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Chapter Text

The first time Cody saw esteemed Jedi Master, Sith Killer, General Obi-Wan Kenobi was not when he was placed under his command. It was not on a battlefield, and it was not even a face-to-face meeting. The first time Cody saw Obi-Wan Kenobi was when he was soaking wet, hair plastered to his forehead, and walking through the walls of Kamino.

There had been whispers of a Jedi finally having come to the facility, and the whispers had reached Cody first - his long years of gaining the respect and loyalty of his brothers didn’t come without perks - so he wasn’t necessarily surprised when he spotted someone in dripping brown robes walking alongside Taun We and Lama Su. What did surprise him was the grace that the Jedi still managed to exude despite the entire situation.

The second time Cody saw esteemed Jedi Master, Sith Killer, General Obi-Wan Kenobi was a face-to-face meeting, but it was so brief and insignificant that it never made it into any official reports. Whispers had traveled once again, this time concerning Jango and Boba Fett. They were fleeing from the Jedi, or so his brothers claimed. It made sense, then, that Obi-Wan would pursue.

“Oh, hello there,”  esteemed Jedi Master, Sith Killer, General Obi-Wan Kenobi greeted Cody, an insignificant clone, with a smile that made Cody’s chest feel tight, “Lovely to meet you, now if you’ll excuse me.”

The Jedi left, and Cody watched him go. The clones were made for the Jedi, created to fight alongside them in a war that had yet to start, but as Cody watched the Jedi rush after their template, Cody couldn’t help but wonder that maybe - just maybe - the Jedi were created for them as well. Two sides of a coin, two halves of a whole. Unknowingly fulfilled when together.

That’s my general , something deep within Cody’s very soul whispered, Ner jetti

~*~

Esteemed Jedi Master, Sith Killer, General Obi-Wan Kenobi was not what Cody thought he would be. He was not the aloof and calculating being that the Kaminoans' lessons had made him out to be. He was not the heartless slave to the senate that the Cuy'val Dar said he would be either.

This man loved to make sarcastic comments and bicker with his former Padawan the way Cody bickered with his fellow command clones. He flirted with the enemy to throw them off and hated caff with a burning passion. He went out of his way to learn everyone’s name and assured them time and time again that they were people and they were not expendable. 

On top of all of those things, the most jarring trait that Obi-Wan Kenobi held that set him apart from Cody’s teaching was the fact that, for the life of him, he couldn’t keep track of his lightsaber.

“We nearly left the planet without this, Sir,” Cody set the general’s - Obi-Wan, he insisted Cody called him Obi-Wan - lightsaber on the nightstand next to his medical bed, “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

“And it likely won’t be the last,” Obi-Wan smiled, though he seemed antsy.

Cody was well aware that Obi-Wan had a knack for avoiding the medics no matter how severe his injuries, but a boulder had fallen on the general’s arm and broken both bones in his forearm - leaving him with no choice but to get help. Helix was ecstatic at the opportunity to actually treat the general, and Cody couldn’t say he blamed his vod’s enthusiasm.

“You should take better stock of your weapons sir, especially one as important as this,” at the beginning of the war, Cody would have been terrified to speak to his general, his superior, in such a manner. Now, however, Cody scolded his Jedi more than anyone else.

Obi-Wan chuckled, and at Cody’s confused look explained, “You just reminded me of something I used to say to Anakin quite often.”

“Well whatever you said to him, perhaps you should take your own advice.”

Obi-Wan feigned a scandalized gasp, causing a smile to break out on Cody’s face, “My dear commander, that would be a much too simple course of action.”

The two of them sat there in silence for a few moments. Cody kept his eyes on Obi-Wan’s wrapped arm, wondering if there was something more he could have done. The general had been hurt plenty of times before, but this seemed like such a preventable incident, paling in comparison to all his other heroic feats that led him to the medbay.

“Cody?” Obi-Wan spoke and Cody hummed in response, looking up and meeting his Jedi’s eyes. Had Obi-Wan been looking at him this whole time? “Where do you think you’ll go after this war?”

Cody didn’t have an answer. Not until several months later. Much had happened in those months. More battles, more death, but beyond that was the relationship that formed between Cody and his general.

Cody wasn’t entirely sure how it happened. Perhaps that was because it developed so naturally. One day Cody and Obi-Wan were close but maintained a professional distance. The next, well, the next they were pulling each other into darkened corners and holding nightly “strategy meetings” in Obi-Wan’s room.

After one such strategy meeting, they were drinking a cup of caff and tea respectively, basking in each other’s presence. These were Cody’s favorite moments- when they could simply be together without protocol or the Jedi Code acting as a barrier to what was between them.

“I want to visit my home planet after the war,” Obi-Wan stated suddenly, looking over to Cody and smiling, “And I want you to come with me.”

Cody’s heart leaped to his throat at Obi-Wan’s offer, managing a choked, “I thought your home was the Jedi Temple.”

“It is, but it’s not my home planet . I’m from Stewjon. It’s supposed to be beautiful, covered in beautiful flora with unique fauna. I have this memory of standing right next to this large waterfall in the mountains. It’s all I remember of my life before I was given to the Order. I want to go to that waterfall, feel the mist across my face, and look out at the mountains.”

“And you want me to come with you,” Cody whispered, unable to stop his own smile.

Obi-Wan set his cup of tea down and reached out for Cody’s hand, “I asked you once if you knew where you wanted to go after the war and you didn’t have an answer. Share my answer until you have your own.”

Cody let his eyes roam over Obi-Wan’s face, finding nothing but love in his blue eyes and pure happiness in his smile. Cody loved this man. He would have died for him if he asked. But he didn’t. All he asked was for Cody to travel with him after the war. How could Cody refuse?

“I will.”

“Cross your heart?”

Commander Tano once demanded a heart crossing from General Skywalker when he promised to show her a new lightsaber move. As far as Cody was aware, it was a common method of securing a promise around the Jedi Temple. 

Cody traced an X over his heart, “Cross my heart.”

Leaning over, Obi-Wan pressed his forehead against Cody’s in a keldabe kiss, before moving forward and joining their lips together in a true kiss.

~*~

It was covered in dirt and bruises nearly a year later when they whispered the riduurok to each other.

The campaign had been brutal, with the 212th taking heavy casualties. It hardly felt like a victory, despite the valuable Separatist general they had in holding. There were men to identify, reports to make, and a local government to pacify, but for a few moments none of those things seemed to matter.

“We don’t know how long we’re going to last in this war, General,” Cody reasoned, pleading- begging his general to give him this, “I love you, I want us to be connected even when we’re a galaxy away from each other. Please.”

There were shouted orders and the endless shuffling of vode outside of the command tent. Anyone could walk in at any moment and see Cody holding his general like he was never going to see him again. But all Cody could hear was the hitch in Obi-Wan’s breathing as he realized what Cody was asking of him, all Cody cared about was that Obi-Wan was alive . 

“Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde,” Obi-Wan declared without a moment of hesitation.

The Sith Slayer, The Negotiator, the man often hailed as the “Perfect Jedi” had just willingly forsaken one of his Order’s strictest rules in order to permanently tie himself to Cody.  

“Mhi solus tome, mhi solus dar'tome, mhi me'dinui an, mhi ba'juri verde,” Cody swore back.

Threading his fingers through Obi-Wan’s hair, Cody pressed their foreheads together in a keldabe kiss. Whispers in the dark, secret meetings, promises of a better future. It was all they could give each other now. One day the war would end, one day Obi-Wan would leave the Order, one day they could simply be together. 

Today was not that day.

That day would never come.

It was pure luck that Anakin told Obi-Wan about his time with the Chancellor at the opera. Obi-Wan had been on his way back from a meeting with Cody at Dex’s when he ran into Anakin, who had just returned. According to Obi-Wan, Anakin was clearly conflicted and Obi-Wan sat him down and listened to everything he had to say.

The Jedi Council put together a team immediately, much too suspicious to stand back and do nothing. Not when Anakin had so much to say about the poison he’d unknowingly been told for years, not when someone finally got a Mind Healer to look at him and saw darkness that had to have been fed by a Dark Sider.

These were all things Cody was told over comm messages from Obi-Wan because he was not a Jedi or a member of the High Council and therefore not able to actively be a part of the situation. The last message Cody received from Obi-Wan before he went off with the rest of the Council to face Sidious was a simple: I’ll see you soon, my dear commander

So Cody waited in the barracks, pacing for the first twenty minutes before growing so restless that he went and sought out sparring partners. He made it through Boil, Waxer, and Helix before Rex tracked him down and offered to give the other members of the 212th a much-needed break.

Cody wasn’t sure how long he and his vod fought. All he knew in those moments was the therapeutic movement of dodging blows and the satisfying feeling of attacks connecting. Rex must have entered the same headspace because no matter how hard they hit or how long the fight went on, they just kept going .

Finally, when both of them could hardly move they fell back onto the mats. Cody closed his eyes tightly, struggling to catch his breath and gather the energy to push past the aches and pains he felt to get up and drink some water.

“I’d suggest we call Helix, but I doubt he’ll want to help us after what you did to him,” Rex jested, drawing a quiet chuckle from Cody.

“Commander.”

Pushing himself up with a grunt, Cody stumbled to his feet and turned to the doorway. General Skywalker stood there, with rumpled robes and his hands clenched tightly at his sides.

“General,” Cody greeted cautiously, wondering why he’d come to the barracks to speak to him and not Rex-

Oh. Oh ka’ra .

“Commander, Obi-Wan informed me of your, ahem , relationship earlier today. There was just going to be an official announcement released but I- I couldn’t just,” the general’s hands were shaking, and his voice broke as he turned his head to hide his tears, “That shouldn’t be how you find out.”

“Find out what, sir?” Cody knew. He knew but he had to hear it. It wouldn’t be real until he did, it couldn’t be real until he did.

“When we were fighting the Chancellor, Obi-Wan he- it wasn’t supposed to happen like that but he did it anyway and-”

“General?” Rex stepped up next to Cody. He knew too.

“Obi-Wan distracted Palpatine long enough for me to cut off his head. He got killed because of it.” General Skywalker finally bit the words out.

Cody closed his eyes. The world faded away. In that moment it was just him, just him and his grief and unachievable dreams. All the quiet laughter they shared over cups of caff and tea. Brushing their hands against each other in moments when they couldn’t do anything more. Whispered promises in the dark. Talks of children, of raising warriors like they swore to do when they spoke the riduurok . These moments flashed through Cody’s mind, fresh as though they just happened. Cody grabbed these moments and held onto them desperately, unwilling to let them go. He wouldn’t be able to replace these memories.

“The pyre ceremonies are normally kept between Jedi but exceptions can be made and I know he’d want you to be there and- Commander?”

Cody came back to himself. Rex had a tight grip on his shoulder, grounding him in the way only a vod could. Cody left his memories to face the present, though he wished he could trap himself away in his mind forever.

“I’ll be there.”

There were many exceptions made for Obi-Wan’s pyre burning. It was not because he was the Sith Slayer, the Negotiator, or because he was the Perfect Jedi. It was because he was a good man, who had saved many and touched the hearts of even more.

It was these thoughts that prevented Cody from shattering upon seeing his riduur . Knowing he was so loved when Obi-Wan often spoke of his feelings of failure- oh, Obi-Wan, if only you could see how loved you truly were. Cody stood in between Rex and Ahsoka Tano - who had returned for her grandmaster’s funeral - and watched as the fire was lit.

The Jedi would say that Obi-Wan was one with the Force. Cody’s partially Mandalorian upbringing said that he wasn’t gone but merely marching away. The Force willed it, the end of the war required it. It was inevitable, necessary.

Cody couldn’t find comfort in any of those things while he watched his love, his hope, his future burn.

Chapter Text

It was so easy to get approval for leave that Cody had to wonder if the Jedi Council was aware of his relationship with Obi-Wan. He wouldn’t have been very surprised, considering they were well aware of Skywalker’s relationship with Padmé  Amidala.

Cody didn’t dwell on whether or not they knew of his relationship, he just remained thankful that the Order was granted control over the GAR. A lot of things happened after Sidious was defeated. Bail Organa was sworn in as Chancellor of the Republic, General Grievous was defeated and the remaining CIS surrendered, the clones had their inhibitor chips removed and were granted sentient rights, and primary control of the GAR was handed over to the Jedi Order in order to “properly facilitate the rebuilding efforts”. Cody was well aware that was a front so the Order could better protect those they had come to view as friends, brothers, and sons (Plo Koon was very eager to adopt the Wolfpack). 

Cody was present for all of these moments, he worked closely with the Council and Bail Organa in order to improve his brother’s lives, but when all was said and done, Cody was simply going through the motions. He fought for his brothers and helped bring the war to an end, and at the end of the day, he returned to the barracks and made himself a cup of caff and a cup of tea. The cup of tea remained full and cooled as Cody drank his caff. He dumped it down the drain and went to sleep.

