Jedi Temple, Coruscant
"Obi-Wan, needed on Chardaan you are. Bring your men there, you must. Guarding the installation ceremony of new President Nooa against the Separatists, of great importance is."
"Yes, Master Yoda" Obi-Wan answered automatically, as it was often the case lately.
"Depart first thing tomorrow morning, your platoon will"
"Yes, Master" he replied, staring at a point on the wall in front of him.
"Anything else to say have you, Obi-Wan?"
"No, Master" his voice came out in a dull monotone.
When they left the High Council Chamber, Obi-Wan walked toward a window overlooking the gardens. He sighed. As much as the Jedi in him was ashamed to admit it, he was disappointed. He was supposed to be having dinner with the Duchess of Mandalore right now, and having missed this rare opportunity because of a brief Council communication stung.
Senate of the Republic, one hour earlier…
"I will leave Coruscant the day after tomorrow" Satine threw in. She sounded as solemn as usual, but Obi-Wan recognized a hint of suggestiveness in her voice, an undertone of desire which she'd almost successfully masked with her brisk, almost brusque, tone. She really had not changed.
He wanted to show her that her allusion had not gone unnoticed. He wanted to jump at this opportunity to be with her, perhaps in a bit less of a formal setting.
Instead, he kept his mouth shut.
The atmosphere between them cooled down from then on.
Satine and Obi-Wan exited the Chancellor's office walking in their usual upright, contained postures, almost as if by doing so they could be sheltered from their own feelings. They had talked quite a bit, yet it was as if they hadn't said anything at all, in a way. The contents of their hearts were largely left untapped.
They were surprised to find Padmé and Anakin waiting for them in the corridor. Apparently, whatever matter Senator Amidala had to discuss with Palpatine didn't require much time to be addressed. She welcomed them with one of her brightest smiles.
Obi-Wan unexplainably felt himself blush slightly. He avoided his old Padawan's gaze and waited a step behind Satine for Padmé to start speaking.
"Satine! I was wondering if you cared to join me and Senators Organa and Farr for dinner? They would be most pleased to discuss implementation of neutral policies with you" she exclaimed enthusiastically.
Satine smiled "Thank you, Padmé. I would be honored to"
Before they could start walking, however, Padmé nonchalantly addressed the two Jedi: "Generals, would you like to join us? An update on the situation on the front never hurts" her eyes flicked briefly at Anakin's direction before settling on Obi-Wan with pressing expectation. The latter panicked a bit, and was – unlike himself – at loss for words.
Anyway, he needed not despair, because Anakin was more than eager to answer in his place: "We would be delighted to, Senator! Wouldn't we, Obi-Wan?"
He nudged his Master, grinning mischievously. With the corner of his eye, Obi-Wan saw Satine amusedly raise an eyebrow at the young Jedi. It occurred to him right there and then why the situation felt so…awkward. It was just him with the Duchess and Anakin with his most favored Senator. It was absurd enough as it was without taking his responsibility as a Master into account.
He wavered briefly, wondering if he should simply decline, but then he considered the three pairs of eyes that were fixed on him. He didn't really want to spoil their mood. He guessed a few hours away from his duties wouldn't hurt…would they? Moreover there was something else, a warm feeling of anticipation, paving its way to his heart.
"We sure would, Senator." He said, careful to articulate his words so that he would sound as emotionally detached as possible. As they started moving along the corridor, Obi-Wan thought he noticed Satine's expression soften, if ever so imperceptibly. On the other hand, much to his dismay, Anakin wasn't going great lengths to conceal his enthusiasm, nor was, in her way, Senator Amidala, who kept exchanging knowing looks with him as interludes to her skillful, ambience-creating small-talk.
They reached the Senate entrance, where Bail Organa and Onaconda Farr were waiting for them. Obi-Wan was just beginning to feel at ease with this whole impromptu dinner idea when his comm-link beeped.
"Senators, Duchess, please excuse me" he took a few steps back to answer, not missing Anakin's reaction of puffing his cheeks in annoyance. It was Master Windu, an air of entitled urgency in his voice: "Kenobi, the Council wants to see you now."
Obi-Wan sighed, inwardly mortified, but incapable of objecting. A Jedi had to always be on call. Much to Anakin's chagrin, he excused himself, and rushed back to the Temple, hoping that the shadow of sadness in Satine's eyes was just a fruit of his imagination.
Jedi Temple, Coruscant
"Through the window, Obi-Wan concentrated on the calm, rhythmical sound of water gushing out of the garden's fountains.
At sunrise the next day, he would be gone, claimed by a war that was draining the life out of him. He would be gone without a chance to bid her farewell properly. He didn't know when and if he would get to see her again. Sure, with their newly established "friendship", he was confident they would correspond from time to time, in between a mission on a far-fetched planet and a parliamentary session; but if he wanted to be true to himself, he wasn't sure that would ever be enough.
