Note: I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think. Sorry, it has been crazy busy! Thanks to everyone who has left a review. Always great motivation. This chapter is basically all relationship building basically :)
Chapter Eleven
Anger simmered in his chest, threatening to burst through and unleash its fury in a stream of very hurtful words. It took all of his willpower to restrain from lashing out at Padawan Kenobi. That and the fact that they were all cramped in a bedroom in Shmi Skywalker's hovel so that they could have a semblance of privacy during this conversation.
Xanatos stood behind Obi-Wan with his hand on his shoulder and their shields firmly in place. Qui-Gon made sure his shields were also solid. That boy and his master seemed to be the only two people to make Qui-Gon feel like he had no control over his emotions .
"What made you think that betting the Nubian cruiser to free Anakin's mother was a good idea?" Qui-Gon pinched the bridge of his nose, his voice tight with rage.
Anakin opened his mouth to speak and Qui-Gon held up a warning finger to silence his padawan. Anakin's mouth snapped shut. " Obi-Wan , I am waiting."
Obi-Wan gulped. "I felt like I needed to do something to free Shmi Skywalker, and so I decided that since we were already betting on Anakin winning this podrace to get parts that it'd be safe to also bet on Shmi's freedom. If Anakin loses and we don't get the parts, the ship is quite useless, anyways."
The gall of this boy. Qui-Gon respected it, but not when it was being used against him.
"That was not your call, Obi-Wan. Why did you not consult with your master and I?"
"Well, it was not part of our prerogative to free her. I knew that you and my master would not agree to it because of the high risk. But like I said, there really isn't much risk because the ship is essentially useless without the parts."
Xanatos squeezed Obi-Wan's shoulder and shot him a warning glance. "I apologize, Master Jinn." Obi-Wan dipped his head, but gazed at Qui-Gon without any hint of remorse in his eyes. "The force guided me in this decision. This feels right. Can you not feel it, too?"
Qui-Gon could not deny the fact that he didn't sense any danger from this bet. His worry for Anakin's safety had originally clouded his senses, but now that he'd released his worries, he could not deny that the force felt right . Them, here, preparing for this race and freeing Anakin's mother all felt right, as if they were avoiding a tremendous disaster in the future by freeing her. Qui-Gon felt it slightly, the pulse of approval from Xanatos being sent to Obi-Wan.
Qui-Gon frowned, but then nodded. He could not also deny that he had planned to do something similar to what Obi-Wan had done. It only irked him that the padawan had taken action so surreptitiously and without consulting the jedi masters. But then, would he have agreed to the idea if it had not stemmed from him?
"Fine," Qui-Gon said. "Since we have so much more at stake now, we should probably get started on building the podracer. Besides, I think the ladies out there are getting quite antsy."
There was a flare of worry from Anakin through their bond. "I will speak with your...mother. Go work on your ship, Padawan," Qui-Gon said. "You two help him, will you? Make sure he doesn't make anything explode."
Qui-Gon sighed, "You three will be the death of me."
"Don't be so dramatic, grandmaster," Obi-Wan smirked.
Qui-Gon quirked a brow in the boy's direction. He could go from rebellious to obedient to mischievous to a downright imp in a matter of minutes.
"Well, that went better than expected, wouldn't you say?" Anakin grinned at Obi-Wan.
"Yes, after your master looked like he was about ready to tear off my head, things went a whole lot better."
The two boys worked on the podracer, focusing first on the combustion chamber. Grease and grime were smeared all over their tunics and cheeks. They had tasked Padme and Satine with doing the simplest parts of building a podracer, and the girls seemed to be faring quite well.
Xanatos, on the other hand, was, in simplest terms, lazing around while pretending to supervise. Obi-Wan wanted nothing more than to throw a wrench at his master, if anything, just to annoy the older man. But he didn't. He knew he'd been lucky that Xanatos had not been more furious with him for his actions.
/ Oh, believe me, Padawan. There will be repercussions for your actions./
/...Oh, kriff .../ Obi-Wan hadn't meant to leak his thoughts across the bond.
/Language, Padawan/
Obi-Wan glared over at his master.
/ But I am proud of you. You have a good heart, Obi- Wan./
Obi-Wan blinked, surprised and unprepared by the comment. / Your old age is making you extra gushy, Master./
/And you continue to be a giant brat no matter your age. /
"I think we're done with the rest of this part, Obi-Wan," Anakin said.
"Cool, let's check on Padme and Satine," Obi-Wan suggested.
They jogged over to find the two of them having completed both of the turbine motors. "How do they look?" Padme asked.
Anakin knelt down to inspect them and whistled. "Impressive job, ladies."
