Author's note: Hi, it's me again. Seems writing fanfiction turns out addictive for me, I have spent another day writing this story which should have been spent studying. If you know me already, you will know that this is weird and probably insane, too. If you don't know me yet, please note that this story is weird and probably insane, too. You have been warned ;-)
Also, this is a somewhat different timeline that what I did up to now. This takes place some 9 or 10 years before TPM.
Of cookies and sticks
As seen through Yoda's eyes
Slowly, Yoda hobbled along a wide and quiet hallway in the Jedi Temple. He enjoyed the warmth of the late-afternoon sunlight that created patterns on the beige floor, and his mind and spirit were basking in the peace and serenity that was created by all the Jedi who were meditating or contemplating the ways of the Force or, well, being peaceful and serene, I guess.
A low and contended "Hmmm…" could be heard from the small, green Jedi Master. He was slowly walking along a corridor in the housing section of the Temple, passing the quarters of Knights or Masters and their Padawans.
The only sounds that could be heard were the soft click of Yoda's walking stick on the floor, the almost inaudible rustle of his Jedi robes and hushed voices from the living quarters.
Abruptly, Yoda stopped in his tracks. Something had awakened his curiosity. Slowly closing his huge eyes, his ears perked up in interest and he raised his head as if tasting the currents of the Force. Only he was not tasting the Force but sniffing the air. There was a sweet, lip-smacking smell in the air, and it seemed to be coming from the rooms to his immediate left. That tantalizing smell made Yoda's mouth water. Slowly, he made his way over to the door of the apartment that seemed to be the source of this delicious aroma. Yoda's eyes twinkled with delight.
This smelled exactly like the cookies his mother used to make for him, some eight hundred-something years ago. He sniffed again. Then again, it had been some eight hundred-something years, and Yoda' memory had seen better days. Still, he was quite sure that he could not have forgotten his favourite cookies. Nor his mother. He was also quite sure that his mother used to be a three-legged kind of bantha-like creature with a single pink horn on the middle of her forehead. Or had it been a huge slug without any legs and horns but with long, silky hair and at least eighty-five pairs of eyes instead? Or rather a bid insectoid life form with a hard and shiny exoskeleton and huge, frightening mandibles which could smile the most gentle smile? As already mentioned Yoda's memory was no longer what it used to be and never had been.
But all of these somewhat senile thoughts were chased away when he caught that smell again. Or rather that heavenly smell caught him and inexorably drew him towards the door it was coming from. Without any conscious thought, he had already rung the bell. He just had to know if someone was really baking his most favourite cookies in the whole Galaxy.
Although he only had to wait for a few seconds before the door was opened, he had already started tapping his foot with impatience. He just couldn't resist this smell… he would probably even turn to the Dark Side for just one tiny crumb of one of these cookies.
After some moments, the door swished open and Yoda found himself face to knees with… Yoda looked up past standard-issue Jedi pants, a standard-issue Jedi belt and a standard-issue Jedi tunic. At that point, he had to take a short break as he had to look almost vertically upwards and his neck wasn't what it used to be, either. After slowly inhaling and exhaling, he got his neck to cooperate and finally looked up to the standard-issue Jedi polite smile of young Kenobi.
After the usual bow, Obi-Wan got down to his knees so that he was no longer towering over the diminutive Master. He knew how it felt to be towered over, as he had a virtual tower as a master. And although he still had some hope that he would grow some in the years to come he certainly knew that he would never be as tall as Qui-Gon.
Yoda was very glad that Obi-Wan had good manners, he didn't like talking to people's knees or staring up their noses whenever he tried to talk to their faces.
"Master Yoda! I didn't expect you. Did you want to talk to Master Qui-Gon? If so, then I'll have to disappoint you, he has gone out some time ago." Obi-Wan greeted Yoda.
Then, silently, he added: "I sure hope that he hasn't invited you over and then forgotten all about it again." Obi-Wan's Master regularly invited people and then either conveniently forgot about it or simply forgot about it. Then he just went out to go for a walk or to meditate or pay a visit to someone else. Then, when the visitors arrived, they usually only found an apologetic Obi-Wan who tried to excuse his Master without hurting anyone's feelings. Simply leaving when you didn't want to see the person you have invited over might work if you were living on your own and people could do nothing if you weren't at home, but not if an unsuspecting Padawan goes to answer the door and then finds himself in the awkward situation of explaining his Master's conspicuous absence to whoever had been invited.
"No, invited, I was not. And come to see Qui-Gon, I have not. If defied I want to be, order him before the Council, I will."
