#cody has absolutely had enough of obi wan kenobi

[ihathbenobiwankenobied]

I like how one day we all just unanimously agreed Obi-Wan is allergic to everything and Cody carries around epipens in his utility belt and uses them a little too frequently

[gffa]

Jedi culture & community fics, my beloved! They're a bit of a rare breed for what you're specifically looking for, specifically focusing on positive Jedi worldbuilding, so if anyone has genfic recs outside of the ones I know, please feel free to add them! But these should help scratch that itch for you, each of them has at least some focus on Jedi philosophy or how Jedi interact with each other or the lessons they teach! It's been awhile since I've read some of them, so there might be some that aren't quite as in-line with how I see the Jedi these days, but they're all ones I felt portrayed them pretty positively and they're all genfic (except one that I made an exception for) and all really lovely fics I remember enjoying for the Jedi worldbuilding aspects! And there are some that will make you absolutely melt with how much you love these characters and their beautiful culture, because by god if canon's not going to give us as much detail as we want, fandom will step up. And fandom made sure to not just focus on the disaster lineage--we love Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka, we always want more of them, please don't stop writing Jedi worldbuilding with them!--but also Mace and Yoda and Quinlan and Qui-Gon and even some Jedi OCs get some love in these fics, which makes me want to explode with joy to see! So, come cry about how much we love the Jedi with me, I WILL GIVE YOU A CRAPLOAD OF FIC TO READ. STAR WARS & JEDI CULTURE & WORLDBULDING RECS YOU'LL FIND HERE:

NOVEL AND NOVELLA LENGTH

MID-LENGTH

SHORT AND YET SO GOOD-LENGTH

NOVEL AND NOVELLA LENGTH: ✦ Remedial Jedi Theology by MarbleGlove, obi-wan & anakin & jedi & cast, 51.3k     Let us consider the fact that the Jedi Order is a monastic religious organization based out of a temple, with five basic tenets of faith. ✦ Festival of Light by dendral, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 8.7k     During his first year at the Jedi Temple, Anakin learns that even the Jedi celebrate holidays. ✦ Out with Lanterns by SkyeBean, ahsoka & mace & jedi & clones & cast, 312.5k     In another universe, Jedi Masters Plo Koon and Depa Billaba decide a Padawan could do Mace some good. It takes a while, but he eventually agrees. When he takes Ahsoka Tano as his Padawan, Mace knows that he's broken through a Shatterpoint and changed the course of a life. How, he doesn't know. ✦ eat well; be well by gingerbeer, rainsoaked_benevolence (oceans_bluem), obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & yoda & depa & shaak & quinlan & aayla & cast, 18.6k     Or, (almost) all of the Jedi High Councilors (plus Ahsoka) gather to eat dinner together. ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & ahsoka & palpatine & yoda & quinlan & cody & cast, 126.3k wip     By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. A Senator from a less prominent planet has had enough of Chancellor Palpatine's incompetence and calls for a Vote of No-Confidence and the installation of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. This one action becomes the catalyst that changes the direction of the galaxy. ✦ Pragmatics of the Jedi by aroacejoot, ghostwriterofthemachine, loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & jedi, 31.3k     A series of fanfiction exploring the consequences and results of the Jedi having their own language, and speaking it still. ✦ light by loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & mace & jedi, 56.1k     Anakin Skywalker is a Jedi and being a part of their Order means that he is protected and accepted. The war is over and the Republic has to recover from the crimes of the Sith Lord, the Jedi have to figure out what it means to be peacekeepers again and the Clones have to learn how to be more than expendable soldiers. ✦ When Darkness Seems to Hide This Place by IllyanaA, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & kanan & ocs & cast, 94.9k wip     After killing three of the Jedi Order's best and brightest, Palpatine's fight with Jedi Master Mace Windu goes shorter than expected. Afraid he's lost his chance at recruiting a new apprentice, Sidious unleashes Order 66 across the galaxy, but, per their programming, the Clone Army is not to harm Anakin Skywalker. After witnessing the most painful loss he's ever experienced and injured at the hands of his captors, Anakin is ready to die like the rest of the Jedi, though not before getting his vengeance.

✦ Knightrise by Deviant_Accumulation, obi-wan & yoda & satine & ahsoka & asajj & cast, 89.4k wip     "Strong enough to fight the Sith Lord, you are not.“ And just like that the fight drained out of Obi-Wan, the barely scraped together agitation running out of him like water from a broken glass. He looked at Yoda, the other Master already hobbling towards one of the back exits, his presence burning with focus, obviously expecting Obi-Wan to follow. ✦ Make a Brand New End by Batsutousai, obi-wan & anakin & feemor & qui-gon & yoda & mace & dooku & jedi, 118.6k     Feemor, Qui-Gon Jinn's first padawan, did not survive Order 66, but the Force granted him a boon: A chance to go back to days before Qui-Gon's death. He doesn't know why the Force picked him to remember that terrible future, but he's going to do what he can to change it. And if he can heal the rift fallen between himself and Qui-Gon, and finally get the chance to know Obi-Wan, well, he's not about to turn that down. ✦ Unexpected Awakening (The Rewrite) by Rhiw, obi-wan & qui-gon & bruck & feemor & cast, time travel, 135.1k wip     The life of General Kenobi is cut short at the hands of his Padawan, but the sight that greets his eyes upon awakening is not that of blinding light of the Force, but the Jedi Temple he knew when he was still a youth. As he struggles to understand the path laid out before him, Obi-Wan unwittingly captures the attention of a singularly unusual Temple Guard, and that of a reluctant Qui-Gon Jinn. ✦ No Rest for the Weary by orphan_account, obi-wan & anakin & jedi, 61k     Needing a break from life at the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, visit a Jedi AgriCorps settlement on the Midrim planet of Helia. There they encounter new friends, new enemies and have new adventures, all while attempting to navigate their sometimes turbulent relationship as Master and Padawan. ✦ The Moments That Time Remembered by CallToMuster, obi-wan & mace & vokara & bant & quinlan & garen & depa & jedi, 82.4k     Obi-Wan’s first memory was not his own. Rather, it was a vision steeped in darkness and flashes of red and choking heat and you were my brother and the harsh crash of lightsabers striking one another. He woke up sobbing in the arms of the crèchemaster, Master Kitaddik, who was hushing him and gently stroking the top of his head with her furry hands. Obi-Wan hid his face in the soft folds of her tunic and, still crying, fell back asleep. The first time Obi-Wan collapsed due to a vision was not long after that. [Or: in all the various iterations of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life, the Force spoke to him. But in this one, it never stopped.] ✦ Starrunner by orpheus_under_starlight, obi-wan & jedi & oc, 80.2k wip     In what would have been the year 17 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine is found slumped over his desk, dead to rights and emitting a foul odor. The coroners declare the body victim to a heart attack and the smell a result of a lack of a timely embalming—a bit of bowels humor, the head coroner says with a nervous laugh when interviewed by the Galactic Enquirer.

MID-LENGTH: ✦ 飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? by virdant, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & qui-gon & quinlan & yoda & dooku & mace & bant & jedi, 13k     The Force is the first language that Obi-Wan learned to speak, the brush of one mind against another. But food is the second language that Obi-Wan learned to speak with, and he talks, he talks, he talks. A collection of fics about food and how food is an articulation of love. ✦ We Will Abide by naberiie, plo & shaak, 10.3k     Light. Dark. Balance. Beneath the Jedi Temple, far below the chaos of Coruscant's Galactic City, ancient halls and corridors sleep in silent darkness. Padawans Shaak Ti and Plo Koon are determined to explore them. ✦ What Is My Heritage? by Marnie, qui-gon & yoda, 7.7k     Qui-Gon, age 13, tries to find a place to belong. ✦ Coming Home by Marnie, qui-gon & yoda & dooku, 18.1k     A story telling how Qui-Gon comes to be Dooku's apprentice. ✦ Master by CJinn, obi-wan & anakin, 27.5k     Obi-Wan Kenobi had always wanted to become a Jedi Knight. What he didn't expect was to become a Master merely days after his own Master died. Adapting to his new role as the mentor and Master of the quite unusual Padawan Anakin Skywalker became a bumpy road.

✦ into the statue that breathes by spoonks, obi-wan & feemor & cin & cast, 8.5k     The night watch in the garden was supposed to be the calmest of them all. No mischievous Padawans “sneaking” in or out, or ne’er-do-well civilians conducting “business” around the lower-level entrances that they didn’t know existed. No the gardens was still, and it was like time was frozen in ice that slowly melted away with the rising of the sun. A slow drip, drip— Drip. Immediately Feemor turned towards the central waterfall. Someone was standing there. Whoever they were, they were small and moved through katas with their hands open like a greeting. ✦ The Cave by Ria Talla (ronia), anakin & ahsoka & cast, time travel, 10k     Ahsoka Tano, post-Star Wars Rebels/? And there was something else, more important, though Ahsoka found herself loath to do it. Her lightsabers drawn, deep in the labyrinth formed by the stone warriors and the crumbled temple. Yet the words broke certain into her mind. Your eyes can deceive you. Her heart pounded, as though warning her otherwise. But Ahsoka withdrew her sabers, and closed her eyes. Rather than her weapons, she let the Force be her light. ✦ A Candle in the Night by phoenixyfriend, anakin/luminara & obi-wan, time travel, 12k     In which Luminara finds a heavily injured Jedi, nurses him back to health, and falls in love. Then they get back to the real world, and she just can't figure him out... ✦ Found Clan by silvergryphon, boba & ocs & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 25.3k wip     After the Battle of Geonosis, a Jedi Healer discovers young Boba Fett mourning the loss of his father. Not about to leave a ten-year-old boy on his own, she promptly adopts him with the full collusion of her Padawan. ✦ the heart of kyber by outpastthemoat, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & depa & kanan & jedi, 32.7k     Tales of the Jedi: Stories about lightsabers, masters, and apprentices. ✦ Stars of Tatooine by Be_Right_Back, ahsoka & mace & kanan & obi-wan & rex & cast, 10.5k     After the end of the world, Ahsoka more or less kidnaps a child, has to air some old grievances, and tries to find whatever peace the universe can still offer. All paths in the Force lead home, eventually. ✦ The Uses of a Sandwich by Laura Kaye (laurakaye), obi-wan & qui-gon & yoda & cast, 17.6k     A few months after being taken as a Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi faces a challenge: meeting his Master's first apprentice. ✦ Familes Found by fyrefly, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & padme & mace & plo, 8.2k     In a universe where "The Wrong Jedi" never happened, the war ends under different circumstances and perhaps everyone will get a chance at a happy ending after all.

SHORT AND YET SO GOOD-LENGTH: ✦ The Mathematics of Repair by panharmonium, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 4.6k     For raw teachers and rough-edged students building in the rubble: tiny steps are enough, provided they carry you in the right direction. Immediately post TPM, in short snippets. ✦ The Living Force; Parables for Padawans by glorious_clio, obi-wan & cast, 6.1k     Since infancy, younglings are taught the Jedi Code, “Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force.” Obi-Wan Kenobi learns these tenets backwards and forwards again. But even as a child, he is interested in nuance. And so his teachers tell him parables. ✦ A Jedi's Cloak ImperialKatwala, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cody & rex, 6.4k Jedi cloaks are made for children. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a year and a half old when he first sees this principle in action. He is fourteen, twenty-five, twenty-nine, and thirty-six when he gets a reminder.     Or: Jedi cloaks are weird. Here's a series of events showing why they're made that way. ✦ the master, the padawan, the Force by skatzaa, kanan & depa. 1.4k     Caleb expects things to be different after Master Depa takes him as her padawan, but really, it feels like nothing really changes. ✦ For the Future of the Order by thetorontokid, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 3.9k     There are important lessons to be found in the Jedi Temple creche.

✦ Memories of Peace by Margan, obi-wan & clones, 2k     It's not quite flash training, but the Clones are used to learning fast. It helps that this is something that they actually look forward to learning, to putting into practice. Obi-Wan teaches the Clones how to make dumplings in the middle of war. ✦ Liberosis by Be_Right_Back, anakin & mace & yoda & jedi, 2.2k     The war is over, the Sith are gone, and there is now Anakin Skywalker's secret marriage to deal with. While love is a wonderful thing, some truths are hard to face, and letting go is the destiny of all Jedi. Or: the Council and Anakin clash. It doesn't go as terribly as it could have. ✦ Accepting Emotion by LazarusII, obi-wan & ahsoka, 1.1k     Dealing with the stress and anxiety of being a prospective Padawan, Ahsoka Tano struggles to manage her emotions. Obi-Wan Kenobi finds her practicing in the dojo, confidence in tatters. His words make all the difference. ✦ A Long, Long Time Ago by ruth baulding, dooku & qui-gon + qui-gon & obi-wan + obi-wan & anakin + anakin & ahsoka, 5.8k     A wisdom tale handed passed down through the generations poses troublesome questions for a line of masters and Padawans, from Dooku to Ahsoka Tano.

✦ Duet by Silver Sky 1138, oc & cin, 2.3k     Asha Scarsi, the Jedi Padawan who feels the Force through music, isn't half as good at lightsaber combat as she is at singing and mindtricks. So she's a little nervous when Battlemaster Cin Drallig calls her to the training room after class. ✦ The One Where Anakin Tries to Be Serious by GirlwithCurls98, anakin & ahsoka, 1k     Even though they're fighting a war, Anakin finds the time to lead his apprentice through one of the Jedi's sacred ceremonies. ✦ Obi-Wan and the Force by AwayOHumanChild, obi-wan & cast, ~1k     One of the first things Jedi Initiates learn is that everyone experiences the Force differently.

✦ Night Shift at the Temple by ReneeoftheStars, oc jedi & cast, 1.8k     A Jedi Temple Guard sees all, speaks to few, and has attachments to no one. One must be prepared for any threats that may arise, especially at night, while most of the Temple sleeps. ✦ The Orchards by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 3.6k     When young Obi-Wan Kenobi is injured on a previous mission, Qui-Gon Jinn refuses to accept further off-planet missions until his Padawan's recovery. Yoda assigns the pair an in-Temple mission of utmost importance while Obi-Wan heals. Master and Padawan welcome the change of pace. ✦ Tipping Point by Ria Talla (ronia), adi gallia & finis valorum & eeth koth, 3.3k     "I believe that if what's happening on Naboo is allowed to continue, the other member systems will wonder what they owe to a Republic that can no longer protect them." ✦ A Personal Touch by DragonHoardsBooks, obi-wan & anakin, 6.2k     New jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker realizes that there is more to being a jedi then he tought. Discovering a completely new culture will take time and effort, but maybe he'll make some friends along the way.

✦ Jedi Parables by Peppermint_Shamrock, jedi, 5.8k     Values are often passed down generation to generation through stories, parables, and fables. What stories might the Jedi teach their children? ✦ Songs for Little Jedi by soft_but_gremlin, mace & jedi, ~1k     The initiates are having nightmares, so Mace sings a lullaby to comfort them. ✦ a thin thread of hope by wrennette, shaak & clones, ~1k     Shaak Ti introduces some cadets to one of her favourite crafts, under the guise of training. ✦ rah kat by js71, obi-wan & anakin & aayla, 1.6k     "Aay’shee," Obi-Wan murmurs into her ear, rocking her gently, like when jaieh was off on a mission she couldn’t go on, so her jaieh-raheniel would take turns having her over at their apartments. ✦ Lessons on Attachment by Siri_Kenobi12, obi-wan & anakin/padme & cast, 2.7k     "Anakin once told me that a Jedi is actually encouraged to love." She said after Obi-Wan had settled. ✦ Straw Dogs by Cymbidia, obi-wan & jedi & cast, 2.9k     An old Jedi Master imparts some wisdom concerning Mercy, Balance, and the Will of the Force to young Padawan Obi-wan Kenobi and a gaggle of other younglings. It is a lesson that haunts Obi-wan for the rest of his life. ✦ Refractions of Light by Independence1776, ezra & kanan, 1.3k     Kanan celebrates a Jedi holiday with Ezra.

✦ The grand outing by Ingata, dooku & sifo-dyas & obi-wan & bant & garen & reeft & yoda & cast, 4.5k     Eight younglings and two Jedi masters on a field trip. What could possibly go wrong? ✦ A Short Break by Peppermint_Shamrock, luke & yoda, ~1k     Luke complains about his training, and asks about Jedi training of old. ✦ we are made of our longest days by bereft_of_frogs, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 4.4k     Two years after the events of The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan and his new apprentice are called to a remote moon to fetch a baby who’s showing signs of a rare, unique power. On their journey home, Obi-Wan reflects on the last child he brought to the Temple and catches a faint glimpse of three possibly entwining futures. ✦ yellow, you're a dreamer by nightdotlight, jocasta & anakin (& obi-wan), 2.6k     Normally, it wouldn’t be unusual, but— Jocasta did not earn her post without listening, and from where she stands in the aisle, gaze fixed upon the back of the young child’s shaking shoulders, she can hear a sniffle reverberate around the space. There’s a child curled up in the corner of the Archives— and they’re crying. ✦ once upon a time (a long, long time ago) by thebitterbeast, barriss & mace & shaak & ki-adi & bacara & trilla & cere, 2.3k     The Jedi love children. Children love stories. This changes some things. ✦ not the place that I was born in (doesn't mean it's not the place where I belong) by ghostwriterofthemachine, obi-wan & anakin, 5k     “What were you consulting Master Obi-Wan about?” “Tea!” says the other Padawan brightly. “I’m performing a tea ceremony for my Master, one that originates from her home world. It’ll be the first time I sit foveo with her!” She says that word— foveo— as if it should mean something to Anakin. It does not. ✦ A Friend Indeed by ExtraPenguin, plo & ahsoka, 3.3k     After their rescue of the colonists of Kiros, Ahsoka Tano's Master asks for her to be sent on a mission away from the front. She ends up being sent to the Deep Core with Master Plo Koon to investigate one of the first known locations of the Jedi Order, since abandoned. ✦ In which we burn bodies as bridges by GraceEliz, obi-wan & ahsoka & depa & kanan & ezra, 1.4k     Lineage mantras, and the processing of grief. ✦ Five Times Mace was There for Obi-Wan, and One Time Obi-Wan Returned the Favour by wrennette, obi-wan & mace, 4k     five of the many times Mace Windu offered Obi-Wan comfort over the years, and one of the many times Obi-Wan returned the favour

✦ as the dust settled around us by thebitterbeast, finn & jedi, 5.2k     Bravery has never been the absence of fear. Prompt: There is no emotion, there is peace. ✦ Adi Gallia, Master of the Order by Perspicacia, adi & jedi, 7.2k wip     Palpatine didn't expect it. It was too soon for that in his plans: which Jedi would have left the Temple under assault? But Adi had. Ashes in her heart, she had left the younglings and the elders and the wounded for her duty to the galaxy, choosing to stop the Sith instead of protecting her people. ✦ “The Padawan Chooses The Master” by lurkingcrow, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 3.6k     prompt: AU - The Jedi say “The Padawan Chooses The Master” Qui Gon lives, Obi Wan is very preoccupied, and Anakin is put into the creche as an Initiate to learn what he can until Qui Gon wakes up from his coma and gets yelled at by the Council. In the meantime, Anakin meets other Jedi Masters and when the Council asks him who he wants to be his teacher, his answer isn’t Qui Gon. Instead it’s *insert your fav Jedi here* ✦ The Only Home We Know by ReneeoftheStars, katooni & petro & ganodi & byph & gungi & zaft & cast, character death, child death, 2.4k     The Jedi Temple is under attack. Determined to fight for their home, younglings Katooni, Petro, Zatt, Ganodi, Byph, and Gungi make their way to aid the Jedi Masters in defense of the Temple. But the situation is far graver than they expected. ✦ Obi-Wan and the Force by AwayOHumanChild, obi-wan & cast, ~1k     One of the first things Jedi Initiates learn is that everyone experiences the Force differently. ✦ The One Where Anakin Tries to Be Serious by Mini_and_Might, anakin & ahsoka, 1k     Even though they're fighting a war, Anakin finds the time to lead his apprentice through one of the Jedi's sacred ceremonies. Might become part of a series of missing scenes from the Clone Wars. ✦ Markings by wabbajack, ahsoka & plo, 1.6k     In which it is revealed that Master Plo Koon has always had a difficult time putting his foot down when faced with his Little 'Soka. ✦ The First Trial by Raven_Knigh, obi-wan & qui-gon, 2k     Accompanied by his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, young Obi-Wan Kenobi undergoes his first trial and rite as a Padawan Learner on the frozen planet of Ilum.

✦ Arrival by CJinn, obi-wan & yoda & jedi, 2.6k     Little Obi-Wan was only a few days old when he was brought to the Jedi Temple. His arrival caused some confusion among the Jedi. ✦ The Spire by skatzaa, obi-wan & jedi, 2.4k     The galaxy was on the brink of war, and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been assigned a new room. ✦ Room Arrangements by skatzaa, obi-wan & anakin, 2.2k     Anakin has some concerns about room arrangements at the Temple. Obi-Wan does his best to reassure him. ✦ Lineage by virdant, obi-wan & anakin & yoda & jedi, 1.5k     Anakin is new to the temple, and he does not yet understand that these are his brothers and sisters, his cousins, his uncles and aunts. He does not know yet, but he will learn, Obi-Wan thinks. ✦ A Discussion of Choices by Peppermint_Shamrock, luke & mace, 2k     Mace Windu has traveled the galaxy since the fall of the Republic, keeping out of the Empire's sight and teaching where he can. Upon the request of a ghost of an old friend, Mace finds himself instructing Luke Skywalker, who is still reeling from the truth of Vader's identity. ✦ Emotion is our Shared Tongue by virdant, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & quinlan & jedi, 2.1k     There are thousands of different species, with different languages and voices and hands, but what all Jedi have in common is the Force, and with the Force, they have language. ✦ To Know by Armin_05, obi-wan & anakin & shmi & kitster & fives & cast, 4.8k     Nearly all Jedi love learning. Anakin Skywalker is no different. Or, how Anakin found a love of learning and shared it with others. ✦ Shatterpoints and Students by soft_but_gremlin, mace & depa, ~1k     Depa always has shatterpoints hovering around her.

