FicWad

Additional Author's Note: Things between Obi-Wan and Anakin and Bail Organa are about to become . . . complex. Please just bear with me while the boys try to accustom themselves to the bare bones of their new relationships with each other.





Anakin Skywalker has never known precisely what to make of Bail Organa.

The Alderaanian Crown Prince is probably the first person he met after his first return to Coruscant as Obi-Wan's Padawan who would go on to become a constant presence - if one that has almost always been more talked about and felt than actually seen and interacted with, on Anakin's part - in his life. He is the first person Anakin met after his and Obi-Wan's return to the Temple who was not either a member of the Jedi Order or a resident of the Temple complex. Bail is also the only other politician, aside from Palpatine, who has ever shown a consistent interest in Anakin as a person, an individual human being, and not just a former slave and Padawan learner or Jedi Knight and supposed Chosen One of Jedi prophecies. Not even Anakin's beloved Padmé had been as unfailingly present in and attentive of his life as Bail Organa has been, for until the activities of the Separatists and Palpatine's machinations regarding the Military Creation Act so suddenly and violently threw Anakin back into Padmé's life, he had not had any contact with her after leaving Naboo with Obi-Wan. Yet, in spite of Bail's unceasing, unguarded, and seemingly entirely honest friendliness and concern, Anakin has never quite been able to think of the Senator as a real friend or to even make up his mind as to whether or not he would truly like to be friends with Bail. This is mainly due to the fact that Anakin has never really felt like he completely understands the man, either his character or his motivations, and, therefore, has never been able to truly trust or even feel entirely comfortable about or around the royal Alderaanian politician. Perhaps more important, though, is the fact that Bail has always struck Anakin as someone who is present in his life not out of any real interest in him, but rather because he is so concerned about his Master, Obi-Wan. Even though he has never been able to fully explain to himself just precisely why he is so bothered by what most would consider a sign of both loyalty and genuine interest, Anakin has always been vaguely disquieted by Bail's steady, fixed attention on Obi-Wan.

Anakin likes to be able to classify things, to know just where and how both everything and everyone - and especially the few individuals who are so important to him that their actions and beliefs can exert a powerful influence over the course of his life - stands, in relation to both him and the very few people and ideals he would be willing to give up his life for - namely, his family (Obi-Wan, Padmé, and, until very recently, Palpatine); his belief that all beings should be able to live freely and peacefully, without fear of the injustice of bigotry or persecution or enslavement of any kind, whether through the claim of outright ownership by another individual or via the more subtle entrapment of illogical and unjust customs and the expectations of others; and also his belief that individuals ought to be judged first by their actions and then by their intentions and beliefs, not by their names and their titles - a combination of interests that has always translated into both Anakin's automatic and mostly unthinking support of the Galactic Republic and his uneasy coexistence with the stifling rules and customs of the Jedi Order. Events, ideas, and even beings who cannot be easily understood and classified are disruptive to both Anakin's peace of mind and the smooth, steady progression of his life and his ambitions, which are so thoroughly entangled with the Jedi Order (especially a certain young Master Jedi) and the Galactic Republic whose ideals so closely mirror Anakin's own beliefs and whose peaceful democracy the Jedi Order is sworn to uphold and protect that it would likely be impossible for Anakin to continue functioning as he has - as a member of the Jedi Order and, thus, a sworn protector of a Republic in the grips of a bloody civil war - and keep both his family and his beliefs (and, therefore, in a very real sense, his own self) intact, if he were not so easily able to turn both blind eyes and deaf ears towards essentially all of those many various events, ideas, and beings who would otherwise pose a challenge or be a threat to Anakin's way of life and, hence, his sense of self.

Anakin's mostly peaceful tolerance (if not outright acceptance) of his life within the Jedi Order and his acceptance of his duties to the Republic as a Jedi have, until quite recently, been so precariously maintained that he has survived and preserved the integrity of at least the seeming of equanimous tolerance, acceptance, and even happiness mainly by simply dismissing all potential disruptions from his conscious mind and life. Thus, for example, Anakin has made it through the years of the war with his sanity and his self mostly intact mainly by refusing to think about the atrocities he has committed and seen perpetuated, both on Tatooine and elsewhere. Bail Organa's disruptive presence within his life he has dealt with mostly by never thinking overly much about the man or his murky motivations and unfathomable intentions, as well as by striving not to let Obi-Wan realize just how much the Alderaanian and his distressingly impenetrable character rubs Anakin the wrong way. While he does not exactly actively dislike Bail Organa, Anakin has done his absolute best to avoid having to interact with and therefore possibly learn more confusing facts about the man. Although as a plan it has mainly involved inaction - something that normally galls Anakin to no end - he has nevertheless carefully observed and preserved its limitations ever since he first met the Alderaanian, and it is a policy that has served him well . . . or so Anakin has always thought. Now, though . . . Now, Anakin is being plagued by a sneaking suspicion that he has somehow missed something very important - perhaps even something as potentially life-altering as his discovery of Palpatine's true character - with his stubborn refusal to truly see and try to understand Bail Organa, though he cannot, for the life of him, understand how else he might have responded to the Alderaanian.

Anakin can well remember his first meeting the Crown Prince. It was his third night back on Coruscant, after Naboo, and it had been late enough that Obi-Wan had tucked him safely into bed - into Obi-Wan's bed, not Anakin's, a practice that had continued for almost all of their first year together, while Anakin was still growing accustomed to life in the Temple. Obi-Wan had never seemed to mind privately sharing the comfort of his presence and his bed, and, even after he had begun to sleep in his own smaller bed more often than he had slept in Obi-Wan's bed, Anakin had been well into his sixteenth year before he had stopped automatically getting up and crawling into Obi-Wan's bed and the safety of his Master's sheltering embrace every time he'd had a nightmare that hadn't woken his Master up first (since, with the really nasty ones, Anakin either made enough noise or else the emotions that the dreams caused bled over their bond so much that Obi-Wan had always quickly gotten up and roused him from them, lifting him bodily from his bed and then carrying him off to sleep with Obi-Wan, so that the nightmares wouldn't come back). Even then, Anakin had only stopped automatically creeping into bed with his Master because of a near incident on mission, when a servant a little bit too fond of gossip had started a potentially damaging rumor after going into Obi-Wan's bedchamber to make sure that the Jedi awoke in time for breakfast and observing the two of them curled up together in bed, Anakin nestled peacefully in Obi-Wan's arms - and Anakin had been asleep for over an hour, almost two, when something had suddenly awoken him. It hadn't been a nightmare or anything as obvious as an unusual noise, and for a few moments Anakin had simply lain in bed, trying to puzzle out if there was a reason he should be awake or if he should just try to go back to sleep again.

