Author's Notes: For purposes of clarity, here's a general breakdown of the timeline in relation to the movies, so you don't have to look it up and you can easily track along:

32 BBY: A Phantom Menace
22 BBY: Attack of the Clones
22-19 BBY: Clone Wars
19 BBY: Revenge of the Sith
0 BBY: A New Hope

Enjoy!

Chapter Four: Staying Grounded

19 BBY

The wrench slipped, suddenly sliding forward, and banging his knuckles against the hard metal innards of the moisture extractor. "Blast!" Obi-wan Kenobi withdrew his hand and sucked on the sore knuckle. After a proper shaking out of his hand, he reached back in and flipped the power switch, praying that it turned on this time.

The extractor vibrated to life, sputtering through a power surge. Obi-wan felt his chest fill with an immense amount of pride in his handiwork, until the rattling slowed to a stop and the machine abruptly powered off.

Exasperated, he stood back, hands on his hips, and stared at the contraption. The scorching midday suns bore down on him, and with the back of his arm, he wiped the sweat that was steadily beading on his brow. Repairing this moisture extractor was proving to be more trouble than it was worth. But if he wanted to survive, he would need to get it working. He scrutinized the wrench in his sore hand, turning it over as if staring at the tool would jog his memory.

It didn't.

With a tired sigh, he let it drop onto the sand and wandered to a large rock nestled in the shade of his hut. All this work in the thick, hot air had him utterly exhausted. He lowered himself onto the large rock, leaning forward, and resting his elbows on his knees. Obi-wan ran a dirty hand through his sand-filled hair, ruffling loose some of the dust that had accumulated in his locks.

He frowned. He used to be so gifted in repairing engines and mechanical components—particularly in ships. That talent had faded with him over the ages, markedly, when Anakin came into his life. Anakin had been undeniably more talented in technology and took a lot of joy in fixing things as a favor to others. Obi-wan had naturally relinquished his projects to him, innocently misrepresenting his own skill in order to strengthen a bond with Anakin. Over the years as technology continued to advance and from the lack of the practice of repair, Obi-wan's white lie became more of a truth.

Obi-wan scoffed to himself, rubbing at his beard with the back of his hand. Unfortunately, it was turning out that the bond between Anakin and him wasn't the only thing to have come back to bite him. He felt useless not being able to get this extractor up and running again.

When he had stumbled upon the abandoned homestead, he knew that it would likely need some work to bring it back to a livable space, but he didn't exactly expect his main water source to break a few days into taking ownership of it. Perhaps he should have expected it, though, he thought to himself. The hut had been abandoned, after all.

The days were starting to get dryer, and the need for water would be nearing an emergency. Chewing on his chapped bottom lip, he considered his options. He could ask Owen Lars for assistance—being a moisture farmer, Owen was undoubtedly uniquely knowledgeable about the contraptions and their quirks.

Obi-wan frowned. On the other hand, Beru and him were busy adjusting to the arrival of Luke and the awful news that Obi-wan had brought with the child. The Lars family had not only lost their parents recently but now a brother as well. He really didn't want to strain his relationship with their family any further, especially after asking that they take possession of Luke. Two huge favors in a week would likely be pushing his luck.

A few loud grunts brought Obi-wan out of his thoughts. The eopie on the other side of his newly acquired hut was certainly ripping up the yellow bits of dead weeds in the old, decrepit garden that the previous owner had discarded. On four tall, lanky legs, she sauntered around the side of the adobe building, taking Obi-wan in her sights as her long snout scrunched and swung from side to side, chewing on whatever she'd found. Unlike Obi-wan, her pale, bald body was totally acclimated to the harsh sandy planet. An eopie's resiliency and tolerance to high temperatures made her species prized among Tatooine's residents as cheap transportation between the towns and endless deserts.

"The heat doesn't seem to bother you, does it, darling?" He smiled at his only companion.

Appearing to ignore him, the creature wandered to the wrench he had dropped, smelling of it before pawing with large front hoofs. She knelt on her knobby, calloused knees and flopped on top of the wrench, wiggling contentedly in the sand. Undoubtedly, she was set out on enjoying the cool sensation of the metal.

