Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars. That right belongs to George Lucas. It should be noted that some things are borrowed from Greg Bear and Jude Watson, both who write EU (Extended Universe) Star Wars books.
Writer's Block: Pianissimo Butterfly by Angrybee. This is a Gravitation fic, so I'm not sure if you guys know about it…it's a Japanese animation, if you were wondering. It's rated R, is a completed fic with eleven wonderful chapters, and contains yaoi/slash. I admit, what first drew me was that I love the pairing Ryuichi/Shuichi. The second reason was the title, which I love. And the third reason why I couldn't stop reading this story…is Angrybee's writing. I don't know how she did it, but she managed to capture Ryuichi's fragility and caring nature. Ryuichi has mental problems, and with the story being written in first POV it creates a very strong impact. The first chapter lured me to read more, and the rest of the chapters hooked me. There are some great twists, wonderful characterization, and an ending that's sad, yet at the same time satisfying. I cried at parts, I laughed at others, and I loved everything.
Well, last chapter had some lightness in it (even though a little darkness wormed its way into there at the end). After all, can't have too much of one thing, be it humor or seriousness. I try to balance the two, and hopefully I'm doing a good job of that. I actually had to write the reek death scene twice. The first time I wrote it, I reread it and thought that it sounded horrible. It was too choppy and short, with no details. So I extended the scene a bit, added some semi-gory details, and the scene became what it is now. I was much happier with it.
If you like Harry Potter, you'll find this interesting. I found this really funny HP site…its hard to explain, so you'd be better off just going to it. Even if you don't like Harry Potter, or don't know what I'm talking about (gasp!), you still may get a laugh or two out of this. I know that I was certainly laughing a lot. The internet address is: www .potterpuppetpals .com Just remove the spaces to get there. Also, during the second 'movie' thingie there's a secret scene. I have to tell you a spoiler, though, to explain how to get to the extra scene (just to warn you): when Snape is getting hit with Avada Kedavra, you need to pause the screen. Go forward one screen at a time until the green lights form a hybrid heart-star. Clink on that, and you get this funny little short clip involving Ron before being returned to the scene you left off.
The reviews I received were very much loved and appreciated. If you find any mistakes, please tell me and I'll try to fix them.
Page Amount: 8
Word Count: 6,471
Started 7-3-05, written on 7-4, and finished 7-5-05
Listening to: Adema & Crossfade: Crossfade
Written by Ice Dragon3
Jedi Genocide
Chapter Four: Six
The ride back to the Temple was made in strained silence. It was understandable, given the circumstances. Anakin kept his thoughts to himself, a dark look on his face; Obi-Wan wondered over and worried about the events that had just occurred; and Leia and Luke understood too much and too little, as was the ways of children.
As Anakin landed in the hanger of the Temple, Obi-Wan gave him a meaningful look. He understood its meaning; Obi-Wan wanted to talk to him alone. "Stay in the speeder, kids, this'll just take a minute or two," he told them. He got out of the hovercraft with Obi-Wan. "Yes?" he asked Obi-Wan once they were out in the open, away from the children's inquisitive ears. He stood in front of Obi-Wan, hands folded across his chest.
Understandably, he was in a very bad mood and had no patience with which to mince words.
It was now or never, Obi-Wan knew. He had an obligation to fulfill to Yoda. And he knew, somehow, that this was the right thing to do, the right course of action. He would help the Jedi…and maybe in some inexplicable way he would also help Anakin regain the part of his soul that had been consumed by Darth Vader. At the very least, living with the Skywalkers would better the twins' lives. Having gone through his reasons, he felt able to express himself and set the plan into motion.
"Anakin…after seeing Leia almost killed," he stopped for a moment and tried to regain his composure. He spoke with real emotion, and he found it more difficult to find the right words than he first assumed. Even with a steady goal in mind, this was challenging for him. He started again softly, "I'm beginning to realize just how much I care about the twins. And today…I witnessed firsthand just how much you love your children. I understand now that you're just trying to give them the best. Sometimes I disagree with your methods, but I know that you have a good heart. That's why…"
Obi-Wan took another deep breath, nearly faltering; Anakin's face remained neutral, border lining on impatience, as it had during the entire one-sided conversation. It made speaking even more difficult for Obi-Wan. He felt his throat tightening up at that penetrating gaze, and knew if he didn't speak soon he wouldn't be able to at all, and then this opportunity would be lost…possibly for good.
