Temple District, Coruscant

19BBY

Sabe began the morning helping Padme to get ready. She twisted her long, thick hair into buns on the side of her head, helped her into the heavy gown and overdress that would conceal any changes in her figure, tucked in each stray hair, smoothed down every wrinkle, sharpened every fold. But mostly, she'd soothed her many anxieties.

"What if he can tell just by looking at me?" Padme asked.

Sabe kissed the top of her head. "Then it will save you the trouble. He loves you, Padme. It will be fine."

She had to say it at least three more times before she tucked Padme into a shuttle, after offering twice more to go with her. Padme insisted that she wanted to do it alone. She was likely concerned that Sabe would attack Anakin's eyes with her nails if he reacted badly, and Sabe admitted to herself that this was probably so.

After Padme had gone, the apartment was very quiet except for the soft sounds of Dorme pottering about. Sabe sat down with a bit of sewing she'd been putting off, but she could only stare at it. This one small task was unbearable when there was only one thing she had been able to think of all day. After only a stitch or two she threw it aside, gathering her things and taking her leave of Dorme. She rushed out of 500 Republica into wan sunshine, finally allowing her feet to turn where they really wanted to go.

As far as Sabe was concerned, it was about the only beautiful place in Coruscant. The quiet circle of swept gravel and Nubian wildflowers had been quite a trick to cultivate in the dry, cold Coruscanti climate. A specialized gardener had been hired to care for it. Padme had paid for it all, of course, but it had been a bit of an afterthought. There had been so many bigger things to worry about when he'd died. No one had much emotion or drive to spare for a memorial for one fallen Jedi. Still, the sculptor had done him justice. If Sabe had come upon the center statue unaware, she would have instantly recognized the prominent brow, firm mouth, and piercing eyes.

She'd been standing there for only a few minutes when the hairs on the back of her neck upended, alerting her to the perfectly silent approach. Warmth and well-being washed over her, and she sunk into the feeling like a hot bath. Closing her eyes, she smiled and put out her hand. After a beat, a strong grip enclosed it and she reveled in the hot pulse of blood in the fingers between her own.

Warm and real and alive.

Every time she sensed him a second earlier and each time he hesitated a second less before taking her hand. This was the fragile compromise they had settled on after the events at the Morsa Loinga. They never planned to meet, but whenever Obi-Wan returned to Coruscant they would find themselves here. They stood silent as the moment stretched, staring at Qui-Gon's statue. She fought the urge to grip his hand more tightly, to keep him from letting go. They didn't have time for the smallest drop of greed to poison these moments. She even avoided speaking of the fear she felt when he was away, and the relief when he came back unscathed.

Mostly unscathed. Out of the corner of her eye, Sabe documented a cut here, a scrape there, a bruise along a cheekbone, the faint pale path of an unfamiliar scar showing above his collar. He looked tired, another line or two visible around his eyes. The silver showing at his temples had grown. He'd seen more deaths, more orphans, more flame, more rubble. I want to, but what relief could I possibly offer?

His eyes met hers and her heart turned over. She looked away.

"If he was here right now, what do you think he would be doing?" Her voice sounded loud in the silence of the garden.

His lips quirked. "Undoubtedly trying the patience of the Council."

She smiled. "And what would he think of us?"

"I ask myself that every day," He murmured. "I have no answer."

"Are you well?" She asked.

"Relatively. I've no greater love of flying after yesterday's adventures."

"I should say not. How is Anakin?"

"Stronger than ever," He said.

But she knew him too well to miss the shadow that passed behind his eyes. How much did he know? He couldn't know what Anakin was probably learning himself at this very moment. The knowledge lay heavy on her. She hadn't willfully kept anything from him for many years. But what choice did she have?

"Tell me what you have been doing," He said, interrupting her troubled thoughts.

She raised an eyebrow. "Hiding in a bunker while you blazed across the sky."

"Other than that."

"Do you really want to know?"

He sighed. "Dex has told me the worst of it. I wish-"

"I thought we agreed to disagree, Obi-Wan."

"I didn't."

"He gave his life for mine. I have no other way to repay him."

"Vengeance is a self-destructive act. The Jedi-"

"I have never been a Jedi."

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to say more but then closed it again. His eyes twinkled. "Your ability to raise my hackles rivals even Anakin's."

"It's only fair you get an opportunity to worry about me for once," Sabe chided.

He turned his head away.

"I never stop," He said so softly that Sabe realized she wasn't supposed to hear it.

Then his expression changed completely. "There was something I was thinking of showing you. It may seem a bit...silly and frivolous."

