surrender || obikin [COMPLETED]

17.

We arrived back on Coruscant, and avoiding Anakin became easier. Whenever I sensed him nearby, I would simply turn a corner and go off into the archives, or the council room, or my quarters. About five days passed, and I only ran into him three times.

-day one-

My well-shined boots tapped softly against the carpeted floor of the temple halls, the gorgeous sunset of Coruscant Prime- our sun- casting a golden glow through the windows. I stopped for a moment, pressing my hand against the glass and smiling as the sky tinted golden red. The force was peaceful at sunset, for so many beings turned to see the beautiful sight.

"It never gets old."

My heart leapt. Anakin. I simply looked at him, smiling vaguely as I nodded my agreement. We watched together as the golden orb sank below the jagged skyline of what I considered to be my home planet. I could feel the happiness wafting from those at the temple, those around me in the city, and from Anakin beside me.

At the height of the sunset, I had to actively try not to look at him. I knew he would be staring straight ahead, his blue eyes standing out brilliantly against glowing golden skin, a smile gracing his handsome features as he enjoyed the sight. I knew the sun would reflect off of his eyelashes, that his lips would part slightly just as the brilliant star slipped below the horizon.

Knowing this, I tried not to look, but ended up sneaking once glance. It sent fluttering feelings up my stomach, for even my vivid memory could not capture how stunning he looked in the moment. I stared for an instant, until he cast me a sideways glance , then returned his attention to the sun. A slight smirk returned, and I flushed slightly.

Once the show was over, I nodded to him, and continued one way, him going the other.

-day three-

I read in the archives, trying to find any evidence of the strange mind-control worms from Geonosis which had caused such trouble among my men. The information- what little we had- was disturbing. Even I grew bored of reading about it, and I shut the dusty book closed. It was late, and I had been reading for a while, so when I looked up again, my neck was sore.

I groaned, and reached up to rub my shoulders to alleviate the tired muscles. After a few unsuccessful moments, I stood and hefted the book up into my arms. My fingers traced along the titles of books, most written in the galactic standard- Aurebesh- and some written in other foreign dialects which I could also read. I walked along, but realized I had gone too far. Concentrating, I back stepped again, trying to find where I had gotten the novel from, and ran into something.

"Oof- Oh, good evening Master."

Great. Turning around and trying to wipe the aggravation and tiredness from my face, I put on a small smile. "Hello there, Anakin. What brings you to the archives?" He tilted his head, shrugging. "I was hoping to find something interesting to study." I nodded awkwardly. "Ah, yes. And have you?" He considered this for a moment, before looking down at me.

"I have now." In my nervousness, his comment went right over my head. "Good, good. What did you find?" My old padawan seemed amused, though at the time I didn't know why. He waited a moment for me to understand his joke, but I didn't. "uh, erm... Pod racing." This confused me. "You want to read about pod racing?" He nodded oddly, and I shrugged. "Well, suit yourself then."

We parted ways awkwardly, and it wasn't until later when I was sipping tea and talking to Master Yoda that I understood what he meant. I blushed, and the Grand Master noticed this. "Red you are, young Kenobi. A cold, you are catching?" I looked up, alarmed. "Ah... no, Master. This tea is spicy." I made a quick excuse, and realized how stupid it sounded the moment it left my mouth. Spicy tea? I slapped myself mentally before returning to my conversation with Master Yoda.

-day four-

It occurred to me one afternoon as I passed by the training halls that I had not practiced saber combat for a long time, and my skills were growing rusty. Deciding to find someone to spar with, I made my way in, and observed several Padawans having a go at each other in the main sparring ground. I headed back to the smaller rings which had terrain set up, and found Kit Fisto sitting nearby.

Perfect! Master Fisto will be a difficult and exciting opponent. I haven't sparred with him since we were Padawans! I approached him, grinning and nodding my head to greet an old friend. "Hello there, Master Fisto. Looking for anyone to duel with?" He gave me a small smile. "Gladly, Master Kenobi. it would be an honor."

We went out onto the ring, and began sparring. Master Fisto was a master of Shii-Cho as well as his master before him. He was a skilled yet simple fighter who made sure not to follow a consistent fighting pattern- usually a nightmare for a Soresu fighter like myself. However, my teachings in Ataru as a padawan combined with my later Soresu learnings made a cunning combination.

I leaned back into my Ataru skills, using the terrain to my advantage and incorporating some simple acrobatics. I allowed him to push me into the defensive, backing me against a pile of boulders. We'd chosen Geonotian terrain, and therefore we had lots of rocky options at our disposal.

Just when he made to singe my arm and disarm me, I flipped up onto the rock, spinning back over behind him and landing a small graze to the skin on his shoulder, causing him to hiss ever so slightly. His saber loosened in his hand, and I struck the blade, hoping to disarm him. He spun around, pushing my blade back and beating it to the side. I had regained the offense, but hadn't won yet.

At that moment, I noticed Anakin watching me from the side of the room. This made me lose some focus, and Fisto easily pushed me into the defensive again. this time, however, he made sure to keep me out in the open, pushing me in circles as his blade swung furiously yet simply at the same time.

That is the hard thing about fighting Shii-Cho fighters- you expect more and overthink them, and end up getting so far into your thoughts that they beat you. I reminded myself of this, and began a small bit of moving meditation, sensing his moves through the force. I parried his swings easily, and regained the offence once I began manipulating my saber in more complicated ways.

I looked over Fisto's shoulder to get a view of the terrain behind him, but locked eyes with Anakin instead. He was shirtless and sweaty after sparring with Masters Luminara and Koon. His hair was slick against his forehead and his muscled chest was... shiny...

Fisto landed a small nick on my elbow, and I yelped slightly, snapping back to attention. Anakin was paying full attention to me now. I slipped back into the force, and after several moments of back and forth I noticed fisto was about to swing for my upper right arm, so I ducked the swing, rolling behind him and using a small force-push to knock him over, noting there was a rock for him to trip over right before his feet. He fell, catching himself with his hands, and I held my saber at his neck for a small moment to designate victory.

"Well, Kenobi," He grunted as I helped him up, "you get more and more fun to fight. Harder, too." I glanced at Anakin. "Depends on who is watching..." I mumbled under my breath. Fisto glanced up. "Pardon?" Alarmed that he had heard me, I made up a lie. "I was just saying you put up a good fight. You nearly had me twice." He chuckled.

"Well, it would be a shame to waste an opportunity to fight such a skilled Jedi. Have a good afternoon, Master Kenobi. I'll see you at the council meeting tomorrow." I nodded. "Force be with you, Kit." He made his hand gesture that meant 'you too' and smiled, before bowing slightly and walking off toward the cold water taps.

When I turned around, Anakin had gone, but I could tell he noticed how distracted he got me.

Two days later, I was feeling confident in myself. I felt that my feelings may be fading, and this brought me immense relief. Then, Anakin knocked on my door.