The days seemed to blend together, but Cody was vaguely aware of the approaching date. Obi-Wan’s life day was nearing. He would have been turning 39, a prime age for his people according to him. Cody and Obi-Wan had both hoped they’d be able to reach Stewjon before his life day.

Now, Cody was loading up a ship with enough supplies to last him the three days leading up to Obi-Wan’s life day. It would be more than enough time to travel to Stewjon and land next to the only waterfall in the mountains. There, Cody would bury Obi-Wan’s lightsaber.

Traditionally, they were either burned with the Jedi or placed in the Hall of Memories, in which the spirit of the Kyber could mingle with other past Jedi. However, Master Yoda had given Obi-Wan’s lightsaber to Cody, along with riddle-like words that made it seem as though Master Yoda was aware of their relationship and wished for Cody to keep something of Obi-Wan’s that “many times, drawn to you it has been”.

Cody would forever be grateful that Master Yoda had allowed him this. Despite how many times Obi-Wan lost his lightsaber - and how many times Cody found it after - Cody was well aware of how important it was to him. It was a part of Obi-Wan, one that could forever stay at the waterfall he longed to visit. Cody wasn’t there to protect his General when he needed it most, but he could do this.

“Hey, Commander!”

Resisting the urge to slam his head against the side of the ship, Cody instead let out a long sight and turned to face Anakin Skywalker. He didn’t hate the man. Obi-Wan loved him as a brother, and he cared deeply for Cody’s brothers. Cody would also forever be grateful that Anakin left medical to come to the barracks to share Obi-Wan’s fate in person instead of leaving Cody to hear it from an official report. However, despite all this, the man could be… overwhelming .

“Commander Cody!” Skywalker called again as if Cody hadn’t heard his shout the first time. R2-D2 beeped as well, seemingly helping his owner get Cody’s attention. Resigned to his fate, Cody spun around. His gaze immediately went to the duffle bag Anakin dropped as he came to a stop. Oh no. “Hey, Commander! The Council said that you were heading out on a short leave.”

“That is correct.” Cody’s eye was twitching. The stress was building. He knew exactly where this conversation was going and he didn’t like it.

“Well, Aayla mentioned - cause she got voted onto the Council, you know - that it was to Stewjon and Obi-Wan’s life day is coming up and I figured it was something related to him and I was wondering if you wanted some help?”

“Help?” Cody asked blandly.

“Yeah, help. Cause, you know I’m the best pilot in the galaxy and you’ve never been to Stewjon before!”

“Neither have you.”

Skywalker pouted, “Well yeah but I thought we could figure it out together.”

Thankfully blessed with patience that the Prime didn’t have, Cody was able to contain his annoyance and said, “Isn’t Senator Amidala due to give birth soon?”

Skywalker paled and shifted awkwardly, “She is, but she said that I was hovering and I started thinking about the kids and how the last kid I sort of raised was Ahsoka and even then I had help and I still failed her so-”

“Skywalker,” Cody cut the man off. He couldn’t call him “General” anymore, as the entire Order had stepped down from their military roles as soon as the war ended, “I understand that you are currently struggling, however, this journey is one that I must-”

“Cody,” another familiar voice called out, though this was one that Cody was much more willing to converse with.

“Rex,” Cody turned to speak to his vod’ika , pleased to find that the bandage from his surgery was off and the site had completely healed. He and Cody were two of the first to go in after the chips were discovered.

“I wanted to wish you luck on your journey. I know this has been hard, harder than I can understand, but when you talked to me about this before you got permission from the Council you sounded hopeful.”

“I want to put him to rest, to go where he couldn’t.” Obi-Wan let Cody share his dream. Now Cody was the only one who could act on it.

“I understand, vod ,” Rex clasped Cody’s shoulder, “ K'oyacyi .”

Nodding once, Cody stepped onto the ship he was given for his leave. Skywalker and his droid were no longer in sight, so Cody assumed that he had taken the hint and went off to either bother someone else or sign out a craft to take the break he clearly needed. 

Taking a seat in the pilot’s chair, Cody guided the ship out of the hangar and into Coruscant’s sky. As soon as he was out of the atmosphere and in the clear, he input the coordinates for Stewjon and entered Hyperspace.

Leaning back, Cody’s hands trailed down to his belt where Obi-Wan’s lightsaber was hooked. A year into the war Cody had the hook added to his belt due to how often he’d found Obi-Wan’s lightsaber lying around. Cody rarely wore his full set of armor anymore - at the moment he was wearing several lighter pieces on top of travel clothing - but his belt always remained, and therefore Obi-Wan always remained.

But Cody was about to bury Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, and then he’d lost him. Maybe Cody should just apply for a discharge and move to Stewjon. It was able to support humanoid life, and it’s not like Cody didn’t have the skills to survive-

Beep boop beep.

Drawing a knife from his boot, Cody swung around and threw it at the source of the noise. R2-D2 screeched and rolled out of the way just in time. Confused, Cody stood up and approached the astromech. Why would the droid be on the ship? He barely ever left Skywalker’s side-

“Good thing there are two bunks, huh?”

Wondering what he had done to deserve this, Cody looked up at a beaming Anakin Skywalker. 

“Why are you here?”

“I came on while you were talking to Rex,” Skywalker stated like it was obvious. It was, but that wasn’t what Cody was asking.

“Skywalker, I very clearly didn’t want you coming on this trip with me.”

“I mean, I knew you were hesitant but I didn’t think it was that clear. Besides, it’s too late now! We’re already in Hyperspace and if you drop out of it to drop me off at the nearest planet it’ll cut into your travel time.”

Cody despised that Skywalker was right. Dropping out of hyperspace to drop Skywalker off at the nearest planet so he could call the Order and get picked up would take too much time. Cody was on a strict schedule. It was a day of travel there, three days to spend contemplating whether or not he wanted to move to the Stewjon mountains, and a day of travel back if Cody actually returned to Coruscant. 

The idea that Cody technically couldn’t stop the ship created some pleasant fantasies of sending Skywalker out of the airlock. Though he quickly chased those fantasies away lest he attempt to make them a reality.

Fine. Skywalker would tag along during the ship ride, sure. As soon as they got to Stewjon they’d be going their separate ways. Anakin knew they were going to the planet, not to the mountains, so maybe Cody could just drop him off at some village and then get back on the ship and actually fly to the mountains. Yeah, that would work.

Cody tried not to think of how callous he seemed. He knew Skywalker was grieving Obi-Wan just as he was, but Cody just needed… he wasn’t sure what he needed. But he was certain that he didn’t need Skywalker. Skywalker had a wife to go back to, and a Padawan who was considering working with the Order again, and two ade about to enter the world. Cody had his vode , who all needed space to learn who they wanted to be. He used to have Obi-Wan too. Now Cody was alone, and he wanted it to stay that way while he figured out what the kriff he was going to do with the rest of his life. Obi-Wan was supposed to be there to help him, let Cody share his dreams. Cody was lost without him.

“Cody?” Skywalker asked, and Cody realized he must have gotten lost in his thoughts.

“Just don’t- don’t touch anything,” Cody knew it was a rare occurrence when Skywalker didn’t completely wreck a ship just by trying to pilot it, “I’ll be in my bunk.”

Stalking his way toward the quarters on the ship, Cody noted with annoyance that Skywalker was right. There were two bunks in the room. Cody would track down whoever assigned him this ship and strangle them.

Sliding into the cot, Cody let out a long sigh, “Obi-Wan, I don’t know how you put up with him for so many years.”

Silence answered. Releasing another sigh, Cody pulled Obi-Wan’s lightsaber off his belt. Running his fingers over the craftsmanship, as he’d done a million times before, Cody hovered over the activation button. He remained frozen, just hovering over that button, for what felt like hours. Finally, he shook himself out of the daze he was in and set the lightsaber on the bedside desk next to him.

Cody hadn’t slept well since Obi-Wan died, too used to the luxury of holding his Jedi against his chest. It was lonely and cold without Obi-Wan there, no matter how many blankets Cody used. 

However, the idea of accomplishing Obi-Wan’s dream must have calmed Cody’s subconscious because he found himself dozing off quickly.

BOOM!

Jerking awake, Cody nearly rolled off his bunk as the ship leaned to the side. Catching Obi-Wan’s lightsaber right before it fell off the bedside desk, Cody clipped it to his belt, pulled on his boots, and rushed out of the room toward the cockpit.

“What’s going on here?” Cody snapped as soon as he saw Skywalker in the pilot’s seat, “What did you do?”

“Nothing!” Skywalker exclaimed, struggling to stabilize the ship. A quick glance at the navigation system confirmed that they were over Stewjon, “I woke up when the ship dropped out of hyperspace and came in here to see where we were over Stewjon. Then it felt like the ship got hit with something.”

“Move over,” Cody snapped, pushing Skywalker out of the pilot’s seat, “Hit with something my ass. You always manage to crash.”

“I didn’t even touch the counsel, it started crashing on its own!” Skywalker defended, plopping down in the seat next to Cody, “But now that we are crashing I can take over-”

“No!”

Pulling back on the controls, Cody tried to keep their descent to the surface as smooth as possible. He recognized mountains through the viewport, but there were plenty of mountainous areas on Stewjon. They could be landing half a planet away from where Cody wanted to go.

The ship hit the ground. Skywalker and Cody both grunted from the force of the impact, R2 screamed as he flung up and hit the ceiling. Now that they had survived hitting the ground, Cody turned the ship to the side to prevent any trees from breaking the viewport and potentially impaling him or Skywalker. This also slowed the ship down faster as trees hit a larger area rather than just the very front.

When the ship finally slowed to a stop, Cody took a minute to catch his breath. The engines were damaged, as was a lot of the exterior. There was no getting this ship into the air again.

“Wow. Normally when I crash a ship it ends up way worse,” Skywalker commented, lacking the crucial self-awareness that would make him realize his crashes were worse because he was piloting.

Sending Skywalker a look, Cody stood and moved to the back of the ship. Luckily, the ramp still worked so there wasn’t a need to cut themselves out of the ship. Breathing in the fresh Stewjoni air - which was starkly different from the polluted tinge that Coruscant always held - Cody attempted to figure out where exactly they were.

“Obi-Wan, it's beautiful,” Cody breathed out, taking in the Stewjon landscape.

Currently, they were high up in the mountains. The air was fresh but slightly thin. The forest was thick and the sounds of wildlife surrounded him. Beyond that was the sound of running water which was good because- it was a lot of running water. Not like a stream or a river, but a waterfall. 

Cody’s head snapped in the direction of the noise, and it was easy to spot the giant waterfall. It seemed to be around forty or fifty kliks away, which would be an easy hike to make in three days without any additional problems.

“Wow, it’s really pretty here.”

Ah. There was an additional problem.

Cody was fine with dropping Skywalker off at a village because he’d be able to easily call someone, but now there was no chance of getting Skywalker to civilization. Skywalker was no longer a general and Cody was no longer his subordinate, but Cody struggled to shed the obligation he felt toward him. Because this wasn’t just a former Jedi General, this was Obi-Wan’s ad , and therefore he was Cody’s family too.

“Osik,” Cody swore quietly, before sucking it up and turning to Skywalker, “We’re heading to that waterfall. Grab what you need and can carry and we’ll leave.”

“Why that waterfall?” Skywalker asked curiously as Cody made his way back onto the ship.

“Because I said so, now hurry up.”

Skywalker transferred the items in his duffle bag into an extra backpack he found in storage. Cody grabbed the most important items he’d need - such as a vibroblade, rations, a flask, and basic sanitary items. The majority of extra clothes he packed would need to be left behind since he didn’t have space, but there was one thing he refused to leave behind.

Traditionally, Mandalorians exchange armor when they get married. It would be too obvious of a statement for Obi-Wan and Cody to do that during the war, so they exchanged normal clothing items. Cody gave Obi-Wan one of the only civvie shirts he owned and Obi-Wan slept in it nearly every night. Obi-Wan gave Cody one of his often abandoned Jedi robes. Cody only wore it on the loneliest nights when they were separated, but he treasured it like nothing else. So that joined the other items in the pack, safely tucked away at the bottom. 

After double-checking that Obi-Wan’s lightsaber and a blaster were on his belt, Cody was ready to go. He met Skywalker and R2 outside, leading the way without another word. He could get through this trip. He could. He’d get to the waterfall, bury Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, decide if he wanted to stay on Coruscant or Stewjon, and then go from there.

“So… why are we going to the waterfall?”

“No questions.”

