Clover Brandybuck Thank you!

SoloKenobi I can also sympathize with him. I've just graduated, and the days seemed to go on forever. Thanks for reading!

Miz greenleaf Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Kynstar Ewan's wife is sooo lucky. But then, I think she does realize that.

Athena Leigh I'm not giddy about romance stuff either, so I wouldn't label this as a romance fic. I'm just trying to stay true to the vibes I got from reading about their relationship, as well as what I think he would do in that type of situation. Thanks, as always, for reading and reviewing.

The action winded down, as the initiates' competitive fervor faded and took on a playful attitude. They chased each other, jumping up on the benches, giggling.

Obi-Wan and Luminara passed by them. The female Master shook her head, laughing. "Can you remember being that young?"

Obi-Wan watched the children's spirited interactions with a half-smile. "No. I don't think I want to."

She quirked a painted lip. "Why not?"

He sighed. "It all looks so tiring. And it was."

Luminara spread out her hands. "You wouldn't be able to tell, if this were any indication." She grinned, showing twin rows of ivory. "I think they could keep at this until midnight."

Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest. "If only they could bottle that energy. After twenty or so, it's never the same."

"Oh I don't know. I've seen you at work lately, Master Kenobi. Quite formidable and energized."

Obi-Wan looked into her eyes briefly, losing the slightest edge of focus amid the blue. Then he blinked and gave a humble smile. "All an illusion, I assure you. Whatever energy I've salvaged is quickly used up by Anakin."

"Never a dull moment?"

"Not if he can help it."

"Oh my." Luminara laughed. "It would seem this day is a blessing for you then."

Obi-Wan shrugged. "I suppose it's something of a relief."

She studied his profile. Light always clung to the man, gleaming in his hair and reflecting in his eyes. So she was surprised by the pale markings of shadow she saw. "Do you miss him?" She asked quietly.

"Things are much different when he isn't around."

"Such as…?"

Obi-Wan snorted softly. "Well, if this were an ordinary day, I'd probably still be trying to drag him out of bed."

Luminara chuckled. "I take it he isn't as much of a morning person as his Master is."

"A definite conflict of character there. Sometimes, I see him—and it's as if he's a stranger that has dropped from the sky." Obi-Wan looked far into the distance, past any point of visual range. His voice lowered. "And other times," He lifted his piercingly keen eyes to Luminara's face, "I think he's more like me than anyone else in the Universe."

Luminara touched his arm with a tender smile, as she witnessed the incandescence rekindled in him, a purely golden glow. "I have similar hopes for myself and Barriss. There's a wealth of good memories to be had, if only we could begin the journey."

Obi-Wan felt a warmth within him, one that he usually resigned to the scarcest of occasions. His life did not permit the intrusion of overwhelming emotion.

Which did not mean the emotions did not exist. He could release them in a kind or encouraging word now and then, but mostly he kept sentiments to himself.

"Where should we go now?" He wondered aloud.

Luminara narrowed her eyes in thought. "Since I chose our first destination, how about you choose the second?"

"Alright, but you might stick out a little at the strip club."

"Master Kenobi!"

Luminara was not surprised when Obi-Wan's destination turned out to be the Temple Gardens. Many Jedi sought solace in the naturally perfumed air, the vibrant, velvet petals that fell to line the pathways. Some were pressed so deeply into the nooks that they permanently stained the cobblestone.

And, especially if one were a race alien to Courscant, the Gardens provided a link to heritages that were usually recognized only through dusty texts and cold, indifferent maps. Luminara could recall her own Master pointing out a collection of yellow blooms that were carried back from her distant home world during a mission centuries before, their beauty rooted into the soil and lovingly tended, until it was as if they had always been there.

The Master reflected with a warm, inward smile that if one tended towards sentimentality, the incredible cross-section of exotic flora, once plucked from their familiar grounds and planted as immigrants, represented the Jedi. For every member of the Order had to begin their career as a foreign seedling, waiting to blossom to their potential, and accept their place in the massive field.

"Do you know your homeworld?" Luminara asked suddenly.

They were walking through a pale tangle of ivy and violet buds. The aroma was fresh and the sun poured around them in orange resplendence. If she hadn't known better, Luminara would have thought they were strolling through some beautifully untouched patch of land.

But everything was a bit too perfect, too cultivated to be mere nature. And when you narrowed your eyes, you could see where a translucent dome began at the fringe of the Gardens, protecting it from outside influence.

Still, it was the best Coruscant could offer. And in most ways, it remained spectacular.

Obi-Wan's eyes flickered up to her. "Yes. Tatooine."

"Oh." She vaguely remembered it, a spot of dust and crime at the very edge of the Republic. "Have you ever thought about…visiting it?"

