#I also didn’t know what eyes to do for anakin.. I figure they change with the light | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thechaoticfanartist · 7 months

Text

i love it and i hate it (at the same time)

Whumptober Day 17: “Leave me alone.” - Grim has been left broken and shaken after she failed to expose Order 66. Anakin is concerned about her, but she has shut herself off from everyone - him most of all.

Gen

No Archive Warnings Apply

Characters: Grim Kennet (OC), Anakin Skywalker

Relationship: Grim Kennet & Anakin Skywalker

Word Count: 3,063

Grim sat in her room, knees pulled to her chest, ignoring how uncomfortable her body felt against her armored kneepads. She was staring at a holophoto across from her. A picture of her with Obi-Wan, Ahsoka, and Anakin. She didn’t have scars then, and both Obi-Wan and Anakin still wore armor. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at it, so much had changed since then.

Since that picture so early on in the war: Obi-Wan and Anakin had shed their armor, Ahsoka had left the Jedi, and Grim had gone through so much suffering and pain that she hardly recognized the version of herself in the photo. That girl had hope that she could change everything. That girl had been wrong.

In the past several days Grim had failed to save three people and then had failed the galaxy at large. She had been unable to save Master Tiplar, or Tup, and she had betrayed Fives to try and save him - and yet she had still watched him die, something she blamed herself for above all else. Her and Fives had been so close to exposing Order 66 and she had turned against him. Her reasons to protect him didn’t matter - and he would never know.

She shook with her grief. Fives had been her friend, and even though she didn’t get to hang out with the 501st as often as the 212th he had still been as if a brother. And she had betrayed him and it had led to his death. She hadn’t thought about Umbara in a long time - she tried not to - but thinking of Fives reminded her of that campaign. She should’ve been with Obi-Wan and the 212th, but she had followed Anakin and the 501st instead. So when Krell arrived Grim had stood up for them. She had gotten close to Fives and Rex on that mission.

And then she had betrayed Fives now, and he was dead because of it. He had died thinking she had used and betrayed him. Nothing she could do would ever change that. She couldn’t change the past, only the future, and now she doubted if even that was possible.

She sighed and stood up, walking over to her desk. By the photo there was also a piece of paper and a pencil. She looked down at it. It was a list of all the major events she wanted to keep an eye on - mostly to change but Maul’s return had still been on it anyways even though she knew from the start she would’ve been unable to prevent that. Next to the event would be the year she estimated them to take place under the BBY/ABY calendar. She had yet to figure out the Galactic Standard Calendar and even if she had it would be impossible to guess. Sometimes there would be a note beside it, if she had been around during the event to take a note. Too many of the events were crossed out without a note that she had changed it.

Now she crossed out another one. “Order 66 Discovered - 19 BBY”. She didn’t bother to leave a note with it. She didn’t want to remind herself how close she had been. She stopped herself from crying - she couldn’t have any tear stains on this paper.

She looked down to see what was next on the list. “Revenge of the Sith,” she gasped. That’s all that remained.

There was a knock on her door and she jumped. “Grim? It’s me, Anakin, I want to talk.”

Well if you speak of the devil…she mused silently. “Leave me alone,” she called.

“I’m worried about you.”

“There’s nothing for you to worry about,” she replied, refusing to open the door. Instead she set down her pencil and walked over to her bed. She sat down, and sighed. Maybe he did have a right to worry about her, he had been the one who was watching her when the whole thing started.

“Don’t lie to me.”

“What, like how Fives ‘lied’ to you about the Chancellor?” she snapped. She was still hurt by his comment about how Palpatine wasn’t capable of what Fives was claiming. She knew better. She had been tortured by him, and she had been scarred in more ways than one. Her hand came up to the left side of her face where she touched the scar there. “Because he wasn’t wrong, you know.”

“Then let’s talk about it,” he said. “Let me in.”

Grim sighed heavily and got up. She opened the door. “Fine, come on in, Skywalker.”

She stepped to the side and Anakin entered her room. She closed the door behind him and then hopped on her bed. “Well? You’re the one who wanted to talk.”

He took in her room for a moment. She had never let him in before. “Sorry,” he said. “Are you okay after everything?”

“I’m stressed, grieving, and I’m angry.”

“Angry? Why are you angry?”

“Fives and I were so close. We were so close to…”

“Close to what?”

“Exposing that plot he tried to warn you about.”

“The plot against the Jedi?” He asked. “Do you really think there is one?”

“I know there is,” she said stubbornly.

“And do you agree with him that the Chancellor is involved?” He asked, he could believe a plot against the Jedi, but not that Palpatine was involved.

“I know about that more than he did,” she replied, standing up. “I thought you wanted to check on how I was doing, not interrogate me about what Fives and I discovered.”

“Sorry Tiny,” he apologized. He saw the photo on her desk. “Are you sure you and Snips weren’t dating when that picture was taken?” He teased.

She blushed. “Skywalker! And no, I just had a crush on her then. You know we didn’t start dating until…” Well she wasn’t sure he remembered that mission.

“Until that strange planet, yeah I know,” he said. “How could I forget? My Padawan died, and then once I brought her back to life you made out with her.”

She rolled her eyes.

Anakin’s drifted to the list of events. “What’s this?” He asked.

“What’s what?”

He began to read aloud: “Mortis 21 or 20 BBY. Citadel Arc 21 or 20 BBY. Saved Echo and Master Piell? What?”

Grim looked uncomfortable. “Anakin-”

He kept reading: “Umbara 20 BBY. Saved clones and killed Krell? Zygerria 20 BBY. Deception Arc 20 BBY. I encountered Sidious. He knows about me- What? What do you mean you encountered Sidious, he knows what about you? Knows what about you? What is all of this?”

“I can explain-”

“No. There’s more.”

“Skywalker-”

He went on: “Darth Maul’s return 20 or 19 BBY. You knew he would return? Satine’s death 19 BBY. You knew about that too? Wrong Jedi Arc 19 BBY. Begun, unable to risk change - change what? Is that when Ahsoka left the Order? Did you know? Order 66 discovered 19 BBY. What’s Order 66?” His eyes fell on the last item on the list, and the only one that wasn’t crossed out. “Revenge of the Sith….” He looked at her with wide eyes that then quickly turned to anger. “Explain now,” he demanded.

“Anakin, I need you to calm down first,” she said. She looked nervous, she realized how bad this looked.

“I’ll calm down when you tell me what the hell this is.”

“It’s a list of events. Hence the time next to it.”

“BBY? Nobody in this galaxy uses that. What is it even supposed to stand for?”

“BBY stands for ‘before the Battle of Yavin’ an event that as you can see from the BBY has not happened yet. It is currently 19 BBY from my best guesses but really the only year I know on there for sure is Revenge of the Sith taking place in 19 BBY.”

He took a deep breath. “What even is the revenge of the Sith supposed to be referring to? And how do you know about all of this? How can you use a before event calendar if an event hasn’t taken place yet?”

She sighed deeply. “Sit down, Skywalker. I have something I need to tell you, something I should have told you a long time ago.”

Anakin turned the chair at Grim’s desk around and sat down, she sat down on her bed. “Alright. Start talking.”

“I’m from another universe. In my universe all of this is fictional. Movies, shows, comics, books, games, you name it. Before I ended up here, I was a big fan of the franchise. This era in particular. But things don’t go well for it. Things don’t go well at all. Ever since I appeared in this universe and became Master Kenobi’s Padawan I’ve been trying to change things.”

“And this list - it’s a list of events you want to change?”

She nodded. “Yes. Well, I couldn’t do anything about Maul’s return, but I considered it important enough to list.”

He nodded. “Okay then. So this ‘revenge of the Sith,’ that’s what’s next to change?”

“Yes, I would rather stop it all together, but some events can happen.”

“Some events? The revenge of the Sith isn’t just one thing?”

“Revenge of the Sith is the name of a movie. There’s too much that I want to stop in just that one film so I put it all together.”

“Revenge of the Sith, sounds awful.”

“Nah, Rise Of Skywalker is awful.”

“Pardon me?”

“Oh you meant the events, not the movie itself.”

“Which one is Rise Of Skywalker?” He asked, raising a brow.

She rolled her eyes. “One that doesn’t concern you, Skywalker.”

“Well my name is in the title-”

“Can we switch the focus back to Revenge of the Sith?”

“Right. So what happens in Revenge of the Sith?”

“Do you want a summary of the whole film or just what I want to stop? Actually that’s the whole film. Okay so to summarize: The Jedi Council starts getting more suspicious of the Chancellor, something you clearly disagree with. Well, you get a seat on the Council, and you’re asked to spy on him. At this same time it turns out that Padme is pregnant, and you start having visions of her dying in childbirth. Count Dooku was killed in like the first 15 minutes of the film, so now the focus is on Grievous-''

“I have so many questions already, but are you just glossing over Dooku’s death?”

“Yes, because it’s hardly the most important thing in the film. Well, I guess it does open up for the rest of the plot - anyways - so Palpatine tells you where Grievous is - and so you tell the Council, and the Council sends Obi-Wan. You tell Palpatine when Obi-Wan starts fighting Grievous, and then Palpatine reveals to you he’s a Sith Lord and wants to teach you how to use the dark side so you can save Padme from death-”

“The Chancellor couldn’t be a Sith Lord,” Anakin denied. “The Sith are evil, they’re selfish, Palpatine isn’t like that.”

Grim laughed. She pointed to the scar on her face. “You see this? You are aware of the fact that this is a lightsaber scar, yes?”

He looked perplexed. “Of course, you’re not the only one who has lightsaber scars - what does this have to do with Palpatine?”

“Because he’s the one who gave it to me. Palpatine is Sidious. You asked me what I meant about Sidious in that list of events, let me explain. Because the Chancellor is a Sith I got mad at Obi-Wan going through with the whole act of faking his death to protect him. So I decided I wanted to sabotage his mission by exposing Palpatine, but I got caught. We had a fight, and he tortured me. I was lucky to escape with my life.”

“You didn’t have that scar then.”

“But I got it the following week because I was foolish enough to fight him again.”

“I still have a hard time believing that Palpatine is a Sith.”

“It’s the truth. And I still haven’t gotten to the parts of the movie that I really want to stop.”

“Fine, what happens after I ‘find out’ Palpatine is a Sith?”

“You go and tell Master Windu, so then he and several others go to arrest him. You’re told to wait in the Council Chambers. Something you very much do not do. Instead you end up following after them - by the time you arrive it’s only Windu and Sidious. Windu’s almost defeated him but then you kill Windu-”

“I kill Master Windu? I would never-”

“Well you do, and then you become a Sith Lord-”

“I would never join the Dark Side!”

“Says the man who is the face of the Dark Side. Anyways, because of all of this the Jedi are marked as traitors and killed. Remember that plot Fives and I discovered? Yeah, that’s what he was talking about. The clones are forced to kill the Jedi while you willingly murder children…again.”

“You can’t judge me for things I haven’t done. That was future-movie me,” he said defensively, noting her glare.

“Does the word ‘again’ mean nothing to you, Skywalker? A quote from you: ‘I killed them all, not just the men, but the women and children too. They’re animals, and I slaughtered them like animals.’”

Anakin shifted uncomfortably. “I can explain-”

“I don’t need you to, I’ve seen the movie. You can’t make excuses for that, if it was just who killed your mother it would have been forgivable. The fact that it wasn’t, is what made me hesitate for so long. Knowing you would become a Sith Lord, and knowing that you’ve already started down that path.”

“What stopped you from telling the Jedi Council about this?”

“The Council knows about me being from another universe.”

“What about Sidious? Or….me?”

“They know I’ve fought Sidious - but I haven’t told them about him being Palpatine. I’ve never talked to the Council about your future, although they all know that I know about it.”

“Why haven’t you told them?”

“Fear. I’m afraid of what Sidious would do. As to about you - I’m not sure, I don’t know if it was fear or not, maybe I just wanted to think you could change.”

“You’ve told me now, so things can change.”

“How? What can we do? We don’t have proof and Palpatine can’t know that you know anything about him being a Sith Lord.”

“We’ll get proof.”

“Last time I tried that three people died.”

“Things will be different this time, I promise you Tiny.”

“So, you believe me?”

“Yes. I don’t want to believe you, but I do.”

She smiled, and then she got up and wrapped Anakin in a hug. “That means so much to me, Skywalker. Thank you.”

He grinned and hugged her back.

They let go of each other and Anakin stood up. “Alright, so, what’s the plan, Grim?”

She rubbed the back of her neck. “I don’t really have one.”

“You have all this information, an entire list of events, and have been in this universe for three years and you don’t have a plan?” He gawked.

“I’ve also been busy learning how to be a Jedi and fighting a war,” she replied defensively, crossing her arms. “I mean, I’ve had goals-”

“But no plans on how to achieve them,” he sighed.

“Oh like you’re any better, Skywalker.”

“I make plans!”

“Improvised ones.”

“You’re doing the same thing, you can’t complain about my improvised plans.”

She opened her mouth to argue but shut it again realizing she didn’t have a good comeback for that one. He was right, she wasn’t much better in that respect. “Alright, fine. Let’s just agree we both suck at planning things.”

He chuckled. “Okay, but let’s make a plan since we’re dealing with a Sith Lord.”

“Fair enough,” she replied. “I’m kind of in the dark for things right now because I forgot most of Season 6 except for Fives death and when Yoda will find out about how to become a Force Ghost, and I really only cared for the ending of Season 7 which takes place at the same time as Revenge Of The Sith.”

“I barely understood a word of that.”

“Long story short, all the events that have taken place during this war with the exception of the First Battle Of Geonosis take place during an animated TV show.”

“Wait, why didn’t the start of the war take place in the show?”

“Because it took place in a movie. Episode II: Attack Of The Clones.”

“Right,” he said. “Okay, so you have no idea what happens next in the show?”

“Not really. The next big thing I can think of happens at the end of this season - although I do remember there was an episode in season 6 where you and Master Kenobi fight Dooku.”

“That sounds like a big deal, why isn’t it on your list of events?”

“I don’t remember the context of it well enough so I couldn’t make a plan.”

“I thought you didn’t have any plans anyways?”

“Anyways Skywalker, let’s talk about how we can prove Palpabitch is a Sith Lord and stop you from becoming one. First of all: you can spy on him.”

“Did you not tell me that me spying on Palpatine is one of the events in a movie you want to stop?”

“Yes, but Palpatine knew that was going to happen, he won’t be expecting this. He’s been relying on my fear to not tell anyone about him, not to mention you’d be the last person he’d expect me to tell.”

“Fair point. So what, I’m the one getting proof now?”

“He knows that I know but he doesn’t know you do. That’s one advantage of all this. And don’t worry, I’m not going to make you do everything. I’ll focus on trying to get proof about Order 66 again, that way if Sidious does catch on he can’t catch us off guard.”

“That…might actually be a half-decent plan Tiny.”

“Why thank you, Anakin. When I come up with more I’ll let you know.”

Grim was filled with hope again, maybe with Anakin’s help she could stop Palpatine and Order 66. She had failed with Fives, but maybe she did have another chance.

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added or removed) : @padme--amygdala @soclonely @mrfandomwars @jgvfhl @starlonkedd @shinhatigf @togrutanduin @jedi-valjean @one-real-imonkey @traygaming @aiylasdrawings @keoxus @dykerebel @veiled-in-stars @sentineljedi @spicysucculentz @amelia-song-pond @it-was-rose @saturnsokas @thejediprincessqueenofnaboo @veradragonjedi @arrthurpendragon @shrinkthisviolet + @whumptober-archive

#whumptober2023 #no.17 #leave me alone #star wars #oc #star wars oc #fic #grim kennet #my oc #jedi oc #star wars the clone wars #my writing #anakin skywalker #grim and anakin #this fic got away from me whoops #don't worry i have a part two planned out

5 notes · View notes

prfctparis · 2 years

Text

little random facts with zari & the shatterpoint lineage in my star wars fix-it au

to start this off: zariza is anakin’s little sister – half-sister, technically, but rarely does anyone acknowledge the ‘half’ part

also i’m making this bc idk when i’m actually going to write this out as an actual story so y’all are getting this bullet point style for now

moving on! more background stuff: she isn’t in mos espa with anakin & shmi bc watto’s a dick who sold her when she was 3 or 4 with no warning whatsoever

but then she gets freed & depa billaba is envolved somehow (and maybe quinlan vos. i’m still figuring things out lmao) & they eventually go back to the jedi temple. this happens uhhh 3 or 4-ish months after TPM

anakin who lowkey previously resented every single council member bc they didn’t want him to join immediately loves depa for this and his 10 year old big bro brain is like “well i love you now” for saving his little sister

zari obviously adores depa as well

depa adores them back bc they’re adorable

mace “the skywalkers give me headaches” windu has a vague sense of foreboding bc of this and he doesn’t know why. it’s not bad, per se, but still

so rlly in the early years he doesn’t interact with neither zariza nor anakin a lot tbh but i mean after the kinda-murderous-droid-and-flesh-eating-plant incident they can’t fault him for doing so

only the high council members, obi-wan, my oc jedi master rheba, & the skysibs know what happened; everyone else only hears apparent rumors that are mostly wrong (but none of them know that)

when zari is having Bad Days as an initiate & nothing her crèchemates & master do helps, she finds depa and she braids zari’s hair to help her relax

depa is the reason zariza calls mace ‘window’

when he finally figures that out he isn’t surprised in the slightest

zari also has a connection to living things (v strong in the living force) but mostly plants

after catching each other in the temple’s kitchens that one night anakin was sick, mace keeps a closer eye on zariza & by proxi anakin

somehow it becomes a reoccurring thing over the years until she’s a padawan

speaking of, when zariza becomes rheba toome’s padawan it isn’t a surprise considering the togruta woman was dubbed as a ‘skywalker wrangler’

he simultaneously feels relieved and disappointed

the only one who notices this is yoda (& ok depa too)

and then when zariza and rheba go on a mission when she’s 14, things go Very Very Wrong Extremely Quickly and zari gets enslaved again and rheba dies trying to save her

fast forward through traumatic experiences and zariza gets back literally the day the clone wars starts

now she needs another master (after, y’know, debating on whether or not she actually wants to come back as a jedi padawan at the temple)

mace “skywalkers give me headaches but somehow along the way i’ve gone soft for the youngest one” windu eventually fills in that spot

anakin officially decided that, ok, maybe mace windu isn’t so bad

the Bad Day = hair braiding with depa changes to Bad Day = hair braiding with mace bc of the war

he’s mediocre at it but zari doesn’t mind. he’s not as bad as he could be at it bc he used to braid depa’s hair too

also she climbs through secret hallways, vents, etc at the temple (and in time, the vents in the venatorships). always has. it’s where she disappears to most of the time if she’s not somewhere deep within the room of a thousand fountains

one such secret passage leads to the high council’s room and when she exits the hidden door mace & depa are in the middle of the room talking about a meeting that just ended and the three stare at each other for a solid 5 seconds before zari just. backs up back into the secret passage way.

that happens during her padawan-ship under rheba but she’s been mapping the secret passage ways, the basement hallways, vents, even the fucking attic, ever since she was 7

the only other person who knows this is her best friend elvira who’s plo koon’s padawan bc i said so and also bc he deserves one

and then ezra years down the line. zari enables him in everything and caleb is Not Pleased

“get ur own padawan! ezra is my kid”

“hm no, i don’t think i will”

anakin, overhearing caleb ranting to mace and depa, master of sniffing out little sister antics thanks to zari and ahsoka: “you realize reacting like this just fuels her actions, right?”

caleb: “….well i do now”

anyway anakin tries to get zariza to give him the maps of the passages & all bc he wants to feel included but zariza is a little shit and lives for annoying her big brother so she refuses every single time

r2-d2 knows tho but just for emergencies

when anakin figures this out he tries to get it out of r2 but r2 shocks him instead

“you turned my droid against me!”

“…technically isn’t he padmé’s droid?”

“THATS BESIDES THE POINT-“

bc anakin’s a bad influence zari has known A Lot of huttese cuss words since she joined the order & accidentally teaches an 11 year old caleb dume three huttese cuss words within an hour when depa & mace’s battalions team up during the war

the adults aren’t pleased

zari and caleb are awkward with each other for 3 whole minutes the first time they meet & then they get along like a house on fire

ponds and grey try to keep an eye on them when their battalions team up for that exact reason but somehow they always lose sight of them within 30 minutes

zari thinks of caleb as a little brother

with that said the jedi are found family and you can pry that headcanon from my cold dead hands

she 1000% embarrasses him when she first meets hera

and that’s all for now or else this’ll get way too long

#star wars au #shatterpoint lineage #star wars oc #mace windu #depa billaba #oc: zariza #take the fear that i don’t need #i actually made this post months ago #it’s just been collecting dust in my drafts so i finally decided to post it #and added some things #lowkey i’m only posting this bc i’m bored lol

7 notes · View notes

carry-on-every-neverland-magic · 2 years

Text

“There you are,” Obi-Wan called out.

Right before he spoke, he’d spotted Anakin by himself but stayed quiet. The Jedi refectory was nearly empty, so much so that Anakin must have figured no one would notice if he changed the configuration of the holodisplays from a rolling list of schedules and menus to a podrace from some remote world. He waited until Anakin finished and settled into his seat, a simple vegetable soup on the tray in front of him, and gave his former apprentice several seconds to enjoy his setup before barging in.

In return, Obi-Wan used the time to consider the scene in front of him: Anakin trying to bend rules to serve his personal desires. Here, it was minor. Not that long ago, it was far more drastic, and a single memory flashed, summing up Obi-Wan’s worries in a few words: “You will be expelled from the Jedi Order!”

He’d screamed it at Anakin as wind whipped into their eyes, their gunship soaring over Geonosis. In return, Anakin screamed right back. “I don’t care!”

But that was the problem. Anakin did care. He cared about so many things—including podracing—that Obi-Wan felt like he was often the safety lock on Anakin’s throttle, making sure Anakin kept from going so fast that he’d spiral out of control. Yet now they were peers rather than Master and apprentice, a war severing that protective tether and letting Anakin drift free among his instincts and his passion.

“Master,” Anakin said, standing up so fast that his knees banged the table, the soup in his bowl sloshing in reaction. Obi-Wan noticed the subtle gesture Anakin made behind his back, cutting power to the holodisplay with the flip of a finger. “I was just catching up on the Cato Neimoidia news and—”

“It’s all right,” Obi-Wan said, waving his hand as if he was doing a mind trick, though in this case it simply calmed the soup from spilling farther out. “Perhaps peace could be negotiated if we all watched sports and drank ale together. Actually, I’ve come to talk with you about your next assignment tomorrow.”

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan, the smallest twist forming on his mouth before it reset to neutral. “Tomorrow? I thought I was shipping out in two days to oversee aid delivery to Langston.”

A very strategic response formulated in Obi-Wan’s mind. “Oh, you still are. Tomorrow’s is local.” His head tilted ever so slightly, measuring Anakin’s response. “Shouldn’t interfere with anything you have planned.”

“Ah. I mean,” Anakin started before looking over at where the refectory’s holographic projection had been. “We’re meeting with the chancellor tomorrow. The newest Jedi Knights, that is. I didn’t want to miss it.”

“Anakin, you can catch a feed of podrace tournaments on any shuttle or transport. If you know how to do it.” Obi-Wan spoke with specific precision, something equally designed to disarm while also dig a little deeper. He paused, letting Anakin take a sip of soup before moving on to a new topic, something just as tactical. “Oh, did I tell you I ran into Senator Amidala at the Temple yesterday? It sounds like she and a few other senators agree with the Jedi using the opportunity to speak to Cato Neimoidia. I haven’t seen her since Geonosis, but she looks no worse for wear.”

Anakin stood up again, a careful move that avoided any table collisions this time. Then he knelt back to the access panel of the holoprojector, his face completely hidden. “If you run into her again, tell her I say hello. One second,” he said, tinkering with the configuration. “Can’t let anyone know I was watching podracing. So, I hear you’re off to Cato Neimoidia tomorrow?”

“Word travels fast.”

“You know I should be there with you.” Obi-Wan had heard variations on that statement before, and in some cases it came with the intimation that Anakin considered himself more powerful, more capable, the obvious solution. In this case, though, his voice, his posture, the concern on his face, all came across as authentic, an unexpected maturity. What an interesting change in attitude.

“I would much rather have that. But we must abide by Count Dooku’s caveats. He has smartly backed the Jedi into a corner. It must be me alone.” Anakin’s discomfort at the idea painted his entire expression, a stony silence, as if the young man tried to will his way into the situation. “Even though I’m sure the Trade Federation would love to hear your take on the galaxy’s best podracers. Perhaps you could even inform them of your favorite underdogs,” he said, allowing a smirk to come through.

Anakin returned the smile, building a bridge between the two, perhaps even a silent acknowledgment of their equal status. At the very least, it cracked the tension. “I wish,” he started before his voice trailed off. Another surge of emotion came, like a wave but rather than a complex mix of feelings, Obi-Wan sensed . . . Was that regret?

“I wish Master Qui-Gon could see us now.” Anakin often left Obi-Wan flustered, sometimes with his bravado, sometimes with his stubbornness, sometimes with the way that bravado and stubbornness always pulled off the impossible. But this came from sheer surprise.

Anakin barely mentioned Qui-Gon to Obi-Wan. How much did the slain Jedi Master occupy his thoughts? “I’m sorry, Master, I shouldn’t have—”

“He would be proud of you,” Obi-Wan said, a pure sincerity in his voice. Qui-Gon, with such belief that Anakin was the Chosen One—whether or not that was true, it was hard to argue with Anakin’s accomplishments. “His faith would be rewarded.”

They sat in silence for several seconds, the only sound that of cutlery and plates from far across the dining hall, both of them now silent. Finally, Anakin pushed things forward. As he always did. “I really should fly out to Cato Neimoidia. As backup. I don’t trust Dooku. Or the Trade Federation. Or Neimoidians in general, for that matter.”

“That’s not within the parameters of the mission, unfortunately.”

Anakin gave a quiet laugh, then shook his head. “Wait a minute. Are you telling me that Jedi Knights really do still follow all the rules? We thought that was something you told the Padawans to keep us in line.”

“Indeed. In fact, I think you’ll find that life as a Jedi Knight is much easier when you stick to the rules. Improvising tends to only invite trouble. Speaking of which—” Obi-Wan brightened, and suddenly he found himself trying to contain the urge to chuckle. “You should have a plan for tomorrow.”

“What is this mystery assignment?”

“It is something far more challenging, far more emotionally taxing than a simple negotiation, but it is a rite of passage, something notched on the belt of every Jedi.” Anakin’s face crinkled in curiosity, and Obi-Wan knew he had his young companion exactly where he wanted him. “You must meet with the younglings and pass on your wisdom.”

Anakin’s laugh echoed through the nearly empty hall, enough that it caught the attention of the group of Padawans in the far corner. “Okay, seriously, what’s the assignment?”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I am being completely serious with you.”

Anakin’s eyes grew wide and he began to slowly shake his head. “No. You can’t be.”

“I’m afraid I am. And this can’t just be about lightsaber techniques or physical manipulation of the Force. You must teach them the wisdom you’ve gathered on your journey from Padawan to the trials. And—” Obi-Wan bit his lip to hold in his laughter. “—you must answer their questions. All of them.” -Excerpt from ‘Brotherhood’ by Mike Chen

“The prequel era is my favorite time period in Star Wars and the Clone Wars series may be my favorite piece of Star Wars media,” Chen told Polygon. “So to document the transition between Anakin and Obi-Wan as prickly master/apprentice to the brotherly team you see in the Clone Wars movie, it makes Brotherhood a true dream project.”

#obikin #obi wan kenobi #anakin skywalker #the clone wars #IM SOBBING #I may need to buy this now asdfghjk #fuck these two are so unbearable tragic it hurts my entire soul #THEY LOVED EACH OTHER I AM NOT OKAY

9 notes · View notes

bloatedandalone04 · 6 months

Text

Wrapped Around Your Finger - Part 0.2

Series Masterlist | Original Fic

➪in which anakin returns home from the band meeting with some exciting information about his future while you also receive some news regarding your own.

PSA: strongly suggested to read the warnings before proceeding.

