Chapter 4: Decisions of Heart

the next morning

A loud and annoying beeping noise tore Obi-Wan from his sleep. 11.15 am.
'Huh, I can´t remember the last time when I had slept that long', he mused. Still half-awake he fingered for his commlink on the nightstand. The display showed the unmistakable ID from Master Windu as well as three missed calls. Council business then.

"Damn it", Obi-Wan growled before finally answering the comm, "Kenobi".

"Obi-Wan, I´ve been calling you the whole morning! Come to the council chamber instantly."

"Yes, master."

"Windu out." Throwing the comm back on the table, the jedi let himself fall back on the bed for a second and rubbed his eyes.

"Charming like a rancor", Obi-Wan grumbled to himself as he made his way to the refresher to take a quick shower. Looking in the mirror, Obi-Wan almost didn't recognize himself. He was pale and the scar didn't help at all. Sighing, he mumbled to himself: "I guess jedi should not dwell on outer appearances." Because of the scar on his head he had to cut his rather long hair short, not wanting to have patches of long hair stick out between the scar tissue. The sides were neatly trimmed now and the top was shortened as well, letting his hair stand up a little. One might mistake him for his ten years younger version if it wasn't for the lines upon his forehead and around his eyes.

Afterwards he adjusted the brace to his leg again, grabbed his crutches and made his way to the council chamber. The walk wasn't that long but Obi-Wan took his time, not wanting to aggravate his leg more than necessary. Also, he just wasn't in the mood for council business yet. Contrary to the general opinion (especially Anakins'), he would get bored out of his mind sometimes during the meetings.

Ten minutes later he took his seat in the council chamber while receiving a murderous glare from Master Windu.

"Care to explain yourself, Master Kenobi?" Obi-Wan knew Mace too long to be afraid of his threatening tone and raised his eyebrow.

"I´m afraid, there is no real explanation except that I took my freedom to sleep in today, during my medical leave", he responded dryly.

There duel of wits was interrupted by the tap of Master Yodas´ gimer stick on the floor.

"Enough this is. A Mission for you we have, Master Kenobi."

That surprised Obi-Wan. "A mission? But I´m on medical leave and I´m not at my physical best right now." Truth to be told he hadn´t even thought about sparring or training since his leg injury.

"An investigation this is. Attacked by a mandalorian our cruisers have been."

Obi-Wan furrowed his brows, that didn't sound like Satine at all. That woman was a pacifist with all her heart. "Mandalore is pacifist since Duchess Satine took the reign. That can´t be true."

Master Yodas´ ears twitched. "That´s why investigate you will. Leave tomorrow you will."

Barely concealing his excitement about seeing Satine again, Obi-Wan managed a quick answer. "Of course, master. Is that everything?"

"Dismissed you are." Obi-Wan nodded and stood up from his seat together with the other council members.

As he left the council chamber, he nearly bumped headfirst into his former padawan.
"Anakin, what are you doing here?"

"I just… wait did the council just give you a mission? Alone? I thought you weren´t allowed to for a while." Obi-Wan could feel Anakins´ temper burbling up but it wasn´t directed at him. He was angered by the councils´ decision and worried for his friend.

While Anakins´ eyes bore daggers into the door of the chamber, another question flared up in his mind.
"Have you been eavesdropping?"

That seemed to rip his friend out of his stasis. "What? No… I just…", he started rambling and Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. "Okay, fine. Yes, maybe I was eavesdropping. But I didn´t get much, I promise. Care to enlighten me about your mission?"

The older man shifted his weight on his crutches and looked at his friend. "They´re sending me to Mandalore for an investigation. There has been an attack on one of our ships."

"Mandalore? So, you´re going to see your girlfriend again", his padawan teased.

At first Obi-Wan wanted to deny that accusation like he always did, but then he remembered Anakins´ relationship with Padme.
"Actually yes, I´m going to."

He turned around to face his friend and smirked. "What?"

Anakin blinked at him. "Did you just confirm your relationship with the duchess?"

Obi-Wan chuckled and glanced around the hallway. "Maybe we should discuss that in private." That seemed to rip Anakin out of his thoughts.

"Oh yes, actually the reason I was looking for you was that Padme and I wanted to invite you for dinner today evening. We would be happy if you accepted. So, what do you say?" His padawan shot him a questioning look.

The master thought for a moment but then accepted the invitation. "I see you in the evening then, but I think I have to prepare myself for the mission this afternoon."

Anakin brightened up upon hearing his answer and couldn't quite contain his excitement. "Of course, master. I pick you up. But I think I have to go now, I promised Ahsoka to meet her in the training salles." Having said that his friend waved his good bye and dashed down the temple halls, nearly crashing into a group of padawans which was gathered around the corner.

