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Maul... had not seen it coming. He really had not.
Savage, his twin brother, his own blood, his baby little brother he had lost and found again in two different lives already... thought of Kenobi with stars in his eyes. He admired his age-old enemy.
Never in his life had he even considered such a betrayal. It was intolerable.
Perhaps the worst thing about it all was that he did not even know how it had happened or when. For his part, Maul had carefully avoided the redhead because he knew he should not make waves, and he did not think he could restrain himself from being hysterically violent and murderous in front of this particular individual. Jinn was one thing, or rather a non-thing because he had been easier to defeat than expected for such a well-known, reputable and prestigious Master, and the tall human had certainly not been old enough for age to explain his weakness, but Kenobi was another. He might have died at peace with himself, aware that the one who had made him truly miserable at every turn was his Master and that Kenobi could have been anyone else and it would have been the same, but it was not so easy to let go of his hatred and anger. He had been killed before he turned forty and had no real childhood or adolescence, had lived through ten years of literal madness and then spent the next few years fighting desperately for survival and revenge... he did not exactly have a good handle on his most intense, wild and, admittedly, violent emotions. It was expected at this point, but unwelcome. He still used his fists and the Force very frequently, particularly Force Chokes, and he had stopped counting the number of times he had been given an earbashing because of it.
He was learning, though, to his constant consternation.
He had skipped as many years of theory classes as it was possible to do, earning himself a reputation as the ultimate genius as well as the ultimate difficult child, and he was fine with both. It was not to be self-congratulatory, but Maul was aware that he was bright in the Force-related arts and other academic fields. His mind was much the same as it had been when he was an adult and even if his body needed to be trained and his mastery of the Force perfected, as it had been back then, everything came naturally to him. It was no accident that Sidious had taken him, and it was no accident that he was killing Jedi Masters at an age when other brats were becoming Padawans. When he killed Master Jinn on Naboo, he was only seventeen. He had killed one of the best Jedi Masters in the Order when he was only seventeen.
He had nothing to learn, he did not need anyone's help.
He did not need anyone, and yet most of the High Councillors seemed to have made it their personal mission to see to it that the former Sith Apprentice he was awakened spiritually to become a good Jedi, and they were sticking to that resolution. He had not anticipated that his plan to become a nice, cute little Jedi pet would go so well that it would backfire so blatantly in less than a year. It was depressing, but the typical Cerea food was nice, Master Yaddle let him do what he wanted on their walks around Coruscant and Master Tiin was a terribly interesting conversation partner whenever lightsaber duelling was mentioned. Eeth was as attentive to them as ever, even though they no longer lived with him, and Windu... well, Windu was keeping an eye on him but as the bald man himself had told him, he was behaving well enough, so he was not too worried. Koon just seemed to adore cute children – which he was not, but apparently even a Zabrak feral child was cute in his eyes – and Master Rancisis was a bit like Master Mundi, although he had less of the paternal emotional management. Only three unknowns remained, Gallia, Piel and Sifo-Dyas, who did not seem particularly interested in him. As for Billaba... he would not talk about Billaba. She was with Windu, she was his former Padawan, she was probably crazy like him.
"Troubled, your mind is."
And then there was this old troll, the only one to have survived a confrontation with his Master despite his age and the fact that unlike when he faced Maul, his former Master now fortunately imprisoned in the most secure of prisons against Force-users had probably given everything to kill him, he was too cautious to underestimate someone like Master Yoda.
"I'm not troubled at all. Master Yoda," he then added, noticing the looks on the faces of two Jedi who had turned when hearing him being so disrespectful to the old Master in a corridor.
He had single-handedly changed the measure of what a complicated child was in this Temple, he knew – and it was immense fun for him – that the Masters and Knights no longer based themselves on an ideal of a wise and obedient child but were just relieved when they saw children who were not half as unruly as he was. It was not even rumour, because Master Windu himself had thanked him for lowering the standards of his rather fussy comrades, and as he was the only one to treat him like the young adult he sometimes felt himself to be, it felt good to talk to him even if he was walking on eggshells with every sentence.