Obi-wan supposed he could also take her into Mos Espa to seek out a replacement moisture extractor, but his currency situation wasn't optimal. Tatooine did not accept Republic credits, even if he had wanted to risk using his credits card. Instead, peggats were the ideal form of currency—and they were heavily controlled by the Hutts.

When Obi-wan had arrived with Luke, he was able to sell his ship and use the proceeds to buy transportation and a few necessary provisions. But now, with no steady income, he really needed to ration what few peggats he had left. He guessed that a repair or replacement on this scale, while necessary, would not be cheap—especially, in an apparent heat wave.

This was not an ideal situation.

None of this was an ideal situation.

Obi-wan massaged his banged-up hand, kneading a thumb in the deep grooves of his palm. It was a series of unfortunate circumstances that found him here. Tatooine was far from the ideal exile planet. What he wouldn't have given, right now, to have taken his exile on a grassland planet. He could imagine how peaceful a wide-open plain of lush land would be, where he could easily grow his own food, and perhaps even to be near a decent size lake. Obi-wan adored the water; he always had since he was a youngling.

The image he conjured of the perfect exile homestead brought a sad smile to his face and a guilty flutter to his stomach. He rubbed his palms into tired eyes. Obi-wan's throat felt tight as he remembered standing in front of Kade and whispering promises that one day they would take leave of their responsibilities and enjoy a quiet existence in a little hut on a lake—where they could swim in cool water in the warm sunlight. Somewhere they could forget the war and death and destruction that the Republic had actively thrust upon them. It was a dream they had held onto through the rest of their days together.

Now those promises were just one more dream that they had never lived.

Something wet touched his ear.

Startled, he dropped his hands from his face and found himself at the snout end of his eopie. She snuffed, little water droplets from her damp snout flinging out of her nose onto his ear and cheek.

Wincing, he used his sleeve to wipe at his face, "Thanks for that." He mumbled, using his other hand to try to wave her away. She was a large creature, though, and wasn't bothered by his feeble attempts. Instead, she rubbed the length of her snout and chin along the top of his head, ruffling his hair. He could feel her little grunts vibrate through her throat.

Succumbing to her request for attention, he patted the eopie's neck and looked sadly out at the sandy horizon.

He wondered if his circumstances were of his own making. Owen's face had said it all—Anakin was Obi-wan's responsibility, and he had failed to keep him safe. Even if that safety was from Anakin, himself.

Qui-gon had entrusted him with the boy, so sure that Anakin was the prophesized 'chosen one': the one who was destined to bring balance to the force. His dying wish had been for Obi-wan to teach Anakin the foundations of being a savior and to foster the immense power within Anakin for the greater good of the future of the galaxy.

Obi-wan pursed his lips. He had failed Qui-gon as a student; he had failed Anakin as a brother; and, he had failed himself as a jedi.

Maybe this was the force's way of exacting punishment. Maybe he deserved to be exiled on this damned planet, after all.

With one final sigh, Obi-wan turned his head to the creature begging for his attention. Her previous owner had sworn she a bad-tempered pack animal, though she had been nothing but affectionate with Obi-wan. "Let's get you saddled up." He told her softly, running a hand over a bare, wrinkly spot between her eyes, "We have a long way to go.

39 BBY

"Come on, Obi!" Bant Eerin begged, looking up at him with her large, glossy eyes. Her simple head chain swung with the movement.

"Yeah, we haven't seen you in ages!" Standing close beside her, a brown-haired Garen Muln used his head and hands to gesture down the hallway, trying to tempt Obi-wan to follow along with them.

Obi-wan stood in the doorway one hand on the frame to keep the two in front of him from spilling into his apartment. He frowned, feeling frustration rise in his chest as he eyed his four friends.

Quinlan Vos and Kade Draen had taken a position further back from the door against the opposite wall in the darkened hallway. Past nightfall, the lights throughout the shared areas of the Temple dimmed to signal the end of the day and the start of curfew quiet hours. However, even in the shadow of the hallway, Obi-wan could see that Quinlan had his arms crossed in front of his body and was trying to contain his smirk, while Kade held her elbow and looked sheepishly at the ground.

Though Kade wasn't meeting his gaze, he narrowed his eyes at her. He thought that earlier in the docking bay, she had have gotten the message that he didn't feel much like a social call. Yet, here she was, that same night—with the entire group. She had probably even been the one to blab to the others that he was home.