"I have visited it, once or twice." Obi-Wan shrugged, squinting up at the sky. "When I was very young. I saw my parents. And my brother."

"That sounds nice."

"I think it was." He smiled. "I don't remember much about it." His eyes trailed to a twisted willow tree, though he barely saw it. "Or them."

"I have two sisters." Luminara offered. "I ran into one of them once, as a Padawan."

Obi-Wan looked up. "Really?"

Luminara nodded. "But it was awkward. Like talking to someone from a past life."

Obi-Wan touched her shoulder fleetingly. His tone was soft, an inflection gently threaded with genuine understanding. "I can imagine."

They walked for a few minutes more, passing empty benches. Luminara decided her companion must have planned a short sojourn.

But then they came to a thin corridor that led into a largely ignored section of the Gardens.

The Stone Bed was a small outcropping used by initiates for levitating exercises. With different types of rock ranging from marble to granite in pebbles, blocks or even boulders, The Stone Bed allowed youngsters the freedom to test their limits without the fear of chipping the Temple flooring.

It had other uses, of course. During its inception, The Stone Bed was meant to mirror the multi-cultured draw of the Gardens.

But hardly anyone visited the area out of admiration. And, excluding a couple of carvings by rambunctious children, no one found much they could identify as their own.

So it was extremely mysterious that Obi-Wan had brought them to this spot.

"Peculiar." Luminara commented, and raised an eyebrow at her counterpart.

Obi-Wan simply smiled, and strolled to a short stack of ruddy slabs, sitting on the edge. "You could say that."

Curiosity further piqued, Luminara joined him. She glanced around the drab surroundings, at the palate of bleached slate and dusty tan. Okay, I give up. What's the attraction?

"One of my first lessons with Master Qui-Gon was here." Obi-Wan said after a minute. "He instructed me to levitate a group of boulders until I was told to lower them."

Luminara almost laughed. "An easy enough assignment."

"That's what I believed." Obi-Wan's eyes were faraway, containing the rueful smile that did not surface on his face. "But I was so focused on pleasing him, on performing correctly, that my inner balance fumbled and--" He pointed to a deep gash in the ground, "I did that. With a hunk of granite."

This time, Luminara did laugh. "A lesson within a lesson?"

Obi-Wan gave a quiet chuckle. "He was good at that." He stared at the mark. "After that, I came back here, whenever I was feeling overly pressured to be more than I thought I could be. Or when my head was a little inflated."

"So why are you here today?"

The Knight paused. "Hm. Now there's a question. I suppose I'd have to go with the latter."

"Why?"

"Because after answering your question about homeworlds, I never asked you about yours."

"Oh." Luminara grinned. "I forgive you the oversight. Delia IV. And I've never been there…except as an infant, of course. I've heard it's lovely, though."

Obi-Wan looked at her thoughtfully, not speaking. For Jedi, the subject of homelands was a controversial one. For some, it was unimportant, a distant fleck of a road not taken. A strongly uniformed mind might not suffer a daydream to rise from the subconscious.

But others felt more than a stirring in their heart. Xanatos had been destroyed by it. Anakin was haunted by his strong memories of a home--and a mother.

"The Temple is home." Master Unduli finished, pulling him from his slight reverie.

Obi-Wan smiled. "Indeed."

He thought the matter had been dropped, but then, "You share a homeworld with your Padawan? Tatooine?"

"Mmhm. An oddity, I've gathered." The Knight drummed his fingers against his knees, eyes taking a slow survey of The Stone Bed. "But I haven't told him. I--I don't think it would be wise."

Luminara frowned. "There isn't a chance of bonding through common ground?"

"I considered it, at first. But we think of Tatooine from two entirely different perspectives. For me, it was just a blur, and then I was brought here. But for Anakin," He had to hesitate, swallow, "It's much more. For however long I was on the planet, I was free. I fear resentment. Another obstacle when we have plenty to contend with already."

"That's true. But you must hold some affection for the place." Luminara observed.

"Why?"

She smiled as though he should already have guessed. "Because it brought you your apprentice."

Again, Qui-Gon's doing. Obi-Wan thought, mostly with tenderness.

"And you're lucky, Obi-Wan. Some Masters search for years for an apprentice that matches them so well."

A frown wrinkled his brow. "How do you know we're a good match? I didn't think you were familiar with Anakin."

"Because," Luminara regarded him with a fond expression, "If you weren't a good match, you would be ecstatic to be rid of him for a day. You would try to leech more out of your temporary freedom than breakfast in the cafeteria."

"You seem quite the perspective woman." Obi-Wan's voice was crisp, clear. "Barriss is a fortunate girl."

"You've said that." Luminara pointed out with a faint laugh.

"Well," And he found himself searching for her hand again, "it bears repeating."