Your Song

Summary: Anakin and Ahsoka discover one of Obi-Wan's secrets. What does this mean for their friendship?

….

Anakin and Ahsoka were helping the clones unload crates from a supply shuttle when Ahsoka's superior hearing picked up something very unusual.

She stopped in her tracks, cocking her head to the side to listen curiously.

Anakin gave her an odd look, "Snips, what are you doing?"

"Master, shhh! Do you hear that?" she whispered, concentrating.

She set down her box and took a few steps towards the source of the sounds. Anakin followed her, curious, until he could hear it too.

"Is that…singing?" Ahsoka asked. She'd pinpointed the source to the other side of the hangar, where the Jedi starfighters were stowed.

"And you can tell everybody…this is your song…It may be quite simple but now that it's done…"

Anakin's expression was one of bewilderment. He would recognize that voice anywhere, "Is that…Obi-Wan?"

Together they crept forward and peeked around the side of a yellow starfighter. There was Master Obi-Wan Kenobi sitting on an empty crate with his sleeves rolled up, holo schematics is one hand and a hydrospanner in the other, intent on repairing the tangle of wires and fuses within an open access panel.

At first glance the scene did not seem at all out of place. While Obi-Wan professed no fondness for starship maintenance, or flying for that matter, he was nominally proficient and Jedi were generally responsible for their own fighters.

What was out of place was his voice, clear and melodious.

"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind…"

Obi-Wan paused to adjust something then flipped to the next page of schematics.

Anakin gaped openly, scarcely able to process what he was seeing and hearing. Thinking that it would be awkward if they were caught snooping, Ahsoka grabbed his arm and pulled him back a few paces until they were out of sight.

"Did you know he could sing?" she whispered.

"No!" Anakin shook his head, also whispering, "I've never heard it before."

"Seriously?" Ahsoka questioned.

"Seriously! Never!" Anakin hissed back.

Unable to stop himself, Anakin crept back to the tail of the starfighter so he could hear easier. How could he have spent so many years by Obi-Wan's side and never heard so much as one note?

"…that I put down in words…"

"Wow, he's really good," Ahsoka whispered, apparently too captivated to worry about snooping.

"how wonderful life is…while you're in the world…"

As one, Anakin and Ahsoka turned to look at each other. This wasn't just any song. This was a love song!

"General Skywalker? What are you doing?"

Anakin nearly jumped out of his skin. "Blast it, Rex!" He didn't know what was worse, being caught snooping or letting someone sneak up on him. Jedi weren't supposed to startle. Ever.

Rex looked very confused.

"Anakin? Ahsoka?" Now Obi-Wan had joined them.

Anakin groaned internally, but he if he just played it cool…

"Master Obi-Wan! I didn't know you could sing!" Ahsoka blurted out.

"What?" Obi-Wan said, caught off guard.

"We heard you singing! Why didn't you tell us you could sing? You have such a good voice!" Ahsoka's youthful excitement overrode the respectful tone she knew was more appropriate.

"I don't know about that…" Obi-Wan said evasively.

It was exceedingly rare to see his former Master acting flustered, so Anakin pounced on the moment.

"Why have I never heard you singing before? Why were you keeping it a secret?" he demanded boldly.

"Anakin, please. I sing from time to time," Obi-Wan shrugged casually, "It's hardly a secret."

Yet again, Anakin could not tell if Obi-Wan really was unfazed or if he was only playing it cool. He wasn't a Jedi Master for nothing. The man was impenetrable. But Anakin wasn't ready to give up.

"Then name one time that I've ever heard you sing!" he challenged.

Obi-Wan hesitated, looking between his two closest friends and Rex, who was watching the exchange curiously.

"I used to sing…in the 'fresher. On occasion," Obi-Wan confessed, hoping that would appease Anakin.

The younger man frowned, thinking back on his Padawan days. Before he turned seventeen, Anakin had shared a small apartment with Obi-Wan in the Temple.

