#anakin doesn’t answer but after a while he notices the boy moving his head

[sukugo]

anakin hates being tall bc it means he’s not at “accidentally burying his face in obi-wan’s chest” height

[stolen-pen-name23]

for your prompts list, how about #3 for obi-wan & anakin & padmé?

Oh boy, it's been a hot minute since I answered my prompts! Apologies for the delay, I've been kept quite busy these days!

Prompts now closed // from these angst prompts

Here ya go:

---

A cold drop of water lands on Obi-Wan’s head and a shiver racks his frame. Obi-Wan grimaces and hopes he didn’t stir Anakin from his light and much-needed sleep. The young knight had finally fallen asleep with his head on Obi-Wan’s shoulder after hours of pacing around their tiny little cage in anger and frustration. The movement, much to Obi-Wan’s displeasure, was enough to shake Anakin from sleep. He lifted his head up.

“Master?” he asks, his voice hoarse from sleep and from all the shouting he had been doing earlier. “Where are—” Anakin cuts himself off as realization appears to hit him. He scrambles back to his feet and begins pacing again. Obi-Wan sighs.

“Hey!” Anakin shouts. “You can’t keep us here! The Republic is going to come for us and you’re going to pay!”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says softly.

“Do you hear me? You’re going to pay for keeping us here!”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says more forcefully. “Please stop yelling.”

“No! They can’t keep us here, we’re Generals in the Grand Army of the Republic and this is a neutral planet.”

Obi-Wan winces as Anakin’s words echo off the walls. His head is pounding and he just needs Anakin to shut up for just a little while. “Anakin…” Obi-Wan says. “Please just for five minutes…”

The pleading tone of his voice gets Anakin’s attention. “Master?” he asks, concerned. He kneels next to Obi-Wan. “Are you all right?”

Obi-Wan hums, trying to fight off the nausea from what he is sure is a minor concussion at best. “You’re so loud. Give it a rest.”

“But…”

“As you said,” Obi-Wan says, “this is a neutral planet. They will realize this is a mistake and that we are being held here on accident. They don’t want problems with the Republic.”

“What if they’ve actually partnered with the Separatists.”

“That’s a possibility. But either way, I think the Republic is already looking for us.”

“But how—”

“We haven’t checked in anywhere in what? 48 hours at least? Maybe more? Someone will have noticed by now.”

Anakin looks slightly more at ease. “Does anyone know where we are?”

“Cody knows we were coming here. I’m sure he’s already contacted the Council.”

“We’re saved,” Anakin says sarcastically.

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan admonishes.

“What? They are so slow at decision-making. They have to deal with all this red-tape in the senate and their own internal debates and yeah, I think we’re going to be stuck here for a little while.”

“Then be a little more patient, would you? Conserve your energy Anakin, you don’t know how long we’re going to be here or how they’re going to treat us.”

The pair of Jedi had been given water, but no food. Obi-Wan feels too nauseous to eat even if there was food available, but from experience, he knows Anakin does not exactly do well with skipping meals.

Anakin huffs and sits back down next to Obi-Wan. He leans his head back on Obi-Wan’s shoulder.

“Talk to me, Anakin,” Obi-Wan says softly. “Tell me what’s going through your head.”

“I just—” Anakin hesitates.

“It’s all right. You can tell me,” Obi-Wan says.

“I just want to go home,” Anakin says quietly. All of the anger has left his voice. He sounds like the scared Padawan he was when Obi-Wan first took him under his wing.

Obi-Wan finds Anakin’s hand and squeezes it. “I know,” he says. “Trust in the Force, Padawan.”

Anakin looks at him quizically. “Are you doing alright, Master? You haven’t called me that since… well, since you knighted me.”

“Oh,” Obi-Wan says. “Forget I said it.”

“No, it’s okay. It just took me off guard,” Anakin says. “How’s your head?”

“I’ve had worse.”

“So not good, huh?”

“No, not good, but I’ll manage.”

“Do you think we’ll get out of here soon?”

“Depends,” Obi-Wan says. “Why don’t you just try to sleep?”

“I’m hungry,” Anakin complains.

“Then meditate with me. We’ll take your mind off of it.”

Anakin huffs out a breath. “Fine. Nothing better to do anyway.”

Obi-Wan coaches Anakin through some of the breathing exercises he knew worked best with him. He can sense Anakin calming slightly.

“Just go to sleep,” Obi-Wan whispers. Anakin’s breathing evens out and his eyes flutter closed.

Obi-Wan tilts his head back and hopes he’ll remain asleep just for a little while. As much as Obi-Wan would like to sleep too, he knows he probably shouldn’t with a potential concussion. He resolves to meditate instead.

But try as he might, Obi-Wan still dozes off. He doesn’t realize he’s fallen asleep until Anakin is shaking his shoulders.

“Do you hear that?” Anakin asks, excitement dripping off his question.

Obi-Wan lifts his head and listens. A loud banging sound erupts from the hallways, followed by the sound of blaster fire.

“Now I do,” Obi-Wan says. Anakin stands and hovers at the edge of the ray shield, so close Obi-Wan fears he’ll touch it. “Do you see anything?”

“No, not yet,” Anakin says. “Wait! A guard just got shot, he fell over.”

Obi-Wan looks over with mild interest.

“Oh, another guard just fell! Wait… is that?” Anakin stops and squints. His eyes widen in shock. “Padmé?”

Padmé takes out the last guard and rushes over to their cage. She presses a button and the red ray shield in between them dissolves.

“Ani,” Padmé breathes, running up to him and putting her hands on his chest. “Are you okay? You’ve have been missing for two days.”

Padmé runs a hand through his tangled curls and runs her eyes over his body.

“I’m fine, Padmé. I’m just glad you’re here.”

Obi-Wan rolls his eyes. “I’m also fine if anyone cared to ask,” he mutters.

Anakin flushes, but Padmé is unphased. “Master Kenobi,” she says good-naturedly. She extends a hand to him and helps pull him to his feet. “It’s good to see you.”

“The feeling is more than mutual, Senator,” Obi-Wan says. He looks around. “Did you come here alone?”

“Yes,” Padmé answers simply. “I thought it best to be discreet.”

“Padmé!” Anakin exclaims. “Did you really just take on all those guards by yourself?”

“I had my blaster!” she retorts.

Anakin scoffs and Obi-Wan just offers her an impressed smile. “Only you, Senator,” he says.

“It’s my duty to serve the Republic. I think saving two of its best Generals is a good way of serving it.”

“Not that I’m ungrateful for you being here,” Obi-Wan says, “but how did you even know to come here? How did you find us?”

“Cody contacted me. The Council was moving too slow for his taste,” Padmé says. “So he found me and we worked out a plan. He’s flying the getaway shuttle.”

Anakin smirks. “I told you they were too slow. Even your Commander agrees.”

“No matter. Let’s just get out of here.”

“Oh, I almost forgot!” Padmé digs around in a small satchel that she has slung around her shoulders. “Here.” She hands them their lightsabers.

Obi-Wan lights up at the return of his weapon. He always felt naked without it. Vulnerability was never a pleasant feeling for him.

The sound of heavy footsteps echoes through the hallway. “I’m guessing you didn’t kill all of the guards?” Obi-Wan asks.

“Not quite. I was hoping you two could help with that?”

“Senator,” Obi-Wan says. “It would be my pleasure.”

Obi-Wan and Anakin ignite their sabers and with Padmé at their side, they charge down the hall.

[x-childish-x]

hello, i noticed there’s been a growth of obi wan requests on your page. if you don’t mind, may i also request an obi wan x reader fanfic (preferably a female reader)? my idea is that the reader is related to qui gon, maybe a niece of his that he looks after since her parents passed. after qui gon’s death, reader decides to become a jedi and she and obi wan grow closer over the years, and finally confess their love for each other after they both become masters?

Long Time Coming

Pairing: Obi-Wan x fem!reader

Fandom: Star Wars

Warnings: ansgt?, fluff, mentions to multiple character deaths, mentions of a funeral

Word Count: 2,417

A/N: This is quite long! I'm sorry if that's not something you like! Firstly, thank you for the request and support! I appreciate it so much and feedback is always more than welcome and appreciated!! This request was super unique and I had a fun time writing it despite feeling the need to absolutely perfect it, lol. Anyways, I really hope this is what you wanted and that you enjoy it!

P.S. I am out of surgery and now starting recovery. Everything’s gone well so far, but I probably won’t be posting much. Check my page for a form to send in some questions for me to answer!!

Summary: Obi-Wan's been trying to catch your attention for years and after your uncle Qui-Gon Jinn's death, you find comfort in Obi-Wan like never before.

(gif not mine!)

"(Y/n), we're making another stop. We don't have enough fuel to make it back to Coruscant. We're landing on Tattooine," Your uncle, Qui-Gon, spoke softly through the holopad.

"I found the planet," Obi-Wan beamed at you, hoping this fact would impress you.

You smiled widely, nodding to Obi-Wan, "Keep this old man out of trouble for me, won't you Obi-Wan?"

The young boy nodded vigorously as your uncle rolled his eyes, "You're getting quite old yourself (y/n). I urge you to rethink your choice of not becoming a Jedi before you're using a cane."

"We could train together!" Obi-Wan cheered, his eyes glinting with hope as he looked up at his master, "I would do well at bringing her up to speed!"

There seemed to be something that happened off the holopad that you couldn't see. Both men turned their heads before looking back at you with nearly identical looks of remorse.

"We're landing soon. I must leave," Qui-Gon frowned, "Stay out of trouble. I'll return soon."

Over the next few days, Obi-Wan and your uncle did their best to keep in contact with you. Though it wasn't much, barely once a day, it was still something, and that very much made you smile. Each call was a relief because they were both alive. They were okay. They would be home soon. 

"A boy?" You questioned Obi-Wan.

"Yes, his name is Anakin Skywalker," He frowned slightly before leaning more towards his holopad, whispering, "I'm beginning to think Qui-Gon likes him better than me."

"Nonsense!" You laughed, "Qui-Gon loves you! It's impossible to not love you!"

Immediately realizing what you said, your cheeks flushed with heat, Obi-Wan's reaction mocking yours. You missed Obi-Wan, he was your best friend after all, and it wasn't often that Qui-Gon and he left on such long missions. 

"There was this thing," Obi-Wan spoke up, "He wielded a red lightsaber."

"That doesn't sound good," You frowned, wishing Obi-Wan was more than just a hologram before you.

He nodded before his attention was stolen off-screen, and he huffed, "I have to go. We'll be home soon!"

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

"What is this about you being attacked!" You yelped, jogging up to Qui-Gon.

He smiled at your concern, "I am fine. He escaped. We believe he's a sith, that they've returned. The good news is the boy we found will be my new Padawan."

"I don't care about the boy," You hissed, glaring up at your uncle, "I care about you being safe, about not losing you!"

Unexpectedly, Qui-Gon pulled you into his chest. Tears welled in your eyes at the action he so rarely did, your arms wrapping as tight as they could around his torso. You felt a kiss pressed to the top of your head and immediately squeezed tighter, tears rolling down your cheeks.

"Please... I can't lose you too, Uncle."

Qui-Gon winced at your words, knowing how dangerous it was to form attachments, yet it'd been impossible with you. From the moment you'd come under his care, you'd immediately bonded. There was no way you wouldn't have formed an attachment with him and he with you.

You'd showed up on his doorstep fourteen years ago when you were only nine. You had clutched your stuffed bantha to your chest with tears running down your cheeks, mumbling all about how 'mommy and daddy were gone' and 'I need you, uncle Qui-Gon'. His heart immediately shattered. The passing of his brother had reached him a few hours before your arrival, and the nanny behind you gave the older man a soft smile before nudging you forward.

You bounded forward, slamming into Qui-Gon's legs with a loud sob that had the older man lifting you into his arms instantly. You'd been destroyed by the sudden and mysterious loss of your parents. You sought comfort in your uncle Qui-Gon and his young Padawan. You'd spent years denying the chance to become a Jedi, afraid you were too imbalanced in your emotions.

You pulled back from Qui-Gon, allowing him to wipe your tears before he kissed your head once more. He moved, walking over to Obi-Wan, and you watched as the two talked before separating. Obi-Wan walked towards you, but your eyes locked on a small boy behind him who stood next to what looked like an R2 droid.

"We're leaving again," Obi-Wan sighed, frowning at your slightly red cheeks and glassy eyes.

You nodded, biting your lip before finally locking eyes with Obi-Wan, "Please take care of him... I have a terrible feeling Obi-Wan."

"I will," Obi-Wan smiled, gently reaching out and allowing you to place your hands in his before pulling you closer, "I'll make sure he stays out of trouble. He has a new Padawan to train, after all. But besides that..." Obi-Wan's voice dropped, his gaze growing softer as he squeezed your hands, "You know I'd do anything for you."

You nodded, listening as Qui-Gon ordered Obi-Wan to head to the ship, and with one last playful goodbye, you watched him leave, followed soon by everyone else. You stood on the pad, watching as the ship rose and left, the terrible feeling in your stomach growing with each second.

Nobody called you. For the next few days, nobody called you, and it only worsened the terrible feeling, making you nauseous as you waited patiently for the ship to arrive. You'd been told briefly by Yoda that they were returning, yet the pain on his face confirmed your thoughts. Something was wrong, and you weren't sure what, but you'd felt the pain and dread that filled you yesterday, and now Yoda was looking at you with remorse as he watched you waiting from his tower.

You couldn't maintain your focus as the ship landed, frozen still as you waited. You watched each person that exited, waiting for the two familiar faces you wanted to see so badly. Obi-Wan descended the ramp, his eyes lifting from the ground to lock with yours. Instantly tears filled your eyes, a hand flying to your mouth as Obi-Wan rushed to you.

"No..."

You collapsed into Obi-Wan's chest without a second thought, throwing your arms around him as sobs racked through your body. He attempted calming you, one arm wrapped tightly around your waist and the other stroking your hair. Obi-Wan panicked slightly, feeling immediately it was all his fault. Your pain was his fault. If he'd just been slightly faster he could've saved his master, your uncle.

"Please... Obi-Wan... tell me no," You cried, burying your head into his chest as his grip tightened.

"It was a sith, the same who attacked him previously," Obi-Wan whispered, not caring about the looks anyone gave you, "I killed him. I killed the sith right after. I... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't faster."

Nobody could remove you from Obi-Wan's side, not even Yoda, who was forced to allow you to sit in while he spoke to Obi-Wan about Anakin. You were distraught and terrified at the idea of seeing your uncle's body later. Obi-Wan comforted you, an arm around you the entire day until the ceremony rolled around.

You'd separated from Obi-Wan briefly, and when you returned to Qui-Gon's funeral, Yoda himself almost cried. You stood over Qui-Gon's body, a hand gently brushing his cheek, your mother's Jedi robe caressing your body. Just for a second, Yoda believed he was seeing your mother's spirit. You looked so identical, and the soft click of Yoda's cane startled you, forcing you away from your uncle's body.

"Determination within you, I sense. Made a decision, you have," Yoda hummed, coming to your side.

You nodded curtly, your gaze on Qui-Gon, "I wish to become a Jedi, Master Yoda."

"Agree to your request, the council does. My Padawan, you will be," Yoda nodded, not needing to speak to any other members to know there would be no defiance. 

Yoda retreated to the back, watching your reaction as people filtered in, most not catching your attention until Obi-Wan walked in. You seemed to escape his gaze for a few moments, certainly because of the robe, before he rushed to your side. Yoda knew this was a potential problem, the connection the two of you held, but that was a problem for the future.

The future seemed to bring many problems for you. Your days quickly molded into becoming nothing but training. You barely spent time sleeping. Both you and Master Yoda determined to bring you up to speed. Despite everyone in the council loving your decision to become a Jedi (especially Obi-Wan), they had all disagreed with the idea of you becoming a Jedi-Knight within five short years. 

However, Yoda insisted you were ready, and you passed the trials with such ease it'd seemed like you'd been training for years. Which of course, lead to many Jedi accusing you of training illegally under Qui-Gon. But it wasn't anything like that. Yoda and Obi-Wan were amazing when it came to training you. They were patient and worked with you consistently, over and over. You knew there was no way you would've become a Jedi-Knight had you not had their help.

"So?" Obi-Wan asked when you returned to your shared apartment, "Did you pass?"

Slowly, you lifted the hair on your right side to reveal that your Padawan braid was no more. He smiled widely, leaping up and pulling you into his chest. You smiled back, squeezing Obi-Wan as he spun you around gently. 

You still weren't used to everything. Obi-Wan and you had decided to get an apartment together after Qui-Gon's passing, insisting that living together helped your coping. Of course, it was a two-bedroom, and you stayed in separate rooms, and just Obi-Wan's presence truly did help you.

Once Obi-Wan sat you down and pulled back, a huge smile on his face as you stared up at him. A moment passed as you struggled to get a grip on your thoughts. You gulped, eyes flicking around the room as you kept your hands linked at the back of Obi-Wan's growing hair. You liked it longer. You felt it suited him, not that you didn't like it short.

"Obi-Wan?" Your voice was small, fragile in the air as the slightly older boy stared at you.

"Yes?"

"Do you think he's proud of me?" 

Obi-Wan's heart melted at the worry in your eyes, the worry that your uncle wouldn't be proud of you after everything you'd done. His hands drifted from your waist and up to cup your cheeks, pulling your face just slightly closer as he leaned down. He wanted nothing more than to wipe your ever-growing tears, but that could wait. The most important thing for Obi-Wan right now was to make sure you understood that there was no possible way for Qui-Gon to be even the slightest bit disappointed in you.

"(Y/n), I have not a single doubt that he's proud of you. He was before he passed, and I'm sure he's proud now," Obi-Wan reassured you, his smile growing as you nodded, "I know Master Qui-Gon wishes he was here with us, to see you become a Jedi Knight, but regardless he is incredibly proud."

You giggled softly, leaning forward just the slightest bit, so your nose touched Obi-Wan's, "I just worry sometimes, that maybe I'm not doing enough," You paused, gasping a quiet breath when Obi-Wan nudged your nose with his again, "Thank you Obi-Wan... I... I couldn't have done any of this without you. I'd be lost, truly."

Your gaze flicked down to your connected noses and back up to Obi-Wan's blue eyes. Yet, it felt like it was the first time you ever looked at Obi-Wan. You felt like you were a small kid again, peeking out from under your uncle's robe to see two big blue eyes looking at you with a huge smile. Blue eyes and a smile that promised to be your best friend, promised to stay by your side... 'as a loyal Jedi should'. And now, as you stared into those same eyes, you felt the urge to be so much more than what he promised.

You tilted your head up, mushing your lips against Obi-Wan's and leading the kiss as he froze in shock. Was he dreaming again? Was he about to wake up alone in his bed once more? The squeeze you gave to the back of his neck told him otherwise... that this most definitely wasn't a dream. Suddenly, he was dropping his hands from your cheeks, looping them around your waist and pulling you flush against him as he took control of the kiss.

It became a dance of lips and tongue, mumbling in an attempt to convey all the years of unsaid feelings even though no real words were being formed. It felt perfect. It felt like the force was exploding through the two of you, screaming that nothing could've been more right. There was no thought of the Jedi Code, no thought of the possibility of losing your titles. The only thought being formed was how not only your lips but your mind and soul seemed to connect at that moment together.

"I... that... we..."

"I've wanted to do that for so long," You laughed breathlessly, cutting off Obi-Wan.

He smiled, nodding in agreement as he placed a kiss on your forehead, "I adore you so much (y/n). I always have."

You mocked Obi-Wan's actions, nodding your confirmation as he placed another kiss closer to your temple now. It felt perfect. The life force flowing around the two of you was bursting with light, harmonious, and balanced perfectly. There was no need for words. You could feel one another projecting all the unsaid emotions. You were one, and suddenly a large smile broke onto your face as Obi-Wan continued to press light kisses all over your face.

You weren't worried about the possibility of losing your title. You didn't care what the Jedi Code had to say, and you certainly didn't care what the council thought. You felt complete, whole. And it was the first time you'd felt that way since losing your parents. You'd deal with the consequences later, when they made themselves truly known on their own accord and when it was time for Obi-Wan and you to make a decision.

"Do you think he's still proud of me?" 

Obi-Wan chuckled, kissing your nose before pulling back, "I think he'd want to kill me."

"It was a long time coming," You teased, making Obi-Wan nod.

"That, it was."

[tennessoui]

So I love your keeping up with the Skywalker/Kenobis au😍!!! It's adorable and it makes me so happy to read aaaand I wanted to ask what you think Satine's reaction is to Obi Wan basically getting himself a husband two kids and a dog like 2 months after she's left him? Like if they randomly ran into each other and Obi Wan is with his whole family and is carrying Leia, while holding Luke's hand and Luke is holding the dogs leash, while Anakin is I dunno monologing about something as he usually does

hi!!!! thank you so much for the prompt i love it <3 I thought a really long time about this prompt because I kind of knew what I wanted to do but I also didn't want to throw satine's character under the bus to accomplish it because i think from what Obi-Wan's told us about his marriage she's completely justified to want a divorce, so she's not necessarily a jealous ex in this snippet. But she's sort of angry, which i feel is fair!! i also (for reasons we will hopefully see tomorrow) changed your 'two months' to '3 years', so this happens 2 years after the Skywalkers move in, which is one yearish after the divorce! mostly because Something Else happens about 2 years after the Skywalkers move in and I have an ask cooling in my inbox asking about That that i want to answer tomorrow and these two felt like they fit together

(big sigh)(2.5k)(this is Obi-Wan's POV so its a bit pretentious and also a bit sad)

It’s a very strange thing, what the body remembers but the mind forgets.

“Obi-Wan?” A tentative voice asks from his left, and he knows that voice intimately. That voice had been at one time the most beautiful sound in the entire world. That voice had been what he heard before going to sleep, what he waited on tenterhooks to hear upon waking. He’d heard that voice cry, scream, laugh, gasp, moan--he knows that voice, and for a second his body responds the way it always has to that voice.

Butterflies erupt in his stomach and he turns to look at Satine for the first time in almost three years.