Finally, he ended in a rushed voice, "That's why I was wondering if I could still accept your offer to live with you."
Anakin stared at him.
Obi-Wan began to get nervous. "I mean, just so I can be near the children and make sure they've got everything they need. I'd just be another pair of eyes and hands to help take care of them…" At Anakin's continued silence, Obi-Wan ventured to ask hesitantly, "Is this the silence of refusal?" A small spark of panic incited in Obi-Wan: what if Anakin knew that Yoda had contacted him, and that his sudden friendliness had ulterior motives?
What if he refused?
Anakin shook his head, the action causing his stoic expression to break away and reveal the enormous smile underneath. "No…no, I'm extremely happy… I'm just trying to figure out if this is real, or just a really, really, really nice dream." He grin became even larger, flashing white teeth, and he let out a small, disbelieving laugh. "Someone pinch me."
Even though Obi-Wan was still extremely nervous, he couldn't resist such a direct request (his sense of humor wouldn't allow him to pass up such an opportunity). He pinched Anakin's arm with a "there you go."
Anakin rubbed his arm and said in a wounded voice, "That hurt."
Obi-Wan shrugged his shoulders and helpfully supplied, "Well, you asked me to, and I couldn't abandon you in your time of need."
"I didn't really mean it in the literal sense"—he received another shrug and smile from Obi-Wan for this comment—"but that definitely proves that I'm awake, and you're in your right mind. Only you would do something like that, Obi." Anakin omitted the fact that anyone else, besides his children, wouldn't have lived long enough to fear the consequences; and because 'anyone else' knew this none of them were suicidal enough to try a stunt like Obi-Wan's. Obi, like always, was the special case.
Obi-Wan muscles relaxed; he felt the small spurt of panic extinguish within him before it even took complete hold on him. It seemed he and his secret were safe…for now.
"Well…Leia and Luke act like that too, sometimes…" Anakin drifted off, suggestion thick in his voice.
Crossing his arms across his chest, Obi-Wan demanded in a mock-haughty voice, "Are you suggesting that my intelligence is that of a four year old?"
"No," Anakin said sweetly.
"Good." Obi-Wan nodded his head in satisfaction, though his eyes showed that he was still waiting for the jibe to come.
"Only your social skills." Anakin laughed as Obi-Wan glared at him. "But, on a more serious note," Anakin said, the light mood diminishing in his eyes but not fading entirely, "I gladly welcome you into the family."—he clasped Obi-Wan's hand tightly in his slightly larger ones—"You don't know how much this means to me."
Obi-Wan observed the sincerity in Anakin's eyes and responded to that truth with his own: "Probably not…but I think I'm beginning to get an understanding of it." He spoke slowly, with gravity and honesty.
Anakin smiled at Obi-Wan's seriousness, knowing he was being truthful. He didn't need the Force to tell him this (although he was using it); Obi-Wan's eyes, posture, and choice of words told him so. He knew how to read the older man like a book. "Well, do you have any bags packed?"
Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, this is sort of a spur-of-the-moment action, surprising as it may be. After all, it is coming from someone like me. The actions of today just…" Once again, he drifted off. He waved his hand vaguely in the air, unable to find the proper words for once. Finally, as the air offered no answers, he settled with, "They made me revaluate my concepts and values."
Anakin laughed. "That's the first time I've ever been thankful for an attempt on my life."
"Speaking of the subject…does that happen often?" Obi-Wan asked, concern in his voice. "Assassination attempts, I mean."
"Sometimes, sometimes not," was the evasive answer Obi-Wan got. Anakin shrugged dismissingly. "There are many people who I'm sure would like to see me dead. Now, about packing…do you want to throw some things in a bag and get the rest later, or would you rather take the time to pack everything at once and then come to my house on some later date? I can assist you if you need help."
Obi-Wan thought for a moment. "I'm sure that I can pack all my personal possessions easily on my own; I don't have many to begin with. I'll leave the rest at the Temple, since I'll be traveling back and forth often." At Anakin's shadowed look Obi-Wan said in a partially angry, mostly irritated voice, "I will not abandon those children! I will continue to teach the younglings, and I assure you that my room in the Jedi Temple will not go to waste."
