 

“He’s not my padawan anymore, Anakin,” Qui-Gon had said only a day earlier, after Anakin had asked him why Obi-Wan never came by anymore. “I’m not in charge of what he does.” 

“That doesn’t answer my question,” Anakin wanted to say, but he stopped himself when he saw Qui-Gon looking wistfully at Obi-Wan’s ginger braid again.  

“I’m sorry,” Anakin finally said, breaking out of his thoughts. “I’m sorry he did that to you. I wouldn’t have, you know, if I was him-” 

Anakin felt the words die in his mouth as he felt Obi-Wan’s arms envelope him into a loose hug. Before the older man could retract, Anakin threw his arms around him and hugged him even tighter. 

“Oh Anakin,” Obi-Wan huffed, fondly ruffling his hair with his loose hand when Anakin wouldn’t let go, “come on now, I’m sure Qui-Gon’s waiting for you to come back.” 

“Alright,” Anakin conceded, stepping away from him. “But you have to promise to visit, okay?”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “Of course.” 

Anakin’s smile slowly dimmed as he watched the man walk away. He was in no hurry to meet Qui-Gon again, especially since he knew that the man would force him to talk about the feelings he managed to forget about while he was with Obi-Wan. Then there was the matter of the repudiation. Qui-Gon clearly regretted it. Anyone who knew the man even a little bit could tell how sad he was after Obi-Wan left. 

It’s ironic, Anakin thought to himself before opening the door, it’s ironic how two people who care about each other so much can be so clueless.  

Chapter Text

Dooku leaned against the temple balcony and watched the city traffic. He used to be fascinated by the sprawling metropolis when he was a boy. Even after spending so many years away from the temple, the flashing lights and lines of speeders still managed to captivate him. As he stared at the vibrant city, he suddenly felt a familiar presence enter the corridor, followed by a set of steady footsteps against the granite floor. The force presence was a soothing wave compared to Dooku’s more brittle presence, but he could still sense the underlying emotions of agitation and loss that the man usually carried around with him. The footsteps suddenly stilled, and soon Dooku felt the warm wave of the living force enter his mind. 

“I was wondering when I would run into you,” Qui-Gon softly said as he approached the older man. “If I didn’t know better, I would think that you were trying to hide from me.”  

When Dooku didn’t reply, Qui-Gon’s face hardened. ”What are you doing here anyways?” 

“I wrote up a list of complaints about the senate,” Dooku answered, deliberately keeping his voice at its usual state of disinterest. “I’m supposed to meet with Master Yoda to discuss it.”

A weary sigh escaped Qui-Gon. “You know that’s not what I meant.”

Finally, Dooku turned his head to look at the younger man. He was older. His brown hair was starting to gray at the edges, and the large Jedi robe that used to pool at his feet now sat comfortably around him. His eyes now had little wrinkles on each side, making his familiar eyes somehow look almost wise. 

“What is it?” Qui-Gon asked, his eyes furrowing with worry when he noticed Dooku’s penetrating gaze. 

“Nothing,” Dooku quickly replied. Then with a small smile he quietly remarked, “You just seem older, that’s all.” 

“Oh,” Qui-Gon breathed, clearly not expecting the answer. 

The two of them lapsed into silence again, with Dooku avoiding Qui-Gon’s eyes and Qui-Gon faltering for what to say. It wasn’t until Dooku was sure that Qui-Gon had already left, when he heard the man speak again. 

“You’ve been gone for-”

“Fourteen years, I know, I know,” Dooku shook his head with frustration. “Everyone has been so keen to point out-” 

“Fifteen years actually,” Qui-Gon suddenly interjected. “That’s if you round up from seven months.”

Dooku felt all the air leave his body. Slowly, as if he couldn’t quite believe what Qui-Gon had said, he faced the other man. “You’ve… you’ve been counting?” Dooku asked with bewilderment.

“I…” Qui-Gon’s face turned bright pink. “No,” he quickly asserted, turning away, “no, of course not.” 

At that moment, the doors to Master Yoda’s chamber opened, and a few Jedi knights walked out towards the turbo lift. 

“You can go first,” Dooku awkwardly said. 

Surprised, Qui-Gon stammered, “I mean you were here first, so you should go.” 

