His arms wrapped around her lithe frame almost immediately, giving her a crushing hug as a few quiet sobs left him. It wasn’t a lie, it wasn’t another cruel joke, they’d actually done it and given him back a part of himself.
“Obi?” She whispers worried, her hands wrapping around him in his cloak. He just pulls her in tighter, his head on her shoulder as he takes in all of her, the sound of her voice, her beautiful perfume, the way she feels in the force. He could sense her again, after so long, he could see the symphony of light dancing that was her, it almost brought him to his knees as they stood there.
“Ben, what’s wrong?” She asks again, starting to get scared. Obi Wan senses that spike of fear, the worry on top of all the other storm of emotions rippling through her right now, so he pulls back, wiping his few tears away and smiling at her, his hand on her waist still.
“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” He said with an infectious grin, though she still looks at him as if he’s insane, he takes the moment to look at her face, to not need to remember her, but to actually see her.
“My dear, I believe there is a lot that’s wrong,” She says quietly, eyeing a few suspicious people in the market they were standing in the middle of, drawing more attention the longer they stay. He looks around as well, noticing the worry she has, and sees he’s on Mandalore, in one of the smaller districts he thinks.
“Why would I be on Mandalore, and here of all places?” He thinks to himself, before looking back to Satine, and he freezes. She’s so young, very low 20’s he’d guess, and if she’s that age, and he’s in his younger body, as he suspects, that would make him about 20 as well, which would mean that he’s currently acting as her protection detail from those insurgents from so long ago.
He could also see the Coruscanti scarf he’d gotten for her near the end of his detail here, his time with her would be short it seems, but it was better than nothing. He was in the past, in his old more youthful body, filled with a strength, even more so than before he realizes, it was something that he only had during the time of the Jedi’s prime.
Which means Qui Qon, Mace, Tahl, Bant, Quin, Siri, the entire order, it’s all back, they’re all alive, Anakin hasn’t turned, he might not even have been born yet. Obi wan closes his eyes, finally able to look away from Satine and he reaches out, properly, something he hasn’t done in years, not with the fear of Vader finding him and Luke. His senses reach out, farther than he ever thought possible, and he can feel the entire planet, he can feel the galaxy bright and alive just as it was so long ago.
“Ben, we should really get back,” Satine says, a little nervous, still holding each other tight, unsure how long they could stay and not be recognized. He opens his eyes and looks down at her, he grabs her hand, and in that moment swears to himself that nothing will ever happen to her again while it’s in his power to keep her from it.
“Of course, lead the way,” he whispers, smiling, with her returning it for just a moment before turning and walking back to their temporary home. As they walk, Obi wan takes the moment to try and recall as much of this mission as he possibly can. He can still remember the leaders of the rebelling group, who needed to be put away, who’s coming after Satine, and how everything was settled.
If he did remember correctly, it was just a matter of time before Qui Qon would find the ones putting the bounty on her and dealt with them. His job was to keep her safe in the interim, keep those bounty hunters from collecting, and those insurgent Mandolorians from taking her life, the budding Death Watch.
After only a bit of walking, they get to a dock with a very simple looking star ship, a basic looking thing with only essential Mandalorian designs. She opens the ramp and they head up, into the dark interior, which was much better looking than the outside, with what he could see. Obi Wan watches as she walks towards the cockpit, and takes a second to pat himself down, trying to take stock of what he has on him.
The first thing he takes is his old lightsaber, the one he’d had when he was, well, while he has as a Padawan. He holds it in his young hands and feels the same connection he’d had with it so long ago. With a content sigh, he clips it back to his belt, and searches for anything else of use. He finds the basic Jedi equipment mostly, a communicator, rebreather, rations, etc. Though of course, he finds that this is all hidden beneath basic Mandolarian attire, instead of his usual Jedi tunics.
“Ben, are you coming?” Satine calls out from the cockpit, the sounds of the ship booting up already beginning. He looks down at his young hands again, a beardless grin spreading across his face before he thinks of his new future to come. He has no clue on what he’s supposed to do with this second chance he’s been given, should he tell anyone, should he reveal his abilities as a mere padawan, should he tell Satine?
He sighs, and walks in after her, taking a seat in the pilot's chair, flicking the switches that would take them in the air. He could feel her eyes burning into him with curiosity, he could also sense it, the concern she has for him, she wants to know whats wrong, she wants to help, and he cant help the happiness that fills him because of it. It had been so long since anyones wanted to help him, and not the other way around.
