Chapter Ten: Shadows Creeping
"We need to go find Anakin." Obi-Wan urged Padmé to follow him from the commissary. The foreboding of the Force tremors that he had felt just moments before still lingered, although the source was relocated. As they made their way from the dining area,
Master Yoda's large green eyes followed them. No longer creased with humor, his lined face now revealed grave concern.
Although the boy's shields had been raised immediately following the incident in the dining facility, Anakin had not yet had enough practice in how to hide his emotions. Obi-Wan could easily trace them. Apparently, Anakin had retreated back to the privacy of their shared quarters and no longer could Obi-Wan feel the boy's anger along their training bond. Now, what he was feeling was shame, regret, and sorrow.
His steps slowed as they entered the apartment and the Knight hesitated at Anakin's door.
What could he say? Their training bond had been tenuous from the beginning. After Qui-Gon's death, the boy had accused Obi-Wan of taking him as a padawan out of pity and sense of duty. He didn't want him, hadn't chosen him as a padawan. He had accused him of this during several heated discussions in their past. Obi-Wan realized that these words were spoken out of anger and lack of confidence on Anakin's part, and probably spurred by the boy's peers, but they still had caused damage to their fledgling bond.
And suddenly, Obi-Wan realized that he was probably the last person Anakin wished to see at the moment, especially if he was the cause of the boy's current pain.
Sensing the young knight's distress, Padmé lay a hand upon his shoulder and turned him to face her.
"Let me speak to him." She implored softly. "If he is troubled by what I think he is, perhaps it is me who should."
Please be careful Padmé, Obi-Wan's inner voice warned. You have no idea what unstable and fragile ground upon which you tread. As the Chosen One, the knight was aware that the darkness would seek Anakin out, he just didn't think it would happen so soon. However, Padmé's smile of assurance chased his fears away and he reached up to caress the smoothness of her cheek.
"Thank you."
The young woman grinned and then stepped forward with confidence to knock gently upon Anakin's door.
"Ani? It's me, Padmé. Can we talk?"
A loud sniffle was heard from the behind the door before it finally slid open and Padmé walked inside.
She found the young boy on his bed, knees drawn up, sitting in the corner against the wall. Padmé approached him slowly and sat down upon the firm mattress.
"Don't you want to be my friend any more?" His quiet voice sounded nasal following his bout of crying.
"Of course I do." Padmé consoled with a hand upon the thin knee in front of her.
"Then why don't you want to spend any time with me? Why are you only hanging around Master Obi-Wan? Didn't you come here to see me? I sent a letter and asked you to come."
He did? Padmé couldn't remember any letter from Anakin, just those from Obi-Wan. She couldn't tell him her real reason for the trip. Not yet.
"Ani, you are my friend, but so is Obi-Wan." The blond head still hung low and Padmé had to lean down to see his face. "Maybe tomorrow you can miss one of your classes and show me the training room. I haven't seen them yet."
The boy's head raised up at her request. "Master Obi-Wan won't let me."
"Don't worry about that. I'll talk to him." She added a wink, which produced a small smile on the boy's face.
"Really?" Blue eyes brightened, but then brows furrowed once more. "But I have an exam tomorrow."
"That's all right, Anakin. I'll talk to Master Poof to see if you can take it another time." Obi-Wan spoke from the open door.
Anakin looked up at his Master in the doorway and fresh tears began to flow down his small face.
"I'm so sorry Master! I didn't mean to lose my temper! I tried to stop it, but something jumped inside me and I couldn't…"
Obi-Wan was immediately on the bed sitting next to his padawan and Padmé in order to reassure his padawan. "It's all right, Anakin. We'll just have to work harder on that. Don't worry about it. Why don't you get some sleep. If you're going to show Padmé everything you've learned in the training salle tomorrow, you're going to need your rest."
"Yes, sir." Anakin said with a small smile as he brushed away the tears from his face and lay down on the bed. Padmé tucked him in and then they left the boy alone to sleep.
Obi-Wan took one last look back at the small form huddled underneath the blankets before he slid the door to Anakin's room shut. He sighed in relief as the young woman in the room walked over to the sofa and sat down. He was afraid after all the turmoil of the evening, she would want to go back to her own rooms. He joined her, highly aware that their knees were touching.
"Thank you for that." She said softly.
"I'll have to do some fast talking with Master Poof, but it'll be okay. I'll make sure of that."
Obi-Wan began chuckling and Padmé looked at him curiously.
"It's more than Qui-Gon would've done for me. I had a crush on a padawan when I was about sixteen. Siri Tachi was her name. I asked my Master if I could miss 'saber practice once so that I could take her out on a date." The knight's hand swept up over his mouth to muffle another chuckle.
"What's so funny?"
"A date in the Temple means a walk in the Serenity Gardens. Not much excitement there, but I was actually hoping to steal a kiss or two."
"I see." Padmé grinned widely. "What happened?"
"I never got a chance to try. Qui-Gon wouldn't let me go. In fact, he doubled our practice time, volunteered us for several off-planet missions, and made sure that I didn't have the energy or the chance to ever see her alone."
"That seems unfair." Padmé noted with a frown. Qui-Gon had always seemed stern to her, but she couldn't imagine him being cruel.
"No, it wasn't like that." Obi-Wan explained. "I mean, I was pretty upset at the time, but somehow he knew that she wasn't for me. In fact, she turned to the dark side not too long ago."
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It was a great loss to the Jedi but I hadn't spoken to her in a long time." Obi-Wan's eyes focused on Padmé's hands which were clasped together in her lap.
"That's what you're afraid of for Ani, aren't you?" The young woman asked, answering the unspoken desire and reaching out to grasp onto Obi-Wan's hand. He smiled as she did so. It was as if she could read his mind.
"Yes. Fear and anger lead to the dark side. Anakin has trouble controlling them both. Tonight was an example. I just hope that I can be the Master that he needs. As Qui-Gon was to me."
"You're a better Master than Qui-Gon was." Padmé answered quickly, preparing an argument as she saw the disagreement in Obi-Wan's eyes. "And you're a better man. You're sympathetic and caring. Exactly what Anakin needs. Qui-Gon was too…" She searched carefully for the correct word. "Serious."
Obi-Wan nodded his head slowly. "Not all the time, but yes, most of it. He was exactly what I needed though. We were a perfect match. Just as Yoda had predicted."
"And what does he predict for you and Anakin?"
"He won't say."
"Well," Padmé began after a long moment of silence, hoping to lighten the mood. "Maybe you won't have to wait for a walk in the Serenity Gardens this time."
Obi-Wan's brows arched in surprise and he smiled widely at the invitation, taking his time maneuvering for position until their lips finally met in a breathless kiss, accompanied by a gentle sweeping of her hand along his face. It wasn't exactly the kind of kiss he had longed for with her, but was more of a promise of things to come.