Before either of them could respond, the sound of Master Windu’s tired voice called out into the corridor, “Will the both of you come in?”

~~~~~~~~

Qui-Gon stood tensely next to his old master as Yoda poured tea. He wasn’t expecting to see Dooku so soon, especially since their last encounter wasn’t very pleasant. He knew that the man was avoiding him, and he couldn’t blame him for it. 

“Qui-Gon, you’re overreacting,” Dooku groaned as a younger Qui-Gon furiously raced around his room and shoved pieces of clothing and books into a bag. “He chose to stay and help people, that’s not something to be so alarmed by.” 

No matter what the man said, Qui-Gon stead-fastly ignored him. He was almost done packing everything that Obi-Wan owned. 

As he tried to grab another book, a hand suddenly blocked him. “Qui-Gon, will you please listen-”

“He left me, Master,” Qui-Gon growled, shoving the man’s hand away. “I don’t care if he was trying to help. He chose this. He chose to leave me. The priority was Tahl, not them!”  

At that, Dooku actually chuckled, although it didn’t come out very humorly. “You lectured him about priorities? How can you lecture him about priorities?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Qui-Gon snapped. 

“He’s not the one with three repudiated padawans, Qui-Gon!” 

“Well maybe I wouldn’t have had three repudiated padawans if you were a better master!” 

All the air in the room suddenly drained. Qui-Gon cringed. He knew that he went too far, but somewhere inside of him felt satisfied at seeing Dooku’s shocked face.   

“I should go,” Dooku finally said, his eyes not meeting Qui-Gon’s. 

“Master-” Qui-Gon started to say, but the man had already shoved past him and walked out of the door, leaving Qui-Gon to stand motionless with a half-packed bag in his hands. 

“Glad I am that the two of you have met again,” Master Yoda’s voice cut through Qui-Gon’s brewing thoughts.  

“Master,” Dooku interrupted with a proud smirk, “I have my first list of senate grievances.” 

“Oh force, he wasn’t joking,” Windu grumbled under his breath.  

Before Dooku could respond, Yoda cut him off. “Patience, my apprentice. Reason I had to call both of you here.” 

“Well let’s hear it then,” Qui-Gon said, starting to get impatient at the strange glances the two council members were throwing at each other. “You said it was important on the com.” 

“Cleared you have been.”

“Cleared?” Qui-Gon echoed. 

“You’re no longer on medical leave,” Windu smiled. “We have a mission for you.” 

A wave of pure relief washed over Qui-Gon at Windu’s words. “Wonderful!” he exclaimed, overcome by gratefulness. “Absolutely wonderful!” 

As much as he loved the temple, he was beginning to feel claustrophobic from being stuck in its confines. He couldn’t stand the looks of pity the other Jedi Masters would give him as walked through the halls, and even more so, he desperately wanted a distraction from Obi-Wan. 

“But there’s a catch.” Windu’s somber voice made Qui-Gon freeze. “You can’t go alone. I’m sure you remember that we always pair up Jedi who recently are cleared of medical leave with other Jedi just to make sure that they don’t over exert themselves.” 

The rule did sound vaguely familiar. “Does that… is Anakin allowed to come with me then?” 

Yoda shook his head. “Several months you must wait until young Skywalker can come with you. Ready he is not.” 

“No, no, no, no!” The horrified sounds of Dooku made the realization suddenly dawn on Qui-Gon that there was a reason why the two of them were called in. “Master, I will not go with him. I just got back!”

Dread pooled in Qui-Gon’s stomach. “Is this- Master Yoda, please no!” he begged. He would rather do anything than go on a mission with Dooku. “There has to be some other way.” 

“Dire mission this is,” Yoda replied, “need to go you must.” 

“Why can’t Mace go?” Dooku all but snarled. “I need to continue my list!”

“Look, there has to be-” 