“Satine,” he says and clears his throat and tries again. “Hello there.”

She smiles delicately, as if she’s unsure of her welcome. Obi-Wan’s never seen Satine shy, but he supposes he’s never seen how she acts around her ex-husband.

He surreptitiously glances to where Anakin and the twins are standing in line at an ice cream truck. It had been a nice day, so they had bundled the kids and the dog into Anakin’s car and gone to the city park with loose ideas about kite flying. Perhaps a picnic.

Perhaps twenty yards from the parking lot, Leia had spotted an ice cream truck from her perch on Obi-Wan’s shoulders, and the twins had successfully convinced Anakin to make a quick pit stop on their way up the park’s central hill. It had been a very easy sell. The sweet tooth is most definitely inherited, and nothing Obi-Wan really shares, so he had taken Chewie and gone to sit on a near park bench, graciously pretending not to hear Anakin tell his children to let the old man rest.

That had only been five minutes ago.

“Would you like to sit?” Obi-Wan asks politely, gesturing to the part of the bench he’s not taking up.

“If you have the time,” Satine responds just as politely. Obi-Wan wonders if this sort of false veneer of courteousness is putting her teeth on edge as much as his.

Do you remember how you left? Would you like me to recall the amount of things thrown by you, or would you like to do the honors? He imagines saying.

Only if you would be so gracious as to recite the long list of things you called me, he can imagine Satine responding.

That sort of conversation would be better than this. More honest. It’s a strange hurt, to realize you’re lying to the person you used to think you’d always be truthful to.

“Oh,” Satine says when Chewie immediately starts sniffing at the hem of her dress. “Is this...your dog?”

Obi-Wan fights the urge to wince. He had. Well. He had been quite against getting a dog when they’d been married. Or a cat. Or anything, really. He had vehemently protested the idea of a pet.

Of another living thing in their house.

“Ah,” he says. “Yes. His name is Chewie.”

Satine pets him with just the right amount of pressure to have Chewie tilting his head eagerly for more. “Chewie?” she asks incredulously. “I always figured we would have to name any dog or--child after some sort of literary figure.”

Obi-Wan pretends he doesn’t notice her hesitation. He has to pretend he doesn’t notice her hesitation. “I originally wanted to name him Dante,” he admits instead. “Leia compromised down to Danny, but I just couldn’t do that to the poor dead man.”

“Oh,” Satine says and then she’s quiet. Obi-Wan can just imagine the sort of things running through her head. He would deserve all the mean-spirited barbs she could throw at him now. He reminds himself that he understands that.

I hadn’t thought you knew how to do that, he imagines her saying. Compromising, I mean.

Or, does the dog hair everywhere drive you as crazy as you used to say it would?

Or, perhaps worst of all, how much has your library of dead mean kept you comfort these last three years?

Instead she gently strokes the dog’s head and refuses to make eye contact with Obi-Wan.

“You look well,” he says, breaking the silence first. He thinks she’s probably put in enough work in speaking first for a lifetime.

“Thank you,” Satine responds, tucking a piece of her ash blonde hair behind her ear. Obi-Wan catches a glint of a ring on her finger from the action. He doesn’t know if it was purposeful or not, doesn’t blame her either way. It’s been three years. Their lives are their own now. There’s always going to be those years where they...converged, and Obi-Wan isn’t sure he regrets them. He might never regret them, no matter what he thought shortly after the papers were mailed in.

After all, he’d never have met the Skywalkers if it wasn’t for the divorce.

“You as well,” Satine says, crossing her ankles. It’s her version of a fidget, Obi-Wan thinks fondly, and then wonders if he’ll ever forget that sort of information.

He smiles. “Yes, I’m...well.” He coughs and glances over to the ice cream truck. Leia waves at him from where she’s curled into Anakin’s chest, very near the front of the line. Anakin and Luke are looking at Obi-Wan with almost the same expression of pinched worry. Anakin most probably because he knows who Satine is. Luke because the boy has gotten quite possessive of Obi-Wan’s attention in the last few months.

Obi-Wan smiles slightly to let them both know that he’s fine. “I’m very well,” he tells Satine, turning back to her.

“I’m very glad to hear that,” she says, and it sounds like the most honest thing she’s said this entire time.

“Thank you,” he responds, and that’s the most honest thing he’s said today too. He knows she won’t understand exactly what he means, but it feels nice to say it anyway. Thank you for the years we were happy. Thank you for leaving before we could really start hating each other. Thank you for the divorce. Thank you for the Skywalkers.

There’s very loud footsteps on the pavement and then suddenly a blond blur is clinging to Obi-Wan’s knee.

“Obi,” Luke says very reproachfully.

Obi-Wan automatically fixes the boy’s fringe. “Yes, little one?” he asks, very, very aware of the way Satine’s posture has shifted from almost relaxed to preparing for battle.

“Daddy wants to know if you want anything. He says they have those pop--pop--cycles that you like.”

Obi-Wan switches his attention away from Luke so that he can raise a very scathing eyebrow at Anakin, who shrugs as if butter wouldn’t melt in his mouth. He had most certainly told Anakin that he was fine and that he didn’t want to spoil his lunch. Sending Luke over had not been a friendly check-in. It had been an invasion.

“I’m fine,” Obi-Wan tells Anakin’s son. “I don’t want to spoil my lunch.”

These words seem just as foreign to Luke as they did to his father, because he squints up at Obi-Wan before shrugging and clambering up into Obi-Wan’s lap.

“Who is she, Obi?” he asks, not quietly at all.

Obi-Wan sighs. And then resists the urge to sigh harder when he catches sight of Satine’s pinched face.

A thousand conversations rush back to him.

“My career has to come first, Satine.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“A child? At my age?”

“It’s Obi-Wan, not Obi.”

“I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready, dear. Our lives would change. Fundamentally. We’d have to compromise, we’d have to figure out a way to be there for them whenever they needed it. I know people manage. But would we?”

“Don’t--”

“I’m sorry, darling. I don’t want children.”

“Don’t call me Obi.”

He understands perfectly why Satine looks as if someone has just fed her half a lemon. He does.

She’s run into her ex-husband at the park and settled in to have a civil conversation with the man, only to see that he owns a dog (which he had been against when they were together), has a child (Luke isn’t his, of course, but he can understand the confusion), and lets that child call him one of his most hated nicknames.

“Obi?” she asks, which is probably starting out small, something he is very grateful for.

“Who are you?” Luke asks more forcefully, gripping onto Obi-Wan’s shirt with his little hands. Of all the times for the boy to decide to speak up to strangers--

“I’m Satine,” Satine answers graciously. And then, “Who are you?”

“Luke,” the boy says, far less graciously. “Obi lives with us.”

“Us?” Satine asks, mostly to Obi-Wan. “You mentioned a...Leia earlier?”

“My sister,” Luke interrupts before Obi-Wan can, perhaps, explain the situation. “We’re twins.”

“Twins!” Satine gasps in a way that’s most definitely pointed and directed at Obi-Wan. “Obi, I hadn’t known you had twins!”

“I…” Obi-Wan starts to say that he doesn’t, but the twins have started shooting him very hurt looks every time he corrects strangers on the fact that the twins aren’t actually his. He’s mostly stopped correcting people now because Luke and Leia’s betrayed expressions are really, quite frankly, works of art.

“Obi-Wan!” a voice interrupts him to his right. It’s a familiar voice, one that he’s heard as he falls asleep, one he’s heard first thing in the morning, one he’s heard cry and yell and gasp and laugh, one he thinks to himself might just be one of the most beautiful sounds in the entire world.

Without his permission or even his consent, butterflies erupt in his stomach and he turns from Satine’s rigid expression to Anakin’s slightly manic grin.

“Anakin,” he says, standing immediately with Luke cradled in his arms.

“We got you the red popsicle because Luke never came back,” Anakin says, thrusting the icy treat forward as Leia tries to clamber on the bench to hand Luke his own chocolate-covered cone.

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan says, all thoughts about his appetite for lunch pushed out of his mind by the size of Anakin’s smile. “That’s very sweet of you.”

Anakin ducks his head and rubs at the back of his neck, his face turning red like Obi-Wan’s popsicle. Obi-Wan thinks he’s never been this hopelessly endeared in his entire life.

“I should be going,” Satine says suddenly, standing up. Obi-Wan is a bit ashamed to realize he has forgotten her in the wake of the arrival of the Skywalkers.

But he knows he should not leave like this. They deserve more than this stilted sort of interrupted conversation.

Gently, he sets Luke on the ground despite the boy’s protests and chases after his ex-wife.

“Satine, wait,” he pants as he catches up with her.

“What, Obi-Wan?” she asks, voice strained and eyes a bit wet. “What else do you want me to see? What else is there left? I get it, alright. I get it. It was never you--it wasn’t--it wasn’t that you didn’t want pets or kids or--or all of it. You just didn’t want them with me. It was me. All along.”

She turns away, wiping frantically at her eyes. Obi-Wan isn’t sure if he’s ever felt worse.

“No,” he insists, reaching out to touch her forearm, painfully aware of how public they are right now. “No, you’ve got it wrong. It’s not...it was never you. It’s just…”

He pauses and tries to find the words to describe the past three years of his life. That first year of despair and hopelessness and isolation. And then the way Anakin and his children had crept into his life like a summer sunrise in the dead of winter, unexpectedly and then slowly and then all at once.

Obi-Wan shrugs helplessly, at a loss for words. There’s no way to describe something like that to someone who hasn’t experienced it. “It’s just…them.”

Satine takes a few moments to breathe before she turns to face him. She’s smiling and it looks mostly like a grimace, but he’ll accept it as more than he deserves.

“Oh Obi-Wan,” she says, laying a hand over the hand he has on his arm. “You always had so many rules.”

Obi-Wan fights the urge to bristle, reminding himself that Satine has the right to say anything she wants to him today and the amount of hurts they’ve dealt each other still probably wouldn’t be even.

It takes him completely by surprise then when she hugs him. He hugs her back automatically, blinking stupidly further into the park.

“I’m glad you’ve found your exceptions,” she whispers to him as she pulls back with a sad smile.

“Satine,” he says, but he doesn’t know where he’s going with that and falls silent. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes, leaning in to press a featherlight kiss to his bearded cheek.

“Glad to know I can still make you speechless,” she tells him wryly.

“Always,” he promises her, and she laughs. Obi-Wan is suddenly struck with a sort of gut-wrenching realization that she used to be his best friend as well as his wife. He had lost both in one fell swoop.

“I think I just put you in a world of trouble,” she smirks, tilting her head back down the path. “Your partner doesn’t look very happy.”

“He’s not my--” Obi-Wan starts to say and then decides fuck it. He shrugs. “It was nice to see you again, Satine. I hope. I. I really am glad that you’re doing well.”

Satine smiles and squeezes his hand once before letting go. “You too, Obi-Wan. You too.”

When he gets back to his family, Anakin is staring intensely down at his shoes, while Luke and Leia are glaring just as intensely up at Obi-Wan.

“Who was that?” Leia demands immediately.

“Satine,” Luke relays to her, as if the word means one hundred terrible and tragic things.

“An old friend,” Obi-Wan corrects. “We haven’t seen each other in a while. I just...I just wanted to say goodbye.”

“Did you?” Anakin asks, strangely intent as he looks down at Obi-Wan’s face.

“I did,” Obi-Wan tells him. It sounds like a promise. Yes, seeing Satine had been a peculiar twist of fate, but it had felt like a goodbye. To her. To the last vestiges of their marriage. To the man he had been when he had been in love with her.

The realization feels like it should hurt, but it doesn’t. Instead of ruminating on it though, he holds his hand out to Luke’s sticky fingers. “Shall we?” he asks, as Anakin falls into place on his other side, Leia held firmly in his arms. “It’s a fairly large hill, are you sure you’re up for it?”

“Yes!” Luke insists enthusiastically, all thoughts of the blonde woman his Obi had been talking to immediately forgotten.

“Perhaps by the time we get to the top, we’ll be prepared for lunch,” Obi-Wan tells Anakin wryly. The other man laughs, but his eyebrows stay pinched. Obi-Wan has the strangest desire to kiss them smooth, to lean over and kiss Anakin’s face until he’s blushing and laughing and light as he knows he can be.

But it’s very obviously not the time and place. Such a step forward needs both a proper time and place. After all, you may have multiple loves of your lives, but you only ever kiss each of them for the first time once. And Obi-Wan is pretty sure he’s only got the two; he’s not looking to mess this one up.

[commanderfoxdeservesbetter]

Clone Wars Headcanon: Time Travel AU

Anakin, right after he dies, time travels back to the past and ends up right back in his old body which doesn’t end up so well as he’s becomes dysphoric after being in a mechanical body for 20+ years so he disappears.

Cue a whole search party going for him (with Obi-Wan stressing out because he can’t feel Anakin even through the bond; Ashoka left reeling and thinking it’s her fault because they had a small argument that day; and Palpatine angered because he just lost sight of his (one day) apprentice and his plans, while thorough, need Anakin to turn).

Alongside that, Force Ghost Yoda and Obi-Wan time travel back and stick with Anakin as he’s processing and since he can only see them, they can’t help much. (But really, they’re there to help him with changing the past and fixing the mistakes because while the Force did give him this chance to do so, sometimes it’s not always fair when you gotta do it alone and they believe in him).

After some time, Anakin comes back to meet with Palpatine and he’s not well (he stumbles quite a bit and his eyes...the anger inside him makes them turn from blue to yellow several times). Fox sees him on the way up (the only one who does because he sees past the Force hiding) and he follows Anakin (he has so many questions but he keeps quiet; now isn’t the time).

So when he reaches Palpatine’s office, Fox reveals himself and calls out. “General Skywalker.” Anakin turns slowly as Fox walks briskly towards him, but as he nears, he finds himself at loss for words. Anakin merely raises an eyebrow. “The Chancellor isn’t in right now,” Fox ends up saying.

Anakin sneers but replies, “I know. I’m waiting for him.” But Fox knows how much the General means to the 501st, to his brothers, his vod, to Rex, and offers to wait with him. (He might not talk to his brothers but regardless of what they think, he still cares!!) Anakin remembers him as the one who shot Fives and the one who arrested Ashoka (but FG!obi-wan whispers, this is before that. He hasn’t done that yet) and so he reluctantly agrees. Maybe, Anakin thinks, I can find out WHEN exactly am I.

So they sit (or stand in Fox’s case) in Palpatine’s office and wait there and the silence is definitely uncomfortable but Anakin (as Vader) has been through worse and Fox had to sit through Senator meetings so neither are willing to break the silence. (But Fox does start recording in his helmet as Rex, his vod’ika, would appreciate to see his General if General Skywalker decides to disappear again.)

It’s only after a couple of hours have passed that they move; Palpatine comes in through the office and, surprised by Anakin’s presence, welcomes him back.

“My boy, why you’ve appeared. We were so worried about you!” Palpatine’s glance towards Fox acknowledges the clone but nothing further. “There’s been a search party out looking for you.”

Anakin, standing up, has his head lowered and his fists clenched. His doesn’t speak for many moments before Palpatine asks, “Are you okay, my boy?”

Quick as a flash, Palpatine starts choking. Fox starts but his movements are stops and (he panics) he can’t move (he’s lost control). He knows it’s the Force (it hurts; will he lose time too) and it doesn’t hurt (but it does; he can’t control himself) and he feels fear creep up his spine (he’s not himself; he’s never himself) when Palpatine starts to gag, his face turning purple (help! Someone please! HELP!) and his breaths start coming in faster (where is he? WHERE IS HE?!) and his vision starts to blur (HELP ME!) and he vaguely sees a blue lightsaber turn on (he can’t breathe; oh Fett, he can’t breathe) and quick as lightning, it strikes down (he’s gonna die) and Palpatine’s head rolls over across the office (he’s gonna die! Help! HELP!) when he realizes he’s sitting down with his head (where is his helmet?) between his knees as Anakin speaks. “Breathe, one, two, three. In and out.”

Fox hungrily sucks air in and his lungs start cooperating and he can’t speak, not yet, but as he looks up, he sees (the Chancellor! He’s dead! NO!) Anakin and his eyes...they are blue. They’re blue (yellow) and he doesn’t understand but Anakin starts speaking again. “I’m sorry you had to see that.” His expression is stone cold but sounds at least a little apologetic and Fox works with Senators so he’ll take what he can get.

“Why-” Fox stops. He didn’t notice before but he can breathe (he doesn’t feel trapped) and he can think (he can think past his orders) and he starts over. “Who was he?”

Anakin grimaces. “The Sith Lord we’ve been searching for.” He pauses as Fox clings to his hand, needing something to ground him with. “Lord Sidious.”

And memories rush past Fox, of him speaking and following orders and committing (oh Fett, who did he kill?) atrocities and (he can’t breathe) he sees...the floor? Anakin speaks, “Breathe. In and out.”

Fox closes his eyes as tears run past his cheeks. He’s a horrible person (a good soldier); he’s killed his vod (he’s done his duty); he doesn’t deserve to be here (he’s only a clone).

Anakin’s talking but he can barely hear over his thoughts. Fox greedily breathes in before listening “-know when they’ll find the body but we need to leave now.”

“What?” Fox stares. Leave? Are they traitors? Have they...Are they committing treason? (Well, he thinks, General Skywalker did.)

Anakin lifts his head. “We need to leave. Are you coming with?”

And Fox...he can’t stay with the body. He’ll be decommissioned but he’s not a traitor. His eyes glance back and forth between General Skywalker and Palpatine’s corpse and he can’t...what can he...

“I’m going into shock,” Fox mutters and Anakin, for all his help, jolts back.

“Uhhh,” Skywalker stutters before Fox is laughing. “I’m going insane,” he chokes out, laughing madly at his predicament and Anakin...just stares before turning to the side.

Fox stops and realizes, he’s not the only one crazy. He listens to Anakin’s one-sided conversation (“-my problem?! I didn’t plan to bring him in this mess. I’m sorry not everyone is perfect like you but I couldn’t do nothing!”) and interrupts. “So what’s the plan, General?”

Skywalker turns and thins his lips. “We need to leave.”

Fox snorts. How we gonna do that? But as if he heard his thoughts, Anakin speaks, “I have a cruiser. We’ll need new identities but once we make it to...”

“And where will we be going?” Fox asks because if he’s gonna become a fugitive, he should know the whole plan. “Who will we become?” Why are we leaving, though that answer is pretty much a given.

Anakin just shrugs before helping him to his feet. “We’ll see when we get there, Commander.” Fox snorts and thinks, Of course he had no plan, but Anakin continues. “Don’t worry, Commander. It’ll be better this time.”

And Fox doesn’t want to think of what this time means but he mutters, “My name is Fox,” though if he’s becoming a fugitive, it will only be for a short time before he gets a new name.

It isn’t until they’re leaving the planet that Fox remembers, he forgot his helmet. His helmet, which is still recording the room.

[stellarstarwarsimagines]

One More Night

Pairing - Obi-Wan Kenobi x Reader

Summary - While wandering around town with your partner, you run into an old flame, Obi-Wan Kenobi. He needs your help, and even though you have your reservations about helping the Republic, you agree. But when he lets slip the reason he hasn’t contacted you in so long, you can’t help but question everything you thought you knew about his feelings for you. 

Word Count - 5,806

Warnings - Smut 18+ only! 

It took you a grand total of about two minutes for you to realize that you were being followed. It would have been less time, but you had gotten distracted by a fight breaking out between a Togruta and a Rodian. The dark robes were unmistakable though after you had turned three corners, and they were still behind you. “So how long have they been following us?” You asked the blue Twi’lek walking with you. 

“Oh, around five minutes. I was wondering when you’d catch on.” She said, smirking over at you. 

“You could have told me.” You replied, rolling your eyes at her. 

“What would be the fun in that?” She asked, her fingers tapping at the weapon clipped to her waist. “You take left, I take right?” 

“Have fun.” You replied, winking at her before you darted left and took off at a run. 

Your assailants hadn’t realized that the two of you had noticed them. That much was clear by the momentary panic and destruction they caused at your actions. You didn’t stick around to watch, but you could hear it behind you. You took off down the alley as fast as you could, dodging in and out of store fronts and trying to confuse the attackers. When you managed to get on top of a roof, you glanced down and discovered that the two that had been following had split up when Na’lona and you did. There was now only one that seemed to be tracing your steps. 

You weren’t about to stick around and find out who it was though. Taking off at a run, you kept going, changing up your path every few corners so it was never the same until you were sure you weren’t being followed anymore. You took a deep breath, leaning against the wall of an alleyway. It was clear that you were getting way too old for this running around business. 

That was when you heard it. The hum of a lightsaber. You didn’t even have to open your eyes anymore to know who it was, but you did anyway. After all, who would want to pass up the sight of looking at Obi-Wan Kenobi, breathless and disheveled after chasing you for the past ten minutes? “Aren’t you a sight for sore eyes?” You said, letting your eyes wander his form, from the messy hair and rosy cheeks, all the way down to his heaving chest and powerful stance. 

It was easy to forget about the lightsaber pointed at your chest. “Did you have to run?” He asked, ignoring your taunt and sounding exasperated. 

You cocked an eyebrow at him. “Getting old, Obi-Wan? Last time I saw you, I seem to recall you having plenty of stamina. Of course that was about a year ago.” You took a great deal of pleasure at the sight of his composure faltering for a brief moment as his cheeks, already flushed with pink, darkened. 

The hum of his lightsaber disappeared as he deactivated it, and instead of the usual quip back, you frowned as he took a step away from you. “A lot can happen in a year.” Obi-Wan replied. 

“Ah yes, a War torn Galaxy, droids everywhere and Clones led by the former Peacekeepers now turned soldiers. Should I call you General now?” You teased him,  biting your lower lip. 

It had been so long since you had seen him, you had forgotten how captivating those vivid blue eyes were. You couldn’t take yours off them, not that you wanted to, so you didn’t miss the way they followed your movement. “I’d prefer if you didn’t, but it’s nice to see some things never change.” 

“Master!” 