✦ Home-onym by virdant, jedi, 1.1k     Jedi younglings, like any other children, enjoy playing. Playing with lightsabers and playing with words. ✦ Threaded Lineage by Pandora151, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & kanan & ezra & luke & rey, 2.9k     The journey of a single river stone through many generations of Jedi, allowing the Jedi of the old and the Jedi of the future to be threaded together. ✦ the river and the rock by nightdotlight, anakin & luminara, 1.8k     Lightsabers clash, and Luminara Unduli holds her ground. She doesn’t move, doesn’t lock her muscles, just makes herself an immovable object and lets her opponent strain against the lock. ✦ Five Meditations of Jedi Depa Billaba by skatzaa, depa & mace & yoda & kanan & kit, 5.3k     What is says on the tin. (Plus one more, for good measure.)

[fanfic-obsessed]

The Force

This is another, ‘the Force is fucking with us right?’ Kind of idea that I feel like makes up about half my ideas. 

It starts just after Obi Wan Kenobi is beheaded on the death star. The Millenium Falcon has just exited the Death Star but has not jumped to hyperspace yet. The alarms have not quite rung when two things happen that derail the entire sequence of events. 

First Obi Wan Kenobi and Cody (who had been on Alderaan when it was vaporized) appear, from apparently nowhere in front of Luke, Leia, and Han. They look like they did at the beginning of the Clone War (Obi Wan is still only just recognizable as Old Ben). The second is that Alderaan (and Scarif) reappeared, completely undamaged (I just want you to picture, for a moment, the operators and techs of the Death Star or anyone looking out of one of the viewports where the Planet they just vaporized-with all the detritus that entailed- reappeared unharmed).  Though it was not known right away every single victim of the Empire from the Purge forward (including the Clones) have reappeared, spread out throughout Alderaan. 

Every single one of them have all their memories up to their deaths. Those that had been dead for more than a month also have some idea of what has happened since their death (taking into account age, mindset, and how traumatic the knowledge would be for them).

Everyone is still very confused. 

On the Millenium Falcon, they do not jump to hyperspace because they are too busy gawking at the two men that just appeared (and everyone on board, barring the formerly dead men, is asking themselves some version of -does The Force work like that?). Then they notice that there suddenly is a planet where there had been a debris field. 

Feeling more than a little bewildered, Han hesitantly begins to fly toward the planet and in the background CodyWan reunites after twenty years of believing the other was dead.  They are guided to the Royal landing pad by a few shaken techs who will be asking for a vacation and a raise.

Onboard the Death Star, the low level techs consider if they should call Darth Vader? Should they call the Emperor? Fire again (It would take time for the weapon to charge and no one is really sure a second shot would do anything if the planet was reconstituted the first time)?

Vader is still down in the hallways of the ship, feeling anticlimactic victory over Obi Wan’s robes and well away from any viewport when suddenly the Force is feeling much…fuller? Then it had been a few moments before.  The screaming that had been deafening since Alderaan’s destruction quieted and the crying he had been perceiving since killing the younglings had ebbed. 

On of the comm techs hesitantly (so hesitantly, their speech was all full of all umms and errrs and they really hope that they do not piss Darth Vader enough for him to hunt the tech down-it would not be the first time something like that had happened) tells him that there was a Padme Amidala calling from the planet demanding to talk to him.

Vader manages to get out that she should be patched through. A large part of him is going PADME!!!!!!! A smaller part is going ‘there’s no planet here any longer?’

The conversations start with Padme going “ANAKIN NO MIDDLE NAME SKYWALKER” in a very pissed off tone. It does not get better for Vader from there.

This is not the same Padme at the end of ROTS, who had gotten so caught up in being in a romance novel that she was smacked in the face with the third act twist of it turning into a horror story.  This version of Padme has been watching for twenty years exactly what Anakin was doing, separated from her need to see the best in him. She is closer to her TPM self, and absolutely livid at Fascism done in her name. Padme is also, to her reckoning, back from the dead, about to meet her children for the first time, and possibly immortal (after what just happened…who knows). 

Somehow Padme’s entire rant is broadcast throughout the Death Star. None of the stormtroopers know who this person is but they have a deep instinctual need to surrender (Even Tarkin does not recognize Padme after 20 years). 

The Millenium Falcon lands on Alderaan. Leia grabs her parents and holds on, before anyone can say anything.  Luke sees Owen and Beru (also brought back, and to Alderaan) and does the same.  Obi Wan and Cody are off to one side holding each other (Obi Wan is basking in the Force being lighter than it has in 2 decades-though he does not know that rest of the Jedi are also back). Han hovering off to one side awkwardly.

Padme comes storming out, having just finished her…conversation with Anakin. Obi Wan jolted (being the only person currently paying attention who would recognize Padme-Also Bail and Breha had already had the ‘oh that kind of back from the dead’ realization). Padme strode right up to Obi wan and slapped him upside the head ‘that is for getting decapitated before telling my kids they were siblings’ then she hugged him. 

After a long period of time, Luke and Leia separate enough from their adoptive parents to meet their mother. Also getting to realize that they were siblings. 

After the current reuniting, and uniting, is over Padme says ‘Oh, Anakin will be coming down shortly, he has some things he needs to say’.

Obi Wan, the only other person who knows exactly who Anakin Skywalker is, goes ‘Padme…that may not be a good idea’

Padme gives a smile that could also double as a threat display, though not aimed at anyone present. ‘You need not worry, Obi Wan, Anakin will be spending the rest of his life making up for what he has done.’

For the first time Obi Wan considers that cutting off Anakin's limbs and leaving him to burn on the bank of a lava river was actually kinder than letting him face the full fury of Padme Amidala. 

He did manage to communicate exactly who Anakin Skylwaker is. Thankful, at least, that Padme was there for the ‘Our father is Whom???’ Padme does reassure Leia that she did not have to be there and confront the person who tortured her and blew up her planet, but Anakin does owe them all at least one Apology. Leia promptly decides she would be there.

It is an Awkward set of meetings, not the least of which is because Mace Windu comes through with some of the formally murdered younglings (who all knew what they would be facing and wanted to confront their murderer). Vader (and he is still mostly Vader) is not sure why Padme Amidala is intimidating him, but he is going with it.

At some point someone brings up the Emperor. Padme makes that same smile, the threat display, and says that Palpatine should probably start running before she got to him. Far away Palpatine felt a chill along his spine…something had just gone very wrong.

There will be time to deal with the new metric ton of trauma. Seriously there are types of trauma that had never existed that they would have to develop therapy for. There are people to find places for that have been dead for twenty years.   There is still an Empire to dismantle.

But for now there is a man who is arguably the second most evil person in the galaxy awkwardly apologizing to his daughter (unknown) for torturing her and blowing up her planet, her adoptive parents for blowing them up, a slew of children he murdered, as well as an entire planets worth of people (many of whom he owes a very personal apology-also probably some kind of compensation), with his 5’3” formerly dead wife looking on. 

Even the Force has no idea how we got here.

[r-2-peepoo]

BAD BATCH SPOILERS

Now that the episode is out, let’s talk about Cody’s personality.

Yes he has one. Yes he has always had one. You can argue that he is underdeveloped (and I will agree with you, he hasn’t had nearly as much screen time as he deserves) but he isn’t a blank slate. He has always had a personality and here is a core part of it:

Cody is fundamentally good. That is who he has always been. He is a very obedient soldier but he is similar to Obi Wan in that he is a good person who is just very strongly bound by his duties, hence why they were so close and presumably why they were assigned to work together so often. Obi Wan Kenobi would not trust, let alone be close with someone and have him as his second in command if Cody was not a good person. People forget that Cody was probably the person Obi Wan saw the most throughout the entire war, they were together so often. Obi Wan would not proclaim Cody as a good man who he remembers fondly years into the future, even after he ‘betrays’ if he didn’t think incredibly highly of him and if the Kenobi stamp of approval isn’t enough to convince you then I don’t know what is.

There’s a reason Cody has the rank he has but also that all of the clones trust him, including TBB who generally do not like regs. It’s one of the first things we learn about them as a group actually. The fans have done an insane amount of work in Cody’s personality but it is based on what was already there. You can easily believe Cody is a somewhat stern yet very compassionate person when you read fics about him because that is who he’s been from the beginning.

Absolutely no part of me ever believed that Cody would work for the Empire willingly or that Rex would have to fight/kill him. If that had happened, as much as I love how angsty and dramatic it is as a concept, it would’ve been a complete betrayal of Cody’s character and wouldn’t be a fitting ending for him. The fan theories did get to a lot of us and honestly I thought they were plausible only because a misrepresentation of a fairly minor character is always possible in media, however that is exactly what it would have been had that been the plot. A misrepresentation.

Character arcs need to have structure and Cody turning fascist out of absolutely nowhere would not have fit in with his character arc. The inhibitor chip would be the only way for it to work and even then it wouldn’t be fulfilling at all. It could happen, but it wouldn’t feel right if that makes sense. A death is also a huge mistake, at least in my opinion. He is such a vital character for exploring who the clones are after the war. We still have the rest of the season so maybe he will still die but I truly do not believe it anymore. If he does, I firmly think it will be the wrong creative decision and would waste his character.

TL/DR: Cody has always been a sweet boy and I’m never letting people make me think he isn’t ever again ;-;

[songsofaine]

A Box Full of Memories

So i had this fic idea hit me at 3am as i was feeding my baby.

Basic premise: Obi-Wan has a tonne of keepsakes of Anakin's Padawanship that he was saving to share with Shmi once Anakin reached Knighthood.

In this story Jedi have the option after passing their Trials and before they swear in as Knights to return to their home planet to make sure that swearing in to the Jedi Order as a Knight is truly the path they want to take. Granting them the opportunity to know their birth families before making the monumental commitment of being a Knight of the Jedi Order.

Obviously, Shmi died before Obi-Wan could send Anakin on his pre-Knighting trip. Obi-Wan knew that he couldn't tell or show Anakin the keepsakes, once he hears that Shmi has passed,so its all just sitting in his rooms in several cardboard boxes. Each of the trophies/assignments/keepsakes has a letter from Obi-Wan to Shmi, detailing its importance and personal backstory. Fond notes and recollections of how proud Obi-Wan is of Anakin and his hope to share that pride with Anakin's esteemed mother. (Let's face it, everything 9 year old Anakin knew about his mother has been repeated over and over to Obi-Wan throughout the years, and in between the rose coloured lenses of a young boy's recollections, Obi-Wan finds the shape of an incredible woman who he would feel honoured to know.)

There are two ways the discovery could play out:

The happy version:

During a campaign shared between the 501st and the 212th, early during the 3rd year, Cody gets sick of hearing Anakin's bullshit of how "Obi-Wan never supported or believed in me. He is always holding me back, jealous of my power." (You know, parroting the Palpatine Persuasion.)

And like, Cody is pissed, because Obi is Anakin's No.1 cheerleader, more than the Chancellor, more, even, than his wife, Amidala. Cody knows all about Anakin's illicit victories on the Coruscant lower level racing tracks as a junior padawan, a late night over paperwork Skywalker had incorrectly filed had revealed. Cody knows more about Anakin than he ever wished to know, Obi-Wan won't shut up about him sometimes, but he's a good friend/boyfriend/queer platonic life partner/husband, and listens, because this is Obi's kid.

They return to the Temple and are working on after action reports together in their still shared Master-Padawan apartment and Anakin makes a comment about how Obi-Wan doesn't really care about him except to find fault (or something). And Obi-Wan just looks devastated, Anakin isn't even looking up, just continues looking at his datapad like he hasn't ripped Obi-Wan's heart out of his chest.

Cody has had it. He stalks into Obi-Wan's room and drags out four heavy boxes, directly in front of Anakin, confiscated his datapad, says " Happy reading, you asshole, stop sending my partner into guilt spirals about not caring enough." He pulls Obi-wan out of the apartment. "We're going to Dex's, don't call until you pull your head out of your ass."

Ani, fuming about how misunderstood he is, but ultimately curious opens a box and spots his award for the Junior Padawan Saber Competition and together with it sees a picture of him at age 11, beaming with Obi-Wan smiling, so proud. He hasn't even started reading the attached note yet and he's starting to feel a lump in his throat. Then he spots it ' Dear Shmi.....'

Cue Anakin ugly crying, because even opening the box, he can feel the love and fondnes that saturates the contents. He wipes his face and notices that it's ordered by his age and documented and stored according to the Archival Practise Code as set by Madame Nu, you absolute nerd Obi.

Anakin feels so very touched that Obi-Wan was trying to include his mum even as his galaxy is being rocked. There was undeniable proof that Obi-Wan 'the perfect jedi' Kenobi loved him. It's as he starts reading through the notes that he realises that some of them are dated past his mother's death. It becomes less Obi-Wan talking about his progress and achievements and more him worrying about where the war is taking Anakin.

He finds a letter with his wedding photos on several pieces of filmsi and realises that Obi-Wan has known this whole time about his marriage. The only words of censure on this letter was Obi-Wan asking what he had done to make his padawan no longer trust him and his hurt that his friend Padmè had hidden it from him, marrying his padawan when he was still considered a minor.

Everything he was worried that Obi-Wan felt about him is all wrong. Obi-Wan is proud of him, Obi-Wan loves him. How could his friend, the Chancellor have been so wrong?

From there we'd move into a fix it, there would be repercussions for the various and sundry illegal actions that Anakin has done *cough* Sand People Massacre *cough* with a focus on rehabilitive rather than punitive consequences. Palpatine is revealed to be a fraud and gets offed with a poetic type justice death. Mostly happy endings all around because I'm a sap and want my blorbos happy.

2. The Angsty Version:

I typically do not enjoy riding the angsty mcangst train, but here's an attempt.

Darth Vader is going through the rooms that once belonged to Anakin, setting out to destroy what remained of the weak Jedi and his traitorous former Master. He stalks through the rooms, blocking out the warm memories that filled a place he once called home, destroying the furniture in his towering rage as he goes.

He enters the room of the man who should have loved him, but instead tried to murder him and finds these boxes, clearly labelled "Shmi Skywalker." The unexpected name jolts Vader out of his destructive rage and the small spark of Anakin still residing in his heart is curious and that curiosity consumes him.

He reads through all the little notes, the keepsakes are rifled through (in a quiet part of him, where the small, scared shadow of the child, Ani, resides, he longs to touch the lingering warmth embedded in them with his bare skin, he's so cold).

Through all the letters and stories that denote Anakin's childhood, words of love and pride for a man left to die on lava shores.

He doesn't know whether to rage or repent, the lies of his Master Sideous, had blinded him to the love of a father that he had so desperately craved and now, now it was too late.

He spends his life, a black hole of self-hatred and regret, drifting through the rise of his so-called glorious empire, alone, no wife, no brother/best friend/father. He cannot bring himself to burn and destroy the last evidence that Anakin Skywalker was loved. He was loved wholly and completely for who he was, not how powerful he was.

[shootingstarpilot]

Do you have any recommendations for fics where Qui-Gon is a good master/dad to Obi-Wan?

Oh, boy, do I!

Author-wise, I really cannot recommend @the-last-kenobi enough. Definitely the best source for some good master/dad Qui-Gon- they were actually the first SW author I started following! You can find their works here.

The vast majority of the works in my bookmarks under the Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi relationship tag have Qui-Gon being a good master/dad to Obi-Wan, so if you'd like, you can browse those here. Some of my absolute all-time favorites are listed below, but I love everything in my bookmarks!

The Melida/Daan Probation series by @trysomecats has some really good sweet interactions between Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon as they try to rebuild their relationship.

Memory's Betrayal by @maychorian gets me every time. A oneshot with amnesia and Qui-Gon realizing he has the opportunity to do better.

The Recovery series by @firondoiel, @happygiraffe, @luvvewan, and @sanerontheinside is a masterpiece of long-term recovery from a severe injury- both Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon survive Naboo, but Obi-Wan is left severely injured by Darth Maul. An achingly tender read.

I thought I fought this war alone by @stonefreeak, I just-- man, I have no words. It's a oneshot. Go read it. You won't regret it.

the massive machinery of hope by Kilbothtwins (I don't know if they have a Tumblr account) is an absolutely magnificent series- at the end of the war with the Empire, Obi-Wan wakes up in his twelve-year-old body and decides to be an utter BAMF about it. Qui-Gon is not 100% sure what's going on, but he trusts his Padawan and is enjoying himself immensely.

Invitation by @antheiasilva is one of my FAVORITES-- during an awkward Lineage dinner, Obi-Wan finds out that Qui-Gon had a shitty Padawanship and rallies magnificently in his defense. Sweet, well-written, and provides a wonderful glimpse of the budding Negotiator.

Patrilineal by @markwatnae is an absolute delight- with bonus Codywan! General Jinn is dispatched to join the 212th, and Cody can't quite figure out the relationship between him and his General.

I can't imagine that you haven't heard of the Mission Report series by @smilebackwards yet, but just in case, I'll add it here! A brilliantly done series that gets me every time-- Qui-Gon survives Naboo and finally manages to start repairing his Padawan's shredded self-esteem. No lie, this makes me so emotional every time- they care so much about each other and I would die for them both.

Oh, my gosh, and also everything by @deniigi. My favorites are:

Owl Dad Qui-Gon in pines and needles (the follow-up to take flight is equally good, but only mentions Qui-Gon in passing).

poisoned chalice is EXCELLENT for post-Melida/Daan Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon trying desperately to cope.

skipping stones has some fantastic lineage feelings-- Feemor is going absolutely feral over his new Padawan brother. There is a lot of bonding and I am having a lot of Feelings.

And to round it off- sunshine_lollipops_and (also do not know their tumblr) has been putting out some top-notch good dad!Qui-Gon content lately! Learning Curve is, quite frankly, an adorable mission fic, and Tales from Teatime is a series of oneshots that range from hilariously funny antics to heart-wrenching hurt/comfort- all of it equally well-written!

Feel free to add your own recommendations-- I'm sure I'll end up reblogging with more additions soon enough, but I wanted to get this out today!

[norcumii]

Fic title: Non-compliant Weapon (Rexobi, Murderbot AU)

(regarding this fic title meme prompt)

Ok, there’s two ways this could go. One, the slightly more predictable path of some flavor of reincarnation AU where the Jedi Organization (some kind of meddling well-intentioned doctors-without-borders type group) has gotten neck deep into several volatile disputes and need help, so they’ve gotten a generous donation of sec-units from, I dunno, Palpatine Industries (Insidious Industries is more fun, but a little too on the nose). Of course, these sec-units come with pre-programmed sabotage routines up to and including Order 66, and of course sec-unit Rex manages to wriggle around those.

The more interesting idea I had was a bit...messier.

The plunnie starts with the notion that for a full three hot seconds, some megacorp in the galaxy decided that clones were the next big thing and just mass-produced a whole bunch of them. There was enough outcry that the project was scrapped, the company went broke, and the clones were shoved in cryostorage to become someone else’s problem when all the lawsuits were done. Shortly thereafter, sec-units became a thing because that skirted some all the nasty ethical issues.

Decades if not centuries later (...I have no idea when the Murderbot books are supposed to be other than The Future), whatever megacorp bought up various assets discovers they have a bunch of illegal product sitting around frozen in a warehouse. It turns out that the cheapest method of disposal is actually to thaw them and toss them a small agro planet to colonize (the potential fallout if they just space the clones or keep them in a basement somewhere is just too high for profit margins, much to the relief of everyone else).

And that’s how Rex and his brothers end up thawed, with some nice genetic repair work, on a brand new planet all their own, and no idea wtf to do now since they aren’t expected to just fight something. Since Rex is one of the more restless clones, he ends up doing resource management, taking surplus out for trade and scrounging interesting stuff to bring back. And one day he walks into some space!army surplus store to discover in the back there’s an old sec-unit and its cubicle. Rex starts off feeling weird but wildly sympathetic to this deactivated fighting unit, only to become REALLY creeped out when he asks in passing about it – and learns its being kept around for eventual spare parts.

Rex is not okay with this. He dithers a bit, but ends up purchasing the whole unit and brings it home.

Cody gives him a bit of hell, but he gets where Rex was coming from, so he sort of resignedly welcomes their new sec-unit: [some clever punning/l337 speak version of Obi-Wan Kenobi].

So it turns out that this sec-unit is defective. It’s good at fighting, but it doesn’t like to fight. It talks. It talks a LOT. It’s astonishingly good at negotiating.

It also flirts with everyone except for Rex, which Rex is absolutely not put out about in the least. Really. He’s not irked. It’s a good thing. This damn thing comes out of the box flirting, that’s disconcerting so it’s kinda nice that Rex doesn’t have to put up with that – especially since it’s quickly decided that since the sec-unit does talk anything in circles, it’s most useful going with him to help him barter. And hopefully keep him out of trouble, though Cody is the only one to say that, the bastard.

Since this is a Murderbot AU, that means it turns out that there’s actually something Very Valuable on the clones’ new homeplanet, and at some point they’re actively defending themselves and/or having to diplomat with hostile bodies who are Not Impressed that a sec-unit is one of the main negotiators.

(It helps when things go pear-shaped, of course, since said main negotiator can dish out and take some extreme damage. So that's not too different from canon.)

Things finally settle down, Rex and Obi-Wan return to venturing out on the regular, until one day – probably after some spectacularly vicious flirtation with someone trying to kill them – Rex just blurts out, “I have never been able to figure it out. You will flirt with anyone and anything, the more hostile the better.”

“It’s a wonderful distraction tactic.”

“Oh, I’m aware. You specifically pick out pet names to enrage people.”

“It’s hardly my fault the Duchess didn’t like to be addressed as ‘my dear’!”

“It kind of is, but…” Rex hesitates, then shrugs, still not looking at Kenobi. “You have never once flirted with me.”

Silence. Rex sneaks a few glances, and Obi-Wan is refusing to look back at him. Finally, when it’s clear Rex will play the waiting game, Obi-Wan just shrugs right back. “I don’t know how to do it sincerely. Flirt for real with someone I like.”