“Okay,” Skywalker was silent for all of ten seconds, “It’s just that, well I figured you’d want to go to where Obi-Wan was born or something, y’know?”

“I said no questions.”

“Fine, fine. “

Four days until Cody was supposed to have his decision. Three until Obi-Wan’s birthday. All stuck with Skywalker.

I know you never believed in luck, Obi-Wan, but I could certainly use some right now

Chapter Text

They’d kept a steady pace for nearly ten hours when Skywalker started complaining. Cody knew he’d led longer marches and suffered through worse campaigns, but of course, now that the war was over all of that was out the window.

“I’m tired,” Anakin complained, R2 beeping as if to say that he was tired too. Cody should have aimed better with his vibroblade when the little bastard showed up on his ship, “My knee hurts.”

“Which knee?”

There was a pause, “I need to go to the bathroom.”

Unwilling to deal with anymore whining, Cody let out a huff and stopped. Skywalker perked up, seeming to think that he had worn Cody down, and to Cody’s great shame, he had.

“Go, quickly.”

Darting off into the brush, Cody took this moment to gather his bearings. He was fine, everything he was carrying was fine, but his mental state was understandably jacked up. 

“Hey, Cody?” Anakin called from the brush.

“What?”

“I think I found something,” Anakin was walking closer, but something was off about his footsteps, they seemed heavier and echoed for some reason.

“Unless it’s dangerous or going to slow down our trip then I don’t care,” Cody called back.

“I don’t think it’s either but it’s still weird. Do you know about any birds native to Stewjon that are kind of feral and kind of domesticated?”

“... what?” Turning around, Cody came face-to-beak with a giant, multi-colored bird. It squawked when Cody finally looked at it, causing Cody to flinch back, “What is that?”

“I’m not sure, but it seems pretty friendly. I opened up a ration bar and it went bonkers for it, which is a first since the ration bars suck.”

The bird squawked again and moved forward to nuzzle under Cody’s chin. It turned to Anakin and nipped affectionately at his hair. Suspicious of the bird suddenly turning and on them and attacking, Cody made a shooing motion with his hand to scare it away. The bird copied his motion, just shooing him back. Anakin chuckled from behind the bird, earning a stern glare from Cody.

“Can we keep it?” Anakin asked childishly, staring up at the bird with stars in his eyes.

“My master had a strange habit of taking in pathetic lifeforms. Before I met and got to know Anakin, I called him one too… sometimes I think I picked up that habit from my master- finding those who need help and setting out to do what I can for them, even if it seems hopeless.”

Cody sucked in a quick breath, looking away from Anakin and the bird as, for a moment, it was too painful to keep his gaze on them.

“No.”

“Come on! It seems somewhat domesticated and it’s not like it’s going to slow us down that much. It’s just a giant bird! How slow could it be?”

“It’s a distraction we don’t need.” The sun was going to set soon. Then they’d only have two days to get to the waterfall. Cody didn’t want to risk it, “We don’t know how fast it can actually go and if you’re going to keep gawking at it then you won’t keep your focus on moving.”

The bird moved closer to Cody, sniffing around his belt where Obi-Wan’s lightsaber was then moving to his backpack. For a moment it tried to open it with its beak to get at something inside, but Cody was quick to move away.

“Don’t do that!”

The bird ducked behind Anakin in an attempt to hide behind him, though its much wider mass made that difficult.

“Don’t be mean to Ben!”

“You named the bird Ben?” Cody growled. Of all the possible names, Anakin had to name the bird after Obi-Wan’s most common alias.

“Yeah. I don’t know, it just seemed like it fit. I can’t really explain it,” Anakin shrugged, seemingly unbothered, “I named it and now I should be able to keep it. That’s how this works.”

“NO!” Cody shouted before moving on.

Anakin dutifully followed behind him, but aside from the whirring noises of R2 moving, there was another set of footsteps that Cody knew was the bird. If he listened closely he could hear Anakin breaking off pieces of a ration bar to keep the bird close.

Honestly, had this man ever grown up?

Cody put up with the bird following and attempting to hide when he glanced back for another couple of hours. R2 seemed happy to have another non-human companion and spoke in chirps similar to the ones the bird made in an attempt to communicate. Cody wasn’t sure how that dynamic was working out and he didn’t care to find out.

The sun was beginning to set and Cody was starting to feel the fatigue that normally set in after long marches during the war. Continuing to walk but scouting for a suitable place to spend the night, Cody spotted a spacious cave set in the side of a higher portion of the mountain. That would work just fine.

“We’ll stop there for the night,” Cody pointed out the cave, leading their now group of four over there.

Setting his backpack on the ground, he pulled out a rolled-up sleep mat and placed it on the cave floor, watching Anakin as he did the same across from him. Having gathered supplies for a small fire on the way in, Cody lit one to chase away the chill that would undoubtedly come with the night.

“I’ve never built a fire before,” Anakin stated conversationally.

Cody shot the man an incredulous look, “You fought in a war for three years and you never made a fire even then?”

Anakin shook his head, “Tatooine was so hot we never needed fires, and when I was on missions with Obi-Wan he always made them. He never wanted me to do more work than I had to, I think because the Council always sent us on dangerous missions and he knew we’d be working hard anyway. During the war, one of the men always volunteered.”

“Huh.” It seemed like such a simple thing to Cody because of his survival training on Kamino, but he supposed that Anakin truly never had a need to learn.

“Padmé talks about campfires she had with her family when he was a child,” Anakin continued, a fond smile on his face, “She made it sound so amazing, just bonding and being together around the fire. I want to learn how to make one for our child, so they can have the chance to be happy with us the way I never was able to be with my mother.”

Staring into the flames for a few moments, Cody let out a sigh and gathered up the remaining fire supplies, “Another fire couldn’t hurt.”

“Really?”

“It’d mean more warmth, but you’re in charge of making this one. The first thing you have to do is set up the wood so it forms…”

~*~

Waking up as sunlight streamed through the cave opening and onto Cody’s face, he sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. A cursory glance around the cave revealed that Ben had disappeared. Hopefully, Anakin wouldn’t notice.

“Time to get up, Skywalker,” Cody said, loudly enough to rouse the man from his sleep.

Groaning loudly, Skywalker sat up and looked around the cave. His eyes narrowed, “Where’s Ben?”

Well, so much for him not noticing.

“Gone off somewhere. Who knows. We need to get moving.”

Grumbling unhappily, Skywalker rolled up his sleep mat and stuffed it into his backpack. As the two of them were stepping out of the cave, the bushes rustled next to them and Ben emerged.

“There you are!” Skywalker said happily, walking over to the bird and receiving an affectionate nuzzle.

In the distance, a loud caw rang through the forest. Ben turned in the general direction it came from and returned the noise.

“What is it doing?” Cody asked.

R2 beeped, and Skywalker nodded along, “Something is calling out for it, apparently. R2 doesn’t know what though.” R2 beeped again, “Oh. Ben has to go.”  

Cody hid his relief at that revelation, though he was slightly curious as to who initiated the first call. Was the bird actually a female who had to return to her young? Did they have a mate? Or was it something else?

The bird left after a gentle nip to Skywalker’s ear and ruffling Cody’s hair. The pair watched it go, Skywalker much more somber than Cody was.

“We should get moving, then,” Cody stated, prompting a nod from Skywalker and a receptive beep from R2.

“Wait-” Skywalker held up a hand.

“Skywalker, the bird isn’t coming back-”

“No, there’s something wrong in the Force. It’s like a warn-”

“Halt!” A robotic voice Cody thought he’d never hear again sounded out.

Immediately, Skywalker’s lightsaber was lit and Cody had his blaster drawn as three battle droids stepped out of the bushes. R2 released his taser function, which seemed tame compared to the flamethrower Cody knew Skywalker installed in his droid. None of the battle droids made any move to shoot. Their guns were raised, yes, but Cody could see that they were set on stun rather than kill.

“Skywalker, wait,” Cody stopped Skywalker from destroying any of them, “I think they’re reprogrammed.”

“Our master requires your presence.”

Skywalker turned off his lightsaber but kept it in his hand, “I think you’re right. Battle Droids were never the peaceful type.”

“Follow us please.”

Cody grimaced. Getting sidetracked by whoever controlled these droids now would most definitely set them back.

“Your master can come to us if he wishes to speak to us,” Cody tried to step around the droids, but they put their blasters in his face.

“Follow us please.”

Knowing he could easily shoot his way out, Cody hesitated. Who's to say this “master” didn’t have an entire battalion of droids hidden away somewhere? Cody was confident in his and Skywalker’s abilities, but they had no idea who they were up against.

“Let’s go, Cody. The Force is very insistent that we follow them,” Skywalker frowned, “But it feels kind of muddled. It has since-”

Skywalker broke himself off with a deep frown and followed after the three battle droids. Seeing as he had no other choice, Cody followed them as well.

The droids led them through the forest and lower down the mountain to what Cody thought was a clearing. It wasn’t until they got closer that Cody realized it was a ship of Mandalorian design that had clearly been in the field for a while. Battle droids guarded the outside, their blasters following Skywalker and Cody’s every move as they approached.

“Stand down.” Skywalker tensed from next to Cody, and he ignited his lightsaber once again, “They are guests, not enemies.”

A red and black Zabrak stepped down the ramp of the ship, dressed in dark clothing with what looked like a lightsaber on his belt. It took Cody a few moments, but he felt as though his heart stopped beating when he realized who was standing in front of him.

“Darth Maul,” Skywalker growled, lightsaber coming to his traditional starting position.

“Skywalker,” Maul greeted before his eyes darted over to Cody, “Commander Cody. What a pleasant surprise.”

“What are you doing here, degenerate Sith ?” Anakin hissed out the word, something about him turning dark and dangerous. 

“After Lady Tano usurped me from my place on Mandalore, I landed here and discovered the beginnings of a Separatist movement. With the war so close to an end it was easy to track down their command center and reprogram them.”

“Why? So you could take over this planet for yourself?”

Maul laughed, and Cody felt a chill travel up his spine. This was the man who killed Obi-Wan’s master, who was determined to kill him and everyone he loved and now he was just… casually talking to Obi-Wan’s pseudo-son.

“I no longer have any interest in controlling planets. I’m here on a more personal matter. I’m trying to find someone, you see,” Maul waved his hands dismissively, “But that is no matter. Come, come! Let us dine together in honor of Kenobi.”

“You killed his master and tried to kill him,” Cody pointed out, skeptical of Maul’s supposed goodwill.

“Yes, I did, and he is now dead and I was left adrift until I began this new project. Things can change in a matter of moments, my friends, as I’m sure you are aware.”

Hearing Maul so bluntly state that Obi-Wan had died made Cody flinch. He could acknowledge what happened, yes - it was hard not to when it felt like half of Cody’s soul was missing - but that didn’t mean it was easy . Skywalker seemed to feel the same way as he scowled when Maul said it.

“Are you coming?” Maul asked with a tilt of his head. The battle droids behind Skywalker and Cody shifted as if to remind the pair of their presence and their guns.

Skywalker and Cody hated this man, yes, and wanted him dead to protect Obi-Wan’s legacy, but they were also tired. Tired of fighting enemies and mourning their loved one. If they had to deal with this man for an hour before they could move on, then they would do so. Later, when things were better, they would return and chop off the Zabrak’s head rather than just cut him in half.

Following Maul onto the ship, they were led through the ornate halls to a pristine dining room. Maul sat at the head of the table, with Cody on his left and Anakin on his right. The silence that fell between all of them was tense and awkward, only broken when Anakin cleared his throat and fixed Maul with a glare.

“What are you looking for?”

“Someone who wronged me, but they’ve proven difficult to track down these days so instead I wish to capture their pet,” Maul hummed, “They own quite a large bird, very colorful you see. If I were to catch the bird I could have it lead me to who I’m looking for.”

Anakin and Cody stiffened. There could have been plenty of birds out there like Ben, sure, but there wasn’t such a thing as coincidences when it came to their lives.

“Tell me, have you seen this creature at all?”

“No.”

“Haven’t seen it.”

Maul stared the two down. His gaze was so intense it was unnerving. Within this time, three battle droids came out and served dinner, something that smelled amazing but that Cody wouldn’t trust.

“You know, there are many wonderful abilities that come with being a Dark Sider. It is easier to make immoral choices to get what I want, easier to manipulate people, and easier to tell when people are manipulating me,” Maul slammed his hands on the table, causing Skywalker and Cody to jump, “I’ve been lied to enough in my life. Where is the bird? Tell me and perhaps I’ll let you live.”

Over Skywalker’s shoulder, Cody spotted colorful feathers in the tree-line out the viewing window. For some reason, the bird had either tracked them down again or followed them. No matter what the bird did, this wasn’t good.

