Office #8, Friday

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan had been careful not to move too much into his office, if simply because he had had little idea if he'd be staying for another semester. But his decision on that had now been made, and he could now spend the last day of this semester organizing the few items that had made it in here.

He'd be rifling through paperwork for most of the day, occasionally stopping to make notes for future consideration.

Perhaps he should bring some more light to the room. Add something that could boil water. And move in some instruction manuals for future classes. That would be useful.

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[sith_happened]

"You were always the one who got along with the animals," Anakin said, "and I just wanted to make sure you were really all right. You know, away from students."

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan let out a little sigh. "Age has not made you any less persistent," he said.

He didn't sound like he was sure that was a good thing.

"I'm fine."

Age hadn't made him less stubborn, either.

[sith_happened]

Anakin closed the door and then glared at the squirrels until they scampered off.

"You're sure."

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan let out a sigh. "I've only said so repeatedly for the past several days," he said.

Well, yes, but you were also basically the progenitor of the now-ancient Skywalker family definition of 'I'm fine'.

[sith_happened]

"And I've had other family members use 'I'm fine' with me after trying to walk off other major emotional beatings and I didn't buy it from them, either," Anakin pointed out.

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I will be fine," he amended.

[sith_happened]

"Better," Anakin said with a small smile.

[saddeserthermit]

"It was a bit of a shock," Obi-Wan severely understated. "Though one that I should have predicted."

[sith_happened]

"All right, I'll bite," Anakin said. "How could you have predicted your girlfriend would show up?"

[saddeserthermit]

"She was not my girlfriend," Obi-Wan sighed. "But if I had known such events happened... well, Master Qui-Gon would have been the other obvious option."

Also known as the other half of team Obi-Wan Has Enormous Maul Issues.

[sith_happened]

"Would that have been better or worse?" Anakin asked, frowning in concern.

[saddeserthermit]

"I'm not honestly sure," Obi-Wan admitted. "Qui-Gon may have caused more of a ruckus around here, at any rate."

[sith_happened]

"Well, from what I remember, he enjoyed that," Anakin replied.

[saddeserthermit]

"He certainly did, especially in our last years," Obi-Wan said. He sighed. "But that feels like so much of another time, doesn't it?"

[sith_happened]

Anakin nodded. "An entirely different era."

[saddeserthermit]

"And yet felled by the same Sith," Obi-Wan said.

To be fair, Maul's enormous hate-on for Obi-Wan in the wake of that had led to Satine's death.

[sith_happened]

Anakin frowned. "He was a Sith, Obi-Wan. Vengeance and hatred were kind of his thing."

[saddeserthermit]

"I'm aware, Anakin," Obi-Wan said mildly. "I just wonder how many tragedies could have been averted had the first moments of that battle with Darth Maul gone very differently." A pause. "But I shouldn't linger on that."

[sith_happened]

"If it had gone very differently, you would have been dead," Anakin said, "and there's no way that would have been a net positive for the galaxy."

[saddeserthermit]

"The will of the Force had its reasons," Obi-Wan said, his mouth quirking briefly. "But I will miss Satine. That is what you wanted to hear, isn't it?"

[sith_happened]

"Yes," Anakin said, nodding. "And I'm sorry for your loss."

[saddeserthermit]

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said. "Though let me underscore that she was not my girlfriend."

Repetition might get that notion through Anakin's ferrocrete skull, surely?

[sith_happened]

Anakin waved his hand. "Unrequited love interest?"

[saddeserthermit]

Obi-Wan sighed. "I'll settle for it."

[sith_happened]

"I saw how you were looking at each other," Anakin said, "I don't have the 'Obi-Wan could never' blinders from my Padawan days any more."