"What part of faking your death says "I want to sleep with you?" Talia demanded, interrupting breakfast the next morning. She slapped down the invite that Malimo had sent her, the implication of a 'plus one' strong to all of them. Theo looked up from his food.
"You'd have thought he'd be able to tell the difference between "I want to stab you" and "Take me, I'm yours!"
Talia gave him a look.
"I'm not that pathetic."
"But I'm not the only one who's had sex with people."
"I don't beg for it. They beg for me."
Obi-Wan nearly choked on his herbal tea at that, his eyes widening. The effect her voice had when she lowered it like that...Force, his heart was going wild.
"You alright there?" And now she was staring right at him. Obi-Wan felt his face warm. He cleared his throat, awkwardly trying to avoid eye contact.
"Y-yes, quite alright, thank you."
"You look flustered." Zoe commented from where she was sitting on the kitchen counter, sipping her hot chocolate.
"I am not!"
"Are too."
"I am not."
Talia looked between Theo (who looked similarly stressed) and Anakin (who was sipping a martini) and hit her head against the table with a groan.
"Anakin, pass me the headache tablets, would you?"
He did so immediately, with no hesitation or complaint. Huh. That was odd, Obi-Wan thought.
"Why do you behave for her and not me?"
"Have you seen her? She can beat me up!"
"Yes, and it would be quite delightful."
Talia downed her tablets with a glass of water, cutting right through their argument.
"Tell me why-"
"Ain't nothin' but a heartache." Theo and Zoe chimed in.
"-I can't stab you all. And that includes Malimo." She knew very well why she couldn't stab them, but she was hoping they'd get the hint to shut up and get back to the point.
"Because you love us...not Malimo."
"No. Anyway, he won't stop until he has me in his cage, or until he dies." A weak man: he boasted a lot. Overcompensating.
"And neither will Verräter."
"Everyone wants us in a cage. Wonderful." It was odd to see Talia calm. Her stress had melted away, an eerie feeling.
"The Jedi don't." Zoe piped up.
"The Jedi would kill us all if they had their way," the bounty hunter reminded them. "Don't forget that."
Theo frowned.
"Why do you sound happy about that?"
"I'm happy about it when it refers to me." The three of them continued to bicker about that. Anakin moved closer to Obi-Wan, still sipping his martini, his eyes fixed on the former Dark Jedi.
"They sound like us."
Ahsoka, Obi-Wan, and himself.
"Yes. Yes, they do."
They sat there, watching the trio as they continued to argue. Zoe seemed to simply argue for the hell of it. Meanwhile, Talia's stress seemed to have been transferred to Theo, and Talia just kept bringing up undeniable logic.
"They don't kill unarmed people." Zoe pointed out, ever faithful to the Order. Talia glanced down at her two lightsabers, whip, and the (visible) knives on her body.
"Well, shit." She said cheerfully.
"We don't kill allies either." Obi-Wan interjected.
"Does it say that in your Jedi Code?"
"No..."
Talia's grin was feral, triumphant. As usual, she was right.
"I see."
Zoe frowned.
"Where were we?"
"Malimo."
"Yes, Malimo," Talia leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. "I will bet you my entire inheritance he'll try and get me alone at this party thing." Wait...what?
"Inheritance?" Anakin asked.
"I have money, leave me alone."
Obi-Wan considered this. The name Desafio...it wasn't super common in the galaxy. The only Desafios he knew were...well, they were a noble House. They only had one heir, and Lord and Lady Desafio had died twenty six years ago. Around the same time that Talia had ended up on the streets of level 1313.
Obi-Wan glanced down at the bracelet that still remained around his wrist. A little worn, now, he'd never once taken it off since that day twenty six years ago. His heart sped up. Could she be the same girl?
His eyes flickered back to her, picking up on all the mannerisms that still hadn't quite left her. The smooth, confident, elegant way in which she spoke and acted, the way she held her mug and also her knife and fork. It was subtle, that part of her barely alive, but it was there.
Lady Talia Desafio.
The woman he'd failed, all those years ago. If he hadn't, then he would not be sitting there with her. She would be safe.
"I'll come with you as backup."