Obi-wan felt Qui-gon's questioning eyes on his back from across the apartment. These four couldn't have possibly arrived at a worse time. Qui-gon and him had been in the middle of a very long discussion around the events on Mandalore and his un-jedi-like behavior regarding Duchess Satine. The memories, feelings, and tough choices were still incredibly fresh in his mind, weighing painfully upon his shoulders, and his mood was deteriorating even further with the evening hours. He pursed his lips and held back a scowl. The very last thing he wanted to do right now was to be around anyone. Instead, he wanted to curl up in his bed and try to remember why he came back to the Jedi Order.

He watched as Garen's and Bant's expressions shifted as they suddenly stood a little straighter. Feeling the force presence as Qui-gon had moved from across the apartment, Obi-wan was not surprised as large hands from behind came down to gently rest on his shoulders. He resisted the urge to glance up and regard his eternally calm Master. Qui-gon must have heard him struggle to convince his friends to come back another time and decide to intervene to his rescue. While the group maybe wouldn't listen to Obi-wan's refusal to break curfew tonight, they would not be able to snub a Master's order to disperse for the evening.

"It's late, young ones." Qui-gon softly chided, taking a moment to pass a looming glance between each of them in turn. "You should all be in bed."

The four of them went eerily quiet in the dark hallway, shuffling in place. Bant, Quin, and Garen exchanged confused looks and shrugs. Clearly, they hadn't expected Qui-gon to have been awake at this hour. Normally, he wouldn't be up this late, but their strained conversation had extended past a reasonable bedtime.

This wasn't the first time the group had gone out together past curfew—for years, they had occasionally conspired to sneak out after their creche guardians, and later their Masters, had all retired for the evening. They learned, after a while, a clear pattern of predictability when each other's Masters would fall asleep. Typically, Obi-wan had been a willing participant in their outings, loving the small stitch of rebellion he felt when sneaking around with them.

But tonight was different.

Kade was the one to break the silence, decisively glancing up momentarily before going back to study her boots. "Sorry, Master Jinn—"

"—It's just that we haven't seen each other—" Garen blurted.

Bant bounced sideways, placing a hand on Garen's arm, her eyes twinkling up at the towering jedi, "—we're just going to the Lake, we won't leave the Temple—"

"—we'll have him back in an hour or two—" Pushing himself off the far wall and taking a step forward, Quinlan joined in.

A small smile dragged across Qui-gon's lips as all four of the padawans had spoken at once. He let out an amused breath of air through his nose and quirked an eyebrow at Obi-wan when the four intruders finally fell silent.

Obi-wan prepared himself to fake an apology to his friends, to close the door, and backtrack into the apartment for the rest of the night—and potentially into tomorrow, if he could get away with it.

"Hm. It appears we're outnumbered, Obi-wan," Qui-gon told his padawan. He considered his answer for a long moment before giving Obi-wan's shoulders a gentle squeeze. "Go on, then."

The release caught him off guard and he spun his body around to incredulously face his Master, checking that he had heard correctly. It was not even close to the answer he was expecting. While Qui-gon was a rebel, himself, in many ways, he had always maintained great respect for the Temple rules—he had been entirely positive that Qui-gon would at least shut down the group's shenanigans.

Obi-wan opened his mouth to choke out a retort, but before he could utter a word, his two companions nearest the door whooped and grabbed ahold of him. Bant and Garen practically dragged him down the hallway, and he struggled to catch his footing as his body moved unwillingly. Wrapping herself around his arm as she pulled at him, Bant immediately began ranting about her previous mission to Lothel, while Garen jumped wildly beside them.

Obi-wan twisted his neck to stare back down the long hallway, shooting a daggered stare at his grinning Master. This felt a little like betrayal. There had been some tension in the air between Qui-gon and him on the journey home and through their evening debrief. Qui-gon had appeared sympathetic to the confusion of feelings Obi-wan was experiencing towards Satine and the Jedi Order, but Obi-wan couldn't help but wonder if his Master was just mentally exhausted with him.