WC; 5.6k | Do not repost this anywhere, reblogs are fine ♡

It was nearing eight when Anakin finally returned home. You look up at him from your place on the new couch when he enters the living room, a small smile on your lips when he meets your eye. “Y/n,” he rasped as he braced his hands on either side of the doorframe. “That was a lot longer than I expected it to be. I’m sorry.”

Shrugging, you place your phone next to you on the couch and gesture for him to come over. “It’s alright, I figured it must be something important if your manager was keeping you,”

He walks further into the room and eyes the dark velvet couch. “When did this come?”

“A few hours after you left,” you answer as he sits next to you. “It came with a coffee and side table, but the delivery guys couldn’t put them together for me. I told them my boyfriend would.” You give him a teasing grin and he shakes his head.

“Yeah, alright,” he mumbles and leans back. “I’ll have one of the guys come over tomorrow or something and we’ll put together all the new furniture.”

You nod and move closer to him. “Okay,” you trace your fingers up and down his arm that didn’t have any tattoos at all and debate on whether or not you should tell him that you ended up sending in an application to that school in London. If you told him now then didn’t get in, you’d be embarrassed, but then again, you knew he would never let you feel embarrassed about anything, so what the hell. “I sent an application in for that program.”

Anakin lifts his head and looks over at you. “For the one in London?” He asks and you nod. He gives you a somewhat forced smile and reaches over to lace his fingers with yours. “That’s great, baby. You’ll get accepted, you’re too smart not to.”

You grin and press a kiss to the back of his hand. “Still down for coming with me?” He stiffened a bit then tried to play it off, but you caught onto it. “What? Did you change your mind?”

He shakes his head. “No, it’s not that. London would be so fucking fun to go to with you, but I’m not sure I’d actually be able to,”

You furrow your brows. “Why not?”

He looks conflicted for a second before finally meeting your eyes as he sits up straight. “Helena says we’ve been given a few extra locations to perform at. They’ve been added to the tour, basically,”

You give him a confused look. “But the tour is over. It has been for months,”

“I know, but it’s been extended as of the end of this month,” he says and you break eye contact in order to stare at the floor in slight shock.

“They can do that?”

“I guess so,” he mumbled. “She also wants us to record more songs as soon as we’ve got a draft ready. Something about needing to keep the hype alive and to get people excited for the new tour locations.”

You nod slowly and turn back to face him, giving him a weary expression. “So, what does that mean? You’re going back on tour?”

Anakin shrugs sadly. “Yeah, in a few weeks,” he confirms and runs his thumb over your knuckles. “But I don’t want this to affect your decision of going to that school, okay? I want to go with you, and I want you to come with me, but I also want you to do this for yourself. You’ve worked too hard to not give it a try.”

A silence passes over the two of you for a few seconds as you try to process everything.

Anakin was going on tour again, and you had just applied for the writing program. He wanted you to go with him, but he also wanted you to go to London. The course would only be a few months, so you wouldn’t be away from him for too long, but it still didn’t make it any easier.

“I might not even get in,” you remind him and move so you’re pressed against his side. “And I want to go with you. Who else will silently cheer you on from backstage?”

He pulls you tight against him and kisses the side of your head. “Hopefully no one,” he says. “Your spot backstage is just that, yours. It’s no one else’s….even if you can’t come with me this time.”

You hum and fist his shirt in your hand. “We’ll just have to see what happens,”

After you and Anakin spend the rest of the night on the couch and in each other’s arms, you end up heading to bed at one in the morning. It was nearing ten when you pulled yourself out of the empty bed and made your way down the hall, pausing as you passed by the living room.

Anakin is busy hooking up the TV as you lean against the doorframe, eyeing his shirtless torso. “Wow, aren’t you a sight for sore eyes,” you tease and watch as he turns to look over at you.

“Wow, look who got up after me for once,” he teased back as he hooked up the HDMI cord.

“I know, I’m surprised, too,” you say and push off the frame. “Why are you up so early, anyway?”

Anakin plugs the TV cord into the wall before pulling you into his side and pressing a kiss to your lips. “Vin called me a while ago,” he answered. “I answered it before it woke you up, too, and I couldn’t fall asleep after that. Figured I’d get a start on hooking this up.”

He gestured to the TV and you nodded, nuzzling closer to him. “Is he coming over later?”

“Yeah, him and Theo,” he said. “We’re going to write a bit after putting together the coffee table and your shelf, that was the deal I made with them.”

You shake your head and laugh. “Now that is not surprising,”

He laughs and sets the cord down to give you his full attention. “Hey, have you heard back from that program yet? Did you check your email for any follow ups?”

Your smile drops a bit as you shake your head. “No,” you answer.

Anakin gives you a small grin as he presses a kiss to your temple. “I bet you had the best application that school has ever seen,” he hypes you up and it helps more than he probably knew. You were smiling by the time he added, “You’ll hear back soon, I’m sure, and with good news.”

You grin and he kisses you again, much deeper than the last one. It made it hard to pull away from, but you somehow managed to so you could go make something to eat.

As you wait for the stove to heat up so you can make pancakes, you go on Instagram and immediately let out a scream at the first post that showed up in your feed. At the sound of your scream, Anakin practically sprints into the kitchen and looks around as if scanning the room for any sign of immediate danger. “What? What’s wrong?”

You look up at him and meet his eye as you say, “You, you’re what’s wrong,”

Anakin gives you a confused look as he takes your phone from you when you shoved it into his hand. He hesitantly takes his eyes off you in order to find out what made you scream like that, and almost immediately felt his face heat up at what he was met with on your phone. “I…oh,”

“When the fuck did you get those taken? And why the fuck didn’t you give me a warning so I could’ve mentally prepared myself to see that?”

Anakin’s lips sport an embarrassed smile as he hands your phone back to you. “I didn’t realize that they were posting those today,” he says, referring to the photos from the shoot he did during his last week on tour. He was called in for a quick interview with SLACKERS Magazine and had a couple pictures taken to go with the interview, but he completely forgot about it until now.

It was done on the day you were stuck in the bus with food poisoning, so you really had no idea he had even done this, and he probably should have given you a heads up, but he genuinely just forgot. The photo that was on the cover was one of him shirtless and covered in mud, and he was surprised that he actually had a lot of fun taking those pictures. That was his first time on a photoshoot set, and he knew it wouldn’t be his last.

“You didn’t realize? What the fuck, Ani! You look hot,” you gushed over him as you scrolled through the pictures again. “You really need to make an Instagram account so you can post these. Imagine all the likes you’d get.”

He instantly shot that idea down. “Not a chance,”

“Oh, come on, Ani, it’s fun! You can read all the sappy captions I’ve written about you over the past four years,” you teased and he just laughed.

“That’s tempting,” he shook his head with a smile and pressed a quick kiss to your mouth. “I’ll think about it.”

You playfully roll your eyes and push on his chest. “Don’t be such an old man and get Instagram,”

He softly glared at you. “I said I’d think about it,” he called out as he left the kitchen in order to get the TV working before the guys came over.

“Quit being such an old man and make an account,” Vinny mumbled as he scribbled down a potential lyric onto a page of the notebook in front of him.

Anakin sits up straight, pausing the flicking of his pencil as he looks over at his friend. “You’re the second person that called me an old man today,” he says and ignores the quiet laugh that leaves Theo from his spot on the ottoman. “Y/n called me that, too.”

Vinny shrugged, looking up from the notebook. “She’s not wrong, man,” he replied and tossed the book aside so he could lean back on the couch. “You’re missing out, that’s all. Our band’s account has over three million followers now, and I bet you had no idea.”

Anakin’s eyes widen in shock as he sets his own notebook down. “Seriously? Three million?” He asks and both Vinny and Theo nod at him. “Y/n updates me sometimes, but we were barely at two million the last time she told me.”

Vinny shrugged again and leaned over to sip on his beer. “That was probably before we released Sugar,” he thought out loud. “That song did really well and gave us a lot of exposure on TikTok.”

Smirking, Anakin looks away before he slipped up and told the guys what inspired him to write that song - as if the lyrics weren’t enough of a giveaway. A month before moving to this apartment, Anakin went down on you in the middle of packing and was instantly hit with a song idea after he got you off. He even postponed your offer of a round two in order to scribble out a draft of the song.

He refined it a week later and got the guys to add whatever they wanted to it, and a few weeks after that it was released.

The song was very obviously about going down on a girl, more specifically, you, and he supposed that was enough to get them trending on that dumb app once again.

“We should add Sugar to the setlist,” Theo suggested as he strummed the strings on his bass.

Anakin perked up at that as he dropped the book onto the coffee table he and Vinny put together an hour or so ago and pulled out his phone. “That’s a great idea,” he agreed and knew that would probably be his new favorite song to perform live. He scrolled through the app store and muttered something under his breath before installing Instagram.

After messing around with the app for a bit, he had made his username ‘anakin_skywalker’ and uploaded a photo you took of him when he was looking out the window of the tour bus a few months back as his profile picture. He browsed through his gallery before settling on a selfie of the two of you he took on the last day of tour. You were both smiling and squinting at the camera as you tried to block the sun from your eyes, and it was probably one of his favorite photos of you and him.

He made that picture his first post with the caption being a simple red heart.

Anakin was still shocked to see that the band’s account did, in fact, have over three million followers when he followed it himself, as well as Vinny, Theo and you. Once he’s done stalking your account and scrolling through all the photos of you he had never seen before, he sets his phone down and that is when he hears the door to the bedroom open and the sound of fast paced footsteps coming down the hall.

“Anakin! You made an account!” You cheer as you throw yourself onto his lap. “I knew you’d give in.”

He rolled his eyes and wrapped his arms around your waist. “Not really, I just wanted to see if we really did hit three million followers. Thanks for telling me, by the way,”

“Oh, whatever,” you scoffed and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Your first post is us! I love that picture.”

Anakin grinned down at you. “Me too, princess,” he kissed you quickly. “But I’m a bit annoyed that I had to put a stupid underscore in my username. Seriously, who the fuck took ‘anakinskywalker’ when that’s literally the most unique name ever?”

“Fan account, probably,” Vinny answered before waving at you. “Hey, Y/n. Will we be blessed to have you join us on tour again?”

You tense a bit in Anakin’s arms, something you’re sure he noticed but didn’t say anything about, thankfully. “Maybe. I applied for this program thing that is set around the same time the tour starts,”

“Ah,” Vinny nods and smiles at you. “That’s cool.”

“It’s very cool,” Anakin corrects him as he slides one hand up to caress the back of your head. “My girl’s the smartest one out of all of us combined.”

Theo tilts the neck of his beer bottle in your direction. “Now that’s very true,” he smiled at you and you shook your head, wrapping one arm around your boyfriend’s shoulders.

“You think too highly of me, all of you,” you brush off their words and stand up. Anakin reluctantly lets you go and leans back against the couch, eyeing the small tattoo on the side of your wrist as you look at your phone. “Wow, Ani, you’ve already got nineteen thousand followers.”

“Fuck,” he laughed and looked at your screen when you showed him. “Is it too late to delete it now?”

“Yes,” you confirm and lean down to place a chaste kiss to his mouth. “So don’t bother.”

Anakin tries to pull you back onto his lap, but you just grin at him before pulling away completely and shoving your phone in your pocket.

“I’ll leave you guys to continue writing and go get dinner,” you say and begin to back out of the room “Any requests?”

“Get Chinese food,” Theo suggests, adding a quick “Please” once he saw the glare Anakin gave him at his demanding words to you.

You laugh and lightly slap Anakin’s shoulder, instantly making his glare soften. “Be nice, it’s okay,” you murmur. “Chinese food it is. I’ll be back soon.”

Anakin watched your retreating form until you disappeared around the corner and left through the door. When he turned back to the guys, he found them smirking at him. “Dude, you are so whipped,” Vinny laughed as he picked up his notebook.

Anakin rolled his eyes. “As if I wasn’t already aware of that,”

“How will you make it without her if she does this program thing?” Theo asks, making Anakin look over at the blond.

He really hadn’t thought about it, simply because he didn’t want to imagine going on tour without you there to cheer him on from backstage. He wanted you to do this program and wanted you to make a career out of it, but he also wanted you with him every day.

For nearly five years he hadn’t spent longer than a week away from you, and that was including all the times he had to sneak you into his parents house back when you were both seventeen.

He couldn’t imagine spending more than a couple months without you. In fact, he was sure he physically couldn’t be away from you for that long. “I don’t know,” he answered as honestly as he could, not wanting to come off as even more whipped for you. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”

The guys just nod and go back to writing lyrics and notes, leaving Anakin to get lost inside his own head as he thought about the very real possibility of having to be without you in a few weeks.

A week goes by and Anakin has yet to see what the hype about Instagram is.

He had over five hundred thousand followers now and still only one post, and even that had over three hundred thousand likes. He really only went on it to do exactly what you knew he would, which is to read your sappy but very romantic captions about him.

Your latest one was probably his favorite so far, and it was a harsh dig at him.

Y/nY/l/n: my 21 year old bf finally got ig and already has more followers than me and i’ve been here for seven years. seven. years. let that sink in, show off. you can delete it now.

The picture was one of you and him on the couch, both your tongues sticking out and hazy looks in your eyes.

He had to laugh because you both looked high, despite neither of you ever touching a drug a day in your lives. Alcohol, on the other hand…well that’s a different story.

“Maybe making an Instagram account was a bad idea,” Vinny commented as he looked over at Anakin from his place on the chair. “The dude won’t stop stalking his girlfriend’s account even though he lives with her.”

“What did you expect? More than half our songs are about Y/n,” Theo added and Anakin just shook his head and pocketed his phone.

“You’d be the same way if you landed yourselves a girl like her,” was all he said as he sat up in his own chair.

“Hey, Clara is amazing, too,” Vinny defended his girlfriend, but there was no doubting that yours and Anakin’s relationship is a lot stronger than his and Clara’s. “And Theo is just a lost cause.”

Theo stuck his middle finger up as the two other guys laughed. “Thanks, asshole,” he mumbled as he looked back down at his phone.

Vinny narrowed his eyes. “You’ve been looking at that all morning, man,” he points out. “Is everything okay?”

Anakin, too, noticed Theo’s recent phone obsession, but isn’t as vocal as Vinny is about that kind of thing, clearly. Vinny had no problem calling people out, and Anakin had to appreciate it to an extent, because he had been called out by him more times than he could count on one hand. It saved his ass many times when he got into disagreements with you and Vinny was the one who told him he needed to apologize.

Theo sighed and placed his phone on the coffee table. “It’s my mom,” he said as he crossed his arms. “She’s been feeling really sick lately and my sister and I are getting pretty worried about her.”

“Damn,” Vinny said under his breath, suddenly feeling bad about calling out his friend now.

“Is she okay? Should you be going back on tour right now with her feeling sick?” Anakin asked as he leaned over and braced his elbows on his knees.

“She’s just not well, man,” Theo shrugged. “I told her about the tour and she said that I should go have fun and that Mary can look after her while I’m gone.”

Anakin nods and shares a look with Vinny. “We can ask Helena if we can push the tour back a few more months,” Vinny offers, but Theo just shook his head.

“No, it’s alright,” he waved his bandmates off. “I want to go back on tour. It’ll take my mind off it.”

“Okay,” Anakin said and leaned back in the chair. “Just keep us updated.”

Theo nodded as he asked, “Where is Helena, anyway?”

Vinny shrugged and leaned back. “She’s usually on time, so whatever is keeping her must be important,”

As if on cue, the door to the lounge opens and in walks their manager, done up in dress pants and a blouse. Her heels are loud against the floor as she makes her way over to them, a smile on her painted red lips and a folder in her hand. “Sorry, boys,” she apologizes as she sits next to Theo around the coffee table. “Traffic is no joke in this part of the city.”

Anakin laughs in agreement as he, too, got held up earlier this morning but still managed to make it to the studio by ten in the morning. “No worries, we get it,”

She gives him a grateful smile as she places her papers onto the table and leans over to scatter them around. “Okay, so you all know that you’re the first band I’ve ever managed, so we’re really learning how to do this together,” she starts, looking up at the three of them. “I was thinking that we need to do something to promote the shows that have been added. The tour ended a couple months ago, and I’m sorry to say this, but Sugar can only get us so far. It was a hit, yeah, but the fans need more. I’m really going to need you guys in the studio and making more music than you have so far. If you want to keep doing this for many years to come, we need more songs out by the time the next tour comes around.”

The thought of not singing or making music in the future was one Anakin didn’t want to think about, so he quickly pushed back his witty remarks and sat up even straighter, giving Helena his full attention as she began to go over a possible option for promo.

You were at home alone and bored as Anakin had been whisked away to yet another band meeting.

You were organizing your books when your phone went off from its place on the desk. Standing up from your crouched position and pushing away the box of hard covers, you grab your phone and click on the notification. It brought you to your email and your eyes widened a bit when you read the subject.

Y/n, Congratulations!

Your hand was shaking a bit as you clicked on the email and read the first sentence.

Dear Y/n,

We are thrilled to congratulate you on your acceptance into the Writing Program here at the Dun-Walsh Academy.

You nearly dropped your phone as you read through the email about ten times before it really hit you.

You did it. You got accepted. You did it.

You squeal a bit and jump up and down on the spot while hugging your phone to your chest, wishing that Anakin would hurry up and come home so you could share the news with him.

Anakin.

You stopped jumping instantly as you remembered that he is going on tour again in a couple of weeks and wouldn’t be able to go with you to London like he wanted to.

“Shit,” you curse to yourself as you read the email again.

You wanted to attend this school a lot more than you initially thought, but you also didn’t want to go without Anakin. You wanted to go on tour with him again and be his quiet cheerleader backstage.

“Fuck,” you curse again and walk out of the shared office and into the living room. Sitting down on the couch and picking at your nails, you debate your options.

One; go to London, take the program and miss out on Anakin’s tour.

Or,

Two; bail on the program and go on tour with him.

You were missing out on something either way.

There will be other writing opportunities, right?

As awful as it sounds, you would rather choose Anakin over your own future, and that was a scary thought, but it was true.

You were sitting there for about fifteen minutes before the door swung open and the sound of footsteps was heard. “Baby?” Anakin called out and you sat up a bit and set your phone aside.

“In the living room,” you called back and watched as your boyfriend entered the room not even a second later. “Hi.”

“Hey, pretty girl,” he said back as he leaned down to place a deep kiss to your mouth. He caressed your face as he pulled you back in for another quick peck before grinning down at you. “I missed you.”

“I missed you,”

He smiled again and moved to sit next to you. “What’d you get up to today?”

You shrugged and picked up your phone again. “Nothing too exciting,” you answer. “Just sorted through a few more boxes.”

Anakin nodded and ran the tips of his fingers along the skin of your bare thigh. Your shorts did nothing to cover your legs from his intense gaze, and you swallow harshly as he mumbles a “That’s good,” in his deep, raspy voice. He leaned in to kiss you again, a much deeper one than before, and you moan quietly against his mouth. He hummed as he pulled away, “I love that sound.”

“Some would say you love it so much that you would put it in a song,” you teased, referring to the fact that he did include a recording of your moan in a song.

He shrugged, smirking at you as he said, “The world needed to hear how hot you sound in bed,”

“Mhm, sure,”

Anakin shrugged again before dropping the smirk a bit and moving to hold your hand in his. “Something’s on your mind,” he commented, lacing your fingers together and resting your joined hands on his thigh. “What is it?”

You knew he would be able to read you like an open book as soon as he returned home, so you didn’t bother hiding how you were feeling from him. “I heard back from that school,” you say and watch as he nods, urging you to continue. “I got accepted.”

Anakin stays still as his eyes flicker all over your face. His hand tightened around yours just slightly as he exhaled through his nose before smiling over at you. “I knew you would,” he brought your hand up to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “I’m so proud of you.”

Unable to stop yourself, you move so you’re straddling him and his hands are on your hips instantly. “But you’re going back on tour,” you point out. “You can’t come with me to London.”

Anakin gives you a forced smile. “We’ll figure it out,” he assured you, but it didn’t help much. “Yeah, I’m going on tour, but that’s my future. This is yours.”

You bite down on your lip as you process his words. “But we’ve never been away from each other for that long,” you nearly whisper. “Not since we were in high school.”

“It’s okay, baby,” he promised, kissing your forehead. “We’ll be fine, we always are. It’s only a few months, and I think Helena said that one of the new tour locations is in London, so you can come see that one. I’ll need my biggest fan at one of the shows, at least.”

You nod and wrap your arms around his shoulders. “I’ll give it up for you,” you murmured. “You know that.”

“I know you would,” he responds and pulls you against his chest. “And I love you for that, but I can’t hold you back from making a potential career out of this. I couldn’t, not after you’ve been so supportive of me and the band.”

You sigh and rest your head on his shoulder. “We have two weeks until the tour,” you inform him. “Two weeks until I need to be in London.”

Anakin pulled you even closer, inhaling your sweet vanilla scent he knew he would be missing for months. “Then we better start making up for lost time now,”

And that was how you found yourself completely exposed to his lust filled eyes as you break in the new couch by fucking him on it.

Your clothing was strewn around the room and some of it hung off the couch as you sunk down on him at a fast pace. You were both pent up and anxious about having to spend three months away from one another, and you were putting that frustration into the way you fucked yourself onto him. “I love you, Ani,” you promised as you grind your hips against his.

Anakin tilted his head so it was against the backrest of the couch, his firm grip on your waist helping you move on him. “I love you, too,” he said under his breath, sliding one hand to the front of your body so his thumb can rub harsh circles onto your clit. “I’m so fucking proud of you, princess. I always am.”

You sigh as you lean down to connect your lips in a kiss. “You feel so good, Ani,” you whispered, brushing your lips against his as you spoke. “Gonna make me come.”

“I want you to, baby,” he rasped, pinching your clit in a way that left you shaking against him. “I want it all over me.”

Your body shook a bit as your orgasm ripped through you, the rolling of your hips stalling as you cried out against his mouth. “Fuck, Ani, fuck,” you whine as he grips your waist to be able to thrust up into you.

“That’s my girl,” he murmured as he kissed all over your neck, the relentless clench of your walls making his vision blur a bit. “My good girl.”

His sweet praises make you whimper and cling to him tightly. “Anakin, please,” you begged. You were so sensitive, but you also needed to feel him fill you up because you would be missing out on the feeling of him for months.

You seriously couldn’t believe you were considering leaving him for three months. That’s a whole quarter of a year. Your five year anniversary is coming up next month, are you really willing to spend your half a decade milestone away from him?

“Please…what?” He teased, but his voice wasn’t mocking at all. “What, pretty girl? What do you need?”

Your body shook as you tried your best to hold yourself up. “I need you,” you whispered and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, pulling his body right up against yours. “Need it.”

“Yeah? You need it?” He asked, sliding his hands up your back and pulling you roughly down against him. His lips press against yours with every fuck of his hips and he filled you so well, you didn’t think you could ever get enough of him. “Need me to fill you up? Keep you nice and full for when those London boys think they have a chance with you?”

“God, Anakin,” you moan, rarely ever getting to see his jealous side come out. He never had a reason to get jealous as yours and his relationship was pretty obvious to anyone with eyes, so no one ever tried anything with either of you. Sure, people looked, but that was as far as it went. “Do it.”

And Anakin was never one to deny your wishes.

With a couple more thrusts he was spilling himself deep within your wet walls and painting you white. “There you go, princess,” he grunts. “Take it.”

You moan breathlessly and release your tight grip on him, softly running your hands through his hair. “Fuck,”

Anakin laughs quietly, wrapping his arms around you and gently rubbing your hips in his large hands. “We’re going to have to do that non-stop until we’re both satisfied enough to be able to not have sex for three months,”

You smile at him, brushing your nose against his as you say, “I’ll come visit whenever I can. Honestly, I don’t think I can go that long without you,”

“Me either,” he agreed. “Please, come visit me whenever you can. I’ll buy the plane ticket or whatever you’ll use to come back to me, but please, come visit me.”

You nod and nuzzle your face in the crook of his neck. “You know I will, Ani,”

While you were both reassured for now, doubts and worries were beginning to linger in the backs of both yours and Anakin’s heads, but neither of you would ever admit it.

239 notes · View notes

meandmyechoes · 2 years

Text

look look… i know it's my bad to expect doll standards from an action figure but lord honestly the sideshow ani and obi are so disappointing??!??!! I would’ve been okay if there’s NO basis for comparisons (anyhow there’s still the show) now I would’ve been less frustrated if it can be taken apart and reused. Like, the one saving grace is that their body has a couple more joints than an mtm and you can’t even reuse it because EVERYTHING is stuck permanently, which I would’ve been okay with if it came RESEMBLING THE PROTOTYPE but ugh.

it’s just that, I’ve seen the same level of painting on a koto 1/10 statue and they are half the price, while the only gimmick for SS’s IS the headscupt. and SS’s isn’t even ACCURATE! You think you’re B*ndai?? You’re selling model kits now?? NO because model kits has customability that YOU DO NOT! Heck M*ttel B*rbie can beat you with a quarter of your pricing at the same trash quality! (and if they do a 5POA with regular doll fabrics, a tenth!) NO YOU KNOW WHAT. FORCES OF D*STINY ANAKIN BEAT YOURS. You must’ve unlocked some secret protal and made him from another timeline. I just don’t think that product belongs in 2022, 2002 maybe.You better draw him with anime eyes so it does it its intended purpose of standing next to my FODka.

but like, i've had three figures so far and honestly it feels so much more boring than a doll release :( they are put on a pedestal of "high-end collectibles" that people don't do much with it in fear of damaging (along with the acutally-not-made-to-endure-play clothing). And there's kind of an elitism with creating photos with them, that if your figures are not backed by cool lighting or ps magic, they are just standing stiffly there.

and yes, the sane thing for me to do right now is just quit the figure fad and put my money to better use but if they’d just release GENERAL KENOBI (usually i’m pretty face-blind but somehow TWO obi-wans revealed yesterday looks NOTHING like himself in a row, to the extent where I am puzzled)

but I think, it isn’t that I’m mad with Sideshow churning out overpriced products of poor quality. They’re kind of notorius for that in the sixth scale figure department. I’m mad that I, after deliberation, at the full knowledge I would never be satisfied with any action figure clothes, fully knowing they do NOT deserve the price, after being handed ‘not-technically-mine’ money, didn’t listen to myself and went and order them. Grievous reissue was RIGHT there and I didn’t listen. There was completely no reason I should do this except ‘I want them’ - and there’re a lot more things that I want, and at a greater need, that would make me much happier.

now I’m exaggerating here, I probably won’t be getting them for another two months or so. maybe our luck’s just about to change. and best case scenario, I should be able to resell at least Obi-wan if I wanted an Anakin for Ahsoka. I don’t know if Sideshow is still gonna make an animated Ahsoka anymore, or that I want theirs. At any rate, it’d be another two-year wait. i would still want to laught at it, at least. Honestly thinking seriously about getting the Koto ‘Soka if I so want. Idk, I do, but also don’t, in the sense that I know it’s not gonna be ‘perfect’. I also don’t have an ideal body type in mind for her. All I want right now is a concept art ‘Soka on an azone with cute hand poses. I have no idea how to make the lekku though. At S1 length I don’t mind them being all stiff so maybe polymer clay should do. and I said that knowing full well I wouldn’t have time to work on that until next Feburary. sigh

#about to need a toys tag #and to end with a good news! i'm 95% complete on a grand gif project!#look on the bright side if i slate every project and remake their outfits to sale we can recover some costs #there's certainly the market

1 note · View note

phoenixyfriend · 3 years

Text

Fake Sith TCW Trio

I have another fucked up time-travel AU! Who’s surprised? (Nobody.)

So like. Have you guys read that one fic where Luke and his students go back in time and pretend to be Sith Lords and are super hammy about it? (Sith Lord Swell by AMournfulHowlInTheNight)

This AU has contributions by @atagotiak, @the-lunar-system, @purronronner, @gelpenss, @creepingthroughthistidalwave, and @thisarenotarealblog.

I want TCW trio (plus Rex and Cody) to go back to several years pre-TPM and, since the Council DEFINITELY won't believe them about the Sith being back... they'll force the issue.

Anakin is weirdly excited about things and building up their backstory.

