Chapter 2: Education

"Master," Obi-Wan said almost absentmindedly. "We need to talk to the Council."

His voice was calm and steady, soft too as if talking to Qui-Gon was just an afterthought in Obi-Wan's mind. Considering how focused Obi-Wan was on the child in his arms, maybe his assessment was right. The child was bright in the Force. Looking at him was like meditating in the summer heat. If such a youngling had been brought to the temple, Qui-Gon would have noticed it. Everyone would be talking about him, and yet he didn't know who this child was and couldn't do anything but follow his Padawan.

"Anakin," a woman, yet another stranger in the temple, said. She was wearing brown airy robes and smiling tiredly. "Anakin, what have you done now-"

Her eyes drifted to Obi-Wan's back and she flinched. She opened her mouth again, but whatever she wanted to say was dismissed by Obi-Wan holding his free hand up.

"It's alright," Obi-Wan said. "It'll heal. He didn't know any better."

What will heal, Qui-Gon wanted to ask. What have you done to my Padawan?

But his throat closed up, as if someone had put his hands around his neck, not yet squeezing, merely as a warning.

Do not interfere, the Force hissed. Qui-Gon hesitated.

X

Mace wasn't sure what to make of the strange group that had assembled in front of the Council. Qui-Gon looked as if he'd been sent on a hellish mission to the Outer Rim, while his Padawan was positively glowing with contentment. He was holding onto a child who appeared to be perfectly happy in Kenobi's arms while the woman accompanying them smiled softly.

"I'm Shmi Skywalker and this is my son Anakin," the woman introduced them.

The child, Anakin, didn't look like he planned to let go of Kenobi any time soon and the Padawan made no move to put him down.

"Highly unusual, this is," Master Yoda said. "To leave your son with us, you have come?"

Shmi's expression darkened and she mustered them in confusion.

"I have no intention of just leaving my son here," Shmi said.

Mace, while frowning before, now had a look of patience. They were all used to talking to parents who didn't want to leave their children behind and were trained to talk to them. Jedi had gained a reputation of stealing children, and perhaps that was true to a degree, but the galaxy didn't know how dangerous an untrained young Force-sensitive could be. The older they got, the more did their subconscious control grow and the Force wouldn't act out rashly. Young children though posed an immense threat.

Mace once had to stop one angry youngling from choking another. The child hadn't meant to hurt the other so extremely, it had just lashed out. Where other children simply threw toys, Force-sensitive ones could injure severely.

"Miss Skywalker," he began to say, but the woman only shook her head.

Mace couldn't decipher the look she was giving him. He was used to noticing more than even other Jedi, her presence unnerved him.

"I'm meant to stay here. Can't you hear it?"

Mace leaned back in his chair and concentrated. The Force had been clouded for a while, but Mace couldn't just sit and observe this time. He reached out and-

Listened.

HEAR ME THEY ARE MINE MINE MINE OH MY CHILD SO BLIND SO DEAF DECAY IS ROTTING YOUR FLESH THEY'RE DRAINING YOU-

Screamed.

Collapsed like a dying star.

X

The Skywalkers stayed.

There were enough empty rooms at the temple – and hadn't all of them been full centuries ago? – and Mace stayed as far away from them as he could. He hated looking at young Anakin and seeing the outline of something bigger. Broken glass cracked with Anakin's every step, as loud as the voice still ringing in Mace's ear. He had a hard time paying attention to his surroundings even weeks after he'd been released from the Healer's ward, always trying to block out the high-pitched whirling that never seemed to disappear anymore.

He wanted to listen, hear what the Force had to say, but it appeared to be all or nothing and Mace knew what the former lead to.

He'd simply have to endure and built up his strength again. But one thing he knew for sure was that the Skywalkers needed to be here, even if Mace couldn't stand to be in their presence.

X

It took a few days for Obi-Wan to detach himself from Anakin and vice versa. The bond Anakin had forced into developing much quicker than it should have was still a little sore, but it had stopped suffocating him whenever they let go of one another.

Moving back into his own quarters was out of question though and would be for another couple weeks at least. Obi-Wan felt almost a little sorry for his Master for being stuck so long at the temple when they'd been scheduled for a mission already.

But only a little.

After all, his Master was dancing around the topic of Anakin and what tied the two together. Instead of just outright asking Obi-Wan, he spent hours in the library or tried to subtly interrogate Shmi, but she was having none of that. Every time he approached her, Shmi deterred the conversation into a different direction or told Qui-Gon to speak plainly, which often enough left him fumbling.

He will learn, they cackled, amused by the chaos their child's presence was creating.

Obi-Wan sighed and leaned back, causing Anakin, who'd been sitting behind him on the ground, to squeak.

