A/N: Occasional pieces of this arc and probably others will come from a non-canon script of RotS that I found online. I really liked some of the lines that didn't make it into the movie, so I'm adding them to my story. :D (I also added a bunch of my own. :P)

Starfighter Bonding (part 1):

Anakin strode into Bay 7 of the hangar where he had left his heavily customized yellow and silver Eta-2 Actis-class interceptor beside a maroon and grey one a few hours ago, stuffing the last of his ration bar into his mouth and shoving the wrapper into a pouch on his belt.

Beside him, Obi-Wan was doing the same as they made for their respective starfighters. Anakin could feel his friend and former Master stealing himself for the upcoming battle, shutting down his emotions and pulling the Force to him a little more than absolutely necessary; girding his mental loins, so to speak.

Even after all their years together, it still amused him to no end that the generally fearless Obi-Wan Kenobi could be so good at flying but despise it with his entire being. Obi-Wan said it was BECAUSE he was terrified of flying that inspired him to put his all into it so he didn't die due to something stupid like his own ineptitude.

Swallowing down the five billionth (maybe an exaggeration, but who knows?) dry and flavourless lump of protein and vitamins that had kept him alive and ticking for the better part of the last three years, Anakin vaulted into the open cockpit of his fighter, a sense of anticipation and belonging filling him. He'd always thought that if his life were his own, he would spend the majority of his time flying from now until the day he died, making him a very happy man. (Ideally, the rest of his hours would be spent making Padmè a very happy wife.) But it wasn't, so he'd relished the meager hours he did get in the seat of a lightning fast fighter with every crumb of his being.

As far as he was concerned, the only thing the war still had going for it was the fact that he'd gotten to fly more in the last three years than in the entirety of his life before that combined.

Beside him, his faithful blue and silver astromech droid swivelled his dome around, trilling and rocking slightly with anticipation in his dorsal socket. "Took you long enough," he beeped out in Binary.

Anakin laughed at Artoo, who loved to fly just as much as he did. "Sorry, buddy. We're going in a moment. Promise."

As he put on his sleek headset, Anakin looked over at Obi-Wan, who was settling into the seat of the almost GAR issue interceptor that Anakin had tinkered with on occasion to make it lighter and more agile, throwing out heavy instrumentation like the proximity sensors, which Obi-Wan really didn't need. Obi-Wan drew the line, though, at letting him make it make it more powerful like his own, saying he didn't need more speed, thank you very much. "You ready, Master?"

Obi-Wan grimaced as he put on his own headset. "As I'll ever be."

They started their engines and the sweet sound of perfectly tuned rumbles filled the small bay. Another thrill coursed through Anakin, making his blood sing. "Let's do this." He closed the transparisteel bubble over his head and he felt the subtle shift as the air automatically pressurized around him.

"If we must," Obi-Wan bemoaned teasingly over the comm.

Anakin grinned as they took off through the blue shield and joined the hundreds of fighters piloted by clones already leaving the Venator's hangar through the long ceiling entrance. They were flying a mix of grey and maroon painted Eta-2s, Y-Wings, V-19s, and ARC-170s, and were being directed by Cody as he watched the battle from the command center of the bridge. "It's a good thing I know you don't entirely mean that."

"Who says I don't?"

Anakin took a moment to answer, because he'd just gotten a full view of the grand scale of the battle being fought above the city planet of Coruscant, and it was officially epic to the extreme. A few thousand large destroyer-class and frigates from both sides were surrounded by what looked like millions of tiny starfighters flitting around like hordes of winged insects and firing all over the place as the bigger ships jockeyed for position and shot at each other hither and yon. A good majority of the ships were on fire or floating in pieces, giving testament to how long the battle had already been going on. Holy kark on a rancor!

He'd never seen so many ships from both sides all fighting in one place before, and that was saying something, considering the vast number of battles he'd already fought. "Uhhhhh." What was the question again? Oh yeah. "The Force says so, Master. I can feel you. You may not like flying, but you do like winning."

"Lovely. Giving away my secrets again," Obi-Wan said dryly, keeping his fighter right beside Anakin's despite the chaos.

"Yep," he answered cheekily. "This battle is insane, by the way."

