Author's Note: Here's the second installment of my series "Between Masters and Padawans". It's Obi-Wan and Anakin again, and Anakin is fourteen here. I hope you enjoy this one, despite the Jar Jar. He was necessary - please don't hurt me! (Haha)
On another note, I'm at college now! So I apologize if the writing and publishing slows a bit. I'll hopefully get into a rhythm soon!
Please leave some comments! Thanks!
A/N: Reposted to fix my silly little error. All better now! Enjoy!
XxX
The Trouble With Gungans
It was always an interesting day when Jar Jar Binks visited Coruscant. The Gungan seemed to liven just about everything up with his antics, most of which were unconsciously done. One of the most memorable visits took place on Anakin's fourteenth birthday. Jar Jar was visiting from Naboo, sent by the Gungans as representative in an upcoming meeting of the Senate, and he had done the impossible: he had convinced Obi-Wan to allow Anakin to skip his evening training session in exchange for dinner at a popular Coruscant pub.
"I cannot believe I allowed you to talk me into this," Obi-Wan muttered to Jar Jar as they entered the crowded restaurant.
"Itsa okee-day, Obi. Ani needs a break!" Obi-Wan sighed and grabbed his padawan by the collar before he could run to a table.
"Master!" Anakin protested, rubbing his neck where the cloth had chaffed. "I see a table over there!"
"Patience, my young padawan," Obi-Wan said. "Someone will seat us." As if on cue, a young green Twi'lek approached them, arms laden with menus. She smiled flirtatiously at Obi-Wan, completely ignoring his companions.
"How many?"
"Three, please," the Jedi said politely. The Twi'lek began to walk toward the table Anakin had spotted.
"Follow me."
The trio complied, Anakin grumbling under his breath the whole way. Obi-Wan dealt him a light blow on the back of his head as a warning and the mumbles broke off with a glare.
"Here you are," the Twi'lek said graciously, still only addressing Obi-Wan. The Jedi Knight thanked her, but apparently there was not enough enthusiasm in his tone; the Twi'lek girl left their table slightly deflated.
"Master, may I get a fun drink from the bar?" Anakin asked, his excitement back as he perused the menu. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly what kind of 'fun drink'?"
"Like the ones you get when you go out with Master Windu."
"And how do you know about those?" Obi-Wan asked, sounding genuinely surprised. Anakin flushed and avoided his master's piercing gaze.
"I listened in once when Master Windu came over."
"Hm."
Jar Jar looked between the two of them – Anakin ashamed, Obi-Wan amused – and cleared his throat.
"Well, me'sa gonna get my drinky now," he said, rising awkwardly to his feet.
"No, Jar Jar, you stay." Obi-Wan stood, his grace even more pronounced beside the Gungan. "I will fetch the drinks, you stay with Anakin. What can I get you?" Jar Jar told him, and Obi-Wan eased through the growing crowds toward the bar.
"He's not going to get my anything, is he?" Anakin muttered, shutting his menu with a clap.
"Me'sa don't know," Jar Jar said with a shrug. "Obi can be strict, but me'sa not so sure about dissa one. It is you'sa birthday!" It was Anakin's turn to shrug, and he turned away to survey the crowds.
It was obvious that the restaurant was one of the most popular on Coruscant just by the way that it filled up. There was a small group of humanoids at a table nearby, and right next to their table was a shifty pack of Dugs. Anakin did a double take when he caught sight of the three aliens, but calmed himself almost immediately. None of them were Sebulba, and of course they had not come to take him from his master.
And that only worried him because it was one of Anakin's deepest fears that someday this dream would end and someone would come to take him back to Tatooine. He had had nightmares about it when he was younger. Some evil alien from his home planet had come to whisk him away from Obi-Wan, who had been helpless to do anything without injuring Anakin. The dreams had always been so specific, so clear…
"This is from the Jedi." Anakin blinked and saw that the green Twi'lek waitress had returned, bearing a cold beverage that she placed before Jar Jar. "He also told me to tell you that he would return in a moment."
"Oh, thank you!" Jar Jar said, gulping the drink before the waitress even left. Anakin made a face; the Gungan's drink was a putrid green-brown shade and reeked of wet cloth and toad spawn.
"Aah…" Jar Jar let out a satisfied sigh after downing half of his drink in one gulp and slid his chair backward with a jerk. Anakin winced at the loud crack the Gungan's chair made when it connected with the one just behind it, followed by the muffled splash and curse of the chair's occupant.
An unexpected hush fell over the nearby patrons. Anakin glanced over at the other table and his eyes widened with dread. It was another group of Dugs, and these looked even less friendly than the threesome across the way. The one Jar Jar had hit rose to his feet (or more precisely, his hands), shaking his pronounced snout to free it of liquid and food. Most of his meal was smeared across his front, and he was glaring darkly at both Anakin and Jar Jar.
"Get up," he barked in a harsh voice. Jar Jar whimpered but obeyed immediately, sloshing his remaining beverage across the table. All attention was now focused on the pair in the aisle; even the Twi'lek waitresses had ceased their rounds to watch.