"Obi-Wan!" The boy complained, but his other half just laughed. "I'm not finished!"

"You've been at it for hours, Anakin."

"But you're still hurting!"

Obi-Wan didn't even need to turn around to know Anakin was biting at his lips, trembling in guilt and shame with his eyes downcast. Instinct was a good teacher, but it was also a rough one. Anakin had wanted to tie Obi-Wan to him and so he did, hacking off parts of himself and sewing them to Obi-Wan. There were kinder, slower, ways of creating such bonds that didn't require Anakin to dig his hands into Obi-Wan's mind to make space. But that how he'd done it and the wounds simply needed more time to heal. Anakin picking at them wouldn't improve anything.

It'll be alright, Obi-Wan repeated himself. I wouldn't want to stay apart any longer than needed anyway.

Promise? Anakin didn't let go of Obi-Wan yet, his presence was still at large in his mind.

Promise.

X

A lot of Jedi couldn't bear being around Anakin and it didn't take too long for them to shy away from Obi-Wan as well. Anakin didn't understand why they were disturbed by him and Shmi didn't know how to explain to her son that he scared the Jedi. The gifts Tatooine had been so thankful for, were seen differently here. The Jedi chastised his frivolous use of the Force, bothered by how easily he used it in everyday life. Shmi couldn't claim that she saw any harm in floating a cup off the shelf, but there must be something about it that bordered on the edge of heretical.

Misguided, they sighed at the back of Shmi's head.

Perhaps the Jedi were put off by Anakin's presence, so much louder and more violent than their own. He stitched back his open wounds with practiced carelessness, often time not even noticing that he was healing his bloody knees. What were a few scrapes to cutting a slave transmitter out of an abdomen?

It troubled Shmi that the Jedi didn't know what to do with Anakin. Weeks turned to months and years and the Jedi taught him, terrified of where else he might seek an education, but what lessons Anakin took away from their teachings were usually Shmi's to smooth out.

Most of Anakin's classes only seemed to confuse him further. They talked about the rules the Jedi had to follow, the beliefs they proclaimed as truths and the limits they imposed on the Force. Shmi had seen her son perform one miracle after another, she wasn't entirely sold on the Jedi's perception of the Force.

"Mom, what are limits?" Anakin asked from his seat at the kitchen table.

"Limits are lines that cannot be crossed," Shmi answered and began to pour soup into the first bowl. Obi-Wan would certainly show up within the next ten minutes, dragging his teacher with him.

"Can't or shouldn't?"

Shmi worried and as soon as doubt entered her mind, she could feel the Force pushing. This was her lesson to teach, Shmi decided and batted the Force away.

"Sometimes both, sometimes neither," Shmi replied. "You have to figure that out yourself."

Anakin looked down on his hands lying in his lap.

"I don't think I have limits," he said quietly.

Before Shmi could reply, the door to their apartment opened and Obi-Wan stumbled inside, Qui-Gon following him. The older man looked unsure still, like he was questioning his place at their table. He too would benefit from paying attention to the truth.

"Obi-Wan!" Anakin exclaimed and tackled his other half.

Without them, Anakin probably really wouldn't have any limits. He could do what he want, uncaring of the consequences, perhaps not even aware of them. All of them, Anakin's chosen, they were putting him in chains and tying him to the Earth.

Not chains, the Force corrected unusually gently. Lifelines, purpose, health. More to come.

X

Obi-Wan's circle of friends had come apart rather abruptly when Anakin had taken him away by storm. He could see their wariness, their fear, and it pained him that they couldn't see past Anakin's ignorance. He was a child, he made mistakes, and he didn't always realize how much he was slipping.

It left Obi-Wan wondering whether Anakin wouldn't be better off somewhere far away from the temple. Even if none of the Jedi used the Force as often and openly as Anakin, they were still using it and their connection pulled Anakin in. His shadow would grow longer, his eyes shone brighter and it was easy to freeze up when every word he said rang with ugly truths you didn't want to hear. Anakin had a sharp tongue, though Obi-Wan knew he didn't mean to cut away skin, peel of layers and layers of shielding and protection to dig into your mind like it was the most fascinating and precious toy.

Anakin cared for others, understood himself as someone whose purpose it was to look after others, but he didn't necessarily understand boundaries.

Why couldn't he just tell somebody to sleep when they needed it? Why couldn't he just help repair their damaged mental shields? Why couldn't he carve out their secrets so they'd stop feeling guilty?

The questions never stopped and Obi-Wan, who readily gave Anakin access to everything given that Anakin never hesitated to share his strength, thoughts, all of himself really either, doubted he was the right person to teach Anakin such.

But somebody had to.

And it certainly wouldn't be Obi-Wan's own Master who still hesitated to actually approach Anakin.