"I never said anything about you leaving the Temple permanently," Anakin said smoothly, his face shifting back into a neutral state that told Obi-Wan more than anything else that he had been thinking exactly that.
Obi-Wan tugged and flattened his beige tunic, mentally berating himself for the outburst. This was a delicate situation, and he had to be careful with what he said. In a calmer tone he apologized, "I'm sorry, but the look you sent me gave me that impression…I must have misread it. You know how protective I am of the younglings, and because of that I can get unreasonably defensive at times… I'm sure you know the feeling yourself, having two children of your own."
Anakin smiled. "Parenthood."
"It's a blessing and a curse," was Obi-Wan's response. "Resuming our former topic, I'll go through my possessions and pack them right now. Do you mind waiting for me—or should I say, will the twins mind?"
"And with that question you once again return us to the latter topic. I'm sure that I'll be able to entertain the kids for a while—just don't take too long. There's only so many times I can play 'I spy' or 'Twenty Questions' before going crazy. And I've almost reached the quota for this week."
Obi-Wan was already trotting off towards the Temple. He yelled back at Anakin, "I'll keep that in mind!" He struck a brisk pace once in the Temple, and as he ran through the halls adrenaline ran through his veins. His heart quicken, thumping noisily in its ribbed cage.
For a brief moment, Obi-Wan wondered if this was how Anakin felt when first asked to spy on Chancellor Palpatine (now the current Sith ruler—proving that the Jedi Council was right in wanting to monitor the Chancellor's actions). He dismissed the thought. Unlike Anakin, he didn't doubt the principles of his actions. He understood that while certain parts of the Jedi Code clashed with the duties of a spy, neither the Jedi Code nor espionage ways were wrong. The duties simply required different points of views; they could coexist within a person if that person knew how to compromise between morality and duty. Where Anakin failed to understand this difference Obi-Wan easily accepted. He was older and more experienced with the ways of the galaxy; it was expected that he knew more. If it was for the greater good, he could spy on a friend.
He could do this, he reassured himself.
Obi-Wan made his way to his room without meeting anyone, a fact for which he was grateful. He wasn't exactly sure how to explain his situation, and he knew that he didn't want to see the looks on his young students' faces if he had to tell them the bad news. Undoubtedly he'd be faced with accusing looks and sadness, and he just wasn't up for that right now. It would be better for him to explain everything on some later date, once they had time to get over their initial shock and meditate on the matter. He was much better in dealing with the rational.
Throwing a suitcase onto the bed, he began to pull out clothes from drawers and place them in the bag. All of his outfits were the same: the standard Jedi outfit that consisted of a simple beige tunic and brown robe. It was unobtrusive and blended into any environment, allowed free physical movement, and took a beating without tearing. For four long years, Obi-Wan had believed himself to be the last living Jedi. He had worn his Jedi outfit though the clothes weighed heavy on him, reminding him that he was the last of a dying race. That he was alone.
But now the outfit signified the hope that the Jedi Order could be revived in some distant future.
After he was done with the assignment given to him by Yoda, he would go far, far away. He would regret leaving Anakin and the twins, but he would have to if he intended to survive; Anakin was the Emperor's lapdog and couldn't be trusted. Perhaps he'd find some way to bring the younglings along and establish a secret Jedi Temple on one of the Outer Rim planets…perhaps there were habitable planets beyond the Outer Rim waiting to be found, places no one knew of…places that were uncharted and free from the mechanical grasp of the Empire.
He smiled as he packed an extra pair of brown boots into the suitcase. Free from the Empire…that would be nice.
He stuffed in the suitcase a toothbrush, hairbrush, mirror, and a few other small oddities (namely the equipment he needed for spying) he found lying around. But other, more important objects he left in the closet: his rebreather, an old, well-worn picture of him and Qui-Gon, and all the money he had been slowly but steadily saving up over the past four years. These were but a few of the items scattered at the bottom of his closet, objects he had used in the old days when he was a Jedi Master and not just a Jedi survivor.
He had suspicions that Anakin would view these items with displeasure if he knew of their existence, and that they would begin to inexplicably disappear one by one if he brought them with him. It was best for them to stay here, hidden.
He looked fondly at the picture of him and Qui-Gon, patted the money, and threw tattered robes and clothes over everything. He had found out long ago that the less one tried to hide something, the more people overlooked it. And he wanted these objects to be overlooked; he had hopes and plans for them.
