Ahsoka slapped five cards on the table with a sharp whack!

"Hah! Pure Sabacc! Beat that, Skyguy!"

Grumbling, Anakin flipped over his own measly hand of cards—a sylop combined with a negative one and a positive two. "And I thought I had a good hand."

"Well, we can't all have a sylop," Obi-Wan declared, revealing his own hand, which consisted of a sylop among a jumble of positives and negatives. "After all, there are only two in a deck."

Anakin crossed his arms. "One of us is obviously cheating."

Shriveling slightly under the combined glares of her Masters, Ahsoka shrugged. "What? I was tired of losing to you guys! Seriously, ten games in a row can really drag a girl down."

"Still, that's no reason to cheat," Anakin reprimanded.

Sure, Skyguy, sure. So it's okay to cheat during speeder or foot races, but not at sabacc?

"Where'd you even get that card anyway?"

"Fives gave it to me," she explained, sliding her cards across the table to her grandmaster, who'd begun collecting the deck for reshuffling. "One of the players next to him on Phu was cheating, and Echo was tired of watching Fives lose, so he swiped the guy's extra sylop and gave it to Fives, who let me have it when I won against him even while he tried to cheat."

"That…" Obi-Wan blinked, his expression undecided. "... is quite the interesting, though perhaps quite immoral tale."

She shrugged again. "I just wanted to see how long it would take you guys to notice."

"Wait," Anakin began, glaring at Ahsoka, "you mean to say you've been cheating this entire time?"

"Well, not the whole time…"

"All right," Obi-Wan said decidedly. "New game."

She smirked at her Master, who rose with a huff, stalking into the kitchen.

"And next time, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, giving her a pointed look as he slid the deck back into its case, "why don't we keep the cheating to a minimum."

"Yes, Master Obi-Wan. So… I can still use my extra card?"

He seemed thoughtful, but his eyes were dancing, filling her soul with warmth. "Only once or twice. For Anakin's sake."

"Hey! Anyone want a snack or something?" Anakin called out from beyond, as if on cue.

Stifling a yawn, Ahsoka shook her head. "I'll pass."

"No, thank you," Obi-Wan added. "In fact, I think it might be best if we turn in for the evening."

Stang! So he'd noticed her vain attempt to hide her growing exhaustion.

"Please, just one more game?" Pleading usually seemed to work on Obi-Wan… as long as Anakin wasn't the one doing it. She tried making her eyes bigger, cuter, but her grandmaster didn't appear to be moved.

"We'll have all day tomorrow, and we've already stayed up later than usual," he said, standing. "Now time for bed, unless you want to watch as I read Cody's latest report on the Sarrish campaign…"

Ahsoka's mind physically revolted against her as she tried to imagine the sheer boredom that awaited if she stuck around.

Jumping out of her seat, she flung herself at Obi-Wan, savoring the new, homey feel of arms around her.

"Good night, Master Obi-Wan. See you tomorrow."

As he returned the nightly farewell, Ahsoka clung to the fact that yes, she would indeed see him tomorrow. He wasn't going to leave her, not now, not ever.

"Not if I can help it," he'd promised shortly after she and Anakin had brought him back to Coruscant.

And that promise would have to be enough.

On the verge of drifting off to sleep, Ahsoka listened to the faint voices of her Masters as they carried their conversation late into the night. The muted exchange filled her with an innate sense of peace, a feeling that had eluded her for far too long.

Don't take him away from me again, her fading mind whispered to the Force. I couldn't bear it.

I couldn't help Skyguy bear it…

Her plan had been to stay awake as long as she could in order to make sure things stayed friendly between her Masters, but she didn't really know what she could do to help if they started going downhill again.

However, as the sweet sound of laughter floated into her bedroom for that night—the one that had been Anakin's when he was a Padawan—the sense of peace filled her once more, calming her mind, her heart.

And she realized that, while she might not be able to control the world around her or the lives of those she loved most, there was always one thing she could do, and that was to continually shower her friends with love, even when they did nothing to deserve it.

Especially when they didn't deserve it.

And she could hope. Hope that they could continue on like this forever.

The three of them against the world.

Yeah… she thought with a smile, snuggling further into her pillow. Just me, Skyguy, and Master Obi-Wan… We're going to be all right.

It was with this thought that her world finally faded into a comforting blackness.

"After everything, I should've been more surprised," Anakin said, wiping away tears of laughter, "but when Echo dumped a bazillion credits out of his helmet, I could only think how natural the action seemed. I swear those two are natural-born businessmen."

Obi-Wan couldn't remember the last time he had laughed so hard, and the fact that it was Anakin who had succeeded in pushing him past his usual off-handed chuckle into full gales of laughter only made the moment sweeter.

