Chapter Text
Work is hard to come by during a war such as this one. You never imagined yourself as a career criminal, but you felt the clutches of true hunger once, and that is not a feeling you wanted to feel again.
As a kid, your mother told you stories of heroes and villains. In your head, you were the hero, wielding a glowing saber as you traveled the galaxy to maintain order for the people who needed it. Funny how your reality has you as the villain and more often than not, a certain nosy Jedi as the "hero".
You aren't all bad though. In fact, you've been working to put the days of thievery and con artistry behind you.
Today, running errands was all that was on your mind. You had a big payday last week-- big enough to comfortably sustain you for a few months. A cabinet full of rations, fresh food, and some time to lay low and put more thought into your career options was your goal.
You're at the market picking out some greens when you feel someone walk up behind you. Close enough that it is either a stranger with no personal boundaries or someone you know.
"Do I want to know what you're up to today?" a familiar voice rings in your ear. It's calm and even but certainly pointed with a hint of venom in his tone. You don't need to turn around to know that Obi-Wan Kenobi is standing behind you. He probably has his hands on his hips, looking at you with a disapproving glare that reeks of patronization. You decide not to turn around and humor his feeling of superiority.
"Even scum like me has to eat, you know, Kenobi." You hand the vendor a few credits, making a point to drop each coin individually into the man's hand, and turn around to face the Jedi. He watches as the vendor smiles and bids you a good rest of the day before going to help another customer. You cross your arms over your chest. "Can't even buy daro root without you breathing down my neck."
He steps back, his cheeks slightly tinged pink. It makes you smile to see him rightfully embarrassed.
"To be fair, nine times out of ten you are doing something illegal."
"Has it been nine times already?"
You push past him, not in the mood for casual browsing of the market anymore. Leave it to Kenobi to ruin your day in just a few words. You're halfway down the street when you hear yelling coming from up ahead. You stop dead in your tracks and squint into the distance. Smoke rises and ships dart in every direction to avoid the crashes that are increasing in volume. You're so focused on determining what is going on you don't even notice the crowd of people has begun to rush past you until someone slams right into you. You go flying backward, landing hard on the ground. Your head bounces off the pavement and your vision blurs. The pounding of people's feet on top of your stomach and chest doesn't help your condition as you struggle to gain your bearings. The crashing is becoming louder and panic begins to set in.
A pair of strong hands grab under your arms from behind, pulling you to your feet at a speed so quick your head begins to spin.
"Woah there, you need to get out of here." Obi-Wan's voice hisses in your ear as he begins to drag you to the alley adjacent to the market. He practically throws you into the small space, you landing hard on your ass. You look up at him, his eyes wide and his saber already in his hand. It's a look you know well, though you don't think you've ever seen it not directed towards you. He takes a last look at you, his expression softening a little before nodding and taking off into the cloud of dust that has picked up.
The clammer of battle droids is a familiar one these days. The explosions are frequent and make visibility hard but every so often you can see the blur of Obi-Wan's lightsaber and a plea of mercy from a battle droid that is quickly cut off mid-sentence.
Why are you still here? You look back and the alley clearly leads out to the next street. No commotion over there, yet you can't find it in you to move. Is it fear?
You find yourself looking for the green light of Kenobi's saber. When you don't see it for a long while your heart beats quicker in your chest. It annoys the shit out of you.
Then again, how can you have a witty rivalry with a Jedi if your Jedi is dead?
You manage to pull yourself back to your feet but you still are standing in the alley watching this fight. The dust has begun to settle and now you have a full view of your hero counterpart taking out battle droids like no one's business. You can hear the blare of approaching speeders-- probably Jedi or clone reinforcements. As you observe you see a droid roll a blinking device out, it landing a few feet from Obi-Wan. He is busy slicing four droids to pieces and dodging blaster shots, and his back remains to the bomb. Your eyes widen, and before you can even process what you are doing you run out into the battle, pushing through the droids and dodging blaster fires until you reach Obi-Wan. Without hesitating you pick up the bomb and throw it as hard as you can into a particularly densely populated area of droids. As you do this Obi-Wan spots you, pulling you into his chest as a blaster shot skids past your head.