Anakin: Okay so I can definitely be a Maul type, with the unhinged ranting and manic laughter, Obi-Wan can be the whole Refined Rich Guy type like Dooku, where you can't even tell he's evil until he starts talking about getting out the eyeball scoops, maybe toss in a bit of mad science stuff? Ahsoka could play up like Ventress OR, oh oh, she can be the Light Side Child we need to PROTECT who's publicly begging us to return to the Light after our big dramatic Falls where we murdered like eighty people to save her, and-- Obi-Wan: Why are you never this enthusiastic about actual undercover missions. Ahsoka: Did you just have all this ready to go, or...? Anakin: WE COULD GET YELLOW CONTACT LENSES FOR ME.

Obi-Wan: How's my evil laugh?

Anakin going “Okay.. so if any of us need to murder someone to sell the bit it should be me, I think I could handle it the best. Why? No reason.”

Obi-Wan: I'm not sure a complete Fall could come from protecting Ahsoka, really-- Anakin: No, no, it could.

Obi-Wan: Surely you’d hold back because you realize neither of us want that for you. Anakin: Uh. Sure. Definitely.

Obi-Wan points out that none of them can channel the dark side to Prove they're Sith and Anakin just goes "Okay, give me like two seconds to stew in my negativity and--right, you can stop staring in horror, please."

Anakin rambles on that they can TOTALLY make the galaxy a better place while playing at being Sith! He's got a whole LIST of slave empires to "take over" and disassemble!

Anakin has a whole excited spiel about how EVIL soldiers and assistants are minions, in this case partly because Cody and Rex are too good at what they do to be mooks. Cody could pull off evil minion very well. Facial scar? Looks good in black? Quietly competent and sarcastic?

He also pushes for Obi-Wan to lounge in a fancy throne with a glass of wine while Anakin stalks the shadows and Ahsoka hangs out on the window ledge. The disaster lineage is dramatic, okay, Anakin’s just leaning into it, he’d appreciate it if everyone stopped looking at him like that.

Qui-Gon, surprisingly, ends up a skeptic about all of this. Everyone is freaking out about the Sith and he’s like “y’know I’m not even sure they’re darksiders.”

Some Jedi, possibly Qui-Gon for his conspiracy board, gets in a real risky situation and one of the Fake Sith saves them, but also panics and kinda drops character for a bit.

Jedi: You saved me! Why’d you do that? Anakin: I uh... just wanted the pleasure of killing you myself?

"You saved me. Why?" "Mmmm. Jedi." [walks away]

Qui-Gon: [trying to figure out what is up with these people semi-competently (from his perspective) pretending to be Sith] Dooku: [trying to protect Qui-Gon from Sith influence]

The gang is the most successful at pretending to be Sith to Dooku. Sure, they’re not gonna punish him for something he hasn’t done, but it’s not hard to act menacing and angry around him.

(They really do have so much fun irritating the heck out of Dooku. He hasn’t Fallen yet, but they want to keep an eye out.)

At some point, future Obi-Wan definitely drops that little tidbit of "What, you didn't think the Banites were the only Sith running around did you? You... didn't even know about the Banites. How... disappointing."

They REGULARLY use Ahsoka as an excuse to be marginally less terrible. They claim that if Ahsoka pouts, they stop. ‘Soka also uses them as an excuse for why she’s a lil feral. (To be fair, that one is accurate. She was already a lil feral before but it’s not like they did anything to stop it.) Ahsoka gets her "breaking into people's offices" jollies by bugging Nute Gunray's office.

The Jedi keep trying to Rescue Ahsoka.

Rex and Cody end up in real beskar, there's a whole Thing with Mandalore and Jango and Satine.

Obi-Wan is CONSISTENTLY worried about Anakin Falling for real, which... hey, at least he knows to be worried about Anakin Falling. Step up from canon, really.

Anakin is WAY too into killing the Hutts but like. It does... technically sell the bit.

Obi-Wan: Sure, I’m not sad that they’re dead, especially because we’re not connected to the Republic, so we don’t need to worry about starting a war and all that. But. Anakin is disturbingly cheerful about this. Rex: Wasn't he a Hutt slave? Obi-Wan: Well yes, but-- Rex: I'd kill Nala Se if I could get away with it.

Cody and Rex are very supportive of Anakin's murderous intentions.

Obi-Wan does understand anger, even killing someone in anger. Like Maul (the first time at least) and D’nar and a few others. All the same, like... y’know. The level of bloodthirst from the others is a little off-putting.

At one point, Anakin accidentally addresses young Obi-Wan by name, despite never having met before, and to cover it up, he... panic-flirts. He panics, and so he flirts, with young Obi-Wan.

(He will later blame this on old Obi-Wan, because he had to pick up the habit of flirting with the enemy from somewhere.)

Anakin vaguely implies that he's a wee bit obsessed with young Obi, and that the padawan should "get used to being the target of a dark-sider's interests," because he’s scrambling for Ominous Shit and, well, future Obi-Wan was pretty frequently a fixation point for darksiders, right?

The second he gets out, he just starts screaming into a bucket while Rex pats him on the back.

For the next however many terrible months, possibly years, he has to keep up the act while having an ongoing meltdown about how That's My Dad As A Twenty-Something.

(It doesn't help that young Obi-Wan reflexively flirted back.)

Old Obi-Wan, meanwhile, is just very "you dug this hole yourself, padawan."

There is an argument at the beginning about Obi-Wan’s outfit. If he’s gonna be a Sith, he can’t just go around in beige, but he’s like “I like this and it’s comfy.” Sure, he’s changed clothes for undercover stuff, but that’s always been temporary, y’know? He likes his beige.

We have a number of options.

My first instinct? Beige linen three piece suit, like a southern lawyer. "Now I may just be a simple Outer Rim force adept--"

And, of course, you can TOTALLY make the beige sinister: he’s impersonating a Jedi! Jedi impersonation would also explain why nobody has a red saber.

“Sure is good that the Jedi don’t seem to realize most of the galaxy doesn’t know red sabers are different and bad.” “Shhhh, stop poking holes in our story where a Jedi might overhear.”

Like.... if you do enough doublethink, it works! How would a Sith hide? In plain sight. Also, it’s a GREAT way (if they were actually assholes) to try to slander the Jedi name.

(Anakin and Ahsoka still think he could stand to put a little more effort in. Add a splash of color, for pity's sake!)

Though tbh part of me is like “What if Old Obi wore, like... a split skirt suit...” Victorian womenswear inspired because he misses his robes, but he has to look Professional, and like he's MOCKING Jedi instead of BEING one, so he wears a vintage-y split skirt thing over his leggings. Ends up looking a lot like what Ventress had for a while, but Beige. I also keep wanting to put him regency menswear.

Anyway. Obi-Wan’s wardrobe aside...

Anakin builds up his Tatoo accent again. It helps him with the (mostly true) "slavery helped me fall" backstory.

Either Cody or Rex offhandedly mentions being made to serve them (the Fake Sith) and now the Jedi are somewhat concerned about brainwashing. Are these Mandos the victims here?

“No like. Literally made for this. In a lab.” This is even more horrifying. So...

On the one hand good! The Jedi should be scared about Sith! On the other hand... it makes the Jedi more determined to stop them, specifically. They keep on getting in the way, just, all the time, and they’re not investigating the actual Sith problem, which is decidedly not great since the Team doesn’t actually know who’s a real Sith right now, except Maul, and who even knows where that guy is.

Obi-Wan, at some point: Do you think we've succeeded at this ruse... a little TOO well? Anakin: I don't follow. Obi-Wan, gesturing at the truly obnoxious amount of wealth they've collected, including "trophies" of their kills: Really? Because I'm a little worried! Anakin, planning out a battle to take on Nar Shadda: ...I'm not.

"How many people do we realistically we need to take over Hutt Space? Apparently... five."

(Mostly because Anakin is ridiculously op.)

ANAKIN AND YOUNG OBI GET KIDNAPPED BY PIRATES TOGETHER. It's tradition.

Anakin: Okay, so, I need to get really angry about something to pass as a Sith... time to think about my WIFE and how I'll NEVER SEE HER AGAIN.

Since Anakin’s life never goes as planned... this does not work. Instead of getting properly angry, he makes himself sad. There are tears. There is wailing. There’s a distraught rant or two. Young Obi ends up awkwardly trying to comfort him.

“Oh no, this… Sith?? Is crying on me. What do I do???”

Later on, when the Council wants intel: "So... one of the Sith cried on me about his wife. I think she's dead? He wasn't very clear about it but it, uh... it sounded like it might have contributed to his Fall. Also the relationship was a little unhealthy? He basically worshiped the ground she walked on and kept ranting about how he would have given her the galaxy on a platinum platter of she'd only asked, but that might be new and inspired by the Dark."

One of the random Jedi is REALLY good at detecting the truth Through The Force, and asks Anakin how he Fell...

Anakin just. Tells the Tuskens story.

They don't get pinged as lying, but oh boy does old Obi have a LOT of questions for Anakin once they're in private.

There are other things happening to help sell the ruse. Some of them are necessary! Some of them are... not.

Obi-Wan: What's the best way to show we're rich and kind of evil, but like... classy about it? Anakin, immediately: I sit on the floor next to the throne, leaning against it, and you call me pet names while stroking my hair, and then when you need something killed I get to do it for you and then I go back to the floor and you thank me for the directed violence, and then you go back to Negotiations with criminals while I’m sitting there covered in blood. Obi-Wan: ...is there something you want to TELL us, or...?

"You're all going to get a glimpse of something normally kept hidden about me." "Anakin, you don't have to do that." "No, I'm gonna."

(Anakin has decided hes going to peel his kink tomato to sell this ruse, and the others are slightly uncomfortable with that.)

Anakin: Okay, I cannot keep flirting with you. Young Obi: Wait, what? But that's the best part of any time we run into you! Anakin: You look WAY too much like my Master did when I met him. Obi: O...kay? If someone looked like my master when HE was young, I'd-- Anakin: My Sith Master half-raised me. He's basically my dad. Obi: ... Anakin: What's that look for? Obi: I mean, you spend a lot of time lounging at his feet, and, like, given how much you hate slavery, I... kind of assumed it was a kink thing? Anakin, brightly: Oh no, I just have a LOT of trauma. And neuroses. Snips says they’re neuroses.

Young Obi is a little upset because he was actually getting REALLY into Flirting With The Enemy and was hoping it would go somewhere. He mopes to Qui-Gon about it. Qui-Gon isn't sure whether to be proud about Obi breaking rules, or worried over Obi-Wan falling for a Fake Sith.

(As Tia put it: "You enjoy making young Obi-Wan have a completely unrequited crush on Anakin, don’t you?")

Fortunately, one of those attractive Young Mando boys very kindly helped him tape up his ribs this one time, and has thus caught his eye...

I feel like having Cody date Young Obi would court an entirely different kind of (internet) drama because clone ages, but whatever.

Also please imagine an element of "so I'm dating the genetic identical of my boss... who's dating the man I'm a genetic identical of..."

(It's probably not actually Jangobi but man would that be funny and also stupid.)

Somehow Young Obi figures out that the "Sith Master" is a future him before he realizes that they're not actually dark. In his defense, Anakin was pretty convincing. Especially with the wife rant. It makes HIM more obsessed with Anakin, in a reversal of the implied earlier dynamic, which is all kinds of weird. Less romantic but like. Still weird.

"Future Me Scares Me" with Extra stupid. "Future Me Annoys Me." "Future Me acts like grandmaster Dooku, but more sass." "Future Me raised a really hot evil guy that refuses to bang Present Me." "Future Me might be a Sith, but I'm getting more and more convinced he's just fucking with us all." "Future Me is really rocking that beard, and I can't BELIEVE we figured out a way around the babyface."

"I’m kinda concerned about the whole evil thing, but I’m also glad that I know I’ll stay hot as I get older."

Quinlan approves of the priorities.

Also a lot of interactions with older Obi are very Anakin: [does/says something deeply unhinged] Obi-Wan: So, do you want to…. Talk about that? Maybe? Anakin: What’s there to talk about?? I’m fine, everything’s fine! Anyways how about those plans for tracking down Maul?

Anakin later, like way after the ruse is lifted, just blankly tells everyone that he did Fall, once, and Older Obi made him get therapy about it after the truth came out between the two of them a few months into the Fake Sith thing.

Where'd they find a therapist? I'm sure there's one SOMEWHERE around. Denon and Herdessa are close enough, and they've done enough "your criminal empire now belongs to me" that they can pay well. They make sure to find one that takes confidentiality real seriously.

It's all very "we need some more time to unpack all that."

Therapy helps get Anakin to figure out Sheev’s whole deal. They don't necessarily figure out he’s a Sith from it, but they figure out he’s sketchy and they need to look into that more. Obi-Wan probably already thought he was sketchy, but the whole active gaslighting campaign was a little surprising. They realize that he kinda benefited a lot from a lot of Sith plots and they still probably don’t think he’s a Sith but Obi-Wan is definitely starting to think he’s working with one.

"Okay, we're already bugging Gunray, should we bug Palpatine just to be safe?"

They get away with a lot of slicing because Anakin is a technical genius from twenty years in the future.

The reasons they're so good at Taking Over Hutt Space: 1. They know parts of the future. 2. They have superpowers and FAR less reason to not use them, now that their actions aren't going to reflect on the Republic. 3. They have Cody and Rex, who are two of the greatest military minds in the galaxy, and know EXACTLY how to wage a war that covers a solid third of the galaxy, starting from a position of relative weakness. 4. Anakin's charisma is scary high, and his knowledge of slave culture means they gain a lot of trust from the people they free, and they just... keep acquiring volunteers for the army they didn't plan to have. Obi-Wan doesn't know what to do. He thinks they might have started a cult?

In his defense, Dooku sort of started a cult, and Komari got kidnapped by a cult, brainwashed into joining it properly, and then took it over as head figure of said cult. It's practically tradition!

Comics Vader is the central figure of like three different cults, it was really just inevitable.

Anakin: Aw, don't worry master, it's not a cult, it's a revolution! Ahsoka: They're worshiping him, though. Anakin: ...it's still a revolution! Just... with some misunderstandings.

Also, if they got wind of people trying to keep people from being able to leave and other culty stuff like that, they’d probably put a stop to it pretty damn quick.

Names! Time for names. As per usual, it's easiest to keep track of Obi-Wan's alternate Older Self by just calling him Ben.

Darth Ben.

Ahsoka: You should be Darth Boring. Obi-Wan: I can still make you run laps, you know.

Anakin: The Force is telling me to call myself Darth Vader. Obi-Wan: ...why? Anakin: I dunno, but it sounds cool, I'll run with it.

Someone: Ben has all the answers; we shouldn’t question him, ever. Ben: One time I lost a planet, and a five-year-old found it for me.

More options: Going with the "evil word with the prefix 'in' chopped off" that we get with Sidious and Vader: Darth Surrectus (as in insurrection) Just random Latin words: Darth Temporus (time) Darth Commenticius (fake)

Anyway, back to Nonsense:

Maul goes after young Obi early, because the Fake Sith are really invested in this one random Padawan (Sidious is saying he might be a cousin of the false Sith Master? They do look similar enough) so someone needs to investigate. Naturally, Anakin shows up with some wild screeching to fight Maul, and when someone questions why he got involved it gets very "Kenobi is MINE!" and like. Okay. So.

Anakin means it in a very Sith "to toy with" and "to torture" way, or the ‘my chosen opponent!’ way, just the same kind of Obsession as Maul had with Obi-Wan in the original timeline. Unfortunately, Anakin’s a weird-ass person who flirts with Young Obi against his own better judgement, so there's some awkward "Like... your boyfriend?" from young Obi. Anakin just screeches in SOME emotion that nobody wants to interpret, and couldn't even if they wanted to, and starts whacking away at Maul again.

(Anakin hasn't explained the "you look exactly like my dad, sorry, it's just too weird" thing yet, and he is HAVING MANY REGRETS.)

There's definitely at least one instance where a person asks Anakin if he's planning on dating That One Jedi Twink, or at least banging out the tension. At that point in time, Anakin doesn't actually know who the fuck they're talking about, because "Obi-Wan + Twink = Does Not Compute" for dear, dense Ani, and instead he just ends up ranting about how he is LOYAL TO THE MEMORY OF HIS LATE WIFE, how DARE anyone so much as INSINUATE that he would TARNISH HER PERFECT MEMORY and UNWAVERING KINDNESS and WHOLESOME BEING, and the person who asked doesn't end up lightsabered but they do end up with a LOT to tell whoever they're reporting to.

Young Obi-Wan definitely hears Anakin mutter the phrase “something to discuss with my therapist later” a few times, and he’s a little bewildered because darksiders definitely don’t seem like the type of people to go to therapy. They’re the type of people to need therapy, sure, but not the type to go to therapy.

I think it would be very fun for Young Obi to continue sighing over Anakin (who's pretending to be fine with it and even flirting back because he's in too deep to stop and hasn't worked up the courage to explain the elephant in the room) while Anakin is covered in grease and infodumping while having a slightly manic hyperfocus on engine repairs while the two of them Somehow got stranded together in the middle of bumfuck nowhere (it's Plagueis's doing, he finds the interactions between THESE two in particular to be the most informative regarding the fake Sith).

Anakin, at some point while stranded with young Obi-Wan, and having actually started unpacking some stuff in therapy, though he’s def still got a ways to go: I’m pretty sure Ben cares about me. He acts like he cares, like he’ll do stuff like put extra blankets in my quarters in the spaceship because I get cold real easily or track down those droid parts I need for a project and he always has my back in a fight but y’know it’d be nice to hear him say he loves me once in a while. Especially because we kinda had a rough start and idk I don’t think he wanted me around at first.

And uh. Obi-Wan definitely relates to that a bit too much, y’know?

I want to say that Young Obi ends up mentioning All That to one of the clones or Ahsoka later, because they seem probably invested in Anakin's well-being, even if Ben is, well, a Sith, so Obi-Wan's a little worried the man's affection really is fake, but at least Ahsoka...

(Ironic, given what Anakin's actual eventual Sith would-be-Master was like.)

Young Obi mentions Anakin’s most recent rant to Ahsoka, and she just goes "Wait, is that why Skyguy likes to sit by the throne and get called pet names?" "Uh... I don't... know... but it sounds like all of you have a LOT to unpack there, Miss Apprentice."

Later on: "Master Kenobi, you need to tell Skyguy you love him 'cause apparently he's been having a lot of emotions about you not telling him you care and he's been talking to mini-you about it whenever they get stuck together and--"

Young Obi-Wan is just constantly the "Now we don't have time to unpack all of that" John Mulaney gif. Anakin in particular is a mess, and young Obi-Wan slowly goes from "I want to date that" to "I want to study that" about him.

Obi-Wan gets stuck somewhere with Ben, tries to small talk, gets on the topic of Vader, and spills the drama. He gets an awkward “Thank you for bringing that to my attention.”

It’s followed by a fairly frustrated “I try, but Anakin refuses to communicate his needs to me, and it feels like I’m always falling short.”

At least one member of the group is in therapy, probably all of them, but they’re still using young Obi as a sounding board for all this stuff. On the bright side, this is probably good for impressing the importance of good communication on Obi-Wan.

Good for Obi-Wan! And... whatever Padawan he eventually has.

As for baby Anakin, who is approximately age four, I want to go with "Anakin decides to be his own uncle, and Shmi just rolls with it because fuck it, she’s not a slave anymore, and a Fake Sith is a solid defense against anyone trying to re-enslave them."

[This is a backstory I've had them use before (see here and here).]

Seeing Big Ani and Little Ani in the same space might be what finally pings the "oh shit, that's future me" thing for Obi-Wan... you know, if he’s ever allowed close enough to see Little Ani in the first place.

Little Ani stays with the fake-Sith and is sorta jointly trained by all of them, and young Obi-Wan teaches little 'Soka at the Temple. Ani and 'Soka still end up friends somehow, but it is fairly different.

Every time little Ani addresses Old Obi as "Dad," it's just like ten kinds of awkward. The one time someone tried to explain that Ben wasn't his new dad, Shmi glared them down. She is of the opinion that, all the gods be damned, Ani deserves to refer to the most mature man in his life, who raised another him in another timeline already, as a father.

Ani doesn't NEED a father, Shmi herself is more than enough, but he does deserve to have this if he wants it.

An alternative conclusion to the time travel is uh. So the Mandalorians are genetically identical (give or take a hair gene) and really resemble Jango Fett, though whether anyone notices that is up in the air. Then the three ‘Sith’ (two fake Sith and their morality chain tag-along) have three younger, identical copies show up….

It could be really weird cloning shenanigans. Now, it makes no sense that they’d make clones, and stagger their production like that, and leave them as babies on various planets for Jedi to find. IDK what reasons Obi-Wan would come up with for that, but it’s a fun little detour before he gets to time travel.

There's a really painful moment (for the audience, who know about canon Vader) where someone tries to convince Ahsoka to leave the Sith and she's just like "no way, they'd never hurt me!” Then she clarifies that “someone has to keep them from doing stupid Sith shit whenever they get bored, you know?"

A bunch of Jedi probably think she’s delusional, but the few that have seen her get into trouble that is legitimately too much for her, which isn't often, have then seen Anakin show up like the devil himself to save her, and it's like. Oh. This is why she isn't scared of them hurting her.

We’ve discussed how Anakin does get concerningly in character with the fake Sith thing. However, Anakin and Ahsoka are, just once in a while, surprised by how Ben gets sometimes when playing the bad guy.

After all, he stabbed a dude with a fork and threatened to eat him during his time as Hardeen…

He has the same dramatic streak as all the rest of the lineage. He can be vindictive and creepy and scary as fuck.

HOWEVER:

Obi-Wan: I know I'm supposed to be playing at evil right now, but how do we feel about me making that evil a little... fruity? Ahsoka: Fruity, master? Anakin, who knows where this is going: [buries face in hands] Obi-Wan: You know, the... [limp wrist] Ahsoka: ... Obi-Wan: I mean, I'm already bisexual and well-groomed, I can play it up.

What’s the point of being evil if you can’t be flamboyant?

Anyway, I had to put in a lot of thought for what to do with Rex and Cody, because there's a solid place for them in terms of strategy, but it doesn't do much to give them independent narrative arcs, and 'young Obi-Wan has a crush' isn't much of an arc, you know?

So, basic info first: Cody, Rex, and Anakin all hold the rank of General in this AU because, like... who else is gonna. Ahsoka remains a commander because everyone declares her Baby, and also to keep up the "I'm a morality chain" ruse.

Cody maintains a very stern and unyielding public persona, but the second they're behind closed doors, he's roughhousing with his little brother.

Rex has some fun pretending to be a sadist whenever he and Anakin have to team up, because hamming it up as an evil bastard in front of Jedi is actually really fun... but usually, he's a competent fucking professional.

Because here's the thing: someone has to be.

They both kind of hate the army they've gotten, because these people don't even have proper trigger discipline, let alone any actual discipline.

This army? Tragic. They hate it. Give them the clones.

They have to be drill sergeants for months before they have anything worth sending onto the field.

I think that might be how/when they end up reaching out to Jango. Like, the first inroad is absolutely "we're your clones from the future and you were a Shit Dad so you owe us," but then they actually talk him around into letting the Fake Sith hire him. He brings along all the Mandalorians he can get to answer his calls, and on suggestion from Those Mando Twins, joins the army Ben doesn't even want.

Darth Boring doesn't want an army! Unfortunately, Cody thinks that's stupid as hell, and is overruling Ben so they can actually work on this 'cleaning up the galaxy of slavery' thing with actual resources.

Cody and Rex are super competent, and it shows in their horrified disdain for the state of their troops.

Rex: Fucking natborns. Anyone who isn't in the know: What's a natborn? Rex: [leaves without answering] People: WHAT'S A NATBORN???

(I'm assuming that the word smush is harder to parse in Basic.)

I think young Obi-Wan's new crush on Cody should also be unrequited. Cody's just like... bemused. Very "Okay, then, that sure is an Affection you've decided on."

Cody and Anakin both: Sorry, it’d just be too weird. Obi-Wan: Why would it be too weird? Cody and Anakin: Reasons.

Rex has to deal with the "whyyyyy" from both his brother and his (former?) General.

Young Obi-Wan just likes cute boys that fight good! Is that so wrong???

Ahsoka: So since we're not officially Jedi anymore-- Obi-Wan: We're still Je-- Ahsoka: Can we date? Can I date now? I want to date someone before we go back to the Code. It's a classic life experience for most teenage girls, and I want to Have That Experience before we're back at the Temple. Obi-Wan: You're not... you can date, Ahsoka, that's not actually banned by the Code. I mean, you'd have to keep it casual, but-- Ahsoka: I CAN DATE!!!

(Great priorities, Ahsoka.)

An idea I'm toying with is that one of the clones ends up Legally Engaged to Satine for political reasons, and young Obi-Wan is just like ???? because not only can he not date the hot boys, but one of said hot boys has become Mr. Steal Yo Girl.

Young Obi-Wan is suffering, and Quinlan is the worst friend ever because Quinlan is laughing at him.

There is obviously the question of

"How would Satine ever end up agreeing to that, given what their public personas are like and all that? She puts duty ahead of personal feelings but all indications are that it’s a terrible decision both ways." (as stated by Tia)

Which, yes, I forgot to actually say that I was imagining Jango had declared "those twins" his heirs after telling people they were his younger* cousins. Because reasons.

* Jango is about 27 when they land in the past, and I’m going to say the accelerated aging ended after hitting physically twenty because no, I don’t want to deal with that. As far as anyone knows, Cody and Rex are about five years younger than Jango. They’re less than year apart, which isn’t very visible, and most people assume they’re identical twins (except Rex’s hair), and that Cody just looks slightly older because of the scar.

Darth Boring had convinced Satine that the way to keeping Mandalore peaceful was to work with Jango (because Darth Boring, which is not his actual title but it is what Ahsoka insists on calling him in private, has a vested interest in keeping Mandalore and all interested parties calm), and he... maybe accidentally set up a political marriage between her and one of the clones.

It wasn't on purpose! Satine never married in his timeline, okay, he didn't expect her to ever get married here, either! He didn't even suggest it! This just happened!

(I want to say that Cody would be more competent at having a political marriage? But IDK.)

Do I do the Satine thing? It has potential, but also it's a bit of a cop-out. Do I have Cody be a diplomatic representative for their pseudo-Sith empire? He could be, but I think he'd hate it. Do I have Rex date one the Chaos Entities (Anakin or Ahsoka), or is that too repetitive with my other works? THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH GOING ON.

Part of me wants Quinlan to get a crush on Cody, and the crush gets bigger specifically in response to the fact that Cody refuses to take him seriously and/or just doesn't give him the time of day.

Based on their one interaction in TCW, they probably let get along ok. Cody maybe likes him back, buuuuuuut internally he's just a little "you were tolerable at almost-forty; early twenties you is obnoxious."

Just imagine the absolutely puppyish attempts at gaining approval and Impressing The Hot Mando General. Quinlan keeps having vague daydreams of seducing someone to the side of the Light. He really leans into the bodice ripper fantasies of saving someone evil with the power of love! (And also the power of really good sex.)

Bant looks at Quin and Obi and wants to throw them both into the nearest pond because they're idiots, but on this topic they are the same flavor of idiot. She considers calling up Reeft and Garen to help her knock some sense into them.

Quinlan: Can I volunteer to go undercover to the Sith? The Council: No. Quinlan: ...what if I-- The Council: No.

Tholme tries to get Qui-Gon to commiserate over their Padawans getting obsessed with Hot Sith Boys, but Qui-Gon just finds the whole thing funny. He knows from the chats he has with Ben that Anakin feels so completely, utterly, incredibly awkward about all of this.

(Ben continues to hold to "Anakin brought this on himself.")

(Ben also “kidnaps” Qui-Gon a lot.)

Also, hey, at least Quinlan isn’t actually into hot Sith boys! He’s into hot Sith minions which is... probably a step up. At least Cody’s not a Sith himself!

It's a step in some direction but Tholme has no idea which one.

(Quinlan sees Cody in dress uniform once and just keeps the mental image for Ages. It’s in his dreams. Sometimes said dreams overflow to Tholme via Force Mind Magic and Quinlan wakes up to someone smacking his face with a pillow.)

Arguably, Quin's also a lot more romantic about his crush than Obi-Wan is, in this case. Quinlan: I want to save him... Obi-Wan: Hey, hey, cute boy. Look at me. Let’s bang.

