Chapter Text
All good things must end.
There hadn’t been very many good things in Obi-Wan’s life. In fact, he could count them on one hand. First, his brothers Feemor and Anakin. Second, his grandfather Count Dooku. Third, his friendship with Quinlan. Fourth, his Kingdom Coruscant. And fifth, his marriage to Alpha and Cody.
Originally an arranged marriage with no guarantee that Obi-Wan would be anything more to Mandalore than a spouse for two of their princes. But oh, how it had made Obi-Wan’s life better than it had been before. Even though he was several years older than both his husbands, he had still grown to love them fiercely.
Even Anakin, who had been averse to Obi-Wan marrying two Mandalorian Princes had eventually grown to tolerate them. Obi-Wan used to feel warm inside when he thought of his husbands. But now his heart just twisted with despair.
The tent flap behind him swished open. “The men are ready for the assault.” Rex’s calm voice informed him.
“Thank you Rex dear.” Obi-Wan breathed as he stood from where he had been looking over maps and considering his estranged husbands.
Obi-Wan had spent the majority of his life before marriage fighting. Enlisting as a soldier in his grandfather’s army when he was 14 and rising through the ranks until he was only a rank below his father, the King of Coruscant in the Coruscanti army. But after his marriage, he had enjoyed three years of bliss. As a Prince of Mandalore he had served the Empire in other ways.
The Mandalorians had allowed him to oversee various domestic affairs for the empire. Planning festivals, infrastructure and education. He hadn’t had to lift his lightsaber in three years.
Obi-Wan pressed his fingers into the wedding ring beneath his tunics. It hung on a chain around his neck instead of on his ring finger. It had needed to be removed after Alpha told him he would be the next Mand’alor.
Obi-Wan attached his lightsaber to his waist and followed Rex out of the tent. Ready to fight once more.
All good things must end indeed.
~~
“I think I should join the Mandalorian Army.” Obi-Wan stated.
Cody looked confused. “What ever for?”
“I need something to occupy my time and take my mind off of things.” Obi-Wan admitted. “I need time away to deal with this heartbreak.”
Cody’s face softened. “It is going to be difficult for all of us, but I think you being here would help smooth the transition. Let Mandalore know that even with the divorce you’ll still support Alpha as the new Mand’alor.”
“I do support him. But I fear it will be too painful for me to watch him be crowned. It won’t be forever, I will return to the castle and to you. But I need to grieve.” Obi-Wan admitted quietly.
There was a long silence as Cody just looked at him. There was a hint of sadness as he noted Obi-Wan’s appearance. Specifically the reappearance of his Jedi robes and his lightsaber.
Finally, Cody acquiesced. “I understand. I’ll talk to Alpha, we’re shuffling some generals around, so there should be an opening for you.”
“That’s not necessary.” Obi-Wan interrupted. “I don’t need a command. You can just send me off to one of the battalions and I will help in any way that I can.”
“Obi-Wan. Even though you have to divorce Alpha, you’re still a Prince of Mandalore. I’m going to make sure you get appointed to a legion that is befitting of your rank.”
“Thank you, Cody.” Obi-Wan gave up the argument. “I appreciate your patience and willingness to give me the time I need in order to grieve the end of my marriage with Alpha.”
Obi-Wan really did appreciate it. He knew he was being dramatic, because after all he was still going to be married to Cody. So it wasn’t like Mandalore was kicking him to the side because the Princes had lost interest in Obi-Wan.
“Take all the time you need.” Cody promised. He clearly didn’t want to say anything about Obi-Wan’s relationship with Alpha, likely for fear of overstepping. “I’ll still be here when you are ready to return. I’ll always be here.”
~~
And so Obi-Wan had been appointed to the 212th battalion. Fitting as it was the battalion ordered to secure the Mandalorian and Coruscanti border. Furthermore, villages on both sides of the border were inundated with bandit attacks that the army had been unable to stop in recent months. Thus, there would be plenty for Obi-Wan to do in order to keep himself busy.
Even though he had not lifted his lightsaber for battle in three years, he was able to conduct himself in battle like he hadn’t taken a significant break. Sweat beaded Obi-Wan’s brow, but that was the extent of his struggles.
Obi-Wan and Rex led a squad of soldiers into a bandit stronghold. Only having discovered the secret hideout a few days ago thanks to an informant.
