Death's Choice

By Ammie Hawk

Disclaimer: …. Nope….

AN: So, this chapter kinda jumps around, but hopefully it works. Anyway, enjoy.

Chapter 16: Difficult Situations

Harry stared wide eyed as the speeder he was in with his dads and Mr. Kenobi, as well as several others identified as Jedi (he still wasn't sure what that was except that they were some sort of wizards) came to a stop outside a large building with five tall spires at the top. This was the Temple, where he would be learning to better control his magic. It was magnificent and very intimidating, and nothing like he was used to.

He had spent the last day or so on the ship with his dads and various uncles, as the rest of the vod'e were now insisting he call them. He had enjoyed it, especially getting to know the vod'e he hadn't met before. He would miss them, but all of them promised to keep in touch with him whenever they had the opportunity. And his dads promised to comm him every day if they could feasibly do so, what with the war starting and everything.

He kinda didn't really want to go to the Temple to learn, but he had been told by his dad, his Ba'buir, and even Fordo that having a weapon in his arsenal that he didn't know how to use could be even more dangerous than if he didn't have it at all. And since he couldn't exactly get rid of his magic, he had to learn to use it. He didn't have any other choice. And Mr. Kenobi had said the Jedi understood his magic and would be able to help, better than his family who didn't have it.

Besides, it wouldn't be forever, just until he was proficient with his magic. He had learned hand-to-hand and weapons proficiency enough to keep up with the older cadets in the six months he'd been in Tipoca City. This shouldn't take nearly that long. He hadn't known either of those things going in, but he already knew his magic, and he was pretty good at controlling it, so this wouldn't take long at all.

He exited the speeder just after his dads, and after a moment of indecision where he really wanted to be lifted into his daddy's arms and be carried, he reached out and took one of each of their hands. The three of them followed the procession of Jedi across the landing platform where many others were gathered to greet them. Mr. Kenobi and the unconscious man who had been in the med bay with him were ushered away by a few of the others almost immediately. Those that remained gathered around the returning Jedi and began speaking in low voices.

Rex and Kote came to a stop several feet away from the assembled group, allowing some semblance of privacy, before hunkering down so they were eye level with the boy.

"We'll miss you, Harry," Kote reached out and hugged him close. "I want you to be good. Do what you're told, and focus on your lessons."

"I will, dad," the little raven buried his face in the man's shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you, too," the Commander gave him a final squeeze before letting him go.

"Come here," when he was free, Rex pulled him into his own embrace.

He cradled his son to his chest, resting his forehead in the unruly nest of hair. He pressed his lips to Harry's temple, using all his willpower and training to keep the tears at bay.

"I'm scared, daddy," the boy whispered into his neck. "I don't want you to go."

"I know," the blond managed to keep his voice steady, but only just. "I don't want to go either."

"Then stay," he insisted. "Stay with me."

"I can't," Rex shook his head. "I don't belong here. This chance is for you. You get to go and learn to be a Jedi. And you know what?"

"What?"

"You're going to be the best Jedi, ever," his daddy replied confidently. "I know it."

"If you want me to be," he sniffed quietly.

"Harry," the man relaxed his hold and shifted so they could lock eyes, "I only want you to be happy and safe. I want you to do your best and accomplish anything you set your mind to."

"I will," he lurched forward and threw his arms around the blond's neck. "I'll do my best, I promise."

"I know you will," Rex placed a kiss to the top of his head. "And we'll come see you when we're on Coruscant."

They stayed like that for several minutes, neither one willing to be the first to let go. However, the clearing of Kote's throat brought them back to the present.

"The Jedi are coming over, Rex," the brunet warned quietly as he rose to his full height.

Rex's grip tightened for just a moment, before he released the boy and pushed to his feet. Both men turned, a hand placed on Harry's shoulders, and faced the two beings that were approaching. One was the dark skinned man who had been aboard the ship, and the other had three eyes and a strange snoutlike mouth. Harry tried hard not to stare at the new creature, but he had never seen anyone that looked like that before.

He wanted to ask "What are you?" but thought it would sound too rude, so instead he said, "Who are you?"

"I am Master Maks Leem," the voice was surprisingly feminine, "I will be helping you to settle into the Initiate dorms. And, of course, you already know Master Windu."

"No," he shook his head. "Where did Mr. Kenobi go?"

"Master Kenobi," the man answered, "was taken to the Halls of Healing, to be treated for his injuries."

"But Kix already fixed him," a frown marred the boy's features.