Cody: There are currently two future Jedi generals having some form of absurd romantic fixation in my direction. I don't know how to feel about this. Rex: Bed them. Cody: ...I'm not saying that's not eventually an option, but one of them is the younger Kenobi, and I'm not sure I'm comfortable with that. Rex: Pat him on the head like a tooka and then bed his friend, it'll be funny.

I think the Quinlan thing and also general exasperation of leading an absolutely useless army can function pretty solidly as the basis for Cody, but I have another idea for Rex now.

Komari is currently brainwashed in a cult, yes? So.

I keep bouncing around back and forth on what to do with Rex, but part of me suddenly really likes the idea of, after Team Fake Sith finds and dissolves the cult (as one does), and takes Komari into custody (because she's dangerous and deeply unwell), Rex kind of ends up her touchstone to being a decent person. He’s not a morality chain, and it’s not really a redeemed-through-love thing, just This Is A Solid Dude who doesn't pity her or thinks she's irredeemable (however you choose to define such a thing), but actually relates to the kind of conditions living like that can involve, and just kind of...

I don’t know. I think Rex's arc in this AU could be very heavily grounded in something to the effect of "You're not the worst darksider I've met. You're not the only person who was in a cult. You're not even the only former Jedi I know that's committed awful, horrible crimes. My question is just this: What are you going to do moving forward?"

Later Anakin: Wait, who do we know that was in a cult? Rex: What did you think Kamino was?

(Rex isn't as chill as he'd like her to think, but he's trying, and she's fairly reliant on the Force to understand emotions, and is currently in nullifying cuffs, so he can bluff.)

Komari needs someone solid and dependable to rely on for at least conversation, and I think Rex needs to feel needed.

I’m not sure if it’d be romance or friendship, but I think there's a solid basis to work with, potentially.

Per Tia:

One thing about Rex and shipping is like. If you want to do Rexwalker again that's fine, but if you're worried about repetitiveness but still want to like. Ship him in a non-political-convenience way. Rexsoka here actually would be different than your other stuff.

I'm trying to figure out if I can make it work because Ahsoka thematically fits very much into a little sister shaped hole here? She feels younger than in other works, despite not actually being younger than she is in, say, Commander Buir. In those other fics, she has some time alone to function and prove herself independently of Anakin and Obi-Wan.

I usually pluck Ahsoka out at sixteen if I'm pulling her from TCW, so she's got most of her competence but hasn't gotten quite all the trauma yet. Commander Buir, in particular, also has baby-shaped Anakin for contrast.

That said, I can see a decent source of narrative conflict in her wanting to experiment with romance and all that, and Anakin trying to tell her she's too young.

A year into this whole time-travel mess, she wants to give the dating thing a shot, and it spirals into "You were only two years older than me when you got married!"

I think I could build a plot out of Ahsoka wanting to do these things, and Anakin as an audience insert not quite processing that she's old enough to make these decisions. If she's choosing to date Rex, whose age works out as being close to hers when one takes into account Kamino fuckery, and whom she trusts absolutely, it’s arguably extra weird for Anakin to be upset with it.

"Senator Amidala was five years older than you, and you married her when you were nineteen and had only really known her for a week! I can go on a date with a guy we both know is one of the most trustworthy people alive if I want, Skyguy!"

I can definitely see Ahsoka getting annoyed with Anakin being overbearing and controlling at some point before that unrelated to romance, too. It’s not exactly a new fault of his.

My god, just imagine someone snidely asking Anakin "where's your little shadow?" and Anakin, being Himself and also a Fake Sith, has an emotional breakdown about how Ahsoka yelled at him for micromanaging her and not trusting her to make her own decisions in life and so she got herself a multi-month solo mission from Ben that Anakin isn't allowed to know any details about, and--

It's another one of those "oh, you have PROBLEMS problems with your mental health" incidents for the Jedi to add to the file, because Anakin having emotionally charged rants about his issues at seemingly terrible times is how they get a lot of information.

Some of the rants are planned.

Many of them, actually.

They want the Jedi to know these things.

Just, well. Anakin.

He really is a little Like That.

On that note, I'm low-key imagining that Anakin gets put on mood stabilizers by the therapist in this context, and he's doing good! He's handling his issues! He's--been captured with Obi-Wan the Younger again and his medication was confiscated.

Anakin is... not great. He's a little out of practice managing his unmedicated self, and when adding withdrawal symptoms onto that... poor Anakin.

(Poor Obi-Wan.)

I think it would be best if Anakin makes a bunch of ominous blustery comments at their captors about how they won't like what's coming to them if they take his belongings (AKA the fanny pack that has his backup pills), and then Obi-Wan just gets to watch Anakin get more and more erratic, because like. Yes, Anakin is using the Force to compensate, but unfortunately he's mostly cut off, and the stress of the situation is pushing him away from depression and into the beginnings of a manic episode.

Anakin is aware of his issues to the point where he's mostly managing, and he keeps asking Obi-Wan "would it make sense for me to [slightly deranged, very impulsive action]," and Obi-Wan realizes he's being the morality sounding board for the Hot Sith because ??? reasons?????

Eventually, Anakin does flop back in bed and dramatically throws his arm over his eyes, and says he needs his meds back, he's absolutely going to lose it, and Obi-Wan tentatively asks what kind of medication. There are levels to worry about. Mild allergy medication is one thing, but heart medication that needs to be taken every four hours is another, you know? He wants to know how much panic is appropriate.

Anakin lets him know that it's Psychiatric In Nature. Obi-Wan suddenly realizes that he really, really, really doesn't want to know what a properly erratic, unmedicated Anakin is like.

(An unmedicated Anakin really isn't nearly as bad as Obi-Wan fears. Anakin's been dealing with this for a while, and knows what his issues are and some of how to deal with them. He'd need to be running on no sleep and higher levels of stress, or to have been drugged with something meant to increase his aggression, to really lose his shit and do something worthy of Vader. RotS levels of stress and sleep deprivation is required to pull RotS levels of manic paranoid delusion.)

Tia asked:

How long does it take the Jedi in general to catch on to how like. They have opportunities. But these Sith never seem to harm any Jedi. And it’s not just like, the past timeline parts of the disaster lineage. They probably get opportunities to hurt other Jedi. Ones that are less skilled at saber work. And more importantly ones that they don’t seem weirdly interested in."

I'm not sure, really. The Jedi don't spend as much time in the Outer Rim as they could, and that's where the Team operates, so actually running into them by accident is unlikely for anyone other than Shadows.

Fortunately, it's really easy to toy with Shadows with the excuse of "I want to see how long it takes before you Fall with us."

I do want like... okay. Here’s the mental image:

Qui-Gon calls them out on being Fake Sith pretty quickly, so Ben just sort of eyes him, dramatically, and orders out "Leave us" to all non-team people. The threat of torture is implied but not stated. He gestures with wine to keep in character. He definitely makes sure Young Obi-Wan is ushered out, so it's just five time travelers, Qui-Gon Jinn, and Ahsoka's immortal force birb.

"...so, what's the reason for the farce, Obi-Wan?" "How in all the hells did you figure it out so quickly?"

(Qui-Gon cheated a bit. He could feel the broken training bond that was never properly severed due to Traumatic Death Of A Master on Ben's end)

Ben didn't realize he'd feel it! Young Obi-Wan can't feel his older self or a training bond with Anakin or Ahsoka, so why could Qui-Gon?

IDK if there would be anything on the level of crying and hugging it out, but I think it would be very funny if, every time young Obi and Anakin are getting captured by pirates or something, Ben and Qui-Gon are just having a nice afternoon tea and checking their watches to see if their respective walking bundles of neuroses are done with their adventure yet.

The Council is So Done, because Qui-Gon continues to insist that they're Not That Bad, but every time anyone other than Qui-Gon brings up the friendship, Ben laughs and makes a comment about how absolutely gullible Master Jinn is.

Obi-Wan is skeptical of his own experiences with Anakin, at least, if only because he's skeptical about Anakin's everything.

"I don't know if Vader is telling me the truth. I don't know if he's telling himself the truth. I don't think he's a great source of information even when he thinks he's being honest."

Anakin could tell Obi-Wan the full and complete truth, and Obi-Wan would worriedly put a hand to his forehead and start doing tests for hallucinations and paranoid delusions. In his defense, this is a very reasonable assumption to make with an individual like Anakin. It's just also not accurate, this time. I don’t know if Anakin hallucinates in canon without a weird inciting incident like Force Nonsense or getting drugged by the enemy, but paranoid delusion is pretty much all of RotS.

"I’m your time-traveling padawan who’s pretending to be a Sith to catch some other Sith who’re going to start a galactic civil war and those Mandalorians you like are from a clone army based on a template of Jango Fett made to serve the Jedi (because that’s totally something he’d sign up for), and one of the Sith is your grandmaster but he doesn’t seem to have fallen yet, it’s probably fine," is hard to believe.

Honestly, even if he seemed stable before saying that, which he doesn’t, it’s all real far fetched. There's a lot going on and Obi-Wan wouldn't even begin to believe it without evidence.

I've had it in my head that he and Bant and Quinlan have been gossiping about the mess for months if not years about these idiots, and at one point it became common knowledge that Ben was a Kenobi, and Bant convinced them (since the two were among the most likely in the entire Order to encounter the Fake Sith) to get a DNA sample, probably hair or blood since that's easiest so they can figure out HOW these two are related, if they are, and then there's a whole big thing.

Bant: No, no, this must be contaminated, it's coming up as Obi-Wan! Are you sure you didn't accidentally grab some of your own hairs? I know it's a little long for most of your hair, but the braid-- Quinlan: Wait, they keep claiming stuff about cloning, right? Maybe someone's a clone? Check for artificial telomeres! Bant: ...okay, so, there aren't any artificial telomeres, but the ones from apparently-Ben are... a lot shorter... um... I don't know what to do with this. It's like I have two samples from the same person, twenty years apart. Quinlan: Obi-Wan, what's that face? Why are you-- Obi-Wan: Vader told me he was a time-traveler. I thought it was the fever talking, but...

That’s how he finds out that Ben is future-him before finding out about how he’s not evil!

"Master Jinn... I think... I think the Sith controlling the Outer Rim is me from the future." "Oh, you finally figured it out?" "I AM HAVING A CRISIS HERE."

Obi-Wan, after a few hours of dazed realization, runs screaming to Quinlan and Bant like 'GUYS GUYS THIS EXPLAINS WHY VADER KEPT SAYING IT WAS WEIRD AND THAT I LOOK LIKE HIS MASTER AND THAT IT WOULD BE LIKE DATING HIS DAD.'

You know, the important stuff.

I think Qui-Gon tells him that Ben isn't evil because, like, That Sure Is A Crisis Obi-Wan's Having. He could hold off for shits and giggles, sure, but Obi-Wan’s on the edge of something Really Concerning, mentally. Best help calm him down on at least one or two things.

Obi-Wan’s maybe still a little skeptical until he confronts them over it. Because their Sith act was real good and also like. Maybe Qui-Gon just wants to believe the best of his Padawan, y’know?

Quinlan runs into Ben before Obi-Wan does, after this whole mess, and gets to observe as money changes hands and people act like sore winners about bets made for When Does Obi-Wan Figure It Out.

Anakin was saying 'soon' because he really didn't think the fever-fueled rant would be discounted as easily as it was.

Cody was of the opinion that it would take at least a few more years since they're actually pretty damn good at this whole schtick.

Quinlan: Wow, he's... going to be really disappointed that you have such a low opinion of his intelligence. Cody, gesturing at Ben: Experience. Darth Ben: ಠ_ಠ

Cody just rattles off some of the Extremely Stupid Shit that Ben's done in their time working together.

Rex cheerily offers up "You didn't even realize General Skywalker was married, sir! And they weren't subtle!" "I knew they were together, I just didn--" "Everyone knew they were together, sir. Everyone."

(Rex had the lowest opinion of their deductive capabilities. He claims it would have taken until Baby Ahsoka showed up at the Jedi Temple.)

-Once Obi-Wan accepts that they're decent people after all- Obi-Wan: Wow, Anakin, you're real good at acting unhinged! Anakin: Haha. Yeah. Thanks?

2K notes · View notes

swbumblebee · 2 years

Text

Mace Windu glanced at his friend, and partner in time travel, thoughtfully as he topped up the Kel Dor’s wine glass.

He did so enjoy his planning sessions with Plo. Particularly the lack of planning that got done.

“Speaking of the boys” he began, relaxing into his second glass of the evening. “I had an odd conversation with Obi-Wan yesterday” he volunteered.

“Odd? How so?” Plo’s curiosity was piqued “I haven’t seen him for a little while, I understand he’s been spending a lot of time in the archives.”

“Hmm yes” Mace answered. “He was asking about council procedure, and how to get an item on the agenda” he said thoughtfully.

“He was?” Plo asked, sitting up a little. “Did he say why?”

“No unfortunately, however I should imagine when tomorrow’s agenda comes out we’ll see.” Mace replied.

He felt Plo’s frown in the Force and rolled his eyes.

“Didn’t you ask? What if something is wrong? Was it about Anakin?” Plo demanded.

“Of course I asked! You know what he’s like” Mace defended himself, taking another sip. “When he doesn’t want to share, nobody in the Galaxy can make him talk” he said. “Not that they didn’t try” he added bitterly, thinking of the First Time Around, and General Kenobi’s various captures and interrogations.

Plo put a reassuring hand on his knee, squeezing ever so slightly in agreement.

“Well I suppose we shall see, but I don’t like it. Why wouldn’t he tell us?” He sighed through his mask and adaptor, also taking a sip of their favourite rich red wine.

“It’s so frustrating” the wine and company loosening his tongue, Mace allowed his pent-up frustration to seep through. “I thought we were making headway and really getting through to him and then he just” he waved a hand “goes off and does everything on his own anyway” he snapped.

“He does trust us, of that I have no doubt” Plo reassured him. “It appears we still have some way to go in changing his…independent mindset.” He sighed again.

“Stubborn bastard” Mace mumbled into his glass, mouth twitching at the corners when Plo laughed at him.

They sat for a moment in silence.

Plo turned to his companion.

“He really didn’t know how to raise a request with the council?” he asked curiously

Mace shrugged.

“I suppose it’s not really written anywhere, there’s no form you fill in” he snorted “and Force knows Jinn won’t have taught him. He always just strolled in after the fact and absorbed the yelling”

He was gratified to pull a chuckle out of Plo at that. As much of a pain as he was, they both had fond memories of their former contemporary.

“Hmm, I’ll add it to the list” The other Jedi replied.

---

Sure enough, two days later their questions were answered, and Mace could feel another drinking session coming on.

Obi-Wan was approaching his request, whatever it was, with characteristic determination and diligence; they’d already had a ten-minute explanation of the definition of Master, and the Order’s guidelines on Padawan care and responsibility. Mace, Plo and their colleagues were now being directed to the report sent through to their personal pads.

“As you can see from the statistics I included with my proposal” Obi-Wan was comporting himself with his usual professionalism, standing before the council as calm and collected as always. Only his hands tucked into sleeves gave away his nerves, in what Mace knew to be a self-soothing gesture.

“…academic attainment and mental healthiness is 60% lower in children separated from their parents.”

Obi-Wan, it seemed, was going about things in his usual nerdy way, Mace noted. He could feel Plo’s pride down their newly formed bond.

“…and I have conducted my own research into the long-term success of Padawans and initiates in the last ten years, and the correlation with ongoing cultural and familial relationships. As you can see from figure two, the longevity and successful mission rates of those who remain in contact with family they knew, are much higher than those who have no connection.” He explained.

‘Did you tell him to do a presentation?’

Plo’s voice floated across their bond with some amusement. Their colleagues seemed completely unable to hide their bafflement at the unusually formal presentation.

‘I told him to ensure he could justify his request. He’s really taken it to heart’ Mace answered, carefully keeping his face straight.

“…and that is why, Masters,” Obi-Wan continued “I believe the right course of action for Padawan Skywalker, not to mention something of a moral imperative and an important part of our mandate as his teachers and carers, is for us to return to Tatooine for Shmi Skywalker.” He finished with a deep breath, turning stormy blue eyes on them all in turn.

There was a heavy, stunned silence.

Mace could have kicked himself. He could feel Plo’s similar chagrin.

How did they miss this? A key part of the Skywalker problems Last Time, and they’d nearly clean forgot about it.

Not for the first time, he thanked the Force for Obi-Wan Kenobi.

---

It was difficult to argue with such a well thought out request (though some did try, for completely unfathomable reasons. Allergies to change and a lingering resentment perhaps?) Whilst probably slightly overkill, Obi-Wan’s presentation certainly did the job;

Thirty minutes later, a healer and one Quinlan Vos had been assigned to the mission to steal Shmi Skywalker. Obi-Wan’s argument (vehemently backed up by Mace, Plo and, surprisingly, Shaak Ti) managed to prioritise the Orders responsibility to their children over their responsibility to the Republic and, in a genius move, used some of his previous unsanctioned but, critically, unpunished missions with Qui-Gon as president.

It was a masterclass in formulating and articulating an argument.

With bows all round they filed out, Mace and Plo lingering by the lift doors, waiting for their adopted charge.

Bowing deeply, the young Knight pre-empted their scolding.

“I apologise Masters, for not giving you warning or outlining my intentions” he said formally, his posture still giving away his nerves.

Plo looked like he might give him a hug. Mace sent a warning through their bond.

“Obi-Wan, it is a noble cause and makes perfect sense. Why did you not tell us?” the Kel Dor asked softly.

“Did you think we would not help?” Mace asked, trying to keep the disappointment out of his tone.

Obi-Wan appeared to pick up on it, all the same.

“I’m sorry Masters, I do value your guidance and mentorship” he said, pushing sincerity into the Force around them. “I did not want to put you in an awkward position, should my request be refused.”

Mace and Plo exchanged glances, a flash of frustration– fondness – exasperation passed between them.

“Obi-Wan-“

“You never need to worry about us, Obi-Wan.” Plo got there first. “We can handle awkward situations; we can take care of ourselves.” he implored.

“Some things are worth it” Mace said, clasping the impressive, bone headed young man’s shoulder as he shepherded them all into the lift.

He didn’t seem to know what to say, and Mace let the lesson lie.

“I do appreciate your advice, Master” Obi-Wan said to him some moments later.

“Of course, always happy to help” Mace answered breezily.

“I asked Master Trebor first, and he er…was not terribly forthcoming” The young man offered diplomatically.

A lightbulb went off in Mace’s head. A dawning realisation.

“He basically told you to kriff off?” He translated helpfully.

Obi-Wan’s eyes widened in surprise, but he didn’t offer any correction.

Mace growled. He exchanged a glance with Plo.

It all made sense. That’s what must have happened last time – Obi-Wan was shut down and never managed to get to the council, or to Shmi Skywalker.

And it had all gone tits up.

Not this time though. He smiled to himself; small though it was, they were making headway. Support Kenobi; save Skywalker; save the galaxy.

#Space Dads Go Time Travelling #Mace Windu #Plo Koon #plo koon #obi-wan kenobi #I gave them a Force Bond #are they in love?#we'll never know #obi-wan fanfic #not my best work #but needed to be done #can't believe I forgot about Shmi

255 notes · View notes

monamourbladie-mb · 3 years

Text

Better?

Anakin Skywalker x reader [SMUT]

lets... not mention how long i was gone, okay? 😅 i won’t be gone like this again, i promise 🥺 i’ll get right back on requests and such, i just really REALLY struggled on this for some reason... ive got honestly no clue why but eh, here it is. i hope it was worth it! sorry the request took so long anons. 💕 ALSO big shoutout to @anakinswhore for lowkey giving me the inspiration to finish this 🥺 (everytime i almost scrapped this i remembered that my favorite fic writer on tumblr told me i got this, so i knew i couldn’t give up on this :’) thank you so much!

Plot: Anakin gets home from desling with the Bad Batch and is cranky. To help them both unwind, Anakin decides to bring Y/n with him while he showers.

WC: 2.3k

warnings: finger fucking, piv sex, unprotected sex [sorry it’s awkward to write condoms n shit like that— let’s pretend the force works to prevent pregnancy 😭]

Y/n had set down her holo communicator and sighed in frustration, looking at the time.

It was nearing 11 pm, and Anakin had yet to respond to her call. He had promised to call her the moment his mission with the Bad Batch was over, and it was almost 4 hours over the time he had promised.

She grumbled to herself and set it into her desk drawer, standing up and walking to their bedroom. Since it was getting late, she decided to start getting ready for bed. She decided to forego a shower and take it in the morning instead, her exhaustion and worry getting the better of her.

Sliding on her robe, she put her (h/c) hair in a small bun, laying on the bed. She pulled the sheets back and sighed softly as the cold, sheen silk covered her body.

Laying on her side, she did her best to suppress the fears of why Anakin was taking so long to talk to her - trying to stay in a positive mindset. But of course, the turmoil and constant loss from the War made her think differently.

As her mind grew darker, her need for sleep depreciated as she grew more worried. Huffing in frustration when some time had passed and she still hadn’t fallen asleep, she sat up and grumbled to herself.

It wasn’t like she could call Obi-Wan or another member of the council to see if he was alright - it could raise suspicion since, besides working alongside him during some battles, she wasn’t always in contact with him during the War.

Just as she was about to get up to get some water, the door opened and she felt Anakin’s presence through the Force.

She immediately jumped out of bed, retying her robe and rushing out to meet him. “Anakin! Are you okay? It’s so late-“ she began as soon as she saw him.

He sighed snd shut the door, immediately taking off his robe and throwing it over the back of the couch. “I’m sorry,” he said somewhat sternly, sounding exhausted.

“For what, Ani?” she frowned, crossing her arms. “Being late. As always...” he grumbled, walking over to her and kissing her cheek gently. “I didn’t mean to be, the mission went overtime, and we ran into some trouble.”

“Was it successful, at least?”

“Yeah, thankfully. Wasn’t at first, but, we got Echo home safe.”

“So... why do you seem so... down?” she bit her lip, following him into their bedroom.

“I’m exhausted, sweetheart. Completely drained. I’m sorry if I seem off, I was just put under tons of pressure between Rex and Hunter. They got in a big fistfight, and I had to break it up...” Anakin replied, sitting on the bed and sighing, resting his head in his hands.

“Oh, Ani...” she sighed, resting her hand on his shoulder snd rubbing it gently. “I’m sorry, I know the war is hard enough to deal with.”

He shrugged after a moment and grunted, leaning his head back as he sighed. “I think I’m going to take a shower and forget about this God awful day, I’m sorry.”

“That’s fine, I get it. I was planning on taking a shower too, actually, but I might later then.”

Anakin glanced over at her for a moment, sliding his tongue over his lips and letting out a low hum when she doesn’t move, “Aren’t you coming then?”

She raised a brow in confusion, “What? You want me to come with you?”

“You said you wanted to shower, right? Do it with me, no harm in that,” he responded.

She bit her lip, thinking about all the possible endings. She cautiously stood up, walking over to him, “You sure? I can wait, it’s no problem...”

“Y/n,” he said firmly. “What did I say?”

“You said come shower with me,” she repeated. Anakin nodded, “Well, do you want to or not?” he smirked slyly, crossing his arms and watching her curiously.

She took a moment to look up at him, moving up to kiss him gently, “Better get a move on then, you know I prefer it very hot,” she smirked.

He rolled his eyes playfully and deepened the kiss, moving his hands down her back slowly until she pulled away, “Now you’re the one holding us up.”

“Alright, alright, go and get things ready. I’ll be there.” He kissed her forehead gently then pulled away, walking out of the bathroom.

She suppressed a giggle and smile as she skipped to the bathroom, all the thoughts rushing through her mind as she imagined what could happen.

“You’re tired. He’s tired. I’m sure you’re just showering, don’t get your hopes up.”

Boy, that was a lie. She was brushing out her hair and Anakin stormed into the room, pressing her firmly against the counter, crashing his lips onto hers. She gasped into the kiss and dropped the brush onto the counter, gripping onto the counter sides to keep her up-right as he left no room between him, her, and the counter.

Her eyes fluttered close as he cups her cheeks, moving his human hand down the side of her face to her jawline slowly. “Take it all off,” he mumbles, his voice muffled against her soft lips. “I have other things in mind.

She whimpered against his mouth and pulled away for a moment, her chest heaving as she almost was gasping to catch her breath, “What about showering-?”

“Who says we’re not showering?” he smirked, undressing her with his eyes. She swallowed thickly at his gaze and moved to start striping down slowly, keeping eye contact with him.

“Now look at you, all riled up and nervous,” Anakin smirked crossing his arms and watching her.

“Don’t... don’t look at me like that,” she said softly after she got her bra off, her hands starting to tremble from excitement and straight nerves.

“Why not? It’s getting you to tremble, I like it,” his voice gets darker as he moved closer to her, kissing behind her ear. He moved his long fingers over her panties and hooked them in, slowly pushing them down as they fell to her ankles.

She felt shy and exposed as he pulled away to admire his prize, his eyes growing darker as he watched her. He moved his large hands to her smaller waist and pulled her flush against him, keeping his gaze on her face now, “Are you going to get in?”

She nodded, trying to pull away but his grip on her hipbones was too tight. He loosened his grip just enough for her to slink into the warm shower, and he followed suit right after.

He moved his hand to rub her back gently, keeping his ever-darkening gaze transfixed on her smaller body.

She purposefully tried to ignore him, keeping her back turned to his front as she wets her hair under the warm water trickling from the showerhead, trying to occupy her mind with anything but the obvious - she and her lover were showering together.

Anakin trailed his hands lower then moved so his front was placed firmly against her back, kissing the back of her neck, “Don’t ignore me, sweetheart. You’re on edge, let me help you.”

“I don’t know why I’m so nervous, I just,” she turned around and looked up at him and her breath hitched, gripping her hair tighter.

There her lover stood, towering over her with water droplets running down his long darkened brown curly hair onto his toned chest, the small droplets falling down his body over all his muscles.

An involuntary whimper escaped her lips as she shamelessly studied his figure, every inch, every angle... he was just perfect.

“You’re staring,” he smirked, his chuckle low as he pulled her flush against him, looking down at her with dark eyes, “take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

“Oh, shut up,” she said quickly, immediately slamming her lips onto his in a frenzied, heated swift movement. He let out a low growl against her lips in content as he pulled her as close as he could get her. She let out a soft moan into his lips as she felt his hard length press against her, causing her to shudder in anticipation.

“Now you’re needy, what changed, my love?” he pulled away from the intoxicating kiss to kiss and suck across her neck, making her moan softly, “I c-changed my mind,” she stammered, her mind blank and fuzzy with lust as her core began to throb with need.

“I can see that,” his voice was smooth yet deep, knowing he could do the slightest thing and get her riled up even further. He moved his hand and pushed her thigh up near his hip, moving it so he had more room as he danced his thumb over her clit slowly.

Her head fell against his chest and she let out tiny breathy whimpers against his skin, her hips jolting in surprise from the newfound pleasure, “Ani—“

“You’re such a needy little thing, aren’t you? You were acting all innocent earlier, and now that I'm rubbing my fingers all over you you’re a mess,” he clicked his tongue in teasing disapproval as he moved his pointer finger to slide into her heat quickly, alongside his middle finger.

Her eyes widened and she moaned loudly in approval, her heavy breathing against his chest quickening with each ministration.

“Ani, I j-just want you— please—!” she looked up at him with a lusty, needy gaze through her lashes, biting her lip to suppress more moans as he fucked her with his fingers. He grunted in response and curled them against her sweet spot, smirking at her reaction, “Is this what you wanted, sweetheart?”

“N-No—! I want your... i want y-your... fuck, Anakin!” she moaned in response, her hips starting to shake as Anakin knew how close she was already.

He chuckled darkly and leaned against her neck, sucking roughly over her already darkening hickeys as he started pounding his fingers into her harder, rubbing her clit faster, “Use your words, little one, I know you can.”

She threw her head back in ecstasy as she moaned, falling off the edge into bliss as Anakin fucked her through it with his fingers, his eyes wandering across her body now quivering from intense pleasure, water droplets falling from her hair down her breasts.

She went to speak when he silences her with an intoxicatingly passionate kiss, cupping her cheek with his metal hand as he helped her ride her high out, “Good girl...” he mumbled against her lips.

She felt completely out of breath, gripping his bicep for support as he pulled his fingers out of her, using his metallic fingers to brush away some of the wet hair from her face.