Obi-Wan walked out of his room carrying his medium-sized suitcase. He had been mostly honest with Anakin (something that seemed to happen very often): he had very few personal possessions that he wanted to bring with him. On his way to the exit, a child's voice stopped him.
"Master Obi-Wan…?" A small human child, native to Coruscant (one of the reasons why Obi-Wan had been able to find him and bring him to the Temple), stood behind him, looking at him questioningly. A broken wooden stick was cradled in his small, calloused hands.
"Yes, Tarren?" Obi-Wan asked patiently, setting his suitcase down to give the Jedi pupil his full attention.
"I was just coming to find you because I broke another wooden sword…" Tarren held out the two pieces as physical proof. "I was just practicing the forms you taught us when Darrien joined me, and we started to duel… I didn't mean to swing hard enough to break it," he ended with an odd combination of defensiveness and sheepishness.
"Don't be so embarrassed, Tarren. You should be commended, not scolded, for practicing extra hours." Obi-Wan gave Tarren an encouraging smile, and Tarren stood a little straighter under the praise. "Come with me, and I'll get you another one out of the equipment room." Obi-Wan left his suitcase in the middle of the hallway; he had no fears that it would be taken or disturbed in any way.
They walked down long, winding hallways until they made their way to a corridor that was harder to find than most, yet looked identical. Inconspicuous. The door to the small custodian room was easily overlooked, being unmarked and off to the side. Obi-Wan opened the unremarkable door and walked past all the cleaning supplies that cluttered the shelves. A web was in the corner of one of the shelves and the breeze created by his body disturbed its inhabitant, causing the spider to scurry away to a new hiding place behind a bottle of bleach. In the back of the room were six large, portable (if one could truly call the bulky objects 'portable') storage closets. They looked like the kind of closet used to store cleaning equipment, but Obi-Wan knew better. In this case, their appearance was deceptive.
He took a set of keys off his belt and unlocked the farthest right storage closet. It contained heaps of wooden swords, all of them stacked messily inside it. There were a variety of different swords, everything from double-bladed to single, long to short, sturdy to elegant, and each was made from different woods, depending on what timber best suited its purpose. Obi-Wan took one of the single-bladed swords from the pile and handed it to Tarren.
Tarren took the sword and said "thank you" with gratitude in his voice. After Obi-Wan locked the closet again—when he turned around to leave the equipment room—he was met with Tarren's hesitant, inquisitive look.
"Do you have a question, Tarren?" Obi-Wan asked calmly before waiting for a response. If what Tarren wanted to ask was important enough, he would tell Obi-Wan when he was ready.
"Yes…" Tarren admitted after a while, shifting his wooden sword from hand to hand in agitation. But a change came over his features and resolve steadied his hand. He stopped shuffling the sword back and forth, instead holding it firmly in his right hand. "When are we going to use real lightsabers? Even training lightsabers would be better than these splinters!"
"You need to control your impatience, Padawan," Obi-Wan said gently. Tarren, being young, easily got impatient when forced to wait. Obi-Wan worried about these outbursts Tarren had, and because of that made sure to give him extra attention and guidance whenever possible. Sometimes, as it had been with Anakin, there were moments that Obi-Wan felt overwhelmed and at a loss; that he simply didn't have the right manner to teach such a demanding personality. "I asked just the other day if the Jedi Temple could start using training lightsabers—"
"And?" Tarren interrupted eagerly.
"—And I was firmly denied," Obi-Wan finished sternly. "The Empire is adamant about restricting what I can teach. Instead of wanting more you should be thankful for what we have. These wooden swords serve their purpose perfectly fine, and you should be satisfied with that. I went through a lot of trouble to buy them without the Empire's knowledge. If I were to argue heatedly with the Empire about our right to bear arms, they would send security guards here in fear of a rebellion. And in their searches they would discover our wooden swords and confiscate them. Then we'd not only be without weapons—and no matter how childish you think they are, these wooden swords are weapons—but we'd also be watched with such scrutiny afterwards that any other transgressions on our part would be dealt with in a brutal manner."
"But at this rate we'll never get anything!" Tarren blustered angrily, "We need to strike them now, when they aren't expecting it. Take too long, and they'll become suspicious. And once their guard's up we'd have a better chance fighting a black hole!"
