Chapter 1: The Very Specimen (Of A Sleepwalking Gentlemen)
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“Commander,” General Kimo called from atop his lizard-like steed. “Contact your troops and tell them to move to the higher levels,” he said, leaning down slightly to be heard better.
“Very good, sir,” Fen replied, turning away before he felt the gentle clank on his hip. With a fond sigh, he grabbed the saber from where it was attached to his belt and turned back to his General.
“Oh by the way,” Fen said, “I think you’ll be needing this.” For all that General Kimo went on about his saber being his life, it never seemed to stay with him.
Cody paused, thinking for a moment before backspacing to rewrite–
For all that General Kimo went on about his saber being his life, he sure had a tendency to leave it in Fen’s hands.
That was better.
“Thank you Fen,” the General replied with a hidden grin, hand lingering on the saber as it connected them both before pulling away and reattaching it to his own belt. “Now let's get a move on, we’ve got a battle to win.” With that, General Kimo snapped the reins and was off into the fray again.
Moments later the com on Fen’s belt rang and, as he answered, a robed figure appeared before him.
“Commander Fen, the time has come,” a gnarled voice said through the tinny speakers, “execute Order 99.” And with that, Fen was no more. Something in his mind had snapped into place, or maybe it was out of place. A surge of synapses fired in a way that told him to follow orders without hesitation.
“Yes, my lord,” said Commander Fen, ending the call and stashing the device away. The General, no, the Traitor, was still circling up the canyon walls, within his line of sight.
“Blast him,” the Commander said, voice flat as he directed fire towards the two creatures with a lazy point of his hand. A plasma cannon shifted, fired, and hit its target dead on. Both beings plummeted into the water below, likely being smashed on the shallowly covered rocks the small pool contained. As Commander Fen went to ensure that the traitor was executed he saw the sinking corpse of the lizard and knew that both it and the former General had died on impact if the quickly reddening water was anything to go by. His vision blurred as he turned back to declare the battle won and the war soon to be over. As the men began to file back into the carriers destined for the Capital, the Commander felt something streaming from his eyes, and he did not, for the life of him, know why.
Cody came back to himself as he leaned back into his chair, finally finished for the night. He took a moment to settle into the real world again, noticing that it was dark now, something that hadn’t been the case when he’d started. With a glance at the clock, he groaned, sense of accomplishment waning as he realized he needed to be up in just a few hours to make the meeting with his editor. Sighing, he saved the file of his mostly done book and sent it to Fox before he could think too much about it.
Cody stood from his desk, shaking out the tightness from his cramped legs and aching back, and headed towards the kitchen to pour himself a drink. A small reward for a near-finished job, he thought to himself. Cody made note of his surroundings as he sipped on the whiskey Rex had gotten him the last time he was in the city. His walls were covered in notes about this, that, and the other. Plot points, character developments, and reminders to eat, all hung indiscriminately in a pattern that would only make sense to a version of himself from three months ago. He’d have to clean all that up eventually, but for now, he drank.
He set down his now empty glass then promptly fell face-first into his couch. His bed was less than twenty feet away but he truly couldn’t be bothered to make the trek. He was exhausted in a way only non-stop planning and puzzling caused and who was he to deny the siren song of his shitty couch. With this book nearly finished he’d have a few months to himself to reorient before the next story would start brewing and the entire process would begin again.
One of the few quirks of Cody’s apartment was an old landline that he’d gotten in a desperate attempt to keep his work and personal life separate. It was a decision he’d come to regret as he now had a pavlovian response to the jarring ring it emitted; a response he was having now for some reason his brain couldn't seem to sus out. After a moment of lapsed thought Cody bolted awake, realizing two things at once. First, that he’d forgotten to set an alarm for the morning and second, if he wasn’t already late for his meeting he was about to be. He scrambled for the receiver, putting it to his ear without looking at the caller ID.
“Hey Fox, sorry if I’m running late. Long night, you know how I get. But hey, I think the book’s nearly done,” he began to ramble as he rushed to find some passably clean clothes to throw on. “Just need you to clean up a few things. I’m still not sure how I feel about General Kimo dying, maybe I can write an epilogue or something where he survives,” he continued as he tried to find his shoes. “Oh, that could work too, because I don’t want Fen to be mind controlled for the whole next book and I could have General Kimo save him with the power of true love or whatever,” as he spoke he began rummaging for a pen to start jotting this down before remembering he has somewhere to be.
“Is this Cody Fett?” Cody paused what he was doing, not recognizing the voice, and looked at the tiny glowing screen pleasantly flashing ‘NO CALLER ID.’
“Nope,” Cody replied before promptly hanging up and tossing the receiver onto the nearest soft surface. No one tells you when you get a landline that ninety percent of the calls you get are spam, it's why he usually let the thing go to voicemail. At least it got him up. He grabbed his watch glancing at the face which helpfully let him know he had more time than he thought but not enough to slow down his rush.
Cody grabbed his things, went back to his desk to grab his laptop, and shoved everything in his near-destroyed messenger bag before patting his pockets down to make sure he had his cell and wallet. He then doubled back to his desk to quickly water the plant that he was keeping alive out of pure spite with the dregs of a mostly drunken water bottle. After far longer than he would’ve liked, Cody grabbed his keys and made his way out the door. Before he could make it to the elevator though, Cody noticed his elderly neighbor trudging his way up the stairs with his roll cart packed with groceries.
“Mr. Díaz,” Cody said as he ran down to grab the cart and haul it up the last few steps, “I never understand why you don’t just take the elevator.” Cody liked Mr. Díaz well enough, but the man was a busybody of the highest order, always going on about finding Cody a nice girl to settle down with. Cody could never find the energy to tell his old neighbor that he was flaming in a way that did not denote fire and, knowing Mr. Díaz, he’d probably just switch gears and start going on about finding Cody a boyfriend instead.
“Oh, I never take that thing alone,” Mr. Díaz said as his wrinkled hand grabbed onto Cody’s proffered arm, “you know – murderers.” Cody rolled his eyes to himself as he helped the man up the last few steps. Admittedly though, Cody wasn’t wasn’t in a position to judge strange habits being an on and off again recluse himself.
“Of course Mr. Díaz,” Cody replied as he began maneuvering to grab the cart while still holding onto Mr. Díaz. After a second or two of trying to get the cart to roll towards him, he gave up and switched his grip to lift the whole thing up and place it next to him so he could pull it along.
“What's got you in such a hurry?” the older man asked, either not noticing or politely ignoring Cody’s struggle with the cart.
“Meeting with my editor,” Cody replied. “I think I’m just about finished with my next book. Probably needs an epilogue now that I’m thinking about it though,” Cody continued, eyes going distant as he began making plans on how to tie everything into his already brewing plans for the next release.
“Oh, by the way,” Mr. Díaz said, breaking Cody’s reverie. “The mailman couldn’t fit this into your box so I told him I would bring it up,” he crackled as he handed Cody an oversized envelope that looked like it’d seen half the world before arriving in his hands. “That’s some love letter,” he grinned with glinting eyes.
“Probably just something from Rex,” Cody explained. “You know he likes to send me stuff while he’s in the field. But if you know anyone interested in a sci-fi novelist with workaholic tendencies you send them right my way,” Cody acquiesced as they reached Mr. Díaz’s door.
“I bet there’d be more than you’d think,” the elder replied, glancing up from unlocking his door with an expression too close to pity for Cody’s liking.
“Bye, Mr. Díaz,” Cody said, making his exasperation apparent as he shoved the package into his bag alongside everything else.
From the cafe patio across the street, Maul people-watched. A pleasant enough pastime when one was waiting for one person in particular. He watched as people ran hither and thither like overstressed ants and wondered if there was ever a time when the woes of daily life caused him to do the same. If there had been a time when that was the case, it was long gone, buried under mounds of questionable decisions he felt no need to regret.
Maul watched and sipped his coffee before spotting a man exiting one of the buildings in a flurry, obviously in a rush to get somewhere. As he moved he ran right into the sites of a street vendor trying to sell cheap rosaries. Plastic beads adorned with a plastic Jesus thrust in the man's face for just five bucks. When the same vendor had tried the spiel on Maul earlier that day it only took a look for the vendor to back down. Being so heavily tattooed had its perks, causing people to automatically believe he was some sort of killer or thief. For once though, stereotype played in their favor as Maul was both.
As the man tried to eke his way past the vendor Maul took stock of him. He seemed to be around average height with black hair that seemed to be growing just past a brutally cropped cut and warmly tanned skin. He only caught a glimpse of the man's face, but it was enough. The distinct jagged scar curling around his left brow and temple was notable even from a distance.
Maul glanced down at the book he wasn’t reading, scanning the author’s photo on the dust jacket. After the call he’d made to the man this morning, he was sure that he was watching the right building, and from what he could tell the man he was looking for had left for the day. Now it was just a matter of finding the building's directory and making his way into the man's apartment. Maul stood leaving the rest of his coffee and the book on the cafe table as he made his way toward the home of Cody Fett.
Notes:
kimo is a mashed-up version of 'kimono,' something an obi is tied around (haha, im so clever) really i was just desperate to have a glup-shitto ass pseudonym
fen was just a vaguely english name
the fact that Mr. Díaz's name aligns with Sifo-Dyas is serendipitous
Chapter 2: Tough Love for Loveless Things
Summary:
Cody makes it to his meeting with Fox and they bitch at each other for its entirety. Meanwhile, Rex finds himself in a sticky situation.
Notes:
ok, so, this fic is gonna have a lot of flitting between languages but, lucky for you, i don't feel like writing a bunch of translations. at the moment, the format is currently: portuguese in italics (specifically when in quotes) and spanish in bold. the bad part there is that i also tend to use italics for emphasis, so if anything is too confusing, let me know and i'll change the format to underlined or something. also throughout this, there will be references to certain real topics and if anyone is curious to learn more about them i'll put links to resources in the end notes after a brief blurb! also, fair warning, it's going to get confusing and that's a feature, not a bug
i also have the framework of the fic done and am just going through the process of edits. once that's close to done i'll probably start posting weekly B)
thank you again to tightredpants for helping me out!
chapter title is from Cuchito by Kiltro (everyone please go listen to Kiltro they're incredible)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
When Cody arrived at Fox’s office he was only slightly damp with sweat. New York’s June heat had a way of making his clothes stick to him that was just the wrong side of comfortable. Cody took a moment to thank whatever god that was listening for the invention of AC. As far as Cody was concerned, he may have been built to handle the heat of some far-off Polynesian island but that didn’t mean he had to like it.
“Cody,” Fox said from behind his desk. “You’re only five minutes early, thought something happened to you,” wry tone dripping with its usual sarcasm.
“Forgot to set my alarm, long night, you know how I get,” Cody said for the second time that day, tossing his bag at the foot of the chair across from the desk before collapsing into it. It was not a chair designed with comfort in mind but Cody stubbornly shifted until he found a semi-acceptable position, much to the chair’s dismay, he imagined. Cody knew Fox had probably picked this exact model to keep people from lingering in his office for too long and Cody could appreciate that, but he also thought he deserved an honorary cushion or something. He has it on good authority that Fox hates him the least and that’s got to warrant some kind of reward.
“So,” Fox said, “I’m assuming from the email I received at 4:30 this morning with the subject line ‘fuck you xoxo’ that you’re already drawing this volume to a close.” Fox took a long sip from his mug before pausing, “Coffee?” He didn’t wait for an answer as he stood to go make Cody a cup from the little machine he kept tucked in the back corner of his office.
“Please,” Cody sighed, not wanting to wait to feel the wave of exhaustion that would inevitably come if he went without. “And yeah, I think I’ll add a sort of epilogue where General Kimo survives. It’ll give a nice out for the whole mind control thing.”
“Mhm,” Fox hummed, handing Cody his coffee in one of the several novelty mugs Cody kept getting him as revenge for calling out Cody’s bullshit. “And it has nothing to do with the barely contained romantic subplot between the oh-so-noble-and-sexily-competent general and your subtle-to-most but obvious-to-anyone-who-knows-you self-insert?”
Cody needed to go mug shopping.
“Absolutely it does not, that is a horrible accusation and I should sue for slander,” Cody defended as he hid his face in his mug. Cody was self-aware enough to admit that, at least subconsciously, that was probably true, but Fox didn’t have to say it.
“I’m just messing with you,” Fox deadpanned, “but, you better make something happen with that eventually or your fans are going to start accusing you of queerbating.”
“How is that queerbating? I’m queer,” Cody huffed. He sighed before continuing, “I get it, I just don’t want it to become what the story is about. I know they’re just silly little sci-fi books, but it does all mean something. I don’t want Fen to be reduced to some damsel in distress.”
“I don’t think it’d have to be like that,” Fox soothed, “if anything, I get where your fans are coming from. You’ve put your characters through the wringer. Maybe people just want to see them have a happy ending.” With that Fox gave him a look that reminded Cody of the one Mr. Díaz had given him earlier that morning. He wasn’t sure if he should feel pissed or just pathetic so he decided to feel neither as he went back to his coffee.
“That being said, I’ll take a look at what you sent me,” Fox said, blessedly moving on. “But, I’m not going to be speedy about it. You’ve got four months before the final draft is due to your publisher and I’ve got other shit to do,” he continued. “Why don’t you, and, hear me out here, take a break,” Fox snarked.
“Never heard of it.”
Cody could snark too.
Fox huffed a laugh before continuing, “Me neither, but I’ve heard they can be good for you.” Fox then shifted, growing notably more serious, “I’d say go visit Rex wherever he is but with everything that’s happened…” he didn’t bother finishing, letting the silence hang in the air.
“Yeah,” he should probably try calling Rex again here soon. “He was back in Belém when I talked to him last week.”
“They ever find that other journalist he was collaborating with?” Fox questioned gently.
“Just the piece,” both men grew silent as they lingered on the thought.
“Well,” Fox said after a moment, “tell Rex I said hi when you talk to him again. He can sit next to me at the next brothers'n'beers night.”
“Shhhh,” Cody hushed, the mood already lightening. “No one can know I’m your father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate, they’ll accuse us of nepotism!” he lamented to his not-so-secret brother. The meeting was, for all intents and purposes, over, Cody just wanted to stick around and shoot the shit while he was there. He counted it as fulfilling his social interaction quota for the day.
Fox rolled his eyes for the nth time before going back to his hidden machine to refill his own mug of coffee.
“You know,” Cody said, “I just got a package from him this morning.”
Fox glanced at him as the machine sputtered, “Yeah? Maybe it’s a treasure map so you can go off and live your action-adventure fantasy. Find yourself your own hot guy from The Mummy and make your teenage self proud while you’re at it,” he said, turning back around and hiding a grin in his newly steaming mug.
Cody pulled a mock offended face and clutched his metaphorical pearls, “I told you the origins of my gay awakening in confidence, and here you are, using that knowledge against me.”
“It’s your own fault for making it easy,” Fox replied.
“I want a new editor.”
“Cute of you to think anyone else would take you.”
“Just because it’s true doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt,” Cody joked as he stood and picked up his hastily packed bag he hadn't even needed off the ground.
“I keep you honest,” Fox said as he collected Cody’s now-used mug to go put in the break room sink to clean later.
Both of them exited the office and were about to head their separate ways before Fox paused to meet Cody’s eyes.
“I’m serious about taking a break. I know you love what you do, but living in your head isn’t exactly living,” Fox said, expectantly.
“Yeah,” Cody sighed, “yeah, you’re right. I’ll call and see when Rex will be back or, I don’t know, join a knitting circle or something.” Fox was right, today was the longest he’d been outside of his apartment in weeks. Just because it was comfortable didn’t mean it was healthy.
Fox smiled at him and clapped him on the shoulder in lieu of a farewell and turned to the break room to go divest the used mug and get back to work. Cody turned around to head towards the elevator and made his way back to the train. Maybe he’d get something to fill his empty fridge while he was out. That’d be a start.
Rex was no stranger to taxis. He wasn’t a particular stranger to threats either. Despite this, he’d never experienced both simultaneously, something that was currently being rectified. Rex glanced down at the gun pointed in his direction by the scowling man that had entered the car shortly after he had.
“Hello Mr. Fett,” the gunman said in English, briefly confusing Rex as his brain switched linguistic gears, “Hondo Ohnaka has asked to meet with you.”
Rex glanced at the driver who looked ahead at the road, seemingly unphased by the scenario, so it was safe to assume that he was an associate of his gun-toting passenger. Rex felt a bead of sweat drip down his neck but didn’t move to wipe it away. It was hard to say whether it was from the godawful heat of the unrelenting dry season or the sudden stress of having a gun pointed at him. Either way, he stayed as still as possible, keeping his hands visible and his breath steady.
“And who would that be?” Rex asked in as even a tone as he could manage.
“An interested party,” replied the man. “You have a knack for finding things, valuable things,” he continued. “Based on where and what you’ve been digging around in, Mr. Ohnaka has taken an interest.”
“He wouldn’t have anything to do with my partially found collaborator, would he?” Rex had to know just how much shit he was in.
“Oh no, nothing like that,” the man soothed. “He is one of many interested parties. Out of all of them, he’s probably the least likely to kill you.” Rex took note that the man had said ‘the least likely,’ not ‘won’t.’ “All he wants,” the man went on, “is a chat. See what you know and send you on your merry way.”
The car fell into a tense silence as the streets of Belém flitted by. The first time Rex had come here it was nothing short of overwhelming, but over the past year and a half that he’d been using the city as a base of operations he'd begun to consider it a second home. Whenever people thought of Brazil, this major city, the gate of the Amazon, was often forgotten. Rex hadn’t minded though, to him it was a hidden gem, or as much as a place with 1.5 million people could be hidden, that is. The car approached one of the city's private dockyards and Rex surprised himself with the fact that he could somehow become tenser. Outside the window, the Amazon looked more like an ocean than a river and he knew from experience how hard it was to find something, or someone, that was lost in it.
The cab stopped by the docks and the gunman handed the driver a wad of cash that the driver counted before shoving it into his pocket with little extra thought. His escort, Rex now supposed, exited the car, holstered his gun, and went to a nearby boat and pulled out its ramp. The boat was notably different from the other ferries and fishing boats surrounding it. It looked like it could possibly be seafaring, something that did not bode well for Rex. Rex tentatively reached his hand towards the driver's side door, the opposite direction of where his captor had exited.
“Don’t bother,” the driver said in Portuguese. “Guy had me put the doors on child lock.” Rex sighed and pulled his hand back to himself whilst doing his best to stay calm. “It’s nothing personal,” the driver continued, “a man has to eat, you know.” He looked at Rex through the rearview, at least attempting to look somewhat guilty but made no move to actually help him out.
Rex hummed and went back to looking out the window. His escort was heading back their way, gun, once again, in hand. He approached Rex’s door and opened it, waving him out. Rex didn’t have anything with him, so he exited the cab to follow the man without any fanfare. Rex silently thanked his foresight and paranoia as he walked towards the boat, knowing that his collected research was now probably arriving in Cody’s hands and the duplicates lived on encoded flash drives in several safety deposit boxes. Whoever Hondo was, he wasn’t getting his hands on anything concrete anytime soon.
Hondo stood at the bow of his ship, waiting expectantly for his new passenger to board and get settled. He knew the vessel was something closer to a boat than a ship, but its ability to survive the open ocean allowed him to get away with his preferred classification. Plus ‘ship’ fit the marauder aesthetic he was going for far more than ‘boat’ did. The crew would be making their way to sea here in a few hours bringing Mr. Fett closer to their arranged rendezvous point. It’d be important to keep his new friend somewhere he wasn’t exactly familiar with but still within the country's boundaries so as to not be pestered with any pesky paperwork.
Hondo wasn’t a cruel man, he was simply an opportunist, and a charismatic one at that. All he really had to do to get information was ask the right person in the right way and all of a sudden doors opened with ease. It didn't hurt that he was nothing if not generous to those who aided him. He’d proven to his crew time and time again that, while he would get a larger share of each payout, everyone would be compensated handsomely for their hard work. Better to inspire loyalty than fear, Hondo thought.
When he heard of the gruesome death of an investigative journalist about a month ago, he decided to reach out to some contacts from the Amazonian area to learn more. There were parts of the rainforest that functioned more like the wild west and, unless the poor sap was in the wrong place at the wrong time, the man was probably onto something. Said dead journalist had a collaborator as well, Hondo’s guest, to be precise. Hondo didn’t know exactly what information Mr. Fett would have and he truly doubted he’d be able to get anything out of the man without things getting messy.
Hondo had no time for a mess, and why go through the trouble of torture or what have you when you could trade instead? Whatever evidence or data the man had found was valuable, and could be anything from blackmail to some secret treasure. Hondo would try to get his hands on whatever the now lone journalist had found but, if worse came to worst, he could always profit from handing him over to the highest bidder.
Notes:
anyone catch my spaceballs quote? also fox keurig user confirmed
in my mind, fives is the dead journalist but that makes me sad so i never confirm it's him. also cody's only brothers i actually name are fox and rex, yall can decide who else is in that crowd
the "only the piece" part is a direct quote from romancing the stone, but i'd feel wrong not to inform you all that people have and do go missing in the amazon region, especially when researching certain subjects. while writing this the murders of Dom Phillips and Bruno Pereira, a journalist and FUNAI agent respectively, came to mind. to find out more about that you can search here
-> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Bruno_Pereira_and_Dom_Phillips
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/24/brazilian-police-identify-alleged-mastermind-in-amazon-murdersBelém is the capital of the state of Pará in northern Brazil and is a pretty cool place! link here if you're interested in knowing more -> https://www.britannica.com/place/Belem-Brazil
Chapter 3: Jump In the Saddle/Hold Onto the Bridle
Summary:
Cody gets home and finds a mess and gets a call, informing him of an even bigger mess.
Notes:
a bit of a shorter chapter that's a little early to post so bon appétit i guess. also obi-wan is coming soon too i prommy, just a couple more chapters :)
cw for kidnapping and threats of violence (implied)
ch title comes for Jump In The Line by Harry Belafonte because it's a fun song dammit
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It took a moment for Cody’s brain to compute what he was seeing. The apartment that he had left in haphazard tidiness this morning looked as if it’d seen the wrong end of a particularly pissed poltergeist. Books were torn from shelves, his cushions were gutted, and various notes-to-self on colorful sticky notes had been torn from their homes and left where they lay like makeshift confetti. Cody peaked over to his desk, situated in the back of the apartment, to see that his little plant had been knocked over but, to his relief, didn't seem to be suffering too terribly from its toppled position.
Cody heaved a sigh and picked his way across his destroyed apartment to right his plant, gently picking up the little red pot while trying to keep the moist soil within from tipping out more than it already had. After that was situated he went to the kitchen to put his groceries away which would at least be a start to the mess. Cody internally apologized to his past self, who he had been berating for grabbing his bag that he didn’t end up needing, as said bag contained some of his only possessions worth taking. He put the bulging bags down on the countertop and wondered whether he should call the police before eventually deciding against it, at least for now. If anything was taken it was probably gone forever, and if sentimental items were gone there was little Cody could do about it. The best he’d probably get from the whole mess would be financial compensation, and depending on what, if anything, was taken, might not be worth the hassle.
Cody began putting up what mixed-matched plates and glasses that had survived the carnage while simultaneously doing the same with the groceries, thinking if he was going to do one he might as well do the other. When his kitchen was passably neat and anything that had been smashed was swept away, Cody paused. His mind went to thinking about the mess the rest of his home contained, viewing it all in perfect clarity in his mind's eye, and decided to get down one of the bowls he’d just put away to make himself some cereal instead. The mayhem wasn’t going to go anywhere anytime soon and he’d rather eat the breakfast he’d skipped than deal with it all right now.
Cody was about halfway through his second bowl when his landline rang for the second time that day causing him to look down at his Lucky Charms and implore them to give him the patience to bear the continuous ringing until it just went to voicemail. Cody closed his eyes and silently counted the seconds until the phone clicked over to whoever was trying to get his social security number this time. When the ringing finally subsided and the receiver clicked Cody sighed in relief.
“Cody,” he perked up, recognizing Rex’s voice as it was projected from the machine, “I need you to call back as soon as possible.” Cody was over to the phone in a heartbeat, answering before Rex had a chance to cut the line.
“Hey Rex, you are not going to believe the day I’m having,” Cody began, ready to bitch about his current predicament to his younger brother before getting to whatever was important enough to need a call back ASAP.
“Yeah, well, you probably won’t believe mine either,” Rex replied, voice sounding tense over the line, making Cody pause.
“Did your apartment get tossed too?” Cody asked, aiming for levity while offering a scale of emergency for Rex to place his own disaster on.
“No,” Rex replied, "just got a little kidnapped.” Ok, yeah, that was definitely worse.
“Holy shit, Rex what happened?” Cody replied, not bothering to try and keep the concern from his voice. “Are you alright? How did you get away?” Cody rattled off a few more questions but was met with neither reply nor the expected interruption. None of Rex’s placations that he was fine and it was all just a part of the job, a funny story now that he was out of it. Nothing but bated breaths as Rex waited for Cody to come to the inevitable gut-sinking realization. Rex hadn’t gotten away. Not yet at least.
“Look, Cody,” Rex said, finally breaking the tense silence, “have you gotten any packages from me lately? It would’ve been a large envelope, probably too big to fit in your mailbox.” Cody quickly scrambled over to his bag and dug through it before pulling out the envelope Mr. Díaz had handed him this morning.
“Yeah,” Cody said, examining the package in detail for the first time. “Yeah, it came in this morning. I have it right here.”
“Alright, I need you to open it,” Rex instructed. “Inside there should be three or so file folders with some documents inside them.” Rex paused as Cody placed the phone between his ear and shoulder and ripped open the top of the envelope leaving the top frayed and ragged. “There-” Rex hesitated with a breath, seeming to evaluate what he wanted to say next. “There should also be something that looks like a map.”
As Cody riffled through the various papers while briefly examining their contents, he noted that the loose papers, not part of the files, didn’t have something that ‘looked like a map’ among their ranks, but rather something that was a map. Rex was probably being purposefully vague about what it was and where it led, so Cody kept the thought to himself, following Rex’s lead.
“Yeah, all of that’s here,” Cody confirmed before continuing on, “Rex, why do I have this? What’s going on?” He knew from Rex’s lack of clarity that the call was likely being monitored, at least on Rex’s end, so it’d be safe to say that whatever answer he was going to get would be coming from Rex’s captors, not Rex himself. But, any information was better than no information and Cody would take what he could get. Cody could also jump ahead a few steps, piecing together the fact that his brother was being held for ransom and that ransom just so happened to be in Cody’s hands. Now he just had to figure out what they wanted him to do with it.
“Cody, I need you to bring that envelope to me in Brazil,” Rex said instead of answering Cody’s more direct questions. At least Cody didn’t have to spend more than a split second wondering what they wanted him to do but after a beat though, Rex’s words sank in.
“Wait, wait, wait–” Cody began to reply, getting ready to argue before getting cut off by Rex’s forging ahead.
“Cody, I need you to write this down,” Rex said, spurring Cody to grab a leaf of paper from the ground to write on. “You need to bring it to the Grand São Luís Hotel in Brazil, when you get there call this number,” Cody scrawled out the information as Rex rattled out a list of digits, probably horribly misspelling most of the instructions. Cody could only hope that Google would understand whatever nonsense he put in there.
“Rex, I don’t know how fast I can get to you,” Cody warned, quickly accepting that this wasn’t something he was getting out of. Rex needed him and that was that.
“Just get here as soon as you can. You’ve got the only evidence I have for the case I’m working on. I didn’t want anyone getting their hands on it and it’d be dangerous to have duplicates.” Rex replied.
Cody truly doubted this was the only copy that existed, that wasn’t Rex’s style, but Rex wanted whoever was listening to think that it was. Now, his captors thought that Cody was truly holding the only evidence that existed. There was also the fact that Rex could be almost as stubborn as Cody himself, so the likelihood of him telling his captors what they wanted to know was between the integers of ‘jack shit’ and ‘fuck all.’ Whoever had Rex probably had no idea what was in the envelope Cody was holding outside of Rex’s semi-descriptions and there was something there that niggled at Cody’s brain but the feeling was quickly put aside in favor of focusing on what was in front of him.
“And Cody,” Rex added. “You can’t tell anyone. I don’t know what they’ll do to me if you do but I doubt it’ll be a pizza party for all my good work.”
“Ok, alright," Cody said, working to keep his voice steady. "I'll see you soon.”
As soon as he finished speaking the line went dead, and Cody stood and stared as the droning dial tone echoed into his ear. After a few minutes, he began to reel in his thoughts to arrange them into some plan of action. Right now, the plan was simple. Step one, he needed to pack; step two, he needed to book a flight. And those were all the steps he had so far, but he could figure the rest out as he went.
Maul sat, stewing in a rental car, approximately located where he'd been sitting at the cafe this morning. Night fell on drizzling streets as Maul went over his next steps mentally. He’d torn Fett's apartment to shreds but there was no sign of the package anywhere, meaning it either hadn’t arrived yet or Fett had it on his person presently. Maul’s employer hadn’t deemed it necessary to inform him what he was after, and Maul wasn’t certain the bag of bones knew himself. All the information he had from conjecture was that the package likely contained some sort of blackmail material and a lead on something valuable. How connected those two things were was an unknown variable but Maul really couldn’t care less.
