wildfire: Thank you! :)
shanobi: Thank you – though the key word is, to my mind, 'done'. At last! :p
Jedikma: Smart girl. ;) And thank you – and yep. It's amazing to me, too. And, of course, it's a lot longer than it was intended to be. But I managed to keep it semi-short, I think … :p
And this is the epilogue. ;) As you will see, it begs for another epilogue, but I'll probably start writing vignettes instead. However, I don't know when I'll get to doing it, so don't expect regular viggie updates. ;) And in case I never do update with a viggie – hugs to you all. :)
*~*~*
17 years after the Battle of Yavin.
Xanatos woke.
Obi-Wan sat on his bed, smiling down at him. He looked rather like what Xanatos would have expected – aged face, brown robes, twinkling blue eyes. And of course, Xanatos could see right through him, and that blue glow was a bit off from most of Xanatos' memories of the man.
"Why, hello Obi-Wan!" Xanatos said, looking around but not rising. It was still dark, and he was still in his apartment on Coruscant. The blinds were open, and faint glow from the never-ending lights of the city-planet filtered in. He and Obi-Wan were alone, to all appearances. "Fancy seeing you here," he said gaily. "Anakin would be sorry he missed you."
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, leaning back slightly, though he kept his hands on his thighs. "I don't think so. I don't want Anakin to see me for a while yet."
"Ah, right," Xanatos said wisely, nodding, trying to guess what in the galaxy Obi-Wan was here for. He hadn't seen his friend for years, since both he and Luke had been visited by their old mentor, who told them he could no longer stay so close to the living. "You seen how Luke is? His kids? Leia, and that beau of –"
Obi-Wan waved his hand. "I know they're fine. I've been watching over them." He smiled again, watching Xanatos.
Xanatos nodded again, coming up blank. "So . . ." He looked around again, but found nothing out of the ordinary. "What made you come back?"
"I didn't," Obi-Wan said, perfectly unruffled. "It is you who are coming to me."
Xanatos blinked and processed that fairly quickly. "I'm dying?"
Obi-Wan shrugged, and Xanatos could see a smirk lurking in the corners of his lips. "I figured you wouldn't want to die in your sleep. Too peaceful."
Xanatos hit the bed with his fist, his left hand passing through Obi-Wan's thigh, to the man's amusement. "But they're going to think I died in my sleep!" he pointed out logically.
"But you won't have, in reality," Obi-Wan said persuasively, and then stopped, a bemused and fondly exasperated expression passing over his face. "You are being ridiculous."
"And you treasure it so – admit it!"
"I admit nothing," Obi-Wan said with a smile. He looked Xanatos' over, who still lay in bed, not bothering to rise. "Are you ready?"
"Back pains, arthritis, Anakin's grandkids climbing over me and their screams giving me headaches . . ." Xanatos said slowly, thoughtfully. "Hell, yes, I'm ready!" he said forcefully, with a grin. "Take me, O Ghostly One." He gestured wildly.
"You've gotten crotchety in your old age," Obi-Wan remarked.
Xanatos pointed at Obi-Wan. "Better than that old, quiet drunk thing you had going on."
Obi-Wan laughed loudly, even throwing his head back a little. "You don't need to say goodbye?" he pressed.
Xanatos shook his head, his smile gentling. "No. They know that I love them, and everyone has sensed my weakening." He paused, and snorted. "The whole Jedi Order has, for that matter. Of course, there aren't that many of them at this point, but still! That should tell you something about how obvious and unsurprising this whole thing is going to be in the morning."
"You could always pull my ghostly trick if need be," Obi-Wan murmured with a small smirk.
Xanatos nodded at that. "Indeed, I could." He eyed Obi-Wan. "You're getting more solid."
And Obi-Wan was. The color of his face and robes were no longer so faded, and Xanatos could hardly see through him anymore.
Obi-Wan didn't say anything. He merely smiled.
Xanatos knew he didn't have much time . . . before he died, and experienced whatever death was. He let go of the urge to joke some more – to banter with his old friend. They would have quite some time, judging from things, and he had to know . . . had to be prepared. "Do you think I've done it, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan cocked his head, puzzlement showing in his features. "Done what?"
"Redeemed myself," Xanatos whispered, looking into Obi-Wan's crystalline blue eyes.
"Can anyone redeem themselves, Xan?" Obi-Wan said softly, reassuring. It was a tone Xanatos knew well.
"But my crimes –"
"We all do wrong," Obi-Wan said quietly, with a shake of his head. "And you've done plenty of right. You chose to do right." He studied Xanatos intently for a moment. "You want to know if you have forgiveness."
"Maybe," Xanatos said with a faint smile.
Obi-Wan smiled. "Come," he whispered, leaning forward to look into his friend's eyes, "and ask him."
Xanatos' heart constricted, and he was sure it wasn't because he was dying. His eyes were stinging with unshed tears by the implication of Obi-Wan's intense words. Him. Qui-Gon. Slowly, his hand trembling ever so slightly, he held out his hand.
Obi-Wan took it.
[fin]