Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, age 25, sighed, staring out the window. They were waiting to reach Tatooine from Naboo and really needed to regroup. The opposite direction of Coruscant, being in the outer rim. He had been a knight for two years now, though he kept getting put with Qui-Gon on request of the Senate for many missions. This one was one of the few he felt like he actually should be involved in. Most people just thought he did well paired with Qui-Gon. Which he did. They were a good pair.

But it also meant that Obi-Wan wasn't as available for any support missions more often than not. He'd only been on two since his Knighting, while Quinlan, who had been Knighted three years previous, had only ever been on support missions.

Qui-Gon joined him at the window, watching space go by, idly wrapping an arm around his former padawan out of habit. “I think the Force wants us on Tatooine.”

Obi-Wan reached for the Force. “You're right. Tatooine is where we're meant to go.” Then he sighed. “I took a quick look at the engine. We'll need to take a closer look when we land, but I'm fairly certain we're going to need to pick up replacement parts along with the supplies to make the longer journey to Coruscant.”

“I thought as much. I'll take care of it.”

“No, master, I think I should be the one to do it. I know Tatooine better than you do.” Obi-Wan shook his head.

“I keep telling you that you can call me Qui-Gon now.”

“What's two years as a knight to ten years of being your padawan?” Obi-Wan shot back.

“Why do you think you can do better on Tatooine than me?”

“Two months ten years ago.” Obi-Wan leaned into Qui-Gon. He frowned. “Huh, it's been ten years.” He idly reached up to touch the tattoo on his face. It was weird to think it had been ten years. Sometimes it felt like it had been far less time and sometimes it felt like it had been double that. “Anyways. I know more about how Tatooine works than you do, thanks to that. I also know the way the slaves work and they might be helpful.”

“Okay, if you can handle it.”

“It's been ten years, now, Qui-Gon. I think I can do it.” Obi-Wan rolled his eyes.

Qui-Gon ruffled his hair. “Okay, Padawan. You know I worry.”

Obi-Wan grumbled but let him. His hair was growing out. He was still seeing what styles he liked. He had liked the padawan cut because it meant he didn't have to worry about what his hair looked like, but now he had to figure out what he even liked to see in his hair.

His hair was no longer a bright red, but instead a dark red that in some lighting looked more brown or even black. It was a bit curlier, more than just wavy but not to the point of tight curls, which made him consider if keeping his hair short would be the ideal hair style after all. But for now, he was trying growing it out to his shoulders to see if that was an option.

“I'm going to have to take Jar Jar along, aren't I?” Obi-Wan sighed.

“Would you like to leave him with the ship where he could cause more issues that will need replacing?” Qui-Gon asked with a raised eyebrow.

Obi-Wan grimaced. “Absolutely not. Well, could be worse I suppose.”

.

After giving the engine a thorough examination, Obi-Wan had the list of parts he needed, plus some spares he wanted just in case, if he could find a way to pay for it all. He could feel in the Force that a solution would present itself, though, so he wasn't terribly concerned.

Jar Jar followed him out, eager to help and be of assistance. Obi-Wan was trying to figure out how to keep the Gungan out of trouble but was drawing a blank. There wasn't much he could ask Jar Jar to do that would keep him out of trouble. Maybe the astromech with them would be of assistance.

He paused when he sensed the captain and the Queen approaching him. He turned and inwardly groaned, though there was no change of expression on his face. The Queen was playing handmaiden again while her decoy played her. It was actually a fascinating way of doing things, but it also made things more complicated.

Obi-Wan accepted the request to have Padme accompany him easily. He took a moment to look over Padme carefully. “Good, you're dressed for the sand. That's important around here. Let's go.”

Padme hurried after him as he started walking. “Shouldn't Master Jinn be the one doing this?”

“He's never been to Tatooine before. I have. I know more what to expect, how a place like this works, than he does.”

“I hope you're right.” She very obviously doubted him.

Obi-Wan took in a deep breath and let it out. “I understand, Padme, that you and the other handmaidens are Queen Amidala's closest confidants and probably know far more of what is at stake than most in a similar position would know. I assure you, we are doing things for the best outcome possible. It may not look like it, but we are Jedi, and we do have experience in such matters.”

He did not want to be so harsh, but her and the others had been treating him as Qui-Gon's side kick, on top of questioning everything. Some questioning made sense, but it was still frustrating.

“What, you've protected a leader before?”

“Actually, I spent eight months on the run, six of them without Qui-Gon, about eight or nine years ago, protecting a Duchess.” He felt her respect rise. Good. Really, did she know the kinds of things Jedi did? Protecting leaders was a rather common mission, at least for most Jedi.

She didn't bother him the rest of the walk into town. Obi-Wan took in the sights as they entered. He found himself surprisingly unaffected even though it was all familiar. It seemed that it had been enough time, and he had put in enough work that this at least would not bother him. That had been his one concern about being the one to go in to look for the parts. One never knew for certain if past trauma would affect the present until faced with it.

“Why are we ignoring all the official shops?”

“They're not going to take credits out here,” Obi-Wan said over his shoulder as he followed the Force to a junk shop. “And their prices will be high. We will do better at a junk shop where most of their items are able to be repaired enough to work if they have not already been restored.”

Obi-Wan recognized the Huttese words as greeting and asking him what he wanted. He responded in Huttese, stating the ship type. “...and I speak better basic than I do Huttese. It has been quite a while since I last had the opportunity to speak it.”

The shop owner just switched to basic without comment. “Ah yes, we have lots of that.”

Obi-Wan had to close his eyes a moment when he called for a boy to get in there. Probably a slave. He braced himself, though his face never changed beyond that moment of closed eyes.

It didn't take long for the boy to arrive, yet the shop owner still scolded him in Huttese, asking him what took so long.

“I was cleaning the fan switches.” He sounded very offended. That was not a tone most owners would allow.

“Watch the store, I've got some selling to do.”

So, this shop owner was the lenient type. At least the young boy, eight or so, had that going for him. Although now that Obi-Wan was really looking at him, the kid was bright in the Force, and the Force screaming at him to pay attention to him. Great. For now though he had work to do.

He followed the toydarian to the back of the shop. Obi-Wan mentioned that the astromech had the scans of what they needed as they walked. Thankfully, so far Jar Jar was staying out of trouble. Obi-Wan really hoped it stayed that way. They couldn't afford to pay if anything broke.

“How are you going to pay for all this?”

“That's for me to worry about. I'm just looking right now, comparing prices, making sure I get the best deals before I commit.”

“No one else has a T-14 hyperdrive.”

Obi-Wan believed him. “I'm still going to look, for all you know someone got one in today.”

“Ah, you're smarter than you look, Kiffar.”

Obi-Wan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. “Sure, sure. Now, prices, please, so I can be on my way and sort out what to buy where.”

“Oh, no need for that, you buy all your parts here, I'll give you a 20% discount.”

“That is an excellent offer, so then...” Obi-Wan tallied up the total and listed the original number, then the number with the discount.

“Yes, that is what you will pay.”

“Very well. I expect I'll be back tomorrow after checking around and getting some rest. Would you mind putting the parts aside?”

“I will expect you tomorrow.”

Obi-Wan returned to Padme and Jar Jar. “I am going to double check some other shops, and then we'll be back tomorrow after we discuss.”

Padme frowned at him, not liking the sound of that.

“Watto has the best junk shop here. You're probably not gonna be able to find anything else.” The boy spoke up.

Obi-Wan turned to him, automatically greeting him in the Force. The boy's eyes widened, but he otherwise didn't react.

“Thank you. My name is Obi-Wan, what is yours?”

“I'm Anakin.” The boy smiled at him.

Tentatively, he mimicked what Obi-Wan did. Obi-Wan gently corrected him in the Force without changing expressions and Anakin beamed at him. Obi-Wan's breath was taken away by the Force's insistence that this boy was to be his padawan.

...great. That complicated things. But... at the same time. His padawan. He was going to have a padawan in a few years!

Obi-Wan grinned. “I suppose I will see you tomorrow, Anakin.”

Anakin nodded enthusiastically, then told Padme it was nice to meet her.

Obi-Wan led the way out, contemplating the next course of action. He could feel in the Force that Anakin was right, so he decided to forgo checking other shops after all. He found a corner to contact Qui-Gon in, and relayed how much money they would have to spend on the parts. As Obi-Wan expected, there was nothing of value on board. He chose not to mention Anakin. The mission had to come first, then he could worry about his future padawan.

Jar Jar complained about how they couldn't go back out there because it was crazy.

Obi-Wan sighed. “They'll only go after us if we bother them or they think we have something of value, which we do not. Stay out of trouble, and you'll be fine.” He turned and started walking. He sensed that the Force was trying to tell him something, but he wasn't sure what he was looking for yet.

He heard a disturbance behind them and sighed when he saw a Dug standing over Jar Jar. Typical. Obi-Wan shook his head in exasperation.

“I told him to stay out of trouble,” he muttered. Padme giggled as she followed him.

Anakin stepped up and talked the Dug down. Impressive, and brave. Maybe a bit fool hardy, but the kid had a good heart.

“Hi.” Anakin looked up at Obi-Wan.

“Hello again. Thank you for saving my friend."

Obes?

Quin? Where are you?

Right behind you, at the table.

Obi-Wan sent back acknowledgement in the Force but did not otherwise react to his brief conversation with his brother.

“He was about to be turned into orange goo. He picked a fight with an especially dangerous Dug called Sebulba.”

Obi-Wan helped up Jar Jar, rolling his eyes at Jar Jar's protests about not wanting a fight. “I told you to stay out of trouble.” Obi-Wan glanced at Quinlan and nodded to him. Then he waved slightly to the other members of Clan Vos he could see right there before they could greet him; he recognized a few cousins. And then he walked away.

I thought you and Qui-Gon went to Naboo.

We did. Had to get the Queen and her handmaidens off of Naboo when the Trade Federation invaded, and of course the hyperdrive needs repairing. Even better? The handmaiden with me is actually the queen. The handmaidens just switch with her to act as decoys.

Huh. Well, I finished my mission and ran into some of Clan Vos and got talked into catching up, but it sounds like you need help.

Please. We need a lot of money in order to fix the ship, money we do not have, and you're better at coming up with these things than I am.

I'll catch up in a few minutes.

See you soon.

Padme frowned. “What are we going to do?”

Obi-Wan hummed in thought. “I have a few ideas, but I doubt you'll like any of them. But we don't have much choice if we're ever going to get to Coruscant.”

Anakin was still with them. “Well if you're hungry, I know where you can get some food!”

Padme smiled at him. “Are you sure? Shouldn't you get home?”

“Mom won't mind.”

Before anything else could be said Obi-Wan staggered with the impact of Quinlan hugging him out of nowhere. Obi-Wan grinned and returned the hug, briefly pressing his forehead against Quinlan's. Then they pulled away and Obi-Wan turned to Padme with an arm still around his brother.

“Padme, this is my brother Quinlan Vos. Quin, this is Padme. That's Jar-Jar Binks, and this is Anakin.”

Padme eyed Quinlan suspiciously. He just casually moved his robes, allowing her to see his lightsaber for the briefest of moments. She relaxed.

Anakin gasped quietly. “You're a Jedi?”

“I didn't say that.” Quinlan winked at him. “Now, I heard something about food? I'll pay, since I know you only have credits on you,” he told Obi-Wan.

“Please do.” Obi-Wan smiled.

“This way!” Anakin said enthusiastically, leading them to the market in the poor part of town.

“Why does he know you only have credits?” Padme hissed as they walked.

“He knew my mission wasn't to somewhere outside the Republic, of course I wouldn't have other currency on me. And anyways, he's my brother. He knows me well.”

Padme subsided.

“And I can hear you,” Quinlan added cheerfully.

She blushed and looked away.

They perused the stalls, picking up quite a bit of food as they did so, until they came upon a stall with an old lady. Anakin suggested things for them to buy, which they did.

“Oh my bones are aching. Storm's coming up, Ani. You better get home quick.”

Obi-Wan tilted his head. Yes, he could sense the incoming storm now that he was looking for it. Felt like it was just about to hit the ship, actually.

“Do you have shelter?”

“No, we don't. Our ship is outside of town, but we'll never make it.” Obi-Wan shook his head before Padme could respond. He glanced at her. “Storms come up pretty quick. It'll be like this one moment, blowing sand the next. Going out into the open like that is risky.”

“I'll take you to my place!” Anakin volunteered quickly.

No wonder the Force was telling me to buy so much food. We're going to be imposing on slaves.

Yep. Oh, speaking of the Force, Quin... Anakin's apparently supposed to be my padawan according to the Force.

Ah, that complicates things.

You don't say.

Cute kid though. And what are the odds that both of us end up with our first padawans being former slaves?

I was thinking the same thing. At least our experience will be put to good use.

By the time they arrived at the home, the storm had really started, and sand was everywhere.

“Mom, I'm home!”

“Ah, dissen cozy,” Jar Jar said, looking around.

“These are my friends, Mom.”

Anakin then turned to Padme to ask her if she wanted to see the droid he was building.

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi, this is my brother Quinlan Vos. Your son was kind enough to offer shelter, and we have food.”

Quinlan held up the bag of food he was carrying. “Do you need help with dinner?”

Shmi smiled at them. “You don't have to help.”

“We wouldn't want to impose too much when your son offered us shelter without checking with you first. We're not from around here, after all.”

“Then I will gladly accept your help.”

As they helped, Shmi watched them work. Quinlan and Obi-Wan worked together seamlessly, and didn't even think about their actions, setting down dishes in a specific order, tapping the edges of bowls before using them, even when making the tea... They poured tea into cups both stirred three times one way, three times the other way, and swirled the tea before sipping, and then she knew.

But just to be sure, she started singing a working song. Obi-Wan and Quinlan both hummed along until the main chorus, then Obi-Wan joined in, followed just a few lines after by Quinlan. They'd just finished the song when Obi-Wan was contacted by Qui-Gon and had to answer it.

Shmi glanced over to Quinlan as he helped her with the next part of dinner. “You two were slaves once.”

He nodded. “Once, for two months about ten years ago. Compared to most, that's not much.”

“And yet you didn't hesitate, didn't even think before doing the things I would have done.”

Quinlan shrugged. “It was habit by the time other Kiffar rescued Obi-Wan and I. There has been no reason for us to drop them, either.”

“Do you mind if I ask more about it?”

“No, not at all,” Obi-Wan answered for Quinlan as he caught the bowl Jar-Jar almost spilled. We're running out of time. Situation is getting desperate for Naboo and they tried to contact the Queen, though it probably was a trap.

Wonderful. Did you tell him that I'm here?

Nah, thought we'd surprise him later, if you wish to join us?

Of course. One of the things we could do is sell the ship I'm using. I bought it just for the mission so no need to keep it if it's not going to be what's bringing me back to the Temple.

Good plan.

“Where were you slaves?”

“Here, actually. Sold in the high priced auction in a two for one deal to a Zygerrian who spent a good portion of the year here.” Quinlan checked on the bread. It was nearly done, but not there yet.

They could feel her surprise as she paused in what she was doing briefly. “And you were rescued by Kiffar?”

“Yeah, he was about to take us off planet and some Kiffar happened to be around to see us go. I wasn't adopted as Quinlan's brother yet, but Quin is clearly Kiffar, and young, and they don't take kindly to one of their own being enslaved, especially not someone so young.”

“I wasn't yet an adult by their standards,” Quinlan clarified. “Or most standards, really. I was seventeen. Obi was fifteen.”

“I think I heard about that, it's a bit of a legend around here.”

“It is?” Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged surprised looks.

“He pulled out lightsabers that the Kiffar took with them, and he didn't detonate your slave chips.”

Obi-Wan grimaced at the reminder of the slave chip. “I've never been able to figure out why he didn't once he realized what was happening.”

He rubbed the back of his neck where it'd been found only four years ago after periodically searching for it. It was inactive, as Darach had found the controls for their chips during the scuffle and deactivated them both, taking them along. But with it so close to his spine they'd been reluctant to remove it without careful planning, so it was still there. Quinlan's was in his lower back, and near the spine so it was a similar situation for him.

“As for the lightsabers, it's a good thing Darach grabbed them. Those were ours.”

She paused. “You're Jedi? But...”

“Jedi aren't immune to slavery. A lot of people like to be able to brag about owning us. There's many who'll go out of their way trying to catch Jedi of any age. And others get lucky, like those who brought us here when we stumbled into their hideout.”

“Most of the galaxy doesn't care, of course. They just see the Jedi as child stealers, warmongers, cold hearted and so on, so even if they did believe we were targets for slavery, they would think we deserved it.” Obi-Wan shrugged. “But we find our work worth it. Making the galaxy a better place by helping those who need it.”

“Why are two Jedi here?”

“Three technically,” Quinlan corrected, “but I'm here because I was assigned to assist in an investigation and the evidence led me here. I sent back what I found, and it was the last of what they needed to figure out who did it. And then I saw Obi-Wan was here, so I decided to help him out while I'm available to do so.”

“Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi who taught me, stayed back with the ship. We were sent to negotiate a treaty, only to end up needing to get the leadership of the planet off world. We were going to aim to get them to Coruscant, and that's still our goal, but we need ship parts.”

“And that's how you met Ani.”

“He's a bright kid.” Obi-Wan smiled. “Very impressive what he can do. Most kids can't build droids even with classes, let alone what he's doing.”

“I worry about him. He has a big heart. I don't think he's going to last much longer out here like this. We've been lucky, but Watto can be greedy in his gambling.”

Quinlan and Obi-Wan glanced at each other. Quinlan nodded to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan took a deep breath.

“The thing about Jedi is we can sense others who have potential, and I've never seen anyone with so much potential as your son, even among the younglings already there. If we can find a way to Free him, he would have a place with us.”

Shmi froze, staring at them, searching their faces. “Would the Jedi take him?”

“I believe so, as I can sense that I am meant to train him.”

Shmi relaxed. “If you can find a way to Free Ani, I will let you take him with you, so long as you give him the choice.”

“Of course. After spending his life as a slave, he deserves a choice.”

And with that, the conversation died until dinner, though eventually Shmi started singing another song. Quinlan and Obi-Wan joined in. As they set food on the table, Quinlan spotted Anakin watching them with a look of complete confusion on his face. Padme didn't seem to understand the implications of the two Jedi singing along with a slave, nor did she know that they were following the same patterns that Anakin had grown up with. Patterns that mostly only slaves used.

Then they sat down to eat.

“If Quinlan is a Jedi, are you a Jedi since you're his brother?” Anakin asked curiously.

Obi-Wan smiled at Anakin. “Yes, I am a Jedi, although not everyone in a family is meant to be a Jedi.”

“I didn't know that Jedi had family.” Padme glanced between them, eyes lingering on the similarities between the two, most especially their identical face tattoos. Obi-Wan had introduced Quinlan as his brother but she hadn't quite believed it at the time.

“Jedi consider each other family,” Quinlan countered. “We have our lineages, that is, we consider those who teach us and those who were taught by the same Jedi to be family. And just because not everyone can use the Force does not mean we don't have contact with blood family or consider those within the Order to be family.”

“I thought you said he was adopted.”

“It was a blood adoption.” Obi-Wan waved a hand. “Anyways, Padme, this is your first time out of the Republic. What do you think so far?”

Padme frowned, looking to Shmi who was just about to sit down. “I don't understand. Why have you not tried to run, there seems to be ample opportunities.”

“All slaves have transmitters. Not only does that track us...”

“But if we try to run it blows us up! Boom!” Anakin exclaimed enthusiastically. “I'm trying to build a scanner to find them though so we can remove them and then there's no more problem!”

“This is all so new to me. I thought slavery was gone. It's outlawed in the Republic.”

Obi-Wan put his head in his hands.

Quinlan patted his back and answered her for him. “This isn't the Republic.”

“We must survive on our own. There are groups that do their best to try to eradicate slavery, but the laws are different here, and they risk being enslaved themselves.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I know we run a freedom trail ourselves, but with the way the Senate tracks our missions, well, there's not always a lot we can do.”

Padme stared at him, then at Quinlan, then Shmi. There was an awkward silence.

“Have you seen pod races?” Anakin asked, changing the subject for them all.

“Ah yes, riding in a dangerous death trap to try to win a race.” Obi-Wan drawled.

Anakin gaped at him. “It's not a death trap!”

Quinlan snagged a bit of food off of Obi-Wan's plate. “Don't mind him, he just keeps up with the statistics too much. And to be fair the death rates are high but it's fun to race!”

“I'm the only human that can do it around here!”

Obi-Wan chuckled, stealing some food from Quinlan in retaliation. “Of course you are. You do seem to have talent, young one.”

“I'm not that young!” Anakin protested. Then he paused. “Can you do pod racing?”

Quinlan wrapped an arm around Obi-Wan. “He did win a race once.”

“And I only raced because you dared me to. Besides you're the one who's the expert in pod racing.”

“Whoa, really, but you're human too!”

“Eh, near human. Kiffar don't quite qualify as 100% human,” Quinlan corrected. Then he leaned over Obi-Wan to talk to Anakin. “And it's because we're Jedi,” he whispered with a wink. Obi-Wan pushed him back to focus on his food.

Anakin's eyes widened. “Really? I had a dream I was a Jedi once; I came back to free all the slaves. Did you come to free us?”

“No, sorry, kid, I'm afraid it's not that simple.” Quinlan shook his head. “Even Jedi are at risk of being enslaved if we aren't careful.”

“Then why are you here?”

“Ah, curious, aren't you? We were on our way to Coruscant and wound up here.” Obi-Wan wasn't sure how much Padme wanted them to reveal and should have consulted her before saying anything to Shmi earlier.

“But this is the outer rim! How'd you end up here?”

“Our ship was damaged, so we're stranded here until we get the parts to fix it,” Padme explained awkwardly, looking uncertain as to what she wanted to reveal. It was good for her to be out of her depth once in a while. It would only help her as a leader.

“I can help!” Anakin declared quickly. “I can fix anything!”

“But first we need the money for the parts.” Obi-Wan didn't want to dampen his enthusiasm, though he could see that Shmi was a bit uneasy about it. He understood. If Anakin wasn't Free, he could get in major trouble for helping them. It was already a bit of a risk letting them stay there.

“I plan on selling my ship and gambling on the next race. Should be able to get the money that way.” Quinlan waved a hand.

“I could enter!” Anakin suggested enthusiastically.

“I don't want you to Ani, I can't take it every time Watto enters you.”

“But mom, I can help!”

Obi-Wan sighed. “It could make things easier, if he did enter.” He looked at Shmi. She seemed to get what he meant and her resolve to say no wavered.

“I have a pod I built; you can enter it with me as a pilot!”

Obi-Wan tilted his head, thinking it over.

“Watto won't let you.” Shmi sighed.

“Not if they can make him think it's their pod.”

“Ani, you know I don't like it when Watto makes you enter the races. I don't like it when you risk your life like that.”

“But I love it. And I want to help. They've been so nice to us.”

“I know.”

“We appreciate the offer, Anakin. You have a good heart. But we will find a way regardless.” Obi-Wan decided to save Shmi from having to decide.

Quinlan nodded. “I have a few ideas.”

Anakin looked rather put out. “Mom you always said the greatest problem with the universe is not enough people help each other. We can help them.”

“You don't have to put your son in danger,” Padme jumped in, feeling like she had to say something, though the two other Jedi had already said much the same. “We will figure something out.”

Shmi was a little bit embarrassed to have her own words thrown back at her like that, well meaning as it was. “I suppose... you will take care of him?” she asked the two Jedi.

Quinlan grinned. “Of course we will. He may know what he wants, but Ani is still a youngling.”

“I'm nine! I'm not that little!” Anakin protested.

Obi-Wan hid his amusement. He was little. “We know.”

They cleaned up after lunch and checked outside. The storm had passed. Obi-Wan turned to Quinlan and they went outside to talk, leaning against the wall, discussing their varying ideas on how to handle this. Especially knowing that the next race was the next day. It was the will of the Force that the timing worked out. Now they just had to make sure they had everything in order.

Quinlan gave Obi-Wan a tight hug then, after poking his head into the house to say goodbye, left to go take care of his side of things, including selling his own ship.

Obi-Wan collected JarJa r and Padme to go back to Watto's, knowing that Anakin had already returned for the afternoon.

“Are you really going to trust a slave boy with our ability to get off this planet?” Padme asked.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at her. “Do you have any better ideas?”

“The Queen will not approve.”

Obi-Wan resisted the urge to smirk. “Well, the Queen isn't here, now is she?”

Padme looked so mad there. It was priceless.

Obi-Wan paused, then sighed, stepping to the side so they were out of the way. “Look, Padme. The Hutts rule this planet. We have to play by their rules, which is mostly that there are no laws, but we cannot mess with gambling. Those contracts are always upheld. If they know a Jedi is interfering? They'll complain to the Senate, and the Senate's agreement with the Hutts is that the Republic stays out of their business, and so the Jedi will be in trouble with the Senate and possibly face sanctions once the Senate smooths things over with the Hutts”

Padme frowned at him.

“I don't like using Anakin like this, but I do have faith, and I have the Force. Which is telling me this is the right path.” Then he smirked. “Besides, Quinlan and I came up with back up plans, where do you think he went? We're not stupid.”

“You should have told me.”

“Why? You're just here because you were curious about the planet, not to help me make decisions in this mission. If I had known that was your true purpose, I would have included you.”

Padme couldn't come up with any counter argument that didn't reveal her true identity, and so she just glared at him.

Obi-Wan started walking again, smiling once he was ahead of her again. She caught up shortly.

“Now, I've got a plan, but I need you to not interrupt. If you can't hold your tongue, you should stay outside.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, but agreed, following him inside.

“You're back earlier than I expected.” Watto seemed amused.

Obi-Wan shrugged. “We ran into an issue when it comes to money. What I thought would work did not, and now I find myself in possession of a pod I do not need. How about we set up a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“I hear you enter your boy in the pod races a lot and that while he has yet to finish a race,” Obi-Wan felt Anakin's surprise he knew that; but Quinlan had heard about him before meeting up with Obi-Wan and so relayed that info, “he's still rather good at keeping the pod intact and usable. My new pod is supposed to be the best. So, you enter him with my pod, and if he wins, you keep the winnings and give us the parts we need free of charge.”

“Hmm, yes, I do like this plan. Boy, do the last of your chores so that you can leave with this man to check out the pod.”

Anakin nodded, beaming because the plan was working. Then he hurried away.

“Now what is in it for me if he loses?”

“You can keep the pod, but otherwise you lose nothing more than you usually do by entering him.”

“Yes, I suppose that is true.” Watto still eyed him suspiciously. “You have something else in mind though, don't you.”

“I think a boy of his talents would be of better use elsewhere in the galaxy. If he wins, I want to take him with us, and free him of slavery.”

“I will not part with the boy, his mother, yes, she's a decent mechanic but she's not anywhere near his talent.”

Obi-Wan stepped forward. “So, you would let the boy free his mother by winning the race, but not himself? If you win, you get all the winnings, and my pod, anyways, even if you do have to part with him.”

“Yes, but that's not enough. And a measly pod if he loses is not nearly enough incentive to let you take him if he wins. It's barely enough for all the parts.”

Obi-Wan took in a breath and straightened, staring him down. “Then how about I offer myself and my brother as collateral?”

“What?"

“If the boy loses the race tomorrow, you get to keep us. We're Kiffar, we go for a lot on the market. I know you haven't met my brother yet, but he's full blooded Kiffar, while I'm part Stewjoni. If you wanted to sell us, you'd make a lot of money.”

“And how do I know that you wouldn't go against your word?”

“We will not try to escape from you if we lose the bet. I can promise you that and we will join you immediately afterwards so that you can be certain.”

“Good, good.” Watto was now circling Obi-Wan with interest.

Obi-Wan stood patiently, completely calm. He was a little bothered, but it was to be expected. He didn't like the idea of what would happen if Anakin lost, and he didn't particularly like giving Watto even the chance to look at him as something to sell off, but it was the only thing he and Quinlan could think of that did not involve using the ship they needed to get off the planet.

“Yes, I will take this bet. If the boy does not win the race tomorrow, I keep everything and get you and your brother. If the boy wins tomorrow, I will give you the parts you need for your ship free of charge and free the boy.”

Obi-Wan could tell Watto was only agreeing with it because he had made it tempting, and Watto, for all that he liked entering Anakin in the races, did not believe that the boy would actually win any time soon.

“Deal.” Obi-Wan held out his hand. Watto smacked it in recognition that they struck a deal. As he did so Anakin entered the room and looked delighted to see that they had figured it out.

“Come along, let's go take care of the pod.” Obi-Wan gestured at Anakin. He wrapped an arm around Anakin to guide him out. He could feel Padme burning a hole in his back with the intensity of her stare. She was not happy about the deal.

She waited until Anakin was happily working on finishing the pod to ask at least. “Why would you do that? Offer yourselves to be slaves?”

“Because my mission is to see the Queen safely to Coruscant at the moment, and I saw no other way to ensure it went well, even without trying to bargain for Anakin's freedom. If Ani loses, and I truly do not believe he will with the stakes he's aware of, Quinlan is making arrangements for others we trust to buy the parts and see you and Jar Jar safely back to the ship with them. Those others will be betting on the favorites and so, if Anakin does not win, they will have the winnings needed that to buy the parts.”

“The Queen wouldn't want you to sacrifice yourself for her.”

“No one ever wants others to sacrifice for them. Qui-Gon has nearly died for me more than once, and it never sits well with me, even though I know that he would have suffered if I died because he did not do anything. But we are Jedi, and that life is often more about sacrifice than anything else.”

Padme stared at him.

“If you have nothing else to say on the subject, I need to give Qui-Gon an update.” Obi-Wan turned away, already pulling out his comm.

“Do you have a plan, Obi-Wan?” Qui-Gon asked immediately.

“Yes, I made a bet with the owner of the junk shop about pod racing tomorrow. And I have back up plans, regarding gambling, to secure the money elsewhere, if I lose the bet. We'll get the Queen to Coruscant before it's too late.”

“I have a feeling you're leaving out a lot.”

“Oh, quite a bit. I seem to have found some unexpected allies. I'll tell you all about it another time though.”

“Very well. Be careful.”

“You know me.”

“Yes, that's what worries me.”

Obi-Wan laughed as he turned off his comm. He smiled at Shmi as she came up to him. “Your son will make a fine Jedi with how he gives so easily and so freely with all of his heart, if that is the path he wishes to take.”

“How do you know he can be a Jedi?”

“I can sense it in the Force, but if you need more obvious tells... the way he seems to have fast reflexes? That comes from the Force warning him and him listening and acting on that warning. He knows what others are feeling, and is very sensitive to it at times, isn't he? And that's only the start of what you might have noticed.”

She nodded. “I have noticed that... I worry that others have noticed it. If anyone figures out that he's Force sensitive, it'll only get worse for him. Can you free him?”

“If he wins the race tomorrow, he will win his freedom. Unfortunately, there was no way to work you into the deal.”

“That's okay. As long as Ani makes it off this planet, I will be happy.”

Obi-Wan smiled at her. He understood the sentiment. “There is one thing that's been bothering me, though. Who is his father?”

Shmi sighed, looking annoyed. “I cannot explain it. There is no father. I conceived him, I carried him, I gave birth to him, and I raised him, all without any father.”

Obi-Wan glanced at her, sensing she was telling the truth. He decided not to push.

Chapter Text

Quinlan finished selling off his ship, ignoring the weight hanging off of his back. Nothing was said until they had walked away.

“What are you doing?” Craig asked once they were away from prying ears. Craig was the youngest of the first cousins, being only two years older than Quinlan.

“I'm helping Obi-Wan with his mission,” Quinlan responded. “And we need your help, and the others who are here too.”

Craig grinned. “Really? Help with a Jedi mission? Conall is going to be so jealous when I tell him.”

Quinlan chuckled. “Oh, he's going to be so mad he chose not to come along on this adventure.” They met up with the others of Clan Vos, including Craig's older brother Bernard and more distant cousins.

“So, what's Obi doing here?” Bernard asked as they settled in with drinks once more.

“His mission went sideways, naturally.” Quinlan shook his head. “He and Qui-Gon were escorting some people from Naboo to Coruscant, but they need the money for ship parts to be able to get off this planet. So, that's where your help is going to come in. I'm going to bet on Anakin Skywalker, he's the kid that saved that Gungan from the Dug. He's actually Force sensitive so he has a good chance. If the rest of you want to help, you can each choose one of the favorites to bet on, and that way no matter what we have the money.”

Craig narrowed his eyes at Quinlan. “What's the catch?”

Quinlan leaned back. “If Anakin loses, we'll have to stay behind to take care of the terms of losing the bet Obi is placing with the junk shop owner who has the parts- Watto. Which means one of you will have to go buy the parts, I'll make sure you have the list of what's needed, and then you'll need to collect Padme and Jar Jar, that's the Gungan, to get them and the parts back to the ship.”

Bernard sighed, rubbing his temple. “What idiotic thing did you and Obi-W decide on as the terms for losing? And why do I feel like everyone is going to hate it?”

Quinlan grinned sheepishly. “Aisling is going to murder you if she ever finds out.” He took a drink. Aisling was actually two years younger than Bernard, but she was far scarier as the most protective compared to Bernard's introverted nature.

“What makes you think this kid is going to win then?”

“The Force says to trust him. If I didn't feel Ani could win, I wouldn't have agreed to the risk.” Quinlan sighed. “Anyways, we're using his win to free him, so we had to offer up something good to counter that if he loses. Obi-Wan is offering me and him. Watto is sure to sell us, and then you can break us free.”

“You better be right about this kid because I do not want to face Aisling if that happens.” Craig shuddered.

Bernard shoved Craig lightly. “We'll help, though. Is there any other request you have?”

Quinlan smiled. “Just the one. If the kid loses, free him and his mom. If he wins, free his mom. I don't know what she will do with her freedom, but she deserves it for how kind she's being in letting us do this scheme, for letting us stay with her. Her name is Shmi Skywalker. And if Anakin is going to be a Jedi, the choice will be up to him of course, he will do better with peace of mind, knowing his mom is free.”

They all nodded.

Craig leaned forward with a smirk. “I had been wanting to incite a slave uprising, you know. I have plans.” He pulled out his holopad.

Quinlan stared at the large number of pages listed at the bottom of the document. “Well, have fun with that. I'm going to go back to Obi-Wan and get ready for tomorrow.” Everyone protested and he gave them all hugs. The goodbye lasted a good hour, as it typically did with Clan Vos.

.

Obi-Wan looked at Anakin after dinner. Padme had wandered off to contact the 'queen'. “You said you were building a scanner? I've got some experience, so does Quinlan, maybe we can help?”

Anakin jumped up. “Really?” he ran off to his room.

Shmi shook her head, smiling slightly. “I need to go talk to a friend; you'll be fine?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “As long as Jar Jar stays out of trouble, but aside from being clumsy he's been doing better.”

Quinlan snorted. “He's a walking disaster. No wonder you didn't want to leave him on the ship.”

Shmi nodded. “Thank you for everything you're doing. Not everyone remembers what made them who they are. Not everyone chooses to remain kind.”

“We can say the same of you.” Obi-Wan grinned at her.

Then they went their separate ways, with Obi-Wan and Quinlan helping Anakin out by providing the knowledge he was missing. But he was good. He already had done a lot with his instincts. With the added knowledge that the two Jedi had, he was able to finish it, far better than they would have ever been able to, and months earlier than he would have without it.

“But how do I know if it works? I don't know where the chips are at all.”

Obi-Wan smiled and took it, turning it on. It whirred to life, then beeped when he held it over the spot in Quinlan's back where he knew there was one. Quinlan in turn held it over the spot where Obi-Wan had his.

“Yeah, it works.”

Anakin looked between them; brow furrowed. “You were slaves? But why haven't you removed them yet?”

Obi-Wan sighed as Quinlan started running the scanner over Anakin. “We spent two months as slaves about ten years ago. We had a hard time finding them because they're close to our spine, for both of us, so they didn't appear as easily, and on top of that, right by the spine is a dangerous place to perform a surgery. The healers are still working out how to safely remove them. For now, it doesn't affect us as they're deactivated.”

Anakin kept staring at them, only moving his gaze when the beeping of the scanner indicated that the chip was right in his side between ribs. He touched the spot. “Right here.” He beamed. “It really works!”

Obi-Wan smiled and ruffled his hair. “So it does. Good job, Ani.”

Anakin grinned at him, then frowned. “But you're Jedi...”

“We were still learning when they got us,” Quinlan explained gently. “And Jedi get targeted a lot for slavery because people like to brag about having us. Jedi are good, but we're not invincible.”

“Oh. So that's why you know our songs.” Anakin looked between them contemplatively.

Obi-Wan nodded. “Yes, it is.”

“I like that you do but I'm sorry about how you learned.”

.

Shmi smiled at her friend. “I was thinking earlier about that one story, with the Kiffar and the lightsabers.”

“Does this have anything to do with the outlanders you're hosting?” Lila asked, giving her friend a look. Lila was a twi'lek.

Shmi shrugged. “They've done their best to impose as little as possible, and Ani is happy. But they reminded me of that. I just wanted to know if you saw that. You were with that one, weren't you?”

Lila grimaced, flicking her lekku over her shoulder. “I was. I was still new to his household myself when he bought them... two teens, seventeen and fifteen, a Kiffar, and a Stewjoni, both Jedi. He liked them a lot for being under his usual age minimum.” She sighed.

“So...?”

“He had already sent the rest of us ahead to the ship to leave, but Quinlan and Obi-Wan had attempted to escape again, so he wanted to bring them there personally to be sure they wouldn't escape. And then he came onto the ship, late, injured and grumpy without them or their lightsabers. I'm not sure we actually learned it was Kiffar that rescued them until the next time we returned to Tatooine.” She finished off the slice of bread she was eating. “Is this a new recipe?”

Shmi shook her head. “I need to get the recipe, but one of my guests made it.”

“Huh...” Lila frowned, looking at the remainder of the bread. It reminded her of the bread that Obi-Wan and Quinlan made, though each had different breads they made.

“You could come meet them.”

Lila nodded. “I could. I at least need to make sure you're not completely insane for hosting outlanders.”

Shmi laughed. “I think you'll like them.” There was a bit of anticipation in her voice.

Lila tried not to put together all the clues. She didn't want false hope.

.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan were sitting down with some evening tea, listening to Anakin talk about all his projects and what he wanted to do next, especially now that he had the scanner done. Padme was sitting at the table watching curiously, but feeling very out of place, especially with how comfortable Obi-Wan and Quinlan seemed here. Jar Jar was with the droids for some reason, but at least he wasn't causing trouble.

“Mom! Lila!” Anakin jumped up.

Obi-Wan went from looking at his tea to staring, wide eyed at the twi'lek who had entered with Shmi. It had been ten years, but he would still recognize the green with blue markings anywhere, a rather unusual combination on a twi'lek.

Quinlan nearly dropped his cup. He started standing, staring as well.

“Quinlan and Obi-Wan helped me finish the scanner and it works!” Anakin told them enthusiastically once the door closed.

Lila stared at Anakin, then looked up to see two Kiffar staring at her. Both were familiar. She stepped forward while Shmi occupied Anakin. “Quin? Obi?” She covered her mouth as they grinned at her.

“Lila!” Obi-Wan hugged her first, tightly, and Quinlan wrapped his arms around them both. “I thought I'd never see you again! What are you doing around here?”

“Oh, well, after he lost you two, he lost a lot of respect, so things went downhill for a while, and then he lost me gambling a few years ago. I much prefer where I am now.”

“I bet."

“Now what are you two doing here?”

“Completing a Jedi mission, and Ani has too big a heart.” Obi-Wan responded quietly.

“He really does,” Lila agreed quietly, pulling away to look at them. She placed a hand on each of their faces. “You both look good. I'm so glad you got out.”

“You look good too, considering.” Quinlan grinned. “I'm glad we got out too, especially since now Obi-Wan is officially my brother, thanks to the Kiffar who rescued us.”

“Ah, that explains the tattoo and why you look so much like a Kiffar now, Obi.”

Obi-Wan grinned and nodded again. “So what brought you here.”

“Shmi must have put it together because she brought the bread that one of you made and prodded me about the story of your escape, I don't know if you've heard but it's rather legendary.”

“We have. Though both of us passed out pretty much as soon as they had us and woke up on Kiffu so we couldn't tell you anything about how it went down.”

Lila laughed. “I'm just happy to see you two well. And Jedi! You have to tell me about it!” They sat down around the table.

They spent a good few hours talking about what had happened in the last ten years, sharing bread and snacks that Shmi provided, along with the tea. By the time Lila bid them goodbye with tight hugs and hidden tears, Anakin was already in bed, as was Jar Jar. Padme was still awake, though she hadn't said anything in a while.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan assured Shmi they would be fine sleeping in Anakin's room for the night before she turned in. They took care of the dishes. It was only as they were considering bed that Padme spoke.

“You have experience as slaves,” she said slowly. “I do not understand how that could have happened, or why you would put yourselves at risk of that again. Nor do I understand why you wouldn't try to save everyone you could.”

Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged looks. Obi-Wan huffed, knowing he had to take this one. Quinlan just smirked and resumed doing the dishes.

“How it happened was we were padawans and we ducked into the wrong building where there were too many people to fight off and they had a way to knock us out easily. There's a lot of crime rings that deal in slaves, taking people from the Republic and bringing them to slave markets across the galaxy, some in perfectly legal places like here, and others underground on some Republic planet.”

Obi-Wan passed more dishes to Quinlan, the last of them, then got to work putting the clean ones away. “It has been ten years, and it was only two months. It had seemed like a lifetime when we were teens, but now it seems like no time at all, no matter how traumatizing it was. We've built a better foundation to be able to handle it. And, most importantly, the cause is worth it.”

Quinlan nodded and once he took a moment with the last of the dishes being clean, he helped Obi-Wan put them away. “As for why we don't try to get everyone else out... It's not that simple. How many slaves would you say are here, just in this town?”

“I don't know... hundreds?”

“There's more than just this town here on Tatooine. Then there's all of Hutt space, there's the Zygerrian Empire as they try to make a comeback. There's a bunch of other planets not in the Republic that hold similar numbers of slaves. And there are a lot of people in the Republic who hide slaves.” Quinlan shook his head and leaned against the counter now that all of the dishes were done.

“We do our best to help out those we can. We can't just rescue huge amounts of slaves because that's noticeable and there will be some sort of backlash which is not always predictable. So we do what we can. Like taking the opportunity to rescue little Ani and getting enough money for Shmi to survive.” Quinlan grinned. “Besides, I was actually talking with some Kiffar when I spotted Obi-Wan, so they're going to do what they can before they leave.”

“That's where we made our back ups,” Obi-Wan added. “We know and trust those who happen to be here right now, so it was not a problem.”

“There's more to either of you than I thought.” Padme crossed her arms, tilting her head.

Obi-Wan laughed. “Things are not always as they seem on the surface, now are they Padme? Jedi have a duty to the galaxy, and for us to effectively do our jobs much, we need to appear unaffected and emotionless. Add in listening to the Force, and well... we do kind of look insane. But that's just the surface.” He yawned. “Well, guess it's time for bed.”

“...both of you still look wide awake.”

Quinlan yawned and leaned on Obi-Wan. “Yawning tends to be a good indicator it's time to go to bed for us. So we will see you in the morning.”

They went to Anakin's bedroom and joined him in his bed (he'd already enthusiastically told them it was okay). Obi-Wan and Quinlan snuggled up like they always did without crushing the boy and fell asleep rather quickly.

.

Anakin woke up feeling safe, warm, and maybe a bit squished. He opened his eyes with a frown, feeling like he wasn't alone. He stared at Obi-Wan's face right next to his, then turned his head to find Quinlan right there too. They both had their arms across him to reach each other. He squirmed, wanting to get out, but he found himself trapped.

Obi-Wan made a sleepy noise of protest and squished him a bit more. Anakin closed his eyes. He was still tired, and mom hadn't come to get him yet, so he had time to enjoy this.

Shmi opened the door and covered her mouth at the sight that greeted her. It was adorable. She'd known from things Lila said that both Quinlan and Obi-Wan liked cuddling, but she hadn't expected to find them doing so so willingly with her son. She watched for long enough to etch this moment in her memory. Seeing this, she was convinced that letting Anakin go with the Jedi was the right choice, especially since Obi-Wan said he would be the one to train Anakin. Obi-Wan would at least make sure they did right by her son.

Once she was ready, she knocked on the door in a pattern she'd used for most of Anakin's life. “It's time to be up for the day, there's a lot to sort out.”

Quinlan moved, first, about falling out of bed in what had to be a calculated move as he caught himself and stood, stretching. He then turned and laughed, poking at Obi-Wan until he let go of Anakin and got up himself.

Anakin was beaming as he joined her and started his morning routine.

“Watto is expecting us at the race an hour before it starts,” Shmi told Anakin. “The shop is closed today.”

Anakin beamed.

“Good,” Obi-Wan yawned. “There's something I wanted to teach Anakin this morning, if you don't need our help for breakfast?”

“Jar Jar and Padme both volunteered to help.”

Obi-Wan grinned. “Excellent.” When she left the room he closed the door with the Force, turning to find Quinlan already clearing an area on the floor.

Anakin joined them, looking curious. “What are we doing?”

“Something that we do most mornings, something that Jedi do at least once a day,” Obi-Wan answered. “It's called meditation, and I think it'll help you with the race today.”

“How?” Anakin sat down with them eagerly.

“Why don't I teach you how to meditate, then we can discuss how that will help?”

Anakin sighed. “Okay.”

Quinlan mostly left this to Obi-Wan, only helping on occasion. If Anakin was to be Obi-Wan's padawan, he should take more responsibility for teaching him. And anyways, Obi-Wan did rather well. Far more patient than Quinlan would have been. Though Quinlan himself was more patient than he used to be.

When they came out of meditation, Obi-Wan helped Anakin stretch stiff muscles from sitting for so long. Anakin was frowning in thought.

“What did you think, Ani?” Obi-Wan asked gently.

“It was nice... what was that I felt? And I felt you too.”

“That would be the Force. It's what helps warn you when things are about to happen.”

“Oh. Why will this help me?”

“Well, you could feel the Force, so you can feel it telling you things. Those are your instincts, listen to your instincts, to the Force, and you can't go wrong when you're racing, even if it seems like it might not work out. And, if you feel panicked, take a deep breath and briefly try to capture what meditation felt like before returning to the race, it'll help you stay calm.”

“Okay. I can do that.”

Obi-Wan ruffled his hair. “Let's get some breakfast. Quinlan and I have to meet Watto before the race starts.”

Anakin hurried to the table to get his breakfast.

Chapter Text

“Ah yes, you two are definitely brothers. I see the resemblance.” Watto circled Quinlan, then they started walking.

Quinlan just smiled at him. “Then the bet still holds?”

“It does. Ah, there's Sebulba, he's the favorite to win. I don't see how Ani is going to beat him so soon you'll be mine.”

“We shall see.” Obi-Wan smiled in response, nudging Quinlan.

Quinlan shot him a grin. “I wouldn't underestimate that boy. Especially when paired with an excellent pod.”

“Hmm."

When they met up with Anakin, Padme, and his mother, and one of his friends, Watto said something derogatory, but the two Jedi brushed it off as nothing. Anakin didn't need to know that his freedom, and theirs, was at stake. He had enough to worry about.

And then the real preparations for the race began. Obi-Wan kept an eye on Sebulba. There was something about that Dug that had his senses on alert, but he didn't catch him at anything though the Dug did walk weirdly close to Anakin's pod.

Once it was time to race, Obi-Wan lifted Anakin into the seat. Anakin was surprised but thrilled by the sudden ride.

“Okay, now remember Ani, listen to the Force and your instincts, stay calm, and take a deep breath if you panic. May the Force be with you, Anakin.” Obi-Wan handed him his helmet and ruffled his hair. “We'll be watching.”

Anakin nodded and started preparing for the race to start once he got his helmet on. “Thank you Obi-Wan!”

Obi-Wan smiled. He walked to the watching station they were using for the race. Quinlan was waiting for him and draped himself across his brother. They walked up together and then they were raised into the sky for a better view.

“Is he nervous?” Shmi asked.

“He doesn't seem to be right now,” Obi-Wan responded. “But we shall have to see how things go. I have faith.”

They were tense for the first lap, but part way through the second lap, Anakin started creeping up on Sebulba until he was in second place upon finishing the lap. Now they just had to watch him win the whole thing.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan exchanged excited looks. Though both had been acting confident and were mostly confident that Anakin could win this, they both had a part of them that was very anxious about what would happen if he lost. But now it seemed that Anakin could and would win.

Naturally things went wrong, but he pulled out a win anyways.

Obi-Wan hurried down and pulled Anakin out of the pod, setting the boy on his shoulders so that he wouldn't be overwhelmed by the cheering crowd that surrounded them. Anakin's joy in the Force was contagious. And he didn't yet know he was Free.

Quinlan patted him on the back, congratulated Anakin on being the first human to win the race and then left to go collect his own winnings.