Obi-wan scowled. Their disagreements often seemed to end like this—Qui-gon disliked confrontation and would cut conversations short, leaving Obi-wan to sometimes arrive at the conclusion of the lesson on his own. Perhaps this was the perfect excuse for Qui-gon to shuffle him out the door for a moment of peace. Temple curfew be damned.

The realization stung deeply.

Obi-wan's eyes fell on Kade, who had not moved to follow the group. Instead, she stepped towards Qui-gon, arms crossed in front of her body. She engaged in a quiet conversation with Obi-wan's Master, her eyes continuing to scrutinize the floor. Obi-wan could see her lips move but couldn't hear her words as Bant was chatting close to his ear.

He pursed his lips into a thin line. What could they possibly be discussing?

Quinlan had been making his way slowly behind the trio, but after taking notice that Obi-wan was glancing backward, he bounded suddenly forward. His dreadlocks bounced off his shoulders as he closed the space between them. Quinlan rubbed a palm affectionately at the top of Obi-wan's head, ruffling his hair and smirking, "Hey, good to see you, too, buddy." Sarcasm dripped over his words.

At least someone got the message that Obi-wan didn't want to be here. "You guys really can't take 'no' for an answer, can you?" He bit back, wrenching his head away from Quinlan's reach. While he was sure at least Quinlan heard him, Obi-wan's exasperation was drowned out by Bant's excited gushing over her account of a den of apparently 'adorable' Loth cats.

He tried not to listen. He truly didn't care about her attempt at convincing her Master to bring a Loth cat back to the Temple. Bant's story seemed so trivial compared to the confusion he had been dealing with on Mandalore. In the past year, none of them had been trying to rationalize their own belonging in the Order, nor were they thrust into the center of the bloody, political unrest that had occurred mere worlds away. He had seen so much death, felt so many emotions that he had no business feeling. Not a single one of them could understand, and not an ounce of him wanted to try to explain it.

A deep, dark feeling of loneliness was churning in his stomach. The groups' cheeriness at his presence felt misplaced. It felt wrong to even be here in the Temple. He was an imposter among those who truly wanted to be in the Order.

Obi-wan found himself pulled out of a turbolift that he hadn't remembered entering, and they continued down more meandering corridors. Other than the hushed banter of the three hauling Obi-wan through the winding path, the Temple was nearly deserted. While there were curfew hours, the Temple was rarely patrolled. Occasionally Temple guards would roam, looking for stray younglings, however, it largely fell on Masters to curtail their padawan's evening behaviors.

The hallway they were walking down opened suddenly into the high ceiling common area near the front entrance. Massive pillars both plain and those carved of ancient founders, dotted the vast open room, casting long thick shadows on the polished floors. Obi-wan stared up at the seemingly infinite ceiling that had faded into darkness with the night. The room was utterly, colossally engulfing, easily swallowing whole anyone who walked through it. It had been over a year since he had laid his eyes on the magnificence of it, and still, yet, it had not ceased to leave him in awe and feeling small in comparison.

A journey through the front hall was the quickest route to the lake levels. Bant finally grew quiet, letting Obi-wan's arm go as they all glanced cautiously around in the dim light. If they were going to encounter any guards on patrol, it would be nearest the entrance. While curfew was typically on the honor system, it was far more taboo to leave the Temple afterhours, unaccompanied by a Knight or Master. On occasions when they had snuck out of the Temple, they were smarter than to use the front entrance and instead would utilize a secret, unwatched passage they had discovered deep in the basement levels.

Together, the group hesitated to continue forward, and they listened for footsteps or the hushed conversation of the guards. They would need to cross the common hall to get to the other side without drawing attention to themselves in the process. A difficult feat as noise echoed easily through the empty hall. Quinlan clapped Obi-wan on the back and tossed him a quick smile before dancing and ducking to the nearest column, attempting to remain hidden in the shadows and light as a feather on his feet. The others followed suit, tracing his steps with grace and with wide, mischievous smirks plastered on their faces.

Obi-wan planted his feet to the ground and huffed as he watched the three move between columns, making their way in quick haste across the massive room. They must have trusted he would follow them, after being dragged this far through the Temple. He clenched his jaw. If there was a time to make his escape from them, now would be his chance.

"See anyone?"

A whispered voice next to him startled him, and he fought the urge to cry out in surprise.

