The Joys of Spare Time
By: Jax Wilensky
Chapter 2: Destiny's Boot
Setting: Post-PM, Pre-AotC. Anakin's 9, Obi-Wan's 25.
Disclaimer: Pshaw. Do you honestly think I own Star Wars? Is this even really necessary? Anywhoo, on with the show…fanfic….thing. Yeah.
A/N: Sorry for the delay in updating. I'm gonna try and get chapter 3 up as well before I leave for camp, where I will post also if I can get my paws on a computer. So, yeah. Thanks to my lovely reviewers:
Free2bfroody: Thank you! D
Randomidiot: Hah, that's a good idea…maybe I'll use it in this fic….who knows?
Anakin Skywalker, even from early childhood, had always been fascinated by Jedi. Along with this interest came a longing that, while shared by nearly every child in the galaxy, burned particularly strong in the boy: to wield a lightsaber.
The attraction was easily justified: lightsabers were elegant, efficient, and, more aesthetically, hella cool-looking.
This was why, when given his first chance to perform a (lightsaber!-) sparring exercise with Obi-Wan, Anakin's first reaction was to scream shrilly, right in his master's ear. A window shattered, a cat yowled, and someone complained about his ears bleeding.
Obi-Wan handled this remarkably well, with a wince and strained smile. He then forcibly closed his Padawan's gaping mouth and stuck the lightsaber into his hand.
Ignoring the stares of others around them, the Jedi said to his apprentice, "Let us begin, Anakin. Activate your lightsaber".
Anakin heeded. A large grin spread across his face as it extended, illuminating his already glowing face. It was, truly, love at first sight.
Obi-Wan drew his weapon, and switched it on. "Let's start off simple. Just show me what you know from Qui-Gon and Master Yoda".
Anakin took two eager steps towards his master before beginning the first of the many complex moves he had seen performed before. Perhaps, however, the apprentice was a tad too eager, as, on the first twirl of his saber, he accidentally dropped it on Obi-Wan's booted foot.
((Several Days Earlier))
'They're a bit big…' Thought Obi-Wan critically, studying the shiny nerf hide boots on his feet. His previous pair had simply died of old age, and while he had rather liked them, he knew it was time for new ones.
The pair he had found in the bright, airy shop was the same make as his beloved late boots, but alas, they were rather big.
After much deliberation (or as much deliberation as is possible when the subject is a pair of boots), the Jedi decided to buy the slightly oversized pair.
They seemed to call out to him, almost. In a booty sort of way.
He extracted from a pouch on his belt the correct amount of money for the odd boots, and left with them on his feet.
Anakin's lightsaber sliced cleanly through the boot until it hit the sole, which it promptly began melting.
The little blonde boy looked up at his master's face, horrified at the travesty he might have just committed.
"ARE YOU ALRIGHT, MASTER? I'M SO SORRY--I REALLY AM--DID I CUT OFF YOUR FOOT?—DID I BURN A HUGE GAPING HOLE IN IT?—MASTER—WHY AREN'T YOU ROLLING AROUND IN AGONY?—SHOULD I LEAVE IT IN THERE, OR PULL IT OUT?" he cried hysterically.
Obi-Wan studied his apprentice somewhat quizzically. "Padawan, I am fine".
Now, Jedi aren't supposed to lie. In this case, Obi-Wan did. He wasn't fine. There was, and still is, a scorch mark in the shape of Yoda's head on Obi-Wan's toe.
However, unwritten Jedi law accepts the use of the 'little white lie' when one's apprentice is on the verge of needing a straightjacket, so we'll let this one go.
Anyway, upon the declaration from his master, Anakin visibly deflated, relieved to the point of resembling a week-old balloon.
"However…" Obi-Wan continued, calmly, to avoid another spastic outburst on behalf of his apprentice "we do still have a problem".
"Huh…?" a thoroughly exhausted Anakin said nervously.
The Jedi responded by stepping out of his mauled boot and attempting, unsuccessfully, to pick it up. "My boot is stuck to the ground", he observed sagely.
Anakin withdrew his lightsaber from the ravaged footwear and deactivated it sheepishly. The melted sole of the boot had fused to the smooth marble floor of the Jedi Temple.
Anakin tried forcibly to yank the boot off the ground, to no avail. "This is not the correct way to go about problem-solving, Padawan mine", Obi-Wan sighed.
Upon the comment from his master, young Skywalker was struck with an idea. He surveyed the hall quickly, and found it empty; most of the other Jedi had cleared out after Anakin's first minor disaster.
Anakin motioned for his master to come closer. Obi-Wan leaned in, curious of his Padawan's intentions. "Well…" Anakin said, stifling a mischievous snigger, "we could just…y'know….leave it here…"
Obi-Wan considered this briefly, and nodded to his apprentice. "From the mouth of the child comes wisdom", he murmured to himself.
And, so, wearing only one boot, Obi-Wan put his hand on Anakin's shoulder and steered them both out of the hall to dinner.
Later that evening, as the Jedi who discovered and removed the solitary boot molded to the floor was trying to Force-squeegee the remnants of rubber off the marble, he came across something odd.
It was what looked like a charred bit of a sock, which wasn't too peculiar, aside from the fact that it was shaped remarkably like one Master Yoda's head…
A/N: Wow. This chapter kind of just flopped onto the internet. Forgive me, I promise more worthy fodder in the future. :)