Chapter Text
“If I may, Master Windu.” Obi-Wan speaks up before the Council meeting is dismissed, “I believe this is a learning opportunity for my Padawan. He has shown great advancement in his classes and he is the only one his age who has not left the Temple on a Master-Padawan assignment off-planet.”
Mace Windu kept his gaze steady on Obi-Wan. It was common knowledge that the Master of the Order still held many reservations in regards to Anakin’s place in the Jedi Order. However, he was one to trust facts. And facts spoke of great commitment on Skywalker’s side. With a sigh Windu lowered his gaze. “The Council will allow Padawan Skywalker to accompany you. I don’t have to remind you, Master Kenobi, that this is a very delicate assignment, so keep an eye on your student.”
Obi-Wan nodded, the perfect image of a respectful member of the Order. As soon as the meeting was deemed done he stepped out of the room and started his way back to the shared quarters where he and Anakin lived in the Temple. Anakin should be back from his afternoon classes by now. The sun was just starting to set over the horizon of Coruscant.
As he stepped into his living quarters Obi-Wan couldn’t help the grimace at the state of the place. Living with Anakin was… difficult. The boy was always doing something , could never stay still for more than a short while, and it reflected on their shared spaces. While Obi-Wan’s room was perfectly organized and clean, with the bed always done, the floors and windows clean, Anakin’s room was the definition of messy. Anakin had dozens of tech and droid parts scattered everywhere . The Jedi Master would not dare step barefooted into his students room out of fear of injury.
“Anakin.” Obi-Wan called as he took off his outer cloak, hanging it on the back of a chair for the time being. Said Padawan was sitting on the common area’s floor where a perfectly good couch was available. The boy’s posture sent a twinge of pain down Obi-Wan’s back. He had just recently turned 30 and yet his body already felt every bit like an old man’s. “Sit up straight, would you? If you’re going to obsess on another one of your projects, at least be mindful of your spine, young one.”
Anakin scoffed a little but did as he was told, straightening up. Still, his hands continued to fidget on whatever machinery he was “improving”. His words, not Obi-Wan’s.
“I see my presence is rather unimportant to you right now, so I will keep the details of my meeting with the Council to myself.” Obi-Wan sat on the couch, one leg crossed over the other as he grabbed the datapad from the nearby table.
The moment the words sank into the teenager’s brain he dropped what he was doing and stood up quickly, closing the distance between himself and his master in two long strides. He’s growing so quickly , Obi-Wan couldn’t help but think as the shadow of his Padawan covered him.
“What did they say? Are they gonna let me go with you? I’m ready, Master! It’s so unfair that I’m the only Padawan my age who hasn’t left the Temple. Aayla has been going on assignments with her Master for ages!” Anakin rambled on and on. He had grown frustrated over the past few months as all his agemates left on their own adventures with their masters while he remained in the Temple, watching Obi-Wan come and go.
Obi-Wan sighed. His padawan could sometimes be too much, although he had to admit even he had grown tired of the Council’s lack of faith in Anakin. But, that didn’t mean he couldn’t mess with Anakin a little more. It was fair taking into account everything the boy put him through since stepping into his teen years.
“I will be going to Keladar’s capital city in two days. There is an ongoing treaty negotiation and they’ve requested the Order’s help.” Obi-Wan replied, eyes focused on the datapad in his hands as he swiped through the pages of a document. He didn’t need to see his padawan’s face to imagine his frown.
“What? I thought you said you were going to talk to them! It’s not fair! They’re keeping me in here like I’m some kind of wild animal!” Anakin began, ready to start ranting as he was so fond of lately. Damn teenage years. As Obi-Wan was not in the mood and, honestly, didn’t want to rile up his student anymore he lifted his hand to quiet the boy.
“If you would let me finish, my very calm Padawan,” He teased, “I was about to say that Keladar’s is a frigid planet, much too similar to Illium.” And with a smirk, he finally looked up to meet his Padawan’s gaze. “So be sure to pack your own parka because I will not be giving you mine if you forget.”
The reaction was immediate, Anakin was practically jumping on the walls the next second, his project left abandoned in the middle of the floor much to Obi-Wan’s disliking. “Finally!” His student yelled as he ran into his room and Obi-Wan just knew he was already packing his bag.
With a fond sigh and a gentle smile the Jedi Master turned on the datapad again and continued reading.
…
Keladar sucked. Anakin hadn’t hated Illium as much as he was hating Keladar right now. At least going to Illium meant he got to build his lightsaber. Coming to Kaladar meant sitting in a boring meeting listening to boring people talk about boring things like defining borders and agreeing on people’s rights.