If the package was as valuable as everyone was making it seem, it wouldn’t really matter how Maul went about retrieving the package, would it? He could figure out what it was, where it led, and do with that information what he will. It was a win-win in Maul's mind. Either he retrieved the package and handed it off to his employer, furthering his way out of the debt he was in; or he bought his way out of his debts entirely through its contents.
A part of Maul had been hoping this job would be easy; a simple smash-and-grab with minimal effort, but that wasn't how this would play out, it seemed. Despite his passing frustration, Maul had a plan to turn this around even further in his own favor. He’d still track the package, of course, but perhaps not as aggressively as he'd originally planned. He just needed to get Fett and, subsequently, himself far away from anyone who also wanted their hands on what he was after. If Maul kept Fett lost and confused getting to his mark would be easy and by staying out of the way himself there would be little chance for another to grab it from Maul once it was in his hands.
As Maul schemed away, a car pulled up and Fett exited the building, laden with a duffle and ratty messenger bag while also holding his cell to his ear, seemingly having an animated conversation as he made his way toward the taxi. As he walked, Fett’s duffle fell from his shoulder to the crook of his elbow as he gestured to make an unseen point to whoever he was talking to, knocking him off balance as he frustratedly stopped to readjust under the dry safety of the awning. The driver seemed to pity Fett and the awkward trouble he was having and got out to open the car door for him. The men exchanged a quick look as Fett ducked into the cab.
Maul pulled out to follow the cab, pulling out his phone to call in the use of his employer's private plane on the hunch that the next destination would be the airport. It'd be annoying, but Maul could track Fett from airport to airport, and besides, Maul thought as he allowed himself a small smirk; it’d been a while since he’d had a good chase.
Notes:
yeah, i called cody, yeah he said lucky charms are his favorite, yeah, he said that they're magically delicious.
cody was totally talking to fox while walking to the cab, who was incredibly annoyed that his brothers were in trouble but he wasn't allowed to know to what extent. so he's on standbye but, honestly, cody's about to go through it to such a degree he's gonna forget to call back, not that he has cell service anyways
anyhoo, i feel like cody is just, scarily good at compartmentalization, almost dangerously so (something he will def have to deal with later) rex is too but, to me, it comes across more as general flexibility. like, rex will bend around the problem while cody will redirect entirely if that makes sense.
also, idk how modern landlines work so i just went by 80s rules where it clicks to voicemail but the call is still going throughsee ya next time!
Chapter 4: Go and Run Yourself a Million Miles
Summary:
Cody makes a questionable decision but a solid day of travel will do that to a man.
Notes:
howdy everyone, sorry this wasn't posted around my loose schedule. finals, new job, all that jazz. anyhoo, from this point on some details are going to seem hyper-specific and that's because they are, so just nod along and trust me that this is relatively accurate.
also for reference, italic dialogue represents portuguese and bolded dialogue represents spainish. i could go through and write all that out but i really dont want to.
ch title is from Lake Michigan by Rogue Wave, i thought it was fitting
thanks to tightredpants as always
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cody could feel the weight of exhaustion pulling on him as the plane began to enact its landing sequence. He glanced at his watch, noting that he was somewhere around his twenty-sixth hour of travel. He rocked his head back into his seat and steeled himself for one more ride to his intended destination. Apparently, when you needed a flight ASAP you’ll take what you can get, and what you often get was a route that felt like it went everywhere except where you needed to be. Between delays, cancellations, and Cody’s refusal to stop and accept the proffered hotel rooms provided by whichever airline had just screwed him over, he was beyond exhausted.
The snatches of rest he’d been able to grab during layovers were hardly enough to keep him afloat considering the fact that he’d started this whole venture sleep deprived. When Cody wasn’t distracting himself with daydreams of starfighters and space wizards, his mind would wander through the events of the past day or so. Everything was a blur, from the brief and pointless stop in Panama to the stress that was customs in São Paulo. Now though, he’d give just about anything for a few hours of proper horizontal sleep. Rex was never, ever , living this down, Cody decided.
The crowded plane landed with little fanfare and Cody waited until the people around him stood to grab his things. The stiflingly humid air hit him like a slap to the face as he exited the plane, sweat already beading on the back of his neck as he walked out. He took the crumpled ticket boasting his new faded font flight itinerary that he’d gotten after his canceled flight from Miami. The same flight that inadvertently caused him to make the aforementioned pointless stop in Panama. Now, he was in Belém, the last known location of Rex before he was whisked away and held for ransom. Cody was quick to quell the choked feeling rising in his throat at the throat, being upset wouldn’t get his brother home any sooner, he thought to himself.
Focusing back on his itinerary, Cody began searching for the correct gate number and maybe somewhere to get some sort of snack because airline food wasn’t as bad as the comedians made it out to be, but it wasn’t the best either. Hopefully, he’d find some sort of vending machine because the idea of attempting to order in a language he didn’t know with only half a brain was the stuff of high school Spanish-induced nightmares. Also, his boarding time was coming up quickly.
The Belém airport was smaller than Cody was used to back in the States, and its large windows opened to an airfield surrounded by dense greenery. Details were hard to make out as there was a cloak of condensation on many of the panes. Cody walked up to what he assumed was the right gate, absently taking note that there was hardly anyone around despite boarding starting in twenty minutes. Cody sat, glancing between his watch, itinerary, and gate number as he got that itching feeling that something wasn’t adding up. He closed his eyes and scrubbed his face with his palms, willing his brain to work, damn it. He looked back at the slip of paper when, like an optical illusion finally lining up just right, he finally saw it. The date for his last flight, the flight from Belém to São Luís, was set for over a week from the current date.
After realizing this Cody sat back and stared ahead out the window, taking deep breaths as he willed himself not to freak the fuck out. Cody allowed himself a few seconds to process before collecting his things and making his way to the airport’s main lobby. It took several minutes to navigate his way through the cramped baggage claim and exit before cutting through a dim off-white hallway back into what looked like the entrance. The lobby was lit by large floor-to-ceiling windows and was decorated with tropical plants reaching toward the light from their carefully cultivated terraced garden. Cody made his way to one of the desks, hoping that if he wasn’t in the right place to get help, they’d at least direct him accordingly.
Cody stood in line while pulling out his rarely used passport and ticket information, looking accusingly down at his itinerary as if the slip of paper held a personal grudge against Cody and that’s why everything was fucked. A man in a uniform was making his way up the line, seemingly pointing everyone in the direction they needed to go and Cody tried to cheer himself with the fact that he may not have to wait all that long to find out if he was where he needed to be. The uniformed man finally made it to Cody, asking him something and in lieu of trying to give a proper response, Cody simply handed the man his itinerary.
Rather than showing Cody to a different desk though, the worker gestured towards the exit, pointing at the botched date of his last flight.
“I’m really sorry, but I don’t speak Portuguese,” Cody explained, “but this date is wrong, I’m supposed to be in 'Sow Luis' by now.”
“No,” the employee responded politely, “the date is right. You are coming back next week.”
“I can’t stay here a week though,” Cody replied allowing his desperation to seep into his tone. “Are there no earlier flights? Is there anyone I can talk to?”
The airport worker was about to respond when Cody felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a well-dressed man in an all-black suit with tattoos covering his tanned skin. The tattoos slinked out of the collar of his shirt to wrap around his neatly buzzed skull and crawled out of his cuffs to cover his clasped hands. The tattooed man gave a tight-lipped smile in a way that looked more like a grimace as Cody looked at him questioningly at the intrusion.
“Hello, maybe I can be of service,” he said in English. “I couldn’t help but overhear your problem, and it’s understandable as flights this time of year are hard to come by. Especially to where you’re headed. I doubt that a sooner flight will be available any time soon but there is a ferry headed that way. It can get you there in just a few days,” the tattooed man with an even, if a bit patronizing, voice.
Cody was too damned tired for this. He tried thinking it through, weighing the options of trying to talk himself into an earlier flight or following a stranger with the promise of continued forward motion. Looking back and forth between the attendant and the tattooed man, Cody finally turned towards the latter.
“Where is this ferry and when does it leave?” Cody asked the tattooed man, hoping he’d be given viable information. Worst case, his flight wouldn’t be going anywhere at the moment.
“I could take you there,” the tattooed man said. “I’m far too early for my own flight anyways.” The man shot him a look that seemed friendly enough.
Cody swung back around to the attendant and asked “Is this true?”
“Well, there are river boats that will take you many places but-”
“But, they keep strict schedules for boarding. You’d need to head that way now if you want to make it,” the tattooed man interrupted smoothly.
Cody thought it through for a few seconds longer, but at this point, if he got robbed or somehow also kidnapped, he didn’t think he’d care. He also thought of the many strangers that had helped him get to where he was now. Random people kindly pointed him in the right direction with little ulterior motive.
“How do I get on one?” Cody asked the attendant who sighed deeply in reply as he pulled out a pen and pad to write it down, tearing it off and handing it to Cody before moving on to the next person.
Tattooed guy grinned in a way that didn't quite meet his eyes before turning around and walking towards the exit without a word. As they left the building the heat somehow became more overbearing as the sun winked high above them in the late afternoon sky. The tattooed guy waved down a taxi and spoke rapidly to the driver before turning to Cody while holding out his hand.
“Here, let me hand him the address,” the man prompted.
Cody hesitantly handed it over and eyed the exchange, trying to ensure nothing shady was happening, but the man remained silent as the driver read the note and subsequently agreed. Both men then shuffled their way into the cramped car and were off to the marina.
If Cody’s mind were more present, he may have been horrified at the jostling of the erratic driving but he hardly even registered it. As Cody watched the city flit by his window though, he had a sudden moment of clarifying anxiety that cut through his bone-weary haze. He was in Brazil. He was in Brazil because his brother had been kidnapped. He was in Brazil and he just trusted a stranger to take him somewhere with no way of knowing if the man had some ulterior motive, a far cry from getting directions to his next gate.
Cody reeled himself in again and focused on the present. Future him could deal with the consequences of his actions. Yes, maybe the tattooed guy wanted something, but Cody didn’t exactly have much to give outside of the envelope that brought him here in the first place, something the other man wouldn’t be getting his hands on easily. And if it came to blows, well, Cody wasn’t exactly small despite most of his days being spent sitting in some back-breakingly horrible position and staring at his computer. He was the type that packed on muscle easily and kept it with little effort, leading to him being affectionately told he was “built like a shit brick house” by a drunken Fox the last time they’d gone out together.
Cody’s mind went in circles as the car pulled into what looked like an empty lot caked in red dirt. Cody would have begun to panic were it not for the large vessel currently being boarded by several people as dock workers moved around them in a steady march of motion. Cody and the tattooed guy split the fare with Cody having no way of knowing if it had been even, before exiting the cab. Realizing he couldn’t keep referring to him as ‘tattooed guy’ in his head, Cody decided to quickly fix the oversight.
“Hey, what’s your name? I forgot to ask.”
“You can call me Maul,” the tattooed guy, Maul, replied, not bothering to turn and face him when he spoke. Hell of a nickname, Cody shrugged.
"Cody," he introduced, not bothering with any pleasantries either.
Hondo was finally about to leave Belém and not a moment too soon. He’d stayed behind while his ship and crew went ahead to São Luís as he’d had some business to attend to while he was here. That business had mainly consisted of rummaging around Mr. Fett’s apartment to see if he had any other copies of his research or any evidence of where he could have hidden it. The sparsely furnished apartment revealed little but it was no real issue because Hondo already had the man where he wanted him and he was finally headed back towards his ship, much to his relief.
He wasn’t a fan of flying, but needs must, Hondo thought as he stood in line to check in for his flight. He was about halfway through that process when he noticed someone exiting the airport lobby and for a moment Hondo thought he was hallucinating. The man he’d seen leaving bore an uncanny resemblance to his reluctant ship passenger, save for the color of his hair and a curling scar around his brow. After a moment it clicked, that must have been Mr. Fett’s brother. Hondo would have to find something else to call him because they couldn’t both be ‘Mr. Fett.’
It took another moment for Hondo to realize that the man was leaving the airport, not going toward the terminals. Quickly Hondo ducked beneath the line divider to try and catch up with Mr. Fett’s brother. Once he was outside, he saw the man getting into a cab before it quickly pulled away from the curb.
“Wait,” Hondo shouted, attempting to wave them down, but it was no use. The taxi, passenger, and envelope were all in the wind.
Looking around he spotted another empty cab and climbed in while rapidly telling the man to follow the taxi that had just left, shoving an undetermined number of bills in the man's hands. Hondo spoke virtually no Portuguese, but in his experience, his Spanish could usually get him by and the driver seemed to understand well enough. They tracked the other cab for several minutes before losing them in the rush of traffic.
“Damn it,” Hondo said frustratedly. Where the hell was Fett’s brother going?
“What’s out this way?” Hondo asked.
“Not much ,” the driver replied. “This is a more industrial part of town. The only thing out this way is shipping companies and docks.”
Well, if there was one word he understood well, it was 'docks'.
“Do any commercial boats leave today?” Hondo asked.
“Yeah, there’s one to Manaus. I’ve driven a few people there already.”
Hondo took a moment, trying to figure out the man's reply, as well as his next move, before deciding to go with his gut.
“Take me there.”
Notes:
maul is a bit of a bastard ain't he? i give cody a pass because hes just so so tired but the airport worker thinks he's a bit dumb
i like to think that cody just absolutely butchered the nasal "ão" sound, it's hard to distinguish if you're a native english speaker. also, in my experience, spanish and portuguese are close enough to where people can communicate with each other while speaking the two languages, it just takes a minute to sus out
also, at/around this point things are going to get a bit confusing and that's on purpose, i promiseuntil next time where cody meets a red-headed stranger and gets on a boat, a place where he is stuck for far /far/ too many chapters.
see ya then
Chapter 5: Aching Chest (Blurry Sight)
Summary:
Get ready to be on a boat for way too long! Also the introduction of a very nice (and very pretty) man that kindly helps Cody get some goddamn sleep
Notes:
howdy all, sorry for the long hiatus i've literally been to the amazon and back since then soooo... anyways i'm posting this instead of writing my thesis :) anywhoo, chapter title from Far Away by José González
might just dump all the edited chapters i have just so i get it out there
see you in the next
Chapter Text
Cody looked around the boatyard, trying to take everything in. There was a small yellow awning near the boat where it looked like people were being checked in as they handed the worker at a fold-out table some papers and received either a wristband or a key in return. Maul led the way forward and Cody paused to wonder how the man wasn’t dying beneath the heat of the sun in his finely pressed suit. Maybe he was used to it.
Cody and Maul got into the rapidly moving line and Cody examined the people as they moved around them. Some groups appeared to be families with some toting around small children, others seemed to be lone passengers. Many of them carried large bags with what looked to be brightly colored blankets inside. Before Cody could ponder over those any longer they were at the fold-out table with the stone-faced woman behind it looking at them expectantly.
Maul began speaking to her, probably asking to buy a ticket, gesturing at Cody as he did so. At the woman's reply Maul scowled before speaking again slower, emphasizing words that were all totally lost on Cody. The woman replied in a similar manner, gesturing them off to the side. When Maul looked to argue she simply waved the person behind them up, ignoring Maul in favor of the next person in line.
Maul hauled Cody out of the line and spoke in a quiet yet undoubtedly angry voice. “No tickets left, there’s another ferry going out next week but at that point, you might as well take your plane,” he explained. “I’m very sorry for the waste, let me help you find a hotel to make it up to you.”
Before Cody could reply a man exited the line and jogged up to them. Cody wondered how he had missed him while people-watching as the man had ivory skin and a well-trimmed beard along with ginger hair that looked almost golden in the sunlight. His light coloring stood out, certainly, but not as much as the fact that he was dressed like he was on the set of some adventure comedy straight out of the 80s. From his lace-up boots to his fuck off Indiana Jones hat. If he hadn’t immediately gone up to Maul and started speaking rapidly in a language he couldn’t understand, Cody would have called him out as someone cosplaying an explorer. Maybe he was still, Cody didn’t know enough about Brazil to say one way or another and was too tired to think about it anymore.
The two men rapidly spoke back and forth, though about what, Cody didn’t know. The red-headed man looked his way, taking him in before making brief eye contact, continuing to speak all the while. Cody’s face heated at the assessment but didn’t have the presence of mind to quell his reaction. Maul held up a finger to pause the conversation before slinging his arm over Cody’s shoulders and guiding them a few feet away in a makeshift huddle.
“So, it looks like you have luck on your side,” Maul began. “Kenobi here says he bought a cabin for himself and it has a spare bunk he wasn’t going to use. He said if you pay cash for half the room he’ll let you bunk with him.” Maul paused and glanced at the other man, Kenobi, who was politely looking away, giving them some privacy. “I would advise you to take it. It's a better deal than if you had been able to get a ticket for yourself.”
Cody dug in his pockets and pulled out what Brazilian currency he’d gotten from the airport in São Paulo, silently thanking his foresight. It was only about 100$, so whatever that translated to was all he had at the moment. He flashed it to Maul though didn’t make the mistake of handing it over.
“This is all I got, if it isn’t enough I could give him the rest when we get there,” Cody stated as Maul silently tallied the amount. Maul then called over to Kenobi, voice inflected in question and Kenobi responded while flashing a quick thumbs up at them.
“This is enough,” Maul explained. “Follow him and he will get you settled.”
“I really don’t know how to thank you,” Cody replied. “I’d offer you payment but it looks like I’m fresh out of cash.”
“No worries,” Maul said, grinning in his strange way. “Call it a good deed.” With that he guided Cody back over to Kenobi, probably explaining that Cody accepted the deal and gestured for him to hand the other man the money. Cash in hand Kenobi quickly glanced at it, though perhaps too quickly to count before pocketing it and turning to get back into the line.
“Wait here,” Maul said. “He’s getting you one of those bracelets.” With that Maul left with nothing more than a quick nod of his head. Well, Cody thought, if this was all a scam then it was a hell of a complex one and they’d deserve whatever they got from him.
In no time Kenobi was back, holding one of the wristbands out for him to see. Rather than giving it over to Cody though, he simply grabbed one of his hands, making Cody’s whole body freeze as the other put it on for him, saying something and patting the top of Cody’s hand when he was finished before dropping it. Kenobi then offered out his own hand for a handshake, despite having just had Cody’s hand in his a second before.
“Ben Kenobi,” he said in an accented tone.
“Cody Fett,” he said as he took the taller man's hand, dazedly noting the other’s strong grip as they shook. Keno- Ben-, whatever, smiled at him causing Cody’s stomach to flip at the way his eyes crinkled at the edges with the motion. It was disarming, especially when compared to Maul’s attempts at the same. Kenobi, as he’d settled on mentally calling him (he just didn’t look like a Ben), then started walking towards the boat, chatting away about something or another as Cody coerced his heart rate down to a reasonable speed before following.
Boarding the boat was a slow-going process with more stop than go but the tight corridors upwards gave Cody a chance to rest his head on the cool metal walls whenever they paused. Kenobi seemed to be explaining where certain things were in an unwitting exercise of futility as Cody would simply nod and hum in agreement every time the man's slate blue eyes cut his way to see if he’d been heard. Many people got out of line to enter a large room that seemed to house mostly colorful hammocks on the second level but Kenobi kept leading them upwards.
The layout of the third level was confusing and almost maze-like, with hallways of doors on either side, creating a passageway from the left to the right side of the boat. Kenobi went to one door near the middle of the hall and used the key he’d been given to open it and show a dimly lit bathroom. Kenobi then shut the door and relocked it before making his way to the outer right side of the boat and turned to the first door to the left.
Kenobi pointed up to the number at the top of the door, 212, easy enough to remember. Cody looked out past the railing and towards the port they were docked at. The sun was already starting to lower from its zenith and below Cody spotted dock workers loading various cargo into the hull of the ship. He briefly glanced at his watch again, twenty-eight hours, he thought to himself. At least his body was still moving, even if his brain was very much not.
Kenobi quickly unlocked their door, showing a cramped cabin with a pair of bunk beds. The beds had no covers, just a neon green sheet covering the mattress and a similarly colored pillow. There was also a rattling air conditioner on the upper lefthand wall as well as a small trash can in the corner. With the door open the room was more than bright enough with its white painted walls but there were no windows to speak of otherwise, just a lone hanging mirror and a light switch by the door.
Cody made a movement that he hoped translated to ‘after you’ and Kenobi stepped down onto the blue cabin floor while still trying to make conversation as he put his things on the top bunk. Oh, thank God, Cody thought, he really didn’t like the idea of squeezing between the bunk and the ceiling. Cody quickly dropped his things to the floor and shoved them beneath the bed for storage.
At this point, he didn’t care if he was being rude. Anything being said to him at the moment was drowned out by the allurement of getting to lay down in an actual bed, no matter the circumstance, as well as the fact that he had no idea what the fuck the pretty man was saying. If he were any less tired he’d probably go rinse himself off or something but his first item of business was going to sleep. He eked around Kenobi, promising himself he’d do a better job communicating tomorrow, and crawled into the bunk. As soon as his head hit the pillow he was dead to the world.
Maul exited the boatyard and hailed a cab back to the airport after successfully handing Fett off to some good samaritan of a babysitter. Now all he had to do was make his way to Manaus and catch Fett there with no one following and nowhere for the man to turn. Climbing into his hailed cab Maul sent a quick email to his employer, letting him know that everything was going according to plan. Maul’s plan, that is.
When Hondo’s taxi drove up to the boatyard Mr. Fett’s brother was nowhere in sight. Hondo stepped out of the car to take a look around but left the door open, having a feeling he’d still be needing the driver's services. After scrutinizing the boat he finally saw him, up on the second level, looking worse for wear, even from a distance.
Damn, Hondo thought, not a chance in hell he was making it on that boat right as it was finishing the process of boarding. How the brother managed to get on it at all was a mystery for another day. For now, though he ducked back into the cab and told the driver to head back to the airport as he pulled out his phone to make a few calls. There was no reason to worry, Hondo decided. He still had the man's brother, so regardless, he would be getting that envelope one way or another.
Chapter 6: Hard To Make Friends When Your Half In The Grave
Summary:
Cody finally gets some fuckin' sleep
Notes:
bolded text is spanish, i'm sorry but it'll only get more confusing from here
ch. title from Not Dead Yet by Lord Huron
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Obi-Wan halted his monologuing when he noticed his dark-haired companion, Cody, was already asleep. From what he’d seen from the other’s glazed eyes and quiet agreement to everything Obi-Wan had to say regardless of the topic, it seemed safe to say Cody was downright exhausted. There was a fog that overlaid his stoic facade making him appear to be in a dreamlike state even from an outsider's perspective. Obi-Wan made a mental note to grab the man some water soon, as the intense sun and heat had probably not helped with the other’s fatigue. That being said, there was no harm in letting the poor man sleep. Besides, there was not much else to do on a boat other than that and drink. That, undoubtedly, wasn’t why Obi-Wan had decided to take the boat to Manaus instead of flying there like a sane person, or at least that’s what he told himself.
His intentions, rather, were to take the opportunity of prolonged and enforced boredom to finally buckle down and digitize his several notebooks worth of field notes. He knew being stubborn about hand-writing them would come back to bite him in the ass and here it was, doing exactly that. But, Obi-Wan had accepted that he’d have to lie in his self-made bed and the long trip would permit him to do little else. He refused to regret his bull-headedness though, as he felt he was able to process things far better when his thoughts and observations came out through a pen rather than a keyboard.
This would also be a good opportunity for Obi-Wan to try and spot any connections he hadn’t seen before, so ultimately, this would be beneficial, he decided. The fact that his handwriting was far too messy to be read by any digitizing software had nothing to do with it either. Obi-Wan was hopeful about the research he’d collected so far, though the story it was painting was bleak. Over the past few months he’d been following up on his original ethnographic research he’d done on Amazonian communities but it seemed like localized issues had been spiraling exponentially in the couple of years since he’d last been here.
His mind took the thought and ran with it, bombarding him with a flurry of hows, whys, and what-ifs. After several minutes of staring at nothing in particular as his thoughts raced, he jerked back to the present as he remembered he still had some things to do. The first thing on his to-do list, and the easiest to accomplish, was to snag himself, as well as Cody, some chairs to stow away in the cabin. Seating would become scarce as people piled into the vessel and he had no plan on standing for five days straight, thank you very much. Obi-Wan ducked out of the small room to grab a couple of the flimsy white plastic chairs from the deck, stacking them on top of each other to better carry them. After a brief moment of struggling with the handle, he opened the cabin door and swung the chairs into the corner, wincing as they clattered on the steel floor.
He froze as he checked his sleeping bunkmate for any signs of stirring but Cody had scarcely twitched at the still-echoing noise. Sighing, Obi-Wan sat in the stacked chairs, deciding it was better to keep them that way to save space. Once seated, he took off his stupid hat, the one that he swore he hated and kept out of necessity and not for sentimental reasons at all. In all honesty, it had been a gift from Anakin, given to him just before he left for his first round of fieldwork while still in grad school, and, as a gift, it struck the perfect balance between incredibly annoying and endearingly thoughtful. A talent of younger siblings, he supposed. His younger brother had handed the dreaded thing to him with such light in his eyes whilst explaining that Obi-Wan would look like a hero from an action movie and Obi-Wan’s heart melted.
So here he was, still reluctantly bringing the hat with him every time he went anywhere that could be considered remotely tropical whilst desperately trying to hold that image of his genuinely sweet little brother in mind. It was an increasingly necessary memory, especially as Anakin became a brat of a teen with the angst to match. He also grudgingly admitted that it was, unfortunately, practical. While Obi-Wan resented the “explorer-chique” aesthetic the hat unequivocally painted him in, the equatorial sun spared no sympathy for the poor pallid ginger who decided that working in the Amazon would be neat. So the hat stayed with him throughout the years despite the unfulfilled claim that he’d find something else.
Obi-Wan ran a hand through sweat-damp hair and leaned precariously onto the back two legs of his wobbly seat. It’d probably be best for him to remain in the cabin until the boat was fully boarded so as not to get in anyone's way and he groaned internally at the inevitable boredom that was setting in sooner rather than later. A part of him wanted to be polite and turn out the lights so his bunk-mate could sleep better, but the thought of just sitting in the dark as the other man slept made Obi-Wan feel like a creep. Cody would just have to deal. There was probably a joke in there somewhere about the last series of events that had led to a handsome stranger ending up in Obi-Wan’s bed but he didn’t feel like pulling out the metaphorical trowel to dig for that one.
That aside, it was an odd situation Obi-Wan had found himself in. He’d overheard Cody’s friend arguing with the ticket distributor as an obvious communication breakdown took place. Cody’s friend, and probably Cody himself, didn’t speak Portuguese at all and seemed to have been trying to get by on Spanish alone. In Obi-Wan’s own experience that setup could work, but it often took a considerable amount of patience on both sides, a virtue the sharply dressed man seemed to be seriously lacking in. When the two men were shooed to the side Obi-Wan had felt compelled to go over and help as he happened to speak both languages.
He’d listened as the tattooed man spoke of their woes, explaining Cody’s desperate need to get to Manaus to see his ailing brother as well as his crippling fear of flying that kept him from taking the easier route. Guilty that he had an entire cabin all to himself and a bed that he’d planned on leaving empty, Obi-Wan had offered the spare bunk with little thought. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d shared what he had with a stranger, and the light of relief in Cody's eyes as he and his companion turned back from their makeshift huddle to accept Obi-Wan’s offer made him sure he’d made the right choice.
Obi-Wan’s eyes roamed back to the other again, still dead to the world, and sighed, willing himself not to be distracted by someone he’d exchanged little more than his name and 500 Reais with. He half stood to grab his bag from the top bunk and sat back down with his laptop and the first of his notebooks balanced in his lap. He reached into one of his pockets and began unwinding the tangled mess of earbuds and put one in his ear, hoping to force his brain into autopilot as he transcribed.
When Obi-Wan looked up again he decided it was probably time to stretch his legs and find something to eat. Glancing at the little clock in the corner of his computer screen, he realized the kitchen would no longer be serving dinner so something from the small food stand would have to do. As he stepped out into the pitch of the unlit night, Obi-Wan took note of the fact that they’d taken off. The low hum and gentle swaying of the boat must have faded into the background as he worked, he thought. Sailing on a river was far different from doing so on the ocean as the soft water parted with ease, the only disturbances being other passing boats. It was good news for anyone with a tendency towards motion sickness and better news for Obi-Wan’s own ability to focus.
He took a second to look upwards and noticed the smattering of stars that were visible above him, numerous and bright. With hardly any light pollution, the Milky Way pressed against the firmament and felt almost close enough to touch. The Southern cross hung proudly above as distant clouds rolled and flashed lightning making the endless sky a light show in various acts. It was an easy sight to lose oneself in, no matter how often it’s been seen. When looking up it was difficult to avoid the feeling of interconnectedness to everything. Up there was the same sky that’d shone for millions of years and would continue to do the same for millions more. There was something so wonderfully human about being hypnotized by the firmament and Obi-Wan allowed himself the luxury.
