Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

As was an ever present theme in Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life, things were not going as well as he’d planned.

If he’d been by himself, this would have been a simpler situation to navigate. He was, however, the now dutiful guardian of the twins – Luke and Leia, the young and now agitated children of his former padawan.

It had all been a bit of a blur, really. On his way to rescue Leia from her kidnappers, Ben had found her twin brother stowed away on his ship. Unfortunately for him, he’d realised too late and had begrudgingly been forced to take Luke along for the ride. Luke had, of course, been delighted by the prospect of what he saw as an adventure – his first time off world, for real. Obi-Wan had yet to reveal to him his relationship with Leia, but the Luke still been thrilled at the idea of tagging along for the rescue of another kid his age.

Things had gone south. Quickly. After finally, finally, shaking the tail of the Inquisitors that had been hunting them all the way from Daiyu, their luck had run out and they had been intercepted by none other than Boba Fett. The bounty hunter, apparently bearing a petty grudge against Vader in that moment, had turned them in to Jabba rather than the Empire – while Obi-Wan certainly knew whose custody he preferred, the situation was far from ideal. He’d pleaded with Fett to let them go, but Boba hadn’t been willing to barter.

“I don’t know what the slug wants with you or those kids, don’t care.” Was all he’d said.

And so now he sat in the cold bowels of Jabba’s palace, watching absently as Luke bothered his cranky sister. They’d definitely tuckered themselves out after the altercation with Boba. All things considered, they’d been remarkably well behaved. Suspiciously so. He wondered if they sensed his exhaustion and had tried to keep their boisterousness to a minimum. A small mercy.

Ben truly had no idea how he was going to worm his way out of this one. They’d taken his sabre, of course, which he’d been reluctant to even take on their initial journey. To say he was feeling defeated was an understatement. None of the guards had been particularly forthcoming with why Jabba the Hutt had wanted him in the first place – he’d heard something about a shadow coming, but that was about it. The cell was directly underneath a lot of the main halls of the palace, with the grates above providing an avenue for Jabba’s guests to laugh at those imprisoned below.

“So, what’s the plan Ben?” Luke asked, having finally grown bored of bothering Leia with a barrage of questions about her home planet. His sister sat a few feet from Ben, her arms folded over her chest as she sported a wicked glare – that would be quite the withering look one day, Obi-Wan thought to himself absently. “How are we busting out of here?”

“Still working on that one, Luke.” Ben offered a weak smile, pulling his robe more tightly around himself. “I’ll figure it out.”

“You have no idea what to do, do you?” Leia asked sharply, frustrated with a further hitch in her journey home. Her trust in him had certainly improved since Daiyu, but she still wasn’t exactly his biggest fan.

“I’ll figure it out,” Ben sighed, offering her a soft look. So young and yet so perceptive already.

Something stirred in the Force.

Obi-Wan frowned, tilting his head forward slightly to focus his hearing. He’d purposefully tried to weaken his connection to minimise his presence lest any nosy Inquisitors poke their nose where it didn’t belong, but he had not shut it out entirely. Something . . . familiar stirred nearby. Something hot and bristly, like feeling of touching a naked flame. He knew this feeling, but he couldn’t place it. The voice above in a nearby room raised in volume, none of which sounding all too jovial. Arguing? Not unlikely. But that presence . . .

“I think something’s happening up there,” Luke looked upward, standing on his toes to peer at the grates.

“Maybe it’s another Jedi.” Leia said, allowing a small amount of hope to colour her words.

There was a stir in the Force, but something told Ben it wasn’t someone looking to make friends. He stood, slowly, turning his gaze upward. A door opened somewhere, and Ben could finally make out speech.

“Noah bargon. Mee gave u our terms. Agree tah hoohah, mo hagwa. Mee hagwa care.”

Obi-Wan’s Huttese was a little rusty. Something about a deal, perhaps?

“Think carefully about denying me, Jabba.”

Whatever thin thread had kept Obi-Wan tied to the earth was cut by the cold blade of that voice. The twins vanished from his awareness. The prison cell melted away. He would have known that voice anywhere. Anywhere at all. His heart began to pound against his ribs, begging to escape the cavity of his chest. Tears pricked at his eyes, fear filling him like lead. He scrambled backward, pressing his back against the sandy wall as his breath grew ragged. Not here. Not now. Not with the children at his side.

Anyone but him.