From there, Obi-Wan was busy with getting all the parts sorted, getting transportation to the ship sorted, and getting Jar Jar and Padme ready to go once they were ready.

Qui-Gon eyed him as he went to take back the eopies back to the city. “You still have a few surprises in store for me don't you padawan?”

“You know me so well Master.” Obi-Wan grinned. “It's nothing bad; I think you'll like the surprises. I shouldn't be too long.”

“By the time you get back, we should have the repairs done. Thank you for getting the parts safely. Padme even seems happy with you.”

Obi-Wan grinned. “Oh, she certainly questioned my decisions. But I don't think she can argue with the results.” And then he left.

He found Quinlan with Craig and Bernard as they headed towards the Skywalker house.

“Craig! Bernard!” Obi-Wan greeted them enthusiastically with hugs.

“Obi-Wan! Finally! Your mission about done?”

“Not really, still have to actually get to Coruscant. I just came to collect Quinlan and give Anakin the option of coming with us.”

“Oh, that's too bad. It's been almost two years since your last visit.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “I'll try to find time soon. The missions just keep piling on and it's hard to find more than a week of downtime, let alone a month of downtime sometimes.”

“You better.”

They made it to the Skywalkers. Quinlan entered first as Obi-Wan had both the cousins hanging off of him.

“Lila!” Quinlan greeted. “I didn't expect to see you here.”

“I had to get the chance to actually say goodbye this time.”

Obi-Wan ducked out from under his cousin's arms to give her a hug. “We did write down the recipes for you.”

She grinned. “Really? Thank you.”

Shmi looked to the two other Kiffar. “And who are these two.”

“Oh our cousins, Craig and Bernard. Craig, Bernard, this is Shmi Skywalker, her son, Anakin, and this is Lila, she was one of the others when we were slaves.”

Bernard narrowed his eyes at the reminder of their time as slaves but greeted Lila and the other two cheerfully.

“Anakin, can you come here for a moment?” Obi-Wan requested, crouching down.

Anakin joined him, looking curious. “What is it?”

“When I made the bet for the ship parts, that wasn't all I bet.” Obi-Wan handed him the control for his transmitter. “You're Free, Ani. When you won the race, you won your freedom.”

Anakin stared at the control in his hand in astonishment then looked up at Obi-Wan. “Really? I'm free? What about my mom?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I couldn't get Watto to agree to both of you. But... Quinlan is giving her most of his winnings from being one of the few to bet anything on you.”

“Oh.” Anakin looked down. “Why free me though?”

“Aside from the fact no one should be a slave, let alone a youngling as talented as you, I wanted you to have the opportunity to come with us. To have the chance to be a Jedi,” Obi-Wan explained gently. “But being a Jedi is hard. It's about sacrifices and self-control, about helping others out of the kindness of our hearts in spite of any hard feelings there might be.”

“Oh...” Anakin turned to his mom. “Mom...”

“It's your choice, Ani. I won't hold you here with me if you want to go.”

“But I don't want to go. Will I ever see you again?”

“Maybe not, but Ani, remember that you have to let go sometimes. It's okay to be apart, you'll always be in my heart.”

Anakin hesitated.

“Anakin,” Quinlan spoke up. “You have to be certain about this choice. You can't complete training as a Jedi if your heart is always focused on your mother, if you cannot let go of her.”

“But she's my mom!” Anakin stared at him.

“And Craig and Bernard are my cousins. I love them, but when I'm focusing on a mission, I don't worry about them. I let go.”

“As do I,” Obi-Wan said quietly. “Now, Ani. What does the Force tell you? What do you feel?”

Anakin closed his eyes then let out a sigh. “I'm meant to be a Jedi,” he stated with certainty. “And...” he bit his lip. “I need to let go.” He hugged his mom tightly, then ran off to get what he wanted to bring packed.

Obi-Wan stood. “Thank you for making this an easier choice.”

Shmi smiled. “I have always known that Ani was meant for more than this life. Thank you for making it possible.”

Anakin ran out and handed his mom the scanner before running back to pack.

“What is that?” Craig asked curiously.

“It's a scanner to find slave chips.” Quinlan grinned. “And most importantly, it works.”

Craig grinned, sharing a look with Bernard. That would certainly simplify many of their plans.

Lila stepped up to hug Obi-Wan and Quinlan, pleased to be able to say goodbye this time. They stepped off to the side and talked with her a bit about how to get into contact with them if needed. Then they asked her to let the others know that they were okay. She agreed.

By the time they finished that conversation, Anakin was saying his final goodbye to his mom. So, Obi-Wan and Quinlan said goodbye to their cousins, with a lot of hugging, and then they took Anakin and left.

They didn't get far before Quinlan decided it would be easier on them all if he carried Anakin on his back. Ani was thrilled.

They were almost to the ship, Anakin gasping at the sleek design, when Quinlan and Obi-Wan felt a wave of Dark coming their way. Obi-Wan turned and intercepted the attack.

Quinlan dropped Anakin on the ground, barely sparing a thought to make sure he wasn't hurt. “Run, get on the ship and tell them to take off,” he ordered.

Anakin gave them a worried look but took off.

Quinlan joined Obi-Wan in fighting the Zabrak who attacked them. He was surprisingly good, trained, not as a Jedi, but similarly. They worked well in tandem as they always did, then jumped for the closing ramp at the same time.

“Well, that was fun.” Quinlan joked.

“Quinlan Vos, I should have known.” Qui-Gon sighed. “Good to see you. And I see you're picking up strays now,” he said to Obi-Wan with a bit of humor.

Obi-Wan grinned as he caught his breath. “That's Anakin Skywalker, former slave who made it possible for us to get is the parts. Ani, this is Jedi Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, the Jedi who trained me. Master means he's mastered the Force in some way that deserves acknowledgement.”

Anakin gasped. “Whoa, wizard. Nice to meet you!”

Qui-Gon looked down at the boy and shook his offered hand, then gave Obi-Wan a look. Obi-Wan just smiled innocently.

“So, about that Zabrak,” Quinlan drawled. “He was Dark. Reminded me of some Sith artifacts I've handled. And unlike many Dark siders, he was trained, but I don't think he was trained by a Jedi.”

Obi-Wan agreed. “He didn't act like a Fallen Jedi in the least.”

Qui-Gon frowned. “We'll have to report that to the Council. He must have been after the Queen.”

“Most likely,” Obi-Wan nodded. “But he wasn't expecting Quinlan.”

“No one expects Quinlan,” Qui-Gon responded dryly. Anakin giggled. Quinlan smirked.

.

The flight back to Coruscant was long. Obi-Wan stayed in charge of Anakin, helping him stay warm as he adjusted to space for the first time, and beginning to teach him meditation and how to shield properly, in preparation for Coruscant where billions lived, and not just that... It would be his first experience with so many Force sensitives at once.

He also started teaching Anakin how to read and write in basic, as he only had rudimentary knowledge based on what he had needed in the junk shop. Quinlan hung around and helped, Padme helped as well, eyeing them oddly on occasion. Usually when she caught one or both of them cuddling with Anakin to help him stay warm.

Qui-Gon helped out as well, growing fond of the young boy. He definitely noticed that Anakin was Force-sensitive and knew why Obi-Wan had brought him along. He was going to enjoy Obi-Wan introducing Anakin to the Council. It was going to be very entertaining.

Then, the day before they arrived on Coruscant, Padme mentioned something rather alarming to Qui-Gon. He searched out Obi-Wan and Quinlan, then sent Anakin off to see Padme.

Obi-Wan took one look at Qui-Gon and his worried yet angry Force presence. “Ah, I was wondering if Padme was going to mention the full terms of the bet.”

Quinlan sat up. “We did weigh our options carefully. Unfortunately, about the only other thing of value we could have wagered was this ship and we weren't risking that.”

“And I had faith that Anakin could pull it off. He is rather talented at using the Force, even if he is not subtle at all about it. Besides, Qui-Gon, I'm not a padawan anymore. It's been ten years.”

Qui-Gon sighed, slumping. “I suppose that is true. I do not know of a better option, but I wish you had told me yourself. Padme is rather impressed by how you two handled the situation, despite her misgivings about your choice.”

“It wasn't her choice to make,” Quinlan said simply. “Nor was it the Queen's.”

Chapter Text

Anakin accompanied the Jedi to the Temple after they landed. He was relieved that Obi-Wan wanted him along because Coruscant was overwhelming. There were so many people. A prod from Obi-Wan in the Force reminded him to keep his shields up. He let out a sigh of relief with each layer he put up until he was just getting basic sense of everyone from the Force. It was still a bit overwhelming, but now it was manageable.

The Council was not surprised to see Quinlan. It wasn't the first time he or Obi-Wan returned from a mission with the other after their paths crossed. Once the initial report was over, they were ready to dismiss the three Jedi, but Obi-Wan stayed where he was.

“The boy who helped us get the parts by winning the race. He is a nine-year-old human who is Force sensitive. He was a slave, which would be a large part of why he was not found before, on top of living on Tatooine.”

“That is rather old to be admitted into the Order,” Mace Windu spoke. “Why do you think we should accept him?”

“Anakin is strong,” Obi-Wan started slowly. “And I sense that it would be far worse to leave him untrained than it is to take on the risk of allowing him to train as a Jedi. At the least, he should learn proper basics about the Force, along with lessons he has missed as a slave.”

“We will test him. Where is he now?”

“Waiting outside.”

“Send him in, and then we will discuss further.”

Obi-Wan bowed to the Council. Anakin was sent in with reassurances to do his best and be as truthful as he was able.

Quinlan nudged Obi-Wan with a grin. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes and wrapped his arm around his brother.

“There's something you're not telling me about this boy.” Qui-Gon eyed Obi-Wan suspiciously.

Obi-Wan smirked. “I thought it would be better to be a surprise.”

“Of course you did. You have picked up way too many of my habits, padawan.”

“If you didn't want me to pick them up, you should have broken yourself of them before they passed onto me.”

“This must be what Dooku meant years ago,” Qui-Gon muttered.

Quinlan cackled, leaning on Obi-Wan.

After the testing was done, they were allowed back in. Obi-Wan smiled at Anakin and put his hand on Anakin's shoulder.

“He is strong, but his future is clouded.”

“Of course his future is clouded. He has spent the first nine years of his life as a slave. He has a lot to work through, and what happens from now on will likely contribute to whatever happens.”

“So you think he is worth the risk.”

“Yes.”

Quinlan was quick to agree when they looked to him. Qui-Gon also agreed. He did like Anakin, and Anakin was slowly learning. If he accepted mind healing, he would be fine.

“What would you have us do? He's too old to enter the creche like initiates normally do, and he is too young to be a padawan.”

“Have Anakin stay with someone who can dedicate time to helping him catch up in his classes and integrate with his peers. He needs to see the mind healers as well, at the least. If by the time he is padawan age, it turns out he is not suited to be a Jedi, so be it, but at least he will have training, and will have had a chance to heal.”

Anakin looked up at him with confusion.

“You are very determined to see Anakin be a Jedi. Very certain he will not be a danger. Why is that?” Plo asked.

Obi-Wan let out a hint of amusement into the Force for all to feel. “As always, the Force is still telling me my path is the path of the Jedi, and when I met Anakin, it quite adamantly told me that I will train Anakin one day. He is to be my padawan when we are both ready.” He barely contained a fit of laughter at the way Qui-Gon's Force presence went still with shock. Qui-Gon really should have seen it coming.

“I do sense that connection,” Mace admitted. “Are you certain you can handle it?”

“I have two years to prepare,” Obi-Wan replied. “And I've taken psychology courses, including the one on human child development. Anakin is not going to be able to get what he needs to adjust under many knights and masters, especially if they do not have the patience.”

“And what do you think, Initiate Skywalker? Hmm?” Yoda asked.

Anakin fidgeted anxiously, only calmed by Obi-Wan's reassurance. “I want to be a Jedi. I'm meant to be a Jedi. I just don't know what that means yet, or how it will happen. But I do like Obi-Wan. He's nice and patient and he's already taught me a lot!”

There was silence for a bit as the Council stared at each other. If one was looking, they could see little signs of arguments going on, little signs of agreement or disagreement. They kept their emotions behind their shields. Obi-Wan was pretty sure they had probably mostly made their decision before calling him in and had wanted to see how they reacted.

“Very well. We will accept Initiate Anakin Skywalker into the Jedi Order. Please take him to the Healing Halls to get a check up, and then get him some initiate robes. By then, I expect we will have solved the issue of who will be taking care of him as he works to integrate with his peers.”

Obi-Wan smiled and dipped his head. “Thank you.”

They left the Council room and took the elevator back down. Anakin looked at them.

“That went well, right?”

Quinlan nodded, ruffling his hair. “You did good kid.”

Anakin swatted his hand away. “Hey!” he giggled. “So... I gotta get poked now?”

“I'm afraid so.” Obi-Wan nodded gravely. “The healers will want to make sure you're healthy and they might prescribe some medicine or a diet plan depending on what they find.” He grimaced. “I also expect you'll be put on a vaccine schedule, as I doubt you've been given many if any vaccines growing up, and the requirements of the Core are drastically different of the outer rim.”

Anakin made a face. “I don't want to do that.”

“I don't particularly like the healers either, Ani. But they're necessary.” Obi-Wan then leaned down. “We can even ask them to remove the transmitter.”

Anakin's eyes widened as he gasped. “I forgot about that!” He beamed, now bouncing on his toes.

Qui-Gon was watching them silently, still a bit in shock. Quinlan sensed that he and Obi-Wan needed a moment, so when the elevator came to a stop, he ushered Anakin out ahead of them.

“So... a padawan, Padawan?” Qui-Gon asked slowly.

Obi-Wan shrugged. “I wasn't expecting to find my first padawan on Tatooine... but I love him already,” he admitted freely.

Qui-Gon chuckled. “I could see that. I don't know why I didn't consider that you would want to take him on. You will be a good match. You certainly have far more patience for him than I would. I'd either spoil him or be super strict.”

Obi-Wan laughed as they followed Quinlan and Anakin. “You'll be his grandmaster. You'll get to spoil him all you want.” He hurried to catch Quinlan.

Qui-Gon froze mid-step, then caught himself and hurried after Obi-Wan and Quinlan. He had not considered being a grandmaster so soon, but... it would suit Obi-Wan, and with Quinlan likely taking on his own padawan in the next year, if not sooner, it would make sense that Obi-Wan would want a padawan too. The Force just decided to make that decision easier.

Obi-Wan joined Quinlan in pointing out different landmarks they had used as initiates and even padawans to remember how to get to different places, quoting the different rhymes they used. Neither would ever admit that they still used them on occasion. Anakin was in awe and had many, many questions.

When they arrived at the Healing Halls, they found that the waiting room was already full of a clan of initiates who seemed to have been in a fight. Obi-Wan took Anakin to the desk while Quinlan hung back a bit behind him and Qui-Gon decided he'd rather go make sure they were ready to go back to Naboo, as that seemed very likely. So, he bid them goodbye and left the chaos behind.

“Hello, I have a new initiate, Anakin Skywalker here for an examination.” Obi-Wan said.

“Ah, yes, we just got his file from the Council.” The padawan at the desk didn't seem fazed at all by his age as she directed them to fill out some basic forms to cut down on questions asked during the exam. “You'll be called back in about fifteen minutes, we seem to have become very popular though, so it might be longer.”

Obi-Wan hid a grin at the clear annoyance and nodded, taking the forms. “Thank you.” He led the way to the only two empty seats and sat down with Anakin to fill out the forms. It was a comprehensive form about any issues he might have had in the past. Typical things like injuries, sickness, allergies, and vaccines, as well as atypical things like periods of starvation.

Quinlan leaned on the wall next to them, offering input here and there when Obi-Wan floundered. Anakin didn't really like answering all the questions, but was reminded that the healers would be taking care of him, and they couldn't do it well if they didn't have the correct information about him.

“Quinlan!” A shriek caught his attention, and he looked up just in time to brace for the impact of eleven-year-old twi'lek smacking into him.

“Aayla!” Quinlan grinned down at the initiate.

“Initiate Secura! You're in enough trouble already!”

Quinlan looked up at the knight who shouted. He looked rather frazzled. Not her crechemaster, then. Whatever fight happened happened during class, he supposed.

“You can't jus-”

“It's fine. I've told her she can call me by my first name,” Quinlan cut him off.

“Fine you can talk to that hooligan, I have enough to worry about!” he threw his hands up and returned to the other initiates.

Quinlan looked down at Aayla, raising an eyebrow. “You're a hooligan now?”

She pouted. “Ferus started it.”

Quinlan sighed and sat down on the floor. “Okay tell me about it.” He pulled Aayla into his lap, noting her wince when he brushed her arm.

“It's not a big deal.”

“That's why it looks like your entire clan plus others are all in the waiting room to see a healer instead of in class.”

Aayla looked down guiltily. “Ferus and others have been teasing me lately about being eleven because that means I can be a padawan, but they don't think you'll take me and even if you do they don't think you're that good and think it's funny but I like you and I want you to train me!”

Quinlan wrapped his arms around her. “I know. I just need a little more time, Aayla. I have a feeling I'm about to go off planet again.”

“Okay.” She sniffled into his chest.

“But that doesn't explain all the injuries.”

“They've been making those sorts of comments since I turned eleven two months ago, and I did try to tell others to get them to stop. But it never worked, and some of the teachers, including that one,” she pointed at the knight who scolded her, “never believed me. So then they thought I was the troublemaker and have been meaner to me and then today when we were practicing our jumps on the course, Ferus dared me to try the next one. The one that we'll practice next, and its higher and more difficult. So I did. I almost finished it! And then Ferus moved the beam I was jumping to and I fell and he was laughing and Knight Xal was scolding me for trying it while Ferus laughed and I guess it was too much because the next thing I remember is being pulled off of Ferus and fighting back against Ferus' friends and yeah.”

Quinlan closed his eyes and took in a breath. “So, you got into a fight after months of bullying?”

Aayla wouldn't look at him as she nodded.

“Aayla, can you look at me?” Quinlan asked gently. She looked up at him. “You did what you could to stop the bullying, and you endured it. You shouldn't have taken the dare, but I did dumber things as an initiate, and so did Obi-Wan, all to prove ourselves. And you would have been fine if Ferus hadn't interfered. Fighting isn't okay, I understand why it happened especially since you cannot remember what happened, but you need to learn some control.”

“I know.” Aayla huffed, looking away. “I'm going to be in so much trouble.”

“Hmm. I think I know what you can do, I'll talk to your crechemaster later.”

Aayla frowned at him. “You do think I should be punished?”

“I think that you do need to face some consequences, though I'm pretty proud of the carnage you seem to have wrecked on Initiate Olin and his friends.” She giggled, glancing back at all the injuries on the other initiates. “But I also think that Knight Xal and others should have been playing closer attention. While what you did wasn't good, it also came about because you were overwhelmed with emotions, weren't you?”

“I think I broke my arm in the fall,” Aayla admitted. “It was already hurting and I was being scolded and Ferus was laughing.”

Quinlan frowned. “Knight Xal didn't make sure you were uninjured?”

Aayla shook her head. “I think he assumed I wasn't.”

Quinlan took in a deep breath. “Then I think it's even more understandable that you snapped. So some consequences, some meditation to work on better control, and again, I do have an idea on something else you can do as part of it.”

Aayla was called back then. With her crechemaster there now, but occupied by one of the other initiates, Quinlan decided to just go back with Aayla since Master Frond knew he was close to Aayla and generally trusted him with her. Her arm was indeed broken and she also had some rather nasty bruises from brawling with so many initiates before they could be separated.

Armed with instructions, they left the room. Obi-Wan and Anakin were just leaving as well. Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at Quinlan before greeting Aayla.

“Hi Obi-Wan!” She chirped.

“Hello, Initiate Secura.” He greeted with a smile. He turned to Quinlan. “I just received word that Queen Amidala is planning on returning to Naboo. And she specifically requested that you join us.”

Quinlan blinked in surprise. He expected to go with them, he just hadn't expected her to specifically request him. “When are we leaving?”

“After nightfall. They need time to prepare.”

“In that case... Watch Aayla for me, I want to talk to Master Frond.”

Aayla pouted up at him. Quinlan grinned at her. “I think you'll like what I have in mind. Oh! And that's Initiate Anakin Skywalker, he just got here today.” He pointed at Anakin, who was half hiding in Obi-Wan's robes. “Ani, this is Initiate Aayla Secura.”

Aayla stared at Anakin, then looked up to ask why he was so much older but Quinlan had already disappeared to talk to her crechemaster.

Obi-Wan shook his head in amusement and guided the two initiates to chairs in the waiting room. “I take it you got in trouble, Aayla?”

She pouted. “Yeah. Ferus has been teasing me for months then I did a dare and broke my arm and Knight Xal was scolding me, and Ferus was laughing and... then we fought. And I guess his friends jumped in, then my friends did and yeah.”

Anakin stared at her, curious. “What're they gonna do to you?” he asked shyly. “For being in trouble.”

Aayla shrugged. “I don't know. I'm pretty certain I'm going to have extra meditations for losing my temper, though. Quin said he has an idea for other consequences.”

Anakin tilted his head, frowning.

Obi-Wan patted his shoulder. “We don't punish anyone physically or by doing things like withholding food,” he said gently. “If we can, we prefer any consequences be geared towards ensuring that the problem won't be a problem again. More meditation can help control emotions, which will ensure that Aayla is not as likely to lose her temper like that again.”

Aayla stared at Obi-Wan, then at Anakin. She remembered getting a similar speech the first time she got into trouble after coming to the Temple. It was one of her first clear memories. “You didn't have a good life did you?” She winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth even without Obi-Wan's immediate disapproval in the Force. “Sorry. It's just... not many kids have to have that kind of talk.”

Anakin looked away.

“I did though. Years and years ago. I was like four.”

Anakin looked back to her in surprise. “Really?”

Aayla nodded. “I was a slave before Quinlan and Master Tholme found me,” she admitted, fidgeting nervously.

Anakin moved to closer, eyes wide. “I was one too! On Tatooine!”

Obi-Wan let out a sigh of relief. At least there was some way for Anakin to connect with someone somewhat close to his age. That it was Aayla was just a bonus.

.

“Knight Vos. Here to take Aayla off my hands yet?” Master Frond teased with a small smile on his face.

“Not yet. I've been requested on a mission. We're leaving tonight. But I did talk to Aayla.”

“What did she say?”

“She said that Initiate Olin dared her to try the obstacle course that was at the next difficulty, and after having to deal with his comments for two months, agreed. When she was close to the end, he moved the beam she was jumping for and she fell. Knight Xal did not check her for injuries and instead started scolding her while Initiate Olin laughed at her. Her arm was hurting, she was in trouble, and being laughed at, so she lost her temper. She does not remember attacking him, just his friends trying to pull her off.”

Master Frond narrowed his eyes. “Knight Xal was more concerned with scolding her for doing something dangerous than checking her for injuries? I see she has a broken arm, and he didn't check?”

“Apparently not. From what Aayla said, I'm not even certain he was scolding her for doing something dangerous, but for disobeying the rules. Oh. And he called her a hooligan when she saw me. She also told me that he was one of the teachers who didn't believe her complaints about Initiate Olin and those that didn't believe her have been meaner and treating her like a troublemaker.”

“I'm beginning to wonder if he really has the temperament to be teaching initiates.” Master Frond sighed. “When are you going to take Aayla on, that does seem to be the main conflict here?"

“Soon. Maybe as soon as I get back from the mission depending on how it goes. Although I'm uncertain as to whether or not taking her on so soon after the altercation is a good idea, at least in the eyes of her peers. It might look like a reward.”

“It might, but I think it is better for her if you start her padawanship as soon as you can. Having talked to her, what do you think she should do for her consequences?”

“Extra meditations for sure. Maybe some restrictions on free time when it comes to things like the obstacle courses. But mostly, I think some time away from the creche with some extra responsibility will be most beneficial.” Quinlan smiled, looking over to where Aayla and Anakin were engaged in a conversation. Master Frond followed his gaze.

“Obi-Wan and I found Anakin Skywalker on Tatooine. He was a slave up until the day he left with us. He's a bit old for the creche, nine years old, so he's going to stay with someone while he catches up on classes. Obi-Wan and I were going to take him around the Temple and help him get sorted out today, at least until we know who's going to take care of him. I think it would make sense, if whoever it is agrees, for Aayla to be a... guide and tutor for the next... month or so?”

Master Frond nodded slowly. “I think that will work. I'll discuss it with others, for now, I think it would be best if she did spend the day with you. I expect her back in the creche after dinner.”

Quinlan grinned and bowed. “I will ensure she is there.”

“May the Force be with you.”

"And with you."

Quinlan hurried over to Obi-Wan, Aayla, and Anakin. He grinned at Aayla. “Looks like you're stuck with us until after dinner.”

She grinned. “Really?”

“Oh yes, but I do think we're going to have to meditate before I return you to your crechemaster.”

“Awww.” Aayla pouted as she stood up. Quinlan wrapped an arm around her.

“You are going to have to do extra meditations anyways, Aayla. Might as well do one with me, since I'm your favorite right?”

“I don't know, I think Anakin might be my favorite now!” Aayla giggled.

Anakin lit up, thrilled.

“Well, let's go get his new robes.” Obi-Wan put a hand on Anakin's shoulder and started leading him out of the room, knowing Quinlan and Aayla would be following, not far behind.

.

The two initiates had a great time that afternoon, even after Depa joined them. She'd volunteered to take care of Anakin. Anakin was uncertain, but she was nice and let Obi-Wan, Quinlan, and Aayla stay around until after dinner.

When Quinlan took her aside and told her about his idea for Aayla, Depa was thrilled. She'd been worried about how to help Anakin integrate, but having Aayla around would help. And even if Aayla didn't necessarily see it as a punishment, it did have important lessons, and most of the others would see it as such.

That was, after all, one of the unspoken reasons they tried to convince parents to make their decision by the time the younglings were four, even though they would accept initiates up until age six. Around the age of five, the initiates started grouping a little more and not liking 'outsiders'. A new initiate at the age of five or six would be an outsider for a while, and sometimes the others would never fully get past that initial reaction even if years later they had no explanation for why.

This also meant that it was a lot harder to integrate initiates who were even older. They didn't grow up learning meditation, hearing about the Force, they were behind in some or sometimes even all, of their classes, if they started at seven or later. Sometimes it was just not worth it to try to force young initiates to accept a stranger into their midst when they had already spent years growing up together.

Depa didn't tell Obi-Wan, but his proposal for Anakin had been one that the Council had never considered as an option before. If this went well with Anakin, they would use it for other older younglings who were found too late. That happened rarely, and sometimes, it would be better if they could just come to the Temple rather than their current situation. At the very least it would give them a better idea on their options if they were not meant to be Knights.

But eventually it was time for Quinlan and Obi-Wan to go pack up to go join Qui-Gon. Then they would be off to Naboo. Obi-Wan was feeling a lot better about this than he had when he and Qui-Gon had left the first time. So either the main danger had already passed (and been avoided) or something had changed (like Quinlan joining them) so that it wasn't as dangerous as it was previously.

Chapter Text

The trip back to Naboo was mostly quiet, with a few hours a day spent on strategizing. They eventually settled on asking the Gungans for help. Jar Jar wasn't sure it would work out, but it was really their best hope if they were to get anywhere near Theed and the palace.

When Padme revealed herself to be the true Queen, none of the three Jedi were surprised and just kneeled with her. Thankfully that was the turning point, and the Gungans were on their side. That meant it was almost time for the proper battle to begin. Preparations got underway.

Sneaking into Theed, then the palace turned out to be a breeze. Naturally, once they reached the hangar where the pilots were able to get into their fighters to go hopefully take out the control ship, is when things got properly dangerous.

Quinlan frowned; the Force was telling him he had to take to space, but to wait. Wait for what? He wasn't sure. His answer arrived when first the Dark sider, the Sith, appeared, then some destroyers. He would have to let Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon handle the Sith. They were a good team. But...

“Obes!” Quinlan called, tossing Obi-Wan his lightsaber. “I think you'll want this.”

Obi-Wan caught it automatically, then frowned at him. “What about you?”

“I'll be fine. Don't you worry.” Quinlan grinned at him then took off for the last fighter in the hangar. “Hey, R2-D2, want to help me out?”

The astromech beeped at him and got into the fighter. Quinlan grinned just a bit wider and jumped in, quickly taking out the destroyers so that the Queen and her group could make it further into the palace while Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon followed the Zabrak elsewhere as they fought.

“Alright, now let's go join that space battle. I think they'll need the help.” Quinlan got comfortable and started up the fighter fully, getting up to the battle.

Quinlan closed his eyes, trusting the astromech to get them there safely. He wanted to get a bit more immersed in the Force before anything else. Over the years since he switched from shadow work, he'd become well versed in what worked best in space battles, and being immersed in the Force helped him the best. He much preferred fighting up close with lightsabers, but this wasn't that difficult, at least.

When he sensed the battle not far away, he opened his eyes and took over, reacting on instinct. “Get me in contact with the other pilots, Artoo, not sure how their comms work.”

Artoo beeped an affirmative and quickly had them connected.

Quinlan checked in on how the battle was going. Overall, well. but no one had been able to figure out how to destroy the control ship. Yeah, that was one of the reasons the Trade Federations tactics worked out so well. He thought about it, letting the Force take over as he dodged and shot back.

He spotted the ships coming out of the hangar. The Force nudged him that direction. “Okay Artoo, I'm going to try something insane.” He chuckled the interested beeps he got. It seemed that Artoo liked chaos. Funny little astromech. He informed the other pilots that he had an idea but he didn't know if it would work.

And he flew into the hangar. “Alright... Let's see if this works.” He let the Force guide him in attacking the the ship until things started blowing up. He cackled and flew out before the explosions could reach him. “Alright everyone, I think we better clear out before the rest of the ship explodes.”

There was surprised silence, then the ship really started exploding. Quinlan grinned. That was fun. He hoped Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon had as easy of a time with Maul as he had with this part.

.

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon fought well together as they always had. The Dark sider was using a saberstaff, so Obi-Wan was grateful to have Quinlan's lightsaber. He was still waiting for the opportune moment to start using it, though. It would be great as a surprise, and they were doing okay without the second saber coming into play for now.

As they chased the Sith, Obi-Wan noticed that Qui-Gon was slowing down a little bit. It was only noticeable to Obi-Wan because he'd worked with Qui-Gon for so long. Anyone else would not have noticed. He put in just a bit more effort as they entered the catwalks. And pulled out Quinlan's lightsaber, scoring a hit on the Zabrak's side. The Sith hissed and drew back.

Obi-Wan chased, glancing back at Qui-Gon with a look. Qui-Gon frowned at him but slowed down, catching his breath so that he could catch up later with renewed energy. He didn't like to do so, but since his Knighting, Obi-Wan had been very insistent that he be aware of his limitations and take breaks as needed, especially with Obi-Wan being a Knight, not a padawan anymore.

Then they reached a section with shields. Obi-Wan hesitated. He could wait for Qui-Gon. Or he could keep pushing forward with each time that the shields deactivate. But if he didn't move forward, the Sith would probably come back for him. Yet if he did push forward, it might be quite a while before Qui-Gon caught up. Could he fight the Sith on his own?

The Zabrak paced behind each shield before rushing forward when it fell. While he waited, he bombarded Obi-Wan's shields with the Dark side, trying to egg him into making a mistake. Obi-Wan had been through too much in his life. He had been dealing with things (mostly trauma) for ten years on how to keep from his emotions from overwhelming him. He ignored it far easier than many of the insecurities he had been battling for most of his life.

As he felt Qui-Gon finally start getting closer, Obi-Wan slowed down so that eventually the Sith was waiting for him in the open space by the reactor and there was one shield between them. Based on where Qui-Gon was, Obi-Wan knew that he would just have to make it through one more shield cycle before Qui-Gon could join him.

So, feeling Qui-Gon do the same, he settled into brief meditation to fortify himself with the Force. They connected, Qui-Gon expressed worry and Obi-Wan reassured him. He was ready. He had plenty of practice with Jar'Kai, as that was one of the things Master Dooku had been teaching him since Qui-Gon had reconciled with him. He could handle the Sith until Qui-Gon could join him.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes as the Force warned him, just in time to block the Sith's attack. The fight was on once more. He employed all techniques he could against the Zabrak, remembering some of Dooku's advice as he did so. With the additional fortitude of the meditation, Obi-Wan let the attempts at swaying him to use the Dark side, at wearing him down, slide right off of him.

The Sith seemed to know the fight was about to be two on one once more and grew more frantic. With the increase of fear and anger, his attacks became more powerful. Obi-Wan struggled to keep up, until he switched to using Soresu. He mostly used a combination of Ataru and Makashi, but he had a good grounding in Soresu and had been thinking of working towards mastering it.

It was certainly working in his favor now, even if it was just making the Sith in front of him more and more frustrated. The Dark side in the room was getting oppressive with his anger. Obi-Wan kept his cool, leaning into the Force to just keep blocking with minimal movement. He just had to endure until Qui-Gon was able to join him, then they could figure out how to defeat this Sith.

The shields went down. Obi-Wan grinned, and trusting Qui-Gon to have his back, he went back on the offensive abruptly, pushing the Sith back. The Zabrak was surprised enough to let him, the Dark side fading back with the sudden onslaught.

But then he was back, and stronger than ever in his anger. Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes and focused, swinging the two lightsabers as one. Qui-Gon was right there, so Obi-Wan took a chance and left himself wide open. He winced at the bite of the lightsaber in his side but continued his plan and just spun away before it could go any deeper. His lightsaber took off an arm, then the other cut the saberstaff in two.

He staggered back, hand to his side as the Zabrak stared at his broken saberstaff uncomprehendingly. Qui-Gon took off his head swiftly and then spun to Obi-Wan. “Padawan! Are you okay?” he demanded frantically.

Obi-Wan grinned at him weakly as he sat down. “I'm not a padawan, Master.”

Qui-Gon huffed and kneeled down next to him, moving his hand for a better look. “I know, and it showed just now. You did well, even if that last move was risky.”

“He'd been holding off both of us before, I had to do something to even the odds. I sensed that we'd end up in a stalemate or worse if I didn't do something. I just didn't expect it to work so well. Ow... how bad is it?”

“Bad enough I don't know how you're still coherent.” Qui-Gon responded dryly before calling for a medic team. “It's rather deep. If you hadn't spun away, I imagine you would have been cut in half or close to it.”

“Ah... ow.”

Qui-Gon fixed him with a stare. “Yes. Ow. Now lay down before you make it worse.”

“Okay, okay.” Obi-Wan lay back slowly then sighed in relief when that did actually help the pain. “So... how deep is it then?”

“A few inches, I imagine it's going to be a month of recovery at least.”

“Yay me...” Obi-Wan sighed, closing his eyes tiredly.

“Hey, stay with me, at least until the medics get here.” Qui-Gon took his hand and squeezed it.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes. “Right, sorry. You know... I wouldn't have made it through if Master Dooku hadn't taught me Jar'Kai.”

“And I'm very grateful for that. He's getting some sort of gift when we get back to Coruscant.”

Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably. “Hold me?” he asked, a little bit embarrassed to need that at his age, as a Knight, but Qui-Gon just smiled.

“Of course.” He carefully pulled Obi-Wan into his lap. He'd made an effort to be as affectionate with Obi-Wan as he wanted. And he was Kiffar, of course he wanted comfort like this while he was injured. He needed the comfort while injured.

.

Quinlan had to take a moment to calm himself when they landed and he was informed that Obi-Wan was being rushed into the healing wing for surgery. He didn't want to lose his brother, but he sensed from their bond that Obi-Wan wasn't really in danger of dying, or at least, he wasn't actively dying. Just in a lot of pain. That helped him stay calm as he joined Qui-Gon.

With the fight over, the Queen didn't need them anymore, and she, and everyone else, was happy to let the two Jedi be at the side of the Jedi who did a lot to defeat the Sith who would have ensured a defeat without them. Quinlan gave his report as soon as he could to the Council then returned to Obi-Wan's side. Qui-Gon took care of his report and instructing others what to do with the body of the Sith, knowing that the Council wanted to examine it.

A day after the fight, Quinlan was sitting next to the bacta tank, idly flipping his lightsaber between his hands.

Qui-Gon appeared, squeezing his shoulder. “Are you dwelling?”

Quinlan sighed. "You know me too well.” This was a statement, not a complaint.

“He'll be okay, thanks to the surgeries and you donating blood as his brother.” There was still no real explanation as to how that worked beyond the energy of Kiffu making the adoption real somehow but it did work. It was very convenient since Obi-Wan otherwise had one of the rarer blood types.

“I know. But I can't help but think of what might have been if I hadn't given him my lightsaber.” Quinlan paused and gripped the hilt of his lightsaber. The memories of the fight were already fading from prominence with his fidgeting, but he would never forget what he had witnessed of the fight the first time he held his lightsaber after Qui-Gon returned it. He couldn't even blame Obi-Wan for the risk he took in leaving himself open. It led to a quick take down of the Sith when both he and Qui-Gon had been flagging.

Qui-Gon moved so that Quinlan could lean on him. “But you did, and he did a great job.” A flash of amusement. “I just talked to the Council, they're planning on joining us for the celebration that the Queen is organizing for the freedom of Naboo and the alliance between them and the Gungans, leaving later today in fact. They're considering awarding Obi-Wan a mastery for his fight against that Sith. I sent them the recording,” he added.

Quinlan looked up with a grin. “Oh, he's going to hate that. He'll complain about being too young.”

“And yet... he held up well against a Sith better than even many masters could. Although, I think what really needs to happen is for you and him to go visit Kiffu, see your family, once he's released. Spend a couple weeks recovering there, then return to Coruscant.”

“What about Anakin?”

“I think Anakin will understand. So long as you both send him messages.”

“Right...” Quinlan nodded, letting out a breath. “I think time on Kiffu would be good for both of us after that. And if they really are considering giving him the rank of master, it'll give him time to breathe before getting back to the Temple where his defeat of the Sith with your help and that would be the talk of the Temple...” Quinlan shook his head. “This is not what I expected out of any of this.”

“Neither did I.” Qui-Gon pulled up a chair and finally sat down, wrapping an arm around Quinlan. He and Tholme really had ended up training the two together quite a bit like they suspected. It worked out well in a lot of ways for everyone.

Quinlan leaned in. “Do you think Obi is finally going to give in and build that second lightsaber already?”

Qui-Gon smiled, trying not to laugh. “Most likely. He'll have a hard time denying that he's well suited to Jar'Kai after that fight.”

.

A week later, Obi-Wan was healed enough to be allowed to greet the Council and be at the celebration though he was told to be cautious. He was very happy with the idea of going to Kiffu, even if Qui-Gon forgot to tell him part of why that was a suggestion at all. It was always easier to heal on Kiffu than at the Temple. It was probably a combination of things, including how cautious Kiffar were of emotions around those who were more vulnerable.

Quinlan stuck by his side, supporting him the entire time. Obi-Wan leaned in gratefully. He technically wasn't supposed to be on his feet, but as soon as he saw the Council and the Chancellor who was also arriving that day, he'd be ushered to a place to sit for the celebration anyways, so no one thought much of it.

Qui-Gon stepped forward to greet the Council. “Welcome to Naboo, masters. The Queen is busy right now, but she sent her handmaiden, Padme, to greet you.”

Padme stepped forward and was introduced to all of them. After the pleasantries were exchanged, she paused. “I was wondering how Ani is doing?”

“He's doing well,” Depa replied. “He's still getting settled in, though he has made a friend.”

“Aayla?” Quinlan grinned.

Depa nodded. “And Master Tholme volunteered to keep an eye on both of them while we're gone.”

“Master Tholme is the one who taught me,” Quinlan explained to Padme, wrapping an arm around Obi-Wan to help him move a bit closer to the masters. Obi-Wan's side was in no danger of reopening after spending time in bacta, and it was good for him to be on his feet. But it would take a bit longer for him to be anywhere near recovered with how much internal damage there had been.

Padme smiled. “I'm glad to hear that he's doing well. It would have been a lot harder to get off Tatooine without his help.”

She took them to where they would be staying while on Naboo and left them to get settled before the celebration later, with a warning that the former Senator of Naboo, now Chancellor, would want to meet the 'heroes of Naboo' before the celebration. And then she left to take care of other preparations.

Quinlan helped Obi-Wan to a chair then hovered nearby as the Council got settled to listen to Obi-Wan's report of what happened. Quinlan had done his before Qui-Gon but they had wanted to wait until they were in person for Obi-Wan's. That way he had a chance to heal.

“Very impressive, Knight Kenobi.”

“You handled it like a master would have.”

Obi-Wan stared at them, wide eyed. “I didn't do anything special, I still got hurt.”

“Hmm, but you would have taken a different approach if you hadn't known that Master Jinn would be right there to finish the fight, wouldn't you?” Plo pointed out calmly.

Obi-Wan blinked at him owlishly. “I would have chosen a different tactic, yes. Though I am not sure how much longer I would have lasted.”

“Yes, that fight was quite long. Master Jinn told us he didn't feel your Force presence or emotions waver the entire time, even though the Sith was trying to throw you off balance with the Dark side.”

“It wasn't that difficult.” Obi-Wan tried to shrug it off but realized that may have been the wrong thing to say as those of the Council who showed emotion more consistently actually looked and felt impressed.

“What was so easy about it?”

Obi-Wan felt like he was being tested, so he decided to answer truthfully instead of trying to downplay how easy it was. “The Dark side was strong, but I've never felt inclined to it outside of strong emotions, so just feeling the Dark side didn't affect me, at least at the beginning, though it did start wearing my shields down by the end. The things it whispered well... When it tried to prey on my insecurities, well, aside from my reaction to insecurities being turning it inward rather than outward, it wasn't nearly as bad as my insecurities have been in the past. Insecurities I have learned to cope with through therapy. When it tried to bring up anger, what did I have to be angry about? I was maybe a little frustrated by the way the fight was playing out; the Sith had picked a terrible battlefield, but I wasn't angry. There was no reason for me to get angry. Was I scared? Of course I was. But I also have anxiety so I managed it the same way as always and relied on the Force.”

He considered if there was anything more to say. “So, in the end, dealing with the Dark side the Sith was throwing at me was the easy part of the whole fight. The harder part was figuring out how to get around the saberstaff and his skill with it. How to defeat him with the limitations the area gave us, and before we made a mistake because we were too tired. Hence the risky move that saw me injured.”

Qui-Gon smiled at him, proud. “You handled his Dark side attacks far better than I did.”

Obi-Wan blinked at him in surprise, then looked to the Council who were quietly talking. Quinlan was quietly amused in the background. ...Obi-Wan had the feeling he was missing something. But he decided not to dwell on what he was missing, but instead on the fact that apparently he'd handled the Dark side better than a master. Than the master who trained him. That was... not something he ever expected. He was mentally reeling from that.

“Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Mace spoke solemnly.

Obi-Wan turned to him, startled, sitting up straight at his full title and name.

“We are considering conferring the rank of Master on you for killing a Sith.”

Obi-Wan gaped at them, but swallowed his protests. He took a second to regain his composure “I am honored you are even considering it,” he said carefully. “Though I feel I am far too young and inexperienced for the honor.”

“Age matters not, Knight Kenobi.” Yoda pointed his stick at Obi-Wan. “Against the Dark side, mastery of oneself the most difficult of trials it is. Passed it, you have.”

“We just need to assess other skills to be sure, however, I'd say your lightsaber skills are well above average for a Knight based on that fight.”

Obi-Wan swallowed and nodded. The requirements for the rank of Master outside of raising a padawan to Knighthood was to have completely mastered one field, the narrower the field, the more thorough the mastery needed to be, alongside showing an above average (for a Knight) grasp in at least two other areas. He knew he was already above average in more than that, thanks to the variety of skills he needed for his specific role. They would probably be harsher on him because he was so young, just to be sure he'd earned the rank.

“I do not think we will find any reason to deny you the rank of Master, even if it does take time to test with your injuries requiring healing.”

Obi-Wan nodded numbly.

You okay there, Obes?

Just processing. I'm only 25!

I know, but you deserve it! Quinlan was laughing at him in their bond, Obi-Wan could tell.

He took in a deep breath when it seemed that the Council was done. “I don't understand, though, isn't the record for youngest master... 27? And that master only got it because they took over a padawan's training with only two years left? What's the record without training a padawan to Knighthood? ...aside from me,” he added with a sigh. He thought maybe he should know the answer, though he couldn't place why.

“29 is the current record, achieved by Master Fisto.”

Yeah, I don't think you want to argue that point further since Kit's been teaching us both for years since we do the same thing he does. And a lot of those things were things he'd not had someone to teach him, at least not like we did.

Shut up. I'm trying not to freak out.

Oh, Obes, you deserve it, really. I'm not upset, and I doubt Kit will either.

Thanks Quin. But it's going to take me a while to accept it.

I know. I'll be here laughing once you do.

“It seems that the Chancellor has arrived and wishes to speak to you in an hour. Why don't we meditate until then?” Shaak suggested. “That would allow us to assess your meditation skills.”

Obi-Wan nodded, betraying none of his anxiety. “I think a group meditation would be nice.” He shifted, getting more comfortable and finding a position that wouldn't hurt too much while still not being entirely casual; he really did prefer kneeling for meditation.

Quinlan sat down next to him and got even more comfortable. For Quinlan, it didn't matter what position he was in, he could easily meditate, and in fact, he did the best the more comfortable he was. Though if he had been neglecting his sleep, he did sometimes fall asleep meditating, but he could do that in the less than comfortable positions so that didn't matter much in the end.

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and sank into meditation, finding his center easily and then he joined with the playful presence of his brother, which helped ease his anxiety. Slowly, they connected with everyone else in the room together.

At the end of the hour, they all came out of meditation at the same time, to find that they had all started floating, as was common. Quinlan quickly helped Obi-Wan down so he didn't hurt himself. Both had enjoyed the meditation. They'd meditated with most of the members of the Council over the years, but never all at once. Both enjoyed the experience.

Qui-Gon hid a smile as the Council started conferring quietly. Quinlan had just caught their attention as being at nearly the same level as Obi-Wan when it came to meditation. They would be keeping a closer eye on his abilities from now on now that they knew. Quinlan remained oblivious to that, too busy focusing on his brother and his injury, and the fact that Obi-Wan was going to break the master record.

“Knight Kenobi, while we wouldn't consider you a master at meditating, you are far beyond what most your age can do, beyond what most knights can do even years older.”

Obi-Wan felt his cheeks burn at the complement. “I didn't realize that was unusual. K-Master Fisto helped me a lot when I was struggling with some aspects a few years ago. I picked up a lot from him.”

“It is still impressive.”

Obi-Wan let out a breath. “So. I mastered myself against the Dark side, my skills are above average in lightsaber combat and meditation... what else are you looking to test?”

“We have not entirely decided yet which areas would be best to test. But we are looking at some knowledge tests- languages, cultures, things necessary for diplomacy. Healing, piloting and navigation, Force techniques and theory, and teaching are other areas we may or may not test. We are not considering any other areas to test. You already easily meet the requirements with what we have seen, but we want to make sure no one can contest it. As far as I'm concerned, you are already a master.” Plo used the Force to show sincerity.

Obi-Wan barely kept his jaw from dropping. “Thank you, masters. I just ask that you do not make the announcement until you are certain.”

“I'd suggest waiting until you're totally healed, actually,” Quinlan pointed out. “Because I'm sure that even with the Council's full endorsement and assurances, you're going to get challenges.”

Obi-Wan groaned, leaning into his brother. “He's right.”

“Some of the potential tests will have to wait until you're healed anyways.” Mace gave them both a slight smile. “Besides, you're going to Kiffu for at least two weeks. Maybe a month would be better, and we can get started when you return.”

Obi-Wan's eyes widened and then he matched Quinlan's grin. “That would be great, actually. Thank you.”

Chapter Text

The new Chancellor was waiting for Quinlan, Obi-Wan, and Qui-Gon in his rooms. He had a tea service set up. He lit up when he saw the three of them. “Oh do come in and sit down. I'm terribly sorry about the mess, there's a lot more to being Chancellor than I thought and I'm still adjusting to the workload.”

“That's quite alright,” Qui-Gon assured him.

Quinlan assisted Obi-Wan to a chair and then sat down himself, accepting the tea and helping Obi-Wan with his tea without even asking Obi-Wan what he wanted. The two of them knew each other well.

“I hear you all accomplished something great in the battle for Naboo, I'd love to hear all about it.”

Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon told him about defeating the Sith, with Obi-Wan mostly sticking to facts and downplaying his role while Qui-Gon bragged about his actions. The Chancellor inserted exclamations and comments as appropriate, mostly the sort of drivel all three were used to from politicians.

Then Quinlan explained quickly his role in the space battle. His part was rather easy to tell as there wasn't much to tell, even if he'd chosen to embellishment. He ensured that the Queen had a safe passage, joined the space battle, listened to the Force, and realized the best way to blow up the control ship was from the inside. Simple.

“It's rather impressive, Master Jedi, you and Master Kenobi accomplished great feats that day.”

