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master_obiwanTitle: Confessions: Galactic Conversations Redux
Prompt: FF100 #086. Choices
Character(s): Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker
Fandom: Star Wars
Word Count: 1,075
Rating: PG
Warnings Uh, spoilers for AOTC? Which, at this late date, means you must be new.
Disclaimer George Lucas owns Star Wars. Lucas is King. If he doesn't like me pilfering his characters, he can have his merchandise back.
Summary: Anakin follows up with Obi-Wan about their previous conversation.
Author's Notes: Continuing in my Confessions-verse.
-----
Anakin's summons wasn't wholly unexpected, but the coordinates for their meeting were; Obi-Wan found himself entering the Galactic Museum for the second time in as many weeks, but instead of the entrance to the Hyperdrive wing, his apprentice was pacing outside the hall leading to the Art Gallery.
"Anakin," he said by way of greeting. The younger man paused and offered a weak smile.
"Master," he replied with a bow. "You look better."
Obi-Wan couldn't help himself from reflexively tensing the muscles in his leg and arm to test their strength. He smiled. "As do you. I trust you're adjusting well?" This last said with a nod towards Anakin's prosthetic, which the Padawan was no longer trying very hard to conceal; he'd opted for a black glove to cover up the mechanical nature of the limb, and the choice seemed to put him more at ease with it.
Anakin held up his hand and flexed his fingers. "Well enough. We'll need to run more 'sabre drills before I'm happy with it, but otherwise, I'm good."
"I'll see about reserving some time in one of the training salles, then." Obi-Wan's gaze flitted between the sign overhead and his apprentice. "I take it your trip back to Naboo woke an appreciation for art?"
Anakin's cheeks flushed pink. "Er, not exactly." He turned and started into the exhibit, Obi-Wan falling into step next to him. "I wanted to tell you what happened on my mission. Since it's directly related to our last conversation, and for that you brought me to one of my favourite wings... I figured I'd return the favour."
"I guess I'll be the one listening, this time?" Obi-Wan flashed Anakin a grin, which was returned with a hint of mischief.
"I talked to her, about what you said. I hope you don't mind?" Obi-Wan shook his head and Anakin continued, relaxing a little, "She tried to be the voice of reason, before, but I didn't want to listen. She agreed with you, when I told her what you said about duty and regret."
Good girl, Obi-Wan thought. Out loud he said, "And were you willing to listen to her this time?"
"If you and I hadn't talked before, I wouldn't have. We were planning on marrying when we got back to Naboo, but we decided not to. Like you said, we don't know what's going to happen with this war, and she and I might not be able to spend as much time together as we'd like. We'd both begin to dislike our circumstances, and while I can't speak for her, I know I would certainly begin to resent the Jedi for taking, and keeping, me away from her."
"That is a very mature decision." Anakin's look of surprise at the comment had Obi-Wan do a double-take. "What did I say?"
"Nothing, it's just..." He trailed off, as if unsure he should say what was clearly on the tip of his tongue.
"You may as well say it," Obi-Wan encouraged him. "We've started on this journey of being honest with each other. Stopping now would be counter-productive."
Anakin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm just not used to that kind of support from you."
The comment took Obi-Wan off-guard. How could Anakin feel like he didn't have Obi-Wan's support? In their ten years together Obi-Wan had always championed Anakin to the Council and those who would have seen the young man dismissed from the Order for any number of reasons.
When Anakin stopped to look questioningly at his Master, Obi-Wan realized that he'd stopped walking.
"I'm sorry," Anakin said hastily. His usual response of shutting Obi-Wan out was slower in coming this time, and it ceased much more easily when Obi-Wan shook his head.
"No, there's nothing to be sorry for," Obi-Wan replied gently. "I'm just curious as to what you mean? You've always had my support..." He trailed off as Anakin dropped his gaze.
"You've always been there for me, yes," he began, "but that's not always the same thing. Like the beginning of this entire mission with protecting the Senator, for instance. I agree now, in retrospect, that I was out of line, and all because my feelings were getting in the way. But you could have waited until later to chastise me, or done it in a much less condescending way..."
...Oh...
"...And all of your heavy-handed reminders that I'm just your apprentice..."
...That...
"...And that I'm still young and inexperienced in a lot of things..."
...Huh. Obi-Wan felt the cold wash of realization course through him, and his chest felt tight with emotion. He opened his mouth to reply, but wasn't sure what to say so he shut it.
"There've been other times, too, but I figure the most recent examples would suffice to explain what I mean."
They stood in silence for a long moment, as Obi-Wan thought about Anakin's charges against him. It was true, he realized. He'd always fought so hard and been so quick to defend Anakin to others that he neglected to honour those arguments himself. Not all the time, mind you, but enough that Anakin had felt the need to speak up about it.
"I didn't realize..."
"No, you didn't. But now that it's out in the open..."
"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed with a nod. "I promise I will try and watch myself from now on. And if I slip up, I expect you to tell me."
Anakin held out his hand, and after a second Obi-Wan grasped it in a warrior's greeting.
"Deal," the Padawan declared. They held on for several moments before letting go and sharing a tentative smile.
"So," Obi-Wan said, more to avoid an awkward pause, "How did you leave things with the Senator?"
Anakin blushed a little. "We're going to remain friends. If our love is truly as strong as we think it is, then after the war is over we'll reassess things. And if we feel like we can choose to be together without sacrificing our duty, then we will review our options."
"Okay then." Obi-Wan wouldn't admit to anyone how relieved he was over this.
"Now, let's see if you can make this exhibit even more boring than the curators do," Anakin teased with a lop-sided grin.
"Oh, I'm sure I can," Obi-Wan replied with a chuckle. They fell into step once more and headed deeper into the gallery.
