Bail glanced over at the entrance for the third time that evening, but still Obi-Wan did not appear. He knew Obi-Wan was on Coruscant, his and Anakin's arrival back on the planet had been all over the holonet that morning. If that wasn't enough, Padme had been suddenly "called away" during their meeting earlier, and had later put out a message that she would be "occupied" until the next day.

His real concern, though, was where Obi-Wan was. For several months now they had had an arrangement, that when Obi-Wan was on planet he would come by Bail's apartment to sleep, so neither of them had to sleep alone. It wasn't anything lurid, though they still tried to keep out of the knowledge of the holonet. It was just a way to draw comfort in each other, allowing them to let down their guard in the presence of someone they could trust. It was hard enough for Bail, in the tumultuous world of politics, to feel safe at night. His brief glimpse of the battlefield was just enough to prove to himself that it would be even harder for Obi-Wan, which made it all the stranger that Obi-Wan still had not come by.

Bail sighed, accepting that he wouldn't get any more work done tonight until he had his answer. He keyed in Obi-Wan's comm code, and waited for a response.

"Kenobi residence!" A bright young female voice answered.

Bail smiled slightly. This must be the apprentice. Obi-Wan had talked about her a lot, how much he was looking forward to teaching again, even while he fretted over the stress it could cause to his relationship with Skywalker. Bail still wasn't sure how she had ended up being Skywalker's apprentice instead, but he'd gleaned enough to sense that Obi-Wan wasn't entirely happy with how the situation had been handled. Still, she seemed happy enough, and even if she wasn't Obi-Wan's student, Bail knew enough about both him and Skywalker to guess Obi-Wan was doing a fair amount of her teaching anyway.

"If this is another prank caller, I'm going to–" The girl paused, then shouted indistinctly, "Sorry, Master!"

Bail chuckled, assuming that Obi-Wan had reprimanded her on threatening callers. "My apologies, Master Jedi. I was Master Kenobi that this is Senator Organa, calling to ask Master Kenobi if he would be available for dinner tonight." He knew Obi-Wan would pick up on the hidden meaning underlying his invitation.

"Yes, Senator," the girl told him. "I'll ask him now." Bail waited patiently for a few moments, then there was the sound of someone returning to the comm.

"Senator Organa," Obi-Wan greeted him formally.

"Master Kenobi," Bail replied just as solemnly. In these times, it was almost impossible to know what lines might be hacked, and it was better to give away as few advantages as possible. Besides, these dressings of formality always added a touch of levity to their conversations, both of them aware of the ridiculousness of it all.

"I would be honoured to come to dinner with you tonight, however I had already committed to spending the evening with Padawan Tano. I'm sure you understand, Senator."

Bail smirked. Oh, he most definitely understood. "Padawan Tano would naturally be welcome to accompany you, Master Kenobi. I am always pleased to make the acquaintance of another Jedi."

Obi-Wan had the audacity to sound surprised. "That is most kind of you to offer, Senator Organa. Would one standard hour give you sufficient time to prepare?"

"That would be fine, Master Kenobi." He let some warmth seep into his tone. "I look forward to seeing you then."

He hung up so Obi-Wan wouldn't feel obligated to respond. He knew that Obi-Wan enjoyed spending time with him, and would be looking forward to seeing him again. Making Obi-Wan say it would just make him uncomfortable. He was a lot like Breha that way, in that they both had such a way with words, but when it came to relationships, their actions always spoke louder.

Bail sighed, thinking about his beloved wife and queen. Accepting Breha's proposal was still the best decision he had ever made, it was just a shame that their careers kept them so far apart. With the war ongoing, it was now harder than ever to take some time to go back to Alderaan, and when he could make it he often needed to spend more time on business than pleasure.

The minutes passed quickly as Bail started putting a meal together in preparation for his guests' arrival. Originally, when he'd thought his night would be him and maybe Obi-Wan, he'd only planned a simple rehydrated meal, but with two guests, that was worth putting in a little more effort. He wouldn't want to disappoint Padawan Tano on her first time properly meeting a politician. That is, a politician apart from Padme. Padmé had never mentioned it, but Tano was Skywalker's Padawan, and he and Padmé were nowhere near as subtle as they thought they were.