Eventually, he broke the spell and went off to find something to eat along with some water for his weary bunkmate. Obi-Wan absentmindedly decided to lend the man his blanket as he had a hoodie and sweatpants that would work until the man was awake enough to dig his own provisions out. With nothing else to do and nowhere else to be, maybe Obi-Wan would come back and stare out at the sky until his eyes grew heavy and he could go to sleep without worrying about what time he needed to be awake in the morning.
Cody blurrily opened his eyes to an inky darkness and a mouth that was drier than sin. It took him a moment to piece together that he wasn’t in some sort of Saw trap as white noise and metallic creaking floated into his consciousness. Right , he thought. Rex, map, planes, boats, pretty man he probably shouldn't trust as much as he did. As things came into focus he noticed a small plastic cup of water sitting precariously on the squat bunk bed ladder directly in front of his face. He raised a bit to down the precious gift and finally noticed the light blanket that’d been haphazardly thrown atop him. Kenobi must have asked someone in charge for one and had probably left the water for him too. It really didn’t matter though, anything more complex than thoughts directly from his lizard brain could be saved for after he’d made due on his sleep debt. Cody then rolled over, pulling the borrowed blanket around him as the sharp scent of wood and rain guided him back toward the gentle arms of sleep.
Obi-Wan woke up to nothing but the light creeping beneath the crack beneath the door and a faint murmur of people outside. He was happy to see that he had just enough time to grab breakfast from the deck below before it stopped being served. Coffee and some sort of bread awaited, he thought pleasantly. Obi-Wan had always had a penchant for his father's preferred tea, something that had been inherited from his father in turn. But, when in Rome, as they say. The first time Obi-Wan had coffee in Brazil his first thought was that it had been a bit weak and subsequently drank three cups as he aimed for the desired effect. He’d been a grad student at the time and had thought he knew good and well the ins and outs of caffeine and all its forms, hubris at its finest. He hadn’t realized his mistake until he was left gripping the arms of his seat as his heart made a valiant attempt to escape his chest. Quin, of course, had just laughed at Obi-Wan’s misfortune leaving him to wonder why he was only friends with horrible people.
Obi-Wan didn’t bother changing into day clothes, opting to pull off his worn baja hoodie and head down in just his t-shirt and sweatpants instead. He knew that he’d need to change at some point so he wouldn’t sweat through the clothes he had as the day grew hotter, but he decided that he might as well stay comfortable for now. He briefly caught a glimpse of himself in the small hanging mirror as bed-head and tired eyes stared back at him making him almost thankful for his stupid hat. The latter could be aided by his current mission at least. Obi-Wan looked over to his bunkmate who was still asleep though it appeared the other had drunk the water that had been left out for him last night. Nice to know he wasn’t dead at least. Obi-Wan resolved to get a second coffee just in case, and if Cody decided to sleep this day away too, more for him. He then turned to step out of the cabin and make his way down towards the galley where hopefully it’d be late enough for there not to be a line.
Waking up a second time was no less jarring affair than it had been the first time for Cody. He was met with the sound of the cabin door opening and light flooding into the cramped room like it was redemption day, blinding him for a second. He was left in darkness for several minutes before the door opened again, only slightly searing his eyes this time. He sat up rubbing the sleep in his eyes as Kenobi made his way in with full hands. He had two cups of what smelled like coffee and Cody couldn’t help but sigh in relief. Once the door was closed and the light was flicked on Kenobi looked his way and shot him a smile that could safely be called dangerously charming making any words Cody had planned on saying die in his throat.
Kenobi held both drinks aloft in their translucent plastic cups, one appearing to have cream and the other left black and appeared to be waiting for Cody to pick one. Cody gestured towards the cup of black coffee and started drinking as soon as it was in his hands. It was good, if a little weak, he thought. Kenobi began sipping his as well, sitting down in some stacked deck chairs that certainly hadn’t been in the cabin before he’d passed out.
“Buenos Días ,” Kenobi said, knocking Cody out of his thoughts by saying something recognizable before continuing on at such a fast pace that anything Cody could have picked up was entirely lost on him.
“Uhhh–” Cody began before taking a slow sip of his coffee deciding how to go about telling the man that the only languages he had any sort of competence in were English, profanity, and bullshit. Kenobi tilted his head as he waited for a reply and it was not unlike a very cute, very confused cat, Cody decided the easiest way about this situation was to just bite the bullet. “I’m sorry but I have no idea what you’re saying. Any chance you speak English?”
Notes:
obi-wan in a drug rug :) also the coffee in brazil can either taste like motor oil or water and both will get you so caffeinated you feel your heart beating out your chest
Chapter 7: And You May Ask Yourself, “Well, How Did I Get Here?”
Summary:
A conversation in the same language actually happens
Notes:
title from Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads
bolded text is still spanish :)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cody stared at Kenobi, eyebrows raised in question.
“So is that a no?” he asked while dragging out the last syllable. Kenobi continued to buffer for a few seconds longer before something clicked into place that allowed him to speak again.
“Oh, right, sorry, you caught me off guard. Yes, I speak English…” Kenobi replied before trailing off, his voice lilting in an accent that seemed caught somewhere between British and Scottish, seemingly unable to decide which to land on. “I apologize for the confusion. You’re visiting your brother in Manaus, right?”
“I’m looking for my brother but I don’t know where Manaus is. I need to get to the Grand Sow Luis Hotel, is that close?”
“In São Luís?” Kenobi asked.
“That's what I said,” Cody replied sharply, not in the mood to be corrected on his pronunciation this early in the morning. Or late. Whatever, it didn’t matter what time it was, he wasn’t in the mood.
“No, it isn’t,” Kenobi corrected anyway, causing Cody’s ire to flare but moved on quickly. “I’m sorry, but you’re hell and gone from São Luís my friend. A day and a half in the opposite direction with three and a half more to go to be exact,” Kenobi explained. “Who told you this was the way to São Luís?” he asked, looking baffled as Cody realized what had happened, barely containing his urge to face-palm at his own stupidity.
“Fuckin’ tattooed guy, Maul? Yeah, his name was definitely Maul,” Cody explained while scrubbing his face with his unoccupied hand.
“You didn’t know him? He said that you were friends.”
“Nah, I met him at the airport yesterday and he said he’d help.”
“He also said you were afraid of flying and that’s why you needed to take the boat,” Kenobi said before backtracking. “So, you trusted a man called ‘Maul,’ a random stranger you’d known for what? A handful of minutes? And thought ‘Yes, this man will get me to my destination?’” Kenobi asked incredulously. Kenobi must think he was an idiot and Cody, at this point, would have to agree.
“Call me a chronic optimist I guess. And, in my defense, I was extremely stressed and sleep deprived and it seemed like the lesser of two evils at the time. Not to mention, plenty of strangers had helped me so far, including you,” Cody said while gesturing around at the cabin around them, coffee still in hand to illustrate. “Out of the past twenty strangers I’ve interacted with, only one has fucked me over, which was just an inevitability if you think of it statistically,” he finished.
“I don’t disagree that most people wouldn’t put you on a boat heading nowhere near your destination, you’re just lucky enough to find the one person who would,” Kenobi needled. “Also I’ll have you know that I can be a right bastard when I feel like it, but am ethically obligated to not be a dick while in the field. Anyways, that’s besides the point, what was this so-called greater evil that made you trust the man?” Kenobi asked.
“I would have had to stop moving,” Cody replied with a shrug and continued on when Kenobi gave him a skeptical look. “What can I say, my fried brain told me forward was the only option, I guess. ”
“Well, it certainly succeeded on the moving aspect, just five days in the wrong direction,” Kenobi replied.
“I thought you were ‘ethically obligated to not be a dick,’” Cody groaned and set his now empty cup on the nearest flat surface so he could comfortably flop back onto the stiff and static-y bed as he sighed out in frustration.
“This, technically, isn't the field,” Kenobi shot back. “The good news is, Manaus is a big city, so you should be able to get a flight out relatively quickly. I could help you get there and get a ticket to set you on your way,” Kenobi consoled. “You’ll just have to stick it out until we get there. Waiting here is now truly the lesser evil and, to be frank, probably always was.”
Cody ignored the jab in favor of seeking more information, “There's no faster way?” he asked.
“I mean, you could set off from one of the ports we’ll be stopping at over the next few days but those towns are going to be much smaller. There wouldn’t be a guarantee that whichever township you got off at would have an airport, much less flights out at a reasonable time. And, once you’re off the boat there's no getting back on. I,” he emphasized by gesturing to himself, “am going to Manaus so you would be out of luck if you gambled and lost,” he finished his explanation looking a bit apologetic but unwavering in his own plans forward. Cody appreciated that the man didn’t bother beating around the bush at least.
“That’s a really long way of saying no,” Cody returned, smiling a bit to himself when he got a chuckle out of Kenobi, making him feel a bit better as he lay staring at the bunk above him. Five days was a lot of time to lose, but what choice did he have? Stop off in some random town where he still didn’t speak the language and go from there? Kenobi also seemed like he genuinely wanted to help and was, thankfully, far more transparent about being an asshole. God, if Rex ever found out about the mess he’d gotten himself into, Cody knew he would never live it down.
“There's always a choice in the matter,” Kenobi stated, “just not always good ones.”
“Haven’t had enough coffee for two-bit philosophizing,” Cody replied.
“Sure you have,” Kenobi said, draining the last of his own cup as Cody huffed.
“Well, what about you? You actually chose to spend five days on a boat? The fuck is up with that?” Cody asked, deciding to poke at the other man's choices in order to change the subject.
Kenobi lounged back in a way that shouldn’t be possible on flimsy deck chairs, hand on his chin in thought, before dismissively replying, “I have that special strain of masochism one can only obtain by being raised Catholic.” Cody was surprised by his own burst of laughter at the dry quip and delivery. At this rate, three and a half days might be enough time for Cody to start considering asking for this guy's hand in marriage.
“Still Catholic?” Cody asked.
“Only when I’ve lost my keys,” Kenobi shot back. The conversation was beginning to become something closer to a game, one that Cody rarely got to indulge in save for Fox, from whom Cody had learned it from, and Rex whom Cody had taught. Whenever the three of them were together it was a veritable feeding frenzy for anyone who tried to butt in unprepared, and Cody couldn’t help but imagine how Kenobi would fare if he was thrown in the mix.
“So are you some sort of big-game hunter? Laura Croft tomb raider? Let me know if I’m getting any warmer,” Cody joked, pivoting once again.
“Both incorrect, third time's the charm?”
“Hmmm, British Museum goon here for Loot and Pillage 2: Electric Boogaloo?”
“Oh God no, that’s the cruelest thing anyone’s ever said to me,” Kenobi denied with outrage that was only slightly sarcastic. “No, I’m an anthropologist,” he said, and at Cody’s accusatory look he elaborated, “a cultural anthropologist, no artifacts being moved by me.”
“So like ‘The Left Hand of Darkness?’”
Kenobi had had his mouth open to reply halfway through Cody’s question but paused before answering. “Actually yes, exactly like that. Most people say some other piece of media that horribly represents our field.”
“I hate to tell you, but the hat doesn’t help,” Cody supplied.
“Unfortunately, it was a gift,” Kenobi volleyed.
“Could’ve returned it.”
“Well, as you can see, I wasn’t exactly designed for life this close to the equator,” Kenobi ran his fingers through rust colored hair to illustrate. “So, I do what I must,” he sighed out.
It really shouldn't have been as distracting as it was but Cody was only a man. A man that hadn’t been laid in an embarrassingly long time, at that. God, he really needed to get out more, he thought to himself, lamenting the thin line that lay between introvert and hermit. As the conversation lulled, Cody took a moment to truly study his companion past his most striking features. Kenobi wore half-laced boots and sweatpants that looked seconds away from disintegrating (not that Cody would mind) and a Smiths t-shirt that was just the wrong side of distressed. So, Cody deduced, either anthropologists weren’t paid that well or Kenobi was frighteningly frugal.
Maybe both?
Probably both.
Kenobi then stood smoothly, not seeming to be in any sort of rush, and began digging through his bag as Cody looked on with vague interest. Then, without warning, Kenobi began stripping, supposedly to change into the clothes he had apparently grabbed, and not just for fun. It took a moment for Cody’s brain to catch up with what his eyes were seeing, causing his face to burn as he promptly glued his eyes to the slats that held the bed above him. It then dawned on him that the next few days of living in close quarters with Kenobi were going to be an endeavor worthy of Seneca himself. Thankfully, Kenobi seemed unaware of Cody’s current crisis and began to speak again as he got dressed.
“The kitchen is closed until lunch but there's something akin to a concession stand that you can get something to eat from if you’re hungry,” Kenobi offered as Cody chanced a look over and found Kenobi finally dressed and had moved on to lacing up his shoes, much to Cody’s relief. “Do you have any cash?”
“Not a dime, all the cash I had went to you for the cabin,” Cody replied.
“Then I’ll cover for you. It’s only fair since you’re going in the wrong direction and I had already budgeted for the room,” Kenobi reasoned.
“And you’re keeping what's left?” Cody asked, thinking that with the logic Kenobi was using Cody should be getting his money back.
“Call it a translation fee, and a discounted one at that,” Kenobi replied in turn.
“Yeah? What are your normal rates then?” Cody questioned back.
“Let’s just say that I’m not cheap, but I can be had,” Kenobi returned, meeting Cody’s look with a smirk that awoke long dormant butterflies in Cody’s stomach, much to his own chagrin. He was nearing thirty, not eighth grade, and he should know better than to develop a crush on a man he’d had a total of one conversation within which he understood what the other was saying.
“So, are you hungry?” Kenobi asked.
At that, Cody became aware of the gnawing sensation in his stomach. He couldn’t remember when he’d last eaten anything substantial and his body had now decided it was high time to punish him for his neglect.
“Yeah,” Cody said as he stood, “I could eat.”
The flight to São Luís was riddled with stops and Hondo was trying his very best to remain positive. Why direct flights were so hard to come by was still a mystery to him, but that was one of the many reasons he was not in the business of flying. Hondo thought wistfully of his ship as he boarded the plane, bemoaning the fact that he hadn’t even the freedom to choose his own seat. It was true that needs must, but Hondo was a man who liked to at least be in charge of whatever deathtrap he was aboard. Making his way down the aisle, he settled into his seat next to the window and found solace in the fact that he’d be back on the water soon, as he always was.
The surprising idiocy of Mr. Fett’s brother to get on a boat to Manaus as opposed to anything headed in at least the right direction, furthering Hondo from his prize, was irksome, to say the least. But, Hondo reminded himself, he still had Mr. Fett tucked away on his ship. Hondo had been assured that the crew had been treating the man kindly as their guest, but if it came to it, Hondo had few qualms with beginning to search for those that may be interested in buying themselves a hostage. Sure, Hondo preferred to avoid that particular crowd, despite technically being a part of it, but in this instance, his hand would have been forced. Soon though, the brother would realize his mistake, assuming that it was a mistake, and things would be back on course.
Not long after he’d sat, the seat next to him was filled with a heavily tattooed man in a black monochrome suit, grumbling to himself. Ha, Hondo thought, must be jealous of my good luck at being assigned a window seat.
“Nervous flier? ” Hondo asked jokingly in Spanish. His attempt at humor seemed to irk the dour man as he sneered in disdain whilst remaining silent. “ There’s no need to worry my friend. I know these Amazonian flights can get rough, but well, we’ll make it back to land one way or another. We’re even seated next to the jungle survival kit,” Hondo continued, gesturing to the top corner of the luggage compartment that declared its contents.
“I am not afraid of flying, ” the tattooed man said curtly, “ I am simply used to finer accommodations.” Ah, thought Hondo, a fellow Spanish speaker. From his accent, Hondo could guess the other was from Spain and sounded airy when compared to Hodo’s own heavy dialect. Usually, he would take the time to make fun of him for it, as was every former colony's right, but he decided to bask in getting to speak his mother tongue instead.
“Ah, well I am too. You see I have this incredible ship, and she is a ship, despite her smaller size,” Hondo began and was off, proudly explaining his ship and crew as much as he could without revealing his illegal tendencies. All the while his seat neighbor looked to the roof of the plane as if asking God to strike him down posthaste. Hondo was sure that the man was thankful, deep down, as Hondo’s chatter would help distract him from his obvious anxiety, and though the flight wasn’t terrible, it was still a lot of stress for his new friend to be under. Fortunately for his seat neighbor, Hondo could fill the four hours from here to there easily.
If this man did not shut up soon, Maul would be forced to live up to his name right there on aisle 50 of an airliner. It was bad enough that his employer had decided not to lend him the jet this time around, leaving Maul to fly economy of all things, but now he was stuck next to this nuisance that seemed to be drawing to no conclusion as he began telling a story Maul did not want to listen to. Truly, solitary confinement was a better punishment than whatever divine power had assigned him next to this pest.
Maul closed his eyes, attempting to tune the annoying man out, and focused instead on his next steps. Get the package, no matter the cost. What he did from there depended on the contents within. Maul also reminded himself of the fact that he could always grow out his hair and fake his death to escape his employer if necessary. The only reason he hadn’t done so already was the ample accommodations provided to him for his efforts, but as those were obviously not being met, perhaps Maul would pull some strings sooner rather than later.
Notes:
portuguese nasal sounds my beloathed. also despite not being a christian (anymore) or being raised catholic, i now regularly bully the saints for things. obi-wan is referencing saint anthony (patron of lost things) but my homeboy is saint expedite (patron of procrastinators and speedy results)
Chapter 8: Tell Us A Story (I Know You’re Not Boring)
Summary:
Talking continues, they're still on a boat
Notes:
ch title from Reptilia by The Strokes
italicized text in quotations is portuguese
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cody was rapidly coming to the conclusion that boats were boring. Of course, he still daydreamed of storylines and character arcs as he would normally, but the imagined image was hard to maintain in a place that might as well have been a different planet in itself. With no signal to speak of out in the middle of the Amazon River and not so much as a book to occupy his time, Cody ended up doing little else other than watching the coastline and talking to Kenobi.
Along the way so far he’d seen colorful stilt houses along the banks and several people traveling in smaller boats that made enough noise to echo for miles. There were also the small towns that they would stop at as passengers made their way on and off, and typically there was a flurry of vendors on neighboring docked boats that would sell various foods over the railings. Cody took it all in as things rapidly flitted from overwhelming to dull and back again and there was never enough time to get used to either. The lack of independence was also starting to wear on him as it felt like there was hardly anything he could do without Kenobi’s help.
Also, Cody thought to himself, Kenobi had all of Cody’s cash, but, honestly, it wasn’t like he would be able to buy anything aside from whatever was close enough to point to. Things were fine when the two of them were together and everything could be translated but there had been times when Cody had been spoken to while separate from Kenobi and choked, unable to understand, much less reply. He knew it wasn’t fair to himself to feel stupid for not magically knowing a different language, but the feeling of helplessness weighed heavy on him. He’d always been self-sufficient, not above asking for help, mind you, but generally able to figure things out on his own. Being this reliant on another person wasn’t comfortable, but discomfort often came with growth, so Cody did his best to embrace it. On top of all of this, his little brother was still out in São Luís as Cody was going pretty damn far in the opposite direction. All to say, Cody was getting restless.
Kenobi, bless his soul, tried to help where he could when he noticed Cody’s agitation. First, he had tried to teach Cody some basic Portuguese but Cody couldn’t seem to get the nasalized vowels right, much to his own irritation. They’d eventually called it quits after Cody had learned a few basics and the ever-important “ Eu não falo português. ” Kenobi did have books but they were either in Portuguese, some other language, or so chock full of academic and area-specific jargon they nearly gave Cody a migraine. Why affect and affect had different meanings and connotations, Cody didn’t care enough at this point after spending hours trying to puzzle it out.
Kenobi would also chat with him on and off when he wasn’t furiously typing away on his computer. Cody had been assured that Kenobi wasn’t hiding a secret router somewhere and he was just digitizing his notes and saving everything to a hard drive. Somewhere around the second night, Cody had explained his situation when he realized needed to relieve some of the pent-up anxiety in order to move on. He gave Kenobi the outline, just the fact that his brother had been taken and that Cody had been tasked with bringing something to trade for Rex’s return. Kenobi listened empathetically and didn’t press for any more details than Cody was willing to give, content to just listen. Whether it was out of respect or plausible deniability Cody couldn’t tell, but he appreciated the kindness anyway. Cody was typically a champ at pulling himself together and moving forward but with his forward momentum put to a forceful halt the feeling of wanting to crawl out of his own skin was becoming harder to ignore.
“You’re going through culture shock,” Kenobi explained at one point. “You’ve been tossed into a foreign and stressful situation where you don’t speak the language and it's too damn hot to think. You’re in crisis,” he continued, not unkindly. “Christ, you didn’t even get the ‘honeymoon’ phase; that excitement that comes with being somewhere new. You were just thrown on a boat by some prick who has it out for you.”
“Well at least I know the depression is justified,” Cody returned disparagingly. He was grateful for the assurance that he wasn’t losing his mind, but the conclusion of " i t just kind of sucks for a while" wasn’t exactly comforting either.
“You’ll adapt eventually, everyone does,” Kenobi supplied, aiming for reassurance.
“How long did your ‘honeymoon’ phase last?” Cody asked, hoping to get a read on the timeline and the possibility of hearing a bit more about Kenobi’s background was just a pleasant addition.
“Oh, I didn’t get one either,” Kenobi replied with a hint of laughter in his voice.
“Why not?”
“I got hit by a bus within my first two hours off the plane,” Kenobi answered with a reminiscent grin. “Woke up in the hospital with a concussion and a broken arm.”
“Okay, yeah, that also sucks,” Cody said. At least Cody wasn’t the only one who’d had a hell of a first rodeo.
Time drug on like a snail on barbiturates and with each passing day came more pent-up tension than Cody knew what to do with, making him feel downright neurotic even though he was sure he hardly looked it on the outside. He and Kenobi were sitting in the area with the heaviest shade, not only to account for the ginger's delicate complexion but to also help ward off the late afternoon heat of their second to last day on that stupid boat.
“I bet if you stuck a lump of coal between your shoulder blades, in two weeks you’d have a diamond,” Kenobi offhandedly commented, not looking up from his laptop as he typed. Apparently, Cody hadn’t been masking his nerves as well as he thought. That or Kenobi was simply getting good at reading him.
“Yeah, well, sorry there's nothing to do but think about things that are stressing me out,” Cody shot back dismissively.
Sighing, Kenobi looked up to study Cody before seeming to make a decision. He reached into his backpack and pulled out one of the several small notebooks he’d been copying from along with several sticky note tabs and paused, catching Cody’s eyes with his hand half extended.
“I need you to know that, technically, this is very illegal,” he said before placing the items in Cody’s hands.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cody asked while looking the notebook over skeptically as if it’d declare itself guilty of tax evasion.
“These notes are confidential. There’s information within them that could ruin some people, socially, financially, or worse in there,” Kenobi explained. “But, let’s just call it reciprocity. You’ve both had and continue, to rely on me in this situation that you’ve found yourself in. Now I’ll have to rely on you to not do anything untoward with these contents,” he finished. It was a strangely kind gesture, Cody thought. Maul had screwed him over and Cody had been powerless to stop it and he’d been put in several situations where he had no leverage to speak of. Here, Kenobi was giving Cody a means to defend himself, even if it was ultimately unnecessary.
“Also, your nervous energy is distracting me,” Kenobi tacked on.
“Are you calling me annoying?” Cody scoffed, feigning offense.
“Precisely,” Kenobi smiled politely as he teased.
“Whatever,” Cody retorted, “what do you want me to do?” At that, Kenobi began explaining that Cody would be coding his journal for him. At Cody’s confusion, Kenobi went on to clarify that coding here meant grouping together similar topics so that later he’d be able to visualize trends better. The yellow tabs would mean one thing, green another, and so on and so forth. Cody opened the book to a random page to see what he was working with and was met with a mess of hybrid print-cursive scrawl with words that would run together if the endings or beginnings matched their neighbors. It spoke of hands that moved too slowly to keep up with Kenobi’s runaway trains of thought. Some paragraphs ended mid-sentence only to pick back up again somewhere else on the page after an interjecting paragraph had concluded. After some thought Cody decided it suited the other man that even his handwriting couldn’t keep up with his own breakneck thoughts. Despite that, Cody still needed to make fun of him for it.
“You have god-awful handwriting,” Cody said once he felt like he wouldn’t get a migraine from staring at the page in front of him.
“Thanks, it came with the doctorate,” Kenobi replied goodnaturedly before digging back into the work in front of him. Cody went to do the same, flipping to the front of the book and pausing when he saw the name line.
“Did you steal these from some guy named Obi-Wan?” he asked, gesturing to the name elegantly scripted on the title page with flourishes that spoke of a higher quality pen than the shitty BICs the rest of the notebook was no doubt written in.
“Well given that I’m Obi-Wan, I should think not,” he replied. At this, Cody furrowed his brows in confusion.
“You said your name was Ben,” Cody stated, trying to figure out how either of those names were remotely similar.
“Ah, that’s what I go by in certain contexts, or just abroad in general really.”
“Why the hell would you do that?”
“Because it’s a pain in the ass to have to explain,” Obi-Wan answered while looking at Cody pointedly.
“Fair,” Cody admitted before plowing ahead anyway. “Does it mean anything in particular?” The continued line of questioning caused Obi-Wan to huff a put-upon sigh that seemed to be more for show than anything else.
“Not as far as I know. I like to think that whoever birthed me just horribly misspelled ‘Oberon.’”
“Fancy yourself the king of fairies?”
“Oh, in undergrad, certainly,” Obi-Wan quipped suggestively. There was no doubt to Cody that Obi-Wan had been, and still could be, a hell of a heartbreaker. He had a combination of dry wit and charisma that drew people in. After only a few days of traveling, Obi-Wan already had friends that he’d stop and chat with as they moved around the boat. Curious kids would also come up to him and as much as the taller man argued that he didn’t care for children, the way he communicated with them as they looked on with starry eyes said exactly the opposite. Those scenes in particular made Cody want to whack the other man for no other reason than it was too sweet for Cody to handle. To put it simply, the man was magnetic, and there was little Cody could do to stop himself from being pulled too.
It hardly mattered that Obi-Wan was exactly Cody’s type at this point, though it certainly didn’t hurt. Obi-Wan had a way of keeping up with Cody that very few people outside of a handful of his brothers could. Obi-Wan being intelligent, kind enough to look out for a complete stranger, and a bit of a dick created the perfect storm for Cody to get caught up in. Cody shook himself out of his thoughts and hoped the dreaminess of his thoughts didn’t show outwardly.
“Whoever birthed you?” Cody parroted Obi-Wan’s words back at him in question, hoping to change the subject back to something that wouldn’t cause him to embarrass himself.
“Never knew her. I was fostered and eventually adopted by my father. I have a brother, Anakin, also adopted, and there are rumblings of fostering another little one soon,” Obi-Wan supplied. “These notebooks are some expensive brand gifted by my grandfather in his ever-desperate attempts to impart good taste on me as he’s seemed to have given up on doing so with my father and won’t even try with Anakin,” he explained as he bent the book, causing the pages to quickly flip with a faint gust of air.
“Well, you all can’t be any crazier than what I have to deal with. I have no idea who all I’m related to,” Cody said, allowing what he said to register before continuing once he was sure of Obi-Wan’s confusion. “The short version of it is that my dad’s an airline pilot who’s allergic to condoms, I guess, and has astonishingly strong genetics. So, as you can imagine, new relatives are always coming out of the woodwork. I think I’m at,” Cody paused and began counting mentally, “eleven? Eleven sounds right. Eleven half-siblings, plus the brother I’m here for, Rex, and we all look exactly alike. He and I are actually the odd pair out as we’re fully related,” Cody turned solemn at the thought of his little brother.
“I’ve always felt responsible for him. Not in a bad way, just that I’m the one that should always be there for him. He’s the one that called me here, you know? Out of all the family we have he came to me.” They let the moment sit as Cody allowed the worry to creep in before shaking it off for future-him to deal with as he forged onwards. “All that and a never-ending supply of cousins, nieces, and nephews means every family reunion turns into more of a meet and greet,” he finished lightly.
“Have any favorites? Besides Rex of course,” Obi-Wan asked, allowing Cody to direct the conversation back to a more pleasant line of conversation.
“Oh absolutely, anyone that denies favoritism is lying. My older brother Fox is the best and it has nothing to do with the fact that he’s my editor,” Cody quipped.
“You’re a writer? Of what?”
“I write Sci-Fi novels,” Cody explained. “I don’t know if you’ve heard of the Void Strife series but I wrote those and a few short-story collections.” At this Obi-Wan lit up, looking at him excitedly while swatting Cody’s shoulder.
“My brother loves that series,” Obi-Wan exclaimed. “Damn, how quickly do you write? I swear every few months Anakin is going on about how great the latest book in the series is,” he went on. Cody thought it was endearing how suddenly enthused the other would get when someone managed to bring up a topic he was interested in. Cody had already witnessed a few impassioned rants ranging from superior citation styles to queer theory’s impact on mycology and the fact that something Cody made could inadvertently light him up in the same way made his heart flutter.