Anakin and Zoe exchanged a look over their respective martini and hot chocolate, while Talia relaxed immediately. Obi-Wan could see her shoulder muscles loosen. A small, subtle movement, but it told him exactly what she was feeling. Theo looked between them, completely and utterly lost.
"Talia, you're engaged now." Zoe grinned.
"I actually have a ring somewhere."
"Of course, you do."
Anakin frowned, confused.
"Wait, why don't you just say no?"
"Because I am a woman, and he has a small dick."
Obi-Wan nearly choked on his herbal tea, again, along with Theo and Anakin (choking on food and martini, respectively).
"The Jedi Council would hate me." Talia mused thoughtfully, completely ignoring the men. Zoe looked upset, still being focused on Malimo.
"But we beat him up!"
"Yes, but I haven't stabbed him."
"What is your obsession with knives?" Anakin seemed bemused.
"They're pretty and easy to hide."
"Where the hell are we?" Theo blinked.
Talia snapped her fingers. "Information from the benefactors. We need to figure out their motives, why they're funding the Council. And where they're getting their money from."
"We destroy the source, we destroy the company," Zoe agreed. "But we have to find the source first."
"I made you both earpieces in case something goes wrong," Theo passed Obi-Wan and Anakin an earpiece each. "Master Kenobi, yours will take the form of jewelry for the purpose of concealment. It will also disguise you, so that the Dark Jedi don't recognise you. Talia, I upgraded yours, it'll disguise as an earring."
He passed Talia a small pair of red and gold earrings, one of them presumably the earpiece. Talia took them from him, turning them over in her hands.
"Oooh, this'll go with my outfit!"
"Is that not the idea?"
Talia shrugged, slipping them into her ears. She'd told Anakin she'd pierced them with knives, although Obi-Wan wasn't sure how true that was.
"Some people want contrast. How do they look?"
Zoe's face lit up. "Pretty!"
Theo nodded.
"Well, that's you sorted," he turned to Obi-Wan. "What about you?"
"What do you mean?"
Talia rolled her eyes from her place by the wall, not even glancing up from examining the gold paint on her nails.
"Jedi robes are a beacon, that's what he means. It's formal. Suit and tie, whatever. Anakin, stop smirking."
Anakin's eyes widened, his jaw dropping. "How the-"
"I have eyes in the back of my head." It was what her mother had told her, many a time.
"So, what are you planning to wear?" Zoe interrupted, addressing Talia. The older woman tapped her ear, indicating the earrings from before.
"Red and gold."
"Isn't gold a regal colour?" Theo frowned.
"And?" Talia raised an eyebrow in challenge. "You made me red and gold earrings, you can't then tell me I'm not allowed to wear gold."
"So, the plan," Zoe interjected before Theo could argue again. "Obi-Wan and I will go shopping, Talia and Anakin stay and do whatever, and Theo-"
"I'll let the Council know what we're up to."
Zoe glanced over at Talia, who nodded once. She breathed a sigh of relief. Talia babysitting Anakin would mean there'd be no opportunity for him to act up. Everyone knew he was terrified of her.
The bounty hunter stood up to leave the room, pausing before she passed Obi-Wan, her lips barely brushing the shell of his ear.
"I'll see you later, pretty boy." She didn't stay to see Obi-Wan's face turn bright red. This was a man who could hold himself together in front of countless enemies. One beautiful woman was able to make him lose it all, it seemed. Anakin smirked at the sight, sipping at his martini. He opened his mouth to tease his master when:
"Skywalker!"
Anakin's smirk dropped. He practically sprinted out of the room, leaving Zoe, Theo and Obi-Wan still standing there in the kitchen. Silence.
"Yeah, so, I'm gonna go..." Theo quickly made his way out of there.
"And then there were two." Zoe commented cheerfully. No answer.
She frowned. "Hello?"
Still nothing. Zoe hummed thoughtfully, using the Force to nudge his arm. Obi-Wan jumped, blue eyes wide like a startled rabbit. He cleared his throat, making an obvious effort to calm himself.
"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
Zoe allowed herself a smirk, ducking her head so that Obi-Wan wouldn't see.
"We're going shopping, Banana Head."