Obi-Wan’s lightsaber arched through the air. Blocking enemy swords and allowing Obi-Wan to disarm his opponents and allow Rex to apprehend them and tie them up for questioning. He twirled and blocked blades and then leapt through the air and dove down onto opponents, slashing through the weaknesses in their armor.
His lightsaber hummed, happy to be at his side once more.
The bandits were unprepared to face a fully fledged Jedi Knight. Likely not expecting the Mandalorian Army to have one fighting on their side, and not thinking that the Kingdom of Coruscant would send one of the few Jedi to fight such a small battle.
Even Rex and the men seemed to be in awe of Obi-Wan’s abilities. Which was a given, as they hadn’t seen Obi-Wan fight before his marriage to Alpha and Cody. But Obi-Wan had expected them to know more about the Jedi, especially considering they would have had to do their research before agreeing to the arranged marriage.
But these were thoughts for another day. For now, Obi-Wan had a bandit ring to take down and villages to secure.
Eventually Obi-Wan and Rex apprehended the last bandit in the stronghold. Once they were secure they left them to the rest of the 212th to secure them and take them for questioning.
They were walking side by side back to the camp when Rex spoke up. “I’ve never seen you fight like that before sir.”
Obi-Wan nodded. He had sparred with his husbands, and with other members of the family, but only using standard sword fighting maneuvers. Never using the force to augment his speed, or any of his acrobatic skills.
“I only use my force abilities and lightsaber in actual combat, or against another Jedi. I wouldn’t use them when sparring with your brothers.” Obi-Wan promised. “I would never have put them in harm.”
Rex looked at him sharply. “That wasn’t my concern, I’m worried that you’re relying on skills you haven’t used in years. And skills that the men aren’t familiar with. It will make it difficult to watch your back during battle.”
Obi-Wan blinked. He hadn’t expected Rex to be concerned with that. “Not to worry. The force allows me to sense danger. It watches my back for me.” He promised.
“At least let me modify some of our drills to accommodate.”
“Of course.” Obi-Wan smiled.
They returned to the camp, ate dinner and Obi-Wan prepared a report to send back to the capitol. He drafted his report late into the evening, pouring over it and picking each word carefully. He knew Alpha and Cody would read it. They were in the chain of command so he needed to communicate that he was fine, and had the situation handled.
“May I enter sir?” Rex’s voice came from outside his tent.
“Of course.” Obi-Wan smiled up at him. “What can I do for you?”
“I received a missive from command, and wanted to let you know as soon as possible. King Feemor in Coruscant has learned that you returned to the front, and he petitioned to have Prince Skywalker join you. He wants the Prince to learn from you. And the Mand’alor agreed. Prince Skywalker should be arriving any day now.”
Obi-Wan breathed as he processed the information. His younger brother would be joining him. His chest, which had felt cold since Alpha had told him they needed to divorce felt warm. “Truly?” He whispered.
“Here.” Rex handed Obi-Wan a small scroll. He was clearly uncomfortable with the display of emotion.
It was true. Anakin was going to join him. Obi-Wan felt wetness gather in his eyes, threatening to spill. But he kept it together in front of Rex. “This is wonderful news Rex. Thank you for letting me know.”
Rex nodded and made himself scarce. He may be Obi-Wan’s brother in law, but he was clearly uncomfortable with Obi-Wan displaying any emotion. Obi-Wan felt sympathy for Rex. He was in a tough spot, on one hand he was on the side of his brother Alpha, but he also had to report to and support Obi-Wan, Alpha’s soon to be ex-husband.
Anakin did in fact arrive a few days later. He had grown so much since Obi-Wan saw him last. They had kept in contact through letters, and Anakin had visited Mandalore a few times, but he hadn’t seemed to get along with Alpha and Cody so they hadn’t seen each other very much recently.
They wrapped each other in the tightest hug when they met. “Anakin my dear, I missed you tremendously.” Obi-Wan whispered into Anakin’s chest.
“I missed you too Obi-Wan. I can’t believe the Mandalorians let you out, we’re going to have so much fun.” His smile was the widest Obi-Wan could ever remember it being.
Obi-Wan couldn’t help but let out a wet sounding laugh. “We are here with a purpose Anakin. This is not like a grand adventure from one of your books.”
Anakin shrugged. “I’m just glad that we get to do this together.” He gestured to a young girl behind him. “This is my apprentice, Ahsoka. I took her after you left for Mandalore, but she wants to learn from you as well.”