He moved her body further from the warm water of the shower so she wouldn’t get water in her eyes as he leaned her against the wall. Keeping his hand firm on her hipbone, he moved her thighs apart gently and began to pump himself slowly, his breathing picking up.

He looked in her eyes and saw an intense lusty gaze he hadn’t seen in them for awhile - and he immediately knew she wanted to continue. He moved his free hand to cup the back of her neck, moving her closer so he can kiss her deeply as he pushed himself into her quickly.

She gasped in surprise against his lips, her eyes fluttering closed as she felt him fill her up completely with one swift thrust.

She arched her back against him, gripping his back weakly as he immediately began rocking his hips into her at an unrelenting pace, grunting in her ear, “So fucking tight for me, angel... And so needy, letting me take you in the shower like this...”

She would never admit verbally just how much she loved his dirty talk, his dirty-natured words sending sparks throughout her pussy and her body as she gripped his hair tightly, “Please, this is all I’ve needed,” she moaned almost out of breath, her heart beating out of her chest as she tightened around him.

His loud growl in response edged her to start to roll her hips against his cock, and he smirked in response, leaning down to kiss across her throat, “So—fucking—tight...” he grunted into her ear, his cheeks burning bright red from the mixture of the hot sex and steamy shower.

Her legs buckled and he immediately gripped her closer to him and the wall, moving her to lean back against it more as he lifts her leg to get a deeper angle, causing her to cry out in ecstasy as the pleasure grew too great.

With her already sensitive, her high build much faster than usual and she gripped his hair tighter, digging her fingernails into the back of his head as she panted, her eyes rolling back, “Anakin—!” she moaned weakly.

He recognized that needy, breathy moan all too well as he knew she was close without her needing to say it. He kisses hot open-mouthed kisses across her throat and collarbone, moaning for her to cum for him as he lazily moved his finger down to rub her through her orgasm; the constant throb of her walls sending him closer to the edge.

She let out a loud breathy moan as her high overtook her, letting out small squeals and moans into his ear as it washed over her. She immediately felt numb as it ran through her, the sight of her moaning and the feeling of her throbbing harder causing him to cum. He leaned his head against hers, moaning shakily as he leaned against the wall to steady himself as he fucked them through it, his metal hand firmly on her hipbone to keep them upright.

Her breathing was shaky and uneven as they came down from their highs, and he kissed her hurriedly and softly, “Better?” she muttered against his lips. Anakin nodded softly and chuckled, pulling out after it had fully faded snd pulling them back under the direct range of the water, “Much, much better.”

#anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker smut #hayden christensen #star wars #anakinskywalker #anakin skywalker imagine #anakin skywalker x reader #star wars smut #hayden christensen smut #anakin skywalker x reader smut

1K notes · View notes

yesimwriting · 3 years

Text

Crossing lines

General Kirigan/the darkling x reader

Summary: This was requested by my friend @vvsdiamond28 who also writes and has a really good kirigan x reader story up right now! The request was basically for a fic in which the reader is out wandering at night and runs into kirigan while he’s in the banya and then they get to talking and some other stuff before he admits to only trusting the reader and giving her his real name. This gets kinda steamy bc of the request and bc the story called for it lol but it’s not full smut bc i decided that it would be better to do that as a part 2 so that i could add some jealousy tension haha

a/n i think im back?? Ive been working on requests a lot and ive really enjoyed writing regularly again. A small side note, after rewatching revenge of the sith im kinda in the mood to try writing an anakin fic 😭 pls he was my OG fictional crush,, so either send help or a request for him or something, Anyways,, back to this fic--ahh i had fun writing it but i still feel awkward writing steamier stuff so be nice!!

Those that wander in the night, lost in uneasy thought--there’s probably a lot that can be said about them. But I can’t think of anything to be said about me. Nothing good comes from walking around a place full of powerful and tense people in the middle of the night. It wouldn’t take much effort to interpret my actions as suspicious, and yet I continue forward. I’m an idiot--just because I can’t sleep doesn’t mean I have to wander around campgrounds. My presence is barely tolerated here, I shouldn’t try backstroking in waters I can barely tread.

But still, I walk, eyes more fixated on the open night sky than anything else. The moon is as full as an overflowing glass, the stars twinkling as if desperate to compete with a light it will never be able to duplicate. I sigh, pressing my lips together. Maybe the stars and I have more in common than I thought. Normally, that would be a good thing.

Letting out a weary breath, I continue forward, away from the relative safety of the main tents. I’m still on the grounds, I’m approaching the border where the tents of higher ranking officials are. That should make me more nervous, but if anything it almost eases me slightly.

General Kirigan is not the type to be friendly, and yet our interactions have always been laced with a touch of intimacy I can’t quite explain. We’ve been alone together more and more frequently, and I think that’s how I like him best. It’s strange, but when we’re alone some of his sharpness dulls, leaving space for something I might consider humor or actual personality on anyone else. He probably speaks to many girls like that when they’re alone together--a fact I have to fight to remind myself of--but it’s the closest thing to friendship I have here. Maybe it’s foolish to hold onto that, but I can’t bring myself to release my grip on those sentiments. At least not yet, when the kind moments are still rare and fleeting and no line has been crossed.

The danger, however, comes from the prospect of not recognizing lines before they’re crossed. Even now, as I walk aimlessly in the night, pacing in hopes of exhausting my thoughts, I’m crossing lines in a much more literal way and even these are ill defined. I must be in new territory now, and even that I can only vaguely recognize because of the strangely humid scent that surrounds this area of the grounds.

I’m near the banya. I didn’t intend to wander here, but the thought of splashing water on my face is too tempting to pass up on. I move closer, finding a sense of peace in having some direction, even in a small way.

When the promise of water is only steps away, I begin to regret everything. There’s a figure in the bath. I freeze, ready to attempt to shrink away in hopes of disappearing before I’m caught. This could easily turn extremely awkward even though I technically haven’t done anything. Most people don’t bathe at this hour. Who bathes this late at night?

I keep my eyes on the individual, trying to make out who they are and how aware they are of their surroundings in the dim light. Pale skin, dark hair--unbelievably attractive torso. My eyes linger there longer than they should. I force my gaze upwards, towards their face as if that can erase my ogling. Embarrassment leaves my face burning--I’m not the ‘ogling’ type, and this person doesn’t even know I’m here. I keep my eyes on them as I step back, taking in unaware features as best I can in the dark.

I know them--I--Saints, it’s Kirigan.

Fantastic. Of course he has to be even more impossibly attractive while shirtless and wet. I turn my head upwards sharply, more desperate to not be caught than ever. I would never, ever recover from being caught. Whether he’d tease me or be angry with me, I don’t know. I also don’t know which option I’d prefer.

I step back again, my gait wider due to my urgency. Snap. The sound of both a twig and my chance of a stealthy escape being shattered. I cringe, craning my neck to the left in a desperate attempt to make it clear that I wasn’t watching him. I take another desperate step, ready to duck behind a nearby tree. Maybe he hasn’t seen me--maybe he’s distracted and assumed that some kind of rabbit or something passed by. He may not actively dislike me, but I’m not sure any semblance of favor he may have for me extends to this situation.

“Y/n.” His tone reveals nothing but his level of certainty. Ignoring him will only make me seem guilty.

I pause, keeping my gaze off of him. “Yes.” It wasn’t really a question, and yet I still answer it like one. “I was--I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d get some air, and I was walking kind of aimlessly and I ended up here and I didn’t think anyone would be here.” Why do I feel like I’m making this situation worse? “I’m sorry--I’m gonna--I’m going to go now.” This is the kind of embarrassing moment that will come back to me when I’m trying to fall asleep at night. I know it.

“You know the polite thing to do after intruding is to make eye contact.”

I don’t think my face has ever felt this warm before. At least he doesn’t sound angry, but his voice doesn’t reveal that much. I raise my gaze carefully, turning my head slowly. “I didn’t mean,” I exhale slowly, “It wasn’t my intention to intrude.”

He straightens slightly at my words, exposing more of his chest. I stay still, eyes trained on his to avoid an accidental lapse. “You could make it up to me by offering conversation.” Kirigan’s tone is deliberate, his words measured and calm. I don’t speak, feeling like I’m being presented a test I don’t understand, but most of our conversations leave me feeling like that. “Only if you’re comfortable.”

And just like that, I’m backed into a corner. A challenge. To deny him now would be to expose the effect he has on me. My chin raises a fraction of an inch as I take in that assured half-smirk. “Why wouldn’t I be comfortable?”

Kirigan arches a dark brow, assessing my response. “Then sit,” his voice has not changed, “You want air and I want company.”

I don’t think anyone that looks as good as he does shirtless has ever had trouble finding company, especially with the smooth way he speaks. Despite this, I step forward to accept his challenge without calling him out on his coyness. Each step is the crossing of another invisible line until I’m near the water’s edge. I make sure to keep my nightgown at a respectable length as I sit down.

I make a point of extending my legs towards the water while leaning back so that I can’t be easily accused of being a coward. “I feel the need to warn you that I might not make particularly interesting company.”

He angles his head to the side slightly, drawing attention to his jawline and neck. I force my stare to focus on the water. “I’ve never found you uninteresting.”

There’s something resigned in the way he says this. On instinct, I look up, taking in the slight softening of his features. The release of his usual sternness only adds to his beauty, a fact that I’m already resenting.

“You may be the only one.” It’s not meant to be a deprecating comment, but I’m not sure my partial laugh softens my bitterness. I hope it does--I’d rather his interest than the interest of my entire unit.

Kirigan shifts forward, the water moving with him. “Do you think that any coldness you’re experiencing has to do with you?”

The question has me drawing my eyebrows together. What else could it be? I shrug, “I’ve considered it.”

He nods once, eyes hardening slightly. “Do you always have trouble sleeping?”

The personalness of the question shouldn’t surprise me as much as it does. Kirigan seems to only understand boundaries when he’s the one setting them. “Not really.” A partial lie--this time I’m glad I can’t quite bring myself to look at him. “It’s not uncommon for me, but it’s not something I deal with every night.”

I risk shifting my eyeline when I hear the sound of water moving. Kirigan’s now resting an arm on the rim of the pool, wet skin dangerously close to my ankle and lower calf. “It’s not always easy,” his voice is low now, “Being alone with your thoughts.”

That’s not the kind of reply I’d expect from him. I blink twice before turning to study his expression. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him seem so tired--so weary and human and in need of something. The line between his eyebrows and the far off quality of his eyes leave me with the strong desire to give whatever it is he needs to him. The urge to reach out, to touch him in hopes of breaking him free from his odd trance leaves my stomach knotted. That line is too clear to cross so recklessly.

I need to chase away the serious atmosphere he’s created. “Is that why you bathe so late at night?” I let myself smile, “To avoid thoughts?”

“I like the peace of it.” Something akin to amusement touches his words. “And for the record, little dove,” the nickname is pointed and earns him an eyeroll, “The warm water doesn’t exactly chase away thoughts so much as encourages others.” He pauses. “You understand, considering you can barely look at me.”

This is the most embarrassing thing to have ever happened. The suggestive jilt to his words has to be intentional. Damn him. I turn my head, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “I can look at you just fine.”

“And if I were a Heartrender and could hear your heartbeat your pulse would be normal?” The question is teasing, a small smile pulling at his lips.

The warmth in my face increases, spreading down my neck. Kirigan’s expression remains smug. “You’re not as funny as you think you are.”

“No?” He leans forward, angling his head so close to me I can faintly feel the warmth of his breath on my lower calf. “I find myself amusing.”

At least being around him like this is getting easier. I open my mouth, ready to provide some sarcastic comment I haven’t thought out yet. My mouth clamps shut on instinct when I feel his touch on my ankle. The faint contact quickly grows, his fingers brushing up my ankle and calf, leaving drops of cool water across my skin.

“What are you doing?” That’s a--a fair question, right? I’m not sure, rational thought slipping from me more and more with each passing second.

“Nothing, really,” his reply is quick. “Nervous?”

There is no way he doesn’t know what he’s doing. I roll my eyes, fighting against my instinctual fluster. “No,” a full lie, “You’re just getting me wet.”

“Barely.” When he’s not busy being brooding he’s not much better than an irritating child. He retracts his hand slowly, fingers grazing my skin slowly as he submerges his hand beneath the water. The loss of contact should feel like a victory. It doesn’t. “Y/n,” he shifts closer, back straightening.

There’s an odd seriousness to his demeanor that almost leaves me reeling. “Yes?”

He beckons me forward. I hesitate, but comply, letting myself shift closer to the water’s edge. Kirgan’s lips part, but no words leave him before he moves his arm, purposefully splashing water over my thighs and bottom of my nightgown. I let out an instinctively annoyed sound. “That is getting you wet.”

“Kirigan!” My tone is as menacing as I can make it, but he continues to grin. There’s such a lightness to the look I almost forget to be annoyed. Almost. “I should tell the entire Second Army how much of a child you are.”

My threat does nothing, his smile softening without fading. “They fear me too much for your stories to make a difference.” He says this flatly. “All of them except you.”

I don’t know if I’m supposed to make something of that comment. A brief moment passes in which I think his eyes come close to softening. Maybe that’s a side effect of seeing the world as you want. Wait...what do I want? Him? No, no, I can’t.

Okay, he’s objectively attractive and sometimes I think I may see more depth in him than he wants to be capable of. But that doesn’t mean I’m allowed to want anything with him. Even if he was trustworthy enough for me to be with him in any capacity...even casually, it could never happen. Nothing good could come from having relations with the highest ranked general and I doubt he’d ever want me like that. He likes to fluster people and I’m an easy target. I just accept it because being some level of entertainment to him is better than being nothing to everyone.

“I don’t think there’s much point in fear.” It feels like a fair answer. The fairest answer I can manage, anyways.

He sighs, the sound heavy. His hand stretches forward cautiously. I watch him and make no attempt to stop him from touching my lower calf. His fingers trace absentmindedly across the skin. “Of course you’d think that.”

Again, I don’t know what to make of his words. Or his actions. He couldn’t find anything wrong with me just slightly adjusting my position. It’d be a polite way to remind us both of the natural order of things. But then again, someone like him is allowed to be mad about anything. And I’m not sure I want to remind us of our place.

Actually, I’m completely sure that I want the opposite of that. But admitting that to myself is enough of a risk. I’ve already crossed thousands of tiny lines and what I want will require us to cross a thousand more.

“I’m a little surprised you’re not reminding me how foolish a notion like that can be.”

He lets out a tiny breath as he shifts even closer to me. “Maybe I’m enjoying your foolishness.”

“I’m not sure if I should take that as a compliment or the opposite.”

The slightest hint of a smile is visible to me beneath the moon’s glow. There’s something about darkness that adds beauty to things. I wait for him to reply, but instead of speaking his hand moves further up my leg. I struggle to hide my reaction to his long fingers trailing up my skin.

He’s touched me before, sure. Tiny moments in which he’d push a strand of hair out of my face or wipe at a bit of dirt on my cheekbone. More recently, he had gripped my hip firmly to guide me through a crowd of soldiers. He had been in a hurry, stealing me from a conversation with the only member of my unit that’s been somewhat friendly to me. It wasn’t serious--he had just been rushing me because he only had a minute between meetings and apparently he had too long of a day to not take a moment to speak with me.

“Are you alright, Dovey?” Normally, the nickname and all of its variations earns him an eyeroll. But everything is a lot less humorous with his hand half up my lower leg, leaving a trail of cool water wherever he touches.

His fingers press more firmly into my skin. “Yes, I’m fine--it’s just late.”

“Hm…” Kirigan breathes before tilting his head slightly. “You’re warm.” I stay silent as his hand shifts slightly. “Perhaps too warm.”

If I’m hot that has absolutely nothing to do with fever. “I’m fine, General, I promise.”

“Come closer,” he says, “It’ll take me no time to check.”

...A little too convenient. My nightgown is still embarrassingly damp from the last time I eased tonight. “Please tell me you don’t find me that naive.”

“Naive? No.” He lifts his hand slightly. “Warm? Yes.” I still don’t trust him. “I’m not going to do anything. I promise.”

His eyes are dark and the limited lighting of the moon doesn’t offer me much in my analysis, but what I can see makes him seem genuine. “Why do I feel like that’s not the first time you’ve had to say that?” Despite my comment, I move towards him.

The back of Kirigan’s palm is pressed to my forehead for less than a second. He brushes his hand down the side of my temple, rotating his wrist so that his fingertips can touch my cheek. His hand then continues to move down my jawline and then my neck...and then finally trails down my collarbone. I bite my tongue to avoid exhaling audibly at the contact.

“Warm,” he concludes with a tsk, and yet he doesn’t withdraw his hand. “Though that could just have to do with the climate.” His thumb slips beneath the sleeve of my nightgown. “Perhaps you could benefit from joining me.”

I bite my tongue to avoid letting out a surprised, embarrassingly enthusiastic squeak. I don’t know what’s gotten into him...maybe it’s the night air and the prospect of being fully alone. I should be strong enough to break whatever spell he’s starting to place on me. But I’m not. I’m really, really not.

He pulls on the sleeve of my nightgown slightly. “I’m…”

“Unless you’re nervous?” Another damn challenge. To shy away from this would be to expose myself. He tugs on the sleeve a little more assuredly, exposing my shoulder to the humid night. “Do I make you nervous?”

His voice comes out a shallow rasp. I feel it straight in my core. “...Not more than you should.”

“More than I should?”

Ugh--too honest. I let myself get distracted. It shouldn’t be too difficult to explain what I meant. He knows he’s feared. He wants to be feared. “I’m sure we’re both aware that there are a fair amount of cautionary tales revolving around you.”

His hand falls next to my lap. Oh? I didn’t expect to miss the contact between us so much. His expression seems to have fallen slightly as well. Was it my response to his question? It felt fair and straightforward without being too blunt. “And you believe every cautionary tale you hear?”

There’s something stiff about the way he asks the question. His moodiness is making me miss his touchiness even more. At least then I didn’t have to feel like I made a mistake. Did I say something wrong? “Should I?”

“It depends on whether or not you plan on being brave.”

“I told you...I don’t see much point in fear.”

“And yet you’re still there.” A bit of humor returns to his voice. “Why is that?”

Rolling my eyes, I shift forward, letting my legs dip into the water. This is as far as I should let this go. I’ve already lost too much more control. “Better?” He’s strangely tense again, a hint of something bitter playing at the smug look he tries for. “You alright?”

“Of course you’d ask me that.” He says this with a tired sigh. “You can never make things easy.”

“I don’t understand.”

He shifts backwards slightly. I can feel the distance between us like I’d feel a pebble in my shoe. “Do you believe all the stories about me?”

Is he still bothered by that? “I didn’t mean it as literally as you’re taking it. All I meant is that people are intimidated by you, but that’s not a bad thing. It’s the way things have to be, you’re the only Shadow Summoner in existence and the army needs you to be intimidating so that they can act on your guidance.”

“The way things have to be,” he echoes, his voice strangely weighted. “There’s a specific kind of loneliness that comes with being feared by everyone.”

Oh--I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him feel defeated like that. I reach for his hand without thinking, pulling his fingers towards my lap. “I don’t--I’m not scared of you.” It’s a weak attempt to comfort him, but it’s the only one I can think of. “That probably doesn’t mean anything, but I--”

His hand turns in my lap, squeezing the exposed part of my thigh. “It means something.” Kirigan’s voice has hardened in a different way. “You’re the only person I’m certain of.”

Everything in me seems to tighten at that. At the implication of something so personal from someone so closed off. “Kirigan, you don’t have to be as alone as you feel. You talk to me all the time and you do so in a way that makes it easy to forget the cautionary tales.” His hand moves further up my thigh. I fight as I try to remember our usual dynamic. “You’re the only one that talks to me like that.”

“Have you ever considered that maybe the others refuse to take to you because of the favor I’ve shown you? The instinct to stay away from me is strong enough to extend to those around me.” Kirigan’s hand moves higher up my thigh. “To be near me is to involve solitude.”

“I don’t care.” The answer leaves me too quickly. “Being near you is worth it.”

He leans closer before resting his chin on my knee with no hesitation. “Careful, you don’t understand the line you tread.” Kirigan places his hand more firmly between my thighs. “Or perhaps you do...perhaps you know what you want to cross.”

This time I can’t help the airy sigh that leaves me. Kirigan pushes against my thigh slightly, separating my legs. I feel his breath on my inner thigh before I know what’s going on. I can’t move, I can’t think, I can’t even breathe. That inability to do anything but feel my heart pound against my chest only worsens as I feel his lips press into the inside of my thigh. His lips trail up my skin before his teeth gently sink into the top of my thigh.

“Is the line you want to cross?” He breathes the question so softly I feel like I’m being coddled. Everything in me feels too hot to think of any kind of coherent response. Kirigan uses his free hand to pull the fabric of my nightgown as high up my thighs as he can from his position below me. “Or maybe this is the line you want to cross?” Kirigan pulls me forward so suddenly I let out a tiny gasp. I’m not fully on the edge of the banya. “Or perhaps this one?” He kisses the skin of my inner thigh gently. Each time I exhale too loudly, his teeth graze my skin. He gets harsher with each passing second. “Lay down.”

My body listens to him on instinct. How is this happening? How am I this powerless to fight against something that’s so clearly wrong? The sound of water shifting causes my entire body to tense. He’s pulled himself out of the water. Kirigan moves above me instantly, water dripping from his toned chest and dark hair and onto my still damp nightgown.

Before I can speak, he’s on me completely, his lips pressing against my jaw. He kisses down my neck, his teeth grazing against my skin sporadically. He pulls away from me by tracing his tongue across my collar bone. I let out something dangerously close to a moan. “Such pretty, little sounds.”

“Kirigan--”

“The only name I want you to hear from your lips is the only name that I’ve not given myself. The only name that holds meaning to me.”

His lips graze where my skin meets the hem of my now soaked through nightgown. I’m not sure the poor lighting is offering me enough coverage now. There’s no way the thin fabric leaves much to the imagination while being this wet. He kisses up my chest and neck until his lips reach the shell of my ear.

“Aleksander.” The name is grace in the form of a breath so soft it’s more like I’m feeling the name than actually hearing it.

He presses his lips against the spot on my neck directly beneath my ear. I exhale into the contact. “Aleksander.” As I test his true name on my tongue, his teeth dig into my skin much more harshly than before.

I let out a partial squeak at the sudden shift in pace as his hands grip my waist. “Say it again. Say my name again.”

He traces his tongue gingerly over the skin he just aggravated with his teeth before I can speak. The soothing sensation is so much I can barely find my voice. “Aleksander.”

His hand bunches the bottom of my nightgown, raising the fabric to my hips. “...Say it just like that.” Kirgan’s rough hand slips between the bone of my hip and the fabric of my hip. “Like I’m the only one that knows you like this.”

“Aleksander.” I breathe as he traces invisible patterns into my skin with his lips. “Aleksander.” Each use of his name earns me extra attention--a stronger hold on my hip, a more adamant nip at the base of my neck. I feel my need for him so heavily I swear it’s leaked into my bones. “Aleksander.”

When he pulls away, I fight the urge to whine. The night is still humid, but with the absence of his touch I feel like I’m shivering. He regards me silently for a long moment before shifting his weight again. I feel my heart stall in my chest as his hand softly brushes a strand of hair out of my face. He lets his hand linger there, at the apple of my cheek. The entire world seems to stall as he leans down, his hand cupping the side of my face as his mouth inches closer to mine.

“I can feel the fluttering of your heart.”

Any poor defense dies in my throat as his lips meet mine. He gives me no time to think about what’s happening as he presses into me even harder. Kirigan holds my face as his teeth graze against my bottom lip. My mouth opens slightly in surprise, giving him the opportunity he needs to slip his tongue into my mouth. His tongue slowly brushes against mine, coaxing me into total, delirious, compliance. When he starts to pull away, I react, my hands flying forward to grab his hair. He lets me get away with tugging him towards me, prolonging the kiss as he bites my bottom lip.

One of his hands leaves my face and travels up the hands holding onto his hair. He pulls me off of him easily, pinning both of my wrists above my head with one hand. “Easy,” Kirigan warns, “You’ve been such a good girl, let’s not ruin it before we’ve started.”

A tiny sigh leaves me. I can feel the pride he takes in that as his hand trails further down my body. His fingers ghost along the hem of my underwear teasingly.

“Is someone there?” I’ve never damned the voice of a stranger more.

Panic and dread roll in my stomach. I’m going to get caught like this, with my nightgown bunched at my hips beneath the General Kirigan. An unclothed, wet, General Kirigan. “I’m bathing.”

Okay...good...Aleksander spoke. Anyone with common sense would run at the thought of invading on Kirgan’s privacy. It’s a good thing that the soldier had the sense to linger behind a thicket of bushes. “Pardon General, but there’s been a crucial development. A new strategy should be thought of as soon as possible.”

No. No. The thought of losing contact so entirely, of having a moment that should have never happened be ripped from me before it’s even really happened is overwhelming. I feel my lips pull into a pout. Kirigan’s hand adjusts on me, his thumb pressing teasingly over where I’m neediest. I bite my tongue to avoid making an inappropriate noise.

“Five minutes--I’ll be in the strategy tent in five minutes.”

“I’ll tell the others, General.”

Great. I hear the stranger disappear, his feet crushing twigs and grass as he leaves us. Aleksander’s attention returns to me quickly. Disappointment swells in my chest as I take in the solemn look that crosses his features. His hand moves to my chin quickly before pulling me into another deep kiss. It’s too short lived.

“I have to go.”

Frowning, I lift my hand to trace my fingers up his arm. It’s softer than I should allow myself to be, but it doesn’t really matter anymore. Not when this is probably never going to happen again. “Do you?” I mumble to myself, half joking.

He sighs once, his thumb brushing against my cheek. “No pouting.”

Now that whatever little bubble we were in has popped, I’m capable of normal feelings. Including shame. “I am n--”

“Easy, little dove, I’ll remember all of this when I find you again.”

This...this is going to happen again? “You’re going to find me?”

“I haven’t yet heard your voice crack on my name as I undo you.” He punctuates the promise with a kiss to my jaw. “Again.” Another kiss. “And again.” Another brush of his lips as he finally pulls away. “And again.”

My breath catches itself in my throat as he moves off of me entirely. Damn whatever change in the war that’s pulled him away from me so suddenly. I sit up as he stands. I’m not sure where to look now that he’s not in close enough proximity to cloud my thoughts. I should leave as he dresses, but I can’t quite bring myself to. It doesn’t feel safe, not when the man that interrupted us could reappear at any moment. Not when I want to hold onto his presence like this as long as possible.

He squeezes my shoulder warmly as he passes before bending down to press one more kiss next to where his hand is.

“Soon,” he promises again.

General taglist: @theincredibledeadlyviper, @grishaverse7 @benbarnes-supremacy @tranquilitymoon @kaitlyn2907 @lunamyangel @christinawxxx @deceivedeer @real-mbappe @tonks33

295 notes · View notes

monako-jinn-stories · 2 years

Text

Crosshair X Fem!Reader Fan Fic

It Started With a Vacation

Ahhh I’m sorry this took so long, I just couldn’t find creativity and I ended up completely changing what I was doing. Also, I apologize in advanced for the very long chapter

Also, here is some amazing art by @hyperesthesias of Crosshair in an Aloha shirt and tiny drink umbrella as a toothpick from this post!!

Main Master List

Story Master List

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Seventeen

“Right, and so what are you going to do about it?” you asked, blocking a punch as Kwol tried to score a point. You were on a brief diplomatic leave to Dohbar, and all your official duties had been finished, so you decided to spar with Kwol until dinner was ready.

“I’m not sure. Ahni thinks we should send them to the temple with you, but I just…I don’t know,” he responded, catching your arm as you punched towards him and he threw you to the ground. “That’s five more points, I’m ahead of you now.”

“Oh, shut it,” you said, jumping back up and sweeping his legs out from under him as he laughed. He fell to the ground as well, landing on his butt.

“Hmm, five more to me, we’re even again,” you snarked before turning serious. “But Kwol, you have to realize, if you want them to learn the ways of the force, they have to go to the temple.”

“I know, I just wish they didn’t have to leave. I mean, they’re my kids. Both of them would be leaving.” Kwol drew his knees up and wrapped his arms around them, sitting in a ball on the floor. He rested his chin on his knees, and stared off into the distance. You felt his sorrow through the force, and you went to sit by him.