“I don’t know, it isn’t anything too crazy. They just kind of spill out,” Cody replied. “I’m almost done with the next one actually, should be out in a few months.”
“Oh I’m sure I’ll hear the full breakdown from Anakin as soon as he finishes it,” Obi-Wan returned with a grin.
“I always thought that it was Rex who did the real writing, personally. His stuff really makes an impact, I just write serial sci-fi,” Cody said, shifting the subject away from himself out of habit. He knew his own work was nothing to scoff at, but he always felt uncomfortable talking about it for too long. He could talk about plotlines and character dynamics all day but as soon as the focus was on how successful they were Cody itched to move on.
“What does your brother write?” Obi-Wan asked.
“He’s an investigative journalist,” Cody explained. “It’s what got him in this whole situation in the first place. He’s been researching something or another down here for about a year and a half now and someone seems to want to stop him.” Here Obi-Wan took a moment and Cody could swear he could see the gears working inside of his head before he turned to Cody in realization.
“Your brother is Rex Fett.” It was a statement, not a question, and his growing concern caused Cody’s own nerves to rise. “How did I not put that together?” Obi-Wan asked himself in exasperation as he removed his hat to run a hand through his sweat-damp hair.
“You’ve read his stuff before?” Cody hedged.
“Read it?” Obi-Wan replied, “I’ve been a point of contact for him for months now. He reached out to me, asking if he could reference my research and if I had any comments. We’ve been emailing back and forth ever since,” Obi-Wan explained rapidly.
“What was he looking for?” Cody asked. Maybe Obi-Wan knew something he didn’t and the more information he could get, the better.
“ Garimpeiros , wildcat mines,” Obi-Wan translated. “Unregulated and illegal gold mining involving people who don’t hesitate to get violent. It’s inherently destructive, not only to the environment but the communities around them. They also have a nasty habit of invading indigenous land, well,” he paused, “actually, just land-grabbing in general. But that’s what I study, globalization and land-grabbing in the Amazon region,” Obi-Wan finished.
“Well, shit,” Cody replied.
“My thoughts exactly.”
Notes:
if you get my ferris bueller reference i love you. i personally think that cody has cuteness aggression :)) i totally forgot to mention that the "hit by a bus" thing is a 100% true story that happened to my professor who has insane levels of dad lore. also if anyones interested, the queer theory in mycology comes from the book "entangled life" by merlin sheldrake which i highly recommend and if you would like to know more about the very real issues with garimpeiros in the brazilian amazon heres a link
https://newint.org/features/2022/08/08/violence-of-Brazils-wildcat-gold-mining-mauricio-yekuana
Chapter 9: And That’s The Trick Of It Friend
Summary:
Dear God, They're Finally Off The Boat
Notes:
title from All The Time In The World by Kiltro
spoken italics are still portuguese
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After four days of on-and-off tedium, their final day aboard the boat was upon them as Obi-Wan’s mind ran in circles following his conversation with Cody. Sure, there was Obi-Wan’s own safety as a researcher to be concerned about, but he’d always known what he was getting into and had long since accepted the risk. What he was more concerned about, besides, of course, Rex himself, were the implications of the entire situation. What had Rex stumbled upon that warranted his kidnapping?
The journalist’s colleague had recently shown up dead, but, as far as Obi-Wan could tell, that had been a matter of the reporter getting a touch too close to the inner workings of an active mine. Rex though, from Obi-Wan’s experience working with him, was both thorough and secretive. Obi-Wan knew the other had been looking into the garimpeiros but had no idea if it was a general overview or something in particular.
There was also the fact that Cody, someone completely uninvolved outside of his relation to Rex, had to trade something for his brother's safety and Obi-Wan was about ninety percent sure it wasn’t cash. If it was something simple, whoever held Rex could have just beat whatever information they wanted out of him, but no, they wanted something physical. It left Obi-Wan wondering if the kidnappers even knew what they were looking for or were simply working off of the fact that there was something worth finding.
He became increasingly frazzled as he tried connecting the dots of how all of these things related to each other and what it all could mean. It wasn’t just Rex, himself, or even Cody at risk here. Obi-Wan had seen firsthand the outcomes of these mines on the people and communities that surrounded them. Land-grabbing was rarely a peaceful affair, especially with groups that would defend themselves through visceral visual displays of public protest. Mercury poisoning was also an ever-growing issue and God only knew the long-term consequences of people set up downstream.
Thus, the issue. Cody needed whatever was in that envelope to trade for Rex’s return, but the contents of said envelope could be damning in the wrong hands. What does one do when faced with a choice between the absolute threat to an individual or the theoretical threat to hundreds? The golden rule of all anthropologists was to do no harm but how could he do that in this situation?
After ruminating for hours on the subject, Obi-Wan finally decided to explain his thinking to Cody in hopes that the man would say something that would dislodge him from his paralyzing analysis. Cody listened intently, taking in the information and digesting it, before appearing to come to a conclusion. He ducked into their shared cabin and came back with the envelope in question.
“We’ll just look at it,” Cody offered hands already moving to open it. “If it’s not what you think it is, no harm done. I hand it over and call it a day. If it’s just a matter of bad news, you can give a heads-up to someone who can do something about it.” Before Cody pulled the contents out, he reached forward and plucked the little notebook Obi-Wan had been meaning to get to at some point from his breast pocket and put it in his lap before going back to what he was doing before.
“Insurance,” Cody explained with a grin and Obi-Wan understood. There was no way Obi-Wan would run off without his field notes even if he wanted to. Of all the things for Obi-Wan to get flustered over the other though, the other intentionally invading his space for a fraction of a second was probably one of the silliest and he found solace in the fact that he was always red, so his flush would likely go unnoticed.
“If it’s something worse,” Cody continued on while handing Obi-Wan three battered manilla folders and loose papers that had been contained in the package, “we’ll just have to burn that bridge when we get to it.”
From the few days that Obi-Wan had known Cody, there was one thing he knew for sure; the other man had neither the time nor the will to beat around any sort of bush. Cody rarely minced words and if he had thoughts on something he’d be sure to tell you exactly what they were. He was blunt, acerbic, and a tiny bit ridiculous in a way that made Obi-Wan feel like he was on the precipice of freefall whenever he thought about it too long. That feeling was there too as Cody provided a rational solution that allowed them to move forward whereas Obi-Wan had been stuck still, spiraling down a never-ending rabbit hole of ethical dilemma. Obi-Wan felt like he could breathe again as he secretly wished he could keep Cody around for times like this. But, he thought to himself, Cody has his own agenda to worry about and so did he; though if he took the time to appreciate it in the moment, that was nobody's business.
Obi-Wan came back to himself and set his mind to the task at hand. He rifled through the first file; a dossier on a handful of billionaires with the bulk of it being on the CEO of Empire Inc., a parent company of hundreds of brands with its fingers in several pies of varying legality. There was also a section on one Demian “Maul” Oppress, and one look at the provided picture showed none other than the tattooed man who had gotten Cody so turned around he’d been stuck on a boat for four days. The man in question had been bailed out on charges of blackmail, money laundering, and first-degree murder by an anonymous donor after a seven-year stint in prison.
“Look familiar?” Obi-Wan asked as he held the photo up to Cody, who grabbed it along with its accompanying information.
“Man, fuck this guy,” Cody said as his face scrunched in ire.
“I’d really rather not,” Obi-Wan joked offhandedly but made it no secret that he agreed with Cody’s assessment.
Moving on, the next file contained reams of spreadsheets detailing money transfers with several rows highlighted. There on the second page was Maul and his whopping three million dollar bail bought out by a subsidiary of Empire Inc. along with various other seemingly random transactions highlighted but Obi-Wan was sure Rex had found some connection between them. After carefully placing the sheets back into the second folder, Obi-Wan moved on to the last one.
This folder contained dozens of printed articles and newspaper clippings faded with time and wear, most centered around the aforementioned CEO of Empire Inc. Many were copies of full spreads lauding the success and accolades of a true bootstrap American hero come politician with a few sentences spared to address various lawsuits against the man. There were also articles denouncing the CEO and stapled to those were those same authors rescinding their criticisms and barring that; obituaries for writers found dead, all ruled suicides.
A picture was coming together of a man with far too much wealth and power to be brought down by any justice system without a turn of public opinion. Obi-Wan was now also sure that the garimpeiros played a role here somewhere but they weren’t the main story being told. Obi-Wan felt a brief flash of annoyance that the likely funding of illegal mines wouldn’t be enough to take some rich bastard down, but he reminded himself that the Amazon and the people who lived there were more abstract than anything to those who didn’t know it intimately.
Yes, people cared, or at least they claimed they did, but often only through an environmentalist lens. Even upset at the impact of such environmental devastation, people tended to forget the communities that were taking the brunt of the damage. The Amazon was not some untouched Eden and no tribe was a truly isolated relic of humanity's past. All to say, something that should have buried this megalomaniac would only ever amount to a nail in the coffin. The same was true of all the pieces Rex had compiled, and one could only hope that the combination was enough to damn the man to hell.
Sighing, Obi-Wan returned the final folder to Cody who dutifully put it back in the envelope with the others leaving Obi-Wan with the final loose papers. The first thing he came upon was a map of northern Brazil with several locations circled and shifting to the other papers it became clear what it was indicating. Interviews with locals explaining how they’d found gold in the water by their towns or villages, all aligning with the map, and several more dictating strangers knocking on their doors asking what they’d seen. Each recorded interview had a ‘send to’ note to self on the bottom with the ones involving indigenous groups heading towards FUNAI and the others to various associated NGOs. Obi-Wan was impressed that Rex had been able to convince the people he interviewed to speak on the subject, especially seeing how they usually treated those who asked by their own accounts.
Obi-Wan handed the last of the papers back to Cody and began to explain everything as he understood it. It didn’t take long for Cody to draw the same conclusion Obi-Wan had on what Rex’s goals were and both agreed that the folders were fine to hand over, comparatively, being mostly compiled evidence to doom one man in particular. The last papers, though, would be catastrophic in the wrong hands as they were all together nothing less than a treasure map for malevolent prospectors.
“The problem here is that I think the map might be what they’re after,” Cody explained. “Rex mentioned something that ‘looked like a map,’ meaning they know it’s in there.”
“They know that there's something like a map in there,” Obi-Wan argued back. They sat and mulled over their options as the sun faded behind the horizon painting the endless sky a burning orange as it sunk and Manaus came into view on the periphery. They’d be docking soon and Obi-Wan doubted there’d be any available flights out by the time they’d be settled back on dry land. Cody would undoubtedly be frustrated at the fact, but Obi-Wan couldn’t help but be thankful for the extra time for them to figure something out.
“When we dock, we should go to my friend, Quinlan. He’ll let us stay with him for the night. He’ll also be able to get a better read on what we should do next,” Obi-Wan proposed. As Obi-Wan expected, Cody disliked the idea of stopping for the night, nor did he seem keen on looping in another person. “We don’t have to tell him everything, just the basics should be enough for him to work with. He’s good with things like this. Also, you aren’t getting out of a night of rest. Your insistence on non-stop forward momentum is what got you here in the first place,” Obi-Wan reminded him, causing Cody to roll his eyes even as he agreed.
Night had long since fallen by the time they’d docked though the stars were hidden away, made shy by the lights of the city surrounding them. The dense urban jungle was only outdone by the denser actual jungle that surrounded it but now it just looked like a shining city surrounded by nothing but an inky void.
“What are your thoughts on cities?” Obi-Wan asked as they made their way down and off the boat over a makeshift gangplank, bags in hand.
“I live in New York, so it can’t get much crazier than that, right?” Cody replied as Obi-Wan gave him a look that he hoped conveyed his thoughts on the subject.
“Here it’s crazy but in a notably different way. It’s funny though, I was recently offered a position at one of the universities there. Tenure track and everything,” Obi-Wan replied.
“Are you going to take it?” Cody asked as they idled on the pier while other people bustled around them with their own laden luggage.
“I’m not sure yet. Though, I will say it’s the best offer I’ve received thus far,” he returned.
“Well, if you’re ever in town, feel free to look me up. You can help me bully Fox,” Cody suggested, looking delighted at the prospect. Five days in such close quarters had a way of bonding people in a way that was difficult to describe and Obi-Wan was just glad that he wasn’t the only one who wanted to see the other under better circumstances.
Finally, when they were on dry land, Obi-Wan made a note to himself to take a plane next time around. If time flies in good company then that trip may have been unbearably long without Cody’s presence to ease the ennui. Mental note made, Obi-Wan began herding Cody towards where the cabs were already waiting, urging the man in as he rattled off Quin’s address to the driver. For now, all he could do was hope Quin was dressed when they arrived at his door.
Maul sat in yet another rented car, watching as passengers deboarded the ship while making their way towards their rides. He’d been assured that the boat he’d shoved Fett on was docking tonight and had arrived hours before the scheduled time, just in case. Finally, Maul saw him. Fett looked no worse for wear, if a bit scruffy, and all Maul had to do now was get him alone, grab the package, and bolt; leaving poor Fett too lost and confused to do anything about it. Maul was sure no one would be on their tail until he noticed how Kenobi was still at the side of his mark.
The man he’d pawned Fett off to was guiding the other to a cab before ducking in after him. The man was likely continuing his pattern of helpfulness by getting Fett to a hotel but something about how close the pair were itched at Maul’s brain. It would come to him eventually, Maul decided as he pulled away to follow them to their next location.
The cab ride had been far faster than Cody had expected, though that was mostly because people were apparently allowed to run red lights after sunset as long as they honked while doing it, according to Obi-Wan. When they’d finally pulled up to a highrise, Obi-Wan paid the driver and got out with little more than an “Obrigado” which Cody parroted. The building itself was surrounded by a tall gate and plants Cody had only ever seen indoors but as soon as he and Obi-Wan approached the lock clicked open.
Obi-Wan looked over into a little corner booth where a doorman sat hidden away and seemed to share pleasantries before moving to the elevator. When they got in, Obi-Wan pressed the button for floor 9 of the 15-story building and leaned back into the elevator wall as it began moving upwards, eyes fixed on Cody.
“I should warn you,” Obi-Wan began haltingly, “Quin’s a very close friend but he’s also…” he trailed off, trying to find the right way to describe his friend but apparently coming up short. “Let’s just say he’s kind of a lot. Also,” he tacked on, “he has no idea we’re coming.”
“How do you know he’s here then?” Cody blanched. If Cody’s luck was anything to go by, he wouldn’t be and Cody would be left aimless once again. After Obi-Wan had explained the possible effects of the documents he had hidden in his messenger bag, Cody began plotting out ways around the issue but simply didn’t know enough about the topic to come up with anything concrete. Obi-Wan seemed to think his friend could help and Cody trusted his judgment but ultimately he wanted to get to his brother sooner rather than later.
“Oh, he is,” said Obi-Wan. “He was scheduled to get back a couple of days ago, so he’ll be here. We just have to hope he deemed it cool enough to warrant sleeping clothed,” he finished.
“Thanks for the warning,” Cody replied, trying to picture the type of person Obi-Wan had tried and failed to describe. Finally, the elevator stopped and opened to reveal several apartment doors. Obi-Wan guided them towards the end of the hall to a door with a long leaf of what looked like a snake plant pinned to the wall beside it. Once they were stationed in front of the door like soldiers ready for battle, Obi-Wan shot him a look before raising his hand to knock.
Notes:
omg it's quinlan, hi quinlan!
here's some links to some of the real-world things referenced:
https://www.outlookindia.com/international/brazil-protests-indigenous-protesters-paint-their-bodies-red-in-bid-to-save-their-lands-from-mining-photos-191249https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funda%C3%A7%C3%A3o_Nacional_dos_Povos_Ind%C3%ADgenas
Chapter 10: All They Got Inside Is Vacancy
Summary:
And There Was Only One Bed
Notes:
Ok, so this is one of the more confusing chapters because obi-wan and quin are flitting back and forth between languages. the rate at which they switch is based on my own experience with bilingual conversations, so i hope it reads as accurate! portuguese is the spoken italics and underlined will be for emphasis
ch title is from Hotel Yorba by The White Stripes
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Obi-Wan prepared himself for the encroaching hurricane of Quinlan Vos as he knocked and found that he was glad he did. Quin stood in the doorway, barely rubbing his eyes, shirtless, but blessedly, wearing shorts. His face and body were painted and the designs were only just beginning to show signs of fading in their henna-like way. He also hadn’t bothered with taking off the intricately beaded cuffs that adorned his wrists but with how hard they were to get on and off, who would blame him? Seconds passed before Quin seemed to recognize who was standing in his doorway and was suddenly wide awake, beaming like a madman. He then proceeded to launch himself at Obi-Wan, causing him to stagger backward as the larger man wrapped his arms around him, an embrace that Obi-Wan unenthusiastically returned. Quin then pulled back to grab his face as if he were a child and Quin was a particularly affectionate grandmother and shook his head a bit.
“Obi you’re here! Why didn’t you warn me you were coming out this way? I would have worn less,” Quin began rapidly before noticing Cody behind him. “ Ah and you brought a friend too, ” he added, leering at both of them as Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.
“I didn’t warn you for exactly that reason,” Obi-Wan replied before switching to English for Cody’s benefit. “This is my friend Cody, he’s found himself in a bit of trouble and I told him you’d be able to help.” Quin stepped back a bit to take Cody in before quickly resuming his leering.
“Oh, I’ll help him all right,” he muttered as Obi-Wan silently prayed to anyone who would listen for patience. Quin moved past Obi-Wan and threw an arm around Cody’s shoulders and turned to guide him inside, leaving Obi-Wan standing in the doorway. “I’ll happily be of assistance to you my friend. Whatever Vermelhinho couldn’t do for you I’m sure I can,” he smirked out in his typical accented English, leading a slightly uncomfortable-looking Cody past his cluttered entryway towards the kitchen. “Are you hungry? Thirsty? Please let me get you something.”
As this happened, a wave of something hot and fiery hit Obi-Wan, nearly knocking him off balance at its suddenness. He couldn’t put an exact name to the feeling so settled on calling it a mixture of exasperation and embarrassment at Quin’s antics. Obi-Wan followed the other two men into the apartment, throwing his bag down where he saw Cody’s had been placed. “Could you not be a creep for a moment or is it terminal?” Obi-Wan griped as he made his way into the kitchen as well, rifling through Quin’s cabinets to get himself a glass.
“Obi, are you jealous ?” Quin asked mockingly, eyes twinkling as he knowingly pushed Obi-Wan’s buttons.
“Why would I be?” he responded dismissively.
“Oh, I don’t know, if I found myself a man like this, I know I’d be.” As he said this, Quin gestured to Cody as if that, in itself, explained it. Cody caught Obi-Wan’s eyes in a way that conveyed his utter confusion at the situation playing out before him, out of his depth entirely.
“So, what can I help you with?” Quin asked, finally deciding to cooperate when was finally content that his guest’s immediate needs had been seen to. Cody looked over as if to ask Obi-Wan for guidance on how to begin explaining, but he had no idea how much the younger man wanted to reveal.
“I honestly don’t know where to start,” Cody finally seemed to settle on, shifting and gripping the strap of his worn-out messenger bag. Obi-Wan looked at the wall clock Quin had in the kitchen and figured out the best way to step in.
“We can start with some rest,” he provided before addressing Quin, “it truly is a long and complicated story and I think we’ll all approach it better after some sleep.”
“Ah, of course,” Quin accepted easily. “You both can stay here as long as you need, my home is always open,” he said as he spread his arms to emphasize his welcome.
“Good to hear,” Obi-Wan replied. “Do you still have your hammock? I can take that while he takes the spare room.”
“No, it broke.”
“What do you mean it broke?”
“I mean it’s broken, what do you not get?” Quin shot back as Obi-Wan groaned and cursed his friend for not at least having a couch. “You know you can always sleep with me,” he added, wiggling his eyebrows childishly.
“You don’t have anything else?”
“He could sleep with me instead,” Quin replied, pursing his lips towards Cody, causing Obi-Wan to flush with indignation, which Quin picked up on immediately, before deciding to loop Cody in on the conversation.
“Ok, so, he only has one other bed and apparently,” Obi-Wan paused to glare at Quin, “his hammock broke. You should take the bed, I’ll figure something out because I’m not sharing with him,” he finished nodding towards the larger man as he toyed with one of his locks, faking a pout.
“That hurts my feelings,” Quin interjected and was promptly ignored.
Cody, practical as ever, didn’t seem content with the options and offered his own instead. “We could share a bed,” he suggested with a shrug.
“No, it’s alright, really,” Obi-Wan refused, “I promise I’ve slept in worse places.”
“Sure, but you don’t have to,” Cody argued. “I mean, we’ve been living in each other's pockets for days now, so what's another?” Obi-Wan deflated both because it was true and he really didn’t want to sleep on the tiled floor. Or with Quin for that matter. Glancing over at the man in question, he saw him looking like a cat who caught the canary as he raised from his leaning position to drape himself over Obi-Wan.
“Alright, it’s settled,” Quin said with a grin, patting Obi-Wan’s chest. “You will sleep with our new friend here and I will go to bed all by myself.” Obi-Wan rolled his eyes for the umpteenth time before shaking Quin off to make his way out of the kitchen. Before he was fully out of sight though, Quin called out to him, making him freeze. “You better thank me for this later Obi but if you don’t fuck him, I will! And we both know you’ll never get a chance if that happens!”
Obi-Wan was glad he was already facing the opposite direction as he felt the blood rush to his face. God, Quin was the worst.
“I’m going to shower,” Obi-Wan said back, ignoring Quin in favor of grabbing his things and continuing his course toward the bathroom. If he was going to share with Cody he’d at least wash off the grime of the day, or really past five days as river water didn’t always cut it. Not that it would last long as the small fan in Quin’s guest room would do little to stop them both from waking up soaked in sweat. “Cody, if he bothers you too much, feel free to hit him,” Obi-Wan called back to the others as he closed the door behind him.
Cody didn’t think he’d ever been more confused in his life as he stood there, staring at Obi-Wan’s retreating form. Obi-Wan was right, Quinlan was a whirlwind to try and keep up with but he hadn’t mentioned that he himself would also be a part of the problem. The rapid switch of language between the two taller men didn’t help matters either, leaving Cody with only a fraction of the conversation to go off of. He was almost thankful for the confusion though as it saved him from agonizing over his own insistence that he and Obi-Wan share a bed.
Sure, it made logical sense, especially after seeing how the other two interacted as Cody couldn’t help but be swayed by Quin’s handsyness with his friend. He’d done the same with Cody, to a degree, but it was obvious that Cody was the outsider here and the other two were close in a way that spoke of years of familiarity. Cody had found himself selfishly wanting a taste of that intimacy too, but the longer he thought about it, the more he dreaded his decision.
“You can take my shower,” Quin said, breaking him from his thoughts as he was suddenly in front of Cody, scaring him half to death. Quin was a good head taller than him with warm teakwood coloring and intricate designs covering his cheeks and body in what looked like henna and beaded cuffs that held tight to his wrists. Cody did, in fact, have eyes and to deny that the man in front of him was hotter than sin would be like denying the sky was blue. It spoke more to Cody’s impending doom that, despite the statuesque man before him, he found himself feeling little more than a vague annoyance.
Quin then turned around to lead Cody towards the bathroom, which, he explained, had no hot water. Not that it was really necessary, Cody thought, as it was the dead of night and still remained uncomfortably warm. The thought of this suddenly caused Cody to dismay at the imminent heat the next day would certainly bring. Once he’d shown him where everything was, Quin left Cody to it, allowing him some privacy as he turned on the water. Before he ducked under the stream he found himself looking in the mirror, truly taking himself in for the first time in what felt like ages.
For all he’d been through, Cody looked surprisingly okay. The boredom of the boat had left him with plenty of hours to sleep, meaning he actually looked well rested for once, and being outside so often had darkened his complexion from honey-colored to something closer to umber. His hair had also grown far past his preferred cropped cut and went from tight waves to a mess of curls as soon as it had enough length to do so. As he looked, he unwittingly began to think of Obi-Wan’s own pale and freckled skin and how nice his newly tanned complexion would contrast when held up against it, causing his blood to begin traitorously pooling south.
He wrenched himself out of his daydream, reminding himself that he’d be sharing a bed with the subject of said fantasy unfairly soon. Yeah, Cody thought to himself, cold water would work just fine for him. He ducked under the cool spray and efficiently scrubbed himself down before toweling off and changing into something to sleep in. After ticking through everything on the checklist of self-maintenance, he exited the bathroom and headed towards the other bedroom that Quin had pointed out to him earlier.
Obi-Wan was already sitting on the bed, hunching over an unfilled notebook sitting cross-legged, probably attempting to scribble away some of his thoughts in his horrendous handwriting. The older man’s hair was still damp, making it closer to brown and his beard was neatly trimmed down. He’d also deviated from his typical sweatpants, ratty Smiths shirt, and mud-colored drug rug. Their boat cabin could get cold, being a metal room with an air conditioning unit that couldn’t be turned up, only off, but upon seeing the little fan in the corner puffing with all its might, Cody assumed that wouldn’t be the case here. So, instead of his usual sleepwear, Obi-Wan was only wearing a pair of boxers and a t-shirt that was a bit too big on him, which, if Cody were a betting man, he’d say it was probably borrowed from Quin.
Obi-Wan seemed to have no scruples when it came to privacy, but Cody had still tried to avert his eyes whenever the taller man had changed in their shared quarters. Now, though, Cody could fully take in what he could see of the other's form without completely losing his mind. It was the most that he’d seen for longer than a second and his heart hammered in his chest as he tried to think of how to approach. After standing awkwardly for a moment, he decided to just get in the damn bed and stop worrying about it. They were just going to sleep. Obi-Wan was helping him because, beneath the veneer of snark, he was truly a kind person so the least Cody could do was share a bed with him so he wasn’t cast out to the floor or forced to share with his annoying friend.
Cody followed Obi-Wan’s lead and didn’t bother getting under the thin cover, lying down on top of it instead. He curled up on his right, facing away from Obi-Wan, figuring that back-to-back would be the easiest way to go about their sleeping arrangement. Eventually, though, he felt the weight of eyes on him as the continuous scratch of pen to paper slowed.
“Take a picture, it’ll last you longer,” Cody grumbled.
“Sorry,” Obi-Wan said quickly as his writing picked back up to a near frantic speed. Cody sighed, feeling bad for griping at the man who’d done nothing but help him.
“You never asked about my scar, did you?” Cody offered in lieu of an olive branch. When it came to his scar, people either never mentioned it or it was the first thing they asked about. It was large and distinctive, curling around his left eye; facial wounds had to be deep to scar, so the placement and prominence of his tended to garner questions. Cody didn’t mind too much though, it’d been with him for more years than it hadn’t, so sharing its admittedly underwhelming story didn’t feel untoward.
“That’s because it isn’t really my business,” Obi-Wan quipped back as if to say he only wanted to hear what Cody felt like telling.
“Not even a little curious?” Cody poked back as he switched sides to face Obi-Wan while the other looked down at him while fiddling with the pen he held in his hand.
“Maybe just a bit,” Obi-Wan returned.
“In all honesty, it’s a dumb story,” Cody said.
“If it helps, I can give you a dumb story as repayment,” Obi-Wan offered with a smirk that Cody returned.
“I’ll take that deal,” Cody accepted. “Anyways, I was seven and Rex was five and I was chasing him around the house because he’d found my secret stash of Halloween candy that I’d been rationing all year. Little shit ate half the pile and I was gonna kick his ass,” he laughed at the memory. Generally, he and his family got along, but at the end of the day, they were all still brothers.
“So I was chasing him and suddenly I was going head first through a glass coffee table we had. I’ve got a couple nicks on my arms to match from trying to get up but my auntie came running in and scruffed me like a kitten and drove me to the ER while chewing me out for running in the house,” he concluded watching as Obi-Wan huffed out a laugh. The other man may have been farther apart in age from his brother compared to him and Rex, but even he must have experienced the uncanny mix of utter devotion and absolute rage that little siblings could induce.
“Well, now I have to try and think of a story to match,” Obi-Wan said as he reached up and rested his chin in his hand, thinking, before he flashed a grin down to Cody. “I’ve got one,” he declared. “So, I’ve known Quin forever, he was an exchange student when we were in sixth form and we kept in touch after he left. He helped me get through my first exchange here and eventually helped me set up my long-term research. But, as you can imagine, we were absolute menaces when we were teenagers,” his eyes were alight and it was easy for Cody to superimpose a young Obi-Wan with a rowdy streak over the man in front of him.
“So, he and I had found an old and dusty box of fireworks, and obviously, we had to set them off. Quin wanted to take a video of him waving sparklers around so he could send it to his friends or something like that, I don’t exactly remember, so he set up a camera to take a video and bullied me into doing it with him. There we were as he started lighting my sparkler for me but when it didn’t start immediately sparking I thought that, maybe, we didn’t know our fireworks as well as we’d thought and told him as much. He reassured me it’d be fine right as the ‘sparkler’ in my hand exploded. Daft bastard lit a bottle rocket in my hand and damn near blew my eardrums,” he finished as both he and Cody stifled giggles at the image.