“Enough!” Yoda declared, tapping his stick to the floor. “Go the two of you will. If not in peace then in silence!” 

Qui-Gon’s mouth fell shut. Before he could say anything else, Dooku stormed out of the room without even giving Qui-Gon a second look. Qui-Gon sighed, walking out as well. There was no part of him that wanted to be on a ship alone with his old Master for over a week.

Chapter Text

The last few days had been a blur of endless council meetings. It had been awhile since Qui-Gon had to revert to his old petulant self, arguing and annoying the council before they finally gave in. But, it wasn’t without reason. He had realized quickly that if he had to leave for a week on a mission, then he would have to finish what he started before he left. 

He walked down the corridor leading to his quarters with a radiant smile on his face. He imagined Anakin inside, begrudgingly helping him pack for the mission, and oblivious to the excitement that pulsed through Qui-Gon’s entire body. He couldn’t wait to see the look on Anakin's face when he told him the news. 

“Anakin!” Qui-Gon called as he palmed the door open and stepped into the living room. “Come out here for a moment.” 

Slowly, the small sandy-haired boy dragged himself out of his room. The boy had been sulking for the last few days, really ever since Qui-Gon told him that he was leaving. He couldn’t blame him, but surely Anakin had to know that going on this mission wasn’t his choice, especially considering who his mission partner turned out to be. 

“I finished packing your robes,” Anakin grumbled, pointedly looking at the ground. “That should be it.” 

“That’s actually not why I called you here,” Qui-Gon said. After that caught Anakin’s attention, he turned back towards the door and gestured for the boy to follow him. “Come with me for a moment,” he grinned. 

Anakin’s head tilted to the side in clear confusion, but he still followed the older man out the door. Qui-Gon was surprised that he didn’t ask any questions while they walked. He could tell that Anakin was bursting with curiosity at his side. Even with all their training, the boy still wasn’t proficient at shielding, which was something that they definitely had to work on if the council would even start considering letting Anakin go on a mission. Of course there were also other things that Anakin really needed to work on, including- No. Qui-Gon quickly stopped himself from going down that line of thought. He had promised himself that he wouldn’t catalog everything Anakin did wrong like he did with Obi-Wan, and he needed to stick to that promise.     

Finally, they walked into the gardens. It was Qui-Gon’s favorite place in all the temple, and he knew that Anakin was fond of it as well. They settled down in a quiet meditation cove that was enclosed by budding leaves and flowers. Around them, the only sound was the faint trickle of water leading into the fountain in the center of the room. 

“You may be wondering why we’re here.” 

“Meditation?” Anakin asked with a little grimace. 

Qui-Gon chuckled. He got up from his position on the ground and kneeled in front of Anakin. The boy looked at him with wide eyes, unsure what the man was about to do. 

“Anakin,” Qui-Gon smiled, his eyes twinkling. He reached behind the boy’s ear and pushed forward a few strands of hair. “The council granted me permission to take you on as a padawan.”  

“I-” Anakin’s mouth fell open. “They did?” he asked, although it came out more like an incoherent squeak than anything else. 

“Yes, yes they did,” Qui-Gon nodded, the smile on his face only growing brighter. “So, Anakin,” he beamed. “Will you be my padawan?”

To his surprise, instead of answering, Anakin darted forwards and burrowed himself into Qui-Gon’s robes. “Yes,” Anakin cried out, wrapping his arms as tightly as he could around the older man, “yes!”

 A joyful laugh escaped Qui-Gon as he hugged the boy back. 