"I'll have you know that we're not entirely incompetent," Satine said.
"Definitely not," Anakin agreed, using the force to levitate the motors to where the rest of the pod was being built. "Looks like we'll have to give you another task!"
"Great," Satine sighed.
Her hair had come a little undone from its bun and strands clung to her clammy face and neck. She reached up to brush it away from her face and smeared some grease onto her nose. Obi-Wan stifled a chuckle. She looked so cute. He froze. The thought had appeared so naturally and seemingly from nowhere. It was terrifying.
"You don't need to be sarcastic," Obi-Wan snapped.
"I'm not," Satine glared up at him.
Anakin grabbed his elbow and yanked him towards the half built podracer. "Obi-Wan, come on. You can't talk to a duchess like that," he hissed.
"She's just a person, Anakin."
"She's a duchess . Besides, what was that?"
Obi-Wan shrugged and grabbed a few parts. "Shall we have them work on the thrust coils?"
"Okay, fine, don't tell me," Anakin sighed. "You two are weird. You go from being pleasant with one another to explosive."
Again, Obi-Wan shrugged. He grabbed the necessary parts and hauled them over to Padme and Satine. He placed them down in front of them. He avoided eye contact with Satine and looked at Padme. "Anakin can show you two what to do. He's the expert mechanic here."
He stood stiffly and headed back to work on the repulsors. Satine stood and followed him. "How about you show me how to work on what you're doing instead?"
" Duchess," Obi-Wan sighed. Couldn't she tell that he needed space from her ?
"Don't call me that, Kenobi. Secret identity, remember?"
"Right, okay, grab one of those wrench thingies and bring it over here." Obi-Wan ran a hand through his hair.
He could feel Xanatos's amusement bleeding across the bond. Now Obi-Wan really wanted to throw something at his master. First the man wanted Obi-Wan to keep his emotional distance from Satine. Now he was amused that Obi-Wan was basically an emotional mess trying to keep himself from falling for said infuriating duchess.
They worked together. Satine was a fast learner and impressive with mechanics. Not good. Not good. Was there anything she wasn't good at? Obi-Wan internally groaned. He just needed her to be less. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?" Satine asked, wide eyes staring at Obi-Wan.
She must've seen the frustration on his face and assumed it was directed at her and something she'd done. He sighed, "No, everything looks...perfect. Jeez."
"Oh, jealous that I did a better job than you, Kenobi?" She smirked.
"Satine, that'd obviously be impossible," Obi-Wan said. "No one can do a better job than me at this...well, maybe Anakin, but that's beyond the point."
"Your ego, Kenobi, is extremely inflated."
"I was joking."
"I know ." She furrowed her brows and tilted her head a little to the side to study him.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just...you know I can joke, too, right? I can be funny."
Obi-Wan snorted, "Right."
"Hey!" Satine frowned.
"Don't frown, you'll get wrinkles on that pr—face of yours."
She arched her eyebrow at him. "Were you going to say pretty face?"
Obi-Wan felt his face flush with heat. "Nope. Now that was a funny joke."
"Right...well, I am flattered if you do think I am pretty." She shrugged and pointed at the podracer. "What next, Kenobi?"
Yep, it was decided. Satine Kryze was the most infuriating girl ever with a very pretty face.
Qui-Gon Jinn did not get nervous. That was not a feeling the man had felt in a long, long time. Now, however, standing beside this humble and kind woman—the mother of his Padawan, and his son in all but name, he felt nervous.
He helped her with dinner preparations and waited patiently for her to pepper him with questions. They stood beside each other: him chopping and her stirring.
Silence reigned on.
Qui-Gon internally sighed. Someone needed to say something or the silence was just going to be awkward, wasn't it? He wasn't sure. There was something about meeting the parents of the children he'd raised. It was nerve racking. After all, the last time he'd met Xanatos's father, the man had tried to kill him.
"Anakin calls you master?" Shmi questioned in such a timid voice that Qui-Gon almost missed it. Her brows furrowed.
Qui-Gon turned to her and gave her a kind smile. "Yes, that is what jedi pupils or padawans call their teachers. It is a title showing respect and rank, that is all."
Her face visibly relaxed, and Qui-Gon found himself encouraged to continue. "Anakin has been my apprentice for many years now. He is a wonderful boy. You should be proud."
Shmi nodded, "I am. He seems like a good person, and he is growing to be very handsome."
"Yes, his looks will help him in the future, I'm sure. But you are correct, he is a good person." Qui-Gon smiled. "Do you have any other questions for me? I know it must be challenging to see your son again after all these years."
"Challenging? Not at all. I feel blessed. I never thought that I'd ever see him again after I gave him to the jedi." She gave Qui-Gon a sad smile and asked, "Is he happy?"