“It ran off,” Cody answered quickly, telling a half-lie that Maul hopefully wouldn’t pick up on, “We don’t know where it is.”

“Yeah, and we were actually in the middle of something so we should go,” Skywalker stood and started slowly backing up toward the door. Cody was quick to follow his lead. R2 whirred quietly, rushing to bring up the rear.

“Oh, I must insist you stay, we have so much more to talk about.”

“Really, we should get going-”

Caw. Caw.

Cody let out a slow breath, closing his eyes. Maul moved to the window, looking out at the forest. It would be impossible to deny their involvement with the bird now. They were screwed.

“Oh kriff,” Skywalker whispered, his hand slowly going for his lightsaber.

Maul let out a low, dark laugh. It grew faster and higher-pitched, eventually reaching a point that Cody would label deranged. Maul turned to Skywalker and Cody, his eyes shining a bright molten gold.

“I should have known that you would be helping her. The both of you were always endlessly loyal to Kenobi so she would have earned that loyalty too, wouldn’t she have?”

Maul began to laugh again. Cody grabbed Skywalker’s wrist and pulled him out the door, sprinting down the hall while Maul was lost in his insanity.

“Get them!” Maul’s voice seemed to carry throughout the ship.

A blaster bolt shot past Cody’s shoulder. It definitely wasn’t a stun bolt. This wasn’t good.

Chapter Text

With R2 screaming the entire way, Skywalker and Cody sprinted through Maul’s ship. Every time they spotted a droid, either Skywalker destroyed them with his lightsaber or Cody shot them down. They weren’t taking any chances and were operating under the assumption that Maul’s orders had spread through the ranks already.

As soon as they burst through the outer door back into the wilderness, every droid that was stationed outside had their blasters on them. A squawk rang out, Cody’s worldview shifted, and suddenly he was riding on Ben’s back, darting through the trees. Skywalker was seated behind him, clinging to R2 by one of his legs to prevent him from falling behind. The droid was beeping rapidly- curses if Cody had to guess. He wouldn’t enjoy getting swung around upside down either.

It took a few moments to get used to riding Ben. The bird was fast, and ran through the forest like it had been made to do so - and it probably had. When Cody mentally compared it to riding an AT-RT the ride became much more tolerable and Cody found it easy to orient himself.

Twisting around, Cody aimed his blaster at the surprisingly fast battle droids - it must have been one of Maul’s alterations - and expertly shot them down. Skywalker was blocking any blaster shots coming his way with his lightsaber. They were fine, they would get through this.

Ben suddenly swerved, and Cody let out a small yelp of pain as his hand slammed against a tree trunk. He knew immediately that nothing was broken and he’d be overall fine. Well, aside from the fact that the hit caused his blaster to fly from his hand. Cody hadn’t thought to pack another one. He hadn’t thought he’d need one at all. Cody cursed himself for his past actions. 

Skywalker glanced back for a short moment, eyes immediately going to Cody’s empty hand, then his belt where Obi-Wan’s lightsaber lay.

“You ever used a staff or a sword before?” Anakin called back.

“Yes,” Cody had been trained to use many weapons, conventional or not, thanks to Jango Fett and Alpha-17. They had deemed it important that their Kote knew how to defend himself in any situation.

“A lightsaber is just like that but lighter since our blades are plasma.”

Cody’s hand went down to Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. Skywalker wasn’t seriously suggesting that Cody use Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, was he?

Skywalker deflected a barrage of blaster shots all at once, shouting back, “Cody, I can’t handle all of them on my own! I need your help!”

Cody’s hand wrapped around the hilt of the saber, giving only a weak tug in an attempt to take it off its hook. Skywalker was struggling, and the droids were slowly catching up, yet Cody’s body wasn’t responding to the commands his brain was trying to give.

“Cody!”

Letting go of Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, the full weight of it rested once again against his side, feeling crushing. Cody’s throat tightened, and he closed his eyes tightly. He couldn’t.

Skywalker looked back at Cody, eyes wide and frantic. Cody felt shame and guilt churn in his gut, but it wasn’t powerful enough to overcome his sadness and determination to not desecrate one of the only things he had left of Obi-Wan.

“Co-”

The pair grunted as Ben came to an abrupt stop over a wide cliff edge, the bird’s feet scrambling for purchase as he nearly fell off. Skywalker was quick to jump off Ben and Force jump over the edge. He landed firmly on the other side.

“Hold on!” He yelled over.

“Hold on? What do you mean hold o- woah!”

Skywalker lifted his hands and summoned Ben, Cody, and R2 over at the same time. All of them floundered for a moment when they were in the air, but when Skywalker made a warning noise they were quick to stay still, realizing that breaking Skywalker’s concentration meant falling to their deaths.

When they dropped to the ground on the other side Anakin fell as well, panting and sweating. He wiped his forehead with his flesh hand and motioned to the other side of the chasm. Cody turned around and watched as any droids who didn’t stop in time fell and were destroyed due to the high fall. The remaining droids all stopped and seemed to realize it was a lost cause. They retreated, causing Skywalker and Cody to let out identical sighs of relief.

“Why didn't you use the lightsaber?” Skywalker snapped when he had recovered, sitting up to glare at Cody accusingly.

“Why do you think?” Cody griped back, “It’s not mine to use!”

“We could have died! I was counting on you to help me. If we didn’t reach that cliff and if I wasn’t as strong in the Force as I am, we would have been killed!”

“You act like this is easy!” Cody staggered to his feet, fists clenched tightly at his sides. Skywalker mirrored his movements, the leather of his glove squeaking under the Force of his metal hand, “Maybe you can move on quickly, but I can’t! He was my riduur , my runi ! This lightsaber is all I have left of him, I can’t just- if I-  I never used it I only gave it back. If I use it but don’t give it back then he’s really-”

Cody clenched his jaw and fought valiantly against the tears burning his eyes. He would not cry in front of Skywalker. Not over this. Despite his best efforts, a tear slipped free, and Cody cursed and turned to wipe it away. He jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder.

“I’m sorry for snapping,” Skywalker apologized, “And for being inconsiderate. I didn’t realize that using his lightsaber would be upsetting. I should have.”

Cody had never heard Skywalker apologize for anything. Ever. The man was endlessly stubborn and self-absorbed enough to never see a wrong in his actions. Cody knew much of the blame was to be placed on Palpatine for manipulating Anakin and bolstering his sense of self in order to endear Skywalker to him, but Cody still didn’t think that Anakin would be able to grow so quickly with the monster gone.

“I apologize for not helping,” Cody cleared his throat and pulled himself together, “We were in danger and I allowed my feelings to get in the way of that.”

Skywalker nodded. Both of them had taken full blame for what happened and hadn’t met in the middle, but simply apologizing was progress considering Cody started out despising the man.

“I think we should follow Ben to find out who this ‘her’ Maul was talking about it,” Anakin changed the subject abruptly, “I know you want to get to that waterfall before Obi-Wan’s birthday, but Maul is planning to kill this person and considering how crazy he is, she might not even deserve it.”

Grimacing, Cody was tempted to say no. They had lost a lot of time already and Cody didn’t want to go on a search for someone they hoped to track using a bird .

“Hey,” Anakin spoke up again, his features softening and making him look eons younger. Kriff, this kid was only 23. It was easy to forget that sometimes, “I miss him too, and I know how much you want to get to that waterfall, but we can’t just leave this woman to her doom because of that. Jedi aren’t meant to be selfish. Obi-Wan always tried to tell me that and I never really listened to him. I didn't listen to him about a lot of things… After what he did - I mean he saved everyone because of it - I’m understanding the power of selflessness a bit more.”

And didn’t that just feel like a punch to the gut? 

Letting out a long sigh, Cody gave Anakin a nod. They would allow the bird to lead them to the woman Maul was determined to find. They would either warn her or offer her protection and then go to the waterfall. It would be okay.

“We can go,” Cody gave verbal confirmation.

Anakin grinned, “Wizard! Hey Ben, take us to who’s calling for you!”

Ben tilted his head, squawked as if he understood, and began moving. He wasn’t going as fast as he could, and Cody found himself thankful for the bird’s supposed consideration.

"I don't think I've ever been to a planet with mountains like this," Anakin stated conversationally around an hour into their hike, "The war took me all over the galaxy except to the mountains."

"There aren't many planets with lots of mountain ranges like this. The closest one to Coruscant is Alderaan and the war never reached them," Cody responded.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It's still nice to be out here, even if this trip has been insane. When I was younger, my mom and I used to talk about all the places we would go if we were free. It kept us going on the hard days- imagining what we could do if we were enslaved. Then she'd read from one of the few books we had and sing me a lullaby. I remember it all so clearly... boring stuff like that has always stuck with me more than even the craziest adventures I've gone on."

A cup of caf and a cup of tea in the morning. Holding hands while reading reports together. Spars in the training room. Eating together to avoid missing meals.

"I get it."

The bird called out twice during their hike and received calls in return. The first was immediately after they started walking and the second was when the sun was beginning to set. They had made a lot of progress within the day, seeing as how the second call sounded extremely close.

When the moon was high and stars started blinking into existence, Ben sniffed the air once and grew excited. Cody assumed he had scented the woman close (could normal birds even smell the way Ben could?) and was eager to get back to her.

“Wait, wait!” Anakin held up his gloved hand, eyebrows scrunched together in concentration, “Something’s wrong. I sense something dark approaching.”

“Very astute Skywalker,” in the dark of the night, a red lightsaber activated, “Now step aside, I’m getting that bird.”

Chapter Text

Cody and Anakin were on high alert immediately, Anakin drawing his lightsaber and Cody pulling a vibro blade from his boot. It wouldn’t do much against a lightsaber, but he’d leave fighting Maul to Anakin.

“Ben, run!” Anakin yelled.

Ben cawed and turned to run, but a stun shot hit him and knocked him out before he could even take a step. Out of the treeline came a squad of battle droids, though this time they weren’t alone. Two B2 droids accompanied them as backup. There would be no easy escape this time.

“I’ll handle Maul. Think you got the droids?”

“I’ll manage.”

The two sprinted at their targets. Cody hacked at the arm of one of the droids and stole their blaster, using it to shoot down two other battle droids before the rest reacted. Ducking under several shots, Cody lifted one of the shot droid's bodies and used it as a shield. He reached around the body and shot two more droids. He threw the body at the final one and shot it while it was distracted.

Quickly looking over the B2s, Cody leaped onto one of their shoulders, holding on tightly as it jerked around in an attempt to knock him off. Cody rammed the barrel of the gun in between metal plates and shot off multiple rounds, thoroughly destroying the internal wiring. Cody jumped off that B2 as it fell onto the other one and successfully completed the same tactic.

WEEEEEEOOOOO

Thunk.

“Artoo!”

Another, much louder thud rang out, and Cody winced as he watched Anakin get Force pushed into a tree so hard he fell to the ground dazed.

“Pathetic,” Maul hissed, turning his attention to Cody. His eyes looked him over, seemingly glaring into his soul, before landing on Obi-Wan’s lightsaber, “Why would he give it to a clone of all people? There are a million of you.”

Obi-Wan’s lightsaber flew from Cody’s belt to Maul’s outstretched hand. Cody panicked and reached out for it, but was too slow and wasn’t able to grab it in time.

“Mmm, Kenobi,” Maul hummed as he looked it over, “This is one of the few things that’s left of him, yes? It would be a shame if it were to be… lost.”

Maul threw the lightsaber. It hit the ground and rolled toward a dropoff that Cody didn’t even notice before. Crying out, Cody sprinted after it. He fell to his knees hard and snatched it up just before it rolled off. Holding it close to his heart, Cody took a moment to breathe and calm down.

“Oh attachment, it always seemed to be the downfall for this lineage,” Maul tutted. Cody blinked and he was gone, so was Ben. Cody wasn’t sure if it was some Dark Side trick or a Force suggestion heavy enough to distort his vision until both of them could truly leave.

Anakin groaned, slowly pushing himself up to his knees. Blinking blearily, he looked around the clearing, “Did Ben wake up and run off?”

“No, Maul took him.”

Anakin paused in his recovery, looking up at Cody with narrowed eyes, “You let Maul take him?”

“It wasn’t on purpose, it just happened.”

Anakin scoffed, finally, “Just happened, yeah right. You didn’t like him from the beginning and you didn’t want to investigate who he belonged to either. I bet you let Maul take him.”

“I had to choose between Ben and Obi-Wan’s lightsaber.”

“And you chose an object over a living creature?”

“You don’t understand-”

“Oh no, I understand perfectly well. I understand that you’re clinging to that lightsaber like it’s going to bring Obi-Wan back. Newsflash, it’s not! He’s dead!”

