Everything about the Jedi Temple is new. The whole building is always clean and void of even the smallest particles of sand. Carpets and rugs cover the long halls and dim lights give the whole building a warm but empty feeling, especially at night. The Jedi are quiet and they don't sneer or yell at each other.
Some things are the same, like the tan clothes and the variety of species living among the Jedi, but it's not enough to make Anakin feel at home. More often than not, the boy sits on the floor of his quarters and tries to imagine he's on Tatooine. It's difficult without twin suns burning away his skin with every passing second, or the grinding feeling of sand embedding itself into every nook and crevice in his skin. He imagines he's in his old room with droid parts scattered everywhere -something he usually doesn't have to pretend is there, given his continued habit of making messes- but it's never enough to make the homesickness leave.
After all, Tatooine isn't his home. It's his mother.
Once Anakin was finally allowed to take classes with the other padawan, he realized they talk differently too. Most of the children have a Coruscanti accent and they say big words, like 'furthermore' or 'encyclopedia'. Not even the short haircut Obi-Wan gave him is consistent in all padawan in his class. Some were allowed to keep their long hair while others don't have hair at all!
Yes, the Jedi are very different from Anakin and he's not the only one to notice.
He hits alone in the temple's cafeteria every day. At first, Anakin tries sitting with the other padawan, in hopes they might share a comment interest or at least be friendly. More often than not, he ended up ignored or asked strange questions about his accent or the words he used. One even tattled on him for saying a bad word, which he didn't think was very bad at all!
Now, Anakin eats alone. It's not too bad, really. He gets time to think through his next droid project or his word from class -if he's really bored. Sure, he'd rather sit with his friends and chat with them about whatever new discovery they've found; but Kitster isn't here and he's not friends with anyone else in the cafeteria. So, he'll just stay like this. Alone.
A tray lands on the table beside him and Anakin jumps as a blue Twi'lek sits to his right. She's older, likely a full teenager. Her lekku are wrapped in dark leather, like most Twi'lek slaves would. She has a long strand of beads hanging from between the two head-tails, symbolizing her braid.
She waves. "Hey. I'm Aayla Secure. Who're you?" She offers a hand to him that he stares at silently. "What, can't you talk?"
"Yeah." Anakin pouts. "I can talk fine." Obi-Wan's voice echoes in his mind, reminding him that Jedi should swallow their frustration and treat everyone kindly, no matter who they are. "...My name's Anakin." He adds on, trying to sound genuine but failing but a few degrees.
The Twi'lek doesn't seem to mind. "Nice to meet you." She then immediately starts eating.
Anakin watches her for a long while. She's very close to him. Too much for comfort. He doesn't like how she looks around as she eats, her arms lying in her lap instead of on the table like his. Everything about it screams 'wrong' to him but he isn't sure why.
Not until she leans closer, her eyes trained on his food. "Woah, you got in when they still had desserts! Can I have some?!" On instinct, Anakin pulls his tray away and snarls at her. It gets her to sit back again. "You could've just said no! No need to be rude about it!"
They sit in silence again as Anakin turns away to eat. He shoves spoonfuls of his foot into his mouth, barely waiting to swallow before consuming more. He feels a hand lightly touch his shoulder and he quickly swallows what he can to clear his mouth.
"Hey, hey! Slow down or you'll-"
An inch too close and Anakin bites the girl's arm. She jolts away, nearly falling off of the bench as she screams from either shock or pain. Or both, telling from the deep marks on her wrist.
"You bit me!" She gasps, backing away from him. Others have started to watch now, all with equally shocked expressions.
Anakin hisses at her, like he's seen the Togruta on Tatooine do. It's less intimidating without the added fangs, but it's enough to make her run for the hall.
Once again, Anakin scarfs down his lunch until there's nothing left to take. Then, as his mind finally allows him to think past the overwhelming urge to protect what's his, shame takes its place.
His master is going to be so mad.
Obi-Wan lets out what feels like the hundredth sigh this week.
"I'm really sorry, Master."
To the boy's credit, Anakin does look sorry. In fact, he looks seconds away from bursting into tears. It's so much more difficult to scold him for these behaviors when he already knows they're wrong, but they keep popping up. First, his teachers inform Obi-Wan that he's been unfocused in class. Then, a temple guard returns his struggling padawan late at night, informing him that the child was walking among the halls without supervision.
If Qui-Gon had known this task would be so difficult, would he still have placed it on Obi-Wan's shoulders?
"I know, Anakin. I'm not angry with you." The boy's frown doesn't leave, but it trembles less. "But you must know that biting others is never acceptable. In no situation will this be allowed, am I clear?"
