"On your mark…" Bant's voice rang out, echoing through the otherwise empty indoor poolroom, and master and apprentice bent over in a starting position, readying themselves to dive into the water.
As Qui-Gon crouched by the edge of the pool, his fingertips lightly brushing the ledge, his leg muscles tightening as they prepared to propel him into the water, part of his mind began to wonder just what he was doing. In between missions he would read, mediate, and practice sparring, not necessarily in that order. He would cook, of course, and occasionally socialize, but he hadn't swum for pure pleasure, let alone raced, in years.
"I can't believe you demanded another rematch, Master," Obi-Wan said to him, and Qui-Gon glared at his apprentice from the corner of his eye. "You're just giving me another chance to humiliate you."
"You didn't win, padawan," Qui-Gon growled through clenched teeth. "Winning because you cheated doesn't count at all."
"Get set…" Bant called, raising her hand, and the two tensed further, their bodies coiling like springs.
"When did I cheat, Master?"
"When you realized you were losing and used the Force to try and pull my trunks off. I'd call that flagrantcheating."
"Oh, and I suppose you using a Force-pull on my hair wasn't? You were losing early on, and the only reason you got that lead was by cheating, dear Master mine. I merely retaliated."
"Fine. No Force-use?" Qui-Gon said through gritted teeth.
"No Force-use," his apprentice agreed, just as tersely.
"Go!" Bant shouted and the two dove into the water.
They swam down the length of the pool and back again, neck and neck the entire way. Bant had purposely spaced them about a meter apart, putting at least some physical distance between them so as to avoid a repeat of what had happened the first time. Obi-Wan had elbowed Qui-Gon rather viciously, who had reached out in response and tugged on his apprentice's braid. The race had stopped at that point, as Qui-Gon was nursing a rather nasty bruise on his side and Obi-Wan was both massaging his wounded head and coughing up the water he'd aspirated when he'd cried out.
They'd tried again, only to wind up cheating with the Force.
Third time's a charm, Qui-Gon thought, a small part of him gleefully noting that he was slightly ahead of Obi-Wan, and suddenly they were back at the start, with Qui-Gon slapping the side of the pool a split second before his padawan.
"Ha!" he cried before he could stop himself, grinning, but then decided that a little fun wouldn't kill him, so long has he didn't gloat too terribly.
"That was incredible, Qui-Gon!" Anakin exclaimed as he came rushing up to the side of the pool. "I never thought anyone could swim so fast!"
"Oh, you should see Bant sometime, Ani," Obi-Wan said as he hoisted himself out of the pool to sit beside the standing boy and wiped a few streams of water from his eyes. "She could beat us all with her hands tied behind her back before we even got halfway across the pool."
"Speaking from experience, padawan?" Qui-Gon asked, brushing a few stray stands of hair from his face. He'd tied all of his hair back before hopping in the pool but some of it still insisted upon escaping.
"The only reason you won this round, Master, is because you've got longer arms than I can ever hope to have," Obi-Wan replied, rolling his eyes. "I suppose if you can be comfortable winning because you're abnormally tall, then I can be comfortable losing to someone whose height serves no other purpose."
"But what about being able to intimidate people? Wouldn't height be good for scaring them?" Anakin asked, his innocent tone destroyed by the teasing glint in his eye, and Obi-Wan looked at him, his jaw dropping.
"And it certainly lets me get through crowds easily," Qui-Gon added, trying to hide a grin.
"And it would be really nice if you had to reach something that was way up high," Anakin chimed in.
"And what about the extra reach it gives me in dueling?"
"And you wouldn't have to worry about people losing you in a big crowd."
"And also-"
"Oh, all right, fine!" Obi-Wan exclaimed, interrupting Qui-Gon, who'd been unable to hide his grin any further. "I give up, you win! I can't beat the both of you; the odds are hardly fair!"