“Hey, I know it’s tough. That’s why I’m not making you choose a certain option. It’s for you and Ahni to figure out.”

“Yeah, but I would hate to send them away if it’s not what they want, or keep them here if they want to go.”

“Well, I know they’re young, but why not ask them what they want? Explain the situation as simply as you can, and let them choose to stay or go,” you suggested.

“I can’t explain that, what would I even say? ‘Hey, kids. Do you want to go away to this old temple to learn cool magic skills and have a cool weapon like aunt y/n, but never see me and your mother, or do you want to stay here and grow up with your parents, but let those magic skills disappear?’ I can’t say that to five year olds.”

“Either way, a decision has to be made. The council won’t accept them if they get too old.”

“They took Anakin in when he was nine,” Kwol countered.

“That’s because my father was insistent. He believed Anakin was the chosen one.”

“And do you agree?” Kwol asked, lifting his head to turn and look at you. You pursed your lips, thinking about the question.

“I don’t know,” you finally said. “And I don’t think it’s my place to say.” Kwol was silent, nodding briefly to your answer before he stood.

“Come on,” he said, extending a hand to you, “let’s keep going. You beat me last visit, I gotta start my win streak again.”

“You mean add to your losing streak?” You joked, swatting his hand away before jumping up. He immediately tried to kick you, but you moved to the side in time.

“Watch it, you don’t want to test me,” you said, eyes flashing with competitiveness.

“Oh, you sure? I think the queen’s been away a little too long, you seem a bit rusty,” Kwol countered.

“Oh really? How about I prove you wrong, then?” you said before taking a few steps away. Kwol looked at you curiously, and before he could realize what was happening, you ran forward and jumped into the air. Without using your Jedi abilities, you weren’t able to jump as high as normal, but you could still jump pretty well. At the last second, he realized what was happening, but it was too late. Your legs wrapped around his neck, not tightly, but enough to hold you in place. You used your weight to tilt the two of you backwards, and as he fell, you maneuvered around so that you could kick off of his chest. He fell to the ground with a rough “oof,” the wind knocked from him as you landed on your feet in a crouched position. Standing and walking over, you gently rested a foot on his chest as he caught his breath, not pushing down but keeping him from rising up.

“Still think I’m rusty?” you asked, and he just shook his head in defeat. After he caught his breath, you helped him up and walked over to the windows with him. It was 18:30, the sun hadn’t yet started to set, but there was a slight yellow glow under the blue sky.

“You’ve often told me Dohbar has the most beautiful sunsets of all the planets you’ve seen,” Kwol said after a minute of silence. You nodded, still looking forward at the clouds that dotted the sky.

“They’d miss this beauty if they went, wouldn’t they?”

“I cannot say what your children, or any other being for that matter, might miss or feel. All I can say is that it is a risk you will have to take if you let them go.”

“Why do you do that?” he asked, turning to face you. You looked at him as well, confused by his question.

“Do what?”

“You start talking in more words when I talk about Jedi stuff. You say ‘you will,’ instead of ‘you’ll,’ and ‘cannot,’ instead of ‘can’t,’” he explained.

“Oh,” you said, not having really realized the habit. “I guess I just, I don’t know, go into some weird wise Jedi persona? I don’t mean to.”

“It’s just funny,” he said, a small smile on his lips. “Makes me think of your one clone…ah, who is it? Tie! Yeah! He’s the one that speaks ‘improperly to the Kaminoans’ as he says.”

“Oh yeah. He says ‘ya,’ instead of ‘you,’ and stuff like that. I just don’t understand why they think it’s ‘improper.’ I mean, he’s literally just talking.”

“The Kaminoans aren’t the best people, from what you’ve told me.”

“Yeah, I guess that is true,” you said, turning back again to look at the sky. You sensed someone approaching from behind and smiled as you felt her presence. Without turning to see, you laughed quietly to yourself as Ahnimaka scared Kwol by wrapping her arms around him.

“Hey, you,” he said, spinning in her grasp to look down at her. She smiled back, leaning up to place a gentle kiss on his lips.

“Okay, I don’t kiss Crosshair in front of you guys, you can tone down the PDA,” you laughed, pretending to make a grossed out face.

“You’re just jealous he isn’t here for you to kiss,” Kwol taunted. You playfully shoved him, making Ahni’s grasp on him break. You then swept her into your own arms, and she gasped then giggled as you placed a kiss on her cheek.

“I think I’ll just steal your wife,” you teased, looking at her and winking. She smirked back, playing along by trailing a hand up your arm.

“And I’ll gladly let you,” she joked, turning your face with a delicate finger.

“Alright, hands off, that’s my wife, not yours, never will be yours,” Kwol said, separating the two of you before sticking his tongue out at you. You just laughed, shaking your head at him.

“I came to tell you guys that dinner is ready,” Ahni said.

“Perfect! Then I can have you for dessert,” Kwol said, wiggling his eyebrows.

“You’re disgusting, I hope you don’t talk like that in front of the kids,” you said, scrunching your face before leading the way to the kitchen, Ahni and Kwol laughing behind you.

“Aunty y/n! We helped mama cook!” Tayah said as you walked into the dining room. She stood on her chair, hands holding her up on the table as she smiled at you.

“Tayah almost ruined it,” Ringo said from his spot.

“Did not!”

“Did too!”

“No I didn't!”

“Yes huh!”

“Nu-uh!”

“Hey you two, don’t argue with each other,” you warned, but not in a stern voice. You raised an eyebrow at them with a small smirk, and they just giggled before settling down.

“Besides, I bet it was both of you who almost ruined it,” you said while smirking.

“Hey!” They said in unison, and before they could do anything, Kwol was stern with them.

“Don’t provoke them,” Kwol said to you.

“Don’t provoke them,” you mumbled in a mocking tone, loud enough for the twins to hear. They giggled, and Kwol shot you another look. You just fist bumped the two kids before beginning to eat your meal.

“Wow, this is actually really good!” you said, lying through the mouthful of food. Ahni gave you a questioning look that she hid from the children, and you just shook your eyes at her as if to silently say how bad it was. You were grateful that you’d only taken a small amount to eat, having planned on eating a different meal later.

“After dinner, do you want to play games with us, aunty y/n?” Ringo asked, his eyes sparkling at you as he waited for your response. You smiled sadly and shook your head, as you wouldn’t be able to stay tonight.

“Unfortunately, Ringo, I have to go back to Coruscant tonight,” you said.

“But you barely even saw us!” Tayah complained, give you a pouting look.

“I’m sorry, Tayah, but I was only here for official royal business. They need me back in the war.”

“Stupid war,” Ringo said, folding his arms over his chest.

“Hey,” you said, reaching over to him and lifting his chin. You looked at him gently, and his pout fell away. “I promise, when the war is over, I’ll spend five months with you guys, okay?”

“Promise?” They both asked, simultaneously raising their pinkies for you. You smile and wrap yours around theirs, nodding your head.

“Promise.”

You look over to Kwol who had a conflicted look on his face. You could make a good guess about what he was thinking, and you were curious to see how this went.

“Hey, Ringo, Tayah? I have something I want to ask you,” he said, and Ahni looked at him with confusion.

“Now, this has been a tough topic for me and your mother, but we’ve decided, well, aunty y/n suggested, that we should ask you what you want.”

The twins just stared at each other and then back at him, unsure of what to expect.

“You need to make a decision for your futures,” he began to explain. “You know how y/n is a Jedi, and she has awesome and cool magic skills, right?” They both nodded, confirming his statement.

“Well, she senses them within you as well-“

“Woah! You mean I can jump super high?” Ringo said, beginning to stand from his seat.

“Well, no,” you said, stopping him. “You don’t just have the ability, you have to train it.”

“Oh,” he said simply, sitting back down.

“The decision you have to make involves that training. Jedi younglings are required to go to Coruscant to learn the ways of the force. They stay there to learn and train, eventually become knights like y/n was before she was given the title of master.”

“We get to become Jedi knights?” Tayah said giddily, bouncing in her chair.

“That’s an option, yes,” Kwol said. “But if you choose to go, to leave Dohbar, you won’t be able to come back. You won’t be able to visit, or even contact me and your mother in any way.” The room fell silent at that, and the twins looked at each other again.

“So…we can have cool powers, but we can’t have you?” Ringo said after a minute. Kwol nodded, silent in his attempt to hold back his fears.

“But if we stay, we can’t have those cool powers,” Tayah added. Again, Kwol nodded. “That’s so unfair! Aunty y/n got to stay here when she was trained!” You instantly felt guilty, knowing your own unique circumstance. It wasn’t fair, she was right, but it hadn’t been your decision to stay. You’d wanted to go, but the king and queen wouldn’t allow it. You knew that you and Kwol had no right to force the kids either way, so you remained silent and waited for Kwol to continue. He looked at you as if he was asking for help, so you decided to say what you could.

“Tayah, Ringo, I know my situation was different. I know me and Codo were not the typical Master and Padawan, and my training wasn’t traditional. But you need to know, the king and queen before me made me stay, against my wishes. And we are not forcing you to go either, we are simply giving you your options.”

“But…but I want to be cool like you!” Ringo said.

“And you can be, but there is a sacrifice that you must make if you choose to do so.”

“I can’t leave mama,” Tayah said, looking to her mom with big, sad eyes. Ahni reached out and grabbed her hand, stroking it gently with her thumb.

“Tayah, I want you to do what you think is best for you. And if you must, you know you are always able to leave and come back to us,” Ahni said, and Tayah’s eyes flicked to yours.

“I can come home if I don’t like it?”

“Yes, but if you are not committed before you go, I would not suggest going at all.” Tayah nodded, picking up her fork to eat the last bit of her meal.

“You do not have to decide tonight, I will visit again soon, and you must have your answers then,” you said, standing and taking your dishes to the kitchen. You quickly washed them before glancing at your chrono. It was 19:00 now, and you needed to get back to Coruscant. Walking back into the room, you playfully pinched Tayah’s cheek before going to pack.

“I wish you were here more often,” Ahni said, lingering in your doorway as you packed. You turned to look at her, smiling softly.

“I know, but the war-“

“Is the war more important than your family? Your friends? What about Ringo and Tayah? If they choose to stay here, you’ll keep up this habit of barely seeing them, and when you do it’s only briefly.”

“Ahni, you’re a senator. You know how important this war is.”

“But I still make time for my family,” she said, taking a step inside.

“Look, I don’t want to argue about this, okay?” you said, standing and stepping towards her. “Let’s just enjoy the time we do get to spend together.”

“You make time for your men,” she said, folding her arms over her chest. “You even made time to bring those clones on a little vacation. You’re with one of them now.”

“You know I barely see him, right?” You countered. “It’s been nearly a month since the last time I’ve seen him in person. But yes, when both of us are on Coruscant, or both of us are on Kamino, I make time for him. I don’t fly across the galaxy to visit, though.”

“Dohbar isn’t across the galaxy, y/n. The trip isn’t that long.”

“Yes, but I have to be ready and there if they need me. I can’t just leave whenever I feel like it.”

“But you could at least try, y/n. These things take effort, and you’re not giving much.”

“I’m giving more than you know, but when I can’t even control where I’ll be in the next few hours, it’s kind of hard to make plans.”

“If you have plans, then they should come first.”

“Oh, yes. I’ll just let the separatists know that this battle has to be over in time for my trip to Dohbar,” you said sarcastically.

“I’m not trying to fight you,” Ahni said. “You just need to know how others feel.”

“But you’re acting like I can control these things, Ahni. I can’t, I wish I could but I can’t.”

“I wish you could too,” she said, leaning against the wall and sighing. “Life was better before the war.”

“Yeah, well, the war gave me purpose,” you said. “Before, I was just some Jedi and queen, my life was spent doing nothing but diplomatic duties and turning down incompatible suitors. Now, I can fight for what I believe in. I can stand alongside the men who nobody else seems to see.”

“But you’re leaving behind others in forming these new bonds.”

“I’ll never leave you behind, Ahni,” you said, setting a hand on her shoulder, “but I will have to put other things first. It’s just the way the war is.”

“I know,” she said simply, turning and walking out of the room. You went back to packing, finishing up after a few more minutes. You went to the kids’ rooms and asked them to walk with you, and Ahni and Kwol met you in the hangar.

“Please stay for tonight?” Tayah asked, holding onto your left leg.

“We miss you,” Ringo added, holding onto your other. You knelt down, wrapping your arms around them in a big hug.

“I miss you as well, but I have to go. I promise I will visit when I can.”

“Okay,” they said in unison, and pulled away to frown at the floor. You kissed Tayah’s forehead before grazing your thumb over Ringo’s cheek, giving them a little affection to try and remind them you still cared about and loved them.

“Looks like our queen is flying off once again,” Kwol said, giving a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“I’ll be back before you know it,” you said, hugging him tightly before looking at Ahni.

“Have a safe flight back,” Ahni said, hugging you before you climbed into your starfighter.

“I always do,” you said, smirking at her.

“Hey, don’t lie to me,” she said, folding her arms. “I’m well aware of how reckless you like to be.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” you said before the top of your ship came down. You started the engines and began to lift up, you smirked and waved before whipping the ship around and flying quickly out of the hangar. You could sense the eye roll from Ahni as you did, and you laughed to yourself as you exited the atmosphere.

When you reached Coruscant, you went straight up to your room. You wanted to relax and enjoy your night, taking some much needed time for yourself. When you neared your door, however, you were surprised by someone standing by it. A tall, slender man, with handsome features and beautiful silver hair met your gaze, and when he smirked, the toothpick in his mouth shifted sides.

“Crosshair,” you said, smiling as you approached

“You miss me?” He asked, moving from his spot to gently lift up your chin.

“Of course I did,” you responded.

“How touching,” he replied before leaning down and pressing a kiss to your lips. It had been around a month since you last saw him, and though you’d commed nearly every night, it wasn’t the same as seeing each other in person.

“What are you doing here?” You asked as you pulled away.

“We’ve got some days off, I wanted to spend them with you,” he responded as you opened your door. He followed closely behind, leaning against the wall as you sat on your couch. You looked at him curiously, letting your eyes roam over his figure. He wore only his undersuit on his upper half, his lower half covered in his armor.

“My eyes are up here, princess,” he teased, raising a brow as he watched your gaze.

“Mhmm, I know,” you replied, slowly drawing your eyes back up. “I was just going to make a quick meal and then freshen up before bed.”

“That sounds boring,” he said flatly. “Why don’t we go out somewhere?”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

“Well, we haven’t had our first one yet, and as much as I love your cooking, I think a night of fun sounds like a good plan,” he said.

“Oh, so being here alone with me isn’t fun?” you joked, and he immediately shook his head.

“That’s not what I meant, cyar’ika. But, it’s not often that I get to go out on Coruscant. Though, if you want, I’m perfectly fine with staying here.”

“No no, we can go out,” you assured him, “I just have to change first. Do you have anything else to wear?”

“All I have are undersuits, my armor, and that suit I was forced to wear.”

“That’s something we can do then, we can go shopping,” you said.

“We are not going shopping,” Crosshair stated firmly.

“Hmm, we’ll see about that,” you mumbled, and he rolled his eyes as a small smirk played over his lips. “Okay, I’ll be right back. There’s snacks in the cupboards if you’re hungry.”

“Don’t want to ruin my appetite, love,” he said. You paused slightly, absorbing the new nickname. At this rate, you might have to create a list of everything he calls you. Yet all you’d come up for him was Snarky.

“Y/n?” He called from the kitchen. You used the force to open your bedroom door a crack and answered him.

“Yes, Crossy?”

“Don’t call me that,” he said. “Where are you planning on taking me?”

“Me planning? You were the one who asked me out,” you pointed out, holding back a laugh.

“I suggested we go out, but I didn’t say, ‘y/n, do you want to go out with me?’ That would be asking you out,” he replied in a playful tone. You huffed and rolled your eyes, stepping out of your room as you’d finished changing. You were immediately met with a pillow to your face when you did.

“Hey!” You said, shaking your head slightly before glaring at him. He had a new toothpick in his mouth, and he was smirking while holding his pillow.

“Aren’t Jedi supposed to know when things are going to happen?” He asked cockily.

“You’ve asked me that before, you know? When you shoved me into the pond?”

“But I never got an answer,” he said, swiftly bringing the pillow up to hit you again. You dodged it this time, narrowing your eyes before running to the couch to grab your own. You spun around in time to swing yours up to block Crosshair’s, and you managed to hit him as well. He retaliated quickly, hitting you three times in quick succession as you stumbled backwards. You caught yourself as you almost fell, and spun around to avoid him lunging at you. You then smacked the back of his head with your pillow, and he nearly fell forward. He turned to look at you, and you hit his face this time.

“Oh, you’re getting it now,” he said, moving towards you and grabbing your arm. He pulled you into him, and held your back against his chest as he brought the pillow down on your head multiple times.

“C-Crosshair!” you said between giggles, struggling against his hold. “Let me go!”

“Have you learned your lesson, princess?” he asked, holding the pillow above your head.

“Lesson? What lesson? You just started hitting me with a pillow for no reason!”

“Wrong answer,” he chuckled, bringing the pillow around to hit your face.

“Fine! Yes! I’ve learned my lesson,” you said, and he hummed as he let you go. Once free, you whipped around and hit his face with your pillow. That was the wrong move, as his eyes flashed in playful danger before you let out a little shriek and ran from him. You made the mistake of running to where he could corner you, and your eyes widened as he approached you, moving as if he was a lothwolf stalking its prey. Once he was close enough, he swiftly bent down and lifted you up. Throwing you over his shoulder, he moved to the entrance of your quarters.

“Ready to go on our date, princess cyar’ika?” he asked, his hand hovering over the button to open the door.

“My hairs messed up,” you said, but he just shrugged and opened the door to walk out. “Crosshair, should you really be carrying me around here? Someone could see.”

“And someone would have to deal with me not caring. Unless you don’t want people to know you’re with me.”

“No, it’s not that. I just…set me down, I need to tell you this and know you hear me.” Crosshair did as you said, setting you down gently and meeting your gaze. His eyes were blank, studying you as you looked at him.

“I don’t want people to know, but not because of who you are. I’m not ashamed to be with you, I love you,” you said, and you saw the slightest upturn of his lips and his cheeks darkened the smallest bit. “I'm just scared of what might happen to us if the wrong person found out. I could live with not being in the order, I’m already pretty objective to tradition. But I don’t know what would happen to you. You could be transferred, jailed, or decommissioned. I can’t live with that happening to you, especially not because of me.”

“Y/n, I would die for you, if it meant we could love each other.”

“No,” you said sharply, firmly grabbing onto his undersuit. “You will live for me, you understand? Live!” Crosshair was taken aback by your sudden seriousness. The look in your eyes was all he needed to see to know how much you meant your words. He nodded, holding your gaze.

“I will live for you, y/n. For us.”

“Good,” you said, the soft look coming back to your eyes. “Now let’s go, I’m getting hungry.” He chuckled as you grabbed his hand and began pulling him towards the elevator. Once in the hangar, you hopped onto the nearest speeder and patted the seat in front of you.

“You want me to fly even though I don’t know where we’re going?” he questioned, and you pursed your lips.

“Good point,” you said, scooting up. He sat behind you, slowly wrapping his arms around your waist and leaning down to whisper in your ear.

“Now, where are you taking me for dinner?” he asked, his voice quiet and deep. You internally cursed him for the way he was teasing you. He knew how easily he made you fluster, and he was using it for his enjoyment.

“Dexter’s diner,” you said, suppressing the slight raise of your tone as he moved his head lower to kiss your neck again.

“Hmm, I’ve heard about that place. Not very fancy.”

“Well, you know me. I’m not one for fancy things.”

“No, you’re not,” he agreed, pressing another kiss to your neck before he pulled away. You weren’t able to stop the small whine that left you when he did, and you felt him chuckle behind you.

“Better clear your head so you can focus on flying,” he teased, “don’t want you being distracted.”

“Well, tell that to the distractor then,” you shot back playfully before starting the speeder and flying out.

The trip to Coco town wasn’t long, and you rode in silence. Crosshair had rested his chin on your shoulder, and you felt him move his head every time something caught his attention. You wondered if he’d ever been here, or even a place similar. You couldn’t help but feel excited that you might be introducing him to something new.

As you pulled up to Dexter’s, Crosshair perked up curiously. His fingers tapped on your waist as he took in the surroundings.

“This place isn’t very fancy,” he concluded, stepping off of the speeder and holding his hand out for you.

“And I am?” You jokingly asked, and he shook his head in response.

“It’s nice, actually. Being away from the same kind of places.”

“That’s why I like Coruscant, it’s diverse. There’s an area for almost any place in the galaxy. I especially enjoy the Nautolan shops,” you said, leading him to the entrance. A few of the patrons eyed you suspiciously, and Crosshair seemed to notice as he stepped closer to you.

“Well well well, what do we have here?” a voice from behind the counter called. You turned and saw Dexter giving you a grin, and you returned the expression.

“Oh, we’re just a couple of tourists stopping by a local diner,” you said, laughing with him at your response.

“Y/n Jinn, a pleasure as always to see you,” he said, coming over and wrapping his arms tight around you. Crosshair raised a brow, a hint of amusement in his eyes.

“And you as well, Dexter,” you said, following him as he led you to a table.

“And who is this friend you’ve brought me today?” he asked, studying Crosshair for a second.

“This is Crosshair. He’s a member of a special clone squadron called Clone Force 99.”

“Clone Force 99, you say? Aren’t you also called the Bad Batch?” Dexter asked, looking at Crosshair.

“Yes, how did you know about us?” Crosshair responded, eyeing down the besalisk.

“Ah, my friend, when your diner is common for people of all walks of life, you hear interesting stories,” Dexter said, placing down your menus. “Feel free to order anything you like, the meal is on the house tonight.”

“Dexter, I can’t let you do that,” you said while shaking your head.

“Alright then. I’ll bill it to the GAR, how does that sound?”

“Bill it to the Kaminoans, it’ll be a nice treat from me,” Crosshair said, a sly smile lingering on his lips.

“As you wish,” Dexter chuckled. “I’ll let you look at the menu for a few minutes.”

After he walked away, you began looking at the menu, though you already knew exactly what you’d get.

“How often do you come here?” Crosshair asked, and you looked up at him.

“Not that often, why?”

“Because you look like you’ve just seen the love of your life after a long time apart,” he joked.

“Well, it was almost a month since I’d last seen you,” you pointed out.

“Smooth,” he commented.

“I’ve just missed this place. And I’m glad I have the chance to bring you here.”

“Well, I’m glad you did as well,” he said, more quietly than his other comments.

“What was that? Was that affection?” you teased, and he shot you a playful look.

“Watch it, or I’ll start biting.”

“Oooh, I’m sooooo scared,” you said, and he quirked an eyebrow before glancing over to Dexter, who had come back.

“What will you be having tonight?” he asked, as if he didn’t already know your answer. You looked to Crosshair who motioned for you to go first.

“Well, I’ll be having the usual, a shawda clubb sandwich with water.”

“And you?” Dexter asked Crosshair.

“I’ll have the same thing,” he responded, handing Dexter your menus.

“Perfect! I will have those out to you as soon as possible,” Dexter said before heading into the kitchen.

“I have no idea what the shawda clubb sandwich is,” Crosshair said when he left. You laughed, then noticed his slight embarrassment.

“It’s okay, it’ll be something new. I promise, it’s so much better than ration bars,” you assured him. He looked at you warily before his eyes roamed over the room again.

“I don’t know if I like this place,” he said. “Some of these people don’t look very friendly.”

“Like Dexter said, there’s people from all walks of life. There could be senators, or there could be bounty hunters. Criminals and royalty. But when we’re here, we’re all friends.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, not quite satisfied with your response. You sat in silence for a few minutes, but it was a comfortable silence. Crosshair looked around, observing the area, as you looked out the window. Your eyes watched the speeders that flew by, and the people who walked past. You truly did love this place, being among the people of Coruscant. It made you feel more normal, how you wished you'd been born.

“What’s on your mind?” Crosshair asked, and you turned to see him gazing at you. His eyes were soft, loving as he looked at you.

“I just…this is going to sound stupid,” you said, shaking your head and looking back out the window.

“Nothing you say ever sounds stupid,” he said, reaching forwards and turning your cheek to face him. His eyes searched yours, and you couldn’t help but give in.

“I wish I was normal,” you said, looking down at the table.

“Normal? Why in the galaxies would you ever want to be normal?”

“Because I don’t like being me. I didn’t get to choose any part of my life. I never asked to be royalty, and I never asked to be a Jedi. Yeah, I could leave the order, but then I would be leaving the people I love. And I could give up my throne, but then I’d be leaving other people that I love. I don’t even know if I was meant for any of this.”

“You were meant for this, y/n,” Crosshair said softly but firmly. “If you wouldn’t have been royalty, you never would have met Kwol or Ahni, and they probably never would have met. And if they never met, Ringo and Tayah wouldn’t exist. And if you weren’t a Jedi, you never would have met Codo, or Sans, Hex, Steele, or any one in the 17th. You never would have met anyone in the order, or the GAR. You never would have met the Batch. You never would have met me.” He was right, and you knew he was. There were so many good things that came from your life, but yet you still wished it was different.

“Do you ever want to just…step away? Be someone else, live a different life?”

“I did,” Crosshair admitted, “but not anymore. Not since I’ve found the one thing worth keeping this life.” You couldn’t help the small smirk that appeared on your lips at his question.

“Oh yeah? And what’s that?” you asked, looking up at him. He just chuckled and shook his head, leaning back into his seat.

“Someone very beautiful, strong, brave. She’s smart, talented, and elegant. Never met anyone quite like her.”

“Does she have a name?”

“Yes, the perfect name,” he said, his lips turning up into a smile.

“And what is this perfect name?”

“Ah, and the food is here!” Dexter said, interrupting your moment. Crosshair chuckled quietly, sitting up and thanking Dexter for the food.

“Is everything alright, y/n? Usually you would have the first sandwich half eaten by now,” Dexter laughed.

“Oh, hush! He doesn’t need to know that!” you said, your cheeks darkening at the comment.

“Oh, I didn’t realize…my bad. This is a date. Well then, continue as you were,” Dexter said, making a show of giving a bow before winking to you and walking away.

“He’s quite the charmer,” Crosshair joked, picking up his sandwich.

“Charmer isn’t quite the word I’d use,” you mumbled, taking a bite of your own food. He watches you, waiting for your reaction. When you sink down slightly in your seat and your eyes flutter a tiny bit, he concludes that you do, in fact, love this meal. Deciding that your reaction is good enough to convince him to try it, he does. He keeps his face neutral, but his insides are screaming to express how they feel.

“So?” you ask him after swallowing another bite. He simply nods, but you notice the way his eyes linger on it hungrily.

“Hmm, is that the best thing you’ve ever tasted?”

“Yes, by far-well, besides your cooking, of course,” he said, catching himself before making a mistake. You just laugh, going back to enjoying your meal.

“If you could pick any place in the galaxy to be for the rest of your life, where would you choose?” Crosshair asked after a minute, and you looked at him with a raised brow.

“I feel like this is a trick question,” you laughed.

“No, it’s only a simple one,” he said.

“Well, I guess Dohbar, but I’m not sure. I mean, I was raised there, and it’s beautiful and all, but there’s just so much out there in the galaxy, I don’t think I’d be able to just stay in one place. What about you?”

“By your side,” he responded while smirking. “Wherever you wanted to be.”

“So it was a trick question!” you playfully accused.

“No, I just had the better answer.”

“Well, let me ask you a trick question then,” you said, leaning forward with your arms resting on the table.

“Okay, shoot,” he said, leaning forward as well with a cocky smile.

“What’s the best view you’ve ever seen?”

“Easy, you,” he replied confidently.

“Mhmm, you only said that because you knew it was a trick question,” you said while poking his nose. He scrunched his face when you did, wiping his nose as if something was on it.

“I would have answered the same either way,” he stated before turning to look at Dexter who had come back.

“Are we having dessert tonight? Maybe a shared twin sun smoothie?”

“What do you think, Crossy?” you asked, earning an eye roll from him.

“I think it sounds interesting to try,” he responded, and Dexter nodded.

“I’ll have FLO bring that right over.”