“I will give you twenty bucks for that video,” Cody laughed.
“Not on your life,” Obi-Wan replied in turn before adding. “Also, I already have all of your cash.”
They eventually fell into a comfortable silence, as Obi-Wan attempted to get just a bit more work done and Cody dozed, not bothering to turn back around.
Quinlan was about to crawl back into bed alone, both to his delight and dismay, to finally sleep for the night when he suddenly remembered something important. He quietly made his way to the linen closet that typically held towels and blankets, grabbed the hammock from where it’d been thrown in the bottom and scooped it into his arms. He took the bundle of fabric back to his room and stood in the doorway, trying to determine where to stash it before he decided it didn’t really matter as he was really only trying to postpone Obi’s inevitable bitchfit when he found out Quin had lied about the hammock being broken.
Quin stuffed it awkwardly into his wardrobe cabinet and called it good enough for the night. Obi should be thanking him really, Quin thought as he climbed into bed. His old friend was so obviously head over heels for this Cody and Quin was simply helping them along. Obi was great with people when they were a subject to be studied, but when it came to interpersonal relationships, the other man was an absolute mess. Quin could at least rest easy knowing he’d done his part to help his friend, even if Obi didn’t know it.
Notes:
there was only one bed! so the firework story actually happened to my sister and cousin and we do have it on video :) i also like to think the quin is the only one who can call obi-wan "obi"
heres a link to quins body paint reference - https://www.ripostemagazine.com/tuire-kayapo
Chapter 11: The Fool Fears the Night As the Night Will Fear the Fire
Summary:
Now kiss
Notes:
actually nervy posting this because ive never really written anything like, really romantic so heres my best shot at it.
the title is a translated line from Seu Jorge's cover of Starman ("o tolo teme a noite como a noite vai temer o fogo") and is a great listen
comments and kudos give me the willpower to write my thesis and god do i need it
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cody awoke covered in a thin sheen of sweat. Not due to anything untoward, thankfully, but as the night passed his and Obi-Wan’s small room had turned into more of a sauna than a bedroom. The fan was still puffing away with all its might, but it did little more than move stale hot air around at this point. Looking over at the alarm clock perched on the bedside table, Cody realized that it was far too early for anyone to reasonably be awake. After another moment, Cody became aware of how Obi-Wan was sprawled out over him, face down, with his arm thrown across Cody’s chest and legs loosely entwined with his own.
At some point during the night, Obi-Wan had lost his shirt in his own battle with the cloying heat, leaving Cody with the image of his piano ivory skin dusted with freckles seared into his half-awake mind. Something in Cody’s chest felt fit to burst as he lay there. There was something so casually tender about the position that made whatever feelings he’d been trying to hold at bay come back with a vengeance. The bed wasn’t huge, but it was certainly big enough for two grown men to mind their space if they so choose. It wasn’t a matter of comfort or seeking the warmth of another body, God knows the tropics provided enough already. No, Obi-Wan had, consciously or not, reached out in spite of the discomfort and Cody’s traitorous heart wanted nothing more than to cling to the moment for as long as it could.
Cody couldn’t find it in himself to move out from under the taller man, propriety be damned. Instead, he reached out with his free hand and gently draped his arm over Obi-Wan’s own as his hand grasped the other’s upper arm. Suddenly, a well of emotions bubbled to the surface and Cody confusedly blinked back tears at the sudden onslaught. This whole past week had been one mess after another and it seemed like he was finally catching up to everything that had happened. Cody has always been good in a crisis, he kept a cool head and had a mind for quick solutions, but the combination of constant nerves and ever-present helplessness had left him feeling adrift. He was always looking for the next step forward, but in doing so, he had become dislodged from the present as the whole of his mind assessed future possibilities.
Right now though, as he lay in a stranger's bed with a man he had known for less than a week, overheated and uncomfortably damp, it all felt impossibly salient. Obi-Wan shifted, causing Cody to realize that he’d been gripping the man's arm hard enough to bruise, and quickly released his hold to wipe at his eyes, hoping that he could pass it off as rubbing the sleep away from them. When Obi-Wan sat up a bit, catching Cody’s gaze and holding it for several seconds, he was certain his inner turmoil was seen but the other man said nothing. Instead, he simply shifted to lie back down and touched his forehead to Cody’s shoulder, holding him tighter and with intent. With that unvoiced acceptance, Cody allowed himself to lose it, just a little bit.
He took deep and even breaths as tears streamed freely out of the corners of his eyes and traced tracks down the sides of his face before making their home on the pillow beneath him. He thought of his baby brother, captured and relying on Cody to bring him home. He thought of the people who could be affected if he didn’t figure out how to omit the map while maintaining enough to get Rex back. Cody thought of himself and the utter chaos he’d been thrust into. How he still had to clean his trashed apartment. How he missed watering his stupid little plant. How it wasn’t fair for him to fall in love so quickly with a man he may never see again.
For a while, Cody just lay there, feeling every emotion he’d kicked down the road for his future self to deal with. It appeared that now was that ever-postponed later; the piper was due and Cody cried like each drop could repay the emotional debt he owed to himself. He held onto Obi-Wan’s arm like it was a lifeline, an anchor to the fact that he wasn’t alone. That he wasn’t doing this alone. All the while, Obi-Wan held him right back, keeping Cody from floating off with the weight of his presence alone. Eventually, though, the feelings began to ebb away leaving Cody feeling hollowed out and lighter for it. It was like he’d been unknowingly carrying around sandbags that he only noticed when met with their absence.
“You know,” Obi-Wan murmured after several minutes of tranquil silence. “When I was taught how to be an anthropologist, to do ethnography, they told me what to expect. The good and the bad.” He sat up, pulling Cody’s other arm away from where it’d been glued to his side gently before slotting himself into the gap he’d just created, arm still slung around Cody as he settled in. “I was told it’d be boring, exhilarating, gut-wrenching, and everything in between. I was advised that I’d feel insane and that the insanity is part of the process,” he went on. He stopped again, letting the statement hang in the thickness of the air before concluding. “I’m sorry you’ve been thrown into the deep end without so much as a warning.”
“Yeah,” Cody replied hoarsely, voice soaked in emotion as he swallowed around it. “Yeah,” he repeated because there was nothing else he could think to say. He met Obi-Wan’s eyes, made gray by the dimness of the room, looking up from where his head was pillowed on Cody’s shoulder. It was in that moment that Cody truly realized that he wanted nothing more than to kiss the man in front of him.
Cody’s mind went back to that idea of affect that he’d spent hours grappling with before giving up and handing the book back to Obi-Wan on the boat. He’d struggled to grasp the concept at the time, but now something about it clicked. The idea of existence as something to be embodied. The story of a man covered in red, indifferent to whether it was blood or berries. The liminal space of not having an answer and not really needing one. It was the same in the dark of twilight, it didn’t matter what they were or would end up being to each other, it mattered that they were there, prisoners of the present. It mattered that Obi-Wan was in his arms in this sweltering room, breath gently gusting over Cody’s face as each held the look of the other, unwilling to let go. It mattered that Cody would never be able to forgive himself if he didn’t act now when what he wanted was literally in his hands.
It was with those thoughts racing through Cody’s mind that he reached out, fingers threading through copper hair as he brought their lips together. Seconds passed where nothing happened and Cody pulled away, unapologetic and content with the taste of the other he’d been able to steal for himself, briefly touching his forehead to the other’s. If Obi-Wan asked about it, he could always hold his emotional state at fault and brush it off as seeking solace from the nearest source. Just as he was about to settle back down to try and sleep for the last few hours of the night he felt Obi-Wan shift in his arms, moving his body to bear over Cody’s own, cupping his jaw and capturing his lips in ardor. The earth did not shatter and fireworks did not burst, rather the night seemed to sigh and sink into their completed embrace. Obi-Wan kissed him like Cody was nothing more than opal; fragile and iridescent, as he wiped away the fresh tears that sprung from Cody’s eyes.
Melting into each other felt easier than breathing. It was obvious where Cody ended and where Obi-Wan began as each point of contact was solid and certain. It was an unhurried intimacy of eternal moments. It was impossible to know how much time passed as they lay there trading kisses like whispered secrets. At some point, Cody became burdened with the knowledge that with each new press he was brought closer to the one that would be their last. Despite this though he still delighted in the unknowable number of ones that would come before that feared and faithful final. There was no need to grip them tightly and dread a future without them when he could hold them close and love them in the present.
Obi-Wan awoke to Quin yelling what might as well have been nonsense through the walls of his apartment and sat up from his and Cody’s delicate entanglement, trying not to wake the other in the process. At some point, they had fallen back to sleep and Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if he should lament all the conscious hours that were lost or rejoice in the feeling of waking up in someone's arms. The rainy season was coming to an end but that did nothing to combat the ever-present humidity that stuck the two of them together as he pulled himself out of the bed. It was like the weather itself was an instigator, he thought, as he grabbed a new set of clothes and headed to the bathroom to go about his morning business and rinse the sweat of the night away.
Obi-Wan idled under the blessedly cool spray of the shower, mind drifting away to what had happened between him and Cody just a few hours before. Obi-Wan wasn’t stupid, he had the degrees to prove it, but when it came to his own feelings he’d never been able to meet them with anything more than detached bewilderment. Sure, he knew that he found Cody charming and clever and funny and that he wished he’d known the other sooner as he was always quick to reroute Obi-Wan’s spiraling thoughts back to due course. He knew he liked the way the man's eyes flashed like sunlit amber when the light caught them just right, how his obsidian curls were beginning to fall into his face as his hair grew out, and the grumble of annoyance he’d give as he tried pushing them back into place.
Obi-Wan knew these things, they were just facts. What he struggled to identify was which combination of emotions made him want to wake up the way he just did for the rest of his life. To fall asleep sharing kisses that only functioned to press them closer. He liked to think he’d been in love before, but from his experience, that hadn’t been like this. Besides, even though they’d maintained constant proximity, a handful of days wasn’t enough to fall in love with someone, right? Hell, Cody hadn’t even known that he could speak English throughout their first few interactions. Obi-Wan groaned quietly in frustration at his white rabbit thoughts. The way he could dedicate his life to studying people and the ways they interacted with each other, yet still remain such a mystery to himself, was a special niche of irony he’d seemingly carved for himself.
He saved himself the hassle of fretting over Cody’s position on the matter. He knew the other man well enough to know that if he had something to say on the matter, he’d have no problem doing so. If Cody decided that he had only needed comfort during that midnight hour, then Obi-Wan could accept that as he was far too selfish a man to deny himself the relief of contact. To push for anything more though, no matter how much he wanted it, would feel wrong. Cody would and should prioritize his brother's safety and shouldn’t have to deal with Obi-Wan’s pitiful desire for intimacy. Obi-Wan had other things to prioritize as well and needed to keep himself steady for whatever came next.
That being said, he wasn’t about to pretend nothing had happened, that wouldn’t be fair either. No, Obi-Wan thought, he’d do his best to project a willingness to communicate if that was what Cody wanted as well and would have no issues telling the other how close he wanted to keep him. Otherwise, Obi-Wan knew when to leave well enough alone. With that decided, he exited the bathroom to go greet his lamentable best friend and prayed Quin would at least wait until he was caffeinated to unleash the maelstrom of mocking that surely waited for him.
Notes:
ok phew, all done now back to our regularly scheduled shenanigans.
as someone who has been through pretty hardcore culture shock and has also helped people through it, i tried my best to portray some of those feelings. its isolating being in a place where you hardly speak the language and everything feels so different and people react in all sorts of ways as a result of that
part of this was actually inspired by my friend's experience where she was basically catatonic for the day (my solution was to pile every blanket in the apartment on top of her but we only had sheets because it was too hot but apparently it helped)
as for the idea of the affective subject and the story of the blood and berries, thats from an ethnography called 'A Space on the Side of the Road' by Kathleen Stewart and focuses in on the culture of southwestern west virginia. affect theory is a really dense but super interesting topic and if you're into anthropology i'd check it out. theres also a hint of practice theory in there for all you nerds
i'll leave yall with a quote by Stewart that's inspired me for a long time
"Life is an experiment of being in a world, of finding ways to be in circuits of force and form, an aspiration to get something out of the alchemical transmogrifications of things that twist off on trajectories far beyond humanist models of suffering or the usual hyperlegible registers of normativity and the state. Life takes place in the inhuman gestures of demons and angels, in the struggles of addicts and the rage of racists, in the endurance of the unbelievably injured or the oddly still curious."
Chapter 12: Snakes in the Grass
Summary:
how do you turn a macguffin into a red herring?
Notes:
we did it boys! i successfully defended my undergrad thesis and graduate in a few days! so here's a lil chapter for y'all, as a treat. be warned tho this is easily one of the most convoluted chapters hoLy sHit
ch title from Point and Kill by little simz
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Cody blearily made his way down the hall and into the living room area, bare feet dragging over tiled floors, lured in by the aroma of coffee. He walked in to Obi-Wan and Quin, chatting over breakfast in what seemed to be mostly Portuguese with scattered English clauses throughout. Not that it really mattered to Cody, as he was certain he wouldn’t even understand full and concise English at this point. After his long-shored levees broke beneath his barraging emotions and Obi-Wan’s patient soothing, Cody slept like he’d been hit with a goddamn elephant tranquilizer.
Upon seeing him enter, Obi-Wan shot him a gentle smile and a quiet “good morning” before reaching over to grab the empty mug that’d been left on the small wooden table they were occupying. He poured coffee from a skinny thermos-like carafe and held it out to him as Cody plopped into the chair between the two friends, accepting it gratefully. He was getting used to the lighter taste and was thankful for the slightly more substantial portions than the ones offered on the boat. The plate of bread and some fruit Cody couldn’t name that they’d been filling their own smaller plates with was also pushed a bit closer to him so he could reach.
Cody sat quietly, drinking his coffee as the other two continued their pidgin conversation and grabbed something to munch on as his brain recalibrated to being awake. He took in the room around him for the first time as he hadn’t had a chance to the night before. It was a simple yet cramped room with the table he was currently sitting in and a few comfortable-looking chairs in the corners. There was also a desk facing one of the windows outwards that somehow looked worse than Cody’s own cluttered workspace. The walls were lined with several shelves that were overflowing with various books and trinkets of various sizes, materials, and colors.
As Cody studied the shelves' contents, he mentally went over what needed to happen next. One order of business he needed to address was how much he wanted to reveal to Quinlan. Cody needed to find a balance between the acute harm people could experience and the immediate danger Rex was in. The answer to the trolley problem always felt obvious until the one person on the tracks was someone you loved.
“So,” Quin began, switching fully to English as Cody moved to pour himself a second cup of coffee. “What seems to be the issue? Obi’s been holding out on me,” he said, shooting Obi-Wan a playfully annoyed look. Cody forced himself to focus before deciding to start as simply as he could.
“Has Obi-Wan told you anything about talking to a journalist named Rex Fett?” Cody began, though Quin didn’t seem to recognize the name.
“He was the one I told you about who was asking about the garimpieros ,” Obi-Wan offered, hoping to ignite his friend’s memory.
“Oh yes, I remember him,” Quin replied with a flash of recognition, “he didn’t show up dead too now, did he?” He had asked in such a pained yet casual way, creating the impression that he wouldn’t have been surprised if yet another journalist went in a body bag.
“Not yet,” Cody stepped in after being given a foothold to start from, “but about a week ago, I got a call. Rex got himself kidnapped, and I’m the one that’s supposed to trade the ransom for his safety.”
“Why you?” Quin questioned.
“He’s my brother,” Cody revealed, causing Quin’s eyebrows to shoot up before dropping back down in consternation.
“Okay,” Quin began, “that explains why you're here in Brazil, but not exactly what I can do to help.” At this, Obi-Wan turned to address Cody.
“Before we continue, you should know that this is well within Quin’s wheelhouse. He used to do ethnographic research with indigenous groups around here but now is working with them to help establish and reinforce their demarcated boundaries with the local and national government, usually through FUNAI,” Obi-Wan explained, eyeing him pointedly. Cody thought back to the several loose papers and remembered the notes on each statement, several of which were hurriedly scribbled with that name or something similar. That explained why Obi-Wan had been adamant about looping his friend in, but Cody appreciated the other leaving the decision of how to do so up to him.
“I think it’d be easier to show you,” Cody said, decision made as he got up to go retrieve the envelope from his bag. When he returned to the table, it was to a subtly tense silence as he sat, pulling the loose pages from the package. No need to put Quin in the line of fire with the dirt Rex had on the rich guy, but everything else was damn near addressed to him specifically. Quin grabbed the papers gingerly, looking through them in tense concentration, dread becoming more and more apparent on his face.
“That’s what they want me to trade for my brother, or at least part of it,” Cody explained, gesturing towards Quin’s hands as he looked at him in alarm. “Rex must have seen the writing on the walls and sent this all to me before he’d been kidnapped. When he called me after he’d been snatched, he asked if there was ‘something that looked like a map’ in there,” Cody went on. “I don’t know about you, but that isn’t something that looks like a map," he explained, nodding his head toward the page that Quin was now rapidly looking over, "it is one. I think he was being vague on purpose.” After Cody said his piece, Quin stood and began pacing around the small area living area as his mind began to work with the information he’d been given. Obi-Wan then took the opportunity to chime in.
“So, we can guess that whoever has Rex doesn’t know what the map is or where it leads,” he began, “they may not even know that it's a map.” He paused, mulling it over. “Why do they need the whole package? Surely, if they wanted a location or the like, they could have gotten Rex to talk,” he wondered aloud, even as Cody winced at the thought.
“Well, obviously, we can’t give them these,” Quin said while flashing them the papers he was still holding in emphasis before setting them down on the table as he passed it.
“We could make a decoy?” Cody suggested because, as stupid as it felt, it seemed like the most obvious solution. Hell, it was probably what Rex had wanted him to do, even going so far as to give Cody some wiggle room with that “looks like a map” bullshit. But the question remained. “What of though? What would be valuable enough to warrant kidnapping someone and holding them ransom?” he asked, urging the others for ideas. Suddenly, Quin was snapping, eyes glinting with mischief and realization.
“We should do a treasure map!” Quin exclaimed as he grinned, apparently excited at the prospect of sending Rex's captors on a wild goose chase.
“That still leaves us with the same question: where too?” Obi-Wan butt in.
“It doesn’t matter,” Quin stated, “it just has to look real.” Quin ran to his room and came back with a map of the state of Amazonas that looked like it’d been hanging on his wall for years, yellowed with time and sunlight exposure. He spread it out on the table so the other two men could look it over with him. If this was the plan they went with, the aged paper would at least look the part.
“Ok, so we just drop a pin somewhere in the Amazon and hope they don’t make it there or, worst case, out?” Cody asked.
“There’s always a chance they send lackeys or force some poor sod to scout it out,” Obi-Wan argued.
“We don’t want them finding gold on accident either,” Quin mumbled in agreement. The two men stared at the map and began discussing possible places for it to lead, continuously adding self-made restrictions and then trying to work around them as they lapsed into their homemade lingua franca. With little to add to the discussion, Cody left them to it and ambled over to look out the open window that wasn’t blocked by Quin's desk, taking in the city during the light of day. The air was still thick with moisture but slightly cooler after the still of the night, a relief Cody didn't expect to last.
Peering down at the mid-morning bustle, one person in particular caught Cody’s eye as he stood like a statue on the street corner. There was something familiar about the man, and after a fair amount of squinting, it snapped into place. That was Maul. Of course that asshole is here, Cody thought in exasperation. Maul was the reason Cody was halfway across Brazil rather than back with his brother, so Cody felt justified in wishing he'd crawl in a ditch and stay there. Cody looked back over to the other two men, who seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion as they marked on the new map and briefly worried about how he could break the news that they were being trailed delicately.
“Hey, I’m pretty sure that fucker followed us here,” Cody said to Obi-Wan. Good enough, he thought. He was sure he didn’t need to go into who “that fucker” was, at least to Obi-Wan; Quin might need a debrief, though. The redhead let out a string of muttered curses before sidling next to Cody to look for himself.
“Well, that complicates things,” Obi-Wan huffed as he tilted into Cody’s space slightly, allowing their sides to lightly press into each other like a cat that pretended it was just a coincidence that they were always in the same room as you. “I doubt he’ll let you leave without leaving with something himself.” Obi-Wan adopted his typical thinking pose before continuing, “This also adds weight to the assumption that he isn’t with the people who have Rex. They have a meeting point and leverage over you; no reason to send out an attack dog as well.”
That was something, at least, though not exactly good news. They needed this guy off their tail, and even if they gave him the decoy, Cody would still need a spare to trade for Rex. He could let Obi-Wan run in the opposite direction, as that would imply that Cody lost the package to him, but the thought of letting the other be bait to a known murderer set his stomach in knots.
“We should look busy for now,” Cody conspired with the man beside him. “If we go off together, maybe he’ll think you convinced me to go after something. It'll give us time to invent a red herring for us to find and then lose to him.” It was a plan that relied on a lot of luck and assumptions, but they were quickly getting backed into a corner, and having one way out was better than getting trapped in.
“Well, then we’re back to square one. What can we fake that’d be worth kidnapping your brother for?” Obi-Wan questioned. Cody thought for a minute before turning to address Quin once he remembered their host was even in the room. This had the unfortunate effect of dislodging Obi-Wan from his side, but the other didn’t seem to be bothered as he pulled away slightly to track Cody’s sightline.
“Quin, do you have a box or bag or something that you wouldn’t mind parting with?” Cody asked. Quin looked at him in question before shrugging and going to one of his overpacked shelves, picking up a small, worn cigar box, and bringing it over to the table. Without warning, he dumped out its contents, most of which looked to be travel tickets for nearly every mode of transportation known to man. Coins bounced out onto the table, and the various bits of paper fluttered into a pile before Quin shut the box again and handed it to Cody, ignoring the mess he'd just made. Cody looked the little wooden box over and noticed the presence of a small lock with a little key poking out of it. Perfect, he thought.
“We can use this for now,” Cody explained as he waved the box for emphasis. “We can figure out what to put in it later if we need to, but having something he can fetch might buy us some time. We just have to go and look like we found it wherever it is the new map leads to. That way if he nabs both the story lines up.” The proposition would undoubtedly keep him from Rex longer, but what was a little extra time when it came to tying up loose ends?
“If you’re going anywhere, go here,” Quin supplied, pointing to the place they’d marked on the map. “We picked this spot because there’s less chance of anyone getting hurt if something goes wrong, and it’s close to a town in case anyone gets lost.”
It was as good a place as any.
Mauls eyes tracked Fett and Kenobi as they exited what he’d come to find out was an apartment building. They were now unburdened from their traveling bags, leaving Kenobi with just his backpack, still wearing his goofy adventurer hat, and Fett with the messenger bag Maul so desperately needed his hands on.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Fett said as Maul eavesdropped from the corner he’d moved to. His voice wavered, just barely. Like he was nervous about something.
“Positive,” assured Kenobi, “you said they want the map; they never said anything about what it leads to.”
So, Maul thought that was their play, to have their cake and eat it too.
“It’ll only be a few hours up the Rio Negro,” Kenobi went on before wrapping an arm around an impassive Fett and leaning in, speaking softer but still, just loud enough for Maul to hear. “Come on,” he taunted, “don’t you want to know where it leads? It could make all this trouble worth twice as much, don’t you think, my dear?”
Fett seemed to melt ever so slightly into the half embrace as Kenobi hid a smirk, knowing he’d won. “As long as we aren't putting Rex in any more danger. I need to get him back,” Fett replied stiffly.
“Of course you'll get him back,” Kenobi assured languidly, “but now we can get this too.” As he said it, he placed a hand on Fett’s bag between them to illustrate, causing Fett’s facade to falter further as he flushed. A cab then pulled up to the curb beside them, and Kenobi leaned in to rattle off the address to a local pier before piling in.
Maul made his way back towards where his rental was parked, as he thought. Part of him could respect Kenobi’s con as the man had flown beneath Maul’s own well-honed radar, romancing the package from Fett rather than outright stealing it. Maul also now knew that the envelope contained the location of something the two conspirators were currently attempting to get their hands on. If that was the case, then Maul could stand to let the two fools do the heavy lifting before striking them down during their moment of victory.
Notes:
ok several things
first, i know this is all very looney tunes but when I tell you this actually makes slightly more sense than the movie im not kidding. im gonna rest my blame on the source material. that being said, I strongly stand by the opinion that obi-wans battle plans were extremely unhinged and only seemed reasonable when compared to anakins, cody would rather die than sit patiently, and quin would go for whatever solution seemed the most fun, so this could very well be a plan that this trio would come up with.
second, i actually lied to you guys. the tag says miscommunication but i HATE miscommunication tropes in romance. it's actually referring to everyone getting languages jumbled up because these guys are gonna be big boys about their feelings. while they haven't had a chance to actually discuss them, they aren't going to assume the worst in each other either, so yall are gonna get a lot of tender embraces and cute moments that they don't really address but still lean into. can you blame 'em? they have a lot going on. i also like to think that obi-wan greatly enjoys playing the flirty con-man because he's a little shit that likes mischief
quins habit of hoarding things in trinket boxes in a way that makes no sense is based off of me because i do that (though it is notable that when you're in anthropology you end up collecting a lot of trash)
finally some background: Amazonas is the largest state of Brazil and Manaus is the capital. Manaus is also home to The Meeting of the Waters, which is a place where the Rio Negro (darkly colored) and the Amazon River (sandy colored) meet but don't mix due to temperature, speed, and sediment. I didn't outright say it but Quin is also an anthropologist here, but has moved towards doing more advocacy and mediation than research (not an uncommon shift) ok i think that's all for this chapter, more in the next! tchau tchau :)
Chapter 13: Keeping My Poise in the Casket
Summary:
let the goose chase commence
Notes:
hello, guess whos now got a degree! its me! now to get into a good grad school 😭 im also officially headed back to brazil in march so yay! lots and lots happening :) there'll be lots of little cultural notes for this chapter so make sure to check out the end notes if you're interested.
ch. title comes from Manaus by Cambriana
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Rex looked up from the steak he was eating as Hondo sauntered into his ship's cramped galley, thick locks hanging loose beneath his usual bandana. As far as kidnappings went, Rex felt lucky to have such an accommodating captor. Hondo had explained that Cody had gotten onto a ship heading in the wrong direction but not to worry as they both knew Cody would make his way to São Luís one way or another. If Rex got out of this, which he was optimistically betting on, he’d have to remember to rib Cody about that little snafu, though. His brother was an unstoppable force when his mind was set on something and would plow ahead no matter the circumstance, even going in the wrong direction. Hondo broke him out of his thoughts as he sat in front of Rex, who decided to politely give the aspiring pirate his attention.
“I have some bad news,” Hondo began, voice theatrically morose. “It seems, according to one of my contacts, that there is a very bad man after your brother. I’m told he’s called Maul, and given his reputation, I wouldn’t be surprised if he is why your brother is so very far from us now.” Shit, Rex thought; of course Palpatine's pet bounty hunter was after Cody now.
“I must admit that I’ve never heard of this man in my life, but one can only assume he’s bad news if that name is anything to go by,” Hondo went on. “For your sake, though, I hope your brother makes it here unharmed," he concluded, patting Rex on the shoulder consolingly. While the phrase was polite, the implication was clear: Cody needed to get here with that package if Rex ever wanted to be a free man again.
Despite the spike in his heart rate, Rex remained calm, reasoning that Hondo’s genial nature would serve in his favor and, worst case scenario, the pirate would sell Rex off to the highest bidder. There was always a chance that Rex could talk his way into working for the captain and his crew in repayment if it came to it. More than anything, though, Rex began to worry about Cody. Rex knows Maul’s file; hell, he'd made Maul's file. The man was bad news, and Rex could only hope his brother made it out unscathed.
Cody was on another fucking boat. This aquatic trip would only be a few hours, but it was the principle of it all, and Cody was going to stay mad about it. It’d be worth it in the end, though, as he was almost certain Maul took the bait that had been dangled in front of him. Cody wasn’t sure if he should be offended at the fact that the man thought he was gullible enough to be dragged around by his dick like that, but when you take into account that Maul had single-handedly made what was supposed to be a 3 to 4-day trip into what was adding up to be over a week, Cody could, unfortunately, see the reasoning. Obi-Wan’s heavy-handed flirtation was a nice touch too, making the convoluted nature of their plan a tad more explicable.
They were on a small fishing boat turned makeshift passenger ship. It was colorfully painted in a faded cherry red with a thin roof that aided in blocking out the sun and loud distorted music blaring out of small speakers attempting to cover up the sound of the motor. There were a handful of other people headed in the same direction, milling about in the open area at the center of the boat, each sticking to groups they’d boarded with. With what little seating available already occupied, Cody and Obi-Wan had decided to stay towards the edge of the vessel. Cody remained standing as Obi-Wan perched on the low wooden railing. The taller man casually leaned back against one of the posts that held the roof aloft like he wasn't a foot and a half away from tumbling into the water below. Cody couldn’t help the spike of anxiety he felt when the image of Obi-Wan plummeting into the Rio Negro left in its wake popped into his mind. Annoyed at his distress, Cody decided to settle against the post himself, subtly wrapping an arm around Obi-Wan’s waist to hold him steady and to make his own brain shut up.