“Oh, my brother and I aren't masters yet, just knights,” Quinlan protested. “But I suppose we did do good that day.” He actually was getting a bit embarrassed at the attention. He liked that he could be open about his accomplishments, but it was still a bit overwhelming sometimes when people complimented his work or congratulated him.

“Blowing it up from the inside of the hangar is a genius idea, one that no one has thought of before, Knight Vos.” The Chancellor paused, then he looked between Obi-Wan and Quinlan. “Ah, yes, I can see the resemblance now. Why the different last names?”

“It's a rather long and private story,” Obi-Wan deflected. “And I see no need for us to have the same last name when it will just cause confusion, as nice as it would be to share a name with my brother. Sharing clan tattoos is enough.” Over the years he had considered changing his name, and did introduce himself as Vos sometimes instead of Kenobi. But he decided that an illusion of separation between him and his brother would be useful.

“I suppose that does make it simpler.” The Chancellor nodded, taking a sip of his tea. “I think you two are Jedi to keep an eye on. You're consulars, are you not?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I do a bit of everything, though I do seem to end up paired up with Qui-Gon more often than not.” He was still adjusting to calling his master by his name but he was not about to just call him master in front of the Chancellor. A lot of Jedi career paths weren't well known outside the Order, so it was often simpler to say what he did rather than cause confusion with the title of the role was.

“I do the same thing as Obi-Wan.” Quinlan took a cookie and flipped it through his fingers. “Though I tend to end up on missions with more of a lean towards investigations.” He took a bite of the cookie.

“When you say a bit of everything, what do you mean?”

Quinlan finished off his cookie. “We are meant to fill in missions when numbers are short. Not enough healers, one of us can go, that sort of thing. We also are more likely to be called when backup or extraction is needed. Without that, I don't know that I could have handled the space battle nearly so well.”

“Really? That's fascinating. I never considered that that sort of role could ever exist.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “Not many do, it's a rarity in the Order. There's less than a hundred of us total in the Order. It's a very hard job, since we have to be able to fill in for any role, and not everyone can handle that. It's a lot of pressure, and it's a lot of hard work to have the skills to fill in anywhere.”

“Is there any Jedi I would know of who also does that?” the Chancellor asked, leaning forward curiously.

“You might have heard of Master Fisto, he's one of the youngest masters in the Order right now. He's the one who taught us a lot of what we needed,” Quinlan responded with a smile.

“Ah, yes, he is a bright young Jedi, and he taught you? No wonder you both did so well under the pressure.”

Both Quinlan and Obi-Wan tried to hide their embarrassment at the praise, face and ears burning. Qui-Gon just lounged in his chair watching with amusement. They did deserve it. Ultimately, he didn't really do much, so he was happy to escape notice.

They had to endure another half an hour of the Chancellor's praise and questions before they reminded him that they did still need to get ready for the celebration in two hours.

“Ah, yes, I suppose I do too.” The Chancellor stood and held out his hand. “I do so look forward to watching how your career develops, Knight Vos, Knight Kenobi. I imagine it will be very interesting.”

Both of them felt like he was hiding something, faking something, when they shook his hand, yet they could tell he was sincere about his words. Psychometry was a gift and a curse. Both of them would have to be careful around him until they knew more. This was something passed quickly through their bond though neither visibly reacted.

.

They made it through the celebration, had another meeting with the Council and then they were finally allowed to leave for Kiffu. Obi-Wan relaxed in the co-pilot's chair.

“Do they know we're coming and that I'm injured?”

“Doubt it.” Quinlan responded cheerfully. “I didn't say anything to them. But you know they'll be happy to see us regardless.”

“Oh, I know. They also never react well when one of us is injured.”

Quinlan twisted to look at him. “And we can overshadow it by telling them that the Council wants to award you the rank of Master, and there is precedent since you did defeat a Sith almost entirely on your own. It's just not usually something that happens when people are so young. They're going to be thrilled.” He grinned and returned to keeping an eye on the stars.

Obi-Wan sighed. “Okay, okay, you're right. Our family just gets to be a bit... much sometimes.”

“Understatement. It gets to be much even for me, and I bet no one realizes that even I can get tired of that sort of thing.” Quinlan had come a long way from the initial realization that he didn't have friends the way Obi-Wan did. He was content with knowing that those who accepted his quirks were truly his friends. Besides, Obi-Wan always had his back, even if it put distance between Obi-Wan and other friends.

“They probably don't. I'm so glad we don't see them too often. Makes seeing them fun instead of... ugh.”

“Very articulate Obes,” Quinlan laughed.

.

As they approached Kiffu, Quinlan did one last check of Obi-Wan's injuries. He closed his eyes and felt for how it was healing internally. He added a bit of Force healing to it, a small amount as he'd been trained for supplementing healing away from home and then opened his eyes.

“Still on schedule Obes. How's it feel?”

“Very sore, but I'm managing. Better than it was, but movement is still limited.”

Quinlan nodded. “That sounds about right. It's going to be a while before you can start really working on regaining mobility there.”

“I hate that.”

“Pretty sure just about everyone does.”

Obi-Wan laughed, sharing a grin with him. They had spent quite a bit of time as padawans helping out in the Healing Halls when not on missions and that was something that was very common among the patients.

Quinlan stopped and turned to the controls to answer the call for identification. Soon enough they were cleared to land.

They landed, made sure their bags were all together by the ramp so that they could be collected later, and then they headed down to meet who ever had rushed to greet them. Obi-Wan leaned heavily on Quinlan, who wrapped an arm around him in silent support. Obi-Wan wasn't in that much pain walking, but it was easier to use support than risk twisting just the wrong way as he walked.

Both grinned when they saw Conall and Aisling skidding to a stop, the only ones of Clan Vos to make it to the hangar before they landed. They waited until Quinlan and Obi-Wan were within range to get ready to hug them, though both paused and adjusted when they realized that Obi-Wan was leaning into Quinlan.

Obi-Wan winced a little at the start of the hug, but they didn't have as big an impact as usual, so he was soon returning the hug happily, a nice group hug with his brother and cousins.

Conall pulled away first. “Now what's this we heard about you two offering yourselves if you lost a bet?”

“Ah, already heard from Bernard and Craig then?” Quinlan grinned sheepishly.

“They're already back and they brought some of those they freed with them, those that were interested in coming along, anyways. Now what happened to you?” Aisling looked over Obi-Wan, trying to pinpoint where he was injured.

“We ended up going back to Naboo after Coruscant to help the Queen of Naboo free her people from the Trade Federation,” Obi-Wan explained. “And there was a Dark sider. I had to fight him alone, though I had Quin's lightsaber, and he got me good before Qui-Gon was able to kill him.”

Quinlan snorted. “He got you in the side, but you got his arm and cut his saberstaff in half. And I have the recording, even the Council was impressed by how you handled it.”

“Quin, don't you dare,” Obi-Wan threatened. Both knew it was an empty threat. And Obi-Wan didn't mind either, it was just fun pretending.

Quinlan smirked at him. “They're so impressed they're thinking of making him a master so early that he breaks the record by two years, and that record is for masters who become a master by raising a padawan, the record for without a padawan is twenty-nine.”

“No way, our little Obi, making it to master so soon, even beating Quin?” Conall teased.

Obi-Wan sighed. “Apparently,” he drew out the word, then gave in and decided to elaborate. “They're going to be giving me tests once I get back to Coruscant, but that's just so that no one can protest considering my age. It's going to be interesting once it gets out.”

“Aww, I'm so proud. Now come on you two, there's people that's going to want to see you and you're just in time for lunch!” Aisling pulled Obi-Wan over so that she could support him and have her arm around him.

“Aren't you a little old for this? Don't you have kids to worry about now?” Obi-Wan grumbled.

“The twins are almost nine years old. They're fine. Darach's used to this, anyways. Nothing is more important to me than making sure you spend time with me when you're here. Especially since it's been happening less often.” She had gotten engaged to Darach shortly after Obi-Wan's adoption, and then they married just a few short months later.

“Even though you're training to be king?” Quinlan teased.

“Shush, you.”

Conall snickered at them, arm wrapped around Quinlan. “Obi, do you need to see the doctors?”

“No, I'm good. Quin's been taking care of it.”

“Oh, that's right, I forgot that you can do that stuff now Quin.” Conall messed with his hair again. “You're both so good at everything it's hard to remember what you can do.”

“Might be easier to list the things we can't do,” Obi-Wan grinned. “But we're not experts by any means.”

Quinlan nodded in agreement. “I can make sure things are good until we can get to others, and I know enough to make sure recovery goes well, but I'm definitely not a real healer. Now, I am hungry, so let's get moving.” He said he wasn't a real healer, but in order to qualify as a Guardian as soon as they passed their Trials, they had to be at least Knight level in healing before they were Knighted. That had been one of the hardest requirements, but they had both managed it.

Aisling and Conall laughed. As they walked, they greeted the others who showed up, including their grandparents. Everyone was happy to see them, especially after having heard from Craig and Bernard about them being on Tatooine. Though, of course, there was worry about Obi-Wan... and excitement when they heard he was going to be a master.

Quinlan watched with a big grin; he loved watching his brother get mobbed by their family. Obi-Wan may protest but he loved them all anyways.

“You're not bothered that he's going to be a master before you?” Bran asked, placing his arm around Quinlan. “Especially so young?”

“Nah, Obes deserves it. He's generally better than me at most things anyways. I like being his brother and watching him accomplish everything. And it's not like I'm not on track for mastery anyways. Those in our role tend to earn masteries faster just by nature of our jobs. Our friend Kit holds, well held, the record at 29. He's the one who taught us almost everything we know that we didn't learn from our masters. Most who become masters outside of raising a padawan to knighthood become masters like a decade later than that, and the average is probably about five years younger for those who do raise padawans to knighthood.”

Quinlan took a breath. “For our role, the average Knight becomes a master around ten to fifteen years after Knighting, and rarely as much as twenty... though it's rare for knights to choose to do what we do because it's that difficult. I've looked at records, I'm on track to be master by thirty-two or three, so I'm content with that. Obi's always been special, anyways.”

“I think you downplay your own abilities, grandchild.” Bran smiled at him though. “I think you'll be a master sooner than you think. You're just as special as Obi is.” He pulled Quinlan in for a tighter hug. “Now... there's some people who are going to be very excited to see you. Did your cousins mention that Craig and Bernard came back with some of those they freed?”

“They did, why?”

“While most have been working on finding jobs within the community, two have stuck around are still considering their options, for good reason. I think you'll like just who it is.”

Quinlan eyed him suspiciously but let it go. They entered the dining room to find the family that hadn't greeted them already seated at the table. Plus... Quinlan grinned.

“Lila! Shmi!” He hurried over to greet them.

Obi-Wan beamed when he caught sight of them. Aisling helped him over and he sat down next to Shmi with Aisling on his other side. Quinlan sat down next to Lila. For the first time since they arrived on Kiffu, they were using basic to communicate.

“It's great to see you,” Obi-Wan said. “I'm glad you were able to get off that planet.”

“Your cousins were wonderful.” Shmi paused, then eyed him with a hint of annoyance. “Although we could have used a warning that you're royalty. You're the Kings' grandchildren?”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “We are. It's... not something we're comfortable sharing outside of Kiffu, since we're Jedi first. And we didn't realize you would be coming here.”

“I wanted to be able to better hear about how Ani is doing. I didn't expect you here so soon.”

“He's doing well, last I heard. He's staying with one of the Councilors for the time being. Depa is great, so I don't think there will be a problem. He made friends with one of the initiates who's two years older than him. Pretty sure Quinlan is going to take her as his padawan once we get back to Coruscant, actually. For now, Ani is just working on catching up to where he should be, and in two years hopefully he'll have caught up.”

“I'm glad he's doing well.”

.

Time passed quickly. Obi-Wan started in on his physical therapy exercises. He didn't need the guidance of the healers because both he and Quinlan had helped with those enough that they knew them by heart. Quinlan of course stuck around to make sure he wasn't about to make a mistake because that was easy to do while in pain.

By the time they hit three weeks on Kiffu, both were about done with family, and ready to go home, so they set their departure date for a few days out, enough time to wrap things up. They made sure to spend time with Lila and Shmi. Lila had decided to stick around Clan Vos and work in the kitchens, as she did actually enjoy baking and cooking now that there was no pressure.

Shmi on the other hand was a bit more at loose ends and slowly started tinkering with anything that needed to be fixed out of boredom. She really was good at mechanics. Not the genius levels of Anakin, but it was clear where he got the talent from.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan were amused to see Derry hanging around her more and more as time went on. He'd started with just being around visiting his sibling and niblings, then her tinkering caught his attention. It would be interesting to see if that went anywhere.

But for now... they had a surprise for Shmi. And Anakin. Shmi joined them in Quinlan's room. Obi-Wan did have his own room, though he rarely used it. He liked the excuse that being on Kiffu gave to snuggle with someone every night.

“What did you want to show me?” Shmi asked.

Quinlan grinned at her, then called Depa. They had planned this, made sure Anakin's mind healer was consulted, and now the call was happening.

Depa smiled at them. “Good to see you two, I heard you're returning soon?”

“Leaving in two days,” Obi-Wan confirmed. “This is Shmi Skywalker, Shmi, this is Jedi Master and Councilor Depa Billaba.”

“It's nice to meet you.” Depa nodded to her.

“It's nice to meet you too.” Shmi glanced at Quinlan, who was just about vibrating with excitement. Obi-Wan was just as excited but he'd always been able to contain himself better than his brother.

“One moment.” Depa turned. “Anakin, Aayla, Obi-Wan and Quinlan called.”

There was the scrambling noise of younglings and then Anakin and Aayla popped up in front of Depa. Both were grinning brightly. Shmi put her hand to her heart at the sight of how happy Anakin was.

“Quinlan! Obi-Wan!” Aayla squealed, then paused at the unfamiliar woman between them.

“Obi-Wan! I... MOM?” Anakin gasped, leaning closer.

“Ani, it's good to see you.”

“You're on Kiffu! You're Free?”

“I am, their cousins made sure of it and allowed me to go to Kiffu with them.”

Anakin beamed. “That's great, mom!” Then he paused. “Oh, this is my best friend Aayla Secura! She's great! Aayla, this is my mom Shmi!”

“Hi! Ani won't stop talking about you!”

“Aayla!” Anakin whined, nudging her.

Obi-Wan grinned. Best friends already. That's good.

Yeah, considering how close we are that'll make things far easier.

After a bit of catching up, with occasional input from Aayla, Quinlan, and Obi-Wan (Depa was just supervising), Shmi had to ask a question.

“I didn't think this would be allowed.”

“It depends on the family, the initiate, and the circumstances,” Quinlan responded. “My family had a hard enough time giving me up even though they couldn't handle my Force sensitivity, so they chose not to remain in contact with me, just the Order, until I was a padawan.”

Depa moved into view. “Most of the time, we do encourage families to allow their younglings to integrate into the Order because it can be a difficult transition otherwise. But if they had reason, or asked, we'd find a way to allow it. It just makes things more difficult, but it can be doable. For Ani, I talked with his mind healer and ze said that it will be an easier transition for Ani if he can talk to you sometimes, not too often, but it'll be better for him to be able to see that you're living your life without him around, rather than have no idea what you're doing.”

Shmi nodded. “Thank you.” She turned back to Anakin and started telling him about some of the things she had been repairing lately, about what Lila was doing. About what happened with the others, those that came with, and those that stayed behind or went to find new homes. Derry came up multiple times, though Anakin didn't seem to recognize the significance of that.

Chapter Text

Quinlan told whoever he needed to about his plans to take on a padawan, made sure he had her new room ready and then, feeling oddly nervous even though he knew that Aayla had been waiting since she turned eleven, went to find her. At least the process for taking on a padawan was relatively easy. Any Knight or master (unless there were restrictions on their files) could take on a padawan without consulting anyone, but the Council and others would keep an eye on the partnership until they were sure it was a good match. Most knights did consult someone for their first padawan, not wanting to screw things up.

It had been days since he had arrived back with Obi-Wan, but he had wanted to be sure he wasn't taking Aayla away from helping Anakin, which she had not stopped even though her punishment was over by then. So, he waited until just after her last class ended, now that he knew their schedules. Anakin had one more class which meant she was totally free.

Quinlan took a deep breath to calm his nerves and waited outside the classroom. He frowned when he saw Aayla wasn't really talking to any of her classmates; but then he was pretty sure the constant teasing about himself was a large part of her growing distance from them all. On top of which, he was sure they weren't too happy that she was spending all her free time (of her own free will at this point) with the new kid that everyone was still adjusting to.

“Aayla!” He called.

She looked up and beamed. “Quinlan!” She walked over with a bounce in her step. “What are we going to do?”

“I was thinking we could just find a quiet place to talk.”

“Okay.” She grinned and walked alongside him as they started moving.

“How are things going now?”

“Better, actually.”

“But you weren't talking to anyone.”

“You saw that?” Aayla made a face. “The problem is that even some of my friends were starting to act like I was nuts for wanting you to teach me and joining in on the teasing. They weren't malicious or anything but they did think it was funny... It wasn't bad when it was them, because I knew they weren't mocking me but...”

“But what?” Quinlan prompted.

“You're one of the heroes of Naboo.”

Quinlan resisted the urge to groan. That overblown title was getting on his nerves already. Obi-Wan was having an even harder time considering that the fight with the Dark sider had been partially released and everyone seemed to have fallen in love with him. Anakin was getting a lot of jealousy now because Obi-Wan and Quinlan were the ones who brought him to the Temple, from those who were actually aware though not everyone was.

“So, they suddenly changed their tunes on if I was worthy to teach a padawan.”

“Yeah. Now they think I'm dumb to think you would want to take me as a padawan when I'm nothing special. Not my friends, they haven't said that. But others... Nearly punched Ferus in the face last time but I managed to walk away 'cause it was time for class.”

Quinlan chuckled as they came to a stop outside his rooms. “I think they need to learn to listen to the Force. It doesn't matter what you look like now, one day you'll be a Knight and you'll be great. I'm sure the opinions of me as an initiate were low, they didn't think I'd amount to anything. I'm sure there would have been explosions if they thought someone on the Council or maybe someone like Master Fisto would want to train me. But look at where I am now, Aayla. They didn't, couldn't have predicted that even before I turned seventeen.”

Aayla nodded thoughtfully as she followed him into the rooms. To her surprise, he went to the spare room and opened the door. She peeked around him and stared. It was all ready, new sheets on the bed, a pack of glow in the dark stars on the ceiling in all of her favorite constellations...

Quinlan pulled her into the room with a grin and sat her down on the bed. “Initiate Aayla Secura, would you like to be my padawan?”

She visibly restrained herself for the formal response. “Yes, Knight Vos, I would like to be your padawan.” Then she tackled him in a hug, nearly knocking him over as he laughed. “What took so long?”

“Well, I wanted to be sure I was ready. I didn't want to mess anything up with you, and then Naboo happened and Obi-Wan needed a trip to Kiffu before facing the insanity of being a hero of Naboo.”

Aayla beamed at him. “Okay, I'm happy you asked now!”

Quinlan grinned back. “Now we have until Anakin is done with class to sort everything out for today. You'll finish out your current classes, then we'll do missions for a bit before you take your first round of padawan classes. But for now... we need to collect your things and get you new robes.” He tilted his head and tapped his chin. “I feel like there's something else we're supposed to do.”

“Padawan beads, Master!” Aayla laughed, knowing he was joking.

Quinlan had a moment, being called master for the first time by his padawan. That was an amazing feeling. A bit terrifying, but mostly amazing. “You're right... good thing I have them right here.” He pulled them out of his pocket and grinned at his padawan. He now had a little person to take care of. He really hoped he didn't screw this up.

.

Obi-Wan spent most of a day going through all the written tests of knowledge he was to take to prove he was worthy of being a master despite being only twenty-five. He didn't mind. He still didn't believe he was ready, so more proof he was ready would be good for himself. And it would shut up any protests.

Once he finished, Plo told him that they'd grade the tests that night, and they'd check on his Force techniques the next day. Even though he was fully healed, they'd decided against any other practical demonstrations. To his relief. Obi-Wan did not want to demonstrate piloting. And while a demonstration of his ability to teach wouldn't be bad, he also really didn't want to take more time than necessary getting the mastery sorted out adequately.

He grinned at the picture he found when he finished up. Quinlan and his padawan, Aayla. Both beaming. It was about time Quinlan asked her to be his padawan. Obi-Wan knew that Tholme wanted a celebration that night with his padawan and grandpadawan, so he decided to just go get dinner from the cafeteria.

Right after he sat down, he was joined by Kit. “Oh, hi Kit.”

“Hello, Obi-Wan. You look tired.”

Obi-Wan groaned. “It's been a long day.”

“Does that have anything to do with being a hero of Naboo?”

“Don't you dare start.” Obi-Wan pointed his fork at him before getting started on his food properly.

Kit chuckled “I've seen one of the recordings floating around. Impressive fight. Looked master level.”

Obi-Wan groaned and glanced around with a sigh. “The Council agrees with you," he whispered once he was sure there was no one too close to them.

Kit froze mid-bite and lowered his fork. “Truly?”

“Oh yes. They want to award me the rank of master. But they also know how skeptical everyone is going to be, so I had to sit through so many tests today.”

Kit grinned at him. “So, I'm no longer going to be the record holder?”

Obi-Wan sighed and nodded. “Apparently.”

“And what does Quinlan think?”

“He thinks its hilarious, and he just took on Aayla today, so he's going to be distracted for a while anyways.” Obi-Wan pulled up the picture to show Kit. “When are you going to take a padawan anyways? I know you've been helping with a lot of padawans, but when are you actually going to train one on your own?”

Kit shrugged. “Soon, maybe. After I became a master it got... difficult to be around the older initiates. They look up to me a bit too much to truly listen to the Force, and I think I'd like to have a padawan who's not awestruck. None have truly stood out to me yet.”

“Understandable.” Obi-Wan nodded. “They'll probably be further distracted once they learn about me, so maybe you'll have the opportunity.”

“What about you?”

“Have you heard of Initiate Skywalker?”

“He's the new initiate staying with Depa, correct?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I found him on Tatooine. No question of it, in about two years he'll be my padawan. Force was very firm on that.”

Kit shook his head. “You and Quinlan, you both so easily found your first padawans.” He was amused in the Force, so Obi-Wan knew there were no hard feelings.

“Don't forget you're the one who taught us many of the things we needed to know that our masters couldn't teach us.” Obi-Wan grinned. “I would not be looking at being a master right now without that.” He shook his head. “I still cannot believe...”

Kit chuckled. “I can, that fight was impressive, and I can't imagine what the full fight looked like, nor what feeling the Dark side was like.”

Obi-Wan shuddered. “Don't remind me, it was... both harder and easier than I could have imagined. So have you met Anakin yet?”

“Not yet, I'm to start teaching him to swim tomorrow, though.”

“Oh... yeah, that's going to be interesting. He did grow up on a desert planet.”

“If you're done with the testing tomorrow, you could join us. He might do better if you're there.”

Obi-Wan considered. “I'll try to be there. We'll be going over my scores and testing Force techniques and then I'll be free.”

“No meditation?”

“We did that on Naboo.” Obi-Wan grinned. “I'm pretty sure they noticed that Quinlan's almost as good as me, so he might be in for a surprise in the next few years. I know he's not expecting to be a master for at least five years.”

Kit laughed. “He does have a tendency to downplay his abilities. Either way, I'm glad that you survived that fight. And that you're getting the recognition you deserve. But what did Qui-Gon do?”

Obi-Wan sighed. “He's enjoying not being in the spotlight. He's getting older and couldn't keep up as easily, and I had him drop back to recover before he made a mistake, so he appeared at the end and actually dealt the killing blow. After I'd taken off the Sith's arm and cut his saberstaff in half.”

“I wouldn't want much recognition for that either. You did all the hard work it sounds like.”

“Yeah. I still can't believe I pulled it off.”

.

Aayla happily entered her classes the day after she was officially made a padawan. Master Quinlan had wanted her! And had her room ready for her, with her favorite constellations. He really was the coolest. And Master Tholme was great too. Anakin had been excited for her. It had been a great day. Though it was too bad she didn't get to see Obi-Wan after.

The class fell silent when she entered, noticing her padawan beads immediately. She ignored them and sat down at the one empty spot left. Getting to the class from her new room took longer than she expected, and she wasn't entirely certain of the route, but she'd get better at it with time.

“Uh, congratulations, Aayla.” Nahdar whispered from next to her. He was one of the quieter ones, didn't get into much trouble, and never bothered her. Or stood up for her, but then, few actually stood up for her. So, she appreciated those who stayed out of it.

Aayla beamed at him. “Thank you, Nahdar.”

She didn't tell anyone who her master was, though she thought it should be obvious. Quinlan had always come visit her in the creche since she got to the Temple. But then, most of her agemates absolutely refused to believe he was actually interested in her.

When Quinlan met up with Aayla for lunch and tugged on her padawan beads affectionately, those who had doubted were astonished and jealous. Even more so when Obi-Wan joined them and congratulated her and started teasing Quinlan about taking so long.

They let Aayla choose where to sit, and she chose to sit by the initiates who didn't make fun of her. She was still disappointed she didn't have lunch at the same time as Anakin, but at least these initiates were nice. Her friends were being weird now that she actually was a padawan, so she decided she didn't want to deal with that. Nahdar was one of the ones there.

It was a good day, even if it meant facing comments and teasing later. She knew that Quinlan wanted her and that was what was most important. The only downside was when a group project was announced.

.

Obi-Wan was still reeling from the results of his tests. While he received scores in the range expected for the average Knight in all of them, most of them were above average and there were three that were at master level and that was before they got into his Force techniques, which generally fell into almost master or master level.

So, he was definitely master material. They would have preferred he get a bit more experience before receiving the rank, but he did have a lot of experience over his padawan years that helped make up for it. He still wasn't sure how he felt about it.

The official announcement was going to be released later, giving him time to tell those he wanted first. There weren't really any official trials or anything masters needed to accomplish though many Knights believed there were. Instead, many did meditations, which Obi-Wan was considering. He wasn't entirely convinced he was actually master level yet. His scores on the tangible things showed otherwise though, and he'd handled the Dark side better than Qui-Gon, apparently.

But for now... he had promised to show up for Anakin's first swimming lesson. So that was what he was doing. He arrived to see Kit trying to coax Anakin into the water. Anakin was understandably reluctant.

Obi-Wan smirked and took a running start to jump into the deep end. He held his breath and swam to the stairs to pop up next to Kit. Anakin jumped and stared at him, wide eyed at him.

“Whoa! How'd you do that?”

“A lot of swim practice. Which you're supposed to be starting.”

Anakin looked at Kit, then leaned towards Obi-Wan. “He's not trying to drown me so he can eat me?” Ani whispered, loud enough that Kit did hear him.

Obi-Wan had to take a moment to bury his urge to laugh. Kit fell backwards into the water. Probably so he could safely laugh underwater.

“No, Kit isn't. Kit's a friend of mine. He's the one who taught Quinlan and I a lot of the things I was telling you about.”

Anakin stared at him then peered uncertainly over at Kit, who had just popped back up out of the water. “You didn't mention him being a Nautolan!”

“Do remember Ani, that those are just stories,” Obi-Wan assured him gently. “And he's a Jedi, too.”

Anakin let out a breath. “Okay.”

“So, come on into the water. Just one step at a time.”

Anakin bit his lip then took a step down. To ease his mind, Obi-Wan and Kit started teasing each other with stories. Including Kit attempting to teach Obi-Wan and Quinlan better underwater fighting techniques, but forgetting to account for their extra required equipment at first.

Anakin took a step, then another, trying to be close enough to really listen, giggling the whole time. Before he knew it he was standing in the pool, with the water to his chin. He froze for a moment, then experimented moving, staring at the way his hands moved through the water. He'd never seen so much of it before.

With that, Kit started teaching him the basics, with help from Obi-Wan. Kit was a good teacher, and this wasn't the first time he taught younglings to swim. Obi-Wan was mostly needed as support for Anakin, who was experiencing yet another new thing.

Eventually Quinlan joined them, leaning on Obi-Wan. “Aayla has a group project she has to work on. She's not very impressed.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “I can imagine, especially now that she's a padawan. I do hope to see her soon though; I'd like to be able to tell her soon about my news before the announcement goes out... wait I need to tell Anakin.”

Quinlan messed with his hair. “So, it's official?”

“It's official. The announcement will be out later.”

Anakin swam over to him carefully. “I'm taking a break! Hi Quinlan!” Anakin beamed at him.

“Ah good timing, Anakin. I wanted to tell you something before everyone else finds out.”

“Really?” Anakin looked at him with wide eyes.

Obi-Wan steadied him when he realized Anakin was starting to sink. “Really.” Obi-Wan nodded. “After my last mission, the Council has decided to award me the rank of master. Apparently I really impressed them.”

“Whoa that's so cool! Do I hafta call ya master?”

“Do you call anyone master?”

“No...”

“Then the answer is no.” Obi-Wan smiled at him.

Quinlan was practically on his back now. “My baby brother is a master already, I'm so proud.”

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. “And I don't need to take your teasing.” He took a moment to make sure Kit was there to make sure Anakin was okay and then dove into the water to Quinlan's yelp of surprise.

He wrestled with Quinlan for a bit until both got tired of it and then he swam back over to where Anakin was practicing holding his breath under Kit's watchful eyes.

Quinlan meanwhile noticed that his padawan was nearby with two initiates. They must be working on their project. He swam over to the edge of the pool and leaned on the edge.

“Hey Aayla,” he called, “how's it going?”

Aayla let out a groan. “It's going.”

“When's the project due?”

“Three weeks, I think?” Aayla glanced at the other two who confirmed.

“And how long have you been working on it?”

“At least an hour, I think...”

“Then I think it's time for a break.” Quinlan pulled himself out of the pool and started walking in their direction. “If you're getting frustrated, that's the best thing you can do.”

Aayla eyed his approach. Quinlan was dripping water as he walked. And he was grinning at her. Aayla yelped, jumping up. “Don't throw me in!”

Quinlan laughed at her. “Take a break and I won't have to.” He paused, looked to the other two initiates he hadn't met before. “And that goes for you two too.”

“Oh! Right! That's Nahdar, and that's Ziva!” While Nahdar was Mon Calamari, Ziva was togruta.

Quinlan smiled at them. “It's nice to meet you. You can join us in the pool if you'd like, though, just keep in mind that Anakin is having his first swimming lesson, so he's not up to a lot of what you're used to.”

Aayla grinned. “Just let me go get ready, Master!” She darted to go get changed, the other two not far behind her.

Quinlan chuckled and made sure their notes were actually in order and that they were in a safe place before he dove back into the pool. He was starting to get used to Aayla calling him Master, though it was still a bit weird.

He popped up next to Obi-Wan. “Aayla and the other two initiates are going to join us. Ziva and Nahdar.”

“As long as they're nice to Anakin, that should be fine.”

“I think they will be. I've never heard Aayla complain about them, and neither seemed to be that talkative, so maybe a bit on the shy side.”

Obi-Wan nodded.

Aayla joined them, jumping in and startling Anakin. Once he recovered, he beamed at her. “Aayla! I'm learning to swim!”

“I know! You're doing amazing!”

Ziva and Nahdar joined them. They looked at Obi-Wan with something like awe, glancing between him and Quinlan who was leaning on him.

“Alright, Anakin, see if you can swim back to me.” Kit waved to him from several feet away. If he could manage to get over there, it would be the farthest he swam without touching the bottom.

Ziva and Nahdar both spun and stared at the master in surprise. They hadn't realized he was in the pool too.

Aayla waved to Kit then turned to Obi-Wan as Anakin started his attempt and gave him a hug. “I haven't seen you since you got back!”

Obi-Wan chuckled, returning the hug. “I've been a bit busy, Aayla. Congratulations on being a padawan.” She beamed at him. “And what are your names?”

Both Nahdar and Ziva looked surprised to have his attention. “Uh hi, I'm Nahdar, and this is my clanmate Ziva, Knight Kenobi.”

“It's master, actually,” Obi-Wan corrected absently. “And you can call me Obi-Wan if you'd like.”

“Master? Since when?” Aayla demanded, staring at him. The other two initiates were outright gaping.

“Oh, uh, today, actually.” Obi-Wan smiled at her sheepishly. “The official announcement should be out soon.”

Aayla looked over to Quinlan. “You didn't say anything!”

“Hey, it's Obi's news to share but I'm so proud of my baby brother.” Quinlan messed with his hair. Obi-Wan fought him off with laughing protests.

Then he turned in time to see Anakin reach Kit, who caught him with a big grin and quiet praise. “I did it! Did you see Obi, Quin?! I did it!”

“I saw!” Obi-Wan grinned. “Great job Ani!” He swam over, Quinlan following.

Aayla moved over to the other two initiates. “They were the ones who brought Ani back so they're helping him settle in, I think. And Ani is pretty cool.”

“I haven't met him yet...” Nahdar admitted. “Everyone's so upset about him that I didn't want to go out of my to meet him... Where's he from?”

“Tatooine.” Aayla grinned at him and Ziva. “Come on, he could always use more friends.”

“But what about Master Fisto?”

“Master Kit's cool,” Aayla assured them. “He works with Master Quin and Obi-Wan a lot and he's really nice. But if he makes you nervous, just pretend he's not there, they'll let us play and just keep an eye on us anyways.”

Ziva took a deep breath. “Right... Wonder why he's not taken on a padawan yet.”

Aayla shrugged. “No idea. But does it matter right now?”

“I suppose not... we're only eleven anyways. You're lucky.”

“I know. I'm sure you'll both be picked eventually. Nahdar, you're really good at our saber classes, no one can beat you. Ziva, you're really good at stealth and languages. No way someone won't notice you. Now come on, come meet Anakin.”

Obi-Wan, Kit, and Quinlan kept an eye on the four younglings but they didn't need to worry. Aayla was careful of only doing what Anakin could handle, and the other two followed her lead, growing more confident with each question they answered for Anakin who loved learning more about the Jedi and how others grew up at the Temple. He just didn't have too many to ask besides Aayla and he'd exhausted any questions he could ask her.

Kit started paying attention to Nahdar after a while, not sure what it was, but something about that initiate... Then he noticed the time and got the attention of Quinlan and Obi-Wan who were playing around again, though neither stopped paying attention to the younglings. Then they swam over to the group who were now sitting and giggling on the stairs, with Nahdar being the most submerged.

“Alright everyone, it's almost dinner time. You should dry off."

“Okay Master Kit!” Aayla stood and left the pool. Quinlan handed her a towel, already getting dry himself.

Obi-Wan helped Anakin out and handed him a towel before working on getting dry himself.

“Whoa... that's a lot of scars...” Anakin gasped.

“It is, Ani, but it's rude to stare or bring attention to it.”

“Oh. Sorry, Obi-Wan.”

Obi-Wan took the towel and helped him dry his hair. “It's okay. Now you know for next time.”

“Okay.”

Kit was making sure the other two initiates didn't get left behind in the meantime and followed along as they all headed to get dinner together. It had gotten late enough that none of them wanted to make food.

Obi-Wan froze when he checked his comm and found that the announcement had gone out, just before they left. “Ah. Of course they sent it out now.”

Quinlan patted his back. “Cheer up Obes. You can get out the worst of the reactions just by eating in the cafeteria today. Better than getting swarmed in the halls.”

Obi-Wan groaned.

Kit laughed. “It's not so bad. The worst part is all those who issue challenges despite the fact that the Council themselves declared you a master.”

Obi-Wan groaned louder, catching the attention of the younglings who all turned and gave him weird look before returning to their conversation about the group project. Anakin had some good suggestions, for being so behind in most of his classes and having never had formal classes before.

Nahdar and Ziva were happy to show Anakin some of their favorite human safe foods with Aayla grinning along and adding input. Anakin was just thrilled to have more friends, even quiet ones. Making friends had ended up being the hardest part of the adjustment. They sat down at a table together, laughing and talking. Anakin was telling them about what it was like living with Depa when they were interrupted by Ferus Olin.

Ferus was close to a year younger than Aayla and therefore one year older than Anakin. He already didn't like Aayla much, and now she hung out with the new kid who should never have been given a chance. There was definitely an element of jealousy. What was so special about Aankin? He even got to stay with a Council member!

But Ferus had not yet started taunting Anakin. He turned to Aayla. “I can't believe you convinced Knight Vos to take you as a padawan. Why would a knight like him want you?”

Aayla rolled her eyes. “The Force said he'd train me from the moment we met when I was a youngling. I didn't actually ask him to take me on.” She turned to Anakin. “You've probably met Ferus already. No idea why he doesn't like me but he doesn't.” She turned to her food. She was a bit upset but she had been trying to learn to keep her feelings under control. She never wanted to attack someone like that again. And Ferus was a bit scared of her now though apparently that just meant he was cautious about how much he needled her rather than avoiding her which would have been nice.

She missed his next comments, but did not miss the way Ziva clenched her fork and stabbed at her food, hiding tears, or the way that Nahdar shrank and started poking at his food like he'd lost all appetite. She tuned back in just in time to hear him turn to Anakin.

“You won't survive here if you don't make the right friends. These three don't really have friends and Aayla... well, she's crazy.”

Anakin stood up, anger starting to show. “Aayla is not crazy.”

“She attacked me and broke my nose!”

“That's nothing. I'm from Tatooine. We're crazier than that.” Anakin stepped closer to Ferus with more confidence than he actually felt. “Why should I be friends with someone who's not nice to the first people my age here to be nice to me?”

Ferus' eyes widened and he scrambled for something to say.

“Is there a problem?” Obi-Wan interrupted.

“Kni-Master Kenobi!” Ferus exclaimed, eyes wide. “I uh... I...” He looked between Obi-Wan and Aayla, who had just greeted Quinlan with a bright grin. “I was going to ask if I could sit there but uh, Anakin got a bit upset.”

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow at him, studying both initiates with an experienced eye. He could feel Kit's amusement as he sat down and ignored him. “Anakin?”

Anakin winced and poked the ground with his foot. “I just got new friends. Feels weird trying for more.” He glanced at Ferus hopefully. He didn't actually want to be at odds with anyone. He got enough of that kind of thing on Tatooine. Ferus nodded quickly, now hopeful.

Obi-Wan sighed. “You both need to work on being truthful. That was almost convincing. Now come on, sit down.”

Ferus couldn't believe his luck as he sat down, with Master Kenobi between him and Anakin. He had to sit across from Aayla, but that was okay. He was sitting with the newest master of the Order! The youngest ever! And he didn't want to screw this up, so he stayed quiet and watched.

Obi-Wan took the three cups off his tray and offered them to Anakin and Quinlan. Quinlan took the tea without hesitation, but Anakin eyed it with hope. “Is this...?”

“Of course it is,” Obi-Wan assured him. “I remembered your preferences from Tatooine. Just needs a stir.”

Anakin beamed at him. And then at the same time the three of them stirred three times one way then three times the other way before lifting the cup, swirling the tea inside, and taking the first sip. Anakin sighed happily.

“I'll teach you to make it soon,” Obi-Wan promised. “You don't need to lose that bit of your traditions.”

“Thanks, Obi.” Anakin ducked his head shyly.

Obi-Wan ruffled his hair, then made an offended noise when he turned back to his tray in time to see Quinlan snatch a bit of his food. He quickly retaliated and stole something off of Quinlan's tray, shoving it in his mouth quickly before Quinlan could steal it back. Quinlan settled for stealing more from Obi-Wan, also occasionally going for Aayla, Anakin, and Kit's trays, but mostly going after his brother.

It didn't take long for Knights and Masters to start stopping by to offer their congratulations. Obi-Wan accepted them gracefully, with some embarrassment at the teasing. There were a few challenges, but most thankfully seemed to accept his new rank easily enough. The recording of his fight against the Sith probably helped.

Whenever Obi-Wan was getting a bit too overwhelmed, Quinlan drew attention to himself and his new padawan, embarrassing Aayla with all the attention, but their friends were thrilled to congratulate Quinlan for being the first of their group to take on a padawan. With some teasing directed at Kit for not taking on a padawan yet despite having been made a master two years before.

Despite all the attention they were getting, no one actually joined them at the table, to the relief of the initiates who were a bit bewildered at being caught in the chaos. It was fun, but also not something they could have expected. Well, except for Anakin, but he was a bit thrown off himself since he was still adjusting to Temple life.

“Master Kenobi.”

Obi-Wan turned and grinned. “Knight Tachi.”

“I can't believe I finally did my Trials just a few months ago, and now you're already a master. How did you pull it off?”

“I have no idea.” Obi-Wan sighed. “It was very much not planned. Now, Siri, are you going to join us or not?”

“I would, but I don't know everyone here,” she responded.

“Okay, we can fix that. You've met Aayla, but now she's Quin's padawan, this is Initiate Anakin Skywalker, we found him on Tatooine and he's staying with Depa, next to Kit is Initiate Nahdar Vebb, that's Initiate Ziva Davo, and this is Initiate Ferus Olin.”

Siri stared at him. “How did you do that without taking a single breath?”

Obi-Wan smiled smugly. “Practice. Lots and lots of practice.” He caught Quinlan's eyes and both of them nearly burst out laughing. Being able to do rapid fire introductions was a necessity on Kiffu. That was how they always did introductions.

“Fine, keep your secrets.” Siri sat down next to Ferus and started eating. “But seriously, Obi-Wan, that was a very impressive fight. Even with the injury at the end.”

“I was too focused on surviving to consider how it would look,” Obi-Wan responded dryly. “But thank you, Siri.”

Of Obi-Wan's friends from before everything changed, Siri was the one that stuck around easiest aside from Luminara and Bant. She'd somewhat been friends with Quinlan before, more than others who had proven to mostly tolerate him. So sticking around wasn't a big deal. She didn't have patience for some of his antics, not really, but she otherwise was fine.

Quinlan started teasing her but left her food alone.

The next person to actually join them was Luminara, who was around two years younger than Kit. She was quickly becoming one of the Order's best diplomats. She sat next to Aayla and only then offered her congratulations to Obi-Wan.

Eventually Bant joined them, then Depa. Anakin happily told Depa about his swimming lessons and his new friends when she asked.

Kit walked Nahdar and Ziva back to the creche, Depa took Anakin, and Quinlan had Aayla, which meant that Obi-Wan was left with Ferus. Obi-Wan walked with the initiate in silence for a while.

“So why have you been bullying Aayla?” Feeling Ferus about to protest, Obi-Wan was quick to cut him off. “You need to know that I've known Aayla since Quinlan and Tholme brought her to the Temple. Quinlan's my brother, after all. I've heard a lot about it from Aayla. She's definitely not handled it well and gives as good as you give her, but she's not the one initiating those incidents.”

Ferus sighed, looking at the ground. It took him a bit to work up the courage to speak. “She's always known her path... her master's always been known... she's got security the rest of us don't. And... she did have some weird habits when she was younger.” Ferus frowned. “But Anakin has those now.”

“It's from their upbringing before coming here. Now... you're not even eleven yet, you still have plenty of time to worry about who might take you as a padawan.”

“What would you know, you're already a master,” Ferus muttered. His eyes widened as his hands flew to his mouth in horror that he actually said that out loud.

Obi-Wan laughed and guided him to a bench to properly talk. Once they were sitting, he made sure Ferus was paying attention. “I was taken as a padawan after my thirteenth birthday. I was to go to the AgriCorps.” That wasn't exactly how it happened, but that was the least complicated way of explaining it.

“You? But you're the youngest master ever!”

Obi-Wan nodded. “No one wanted the kid with a temper. I was always getting into fights with the person who was bullying me, and because I often retaliated like Aayla... well, I never looked good, so no one gave me a second glance for a long time. Yes, who am I now is way different than when I was just an initiate, but sometimes knights and masters don't think they can handle things like a temper. And even then, sometimes the Force wants you to wait for the right master.”

“Oh. So there's nothing I can do?”

“Just be the best you you can be, and someone will be interested eventually, if you are truly meant to be a knight. And I know that it's hard to see it at your age, but the Corps aren't bad. You'll still be a Jedi, just doing something different.”

“I'll try.” Ferus sighed.

“As long as it's your best and you don't give up, that's all you can do sometimes. Now... we better get you back to the creche before it gets too late.”

“Oh. Right. Uh, thank you, Master Kenobi.”

“You may call me Master Obi-Wan if you'd like,” Obi-Wan offered as he stood.

He was rewarded with a bright grin. Obi-Wan grinned back, patting the initiate on the shoulder before they started walking again. He hoped he had set Ferus on a different path than where he had been heading. Ferus had reminded him of Bruck, and he did not want to see another initiate suffer like that. Even bullies had their insecurities and reasons.

Ferus returned to his clan, who were full of questions about how he ended up with the newest Jedi master. But he was uncharacteristically silent, thinking about everything he had seen at dinner, and Master Obi-Wan's words. He'd actually kind of liked it. Aayla wasn't actually that bad. And he really liked Knight Tachi. She was funny.

But mostly, Ferus was dealing with getting a lot of his ideas turned on their head. The youngest master ever had nearly not been a padawan. And was really nice to him, despite having shown up when he wasn't exactly being nice to initiates Master Obi-Wan clearly liked.

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan greeted Cin Drallig. “How many challenges do I have now?”

“Ten. Less than I expected, considering your age.”

Obi-Wan sighed, still uncomfortable with how young he was and yet he was a master. “Well, I've heard that many that might have challenged me were intimidated by the recordings so at least there's that. Now... I've heard that I can handle the challenges any way I want?”

“That's correct, you can choose to do one a day or all in one day. And in any order.”

Obi-Wan considered that. “Okay, so since I want to deter anyone from trying this, I need to choose the best path for that.” Then he looked up. “How about this. I face them one after another, five or ten minute break between each fight. Ten minutes probably better. Alternating the masters with the knights. And preferably the ones who will give me more trouble first, so that I don't lose steam before facing the last of the ten.”

“That is a unique approach, but for you, doable. Rules?”

Obi-Wan grinned. “Typical sparring rules; three hits to win, no head shots and so on. But they can choose whether I will be using a single saber or two.”

“You don't have two sabers.”

Obi-Wan waved a hand. “Not yet. I only just became more proficient with two than one. I hadn't gotten around to making my second yet. Anyways, Quin's works well for me and will do just fine for the challenge if anyone wishes to attempt to beat me when I'm using two sabers. That is the one I used in the fight against the Sith.”

“Then I see nothing wrong with what you have set out. Anything else?”

“Anyone can drop out of the line up at any time. No point in humiliating them if they change their mind after seeing me spar others. For that reason, I think we should not release the list of challengers, instead assign them numbers for the order they'll face me in and then announce the number of the person who dropped out. No one has to know who changed their mind.”

“A clever way to handle it. Tomorrow?”

Obi-Wan considered. “After lunch. I know teachers like to let students watch challenges and it'll be better for the initiates and padawans to just miss afternoon classes.”

Cin smiled. “And that right there shows that you do are a master, Master Kenobi. Knights tend not to think of details like that, and when they do, it is not a priority.”

“Thank you, Master Drallig.” Obi-Wan fought to keep from blushing.

It seemed like everyone kept trying to find aways to reaffirm that he was master material already. Doing things that many Knights apparently didn't even though to himself it was natural. Thinking of the initiates and padawans was something he started doing before he was Knighted. And yet, apparently many knights did not. It was... strange. Proof that he was different, and yet this was actually a positive difference.

“I will consider the challenges and order them for you. Alternating masters and knights and the best first, correct?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Please.” Once all details were sorted, Obi-Wan left to work on other preparations. He was relieved it was so few challenges so that his idea actually would work.

He was nervous; part of him was still convinced he wasn't ready for the challenges. But he'd just sparred with his grandmaster. And for the first time, Dooku actually went all out instead of just trying to help him learn. And Obi-Wan had kept up. In fact, Obi-Wan kept up so well, they dueled to a draw.

Dooku was impressed, but unsurprised. Obi-Wan on the other hand was speechless as he moved his lightsaber away from his grandmaster's throat. That, more than anything, proved to Obi-Wan that he had earned a mastery. He'd watched people struggle against Dooku when Dooku was not actually sparring at full power. And here... he'd actually gotten a draw. Barely, but he had done it. Somehow.

So, Obi-Wan truly was ready to face the challenges ahead. He was still adjusting to how everyone reacted to him. But some of the initial awe was dying down. Although the initiates were still hopeful that he was looking to take on a padawan soon. He wasn't, not until Anakin was eleven, but they didn't need to know that.

.

Quinlan left Aayla with Tholme and joined his brother on the side of the arena. The entire outlined arena would be used for the challenges. He could tell his brother was getting stuck in his head, getting anxious. He wasn't far off of pacing around, actually.

Quinlan wrapped an arm around Obi-Wan. “You can do this, Obes. You can do this. I'm so proud of you.”

Obi-Wan turned and looked at him. “What was I thinking? Ten challenges in a row?”

