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Author's Notes: Hey everybody! Guess what? I have started college! Wish me luck, please. Anyways, here is the conversation between Anakin and Obi-Wan. Read on!
Chapter XII
Obi-Wan wonders if there is a chance the Force will do something and distract his Master long enough for him to form a logical explanation.
Unsurprisingly, no such thing seems likely to happen.
Oh well, Obi-Wan wasn't called The Negotiator for nothing.
And the best way to explain this situation was the truth: that the Force had "willed it" and that it had "slipped his mind."
Maybe the former held more truth to it than the latter. That was not the problem. The problem was that Qui-Gon was not just asking him about this isolated incident related to the truguts, he was asking about his strange behaviour since that fateful day on their quarters' balcony.
And the truth will sadly not work here. While suddenly coming back from the dead and meeting everyone, whom he had seen, felt dying, alive and kicking would be an acceptable explanation under normal circumstances, here he knows it will not lead to anything else but few trips to the Mind healers. And he would like to avoid the healers as much as possible, thank you very much.
The problem, however, still persists. What should he tell Qui-Gon? He could see that Qui-Gon's patience was wearing thin a little due to the stress of this mission. Qui-Gon was known for his patience with everyone- "pathetic life form" or not. However, Obi-Wan remarks with an inward smirk, that it is nowhere near the "legendary, and outright frustratingly calm" as proclaimed by Anakin that he possessed.
Huh. Gloating. Are Anakin's influences on him finally showing their effect?
Qui-Gon clears his throat and Obi-Wan adjust his line of thought back to the original problem.
To be honest, he really isn't in the mood to offer explanations. He chalks it upto his frustrations and the turn of events that have happened finally catching upto him. But true to his patience's praises, he releases it into the Force.
Let me just start. We will see where the conversation goes from there.
"Master," Obi-Wan says with a sigh, "what I told you about the incident of the truguts is completely true. I was meditating in the gardens when you called me regarding the mission. I was walking to our quarters when suddenly I felt a nudge from the Force to a room which was the one where we go to take the necessary items for a mission. The Force led me to the shelf containing items from the Arkanis system. I took the truguts from there.
May I ask, though, why the sudden suspicion that I am lying to you, Master? Have I ever before?"
A single raised eyebrow from his Master has him continuing his explanation, "Okay, fine I guess I have on certain occasions but none were worth such investigation, so why now Master?"
"I do not doubt you Padawan. This is unusual and there is just something about this mission…" Qui-Gon trails off.
There is silence for a beat or two, then, "Master, I assure you the reason for my change in behavioral patterns has me as much bewildered as it has you." That was obviously not true. Obi-Wan knew exactly why his behavioral patterns were changed but his saying that he was bewildered was in the sense that he did not how did he even come back to the living world decades ago from his time.
"Master, just trust me, alright?" It is spoken in a soft whisper but Qui-Gon hears it nonetheless.
Obi-Wan watches as his Master closes his eyes. He can feel that the answer did not satisfy him but he would indulge his Padawan as he always respects his wishes.
-x—x—
Qui-Gon hears patiently as Obi-Wan finishes his explanation. Qui-Gon resists the urge to sigh. He did not get any answers for his ever-increasing list of questions.
However, he hears the soft whispered, "Master, just trust me, alright?" and realises with a start that maybe he has been over reacting. Obi-Wan is not a kid anymore that he has to tell him all about what he does. And besides, nothing disastrous happened because of him holding back that information about the truguts, right? Why was he getting so worked up then?
Qui-Gon will gladly admit that fighting the Zabrak oozing of the Dark Side has his nerves frayed. He has never felt such dark energies from anyone before and he has had his fair share of Dark Force Users.
But more of that later, his padawan needs him now. Speaking of which, he closes his eyes and wonders that he should not be making such a big deal over it. Obi-Wan is going for his Trials soon, if he has any say in it anyways, and therefore must learn to trust the Force. But if his Master keeps on investigating something which he does that was obviously the will of the Force, it would just lower Obi-Wan's self-esteem and paint himself as a hypocrite. After all, it has been quite many times that he has followed the will of the Force in the same way.
He opens his eyes, "I believe I owe you an apology Obi-Wan. I have been unnecessarily harsh on you. Your reasons are your own and I am glad you are following the Force's bidding even though you yourself do not know what it entirely encompasses."