“You think I don’t know that? I wake up every morning feeling like part of my soul is missing. I still turn and say something like he’s there to respond. He was my entire reason for living, he was the motivation behind every decision I made. I’m lost without him and I’m mourning . And what are you doing? Going on a brand new ‘adventure’ because you aren’t willing to be responsible and stay near your pregnant wife? I know for a fact Obi-Wan taught you better than that.”

“You don’t know anything about what he taught me,” Anakin growled, his hands starting to shake.

“You think Obi-Wan didn’t talk about you? He was always stressed about you! Always worried that you were going to get yourself or Ahsoka killed because you don’t know how to stop and think . He cried over the fact that you trusted a grooming politician more than you trusted the man who raised you! You told him you wished he took Qui-Gon’s place when you were younger!”

Anakin turned to Cody, face murderous with tears rolling down his face, “And he loved me anyway! Even when I messed up or was terrible to him he never left me. He was always there and I didn’t realize it. Everything he did since I became his Padawan was for me. He’s dead because he was protecting me! I was nothing but an ungrateful screw-up the entire time he was my Master and I didn’t even realize it until it was too late!” Anakin sucked in a deep breath and took another look around. His eyes widened in realization, “Artoo!”

That’s right, Maul had given R2 a Force push and it looked like he had just… disappeared. Anakin was too disoriented to remember at first, and Cody’s focus had never been on the droid in the first place.

Darting off, Anakin rushed over to the ledge that Obi-Wan’s lightsaber had nearly fallen off. In the near-pitch black darkness it was nearly impossible to see ten feet in front of you, so Cody doubted that Anakin could see much. Still, that didn’t stop the Jedi from starting a precarious journey down the mountain.

“Skywalker, slow down!” Cody shouted, nearly tripping himself over a precariously protruding root or vine or something impossible to see in the pitch dark. He had a feeling that the ground they were running on was narrow, given they were going down the mountain - the mountain they should have been going up this whole time. Cody could hear the rushing of the waterfall in the distance. Over the pounding in his ears, he could not tell if it sounded closer than even when they first crash-landed. 

The young Jedi ignored him, sprinting ahead, kicking aside the thick Stewjoni flora when it got in his way, and pebbles falling where his boots knocked them loose. Cody had half a mind to be concerned about the racket they were making, briefly wondering if there were more dangerous animals lurking in the trees, but he feared if he took his focus off his feet then he would tumble down the mountain in wake of Anakin and his astromech. 

“R2!” Cody heard Skywalker’s voice echo off the cliff wall to their left, from a distance much further down, and quickened his pace. He held one hand out, dragging along the rockface in a near futile effort to steady himself. When he reached the flat ground at the bottom, Cody almost careened forward; it took every ounce of balance and a painfully abrupt squat to keep himself from face-planting or rolling head over heels. 

There was the familiar ignition sound of a lightsaber, and Cody had to squint against the sudden glare of Anakin’s pale blue blade against the pressing dark of the forest surrounding them. A sliver of clear sky between the dizzyingly tall cliff and the peaks of the adjacent trees let little moon or starlight in, so Skywalker’s saber was the only thing aiding his frantic search.

“R2? R2?” There was no resounding chirp or beeps from the astromech in reply to his name, and Anakin let out a sound that could have been a frustrated groan if he didn’t sound so kriffing helpless. Cody looked around once his eyes adjusted, but could hardly see a thing. He briefly regretted not having his bucket on. The thing always came in handy at the strangest of times… 

“Kriff,” Anakin finally cried out, “Cody, Cody come here…” 

Cody rushed over on instinct, though his mind still swam in bewilderment; on one hand, he worried for the little droid’s condition, but on the other he could not possibly fathom how quickly this had sent Anakin into such a state of hysteria. Obi-Wan had confessed to him once upon a time that he never cared much for Anakin’s little nuisance of an R2 unit, and Cody was inclined to agree - having been conditioned and quite literally created to fight droids. But one would have to be a complete fool to deny how important this particular one was to Anakin.

Coming closer, Cody could see the outline of the astromech, lying on its back. None of its usual little lights were on, and if it hadn’t been for the bright, humming glow of Anakin’s lightsaber, he would not have seen it at all. Anakin all but shoved the hilt of his saber into Cody’s hand, barking out a “Hold this,” before hoisting R2 up onto his sturdy little legs.

Cody’s arm felt like it was going to go numb with how much Skywalker’s saber was buzzing in his grip, but he held the weapon as steady as he could, at a safe enough distance to keep Anakin from throwing himself into the blade while still seeing from the glow it cast. 

R2 appeared to be in one piece, but it was his silence that was the most damning. Cody had heard stories from Rex about the amount of bantha shit Anakin and his droid would get themselves into and had heard how resilient the little thing was. Usually beat up but beeping up a storm of curses, or chattering away, or letting out that long, unnervingly comedic wail… But he was silent now. He was dented and scuffed in more places than one, and Cody once again noted that the cheerful little light at the droid’s cap was stubbornly remaining a dull gray circle.

Anakin sniffled, a trembling and wet sound, and gently shook his R2 unit. Something - or somethings, plural - rattled inside the can of its body. 

“I’ve broken things before, I know that, I know that,” Anakin babbled, his voice sounding higher-pitched and so young in his distress. “But never R2. R2 is always okay, he’s tough, he’s… Oh no…” 

Seeing the man who was so angry just a moment ago when facing Maul, so frighteningly furious that he seemed a completely different person, who had barely peeped a word of genuine sorrow of his old Master’s passing, start sniveling like a child over his droid… Cody’s heart ached. A painful, twisting thing that he never thought he would feel towards Anakin at all. But this was pitiful. This was grief. 

For the second time, Cody was reminded that Anakin was only 23. He was just a kid. 

“I’m going to build a fire, so we can see. You stay right there,” Cody found himself using his Commander Voice, steady and in control, as he handed Anakin’s lightsaber back to him. Anakin looked up at him, eyes shining with tears, the redness of his nose and cheeks obvious even in the soft saber light. He nodded meekly, not even a quip of sarcasm to him. Cody tried to remember the last time he ever saw Anakin follow an order.

Cody built the fire in a matter of moments, survival training coming quickly to good use, and Anakin extinguished the blade of his saber. They fell into a quiet rhythm, Anakin calming down and going near silent in his focus, and Cody allowing muscle memory to take over as he gathered kindling for the fire and did a quick perimeter, before settling on the ground a few meters from Skywalker’s work. 

Eventually, Cody stopped watching Anakin’s hands tinkering at R2, giving up when he realized whatever repair skills he himself possessed would not be near helpful in this situation. And at some point, he had unclipped Obi-Wan’s lightsaber from his own belt, passing it slowly between each hand and once again admiring the familiar metal and ridges. 

Cody wondered if Obi-Wan’s saber would vibrate as violently as Anakin’s had in his hand, should he ever muster the courage to ignite it. Probably not; he had read somewhere in one of the books Obi-Wan left him one night or the other, that the Kyber crystal within each saber was connected intimately to the energy of its user… So, Obi-Wan’s would likely be much softer. Warmer, less erratic. Still with that steadiness, that constant hum of energy, faith, and trust and confidence and life... 

He was shaken from his thoughts when the comforting lull of the crackling fire was interrupted by a weak sob. Cody’s gaze snapped up from the lightsaber, just in time to see Anakin slump backward, shoulders hunching as they shook in tandem with his shallow breaths, tears rolling down his face. He coughed out another wordless cry, frustration, and despair taking over as Anakin finally started really crying.

Cody sat forward. “Hey… are you alright?”

Anakin growled, suddenly drawing back his right hand in a fist and thumping it with a clang against R2’s top. Cody let out a surprised shout, about to tell him to be careful when Anakin scrambled backward. R2 let out a string of startup noises, blaringly loud in what had been a very tense quiet, and his little red light came on. But it was not the circle signaling he was awake that drew Cody’s attention, but rather the faint blue light that now bathed the end of the clearing where the droid and Skywalker sat. He had not heard a lightsaber power on.

It was a projection of Obi-Wan, leaning forward as he began the recording, before backing fully into view. He was dressed down, without his armor, his hands tucked within the long sleeves of the dark brown over robe. He was smiling brighter than he had many of those days during the war, even on the projection the joy evident in his eyes. Cody’s heart stopped, his breath seizing like a knot in his throat.

“Anakin,” the recording began, “I hope you do not mind that I borrowed R2-D2 for a moment, but Padmé just told me the news. While I have the time, I want to truly congratulate you, from the bottom of my heart-”

“No, no no no! Not now!” Anakin suddenly shouted, over the tinny recording of Obi-Wan’s voice. He lurched forward from where he sat in shock at the ground, the motion breaking Cody’s trance with horror as he saw Anakin reach for the button to delete the message. 

Cody acted purely on instinct, diving forward and tackling Skywalker to the side, away from the astromech. In the background, he could still hear Obi-Wan’s voice; whether the recording was still going, or it was just the echoes in his memory, Cody didn’t care. He grit his teeth and used every ounce of strength he had to drag the struggling man beneath him away from the droid holding such precious data.

“Let me go, Cody! Let me go!” Anakin shouted, thrashing against him and landing an elbow hit squarely to his jaw. When Cody’s head knocked backward, the Jedi took the advantage to attempt a Force-push, but was too panicked to manage anything concrete. Anakin still took the advantage to crawl away, kicking at Cody as he went in an effort to get his arms off him.

Cody held his ground though, grabbing the scruff of Anakin’s robes and yanking him backward, away from R2, who beeped loudly and rocked in place, probably shouting at them. He wrapped his arms tightly around Anakin’s torso and tried to throw him to the ground opposite where Cody knelt. Instead, Anakin twisted around to face him, and his mech hand caught Cody’s wrist. 

Skywalker seemed to notice what he had done at the same moment Cody did, but instead of the shock that registered on the clone’s face, his own mirrored a desperate anger. He closed his fist, and Cody shouted in pain as the metal ground against the bones in his wrist. His hand spasmed and opened, and he did not even realize he still had it closed like a vice around something until that something clattered to the ground with an all-too-familiar sound.

Obi-Wan’s lightsaber sizzled against the grass and dirt when it ignited, sparking a flame beside the pit that housed their campfire. The two men stilled, both staring in shock, before Cody got the sense to move and reached out, his fingers wrapping familiarly around the hilt and powering off the saber as quickly as it had been dropped. 

For a moment, he had felt it. He was right; the Kyber’s energy was a quiet, steady hum. Soft. Gentle. Not meant to be fought over, nor thrown on the ground so carelessly.

Anakin got quickly to his feet and stamped out the rogue flame, before sinking to his knees right on top of the ash, his face crumpled in shame.

“I’m…” He choked. “I’m so…”

“Sorry, I know.” Cody barked out gruffly, the words spilling before he could think twice. “You should be.” He clipped Obi-Wan’s lightsaber safely to his belt once again, a new weight to the object managing to slither up and press painfully against his heart.

Anakin buried his face in his hands, fingers clenching in his hair and tugging as he folded over. He made his tall frame as small as possible there on the ground. It took only a moment for Cody’s senses to return to him, regret swelling in his chest as the soft sound of Obi-Wan’s recording still speaking met his ears. 

The kid was having a tough time, same as he. At this point, it wasn’t even fair to say that Anakin was making things worse; Cody had nearly throttled him there on the ground just seconds ago. They both needed to be more mature if they were going to survive anything out here.

Cody took a deep breath. “Can we rewind the message?”

Anakin didn’t lift his head, just nodding meekly into his knees. 

“We only have to watch it once. But… Obi-Wan never spoke without purpose. I think whatever this is, is worth a listen.”

When Anakin stayed silent a moment more, Cody crouched in front of him. He tried to channel every bit of patience he had within him in a way he had seen Obi-Wan do hundreds of times. “Plus, if your astromech is playing the message, that means it’s fixed. So, you didn’t ruin that after all… You fixed it.”

R2 let out a little chirp at that, once again tittering back and forth where he stood.

Anakin took a deep breath then, obvious from the way his shoulders heaved and murmured something that sounded like counting. Soon enough, he sat up, removing his hands from his face without looking Cody in the eye. 

“We can rewind it. You’re right, Cody.” Anakin swallowed as if he wanted to apologize again, or attempt to, before glancing over at R2. “Welcome back, buddy. Sorry about that fuss just then.”

Cody snorted quietly, that Anakin would apologize to a droid and not the man he nearly socked in the face but stayed silent. At least Anakin had calmed down. 

Anakin crawled over to R2 and patted his cap before rewinding the message. He sat back as the holo began again.

“Anakin, I hope you do not mind that I borrowed R2-D2 for a moment, but Padmé just told me the news. While I have the time, I want to truly congratulate you, from the bottom of my heart…”

Cody held his breath as the new part of the message began. Anakin held very still.