Both Anakin and Qui-Gon laughed while Obi-Wan gave a small huff of frustration, blowing at the bangs plastered against his forehead. He flicked a bit of excess water at Qui-Gon. "I thought Jedi weren't allowed pride, Master, and especially weren't allowed to gloat whenever they won."
"Yes, but they aren't allowed to sulk either, my sullen padawan," Qui-Gon replied, flicking some water back at Obi-Wan. "But you've never been a graceful loser, have you? Sometimes I wonder where I went wrong, with the way you stew over ever defeat."
Qui-Gon thought he was the only one to see the shadow that flickered in Obi-Wan's eyes at that sentence, but Anakin poked Obi-Wan's arm, looking at him in concern.
Obi-Wan instantly grinned. "Nothing's wrong, Ani, stop worrying," he said, poking the boy back and sending Qui-Gon a look that said something similar, despite the silence over their bond. "I was just wondering why you still haven't gotten in the water yet. It's been almost half an hour since you first came down here, and even with Bant, the most you've done is dip a toe in."
Anakin glanced over at the Mon Calamari, who had settled herself on a nearby bench with a datapad of some sort, and when he turned back, he scrunched his face a little. "I dunno, Obi-Wan. I just can't bring myself to jump in so much water, being desert-bred and all that."
"But swimming can be really fun, Ani," Obi-Wan said, leaning forward to dip his fingers into the water. "It can also be really relaxing, to float around in the water, and it's a good way to cool off when you're too hot. In fact…"
Before anyone could react, Obi-Wan splashed a completely unprepared Anakin with one of the biggest waves Qui-Gon had ever seen.
There was a loud shriek as the splash hit the boy, and Qui-Gon saw Bant look up sharply, but once the water settled, and she saw that no one had been hurt, she went back to her reading.
"Wha… wha…" Anakin stammered, looking decidedly shell-shocked as he stood there, frozen as water dripped from his shivering frame. His gaze swung from Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon and then back again, his eyes wide with mingling confusion and hurt.
"See? Now that you're all wet, you have no reason not to hop in the water with us," Obi-Wan said, his lips twitching as he fought off a smile, and Qui-Gon was tugging on his beard to cover his own.
"But… but…" Anakin stuttered, still fumbling to find his footing. Qui-Gon watched as Obi-Wan stopped smiling and placed a hand on Anakin's shoulder gently.
"I'm sorry, Ani," Obi-Wan said, lowering his voice a little. "That's something my friends and I do when we play in the water, to tease each other. We'll have giant splash wars, or races like the one Qui-Gon and I had, or go diving for objects, and I forgot you're not that used to treating water so casually."
"Oh," Anakin said as he moved to sit beside Obi-Wan, his expression thoughtful, and he dipped both his feet in the water. "So you were just teasing, then? And you weren't trying to offend me, or nothing?"
"I swear," Obi-Wan said as Anakin peered up at him from the corner of his eye. The boy then glanced at Qui-Gon, who got a sense of what Anakin was planning and found himself grinning inwardly.
"Still, padawan," Qui-Gon said, clearing his throat a little, and he moved, bobbing in the water, so that he was in front of Obi-Wan. "That was a rather mean thing to do to someone who wasn't ready. I think you owe him something more than an apology. Don't you agree, Ani?"
Anakin nodded, quickly suppressing the pleased glint when he realized Qui-Gon had caught on. "Definitely," he said, turning his gaze back to Obi-Wan, who now looked distinctly wary, and for good reason. Qui-Gon hadn't raised him to be a fool; he knew when something was being plotted around him, even if he wasn't quite sure what.
"Perhaps he should give you the dessert Dex packed for him? Would that be enough of a payment?" Qui-Gon mused, and Anakin shook his head.
"Nah, I'm thinkin' of something more like…"
He and Qui-Gon shared a look.
"This!"
They both splashed him, eliciting a cry of surprise from the padawan, who held up his hands in a failed attempt to block the continuous waves Qui-Gon was creating through the Force.