Because his relationship with Eeth seemed stable, it was true love, so in order to get on well with the Zabrak he had to tolerate this unpleasant and annoying figure of a stepfather. Not that Eeth was a father, of course, Maul would not want a father, he would not know what to do with it.
"Jealousy, you feel."
"I don't see how that's a problem. I know I'm jealous and I know why, so everything's fine."
"Accepting and releasing that emotion, you have to learn. The way of the Jedi it is."
Maul nodded slowly before agreeing even more strongly.
"You're right, Master, I'll take care of it right away!"
He needed to release his frustration on something... or someone.
The only one responsible for his current frustration was Kenobi, so he was going to beat the crap out of Kenobi until he was satisfied. He was the only one Savage was allowed to admire.
When he finally found his little brother, he was with a tiny three-year-old Feral who walked slowly holding his hand, his eyes on his feet and the ground. Maul’s heart was filled with a raw affection that he was still wary of feeling, but he was getting better at releasing the unreasonable fear he felt about it. Not everyone he loved would be torn from him, not this time.
"Maul!" Savage exclaimed when he saw him, turning to the two older children next to him. "This is my twin brother, Maul."
"Funny, you've got completely different skin colours."
"Not all twins are alike!" Maul snapped as he turned around, refusing to let on how much it pained him every time he thought about the fact that he was not as light-skinned as his brothers.
Then his brain stopped at the golden Kiffu on a youthful face and mischievous blue eyes framed by a mass of red hair.
"I told you about Quinlan and Obi-Wan, didn't I?"
... Kriff, Maul was not ready.
"Yes, you did," he replied curtly, glowering at the two curious Initiates.
"Well here they are, Quinlan and Obi-Wan. Guys, this is my other brother."
"Do you want to help us steal sweets from the supplies without getting caught?"
"I don't need anyone's help to do that," Maul replied instinctively before realising a second late that it probably was not a smart thing to say in front of 'Perfect Kenobi'.
To his surprise, the little human looked at him with a sort of... admiration? Eh?
"Is that so? Wow, you really are a genius then?"
"I beg your pardon?"
Too much information, he did not think it would happen like this, he had not hit anyone yet and the set-up – which was just the presence of his two sweet, innocent little brothers – was horrible to start a fight for no reason.
He was trapped.
"A lot of people say you're a genius with a shitty temper," Vos shrugged, then smiling with anticipation. "How about we test that? We all try to come back with stolen food, the one who has got the most wins."
"And what's in it for me?" Maul asked, feeling that he was being drawn into something he should not be... but as he was in absolutely no danger he was actually feeling a little motivated by this 'innocent' opportunity to prove his superiority.
At least it would keep him busy.
"I've just said it, the food, duh."
"Wait, you are serious?" He asked as he glanced at his brothers, automatically bending down to take Feral in his arms when the little one silently asked to be lifted.
He spoke very little but understood everything, so Maul did not mind giving him more time to talk if that was what it took to make him happy. According to the Crèche Masters, it was normal for some children to talk less, others talked too much and deafened, everyone was different.
"You don't have to if you don't want to," Kenobi clarified when he saw his hesitation. "Our other friends don't get the point in doing this either, so we're not going to judge."
"We've long since accepted that some people just don't know how to enjoy a good thrill in life."
"Because it's stealing and there's nothing honourable about stealing," Savage said with an annoyed look that made Maul realise this was not the first time they were having this conversation.
His brother really did do things behind his back, not being able to control that was terrifying.
"These supplies are meant to be eaten by Jedi," Kenobi reminded him with an innocent smile.
"We are magnanimous Jedi," the Kiffar added with a shit-eating grin, "take care of Feral and we'll share the loot."
"I will share my booty with my little brothers," Maul interrupted furiously, handing Feral to Savage. "See you soon, losers."
Still, he thought about the interaction as he raided the pantry, picking out his brothers' favourite treats and a few cakes for Grogu, who sometimes babbled as he blindly followed him through the corridors. So what, Kenobi liked to play the field when he was young? He would never have guessed it.