"Patience, Tarren, and wait for the right moment…you mustn't let your anger cloud your judgment. Never forget that we guard the peace. We do not attack the enemy unreasonably; we protect the innocent."
"Isn't it all the same?" scowled Tarren. "We're still fighting the bad guys."
"There is a great difference between murder and killing in self-defense." Obi-Wan gave Tarren a reproved look. Tarren broke the stare first, turning his gaze down to his new sword, the wood gleaming with a light polish. He shuffled his feet, uncomfortable with Obi-Wan's blunt reprimand, and the meaning behind the words.
"I'm sorry, Master Obi-Wan. I'll try harder to be patient."
Obi-Wan put a companionable hand on Tarren's shoulder. "You'll become a fine Jedi some day."
Tarren looked up at him, hope shining in his eyes. "You really think so?"
"I have no doubts of it," Obi-Wan said solemnly. "If you remember to follow the Jedi Code and continue practicing with such determination, I know that you'll grow up to be an honorable Jedi. Now, I must go—"
"Go where?" Tarren asked. He shrugged off Obi-Wan's hand and took a few steps back. This allowed him to stand face-to-face (as much as a five-year-old could when facing a full-grown adult) with Obi-Wan and observe all of his teacher's facial expressions. "I saw your bag, but I wasn't sure so I didn't say anything…it just didn't seem possible that you would ever leave us…"
"Tarren…" Obi-Wan sighed. "My living arrangements have changed; I'm no longer going to be living in the Temple. However," Obi-Wan said, cutting off Tarren's protest, "I will be returning here everyday, if possible, and I'll continue teaching you and the other younglings. Since I cannot be at the Temple all the time, I'm trusting you with these six keys. Don't let anyone know that you have them, much less what they open…I don't want the other younglings to be tempted to unlock these storage closets. You should only use the farthest right one, and that's only for the purpose of getting out wooden swords and other supplies that are not exactly…permitted…by the Empire for your training. This is a grave responsibility, and I expect you to carry it out as a Jedi."
Tarren took the keys and shoved them into his tunic's pocket. He looked up at Obi-Wan with first amazement in his eyes, then determination. "You can trust me to defend these keys with my life, Master Obi-Wan." The strong look and posture faded for a second as Tarren ventured to ask, "But what are in the other storage closets?"
"…It's for the best that you don't know what are in the others, Tarren. Some of these closets were locked even when the Jedi were at their greatest. Just know that in the case of an emergency, the three farthest on the left should be unlocked. But only if your life is being threatened."
The wooden swords were in the closet on the farthest right; now Tarren's gaze fell on the three farthest left. That left two closets un-described. Tarren opened his mouth to ask about the other two, but a feeling kept him quiet. They loomed in his mind as twin, dark shadows. He found that if he stared at them long enough, they seemed to bulge with the secrets crammed inside. He could almost swear that he detected a slight shiver from the two doors, the curved, metal handle twisting ever so slightly…
He blinked and looked away, disliking the illusions his mind presented him. He instinctively knew that there were dark, forbidden things within those closets…they were, and held, unspoken secrets. "I understand, Master Obi-Wan."
"I'm trusting you to look after your comrades also. Protect the Temple in my absence; I will sleep better knowing so. I believe in your abilities, Tarren. May the Force be with you." With that, Obi-Wan gave Tarren a fleeting smile before rushing out, fearing that Anakin would be suspicious if he lingered any longer.
Tarren watched Obi-Wan run off in a flurry of brown robes. He fingered the six keys hidden in his pocket and glanced at the six storage closets before him. Then he walked slowly, almost reluctantly, out of the room. In his right hand he limply held the wooden sword; his left was still in his pocket, cradling the responsibility Obi-Wan had entrusted to him.
The intruders gone, the spider resumed its waiting on the web.
Obi-Wan grabbed his suitcase and hurried to the entrance. He had some misgivings about leaving such a large responsibility with such a young person (giving Tarren keys to unknown closets could be too tempting for the young boy, as it could be with anyone), but Obi-Wan knew that to incite loyalty and trust he first had to give it. Tarren was a good lad, if a little impatient, and he never let a person down if he could help it. He bore responsibility well; it was boredom that was his undoing. Once again, Obi-Wan was struck by the shadowy similarities between Tarren and the person Anakin had been as youngling, but he shoved the thought aside. He did not want to imagine Tarren meeting the same fate as Anakin.
