Prompt from Alex: Could I request one maybe of Qui-gon with padawan Obi-wan and Qui-gon gets sent to the future by himself and sees what kind of man his bad decisions and cruel actions made Obi-wan into and then returns to his time and vows to make sure that he will change his ways so that he not let that happen to his Obi-wan?

…..

Qui-Gon knew he should have stayed away from the blue light.

It was common knowledge… Maybe his curiosity overcame him. To be honest, he's not entirely sure what pulled him towards the light.

He'd had a hard day with Obi-Wan and just wanted to get away from teenagers and their mood swings.

And the blue light looked so inviting.

Almost like it was calling to him.

The next thing he knew, there was a bright flash and he landed on unfamiliar ground… heavily.

"Ummmm, General Kenobi?" An unfamiliar voice spoke up, followed by a poke to his side, "I think we have a problem."

"Cody? What's… oh my."

Obi-Wan? What was Obi-Wan doing here?

Before he could even think about trying to push himself up from the ground, there was a sharp pain in his head and everything went completely black.

…..

"- gree. Unusual this is."

"Has anything like this ever happened before?"

"Not to our best knowledge Obi-Wan, but we're looking into it."

"And in the meantime? What are we supposed to do with… with him?"

The voice was deeper than what he remembered, but the accent was the same, as was the politeness.

"Obi-Wan…" he muttered weakly, opening his eyes as much as he could and trying to glance to the sound, "…Obi-Wan?"

When he glanced over, he instantly recognised Master Windu and Master Yoda standing by his bedside, giving him concerned looks.

Standing opposite the two Masters, was a man in full combat army and another Jedi, with sandy brown/red hair and beard… and very familiar eyes.

"Obi-Wan?"

The sandy haired man winced, a frown on his face, before he turned back to Master Windu and Master Yoda. "Keep me updated on the situation, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Of course, Master Kenobi."

Without saying a word to Qui-Gon or even acknowledging that he had even spoken, Obi-Wan turned on his heel and strode out of the room, closely followed by the armoured man.

Qui-Gon could swear that that man was glaring at him as he left.

"He didn't even acknowledge me…" Qui-Gon whispered, pain in his voice, "…. My own padawan didn't even speak to me."

Mister Windu and Master Yoda glanced at one another before Master Yoda sighed wearily. "Tired, Obi-Wan is. Better tomorrow, I'm sure he will be."

But even he didn't sound sure.

…..

"So… you're the one who's going to be guarding me?"

The armoured man with orange tints on the armour, didn't even look at him, continuing on down the corridor with Qui-Gon following on behind.

"… Have I done something to offend you?"

"No."

This was the most the man had spoken in the hour they'd been together.

"You were with Obi-Wan… do you know he used to be my Padawan?"

"Yes."

"… What did I do?"

Silence.

Finally losing patience with the cold shoulder he was receiving, Qui-Gon reached out and grabbed the man's shoulder… only to yelp in surprise when the man effortlessly grabbed his wrist, twisting it around and pinned him against the wall.

"Do not grab me General…." The man growled, "… it is never a good idea to just grab me."

"Let me- "

"- You want to know why your student can't even look you in the eye?" The man continued, as though Qui-Gon had never said anything, "You abandon him, time after time after time… and you don't even care."

Qui-Gon wanted to argue, he wanted to push back against the accusations… but he couldn't.

He had already abandoned Obi-Wan once before this mess ever happened.

Seeming to know that he'd won the argument, the armoured man let him go, setting him back on the ground and stepping away. "You hurt him Master Jinn…" the man finished wearily, "… you hurt him again and again… even your final words hurt him."

His final words?

… He was dead?

Qui-Gon desperately wanted to know more, opening his mouth to bombard the man with more questions, until a young man and an even younger Togruta appeared from around the corner.

"Cody!" the young man called out, a teasing smile on his face, "I don't think I've ever seen you so far away from Obi-Wan! You had an argument or something?"

Cody… so that was his name.

"I have any job at the moment…" Cody sounded a bit calmer talking to the young man, gesturing at Qui-Gon, "… It appears as though there's been an incident of time travel."

At the sight of Qui-Gon, the young man took a step back, his mouth gaping open in shock. "That's… that's… Qui-Gon?"

"… Yes? Do I know you?"

He felt slightly guilty when the young man looked hurt, his face only becoming neutral when Cody spoke up again. "Obi-Wan thinks he came from when he was about thirteen, long before he every meets you."