"Me'sa so sorry, sir," Jar Jar said, his voice an octave or two higher than usual. The Dug spat to the side, then returned to glaring.
"Will 'sorry' return my meal?" he demanded. "Will 'sorry' clean my clothes?" He paused, apparently awaiting an answer, and Jar Jar shook his head. "That's right. It won't. So why should I accept it?"
Anakin watched with narrowed eyes. The Dug did not even come up to Jar Jar's waist, but it was obvious who would win in a fight. Dugs were born tough and built powerfully, and while most Gungans might have been able to hold their own… well… this was Jar Jar. It was an unfair fight, and Anakin was suddenly very aware of the lightsaber at his side. Obi-Wan had always said it should be used for protection, and who better to protect than his Gungan friend?
Before he could think it through completely, Anakin found himself on his feet facing the Dug, one hand on the hilt of his saber.
"And what do you want, punk?" the Dug demanded, his voice getting slightly more guttural when he noticed the Jedi braid and lightsaber. "Go sit down. This don't concern you."
"It concerns my friend, so it concerns me." Anakin felt himself start to shake a bit under the Dug's glare and hoped the alien would not notice.
"Hn." The Dug smirked. "But you're just a little squirt. What can you possibly do?" Anakin felt a flare of anger.
"Do not underestimate a Jedi, no matter how old he is," he hissed, his voice sounding harder even to his ears.
"Be smart, Ani," Jar Jar hissed behind his back. The Dug growled.
"You won't do anything," he scoffed. "That sword at your belt means nothing to me. Now stand aside." Anakin gritted his teeth and spread his feet, taking a defensive stance.
"No."
The next thing he knew, one of the Dug's feet was connecting with his jaw, sending him spiraling into the table. Anakin blinked, trying to clear the stars in his vision.
"Ani!" Jar Jar yelped. Anakin struggled to regain his feet, for some reason still unable to make himself unleash his lightsaber. He spun and caught the Dug's other foot as it sailed toward his face yet again, but the force of it still managed to send him flying back in the aisle.
"Have you had enough, little Ani?" the Dug mocked, approaching menacingly. Anakin panicked. It was like his dreams all over again. He didn't know if it was the shock of the moment, or the pain from his collision with the table, but the Dug had suddenly been transformed into Sebulba and he was coming to take him away. Away from the Temple, away from his new friends, away from his master…
Anakin scrambled backwards on the ground to escape the Dug, but stopped suddenly when he ran into a solid pair of legs. He jumped, startled, and was about to cry out before he heard a lightsaber thrum to life above his head. A wave of relief flowed through his body, mimicking the wave of green light that enveloped him from above.
Obi-Wan.
The Dug had apparently noticed the Jedi Knight, as well, because he stopped in his tracks, eyes bugging out of his head.
"Step away from my padawan." Anakin shuddered at the iciness of his master's tone, but the Dug regained some of his fervor.
"Or what?"
Obi-Wan did not reply. The lightsaber hummed through the air and the Dug reeled back, howling in pain and now missing one of his beaded mustaches.
"Step away from my padawan," Obi-Wan repeated coldly, "or you will lose your head next."
The Dug growled, but moved away quickly enough, his friends trailing behind.
Anakin exhaled at the same time that Obi-Wan sheathed his saber.
"Me'sa so sorry, Ani! Is you'sa okay?" Jar Jar cried. Anakin nodded, struggling to get to his feet. A strong hand gripped his arm and he was lifted almost effortlessly, then spun to face his worried master. Obi-Wan knelt before him and placed both hands on Anakin's shoulders, gray-blue eyes searching.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
"No, I'm fine," Anakin said. Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes, and gently touched the boy's jaw where the Dug had kicked him. Anakin flinched slightly, but more from his master's cool fingers than from the pain. Obi-Wan smiled ruefully.
"You are already bruising, Anakin." Anakin shrugged, flushing slightly.
"It'll be fine," he said. Obi-Wan's smile broadened, and he reached behind him.
"Good. Then you can fully enjoy this," he said, brandishing a tall glass full of bright yellow liquid and an umbrella on top. Anakin caught a whiff of it and was reminded of the flowering fruit trees on a planet he had visited earlier that year. He took it carefully from his master's hand and sipped. It tasted even better than it smelled. A broad smile spread across Anakin's face.
"Thank you, master," he said quietly. Obi-Wan stood with a grin and ruffled his padawan's hair.
"You're welcome. Happy Birthday, Anakin." He turned to Jar Jar then, his expression hardening. "Are you all right?"
"Er, uh-huh," Jar Jar said. Anakin slid back into his seat, still sipping his drink. He watched the Gungan and knew that if the alien could pale, he would be white as a sheet right now.
"Good. Now I still have to get my drink, so if you'll excuse me." Obi-Wan turned on his heel and headed back to the bar, muttering under his breath about the trouble with Gungans.