Which, okay. Yeah, he knew it was important. He would have given anything to have this sort of conversation happen in Tatooine, to have someone fighting for the rights of slaves. But he was hoping his first mission would be more exciting! He couldn’t go back to the Temple and boast to Aayla about sitting in a room with a bunch of old people. The only good thing until now was that Obi-Wan was too busy with effectively leading the negotiations between the factions to be his usual critical self.
Ever since they arrived two days ago, his master has spent every moment awake speaking to someone, trying to find some common ground. Anakin respected his Master’s dedication, it was hard work and he could see how much it drained Obi-Wan. But he wanted more. He wanted action, he wanted to go somewhere and finally get to fight someone. He had been training for it.
“Anakin, if you’re going to continue grumbling like an angry tooka please do it in your own room.” Obi-Wan complained from where he sat at the table of their assigned quarters. He was hunched over a bunch of papers and datapads all containing the progress of the negotiations.
“I’m not grumbling.” Anakin muttered as he let himself fall on the couch with a long and heavy sigh. His master simply rolled his eyes, hands massaging his temples as he continued reading. Soon enough, Anakin’s leg began twitching. He was full of energy and this was the worst mission to be sent on ever in the history of the Jedi Order.
“Anakin.” Obi-Wan spoke up again, tense and cold. He had his eyes closed, documents forgotten. “Go to your room and meditate. I have enough to do right now to be worrying about you sulking right now.”
Anakin realized he had been projecting his boredom and frustration into the force bond he shared with Obi-Wan. While it may have been his fault, and while Obi-Wan might have not deserved it, he couldn’t stand the tone his master used.
“I’m not sulking!” He spit back, standing up from the couch. “And even if I was there’s nothing else I can do! There’s nothing to do here! Everything is just politics and talking and arguing and there’s nothing interesting happening!”
“Being a Jedi is not about doing interesting stuff, young one.” Obi-Wan replied, fighting hard to not overreact to his Padawan’s antics. “It’s more than swinging your lightsaber at every and any moving thing.”
“Don’t call me young one! I hate it when you do it! I’m not a child, Obi-Wan.” Anakin replied, hands flying up as he threw his head back and groaned.
“You are acting like one, throwing a tantrum.” Obi-Wan stood up from where he sat, one hand massaging his neck. “I suggest you go to your room and try to reign in your childish attitude, Padawan. I’m busy as it is to have to listen to your incessant complaining when you were the one begging to come on a off-planet mission.”
“That was before I realized how much it sucks being a Jedi!” Anakin spat in his master’s face. “I hate it and I hate you!”
Obi-Wan’s shock traveled into their bond like a small ripple that was lost in the furious waves of Anakin’s own emotions. And so the Padawan failed to see the hurt in his master’s eyes.
Before Obi-Wan could get a word out Anakin was already walking out the door of their quarters, his parka forgotten where it sat discard across the couch.
Obi-Wan thought of going after Anakin, of grabbing the cold protecting clothing and running after his Padwan. He knew how much Anakin hated the cold, and was affected by it, coming from a dessert planet. He walked to the couch, grabbing the padded parka, his hand running through the fur on the hood.
He set it down. He had too much work to do, a lot of reading to finish before he could go to sleep for the night and as much as he hated it, he couldn’t simply drop his duty as a Jedi to go after his dramatically rebellious Padawan.
In hindsight, storming out of the only place Anakin knew in the entire planet, without any sort of climate appropriate clothing into the freezing night of an ice planet was… not the best move. But he’d be damned if he was going back for his parka. If he was being honest all his anger had melted away into embarrassment the moment he stepped outside the room. He knew he was being petty. He knew he was being unfair to Obi-Wan, who had probably defended him to the Council so he could come on this mission.
He was just tired of being treated like a useless child. He thought this would be his chance to show everyone in the Order what he could, what he could accomplish if they just let him. He thought… he thought he could make Obi-Wan proud.
But nothing had gone like he’d planned. He didn’t have a say in any of the negotiations. He wasn’t there as part of the team. He was a simple tag along, meant to be silent and follow his Master’s instructions
Lost in his head, Anakin had wandered through the building their quarters were in. It was a ground level building, only one floor as the planet often experienced long lasting snowstorms with strong winds that would often lift rocks or debris that would damage anything taller than two floors.. The doors opened automatically as Anakin neared them. He couldn’t see anything beyond a few meters, the whole outside was dark and his visibility was practically null because of one of said snowstorms.
