Part XVIII

It took a bit longer to calm his temper than he would have liked. Anakin was lashing out just as he always had—hoping to inspire some type of reaction from those around him. In the past, Obi-Wan had always been able to ignore Anakin's cries for attention. Incidents that would have Mace ranting about Anakin's seemingly countless failures as a Jedi had barely registered to Obi-Wan. He wasn't sure if it was lack of practice or newfound wellsprings of surliness in Anakin's personality, but Obi-Wan knew that it couldn't continue. For Luke's sake, one of them had to remain calm if their shaky detente was to stand any chance of surviving.

Confident as he was that Anakin wouldn't try to spirit Luke away, Obi-Wan still chose not to wander far from the cabin. They were close enough to both the Water Moon and the Emperor's massive satellite that it was entirely possible for Sidious' men could find them. And since Obi-Wan himself was the only one with an actual weapon, he wanted to remain close to Luke at all times.

There was a brief flare of anger on the very edge of his consciousness and Obi-Wan was startled to realize that Luke was the source of it. The upset faded nearly as suddenly as it had appeared, but it was still wholly unexpected. Obi-Wan couldn't recall a single incident where Luke had manifested true anger. He'd thrown plenty of tantrums when he was very young, but those usually had far more to do with annoyance and frustration than actual anger.

"You truly are your father's son," Obi-Wan mused as he stepped over a fallen log.

Anakin had never held much patience for fools either.

The moment the thought crossed his mind Obi-Wan silently apologized for it. If there was any chance of breaking the stranglehold the darkness still had on Anakin, he would have to steer clear of such thoughts.

Night was setting in far quicker than Obi-Wan had expected, so he somewhat reluctantly headed back to the cabin. He would have preferred a tavern and a few strong drinks, but Luke needed his supper and he doubted that Anakin's less than stellar cooking skills had improved at all over the past few years.

As he followed the path back to the cabin, Obi-Wan allowed Endor's tranquil atmosphere to seep into his mind. The soft rustle of wind through the leaves and the chattering of birds were quite soothing when combined with his own steady footsteps. There was a tribe of Ewoks a few clicks to the north and their peaceful presence in the Force helped to further balance Obi-Wan slightly fractured nerves.

The cabin was quiet as he approached, something that Obi-Wan had not expected. There were lights visible throughout the cabin casting a cheery glow in the midst of the ever-darkening forest. The calm radiating from inside was slightly worrying, but then he'd been accused by many people of being a pessimist over the years.

Obi-Wan had barely set foot in the cabin when he was brought up short. Sitting on the table in the center of the common room was a small teapot with steam curling lazily from the spout. A single mug sat next to it along with a sugar bowl.

It was an apology that he hadn't been expecting.

A child's displeasure was a truly daunting thing. Even without Luke there in the room with him, there was no mistaking the little boy's anger. And while he wanted to appease his son, Anakin wasn't prepared to admit to any wrongdoing in his last confrontation with Obi-Wan. Anakin merely didn't want to alienate Luke.

Tea was the best option he could think of that would placate both Obi-Wan and Luke. Obi-Wan had always had a fondness for tea that bordered on obsessive. Anakin had learned very quickly how to prepare tea just to his master's liking when he'd first arrived on Coruscant. In the ensuing years, Anakin had made countless pots of tea in hopes of easing the older man's displeasure for whatever ill-advised antic he'd taken part in.

Leaving the teapot on the center table, Anakin retreated to the back of the cabin. He had no desire to see Obi-Wan's reaction to his peace offering and he'd noticed that one of the servos in his left wrist was slightly out of sync. Repairing it wouldn't take long, but it offered at least a temporary distraction. Loathe as he was to admit it, staying hidden away on the Forest Moon was their best option while they waited to find out the reaction to the Emperor's death. With luck, Sidious' death would draw Yoda out of hiding and he could exact his revenge on the ancient Jedi master.

By the time he heard Obi-Wan return to the cabin, Anakin had several of the larger gears out and was busy recalibrating the troublesome servo. There was no acknowledgement of the tea left waiting for him, but even from the back bedroom Anakin could feel a slight lessening of the tension that had been swirling around Obi-Wan for most of the day.

"Daddy's making cheesy noodles. Wha'cha doin'?"

Apparently his leaving the tea out had been enough to make amends with Luke. Anakin offered his son a tight smile, the bulk of his attention focused on the finicky gears in his left wrist.

"I'm realigning some of the components in my wrist," Anakin explained, carefully adjusting the sonic screwdriver he was using. Placing it next to him on the bed, Anakin gestured for Luke to come into the room. "Can you hand me that sensor from the end of the bed?"

Luke eagerly jumped to help, nearly tripping over his feet in his haste to grab the sensor. It was a struggle for Anakin to keep the smile from his face as Luke eagerly began chattering away, asking question after question about what he was doing. Anakin explained things as best he could, keeping the less technical information out of it since Luke was far too young to understand it all.

The only problem was the frequency that Luke brought Obi-Wan into the conversation. Nearly everything that he did was compared to things that Luke had seen Obi-Wan do over the years. Anakin knew that he shouldn't hold such things against the little boy, but it was difficult not to feel slighted. Soon enough it would be over, though. Anakin would take Luke far away from Obi-Wan and his son would begin to forget the traitor who'd stolen him. Luke was his son and Anakin meant to ensure that fact wasn't in doubt.