When Obi-Wan realized that they weren't letting up, he lunged forward and snatched up Anakin, who got drenched a second time before Qui-Gon relented.
"I have a hostage now, Master! I'm afraid you can no longer make demands!" Obi-Wan said, and Qui-Gon grinned as he watched Anakin struggle, but it was to no avail. Obi-Wan held him too tightly. "Call off your attack and I'll let him go!"
"I'm afraid you hold the leader hostage, padawan," Qui-Gon replied. "I am in no position to stop them, as my orders come from him."
"Oh, how fortunate for me!" Obi-Wan shot back, grinning as he glanced down at a sulking Anakin. "Well, hostage? Will you order your troops to retreat? Or will you force me to do something drastic?"
"Keep firing, general!" Anakin shouted to Qui-Gon. "I don't care if I'm in the crossfire; teach this evil mastermind a lesson he won't forget!"
"You heard him, evil mastermind. I'm afraid taking a hostage will not help you," Qui-Gon replied, and summoning the Force, began to splash the two of them with repeated waves of water.
"You leave me no choice, general!" came Obi-Wan's voice over the sound of the waves. "Prepare yourself as your leader is subjected to the worst kind of torture!"
"Wha…? AH!"
Anakin's laughter rang out, punctuated by little screams, and Qui-Gon could see him squirming and kicking through the haze of the water.
"S-Stop! P-Please!" Anakin gasped out.
"Call off your troops! Or continue to suffer!"
"All right! Just stop tickling me!" Anakin shouted, and Qui-Gon could almost see him cross his arms with a huff.
"General, cease fire! I repeat, cease fire!"
Qui-Gon stopped the deluge with a wave of his hand, revealing a thoroughly soaked padawan and boy.
"Obi-Wan," Anakin began, his arms folded over his chest and Obi-Wan's arms locked around his waist. He blew at the strands of hair plastered to his forehead before glancing up at the padawan. "Promise me you'll stay as a Jedi and never turn to evil. You'd make a pretty scary villain."
The grin Obi-Wan gave him in response was a tad too predatory for Qui-Gon's liking, but he could sense that his apprentice was teasing. "That's the best compliment I've ever received, Ani. Now are you willing to jump in the water with us, considering what you just experienced?"
Anakin sighed and rolled his eyes. "I guess so. But I want to get in by the stairs, so I-"
"Oh no you don't," Obi-Wan replied, interrupting him. "You forget that you are still my hostage, and I'm not about to let you get into the water via the stairs, where you can easily back out. No, you're jumping in right now."
"What?!" Anakin exclaimed as Obi-Wan stood, the boy still in his arms, and Qui-Gon raised his eyebrows. He remembered this as something he'd done to Obi-Wan when the boy had refused to get into the water one swimming lesson.
"Obi-Wan, no! I'll get in, I promise! I swear on my favorite model, and besides! I don't lie! Please put me down, please!" Anakin was struggling, in nearly the exact way Obi-Wan had, and Qui-Gon swam forward, hovering by the edge of the pool.
"Qui-Gon, make him put me down! He's your apprentice; tell him to stop scaring me!"
"I'm afraid he's rather willful, Ani," Qui-Gon said with a sigh. "But you did give him your word, and if he truly is a Jedi, he must accept it. Put him down, Obi-Wan, and let him ease into the water like he asked."
Obi-Wan uttered a small huff, but not without a grin, and he set a very relieved Anakin back down on the ground.
"All right, Ani," Obi-Wan said, his offered hand meeting heavy skepticism. "I swear I won't tease you any more this evening if you'll do me the one favor of getting in the water before we have to go. Sound like a deal?"
Anakin appeared to ponder its consequences quite heavily, as his brow furrowed deeply in thought, but he soon took the offered hand, nodding once. "It's a deal, provided you give me the dessert Dex packed for you."
"No teasing plus a quarter of my dessert," Obi-Wan replied as the two began to walk to the stairs, the sight bringing a smile to Qui-Gon's lips. He'd meant to tell the Council of the bond that had formed between the two, but had decided against it, as some things were better left unsaid.