“You were thinking you wanted there to be no reasonable doubt about your skills. You can do it too. I've seen you do Soresu for more than an hour without a break. You can easily take ten challenges with ten minutes between them. I'll stay here with you, make sure you get water. And give you my lightsaber if any of them want you to use two.”

Obi-Wan leaned into Quinlan with a chuckle, tension draining away. “You know me so well. Thank you.”

Cin stepped up and laid out the terms for the ten challenges as Obi-Wan had decided.

And then the challenges started. Obi-Wan recognized the first master that stepped up. A decade younger than Dooku with a reputation for being one of the best duelists outside of the Council. And one of the ones who had repeatedly voiced concerns about Obi-Wan over the years, first doubting that he would ever make to Knighthood, then doubting he deserved to be Knighted in the two years since. It made sense that they would be the first one that Obi-Wan had to face.

Obi-Wan relied mostly on Soresu with some surprise Makashi in there. He was so happy that Dooku introduced him to both far more in depth than Obi-Wan had known previously. They made for a deadly combination when he was trying to endure. He pulled out a win after they tied with two hits each with a surprise Ataru flip. The other master bowed in respect after his win and walked away to recover from that intense and long fight.

Obi-Wan accepted the water from Quinlan. “That was too close...”

“But you pulled it off. It's only going to get easier from here. I think you impressed a lot of people with that fight. And you certainly proved that beating the Sith wasn't a fluke. Now to just keep doing it.”

Obi-Wan sat down and caught his breath. “I'm pretending there isn't a crowd because thinking about it just makes me nervous.”

“Remember to focus and trust the Force.”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks Quin.”

The next two fights were won as well. The first being against a knight who was about a decade older but close to mastery, and the second being a master of Djem So that Obi-Wan only knew by reputation. The fights were difficult, but he still pulled out the wins and not nearly so close as it was in the first sparring match.

At that point, the crowd was growing more impressed, but no one had dropped out yet. Then came the fourth match. Jedi Knight Pong Krell, the besalisk who used two saberstaves. He was a bit arrogant and well on his way to being a master himself. Not many liked to spar him because he was vicious in his fighting style. And saberstaves could be intimidating on their own, let alone two being wielded by the same person. It was effective, and it worked for him.

He was the first one to tell Obi-Wan to use Jar'Kai. Obi-Wan turned to Quinlan and accepted his lightsaber. Then he entered the center of the arena and held the lightsabers at the ready. Krell was rather confident. But so was Obi-Wan, having just been through three tough matches, and having fought off a Sith using a saberstaff.

Rather than rely on Soresu as he had before, Obi-Wan leaned into a combination of Ataru and Shii-Cho for this fight. His usual strategy would not be very effective as staying in one place against four blades was dangerous. Krell was surprised by his sudden flipping around and heavier reliance on the Force. So Krell had been paying attention.

He'd learned a lot of tricks about Shii-Cho from Kit, and Ataru had been his primary form for years before he grew to like Soresu's endurance. Switching to them was an effective strategy

What seriously took Obi-Wan by surprise wasn't the two saberstaves. It was the fact that when he had scored two points and Krell had yet to score one, Krell responded with anger. He fought viciously, scoring the next point easily, but Obi-Wan just switched tactics and started using some Djem So aggression, ignoring the attacks as if they weren't coming his way and keeping his calm unlike the other Jedi.

He waited for the opportune moment, then used a classic Makashi disarming move to get one saberstaff out of play. Obi-Wan kicked it to the sideline and pressed his advantage calmly until he had Krell occupied blocking his saber and he was able to bring Quinlan's in to score that final point.

Obi-Wan stared at the angry knight in front of him, did the usual end of sparring respect at the bare minimum respect, and turned to return to the side for some water and to process that fight. It was the first time any of his opponents lost their composure.

A warning in the Force just before he reached Quinlan had him spinning and blocking two saberstaves on instinct. Thankfully not just Cin, but Mace and Yoda were stepping in before it could escalate. Obi-Wan retreated quickly. He sat down and accepted the water. He took in a deep breath.

“That... was actually a little terrifying.”

“Wouldn't know you were scared by watching you. That was amazing.” Quinlan grinned. “I sparred him once months ago. Managed a draw because no one ever expects my tactics. Pretty sure he's got a good record not because he's actually that good at fighting but because no one knows how to handle two saberstaves being spun at them.”

“Well it's a good show of adaptability then.” Obi-Wan smiled and focused on calming his racing heart because that warning had really startled him.

When Cin announced the next match ten minutes later, after Krell had been dressed down, he also announced that eight and ten had dropped out. That meant Obi-Wan only had four more matches. He was very pleased with that. It meant he was now halfway through.

Despite having fought four others before, the remaining four were a lot easier for Obi-Wan. They just weren't as much of a challenge, though none of them were foolish enough to request he use Jar'Kai. Seeing how he beat Krell with Jar'Kai, they didn't want to add that difficulty to their fights.

The last fight was over quickly. Obi-Wan bowed to the last master, breathing heavily. So many fights, even with ten minutes between each, was a bit much for him to face. Then he turned and waved at the cheering crowd, with many dumbfounded, especially those his age. The one closest in age to him out of the eight he faced was Krell. And Krell was close to ten years older than he was.

Cin smiled at him and then turned to the crowd. “If no one else has complaints about Jedi Master Kenobi's promotion to master, then he will not take any more challenges to his right to the rank.”

There was silence. No one dared challenge Obi-Wan after that display. Cin waited another minute just to be sure before declaring the challenges over.

Obi-Wan grinned at the cheers, looking into the crowd to find Anakin. He was sitting, not with Depa, but with Aayla, Nahdar, Ziva... and Ferus was there too. Good. Anakin was with friends, starting to fit in more. Next Obi-Wan spotted Qui-Gon sitting with Dooku, Feemor, and Tholme, all of them very proud of him.

Obi-Wan waved once more, then bowed before hurrying over to his excited brother. He wrapped Quinlan in a big hug before Quinlan could hug him, both laughing. Obi-Wan was officially the youngest master ever. He would have more duties now, as a master compared to a knight, but that was okay. He could handle the responsibility.

Chapter Text

With his success on Naboo, and being the youngest master, Obi-Wan was requested for many missions for two years. Sometimes he barely had time to breathe for months on end. At least he wasn't just doing crisis negotiation anymore. Besides, he wanted as much experience as he could before he took on his first padawan.

Finally, a bit over two years after Naboo, Obi-Wan returned to the Temple after a long mission helping a planet recover from a series of disasters. Quinlan, Kit, and their padawans were on that mission as well, though they were only there for two months at the start, and Obi-Wan had been there for two months longer.

It had been nice to spend time with Quinlan, who had been busy with Aayla and his own missions. Kit and Nahdar made a good pair as well. Nahdar was still soft spoken, but he was very competitive, and just what Aayla needed at times.

But... watching them made Obi-Wan all the more determined to take on Anakin as soon as he could. He was eager to properly start teaching Anakin one on one. Anakin had adjusted to Temple life well, and had caught up in most of his classes. He still struggled with some like philosophy, but he was still within the range of what was expected of his age, even if it was the lower end. He was such a bright sunshine child still, two years later. Obi-Wan always enjoyed spending time with him.

And so... Obi-Wan prepared everything he could the moment he was home. He had the room just about ready, he'd prepared everything he needed to send out once Anakin agreed. He was just putting away some food when Quinlan burst in.

“Obes!” He almost tackled Obi-Wan in a hug. “You're back!”

Obi-Wan laughed and returned the hug. “I'm back, finally. Now help me put food away and telling me what's bothering you.”

“That obvious?” Quinlan sighed.

“Psychometry, this time.” Obi-Wan had gotten quite a bit of turmoil from Quinlan from where bare skin touched bare skin.

“Right.” Quinlan started helping quietly. “I'm sorry for all the teasing two years ago.”

“All the teasing two years ago...?” Obi-Wan echoed, frowning in confusion. “What? About me being a young master and insecure about it? It's fine, been two years. Not insecure about it anymore.”

Quinlan shook his head. “I get it now.”

Obi-Wan closed the cupboard and turned to Quinlan. He started grinning. “You're a master?”

“They just want to double check some skills first. But yeah. I'm tying with Kit for second youngest without training a padawan to Knighthood and that's just weird.”

Obi-Wan nodded in understanding. “Because he's so much older than us and did so much of our training for much of the support, it's hard to imagine being on the same level or better at the same age.”

Quinlan nodded. “Yeah. My mastery is for psychometry, with the two the Council has cited as above average being meditation and negotiation.” He shook his head. “Negotiation of all things!”

“Well, you were the one who convinced the two sides to work together on your last mission. I couldn't have gotten them as far as I did and would still be stuck there if you hadn't.”

“All I did was point out they were struggling the same way.”

“Which Kit and I had both tried. You figured out the right way to get through to them.” Obi-Wan grinned.

“...How much did you and Kit put in the report about what I did?”

Obi-Wan laughed. “They actually asked us to keep an eye on you because they were considering it before that, and my input was useful since I know more about how your psychometry actually works than anyone. I still haven't gotten it down the way you do, and yours is far stronger.”

Quinlan sighed. “That's true. But why were they even considering it then?”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “I don't think you've noticed but they've been keeping an eye on you since Naboo. Not only did you assess where you would be most useful and trust the Force and your instincts enough to give me your lightsaber, you were at almost the same skill level as me in meditation. There's no way they didn't notice that back then.”

“Oh. Right. How'd you get so smart?”

“I had to take classes on how to be a master,” Obi-Wan replied dryly.

Quinlan laughed then paused. “...did you?”

“Not really, there are a few unlisted classes for masters though. There's something about being a master and doing the extra duties that just make things like that come a bit easier. Besides you certainly have helped make figuring it out easier. You're really good with Aayla.”

“I suppose I am. Which reminds me... When are you going to take Anakin as your padawan? It's been half a year since he turned eleven and he's getting impatient.”

“Why do you think I'm overstocking on food?” Obi-Wan said, pointing at the supplies he normally wouldn't buy for himself. “I'd planned on doing it, but that last mission was an emergency and then I was stuck there for four months. You and Kit were only able to leave because you already have padawans and they needed a break, plus the class cycle was about to start. But there was no reason for me to be done with it so early."

Quinlan wrapped an arm around Obi-Wan. “I kind of figured that the mission threw a wrench in things. Glad you're on top of this. Ani is going to be thrilled.”

“Oh, I know. I was planning on requesting that during his first mission cycle they give us time on Kiffu, maybe if we get a mission in that area, we could stop on Kiffu for a couple of weeks and then leave to do another mission before returning to the Temple.”

“Actually... have you checked your messages lately?”

“Oh, not since I got back.”

“Shmi and Derry finally set their wedding date for two months from now. Current class cycle ends next month. We should be able to go to it, depending on missions, if we say something now.”

Obi-Wan grinned. “Ani is going to be thrilled. He really likes Derry.” Obi-Wan considered how to approach this. “I do want to surprise Anakin with the trip to Kiffu, but that just means I can still tell him when it's happening and that it's definitely happening. The question is do we surprise Derry and Shmi with it or not?”

“I'd love to surprise them. They'd love to see Anakin. How about... we get in contact with Lila, she knows Shmi best, and she can decide if it's a good idea to surprise them.”

“That would work. And then we just need Aisling and Darach in on it to make sure Anakin gets included in what's important to the ceremony, if we are keeping it a surprise.”

Quinlan wrapped an arm around Obi-Wan. “It's going to be great. But we'll worry about that later, you need to go get a padawan.”

Obi-Wan shoved him away, laughing. “Okay, okay, I'll go do it now. The food's put away anyways.”

.

Anakin was in one of the mechanics workshops, tinkering, and learning from the much older mechanics there. He didn't have anything else to do that day.

Then Obi-Wan arrived. “Hello Anakin.”

Anakin beamed at him. “Master Obi-Wan!” He jumped up. “When did you get back?”

“Just today. How are you?”

“Good!” Then Anakin's face fell. “But also a bit bored. Nahdar and Aayla and Ziva have been really busy with their classes and their masters, and Knight Tachi is now Ferus' master...”

“So you don't really have anyone to talk to. But I'm happy to listen.” Obi-Wan made a mental note to check in with Siri about how she was feeling about her first padawan. She'd gone back and forth on it ever since meeting Ferus.

Anakin beamed at him. “Let me put this away!” He quickly put away his project and said goodbye to everyone.

They walked together to the Room of A Thousand fountains. To Anakin's favorite spot just next to a waterfall where he could feel the spray of the water without actually getting wet. The entire way Anakin told Obi-Wan about everything he had missed, from adventures and pranks to classes, to Temple gossip. He talked about how Qui-Gon had visited him during the time and introduced him to Feemor, who was apparently dating Shaak (which was news to Obi-Wan).

Obi-Wan sat down and watched with amusement as Anakin finished telling a story about how Quinlan avoided a prank only for Tholme to get caught in it instead just a minute later.

“I really did miss a lot. Are you going to sit down Ani?”

Anakin plopped down in front of him immediately. “Can you tell me about your mission? I heard stuff from Nahdar and Aayla but you've been gone a whole two months longer than them!”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “I can, but there's plenty of time for that. I have a question for you.”

Anakin tilted his head, puzzled, then his eyes widened with realization. “Really?”

“Initiate Anakin Skywalker, would you like to be my padawan?”

Anakin's grin could have lit up a dark room. But he remembered the official, formal response. “Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, yes, I would like to be your padawan.”

Obi-Wan grinned back at Anakin and opened up his arms. Anakin dove in happily. “I was going to ask you before the mission but it was an emergency, so I didn't have time.”

“It's okay. I understand and you asked now. You just got back today!” Anakin beamed up at him. “What's going to happen now?”

“Well, first we need to submit the changes to the right people, then we need to get you your new robes, get you moved in, and introduce you to the lineage. I know Qui-Gon has been looking forward to this day, and so has Dooku. Then you finish out this month with classes, and your first mission cycle starts after that. Unless you know what kind of Jedi you're going to be already, we'll mostly just be doing the sorts of missions I usually do, but if you do know, I'll make sure we do more of what you want to be.”

Anakin made a face. “I don't know. I kind of like what you do, but I also like flying and mechanics, too.”

“Okay. Then we'll keep to things as normal until you do know. And for the record, not many figure it out before they're senior padawans, so you still have seven years before you really have to worry about it.”

“Oh, okay.” Anakin was very relieved, though he didn't show it visibly, just in the Force.

“There is one other thing we need to do.”

“What's that?”

“Don't you want your padawan braid?”

It was far easier to settle into life with a padawan than Obi-Wan was expecting. Quinlan and Kit were happy to share their advice, teasing him about taking so long. Obi-Wan retaliated by teasing Quinlan about being a master already and Kit about how it took him far longer to take on his first padawan.

.

The announcement about Quinlan being a master went out a few days later. He faced some challenges, but with what he was being made a master for, there was no good way to prove he deserved to be one. Saberplay wasn't involved, after all. He still decided to go that route anyways, and only ended up with two challenges. Everyone had seen him spar with Kit and Obi-Wan or had heard rumors. They knew he could keep up with the two masters easily, and even beat them. No one could deny that those skills were possibly at master level.

And with that, Quinlan was now the second youngest master currently in the Order, with the youngest, of course, being Obi-Wan. Aayla was thrilled that Quinlan was a master now, but not so thrilled with the extra attention this got her. Tholme was proud of his padawan and how far he'd come. This wasn't the path they had expected for Quinlan at the beginning, but it was, ultimately, a far better one.

The first mission Obi-Wan and Anakin went on was a simple escort mission that Obi-Wan was requested for. Quinlan and Aayla were there too, also on request. They were escorting the Chancellor to Mandalore to discuss trade agreements and the possibility of Mandalore one day being part of the Republic.

Obi-Wan just focused on his padawan and doing his job, trading off with Quinlan throughout, rather than pay much attention to Satine. He still wasn't interested in her, and he couldn't help but wonder at what cost had her peace come. But, it was admittedly better than the war that Death Watch had waged for so long. It looked like he might even be wrong about her plans, even, seeing how successful her peaceful Mandalore was.

The mission was mostly over; the Chancellor was due to leave the next day. Obi-Wan and Quinlan had given Anakin and Aayla permission to go out into the city with some friends they had made. With nothing having happened the entire time, they were comfortable enough with that. The two padawans deserved a reward for how well they had handled such a boring mission, especially since it was Anakin's first.

The Chancellor called them in to have tea with him. Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged exasperated looks. Two years later, and the Chancellor still seemed to have some sort of soft spot for them. And they still felt uneasy about him.

They accepted their tea and waited.

“I just got word that they're sending other Jedi to take your place. I'd really would rather not see you go.”

“Before we were assigned this mission we made a commitment to attend a wedding. If we return to Coruscant with you, there is no way we will make it.”

“I see. Well, I can't hold you back from going back on a commitment like that. At least Master Fisto and his padawan are one of the pairs assigned.”

“Master Fisto is definitely a good choice.” Quinlan grabbed a cookie and took a bite.

“I was rather surprised when I got the mission briefing that you were promoted to master already, Quinlan.”

“It's a recent development. It took me by surprise, myself. I expected it would be another two or three years at best.”

“With your mission record, I daresay you deserve it. I'm glad to have such good Jedi masters as my escort when it comes to potentially dangerous places like this. What is your opinion?”

Quinlan turned to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan gave him an annoyed mental poke but didn't betray his annoyance visibly.

Obi-Wan let out a sigh. “I think this place has a peace that could be easily broken when those who were banished have had enough of being exiled and put together a plan to usurp the Duchess. No telling if they would succeed or not, but there is a chance they will try. I warned her about that years ago, but it seems she thinks she has enough of a handle on the situation. I suppose we should trust her word.”

“You warned her years ago?”

“Master Jinn and I were the ones who saw her safe after her father's murder and then installed as Duchess. She was the hardest guard assignment I have ever had.”

“What about it was so hard? Compared to me?”

“You're at least willing to carry a blaster and properly use it if necessary.” Obi-Wan regretted it as soon as he said it. Even when wary of the Chancellor there was something about him that made it easy to slip up. He didn't even think that uncharitably about Satine anymore; they had both been teens and he had been dealing with trauma.

“Ah, yes, that would make it more difficult. I'm surprised she thinks so fondly of you.”

“It was something like six months on the run just the two of us. I suppose she has fond memories of it. In any case, I'm not here for her so it doesn't matter what she thinks.”

“Hmm, yes, that is a good attitude to take. Your padawans have done well. You must be proud.”

“Of course.” Quinlan smiled.

They talked for a bit more, with the Chancellor asking more about their padawans. Conversation eventually turned to other topics. The one that really stood out was when he tried to talk about how they kept their composure when emotions were running high. They spoke far more carefully on that topic and how important it was for their job to be able to stay neutral. The Chancellor seemed to think it meant that they had to control their emotions tightly at all times. And he thought it was better to be able to feel emotions... they gave up on explaining and let him think that he was right.

.

“Where are we going? Shouldn't we have escorted the Chancellor back to Coruscant?” Anakin asked, frowning up at Obi-Wan.

Obi-Wan grinned. “You'll see where we're going. I'm surprised it took you more than a day to ask. We'll get there in two days, and then you'll know.”

“Fine. Does Aayla know?”

“Nope.” Quinlan walked by having just had a similar conversation with a disgruntled padawan. “Go commiserate with her.”

Anakin rolled his eyes and walked away.

Obi-Wan snickered. “They're going to be so surprised. I'm surprised they haven't checked the navigation.” 

“I may have locked them out.”

They shared a laugh.

“You heard from Aisling yet?”

“Yes, actually. We'll be arriving the morning of the wedding, it's a good thing that weddings are always at sunset because there's a lot of prep for Anakin. But everyone who needs to know, knows and will be helping Anakin.”

“And when exactly are Shmi and Derry going to be surprised?”

“When the family gathers for the wedding, Anakin will be there as Shmi's family with Lila.”

“That sounds like a great time to surprise her.” Obi-Wan grinned. He was excited to finally be going back to Kiffu. Excited to see family, and excited for the wedding. But most importantly, he was excited to introduce Anakin to his culture. And excited for reunion between mother and son. This was going to be great.

He also was prepared for a potential adoption. There was a good chance Derry wanted to adopt Anakin, and if Anakin agreed well... Obi-Wan needed to be prepared. And he was.

.

Aayla stared out the window. “That's Kiffu.”

Anakin gasped. “Really?” He spun around to face Obi-Wan. “Mom's getting married today.”

“She is.”

“And we're going to Kiffu.”

“Yep.”

Anakin tackled Obi-Wan in a hug, holding back his tears. “I get to see mom get married. Thank you thank you thank you.”

Obi-Wan ruffled his hair. “You're welcome padawan. But there's a lot of preparation ahead. There's some people who'll help you through it, and Lila will be there too, so that you can really surprise your later.”

“Will you be with me?”

“If you want me to be. I do need to get my own dress clothes sorted out, but then I can be there to help you.”

Anakin relaxed at that. “Okay, that sounds good.”

“Oh, right one last thing. Kiffar are very informal, so outside of the ceremony and special events, just call me Obi-Wan. No need to call me master here.”

Anakin stared at him, then smiled. “Master Quin too?”

“Especially Quinlan. You know he cares less about that sort of thing than I do.”

Anakin giggled. “That's true.”

When they left the ship, they found Bran, Erin, Aisling and Darach, their twins Ciara and Mellan, Conall, and Lila waiting for them. Obi-Wan and Quinlan grinned and hurried forward pass around hugs. Once the initial greetings were over, including them greeting Aayla as they'd already met her, Obi-Wan turned to Anakin, who had gone straight for Lila and not left her side.

“This is my padawan, Anakin Skywalker. Ani, my grandparents Bran and Erin, cousin Aisling and her husband Darach, who's Derry's brother, their kids Ciara and Mellan, they're about your age, and Aisling's brother Conall.” He paused, finally taking a breath. “Where's the rest of the family?”

“They're making sure things are running smoothly elsewhere. After all, it's a big day for Clan Vex.” Bran stepped forward and offered Anakin a hug. Ani was delighted.

Then the twins about tackled him. “We're going to be cousins!” they shrieked.

Anakin stared at them, then up at Darach, then it seemed to click. “We are!” He beamed happily at the thought of more family.

And with that, it was time to get ready. Obi-Wan assured his padawan he would be there if he needed him, once he had his own clothes sorted. Anakin looked at his new cousins, at Lila, and decided he should be okay for most of the day.

Obi-Wan smiled at him proudly and ruffled his hair. “Alright, just let me know when you do need me. Otherwise, I'll see you for the ceremony.”

Anakin eventually decided he did need Obi-Wan as his anxiety spiked. He wasn't sure what Derry would think of him in person. But he did like Darach and his cousins. And Aisling was cool too. Even if she was going to be King, which was weird to think about.

When Obi-Wan arrived, Anakin stopped and stared. Obi-Wan was dressed in dark blue clothes that looked a bit like a dress as they were one piece rather than a top and a bottom. It was lined and edged with gold that matched his tattoos. He was decked out in jewelry much like Darach and the twins, who were primarily Clan Vos rather than Vex, mostly due to their parents training to one day take over as Kings. The hair decorations were new; he never kept to those traditions even as much as Quinlan, and Quinlan kept it muted compared to the number of clips and bands most Kiffar kept in their hair.

But the thing that really threw Anakin off was the presence of the circlet resting on Obi-Wan's head like it belonged. He knew that Obi-Wan was Clan Vos, had already learned that meant they were royalty and yet... he hadn't expected his master to show up with the most defining part of that. When on Kiffu, Obi-Wan was really a prince. Weird.

He put it out of his mind quickly to explain to Obi-Wan why he was so nervous. Obi-Wan helped him reframe his thoughts and to wait to see before fearing something that wasn't very likely to come to pass. Derry did seem to like him on the calls, after all.

Finally, it was time for family to gather. Obi-Wan gave Anakin one last hug before Anakin followed Lila.

He fidgeted a bit in the new clothes, but he really loved the red, almost maroon he was wearing with black edging and lining. It just wasn't anything like he was used to. But it was worth it. The jewelry was a little weird, but it wasn't bad as it could be, looking at some of the others in the room.

Finally, he was standing in front of Lila as they waited for Shmi and Derry to appear for the start of the ceremony. He was bouncing on his feet, excited to see his mom in person for the first time in two years.

Shmi entered and smiled at the family gathered around for her and Derry. She really did love Kiffu and Clan Vex. She looked to Lila and was surprised by the very wide, mischievous grin on her friend's face. Then she realized her friend had her hands on... Anakin.

Shmi covered her mouth in shock then dropped it as she hurried over. “Ani!”

“Mom!” He happily hugged her, both shedding a few tears.

“You're here. Oh, you've grown so much.” She looked him over carefully. “I can't believe you're here!”

“Me either! I didn't know until we arrived!” Anakin beamed at her. “Obi-Wan didn't say a word about us coming at all, and I never asked.”

Shmi shook her head, smiling. “Now come meet Derry, he'll be your stepfather...”

“Unless you want me to adopt you,” Derry finished for her, getting down to meet Anakin properly.

Anakin looked between Shmi and Derry, astonished. “Really? I can have a real dad?”

They both nodded. Anakin hugged Derry enthusiastically. “I think I want that!”

“Then we can see about arrangements for tonight.” Derry glanced up at his family. He got nods. They all liked Anakin and would happily make sure enough signatures on the petition for the adoption. This was also the easiest way to get the signatures. Derry was marrying someone who already had a kid, very few would decline accepting that child into the clan.

The wedding went smoothly, Anakin playing his part as he'd practiced during the day, as one of the few people there for Shmi. Then it was onto the party afterwards, with the sun having completely set.

Anakin spent most of the evening with Aayla, Ciara, and Mellan, laughing and playing. He almost forgot about the adoption completely he was having so much fun.

Obi-Wan offered his sincere congratulations to the newlyweds when they had a free moment. Quinlan had been pinned down between Craig and Conall who wanted to tease him about being a master now.

Derry squeezed Shmi's hand then looked to Obi-Wan. “I want to adopt Anakin.”

“Blood adoption?”

“Of course.”

Obi-Wan smiled. “I have no problem with it. When are you thinking?”

“We were thinking in about an hour, and then we would come back to this reception right after. As his teacher, you should attend, as well.”

“Thank you.” Obi-wan nodded. “I will talk to Anakin about what to expect. A word of warning, the energy is very painful at first, so he will need a lot of affection.”

“That's no problem.” Derry nodded. “But thank you for the warning.”

Obi-Wan nodded to them then hurried off to find his padawan so he could talk to him about what being adopted would be like. “Anakin, can you come with me? I need to talk to you.”

“Oh, okay.” Anakin waved to his new cousins and hurried after Obi-Wan. “What is it?”

“I just wanted to talk to you about what being adopted means here.”

“Oh. Why?”

“I wasn't entirely prepared for the consequences of my own adoption. I don't want you to be taken by surprise the way I was. Kiffar... well, to them it's a normal state of being, they don't know what they need to explain necessarily.”

“Oh.” Anakin sat down with Obi-Wan on a bench away from the crowd. “What do you mean?”

“It's a blood adoption, Ani. Derry won't just legally be your father; he will be your father by blood too. As you get older, you'll start to look a bit like him, the way I look like Quinlan. It'll probably be even more noticeable since you're younger than I was.”

Anakin stared at him. “Really? He'll be my father like he's the one who...”

“Really. The healers hate it but anytime blood tests are run regarding family, Quinlan and I always appear as brothers, even though there's no way that should work.”

Anakin giggled. “Okay. What're the consequences then?”

Obi-Wan wrapped his arm around Anakin. “You know Quinlan and I have psychometry.”

“Yeah. Why?”

“That's more of a Kiffar thing than a Jedi thing. I didn't have psychometry before the adoption.”

“Really?” Anakin stared at him in astonishment, then looked down at his hands. “Whoa...”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “The psychometry isn't just our hands, Ani, it's any skin. How intense the impressions are depend on how sensitive the area of the body is. So our hands pick up far more than say, our feet do. And do you know what the most sensitive part of the body is?”

Anakin frowned and shook his head.

“The lips.”

“Oh. Wait... is that why we always have disposable utensils and cups and straws?”

“Yes, it is. It can be a bit overwhelming to always feel things, even positive, when eating, so having things with no impressions at all can help. You'll need to be careful too, and you'll have to wear gloves until you can handle it better. Especially all the negative. That still can overwhelm even me and Quinlan.”

“Okay. Your gloves are pretty cool, even if you don't wear them much.”

“I probably will start wearing them again. Because I want our rooms to be a safe place for you, we're going to have a basket of gloves by the door at all times, and any one who feels negative emotions has to put them on. That way you won't have to wear gloves in our room if you don't want to. That's the way Kiffar do it, gloves on when feeling negative emotions to protect others rather than themselves. It makes sense because everyone deals with it, but not as much sense with the Jedi where psychometry is such a rare gift.”

Anakin nodded slowly, biting his lip. “I think that's okay. Will I be able to get impressions off of people?”

“Yes, but it feels quite a bit different than on objects, as it's their current feelings or what they want you to feel even that you'll feel.”

“Oh. Weird.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “It can be, yes. I freaked out the first time I felt it because Quinlan had forgotten to warn me that it's the entire body.”

“Is there anything else I need to worry about?” Anakin asked worriedly.

“I know you've wondered why Quinlan and I are so affectionate with each other and others, so long as the situation doesn't call for us to be professional. Why we still do cuddle piles whereas many Jedi don't do it nearly as often as we do by our age. We have a very good reason for it. Normally we summarize it as Kiffar have higher needs of touch than the average human, but it's so much more than that.”

“How?”

“Do you remember how we went over that while the Force binds the universe, sometimes different planets seemed to get some kind of magic, like the Force but often not?”

“Yeah?”

“Kiffu is one of the planets. There's this sort of energy. That's what will make blood adoption work. But every Kiiffar is connected to this energy, born here or not. It's mostly like a pleasant buzzing that can help dull pain, lessen impact of hits so we're not injured as badly, and even give us instincts that seem impulsive to others in a way that's similar to the Force but it's definitely not the Force. It's that instinct that helped us on Tatooine, not just the Force.”

“Whoa, that's cool.”

“It is, but there's a problem. You might notice how sometimes Quinlan and I have trouble containing it. How we don't actually act tired but we're yawning and go to bed anyways or try to keep to consistent bedtimes and wake up times. How sometimes we just want to move.”

Anakin nodded. “Yeah, I noticed that. But that doesn't seem too bad. I just gotta be on top of going to bed, right?”

“For sleep, yes. Now, what you've seen is Quinlan and I at our best. There are more serious downsides to not knowing you're tired until you're absolutely exhausted. If you go without touch for too long, the energy buzzing gets worse, harder to contain until it gets painful, and by then it can affect your emotional state, make it harder to sleep or wake up, the positive effects of the energy might completely disappear. But, so long as you make sure to get enough affection in, do lots of cuddling, and the affection is from as many people as you can manage, it will be fine. It'll be even better if you can get some of the affection from a Kiffar... so me and Quinlan, or someone you trust, like Aayla.”

Anakin stared at him, wide eyed. “It'll hurt?”

“Mm-hmm. On the plus side because the energy gets worse, you'll always know when you need to find someone to hug and cuddle. On the downside, because you've never had the energy of Kiffu before adoption ceremony, it's at it's worst right after. But that's okay. Most Kiffar are very free with affection, and won't mind if you hug them or hold their hand. And Clan Vex will make sure you puppy pile-that's what they call cuddle piles- tonight. That will help a lot.”

Anakin let out a breath. “Okay. I think I can handle that... It sounds like a lot.”

“It can be. But don't forget you will have your mom and dad to help you through it, and the rest of your family. You'll have me and Quinlan, and Aayla too. And if you want to confide in Nahdar when we're back at the Temple or your other friends, you can, just remember to be careful about it.”

Anakin nodded. “Okay. That makes sense. Do... do you know when they want to do the adoption?”

“Soon, I think, which means I expect that's why Shmi and Derry are headed our way. It's time to prepare and go over what to expect.”

Anakin hugged Obi-Wan tightly. “Thank you for not trying to talk me out of it.”

“I could never talk you out of a decision I have never regretted for myself.”

Chapter Text

Obi-Wan stood next to Darach and Aisling as they watched the ceremony. It was similar to Obi-Wan's own adoption, but with Clan Vex. Plus Anakin was being adopted as son, not brother.

Anakin stood up when it was over and looked a bit dizzy, but Derry immediately swept his new son in a hug. Anakin was crying as he returned the hug, overjoyed to finally have someone to call 'dad'. Soon Anakin was being congratulated by everyone and welcomed to the family.

When Anakin got to him, beaming happily, Obi-Wan chuckled and ruffled his hair, feeling the familiar easing of energy that came with contact with another Kiffar.

“Congratulations. Now go eat with your family, Ani. That'll help.”

“Alright!” Anakin chirped, giving him a hug before darting off to his mom and dad.

Obi-Wan watched him go fondly, remembering his own adoption.

“It's been twelve years since it was you running around like that.” Aisling wrapped an arm around Obi-Wan. “Hard to believe.”

Obi-Wan laughed and wrapped an arm around his cousin. “I was just thinking about it. How it was like nothing had changed yet everything had changed. And how happy I was.”

“Oh yeah you were so happy.” They started following Clan Vex back to the party where there was still far more food to eat.

“After what we'd gone through it was nice to feel so happy.”

“I like to forget the circumstances. Because what matters is you're here now, you've grown up, and now you're training a padawan of your own instead of being the padawan.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “That's very true.”

Quinlan joined them. “So... adoption?”

Obi-Wan grinned at him, wrapping an arm around his brother. “Derry adopted Anakin, yes. Blood adoption and everything. Anakin is thrilled.”

Quinlan chuckled, watching Anakin eat and talk animatedly with the twins. “I can see that. How do you think everyone will react back home?”

“I don't know about his friends, but I mentioned it to the Council and Qui-Gon as a possibility. A very, very, likely possibility. Though I'm fairly certain everyone but Qui-Gon is underestimating how important family is to Kiffar.”

“They always seem to do that. But that's okay. We know better. And Anakin will be just fine with you teaching him.”

Obi-Wan nudged Quinlan playfully. “And you'll be helping, of course.”

“Of course.”

“Do you think Aayla will be jealous?”

“No, I don't think she will be. She still feels connected to twi'leki culture, and knows that Anakin didn't have much, just the common songs and habits that slaves pick up. She'll be happy he has something else. But I'll still talk with her, just in case."

“Good. One less worry then.” Obi-Wan smiled. “Now the hard part will be getting Anakin to remember to wear gloves outside our rooms back at the Temple. He's a bit more absent minded than you.”

Quinlan snorted.

“Well, one thing we do sometimes for the younglings that always forget their gloves is we'll put a long string between the two of them and string them through the sleeves of their clothes so that the gloves are always on them when they're experiencing strong emotions,” Aisling spoke up, mischief in her voice.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged looks. Both liked the idea.

“I'll save that as a last resort or to teach a lesson, I think.” Obi-Wan smirked. “Ani will hate it.”

.

When they finally left Kiffu a month later, Anakin had settled into his new family well, alternating lessons with Clan Vex with lessons with Obi-Wan. He promised the twins, his favorite cousins of those his age, that he would be in touch. And his parents, of course.

He wore his new gloves when they made it onto the ship, a bit awed to have ones almost exactly like Obi-Wan and Quinlan did, though rather than gold, it had red designs on it. And he was constantly checking in the mirror to see that his Clan Vex tattoos were still there. Two triangles reminiscent of fangs, one on each cheek, and a zig zag across his forehead in glittering red, matching his parents, and the rest of his new family.

Before they could get too far, they were redirected to a nearby planet. They were experiencing earthquakes and volcanic activity. On a planet that had never experienced such things for millennia, though there were known volcanoes. Immediate evacuation plans were underway, but no one was certain how much time they had. So, as the most experienced Jedi in such things within six hours of the planet, Obi-Wan and Quinlan would be in charge of the near hundred Jedi that would be arriving in the next twelve hours.

They studied maps, looked at the current situation, and any theories on what was even going on, and discussed what they would be doing. They looked at the Jedi who would be showing up and discussed what jobs those Jedi should be doing when they arrived, creating teams.

When they weren't far out from the planet, they finally turned to their padawans.

“You two will be in a group with Padawans Vebb, Davo, and Olin. Knight Tachi will be in charge.” Quinlan was in 'take charge' mode, as was Obi-Wan. “You will be ferrying supplies and messages as necessary between groups, on ground and in space as necessary.”

“Listen to Knight Tachi. If she says something is too dangerous, it probably is. Listen to the Force and your instincts. Things may change quickly, and you'll have to adapt, but you're both good at that. Padawan.” Obi-Wan turned to Anakin. “Do not take your gloves off. You're not ready to use psychometry on a mission, and certainly not in a situation like this. I'd suggest you don't even tell anyone about it until the mission is over, or they will try to get you to use it.”

Anakin gulped then nodded. “I understand.”

“How bad is the situation?” Aayla asked nervously. She had seen both Quinlan and Obi-Wan in crisis mode before. But they didn't usually get this intense.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged looks, using their bond to quickly decide how much to tell their padawans. Quinlan dropped his hands to his side as he sighed.

“It's bad, Padawan. It's looking like the core of the planet is destabilizing, which means it might not be safe for anyone. The timescale on that could be days, weeks, or months, but probably not years. Right now, we have three major cities that house millions to evacuate before the lava gets to them. Three other major cities have been impacted severely by the earthquakes, and there's also many smaller cities and villages that are affected that we need to get to.”

“That's why we need you two to listen to Knight Tachi. We won't have time to worry about you on top of everything else. You'll be safe with her, okay?”

They both nodded, now determined do their part.

They landed at the temporary command center that the locals had set up. Obi-Wan and Quinlan were talking with the leaders about the plans they had drawn up. Their padawans hovered nearby until Knight Tachi arrived an hour after they did.

Obi-Wan looked up and waved her over. “Perfect, Knight Tachi, you'll be in charge of a group of padawans, running messages and supplies between groups that need it.” He went on to explain the details.

Once she had everything sorted, she turned to Anakin and Aayla. Her eyebrows went up when she saw Anakin and she glanced at Obi-Wan, but he was bent back over the map with Quinlan already. So, she shook her head and took the padawans with her to where they were to set up.

Kit arrived six hours later, when Obi-Wan was taking a turn rescuing people from buildings and Quinlan was in charge. He sent off his padawan to join the others and quickly caught up on what was being done and how much progress had been made. And then he went off to do his role in this evacuation.

By the time the Jedi from the Temple arrived a day later, most of the people in the areas affected had been evacuated, and they had a tentative time scale for how long they had to get everyone off the planet (two weeks) before it completely unable to support life.

Even with far more experienced Jedi there, including Plo Koon, who primarily did search and rescue missions, Obi-Wan and Quinlan were still the main coordinators. Neither had time to think about it over the next two weeks as they kept things organized and helped out in shifts to ensure that everyone was getting rest.

A week in, aid from the Republic arrived, though some individual planets including Naboo had sent their own aid in the days previous. That made it a lot easier to ensure everyone evacuated, but there were also people who did not want to work with Obi-Wan and Quinlan because they were 'too young' for the job, despite their experience. When they could, they just pulled in one of the others who were running things to deal with those people and took over their jobs temporarily because they could not afford to lose any time dealing with those idiots.

Then came the last twenty-two hours before they all had to be off the planet's surface. That was the estimation on when they had to be off if they didn't want to take risks because after that twenty-two hours, things became far more dangerous.

“We just have the people in this area left to evacuate.” Obi-Wan tapped the area on the map, which was near their current command center. The area had continued to be the most stable, so they had been the lowest priority. “And those evacuations are underway. They will be done in twenty-three hours.”

“We need to be off this planet in twenty-two hours, we can't wait for every last straggler to make it off.” The Republic representative who was in charge insisted.

“We can start breaking down everything here and just have ships waiting to take off when they arrive.” Quinlan stared him down. “We're not leaving anyone behind, and this is still one of the most stable areas of the planet. Even if the risks drastically increase at the end of twenty-two hours, it will still take time for those risks to reach us here.”

“There's also not nearly as many to evacuate because many have already brought themselves here for evacuation since they had the time to sort it out themselves.”

“Be as that may, I am not risking any more Republic lives on this.”

Quinlan exchanged an exasperated look with Obi-Wan, sharing feelings in the Force. This was one of the people who hated talking to Obi-Wan and Quinlan. They'd already had variations of the debate multiple times over the last two hours, with everyone else being too busy to trade off.

“Then you can leave,” Quinlan stated. “We're not leaving until either everyone has been evacuated, or we have no choice but to leave.”

He spluttered.

“You don't have any authority over the Jedi, not when the government leaders still want us here helping out.” Obi-Wan fully supported his brother. “So if you don't want to stick around, that has nothing to do with us. Other planets sent enough ships that all we ask is you take some of those refugees on your way out to free up space.”

Quinlan nodded. “We've wasted enough time on this discussion. We are not leaving because we are comfortable with that risk. You can do what you want, just leave us the resources we need if you're not using them.”

Obi-Wan turned to Nahdar, who panted at the 'door' for a moment. “Message, Padawan Vebb?”

Nahdar nodded, straightening. “Ships from Kiffu have arrived. They're willing to take some refugees, as long as they meet requirements that they have for living on Kiffu. And until that can be sorted, they can still fly refugees to wherever necessary.”

Quinlan nodded, inwardly relieved though none of it showed on his face. “That solves some problems. Thank you for the message, Padawan.”

Nahdar turned to leave, then remembered. “Oh. And uh... the ones in charge wanted to see you two?”

“I'm not surprised.” Obi-Wan sighed. “Can you bring them here? We need to sort out how to reorganize those picking up refugees anyways.”

“Of course, Masters.” Nahdar bowed and left.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan started going over the logistics of shifting things around. Again. They had totally forgotten about the Republic representative. He stared at them, huffed, and left.

So, when Nahdar led Conall and Craig into the tent, the padawan was the only witness to the enthusiastic hugs they greeted their cousins with.

“You look tired.” Conall looked them both over critically. “It's only been two weeks since you left Kiffu, and you already look exhausted.”

“In case you didn't notice, cousin, we're in charge of this whole operation somehow, and we've been here since we left.” Quinlan rolled his eyes.

“We'll be fine.” Obi-Wan added. “We've been getting sleep, it's just a lot of hard work, and we should be done in twenty-three hours. Once everyone is off the planet, it will be someone else's problem.” He turned to Nahdar. “Thank you, Nahdar. Make sure you drink some water, you're looking a bit dehydrated.”

Nahdar winced at the reminder and grabbed a water bottle before going to find his next assignment.

“He's a rather shy sort, isn't he?” Craig commented.

“More reserved than shy, I'd say. He's one of Anakin and Aayla's friends.” Obi-Wan responded absently. “Now we can catch up on those things later, for now we have a job to do.”

“Of course.” Conall quickly started going over what they could help with, how many ships and how many each could hold, and so on.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan made some calls to get in contact with others in charge of each different area of expertise, and soon the Kiffar were in the lineup of help.

When they hit hour twenty-two, most of the command center had been taken down. There weren't too many people left, mostly just those needed to keep the evacuees safe and those needed to pilot the ships. All the padawans and knights were off planet, no need to keep them around.

Obi-Wan leaned on Quinlan slightly. He was starting to feel the exhaustion, finally. He was surprised it took that long. He'd been yawning for days. As soon as everyone was off the planet, they could relax.

Quinlan was still alert, though he was resisting the urge to pace. Mace and Kit were pacing. Yoda had settled into meditation. Plo and a few others from the Council were making sure the last of the evacuees and volunteers from other planets were getting to safety.

The Force flared in warning before the ground rumbled. Obi-Wan grabbed onto Quinlan for balance as his brother grabbed onto him. The shaking went on for five minutes before it stopped. Thankfully, it never got bad enough to do damage, but it was enough to make everyone worried.

Quinlan lifted his comm. “What's the report on the planet look like?”

“Should still have time, but the earthquake was just the start. The sooner you all get off the better.”

“Got it.” Quinlan sighed as he lowered the comm.

Obi-Wan had just checked in with the pilots. “Everyone is ready to go as soon as the order is given.”

“Then why aren't you getting on to make it faster?” Conall asked, stepping up behind them and wrapping an arm around each of his two cousins. He was the only one not on a ship that was not a Jedi.

“Why aren't you?” Quinlan shot back. Then he sighed and answered his cousin seriously. “If there is something that goes wrong, we can do something to hold it off until everyone is on the ships.”

“None of us are exactly comfortable leaving until we know that there's no one left we can save, either,” Obi-Wan added quietly.

“Then I'll wait with you. Craig's still out there anyways.” Conall was definitely worried about their cousin.

“He'll be fine,” Obi-Wan assured him. “Plo and Luminara are with that group along with others I trust to keep everyone safe.”

Kit joined them, giving up on pacing. “I don't think we've met?”

“I'm Conall of Clan Vos.” Conall waved but didn't move from holding onto Obi-Wan and Quinlan.

Quinlan rolled his eyes. “He's one of our cousins.”

“Ah. I'm Kit Fisto.” Kit smiled, amused at the sight of his two friends trying to maintain some Jedi master calm and composure while their cousin leaned on their backs.

“He's the one who taught us a lot of what we know,” Obi-Wan said to Conall.

“Oh! You've talked about Kit before! Nice to meet you finally.” Conall grinned. “Even if circumstances weren't the best.”

“Kiffu usually keeps to itself. What made you come help?”

“Anakin told his parents about it. Nothing we couldn't look up on the holonet, but enough that they decided to see what they could do to convince others to come help. Took us a few days to get organized, but it seems we were in time.”

Conall paused, then smirked. “Of course, most of the holdouts in Clan Vos changed their minds two days ago when you two did that press conference call thing.”

Quinlan sighed. “Of course they did.”

All the Jedi stiffened suddenly. “There's something that's about to happen...” Kit murmured, frowning as he tried to decipher what the Force was trying to tell them.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, connecting with the Force and... His eyes shot open as he felt the blood drain from his face. “I think we overlooked a volcano.” He raised a shaking hand to point to the small mountain at the end of the mountain range. It was smoking.

Kit and Quinlan followed his gaze and both cursed. They turned to the other Jedi and were met with grim expressions. They had all felt it.

“Plo and Luminara just checked in. They're at the back of the group making sure no one falls behind, and expect they'll be here in a bit over an hour.” Mace reported.

“We don't even have thirty minutes before that volcano blows...” Kit frowned.

“Where are they?” Obi-Wan asked, hurrying over to Mace.

Mace pulled up the map and pointed to where they were. Obi-Wan studied it for a moment.

“We'll have to meet them part way, that looks like a good place to land,” he pointed to a relatively flat area about thirty minutes' walk away. “We won't be able to have all the ships land since it's too small an area, but if we get everyone into the ships in groups as quickly as possible, we can just rotate the ships in and out quickly.”

Mace nodded. “I think you're right. It also has the bonus that it's further away from the volcano.

“And if the volcano erupts?” Conall asked nervously, glancing at the innocent looking mountain.

“We'll keep the area safe,” Quinlan said grimly. “As best we can, until there's one ship left, then we'll get on it and leave.”

Kit nodded. “Let's get moving to the midway point as quickly as possible. In the meantime, we need to come up with a strategy. The most dangerous part will be the initial eruption of ash, gas, and rocks. We can't let those hit any of the ships.”

“Right, the lava flow is most dangerous when we're closer. It'll only be a danger once it reaches us, depending on how fast it moves.”

“It'll be flowing down, we'll be in a valley, so we might want to build up a wall with rock just in case.”

As they moved to get onto the ships to get to the point where they would be meeting the last three thousand evacuees, they continued discussing the plans for protecting as many as they could from the eruption.

Obi-Wan, Kit, and Quinlan continued to show that their training for filling in wherever needed put them far ahead of most when it came to knowledge of how things worked as they accepted and rejected suggestions, often making modifications. Mace was the only one of the Jedi there who kept up as Yoda remained in meditation but even he didn't have the same knowledge they did about how such things worked, whereas all three of the Jedi had encountered volcanoes more than once on less dangerous and time sensitive missions. Had helped out when disaster struck while on separate missions because they knew how to.

Conall listened to their discussion and realized that there was a good chance all Jedi would be needed to keep any of the eruption away from the evacuation, so he volunteered to do all the directing to keep the chaos from getting too bad as people panicked and tried to shove their way onto ships.

They agreed to his suggestion, because it was one less thing to worry about. Over the last twenty-three hours he had proven that he knew how to lead and did it well. There was no reason to doubt that he could handle it.

“Need to be on the ground now, we do.” Yoda declared, eyes opening.

Mace led the way by jumping out of the ship, the rest of the Jedi following quickly. They landed softly and started running for the meeting point, ready for the eruption. The first ships had just landed in front of the evacuees, when there was a loud explosion, followed by a much stronger earthquake.

The volcano had erupted, sending ash and debris into the air. The Jedi braced themselves on the still unsteady ground, raised their hands, and just in time. Kit stopped the first rock from hitting the evacuation point, and moved it to the side, starting to form the wall that would help protect them from the lava if it reached them, though that was unlikely.