A genuine smile plays on Obi-Wan's lips that reach his eyes and Qui-Gon gets the distinct feeling that it has been a very long time indeed that his Padawan has done so.
"All is already forgiven, my Master."
Then Qui-Gon smiles as well.
It seems suddenly that a large weight on his shoulders has lifted and along with it some of the darkness.
-x—x—x—
"Anakin, go to sleep. It has been a tiring day. And it will surely be one tomorrow."
"Yes, Mom." Anakin smiles softly when he sees his mother now much better with the blankets.
"Good night, Anakin."
"Good night, Mom."
They still had to talk about their newfound freedom and what it would mean for both of them but the day had simply been exhausting what with the pod race, being freed, fighting a Sith, and not to mention major emotional upheavals for him and they had never gotten enough time to talk.
Soon, his mom's force signature lulls into peaceful and calm indicating deep sleep. He waits for a few more minutes and then sits up casting the blanket aside.
He glances at his mom still sound asleep and puts his blanket on top of her as well tucking it in. After all, space was cold. And he did not want her catching a cold.
With a sigh, he again turns around and puts his head in his hands. After the flurry of events of the day and his time with Padme having quelled his anxiousness, it all returns with a vengeance and Anakin already knows he is not going to get any rest tonight.
He just has a lot on his plate to simply sleep. Meeting up with his close friends was more taxing than he thought. Seeing Padme is much easier than thinking about his Master. Comparatively speaking of course. The only reason he can bear being with his future wife is because over the years he has been so tuned to eliminate her from any thought or dream of his as Vader that it is almost second nature.
He knows it is not fair to Padme but he needs to do this lest he fears he will not remain sane for long.
Obi-Wan, however is another matter completely. Unlike Padme, he had focused his thoughts more and more on the Jedi Master, shoving down the feelings of warmth, and friendship warping it all through a veil of the Dark Side and concentrating on the emotions of never being good enough, betrayal, distrust, fear of his power, et cetera.
But embracing the light once again has lifted that veil and now he knows that all his negative emotions were unfounded.
Shmi turns around in her sleep grumbling something. Anakin believes it is best that he calms his tumultuous thoughts lest his mom should wake up.
He hops out of the bed and putting on his shoes deciding to go out for a walk. Yes, a few katas will tire his brain enough to not torture him with memories and hopefully be merciful enough to give him a restful night.
The only place big enough offering a bit of privacy will be the throne room. Seeing the time, he is assured that he will not be questioned regarding this late-night escapade. Besides, even if anyone does so, he will chalk it up to him being insomniac due to this unexpected freedom.
Destination in mind, Anakin hops out of the bed, puts on his shoes and determinedly strides towards the throne room.
He is about to palm the door open when he pauses. Inside, there is a very familiar presence.
-x—x—
Obi-Wan shifts restlessly once again in his sleep and finally decides it is enough. It is quite clear he will not be getting any sleep tonight. He really wished he could though, he has a feeling the coming days will be hectic.
Fully awake, he blinks at the darkened ceiling. He hears Qui-Gon's snores from beside him and smiles.
Oh, how I have missed you Master.
He wonders what he should do now. There is hardly anything to occupy his time with on this ship.
A thought strikes him that he can practice his katas for a while. Hopefully, it will tire him enough to get at least a few hours of decent sleep.
Deciding it to be the best course of action, he purposely moves towards the throne room. It is sound proof and will provide him with a bit of privacy.
The hallways are empty and silence prevails over the ship with the exception of the continuous thrum of engines.
The throne room definitely meets up to his expectations and quickly he discards his robe to stand in the middle of the room.
Instinctively, he falls into a Soresu stance. It has been so long, since I have done this…
He closes his eyes and delves into the familiar, warm presence at the back of his mind. Everything else is muted and there is only he with his lightsaber in his hand and the Force as his focus.
He inhales and exhales. His hand tightens his grip on the lightsaber.
A hiss is heard.
He starts.
The throne room is engulfed by a blue light of the lightsaber wielded by The Master of Soresu as he carries out the kata imprinted in his mind even after all these years.
Half an hour later, Obi-Wan reaches the same place from where he had started.
Slowly, he opens his eyes and an unbridled smile is on his lips.
It is further strengthened by the fact that he does not feel the pains in his body, signs of old age, that he had become accustomed to.
He concludes that after a five-minute break, he will resume his workout and this time use Ataru. After all, he still has a façade to maintain.
