Chapter Two

"Don't say it."

"I wasn't going to say anything … much."

"You really ought to learn to leash your tongue, padawan."

"Why bother, when you do it for me so well?"

"Are you determined to force me into bringing up the D-word again?"

"I'm not forcing you to do anything."

"Rubbish. You know exactly where this conversation leads, we've had it a thousand times."

"Well then, we can change it so it's not so repetitive."

"We can change it by not having to have it in the first place."

Anakin scowled. Obi-Wan was so logical. The fact that he never gloated about being right, and only rarely said 'I told you so', just made it more annoying that he, in fact, was always right.

"Yes, Master. I'll be more disciplined in future."

Obi-Wan regarded him warily. "That tone of voice always means you're going to sulk for the next hour."

"Or until I save your life again. It works out to about the same thing," Anakin contributed, and was rewarded by Obi-Wan looking away in embarrassment. In the unwary moment, he sidled half a step closer to his master as they walked towards the temple.

"You have all the subtlety of a Wookie, you know that, Anakin?" Obi-Wan remarked at this.

It was a struggle, but Anakin managed to leash his tongue – as in, he determinedly didn't blow a raspberry at him. "...Master Yoda likes Wookies."

Obi-Wan burst out laughing, causing two passing Archivists to blink in surprise at this display of uncontrolled levity from a Jedi Master. As always Anakin was unable to hold back a grin – Obi-Wan rarely laughed like that, but when he did it was infectious. He watched his master out the corner of his eye, noting the way his eyes crinkled up and he seemed to glow, and added the observations to his mental Obi-Wan catalogue. He also took note of the fact that Obi-Wan hadn't moved away when Anakin stepped closer.

Knight Niniane, who lived on their floor, smiled at them as she left the elevator. "Good afternoon Master Kenobi, Skywalker." She held the door, stopping to chat to them.

"Good afternoon, Niniane," Obi-Wan replied. "How are you?"

"Oh, can't complain," she shrugged, and then predictably plunged into gossip. Niniane was always brimming with the latest 'near-factual information', as she called it. "I heard there's been a disagreement on the Council over the state-run orphanages in Murthin – you know, those child labour allegations," she confided. "Master Windu and Master Karyll were sniping at each other all through the last meeting."

"Those two are always disagreeing," Anakin said dismissively. "They're like a pair of banthas fighting over fodder." Niniane giggled.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan scolded. "A little more decorum, please. If you must disrespect members of the Council, kindly refrain from doing so in public."

"Yes, Master," said Anakin meekly. He then contradicted this by asking Niniane, "So what were the banthas – I mean, masters arguing about?" Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

Niniane had watched their interaction with a smile on her face. Anakin knew Niniane's master had been rather aloof and superior, and she found the banter and intimacy between Obi-Wan and Anakin to be highly amusing. Hence her eagerness to waylay the pair whenever she could – for entertainment.

"Well, Master Windu thinks an internal review by the Murthian government will address the problem," she was explaining now, "but Master Karyll wants to send in a pair of Jedi as arbitrators. She doesn't think their social sector is up to the job."

"Murthin – they had that corruption problem last year, didn't they?" Obi-Wan recalled.

"Yes, that's right," Niniane confirmed. Anakin never understood how his master managed to keep track of seemingly every little shift and development in the galaxy – for someone who disliked politics, he always knew what was going on, and everything relevant to each situation. Niniane sounded duly impressed. "It was a pretty big scandal. The department hasn't done anything major since then."

"I see," said Obi-Wan. "What's the general mind of the Council?"

"It's about three to two in Master Windu's favour. Most of the Councillors prefer to let the Murthian government alone, so they can use this issue to sort out the kinks in the system."

"It's not likely to cause a serious rift though, is it," said Obi-Wan. It was more a statement than a question.

"Oh, no," said Niniane, waving a hand carelessly. "If you ask me, Master Karyll's just spoiling for an argument. She's been under a bit of stress this week, since Knight Bryn was injured – it's put her in a bad mood, being worried about him. It's kind of cute."

"What is?" asked Obi-Wan, but Anakin knew.

"Has she sounded him out yet?" he enquired of Niniane.

She shook her head. "Master Karyll's brave on the battlefield, but she's never been very good at making the moves on a man." She and Anakin shared a grin. Looking between them, Obi-Wan appeared to realise what was going on.

"Master Karyll has feelings for Knight Bryn? For how long?"

"Only since forever," Anakin butted in, before Niniane could answer. "She took over his training when Master Rowan died, remember? And she's held a torch for him ever since then." He grinned at him. "You're not exactly up with the latest, are you Master?"

Obi-Wan gave him a repressive look. "Forgive me my ignorance," he said, in the voice Anakin recognised as his Dry-and-Sarcastic-but-Not-Seriously-Angry voice. He liked this one, it meant he could get away with just a bit more smartarsery.

"You'll have to excuse Master Obi-Wan," he apologised to Niniane, who was giggling again. "His dangerous and traumatic experiences on this mission have driven less important things from his mind."