This young man clearly knew who he was. In which case… maybe this young man could explain what had happened between him and Obi-Wan.

If this Cody would ever give him the chance.

…..

Sneaking away from Cody was remarkably easy.

The man had taken him to a separate room in the Temple, far away from the other living areas, ordered him to stay where he was, before leaving.

It was a bit naïve of him really.

Around an hour after Cody left (just to be sure he wasn't coming right back), Qui-Gon snuck out and headed straight for the Master/Padawan rooms, knowing that there was a chance he would meet the young man and his padawan (or so he assumed).

It was late in the evening, and the majority of the Temple would usually be heading back to their rooms, settling down for the evening which increased his chances.

"Excuse me!" he called out as soon as he spotted the young man, rushing over and placing a gentle hand on the man's shoulder, tightening it when the man tried to squirm away, "I just want to talk."

"Obi-Wan said- "

"- Let me guess…. Don't say anything to me because I might affect the past, and therefore the present and future?"

"…. Pretty much."

"I don't want to know anything specific… like how this apparent war started or what happened to me or anything. I just want to know what happened to Obi-Wan."

The young man frowned, "Huh?"

"He's my padawan, and yet he has spent the entire time I've been here, avoiding me, dodging me at every turn! I need to know why!"

There was silence, as the young man turned his attention to the ground, before shaking his head. "I didn't know you for long Master Jinn… Obi-Wan was knighted not long after I met you, I have no idea what happened when he was your padawan."

"At all?"

A guilty look flashed across the young man's face.

"You do know something, don't you?"

Silence.

"Please…" Qui-Gon placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, "… I need to know."

"…. You disowned him… in front of the Council." Once he started, the young man couldn't stop, "You wanted to train another padawan, one who the Council didn't want trained, and you were desperate!"

"… What did I say… exactly?"

"… You said… I will train him, then. I take… the child as my Padawan learner." The young man shook his head, "He was in the room, and I just remember the look on his face…. he looked betrayed. You then said that he was ready for the trials and looked at, like- "

"- like I was begging him to just play along." Qui-Gon felt like his heart had dropped to his stomach, "Like I wanted him to just roll over and give up."

"Yeah… and Obi-Wan listened."

"So… I abandoned him?! Took on another padawan and threw him into knighthood kicking and screaming?"

"Sort of… it didn't play out like that."

Before Qui-Gon could question him further, the young man held up his hand. "I can't say anything else, so please don't ask."

"Alright… you're sure you don't know anything else?"

"I'm sorry… I didn't know you for very long."

Qui-Gon nodded in understanding, taking a step back as the young man headed towards his room. The information had been appreciated, but it still wasn't enough.

His abandonment of Obi-Wan might explain why his ex-padawan was acting so coldly towards him… but that couldn't be all.

There must be something else.

"This is ridiculous…" Qui-Gon muttered to himself almost an hour later, "… One Jedi master cannot be this hard to find…. It's easy in the past!"

He had been wandering all around these corridors and going in circles by the feel of it.

How had everything changed so much in the years that he'd been away?

"Lost, you look Qui-Gon. Like an initiate, you look."

Resisting the urge to yelp in shock, Qui-Gon spun around and bowed at the Jedi Master. "Master Yoda, I didn't hear you there."

"Meant to hear me, you were not." Yoda moved a little bit closer, his stick tapping against the marble floors, "Lost, you are."

"Yes…" Qui-Gon chuckled weakly, "… I think they've moved everything around since I was here."

"Misunderstand me, you do. Lost in thoughts, you are."

Qui-Gon was silent for a time, before sighing wearily and resting against a nearby wall, sliding down until he was seated on the floor. "I don't understand why Obi-Wan suddenly seemed to… dislike me. He's not said a word to me since I got here… I just want to know what I did!"

Master Yoda seemed distressed by this news, his ears hanging low for a second as he shook his head sadly. "A hard life, Obi-Wan has had. All your fault, it is not."

"… But part of it is my fault… A lot of it, right?"

Master Yoda was silent, causing Qui-Gon to sigh wearily. "Great… just what I needed to hear."

"Speak to Obi-Wan, you should. From his mouth, you should hear the truth."

"How! He's avoiding me!"

"Trick him, I will. To the Council room, you should go."

Feeling a sense of relief, that Master Yoda had the situation under control, Qui-Gon nodded gratefully, before heading to the room in question.

He needed to know the truth.

….

"I thought Master Yoda was acting a little bit suspiciously."