Obi-Wan clenched his jaw, his emotions spiraling out of control. He was confused, irritated, melancholic…all things inappropriate for a Jedi of his rank. He had never suspected having Satine back in his life would throw him in such a state of turmoil, shaking to the core the pillars his life was built on. For once, he wished he could be like Anakin – instinctual, unafraid of the consequences brought by rash actions…no. Stop – he imposed himself. He couldn't afford giving way to his feelings. It wouldn't be acceptable. He tugged his beard, his heart heavy.
All at once, Padawan Ahsoka peeked out from behind a corner. She was supposed to be finishing a very boring written assignment, but despite being perfectly able to execute the task herself, she didn't want to do it alone. Upon noticing Master Kenobi, she suddenly got an idea.
"Master!" she exclaimed with emphasis, jerking Obi-Wan out of his thoughts. Quickly, the Jedi Master erected walls around his mind, so that she wouldn't be exposed to his "shameful" thoughts.
Before he could speak, she dragged her feet with painstaking indolence at his direction, swinging the holo-pad in her hand. "Master Obi-Wan, help me, you're my only hope" she whined. Ahsoka knew all too well how to get what she wanted from Obi-Wan. She had him wrapped around her little finger, all thanks to her own Master, the one and only Skyguy.
"Ahsoka, what's the matter?" he inquired.
"Master, you see, I tried, I swear I did, I tried very hard, but I just can't finish this assignment without any help!" she directed her huge, pleading eyes at him.
"Let me see…" Obi-Wan inspected her homework. "Well, Ahsoka, all you need to do is remember this one rule…" and he explained her the procedure.
"Oh, I see Master! Now it is all clear…Anakin didn't explain it to me! He said I had to figure it out myself" she innocently added.
As she had fully expected, Obi-Wan's back stiffened at her words. She could tell he was refraining from saying what was on his mind, for the sake of Anakin's credibility, but she was sure he would later exchange a few words with his former Padawan about his "questionable teaching methods".
"I…understand."
Ahsoka was having the time of her life watching the tips of his ears turn red.
"Let me help you sketch it out, Ahsoka" he finally said solemnly.
Jackpot – Ahsoka thought.
"Are you sure Master? I really don't want to be a hassle"
Obi-Wan shook his head, secretly relieved to have found a distraction from the wrecked prison of his mind "No, no, you're not. Let's get going"
While chatting on the way to the library, Ahsoka couldn't contain her curiosity. "How come aren't you at dinner, then?"
"The Council needed to assign me a new mission. As a matter of fact Anakin is more than capable of handling the Senators and…" the Jedi Master paused shortly "…the Mandalorian delegation by himself"
Interesting. Obi-Wan seemed uncomfortable to touch the subject. Ahsoka was definitely intrigued.
Skysitter Restaurant, Senate District, Coruscant
Satine was pleased. What the Republic had lacked in diplomacy during the past grueling days had been more than made up for by people of high caliber like Padmé and her trusted colleagues. A trip that Satine had considered to be an alarm bell for the overall state of democracy in the galaxy, brought her a glimmer of hope as it drew to a close.
Allowing herself a moment to drift away from the conversation, she took in her surroundings. The clatter of silverware was the background sound to a stunning view of the glistening outline of Coruscant's night.
Her eyes moved from the skyline on to her commensals. Padmé and Senator Organa were two undeniably committed public servants of exceptional bravery. Senator Farr had left her with an overall good impression but with the neat feeling that he was attempting to manage the greater-than-him after-effects of a situation he had contributed creating. And then there was Anakin, Obi-Wan's apprentice. As much as he tried to conceal it, she could tell he was extremely comfortable around Padmé. The two clearly shared a tacit complicity, she could tell from the way they seemed to know what was on the other's mind, an impression that stemmed more out of the unsaid parts of their conversations than on the explicitly voiced ones, as well as on the aura of familiarity surrounding their interactions. Like Master, like Padawan, she couldn't help thinking. For the whole duration of the dinner, she had imposed herself to stay focused and keep Kenobi out of her mind, but now that the formal conversation topics had shifted to more leisurely ones she caught herself thinking about him more and more. She had never expected having him back in her life would hit her so hard. She had duties, as did he. They couldn't have the luxury of indulging on their raw feelings, provided that those feelings still existed on his part. Although she would never admit it to herself, in a tiny corner of her being, the icy, self-sufficient Duchess of Mandalore was afraid of finding out if it was still the case.
A few well-instructed Aleena waiters served the last course to the table. As it was typical of a restaurant of such high class, the dishes constituted of small portions with few, skillfully combined fine ingredients.
