Chapter 20 - Interlude
DISCLAIMER: We (unfortunately) do not own Star Wars. :P
Author's Note: Fyi, this chapter is happening four months or so after the beginning of the book. :)
~ Amina Gila
Obi-Wan is up long before the sun has risen. Two months after leaving Alderaan, they've finally settled down – albeit probably just temporarily – on Corellia. None of them could say what drew them here, but they'd unanimously agreed that the Force wanted them to stay here, so here they still are.
Anakin works as a local repairman, and it's become a good, if small, source of income. Besides, it keeps him busy, which has done wonders for his mental health. He's almost back to his old self, but Obi-Wan knows that he'll never be quite the same. Though Anakin has the familiar spark of life and determination, he's hardened significantly. Obi-Wan and Ahsoka have been teaching Luke and Leia both general subjects and the Force, the latter of which Anakin often contributes to.
When Obi-Wan enters the main room of the house, he sees Anakin sleeping on the couch, Leia curled next to him. He smiles at the sight, silently passing into the kitchen. She must have been having nightmares again, or maybe she was just restless. Of both children, Leia has been struggling worse, maybe because she grew up as a princess with loving adoptive parents. The sudden separation was hard for her, and she's been leaning emotionally on Anakin. She's homesick – her and Luke are – but Luke only misses his uncle and aunt, not the planet itself.
Using a carefully crafted skill, Obi-Wan begins preparing the morning meal with minimal noise. It's not long before Ahsoka joins him, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "I hate getting up so early," she grumbles good naturedly as she often does, going to help him without being asked.
Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow. "You always say that," he reminds her, unruffled.
Ahsoka snorts quietly, chopping some local vegetables. "Rough night?" she wonders, tilting her head towards the doorway.
Obi-Wan shrugs. "I think so. Leia probably couldn't sleep again."
The Togruta hums. "He's a good father," she finally says softly. "I – I honestly didn't think we'd be able to help him."
"Nor did I." That was his biggest fear, to be honest. They might have pulled Anakin away from the Emperor, from the non-existent life he'd had, but they couldn't automatically fix his mind. They couldn't fix the emotional damage which had occurred, and Obi-Wan was afraid that, one day, Anakin would find a way to end himself. And he feared. He feared that he would lose his brother forever if he couldn't reach him.
It wasn't until Anakin was healed, when he was able to live as a human again that Obi-Wan let himself hope that perhaps it would get better. It did, if gradually. Anakin slowly shifted away from the abyss, though he made no move to actually live. Even Luke and Leia couldn't completely draw him out. It wasn't until Leia was nearly kidnapped, when Anakin had the choice of fighting to protect them or remain passive like he had been, that the old Anakin finally came back. And Obi-Wan has never once been able to regret it.
He had thought Anakin dead, had thought that he would never, ever again get the chance to laugh with or tease his brother, especially after Mustafar. But maybe some things can only be fixed if they're broken. Maybe that moment was a turning point for both of them, bringing them back together inevitably, because they were both broken.
Obi-Wan continues working in silence with Ahsoka for a few moments before he realizes that she's watching him. He turns to give her a questioning look.
"When will we go after the Emperor?" she wants to know. "I know that we're protecting the twins, but we'll never stop needing to protect them unless Sidious is dead. We all know that. So what are we waiting for?"
"Must we be waiting for something?" he asks mildly. "Can't we simply be enjoying the ability to live despite everything which has occurred?"
Ahsoka doesn't seem to have an answer to that because she simply huffs. "You mean knowing that all of us may not make it out," she mutters, expression darkening slightly.
"Trust in the Force," Obi-Wan tells her firmly. At that moment, he feels Anakin stirring in the next room as his Force presence becomes more active with his wakefulness.
Sure enough, less than a minute later, Anakin appears in the doorway, still wearing his sleep clothes, hair messy from obvious rolling around. "I suppose now is the moment when you'll be telling me that I need to be ready in five minutes?" he teases, smirking.
Obi-Wan throws him a look over his shoulder. "Ten minutes," he corrects dryly. "Is Leia awake?"
"Mmm hmm. She went to get ready."
"Like you ought to be doing, Skyguy," scolds Ahsoka, visibly fighting off a grin. "You'll scare away all your customers if you go to work like that."