~~~~~~~~

It was almost evening, the time of the day that Qui-Gon and Dooku were supposed to leave. Qui-Gon had started walking through the hangar when a familiar voice interrupted his brewing thoughts. 

“How did you get the council to agree?” Dooku asked, stepping out the shadows of one of the starships. “Last time I checked, they don’t normally consider the opinions of anyone outside the council.” 

Qui-Gon didn’t have to ask him to clarify what he was talking about. “I’m not a negotiator for nothing,” he answered. “Besides,” he added after a beat of silence, “it took longer than I thought to convince them. The older masters in particular were very much against it.” 

They both lapsed into silence as they finished the rest of their walk to their waiting ship. Inside, they unbiddingly fell back into their old master and padawan roles. Dooku started the ship and charted the course, while Qui-Gon checked the engine valves and mechanics required for take off. It was what they had done for every mission in Qui-Gon’s apprenticeship, and it made his heart pang to think about how everything used to be normal between the two of them. 

Qui-Gon glanced at Dooku, who was focused intently, perhaps a little too intently, on the control panel in front of him. He wondered what the other man was thinking behind his tight shields. 

The ship slowly took off, leaving behind the hangar and temple. Qui-Gon thought about Anakin with his little braid behind his ear, and how the boy was probably showing his classmates or maybe even Obi-Wan his accomplishment. Then he thought about Windu, pacing the temple with a scowl on his face as he cursed Qui-Gon for his stubbornness in the council meetings. Lastly, he thought about Obi-Wan. He wondered if the man could sense that Qui-Gon left the temple, or if the bond between them was so completely gone that he didn’t even notice his presence anymore. Qui-Gon watched the temple fade. They were almost out of orbit now.   

“Well,” Dooku’s voice softly broke through Qui-Gon’s thoughts, “I guess we’re off then.”

Yeah, Qui-Gon said to himself, I guess we are.

Chapter Text

The whirl of the hyperspace engine dying down woke Qui-Gon up from his restless slumber. For a moment he thought that he was still curled up in his temple quarters, surrounded by plants and Anakin’s bright presence, but then the dull gray and brown walls brought him swiftly back to reality. 

It was his third morning away from Coruscant. The journey so far had gone smoothly, strangely smoothly. There were no odd mechanical errors, no abrupt change of plans from the council, and even Dooku spent most of the time hiding away in the cramped haul of the ship. It was vaguely pleasant, at least considering the last mission he went on. 

Except, this morning was different. Normally—well, the new normal between them—Qui-Gon would wake up before Dooku, prepare them a breakfast that his old master never really bothered to eat, and then head to the controls until lunch. But when Qui-Gon glanced over at Dooku’s bed that morning, he was surprised to see that it was completely empty. Even stranger, with the door left ajar, he could hear the sound of someone whistling. 

Qui-Gon draped his robe over his shoulders and slowly wandered out of the room. Instinct made him first look to the head of the ship. A part of his brain almost expected Obi-Wan to be sitting there, with his feet propped up on the other chair and his hands fiddling idly with his braid. The young man always had the tendency to whistle on long missions, a tendency that quickly became irritating considering that Obi-Wan usually woke up hours before Qui-Gon did. But the seats were both empty, and Qui-Gon wasn’t quite delusional enough to think that his old padawan was stowed somewhere else on the ship. 

“You look lost,” a deep voice sounded from behind him. Sure enough, Dooku was sitting in the back of the ship, stirring a bowl of some sort of alien stew. 

Qui-Gon took a small step forward. He must have merely imagined the whistling; given that Dooku would never have done that in his life. 

“How long have you been up?” he asked. 

The older man shrugged, not bothering to give any more of an answer.  

Breakfast was an uncomfortable event. They never ate together, not even when Qui-Gon was still a padawan—Dooku always wanted to eat earlier, and Qui-Gon always wanted to eat later. Qui-Gon didn’t even know what he should say to the older man. They hadn’t talked, really talked, in a long time. 

Luckily, Dooku decided to break the silence. “I met your padawan,” he said. “The new one…” his voice quieted before adding, “...and the old.”

“Oh,” was all Qui-Gon could manage. 

It felt strange to know that Obi-Wan had some semblance of a relationship with Dooku when Qui-Gon had barely anything left with him. The older man had disappeared without a trace for more than a decade, abandoning both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan without so much of a word, and yet Qui-Gon was the one being shunned. It almost felt ironic. 

“Did you know that he crashed his ship on the planet that I was stationed at?” At Qui-Gon’s stunned expression, Dooku continued on with a chuckle. “Oh it’s no coincidence. I’m sure Yoda had something to do with it—no, I’m certain that he did.”

“He certainly enjoys meddling into others’ affairs,” Qui-Gon remarked, chuckling as well. 

It felt so absurd that after fourteen years, Obi-Wan dropped into Dooku’s life again by crashing a ship. However, Qui-Gon’s amusement quickly sombered when his brain finally dissected what his old master’s words really meant. Obi-Wan had crashed his ship. Crashed. A million worries fluttered through Qui-Gon’s brain. Is he alright? Is he injured? Did he look harmed the last time I saw him? 

Dooku laughed, clearly sensing Qui-Gon’s brewing thoughts. “Relax, Qui-Gon, the boy was fine.”

“But he could still be hurt,” Qui-Gon insisted. 

His old master just shook his head. “It’s ridiculous how similar he is to you when someone he cares about is in danger.”

Something about what Dooku said made Qui-Gon freeze. Before he could think of a proper response, a memory of Master Che the day before he left came tumbling back to him. 