Torn out of the bubble that the two of you had created for yourselves, you both glanced behind Obi-Wan to find the other brown cloaked figure running towards the two of you. At about that time, you caught sight of Na’lona on the nearby roof, everyone else oblivious to her presence. She sent you a wink, and you watched in amusement as the other Jedi that had been chasing her fell over a box that had not been there moments ago and crashed to the ground. 

You couldn’t help but let out a snort as Obi-Wan shook his head. “Is that your Padawan?” You asked. “The Chosen one you’re always complaining about?” 

“That would be him.” He answered, watching as the boy you remember being called Anakin stood up. 

He looked back and forth between Obi-Wan and you, then at the ground where he had been moments ago. “Master, is she a Jedi? Is that why you didn’t want to tell me about her?” 

A snort left your lips as you looked at Obi-Wan, trying not to laugh even harder. “He thinks I’m a Jedi? Na’lona, did you hear that? He thinks I’m a Jedi.” You called in the direction of your friend, watching as Obi-Wan’s expression changed at the name. 

She appeared a few feet in front of you, landing with a delicate grace that left no doubt as to who was the Jedi here. “He’s not the brightest is he?” She asked, and then turning to the man in front of you. “Master Kenobi. It’s been a while.” 

“It has indeed.” It was hard to describe his tone. There seemed to be many layers to it, regret, disappointment, and even a hint of intrigue. “How, may I ask, did the two of you come to meet?” 

“Well, that’s a long story, Obi, and by the efforts you’ve made to talk to me so far today, I get the feeling you don’t have time for such a thing.” You had to admit, you were curious. It had been a long time since Obi-Wan had sought you out, and in the midst of a war, you couldn’t help but wonder what could be so important that he would have to take time from the battlefield to find you. “So let’s cut to the chase here. What is it that you need?” You asked, raising your eyebrows at him. 

One of the things you liked about Obi-Wan was that he never attempted to beat around the bush with you. He never tried to soften any sort of blow because he knew how much you hated it. This time was no different. “The Republic needs your help, and if you refuse, I’ve been ordered to arrest you.” 

Oh it had to be bad then. The Republic hated you, as they hated all smugglers. If they were in need of one, they must be very desperate indeed. Looking into Obi-Wan’s light eyes, you could see the pleading there, and you knew he was begging you not to make this any more difficult than it already was. If it had been anyone else they sent, you might have fought, attempted to escape, but it was Obi-Wan, and you had never been able to deny him anything. “It doesn’t seem as if I’m being given much of a choice then.” 

The relief in his eyes was palpable, and his whole body seemed to relax somewhat as he turned to Na’lona. “You know, the Order could use someone with your skills again Na’lona. We need Jedi like you -”

“And return to the Order that abandoned my Master? Not a chance.” She replied, her face hard as she looked at Obi-Wan before looking at you once more. “You’re on your own for this.” 

As much as you hated to be without your partner these days, you could understand her reasoning. The Jedi Order and her did not have a good history. In fact, it was so terrible that she had rebelled from the Order all together after her Master had been murdered, and the Jedi had done nothing about it. She wasn’t a Sith by any means, but she no longer believed in the ways of the Jedi, so going back for her would not turn out well. “Keep the ship safe for me?” You told her. 

“You got it,” she agreed, thankfulness in her eyes as she took off down the alley in a sprint. 

Obi-Wan moved to go after her, but you grabbed his wrist. “It’s me, or neither of us.” You told him, your voice hard. While you would do a lot for Obi-Wan, betraying your friend would not be one of those things. 

He stared at you for a moment, and you had that feeling you always got when he was gazing into your eyes, as if he was reading the deepest parts of your soul. After a few moments, he nodded, and you couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Of course that turned into a frown as you heard a clicking noise, and looked down at your now bound hands. 

“Is this necessary?” You asked, rolling your eyes as you held them up. 

Obi-Wan smirked at you, looking more like himself than he had the whole time he had been standing there. “Appearances of course. I’m sure you understand.” 

You scoffed. 

____________________

It was impossible not to stare as you made your way onto what must be the largest ship in the Republic Fleet. As a Smuggler, you had come across your fair share of large transport ships, but this? This was like nothing you had ever seen before. Gleaming silver metals, smaller ships, clones in white armor with various other colorings running around and checking systems . . . it was a whole different world. 

“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen you speechless.” Obi-Wan’s amused voice said behind you, his hand a soft pressure against the small of your back as he urged you forward. 

His words pulled you out of your trance, and you turned around to grin at him. “Come on now, Obi-Wan, don’t settle yourself short. I seem to recall a few times when I was speechless around you. Most of them involving that talented mouth of yours on my -”

Obi-Wan pulled you against him so fast, you lost your train of thought, the smile vanishing from your lips as his presence took up every one of your senses, his eyes once more locked on yours in an inescapable grasp, his scent of sunshine and linen filling your head, his sturdy body pressing against yours while his voice silenced the rest of the ambience in the room. “I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t be so callous speaking about our history in front of everyone.” 

You attempted to regain control of yourself, but it was hard to do when he was standing so close to you it took over every thought you were having. When he spoke though, it reminded you of why it would never work between Obi-Wan and you in the first place. “Ah, of course, wouldn’t want anyone to know that the great, handsome, General Obi-Wan Kenobi had lowered himself to sleeping in the bed of some Smuggler.” You said, some of the fire being taken out of your tone by the breathless quality of your voice. 

If you hadn’t been so caught up in looking at his eyes, you would have missed the flash of disappointment in them. “You know that’s not the case.” He insisted, but before you could make another response, he had turned you back around and led you along the ship. 

Almost immediately you were rushed into a hologram meeting with Obi-Wan, Anakin, some clones, and several members of the Jedi Order. You didn’t say much, observing instead of butting in with questions to annoy them. Obi-Wan’s words had intrigued you, and you couldn’t get your mind off them and their possible meanings. For the past year, the only conclusion you had been able to draw from Obi-Wan’s lack of contact after your week together was that he had been embarrassed it had occurred in the first place. It had hurt, but you were a strong person and had gotten over it. Now, it was as if your galaxy turned upside down, and you had more than a million questions for the Jedi who stood in front of you, regal and elegant, but with a tenseness in his back that you couldn’t ignore. 

Obi-Wan had said a lot could happen in a year. You couldn’t help but wonder what had happened to him. 

“-you’re responsible if anything happens, Obi-Wan.” The words caught your attention and made you look up to see a hologram of Mace Windu lecturing Obi-Wan. 

His gaze shot over to you, lingering there for a moment as you looked into each other’s eyes for a moment. He then turned back to the hologram with a nod. “Understood,” was all he said. 

“Then the plan begins tomorrow. May the Force be with you.” Obi-Wan nodded, and the hologram ended. He gave a couple more orders to some of the other people in the room, and then he turned to you. “I’m afraid we don’t have much in the way of quarters, but there is a small room we’ve made available for you to sleep for a few hours until we reach our destination.” 

There was a quip on the tip of your tongue, but your mind was still too filled with trying to come up with reasoning for Obi-Wan’s actions for you to say it. Instead you nodded, and let him lead you out of the chambers, and into a small room with a tiny bunk. 

“There’s a refresher through that door.” He pointed out to you. “If you’d like to get cleaned up.” 

You nodded, not saying anything, and your lack of words seemed to confuse him. 

“You’re being uncharacteristically quiet.” Obi-Wan said, raising his eyebrows at you. 

Shrugging your shoulders, you sat down on the cot, frowning at the uncomfortableness you could already sense, “thinking.” 

“Ah,” you expected him to inquire what about, and it seemed as if he wanted to, but then he pulled himself back with a slight shake of his head. “Well, I’ll leave you to it.” He started to back away, but you reached out, grabbing a hold of his hand. 

“What you said earlier, that being embarrassed of me wasn’t the case . . . what was the case?” You asked him, unable to keep the question inside of you any longer. You had to know. It would haunt you until you did. 

For a moment, it almost looked as if he wanted to reach out to you, and your mind flashed back to a memory of him doing that very thing a year ago, the brush of his fingers, the pressure of his body against yours and those blue eyes lighting a path to some of the best pleasure you had ever known to this day. 

But he resisted, and you watched as he took a step back. “Jedis aren’t supposed to form attachments, and I was already far too attached to you.” Obi-Wan told you, and while you had no Force abilities to know otherwise, truth rang in his voice. 

His words rendered you speechless, every word that you had told yourself to get over the time the two of you had together crumbling around you like a ship had blasted right through it. He used your silence as a means to leave, a small, sad smile on his face as he did so, shutting the door behind him and ending the conversation. 

It wasn’t fair, not when you still had so many questions for him. 

You waited about three minutes before you decided to follow him. It took you an embarrassingly long time to discover where he was staying on board, but after a plea to one of the clones, you found yourself knocking on the door. 

He answered, and not only did he answer, but he answered while wearing nothing but what you assumed were his sleeping pants. Seeing him like this once again threw you back into memories that you had such a hard time trying to forget. When he called your name though, it threw you out of your daze, and you shook your head to clear your mind. “What are you doing here?” Obi-Wan asked you. 

“You can’t walk away after saying something like that. Not after spending a year avoiding any and all contact with me.” You told him, crossing your arms over your chest. 

For a moment, it looked as if he wanted to argue, and indeed, that’s what the Obi-Wan you had known would have done, but instead he sighed and moved away from the door, giving you enough room to pass. “Would you like anything to drink?” He said. 

But you didn’t respond. When he had turned away from you, you couldn’t help but glance at his muscled back, and gasped in shock. 

It was covered with scars all in various degrees of healing. It was the type of scars you had seen on the backs of slaves that you had given passage to. It was whip marks. 

“Obi-Wan . . . What the hell happened to you?” You finally managed to speak, hurrying towards him and reaching out to touch the scars, but stopping at the last moment. You didn’t want to hurt him if they were bothering him. 

His tense shoulders dropped somewhat as he turned around to face you. It was clear that he was attempting to reassure you, but nothing he could say could do that after you had seen the marks marring his beautiful skin. A small, insincere smile formed on his lips. “It’s been a long year.” 

“Don’t give me any of that cryptic mess. Those are marks I’ve seen on slaves. Who did this to you?” You found yourself growing a mixture of angry and worried. Obi-Wan had said earlier that a lot could happen in a year, and you were now beginning to realize how much. 

“It’s none of your concern.” He replied, shaking his head at you. 

“Afraid I’ll find them and kill them?” You asked, crossing your arms over your chest. 

Obi-Wan’s answer was quick. “Yes, and I don’t want any bloodshed on my behalf.” 

The two of you stared at each other, stubbornness on both of your faces as your eyes looked into the others. Eventually the resolve in his made you sigh and drop your arms. “Do you have tea?” You asked. 

He seemed a little startled by the change in subject, but nodded. “Yes, I’ll start the kettle -”

But you shook your head. “Not to drink.” You walked over to his cabinets until you found the box and began creating a mixture you had learned years ago. “It’s to help you. Some of those still look irritated.” 

“That’s unnecessary I have -”

“If you won’t tell me who did this to you, it’s the least you can do.” You told him, not leaving him any room for argument. Which he normally wouldn’t care about, but it was a testament to how much he must be hurting that he didn’t. The thought of anyone hurting Obi-Wan made you so angry your hands shook as they stirred the mixture. You knew the man could protect himself, and that he didn’t need you defending him by any means, but the fact that someone had hurt him to this degree made rage boil inside of you. Obi-Wan was such a good and pure man . . . how could someone ever do harm to him?

It was times like these that you were reminded of how you never would have made it as a Jedi. You let your emotions get the best of you way too often. 

Focusing back on the task at hand, you finished the mixture and instructed him to sit down in front of you. “Why haven’t you gone to the Medbay to get these healed? Doesn’t the Republic have enough funds to heal their saviors?” You asked him as you scooped some of the ointment into your hands and warmed it up with your hands. 

You watched as Obi-Wan gripped the chair in front of him, and though you couldn’t see his face, you knew that his jaw was tense. “Some scars are worth remembering.” He answered. 

Almost as if you had no control over it, your eyes drifted down to your arm where a small scar ran across the front of it in a horizontal line. A scar that Obi-Wan had been with you when you got. That was a memory you had no desire to forget any time soon. “I guess you’re right.” You answered in a soft voice as you laid your hands on his back and started working the balm into his skin. 

As soon as your hands touched the top of his shoulders, he tensed, and you froze, wondering if you had done something wrong, and you yanked your hands away. “I’m sorry,” he said, glancing back at you for a moment. “Your hands are cold.” 

Except you knew that they weren’t. You didn’t point that out, nodding instead and as soon as he turned back around you got to work once more. Taking a glance at the scars, you decided to start towards his lower back where the scars had begun to fade and work your way to the top where they were the darkest. Your hands were gentle as you studied the marks, and the more and more you looked at them, the more certain you were that they were from whips. 

What had the Republic been sending him to do? 

“Obi-Wan -” You said, not wanting to break the quiet of the room, but unable to hold it in anymore. 

But he stopped you, and you watched as his hands tightened on the chair in front of him. “I don’t wish to speak about it. Please.” He added on, a pleading to his voice that you couldn’t ignore. 

You wanted to argue. You wanted to make him tell you, but you were no Jedi, and there had been a time when he had respected your wishes of not wanting to tell him something. The least you could do was return the favor now. 

So you got back to work, your hands working the balm into his skin, and you noticed with every passing second Obi-Wan became more relaxed, sinking into the chair in front of him, a soft sigh escaping his lips. 

While you emptied the last of the bowl onto his back, you couldn’t help but notice his reaction, and almost without you noticing, your hands began doing less of spreading the ointment, and more of massaging it into his skin. 

His reaction was immediate. Obi-Wan’s head dropped forward, resting on his hands as his shoulders slumped. You felt his back rise and fall under your fingertips with a shuddering breath as you continued a path from the small of his back up to his shoulders. 

You let your eyes trace the length of his back. Overall, everything looked the same as it had before. He had a few more scars, but mostly, it was as you remembered. Except this time you were seeing it in the light of his room instead of in the moonlight. 

It had been as electrifying then as it felt right now. 

“What do you remember about that night?” You whispered, not wanting to break the moment, but desperate to know if he was feeling the energy, the tension, rising in the room like you were. 

It took him a few moments to respond, and for a brief moment in time you thought he might have fallen asleep under your fingers, but then he spoke. “I remember everything.” He replied, as quietly as you had spoken. “How bright the moon was . . . How hot and humid that planet got . . .” 

Yes, you remembered that too. It had been a full moon lighting up the sky, and you also remembered stripping out of as many layers as you could, hoping for a little relief. Not to mention it had the added benefit of making Obi-Wan blush, which you now knew, wasn’t from the heat alone. 

He hesitated for a moment, and you felt him take a deep breath, as if unsure whether to say the next words. “I remember thinking how, despite the circumstances, I was the luckiest man in the Galaxy to be trapped there with someone as intriguing and beautiful as you.” 

His soft spoken words had your heart pounding. From any other mouth, you wouldn’t have hesitated one moment to believe they were a line, but . . . Obi-Wan didn’t have that ability. You leaned forward, your lips so close to his ear, you saw shivers erupt across his skin. “What are your thoughts now?” You asked him, desperate for his answer. 

“They haven’t changed,” Obi-Wan replied, this time without hesitation. “That’s why I’ve avoided -” 

You distracted him by placing a soft kiss against the spot beside his ear. 

He murmured your name, almost like a plea. “This isn’t a good idea.” 

“Well, I’ve never been a fan of good ideas. Especially when it involves Jedi.” You teased, leaving even more kisses on his neck, all the way down to his shoulder. 

In a move that left you breathless, Obi-Wan spun around, his hands gripping your wrist that were in the air from moments ago when they had been placed on his back. “I’m not supposed to form attachments. You know that.” 

“So don’t,” You said. “We’ve done this already, why can’t we do it again? You didn’t form an attachment last time.” You, on the other hand, were a different story. 

He was shaking his head before you had even finished your sentence. “I was . . . I was naive then. I believed as long as you didn’t have any genuine feelings for me, I could avoid my own.” 

Obi-Wan thought you didn’t . . . How could anyone be with a man like Obi-Wan Kenobi, see the kindness in his eyes, feel the gentle reassurance of his touch, the softness of his lips and not develop feelings for him? “Obi-Wan, I’m afraid if the only reason you didn’t develop an attachment is because you thought I didn’t . . . We’re both doomed.” You whispered, your eyes drifting to those full lips for a moment. 

His head reached out, resting under your jaw and tilting your chin up until you looked him in the eyes. You could see the war raging there in those deep blues as he stared at you. You wished you could be a Jedi in that moment, seeing what was going on in his head. “So be it,” he said, and in a sudden movement, tugged you into his lap by your hand and leaned forward to capture your lips in a deep kiss. 

There was no hesitation in your response. You kissed him back with a year’s worth of tension, memories and dreams that had built up since the moment that the two of you had separated. Never did you think there would be something that would have such a profound impact on you as Obi-Wan Kenobi, but here you were, melting and longing for everything he could give you. 

His lips were as soft as you remembered, though the ferociousness in his kiss would make you think otherwise. He was as talented in his kiss as he was at sweet -talking the most stubborn of politicians, thorough and persistent with the perfect amount of pressure. When he pulled away, you were breathless, chasing his lips for more, but he shook his head. 

“I want to see you,” he whispered, his fingers tugging at the buttons of your loose shirt, his eyes begging for permission which you gave readily. 

Once again you were amazed by the composure he was able to keep while he rid you of the rest of your clothing. You were nothing less than a panting mess under his touch, and his fingers were steady as they could be until he made you stand up so you could remove your pants and underwear with them. You started to move back into his lap, but he stopped you with his hands on your hips. 

You felt heat rushing to your face as you watched him take you in, his eyes moving over every inch of your exposed body, almost as if he was searing the image of you into his memory. Finally, he leaned forward once more, pressing a soft kiss to your stomach. “As beautiful as I remembered.” He whispered against your skin as his lips traveled up your stomach and to your chest where he enclosed your nipple in his mouth dragging his tongue across it. 

Gasping out his name, your head fell back in pleasure because the talents of this man’s mouth could not be overstated. “Obi-Wan . . .” You gasped out, your hands finding his hair and giving it a sharp tug. 

He let out a grunt, and tugged you once more into his arms, this time standing up and depositing you onto his bed as if you were made of glass. You licked your lips as you watched him finish undressing, as gorgeous and . . . large as you remembered, if not more so. 

He didn’t make you wait, climbing on top of you with his lips resuming their previous position on your breast. Maker he was so . . . good. He had ruined you back then, and you had no doubts in your mind that he would do it again tonight. 

You couldn’t wait for it. 

Your whole body began to tingle as you felt one of Obi-Wan’s hands moving from where it had been on your other breast, down your stomach until it slipped inside of you. He looked up when he realized how wet and eager you were for him, sliding up your body once more until the two of you were face to face. “Maker, you’re incredible.” He said, and leaned down to capture your lips in another kiss. 

Wrapping your legs around his waist, you let him set a slow rhythm as he added another finger inside of you, your hips moving in time with him. You couldn’t control the whimpers you left against his lips as he teased you with his pace, never speeding up and leaving his fingers inside of you just long enough to want more. It was the most pleasurable torture that you had ever been through. “Obi, please,” you murmured when he pulled away, your fingers digging into the sheets surrounding you. 

“What do you want, darling?” He whispered, his nose nuzzling against your own, his fingers slipping all the way out of you. 

You groaned at the loss, your hips arching up to try and catch his fingers again, but he kept them right out of your reach. So you decided that two could play at that game. You reached down with one of your hands and took him in your grip, brushing him up and down your wet slit. “I need you inside of me,” You murmured, watching his face as his eyes closed at your manipulation. “I’ve been thinking about how it felt for months, Obi-Wan.” You told him, moving your hips once more so nothing but the tip slipped inside of you, causing him to let out a groan. “Do you remember how amazing it felt? Nothing’s ever felt as good since -” 

Your words ended in a loud moan as Obi-Wan took matters into his own hand once more and sheathed himself inside of you in one smooth motion. “Your fingers?” He murmured, pressing kisses down the side of your neck for a moment before whispering in your ear. “Or someone else?” 

“Either,” you answered without hesitation, letting out a gasp as he began grinding his hips against yours so he could hit that special spot inside of you. “Nothing’s as good as you.” You gasped, nothing but truth in your words as Obi-Wan met your gaze once more. 

“You’re going to get me in trouble.” He murmured, looking down at you with a tender look.

You returned his look with one of your own, your hands slipping back into his soft hair. “From what I know about you, Obi-Wan Kenobi . . . You love trouble.” 

He shook his head at you, that pretty smile on his face, and leaned down to capture your lips once more, silencing your moans somewhat as he began a much faster pace. It was almost relentless, the way that he pounded into you now, as if he had built up so much tension he had been waiting to release it. You weren’t going to complain because with every passing second you felt yourself get closer and closer to the edge, doing your very best to keep up with his pace, and by the tension in his arms and stomach, you could tell he was feeling the same. 

Unlike any other lover that you had, that cared about that of course, he did not have to ask if you were close. It was almost as if he could read your mind, and part of you wondered if he did a little when his finger began rubbing that pleasurable little spot, knowing how much pressure to add to make you topple off the edge into an oblivion of pleasure, shuddering and shaking while he silenced the moan of his name with his lips. 

His hips kept up their relentless pace, though they were much gentler now, chasing his own release. After a few more thrusts, you could feel him to start to pull away from you, but you stopped him. While it wasn’t smart, you wanted to feel him inside of you for as long as you could. You half expected him to deny your wishes, but he was as far gone as you were, and with one last snap of his hips, he buried himself inside of you, groaning against your lips as he let go inside of you. 

Satisfied. Completely and totally satisfied were the only words you could think to describe yourself as Obi-Wan caught his breath and began pressing kisses down your chin as he recovered. You let out a few noises of contentment as he did, enjoying the soft touches as he pulled out of you and headed to the refresher, returning with a wet cloth that he began to clean you up with. His touch was so gentle, as if you were so delicate, much different than a few minutes when he had been pounding into you with a pace you were sure would leave you sore tomorrow. 

Oh tomorrow. 