Drifting to better thoughts, Obi-Wan allowed himself a smile. If nothing else, Qui-Gon would be proud of him for his actions today—he was finally acting on impulse. But if he wasn't careful, those impulses could get the best of him: he was a firm believer that planning was the key to success—impulses and luck could only get a person so far before they failed. Now planning…a person could go places with that.
Obi-Wan made his way to the Temple Hanger in good time, but he was a little winded due to jogging. He tried to conceal the fact as Anakin greeted him; there was no need for Anakin to notice his slightly harried state. If he did, he might come to the conclusion that Obi-Wan had done more than just pack. Anakin opened the trunk of the hovercraft, then took Obi-Wan's suitcase out of his hands.
"I thought I really was going to go crazy…we played 'Twenty Questions' until my brain nearly exploded. And believe me, it takes more than just twenty questions to find the answer… So, what took you so long?" He asked casually. "Have trouble packing? You should have asked me for help, if you were running into difficulties."
Obi-Wan watched Anakin lug his suitcase into the trunk, trying to gauge if Anakin's question was one of curiosity or suspicion. Obi-Wan decided on curiosity, and answered with a shadow of the truth. "I met up with one of my students, and I had to explain to him that I was going to live someplace else. He didn't take that very well, but when I explained to him that I would be visiting regularly he was a bit more accepting of the idea."
"I can understand that that would take a while," Anakin said sympathetically. "I sometimes have trouble explaining to Leia and Luke why I have to leave them when I go on trips. They just don't understand, or don't want to."
"So you travel a lot…where do you?" Obi-Wan questioned. "Any place exotic?"
Anakin shrugged. "Here and there. No place in particular, and nowhere real special. To be truthful, I'm normally missing home too much to enjoy myself. In all honesty, it's a bit depressing just thinking about it."
"Well, then let's get off the gloomy topics," Obi-Wan said, "as I'm rather tired of them myself, and I'm sure Leia and Luke don't want to have to share a hovercraft with two rain clouds."
"Too true, too true. Let's get going. I'm sure that they're as impatient to get home as I am. I'm certain that you'll find the accommodations to be to your liking. I admit that we live a very comfortable life style."
"Come now, Anakin, you don't have to be so modest," Obi-Wan protested good-naturedly. "I'm sure that your life-style goes beyond mere 'comfort' and stretches into luxury."
"I just didn't want to sound stuffy," Anakin admitted. "But yeah, I would have to agree with you."
"Why else did you think that I agreed to this? I was tired of living in that dingy little room," Obi-Wan joked.
"And here I thought it was because you loved my—along with Leia and Luke's—company so much," Anakin joshed right back. "If it's going to be that way, I might as well throw you and your suitcase out of this hovercraft before we even take off. I don't accept freeloaders, you know."
Obi-Wan waved off his weak threat and said, "Just do your job, chauffer." As Obi-Wan got into the hovercraft, he heard Anakin grumble "it's only been three minutes and he's already treating me like the kids do." He couldn't help but smile at that.
Anakin quickly got into the driver seat and buckled up. "Kids, are you buckled?" He looked back at them and saw them hurriedly putting on seatbelts. He smirked and said, "I thought so. See, Obi? I can be a responsible parent too."—Anakin glanced over at Obi-Wan—"…What was that look for?"
Obi-Wan threw his hands up in surrender. "There was no 'look,' Anakin."
"No, no, there was," Anakin said pointedly. "That incredulous look, like an 'Oh, I'm not going to trust my life in his hands—he's crazy!' look. It's that look you get whenever I say I'll drive carefully or that I have a plan."
Obi-Wan smiled serenely and folded his arms into his Jedi tunic. "A Jedi is complacent and accommodating. We do not give 'looks.' "
Anakin gave Obi-Wan one last suspicious glance before starting the hovercraft. "Sure," he snorted out.
Obi-Wan couldn't help adding, "Except when it involves your driving."
Obi-Wan soon found out that it was not a smart idea to insult the driver, particularly when the person driving was Anakin Skywalker. By the time they got to Anakin's home, Obi-Wan was weak in the knees. He felt the hovercraft settle on the landing pad and nearly cried in happiness. As Leia and Luke scampered out cheerfully, Obi-Wan tried to separate his clenched hands from his seatbelt.