Rex goes through several stages of oh with embarrassing speed. He twists around to stare. “What – but – even from the very beginning?”

Obi-Wan continues to not look at him. “I might have been...less unaware than my prior owner believed.”

Rex blanches, well recalling his own long time in stasis – a cold, mostly dreamless state of unconsciousness. The notion of being even somewhat lucid across those long decades is nightmare fuel even before considering the indifferent way the guy at the store had talked about spare parts in a box.

Then there are super-awkward cuddles, eventually leading to some kind of queer platonic aro and/or ace ship happily ever after. ^_^

Thank you, this was a fun challenge!

[coruscantguard]

coruscantguard's Fic Rec List (01)

This list contains some of my favorite fics from my time in the Star Wars fandom! It is by no means a comprehensive list of all my favorite fics, just the ones I could find the very easiest— I'm absolutely planning on making more of these in the future. I hope you enjoy! (No, I'm not procrastinating working on anything rn, shushhhhhh)

[[MORE]]

we stand here, together by @nightdotlight

21k, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker, Neyo/Mace Windu

Summary:

Master Depa Billaba and Padawan Caleb Dume. Windu worries for them, out in the wider galaxy. Waging war, while he and Anakin sit here, waiting. But he trained Billaba, and Billaba is training Dume. Anakin once took lessons from her, when he himself was a Padawan, and he knows she is skilled enough by far, to ensure that both she and her student make it back to Coruscant safely. It’s ironic, that when cut off from the Force he can understand other people better than he has in years.

Nat, will you ever shut up about we stand here, together? No, no I will not. It's been three years since this fic was posted, and it still destroys me emotionally every time I read it in the best way possible. You want a fic to make you cry about the Jedi? I've got a fic that will make you cry about the Jedi in the best way possible. This story is wonderful and amazing and I'll probably be recommending it until the end of time.

Reputations. by @outpastthemoat

36k, Qui-Gon Jinn & Obi-Wan Kenobi

Summary:

Defeating a Sith Lord before losing your Padawan braid, that’s a difficult reputation to live up to.

SUCH a wonderful look into Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon, this fic completely blew me away. The metaphors here are beautiful, the imagery is stunning, and I love how outpastthemoat portrays the Jedi. An all around treat to read, and a fic I've reread many times, and plan to reread many more.

observer's effect by @bytebun

6k, Cody & Obi-Wan, Cody & Rex

Summary:

The fall of the Jedi was a fixed point, and there had to be a hand on the gun. It might as well be Cody’s.

(The story of your life is a tragedy, but you still get to make your choices.)

This fic contains one of my favorite lines of all time regarding the clones and their names, oh my god. I love the differing approaches it takes to Order 66, I love how the relationship between the 212th and Obi-Wan is portrayed, and the prose just blows me away. I enjoy reading this one SO MUCH.

the falling man by @cabezadeperro

35k, Fox/Quinlan Vos, Fox/Echo

Summary:

It's been three years since the end of the war. Fox works nights as a bouncer in an Underworld nightclub and does what he can to help in the fight against the Empire. He wasn't expecting Echo.

I sobbed when reading chapters of this, y'all. As in, full out ugly crying sobbed. I remember it very clearly, because I was actually on vacation at the time, and I was hiding in my Grandmother's basement so I didn't have to explain to my family why I was sobbing. Post Order 66 stories just get to me in a way that few other stories do, and this one did so perfectly. The despair and the hope mixed together, the way that they just kept going, the SW cyberpunk setting— it just works PERFECTLY.

Twilight on Owl Creek Bridge by @yellowocaballero

33k, Fox & Leia Organa

Summary:

SUBJECT: Regarding Senate Guard Objectives For Today This is a polite reminder to all guardsmen that patrol schedules for the Senate vote ratifying dictatorships are posted in the breakroom. I am also issuing a warning to linear time that days should follow sequentially and are not intended to repeat. Please cease repeating. I am getting a headache. Additionally, I'd like to remind all guardsmen that it is illegal to harbor invisible women in the Senate. If you see a ghost claiming to be Leia Organa, please remove her from the premises. She will be making a scene. Thank you for your cooperation in preserving the peace of the Republic, and all hail the Empire. FOX

This fic? This fic blew me away. Holy shit. This is one of those stories that simply altered me as a human being, you know? Every part of this story is expertly done, and I love how it all came together at the end. This story also contains some of my favorite lines of all time regarding the clones, and god, Leia's portrayal here is PERFECT. Feeling so many emotions about Alderrann again.

may you inherit his light by @notbecauseofvictories

2k, Leia Organa & Bail Organa, Leia Organa & Anakin Skywalker

Summary:

When your father dies, say the Coruscanti, you are left clutching a star map for a different galaxy.

In this, as in many things, Leia is her fathers' daughter.

Speaking of feeling emotions about Alderrann, here's another fic that does that! Leia and Bail will always make me emotional, and this fic does so perfectly. I love their relationship, I love how Leia's grief is portrayed, I love every moment of her life we see and the visual imagery here simply blows me away.

So Call It Grace by @blackkatmagic

10k, Cody/Quinlan Vos, Quinlan Vos & Lando Calrissian

Summary:

The only thing Quinlan wants is to keep his head down and avoid the Empire. Lando dragging one trouble and then another into his life isn't helping matters much.

This fic owns my entire heart and then some. Oh my god. Quinlan & Lando are such a great duo, and Cody!!! Cody!!!! I have no words, just sounds of joy about Cody. This story just took residence in my mind, and has refused to leave, which I am absolutely more than happy with, because I love this story SO MUCH. Quinlan is one of my favorite characters of all time, to the surprise of no one, and I adore how Kat writes him.

Carrion by callmelyss

2k, Merrin/Trilla Sunduri

Summary:

Understanding thrills through the Second Sister—what Cal Kestis has awoken here by chance, what’s slumbered among the unquiet dead, waiting. A survivor. The taste of metal floods her mouth; her gloves creak as her hands clench. Laughter escapes her, flat and humorless and long, ricocheting along the close walls. “No,” she swears, allowing the venom into her voice, the hate to curdle in the air, met and devoured, as it always is, by the Dark. “Not a Jedi. Look closer.” The Second Sister goes to Dathomir in search of Cal Kestis. She finds something entirely unexpected.

These two? These two are AMAZING together. I love the writing here, the visual imagery blows me away, and the way these two relate to each other is AMAZING. The parallels here amaze me, and this is a frequent reread for me, it's just so good. This story makes me want to write about these two SO BADLY.

dead dog (bye-bye baby blue) by @patchmates

15k, WIP, Fox & Cody, Fox & Thorn, Fox & Quinlan Vos, Cody/Obi-Wan Kenobi

Summary:

The way it happens is simple: at some point during your service in the Guard, you’ll lose time. The thing wiping the Guards’ memories gets sloppy and Fox remembers the order not to let Fives leave the surface alive. It changes everything and nothing at all.

I am intrigued by this fic, y'all, I am so intrigued. This is a story that I can tell is going to absolutely crack my heart in two, but goddamn am I excited for it to do so. I'm always a huge fan of when people take a more cyberpunk approach to SW, and I am simply fascinated by patchmates' portrayals of the clones. I foresee this fic doing great emotional damage to me, but like, in the best way possible, and recommend it VERY highly.

[tarabyte3]

Ohh, these are so 👀 all your titles grab me in a different hmmmmmmmmmmm ok I have to ask about "I have passed my days by the sound of your name". I sense some yearning? (and you do yearning so well!)

Claire, omg that's so sweet! Thank you! 😭💖 You managed to pick out the one other Qui-Gon x Obi-Wan oneshot that I've been working on! I have passed my days by the sound of your name is going to be Obi-Wan's POV, a bit on the longer side, and set during the canon events of the Clone Wars shortly before Order 66.

Summary:

After a particularly rough day of combat, General Obi-Wan Kenobi sits alone in his bunk and thinks about how much he misses his former Master.

The title is also inspired by this absolutely gut wrenching and perfect Lord Huron song:

Aka you guessed it exactly! SO much yearning and longing and angst! (Because I've been itching to write something that hurts.) Buuut it's me so there's also going to be bonus Force Ghost (ish) Qui-Gon 😏😌😇 Tags will include canon character death, non canon events, Obi-Wan Kenobi needs a hug, and bittersweet ending.

Have a bonus excerpt of the fic opening below the cut because I'm particularly proud of it.

Obi-Wan Kenobi doesn't have downtime. He has moments of waiting. The kind that make him fidgety and cause his fingers to itch with the need to do something. He’s been fighting for so long, he hardly remembers what it’s like to simply be.

Being clear minded used to be a virtue to the Jedi, but that was one of the first things to be set aside in the earlier days of the war. Now he’s almost forgotten how to exist without the threat of battle or the lives lost hanging over him like a funeral shroud.

‘See?’ He thinks, 'All this waiting makes me maudlin.’ And when he gets like this, he's particularly irritating—or so he's been told.

Certainly, Anakin would roll his eyes at him. Mace would probably sigh in exasperation and tell him to get over himself because there were more important things to focus on. Cody would tell him to go make himself useful, then, and to get out of his hair because he didn't have time to babysit. And Qui-Gon…

Well, Qui-Gon would have sat cross legged in front of him and guided him through meditation. Worked with him to untangle the threads of his anxieties. Afterwards they wouldn't be gone, but they would be lessened enough to help him focus his mind, and that alone would be a great comfort.

In fact, his master had known him so well, he probably would have appeared at his door and offered before Obi-Wan could even give voice to his fears—a connection that’s been missing from his life for exactly as long as Qui-Gon has.

With that line of thought, Obi-Wan realizes he's hit the “wallowing in self pity" point of his evening. It's another reason he doesn't like being left alone long enough to think. Because when he does, eventually every train of thought leads him back to the same truth:

The great Republic General, Jedi Master, and member of the High Council, Obi-Wan Kenobi, has been in love with his former Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, since he was seventeen years old.

The same Master that had, lamentably, died thirteen years ago.

Worse still, he had died without ever knowing how Obi-Wan felt.

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

The Clone Wars 1x5 ‘Rookies’ Reaction Take 2

STILL SCREAMING

(I wrote this as I rewatched the episode, pausing as I went so that's why it's probably disjointed and all over the shop). Edit: Adding gifs to this because I can and I feel like it suits the more live-blogging style that these types of reaction posts end up being.

Lmao @ the GAR radio hologram

Omg Echo. It’s baby Echo! Look at him and his reg manuals!

Hello Sergeant Reed Richards and your lovely silver temples. Is this Sergeant O'Niner? More silver fox clones plz.

Are his eyebrows grey as well?

Deep Thoughts with Kenobi

Lol look at Obi Wan, so happy to see his space husband. Or its just the dated animation. But we’re all delusional here so let’s go with the first option.

Ah so this is where the ‘Good man, that Cody’ line comes from.

Rip not getting to know more about the lovely clone with the facial hair. Was this Droidbait?

Oof, foreshadowing for Hevy rip

Rip Sentry

Oh hey Fives has his little 5 Aurebesh tattoo already!

Droids! Well that was subtle lmao

I know this is very early on in TCW but there are some funky accents going on with the clones.

Rip Sergeant Silver Fox

Ventress is hilarious. She’s so completely beyond OTT. Ridiculous. I love it.

The entire comm exchange between Cody and the commando droid pretending to be a clone. CACKLING

Droid: Roger roger Rex: *narrows eyes*

Lol @ Cody palming off his problems to Rex. Have fun being in charge of this one!

“The reg manual says that the next–” Omg Echo. 

Rip Cutup. What a gruesome way to go.

“What the hell was that?” A “bad” word? In my animated children’s television show?!

“Ah, that was an eel.” Yes thank you Echo

“Now, that’s why we have the regulation not to go outside.” omg I love him

Lol @ the fanfare when Cody and Rex turn up. The heroes have arrived.

I know I’ve said this before but Rex looks all special with is kama and captain’s pauldron and different helmet and whatever else and then Cody just gets some golden painted bits of his armour and 2 aerials? What is he, a designer retro TV?

Omg the droid pretending to be a clone. You can just tell the animators had a field day with that one.

Thank you for visiting and have a safe trip back? Question mark?

Gif from this post by @dindjarism

“A droid attack flare?” OMG REX DID NOT HESITATE. Even Cody was shocked.

At this point, “Roger, roger” is basically enough to send Rex’s spidey senses into overdrive.

“Woah, Rex! What the heck are you doing?” An even less of a “bad” word? In my animated children’s television show?! 

Also lawl @ Rex’s drawled “Relax” after shooting the droid disguised as a clone at point blank range.

Does Cody not have his gold paint yet?! His armour looked distinctly grey, though they are on a moon so the lighting might be why it looks grey.

“Off the platform!” Rex you just yeeted yourself. And Cody. You actually want to be yeeted don’t you Rex?

Cody is the kind of friend who would jump off a cliff if his friend said to.

What happened on Tibrin? I must know. Is this The Clone Wars version of what happened in Budapest? Will we never know?

It’s a tiny little exchange but you can really tell from the change in voice how familiar Rex and Cody are with each other already.

Also that shot of Rex after he lands from their lines under the platform is absolutely a hero shot and hero pose. There’s quite a few of these throughout the episode and you can really tell that this is absolutely the introduction episode of Rex. So many moments throughout this episode exist just to show what an absolute BAMF he is. Seeing as the character was originally supposed to be Alpha-17 it makes sense. You can really Rex’s jaig eyes really prominently throughout this episode too. Makes sense, seeing as they’re on the front of his helmet, but it almost feels even more emphasised that you’d expect.

Sun bonnets!

Rex just turning around and one shotting the Rishi eel like it’s nothing omg sir stop

Gif from this post by @dindjarism

Echo gets his Rishi eel blood hand print from Rex! Seminal moment unlocked!

Lmao at Anakin and Obi Wan snarking about their clones.

Rex calls Echo kid! I AM WAILING!

Rex old boy? Since when was Cody bri’ish?

Rex, your ideas are as bad as Anakin’s.

The whole scene with trying to get in the blast doors and Rex kneeling there holding up the decapitated head of the commando droid? CACKLING

Cody is so done with your nonsense Rex

That was the most badass delivery of “Roger. Roger.” I have ever seen and we’re only 5 episodes in.

Aw Echo is already worried about Fives.

Rex is basically the personification of ‘so anyway, I started blasting’ at this point.

Rex, Sir, you did not have to go so hard in taking apart that droid with your bare hands

<insert line about hell in a kids tv show here>

Is this the first hero shot we get of Rex, Cody and Echo together? Sure looks like it! Look at Rex looking all noble in the background.

More foreshadowing for Hevy rip

Closest thing we clones have to a home. SOBBING

The little nod between Rex and Cody.

Random gronk droid.

"Didn’t say please." There are so many good cheesy one liners in this episode it's like an 80s action movie. I love it.

"We could use a jedi about now." I think Cody is missing his space husband.

That admiral definitely feels like a stereotype of a posh british officer from WWII or similar

Oh damn this is Hevy's last stand. What a way to go out.

Hevy nooooo what are you doing

“I don’t like your tone rookie” Rex was that a growl?!

Hevy just yeeting the machine gun at the droids.

Noooo Hevy

"I don’t." Wow those were some last words. Rip Hevy

Gif from this post by @theclonewarsdaily

Naw Echo and Fives getting medals. And joining the 501st! Also their completely in sync salute and about turn was the definition of crisp. I know it’s probably just the same animation copied and pasted but we can ignore that and focus on how it’s totally cause they’re the twins in their batch.

OMG THAT EPISODE. MY HEART. CLONES. THE CLONES HAVE MY HEART. EVERYTHING FOR THE CLONES. 

I think I’m going to have to go back and watch some episodes again because when I first watched this I a) didn’t remember most of it and b) hadn’t started to fall in love with the clones. I should imagine coming back and watching important and memorable episodes again after the finale will have another different meaning to it all as well. Though, given what happens in the finale, I might need to wait a bit. Maybe I’ll come back to it after watching Rebels and a few other things I want to catch up on. I did realise though that I did actually watch this episode when I started watching The Clone Wars, I just didn’t remember most of it. The only bits that I remembered were when the 4 clones (Echo, Fives, Heavy and Cutup, I think) escaped through the tunnels to outside the base, right before Cutup got eaten by that eel. 

[foxssleeplessness]

Hello there! I’ve been going through your list of codywan fic recs from when Kenobi aired and was wondering if you had any others! All have been so wonderful so far!

Hi!! I am SO sorry I took this long to respond. I entered new fandoms and lost contact with Codywan for a bit but I'm back! 4 fic recs and one shameless self-promoting just for you :)

Codywan Fic Recs Part 2

Pave Your Way with Stones Well Chosen by TrickyTricky (18 899 words) Mature

Summary: Cody has always been a man of singular focus and exceptional skill. When he suddenly finds himself loosed from the chip’s control, after years of service to the Empire, there is nothing to be done but to use every resource in his arsenal to carve out a new life for himself. He will free what brothers he can. He will find the Jedi his hands were forced to betray and make things right. He will build them all a haven to shelter from the cruelties the galaxy has never stopped inflicting.

And perhaps, somewhere in the midst of all that, he can find a way to make peace with himself again, as well.

One of my all time faves. It's very Cody and Vod'e centric, which I absolutely adore. I also really liked how Tricky handled and wrote Cody and Obi-Wan's reunion seeing as they are traumatised people who have lived through and done horrible things. Graphic Depiction of Violence, so if that's not your thing, I suggest skipping this one.

Next three (3) are Sith!Obi-Wan AU

different kind of danger in the daylight by Serie11 (29 202 words) Explicit

Summary: The Clone Wars are hurtling towards their third year when a new actor enters the field – a Sith with mysterious goals and an even murkier history.

Cody leads the 221st, and reports to General Jinn. But when he finds himself entangled in a dark plot that spans from one edge of the galaxy to the other, the only thing to do is cut the knot at the centre – no matter the cost he will have to pay.

Obi-Wan hates war, hates what it does to people, hates the Jedi, and hates himself. Qui-Gon’s Commander was meant to be a means to an end – but when Obi-Wan falls too deep, trusting Cody might just be the only way out.

I fucking looooove Sith!Obi-Wan. I'm picky about how it's handled tho. I like when there's a background with Qui Gon and a whole moral dilemma for both Cody and Obi-Wan. Their interactions are filled with ''I know I shouldn't but I love you oh so dearly'', yk?? It is well used and represented in this fic, Serie is an amazing writer who uses everything to make their stories flow slowly but 120km/h at the same time. IN PROGRESS

I Got My Head Checked by frostbitebakery (75 010 words) Mature

Summary: Below the observation deck, the Marshal Commander of the Third Systems Army is being divested of his armor and weapons, shackles heavy on his wrists. He doesn’t struggle, only a mulish stubborn twist to his jaw showing his displeasure at the situation.

Obi-Wan opens his eyes, steps back from the observation window. “I need a week.”

OR: In which Cody wasn’t trained for a Sith sliding into a moral dilemma because of him

IGMHC is the first Sith!Obi that I read and I cannot stop returning to it. It's got a tractor beam locked on me 24/7, I swear. Again, loved how the dilemmas and morals are handled, you can see both characters' thought processes throughout I absolutely cannot get enough of it. 1000000/10

Name of the Game by esama (40 088 words) Mature/Explicit

Summary: There's a new Dark Sider on the battlefield, one who has it out for Cody's General.

SIMP OBI-WAN!! That man has whole plans made to achieve his goal and all it takes is one, ONE, millisecond of attention from Cody and he's caught. He's gone. Whole plan needs to be adjusted to the new circumstances. Can't get enough of it from my screen, I need it in my veinsss. 1000000000000/10. Masterpiece.

AND A SHAMELESS SELF-PROMO

thunderstorm stories by foxssleeplessness (aka ME) (5027 words, Ik, short compared to the others) Gen

Summary: During a humanitarian aid mission on Kashyyyk, a thunderstorm hits. Cody absolutely hates thunderstorms. Sharing stupid stories about your ''childhood'' with your general is a pretty good distraction.

You get to meet briefly my OC Kosand maybe Tonedeaf, I can't remember.

ANYWAY!! Hope you enjoy these like you enjoyed the first ones, Anon! Have a lovely day :D

Part 1

[kryte-col]

Chapters: 2/2

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 4,349

M/M

Date of Publication: 8 Oct 2023

Tags: Established Relationship. Angst. angst no fluff. The Force. CC-2224 |. Cody Needs a Hug. Clone Troopers Deserve Better. Angry CC-2224 | Cody. The Republic Sucks. Child Death. Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug. Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Chapter 1 Summary:

After a squadron wipe out on a remote jungle planet Cody picks up the pieces of what little is left. His brothers bloody and cold. Only Cody and Obi-wan remain. Why did it always have to be so hard?

Or: Cody has to collect the serial numbers off all his fallen brothers after a bloody massacre.

Chapter 2 Summary :

The Baroness of a planet and her family had to be extracted from their home planet as separatists and slave traders took over. Obi-wan volunteers to help.

Was Obi-wan in any condition to be able to do this mission? Absolutely not. He had taken four bacta shots and enough Caffee to drop a bantha, Obi-wan was sure he could hear colours. Yet Obi-wan would be damned if he didn’t do the mission.

[lamaenthel]

Tivaevae | Chapter Fourteen: Tivaevae

Still struggling to emotionally recover from Master Obi-Wan's deception, Ahsoka discovers in the aftermath that twelve-year-old Boba Fett has been locked up among adults in the Republic Judiciary Central Detention Center. After convincing Chancellor Palpatine to grant him a pardon, she manages to secure his release on the condition that she serve as his legal guardian. Now, with the help of Master Plo and the Wolfpack, she vows to help him track down what family he has left.

| AO3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |

Fandom: Star Wars Characters: Ahsoka Tano, Boba Fett, Plo Koon, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Kanan Jarrus, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, CT-27-5555 | ARC-5555 | Fives, CC-1119 | Appo, Dexter Jettster, FLO | WA-7 (Star Wars), Shaak Ti, ARC Commander Blitz (Star Wars), CT-6922 | Dogma, Original Clone Trooper Character(s) (Star Wars), CC-3636 | Wolffe, Clone Trooper Sinker (Star Wars), Clone Trooper Comet (Star Wars), CC-2224 | Cody, CT-5597 | Jesse, CT-4860 | Boost, Aurra Sing, Tobias Beckett, Null-11 | Ordo Skirata, Kal Skirata, Original Mandalorian Characters (Star Wars), Original Droid Characters (Star Wars), Original Jedi Character(s) (Star Wars) Total Word Count: 123,000 Chapter Word Count: 12,578 Chapter Summary: Ahsoka and Boba say goodbye.

