Negotiations with a Lightsaber

[This is so AU for Anakin it should be the striked out version of him. That is, it just came to me but has little to do with the Anakin I roleplay. Or the canon version. Uhm. Unless Nic wants to help me change that?]

If Anakin had learned nothing else from Obi-Wan, it had been how to make the perfect pot of tea. This was a useful skill since Obi-Wan rather liked tea, and because Anakin found it instrumental in relaxing his Master. Which was convenient when Anakin wanted something. Like getting out of a few hours of meditation. Surely with the judicious application of the perfect pot of tea, Obi-Wan would forget and go straight to sleep.

Hmm, maybe he should add cookies. Not even Obi-Wan could resist that combination and surely they'd distract his Master from even thinking about meditating. It was a great plan.

A great plan with one flaw.

As soon as Obi-Wan entered their shared quarters, he looked at Anakin curiously. "Tea and cookies? I hesitate to ask what the occasion is. Or maybe, what you did this time?"

Anakin made a face, "I didn't do anything. I haven't done anything in...uhm...at least a week. And it's not an occasion. I just. Wanted tea. And cookies." Well, he always wanted cookies, but that was a whole 'nother pot of tea as it were.

Obi-Wan just raised an eyebrow and poured himself a cup of tea and munched on a cookie. "Mm-hmm. Well, I do have to commend you, my padawan, this is the perfect snack to have before we begin our meditations."

Anakin tried, but didn't quite, suppress his groan. Obi-Wan just hid his smirk behind his cup of tea while his defeated padawan poured his own cup and snagged a cookie or three. There was no point in arguing with his Master when his plan had already been found out. Plus, it might prompt Obi-Wan to forgo the snack and go straight to the meditating. So instead, Anakin drew the snack out as long as he could, hoping Obi-Wan might give up which eventually prompted his Master to comment, "Padawan, that may have worked when you were nine but it is hardly likely to work at the age of seventeen."

So Anakin just gave Obi-Wan a wide-eyed innocent look and gulped down the rest of his tea and a cookie. "Okay, Master, I'm ready." As I'll ever be.

Obi-Wan smiled and gestured to two cushions resting nearby on the floor, taking his place on one and waiting while his student settled onto the other. Nearly in unison, they both closed their eyes and took in deep breaths before exhaling slowly and relaxing into the embrace of the Force.

It should, perhaps, be explained that the actual meditation Anakin didn't mind all that much, it's just he preferred its more active forms and really disliked having to sit still for very long, often finding himself cramping as he did so, and it taking ages for him to just let go as he was taught, which left him frustrated. Tonight, however, it was easy. Maybe it was the tea. Master and Padawan sank into the Force, letting their spirits free.

Once he got to this point, Anakin usually found it exhilarating but tonight it was even more so and it took him a few moments to understand why until he realised he was sensing Obi-Wan's feelings as well and he could tell Obi-Wan felt it too, each one's emotions magnifying the other's in a continuous loop. He'd never felt anything like it before and it seemed Obi-Wan hadn't either. Well, not quite in the same context, anyway. If he hadn't been so caught up in it, he might have wandered if they should stop, but that doubt didn't enter his mind at all and Obi-Wan didn't pull away. In fact, they both grew closer, their presences in the Force blending together and entertwining until, if one could watch, they would have only seen one unified presence there for one blinding moment.

It was exhausting, it was exhilarating, it was glorious, and then it was gone and both master and apprentice dropped back into the real world covered in sweat and staring at each other in wonder.

There may be snow on the roof, but there's fire in the belly...

Anakin stared out the viewport at the pure white landscape that lay before him. Him and a few hundred clone troopers scattered around the camp. And support staff. And Obi-Wan.

In a way, he almost could imagine it was sand, for the suns of Tatooine had often burned bright enough that its deserts shone white beneath them at the height of midday. But here, no, it's much too cold. The skies were too cloudy, small white flakes drifting down from them occasionally to join their brethren blanketing the ground. And besides all that, here, the ground wasn't barren. On Tatooine, practically nothing grew. And here, yes, there was nothing growing. But he knew, just under the snow, sleeping the earth, all sorts of things were just waiting for warmth and spring to awaken them. He could feel that anticipation, that sense of waiting, add on to the anticipation he already bore.

Just over the horizon lay a Separatist camp. The fields before them soon enough would not remain blanketed with undisturbed snowflakes. Soon enough, he and Obi-Wan would be leading their troopers across those fields to meet the enemy, to fight.

Something within him warmed at that thought, even as he knew it shouldn't. He never had learned well the lesson that a Jedi should not wish for adventure and glory. Of course, by this point, he figured if he hadn't learned it, he wasn't going to and continued right on wishing.

It didn't help he so often got what he wished for. And it was this thought that brought a grin to his lips as he turned away from the viewport and went to sit beside Obi-Wan so they could go over the battle plan.

And still, the snow fell.

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Character: Anakin Skywalker
Fandom: Star Wars
Wordcount: 287

this takes place just before a made-up battle that he and Obi-Wan participated in during the Clone War