The girl bowed to Obi-Wan. “Prince Kenobi.” She greeted.
“Just Obi-Wan is fine my dear. And my surname is Fett now.” Obi-Wan reminded Ahsoka gently as he held out his hand to shake.
Ahsoka’s eyes turned to Rex. “But there are so many Prince Fetts here…”
“You can address Prince Obi-Wan as General.” Rex says curtly. “He is your commanding officer after all.”
Anakin and Ahsoka both saluted Obi-Wan and called him general just to get Rex to sputter. To spare Rex’s dignity Obi-Wan pulled them away and led them to tents that they would be staying in.
Having Anakin there eased the tightness Obi-Wan had been feeling ever since Alpha told him he would be Mand’alor. Anakin filled the space between him and Obi-Wan with news of Coruscant.
As part of the marriage treaty with Mandalore, Mand’alor Fett had demanded that King Qui-Gon abdicate in favor of his oldest son, Prince Feemor. It had been a smart move, as King Qui-Gon had never been very gifted at ruling, and Feemor had always had more of a natural gift for it.
Feemor had also quickly married Xanatos off. And in Anakin’s mind, Xanatos had married well above his station. Anakin and Xanatos had never been very close, too many years separating them. And the fact that Xanatos had been Qui-Gon’s favorite son.
“The castle is quieter without Xanatos. But more peaceful. Feemor gave me Xanatos’ old room so I can work with my inventions. I’s been working on-“
Obi-Wan tuned Anakin out as he told him about his newest inventions. Anakin had always had an affinity for mechanics, and liked to take things apart and rebuild them. Or build entirely new things. Obi-Wan had lost several clocks to Anakin’s whims
Obi-Wan tuned back in when Anakin changed the topic. “So how are you doing? Feemor didn’t give me the specifics, just said that Alpha was going to be the Mand’alor and he was divorcing you.”
Obi-Wan sighed. Thankfully they were alone in Obi-Wan’s tent, Ahsoka asleep in her own tent across from them. “The Mand’alor has to be unmarried. It signifies that they view the Empire as their partner and no one in their heart can come before it. It’s why the Mandalorians had me marry both Alpha and Cody, if one of them became Mand’alor, the marriage treaty would still be honored because I would still be married into the Fett family.” Obi-Wan explained.
“But didn’t you say that Alpha and Cody didn’t expect to be the Mand’alor?”
“Yes. At the time neither of them expected to succeed their father. However, things have changed.” Obi-Wan looked down at his boots.
“But how did you come to be out here fighting? They hadn’t sent you out to fight before now.”
“They didn’t send me out here to fight. I chose to do this.” Obi-Wan explained. “It has been… Difficult for me. To know that my marriage to Alpha is ending soon. So I needed a distraction.”
“A distraction? What do you mean— Oh blast. You love him don’t you!” Anakin sounded accusatory. “That’s crazy Obi-Wan. How could you fall in love with him?!”
Obi-Wan shushed him. “I know you and Alpha don’t get along, but he has always been a respectful doting partner. He and Cody both made me happy. I felt like I had a real family in Mandalore, for the first time since you and your mother brought me into the Skywalker fold.”
Anakin was still scrunching his face. Likely at the thought that Obi-Wan could have done something so crazy as fall in love with his husband. But then his face softened. “I’m glad you were able to be happy with them. It must be difficult for Alpha to leave you behind since you fell in love.”
“Well…” Obi-Wan started and then stopped. “It didn’t quite turn out that way.”
Anakin’s jaw dropped. “Wait. Wait just a minute. Are you telling me you fell in love with Alpha and he DOESN’T love you back?”
Obi-Wan just nodded miserably. Unable to put it into words. It was truly pathetic.
“That bastard. I’d fight him if I didn’t think I would immediately lose. But damn, I don’t like that he’s allowed to just break your heart AND he gets to be the King!”
“Unfortunately, life is not fair.” Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin’s shoulder. “But I will be fine, my dear. I just need some time. And in the meantime, you and I have some bandits to root out.”
~~
“Cody told me that you want to join the military.” Alpha’s voice was as it always was, deep and commanding. He also cut right to the point as he was wont to do.
“Yes. I think it would be beneficial for me.” Obi-Wan placated. He wasn’t sure how to be around his soon to be ex-husband. Someone he loved, and who he had shared his entire life and self with for three years. The man in front of him was like a stranger.