A few moments after Dexter’s gone, the hostess droid rolls over with a drink in her hand.

“Long time no see, sweets,” FLO said as she set down the drink. “Who’s this fella you’ve brought with you?”

“Crosshair,” you replied.

“Crosshair, eh? More like grey hair,” she joked, and you saw the slight embarrassment flash across his face.

“I think his hair is lovely,” you defended.

“Oh, I never said it wasn’t, hun. I think it looks nice as well.”

“I don’t,” Crosshair mumbled to himself, but it was loud enough for you to hear.

“Enjoy your smoothie,” FLO said before rolling away.

“Why don’t you like your hair?” you asked Crosshair. He didn’t respond, instead deciding to take a sip of the smoothie between the two of you.

“I was being serious, I think it’s lovely.”

“It’s just another deformity that sets me apart from the others,” he stated dryly.

“Cross,” you said, grabbing his hand gently and making him look at you. “Nothing about you is a deformity. They’re unique features that make you special. Anything that makes someone different makes them more special.”

“Yeah, well, I’m a clone, I’m not supposed to be special.”

“You all are though, so just accept that you are the handsomest one and let’s move on,” you said cheekily. That made the corner of his lip turn upwards, but he pretended to scoff.

“I’m the handsomest, you say?” he asked, lifting a brow to you.

“Yup.”

“Anything else?”

“Fishing for compliments now, are we?” you teased, raising a brow back at him.

“You seem to like to hand them out pretty loosely.”

“I can stop if you want,” you said, battling your lashes at him.

“Princess, that’s the last thing I’d want,” he chuckled before finishing the last of the smoothie. You left some credits on the table as a tip to FLO, and tossed some to Dexter as you walked by.

“See you next time, y/n,” Dexter said, waving with a free hand. “And bring Crosshair with you again, I like charging the Kaminoans.”

“Will do,” you said before walking out the door.

When you got to the speeder, you turned and looked up at Crosshair. He smirked before taking a step forward, slipping his hands onto your waist and bending down to connect your lips. You smiled into it and wrapped your arms around his neck. You pulled away slowly, and he tilted his head slightly.

“What if we don’t go back to the temple yet,” he suggested.

“What would we do instead?”

“We can walk around and find something.”

“Oh! I can take you to get some civvie clothes!” you said excitedly.

“I was thinking something we’d both enjoy,” he countered.

“Don’t worry, you’ll enjoy it. And it won’t take long, I promise.”

“Fine,” he sighed, though you could see the slight anticipation in his eyes. You grabbed his hand, forgetting about the speeder, and drug him along as you ran deeper into the Coruscant streets. Lights from inside shops blurred as you passed them, and you ignored Crosshair behind you asking where you were running to. Only when he stopped and pulled you with him did you pause.

“How about we enjoy our time, instead of rushing there,” he said, and you felt your face heat with slight embarrassment at your excitement.

“Right,” you said, turning to start walking down the street. Crosshair moved to your side and gently laced his fingers with yours, causing you to look up at him. He was facing away, his eyes trained ahead, but he could sense you staring.

“What?” he asked, still not meeting your gaze.

“Nothing,” you said, squeezing his hand slightly, which he did back. Nobody paid much attention to the two of you as you walked. You didn’t look unusual to them, you looked like any other couple. The only hint at who you may be was the undersuit and bottom set of Crosshair’s armor that he wore.

Maker, you really needed to take him to get some civvie clothes.

The farther you walked, the more Crosshair seemed to relax. He’d been slightly tense since leaving the temple, and even more so in Dexter’s, but now he seemed to feel better. The cool night wind blew softly around you, not too much as to chill you, but enough to keep you comfortable. Not that you could tell it was night by looking around, as the lights all around gave off enough light to imitate the sun.

Neon signs and big window displays caught Crosshair’s eyes, but you didn’t stop until you’d reached the one place you wanted to go. You stood outside the door, looking in through the window before looking back to Crosshair. He kept his expression neutral as he motioned for you to enter.

“Oh, dear maker,” he mumbled as you both stepped in. A wide grin flew onto your lips as you tugged on his arm.

“Come on, Crosshair. Let me at least pick one outfit for you?”

“Look at all these clothes. Do you really think I would wear any of this?”

“Well…” you said, glancing around. “You never know what you might end up liking until you try it on.”

“They’re all so colorful.”

“And so is your personality,” you sarcastically commented while rolling your eyes, to which he scoffed at. “Just trust me, okay? Can you do that for me?”

“I’ll give you one chance.”

“Good, because I’m not really giving you an option,” you said before smiling smugly at him and turning to wander around. He followed silently behind you, occasionally looking at a piece of clothing before moving on. Everything was so different from what he was used to. Loose, bright, and fun designs surrounded him, and he couldn’t help but dread what you were planning on stuffing him into.

“Oh, look at this!” you said, holding up a ridiculously ugly shirt.

“You’re joking, right?”

“What? I think it’s nice,” you said, looking at it again.

“I think you’re crazy. I’m not wearing that.”

“Hey, you said I could choose one outfit, so if I want to choose this one you have to wear it.”

“You could at least pick something better,” he said, looking around the shop. “That shirt over there is better.”

“But I like this one,” you said before putting it down. “Fine, I won’t choose this one, but the next one I choose you can’t say no.”

“Whatever you say, princess,” he said, following behind as you began to search again. You led him into an area with patterned shirts, and he looked around curiously. He didn’t hate these, they certainly weren’t his favorite, but they seemed to be the best options in the shop. His eyes lingered on one with a simple flower and leaf pattern that wasn’t overly bright.

“What do you think about this?” he asked, lifting it up to show you. You looked at it for a few moments in concentration, studying it closely.

“Wait! Yes! That’s perfect! And then these!” you said, running over to the pants section. You come back with a pair of grey pants, and shove them into his arms.

“I’m not done,” you said before running off. Crosshair looked at the clothes in his arms and imagined what you could possibly be getting to add to it. You came back and handed him a pair of socks and shoes.

“There, now go put it all together,” you said, shoving him towards a dressing room.

“Care to help me?” he asked, throwing a cheeky smile over his shoulder.

“Just get in there,” you laughed, walking away to look at more things. You wandered around the store, waiting for him to let you know he was ready. You were excited to see how it came together, and you hoped he would end up liking it. This definitely wasn’t your usual shop, but you’d had the fun idea to take a look around it for him, not that it was even close to what you’d imagine he liked.

As you made your way around to another end of the store, you heard Crosshair calling for you.

“Coming!” you replied, hurrying back over to see his outfit. He was leaning his head out and when he saw you he sighed.

“It’s really not that good,” he said, and you just grinned at him.

“Show me, it can’t be bad,” you countered, and he just shook his head.

“No laughing,” he warned, and you nodded impatiently. He sighed again and took a step out. Your mouth dropped and you brought your hand up over it to silence yourself.

“You’re laughing,” he accused you, folding his arms over his chest.

“No,” you replied, removing your hand to reveal your attempt to keep calm.

“You think it’s ridiculous,” he said.

“No, it’s just missing something,” you responded, thinking for a second before you remembered something you’d seen.

“Hold on!” you said, hurrying off to find something. Crosshair merely stood with his arms folded as he waited, and a few moments later you were back with a small object in your hand.

“Here,” you said, handing him the object. “Use it like your toothpick.”

“A tiny drink umbrella?” he asked, eyeing it as if it were a joke.

“Yes.”

“You want me to chew on a tiny drink umbrella?”

“Just put it in your mouth!”

“Fine fine,” he said, fighting the chuckle that wanted to slip out. He did as you asked and you burst into the laughter you couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Oh my Maker, this is so funny.”

“Am I just your dress up doll now?” he questioned, though there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

“No, of course not. I just wanted to see you like this, and so will your brothers,” you said before quickly snapping a holopicture.

“You’re not sending that to anyone,” he warned, and you just gave him innocent eyes.

“I think I accidentally already sent it to Tech.”

“I’ll get you back for this, cyar’ika,” he said, turning to go back and change.

“Wait, you’re not keeping it?”

“I look ridiculous, plus we have to buy it first.”

“Wait, we’re buying it?” you asked excitedly.

“You’re, not we’re, since you wanted to dress me up.”

“As long as you keep it, I don’t care,” you said, taking the clothes from him as he came out. You led him up front and bought the clothes, spinning back around and shoving them into his arms again.

“Now that we’ve bought them, go change,” you said.

“Princess, I can’t. What am I going to do with all my armor if I change?”

He had a point, he couldn’t exactly carry all his gear around as easily, even if it was just the bottom half and his undersuit.

“Fine, but you’re wearing them next time we go out,” you stated, leading him out of the store. “So, what are we going to do now? Are you wanting to go back yet?”

“No, let’s find something else to do. Something that I’ll find fun.”

“What, letting me pick out your clothes isn’t fun?” you joked, and he chuckled softly beside you.

“Anytime spent with you is good time, but fun isn’t always the exact word to use.”

“Hmm…I guess I’ll accept that response.”

You walked around the streets together, looking for something else to do. You laced your fingers with his and he looked down at you with a raised brow, but didn't pull away. Instead, he seemed to tighten his grip on you, pulling you slightly closer so that your arms were touching. You smiled at the comfort, pushing small feelings of warmth through the force towards him. You saw his slight smile as well, and you saw the moment he found your next activity.

“There,” he said, using his free hand to point across the street. It was a building with a big neon sign and more signs in the window that said “System Laser.”

“Laser tag?” you asked, and he nodded with a smirk. “You know that’s not fair, right? You’re a sniper with enhanced eyesight.”

“But you’re a Jedi with enhanced senses,” he countered.

“That’s not exactly how it works.”

“Come on, we agreed that we would do something I wanted to do,” he pushed, and you rolled your eyes but smiled.

“Okay, snarky sniper, let’s go play laser tag.”

When you walked in, you were greeted by a dark room with neon lights all around. There was a group coming out, talking and laughing about the game, while one was moping and complaining about losing a bet. Crosshair ignored them though, dragging you to the front desk.

“We’d like to purchase a two player game,” he said, and the employee looked at him in disinterest.

“You can’t have just a two person game,” he replied.

“What if we pay extra?” Crosshair tried, and the employee perked up slightly.

“How much extra?” he asked, leaning forward slightly.

“How much is the normal game?”

“Three credits.”

“We’ll pay thirty-“

“Crosshair!” you said, giving him a serious look and pulling him away. “I’m not paying thirty credits for laser tag!”

“Just trust me, cyar’ika, I know what I’m doing.”

“Alright, but if you spend all my credits, you’re paying me back.”

“Princess I don’t get paid, and it won’t be your credits we’re spending.”

He led you back over to the employee, who was waiting eagerly.

“We’ll pay thirty credits for a two person game.”

“Deal,” the employee said. He held out his hand for credits but Crosshair shook his head no.

“I need you to bill it to the Kaminoans,” he said.

“Bill it? I can’t bill things here. It’s solid credits or nothing.”

“Kriff,” Crosshair mumbled under his breath. “Look, that’s the only form of payment we have. You really can’t do a simple bill?”

“Nope. Company policy.”

You looked around behind you to make sure no one was paying attention to what you were doing.

“Here,” you said, a slight hint of annoyance in your tone. With the man looking at you, you did a slight hand motion.

“You’re okay with us billing it to the Kaminoans.”

“I’m okay with you billing it to the Kaminoans,” he repeated.

“You’ll take us to get ready for our game now.”

“I’ll take you to get ready for your game now.”

The man shook his head as if he was in a slight trance, but then smiled and led you to the gear.

He walked you through how the chest plate worked and where you could shoot, what it’s like when you’re out of shots and when you’re “killed.” He went over the basic rules of where you could go and what you could do.

“Alright, any questions?”

You and Crosshair both shook your heads.

“Okay then. Each of you enter through a different door, and then the game starts twenty seconds after that. Good luck.”

Crosshair smirked at you before you both entered the room. It was even darker than the front of the building, and less light to guide you. You were thankful for your senses, as you were heavily relying on them to guide you.

You were currently crawling behind a wall, and you were reaching the end. Peering around slowly, you tried to see if you could spot Crosshair. You huffed quietly when you couldn’t see him and decided to make a run for another wall. As you did, you sensed him perk up somewhere above you, and heard his “ahah!” as he spotted you running. You dove for cover, but you weren’t quick enough for Crosshair to miss.

“Kriff,” you mumbled, having lost one of your fives hearts. How would you ever beat him with his skill?

You continued to move around, using the force to sense where he was. You almost felt bad, almost, that you had this advantage, but he also had the advantage of his eyesight and precision, so maybe it equaled out.

Keeping quiet, you managed to sneak up behind him. You smirked to yourself as he looked around for you. You sensed his tension, and he suddenly looked over his shoulder, but it was too late. You had your blaster raised and pointed, and as soon as he saw you, you fired. Letting out a laugh, you ran and jumped off the building.

“You think you’re sneaky, don’t you?” you heard him call. You just stifled your laugh and moved around a corner, only to be met face to face with him. You let out a surprised gasp as he shot you. You shot him back, though, before running off again.

Both of you were down to three hearts now, and you did not want to lose. Winding your way through, you tried to get to a high up point, but he seemed to have had the same idea. Your chest plate indicated that you’d been hit, and you looked around until you saw him slink back into the shadows from a ledge. You cursed to yourself, moving quickly towards where he had been.

Waiting behind a wall, you prepared to ambush him as he came around. You could feel your excitement boiling, ready to catch him off guard. You waited for a few minutes, and then grew impatient. You peered around slowly, seeing if you could spot him coming. As you did, a laugh came from behind you, and you spun just in time to be shot by none other than the person you had been waiting to ambush.

“One life left, princess,” he said, slipping away before you could shoot him. Oh, it was on now. With newly renewed determination, you set out to track him down. Closing your eyes and really focusing on his movements, you let a smile slowly form as you realized where he was going. You made your way there, taking the opposite route. Crouching down, you focused on where he was. He was approaching slowly, carefully. He had no idea what was waiting for him.

Just as he almost reached you, you jumped out and shot him. He stumbled back, slightly startled by your sudden appearance. You ran again before he had time to take aim at you.

Hope suddenly started to fill you, you started to believe you might have a chance. All you needed was to hit him two more times without him hitting you once. It couldn't be that hard, could it?

You both wandered around for a few minutes, trying to find the other. It was eerily quiet, and tension filled the room. Every small sound made you spin to see where it came from, and every looming shadow nearly made you shoot.

Tapping into the force, you gasped as you sensed him directly behind you. You spun around, but in your haste, you didn’t aim properly and missed. He smirked at your misfire, and slowly closed the distance.

“I didn’t want it to have to end this way, princess,” he said, “I loved you, I truly did, but you’ve left me no choice.”

You’d been walking backwards, watching him as he spoke, and now your back hit a wall. You met his eyes, and he feigned sorrow.

“I’m sorry, cyar’ika,” he said before he raised his blaster and shot you. You fell to the floor dramatically, clutching your chest where he’d aimed.

“Crosshair,” you said, a look of pain plastered on your face.

“Shh, I know, my love,” he said, dropping to his knees and holding you. You looked up at him, and he stroked your cheek with his thumb.

“Forgive me, my love,” he whispered, and then you let all of your weight go.

“Noooo!” He let out dramatically, and you couldn’t help but laugh. He chuckled as well, swooping you up into his arms.

“I will carry you out of here and give you the most honorable send off,” he said, and you both laughed as you held tightly to him. He walked out of the room and the employee from earlier glanced over before looking scared.

“Maker, is she okay?” he asked, rushing over.

“No, she’s not okay! I had to kill her! She was my only love, and I had to take her life away!”

You just laughed at the employee's confusion as Crosshair set you down. You both took off your gear and then headed back out into the night. It was very late, and you were beginning to feel tired.

“I suppose you want to head back to your quarters now?” Crosshair said as you stifled a yawn. You merely nodded before groaning.

“What are you groaning about?”

“We have to walk all the way back to Dexter’s for the speeder,” you complained, causing Crosshair to laugh.

“Well, you should have thought about that before you ran off without it,” he teased, and you merely glared at him.

“You think I could be dead again so you’ll carry me?”

“Not a chance in the galaxy, princess,” he said smugly.

When you got back to the temple, you were nearly dropping from exhaustion. After a fun night out, you couldn’t wait to get a nice shower and then go to bed. Crosshair seemed fine, which slightly annoyed you because you wanted his level of energy. When you reached your room, you immediately slipped off your shoes and went to your bedroom.

“You’re staying with me tonight, right?” you asked Crosshair as he followed you.

“Hmm, I was hoping I could stay in the barracks actually,” he responded, and you shook your head at his comment. “I just don’t have anything to change into.”

You frowned at that before you remembered the undersuit he had let you keep. You quickly got them out and gave them to him.

“Here, use these,” you said.

“But these are yours,” he countered. “I can just sleep in what I have on.”

“No, you’re not wearing dirty clothes in my bed. And besides, I can just wash the ones you’re wearing now and keep them.”

“Alright, if you insist,” he said. “But I would like to freshen up first.”

“Perfect, I was about to as well,” you said, heading to go to the refresher. You didn’t see his face darken in a deep flush, his ears burning at the insinuation.

“You mean, you want to share the shower?” he asked, and you turned to see his flustered state.

“Yeah, if you’re comfortable with it,” you responded.

“O-of course I am,” he said, taking a step towards you as his cheeks got even darker. “I just, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“Well, just be glad you don’t have to worry about me using all the hot water,” you joked, grabbing his hand gently and leading him into the refresher. You spent a little bit of time in there together, enjoying the feeling of the warm water and calm that came with it. Crosshair stopped blushing after a few minutes, and you fought the urge to kiss his nose and bring the deep color back to his cheeks. When you got out, you both slipped into the clothes you were wearing to bed before cozying up under the covers.

You laid there for a while, just holding each other peacefully. Your face was buried in the crook of his neck, and his arm held you closely to his side. After a while, you could sense that he was still awake, so you decided to scoot back to look at him.

“Why have you decided to be so in love with me?” you asked out of nowhere, and he looked down at you with a slightly shocked expression. He was silent for a minute, thinking of the best way to put things.

“You’re the first person who has tried to see a better me,” he started, “the first person who has consistently believed that I’m more than just snark. You were determined to get past my flaws and see who I was on the inside, who I truly was. You were willing to forgive me for my mistakes, and you chose to love me. That’s something I will never understand. So many others would deserve your love before me, but you still chose to give me your heart. But, if I’m being honest, I loved you before all of that. I think I’ve always loved you, but I was just waiting to find you.”

You were silent, you didn’t know what to say. Nothing he said was what you’d been expecting, though you didn’t exactly know what you had been expecting. His words were just…more than you ever thought you’d hear from anyone. He’s always loved you, even before he knew you.

“You should say something, princess cyar’ika,” he mumbled, pressing his forehead to yours.

“I can’t. I’m speechless,” you responded. He chuckled softly, leaning closer to you.

“Is that a good thing?” he asked, and in response you pressed your lips to his. You melted into the kiss and let your hand wander up to his hair. His arms wrapped around you tightly and pulled you to lay on top of him. You only disconnected when you were both needing to catch your breaths. You let your head fall to rest on his chest, and he rolled over so that you were both on your sides.

“I love you, so much, Crosshair. More than I can possibly describe with words.”

“And I you, y/n. And I will keep loving you until my last day alive. You are my princess cyar’ika, the one and only love I will ever have.”

If you enjoyed, comments and reblogs would be appreciated!

Tag List! Read this Tag List Info if you would like to be added @imabeautifulbutterfly @nemesis-eris @lightning-wolffe @namesmox @crosshairxs @tacticalsparkles @milppa @techssexythighs @ilikemymendarkandfictional @m-o-o-n-s-g-o-o-n-s @megafrost4 @darkangel4121 @starwarstbbfan @hedahobbit98 @shuttlelauncher81 @rintheemolion @sleepy-tog @littlemisscare-all @nahoney22 @ladykatakuri @that-one-weeb-but-starwars @echo-is-worth-more-than-2000 @kitten-2719

61 notes · View notes

makeste · 3 years

Text

BnHA Chapter 302: As the Todoroki Turns

Previously on BnHA:

Today on BnHA: We have a very fun chapter in which (1) Shouto grows up lonely on account of his parents being worried that his siblings will literally try to kill him, (2) Natsu and Fuyu grow up neglected on account of not being special and/or self-destructive enough to attract attention, (3) we get to revisit all of that exciting spousal abuse from chapter 39, and (4) Touya burns to death right on cue, pretty much exactly like we expected it to happen. Thankfully since this is a shounen manga, Horikoshi finds some hope in all this misery as the Todoroki family rallies together, with Shouto getting his long-overdue credit for being a perfect sweet angel who put up with all of this shit for sixteen years and somehow came out of it strong and kind and empathetic and determined. Anyway, so that flashback was a barrel of laughs. But now that it’s over, we can put all of that angst behind us, and move on to... well I guess, probably, more angst. Look, we’re short on variety at the moment. Bear with it.

ouch. we knew this was coming, but still

A+ parenting move there. “ho boy, our eldest just tried to murder our youngest, now what? hmm how about we isolate our youngest from all human contact”

though in their defense, we probably shouldn’t have expected this rabidly strength-obsessed fire man and his wife who was groomed since childhood to obey her family’s whims to have any idea of how to raise stable, well-adjusted offspring

SERIOUSLY YOU GUYS

this is a perfect example of Enji’s tragically self-revolving viewpoint right here. just because being a hero is your entire world doesn’t mean you can just excuse yourself from anything outside of that and act like it’s out of your control. “alas, all I care about is hero stuff and my son can’t be a hero, we are doomed to inhabit two different worlds” no you jackass, it’s called having more than one hobby?? figuring out how to spend some time with your son that doesn’t involve training?? the same exact thing you were telling him to do last week, while ignoring that you’ve never done that yourself in your life??

that said, yet again we have that complexity though because it’s obvious that Enji at least on some level is aware of his own flaws, even though he seems unwilling or unable to confront them. honestly, from what we’ve seen so far, Enji’s obsession with surpassing All Might might be more accurately called an addiction. he literally can’t let go of it even though he’s fully aware of how it’s slowly destroying his life. and so in the same way that a lifelong smoker or alcoholic might tell their child to stay away from cigarettes and booze, Enji tells Touya not to follow down the same path as him, even though he himself doesn’t know how to leave that path. so yes, it’s hypocritical as fuck, but there’s also an element of helplessness there as well because Enji literally doesn’t know how not to be like this

though all the same he sure could stand to put in more than just a token effort. but it is what it is, and we already know how much he’ll come to regret it

and meanwhile Baby Shouto has frozen his sleep bubble with his quirk lmao. so I guess his quirk did come in early. that’s a recipe for chaos right there

once again Shouto is ruining every single dramatic panel in this flashback

this was so dark and intense... and then I spotted the lil bubs in the corner. Horikoshi please control yourself

“some hero you are, running away” and then all of a sudden, “FIVE YEARS LATER” lol what. OKAY THEN

(ETA: love the confirmation that eight-year-old Natsu comes from the Iida school of puberty and is basically a fully grown man, and meanwhile Touya comes from the hobbit school of puberty and has been perpetually eight for the past five years.)

“HEY BIG BRO WANNA COME RECREATE AN ICONIC FLASHBACK SCENE WITH US. WE’VE GOT THE SOCCER BALL RIGHT HERE, BUT HURRY UP OR WE’LL BE TOO LATE FOR SHOUTO TO WALK ON BY AND STOP TO LOOK”

lol and that’s literally the next three panels. but Horikoshi did add this extra bit after Endeavor starts to drag Shouto away

seriously Enji what the hell did you expect was going to happen here. “Touya went nuts and tried to kill his little brother out of jealousy, so let’s make it clearer than ever that Shouto is the important child and all the other children are just rejects. this will definitely not make the problem 100x worse, and will surely lead to Touya giving up and living a happy life, having been emotionally abandoned by the person he admired more than anyone.” good for you pal you figured it all out. no need for that plan b, “we all just go to therapy”

anyway so he’s telling Shouto he can’t play because he needs more endurance training. and meanwhile Touya’s patented Todoroki Drama Genes are going through puberty as well

definitely the face of a happy, emotionally stable child who’s not still plotting to murder his younger brother in his sleep

“WELL ACTUALLY MAKESTE” lol I stand corrected??

apparently during the five year interim Touya actually stopped blaming Shouto and realized Enji was the one at fault. good for him! a bit inconsistent, given what we know happens later, but I assume we’ll get to that in good time

anyway. “yeah man I agree that dad sucks, but it’s the middle of the night and I’m only eight and you’ve been monologuing for the past two hours bro”

LMAO

the manga is making my jokes for me, only better. fine then

looks like someone’s still miffed about that disagreement he had with his baby sister back when she was like four

“Fuyu doesn’t get properly riled up like I want her to so ranting to her is annoying.” okay but having been in Fuyu’s shoes, it really is just a different way of coping, and I can guarantee she’s not as fine with the whole situation as Touya might think. but making your peace with something is often a decision that’s made for emotional self-preservation reasons. and I sure as hell don’t fault her for trying to shut out a situation that she had no control over, and trying to make the best of it, and scrape together as normal a childhood as she could manage

and now in Touya’s defense as well, that is of course easier said than done, and I’m sure if there was a “push this button and instantly get over all of the trauma in your life” switch readily available for Touya then he would have pushed it too. unfortunately it’s not always that simple

so now Rei is pleading with Touya not to go train up on his little emo hill again, but it doesn’t seem like much has changed since he was eight

I don’t think he gives two figs about being a hero; he just wants his father to look at him again with pride. fucking hell, stop doing this to me you damn Todorokis

guh, they keep telling him the same thing over and over again

even if we hadn’t already known he was gonna go melt his jawbone off soon, I wouldn’t have expected a line like that to go over well

yep. fuck

that Todoroki puberty angst, though. nothing else quite like it

“you have a part in this too, Mom” ooooooh man

okay but look, he’s not entirely wrong. like, I’m not saying any of this is Rei’s fault at all! she’s in an impossible situation where she’s afraid to stand up to Enji (who by this point has shown that he’s willing to physically attack her if things get too heated, which is terrifying), and doesn’t really have anywhere to turn for support. her parents aren’t helping much if at all, and Japan in general is just a terrible country to be in when you’re in a domestic abuse situation. everyone’s expected to put on a brave face and deal with their problems all on their own in private. Rei is basically completely isolated at this point, and she doesn’t know what else to do, and so she’s just trying to keep the situation as stable as possible for the kids

but on the other hand, “for the kids” is also where that argument starts to break down a bit, because at this point Shouto is also being physically abused by his father, and the other kids are continuing to be neglected (emotionally if not physically), as they have been for years. so the situation really isn’t stable at all for them. and as a kid, what you end up learning in that type of situation is that you can’t rely on either parent. not the abusive one, certainly, but also not the other one who can’t protect you from any of it. even if they love you and they’re trying, they’re just as helpless as you. Rei is struggling to deal with all of this with one hand tied behind her back, and I get it, and I’m not blaming her at all. but all the same, particularly given that she’s (understandably) putting almost all her focus on Shouto, the end result is that the other kids have basically been left to fend for themselves

so yeah! a shitty situation all around. and one of those cases where it’s not really anyone’s fault (aside from Enji’s), but I can understand the resentment Touya is feeling all the same. and I’m so glad Horikoshi is acknowledging this, because it’s something I probably would have been too uncomfortable to bring up otherwise. as it is it’s still an incredibly heavy subject, and one that I probably have too many personal feelings about

anyway, so once again the whole “we’ll try talking to him and then just shrug our shoulders when it doesn’t work” parenting strategy doesn’t really pan out for the Todoroki fam

sob this boy is Anakin Skywalkering before our very eyes. all that’s missing is AFO to come and start whispering in his ear. any minute now...

