Work Text:
Anakin was very, very careful not to alert Obi-wan to what he was doing. That morning, he had carefully packed his bag while he was pretending to sleep in like he always did. He then snuck money from Obi-wan's wallet that afternoon when Quinlan came by so Obi-wan would think it was his friend that took the money and not his Padawan.
Anakin did not 'go to bed early.' That was how you got caught. He complained about having to go to bed before going grudgingly, like he always did. Even though he knew other Padawans his age went to bed later than he did.
Then, Anakin waited.
Obi-wan was an 'early to bed, early to rise' kind of guy, and when he didn't go early to bed, he left the apartment to go speak with a friend of his.
Sure enough, Obi-wan left the apartment. Quinlan was in the temple, after all. He had been gone on a lot of missions lately and Obi-wan dearly missed his friend, so why would he miss this chance to go spend time with him?
Anakin grinned, sitting on the side of his bed and glanced at the clock one more time. He had plenty of time to work with.
He left his room, his lightsaber tucked into his sleeve just in case. He left the apartment only after hacking into the codes to keep the alarm from alerting Obi-wan that someone had opened and closed the front door, and then he was free.
Anakin kept to low traffic halls and carried his bag like he was just running an evening message for his Master.
This was it. This was the day he would prove himself to the other Padawans. He was lucky anyone had even mentioned this event to him, and he was not going to lose out on this chance.
Anakin had come to the temple when he was 13. He had become a Padawan under Obi-wan instantly. That meant that he didn't spend any time in the creche and any classes he had with the other kids were sporadic and often too busy to actually talk and get to know one another. He wasn't invited to socializing events because no one knew him. He didn't grow up in the creche with them.
That was going to change tonight.
Anakin, 16 years old and breathless, turned a corner to find a batch of Padawans standing around, waiting for the stragglers. Anakin was almost on time.
"If it isn't Skywalker," Tinlee said with a smile and a flick of her tail. Tinlee was the oldest of the group, almost 18, and she had been leading these expeditions for long enough to know where a bunch of Padawans could sneak in and drink alcohol their masters would never approve of. "Who told you about this?"
Anakin felt something like ice in his chest. Sure, he hadn't been outright invited, but it had sounded like a pretty open invitation as long as you brought the credits for the adventure. "Er, it was Hayden. I bought credits, don't worry. I'm not trying to bum off of anyone."
There was a general look of amusement on the other Padawans' faces, and Anakin felt suddenly self conscious. He still hadn't picked up the Coruscanti accent that everyone else had, and he knew it made him sound like he was from some backwater planet. He cleared his throat and said, "So, I'm coming."
"Just as long as you don't tell your Master," a twi'lek said, rolling his eyes.
"I wouldn't tell," Anakin replied fiercely. "Do I look like I want to get in trouble?"
"Just don't ruin this for us, Skywalker."
Anakin huffed, and stood out of the way as a pair of Padawans joined.
Tinlee did a count in her head before she nodded, glancing at her time piece. It was built into her lightsaber, which Anakin honestly thought was really cool. He thought Tinlee was just really cool in general.
"Time to go," she said.
The group took off at once, shrouding themselves and each other with the Force to hide their signatures and get out without being noticed. No one reached out to help shroud Anakin, but he didn't need help. His huge control of the Force made it easy, and he helped to cover a couple of the younger members in the group so they wouldn't all get caught.
The sound of the Coruscanti night filled their ears as they left the temple through a side exit and slid past the guard there. Tinlee slipped the guard some credits and he looked pointedly away as they made their way out into the streets.
"It's a bit of a walk," Tinlee said. "Everyone keep up."
And then Tinlee started running.
The others did too, and Anakin couldn't stop the grin from spreading across his face as he ran. This was it. He was finally a part of the pack. He was a part of the group. He would prove how cool he was, and he would make friends and they would reach out to him to invite him to events. No longer would he be the strange latecomer from Tatooine. The slave boy who cried when he saw the hall of fountains because all of that water in one place scared him.
He would be one of them.
Tinlee led them up building after building, everyone roof hopping with ease. Anakin was glad he loved parkour training, or else he would have been left behind as he tried to pick his way across the urban landscape.
"This roof rattles," someone hissed back, and Anakin was careful to step only where the person ahead of him step.
No noise was made as the pack of Padawans crossed the roof, and then they were climbing up another building.
When they came over the edge, Tinlee was already stopped and talking to a man who was guarding a rooftop bar.
She paid him some credits, and he nodded, letting her through.
"Standard fare is 20 credits," someone said behind Anakin.
"Thanks," Anakin said. He gave the required money when it was his turn, and then he slipped into the bar.
His heart was pounding in his chest as he watched various species laughing, dancing, and chatting together. He spotted a Padawan and followed them through the crowd to where the Padawans were gathering beside the bar.
Tinlee stepped up and said, "Usual, Butch."
Butch, an ironically tiny man, nodded and mixed a drink, passing it to her.
Anakin read the board over, biting his lip as he tried to decided what he wanted.
He heard a soft gasp from one of the older Padawans he didn't know. "You have tihaar!?"