The lights in the room were all dark, but Obi-Wan had left the bedroom door open, and more than enough dim light filtered through to let Anakin see that nothing obvious was wrong. He could feel the familiar comforting presence of Obi-Wan along their training bond, so close that he knew his Master was sitting out in the common area and so intently focused that he could tell Obi-Wan was preoccupied with whatever he was reading on his datapad. Anakin was about to roll over to try to go back to sleep when the intuitive voice that he had been coming to understand was a part of his untutored natural ability with the Force suddenly told him that someone, some being he did not know, was coming. He had already thrown back the covers and leaped out of bed when Obi-Wan's mind gave an unexpected sudden twist away from both whatever had previously been occupying his Master's attention as well as from Anakin and their bond, a movement that was both like and yet unlike the sense of careful, polite drawing back that Anakin felt whenever another Jedi was touching minds or sharing thoughts with his Master. Startled, Anakin had frozen in place, not wanting to intrude if some Jedi Master or friend of Obi-Wan's was just reaching out to his Master, and as he stood there, in the middle of the bedroom, he could hear (thanks to his adrenaline-boosted and curiosity-heightened senses) Obi-Wan moving, standing up and striding across the common room and the foyer to the suite's entrance. He had sensed something then, a mingled sense of extreme warmth and sadness that reminded Anakin of his sense of Padmé and yet somehow also felt more like Obi-Wan himself, or perhaps one of Obi-Wan's good friends, like apprentice Healer Bant, than it did Padmé. This oddly doubly familiar and yet not entirely right sense of a presence was approaching their suite. Anakin had abruptly been as sure of that as if he had been able to see an approaching light, and he was starting towards the open bedroom door when he heard Obi-Wan palm the locking mechanism on their suite door, so that it opened onto the corridor.

A moment later, Anakin was stunned by a sharp flare of - was that relieved excitement? Happiness? It was so poignant that it seemed wrong to just name it joy - and then an unexpected wave of crushing grief that surged out from Obi-Wan and washed over Anakin, crashing down into him. The strange approaching presence also flared - warmth that was so like actual heat that Anakin jerked to a stop and blinked, shocked, because there was no accompanying flare of light or flicker of flame, and it felt as if he'd stepped or been plunged unexpectedly into a room with an unbanked fire; concern and comfort so palpable that it felt like the supportive touch of a warm hand, the warm embrace of a friend; and cresting sorrow and distress that almost matched Obi-Wan's sudden grief - and then he heard the rustle of some heavy rich fabric from steps taken in haste and an unfamiliar man's voice - low, rich, resonant, and so carefully groomed and cultured that it seemed accented to Anakin stamped with the mark of the kind of wealth that comes of peaceful prosperity and unbound learning that knows no real danger of hardship or of disharmony - was saying, "Obi-Wan, Bendu, I heard about Qui-Gon, and I came as soon as I could. I grieve with thee, Bendu. My heart is flayed open, my senses echo, emptied of the presence of one much loved and respected, and I grieve with thee, Obi-Wan Kenobi. I grieve with thee with all my soul, Bendu." Although clearly ritualized, the words were also just as clearly wholeheartedly sincere, and that sincerity of grief touched Anakin, shocking him with the immediate immensity of his own sorrow, so that he almost missed his Master's response.

Almost.

The memory of Obi-Wan's words before Qui-Gon Jinn's funeral pyre - "There is no death. There is only the Force." - is a weight that will never leave Anakin. These words, much like Master Yoda's words to him regarding the unacceptable amount of fear the Jedi Master had sensed within Anakin, especially his fear of losing his mother, the first time he was presented to the Council - "To the Dark Side, fear leads. To anger and to hate. To suffering." - and the words the ancient little Jedi Master had spoken to Anakin after Qui-Gon's death - "A path to the Dark Side the fear of loss is, youngling. Rejoice for those who pass on into the Force. Mourn them not. Miss them not. The shadow of greed, attachment is. What you fear to lose, train yourself to release, you must. Let go of fear, and loss cannot harm you." - hurt Anakin so badly, cut him so deeply, that they have never been far from the surface of his mind. Obi-Wan's calm might have been as brittle as the finest layer of spun sugar before the actual pyre, but since then his composure while in the company of others had been so carefully and meticulously maintained - and his initial response to being caught weeping while meditating and then breaking down when spoken to, their first night back at the Temple, had been such overwhelming shame - that Anakin honestly expected to hear either a simple unemotional acknowledgment or else an outright rebuff to this visitor's open declaration of shared grief. Instead, though, Anakin had been stunned to hear the choked sound of what could only be a half-strangled sob, and a series of small rustling sounds that informed him as clearly as if he had seen with his own eyes that not only had his Master just thrown him bodily at the man who had averred his shared sorrow, but that the man had responded by catching Obi-Wan in a crushingly tight hug. Anakin had been so shocked that he was out of the bedroom and down the hall well before it could occur to him that Obi-Was might not appreciate being seen while grieving, coming to a halt back far enough to just be able to peek around the edge of the hallway towards where his Master and the visitor were, blinking like mad as he peered out into the room, trying to see whether or not his ears were deceiving him.

They weren't.

Anakin's Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, normally extremely reserved, even to the point of being standoffish and obviously unwelcome of touch, while in the company of anyone except Anakin - to whom he was most often shyly, hesitantly, or else fleetingly affectionate, as if he either wasn't quite sure how to express affection or else was afraid of showing his affection too openly - was not only clenched tight in the arms of a stranger, an apparently human man quite a bit taller and probably also a little bit older than Obi-Wan, he was also suspended entirely within the embrace, his arms wound around the man's neck as trustingly as a child's, his heels dangling over the floor. The man, whoever and whatever else he might have been, was obviously strong and someone Obi-Wan trusted, but he was also just as obviously not a Jedi, for no Jedi would ever wear such clothes. Although the specific items of clothing were mostly familiar - black leather boots, pants, cloak, and at least one shirt and tunic - and their colors were all the darkest unrelieved jet black of mourning, their fabrics were all so obviously rich and exotic that they reminded Anakin of nothing so much as the extravagantly laced, beaded, and bejeweled black gown that he had seen "Queen Amidala" wearing after her arrival on Coruscant. Little wonder the man's clothing had rustled: his cloak was full enough for two whole capes, and even though his pants and his tunic were both of a slim, spare cut, the long swagged sleeves of his shirt were so extravagantly full that it would have been entirely possible to cut Anakin a shirt from each sleeve alone. With Obi-Wan's entire body hanging in front of the man and the way that the man was standing, his taller body curling down and in around Obi-Wan, as if to protect him, Anakin could actually see surprisingly little of the man, aside from his stunningly expensive clothes.