Ahsoka took a deep breath of the heavy, wet air. It smelled like petrichor and mud, wet stone, moss and ozone, but most intensely of all was the smell of freshly-opened tiarek flowers that had opened to greet the morning sunlight; a sweet, floral smell that tasted like sunshine and citrus in the back of her throat.

It was a pleasant, delicate smell, and one that ironically didn't suit Rex at all. Rex smelled like clean soap and warm musky skin, not citrus flowers and sunshine. She could picture Rex sneezing if he got a whiff of them. She did know that Padmé would absolutely love them though. The wind blew their heavy scent straight to her nose from her spot atop the hill that bordered the creekbed. They were gorgeous, if tiny; small and plush, a vibrant yellow pistil surrounded by six-petaled starbursts of creamy platinum the same shade as a certain captain's hair.

Rex had been named after a flower. A flower. And she couldn't even tease him about it without traumatizing him.

Ahsoka split the stem of one flower with her thumbnail and carefully threaded another through the hole. She almost had enough of a chain to circle Boba's head, though she knew that she'd have to sit on him if she wanted to get a holopic of him with it on.

If Cody woke up, maybe he could hold him down. He had been performing eyelid maintenance on the blanket next to them for the last half hour, stripped to the waist and face down to let his fresh ink breathe, using Robert the Rancor as a pillow. Ahsoka followed the diamond-dash pattern of dadita names along the sunburst to the newest addition; Ponds.

Her heart broke a little, remembering the holorecording Aurra had sent to taunt them. She looked away before Boba saw where her eyes had settled. He lay between her legs, leaning back against her chest with his face tucked next to her lek. He hadn't left her side since he had returned except to strip out of his sodden flight suit and into his civvies. As for her, she'd changed back into her white and red robes, the ones that Obi-Wan had seamed up for her on the way to Corellia.

"The Force is not a power that Jedi wield, as many believe it to be." Obi-Wan sat cross legged in front of Boba's brother, who'd dragged himself from his hoverchair to join the Master on a blanket atop the damp grass. Obi-Wan's aura was a warm, sunny blue with happiness-peace. "It is the energy between all things. It is the tension and the balance that binds the universe together. One can learn to wield it if they have the natural ability, which you most certainly have." Obi-Wan's lip twitched and the air shimmered soft gold with humor around him. "Catching a plasma bolt, for example, is a remarkable feat without any training. Ahsoka can't do that."

Ahsoka frowned. "I also haven't tried!" she called down defensively.

Obi-Wan winked at her. "Would you like to learn how to meditate, Cassus?"

Cassus nodded eagerly. He was starved for contact with any sentient that wasn't his mother or the droids he had programmed himself. He wanted to learn so badly, but this would most likely be the only lesson he ever received; not just because of Kaisa, but because of their own Jedi dogma. It didn't seem fair that Cassus had to let his own natural affinity wither away because he'd had the misfortune to be born to Jedi-hating bigots. His naturally turquoise aura was radiating vibrant green curiosity-excitement-joy. His little BD droid made an offended series of beeps at being jostled on his lap and took himself to the corner of the blanket, where he curled up and pouted.

Obi-Wan smiled wide. Getting the opportunity to teach an eager student that was interested in more than just how to use a lightsaber must have felt like a novelty to him. "Very well. Close your eyes and reach out. What do you feel?"

Cassus shut his eyes, still beaming, and extended his hand. It trembled, but Ahsoka didn't see anything in his aura that said it was a result of his nerves.

Obi-Wan chuckled and gently pushed Cassus' hand down. "Not like that, young man. Reach out with your feelings. Take a deep breath and sense the forest around you. Tell me what you see."

Cassus, pink cheeked and aura yellowed like a bruise with embarrassment, took a deep breath as instructed. "The bunker?" he said hesitantly, eyes still closed.

"Yes, the bunker. What else?"

"The trees. The bugs in the moss." Cassus' breathing deepened and his aura flowed out like soft smoke around him. "A herd of shatual does. A convor. Life, so much life. It sings around us."

"Very good. The Living Force is strong in places such as this." Obi-Wan smiled. "What else?"

Cassus' face screwed up in concentration. "Death. A tree fell in the storm. It had a banshee bird nest in it, and the babies died when it hit the ground." Cassus sagged a little and his aura darkened to purple. "I think it was fast."

"Their bodies will nourish new life, will they not?" Obi-Wan's voice was gentle. "They will be eaten by scavengers and insects, who in turn feed the moss, the trees, all of it. Do not linger there, keep going. Take all of it in."

"Warmth. The sun is warm." Cassus tilted his head. "But the ground is cold from the rain." He turned his head towards Ahsoka, Boba and Cody snuggled together on their blanket. "Peace." His head tilted the other way. "And violence."

Ahsoka's arms tightened around Boba.

"And between it all?" Obi-Wan encouraged him.

"Balance. An energy… a…"

"The Force. That is the Cosmic Force." Obi-Wan's aura was lush green with pride-appreciation. "Very good, Cassus."

"Mama said the Force isn't the Manda. The Force is what Jedi call on to do their magic."

Obi-Wan laughed quietly. "On that, we disagree. I think that the Manda and the Force are simply two names for the same concept. You listen to the song of the Manda, and we strive to follow the will of the Force. It is not so different, those two philosophies."

Cassus blinked his eyes open. "You're not going to make me live at your Temple, are you?"

"No." Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, dear boy, even if your mother consented to it, you are unfortunately too old to be trained as a Jedi. It's a shame. Your temperament is very well-suited for this life."

"It is?" Cassus' eyes went big and round, and his aura flared staticky white with surprise.

"Yes." Obi-Wan smiled, but his aura pulsed with red-violet regret. Ahsoka could see why. Cassus was desperate to learn, but even this small lesson toed the line of impropriety. Teaching the ways of the Jedi to someone outside of the Order was forbidden, and Obi-Wan was a shabla Council member.

"Mama… she's said a lot about the Jedi, but I don't think she was told the truth. And she ran into some bad ones, maybe." Cassus reached for Buddy, his aura gone white with anxiety; Ahsoka watched the little droid crawl up his arm and snuggle next to his ear, cooing the whole time.

"I think you may be right. I know that she suffered at Galidraan, and combining her own experience with, well…" Obi-Wan hesitated and chose his words carefully, "Salacious rumors about the Order, her prejudice runs deep."

"So you don't steal babies?" Cassus asked, looking up at Obi-Wan with shining gray eyes.

"We do not. I do not doubt that it has happened, unfortunately, but if such a thing were ever to be discovered then the child would immediately be given the choice to return to their old life."

"Oh." Cassus wrung his hands in his lap and squirmed with violet guilt-shame. "I'm sorry that Mama tried to hurt you and Ahsoka. When her friends in town called to say that they saw two Jedi and a clone trooper heading for us, she… she got so scared. I've never seen her that scared."

Obi-Wan patted his hand. "Given her trauma, that is understandable."

"So you're not mad?" Cassus blinked at him from under his lashes.

"Holding a grudge is not the Jedi way." Obi-Wan didn't look at Ahsoka but she felt a gentle nudge through their bond, almost like a hand slipping into hers. She returned it with a copper tendril of affection.

"Can we do that again?" Cassus asked shyly. "Meditating, I mean."

"I'd love to." Obi-Wan grinned broadly and closed his eyes. "First let's try a breathing exercise."

"She'd shit if she saw this," Boba said wryly. "Cassus learning from a Jedi? It's her worst nightmare come true."

"Seems like it." Ahsoka gently rubbed her lek against his cheek. "How are you doing with all of this?"

Boba shrugged. "Can't you tell?"

"To an extent." She eyed the confused kaleidoscope of colors that circled around her vod'ika. "But you've got a lot going on inside, I think. I'd rather hear it from you. And talking it out usually helps."

Boba didn't answer, choosing to silently watch his brother instead. "He's not like Dad at all," he said after a minute. "He'd be horrified if he saw how soft he is."

"There's a lot of sharp edges in the galaxy, especially when it comes to Clan Fett." Ahsoka huffed a quiet laugh. "Maybe a little softness is needed to balance it out."

"He's not Clan Fett," Boba said glumly. His aura solidified into solid purple sadness before spinning back up into its fractal rainbow. "He doesn't claim that name. He's Clan Skirata."

"That doesn't mean he's not Jango's son," Ahsoka said.

"Yeah it does." Boba watched a fat pink butterfly flap around Cassus' head and smirked when it landed in his curls. "Once you declare someone dar'buir, that's it."

Ahsoka hugged him tighter. "Did he, though?" she asked.

"I… I guess I don't actually know," Boba admitted. "I assume he did, if he goes by Skirata."

"You should probably talk about it with him."

"Yeah. Probably." Boba sighed. "I don't think my dad really loved me."

Ahsoka blinked, too surprised to respond. "What?" she finally managed, her voice jumping an octave. Beside them, Cody cracked an eyelid, his aura tinted green with curiosity. "How can you say that? Before, you said–"

"I said a lot of things before," Boba interrupted. "That was before I knew why he shot them down. Why she left us behind. Everything I thought I knew was based on banthashit."

His aura went spiky and deep violet; Ahsoka recognized it as the warning of a meltdown and bit her lip. "When we were on The Babasta–"

"He told M– Kaisa, he told Kaisa he loved her too. All the time." The violet spikes in his aura spun and sharpened. Ahsoka smelled salt. "He told Cas and Tiarek he loved them. He tried to kill all of them." He squeezed his eyes shut too late to stop a tear from escaping. "I don't understand how he could do it, but I'm… I'm glad he's dead. I hate him."

Ahsoka sucked in a breath. "Boba…"

"I do. I hate him. He tried to kill my brothers, my mother, and for what? Because Tiarek looked at junk in a stupid box? Because my mother was trying to protect Cassus from the longnecks? We weren't…. He never loved any of us. Not really.” He stared at his hands, his aura throbbing yellow-green with disgust, and Ahsoka had to wonder if he was thinking about how much they looked like Jango's. "And I’m just like him. I tried to kill Windu in some stupid, half-assed revenge attempt. You've almost died for me twice already. My donor was a monster, and I'm going to be a monster too.”

Ahsoka couldn't help the tears that escaped from her own eyes, though it was hard to tell if they were truly hers or an echo from the boy in her arms. “I didn't know him," she said quietly. "And what he did to Cassus and Rex is unforgivable, but–"

“But nothing, Ahsoka! He was a monster!" Boba's face crumpled and he seemed to shrink in her arms. "And I am too. I shot Kaisa. I-I threatened to use the same poison on Cas if she didn't give us the antidote."

Ahsoka's brow markings raised. "You did?" she asked, trying to keep the shock out of her voice. "When?"

"When you started going all glitchy and babbling." Boba shuddered and grayed with the memory of fear. "I was so mad at her, so scared that you were going to die, I couldn't… I couldn't…"

"Sssh, udesii." Ahsoka rubbed his back and purred. "I'm sorry, vod'ika. I don't…" she took a deep breath. "I don't think you have the whole story. I don't know that you'll ever get it without Jango, but right now, you only have a few pieces."

"I wish Kal would have just minded his own fucking business," he sniffled, hiding his face under her lek. "Now everything is… it's different. It's not like I didn't know that it had happened, b-but…" He took a deep breath. "But I know now that he couldn't have loved them, which means he couldn't have loved me." Boba stared down at Cassus with a bruise-dark aura of grief. "You don't hurt people if you really love them. Not for a stupid reason like that."

She looked down at Obi-Wan, laughing silently at the butterfly that had landed in Cassus' curls, and felt her left arm throb for a brief second. "Do you love Cassus?" she asked Boba, gently enveloping him in a warm copper blanket of love-safety-comfort.

"I don't even know him." The spikes were slowing, going dull.

"That's not what I asked."

"I don't know. I used to." Boba flared soft copper with love-humor as he watched Cassus finally open his eyes and dissolve into a peal of laughter at the discovery of his new friend.

"Would you like to know what I see in your aura when you look at him?" Ahsoka asked softly.

Boba's lip trembled and he looked down. "I can't love Cas. I was going to hurt him. I was so mad that I didn't even hesitate, and… and…" He took a deep, shuddering breath. "Fuck, I really am just like him."

"That's not a bad thing," Ahsoka said.

Boba whipped his head around. "How the fuck–" he began hotly, but she shushed him.

"Because he was more than just the bad things that he did, Boba." She threaded their fingers together. "He also could make a drawing out of pencil that looked as real as a holopic. He played quetarra and sang for his boys. He fell asleep on the couch snuggling them, and he told you that he loved you every single day, even when he was mad at you. And he raised an amazing boy. With all of the things that he did wrong, he still made you into the person that you are today. And that person is pretty amazing."

Boba turned in her arms so that he could hide in her neck. It quickly started to feel hot and wet where his eyes were pressed. "How can I believe that he ever meant it when he hurt everybody else he said he loved?" he whispered, a dark-green cloud of noxious misery.

"You love your brother. But in the heat of the moment, you lost your head and were fully prepared to hurt him. Right?"

Boba nodded, clouded with deep yellow shame.

"But now that the sun is up and everything is okay, I have a feeling that you really regret it."

Boba nodded again.

"Don't you think it's possible that your dad felt the exact same way?" Ahsoka pulled him out of her neck so she could look him in his tear-swollen eyes. The purple had faded to green, at least. "What your dad did was wrong. There's no way to rationalize it, kiddo, no matter how angry or scared or drunk he was, it was wrong, and that's just something that you're going to have to live with. The difference is that he didn't have an ori'vod to stop him back then, but you do. And I won't let you get away with that shit." That earned her a shocked little laugh. "So we're going to nip it in the bud now. We'll work on our anger before it gets out of control and we do something we can't undo, 'lek?"

Boba nodded, his face still all screwed up and teary, but his aura glowing soft gold with humor.

"We're more than the bad things that we do. They just stick out a lot more than the good." She wiped his eyes. "Change is hard. Trust me, I know. But you can't stop change any more than you can stop the suns from setting, Boba. You just have to keep going."

"How?" Boba whispered.

"You just do." Ahsoka smiled sadly. "You are a survivor, Boba. You've been through so much, and you've gotten this far because of what your dad taught you. You can get through this, too. And it'll be better this time, because you won't be alone. You're not meant to be alone. None of you are."

Boba nodded, soft green with coppery green affection-acceptance. "Thanks, ori'vod."

"Any time, vod'ika." She kissed his temple, slipped the chain of flowers around his head, and snatched Cody's helmet to take a holopic before he could shake it off like an uncooperative tooka.

"Seriously?" Boba asked, then burst into laughter that echoed with bright gold.

"You look beautiful," she teased.

Boba gingerly pulled it off with a roll of his eyes, then glanced at Cassus. "We're not meant to be alone," he repeated quietly. "But Cassus is alone."

"He has Kaisa," Ahsoka said, watching him gently rotate the flower crown in his hands.

Boba snorted. "Yeah. And look how that turned out." He took a deep breath and went silvery-green with determination. "But if I go back with you, I'll be alone too. I know there's that school that Plo talked about, and yeah, you'll visit when you can, but I'll be on my own there most of the time."

Ahsoka's heartbeat sped up. "That's true."

"I have to stay here. For Cassus. He needs an ori'vod, even if he is technically older than me." He looked up at Ahsoka. "Plo won't be mad, right?"

"No," she said. "No, I think Plo will be so proud of you when I tell him why you stayed." And so was she, though her first instinct was to put him under her arm and run. She couldn't do that. She had already come to terms with letting Boba go when it was time, it was just… now that it was actually time, it was proving a little more daunting than she had expected.

"Maybe I can bully Kaisa into moving to Coruscant," Boba jokes, going soft gold again. "She's been locked in this fucking hole for a decade, after all." He adjusted his legs and his aura lightened to pale blue with surprise. He reached for the pocket above his right knee. "Shit, I keep forgetting to give you–"

"Breakfast!" Gotika toddled out of the bunker entrance, trailed closely by Pinky. The astromech was wearing a frilly black apron. "Cas'ika, breakfast is ready, it's time to–" She stopped dead at the sight of her maker on the ground. "Cas'ika, what do you think you're doing?" she wailed, waddling at hyperspeed towards him.

"I'm fine, Gotika," Cas said, exasperated. He quickly clambered back into his hoverchair before he could be scolded again.

"But the ground is wet! You could get sick, or–"

"I'm fine!" he said crossly, his aura yellowing with embarrassment. "Let's go in."

"Finally," Cody groaned, flipping over and reaching for the top half of his blacks.

Boba tossed the flower chain to his brother as he zoomed by. "Ahsoka made this for you," he lied casually, smirking.

"Really?" Cassus put it on his head and grinned at her. "Thank you!"

Ahsoka smiled at Cassus and kicked Boba's ankle. "You are very welcome," she said sweetly.

"He's a natural," Obi-Wan said softly, coming up behind her. They watched the two boys and Cody follow Gotika up the short ramp to the bunker door.

"I noticed." Ahsoka allowed him to put a careful arm around her shoulders. "It's a shame that he can't be taught. I could see him in the Agricorps."

"He has a Force Talent. Mechu-deru. A very rare gift, one once thought to be linked to the Dark Side. We know better now, thankfully."

Ahsoka raised her brow markings. "What is mechu-deru?"

"He has an intuitive understanding of mechanics, and can manipulate them with the Force. He said that he rebuilt and programmed Gotika when he was five." Obi-Wan shook his head with an aura of green disbelief. "All of these droids, the drones, the turrets– those were all built from scrap by him with absolutely no guidance. He would have been a wonder if he'd had a teacher."

"Reminds me of Anakin," Ahsoka said quietly.

"In a way, yes." Obi-Wan squeezed her a little as they walked. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Like I was put through a laundry pod and hung up to dry," Ahsoka joked. "Otherwise, I guess I'm fine."

"And the leg?"

Ahsoka twisted her leg to show him. "It's already closed up," she said with a smile.

"Good." Obi-Wan returned her smile but his eyes were tight, and his aura thrummed with staticky-gray anxiety. "Thank you, Ahsoka."

She side-eyed him. "For what?"

"For allowing me to accompany you on the final leg of your journey. I know…" he took a deep breath and his aura flooded with pewter determination. "I understand, now, how deeply my actions affected you, but I need you to know that none of my decisions were made out of malice, or indifference towards you, but out of my duty to the Republic."

Ahsoka nodded, feeling cold resignation sink down into her guts like an iceberg. He wasn't saying that he regretted it. He wasn't even really apologizing for it. He was just asking for her to understand that it wasn't personal.

Somehow that felt even worse than everyone telling her to get over it.

"I care deeply for you, Ahsoka," Obi-Wan said, his voice cracking. He stopped and took her hands, looking frighteningly young without his hair and beard. He looked almost like the Padawan Bobi of her youth, and it hurt to look at him for too long. "More than even you, with your marvelous gift, will ever know." His aura shone like a star with intense copper and his eyes pleaded for her forgiveness, for her to tell him that they could go on again as normal, but she couldn't make the words come out.

She had been furious at him at first, almost more for what Anakin had been through than her, but now that anger was gone and all that remained was just… sadness. She wasn't angry anymore, she was in mourning; not for the man, but for the trust that was gone for good. She loved him, and she could see how much he loved her, but the unshakeable faith that she'd always had in him was gone. She was expendable to Obi-Wan in a way that she had known in the abstract, but had never been forced to confront before now.

"Would you do it again?" she asked him, trying and failing to not let her grief leak into her voice. "If you could do it all over again, would you put me in that alley and let me hold you while you died? Make Anakin watch them burn your body? Or would you trust us enough to bring us in?"

Obi-Wan looked away, darkening with a familiar shade of yellow shame-regret. "Hindsight is notably clearer than foresight," he said quietly. "Perhaps I should have had more faith in the two of you, but the life of a Jedi requires us to sacrifice everything in service of the greater good. I regret that I hurt you, Ahsoka, I truly do. And… I may have gone further than I needed to in order to sell the lie."

But he would do it again if he had to. He may even hate it, but he would do it, because that was what a Jedi did. They sacrificed everything and held onto nothing, all for the greater good.

And Ahsoka… she was a Jedi too, and it was time for her to follow her own advice. To keep walking, and not look back. She'd always looked at him as the closest thing as a father that she'd ever have, and his aura matching the color of her actual father's had only cemented it for her, but he wasn't her father. He was her mentor and one of her dearest friends. He had shaped her into the person that she was, guided her lightsaber forms and taught her about the Force, but it was long past time that she let go of Bobi and what he represented to her and move forward with Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. She quieted her mind and took a deep breath, then opened herself up to the flow of the Cosmic Force and surrendered her dull, icy grief to it.

"Ahsoka?" Obi-Wan asked softly, teal with concern over the way she'd gone quiet.

The gentle hooting of a convor sounded directly above their heads; she craned her neck up to search the canopy but saw nothing but a sea of green against a sunny blue sky. "I'm starving," she said, looking back down with a watery smile; she felt lighter now, but empty in a way that she couldn't describe. "Let's get inside before Cody inhales the table."

She felt her wound throb as she walked away, but it didn't reopen.

"So is this an everyday thing?" Ahsoka asked, staring at the spread before her. Roba sausage, scrambled nuna eggs with little pieces of spicy peppers, a giant pot of hominy, some sort of cake crusted with sugar and amber syrup, a bowl the size of Pinky's dome full of sliced-up shuuras, snozzberries and meilooruns, all sprinkled with shredded kokanini… It was the sort of breakfast feast that was served to a busy working family in a holovid that would have two bites taken then be promptly abandoned in favor of the plot.

Cassus blushed, fogged with yellow embarrassment, and fiddled with the napkin on his lap. "No, but I-I thought since we haven't really been good hosts, I could at least make sure you had a nice meal before you left."