"Yes, Sir." Anakin nods quickly.
"Good." Obi-Wan leaves the couch to start a kettle. He'll need something to calm his nerves for this. "Aayla's master has been in contact with me and we've agreed to sort the matter out over dinner tonight."
Any relief on Anakin's face instantly disappears. "What?! But, Master-"
"No 'buts', Anakin. You will apologize to Miss Secura and break the habit before it happens again. Am I understood, Padawan?"
A series of expressions cross Anakin's face, but he ends it with a begrudging nod. "Yes, Master." The boy pouts, his little arms crossed over his chest. It's a blatant show of disrespect but Obi-Wan won't fight that battle.
Once the day turns to evening and the time comes for dinner to be prepared, Obi-Wan worries how the meeting will go. He knows Quinlan will forgive easily, but there's no telling how the Jedi may treat the situation. There's also the concern that Padawan Aayla doesn't forgive Anakin and the night ends with more frustration than before.
All the same, it's a necessary evil that Obi-Wan will -hopefully- have Quinlan's backup on. And besides, if everything goes as it should, then perhaps Anakin will finally have a friend.
When the knock on the door sounds, Obi-Wan is quick to answer, despite the looks Anakin gives him. Quinlan smiles broadly as he and his padawan enter. "Obi-Wan! Thank you for having us over." He steps in as if this were his own quarters. "It sure smells good."
"Thank you for the invitation, Master Kenobi." Aayla bows deeply, her face usually blank as she too enters. She hides her bandaged wrist from view, keeping it just within her robes.
"You're very welcome." Obi-Wan catches Quinlan's silent beckon from the kitchen. "Anakin, will you finish setting up the table?" He leaves his padawan to join Quinlan.
Once they're out of earshot of their learners, Quinlan pulls out a bottle of Corellian wine.
Obi-Wan eyes him skeptically. "Do you really think it will be that bad?"
The other Jedi shrugs. "What, can't I share a drink with my friend?" When Obi-Wan's expression doesn't change, Quinlan leans close to whisper to him. "Aayla's been plotting something. Can't tell what just yet, but I figured this may be smooth things over. For us, at least."
Oh, this should be fun.
"All done, Master!" Anakin calls and the two of them move over to the table, the wine hidden for now. Obi-Wan and Quinlan sit beside their own padawan, ensuring that Anakin can't physically bite anyone this time. From there, Obi-Wan goes about serving his guests.
Quinlan is quick to start up a conversation, unsurprisingly. "So, Young Skywalker," Anakin is slow to respond, but he eventually looks up. "How have your first few months been? It's not every day someone so old joints the Order."
It wouldn't be Obi-Wan's first choice of topic, or even his fifth, but he lets the conversation go on uninterrupted.
Anakin shrugs and pokes at his food with a fork. "Fine."
"Just fine? Nothing else?"
"It's fine."
The conversation ends.
Obi-Wan makes an attempt this time. "I heard you've just returned from a mission. Where were you sent to?" Being so freshly knighted, Obi-Wan hasn't had the chance to go on any of his own missions just yet and it most likely won't happen for a few years, given his padawan.
Aayla is too caught up in her staring match with Anakin to answer. Quinlan does it for her. "Yes, we did! Apparently, the Bakura System's sun went supernova and we were sent in to evacuate everyone before it hit."
Anakin's eyes light up. "Woah! That sounds wizard!" The boy smiles up at Quinlan. "Was it super dangerous?!"
"You bet." Quinlan winks. "Just a few days later and we would've blown up with the planet. Thankfully, my Padawan and I were able to handle it without issue-"
Suddenly, Aayla shoots her hand out across the table and snatches up a pear from the center bowl. A chain reaction follows of Anakin pulling his plate away so quickly that his food slips off and falls into his lap, making him gasp and bump the table as he tries to rescue it, which then tips his cup of water over. Obi-Wan stands to grab a cloth but his padawan is already glaring at Aayla.
"You did that on purpose!" He shouts.
"I just wanted a pear!" She defends, holding up said pear more smugly than she should.
It's not until Anakin hisses -fully hisses- at the girl that Quinlan steps in. "Aayla, with me." His voice is stern as he leads the girl away firmly. Once they've stopped a distance away, Obi-Wan addresses Anakin.
"Padawan-"
"She was gonna steal my food!" Anakin shouts. He looks down at the mess he's caused and his anger only grows hotter in the Force.
Obi-Wan takes a moment to release his emotions into the Force. He breathes, resets his mind, and ignores the beginning of a headache. "Anakin, did she try to take your food when you bit her?"
"Yeah!"