Satine raised her eyes to see Anakin staring at her. She wasn't expecting it, but surprisingly for her, she found him slightly endearing. Obi-Wan had fleetingly mentioned to her how he'd been a handful during his adolescent years, and given his apparent predilection for aggressive confrontation she should've rather despised him. But she couldn't. He looked youthful, as in both youthfully enthusiastic and fragile; he was the picture of a boy who had had to grow into a man way too quickly. Just like she'd had to in her time, as a newly elected Duchess. Under his apparent maturity, she saw his eagerness to please. Under his hardened shell, she saw his insecurities. And then there was this unmistakable sense of relatedness to the only man she had ever truly…well.
She smiled at him, hoping she hadn't let too much of her thoughts transpire, aware of his Jedi sensitivity. He looked like he was about to say something, but hesitated maybe for a moment too long. She was under the impression that he quite liked her, though as to why, she momentarily opted not to know.
As if on queue, Padmé spoke, preventing the situation from stalling: "Satine, if it is good by you, we could meet at my office tomorrow, to meet with the other Senators. What do you think?"
Satine pondered on the to-do shortly. Tomorrow was supposed to be her "free" day, a day she had envisioned spending away from anything work-related. A day she had hoped she could – even partially – share with her old Jedi acquaintance.
However, the General wouldn't be there tomorrow. He would be off to the front, as Skywalker had not delayed reporting as soon as he'd gotten the message from him. How naïve of her to even toy with the idea that they could spend some time together. Thinking about it, she wasn't even sure that was what she really wanted. No, this "dwelling in the past" had lasted even too long for her liking. She would never dare questioning what had happened between them years before, but the here and now was different. It had to be. She was a woman sworn to her cause. He was a man sworn to his. The only thing they had in common now was this stubborn, heart-and-soul dedication to their duties. End of the story.
No. She would be true to her character.
"Of course, Padmé" she tried to sound cheerful, though she suspected she failed achieving so. Anakin gazed into her eyes briefly, then barely containing his excited smirk, he said: "How much longer are you going to stay on Coruscant, Your Grace?"
"I will leave the day after tomorrow, in the morning. Mandalore's politics can never be left to themselves for too long" she sighed, thinking about all the trouble that awaited her home.
Anakin lowered his eyes with a hint of disappointment "I understand it must be very demanding. As Jedi, our Code imposes that we continually sacrifice ourselves for the common good. But for rulers like you, to make the same sort of sacrifices without an oath to respect is truly remarkable…"
"Don't we all try our best, General Skywalker?" she questioned jauntily.
Her response fueled even more Anakin's enthusiasm: "Well, I don't believe I'm equipped to answer on behalf of everyone, but I can speak for myself: as Master Obi-Wan puts it, there is always room for improvement!" He subtly (or so he thought) scanned Satine's expression for any reaction at his Master's mention.
Quite invested in his little game, he addressed Padmé: "Speaking of whom, it is a pity that he couldn't join us. He could really use some distraction, for once in his life." He turned his head, smiling widely at Satine, a glint of malice in his eyes. The Duchess raised an eyebrow at him, a corner of her mouth curling upwards almost imperceptibly. What a young rascal. She was curious to see how much further he would push the envelope.
Anakin was on a roll: "When he's not on the battlefield, he's busy at the Temple…he never unplugs. To everyone, he's this tireless superhuman…" he leaned a bit toward Satine, speaking with a lowered, confidential voice "…but then I'm the one left to deal with his nerves" he winked.
Satine was unable to contain a smirk. Who would've guessed. Skywalker was acting as her accomplice. They shared a long look. She had met the young Jedi mere days earlier, but in a way, it felt like they'd known each other forever. At the root of their mutual appreciation was the special place they occupied in Obi-Wan's heart. She was secretly glad that the man appeared to have developed such a close bond with his former apprentice. It didn't matter how much he ranted about the Code's stance on "attachments", no human deserved to be completely alone. She knew he was no different.
The Duchess' quarters, Coruscant
A few hours later, Satine was undressing in her private chamber. Her window was slightly open, letting in the fresh fragrance of crocus and lemon, brought by the occasional gushes of wind, straight from the plants on her balcony. Although the city lights prevented her from admiring the starry sky, she could still let the sparkly view of Coruscant lull her to sleep, almost as if a part of the universe had descended on the planet surface. In the distance, she suddenly saw the Jedi Temple. At that, all the thoughts that she'd desperately tried to keep out of her mind came flooding back at her. Sighing, she realized that this was going to be the last time for a long while – in the best case scenario, that is – that she would sleep so close to him. She wondered where his room was, if he – like her – was still awake; if he was stoic and serene, or – as young Skywalker had bluntly put – tormented and burdened. She guessed he probably was a mix of the two states of mind
For once, she wished their situations were different, but obviously the galaxy did not belong to them. This train of thought was dangerous, for it could open the door to regret, something she'd rather live without, but for some reason, she found she couldn't just shut Obi-Wan out. Not tonight. He was her last thought before falling asleep.