"They're very quiet," Beru said softly. Whether by experience or instinct she cradled Leia perfectly, held so firmly the baby couldn't hardly move. In comparison with Owen's wary reticence she had looked on the little ones with nothing less than joy. Obi-Wan contrasted it with Yoda's disappointment, the Jedi view that would hold the fathering of children as a failure, and thought this sun-burnt young woman was more right.
"Are you..." Owen trailed off, but looked stubborn.
"What, playing around in their heads?" Obi-Wan interpreted, and Owen firmed his jaw and nodded. "No. No I'm not." Luke was peering blearily towards his guardian, and Obi-Wan bent down close enough for the blue eyes to focus on his face. His cheeks still felt naked without the beard he had worn for years, but the fumbling impact of the soft little hand on his cheek made him smile. "The Force is with me, and it gives me several advantages most caregivers would lack-I can soothe them with my mind, send comfort, and I can sense their needs with more precision than I would otherwise."
Beru made a pleased sound. "It doesn't seem fair, really! If word got out you'd have parents the galaxy over clamoring at that temple of yours to be trained." The mention of the Temple sobered them, and Obi-Wan had to work to keep his emotions shielded so as not to distress the twins.
"How much danger are you bringing here, really?"
"Owen," Beru chided, but he shook his head, not unkindly but with no backing down.
"I'm not saying I'll turn you out- they're Shmi's grandchildren, that means something. But if they really are going around exterminating you Jedi, how do you know you'll be safe here?"
"Tatooine is controlled by the Hutts," Obi-Wan said. "Palpatine will have enough trouble bringing what once was the Republic to heel without stretching out to the Rim here. And I'm not entirely without resources- I was brought here using no official transport or funds, and the equipping of our new home was handled by an intermediary with...shall we say, experience avoiding the law."
"And he...and Vader won't know about these sources?"
Obi-Wan smiled, a little wry and a little sad. "I only introduced Anakin to a few of the contacts I knew through my Master. I was afraid they would be...bad influences."
Beru gave a strangled little yip of a laugh that she tried to muffle in her shoulder...and then they were all laughing, strained and a little hysterical but real, as the babies started and boggled at the strange sounds the giants around them made. They've never heard anyone laugh before, Obi-Wan thought, and choked down his mirth before it could change to something else.
"What name you gonna go by?" Owen asked once they'd recovered. Obi-Wan blinked at him, and the young farmer rolled his eyes. "Even out here we've heard of Kenobi and Skywalker."
"Ah." Luke was starting to get restless, and he shifted the child to a position against his shoulder. "...Jinn," he said finally. "Ben Jinn."
"Not Tatooinan, but it'll do," Owen said.