“Why? You haven’t wanted to join the military before now. You seemed happy enough teaching and handling your committees.” Alpha pointed out. “We don’t need you to fight on our behalf.”
Obi-Wan hadn’t told them everything that led to his lengthy career in the Coruscanti army. That his choice was either military service, or being kept in the Royal palace like some relic. Unable to inherit the throne, and unlikely to enter a political marriage. There had only been one way he could serve his country.
All Alpha and Cody knew was that Obi-Wan had been fighting since he was 14 and he was ready for something else. And in many ways it had been the truth. It was difficult at first to set his lightsaber aside and tuck his Jedi robes away. But after teaching, after chairing several committees and meeting the people of Mandalore, he had been able to put fighting out of his mind.
“I need it.” Obi-Wan admitted quietly. “I need it to take my mind off of things. And get over my heartbreak.”
“Heartbreak?” Alpha asked. “You’ll still be married to Cody.”
“Yes I know. But I’ve been married to you as well for three years. I love you, and its not going to be easy to leave you.” Obi-Wan said. “I need some time to heal.”
“You’re heartbroken… Because of me?” Alpha’s face was unreadable. His tone still even.
Obi-Wan looked away. “Yes. I love you. These past years have been the happiest of my life, and now its all going away. It’s a big change.”
Alpha just blinked. But didn’t respond.
“I’m sure its going to be difficult for you as well. I can’t imagine how you must feel, ending things and then becoming the Mand’alor.” Obi-Wan continued. “And I’m sure my absence will help. Give you some time to adjust to the new normal.”
Alpha still said nothing. And Obi-Wan finally looked up. He didn’t know what he had been looking for when he looked at Alpha, but he didn’t find it. Alpha didn’t look upset in the slightest.
And suddenly Obi-Wan remembered something. He had never told Alpha he loved him before now. Knowing that Alpha didn’t care for overly emotional displays, he had instead used physical touch to show his husband how much he loved him. And Alpha had certainly never told Obi-Wan he loved him.
But Obi-Wan had thought that they had a connection. A love connection.
He felt suddenly sick as he realized that Alpha did not return his feelings. That it had been Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan only feeling this way. The three years they had been together and had meant everything to Obi-Wan, hadn’t meant anything to Alpha.
“Oh.” Obi-Wan reached for his hip where his lightsaber was, only to remember that he had left it in their- Alpha’s rooms.
Alpha still hadn’t spoken. So Obi-Wan filled the silence between them. “In any case, I think serving in the military will benefit Mandalore as well as myself. I am a very accomplished Jedi Knight, which is what made me the best candidate to marry into your family. It is about time that I stepped up and fulfilled my duty to Mandalore.”
He turned to the door. “I’ll await my orders. I’ve already packed up all my things, I just need to get my bags and I’ll be out of your rooms.”
Obi-Wan had lived with Alpha and Cody in Alpha’s rooms, but were now moving out into Cody’s old rooms so that Alpha could have his space and privacy.
As Obi-Wan turned the knob of the door to exit, Alpha finally spoke. “I want Rex to go with you. He’ll help you handle any differences between commanding Mandalorian troops as opposed to Coruscanti. And he’ll keep an eye on your back.”
Obi-Wan nodded. He had expected Cody to go with him, but Rex would be easier to be around.
“Farewell Alpha. May the Force be with you.” Obi-Wan smiled one last time at his husband and then took his leave.
~~
“How high can you jump?”
Obi-Wan scratched his beard. “I’ve never tested to see how high I can jump. I’ve always trusted in the force to help me get to where I need to go.”
Ahsoka groaned. “You sound like King Qui-Gon. ‘Just trust in the force Ahsoka’ but what I need is to know how high a Jedi can jump so that I can use it in a combat situation.”
“Well you’re not entering any combat situations right now. So you should be fine.” Anakin chimed in.
The 212th was currently en route to another village that had reported bandit sightings. And Ahsoka was filling up the travel time with questions for Obi-Wan.
“How about we all practice force assisted leaps when we make camp. And we can tell each other how high we can jump.” Obi-Wan offered.
“Oh yes!” Ahsoka cheered.
“But we are only doing so to gauge our own abilities and practice. Not to show off in front of my troops.” Obi-Wan reminded Ahsoka.