Obviously, the man was slender, given Obi-Wan's own spare build, or else Anakin would have been able to see more of him around the edges of his Master. He had dark hair - darker even than Anakin's mother's hair, and it was so smooth and so black that it broke the light that fell upon it into iridescent rainbows, sheening the satiny raven sweep with a ghostly blue hue - and skin darker than Anakin's, not golden or bronzed but rather a silky smooth caramel, an even, rich, dark chestnut tan that looked completely natural instead of the result of too much sun. Anakin could not see the man's eyes or his facial features because he had his head bowed over Obi-Wan, his face turned in and down against the crook between Obi-Wan's neck and left shoulder. His left hand - long-fingered, slender, and as elegant as a piece of carved art - was spread wide across the back of Obi-Wan's head, cradling it and Obi-Wan to him in a disconcertingly intimate manner. His right arm was wrapped across Obi-Wan's back and waist. He was holding the Jedi so tightly that it had to hurt, and yet for a long time Obi-Wan simply hung there, unmoving, in that crushing embrace, his own arms wound visibly tight around the man's neck. When Obi-Wan did finally move, it was a convulsive shudder that caused him to tighten his hold even more, and at that the man - a stranger to Anakin, but increasingly obviously well known to Obi-Wan - finally moved, stepping further into the room, carrying Obi-Wan bodily across the foyer and into the common area. "Obi-Wan, Obi-Wan, Bendu, it is all right. I have you and I shall not let go. It's safe here. I share your grief, Bendu. Let it out. Don't allow it to fester. It's all right. I have you. I swear it," the man promised, his voice pitched into a soothingly low murmur, as he bore Obi-Wan across the room to the nearest couch - actually one of the two-seat sofas - just as easily as if Obi-Wan weighed no more than an extremely young child, settling down into it with him so naturally that Anakin had been oddly reminded of the way his mother used to carry him, when he was younger.

It was beyond discomfiting, even worse than discomposing, to see Obi-Wan being carried so. Anakin felt as if he were watching something wholly intimate, something that he had no right to be privy to, and yet there was something about the man, some quality in his voice and the way he held himself, that confused Anakin almost to the point of dread. To him, it felt as if there were something not quite right about the way the man was behaving, if not because of something that he was doing outright then because of something that was ever so slightly off in his entire manner towards Obi-Wan. This nagging doubt was so insistent that Anakin couldn't quite bring himself to turn away, even though the feeling that he was spying on his Master also persisted. So he had ghosted silently from one side of the hall to the other, to make sure he could continue watching without being seen. Although Obi-Wan was not crying, that he could tell, he clung to the man like a grieving child would, curled up against him and spilling forward halfway or more across his lap. The man actually rocked Obi-Wan slightly in his arms, as one would to quiet a troubled or fretful child, and his left hand moved caressingly, rhythmically, over Obi-Wan's still almost spikily short hair, stroking it in a manner that seemed at once soothing to Obi-Wan and jarringly possessive to Anakin. It was entirely absurd that his self-contained Master would allow himself to be treated thus, to be touched so, in such a shockingly intimate manner, and yet still he laid quiescent in the man's embrace, the bulk of his body draped across the man in a manner that would have seemed boneless if not for the obvious tension in Obi-Wan's arms, which remained locked around the man's neck. The man was even crooning to Obi-Wan as he held him, rocking him in time with the rise and fall of his repetitive patter of words, a running litany of Obi-Wan's name and the word "Bendu" - which for some reason struck Anakin more as a beloved nickname than a title, though he knew it was both the name for the age-old symbol of the Jedi Order and an ancient title of immense respect for an individual Jedi - interspersed with the avowal of shared grief and the promise that Obi-Wan was safe, that the man had him and would not let him go, that it would be all right and Obi-Wan should let his grief out.

Anakin watched his Master being rocked in the man's arms for a long time, long enough that the man's repetitive words and motion began to become lulling even to Anakin. So he missed it at first, when the man's motion started to become slower, his rocking shallower, the stroking of Obi-Wan's hair slower, as Obi-Wan's desperate clenching hold around his neck began, by almost infinitesimal increments, to slacken. But as his Master's grip ever so gradually continued to relax while the man's cradling motion and caressing movement slowed towards an eventual stillness, the man's words also gradually began to change. Anakin startled back into full awareness from a state of almost dozing when the man's litany suddenly included the word "good" and his quiet exhortation to Obi-Wan to let his grief out and not allow it to fester changed to, "That's right, Bendu, let it out. Let it all out. I have you, Obi-Wan. I am here. I am always here for you. Let me help you, Bendu. I'm strong. I can be strong enough for both of us. Let me. Let me catch you. Get it all out, Obi-Wan. I have you. I'm not going anywhere. You're safe here. You're safe here, with me. It's all right. It will be all right. I'm here, Bendu. You can let go. Let it all go. That's good, Obi-Wan. Bendu. Good." Although Obi-Wan's arms remained looped up around the man's neck, the tension continued to drain out of them, and him, until he was curled bonelessly against and upon the man. As the man's hand stilled, his finger threaded through Obi-Wan's short hair, gently but firmly cradling his head to the man's left shoulder, Obi-Wan finally moved, but it was not to draw back. Instead, Anakin's Master visibly burrowed in closer to the man, the motion like that of a sleepy, satiated child nuzzling up against his mother. The man sighed softly, his right hand circling once, slowly, across the small of Obi-Wan's back. After what seemed like a very long time, the man spoke again, quietly, only this time he was speaking directly to Obi-Wan, not just at him, reminding the young Jedi of the time and asking him a question. "Obi-Wan, Bendu, you should sleep more than you do. You need to take better care of yourself than this. Qui-Gon loved you, Bendu. It would break his heart, to see you punishing yourself like this. You know that, Obi-Wan. You must rest more. I can come back after breakfast. Shall I put you to bed now?"

After several long moments of silence, in which Anakin began to wonder if his Master had fallen asleep, Obi-Wan spoke, his voice surprisingly distinct, much more calm and steady than Anakin would have expected. "I know. I am sorry for that. I do try. But it has been a very trying time. And the situation is . . . complex. It is good of you to be concerned, but you should not worry for my sake. I have been managing. I will manage. For Qui-Gon. And for Anakin."