Yoda did not elaborate on the reasons for his spontaneous visit. He was in fact just standing there in the door, smiling slightly and saying "Hmmm…" every now and then. He didn't go away, either.
Obi-Wan smiled politely at Yoda. "Please, Master Yoda, come in. Would you like some tea?"
Although members of the Council didn't usually come to visit Qui-Gon and his Padawan, Obi-Wan thought that there was no reason not to be polite if they did. Even if they were just standing there, saying nothing but "Hmmm…" and not stating what they wanted, like Yoda was doing now.
Yoda barely let him finish before walking past Obi-Wan into the kitchen. There, he started sniffing again.
Obi-Wan followed shortly afterwards.
"Excuse me, please, Master Yoda, but if you don't mind, I have to get the cookies out of the oven."
"No, no, not at all, mind I do." Yoda said absently, all the time staring at the cookies that were just turning the right shade of crispy green. They looked delicious. Even much better then they smelled.
Yoda watched Obi-Wan pulling the tray out of the oven and arranging the cookies on a plate. He was hypnotized. He could not look away. He would not look away, not even if some little-known Senator from Naboo were standing right behind him, admitting that he was the Sith Lord they would be looking for in some twenty years. The world around the ancient Master seemed to shrink, until it only consisted of the freshly baked, still steaming mound of cookies.
After staring at the bakery in front of him for some time, he became aware that someone was grasping his shoulders, gently shaking him. His eyes focussed on the somewhat concerned look that was displayed on young Obi-Wan's face.
"Master Yoda? Are you all right? Master Yoda? Please answer me! Are you ill? Do you want me to call the Healers?" Obi-Wan sounded worried. Yoda had been standing there, a faraway look in his eyes, not responding to the alarmed questions of the Padawan.
Slowly, he shook his head to clear the thoughts of those seductive cookies.
"Yes, all right, I am." Yoda looked around as if searching for someone. Then, he asked: "Where is Anakin?"
The only answer he got to that question was the very concerned look Obi-Wan gave him.
"Are you sure you are all right? No insane feeling in your head? Because you just gave me ample reason to seriously doubt your sanity. I mean, first you are simply standing there ignoring reality, and then you ask the strangest things. Maybe you should "focus on the moment", as Qui-Gon usually tells me to do. That might even actually help in your case…"
But Yoda was already focusing on the cookies. Again.
"Nice cookies, you have made. Smell delicious, they do. Do I detect a sprinkle of vanilla? Give me some, you should!" Yoda demanded.
"But Master Yoda, they already belong to someone else. Someone who might not be exactly delighted if I simply gave them away."
Yoda felt offended. He was sulking.
"Member of the Council, I am. Obey my orders, you must, because still a Padawan, you are. To no one else, these cookies you must give. Want them, I do."
"Master Yoda, I promised! Aren't Jedi supposed to always keep their promises?" Obi-Wan tried to convince the stubborn little Master.
"But need these cookies, I do. Crave them, I do. Give you something in return, I will, so that prove, you can, that to me, you gave the cookies. No one will be angry at you if know, they do, that give the cookies to me, you did." Yoda suggested.
Obi-Wan thought about this for a moment.
"Oh, that's a brilliant idea. I think that the person I promised the cookies to wouldn't mind if I gave them to you. The person we are talking about rather likes you, you know. But what would you give me that would prove beyond a doubt that you received these cookies?" Obi-Wan said.
"My lightsaber, I could give you." Yoda eagerly suggested.
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, I couldn't take your lightsaber-"
But before he could say anything more, Yoda interrupted him. "My walking stick, then?" he said while enthusiastically eyeing the cookies.
After one moment of thinking about this, Obi-Wan agreed: "That might work. After all, your walking stick is quite unique and rather well-known."
And with that, Yoda quite literally threw his stick at a baffled Obi-Wan, who could only stare at the agility and speed with which he almost 900 years old Master jumped onto the table, grabbed the plate of cookies and ran out the door, shouting a hurried "Thank you!" to Obi-Wan. Then he was of to his room, to enjoy the treasure he had just gained.
The young Padawan simply stood there and stared, and then he shook his head and looked down at the stick in his hands.
Then, a brilliant smile started to spread on his face.
Author's note: If you now think "What the hell?" I can only recommend that you read the second chapter of this story which will be uploaded shortly. It will practically tell the same event (and some extra bits) only from Obi-Wan's point of view which will clarify a lot.
Also, I just figured out that if I posted a multi-chaptered story, I would get more reviews than if I posted only a single-chapter story. So I've written my first story with more than one chapter. Please review to make it worth the while, especially since I wrote this when I should have been studying!