Kade stood by his shoulder, peering around him towards the front entrance. The slight increase in her breathing was clear evidence of her wasting no time catching up to the four of them.

He narrowed his eyes at her. The conversation that she stayed behind to have with Qui-gon must not have lasted a long time. "What were you and Jinn talking about, back there?"

Her eyes distractedly flicked to him as she shrugged and replied, simply, "You."

A feeling of dread spread throughout his chest. What did that mean? Had Qui-gon told her that he had almost left the Order? Had he told her about Satine? Qui-gon's betrayal of kicking him out of their apartment tonight wounded him even deeper with that confirmation that he had spoken with Kade about Obi-wan.

As he opened his mouth to question her, however, Kade darted out of their hiding spot to the nearest column. Obi-wan attempted to reach out and grab her hand as she passed him, but he was mere inches from catching her. "Kade," he whispered, calling out, careful to not be too loud. The last thing they needed was for his voice to echo and announce their presence.

She turned her head to regard him but kept moving, her expression calm as she focused only on the task of moving across the room unseen.

"Kade!" He knew she heard him. But she wasn't making any attempt to stop and return. Obi-wan shuffled his feet and considered his options. Kade clearly couldn't keep information to herself, as she was more than likely the one who had told the rest of the gang of his return. He desperately wanted to know what had been said in his absence, in case it was also shared with the rest of their friends. "Blast," he cursed at himself, allowing the curiosity to get the better of him. Obi-wan ran forward after her.

The group ahead of them didn't slow down or wait for Kade and Obi-wan when they reached the other side of the common hall. Instead, the three broke into a sprint. The Lake levels were not far now and their excitement was electric in the air.

Obi-wan watched as Kade noticed the mad dash from those ahead of them. A pit formed in his stomach as soon as he felt the shift in her lifeforce. She chose to disregard keeping to the shadows for the last few columns and join in the sprint. He knew immediately that it was a mistake but was unable to call out to stop her.

No sooner had her boots emerged from the shadows, than a loud, deep voice of a Temple guard called through the columns from afar. "HEY! STOP!"

Kade froze in place, jerking her head towards the echoed voice that had hollered, her eyes wide with surprise and panic.

Skidding to a stop himself, a mere column behind her, Obi-wan waited for her to react. He waited for her to dash away before the guard could get close enough to identify her, but she didn't move a muscle.

While many of their Masters were forgiving for childish rule breaks like curfew, Obi-wan knew that Mace Windu was the exception of the group. A revered member of the council, Mace expected his padawan to exhibit model behavior and was harsh when she did not conform to his ideal. This wouldn't be the first time Kade was caught sneaking around, either. Obi-wan knew she would spend the next week in the arena from dusk until dawn if Mace caught wind of her breaking curfew, again.

Move, Kade. He projected through the force at her as he sprinted forward, latching his fingers around her wrist. He hauled her with him the rest of the way across the room and into the eastern halls of the Temple.

He ran as fast as he could manage with Kade in tow, his hand still wrapped tightly around her wrist. Flashes of Mandalore and running with Satine fueled his adrenaline as he dodged through a few random twists and turns, trying to throw off the guard off their trail. Around the fifth or sixth turn, however, he finally pulled Kade to a stop. She spun with the sudden change in momentum, and he took the advantage of it to pin her against the wall with his body.

She let out a sharp gasp with the sudden push against the solid surface, and he almost felt bad for being quite so rough. Catching his bearings, Obi-wan raised a finger to his lips to signal for her silence as he peered around the corner to see if the guard had followed their path.

Their tunics quietly rustled against one another as she adjusted, and he resisted the urge to press her harder into the wall to keep her still. His heart was nearly pounding out of his chest, and he had to remind himself they were not in any true danger. This was not Mandalore and it was not blaster fire or insurgents that he was protecting Kade from.

Kade did not speak, but he could feel her chest rise and fall from the run. Her breath was tickling his neck, and the warmth from the closeness of her body radiated against him. An unfamiliar shiver ran down his spine, despite knowing that he was not feeling physically cold.