"Obi-Wan, Bendu, please, don't. You shouldn't be alone in this. I won't let you be alone in this. Let me at least see you to bed, Bendu. I fear you are going to need all of your strength."

"I am sorry, but no," Obi-Wan had sighed. "Anakin needs his sleep more than I do."

"The boy?"

"He has nightmares. I fear some of them might be genuinely prophetic. The way he could race . . . Qui-Gon was certain that it was precognition, not simply good reflexes, that allowed him to survive. Once, all Jedi could sense the future; now, very few have the skill. Premonitions . . . visions . . . Master Yoda says that they are both gifts from the Force, and curses. Signposts and snares alike. Premonitions are like a double-edged blade. No matter where you try to grasp them, no matter how careful you attempt to be, they are likely to twist about and slice you to the bone."

"So you allow him to sleep with you?" the man asked, his voice both slightly surprised and oddly proud sounding. "That is good of you, Obi-Wan. I am sure your closeness is a great comfort to him. I have heard that he is quite small, and very young, and oddly sheltered, for his age and his background. His mother must have loved him fiercely, to shelter him so. He must miss her very much."

"He does. He grew very close to Padmé Amidala, during the course of the mission. I am afraid that the High Council does not approve. But then, they do not seem to approve of anything having to do with Anakin, or myself . . . or Qui-Gon. They did not want to believe that the Sith were back. Anakin feels their distrust and displeasure so keenly . . . " Obi-Wan sighed wearily. "I want so badly to shelter him from that. But I fear I must find a way to explain it to him instead so that he will truly understand it is not his fault. It is not right that he should suffer for the Council's disgruntlement at being proven wrong. Qui-Gon strove so hard to keep such things from me, as if I would not know how often he fought the Council's will, would not realize how often our actions had displeased them . . . Master Yoda was the same way. He tried to shelter me even from myself, when I was still a youngling in the crèche. I am not sure that it helped at all. I do not want Anakin to feel that I do not trust him or do not value his concerns. I do not want him to grow, fearing that I do not want him here with me . . . "

"Bendu, don't. Qui-Gon loved you. He loved you. You know that. You taught him how to trust again. That was a rare gift, Obi-Wan, a rare and precious gift. Bail Antilles knew Qui-Gon Jinn long before you became his Padawan, and he could not praise you enough, when he learned that it would be you and Qui-Gon, at the treaty negotiation. It was one of the main reasons that he championed my placement on that committee. He wanted so badly for me to meet you both: I was so incredibly nervous, so eager to make a good impression, that I feared I would come off as a babbling idiot. It was obvious, from the moment you first entered the room, how much Qui-Gon relied on you, how proud he was of you, how much he cared about you, Obi-Wan. Please, don't doubt how much he wanted you to be with him, how much he loved you, Bendu. Not only do you sell yourself short, you do Qui-Gon a disservice. Master Jinn was not a man given to speaking of his emotions, or what he might have wanted to be able to do or say, but I know that he loved you, and I am certain that he only wanted what was best for you, Obi-Wan. Whatever he may have done or not done, or said or not said, I am certain that it was only what he was sure he must."

"The Sith followed us from Naboo to Tatooine. It was only logical to expect him to track us to Coruscant and then follow us back to Naboo. I fear the Council should never have sent us to Naboo alone. Qui-Gon should not have died. Anakin needs him. I need him. I fear I shall make such a mess of things . . . I only became a Jedi because an unasked for bond formed between me and Qui-Gon during that journey to Bandomeer. Master Yoda wanted Qui-Gon to choose me, but he would not. Not after Xanatos. I do not know if I can do this alone. I do not know if I am ready. Qui-Gon said there was little more that I could learn from him, little more that he could teach me, but I was his Padawan for so very long . . . Perhaps if things had been different . . . " Obi-Wan had sighed regretfully, his voice filled with so much pain that Anakin had longed to go to him, to reassure his Master that things would be different, would be better, now that they had each other.

"Bendu, stop. Don't. These are old wounds, old hurts. You did nothing to deserve them, Obi-Wan. I have said it before, but I will say it again: Qui-Gon Jinn's stubbornness is legendary, and Master Yoda should have known better than to set himself so directly against Qui-Gon's will; you are the one who has had to pay the price, for all of their good intentions. You know that Qui-Gon feared to fail you as much as you feared to fail him. That is the hurt Xanatos gave to him. He lost his ability to trust even himself. You gave him that back, with no thought as to how badly you might be hurt, in the process of giving. Accept that, and move on, Obi-Wan. The scars will fade, in time, if you will only let them alone, Bendu," the man said quietly, his voice kind but firm.

"Anakin shouldn't be here. Neither of us should be here. Not on Coruscant. The Council does not want us here. They just fear to let us out of their sight, out of the sphere of their control. I am certain that there is something they are not telling me. Why else would they behave in this manner? They act as though Anakin were a monster. He's powerful, yes, but he's still just a child. And he wants so much to be able to help others. He is like Qui-Gon. His heart is so large that his greatest weakness is that others will seek to use his own nature against him. He cannot flourish in an atmosphere as stifling as this, as fearful and untrusting as this," Obi-Wan had only fretted.

"Alderaan would gladly welcome you both," the man immediately declared. "You know the residents of the chapterhouse have always hoped that you would come back. One word, Obi-Wan. That is all that I need. Just say the word, and I will arrange it all, Bendu. I will see you both safe, on Alderaan. There will be nothing the Council can do or say to stop me from making it so."

"Bail - Senator Organa - Prince Organa - "

Obi-Wan tried to pull back, to pull away, but the man - Bail Organa? - would not let him do it, calmly maintaining his hold on Obi-Wan until the Jedi finally stopped trying to move away. "Don't. Obi-Wan. Bendu. Please. Don't. This is not an offer from the Alderaanian Crown Prince or Senator. This is the offer of Bail Prestor Organa, who has known, respected, and admired you since you were a teenager. Obi-Wan. I am your friend - I like to think of myself as your friend, as someone you can trust. Let me do this for you - for both of you. Anakin is your Padawan, and it is right that you should think of his safety, his well-being. There are already whispers that Anakin Skywalker is the Chosen One of Jedi prophecies of the dark times. I have heard of these rumors on Alderaan, from my advisors at the chapterhouse, as well as here, among my colleagues in the Senate. There are those of us whose people still remember the time before the last Sith war, and I fear that there are those who are afraid of what the coming of the Chosen One might mean for the Republic. I do not doubt that the Jedi Temple is safe - as safe as it can be - but you cannot keep him within the Temple at all times, Bendu. Coruscant simply may not be the best place for him."