“Satine, I… I have to tell you something,” Obi Wan says carefully, his hands slowly falling from the buttons he was fiddling with as he turns to her. She stops what she’s doing as well, and slowly lets her hands fall back to her lap, the same as him. She turns in her chair, watching him, waiting for him to explain his odd behavior.
“I don’t know how to say this honestly,” He says quietly, his eyes moving down to his lap, still debating on whether he should be honest or not, he needs to say something though, otherwise he’d look insane with how he was acting in the market.
Her hand reaches over and takes his, gently cupping it as she eyes him with that same deep concern she always had for those she could help. He squeezes her hand, a sigh of content leaving him, he looks back up into her eyes with love in his eyes.
“What is it?” She asks gently, seeing that heart melting look he’s giving her, and she just can't help but give a gentle smile in return. He just sits there for a moment taking her in, being with her in this small pocket of peace that was given to him. At her questioning gaze though, begging to let her help, he has to answer.
“I… You died,” He said quietly. She sits there, looking at him confused, another sliver of worry building inside her at the thought. Obi Wan sits there for a moment in silence, feeling foolish to admit that, or at least beginning with that.
“I’m fine Obi, I’m right here, you can touch me, hear me, you can feel me can’t you? Through the force,” She asks, thinking that this may be something to do with his more innate abilities rather than anything to do with the physical world.
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“Did you sense something?” She asks, scooting closer, sitting on the edge of her seat. He laughs bitterly, a short thing as he shakes his head. He leans closer, his eyes unwillingly filling with a few tears as he wipes them away.
“N-no Satine, I saw you die,” He says bluntly, a shiver running through him thinking about it again. Her eyes widened a little, thinking that maybe he’d seen something in the future, a vision that she heard some Jedi were capable of. She waits though, knowing that he needed this moment to speak.
“I’m… I, I don’t know how to say this,” He says, cursing himself for his sudden loss of words. He was the negotiator once, how can words suddenly be so difficult.
He looks back up at her, and he sees her look of worry, he sees every stress that's on her, through memory, through the force, physically, he sees it all, and in that moment, he decides that he can’t lie to her. He won’t add to her burden though, not yet, he can’t be the one to tell her how their worlds burned, not until she deals with her own problems first. So after a few short seconds of figuring this out, he decides to fix a mistake he never should have made in the first place.
“Satine, I..Jedi have an ability to perceive the future, we can look through the force and see events that haven't yet come to pass, and I saw you… I saw you die,” he says with a heart breaking whisper, both his hands now holding hers.
“I failed Satine, I wasn’t able to keep you safe,” He says thinking about Maul, the blade running through her, dropping her to the floor like a puppet without strings. He looks at her scared expression, carefully hidden behind a stoic mask, the one she wears as her people’s leader.
“These visions, they don’t mean anything though, as my masters all tell me, the future is always in motion, nothing is set in stone,” He says with a smile, a light bitter chuckle coming from him as he shakes his head.
“Satine, the point is…I saw you die, and I felt empty, I didn’t know what to do,” He says quietly, his eyes filled with sadness, but also resolve, his back straightens, his eyes locked onto hers, trying to convey how strongly he felt for her.
“I swear, upon my life, I will never let that future be a reality Satine, I won’t let it,” He says firmly. She looks at him with a mix of emotions, a minor fear that she wouldn’t be able to help her people, a worry that she would die painfully, a love for his protection and comfort, for him, and a confusion.
“Obi…If that’s what you saw, then what made you so excited in the market?” She asks with a slight frown, knowing that something else must have happened, to at least get over her death and be that joyful. He looks down again, seeming to not be able to keep his eyes on her with how many revelations he’s giving.
“I had a realization, Satine,” He says quietly, desperately hoping that what he’s about to do won’t change things drastically, won’t change the future in ways he can’t comprehend, just as it had been before, but he doesn’t care, if this is his second chance, then he’s going to make the most of it, every moment of it. He looks back into her eyes again, determined that what he says will be felt in every way possible.
“Satine, I love you,” He says deeply, his hands holding onto her tighter as the setting sun cascades through the window, giving her beauty a new way to be appreciated as he waits with bated breath, having know idea what he was really doing.