“Congratulations, Master Jinn, you’re officially cleared,” the chief healer said, triumphantly patting him on the back. “All your injuries have cleared up just fine.” 

“Thank you,” Qui-Gon replied. 

By that point, he was barely paying attention to the conversation. His thoughts were all directed on the mission that laid ahead of him, and more importantly, on his old master.  

“You know,” Master Che started, her voice hesitant, “I’m not sure how much you’ve been told about your healing process, but I think… I think that you should thank your padawan.” 

Qui-Gon nodded. “Don’t worry, I’ve already thanked Anakin for his patience.” 

"No, not him.” Master Che let out a strained breath. “I meant Obi-Wan. You see, he was a tremendous help. He stayed by your side for most of the process, and he was always so polite and understanding to all the healers.”

Any last thoughts Qui-Gon had on the mission all but disappeared. “Obi-Wan?” Qui-Gon echoed. He frowned. “Vokara, I understand that you want to make me feel better, but…” 

It couldn’t be true, not with Obi-Wan. The ginger-haired knight had rushed off on the first mission he could find without saying a single goodbye to Qui-Gon. There was no way he stayed by Qui-Gon’s side. And Qui-Gon couldn’t blame him. 

Dooku’s soft voice broke Qui-Gon out of his thoughts. “It’s not too late, you know.” There was no need to ask what his old master meant by that. 

“Oh please,” Qui-Gon sighed. “We both know that’s not true.”

“Do we?” came Dooku’s quiet question. 

Suddenly they weren’t talking about Obi-Wan anymore—one look at Dooku’s eyes was enough to confirm that. Instead, they were talking about the years of fighting, anger, and disappointment that laid tumultuously between them. 

Once, Qui-Gon heard Windu remark that he wished Yoda had never pushed the two of them together in the first place. As much as Qui-Gon wanted to disagree, he could never really argue with that. Dooku was a strict master who wouldn’t let Qui-Gon rest until he mastered every little thing perfectly, while Qui-Gon was just a little boy who couldn’t sit still for even a minute. They should have balanced each other out, but instead, they only made things worse, both for the Jedi Council and for themselves.  

All of a sudden, a beep from the bridge interrupted their silence. 

“I’ll go get it,” Dooku quickly muttered, already getting out of his seat. 

Qui-Gon didn’t bother responding. 

He half-expected Dooku to retreat back into the haul, but instead, a spike of fear zipped through the force.  

“Qui-Gon, get over here,” Dooku demanded. “The sensors are picking up something.” 

When Qui-Gon met Dooku at the controls, he didn’t see the worn man that was sitting across from him at breakfast, but the Jedi Master he knew for almost all his life. Dooku was leaning over the consol, studying it coolly. His entire presence was focused solely on the sensors, as if he had forgotten that Qui-Gon was even there. 

“Bounty hunters,” his old master spit out, just as the first shot came flying towards their ship. 

The sharp rattle of the shot was enough to get Qui-Gon moving. He rushed to the pilot’s seat and immediately steered the ship away. The shot hit their shields anyways. 

“The sensor’s picking up three more ships!” Dooku exclaimed, horrified.  

Qui-Gon gritted his teeth. Through the force, he felt each shot ricocheting off the sides of the ship. He didn’t know how long the shields were going to last. 

It was then when Qui-Gon unhelpfully realized that he had never truly flown a ship in a scrimmage since Obi-Wan turned fifteen. 

“Hang on,” he snapped.

“What-” 

He cranked the ship to the side and began spinning it forwards as Dooku fell into the co-pilot’s seat. Qui-Gon may not have had Obi-Wan beside him, but he certainly remembered what his old padawan would always do on their missions. He might have called it reckless and stupid at the time, but it sure kept them alive, and that was all that really mattered.  

“Qui-Gon you’re going to get us killed!” Dooku yelled. 

Qui-Gon pointedly ignored him. He also pointedly ignored the fact that he would have said the exact same thing to Obi-Wan. 

“Qui-Gon listen to me!” 

He swung the ship downwards into an asteroid field near a sandy planet’s orbit. Two of the ships chasing them immediately blew up into flames, while the third stuttered to an abrupt stop. At the sight of the fourth ship, Qui-Gon steered closer to the planet in the hopes that the gravitational pull would play its part on the bounty hunter’s smaller ship.   

“Padawan!” 