The tense line of Obi-Wan's back relaxed wearily as the Jedi Master sighed, his body settling until he once more lay bonelessly against and across the man, embracing him loosely around the neck. "I'm afraid that I've already tried that, Bail. At first, Master Yoda agreed with me when I proposed that Anakin might do better in a more personalized environment, one where he could learn at his own pace and benefit from the strong presence of the Living Force. Master Yoda even suggested the chapterhouse on Alderaan. We were to come back to Coruscant, but only to see to Qui-Gon's things and to make sure that Anakin had received all of the proper inoculations. After our arrival, though, Master Yoda informed me that the High Council had decided that Anakin's training would proceed more quickly here, on Coruscant. None of my protests made the slightest impression. The Council is determined to have us here, regardless of what either one of us might want or the fact that Alderaan would be both safer and better suited to Anakin's temperament."

"They cannot keep you here against your will, Bendu. It would not be right. Surely, if I were to make a formal request - "

"No, Bail. The Council agreed on this, and they will not change their mind. As a Knight of the Jedi Order, it is my duty to obey their will."

"Obi-Wan - "

"Bail, please, don't. I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that the answer is still no."

"It is not right! Bendu - "

"It may not be right, but it is the way that things are. Bail, you know that the Council did nothing to stop the rumors about Qui-Gon. My Master was not a Grey Jedi. Qui-Gon may have disagreed with the Council's decisions on occasion, but he was not exiled from the Temple or dissociated from the Order. Unfortunately, we were often away from the Temple, on missions, and Qui-Gon would not lower himself to address the rumors, so they have been accepted now by far too many beings as if they were true. The fact that Qui-Gon's own former Master, Jedi Master Dooku, has now willingly left the Order, becoming the latest of the Lost, only makes the situation that much more difficult for us. I never sought to make a name separate from that of my Master, and now many have transferred their assumptions about Qui-Gon to me. For myself, I would not mind, but for Anakin's sake, I must take more care. I am a Sith-killer, Bail. Already, they call me that as if it were a proper title. I cannot risk being labeled a Grey Jedi as well. Anakin is a very special little boy, and he is my Padawan learner. I cannot risk turning the opinions of others against him, Bail. I will not risk it."

"How would you be risking anything, if I were the one to make the Council change their mind? I am the Crown Prince of Alderaan, Obi-Wan. Alderaan is one of the crown jewels of the Republic. We are not without power or influence. And it is well known, how highly I regard you, Bendu. There are already those among my closest colleagues who have been asking when I will bring you to Alderaan. Even Amidala has asked if she might arrange a visit, after I have brought you to the Alderaanian chapterhouse," was Bail's quiet response, his right hand moving in idle circles across the small of Obi-Wan's back.

"The Queen of Naboo is extremely brave, and very kind, and quite wise, but she is also very, very young. I fear she does not truly understand what it means, to be a Jedi. Though Naboo has no chapterhouse and the Jedi are not meant to be personal advisors, Padmé Amidala wished for us to remain. She was . . . confused, when I had to refuse her offer. Master Yoda has already asked her not to visit us on Coruscant any time soon, for fear that her continued presence in Anakin's life will distract him from his training. I hope that you did not encourage her, Bail."

"Amidala is very young, but she knows her mind, Obi-Wan, and she knows quality when she sees it. I fear that is no one's doing but your own. In any case, who am I to discourage her? It would be selfish of me to try to keep you for myself, Bendu."

"You speak of me as though I were a possession."

"You speak of Anakin as though he were a child and the Queen of Naboo as if she were a flighty socialite, Bendu."

"Anakin Skywalker is barely ten years old and he is my responsibility, Bail. Mine. Qui-Gon left him in my care. And Anakin is a good person. He deserves all of the protection that I can give him. He deserves more than I can give him. At the very least, he deserves the chance to rightfully earn any judgment that might be made about him and to know his mother is safe now that he has been taken away from her, and yet because of the Council's attitude, the decision to keep us here indefinitely, and the noninterference trade agreements between the Republic and the Outer Rim Territories, I cannot give him even one of those things. Force help me, Bail, I cannot even hold out to him the hope that he will ever see his mother again! To take a boy away from a mother he has known and loved for the better part of a decade is unimaginably cruel, and yet the rules on the matter of family are strict and I dare not even ask that they be bent for him, not even given the special circumstances surrounding his case. The last time the Order made any sort of exception for an initiate regarding familial contact, the Jedi ended up unwittingly unloosing Xanatos on the galaxy. In a way, I can hardly blame the Council for their fear regarding Anakin's love for his mother, his need to please her and his fear of losing her. But neither can I condone what the Council is doing to him, what damage they are inflicting upon him, because of their fear and their mistrust. Anakin is so powerful in the Force that it would be impossible for him to be anything other than at least slightly potentially dangerous, but he is a good person, Bail. His soul is so bright that it shines right through him like a sun. The danger is to him, if he is left untrained, not to others. There would be no danger to any of the rest of us at all if he were taught the ways of the Force as he should be, in an environment of love and trust and unquestioning support and encouragement. Nothing good can come of an atmosphere of fear! That leads only to doubt, and anger, and a hatred of the self that can all too easily turn about and become a hatred of others, of those who have caused those terrible feelings of unworthiness and uselessness and freakishness in the first place!"

"Obi-Wan, I understand. Truly, Bendu, I do. I am not trying to argue with you about the Council or to tell you how you should teach your Padawan. I am merely curious as to why you are so set against coming away from here, away from the Council and their fears, to Alderaan. And what of the young Queen of Naboo? Is she not a friend to Anakin, a familiar face, someone who might be able to ease his transition into a life separate from his mother?"

"I would prefer not to speak of her, Bail."

"Oh." There had been a few beats of silence then, which Anakin had not understood (in retrospect, he now understands that Obi-Wan had been telling Bail, without actually telling him, that Padmé Amidala had been interested in him in a way that he could not, as a Jedi, reciprocate), before Bail had quietly stated, "I'm afraid I still don't quite see why any of this should stop me from getting the Council to change their mind about allowing you and Anakin to come to the Alderaanian chapterhouse, Bendu. Anakin would be safer there, and freer to move about."