“I know you’ve been worried about her health, but Padmé has also assured me that both she and the twins are very healthy. I took it upon myself to speak with her private doctors as well, just to be sure. I do not mean to be too overbearing, but I cannot wait to meet them.”

“Twins?” Anakin murmured softly, his eyes wide.

The recording of Obi-Wan looked so happy. Cody briefly recalled how Obi-Wan once discussed maybe training another Padawan, now that he had learned so much from Anakin and Ahsoka. Cody knew that the riduurok included raising children and that while the two of them never outright said it, they did wish to have a family- whether that meant more Padawans or actual foundlings. Obi-Wan truly loved children. Cody imagined Obi-Wan holding Skywalker’s twins, so small and swaddled in blankets, not unlike the Jedi robes. He would smile just like he was on the holo, so brightly and so proud.

“And I am so proud of you, Anakin.” The message continued. Obi-Wan beamed, fatherly pride radiating even from the flickering, blue-tinged expression. “I know raising them will be hard, a new challenge in both your patience and your love. But if you spare even a fraction of what love you have for your wife, those children will be the most cherished in the world. You have such a big heart, Anakin, and you can be unbearably kind to those you hold dear.”

Anakin huffed quietly and hung his head, before looking up again. 

“So, as I said, just be patient. If you have taught me anything, it’s that.” Obi-Wan chuckled quietly. Cody’s heart soared and ached at the sound. “Your wife is a strong woman, so listen to her. And help her. You both have a tendency to try and do things alone. But now you have a family, and what a wonderful thing that is.

“Watching your little ones grow, as I did with you and Ahsoka… it is a feeling like no other, my dear Padawan. The pride I hope you will feel - if it is anything like what I felt - is unconditional, and overwhelming. And extraordinarily humbling. I can freely admit that I would not be the man I am today if not for you two.”

Cody sighed quietly at the irony of those words, but their meaning in the moment resonated deeply with him, newfound respect blooming in his chest. Anakin sniffled wetly again, and Cody looked down to see him sobbing behind one hand.

Still, the message continued. It carried every ounce of meaning and calm patience Obi-Wan himself possessed. “You are going to make mistakes. Stars know I did. But it is going to be okay because you will learn more about yourself through caring for your loved ones. It is going to be okay. I promise you that, dear one.

“Be patient with yourself. Be kind. At the end of the day, that is what matters. I feel as though I did not tell you that enough when you were my student, but in truth, I only just learned to do so myself. And it is a skill I am still trying to master. So, I emphasize: be gentle with yourself. You are learning, and your children will be learning, too. But the discovery is what makes the journey. And what a wonderful journey it is.

“I have to go now.” Obi-Wan glanced off-screen, his smile broadening. His next words came a little rushed, as if he was trying not to keep someone waiting. “I’m probably busy, while you’re viewing this message. Or I’m with Cody. Admittedly, I am probably with Cody. We are making plans to visit Stewjon, did you know that? Ah, I will tell you about it another time. But if you need me, Anakin, you will be able to find me. I will be there. I am so proud of you. And take deep breaths, alright? It’s going to be wonderful.”

Cody remembered, now. He had stood outside Obi-Wan’s quarters patiently, dressed down to his civvies. Some of the other vode were waiting outside already, having insisted he bring along their General for a well-earned night out not long before the end of the war. It seemed like a lifetime ago, but he remembered how Obi-Wan had smiled, so beautifully animated that night. Cody had asked what put him in such a good mood, but Obi-Wan had merely smiled in that charmingly mysterious way of his, and pulled Cody in for a bruising kiss behind their umbrella when the men weren’t looking. It had been raining that night, but Cody had felt warm and fuzzy all over.

The message ended. Cody was going to cry. His lip wobbled and he turned away before Anakin could look up and see his resolve crumble in agony. He breathed deeply through his nose, barely holding together. His gut twisted, and Cody briefly considered going into the trees to puke, and use that to excuse what tears would inevitably escape. But no, that could only be worse. 

And take deep breaths, alright? Obi-Wan’s parting words echoed in Cody’s mind. So he breathed, and slowly the tears receded before they fell. 

Behind him, Anakin sobbed into the glove of his right hand. It seemed he wasn’t much better off. Cody could hardly blame him.

There was no telling how much time passed as they just sat there. Cody faced away from Anakin, staring pointedly at the treeline. Anakin sat on the ground in front of R2. After long enough though, R2 beeped sadly.

Anakin cleared his throat and shuffled, standing. “This trip. This whole… mission, it’s sacred for you, Cody. I should have recognized that. I’m sorry.”

“Skywalker-”

“I um… I’d like to be alone for a minute. Please.”

Anakin stood and walked off without warning, R2 following him with low and concerned chirps. Cody sighed and ran a hand over his face. Allowing his pack to fall from his shoulders, Cody reached inside and dug around until he found Obi-Wan’s overrobe- the same one he wore in that video.

Running careful fingers along the fabric, Cody brought it close to his face and took in the smell that he hoped would forever be imbued in it. Herbal tea and something identifiably clean . 

Desperate for some form of comfort, Cody wrapped the fabric around his shoulders, imagining that it was Obi-Wan’s arms instead.

Something poked his side. It was a tiny poke, gentle, and something someone with less awareness would never have picked up on. Cody reached inside his cloak and found the source of the poke. Flimsi had been folded inside a well-hidden pocket.

In the dim of the firelight, Cody unfolded the piece of flimsi, curious as to what Obi-Wan had written to himself. Battleplans, perhaps? Or maybe a mundane reminder about something he had to do that day.

My dear Commander,

Cody’s heart stopped. This was a letter. And it was for him.

Chapter Text

My dear Commander, 

I write this under the watchful eye of the rest of the Council and Anakin. None of them seem surprised that I’m doing so, if anything they seem saddened by the fact that I need to write this in the first place. I’ll be leaving this cloak with your vod, Fox, in hopes that he’ll be able to get it back to you. I trust him, as I trust all of the Vode.

Growing up, I knew I would never be the perfect Jedi. I went from being too old and angry to be a Padawan, to too hopeful on Melida/Daan, to too attached on Mandalore. When I was given Anakin, my pride and joy, I wanted so desperately to protect him from the pain I went through that I accidentally hurt him. Pretending to be the perfect Jedi instead of accepting my faults was, perhaps, my greatest mistake whilst raising him.

Despite my farce as the perfect Jedi, despite the untouchable aura I tried to put out, you and your brothers saw right through it. You saw me and were perhaps the first people to do so since I began pretending.

But out of all the others, you were always the best at understanding me. You saw me and loved me, and it was the largest blessing the Force has ever given me.

In the darkest of times, when all seemed lost and I nearly lost myself, you were there to draw me back and show me that I was worthy of love. The support you granted me was invaluable.

But this relationship wasn’t about what you could give me, Cody. I never loved you simply because you followed me and were a loyal soldier. You saw past my facade and I saw past yours. You, my dear commander, hold so much potential. At times I see glimpses of who you will become when this war ends, and I cannot wait for you to find yourself. 

And I must insist that you find yourself, Cody. Do not trap yourself asking what I would want you to do, do not bind yourself to the memories of our time together. Do not forget me, embrace what we had and who we were together, but for Force’s sake Cody, be you. You are not a soldier doomed to follow orders anymore, you are a man who can make his own choices. Embrace it.

I once asked you what you wanted to do after the war and you didn’t know, so I allowed you to share my dream. The time has come for you to find your own. Because I will not be here to guide us any longer.

I’m famous for the “bad feelings” that I get, a result of the precognition abilities I held in my childhood, and I hate to say that I have one now. In the past, it’s been a general feeling, a warning in hopes that I may be able to make a change for the better. Now, however, it’s more clear than it’s ever been. I will not survive this battle, I see that. But I do not fear my end. I know this must be done, and I cannot wait for the darkness that has been plaguing the galaxy to finally disappear.

Despite the relief that feels overwhelming at the hope of a better future, I find myself fighting back tears in front of my friends and colleagues because the future that we imagined together will never happen. Settling down, finding a home, raising children. That future slips through my fingers the closer we get to the Senate Rotunda.

My time in this universe has come to an end. The adventures and trouble I’ve always managed to find myself in will no longer cause undue stress to those around me. I could go on and on about the craziest situations I’ve found myself in, but I fear that they will pale in comparison to my greatest adventure of all.

Cody, my dear Commander, my riduur, I must thank you. Our love, our time together, will forever be my greatest adventure. 

Now, go have another one. I will be right there beside you the entire way. 

Obi-Wan

A sob caught in Cody’s throat. He took in a deep breath through his nose and let it out. There was no point in holding back anymore. There was no one to stay strong for, no duty that had to get done. Cody was devastated, tired, and he could finally grieve.

Cody sobbed and cried and screamed into the darkness of the woods, uncaring of the potentially dangerous animals lurking, or of Maul coming back to finish him off. He pounded his fists against the hard dirt until the sharp pains running through his hands up his wrists practically begged him to stop. Cody glared up at the stars and cursed the Force, the Ka’ra, and Sheev Palpatine himself for taking Obi-Wan away from him. 

Finally, when his throat hurt and a headache was forming, Cody’s cries tapered off. He closed his eyes and forced himself to focus on his breathing, making sure it wasn’t at a rate comparable to hyperventilation. When he was sure he wouldn’t pass out, he sat and pulled a flask from his backpack- taking a long drink from it in order to make up for some of the tears he had shed. 

Cody tucked the letter back into the hidden pocket and folded up Obi-Wan’s cloak reverently. He held it close to his chest for just a moment, drawing a last bit of comfort from the item before tucking it back into his backpack. 

He felt better. Nowhere near perfect or okay, but better. He’d held in how he’d felt for so long that it was destroying him. Now that Cody let it out, he realized how terrible he’d felt even when he thought he was moving on. Cody assumed this trip would heal him, but really, just allowing himself to finally accept Obi-Wan’s death was what started that process. 

Slowly pushing himself to his feet, Cody looked around and realized that Anakin hadn’t come back yet. Even if he needed time, Cody’s rather obvious breakdown should have drawn him back. As far as Anakin knew Cody could have been in the process of getting brutally murdered. Yet the Jedi was nowhere to be seen.

“Skywalker?” Cody called out, waiting patiently for a reply. When he heard nothing back he called out again, still receiving nothing in return.

A series of beeps caught Cody’s attention as R2 quickly rolled up to him. Cody kneeled next to the droid, looking around in another search of Anakin. Anakin should have still been glued to R2 considering how close he was to being destroyed.

“Where is he?” Cody asked the droid, receiving a long reply in binary that he didn’t understand, “That doesn’t help.”

“... I need to go save Ben.”

Confused, Cody looked down at R2. The little droid was playing a hologram of Anakin. Based on the way Anakin wasn’t facing the camera Cody had no doubt that he wasn’t aware that R2 was recording.

“Replay that, R2,” Cody ordered.

R2 whirred, and the recording rewound, “I was never supposed to be here. I should have left Cody alone, but now… I need to go save Ben. He’s important, I know he is. Cody can go on without me, it’s better that way. Stay with him R2, keep him safe.”

Cody resisted the urge to scoff at the idea of R2 protecting him . But the momentary humor he felt was quickly overcome with concern. Skywalker was going to face Maul alone to save Ben. He was leaving because he was both stupidly noble and felt guilty for tagging along with Cody.

Cody swore under his breath and started running. With any luck, Cody would be able to get back to the clearing where Maul’s ship was before the madman took off to track down the woman he was using Ben to find.

R2 was right behind him, beeping in whirring in what Cody thought was either encouragement or thinly veiled threats… Cody had spent too much time with this droid if he could pick up on his tone.

Whilst the Jedi used the Force to bolster themselves physically in order to accomplish impossible feats, Cody’s sole purpose was to be the perfect soldier. Beyond that, he was command track, created to be the best of the best in order to properly lead his vode . So, it was no surprise that Cody cleared the distance between him and the clearing Maul’s ship was in time for takeoff.

Of course, because his life couldn’t be easy, the ship was far enough off the ground that Cody wouldn’t be able to jump onto it.

Beep boop, R2 rolled up next to him, engaged his thrusters, and hovered there. It took Cody a moment to realize what the droid was waiting for.

“This is the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done,” Cody grumbled, climbing onto the droid and holding onto his domed head tightly, “I’m a High Commander riding a droid like it’s a speeder.”

R2 was swift and easily lifted Cody up to one of the wings on the craft. Cody took a moment to find his footing, then started moving toward the nearest viewport window.

“Let me go you schutta ! You’re a coward for doing this!”

Peeking over the hull, Cody’s brows raised in surprise when he saw Anakin stuck to the other wing in a pair of - what Cody assumed was - magnetized cuffs. Carefully climbing over the hull, Cody hurried over to Anakin’s side.