Anakin smiled sweetly as he watched Obi-Wan's futile struggles. "Pleasant travels?"
"I don't know how your children can be immune to such horrors."
Shrugging, Anakin explained, "Experience."
Obi-Wan was still a little pale in the face, but he finally managed to tear his hands from the seatbelt. Getting out of the hovercraft, followed closely by a hovering Anakin, Obi-Wan said shakily, "I pity them."
"Well, I don't think they pity you at all," Anakin pointed out, gesturing helpfully at Leia and Luke. "They seem to be amusing themselves by making fun of you and your flying-sickness." And indeed, Leia was staggering around and clutching at her heart as Luke stood by, laughing his head off.
Trying to frown at them before giving up (the twins were too cute to be angry at…not to mention he still felt too queasy to work up the energy to be irritated), Obi-Wan said with a sigh, "It's just too hard to be disapproving right now."
Anakin smiled, before checking his watch. "You know, I'd love to stay and continue this conversation, but I have an appointment to make. I'm sorry that I can't settle you in and give you the official tour, but I'm sure that Leia and Luke would love to show you around. In fact, I'm sure that they'd be ecstatic. The top three floors are the living quarters—topmost of that is the greenhouse garden with the other two levels acting as a two-story house—and the two floors right below those are empty, and the rest of the building is for business."
Obi-Wan stared at the enormous building in front of them. He had to crane his head back just to catch a slight view of the top. "Wait a minute…you mean you own all of that building?" His voice was mingled with awe and disbelief.
"All fifty-three floors." Anakin grinned and laughed at Obi-Wan's surprised expression. "I like my work close to me so I can keep an eye on it. Besides, I love watching people's expressions when I first tell them that I own 'all of that building,' as you so eloquently put it." Anakin clapped a friendly hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder before saying, "I bid you adieu. Hopefully I'll be back soon—try not to be too overwhelmed in the mean time."
Obi-Wan didn't even try to think up a comeback as Anakin jumped into the speeder and drove off.
Leia and Luke ran past Obi-Wan to the very edge of the platform, waving madly until Anakin's hovercraft was well out of view. Returning with heavier feet, Leia sighed and complained in a whiny voice, "Did Daddy go off on business again?"
Luke gave a sigh of his own. "Don't ask stupid questions: he's always on business."
Leia huffed and gave her brother a dirty look, her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive stance.
Obi-Wan didn't know what to say about Anakin's abrupt departure, so instead he decided to change the subject (hopefully to a lighter topic, and before a fight could ensue between the warring siblings). "Well, Anakin told me that you two were in charge of giving me the grand tour of this enormous…" Obi-Wan waved his hand at the grandeur in front of him, fishing around for the right word before ending weakly, "thing."
Leia giggled and took him by the hand, tugging. "Why are you so shocked, Obi-Waaan? There are bigger buildings around here."
"Yes…but none—to the extent of my knowledge, at least—that are owned by a single person." Obi-Wan allowed himself to be led by Leia. "I can honestly say that I am speechless."
"For a speechless person you sure have a way with words." Luke smiled.
Obi-Wan grinned back. "Well, you understand the idea I was trying to convey…I meant it in a proverbial sense, not a literal one."
"Proverbial…" Leia's forehead scrunched up in concentration. "Nope, don't know that word." She shrugged it off, and before Obi-Wan could give a longwinded explanation of the word's meaning she was sprinting away. "Race you to the elevator!" she yelled over her shoulder. Luke quickly accepted her challenge and started to chase her.
Fearing that he would be lost in the labyrinths of hallways and floors if he didn't keep up with them, Obi-Wan jogged after them, his suitcase in tow. It banged against his leg and knocked into his heel several painful times. "Really, you two need to slow down! I can't run very well while dragging this huge thing behind me…" Obi-Wan finally caught up to them, breathing heavily as he leaned on the wall. 'I really am getting out of shape…' he mused, slightly disturbed by the revelation.
"Obi-Wan's the loser!" Leia crowed, clapping her hands and skipping around his suitcase singing "loser, loser, Obi-Wan's a loser."
The elevator doors opened, and Obi-Wan was thankful that its ding ended his torture. As they got in and the doors closed, Leia resumed her singsong chant.