Sabe grinned. "I live for silly and frivolous."

His eyes alight, he inclined his head and lead her back toward the street. This was new. Her heart thumped. As they walked, she had time to look around and reflect on what a difference only a day could make. The streets were crowded again, as if ships had not been falling out of the sky just yesterday. It was a characteristic of Coruscant that some admired, but that Sabe had always found deeply disturbing; the ability to just get on with things. To drag off the body or bulldoze the rubble and then go back to work or have another drink.

Their destination was only a block or two away; a very low, simple looking building of stacked stone blocks surrounded by a strange, geometric looking wall. Once they were inside, Sabe gaped. All the windows were made of colored glass, giving it a dim, surreal feeling. The walls were hung with art and knickknacks from every culture she knew and many more she didn't. There were little curtained table nooks with lamps hung over them. She followed Obi-Wan through the building and out into the walled garden. It was composed mostly of bamboo around little alcoves with small statues. The whole place seemed composed entirely with a purpose of fostering deep conversations in a tranquil setting. There were lots of places like that in Theed, but she'd never seen such a place in the capital.

Obi-Wan indicated an alcove where she should sit and then disappeared into the tea house again. When he returned a few minutes later he was carrying two steaming cups. He handed her one, his face lit with a bright smile she wasn't sure she had ever seen.

She took a tentative taste. Her eyes lit up as the aroma of wildflowers hit her palate. "It's Nubian!"

"Yes," He said, looking very pleased with himself. "I saw it listed when I was here last and thought of you-"

He let the sentence trail off as she looked up at him. He seemed to recognize that he was toeing a self-imposed line. He cleared his throat. "When things are tense the way they were yesterday, and I am really not sure how they might turn out, I always seem to think of simple things I wish I'd done. Walking through a beautiful garden. Listening to a favorite piece of music once more. Getting you to taste Nubian tea."

Sabe was speechless. She felt a warmth in her chest that had nothing to do with tea. She busied herself with stirring it desperately with a spoon and studying the other customers in the garden. She suddenly realized that many of them wore cloaks and characteristic earth tones. "This is a Jedi establishment?"

"Not exactly, but it is close to the Temple. Many come here as a kind of reprieve."

"Isn't it a little strange, your bringing me here?" Sabe asked, dropping her voice automatically.

He looked away from her. His jaw tightened, and he raised his chin. "Not strange at all, meeting with an old friend."

The hardness in his voice might have wounded her, except that she could tell it wasn't directed at her at all. It sounded a bit as if he was talking only to himself.

Not strange even for an old friend you've accidentally and then not-so-accidentally kissed? Not strange even after that little incident with the Nubian Royal Council?

Suddenly she felt guilty. Then she felt angry. Neither of them had done anything wrong. They were both trying their best to go about their respective duties in impossible times. Reining in her errant thoughts, she decided to pretend she hadn't noticed anything. They sipped their tea in a somewhat more tense silence.

"Rumors are rampant," Sabe said at length. "They were saying you were dead. Now they say Count Dooku is dead and Anakin killed him."

"Yes."

"They say the war is over."

Are you leaving again?

Obi-Wan put down his cup, folding his hands within his sleeves. "The head has been cut off, but the body still twitches."

"What a profoundly macabre metaphor. What does it mean?"

"Count Dooku was the prime mover, but General Grievous is unaccounted for, and the separatist leaders are still at large. The Council will be meeting later. I suppose we will just have to wait and see."

"Wait and see...here?"

"For a time," He smiled at her sadly. "You know we will always be pulled away eventually."

"I know," Sabe sighed.

A nearby bell tolled. It reminded her of the other layer making their once easy interactions difficult. Her shoulders slumped. "I must go. Padme will have returned from the Senate Rotunda."

She stood, and so did Obi-Wan, collecting their cups and leaving them with the serving droid by the exit of the garden. Outside the gate she turned to him again.

"Thank you for this," she said, lifting her hand to indicate the tea house. "I thought there was only one beautiful thing in Coruscant. Now I find there are two."

"No, there are certainly more than that," He said quietly, casting his eyes down.

"Perhaps..."

It was too foolish a thought to finish. Soon he would be gone again. There would be no time to spare for sightseeing, and it probably wasn't appropriate anyway. She trailed off, staring helplessly at her clasped hands.

The worst parts were always the opening and the exit. At the beginning they always had to relearn the way to speak without treading into dangerous territory, and at the end they had to part with affection but no expectation. Neither wanted to move. Many times they said...nothing. Obi-Wan reached out and folded her hand between both of his and squeezed. Sabe squeezed back. Then she hurried away without daring to look back.