Obi-Wan watched his protegees back, smiled and shook his head. 'Some things never change, so it seems.'

It was late in the afternoon while Obi-Wan was studying the latest mission reports concerning the mandalorian when his commlink went off. Without glancing at the ID he answered the call. "Kenobi."

"I heard you're deployed for Mandalore due to tomorrow." His head snapped up, he dropped the datapad he was holding and made a grab for the commlink in a haste.

"Satine? Yes, that's right. Is that a problem?" He frowned.

"No, it's just… I haven't heard from you in a month and now you're turning up with an accusation that is going to question my ability to lead Mandalore."

"I would never accuse you, Satine. I hope you know that", Obi-Wan pinched the bridge of his nose, "Please, we just need to clear things up, something is wrong here. I think someone is working against you. I hoped we could talk tomorrow personally."

There was a short pause on the other side. "Sure, Obi. Still this doesn't explain why you haven't been calling these past weeks."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I was sent on two missions. Let´s just say, things didn't go the way they should have. Can we please talk about this in private?"

It was true that they hadn't spoken for weeks and that wasn't just because of him being on missions or being kept in the healing halls. Somehow every conversation they had lately turned into a heated argument which mostly ended with both of them blocking out the other. Obi-Wan knew it was because of the war. It was always because of this forsaken war. They had been fine before, but now it seemed like they were standing on opposite sides at some times. He always tried to emphasize with Satines' point of view, however when it came down to Obi-Wan reasoning with her, the pacifist, about the way the jedi had to partake in this conflict, there was no hint of her understanding him. It hurt, but the fear of losing her was big enough to make him back down. He started to keep his silence about the events on the war, not wanting to push the subject further than necessary.

Concern was rising inside Satine as she heard her friends' words. "Are you alright?"

Obi-Wan pursed his lips and thought for a moment. He knew he should be honest with her, but he just couldn't see how him telling her about his near-death experience on his last mission could help. Satine would only worry about him and she already had enough on her plate. He would tell her when the time's due.

"I'm okay. Don't worry about me." She couldn't quite believe her partner but she knew better than to start an argument.

"If you say so. I'll be waiting for you then, Obi-Wan."

"Thank you, Satine…. I missed you." His voice sounded heavy.

"I love you too, Obi. Stay safe." Satine ended the call.

Obi-Wan let his head drop into his hands. "That went really well…". He leaned back in his chair and pulled a small casket out of his pocket. It contained a white gold ring with a little kyber crystal inserted. Right now, it was pulsating with a mix of different colors, changing from blue to red to yellow and back, picking on its keepers' emotions. The jedi smiled sadly. "Maybe one day I find the right moment to ask… if she wants me." He closed the lid again and tucked it away safely inside his tunics. Obi-Wan looked outside the window. It was already evening. Anakin would stop by in any minute.

On cue, he heard the door of his apartment swoosh open. 'Right, his signature is still connected with the biopad.' Obi-Wan didn't have the heart to delete it after Anakin had been knighted. He smiled to himself, remembering the years of Anakins' apprenticeship. 'But somehow I didn't manage to knock some sense for decency into him'. The elder jedi stood up from his desk and grabbed the crutches which were laying on the floor. He limped toward the living room.

"Anakin, have you ever heard of the thing called knocking?" His former padawan was still standing in the doorway, looking like a child who had been caught while trying to steal from the cookie jar.

"Uh, I mean… sorry, master. Did I disturb you?" Obi-Wan chuckled, it was still fun to tease his friend after all these years. After recomposing himself, he said:
"Come on, Anakin. Let the old man have some fun. It's okay. I was just kidding. You know you're always welcome here. Should we get going now?" He grinned.

"Sure, master."

"Obi-Wan."

"What?"

The jedi master rolled his eyes. "I told you often enough to call me Obi-Wan, not master. You're not my padawan anymore, remember?"

Anakin blinked at him, but then he said. "Of course, mas… Obi-Wan. I just guess old habits die hard. Does it count as a show of respect?"

Obi-Wan snorted. "Anakin Skywalker is showing respect? I'm flattered." He put his hand to his mouth teasingly.

Anakin shot him a smug smile. "Hey! I'm not that bad. Come now, we don't want to keep Padme waiting. Do you have everything you need?" He glanced at his master.

Obi-Wan adjusted the grip on his crutches and nodded. "It's fine, let's go." He pushed past his friend and stepped out on the corridor.

For the first time in a few years Obi-Wan felt no unspoken truths linger between himself and Anakin. Maybe they could finally set things right.