"So… you and Skywalker?"

"…What?"

Master Windu rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Obi-Wan. Do you really think we haven't noticed?"

Obi-Wan froze. He stopped walking, Master Fisto bumping into him. "What are you talking about?"

"That kid almost never leaves your side, runs headfirst into danger repeatedly to help you no matter what else could possibly go wrong from it, and looks at you like you're some kind of god." Master Fisto replied, completely failing to hide his laughter.

Master Plo Koon nodded. "I swear if he could physically attach himself to you like a leech, he would. If only to never let you out of his sight."

"I…" Obi-Wan's face was bright red. He had no idea what to say.

Master Windu rolled his eyes again. "Relax, Obi-Wan. Nobody is going to kick you out, or break you apart, or whatever it is you're so afraid of."

Okay, now Obi-Wan was confused. "…What about the Code? No attachments…"

"That boy was doomed to be attached from the very beginning. He didn't grow up here, we know this. We can't simply expect him to forget everything he knew before he arrived." Master Fisto said.

"He was a slave. He was probably taught by his mother that anything they could get their hands on, any possession they had, was to be kept." Master Plo agreed.

Master Windu nodded at their statements in agreement, turning back to Obi-Wan. "Skywalker has been a force to be reckoned with from day one. He's more powerful than even Master Yoda. He probably thinks we all hate him… but you know we don't. We're just… cautious about how we deal with him."

"There is a darkness in him, one we could never understand. There is so much about him that is a question mark." Master Fisto said.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "…Okay, see this is why he thinks you all hate him. If you simply explained this to him, rather than treating him the way you do, we wouldn't have this issue, would we?"

"We try to, but he's not easy to talk to. He's not easy to interact with in any way. I worry about him. He's very closed off from most people. Well, except you." Master Plo admitted.

"That's because I trust him, and he trusts me. And he knows that. You always act as if you don't trust him, as if he is still the nine-year-old he was when Qui-Gon found him. Unpredictable, immature, prone to genocide apparently. He's not."

"Are you sure? Because he is still more than a bit irrational and impulsive. And maybe he isn't to you, because you know him so well, but to the rest of us he's just as unpredictable as he has always been. And as for the genocide… well that is it's own issue to be dealt with." Master Windu shrugged.

Obi-Wan was quick to defend his Anakin. "He only becomes irrational when he deeply cares about something. And yes, he's impulsive, but that's not always a bad thing. I wouldn't be standing here, alive and talking to you, if he wasn't these things. Sure, he needs to work on controlling it so it doesn't get out of hand, but we have time for that, and I can help him."

"I sure hope so. Look… he's at his most centered in every way when he's with you. And you are your most at peace with him. Maybe not necessarily relaxed, but maybe that's not a bad thing either. Neither of you are ever brighter in the Force than when you're together. None of us have any intention of ruining that for either of you. We're on your side." Master Fisto tried to placate him.

"…So, what are you saying then?" Obi-Wan asked suspiciously.

Master Windu sighed. "We're saying… you and Skywalker are good together. I have no doubt that even after he's Knighted, you will find some way to stay close. It is clear to anyone who looks at you together for more than a few seconds how you feel about each other. But it's also clear that there has been some… trouble in paradise lately. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that trouble is due to you not wanting to break the Code. But with Skywalker, and really with your whole disaster lineage, attachment is basically unavoidable. So, as long as you don't let your attachments get in the way of being Jedi… the Council will turn a blind eye to it."

Obi-Wan stood there, mouth agape, staring at Master Windu. Never, in all his years of knowing the man, would he have ever expected the usually stoic, strict, and rule-following Jedi to say those words to him, but there it was. Obi-Wan could be with Anakin, and the Council wouldn't intervene.

Obi-Wan gasped. He had to go find Anakin, and tell him the good news.

Anakin sat on his bedroom floor, absentmindedly levitating a few spare parts of machinery around him. He had been deep in thought for hours. After taking apart and putting back together nearly all of his and Obi-Wan's kitchen appliances, he finally ran out of things to try to fix.

Anakin had been in deep thought all day. After his talk with Obi-Wan in the Halls of Healing, they had stayed close but there had been something off about them since then. They were both doing a lot of thinking, and trying to figure themselves out. But with this thinking came some doubt, at least from Anakin's side of things. He was beginning to wonder if this whole matter with Obi-Wan was more trouble than it was worth.

Anakin was wondering if maybe they should just drop this whole thing and try to forget about it. Maybe trying to get closer would only push them further apart. After all, if they continued on the way they had been before, they could still stay in each other's lives. But if they were to form a relationship and the Council found out, they would more than likely be separated. That was the last thing he wanted.

Anakin needed Obi-Wan in his life like he needed air to breathe. Obi-Wan was his oxygen, and Anakin couldn't live without him. He didn't know who he was without his Master by his side.

Anakin would always want more. He always wanted what he couldn't have. He always wanted more than he already had. He was insatiable, but this is one matter in which he needed to ignore those feelings. As long as he had Obi-Wan with him, in any way, that was more than enough. And if he tried to have more, he would surely end up with less.

Anakin began to think maybe he should try to focus his affections on someone else. Someone outside the Order, who he could be with and only have to worry about getting himself kicked out. Like Padme. Ah, Queen Padme Amidala. Actually, no, Anakin had recently heard that she had finished her second and last term as Queen and was now serving as the Senator of Naboo. Which would mean that she would more than likely have to come to Coruscant, sooner or later.

Okay, this could work. Anakin could just… redirect his affections to Padme. Try to fall in love with her instead. It wouldn't be easy to stop loving Obi-Wan, but it at least shouldn't be too hard to start loving Padme. She was one of the most beautiful angels he had ever seen, the kindest girl he had ever met, and never failed to make him laugh.

And while he would still have to keep her a secret, it wouldn't be nearly as difficult as it would be with Obi-Wan. Granted, they wouldn't get as much time together, and he would have to be a bit more careful sneaking around, but he could make it work.

He wouldn't have to hide his love for her on a daily basis, only when he's with her in front of other people, which wouldn't be as often as it would be with Obi-Wan. He and his Master were around other Jedi all the time, the only time they were not is if they're in their quarters or if they're on a mission. And even then, they both have friends over to hang out sometimes, and on missions they're usually surrounded by people too.

Really, the amount of alone time he would get with either of them is about the same, but that's not what Anakin is concerned about anyway. Because it's the same, that makes it even less of a deciding factor. Anakin wouldn't be able to hide his love for Obi-Wan in front of the other Jedi and anyone else they ended up around, which would inevitably cause problems and suspicion.

Plus, Anakin had always wanted a family. Since he was a child, he had always wanted kids of his own someday. He couldn't really have that with Obi-Wan, unless they adopted, which wouldn't be allowed if they were still Jedi, as the attachment between a parent and their child is seen as the strongest of all. With Padme, he could start his own family. Obi-Wan would still be a part of it, just in a different way. Obi-Wan would always be his family.

It was decided then. Anakin was going to redirect his love onto Padme.