Ahsoka was watching him curiously. He did have a vague memory…

"That was you! I knew it! You said it was the holonet!" Anakin exclaimed, recalling the memory of a musical voice filtering out through the refresher door, then his Master's dismissive explanation.

"Oh, I did say that, didn't I?" now Obi-Wan seemed lost in memory.

"Master," Anakin said more gently this time, "Why are you ashamed of singing? It's not like it's against the Code. And Ahsoka wasn't lying, you really are pretty good."

Obi-Wan rubbed his beard thoughtfully. For a second Anakin thought he was going to change the subject and order them to get back to work, but Obi-Wan surprised him again.

"To tell the truth, I used to sing a lot when I was a youngling. But my age-mates teased me quite mercilessly. At some point I stopped," Obi-Wan explained, his words surprisingly candid, almost as if this was the first time he'd consciously made those connections.

"Really? You were teased?" Ahsoka asked, almost refusing to believe such a thing.

"I wasn't always a Jedi Master, you know. I was a youngling once, too," Obi-Wan said with a gentle smile, then almost as an afterthought, "My path to becoming a Padawan was not an easy one."

Anakin recalled Obi-Wan once hinting that he and Master Qui-Gon had had a rough start before becoming a fearsome team. Now Anakin sensed that there was more to the story, possibly quite a bit more, than he had considered when he was a young Padawan himself. Before he could ask, though, his former Master spoke again.

"But that's a story for another day," Obi-Wan said, leaving Anakin with the sinking feeling that day may never come.

"Captain, did you have something to say?" Obi-Wan addressed Rex who, despite being ignored had been too curious to leave the conversation entirely.

"Uh," Rex came to attention, reporting to Anakin, "The resupply is unloaded, sir."

"Thank you," Anakin said.

Rex turned to go rejoin his men and Obi-Wan took the chance to escape back to his repairs. Ahsoka glanced between them, a bit disappointed that their little adventure was over, then trailed behind Rex.

Anakin lingered behind. He leaned against the wing of the fighter and watched Obi-Wan working.

"Master…" he started.

When he didn't continue, Obi-Wan glanced in his direction, "What is it?"

Anakin couldn't shake the sudden feeling that he didn't know Obi-Wan as well as he'd thought. How had he spent so many years by Obi-Wan's side and barely knew anything about his past? What other secrets might he be hiding?

"So who is it?" Anakin asked, the barest hint of a smirk tugging his lips.

"Who is what?" Obi-Wan's patience was beginning to stretch.

"How wonderful life is that you're in the world," Anakin repeated the lyrics, smiling too innocently, "Who is it that makes your life wonderful, Master?"

Obi-Wan shook his head in tired exasperation, turning his focus back to the holo schematics.

Not to be deterred, Anakin leaned closer, "Is it…Duchess Satine?"

This got Obi-Wan's attention. "Anakin! The song isn't about me! The words got stuck in my head, that's all. That song's been all over the holonet."

"Really?" Anakin was unimpressed with this explanation, "I haven't heard it."

"That's because you only listen to the pod racing broadcasts."

That was a fair point. But still, a love song was a love song. Before he could say anything else Obi-Wan broke in, "Now, you can either fix this power coupling for me or let me work in peace."

Anakin peered closer at his Master's handiwork and sighed, motioning Obi-Wan out of the way, "You'd better let me do this. It's all wrong. See, with the coupling reversed like that, it'll blow as soon as you engage the sublights. What were you trying to do?"

Obi-Wan handed over his tools and crossed his arms, "I was following the test procedure. You're the one who told me to use the schematics and not to trust my instincts with machines, because they're always wrong."

"I did say that, didn't I?" Anakin recalled.

"And for the record, the ship would have alerted me to the mistake when I ran the diagnostic," Obi-Wan pointed out.

Later, in the mess hall when Obi-Wan noticed Anakin absently humming a familiar tune, he smiled but didn't say anything.

…

The End!

A/N: This is the first chapter in what will hopefully be a collection of one-shots. Please review!

P.S. If you don't understand the reference here, go watch Moulin Rouge! You won't regret it. :)