“Uba oonta ingimee jeesh, Shadow. Uba seel alwasa bal busioojah ewadaa.”

There was a moment of silence.

“You will come to regret this, Jabba.”

It was only when one of the twins tugged on his sleeve that Obi-Wan was pulled out of his fear-stricken trance. He turned on Leia sharply, his eyes wild. She flinched, but only slightly, frowning in concern. Her small hand did not release it’s grip on his robe sleeve. Luke had stepped closer, sharing her expression of worry.

“Ben? Are you okay?”

“I-I-” Obi-Wan stammered, swallowing the lump in his throat. He’d been so stupid not to recognise that presence for what it was. Nobody else had such a sickeningly heated signature, nor one so singular. Of course he’d survived the Purge. If anyone was going to claw their way to the other side, of course it would be him. “I’m fine, Leia. I’m alright.”

“You look like you saw a ghost.” Luke said quietly.

“In a way dear boy, I have.” Ben murmured, clearing his throat and locking his eyes on the grate. If he’d recognised that presence in the Force, even with his weakened connection, there was no way he was getting out of here unscathed. “I only hope . . .”

Footsteps approached from the open door above their grate, two beings leaving the throne room – Obi-Wan closed his eyes, attempting to minimise his Force signature as much as humanly possible. The children, he would probably ignore. But Ben’s presence? Not so likely.

“My lord, this does not bode well.” A woman said hurriedly, following the clunk of what had to be metal feet through the door.

“No, but he will kneel as th others have. I am sure of-”

Obi-Wan flinched, hunching his shoulders. Not now. Please not now. He felt a hungry probing in the Force, reaching. Searching. It was like cold fingers pressing at his flesh, trying to reach into his chest. The twins exchanged a look, creeping closer to Ben.

“My my. Qi’ra, ready the ship. Leave me.”

“But my lord-”

“Go.”

“Yes. Of course.”

Slowly, Obi-Wan lifted his gaze to the grate. Every fibre of his body, his very being, screamed at him not to raise his eyes. That if he didn’t dare look up, it wouldn’t be real. He felt like a padawan again, trapped behind the maddening tick of the refinery laser gates. Ben had been so focused on his own misery, his own grief, that he’d never stopped to consider Force-users outside of the Order may have also survived the Purge. He’d at least hoped he would be able to return Luke and Leia home before he was inevitably struck down. Ben only hoped that they would be left alive, but he knew the chances were slim. The hooded figure stared down at him through the grate, eyes burning through the gloom like the molten twin suns of the very planet they stood on.

“You.” Maul breathed almost reverently, a grin pulling at his tattooed face.

-

As usual, Maul wasted no time.

He ripped the grate from the floor without so much as raising his hands, the barrier between them now mangled in the corner of the room. His eyes did not even brush those of the younglings by the former Jedi’s side. They were inconsequential. His joy was unparalleled, a most welcome gift from the Force. He could scarcely believe his luck. Still grinning, Maul leapt lithely into the cell, soundlessly landing mere metres away. Despite his sheer delight at this discovery, he could not help but notice the dishevelled state his archrival was in – aged and hollow looking, his pale skin marked with the grief he radiated like a sickly miasma.

“Look what has become of you,” He tutted, tilting his head ever so slightly.

Kenobi said nothing, only stared. It was though he was totally paralysed. Maul could hardly believe what he was seeing.

“Please, don’t hurt them.” The old Jedi finally managed to choke out, gripping the hands of the little human children he now had in his possession for whatever reason. “Do what you will to me, but please leave them out of this.”

“Ever the pious man, aren’t you?” Maul sneered, bearing his lacquered teeth. He took a step forward, projecting his dark presence in the Force. Though, it was unnecessary. Kenobi already looked as though he was about to die of fright. “I’m disappointed, Kenobi. This is not how I had hoped to find you before I took my revenge.”

“I’m serious. Please. They’ve done nothing to you.”

“I must say, I am shocked. It wasn’t as though fatherhood was something you excelled at.” Maul jabbed, thinking sourly of Vader – though, not as sourly as he imagined Kenobi did. It got the desired reaction, he decided, as Obi-Wan flinched. “No matter.”

Maul reached out in the Force, raising his hand and lifting a scrambling Kenobi from the grip of his little younglings. He drew the old Jedi forward, revelling in the feeling of his hand around Obi-Wan’s throat. The Jedi squirmed in his grasp, gripping at his wrist. Maul remembered him being heavier – the years had not been kind to him. Excellent. It was as he began to tighten his grip that he felt a soft thud at his mechanical foot.

