OBI-WAN

How they had survived that ordeal, Obi-Wan still wasn't sure. Like he'd said to Thalia, he and Anakin had had plenty of close calls but that was up there with the closest of them all.

On their way back to the ship, they hadn't been met with any resistance. Any guards that had been watching the landing platform had swiftly been taken care of by the clones and C-6 was now flying them out of Helwater's atmosphere.

What an appropriate name for the day they'd had, thought Obi-Wan as he watched Thalia from across the common area of the ship. She had a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders and was in deep conversation with her Prime Minister via a holoprojector. Her hair was drying in curly clumps, which she ran her fingers through every so often.

"Looks like we got to you just in time, Master." Anakin said as he waltzed into the room and threw himself onto the couch beside Obi-Wan.

"I certainly had my doubts, but for once you actually listened to orders and stayed on the ship." His Master replied mockingly.

"Actually…" Anakin began slowly. "…we weren't on the ship when your message came through. C-6 transmitted your message to us."

"Anakin." Obi-Wan sighed, shaking his head. "We don't give you orders for the sake of it. If the droid hadn't contacted you, both I and the ruler of three thousand neutral systems would be dead, all because you couldn't follow orders." He finished and Anakin's eyes widened slightly at the traces of anger in his Master's voice.

"Okay, Master. I'm sorry." He said quickly, holding his hands up in defence.

"One day, you are going to be the death of me." Obi-Wan said, not completely sure if he was trying to lighten the mood or chastise his apprentice more.

"Don't say that, Master." Anakin sighed. "I am trying."

"Well, as long as you don't pass on your penchant for rules to your own padawan one day." Obi-Wan said, getting up from his seat and moving to stand in front of one of the ship's windows.

"Where do we go from here?" Anakin asked, eyeing his Master carefully. "What does the Queen do now?"

"Now, she must address the Senate and argue for Troska's neutrality." His Master sighed, turning his head just enough to watch Thalia from his peripheral vision. Anakin watched as Thalia looked up from her hologram, eyes instantly locking with Obi-Wan's. She offered him a small smile of reassurance, letting him know she was alright, and only then did he look back to the window.

Anakin thought for a moment before bracing a hand on his knee and pushing himself to his feet, joining Obi-Wan to stare at the blue streaks of lightspeed.

"Master, can I ask you a question…one that you don't have to answer?" He began in a hushed voice that Thalia wouldn't be able to hear.

Obi-Wan's eyebrows knitted together in slight confusion at what his fellow Jedi Knight could possibly have to ask with such secrecy. Nevertheless, he nodded slightly.

"What happened in the year you spent with the Queen? It's just, you seem very close." Anakin asked carefully, making sure to choose the right words.

"A lot happened. Like I said, Qui-Gonn and I were assigned to protect her. We failed and had to regain her trust countless times. Her forgiveness created a bond between the three of us that will span the length of time." Obi-Wan replied thoughtfully, but Anakin noted how he seemed to skirt around the real question.

"So, there was never anything between the two of you?" He asked probingly but Obi-Wan's expression remained neutral, which was where Anakin was watching. He wasn't, however, watching Obi-Wan's hands. At the question, his fingers wrapped around the hilt of his lightsabre, his new lightsabre; the one he'd built himself after giving his old one to Thalia as a gesture of his devotion to her.

"Why do you ask?" Obi-Wan said calmly and Anakin huffed slightly at his Master's coyness.

"Because…" He began.

"Master Jedi." Thalia's voice suddenly rang out behind them, and despite themselves, both men jumped slightly as their intense bubble was broken. Both their heads whipped around in unison to see Thalia, standing a few steps from them, with a slight look of alarm on her face from their reactions.

"I've had word from the Troskan Prime Minister that Chancellor Palpatine has been in contact. He wants an immediate update on the situation, so we're changing course and heading straight for Coruscant." She began. "We won't arrive until the morning, so you are welcome to the sleeping quarters down the hall."

At the mention of sleep, Anakin let out a yawn.

"Down the hall, the doors on the left." Thalia smiled and Anakin gave her a sheepish, but appreciative grin.

. . .

The low thrum of a ship's engines was usually enough to send Obi-Wan to sleep, but that night he couldn't get comfortable. His body was exhausted but his mind was still racing after the day's events.

He and Thalia had almost died, she had said what he'd been thinking since arriving back on Troska; that there was so much that needed to be said. He knew what she'd been alluding to; the promise he'd made her almost fifteen years ago. She didn't know if he intended to keep it, if he still felt as he had or if he even wanted to talk about it.