Anakin rolls his eyes. "I'm going," he drawls, leisurely walking away.
Ahsoka sighs. "He's going to teach the twins some very bad habits if he keeps that up," she declares flatly, stepping away from the counter.
"I heard that!" Anakin shouts from somewhere else in the house.
"Stop eavesdropping and get dressed!" Ahsoka yells back.
Luke giggles as he skids into the kitchen. "Is it ready yet?" he questions. "I'm hungry."
Obi-Wan smiles indulgently. "Almost," he assures the child. "Sit down. We'll have it there in a few minutes."
"'Kay, Uncle Obi!" chirps Luke and skips off to the dining room where he noisily sits down.
"You don't need to make that much noise," complains Leia as she presumably seats herself next to him. "It's not proper."
"No one was in here," Luke protests somewhat grumpily, and Obi-Wan laughs softly. Luke and Leia might bicker a lot as siblings often do, but they're wonderful children. He honestly doesn't know what he would do without them here.
Anakin is back in the dining room by the time Obi-Wan brings the plates to the table. They begin eating in silence, and Obi-Wan can't help but notice a few telltale signs of a restless night. Leia's hair is pulled into a quick, messy braid – she'll probably redo it later. Anakin seems exhausted, and his left hand is fidgeting with his robes while he eats. Luke's clothes are a bit rumpled, and they're not "properly" put on, in Leia's words. He'll probably get an earful about it later.
As the resident princess, Leia has taken it upon herself to educate everyone on proper etiquette. Obi-Wan thinks it's hilarious, especially that one time she primly informs Anakin that no, you're not, in fact, supposed to keep droid pieces and tools in your bedroom. Not that Anakin listened to her, but it was funny to watch her trying.
"Did I miss something last night?" Obi-Wan finally queries sitting back.
There's a pause of silence. "Not… really," Anakin mutters, not looking up from the food in front of him.
Obi-Wan knows Anakin well enough by now to deduce that something is wrong, or sort of wrong anyways. "What is it?" he prompts.
Anakin exhales slowly, looking up at him at last. "I had a nightmare. The twins saw it," he answers brusquely. "It wasn't anything terribly important."
Leia scoffs, and Anakin gives her a look.
"I saw you get attacked by a dark creature," Luke informs Obi-Wan solemnly.
Obi-Wan raises an eyebrow at Anakin. "Nothing important?"
"It's not going to happen," Anakin asserts firmly, pushing back his chair and crossing his arms. "It can't because we're not going to split up. I'm not letting you run off anywhere by yourself."
There's a pause. "Maybe it was just a warning," Ahsoka points out. "Visions can be warnings too, you know. They don't always happen exactly."
"Let's at least keep our eyes open and stay on guard," proposes Obi-Wan, "And what did you mean by saying the twins saw it?"
"Though the Force," Leia explains. "Luke and I somehow saw what Father did though our bonds."
That shouldn't be possible. He's never heard of something like that happening before. "Skywalkers," he finally groans. "You surpass every expectation of normalcy."
"Was that a compliment?" Anakin raises a single eyebrow, eyes glimmering with amusement.
"You figure it out," Obi-Wan huffs, shaking his head. There's a pause of silence, and he discreetly studies Anakin to see how bothered he is by the dream – or vision – he had last night. His face is frustratingly blank a telling sign that something is going on in his head, but Obi-Wan can't figure out what.
"You don't need to worry about me," Obi-Wan states firmly after he's finished eating. "I know the risks as well as you do, and if you want, we can even move somewhere else if you're concerned over something happening."
Anakin taps his fingers on the table, frowning. "I don't think it's necessary," he tries to assure him, but he doesn't sound nearly as convinced as Obi-Wan thinks he meant to.
"Skyguy, if you think it's not safe, whether paranoid or not, we'll listen to you," promises Ahsoka. "We have no desire to be found by the Empire."
Anakin gives her a genuine smile before standing and looking at the twins. "We should do some meditating to clear our thoughts," he tells them, and Obi-Wan hides a grin at Leia's groan. She hates meditation as much as Anakin did. And to think that all it took to get Anakin to meditate was becoming a Sith. Well, that's something he'll reflect on later. For now, he has to help Ahsoka clean up while Anakin spends time with his children, something Obi-Wan is all too willing to enable.