ℝ𝔼ℂ𝕂𝕃𝔼𝕊𝕊 ➵ o. kenobi {my only hope; book 2}

【 FOUR 】

     ᴄᴀᴛᴄʜɪɴɢ ᴜᴘ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴀɴᴀᴋɪɴ ᴡᴀꜱ ᴜɴʙᴇʟɪᴇᴠᴀʙʟʏ ᴇᴀꜱʏ. I hadn't imagined when I'd arrived this morning just how easy it would be to sit and talk with Anakin again, like no time had passed. Even with a ten year age gap and ten years' worth of time between us, we were instantly friends again--laughing and talking, an old relationship rekindled.

I told him about all of my training and time on Padmé's security detail, both of which were things he was immensely curious about. He wanted to hear all about my adventures with Padmé throughout the years, and on top of that, my training with Kera. Back ten years ago, I'd never told him about my abnormal ability, so telling him about it now had him immensely intrigued. With the amount of practice I'd had using the Alter side of the Force by then, I was even able to use my ability to show Anakin some of the trips I'd been on with my sister, procuring him a mindless illusion to witness firsthand.

But just as fascinated as Anakin was with my journey, I was equally fascinated with him. He recounted dozens of adventures he'd been on with Obi-Wan--situations they'd found themselves in and ridiculous ways they'd managed to get out of them. They'd been through a lot together... so much that it made my heart ache a little. I missed those days with Kera. Not only that... I missed those days with Obi-Wan as well.

'Those days.' I said it like it was some sort of extravagant, endless adventure. Truthfully, I'd only spent a small percentage of my life knowing Obi-Wan, and an even shorter amount of time physically with him. 'Those days' were nothing more than a short mission that had ended only in despair and heartbreak.

But as miniscule and somber as 'those days' had been in my life, I did find myself missing them. I found myself missing him.

No. I forced all of my thoughts of that away. Now wasn't the time to be thinking of things like that. Not now, on this critical mission; not here on Coruscant, the capital; not with Kera around, and definitely not with Obi-Wan around. Those feelings were in the past. They had to be. For my own sake... and for the sake of others. I would never allow an incident like the one back on Tatooine or with Darth Maul to happen again.

"Emmy?" Anakin bent his head to try and look into my eyes, which were angled downward, distracted. "Emeré, you seem out of it."

I instantly realized what I was doing and shook my head, snapping out of it. "Oh. Sorry." I forced a smile onto my face. "I guess I'm just a little tired. The journey here was..." I forced a small yawn, "a little exhausting."

Anakin smiled. "If you need to get some sleep, I'm sure Obi-Wan and Kera won't mind. There's more than enough of us here to protect Padmé--er, the Senator--for the night."

I beamed. Anakin was already becoming the same great friend to me as he had been ten years ago, back on Tatooine. Even when I wasn't being completely honest... being completely myself... he was here for me. I missed that--connecting so well with him. Thanks to our rough upbringings, he understood me in a way nobody else did. Ten years ago, we'd bonded over similar pasts. Now, we were connecting again.

I couldn't say the same for me and Obi-Wan. I still had yet to be alone with him, but any time I found myself even in the general vicinity as him, it was unbearably awkward. I tried to keep a distance from him, but sometimes, being distant wasn't an option. At one point, around midday, Kera had instructed us and Anakin to do rounds together. The tension had been so oppressive I hadn't said a single word... not even to Anakin.

Obi-Wan continually tried to break the burning awkwardness in the room, but usually only ended up making it worse. We'd both changed so little, yet so much, in ten years. We were recognizable, yet unrecognizable. I missed talking to him--so much that it hurt--but it wasn't an option. Not to me.