His Guiding Star (Obi-Wan Kenobi)

Chapter Eighteen

"What part of faking your death says "I want to sleep with you?" Talia demanded, interrupting breakfast the next morning. She slapped down the invite that Malimo had sent her, the implication of a 'plus one' strong to all of them. Theo looked up from his food.

"You'd have thought he'd be able to tell the difference between "I want to stab you" and "Take me, I'm yours!"

Talia gave him a look.

"I'm not that pathetic."

"But I'm not the only one who's had sex with people."

"I don't beg for it. They beg for me."

Obi-Wan nearly choked on his herbal tea at that, his eyes widening. The effect her voice had when she lowered it like that...Force, his heart was going wild.

"You alright there?" And now she was staring right at him. Obi-Wan felt his face warm. He cleared his throat, awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact.

"Y-yes, quite alright, thank you."

"You look flustered." Zoe commented from where she was sitting on the kitchen counter, sipping her hot chocolate.

"I am not!"

"Are too."

"I am not."

Talia looked between Theo (who looked similarly stressed) and Anakin (who was sipping a martini) and hit her head against the table with a groan.

"Anakin, pass me the headache tablets, would you?"

He did so immediately, with no hesitation or complaint. Huh. That was odd, Obi-Wan thought.

"Why do you behave for her and not me?"

"Have you seen her? She can beat me up!"

"Yes, and it would be quite delightful."

Talia downed her tablets with a glass of water, cutting right through their argument.

"Tell me why-"

"Ain't nothin' but a heartache." Theo and Zoe chimed in.

"-I can't stab you all. And that includes Malimo." She knew very well why she couldn't stab them, but she was hoping they'd get the hint to shut up and get back to the point.

"Because you love us...not Malimo."

"No. Anyway, he won't stop until he has me in his cage, or until he dies." A weak man: he boasted a lot. Overcompensating.

"And neither will Verräter."

"Everyone wants us in a cage. Wonderful." It was odd to see Talia calm. Her stress had melted away, an eerie feeling.

"The Jedi don't." Zoe piped up.

"The Jedi would kill us all if they had their way," the bounty hunter reminded them. "Don't forget that."

Theo frowned.

"Why do you sound happy about that?"

"I'm happy about it when it refers to me." The three of them continued to bicker about that. Anakin moved closer to Obi-Wan, still sipping his martini, his eyes fixed on the former Dark Jedi.

"They sound like us."

Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and himself.

"Yes. Yes, they do."

They sat there, watching the trio as they continued to argue. Zoe seemed to simply argue for the hell of it. Meanwhile, Talia's stress seemed to have been transferred to Theo, and Talia just kept bringing up undeniable logic.