For once, Anakin actually paid attention.
Prompt: FF100 #086. Choices
Character(s): Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker
Fandom: Star Wars
Word Count: 1,075
Rating: PG
Warnings Uh, spoilers for AOTC? Which, at this late date, means you must be new.
Disclaimer George Lucas owns Star Wars. Lucas is King. If he doesn't like me pilfering his characters, he can have his merchandise back.
Summary: Anakin follows up with Obi-Wan about their previous conversation.
Author's Notes: Continuing in my Confessions-verse.
-----
Anakin's summons wasn't wholly unexpected, but the coordinates for their meeting were; Obi-Wan found himself entering the Galactic Museum for the second time in as many weeks, but instead of the entrance to the Hyperdrive wing, his apprentice was pacing outside the hall leading to the Art Gallery.
"Anakin," he said by way of greeting. The younger man paused and offered a weak smile.
"Master," he replied with a bow. "You look better."
Obi-Wan couldn't help himself from reflexively tensing the muscles in his leg and arm to test their strength. He smiled. "As do you. I trust you're adjusting well?" This last said with a nod towards Anakin's prosthetic, which the Padawan was no longer trying very hard to conceal; he'd opted for a black glove to cover up the mechanical nature of the limb, and the choice seemed to put him more at ease with it.
Anakin held up his hand and flexed his fingers. "Well enough. We'll need to run more 'sabre drills before I'm happy with it, but otherwise, I'm good."
"I'll see about reserving some time in one of the training salles, then." Obi-Wan's gaze flitted between the sign overhead and his apprentice. "I take it your trip back to Naboo woke an appreciation for art?"
Anakin's cheeks flushed pink. "Er, not exactly." He turned and started into the exhibit, Obi-Wan falling into step next to him. "I wanted to tell you what happened on my mission. Since it's directly related to our last conversation, and for that you brought me to one of my favourite wings... I figured I'd return the favour."
"I guess I'll be the one listening, this time?" Obi-Wan flashed Anakin a grin, which was returned with a hint of mischief.
"I talked to her, about what you said. I hope you don't mind?" Obi-Wan shook his head and Anakin continued, relaxing a little, "She tried to be the voice of reason, before, but I didn't want to listen. She agreed with you, when I told her what you said about duty and regret."
Good girl, Obi-Wan thought. Out loud he said, "And were you willing to listen to her this time?"
"If you and I hadn't talked before, I wouldn't have. We were planning on marrying when we got back to Naboo, but we decided not to. Like you said, we don't know what's going to happen with this war, and she and I might not be able to spend as much time together as we'd like. We'd both begin to dislike our circumstances, and while I can't speak for her, I know I would certainly begin to resent the Jedi for taking, and keeping, me away from her."
"That is a very mature decision." Anakin's look of surprise at the comment had Obi-Wan do a double-take. "What did I say?"
"Nothing, it's just..." He trailed off, as if unsure he should say what was clearly on the tip of his tongue.
"You may as well say it," Obi-Wan encouraged him. "We've started on this journey of being honest with each other. Stopping now would be counter-productive."
Anakin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm just not used to that kind of support from you."
The comment took Obi-Wan off-guard. How could Anakin feel like he didn't have Obi-Wan's support? In their ten years together Obi-Wan had always championed Anakin to the Council and those who would have seen the young man dismissed from the Order for any number of reasons.
When Anakin stopped to look questioningly at his Master, Obi-Wan realized that he'd stopped walking.
"I'm sorry," Anakin said hastily. His usual response of shutting Obi-Wan out was slower in coming this time, and it ceased much more easily when Obi-Wan shook his head.
"No, there's nothing to be sorry for," Obi-Wan replied gently. "I'm just curious as to what you mean? You've always had my support..." He trailed off as Anakin dropped his gaze.
"You've always been there for me, yes," he began, "but that's not always the same thing. Like the beginning of this entire mission with protecting the Senator, for instance. I agree now, in retrospect, that I was out of line, and all because my feelings were getting in the way. But you could have waited until later to chastise me, or done it in a much less condescending way..."
...Oh...
"...And all of your heavy-handed reminders that I'm just your apprentice..."
...That...
"...And that I'm still young and inexperienced in a lot of things..."
...Huh. Obi-Wan felt the cold wash of realization course through him, and his chest felt tight with emotion. He opened his mouth to reply, but wasn't sure what to say so he shut it.
"There've been other times, too, but I figure the most recent examples would suffice to explain what I mean."
They stood in silence for a long moment, as Obi-Wan thought about Anakin's charges against him. It was true, he realized. He'd always fought so hard and been so quick to defend Anakin to others that he neglected to honour those arguments himself. Not all the time, mind you, but enough that Anakin had felt the need to speak up about it.
"I didn't realize..."
"No, you didn't. But now that it's out in the open..."
"Yes," Obi-Wan agreed with a nod. "I promise I will try and watch myself from now on. And if I slip up, I expect you to tell me."
Anakin held out his hand, and after a second Obi-Wan grasped it in a warrior's greeting.
"Deal," the Padawan declared. They held on for several moments before letting go and sharing a tentative smile.
"So," Obi-Wan said, more to avoid an awkward pause, "How did you leave things with the Senator?"
Anakin blushed a little. "We're going to remain friends. If our love is truly as strong as we think it is, then after the war is over we'll reassess things. And if we feel like we can choose to be together without sacrificing our duty, then we will review our options."
"Okay then." Obi-Wan wouldn't admit to anyone how relieved he was over this.
"Now, let's see if you can make this exhibit even more boring than the curators do," Anakin teased with a lop-sided grin.
"Oh, I'm sure I can," Obi-Wan replied with a chuckle. They fell into step once more and headed deeper into the gallery.
For once, Anakin actually paid attention.