Even without the Force, someone would have to be blind not to see how the two loved spending time together, despite only knowing each other for about a standard week.
"Besides," Obi-Wan said, "you don't know if you'll even like it, and I wouldn't want it all to go to waste."
"Hm, good point," Anakin said, tapping a finger against his chin as the two took a step down onto the first step. "How about I try a bite before, and if I like it, I get the whole thing?"
"Please, my friend. Do you think so little of my intelligence?" Obi-Wan asked as they took another step down, so that Anakin was up to his knees in water. "You may try a bite, and if you like it, I offer you a quarter, which is more than reasonable, considering that you've got your own, which is twice the size of mine."
"Three-quarters," Anakin replied as they took another step down, and he froze when he realized he was now waist-deep in water.
Qui-Gon bobbed closer, watching the boy's hand tighten around Obi-Wan's, his other hand coming up to clasp the padawan's wrist. Obi-Wan sat down on the step, reaching out with his free hand to cover both of Anakin's.
"You're doing fine, Ani," Obi-Wan said gently, squeezing the boy's hands. "You got this far; what's a little further? Oh, and I offer you a third. I'm not going to part with three-quarters of my own dessert; I'd be crazy."
Anakin shook himself, trying to focus on Obi-Wan, but he was failing.
"Ani, do you need to take a step back?" Qui-Gon asked, underlying his words with a gentle command, trying to help draw Anakin's attention.
The boy shook his head, drawing a deep breath. "No, Obi-Wan's right. I got this far, what do I do next?"
Anakin glanced up, his blue eyes shining with determination, and Qui-Gon looked to Obi-Wan with a touch of surprise, who smiled slightly.
-He certainly overcomes his fear rather quickly, doesn't he, Master?-
Qui-Gon smiled wryly and moved to hold out a hand to Anakin. –More quickly than a certain cheeky padawan we both know.-
-If you're referring to the incident with an eight-legged local creature on Yu'hira, that thing was the size of a dinner plate, looked too much like an overgrown hairball, and I was twelve,- Obi-Wan replied, glaring a little.
-I remember, padawan, and you were thirteen by that time. You nearly gave the emissary a heart attack when you started up with those bloodcurdling screams. Even I thought you were being murdered.-
-Strange, I remember you laughing so hard you couldn't see straight.-
"Are you guys going to tell me what to do next, or are you going to continue having conversations no one can hear?" Anakin asked, sounding both curious and annoyed, and Qui-Gon laughed a little.
"I take it you asked Obi-Wan about it?" Qui-Gon asked, and Anakin nodded. "Well, would you forgive us then if I told you what we were talking about?" he said as Anakin took his hand and he held the boy up as they floated a little bit away from the stairs, Obi-Wan close behind, glowering.
-You wouldn't.-
Qui-Gon grinned, especially when Anakin's curiosity grew. "Let me take you back nearly twelve years ago, on one of my earliest missions with Obi-Wan. He had just become my padawan, and we'd been assigned an easy negotiation mission to the planet of Yu'hira…"
About half a standard hour and many stories later found Anakin tentatively swimming back and forth between Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, and the pool stairs. He'd mastered his fear over submerging himself, and was able to hold his breath reasonably well, but took to floating like someone who'd been born to it. Treading water was all right, so long as there was something to grab onto nearby, but Qui-Gon could tell he liked to be moving.
"You're doing well, Anakin!"
Everyone looked up at Bant, who stood at the pool edge, datapad in hand. Anakin swam from Obi-Wan to the wall where she stood, before gripping the ledge and grinning up at her.
"Thanks, Bant. You were right about swimming; it's not so hard once you get the hang of it," he said and then pushed off to swim to Qui-Gon, who tagged him and sent him back to Obi-Wan.