He was about to step back inside, already cringing at himself as he thought of going back to his and Obi-Wan’s room when a flicker of light catched his eye. He supposed the natives would know when it was safe to go outside even in a snowstorm that could look dangerous to him… but there was also a nagging feeling in the Force that left him feeling suspicious. Against the voice in his head, really it was Obi-Wan’s voice, telling him to not go alone into an unknown situation in an unknown terrain Anakin stepped out into the cold landscape of Keladar.
He followed the moving light, his footsteps lost in the sound of the roaring wind. His robe was doing nothing to protect him from the freezing temperature. After what felt like hours for Anakin walking through the heavy snow he stopped. He could barely make out a few voices over the wind but the light had stopped moving and the closer he got, the clearer the voices were.
He walked around, staying low so as to not give his position away. He found a small snow dune that allowed him to remain hidden as he listened in on the conversation happening.
“-that foolish Jedi Knight is making everything more complicated!” One of the voices said, Anakin couldn’t see the owner of the voice but he recognized it. He’d heard it during the negotiations, always going against Obi-Wan’s resolutions and proposals.
“We just have to wait. Everything is set to start once the sun sets tomorrow and the festival begins.” Another man replied, a lot more serene and steady. “There’s no use in rushing. Once the festivities begin everyone will be too distracted and we’ll be able to kill all the traitors and the Jedi pair!”
Kark. Anakin needed to get back to Obi-Wan, now. He had no time. Unfortunately for him, he had no luck either. The snow dune crumbled as he moved too fast, a chunk of it disappearing from under his feet, sending him down into the feet of the very men he had been spying just seconds ago.
“Well, well, if it isn’t the pretty little Jedi apprentice?”
Now that he had them in front of him, Anakin recognized every one of the three men standing menacingly over him. He reached for his lightsaber on instinct, only to find his holster empty. Kark again. If he didn’t die right now Obi-Wan was sure to kill him when they met again. Anakin was in so much trouble.
Two firm hands wrapped around the front of his robes, pulling him up and off the ground. Anakin was at their mercy, he was freezing, he had no weapon and even if he managed to escape he had absolutely no idea where to run, not in this weather.
“I thought you Jedi lot were supposed to be highly moral and all that. I doubt spying on people’s conversations is anywhere in your little code…” The man holding Anakin sneered, pulling him close to his face in an attempt to threaten the boy. It worked, obviously, but Anakin’s first instinct was to always fight. He drove his knee as hard as he could into the man’s abdomen.
The man doubled over with a deep groan, letting go of Anakin who landed on his feet and took off without thinking twice. He ran as fast as he could manage in the thick snow, covering his face with his arms against the raging snowstorm. He could hear the men shouting at him, following him, but he didn’t dare look back. He had to warn Obi-Wan. He had to find his master. He had to-.
His right foot twisted inwards as he stepped on a snow covered rock, a sharp twinge in his right ankle that had him opening his mouth in a silent scream. The moment he tried to put weight on it he regretted it. His ankle burned . He couldn’t take another step without it flaring up in agony. Something was definitely wrong with it and Anakin had no time to figure out what.
Holding back tears he took the next step, he could hear the men getting closer. As it would seem though, the Force acted in mysterious and often… questionable ways. Anakin had a second to hear the crunch of ice before he was falling. He slid down a wall of ice that sent him straight into a dark cave, the only light coming from the hole in the ceiling from which Anakin had fallen. It was barely there but Anakin got a glimpse of one of Keladar’s three moons before the snowstorm swallowed up everything outside.
He spent minutes in silence, his leg stretched out in front of him as he waited. And waited. After a long while Anakin felt confident that the men were no longer close by. And so he felt safe groaning as he took off his boot, grimacing at the swollen mess that was his ankle. It had already doubled in size. It throbbed with each beat of his racing heart.
As the cold affected him more and more Anakin’s last thought before he closed his eyes was that he had screwed up everything.
…
When his Padawan did not return after a short while Obi-Wan began to worry. There weren’t many places Anakin could go without his Parka. Or his lightsaber, as he realized his padawan’s weapon sat discarded on the table in the common area. Force, how many times did he have to say it to get him to listen? This lightsaber is your life, Anakin.
Obi-Wan shut down the datapad in his hand. He took all the physical copies of information and organized them in a few piles. He made sure to take his time, hoping, begging, that his Padawan would come into the room, sulking and too proud to admit he’d been wrong. Time passed and Obi-Wan had arranged and rearranged every document twice and there was still no sign of Anakin.
He couldn’t put it off anymore. Even if his Padawan had left out of anger and seeing his master probably was the last thing he wanted right now, he was still Obi-Wan’s ward. His student. His-...
So he grabbed Anakin’s parka, clipped both lightsabers to his belt and went out in search of his Padawan.