"You kicking us out?" Boba asked casually, dipping a fork full of nuna eggs into the amber syrup before shoving it in his mouth.

"No, of course not, but I didn't… didn't think you'd want to stay after you got your armor."

Boba swallowed the whole mouthful in one go. "You don't want it?" he asked, flaring white with surprise.

Cassus shook his head. "It would be wasted on me," he mumbled. "I'm not a warrior. I'm–" his bronze cheeks were nearly puce and his aura was getting more yellow by the moment. "I can't walk. My hands shake too much to shoot straight. I made my drones to try and be useful, but I'll never be able to fight someone face-to-face no matter how much beskar I'm wearing."

"Well, not with that attitude," Boba grumbled, shoving more eggs in his mouth.

Ahsoka gave him the look that she so often received from Rex that said behave. "Is your mom going to join us, Cassus?" she asked.

Cassus shook his head. "She's packing the armor up now," he said, not meeting Ahsoka's eyes.

"Then I'll go take a plate to her." Ahsoka stood up and almost walked face-first into Gotika.

"Mistress Kaisa needs to rest while she recovers from her injury, Master Jedi," she said brightly.

Ahsoka nearly choked at being addressed as Master, and she saw gold flicker around Obi-Wan out of the corner of her eye. "I'll make sure she's abiding by your recommendations and take her some food," she said pleasantly, stepping to the side.

"I already brought her a plate." Gotika matched her step.

"Then I'll join her so she doesn't have to eat alone." Ahsoka stepped to the left, mirrored by the ominously pleasant protocol droid.

"No need."

"Gotika, let her pass," Cassus said sharply.

Gotika's eyes dimmed and she immediately stepped out of Ahsoka's way.

She tossed a tiny smirk over her shoulder at the droid as she made the hallway. Gotika's left eye strobed as though it was twitching.

Ahsoka rapped softly on the door at the end of the hall before opening it. Kaisa sat on her bed, dressed down into a sleeveless undershirt and a pair of loose pants that ended at the knee, both black and well-worn. There was a green bacta sleeve wrapped around her left knee. She stared at Ahsoka as she came in, her aura pulsing like orange smoke with distrust-anxiety-fear.

"Thought you could use some company while you ate," Ahsoka said gently, projecting a cool sage aura of serenity-trust.

"Why?" Kaisa's aura cautiously bled back into her base of coral, tinged with a bruised line around the edges.

"Maybe it's the Togruta in me talking, but I hate eating alone." Ahsoka set her plate down on her wooden dresser and leaned against it, taking in the room. It was rather plain in comparison to the vibrant colors of the karyai; the walls were gray and she had a carpet thrown over the plascrete floor that was a soft blue, but the only decorations she kept in her room were a few holopics on her dresser and a knitted blanket on her bed that faded between ripples of orange into purple, like a sunset reflecting off the surface of a lake. Boba's beskar plates lay in front of her on the bed, along with four bright blankets folded into neat squares.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot." There was a rocking chair opposite of Kaisa's bed; Ahsoka gestured at it. "May I?" She took a seat after Kaisa's nod, careful to respect her boundaries. Ahsoka was in her bedroom now, her most intimate space. She was going to be defensive no matter what, but she would also be unbalanced, too wary to be able to lie convincingly.

Kaisa's aura developed a telltale pewter line around the edges, preparing to go on defense.

"I apologize for screaming at you last night." Ahsoka watched the pewter shiver.

Kaisa tilted her head. "I poison you."

"I'm fine now." Ahsoka shrugged. "I could hold a grudge if you'd prefer, but it isn't the Jedi way."

Kaisa snorted. "Jate, if you speak it." Her gaze fell back to the bed and softened as she looked at the plates, her aura flooding with violet so dark that it was nearly black with grief-despair. "I hear Jango die many time. Six, seven, more. I before hear he die on Geonosis, I think same again." Her shoulders fell. "Not rumor, this time. Jango nari taabi'an."

"Elek." Ahsoka watched the woman carefully, curious as to why she would mourn the man who had done such terrible things to her. "He tried to kill you. He tried to kill your son. You had to stay in hiding for a decade because of him. I admit that I don't know you very well, but his death seems like something you'd celebrate."

"Not simple, my Jango." Kaisa took a deep breath. "Long story."

"Then start at the beginning," Ahsoka replied easily. "How'd you meet?"

Kaisa's eyes flicked up from the beskar plates. It was eerie how close the colors matched. "My Clan, my home in Kyrimorut, Death Watch burn. My ba'vodu take me in. Kal."

"Kal's your uncle?" Ahsoka asked, surprised. "I didn't realize you were blood related."

Kaisa raised an eyebrow and her aura went chartreuse with disdain. "No blood. My buire find me when kih'ad. Aliit ori'shya tal'din."

Family is more than blood. She didn't disagree there. "I agree. I didn't mean to imply otherwise. Please, go on."

"Kal join with Jaster Mereel. Haat'la Mando'ade. I meet Jango there. We grow up together." Kaisa's aura flooded to mauve with love-yearning. "We happy, for while. Then not. We always fight. Too… too same. He never back down, I never back down." Kaisa gently bopped her fists together. "Like gotaliise, Jango and me." She smiled softly in wistful remembrance.

"What happened the night you left Kamino?" Ahsoka asked. "Why did you leave?"

Kaisa's face fell. "Cassus almost... Jango not does trying hurt him. Our fault, together." She took another deep breath, flaring bright red with the memory of anger. "One day, I find Cassus does floating with his toys. I know we must leave. Not safe, he does singing around kaminiise. They will take him, they want his blood. Want everything." Her aura flared to bright violet sadness. "I speak Jango, we does leaving, with him or not with him. I want take all my boys. All." She wiped her nose. "Jango stop us on landing pad, speak Tiarek and Boba his. I fight him, I not does leaving without my boys."

Ahsoka's heart lightened. She'd fought for them. She hadn't just gotten in her ship and accepted Jango's claim, she'd fought for them. That changed things.

"He… he hit ner sen'tra."

"Your jetpack?"

" 'Lek. He hit it, he… he want disable it. Make me stop from does flying. But it make me fly hard. Very hard, very fast." Tears leaked down in twin trails on her cheeks. "I hold Cassus when happen. Sen'tra fly me at wall before I can stop."

Ahsoka had seen how violently a person could be jettisoned with a malfunctioning jetpack more than once, and felt ill to imagine it happening to a toddler. "That's how Cassus was hurt?" she asked.

Kaisa nodded miserably. "I hit wall hard, h-his spine break." Her face crumpled and her aura darkened with even more violet sorrow. "Jango… he scream. He think he kill him. I never hear him scream so loud, long. He want my death, I see in his face."

"So it was an accident," Ahsoka said softly.

"I have stasis pod on my ship for bere, for I does hunting." Kaisa stared at the four blankets, haunted. "I run. Cassus does dying, kaminiise not help if I stay. I try reach my ade, my Boba and Tiarek, but Jango…" Kaisa looked up at her. "I put Cassus in stasis pod, fly. No choice. He die, if I stay."

Ahsoka couldn't answer for a few moments, her mind racing to picture the scene. Kaisa and Jango arguing in the Kaminoan storm, Rex and Boba being held back by their father. Jango sabotaging Kaisa's jetpack, and Kaisa being rocketed into a wall hard enough to break the spine of the baby in her arms. Being forced to choose between fighting for her remaining children and saving the one actively dying.

It was a choice that Ahsoka wasn't sure she would have been able to make. She had been forced to leave troopers behind on the battlefield and it destroyed her every time, but to have to make that choice about her own children? If Boba knew, it might change how he looked at Kaisa, but Ahsoka feared it would also erode his father's memory even more.

"Jango shoot. I drop escape pod, missle hit it." Kaisa sniffed. "We call move goteni muun'lan, when we Haat'la Mando'ade."

Ahsoka raised a brow marking. "Laying an egg?" she asked, unsure if she was translating correctly. "Because… because you drop the pod to be blown up?"

" 'Lek." Kaisa looked at Ahsoka with eyes shining with tears. "He think Cassus dead, or will be. My fault. He want kill me, not him."

She sniffled again. "I get away. I make Corellia. Cassus… No does feeling under here." She drew a line under her large bust, but above her navel. "We hide. Jango kill me, take Cassus back if he does finding us. So we hide. I…" she started crying again. "I know Boba and Tiarek alive on Kamino. Not in danger, not like Cassus. So I hide. I pray for my boys one day does finding me. I not expect jetiise with him."

She really hadn't had a choice. Ahsoka's heart twinged with sympathy for the woman who was practically drowning in her own guilt on the bed.

"I not understand how he hurt Tiarek." Kaisa's eyes looked far away. "Boba, he… when almost two year, climb up front of traciyam. Pot of tiingilar does boiling on top, Boba pull off, miss him by inch. I hit him on his shebs, two hit so he not climb again. Jango hit me." Kaisa showed Ahsoka an open palm and huffed a soft laugh. "He speak I hit anyone, I hit him. Never his ad'ikase. He hold ad'ikase in his heart. He never hurt them."

But he had. How broken had Jango become to have hurt Rex the way he had? To abandon him?

"You speak Jango…" Kaisa swallowed hard. "He beat Tiarek? He…"

"Yes." Ahsoka nodded and felt her heart clench. "About a year after you left. He and Boba were going through the things you'd left behind and he walked in on them. He had forbade them from going in it, and he struck Tiarek with the box." She swallowed. "Hard. After his head trauma was treated, he was reconditioned and reassigned to the Marshall Commander batch under Dred Priest."

"Priest?" Kaisa's voice cracked and she doubled over, drowning in black despair. "Ner ad'ika. Ni ceta, ni ceta ner kar'ta."

Ahsoka cautiously examined her aura. She saw no sign of any deceit silvering its edges. Her grief and guilt looked real enough. She strengthened her projection of serenity and waited for Kaisa to catch her breath.

It took her almost a minute for her to compose herself before she sat up, wide-eyed and trembling, and looked at Ahsoka with yellow desperation. "You know…He alive? Or he die in war?"

"He's alive." Ahsoka moved from the chair to the bed, and took Kaisa's hand. "He serves directly under me as a Captain in the 501st clone battalion."

Kaisa blinked, going white with shock, then shook her head. "Good boy," she said laughing, flush with blue relief-pride. "Good boy always. Sweet always. Naughty never, listen Mama always. Take care of kaysh vode."

"That sounds like him." Ahsoka couldn't help but smile. "He goes by Rex, now."

"Rex?" Kaisa raised an eyebrow. "What wrong with Tiarek, eh?"

"I think he remembered it, to an extent. That's why he chose it." Ahsoka shrugged. "Reks'ika. Rex. It makes sense."

Kaisa nodded. "It makes sense," she repeated softly. "Shabla kaminiise. They had no right. No right." She squeezed her eyes shut. "But maybe… maybe better, he not remember me. Boba has pain, much pain. Easier Rex does forgetting. Not open a wound with good, clean scar. Stay heal." She wiped her eyes and turned to the folded blankets, sniffling. "You before see this?" she asked, changing the subject.

Ahsoka shook her head.

Kaisa unfolded the blue blanket. Dozens of tiny tiarek flowers had been cut from cotton and sewn to the front of it in a pattern that mirrored itself in four directions, like a mandala. "Called tivaevae," Kaisa said softly. "Tradition on Concord Dawn, not Mandalore. Buire make together for they ade. Meant as a…" Her hands flailed. "I not know word, ah… symbol speak? Sa'johaa."

Ahsoka thought for a second. "A metaphor?" she asked, as it was the closest thing she could think of to like speak.

Kaisa shrugged. "Not know, but needle, thread, fabric, all sa'johaa. We stitch up our ade and make them strong with thread, weave our fabric and create for them. We make our ad like we make tivaevae." She brushed at an invisible piece of lint. "Not only thread. Holes from needle. We must be gentle, or more big, more big than we can does hiding. We… give violence on our ade, in does making them." She stared at her boots instead of Ahsoka. "But I make one for all my boys. Not finish, but I make. Give on his verd'goten, if return. This for Tiarek."

"It's beautiful." The appliqued flowers had been sewn flush to the front of the lake blue fabric with thousands of miniscule stitches. It was clearly still unfinished, with a half-dozen flowers still loosely basted on and almost a meter of blank blue space between the flowers and the edge, but hundreds of hours must have been poured into it already. Ahsoka glanced back at the other blankets. "But there's four?"

" 'Lek. All need more work. Take more long, only one parent." Kaisa smiled sadly and her aura darkened with grief again. "Cassus." She patted the bright turquoise square, then the lush, fern green square beside it. "And Boba."

"And the orange?" Ahsoka asked, eyeing it curiously.

"Gavin." Kaisa unfolded it. It hadn't been worked on as much, with only a few bright-red laceleaf flowers attached in the center. "Our first son."

Ahsoka nearly fell backwards off the bed. "You have another son?" she asked, her voice pitching up sharply.

"He die." Kaisa's bruised aura retreated on itself, stuck tight to her skin like a bandage. "Death Watch kill him on Galidraan. Five years old." She trailed her hand over the red flowers, her face haunted and distant. "They make me watch."

Ahsoka covered her mouth. The pain in Kaisa's voice was indescribable, an agony that split the Force with a shriek like a knife on porcelain. "I'm sorry," she managed after a few seconds.

Kaisa refolded the blanket. "You take Boba and Ti… Rex, take they tivaevae when you leave. Maybe you finish." She shrugged. "You his ori'vod. Close thing like buir for him."

Ahsoka watched the pain on Kaisa's face echo in her aura. She was dar'buir to Boba, now, and the declaration was as much a wound to her as the gash on the back of Ahsoka's leg. "Boba's staying," she said.

Kaisa's aura turned bright white with shock-disbelief, and her mouth fell open in a small o. "He stay?" she whispered, almost too quietly to hear.

Ahsoka nodded. "He's staying for Cassus. He doesn't want to be separated from his brother again."

"H-he speak, though–" Kaisa began, her voice shaking.

"He's staying. Consider this a fresh start. Cin vhetin." Ahsoka squeezed Kaisa's cold hands. "Give him some time. He's been hurt badly by the adults he's trusted in the past. Don't demand anything of him, show him that you can be trusted. As hard as it may be, he's not ready for you to be Mama again. Not yet."

Kaisa nodded as Ahsoka spoke, pale pink hope swirling around her like smoke. "Any chance, I take," she said desperately. "Any price I pay."

Ahsoka fought the urge to smirk. "In that case, have you ever considered moving to Coruscant?"

"Coruscant?" Kaisa's eyes nearly bugged out of her head. "Dangerous place. Not… Cassus, he not go city in many year…"

"Boba has an invitation to a prestigious academy there." Ahsoka's lip twitched. Anakin would have been proud of her for that not-lie, but an offer of a scholarship was still an invitation even if it was extended out of pity. "I'm sure that a spot could be arranged for Cassus, too."

"I… I think." Kaisa looked disturbed at the notion of moving; her aura matched her face with ugly green disgust.

Ahsoka had to wonder if it was because she was a country girl, or because she just found the notion of living on the Jedi's home planet so despicable.

Kaisa shook her head and straightened her spine. "Now, you does coming with me. You must eat, too skinny. More food. Come. Later speak me, I have tiingilar spices. I give for you later cook, ad'ikase love tiingilar." Kaisa got to her feet and carefully hobbled back out to the karyai, Ahsoka's cold plate in her hand and her coral aura suddenly missing its bruised tinge.

"I've programmed in everyone's private frequency—mine, Plo's, Anakin's, Obi-Wan's, even Master Shaak-Ti's. If you need anything, anything, just call one of us right away." Ahsoka smoothed down the shoulders of Boba's jacket. "Even if one of us can't come, we'll send someone. Someone you can trust."

"Take a breath, Tano," Boba said, smirking down at his kneeling ori'vod.

"I'm breathing just fine." Ahsoka scowled at him and got to her feet. "Can you blame me for being cautious? You can't go more than a day without somebody trying to kill you."

Boba shrugged. "Yeah, well, I got a guard dog now." He jerked his head back at Gotika, standing at the door of the bunker next to Kaisa, glaring pleasantly at their departing guests in the creek bed.

Ahsoka's eyes narrowed. "Yeah," she said, not sounding convinced. "I guess that's true. I'm allowed to be worried a little bit, though, right?"

"Yeah, I don't think I've much say in that. You're a fucking worrywort." Boba smiled like his heart wasn't pounding in his ears.

Ahsoka was leaving. He was staying. It was all over. She had a war to get back to, and he… well, he had a brother that wasn't dead, but who needed to learn how to grow a fucking spine. What he had left of one, anyway. And he had a former mother he needed to somehow convince to leave her bughole and move to Jedi home base. He needed to get to work on her now, or he'd never see a Biscuit Baron again.

"You be a good ori'vod to Cassus, alright? And watch your language, he's sensitive."

Boba snorted. "Oh, you noticed?"

"And when you talk to Kaisa, keep in mind what I told you about what I saw in her aura. Her guilt and remorse… that's all genuine. She didn't want to leave you."

Boba looked away. She wouldn't tell him exactly what Kaisa had said, just that she now understood why she'd made that choice and that he should ask her about it. "So, um, there's a long-range communicator at the cantina. It charges by the second, but we can still talk on holocall. If you want." Boba rubbed his wrists anxiously.

"That's why I put my frequency in your commlink, vod'ika." Ahsoka smiled and opened her arms.

Boba dove in and buried his face in her neck, his eyes suddenly stinging. He felt Kaisa's eyes burn a hole in his shoulder blades. Was it jealousy over freely giving Ahsoka affection, or was she afraid he'd kill Cas in his sleep? "Will you come back for my verd'goten?" he asked, hating how whiny his voice sounded.

"There's no telling where the war will take me, but I will do everything I can to make it back, I promise." She purred and rubbed her soft lek against his cheek.

Boba took a deep breath of her weird, spicy pollen scent and tried to commit it to memory for when he already knew he'd feel alone, even with Cas, and for when Kaisa would inevitably try to mommy him.

He didn't want her to go.

"I don't want to either," Ahsoka said quietly into his scalp. "But we have to let go of each other for now. Our paths might divide here, but it's not for forever. We'll always find our way back to each other."

"Fucking sap." He closed his eyes and tried not to cry.

"Comes with the job." She seemed in no hurry to let him go either. She really was too sweet for her own good, tooth-rotting sweet like a—

"Oh shit, right." Boba sniffled and reluctantly pulled back, shoved his hand in his pocket then pulled the tooth out, hidden in his fist. "I found this on Geonosis when I took your belt off. It fell out." He opened his hand and showed her.

Ahsoka stared in pure shock, her jaw hanging down to her chest. "You've gotta be kidding me," she whispered, gently taking it from him. "You've had it this whole time?"

"Yeah. Not on purpose, I just kept forgetting to give it back to you." Boba awkwardly kicked at the damp moss underfoot.

"I—do you know what this is?"

Boba shook his head. "I've never seen that animal before. Must have been big."

Ahsoka bit her lip and closed her fist. "He was pretty big."

Boba stilled and glanced up at her. "He?" he asked sharply, his eyes darting between the tooth in her hand and her face. "That… that's from a sentient?"

"Os'ika," Cody called. "I know it's hard, but wrap it up. We're going to miss our train."

Ahsoka glared at him. "Go ahead without me, I'll catch up!" she called, then gestured with her head for Boba to follow her. Cody and Kenobi shared an exasperated look but began to climb the steep hill in the opposite direction.

She dragged him to the tiarek grove. "Did you kill somebody?" Boba asked, impressed.

"No. I'm not the one who killed him. I'm the one who took his teeth, though." Ahsoka took a deep breath. "My people have a ritual. We don't execute our murderers and rapists. Instead we pull out their teeth one by one before releasing them to wander clanless in the forest."

It was a pretty hardcore punishment, but Shili was a hardcore place. "Nice." Boba nodded.

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "This tooth belonged to a Jedi. Pong Krell."

Boba's eyebrows hit his stubbly hairline. "No shit?"

"I don't think that he's been widely reported on in the media, but, uh…" Ahsoka bit her lip. "There was a battle he led on Umbara. Anakin was called away by the Chancellor and Krell was left in charge of the 501st on the ground. I was in orbit, leading the space battle." She swallowed hard and looked down, and Boba saw tears glinting in her eyes. "We had no idea, but Krell wanted to become a Sith, so he was trying to get the attention of Count Dooku by throwing battles, which he did by killing clones. He had casualty rates ten times that of any other battalion. He used them like cannon fodder. His one and only strategy was to overwhelm the battlefield with clones and attack until they completed their mission, no matter how many died. On Umbara, he… he tricked the 501st and 212th into attacking each other by telling both of them that the enemy had stolen clone armor. Over four hundred men were murdered through friendly fire." She looked away, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Fuck." Boba stared at the tooth. "So you ripped his teeth out?"

Ahsoka nodded. "Yeah. Seemed… seemed like the right thing to do."

"You ever see a bayleg?" Boba asked her and glanced up; she shook her head. "It's a huge, scary, dragon-looking fuck. Nasty creature. My dad had me face one, once. Told me to bring him back a tooth."

"Is this a flying lesson?" Boba asked, craning around to look at the jetpack Dad had just snapped onto his back.

"Sort of. Remember those fluffy little chakaare we flew over on the way here?" Dad spritzed him with something that smelled foul. "This is their piss."

"Dad!" Boba squealed, sticking out his tongue and gagging. "Why would you put pee on me?"

"Because they're the prey of the bayleg."

"The what?" Boba squawked. He heard a roar from deeper inside the cave.

Dad handed him a blaster and grinned. "The bayleg. Go bring me a tooth. I'll wait here."

"How old were you?" Ahsoka asked, crossing her arms and frowning.

"Ten." He snickered at her horrified look. "I fucking lived, obviously. But it tried to eat me, and when I came back I was crying like a bitch and asked Dad why he would do that. He told me it was because now I'd faced my own death and knew true fear, so I'd never have a reason to be afraid of anything else." He shook his head. " 'Course he was wrong about that. I'm afraid of all sorts of shit. Some days I think I'd rather be back with the bayleg. But I've been keeping the teeth of monsters ever since. They remind me that I lived, and they died, because I was stronger than them."

