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Bail looked up at the statues of historical Jedi Masters as he scaled the massive staircase at the front of the Jedi Temple. He had been on Coruscant for several months at that point, settling into his new role as Senator for Alderaan, and he had had yet to visit the Temple. Part of that was the many constraints on his time, and part of it was the many time constraints on the part of the man he was going to visit.
“Knight Kenobi!” Bail called as he finally reached the top of the stairs and caught sight of his friend moving towards him through the sporadic clumps of tourists and visitors.
“Senator Organa.” Obi Wan greeted with a bow. Bail returned it, conscious of the public nature of their meeting, and they started to walk towards the grand doors of the Temple. It was not the first time they had seen each other since Bail had arrived on Coruscant, but he still felt the same urge to pull him into a hug as he had before.
“I am pleased that we have been able to find a time to meet.” Bail said. Obi Wan smiled at him, a quiet thing that spoke of the heavy grief the recent months had borne for the newly knighted Jedi.
“As am I.” Obi Wan said. “I always treasure our meetings.”
The entrance hall to the Jedi Temple was just as impressive as the walk up was and Bail itched to ask Obi Wan about it, but the venue still felt far too public for the kinds of questions he might ask his friend about the history of the Order and his place in it.
They turned off the entrance hall into a large airy corridor, and then Obi Wan ducked behind a pillar, gesturing for Bail to follow him.
A door that Bail could have sworn had not been there before opened in front of them, and Obi Wan slipped through.
The new hallway they found themselves in was a direct contrast to the other parts of the Temple Bail had seen only moments prior. The only word he could think to use to describe it was cozy, filled with textiles and art as it was.
“The public halls are often too overwhelmed by powerful and not necessarily positive emotions from the non-Jedi who pass through.” Obi Wan said by way of explanation. “The halls off of the public ones are fuelled with things that are imbued with less overwhelming emotions as places of respite.”
“Is that why the Temple is only open to visitors two days a week? To prevent things from becoming totally overwhelming?” Bail asked. He imagined that if the Jedi charged for tours they could turn a pretty good profit. Maybe they already did.
“That is why the Temple is only open to unscheduled visitors coming through the Great Doors two days a week, yes.” Obi Wan said, trailing his fingers along the tapestries on the wall as they walked. “There are almost always visitors here in some capacity.”
“That makes sense.” Bail said after a moment. It did, the Jedi Order had many reasons to let people who were not Jedi within its walls, only a few of which included tourists wandering around, even just in the public parts of the Temple.
They stepped out into another bright, airy hallway and Obi Wan took them over to a lift.
“How is your padawan?” Bail asked as they went up.
“Anakin is doing well. He is struggling a little with fitting in, but that is more than understandable.” He folded his arms into his sleeves, a move that Bail had seen many Jedi employ over the years. He could have done it for any number of reasons, but Bail saw it in this instance as a reminder that they were still in public, even though there was no one else in the lift with them.
“I can imagine it has been quite a shift, moving from Tatooine to Coruscant.” Bail said. He knew more of the specifics, knew that moving from Tatooine to Coruscant was probably the least of the changes Anakin was grappling with, but that was hardly anyone else’s business.
They fell silent again as Obi Wan led Bail through a hall of residential rooms to the one labelled with Obi Wan and Anakin’s names. The signs were handmade, and Anakin’s name was written in both Aurebesh and what Bail assumed was Huttese, the first much shakier than the second.
Obi Wan let them into the room. It seemed almost empty, though Bail knew that they had moved in a few months ago. Obi Wan had once told him that there were no restrictions on having personal property, provided one did their best to follow the tenet against attachment. Still, looking at the rooms made Bail want to get Obi Wan some art to hang on his walls, at the very least.
“Please sit.” Obi Wan said, gesturing towards the table. “Would you like some tea?”
“Yes please.” Bail drew a datapad out of one of his pockets and took the seat that Obi Wan had indicated. “Breha got in touch. She said that Shmi has arrived safely.”
“Good.” Obi Wan exhaled slowly, pouring loose tea leaves into a pot. “Anakin’s class ends in an hour. Will you be able to stay until then?” Bail checked his chrono.
“I should have the time.” Bail said. He would make time if he had to. Reassuring a young boy that his mother was safe would be worth the extra time spent. Besides, he always enjoyed talking to Obi Wan. “Please pass along my thanks to Masters Yoda and Windu for their assistance and for the loan of Order resources to the Freedom Trail.”
“Of course.” Obi Wan said. They fell into comfortable conversation as they waited for the water to boil and the tea to steep.