Well-Lit Streets of Familiar
Summary: Obi-Wan takes a walk in the night. Siriwan one-shot.
Timeframe: Somewhere after Obi-Wan takes Anakin as his Padawan, but I really don't know.
Archive: In the unlikely event that someone would actually want to archive this – ask and I'll say yes. Just let me know where it's going.
Disclaimer: All things recognisably Star Wars belong to George Lucas. I just like making up my own stories. ALL HAIL LUCAS!
A/N: This is not canon, and please bear in mind that I've never written Siri before. This fic is sort of a…metaphor. Review and tell me what you think the metaphor is ;)
On Coruscant, there was light and dark.
There were the brightly-lit streets, packed with apartment, business and leisure buildings, aglow with streetlights and neon signs. And then there were darker areas, where some frequented and some never did.
Those shadowy streets were not settled as either good or bad. To each person who passed by, the darkness was different. To some, to walk down those streets was dangerous, to suffer and see things that harmed. To others, it was to explore areas they had never known, and they encountered experiences never witnessed before. And still others lived on there, and knew the area's beauty better than anyone else.
Obi-Wan Kenobi had not formed his own opinion on the dark, unfamiliar places yet. He had known people who walked through them happily, and others who found the experience unpleasant, but he had yet to walk the streets himself. Whenever he returned to Coruscant, his time was occupied with his Jedi duties or training his Padawan. But now, Anakin was in a group training session, and Obi-Wan had no current obligations. He set off from the temple for a long walk.
The faint smell of fuel and smoke drifted in the cold night air, and Obi-Wan could sense the life of the city through the Force. He strolled down the streets close to the Temple, areas well-lit and familiar to him. He had often made his way down here, alone or with his apprentice, when he had visited a friend or met a contact for a mission. His feet moved almost of their own accord, taking him through the places he knew, until he reached the edge of familiarity. The lights were dimmer and the night seemed thicker just beyond where he stood, and he paused, contemplating whether or not to venture into the unknown. He would not get lost, as the Force was his guide…
No, I should return to the Temple, he reasoned. Anakin will be finished soon. Shaking his head slightly, he turned to head back to the Temple, when he heard someone call his name.
"Obi-Wan!" he heard again.
The Jedi looked to his left and watched as his fellow Jedi Knight, Siri Tachi, walked up to him.
"Siri," he greeted her in mild surprise. "What brings you here?"
"Friends of mine from a mission have just had a baby," Siri answered, gesturing to the darker streets before them. "They asked me to come and see her."
Obi-Wan nodded in response. There was a slightly awkward pause, and Siri made no move to leave.
"Come, walk with me," she said, and though it seemed like an order, Obi-Wan knew it was a request. He hesitated – he knew he should return to the bright streets, to the Temple…but something within him had him feeling compelled to accompany Siri down this unfamiliar path. So he nodded to her and they began to walk.
They remained in companionable silence for a few minutes, each immersed in their own contemplations. Obi-Wansoaked in the dim surroundings. The darkness felt strange, accustomed as he was to the lights of Coruscant as a whole, but it was oddly comforting. After being used to adapting to strange surroundings during his missions, it was refreshing to experience this unfamiliarity in the place he was most familiar with. It grew a little warmer as they moved deeper into the street, and the Force felt full of life. The people walking around were as normal as any other, yet there was something about these people, these streets…
He glanced up at the sky, and to his surprise, he could faintly make out the stars above. Usually, the brilliance of Coruscant blocked out the natural light of the stars. But here in these dark places, the beauty of the ether was revealed. He halted to marvel at the sky.
Siri noticed her companion pause, and stopped walking. A faint smile curved her lips as she watched Obi-Wan gaze beyond the lines of buildings, head slightly tilted.
"It's beautiful, what you can see in the darkness," she said softly, also looking up.
He shifted his gaze from the sky and turned to her. "Yes," he agreed with a gentle smile.
She returned it, and Obi-Wan was suddenly struck with the realisation that he had not often seen Siri smile. She was usually quite serious, very focused.
She had a very…nice smile.
Siri blinked impassively at him and resumed walking. Obi-Wan followed, feeling slightly confused. For a fraction of a moment, he had imagined waking up beside that smile…
He pushed the thought sharply aside. A quick glance at his companion's placid expression reassured him that she had not sensed anything. Her mind seemed to be on other things, and her shields were up.
They turned a corner and entered what Obi-Wan took to be a more residential area. The apartment buildings stretched on as far as he cared to look.
"Much further?" he asked.
"No, just a couple more streets away."
"Have you been here before?"
"Just once, when I accompanied the couple home."
A short pause ensued.
"Why did you –" He cut himself off. What he wanted to ask was why she had wanted him to accompany her, but he thought it was not his place to ask.
Siri blinked again, and turned her head to look at him. It was clear that she understood what he had meant.
"I don't know," she answered honestly. "I was going to walk on alone – but I felt something…"
"Something in the Force?" Obi-Wan questioned, thinking of the similar sensation he had felt when Siri had made her request.
She nodded. "So I did what I felt it was telling me, and I asked you to come."
They slipped back into silence again, but Obi-Wan was no longer marvelling at his dark surroundings. He was now puzzling over why he and Siri had felt that compulsion to walk together. He didn't mind her company at all – in fact, he enjoyed it. Siri was a good friend. Her presence in the Force was calming, and he allowed himself to let go and simply feel, simply enjoy walking beside her in the darkness.
Perhaps…perhaps Siri is more than a friend…Obi-Wan thought vaguely, and though the thought was almost frightening, he did not feel afraid or guilty. Perhaps I –
"We're here," Siri announced, stopping before a small apartment building. As if waking from a trance, Obi-Wan slowly turned to her. A dim glow spilled from the windows, bathing her in a soft half-light, and he thought she looked beautiful. It was not a sentimental reflection – just a fact. A simple fact. Siri was beautiful.
Her expression changed, unreadable.
"Will you stay?" she asked quietly.
He felt her shields weaken slightly, and was shocked at what he sensed from her. She genuinely, truly wanted him to stay with her – not just for this visit, but beyond that. There was so much within those three short words. Possibilities, endless possibilities emerged in his mind, pictures of a future that could be…a future that was forbidden.
And despite his common sense and logic, he knew he wanted to stay with her, here in the dark. Just stay, and be with her.
His head cleared and his smile was soft and sad.
"I can't," he said, and she nodded hesitantly.
With a last tiny smile and a slight inclination of his head, Obi-Wan turned to go. Siri paused, then reached out and caught his hand, causing him to turn back and face her.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan," she said, looking him directly in the eyes, "for coming here with me." The touch of his hand on hers was gentle and strange and comfortable and bewildering, but she simply held on for a second longer and then released him. They both had to move on from here – other duties called them.
And Obi-Wan turned away and headed back to the Temple, back to the well-lit streets of familiar.
Fin