As the Jedi with the evacuees reached them, they joined in on trying to keep as much from affecting the evacuation as they could. Unfortunately, it was taking a while to get everyone into ships, since they couldn't have more than a few ships on the ground at a time.

It was getting to be a strain for Obi-Wan when he sensed just Conall left. He checked with the other masters, and they all agreed to make a run for it at the same time. And so, they did.

Obi-Wan leaned on the wall, breathing heavily. Quinlan had his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. Not all of the other masters were as affected by how long they'd kept it up, though only Mace, Plo, and Yoda appeared entirely unaffected.

“That was impressive.” Conall was awed. The Jedi had been too focused on keeping everyone safe to know how it really looked, relying more on the Force than their vision.

“Thank you for taking charge, cousin,” Quinlan responded as he straightened.

“No problem.” Conall grinned.

Obi-Wan caught the surprise on those who hadn't been introduced to Conall yet. He sighed. “This is Conall of Clan Vos, one of our cousins. Conall, that's Luminara Unduli, Plo Koon, Yoda, Mace, you met Kit...” he listed off each of the other ten masters there crammed into the ship with them rapidly without taking a single breath.

Conall grinned. “Nice to meet you!” He waved.

Quinlan eyed him suspiciously. “Don't you dare call us your baby cousins.”

Conall cackled because that was exactly what he had been about to do. He decided to listen to Quinlan and not do so... this time.

Obi-Wan just shook his head. “Well. Who's in charge now? I just want to go find my padawan and get some sleep.”

Chapter Text

For a while, things actually progressed without a problem. Obi-Wan and Anakin didn't get sent on too many missions that went wrong, neither did Quinlan and Aayla. It helped that Obi-Wan and Quinlan were in high demand for a while after having taken charge of a disaster situation, even having to go on missions without their padawans on occasion, though they kept that to a minimum and only went on those absolutely necessary.

Anakin adjusted to the psychometry and the need for touch, though the second was far easier with how casual Obi-Wan and Quinlan always had been, often not even realizing they were doing so. Anakin did confide in his friends about the whole adoption thing and how it worked, but didn't tell anyone else. It was in his files and that was enough with Obi-Wan making sure he was okay.

Anakin's friends were surprised and were often caught giving Obi-Wan and Quinlan speculative looks after that. Learning about Kiffar psychometry and the need for touch explained a lot about the two masters they often saw as mysteries.

Qui-Gon just smiled when he saw that Anakin was adopted and adjusted how he treated Anakin, knowing full well how to handle Kiffar adoption after Obi-Wan's. He was thrilled to spend time with Anakin and defended Anakin and Obi-Wan when people commented on the tattoos.

Eventually, Anakin turned thirteen. He was ahead in some classes, no longer behind in the rest. He wasn't sure what he wanted to do as a Jedi yet, but he enjoyed all the missions he went on with Obi-Wan except for the ones where he had to be polite and watch his words to avoid offense. But those weren't the only sorts of missions they went on so it wasn't a big problem. He needed to learn those lessons eventually anyways. Anakin liked trying to look on the positive side of things when he caught himself grumbling and cranky about all the negatives.

Obi-Wan saw Anakin off to his first day of the class cycle, then turned his focus on his own day. He was teaching a class on Soresu and taking another healing class. Healing had ended up being his weakest area, though of course, still Knight level. He didn't like to load up too much on classes, since he wanted to be able to actually focus on his padawan. But it was enough to keep adding skills, to keep getting better. He was certified to for anything a Knight healer was and a little bit more, which was a nice bonus when his padawan got injured on the job.

Obi-Wan had just finished his Soresu lesson, teaching initiates ten and older, when he got a summons to the Council. He frowned. That usually meant a mission. But he was actually teaching this cycle; he couldn't just take off.

Along the way he met up with Kit and Quinlan. It seemed they had been summoned too. Neither said a word. The three of them being summoned? That wasn't good. Yes, Obi-Wan did end up with one or both of them on missions more often than just about anyone besides Qui-Gon, even with their padawans, but those did end up being important or dire situations.

“A situation, we have.” Yoda said once they were there, along with one of the crechemasters and a few other masters (who they didn't usually interact with).

The Crechemaster nodded, stepping forward and turning to the others gathered. “There's been an outbreak of the Chandrilan flu in the younger initiates of the creche. Several of the masters have come down with it as well. We need help. We will be putting you with the older initiates and having their crechemasters care for the younger clans.”

“When do you need us to start?” Kit asked.

“As soon as you can get yourselves and your padawans, if you have one, moved into your assigned clan dorm.”

There was further discussion on what to expect, how to handle discipline, and so on, then they were each given their clan assignments.

Anakin came in during his two hours of no classes and stared at Obi-Wan running around, packing. “Uh, did you get a mission master?”

“We have a mission, actually,” Obi-Wan corrected absently.

“But I just started class!”

“Oh, don't worry, we're not leaving the Temple, we're just moving in with the Krayt dragon clan to take care of them for a while. You'll still get to attend classes. Now get packing, we need to move in as soon as possible.”

“Uh... okay...” Anakin quickly packed up everything he wanted with him, knowing that if he missed anything he could probably come back for it, for once.

Anakin didn't ask any questions until they were leaving. “Um... what's going on?”

“There's an outbreak of Chandrilan flu among the toddlers and some of their crechemasters caught it. So the crechemasters of the older clans are taking over their care while we take care of their clans for the time being.”

“But doesn't the flu only last like a week at most?”

“Ah, that's most flus. The Chandrilan flu... well, it's not a flu despite the name. It has a whole range of symptoms that mean it can be mistaken for other illnesses if one is not aware of the possibility. It takes two weeks for the illness to run its course on average and it can take up to six months to fully recover. And it doesn't seem to discriminate between ages or species. We might be stuck in the creche for a while, at least most of your class cycle if not all. Possibly longer depending on if any others get sick.”

“Oh. Okay. But I'll still get to do classes.” Anakin had to be sure.

“Of course. The youngest initiate of our clan is eight, so they all have their own classes to attend, and none of them actually need naps or anything.”

“Oh, good. So I mostly just have to worry about mornings and evenings then, huh?”

“Assuming I need help. But there's only six in our clan, so it won't be much help. Besides, Kit and Quinlan each got one too, so Aayla and Nahdar will be around too.”

Anakin brightened. “Okay that's nice!"

“And how much you need to be involved depends on the day, I'll make sure you have time with your friends and time to do homework.”

“Oh. Yeah, that's important.”

Obi-Wan chuckled and ruffled Anakin's hair. “Indeed.” They walked into the creche. Obi-Wan led the way down to where the Krayt Dragon clan was located, sharing common areas aside from their dorm with a few other clans, including the clans that Quinlan and Kit were in charge of.

“Ah here we are.” Obi-Wan spotted the sign for the Krayt Dragon clan and led Anakin into their common area, shared with four other clans.

The common area had desks and tables for working on homework, a reading corner, a quiet play area, a separate arts and crafts room, a room for loud play, and a kitchen and dining area. Then there was a hallway that led to the dorms for each clan. Each dorm had several options for sleeping. The Krayt Dragon Clan had one dorm with three sets of bunk beds, a room and bathroom for the crechemaster, two unused bedrooms (Anakin took one), and two bathrooms. And a cozy common area perfect for cuddle piles.

Obi-Wan quickly unpacked, then he sent out a mass message. Hey everyone, I just wanted to let you know that if you need to reach Anakin or I for the time being that you will find us with the Krayt Dragon Clan in the creche. With that sent out to everyone important, he checked on Anakin.

Anakin finished putting away the last of his clothes. Then he checked the time and winced. “I better grab something to eat quick, I only have half an hour to my next class. At least I'm closer now.”

“Alright, let's see if there's anything in the kitchen, then.” Obi-Wan wrapped an arm around Anakin and they left the dorms. They found Quinlan watching Aayla investigate the fridge, looking for her own lunch.

“Aayla!” Anakin grinned and joined her.

Obi-Wan shook his head and sat down next to his brother. “This is going to be interesting.”

“Not the first time we've helped the creche out when they're short-handed.”

“First time we're in charge of an entire clan each though.”

“Yeah, at least the other two clans still have their crechemasters. We have someone to ask for help if we need it.”

“For now. My clan is eight- to ten-year-olds. Yours?”

“Six to ten. Well, the ten-year-old just turned ten last week, but yeah. Wider range of ages.”

“And I have six- to nine-year-olds.” Kit joined them as Nahdar hurried over to see what the other two padawans had found. “I'm teaching Shii-Cho and negotiation to padawans this cycle.”

“I'm teaching Soresu and taking a healing class.”

“And I'm teaching first aid, investigation basics, and taking a class on diplomacy.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “We'll have to coordinate with the other crechemasters if there's any overlap. At least this age there's not too much time we need to worry about. Krayt Dragon clan has their daily meditation class at the same time as my healing class, so that should work out.”

“I'm fairly certain all the clans in this dorm have the same daily meditation class, so that'll work out.”

“Even better.”

The padawans ran out, still eating their sandwiches.

Kit shook his head in amusement. “Not even a goodbye.”

He stood and started making food for all of them while they discussed further what was going to be going on for the next few weeks at minimum. At one point, they each pulled out the holopad with all the information they needed, including schedules and files just to compare notes.

“Well, I think I'm as ready as I can be.” Obi-Wan sighed. “We're going to have to plan out some fun activities for the afternoons to help distract them.”

“Swimming is always a good option.” Kit smirked at their groans. He always suggested swimming. And always got the same reaction. He knew they'd agree in the end.

“You know, I'm seeing notes that the five clans here don't usually interact much, I'm not certain if it's the way a lot of clans tend to stick together or if the crechemasters usually don't interact...” Quinlan mused.

“Seeing as the other two haven't come greet us, yet, and we know they're in their rooms doing something, I think the latter is at least partly a factor.” Kit shook his head.

“Which means that we'll be getting our three clans to interact more. No way that's not going to happen between us and our padawans.” Obi-Wan smirked. “You know... if they get really down, we could start a prank war between clans. Lay down some ground rules. We can't plan the pranks, they can check on if something is dangerous or not, we can help them with one part of the prank, and they have to accept any punishments if they're caught.”

Quinlan grinned widely. “Oh, I like that idea. And we can do themes or something, like we can teach lessons with pranking. Make it about more than just being sneaky and creative.”

“Still best to save it for when they need cheering up, probably in a month or two, but it's also something we need to take more time to sort out.” Kit passed them each a plate. They had worked together so much they all knew each other's preferences.

Obi-Wan started eating, still thinking about the next few months. Then he checked the time and sighed. “Right. My clan has their last class right now, I think yours do too? Which means we don't have too much time before we have to keep them occupied. At least all our classes are in the mornings when most of their classes are.”

“We'll just have to see how today goes before we make any serious plans.” Quinlan paused, and checked the notes that the crechemaster of Rancor clan left him. “And first, that means snacks, apparently.” He finished up his food and stood, putting the plate by the sink to take care of later. Obi-Wan joined him in prepping snacks.

Krayt Dragon Clan was the first clan in, the other two weren't too far behind, as they shared the same class while the final two clans had different classes and would be another half hour.

Obi-Wan moved to greet the clan. The littlest one, a togruta named Ahsoka Tano stared at him. “Master Kenobi?”

“It's Master Obi-Wan to you, little one. Hello, I'm going to be your crechemaster for the time being. Master Carmelo is helping with the littles.”

“Oh, because of the Chandrilan flu.” That was the oldest, a togruta named Idris. “Right? I think Master Carmelo said something about needing to help because there's not enough crechemasters with some getting sick.”

“Exactly right. I, along with some others, have been asked to help. The two you'll be seeing around the most are Masters Quinlan Vos and Kit Fisto. And since the three of us have padawans, they'll be around too, but they're all in class right now.” He smiled at the six initiates. None of them were sure how to handle this change. They hadn't quite understood what Master Carmelo had been saying earlier.

“For now, we have some snacks ready.”

For the most part, there were no issues that afternoon. The five different clans mostly kept to themselves, and generally only needed light supervision. There were no real conflicts, and aside from some rough playing and the initiates needing some supervision in the craft room, it was rather easy.

Ahsoka took to Anakin immediately when he arrived. Anakin was confused but went with it. He didn't need to get started on his homework right away, anyways. Ani was normally awkward with children, but he had been getting better. And Ahsoka really liked him, for being a tiny little menace unafraid of anything and threatening to use her teeth all the time.

Aayla didn't have much of a problem with their clan, happily working with Quinlan to wrangle their six. Nahdar was a bit overwhelmed by how eager his was to play with him but got along just fine in the end.

For Quinlan, the biggest issue in his clan was little six-year-old Cal. Cal was often upset, refusing to touch things sometimes. He'd been diagnosed with autism, but Quinlan quickly found there wasn't an obvious pattern in things he did or didn't touch. Sometimes he was fine with dishes, sometimes he wasn't. Sometimes a favorite toy became a hated toy. Quinlan didn't think it was autism and kept an eye on it.

It took a while to pick out the actual pattern. Cal was most likely to touch something after one of the masters handled it, and seemed to like things more if Quinlan, Obi-Wan, or Kit had handled it compared to the other two crechemasters. Anakin was the next most likely, then Aayla and Nahdar.

After two weeks, Quinlan had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Cal probably couldn't really explain why he didn't like things when they decided to diagnose him with autism primarily because of that aversion. And he was now six, and probably still didn't entirely understand. Not when he wasn't raised with it like Quinlan was.

So after some discussion with Kit and Obi-Wan, Quinlan took Cal aside in the dorm. He had several objects and sat down on the floor with Cal.

“I want to try something, okay?”

Cal fidgeted, uncomfortable that he was about to have to touch things. It wasn't uncommon for some of the teachers to try to get him to touch something he didn't want to.

“So, tell me about this book, what does it feel like?” It was a favorite children's book, but there was a sad part. It was also not a common one, so Cal might not know that it had a sad part.

Cal picked it up and made a face. “It's sad... really sad.” He put it down quickly.

Quinlan nodded and pointed to the ball. “What about the ball?”

Cal giggled. “Happy! 'Soka and Idris won their game!”

Cal had not been in the room when that happened, Quinlan knew.

Quinlan just smiled. “So they did.” Similar results came from the remaining items. Quinlan set them all to the side with a wave of his hand. Then he moved closer to Cal. Time for one last test.

“How about me?” He held out his hands.

Cal's eyes widened. He hesitated. Quinlan had noticed that Cal generally did his best to avoid touch from others and had respected that. He waited patiently until Cal placed his hands down on his.

The little initiate froze, then his head rose to stare at Quinlan. “Calm! You're all calm! How? No one's calm, not even masters!”

Quinlan grinned at him. “A lot of practice, Cal. You don't like touching things because the feelings can be overwhelming, right?”

“I don't know why everyone else can do it but I can't!” Cal's eyes welled up with tears.

Quinlan remained calm and pulled the initiate into his lap. “Because they don't feel things the way you do. They don't touch that book and feel sadness, they don't touch the ball and feel happy. Not the way you or I do.”

Cal twisted to look up at him. “Really?”

“Really.” Quinlan nodded firmly. “It's a bit different for me than for you, I'm sure, but I do understand. It's okay that you can't handle it. You have plenty of time to learn. Now... how about you try these on.” He pulled out a pair of little gloves he'd dug out of old belongings.

Cal took them and put them on, then looked up at Quinlan.

“Now try touching the ball.”

Cal did and his eyes lit up. “Nothing!” He gleefully picked up all the objects one by one then touched everything he could. Then dove into Quinlan's arms. “Thank you thank you thank you. Why did no one give me gloves before?”

“Because they didn't understand why, and it can be hard to live a life relying on gloves, assuming it worked well enough. No one wants you to go through life without being able to take gloves off. But you will be able to do one day, look at me!” Quinlan wiggled his bare hands to giggles. “And Obi-Wan does it too. And guess what?”

“What?”

“That's why Ani wears gloves,” Quinlan whispered.

“Oh.” Cal's eyes widened. He hugged Quinlan again. Then he studied the gloves. “They feel happy.”

Quinlan nodded. “I was a happy little kid.”

“These were yours?” Cal gasped.

“And now they're yours. Now go on and play, Cal. You should go have some fun before dinner.”

Cal hugged him one last time before hurrying out the door to fully play with his clanmates for the first time. Quinlan picked up the items and put them away. Cal wasn't Kiffar, so his psychometry wasn't the same. He would have better control of it eventually. For now he was just a little kid who didn't need that holding him back. He was just starting basic Force techniques, and he was a long way off of learning how to apply that to psychometry.

Quinlan sat down at a table to add notes to Cal's file with his advice on how to handle the psychometry in the future. That way Cal wouldn't slip through the cracks again. It was too bad psychometry was so rare a Force gift to be born with, or it might have been noticed earlier instead of assumed to be something else.

Obi-Wan walked up and wrapped an arm around Quinlan. Quinlan leaned back into him, setting the holopad down.

“So Cal does have psychometry then.”

“Yep. I don't think he had the words to really describe the problem until recently, so I can understand why they might have missed it. Still surprised they didn't try gloves as a management tool, but I can see the potential issues with it.”

“You did have your share of teachers who tried to convince you not to wear your gloves for class, just like Ani does.”

“And Cal will have to deal with that. Hopefully though most will see the difference. Look at him...”

Cal was playing with Caleb from Kit's clan, Ahsoka, and two from his own Clan. They were playing make believe with a bunch of toys and there was no hesitation, no toys he had to avoid this time. Which meant that everyone was having a good time instead of trying to remember which ones he couldn't touch this time

Obi-Wan nodded. “It did make a huge difference.” Obi-Wan paused. “Right. I just got word from Qui-Gon that since I haven't been able to make lineage dinners to expect them to make an appearance tomorrow since there's no classes.”

“...With your lineage, that could mean either just Qui-Gon and Feemor or just about everyone in Yoda's lineage.”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “Dooku, Feemor, and Qui-Gon, specifically, though I think Yoda might make an appearance between Anakin and I being here, and Kit.”

Quinlan sighed. “I might as well tell Tholme he should come visit, then.”

“The younglings will be thrilled, so will the padawans.”

Quinlan smiled. “Okay, that's true.”

Yelling reached them and they had to break up a fight between the group of the youngest of their clans and Idris plus one of the others of Krayt Dragon Clan, a quiet Tholothian named Vi. Quinlan and Obi-Wan jumped up and hurried over. Idris was trying to pull the gloves off of Cal's hands. Vi was screaming as Ahsoka bit down on his hand when he tried to stop her from helping Cal. And she was not letting go. Caleb was hitting Idris furiously while Cal tried to stop him from pulling off the gloves, crying.

Obi-Wan sighed and pulled Idris away from Cal. “Go to the dorm and wait for me.” He ordered. “We'll discuss this later. If you need something to do, try meditating.” He pulled Ahsoka off of Vi and tapped her nose lightly. “That wasn't very nice. Kit! Keep an eye on Ahsoka for me, please.”

Kit didn't respond verbally, just with an agreement with the Force as he joined the group. He placed a hand on Ahsoka's shoulders as she hung her head and fidgeted.

Obi-Wan wrapped an arm around Vi and steered him to the door. There would be plenty of lectures for the initiate later, but for now he had to get Vi to the creche clinic to take care of the bite since it did break skin and togruta teeth were notorious for causing bad infections if not cleaned and treated within the hour. Obi-Wan could have taken care of it on his own, but he wanted it on record that Vi had been bitten, just in case it was one of the rare ones that took a turn for the worst and needed antibiotics.

The creche clinic wasn't like the healing halls. It was just meant for basic injuries that couldn't be taken care of easily with first aid, checking out illnesses, yearly exams and vaccinations. So it was much smaller, and didn't have as many healers there at all. Anyone that couldn't be treated at the clinic were sent to the main Healing Halls.

Obi-Wan sat with Vi the whole time, answering questions for the healer. Vi was quiet aside from the occasional sniffle due to his tears. Once it was treated and bandaged, and Obi-Wan had the instructions for how to take care of it, he took Vi back and went straight to the dorm where Idris was sitting on his top bunk, arms wrapped around his legs.

Obi-Wan looked up at him. “You ready to come down and talk about what happened?”

Idris sighed and jumped down, joining them on the floor. “Cal's such a baby. Why does he get special treatment?”

“Do you need gloves to be able to touch things?” Obi-Wan asked gently.

“No... I just... the younger ones always get everything. I never get to keep stuff 'cause I'm the oldest and I should know better.”

“That's not very fair. But you are older and so you do have better idea of what is right and wrong, and how to control your emotions, better than a six year old like Cal. Vi, do you have something else to add?”

Vi shrugged. “I just didn't want Ahsoka to get hurt... Idris gets scary.” He glanced at Idris and then looked away quickly.

Idris looked down in shame. Obi-Wan sighed and pulled both of them closer, an arm around each.

“Well, we'll have to work on that. Idris, you need to work on that jealousy. It's okay that you wish you get what you want and need now, but that doesn't mean you take that from others. Vi, you need to learn to stand up for yourself and your clanmates, and come up with better ways to approach a situation so you don't get bit.”

“But why does Cal need gloves? No one else wears gloves. Everyone's going to get mad at him.”

“And Master Quinlan and I will defend Cal's right to wear those gloves if they do get mad at him. Those gloves Cal is wearing are the ones Quinlan wore when he was the same age.”

“Master Quin needed gloves?” Vi asked in a whisper, exchanging a surprised look with Idris.

“Mmhmm. For the same reason as Cal. And the same reason Anakin wears gloves. Why did you think that Cal shouldn't wear gloves, but it's okay for Ani?”

Idris looked down. “Because I thought Ani wore gloves because it's cool and he's a padawan so different rules... why do they all need gloves, then, if it's so important?”

“There's a special ability called psychometry, it's rather rare. You know how after enough time a bit of an echo can settle into objects and walls, and we can feel it in the Force if it happens enough with strong enough emotions?”

“Yeah...”

“Well, for those of us with psychometry, mine showed up late, we can feel those echos by touch, and far easier than anyone can. So, Cal was always picking up toys and feeling how happy, sad, or even angry the last initiate to play with it was, and that got really overwhelming for him.”

“Oh. So, the solution is to make sure he can't feel anything... but you don't use gloves, and Master Quin doesn't either.”

“That's because we've learned how to handle it and control it as far as we can. Cal will learn one day too, but he's still young and has all the years ahead to do so.”

Idris nodded slowly. “Can I go apologize now?”

Obi-Wan smiled and rubbed his montrals affectionately. “Go ahead. Tell Ahsoka I'm ready to talk to her.”

Idris nodded. When he got to the door, he paused. “She's not in too much trouble, is she?”

“No, not at all.”

Vi was staring at his hand. “How do I protect everyone without getting hurt?”

“Well, you should start by maybe putting yourself between them and the threat. Ahsoka bit you because she thought you were a threat, and you looked like you were siding with Idris.”

“Ooooh.” Vi made a face. “I guess I'll have to try something else.”

“You'll figure it out soon.” Obi-Wan promised. Then he lightly bonked his head against Vi's to his giggles. “Now, go on and play. I bet the padawans will get here soon.”

Vi lit up. He hugged Obi-Wan and jumped up. “Thank you, Master Obi!” He hurried out the door as Ahsoka entered the room, head down. She stopped and frowned after him in confusion because he'd given her a light affectionate greeting in the Force and there was forgiveness in there already.

Then Ahsoka turned to Obi-Wan, one wrist clasped in the other hand as she stared at the ground. “Are you going to call Master Plo?” she asked sadly.

“That depends on how this conversation goes. Come here, Ahsoka.”

Ahsoka walked over slowly, not looking up.

Obi-Wan pulled her into his lap, grinning at her yelp of surprise. “So you bit Vi when he tried to keep you from helping Cal and wouldn't let go, eventually breaking skin.”

“Yeah...”

“If you're going to bite someone, you really should learn to not break the skin.”

Stunned, Ahsoka just could only ask, “why?”

“It gets infected and doesn't heal quickly when togruta bite, your bite is far more dangerous than a human's or a tholothian's. If you don't break skin, it's not so much a big deal.”

“Oh.” Ahsoka squinted at him. “...why aren't you lecturing that I shouldn't bite people?”

Obi-Wan laughed. “Because while it's not polite to bite people when you're just angry at them, it's a decent way to fight back when you have nothing else. Ask Anakin, he's gotten himself out of tight spots by biting.”

Ahsoka's eyes widened. “Really?”

“Mmhmm. You didn't start the fight. You were protecting a friend, and that's admirable. There's other ways to handle it, but I find it hard to blame you for biting when Vi stepped in like that. You just need to learn to slow down and think a bit more, okay?”

“I guess...” She stared at him suspiciously. “Why aren't you lecturing me or getting Master Plo to 'deal with me'?”

“Because I remember what it's like to be a headstrong initiate. I would have done the same for a younger clanmate, and Quinlan would have done the same for me, we were in the same clan you know. The important thing is you learn from this. Did you know that Vi was actually trying to protect you? He didn't want Idris to scare you.”

“Idris isn't scary!” Ahsoka protested, but she was thinking. “I guess that makes sense. It didn't look like it but... sometimes things are different than they appear and we have to look deeper. The Force didn't seem like there was any danger...”

“That's good that you noticed despite being so upset and things happening quickly. Do you think you can stop and listen to the Force in the future? That can be a good indicator on what the best course of action.”

“But aren't there times when there is no time to think?”

“That's not very likely so long as you're an initiate and safe here in the Temple.” Obi-Wan tapped her nose affectionately. “Once you're a padawan you'll be older, listening to the Force will be easier and faster, and you'll have a better idea on when to act and when to think.”

“Oh. Okay.” Ahsoka paused. “You're really not going to call Master Plo? They always call him when I bite someone. 'specially if it bleeds.”

“And what would he say?”

Ahsoka made a face and then repeated his usual lecture on the subject. “And then we cuddle and I don't do it again for a while until something makes me so upset I forget.”

“Do you know why they call him?”

Ahsoka looked down at her hands. “'cause I'm difficult and don't listen to what they say, and I argue.”

“Would you say the reason you argue with them but not Master Plo, or myself, is because we listen, and they don't?”

Ahsoka paused, astonished as she realized she had not actually started arguing with Obi-Wan. Then she thought about the question and nodded. “They don't care about why, just that I did it even when it's bullies who pushed me first.”

“So there's some disproportionate punishments, too,” Obi-Wan mused, filing that away to investigate. She blinked up at him, confused. “Would you say that the bullies who were violent first get the same punishments, or do you get worse?”

“I get worse,” she mumbled sullenly. “They get meditations and that's it. I get privileges 'voked, meditations, and have to write out 'pologies.”

“Well, that's just not fair.”

“It's not! I wasn't doing anything wrong and then they push, and I push and I get in trouble for biting, but they don't get in trouble for starting it.”

“I know. Violence isn't the answer, but it's hard not to respond to violence with violence. And sometimes they'll just tease, trying to get you to react, and then when you react with violence first they get nothing even though you would never have attacked them if they had just left you alone.”

“Yeah!” Ahsoka beamed, happy that he actually understood.

“Do you understand why you get in trouble for attack them when they provoke you?”

“Yeah... 'cause we're Jedi and we can't do that on missions. Even if it's really tempting. So I gotta learn to hold it in and not react 'cause it'll be worse with people who aren't Jedi. But it's really hard and I am getting better! Last time it took Davi five minutes of teasing me about my stubby montrals before I attacked and when I was still seven I'd attack on the first five things! But no one cares about that.”

“Well. I'm proud of you. You're doing good, Ahsoka. Yes, you need to get even better, but you are trying, and you should get praise for that. And Davi should get in trouble for teasing you until you attack. Have you told him to stop?”

“Yeah, but it never worked so I try to ignore him and walk away but sometimes he and his friends corner me and I'm alone and then I sometimes attack faster... but he's more likely to get in trouble when he does that,” she added brightly.

Obi-Wan nodded. “Of course he is, it's more obvious he provoked you.” Obi-Wan considered things carefully. “Well, we'll have to work on that while I'm here. Maybe we can practice how to handle such situations, right?”

Ahsoka beamed at him. “Really?”

“Really. It can be a lot easier to handle such a situation if you've practiced what to say and do. We can even practice things you can do to get out of the situation with less violence and so you'll be in less trouble.”

“That'd be amazing! You're the best Master Obi!” She hugged him tightly.

Obi-Wan chuckled, returning the hug. “Now, I believe it's time for dinner.”

She pulled away, frowning. “No punishment?”

“We're going to discuss consequences as a clan before bed tonight, instead. How does that sound?”

“Oh. Okay. But it was just Idris, Vi, and me involved, why do the others need to be there?”

“Because I think there's something I need to address with everyone, and I want to be sure everyone thinks the consequences are fair.”

“Oh.”

Obi-Wan stood, still holding onto Ahsoka as she giggled. He walked to the door and set her down. “Just keep working to improve, and one day you'll be able to avoid trouble altogether, okay?”

Ahsoka nodded and about danced out the door, happy that she hadn't disappointed her new favorite person. Then her other favorite person picked her up.

“Ahsoka! I heard you bit Vi! Good job!”

Ahsoka giggled.

“Padawan, time and place.” Obi-Wan sighed in exasperation. He ruffled Anakin's hair anyways and sat down at the table between Vi and Del, the other eight year old of their clan. Del was the quietest of them

Anakin smirked at Obi-Wan and sat down between Idris and Ahsoka and told them about how biting people solved problems on missions. This kept them very entertained for all of dinner.

Chapter Text

Before starting their evening meditations, Obi-Wan started the clan meeting. He looked over the Krayt Dragon Clan. Ten-year-old Idris, togruta. Ten-year-old Kasumi, Nautolan. Nine-year-old Vi, Tholothian. Nine-year-old Franchesk, twi'lek. Eight-year-old Del, human. And eight-year-old Ahsoka, togruta.

“Alright everyone. Let's talk about what happened today.”

“Do we have to? I wasn't involved.”

“Franchesk!” Kasumi hissed, elbowing her friend. Those two stuck together the most out of the clan.

“That is precisely why I wanted to talk to you. Cal has gloves because he has a gift called psychometry, which means he can feel the emotions of the people who last touched the object. He can't control it yet, so the gloves will help him until he can.”

“I apologized,” Idris mumbled when everyone turned to look at him.

“I know you did.” Obi-Wan looked over the clan. “I want to talk today about how to do better, and how to keep this from happening again.”

They all shifted uneasily, exchanging looks.

“Some of the problem is just in difficulty controlling feelings and impulses. Ahsoka, Idris, the three of us will be spending some time before dinner each day meditating to help work on that problem.” They groaned.

“The other problem is that you don't trust each other. You're not friends, or clan. You're Krayt Dragon Clan, and you don't trust each other. You see someone getting into trouble, and you do nothing, regardless of if they're bullying someone or if they're the bullies. You're learning to be Jedi. If you can't stand up for and to each other, you're going to have a hard time standing up for others once you start going on missions.” Of course, Obi-Wan knew that it often was far easier to stand up to strangers, but this was the best time for them to start learning how to stand up to others.

“So, we're going to take time to learn how to trust together. We'll practice scenarios, and I'll give you challenges to overcome.”

“Like what?” Franchesk grumbled defiantly.

“I'm glad you asked. We're going to start with your bedtime routine. I've noticed that you usually pair up for your routines- Idris and Ahsoka, Vi and Del, and Kasumi and Franchesk. So we'll do it differently today. Idris and Franchesk, Vi and Ahsoka, and Kasumi and Del. And from now on, I'd like you to switch up who you do routines with sometimes. You can do it with your friends sometimes, but I want you to get to know each other better rather than already drifting apart long before you're ready to be padawans.”

They all groaned. Obi-Wan smiled at them anyways. He had some other ideas; many of which he'd discussed with Kit and Quinlan, based on how different their own experiences growing up with their clans. Yes, sometimes different younglings thrived under different types of teachings, but these initiates had grown apart and too used to the status quo. No one was trying to change it. And just because the younglings were used to the status quo didn't mean that they wouldn't benefit from changing it. But they would proceed with caution anyways, to be sure it was something that would benefit them.

“But for now, it's time for meditation.”

.

It was mid-morning. Obi-Wan was teaching any of the younglings who wanted to know how to make cookies. This mostly meant he was mixing while five pairs of eyes watched him closely. They would help with the decorating once the cookies were out of the oven, as he had chosen those cookies specifically for that.

Quinlan, Anakin, and Aayla were playing a game with the initiates in the 'loud' playroom, and everyone was having a good time. In the meantime, Kit had been roped into playing a quiet game of shop while Nahdar read to Caleb in the corner. The other two crechemasters were supervising, one in the arts and craft room, the other lurking at the edge of the 'loud' playroom.

Then the door opened. Obi-Wan looked and waved. “Hello!”

“Hello, Obi-Wan, initiates.” Qui-Gon smiled at the eyes suddenly on him. He entered, followed by Feemor, then Dooku, and then Yoda.

“We were just making cookies,” Obi-Wan explained. “Younglings, this is Master Qui-Gon, he trained me. Master Feemor is my padawan brother, and Master Dooku is my grandmaster. And I'm sure you all know Master Yoda.”

The initiates abandoned him and his cookies to swarm their visitors. Obi-Wan was quite happy to take the opportunity to really get working on getting the cookies in the oven.

Anakin heard the commotion and poked his head out the door and then a wide grin crossed his face. “Grandmaster!” He quickly gave Qui-Gon a hug.

Qui-Gon returned the hug. “Hello, Ani. Having fun?”

“Yes!” Anakin beamed. He greeted Feemor enthusiastically and then bowed to Dooku, knowing that Dooku wasn't nearly so much one for physical affection. Better to let him decide, and bowing was a good way to stay on Dooku's good side.

About half an hour later, Tholme showed up, to Aayla's delight. Quinlan was just as happy but restrained himself from being as enthusiastic as he had Cal on his back. Tholme did a double take on seeing Cal's gloves, but didn't comment on it.

Kit joined the group as soon as he could. “We were thinking of doing a picnic in the Room of a Thousand Fountains and after some time going swimming.”

The initiates were all excited about the idea.

“What about the other crechemasters?” Feemor asked. Neither of them had done more than a basic greeting before disappearing.

“We've been giving them as much of a break as we can,” Quinlan answered as the initiates scattered to play once more. “They're experiencing burnout. Both of them. We suspect the ones we took over for were as well."

“I checked; they only had three months between this clan and the previous one. That's not much time. I know we're shorthanded, but crechemasters experiencing burnout isn't good for the younglings either.” Obi-Wan added as he started rolling out the last of the cookies.

“Look into it, I will,” Yoda promised before wandering over to join the younglings in their Force games.

Quinlan moved Cal to his shoulders so he could help Obi-Wan organize the frosting and sprinkles for decorating the cookies. Cal watched in fascination, resting his head on Quinlan's as he held on.

“You're good with them,” Tholme said quietly as he helped. “Far better than I could have been.”

“All the time helping out as a padawan helped,” Quinlan responded. “But I've also had to help with teaching and overnights a few times. First time actually being a crechemaster, but it's not bad. Aayla's been enjoying herself.”

“And what about Cal?” Tholme asked, smiling at the initiate.

“Cal's got psychometry, but no one realized that was the problem for the longest time. Remember how I was?”

“Ah, yes, I do. And I remember the fight it was getting even some of the crechemasters to let you keep your gloves at first.”

Quinlan nodded. “It's definitely better with the gloves, so I'll keep an eye on him.” He meant he would be checking in frequently to ensure Cal was getting what he needed and as Cal got older, started him on some easy exercises to help with the issues.

Cal nodded. “I can touch everything now!” He grinned happily.

Obi-Wan pulled the last of the cookies out of the oven. “Since it's almost lunch time, I think we'll decorate after we get back.”

“Awww...” Ahsoka pouted. “I want cookies.”

“There's something else you'll get for dessert, Soka.” Obi-Wan tapped her nose. “But for now... I think we need to get ready for swimming, what do you think?”

Kit grinned. “I think that's probably a good idea, we don't want lunchtime to be late,” he teased.

Younglings started scrambling for their dorms to collect what they needed for swimming.

Cal frowned. “What do I do for swimming?”

“Well, it's not as bad underwater as it is above, but there are water gloves we can find for you, that sound okay?” Quinlan asked him.

“I guess... I usually avoid swimming.”

“Because you were scared of what would happen underwater if it was too much?” Quinlan asked quietly.

Cal nodded.

“I was too.”

“No way!”

“Oh yes, it took Quinlan years to be comfortable swimming. I believe his crechemaster literally threw him in more than once.”

“Master!” Quinlan complained though he was grinning. Those were good memories. He'd never actually been that terrified, just moving too slow as he braced himself and dealt with the anxiety. “Anyways, Master Kit is really good at teaching others to swim and keeping everyone safe, and I'll be there, and so will everyone else. Will you give it a try?”

“I'll try.” Cal agreed.

.

For being such a poised and strict master, Dooku was better with the younglings than many assumed. He was scary to the more timid ones, but the brave ones were completely unbothered, especially since he was projecting warmth in the Force and trying to seem approachable.

Ahsoka especially seemed to adore Dooku, outright sitting in his lap while they ate dinner, giggling at his reprimands to use her manners. Vi on the other hand was intrigued by Qui-Gon, talking about plants. Del was quietly sitting with Obi-Wan, watching everyone interact while Anakin and Feemor talked to Kasumi and Franchesk.

The younglings started playing after they finished eating, with the padawans keeping track of them so the masters could clean up. They were all having a good time, but then Master Plo showed up. And he wasn't happy.

“Kit, Obi-Wan, Quinlan, I have some bad news."

They exchanged looks and gestured at him to sit down with them. The other masters stuck around, and there was no protest, so at least it wasn't classified.

“The situation with the Chandrilan flu is looking worse than we initially thought,” Plo said grimly. “It's a newer strain, hitting faster and harder, and more contagious. We're going to need you three to take charge of the other two clans so the other crechemasters can help out as too many crechemasters are getting sick.”

“Any deaths?” Kit asked worriedly.

“So far, no. It hits hard, but with proper medical care, no one will die.”

“Where did this strain even come from?” Obi-Wan wondered.

“We believe that the Jedi who went to Chandrila to help out with a festival brought it back with them. Many of the Chandrilans who attended were from more rural areas where this strain could have formed. But the origins do not matter. It's been showing up in other parts of the Temple, and more and more of the creche is getting sick.”

Quinlan frowned. “What can we do?”

“Keep an eye on the younglings and if one of them gets sick, you're going to have to keep them all in the creche, until we know if it's the Chandrilan flu or not. We're looking at cancelling classes if this gets worse.”

“No point in classes if there's no one to attend them.” Obi-Wan nodded. “And if we do have an outbreak in our clans?”

“All three of you are qualified enough to handle most of the symptoms, aside from the worst of them. I would say it will be best if you handled it yourselves until you cannot.”

Kit nodded. “I believe we can handle that. For now... enough time has passed that I believe it is time for swimming.” He stood to get ready.

“Vi!” Obi-Wan called.

The Tholothian initiate came over, glancing at Plo curiously. “Yes, Master Obi?”

“Sit down, if you want to go swimming, we need to make sure that your hand is bandaged properly.”

Vi grimaced and sat down, holding out his hand. Obi-Wan smiled at him and quickly took care of it, wrapping it up in a bandage that wouldn't come off in the water, and no water could get in.

“There, that should do it.”

Vi lifted his hand and stared at the bandage curiously. “Thank you, Master.”

“Now go get ready for swimming with your clan.” Obi-Wan shooed him away.

Plo watched him go. “Ahsoka?”

“Ahsoka.” Obi-Wan confirmed. “We sorted it out.”

“I'm surprised you didn't need to call me.”

“Ahsoka is one of those who only acts if provoked, but keeps getting the worst end of the punishments, regardless of if she started being violent first or not. She just needs someone who actually listens to her instead of putting her on the defensive with lectures.”

Plo nodded slowly. “And too few, even among the crechemasters and teachers, like listening to the whys of a situation and look for solutions.”

“Precisely. It doesn't help that so many of them are overworked, I'm sure.” Obi-Wan glanced over at where Anakin was trying to get Ahsoka to change and her clan was watching and making no move to help him. He shook his head. “I better go help my padawan out. He looks like he might cry.” He stood and stretched briefly before hurrying over.

Plo stayed and talked with Yoda, Dooku, Qui-Gon, Feemor, and Tholme for a while, watching the initiates play in and out of the water. It was good to see them having so much fun, and thriving, despite the current circumstances. 

Especially since there was a chance it could get really bad.

Chapter Text

Time passed quickly. Regular visits from masters, including their lineages, and Plo, classes were still ongoing for now as the initiate's age group wasn't too hard hit by the flu, and now that everyone was used to the three temporary crechemasters, even the other two clans, things were going smoothly.

Then, a bit more than two months after they first filled in as crechemaster, Obi-Wan woke up at his usual time to get ready for the day. He made it through his usual morning routine and was getting ready to wait the initiates for the morning meditation. With three of them and five clans, they just did their meditations as one big group now.

But then he realized that Anakin hadn't appeared yet. He usually did by now. His alarm was set later than Obi-Wan's so there could be some delay, but he was always ready on time.

Obi-Wan went to check on him. Anakin was huddled under his blankets, shivering.

“'m getting up, Master, jus' cold this morning...”

Obi-Wan placed a hand on Anakin's forehead and sighed. He was warmer than normal. “No, you rest, Padawan. You're sick and might have a fever. I'll bring you some water.”

“'kay... more blankets?”

“I'll get you another blanket, Padawan. Rest now.” Obi-Wan tugged on his padawan braid gently and left to go get the blanket as requested. He left a stack next to the bed with a glass of water and then got up the initiates, carefully checking over each of them. There were a couple of sniffles and stuffy noses that morning. He'd have to keep an eye. He led the way out to the common area.

“We're going to have to call off classes today,” Quinlan told him. “Aayla's sick.”

“So's Anakin.” Obi-Wan replied with a sigh. “And some of the initiates do seem to be at the start of something.”

Kit sighed as well, looking over all the initiates. “Nahdar isn't sick, yet, but he does seem to be showing some symptoms that could be explained away by other things... or by being sick. At least we're prepared with supplies. I'll report it, you start the meditations.”

Quinlan and Obi-Wan agreed and got all twenty-eight initiates and one padawan started on meditations. Kit joined them once he'd let everyone know who needed to know. Once meditation was over, the initiates were asking questions about Anakin and Aayla, and what they were doing that day.

“Anakin and Aayla are sick,” Kit announced. “And since we don't want to get anyone else sick, we're all going to stay here until everyone is better. If you don't feel good, let us know so we can help you out, okay?”

There was a chorus of agreements from the younglings before they invaded the kitchen for breakfast.

By the end of that day, they knew for certain that both Aayla and Anakin had come down with the Chandrilan flu. Ahsoka, Idris, and Del all were definitely sick by dinner, and were stuck in bed as well. Cal and Caleb weren't far behind. After some quiet discussion, Aayla, Cal, and Caleb were moved into the Krayt dragon dorm while Kasumi, Vi, and Franchesk were moved out.

And with the two sick padawans, and five sick initiates there, they ended up having them do a cuddle pile. It would help Anakin. Once the mattresses, pillows, and blankets were in place, they were all left to cuddle up with instructions to call for help.

They didn't take as many precautions as most would. They knew that with the Chandrilan flu having infected seven for sure with several of the other initiates plus Nahdar looking like they weren't far behind, they wouldn't be able to prevent it for long. Instead, they focused on making sure everyone had fun while still learning.

They also focused on making sure they took care of everyone, and that all symptoms were treated as best they could. Some had to be left alone, but some did better with medicine.

Day two saw four initiates and Nahdar joining the sick. The coughing started; fevers lingered. But that was the extent of the symptoms, even if it was hitting them hard. Some sniffles, stuffy noses, coughing, fever, and chills. But the symptoms could get worse than that. Sore throats, nausea, migraines and more, many just side effects of other symptoms.

By the time they hit five days, most of the initiates were fully sick, and the rest were showing symptoms. To make things easier, all initiates were moved into the common area, and those who weren't entirely sick just played quietly without protest.

While a holofilm played on the projector two days after that, Obi-Wan, Kit, and Quinlan were giving a report to the healers.

“So, none of the worse symptoms have appeared yet,” Vokara Che concluded.

Quinlan coughed into his elbow. “Not yet, but it's been seven days or less. And those who got sick first haven't shown signs of getting better yet.”

Obi-Wan wrapped an arm around Quinlan. “Worse is that we're starting to show symptoms. Seeing as our padawans were among the first sick, I'm surprised it took this long, but... we might need back up eventually.”

“We don't really have anyone to spare at the moment. If it becomes an emergency, I'll send someone right away.”

“Okay.” Kit leaned on the table tiredly. “What can we expect now that you've gotten a better idea on how this strain works?”

“If no worse symptoms appear by the time they hit ten days since the onset of the fever, they'll be clear of getting any worse symptoms, and should start showing improvement over the next few days. It still takes at least two weeks to fully recover, though it's an easy recovery mostly marked by exhaustion and lingering aches and coughs. But if the coughing turns into pneumonia, or seizures start up, or the fever gets to more dangerous levels, if they start throwing up or diarrhea... Any of the worst symptoms, it takes at least a week after that to start improving, and more than a month to completely recover. We're still not certain on why, nor do we have enough data to know how long these symptoms could potentially last.”

“But no one will die, right?” Obi-Wan asked anxiously.

“We haven't had a death here at the Temple,” Vokara confirmed. “There have been deaths elsewhere, but here, even with the worsening symptoms, we haven't lost anyone.”

“That's good.” Obi-Wan nodded, then he hesitated, and sighed. “I know some healers don't look thoroughly enough at notes, so if we do need help, you need to ensure that whoever you send understands that separating Quinlan, Anakin, and I is a terrible idea. Kiffar recover better with touch, the more cuddles the better. So completely isolating us from everyone would see us getting worse.”

“He's right,” Quinlan said. “I've experienced it myself before. Little to no progress on healing a broken bone when I was on a mission alone, but as soon as I was around people, and able to get touch... started healing, no problem.”

That was simplifying it; that particular instance had started with Quinlan not having been at a good point with touch to begin with, and time alone naturally made it worse. It normally took at least six months, if not close to a year to get to that bad, so it was normally easy to avoid. He just wanted to make a point of how important it was.

Vokara nodded. “I understand. If that is all... May the Force with you.”

“And with you.” They responded together.

With the call over, the three masters leaned on each other, exhausted from taking care of all twenty-eight sick initiates and three padawans, not just during the day, but throughout the night. It was too much for just the three of them, but they didn't exactly have much of a choice. They could ask for help, but anyone with anywhere near enough healing training, include masters like Yoda who had picked it up after centuries, were already helping out elsewhere. For now, they could manage.

They stayed there for a bit, none of their charges seemed to need them, either sleeping or watching the holofilm. So they could rest for a bit.

After another coughing fit, Quinlan stood. “It's about time for lunch...”

“Right...” Kit stood next, then he made a face as color drained from his skin. He rushed for the trash and threw up. Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged alarmed looks.

Obi-Wan grabbed a thermometer as he went over to Kit and rubbed his back. Once Kit was done, he checked his temp and winced. “Yeah, you got a fever. Come on, let's get you settled.”

“But what about...” Kit coughed.

“It's not ideal, but you're not about to really be any help if you're throwing up, Kit. Better that you get rest so you can get better faster.”

“You're right...” Kit sighed as he laid down at the edge of the group with a bucket to throw up in. “It was just hard enough with three of us.”

“We'll manage.” Obi-Wan smiled and patted his shoulder before checking on the others to see if they needed anything. No one did, though Ahsoka seemed warmer, so Obi-Wan did a round of checking temperatures. He cursed when he found that Ahsoka, Cal, Vi, and a couple others had higher fevers than just two hours ago when he last checked. Not yet to the dangerous levels, but high enough to start worrying.

He hurried over to send that update to the healers, then helped Quinlan with the soup. They helped those who needed help, and coaxed a few initiates into eating, who didn't have an appetite. Kit ate very reluctantly, and very cautiously. He didn't have much of an appetite either. Neither did Obi-Wan for that matter. Obi-Wan forced himself to eat half a bowl before getting distracted by initiates needing help getting to the bathroom.

Time passed in a haze of helping initiate after initiate, padawans, and Kit on top of dealing with worsening symptoms. Quinlan and Obi-Wan worked hard to ensure they needed as little help as possible from the healers.

Five days later, Obi-Wan woke groggily to a scream. He untangled himself from Quinlan and they both hurried over to Anakin, who was sitting up and staring at Kasumi in horror. She was seizing. Obi-Wan and Quinlan did what they could to help her until the seizures stopped. Then they did the usual checks and took care of what she needed.

Obi-Wan glanced at the time and did a double take. It was nearly midday already. How had he and Quinlan slept through the morning? They'd been waking to every little call of help, barely getting more than two to three hours at a time since the first week of sickness.

He sighed and turned to Anakin, who was looking a lot better. “Go call the healers, let them know Kasumi had a seizure.”

Anakin nodded, then paused. “You look horrible, Master.”