Obi-Wan tossed the cloth aside, sliding back into bed as you turned on your side and wrapping his arms around you, burying his face in your neck. 

You couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh as his beard tickled your skin. He squeezed you tight for a moment at the sound before pressing a gentle kiss to your skin. “So . . . you haven’t lost your stamina after all.” You teased. 

This time it was his turn to laugh.

[the-new-fanfic-order]

Buttercups and Bloodstains {Part I}

Author: Zoe

(A/N: I’m back.)

Mobster! Obi-Wan x Reader

Plot Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn’t consider himself a mob boss. More or less, the leader of a vigilante group against a ruthless political figure by the name of Dooku, and the rival group that didn’t take lightly to trespassing on their territory. He especially doesn’t understand why this mob seems to congregate around a certain flower shop owned by a pretty girl. An unsuspecting front for the most powerful woman in the territory.

There's a fine, fine line in between being a vigilante and being a criminal. In between due justice and committing the crime itself, and yet, Obi-Wan Kenobi has walked that line for years. 

He carried himself with an air of class, Most not cowering in fear, but bowing their heads in respect when he’s seen in public. He doesn’t steal or rob from innocents, but he’s still strategic. Some debate if his calm demeanor is because of his peaceful nature or his strong inclination to be a well-respected, sophisticated leader. 

Some debate if it's because he's killed people.

Both sides are correct. But he is a busy man. He doesn't waste time on social matters.

"Senator Amidala's requesting our protection again, boss." Anakin steps up to Obi-Wan's desk in his office, dimly-lit, save for a small lamp and the shades drawn to let in the bare minimum of sunlight.

"Our protection specifically? Or our people in general?" He asks, looking up from his checkbook as he shuts it.

"Ours. There's talk of an assassination attempt."

His brow raises as he stands up, moving to close the blinds fully. "...Any source?"

"None. But we both know she's a high profile target." Anakin steps closer to Obi-Wan. "I… I need to be there to protect her, boss."

"...Tell her she'll be granted her protection after she works out the details with the higher-ups. We can't go against them."

"Yes, boss." Anakin nods, before walking out of the office. Obi-Wan sighs, walking back and forth in his office, looking up at the clock, his pistol lightly tapping against his leg from his holster with each step.

You hum lightly as you clip another rose, placing it delicately into a vase, swaying your hips to the radio, almost pretending the clippers and the next rose in your hand is your partner. The music plays, the static only adding to the rhythm instead of taking it away from you.

A group of men burst in. "Hands up. Now."

"...May I finish my bouquet first?" You ask, as they furrow their brows, setting the flowers as if they aren't there.

"Hey." The leader brandishes his gun further. "Hey, lady! Hurry the hell up and give us the money in the drawer-"

"Roses are my favorite flower." You look over to them, a glint in your eye. "Do you know why?"

"Shut up with the riddles and unlock the register-"

"Every rose has its thorn. No matter how delicate it looks…" You go to a shelf under your counter. "It can still draw blood."

You aim a Smith & Wesson at the leader, as your men emerge from the back, leveling two rifles at them. "You chose the wrong girl to rob."

They drop their guns. "We… We didn't mean to cause this much trouble-"

"So what makes you think I'd let you leave to cause trouble elsewhere?"

You find it fascinating, how it only takes a little respect and influence to cause people to look the other way from your actions. It takes three gunshots, then silence as the smoke dissipates in the air. "Boys?"

"Yes, boss?"

"Please clean well. I don't want stains on the floor while customers shop." You request, pinning two daisies to their lapels. "I appreciate your loyalty."

You open the back door to let the smell air out. After all, this is a flower shop. The smell is the most important aspect of it.

They load the bodies into their trunk. "Where to?"

"Dump them over the docks by the Outlander Club, please." You answer back, watching them drive off as you return to your bouquets.

"Count Dooku."

He says nothing, simply turning around to face them.

"S-sir… The other Seperatist party representatives are here for the conference."

He quickly gets out of the way as Dooku walks past him, the door closing shut harshly as he walks down the hall to meet with the rest of his political supporters. He walks in, sitting at his chair with the rest of them.

"Welcome, everyone. I'm happy we could all meet on such short notice." He nods. "As I've promised, I've found the perfect man for the job."

A masked man follows behind Dooku, carrying a sniper rifle. "This is Jango Fett. He will be the one to aid us."

"With?" One asks as he smiles.

"Why, Senator Amidala's assassination, of course."

[hellowkatey]

Febuwhump Day 6

Prompt: Insomnia

Summary: The Disaster Lineage™ has a long history of being horrible at getting the sleep they need.

Read on AO3

Good Sleep is Hard to Find

"It's called insomnia, Obi-Wan," the Twilek healer looks unamused as she sits across from him. "And no, it's not normal."

Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't particularly like going to the healers. In fact, he avoids them as much as he can. Unfortunately, in this case, Master Che cornered him as he left the training sala and practically dragged him by the ear to her office.

"It really is not too bad. I've grown accustomed to-"

"To what? Four hours of sleep? On a good night?" Master Che rolls her eyes. "You Jedi Knights are going to give me an aneurysm one day."

"I do hope not, Master. Then all of us would be walking around with untreated concussions and scantily wrapped blaster wounds."

She leans back in her chair, her bright blue eyes softening. "Yes, likely. Listen, I brought you here because your little late-night training sessions have found their way down the rumor mill. People are concerned for you."

Obi-Wan glances out the window at the darkened megapolis. He didn't think anyone knew he would go to the training rooms when he couldn't sleep. Though, nothing can really happen in this temple without every other knight and padawan hearing about it.

"I figured it was a good way to tire myself out."

"Well lucky for you, you won't have to do katas at three in the morning anymore," she reaches into her desk and slides two pill bottles across the table. Obi-Wan gingerly picks them up, looking up at her inquisitively. "One is a natural supplement. Think of it as your first line of defense. If you're not feeling tired at bedtime, take this first. It's the natural hormone your body produces to make you fall asleep. Very safe."

"Right. And this one?" he shakes the other. A flicker of a smirk appears on her lips.

"That's the good stuff. It should knock you right out, but only take one pill a night, max."

Seems easy enough. Obi-Wan looks between the two bottles, internally a little glad Master Che corralled him into here. He is not keen on drugs usually, but his current situation has become quite distressing... Maybe he'll finally get a decent sleep.

"And if neither work?" he asks, a little fearful of her answer.

"I'll be impressed if the second doesn't work, but I suppose I can teach your padawan how to do a proper sleep suggestion."

He points an accusatory finger at her. "You wouldn't dare!" The healer smiles fully now, shaking her head. As she looks at him longer, her smile fades again into sympathy.

"Obi-Wan, I do hope you plan on using these medicines. Insomnia is very common, and you are certainly not the only Jedi Knight on this regimen."

He sighs, clutching the bottles in his fist. "I just don't understand why I can't sleep, I suppose. Anakin tires me out his fair share, and I feel exhausted, I just can't seem to actually sleep."

"Well," she shifts in her seat. "It tends to get worse in times of stress-- like having a teenage padawan... or when processing trauma."

Red. So much red, and the sight of a lightsaber through Qui-Gon's abdomen flashes through his mind. He blinks away the image, though he knows it will be there in his dreams anyway. It always is. But he isn't here to discuss that, even if Master Che seems insistent on doing a full exam on him while she has him trapped in the halls.

"Right, well," he stands. "I should let you get your own sleep and try to get some of my own."

She looks a little disappointed as he pines for the door but she stands and they bow goodbye. "I don't want to hear about any more nighttime training sessions, Knight Kenobi. I have eyes and ears everywhere, you know."

He smiles. "Yes, Master Che, I understand."

Yet somewhere between the Halls of Healing and Obi-Wan's apartment, he seems to forget their understanding. He sits on his bed, staring at the bottles in either hand. The morning will be upon Coruscant in a short few hours, and he can't risk being knocked out and missing morning meditation and training with Anakin. He sets the bottle of sleeping pills on his side table and looks at the supplements. She claimed these were natural, only a mild aid... perhaps he can at least try these for his few hours of sleep.

They go down easy with water, and he lays on his back, staring up at the ceiling. His muscles are still buzzing from hours of repeating kata after kata, honing his acrobatics, and dueling with the training droids. It baffles him how his body can feel so exhausted but he doesn't find a wink of sleep. The reality of his sleeplessness is a number barely present in the back of his mind. He tries not to think about it as the hours tick up. Twenty-four hours. Thirty-six hours. Forty. Fifty. Sixty.

The worst part is he is trying to sleep. Truly. He wants nothing more than for his head to hit the pillow and to blink out of consciousness for a good six hours or so. But to no avail. He envies the other knights who have taught themselves to sleep whenever they can, wherever they can. In the deep wells of the Temple windows, pilot chairs of ships, standing up in some cases. Sometimes he is tempted to ask them their secret, but he suspects that just like he is wired to be awake forevermore, they are made to find their rest.

Everything is the will of the Force, isn't it? Qui-Gon always told him there was a reason for everything. A plan that he may not be able to see now, but later he will. His greatest comfort has always been that there will one day be a purpose for the agony he goes through. One day it will all make sense.

He closes his eyes. Maybe that will help. He doesn't feel drowsy but he isn't sure if he is supposed to with this supplement.

Obi-Wan can feel the edges of sleep nearby. He tries to grab them, hang onto the feeling of spiraling into blissful unconsciousness, but it's like a switch he can't reach. He rolls to his side, squeezing his eyes shut again. Tries to push out every thought from his mind, but somehow thinking about how he needs to think about nothing is more occupying to his mind than actually thinking about anything else.

So he lies there. Switches to his other side. Back to his back. Experiments with lying on his stomach, and decides it cranes his neck too much. And when he finds himself on his back for the third time he realizes the light has slowly crept into his room and Anakin's alarm is blaring on the other side of their apartment.

He sighs. Sits up and rubs his eyes. Fifty-five hours.

Obi-Wan struggles his way through their meditation. His heavy intake of caff made him jittery and his lack of sleep made getting a good grasp on the Force difficult. Even Anakin seemed to notice his lack of propriety, which only made Obi-Wan feel worse. After lunchtime, Obi-Wan goes to one of his knight elective courses. It's saber training concentrating on Form III, which he usually enjoys, but today he lingers near the back of the group. His vision is starting to get hazy, and things look as though they are moving when he knows they aren't. After getting hit by three training bolts that he should have been able to deflect, he decides to bench himself for the remainder of the class.

He has a feeling this will get back to Master Che, but he doesn't care anymore.

Anakin is back from his own classes when he gets back to his apartment. The padawan is lounging on the couch with a datapad balanced on his knees. When he sees Obi-Wan come through the door, he jumps up.

"Master you're back!" he says with more enthusiasm than Obi-Wan is used to from his teenage apprentice.

"Anakin, hello," he says, raising an eyebrow and glancing around the apartment. "What did you break?"

Anakin crosses his arms. "Why do you think I broke something?"

Obi-Wan sets down his training bag by the door. "Just a feeling, I suppose."

"Well a wrong feeling, Master," he says, walking with long strides into the kitchen. Yes, he is definitely up to something.

Anakin pulls out two plates, each with sandwiches stacked tall with meat. Obi-Wan also suddenly realizes the kettle is on the stove and two mugs are sitting out, prepped with tea bags.

"I asked one of the Masters what kinds of food help people go to sleep. They said turkey and chamomile tea are good," Anakin looks up at him hesitantly. "I thought maybe some turkey sandwiches and tea for dinner may help you... you know. Sleep better."

Obi-Wan feels like he might cry. He blames it on the sleep deprivation but seeing the effort Anakin put into a problem he had no idea his padawan even picked up on touches him. The boy can be a terror sometimes, but Qui-Gon was right about his kindness. Obi-Wan smiles, walking up to the fourteen-year-old and squeezing his shoulder.

"This looks wonderful, Anakin. I have been having some sleep troubles, and I'm sorry if I worried you."

"When I can't sleep I like to try to tire myself out. Have you tried that, Master?"

He smiles softly. More than you know, young one. "Unfortunately, Master Che was not too happy with that method. She gave me some medication to help, instead."

Anakin takes a big bite of his sandwich, making a face. "That's not as fun."

Obi-Wan takes his own bite of the sandwich that is quite literally stacked with turkey. It might be half a bird here alone. "That's what I told her, too."

Anakin laughs, jumping up to grab the screeching kettle and finish preparing the tea. Sixty-four hours now, but this time he has a good feeling about resetting the clock for tomorrow. The master and apprentice enjoy the rest of their meal, and then Obi-Wan retires to his room. With his belly full of comfort food and tea, he actually feels the long-lost tug of drowsiness enticing him to bed. Even with such a feeling, he picks up the medication that Master Che prescribed him.

Without adequate sleep, he can't be the Master Anakin needs him to be. The boy deserves all that and more. Obi-Wan swallows the sleeping pill without another thought and lies back in bed. It takes only a few minutes for him to drift into a blissful, dreamless sleep.

__________

A scream is caught in his throat as Anakin is forcibly thrown out of his nightmare. He chokes on it, coughing a few times to clear his throat and then wiping the cold sweat off his brow and upper lip. It's pitch black in the room, but he waits a moment to turn on the light. Sometimes, when he just lets his eyes adjust naturally he can pretend for a few moments that he's anywhere other than the cold quarters of a star destroyer. He can be back on Coruscant, in Padmé's comfortable bed with the weight of her comforters pressing him into the mattress. Or in their lake country villa on Naboo, her body wrapped around him with the sound of running water nearby. Sometimes he is back with his mother, her fingers rifling through his hair soothingly as she lulls him back to sleep.

Anywhere where he isn't alone on a bunk harder than durasteel. Sometimes he thinks he'd rather sleep on the dunes of Tatooine than his bunk. (Obi-Wan usually tells him to stop being dramatic when he goes that far.)

But these little divergences are enough to lull him out of the panic of his dreams and into a better state of mind. By the time his eyes do adjust to the blank walls and regulation furniture he can decide whether or not he will be returning to sleep for the night.

They've been getting worse lately. The dreams. They happen nearly every night now. Not always the same thing, like before his mother's death, but always intense and horrific. Always making him wake up close to tears or worry that he's been screaming and Ahsoka or Obi-Wan will come bursting in at any moment. Sometimes he is calm enough to put going back to sleep to chance. Other times he prefers to just accept a day without sleep.

Obi-Wan would kill him if he knew. Ahsoka gives him enough trouble when he yawns his way through briefing meetings, so he's surprised she hasn't tattled on him yet. Or maybe she has, and the old man has decided it would be hypocritical to nag him about it. Obi-Wan isn't exactly known for his healthy sleep schedules either.

He doesn't have good feelings about sleep tonight. His heart is still racing and he can still see a horrific scene of Ahsoka sobbing with a lifeless Obi-Wan in her arms, blood is trickling out of his nose and ears, and eyes glossy and set. It's a moment he's seen a few times. Sometimes Obi-Wan is already dead and other times he's falling and Anakin is running frantically to save him.

He never makes it.

Tonight was no different.

Anakin turns on the light and slips on a pair of trousers. His hair is a mess, per usual, but running his fingers through it a few times seems to do the trick. He still has to squint as he steps out into the hallway. The fluorescent lights of the ship are about as harsh as staring straight into a star, but it wakes him up as good as a cup of caff. It's the middle of the nightshift, but the halls are still just as busy as usual. Since there is no distinct day or night in the middle of deep space, they are just suggestions to ensure people actually sleep.

It's not as comforting as taking walks around the sleeping Temple when he can't sleep. There is a blissfulness to being awake when the rest of the planet isn't that Anakin finds refreshing from the usual bustle of the day. The best he can find is the mess, where only a few troopers sit around at the tables with cups of caff or snacks.

Anakin helps himself to his own cup, pouring a decent amount of sugar in for good measure. He settles down at a table with his datapad. Maybe this time he'll actually get his council report in on time, at least. He spends the next hour or so filling out his paperwork and working up a decent collection of caff cups and snack wrappers. By the time he reaches his last assigned task, the dinner rush has begun for the night-shifters.

"General Skywalker?" he looks up to see Rex standing with his own cup of caff in hand. Anakin gives him a friendly smile.

"Oh hey, Rex, what are you doing up?"

"Could ask you the same, sir," he sits down on the bench, eyeing the four other empty cups strewn about.

"Paperwork. Couldn't sleep."

The corner of Rex's mouth upturns in a half-smile. "More and more like General Kenobi, every day."

"Don't even joke like that, Rex, I would never hear the end of it," he says, though a small part of his mind curses that the captain is actually right. Using paperwork as an excuse to avoid sleep? He might as well grow a beard and have a Core accent.

"Only joking, of course, sir."

"So what's your excuse?"

"My excuse?"

"Our first call isn't for another few hours, and I've never seen you up and about at this time."

Rex takes a long sip from his drink. Stalling, it seems.

"To be frank, sir, ever since Umbara I tend to... wake up earlier."

Anakin searches the clone captain's face, and suddenly he recognizes it. The dark circles and bloodshot eyes are faint, but definitely there.

"The dreams keep you up?" he asks casually. Anakin has always liked Rex because he isn't afraid to be more candid around him. He has the respect of a leader, but he isn't so uptight about his rank. Through their time working closely together, they have actually begun to be somewhat of friends. At least, Anakin considers Rex to be a friend.

The clone looks up at him with surprise. "Well, sometimes, yes. How did you--"

"Like I said, I'm not Obi-Wan. Paperwork doesn't keep me up at night."

It feels good to actually admit it aloud to someone. To be able to say he's having bad dreams without getting a lecture from his master or getting watched like a hawk by his padawan. Especially if Rex is having the same issue.

They let this revelation blanket around them as they continue to sip on their caff. Even with six cups in his system, Anakin's body feels heavy and fatigued. It takes much longer to complete the last form with the amount of time he has to read and reread things to make sure he is understanding it right. His vision keeps blurring as though he is on the verge of falling asleep.

That's something Anakin has never had a problem with-- falling asleep. It takes him mere minutes to close his eyes and fall into a deep sleep. It's just the damned dreams that wake him up and ruin his rest.

"Uh, sir?" he hears through a clearing throat. Anakin opens his eyes and realizes he has dozed off with his forehead on the datapad. He smiles away the embarrassment, shaking his head.

"This caff sucks."

"You know they have decaf out after lunch right?"

He blinks. "Decaff?" Anakin says it as though it's a word in a foreign language.

"Yes, you have to request for a pot of regular. New health initiative started in the last month or so to improve... sleep."

The Jedi general crosses his arms over his chest. "And nobody told me?"

"I suppose they thought the label on the pot sufficed."

He glances over at the caff machine and, in fact, there is a label reading DECAF. Fair enough. He looks back at Rex, who is passively amused by all of this.

"Kix has too much power. It's going to go to his head."

Rex smiles, shaking his head but not disagreeing. Now disgusted by his caff, the knight casts aside the half-empty cup. The lack of caffeine definitely explains why he is still so tired.

"I should be going to prep for the morning briefing, then," Rex says, standing up and grabbing his bucket from the bench. He downs the remainder of his coffee and tucks his helmet under his arms. "Thanks for the company, though, general."

"Anytime. I suppose I will see you at the update."

"Oh right," Rex says, pausing and looking back down at him. "I have messages for you. General Kenobi commed to let you know they have postponed the update meeting to tomorrow. And we will be in hyperspace another full day before arriving at our check-in point."

He does the mental gymnastics of cycling through his schedule and realizes his entire day is clear of meetings. A day off? That is about as rare as Ahsoka not being snippy. He even has his paperwork done now so...

"Well in that case, maybe I will take the decaf as a sign and... take a nap." He can feel his mind more clear now. Usually, that means he can manage a few good hours without another nightmare if he has any at all. Though he was adamant about not wanting to go back to bed a few hours ago, suddenly laying down sounds amazing.

Rex smiles. "Very good, sir. I will be sure to comm you if we need anything, of course."

The clone captain walks off, and Anakin looks around at his little collection of trash, tired and a little dumbfounded.

He has a sudden suspicious feeling Ahsoka hasn't been tattling to Obi-Wan, but to Rex. Anakin smiles to himself, shakes his head, and gathers up his things to go back for some extra shut-eye.

__________

When Ahsoka can't sleep, she pulls her old Jedi cloak out of her closet. It's not something she wears anymore-- not for a long time at this point-- but it is something she has kept close to her ever since going on the run from the Empire.

There is just something about that thick, wooly fabric that is like a security blanket when she encases herself in it. It still smells like a mix of the standard-issue laundry detergent and engine oil. She can run her fingers along the hem, recognizing the familiar fray on the right sleeve that she used to pick at when she was nervous, or the hole that Master Kenobi had to patch three separate times in the pocket. There is a burnt edge on the hood where Anakin managed to nick it with his saber, and sometimes the tip of her montral would peek out.

Today she can't sleep, and she isn't sure why. Sometimes, she has these periods of time where falling asleep and staying asleep are more difficult than they should be. She suspects it has something to do with stress, which she has plenty of, all the time. The cloak always seems to help, so she grabs it. It always reminds her of Master Obi-Wan and his habit of losing his own cloaks. When she pulls it around herself it feels like a hug from Anakin. And when she closes her eyes she pretends she is in another time and another place. A time when her mentors watched over her and protected her and she wasn't so alone.

A part of her thinks that somewhere in the Force they are still looking over her. It is a Jedi teaching that she still holds a belief in that in death all are returned to the Force... Which means the same energy field that surrounds her and binds her is Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan Kenobi. Plo Koon. Every other Jedi that didn't make it through Order 66. Though the thought of their deaths brings a deep sadness she still cannot quite process, it also reminds her that when she wraps the Force around herself she isn't as alone as she feels. Sleep comes easier.

[writer1]

Fear of the unknown

Chapter 6

You wake up in Rex's arms, having went to bed the night prior with him. You sigh, you're not ready to get up out of the warm bed. You notice something off about Rex though, he seems... Fluffier. Oh no!

You open your eyes to see Rex, completely transformed into a werewolf. There's shreds of his shirt around him and you pull them away, throwing them off the bed. His pants are ripped and shredded, you can't imagine what would happen if Rex was wearing his armor.