“So,” Obi-Wan began, looking up at Cody for once, causing his hat to cast more shade across his face and Cody's mouth to go dry at the sight. Cody tensed, mentally preparing for the other to begin a conversation about whatever it was that was going on between the two of them. Cody rarely took issue with talking about his feelings, but there was a part of him that wanted things to stay as they were. Amorphous and undefined. A collective comfort in the midst of chaos that could stand to be named later rather than sooner. “How well do you think that little scene worked?” Obi-Wan asked, pulling Cody’s attention back to the present. Cody relaxed at the question. They both appeared content with letting things be as they were for now.
“Given my track record, he probably thinks I’m an idiot already,” Cody reasoned, pride stinging just a bit. “And, with the way you played it up, he’ll no doubt think you're a con trying to sleep your way into some treasure. So altogether, I’d say we got him,” he teased. Maul’s mental image of the two of them was likely unflattering at best.
“Well, good,” Obi-Wan huffed while crossing his arms in faux offense, “that’s what we want him to think. And it isn’t as if I’m not a con in this situation. It’s just that you’re in on it, and he’s our target.”
Time passed lazily as they talked quietly to pass the time. It was irrationally easy for the two of them to fall into their own little world. Cody would ask for more information about the context of where they were, which Obi-Wan happily supplied, and Obi-Wan would, in turn, ask him questions about his writing and where his ideas sprouted from. Eventually, someone brought out a skinny carafe, similar to the one Quin had, and shared among the other passengers in the same type of small plastic cups Cody had become accustomed to on his last boat trip. When Cody graciously accepted the proffered drink, he couldn’t help but be slightly disappointed at the meager portion. The cup was filled with no more than what those little medicine cups that come on top of cough syrup could hold, but it made sense if everyone was sharing. Before Cody could take a sip, he noticed Obi-Wan watching him closely with hidden mirth but had dismissed it out of hand.
Cody immediately regretted that dismissal as soon as the drink hit his tongue, wincing at the flavor. The coffee was intensely strong and so sickeningly sweet that it turned into a syrup that coated his mouth and lingered for far longer than he was prepared for. A far cry from his usual plain black coffee. Upon seeing his reaction, Obi-Wan burst into barely contained laughter at Cody’s obvious discomfort.
“What the fuck?” Cody coughed out in horror as the saccharine taste refused to leave his mouth.
“It’s a cafezinho , a little coffee. Very small, very strong, and very sweet,” he explained as he continued to snicker at Cody’s misery.
“You couldn’t have warned me about that?” Cody asked as he looked down at the coffee in betrayal.
“Revenge for calling me a whore,” Obi-Wan replied before hiding his still-smiling face into his own disgusting drink.
"I never called you a whore," Cody countered quickly.
"Yes, well, you implied it," Obi-Wan shot back. God, he was lucky he was pretty, or he'd be swimming right about now, Cody thought to himself while rolling his eyes at the ridiculous man in front of him.
It was mid-afternoon by the time they had docked in the small riverside town. People were bustling around, carrying tables and chairs along with brightly colored decorations as fireworks occasionally popped in the background.
“It's the June festivals I was telling you about," Obi-Wan butted into Cody's line of thought. "They’re more common here in the northern, more rural areas of Brazil,” he related. “There’s a good deal of Saint celebrations intermixed as well,” Obi-Wan prattled on to explain that the bonfire of Saint John was in the coming days, which explained the fireworks and decorations, and the feast of Saint Peter would follow soon after that.
“Oh,” Obi-Wan exclaimed, suddenly remembering something and swatting Cody’s arm in emphasis. “You’re going to São Luís before the Festas Juninas end. You might be able to see some of Bumba Meu Boi," he went on. "It’s another part of these festivals and something São Luís is known for, but you’ll probably see for yourself. Barring that, you’ll certainly hear it while you’re there.” As Obi-Wan spoke animatedly, they found themselves in the midst of a small market that was just beginning to shut down for the day.
With nothing left to do but wait for Maul to catch up, the two men milled around the booths that were still open, looking around at the various array of produce and artisanry for the next half-hour or so. In that time, the same unfortunate pattern he experienced on the boat a few days ago arose, in which people would address Cody first due to him looking more local than his ginger companion. Obi-Wan would, as always, step in to hold the conversation in Cody’s stead, but it was still bewildering every time.
Cody was looking at a booth boasting various fruits he’d never seen before when he looked over to find Obi-Wan missing from his side. His stomach sunk, wondering how he’d lost one of the most conspicuous men in a hundred-mile radius (Maul was also high on that list with his tattooed everything). Just as Cody was about to start looking for him, Obi-Wan appeared from around a corner wearing a triumphant expression, making his way over to Cody while herding him over to a nearby bench.
“You nearly gave me a heart attack,” Cody griped at the other as they sat, looking out at lightly bobbing boats on the river ahead of them. Maul would be arriving soon if their timing was right, so they’d need to keep their eyes peeled. Despite the impending chase, it was hard not to be lulled by the sight, along with the knowledge that they were in a place that existed parallel to every other place in the world and would continue to do so long after they left.
“I was coming right back,” Obi-Wan huffed out before hesitating slightly. The look was gone in a flash, replaced with a jittery sort of confidence as the redhead reached into his pocket to retrieve something, clenching his fist around it before relaxing. “Here,” Obi-Wan said while grabbing Cody’s open hand, placing the object in his palm delicately, “for you.”
Cody looked down at the foreign object now in his hand and held it up to consider carefully. It was a black corded necklace with a pendant that revealed itself to be a stylized frog carved out of green stone. Obi-Wan fidgeted as Cody held the pendent, thumb tracing the simple engravings before looking back to the other for an explanation.
“Someone was selling them over there, and I thought I’d get one for you,” Obi-Wan began stiffly. “It’s a Muiraquitã, a sort of…” he trailed off suddenly, face going blank before being overtaken by frustration. “Fuck… what are they called?” Obi-Wan asked in exasperation, snapping his fingers like it would make the words magically appear in his head. “It’s the thing, the thing with…” he cut himself off with a frustrated groan as Cody stifled laughter at his annoyance. “It’s like the cereal with the marshmallows,” he tried as he cut himself off to mutter quiet obscenities.
“A lucky charm?” Cody offered finally.
“Yes! That! Christ, yes, a lucky charm,” Obi-Wan said as he threw his hands in the air before joining Cody to laugh at himself. “Anyways, given how things have been going, I thought you might need it,” he joked before continuing. “There’s a whole legend that goes with it too, which I’m sure you don’t want to hear. I just thought that you might want some sort of souvenir to commemorate the chaos.” After a few beats of silence he looked down as if he suddenly found his fidgeting hands to be the most interesting thing in the world.
Cody's heart thumped as he thought about the potential meanings behind the gesture. In a way, it seemed that Obi-Wan also wanted to be remembered, even if only through a lucky charm. Cody’s mind was flung back again to the hushed small hours they’d shared, where they’d both reached and held. Even now, that still night felt like it happened ages ago as their to-do list grew ever longer and the end of the road drew near. All to say, he understood the longing to be remembered, even if he thought Obi-Wan would be stupid to think Cody could ever forget.
Cody looked over the small carved frog again, taking in its weight as acknowledgment without expectation, before loosening the cord and pulling it over his head. Relief washed over Obi-Wan’s face as he reached over to help adjust the length and straighten it out.
“Look good?” Cody asked.
“It looks great. It suits you, I think,” Obi-Wan replied as he lingered over the pendent from where it sat on Cody’s neck.
“I’d like to hear the story that comes with it at some point,” Cody stated. “Rather close to a hei matau, so maybe I'll luck out and my brothers won't bug me about it,” he said jokingly. Obi-Wan gave a broad grin before appearing to remember something.
“On another note, we need to discuss our plan for when Maul shows up. He’ll undoubtedly be coming after us with more intent than he already has been,” Obi-Wan changed the subject.
Then, as if having sensed their peace, Cody spotted Maul making his way off one of the boats that had docked a handful of minutes ago. Cody grabbed Obi-Wan’s hand and dragged him to his feet before reaching into his bag to retrieve their fake map. There was no need to worry about the real one as it was tucked safely all the way back in Manaus, likely making its way toward its intended organization.
Cody ducked his head in to whisper, “No time now, we’ll figure it out later,” while subtly cocking his head towards an encroaching Maul. “Remember, we need to look busy. Which way are we going?”
Quickly catching on, Obi-Wan looked down at the map before loudly declaring that they needed to head to the edge of town and go from there. With that, he and Cody began making their way toward nowhere.
It took about twenty-five minutes for them to walk out to the edge of town with Maul prowling behind them, keeping his distance. Cody could reluctantly admit that Maul wasn’t exactly bad at his job. If they hadn’t known to be on the lookout for him, he would have been hard to spot, a difficult task, given the distinct figure he cut. The afternoon sun beat down on them with a vengeance, and even beneath his hat and layers of SPF ten thousand, Obi-Wan was starting to take on a ruddy look. Cody wasn’t exactly faring much better, but he was at least somewhat more suited for the tropics, especially under his own layer of sun protection.
When the tree line finally loomed ahead of them, they took a moment to pause in the growing shade to gather their bearings. Their shoes and clothes were now caked in a thin layer of red dust, kicked up by their trek. When mixed with the general moisture in the air and sweat, it left their skin feeling vaguely muddy, making part of Cody yearn for the spray of a cold shower. While they were stopped, Obi-Wan explained quietly that going straight into the rainforest was a quick way to get lost and suggested they walk the perimeter until they found some sort of trail.
They were still in sight of the river bank, so they decided to begin walking in the opposite direction. As they walked, Cody studied the dense greenery, attempting to see if there was any sort of clearing or landmark he could orient himself with, but each new angle looked almost exactly the same. Cody had spent five days with little else to look at besides the Amazonian tree line, but a combination of flatness and distance had made it seem no bigger than the deciduous patches he was used to. Now, pressed against it, the vastness of what was ahead of him felt far more daunting. There was no easing into the forest. No, it stood like a wall, the entrance to a labyrinth that would swallow you whole.
Eventually, they came across a narrow footpath winding its way in, and with a brief shared look, they decided it was as good a place as any to enter. Stepping fully beneath the canopy caused the temperature to drop immediately, making both men sigh in relief. Even in the shade, they’d been walking along, it was still hot, but it was as if they’d entered a new atmosphere. They made their through the winding trail, pausing every once in a while to listen out for Maul’s distant stomping to ensure that he was still following.
At some point, Obi-Wan held out a hand, stopping Cody in his tracks. Once he had Cody’s attention, he pointed into the dense mess of green towards the triangular base of a tree that folded into the ground like sheets of wrinkled fabric. Obi-Wan led the way towards it, somehow not tripping as he took high steps through the foliage. Cody was not as lucky and stumbled on a vine like a trip wire before they were left in a small clearing delineated by the living tower in front of them. Part of Cody wanted to dismiss this as their digging spot, as it would be exceedingly easy to pin them up against the wall-like roots behind them, but on the other hand, it left only one direction for Maul to attack from.
Once they were within the bounds of the clearing, Obi-Wan swung his backpack off to pull out a decently sized spade and slung the bag to the ground while Cody was left wondering if the other had always had loose gardening equipment in his bag. His confusion must have shown on his face as Obi-Wan offered an unsolicited answer as he knelt to the ground. “I saw it at Quin’s and thought it might be helpful. Bastard won’t miss it anyways; we're both cultural,” Obi-Wan quipped. After finding a spot that he deemed adequate enough to dig up, he damn near yelled, “This must be it!” before plunging the spade into the soil.
Notes:
in case it wasn't clear, hondo has no idea that maul is the weird spaniard he spent an entire flight annoying. i tried to express the struggle of being bilingual in obi-wan to the best of my abilities as an intermediate speaker in that its a lot of just completely forgetting words. as i like to say, i'm getting stupid in two languages :) bumba meu boi is one of my favorite things in brazil and in Belém they usually do it during something called "Pavulagem" and its really fun! when the next part that mentions it comes up ill link a youtube video to how it sounds in São Luís.
the necklace that obi-wan gives to cody is a bit more loaded than it initially comes across. i'll link to one of the stories surrounding it, but basically, they are good luck symbols given as gifts to loved ones and i got griped at least a couple times by some romantics for having one that i got for myself rather than having it gifted to me by a love interest (i collect lucky charms what can i say)also PSA wear your sunscreen! while having more melanin can reduce your risk of burning, UV damage can be more difficult to detect and problems can still arise from skin damage. if you have less melanin, not only are you at risk of skin cancer, UV also destroys vitamin B folates in the bloodstream which is important for red blood cell formation and healthy cells in general (which can also lead to birth defects if you are a person with a uterus with any likelihood of pregnancy in a high UV area) so lather urself up in spf whatever especially if you happen to be a jaunt around the equator.
here are your sources for the chapter:
festas juninas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festa_Junina
bonfires of saint john: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonfires_of_Saint_John
bumba meu boi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumba_Meu_Boi
Muiraquitã (the necklace obi-wan gives cody): https://www.sohistoria.com.br/lendasemitos/muiraquita/
hei matau: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hei_matau
the tree they end up beside is a Samaúma tree :)
Chapter 14: Memories of the Moon (I Was Always Partial to the Sun)
Summary:
A bluff is called before it's made
Notes:
hello everyone, sorry for the long wait, i fell into a pit of despair. anyways heres the next chapter! god knows when ill get around to editing again but better late than never
anyhoo, chapter title is from beggars guild by roadkill ghost choir and itallics represent portuguese being spoken
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Believe it or not, I am capable of helping you dig,” Cody offered as he watched Obi-Wan shovel into the clay-red soil that lay just beneath a thin layer of dark detritus. It was slow work, and Obi-Wan was carving his way down more than anything else.
“My father was an archaeologist; I know how to dig a hole,” Obi-Wan quipped back as he purposefully tossed the latest scoop of clumping red dirt onto Cody’s boots with a poorly hidden smile.
“Really?” Cody asked as he shook his boots, causing more dust to settle on the ginger than on the ground.
“Yep,” the taller man responded as he released the p with a pop, uselessly brushing himself off before refocusing on his task. “My father started taking me on digs soon after he started fostering me. My grandfather is one of the old guards of the British Museum,” Cody didn’t need to see the man’s face to know he was cringing as Cody’s own nose wrinkled. “Family shame, I know. Anyways, one of the fun side effects of a family seeped in social science is that Anakin’s flavor of teen rebellion leans fascist.” The last sentence had been meant to be light-hearted, but Cody could tell that there was a hint of anxiety beneath it.
“Sounds like a little shit,” Cody offered honestly.
“Oh, he absolutely is,” Obi-Wan laughed. "But he’s still my brother, horrible opinions and all.”
Cody could imagine his frustration; spending your life attempting to understand the lives of others only to have it all thrown back in your face had to be painful on some sort of spiritual level. But, alas, Cody was in no place to throw stones as he wouldn’t be standing here in the middle of not-much and nowhere if he wasn’t willing to go to the ends of the earth for any of his brothers.
“Next time he says something stupid, tell him his favorite author is disappointed in him,” Cody offered jokingly. Might as well use what little clout he had to bully some punk out of being a dick.
Obi-Wan sighed and responded, “The fact that telling him that would probably work is both delightful and disheartening.” He then shook out his arms, willing some feeling back into them before getting back to digging.
“Fun fact: if that box was actually buried in here, it’d probably be gone save for the metal parts,” Obi-Wan said, offering the information like a cat bringing home a ‘gift’ for its owners.
“What do you mean?” Cody asked in amusement.
“I mean that,” he paused, sucking in more air as the repetitive movements started to wear on him, “Amazonian soil, unless processed into terra preta, black earth, is highly acidic. It’s why most of the archaeology here is ceramics.” He paused and futilely wiped at the sweat that was starting to drip from his nearly soaked hair, leaving a streak of red across his forehead and making Cody lament the fact that he found this man so endearing. “The soil here eats bones,” Obi-Wan finally elucidated with a cheery tone that would have been jarring if Cody hadn’t spent the past week glued to his side.
“So it’d eat the box?” Cody offered.
“It’d eat the box.”
Obi-Wan kept digging before the spade rang with a dull thud. Looking into the hole, it appeared he had finally hit a root, causing the ginger to grab his bag to retrieve the cigar box. Rather than loudly proclaiming he found it as Cody expected, he shoved the box to the bottom of the hole and started reburying it slightly and pressing the dirt down on top of it. Cody quickly caught on; a squeaky-clean box allegedly just pulled from the earth just wouldn’t add up.
It had been all too easy to forget the situation they were in, falling back into the rhythm of effortless conversation, but now they were down to the wire. The airy atmosphere maintained between the two men evaporated as Cody mentally prepared himself for whatever was about to happen. They needed to strike a balance between a convincing fight and losing on purpose. Knowing Maul’s history, it could be assumed he would do whatever was necessary to get what he wanted. There were other variables to the equation that Cody was rushing to account for, like whether or not their opponent was armed or if he had any backup. He quickly decided to assume the tattooed man had some weapon on his person. It was better to account for a non-issue than to get stabbed, he reasoned.
“I think we’ve almost got it,” Obi-Wan declared in his performative tone, knocking Cody out of his roughly hewn battle plans. He then reached up with one of his rust-covered hands to tug on Cody’s belt loop, yanking him down to where he was kneeling beside the hole. Cody glanced at the now dirty box as he knelt, preparing to play along before he was interrupted by Obi-Wan’s rapid whispering.
“Listen,” he explained quickly, “I should have told you sooner, but I don’t think this will work, not without something to chase.” Cody reared back, trying to argue, but the other kept his grip tight as he continued, “Once it’s clear, you need to get back to the docks where we arrived. There's a man there named Hélio; you can ask around for him. I’ve already talked to him, and he’s willing to take you back to the city.” The information was spilling out of the other man at a rate almost too quick for Cody to process. It was odd to hear Obi-Wan’s usually deliberate and measured speech blend together as he rushed through his words. “When you’re there, make your way back to Quin’s and have him help you get on the next flight to São Luís.”
“Wait,” Cody halted the other before he could continue so his brain could catch up. “Slow down; you’re telling me to go off without you?”
“You need Maul off your trail, and if he calls our bluff, we’re fucked,” Obi-Wan asserted, voice still hushed. “We have to split up.”
“Why didn’t we talk about this sooner!” Cody whisper-yelled.
“I didn’t think of it sooner! And by the time I did, he was back on top of us,” he threw back. “He thinks this is a con, that I'm going to steal it from under your nose, so it’s time to play the part.”
“No.” Cody left no room for argument as he grabbed the other’s arm in a vice grip. “No, no, no, no, you aren’t running off to go play cat and mouse with that fucking psycho!” But his protest fell on deaf ears as Obi-Wan was already leaning down to grab the box from its split-second grave and stood with the farcical prize in hand.
Cody rose with him, afraid to let the other man create any distance lest he follow through with his own batshit plan. They would fight and lose the box, and if Maul caught on, then they’d deal with it, not whatever slapdash scheme Obi-Wan had put into place. Obi-Wan reached up and cupped Cody’s face with his free hand, pulling Cody back to the present as he held on despite the awkward position. Obi-Wan looked at him in a way that seemed both determined and resigned as Cody tried to mentally will his own message of ‘don’t you dare’ into the other's thick skull.
“I'm going to try and lose him. I’ll do my best to meet back with you in São Luís at the hotel,” Obi-Wan said, not bothering to make a promise he couldn’t keep.
“Obi-Wan, don’t, please. ” Cody did not beg, but at this point, he was willing to try anything to make the other man see reason. Obi-Wan seemed to pause at his words, almost considering, but the expression was quickly replaced with conviction.
“Cody, dear,” Obi-Wan began while stepping closer, ignoring Cody’s desperation, “make sure to sell it, alright?” Before Cody could fight back, the older man leaned in, kissing him like he was saying goodbye. All Cody could think of was kissing him back and hoping he was holding on tight enough.
Suddenly, Cody felt the arms around him shift before the world tilted, and Cody was sprawled on the ground with the breath knocked out of him. From his dazed position, he could see that Obi-Wan had already scooped up his backpack and was darting down the narrow path from which they’d come, heading in the opposite direction of the town. Cody scrambled to his feet, anger and frustration building in his chest, but it was too late. The steady sound of another set of feet rushed past him as Maul gave chase.
Fine.
If Obi-Wan wanted him to sell it, Cody could sell it.
“You motherfucking self-sacrificing bastard! We were supposed to go together; we had a plan!” Cody shouted as he allowed himself to vent his feelings outward, clenching his fists as he refrained from hitting anything; the last thing he needed was a boxer fracture. “The next time I see your pasty ass, you’d better expect a fist to the goddamn face.” Cody had no way of knowing if his voice carried through the dense foliage, but he hoped Obi-Wan could at least hear that.
'I will see him again, so help me God,' Cody thought as he let out a groan of pure frustration. After letting out enough steam to function, Cody put a lid on the over-boiled pot of his anger. He leaned down to grab the spade that’d been left on the ground and began quickly trudging his way back to the small town to get onto another fucking boat.
Obi-Wan heard Cody’s shouted insults fade as he kept running, one foot in front of the other. He couldn’t help but agree with the remarks, but he saw no other way out of this increasingly complicated situation. He pushed his guilt aside as quickly as it rose, choosing to focus on running down the winding path as overgrown vegetation reached out to scratch him as he passed. Maul was noisily chasing him from behind, and Obi-Wan knew he needed to keep moving in order to give Cody the opening to get back. If he got caught here, Cody needed as much distance as he could get. Obi-Wan briefly conjured up the image of Maul sweating buckets through his nice suit as he pursued and huffed a laugh with breath he didn’t have, the image making his efforts twice as rewarding.
The air, dense with humidity, made every breath feel more like drowning than a fresh pump of oxygen. The red-headed man also knew that he didn’t have long before he started overheating and was likely long past dehydration, even under the cooler temperatures of the canopy. He had to stop soon and couldn’t risk exhaustion in case Maul caught him, forcing him to fight. Around the next bend in the path, Obi-Wan made the split decision to rush straight ahead, leaving the treaded path behind him. He tried keeping pace until a vine caught him like a tripwire, knocking his hat off his head as he went down as quietly as he could. He caught himself but took the opportunity to shimmy his way towards the nearest tree while remaining careful to keep himself hidden while remaining oriented. He grabbed his hat with belated thought and left it off as he sat beneath the towering shadows of the trees around him.
After a handful of moments spent trying to stifle his panting breath, he heard Maul rush past him, not noticing the newly trodden trail as he ran. Obi-Wan let out a quiet sigh of relief once Maul seemed far enough away but didn’t move from his hiding spot. He decided that he’d be better off waiting Maul out, as chances were his hunter would realize that his prey was no longer ahead of him at one point or another. He decided he would wait until the sun began to set or until Maul doubled back around, whichever came first. If everything went perfectly, which never seemed to happen, no one would be willing to bring Maul back tonight, too busy enjoying preemptive festivities to help a surly stranger. Obi-Wan realized that he had also effectively stranded himself, but he knew he’d figure something out. None of it mattered, though, as Cody would already be back downriver and off to save his brother.
Obi-Wan was now left with little else to do other than to sit, gulp down what water was left in the bottle he’d packed, agonize about his decisions, and sweat. He truly believed that splitting up with Cody was the right thing to do, but the betrayal his companion so obviously felt nearly made him regret doing it at all. It wasn’t as if Obi-Wan had intended to keep the younger man in the dark; he truly had planned on telling him. But between himself and the forest, he could admit that he had avoided the topic until there was no time for argument. He knew if he had told Cody sooner, he would have fought back, that he would have rather done something more reckless as long as it kept them together.
A lie of omission was still a lie, and that’s exactly what he had done. He knew that if Cody’d had the time to argue with him, he would have caved at the other man's insistence. Even during their brief argument, he had considered abandoning his own idea in favor of coming up with something that didn’t somehow hurt the other. But Obi-Wan was nothing if not selfish, deep down. He floundered for a moment, letting guilt and self-loathing wash over him before he told himself to get his shit together. Now wasn’t the time to regret what he’d done but to move on with the consequences. Taking some deep breaths to calm himself down, he began to settle into an almost meditative state as he allowed his mind to wander freely while gently guiding it away from the doom spirals he tended to fall toward.
He drifted; memories that he hadn’t even realized he’d filed away in such detail sprang to his mind, and he allowed himself to linger in the recent past. He thought of where he was only a handful of hours ago, the way he had sat himself on the edge of the boat as he’d done time and again, and Cody followed to wrap around him in a subtle attempt to assure himself that he wouldn’t fall. Jokes and conversation passed easily between them as they made their way from one mess to the next as the world passed them by. It was there, in the fog of memory and dying heat of the day that Obi-Wan stayed until the sun began to dip into the horizon.
When Obi-Wan pulled himself out of the brush, he decided to walk towards the end of the path. He wasn’t making it out of this riverside town tonight, so he could gamble on whether it led somewhere useful. Eventually, he found himself in the midst of several stilt houses along the river bank. A woman was outside of the home closest to him, pulling down the day's laundry as her children played in small canoes on the shrinking river. Obi-Wan approached carefully, doing his best not to seem like a threat as he kept his distance.
“Good evening,” he called out to the woman, making her pause her work.
“You aren’t here with that bald man, are you?” she asked accusingly after taking in his appearance.
“Definitely not, the opposite, in fact. He isn’t here, is he?” Obi-Wan asked, warriness evident.
“No, he passed through hours ago,” she replied. “ We told him to get lost.”
Obi-Wan’s relief must have been obvious. He introduced himself to her properly before being swept up by the woman as she insisted he stay and eat. He tried to decline and say he didn’t want to impose, but she insisted in a way that implied that no wasn’t an option. As she ushered him inside, Obi-Wan noticed the two siblings had come ashore and were following sneakily behind him, curious about the new arrival. He heard them whisper boto and Curupira while giggling before their mother told them off.
They chatted as she flitted around the small kitchen, finishing the meal she’d started earlier and putting a large thermos of coffee in front of him. Obi-Wan explained his situation a bit further, as well as some of his background. He quickly fell back into the modes and habits of his discipline, taking everything in stride and leaving gift horses' mouths closed. It turned out that the woman, Fernanda, needed someone to help her husband with various chores in the morning. The family was leaving to visit her sister for a few days and wanted to leave early. Another set of hands would make things go faster, she reasoned. When Obi-Wan explained he had no place to stay and couldn’t agree until he found one, she graciously offered an extra hammock to sleep on and breakfast in the morning in exchange for his labor, which, all things considered, wasn’t a bad deal.
When he conversationally asked where they were heading, Obi-Wan wondered if he should actually start believing in luck. They were heading towards Manaus and then another township further down after they had sold off some of the açaí they’d harvested. When Obi-Wan explained that he was headed in the same direction, Fernanda took it in stride and expanded her offer to include bringing him along in exchange for helping them unload once they docked there. Soon after, Obi-Wan met Fernanda’s husband, a pleasant man named Rafael, and was given a proper introduction to his new twin shadows.
He chatted pleasantly with the family as they ate, finding himself at home in the position of kindly welcomed outsider. Despite all of the chaos, this was his element. At some point or another, the kids became confident enough to approach him, taking it upon themselves to check that he was human. Obi-Wan and their parents laughed in amusement as the twins checked under his hat for a blow hole and made sure his feet were attached the right way. Once they were sure that he was, in fact, human, he was deemed safe enough jungle gym to play on.
When the family was winding down for the night, Fernanda handed him the spare hammock and rope to hang his bedding from the rafters. He selected a place a bit further from where the family slept, still not wanting to intrude, and cast the rope over the beams above him, knotting them off with well-practiced movements. As he made his bed for the night, something in the corner caught his eye.
“That isn’t anything special, is it?” Obi-Wan asked Fernanda, gesturing towards the object in question.
“No, just a spare Rafael picked up a while ago.” At this, Obi-Wan decided to see if he could get one more thing out of their arrangement.
Notes:
get hip tossed idiot
anyways lots of stuff to cover here. first off the "my father was an archaeologist" line is something i've heard my professor say. also ive been sleeping in a hammock for like, the past three weeks and it isn't bad once you get the mechanics down. also idk if i've properly expressed to yall how much of cultural anthropology is just chilling with people. like theres A Lot more to it, but the chilling with people is a larger part of it than most disciplines as far as i knowsome things of interest:
terra preta: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_preta
the people who live in stilt houses by the riverside are called ribeirinhos: ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ribeirinhos
the terms "boto" and "curupira" are parts of amazonian folklore. a boto is a river dolphin that turns into a handsome man and gets maidens pregnant and wears a hat to hide his blow hole and the curupira is a creature with its feet on backwards that gets people lost in the forest,often depicted with bright red hair
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/11/pink-dolphin-botos-brazil-amazon/617080/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curupirai think thats all! lets see if i find the willpower to post again within the next month or so
tchau galeria
Chapter 15: So Let Us Not Talk Falsely Now (The Hour’s Getting Late)
Summary:
Finally, Cody makes it to São Luís
Notes:
surprise nerds! i've found motivation again! so heres the next chapter!
things are about to start moving pretty fast so gear up buckaroo
ch title is from All Along the Watchtower by Bob Dylan (or Jimmi Hendrix, both are good)
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
It was nearly 3 am when Cody entered his room at the Grand São Luís Hotel. He’d still been fuming by the time Hélio had dropped him off in Manaus but did his best not to let it show as he didn’t want the other man to think he’d done anything wrong. That honor went to Obi-Wan alone. The ride back had given Cody time to think through the other’s actions, and deep down, he understood why Obi-Wan had done what he did. It was also apparent that Obi-Wan had wanted to bring up the topic when they’d been sitting on the bench after his brief disappearance, but Maul’s presence had caused him to be cut off.