X

Qui-Gon didn't know what he was supposed to do with Anakin and his own Padawan was no help. As the Jedi Master the closest to them, he'd been assigned to watch Anakin's progress and the way his bond to Obi-Wan developed. It was becoming startlingly obvious with each passing day that Kenobi and Skywalker were Kenobi-and-Skywalker.

For all that the bond had snapped into place suddenly, it was much stronger than any Qui-Gon had ever seen before. It had taken six months until the two could be separated again for missions, not that Obi-Wan's abilities had suffered from the six months temple-bound. The slight separation anxiety accompanying for their first mission aside, Obi-Wan seemed to have grown and suddenly his knighting didn't seem all that far away anymore.

Qui-Gon knew that the moment he'd knight Obi-Wan, his Padawan would take Anakin and run off. Not away from the Order, Obi-Wan adored being a Jedi, it was his life, but he wouldn't stay, of that Qui-Gon was sure.

Why would you, when the Chosen One, and Anakin was the prophesied one, decided to keep you by his side?

"You shouldn't worry so much."

Qui-Gon turned to look at Shmi Skywalker. When she wasn't looking after her son, she was helping out in the crèche, reading in the library or working in the ship hangers. Truthfully, Qui-Gon wasn't sure what to think of her. She was a kind woman, much more than you'd expect from someone who'd had to suffer as she did, but there was something ancient hiding behind her eyes daring everyone to try to wake it.

"What is, is," Shmi hummed and handed him another cup of tea. "Listen and observe. We are meant to be here."

X

Obi-Wan was woken up one morning by Anakin pulling his blanket off his shoulders, which really wasn't all that unusual if for the fact that Anakin had promised to sleep in his own bed tonight.

"Come," Anakin said seriously.

"I have to get dressed first."

Fond annoyance and impatience reached Obi-Wan over their bond, but he just sent amusement back. He got dressed quickly and wrote a note for his Master before sneaking out with Anakin. The eight-year-old led him through the temple until they reached the crèche.

"Anakin, are you sure-"

Anakin only held his finger to his lip in the universal gesture for quiet. Obi-Wan sighed and let the younger continue on. They came to a stop in front of the bed of a Togruta youngling, sleeping soundly.

"Pick her up," Anakin instructed. "C'mon!"

Obi-Wan weighed his options. He could tell Anakin no, but then he'd just do it himself and that certainly wasn't an option with how small he was. Defeated, he reached for the toddler and pulled her into his arms.

Oh.

Anakin smiled and took Obi-Wan's free hand to guide him out of the room and into one of the more open spaces of the crèche. Anakin then assembled pillows and blankets and made a more or less comfortable nest against one of the walls.

Obi-Wan sat down carefully and Anakin, as always, claimed his space on Obi-Wan's legs and took the youngling from him.

"Her name is Ahsoka," Anakin said adoringly. "She's ours."

The toddler didn't seem to care much that she'd been stolen out of her bed in the early morning. If anything, she appeared to be much happier in Anakin's arms.

Do I need a bigger bed now? Obi-Wan mused. It was bad enough when Anakin sneaked into his room in the middle of the night, but his bed couldn't fit a second pair of legs kicking him. He'd like to get at least a couple hours of undisturbed sleep.

Anakin giggled and wiggled around in Obi-Wan's lap until he was comfortable.

"We're gonna fit," Anakin declared and yawned. "Now sleep."

Obi-Wan sighed and closed his eyes. At least they hadn't left the crèche, that way hopefully not too many would scold them for sneaking in here and falling asleep. His back would hate him enough in the morning for sleeping while leaning upright against the wall.

We can leave.

It's fine, Obi-Wan replied, poking at the new fledgling bond connecting him to Ahsoka. He wouldn't want to miss this for anything in the world.

X

"I'm too young for a great-grand-Padawan," Qui-Gon complained and not for the first time did Mace think that above everything else, Qui-Gon Jinn was the bane of his existence.

He, much like the rest of the temple, had been made aware of the Kenobi-Skywalker-Tano situation and wondered if it was too late to abandon his post and go on a mission somewhere in the Outer Rim. Explore the old Jedi temples and search for answers he couldn't gain on Coruscant.

"Wouldn't Ahsoka be your second grand-Padawan?"

Mace regretted asking as soon as Qui-Gon answered.

"No, Anakin says he'll teach her."

There were barely five years between the two, if Mace calculated correctly. Were they really going to make an at best 18-year-old a Knight and then let him take a Padawan? Kenobi and Skywalker were already unusually close, but Tano?

"I need a break," Mace muttered. Damn the Force.

But they just grinned, razor-sharp teeth caressing Mace's ears. Will you listen now?

Not yet.