“So kind of you to notice.” Obi-Wan sighed, then covered his mouth to cough, wincing at the way it made his head pound. He sat with Kasumi to make sure she was okay.

In the meantime, Quinlan was checking on everyone to see how they were doing. He checked on Kit last and frowned. “Kit's not waking up, and his fever is getting to dangerous levels, just below the cut off...”

“Kriff... we're going to need help.” Obi-Wan stood to go request help. His vision swam and the pounding in his head got worse. He stumbled out of the cuddle pile and then collapsed, blinking blearily as Quinlan hovered over him.

Quinlan checked his temperature and cursed. “Your fever is definitely past the dangerous point, Obes. How were you even functioning... You rest, okay?” Quinlan pulled a blanket over him.

“'kay...” Obi-Wan murmured, letting his eyes close.

Quinlan stood and coughed for a good five minutes before he joined Anakin and informed the healers of the developments. “We definitely need help now... Especially with those past the danger zone showing signs of improvement and getting more active.” He rubbed his face tiredly before having a horrible coughing fit. This barely registered beyond the aching in his lungs, as coughing had been very common over the last few days.

“So if you could send someone today, that would be great.” He started coughing and couldn't stop for several minutes. Once he was able to stop, he had to catch his breath.

Once he had confirmation that they'd be sending someone, Quinlan rubbed his eyes and started working on getting soup ready for everyone. He was moving slowly, exhausted and feeling it, but someone had to do make the soup. At least if he did this right, the batch would last a day or two and he wouldn't have to do more than heat it up again.

“Um... Master Quin, do you need help?” Anakin asked.

“If you're up to it, I would love the help,” Quinlan responded tiredly. “I'm glad you're feeling better.”

“Yeah... the last several days are a bit of a blur, honestly... how long have I been sick?”

“It's been... fifteen days or so since you got sick.”

Anakin stopped and stared. “That long?” He looked at the cuddle pile. “And everyone else is sick, too?”

“Now they are. You and Aayla were just the first.”

“Oh.” Anakin helped Quinlan finish prepping the soup, then put it to heat. “Um... are you okay?”

“No, I'd say I'm pretty sick too, but someone has to take care of everyone, and well I'm the only one who can function at all.” Quinlan shrugged, then started coughing again, turning away from the food.

Aayla wandered over, yawning and leaned on the way. “Master, you sound terrible.”

“I feel terrible. But I'm glad you're feeling better, Padawan.”

“A bit... yeah...” She didn't look as recovered as Anakin, but she'd never been as out of it as him, either. “Shouldn't you be resting?”

“I will once we have some help.” Quinlan promised and finished with the last of the soup prep before turning on the holoprojector with one of the favorite movies playing. He sank to the floor next to Obi-Wan, and wrapped a blanket around himself as he felt a bit chilly. He intended to just be doing what he had the last few days, keeping an eye on everyone.

But instead, he found his eyes closing and before he knew it, he was asleep.

.

Quinlan groaned, opening his eyes when he was shaken awake. He was helped into a sitting position and water handed to him. He coughed before drinking it.

“Master Vos? How are you feeling?”

“Horrible, Healer Che,” he mumbled. “Glad you're here.” He looked around to check on everyone, but she just pushed his water back towards his mouth to make sure he drank it.

“It's your turn to rest.” She quickly checked him over, then replaced the water with soup and watched him eat before finally letting him lay back down to curl up around Obi-Wan. She had already checked on Obi-Wan and taken care of him. There was no point in moving them to the Healing Halls unless they had need of things that could only be done there, and thankfully, they were not so bad off.

.

For Obi-Wan the next few days were a blur of being awake and miserable, and cuddling with Quinlan and some others. He thought Qui-Gon and Tholme and even Dooku appeared at some point, but that had to be a hallucination.

One day he was a bit more lucid when he woke up, still feeling exhausted. He stared at the ceiling. Quinlan coughed horribly next to him while clinging to his arm. Noise from the 'fresher made him turn his head to look. Dooku was helping Kit walk, with Kit leaning more on him than anything else.

“Thank you,” Kit said softly.

“You're welcome, padawan brother.” Dooku rarely showed any signs of affection like that, so he had to be worried. He helped Kit into bed. Then he noticed that Obi-Wan was awake and reached over to feel his forehead. “Ah, your fever finally broke as well. Good. I'll inform Vokara.”

“How long has it been?” Obi-Wan whispered, not liking how much everything hurt and how exhausted he felt.

“Just about a week. Don't worry, the younglings have been looked after.”

“There wasn't anyone who could...” Obi-Wan frowned, trying to remember what the plan was or if there even was a plan beyond ensuring they got medical care.

“They asked for volunteers. I volunteered, as did Qui-Gon and Tholme.”

Obi-Wan blinked at him.

“You volunteered?” Kit asked, having not bothered questioning why Dooku was there before.

“My padawan brother and grandpadawan were both affected, leaving your padawans alone, I am apparently immune having caught a strain of the Chandrilan flu before, and I can handle younglings for a space of time, even if they aren't particularly fond of me. Though you got an odd bunch, and they do seem to like me.”

“Thank you,” Obi-Wan mumbled. He shifted to get more comfortable, trying to find the position that would upset all his aches the least.

“Do you need anything?”

“...Water, I think. Something for pain?”

“You need food in your stomach before you take anything.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Then I suppose I can try to eat something, but I don't feel very hungry...”

“Neither do I, but I've been informed that I have to try.”

“You haven't been able to keep food down for almost two weeks, I'm fairly certain,” Dooku reminded Kit dryly. “In any case, I'll make sure you both get your soup so you can try eating.”

Obi-Wan leaned back, surprised when he didn't start dozing again immediately. He must really be getting better, then. “That hit harder than I expected...”

“Me too,” Kit admitted. “I've never been so sick before. Never been entirely stuck in bed, sort of sick anyways. At least we lasted as long as we did before getting sick.”

“Yeah... I don't even really have memories beyond one of the initiates having a seizure, after that it's a blur. Thought I was hallucinating, actually.”

“I'm not surprised. I don't think I had as bad a fever as you did, and I did have to keep getting up because well...”

“Yeah...” Obi-Wan looked down at Quinlan, who was coughing again, sleeping restlessly. “Quin doesn't look that great.” He ran a hand over Quinlan's forehead. “I hope his fever breaks soon.”

“Me too. Any idea why they decided to put me in bed with you two? Not that I mind,” he added quickly.

“Probably because Quinlan put a lot of emphasis on how important it is for Kiffar to have touch while sick or injured. Tholme and Qui-Gon likely confirmed. On Kiffu, they have bigger beds just so everyone can cuddle at night. I'm pretty sure several of the younglings were with us, but they started getting better before we did. They were pretty much all sick before we were.”

“Ah, yes, that would make sense.” Kit sighed.

Anakin came in with their soup and beamed when he saw that Obi-Wan was awake. “Master! You're actually awake!”

“Yes, I suppose I am.” Obi-Wan smiled. He sat up carefully. Quinlan made several noises of protest. Obi-Wan just moved him to comfortably be leaning on Obi-Wan without getting in the way of eating soup. It was difficult, Obi-Wan's muscles ached and he felt weaker than ever, but he did it for his brother.

Anakin got the trays set up so that Obi-Wan and Kit could try eating. “Master Qui-Gon's been great. He's really good with the younglings. Master Tholme isn't as good, but he does really good with the cleaning and helping them with things they're struggling with. Master Dooku has been mostly just taking care of those who are sick and teaching everyone to play dejarik. Del is really good at it.”

Obi-Wan slowly started with the soup, listening to his padawan ramble about each of the initiates, about Healer Che, who apparently was in and out as she had several clans to see to. It was good to see Anakin in good spirits, even if he was still recovering. Obi-Wan could tell in how he didn't actually gesture like he normally would, how his enthusiasm didn't reach a louder volume, and how Anakin was still coughing on occasion, though nowhere near as bad as it was.

Once he had finished the soup, Anakin handed Obi-Wan the requested painkillers. Obi-Wan took them gratefully and leaned back, wrapping his arm around Quinlan. Kit made a face, not finishing his soup. Anakin offered him some anti-nausea to help. Kit reluctantly took them and leaned back, closing his eyes to wait.

Obi-Wan looked to Anakin. “Can you find me a book, or something to watch, please?”

“Okay!” Anakin hurried off, returning the dishes to the kitchen, and to find the requested entertainment. He knew how little Obi-Wan liked being bored. That is to say, Obi-Wan would rather jump out the window than be bored.

Anakin found them a movie to watch, and so that's what they did. Obi-Wan didn't think he was up to moving beyond somehow making his way to the bathroom anyways. And even that sounded like too much.

Quinlan didn't actually wake up until Vokara showed up to check on them. She was pleased to see both him and Kit actually functioning, mostly now. Even happier when she learned that Kit had managed not to throw up his soup earlier. She conducted a full examination on the two of them, nodding when she was done.

“It'll be about a week before I expect you to be strong enough to be out of bed. It hit you both harder than the younglings because you pushed through ignoring symptoms and you exhausted yourself taking care of them, so your immune systems couldn't fight off the worst of it. Just be patient. I would not recommend trying that again.” She knew they would, if it were necessary, just as she had been pushing herself since the outbreak, though thankfully she was one of those who it turned out was immune.

“So, the initiates are doing well?”

“They were far too active for you once their own fevers broke, so we moved them back to their dorms. They are still recovering, many of them, but they will be fine. Now I need to take a look at Quinlan.”

Quinlan blinked open tired, feverish eyes. “Yeah... 'm here,” he mumbled, then broke into a terrible coughing fit.

Obi-Wan held onto him, watching his brother worriedly.

Vokara gently examined him, ran the scanner a few times, and then sighed, allowing Obi-Wan to settle him back down, where Quinlan fell back asleep, once again sleeping restlessly. “Quinlan has a nasty case of pneumonia. That's likely why his fever hasn't broken yet, though he is doing better than most who get this bad as I don't believe he is in any real danger. I suspect that it is because you warned me not to separate you two, though I cannot know for certain.”

Obi-Wan frowned, running a hand through Quinlan's hair. “So, do you know when he'll get better?”

“Not at the moment, no. Once his fever breaks, it'll be far easier to tell how his recovery will be. But for now, all we can do is try to make sure he has plenty of liquids.”

“And if the fever doesn't break any time soon?”

“I will worry in three days, but I think it will break soon.”

“Okay. Thank you, Vokara.”

“You're welcome, Obi-Wan.” She paused. “I am rather impressed with how well you did with the initiates and your padawans getting sick. I know all three of you have healing knowledge beyond first aid, but you still waited far longer than everyone else who needed help to ask for help. Not just because you could handle it but because you understood there was no danger to them until the worst of the symptoms hit or you were too sick to handle it anymore. It is not something I would recommend as self sacrifice is enough of a problem among Jedi, but in this case, it was necessary.”

Obi-Wan nodded slowly. “I wish we could have done more to lighten the strain.”

“You did enough. Take your time to recover, you certainly earned it.” She paused, then smirked. “Besides, it is worth it to see Dooku play the part of crechemaster, just because he was worried about you three, and your padawans.”

Kit smiled, amused by the thought. “Nahdar did say earlier that Dooku was helping him with meditations.”

Vokara nodded. “When the three of you are up and about again, there is something I need to talk to you about, but that can wait.”

“That's ominous.”

She just smiled at them, a hint of amusement in the Force. “Now, liquids, work on building back up your appetites, and rest. I hope you know the drill by now.”

“Of course.” Kit nodded. “We know what to look out for.”

“Good. May the Force be with you.” Vokara left. She stopped on her way out to give the masters a quick update.

Over the rest of the day, they were visited by everyone in small groups. The initiates were thrilled to see Obi-Wan and Kit awake and did not hesitate to start telling stories of what the two had missed. The initiates were still recovering, many still with coughs and sniffles. They weren't as energetic as usual, but they were still happy.

The padawans were quiet, mostly. They were all doing well after being ill for more than ten days. But they were enjoying the attention from the three masters who had taken over, and teaching them how to handle the initiates. Aayla did keep looking at Quinlan worriedly, and Anakin held her hand reassuringly as he was worried too.

That night, Obi-Wan woke in the middle of the night to Quinlan having yet another terrible coughing fit. Quinlan was sitting up, nearly in tears by the time he finally stopped. Obi-Wan rubbed his back in the meantime.

“Make it stop.” Quinlan leaned into Obi-Wan. “Hurts.”

“I know, Quin, I know.” Obi-Wan rested his head on Quinlan's and flinched back. He put his hand on Quinlan's forehead. Much warmer than before. He poked Kit. “Thermometer,” he hissed.

Kit wordlessly passed it to him. Obi-Wan checked Quinlan's temperature and cursed.

“Much higher,” he told Kit grimly. “Might need to call Vokara.”

“'m fine...” Quinlan mumbled.

“No, you're not.” Obi-Wan held onto him. “Get some sleep.”

“Too tired to sleep... You feel nice... mm... wonder why.”

“Because we're brothers, of course I feel nice.”

“We are?”

Obi-Wan looked at Kit. Kit was already contacting Vokara, looking just as worried as Obi-Wan felt.

“Yes, we are, Quin. I'm here with you, sibling."  There was no word for brother in Kiffi as it was a gender neutral language.

“That's nice. I'm lucky to have you as my sibling.” Quinlan snuggled in, only stopping to cough, body shaking with the force of it. Obi-Wan rubbed his back again. “You're the best, Obes. Can always count on you.” He coughed again.

“Rest, Quin, enough talking for now. We can talk later.”

“Mmm.” Quinlan closed his eyes, though he didn't quite fall asleep yet.

It took forever for Vokara to arrive. She started with confirming his temperature, then Obi-Wan told her about the conversation. Then she continued with the usual examination, frowning and muttering to herself, especially when he started responding.

“I'm going to stay and monitor Quinlan. If he gets worse before morning, we're going to have to move him to the Healing Halls. But I think this might just be his fever hitting it's worst, and we'll see improvement by morning.”

“Okay.” Obi-Wan looked down at his brother worriedly. This was so much worse than he thought it could get. They'd been lucky with the initiates.

“For now, you need to get some sleep, Obi-Wan. You too, Kit. I'll be here to help if anything happens.”

Obi-Wan yawned and knew she was right. He still hesitated; Quinlan was still snuggled in his arms, and he wasn't sure what the best way to lay down would be. Kit and Vokara set up pillows for him so that he could lay back with Quinlan, keeping him half sitting. It was better with the coughing for Quinlan to be partially upright.

Once he fell asleep, Obi-Wan didn't wake until morning. Vokara was careful not to wake him again, and he was still exhausted, so he slept deeply.

He woke up to Quinlan shaking him. “Obes, Obes, please let me go, I need to go to the 'fresher.”

“No.” Obi-Wan tightened his hold on Quinlan. “Don't wanna.”

“Obes... please...”

“Still sleepy.” Obi-Wan mumbled. “Your fault.”

“I'm sorry, now can you let me up?” Quinlan sounded frustrated. His voice was hoarse and exhausted.

Obi-Wan heard snickering nearby and opened his eyes. He blinked, then stared at Quinlan who was looking at him. He felt Quinlan's forehead.

“Your fever is gone!”

“Yeah, now can you let me up?”

Obi-Wan let go and Quinlan quickly scrambled out of bed, coughing once he had his feet on the ground. Vokara walked him to the 'fresher slowly, stopping every time he had to cough.

Eventually he settled back into bed, coughing miserably. Obi-Wan hugged him, mostly just happy that his brother was on the mend now. His fever was gone, and now they could focus on getting better. Quinlan leaned in tiredly, still feeling the lingering exhaustion.

Vokara did an examination of each of them, giving each further expectation on what their recovery would be like. Along with the usual instructions for the day. Then, right after their soup arrived, Vokara bid them good day, and went to check on the others while she was there.

Obi-Wan started eating his soup slowly. His appetite was better, but he still didn't want to eat too fast. Kit felt similarly. He hadn't thrown up once the day before, but he didn't want to take risks.

Quinlan wasn't hungry, and his hand was shaking as he tried to lift the spoon. Obi-Wan helped him out once he was done with his own soup.

“I feel like a child,” Quinlan complained after finishing a bit more than half his soup and refusing anymore. He had another coughing fit.

Obi-Wan rubbed his back while Kit quietly put on a holofilm. “I know. It's rough, but you were pretty bad. And you still have pneumonia. It's going to be a while before you're anywhere near able to take care of yourself.”

“What about you?”

Obi-Wan leaned back, pulling Quinlan with him. “I'm all achy. Everything hurts, so I've been taking some painkillers to help with that. Still feel shaky and weak, too. Still going to be days before going to the 'fresher without help is easy, let alone anything else.”

“And our padawans?”

“They're on the mend. Not a hundred percent, not yet, but they're helping with the initiates and getting better. They're way better off than we are, since they never got the bad symptoms. To be fair, even the worst of the initiates are better off than we are because we did exhaust ourselves until our immune systems gave up.” Kit smiled at Quinlan. “I'm glad that you're properly awake.”

Quinlan groaned. “On one hand, being able to think clearer is nice. On the other hand... I do not want to be aware of how miserable I am and how much coughing hurts...” He coughed again, wincing. “Who's taking care of the initiates, and our padawans?”

Obi-Wan grinned. “You're not going to believe us.”

“...who?”

“Dooku, Tholme, and Qui-Gon,” Kit answered before Obi-Wan could.

“...you're right I don't believe you. I can kind of see Qui-Gon, but the other two? No way.” Quinlan was starting to smile though.

“Apparently our padawans are able to wrangle the initiates well enough that the masters do not have to do too much, and Dooku spent most of his time taking care of us, not with the initiates, so it's not like that's too unusual.”

“How did they end up helping?”

“Sounds like they were desperate for more people to fill in, and they volunteered because they were worried about us, and are supposed to be immune. Our padawans are having a great time with it, from what I've heard.”

“And all the initiates are okay?”

“Yep,” Kit answered, smiling. “Once they started getting better, they started getting too active for us when we were still in that fever induced haze, so they were moved out, even the worst off were considered too much. They're still recovering, and its obvious which ones were hit worst, but all the others are making sure they're okay and taking care of themselves.”

“Aww, sweet kids.”

“They wouldn't have done that when we started playing the part of their crechemaster.” Obi-Wan grinned. “I think we've done good.”

“Me too.” Quinlan sighed happily, yawning as he snuggled in. “So tired.”

“Then sleep, we'll still be here when you wake up. I might nap too.”

“Oh, yeah, how's that my fault?”

“You woke me up in the middle of the night with your cough and then I realized your fever had spiked so we had to call Vokara.”

“No wonder you were relieved... Sorry, Obes.”

“It's okay, Quin. You couldn't help getting sick, and you were the last one standing.”

“Barely... if I recall correctly, you collapsed, I got soup started, and then I sat down to wait for it to be ready... and fell asleep, about the last thing I remember before this morning aside from some vague memories.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I don't really remember anything from having the fever either. It's all a blur. But that's in the past.” He yawned.

Kit laughed at them. “Sleep, I'll keep others occupied when they want to visit.”

.

When lunch arrived, Aayla was thrilled to see Quinlan properly awake and starting to get better. She climbed into bed to help him eat, as he was still shaky. It was a tight enough fit with Obi-Wan, Quinlan, and Kit on the bed, though she managed not to knock any of them off. She excitedly told him about how Master Tholme and Master Qui-Gon had gotten roped into playing dress up with some of the initiates that morning. Apparently Dooku got some pictures before Del shyly asked him to play dejarik.

Quinlan laughed, though that caused a coughing fit and he restrained himself from laughing at the other stories she had to tell. He actually managed to finish all his soup without realizing it until it was gone because Aayla was so effective at cheering him up.

That afternoon he was up to visitors, and everyone rotated through under the watchful eye of a master or padawan, thrilled that Quinlan was able to engage in conversation and teasing once more.

Chapter Text

As Vokara predicted it took a week for them to start being able to do things on their own, and even then, they were still weak, shaky, and tired, with some other lingering symptoms, especially Quinlan's cough. But time moved on, and soon they were taking over their clans again, as the crechemasters were being shifted around to other clans in need as the Chandrilan flu made it through the creche. Assuming they didn't get sick themselves, and many did, which affected how many crechemasters were available as well.

At the point they were declared recovered enough to not need their padawans' help, the estimate was that it could be another two to three months of helping in the creche. They were okay with that. It was better to recover in the creche than with missions. The padawans had others who were helping them with training as they made their full recovery, and they were returning to classes anyways.

Cal was now a vibrantly happy youngling. He was still on the quieter side, still a bit shy. But he wasn't scared of everything anymore. Yes, there had been some issues with teachers wanting him to take off gloves, but Quinlan handled that as soon as he knew there was trouble, and kept an eye on the situation. Thankfully, the other initiates helped ensure that no younglings bothered Cal about his gloves. It helped that the difference in how he acted before and after was obvious to those who had known Cal, which was most of his teachers and all the initiates in his classes.

Ahsoka hadn't bitten anyone since she bit Vi. Obi-Wan was quick to take care of bullying if he saw it, even if nothing was accomplished in dealing with the situation. He made sure to praise Ahsoka for restraint, and helped her if she admitted to difficulty in controlling herself before someone stepped in or she walked away. Having someone who listened went a long way in helping her stay out of trouble. Plus, Anakin was good at keeping her out of trouble when he was around.

Overall, everyone was happy, and many of the initiates were closer than they had been before. That's not to say the way that the crechemasters had handled things before was bad. Sometimes younglings just didn't get along, after all. Sometimes things slipped through the cracks, especially when there were more obvious explanations. Obi-Wan and Quinlan did want to blame them, but understood how difficult it was for the crechemasters who did not get many breaks due to how few of them are.

.

Obi-Wan watched Dooku play dejarik with Del, amused. Dooku had started coming once a week to play dejarik with the quiet initiate. Once they finally finished the game, Obi-Wan ushered Del into his nighttime routine; all of the others were already mostly ready for bed. Once Obi-Wan had the younger ones in bed and the two ten-year-olds doing their thirty minutes of quiet time before bed, he came back out to find Dooku having made tea for the two of them.

“I'm getting old.” Dooku said, contemplative.

Obi-Wan held back the first sarcastic comment that came to mind. “What brought this on?” he asked instead.

“I find myself interested in Del as a padawan.”

“Ah. And you're not sure you will be able to keep up with him if you did decide to train him.”

“Precisely.”

Obi-Wan considered the facts. “Well, that hasn't stopped Master Yoda from taking on padawans, though temporary. And you have at least three years to figure it out. Besides, Del is nothing like Ahsoka. Ahsoka's going to need someone who can keep up with her energy. Del is quieter. I'm not even sure he would want to be that active. I have a feeling he's going to go for a quieter career. But if you decide you are too old... there's always teaching classes, and you can always still teach him.”

Dooku nodded. “This is why you're my favorite of my lineage. You know when to be serious.”

Obi-Wan laughed. “A serious problem should be taken seriously. If anything, I'm more concerned about how much Qui-Gon has bonded with half the initiates here. I swear I'm going to get another padawan sibling in a few years, and the rest are going to be jealous.”

“You are not wrong. Ahsoka, perhaps?”

“He does have a particular fondness for Ahsoka, but I think that Ahsoka is either meant to be my second padawan, or Anakin's first, despite how close in age they are.”

“Hmm, yes, I can definitely see that. Both would be good pairings, I think, but in rather different ways.”

“Quite.” Obi-Wan finished his tea. “I'm going to miss them all when their crechemasters come back. I know I couldn't do this for more than a year without going stir crazy, but I've still enjoyed my time here.”

“When are they supposed to be back?”

“The three we originally replaced will be back in a month, if no more complications come up for them. The other two both caught pneumonia and are doing a bit worse than Quinlan did when he caught it. We'll probably continue helping out for an extra month, but be in our own rooms, and at that point, the current class cycle will be over, so it will be time to go back on missions.”

“Do you think you'll be ready for that?”

“I think so. I won't be 100% but I can handle the sorts of missions master-padawan pairs get sent on. Besides, Quinlan and I have promised to visit Kiffu as soon as classes are over because our family is worried. When they heard his cough, it took us more than an hour to convince them not to come see us.”

“His cough is still rather worrisome, even now.”

Obi-Wan couldn't deny that. “It's not happening as often, and mostly when he's pushed himself too hard or he runs out of breath. Which is normal for recovery. In two months, I think he'll be mostly cough free, though I think Vokara has said she believe he might have issues with a cough for months.”

“I am not surprised.”

They had another cup of tea. Obi-Wan tilted his head and looked at Dooku quizzically. “Is there something else you wanted to talk about?”

Dooku smirked. “Qui-Gon visited me earlier today to complain about his latest meeting with the Council. Apparently they offered him a seat, again.”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “They're not going to give up. When is he going to realize that they actually value his opinions?”

“Well, he's actually considering it this time. Something about how if they're going to ask him three times, they must have put some thought into it. Which means he needs to put some thought into his response.”

“I hope he agrees. It would be interesting to see what happens with him on the Council, and Anakin is getting a bit... annoying about the sort of people who are on the Council. If his own 'wizard' grandmaster is on the Council... he might have to revise that opinion.”

Dooku chuckled. “I do think Qui-Gon will agree, but I doubt he will last more than five years. He will not be able to take how much the Senate curbs the Council's actions for long, but he will also bring much needed perspectives on that to the Council. They sometimes get too used to how the Senate handles situations that they forget how restrictive the Senate can be, in a way many would find unconscionable.”

“Don't remind me.” Obi-Wan groaned.

“Oh? I didn't think you had enough exposure to such things yet.”

“I've dealt with enough morons in emergency situations. But there is one thing that always brings up how much leverage the Senate has on us.” Obi-Wan shook his head. “The Chancellor has insisted on maintaining a sort of... friendship with Quinlan and I since we helped save Naboo. And you know we cannot refuse.”

“The Chancellor isn't a bad contact to have, but it is unfortunate that you had to deal with it so young.”

“I'm not sure the Chancellor is a good contact. He's... strange. There's a sense he's hiding something. More so than most politicians I've had to shake hands with. It's got a sense of maliciousness to it that few ever have, and sometimes there's a sense of triumph at the end of a conversation. And that's without getting into his insistence that we don't have to hide our emotions from him and some other weird comments about how he believes the Jedi work. But we know better than to turn him down when he asks us to tea or requests us for missions.”

“Strange... you don't think the comments about the Order come from a well-meaning place?”

“Not with the sense I get off of shaking his hand afterwards. Quinlan's picked up the same things, but stronger, since his psychometry has always been stronger than mine. It's too malicious, not to mention the triumph and satisfaction usually comes when we've appeared to agree with him, or concede. On our end it's because it's not worth arguing with him, but he might not know that.”

“I would continue to be cautious. It is too bad that you cannot refuse to see him. If he were most senators, you might have been able to get away with it.”

“But not the Chancellor,” Obi-Wan sighed. “Don't worry, we're being cautious, and we don't bring our padawans unless he specifically asks.”

“Alright. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it.”

“Of course.”

“Now, I'll leave you to your clans.”

Obi-Wan smiled at him and bid him good night before cleaning up the tea.

.

Carmelo, Fizzi, and Barli stood outside their clans' section of the creche. It had been several months since they had seen their own clans, thanks to being pulled to help the younger clans with the outbreak of the Chandrilan flu. They were good friends, as it was easier to be friends when one shared space for so long. But they weren't close friends, and had mostly focused on their own clans previously, since they all had at least one 'problem' youngling that needed attention.

When they had heard which masters had taken over their clans, they had been anxious. Kenobi, Vos, and Fisto had no experience in actually taking care of crecheclans, though they had experience in helping out as necessary. They were good Jedi, there was no denying that, being some of the youngest masters in the Order. But could they handle the younglings?

The three crechemasters didn't know everything they had missed; they weren't getting daily updates after all. But they did know that their initiates had hardly gotten into trouble, for once. When it came to some, that was a miracle. And they also knew that a few months previous everyone had gotten sick with the Chandrilan flu.

So, now they were looking to see what kind of masters the three temporary ones were, and if the younglings were behaving because they were just that good with them, or if they were behaving because they were scared to step out of line.

Any worries evaporated almost immediately. Quinlan Vos was sitting and helping Cal, Caleb, Del, and two others build a city while Kasumi and Franchesk played with his hair and tried different hair styles. They were both fascinated by human hair and were obsessed with playing with it, though none of their usual crechemasters really had hair.

After all, Carmelo was a Mon Calamari, Fizzi was a zabrak (and didn't like hair) and Barli a twi'lek.

A quick glance into the 'loud' playroom where several younglings were shrieking with laughter and cheering each other on showed that the three padawans were playing with them.

Obi-Wan Kenobi was working on making lunch, accepting help from Vi, and a few of the other older initiates with age-appropriate tasks.

And Kit Fisto was reading to a few initiates from one of the chapter books that was a favorite. Everyone seemed rather happy.

With a glance at each other, the three crechemasters knew they were satisfied, and it was time to fully announce their presence. They just sent out a Force greeting and several younglings froze, perking up. They were swarmed by excited initiates.

Fizzi got a surprise when Cal hugged them. Cal had hated hugs, but now Cal was acting like any other youngling. They noticed that Cal was wearing gloves and made note that maybe they should have given into that idea sooner. It clearly made a big difference. Even if they didn't want Cal to rely on gloves too much.

While initiates reunited with their crechemasters, Quinlan and Kit joined Obi-Wan in making lunch while their padawans cheered up the remaining two clans of initiates who were missing their own crechemasters. Quinlan had to stop and turn away to cough on occasion. It was far less than it was, but it still happened and it was annoying.

Later, Fizzi cornered Quinlan. “Why did you give Cal the gloves? With the potential risks, and no way of knowing it helps.”

“Those were my gloves when I was his age,” Quinlan responded. “He might be autistic, but his real problem with touch is psychometry, and he's too young to really learn to control it.”

“Psychometry... Oh. I never thought of that.”

“Autism is the more obvious answer, even if it didn't explain things entirely. Psychometry is still rare, after all, outside of Kiffar. I'm fairly certain that outside Obes, Ani, and I, you'd be hard pressed to find a Jedi with even mild psychometry they didn't learn themselves somehow. Add in that Cal is only six and still learning how to express himself, of course it would be hard to figure out.”

“Ah, so that is why Padawan Skywalker is wearing gloves. He's still learning?”

Quinlan nodded. “Younglings' joy can be a bit intense in Force echos. I was about nineteen or so before I started spending more time without wearing my gloves than with. Cal might have a different experience. But I am willing to check in and work with him, at least as long as he's in the creche. Afterwards, it depends on his master, of course.”

Fizzi let out a sigh, now smiling. “Thank you. I take it his teachers are aware?”

“They are, and if any teachers ever cause problems, let me know.” Quinlan smirked. “If I'm not available, Obes will be happy to jump in, and if he's not available, Tholme and Qui-Gon have experience in getting teachers to back off.”

“I will keep that in mind.” Fizzi chuckled. “You did a good job with them.”

Quinlan shrugged. “They were easy to please, mostly. Some issues here and there, of course, but they're younglings. That's to be expected. I'm more surprised we didn't have issues with the padawans.”

“Ah, yes, padawans can be rather hit or miss when they don't have the maturity.”

“Especially at fifteen and thirteen.”

They turned to discussing other things that Quinlan had noticed about interclan dynamics, and any issues that had popped up. One of the initiates still had a reduced appetite after getting sick, so she was allowed a smoothie as a meal replacement once a day to ensure she got the nutrients she needed was one such issue that needed to be discussed.

.

Obi-Wan wasn't surprised when Carmelo approached him during a quiet moment.

“How did you convince Ahsoka to stop biting people?”

“She didn't feel listened to. I listened.”

Carmelo frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Well, any time she was biting people it was in response to something they said or did. And she feels that she's being punished worse than them, when if they hadn't provoked her she wouldn't have done so. It's a mentality I understand; I struggled with lashing out through meltdowns myself as an initiate, after all. If that last person hadn't piled the last thing to bubble my emotions out of my control, it would have been fine. Considering how difficult it was for me to regulate my emotions back then, it really did feel like it wasn't my fault. Ahsoka feels the same way, but her instinct is to bite.”

“I can understand that. So... you just listen to her?”

“I treat her the way I wanted to be treated at that age. I listen to her story, see how long she held out before reacting, discuss better ways to handle it, though sometimes those better ways don't work if there's determined enough bullies, such as walking away. I give her praise if there's any improvement from the last time she was in trouble for reacting to provocation, like if she was already having a bad day and it took the same number of comments, or if it's a normal day and she lasted at least a comment longer. It's hard to want to improve when one gets punished and treated the same if the results are the same, if one is trying their best and there is improvement. Acknowledgement of that improvement goes a long way. And then I try to find a fair punishment for lashing out, for getting physical.”

“I think I understand what you're saying. Because Ahsoka has a harder time with her temper, she has to work harder to even be at the same basic level as her agemates, let alone what we expect. By never acknowledging any improvements, it doesn't feel worth all the effort she is putting into this, and that is without considering that she is being targeted by bullies who want her to react.”

“Essentially, yes. I don't think she doesn't need to face consequences, because she definitely does, but I do think listening to her and acknowledging improvements while trying to deal with the real problem goes a long way.”

“Seeing as she has not bitten anyone in months, I do have to agree with you. Thank you for sorting it out.”

.

They spent the next month continuing to help out, slowly transitioning back to 'normal' Jedi life. Readjusting to their own rooms. And getting the initiates used to not having them around.

During that time, Vokara had that promised meeting with them while their padawans were in class.

“So... what is this about?” Obi-Wan asked cautiously.

“How you handled the Chandrilan flu was impressive, all three of you. Especially after you got sick yourselves. So I took a look at your files, at your certificates for what courses you have completed. Are you are aware that you are far beyond the minimum required for to be a Knight level healer?”

“Yes,” Kit said with a nod.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged looks, surprised. Neither of them had been sent on missions where they were actually expected to play the role of healer, so they hadn't realized they were more than average. They had to be at knight level healing in order to qualify to be a guardian, but they hadn't considered just how much they had learned since they became knights.

“No.” Obi-Wan answered while Quinlan shook his head.

“After seeing how you handled the Chandrilan flu, I am going to recommend you three work towards mastery in healing.”

That surprised even Kit. “How would we do that? We have other obligations, and padawans to train.”

“You're closer to mastery than you might think. Quinlan, you just need five more classes before you would need to start on a thesis for a chosen area of specialization. Kit, you need seven, and Obi-Wan, you need ten. If you focus on that rather than other classes, it shouldn't take you more than two or three years.”

“Just five?” Quinlan asked, surprised. He knew he had taken more healing classes over the years because he had less of a variety of things he was interested in learning, but to be that close was a surprise.

Vokara nodded and handed each of them her recommendations for attaining the mastery, which would see all three of them making it in five years or less.

“We need more master level healers that are good for the field,” she explained. “Not many have the aptitude for it. Even among those who choose to do what you do. And not many have continued to take so many classes to keep widening their knowledge the way you three have. Nor are there many I would trust.”

“Well... I suppose it wouldn't be too bad.” Obi-Wan flipped through the expected schedule, which did factor in that his padawan had mission cycles. “Looks busy and a bit difficult but straightforward. What can we expect afterwards?”

“Once you have achieved mastery, I will expect you to do some rotations in the Healing Halls so that healers can get breaks, but that will be a as needed, discussed beforehand situation. You'll be authorized for field surgeries, if necessary, among other things. You'll be more likely to be sent into situations where healing is necessary and considering the messes you three seem to get yourselves in, you'll be able to take care of problems yourselves and require less back up.”

They discussed it further for a while before Vokara had to leave. By then, they had most of their questions answered.

“We're not telling Bant this is what we're doing with those classes. She won't let us hear the end of it.” Quinlan sighed. Bant had been bothering them about if they'd consider doing a mastery for a while, though she had accepted that they didn't have time. Or they thought they didn't.

“Very true. We'll probably have to tell her when you get to working on that thesis, though. Pretty sure she might be up to her own thesis by the time you get to it or will be at least close enough that she will notice.”

“Ah, you might be right.” Both Quinlan and Obi-Wan fell silent, thinking about how thrilled she'd been when they started attending the same healing classes she did, especially Obi-Wan, even if they weren't working towards healing as their career path. They had just wanted to be able to do more than first aid without risk, and knight level healing was a requirement of qualifying as a guardian.

“It is a little weird to be actually working towards a mastery after having achieved the rank of master years ago,” Kit said, checking over the requirements once more. “Since most areas do not actually require a mastery.”

“Yeah, any additional mastery level stuff is just acknowledged by everyone as 'expert' and they might still assign us to those missions, but we don't need an official mastery for that.” Quinlan sighed.

“It's been four years, and I still can't believe I'm a master, let alone that apparently my drive for learning in general has me in reach of a mastery in healing, which is not even an area I actually enjoy learning.” Obi-Wan grumbled. “It's just far too necessary with the way missions tend to go for me and Anakin.”

Kit grinned at them. “You two really should have seen this coming the way you were taking classes after you made the decision on what you were doing. You really didn't need to take so many classes. On the other hand, even if I am surprised that we're being asked to do this, I am more at the age where this kind of thing happens.”

“Well, what's another challenge that's not actually dangerous?” Quinlan joked. “And it would be nice to have some actual authority when I end up having to fill the role of healer. They really don't like listening to me sometimes, despite my qualifications.”

“Tell me about it. It's all... 'you're not actually a healer, I don't need to listen to you.' And then they're surprised when things happen just as I told them it would.” Obi-Wan shook his head. “I think they mostly think I'm just arrogant because I became a master so young.”

Quinlan snickered. “They clearly don't know you, Obes. You do not get arrogant. You're more likely to downplay your abilities, than brag.”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I always put in that they didn't listen to my 'healers' orders and sometimes I've gotten to listen to them get lectured. Not just by actual healers, but the Council when I was purposefully sent because of my healing knowledge.”

“That is always satisfying,” Kit said. “Now that I'm thinking about it, I am grateful for this. Nahdar has been showing aptitude for healing, and the more I can help him down that path, the easier it will be for him later, I believe.”

“I haven't figured out where Aayla's path lies yet,” Quinlan said, frowning. “Nor do I think she knows. But it might guardian, like us, or it might lie more in crisis negotiation.”

“Anakin's still a bit young to pinpoint anything, but I have a feeling his skills are going to lie mostly in piloting and mechanics. He is quite the prodigy in both. But it is still far too early to speculate, and it's up to our padawans to make that final decision.”

Chapter Text

Before they could escape to Kiffu to assure Clan Vos and Clan Vex they were all okay, the Chancellor wanted to see Obi-Wan and Quinlan. They'd been so long out of contact, he was worried, even when they were responding sporadically. So they agreed. Because what else could they do when it was the Chancellor requesting to see them?

The Chancellor greeted them happily and sat down with them. Quinlan chose his tea and add ins more carefully, keeping in mind his cough and what helped it. His cough was getting better, but he was still coughing, especially after running out of breath. Obi-Wan was just happy to be sitting down; exhausted just from the journey up to his office. They were still only a few months out from recovery, and they were looking at it being a full six months before they were both entirely back to normal.

“How are you?”

“Getting better,” Quinlan took a sip of his tea, “but still not entirely there yet.”

“About the same, but with different symptoms.”

“Ah, yes, the Chandrilan flu. That was a rather rough outbreak. It hit the Temple hard?”

“Mostly the younglings,” Obi-Wan responded. “We ended up replacing some crechemasters for several months so they could help out with the much younger initiates. And unfortunately, it came through our clans, and so, we caught it.”

Quinlan covered a cough with great timing, though he made a face. He was so tired of the coughing and how sometimes it still snuck up on him. At least it didn't hurt anymore except the rare horrible coughing fits that usually accompanied him getting a little too active.

“Which is why you fell out of contact for a while. I was quite worried.”

Quinlan shrugged. “It did get bad for a while. We had fevers for a week, I got pneumonia, it was a great time dealing with that.”

“And you still have the cough.”

“It's getting better all the time; you should have heard it weeks ago.” Quinlan smiled and drank some more tea.

“All because you had to take care of the younglings. Don't you wish you didn't have to do that?”

“Oh, no, the younglings were a joy to spend time around. It was better than doing nothing, anyways. Everyone at the Temple was helping out in any way they could. If we weren't in the creche, we probably would have been helping the healers,” Obi-Wan explained. “There's not many in the Temple with the qualifications to help out with the younglings or the healers, not like we do.”

“You two really are quite talented. I hadn't considered how essential you were to the Temple's efforts to handle the outbreak.”

“Well, not many do. But that's the nice thing about our path as Jedi. We can be useful, and no one quite gets how useful until they need us.”

The Chancellor hummed and continued asking questions about how they handled it.

That day they left the Chancellor feeling far more unsettled than they had ever felt about talking to him. He had been weirdly pushy about the Jedi not appreciating them and forcing them to do things. And had definitely showed a misunderstanding of the Jedi beyond what he had revealed so far. Neither could quite understand it. There was something off about the Chancellor. They just could not figure out what it was.

.

Obi-Wan smiled as he saw Kiffu come into view. “Alright, everyone ready?” he asked.

“About time.” Quinlan grinned, then coughed. “A vacation will be nice.”

“I get to see my mom! And dad!” Anakin exclaimed enthusiastically. “I like calling but there's nothing like actually visiting.”

Aayla giggled at him. “And you like your cousins,” she teased. “I'm sure they'll be happy to see you too.”

“Well, duh, of course they will!” Anakin grinned. “And they'll be happy to see you too and we'll have so many stories to tell them from the creche!”

“That's true!” Aayla was just as excited. She may have declined the adoption, but she still loved Clan Vos.

Quinlan chuckled, then coughed once. “I'm sure everyone will be happy to see us. They do know we all caught the Chandrilan flu, and that Obes and I got it bad, so I'm sure there will be plenty of fussing the first few days, until they're certain we are okay.”

“Oh, the fussing is going to get to be so annoying.” Obi-Wan was grinning anyways. “But we wouldn't have our family any other way.”

They landed in the hangar as directed, collected their bags for the stay, and hurried out to meet their families. Anakin ran ahead.

“Mom! Dad!” He hugged them both.

Bran and Erin met Obi-Wan and Quinlan hugging them tightly as they exchanged greetings, then they stepped back to look over their grandchildren carefully. Aayla was already greeting the twins and their parents.

“You are alright?” Erin asked softly, worrying.

“We will be,” Obi-Wan assured her. “It might be another month or two until we're a hundred percent. Quinlan's coughing, I'm still achy and exhausted, but it's way better than it was even after one month.”

“I'm sorry.” Erin offered her support to Obi-Wan while Bran wrapped his arm around Quinlan. Their cousins got all their bags and started heading in.

“You'll have to tell us more about it. You didn't give us many details on what happened.”

Obi-Wan shrugged. “The simple version is that there was an outbreak of the new strain of Chandrilan flu in the creche, and they needed some people to be emergency crechemasters, so Quin and I, along with our friend Kit, took over a Clan each, and then jointly took care of two others later on.”

“Yeah, and then we all got sick. Our padawans and some of the initiates first, then everyone else. We managed to hold it off ourselves as long as we could, but that made it worse on us because our bodies were exhausted from taking care of all the younglings and trying to fight it off.”

“We did a lot of cuddling while we were sick, don't worry,” Obi-Wan added. “Vokara, that's the healer that saw to us, she said that Quinlan should've been a lot worse with the pneumonia, so we know it helped a lot.”

“Good. There's a family puppy pile tonight.”

“Of course. Been looking forward to it since we planned this trip.” Quinlan grinned before coughing.

“That cough still sounds horrible.”

“I know.” Quinlan groaned, leaning into Bran. “It was so much worse though. Hurt a lot, coughing every five minutes or less, especially after moving, and coughing fits that lasted five minutes or more. It's down to only actual exercise causing coughing fits, otherwise coughing every ten to fifteen minutes and usually for a minute or less.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Definitely a massive improvement. So... have we missed much?”

“Not really,” Conall said, appearing next to them. “Well, Jasmine finally took over the gardens, and Bernard is starting to train to be in charge of engineering. That's about it.”

“Oh, Jas has been looking forward to being in charge of all the gardening for years, good for her.” Obi-Wan grinned.

.

That night they were all cuddled up in the family room, because it was the entire family, and even the set of four cousins from Alderaan, as they were on planet for a festival, plus a few extra. For most, this would be a bit much. And Quinlan and Obi-Wan did find it to be a bit much at times. But... they wouldn't have their family any other way.

They ended up in the center, with Craig, Conall, Aisling, and Barry claiming them for cuddling. Safe and secure, with family. It was hard not to enjoy it after so much time apart. By the end of the month, they would be tired of it... For now, especially after being so sick, it was a very welcome feeling.

“Now tell us more about these younglings you were taking care of. It sounds like it was a lot of fun,” Aisling ordered.

Quinlan chuckled. “Okay. So, the youngest in my clan was Cal, he's human, not Kiffar, and he has the Force sensitive version of psychometry, a bit stronger than we usually see in the Order. He was diagnosed with autism because they thought he had an aversion to textures or some other autistic thing going on, but I figured it out quite quickly and gave him my gloves from when I was his age.”

“Cal ended up playing with one of the youngest of my clan, Ahsoka, more often than not. She's two years older and a togruta. Add in another human, Caleb, from Kit's clan, who is Cal's age, and they made a good trio of friends. Often got into mischief. Usually encouraged by one or more of the padawans.”

Quinlan chuckled. “Ah yes, remember Aayla's attempt to get them to prank us with water balloons full of paint?”

Obi-Wan laughed. “Of course. They turned ended up turning it on her, Anakin, and Nahdar. They were all so mad to be covered in paint, and she had no idea what went wrong.”

“We bribed them with cookies,” Quinlan whispered smugly. “Our padawans only get away with pranks if we let them right now. They're not quite sneaky enough to get it past us yet.”

“Of course you encourage it.” Barry chuckled. “Sometimes I wish I grew up here and not on Alderaan, and sometimes I'm glad I stayed away from such insanity.”

Obi-Wan poked him. “Oh please. Who was it that broke his arm on a dare about tree running stunts?”

Barry spluttered. “I was younger!”

“You're ten years older than me,” Quinlan pointed out gleefully. “And this was less than ten years ago.”

“Well I... I was not and am not as used to it as everyone else because I spend most of my time on Alderaan.”

Obi-Wan snorted. “Which is why Quin and I had already done those stunts while playing around. We're here once a year if we're lucky.”

“But you're Jedi. You have the Force.”

“And we don't use the Force for tree running. Even before we did our Hunt we were starting to learn how to do that stuff without the Force because our friend was teaching us.” Quinlan grinned gleefully.

Then he sighed dramatically and patted Barry's arm. “But I suppose I can give you this one since well, we do get a lot more practice in. It's actually quite useful to be able to chase down people without the Force sometimes.”

Craig grinned. “But Barry is still never going to live it down that he failed so badly he broke an arm.”

Barry groaned and buried his head. “I am never coming back.”

“Awww you know you love us.” Conall reached over and messed with his hair.

“Jedi are their own brand of insanity anyways,” Aisling told Barry. “You missed so many of their antics for years because you were never around when they were."

“I watched Quin and Obi and several other Jedi hold off rocks from a volcanic explosion until everyone could be evacuated two years ago. They are insane, and they kind of have that right. Not like us. We're just insane and chaotic.”

Quinlan cackled, then coughed. “Yep. Jedi are insane for good reason. We're just all good at hiding it.”

“Even the strictest? Even those on the Council?”

Obi-Wan huffed. “Especially those on the Council. I swear one of the requirements is the ability to troll others. They all have their own sense of humor that sneaks up on you sometimes. Oh! Qui-Gon just agreed to be on the Council, he was inducted the day before we left.”

Aisling stared at him. “No way! Really? That's hilarious, awesome, and very unexpected. I thought he refused.”

“They asked again, and he actually thought about it this time. Because if they asked so many times, there had to be a reason they wanted him.” Obi-Wan grinned. “Anakin is still adjusting to the idea that his 'cool grandmaster' is one of the members of the Council who mostly aren't cool or are cool in a different way.”

Quinlan and Obi-Wan continued catching up with their cousins, eventually falling asleep at the center of the cuddle pile. They woke up feeling quite a bit better, a sure sign that they had not been getting quite enough cuddling despite their best efforts. 

They spent time with everyone, catching up, relaxing, and slowly getting back to more active activities. They took naps whenever someone caught them yawning, which they didn't always notice. Getting the extra sleep also helped quite a bit.

They spent time with their padawans, though they mostly kept to meditations and some regular lightsaber practice so that everyone could make the most of being on Kiffu. Anakin especially loved the chance to spend time with his parents and family, still thrilled that he had such a large family.

The day of the Festival arrived. Or rather, the night of the Festival. 

Quinlan and Obi-Wan made sure to get extra sleep during the day, with some extra long naps. They didn't want to miss the Festival of Stars at all.

It was a special festival that celebrated the night, and it was hosted by Clan Vos, to take place from sunset to sunrise. 

Clan Vos was in charge of everything. They arranged everything for the Festival and did their best to hire as few people as possible. No reason to hire outside help for food, if Clan Vos could make the food themselves, after all. 