"Imp," said Obi-Wan, narrowing his eyes. "Please excuse us, Knight Niniane, we really should be getting back to our quarters. I believe Anakin has a mission report to write."

"But master…"

"But nothing. Come on, Anakin."

Niniane's expression was gleeful. "In that case I won't detain you any longer. I'll let you get back to your apartment, for – uh – mission reports." She snickered. "I have to admit, that's a new one. You two are so cute." She waved, beginning to back away, and refused to expand on this cryptic statement. "I'll see you later, Master Kenobi, Skywalker."

The elevator doors slid shut behind Anakin as he joined his master, and they began to ascend. The silence between them was comfortable – Anakin casually eyed Obi-Wan's reflection and took note each time their sleeves brushed. He'd had a lot of practice at Obi-Watching, and knew how to keep it subtle and seemingly innocent so the subject wouldn't notice. So far, it seemed to be working.

"Knight Niniane is a friendly girl," said Obi-Wan, seemingly out of the blue.

Anakin blinked as he adjusted to this new subject. "Yeah, I guess she is," he said slowly.

"Full of gossip, without being malicious or subversive," Obi-Wan continued. "For a Knight, she's remarkably well-connected within the Temple, simply because she talks to everyone."

"Uh-huh."

The elevator doors opened. "She thinks we're lovers," said Obi-Wan, and set off down the hall.

Anakin didn't really know what to say to that.

After a moment, his brain remembered to signal his legs that they should move. Aware of but ignoring the unwritten rule that Jedi should, whenever possible, move with dignity, he hurried along the corridor after his master.

"How—?" he began as he caught up, then realised that the rest of the sentence was "—does she know?" and changed topic, "—how do you figure that?"

"She clearly implied that we would be doing things other than a mission report when we got to our quarters. And the tone of her voice when she called us 'cute'," Obi-Wan sounded as though he rather disapproved of the concept of 'cute', "showed that she was referring to 'us' as a couple."

"But we're not a couple," said Anakin automatically, then realised how bitter he sounded. "Sorry. I mean, if she can tell we feel that way about each other even though we're not actually together … well, you know how much of a gossip she is. It'll be all over the Temple in minutes."

"People will question us about it, and won't believe when we say we aren't romantically involved," Obi-Wan predicted, palming open the door to their apartment.

"And when they ask us why not, it'll be difficult to explain," Anakin continued as they entered. "We're obviously incapable of pretending we aren't in – we aren't attracted to each other. But we're supposed to have enough self-discipline so that we wouldn't fall in love if we did get together. It's so complicated!"

"Calm yourself, Anakin," said Obi-Wan.

Frustrated but obedient, Anakin drew a deep breath, then several more when one didn't work. It always took him longer to dispel his emotions into the Force than it did Obi-Wan – Anakin tried to emulate his master, but success was erratic.

He dropped onto the couch and rested his arms along the back, closing his eyes. He heard Obi-Wan settling in his preferred armchair and pictured the weary look on the other Jedi's face. Obi-Wan would sit still for several minutes, lightly meditating to take the edge off his mission-induced weariness, until Anakin got up and began rummaging in the kitchen. They always ate together after getting back from a mission – it was one of the thousand little routines and rituals that had grown up over the years of Anakin's apprenticeship. They would have the next main meal in the dining hall, but for now it was just the two of them. Anakin knew Obi-Wan enjoyed these moments as much as he did, which made him even happier.

"We should probably get started on the mission report," said Obi-Wan, and Anakin felt like he'd been punched.

"What? But what about – about eating?" he demanded.

"If we don't do it now, we'll take an unreasonably long time," said Obi-Wan in a sensible tone of voice, but he wasn't meeting Anakin's eye. "You know they always end up late because we eat before we begin."

"You never used to mind," Anakin retorted. When Obi-Wan still refused to look at him, he realised that his master was now unwilling to spend extra time with him, and felt sick. Between Anakin's foolish proposition the other day and Niniane's blithe assumption that the strength of their attraction meant they were lovers, Obi-Wan had been cowed by consequence.

There was a pause. Anakin became conscious that he had stood up and was facing Obi-Wan in a confrontation posture, hands clenched. The humming of the chrono seemed loud in the uncharacteristic silence, and the afternoon sunlight gilded Obi-Wan's hair but threw his face into shadow.

"Fine," Anakin said at last. "You're right, master, we should get started." He snatched a datapad from the counter and tossed it onto the coffee table with barely-restrained violence.

Obi-Wan's expression was blank as he drew the pad towards him and activated the pen. He said nothing when Anakin threw himself back down on the couch, and was politely formal while they wrote out the report. For Anakin, the distance between them seemed to stretch to a mile with all the things keeping them apart. He felt like he'd never been further away from the man he loved – a gulf separated them, and Anakin couldn't think how to breach it.

But even as he sulked and smouldered to himself, he knew everything wasn't lost. Obi-Wan always said he was stubborn, and Anakin occasionally liked proving his master right. It might take a while to recover his place in Obi-Wan's affection, but he refused to give up. There was just so much to gain.