Obi-Wan corrected himself: all he had managed to do was lock himself in with his tormentor (not a very good call). Trying to distract Leia from her single-minded pursuit of completely humiliating him, and knowing this may provide him with vital information, Obi-Wan asked, "So what are on all these floors?"
Luke spoke up from his corner. "The top three are for us."
"I know that much—your father mentioned that before leaving—but what are the rest used for?"
The young boy shook his head, blonde hair falling into his face. "Business."
Frowning slightly, Obi-Wan said mildly, "Well, that's not a very specific answer."
Luke shrugged. "I don't see anything worth talking about—it's just work. I don't want to think about stuff like that," he said as he scrunched up his nose in dislike. "I like gardening better…do you want to see my greenhouse garden?"
"Your greenhouse garden?" Leia butted in, using a reproachful tone. "It's not just your garden, Luke. I've seen Threepio in there every day, watering and caring for those plants. He does just as much work as you do and he should get some credit for it!"
Luke scowled and pushed his sister. "Shut up. You're just jealous because whatever you try to grow dies. It's probably cause you're stupid enough to drown every last one of them." Leia shrieked in indignation as she pushed Luke back. It had become a full blown-out shoving melee before Obi-Wan even processed the fact, and it took him another moment to gather his senses and stop it from escalating even further.
"Leia, Luke, calm down!" When he had gotten the children to stop physically harming each other he went on with his lecture: "You two should be ashamed of yourselves! Fighting over the silliest things… Luke, you shouldn't have told your sister to 'shut up.' It's not a nice phrase, and it's one that I never want to hear from you again. And calling people 'stupid' is wrong. You could hurt someone's feelings with that."
Leia stuck her tongue out at Luke, but this was before Obi-Wan rounded on her—when he did so, she shut her mouth quickly and looked ashamed. "And you, Leia. You were very rude to Luke. He was just trying to tell me about the garden and you start harping on him for the smallest details. Maybe if you'd given him time to clarify all the little details, he would have explained all this to me. Interrupting us in the middle of a conversation without asking first was disrespectful.
"Now, I want you both to apologize to each other."
Leia and Luke muttered halfhearted apologies to each other, less remorse than shame in them.
Obi-Wan rubbed his temples and thought to himself, 'Now I understand why Anakin left in such a hurry.' He was reminded of the disagreements that broke out in the Temple occasionally (which was more often than he would like to admit). However, the difference was that those children were disciples of the Force and trained to control their emotions while Leia and Luke were simply two children. Frankly, Obi-Wan bet he had a better chance of surviving against eleven Jedi trainees than two wild, unruly children.
Said children were now pouting and scowling in opposite corners. It would almost be comical, watching their expressions, if Obi-Wan wasn't so worried… Anakin hadn't even bothered to teach them meditation skills (he could tell this by their childish fighting; mediation would have matured them a bit) and they were already four standard years old. They both were sensitive to the Force, he could sense that, and if their connection turned out to be as strong as their father's they would need proper training. Obi-Wan feared what would happen to them later on in life if they let their emotions, and therefore the Force, run rampant within them. They could become destructive to not only others but to themselves. It was recklessness on Anakin's part.
When they got off the elevator Leia and Luke were slightly calmer. The time it took to walk down the short hallway had made their small squabble nearly forgotten, with the exception of Obi-Wan. At the end of the small, empty corridor stood a single, sturdy durasteel door. A hand-scanner flipped out from its discreet hiding place by the entrance and Leia put her hand palm-first into it. "Daddy's real strict about security…this hand-scanner will only accept Luke's, Daddy's, and my handprint. But once you get past this the rest of this floor and up is the house!"
Obi-Wan also noted that a camera followed their movements, curling around on its flexible stem to catch any movement on their part. Its cyclops eye stared unblinkingly at him, its lens flexing and zooming in on his face. He observed all of the extreme (from his point of view) security measures Anakin had taken. If the security was even stronger on the rest of the floors—and since they held business, Obi-Wan bet they would be—he would have to be extra careful about where and how he went about spying…
"Come on, slowpokes, we've got a lot of ground to cover!" Leia yelled cheerfully as she raced through the door. Luke, holding Obi-Wan's hand, followed Leia's bouncy footsteps with a slightly more cautious stride that suited Obi-Wan just fine.