You try to think of a reason for him to be transformed, the most possible being he had a nightmare last night. You chuckle as you rub your hand through the fur on his chest, feeling him sigh contently. He pulls you closer to him, nuzzling the top of your head in his sleep.

He dwarfs you but even in his sleep he's being very gentle, afraid to hurt you even when he's unconscious. You wonder if you're going to wake up to him like this often, you probably will if what General Kenobi says is true. You don't think Rex is going to be happy about this.

You check the time and decide that you better get up, you and Rex have a lot to do today. You hate that you have to get up, if it were your choice you would cuddle with Rex all day, even when he's in his wolf form.

"Rex. Rex, wake up. We have to go." Rex's eyes flutter open, he looks at you and smiles, them he notices that he's in wolf form and groans, sitting up.

"Again!" You smile as you sit up to, grabbing his hand. He's upset again, but it's thankfully not as bad as when you first saw him as a werewolf.

"It's fine Rex, although we do need to leave soon, so can you try to turn human." The only reason you want him to turn human is because you have to leave, you don't really care if Rex is a wolf or human, he's still your boyfriend.

"I'm trying, cyare. It's hard." You smile and pull his arm over, rubbing it soothingly. He seems to calm down even more, sinking into your touch.

"Does this help sweetheart." He doesn't answer you, still trying to transform. You see him start to shrink down, his fur and claws receding. You watch as his bones rearrange and everything about him changes to human. You wonder how he's not in pain from the transformation but he's not even phased by it.

"That's better." He's fully human and he seems happy to be, you wonder what emotions could set it off, since Rex isn't acting like he had a nightmare. There must be other emotions that set off his transformation, you'll have to see if Rex would like to try and test that theory when you get back.

"Rex? Did you have a nightmare last night. Maybe that's why you transformed." Rex looks confused.

"No, I didn't. I don't know why I transformed." This further prove your suspicion, there must be other emotions and condition's that make him transform.

"We'll figure it out later, we have to get ready to leave now." You and Rex both get dressed, Rex in his civilian clothes that you got him and you wearing the long sleeved shirt and pants you wear while not working.

You and Rex head into the landing bay, seeing the gunship that Fives got ready for you. You both get on and head down to the planet, it takes a little while but you finally arrive at the base.

You pull Rex to your job first, deciding that you should get everything from your apartment last. You call an air taxi and tell the driver the adress. You arrive at the autoshop and get out of the taxi, already seeing your boss, a human, with a customer. You and Rex wait patiently, it doesn't take long until your boss is done with the customer and he walks over to you.

"Y/n, it's good to see you. Why are you here so late?" You smile, your boss is really nice and is always understanding when you're late.

"Actually, Ban, I won't be working here anymore." Ban, your boss, looks sad at this, you feel bad leaving on such a short notice but you also are so glad to be working with Rex. Rex is silently standing behind you, letting you do all the talking.

"Why not?"

"I actually got a job offer working with my boyfriend, Rex, sorry for such short notice but I just found out yesterday." You grab Rex's hand and pull him foreword. Ban smiles at you, happy that you found a job that makes you this happy.

"It's fine, I'm glad that you get to work with him, so this is the soldier boyfriend I've heard so much about. Did you know that y/n loves to talk about you while she works." You blush at that. You do tend to ramble while you work, mainly about Rex. Rex chuckles, squeezing your hand.

"I didn't know that, you talk about me."

"Yes, I do. Sometimes." Both Rex and Ban chuckle at how embarrassed you are.

"I've got to get back to work, but make sure to come visit next time you're planetside, my wife would love to have you over for dinner, and bring the boyfriend. She's been wanting to meet him ever since you told her about him." You smile at the thought of seeing Ban's wife again, she's a purple twilek and she's really sweet.

"Don't worry, we will." You yell to him as you leave, making a mental note to remember to visit next time you and Rex have leave.

"Well, he was just as friendly as you said." You look up at Rex, smiling. You've told him quite a bit about Ban.

"Yeah, Ban has been my boss since I was 16, and him and his wife became good friends I could rely on." You smile thinking about when you first met him, a 16 year old who wanted to be a mechanic. You're going to miss working for him, but you'll keep in touch with him.

"Come on, it's time to get my stuff from the apartment, and tell my landlord that I'm moving out." You grab Rex's hand and start heading to your apartment, which is within walking distance of your job. You get to the building and walk in, climbing up the stairs to your home.

You unlock the door and you and Rex walk in, you immediately go to your room and grab two boxes, one for you and one for Rex.

"What do we need to grab cyare." You think for a minute, you know that you want your books. You also have your clothes, which you throw in your own box

"Grab the books and my blanket and pillow, I know you like them to." Rex does that as you're throwing your photo album and framed pictures.in your box, there's only two framed pictures since you usually keep pictures in your album.

After Rex is done grabbing the books and pillow/blanket he starts grabbing little trinkets around the apartment that he knows you want. Most of the trinkets are things he got you during mission's, a little statue from Naboo, a necklace from Ryloth.

You don't have much in your apartment, a lot of your things are in the barracks to boost moral of the boys. And a lot of the stuff here the Anakin can get you for the Resolute. It's still sad, this was your first apartment. It's where you and Rex had your first date, you cooked him supper, you're going to miss it.

You think you've got everything you need when you remember, you grab the little stuffed bunny of the shelf. Your parents gave it to you when you were 4 and you've had it ever since. You set it in and look around the apartment, once you're sure you've gotten everything you wanted you call Rex.

"I think we've got everything. Ready to go." Rex walks over to you, his box full of stuff he thought you would want.

"I am if you are." You smile and look back at your apartment one last time before leaving. You walk down the stairs towards where your landlord lives and knocks on the apartment door.

He opens the door, he's a green twilek. He looks at you, unamused as usual. You're not going to miss him, at all.

"What do you want!" You can see Rex tense up, he's never liked your landlord.

"I'm not living here anymore, you can sell my apartment. "

"Ok, I'll get right on that." He closes the door. You can't wait to never see that landlord again, he was never nice to you.

"Come on Rex, let's get back to the Resolute." You carry your box full of stuff outside, Rex calling a taxi as he holds his own box. You both get in and tell the driver the location of the base, you can't believe that it only took you about two hours to do everything.

You both get back to the base, hopping on the gunship and heading back up to the Resolute, ready to get started on unpacking your things in Rex's quarters.

Taglist: @captainrexisboo @tobitofunction @pentaghasm @ohmsjedi @pro-fangirls-unsocial-life @ellie1366 @marine-captain-deku @reimet

[capricornus-rex]

A Shadow of What You Used to Be (2)

Chapter 2: The Homestead | Cal Kestis x Irele Skywalker

Requested by Anon

Summary: There is another! Years after young Anakin Skywalker departed Tatooine, his mother Shmi delivers a second child—this time, a daughter. Whilst the circumstance of the girl’s birth remains unexplained, Irele Skywalker has yet to choose the true path between those laid out for her.

Tags: Fem! OC, Irele Skywalker, Force-sensitive! OC, Anakin’s Younger Sister, Skywalker! OC, Darth Vader’s Secret Apprentice, Long-lost Sibling

Also in AO3

Chapters: Prelude | Previous: Part 1 | Next: Part 3 | Masterlist

3 of ?

Normally, it would take a rider on an eopie to travel from Mos Espa to the Jundland Wastes in five hours maximum. Cliegg, Shmi, and Irele saved themselves an hour or two by spurring the mounts to their full speed. In three hours, they’ve passed by Anchorhead, ending up in the Great Chott salt flat where the Lars homestead and moisture farm are nestled.

Just in the horizon, Irele could spot the white dome structure just a few more miles away. The binary suns are in full view of the sky. Cliegg grunted a command, and Shmi echoed it—thus, the animals kicked the dust at their heels, transitioning from their leisurely gait to a long-legged gallop. When the pair of eopies neared the house, a younger man—perhaps in his teens—comes out to greet the arriving pair of travelers.

“I take it that you’re done with your chores, Owen?”

“Just finished, right before you got here actually,”

Owen is Cliegg’s son, perhaps a younger shell of Cliegg as the boy has inherited his father’s sandy brown hair. The youth shifted his look from his father carrying a shut-down protocol droid to the second eopie carrying a woman and child; he watched the animal be coaxed to its knees by the female rider, the child jumped off first before her mother.

“You bought two of them?”

“You rather I separate mother and child? Would you think it right?” Cliegg quietly lectured.

The son did not argue further, for Cliegg was right. The man handed over the lifeless protocol droid to his son who carried it with great care and regard; the father whispered that it’s still in working condition, it just needed plating to protect its circuits. Irele was reluctant to approach Owen, but Shmi gently rung her arm around her daughter’s shoulder, and so the girl’s legs moved on their own following her mother’s pace.

“Hi there, I’m Owen,”

There’s a shy silence from the girl and took a pace back, blocked by her mother standing right behind her.

“Shmi, Irele,” Clieg addressed and looked at them respectively. “This is my son, Owen.”

“Hello,” the son managed a smile. “Why don’t you come in and let me show you around.”

Irele still hesitates.

“Go on,” Shmi cooed.

While Owen gave a tour of the house for Shmi and Irele, Cliegg would interject to show where Shmi and Irele would be of help around the home. Secretly, during the tour, Shmi would search for the matriarch of this household.

“Is there something wrong, Shmi?”

Shmi began with stammers and had to clear her throat.

“I was wondering where your wife is.”

Cliegg smacked his lips, preparing for an answer. Clueless, Shmi looked at Cliegg for a moment before she got a hint of the silence, she felt her cheeks burn hotter than the Dune Sea at high noon. Now feeling embarrassed, Shmi struggled to coherently apologized; Cliegg insisted that there was no harm done and briefly explained that his wife had passed. The woman expressed her condolences before moving on.

From the outdoor rotunda which intersects the different sections of the house, the combined voices of Owen and Irele grew louder and echoed through the open door frames—the noise causing both parents of each child to turn to the general direction where the kids are.

“Looks like they’re getting along quite well,” Cliegg chuckled.

Meanwhile, the two children have moved on from the living room to the kitchen—perhaps the widest Irele has ever seen in a house! She separated from Owen and ran off on her own, but the boy had caught up to her quickly and found in her the quarters hall. Scanning the area, she found three rooms, one of which was sealed off by a metal door.

The girl raises a finger pointing at the closed door.

“Is that where we’re gonna sleep?”

“Um…” Owen stuttered, before he could complete his words, Irele continued speaking.

“Is that where your slaves stay?”

Irele kept pouring questions, one after another; not leaving a space of a second for Owen to answer each one.

“So, me and mom—are we your first slaves or second?”

“A-Actually, my dad doesn’t feel comfortable when he calls you people ‘slaves,’ it just doesn’t feel right to him—myself included.”

“But… that’s what we are,”

All of a sudden, Irele’s inquisitive tone became somber. The reality has sunken into the eight-year-old’s mind, having no choice but to accept that lot in life.

“Hey now, we’re not gonna let you feel like one the same you guys did back in your old owner,” Owen reassured the girl in quite a brotherly way that Irele found comforting.

Irele’s eyes turned to the droid on Owen’s shoulders. She gestured a nod at it.

“His name is C3PO, in case you were wondering.”

“Oh, this?” Owen angled slightly so that C3PO faces Irele, who giggled. “I was almost worried that I had to figure out his model name and make a nickname out of that!”

“No, C3PO or 3PO is fine,” chuckled Irele.

That same afternoon, they already started working around in the house. Having to leave their house in Mos Espa to stay in the Lars homestead was also a big adjustment—literally and figuratively. Shmi was overwhelmed with how spacious the homestead is, and she knew that she needed to get used to it. Though it relieved her that Irele was slowly feeling comfortable around the house and the people who live in it.

In the evening, Shmi prepared dinner without being prompted to. She had remembered the times Cliegg had told her when they usually have their meals; of course, Irele helped around in the kitchen while the two men of the house finished their work in the farm and the small rotunda—for Owen at least. When father and son had completed the day’s tasks, they were greeted with a table of food but only set for both of them; Shmi didn’t hint the slight puzzlement in Cliegg’s face as his head slightly shifted left and right—counting only two plates, for himself and his son. The patriarch of the house seated himself awkwardly at the front of the table, with his son sitting on his left hand side. Now that their new owners have settled for dinner, Shmi and Irele silently decided to make themselves useful someplace else in the house—the girl was thinking she could while away her time in their garage, fix things that needed fixing. Cliegg stood up, causing a confused Owen to stop in the middle of piercing the meat with his fork, and chased the tandem who were now a few paces away from the dining room.

Cliegg grunted, supposedly to call out their names to stop them; regardless, Shmi and Irele turned around.

“Where are you going?” asked the patriarch.

“Oh, we were just going to work around the house while you have supper.”

“No, no,” Cliegg waved his hand and then transitioned to a gesture of welcome. “Please, come sit, and eat with us.”

Irele’s head tilted up to her mother, shooting her a trivial look, and slightly tightened her grip around her mother’s slightly bigger hand. Taken aback, Shmi didn’t know how and what to respond. Cliegg insisted again, though gently, as he always does with his actions. When the two had joined the other pair, only then did Cliegg began with his food; his first bite of Shmi’s cooking was delightful—he chewed slowly, savoring the flavor of meat and vegetables, he never spared a second to take a second the moment he swallowed the first bite. His reaction affirmed Shmi, in her mind, she had hoped she made a good impression to him as their new servant; Cliegg gestured at the food, wordlessly inviting Shmi to help herself, as well as Irele.

Irele only revealed a smile when she put the spoon in her mouth. Her mother’s cooking was the first reason. The second reason? The warmth that she felt around this house, at this table—it was surreal. She had craved for it—in the back of her mind, she did, she just didn’t know it would come this soon and from a person like Cliegg and Owen Lars.

“Hey Irele, tomorrow morning I’m gonna fix the vaporators in the farm. And maybe we can fix up C3PO. You wanna join?” Owen engaged.

Irele looked to her mother first for some kind of approval and then she nodded at Owen.

“But you gotta be early tomorrow morning!”

“Oh don’t worry, I never miss an hour!” she chimed.

Laughter sourced from the two children, then their parents accompanied with soft chuckles.

For a moment, Irele nearly forgot her life of slavery because it felt like she and her mother had walked into a new family.

–

A few months of their tenure in the Lars homestead, rarely did they ever feel they were slaves. Helper was a kinder word, though not as demeaning as slave. Shmi and Irele worked around the house with full initiative and gusto, enjoying what liberty they have around the house—such as cooking for Shmi, and tinkering for Irele—something that was deprived of them back in that junkshop.

Remembering that promise, Irele joined Owen to the farm where he would show her the vaporators and how to fix them. Owen went ahead and started working on one of them, struggling with a wrench  as Irele watched. Slowly, she went sat closer to Owen to examine the problem.

“There’s something lodged in there,” Irele pointed. “Here, let me.”

“Alright,”

Her slender fingers and tiny hands managed to scrape off whatever what was lodging the small hatch of the vaporator. While she’s at it, she noticed a loose wire in the circuit box and replaced it. Owen watched, impressed at the small child who would know such things. Irele grunted when the plug had fitted neatly into the correct socket and dusted off her hands together.

“How’d you learn to do that?”

“I worked in a podrace garage and in a parts junkshop. The podrace garage is just a part-time.”

“Well, that’s impressive for a kid,” Owen chuckled, forgetting he was a child as well. “But I guess we gotta know these things at this age, right? If we wanna survive.”

“Yeah, they’ll always come in handy.”

The two children continued with their chores. Cliegg joined them briefly to teach Irele how to harvest and how some of their equipment work. When the girl caught on quickly, seeing that she was a fast learner and Owen can handle himself in supervising her, the elder Lars returned to the homestead.

There came a time where Irele had to cut her day short and return to the house, leaving Owen with the other farmers—friends of Cliegg—that day. On the way, she didn’t know what to feel, but she sensed something unusual—she could not pinpoint, however, if it was good or bad. In the back of her mind, something was telling her—no, consoling her—that things will be fine and not the way she thought it would. When she arrived to the house, she spotted that her mother behaved differently—tightly rubbing her one clenched fist with the other, and holding back a smile.

“What’s going on?”

Shmi stood up from her seat in the dining hall and walked up to her daughter.

“Mom?”

“Irele, dear,” the woman took the child’s hand, looked over her shoulder to Cliegg and then back to Irele. “Cliegg is going to free us.”

The girl’s jaw dropped and her heart burst through her tiny ribs right then and there. Elated, confused, and overjoyed—she didn’t know what to make of these emotions all at once! Shmi could feel the shakiness of her daughter’s hands, Irele looked to Cliegg—speechless, but he must’ve understood and nodded as a wordless “You’re welcome.”

That same day, Cliegg called for Owen to come home as well. And so the family hopped onto a speeder and drove to Jabba the Hutt’s palace. Not one human in that speeder knew fluent Huttese, and so they tagged C3PO along—now outfitted with metal plates, they were tarnished in color but it was better than be a biped of exposed red and blue wires. There, they were greeted by a flesh-colored Twi’lek—Jabba’s loyal butler, Bib Fortuna—and immediately required them to state their purpose while a pair of Gamorrean guards stood on either side. C3PO greeted the Twi’lek in Huttese, accompanied by a slow bow, in the humans’ behalf. In Basic, Cliegg requested an audience with Jabba the Hutt for an appeal.

The male Twi’lek’s head slightly angled in intrigue after hearing the translation.

“An appeal?” Fortuna said to himself, barely muttering the word in the other language.

C3PO furthered his human owners’ purpose by briefly explaining what the appeal is about. It doubly piqued Bib when the droid gestured to the mother and child tandem of slaves, he somewhat got the idea, and he paused to contemplate or perhaps rehearse how he will present this to his master.

Nevertheless, the Twi’lek escorted the visitors to the audience chamber, where the master of the house: Jabba the Hutt, remains unmoving in his throne—which was more or less a stage—while toothlessly chewing on the mouthpiece of what ought to be an ornate hookah pipe. Irele felt small when she entered that chamber. There were eyes on her—human, humanoid, sentient alike—when she looked around and saw them drinking and mingling. Upon facing the Hutt, Fortuna bowed before presenting the visitors, he addressed to Jabba in the latter’s native dialect before joining the Hutt’s side.

The droid took one step forward, literally standing between Jabba and the family. Detecting some sort of prompt, C3PO first greeted the Hutt to appease him, and then proceeded to relay Cliegg’s request directly in Huttese.

Jabba hummed and his pupils dilated—with the same intrigue of Bib Fortuna. In his lack of a response, Cliegg follows up.

“I would like to request the freedom of my—” Cliegg paused and turned around. He cleared his throat. “These two slaves. I bought them from a Toydarian junkshop trader. Now that they are under my name, in my home, under my wing—I have deliberately decided to free them.”

If one has lived in Tatooine long enough to know how Hutts operate in their presiding territory, it is no surprise that such a bold request requires collateral or a barter. Cliegg had prepared for this apparently: he’s prepared to give a percentage of his harvest for five standard years to the Hutt, plus an adequate sum of money.

“You drive a hard bargain, Lars,” Jabba croaked in Huttese. There was a pause from the family and the Hutt continued. “Though, I appreciate the fact that you have prepared this. And to show that I am a generous leader, and that I have no qualms with you farmers nor your families: keep the money and give me fifty percent of your harvest.”

The Hutt’s generosity is rare, but it’s not surprising that he is not harsh towards people who have no qualms but it’s the safest route to appease him. Cliegg bit his tongue and gave a grateful bow.

“You are most gracious, Jabba.”

Jabba returned the bow and dismissed the family, as if second nature, Bib Fortuna saw them out the same way he escorted them inside. Once they have gotten through the massive metal gates and the echoing clang signaled the end of their business, Shmi turned to Cliegg—her blush concealed by a mask of a mild sunburn.

“Thank you, but I don’t know how I can ever repay you,”

“But I felt like it was the right thing to do,” Cliegg then turned to Irele, who was still elated from the entire ordeal. “A slave’s life is not a life for a child and her mother.”

Irele didn’t speak, but she smiled back at the remark.

[oceanera12]

Star Wars Pizza AU

You read that right. In my defense, I saw a post about someone ordering pizza and their order was number 66. I decided to read the comments for a laugh. And then my brain exploded. Whoops.

Dominos (aka the Clones)

The franchise was technically bought by the owner of Little Senators years ago, but no one knows about that except the original owners (*cough cough* The Kamino family *cough cough*) who pretend they’re still in charge for a large hunk of money (ILLEGALLY)

Their best store (the one that makes the most money and has the best reviews) is in the city named after the Kamino’s (Kamino) and is run and operated by a different family, the “Fetts” (and no one is sure how it is legal, but so far no one’s gotten sued so...)

It’s a joke that the “Fetts” will run out of workers at some point but so far it hasn’t happened.

Also, weirdly enough, all of the employees are boys and look a lot alike

The manager’s name is Cody. He’s very strict on the dress code, very fair to the customers, and loves his job.

His brother, Fox, manages another Dominos across town and the two of them will often team up on especially large orders and hold a (friendly) yearly competition between the two stores (Cody’s team has won the last three years, something he will bring up whenever he can)

They have another brother, Wolffe, who manages another store as well, but he’s across the country so they don’t see him as much.

All three were taught how to make pizza, run the storefront, etc, by their grandfather (Ninety-Nine), who passed away a few years back. Their grandfather was one of the original managers during the franchises’ early years

Rex is the younger brother of Cody and acts as an assistant manager to him. Rex hopes to be promoted one day but he’s happy where he is right now.

Boil and Waxer (the cousins) are the best chefs they have. The kitchen is filled with bickering and teasing with flying dough and toppings but everything comes out perfectly (somehow).

Kix and Jesse are the head delivery boys. They are in charge of training the newbies and take the furthest orders (Jesse is known to run the speed limit at one point going 90 down a 35. Kix knows the city like the back of his hand and knows all the short cuts)

Nicknamed, “The Domino Squad” (aka, the thing that started this AU idea), is Fives, Echo, Hevy, Droidbait, and Cutup. (Fives and Echo are twins, with Droidbait as a little bro while Hevy and Cutup are cousins of theirs. All are nephews to Rex and Cody) Cody and Rex quickly learned the five of them could handle the day shift all by themselves. (hence the nickname) 

Fives is excellent on the front end, taking orders and answering the phone with a friendly smile and pleasant attitude.

