Obi-Wan entered the quarters he shared with his teenage padawan with a bit of trepidation. Through their training bond, he could tell that the boy was in an extraordinarily good mood and it put him on his guard. An extremely good mood for Anakin usually meant that something had exploded or he had just set some kind of new speederbike record, endangering his life as well as whatever nit-wit padawan he had challenged to a race.
The pleasant smells he encountered when he breathed in however, did not smell like burning plastic or melted steel, but actual food. Edible food.
He turned in surprise to see his apprentice carrying a tray of what appeared to be a quite delectable dinner.
"What's the occasion?" Obi-Wan asked as he was somewhat in awe that he actually recognized some of the dishes on the tray as being several of his favorites.
"You're kidding, right?" Anakin chuckled as he set the tray down on the corner dining table.
"I don't think so." Obi-Wan replied, removing his utility belt and lightsaber.
"It's your thirty-third naming day, Master!"
"Oh. That." Obi-Wan smirked and seeing the slight disappointment on Anakin's face, quickly turned it into a grin. "This is quite thoughtful of you Anakin. Thank you."
He was relieved to see a bright smile appear on his padawan's face as he sat himself down at the table.
Obi-Wan ate his fill of several of the different types of foods offered while listening to Anakin tell about his latest adventures with Padawan Trell and Padawan Dimi. Apparently, they had challenged Anakin to a lightsaber competition in training room three earlier in the day.
"You should have seen me, Master!" Anakin beamed. "I unarmed them all. They never even touched me."
"Pride, Anakin." His Master warned into the tilt of his drink.
"Yes, Master. Sorry, Master." The boy's face quickly sobered as he picked away at his food, but then again became quite animated, suddenly jumping up from the table.
"Always on the move." Obi-Wan mumbled as he watched his young apprentice bound away from the table into his private room. Within just a few seconds, he was running back carrying a small box, which he set on the table in front of Obi-Wan.
"For you." Anakin stated with a smile.
Obi-Wan quirked his eyebrow, picking up the rectangular shaped container. Too big for a rock, he noted with wry humor. Too small for a book, which he would have preferred. Seeing the flash of impatience on his apprentice's face, he pried open the lid and removed the golden ticket from inside.
"One free membership to the Holonet's most popular dating service." He read slowly with growing alarm.
"Coruscant Connections!" Anakin finished for him excitedly.
"Thank you, Anakin." Obi-Wan stated, placing the card back into its container. "But, no thank you."
"Oh, come on, Master." His apprentice replied with a slight whine. "At least give it a try. There might be someone out there who's waiting for you. A girl who's perfect for you. You'll never find her if you don't look for her."
I thought I'd found her already, padawan. The voice inside him grieved as he put the lid back on the box and slid it across the table. "No thanks, Anakin."
"But…" Anakin began, but was silenced by a piercing gaze from across the table.
"I appreciate the effort, and the dinner was wonderful, but I'm not ready for a relationship. Not yet."
"Then when? You haven't gone out once since I became your padawan. That was nine years ago, Master. There are rumors going around the Temple that you're celibate or something."
Obi-Wan ran his hand over his face in frustration, a soft laugh issuing from him. If only his padawan had an idea of his past. There were stories he could tell that would certainly dispel any such rumors.
He stood up from the table and placed his hand on his apprentice's shoulder. "Thank you for dinner, Anakin, and for the gift. Perhaps you can use it when you're a little older. But tonight, I want you to start working on your astrophysics paper."
"But that's not due until next tenth!" Anakin argued.
"It's never too early until it's too late." Obi-Wan stated as Anakin repeated the overused phrase in his mind, struggling to keep his eyes still. "After you clean up the kitchen, of course."
"Yes, Master." Anakin replied dutifully as he stood up and cleared the table. When he arrived in the kitchen area he dumped the dishes quite forcefully into the sink.
What was he going to do now?In the next fewweeks was the padawan laserball competition. There was no way his Master was going toallow him the time to practice for it, much less play in it.
Anakin thought hard as he began to rinse the dishes, but he wasn't coming up with any more good ideas, except for one.
Yoda. He would go talk to Master Yoda. Master Yoda would know what to do.