"Nuh-uh!" Aayla calls from the living room. Quinlan pulls her focus once again with a snap of his fingers.
"She wanted my sweets but they're mine!" Anakin cries. "It's my food! Not hers!"
Now, Obi-Wan thinks he understands. Resource guarding is something he's seen quite a bit of, but mostly in animals and pets. He's never seen a sentient being fight over something as simple as his dinner.
But, given the boy's past, it's understandable. It's heartbreaking and going to be difficult, but understandable.
They work together to clean the mess. A word or two of Quinlan's lecture flood their way, but Anakin is obviously not listening anymore. Instead, his head hangs low as he slowly and painstakingly throws away handfuls of wasted dinner.
"Anakin?" Obi-Wan waits until his padawan is looking at him. "There will always be enough food for you. If you are hungry, there will always be something to eat, whether it be in this kitchen or in the dining hall. You will not go hungry."
The boy casts his eyes away. "I know."
"And what Miss Aayla did was unfair of her. I'm sure her master is making that known." He chances a glance toward the two, finding that Aayla's expression has gone from smug to sad. Good. While he doesn't hold animosity toward the young girl, he does think it fitting she feel equally as bad as she's made Anakin feel.
Once the food is all but cleared and Obi-Wan has gotten Anakin another place, the two of them wait for their guests to join them again. Just as Quinlan looks like he's wrapping up the discussion, Obi-Wan addresses his padawan again. "You will still apologize to her. I hope you haven't forgotten that."
Anakin frowns at him. "But you said it was unfair of her!"
"Yes, but you also bit her. Just because she has wronged you doesn't mean you haven't done the same. You must apologize for your part and let her apologize for her own."
To Obi-Wan's surprise, Anakin nods humbly. Strange, he expected more pushback. Perhaps the boy is learning faster than he thought.
At last, Quinlan and Aayla return. They go back to their dinner in silence, none of them daring to bridge the tension hanging in the room. It takes several minutes for Obi-Wan to meet Quinlan's eyes and wordlessly question what to do next. To his dismay, Quinlan simply winks.
Clearing his throat, Quinlan nudges Aayla. The girl sighs, then turns to Anakin. "I'm sorry for making you drop your plate. I know better now."
It's a good start. Obi-Wan nudges his own padawan. Anakin bites his lip and sits up. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have bitten you." And just as Obi-Wan is about to count this as a win, Anakin continues. "But you were trying to take my food and it wasn't fair."
"No, I wasn't." Aayla grows defensive.
Obi-Wan resists the urge to rub at his temples. He thought they had an understanding.
Thankfully, Quinlan takes over. "Aayla, could you tell us your side of the story?"
"You looked lonely, so I sat next to you. And yeah, I wanted your sweets, but I didn't try to take it! You were gonna choke so I tried to help but you bit me!"
"I wasn't gonna choke." Anakin looks at her as if the mere thought of him choking on food is ridiculous.
"Alright! You've both apologized. Now, can we agree that the matter is over?" Obi-Wan interjects. "I would like to avoid a second dinner together, as nice of company as you are." Please, for the sake of his sanity, just end this!
With a decisive nod, both padawan reach across the table and shake hands. It doesn't completely ease the tension, but it's enough for Obi-Wan to call it well over with.
After another hour or so of questions about supernovas and Quinlan's mission, the master-padawan pair must leave for the night. Obi-Wan bids them fairwell and Anakin does the same. Then, the fight for bedtime starts.
"I'm really tired," Anakin says through a yawn. He stretches his arms out and rubs at his sleepy eyes as he stumbles to his room. "Good night, Master." He mutters.
"I...Good night, Anakin. Sleep well." Obi-Wan watches as his charge slits away and closes the door behind himself. All is quiet then, nothing but the faint noise of air conditioning and light footsteps in the hall keeping it from a complete silence. Slowly, Obi-Wan makes his way to the kitchen and hesitantly pours himself a cut of Corellian wine.
He waits for any noise to come from Anakin's room; but when something does, Obi-Wan settles into the couch. Perhaps tonight wasn't a complete mess. He's learned of Anakin's resource guarding and what to beware of in the future. They can work on it together, as well as anything else that shows up. Doubt tries sneak its way into his mind, telling him that he's handled the whole night wrong, but he releases those feelings into the Force quickly.
Just as Obi-Wan has finally relaxed into the cushions and set up a holodrama to watch, faint sounds of tinkering echo from Anakin's door.
Perhaps Quinlan was right about the wine after all.
No idea where this came from. Just had the idea suddenly and chose Aayla as the unfortunate target. It was going to be Ahsoka, but I doubt a three-year-old would be eating among twelve-year-olds.