"Can you go swimming?"

The question caught Anakin off guard and he struggled for a moment to even think of a response.

"I took my robot swimming once and it got all smoky and sparky next time I turned it on," Luke continued without waiting for Anakin's response. "Daddy had to fix it. Only it wouldn't walk in straight lines anymore."

"I can go swimming," Anakin assured him, glad to hear that Obi-Wan apparently wasn't all-powerful by Luke's reckoning.

Luke seemed satisfied with his answer. He hopped off the bed and went running back into the main part of the cabin. Judging by the smell wafting into the bedroom, Obi-Wan was nearly finished with dinner. Given Luke's earlier excitement over Obi-Wan's promise to make cheesy noodles, the boy obviously had a deep love for the food. Anakin couldn't help remembering how much of a treat Obi-Wan's cheesy noodles had been when he was a padawan. They were something so unlike everything else the Jedi Temple served in its cafeteria and Obi-Wan had made them so rarely that he'd felt special whenever they were on offer. Which was likely the reason Obi-Wan had chosen to make them then.

Anakin looked up from his work when he heard Luke's quick footsteps hurrying back towards the bedroom. "Papa, supper's ready!"

The little boy didn't stop before turning and bolting back in the other direction. Anakin had little choice but to follow even though his work on his arm wasn't completely finished. It only took a few moments to get the limb functional enough to survive dinner then he left his quiet sanctuary for the uncertainty of the cabin's common areas.

Whether his truce with the older man would survive the meal remained to be seen.

Supper was as strained as Obi-Wan had expected. While there was no longer any outright animosity, it was hardly a relaxed meal. Even Luke seemed effected by it, only picking at his food instead of devouring it like he normally did. Obi-Wan did what he could to distract Luke, telling him about the river that ran not far from the cabin and promising to take him the next day. That seemed to brighten Luke's mood up somewhat, but it was still obvious that he was upset about the tension between him and Anakin.

"I'm going to go check the Holonet transmissions on the starfighter," Obi-Wan announced as he cleared his plate from the table. As he crossed behind Luke's chair, he ruffled the boy's hair. "You, young man, need to get ready for bed."

"But we just had dinner," Luke protested, twisting his head about so he could see Obi-Wan. "Bedtime's not till a long time after supper."

"Normally, yes, but we ate supper late today."

Even with his back to the little boy, Obi-Wan could feel him scowling from across the room. Luke didn't protest, though. There was some discontented grumbling, but he continued to eat his dinner.

"He'll try and talk you out of it, but make sure that he bathes," Obi-Wan advised Anakin, his lips curving into a grin at Luke's slightly outraged squawk.

Anakin seemed to hesitate for a moment, his mouth working as he tried to figure out just what to say. "You'll tell me what the transmissions say? No matter what they say?"

"I'll download a copy onto one of the ship's holochips for you to read yourself," Obi-Wan assured him.

That appeared to satisfy Anakin. He kept a wary eye on him, but the bulk of Anakin's attention was on Luke. The little boy had already forgotten about him imminent bedtime and was cheerfully telling Anakin about his favourite seaside activities.

Obi-Wan kept his senses on high alert as he made his way through the darkness towards the stolen starfighter. While the moon itself had no dominant predator, Obi-Wan couldn't be sure that no one had followed them from the Death Star. He'd done his best to inquire unobtrusively in town about any news from the greater galaxy, but as of that morning news of the Emperor's death hadn't reached the Forest Moon. The only worthwhile information Obi-Wan had been able to obtain was the location of the nearby river.

The night before Obi-Wan had landed the stolen starfighter in a small clearing a few hundred yards from the cabin. He followed the same path that he had with both Luke and Anakin, his awareness tuned outwards. There were only a few small mammals that he could sense at the moment, hardly anything to worry about. Still, Obi-Wan kept his pace brisk, so that he wouldn't be left exposed for too long.

Once in the starfighter, Obi-Wan began scanning the Holonet for any information he could find on Sidious' death. He scanned both Empire and Rebel channels, but could find no mention whatsoever of the Emperor's death or Vader's defection. Not even the slightest hint.

"Most troubling," Obi-Wan murmured, lifting his right hand to stroke his jaw. He was more certain than ever that he should contact Yoda, but didn't want to risk it. Not with Anakin and Luke so close and vulnerable to either side. Well-intentioned as he was sure that Yoda would be, Anakin was in no frame of mind to cope with such a confrontation. Obi-Wan wasn't sure when he ever would be.

True to his word, Obi-Wan uploaded any information that would be of interest to Anakin onto an empty holochip. In a fit of nostalgia, he also included the latest pod racing standings.

Obi-Wan checked the Holonet recordings a second time just to be certain before returning to the cabin. Luke's slightly fuzzy presence on the edge of his awareness was a quick indication that Anakin had managed to coax the little boy into bed. From Anakin himself, Obi-Wan wasn't sure what to make of the swirl of emotions he could feel twisting about the younger man. He peered through one of the cabin's open windows, hoping that actually seeing Anakin would help clear up the confusion. Anakin was seated on the sofa in the common room, listening to the recording on the holopad Luke had found that afternoon. Obi-Wan heard less than a sentence before the younger man quickly turned it off, but it was enough.

... always Kenobi and Skywalker together.

The emotion that he felt from Anakin then wasn't quite fondness, but then it wasn't anger either. It was a start, or so he hoped.