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Obi-Wan and Plo

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On the Fourth day of Christmas, the Clone Wars gave to me—Obi-Wan and Plo.

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It was midwinter on Coruscant and the shops were bustling, busy places full of middle-class Coruscanti searching for midwinter gifts for their loved ones. In amidst the tumult of citizens going about their business, three hooded figures were slowly making their way through the crowds, back towards the Jedi Temple. Their robes marked their status as the peacekeepers of the Republic, as did the lightsabers at their belts, or in the case of the smallest one, two lightsaber hilts.

"Urgh! Masters, do I have to wear the hood up? It's so hot today," the shortest of the trio complained, "not to mention it messes with my echolocation."

The bearded human to her side just chuckled as he shucked his own hood. "Now that our mission is accomplished, I see no reason why you cannot relax a little, Ahsoka."

The complainer threw back her hood with a sigh of relief, revealing striped montrals and orange skin of a Togruta. "Thank you, Master Kenobi."

"We were indeed fortunate that everything went smoothly," Master Plo said levelly on Ahsoka's right. "As a member of CIS intelligence, Kawani Barun has valuable information on Separatist spy networks on Coruscant. Now we have a chance to find out where Dooku will strike next."

Ahsoka smiled in satisfaction of a job well done. Then she was almost run down by a Trandoshan who clearly wasn't paying attention to where he was going. Swerving around the absent-minded reptile, she asked, "next time, can we please take CSF up on their offer of a speeder?"

"Perhaps if you hadn't crashed our flitter, Padawan, we would not be walking. Consider it a lesson in consequences. I fear that you have picked up Anakin's flying habits," Obi-Wan remarked with a twinkle in his eye as he exchanged an amused look with Master Plo over Ahsoka's head.

"Yes, Master." Ahsoka subsided.

The crowds got thicker as they neared a popular shopping district, all three Jedi getting jostled in spite of their forbidding appearance. Ahoska quickly found out that you could earn bruised ribs just as quickly in a crowd of determined shoppers as you could on the field of battle.

"What is going on?" Ahsoka muttered. She wasn't quiet enough and the other Jedi overheard.

"It is midwinter celebrations," Master Plo said in his deep voice. "Everyone is shopping for gifts."

Ahsoka looked up at him, puzzled. "Gifts? Like the Secret Santa that Senator Amidala is doing? I thought that was just an Alderaan tradition."

"One which has evidently spread here," Master Kenobi remarked in his polished Coruscanti accent. "I do believe that a fifth of the business that these retailers get is during the midwinter season."

"Apparently they all shop on the same day too." Ashoka muttered under her breath, extricating her toes from under someone's boot.

The trio found themselves funnelled against the shop fronts by the bustling crowd. Ahsoka stared through the shop fronts at all the colourful displays of cheerful gadgets and festive widgets.

"So… who do people buy presents for?" Ahsoka blurted out. "And why don't we do this?"

"As Jedi, it isn't appropriate for us to get attached to things," Plo Koon explained. "We have our own rituals; the midwinter lightsaber displays and the mid-winter feast."

"To answer your first question, Ahsoka, normally citizens buy gifts for their family, loved ones, and friends," Master Kenobi added.

"Why do you ask, little 'Soka?" Master Plo asked.

Ahsoka ducked her head, feeling her lekku stripes flush charcoal. "I just thought it might be nice to get the men of Torrent something for midwinter, Master Plo."

Both Masters were silent for a long moment, just looking at each other with their impenetrable gazes and Ahoska felt her stripes darken even more as she waited for the inevitable reprimand and lecture about attachment and the distance needed between a commander and her men.

"It is good of you to think of your men, Padawan," Master Plo said. "I'm sure they would appreciate the gesture."

"After all, I doubt that the Kaminoans would have celebrated midwinter," Master Kenobi remarked.

No one said what all of them were thinking, that many of the clones in the barracks would not be still alive next midwinter. The thought hung in the air–the bantha in the room.

"I can get the men a present then?" Ahsoka asked.

Plo Koon looked at Obi-Wan, who nodded. "I don't see why not, Ahsoka," Plo Koon said. "When we get back to the Temple, I will see that you have some credits for expenses."

"Thank you, Master."

"Don't thank him yet," Obi-Wan remarked dryly. "You've still got to explain to Master Enziica why you will not returning her flitter."

Ahsoka groaned at the thought of facing the persnickety old Jedi in charge of expenses and Temple assets.

Plo Koon's eyes crinkled around his antiox breath mask and Obi-Wan cracked a grin.

"As I said, Padawan, consequences."


No prompt for this ficlet either; instead, it's part of a mini-arc as we count down to Day 1. Master Enziica's name comes from the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA), I figure the Jedi Temple has to have a bean-counter hidden in there somewhere.

I hope you enjoyed! Not long till Christmas now! This story will wrap up on Christmas Eve, that's the 23rd for you Northern Hemisphere folk ;)