Fic idea/drabble
"We're leaving."
"What?!"
"We're leaving Tatooine."
"You can't!"
Owen's expression darkened, his voice flat, "You do not get to tell me what I can and can't do for my family."
Obi-Wan expected Owen to approach, to grab him, to do something; but, the man didn't budge, which, somehow, was even more threatening. He wouldn't be surprised if the darker haired man could hear the frantic thumping of his heart.
The tension hung thickly in the air, as closed off as he was trying to be to the Force, the intense emotion radiating off Owen was overwhelming.
The silence stretched on. It was unbearable.
"Where will you go?"
"Mandalore. Sundrai."
Mandalore.
The words tore through his heart, of course it would be Mandalore. He felt a sickness constrict his throat; the universe was cruel.
If there was anything Obi-Wan had learnt in the last 10 years; the past always comes back. He could never escape his history. Not even in the emptyness Dune Sea.
"Are you sur-"
"Yes." The man snapped, he pulled a device out of his pocket, it filled the cave with a hazy blue light. "They're providing free housing and food, for those who can help with its revival - moisture farmers in particular are in short supply. We're going."
"They have a ..complicated history with Jed-"
"Maybe, but Luke is not a Jedi." He held Obi-Wan's gaze. A brief softness flickered in his eyes as he looked back at the holo, "besides, Peli tells me they're protecting force sensitive children from the Empire. And Peli doesn't lie, unlike some."
"I have never lied to you Owen."
"Niether have you told us the whole truth, and out here that's as good as lying. I have never had time for your games Kenobi."
The look of derision the moisture farmer gave him made him shrivel. He'd been a General, faced Sith Lords and armies, but this man, this man who wanted to protect his family, was far more terrifying than any of that.
Obi-Wan stared at the blue light of holo, he couldn't see any words besides; Mandalore. He knew Owen was right. They had to go. Even if he hadn't ignighted his saber for a decade, he was a Jedi, he couldn't let his past and feeling cloud his judgement. He promised he would protect Luke, and Luke would be safer on Mandalore.
"I appreciate you telling me Owe-"
"Only because I know you'd find a way to track us down regardless, and I'd rather know exactly where you are."
"Of course I would, I need to-
"What you really need to do is leave my boy alone." Owen chucked the holo on the nearby table. "Here, take it, you'll have to find some skill you can offer the Mandolorians. They have limited supplies and no time for dead weight."
Owen turned towards the door, he didn't even look at him, "We're leaving the day after tomorrow."
And, with that, he was gone, leaving Obi-Wan standing, stunned, in the darkening cave.
Mandalore.
He was going back to Mandalore.
Fuck.
