Chapter 61 – A Bond for Eternity
A few months later
Mandalore was - as expected - a gigantic mess. Not only had it taken a lot of patience and persuasion to get the people on their side, but also a lot of sensitivity when it came to dealing with Cal and Caleb. Obi-Wan was trying his best and it seemed that he was slowly but surely gaining the trust of the boys, though he knew there were still things they weren't talking about.
But it was a start and for every little success he was grateful. At first, the two had not wanted to leave the Negotiator, but it had ultimately been Ahsoka who had been able to change their minds. Obi-Wan had to watch with a smile how especially Cal and Ahsoka got along better and better.
Satine had succeeded in litting a spark with her nature, which had changed fast into a wildfire. Viszla and his men had not stood a chance when Satine's former guards turned their backs on them and the people revolted. Driven into a corner, they had to admit defeat. Even though some Mandalorians cried out for blood, Satine granted the Death Watch a non-violent withdrawal. She banished them to Concord Dawn with the threat that they would not be shown such mercy again. There was a fire burning in Satine's veins that she always consciously kept in check, but they would not stand in her way when it came to protecting her loved ones.
Viszla wanted to protest, but when he caught a glimpse of Obi-Wan, who had stayed in the background the entire time before, he fell silent, knowing that he would once again be defeated in a duel.
Over the next few months, both Satine and he were hard at work restoring order. Mandalore's stability as well as security had been weakened by Viszla and the war, so in many cases a complete restructuring was needed.
But they were making progress. Slow and steady, but there was progress.
As the months progressed, calm and normalcy had returned. Now it was time for them to think of themselves for once.
Obi-Wan sighed and flexed his fingers around the railing he was leaning on.
"Nervous?" a teasing voice rang out, and Obi-Wan turned, only to come face to face with Anakin's shit-eating grin.
"Anakin," he greeted back, giving the other man a quick hug, "Glad you're here. Do you have it?"
His friend rolled his eyes playfully. "Don't be so impatient. But yes," he pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it, "Quinlan managed to scrounge up a tiny piece of kyber."
Obi-Wan stared with fascination at the elegantly crafted ring resting on a blue pad. It was almost an exact replica of the ring he had once had for Satine. Perhaps even more beautiful. The kyber, pulsing in a calm blue hue, was set in shimmering silver beskar.
"It's beautiful, thank you."
Anakin chuckled and let the box disappear again. "Then almost nothing can go wrong," he grinned.
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "If you say something like that, surely chaos will break out the next moment."
Putting an arm around his shoulders, Anakin led him away from the railing. "You want to see chaos? I've got something."
Together they went inside, where they met Ahsoka and Cal, who were engaged with Luke and Leia.
Obi-Wan's eyes widened at the twins. "They sure have grown."
"Mmm," Anakin agreed, ever the proud father, "And not only that."
He crouched down and called his children, whereupon they both stood up and, though on very shaky feet, scrambled over to him. "They started walking a little while ago," he murmured, as he took them both on his lap, "Since then they've been hard to keep up."
"I can imagine," Obi-Wan agreed, watching with amusement as the children nearly knocked his friend over.
Of course, this didn't escape Anakin's notice either. Grinning mischievously, he said to Luke and Leia, "Why don't you say hello to your Uncle Obi-Wan?"
He had perhaps a few seconds of preparation before the two whirlwinds flew toward him. "Woah, easy!" he exclaimed as the little ones nearly threw him off balance.
Like Anakin before, he now crouched down a bit so the two could give him a decent hug. "You two have grown quite a bit," he smiled, stroking a hand through their hair.
Luke giggled and tugged on Obi-Wan's beard in response, as he had done as a baby. Leia seemed a little more reserved, letting her eyes wander back and forth.
They were interrupted by Caleb, who came rushing into the room excitedly. "Obi-Wan, they're here!" he called impatiently.
Obi-Wan huffed and finally stood back up. "Well, I won't keep them waiting," he let his gaze sweep over everyone present, "Who's coming?"
The children both nodded enthusiastically and jumped up. With his little chubby hands, Luke reached up, obviously demanding to be picked up. Obi-Wan glanced briefly at Anakin, who had already taken Leia on his shoulder.
"Go ahead," he said, his face contorting a bit as Leia played with his hair.
Yielding, he finally lifted the boy up so that he could come to sit on his shoulders and wrap his arms around his neck.
Ahsoka and Cal, meanwhile, had been watching him with amusement.
"Don't break your back," Cal joked, unable to suppress laughter.
"Ha ha," Obi-Wan mimicked, pretending to be annoyed, which of course no one believed him, "Watch it."
Thereupon he pushed past the two and went outside to one of the landing platforms where the ship had landed.
The ramp opened slowly, revealing the occupants of the ship. A smile stretched across Obi-Wan's face. Carefully, he set Luke down, who toddled back over to Anakin.
Quinlan was already jumping down before the ramp was all the way down, and he came toward them with long strides, arms outstretched and grinning broadly. "Good to see you, my friend," the Kiffar greeted him, giving him a quick squeeze with one arm, "Hard to believe I get to live to see the day. Our Obi is getting married."
For a moment, a melancholy feeling came over Obi-Wan as he remembered his friends who had sadly left far too soon. "I wish they could be here today," Obi-Wan murmured, looking briefly at the sky.
Quinlan squeezed his shoulder. "We both know they're almost certainly watching from somewhere," a slight grin stretched across his face, "Besides, Reeft would probably have eaten the whole cake by himself before we even had a chance."