Quinlan and Obi-Wan dressed the part, in robes of dark blue and gold with silver stars. They wore everything they were entitled to wear as princes of Kiffu.

They would be in charge of the younglings arts and crafts for the night, only taking breaks for a couple hours when someone else was able to take charge to give them that break.

They joined their family at the stage for opening ceremonies. This was not their favorite festival, but like all Kiffu festivals, they always enjoyed being there.

"Welcome everyone to the Festival of Stars! Today we celebrate the people of Kiffu, who are the stars of the event. The sun is now setting, and the stars will be coming out soon, and we shall see the glorious night sky, and have fun under the watchful eyes of the stars on this, the longest night of the year." Bran continued speaking about the festival, and then the sun truly started setting.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, Bran started the ceremonial fire while Erin started a little fountain next to it. The fire crackled and the water bubbled. 

"The Festival of Stars is officially started!" Bran announced. "Before you disperse, I wanted to introduce you to those in charge of some very important areas of the Festival..."

Quinlan and Obi-Wan stepped out to the stage and waved when introduced as in charge of the youngling arts and crafts. Others were in charge of plays, screenings of movies, races, obstacle courses, and so much more. 

Quinlan and Obi-Wan had a blast helping the younglings with the crafts and finding the 'right' craft for each one to try. 

Quinlan was still coughing on occasion, but he hardly noticed with all the excitement. Obi-Wan only had to sit down a few times when he got sore.

They took their first break with their padawans, going and playing some games and eating together. 

Their second break was with some cousins, watching one of the plays. 

Their third break ended up being snacks and a nap. 

When the Festival was over, with closing ceremonies including fireworks and dousing the fire, it was time for clean up. 

Obi-Wan and Quinlan started cleaning up their area, chatting happily about the night and how well it went. Their conversation kept getting interrupted by their yawning. But they were undeterred. They had to get everything cleaned up, and they wanted to do so quickly. 

About an hour into clean up, when they had everything put away and were mostly just scrubbing up the mess, Bran and Aisling joined them. 

Quinlan yawned. Obi-Wan yawned. Both resumed scrubbing a particularly bad mess of paint and glue they had left unintentionally at some point.

"I think you two need to go get some sleep." Bran took the scrub brushes from both of them.

Quinlan blinked at him, leaning on Obi-Wan. "We're almost," he yawned, "done with the mess, grandpa." He coughed into his elbow and leaned more on Obi-Wan after.

"You are, which is why it's not a problem if you go get some sleep now," Bran assured them. 

Quinlan sighed. "Alright... I guess you're right."

Obi-Wan yawned. "Grandpa usually is."

Aisling laughed. "Come on you two, let's get going." She wrapped an arm around them and steered them away. They both leaned in on her and let her lead them.

Part way there, they met up with Bernard and Craig, who were basically done with their clean up and were helping in other areas.

"Need a little help?" Bernard asked, glancing at Quinlan and Obi-Wan with concern. "They look like they're about to fall asleep standing up."

"'m not," Obi-Wan protested. "Aisling's just comfy."

Craig snorted. "Oh, you're both tired. How about we take them back? Probably just gonna carry them at this point, no way are they making it back without falling asleep if they're looking like that now."

Quinlan pouted. "Wanted to stay up all night and help clean up."

"Of course," Aisling nodded, leaning her head on his. "But you're both still recovering from being sick. You're a lot better, but you're not yet 100%. It's okay to need some rest after a big night like that."

Bernard didn't bother trying to reason with them. He just picked up Obi-Wan and started walking. 

Obi-Wan started protesting immediately even as he cuddled in. He was asleep within five minutes.

Craig decided to follow his example when Quinlan continued to protest. Quinlan was a bit more stubborn and didn't cuddle, but he still fell asleep within five minutes. 

They were placed down together to curl up with some others who were already sleeping, and then left alone to get some rest. 

Or they would have, if Obi-Wan hadn't latched on so tightly to Bernard. Quinlan was happy to join him. 

Craig laughed at his brother and left to go help. After taking pictures. 

Bernard resigned himself to being their pillow and let them sleep on him. It was nice to have an excuse to get some sleep early anyways.

.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan needed a few days to recover from how much they exhausted themselves, but that was okay. Everyone was always happy to cuddle them and let them sleep. Even if they were worried by how long it was taking the two Jedi to fully recover from the illness. 

Quinlan hummed happily as he leaned on Bran, eyes closed as he listened to his cousins and aunts and uncles talk. Obi-Wan was cuddling with Aisling and Conall, also just listening.

Eventually the conversation turned to how proud everyone was of Quinlan and Obi-Wan for how well they were doing.

"You're so famous!" Aisling exclaimed. "I can search your names and thousands of results. You're all over the news, saving people."

"Your parents would have been thrilled," Erin said softly.

"Our parents?" Quinlan asked as he turned to her. He hesitated. "Tell us about them?" There were few opportunities to ask, and sometimes Quinlan felt weird asking since he was a Jedi and they had been dead since he was four.

"Of course," Bran smiled. "They would leapt at the chance of adopting Obi-Wan. They'd always wanted more than one child, but you were a surprise so they were waiting, especially after they realized how strong your psychometry is, on top of being Force sensitive."

Quinlan nodded. "Do you think they would have let me be a Jedi?"

"You were pretty insistent, I don't think you remember. So I bet they would have given in and at least let you go visit the Temple."

Obi-Wan chuckled. "From what everyone says, I latched onto him immediately, and talked to him more in a day than I did to anyone else combined over a week. I bet it would have been the same regardless of how he entered the Temple."

Quinlan threw at pillow at him, laughing. "Probably. Which... would that have convinced them?"

"Oh, I'm sure they would have not just been convinced but want to adopt Obi on the spot for that one."

Quinlan grinned. "Nice. So... they were good people?"

"Of course. Of course they were. They were going to take over for us eventually, your dad was a fantastic leader, and your mom was good for him. Her family was close to her, but drifted away after the marriage, and there were only a few that stayed in contact, like her brother Quincy."

"Quincy?" Quinlan frowned.

"If you remember him, you would have known him as Cici."

"Oh... I do remember, vaguely. Not well at all. Was I named after him?"

"You were. And your father. His name was Landon, after all."

Quinlan smiled. "Right." Then he sighed. "Still nothing from mom's family?"

"No, I'm sorry."

Quinlan nodded. "Well, at least I'm an adult now.” He sometimes still struggled with the fact that his mom's side of the family had basically rejected him.

Obi-Wan decided to change the subject slightly. "So they would've liked me? That's cool. What was their usual hobbies, then, if they were probably going to be kings?"

Quinlan gave his brother a grateful look for changing the subject, while also allowing them to talk about their parents. 

Obi-Wan had always felt weird about claiming Quinlan's parents as his. Sure his birth parents were not deserving of the title, and he was Quinlan's adopted brother. But Quinlan's parents did not make the decision to adopt him, so it was strange.

But the more he heard about them, the more he felt comfortable with it. The happier he was to have found family.

Chapter Text

Quinlan invited Bant over for lunch. It was too bad that Kit and Obi-Wan had already been sent on missions, leaving him to have this conversation on his own. Oh well. It was better to do so now than later.

A knock at the door had Quinlan grinning as he put the last of the food on the table. Aayla was having lunch with some friends, since she knew it wouldn't be long before they were sent on missions too. So, it would be just Quinlan and Bant.

He gave her a hug after she entered. “How are you?” He asked as they sat down.

“A bit stressed. I still haven't picked a topic for my master's thesis yet. I can't believe you never had to do one.”

“That's because psychometry is a physical skill, not easily measured by essays. Healing on the other hand... I'm sure if I was doing something like Force theory or meditation I would have had to write a thesis. Which was something I'd wanted to avoid.”

“Lucky you,” Bant grumbled. “You and Obi-Wan both. Masters young, and without having to write a thesis.”

Quinlan chuckled. “Oh, no, I don't get to escape that at all.” He took a bite and shook his head. “About two years ago Vokara asked me, Obes, and Kit to study for mastery in healing. So... I am also having to decide on a topic. And anyways, aren't you a bit early for already working on a thesis, so won't you be a young master?”

“Not as young as you and Obi-Wan. I'll at least be in my thirties, even if it takes the minimum two or three years.”

“Okay, that's true. Have you narrowed down your topic yet?”

“I think I'm going to do something with Force healing. I'm not sure what I'm going to work on, but I like working with using the Force to heal. Maybe using Force healing in surgery, that sounds the most appealing, but that might still be too broad a topic. What about you?” She paused. “Wait. You're doing a mastery in healing?”

“Yep. Didn't get much of a choice but I find I'm happy with it anyways. I like healing. So I'm thinking for my thesis... I want to look into how useful physical touch is in the healing process across species.” Quinlan had known for a while that's what he wanted to study. “Well, something like that, anyways. Force healing with surgery sounds interesting. It's not commonly used, because surgery always has risks, of course. What kind of angle are you thinking?”

“Maybe using Force healing could actually mitigate the risks in surgery. The problem is timing, and if the healing is used at the wrong time, then damage might be done or the surgeon will have to redo something. But it could also be used in an emergency if done right, or once everything is done instead of just relying on bacta to ensure healing goes well.”

“That would be interesting to see what happens. I'll be happy to help, if you need any help.”

“Don't you still have missions and a padawan to worry about?”

“Aayla still has a class cycle left, maybe two before she's a senior padawan. Once she's a senior padawan I'll have more time since she won't always be doing missions with me. And anyways, I've been focusing on healing for the most part these last two years.”

“I had been wondering why you were in just about all my classes suddenly... you've really got this worked out, huh? But how did you manage to have that many classes in the first place?”

Quinlan shrugged. “Whenever I've had time in Temple, since I was a padawan, I usually take anywhere from three to five classes at a time, with occasional times I take less, usually because I ended up teaching a class or two. At least one of the classes was always some sort of healing class. Started with the ones necessary to be able to use certain techniques in the field, then branched out. And it helped that I often had plenty of space to take more than one healing course, since I also did classes that I didn't have to do in person. But I'm pretty sure I'm behind on the practical requirements.”

“Still is pretty amazing how many classes you ended up taking. Never would have seen that coming years ago.” Bant paused, tilting her head. “Why do you want to study the effects of physical touch on healing?”

“Because I've personally experienced it.” Quinlan considered how to explain it, then went all in. “Kiffar heal better with physical touch. Depending on where we are on touch starvation, it can mean no healing at all. There was one time I had been out of contact with people for far too long, and broke my leg. It didn't heal at all for two weeks. It still looked like a fresh break when I finally made it back.”

“I've never heard of that...”

Quinlan smiled. “Kiffar are rather rare in the wider galaxy, so I'm not surprised. On Kiffu, all beds, even in hospitals, are big enough for at least three people to cuddle on, and they have ways to work around the extra people. Just a brief look at smaller studies, humans do seem to do better with some element of touch or at least companionship than without. Nothing like Kiffar, but enough that there does seem to be a difference. I suspect that those species that don't require much touch, especially in the newborn stage, probably don't wouldn't show a difference with healing. But I do want to see what the scale is like, how much is needed, and how much it helps.”

“That's very fascinating... And it could change a lot about how we handle Jedi in the Healing Halls... and our approach to relief efforts, too. In a positive way.”

“That is one benefit of the topic. The problem is going to be collecting the data needed for it, since it's not something people look at often, if they even consider it. There's a lot of anecdotes about how someone at death's door did a miraculous turnaround the moment they were allowed visitors, or those visitors were allowed to hold their hands. But how common is it really?”

Bant and Quinlan spent the rest of lunch having an enjoyable discussion about both their possible thesis topics.

.

Obi-Wan smirked at Anakin. “Well, you wanted a more exciting mission.”

Anakin groaned. “Master! We're stranded on a random planet! This is terrible!”

“Calm down padawan, we can salvage this. At least it's not Tatooine.”

“...why must you torture me?”

Obi-Wan laughed and ruffled Anakin's hair. “Now, our mission is still to find that bounty hunter and who hired her to do that assassination. Since she damaged our ship that badly, I don't think she knows we survived. She doesn't know what we look like. So what do you think is the best way to blend in?”

“We're... Kiffar, not Jedi?” Anakin suggested.

“Good start. But why am I Clan Vos, and you Clan Vex, and you're also only fifteen. Since Kiffar aren't adults until twenty, why are you off of Kiffu?”

Anakin frowned at him. “Uh... You're my uncle? Your sibling didn't want to make me automatically Clan Vos, and I chose Clan Vex when I was old enough because I was more interested in exploring space than leading? Um... Clan Vex does take teens out on sort of an apprenticeship stuff because they do leave Kiffu the most... So, this could be my first or second trip off planet, but I don't know why I'd be with you not my own Clan even if you're my uncle.”

“I'm a bit of a wanderer myself, and we got separated from the group we left the planet with, and now we're stranded. Remember to introduce yourself as Anakin Vex, and myself as Obi-Wan Vos.”

“You don't think anyone will realize?”

“No. We'll only run into issues if we meet other Kiffar, and even then, they will be more likely to help us than reveal us, assuming they've been on Kiffu recently enough to have even heard of us.”

“Okay.” Anakin fiddled with his gloves. “Um, how should I hide my padawan braid?”

Obi-Wan grinned at him. “Okay, I'm still terrible with hair, but I think I can manage something. It's a good thing you don't like keeping to the padawan cut, or this would be more difficult.” Obi-Wan pulled out a stash of Kiffar hair bands and other things he liked to keep on him just in case and got to work.

“Thank you, m-Uncle.” Anakin smiled at him after checking the mirror. He definitely passed as Kiffar now, with his hair done and the padawan braid completely blending in. He frowned after a moment. He did look more like his dad, four years later, than he had before adoption, but he didn't quite look full Kiffar. But... it would be fine. Not many people knew Kiffar enough to question it. Besides, it wasn't entirely uncommon for others to show up from outside Kiffu and marry into a Kiffu Clan and have kids.

Before they went into town, Obi-Wan and Anakin went over what needed to be fixed. They also carefully removed any signs that they were Jedi and hid them away. At least their robes were a bit less typical Jedi and a little closer to the preferred styles of Kiffu.

First thing Obi-Wan did, a protective arm around Anakin the entire time, was arrange to get their ship transferred to the ship port so it was easier to repair. Between the two of them, they would be able to repair it though most would've just scrapped the entire thing.

Once that was taken care of, they needed a place to stay and were pointed to a local inn. There were more than one but the local who pointed them there said they'd probably be most comfortable at that inn in particular.

Obi-Wan could only sense sincerity, so they went for the local inn. Cici's Home for Wayward Travelers, it was called. At the door, Obi-Wan paused, noting some of the paint styles were very reminiscent of those on Kiffu. That was unusual, so far out in the outer rim, outside of the Republic.

“Hello, welcome to my inn. What are you looking for?”

“Oh, we just need a room for me and my nephew until we can fix our ship. Looks like it'll probably be a few days.” Obi-Wan tilted his head as they approached the desk.

The person there hadn't actually looked at them yet, already getting ready to check them in. “Names?”

Obi-Wan thought he saw a hint of face tattoos but couldn't quite tell. “I am Obi-Wan Vos, and my nephew is Anakin Vex.”

That got the inn owner's attention, and he finally looked up. “Oh, hello. I'm Cici of Clan Liway. Nice to meet you.” He had a jagged orange stripe across his face, more reminiscent of lightning than a straight line and a single upside down triangle in the middle of his forehead in gold.

“Nice to meet you too.” Obi-Wan grinned. Cici? Clan Liway? It couldn't be. He would have to be careful and pay attention. Just to be sure.

Anakin leaned forward curiously, eyes wide. “Whoa why do you live all the way out here?”

“Ani! Sorry, my nibling has little experience off of Kiffu. This is only their second trip, and we got separated from the others.” Obi-Wan explained, lightly smacking Anakin's head.

Anakin pouted at him, then turned his attention to Cici. Who was watching them with interest, though there was a slight suspicion aimed towards Obi-Wan.

“It's quite alright. It is rather rare for a Kiffar to leave Kiffu and stay that way. About three decades ago, there was a tragedy in my family, and I decided I was better off taking some space before I did something stupid.”

“Understandable. Now... how much?”

Cici named the rate per night. “But I won't expect you to pay more than the first night until you check out.”

“Thank you.”

Cici led them to their room. He opened the door for them. “Oh, I always make sure that whoever is cleaning and handling anything in this inn wears gloves. If there's any negative impressions, it's from previous guests, so it should be safe enough for your nibling to go without gloves.”

“Ah, that is good news, thank you.”

Anakin immediately took his gloves off, relieved. “That's great, thank you, Cici. I hate wearing them.”

“Everyone does, young one.” Cici shook his head with a faint amused smile and left.

Obi-Wan did a quick check for anything that might be placed to spy on the occupants, then relaxed and unpacked some of their things. Anakin quickly hurried to help him.

“It won't be long until you can go without gloves all the time,” Obi-Wan promised. “You're doing better than I did. To be fair, at your age, I'd just been adopted. But as far as I've seen, it takes until about twenty for most to be able to handle it all the time except in extreme emotions, because it takes that long for the emotional regulation skills to develop enough to handle it.”

Anakin sighed. “I know... I just miss being able to work on machines without worrying about who's handled them before, or wearing even the thin gloves meant for working on them, you know?”

“Oh, I know. But you'll get there one day. I promise.” Obi-Wan hugged him. “Now we need to start gathering information on the bounty hunter and who hired her while we find the parts.”

“This does seem like her base. She thought we'd crashed in that asteroid field, so there's no reason for her to go somewhere else... right?”

“Right. This may be her home, but we still have to be cautious. Just because it's her home, doesn't mean she'll be easy to find. She might even be a hero.”

“Why would a bounty hunter be a hero?”

“This isn't a well-off planet. She might be the reason her family has money. Or she might be the protector around here when things go wrong. Sometimes people in bad positions don't see any other option besides crime in order to meet basic needs.”

“But... that's not right.”

“No, it's not. But it's easy for us to judge. I was raised to resist such temptations, and I'm training you to resist as well. But the average person? They don't have that. They just know that as much as they hate to do what they have to, it's the only way they will eat. It's the only way their children will eat. They'll consider the morality of what they did when they don't have to worry anymore. But for most, that time never comes.”

“Oh. And what do we do if she is a hero?”

Obi-Wan tapped his chin thoughtfully. “It will depend. We might be able to get away with saying she got away, as long as we find the one who hired her. I don't want to deprive her family of someone who's just trying to feed them, not when they're right here. That will only make us the bad guys.”

“And plenty of people already hate Jedi for what we do and what they think we do.” Anakin sighed. “So... we have to be careful about not letting a criminal go, but we also can't really appear like we're the bad guys, because we're not. She almost killed a senator, and there's other kills to her name, and by Republic laws, and even laws outside the Republic, that's a crime. Especially since she took money for it.”

“You're learning, good job, Padawan,” Obi-Wan said warmly.

.

The next morning, Obi-Wan sat outside, watching Anakin try to figure out how to fix whatever it was that he took from the ship to work on.

Cici joined them. “You're not going to help him?”

“Ani is quite the prodigy at mechanics. I am more likely to get in the way, and I don't believe I know more about it than he does. When he encounters a problem he's struggling with, he'll come to me for help in problem solving, and we can usually do it together.”

“You're quite different from most members of Clan Vos.”

“Thank you, I suppose. You did not seem happy that I am of Clan Vos.”

“I do not have fond memories of Clan Vos, as they are connected to the tragedy.”

“The one that happened thirty years ago.”

Cici sighed. “That is a long time to hold a grudge, I know. It would be worse if I had stayed and had to keep pretending like nothing had happened, the way my family preferred to do.”

“For holding a grudge, you're treating me rather nicely.”

“About thirty years ago. You would've been a kid.”

“I suppose that would be true. I'm thirty-one.”

“So, you would've been about two.”

Obi-Wan was starting to think he knew what Cici was talking about. But he would wait and see. It wasn't certain yet.

“Anyways, I've considered going back to Kiffu, but my family is still holding on tightly to their own grudge, aside from some of those about your age and younger. I do miss Kiffu, but this place has become home, in a way.”

“You know you do not owe me an explanation, right?”

“No, I don't, but I suppose I have been lonely.”

Obi-Wan put a hand on his shoulder. “Kiffar aren't meant to be alone, though we can find family among those who are not Kiffar.”

Cici sighed. “I have had a hard time with that,” he admitted. “It's... hard watching how everyone struggles around here. They don't trust easily. Because I own one of the inns, I'm trusted to keep the outsiders from hurting others, and they think I'm friendly enough.”

“But no one actually comes around to be friendly.”

“Something like that. And it's been at least five years since the last time Kiffar turned up here.”

“Maybe you should move elsewhere and set up a business where people are not going to shut you out for what you do.”

“This place is still home.”

“Is it? Or are you just telling yourself that?”

.

Obi-Wan had gotten the feeling that if he was patient, Cici would end up giving them most of the information they needed. He was right. It was only their second morning in the inn, and Cici started giving the information they needed, telling them about some of the people, and soon enough, he mentioned the bounty hunter.

“Now, Lia is a great person, loves her family, but she's also a bounty hunter. No one else here knows it, but she is. I'm one of the few people who keeps up with the galactic news, but I'd recognize her anywhere. I can't believe she attempted to kill a senator. At least she shook off the Jedi that were after her.”

“I've heard Jedi are rather tenacious. I'm surprised she managed to do that.”

“Me too. It wouldn't surprise me if they showed up eventually looking for her. I don't know what her family will do when they arrest her.”

“So why does she do bounty hunting?”

“This planet isn't that great a place to live. I only really like it because its quiet. Her family... well, her parents escaped slavery, and she has younger siblings to worry about. They don't have much. I don't know how they'd survive without the bounty hunting money.”

“Ah... I can see your concern. That is just too bad. Far too many people end up screwed by their circumstances.”

“And Jedi make it worse.”

“How so?” Obi-Wan was genuinely curious.

“They'll steal babies and children at the first opportunity, as if families aren't able to care for their younglings in poor circumstances, they sweep in and save the day and then leave everyone to pick up the pieces, and they're a cult.”

“Have you ever met a Jedi?”

“Yes, he's the one that took my nibling away after his parents died, my sibling, died. And Clan Vos allowed it, without checking with us. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye.”

Obi-Wan stared at Cici. Just what he had suspected and had not wanted to think too hard about. If he would've been two, Quinlan would've been four. That's when Quinlan lost his parents and came to the Temple. And Clan Liway was the clan his other parent was from. And the Clan that refused all contact with him when he was a padawan. That meant that Cici could only be their uncle Cici, one of the few people from the Clan who did not drift away after their parents married.

“I'm sorry. I've never heard of a Jedi doing that. Usually, they just talk to the parents and let the parents make a decision. Sometimes the younglings insist, I've heard. I seem to keep running into Jedi on my wanderings.”

“Well, that's not what happened on Kiffu.” Cici sighed. “I don't even know that he's alive. The Clan has heard nothing from him since he left Kiffu, or the Jedi who took him.”

“Not terribly unusual, though the Jedi do seem to allow contact with those who want it, and they allow Jedi to have their cultural connections. I've seen Mirialan Jedi with their tattoos. Togruta with akul teeth. So, I'm surprised that even after thirty years you don't know what happened to your nibling.”

“Well, I don't really stay in contact with them as much anymore. Maybe talk to them once a year. But yeah, they know nothing.”

“Strange.”

“And anyways, the Jedi are a cult regardless. They don't allow anyone to leave and they have these weird ideas about emotions, and how they have to be emotionless.”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “That is how they appear, but there are Jedi who've left. Couldn't tell you who, but I've heard the rumors. Most just don't seem to leave. And I think they have good reason to keep their emotions locked down. It's gotta be hard dealing with all that responsibility when it comes to politics and saving people. No room to make mistakes due to emotions. And that's without getting into how emotions apparently affect their abilities and controlling their emotions makes whatever magic that is easier.”

“You are far too optimistic.”

“That's a first. My sibling is usually called the optimistic one. Not Ani's parent. A different sibling. But I do like trying to assume the best rather than the worst.”

“I'm sorry, I just cannot see the best in the Jedi.”

Chapter Text

The days passed. Anakin made steady progress on fixing up the ship, always returning at night with grease streaked everywhere. Obi-Wan didn't always go with him, though he tried to. In the meantime, he was finding out a lot of information about Lia, and who might have hired her. Anakin picked up some things too, from those that hung around the hangar.

Obi-Wan felt like the only thing left to do was confront Lia, at this point, but he couldn't do that until they were ready to leave, just in case. But he also wanted to investigate the outsiders who were 'regulars.' He suspected that they were the ones who hired her most often, which meant the one responsible was here as well. He just needed to research. But it was a bit hard to do on this planet.

Cici continued to warm up to him until one day Obi-Wan went into the kitchen to help with the dishes and found him sitting at the table, staring at a picture.

Obi-Wan didn't say anything, just started with the clean up as he had started doing out of boredom the third day. He was working his way through the dishes when Cici finally spoke.

“I haven't really dealt with it,” he admitted. “It still hurts too much, even after all this time. I don't even talk about it. I probably should.”

“You don't have to. Clan Vos is part of the problem, and I'm a member of Clan Vos.” Obi-Wan hoped he would, though.

“I want to... my name isn't Cici, it's Quincy. Cici was always my nickname, and my sibling named my nibling after me, in a way, despite fully embracing Clan Vos and the royal family. But then, she had married the son of the Kings, of course she was going to pick Clan Vos for little Quin. I felt like I was losing her, even though they always made plenty of time for Clan Liway.”

Obi-Wan stopped and looked at him. He understood the worry. Adjusting to new family dynamics was always difficult, especially for those who were close. “So you were already a bit resentful of Clan Vos.”

“Maybe a little, though I didn't say anything because she was so happy. I guess that just made me more resentful as that Jedi started coming around to see my nibling more. To see... Quinlan.” Cici's voice wavered for a moment, and he seemed like he might cry. But he didn't. “He was such a bright happy kid... when he wasn't being overwhelmed by psychometry. I've never seen it so strong before, and worse, the Jedi actually helped.”

Obi-Wan left the dishes to dry and dried off his hands. He sat down at the table next to Cici. Close enough to offer comfort, though he did not actually initiate contact. That wtould be up to Cici.

“I don't know what he was doing, but Quin was always brighter, happier afterwards. And my sibling and her spouse... they started talking about letting Quin be a Jedi... They weren't sure though, but they had two years before it was too late, and that Jedi was always around anyways.”

Cici passed the picture to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan recognized it. It was the last picture Quinlan had of his parents. And some of the Liway side of the family. Cici had Quinlan on his shoulders, while Quin's parents stood on either side, and Quin's Liway's grandparents were sitting in front.

“That picture was taken two days before my sibling and her spouse were murdered. They never did figure out who did it. Could've been someone resentful of Clan Vos, could've been a random murder, as they were at their house outside the palace that much of Clan Vos lives in at the time. Could've been an outsider. We don't know. But... it happened so fast. Something happened with Quin, and I guess he went a bit out of control with his Jedi magic thing.”

Cici took in a deep breath. “I just know that I got the news that they were dead, then before I even got there, I got told that Clan Vos had taken custody, and then after I arrived, I was informed that Quinlan was going with the Jedi. They didn't even give me a chance to say goodbye, he was already gone.”

Obi-Wan reached out and squeezed Cici's shoulder. “I'm sorry. It doesn't sound like they handled it well, but I'm sure they were panicking and in shock themselves.”

“I suppose, but things weren't the same after that. Clan Liway declared a feud with Clan Vos and moved away from the city, to avoid the largest concentration of them, and we didn't hear anything about Quin, and I couldn't handle it, so I left Kiffu to sort myself out... and never returned. I've always suspected that Quinlan didn't survive but Clan Vos couldn't bear to admit the truth.”

They sat in silence for a while, then Obi-Wan sighed. “You just told me such a huge personal thing... And I've been keeping secrets.” He pulled out his lightsaber and placed it on the table."

Cici stared at it then looked at Obi-Wan. “That's a Jedi weapon.”

“I am a Jedi. I was adopted into Clan Vos when I was fifteen, with my best friend becoming my brother. Ani's mother married into Clan Vex after moving to Kiffu, and his stepfather became his real father with adoption. Anakin is my padawan.”

“That... doesn't make any sense.”

Obi-Wan shrugged. “You weren't ever given the chance to learn the truth of the Jedi.”

“I... need some time to process.”

“Understandable. But just so you know... We are not going to arrest Lia if we can help it. All we need is the one who hired her and an excuse about her getting away, and she will be safe. And uh, I do have a few other things to tell you, when you're ready.”

“Good to know.” Cici eyed him strangely, but didn't want to know anything else yet.

Both went back to the main lobby of the inn. Cici sat next to the desk, contemplating everything from the last few days. All the comments that Obi-Wan had made about the Jedi. He had been careful to make it sound like he didn't have first hand experience but now Cici knew he did. He was one of them. Cici did not put the pieces together that would tell him what else Obi-Wan had to say. He was still reeling from the surprise he'd just gotten. The Jedi didn't have to tell him the truth, but he did.

Obi-Wan was thinking about Cici and how unfortunate it was that he had been caught in the crossfire of Tholme and Bran trying to make sure Quinlan was okay, that he got the help he needed. Quinlan had really not been in a good state and it was actually safer, better for him to be in the Temple, at least for a bit. And then it turned into something permanent. It was definitely strange that Clan Liway did not know anything about Quinlan because he knew Tholme and later Quinlan would regularly send them messages.

It had taken more than a year after his adoption to get it out of Quinlan, why Quinlan didn't like talking about the other side of the family. Quinlan had entirely broken down about Clan Liway not wanting him, and not even bothering to tell him, just ignoring him. But now Obi-Wan was wondering if there was more to it. There was something off about the events he described. 

Both Cici and Obi-Wan were startled when two Jedi walked in. Quinlan and Aayla. Cici looked up and stared at Quinlan, surprised by the sight of a member of Clan Vos who looked so much like his own sibling, and her spouse, too. Quinlan eyed him suspiciously, recognizing the clan tattoos.

Obi-Wan jumped up and broke up the stare off. “Quin! What are you doing here?”

Cici whipped around to stare at Obi-Wan, then looked back at Quinlan.

Quinlan spun and grinned at Obi-Wan, catching the hug. “Obes! Aayla and I are hunting down who would want that senator dead, led us here. You? And where's Ani?”

“Ani is working on fixing our ship. We barely made it here after that bounty hunter nearly shot us down. We're chasing her and who hired her, so it seems our missions led us to the same point.”

“Good, then we can work together.” Quinlan wrapped his arm around Obi-Wan.

“I suppose there's no reason to continue hiding that we're Jedi when there's other, visible Jedi here.”

“Excellent. Now...” Quinlan turned to Cici, drawing strength from Obi-Wan. “I'm Quinlan of Clan Vos, Jedi master, and this is my padawan, Aayla Secura. We'll need a room for the next few days until we finish our investigation.”

Cici couldn't move, stunned to find his nibling was alive. That he was a Jedi Master, and happy. He had an apprentice of his own. He did the typical Kiffar introduction of naming clans, not what most of the galaxy did. And he had the tattoos, so he had to have been back to Kiffu at least once. And Clan Liway either was unaware or had chosen not to tell him.

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. “This is Quincy of Clan Liway, otherwise known as Cici. Our uncle.”

Quinlan looked between Obi-Wan and Cici. “Huh.”

Cici recovered enough to speak. “You should be fine rooming with Obi-Wan and Ani. There's enough room for that. No extra charge.” He disappeared.

“That was weird.” Aayla frowned.

Obi-Wan sighed and led them up to the room. “Cici has been here for close to thirty years, Quin. He never recovered from your parents' death, or the fact he didn't get the chance to even say good bye to you. And Clan Liway claims to have never heard a thing about you since, any time he gets in contact with them. In fact, he just confided in me that he thought you were dead and Clan Vos didn't want to admit to it.”

They entered the room.

Quinlan stared at Obi-Wan. “...you hadn't told him anything about me yet, had you?”

“Well, that would've involved telling him I am a Jedi, and I didn't do that until after he confided in me the details. I was going to tell him, but he needed time to process that I'm a Jedi after all the negative things he'd been saying about Jedi.”

“Huh. Well... I suppose I should talk to him. We can get started tomorrow, discuss the details of what we know so far tonight?”

“Let me know if you need me, okay, Quin?”

“I will. My own family drama... Never expected to encounter that on a mission.”

“Our family drama,” Obi-Wan corrected softly. “You adopted me as your brother, so they're my family too, and they can't change that.”

Quinlan grinned at him. “Okay, you're right. Keep an eye on Aayla for me?”

“I'm seventeen, master! Practically a senior padawan!”

Quinlan tugged on her padawan beads affectionately. “But you're not there yet, Padawan. Anyways, I said keep an eye, not babysit. Unfamiliar planet, after all.”

Aayla sighed in exasperation as Quinlan left.

“Aayla, don't forget that for Kiffar, adulthood is at twenty, it's very easy to pick up that mindset.” Obi-Wan gave her a hug.

“I know...”

“Now let's go wait for Ani to return so we can surprise him.”

Aayla broke out into a huge grin.

.

Quinlan found Cici sitting out back with a picture. Quinlan sat down next to him, feeling uncertain as to how to proceed here. He glanced at the picture and instantly recognized it.

He pulled out his own copy from the pocket he kept it in. He had a digital version, so this wasn't even the original, but he liked keeping a picture close.

“That's the last picture I have of my parents.” Quinlan broke the silence.

Cici looked over to him, surprised, and unsure of how to react. Quinlan showed him that he had the same picture in his hands.

“You still have that?”

“Tholme made sure it came with when we left Kiffu. I was in a bad state. I'd witnessed the murder, couldn't identify anyone because they kept their faces covered, and Tholme sensed my distress in the Force. He arrived before they could kill me too, and then I made the mistake of touching things in the room, and I could feel their terror and pain. It overwhelmed me, and once Tholme helped me out of it, I basically shut down and wasn't responding to anything.” Quinlan spoke softly. This was more of a recitation, as he didn't really remember it.

“No one on Kiffu could help me, only the Jedi, and it was beyond what Tholme could do. So, they had to make the decision in my best interests to at least temporarily send me to the Temple. I ended up locking away all my memories of what happened, forgetting a lot of my memories before I woke up in the Temple. They introduced me to some of the other younglings while I was recovering and then gave me the option of returning to my family. But I didn't fully remember family, and I'd just met Obi-Wan, already on the way to being the best of friends. And the Force was saying I belonged there at the Temple.”

Cici moved a little bit closer. “And what about Clan Vos?”

“They decided it would be too painful to try to stay in contact with me in the direct aftermath, since I was so far away from them, and my parents had just died, everyone was grieving. I know my grandparents tried to keep Clan Liway updated, though they never got a response. When I became a padawan, I had the option of exploring my birth culture, as all Jedi do. Exactly when is often up to the master training the padawan and may vary depending on the culture as well. With Clan tattoos typically being done around the age of twelve, that meant I had to be given the option quickly so that I could make that decision.”

Quinlan smiled slightly, remembering how overwhelmed he had been by everyone's enthusiasm. “Obviously, I chose to stay in contact, and for my padawan years, I was back on Kiffu once a year. I haven't been able to make it back as often all the time, not since I was Knighted, but having a padawan certainly makes it easier. Clan Vos actually was always protective of me, and worried about the Jedi pushing me too hard too quickly, worried I wasn't getting what I needed. That was one of their primary motives for adopting Obi-Wan was my brother when I was seventeen. There were definitely a lot of clashes between them and Tholme, who was the one who taught me, over differences.”

“So... the Jedi treated you well?” Cici tentatively placed a hand on Quinlan's shoulder, still having trouble believing that this was real. Quinlan didn't look up from the picture.

“I have not had any regrets about being a Jedi. And the one upsetting thing I've ever had to deal with long term that there was no way to get closure for was not understanding why Clan Liway didn't want me. Tholme started sending them messages when he took me on as a padawan. He knew you at least were close to my parents and I. And when I was fourteen I started sending my own, starting with once a month, and eventually dropping down to once a year. When I was Knighted... that was when I gave up. I was an adult, by Kiffar standards, and it had been several years. But that was a decade ago.” Quinlan shrugged, trying not to be as bothered as he actually was.

“As far as I'm aware, no one ever got those messages,” Cici said softly.

“Someone had to at least get them in their inbox. Which means at least one person is hiding things from others and deliberately ignored me. But I can believe, at least, that you were not part of that.”

Cici hesitated. “Quin... can I hug you?”

Quinlan just turned and started the hug himself. Cici hugged him tightly in return, neither willing to let go. So the hug went on for a while.

“This is really weird,” Quinlan mumbled after a bit. “What are we even supposed to say to each other at this point? I'm in my thirties!”

Cici found himself chuckling, despite the tears that had started. “I have no clue, Quin. I guess we have to start with basic get to know you stuff.” He pulled away and properly got a look at Quinlan, smiling at all the familiar bits of his sibling he could pick out. And now he knew why Obi-Wan had looked so familiar. He'd gotten a few of those same features, just a bit softer, tempered by his birth parents.

Quinlan smiled. “I guess we have to. You own this inn, right?”

“Yep. And as Obi-Wan pointed out, I'm not actually that happy here, I just told myself I was. Not sure what I'm going to do with the inn, though.”

“You could just give it to someone. If they have enough sense, it's a proper business for them to run.”

“That's not a bad idea. And Obi-Wan is your brother. I can see the similarities.”

Quinlan grinned. “Obes is great. We'd been best friends before, and then he was adopted, and we're even closer now.”

“And he introduced me by claiming me as his uncle, too.”

“That's Obes for you. He's perfectly happy claiming all my family as his own.”

“Of course he is. I wonder when he figured it out, he had to have at least suspected I was talking about you even though I never told him the full story or used your name until today.”

“He probably figured it out as soon as you mentioned the Jedi taking me, if not when he heard your name.” Quinlan shrugged. “Especially if you did give him other hints to put it together.”

.

Aayla had filled in Obi-Wan on what they had discovered so far, and Obi-Wan shared what he knew. They were sitting in the lobby, enjoying snacks while they waited for Anakin to return from working on the ship.

And then Anakin walked in. “I think I'll be done tomor-” He stopped and stared. “Aayla?” He grinned and hurried over. “What are you doing here?”

“Master Quin and I ended up here from the other side of the investigation.”

“Which means there's no point in hiding that we're Jedi anymore.”

“What about Cici?”

“I think he'll be okay with that. You've heard him mention his nibling?”

“Yeah, once or twice. He never really talked about that around me though.”

“Quinlan is his nibling.”

“Oh. So that's why he doesn't like the Jedi.”

“Something like that.” Obi-Wan nodded. “They're talking right now.”

“So... that makes Cici your uncle.”

“It does.” Obi-Wan nodded. “But I will wait. They need this far more than I.”

Anakin turned to Aayla and started talking to her about something else, leaving Obi-Wan to worry about Quinlan.

He thankfully didn't have too much longer to worry about it as Cici and Quinlan walked in, arms around each other, both smiling.

Obi-Wan left the two padawans talking and joined them. “Worked it out?”

“A bit. Why did you not say anything when you figured it out?” Cici didn't sound accusatory, just curious and a litle confused.

“I was not ready to reveal that I am a Jedi, and I would have to in order to explain that I knew Quinlan was alive and alright.”

“That makes sense. You really won't arrest Lia?”

Obi-Wan shook his head. “I try not to arrest the desperate, especially not in front of those they're trying to keep alive. If she continues bounty hunting, someone else might, though.”

“I think her and her family might appreciate owning this inn.”

“You're going to leave?” Obi-Wan asked, tilting his head.

Cici wrapped an arm around him and looked at both of them. “I think we need to go to Kiffu and get to the bottom of why I keep getting told they know nothing of what happened to Quinlan.”

“We?” Obi-Wan asked, surprised.

“We. I think Quinlan should be there to show that he's alive and well, and you're his brother, so you are family too. You should be there.”

Obi-Wan smiled and wrapped his arm around Cici. “Then I think it's a great idea. Quin?”

“Looking forward to it. But we have a mission to finish up first.”

Chapter Text

The mission was easy enough to wrap up, with Obi-Wan writing in his report that he had not actually found the bounty hunter (technically true; he never did meet Lia). He wrote that she must have just stopped at that planet to meet with the person who hired her and then left quickly. And the real mastermind behind the assassination was not actually sure of the identity of the bounty hunter he hired either. And so, as long as Lia stayed with the inn, she would probably be safe from arrest.

After a quick check in with the Temple, Quinlan and Obi-Wan were cleared to go to Kiffu with their padawans for two weeks before their next mission. Obi-Wan and Quinlan then made arrangements for Derry and Shmi to meet them in the town that Clan Liway lived in, so that Anakin could make the most of his time with his parents, and there were people around to keep an eye on Aayla if things went wrong.

Cici spent the days it took to get to Kiffu watching Quinlan and Obi-Wan as they did Jedi things, training their padawans. They were happy, they were free with affection, and it was so much better than he had ever imagined for his nibling. And his new nibling. He wished he'd known what had happened and learned about Obi-Wan sooner. Ciera would have loved Obi-Wan. He was so much like her, in personality too.

It had been fascinating, watching Quinlan and Obi-Wan work on their investigation, talking their padawans through what they were doing, and then there was the moment they arrested the person they were after. All focused and calm, just like a Jedi, and nothing like what Cici had come to known over just a few short days. It was the same when they handed over the person to be convicted. And then they were back to themselves.

The coldness most of the galaxy associated with the Jedi was just a mask, so they could do their jobs. Cici could understand that, and he wished he'd known that sooner. The two padawans tried to keep to the same calm face, but they weren't quite there yet, though Aayla, being older, was far closer.

There was so much Cici hadn't known, and he was going to be making up for all the mistakes that led him to making for years.

Now Cici just had to worry about how Clan Liway would take his return, how they would take the discovery of Quinlan being alive. He had decided, and Quinlan and Obi-Wan had agreed, that if they just introduced Quinlan, most of the reactions would be reliable on if they had known about the ignored letters or not. There was a good chance that things were about to absolutely go crazy. But it was worth it. If nothing else, Quinlan deserved the closure. He could tell how much it still affected his nibling that Clan Liway never responded.

The ship landed in the ship port as planned, and when they got off, Anakin rushed to greet his parents, beaming. Obi-Wan and Quinlan exchanged amused looks and walked over at a much slower pace, Aayla following.

Derry looked at them, looked at Cici. “I didn't tell any of your family, but you know they're not going to be happy about this.”

“Better to deal with protectiveness after we're done with this than before,” Quinlan responded quietly.

“We don't know how long it'll take or if it'll go well or badly. Adding in any others of Clan Vos guarantees this going poorly,” Obi-Wan added. “There is a feud after all.”

“Over me.” Quinlan scowled.

Derry nodded. “First sign of trouble, I'm calling them.”

“Well, if you can see trouble from wherever you are with Ani and Aayla, then that's probably a good idea,” Obi-Wan agreed, wrapping an arm around Quinlan.

Quinlan nodded, then took a deep breath. “Let's get this over with.”

They bid their padawans goodbye and then rejoined Cici.

Cici frowned at them. “Nervous?”

“A bit, yeah. There's no telling how this is going to go, and regardless, at least one member of my family rejected me.”

“Well, you got me, and you got Obi-Wan, and you can go see Clan Vos after too. Plus, there's that padawan of yours.”

Obi-Wan flashed Cici a vicious smile. Clan Liway would regret it if they all rejected Quinlan.

“You're right.” Quinlan closed his eyes and breathed, pushing the anxiety and old feelings aside to deal with later. “Let's go.”

Cici had already gotten directions to the Clan Liway compound. He had not told them he was coming, mostly because he didn't want to be badgered about why or anything else. Besides, it would be amusing to see their faces when he showed up out of the blue. He still wasn't certain he'd be comfortable living with everyone, especially after living completely alone for near thirty years. But he was visiting, at least this time. After... well, he'd see what he did.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan dropped back a little as he approached the gate to the compound. None of them were wearing traditional Kiffar clothes. Cici had put together outfits that were similar over the years, but not quite the same. Not many people liked wearing clothes that were basically dresses after all. And of course, Obi-Wan and Quinlan were Jedi, and it showed in their robes, even if they had gotten the tailors to modify theirs to be a bit more like Kiffar clothes, a hybrid more so than anything.

Cici took in a deep breath and put his hand on the bioscan. The door opened on the side of the gate. Obi-Wan and Quinlan moved forward but the door closed with a member of Clan Liway glaring at them. Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged looks and shrugged. Quinlan then put his hand on the bioscan, having a hunch that if it worked for Cici it would work for them.

Cici meanwhile was dealing with several interrogations at once, some about why he'd finally come home, some about what he'd been up to, and of course, there were some demanding to know he brought two members of Clan Vos with him. The one surviving sibling and their spouse, and kids, Cici's parents, and aunts and uncles and cousins were all involved in the questioning. He didn't bother answering, just turned back to the door to wait.

The door opened and Quinlan entered. He stepped to the side and waited for Obi-Wan as a silence fell over Clan Liway. Cici paid attention to everyone's faces. His parents were resigned, and a little angry, so were a few of his piblings (parent's siblings aka aunts/uncles), and a couple of cousins, but the rest were just completely confused.

“Uh, hi, I'm Quinlan.” Quinlan waved, speaking in Kiffi. “This is my adopted brother, Obi-Wan.”

Grace squealed, rushing forward. “Quin! My nibling! You've returned!” He hugged Quinlan very enthusiastically, with Quinlan looking rather bewildered. Then he turned to Obi-Wan and greeted him just as enthusiastically.

Those younger than Quinlan looked surprised and confused. Mostly confused. They'd only vaguely heard of him, and some of the ones under the age of twenty had never even heard his name before.

Cici took note of who swarmed, and those who were a bit angry when Quinlan and Obi-Wan appeared did not swarm at all. Good to know. He stepped forward to help his niblings out, though he couldn't help but grin. The happiness of his family was contagious.

“How'd you find him?” Grace asked, wrapping an arm around his sibling. “I'm glad you came back, Cici.”

Cici sighed. “I didn't find him. First Obi-Wan, then Quinlan stumbled on me on Jedi missions that happened to result in them going after the same person. It was a shock for all of us.”

Grace stared at Cici, then looked at Obi-Wan and Quinlan who were both starting to look a little overwhelmed. “They're Jedi? But... they have the Clan Vos tattoos, Quinlan had to have actually blood adopted Obi-Wan as his brother...”

“Our assumptions about the Jedi were wrong. And Quin insists that that he did send us letters starting at fourteen, and Clan Vos and the Jedi who taught him had tried to keep us updated before that. He thought we had rejected him when he got no response and gave up a decade ago.”

“That's why he's so surprised by how happy we are... But who would have hidden it?”

“How about those who were supposed to have cared for him before everything and have yet to even approach?”

Grace looked around, frowning. “Okay, yeah, that's a concern. And that's why you returned, to get to the bottom of this, and get him some closure... He looks so much like Ciera. Obi-Wan too. We missed him growing up, we missed him gaining a brother...”

“We missed a lot more than that.” Cici sighed. “They're both Jedi masters. Decently well-known ones at that. Search their names on the holonet and you get results. And they're training their own padawans, apprentices.”

“And where are those apprentices now?”

“With Derry and Shmi of Clan Vex. Anakin, Obi-Wan's padawan, is their son, adopted by Derry upon his marriage to Shmi. They didn't think it was a good idea to bring the padawans here when none of us had an idea on how well or poorly this was going to go.”

“Considering everything... that was probably a good idea.”

Cici watched his own parents step forward, both angry. The crowd around Quinlan and Obi-Wan moved to the side.

Quinlan tilted his head at the people stepping forward. “Grandparents?”

There was a warning in the Force. In an instant, both Quinlan and Obi-Wan had their lightsabers out, having blocked the first blaster bolt. Neither did anything else, no move to attack.

The supposed grandparents did not stop with the first shot.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan did not react. They just blocked and deflected the bolts away from innocent bystanders. The parents protected their children, but beyond that, the ones not involved were too surprised to move, not just by the move from their own Clan to hurt Quinlan and Obi-Wan, but by the appearance of lightsabers out of nowhere.

“You were supposed to have died with them!”

“Ah, so I suppose that explains why none of my letters were ever given a response,” Quinlan responded calmly.

Obi-Wan noted that all the ones who hadn't approached them at some point were pulling out blasters. He prepared for a more dangerous fight. But he did have a burning question. “Supposed to have? Are you the reason they are dead then?”

“They didn't do the killing,” one of their great piblings stepped forward with two of their own grown children. “We did.”

Quinlan's eyes widened. “Why? Why kill your own family?”

“Our parents created Clan Liway because they didn't want to choose between their birth clans for their children, for us,” his grandparent stated fiercely. “And yet our own child chose Clan Vos for her child instead of being equal. That was unacceptable. Now we just need to finish the job because Clan Vos is a plague on Kiffu!”