“I love you,” He repeats simply, quietly, leaning forward in his seat, only a hair's breadth between the two of them as he waits for her response. He could feel his heart beat pounding against his chest, holding his breath, with blood rushing into his ears. He didn’t know a thing of what he’d do if she didn’t respond in kind, or even if she did. All he knows is that he wants to do it with her.
“Obi,” She breathes out, her hand cupping his face as she shakes her head, her eyes widening slightly with shock at the sudden revelation, or at least a revelation put into words. She can't help the light blush that comes to her pale skin at the look of adoration she sees on his face, directed only towards her.
“Ben, we can't do this,” She says with a heartbroken look, knowing that she can't possibly say anything else to something like this. They both have responsibilities that they cannot and must not abandon, they have people relying on them to keep them safe, and something like this could easily make that much harder. A Jedi and a Mandalorian making it even more difficult than otherwise, so she stands from her chair, her hand still in his as she looks down at him.
“Why not,” He says with a smile, standing up, his free hand moving to her waist, his head pressing lightly into her as he keeps his eyes locked onto hers. She closes her eyes, a sigh of disappointment leaving her, his hand holding onto hers tight, something that she doesn't want to change.
“You know why,” She says, and tries to gently pull away, not wanting to at all. He could feel that though, he could feel the same desperation that he has for her, he could feel her love for him, so he holds on, not letting her go.
“I do, I…I realize that this is insane Satine, I know what this could do if we get caught, but I want to try, please,” He says, ending his plea in a whisper, his hand now cupping her cheek as she looks back to him, confusion written on her face, seemingly permanent tonight with every new fact that he reveals to her.
“What do you mean Ben? You want to be together, in secret?” She asks disbelievingly, doubting that such an idea is even possible, but he nods his head, his smile coming back as his idea forms, one that he’d gotten from his former padawan.
“Yes, no one has to know, Mandalore doesn’t need to, and I see no reason why the order has to know. We can be together, even with thousands of stars between us, with nothing but simple comms to hear each other's voices, and I’ll visit whenever I can,” He says quickly, excited, his hands laying on her waist as he pulls her close to him. Satine can’t help but smile with him, blushing at the ludicrous idea.
“You really think that we could do that, that we could keep this a secret? Obi Wan, I can’t ask you to risk your reason for living for something as simple as me,” She says with a laugh, smiling at this sweet impossibility, thinking of how it could work, thinking of the possibilities. Obi Wan shakes his head, that stupid smile on his face as he senses her love, and her thoughts.
“You know it can work Satine, and you're right, I can’t give up being a Jedi, but I can’t give you up either. Satine, just as the order gives me purpose, you give me life, I can’t live without you,” He says, thinking to himself, not again.
“Please, let's try, if for nothing else but for the possibility that we can one day live together, be happy with one another without any of these responsibilities,” He says, trying to convince her, breaking the Jedi code quite thoroughly in the process as he does.
“You think this can work? That this can actually work?” She asks firmly, her hands on his face, as she stares him in the eye. So many things could go wrong, so many consequences for her people, for her, for him. His eyes though, tell her this can be worth it, that she deserves a little happiness in her life, especially after she ends the turmoil her planet is experiencing right now. He nods his head, waiting with another baited breath as he holds her.
“I love you,” She whispers, giving him a loving smile as they hold one another in their empty ship during sunset. A happy laugh escapes him, a few tears coming down his face as he gets one of the things he’d always wanted, one of the biggest dreams and regrets that he’d always thought of while in exile, finally his.
He leans down quickly, his lips pressing into hers softly, kissing her, with his arms wrapping around her back, and hers around his neck. He can't help it, he lifts her a foot in the air and spins her around, another joy filled laugh coming from him.
“Ben!” She yells giggling like a girl as they hold one another, tighter than ever, finally free from the constraints they’d placed on themselves for so long, almost a full year. He sets her down on her feet gently, pulling back just a bit as the final rays of light from the sun die out, leaving them in only the ship's luminacenses.
“We have to be careful Ben, no one can know,” She says sternly, looking at him with the glare of a warrior, one of a leader. He nods his head, still grinning like a fool as he pulls her in for a tight hug, basking in the feeling of her.
“No one will ever find out my dear, I promise,” He says quietly, nuzzling into her neck. They hold each other, smiling with content as they waste the night away just being with one another, not worried about the inevitable trouble that they’d be facing from the galaxy, from their enemies, from their allies, and from the future they'd be living with together.