O. Kenobi | A Moment of Peace

Part Four

Being on the run isn't easy.

It's nothing like the old holovids you and Obi-Wan watched in the privacy of your quarters as younglings. Huddled under the covers, taking in the action and excitement. You and Obi-Wan cheered on outlaws, and criminals, and vigilantes that were portrayed as inherently flawed, but beautifully human. The characters were constantly on the run and the holovids made it look so enthralling – like the journey of a lifetime. It was something you wished to feel – the freedom and exhilaration of never knowing what was to come next.

"Does it hurt?"

Ahsoka's voice pulls you back to reality. You aren't a youngling back at the Jedi Temple watching old holovids with Obi-Wan, you're on the run in Mandalore, trying to protect the Duchess from Death Watch. Now, you would scoff at those old holovids – knowing what it truly feels like to be in hiding. Knowing what it feels like to be unable to let your guard down, ever. You have to be constantly looking behind your shoulder, looking for an enemy in the shadows, while also cautiously examining each and every step forward, one wrong move and you're dead. It's not the journey of a lifetime, it's like walking through hell every single day. You would take the promise of security and safety, as opposed to the uncertainty of danger around every corner any day.

It's been four days.

How did Obi-Wan do this for an entire year?

Obi-Wan. You may not be in the comfort of your quarters, but you are with him. He's across the room from you, with Anakin. The five of you were hiding out at an abandoned warehouse that Obi-Wan, Master Qui-Gon, and the Duchess had found during their last time on the run. Obi-Wan is sparring with Anakin, using some old metal pipes that they had found during one of their early walk-throughs, assessing the safety of the building. He's trying to keep his former padawan preoccupied. He knows all too well how Anakin does with lying low. Since his youth, Anakin has always enjoyed the excitement of battle. If he were leading the mission, he'd want to face Death Watch head on – meet them on their turf, not hope that they wouldn't find them hiding out in the lower levels of Mandalore.

Patience has never been his virtue – but it is Obi-Wan's.

He knows when to act and when to wait. Often in these moments, Anakin will argue with Obi-Wan's methods, thinking that his inaction is a detriment to the mission. And in these moments Obi-Wan looks at his former padawan, now a young man, standing taller than him, with a look of fondness – he's still that boy that could never say no to a fight that he had met on Tatooine all those years ago. The same boy who had entered a pod race after promising a Jedi Master that he could certainly win, knowing that every race he had entered ended in defeat. And yet, he won. The same boy that when told to stay seated in a starfighter, did exactly that and took off into a battle at just nine years old. And yet, he destroyed a blockade ship. Fighting has always worked for Anakin Skywalker – fighting is all he had ever known.

Obi-Wan is not a fighter. He's skilled with his saber, deadly in battle. You've sparred against him on many occasions. He's a hard opponent to beat, but he's not a fighter. He's a diplomat. There's a reason he has been deemed 'the Negotiator' when talked about at the Jedi Temple. He knows not every action needs to be violence – not every mission needs to be a battle. He'll fight, but he knows what fights to choose. He knows how to wait for when his odds are best – because Obi-Wan Kenobi does not believe in luck. He stopped believing in that old word years ago, after he lost Master Qui-Gon. You know why – every unlucky man believes that luck is a myth. Anakin though, knows he's lucky and uses it to his advantage.

"I think I'll live."

Ahsoka chuckles as she begins to switch the bandages on your wound. You're still in pain, but it's no longer as excruciating as it had been that first day. Once you had all found the place you were staying for the night, getting your leg patched up was the first priority.