"...yes, I believe he is. The path of a jedi is not easy, but he is happy with the jedi."
"That's good. That's all I've ever wanted for him...to be happy."
Sensing that she had more to say, Qui-Gon remained silent. "Do you love him?" She asked.
Qui-Gon stiffened a little at the question. It had been unexpected. Jedi did not examine feelings of love often, even if it were something that they felt. Love and attachment often went hand in hand, and all jedi knew that attachment led to the dark side. He loved Tahl. He loved Feemor , Xanatos , and Anakin. But would he ever express those feelings or admit them to others? The answer was no. Jedi did not voice their love.
"I care for him a great deal." Qui-Gon said and could tell by the fall of her face that he did not give her the answer that she'd been hoping for.
"I love my son...even if I don't know him anymore. I love him."
"I do not doubt that."
"But to live a life without ever experiencing love. What kind of life is that?" She looked at him with shining eyes. "You are his mentor...his guardian. If you do not love him, then does he just never experience it?"
"At the temple, we care for our young and we give them as much love as they need," Qui-Gon assured her. "You needn't worry. He has a good life, Shmi."
"Forgive me, Qui-Gon, but I find that hard to believe now that I know how you feel."
Qui-Gon nearly groaned and spoke a bit more harshly than he'd intended. "Just because we don't express it verbally doesn't mean we don't feel those emotions, Shmi."
"Forgive me if I overstepped my bounds," Shmi said, her tone biting.
"You did not," Qui-Gon ground out, exhaled, and softened his tone. "I will check on Anakin now...you are welcome to join me...if you'd like."
She sighed, "I would very much like that."
Qui-Gon swept out of the kitchen with her following him. He found Xanatos lazing on a chair in the sun with his eyes closed. Qui-Gon could tell along their thin bond that he was dozing. The boy was going to burn. Didn't he ever learn that his skin was much too fair to be exposed in direct sunlight like that?
Qui-Gon shook his head, amused by how his relationship with Xanatos had shifted so drastically from several days before this mission.
He noticed that the two padawans had paired off with the girls. It was a little concerning, but Qui-Gon didn't mind. Anakin and Padme were wrestling with one of the parts. "Hold it steady!" Anakin ordered.
"I am!"
"No offense, but I don't think you know what steady means." Anakin growled as he pulled on the wrench.
"Give me a blaster and I'll show you how steady my hands can be."
"You, Padme, can be so uncivilized!" Obi-Wan called over his shoulder.
"Shut up, Obi-Wan!" Padme and Anakin shouted, looked at each other, and burst into giggles.
"The two of you are the worst," Obi-Wan said. "By the way, Satine and I finished both of the turbine drive motors. What have you two finished?"
Satine and Obi-Wan sauntered up to Padme and Anakin. "Yeah, yeah, save it. I gave you the easy stuff to work on," Anakin muttered. "Besides, let's hope what you two built doesn't fall apart. We both know you're a lousy mechanic, Obes."
"Believe me, it won't," Satine said.
"Obi-Wan, help me, will you?" Anakin grunted and used a hand to nudge Padme aside. "Get over here."
"But I thought I was a lousy mechanic?" Obi-Wan smirked.
Anakin looked up, shocked that Obi-Wan was using his words against him. "Lousier than me, I meant. And I'm the best mechanic, so that makes you the second best."
"Good save." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and lent Anakin a hand.
"That's all Anakin can do, save himself from the holes he digs himself into with that mouth of his," Qui-Gon chuckled.
Anakin looked up, cheeks reddening when he noticed Qui-Gon and Shmi walking closer to them. "Master, really ?" Anakin moaned.
/so embarrassing/
Qui-Gon's lips twitched into a smile. "I live to embarrass you, Padawan. You know that."
"And you make it easy to embarrass you, Ani," Obi-Wan added.
"Agreed," Padme and Satine chirped.
"You guys are the worst!" Anakin groaned.
Qui-Gon couldn't help but laugh. He affectionately tugged on Anakin's padawan braid. /I only jest, my padawan./
/I know./
" Now, if you're done teasing me!" Anakin mock-glared at his master. "I want to show you what I—I mean we've built so far."
"Good save," Obi-Wan muttered.
That boy was sarcastic, but Qui-Gon nodded in agreement before following Anakin to the podracer. Shmi followed them in silence.
Qui-Gon could feel Shmi's countenance and feelings towards him shift. There was a sense of sorrow and loss, but also relief .
It seemed that she now understood what he had been trying to convey to her in the kitchen.
Thoughts? I hope you enjoyed it! Tension and problems will arise soon enough! :)