Despite Cody’s empathy, he made the conscious decision to remain irate at the older man as it was still horrendously shitty of him not to bring the topic up later. More than that, though, whenever Cody's anger began to fade into the background, a cold drop of dread would take its place, crawling up his spine. Thus Cody focused on his anger as he found that, generally, being pissed was a tad easier on the psyche than being scared. The rage was just practical at this point. He also planned on making good on his vow to knock Obi-Wan’s lights out the next time he saw him. Mortal peril aside, Cody felt it was important the other knew he was a man of his word, and if he planned on never letting go of the stupid anthropologist afterward, well, that was Cody’s business.
Landing in Manaus was also the first time Cody had been on his own in days, and the drowning feeling of being entirely out of his depth hit him like a ton of bricks. Thankfully, he had written down Quin’s number when they’d parted ways that morning and was able to find a usable payphone not far from where he’d been dropped off. After explaining what had happened to Quin, the other man quickly made his way to Cody’s aid, cursing Obi-Wan aloud from the time the phone call ended until they were both spilling out of the car in front of his building. The two men spent most of their time laying out the plan moving forward and seemed to bond over their joint exasperation at the missing man.
Quin had also proven to have almost supernatural levels of foresight, having already done all but pay for a ticket to São Luís for Cody, departing that night. When Quin showed him the webpage so he could confirm his ticket, Cody dutifully squashed his feelings at having to change the number from 2 to 1. He didn’t need Obi-Wan to go with him to trade for Rex; he never had, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t wanted it. To add insult to injury, the flight had at least two stops because Cody wasn’t allowed to catch a single solitary break. Quin also assured him that if he didn’t hear from Obi-Wan within the next 24 hours, he’d contact the necessary authorities, easing some of the tightness in Cody’s chest that he’d been ignoring.
When he had finally landed in São Luís, Cody felt dazed. He was supposed to have been here almost a week ago now, and he couldn’t help but wonder how different things would have been without the time in between. Would he have already been back home with Rex? Getting drinks with Fox? Finishing the dregs of his book? This moment was always going to happen: getting off the plane, getting into a cab, checking into the Grand São Luís hotel, and finally getting his brother back, but he couldn’t help but feel like something in him had shifted from then to now. Even with the almost non-stop stress and tension to keep pushing forward, there were things about the journey that he didn’t think he would trade for anything. The world felt bigger now, brighter and saturated in colors he’d never noticed before.
It would have been easy to attribute all of this to having met Obi-Wan in the midst of the discord, and the secret romantic that lived in Cody argued that that was indeed the case. But this was not a fairy tale, and that isn’t how reality works. Not for Cody, at least. No; more so than anything, Cody attributed his wider view to having experienced more in the past week than many would in a lifetime. Having someone beside him the whole way… he stopped midthought to correct it most of the way, had certainly made it all sweeter, though.
When Cody laid down for the night, still buzzing from the constant movement of one place to another, he examined it all from a distance. He acknowledged how absolutely insane all of this was, and despite how enormous it all felt, it’d be over soon. How he’d back in New York, writing in the same apartment, eating the same takeout, living the same life even though he felt so different from the person who lived that life before. All of this would end up amounting to some crazy dream, an interesting story to tell his friends at the bar. A vibrant new setting to add to his next book. He reached up unconsciously and rubbed the little frog pendant that now hung from his neck between his fingers. A sign this all had happened, more or less. Eventually, the exhaustion began to catch up to him, and as he drifted off, he allowed himself to hope that the little charm would work, that luck would favor him, and that it’d all turn out alright in the end.
Cody woke up around noon, looking as if he’d lost a valiant battle to his bedsheets and, with a half-awake mind he rolled over to the hotel phone to call down to the lobby.
“ Boa Tarde,” said the distorted voice coming from the receiver.
“Hi, yeah, have you had anyone with the last name Kenobi check in?” Cody asked blearily, grateful for last night's discovery that most of the hotel staff also spoke English.
“No, not that I’m aware of,” the voice replied in kind.
“Alright, well, if anyone by that name comes in, could you call this room and let me know?”
“Sir, we can’t share the personal information of other guests,” the woman on the other line began, preparing herself for a barrage of complaints.
“Ah, well, I’m supposed to be meeting him here today. Can you at least tell him what room I’m in if he does come in?” If the woman's reply was anything to go by, his tone of voice must have sounded more pitiful than he thought.
“Given that this is your friend,” she began haltingly as if she were still debating with herself. "I or someone else will ring your room when he comes in, though we cannot confirm the information you requested on the line.”
Cody could have hugged the kind soul on the other end of the line. “That would be perfect, thank you,” he replied, voice obviously brighter.
“Of course, have a nice day.”
With that, Cody ended the call and buried himself back into the sheets. Obi-Wan had said that he would try to meet him in São Luís, but ‘try’ isn’t ‘will’ and Cody’d be damned before he left his brother alone and forsaken another night. He’d give Obi-Wan until it was time for him to meet Rex’s captors, more because he’d appreciate the backup than anything else. If the other wasn’t here by then, Cody would go in alone and hope that the decoy he and Quin had come up with would hold up under scrutiny.
Cody had also made the mistake of connecting his phone to the wifi the hotel provided, remembering for the first time in a week that other people might be trying to reach him. What came through was a flood of messages and calls, mostly from Fox and at least one from each of his other siblings. Even his dad had reached out, though with nothing more than a ‘hope you’re ok,’ but it was the thought that counted. It all made the pit of loneliness that had begun to settle in his stomach feel a little bit lighter. Despite the encouragement, though, he wasn’t about to answer any of the missed messages or calls. Once that floodgate was open, it wouldn’t shut anytime soon, and really, he just didn’t feel like dealing with it. Instead, he resolved to stay in bed until the phone rang or it was time to head out.
Tonight would be intense, hopefully only emotionally, and he wanted to reserve what mental energy he had left. It was one thing to appreciate the sights and sounds of a new culture when there was little else to do but stay on course, but now, knowing that Rex was so close made him feel antsy. Come hell or high water, Cody would be seeing his brother in the next few hours, and he’d need to be prepared for whatever was coming.
Therein lies one of the biggest issues. Cody had no idea what he was walking into, only that they had Rex and wanted the envelope. Sure, he and his newfound companions had made some deductions based on what they knew surrounding the entire ordeal, but that was all conjecture. There was no way to truly know the kidnapper's exact motives and whether or not they were working in conjunction with Maul. What he had were hypotheses, not facts. For all Cody knew, he was on his way to meet a slew of bald, suited, and heavily tattooed jackasses. Personal feelings aside, waiting for Obi-Wan to show up and potentially act as reinforcement seemed like the wiser decision. That being said, Cody wouldn’t be waiting around forever, not when he could be doing something himself.
Cody dozed on and off, never quite going back to sleep as he ran through scenario after scenario in his mind. Occum’s razor should have kept his imaginings to a minimum, but everything had already gone to hell in a handbasket with such consistency that it would have been more surprising for everything to go according to plan. Eventually, worst-case scenarios gave way to other things as Cody found himself thinking of plotlines to new stories, new rabbit holes to fall down, each with a slightly different flavor than his usual sci-fi fare.
The hours slipped by, and eventually, the sky was beginning to burst with the colors of the falling sun, and the phone had yet to ring. Cody firmly ignored his disappointment in favor of pulling himself out of bed. He had known this was a possibility, but in spite of his best efforts, he hadn’t managed to quell the hope that it wouldn’t be the one that came to fruition. After getting dressed and collecting his things, Cody finally called the number he’d first written down in the midst of his destroyed apartment.
“Hello,” a lively voice answered after a few rings.
“This is Cody. I’m at the Hotel. Tell me how to get my brother back.” His tone was flat and icy, and he showed no hint of the tumult he was feeling inside.
“Ah, hello my friend! It sure took you long enough, what with you getting all turned around,” the voice laughed. “I’m still so confused as to how you got on that boat in Belém in the first place, but that is not a story for now. Here is what you’re going to do.” Cody wrote down the instructions he was given dutifully, gritting his teeth at the bouncing voice that gave them and imagined kicking the guy down a flight of stairs to soothe his nerves. He’d be meeting them on the upper terrace of the Lion Palace in two hours, and that is where they would make their exchange.
After an hour, Cody couldn’t take waiting anymore and made his way to the lobby to call for a taxi, though he quickly found that no taxi was needed as the rendezvous point was only a couple blocks away, and walking would be far easier. Not to mention, the streets were all closed. Cody took his leave and stepped out into the night, feeling the rapidly cooling air around him. The streets bustled with people, most of whom were heading in the same direction as Cody. Cody gazed around, noting that some passersbys were wearing elaborate hats or costumes while many others carrying pairs of wooden blocks or large hand drums. The streets were crisscrossed with hanging lines of small colorful flags waving happily in the nighttime breeze as if they were quivering with excitement in the eager atmosphere.
It didn’t take long for the crowd to thicken, pushing Cody toward the edges in order to make his way around. At some point, he had passed the center that everyone seemed to be heading for, and he started to move against the throng of people rather than with it. Cody recalled Obi-Wan telling him yesterday about the festival he was likely to see while here in São Luís, and it didn’t take a genius to put two and two together as to where everyone was headed. The crowd began to ebb again, all headed towards that unknown center, and he found himself in front of the Palace, which was decorated with its own festive fare. There was now some slight distance between him and the heart of the excitement, but it was still close enough to expel energy in all directions, the waves of it intermingling with Cody’s own anxiety.
He worked his way around the building before finding the entrance he had been told to look for, propped open with a small stone. After a brief walk through the dim hallway he found himself in a gardened area. Looking around, it became apparent that the tiered stone walls below used to be those of a fort, which had long since been replaced by the palace now at his back. Ahead, there was a steep stairway positioned along the wall leading towards the platform below it. Past that, a low wall stood at the edge and was the only protection from a steep drop into the road below. Every once in a while, a car would zoom past, echoing up the stony facade. Cody waited out the rest of his time in the garden, keeping his eyes on the multiple entrances that surrounded him and memorizing the garden's layout. He wanted to be as prepared as possible if he and Rex needed to make a break for it and subconsciously fiddled with his gifted pendant as he thought.
It was twenty minutes after the arranged two-hour time period when a group of men filed their way into the garden. Their hands were all empty, but all still sat conspicuously on their hips as Cody gripped his overly worn messenger bag closer to him. After a tense moment, the group parted to make way for someone else. Despite appearing as some sort of Jack Sparrow wannabe, the dark-skinned man entered the scene like he owned it and walked with the wide, flowing steps of someone with born confidence. His breezy attitude had something sharp behind it that was more dangerous than initial impressions would imply. As if his uncaring nature extended to the fate of everyone around him save himself. Slightly behind the swaggering man was Rex, following at an awkward pace in an attempt to keep up with the others' flowing gate. At the sight of him, Cody’s knees nearly went weak in relief, his brother looking no worse for wear. Outwardly, though, he remained stoney and stoic as they approached but couldn’t help darting glances over to briefly check Rex for any less-than-obvious injuries.
Rex, for all his capabilities, had a face that emoted at a kindergarten reading level, at least to Cody. Most of the Fett brothers had long since learned the silent language of siblinghood as entire paragraphs were communicated through microexpressions and context that had built up over a lifetime. Behind his captor's shoulder, Rex seemed to be projecting thoughts of ‘I promise I really am ok,’ ‘I hope you understood what I was trying to tell you,’ and ‘Holy shit, don’t fuck this up,’ all underlined by a palpable sense of relief.
“Good evening, Mr. Fett’s brother,” began the man in front of Rex, interrupting their seemingly psychic communication, “Allow me to introduce myself! I am Hondo Ohnaka, we spoke on the phone?” the other man seemed to joke in his unmistakable lilt. “I am sorry we must meet under these circumstances, but I assure you, Mr. Fett is as healthy as when I got him!” Behind him, Rex suppressed an exasperated expression, apparently familiar with being treated like more of a pet than a hostage. “Now, for business,” Hondo clapped to regain Cody’s wandering attention, “I assume you have my package?”
Cody didn’t hesitate to pull the envelope from his tattered bag to hold it up for the other to see. When he saw it, Hondo made a lazy gesture for Cody to hand it over. Cody paused, glancing back at Rex, but relented when he saw his brother give the barest hint of a nod.
“Now,” Hondo proclaimed once the parcel was in his hands, “let’s see what all the fuss is about, huh?”
Julia hung up the receiver after her second attempt to call the English-speaking man who had checked in so early that morning. Maria’s shift had ended a few hours ago, but she explained to her that she had promised to call his room if a man named Kenobi came and checked in. Julia was about to get onto her coworker, citing the hotel's privacy policy, but Maria explained that she didn’t have to tell the man that Kenobi was there; she just had to call. Before she could argue further, Maria began to go on about how sad the man had sounded, and she couldn’t just leave him anxiously waiting, especially if his counterpart was so close.
Maria was, undoubtedly, a hopeless romantic who had a tendency to make up lives and stories about the hotel guests as they passed through. According to her, she had already decided that the two men were world-weary lovers who had finally decided to abandon their old lives and run away together. Of course, Julia pointed out that she had no evidence for that at all, but Maria insisted that it was about the feeling rather than the accuracy of the tale. Eventually, Julia was worn down into compliance with her quixotic coworker, knowing that if she didn’t follow through, she’d never hear the end of it.
To her luck, Kenobi didn’t check in but rather asked for the man by name, which made Julia’s life a lot easier. Now, she could comply with Maria’s fanciful wishes and uphold hotel policy at the same time. She was about to be annoyed at the lack of answer, but upon asking around if anyone knew about the status of the guest in room 313, one of her other co-workers politely informed her that the man had already left. Probably to go out to the festival, as far as they could guess. After she heard this, Julia called over to the red-headed man to tell him as much. The man replied by asking them if they had any idea where his friend had been heading.
Her coworker then told him that the other had been asking for the Palácio dos Leões before she continued babbling away that she had been quick to correct him that he probably meant one of the praças if he wanted to get in on all the action. Despite her attempted correction, the man instead asked for directions to the Palácio before rushing off. The man had never bothered to check in, causing Julia to wonder if Maria maybe had part of the story correct. Perhaps the two men were staying together? Either way, she now had plenty to talk about with her friend the next time they shared an overlapping schedule.
Notes:
as someone who's worked a large fraction of their life in the service industry, gossiping about customers is like, over half of the fun
next chapter shit goes down!
Chapter 16: Lovers/Brothers/Killers/Friends
Summary:
All the players are finally at the table
Notes:
woah! two chapters in one day? what is it christmas? nah, i'm just on a roll and if i stop now who knows the next time i'll post. anyways, a lot of this chapter has some weird positioning and i'm sorry, fort layouts are just hard to describe.
ch title is from Lovers by Kiltro
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Hondo ripped into the package like a kid on Christmas. He pulled out the contents and riffled through the files in front of him. It was obvious when he finally got to the map. His giddiness was nearly audible, and Cody stood blank-faced. He had no idea how well he and Quin’s fabrication would hold up under scrutiny and just hoped that what they had put together would at least last long enough to get himself and Rex out of there. The man inspected the map closely as Rex shifted uncomfortably next to him.
“Ah-ha!” Hondo cried out, turning and pointing to Rex accusingly, locs fanning out as he spun towards the other. “You are a sneaky man, my friend,” Cody’s heart hammered in his chest as the man continued. “You said there was something that ‘looked like a map’ when, in fact, this is a map!” He said with the haughty tone of someone who had outwitted deception. Cody let out an imperceptible sigh of relief and could tell that his brother had done the same, though he could tell that his brother's anxiety still remained, alibi for reasons other than the immediate threat. Hondo continued inspecting the map with curiosity and growing excitement as he cross-referenced it to the other files he held.
Hondo then held the map out for Rex to see, and Cody could tell the exact moment his brother realized that the map was different from the one he had sent. Rex grabbed the worn paper gently and began scanning it at a rapid rate, likely trying to memorize enough of it to sell its authenticity. Cody once again became incredibly thankful for the sort of telepathic connection they had, as it was proving to have far more use than just a way of getting through their many chaotic family functions.
“So, Mr.Fett,” Hondo began, “what does this beauty lead to.” Rex’s eyes quickly cut to Cody, letting his older brother know he was about to perform some magic; the first trick being him pulling this story straight out of his ass.
“To be completely honest, I’m not sure,” Rex sighed, tone implying he was frustrated with his own lack of answers. “You looked through the files, right?”
“Yes, yes, the billionaire and his dog, what about him?” Hondo urged.
“Well, you can imagine that a man like that has many branches of influence, a lot of irons in the fire, so to say,” Rex explained. “He’s got pretty clean hands for a man that regularly deals in things like money laundering and contract killing. He's bought off several politicians too, meaning that, for all intents and purposes, the law doesn’t apply to him. I’ve been trying to triangulate this location by tracking his various accounts and shell companies. While this obviously isn't the only thing on his radar, he seems to be pouring a lot of resources and funds into this area of Amazonas.”
“And what, in your expert opinion, do you think could be there?” Hondo was looking positively feverish at the thought of what it could be.
“Like I said, I don’t know. It could be anything,” Rex said as he folded up the map and ‘reluctantly’ gave it back to Hondo. It could be drugs, artifact theft, maybe an arms depot. As far as I know, it could be anything from the Holy Grail or El Dorado.” At this, Hondo was beaming as he reopened the map to scan it again as if it would give him any more clues.
“So, what you are telling me is that this map is likely leading to treasure?” Hondo asked. Around him, his crew members looked nearly as excited as he was, already whispering their own thoughts of where it could lead to each other.
“It could,” Rex relented. The whispering among Hondo’s crew seemed to grow as each looked greedily toward the map in their captain's hands. Cody, on the other hand, mentally applauded Rex’s acting skills. If he ever decided to get out of journalism, he was sure the kid could easily make a name for himself in Hollywood, even in spite of his ugly mug.
Hondo, satisfied with his prize, shoved Rex towards Cody, causing the blond to stumble as Cody reached out and pulled him to stand slightly behind his back. With his eye’s never leaving the map Hondo called for the his crew to go prepare the ship to sail, they had treasure to hunt. Cody would almost feel bad for the man who was acting as if all his prayers had been answered and a lifelong dream had just come true. Almost being the key phrase, he thought to himself as he reached back to give his brother's arm a squeeze and assure himself he was really there.
“You are free to go, my friends! ! It was a pleasure doing business with you,” Hondo exclaimed, finally looking back up at them, causing the brothers to deflate into each other's sides.
“Fuckin’ took you long enough,” Rex said softly as he came up to stand beside him, and despite the words, his tone spoke of nothing but pure relief. Cody reached up to grab his brother in a sort of half hug before yanking him down in a headlock like he used to do when they were kids.
“I’m not the one that got kidnapped!” Cody shot back as the younger man tried fighting his way out of his grip.
“Yeah, but at least that wasn’t my fault!” Rex squawked, resorting to half-heartedly digging into his older brother's ribs and squirming. “You’re the one who got his stupid ass stuck on a boat from Belém to Manaus like an idiot. How the fuck does that even happen? Were you on drugs? Inquiring minds want to know!”
“You are so lucky I love you, you bottle-blonde bitch,” Cody replied before his little brother finally found the perfect angle to lick his arm like the child he was, making Cody let go in order to shove the other’s head away.
They were both laughing by the time Rex found his balance again, and Cody reached back out to ruffle his overgrown buzzcut. They were so caught up in the delight of seeing each other again unharmed that they both had failed to notice that Hondo had never finished walking away. It wasn’t until the other man interrupted with a tense “ah-hem” that their attention shifted back towards him simultaneously.
Hondo was standing facing away from them with his hands up in surrender, the map still tightly gripped in his hand. In front of him was Maul, holding him at gunpoint with a feral grin on his face and eyes locked on the two brothers. Behind Maul were several of Hondo’s own men with their own guns drawn. Half of them began taking their fellow crew members hostage, and it seemed the traitors outnumbered the loyalists. Many of said loyalists quickly flipped sides when it became apparent who would be the likely victor. The rest of the crew circled in closer as they aimed their guns towards Rex and Cody.
“As beautiful as it is to see a happy family reunion, it seems my crew is currently betraying me.” Hondo elaborated before tacking on as if it were an afterthought. “Oh, and this man here seems to want your attention,” Hondo concluded.
“Sorry boss,” one of the men said from the sidelines. “He offered us triple whatever you were going to pay.” At this, Hondo nodded sagely.
“Ah, at least it was for a good deal! Good to know you men can still be bought,” Hondo grinned out, seemingly unperturbed by his situation. “Wait,” he interrupted himself, “I know you!” He nodded his gesture towards Maul, “Are you really going to hold me hostage? After all I did to help you with your fear of flying? I thought we were friends!” Hondo accused.
“I am not afraid of flying, and, if anything, this is serendipitous revenge for your five-hour yammer-fest,” Maul snarled in reply. “Anyways,” he continued primly, “it isn’t you I’m here for.”
“You’re here for the map as well, then, yes? Well, a good thief knows when he’s beaten. Live to die another day, as my mother always told me,” Hondo replied as he awkwardly held out the map to Maul with his hands still held in surrender. “It’s yours, take it.”
At this, Maul holstered his gun as his newly acquired lackeys kept them all pinned in place with their own firearms. He neared closer to Hondo before suddenly whipping out a lighter, setting the map ablaze within Hondo’s grasp.
Hondo yelped, dropping the paper and watching agast as it burnt to a crisp on the ground. “What is wrong with you, you absolute lunatic!” Hondo cried as he watched his dreams of treasure burn before him. Maul then turned a hard and cold stare toward Cody and Rex, causing them both to straighten under the scrutiny. Cody once again put his own body between the threat and Rex.
“That map was worthless,” Maul explained to Hondo in a clipped tone without bothering to look away from his prey.
“What do you mean worthless?” Hondo questioned desperately as Cody’s stomach hit the floor.
“That map was worthless because it would have led to nowhere,” Maul said as he waltzed towards them. Cody was incredibly close to hitting fuck it and making a run for it with Rex in tow. “It was worthless because Fett here and his little paramour have already followed it to its conclusion and stolen whatever lay waiting at the end.”
Oh thank fuck, Cody thought to himself as he suppressed a sigh of relief, the rat-bastard had fallen for the act. As Cody was thinking this, Rex looked over to him, silently mouthing ‘paramour?’ looking positively perplexed at what the other man could mean. Cody spared him a quick look that he hoped communicated that they would talk about it later.
“So,” Maul began as he slowly closed the distance between himself and Cody. “Where is it?” Cody was starting to panic. If the other man had caught up to Obi-Wan and seen that he had nothing then the next logical assumption would have been that Cody had it. Cody could only hope that his outburst in the forest had convinced the other that he had been left empty-handed.
“I don’t know,” Cody stated, surety aided by the fact that he truly had no idea where an imaginary treasure could possibly be.
“Ah, well then,” Maul continued as Cody held his breath. “I suppose the better question would be, where’s Kenobi?”
Oh, thank Christ, Obi-Wan had done it. He had lost Maul in the chase, and the other man had no way of knowing where he was.
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Cody asked, trying to find a balance between fury and heartbreak, “he grabbed the thing and ran off right as it was coming out of the ground. I never even got to see what it was.”
“I suppose it’s just as well,” Maul replied lazily, “you are so very easy to trick.” Cody choked back his denial at the statement. As far as the other man was concerned, Cody was 0 for 2 on getting duped by strangers who earned his trust a bit too quickly. “No matter, the man’s just a thief.”
Cody took a moment to thank whatever deity that was listening that this man was so goddamn cocky. Cody was certain that if he were to look up Obi-Wan’s name online, he’d find nothing but tagged photos and academic papers. For a man with seemingly endless connections, Maul didn’t seem to be the type to check his sources.
“And,” Maul continued, "even thieves have hearts. He’ll trade whatever it is he found for you.” The way Maul said it made it seem as if everything was going exactly as planned, but at this point Cody knew better. This guy was flying by the seat of his pants, just like everyone else in this stupidly complicated situation was.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” Cody replied. God, he felt pathetic, even if it was all for show.
“You should hope, for your sake, that he will,” was Maul’s simple rebuttal. Cody was about to lose it. After going all the way around the world in order to save his kidnapped brother, he was about to get kidnapped himself. It was all so convoluted and every single person involved was only working with partial information. It was a mess in a way that only several people moving erratically in the same direction could be.
“Hey, boss?” a new voice broke in, interrupting Cody’s inner tirade and causing Maul to whip around at the same time Hondo did. “Oh, sorry,” the man apologized sheepishly, “new boss, not the old one. Jimmy says he found someone snooping around; he wants to know what you want us to do with ‘im.”
Maul growled under his breath before ordering, “Bring the intruder here. The last thing we need is another stake in this game.” The henchmen gave his newer, surlier boss a thumbs-up before speaking quietly into a small radio he kept hooked on his shoulder.
Very little could have prepared Cody for Obi-Wan to then saunter from around the far corner. His initial excitement was quickly killed, though, as it became apparent that the other man was being led forward by a gun to the back. The constant whiplash of conflicting emotions every time something happened was starting to drive Cody insane, and he once again felt ready to scream. Obi-Wan, despite his current position, seemed to be alright, if a bit scratched up. Red, angry marks seemed to drag across his arms and the sides of his face in a way that read more like he got on a tree's bad side than any intentional harm. He was still dressed in his usual swashbuckler-come-academic fare and Cody had to wonder if Obi-Wan was playing the look up. The man was still wearing his beloathed hat, something he took off at every chance he got. If the sun was not in his immediate vicinity, Obi-Wan ditched the thing posthaste.
Hands held high in surrender, Obi-Wan was somehow able to approach with the same bravado that Hondo had earlier. As if the entire situation was all a misstep in his plan that he’d be sorting out presently. As he walked forward, Maul shot Cody a smug look that seemed to exaggeratingly say ‘I told you so.’ At that point, Rex had to reach forward and grab his knuckle-headed brother’s arm to keep him from jumping the tattooed man then and there.
When Obi-Wan's lazy gaze around the garden had finally caught Cody’s, he sent a rakish smile his way. Cody didn’t bother hiding the fact that the look was enough to make him melt a little. Cody could imagine how it looked to the present outsiders: a charming conman who had so thoroughly duped his weak-willed mark that even after being betrayed, he still fell for it. Cody didn’t really care what anyone thought anymore, though; he was just happy to see the other man alive and there. The older man had never promised to meet him here, but there he stood anyway. When Obi-Wan was finally left standing in front of Maul and across from the siblings, he tilted his head slightly in greeting.
“Well, hello there,” Obi-Wan announced like he was a performer in a play, not a new-found hostage, and all Cody could do was pray that they wouldn’t end up dead.
Notes:
woah! theyre all at the same place at the same time! never thought this day would come
Chapter 17: Counting on Chaos for Lifting the Curse
Summary:
For once, everything goes perfectly. Almost.
Notes:
hey guys, we're at the end of the line! this (technically) is the last chapter of this story! there's an epilogue after this, but this is the conclusion of all that madness. also, as the chapter title implies, this is an extremely chaotic chapter. all the moving parts sort of come to a head and things that might not make sense get done anyways, we're all just going to have to suspend out disbelief a little bit and roll with it. to be fair to myself, this is about as chaotic as the actual climax of romancing the stone, except this time, instead of an actual treasure, we're just faking it 'til we make it. when this thing is really truly finished i'll likely go back and make edits and fill in some gaps i may have missed, but that's future me's problem, not mine.
also heads up, the italics in this chapter are specifically for emphasis. everyone is going to be speaking the same language here because it's already enough of a mess
ch title comes from Cumbia Peninsula by Calexico
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“Mr. Kenobi, how nice of you to join us,” Maul said as he loomed towards Obi-Wan, who was obviously biting his tongue so as not to correct his honorific to ‘Doctor.’
“Well,” he replied, “it appears the party has begun without me. I hope you can forgive my tardiness.” The sarcasm in his tone was obvious, and Cody began wondering if the entire conversation was going to be an overly-polite bitchfest between the two posturing men.
“So, where is it?” Maul asked Obi-Wan in the same faux polite tone.
“Where’s what?” Obi-Wan questioned cheekily, “Oh, the thing we dug up? Nothing but trash, I’m afraid. An empty box buried in the middle of the jungle, it seems. I suppose that dear Rex’s intel was wrong,” he said while turning to aim a bit of his roguish charm towards the man in question and Cody reached back to push Rex even further behind him in reply. It probably appeared to be an act of protection, but really, it amounted to it being weird for the guy he was kind of in love with to look at his little brother like that. “That or someone got to it before we did,” Obi-Wan finished, clearly lying.
