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Ahsoka got over the Hardeen incident a lot faster than Anakin did. That much was obvious. Her Master tended to hold things to heart until it suffocated him. She understood that some missions needed the upmost secrecy. As this war drew on, she expected there to be more instances like that. It hurt, but she grew to understand why it happened.
The Council sent them out to some snowy planet in the Outer Rim. Something about pirates – Ahsoka admittedly didn’t listen as well as she should have during the briefing. It was hard to when her Master was fuming about being in the same room as Obi-Wan.
She thought – and she imagined Obi-Wan hoped – that Anakin would settle down by the time they got out here. Close proximity in hyperspace tended to air out emotions pretty well. Except it hadn’t.
And now the weather prevented them from getting anything done here. Which only made things worse, because now she was bored.
She burst into the room Commander Cody and Obi-Wan had commandeered as an office. Cody sat at the desk, working on some report. “I’m tired of them!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms into the air. Cody glanced up over the datapad he was working on. She collapsed into the chair on the other side of the desk.
“Who… exactly are you tired of?” She didn’t miss the hint of amusement in his voice.
“Anakin mostly.” She shrugged. It was almost impossible to get through to him when he was like this. And she knew Master Kenobi has tried. “He’s not being fair.”
Cody punched some numbers into the datapad before putting it down. “He’ll work through everything like the rest of us. Sometimes it’s not so easy for people. Some of the 212th are still dealing with it.”
Ahsoka slouched down in the chair and crossed her arms. She leaned her head back, staring up at the ceiling. She tried to come up with something to say but she knew that Cody was right. That and a rich chocolately smell in the room distracted her. Brows furrowed, she sat up, finally noticing the steaming cup on the desk.
“Is that hot coco?”
Cody looked down at the mug. “Yeah. The General made it before he left. Want some?” Leave it to Obi-Wan to bring the comforts of the Temple with him on missions. It was a smart idea, actually. She might have to copy it.
She chewed at her lip. “No, I think I’m going to go talk to him.”
Ahsoka stepped outside into a fresh layer of snow. She looked up at the sky. Sunlight peaked through the new breaks in the clouds. Good, it finally stopped snowing. Maybe now they’ll be able to get something done here. And they can get off this blasted planet.
She spotted Obi-Wan standing on his own, staring out into the landscape. If he knew she was there, he gave no indication of it. The corner of her mouth pulled up in a smirk as an idea formed in her head. It’s been too long since she actually had any fun, which meant it was even longer for Obi-Wan. And while the weather decided to halt their progress, why not make the most of it? She bent down, gathering some snow in her hands. It wasn’t the best snow for making snowballs. Half of it flaked off when she stood up. But it would do.
Muffling her steps, she walked forward, getting as close as she dared to Obi-Wan. Her grandmaster was notoriously hard to surprise – due to the years of training Anakin, she suspected. If she missed, that was it. Her whole plan was over. She took a deep breath and threw the snowball. It landed smack on the back of his head. Ahsoka allowed herself a small victory dance before diving behind some crates to hide.
“Ahsoka.”
Glee started to spill out as she formed the next snow ball. An unstoppable grin spread across her face. When was the last time they had any sort of fun? She was doing them a favor. Taking a breath to center herself, she popped up behind her piece of cover and threw.
It landed against the side his face. She laughed. “Gotcha!”
He looked over at her, the hint of a smirk ghosting across his face. “Two can play at this game, Padawan.”
Oh kriff. She quickly ducked behind cover again, narrowly avoiding a snowball. Snow drifted down from where it crashed against the crate, landing on her forehead.
Ahsoka. Her bond with Master Kenobi was not as strong as hers with Anakin, but it was there. And now it seemed Obi-Wan was using it to cheat. She looked to the left, where it sounded like his voice was coming from and saw nothing.
Crack! A burst of cold hit across the right side of her face. Obi-Wan’s laughter rang out across the field.
“Oh, we’re cheating now!” She called out, popping up from her hiding spot. She’d have to find a new one. That wasn’t a problem. There were plenty supply crates sitting out here waiting to be brought in. “And I thought you had honor, Master Kenobi.”
“You issued the challenge by using a sneak attack on me, Padawan Tano,” he said with a smirk. “Honor disappeared with the first throw.”
She threw another snowball. It went wide and missed. She wasn’t fully convinced he wasn’t using the Force to avoid them. “When did you get good at snowball fights?” She called out across the field.
“Oh, you’ve sorely underestimated me, young one. I was the snowball fight champion of my creche year.”
She snorted. There wasn’t a snowball fight champion. At least not in her creche year. Her brow furrowed. Was it a thing? She didn’t think Coruscant got that much snow for it. Ahsoka didn’t notice the snowball in Obi-Wan’s hands until it hit her in the stomach.
The sound of Obi-Wan laughing made her pause. It was something she hadn’t heard in weeks, not genuinely. This war had dragged on for so long, taking the most of all of them. When was the last time any of them laughed?
Ahsoka shook her head, bringing her attention back to the present. Well… if he’s not going to play fair… She took advantage of the moment and ran at him. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and dived for the ground. He should have seen her coming – and in hindsight, he probably did – but they both went down laughing. Ahsoka got a full face of snow as she dived. Pain flared up from the arm she landed on. There will definitely be some new bruises tomorrow.
“I do say,” Obi-Wan said, sitting up, “I think I’ve been bested. Though, I still don’t know how entirely fair it was.”
She laughed, rolling over onto her back. Her jacket was entirely soaked, the cold stating to sneak through. “Fair’s not that fun.”
He scoffed. “Spoken just like your Master, young one. It looks like I’ll have another opportunity to reclaim my title.”
The sky was starting to turn cloudy again. More snow incoming, she guessed. “You’re on, old man.”
Someone cleared their voice, drawing their attention. Ahsoka sat up and turned her head. Rex stood at the doorway into the building. “We just received a transmission from General Yularen.” Ahsoka caught the smirk he was trying to hide.
Obi-Wan’s eyes went wide. “Oh we should go deal with that,” he said, as if he just remembered they were in the middle of a war. He stood up, dusting the snow off his coat. Ahsoka was still amazed how he could switch to looking so dignified so easily. “We’ll be right there.” And with that, he turned to her and extended a hand to help her up.
They can’t go back to being General and Commander, yet. She refuses to let a moment like this disappear so quickly. With a smile spreading across her face, she launches forward, throwing her arms around Obi-Wan’s neck. She buried her face into his jacket, pouring so much love into the small bond they had.
She heard a soft chuckle as he returned the hug. “When did you get so tall?”
“That happens you know,” she said, voice slightly muffled, “with time and all, people grow.” A similar warmth of love nudged her through their bond.
For a second, there was no war, just this moment. “Well, stop it. Soon you’ll be taller than me, and I can’t have both of you doing that.”
Obi-Wan was the one who broke the hug. He urged her toward the building, back toward the war, but he kept a gentle arm wrapped around her shoulders.
“Your first throw knocked over my hot coco,” he said, as they started walking back to the building, “and whatever left of it is surely cold by now. What if, after we hear whatever it is General Yularen has to say, I make us a new pot.”
She beamed up at him. “I would love that.”