“Cody!” Anakin beamed, then frowned, “What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be getting to the waterfall.”

“I’m coming after you, you idiot. I’m sorry about what I said. Obi-Wan loved both of us, and instead of realizing that and working together to honor him we just fought. You aren’t a screw-up, and I’m not a mindless follower.” 

“I never thought you were a mindless follower Cody, you just seemed as lost as I was for a different reason. Seems like you’re doing better now.”

“So are you.” Cody reached into his boot and pulled out a lockpick, getting started on freeing Anakin from the cuffs, “What was he trying to accomplish here?”

“He was going to turn them off and tilt the ship when he got high enough so I’d fall to my death,” Anakin explained, letting out a sigh of relief when they popped open, “I have no idea where he got Force suppressant cuffs either and I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Well just count your luck that he decided against just cutting you in half,” Cody commented, glancing to the nearest window then at Anakin, “You should use R2 to get to the ground and run to the nearest village to contact the Jedi Council.”

“And leave you to face Maul alone? Are you crazy? You need my help!”

When I was given Anakin, my pride and joy… 

“I don’t want your help, I just want you safe!” Cody yelled over the wind. Anakin was Obi-Wan’s child, his family. For Cody to allow him to endanger himself even more than he already had… 

Anakin reached out and grabbed Cody’s shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze, “We do this together or we don’t do it at all. He believed in both of us for a reason, right?”

Cody sucked in a sharp breath. Jedi couldn’t read minds but Anakin seemed to know exactly what Cody was thinking. They were going to do this together.

The trio moved over to the nearest window. Anakin ignited his lightsaber and cut a hole in the glass large enough for all of them to fit through. Cody slipped in first, blaster he’d stolen from the droids they faced previously raised and at the ready. The hallway was clear, and Cody waved Anakin and R2 inside.

“How are we going to deal with the droids?” Cody questioned, knowing full well that Maul held at the very least several squads of battle droids.

R2 beeped, starting a fast-paced conversation with Anakin. Anakin nodded along, adding in a comment or suggestion every once in a while that Cody found hard to understand. Droids were never his specialty unless it came to destroying them.

“R2 is going to handle all the battle droids,” Anakin finally announced as the astro-droid rolled away.

“How is he going to do that?” A single astro-droid against an armada of battle droids? There was no way that was going to work out.

Anakin simply grinned, “Just trust me, they won’t be an issue by the end of this.”

Cody found that hard to believe, but he placed his trust in Anakin all the same. The two of them started down the hallway, with Anakin leading the way since he was presumably using the Force to find either Ben or Maul.

When they came to a split, Anakin pointed to the right, “Maul is this way, Ben is to the left. I’ll distract him while you go free Ben.”

“You already tried to face him once and got magnetized to the roof. What makes you think this time is different?”

“Cause after you free Ben you’re going to come to help me,” Anakin smiled confidently, “We can do this together.”

Without giving Cody a chance to respond Anakin ran to the right. Swearing under his breath, Cody went to the left. Listening carefully for signs of Ben, Cody paused in front of a door. There was distressed squawking coming from behind it. 

Pressing the button to open the door, Cody was greeted with a loud caw from Ben- who was stuck in a cage that was nearly too small for him. 

“Hey… Ben,” Cody greeted hesitantly, looking over the lock on the cage. Rather than trying to guess the code, Cody lifted his stolen blaster and blasted the control panel. It shorted out and the door to the cage swung open, “Can you fly?”

Ben cawed an answer that Cody thought was a “definitely not” which was just perfect, “Alright, fine. Just wait here then. Anakin and I will be back later to- I’m talking to a bird. Right.”

Cody left Ben in the room, hoping he’d be smart enough to actually stay there rather than start wandering the ship. 

Blaster held tight at his side, Cody rushed to where Anakin said Maul was. The telltale sounds of a lightsaber battle quickly drew his attention, and Cody found himself running towards the dining room him and Anakin were guided to their first time on the ship.

Several chairs were either knocked over or cut in half, and the table was completely destroyed. Lifting his blaster, Cody sent a round of bolts at Maul. The sith sent them right back at Cody, and several of them would have hit if he didn’t have several encounters with Grievous under his belt. 

Maul growled, and shoved Anakin into the wall with the Force, leaving him dazed. Before Cody could react the barrel of his blaster had been cut off, rendering it useless. Cody was able to duck under the first strike and shift away from the second, but he knew he wouldn’t continue to be so lucky.

“Cody, you know what you must do.”

Cody shuddered as the High Coruscanti accented words were whispered into his ear. His hand went to his belt, gripping the handle of Obi-Wan’s saber. The next time Maul went to strike, brilliant blue matched Sith red. Soft, gentle, steady, Obi-Wan washed over Cody like a tidal wave. The hilt was created by Obi-Wan for his hand, but it felt perfect in Cody’s, as did the Kyber that had been attuned to Obi-Wan’s very soul.

“There you are, my dear. As I said, I will always be with you.”

Anakin’s joyous laugh echoed throughout the room. Maul’s eyes widened and his frown deepened. Cody grinned and struck.

Chapter Text

Despite not having any formal training in using a lightsaber, Cody held his own against Maul. As Marshal Commander, Cody had trained with many different weapons growing up which provided some help, but there was nothing quite like a lightsaber. The only thing that held weight on the weapon was the hilt because the actual blade was pure light.

There was something guiding Cody, as insane as it sounded. Cody held no higher beliefs aside from acknowledging that the Force existed. His faith was in himself, his brothers, and his general. However, during that fight with Maul, he couldn’t deny the fact that there was something - or someone - guiding him.

A jab here, a parry there, a block that Cody remembered Obi-Wan using often. All of these small things allowed Cody to hold his own until Anakin recovered enough to join the fight as well.

Now that there were three people battling, the dining room was much too small to continue as they were. Maul seemed to realize this and inched out the door. Anakin and Cody cautiously followed him into the hallway, Anakin in front and being the primary one to engage since the hallway wasn’t large enough for all of them to continue a full-on battle.

Caw caw

“Kriff.”

Ben was peeking his long head out of the room Cody told him to hide in. The bird caught sight of Maul, screeched, and sprinted down the opposite hallway. Maul let out an animalistic growl and gave chase. Anakin and Cody exchanged a tired look and followed.

Ben sprinted down several hallways before coming upon the window and Anakin, Cody, and R2 snuck in through. Without hesitation the bird threw himself through the large hole in the glass, stumbling slightly on the wing before regaining his bearing.

Maul lifted his hand and the entire window shattered, glass flying both in and out of the ship. Seemingly satisfied with the needless destruction, Maul jumped through the window after Ben. Anakin went through first, Cody right after him.

“Get away from him!” Anakin screamed, immediately engaging Maul to draw his attention away from the cornered animal.

“Fools!” Maul snarled, his and Anakin’s lightsabers giving off sparks from the force of their blows, “That bird is my key to ending the Kenobi line! I will have my revenge on Kenobi and neither of you can stop me.”

Something snapped in Cody then. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, whether it was his desire to finally end this battle or his anger at Maul’s endless trade against a dead man- either way, Cody joined the fray with merciless blows.

There was a spark of fear in Maul’s eyes, nearly hidden behind his rage, but Cody saw it, and he grinned. Maul knew he was going to lose this battle. Against a commander fueled by his love for his fallen husband and the Chosen One, he didn’t stand a chance. 

“I will… not… lose!” Maul grit out, a strong wave of power crashing into Cody and Anakin and throwing them back. Cody slid down the wing of the ship, closer and closer to the edge-

Something grabbed his sleeve, narrowly saving him from what would have surely been his death. Cody stared up into the beady eyes of Ben. The bird swung its long neck and tossed Cody back onto the wing. Cody took a moment to collect himself, to remind himself that he was alive.

“Thanks,” Cody breathed out, earning a small sound in return.

Pushing himself to his feet, Cody relit Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. Anakin was slowly getting up as well, a deep scowl etched into his features. They met each other’s eyes and nodded in unison, raising their weapons to begin again.

“Halt!” The familiar mechanical voice of a battle droid called. Cody resisted the urge to groan. The last thing he and Anakin needed was to face Maul and a bunch of droids.

A blaster shot rang out. Cody raised Obi-Wan’s saber, prepared to deflect the inevitable onslaught, but nothing came. A droid maneuvered himself through the broken window and didn’t spare Anakin or Cody a glance, instead pointing his blaster at Maul.

“Halt!” The droid ordered again.

Another droid crawled through the window, and another, and another. They kept coming until a dozen battle droids were standing firmly on the wind with their blasters pointed at Maul.

“What are you doing? You are under my command!” Maul hissed.

“You aren’t our commander,” the first battle droid claimed before opening fire, the droids behind him quickly following.

Confused, but unwilling to waste time, Cody hurried toward Maul. Anakin had the same idea and came at the Sith from the other side as well. With Anakin, Cody, and a dozen battle droids coming after him, Maul’s attention was spread thin. He struggled to block the unending blaster shots on top of Anakin and Cody’s attacks.

“No, no! It will not end like this, I will-” Maul’s voice seemed to get lodged in his throat. He looked down at the lightsaber buried into his chest so deeply that only the hilt was seen.

Cody slowly pulled the lightsaber out, staring at the hole in Maul’s chest. The Sith stumbled once, twice, then lost his footing on the edge of the wing. Neither man made any move to help him as he fell. Either the wound or the impact would be his death. Cody told himself he didn’t care which one it was as long as Maul stayed dead, but deep down he hoped it was the lightsaber wound.

“Well…” Anakin seemed unsure what to say.

Rapid-fire beeps drew Cody and Anakin’s attention. R2 rolled through the center of the battle droids, each droid he passed saluting.

“Your droid reprogrammed the entire fleet to fall under his command,” Cody whispered in disbelief.

Anakin beamed, the smile on his face similar to that of a proud father, “Good job Artoo! I knew you could do it!”

R2 seemed to beep an affirmative, though it was quickly followed by something that was definitely an insult. Anakin blinked, affronted, and Cody couldn’t help but laugh at his expression.

“Don’t agree with him,” Anakin pouted, crossing his arms over his chest.

“I can’t agree with him if I don’t know what he said,” Cody defended himself, struggling to hide his smile.

“Traitor,” Anakin’s gaze traveled to Ben, “Let’s get this ship on the ground so we can get him back to his owner.”

“A Kenobi,” Cody added, just now processing what Maul said, “Maul came here to come after Obi-Wan’s family.”

“Yeah well, in life and in death I’m always saving him,” Anakin smiled, weaker than before but nonetheless genuine.

The battle droids stepped aside as Cody, Anakin, and Ben crawled back into the ship. R2 gave a round of orders that had the droids leading the trio to the bridge to allow them to begin the landing sequence. For once in his life, Anakin Skywalker landed a ship without damaging it.

As Cody moved to leave the bridge to get off the ship, he heard Anakin let out a small, “Oh.”

“What?” Cody spun around, worried that something was wrong.

Anakin looked up, and motioned at the main display, “It’s Obi-Wan’s lifeday.”

Sure enough, the date displayed confirmed that it was Obi-Wan’s lifeday. Cody failed at getting to the waterfall before this point. Cody smiled, “It is… come on, let’s get Ben back to his Kenobi.”

The two of them left the ship to find Ben anxiously pacing. As soon as the bird caught sight of them he grabbed each of them by the back of their shirt and put them on his back. Anakin barely had time to tell R2 to wait for his comm before the bird took off.

Having ridden on his back once before, the pair were prepared for it this time. They held on tightly and avoided low-hanging branches that threatened to smack them in the face. 

Cody wasn’t sure how long they rode for, but eventually Ben slowed to a stop in front of a small, unassuming patch of vines. The bird chirped a couple of times and a feminine voice sounded out from behind the vines.

“Ben! There you are! I was getting worried…” A woman with red hair stepped out, eyeing Cody and Anakin suspiciously. She was dressed in plain brown pants and a white tunic, a strange sash across her chest, “Who are you?”

“I’m Anakin Skywalker,” Anakin introduced himself first.

The woman’s eyes shifted to Cody and his breath caught. They were the same shade of blue as Obi-Wan’s, “My- my name… I’m Cody Kenobi.”

Anakin let out a small sound at that but didn’t comment. The woman blinked, clearly taken aback. Cody would have been confused too if a dark-haired, tanned man showed up claiming to be a member of her red-haired, fair-skinned clan.

“You married in?” The woman asked shortly.

“Yes. I married Obi-Wan Kenobi,” Cody said, and it felt wonderful to tell someone outright instead of revealing it in a hushed whisper in a dark corridor to only those he trusted most.