"But the Council will never agree and if you request it now, after having come to see me, the Council Masters will know that I did not stop you from asking, and assume that I have asked you to ask them, even though they have already made their will very clear in this matter. And they will think me defiant. Like Qui-Gon," Obi-Wan quietly explained. "I cannot risk alienating or angering them, Bail. Please, don't ask. Don't make things worse than they already are for us."

"It is not right, Bendu."

"It may not be right, Bail, but I fear that it is the way things are, for now."

"It is not like you to give in like this, Obi-Wan."

"I did not have Anakin to protect, before."

"And you would have no care for yourself, otherwise?"

"Bail . . . "

"What, I am supposed to stand by and let you devalue yourself like that? Bendu, I am well aware of the fact that Jedi are supposed to be self-sacrificing, but that does not mean that Jedi are supposed to believe that their lives are of no inherent value. Obi-Wan, you speak of yourself as if your own life were meaningless - worthless, even - and I cannot in good conscience allow that to stand. Even Qui-Gon agreed with me on this point. Bendu, he warned me, more than once, about how you always seek to protect others, with no thought as to what it might cost you. Always, he said, you have sought for approval and validation in the eyes of others rather than trusting in your own worth. Obi-Wan, you know this is true. It is your one true weakness. It is the reason why Qui-Gon refused to speak to you of your Trials and Knighthood, these past few years. He believed that he could not, in good conscience, recommend you for Knighthood and therefore see you faced with the Trials until he was certain that you had moved past this. You know that, Bendu. I know that you do. I was there that day when Qui-Gon spoke to you about Xanatos and not only the hurt he had taken from his Padawan's betrayal, but also the harm he dealt to you because of it. He sought to undo the damage that he had unwittingly done to you, in initially refusing you. How do you think he would respond now, if he knew you had been made a Knight and given Anakin as your Padawan when you still so easily devalue yourself?"

"I am well aware of my faults, Bail. You do not need to remind me of them."

"Bendu, you listen to me, but you do not hear my words. I do not seek to reinforce your negative self-image. I am trying to help you, Obi-Wan. You should have more care for yourself."

Anakin had finally revealed himself then, unable to listen silently any longer. "He's right, Master. I keep telling you that, but you don't listen. I'm your Padawan and you're my Master: we're supposed to take care of each other. I can take care of myself, if you help me, but I can't help take care of you if you won't let me."

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan had been up and out of the sofa and the Alderaanian's embrace so quickly that Anakin had almost taken a step backwards before he could stop himself, startled by his Master's sudden appearance before him. Obi-Wan swiftly dropped down on one knee before him, his hands resting lightly on his shoulders. Anakin was both surprised and oddly pleased to see that there was no evidence his Master had been crying, despite the way he had been clinging to the - Senator? Prince? Senator and Prince? - and the way Bail had been rocking him earlier. It had made him feel a little bit better - more important, somehow, and less wary of this Organa person - to know that his Master's tears had only been shared with him. "Padawan, I put you to bed hours ago. I thought you were sleeping. You didn't have another nightmare, did you?"

"No, Master Obi-Wan. I just . . . woke up, is all. He's loud. Almost as loud as Master Yoda or Master Windu. But he feels like Padmé or apprentice Healer Bant," Anakin had tried to explain, shrugging. "I knew somebody was coming to the suite, but I couldn't recognize who it was. So I was worried. I thought maybe I should warn you, but I couldn't get out of bed in time. And then you opened the door like you knew him, but you felt so sad, Master. I thought you might need me. I couldn't tell if he was a good person or not. Is he a good person? He's not a Jedi. I can tell. But he's a friend of yours, like Bant or Garen?"

"Apprentice Healer Bant and Padawan Garen, like Padawan Reeft, are agemates of mine from the crèche, Anakin, as I have told you before. This gentleman - who is indeed a very good man - is a long-standing acquaintance of mine, and he is not a Jedi because he is the Crown Prince of Alderaan, as well as one of its Senators," Obi-Wan calmly began to explain.

"But he is Force-sensitive, right? That's what it means when people are really loud like that, isn't it? That's what Master Qui-Gon told me. He said I could hear Master Windu because he's so strong in the Force, when I told him how loud he felt. This guy's not as loud as Master Windu, not quite. Actually, he feels kind of like you, like Bant and Garen do, only not exactly the same way. It's weird, Master. A lot of him's really focused, like you are, but part of him's also really spread out, like Bant and Padmé. I guess it's because he's a Prince, huh? He has to take care of more people." Anakin had craned his neck, trying to get a better look at the Crown Prince, but couldn't really see past Obi-Wan.

"Master Qui-Gon was correct, Padawan. It is much easier for those of us who are Force-sensitive to sense others who are also Force-sensitive. Force-sensitivity runs in Senator Organa's family, but because the line of ascendency was unclear and it was thought that he might one day become Alderaan's Prince - which he has - he was not given over to the Temple for training," Obi-Wan patiently explained.

"But he's your friend, right?" Anakin had pressed, frowning. "He's really focused on you, Master. A /lot/. More than Bant and Garen."

Obi-Wan had merely blinked mildly, as if surprised. "I have known Prince Bail for several years now, Padawan. He worked with Master Qui-Gon and I on numerous occasions. I am sure that he is merely being courteous."

"It doesn't feel like just courtesy, Master. It feels like - "

"I have been very concerned about you and your Master, Padawan Skywalker. And I was very grieved when I learned what had happened to Master Jinn. Qui-Gon Jinn was a very good man and much admired by the Alderaanian people. His loss will be felt deeply," Bail Organa had smoothly interrupted, gracefully coming to stand next to Obi-Wan, his right hand lightly touching Obi-Wan's left shoulder.

Obi-Wan had risen lightly then, Bail's hand sliding off his shoulder as he turned to stand between Anakin and the Alderaanian Prince, his left hand still on Anakin's shoulder. With a small motion of his right hand between the two of them, the young Jedi solemnly gave a formal introduction. "Padawan Skywalker, allow me to present to you the senior Senator, Crown Prince, First Chairman, and Viceroy of Alderaan, His Serene Highness Bail Prestor Organa. Your Highness, please allow me to present to you my Padawan learner, Anakin Skywalker."