Realizing that he wasn't focusing on the hallway, Obi-wan mentally shook his head to clear the intrusive thoughts, taking in the breath that he noticed he had been holding. Squinting, he attempted to concentrate on listening for footsteps in the corridors around them. Kade's head turned to try to watch with him, and the top of her head gently grazed his chin. Soft hair caressed against his face and the pleasant scent of spiced citrus teased his nose, the warm familiarity of her shampoo washing over him. She had showered the exertion off of herself since they last saw each other in the docking bay earlier today.

Kade's hands came up to the sides of his tunic above his belt, her fingers gently gripping at the fabric. A peculiar feeling of electricity shot through his torso and down to his hips. It was both uncomfortable and pleasant, and he found he was having difficulty keeping his thoughts focused once more.

After a moment that felt like an eternity, he felt sure that there were no footsteps coming down the hallway towards them. Looking back and down at the girl pinned between him and the wall, Obi-wan caught her staring at his throat, a light blush across her nose. Kade trailed her eyes up to him as he relaxed the pressure that he had maintained of his hold on her.

Obi-wan cleared his throat, "I don't think he followed us," he whispered.

Her eyelashes trembled from the air of his words, and she reached up to rub at the tickle. "Thanks, Obi," she replied softly, the corner of Kade's lips twitching into a slight smile.

She should be thankful, he thought to himself. His quick thinking likely saved her from Mace's wrath. The reason they were in this predicament in the first place eased to the forefront of his mind, and he felt eager to get his answer from her. She owed him, at least that, after this stunt. "What did Jinn tell you, back there?" Obi-wan asked, intently.

Kade looked taken aback by the question. Her blush disappeared as she furrowed her brow at him. "Nothing," she whispered back, gently pushing against his chest and away from the wall. It took her a moment to orient herself on exactly where they were within the Temple, before she started down the corridor to their left, turning to regard him while she walked backward in the right direction. "I was clarifying with him that it was okay to come with us."

Obi-wan trailed after her in the dimly lit corridor, whispering harshly and accusingly, "You shouldn't have told everyone I was back. I really wanted to be alone tonight." He could feel the agitation building in his chest again. There were so many thoughts constantly coursing through his head that he needed to work through, and childish antics weren't at the top of his priority.

"I didn't," Kade replied matter of factly, with a shake of her head.

The force radiating from her did not suggest that she was being untruthful to him, and Kade was not known to make little white lies. The recognition of his misjudgment hit him, and the irritation he felt in his chest sunk to a guilty pit in his stomach at being harsh with her. "Oh…" He murmured, bringing a hand up to fiddle with the hem of his tunic sleeve. He didn't really know what to say, but he wasn't expecting to hear that answer from her.

"Go back, then, if you want." Her hand flicked sharply to gesture behind him before she turned to face the direction she was walking. "Your choice, Kenobi."

His choice.

It was his choice.

He twisted the hem of his sleeve between his thumb and forefinger and slowed to a stop, staring at her back as she continued without him, the soft clicking of her boots on the polished floor fading with each step.

It had been his choice to leave Mandalore. There was no doubt, he could have easily handed over his lightsaber to Qui-gon and remained on the broken planet. Obi-wan swallowed, wetting the itch that had started to take over his throat. The year on Mandalore had presented him with a forked path: one road led to leaving the Jedi Order, the other kept him steady on his path. Despite what his heart had told him, he knew deep in his core that there was no future for him on Mandalore, not even with the Duchess Satine. It was not an easy decision, but the choice had ultimately been his to make.

The decisions before him tonight were perhaps not so different. There was no question that he greatly enjoyed spending time with his friends. He knew they meant well with their antics; they loved him and had all been by his side his entire life. Obi-wan made a face as the thought crossed his mind that if the roles had been reversed, he would be willing to kidnap anyone of them, too, for the sake of cheering them up.

Kade disappeared into the darkness of the Temple, and he stood alone in the empty, shadowy corridor. Now that he was getting the silence that he had craved, it felt wrong. It wasn't just the guilt that was creeping up, but the longing to be a part of the group again. His friends might not be able to understand the intense feelings he experienced and the trauma of the waring world that he was propelled into, but perhaps a little familiar company would ease him back to feeling normal again.

Swallowing the knotted pride in his throat, and willing his feet to move, Obi-wan started towards the final stretch to the Lake levels.