"Agreed. Do you have any idea where you're going?" the elder Jedi asked as they effortlessly maneuvered through debris and other fighters, occasionally taking out an enemy Vulture droid if one happened across their line of sight.

"For now, I'm aiming for the center of the battle, which is where I think Grievous' flagship will be, and thus the Chancellor."

"Joy. Always diving into the thick of things," Obi-Wan said. His voice couldn't have gotten any drier than if he'd been trapped on Tatooine for a week.

"You know me so well." Anakin was loving the genuine banter as they flew, perfectly in sync with each other in a way that they hadn't been in so long. Their fighters practically danced together as they wove through and around obstacle after obstacle, including fighters on their side who were flying valiantly after the gads of ruthless enemy fighter droids.

"That I do, my intrepid Padawan. Too well, sometimes, I think, if you're about to do what I think you are."

"What?" Anakin laughed. "You don't like knowing that I'm about to blast the smithereens out of the engines of this Seppie frigate and that you'll have to fly through the debris and flames?" he said only seconds before putting action to his words.

"That's it precisely," Obi-Wan said, sounding tight as if he were flinching. (Which he probably was.) "I wish you wouldn't do reckless things like that, Anakin."

"You're fine, Master," Anakin reassured as they flew on. "You're fighter isn't going to explode at that tiny exposure to flames."

"Logically, I know that. But tell that to my sense of impending doom."

Anakin laughed. "Relax. I won't let anything happen to you. This is my territory up here. Nothing can outfly me."

Obi-Wan sighed audibly over the comm. "You're arrogance is going to get me killed one of these days, I swear."

"Sorry, Master." Anakin shot another Vulture droid that happened to cross his path. (The twenty-third one already.) "But that really would defeat the purpose of my determination to keep you alive, if you think about it."

"Very funny."

"I thought so."

Anakin tensed as the Force sent him a warning, a flash of an image appearing in his mind. "Hang on, Obi-Wan. We've got a pack of V droids on our tail."

"Kriff."

"Just fly along the length of that Venator over there to the left and hope it takes some of them out with its canons. I'll duck off and circle behind them."

"Easy for you to say," Obi-Wan grumbled as he banked to left and took the lead. "Why do I always have to be the bait?"

"Because you're so handsome and snarky, no one can resist you?" Anakin said as he suddenly dodged under the belly of the Venator and circled back. A few of the droids tried to copy him and managed to plaster themselves to the hull of the destroyer instead. Two down, six to go.

"If only that were true. You're proof enough that my charm doesn't work on everyone."

"Awwwww, Obi-Wan, I didn't know you felt that way," Anakin teased back as he picked a target and shot the flying droid out of his way. Three down. "If only I'd known, I would have saved myself for you instead of flirting with that Zygerrian Queen."

"Ha. Just shoot those blasted things already! They're all over me!"

"I'm working on it, Master. Keep your robe on." Five down.

"I can guarantee I'm not taking it off anytime soon," Obi-Wan said almost frantically as he zig-zagged through another mookafight that was flying crosswise to them. Enemy number six helpfully flew into one if its counterparts as it tried to follow the talented Jedi through the traffic.

Anakin followed, smirking, dodging death easily.

"Just two more, Master."

"That's still two too many when they keep taking potshots at my rear end, Anakin!"

"Yes, Master. Why don't you…"

"I see it!" Obi-Wan led their dwindling party down to the deck of a Seppie battleship and literally played dodgeball with their laser canons.

"Artoo, the last two are yours. I have to concentrate on flying," Anakin said as he dodged what felt like about a hundred laser blasts per second.

"Okay!" the droid sent in Aurebesh to the computer screen in front of him before taking over the targeting systems.

"Hurry up!" Obi-Wan said a little breathlessly. "I don't like this!"

"We're working on it!"

Seven down and… eight! "Great shooting, buddy!"

"Thanks, Master!" Artoo sent back.

"Thanks, Anakin."

"Just doing my job keeping you alive, Master," Anakin said as they flew back into a relatively clear section of space.

"If that's what you want to call it. Next time, you're the bait. Now… let's go find that Command ship before anything else happens to give me more grey hairs."

Anakin laughed. "Yes, Master."