"Yes, well," Master Windu frowned, "it's not that I doubt the medic who has treated him so far, but with the extent of his injuries, he still needs to be seen to by our healers. Now, there are many things that need to be done to get you settled, and I'm sure the Commander and his husband have other obligations to attend to as well, so come along."

The Jedi extended his hand for him to take. Green eyes stared at it dubiously before a subtle nudge from his dad had him stepping forward and taking it. The two Masters turned and led him into the Temple. Before they disappeared into its depths, he looked back over his shoulder and caught one last glimpse of his dads, who were still standing where he had left them.

He was taken down many hallways and stairwells, with no hope of being able to find his way back without getting hopelessly lost. Maybe he could find a map. Or maybe he could make one, like the one he had of… of… that one place he wasn't going to try to remember right now. But he knew it would be helpful if he had something like that.

After quite a bit of walking, really this place was way too big, they came to a stop outside a set of large double doors. This place felt vastly different than the rest of the Temple they'd traveled through so far. The Temple was calm and peaceful, and quiet, unlike Tipoca City, which was focused and determined, and the vod'e were very loud in their emotions. But this place was different, it wasn't loud, it was still peaceful, but it was more… boisterous. He kinda liked it.

His guides pulled one of the doors open and ushered him inside. Upon entering several dozen sets of eyes turned to look at them. Oh, they were all kids. That made sense, kinda. Though, being the main focus of all that attention made him uncomfortable, and he shifted nervously on his feet, automatically reaching up and flattening his hair over his forehead.

From the back of the room, what looked to be an adult human male pushed to his feet. He was tall with short blond hair and blue eyes. And now that he had revealed himself, Harry noticed several other adults stationed throughout the room.

"Master Leem, Master Windu," the man bowed when he reached them, "to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit today?"

"We are here to see Master Ali-Alann," the female being said quietly.

"Ah," the blond frowned slightly. "Unfortunately, he isn't here at the moment. There was an… incident not long ago, and I'm afraid he had to take Initiate Pedro to the Halls of Healing. I can send him a message if it is truly urgent?"

"That won't be necessary," Windu shook his head. "We just came to drop off a new Initiate. I believe we can leave him in your capable hands."

"Of course, Master Windu," he inclined his head graciously. "I actually have room for him in Thranta Clan, and he would be more than welcome to join us."

"Very well then," the bald man nodded. "This is Initiate Harry. We will leave you to it."

Harry found himself unceremoniously pulled forward and transferred over to the new man. The three adults bowed to each other, before Masters Windu and Leems turned and left the room. He tilted his head back to look up at the blond. He was really tall, maybe even taller than his dads. The man seemed to realize he was rather imposing like that as he turned to face the little raven and dropped down to one knee before him, making the difference less pronounced.

"Hello, Harry," his voice radiated kindness, "I am Master Feemor. We're currently having free time, would you like to join us? I can introduce you to the others."

"Okay," the boy nodded, not that he really had a choice in the matter at this point.

He had made his choice to be here, now he had to deal with it. With that in mind, he took Feemor's hand and allowed himself to be led across the room.

888888

Kix shuffled through the med bay, restocking supplies that had just been brought on board, and maintaining a running inventory as he did. Jesse had been helping him as he'd just been released from confinement since the Jedi were no longer on board. It had also provided a conveniently necessary distraction for the both of them as Harry was off to join said Jedi at their mysterious Temple.

He had just sent the other off for second-meal and was about to head that way himself when Rex entered the med bay. Normally, he would've shuffled him along, but the blond looked so lost and dejected he wouldn't do that to him this time. Though, it did kind of surprise him that the other wasn't with Kote at this point. The two of them had just given up their son, and well, no one knew better than them what they were each going through.

With an inaudible sigh, the medic set about making caf for the two of them. He let the silence linger while he let the drink brew. When it was done, he poured them each a cup and handed one to Rex.

"So," he leaned against the counter and studied the other over the rim of his cup, "wanna talk about it? I can't even begin to understand what exactly you're going through, but you know I'm here for you. We all are."

The blond took a stuttering breath as he stared into his own cup, "He didn't want me to leave."

"Ouch," Kix flinched slightly. "But he did want to go, right? This was his choice?"

"Yeah," the other nodded. "Kote guaranteed that. Though, if he just said the word I would've brought him back here, the Jedi be damned."

"No one would've blamed you for that," the brunet shook his head. "But Harry's a good kid. No matter what they teach him there, he won't forget who his family is."

"I know."

Another round of silence followed, but it wasn't uncomfortable. Both men were just lost in their own thoughts.

"Kix," the blond finally deigned to break it, his gaze firmly fixed on the swirling contents of his cup.

"Hmm?" the medic hummed as he took a drink.