This section of the Temple was an unmatched beauty and a favorite spot amongst many Jedi. Spanning ten floors, the massive wing felt like an exotic world all of its own. The Lake levels stand in incredible contrast to the industrial city-planet outside its walls, with its soft green grass, numerous species of trees, plants, and holo-wildlife. The air was moderately humid and always smelled pleasantly like it had recently rained. Filled with seemingly endless, rolling and circling trails, at the center of the wing was a large lake surrounded on three sides by rocky terrain and a decent grassy knoll. The lake was shallow in some areas, but deepened steeply, allowing those who bore aquatic anatomy, synthetic or natural, to swim several stories down. Wide and vast underwater tunnels within the lake connected, in part, to the aquatic section of the Temple. One such tunnel even opened to an observation level where often Jedi gathered to meditate and could watch others gracefully swim behind thick glass.

The temperate air felt welcoming and familiar to Obi-wan as he crossed over the threshold into the wing. The Lake levels were similar to the rest of the Temple in that the environmental controls were programmed to mimic the day and night cycles of Coruscant. It was dark, but a simulated eternally full moon and twinkling stars dotted the far walls and ceiling, illuminating the wing in a gentle glow. Holo-crickets ticked in the bushes around the trails, and holo-glow bugs dotted the air.

Kade wasn't far ahead of him on the trail towards the center of the wing, but he remained a fair distance behind her, feeling embarrassed about his outbursts. As she neared the lake, she lifted her foot and hopped, taking off one boot and then the other as she approached the grassy knoll where the lake lapped gently at the shore. He felt a smile tug at his lips. She was always impatient to get into any body of water.

He watched her toss her boots in the pile of clothing to the side where the others had discarded theirs, down to their undergarments. The other three were already in the water, splashing and giggling with their successful venture. There was no worry that anyone would hear them here, as they were far away from the resident halls. It was one of the wonderful places in the Temple that truly felt like an escape. A place where they didn't have to be padawans, focused on studies or lessons or planning for their future. Here, they could be free of worries and expectations.

Kade unclipped her belt, her tunic billowing loose around her waist. Obi-wan found himself averting his gaze as she stripped the rest of the way to her undergarments and dove into the lake to join the laughing trio.

"Obi!" Garen hollered, from the water, as he spotted Obi-wan's approach. Bant and Quinlan turned their heads and whooped at his arrival.

Fighting back a smile, he sighed, reaching for his own belt. He stripped down, folding his clothes neatly beside the haphazardly discarded clothing pile, then slowly made his way into the cool water of the great lake.

The water felt incredible as he dipped his head forward, sliding under the surface. Relief immediately washed over him as the lake surrounded him and provided the sensation of weightlessness. He had been gone from the Temple too long to have doubted that this would be cathartic. Emerging to take a breath and tread in the deeper section of the lake, he swiped his hands down his face, pushing the water away from his eyes.

The laughter around him, echoing through the area, gave him comfort and centered him in the moment. Perhaps his concerns and fears from the past year could wait for another time.

"Stars," a familiar feminine voice called from the grassy knoll he had just come from, "the guards were on high alert in the common hall tonight!" Siri Tachi sauntered to the edge of the lake, sitting down to pull her own boots off.

"Siri!" Bant cheered from the water, thrusting up a hand to wave at her. "You made it!"

Siri smiled widely and pushed a stray lock of her short blonde hair behind her ear, "Yeah, close call, though!" She tossed a boot over her shoulder before working on the other.

Circling his arms under the water to keep himself afloat, Obi-wan eyed Kade. She had swam out to a boulder and had climbed atop to sit on it. Kade caught Obi-wan's gaze and playfully grimaced at him, knowingly. Stealth wasn't her strong suit.

He softly chuckled at her flash of expression and turned himself in the water back towards Siri. As tempting as it was to tease Kade in front of the group, the guilt at their interaction earlier stopped him. He would keep it to himself, this time.

As Siri pulled her tunic from her shoulders, exposing the sleeveless undershirt beneath, Obi-wan traced the profile of her face. She was a year younger than him, and while they hadn't had classes together in the creche, she had befriended Bant and tagged along with many of their outings. He had never noticed the angle of her jaw before, or the way her intense blue eyes carefully studied the world around her. He had never really thought of it before, but seeing her after so long, he realized that he found her beautiful.