The doorbell rang, and he went to answer it.

"Bail," Obi-Wan said with a smile. "It's good to see you, my friend."

"And you," Bail grinned in reply. He pulled Obi-Wan closer, letting him and the Padawan through the doorway, then shut the door behind them and pulled Obi-Wan into a hug. "Got bored of getting yourself killed out in the Rim?"

"Needed to come back for some Council business," Obi-Wan said. Bail stepped back, releasing Obi-Wan from his embrace, and noticed the new lines around his eyes, wearing him down. Those Senators who insisted the Jedi weren't really affected by the war would just need to see Obi-Wan right now and they'd know how very untrue that was.

"Hopefully you won't have to head out again too soon." Obi-Wan's grimace told him that hope was unfounded, but Bail ignored it, greeting the young Togrutan standing in the shadow of his robe. "And you must be Padawan Tano. It's a pleasure to meet you, young Jedi."

Tano, who had been staring at his and Obi-Wan's interactions, recollected herself quickly, sweeping into a short bow. "And you, Senator."

Bail smiled on the inside. It didn't take Force sensitivity to see Obi-Wan's pride at how quickly she recovered. She really should have been Obi-Wan's padawan, he was obviously fond of her already and he was a much better mentor than Skywalker could ever be. Skywalker was barely older than some of Breha's cousins, and he'd certainly seen enough of what kind of antics they got up to.

"I'm sure you must be hungry. It may not be the best fare, but it will be good enough amongst friends. And before you ask, it is compatible with Togrutan digestion, so it will be safe for you to eat." He directed his smile at Tano, who looked mildly taken aback, but smiled politely back at him. He started walking towards the dining room. "Come! Let's eat."

Later, once dinner had been served and they had begun to eat, Bail decided to get to know this little Padawan a bit better. Obviously she was important to Obi-Wan for him to want to bring her along to dinner, and the occasional stories he told about their missions did credit to her courage and ingenuity. "Padawan Tano, can you tell me more about life as a Jedi? Obi-Wan likes to make it seem like it's all about duty and the will to serve, but I'm sure you can tell some more interesting stories than that!"

Padawan Tano looked over to Obi-Wan, ostensibly for support, but he just smiled at her and continued sipping at his wine. "I don't think there's much I can share, Senator," she demurred.

"Perhaps the Senator would like to hear about what happened in the salles today?" Obi-Wan prompted gently.

Bail was amused to see how eagerly Padawan Tano latched on to the prompt, haltingly recounting a story of how she had beat another Padawan in a duel, voice smoothing out as her confidence grew. She wasn't a bad storyteller, either. Some of the details sounded a touch exaggerated, but as the Corellians said, "Never spoil a good story with the truth".

Once Padawan Tano finished, self-consciously fiddling with her napkin as she returned to her meal, Bail asked her, "Is that kind of practice common for all Jedi then?"

Padawan Tano nodded. "Every Jedi, from Initiate to Master, practices every day. It's the only way to make sure our skills stay sharp, and now with this war, it's what keeps us alive."

A somber mood fell over the table. Although Bail had witnessed some of the realities of the war on the holoscreen, and heard Obi-Wan's voice shake as he described the devastation he had seen, it was still hard to accept that what to him was an tragic, but distant, reality was their every day experience. This teenager was growing up in an active war zone, and for a brief moment Bail was desperately glad that he and Breha could not have children. It would never be his daughter fighting a war on distant planets as she struggled to survive, and that fact was both a relief and a heartbreak.

Padawan Tano pushed her food aimlessly across her plate, gaze flickering from him to Obi-Wan. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, Senator."

Bail shook his head. "No. The realities of war cannot be brushed over just for my convenience. The Jedi play a pivotal part in the war, and of course your lightsaber skills are part of that. I should not have forgotten so easily. And please, call me Bail."

"You can call me Ahsoka," Padawan Tano said with a small smile.

After that, the talk meandered through less strife subjects, ranging from scandals in the Senate, unusual interactions with politicians, and local delicacies from a range of planets. Bail was surprised to find that Ahsoka had been to numerous planets on the Outer Rim, but had never before been to Alderaan. "I have heard it's beautiful there, though."