"Why would the Jedi think that Kote and I are married?"

And promptly choked on it. He banged his fist against his chest and coughed weakly, trying to clear his airway.

"What?"

"Both Kenobi and Windu called me Kote's husband," Rex frowned.

"You know what?" Kix cleared his throat. "You should ask Hawk."

The normally stoic, mild-mannered pilot would be less likely to shake the oblivious idiot in front of him, as he was highly tempted to do in that moment. The blond seemed to consider that for a moment before setting down his cup and pushing to his feet. And without another word, he was gone.

Kix stood there for several minutes before putting his own cup down and heading off to the mess. He loved his brother, he really did, but god could that man be any more dense. Anyone with eyes could see that there was something special between him and Kote. Except, apparently, the two of them. And add Harry into the picture? They just screamed loving, doting family. It would honestly make him sick, if he wasn't so jealous of it.

When he finally reached the mess, he bypassed the food entirely and made a beeline for a table where Jesse and Waxer were seated with several others. He sank down into the seat next to Jesse, which the other had obviously been saving for him, and let his head fall to the table with a soft thump.

"Hey Kix," he could tell Jesse was frowning even without raising his head, "what's wrong? I thought you were right behind me."

"Our brother is an idiot," he grumbled loudly enough for the other to hear.

"Okay, I know that already," Jesse agreed. "Which one?"

There were audible protests from many in the general vicinity. There was also the sound of scuffling next to him, as at least Waxer attempted to pull Jesse into a headlock.

"Rex," he said over the din, finally lifting his head.

"What did he do this time?" Jesse shoved Waxer off him. "Did he bring Harry back with him? Cause, honestly, that's not idiotic, that's good. Harry should be with us. He belongs with us."

"No," the medic rolled his eyes. "Harry chose to go, and we will all respect that. No, he asked me why the Jedi think he and Kote are married?"

"He didn't?" Waxer's mouth fell open in shock. "What did you even say?"

"I told him to talk to Hawk," Kix scoffed. "But I seriously just wanted to shake him."

"You know," Jesse shook his head, "Rex has a great head on his shoulders, but its so far up his ass I'm surprised he can see straight."

"Don't you mean Kote's ass?" the brother on Waxer's other side cut in.

"No," Waxer snorted. "If it was Kote's ass at least he'd have a clue."

"Wait," the other held up his hand, "are you saying they're not married? I mean," he backpedaled a bit, "I know they're not married, the longnecks would've bitched a fit. But they're not even together?"

"Nope," the three members of Gamma Squad said together.

"Whoa," he shook his head in disbelief. "I think my entire world view just went to shit."

"Don't worry about it too much," Wolffe came up behind them and clapped the other on the shoulder. "We've been trying to get Kote to make a move for years. Some have given up hope of it ever happening. But if you're interested, Ninety-Nine runs the books on a betting pool for it, among others."

888888

Harry lay awake in the bed he'd been given in the Initiate dorms. He couldn't sleep. He missed his dads so much. And he wasn't used to sleeping by himself. Yeah, there were other kids in the room with him, but he wasn't used to sleeping on his own. In the past six months, he'd always shared a bed with someone.

He stared at the ceiling for several minutes before quietly slipping out of bed. He tiptoed out of the room, past Master Feemor's door, and to the big doors that led out into the hall. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he wanted to find Mr. Kenobi. Maybe if he concentrated hard enough, he'd be able to feel him. It worked when he was with the vod'e, so he might as well try.

He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. He could feel everyone in the dorms, they were all asleep. There were several people walking the halls, more than he expected given the hour, but none of them were who he was looking for. After a bit, he finally found Mr. Kenobi. He was sleeping too, but that was okay.

With a destination in mind, he set off down the hallway. He kept to the shadows, moving as quietly as he could, and avoiding people as much as possible. He wished he could use the vents, but he didn't know them like he did in Tipoca City.

He wasn't sure how much time had passed when he finally reached his destination. The redhead was laying in a bed in a dimly lit room, with the same man who had been with him on the ship in another bed across from him. This must be the med bay. Well, Kix and Trainer Gilamar never had a problem with him being in the med bay, as long as he was quiet. And since he only planned to sleep, his being here should be fine.

He somehow managed not to wake the man as he carefully scrambled onto the bed. He curled up against the redhead, and slowly drifted off to sleep to the gentle rhythm of the other's heartbeat.


Ammie: So we finally get Harry's decision on why he chose to go to the Temple. Hopefully it clears up a few things. I'm still looking for suggestions for how these two idiots can get over themselves and get together. And also for Kote's death. Anyway, please let me know what you think.