Anakin had felt, as he always did (and always would), a surge of warmth and satisfaction at hearing himself referred to as Obi-Wan's Padawan learner, one that left him all but glowing with mingled pride and awe. Smiling radiantly, he turned his face up towards the tall Prince - very tall, almost as tall as Master Qui-Gon had been, but not nearly as powerfully built or broad through the shoulders as Qui-Gon had been. Anakin caught the impression of a thin, oval face with sharp cheekbones and a generous mouth before his gaze was caught and held by a pair of extremely dark, deeply set, commanding eyes - and then he very carefully gave the Crown Prince the formal Jedi bow of respect - the respectful bow of a Padawan learner in the presence of a venerated Master, or the bow of a Jedi recognizing either a diplomatic dignitary or leader or some other such being considered to be of similar rank. Very carefully, he said, "I am very pleased to meet you, Your Highness. Thank you for worrying about Master Obi-Wan and me. It's very kind of you. And it's very good of you to check on Master Obi-Wan like this. Master Qui-Gon's death has been very hard on us, especially Master Obi-Wan. He misses his Master a great deal."

"I would imagine that he does, Padawan Skywalker, and that he also struggles with it. The Jedi do not grieve as others do. It is a very difficult path, especially when one needlessly attempts to walk it alone," the Prince had responded, his voice and manner grave but with a look of warmth and understanding in his eyes that was powerfully reassuring.

"It's because he feels like he failed Master Qui-Gon - which he didn't! I keep telling him that, just like everybody else does, but Master Obi-Wan doesn't listen. Well, he listens, but he doesn't really hear. Apprentice Healer Bant says it's because my Master has survivor's guilt, and that the best thing for him is to be around people who aren't afraid to let him know how much they love him. We all keep trying. But it's hard. I miss Master Qui-Gon, too. He and Obi-Wan were supposed to stay together. They were both supposed to teach me. I know the Order says it's only supposed to be one Padawan and one Master together, but I dreamed of them both, together, on Tatooine, and I knew they were coming for me. They were both supposed to teach me. Master Obi-Wan's right about that. It wasn't really supposed to be like this," Anakin had admitted then, drawing slightly closer to the Prince, speaking to him in an almost conspiratorial manner.

"Anakin - " Obi-Wan had begun, startled by his forward words.

"No, Bendu, that's all right. I'm quite interested in what Padawan Skywalker has to say. I believe what he is saying. He honors me, by speaking so truthfully," Bail had quickly reassured Obi-Wan. Then, turning back to Anakin, he had asked, "So, you dreamed of your Master, and of Master Qui-Gon, on Tatooine, before Queen Amidala's ship landed outside of Mos Espa?"

"Many times, Prince Bail, Sir. Since I was very young. They were always together. Master Qui-Gon and his human shadow, smiling at me from around Master Qui-Gon's shoulder. But the Sith changed things. I think they changed things even before the Sith Master Obi-Wan slew came to Tatooine. I didn't dream they would find me like Master Qui-Gon did, because of Padmé - because of Queen Amidala's ship. I didn't get to meet them together, because of the ship being so damaged. Something changed that, changed what was supposed to happen. I think it was the Sith. Master Yoda says that Force prophecy is never absolute and that I shouldn't rely on my dreams to know what's going to happen or try to make decisions based on what I've seen in dreams, but my dreams have never been wrong before. They've changed before sometimes, a little bit, but they're never wrong. Not in the slightest detail. Not like this. Something /made things go really wrong, and I know it wasn't anything we did. Master Yoda says that the great prophets of the Jedi have always taught that the gravest danger in trying to either help cause or else prevent some vision of the future from coming to pass is that, in doing so, a Jedi can actually /stop something good from happening or else bring something bad to pass. But I didn't try to change or to hurry anything that I saw, and I didn't tell Master Qui-Gon or my Master enough about any of my dreams for them to try to do something about them, and things still went wrong. And everything that went wrong was centered around the Sith and the way the Council responded to the Sith," Anakin had explained confidently. "So that's why I'm sure it had to be the Sith who changed things. Master Yoda says my dreams are a gift of the Force. I think that whatever the Sith do, what they are, is so bad that it hurts the Force. Master Yoda says that the Dark Side obscures much of what the Jedi should be able to see clearly, but I think it's because the Sith are warping the Force. Master Obi-Wan says that I'm a lot more open to the Force than others are, like I have access to the Force that doesn't have any interference from the Dark Side. I keep trying to tell him that it's not something in me that makes me so much stronger. It's just the Force. It's around me and it's in me all the time. I can't keep it out. And there's no barrier between me and it like there is around the other Jedi. I can see it around them sometimes, like a shadow. Or a really dark piece of transparisteel. It's darker around some Jedi than others, and it weakens their connection to the Force. And it's there because of the Sith. I'm sure that it is. It's getting worse, you know. Even though Master Obi-Wan killed that one Sith. The other one's still out there, and whatever it is that Sith Lord is doing is making things a lot worse. I've seen it around everyone here except for Master Obi-Wan. Whatever it is doesn't touch Master Obi-Wan. And it wasn't around Master Qui-Gon, either. He glowed all the time, like a sun. Like Obi-Wan does. So it's not just something in me. It's something that the Force does. And the Force is really, really strong. It just seems weaker, to Masters Yoda and Windu and the other Jedi, because of what the Sith have been doing."

"Padawan Skywalker - Anakin - do you believe that what the Sith are doing to the Force can be reversed, or stopped?" Bail had asked then, voice and manner suddenly intently focused.

"Yes, Sir, Your Highness. I believe it can be stopped. We just have to get rid of the Sith, to do that. Reversing it . . . " Anakin had hesitated slightly at that, frowning thoughtfully, before continuing. "If the Sith were no longer here, warping the Force, I think that the damage could be reversed by breaking up the barrier between the Force and the Jedi. It would be really hard, but I think it could be done. Why?"

"Jedi prophecies speak of the coming of dark times, but they do not specify how we are supposed to help strike the balance that will banish them. Frankly, young one, I am wondering if there is a better path towards that time of balance than the one that Master Obi-Wan has informed me the High Council has apparently already decided upon," Bail had quietly responded. "Anakin, has Obi-Wan spoken to you of Jedi enclaves beyond Coruscant?"

"Yes, Sir, Your Highness. He has. But the High Council wants us here."

"Please, call me Bail, Anakin. When you say 'Sir' like that, I keep expecting to see my father, or Senator Antilles, standing at my shoulder," Bail had smiled. "Do you want to stay on Coruscant, Anakin?"

"I must do as the High Council and my Master bid me to do, Bail. I am Master Obi-Wan's Padawan learner. The voice of the Council and my Master are the first two voices I should always answer to and strive to obey," Anakin responded, resisting the urge to frown.

"But do you want to stay on Coruscant, young one?" Bail had only pressed.

"I want to stay with Obi-Wan. Everything else is secondary," Anakin finally flatly replied.

