Archive: SWA-L
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns them. I utilized them for the story and no
copyright infringement is implied. So, relax, George.
Notes: For Mona, as always. :)
Pairing: Q/O implied
Rating: G
Summary: A quiet evening.
Annikin Skywalker crossed the marble floor and respectfully, silently, sat next to his master. Obi-Wan was lost in thought, his mind going backward over the years to other places, other times.
The eighteen year old boy next to him, strong, handsome and tall, waited patiently. Patience was a virtue, Obi-Wan had said many, many times. He had learned it the hard way, as he was sure that his master had.
"It's beautiful, isn't it..."
Anakin looked at his master's profile, noting the sadness that seemed to live in the older man now.
"Yes, Master..."
"He loved it here, in this place. He loved to watch the sun set."
Qui-Gon. The ghost of the tall, lost man clung to Obi-Wan like a shroud. It always had. From that awful day on Naboo to the present, the shadows of another had dogged them both.
Anakin remembered the tall, noble man, his kind eyes and his soft voice. He remembered how he had been Anakin's champion when no one else would. The dark eyes, kind, gentle, wise... they sometimes visited Anakin in his dreams.
Obi-Wan sighed. "Do you remember him, Padawan?"
"Yes, Master," Anakin replied softly, taking care not to break the moment. "Not as well as I wish. He saved my life."
"He did. He sensed the good in you, the power of the force as it moved in you. Only he believed in you. Even I did not."
Anakin sat, noting the sorrow in the Jedi's voice.
"Dark times are coming, Padawan."
A soft breeze wafted in, cooling the air around them. It was welcome after the heat of the afternoon. The leaves of the dark trees beyond the window rustled, their soft sound soothing after the noise of the day. Flowers, somewhere in the dark, shared their fragrance with the two silent men as they sat together. The room, darkened by the shrinking sun, filled the corners with shadows.
"What are you thinking, Master?"
Obi-Wan looked down at his hands. "I think I have lived too long."
Anakin blinked, looking at the hands that had grown old before his eyes. They were skilled and powerful, the hands of a strong man. Yet, somehow, sitting here, Obi-Wan looked suddenly frail.
"May I ask you a question, Master?"
A barely perceptible nod bade acceptance.
"You never married."
For a moment, Anakin thought his teacher was not going to answer, and then he heard a soft sigh from the shadow sitting beside him.
"I loved, young Padawan."
It was spoken softly, reverently, mournfully. It spoke of longing, deep and forever longing.
"Did I know who you loved, Master?"
Obi-wan sighed, a barely perceptible nod signaling his answer.
"They are gone?"
"Yes, lo, these many years."
"I'm sorry, Master."
Obi-Wan smiled slightly. "So am I, Anakin."
There was silence for a while and then, in a voice echoing into a past only he could see, Obi-Wan told of his heart. Anakin listened, his own breathing stilled, as the enigma beside him spoke of things never before told.
Love. Passion. Joy and friendship. Pleasure and pain and warmth.
"A man can live without many things, young Skywalker, but they can't live without love."
"You have, Master..."
Obi-Wan sighed. "Yes..."
The silence fell over them again as they sat together, the stars in the black sky above blinking into existence one by one.
"Master Qui-Gon loved the stars. He loved looking at them, didn't he." Anakin spoke straightly, his mind forming around the image of a man he once knew, so long ago.
"Yes, he did. We looked at them together. He taught me everything. He was my friend, my partner, my teacher. He was everything to me."
Anakin sighed softly. Qui-Gon was everything to Obi-Wan that the older man could never be to Anakin. He would never be the father Anakin wished he had. He looked at Obi-Wan, noting his stillness.
"Master, who did you love?"
The silence stretched on.
"Padawan, its time for rest."
For a moment, Anakin wavered and then he bent to his master's will. With a bow of respect, he rose and began to turn, pausing for a moment as he stared at his teacher. Bending down, he squeezed Obi-Wan's shoulder gently.
"Good night, Master."
"Good night, Padawan."
For a moment after, Obi-Wan sat, watching the stars, and then he rose slowly, sighing deeply. The moon shimmered in the dark sky, smiling at him with its silvery face. How many nights had it looked down on the spot he stood and gave so bountifully of its graceful beauty?
He did not know. It didn't matter really. He was alone. He sighed again.
"Good night, Master. I still love you. I always will."
Slowly, Obi-Wan turned and walked to the door and the hallway beyond. In the room, the darkness was unbroken, the stillness complete. Another day had past. Another day would begin. And still, after all these years, he was alone.