Once he had adopted Soresu and mastered it, people had eventually thought that he had forsaken Ataru. Well, they were mistaken. Obi-Wan still was very much proficient in that particular skill set. Afterall, no one just forgets something taught over and over for thirteen years.
That did not stop Anakin…
No! Don't think about him. Obi-Wan mentally scolds himself. He has come here to let go of some tension not get more of it. Besides, a lot of things did not stop Anakin, a boy who thought he was up and above the law.
Stop it! He practically hisses.
Back to his original line of thought, he agrees that his grip on Ataru has weakened as he did not practice that on Tatoonie. He preferred Soresu anyways.
With a much-needed rest over, he again assumes his position in the center of the room and begins his deadly mesmerizing dance all over again.
So focused on his kata was he, that he did not notice the presence of his former student standing outside the room.
-x—x—
Anakin contemplates for an eternity before deciding to face Obi-Wan than run back to his room. After what actually were five minutes, he slowly palms the door open and quietly steps inside…
…where he is greeted with the hypnotic blade-work of Obi-Wan. For a few seconds he simply watches as the colour blue shines over the entire place and through the Force Bond he can feel determination, relief and elation. Most of all, however, he can sense contentment. He notices the aerial flips and acrobatic moves and realizes with a start that this Obi-Wan does not know anything about Soresu sans the basics but instead prefers Ataru.
It was the death of his own Master, as Obi-Wan told him once, that had revealed to him the flaws of this acrobatic fighting style. But if Anakin saves Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan will never learn Soresu and the Order will lose one of its Masters.
Ah well, I will just suggest it to him sometime…
He really should leave. He will destroy this beautiful moment. Force knows, how many he has already.
He turns to leave.
But as history is witness, Obi-Wan really notices him at most inconvenient times.
"Anakin?"
He resists the urge to sigh and with a bravado he is severely lacking turns around to face the blue eyes of his once mentor.
Perhaps he is dreading this talk so much himself, that makes him oblivious to the dread showcased in Obi-Wan's eyes.
"Uh…hi."
Anakin can see uncertainty flash across Obi-Wan's face before settling into a resigned look which immediately smoothens out with a polite smile.
The lightsaber is extinguished and clipped to his belt but Anakin can see that his fingers linger just a little longer over the hilt.
He walks over and Anakin has to remind himself to remain calm.
"What are you doing up so late?"
He really should reply with his prepared response but instead he impulsively replies, "I could ask you the same thing."
There is a moment of awkward silence and Anakin reminds himself that they have not become friends yet and he should remain in the Jedi's good books.
He hears a sigh, "I could not sleep."
"Me neither."
"Do you have to repeat everything I say?" Obi-Wan asks with a raise of his eyebrow.
"Uh…"
"Nevermind. So why could you not sleep? Bad dreams?" The last part of the sentence was spoken softly in a whisper.
"Uh no, not really. It is just that the stuff that happened today is finally sinking in."
"I understand. It must be exciting and scary. Do not worry, however, we will let nothing happen to you or your mom."
"Thanks." He says genuinely, "What about you?"
"Ah, it is nothing you should be bothered with."
He ponders for a second whether he should push for an answer but decides in the contrary. Better not to push the limits.
After another less awkward silence, "Would you like to have some blue milk?"
"Yes, please."
"Alright, follow me."
Anakin walks with Obi-Wan with no small amount of trepidation. Does he really want to jeopardize this man's future by bonding with him? He shouldn't, not really. But Anakin will admit that he wishes to know this man again- share the friendship and be the recipient of his compassion and wry remarks.
Sooner than he would have liked they reach the kitchen. None of them had spoken a word throughout the brief walk. Anakin knew, from experience, that Obi-Wan may appear cold and distant to an outsider in the first instance. But to anyone who knew to look for his Master's true feelings at the moment would look in his eyes. There it was for the world to see— warmth for spending a quite evening in his quarters, compassion for a helpless being, annoyance at a politician's double meaning talks.
Anakin glances at Obi-Wan but all he can see is a curse of bearing the responsibility of the burdens of the world. Why? Did anything happen? Did he let some of his thoughts leak?
"Sit down and relax. I will just bring it around." Obi-Wan instructs almost stiffly as he heads over to boil some milk. Anakin flops down on one end of the couch warily watching Obi-Wan's moves.
"You can tell me about it, if you wish. It may help sort out your thoughts." Obi-Wan offers.