Bail had blinked then, as if startled, and Obi-Wan had shifted slightly, as if he had thought about but decided against making some gesture or remark. "Anakin," Bail had finally said, very seriously indeed, "if I were to invite you, and your Master, to Alderaan, to reside at the Jedi chapterhouse outside Aldera, would you be pleased by the invitation and wish to accept it?"

"I am not familiar with Alderaan or Aldera, Bail, but I would be glad you had asked and I would want to accept your invitation. I don't think Master Obi-Wan and I are supposed to be on Coruscant, but we have to obey the Council," Anakin quietly explained, shrugging regretfully.

"And if I could change their minds about letting you come to Alderaan?"

"You can't. Master Obi-Wan's right about that. Master Yoda and Master Windu won't change their minds about me. They think I'm dangerous, but necessary. So they're going to keep me, and Master Obi-Wan, here, where they can keep an eye on the both of us. They've made up their minds - and the mind of the Council - about that, and they won't budge. I think they think that it's against the rules for Jedi to change their minds. They act like it, anyway. They act like the Jedi Code forbids change, which I think is wrong, but I'm just a Padawan, so it doesn't really matter what I think. Or what I want. Or what Master Obi-Wan thinks or wants, since he isn't on the Council. And he's Master Qui-Gon's former Padawan. And the Sith-killer. They won't listen to him. Even if he were on the Council, they wouldn't listen to him. They fear him too much."

"Padawan!" Obi-Wan had exclaimed, startled into a protest by Anakin's bald statement.

"Well, it's true, Master. Pretending it isn't true won't make it go away any more than the Council ignoring the Sith made their existence any less true. And since Bail worked with you and Master Qui-Gon, he must know that the High Council isn't always right," Anakin countered, as reasonably as he could. "I'm just saying what we all know is true, Master."

"At the expense of tact," Obi-Wan had noted wryly. "I can see that we are going to have to work on your diplomacy, Padawan-mine."

"As long as we're together, we can work on whatever you like, Master Obi-Wan," Anakin had replied cheerfully, turning to grin up at his Master, who had actually unbent enough to shake his head slightly and smile softly, fondly, as he raised his hand from Anakin's shoulder and curled his fingers gently around the beginning of Anakin's Padawan braid, pulling on it just enough to let Anakin know that he was purposefully tugging it.

"It is safe for you to speak your mind like this before Bail, Padawan-mine, but I'm afraid that such will rarely be the case with others. I would never wish for you to lose your honesty, young one, but you will have to learn to be more circumspect," Obi-Wan had quietly warned, still smiling a little to take the sting out of the words. "You must learn to be more careful, Anakin. The High Council is watching us. Whether the Council's collective attitude or actions are right or not, we should not make it easy for them to find a reason to take exception with us."

"I know, Master. But you said yourself that Bail Organa is a good man. I trust you, so I trust your opinion of him. And besides, he loves you, Master," Anakin shrugged carelessly. It was a simple declaration of what he knew to be the truth, and yet for some reason Bail Organa had recoiled, flinching as if Anakin had struck him. Frowning then, Anakin had turned his attention fully back to the Prince, earnestly demanding, "You'd never do anything to hurt us, would you?"

Looking slightly stricken, Bail had nevertheless promptly - and completely truthfully, from what Anakin could tell - responded, "Willingly? Knowingly? Never."

"So you won't try to get the Council to change it's mind, which they won't no matter what you might do?" Anakin pressed, his frown deepening slightly.

"With both you and Obi-Wan so set against it? No, Anakin, I will not. I will honor your wishes in this, though I fear I cannot agree with your decision in the matter," Bail had replied, bowing his head slightly, not bothering to hide the sorrow in his voice or his eyes.

Anakin had been troubled by both Bail's response to Anakin's declaration that the Prince loved Obi-Wan and Bail's reply to Anakin's questions about not hurting them and not trying to oppose the Council's decision; however, he had not been able to explain to himself just what it was about the Alderaanian's responses that made them so disturbing. Obi-Wan had certainly not been distressed by Bail's behavior or replies. He had smiled, obviously pleased and relieved, and soon after ushered Anakin off to bed, with a promise that he would soon be joining his Padawan (and he had, a little less than half an hour afterwards). By the time Obi-Wan had come to bed, Anakin had been so thoroughly confused by both Bail Organa's seemingly contradictory nature - on the one hand, a friend of Obi-Wan's, someone to be trusted implicitly, and obviously very open and honestly friendly as well as truly concerned about Obi-Wan, about his welfare and well-being; yet also, on the other hand, somehow slightly off, as if his motivations for being concerned about Obi-Wan and friendly to Anakin had nothing whatsoever to do with friendship as Anakin understood it - and his own varying and inexplicable responses to the man that he simply didn't want to think about or have anything to do with the Alderaanian Crown Prince ever again.

Even though Anakin had believed that Bail Organa would not willingly or knowingly do anything to truly hurt them - mainly because he honestly thought that the man would rather die than do anything to cause Obi-Wan Kenobi any kind of grief, much less actual physical pain - he just couldn't quite bring himself to truly trust the man, regardless of how obviously deep and unshakeable and effortlessly unquestioning Obi-Wan's trust was - and has, since then, always remained - in Bail. Thus, Anakin has never quite been able to bring himself to truly become friends with the man or even to entirely make up his mind about whether or not he really likes the Alderaanian Senator. However, since the good Senator and Prince of Alderaan has been and still is quite possibly the closest, most consistently present and supportive and engagingly challenging friend in Obi-Wan Kenobi's life, aside from Anakin himself, Anakin has, understandably, spent quite a lot of time avoiding thinking about and being around the Alderaanian while also very carefully presenting a friendly but largely unavailable face to him, so that Obi-Wan would not find out that Anakin is not actually fond of or overly trusting of the man.

At the moment, though, as he turns to look at the flushed and staring Prince who has burst recklessly into the Council Chamber - wild-eyed and far more disarrayed than Anakin can ever remember seeing him - Anakin has a bad feeling that very soon now he is going to regret not having tried to get to know or at least understand the Alderaanian any better than he has.

In fact, Anakin has such an extremely bad feeling about Bail, period, that he is filled with the sudden urge to grab Obi-Wan up and run away with him, as far and as fast as he can go.

Instead, trying to avoid giving in to the sinking sensation in the pit of his stomach that makes him want to snatch up his beloved and run away, Anakin holds himself steady at Obi-Wan's side, and waits to see what the Force has brought to them.

***