Obi-Wan laughed wholeheartedly in response. "True."
His friend finally stepped aside, now greeting the rest, so Obi-Wan could turn his attention to the remaining guests.
Mace and Vokara followed next. "Glad to see you've found your place, Obi-Wan," Mace said honestly, cracking a smile for once, which was a rarity for the man.
"Thank you, Mace," Obi-Wan returned, "How are things going on the ship?"
Mace glanced at Vokara before looking at him again. "Good... I think. We've managed to free more clones from the chips, and we've also been able to track down some Jedi."
Nodding his head, Obi-Wan let the information sink in. "That's good... you know if you need anything..."
Vokara interrupted him with a hand on his shoulder, smiling motherly. "It's all right, Obi-Wan. Today is yours and Satine's day, okay? Forget your worries for at least a moment and relax."
Obi-Wan huffed and slumped his shoulders. Of course, she was right. "Okay... I'll try."
Last to leave the ship were Cody and Rex, the latter moving forward in a hoverchair.
"Rex, Cody," he approached them, greeting the two men with a brief hug, "How are you two doing?"
"We're doing okay," Cody replied, giving Rex a look, "The men have gotten creative in getting Rex back on his feet here."
Obi-Wan quirked an eyebrow in response, looking at the blond now.
Rex snorted and shook his head. "What he means is that they've built some kind of exoskeleton. There's just... I'll call it control issues."
"Maybe you should have Anakin take a look at it," Obi-Wan then advised, pointing to his splinted leg, "So far, this thing is holding up surprisingly well."
"I don't know, somewhere I'm too afraid that he's going to put in special features again."
Well.
"In his defense, I have to say he's really been holding back the last few times," Obi-Wan snickered, recalling his former student's many, sometimes explosive, projects, "Last I recall, the only experiments that exploded were the ones that were supposed to explode."
"Encouraging," Rex countered dryly.
"Please don't remind me of that. I heard the story," Cody added, rolling his eyes, "Your insane plan with the homemade EMPs was more than questionable."
Obi-Wan shrugged, eyeing him mischievously. "It worked, didn't it?"
Cody narrowed his eyes exasperatedly and leaned down to Rex. "Remind me to tell Satine to keep him under surveillance."
Before Rex could agree, Obi-Wan intervened, realizing with shock that by now it was time. "I don't want to keep you two making plans, but I think we should get going."
And so it came to pass - some two hours later - that he found himself standing on a small platform in front of a landscaped pond in the palace courtyard, the guests waiting patiently in their seats that had been placed on the grassy area in front of it. Padme and Ahsoka waited on the side where Satine would be standing in a few moments.
If he was honest with himself, he could not deny that he was nervous. Padme and Anakin had spent half the day making sure Satine and he wouldn't run into each other. Not that all the hustle and bustle had done anything to calm him down.
Anakin stood sideways behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder as he began to tap his foot a little. "You don't want to lose your cool now, do you?" his friend whispered.
Obi-Wan bit the inside of his cheeks and turned back slightly. "This is probably one of the most important moments in my life... forgive my nerves for being a little on edge."
The hand on his shoulder squeezed shallowly. "If it makes you feel any better... I was nervous too... just tell her what you've always wanted to tell her and it will be fine."
Anakin took his hand back and at that exact moment the doors that led into the courtyard opened. Music began to play, but Obi-Wan barely noticed, too fixated on the sight before his eyes.
Satine strode along with Cody toward the platform where he waited, wearing a bright blue dress that brought out the color of her eyes.
"She looks beautiful," Anakin whispered behind him.
"She always does," Obi-Wan breathed, with a smile.
Satine finally came to a stop in front of him and Cody took his place next to Anakin.
Someone began to speak, and it felt like little more than a blink of an eye when the moment came.
The vows.
For all the years he had been praised for his silver tongue, his voice was about to fail him. But he caught himself and followed Anakin's advice.
"You know," he finally began, "if anyone had told me 20 years ago that I would be standing here today... I wouldn't have believed it. And yet, here we are. These past months - maybe even years – have been challenging… but we pulled through. We forged a new path in a universe that threatened to take everything we held dear."
He took her hands. "Satine, you have given me a reason to keep fighting. When I was trapped in the darkness... you were my light. You took me in, with all my flaws. You gave me a place to feel at home..."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "I want to promise you something with this. Until the day I take my last breath, I will stand by your side. As your husband, friend, or even partner in crime... as whatever you need me to be. I, Obi-Wan Kenobi, promise you to give you the best of myself and to ask of you no more than you can give. I'll be yours – forever."
Now it was Satine's turn. She squeezed his hands briefly before she started.
"When I first met you, I never imagined I would ever call you a friend. But you were persistent, you showed me that there is always a way, even if it seems rocky and impassable. When I thought I had no one left in my family... you gave me support. You risked your life without even a thought of what could happen to you. You are selfless... strong...," she smiled, "sometimes stubborn... but above all, you have your heart in the right place. And that's what I love about you, Obi-Wan. So let me promise you that I, Satine Kryze, will never force you to change. That I will support you in all your wishes and dreams, that you will always have a place by my side, come what may. I am yours as long as you want me."
Obi-Wan's heart fluttered in his chest when they finally kissed and exchanged their rings.
Perhaps this was the first moment in his life when he felt free of worries and burdens. This was his and Satine's moment, and he would not let it be taken from him. He simply allowed himself to be happy at last.