"What on earth did they end up doing with their winnings?" he asked once he could speak again. "Don't tell me they've spent them already."

"Oh no… Well, Fives would've had them all gone by now if he had his way, but Echo convinced him to put them in the bank."

"You can't be serious. Banks are more unstable these days than that ship of yours. What is it, the Starlight?"

"Twilight, and gee, thanks," Anakin corrected, his tone brimming with mock offense. "But yeah, that's why Fives convinced Echo to take the credits back out of the bank. Rex told me they now keep them hidden somewhere in the barracks. Where? Who knows."

"I wouldn't be surprised if only they do," Obi-Wan commented as he pulled himself off the comfy sofa. He had barely taken two steps away when Anakin stretched his body out across it, blanket in tow.

With an exaggerated groan, he covered himself up. "Next time you want to stay up so late, don't invite me."

"Oh? I was under the impression you invited yourself. I barely got any of my reading done."

"Yeah, well I didn't think you'd let me talk for so long you."

"Anakin, you let yourself talk that long. I merely listened. Would you rather I ignored you?"

"I guess not, but you were laughing, and that only fed my ramblings."

"Yes, well," Obi-wan grinned, "next time, I'll try not to react."

A muffled groan was the only response he received.

"Good night to you, too, Anakin," he whispered before retiring to his own room.

With a swift exhale matching the swish of the door, Obi-Wan wandered over his bed. Though the soft mattress called his name, begging him to come and rest his weary body, his eyes were drawn away from the welcoming bed… to a small brown package resting on the side table.

He'd delayed in opening this particular piece of mail for one reason: the return address was the Galactic Senate of the Republic.

Probably a misdirected package from Padmé to Anakin, was his first thought. But then why would she be sending packages to her lover from the senate? Why not from her apartment, and why to the Jedi Temple, of all places? That was a rather bold move, even for the feisty young senator from Naboo.

Besides… His name was branded on the front of the small box.

Well, let's get this over with, then. Whatever was in there couldn't be good.

Nothing good ever came from the senate, however, good things often came in small packages…

It took him far longer than necessary to open the package, but when he finally did, his eyes locked on the single object resting in the bottom of the box: a small, beautifully framed picture…

…of him and Satine, wrapped in each other's arms, lips locked in a passionate kiss.

Well, as passionate as they were both capable of, that is.

On the back was a short note scrawled in jet black ink:

Saw this out my office window the other day. Figured I'd pass it along. Don't forget to show the kids.

~ Bail

Of course. Who else would send something so… caringly aggravating but Senator Organa?

And he would most certainly not show the kids if he was correct in assuming Bail meant Anakin and Ahsoka. No, this picture was not meant for Jedi eyes. I don't care if Anakin has a thing going on with Padmé, that hardly gives him any right to see this!

As irritated as he was at being caught kissing Satine—on camera, no less!—he found he couldn't take his eyes off the photo. She was as lovely as ever.

I owe everything to her. To Anakin and Ahsoka. To Rex and Cody.

For a long moment, Obi-Wan wondered where he would be without them.

Lying dead on the desert wastes of Jakku…

But more than that, he would be alone.

Alone.

When Qui-Gon died, Obi-Wan had never felt such loneliness, such despair, such meaninglessness.

Then, he'd remembered Anakin, and Anakin became everything to him, his entire world.

Then Ahsoka had come along and brightened up both their lives. And Satine had walked into his life once more after so many loveless years.

And then there was Cody, who was everything he could ask for in a commander and friend, who would always have his back on and off the battlefield.

What did I do to deserve a life filled with so many wonderful people?

The thought nearly brought tears to his eyes.

What in the galaxy did I ever do…?

By all rights, he should've shredded the picture—the council would throw a fit if they ever found it and he would certainly lose his seat.

But to this day, it sits tucked under his mattress, warming his thoughts during dreary nights, chasing away the demons of his dreams.

Because whenever he thought about it, it reminded him that he was more than his thoughts and actions on Jakku, more than the man he had almost become.

He was Obi-Wan Kenobi, High General of the Galactic Army of the Republic, Jedi Master, Council Member, father, lover, brother, and friend. And it was these aspects of himself that defined him, not his mistakes.

After all, the wisest man he had ever known once made it very clear that people are worth far more than their worst acts, and who was he to doubt his Master?

As Obi-Wan settled down to sleep that night, he felt prepared to face the demons that would surely come to haunt his mind. Anakin was just outside the door, and Ahsoka slept soundly in the next room over. His friends wouldn't let him down, he knew, and he only had to ask, to open himself up to them when he needed their help…

… and they would always come running.

THE END

Thank you all for sticking with me till the very end! I hope you enjoyed this journey! I will be posting my newest Clone Wars Novella soon titled "My Brother's Keeper," so stay tuned! ;)