"We don't actually keep them. Dogma's the one who stepped up and finally executed Krell. It's for him, for the ceremony once he's back with us, if he wants to do it." Ahsoka untied a small leather pouch from her belt. "They're not trophies to us. The ritual varies among clans and cultures, but the Binishii, my people, we toss them away, usually into a body of water, while singing our grief. No words, just the emotion of it. It's hard to describe without being there." Ahsoka looked up at him sadly. "It's ironic, you know. I forgot too." She put Krell's tooth in her pouch and withdrew a different one, a more humanoid one with a gold filling in it.

"What the—" Boba glanced up at her. "You keep a jar of these somewhere?"

"No," Ahsoka huffed. "Why do people keep assuming I've got a jar? Why would I have a jar?"

"You're the one pulling teeth out," Boba said, taking it from her and examining it. "So whose was this?"

"It's Aurra's."

He dropped it, just like his heart dropped out of his ass and into Corellia's mantle. He dove to his knees and picked it up immediately with shaking hands, staring at it. Now that he actually looked, he knew exactly which tooth it had been; the second-furthest molar on the bottom right. He could still remember what it tasted like when he kissed her. "I… what the f…" He looked up at Ahsoka, feeling dizzy. "Why? When did you take it?"

"Anakin took it, actually." She sank down on her haunches to be at eye level with him. "He thought I could do the ceremony with you."

We don't execute our murderers and rapists. Boba slowly turned the tooth over in his hand.

"But I think you should keep it." Ahsoka closed his hand over the tooth. "My peoples' way is to throw them away, to dispose of them in a lake or a river so that their memory will be washed away from us. Your way, and your father's way, is to keep the teeth of monsters, and to remember so it makes you strong."

Boba stared at it for a few seconds longer, then nodded decisively and put it in his pocket. "Yeah. Yeah, you're right." He swallowed hard. "Vor entye, ori'vod."

Ahsoka pulled him into a hug and gently pressed her forehead against his in a kov'nyn. "I'm going to miss you," she said quietly, swaying with the breeze. "You're really something else, kid. Thank you for letting me into your life."

"You're not bad." Boba sniffed. "For a Jedi."

"Sure, tough guy." Ahsoka laughed and squeezed him in one last spicy-smelling Togruta hug. "You have to admit, this was unexp—" She suddenly stilled, then tilted her head and clicked with her mouth open. "No way. No, what is he doing here?"

"Who?"

Ahsoka spun, her eyes huge. "Rex?" she squawked, taking off east.

"Are you fucking daft, Tano?" Boba called, jogging after her. "He's on that shitho—oh." No, there was Tiarek, alright, and he had an armful of squealing Togruta rubbing her head all over him and laughing. There was a break in the canopy ahead, and he had put down a Y-Wing neatly in the center of it.

"What are you doing here?" Ahsoka asked once she was back on the ground, blinking like a tooka kit with eyes all shiny from the tears that had popped up when she spoke about Umbara.

Boba took a weary breath. Her teacher had to see this shit all the time, right? Was he okay with it, or was he as stupid as they were?

"The General had a bad feeling. You know the kind. Seeing as you were all out of comm range, he sent me to check in on you." Tiarek yanked Boba into a hug as soon as he was within reach. "You behaving like I told you to?"

"I'm always a fucking delight." Boba closed his eyes and gave the Manda a silent prayer of thanks for letting him say goodbye to his brother one more time. It hurt, knowing that he wasn't going to be seeing him now that he was staying… with…

His heart started pounding and he locked panicked eyes with Ahsoka. "Fuck," they said simultaneously. Tiarek could not go down to that bunker. Kaisa and Cassus were there, and fuck, fuck, this wasn't how he needed to find out—

"What is going on here?" Tiarek asked with a suspicious look.

"Nothing!" Ahsoka said brightly. "Nothing, we were, um, we just forgot something?"

Boba stared at her. Was she lying badly on purpose, or was she that bad at it?

She shot him a look. "We, um, we…"

"She doesn't want you to know that when we first got here, Kaisa sniped at Kenobi and nearly fragged him with a slug," Boba interjected. "Got her all shook up. She knows how protective you all are of your pet wizards."

Tiarek's brows went up. "She almost got General Kenobi?" he asked, turning to her.

Ahsoka nodded solemnly. "He's fine, but she's not very Jedi friendly. It was a hard welcome."

"That's one way of fucking putting it," Boba grumbled, then stilled at the way Ahsoka's eyes had gone perfectly round and black like a porg's.

A sharp whistle sounded from behind them. Boba's heart stopped and he spun to look. "Su'cuy, verd'ika!" Kaisa called out aggressively, her slugthrower butted up against her shoulder, pointed at the ground.

Tiarek immediately put himself in front of them. He took a step forward and snapped into a perfect salute. "CT-7567, Captain Rex of the 501st Clone Battalion, Sergeant," he said briskly, then lowered his hand.

Kaisa dropped the rifle to her waist and stared. "Tiarek?" she asked hesitantly. She put a hand to her chest. "Tiarek… tion'gar kar'tayli ni?"

Tiarek shook his head. "Sorry, Sergeant, early years are a bit fuzzy for me. Got a little too close to a grenade as a cadet."

Boba stared daggers at Kaisa, mindlessly begging the Force that Plo had assured him was in everything that she'd shut up—don't fucking tell him, don't fucking tell him, you have no right, no fucking right—and he felt like he was going to throw up from the way panic was squeezing him. He just knew that if she told him, she'd rip open something that he would never heal from. He'd believed at first that he needed Tiarek to know, needed him to remember but that was before he saw how… fine he was. Boba was lonely, and he thought that Tiarek remembering everything would somehow undo something that they'd lost a decade ago, but Tiarek wasn't torturing himself with the need for answers at night like Boba was. He was fighting a fucking war and watching his vode die on the daily, he didn't need to be haunted by memories of Jango telling him he loved him and trying to murder him on top of it.

Boba was Tiarek's ori'vod long before Cody was in the picture. Back then, it was his job to protect his little brother. It didn't matter who was bigger, Boba was older. He had to watch out for Cassus, now, but that didn't mean he couldn't still protect Tiarek—no, not Tiarek, he had chosen Rex—from this. Boba willed Kaisa to understand that if she said a word, he'd tackle her off the edge of that fucking hill and take them both down to the creek.

Boba could let go of Tiarek, for Rex's sake, and Kaisa would too if she knew what was good for her. He caught Ahsoka's eyes; she looked sad, but nodded in understanding.

Kaisa swallowed hard and gave Boba a small nod. "Wer'cuy," she said in a shaky voice. "I… I before does teaching. I think you before remember me."

"Apologies." He crossed his arms. "So what's this I hear about a sniper shot taken at a High General?"

"Misunderstanding, right?" Boba asked sharply. "She won't do it again."

Kaisa nodded and gave Boba a flat, meek smile. "No. Won't do it again."

Rex harrumphed and turned to Ahsoka. "You're alright, then? Nothing happened that I need to tell the General about?"

"Nope." She gave him a bright smile. "I'm fine, Obi-Wan's fine, everyone's fine."

"If you say so." Rex pulled Boba into a kov'nyn. "Cin vhetin, ner vod," he said quietly. "Don't waste this. Ahsoka worked hard to get you here."

That was a fucking understatement. "I won't," Boba promised Rex.

"Good man." He nodded at Kaisa. "Nice meeting you, Ma'am," he said.

"And you," Kaisa whispered, trying to smile.

"Mind if I hitch a ride to Goran with you?" Ahsoka asked Rex, bumping him with her shoulder.

"Sure, but where's General Kenobi and Cody?"

"Walking back to Bockin proper to catch a turbo-train." Ahsoka shrugged. "But we've got a battle to get to."

Rex chuckled. "I'll brief you on the way there, then." He winked at Boba. "See you around, Boba."

"See you." Boba nodded at him, nearly blind with relief, and Rex turned to go back to the Y-Wing.

Ahsoka pulled Boba into one last, last hug. "This is going to be hard, but I know you can do it," she murmured. "I am so proud of you, Boba, and I am so lucky to know you."

Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum. Boba squeezed his eyes shut and memorized the sound of her purr, but didn't dare say the words out loud. He knew she wasn't allowed to say it back. Nothing was forever, that wasn't the stupid fucking Jedi way.

Ahsoka hugged him tighter, and he wondered if she had heard that thought too. "Vercopa gar mar'eyi mirjahaal, ner vod'ika," she said softly, pulling away after one last rub of her soft lek.

Boba took a deep, shaky breath, "K'oyaci, ori'vod." He meant it literally. If she got her shebs blown off by a battledroid after this mess, he'd pay a Nightsister from Dathomir to bind her stupid fucking ghost to a toilet.

Ahsoka's eyes went wide; she'd heard his thought. She threw her head back and laughed. "Never change, Boba." She let Rex put an arm around her shoulders as they walked back to the Y-Wing.

Boba cupped his hands around his mouth. "Oblivioussayswhat?"

Rex turned and squinted at him. "What?" he called back, and Ahsoka clapped a hand over her mouth too late to stop her bark of laughter.

"Use a condom on the ride back, your kids would be fucking ugly!" Boba bellowed right before they closed their cockpits, and he cackled at their identical looks of mortification and their mouths silently bellowing his name.

Rex shook his head and started up the landing sequence. Ahsoka blew him a kiss as they ascended. Boba tracked them until the ship turned into a tiny dot, then stared at the place in the sky where they disappeared until it all went blurry. He felt cold, even though it was so warm and humid that he was sweating through his jacket.

Ahsoka was gone. He was on his own, again.

Or no. No, he had Cassus now, and he was going to be a good ori'vod to him or kill one of them trying.

Kaisa shifted, in clear discomfort from being on her knee. "Ahsoka bal Rex, eh?" she asked with a small smile.

Boba rolled his eyes. Even fucking Kaisa could see they were more than vode, even if they didn't want to acknowledge it, but that didn't mean he wanted to gossip about them with her. "He's her ori'vod, that's all," he said frostily.

Kaisa nodded and her smile faded. "Tion'gar copaani uj'alayi?" she asked him timidly. "Fresh. I make, not Pinky."

Boba looked at her sideways. "Let's get one thing straight," he said. "You're not my mother anymore. I am here for my brother, not for you. I know we have a lot of shit to talk about, but right now I'm not up to it. I'm going to go to my room, take a nap, and nobody's going to bother me. I don't want fucking Five Nights at Flimpo's down there stalking me, or any of the other droids spying on me. Leave me be. That's all I want from you."

Kaisa nodded and looked away. "Ni kar'tayli gar darasuum, Boba," she said softly. "Darasuum."

"Yeah, that's great. I'm still not fucking calling you Mama." Boba stalked past her and down the hill, his hand throbbing. He'd squeezed the tooth so tight that he'd drawn blood with its razor sharp roots. Awesome. He was off to a great fucking start.

He strode over to Cassus, who had parked his hoverchair at the top of the ramp and was casting something onto a set of knitting needles. Buddy was perched on the back of his chair, playing soft quetarra music. "Are they gone?" Cas asked, his hands still making complicated loops around a needle while he looked at Boba.

"Yeah." The song sounded familiar, like an old memory, but he couldn't place it. Boba swallowed hard and tried to breathe normally. "I'm gonna lay down for a bit, alright? I'll see you at dinner."

"Alright. Gotika made your bed up." Cas looked back down at his knitting and started humming along with Buddy's music.

Boba jogged to his room and locked the door behind him. He looked around. It was plain, with just an empty wardrobe, an armor stand with his beskar carefully displayed, and a bed of white linens with a blanket made out of a hundred crocheted squares laid over the top. Robert the Rancor and the silver tooka doll had been placed together on the pillow.

He kicked off his boots and laid down on his new bed, facing away from the beskar, and let loose a muffled sob into Robert's belly.

Cody checked his chronometer and let out an uncharacteristic growl. "Sir, you go on ahead. I'll run back and make sure Os'ika didn't fall in a hole."

Obi-Wan bit down a laugh. "Cody, you are aware that I know what that nickname means, correct?" he asked.

Cody met his eyes shamelessly. "Is it inaccurate?" he asked dryly.

"Not in the slightest." They both snickered, and Obi-Wan's commlink blinked with an incoming transmission. He raised an eyebrow and opened the channel.

"Master, you're never going to believe who I ran into," Ahsoka said wryly.

Cody leaned in. "In the backwoods of Corellia? We know for sure that all that poison's out of your system, right? You're not snuggled up to a mother nexu in a den somewhere?"

Ahsoka laughed. "Oh, he's definitely a mother nexu."

"Very funny, Commander," a familiar, disgruntled voice said.

Obi-Wan and Cody both did a double take at his wrist. "Rex?" Cody asked incredulously. "What the heck are you doing all the way out here?"

"General Skywalker had a bad feeling. Sent me to check it out."

Obi-Wan sighed. "Of course he did," he said wearily. "And I suppose simply sending a message to us was out of the question?"

"To be fair, Sir, you were out of range." Rex sounded like he was smiling.

"Did you…" Cody cleared his throat and met Obi-Wan's eyes nervously. "Did you meet Kaisa?"

"Yes. She seemed nice enough, though more timid than I expected for a Mando."

Cody almost choked. "Is that so?" he asked, his voice squeaking comically. "Did she say anything to you?"

"Besides hello?" Rex asked. "Not really?"

"Oh." Cody looked relieved.

"Is it true she shot you, General?"

"Why would Boba lie about her shooting Obi-Wan?" Ahsoka snipped.

"I didn't say he lied, I'm only asking."

Obi-Wan could almost hear Rex's eyes rolling. "A misunderstanding, Captain, no worries," he assured him. "Boba will be perfectly safe with her."

"If you say so, Sir."

"I'm hitching a ride to Goran with Rex, Master. I'll see you soon."

"Are you leaving now?" Obi-Wan asked, dismayed.

"My instructions were to join Skyguy as soon as I returned to the Temple, Master," she reminded him.

"Yes, but…" Obi-Wan stopped, pulled himself together and stopped trying to argue his illogical case. "Yes, that makes sense for you to skip the trip back to Coruscant. Very well. Be careful on Goran, Padawan. May the Force be with you."

"And you, Master." Ahsoka disconnected the channel, and moments later Obi-Wan felt her Force signature fade as she presumably entered hyperspace.

Cody frowned. "Well, that was… abrupt."

"Indeed." Obi-Wan pulled his cloak around him and tried not to visibly sulk. "Let's keep moving, then."

"Yes, Sir." Cody was clearly unhappy, chewing on the inside of his cheek as he walked. They walked in silence while Obi-Wan stared at the ground and brooded. Something had changed after he'd apologized to her. She'd not broken their bond, nothing so dramatic as that, but it was different. Lighter, in a way, though that didn't make sense. It had never felt like a weight before, but now he keenly felt a new absence, rather like an overdue haircut that was shorter than desired.

"Give her a bit more time, Sir," Cody said after a few minutes of listening to only the starry-leaved strings of leaves whip in the wind and a convor that occasionally hooted sadly overhead. "She'll come around."

"She has come around, Commander," he said pleasantly. "This is what that looks like."

Cody clearly didn't like that answer, and his unease thickened the Force around him. He was far too used to coming up with a solution to any problem that came his way. "I… expected this to end differently, I think," he admitted.

So had Obi-Wan, though he'd never admit it. "How so?" he asked Cody anyway.

"I suppose I expected the two of you to have a go at each other, but then go on as you always have. Not sure I like the way this is turning out."

Obi-Wan patted him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Ahsoka and I will always hold deep affection for one another," he reassured him. "But nothing is permanent except the Force. We have both become unduly attached to who we were to one another. It's best that we both let go and move on."

Cody huffed, still displeased. "Are you sure, Sir?"

"We must, for her sake," Obi-Wan answered blithely. "She cannot heal unless we do. Unfortunately, my deception has had longer-lasting repercussions than I anticipated." He never would have agreed to the Rako Hardeen mission if he had known the real cost.

Cody frowned. "Seems a bit… extreme, is all."

"It isn't. It is the foundation of our beliefs, after all. We must not allow ourselves to become so attached to the past that it impacts our future." It was the truth, so why did it hurt so badly? Obi-Wan had told Mace that he understood that his actions had consequences, but he hadn't anticipated that the consequences would be… so permanent.

Ahsoka forgave everyone everything. She couldn't help it, it was part of her nature. She could feel when one's remorse was genuine and she always, always capitulated, but she hadn't in this case and he had no one but himself to blame. She would grant a blank slate to everyone except for him, but their slate was far too full to be wiped clean. A lifetime of memories had been etched past its surface and into the foundation beneath.

Their slate needed to be discarded entirely and started anew, and so he would. He would do whatever Ahsoka needed to be able to heal. No matter what words he chose, nothing seemed to stop the bleeding. Clinging to her even harder had done nothing but left new bruises behind, so now he would do the opposite. He would let her go for her own peace. His attachment to her was the shrapnel in the wound causing it to fester, the broken thread causing the whole tapestry to unravel.

Kyber did not shatter as easily as Kaisa Skirata seemed to believe, and a real buir knew that sometimes one had to let their child go, especially when holding onto them would harm them far more than help.

"Bo-bi," Ahsoka said with a quivering lip and eyes almost completely swallowed up by her pupils. She waved at Obi-Wan over Plo's shoulder as he walked away. "Bo-bi!" They turned the corner and were gone.

They broke the treeline, and Obi-Wan could see the train station just ahead. "I've been meaning to ask you, Sir, what does mo nighean mean?" Cody asked.

"My girl," Obi-Wan answered with a smile he didn't feel. He didn't tell him that it also meant daughter.

Notes:

MANDO'A TRANSLATIONS Ori/vod/ika: big/brother/little Dar'buir: no longer parent. Essentially a parental divorce/disownment Udesii: calm, easy Cas'ika: Little Cas Gotika: Little Machine Jango nari taabi'an: Jango is marching (marching being a metaphor for the afterlife) Elek/ 'lek: Yes Ba'vodu: Uncle Buir/e: Parent/Parents Aliit orshya tal'din: Family is more than blood Haat'la Mando'ade: True Mandalorians, a mercenary group composed of mainly former Mandalorian royal soldiers formed by Jaster Mereel, who was considered rightful king (Mand'alor) of Mandalore. Jango took over leadership (and possession of the darksaber!) after Jaster's death Kih'ad: small child (ad'ika is the more cutesy and commonly used term) Gotaliise: Gotal people Kaminiise: Kaminoans Ner sen'tra: My jetpack Goteni muun'lan: Laying an egg Traciyam: stove Jetiise: Jedi (plural) Tiingilar: Spicy Mandalorian stew Ad'ikase: Children Ner ad'ika, ni ceta, ner kar'ta: My baby, I'm so sorry, my heart Kaysh vode: His brothers Reks'ika: Little Tiarek (s added for ease of saying, as otherwise it would be a hard stop in the center of the word) Shabla kaminiise: Fucking Kaminoans Sa'johaa: Metaphor Verd'goten: Mandalorian rite of passage into adulthood, usually done at 13 Cin'vetin: Fresh start (literally fresh snow on a field) Karyai: Large central living chamber of a traditional Mandalorian home Os'ika: Little shit, a pun on the normal diminuative of Ahsoka, Ahs'ika Chakaare: Assholes Vor entye: Thank you Kov'nyn: headbutt Su'cuy: Hi Tion'gar kar'tayli ni: Do you know me? Wer'cuy: It was ages ago Ni kar'tayli darasuum: I love you/I hold you in my heart forever Vercopa gar mar'eyi mirjahaal: May you find peace of mind K'oyaci: Stay alive Bal: and Tion'gar copaani uj'alayi: Do you want some uj cake? MAOR-GRASTA TRANSLATIONS Mo nighean: my girl/daughter OTHER NOTES GIRL YOU'RE NOT EXPENDABLE BOBI LOVES YOU HE ALMOST STRAIGHT UP MURDERED SOMEONE FOR YOU AHHHHH *is dragged off stage by a comically large shepherd's hook*

Taglist: @starwarsficnetwork, @soliloquy-of-nemo Dividers: @saradika-graphics

[fanfic-obsessed]

Not quite a fall

Here is an idea that takes the horrifying absurdity of the Clone Wars and magnifies it.  Please keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times…unless you wish to become part of the ride itself. Then grab onto these characters and you too can try to wrangle them. 

I do want to make it clear from the start that the Jedi Council and Dooku are making the best of some fairly shitty options, at this point and in the future. The Jedi do not know/cannot prove Palpatine is Sidious and the reality is that without absolute proof they risk being wrong and if they are then the real Sith master will go to ground and they will be left with nothing.  In addition Palpatine has contingencies for every aspect of his plan (and likely did in canon as well, if he had a contingency clones for himself), including if clones were found early, the chips did not work as intended, and the Jedi found out too early. It may not be obvious, or seem counterintuitive for the Jedi to keep walking forward, even knowing of the trap, knowing that so many would likely die in this fabricated war. But this is not meant to be criticizing the Jedi for the shitty options they had. 

Now we start with Yan Dooku, prior to his Fall. This is also before the Naboo crisis , in fact this is in the beginning when Palpatine is still manipulating him. 

