In which they meet and Obi-Wan is a philosophy professor.
The office
Anakin was not surprised at all when he received a formal request to go to the Principal office. Probably, professor Dooku had found his little surprise less funny than he thought. Anakin had to admit that the idea was not so brilliant as it had seemed at first, but he had gotten carried away in the moment. He had been so excited to have finally finished an entire math exam that he had just wanted to celebrate it –and probably just get on Dooku's nerves. Deep down, Anakin liked the old guy, but, man, he needed to get that big stick out of his ass.
"Anakin" a familiar voice made the boy stiffen. Speaking of taking a stick out of the ass..
"Yes professor Kenobi?" Anakin tried with his most angelic intonation, but the glare he received told him that the news had already reached Obi-Wan's ears.
"In my office" the older man said briskly. Anakin sighted and forced himself to follow his tutor in his office.
"Sit, please" Obi-Wan closed the door behind them, gesturing him to take a seat. Anakin obeyed, enjoying, almost despite himself, the reassuring smell of old books and lemon scented tea. Obi-Wan was one of the few people Anakin truly respected and he knew that the man had a soft spot for him, too. They had known each other since when Qui-Gon had found him at the Institute. But those were old times and now that Qui-Gon was gone, Anakin didn't want to remember anymore.
"So, what happened with professor Dooku?" Obi-Wan asked calmly. Anakin sighted. The young professor detected a glint of dark anger in the boy's eyes, but it lasted only a moment.
"I didn't mean to be disrespectful…" the boy started, almost complimenting himself for being able to use such a complicated word as 'disrespectful' in an actual conversation. The arched eyebrow of his tutor let him know that he was not sounding convincing.
"I mean…" the boy continued, feeling the familiar irritation starting to grow inside his stomach "I got carried away, ok? That equation was like a challenge, you know?"
Not that Obi-Wan would ever be able to understand equations. Qui-Gon would, but he was one of Dooku's graduates –even if he had decided to waste away a brilliant career dedicating his life to pathetic life forms, as Obi-Wan liked to put it.
"Anakin" Obi-Wan paused, probably looking for the right words "You have a great talent and we all esteem you" he assured slowly, conscious that Anakin had a great heart but that he was to be managed with the right words and timing, like a bomb always menacing to explode.
"But you are walking a dangerous path" he added "Dooku likes you, I can tell you this and he thinks you are brilliant-"
The boy had to fight the physical urge to roll his eyes. Not again.
"He thinks perfect prefect Olin is brilliant-" he said angrily.
"No Anakin, he thinks that you are brilliant and bright and probably one of the most gifted student he has ever had"
Anakin was to reply again but he fell silent, acknowledging that Obi-Wan was probably repeating the exact words Dooku had told him. He didn't know how to take compliments, especially those masked compliments that Obi-Wan used to soften Anakin's mood. Now he felt a little ashamed for having written all that shit to his teacher. He didn't deserve that. Probably. But there was really no need for another lecture about authorities and respect and the fact that university was the only thing that allowed Anakin to stay on the planet at all and all that shitty bla bla…
"But you have to be respectful of your superior, Anakin" professor Kenobi continued "You have to be careful… you are here on scholarship and you cannot afford this kind of behaviors."
The boy looked sheepish and lowered his gaze. But Obi-Wan noticed that again, that little glint, that little something that made him shiver. Anakin knew that the professor could always tell when he was getting upset –him and his damned philosophy and psychology PHD. He could almost hear the unspoken words between them, what Obi-Wan's disappointed and sad eyes were telling him. After all the things Qui-Gon did for you, that is your payback?
Anakin took a deep breath, Obi-Wan sighted.
"Promise me something, will you?"
Anakin lifted his head and nodded silently, taken a little aback.
"You'll go to Principal Yoda office"
Anakin nodded again. Go Anakin, do this Anakin, bow Anakin…
"You will fall to your knees, plead guilty, swear you are completely crazy and ask for his kind forgiveness"
Anakin burst into laughter.
"I'm serious, young man" but Obi-Wan's eyes were bright with a repressed laugh "And you will let him beat you with his stick".
Anakin laughed even more. He liked Obi-Wan's strange sense of humor. It was not a cool sense of humor, and sometimes it was too subtle but, well, it always made Anakin laugh. The professor felt relieved to see the boy laugh, the dangerous glint gone.
The atmosphere was much lighter and they were just chatting normally, Anakin describing with enthusiasm all the things he got to do in his part-time job as a mechanic, and Obi-Wan listening and correcting his pronunciation or grammar from time to time.
They almost didn't hear the knock on the door.
"It must be a student" murmured Obi-Wan more to himself than to Anakin and got up to go and open the door.
"Then there still are philosophy students" grinned Anakin.
Obi-Wan glared at him and opened the door, stepping back to let a short girl enter.