“Obi-Wan? He was taken to the Jedi before I was born, but my parents speak of him sometimes,” the woman stated, before realizing she hadn’t introduced herself, “My name is Mir-Lin, Obi-Wan is my older brother.”

There it was, the confirmation of Maul’s mad mission and Cody’s suspicions. Despite never knowing Obi-Wan, she was still one of his direct relatives.

“Where is he then, if you’re here?” She asked, but quickly picked up on Cody and Anakin’s solemn expressions, “Oh… I see. Well, I’ll honor him during the ceremony then. How did he die?”

“Saving the galaxy,” Anakin smiled bitterly.

“Ceremony?” Cody asked, eager to change the subject.

The sash made a noise. No, not the sash, but the baby inside the sash. It was a baby carrier. Mir-Lin reached down and pulled a small child out of it, rocking them gently. Cody and his brothers were terrible at guessing the ages of Nat borns, but Cody knew this child was extremely young.

“This is my son, Fal-Pon. It is a Stewjoni tradition for a mother to bring her child to the Falls on their first birthday. Because Ben has been disappearing randomly, I’ve fallen behind a bit.”

That was what Obi-Wan remembered. His only memory of Stewjon was of this ceremony, done before he was taken to the Jedi Temple. 

“It’s Obi-Wan’s birthday today too,” Anakin whispered.

Mir-Lin smiled indulgently, “Perhaps it is a blessing from the Gods then, having my son born on the same day as my lost brother. You, Cody, are kin. You may come to the Falls if you wish. Anakin, you know Obi-Wan as well?”

Anakin swallowed, eyes misty, “He was like my father.”

“Ah,” Mir-Lin made an understanding noise, “Then you both may come with me to the Falls. I’m afraid it is still a ways away, however, I’m not sure if we’ll be able to make it before nightfall.”

Anakin perked up, “We have a ship we can use! We can fly there. Give me a minute to contact Artoo and he’ll be here soon.”

R2 showed up with Maul’s - now their - ship within a few minutes. All of them loaded on and stood together in the bridge. Mir-Lin asked what they were doing on Stewjon, and the two launched into their tale.

By the time they were finished, the ship was hovering over the majestic falls. Mir-Lin had listened to their story with interest, occasionally cutting in to ask for a clarifying question. By the time they were done, she was quiet and reflective, as were Cody and Anakin.

The ramp lowered, and the three of them walked down to the waterfall.

“There are ceremonial prayers that must be done, afterward I can lead you through our planet’s funeral rites if you’d like?”

“That sounds nice,” Anakin nodded, sat down in a meditative position, and closed his eyes. Looks like he needed a minute to process everything that happened.

Because Cody wasn’t a Jedi, meditation wasn’t his preferred method of collecting himself. He wouldn’t want to do it like them either way. Instead, Cody walked away from the pair closer to the water. He kneeled down and closed his eyes, feeling the mist kiss his skin.

“Cody,” Obi-Wan’s voice called out. Cody opened his eyes and turned around, nearly passing out when he saw Obi-Wan in front of him. He was clearly transparent and blue, but he was right there .

“Have I gone crazy?” Cody croaked.

Obi-Wan laughed. Kriff, Cody had missed his laugh. He’d done it so little the longer the war had gone on, each time he let out even a chuckle Cody cherished the moment.

“No, Cody, you aren’t crazy. I’m manifesting myself from within the Force. Qui-Gon showed me how to do so.”

“It’s really you?”

“Yes, my dear.”

Cody let out a shuddering breath. There was so much he wanted to say but he couldn’t force the words out of his mouth. Obi-Wan seemed to pick up on that and spoke instead.

“I am so proud of what you have done Cody. You haven’t found yourself, not yet, but you’ve taken the first steps and that is all I could ask for.”

“I killed Maul with your lightsaber,” Cody admitted as if it wasn’t Obi-Wan who encouraged him to use the saber in the first place.

“Yes, you did. Thank you for protecting my sister. I never had the chance to get to know my family, but you do.”

“I don’t know if I want to stay here. I thought I did, but now…”

“You don’t have to know what you want to do, Cody. That is one of the best things about being free, there is an endless array of possibilities.”

Cody nodded, accepting Obi-Wan’s words, “Living without you is so hard.”

“I’m sorry I left you, I didn’t want to.”

“I know…” Cody sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly, “Will you truly always be there?”

“Always, my dear commander.”

Cody nodded, “I can live without you. I have to, and I will. I’ll figure this out.”

“I have no doubt you will, and I can’t wait to see how you do it,” Obi-Wan’s form flickered, “I don’t have much time left, my dear.”

“This is more than I could have asked for. Thank you.”

Obi-Wan smiled, though it seemed sad, “You will be okay, Cody.”

“I know I will. I love you.”

“And I you.”

Obi-Wan was gone. Cody reached down and ran his fingers over the hilt of Obi-Wan’s lightsaber. It seemed to hum under his touch, and a strong sense of calm washed over Cody.

The lightsaber stayed on his belt through the funeral rites, and while he gave his comm code to Mir-Lin, and it was still on his belt when they loaded back onto the ship and left Stewjon for Coruscant.

Anakin looked down at the lightsaber on Cody’s belt, “I thought you were going to bury it to honor Obi-Wan.”

“I was.”

Anakin hummed, unbothered by Cody changing his plan, “You keeping it?”

“I don’t know.”

Anakin remained unbothered with Cody’s indecision, which allowed him to relax. If Anakin wasn’t upset about Cody not know what to do then maybe it wasn’t a bad thing. (Cody wasn’t sure when he started using Anakin as an example for living well because he was a walking disaster)

Anakin’s wrist comm beeped. He answered it without hesitation with a short, “Skywalker.”

“Anakin Skywalker, where have you been?” Senator Padme Amidala’s voice screeched over the line, causing Anakin to wince.

“Um, yeah,  about that. It’s a bit of a long story-”

“I don’t have time for a long story, Anakin. I’m going into labor and my husband isn’t here when I need him most!”

Anakin paled dramatically, “The baby is- oh Force. Okay, um, comm me the hospital you’re going to and I’ll be there as soon as I can!”

“If you aren’t here by the time I start pushing I will castrate you Anakin!”

“Noted. I love you!” Anakin ended the call abruptly, rushing to the controls, “Alright, we’re going to have to push this ship a little more than I thought.”

Cody sat down in the nearest seat and strapped himself in, mentally saying his goodbyes to the ship. Something told him it wouldn’t survive the flight back.

Chapter Text

They landed at the hospital with an overheating hyperdrive and a smoking engine. The landing was rough and Cody feared for his life a couple of times, but all in all, it wasn’t the worst crash-landing ever. It might have even been one of the few times Anakin Skywalker landed a ship without any chunks of it missing.

After the pair collected themselves, Anakin made to leave the ship, but stopped when he noticed Cody wasn’t following, “Aren’t you coming?”

“It’s your kid, I don’t have the right to-”

“Cody, we just went through a really weird experience together that kind of bonded us. You can come.”

Cody followed Anakin off of the ship, paused to appease the droids in charge of parking fretting over the state of the ship, and hurried into the hospital. No one raised a fuss about Cody following Anakin to Padme’s room. Clones were considered people now, they had rights, but in the end they were still largely invisible to the public. It was a blessing and a curse.

“Go ahead and wait out here,” Anakin pointed to a chair outside the door, “I’ll let you know when it’s finished.”

Nodding, Cody took a seat while Anakin stepped inside the room. The door shut slowly, allowing Cody to hear the beginning of Anakin and Padme’s conversation.

“Where were you?” 

“You won’t believe the week I’ve had.”

“Well, it wouldn’t have been as crazy if you’d just stayed here with your pregnant wife…”

The door shut completely, stopping Cody from hearing the rest of Anakin’s inevitable scolding. Chuckling quietly, Cody settled in to wait. He wasn’t sure why Anakin was so okay with Cody being here for such a personal thing, but he accepted it as another strange thing about Anakin Skywalker and left it there.

Jerking awake when the door to the room opened, Cody rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He didn’t remember dozing off, though he wasn’t surprised he did so. Glancing up at a beaming Anakin, he raised a brow.

“It was twins,” Anakin stated, perhaps explaining why he was so happy. Having more than one child at a time wasn’t normal for most Natborns, “A boy and a girl. Come on, you can meet them.”

“Ah, wait, Anakin,” Cody put a hand on Anakin’s arm to stop him. He pulled Obi-Wan’s lightsaber from his belt and held it out, “I want you to have this. I know I used it against Maul, but it belongs to a Jedi, and Obi-Wan thought of you as a son.”

 Anakin looked down at the hilt, a contemplative look overtaking the joy on his face, “You know, Jedi are told that our lightsabers are our lives. Our Kyber crystals are pieces of our very souls.”

Cody hummed, not seeing what this had to do with Anakin taking the saber in order to properly honor Obi-Wan.

“Our lightsabers are our lives and Obi-Wan doesn’t have his anymore,” Anakin continued, “But… but you’re his heart, and you’re still here. No one but you deserves that saber.”

Cody reared back at the unexpected sentiment, “Anakin-”

“Besides, I think the Kyber crystal has started to like you. Which is strange, because Kyber crystals don’t acknowledge Force nulls,” Anakin’s hand traveled to his own saber absentmindedly, “Do you feel anything from that saber?”

“It feels like Obi-Wan. Steady, comforting, strong- wait what do you mean Kyber crystals don’t acknowledge non-Force users?”

“You wouldn’t be able to feel the Kyber crystal if you weren’t at least slightly Force-sensitive.”

Oh. Oh! Oh wow, alright. That was something that Cody was going to have to reflect on later. Slightly Force-sensitive. Was that how Cody and Obi-Wan could understand each other without needing to say a word? Why Cody heard and saw Obi-Wan even when he was one with the Force?

“I’m sure if you talk to the Council they’ll offer you some training, but if you’ve gone on this long without realizing it then you probably aren’t that Force-sensitive,” Anakin reassured, then looked to the door to Padme’s room, “We can talk about this more later, right now I want you to meet the kids. One life-changing thing at a time, alright?”

Right. One thing at a time. Cody let Anakin lead him into the room, his eyes immediately going to the two small babies sleeping in prams next to the bed.

“This is Luke,” Anakin motioned to one, then the other, “And this is Leia. Do you want to hold one of them?”

“I’ve never held a child before,” Cody admitted. Clones were decanted as toddlers, and the advanced aging started from there.

“Don’t worry, Cody, neither had Anakin before this,” Padme’s gentle but obviously exhausted voice called from the bed.

“How are you feeling, Senator?” Cody asked, following Anakin’s instructions to support the head as he placed Luke in his arms.

“Tired. I heard you and Anakin went on an adventure together,” she sent her husband a withering look that gentled when her gaze returned to Cody, “Thank you for bringing him home in time.”

“It was nothing. If anything I should be thanking him,” Cody sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the room, smiling down at the child who was just waking up. Blue eyes greeted him, and Luke gave a gummy smile, “I think he brought me home too.”

“Cody, there’s uh, something we want to ask you,” Anakin admitted, drawing Cody’s attention away from the adorable child, “We’d like you to be a secondary guardian for the twins, along with Padme’s family and Rex and Ahsoka. In case anything were to happen, we know they’d be well taken care of with all of you.”

Obi-Wan would have received this offer if he was still alive. Obi-Wan would have been the children’s grandfather, or perhaps they’d call him uncle. He would have loved the children, would have doted on them like nothing else. He’d have been wonderful with Luke and Leia, just like he would have been wonderful with any children they themselves took in.

Obi-Wan wasn’t here to do any of that anymore, but Cody was, and it was terrible but it was okay.

“Yes, I’ll be a guardian,” Cody nodded, finding it hard to talk due to the emotion tightening his throat.

“Knock knock,” Padawan Tano peeked her head in, grinning when she saw everyone inside, “Looks like we’re a little late, sorry about that Padme.”

“Anakin was late too, it’s alright,” Padme appeased, drawing an unsurprised chuckle from Anakin’s former Padawan.

Ahsoka stepped inside with Rex just behind her, each bearing a gift of some kind. Cody briefly felt guilty for not bringing something but reminded himself of the journey he just went on and felt better. He had a good excuse.

Cody passed Luke to Rex while Ahsoka picked up Leia. The group spoke quietly about the children and how their lives were going. Anakin began to tell everyone what happened on Stewjon, his voice quiet for the sake of the slumbering children. Cody felt comfortable enough with everyone in the room to interject and poke fun at times, joining in on their laughter.

For a brief moment, Cody felt a hand brush his cheek. He closed his eyes and savored the touch while it lasted. When he opened them again he returned his focus to those around him. It was going to be okay.

For the first time in his life Cody was totally free, and he had no idea where to go from here.

It was a wonderful feeling.