Maul snarled in reply before quickly turning on his heel to grab Cody by the shirt collar. The ever-suited man had caught Cody off guard as he hustled him back toward the low wall that overlooked the terrace below before shoving most of Cody’s upper body over the precipice. Cody scrambled for a hold on anything, be it the wall itself or the other man, but was too afraid to truly fight back, lest he be shoved off the platform. The fall wouldn’t kill him, but it sure as shit would hurt.
“Now,” Maul said as he held Cody aloft, using his own body as a counterweight, filling almost the entirety of Cody’s line of sight with his proximity. "Let’s try again. Where is it?”
“Alright!” Obi-Wan replied frantically, arms reaching out as if he were trying to tame a lion. “I have it here, just… just let him go. He doesn’t have anything you want,” he pleaded.
Maul grinned as he yanked Cody back forward toward the steady ground and looked at Obi-Wan expectantly. The pale man gingerly reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a folded cloth, handling it delicately. Cody could only hope that whatever fabrication Obi-Wan had come up with would work. From the nestled fabric, he finally pulled out what appeared to be nothing more than a worn-looking wooden rosary. ‘Well shit,’ Cody thought.
“A rosary?” Maul ground out accusingly, impatient for an explanation.
“Well, not just ‘a rosary,’ a simple rosary wouldn’t be worth all this trouble, now would it?” Obi-Wan bluffed blithely. “In the year 1214, the now sanctified Dominic de Guzmán was visited by an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as Mary is often wont to do,” he joked to himself. “This apparition later became known as Our Lady of the Rosary as she blessed the Saint with the concept of the prayer beads.”
“Get on with it,” Maul interjected, shoving Cody a bit closer to the wall to punctuate his point.
“I’m getting to it. Have you never heard that patience is a virtue?” Obi-Wan jabbed as Cody tried to psychically berate the man for antagonizing someone who seemed keen on throwing Cody off a wall. “Saint Dominic was no woodworker; thus, it took him several tries to get it right. But when he finally had, he was left with the first-ever rosary. This rosary,” Obi-Wan said as he gestured towards the beads in his hands. “It’s so simple. Unassuming, befitting of a Saint, wouldn’t you say?”
Cody was going to die. They were all going to die. There was no way in hell these guys fell for that. Their luck had already been stretched paper thin and the thought that they could get away with this on top of it was astronomically improbable. Not to mention, Cody was about ninety percent sure that this was literally just a remixed plotline from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The map had been one thing; they had all put in effort to make it look as real as possible, but this was all too circumstantial. All of this flitted through his mind as Cody thought of every possible way this could go wrong when Rex suddenly piped up.
“Of course! Palpatine has been collecting religious artifacts for decades,” Rex supplied dramatically, once again showing a talent for ‘yes and…’ -ing his way through dangerous situations. “Not only is it priceless, it’s esoteric. Occult. He’s kept it well hidden, but the man is a fanatic. To him, every crime he commits is ordained by God because they all keep making him ludicrously rich.” Cody had never heard so much bullshit in his life. Somehow, though, when he looked over to Maul, the other man seemed to be fixated on the dangling beads in Obi-Wan’s hand. Even Hondo had his eyes glued to the so-called artifact.
“Well, then, let’s have a look,” Maul said as he extended his hand, beckoning the other man forward. Obi-Wan slowly made his way to Maul, seemingly hesitant to hand the prayer beads over. When he was finally close enough for Cody to once again count the freckles on his face, he reared back.
“Choke on it,” Obi-Wan spat at Maul as he flung the beads over the wall and onto the platform below. Chaos fell quickly as everyone, including Hondo and his men, scrambled after the rosary. Rex, Cody, and Obi-Wan all sprung into action at the same time as right now, they and Maul were the closest. The three of them seemed to be in unanimous, unspoken agreement that the rosary needed to be lost or destroyed if they ever wanted these men to be off their backs for good. If any of them found out it was a ruse, they might end up back at square one.
Maul was already there, searching for the beads in the grass around him. It was mayhem as people followed them in a clamor down the steep stairwell and attacked with little rhyme or reason other than assuring no one else got to the rosary. Someone came after each of them, and Cody could do little more than land a solid kick, sending a quiet thanks to his aunty, who had shown it to him so many years ago. Suddenly, though, the pandemonium paused as Obi-Wan stood in the din, rosary held triumphantly in hand and out over the low balustrade over the street below.
Maul pulled out a wicked-looking knife and prowled forward toward the man before him. “Hand it over now, Kenobi,” he demanded.
“I don’t think I will,” Obi-Wan said as he, once again, threw the beads over the wall. As everyone bustled to see where it had landed, a car raced down the asphalt, crushing the beads beneath its weight. Seeing this, Maul howled in rage as Hondo and his men seemed to cut their losses and began making their exit.
Maul apparently had other plans, as he grabbed Obi-Wan by his front and held the knife to his neck while backing him up against the stone balustrade. “You are going to pay for that, Kenobi,” Maul seethed, enraged, having lost the game of cat and mouse they’d been playing for only a week but what had felt like so much longer. Part of Obi-Wan panicked as deep-seated habits of fleeing and freezing in the face of danger began to rear their ugly heads.
As Cody began to run over to help Obi-Wan, there was a sudden shift as the captive man shoved back and spun away, causing a thin, red line to well up on the side of his neck. As they turned, Maul wobbled, off-kilter at the sudden change in position, before hitting the low wall behind him, tumbling off and over the edge. Rex and Cody ran up to look over where Obi-Wan stood agape and could only see the body of the man on the ground, legs splayed and blood beginning to trickle beneath him. They all stood in shock as they stared over the edge when a shout rang out from the terrace above.
“Police," Rex interrupted their daze, "we gotta go." The three men made for the door nearest to them on the lower platform and breathed a sigh of relief at seeing it propped open as well. It appeared the kidnapping crew had planned ahead and didn’t want to be trapped in case they ended up on the lower level. They could still hear the stamping of boots echoing behind them when they made their way up and out of the building. They all kept running towards the plaza where the night's festivities were in full swing. Without a second thought, they all dove into the crowd.
The throng of people was packed tight, and Cody made sure to hold onto Rex so as not to lose him. All around them, lights flashed in every direction as glittery apparel caught and redirected it back into itself—an ouroboros of glimmer. Big feathered hats and ornate bull costumes cut through the crowd, pushing those around them to the side and forcing people even closer together as they rocked and danced in time to the distorted music being pumped out through unseen speakers. Cody, Rex, and Obi-Wan made their way through this new flavor of chaos when the world suddenly exploded in noise. Singing and hitting hand drums in time with the wooden blocks being smacked together, the sound thundering through Cody’s head, overwhelming him to the point of discombobulation as his mind tried catching up.
Cody hadn't noticed he’d stopped moving until he felt an arm he was holding reverse their grip in order to drag him out of the fray. Cody felt dizzy with the overload, and when they finally exited the crowd, it felt like a vice had been loosened from around his chest. Once he was able to properly process what was happening, Cody noticed that Rex was still dragging him along, and they kept moving until they were almost all the way back to the Grand São Luís Hotel.
When they stopped to catch their breath, Cody took a look at his little brother, seeing him outside of the context of being kidnapped for the first time. Without thinking, Cody wrapped Rex in a proper hug, squeezing him tight to assure himself he was still there. After all this time, he finally had his little brother back. When they parted, Cody began looking around to ask Obi-Wan if he was alright, but the taller man was nowhere to be seen.
“Wait, where’s Obi-Wan?” Cody asked while trying to spot him somewhere behind them. Even with a bit of distance between the crowd, he still had to speak up to be heard over the din.
“Kenobi?” Rex loudly questioned back before looking around the area himself. “Shit, we probably lost him in the crowd,” causing Cody to groan and rub his eyes with the balls of his hands.
“How did we lose him? He’s the most conspicuous man on this side of the goddamn equator,” Cody asked incredulously, more to himself than anyone else. Given the context of what was going on, that being elaborately adorned merrimaking, he really wasn’t, but Cody thought his point still stood. It didn’t matter though. And, with the way things had been playing out, Cody was sure he’d see the other again sooner rather than later. He and Rex made their way back into the hotel and up to Cody’s room. After a brief argument with no real heat behind it, it was decided that they would be leaving as soon as possible. Not just the hotel but the country. Rex was over it and desperately wanted to get back to somewhere familiar as soon as physically possible, and Cody was in no place to argue. He knew for a fact that the blond's apartment back in Belém was worse off than his own in the States. Even if it wasn't, wanting to go home after an ordeal, especially if it got you out of the place where the ordeal happened, he couldn't deny his brother the comfort. It took Rex no time at all to find plane tickets, leaving at an absurd time, obviously, to get them back home.
It didn’t take long for Cody’s meager bag to be packed, and soon, he was checked out and back on the move. It wasn’t until the brothers were halfway to the airport that the adrenaline they had both been running off of began to crash. Cody struggled not to nod off right onto his brother's shoulder, and the other seemed to be in a similar state.
“So,” Rex began tiredly, breaking the silence, “you hit that?” dark eyebrows doing something ridiculous as he asked. With almost no time between the question and Cody’s lack of reply paired with his no doubt beet-red face, Rex started cracking up in exhausted hysterics. “I don’t blame you, Codes. I mean, really, who wouldn’t,” he said between fits of laughter while Cody stewed quietly. “I always kind of objectively knew he’d be hot, but knowing and knowing are two very different things.”
“I didn’t fuck him,” Cody defended himself as Rex only laughed at his sour expression harder.
“Well, you should have. That guy can get it,” Rex replied as Cody reached up to shove a hand in his brother's face, his own still aflame.
“Why did I come to Brazil to rescue you again?” Cody asked.
“Because you love me,” he laughed before sobering up a bit. “And you’re the only one I trusted. Not only to come here and save me but to make sure what was really in that envelope didn’t go to the wrong people. Using your nosiness for the power of good,” he said lightly, but the underlying wariness spoke to the veracity of the statement. Cody’s heart melted a bit at the sentiment, assured that he’d done the right thing, but, of course, Rex didn't know how to let a good thing lie. “Plus, you have no life, so I knew you wouldn’t be busy.” Rex began laughing again as Cody sputtered that he did, in fact, have a life, thank you very much. God, little brothers were such pains. Cody would need to go annoy Fox to bring some balance back into the universe.
“Did you at least get his number?”
Cody blanched and smacked himself in the face at the oversight. He hadn’t gotten the other man's number, not even so much as an email, for that matter. They’d spent the past week attached at the hip, meaning it had never even crossed Cody’s mind to ask for it. He’d always been able to communicate by simply looking over. Rex had yet to shut up as he took in Cody’s distress at his own lack of forethought, continuing to rib him as he reached over to pat Cody on the back.
Whatever. Cody doubted that there would be an excess of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s in the world; he’d find him soon enough. Cody still needed to knock his lights out for ditching him in the middle of the goddamn Amazon rainforest and maybe tell the idiot that he loved him. Right now, though, he was going to get on this inevitably multi-stop flight and get the fuck back home so he could sleep for a week.
The first thing Maul noticed was the sound of steady beeping and the smell of antiseptic. When he opened his eyes, it was to a nurse fussing over him, griping about something or another that Maul couldn’t really understand. Everything ached, and he felt like he’d been hit by a truck. Or thrown from a high terrace. The nurse got his attention as she held a small cup of water with a pink bendy straw angled towards his face. When he tried to reach up and grab the cup himself, his hands were lightly smacked away.
Looking down, he saw both of his legs elevated in full casts. Once his brain had somewhat come back online, Maul asked if anyone here spoke Spanish because he truly didn’t have the mind to parse out Portuguese at the time. The nurse seamlessly switched languages and explained to Maul that he was a João Pessoa that they’d found half-dead on the sidewalk next to the road. His legs had been severely broken, and rods had been placed to try and stabilize them. If he walked again, it’d never be the same, and there was a chance that he’d one day have to get them amputated if they didn’t heal properly.
Maul looked at the ceiling, wondering to himself why he hadn’t just died, but quickly kicked the thought to the curb. He survived because he was just that damn stubborn, and he’d move around freely again, even if it meant losing the limbs. He also quickly realized that it was that his employer likely believed that he had died in the fall. At the thought, Maul felt something he hadn’t felt in years, manic laughter bubbling up out of him with little effort to hold it back. He was free. He was
free
. The dead had no debts to pay, and
he was free
. By the time he was finished, his cheeks were wet, and his face hurt, but he ignored it in favor of daydreaming about all the life that may now lie ahead of him.
Notes:
we did it kids! that's a wrap (except for the epilogue of course) i don't think i mentioned it last chapter but i absolutely adore writing the interactions between cody and rex. really the true sibling bond of "i would die for you but get the fuck out of my face" not to mention i had written a lot of this almost a year ago now and coming back to their dialogue genuinely made me crack up, and dear readers, i am the only audience member that matters here.
also in case it wasn't abundantly clear, the whole story about the rosary beads is total bullshit. the dates and story about the saint and our lady of the rosary is a real story from Dominican tradition but that is largely believed to be more legend than anything else. the first rosary would likely have been some sort of rope with a series of knots tied in it (and 100% not buried somewhere in the amazon)
it also might seem weird to end on maul, but hear me out. despite maul being the main antagonist here, he was really just another pawn to a far more powerful man (you know, like in canon). there is a deeper point to be made here though. when talking about illegal gold mining as we have been, or even other forms of criminal organization or resource extraction, it's important to remember that, despite still being culpable, many people are just trying to survive. it's hard to care about environmental fallout or impacted communities when you're just trying to put food on the table. there's a balance between empathy and justice that i think must be met. maul, while still a shitty guy who enjoyed terrorizing our main characters, was still a victim of exploitation himself. the greatest villain here was the billionaire palpatine who perpetuated all of this while never actually being present during the ordeal.
now for my favorite part! the festival that they get caught up in is São João and as is mentioned earlier, São Luís' 'sotaque' or "accent" is very distinct. it's part of why i chose it as their final destination. while i haven't been to this area specifically (all of my festa junina experiences have been in Pará) i just thought this sotaque was so cool! please check out these sick ass videos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UHjHw5NEy4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8zpqDiKlRk
and just for fun, here is the (sort of) parallel event 'Pavulagem' in Belém
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhvlXSnhTuk
Chapter 18: Epilogue: Maybe It’s As Strange As It Seems
Summary:
And they all live happily ever after
Notes:
fuck the recife airport, all my homies hate the recife airport
ch title is from the same song as the work title: talk of the town by jack johnson
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
A year (and some change) later
Cody sat across from Fox as the man glanced over his latest draft. Cody’s last book had done incredibly well in the few months since it had been published, and he was relieved that his decision to keep General Kimo alive had been met with overwhelming positivity. A part of him had worried that people would accuse him of failing to commit to keeping a character dead like so many other series authors had a tendency to do, but the worry hadn’t been necessary. He felt that he was in a comfortable enough place to take a bit of a hiatus, which, for him, meant that the next book in the series would be coming out in two years instead of one.
“This is different for you,” Fox said as his eyes scanned the document that Cody had sent the previous night at some godawful hour. “And it’s almost done? Already?”
“Yep,” Cody said, popping the p as he said it. He reached up to idly fiddle with the little frog that still hung around his neck. It had rarely been removed since he first put it on, and the habit of idly reaching for it had stuck.
“You think you’ll be able to stop at just one book? You generally aren’t the type to be satisfied with a stand-alone book,” Fox said, looking at Cody expectantly.
“I think it’s wrapped up neatly,” Cody replied. “No need to add anything to it, I think.”
“Do you want to publish under the same name? I mean, it’s quite a shift from sci-fi to magical realism, isn’t it? When people see your name, they have an expectation going in, not that that’s a bad thing, mind you,” Fox reasoned. "But I don’t want that expectation to hold this book back from living up to its potential.”
“I’ll do whatever you think is best,” Cody relented as Fox tilted his head agreeably. “You thought it was alright?”
“Alright? It’s incredible,” Fox asserted. He wasn’t the type of person to hand out empty compliments and was more likely to nit-pick even if he liked something. When he said these types of things, he meant it. “I mean, you’ve always been a great writer, but this is something that’ll put you in a different league. Some real Toni Morrison-level shit in there,” Fox shot back.
“Aw, Fox, you’re making me blush,” Cody returned, trying not to get flustered by the praise. The man had read countless books from scrap idea to press, so, coming from him and his surly blunt personality, the words worked to make Cody feel all the more proud of his new creation.
The two men wrapped up their meeting and made plans to grab drinks and catch up on the next Saturday before Cody hugged his brother, thanking him for his help. Fox replied that he wasn’t doing it for free and that if Cody sprung another, almost completed draft on him within the next five months, he’d have him committed. Cody laughed as he left, knowing that Fox would absolutely make good on that promise. He pulled his hoodie around him tighter as he walked briskly through the evening air. Fall was edging ever closer, and soon, he’d have to break out his more substantial coats, but for now, the chill was welcome in the wake of the August heat.
When Cody got back to his apartment, he slung his new bag down and made his way to the kitchen. His old one had a good run, but at some point during the summer, it all but disintegrated while he was on the subway. Cody had mourned its loss for all of five minutes before going to find a new one with arms full of notes, pens, and whatever other junk he’d been carrying with him at the time. Once he was in the kitchen, he pulled down a bowl to make himself some Lucky Charms, reasoning any time was cereal time if you just didn’t care enough, and he’d missed lunch anyway, so really, this was the right move. As he ate, he also went through the motions of making a half-pot of coffee before munching away on his late-afternoon breakfast. As Cody put his bowl in the sink, he heard the door open with a flurry of motion, the clatter of the dish and whatever had just fallen into his apartment singing in a sort of discordant harmony.
“In here,” Cody called from the kitchen as he pulled two mugs down and began distributing the now steaming coffee between the two of them—his black and Obi-Wan’s with more cream and sugar than coffee. The man in question was already snaking up behind him in order to rest his chin briefly on Cody’s shoulder as he went about making each cup. After knocking his head into Cody’s like some sort of overgrown cat, Obi-Wan detached himself so he could reach around and grab his mug. At some point over the past few months, the mug adorned with an extremely disappointed-looking frog creature became his mug, and Cody could always tell the man was just a little bit more satisfied when his beverage of choice was served from it. After a quiet thanks, the man in question backed away in order to stand across from Cody, leaning against the countertop as he took a sip.
“Classes any better this week?” Cody asked conversationally as he took in his partner’s appearance. Obi-Wan was a lot less scruffy now that he wasn’t in the field. Cody liked the man in whatever form he came in but he’d always have a soft spot for the heartthrob from the latest greatest adventure romantic comedy look he’d been sporting when they first met. Now, in front of him, he could tell the other man had been going for ‘stuffy professor,’ but really, the man was too much of a mess for the ‘stuffy’ part to stick. Alas, it only made the older man look all the more charming, much to his own chagrin.
“Oh God no,” Obi-Wan replied in exasperation. “It’s only the second week of classes, and I’ve already been propositioned twice. One of them wanted to know if it could count as extra credit, which is absurd on several levels. First of which being that I very clearly laid out my extra credit policy in the syllabus!” Cody could only laugh at the other's misfortune as he talked. Knowing Obi-Wan, he only wanted to talk about his favorite things for multiple hours a week to an audience that couldn’t run away.
“Well, can’t say I blame them,” Cody teased. “I mean, if I was taking some intro course to fill a credit only for you to walk in I think I’d give up on learning anything immediately.”
“Well, you might not blame them, but I do!” he replied in turn, lightly kicking Cody’s shin in mock offense. “I’ll have you know that I’m very happily taken and also, more importantly, their professor, ” Obi-Wan quipped back.
“I’m sure it’ll pass,” Cody assured. He didn't know that it actually would. He hadn't been kidding when he said he probably wouldn’t be faring much better if he was in those poor students' shoes, but that was the last thing the ginger man would want to hear. “Worst case, you can just show them that one video of you, drunk off your ass and very loudly explaining how much you love your boyfriend. To me, you know, your boyfriend,” Cody offered, causing both of them to giggle like schoolchildren at the memory.
“I hate to say it, but I honestly think that would only make it worse,” Obi-Wan replied. “But you’re right; I’m sure they’ll straighten out once they realize that the only thing I’m interested in is how well they understand practice theory as far as they’re concerned. Plus, none of this can be any worse than getting my bell rung by the love of my life in the middle of the Recife airport,” Obi-Wan said, grinning over at Cody.
“You really aren’t going to let that go, are you?” Cody replied like they didn’t have this conversation every other week. “You know I did that because you hip-tossed me in the middle of the goddamn Amazon and left me to get back to Manaus by myself. Also, I needed you to know that I keep my promises,” Cody huffed.
“That you do, my dear,” Obi-Wan relented, looking at Cody like he hung the moon and stars. How, after over a year of knowing each other, Obi-Wan could still make Cody feel as flustered as a teen asking his crush to prom would forever remain a mystery. At that look, Cody felt like he could melt right into the floor and did the only thing he could think to do to save himself by reaching out and shoving his hand in the other's face to get him to stop making Cody’s brain go stupid. Obi-Wan, being the secret child he was, licked Cody’s palm in defense, making Cody yelp as he wiped the spit all over the arm of the guilty party’s blazer and took the opportunity to situate himself closer to the other man.
“Yeah, well, you’re lucky Rex didn’t pull his phone out fast enough to video it. Could have made a meme out of that whole encounter,” Cody teased from his new place at the taller man's side.
“Including the kissing part?”
“Especially the kissing part,” both of them fell into fits of laughter.
“You know, the university has approached me about perhaps starting a study abroad program down there,” Obi-Wan said after they had quieted a bit.
“Obi-Wan, I swear to God if you try to put me back on a boat, I’m leaving your ass, and I’m taking the kids,” Cody threatened emptily as Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around Cody’s middle placatingly.
“I wouldn’t dream of doing such a thing, my dear,” he replied in a tone that made it abundantly clear that the older man absolutely would do such a thing. Cody groaned at the prospect but eventually admitted to himself that if he had to be stuck on a boat with anyone, it’d be Obi-Wan.
The two of them continued conversing through the night as Obi-Wan excitingly explained the latest article he’d read and the possible implications it had for his own research. In return, the other man listened as Cody laid out his rough ideas for the plot of the next book in the Void Strife series and all the loose ends he needed to start tying together. The subject of their siblings came up as well, as they were both now fully roped into the other's family gossip. Fox was grumpy as ever and, somewhere along the line, Obi-Wan had decided that the eldest of the Fetts should meet Quinlan, thinking they would balance each other out. He felt certain that the two would either kill each other on the spot or fall in love instantly, and that was a bet he was willing to make. Cody, however, vehemently disagreed. On the surface, while the latter option felt more likely, Cody knew his older brother had a not-so-secret mischievous side, and the fallout of pairing him with Quin would be devastating.
Rex was back in the field, of course. It seemed that some light kidnapping would not be enough to stop him on his crusade for truth, justice, and whatever the opposite of the American way was. He and Obi-Wan were still in regular contact, sharing resources and contacts back and forth with ease, though their interactions were now a little less professional as they became actual friends. Cody was also glad to have another person on his side calling out Rex’s more dangerous plans for what they were, that being stupid. Rex had also recently told the couple that he had run into Hondo while snooping around the docks in Belém, and his former kidnapper was now acting as an eager informant. It turns out that the upbeat criminal still held a bit of a grudge against the men who spoiled his treasure hunt and decided that the enemy of his enemy was someone to pester constantly.
Obi-Wan, on the other hand, told Cody about how Anakin’s therapy had been going and how proud he was of his little brother for taking it in stride and working on himself. Not that he had told the punk as much, being afraid that the teen would find it patronizing and didn’t want to hamper any of the progress the young man had made. Cody countered that encouragement might be exactly what the kid needed, and they workshopped some ways that Obi-Wan could go about expressing it. Anakin also seemed to be taking after their new little sister. Cody hadn’t met the little gremlin yet but had seen enough pictures to know the kid was precious. After being shown a video of the little one swinging her newly braided hair around, each sound of the beaded ends clacking together, making her burst into a fit of giggles, had made Cody contemplate how hard it would be to steal her to raise as his own, even if she was a biter.
At some point in the evening, they remembered that they both needed to eat and called for takeout. Obi-Wan could actually cook but was banned from the kitchen until he learned that electrical tape wasn’t an acceptable way of treating cuts and/or burns. The first time the man had accidentally cut himself while chopping vegetables, Cody watched in horror as the man did nothing but rinse his hand before wrapping the wound in the plastic-y tape and continuing on like nothing had happened. That was the same day Cody found out that tape, be it medical, duct, or electrical, was Obi-Wan’s go-to answer to wound care of all types. Cody remembered spending what felt like hours reiterating that, no, it wasn’t the same as if he had gotten gauze or a bandaid, and yes, he should go to the doctor if he needed stitches, and no, super glue was not the same thing. The man was from a country with free healthcare; why was he like this?
They ate and attempted to work on their respective projects, which they were able to do for all of about an hour before calling it quits for the day. Whenever Cody had thought of what being in love would be like, really like, he’d always hoped that it would be something like this. Yes, everyone wrote stories of grandiose moments with epic declarations of love. Stories marked by incredible highs and unspeakable lows. And yes, Cody and Obi-Wan had those moments, but truly, they were few and far between. Reality was more subtle in its peaks and valleys, and Cody really preferred it that way. He and Obi-Wan were their own people, with their own internal lives and aspirations that they would neither let go of nor expect the other to. What they’d both gained with each other, though, was someone to accompany them along the way. To live out their individual lives beside each other. It’s more than Cody would have ever asked for.
Eventually, they both realized how late it had gotten and decided that Obi-Wan should stay the night rather than make the trek back to his own apartment. Obi-Wan’s six-month lease would be up soon, and Cody reminded himself to bring up the idea of forgoing its renewal. The other man spent more nights at Cody’s than he ever did at his own place, and paying rent for a place he hardly lived in would just be silly. It also didn’t hurt that Cody liked having the guy around.
Getting ready for bed was an easy affair of tranquil routine as they danced around each other in unhurried syncopation. Obi-Wan was already sitting on the bed when Cody moved past him to get onto his own side closest to the window when the other’s hands shot out, grabbing him and pulling him into his arms. Cody turned in the embrace to look down at Obi-Wan, who was back to looking back up at Cody as if he had hand-painted every sunset. Despite how regularly he was on the receiving end of that gaze, it never lost its potency and never failed to make Cody’s chest so full of emotion that he wasn’t sure his heart could take it. This time, though, rather than defuse the overpowering feeling as he’d done before, Cody let it wash over him and allowed himself to sit in the enthralling feeling of being overwhelmed. Affect and all that jazz, he thought to himself.
Obi-Wan unwound one of his arms in order to reach up and fiddle with the little frog that sat, still dangling from Cody’s neck, before using it to gently pull Cody down into a deep and steadfast kiss, which was eagerly returned. It ebbed and flowed as the hungry thrill of closeness gave way to effortless adoration, with its only intention being that they wanted to and that they could. Cody couldn’t tell how long he stood there, caught in Obi-Wan’s orbit just as the other was caught in his. When they finally broke apart, smiling at each other in a daze, they let the moment sit before deciding to actually try and get some sleep. Since Cody was already by the bed and felt no desire to leave his partner's warm embrace, he simply fell atop the other and rolled over him to get to his side of the bed while Obi-Wan made an exaggerated wheeze at the movement, never bothering to release his hold of the other.
As he drifted to sleep, still caught in his lover’s arms, Cody thought back to the first time this had happened over a year ago and all of the events that had brought them here. The long stretches of absolutely nothing that were quickly followed by everything that could possibly happen, doing so in an instant. Cody knew how memory worked. That each time you remembered something, a part of it would warp and change forever, but the impressions that they left ran deep and wouldn’t be so easily changed by the act of remembrance. Time had passed since the misadventure that had brought them together, and he had slept since then. The edges of his memory started to blur as it is often wont to do, but the feeling of what it had left behind still stood stark behind his eyes. He knew that even as the cold gusts of air would soon start overtaking the city, there was someplace and some time where it was too damn hot to think, and he knew that he’d be wrapped up with Obi-Wan there too.
Notes:
this is really the end! it's finally over! thank you all so much for reading and giving this wacky au the time of day. this is my first ever fanfic and as much as i consume them it was a totally different labor of love to write one myself. i began writing this after my first stint in brazil when it was still uncertain if i'd ever come back and the combination of reverse culture shock and vivid memory drove me to finally put pen to paper (or more accurately, fingers to keys). i love star wars and romancing the stone is one of my comfort movies so getting my feelings out to both really helped me a lot. i also want to say that more than romance or global commentary, this fic is my first (of likely many) love letters to brazil. it's a place like any other, full of both pressing issues and vibrant culture, but after the past few years i've come to see it as my home away from home and each time i come back i am a different iteration of the person i was before.
thank you all again for your kudos, comments and kind words. it did more than just encourage me to finish this thing but also kept me going when i was agonizing over the writing of my thesis and all of the other work i've been doing since then. i love you all for real and if you want to come bother me or say hi, you can find me @ anthrogenerate on tumblr :)
that's all folks!
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