*-As a side note, have you ever tried to look into the timeline for the clones and try to fit it into the greater timeline. That shit is wild. Jango Fett is recruited for Operation Knightfall-Order 66 and the clone project- in 32 BBY. This is the same year of the Naboo crisis and, according to Wookiepeidia, it is also the year that Cody was born. Based on what we know of the Kaminoan numbering system for the clones, there were at least 2 batches before Cody’s-The Nulls and the Alphas. Jango Fett was recruited by Dooku after his Fall, and he is said to have fallen after Qui Gonn’s death. I get that Palpatine had already been building towards this but man for this timeline to work Dooku had a quicker Fall time than Anakin-who went from ‘stop him’ to ‘time to murder children’ in a distressingly short period of time-  All this adds up to 32 BBY being, like, 2020 COVID  levels of crazy. Because we had Qui Gon’s death, Dooku’s fall, the recruitment of Jango Fett-I understand there was a bounty hunt as an audition-, and all of this happened in enough time for at least 3 batches of clones- possibly more- to be born in 32BBY. How long is the gestation period for the clones? How is gestation and decanting set up so this timeline works. The Galactic Standard year is a 12 month/368 day model. Even if we presume that the double aging is also present in gestation, thus instead of 9 months it takes 4.5 months, that is still 13.5 months for 3 batches. Even with a staggered start cycles-batch 1 is the start point, batch 2 starts a week later, batch 3 starts a week after that and we can get everything down to a minimum 5 months, there still so much shit that has to happen in 7 months-*

In this Dooku, as a Jedi Master, does recognize that he is being manipulated and goes to the Jedi Council. He has just enough proof to prove that the Sith were back but does now know who (He knows that Palptine is involved but does not know if he is a Sith, a willing collaborator, or a patsy). The council decides that Dooku would go undercover as it were, to pretend that he is falling for Palpatine’s manipulation and to let it go to its natural conclusion, which they all presume will end with Dooku pretending to fall.  Outside of the Council, there are only three other Jedi that are told of this assignment. Shadows Tholme and Quinlan Vos (though a senior Padawan at the time) were his contacts. The only other person told was Senior Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi, at the insistence of Mace Windu (Now this was not through some belief in Obi Wan as a person, or his value to such a mission. It was purely so that he could keep Qui Gon Jinn from flipping his lid when and if Dooku needed to pretend to be a Sith. Jinn was not told because no one thought that he could keep from endangering everyone through some ‘Will of the Force’ reasoning or trying to be ‘helpful’).  Neither Obi Wan or the Shadows are told who else knows (though Vos and Thome do know the other is aware), and Obi Wan still has no contact with Dooku, so this knowledge does not change much at first. To be exceedingly clear, Obi Wan is only told that Master Yan Dooku is taking a long term mission where he might have to appear to Fall, in which case Obi Wan is going to need to keep Qui Gon from interfering; he is given no other information about to mission or what is being found.  As it turns out Qui Gon dies just before Dooku ‘falls’. 

The clones are still commissioned, but they are not chipped; save for a single clone whose name later becomes Chip, this is the clone that Dooku shows to Palpatine as proof the plan was going as it should. This Dooku is more involved with the Clones. Though the trainers do not know it (having entirely bought into project Knightfall), Dooku carefully teaches the clones th truth of their existence (that the war they are being commissioned for is BS, purely a trap for the Jedi and that they would have been designed to both love and be forced kill the Jedi). In essence he trains them to be spies in the guise of soldiers.  He has reported the existence of the clones to the council, but like Dooku they are stuck by what they can visibly do with the information. There is some limited secret contact between the leaders of the clones (The Alpha’s as the Nulls had been adopted by Kal Skirata) and the Jedi Council, in which the Jedi Council apologizes for what is being asked of the clones and plans are made to help those that need an escape wherever they are able (Dooku ‘claims’ as many clones that were due to be decommissioned for his own ‘experiments’ as he is able, most of the time that meant that clones who were to be decommissioned were sent to live on a small, unpopulated moon in Serrano’s system-the exceptions to this were clones born with fatal, untreatable congenital defects, for example being without enough of their major organs that there would be no way to grow more before the child died in agony-those few who were truly not viable were given a painless death. It becomes a practice amongst the clones that anyone who truly did not want to fight would drop their scores into Decommission range). 

To this end the Coruscant Guard were specifically chosen because they were the best at that kind of subterfuge, the clone equivalent of the Jedi Shadows and the ones who could keep themselves hidden/shielded against mind control 24/7. Fox is the only non Force sensitive, near human in the galaxy who is entirely impervious to Jedi mind tricks and Sith Mind control, the reason he was given the command that would have given him the most contact with Palpatine. They find out, much later, that some strange mutation makes him entirely impervious to any Force based power that will cause him harm.

When the time comes to enact the plans to start the war, Dooku still sends Jango Fett to lure Obi Wan to Geonosis.  But Obi Wan goes to Kamino knowing that he was going to find the Clones (having been briefed by the Council, who had been informed by Dooku). Anakin is not aware of the second layer to their mission to protect Padme, having never been brought into the loop regarding Dooku.  Obi Wan and Dooku have a pleasant conversation about both Qui Gon (and how he was likely watching from the Force), and there is a plan in place for Obi Wan to escape before the gladiatorial arena in a way that still would spark the war, but not cost lives.  That plan had to be abruptly scrapped when Anakin and Padem showed up on Geonosis to ‘rescue’ Obi Wan, after they sent a message to the council.  One of the major changes to Geonosis is how Anakin lost his hand; it was not chopped off by Dooku but lost in an explosion caused by the droids. 

Here is where we start to get into the horror and the humor. Because this war is fabricated, a thing of smoke and mirrors whose sole purpose is to collect power for a few individuals. More importantly this is a Bullshit created war for the purpose of trapping the Jedi. The upper command on both sides (Jedi High council, Dooku and later Ventress, Palpatine, Grievous) know that the entire war is bullshit, though Palpatine does not know that the JHC are aware. The troopers, from the youngest to the oldest clones, are all utterly aware that the war is bullshit. They grew knowing they would be fighting in a war that was utter bullshit.  The reason that the Droids could not be programmed for critical thinking was that it took them a maximum one battle to realize the war was bullshit, and they were not pleased about being cannon fodder. 

In fact there were only two groups who were actually affected by the war that were not aware that the entire thing was contrived bullshit. 

Every office not part of the high command (non clone officers, Jedi Generals, the entire command structure between fielded droids and CIS Generals on Grievous's level-I have no idea how the command structure of the CIS army works and barely any more about the GAR structure but work with me here), which I tend to think of as the middle management is the first group. 

The other is the innocents being attacked by CIS forces.  To them the war is very real.

Until they know for sure who the Sith Master is Dooku, the Jedi High Command(now including a fully read-in Obi Wan), or the Clones cannot let on that they know the war is ultimately bullshit. And there are too many innocents at stake to completely blow off or fake fighting. Yes when Dooku, and Ventress after she is brought into the fold, are in command they tend to try and take worlds with resources but little to no populations and they disengage as soon as they possibly can,  but there are too many who buy into ‘The War’ or the power that they are getting to fake battles and in battles someone is bound to die. 

Imagine being one of the Jedi Councilors and high generals, knowing (instead of just suspecting) that every battle they go into is unnecessary bullshit to trap the Jedi. Knowing that their troopers know that they are being sent into battle for unnecessary bullshit, but everyone having to pretend that they buy into the bullshit, that they have to pretend ignorance of things so gallingly obvious.

-In this world the Jedi council has created a secret process for allowing the defection of troopers that do not want to fight. Pong Krell (who never got to the point of Falling, as he never got used to thinking the clones were non sentient) and a handful of other Jedi spread throughout the system's armies, maintained a deliberately high ‘casualty’ rate to go with their high success rate. Clones that wanted to defect were transferred to these specific battalions where they were ‘killed in action’ and transported to a way point that relays them to the planet the decommissioned clones went to. None of these Jedi know that Dooku is actually on their side, or that the whole war is bullshit, but they are able to hang onto their sanity a bit better for this process. -

Picture Dooku, and later Ventress, staring across the battlefield as horrified at the lives being taken as the Jedi. Still having to pretend to buy in, saying all the right things (Ventress does still take Wolffe’s eye, but it is Wolffe’s idea to help sell that Ventress is not ‘too soft’ on the clones she is fighting). Imagine having to calculate the exact point they can withdraw, when they have to press their victory for appearances. Knowing that they (as Ventress was completing her Jedi training under Dooku, who does not want her to be lost to the darkside) have to reconcile killing for the sake of appearances.  Having to bury their own horror when they work with other CIS high command, who very much know that the entire war is bullshit but don’t care, or are actively enjoying, the lives lost. 

It changes some details, both major and minor, on who dies when, but in the grand scheme of things this knowledge does not change the overall trajectory of the war (though Dooku is not killed). It is still three years in that Palpatine tells Anakin (who, at no point, is brought into the loop about Dooku, the defection of clones, or any of it-mostly because no one not in a very strict ‘need to know’ was told and partly because the Jedi Council allowed the clones themselves to decide who would know about the defection battalions; they could not quite convince themselves that he would not share that information where he should not) that he is the Sith Master. Anakin runs to tell Windu. 

But in this, instead of gathering the council to fight Sidious, Windu’s first action is to comm Fox. All he says to the head of the CG is, ‘Palpatine has just confirmed that he is the Sith Master’. 

Fox responds with, ‘I will comm you when it is done’.

Anakin is standing there, breathing heavily from running all the way from the Senate, very unsure what was going on but certain the announcement that Palpatine was a Sith should be taken with some more urgency than Windu was showing. 

Ponds enters and when he is told who the Sith is he sighs, deeply. “I was so sure it was that odious aide of Palpatine’s” (Whom Pond refers to only by the name of Bastard, if at all).

Just as Anakin is starting to become antsy (very much in the mindset of ‘shouldn’t we do something about the professed Sith in the same building as my secret wife?) Fox comms back. His hair is sticking straight away from his head (he found out that Palpatine’s Lighting did not hurt him the old fashioned way) and reports that Palpatine is very dead (each Guard wanted to make sure…and shooting is a good way to make sure), the Senate is in lockdown, to tell Skywalker that his wife is on a medical transport for the Temple’s Healing Halls (using those exact words),and that Fox will be filing a formal complaint against the Naboo education system for poor sex ed.  

After the call is done, the next call Windu puts in is to Dooku. Windu tells Dooku that it is time to come home.  Anakin watches horrified fascination as Dooku visibly sags with relief, saying that he and Ventress just need to tie up some loose ends here and to have a therapist ready. 

[ihathbenobiwankenobied]

broken glasses

Part four of 212th Medic Skull Has Had Enough on ao3

Part one | Part two | Part Three

Summary:

“It’s– about the General.” Cody gave him a look as he said the words, almost trying to tempt Skull into seeing what would happen if he tried to crack a joke. Skull spared him, with great effort to keep his mouth shut albeit, and nodded once. “And as his Commander, it’s my job to keep him alive and effective.” Cody continued.

Right, as his Commander. Nothing else at all.

“And?” Skull asked once Cody had been silent for a moment, “Is it urgent? If so, you need to tell me now.”

Cody shook his head, “No– I don’t think it is. It’s just– he’s been wearing glasses.”

(Or, another follow-up to Skull's infamous run-in with the 212th's newest secret couple. This time, Obi-Wan suspiciously starts wearing glasses.)

Word Count: 6,284

Skull had not seen Commander Cody in a week, not since he had been pulled from the bacta tank, face stony as he coughed out the last of the sludge and requested he be allowed to go to the fresher immediately. He hadn’t made eye-contact with Skull once. 

Oxy had taken charge, leading Cody away for his last check-up and letting him get dressed before discharging him to none other than the Obi-Wan Kenobi. Oxy had been remarkably proud of himself to report the information back to Skull.

“They think I don’t know, but boy do I know. They gaze at each other, Skully! Unbelievable!” Oxy had let out a loud, shouting cackle, cheeks stained red as he bent at the waist, unable to control his laughter. Skull followed suit, spinning idly in his lab chair, hands covering his face. 

Now, Cody was back in his medbay.

The Commander walked in with his arms crossed, his back straight, and his training blacks neatly arranged over his form. His eyes were narrowed and lips drawn into a harsh line.

He stood in the doorway of Skull’s lab, staring at the medic for a moment, before clearing his throat. Skull had looked back into his microscope for a moment, and was finishing his notes. “Commander.” He acknowledged with a nod and stood from his chair while straightening his lab coat. “Strange to see you here voluntarily. It almost makes me uncomfortable.” 

Cody snorted, “It’s barely voluntary, if that makes you feel any better.” He said, and shifted on his feet. 

“Still voluntary, Sir.” Skull said and picked up his notes, walking toward the doorway of the lab. He brushed past Cody, flicking the lights off on the way out, “So what can I do you for? Is there something wrong with your leg?” He hoped there wasn’t, he had taken care to keep Cody in the bacta tank for longer than the minimum needed to heal him, but what else would Cody be here for? Skull could hardly think of another reason.

“No– my leg is fine; it barely feels any different than before.” Cody walked behind him, and he paused to take a deep breath for a moment, “It’s about someone else.”

Skull stopped in place, Cody nearly running into him as he spun around. Skull’s eyebrows raised involuntarily. “Someone else?” He asked, intrigued.

He absolutely expected Cody’s answer.

“It’s– about the General.” Cody gave him a look as he said the words, almost trying to tempt Skull into seeing what would happen if he tried to crack a joke. Skull spared him, with great effort to keep his mouth shut albeit, and nodded once. “And as his Commander, it’s my job to keep him alive and effective.” Cody continued.

Right, as his Commander. Nothing else at all.

“And?” Skull asked once Cody had been silent for a moment, “Is it urgent? If so, you need to tell me now.”

Cody shook his head, “No– I don’t think it is. It’s just– he’s been wearing glasses.” Cody looked concerned for only a split second before he forced his face back into something like a neutral expression. 

“I noticed.” Skull said matter-of-factly. “He was wearing them in your tent when I came to take care of your leg. I was–” Skull was immediately cut off by Cody’s gruff voice.

“The General’s tent. Not ours, his.” The Commander offered him a serious look. 

“Whatever you insist on, Cody. I saw what I saw.” Cody pressed the heel of his hand into his forehead and groaned. Skull continued, ignoring Cody’s attempt to protest, “I was planning to address it with him the next time he ended up here, but it looks like you made it here first. When did you notice him wearing glasses first?”

Skull started walking again, making his way toward the filing room in the far back of the medbay. He wanted to scan through Kenobi’s file again, see if he had missed something on the first read-through, and the second and third. He swore there was nothing about visual impairment.

“A month ago, give-or-take.” Cody answered, following along behind him, “He only wears them at night, not when we’re out in the field.” Skull really tried to ignore the implication of Cody spending his nights with the General. 

“Has he been squinting?” Skull asked, “Holding his datapad at an odd distance while reading?”

Cody blinked at him, crossing his arms back over his chest, almost defensively.“I don’t know– I haven’t been paying too close of attention.”

“Oh please, Cody–” Skull rolled his eyes.

Cody didn’t let him continue, “He has always squinted a little, he has sensitive eyes– I can’t tell if it is worse or better now.”

Skull ran his tingertips over the edges of the files mouthing along to the names before he settled on Kenobi. He plucked the comparatively thick file from the shelf and led Cody back out of the room.

“Did he ever mention implants to you?” Skull asked, sitting down at his neatly organized desk and dropping the file down onto the desk with a resounding thud. He motioned to an extra chair at the desk behind him and Cody rolled it over and sat. 

“No– what exactly are we doing here?” The Commander asked, glancing over Skull’s shoulder and eyeing the manilla folder and coinciding datapad stored inside along a thick clip of loose pieces of flimsi. 

“I am looking at Kenobi’s file, which is confidential by the way, and you are answering questions.” He threw an arm out to press the Commander back and he grumbled in return. “Now, you said he never said anything about having implants? No surgeries?”

“No, he didn’t.” Cody said, “What are implants anyway?” Skull could have slapped himself in the face– of course Cody was confused, Clones were bred to have perfect vision, but natborns were certainly not. In fact, Skull had learned in his classes that more than half of natborns were predisposed to have poor vision. While some wore glasses, which made it outwardly apparent they couldn’t see, it was rather rare. No wonder Cody was concerned. 

“Many natborns are born visually impaired, a lot of them really. Implants are often used to mitigate further vision loss, and they allow a person to see just as clearly as anyone else.” Skull explained eyes scanning over the visual records he had been given. 

Nothing– not even a sentence in that section at all. Perhaps he should have known that was a red flag when he first scanned the file, but he had assumed the Jedi didn’t struggle with visual impairment, he figured the Force probably canceled that out. 

“And these implants– when are they… implanted?” Cody asked, hands wringing together absently. 

“Early in life– five or six years-of-age maybe.” Skull answered and skimmed through the contents of the datapad that had been placed in his possession by a record-keeper from the Jedi temple. 

Still nothing of note. Strange.

“Are they meant to be permanent?” Cody asked, a strange look behind his eyes, he almost started to seem worried again.

“I would think– are you sure he didn’t say anything about them?” Skull was suspicious; Cody had quite the reserve of questions. 

“No– but I’m starting to think maybe he had them… and now he doesn’t.” Cody didn’t seem happy about that thought, and even sat back in his chair with a sigh.

“Me too.” Skull said, noting the way Cody’s face had changed from annoyed, to disconcerted. His eyes were trained on the floor, and he swallowed once loudly. “Cody– listen, I’ll talk to whoever I need to at the Jedi temple to get this resolved– perhaps I’m missing a file here. Meanwhile, how about you see if asking the General nicely will get you an answer. Or, just drag him here for me to question him, your choice.” Skull shrugged and closed the file in front of him. Cody shook his head and pushed his chair back.

The Commander muttered something under his breath, then smiled forcefully, “Thank you for your time Skull. Let me know when you get more information.”

Skull had some research to do.

Cody had noticed Obi-Wan’s glasses a month before. 

They were sitting innocently on Obi-Wan’s side table by his bunk when Cody had let himself in one evening. The General had been in the shower, whistling resounding from behind the door of the fresher. Cody glanced at the door, then picked up the suspicious spectacles, eyes passing over the seemingly well-worn metal rims. 

They looked used, and more than a few years old, that was easy to determine. Certainly, they weren’t something Obi-Wan had just recently acquired– at least not new. 

Cody dropped the glasses back into their previous position when he heard the water shut off and the door to fresher slide open.

Obi-Wan, without hesitation, had popped the glasses onto the bridge of his nose once he was dressed. He hummed as he went about his typical nightly chores– pulling out a new tunic and wringing the dirt out of his robe in the sink– but never once did he mention anything about the glasses.

Cody figured it was nothing– at first that was. Cody had returned from a three-week wild bantha-chase on some outerim desert planet, of course something could have changed in those weeks. Obi-Wan treated the situation like it was nothing out of the ordinary, and definitely not something important enough to be mentioned.

But then– it became a problem.

Obi-Wan was a skilled warrior, his precise movements with his lightsaber never failing to hit the intended target, but his ability to see oncoming droids was… becoming limited. 

Obi-Wan began to sense things more, rather than see them, and Cody noticed. 

When he wasn’t out in the field, armed with just a lightsaber, his glasses mysteriously disappeared. Once, Cody had scoured through Obi-Wan’s personal belongings he had brought planetside, but came back short. 

Each time they returned to one of their respective tents or quarters, covered in mud, blood, or any other sludge they happened across in their latest battle, Obi-Wan always would pop a few stims, eyes struggling against any and all light. Just a headache, he would say sometimes. I’m only tired, Cody, he would say other times. Each time, the General would shower briefly, and crawl under the covers, eyes hidden underneath the blankets until the pills started to have an effect. 

Cody was beginning to believe that his headaches were not related to battle, but to not being able to see.

Cody couldn’t believe Skull didn’t know anything about the mysterious set of glasses– he seemed to think he knew about everything else. The Commander contemplated the idea of implants as he walked briskly through the halls of the Negotiator, every few minutes nodding at the odd trooper walking in the opposite direction.

It was probable that Obi-Wan had once had implants; for nearly a full standard year Cody hadn’t seen Obi-Wan wearing glasses, not once.

Cody needed to know what had happened, and he was going to get his answer. 

Cody knocked politely on Obi-Wan’s door giving himself a few extra seconds to think about how to go about questioning the General. 

A few seconds was not enough, and Obi-Wan opened the door near immediately, a gentle smile appearing on his lips, eyes brightening, when Cody fell into view. Of course, he was wearing his glasses, but that barely distracted Cody from the tight white shirt and black briefs he wore. 

“Cody, I was expecting you.” Obi-Wan said, smile widening as he stepped back to let Cody through.

I’m here on business, Cody reminded himself, tentatively smiling back and stepping inside while doing his best to not look at Obi-Wan at all. “I’m sure you were.” Cody responded evenly. When they were both on the Negotiator, they were almost always between each others’ quarters; it was hardly noticeable to the men while they were on the ship, none of the barracks occupied the same hall.

“If I’m honest, I was expecting you earlier– did you have a meeting I wasn’t invited to?” Obi-Wan joked as he pulled a light sweater over the shirt and reached for a pair of Cody’s blacks he had left behind, “I was almost considering coming to find you–”

“I went to see Skull.” Cody said, cutting off Obi-Wan. The General’s eyebrows rose, and he stopped in his tracks.

“Oh? I thought you never wanted to see him again?” Cody wanted to bury his face in his hands. Why was everyone so insistent on reminding him about what Skull knew?

“I didn’t want to see him– but something has been concerning me.” Cody stepped into Obi-Wan’s space, holding his shoulders gently. Obi-Wan’s eyes were wide, and strangely concerned. “Can we talk for a minute?”

“Of course– though I’m not entirely sure what about.” Obi-Wan said as he turned to head toward the bed. Cody followed, sitting next to him on the edge of the bunk. Cody paused for a few beats, eyes on the floor as he tried to come up with the best way to phrase his question without sounding needlessly accusing. 

“So– I noticed you’ve been wearing… glasses.” Cody looked up, tried to search Obi-Wan’s eyes for an indication of what exactly to say next, but the man hardly looked alarmed or confused. “Skull didn’t have anything in your file about vision impairment…” Cody cut himself off by shutting his mouth abruptly. Maybe Obi-Wan didn’t strictly need to know just how far the conversation with their medic had gone.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat and looked toward the floor.

“Ah– I suppose I’ve been putting off explaining the glasses for a while now– I thought you might not ask, in fact.” Obi-Wan almost chuckled, but he stopped himself. Cody could see the nervousness materialize on Obi-Wan’s face and he grabbed the Jedi’s hand, squeezing softly and rubbing the pad of his thumb over calloused knuckles. “I am near-sighted, and I accidentally removed that portion from my file years ago– for a mission.” Obi-Wan added the last part, pretending like Cody didn’t realize his hesitation.