"Professor Kenobi" she said, politely "Professor Kryze told me to come to you for my mid-term dissertation"
"Oh, Miss Naberrié, right?" Obi-Wan smiled at her "Yes, Satine told me great things about you"
She smiled back, visibly pleased and embarrassed. Then her eyes fell on Anakin. And it was like the room was suddenly very hot, and strange things started to happen to Anakin stomach. They stared at each other for one, long second. If she looked like that with clothes on..
"Oh, this is Anakin Skywalker," Obi-Wan said pleasantly, "Anakin, she's Padmé Naberrié, one of our best law and politics student"
Padmé blushed slightly and shook hands with Anakin, "Nice to meet you".
He just smiled, incapable of speech. She smiled back, probably thinking that he was completely crazy or simply dumb.
"Oh don't worry" said Obi-Wan jovially "Basic language skills elude him quite often".
Padmé laughed, and Anakin glared at his tutor, mouthing him a Fuck you while Padmé took a seat. Obi-Wan arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.
"I go to see Yoda then" announced Anakin, still glaring at Obi-Wan.
"Goodbye Padmé" he added sweetly to the girl. Obi-Wan had to bite his lower lip not to burst into a laugh. Anakin trying to sound romantic, you should have lived to see this, Qui-Gon.
"Oh goodbye" she answered surprised that the boy had bothered to register her name. With a last glare to his professor he left. Holy shit.
Padmé's eyes followed the boy exiting the door. She had never seen him before, and he seemed pretty weird. No wonder he studied philosophy, she considered.
"He is one of your majors, professor?" she asked timidly, still smiling to Obi-Wan.
"No, actually he studies mathematics and mechanical engineering" Obi-Wan answered kindly "and that's exactly why he has limited verbal skills"
Padmé giggled again.
"So, my dear, Satine mentioned that you want to write something on death penalty, am I right?"
"Yes, professor, I did some research and I thought it would be interesting to write an introduction about the historical and philosophical background…"
Obi-Wan nodded: "Excellent idea, I can lend you some books" he stood up to, deep in thought.
Padmé closed the door of Obi-Wan's office with a satisfied grin. Professor Kryze was right; Obi-Wan Kenobi was indeed a most kind person and a very clever man. It had been a very pleasant chat and now she just needed to go and report to professor Kryze on her dissertation. She walked through the campus, towards the law faculty. For no particular reason, she thought that it was quite flattering that the Principal's office was in the same building, as if to signal that the hers was the most important faculty. It was a beautiful day, and for a moment she closed her eyes and faced the sun taking pleasure in the warming light. For once, she was at peace with herself.
When she approached Kryze' office she noticed that a small number of her classmates were grouped in front of the professor's door. She recognized Bail's brown hair from distance; he was speaking with Dormé, gesticulating animatedly. He would become a great politician one day, Padmé was absolutely sure of that.
"Ehy guys" she greeted.
"Padmé!" Dormé hugged her "You rock, baby!" she exclaimed, pointing down to a piece of sheet attached to the professor's door. Padmé expression fell. The grades. She had completely forgotten. She looked down the list, her heart racing, looking for her name.
Naberrié, 100/100
Padmé's eyes widened. She had done it. She had gotten the maximum with professor Kryze. Almost nobody did, almost nobody could. She turned to face again Dormé and Bail.
"So, you happy, bitch?" asked Dormé jovially. She had gotten a seventy, which was a great result for someone who wasn't Padmé.
"We should go out and celebrate properly!" Bail commented, smiling widely to his two friends.
"Padmé" the girl felt an hand gripping gently her shoulder. She turned and her smile disappeared, while an embarrassing silence fell between her friends. Clovis.
"Rush" she greeted him coldly. He made an acknowledging gesture to Bail and Dormé, who were clearly pretending not to be there.
"May I speak to you?"
"Be my guest"
"In private?"
She shrugged, leading him down the stairs, to a deserted hallway. They were a few meters from the Principal office, she noticed distractedly.
"What do you want, Rush?"
"Padmé, I know that you are upset, and you are right-"
"You asked me out" she interrupted him furiously "…and the same evening half the faculty saw you snogging with that blonde imbecile-"
"I know, I know!" he defended himself "But we weren't really together and I think that was exactly our error-"
She stiffened "I'm not one for open relationships!"
He took a deep breath and take her hands into his, smiling sweetly at her. He was handsome and perfectly aware of it. He was brilliant and cool, with his tidy clothes and his curated hands; he was popular, much more popular than Padmé –the idealist nerd- would ever be. She felt a little taken aback by his presence.
"I know, Padmé" he breathed slowly, making eye contact and holding her a little bit closer "And you wouldn't deserve one, I was an idiot not to understand that…"
She felt herself melting and losing all her resolution. She kind of knew what he was doing. The sweet words, his calm and warm accent, his habit to invade her personal space… He did everything to make her like him. And she would be a plain idiot not to.