Echo is the best on the register, his mind able to add up the order and give back change very quickly and efficiently. He also keeps the orders straight and has never given anyone the wrong slip/pizza.

Hevy can run the kitchen on a busy shift with help from Cutup (who doubles as a janitor when needed).

Droidbait is one of their fastest delivery boys and manages to rack in a lot on tips and good reviews.

Hadcase and Tup are also delivery boys, with Dogma helping in the kitchen. Tup is also trained on register and is quite good at it.

The advertising team is nicknamed “The Bad Batch” because why would anyone in their family go into advertising over pizza making? (Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, and Crosshair would, apparently)

Pizza Hutt (aka bounty hunters and scoundrels) 

Jabba is the owner (who else would it be)

Their best store is in the town of Tatooine, which is weird given how hot the climate is.

The manager is this really creepy guy named Bib Fortuna.

Employee of the month (most of the time) is the delivery boy Boba Fett (who deserted from Domino’s after his dad died in a car accident or something). Bobba is known for always delivering on time and with the food still hot. He’s also really good at getting extra on his tips.

The employees come and go on a regular basis, some staying for several years, others only a few days. Jabba is very particular about his place and if he doesn’t like the worker or how someone is doing something, he’ll fire them. Usually with no notice.

On the plus side, Jabba is known to give some pretty good bonus’ if you do a really good job.

Every once in a while, the company offers a special topping. No one is a hundred percent sure what it is but it tastes really good so it sells well. (Don’t ask me what it is)

The employees are not allowed to interact or affliate themselves with any of the other pizza places or Jabba will fire them. He’s very jealous of his company and will not risk losing his secret recipies (hence why only a few people actually know it)

Han and Chewy work there for summer jobs.

Little Senators (later Little Empire-- aka Palpatine and pals)

Palpatine “bought” the franchise years ago (he persuaded the previous owner to basically give it to him with some blackmail and a few other shady business moves, but hey. If no one can trace them, it never happened)

Their best store is in Coruscant (which also happens to be one of the biggest cities in the country) and are considered one of the largest franchises in pizza (if not the largest)

There are two managers that stand above the rest: Dooku and Padme.

Dooku runs the southern Coruscant Little Senators while Padme runs the one in the little off branch city of Naboo. Neither like the other one.

Dooku’s store is known to deliver on time and never mix up orders. The actual pizza’s taste fine, but they are a little haphazardly thrown together.

Padme’s store is known for having the “better tasting” pizza and their food is always hot. If the order is mixed up, they do full refunds and deliver the proper order with no charge.

Dooku’s store is one of the first experimenting with robotic help at the counter and in the kitchen. It goes... well enough.

Padme’s assistant manager is Bail Organa and her best employee is her daughter, Leia Amidala.

When Palpatine brings out the new name (Little Empire), Dooku fully supports it and continues under the franchise.

Padme doesn’t support it or the new company regulations (”These new rules and regulations are tyranny!”) and quits (along with Bail) to start their own pizza place (it’s like a local family joint, not a franchise but who knows). They call it “Pizza Rebel”.

Papa Yoda’s (aka the Jedi)

I can’t stop laughing at the name of this one, help

Yoda is the owner (duh) and most of the employees believe he’s at least a hundred and are shocked he’s still alive. And working. He’s short, walks around with a wooden spoon and will whack anyone who tries to eat the toppings. And yes, he is still involved in the kitchen (and hasn’t retired)

He taught Dooku all about the business of making and selling pizza’s. Dooku grew in skill and then one day left the company without a word. A few years later he showed up as a manager in Little Senators. Ever since then, Papa Yoda’s has been struggling to stay a float.

Some managers worth mentioning: Mace Windu, Obi-Wan, Plo Koon, and Shaak Ti.

Obi-Wan runs the store in Naboo, which had been run by his teacher, Qui-Gon Jinn until his sudden death several years ago. He is the youngest employee made into manager to date. His assistant manager is Anakin Skywalker, who really wants his own store but Yoda thinks he’s not quite ready (which he isn’t). Their best employee is Ahsoka Tano, who can do it all (cook, deliver, and serve) followed closely behind by Luke Amidala (who Anakin claims he’s not related to, but everyone knows otherwise)

(Anakin has been secretly married to Padme of Little Senators but when she leaves the company there’s not much of a reason to keep it a secret. Turns out it really wasn’t a secret because everyone in the store knew-- they also knew about Luke and Leia, apparently)

Mace Windu runs his store alone, but runs it efficiently. The closest thing he has to an assistant manager is his head cook, Deba Billaba. Caleb Dume (Kanan Jarrus) is their best delivery boy who has recently decided to start training some of the newbies (Sabine Wren, Ezra Bridger, Garazeb Orrelios). The front end is run by Hera Syndulla (who may or may not be dating Caleb, it’s a running bet).

Plo Koon and Shaak Ti run their store together (as business partners that’s it) and are known to treat their employees, customers, and their rivals with consideration and kindness. They have a shop very close to Wolffe’s Dominos, which does cause some contention at low points but for the most part, they get along fine. (Plo and Shaak Ti absolutely love the family dynamic between Wolffe’s “pack” of employees). The two will often help Wolffe and his crew in outside business affairs (finding open apartments for employees, helping buy a first car, etc) and they will do the same for the two managers. Most people don’t get how Dominos and Papa Yoda’s are both still open because of this relationship, but they are. (In the future, someone finally figured out Dominos had some legal issues in it’s ownership and was forced to merge with Little Empire or shut down. Wolffe chose to shut down and he and his pack were immediately offered jobs at Papa Yoda’s. They accepted.)

Yoda actually manages a store as well. It’s the “first” one he ever opened and he uses it as a training grounds of sorts for future managers and other job positions. He’s patient, but strict and will often speak in riddles which is annoying to no end. He finds it a great way to weed out the ones that don’t want to be there, and the ones that do.

Order #66 has been banned as an order number. The “why” is never to be spoken of ever again and all the newbies are confused and will ask, but no one will tell them because “they don’t talk about it”

[jonathananubian]

Te Dralyc Kar 8 [Star Wars Fanfic]

Synopsis:

Jango isn’t quite sure how he came to adopt a blonde slave boy after a job on Tatooine went sideways, but he honestly couldn’t complain. The boy is a little genius, brimming with compassion and a willingness to learn. The only hiccup, as far as Jango is concerned, is the fact that his boy is a naturally powerful force user. Someone the jetii would want to get their hands on.

Of course- he’d just like to see them try.

[This story isn’t linear. More like a series of snapshots. At least until later chapters.]

Keldabe. He hadn’t been back to the capitol city for years. The familiar sights and sounds made him ache deep in his core as he watched Mando’ade going about their daily business among the crowded streets. At his side, hand held firmly in his own, Anakin stared at everything in excited awe, pointing at things and asking him questions in a mix of Basic, Huttese, Ryl, and Mando’a that was almost too fast to translate.

Stopping by one of the many food vendors he grabbed two skewers of cooked meat and a small bag of spiced candies. Anakin took the skewer and thanked the vendor in Mando’a before biting into it. Thankfully the boy’s home planet hadn’t been been particularly fussy about food and his son could practically eat anything. Including insects, which was a bit disturbing but at least it was a good survival skill.

When they were finished they stopped by a fountain and he wet a handkerchief to clean the boy’s hands. “This is a cinnamon sweet. It’s a little spicy. Would you like to try it?” The boy nodded eagerly and opened his hand for one. Jango chuckled and gave him one of the fiery hard candies to suck on. Popping one in his own mouth he slipped the sweets into a pouch on his belt before taking Anakin’s hand once more. They had a ways to walk yet before they came to his favourite inn. He had stayed at the Tranyc Vhetin many times, both with his buir and alone after the man had died on Korda VI.

Coming into the cozy building he felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. Anakin looked up at him, blue eyes sharp, and hugged his waist. Of course his little Ka’runi would sense how off kilter he was. Even Partra had admitted the boy was the brightest soul he’d ever felt, and the jetii from the diner had to have felt something seeing as he had tried to ask whether or not his son had been ‘tested.’ Jango didn’t want to know how the jetii tested kids. It’d probably just piss him off to know.

“Solus yamika par gar bal gar ad?” ‘One room for you and your child?’ The staff member at the desk asked, looking between he and his son with a small smile.

“Elek, vor’e.” ‘Yes, thank you.’ Anakin practically bounced up the stairs once they were given a key, making Jango chuckle in amusement.

On the second floor his son was examining the doors, his face scrunched slightly as he tried to remember how to differentiate between the different numbers in Mandalorian Script. Finding their room he opened the door and let the two of them inside. Closing and locking the door behind him he slipped his bucket back off and set it down on the small table near the door. Anakin ran over to the window and drew the curtains, letting in the light. Opening the window he looked out over the street at the colorful banners flapping in the breeze.

“Kandosii!” ‘Wicked!’ Jango let out a low chuckle and went about checking the room for anything potentially dangerous. Not that he believed the innkeepers would have bugged the room or anything like that, but it always paid to be prepared.

Sitting at the small table he watched Anakin dropping his kit bag on the smaller of the two beds and rummage through it. Pulling out his small amenities bag he went to put them in the fresher, exclaiming in surprise when he saw the actual washing tub in the antique style room. “Buir? What’s this for?” He asked, poking his head out.

“It’s a washing tub. You fill it with water and bathe in it. We used to have one on the farm where I grew up. Buir would wash our clothes in it during the cold season.” The emotions associated with the memories of his younger days had dulled over time but he could still feel that burning sadness and anger in his core. So many of those he cared about had been taken away from him…

“Buir?” He looked down at his son, who stood there with an understanding look in his liquid blue eyes. “I’m sorry you’re sad. I know I can’t make it go away. But I can give you a hug?” Smiling he opened his arms for his boy and let out a shaky breath.

“Sadness is a part of life, An’ika. It will fade with time but it never really goes away.” The boy made a thoughtful noise.

“Why do we have to feel sad?” Jango frowned. His kid was too young to keep asking all these philosophical questions, his genius be damned. But it was the nature of children to be curious.

“If we never felt sad then the times we’re happy wouldn’t feel as special. Everyone has happy and sad times, An’ika. It helps shape who we are.” He pulled back and looked down at his son. “But we’ll talk more about that another day. Just because we’re not on the ship doesn’t mean you can skip training or meditation. Get changed.” The blonde gave him a small pout.

“Aw, okay.”

[Anakin]

Walking with his father through the busy streets he couldn’t help but be reminded a little of Tatooine. The district they were in now was called Mayen Goyust, or Anything Road. It was where his dad said they could find all sorts of cool things. From weapons to new clothes, jewelry, and even toys! Everywhere they went his dad seemed to attract attention. They kept looking at his face, then his armor, then his face again. A lot of the time there would be a sense of recognition before the other feelings would come.

Fear, anger, dread, relief, joy, hope. So many and they just kept coming. He heard the whispers behind them as they passed and soon he could feel their focus shift from his dad to him. It was really uncomfortable. “Buir…” He mumbled, tightening his hold on his dad’s hand and stepping closer to him shyly. Like all the other times his dad felt protective and unnerved he quickly scooped Anakin up into his arms and began walking faster toward whatever the location of his mission was.

They came up to a building that felt really, really, old and Anakin couldn’t help but to stare as they walked right in without stopping. Wherever this was his dad felt like he belonged there.

Inside the building it smelled like heavy spices and ale. Sitting at the tables were men and women wearing armor a lot like his dad’s. But theirs was all painted while his dad’s was all silver. He wondered if his dad would paint it. In his vision his own armor was always black and blue with red accents. His dad still hadn’t told him what all the colors meant yet. Apparently the meaning changed depending on clan.

Setting him down his dad took a seat at a table and motioned someone over. A woman in tunics cut like the people outside hurried over with a smile, although she felt jumpy on the inside. “Su’cuy gar jatne’vode! Me’copaani?”

“Tiingilar, ne’tra gal, shig, bal ibi’tuur vutyc par ner ad.” Anakin understood a few of the words and waited patiently until the woman walked away.

Taking a deep breath he was about to ask questions when his dad grinned at him. “Tiingilar is a very spicy dish, made with meat, grains, and vegetables. Ne’tra gal is black ale, something you can’t have until you’re much older. Ibi’tuur vutcy is the day’s special. Just like at Dex’s.” Letting out a huff he pouted as his dad anticipated all of his questions and answered them rapidly. The man had the gall to laugh at him. “We’ll have to set aside some more joha hibirar’la.” ‘Language lessons.’ Anakin nodded excitedly. He loved learning Mando’a. It was the first language he wanted to learn by choice, rather than necessity. Since his dad spoke perfect Basic and was really good at Huttese they had no trouble communicating. But Mando’a was something they could share between them and that made it special.

“Can I try your tin-tiinga-tiingilar?” His dad ruffled his hair.

“Sure you can, kiddo. But it’s even more spicy than the cinnamon sweet from earlier.” Anakin made a face. He’d liked the bright red candy at first. But the more he sucked on it the more spicy it became. Eventually he’d complained to his dad, who laughed, and had him spit it out into a handkerchief. Then his dad bought him a small iced milk treat to make up for the spiciness.

“…maybe I won’t try it today.” His father’s face split into a mischievous smile and he could feel the man’s bright amusement in the force. He stuck his tongue out at him and his dad barked out a laugh. It was rare his dad actually laughed, usually he just smiled or chuckled. Anakin counted this as his win.

“Cuyir ibac tion'ad ni mirdir bic cuyir?” A wave of strong emotions ran through his dad when the man looked over his shoulder, before his presence suddenly became as smooth as beskar. His hands twitched towards his blasters for a moment but he stopped, clenching them instead.

“Vizla.” Anakin shivered at the anger he could hear dripping from his dad’s voice. Everyone in the tapcaf was watching the two men warily, ready for a fight to break out.

“Yaimparla teh kyr’am, Jango Fett?” The man who felt like cold fire turned to look at him and Anakin froze in place. Maybe if he didn’t move the man wouldn’t notice him? “Tion’ad adiik? Gar?” Growling his dad stood up from his chair, knocking it back onto the floor.

“Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?” His dad spat the words like venom and Anakin ducked his head, scared. His dad glanced back at him and slowly let out a breath. The brimming anger in the air lessened and his dad picked up his chair to right it again, never turning his back on the man who felt like cold fire. “Digur bic. Ba’slanar, Vizla. Ni nu'copad at haa'taylir gar troan.” Pointedly turning around his dad sat back down, giving Anakin a complicated look.

“Hut’uun.” ‘Coward.’ The bad man said from behind them. Anakin stood up on his chair and glared at the man.

“Nayc! Buir cuyir ne’hut’uun! Tun otaf’alkin!” ‘No! Dad is not a coward! You cave butcher!’ He shouted in a mix of Mando’a and Ryl. Around the room objects rattled on tables and the wall, some items falling to the floor as his control began to slip.

The man scowled at him and took a step forward, only to be stopped as others stood from their seats in response. His dad grabbed him and pulled him into his lap, hiding him from the cold-fire man with shaking hands. Anakin’s anger evaporated and he quickly snuggled into his father’s hold, not wanting to cause him any more grief.

“Ba’slanar, Vizla. Jii.” ‘Leave, Vizla. Now.’ Anakin peeked over his father’s shoulder as the bad man left with the people who came in with him.

One of the armored warriors came over to them slowly, making sure to walk where his father could see them. “Me’vaar Jan’ika?” ‘You okay Jan’ika?’ His dad looked up at the man, eyes searching, before he nodded curtly.

[Jango]

Holding his son to him Jango had to breathe deeply to keep from getting up, following Vizla out into the street, and shooting him in the back of the head. If it weren’t for Anakin being there he very well may have lost his mind to anger and fought the rotten bastard to the death right then. He knew that Vizla had no honor and now the man knew he had a vulnerable son. He wouldn’t put it past the bastard to target a child if it helped him achieve his goals.

“Are you okay Jan’ika?” Looking into the speaker’s eyes he recognized Kadaab Egress, a Clan who had chosen to follow Jaster’s codex. He nodded, unsure if he could speak without his voice shaking. It was not fear or cowardice he struggled with at the moment, but his sheer overpowering hatred for anyone wearing Vizla’s colors. He hadn’t even recognized the young man, just the armor he wore.

Jango didn’t want to subject his son to that hatred. He knew what happened to Ka’runi when hatred became their only focus. He never wanted to see Anakin become like that. It would break his heart.

“Buir? I’m sorry. I got mad and yelled… and moved stuff again.” Kadaab looked between the boy and the frames that had fallen off the wall. His eyes widened with understanding.

“Jan’ika.” He looked back at the older man. “Protecting your child does not make you a coward. Vizla’s full of it, and everyone who matters knows it.” Jango felt tension bleed out of him as he looked around the room and was met with understanding. Nearly everyone there had been or currently was a parent. Jango swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Thank you.” Now that things were calming down the old woman from the back came to their table and set down their food. “Thank you, Ati’ba.” Jango said sincerely as he settled Anakin back in his own seat. The old woman smiled at him, winked at Anakin, and shuffled off back to the kitchen.

Anakin watched the old woman go, transfixed, until she vanished into the back. Then he turned to Jango, eyes as wide as saucers. “Buir! I think that old lady is a ghost!” Chuckles erupted around them and Kadaab snorted in amusement.

“Don’t worry about it, child.” The man said as he returned to his own table. Jango took a sip of his ale and smiled. His reaction had been much the same as Anakin’s back in the day.

Watching his son digging into the fish and rice dish that had been brought out to him Jango felt the last of his anger melt away. He had made the right decision not to engage Vizla. That bastard’s time would come. Right now Jango had more important things to do.

Mando’a: Su’cuy gar jatne’vode! Me’copaani?- Hello Sirs! What would you like? Tiingilar, ne’tra gal, shig, bal ibi’tuur vutyc par ner ad- Tiingilar, black ale, shig, and today’s special for my child. Cuyir ibac tion'ad ni mirdir bic cuyir?- Is that who I think it is? Yaimparla teh kyr’am, Jango Fett?- Back from the dead, Jango Fett? Tion’ad adiik? Gar?- Whose child is that? Yours? Copaani mirshmure'cye, vod?- You want a smack to the face, mate? Digur bic. Ba’slanar, Vizla.- Forget it. Leave, Vizla. Ni nu'copad at haa'taylir gar troan- I don’t want to see your face. Otaf’alkin!- (Ryl) A reptilian predator native to Ryloth and found deep in the underground caverns, the name literally means “cave butcher.” It is also used as an insult to indicate one who kills without remorse, as if they were a heartless animal.

[lilrexsoka]

Helllooo again. You may have noticed that I made a mistake. I accidentally switched the prompts. I thought ‘Brothers’ was the third prompt. I posted this one first... and realized there was no reason why I couldn’t just stick with the order anyway. Hope that doesn’t bother anyone. 

Tagging: @officialrexsoka

Read it on AO3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/26698138/chapters/65214574

Or read it below! 

Rating- G (Some topics may be more suited for a T rating, though it’s still TCW soo...)

Tag Warnings- Mentions of slavery.

Missions that the council gave Ahsoka and her Masters directly were often incredibly important. Missions that Anakin was put in charge of, no matter the degree of difficulty or danger, were almost always completed. Whether or not he used a traditional method or something irrational was always an ongoing game. Despite his sometimes seemingly insane or ridiculous plans, it was commonly known that he rarely failed. Maybe it was because his Master levelled him out, or because his Padawan and his battalion were willing to follow his roughly-fashioned action plans, whatever they were.

Like now. Ahsoka was going to use his idea of disguises to find out where the Kiros Togruta were being imprisoned and enslaved. She even thought it was going to be a good one, if it succeeded. What didn’t reach her mind was what costume she would have to wear following that decision.

“Well, obviously you are too young and… feminine to be a slaver,” Anakin had answered upon her questioning of what clothing he had for her to wear, half-hesitantly as if he almost disagreed with the idea as well. Obi-Wan had agreed. So had Ahsoka. No going back now. “So I brought along some other options. I have a couple of slave outfits that might just fit ya.”

She wasn’t going to ask why he had half a dozen clothing options fit for a slave girl, but she did protest. Obi-Wan simply backed his Padawan up and offered his condolences. Go figure.

Now she was standing in something that showed more skin then fabric before the dusty mirror in the back of the Zygerrian transport hijacked from a past mission. It was a light blue, silky outfit that probably cost an arm and a leg with the accessories combined; it draped loosely around the swell of her hips with a slit down the entire left side that felt entirely unnecessary. Her chest was covered with more of the fabric, still uncomfortably loose, and more of it covered her lanky arms. The most notable parts of the outfit were the shining gold adornments dripping with jewels; sashes that lay in a ‘Y’ shape over the swell of her breasts and across her lower abdomen, and a ridiculously heavy headpiece that sat on her montrals and dangled jewels over the markings on her forehead.

She hated every second that she stood in that outfit, but she didn’t have much of a choice. This was the plan, and it needed to work if she were to save the Togruta. Her people.

There was a sudden, quiet knock on the door behind her. It was closed, and it wasn’t even loud, but it still interrupted her brooding. Not in the mood for your sympathies, Ahsoka thought and let out a soft growl. “What do you want?”

“Sorry if I’m interrupting something. I just wanted to check on everything. You’ve been back here for a while.” Damn. She hadn’t even considered how this plan would go with Rex dragged along. It was Obi-Wan who insisted this was a four-person job, and the go-to was Anakin’s right-hand man. Ahsoka hadn’t been upset; she loved fighting with Rex, but this was something far more personal and intimate. Rex wasn’t family like her Masters. How was she going to deal with the embarrassment of letting the Captain see her in such a get-up?

“I’m fine,” she called back, suddenly wondering if she could change Anakin’s mind and play a slaver after all. No, I’m just being ridiculous. She couldn’t be queasy around the clone; he was no different than Anakin or Obi-Wan. With the amount of time they spent together, he should be family as well. “Just… getting into my disguise.”

