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A twenty-seven year old Obi-Wan was quite the grumpy young Master at the present.
This mission to Allemands was one that had led he and his eleven year old apprentice into a sickeningly sticky swamp.
It was night now, and somehow, despite the setting of the sun, the temperature felt even more tortuous, the already-high humidity soaring to a miserable measure.
He and Anakin had planned to quickly pass through, but the unfavorable environment had other plans, forcing them to make camp; it was imperative they rest before the real work began the following rotation.
Obi-Wan’s adventurous apprentice was eager to get the fire started, and while Obi-Wan wasn’t feeling thankful for much, he was feeling thankful for that. He was in no mood as he swatted mosquitoes and stomped mud off his boots.
Once the fire was roaring, Anakin spread out his cloak in the damp soil.
“Here, Master, sit,” Anakin directed.
Obi-Wan looked at his pupil inquisitively.
“I don’t want you getting irritated; I’ll set up the shelter while you take a breather.”
Obi-Wan almost scoffed. “I’m not irritated,” he defended somewhat cross. . . and well, irritated. He heard Anakin snicker. Obi-Wan couldn’t hold in his laughter - his irritation subsiding. “Are you telling me you don’t find yourself feeling inconvenienced over our unfortunate location of campsite?”
Anakin shrugged. “What’s wrong with it?”
Obi-Wan suddenly felt silly - and spoiled. He wiped the sweat from his brow.
“It’s hot,” Anakin stated on his behalf, as if he’d read his mind - which he often did. “But sort of a soothing hot, I think.”
“A soothing hot?” Obi-Wan questioned puzzled.
“We have the steam rooms at the Temple. It’s sort of like that, but with the added bonus of moonlight, but not the blinding moonlight that reflects off the sands at home, but this nice, filtered light through all the trees; the shadows are neat, don’t you think?”
Obi-Wan hadn’t really noticed. . .
“Give me these.” Anakin was now on the move, as usual, and for some reason, tugging the boots off his Master’s feet.
“Anakin, wha—?”
“I’m going to go down by that waterway and rinse them off. They’ll be dry by morning.”
In this moisture trap, Obi-Wan had his doubts about that, but he humored his sweet and considerate Padawan anyway.
He watched Anakin disappear over the edge of a small bank, that ‘neat’ moonlight purposefully guiding his way. Obi-Wan chuckled to himself. He could always count on Anakin to ground him - to help him find joy in the journey.
The evening’s setback was an exciting turn of events for Anakin, and Obi-Wan would not rob him of the pleasure; he would try to see the benefits himself. He would look at this change of plans from Anakin’s perspective - childlike and appreciative. He would take care to discover the beauty around him. . . That beauty was the bright, shining boy he’d been serendipitously assigned to lead and protect.
“Master! Look!” Anakin shrieked as he came running up the bayou bank.
Dozens of fireflies swarmed the young man, keeping up with his quick pace.
“What are these?!” Anakin asked charged and full of delight.
Obi-Wan chuckled. “Those are fireflies, Padawan, and they certainly seem to like you.”
Anakin’s smile radiated through the darkness as he spun around to observe them all. “What do they do?” he wondered.
“Do?”
“Are they guides? Are we meant to follow them somewhere great?!”
Obi-Wan shook his head smiling, the spirit of the imaginative, young heart warming his own. Of course, the Chosen One would expect the insects to have some divine purpose. “Well, they’re really just. . .” Obi-Wan stopped short in his boring and probably disappointing explanation. “You know, Qui-Gon always told me they were a symbol of good fortune.”
“Really?!”
“Yes - of peace and prosperity to come.” Obi-Wan hadn’t imagined himself to ever be a fictional storyteller, but here he was. . . He certainly wouldn’t classify this as a lie. “They tend to be drawn to the purest of hearts, wanting to associate themselves with sentients that personify hope.”
Anakin grinned humbly.
TWELVE YEARS LATER
War at a close, Sith at an end, Obi-Wan and his grown-up Padawan are on holiday on the robust and romantic world of Orleans.
Bright stars overhead, the pair sit quietly together on a balcony overlooking the low-lit uptown sector of the planet’s most culture-enriched city.
The night air is certainly warmer than what Obi-Wan prefers, but there is no other place he’d rather be for the moment.
Anakin’s slender fingers find his large hand and take hold. Obi-Wan interlocks their digits together.
Anakin bends his knees, bringing his feet up on the wrought iron loveseat and snuggling to his Master’s side. Obi-Wan wraps an arm around him and presses a kiss to his temple.
“So pretty here,” Anakin notes.
“Gorgeous.” Obi-Wan’s neck is still turned towards his beloved.
“Not too hot?”
Obi-Wan mouth shrugs and shakes his head. “It’s that comforting sauna-kind-of-hot.”
Anakin cackles. “What are you on?”
“Nothing,” Obi-Wan says softly as he cards through Anakin’s curls.
“At least there’s no bug bites tonight,” Anakin comments. “They’re singing, but not biting.”
“Yes. Well hidden as well.” Obi-Wan smoothes Anakin’s hair in completion and squeezes his shoulder.
“I was hoping we’d see some fireflies,” Anakin begins. “We hadn’t been in this type of climate since Allemands when I was a kid. Do you remember that?”
“Of course,” Obi-Wan acknowledges fondly.
“What you told me about the fireflies back then. . . That wasn’t true, was it?”
Obi-Wan shifts in the seat and Anakin sits up straighter to face him. His smile is subtle and expectant. “Well, it must be true - I’d say we found ourselves pretty fortunate, wouldn’t you?”
Anakin chuckles. “I more meant the part about them being drawn to the purest of hearts.”
Obi-Wan smiles. “That must be true as well.”
“Then why weren’t they all around you?”
Obi-Wan averts bashful eyes.
“Thank you. For giving a little kid something to be excited about.”
“Thank you . For always showing me the beauty life has to offer.”
A falling, shimmering star suddenly drops out of the sky and lands upon Obi-Wan’s knee.
Both men look down, and Obi-Wan can somehow hear Anakin’s mouth flopping open in surprise.
A single firefly’s wings slowly pulse, the glow emitting from its tiny body flickering in time.
A second little bug hums in place, fluttering right in front of Anakin’s face as he gasps.
Two more appear. Three. Six. Eight. A dozen.
Soon, a full, familiar swarm light up the sensuous space. . . all circling Obi-Wan.
“Then, it is true,” Anakin calls through the haze of the insects as he laughs.
Now, the lightning bugs change course and broaden their loop to encase them both.
Obi-Wan watches Anakin’s face literally and metaphorically brighten - that same alluring, childlike wonder from over a decade ago.
“Well,” Obi-Wan beams, “I suppose so.”