"It is," Obi-Wan agreed. "I went there for a mission when I was a Padawan, and it's absolutely stunning. I always loved the waterfalls best. My Master made me practice my control of the Force there, manipulating the individual water droplets so they never touched me even as I stood in the midst of it all."

Bail blinked at him. Obi-Wan was never that forthcoming, not until he'd had a lot more to drink than he'd had so far tonight. Maybe it was Ahsoka's influence, and if it was, he was grateful for it. "You'll have to come back again. Breha and I would welcome you to visit for as long as you'd like." He turned his gaze to include Ahsoka as well. "You as well, Ahsoka. Breha would love to meet you."

"We'll have to wait for another night for that," Obi-Wan said regretfully. "It's time for us to be going, Bail."

Bail glanced at the chrono-imager, surprised. "This early? It's barely past twentieth hour!"

"Padawans have a curfew unless out with their Master, and I did promise Ahsoka I would spend the evening with her." Ahsoka looked a little confused, though pleased, at that last addition, but Bail understood. Obi-Wan would not be coming back that night. This was his time for Ahsoka, and though he'd only just met her, Bail couldn't blame him. She was a talented young Jedi and an interesting conversationalist, and Bail suspected that once she was more comfortable with him, he'd see more of that fiery demeanour that had occasionally emerged over the course of the evening.

Bail stood, pushing his chair back. "Let me give you some dessert to take with you, at least. I know your sweet tooth, Obi-Wan." He winked at Ahsoka. "He may try to be all prim and proper in front of you, but I can tell you that I have seen this man eat an iconoberry torte as large as my hand, and then went back in search of ice cream."

Ahsoka giggled, and Bail considered that worth the look of discomfort on Obi-Wan's face. She needed to know Obi-Wan as a person, not just another Jedi Master, and with how serious Obi-Wan had become throughout the war, Bail didn't know if they'd get there if he didn't push it a bit. Besides, someone else to tease Obi-Wan about his fondness for anything sweet could hardly be a bad thing.

"I think it's time we left, before you start telling Ahsoka more stories about me." Obi-Wan stood up as well, starting to gather the plates to take them into the kitchen. Ahsoka quickly fell to helping him, though Bail noticed how any utensil that was sticky or covered in sauce mysteriously never had to be touched, but made it onto the plates all by itself. Ahsoka noticed him watching and blushed, but still ginned sheepishly at him.

"All I'm telling her is the absolute truth!" Bail declared, following them into the kitchen. "She's probably seen you do worse."

"Skyguy says Master Obi-Wan once slept only four hours over two standard weeks," Ahsoka chimed in, sounding slightly awed. "That's worse."

Bail was far from impressed, and shot a look at Obi-Wan telling him so. Obi-Wan winced, waving him off in a way that agreed yes, they would talk about it later, but not right now. Bail would have to be appeased with that. Somehow, he'd set himself up as keeper and caretaker, something he would mind more if he didn't know Obi-Wan had done the same thing for them. Somewhere along the way they'd both figured that as neither were very good at looking after themselves, looking after each other worked almost as well.

Bail stacked the plates, leaving the cleaning droid to take care of the rest, then turned to his guests. "I'll see you out, shall I?"

Obi-Wan and Ahsoka followed him through the front door to where their ship sat on his landing pad. Bail inclined his head towards Ahsoka. "It's been a pleasure to meet you, Ahsoka Tano."

"You too, Senator Organa." She bowed in return, then got into the ship, leaving Bail and Obi-Wan to say their own goodbyes.

"Don't think I've forgotten what she said about you sleeping," Bail told Obi-Wan with a mock frown. After a moment, it softened into a fond smile. "It's been too long, my friend."

Obi-Wan grinned ruefully. "And will probably be longer still until next time. We go off planet again tomorrow."

"Well, you know you're always welcome here." He nodded towards the ship. "Tell Ahsoka the same." But not Skywalker, he didn't say, but he knew Obi-Wan would hear it anyway. Still, as long as he never said it, it would never come between them.

Bail drew Obi-Wan into one final hug, then released him, watching him get into the ship with Ahsoka and fly away. He didn't go back inside until the last flicker of their ship had disappeared into the night sky.