"But I'm afraid the Initiates have a class in a few minutes, so you might want to clear out before they show up," she said and Qui-Gon nodded in thanks. "I think I can hear them in the changing room, so you'll want to avoid it, if you can."
"We changed back in our quarters, so the only things we've got with us are our robes," Obi-Wan said and Qui-Gon watched as he caught Anakin and the two began to swim towards the stairs. "Thank you for the warning though."
"No problem," she said as Qui-Gon moved to the edge and hoisted himself out of the water. He walked over to where their towels rested and grabbed one, watching as Obi-Wan crouched before Anakin and began toweling off the boy's hair vigorously. Qui-Gon then noticed that Anakin was shivering rather terribly, his teeth chattering.
"Next time we'll find a heated pool to swim in," Obi-Wan was saying as Anakin wrapped a second towel around himself. "In the meantime, let's get you back to our quarters where you can take a warm shower and get into some clean, dry clothes."
-I doubt our laundry has been finished yet, padawan, and if I recall correctly you added Anakin's things to the pile you tossed down the laundry chute,- Qui-Gon sent as he dried himself off as best he could and threw on his robe, noticing that Obi-Wan had wrapped his own around Anakin.
-Then I'll have to go request some clothes in his size,-Obi-Wan replied as he scooped the shivering boy into his arms, and they started towards the exit. –And what are we making for evening meal, Master? Anakin asked me earlier if we could cook tonight.-
A definite bittersweet pang rolled through the bond, one that made part of Qui-Gon's heart ache for absolutely no reason. When he glanced at Obi-Wan, he found his padawan staring straight ahead, any expression chiseled out of his face. For a split second, he had a flash of the kitchen he'd seen in that vision of sorts, the one whose stovetop gathered dust and whose cabinets were most likely utterly empty, and he shut his eyes.
"Yes, padawan," Qui-Gon said as they made their way, still dripping, down the hallway leading to the lifts. "Just pick something to make, and we'll cook tonight."
"I shouldn't have come back," someone whispered.
Qui-Gon opened his eyes to find himself lying on his back on his sleep couch, a pale shaft of moonlight seeping in through the blinds covering the window. He sat up, looking around his room, and found it was covered with dust. All of his belongings were gone, and he assumed they'd been packed into the boxes he saw resting by the opened closet. He could see a painting or two that had once decorated his walls shoved in behind some of the spare robes. Throwing off his blankets, he padded over to the door and palmed it open.
The short hallway before him was dark and empty. The exotic Creathe palm plant that had once stood in the corner between his door and the door to Obi-Wan's room was gone. So was the panoramic painting of a beach at sunset Obi-Wan had given him one year; it had rested on the wall opposite his padawan's door, right before the door to the 'fresher unit.
Qui-Gon stumbled a bit as he made his way down the hall, fumbling for the familiar light switch. He hadn't found it by the time he reached the common space, which brightened when someone opened the blinds over the windows.
"I really shouldn't have come back," the person whispered, and Qui-Gon turned his gaze to the right, peering at the dark shadow of a figure. The person was haloed in the muted neon light from the surrounding city, with bright flashes of constantly changing advertisements winking around his body. He stood in a familiar stance, with his feet planted a little ways apart and his arms folded over each other, one hand hooking on the opposite elbow.
"Why do you say that?" Qui-Gon asked as he drew near the figure, his bare feet making little noise on the carpet.
"It has too many memories," the person replied, his voice still a whisper, and Qui-Gon stopped walking when he reached his side. Qui-Gon made no move to examine the features of the person; it was as though on some level he already knew who it was.
"There are too many ghosts that won't leave me alone," the person continued softly.
"But ghosts don't exist, Obi-Wan," he replied, turning his gaze to the figure at last. "We become one with the Force."
"Exactly," the Jedi returned, his gaze slowly turning to meet Qui-Gon's. "Ghosts don't exist, Master."
The night etched his apprentice's face with harsh shadows and Obi-Wan's grey eyes shone darkly with unshed tears.
"So stay dead."