Qui-Gon straightened up at the familiar voice, spinning around to look his old padawan in the eyes. Obi-Wan looked slightly amused by what had happened, but he was still keeping his distance.

"Yes, he…" Qui-Gon cleared his throat, "…. He thought we needed to talk."

"Oh? He doesn't usually get involved in things like that."

"… You've been avoiding me."

Obi-Wan looked a little bit shocked at the statement, remaining silent as Qui-Gon continued.

"Ever since I got here, you've avoided me at every turn… I just want to know why. Someone told me that I abandoned you in front of the entire council, and I'm sorry… but I need to know if there was anything more? What did I do?"

Silence.

"Obi-Wan… please."

There another second of silence, before Obi-Wan shook his head wearily. "Our master/padawan relationship was… tense."

"… How tense?"

Obi-Wan sighed, "Let's just say… when you decided to take on another padawan, it wasn't a surprise."

"You felt like I was going to abandon you for all those years?"

"You have to admit Master, the start to our relationship wasn't exactly the best."

That was putting it mildly… Even Qui-Gon could admit that.

"It improved but there was always this lingering doubt…." Obi-Wan continued, "… and then there was the incident in the Council Room."

"Where I took on another padawan and left you on your own."

Obi-Wan winced, "It… it didn't happen quite like that."

"… Pardon?"

Another wince, "It- you… there was an incident and you… died not long after."

Qui-Gon knew he'd gone pale at this… from Cody's statement, it was obvious that he died at some point, but for it to be so soon after he abandoned his padawan?

It just couldn't be true.

And then he remembered something else that Cody said…" Even your final words hurt him."

Even your final words hurt him.

"What did I say to you…" he asked quietly, frowning as Obi-Wan turned away and didn't answer him, "… Obi-Wan… what did I say to you? Before I died?"

Silence…. Obi-Wan looked like he was going to pass out.

Eventually, he took a deep breath and turned back to face Qui-Gon. "Train the boy. He is the Chosen One. He must be trained."

What?

Qui-Gon was going to ask further questions… until he remembered what the young man said. He'd wanted to train a boy, and the Council disagreed… and then he abandoned his padawan to try and train him.

"I asked you to train the boy the Council didn't want me to train." Qui-Gon felt like he was going to pass out, "I didn't say anything else?"

"… No. Just that you wanted the boy trained."

It all started to make sense now. Why Obi-Wan had been so cold towards him, why Cody seemed to hate him… he had been so cruel, crueller than what he ever thought he could be. Silently, he fell to his knees, resting his forehead against the floor as he took deep, long breaths, trying to calm down before he completely lost it.

"Master? Master?!"

He couldn't look up at him… couldn't see the look on the man's face… couldn't see the disappointment.

"… Master."

At the change in Obi-Wan's tone, Qui-Gon forced himself to look up.

"Oh Master…" Obi-Wan smiled sadly, "… I know this is a little harsh, but I'm glad you are so distressed by this."

"… Huh?"

"It means that you care… it means that you see it as unacceptable behaviour. If you see it that way, then maybe you can change."

Qui-Gon frowned, "I thought that- "

"- changing this little bit of the past probably won't change much in terms of the future…. We haven't told you how the war started or any of the key players… I believe this will have a minimal impact on our future."

"O-okay…" Qui-Gon then chuckled, "… it's not like I'm going anywhere so- " He stopped, a blue light catching his attention out of the corner of his eye, "- oh."

Obi-Wan glanced up, spotting the light as well. "It seems as thought it's time for you to go home." He whispered.

"But, I need to ask you- "

"- Master…" Obi-Wan took his hand, "… you'll be completely fine. I have every faith in you."

"I don't know if I have faith in myself."

"Trust in the Force Master… everything will be alright."

And with a bright flash, Obi-Wan vanished from sight.

"-aster? Master! MASTER!"

Qui-Gon shot awake with a loud gasp, shooting upwards and almost knocking Obi-Wan out with the force.

Wait…. Obi-Wan!

Much to his padawan's surprise, he reached over and pulled the young teen into a hug, keeping his arms wrapped around him as he silently prayed to the Force in gratitude and for forgiveness.

"Ummm…. Master?"

Eventually, Qui-Gon managed to pry himself away from his padawan, taking in Obi-Wan's worried expression. "I'm so sorry little one…" he murmured, "… I'm so sorry."

"… What for?"

"Everything…." He got to his feet and helped Obi-Wan to his feet gently, "… I'm sorry for everything."