"Of course. Freshly in," Butch said, leaning over the bar. "Probably shouldn't sell it to your lot. It's too good for your palates."
Anakin glanced at the others, licking his lips a little as another Padawan nodded seriously. "My Master had it and he was messed up all day the next day. He threw up."
The Padawans all squirmed. The price written on the board for tihaar was pretty high for an experience like that.
"What is tihaar?" a younger Padawan asked curiously as she sipped on a very sugary looking drink.
"It's Mandalorian alcohol. Made from the fruits grown on Mandalore. Strong stuff," Butch said with a grin.
"I'll have a shot," Anakin said, reaching into his bag for the credits he stole. He slapped them onto the counter, like he was facing a physical challenge and Butch chuckled.
"Your funeral, kid."
"I'm from Tatooine. I can handle it," Anakin said. He used to drink beer all the time as a child. Mostly cause the water the slaves got wasn't very safe and it was easier to ship beer around than water. Admittedly, it was a weak beer, but still.
Butch raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you can, kid."
He got a bottle of a clear fluid and poured out a shot, handing it to Anakin.
"Chaser?"
Anakin shook his head. He didn't need a chaser. He was from Tatooine. He had suffered like none of these other Padawans had. He could do this.
He took the shot and slung it back the way he saw adults do in holovids, and then slammed the glass back down on the counter as the other Padawans gasped and cried out in delight.
The drink was pleasant until it wasn't, burning down his throat and lighting him up from the inside.
Maybe Obi-wan was right about alcohol. This wasn't very fun.
Anakin burped into his fist before muttering a thank you to Butch, who simply gave him a knowing look and took the next order.
"Feeling alright there, Skywalker?" Anakin looked over at Tinlee. This was his chance to talk to her. To prove himself! Sure, he probably wouldn't be able to drink anything else for the night, but he had proved himself drinking a Mandalorian alcohol.
He cleared his throat, blinking. He couldn't remember how to speak. His tongue and throat were still burning and heat rippled through his body every other moment. He needed to sit down. He stumbled to a stool at the bar and sat, gasping as his stomach revolted. He was going to throw up. He couldn't throw up here. He was trying to prove himself!
His stomach was having none of it, though, and he scrambled to grab at one of the snack bowls, dumping out the contents before he threw up into the bowl.
He flinched as some of the vomit back-splashed onto his face and hair, but he had to stay hovered over the bowl as he burped and gagged and gasped over and over again, trying to keep air in his body.
What if that wasn't alcohol? What if that was poison? What if he was dying!?
Butch chuckled lowly behind the bar. "That'll teach you not to be so adventurous, huh."
"Ewwww, Skywalker, that is so gross!"
Anakin tried to hide his face with his sleeve, only for his sleeve to drop into the bowl. He groaned softly. Maybe everyone would get so drunk they would forget about this?
"Good going, Skywalker," Tinlee said in mocking tones. "Knew you would be an embarrassment. You should just go home, yeah? We're trying to have fun here, not help you hold your hair back."
"Yeah, go home if you can't handle this!"
"What a waste of alcohol."
"Bet he isn't even from Tatooine."
Anakin fought embarrassed tears as rage rushed around him in the Force. Which only made things worse.
"Awwwww, look at him losing control already! Are you mad, Skywalker? What was your midichlorian count again?"
There was another wave of cruel laughter and Anakin heaved himself up, reaching for his lightsaber, teeth gritted and cheeks wet with tears and flecks of vomit.
Tinlee got there first, lighting her saber and hovering it close enough to Anakin's throat that he could feel the heat before he could light his.
He glared at her as Butch shouted at the both of them.
She turned her light saber off, tucking it away. "My master said you were violent," she said, haughty as she looked down her nose at him. "Guess he was right."
She turned to talk to Butch. "Sorry, Butch. I'll deal with him."
"Oh, no need. I have the bouncers coming."
"What!? That's not fair! She lit her saber, not me-"
A huge man grabbed Anakin's arm and he gasped, terrified as another man caught his other wrist so he couldn't reach for his saber.
"Wait, no! I'm sorry, I-"
"Come on, kid," one of them men said as the Padawans laughed at his inability to escape the bouncers before turning back to their drinks like he didn't matter.
Anakin was taken down through the building, handed off to different guards and bouncers until they shoved him out at street level.
He only just kept to his feet in the alley as the door slammed.
Anakin tried to Force the door open, but his control was long gone and he shoved himself backward instead.
He lay, crumpled on the ground, his stomach twisting and his vision coming to him in fits and starts. He threw up again.
He wasn't safe here. Someone would hurt him or rob him if he stayed here. Or steal him and sell him back into slavery. He gritted his teeth, forcing himself up, one foot in front of the other.
He didn't remember his trip back to the temple. He remembered stumbling through several interactions and someone helping him to his apartment. He remembered a gentle, "Oh, Anakin." He remembered someone touching his face.
And then he was waking up with a raging headache.
He groaned, turning to hide his face in the pillow, but Obi-wan's voice pierced his head.
"Anakin! Where did you go last night!?"
Anakin remembered the drink, the burn, the humiliation, getting thrown out, and now his master was angry and disappointed with him. It took everything he had in him not to sob into his pillow.