Quinlan and Obi-Wan moved, blocking each shot with ease, even as the rest had pulled out blasters. Obi-Wan pulled out his second lightsaber to catch more shots. But they couldn't block them all, not when they had innocents, children, to worry about. Quinlan barely flinched when he caught one on his arm, just kept moving.

That was enough to make Cici move, pulling out his own blasters as he stood between his two niblings. “Your own flesh and blood, all for some petty grudge against Clan Vos, all because Ciera was the only one of the Clan to actively choose the other for her child? I refuse to stand for it.” He started firing back, startling several of his cousins, who hesitated, but others were resolved to keep to the Clan values.

“You would go against your own parents after disappearing for so long?”

Grace joined Cici, pulling out his singular blaster. “I'd rather disown Clan Liway than play any part in what you did.”

“You too?”

All the while, blasters did not stop firing, and the two Jedi did not stop moving, protecting their family. Sides were taken; children were hidden away. There was shouting, and more of the story, of the logic were revealed, but it did not make things any better. Because it just became more and more clear that there was just something wrong with many of the older members of Clan Liway.

Quinlan spotted an opening and pulled the blasters away from half of the opposing side with the Force. The side that wanted him dead, that would not accept Obi-Wan as family. He flung his hand to the side and the blasters flew far out of range. With his concentration on the blasters, even for so short a time, he was hit by three different blaster bolts at once. He fell back, hissing with pain. As Obi-Wan moved to cover him, he decided to just get the remaining blasters with the Force as well.

Now that they were disarmed, those who were happy to have Quinlan there rushed forward to ensure they didn't flee. None of the great piblings had wanted Quinlan to survive. Only two of the cousins of his parents were on his side. But everyone single one of his generation and younger was on his side, as they had been completely in the dark.

Obi-Wan turned off his lightsabers and to Quinlan. “Sit.”

Quinlan sighed and clipped his lightsaber to his belt before he sat down, wincing. “Well, that was fun.”

Obi-Wan snorted. “It kind of was.” He pulled out his healer's kit, as they'd both started carrying one. He started with the worst wound, right in the middle of Quinlan's chest. He then moved onto each of the others, making sure they were clean, kick starting the healing with a bit of the Force, and then bandaging each.

Then he sat down himself. “My turn.”

Quinlan grinned at him and took care of the few minor ones that Obi-Wan had. Two lightsabers had covered far more than one did. Afterwards they just leaned on each other, watching the chaos.

Grace dropped down next to them. “You should've waited for a doctor.” He was disapproving.

“Oh, we've got qualifications as healers, even studying for mastery. Quin's about to start working on his thesis.”

Quinlan lightly pushed Obi-Wan, rolling his eyes. “For Jedi, a mastery is the equivalent of a doctorate, and we basically have a masters,” he explained.

“You can fight like that and yet you are healers?”

“Oh, we're not really healers, or rather, that's not our career path. We specialize in a bit of everything, so that we can fill in gaps in missions or just be easy emergency back up as necessary. Piloting, mechanics, diplomacy, investigations, even youngling care.” Quinlan grinned.

“That sounds interesting. I look forward to learning more. Now... because the main problem is against Clan Vos, we need the Kings here. Can you call them?” Grace looked nervous. With good reason.

It had been nearly thirty years since Clan Liway had declared a feud on Clan Vos. Time in which they appeared to not care about Quinlan and later, his adopted brother. It now turned out that most of the older members of Clan Liway were involved in a conspiracy to kill Ciera and her spouse, Landon.

On top of that, they were asking the Kings of Kiffu here. Not just any clan leader, the actual rulers of Kiffu. They had very good reason to worry about it going badly.

“I will do that. Obes, you should update Ani.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “You're right.” He pulled out his comm.

“Ani, things went wrong, but we solved several mysteries. Expect Clan Vos to arrive soon. It should be safe to approach Clan Liway now.” Obi-Wan heard Anakin's response and hung up promptly.

Quinlan started a call with his grandparents, speaking in Kiffi for the entire conversation.

“Hello.”

“Hello, grandparents.”

“Quinlan! Is Obi-Wan there?”

“Yep, right here,” Obi-Wan answered.

“So, when's the next visit?”

“Um... about that...” Quinlan hesitated. “We've solved the mystery of my parents' deaths, and we need you at the Clan Liway compound.”

“I thought you weren't going to be looking into it.”

“We ran into Pibling Cici on a mission, he thought there was a chance that I was dead and had heard nothing of me from Clan Liway since I went to Coruscant. We accompanied him back here.”

“We're not going to like this are we?”

“Nope, not at all,” Obi-Wan responded cheerfully. “There's a lot to go over, though, and I think it would be best to wait until you're here to explain what we've learned.”

“I think I want to know now, Obi.”

Quinlan shook his head. “No, Grandparent Bran. If we tell you anything further, you're going to spend the entire time until you get here stewing and you shouldn't come in all heated like that.”

“That's only going to make me worry, but you're wise to try to keep me from being too angry. We'll be there as fast as possible. Love you Quin, Obi.”

“Love you too,” both replied.

The call ended.

Grace sighed. “Thank you. Shouldn't take more than an hour for them to get here. Do you want to go inside?”

Obi-Wan checked his messages. “My padawan, his parents, and Quin's padawan will be here shortly, so I would rather wait for them.”

“Clan Vos?”

“Clan Vex. And my padawan is a twi'lek.”

There was a commotion by the gate. Cici was already there, smoothing things over. Both padawans hugged him as they entered, then they looked around for their masters. Aayla spotted them first and tugged Anakin's arm, pointing before they ran for their masters.

Obi-Wan stood then helped Quinlan up. Both braced themselves for impact, accepting hugs from both their padawans.

Aayla noticed the bandages first. “Master! You're hurt!”

“I'm okay, Padawan. Obes already took care of it, and I took care of his.” Quinlan tugged her padawan beads affectionately. “Just some blaster bolts.”

“You need to be more careful.” Aayla frowned at him. “I still need you.”

“I know. Things just went more wrong than we were expecting. And this is Grace, my mom's other sibling. Grace, my padawan, Aayla Secura.”

“Hi! Nice to meet you!” Aayla waved then turned back to Quinlan stubbornly. “Are you going to tell me what happened?”

“Later, Grandparents and probably others of Clan Vos are on their way... There's... a lot and it's honestly a bit insane.”

“Okay. You should sit, Master.”

“I was planning on going inside, now that you're here and everyone knows you should be here.”

“You better.”

Quinlan laughed and wrapped an arm around her. “Let's go, then, you're the one holding me up now, Padawan.”

Aayla groaned and stared moving, noticing that Anakin and Obi-Wan had already disappeared inside while Cici was talking to Derry and Shmi.

Once they were inside, one of the cousins, Quinlan had not caught all the names yet, ushered Quinlan into the den to sit down on the couch while snacks and drinks were made. Quinlan sat down next to Obi-Wan, leaning back and sighing gratefully when that eased the pain of some of his wounds.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan spent time getting to know their cousins, though it was a bit awkward. Eventually Clan Vos arrived. Just the grandparents, and Conall, Aisling, and Darach.

Conall entered first and darted over to greet them, only to freeze at the sight of the bandages. “What happened?” he demanded.

“Good to see you too cousin.” Quinlan rolled his eyes. “We'll tell you when everyone is ready to listen.”

Conall pouted at him but gave his cousins a hug and then greeted the padawans cheerfully.

Soon enough, everyone was gathered, ready to talk about what happened. Bran already looked angry, just from the sight of Quinlan and Obi-Wan's injuries.

Quinlan, Obi-Wan, and Cici took turns telling everyone how they came to visit Kiffu together, with the padawans adding comments here and there. Then others, mostly Grace, added in input about what happened after.

“I went and looked,” one of the oldest cousins said. “They never bothered getting rid of any of the letters, they're all still there.”

Bran crossed his arms. “So, the truth is that a number of Clan Liway conspired to kill my child and his spouse, and my grandchild. And then when Quinlan survived, they conspired further to stay away from Quinlan, to isolate him from half his family. Then Quinlan and Obi-Wan found Cici quite by accident, decided to investigate based on what he knew, and after arriving, a fight broke out.”

“Pretty accurate summary, yeah,” Quinlan said. “Anyone who fired on us was restrained eventually.”

“After Quinlan used the Force to disarm them of their blasters,” Obi-Wan added.

“I don't know what we should do.” Grace sighed. “We've been living a lie for close to thirty years, and nothing will ever make up for that lost time. And nothing will change who killed my sibling and her spouse. Nothing will change that our own parents were the ones behind the conspiracy in the first place.”

Bran nodded. “This is going to be tricky, but no one who was actually involved is in trouble. What happens with the years you missed, that's up to Quinlan and Obi-Wan. The rest... they at minimum attempted murder today.”

“We're expelling them from Clan Liway,” Grace stated, in a tone that said there would be no argument. The others in the room definitely agreed with that.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan just let anyone discuss. Neither of them had any real opinions on what should be done. Quinlan was just happy to finally know what was going on with his family.

“What do you think?”

“We're Jedi first and foremost. It's not up to us to decide their fates.” Quinlan smiled at the group.

“You will know better than us how to handle this. Even though Quin's the one most affected, you all were too.”

Clan Vos was unsurprised by their statements. That was pretty typical of the two of them. Always taking the Jedi way but letting the Kiffar do their way.

The discussion continued late. They stopped when not just the younglings but Quinlan and Obi-Wan fell asleep. Aayla and Anakin helped get their masters off the couch and into the growing puppy pile on the floor. Using the Force, of course. That was safer on injuries. And it was something they had practiced before.

Aayla curled up against Quinlan once she was ready. Anakin, meanwhile, was of course taking the opportunity to snuggle with his parents. Both loved how unlike most cultures, even Jedi, there was no 'phase' where it was 'uncool' to cuddle with family. There was good reason, with how Kiffar needed touch, but it was still nice to not have to worry about teasing.

.

Quinlan woke up with a yawn. He smiled at his padawan curled into his side. He squeezed her hand, and she shifted sleepily. Then he became aware of a solid weight on his other arm and didn't need to check to know that Obi-Wan was once again clinging.

“Good morning, Quin.”

“Morning.” Quinlan moved his head so he could see Cici, along with some others sitting on the couch or chairs. Some had caf. Some had tea. And some had water.

“You going to get up?”

“Nah. Obes is near impossible to remove without waking him.”

“Don't I know it,” Anakin grumbled as he sat up, hair sticking up all over the place. “You know he uses that to keep me from sneaking out when I'm grounded.”

Quinlan snickered. “It's effective, isn't it?” he teased.

Anakin glared at him. “A little too effective. But it's nice when I'm injured or sick and he wants to make sure I don't do something dumb.”

“Maybe you need to do less dumb things then, Ani,” Aayla teased, awake apparently, but not willing to move.

“Aayla!” Ani protested. “I don't do dumb things!”

“I can make a list,” Obi-Wan mumbled. “Including being loud enough to wake me.”

Anakin spluttered.

“Morning, Obes.”

“Morning, Quin.”

“Can I have my arm back?”

“No. Too comfortable.”

“Oh fine.”

They spent the next two weeks alternating between Clan Liway and Clan Vos. Neither were entirely certain they would ever be as comfortable with Clan Liway as they were with Clan Vos, but Clan Liway was still family.

They got their separate missions, made sure they had contact information for everyone, and then bid everyone goodbye. Despite how crazy it had gotten, it had been a good decision, and they were happy with it as they went off to the next place that needed Jedi.

Chapter Text

The next two years passed quickly. Quinlan, then Kit, and finally, Obi-Wan all achieved mastery in healing. This gave them a lot more freedom when it came to helping the injured on their missions, knowing how to help. It also meant that they were sent on more and more missions just because they could heal, which made them ideal as back up when things went wrong.

Aayla was approaching her Trials, at the age of nineteen, and starting to prepare for them. She had chosen the same path as her master. She couldn't imagine just picking one area of specialization. And she had enjoyed the variety of the different sorts of missions they had been on over the years.

Anakin meanwhile was only seventeen, approaching the time of being a senior padawan. He wasn't as sold on the same career path, but that was because he excelled at mechanics and piloting and mostly wanted to stick with that. Even if he did have a talent for saberplay and for the Force in general, often getting the technique down long before he understood the theory.

But out in the galaxy... things had been getting worse. It had been easy to ignore for a while, but now, it was starting to get bad. Systems were trying to leave the Republic, unrest was breaking out. There was fighting, sometimes people on the same system, sometimes systems fighting with each other.

Quinlan had been going on longer missions, thanks to Aayla's promotion to senior padawan. Obi-Wan was having to go on the occasional missions when Anakin was stuck on Coruscant, though he protested as much as he could. He knew Anakin hated it when he had to be left behind. Qui-Gon and Dooku helped out but they had both taken on padawans; Qui-Gon was training Idris while Dooku had ended up deciding to take on Del after all. Neither had regretted thier decision so far. On top of that Qui-Gon did have his duties as a member of the Council.

And now, Quinlan and Obi-Wan had been called to meet with the Chancellor, with their padawans. Neither said a word as they walked through the Senate. As unrest had continued, the Chancellor kept consulting, not just with the Council, but the Jedi he seemed to think understood the most about what was going on. That could help with diplomacy. That meant Quinlan and Obi-Wan, along with Kit and Luminara most commonly.

But a meeting like this could also mean a new mission. And with both of them... It could be an important, difficult mission. There hadn't been much opportunity for them to work together in recent years. They worked well together, but they were also best placed with those that needed their usually individual help.

The Chancellor gestured at them to take a seat. Obi-Wan and Quinlan did, their padawans stood behind their chairs.

“I just received word today that the Trade Federation attempted to blockade Hades, but the people there took exception and fought back, and now the other systems in the area are taking sides, turning the situation into a big fight.”

“Hades... That's inner rim, isn't it?”

“Near Glee Anselm, which is the only system anywhere near them staying neutral at this time.”

“If Glee Anselm remains neutral, that would be an ideal place to hold negotiations, if we can get that far.” Obi-Wan tilted his head. “But that's been increasingly unlikely.”

“What's the Trade Federation's excuse this time?” Quinlan asked.

“Hades has some overdue loans that they were trying to get extended, pleading for more time. The Trade Federation believes they do have the money. I am not so sure, but as the Senate continues to refuse to do anything about those tactics, there isn't really anything we can do for Hades but attempt to negotiate.”

“You wouldn't ask for both of us if it was just for negotiation.”

“Astute as always, Master Vos. As Master Kenobi already noted, it's been difficult to get to the point of negotiation. The fighting is already looking like it is going to get far worse without interference. I need you both to do what you can to put an end to the fighting. A peaceful resolution with proper negotiations would be ideal, but the fighting must be stopped before it spreads elsewhere. We cannot afford a wide spread war.”

Quinlan and Obi-Wan discussed further details with the Chancellor until they were satisfied that they understood what he was expecting. And what they were not allowed to do. They couldn't conduct negotiations without knowing what the man in charge of the Republic endorsed, after all.

After bidding the Chancellor goodbye, they returned to the Temple to prepare to leave. Quinlan and Obi-Wan sent their padawans to get ready to have some time to talk on their own.

“I don't like this. He's got some ulterior motive. What did you pick up?” Obi-Wan asked his brother as they leaned on each other.

“I think this is a test for us. Why, I still don't know. He's been clearly trying to manipulate us to be on his side and maybe do his dirty work since Naboo, but I can't pinpoint anything of his true goals with my psychometry, no matter what I touch or how hard I concentrate.”

“And even if you did pick up something, we wouldn't have proof. He's a good actor.” Obi-Wan sighed. “What I don't get is why he's putting so much effort into us. We already have to be careful as Jedi. The Senate, and therefore the Chancellor, have too much power over us for us to do more than toe the line and occasionally jump it when it's worth it.”

“Unfortunately, it's not usually worth it, which always makes us look so much worse. And I'm pretty sure that's what's about to happen here. But still, why put in the effort when we're going to be doing what he says anyways?”

Not knowing was incredibly frustrating. Especially since it meant they didn't know what to be avoiding.

“You know he's talked to Anakin a few times at galas. Anakin's uncomfortable with the Chancellor's insinuations that Jedi don't usually have family and that we're keeping him from his mother. I'm pretty sure the Chancellor has gone harder on those ideas of what we do with our emotions with Ani than us, but at least Anakin knows better.”

“I'm starting to think we need to talk to the Council about this. He's going beyond what's expected for a politician, and into dangerous territory for anyone who's unprepared to deal with his manipulations.”

“I think you're right. When we get back?”

“Works for me.” Quinlan sighed. “Now, we should go get ready.”

“Right.” Obi-Wan stretched before hugging his brother. “I've got a bad feeling about this mission, but I think we can handle it. Aayla's definitely almost to Knight level, and Anakin is closer than I expected for starting so late.”

“They worked hard. There's a lot of pressure in having one of the youngest masters in the Order as master.”

Obi-Wan groaned. “I'm so glad that there's been a few thirty- to thirty-two-year-olds in recent years, so they're younger than me. It's nice I'm not the actual youngest master anymore.”

Quinlan laughed at him and messed with his hair.

“Hey! You'll tangle it!” Obi-Wan laughed anyways. They wrestled for a minute before finally going to get ready for the mission.

.

When they arrived on Hades, it was to find an ongoing battle on the surface. It looked like all allies of either side in the nearby systems had shown up. Quinlan and Obi-Wan exchanged exasperated looks, then turned to the padawans.

“Remember, we're supposed to be neutral. We can't show any inclination towards one side or the other while representing the Republic and the Chancellor. You've both passed the required first aid courses. So while Obi-Wan and I are working on getting them stop fighting, you two should go around treating any injuries, and treat everyone the same. Let us know if there's any in danger of dying and one of us will drop everything to take care of it.” Quinlan had his arms crossed as he looked over the padawans.

“But what if they don't stop fighting?” Aayla asked worriedly.

“Don't fight back, just block the shots and deflect them away from anyone. You can protect yourself, you just can't attack because that would show us picking sides. Can you handle that?” Obi-Wan asked, mostly asking his padawan who tended to get a bit carried away when it came to fighting once he was in the zone. He'd had to stop sparring with Nahdar so much because Nahdar also tended to get carried away and they encouraged it in each other too much.

Anakin made a face. “I think so. As long as I have someone to focus on healing, I think I can avoid fighting back.”

“Good. Any other questions?”

Anakin and Aayla shook their heads, though Aayla was the one to answer verbally.

“We were there for the briefing, we understand what's going on.”

“Good. Now let's go.”

The four Jedi walked onto the battlefield calmly, as if there wasn't a fight going on around them. Several people stopped and stared at them, on both sides. Aayla spotted an injured person first and darted over, pulling out her first aid kit immediately. Anakin found one shortly after and hurried to help as well.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan kept walking, finding a central point of the fighting.

“Hello there,” Obi-Wan greeted the two people locked in fierce battle calmly. “We're looking for the people in charge here to talk about a ceasefire.”

“Who are you?”

“I am Jedi Master Quinlan Vos, and he is my brother, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. We have been sent to discuss what is going on.”

“I am Kycina, I am the leader of Hades.” She was a Dathomiri zabrak. Her eyes were sharp as she looked between Obi-Wan and Quinlan. “And I do not trust Jedi.”

“That is unfortunate as the Chancellor sent us personally to deal with this matter.”

“Very well.”

They soon had a tea service set up in the middle of the battlefield with several important people on either side. Quinlan and Obi-Wan sat opposite each other, both between either side.

And the discussion was on. Their mission goal from the Chancellor was to stop any fighting without alienating the Trade Federation, as unfortunately, the Trade Federation was too entwined with the Republic, trading, and money to be on their bad side. This meant that Hades and any who sided with them were more likely to end up with a worse deal.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan planned to ensure that didn't happen, but Kycina definitely did not trust them. So things were slow going, but at least there was no fighting. Both sides were taking care of their wounded. The two padawans were running from injured person to injured person, taking care of what injuries they could find.

“Master!” Anakin yelled. “Need your help with this one.”

Obi-Wan looked over and winced at the sight of the blood. “It seems that my padawan needs my help.” He stood and bowed before running over to Anakin, pulling out his healer's kit as he ran.

“We're both master healers,” Quinlan explained to the stunned group. “So Master Kenobi should be able to ensure that whoever that is survives. That is why Padawan Skywalker called for his help. So, while he works on that, we should continue our discussion.”

Obi-Wan in the meantime had to do a surgery, with Anakin and some other person with experience helping him. This was actually his first surgery in the field but not his first surgery ever. He didn't let that bother him and focused on what he was doing. On doing his job.

Finally, he was sewing up the wound and adding a touch of Force healing to ensure that things healed up just a bit faster at first. He sat back and took a breath, gratefully accepting the towel to start cleaning off the blood.

“Thank you, my brother would not have survived without your help, Master Jedi.”

“You're welcome.” Obi-Wan nodded to her and turned to see where Quinlan was. It seemed Quinlan had ended up doing field surgery on someone from the other side of the fighting

Which meant that Obi-Wan needed to check in with Kycina of Hades and Nute Gunray of the Trade Federation. He took a few minutes to finish cleaning up. Anakin finished cleaning up and then resumed his basic first aid. The person who had helped them had already disappeared.

The two leaders were still sitting at the table though no one else was there. Obi-Wan walked over and sat down where he had been sitting.

“I am sorry about that. I am not comfortable ignoring those in need when I can do something about it.”

“I can understand why. You just spent hours saving that man's life.”

“It's one of the things I've trained to do.”

“One? You're not just a healer?”

“Oh, no, I do a bit of everything.”

“Yes, he does,” Nute grumbled, likely remembering that Obi-Wan had been one of those involved with defeating the plot on Naboo.

“So, there is more to the Jedi they sent than politics and violence.”

“There is always more to Jedi than that.” Obi-Wan smiled.

Discussion resumed over a lunch that was brought out. Two hours later, Quinlan rejoined them, appearing unaffected by skipping lunch and working for hours.

Now some progress was being made. It seemed that they had gotten the allies on either side to agree to the ceasefire, which meant that it was mostly up to ensuring the two sides got what they want enough to keep the fighting from breaking out again.

It was dinner time when Anakin and Aayla joined them, both exhausted. They joined their masters, and ate quietly, neither interested in doing the politic thing right now.

At least not until they were asked for their opinions. Aayla came up with a far better diplomatic response while Anakin was a bit more blunt, though he at least didn't cause any offense.

Obi-Wan and Quinlan sent their padawans to bed early but continued with the discussions themselves as the two leaders refused to even consider ending the conversation. They had to negotiate what the Trade Federation was doing during these talks and where they would stay after all.

It was the middle of the night before everyone was satisfied. Quinlan was very relieved because he had nearly lost his composure several times. He was very close to just yelling. It was only Obi-Wan nudging him over their bond that kept him from losing it entirely. He just wanted to sleep and meditate and take a break and they were both being so stubborn on what they would accept.

Finally, though, they were able to go to their shared room. They ran through their usual bedtime routines quickly and then fell sleep on a pile of blankets together.

And then they had to conduct negotiations for hours for days on end after that. Thankfully, never as long, usually ending at dinner time, giving them time to strategize and check in with the people they needed to. But it was still taking days. Neither side was giving in. The Trade Federation wanted a lot in return for debt forgiveness, but Hades just wanted another year to start seeing profit from their new exports. They were perfectly happy to pay all the money, but the Trade Federation had instead seen an opportunity to get more out of it by getting a lot in exchange for totally forgiving the debt.

The sad thing was, both Quinlan and Obi-Wan thought that if the Trade Federation toned down some of those requests, 1 or 2% profit instead of 5% on the new exports, a trade building built for them rather than representative on their council and so on, it actually would be beneficial for Hades in the long term, far more than them paying off the debt.

And if it ever got out that the Trade Federation had put debt forgiveness as their offer, and Hades refused to even consider it... the Trade Federation was just going to look better.

In an effort to figure out how to talk both sides into the best deal for both of them without showing any biases, they spent time after dinner one day trying something new. First, Quinlan and Obi-Wan took turns as the two leaders arguing their positions while Anakin and Aayla attempted to mediate, then the two padawans took turns as the leaders while Quinlan and Obi-Wan mediated.

Anakin, it was clear, was never meant to be a proper negotiator or a proper mediator, but he was far better at it than anyone who knew him would expect. Aayla, on the other hand was excellent at it, and contributed a lot to the mediation portion of the exercise.

And of course, everyone had fun playing the part of the leaders and burning off some steam by occasionally devolving into caricatures and just screaming insults before they calmed down and did things properly. Quinlan and Obi-Wan came up with several strategies, and at the same time, were impressed with how much their padawans had been picking up despite how boring it was.

The next day, they were able to get the two leaders on a better track to discussion, and just before the lunch break, Quinlan suggested that they each write down what they want, what they're willing to give, and what is absolutely off the table.

“We are not children, Master Vos.” Gunray scoffed.

“We have been at this for weeks with little progress,” Obi-Wan said. “I agree with Master Vos that it's time to put all cards on the table.”

Quinlan leaned forward, looking between the two leaders. “You keep bringing up things the other won't agree to, you keep drawing hard lines, and most of all, both of you keep forgetting what the other has said. It's time to draw it out so you at least have a reference.”

“It has hardly been weeks.” Kycina shook her head at them.

“It's been more than ten days,” Obi-Wan responded flatly. “And we all have nothing to show for these discussions besides more arguing.”

“Padawan Skywalker, you have something to add?”

Anakin jumped and let out a breath before talking about something he had noticed about how their discussions were going. And then Aayla was asked her opinion and gave it a bit more eloquently.

“Fine. I will... try your suggestion.”

This definitely made things run smoother, even if the negotiations continued to be difficult for a few days. Aayla made some more contributions. Anakin didn't really make any, but he at least wasn't making things worse either.

Finally they got to the point of writing out the agreement. Once it was written, and just needed to be reviewed and signed... The two padawans got the next day off. They didn't need to be there for the final day, and they had done well. They deserved the reward.

Quinlan and Obi-Wan had just signed as witnesses to the agreement when there was sharp panic from their padawans, and a request for help. They didn't react, just tried to finish the proceedings as quickly as possible without offending Gunray or Kycina. The longer it went on, the more they knew there was a chance they would have to just take off to rescue their padawans.

Thankfully, the sounds of fighting and things falling apart reached them shortly after, so they had an excuse to bail on their job and go rescue their padawans.

Obi-Wan was ready to scold Anakin. He had a tendency to anger the wrong person and get into trouble, but then sometimes trouble just had a way of finding Anakin. But regardless, Anakin was more likely to be the cause than Aayla. She ended up being the one trying to keep him out of trouble when they were on missions together for all that she was the one who had the most ideas when it came to pranks.

But he got the feeling this was not Anakin's fault as soon as they arrived on the rooftops where the fight was. They were struggling against a hooded figure wielding a red saber and occasionally aiming lightning at them.

“...why here, why now?” Quinlan muttered.

“No idea, but we have padawans to rescue.”

“They're actually doing better than I would have expected, but you're right.” Quinlan pushed himself off the roof of the building they were on.

Obi-Wan leaped after Quinlan to protect their padawans. Quinlan was right. Anakin was showing skill far above his level, as was Aayla, but against a potential Sith? That wasn't enough.

Quinlan landed in front of Anakin and blocked the strike headed his way. “Get out of here!” He told the padawans.

“But-”

“No buts, padawans.” Obi-Wan was there. “Protect the civilians from the debris and stay out of the way. This person is beyond your skill.”

“Right. Come on Ani, there's a building about to collapse, we can help keep it up while it's evacuated.”

Anakin hesitated, but Obi-Wan and Quinlan were already fully engaged in the fight. “Right... lead the way Aayla.”

Obi-Wan was a bit worried by how much better this Sith was than the one he faced on Naboo was. Better techniques, stronger, and the Dark side was far more insidious, far more insistent at getting at him. He had definitely faced the apprentice on Naboo, then, eight years ago. He doubted an apprentice could get this good so quickly.

Quinlan was more affected by the Dark side, not as able to shake it off as Obi-Wan. But he was a Jedi master, and he had trained with Obi-Wan on how to repel it, how to not give in. It couldn't find a hold for long, especially not while he was so focused on the fight. Not while Obi-Wan's presence was next to him, steadily glowing in the Force with Light.

The fight danced over rooftops and down on the ground and then back up to the roof of the nearest building. The Sith was happy to cause destruction to try to distract them, but it only distracted one Jedi master at a time. They were hit with lightning more than once.

You know, Obes? I'm pretty sure he's toying with us.

Yeah, getting that impression myself.

Only makes the questions harder to answer.

They didn't speak again for fear of losing their focus, of something happening. Then, after what felt like hours of fighting, though it couldn't have been that long, the Sith showed his true strength, and they were immediately struggling.

Obi-Wan lost his second saber and then lost his footing as he was hit by lightning, falling off of the roof they were on.

“Obi-Wan!” Quinlan yelled, fear nearly overwhelming him. He beat it back with years of practice and summoned the discarded saber to himself. He took up his usual Jar'Kai stance and stayed on the defensive as the Sith pelted him with attacks.

He lasted longer than he expected, long enough to start drawing conclusions, but then he was on the ground, sabers gone, and shaking from the pain of lightning. The Sith stood over him, stepping on his chest when he tried to sit up.

“Quinlan Vos... your brother Obi-Wan Kenobi... and your padawans Aayla Secura and Anakin Skywalker. All with such potential of using the Dark side, if you so choose... I have been watching you carefully for years, and you lived up to my expectations. Surpassed them really. If you are ever interested in the Dark side, I am in the market for a new apprentice.”

Quinlan stared at him. “This was a test?”

“Yes, Quinlan, and you did brilliantly. You won't always be able to fight off the Dark side. Not if you're already worn down. I will be in contact.” The Sith turned and left so quickly it was like he disappeared.

Quinlan couldn't find the energy to sit up, not with his nerves still on fire from lightning.

Did the Sith just not kill you? Obi-Wan was confused, and also in pain.

Yeah. Um. He's apparently been watching us and is looking to recruit us as his apprentices. This was a test.

...you're joking.

I'm afraid not.

Kriff.

On the plus side, he's actually not much better than Mace is. His advantage mostly seems to lie in how much power the Dark side gives him, and the fact he's been able to hone his own style of fighting without being known. But there are flaws, I think.

Yeah, he didn't seem to know what to do with my Jar'kai. Like, he knew the theory but actually fighting it was different than he expected.

I noticed that too. He was also harder to fight with it just being me, I don't think he was prepared to fight two of us. Which is weird because he very clearly was fighting at our level and only showed his true skill right at the end, and it might not even be everything.

The Council needs to know. Wait, was he expressing interest in our padawans?

Yes, he was.

Kriff.

“Master!” Aayla dropped to her knees next to Quinlan. “Can you get up?”

Quinlan went to push himself up and his left arm wouldn't support his weight. His right arm shook. Aayla supported him.

“Ow.” Quinlan huffed, then checked himself over for injuries. He winced when he noticed he'd picked up more than just the lightning. “I'm going to need some help, but it doesn't seem too bad.”

Aayla gave him a look and did a quick check. “You shouldn't be walking.” Quinlan winced. He did have a nasty welt on his thigh. And if his arms were so shaky, who knew how shaky his legs would be.

“And how do you propose we get off this roof then?”

“I'm pretty sure I can carry you and jump to the ground, at least.” Aayla looked over the edge of the building to gauge the distance.

“I don't know... You need to be confident in your ability.”

Aayla took in a deep breath and then nodded firmly. “I am.” She stood and picked him up before jumping to the ground.

Anakin looked up, wide eyed with a hint of panic about him. “Master Obi's got too many broken bones; I don't know that we should move him!”

Obi-Wan groaned. “I'm right here, padawan, but good assessment. I don't think I have anything broken in my spine, but my back does hurt so better to be safe.”

Aayla hurried over and only then did she put Quinlan down. She started the check of Obi-Wan's injuries, muttering to herself.

By the time she finished, there were others around to help. Things moved quickly after that, injuries were treated, though no one knew how to handle the aftereffects of the lightning. And then Kycina joined them.

“I want you off this planet,” she announced without any warning.

Aayla held Anakin back from saying something dumb. “It would be better if we didn't have to move them for at least a day.”

“No. Now. I was nice in letting the Republic send me the Jedi who killed my son and the one who helped him do so on Naboo. And now you have destroyed several buildings all to fight some madman, nearly injuring several? No. I want you gone as soon as possible. I won't waste any more resources on Jedi. You just make everything worse.”

Anakin bit his lip hard to keep from protesting as Kycina swept out.

Quinlan sat up, groaning. “Well, we'll have to make do. I think I can walk, slowly, but I can do it. Obes is going to be trickier.”

“No kidding...” Obi-Wan grumbled.

“Aayla and I could use the Force to move Master Obi, couldn't we?” Anakin asked, fidgeting a little.

Quinlan nodded. “That could work. Both of you together will be safer than just one.” He stood, shakily. His legs felt a bit like jelly, like they didn't want to support his weight. At least the injury to his thigh was numb for now. One step in front of the other, slowly.

Obi-Wan shifted slightly. “Okay, I'm ready, remember to focus on doing, Padawan.”

“I remember.” Anakin's voice came out slightly annoyed at the reminder.

They made their slow way from the room, out of the hospital, heading to where their ship was. Along the way they picked up a few who helped them, as apparently, they had helped far more people with injuries, had saved a few, than they'd realized, and them or their family/friends wanted to help the Jedi.

Quinlan was grateful to have someone to lean on. It had been difficult, keeping his balance. Eventually someone was able to help carefully carrying Obi-Wan so that the padawans didn't have to keep levitating him. They could have made it, but they were already feeling the strain and were relieved not to have to do so anymore.

After what seemed like way too long, they were on the ship, taking off.

Anakin was piloting, as he was better than Aayla. “Um, where are we going?”

Obi-Wan sighed. “Might as well return to Coruscant. We're close enough that it'll be less than a day.”

Quinlan nodded. “We're going to go rest... Aayla, you're in charge, make sure you call ahead and let them know what happened.”

“Yes, Master.” Aayla made sure they made it to the beds before rejoining Anakin and making the call. At least healers would be waiting for their masters when they arrived.

Anakin stared out into space as they entered hyperspace, after Aayla finished the call. “Did that really just happen? Did we really just fight a Sith and then Master Obi and Master Quin got injured and then we got kicked out of Hades even though you and I did our best to stop too much damage and prevent as many injuries and deaths as possible?”

Aayla slumped in the chair. “Yeah. Yeah, it did just happen. I can't believe...” She covered her face in her hands. “That was terrifying.”

“It was!” Anakin agreed. “We were fighting for our lives but... we couldn't keep up at all...”

“We are just padawans, we can't expect to be like our masters yet...”

“I know, I know, Master Obi does keep telling me to slow down and stop looking so far ahead.”

Aayla patted his shoulder. “I'm sure he's proud of you, of us. I think we did pretty well with what we had to do.”

Anakin brightened. “I suppose you're right, and they did completely trust us to get back to Coruscant and report in on our own.”

Chapter Text

Quinlan and Obi-Wan were mostly healed, so they were reporting to the Council. They reached the end.

“The thing that is still bothering me the most about the Sith is that he implied that he's been close this entire time, and he did seem a little familiar, I just could not place it.” Quinlan crossed his arms.

“That at least gives us a starting point in the investigations.” Ki-Adi nodded.

Obi-Wan ignored the way Qui-Gon was studying them intently, really making sure that they're okay.

“What is your assessment of your padawans and how they handled the mission?” Mace asked.

Quinlan smiled. “Aayla is ready for the Trials, I think. She'll want to take her own time to prepare, but she handled everything well. I heard nothing but good things from the people she helped with first aid and she was a good aid during the surgery I had to conduct. On top of that, she had some rather good insights on the negotiations that helped us later, and kept her composure well. When we found them fighting the Sith, she was projecting calm and not getting overwhelmed with fear, even though they were far out matched. Her skills are definitely that of a Knight.”

The Council shared looks, clearly communicating with each other.

“If Anakin was a senior padawan, I'd say it was time he started preparing for the Trials to take place in the next year or two. He's not sure exactly what he wants to do, but his skills as a pilot and mechanic are far ahead of his age, he truly is a prodigy. He did better than I would expect of a padawan doing healing in the field, though he has struggled with those classes. He doesn't have the head for politics, but he still held his tongue and was effective, if a bit blunt. He was doing better against the Sith than Aayla, though he does still need some work on his emotions, as they were very apparent even if he was not giving into them.”

More shared looks. Qui-Gon was clearly pleased.

“I believe it is time to schedule Padawan Secura's Trials,” Plo responded after a bit. “We will meet with her and determine the time. As for Padawan Skywalker, it may be time to start with some senior padawan missions and responsibilities a few months early. His record indicates that he should be able to handle it. We will be in touch about that.”

The rest of the Council was in agreement. Obi-Wan and Quinlan barely contained their pride in their padawans. And then the Council turned to more serious discussion of the mission, the Sith and Kycina, the previously mostly unknown leader of Hades.

With the chaos of the mission, they quite forgot to mention their concerns about the Chancellor.

.

With how crazy everything was, once the dust settled, and other decisions were made, Quinlan and Obi-Wan were given permission to go to Kiffu with their padawans for a bit of a break. It had been more than a month since Hades. By then, Aayla and Anakin had both been assessed to be certain the decisions were right for them, and now their masters just had to break the news to them. That was going to be fun.

The first night there, Quinlan took Aayla aside.

“Is something wrong, Master?”

“I'm just very proud of you Aayla.”

“Master...?”

“When we get back to Coruscant, the Council will talk to you and find a day to schedule your Trials.”

“But... I'm not even twenty yet!”

Quinlan chuckled. “I know, but they think you're ready. I think you're ready. There will always be more you can learn, of course, but that doesn't mean you should be a padawan forever.”

Aayla looked down. “I guess you're right... You really think I'm ready?”

“I knew you are the moment I saw you fighting the Sith after spending the entire mission making me proud.”

“O-oh. But... I don't want to lose...”

“Padawan...” Quinlan pulled her into a hug, understanding exactly what her fear was. “You will always be my padawan, Aayla. You will always be family, you know I have claimed you as family, and Clan Vos would happily adopt you as my daughter if you ever wanted that. They will always welcome you here if you need it. And I will always be here for advice, to teach, or just to be there for you, okay?”

Aayla started crying as she returned the hug. “You're the best, you know that, Master?”

Quinlan hugged her tightly, like she was still a youngling. “I do try, Padawan. I really am proud of you, you know. Already going to be a knight? Seems like just yesterday I was asking you to be my padawan.”

“Oh, I have so much I need to do to prepare! I...” Aayla stopped when Quinlan tugged on her padawan beads.

“Come on Aayla, we're here on Kiffu for a small vacation. You need to relax. The usual sort of schedule while we're here, aside from the Festival of Hearth. Meditations, some lightsaber practice, and in a week, we can discuss what you'd like to work on, how about that?”

Aayla let out a breath. “You're right... your family will not be happy if I'm spending more time stressing than having fun with them.”

Quinlan grinned. “You're right about that. Now... I believe some of the cousins your age were planning on doing some night games in the garden, why don't you go join them?”

“Don't I need the paint for that?” Aayla asked.

“Ah, yeah, for the glowing effect.”

Aayla pulled out the paint she kept with her at all times when she was on Kiffu, just in case. Quinlan took it and painted the Clan Vos tattoos on her. On someone older than about thirteen, especially so close to being an adult, this just showed that someone of Clan Vos claimed her as family. There was a visible difference between the paint and the tattoos, but the pigments used in the paint was the same as what was used in the tattoo ink, and so it glowed in the light of Kiffu's water.

“Thank you.” Aayla hugged him again then hurried off.

Quinlan shook his head in amusement and stood to join his cousins and Obi-Wan. He leaned on Obi-Wan as he squeezed into the chair like they were padawans again. Obi-Wan ignored him, engaged in conversation with Darach about some trade agreement drama going on along the Rimma Trade route.

“So, what was that serious topic you needed to talk to Aayla about?” Bran asked Quinlan.

“The Council wants to schedule her Trials when we get back for some time in the next few months.” Quinlan grinned. “I wanted to give her this whole vacation to think about it and ask questions.”

Bran raised an eyebrow. “Already? You were twenty-three, weren't you? So was Obi-Wan.”

Quinlan shrugged. “Twenty-one to twenty-three is when most are Knighted, yeah. Between what happened to us, and then that long mission, and then on top of that choosing the hardest career path as padawans when most are masters or at least close to masters when they choose it set us back a bit. We had to spend a lot of time with different Jedi doing their jobs. Aayla's been doing that since the start, and she really proved herself on our last mission.”

Bran nodded. “You have been doing a good job with her. She still won't accept the adoption?”

“Grandpa!” Quinlan groaned. “Yes, she could honor both Twi'leki and Kiffar culture if she wanted to, but she has decided that's not her path, and she knows she can change her mind at any time. It's enough that she doesn't protest when I've called her my daughter.”

“Is it really?”

Quinlan sighed. “You do know me too well Grandpa. I really would like her to be truly a part of the family, but that's not her path right now, and it's okay. I don't want to dwell on it.” He did work at being okay with it; it was Aayla's choice and her life. That didn't mean that he didn't need the help of his mind healer from time to time when the emotions were overwhelming.

“Okay. But if you ever need to talk about it...”

“I know, I know... now I have to ask, are you retiring any time soon?”

“Aisling is almost ready to be King. Next year or two. It was going to be this year, but the Republic started imploding and changing up some of our relationships with other systems, and we're still dealing with that. She's doing well, so it's not going to delay things for long.”

Obi-Wan's attention was drawn to the conversation by something Bran had said. “Well, that does remind me... with those things picking up so much, it's going to get harder to come visit. The Jedi are getting spread thin, no matter their role. Even healers are getting sent out to try to calm things down. There's a good chance we'll have war eventually once those who want to leave have had enough of the Republic's refusal to listen to them.”

Bran sighed. “We always knew that consistency was a lot to ask for.”

“Actually, on that note, I should warn you about something else.” Quinlan leaned towards Bran. “If... when the war starts, we might fall out of contact. We don't know what role we'll be playing, but everyone is going to have their eyes on us, on all the Jedi regardless. And we'll be making enemies. I don't want them to know that unlike most Jedi, we have family they can exploit.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Add in the truth of Clan Vos, which is surprisingly not really known outside of Kiffu, I've gotten a couple of people asking if I was related to the Kings but that's it... There might be some... interesting reactions. If it becomes relevant, like you need help, then of course we'll let such things be known even if we can't actually be the mediators in the situation. But until it becomes necessary... better to ensure we're not about to reveal it unnecessarily.”

Aisling pounced on both Quinlan and Obi-Wan. “I don't like it... but I understand. Things are getting a bit insane out in the galaxy, and I'm glad we can mostly just watch it all implode instead of being involved in it like you. If you ever need a place to go, remember you're safe here, okay cousins?”

They hugged her. “We know,” Quinlan responded quietly. “We know. We've known since Obi-Wan became my brother.”

.

It took until after the Festival of Hearth for Obi-Wan to get around to talking to Anakin, along with Derry and Shmi. He liked to involve them in the bigger decisions when possible, and there was a conversation he needed to have with them anyways.

They were eating lunch. Obi-Wan waited for the perfect moment.

“Padawan, there's something I've been meaning to tell you.”

“Okay...” Anakin eyed him suspiciously as he went to drink some of the carbonated juice he preferred.

“The Council has decided to start giving you Senior Padawan responsibilities early, as if you were already a senior padawan, they would want you to start preparing for your Trials.”

Anakin spit out his drink, getting Obi-Wan a bit wet.

Obi-Wan wiped his face off, amused.

“You're joking, Obi!”

Obi-Wan grinned. “I'm not, Ani. You handled yourself well on our last mission. You're still rough around the edges, but a lot of that doesn't even always smooth over until Knighthood, for some. You're a prodigy in some areas, you keep up well in others.”

Anakin blushed. “I'm not that good. But... If the Council thinks I'm ready and you think I'm ready... I guess I gotta live up to it.” He paused. “What kind of responsibilities?”

“You'll be expected to teach a class or two the next class cycle you're on Coruscant for. You'll be paired with other Jedi on missions, and I expect your first solo mission isn't too far away either. I'm fairly certain you get that last class you need done, you will be a senior padawan.”

“But... I won't be eighteen yet.”

“Just two months off of it, that's how they'll justify it. You'll be fine Ani. I'm still here to guide you.”

Anakin shook his head. “That's still so weird. What about Aayla?”

“She'll probably have her Trials in a few months, don't worry.”

“Oh, good. She's way better than me at everything.”

“Not everything."

Shmi spoke up. “The Trials are how padawans prove they're ready to be Knights? The Jedi's way of entering adulthood?”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Something like that. Padawans, no matter the age, are technically minors, which is why we have them be senior padawans at 18 if they meet all requirements, which is a distinction most systems accept for some things, rather than requiring a guardian.”

“That's a bit complicated, but I think I understand. That also means he'll be around less, doesn't it?” Derry sighed.

“We knew that was coming, dear.” Shmi put her hand on his arm.

“Don't I need to decide my path though once I'm senior padawan?” Anakin blurted.

“Yes, but you can also say you're interested in several paths.”

“Oh. Okay... and they'll assign me to missions where I can see if that's what I want to do?”

“Yes. I'd suggest you try search and rescue, piloting, not mechanics, most mechanics end up staying in Temple and I know you would not enjoy that. And you could always try a wider path, like sentinel. It's not like what Quin and I are doing, what Aayla will do, but it still covers a few disciplines that you're good at.”

“Okay. Um, can you walk me through those tomorrow after meditation? I kind of promised Mellan and Ciara I'd go to Clan Vos and play some night games after dinner.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “I'm proud that you're already taking charge, Ani. I was going to wait.”

Anakin gave him a look. “Seriously?”

Obi-Wan chuckled. “There are still a few days until we leave, I don't even have the paperwork for you to fill out yet. But an important part of being a senior padawan is that you're in charge of your education, of preparing for life as a Knight, that initiative is something we look for to see if you're ready for your Trials.”

Anakin blinked. “Oh. Yeah, that makes sense.”

Conversation moved on, and soon Anakin disappeared to go play.

“There is a reason you brought that up in front of us, isn't there?” Shmi asked quietly.

“There is.” Obi-Wan nodded. “Aayla isn't yet twenty and is going to have her Trials in the next few months. Anakin has better lightsaber skills already and does nearly match her in other skills. I think it would be surprising if he was Knighted after twenty. My concern is that I think he needs to do the Hunt before his Trials. It will give him a confidence boost, many of those skills I learned for my own Hunt are ones I still use to this day, and I think that it would be better to be in harmony with the energy of Kiffu before facing the Force in the Trials, particularly the Trial of the Mind, rather than face the Force, then learn how to connect with Kiffu's energy.”

Derry nodded. “I understand. You are probably right. Darach has talked about having Ciara and Mellan do their Hunt with Anakin, since Hunts are better in a group. I'll talk to him. As long as you let us know when his Trials will be.”

Obi-Wan nodded. “Do remind him that Quin and I did our Hunt early, if he's worried. It should work out just fine.”

“We will. There is one thing we wanted to talk to you about... I'm pregnant, probably twins, and... there's concerns. Do you think Ani will take it well?”

“Anakin will be thrilled. He still loves helping out in the creche.” Obi-Wan closed his eyes briefly. “Ah, I see that's why he didn't notice. You just found out about them, didn't you?”

Shmi startled, then nodded. “You can sense them?”

“Yes, two, though right now they're still little enough it's hard to tell without experience. I had noticed there was something but hadn't looked too deep. Ani will be able to notice once he knows.”

“Okay. What will having younger siblings mean for Ani?”

“The same as this situation, basically.”

“And what if they have the Force?” Derry asked. A reasonable concern considering Anakin.

“If they have the Force, we'll get you the usual information. There are a few options that don't involve them being taken to the Temple to be Jedi. And even then, there's some ways you can choose to handle it, including being in contact with them much like you are with Ani, with the possibility of being able to visit. The oldest we take younglings is six, though obviously we can make exceptions, but for them to fit in better with their agemates, we prefer two to four. But you don't need to send them at all if you're not comfortable with that. Quin only became a Jedi because his parents were murdered and he couldn't handle accidentally touching one of the items at the scene. He needed the help of the Temple. We're not certain he would have become a Jedi without that.”

Derry and Shmi exchanged looks. “Well, that's a lot to think about, thank you.”

“You're welcome.”

Obi-Wan left that night to rejoin Clan Vos, feeling very happy about how far things had come since he found Anakin in the desert on Tatooine eight years previously.

Anakin was going to be a big brother, he was going to be Knighted before twenty, he had a big family to care for him, and he was thriving. He had his grandmaster, Qui-Gon, padawan uncles Feemor and Idris, with much teasing from Anakin to Idris about how much younger Idris was than him. He had his great grandmaster Dooku, and Dooku's current padawan Del. And Anakin had so much more; Master Quin and Aayla, Master Kit and Nahdar.

Obi-Wan was happy he listened to the Force, to his instincts and was the one to go look for the ship parts. For now, life was good, even if they were heading for a galactic war.

He just worried about the Sith and the looming sense of doom.