The Jedi looked so confused.
"Banana Head?"
"Because you're blonde, let's go," she paused, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Do you know anything about fashion?"
"I'm offended you had to ask." The fashion, the sass, the delivery! Hoo boy, she would be having a great time today!
Meanwhile, Talia was trying on the dress she'd picked out for the benefactor party: a scarlet red dress that hugged her body closely, with a slit running up her thigh. And it had pockets. She stared at herself in the mirror, adjusting her hair to look a bit neater in its half crown braid. Of course, she knew she looked hot. But for a mission like this? Not one detail could be out of place.
"Stop fussing, you look fine." Anakin rolled his eyes from his seat on the windowpane.
"These people know me well. If so much as one detail is misplaced, we'll all die."
"They can't be that observant."
"Theo!"
"You look great!" Theo's faint voice replied from the living room.
"You're not looking!"
"I don't need to!"
Talia turned to Anakin with a proud smile at her lips. She'd raised her son well.
"Now, that's how you charm a lady."
"Excuse me?" Anakin's jaw dropped. "Who's married?"
"Honey, I have men who would fall on their knees for a single second of my attention. Can you claim the same?" Also, he'd just openly admitted he was married. She could get him expelled from the Jedi Order if she wanted to now.
The way Anakin's face fell was honestly hilarious. Talia decided not to tell him that he was terrible at keeping secrets: it had been so obvious.
"I-"
Talia waved a hand, using the Force to temporarily shut him up.
"I'm not saying anything to them."
"You won't?" Why the hell was he so surprised?
"Hon, it's human nature to get attached to people," she poured herself a glass of whiskey, downing it in the next instant. "I'm the last person to judge."
"But, I'm the-"
Talia gave him a look.
"Finish that sentence, and your master will come home to an empty house." The whole 'Chosen One' thing was a tedious and unnecessary topic.
Anakin shut his mouth. Talia continued, wrapping her whip around her wrist and pressing a button to turn it into a bracelet.
"I don't care who you are, or what you do. You'll still be the incompetent, impetuous boy you are right now," she scoffed. "Hell, I'm the least perfect person you'll find. You think I expect you to be better? Whiskey?"
Anakin nodded, sitting down on the bed beside her as she poured him a glass. Talia could feel him watching, his eyes scanning her.
"What?"
"Who were you, before all of this?" he asked, taking the glass she handed him. "No more games."
Talia leaned back against the wall, studying him thoughtfully. For once, she decided to be honest, to give him a straightforward answer. Sort of.
"I was a daughter. A girl with soft hands, who thought the only monsters were animals who lived in the shadows," her eyes narrowed. "And who were you?"
"A slave." Anakin folded his arms over his chest, raising his chin slightly. Pride. Defiance. She'd done it many times herself, a long time ago.
"Is that what defines you?" Talia picked up a whetstone, scraping the blade of one of her knives against it. "Your entire life?"
"No."
"Is that what you're trying to prove? By arguing and going against every damn thing anyone ever tells you? By getting me kicked out of my club and getting mad when I don't agree with you?" She knew, from the brief flicker of shock on his face, that she had it right. And then his eyes hardened.
"You wouldn't get it."
Power and control. She understood it, to a point. She herself had never had the greed for it, though. Not like Verräter had. And not like the boy in front of her.
Talia sighed, turning so the sunlight fell over the canyon krayt dragon tattoo on her right shoulder. It looked so much like a tattoo, didn't it?
"See this, kid? This is a brand," she watched the horror dawn on him: clearly, he'd never been branded. "I know more than you think, hotshot."
There was a dead silence. Talia could feel his fury. She was alone in a room with a man quick to anger, who could so easily lash out and turn Dark. She met his stare, copper eyes like candlelight: still a form of fire.
"I know what you're thinking," he was too much like Milo in that respect. "Slow down."
Anakin's eyes narrowed, his voice laced with bitterness. "Slow down? You think that's the answer? Well, I've seen what happens when people slow down, Talia. I've seen the suffering, the injustice. I won't stand by and let it continue. Not anymore."
Okay, so he didn't respond well to orders.