Rex’s answer was loud enough to be heard from the other side of the door. “Ah. Alright. Just wonderin’ why you were taking long. The Generals were getting a bit worried. Kenobi had that crease in his forehead and Skywalker couldn’t stop moving or talking.”

She could easily picture her Masters in her head at Rex’s description. He was trying to joke again; it was as if he always knew when her spirits were down. “I’ll come out soon,” the Togruta called again, fidgeting with the soft fabric of her outfit. When I gather some courage.

“Is… something wrong?” The clone sounded hesitant. Again, he somehow knew that something was upsetting her, like he was the one with Force-Sensitivity.

Ahsoka blew out a slow breath and smoothed the fabric draped over her waist. How in the galaxy was she going to answer this truthfully? “Um… I’m having a bit of a problem with my outfit.”

“Oh.” Another long pause. Ahsoka was sure he was imaging all sorts of embarrassing things that could be happening to the young Padawan. “Maybe… I could help?” His tone was clearly sheepish now. He was hoping his offer wouldn’t lead to an unwanted situation. She wasn’t sure that the situation was avoidable now.

“No.” That was way too fast. “I mean-” Ahsoka just sighed. She had no idea how to explain it.

There was a shuffling noise. “Sorry. If you’re not decent, I can come back later, or…” Poor man. He only cared and wanted to help.

That wasn’t what she wanted, she realized. At one point, she would have to face him. It was better now than later. Plus, it shouldn’t be such a problem. Ahsoka was dressing up for a mission, not for fun. Her embarrassment with idiotic. Besides, it was the boy’s problems, not hers. “No, you don’t have to. I’m dressed, but…” She heaved another sigh. “You know what, just come in. You’ll see.”

“Alright… If you say so.” He chuckled nervously. “To be honest though, Commander, I’m a little worried about what I’m going to see. You’re making it sound a bit ominous.”

Ahsoka worried her lip and sympathetically sent the clone a soothing wave of Force Energy. He’d told her he hadn’t liked the idea of her altering his emotions, but sometimes she subconsciously did so when she knew he was unsettled. “I promise it’s not as bad as I’m making it.” I’m probably just making this a bigger deal then I should. “Besides, you’re a big boy,” she added teasingly. “You can handle it.” She knew it was true, but something about the idea of Rex seeing her in her vulnerable outfit was… strangely mouth-drying.

Stop making this weird! It’s just a slave outfit! Nothing bad is going to happen! the Togruta told herself as she turned to meet the clone as he palmed open the door. His eyes met her, uncovered, wide and still impossibly brown and soulful. He wasn’t wearing his armour, but instead a full set of golden brown slaver armour. Somehow, he suited the stolen plates well.

It wasn’t his disguise that she wanted to watch, (though it was a pleasant view, the depths of her mind argued,) but his reaction. Expectedly, his eyes widened slightly and he opened his mouth several times before he spoke. “I… you look good, Commander. What’s the problem?”

Planting her hands on her hips, the Padawan asked condescendingly, “Good, Captain?” She wasn’t upset, however she knew she had to reprimand him. She was the opposite of upset. His approval had already eased her embarrassment. “Please don’t worry about it,” Ahsoka told him immediately, a little wretchedly with a burning face. “And sorry for all of the drama. I just… was unsure about the disguise.” She gestured pointedly to the loose silk fabric draped over her curves. She shouldn’t be upset over showing a little skin; her very first meeting with the clone had been during the first year of her apprenticeship with the small bit of clothing that had been her top.

Rex made an understanding noise and ran his hand over his face. “I get it now. But your disguise looks really good. You’ll fool all the Zygerrians.” He added the last comment with a playful smirk. It was how he lightened the mood again.

“You’re too pretty to be a slaver,” the Padawan shot back, arching the markings above her eyes with a smile that might have just been described as flirty. “I’ve yet to see your acting skills, though. You might just act like one.”

“I’ll consider it a compliment. Thanks, Commander.” Rex knew she disliked it when he used her rank when they were alone. Either he still had yet to break that habit… or he knew what he was doing. But all past emotion left his voice when he asked, “But really. Why are you so uncomfortable in this new disguise?” Now he just sounded concerned, still possibly a little hesitant.

The Togruta sighed, instinctively wrapping her arms across her chest. She’d been acutely aware that she’d been wearing it the entire time Rex had been… teasing her, but she hadn’t minded until he had spoken about it directly. “Uhm… honestly, I didn’t really have a good reason. I was being childish. I just didn’t like the idea of wearing this skimpy disguise in front of others. Like… you, and Obi-Wan and Anakin.”

The clone tilted his head curiously. “Oh.” His hand went to the back of his neck. “Well… you don’t have to feel uncomfortable around me. I mean… we’re close. Like family. Right?”

Ahsoka sighed helplessly. All she could do was shake her head, though she knew she should feel excited. Rex had just admitted he considered her as family, and she felt disappointed. She couldn’t want that kind of relationship with him… so what was her problem? “Yeah, I guess,” she answered with as much happiness as she could muster, though her smile was half-hearted and entirely pathetic.

Of course, Rex noticed this. “I’m sorry, Commander,” he spluttered immediately, eye stretching wide with realization. “You didn’t like that. It’s just that… you’re close. Closer to me then I would have expected. Like another vod, almost.” He shrugged embarrassedly.

“Vod?” She knew the clones sometimes used vocabulary picked up from their Mandalorian trainers, and though she had picked up the meanings of some of them, she clearly had misunderstood a few. ‘Vod’ was commonly used when the troops referred to each other… but maybe that was purposeful. Maybe Rex really did consider her as valuable to him as his fellow clones.

“Yeah,” Rex answered. “It’s Mando’a for ‘sibling’, whether in blood or in arms.” The expression that crossed his face next was caring and terribly happy. “I know many of the men care for you like a sister.”

Ahsoka couldn’t stop the frown that creased her face, or the frustration that bubbled up under her skin. “But I’m not just another clone,” she protested faintly. “You don’t treat me like one. How can I be family?” Her hands lay under her armpits, as she chewed her lip. If that’s all he sees me as…

The clone shook his head and sighed quietly. “You’re not a clone,” he agreed patiently. “And that’s why I don’t treat you like one. You’re so different from any brother I’ve known; but at the same time, you are my Commander. I shouldn’t be treating you like… a friend.” He chuckled. “But it’s not worth pretending I care anymore. Not with someone like you.” There was a moment of pause, his hands shifting nervously. “If you would prefer to… forget everything, then I could do that too. I know we’re not family, I just thought-”

“No, Rex,” Ahsoka interrupted guiltily. I have a bad habit of explaining myself horribly. “It’s not that at all. It’s my fault for not being more clear.” She paced forward, trying furiously not to trip on her new lengths of silk, and came before the clone. He still loomed over her; it would take time for her to grow into a full Togruta. Looking up into his face, all she saw was careful curiosity, but yet his eyes flickered incessantly with desperation. “I appreciate that you count me as family. In fact, I’m happy that you do. But… I don’t think we can pretend that we are brothers in arms, or even just friends.”

“What?” His eyes widened, and his hands landed on the side of her arm, seemingly with instinct.

She hated having to tell him this… but there was still a future she had to think of. It had been way too long spent with thoughts left unspoken and feelings left buried. “We are something more, Rex. Maybe we can’t label it yet. Maybe it has no name. But we can’t stick with something now, because in the future it will only bring more confusion.” Ahsoka tried a soothing smile. “Only the Force knows what will happen. But for thinking of the future… maybe we should stay flexible. Whatever happens.” She found the hand that had settled on her arm and covered it with her palm. “Okay?”

And maybe she should have kept her mouth shut, but it was probably important that Rex told her seriously, “I… think that’s best.” He left details out, but from his tone- and the turmoil in his Force signature- there were plenty of his own confusing emotions.

Ahsoka thought that she had made herself look like a fool; it happened when she tried to explain her feelings, so her relief at his understanding completely made her lose all care over the slave outfit. She felt that everything would work out with Rex as her companion, but only the Force knew if he would ever become anything more than that.

“Well,” Rex sighed, letting his hand slide down her arm and back to his side. “Do you feel better about the… disguise? I can practically hear the Generals and their worry.” He chuckled good-naturedly and sidestepped with a gesture to the door. “Shall we?”

“Now that’s not how a slaver acts,” the Padawan joked, but still followed his offer and let him trail after her. It was only then she had realized she had left her lightsabers behind, which she quickly excused herself to retrieve. Passing the mirror on the way out, she decided that maybe the slave outfit wasn’t so bad. Rex had approved, after all. She did look good in blue.

[cruisercrusher]

Hey, I found your vibe

Hardcase finds out one of his favourite musical artists is a crappy person, so the others cheer him up while suggesting new music for him to listen to

word count: 1244

A clone wars modern au one shot, that fits into the broader modern au but I couldn’t find a place to insert it effectively so here:

“Hey, what’s up?” Ahsoka walks up to the group, noting how Hardcase is lying in the grass, gazing forlornly up at the sky. 

“Hardcase is distraught,” Echo says as she sits down with her caf pasta. 

“I’m inconsolable.” Hardcase says with a straight face, but doesn’t elaborate, and Ahsoka turns to the rest of the group for clarification. 

“He just found out Doja Cat is a really gross person,” Jesse explains. “And now he has no music to vibe to.” 

“Oh, that sucks,” Ahsoka says. Hardcase sighs, and Kix reaches over and pats him on the shoulder, one eye still on his textbook. 

“We’re all trying to come up with music suggestions for him,” Rex says. Next to him, Anakin is pouting.

“They’re all roasting me for my suggestions.” 

“Not everything is about you, Skywalker, but also, your suggestions were all bad.” Fives says. “Try thinking of something less white trash and also something Hardcase would actually listen to.”

Hardcase drapes his arm over his eyes. “What even is a ‘fallout boy’? I don’t know her.” 

Anakin puffs up, rising to the bait almost laughably easily. “Fall out boy is literally one of the most—“ 

“I don’t know her. I’m too pretty.” Hardcase turns his head to look at Ahsoka. “Ahsoka, who’s your favourite artist?”

Ahsoka shrugs. “I like, uh, girl in red?” 

Hardcase considers this. “Hm… I don’t think I’m really girl in red’s target demographic.” 

“What’s that band Bly loves?” Rex says. “Cavetown?” 

“Cavetown does slap a little bit,” Hardcase says. “But it’s not the same vibe… I need music I can dance to but also dissociate to and also just vibe, you know? I have to be able to vibe.” 

“What about Britney Spears?” Fives suggests, and Hardcase gives him a look. 

“If you think I don’t already listen to Britney then you literally don’t even know me.” 

“Yeah, that’s fair. Pretty sure we all listen to Britney.” 

“Doesn’t everyone?” Anakin says, because even he has at least one Britney song downloaded. 

“I love Britney.” Echo pitches in, and Fives nods in agreement.

“Britney is an icon. When I say I hate celebrities Britney is not included in that statement.” Rex says. “What about Todrick Hall? You could make his music your main thing.” 

“Hey, yeah,” Hardcase reaches for his phone. “Speaking of gay icons. He put out a new album recently, tons of songs on it, lots of bops, some bangers if you will. I’m upset though, because one of the songs on there that slaps the most is featuring Rupaul, and I hate Rupaul.” 

“What’s wrong with Rupaul?” Ahsoka asks. 

“He’s one of those people who was progressive in the nineties but have either seriously regressed since then, or have just lost touch and not noticed that the people he paved the way for have completely left him in the dust.” Rex explains. “And won’t or can’t catch up.” 

“And also he’s irritating.” Jesse interjects. “I just don’t understand the ego on that man.” 

“He wouldn’t last a day on his own show. Did you know Rupaul can’t sew? Clown behaviour.” Hardcase scrolls through something on his phone, then snickers. “Rupaul stopped being a gay icon when he invested in oil fracking.”

“Oil fracking,” Kix mutters with contempt. “I hate his laugh. Like, that laugh he does? Can’t stand it.” 

Ahsoka nods. “Ah, I see. Yeah, oil fracking is… not great.” 

“So Rupaul isn’t on the table,” Anakin says. 

“Rupaul isn’t even in the dining room.”

“Right, what about, uh, that girl who was in fifth harmony but left? Her new music?” 

“Ew, Camilla Cabello?” Echo answers for Hardase. “Sorry, I thought we said no more hetero garbage suggestions.”

Anakin looks offended. “No, the other one! Normandy?”

“Normandy is a place in France, idiot, you’re thinking of Normani.” Rex says, and Hardcase’s eyes widen. 

“Normani! Yeah! I loved her debut solo single, I should see what else she’s got.” 

“Wait,” Jesse says, “I thought Normandy was in the Netherlands?” 

“What?” That finally gets Kix to look up from his note taking. “Are you serious? No, Normandy is in France. Remember, invasion of Mormandy, D Day, world war two? We learned this.” 

“Mormondy?”

“That’s where the mormons live.”

“That’s where Stephanie Meyer is from.”

“I’m tired, don’t come for me.” 

“Normandy does sound like it could be a place in the Netherlands, though.”

“Mr. Kenobi would be disappointed in you.” 

“No!” Jesse cries, turning his distraught face to Anakin. “Would Mr. Kenobi be disappointed in me for forgetting Normandy is in France?” 

“Probably not.” 

“I don’t think he would be.” Ahsoka says. “Obi-Wan is nice. He’d just say something like he’s glad that you’re learning.”

“Phew,” Jesse feigns wiping sweat off his brow. “That was a close one.” 

“Fetts be like, seeking the validation from Mr. Kenobi we don’t get from our father noises.” Echo says, and his brothers around him wince.

“Oof, too real, Echo.” Rex says. 

“Just because it’s true doesn’t mean you can just say it.” 

“Wait, oh my gosh, moment of inspiration--” Fives sits forward, look of pure revelation on his face. “Hardcase, you know who I think you would totally vibe with?”

“Who?”

“Jojo Siwa.”

“Jojo Siwa?”

“Jojo Siwa?”

“Jojo Siwa?”

“Jojo Siwa.”

“Jojo Siwa?”

“Jojo Siwa.” 

“Hm.” Hardacse considers this.

“Isn’t Jojo Siwa that girl with the glittery bows and shit?” Anakin asks.

“Jojo Siwa is actually really cool.” Ahsoka says. “I follow her on tiktok. She encourages young girls to, I don’t know, let themselves act like the kids they are? She’s like the only person on the planet not telling twelve year old girls to throw it back. And she’s genuinely funny and seems really nice… yeah. Also, her outfits are literally so cool.”

“Oh my gosh, yeah,” Hardcase says, tilting his phone so the rest of the group can see. “Look at this alien costume thing whatever from this music video, I’d go so far as to call this club kid revival. Girl’s got hella style.”

“Wow,” Anakin says, “I can’t believe a twelve year old has way cooler style than all of us.”

“Jojo Siwa is our age.” Rex informs him. Anakin blinks.

“What?” 

“Yeah, she’s seventeen.” Fives says. “Anyways, I don’t know why but I really think you’d vibe with Jojo Siwa, Hardcase.” 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Hardcase says. “Hold on, let’s listen to some of her music.” He pulls up her spotify and queues some of her newest releases, then turns the volume up on his phone and tosses it onto the grass in the middle of their huddle. 

An upbeat, funky tune starts playing from the phone’s speaker, and all eight of them lean forward in attentive silence as they listen to the song. 

‘Bop bop, twist twist, check it off your checklist, chug chug kick it, move it move it mix it--’

“Wow, Jojo is slaying on this track,” Jesse says after a minute. “Queen icon legend.” 

“She’s killing it. Go, Jojo!”

“Yeah, I’m digging this actually.” Hardcase shimmies a little to the beat. “Thanks, Fives!”

“I live to serve.” Fives smiles. “Sorry your favourite artist turned out to be a terrible person.”

Hardcase shrugs. “Eh, it’s alright. I stan Jojo Siwa now. Life is good.” 

“To stanning Jojo Siwa!” Ahsoka holds up her milk carton in a toast. Hardcase, who has no drink to toast with, just grins and lightly slaps the carton. They laugh, and the sun smiles down on them, and life is good.

[ct7567329]

War Against Us: Captain Rex x Reader: Chapter 5

You stood around the hologram on the Defender with Anakin and Obi-Wan. Your Master was explaining your next course of action. To your surprise, he requested for you and Anakin to take the 501st to Naboo for some down time.

"Master, why aren't we going to Coruscant?" You didn't really mind going to Naboo, you had a small house there, but you figured you'd go to Coruscant.

"We are starting to believe that the clones need a break every now and then," Master Windu started, "in supply room 329D on the Defender, you'll find civilian clothes. Hand them out to the men of the 501st. They deserve a break. May the force be with you." Your Master's hologram faded away.

"I'll tell the boys," You rushed to say.

"That was fast," Anakin laughed, smirking at you.

"What?" You laughed back, while walking to the barracks.

(...........)

About a dozen members of the 501st were sitting in a circle laughing with each other, playing a game Fives introduced to them a while ago. He learned it while on a mission in Coruscant.

"And that is why I would never, EVER, say that to General Skywalker!" Hardcase laughed and continued, "Ah, alright. Uhm, Rex, truth or dare?"

"Truth," Rex stated without hesitation. "Hmm," Hardcase mumbles, "I've got a good one! Do you have the hots for General (Y/LN)?".

The whole group gasped as Rex shook his head. "I believe that is against the rules and I could never brea-".

The door to the barracks opened and you walked in. You noticed Rex was talking but as soon as you entered, he seemed to suddenly stop and all the other men were hysterically laughing.

"Alright, I'm not even going to ask what was going on here, but we have just received a transmission from General Windu. You boys are going on break. You all will have 3 days to relax on Naboo. We will be staying in Theed. I'm going to take you guys to get civilian clothes so you will blend in," you informed them. They all seemed very excited.

The boys followed you to the supply closet to get their civilian clothes. You opened the door and they went in single file to collect their clothing. As Rex walked in, he smiled as you, and never lost his eye contact with you. You bowed your head at him and looked away. It didn't take long for the boys to pick outfits and before long, they were back into their barracks. Rex didn't walk back though, he walked right passed the barracks.

"Rex, where are you going?" You asked. He turned around, his clothes still in his arms.

"I'm going to Cody's barracks. I would like to talk to him," Rex replied softly.

"Alright. Hey,  zyemus naktis, Captain," You lightly saluted him and smiled.

"You too General," he replied, turning back around and walking to Cody.

(.....................)

Rex knocked on Cody's barrack door and Cody answered, "Hey brother! What's up?".

Rex sighed, "Is Crys here?". Crys was Cody's roommate when he was on the ship barracks.

"He's out at the mess hall with a few others, why?" Cody asked, very concerned.

"I need to talk to you," Rex replied. He walked into Cody's barrack and sat on the edge of Crys' bed. Cody sat on the edge of his as Rex began to talk. "It's about the General. General (Y/LN) to be specific." Rex frowned.

"What about her Rex?" Cody questioned.

"When we were on Rishi, General Skywalker put us into pairs and she was paired with me. I figured it was so that she could get to know me, you know, because she's a new general and I'm the captain. Well that night, her and I were alone in a cave and we were talking. It got really personal. I got this feeling that I've never felt before. I could feel warmth and comfort coming from, well, my heart. Cody, I think I like her. Not like the way I like Anakin or Ahsoka, but I love her. She cared enough about my life to listen to me and get to know me. She is so compassionate to us. She treats us clones like people who have a meaning in life. I really like her Cody." Rex put his face in his palms and sighed, "I don't know what to do. It's against the rules, and I'm a loyal man, but I would be willing to bend the rules for her."

The last part caught Cody by surprise. "Rex, I could tell just by listening to you talk about her on Rishi, you liked her. I think you should tell her. Maybe she feels the same!" Cody smiled.

"But what if she doesn't feel the same, and I tell her." Rex groaned, throwing his head back onto the bed.

"Rex, do it. I have a good feeling about this. Have I ever led you in the wrong direction?" Cody smiled at his best friend. Cody held out his hand to help Rex off the bed. Rex grabbed his hand and exhaled loudly.

"I need to say something to her," Rex exclaimed, standing up with confidence. "I think I will go to her now, thank you brother." Cody patted Rex on the back.

"You can do it!" He said to encourage him, "Oh and Rex, take this when you see her," he handed him a flower. "I picked it up on the mission on Rishi."

Rex thanked Cody and made his was to (Y/N).

(............)

Rex approached your door. Laying in bed, reading, you heard a knock. Using the force, you unlocked your door.

"It's open!" You called, shoving the book under your pillow. The door opened, it was Rex.

"Hello Captain! I thought you were going to bed," you said, scooting to the end of your bed, "don't be shy, come in!"

Rex came into your barrack and shut the door. "What do you need, Rex?" you asked as he sat down on the bed across from yours.

"Uh, this is for you." He held out this hand and handed you the flower.

You smiled. "Thank you Rex, it's very pretty!" You took the flower and put it in a cup full of water on your desk.

"I need to talk to you (Y/N)." Rex seemed very nervous.

"What's up Rex?" You asked, sensing the nervousness within him and you were feeling nervous yourself. Part of you was hoping Rex would say something romantic, but then again, you didn't. Ever since you met Rex, there has been an ongoing battle in your head whether or not he's worth breaking the Jedi Code and sneaking around. You were pretty sure he was, but you were scared.

Master Yoda always said fear leads to the dark side, but you were sure nervousness over a crush couldn't turn you bad. You could never turn bad after what your-

Your thoughts were cut off by Rex talking. "I hate to sound weird or make you uncomfortable, but I wanted to know that I really enjoyed our conversation on Rishi." He looked away from you.

"So did I, Rex," you sighed, patting the bed next to you. Rex glanced over and saw you signaling him to sit next to you. He got up and did as you gestured. He exhaled loudly. You tried to sense why he was acting so scared, but it was a bit fuzzy. You never looked away from him as he was trying to talk to you. His mouth would open his mouth but nothing would come out.

His hands were flat on your bed, to his sides and he was literally on the edge of his seat. Out of your compassionate nature, you put your hand over his.

"Rex, it's okay," You smiled, putting your other hand on his chin, moving his face to face yours.