"What the hell are you--"
The bomb erupts, and you and Obi-Wan, despite being a good distance away, are thrown to the ground. Your ears are ringing and your eyes are squeezed shut but you can feel Obi-Wan's arms wrapped tightly around you, shielding you. When you open your eyes you're on your back and he's on top of you, his bright blue eyes staring down at you in disbelief. He quickly slips off you and stands, scooping you up in the process and setting you on your feet before you can protest.
You look at the utter carnage around you. Most of the droids are disoriented, if not completely destroyed. There is an eerie quiet laying over the street, but there are explosions and the sounds of battle in the near distance. Obi-Wan speaks into his com, and you realize the ringing in your ears is blocking out much of the sound. Even as he turns his attention to you, you can only see his mouth moving. His eyes search your face and then glide down your body, resting on a low part of your abdomen. He bites on his lip nervously and lets out a sigh. You follow his gaze to your abdomen, where a shard of metal has embedded itself into your lower stomach.
"Oh," you say, your shakey fingers slightly touching the metal. It worries you that you can't really feel it.
"Come... me." Obi-Wan's voice sounds far away and patchy, like a bad connection. When your attention remains fixated on your wound he reaches up and nudges your chin up so you are forced to look at him. "You... medical atten..."
You can only really nod through your daze. He slips and arm under yours for support and begins to guide you into the alley he originally left you in. With each passing second the ringing in your ears dies down and you realize he's been talking all this time.
"...could have been three streets over, what the hell were you thinking."
"You would have, oh..." the pain in your abdomen finally starts to set in. His grip around you tightens to keep you upright. "would have blown up if I weren't there."
"You wouldn't be injured!"
"Better off than you dead."
"I would have thought that would be what you'd want."
You make it to the next street and Obi-Wan pulls you into an abandoned shop. You sink to the floor while he paces. His face is covered in dirt and grime. His tunic has some dark red stains and you wonder if they are from his own wounds or from dragging you around.
His words hit you harder than you expected. You knew Obi-Wan thought lowly of you, but you didn't realize he believed you capable of wishing such a fate on another person.
"We have our scuffles, but I don't want to see you blown to pieces. I don't want to see the separatists take over just as much as you."
"That doesn't mean running blindly into battle-- unarmed I might add!-- and nearly getting yourself killed."
"Why does it bother you so much? I am perfectly capable of--"
"I signed up for this." he interrupts, stopping his pacing and taking a step towards you so that he's nearly looming over you. "The battles, the ambushes, the danger. If I die in battle, then that is on me. But if you... if any civilian dies in pursuit of saving me like you almost did today..." he breaks eye contact, running a hand through his hair. "that is another innocent life on my docket that I can't handle to bear."
You wonder how many civilians this man has had to watch die. You almost ask, but that seems to not be the best way of approaching his apparent grief.
"Obi-Wan, look," you say as you pull yourself up. "I'm okay. It hurts like hell but it won't kill me."
"I can get you some bacta for that if you come with me--"
"I do believe you have a battle to attend to," you say, hearing the hum of droids being slashed by lightsabers and bombs erupting through the streets of Coruscant. "Like you said, you signed up for this. I can take care of myself."
He nods, looking quite surprised at your position. Pulling out his weapon he starts for the door, but stops and looks back at you.
"If I see you anywhere near the battle, I will have you arrested you on the spot."
"What else is new?"
He scoffs, a slight smile flashing on his lips before his serious expression resumes and he darts out the door.
You fall back to the ground, letting out a gasp. So maybe your wound is worse than you made it seem.
Your eyes flutter open to a sterile room. You're lying on a hard cot and your head is pounding, but the dizzying pain that caused you to collapse in the shop earlier seems to have subsided.
"Oh good, you're back." As your eyes adjust to the light you find none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi seated at your bedside. The residues of battle are still evident on his clothing, but at least he seemed to find time to rinse the dirt and blood off his face. "I was beginning to think I would have to find myself a new street thief to torment."