But, while he had not gone a day without thinking about her, his feelings had been overtaken by the war, training Anakin and serving the Republic. Yet, they'd never left him. They'd become a natural part of who he was. Just like how he'd carefully clean his lightsabre after every battle, he would also spare a thought for Thalia – wonder what she was doing at that moment, trusting for her safety and wishing to be able to see her again.

So, while he wanted to have that conversation with her, now was not the time.

It was at that point that he felt the balance of the force change around the ship. It wasn't dark, it wasn't light, it was just an incredibly intense hum of power. Obi-Wan sat up slowly and let his body adjust to being upright before he slid off the side of the bed and activated the sliding door to the quarters. The light in the corridor was dull and gentle on his eyes. He followed his senses and made his way through the ship to the cockpit.

Before he entered, he could see Thalia's outline, curled up in the pilot's seat. She was sitting perfectly still, a purple, velvet blanket wrapped tightly around her shoulders as she hugged her knees to her chest, her heals propped up against the control panel. She looked like a small child. But as Obi-Wan stepped closer, he saw her eyes were closed and a slight frown pulled at her eyebrows. She tilted her head slightly to the left, and with it, the ship listed ever so slightly. Thalia was using the force to fly the ship. Obi-Wan's expression softened and a small smile pulled at his lips.

"Can't sleep?" Suddenly came her voice from the cockpit and he started slightly.

Without a word, he found himself crossing the rest of the space between the common area and the small corridor that led to the flight deck. Silently, he slipped past Thalia and eased himself into the co-pilot's seat beside her.

"We're in an asteroid field." Thalia said, her eyes still closed. "C-6 is charging. I didn't want to wake her."

Usually, Obi-Wan was flying through asteroid fields at top speed trying to evade enemy ships, but the Troskan cruiser glided smoothly between the giant pieces of rock.

"I didn't know you could fly ships with the force." Obi-Wan said quietly, his voice not quite sure if he were awake or asleep.

"One of the many discoveries I've made over the years." She said distantly, finally opening her eyes to stare at the slow-moving rocks ahead of them.

"Are you alright?" He asked, folding his arms comfortably over his chest. Thalia hummed in response, her head bobbing forward slightly. A strand of hair fell across her face as she did so and the thought occurred to Obi-Wan that he should brush it back, but he kept his arms wrapped around his chest as he watched her tuck it behind her ear.

"I tried to sleep, but I just keep…thinking." She said quietly.

"Yes, when the Jedi say to 'quieten your mind', it's much easier said than done." He agreed, raising one of his hands to run across his beard.

As Obi-Wan looked out across the asteroid field, he saw from the corner of his eye, Thalia turn slightly to look at him. He made no acknowledgement that he'd noticed and instead let his hand fall back to curl around his bicep. Thalia's eyes roamed over his face, considering every feature as if taking note of what she recognised and what had changed. As her gaze drifted down to his arms, he suddenly felt very exposed. It wasn't every day someone studied him from head to toe. Finally, he turned his head slightly to meet her gaze, expecting her to quickly look away, but she held his gaze.

Suddenly, a feeling washed over him that he hadn't felt in a long time. It was that feeling where everything suddenly felt right. Gazing into Thalia's tired eyes, the whole universe seemed to be at peace; nothing was out of place, everyone and everything just existed.

Then, Thalia's eyes slowly dropped to his downturned lips. Such a simple thing shouldn't have garnered the reaction from Obi-Wan that it did. He felt heat creep up his neck, and he suddenly became aware of how dry his lips felt. He resisted the urge to wet them with Thalia watching.

When Thalia's eyes dragged back up to his, her half-lidded eyes were crinkled at the corners in a slight smile, a look Obi-Wan became instantly enamoured with.

"You should try and get some sleep." She said, so quietly it was almost a whisper. When she looked away from him, Obi-Wan felt that familiar feeling dissipate.

Thalia sighed heavily before letting her legs drop away from the chair and she got to her feet, wrapping the blanket tightly around her shoulders. She turned away from the view of space, the asteroid field well behind them. As she went to walk past Obi-Wan she paused and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder. Having been wrapped up in the blanket, her skin was delightfully warm even through the light fabric of his undershirt.

She smiled gently down at him, and opened her mouth as if to say something, but thought against it, instead giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. As she dropped her hand away, it gently grazed the length of his upper arm and then she was gone, leaving Obi-Wan alone and immediately missing her presence.