She turned away, trying to disentangle herself from that embrace.
"Go out with me" he said quickly "You'll see, I won't let you down again-"
"Rush.." she wasn't really sure. She wanted to accept, really. But still. He was a bastard and he had gone out with half of the university already.
"You cannot think that I can feel something for Chuchi!" he exclaimed "She's just a slut!" he added, startling her.
"But you did snog with her" she pointed out.
"And it was a mistake, I told you!"
Padmé lowered her gaze. Clovis had just this ability to make everything seem like he was right, and it was just not his fault.
"She is an idiot, you said that yourself" he continued "I could never go out with a girl who cannot even pass Kryze's exam!"
This made something snap inside Padmé. She hadn't?
"What?" she asked. Could it be?
"You wouldn't believe it was possible, would you?" he sighted, as if sincerely incredulous.
"Dormé was right!" Padmé exclaimed "You are a bastard!" Clovis stared at her dumbly.
Padmé felt her cheeks redden with fury and contempt "You want to go out with me only because I'm your rival now!" she accused, pushing him away.
"That's not-"
"Clovis" interrupted Padmé briskly "I say farewell to you!" she turned and started walking. That probably sounded like the most ridiculous thing she had ever said aloud. And she didn't even know why she had suddenly gotten so angry, but man she wanted to take him and punch him. Probably.
She realized after two steps that she was going towards the wrong direction, but she was still feeling Rush's eyes on her and she didn't want to look like a total idiot, so she just kept on walking, pretending to know where she was going.
That bastard, she reasoned again.He didn't give a fuck about Padmé, she was sure. Dormé would probably comment that yes, he was a bastard, but that she was probably exaggerating as usual. She was just being delusional again thinking that the entire galaxy had a problem with her personally. Yes –she agreed furiously with her mental image of Dormé- she was probably being paranoid. And yes, she didn't trust anybody. And yes, it was probably her dad's fault and his mannerism for justice. But Padmé didn't care. She didn't need a presumptuous boyfriend, after all. She needed to-
"Ouch!"
She had just smashed into something hard and hot. It took her a moment to realize that the something was a person and the exact same boy she had met before in professor Kenobi's office.
Anakin was going to kick the fucking idiot' ass. Then, he realized that the 'fucking idiot', who had just smashed into him, was the exact same girl that was probably going to haunt his wet dreams in the very next future.
Padmé smiled embarrassed and considered that the boy had very big, very blue eyes. Clovis's were green, she thought stupidly.
"Sorry ergh…"
"Anakin, my name's Anakin Skywalker" he said quickly "and there's nothing to be sorry about". The line sounded cheesy even to his own ears, but at least this time he was talking.
"Anakin, of course" she agreed politely.
"Do you want to go out with me?" the question had escaped his lips before he could physically stop it.
"What?"
He flushed a little. Congratulations, Skywalker. She was going to denounce him for sexual harassment now. He would lose the cause, get expelled from the university and the authorities would kick his sorry ass back to Tattoine.
He opened his mouth to say sorry and then disappear forever, but his lips didn't obey.
"I… tonight, I mean"
Padmé's eyes widened with astonishment. She was never the most popular girl and the opposite sex was never really interested in her. And now? Two guys asking her out in two minutes?
Anakin looked like he was going to vomit –he was. He was also very strange, with his washed-out jeans and his loose fit t-shirt. His hair were long and untidy and his hands seemed dirty with old stain of –was that oil? But Padmé had to admit to herself that he was… hot. If you liked the type, that is. And he seemed the complete opposite of Clovis. Not that she would ever go out with a boy she barely knew just because he was hot –kind of- and she wanted to show a vicious bastard that other guys could like her, too.
"Yes, sure" she answered without thinking.
"Yes?" he repeated stupidly "I mean, cool!" he looked even more surprised than she was.
"Ok then…" she repeated, nodding again and blushing several shades of red "now I've got to go!"
She started running in the direction she had come from, trying desperately not to make eye-contact with Skywalker.
"Wait!"
She turned "Text me later!" she screamed and she started running again.
"But you didn't give me your number" murmured Anakin to himself, watching his girl disappear.
Obi-Wan was not in the slightest surprised when his phone beeped, signaling him that he had received a message. Nobody sent him texts, he only received calls or e-mails; however, like almost everything in his life, the big exception was Anakin.
-Get me her number
Obi-Wan sighted. He really didn't want to start explaining Anakin at how many levels giving him Miss Naberrié's number was wrong –other than illegal. He almost sent him Vice-Principal Windu's number –Obi-Wan would pay to see the stern man face's confronting with a text reciting I like your boobs, love. Skywalker. But then again Anakin would be probably expelled and all the effort he had put in keeping the boy enrolled in the university would just go bananas.
He picked up the phone and sighted again.
-You'll be the death of me, Anakin.
