Chapter One: Diner's and Databases

Previous episode: Bounty Hunters

Obi-Wan and Anakin have just returned from the wilderness of Felucia, where they aided local spice farmers against Hondo Ohnaka and his gang of pirates.

They have returned to Coruscant for a brief respite, and await their next mission.

It was on a whim he went through the Naboo databases. He wasn't a spontaneous person, unlike a certain Jedi Knight he lived with. The question had been bugging him every time they came back to Coruscant, especially since Anakin had a tendency to disappear when his duties were finished at the Temple.

Though Obi-Wan trusted the Jedi Order, he didn't feel overly comfortable researching something that...private at the Temple. This was Anakin, the young man he had practically raised since childhood. So like any self-respecting Jedi, he 'borrowed' some credits from his former padawan, bought a cheap datapad from a store, and went to Dex's Diner once his meetings were done for the day.

The smell of grease and body odor was oddly comforting when he walked in at dusk. He realized just how much the clean air of the Temple was foreign to him now.

"Obi! Back from the space, I see!"

Obi-Wan blinked, realizing he had been standing in the threshold of the door. The chatter of the diner had died down, and the customers were giving him strange, hostile looks upon recognizing his name. He smiled at the Besalisk, ignoring the hands drifting to blasters. He made his way to his usual booth. "That I am, Dex."

Dexter chuckled, his belly shaking while he clapped two of his arms together. The other two were wiping down the bar table. "That's my friend. Want the usual?"

"That would be much appreciated. Thank you, Dex."

"Anything for Obi-Wan!"

He could sense the customers relax and gradually go back to their meals. Despite being in Jedi attire, Obi-Wan had passed their unwritten test. He was one of them.

The servant droid, FLO, delivered a cup of Jawa Juice. Out of habit he mumbled a thank-you, already realizing the answer to his question was far more alluding than he previously thought. He had to search through an entire planet's marriage licenses, not to mention gain access to such records in the first place.

Guess Qui-Gon's insistence on a civilian identity was worthwhile, he mused while trying to find the transmission codes needed to contact the Naboo...embassy? A marriage between Anakin and the Senator had to be within the last-

A plate of food clattered before him "Doin' some hard diggin, Obi?"

Obi-Wan glanced at the steaming pile of greasy food and up to see his old friend settling across from him. Clicking the datapad off, he realized just how hungry he was. "Jedi stuff."

Dex slapped a hand against one of his meaty thighs, laughing loudly enough to shake the table. "Now that's the lie of the century. Ya only come here when you need something."

"That's an insult if I didn't know one." He took a forkful of his meal and chewed for a moment. "I come here when I'm hungry for something other than Temple food and rations."

The dinner rush was beginning to ebb, and people were filtering out one by one. FLO was still rushing about, delivering orders and refilling drinks and yelling in her mechanical voice to Hermione, the human waitress.

It won't do to reveal my suspicions to Dex, Obi-Wan found himself thinking while the Besalisk gave up trying to wheedle an answer out of him. His friend went back to filling orders, and he watched the on-goings of the diner with one eye. It was mostly one or two people at the booths now, grabbing a quick meal before heading to their second job. There was Twi'lek family chattering two booths over, clearly enjoying their night out. It was probably the only one the kids would have in their memory for a long while.

He settled on tapping at the datapad and eating at the same time, knowing that the night in front of him could be long. Hours must have passed, for half the lights had been shut off and Hermione was calling goodnight over her shoulder. Though his eyes were bleary from staring at a screen for so long, he was so close to finding an answer. Just this last transmission, and maybe this one wouldn't leave him with a dead end.

A familiar force presence hit him. It was faint, but growing stronger and stronger by the second. He had half-a-mind to hide under the table, but he was a Jedi Master for Force sakes. Jedi weren't embarrassed about seeing their fellow brethren in public.

There were a total of five sentient beings in the diner, and only three of them were customers.

Queen Amidala is from… he started reading on the datapad.

"Damn it," he muttered, fingers flying over the datapad. The Senator of Naboo was from an entirely different region than what he was thinking of. He should have been searching by region and family, not simply names.

The door swished open to the diner. The cold air of Coruscant poured in momentarily. Obi-Wan grimaced, knowing he had only seconds before he had to face the...newcomers. He was surprised when his former padawan didn't seem to notice him, or even look his way. Perhaps the young man was too busy shaking out his cloak and helping the Senator out of hers.

"It's pouring out there." Anakin's voice was carefree, so different from the usual heavy words Obi-Wan had grown used to hearing. He took the cloaks and hung both on the rack to dry. "Surprised the weather controllers haven't been fixed yet."

"What kinda beings go out in this weather?" Dex wiped his hands on an oily rag. "Someone who was born on a desert planet?"

Anakin chuckled, joining the Senator at an unoccupied booth. He grabbed one of the Senator's hands and squeezed. "Someone who wanted to spend her day off in the shopping district."

The Senator of Naboo rolled her eyes, though she didn't remove her hand from his grasp. "You dragged me to see to the-"

"You said you wanted a new ship!"

"A new ship, not a pile of junk!"

They continued to bicker good-naturedly, only pausing to order their food and talk on occasion to Dex.

Obi-Wan felt his eyebrows climb into his hair. Why was it so unsettling to see Anakin and Senator Amaidala wearing civilian clothes and not Jedi robes or Senatorial clothing? It wasn't a sight he had never seen, just one that he wasn't used too. He glanced down at the datapad in his hands, the light far too bright for him now. The search for Amidala's in the mountain ranges had brought up a few dozen politicians, but no Padmé or Anakin he knew.

Is her surname not Amidala? Obi-Wan thought in frustration, staring at the screen. He couldn't think of anything else to search besides 'Skywalker' in the records.

Plates scraped against a table, and Dex's jovial voice was quizzical. "Now why is a self-respecting couple such as yourselves hangin' around a dump like this?"

Padmé smiled, a blush on her cheeks. "Ken just got back from the front lines. We thought we'd celebrate our second anniversary somewhere special."

Obi-Wan would have snorted like his Belalisk friend, had he not been staring in shock at the results on his datapad. It's not even hidden in the records. It's right there in plain sight, available to anyone. By the Force, Anakin is perhaps the most paranoid person I know. How could this have slipped through his fingers? Unless...no Anakin isn't that stupid...well…

"This place? Special? Are you pullin' my leg or somethin'?"

His former padawan laughed, a sound that Obi-Wan hadn't heard in a long time. "It's my brother's favorite place. We spent a lot of time here during my childhood."

The word echoed in his ears. Brother…

"Really? You two smithers or somethin'?"

"Something like that."

Dex chuckled, his belly moving up and down. "Ah, I see. Government stuff then."

Friend, sure, but brother?

Obi-Wan wasn't even sure if he wanted to call him that knowing what he did now. He glanced up to the laughing couple, a sickening feeling settling in his stomach. He could have handled a friendship, even an affair, but marriage?

Author's Note: God, I hate the nickname 'Ani.' He will be thus be referred to as 'Ken.'

ii Digestive Reader ii