“And you never thought to add that back in?” Cody asked, annoyance seeping into his tone regardless of his best effort. Obi-Wan sighed.

“I got a little bit busy, with war and all, you know.” At that, Cody scoffed. 

“Do you have implants?” Cody asked, eyes scanning over Obi-Wan’s eyes, almost like he would be able to see if they were there or not.

“I did.” Obi-Wan muttered and let out a deep breath. His grip on Cody’s hand tightened. 

Cody’s heartbeat quickened as his mind raced. That would mean– “They’re broken? What happened?” Cody’s questions were asked in a strained voice, and Obi-Wan stood abruptly and paced for a moment, hand pressed over his beard. 

“I– I… I think the connection was knocked loose.” Cody thought back to over a month prior when Obi-Wan had lost his lightsaber and was pinned against a wall by a swarm of thirty battle droids. He had gotten his head smashed into a rock in his effort to take them on in hand-to-hand combat. Cody knew basic first aid, and had personally spared him from a trip to see Skull when a shiny medic had run a few basic field tests and determined it was only a mild concussion. 

His implants must have been damaged then.

“Why the hell didn’t you say anything?” Cody breathed out, mouth ajar as he waited for Obi-Wan’s response. Obi-Wan crossed his arms over his chest briefly, shook his head, then pressed the heel of his hand over his forehead. 

“I– I didn’t want to inconvenience anyone– especially Skull, he has more than enough on his plate. I have these.” He touched the rim of his glasses, almost distracting Cody from the guilt leaking from his eyes.

“Obi-Wan, those don’t do anything when you don’t wear them into battle.” Cody resisted the urge to explain what Obi-Wan probably already knew: seeing was an important part of fighting, nearly essential.

“I have the Force for battle– I was going to get the implants fixed as soon as possible, when things slow down.” Obi-Wan returned to pacing, sweat forming on his brow. 

“The Force isn’t a substitute for vision, Obi-Wan.” Obi-Wan opened his mouth to protest, but Cody didn’t let him, “We’re going to go get this sorted out– now.”

“Omitted? Seriously, General? Vokara Che had to tell me herself that apparently someone had removed the files. She presumes you.” Skull shook his head and held up a datapad. “And look what good that did? I have them anyway.” He waved the datapad in the air, trying to get it through the General’s thick skull that this was, in fact, an important piece of medical information. 

“I didn’t purposely omit them, it was an accidental deletion that I forgot to–” Skull didn’t miss the way Cody held onto Obi-Wan’s elbow, lips drawn into a moving line and eyes narrowed. For once, Cody looked like he was on the same page as Skull, and that page was titled Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fucking di’kut. 

“General, I couldn’t give two shits about what happened to the files; you had a full standard year to tell me you had implants. Hells– you even had a full month to tell me they had failed.” Skull placed the datapad onto the small tray by the examination table and pressed his hands over his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

“Apologies, Skull. It was an oversight on my part.” Obi-Wan said, sitting up straighter and offering up a tight smile.

“Oversight is not a strong enough word.” Cody grumbled and let go of Obi-Wan’s elbow. 

More like an undersight, really, Skull thought.

Cody’s hand reached for Obi-Wan’s thigh, but he seemingly caught himself and placed both his arms behind his back. Skull, like he had become accustomed to at this point, chose to ignore it.

“So here’s what we’re going to do,” Skull started, eyeing the page of notes he had written for himself based on the recovered file Vokara Che had sent him, “First, you are going to be scheduled for an implant repair on Coruscant for sometime in the next two weeks, courtesy of Vokara Che.”

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to protest, but Skull persisted, not letting him get in a single challenging word, “Until then, you are not going out in the field. General Skywalker will notify the Council, and you will rest– Force knows you need it.” 

“I’m sure I would still be of some use in the field, Skull, don’t be ridiculous.” Obi-Wan nearly whined as he said the words, but Cody shot him a look that would be enough to shut up a row of rowdy shinies. Obi-Wan caught the Commander’s eye, and didn’t continue. 

“It’s not worth the risk, Sir.” Cody gritted out through his teeth, placing an unusual emphasis on the title.

“Agreed,” Skull said, “Not to mention, if I were to send you out there, it would have to be with your glasses and I’m not willing to let you go without those for a few days. Vision is not a joke, General. Now, let me find out exactly what prescription you are.” The medic placed his set of notes back down on the tray by the bed and indicated he would be back in ten minutes with a scanner that would do the trick.

There was a thick silence in the room when Skull finished speaking, and Obi-Wan just nodded once to acknowledge the statement. 

Skull was gone for less time said he would be, but he was happy to leave the couple alone for even a couple of minutes to have whatever little domestic quibble they needed to have. Force knew Obi-Wan had glared at Cody like a disappointed child at least three times throughout the course of their conversation. 

He exited the medical supply closet to just miss Cody pulling away from Obi-Wan’s lips, hands resting on the General’s cheeks. 

Skull supposed he had told them ten minutes, and it had only been three, but still.

Skull scuffed his feet against the floor as loudly as he could manage, and watched as the very tops of Cody’s cheeks and ears burned a bright red; Obi-Wan’s followed suit, even more pronounced, when he turned around.

“Well gentlemen, no denying it now then; does kissing in the medbay make it official?” Skull didn’t bother to watch either of their faces, already knowing what each of their horrified faces looked like already. Instead, turned on the scanner and grabbed a piece of flimsi to write the General’s prescription down on.

“Skull, again–” Cody protested, voice nearly an octave higher than it usually was and mouth ajar. 

“I’m not going to tell anyone else, Cody– cool your jets.”

Skull still couldn’t believe Cody had the will to deny it. 

Perhaps he would have to write the Commander a mission report– something Cody understood well– detailing all of the evidence he had collected.  

Skull reminded himself to talk to Oxy about it later.

Obi-Wan broke his glasses two days after his visit to Skull; murphy's law.

Well, that was not exactly the truth if Cody was completely honest with himself– Obi-Wan had left them on the bed, shoved underneath the sheets of course, and the two of them had broken them together later that night in the heat of… things. 

Cody had personally decided that wasn’t the official story, and Obi-Wan was to blame for stepping on them instead. 

They had decided together it might be best to not inform Skull; Obi-Wan insisted he could tolerate another week without perfect vision. Perhaps it was more Cody’s idea, in an attempt to not have to come in contact with Skull, who was mercilessly insisting on discussing his relationship with the General at every turn. 

So instead, Obi-Wan dealt with it. 

Now, in the mornings, Obi-Wan was extra bleary, eyes squinting against the harsh lighting of Cody’s quarters when the light was flicked on. While he could still read his datapad if he held it close enough to his face, Cody could tell that it was a particular struggle to read through paperwork for more than a few hours at a time in such an uncomfortable position. 

While Cody was sure he would be sent off to some planet on a mission before Obi-Wan headed back to Coruscant for his implant repairs, he had yet to receive any orders, and was more than happy to massage Obi-Wan’s aching neck and read his reports out loud when he couldn’t bear to read any longer.

On the third day without his glasses, Obi-Wan didn’t get out of bed to do his paperwork.

Cody laid awake, perfectly still, staring at the blinking clock by his bedside that ready 0700. While both of them were usually up by 0600, Obi-Wan had barely stirred with his first alarm, and certainly didn’t seem to want to get up; only the top of his hair was visible from where he was buried within the layers of blankets.

An hour later, Cody had already come and gone from the mess, bringing along a ration bar and mug of tea. 

He’d imagined Obi-Wan would be awake by then, but he hadn’t even changed positions on the bed.

Concerned, Cody placed the items on the table, and approached the bed.

“Obi-Wan?” He called, voice only just rising above a whisper. 

The lump of blankets shifted, but Obi-Wan did not respond. Cody tried to call out to him again. Then again.

The final time, Obi-Wan mumbled something, words muffled by the mounds of fabric covering him. 

Cody attempted to ignore the way he could hear his own heartbeat. 

He reached for the blanket, pulling it down just enough to find that Obi-Wan’s face was buried in his hands. His fingers trembled where they sat against his forehead just underneath sweat-soaked strands of hair. 

Cody sucked in a breath, and knelt on the floor, hand already reaching to brush back the loose hair. 

“Obi-Wan, are you feeling alright?” He asked slowly, hoping Obi-Wan was awake enough to hear him.

Obi-Wan pulled his hands a couple inches away from his face and cracked open an eye. He squinted for a second before shutting his eyes again hard. He mumbled something again that Cody could only hope to try and decipher. 

“What was that?” Cody asked, and Obi-Wan cleared throat, not bothering to open his eyes again.

“D’n feel so good.” The General managed to say. Though his voice was low, he didn’t sound ill, just tired. Cody reached to feel his forehead, even pulling back the covers to see if he had gooseflesh covering his bare skin. 

Nothing– Cody couldn’t imagine he was ill with some unknown virus with the amount of time he had been spending on the Negotiator rather than planet-hopping. 

“I’m sorry, Obi-Wan.” Cody started, now sitting on the edge of the bed, “You don’t feel feverish, can you tell me what doesn’t feel good?” Cody tried to make the question as easy to answer as possible. Obi-Wan sucked in a shaking breath.

“Not ill.” He said eventually, which felt like a lie, but Cody somehow knew it wasn’t. “Head.” 

Not ill, head. Cody repeated the words under his breath, trying but failing to make some sort of connection. Sure, Obi-Wan had endured his fair share of headaches in the last month, but none of them were bad enough to keep him from battle, much less plant him in bed unable to move. 

“A headache?” He asked, trying to prompt some sort of explanation. Obi-Wan’s hands had returned to his face, nails digging into the skin of his forehead as he sucked in another few harsh breaths. 

Cody waited, though his patience was running out.

“...drawer. Look– drawer.” Obi-Wan seemed like was going to finish the sentence, but with a sudden harsh movement, he pushed Cody aside and wrenched himself out of the bed. Stumbling over his feet for a moment, he nearly crashed through the door of the fresher before Cody had even registered what exactly was happening. 

Kriff, Cody swore under his breath when he heard the first helpless gags come from the fresher. Hesitating for only a split second, Cody ripped open the drawer by his bedside considering maybe Obi-Wan’s clue meant he would find something there. Unfortunately, Cody found nothing out of the ordinary.

Cody entered the fresher, immediately falling to his own knees behind Obi-Wan. Cody attempted to flick the light on, but Obi-Wan protested with a whine in between useless gags; he hadn’t eaten since the day before, and all that was left in his system had already come back up.

Rubbing Obi-Wan’s back with the tips of his fingers, Cody made up his mind; he needed to comm Skull, no matter how much he wanted to avoid it.

“Obi-Wan,” He said, breathing gently against the man’s shoulder, “I’m just going to get my comlink– I’m sorry, I don’t know– I can’t help and–” Obi-Wan gagged again, forehead slumping against the rim of the toilet. Cody swore, and jerked himself to his feet. 

His grabbed his comlink from the table by the bunk.

Skull picked up immediately, “Cody? Everything alright, Commander?” Cody glanced back through the open doorway of the fresher where Obi-Wan had taken to burying his face in his knees where they were drawn up against his chest. Things were not okay. 

“No– I think the General is sick. He’s– I think he has…he’s vomiting–” Cody’s thoughts came out disjointed; undignified he thought, Obi-Wan’s tone playing in his mind. 

“Woah, slow down, Cody. Can you list the symptoms?” Skull said, sounding much calmer about the situation than Cody felt watching Obi-Wan retch into the toilet. 

“Okay,” Cody answered as he took a deep breath and tried to sort through his swimming thoughts, “Vomiting, headache, sensitivity to light– I think. He said something about a drawer.” Cody paced throughout the room as he spoke, nerves working in overdrive. 

“Migraine.” Skull answered immediately, not hesitating for a second, almost as if he had known all along. “Does he have his pills?” 

Cody stopped in his tracks and blinked absently. 

A migraine? Pills?

Cody wracked his brain for any previous mention of pills, but came up short. In his time knowing Obi-Wan, he hadn’t once witnessed a migraine, nor any of the symptoms. Sure, Cody had heard of migraines– they were supposedly brutal according to one of his shinies who had gotten them before on Kamino– but he had never heard Obi-Wan speak of them, much less admit he was experiencing one. 

“What?” He said questioningly, hoping Skull would explain more.

“His pills.” Skull repeated, “He should keep them in his quarters or in his med kit…” 

Still, whatever these magical migraine pills were, Cody hadn’t heard of them and he definitely had no idea where they would be. 

Then it occurred to him. 

The drawer. That’s what Obi-Wan had been talking about; he must have kept them in the drawer in his own quarters on the Negotiator. 

“I’m getting the sense that the General didn’t tell you about the migraines?” Skull cut through Cody’s thoughts, stating what Cody thought was already obvious at this point. 

The Commander sighed, “No– he didn’t. I’m assuming the pills are in a drawer in his quarters.” Cody said, almost mindlessly. 

“So I should assume I am coming to your quarters again then, Cody? I’ll bring meds– I’m going to have to make up a kit to keep at your place. Give me five minutes.” Skull sounded mildly amused over the line but Cody could hardly care about Skull’s teasing. Instead, he threw down his comlink to head back into the fresher. 

Obi-Wan had not moved, still sat with his face buried in his bare knees. His skin was layered in goosebumps, skin pale and covered in a sheen of sweat. For lack of a better word, he looked dreadful. 

For a moment, Cody was angry, and almost bitter. Obi-Wan had always been honest where it counted– he was much like Cody in that way, calculated with his risks, strategic and logically inclined. Yet, unlike the long list of allergies Obi-Wan had revealed to Cody long before, he still held some cards close to his chest. 

Watching Obi-Wan tremble on the floor, so far gone from his status and reputation under Cody’s gaze already, he wished Obi-Wan had told him earlier. It could have been prevented.

Cody crouched down, a gentle hand pressing into the damp hair on the back of Obi-Wan’s head. “Obi-Wan?” He called, voice only just above a whisper. Obi-Wan acknowledged him with a gentle groan, “I’m sorry– Skull’s on the way with your meds. I had no idea.” He didn’t press, kept his voice level. 

“I’m sorry.” Obi-Wan’s voice was gruff, but he sounded sincere– apologetic. Cody believed him.

Cody sat down fully by Obi-Wan’s side, the tips of his fingers massaging ever-so gently across the skin of Obi-Wan’s neck and down his shoulder. For a moment, the only sound in the room were Obi-Wan’s trembling breaths, then there was the slide of the door and footsteps marching toward the fresher. 

Cody would have pulled away, tried to escape from Skull’s scrutiny, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

He probably already knows, Cody thought, annoyance sparking as the medic rounded the corner and paused in the doorway to set his medical kit on the floor. He offered Cody a raised eyebrow, but didn’t say anything as he unwrapped a clean hypo.

At least Obi-Wan’s migraine was enough to shut Skull up; glass half-full Cody supposed. 

“Obi-Wan?” Skull said once he had drawn up what Cody assumed to be a rather large dose of meds. The man in question said nothing for a few moments, then pulled his head up just enough from his knees so he could glance in Skull’s direction. 

“Pills?” He asked, and Skull shook his head.

“You know they don’t do anything once it’s already started, General.” Skull said softly, “Pain meds or nothing, your choice.” Skull held up the hypo for Obi-Wan to see, but the General grimaced unhappily and shook his head in one tiny movement, refusing.

Skull pulled back and shot Cody a knowing glance.

Cody returned the look, and reached for Obi-Wan’s chin. As gently as he could manage, Cody pulled Obi-Wan’s face toward his, leaning his forehead against Obi-Wan’s tenderly. “You need the meds, darling.” He whispered, just low enough that Skull couldn’t hear. Obi-Wan’s bloodshot eyes blinked open again.

“Don’t need them.” Obi-Wan said wearily, but he was so utterly unconvincing, Cody could have laughed. His eyes were wide and watery, his beard unkempt; he looked quite pathetic.

“Yes, you do.” Cody answered, “Please? For me? I’m worried about you.” He pleaded, hoping Obi-Wan would listen to him and shut out his stubbornness for once.

“...fine.” Cody let out a breath he had not realized he was holding and looked up to catch Skull’s gaze. The medic nodded knowingly, and crouched by Obi-Wan’s side again.

“Okay Sir, you know the drill, just a slight pinch.” Skull reminded him, skilled hands making such quick work with the hypo that Cody would have missed it if he had blinked. “Give it two or three minutes and it should kick in.” Skull continued, then reached into his kit again to pull out another smaller kit that looked vaguely similar to the one that Obi-Wan carried with him from mission to mission.

Of course, it’s for me to keep here. Cody attempted to keep his cheeks from staining red again, but Skull had already caught wind of his embarrassment. 

Smiling, much to Cody’s chagrin, Skull pointed to the bedroom, “Let’s get him in bed.” He mouthed. Cody stood, plucking the kit from Skull’s hands to place it in the cupboard beside the shower, and gently smoothed back Obi-Wan’s unruly hair.

“We’re going to help you get in bed.” He said, his voice low and hand already wrapping underneath Obi-Wan’s bicep as Skull did the same on his other side. 

Obi-Wan’s head hung down as they made the short trip to the bed, but once he had crawled under the covers, Cody immediately noticed that he looked slightly less pained, his eyelids not scrunched together as tightly as they had been before. 

“Thank you.” He said, voice still gruff as he reached for the cup of water he had left on the bedside table the night before. He offered a watery smile to Skull who smiled gently. 

“Of course Sir, anytime. I have something for you.” Skull pulled out a small orange contained from his belt and shook it a couple of times, “These are twice the strength of your old ones– you can thank Oxy for that one.”

Obi-Wan looked beyond relieved, and accepted them with a shaking hand. He nodded once in gratitude and sunk further into the bed, face buried in the pillows. Cody arranged the covers over his body, hand lingering on Obi-Wan’s side for a fleeting second. 

“Commander, mind joining me outside?” Skull asked, turning toward Cody. The Commander wished he could say no, but nonetheless, he nodded.

He stepped into the hallway, Skull not far behind, and let the door slide shut behind him. For a moment they stood silently, and Skull stared at him expectantly with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“Yes?” Cody asked, his own arms coming up to cross over his chest.

“He didn’t tell you about the migraines? Really?” Skull asked, almost like he couldn’t possibly believe that Obi-Wan Kenobi, the living picture of stubbornness, pride, and generalized difficulty, had kept something under wraps.

“No, he didn’t.” Cody said dryly.

“Well– I’ll spare you the details, but he has a long history with migraines, mostly related to Force-osik.” Skull stared at Cody with some unrecognizable look on his face, “I’m guessing this situation didn’t have anything to do with the Force, did it?” 

Ah. 

Cody knew what the little conversation was really about now; Skull knew he was hiding something. The broken glasses.

Skull’s gaze was too damn expectant and Cody wished he was a good liar. “No,” He said simply.

“The other possible causes of migraines are increased stress, lack of sleep, poor vision…” Skull was smart, smarter than Cody for sure, and far too observant for his own good. Kriff,

“His glasses broke earlier this week.” Cody said flatly, “But for some reason I think you already knew that?” 

Skull outright laughed, annoyingly, and slapped Cody on the shoulder, “The shattered glasses were sitting right by the bed, did you expect me not to notice?” 

Cody sighed, for the thousandth time since he met Skull, and rubbed a hand across his forehead. 

“I’m not going to ask how they broke when I had strict instructions for him to rest. You two are killing me, you know?” Skull snorted. He shook his head and adjusted his medkit in his arms. 

“Apologies, Skull, he figured he could make it a few days without.” Cody said.

“Classic Kenobi with his needless self-heroics. ” Skull mumbled, already heading down the hall, “I’ll get him an appointment on Coruscant for tomorrow. Until then, you two need to take it easy. I swear, if I have to see one of you shirtless or in pain in the next week I will strongly consider changing my field of specialty. Get back to your boyfriend.”

Cody nearly saw red, “He is not–” He almost started to protest.

“Oh, husband then?” Skull called down the hall.

Fuck it all.

[tennessoui]

kit kit kit!! just seeing vowbreaker on your WIPs list brings me such joy i miss it so much i reread it pretty much once a month and i am just absolutely so fucking stoked to see how many people vaderkin destroys (i feel like “murder” isnt strong enough of a word) next chapter. cannot wait!!!

you made such a strong case..........

The men are quiet as Vader descends the stairs.

He’d thought about what to wear. How to look. How to act. Cody leads the way, straight-backed and serious.

It’s a fucked up sort of funeral procession, but Vader—Anakin—he’s alive. They’re just watching a dead man walking, all of their eyes wide and curious, their hearts stuck in their throats.

Vader hadn’t known what to wear, not until Cody suggested putting on the scraped up and ruined clothes from the night before. Cody’s eyes had been narrowed, calculated.

It had not been a nice thing to suggest, for Anakin to don the clothes that he was wearing the last time his husband saw him.

But Vader understood.

With his bandaged face, his fucked up neck, the torn and bloody clothes, he looks weak. Fragile.

And there’s nothing some people love more than nursing a wounded bird back to health.

“Is it true?” someone asks. Vader can’t see her. He’s focused on his steps.

Here, right here against this railing, Obi-Wan had kissed him for the first time. He can’t remember it. He hadn’t realized it was special, that Obi-Wan would become more than a one-night stand.

His lips ache.

He thinks he hears a throaty chuckle, a hand ghosting over the small of his back. He doesn’t need to look though. He knows no one is there.

“It’s true,” Cody confirms. His voice doesn’t shake. It’s suspicious.

Is it suspicious?

You can’t control the way someone else mourns.

Cody is mourning the death of his brother. 

Anakin is mourning…everything. He is mourning Obi-Wan. He is mourning their future together, the promise of their next kiss, the next meal, the next whispered endearment. He is mourning his husband. He is mourning Anakin, because this is the death knell of Anakin Skywalker because Anakin Skywalker cannot live in a world without Obi-Wan, cannot even fathom that—

No. Vader blinks and focuses. He is not Anakin Skywalker. He is what remains. He does not mourn Kenobi. He just has to pretend to. 

Because somewhere in this building is the man who killed him. Who killed Obi-Wan and Anakin and stole all their future moments of happiness.

“It’s true,” Vader says in Anakin’s voice. “I—my husband has died.”