"What are you doing here?" you croak, your dry throat sounding a lot less intimidating than you intended. Obi-Wan hands you a glass of water, which tastes like heaven.
"Well, after the battle I came to look for you and found you hadn't gone too far before deciding to take a nap. I don't think the store owner would have taken kindly to finding you bleeding out on her floor."
"Considering I lifted a pair of boots from her two months ago, maybe she would have welcomed that."
"You-- nevermind, nevermind."
"I'm kidding."
"Ah of--"
"It was a jacket, not boots."
Obi-Wan rubs his eyes with his hands.
"You're much more tolerable when you're unconscious, you know."
"So I've been told. Did you win the battle at least?"
"I probably wouldn't be here if we hadn't."
"That is... that is true."
You pick at the edges of your bandages, not really knowing what to say. You have other questions besides how the battle went. Like why Obi-Wan is sitting at your bedside. Or why you're exchanging pleasantries at all. With all the tubing and wires that are hooked up to you, you can't exactly escape whatever the strange energy between you is.
If you're being honest, it's a bit of a relief to not have your guard up around him.
"Can I ask you a question?"
You nod, and he clears his throat, twiddling with a strand of his beard hair.
"What were you thinking when you ran into the battle. To uh... save me from the bomb."
You recall the moment. It's more a blur than a memory.
"I... didn't think. It was like it all happened in slow motion. I saw it and it's like my body just knew what to do."
Obi-Wan nods, processing your answer. "How long have you known you were force-sensitive?"
Your eyes widen. How could he know? You weren't even sure, though you had your suspicions. This obviously confirms it.
"I didn't know for sure."
"Well... it seems you are. I can feel it now. I hadn't truly noticed it before, but it explains a lot."
You push yourself up in the bed, the inclining of your usual banter suddenly energizing you. "Are you saying I've evaded you so many times because of the force... a thing I don't know how to control or use in any way?"
He twirls a few strands of hair on his beard. "The force works in mysterious ways, sometimes."
"That's bullshit, Kenobi. Just admit it, I've successfully outsmarted a Jedi on more than one occasion."
"You're starting to sound like my padawan."
"Oh really, we should meet up to discuss our respective Obi-Wan is full of shit theories."
"I'm sure Anakin would love that, actually, I'll be sure to never introduce you."
You can't stop the smile that has appeared on your face. Nor can Obi-Wan hide his own no matter what angle he puts his hand in front of his mouth, thinking stroking his beard with every other word is something normal.
You almost don't want to bring it up, but you need to break the spell of whatever this is. See where his priorities lie.
"So, it looks like I'm not able to go anywhere. Is this where you finally make the arrest, General Kenobi? Are you just buttering me up so I have one last laugh before a jail cell strips me of my sense of humor?"
His smile shifts to lips pressed together tightly. To your surprise, he sits down on the edge of your bed.
"I have to be honest. My duty is to maintain order. And you're not exactly the poster child of that. But you also saved my life."
"I've been looking for jobs you know," you don't know why you feel the need to explain yourself to him, but the words come pouring out. In your head, you would run into him and get to demonstrate the way you've turned your life around with a smug look on your face. Show him that he was wrong about you. "A real job."
Obi-Wan looks surprised. "What will you do?"
"Hard to say. Think the Jedi Temple will let me mop their floors? My... skillset doesn't exactly translate well to a resume format."
"Well," Obi-Wan says, standing up. "I actually think I may have a potential job for you. Let me talk to some people first, though."
You're completely taken aback now. Obi-Wan was trying to arrest you this morning and now he's networking for you. "Why? I mean... I'm grateful, but why help me?"
He runs his fingers through his hair, biting a little on his lip nervously. "To be honest, I don't really know."
He gives you a final nod and then leaves. The doors of the med bay slide closed and you find yourself alone except for a medical droid recharging in the corner. A small smile forces itself onto your face as you whisper to yourself, "Did I... did I break Obi-Wan Kenobi?"