"If you take on the entire company, who will be left to look after Padmé? That's at least a thousand Dark Jedi." This was why they were going for the funding first.
"Obi-Wan would." Anakin declared confidently. Talia's eyes blazed. Another stroke of the blade against her whetstone.
"Then fucking back it up," she saw the fear in his own gaze at the sight of her anger. "You say you trust him. Then do it. Trust him. He's been struggling with the three of us himself, but he knows we'll get justice done. You go all in, you're dead, and there's no guarantee our slavery will ever truly end."
Corruption zero, Talia two.
Anakin had no reason to fear her, of course. But the Dark inside him did.
"Talia's wearing scarlet, but that's not your colour." Zoe pointed out a scarlet red suit, her bottom lip caught between her teeth in a gesture of thought.
"Red's not my colour anyway." Obi-Wan followed her gaze to the suit. It looked expensive: made out of red silk. Zoe gave him a look.
"You know, Mum's gonna have to cause a scene and stab Malimo if he gets her alone," The consequences of that...they'd likely be thrown out, these were respected benefactors. "Besides, it's not like we're asking you to switch out your Kyber crystal as well."
Obi-Wan sighed. "What shade do you recommend?"
Zoe regarded him carefully.
"Crimson."
Half an hour later, the two of them had gone through at least fifteen different shades of suits, none of which suited Zoe's liking.
"You're right," she said after dismissing coral. "Red is not your colour."
"I did tell you."
Zoe sighed. Talia could pick up any shade of red and look brilliant in it. Shopping with her was so much easier than with Obi-Wan. Talia had a darker skin tone, though, from spending so many years on hot planets.
Wait. That was it.
Zoe snapped her fingers.
"Contrast."
Obi-Wan frowned.
"Excuse me?"
"I've been trying to find shades that match with scarlet," she paced the room, the idea giving a new spring to her step. "Bright shades, but they don't go with your skin tone. Now, if we tried darker shades, contrasting with scarlet...it might just work."
"Will we have to go through another fifteen suits?" Obi-Wan asked dryly. Zoe rolled her eyes at him.
"Be grateful, I'm making you look good for Talia."
"Why must you insist that I like Talia?"
"Why must you insist that you don't?"
Zoe felt the urge to scream. They'd gone through fifteen suits to find the perfect shade of red, with Obi-Wan annoying her for the past half hour, and now she wasn't feeling quite as relaxed as before.
Obi-Wan, meanwhile, didn't know what to tell her. Yes, he'd come to learn that he was falling completely and irrevocably in love with Lady Talia Desafio, a woman so fierce and stubborn, with words of fire and steel. A woman who could kill him if she chose, but damn, if he didn't love the thrill of it. He would praise her until he could no longer breathe from it, for some things in the universe were endlessly beautiful and deserving of praise, and she was one of them. But he was scared.
More than that, he was terrified that if he opened his heart to this exquisite, defiant woman, she'd leave. Everyone left him eventually. Qui-Gon, Satine...he wasn't enough for them, and his heart still cried Satine's name in its agony. He wasn't ready.
And he sure as hell wasn't enough, though he'd fight until his heart gave out to protect the girl with the soft eyes and the gentle hands, the girl he knew still lived somewhere behind Talia's hard armor and sharp edges. He knew she didn't need him anymore. She didn't need any of his brethren to protect her. But he had to try, to repay at least a little for all his failures.
His thoughts got cut off by Zoe shoving a burgundy suit with a black shirt into his hands.
"Try this, and stop annoying me."
Obi-Wan sighed, moving behind the screen to change into the suit and shirt. Zoe was being very particular about such minor details, the sort of things that he and Anakin never usually thought about. He supposed that was how they always ended up in one of Anakin's improvised plans. There was no room for error in a mission like this.
He glanced down at the black and light blue bracelet still circling his wrist, gently rubbing his fingers over the soft leather. Surely, that was one detail that could be ignored?
"You think Anakin and Mum have killed each other yet?" Zoe asked him when he stepped out from behind the screen.
Obi-Wan adjusted his suit jacket, raising a brow at her question.
"Killing each other? Now, that would require a level of melodrama even they haven't achieved... yet." Still, it was like living in a soap opera.