[fanbynature]

Can you feel my heart?

OBIKIN X AU /PART 2/

Okay, so some comments before you start to read again.

The pictures are inspiration for Obi’s work place and apartment. Also for Asajj’s, Ahsoka’s and Rex’s appearance.

This is for sure still going to be Obikin end game it just got a little bit off the rails so bear with me. I need a little bit of love drama. My life is boring.

Also some more ages

Cody/Wolffe/Quinlan - 28, Asajj - 30, Aayla/Hera - 24

I noticed that there were quite a few mistakes in the previous one even though I checked it, but I apologise if this one got too. Again I do check them but I miss stuff.

Also if anyone has been feeling bad about themself let me tell you something that could probably make feel a little bit better.

I wrote a 5k word chapter for this but overwrited and I didn’t had the autosaved option on so now I need to try and remember what the heck did I write.

Enjoy

Ahsoka had just headed out to Uni and Obi-wan was cleaning the last things from breakfast. He headed to his bed, sat and starred and the card in his hand and then started typing the number on his phone. He pressed the call button and waited for the dialling sound.

 After a few seconds of waiting someone picked.

 “Yes?”

 “Hello, is this Anakin Skywalker? “

 “Speaking.”

 “Yes, this is Obi-wan from the band “Space Maniacs. I am calling you about the offer you made us.”

 “Ah, yes. Hello, nice of you to call. I hope you are going to give me a positive answer, I would be really glad to work with you.”

“Yes. I mean yes – it is a positive answer. We would like to meet you and tell us the details.”

 “Awesome. Okay just give me a minute and I’ll be back with you.”

 “No problem”

 “Okay then, let’s see. How about Thursday this week, is it okay for you?”

 “Yeah, we’ll work it out.”

 “Okay. The time - how about 2 pm?”

 “Yeah, that’s fine.”

 “Excellent. See you then.”

 “Yes, see you. Bye.”

 In Obi-wan’s opinion that went better than he anticipated. He let out a breath he was holding in and felt lighter. 

In that case, he better catch on some sleep for work. A scratching noise from the balcony door caught his attention. His furry friend was back. He sat on the floor and started petting it.

“Maybe I should give you a name. It would be easier for us, won’t it? Hmm, what’s a good name for a pet cat? I don’t have the experience for this. “

He starred at the purring creature for a little while longer and said.

“How about Spotty? You have two spots on your eyes, not that original I know. Do you like it Spotty?”

The cat continued rubbing herself in Obi-wan’s hands, putting her paws on his legs, waiting for permission to snuggle up in his lap. He took her from the ground and lifted her close to his face.

 “You don’t like it? Hmm”

 The cat put her paws on his face, lightly moving them across it.

 “What about Ziggy? Like Ziggy Stardust.”

 The cat let out a soft meow.

 “Oh, a reaction – is it a positive one? Or a negative one.”

 He put her on his lap and started petting her again.

 “Well, I’ll continue calling you Ziggy if you don’t like it just ignore it and I’ll go back to calling you furry friend and little one.”

 The cat looked at him and meowed then put his head in his lap and started purring.

 “Well, now I have to sleep on the floor, Ziggy.”

 After just sitting there for an hour, the man stood up slowly and put the cat next to his bed on a pillow he wasn’t using so he could sleep.

-------------------------------------------------

The alarm woke him up five hours after that and he got up to get ready. Ziggy wasn’t at the foot of the bed neither outside. He decided to leave some food and water if she comes around later. After showering and drinking coffee he was ready to go out. He also started hearing Ahsoka’s nagging voice in his head making him eat something or take something for later but he couldn’t be bothered at the moment. Maybe he’ll buy something on the way there. 

 The traffic was always awful at this time of the hour. You would think that travelling in the air would lessen the traffic, well you thought wrong. It’s just as awful – this was Coruscant, you can’t expect anything less. That’s why he always left from his apartment with time to spare because he liked to be there on time. Also fairly speaking the cantina was posh even if it was on the lower levels. The costumers Cody accepted weren’t low lives. They weren’t pretentious people but they were with a decent amount of money in their pockets, didn’t shy away from spending them but they also didn’t create trouble. Or at least the kind of trouble Cody would allow. There were exotic dancers with some private activity they would do from time to time but everything was legit and it for sure wasn't a brothel and if anyone thought otherwise they wouldn’t be able to set even one foot inside the place. Well, places. Cody ran two cantinas, he and his third brother Wolffe. They were placed in different places on the planet, so they didn’t see each other that often but from time to time Cody would go and check if things are running smoothly. The Fett brothers are all reasonably level-headed and serious people, so in Obi-wan’s opinion, they won’t have problems running and growing their business. As you know there are always exceptions to the rules – Rex is a good man, but sometimes not as sensible as his older brothers, him and his kid brother Boba are true troublesome kids sometimes. But maybe that’s why Obi-wan has a soft spot for them. Especially Boba – the little rascal can get out of any trouble with his puppy eyes, at least as far Obi-wan is concerned. Those tricks, however, haven’t worked for a long time on his brothers or father. Sometimes Obi-wan ends up being a shield for Mando’a insults, which are quite colourful and fun in his opinions but no 13 years old should know them. 

 “Gar batnor shabiur.” /You drunk halfwit/

 “What did you call me, kid?”

 “You heard me, besom” /ill-mannered lout, unhygienic person/

“Kid, you better watch your mouth. I don’t care that your brother runs this place; you are going to end up beat up.”

 Obi-wan was minding his business on the bar, serving people when he heard a brawl from somewhere in the cantina. He looked around, squinting to find the source of the disturbance and he couldn’t believe his eyes. Boba was trying to pick up a fight with someone three times his size. It was a dowutin. Son of a bantha. Obi-wan thought. This kid sure knows how to attract trouble. He excused himself to his co-workers and went to stop whatever mess Boba dragged himself into. Cody is going to have an aneurysm from his kid brother.

 “Good evening, what seems to be the trouble?”

 “The little punk here is looking for trouble. I don’t pride myself in beating up little kids but who knows what can happen in the lower levels of Coruscant at night?”

 “Who are you calling little? Also, are you threatening me in my brother cantina, gar di’k-“

 Obi-wan put his hand on Boba’s mouth, signalling him to shut up.

 “I am so sorry about the trouble, miss. I’ll be sure to watch over this little punk here and not let him cause any trouble for you or the other clients here. Say sorry, Boba.”

 “Nayc”/No/

 “Boba work with me here,” the older man said with gritted teeth facing the teen 

 Boba humped exaggeratedly but complied.

 “Won’t happen again, sorry,” the teen said without any actual remorse in his voice.

 But the dowutin was pleased enough so Obi-wan gave a small nod to the client and waited for her to be out of sight. 

 “What the in the kriffing hells are you trying to do exactly?” The older man turned harshly towards the teen trying to compose himself as he was still at work and started pushing the boy next to the bar. “You are taking your things and going to Cody.”

 “No! Also in no way that was a girl. This-“ 

Obi-wan slapped him across the head before he could continue.

 “Lower your voice and stop insulting people. Also if you didn’t want to go to Cody you should have thought about it before you started picking fights with much bigger beings than you.”

 “Oh, please, Obi I’ll be good. Please don’t take me to my brother. It’s soooo boring. He just reads papers, signs stuff and doesn’t even spare me a glance.”

 “Well, that’s called working. It’s supposed to be boring so you can have more fun when you are not working.”

 “But your band is fun and that’s also working. That’s what you told me.” The teen was starting to sulk and Obi-wan didn’t have time to deal with this right now. It was rush hour and his co-workers were going to hate him.

 “Look, sometimes there are aspects of one’s job that are boring and then there are parts that are less boring or even fun. It can’t be all fun and games. Do you understand me? Sometimes people have to sacrifice something to be able to receive another thing, okay.”

 Boba was earnestly listening to him and he hoped that something went inside that buckethead of his. 

 “Yes, I understand. Can I go play in the backroom then? I promise I won’t disturb you anymore.” And the puppy eyes were on, how could he say no? He sighed and nodded. Boba did a little happy jump and hugged Obi-wan, took his things and went in the back room where the staff usually rested. 

 He returned to the bar and threw Asajj, who was next to him, an apologetic smile.

 “I am sorry for that. This kid is a magnet for trouble.”

 “No worries, love. We all know. It’s good that at least someone takes interest in him around here. You are more a brother to him than his blood one and teaching him more useful things that he’ll ever will.”

 “Oh, I won’t go that far.”

 “Sorry, what was that – one bespin fizz and two blurrgfire. Coming right up”

 “Well, I would and the people who haven’t arrived here yesterday would. Even Cody would go that far.”

 “I can’t be that harsh towards Cody. He is trying to run his own business and he is keeping it afloat plus is a pretty damn decent one.”

 “Here you go, love. That’ll be 12,50 cred. Thank you. Here’s the change. Didn’t say he wasn’t doing other stuff and living his life and so on. That doesn’t change the fact that you care so much for that kid. And not only because Cody is his brother and your best friend - his kid brother is a pain in the ass but you like the little troublemaker for whatever reason and you worry for him.” 

 “Yeah, I do. I guess I just have a soft spot for cute and small creatures.”

 Asajj smiled at him

 “Guess so.”

 While the Obi-wan was recalling the events of the previous month he had arrived at his destination. He got out of the hovertaxi and headed for the backdoor of the building. He got around 15 minutes to spare so he went to smoke a cigarette. Obi-wan stopped in his track as he saw the scene in front of him. Asajj was making out with her boyfriend and his childhood friend, Quinlan. It was already awkward for him so he tried to hide under the stairs and hoped they won’t notice him but with no such luck. As he lit his cigarette he heard the voice of his friend.

 “Look what the loth-cat dragged in? If this isn’t Obi-wan Kenobi?”

  “The one and only, hello Vos.”

 “Hey, come on, don’t be a stranger. Come here and let’s hug it out.”

 Obi-wan looked at Asajj trying to send some signal so she can try and stop this madness. She just smiled at him and shrugged. This, little-

Before he could finish his thought strong arms enveloped around him, crushing his ribs and stopping his breath for a second, after that he felt a stinging slap on his ass. 

 “Still a hot piece of ass.”

 “Your girlfriend is right there, do you have no shame.” Obi-wan rolled his eyes even though he knew better than to ask. No, this man had no shame whatsoever. 

 “Nah, she knows you are on my pass list. You are on hers too.”

 For sith’s sake, how did he even became friends with this person, he would never know. Okay, he knows but that was in his past, he is not like THAT anymore. Maybe just less.

 He looked at Asajj again, shaking his head in disapproval. She was smoking now and yet again she just shrugged but this time send him a wink. Okay, the image of him being in the middle of that sex sandwich was not what he needed at the moment. 

 The forgotten cigarette in his fingers was starting to get shorter and the heat from it returned him to the reality, he tossed it on the ground and put it out with his foot.

 “When did you come back?” Obi-wan asked Quinlan without looking at him as he was taking another cigarette out.  

 “Just last night. I heard that you were having some troubles.”

 Obi-wan stopped with his lighter mid-air. His mind and heart started racing. How could he know? Rex wouldn’t tell anyone. What if someone, what if that guy- 

 “The little rascal Boba is making your hair prematurely grey, huh.”

Oh, OH! Boba. 

 “He sure is” Obi-wan tried to shrug off the feeling of uneasiness and anxiety as he laughed and lit his cigarette.”But I won’t care for him any less. You know that better than anyone, Q” The ginger man looked at his friend through the smoke of his cigarette. He could see the sentimental emotions on the other man’s face written as clearly as his yellow tattoo across his face. Obi-wan glanced towards Asajj – her back was turned towards them, she was taking out her cigarette and going inside. Then his eyes landed on the man in front of him. Vos was softly smiling to himself, probably remembering something from their younger, much wilder days. Then the darker man looked at him again, extended his hand and started caressing his face.

 “Kriff, don’t I know it?” A few beats passed between them, staying in the same position, with Obi-wan continuously smoking and trying not to blow the smoke straight into his friend’s face. He hated smoking. Well, at least that’s what he started saying three years ago. Before that, he was like spice on fire.”You are becoming prettier each time I see you.”

 The ginger man snorted and rolled his eyes.

 “Yeah, I know but thank you.”

 “What I fool I have been, Obi, all these years.”

 “Have you just come to this realization or you just came to accept it?”

 Quinlan smiled and continued speaking.

 “That mouth of yours has put us into so much trouble and gotten us out of trouble as much. “

 “I got it from my daddy.” The ginger man arched an eyebrow at his friend and laughed. Quinlan laughed with him and went to caress his long locks. “This looks so good on you, truly.”

 “Don’t you have a girlfriend to throw your compliments at? As much as I am flattered I don’t know how she would feel. And honestly, I would love to just stand here and just have you adore me but I have to go to work. I am sure we can see each other these days.” Obi-wan threw his second cigarette next to first and stepped on it also. He turned his head to his friend and was taken aback by his friend leaning forward and tried to retreat as fast he could.

 Quinlan looked at him and smiled.

 “I guess it’s a little too late for that, huh. No hard feelings, Obi, none from me. I hope none from you too.” 

 Quinlan got close to him and kissed him on his temple. Obi-wan went cool as a dead star on the outside but his emotions were in a jumble inside. Why does Vos always have to come and make everything complicated? 

 “See you soon, Obi.”

 Obi-wan cursed in his head and headed inside the cantina. This was not the time for old feeling resurfacing, not at all. He spotted Asajj as she was preparing herself for opening and headed towards her. 

 “Can you please do something about your boyfriend?”

 She looked at him, confusion written all over her face.

 “Whatever do you mean, love?”

 “Please, don’t play dumb with me. You are smarter than that.”

 The woman laughed.

 “Surely but where’s the fun in that. I can’t see you antagonizing over it then.”

 “Do the two of you want to end me or something? “

 “Oh, come on, love. We are merely having a little fun.”

 “On the expense of other people”

 Asajj chuckled and looked at her watch.

 “I think you have to get ready, unlike Quinlan and I, you won’t be able to satisfy our boss that way as he doesn’t even like doin that stuff. And no matter how much he loves you as his dear friend he doesn’t like showing favouritism while he is working at least.”

 Asajj winked at him and continued sorting out the bar. The younger man death stared at the older woman and went to get changed.

 -------------------------------------------

 This shift was NOT going all right. Except Cody not being mad at him, everything else was going off the rails. He had more than 10 drinks poured on him, he was hit on more times than he liked to know, he got almost groped 3 times but thanks to his fast reflexes he managed to avoid causing a scene and was able to warn the people who even dared to think that was going to happened and this was not even half-way into the shift.

 Aayla was sending him encouraging smiles and thumb ups when she was on the bar. Aayla both served and worked on the bar and today was serving shift for her. He sometimes helped her when the bar wasn’t too busy as they had two floors and both floors had bars but not enough servers sometimes. He didn’t know what Cody was doing with managing the shifts or the personnel but it had been shitty for the past year. And he had the nerve to tell him that he couldn’t give him more shifts and told Ahsoka he didn’t need more staff. Huh, he should talk with him. 

 His attention shifted towards the loud voice that was coming from the side of him. He looked over from the table he was trying to clean up to his right, leaned forward a bit as he couldn’t see the whole scene. As every detail came into his vision he could see into one of the V.I.P boots, an extremely intoxicated client shouting at Aayla. He couldn’t make out what they were shouting about and he started heading towards the scene, trying to muster up his best customer smile. Inhale, exhale. He was starting to make up what all the fuss was about and it seems that he wasn’t happy with the drink he had been served but Aayla was trying to politely explain that this was exactly what he had ordered and if he wanted something else they could change it, there was no need for the foul language. And she was right – he was calling her names, how she shouldn’t be working here but at the back where the dancers usually gave private sessions to clients. He could see that Aayla was trying her hardest not to lose her cool but she was breaking. Obi-wan stood between them. 

“Good evening, if there is any problem that you are having I would be incredibly pleased to listen to it and forward it to my boss if we can’t resolve it between us that is. You seem agitated and you are orally abusing my colleague here. I hope there is nothing big that is worrying you or is there, sir?”

 The duros in front of him looked like he wanted to say something more, but decided against it.

 “Bring me another drink and hurry up.”

 “Of course, sir, I’ll bring you our finest liquor.”

 Obi-wan turned on his heels and grabbed Aayla by her forearm. 

 “Thank you.” She whispered

 “You don’t have to. You’ll soon learn how to deal with those kinds of sleemos. “

 “I hope so.”

 Obi-wan looked at the younger female and rubbed her back reassuringly.

 “Or you don’t have to. Just look for me or Asajj. Or if we are not here just someone who has been here longer - most of them know how to deal with them. Okay?” He smiled her hoping to comfort her more. She smiled weakly back at him and nodded. 

 --------------------------------------------------------- 

The rest of the shift passed rather slowly and nothing major happened except a few broken glasses from the washer. At the end of the shift, which was 7 am, Obi-wan had his feet up against the wall at the staff’s room, unlight cigarette in his mouth. 

 “Are you going to smoke that cigarette or suck it like a lollipop? “

 He could hear Asajj from behind him.

 “Ugh, I don’t even have the energy for moving my finger.”

 Suddenly the cigarette was out of his mouth

 “Give it to me then.”

 “Hey, give it back.”

 “You are not even using it.”

 “I was sucking on it.” he said with note of sarcasm in his voice

 At that moment the door opened and blue appendages came into sight.

 “Do you want to get a lift home, guys? My friend is picking me up so she can give you one as well? “

 “Sure” Asajj shrugged and stood up.

 “If it’s not much trouble” Obi-wan tried to spin himself to get off the wall but gracefully fell on his back

 “Ow”

 “Come on, you idiot. Get up.” Asajj extended her hand and he took it. He was eyeing the cigarette in her mouth and took it after he stood up.

 “Hey”

 “That was mine anyways”

 Asajj decided she was in a teasing mood so she bit back while getting closer to Obi-wan.

 “Maybe I tell you that while you are sucking off, Quinlan” she smirked and it took the ginger a few seconds before he could react.

 “VENTRESS”

The young twi’lek just slowly backed out from the room and shouted

 “I am waiting for you outside”

 “Look what you did. You are traumatizing the poor girl.” The younger man was trying to sound scandalized but couldn’t help a smile

 “Oh, she’ll be fine, love” Asajj threw an arm around his neck and they headed outside

 “You are unbelievable” Obi-wan shook his head in disapproval 

 “Thank you”

 The man looked at her like she grew a second head and lit his cigarette. Cody had left 30 minutes ago while they were still cleaning some stuff and the staff for the first shift was briefed on everything they needed to know. The first shift was usually a lot calmer but also very slow. People usually came for coffee and breakfast and sometimes brunch and early drink, but it wasn’t too much hassle. Maybe Aayla would feel more comfortable there. 

 His thoughts were broken by a ringing sound.

 “You are ringing”

 “Thank you for the observation, I can hear.”

 It was Rex; he is probably going to work.

 “Hey, how is it going?”

 “Same old, I am travelling to work. I hoped to catch you before you went to bed. How did the conversation go?”

 “We have a meeting in two days, at 2 pm. I know that you are working an office job but you can do it remotely when you have to, right?”

 “Yeah, sure, I’ll them that I need to do it from home. I am glad that this is going okay.”

 “Yeah, me too.”

 “I’ll call Ahsoka later, don’t worry. Go rest.”

 “Okay, thank you. Have a nice day at work.”

 “Hope I don’t decapitate somebody. Later.” 

 Obi-wan snorted and hung up.

 “Rex?”

 “Yeah.” 

 “What’s this meeting about, if it’s not a secret.”

 Obi-wan observed her for a bit and spoke.

 “Hmm, no one except the group knows and I haven’t thought of you as the first person to talk about it but sure why not? “

 “Am I that awful of a friend?”

 “What, no- wait, you think we are friends?” Obi-wan’s face and voice were full of confusion.

 “Are we not? “ The woman said matter of factly like she wasn’t even asking the question but it was an obvious observation.  

 “I mean-sure, yeah. I haven’t thought about it this way, but, yeah.”

 Asajj put a hand across her heart and posed melodramatically. 

 “I am hurt, Kenobi. We have worked together for how many years now.”

 “Four”

 “It was a rhetorical question, dumbass.” She said deadpan and continued “I know we are not on the level you have with your little gang of misfits but I have told you personal secrets, I have told you the story about-“

“Yeah, I don’t want to hear it again, thank you very much. It’s engraved deeply into my mind, thank you very much. I didn’t ask you for your secrets, but thanks, I guess.”

 Asajj scanned him for a second and continued.

 “You are a very comforting man. It’s a gift.”

 Obi-wan looked at her with absolute confusion painted on his face.

 “Me?!”

 “My friend is around the corner”

 They both looked at the younger girl, a little surprised at her as she hasn’t spoken until now. They were in their world really so they couldn’t blame her. They stood up and got closer to the girl.

 Soon enough a light grey light freighter with some yellow stripes on it came into their view. Its door opened with a hiss and a green female twi’lek came into view.

 “Dramatic” 

 Obi-wan snorted at Asajj’s comment. 

 “Hey, Aayla. Work was good?” the female went down to hug her friend.

 “Hey, I have seen better days but I’ll tell you later.” Aayla was trying to signal her friend about the people next to them.

 “Guys, this is Hera. Hera this is Obi-wan and Asajj.”

 “Nice to meet you” Hera extended her hand for a shake and the man took it smiling at her.

 “Likewise,” Asajj said and winked at her

 Obi-wan rolled his eyes and spoke

 “Just ignore her, she can be weird sometimes.”

Obi-wan smiled apologetically to the girl, she didn’t say anything.

 “Well, I won’t take more of your time; I’ll just take you home then. Hope on”

 “Yes, thank you very much for that”

 They started boarding the vehicle while looking curiously around. They don’t travel by that kind of transportation every day. This was usually used for planetary transportation of cargo, even fighting on the battlefront. How curious.

 “How did you come into having that kind of transport? Do you work for a transport company or something like that? “

 Ah, Ventress – blunt as ever.

 “Something like that. It’s an inheritance and my home away from home.”

 “Oh, very hippie. I can get behind it.”