That single word sent an electric shock through Qui-Gon’s body. Like a marionette, his head snapped up. Dooku stared back at him, utterly rigid in his seat. 

“I-” Whatever the man was going to say was cut off by a shriek of terror. “Qui-Gon, look!” 

Qui-Gon turned around just in time to see the third ship fire. 

The last thought that entered Qui-Gon’s mind as they spiraled towards a sandy ground was: this planet looks awfully familiar.  

~~~~~~~~

“What do you mean you lost their signal?” Obi-Wan stared at Master Windu with horror. It was only two and a half days since Qui-Gon and Dooku left, and they were already in trouble. 

When Obi-Wan first found out who exactly the council sent on their most recent mission, he had marched down to their chambers and all but demanded that the council keep him informed on Qui-Gon and Dooku's whereabouts. Nothing short of Hoth unfreezing could have prepared him to receive a comcall mere hours after he asked. It was so utterly unexpected that Obi-Wan had assumed that the council was playing some sort of practical joke on him.  

Windu, meanwhile, didn’t look at all concerned whatsoever. “Don’t act so worried, Kenobi. You know that missions sometimes go awry.” Wryly, he added, “Yours usually do.”  

“But you lost them in the Outer Rim!” Obi-Wan exclaimed. “What if their ship went down? Qui-Gon just got cleared! He can’t take another injury so soon, or…” he trailed off, suddenly realizing how attached he sounded just saying that.  

Windu thankfully took pity on him. “I’m sure they're fine,” he sighed. “I promise to give you any updates that may occur, but for now, that’s all I have.”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan replied politely. 

Something about the placidity of Obi-Wan’s response must have aroused suspicion in Windu, given that almost immediately after his response, he could feel Windu’s force signature tapping against his own. But just like Master Che and even Yoda, he couldn’t disrupt Obi-Wan’s carefully-crafted shields. Obi-Wan was thankful that he had become so proficient at shielding. He knew very well that the fear and apprehension that started coiling around his stomach ever since Naboo was in no way part of the Jedi Code.  

“I may not be able to sense your thoughts, Obi-Wan, but don’t think I’m stupid,” Windu said, his voice teetering somewhere between amusement and strictness. 

“I-I don’t know what you mean,” Obi-Wan replied tightly as panic overtook his body. Windu couldn’t have known, could he have?  

Windu just laughed. “You’re still temple-bound, Obi-Wan. You will not under any circumstances leave to go check on their mission. In fact,” he unclipped his com and began typing a command into it, “I’m disabling your access to the hanger effective immediately.” 

Obi-Wan blinked. He hadn’t even thought about running after the two Jedi Masters until Windu suggested it. But… it made sense. Instead of waiting, possibly even waiting to hear that both his Master and Grandmaster were dead on the same day, he could ensure that they both survived with his very own eyes. 

With a barely concealed smile, Obi-Wan turned to Windu and lightly said, “I suppose you got me there, Master.”

“Good,” Windu nodded. “Can’t have an entire lineage disappear in one day.” 

Bowing, Obi-Wan quickly excused himself from Windu’s chamber, while pointedly ignoring the look of suspicion that followed him out the door. He barely took a single step into the hall before he felt his body collide into a small sandy-haired boy—a boy who seemed to be trying his absolute best to eavesdrop.  

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan sighed, “what did I say about eavesdropping?” 

“Sorry,” the boy mumbled, blushing, “I just wanted to know if everything was okay. I haven’t heard from Qui-Gon in so long.” 

Obi-Wan couldn’t help but feel terrible for the new padawan. Not only had Qui-Gon chosen him as a padawan right before he was whisked off to a mission, but he had also disappeared almost immediately once his ship got out of orbit. It wasn’t very fair to Anakin. 

During your early apprenticeship, Qui-Gon left you behind on his missions as well, the voice in Obi-Wan’s head reminded him unhelpfully. But, of course, he did call Anakin at least once, unlike when he was with you.  

Obi-Wan forced the voice out of his mind. He couldn’t afford to be distracted now, not when Qui-Gon could very well be injured or worse. Turning back to the boy, he quietly asked, “For your piloting classes… they give you a pass to the hangar, don’t they?”

“Well, yeah,” Anakin stammered, clearly unexpecting the question. 

Obi-Wan just grinned.