“Yes, General Kenobi.” She said with a minimal eye roll.
That evening after they broke for camp Obi-Wan, Ahsoka and Anakin all took turns seeing how high they could jump with the force. Obi-Wan hadn’t given it much thought before, but he was pleasantly surprised by everyone’s skills. Surprisingly, Ahsoka was the one of them who could jump the highest, much to Anakin’s consternation.
Rex had followed them to supervise and just watched them with a vaguely ill look. He was not enthused by their force abilities. Anakin just clapped a hand on Rex’s back. “Let’s get dinner together!” And he led the two of them away.
Ahsoka and Obi-Wan followed them back to the camp, but split ways so she could go eat with the men and Obi-Wan could retire to his tent. A surprising development was how close Anakin had grown to Rex. It made sense because they were very close in age, but given Rex’s discomfort around Jedi, it had still been surprising.
Obi-Wan ate his dinner alone in his tent. Not feeling like eating with the men, and without Anakin he didn’t have someone he could force to eat with him and keep him company. And he was loathe to get in between his brother’s new friendship with Rex.
Obi-Wan was lonely, he supposed. After all, he had always eaten his meals with Cody or Alpha or both. For some reason they had thought that Obi-Wan wouldn’t eat if they didn’t remind him. Which was ridiculous because out of the three of them, he kept the best eating schedule.
But they weren’t here now, and he missed them. At least he would return to Cody, but the thought of returning to just Cody and not Alpha still made him feel sick.
Unable to set down and strategize after dinner, Obi-Wan decided to walk around the camp and clear his mind.
Unintentionally, he found himself walking past Rex’s tent. And inside he could hear Rex and Anakin talking.
“So why is it that Obi-Wan has so much more military experience than you?” Rex was asking.
“It’s a long story. But basically, all of our brothers have a different mom. It’s why the nobles address us with our surnames, to throw it in our faces that our father went through women like no one’s business. But with Obi-Wan, our father didn’t actually marry his mother. So, Obi-Wan was born out of wedlock, and would have been a bastard had his grandfather, Count Dooku not intervened. Obi-Wan’s grandfather is one of the richest and most powerful nobles in Coruscant, so he forced our father to recognize Obi-Wan as his son and give him a title. But Obi-Wan isn’t in line for the throne. So when he was growing up he couldn’t take the traditional path of most Princes, and do the school thing and then train to handle affairs of state. Instead he had to go join the military. One of my first memories was actually him leaving, it upset me so much.” Anakin explained.
“I had no idea!” Rex sounded truly shocked. “That hadn’t been in any of our briefing.”
“Well the Mandalorians seemed more interested in him because he could fight. At least that’s what we were told when you all accepted our marriage treaty. We had thought you would want Xanatos, it was surprising when your father said you all wanted Obi-Wan.” Anakin kept going.
“I thought it was customary for Princes to join the military in Coruscant. It certainly is in Mandalore. I hadn’t known that Obi-Wan didn’t have another option. And to think, if he hadn’t married Alpha or Cody he would still be fighting.” Rex said quietly.
“Don’t get me started on your brothers.” Anakin sounded exasperated. “I’d like to give them a piece of my mind. Sorry, I don’t mean to offend you, but Alpha is a piece of shit. I know he’s your brother and you have to take his side, but he sucks.”
Rex is quiet for several beats. “What exactly did Alpha do?”
“He’s an asshole!” Anakin exclaimed. “Just threw Obi-Wan away so that he could be the King. It’s why Obi-Wan is out here.”
“Oh. I hadn’t known that. I thought Obi-Wan had gotten bored of life at the palace and wanted to go on adventures again.”
“Oh no. If Obi-Wan had his way nobody would ever fight.”
“Really? Do you know how long Obi-Wan might want to be in the army this go around?”
“Until he feels better. But between you and me, I don’t think he’ll go back to the way things were before. Not after what happened.”
“Is he upset that Alpha is going to be Mand’alor?”
“No. The problem is that he’s in love with your brother. And your brother doesn’t love him.”
“What?! He’s in love with ALPHA?” Rex’s voice went high pitched. As if the thought that anyone could love Alpha was ridiculous.
Obi-Wan took that opportunity to speed walk away from the tent. What a disaster. How embarrassing.
He really was pathetic. Unwanted and unloved by his father, and now his husbands. Anakin was right. He needed to stay on the front lines. This was all he was good for.