stop counting
Disclaimer: George Lucas owns Star Wars. I am not making any profit from this work of fanfiction.
Author's note: From the happy-ending!au. For estora.
======STOP COUNTING======
He takes her back to his apartment in the Jedi Temple because he can't imagine leaving her there, and she follows him into the tiny kitchen while he makes herbal tea, and it's like no time at all has passed.
Except it has.
"Ryn, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be, Obi-Wan. None of this is your fault."
"I should have warned you. I let you walk right into this mess."
Ryn does a doubletake. "You knew?" Abruptly, she closes her eyes. "Of course you did." She swallows hard, looking into the middle distance, the way she does when she's hurting and trying to hide it. "Does anyone not know?"
Obi-Wan winces. "We are Jedi, Ryn. The personal lives of others are not really our concern."
"Meaning it's an open secret." She leans forward and lets her forehead rest against the doorframe. "Force. Why is the wife always the last to know?"
She's bitter, yes, but there's a trace of her wry humor there that makes Obi-Wan think maybe she'll be all right. It's so Ryn he has to smile in response.
"Not the last," he suggests. "It's just that when you get to the wife, you stop counting."
Ryn grins at him, a little giddy with pain and fatigue, punch-drunk with unwanted revelations. He's forgotten how much he missed this: the way she laughs in the face of every defeat. Even when she's beaten down and aching, she keeps her grace. Looking at him, her smile turns quizzical, and she tilts her head to one side. "What?"
Obi-Wan has to catch his breath first, before he can speak. "You. I'd forgotten."
Ryn looks a question at him, and he shrugs. "I have ... missed you."
Ryn nods slowly, rueful. "Yeah. You too, Master Kenobi."
Author's note: From the happy-ending!au. For estora.
======STOP COUNTING======
He takes her back to his apartment in the Jedi Temple because he can't imagine leaving her there, and she follows him into the tiny kitchen while he makes herbal tea, and it's like no time at all has passed.
Except it has.
"Ryn, I'm so sorry."
"Don't be, Obi-Wan. None of this is your fault."
"I should have warned you. I let you walk right into this mess."
Ryn does a doubletake. "You knew?" Abruptly, she closes her eyes. "Of course you did." She swallows hard, looking into the middle distance, the way she does when she's hurting and trying to hide it. "Does anyone not know?"
Obi-Wan winces. "We are Jedi, Ryn. The personal lives of others are not really our concern."
"Meaning it's an open secret." She leans forward and lets her forehead rest against the doorframe. "Force. Why is the wife always the last to know?"
She's bitter, yes, but there's a trace of her wry humor there that makes Obi-Wan think maybe she'll be all right. It's so Ryn he has to smile in response.
"Not the last," he suggests. "It's just that when you get to the wife, you stop counting."
Ryn grins at him, a little giddy with pain and fatigue, punch-drunk with unwanted revelations. He's forgotten how much he missed this: the way she laughs in the face of every defeat. Even when she's beaten down and aching, she keeps her grace. Looking at him, her smile turns quizzical, and she tilts her head to one side. "What?"
Obi-Wan has to catch his breath first, before he can speak. "You. I'd forgotten."
Ryn looks a question at him, and he shrugs. "I have ... missed you."
Ryn nods slowly, rueful. "Yeah. You too, Master Kenobi."