"Nah, Mum's the opposite of melodramatic," Zoe twirled her finger in a circle. "Now turn." Obi-Wan gave her a look.
"Absolutely not."
"But if Talia asked-"
No. Maybe.
"Oh, I see. So now you're using Talia as leverage against me? Clever, but it won't work. My talents extend far beyond the realm of fashion. I am a Jedi Master, after all, not a runway model. Besides, I've already mastered the art of pulling off a rugged Jedi-chic look."
Zoe snorted.
"Jedi-chic? Is that what they're calling it these days? Well, I hate to break it to you, Master Jedi, but your 'rugged' look is more 'I just rolled out of bed and grabbed whatever was on the floor'."
"It's effortless."
"I've seen Ewoks with better fashion sense," Zoe pinched the bridge of her nose with an annoyed sigh. "Will you just do as I say for once?"
"Fine," Obi-Wan sighed, turning in a circle. "Happy?"
"Very." Zoe shrugged off her jacket to try on a new one she'd picked out. Obi-Wan caught sight of a brand seared into her left arm. The unmistakable symbol of the Hutt cartel.
"I can see you staring."
Obi-Wan immediately looked away, stuttering his apologies, but Zoe seemed unconcerned.
"Verräter bought us from Jabba. We were nine."
Something sharp tore through Obi-Wan's already broken heart.
"You were slaves?"
Zoe rolled her eyes. "Obviously."
"Well, forgive me for not having a crystal ball to see your traumatic past written on your arm," Obi-Wan huffed, annoyed. "I'll try to be more perceptive next time, shall I? Maybe I'll start wearing my Jedi robe inside out so everyone can see my emotional scars too."
"Oh, please," the young rogue scoffed. "Emotional scars are so last season. I prefer to wear mine as a statement piece, not some hidden secret. But hey, if you want to join the trend, be my guest. I hear Jedi robes are all the rage in therapy sessions."
Obi-Wan opened his mouth to respond in kind, when Zoe's comlink started beeping. She pressed a button on her wrist, Talia's voice coming through the machine.
"Can you come home? Skywalker's quiet now, I don't know how long it'll last." Her voice was hushed, as if trying not to wake a sleeping beast.
Obi-Wan frowned. "Why are you whispering?"
"Why must you object to my getting a few minutes of peace?"
"You never care about disturbing people." Zoe pointed out.
"I care about disturbing my peace. Anakin is a weird feral thing, I don't know when he'll be quiet again."
"Try living with him." Obi-Wan grumbled under his breath.
"I am." Talia's voice pointed out.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Master," Anakin's voice sounded from Zoe's comlink. "Did I ruin your precious meditation session with my 'weird feral' presence? Maybe next time I'll try to be more considerate and spontaneously combust, just to make your day."
"That would be helpful. Thank you."
"I have a migraine, and today is meant to be my chill day." Talia declared cheerfully.
"It happens sometimes," Zoe lowered her voice to explain to Obi-Wan. "Talia gets so stressed out that she's chill. And then she'll actually relax...and then start getting stressed again."
Obi-Wan nodded.
"I know the feeling well."
"Anakin?"
"Anakin."
"Hey!"
"Oh, wait, he's still on," Zoe switched off her commlink, eyeing the formal wear shop with an expert eye. "I need a new dress to slay in."
Zoe would not be accompanying them, but she appeared to love her dresses, and Obi-Wan wasn't one to stop her from enjoying herself. They parted ways for a while, Obi-Wan turning to adjust his suit in the mirror. Normally, he wouldn't go for something so expensive, but Zoe had assured him it was okay. Still, he felt bad about using Talia's money for it. She claimed she'd earned it during long espionage jobs on old missions, but he now knew that wasn't the full truth.
He sighed, and moved back into the changing room to switch the suit for his robes, before heading to the counter to pay. His mind drifted to Viola Marlov. She was Yoda's Padawan, but equally dear to him, and yet he hadn't heard from her since first meeting Talia. Perhaps there was a reason for it. If something was wrong, she would certainly tell him, being far more responsible than Anakin for some reason.
It was quite concerning that a twelve-year-old was somehow more mature than The Chosen One.