She reminded him, eerily, of Satine. Apart from their physical similarities, they even had comparable attitudes: both were frustratingly headstrong and serious.

He knew they were markedly different people, but the alikeness tugged at the feelings that were still raw on his heart. No matter how hard he tried; he couldn't stop staring.

Suddenly, hands gripped his shoulders. The world around him was roughly thrust upward and disappeared under a blurry haze. Water was pushed up his nose as he was forced underwater, burning his throat. The sensation only lasted a moment, however, as he kicked back up to the surface, sputtering water.

Quinlan guffawed and swam quickly out of Obi-wan's reach, towards the rock Kade was situated on.

"Kriffing hell, Quin," Coughing the stinging water out of his lungs, he rubbed at his eyes and glared at the offender, contemplating his revenge.

Quinlan, a year older than the rest of them, was the clear ringleader of their group, the biggest rebel of them all, and the one to pull the majority of the pranks. While the others never directly expressed any annoyance at his unique way of showing affection, Obi-wan was not a fan of being the target of his frivolities.

Unsurprisingly, Obi-wan's curse didn't sway Quinlan's mischievousness, as he hurried toward his next victim. Kade immediately saw what was about to happen and held out a hand, palm up to attempt to urge him to stop. "No, no!" Her words were concealed in nervous giggles, however, and Quinlan latched one hand onto her ankle, unphased. She leaned forward to swat him away, but he caught her hand and pulled her hard, back into the lake.

Her outcry was cut short as she dipped under the water and came up gasping for air between laughs. She wrapped her arms around Quinlan's neck, mockingly placing him in a chokehold and attempting to return the favor. Together they playfully struggled for control in the water.

Bant, Siri, and Garen all swam to the rescue, piling on top of the pair in a wild tangle of arms, legs, and mirth.

Obi-wan couldn't help the amusement from bubbling out of his chest into his own fit of laughter. It was a sound he hadn't heard coming from himself in a long while. Despite everything that had happened, he guessed it truly did feel wonderful to be home and amongst his friends again. With his final resolve, Obi-wan swung out his arm and propelled himself towards the mass of bodies to join in.

It didn't take them long to wear themselves out, and the six of them crawled onto the bank of the grassy knoll to dry themselves and study the stimulated constellations high above them. They weren't quite ready to call it a night.

Resting prone on the ground, Obi-wan ran his fingers through the supple grass on either side of him. It felt like every muscle in his body was twitching from the swim, and that gravity was heavier than normal, pulling him towards the floor. The area around him was filled with the calming energy of his companions as they were winding down from the excitement themselves. Obi-wan had not felt this relaxed in what felt like ages.

He rolled his head to smile at Bant beside him. She was sitting up, leaning back onto the palms of her hands while her wide eyes scanned the night sky. Warmth spread through his body as he relished in the feeling of their six life forces entangling with one another. "Thanks, guys," He said aloud, to the group. "I guess I really needed this."

Turning, Bant met his gaze, "Anytime, Obi," she smiled genuinely at him, as she lay fully down on the grass. "We care about you."

"And we're happy you're back in one piece," Quin added. He was sitting down, half in the lake as he squeezed the water of his dreadlocks.

On the other side of Bant, Garen sat up and peered over her to Obi-wan. "I bet you're glad Master Jinn contacted us to rescue you from debrief."

The smile on his face faded as Garen's words sunk in. Qui-gon had been the one to tell them he was back from Mandalore? He let out a sigh. It made sense now why he was so nonchalant about shoving Obi-wan out the door, past curfew. He wondered if Qui-gon was more aware than he was letting on about their regular nighttime excursions and had merely chosen to remain silent in the past. Obi-wan scoffed to himself. His Master never failed to surprise him with his mysterious ways.

"Yeah, I think I am," Obi-wan replied, finally. Propping himself up on his elbow, he looked to Kade, who was sitting at the end of the row, her knees drawn up to her chest and arms wrapped around her legs. He sent an apologetic wave of the force to her, and when her tired eyes flicked to him, he mouthed out an apology.

With a slight twitch at the corner of her mouth, she turned her head back to rest her chin on her knees and watched her toes wiggle in the grass.