And Anakin admits, it is tempting. Confess everything that has happened and just share the burden with someone else. But, no he will not do that. He doesn't believe he can watch Obi-Wan's heart break and realize what kind of a monster was sitting in front of him in the guise of a nine-year-old.
"You were the Chosen One!"
Yeah, nope. He cannot relinquish his admittedly tentative control on his emotions, especially not in front of Obi-Wan.
So, he quashes the image of a heartbroken man standing on the banks of a river of lava and hopes that none of it leaked through.
"Anakin?" The voice is nearer now and concerned. And Anakin opens his eyes- blast! When had he closed them? – to see Obi-Wan hovering in front with a clear worry reflecting in his eyes.
"Uh yeah what happened?" He stammers.
"Nothing, you just didn't answer my questions."
"Oh. 'M sorry."
"No, don't be. You must be tired and sleep is finally catching on, I guess. Here, drink this and go to bed. It will relax you enough to sleep." With that, Obi-Wan places a glass of blue milk on the table in front and sits on the couch with one of his own in his hand.
"Thanks."
They both sip their drinks musing about their life and the person sitting next to them.
The night would have ended blissfully with no more strange reactions from the Force had Anakin not realized something.
He should have known the rest from the Force was too good to be true.
"Wait a minute, how did you know I like my blue milk like this?" Anakin suddenly demands sitting straighter on the couch, the glass of blue milk being half empty.
He watches as Obi-Wan freezes for a moment. "I…I don't know what you mean?" It comes out more like a question than an assured fact. Anakin knows something strange is going on here.
"This. This is exactly how I like my blue milk. Boiled to a certain stage and then with honey mixed with it. You even got the proportions right!"
"Uh…okay. I guess this is how I like mine as well."
No, you don't. Anakin knows that he doesn't. Obi-Wan adds less honey in it, than him and likes it cold rather than hot like his former padawan.
He wishes to say it but he controls his tongue. Instead he shoots back, "You guess?"
And then he remembers that he is supposed to act like a kid so adds with as much enthusiasm he can muster, "Wait, is this another thing that Jedi do?"
His master, frankly, looks like someone has given him a lifeline. "Well, not all Jedi, no but I believe it has something to do with the bond we are sharing?"
"Bond?"
"Yeah, the force bond. You know, the one that feels warm when you focus on it. I am sorry, Anakin, I brought you here to relax not heap on you more doubts and questions. I understand this must be all very confusing to you and I pro…I mean I will do my best to explain it to you but later. I am tired and I know for a fact that you are too. So, how about we continue our talk in the morning?"
"Yeah, sure." Anakin agrees. Besides, the blue milk did help him relax a bit. He gulped down the rest of the milk and watches as Obi-Wan washes them before escorting Anakin back to his room with a good night and assurance of explaining everything the next day.
Tbc..
Rilme Caatl: Thank you! Here was the conversation as promised. Qui-Gon needs to learn to let Obi-Wan go. Don't worry, we have all been there, haven't we?
Grammarosprey: Thanks for the advice! Was this one a bit better?
Star Wars and Skillet: Thank you! Hope you liked their talk! At first, I thought to end it but then I thought meh, where is the fun in that, right?
MMM73181: Did you like their thoughts? Obi-Wan again wiggled his way out of a serious conversation. He is a master at evasion, isn't he? And he wonders where Anakin learns it from…
scottusa1: Thank you! Hope you liked this one too! :)
Nightshade's sydneylover150: Oh boys indeed. Hope you liked this chapter.
RyuuShadow: :( Anakin suffers from feeling way too intense emotions. Hopefully, his stint as Darth Vader will remind him to atleast control them and not let them get better of him.
masterkenobi125: That's a pretty great compliment for a writer! Thank you so much!
IthilwenofIthilien: Thanks, feel free to ask anything. Was this one a bit better? I am sure you are a great writer. Thank you so much! Reading that it made your day made mine! :D
Banjo Player: I am afraid I have no idea how long the story will go on. I am writing it on the go actually. And though, I have a brief outline as to what will happen, sometimes stories take a life of their own. Hope you liked this chapter? I love time travel fics too! May the Force be with you.
Luna: Thanks! Here's the update.
dragonfox123: Thanks so much! Did you like the rest of the story?
Well, that's all folks! Am excited for college! Yay! See you guys later!
As always, please read and review!