Obi-Wan picked up the box. It was small in his hands, but he remembered the day his father came home with it. Obi-Wan could not have been more than a teenager. He remembered the day almost as if it were yesterday.

Qui-Gon rushed through the door, his hair falling out of its usually messy bun in an even messier fashion.

"Dad, are you okay?" Obi-Wan asked as he came out from the kitchen. "Did someone find out about your current story?"

"No," Qui-Gon breathed. As he turned toward Obi-Wan with the biggest grin on his face, he laughed. "I've found someone quite special to me. Our lives are about to change."

Obi-Wan looked down at the small box in his father's hand. "Is that what I think it is?" He felt a panic settle in his chest. "How long have you known this person? You haven't said anything lately about being in love. Are you sure this is the best decision?"

Qui-Gon's smile slipped from his face as he took in his son's fearful expression. "Love isn't something you think through. Sometimes it's just something you feel."

"But marriage?" Obi-Wan asked, his tone raising slightly. "Certainly that's a bit rash, even for you."

Qui-Gon swallowed, pulling back as if Obi-Wan had struck him. Obi-Wan regretted the words immediately.

"Dad, you know I didn't-"

"No, but you did," Qui-Gon nodded to himself. "I'm sure this seems odd to you, but I can assure you that this isn't as out there as you think it is. I've known Tahl for years. We've always been friends skirting around something more. It wasn't until recently that we really allowed ourselves to feel that as we worked late nights together."

"Tahl?" Obi-Wan asked softly. "She's the woman in the photo in your room, isn't she? I thought you hadn't seen her in years."

"I hadn't," Qui-Gon nodded, a frown tugging at his lips as he looked at the box in his hand. "Perhaps I should give more thought to this."

Obi-Wan deflated as he watched his father walk back towards his room.

Obi-Wan looked down at the photo of Tahl he had taken off the wall. She'd been killed a week later, having been a target of the mob. Qui-Gon wasn't the same for months. Obi-Wan remembered bringing him tea every morning in the backyard when he'd come home from walking the block to clear his head. It was something Qui-Gon had done every night like clockwork to avoid sleeping.

Back then, Obi-Wan hadn't known what it was like to love someone like that. Now, though... he looked down at the box in his palm and smiled.

Anakin looked up from his pizza as Obi-Wan slipped back into the fort. He watched with an amused smirk as Obi-Wan placed the small box on the ground between them.

"Is that what I think it is?" Anakin asked as he reached for the box.

"Dad bought it for Tahl," Obi-Wan commented.

Anakin opened the box and let out a low whistle. "Dad had good taste."

Obi-Wan looked into the box and raised his eyebrows at the blue sapphire nestled in an assembly of diamonds to make it look like a sun. "Yes, he did."

"Who's Tahl?" Anakin asked as he took a bite of pizza.

"She's a woman dad used to know. I think she's the only one he ever loved, if I'm being honest," Obi-Wan commented.

"What happened to her?"

"She died before dad got the chance to propose," Obi-Wan replied.

"So, what, are you going to ask Padmé to marry you?" Anakin asked with a teasing grin.

Obi-Wan looked down, "It's not like I haven't thought about it."

"But?" Anakin asked.

Obi-Wan sighed, picking up a slice, "Oh, I don't know."

"I think you're worried about me," Anakin said pointedly, "But, you shouldn't be. I'm an adult, Obi-Wan. I'll be okay. Besides, you two are good together. And I... actually found someone."

Obi-Wan chuckled, "In between joining a gang and kidnapping a criminal? Where do you find the time?"

Anakin laughed with him, "Yeah, I know. There's only so many hours in a day, but I spend at least an hour talking to her. She's actually friends with Padmé. I met her at a grocery store."

"Good for you," Obi-Wan nodded, "So, you're okay if I propose to Padmé?"

"Only if I can be your best man," Anakin said as he reached for another slice.

"Who else would I ask?" Obi-Wan laughed, "Master Yoda?"

Anakin shrugged, "I don't know what your relationship is like."

Obi-Wan nudged his side with his elbow. "You're incorrigible."

"So they tell me," Anakin winked.

"Don't wink at that."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not something you should be proud of," Obi-Wan teased.

"Sabé seems to like it," Anakin waggled his eyebrows.

"You'll have to introduce us sometime soon."

"So you can give her the stamp of approval?"

"No, if she's friends with Padmé then I'm sure she doesn't need my approval. I just want to warn her to run while she still can," Obi-Wan shot back.

"I hate you."

"You're my brother, Anakin, and I love you," Obi-Wan winked.

"So... tell me more about Tahl and dad," Anakin said quietly.

"What do you want to know?"

"Well, I guess it's just odd to think about dad dating someone. He never had any interest in anyone by the time I came around," Anakin murmured.

"I asked him about that a year or so after Tahl passed. I asked him if he thought he could ever love again. Do you want to know what he told me?"

"What?"

"He told me that once you have your great love, nothing else will compare. In a way, it's almost cruel to try because you'll always be comparing them to an impossible standard in your head," Obi-Wan replied. "That doesn't mean you can't find company with another person, but it will always be a different kind of love."

"I think that's silly," Anakin replied.

"How so?" Obi-Wan chuckled.

"Well, how do you know they're your great love? If you asked me a month ago, I would've said my great love was Padmé, but now that's not the case," Anakin explained.

"I feel as though the other person has to also reciprocate those feelings," Obi-Wan teased before getting serious. "I think it is something one just knows, though."

Anakin held up his glass of water, "To just knowing."

Obi-Wan clinked his mug of tea against Anakin's glass, "To just knowing."