“anyway so then he got taller and his fire changed from red to blue”

guess we’re getting pretty close then huh. this is the part of the flashback that I really don’t want to see, but also unfortunately the part that I’m most curious about :/

oh for fuck’s --

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN IGNORING HIM FOR FIVE YEARS DIDN’T ACTUALLY DO ANYTHING TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM” sob. back to the drawing board I guess

I thought he got taller, why is he still only like a third of Enji’s height here

oh fuck me these are armor-piercing feels. this is the heavy artillery right here

ENJI I’M BEGGING YOU PLEASE STOP AND THINK FOR ONE MOMENT IN YOUR LIFE BEFORE DOING SOMETHING YOU’LL REGRET FOR THE REST OF ALL TIME. your child just told you that he still thinks beating All Might is the only thing you care about, and that he believes his existence is a mistake unless he finds some way of doing that for you. please stop for a moment to contemplate that and choose your next words with care and grace and oh who the hell am I kidding

-- OR WE COULD JUST BLAME REI

go on and blame everyone but yourself then!! that’s a great solution!! jesus christ man I know this is Endeavor at his literal worst but still this is fucking hard to watch

POOR BABY SHOUTO IS YELLING AT HIS DAD NOT TO HIT HIS MOMMY THIS LITTLE BRAVE BOY NEEDS SO MANY HUGS OH MY GOD

AND MEANWHILE THE OTHERS ARE HUDDLED IN THE NEXT ROOM TRYING NOT TO CRY AH FUCK

(ETA: Fuyu covering Natsu’s ears cuts RIGHT TO THE CORE OF ME. Horikoshi if you’re really not gonna get these kids some therapy then at least consider giving your readers some. what is this.)

you know it’s bad when you’re starting to think the part where the kid burns to death might actually be a less traumatic thing to cut to right now

holy shit, actual Rei thoughts

“I was the one who ultimately made that choice” well there we go, wonder if that’ll put that whole argument to bed at last. I doubt it, but you never know. actually who am I kidding it’s not gonna settle jack shit lol

oh thank god, they decided it was getting too intense and cut away back to the present to narrate this next (final?) part

get ready to cue up that Alicia Keys. THIS BOY IS ON FIREEEEEEE

yeah I think that’s one thing we can mostly all agree on. neither of them had any clue what the fuck they were doing pretty much at any point. though I will say that the hypocrisy of him being all “WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP HIM” followed by him IMMEDIATELY DOING THE EXACT SAME THING is a bit rich

(ETA: and he still has this problem, doesn’t he? he froze up when Ending snatched Natsuo, and again when Dabi was attacking Shouto. he’s so afraid of doing the wrong thing that he ends up not doing anything, which of course is exactly what led to Touya’s death. damn Enji I guess you’ve still got some additional character development to unlock.)

and of course neither of them could possibly have known how badly it was going to turn out. like, the consequences here were WAY disproportionate even for the shittiest of parenting. no one expects “I didn’t know how to talk to my son” to snowball into “my son burned to death and then somehow came back as a villain and murdered thirty people”

ohhhhhhhh fuck me

LITERALLY INCINERATED THE ENTIRE HILLSIDE. fuck. and I am so not ready for the scene of Enji finding the remains of his jawbone afterwards. at least we were spared anything super-graphic (for now at least)

I feel like the timeline here is off, btw?? wasn’t Touya’s death supposed to happen after Rei got hospitalized? this might be the first actual retcon of the entire flashback. although I think it makes more sense this way tbh

I do appreciate that ten years later Enji is finally reflecting on the fact that if he’d just given up his stupid obsession he could have stopped his family from crumbling apart. that probably sounds sarcastic as fuck, but it’s not. there are countless jerks out there who would have still managed to find a way to blame literally everyone and everything under the sun except for themselves. at least he finally figured out how to take responsibility, even if it came too late to stop his son from dying and being radicalized into a villain terrorist organization

and speaking of, it seems to me we’re missing a third and final part to this little tale of woe, and one which only Touya himself will be able to shed any light on. so we’ll see how that goes

oh man seeing the other kids blaming themselves even though none of it was their fault hits hard af. Rei wasn’t kidding when she said they’d been bearing that burden of guilt far longer than Enji

SHOUTO I SWEAR TO GOD IF THE NEXT PANEL IS YOU APOLOGIZING FOR BEING BORN, I WILL... WELL I’LL BE VERY SAD, I GUESS. SO DON’T DO IT

oh good he’s just being quiet. good. it absolutely is not your fault lil bean. it’s not theirs either, but feeling guilty about things that aren’t your fault is a time-honored shounen tradition

goddammit I braced myself for the angsty Shouto panel a page too early. gotta do it all over again now lol. okay here goes

;_;

well well well would you look at that

imagine that. talking things out with your child before they make a rash decision. looks like the Todorokis’ parenting skills are finally leveling up

OH MY GOD

holy shit. this is the most quintessential moment of father/son Todoroki bonding in the entire series. for me it even tops the “nice scar” scene lol. Enji sobbing at the fact that he still has a chance to set things right. and Shouto offering his hand in what is actually the most mature and selfless gesture I’ve ever seen, and being all “we’ll stop him together” to his dad who he hates, but also doesn’t really entirely hate anymore. and all of that is incredibly moving... BUT ALSO HE STILL REFUSES TO MAKE EYE CONTACT WITH HIM AND HE WOULD LIKE HIM TO STOP BEING SO FUCKING DRAMATIC ALREADY IF YOU DON’T MIND. “WHEN YOU’RE DONE CRYING...” fkjldsk

OH MY FUCKING LORD

(ETA: wouldn’t be a Todoroki drama fest if there wasn’t somebody listening in on the whole thing in secret just around the corner lmao.)

“you think we should have waited somewhere else?” “yeah, probably.” “are you feeling a lot of secondhand embarrassment too?” “god, you have no idea.” STFU HAWKS IT’S NOT EMBARASSING TO BE MOVED TO TEARS BY YOUR FAMILY ALL COMING TOGETHER IN YOUR DARKEST HOUR TO GIVE YOU HOPE THAT YOU PROBABLY DON’T DESERVE BUT ARE NONETHELESS INDESCRIBABLY GRATEFUL FOR

and anyway you chose these guys as your found family, bucko. too late to back out now. next time go get yourself adopted by the Iidas then

AND MEANWHILE NO WORD ON THE WHOLE “HOW DID A THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD SURVIVE A FIRE THAT COVERED HIS BODY WITH HORRIFIC SCARS AND MELTED HIS JAW OFF, AND HOW DID HE SOMEHOW THEN MANAGE TO GO INTO HIDING FOR TEN WHOLE YEARS, AND WHAT HAPPENED IN THAT INTERIM TO CHANGE HIS GOAL FROM ‘SURPASS ALL MIGHT TO IMPRESS MY DAD’ TO ‘KILL ALL HEROES TO MAKE MY DAD SUFFER’.” as if we don’t know the answer to that. but still, would it kill Horikoshi to just confirm AFO’s involvement in all of this already. at this point it’s basically just a formality

so here’s hoping next week we’ll either get that, or more Hawks action, or (DARE I EVEN SUGGEST, I’M AFRAID TO JINX IT) finally cut back to Bakugou and Deku and All Might omg. either way I’m hyped

#bnha 302 #todoroki touya #dabi #todoroki enji #endeavor #todoroki rei #todoroki shouto #todoroki natsuo #todoroki fuyumi #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #my sincerest apologies for this absurdly long recap which is barely funny at all!#THERE WAS VERY LITTLE HUMOROUS CONTENT IN THIS CHAPTER #congratulations horikoshi you win this round

469 notes · View notes

tommysparker · 3 years

Text

Never Forget You [Chapter 3]

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Jedi!Reader

A/N: hey y’all! thank you for your patience with this chapter. enjoy!! :) [also totally didn’t have this in my drafts then forget to post earlier pfftttt whaaaatt?]

Warnings: angst with a tiny amount of fluff. anakin finally makes his debut in this series. it gets better just stay with me. long italic paragraphs = flashbacks

Anakin Skywalker had witnessed many things over the years.

Giant beasts? At least once a week. Sith Lords? Becoming too common. Droid armies? All year long. Looking death in the eye? Simply another day in the life of a Jedi.

Nothing could ever have prepared him for the sight he was currently witnessing.

Obi-Wan Kenobi, his Master, The Negotiator, the Jedi Council’s most prized Jedi…sulking.

It has been a full week since You returned to the Jedi Temple and Anakin couldn’t help to think his former Master’s mood and your arrival were connected. He was vaguely aware of your past friendship, only hearing bits and pieces of the adventures you had together as Padawans.

During his days under Obi-Wan’s apprenticeship he would often hear about how “a wise Jedi I once knew” would do certain things. He wanted to know more about this oh-so-great Jedi, however, any time the young boy asked his Master would always brush him off with a mournful look in his eyes.

He didn’t understand at the time but now he’s beginning to piece together that perhaps there was something more between the two of you.

“You think Master Y/l/n and Master Kenobi were courting?”

“Keep your voice down, Snips,” Anakin hushed.

“Sorry, sorry. But Master,” Ahsoka lowers her voice, “what led you to that conclusion? I’ve hardly seen them together since Master Y/l/n came back. What makes you think they could be lovers?”

“That’s just it, Ahoska. They’ve been avoiding each other like the Rakghoul plague. Obi-Wan told me they were such good friends, and now that they’re back they can’t stand to be in the same room as each other? I don’t buy it.” Anakin looked back to where Obi-Wan sat with Commander Cody, no doubt brainstorming new battle tactics and liberation plans.

“So what do you suppose we do? Set them up or something?” The look her Master gave her made her regret her words the moment they left her mouth.

“Come on, Snips. It’s a good idea. We get them to stay in the same room so they have no choice but to confront each other and talk things out! It’s genius.” Anakin smiled, his eyes still on his former Master. He had a feeling if Obi-Wan were to find out about this plan he would be in for a major lecture but he couldn’t bring himself to care at the moment. He couldn’t stand to see the old man look so miserable, not if he can do anything about it.

Ahsoka crossed her arms and followed her Master’s gaze. Something was clearly different about her Grand-Master. He had put his full attention into ending the war, which wasn’t new. However, she could tell something was off. He no longer came out to the landing zone to greet returning fighters, stayed away from the meditation and training centers as well as the Jedi Archives which was the most off-putting observation considering that was where he spent most of his time.

Anytime someone needed to find Obi-Wan Kenobi, the first place they would check was the ancient history section of the Jedi Archives.

“I don’t know why you find so much interest in these old books Y/n/n,” Obi-Wan complained from across the table. “Can’t we go practice our lightsaber skills instead?”

You smiled. “Nuh uh, mister. If I won the wager you promised to sit with me during my reading time. Now shush, and read.” You pushed the unopened textbook toward the pouting Padawan. “Maybe you’ll actually learn something.”

Obi-Wan stuck his tongue out in a childish manner, sighing dramatically when you gave him a certain look and reluctantly opened the cover and began to read Tales of The Old Republic.

Safe to say from that point onward, Obi-Wan would join your daily Archive visits with zero complaints.

You close the book, careful to make sure no pages fell out and gently push it back into its place on the shelf. Using the force, you carefully push the ladder you were currently standing on over to the next column and begin nitpicking through the array of old texts.

It took a few days for you to settle in and readjust to the Jedi Temple life. Once you had, however, things quickly took a turn.

Master Yoda requested that you help train some of the younglings who were having trouble advancing into the next stages of becoming a Jedi. In all honesty, you much rather have had the freedom to roam for at least one more week, but the new role presented an excuse to not be around a certain blue-eyed Jedi.

“Looking for something?”

The voice startled you, causing you to jump and lose your balance on the ladder. You yelp as you begin to fall towards the ground, bracing yourself for the hash impact and the bruises that would add to the collection on your side still currently healing.

Instead, you feel a pair of arms catch you, one under your back and the other behind your knees in a classic bridal style. The hold felt secure instantly, and you instinctively clung to the tunic of your savior. You look up to thank the person for preventing any injuries, but the blue eyes staring back at you made your mind go blank.

Obi-Wan stared back, unsure of what to say. This was the closest he has been to you since you left a decade ago. He longed to have you in his arms, to hug you, to regain that safety net you provided he knew he could always fall back on.

“Um...thank you, General.” It came out as more of a question, your mind still reeling from almost falling and also the fact that the man who you had been actively avoiding just happened to be in the same place you spent hours of your youth together.

“Obi-Wan, please. No need for formalities, darling.” The old nickname slipped out, and he was about to apologize when he noticed the light blush that spread across your face. Perhaps not everything about you has changed.

“Right...Obi-Wan. Well, I’ll be on my way then,” You rushed, trying to pass by him but he stopped you once again by the call of your name.

“Y/n/n’s wait. Whatever game you’re playing, frankly I am not a fan of it.” Obi-Wan crossed his arms and furrowed his eyebrows.

“What are you talking about?” You turned around and looked at him confused.

“You were the one who summoned me here,” he stretched his arms out, “here I am and now you’re trying to run away again. I hardly think that’s fair.” He was beginning to get frustrated. He came in with his heart on his sleeve, ready to finally talk to you after so long and find out why you’ve been keeping your distance. Now, all he felt was betrayal and irritation at the ongoing dance you insist on doing around each other.

He preferred to dance like you did in your youth, but alas this was nothing but another sign he needs to get mind out of the past.

You scoffed lightly. “Again? What is that supposed to mean exactly?” You knew exactly what he meant, but you didn’t want to admit it. You’ve been denying it for ten years and Force be damned if you’d admit it now.

“You’ve been avoiding me since your return--” You open your mouth to protest but he ignores you and continues “--and then you send the youngling to bring me here, only to try to flee upon my arrival,” He frowns, lifting his elbow and resting it on his remaining crossed arm. “I know our history can make things...difficult in the present time,” He glanced around cautiously as he spoke,”but I would appreciate it if we make an agreement simply to not speak from now on. No more games.”

You blinked, head tilting slightly as you waited for him to finish. “Obi-Wan, I didn’t ask for you to come here. Nor would I ever involve younglings in personal matters.” He should know that, you thought. But should he really?

His face fell from annoyance to embarrassment, his arms falling to his sides. “Oh.” He wasn’t sure what to do now. It was his own fault for getting his hopes up. I should have known better.

You purse your lips and nodded slowly. “Well, I’m glad we at least came to an agreement. Goodbye, General Kenobi.” You took your leave, forcing yourself not to look back as you felt his eyes watching your figure.

Obi-Wan let out a frustrated sigh, knowing he just ruined any and all changes of reconnecting with you. In his defense, however, you were the one avoiding his attempts at friendly conversation and refusing to meet and make up for lost time.

Still, something didn’t feel right about this.

“What the kriff was that?”

Ah, there’s that something. “Anakin, please tell me this was not your doing.”

Anakin smiled guilty, Ahsoka coming out from behind the bookshelf to stand next to her Master.

“It was Snips' idea.” Anakin shrugged, flinching when he felt her punch his arm. “Ow!”

“You were the one who came up with the plan, and now look! Master Y/l/n and Master Kenobi will never get together--” Ahoska stops herself, realizing she said too much. “Oh no.”

“I beg your pardon?” Obi-Wan looks at them both incredulously. “First of all, Master Y/l/n and I are simply…” he wanted to say friends, but even that was a reach at this point, “acquaintances. We knew each other in the past, and in the past our friendship shall stay. As for ‘getting together’, you both know very well any implication of that goes directly against the Jedi Code.” He crossed his arms tightly as he scolded.

“I can tell you harbour feelings for them, Obi-Wan. You don’t need to lie to us.”

“Whatever feelings I may or may not have for Y/n are unrelated. You must understand your responsibilities as a Jedi. No matter what emotional sacrifice we must make.” He made a point to look at Anakin at the end, knowing he won’t follow the implication but at least hoping he’ll get the message.

“We’re sorry, Master.” Ahsoka looked down in shame not at what they had tried to achieve, but at the cost and clear damage they caused.

Obi-Wan sighed, running a hand over his beard before resting it on her shoulder. “It’s alright young one. You meant no harm. Perhaps some things are better left forgotten.”

Oh, if only it were that simple.

A Padawan approached the three of them quickly. “Excuse me, Master Yoda sent me to tell you he and Master Y/l/n are waiting for you all in the council room.”

Of course, these things never are.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

heres a box to put your heart pieces in -> [] :)

Taglist: @queenariesofnarnia @dwarfplanet69 @katsukink @blondekel77 @generousrunawaydonut @fandomtrashwhore @fortheloveofaqueenfan @mrskenobi19 @mellowstatesmanhandsempath @hotleaf-juice @emiijemii @neji85 @doctor-warthrop @ayamenimthiriel @lizzy-95 @lovelylostminds

#rae writes sometimes #obi wan kenobi #obi wan #obi wan angst #obi wan x reader #obi wan kenobi angst #obi wan kenobi x reader #obi wan imagine #obi wan kenobi imagine #obi wan x you #obi wan x y/n #obi wan kenobi x you #obi wan kenobi x y/n #obi wan fanfic #obi wan kenobi fanfic #obi wan kenobi fanfiction #obi wan fanfiction

101 notes · View notes

obiwanobi · 3 years

Note

I'm just so very enamored with the idea of Dooku als Obi-Wans Master at the moment. There are so many possibilities, I'm going crazy. I love your writing style and your ideas, so I would be so very happy to know your thoughts about this.

At first, I was going to say “oh, is this a nice AU where taking Obi-Wan as his padawan makes Dooku stay in the Order and the whole lineage is happier?” but then I thought, ‘wait, no, I’m only here to make a dramatic tragedy out of everything’ and I got really into it and wrote 2k about it 🤷‍♀️

So let’s say that Qui-Gon still takes Obi-Wan as his padawan first, and that’s how he meets his grandmaster, Dooku, who’s still a Jedi at this point in time.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan aren’t a good match at first, and it’s the same, even a bit worse than that, in this AU: Obi-Wan might be grateful to have been chosen and be eager to learn, but their rocky start as a master and padawan duo and their very different approach to, well, basically everything, make things a bit awkward.

But Dooku? Obi-Wan adores Dooku.

Dooku is the antithesis of Qui-Gon; he is a fascinating orator, has a practical mind, favours a pragmatic approach to problems, and is also one of the best duellists in the Temple. And he’s almost certain that Dooku likes him too. His grandmaster might be intimidating at first (he’s even taller than master Jinn for Force’s sake,) but he also raised Qui-Gon, so the man has seen it all and can’t be surprised by anything anymore. When he comes to visit Qui-Gon, Dooku never forgets to ask Obi-Wan how his training is going, what form he likes the best (Obi-Wan doesn’t miss the opportunity to say that he finds Makashi particularly elegant and almost gets a smile in return) and one day, he even ends up helping him write a geopolitical paper about a planet Dooku has spent almost a year on. It warms Obi-Wan to feel a connection to their lineage when he doesn’t really understand his own master, and watching Dooku and Qui-Gon, two very different personalities, getting along so well, also gives him hope that he will one day have the same type of relationship with his master.

But then, Melida/Daan happens.

Obi-Wan decides to stay, and Qui-Gon leaves the planet with one less padawan. It takes a bit of time before Dooku manages to get Qui-Gon to talk about what happened and where is his favourite grandpadawan, but when he realises that Qui-Gon left Obi-Wan in a warzone, Dooku is outraged, and is on Melida/Daan three days later to formally ask Obi-Wan to reconsider leaving the Order. It takes a bit of time before Obi-Wan truly starts thinking about it, because “Master Jinn will never take me back. I’m very sorry, Master Dooku, but he was the only one who was willing to take me as his padawan. No one else will, especially now.” and Dooku scoffs, because he wouldn’t travel to the outer rim for anyone, and of course he’s planning to personally train him. He saw the potential in him, and would hate to see it go to waste. All of this if Obi-Wan can assure him that he won’t rebel at every opportunity, of course, because he won’t accept the betrayal of his trust.

They both leave the planet together, as Master and Padawan.

The next few months are... strenuous. Adapting to Dooku’s teaching methods is harder than Obi-Wan expected. His new master asks for discipline, practicality and complete control of oneself at all time, and doesn’t accept any nonsenses. It’s not something Obi-Wan really knows how to do after months with Qui-Gon “don’t think, just do” Jinn. There is also a new distance between Dooku and Qui-Gon that Obi-Wan knows is his fault, but can’t do much about it; he still hasn’t said more than two words to Qui-Gon since Melida/Daan (apologies that his master- former master accepted with a cordial bow and that was it) and is in no hurry to change that.

Nevertheless, Obi-Wan is happy. Dooku might be a bit snobbish, makes imperious demands and even disagrees with the Council just like his former padawan, but he also explains to Obi-Wan why his decisions and insistence on certain parts of his training are necessary, doesn’t shy away from philosophical questions about the Force or the Order (even if his opinion is sometimes bordering on blasphemy,) and is, after all, one of the most skilled Master in the Temple. He might be a severe figure of authority to everyone else, but his hidden smile at a witty remark from his padawan, or the use of a diplomatic loophole to get his way without having to ignite his lightsaber, always gets him a gentle hand on his shoulder and an almost-satisfied smile. It’s more than enough for him.

And then, Qui-Gon brings Anakin Skywalker to the Temple.

Obi-Wan tries not to think too much about the rumours that say that he went all the way to the outer rim to get himself a new padawan. A padawan he chose this time. A padawan who’s the Chosen One.

“Ridiculous,” Master Dooku scorns, his expression so dismissive that the few gossipy padawans (and knights!) around scatter in a second. “I saw the boy, and if this raggedy child is the Chosen One who’s supposed to save us all, we should all start building our own funeral pyre to save us some time.”

“Master, really,” Obi-Wan sighs, half-reprimand, half-amusement. He’s still glad his master shares his distaste with the idea of taking a child too old and too attached.

And then, Qui-Gon Jinn almost dies on Naboo.

The other Jedi that went with him doesn’t have the same luck. Dooku doesn’t huff and roll his eyes this time. He does spend a lot of time in the Halls of Healing at his former padawan’s bed. Apparently, Qui-Gon has been badly hurt, and if he should walk again soon, probably with a walking stick, he will never be able to maintain enough stamina to fight with a lightsaber again. It doesn’t stop him from wanting to train the boy, and even the Council and Dooku, for once on the same side, aren’t enough to dissuade him.

And then, everything goes too fast.

Obi-Wan is talking about possible hidden Sith in the galaxy at the breakfast table, and suddenly Dooku says “I’m leaving the Order”, and then he’s knighted by a master who tells him he’s glad his last accomplishment as a Jedi is something he’s proud of, and then his master leaves without a real explanation, and then they make a bust of him in the library like he’s dead, and Obi-Wan asks himself if he’s going to feel abandoned all his life.

And then, Anakin Skywalker bumps into him.

“You’re Obi-Wan!” he says way too loudly, looking up at him in wonder.

It’s Knight Kenobi to you, a voice that sounds suspiciously like his master echoes in his mind. But no matter how much Obi-Wan admires his master, he could never be as rigid as him.

“Master Qui-Gon said you were his padawan once,” Anakin says, excited, and Obi-Wan has never wanted to run from a conversation that badly before. “And that you were... the padawan of my... grandmaster? I think? So that means we’re sort of like cousins, right?”

“Not really, no. Jedi don’t think about the Order as a traditional family. I don’t mean that we’re not one, young one,” he adds when Anakin’s expression turns to dejection, “we just have a different approach to kinship. In a way, we’re all brothers and sisters.”

And that, of course, is the exact thing he shouldn't have said.

“So you’re my brother then? Wizard! I’ve never had a brother before! Does that mean you will spar with me? I want to learn EVERYTHING about lightsabers, for example, do they have unlimited energy? Can it really go through everything? Because I heard beskar—”

Obi-Wan isn’t proud to say that he feels the urgent need to get away from him and never come in contact with that child ever again.

But after their first encounter, Anakin doesn’t leave him any choice. Every time Obi-Wan gets some time off, the padawan is here, scarily good at annoying him until Obi-Wan gives up pretending to ignore him.

He probably should be sterner with him. After all, he doesn’t own the child anything. But Anakin is always so happy to see him, impressed when Obi-Wan demonstrates the most acrobatic of Ataru’s movements, and eager to learn from him. Sometimes, he imagines Master Dooku’s face confronted with Anakin, and can’t help but laugh out loud. It helps to forget the void Dooku left in his life for a time.

(There aren’t a lot of holos sent to him from Serenno these days. Dooku must be busy.)

“My master can’t fight,” Anakin says petulantly one day, plopping down on Obi-Wan’s couch like the sulky teenager he is, “He’s restricted to the Temple or boring political missions, and so am I because of him. All he does is tell me to meditate and make me ‘reflect on my feelings’, or whatever that means. How good can a master be if he can’t teach me to protect myself and others?”

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan warns, kicking the padawan’s feet away from the caf table, “please tell me you didn’t say these exact insensitive words to your master right before slamming the door and coming here.”

Of course he did, Obi-Wan thinks when Anakin starts a rant about being held back and how stupid meditation is. That night, Obi-Wan forces him to sincerely apologise to his master after a brief fight ("stop nagging at me, Obi-Wan! You’re not my master!” “Well, apparently, you don’t even respect your own master, so I’m very glad I’m not.”) and is just a bit stunned when he finds Qui-Gon Jinn on his doorstep a few days letter, asking him if he would agree to take Padawan Skywalker on his next off-world mission.

Obi-Wan really, really wants to say no. He only taught Anakin a few Ataru moves that the lightsaber’s instructor normally doesn’t introduce until a few years later because Anakin wouldn’t accept a no from him, he never signed up to co-parent a defiant padawan! Especially Qui-Gon’s padawan. The entire conversation between them is already awkward enough.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“No?” Qui-Gon replies, sipping his tea like they’re discussing the weather. “You’ve done a good job at teaching him some rationality and a few duelling tricks until now. I haven’t been able to wield a lightsaber for a while now, but it’s hard to miss the handprint of my own master all over Anakin’s sudden blend of Ataru and Makashi in his movements.” Obi-Wan is pretty sure his ears and his face are burning by now. “Don’t you think he could benefit from some real experience? Maybe start to put things in perspective? Show him why the diplomatic skills and temperance we preach are so important even for the violent or difficult conflicts we’re asked to solve?”

And really, what is he supposed to say to that?

Qui-Gon leaves his quarters before he manages to gather the courage to ask why he chose him of all knights for this task. It really doesn’t make any sense to Obi-Wan.

The very next day, Anakin shows up at the hangar bay ready to see the stars, bag on his shoulder and enough excitement to make the whole ship vibrate under his feet.

“If you cause problems on purpose, I’ll send you back to your master faster than you can say pod-racing.”

“I promise I won’t, Knight Kenobi,” Anakin replies, all angelic smile and respectful padawan face. It’s the first time Anakin has called him by his title, and somehow it sounds a bit wrong.

Anakin does end up causing problems on purpose. It’s ridiculous but also kind of genius, so Obi-Wan only shakes his head and says “you’re really going to be the death of me.”

And for some years, it works. Qui-Gon stays Anakin’s master, but he does send him to learn from other masters and knights. More and more, though, Anakin asks for Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon rarely refuses.

“You two are the last people I thought would get along,” Mace Windu tells them a few successful missions later, after witnessing them bantering back and forth from their respective beds in the Halls of Healing. “Nonetheless, I’m glad you do. It’s good to see close lineages strengthening their bond to each other.”

Anakin blinks so many time at the compliment that Obi-Wan doesn’t hesitate a second before throwing his pillow at his face the second Windu leaves the room.

It’s a shame that Obi-Wan never manages to ask Qui-Gon about why he trusted him with his padawan.

Because Qui-Gon dies on Geonosis.

He shouldn’t have been there, Obi-Wan and Anakin keep saying. But they both know that you can’t stop Qui-Gon Jinn to do what he wants. He shouldn’t have gone to Kamino by himself, he shouldn’t have followed the bounty hunter to Geonosis, He shouldn’t have been in this arena, he shouldn’t have been killed before the help has come. He shouldn’t have died right in front of his former master— because of his former master.

Anakin’s master died that day, but when Obi-Wan saw Master Dooku ordering the attack on the Jedi, he felt like he was losing two masters at the same time.

Now there is a war coming, and the Council is talking about Master Dooku being a Sith, and he should stop saying Master Dooku, he knows, and people are asking how good can a Jedi be when raised by a traitor, and Yoda is talking to him about knighting Anakin and what he thinks about it like he’s his master now, and Anakin refuses to talk to him, and that probably has to do with the fact that he lost an arm and a father-figure to Obi-Wan’s master, and Obi-Wan would like to sleep for an entire year now, thank you very much.

#dooku and anakin: hate at first sight #can I make obi-wan's life more depressing? the answer is yes #obi wan kenobi #dooku #qui gon jinn #anakin skywalker #clem's aus #asks #anon #dooku and kenobi au

469 notes · View notes