Archive: SWAL, M&A, WWOMB
Category: Non Q/O
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns Star Wars. I hold the copyright on
this story.
Pairing: O, An
Rating: G
Spoilers: TPM/Jedi Apprentice spoilers.
Summary: Obi-Wan helps Ani feel less cold, and fights his own feelings
about the boy.
I wandered out of the room I shared with my Master, and shivered slightly in the hallway. In an enclosed space, Qui-Gon and I made enough heat to keep ourselves warm, but it was much colder out here. I headed for the common room, hoping to fix myself some soup.
I found the boy there, along with one of the Queen's handmaidens. "What are you two doing here?" I asked, as I opened a ration pack and dumped the contents into some water.
Anakin didn't say anything, but the girl replied "Ani was cold. I'm keeping him company."
I frowned at her for a moment. The boy disturbed me, made every sense I had scream out that I was in danger, but this girl disturbed me, too. She was hiding something, but I couldn't figure out what. I'd have to bring it up with my Master. "You're Padme, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"You should get some sleep, young handmaiden. I'll take care of Anakin."
For a moment I thought she was going to argue with me, but then she ducked her head. "As you wish, Jedi Kenobi."
I watched her leave, and then smiled at the boy. "She got that wrong, actually. It's 'Padawan Kenobi.'"
"Padawan?"
"Translates to 'apprentice' in Basic." I shrugged.
He looked confused. "So, do I call you 'Padawan?'"
"No, only my Master calls me that. When he's not calling me 'Obi-Wan, stop that at once!'"
The boy laughed, and I felt the danger lessen a little, though I didn't know why. "So, you're Master Qui-Gon's apprentice?"
"Since I was a little older than you are, yes."
"When do you stop?"
"When he says I'm ready." I tried not to think about it. He'd told me a few months ago that he thought I'd be ready soon, if I could just learn to concentrate on the living Force. I felt better concentrating on my lightsaber. Although both the Force and my lightsaber seemed to be telling me to kill an innocent child, right now, to save my own skin. I ignored them. "Do you want some soup?"
"What's soup?"
I stared at him. "Meat and vegetables in water," I answered, after a moment.
He frowned. "Doesn't that ruin the water?"
Suddenly, I understood. "We're not on a desert planet, Anakin. Some worlds are full of water. Maybe you'll meet my friend Bant at the Academy. She comes from a world full of water."
"Really?"
"Really. Here." I handed him a bowl and spoon, and he slurped some soup tentatively.
"I like it."
"Good. It'll help keep you warm."
We sat in silence for a while, and I watched him finish his soup, his face slightly flushed from the warmth of it. "I feel warmer," he said, and smiled at me.
"That's one of the great things about soup." I collected his bowl and put it in the sonic cleaner. "Are you going to be fine out here? Or is it still too cold."
"It's too cold. The desert got cold at night, but the houses kept the heat in, so it was never this bad." He looked miserable, and I took pity on him.
"Come on. You can sleep with me and Master Qui-Gon."
He smiled, and again I felt the danger ease. Every small kindness, it seemed, made me safer.
We headed back to the small cabin, and I used the Force to shove Qui-Gon closer to the wall. He'd sprawled over the bed in my absence, all one hundred and ninety-odd centimeters of him, not to mention his outflung arms. "He's a cover-hog, too," I told Anakin as we crawled under the blankets. "And he snores."
Anakin snuggled down, relaxing into the warm between my body and my Master's. "Is he grouchy in the morning?"
"Very grouchy," I said, and the boy smiled again and fell asleep.
I lay awake, trying to ignore the Force's insistent warning of danger.