“Leia, don’t-” Kenobi wheezed.

Maul scowled, his nose crinkling in annoyance. He turned his gaze downward without releasing his grip, met with the fierce glare of a very angry little girl. Human children were hard for him to age, but he knew she was still quite young. Hilariously so, for such bravery. This one was Leia, then.

“Put him down.” She demanded, fixing him with a furious little glare.

Maul raised a tattooed brow, bemused. There was something about children. They didn’t hold the experience of the adults around them, and so were often a lot bolder. Foolish, but bold.

“And what, pray tell, will you do if I don’t?”

“He hasn’t done anything to you. Let him down.” The little girl, Leia, commanded. Her resolve didn’t shake, he gave her that.

“Yeah, let him go!” The other child, a human male, was clearly emboldened by his companion’s bravery. Another kick to his robotic leg. How novel.

“Children, please-” Kenobi wheezed, digging his brittle nails into Maul’s wrist. “Please, I’m just trying to get them home.”

Maul considered this information. So the children likely weren’t his, then. He had expected as much. A small part of him was . . . perversely relieved that Kenobi was still as much of a Jedi as always. Perhaps killing him wouldn’t be so unsatisfying after all.

“Home?” Maul echoed. “My my Kenobi, ever the collector of strays, aren’t you?”

“Hey, we aren’t strays!” The little boy kicked him again. Maul turned his gaze downward for a moment, locking onto the face of the child – the withering glare had the effect, and the boy backed up a step.

“Hey! We’re talking to you, mister!” Leia jabbed at Maul. It was then that he noticed it, his sensitive Seer’s eyes – the bright little light of anger she emitted, however faint. It was then that he understood why Kenobi was so desperate. He glanced at the boy on his other side, sensing not anger but something else. Something lighter. So it was both of them, then? That old part of him dusted itself off, whispering in his ear once more.

An apprentice.

“Mnh. Intriguing.” He said softly, almost under his breath.

“Please.”

“Begging is so unbecoming of a Jedi,” Maul refocused, lifting his eyes back to Kenobi once more. This certainly made things interesting. “But I cannot deny it is appealing when it is you grovelling for my mercy.”

“Please, Maul.” Obi-Wan gulped, his eyes pleading. “Please. I promised. I’ll give you what you want. Please. Just let me help them first. Then- then you can have your way.”

Maul had to admit, this was not how he had fantasised about their reunion. He had hoped for the glorious battle he deserved, to truly best Kenobi in single combat and impart even an iota of his suffering upon his lifelong rival. He searched the Jedi’s feelings within the Force, sensing the outlines of his thoughts – Kenobi’s desperation was all encompassing, swallowing all other feelings of grief or joy. That, and his fear. But Maul could smell that acrid scent on him without his metaphysical powers. He let out a soft mnh, considering this. He loosened his grip, but only marginally. Not one, but two Force sensitive children. The potential here was unprecedented. Such an opportunity was so rare, with the Empire’s genocide of their kind.

“An offer most intriguing, Kenobi.” Maul dropped Kenobi roughly, letting him stumble backward.

The Jedi staggered but regained his footing, the children flocking to his side. This did not deter the girl, Leia, from sending a hateful little glare his way. Oh, he liked her already.

“They’re just children.” Kenobi wheezed, the marks of Maul’s possession wrapped around his throat in what would soon be a most appealing bruise.

Maul tucked his hands behind his back.

“Then, I offer you . . .” Maul smiled slowly. “Protection.”

Chapter Text

There was never any scarcity of strangeness in Obi-Wan’s life.

The irony of his situation was not lost on him for even a moment. Stranger still was Maul’s state of glee – and that was the only way Ben could think to describe it. To anyone who did not know the cranky zabrak as well as he did, nobody else would have noticed. But Obi-Wan had been subjected to his moods for longer than he would have cared for, and the ex-Sith’s jubilation was painfully evident. The twins hadn’t been thrilled at the thought of going with him, but had begrudgingly done as they were asked after some convincing. Luke had been easier to cajole than his sister with the promise of seeing Maul’s ship, the Nightbrother. Leia less so – she still hadn’t forgotten Maul’s rough treatment of her now uncle, and if Ben had a feeling she wouldn’t be letting that go any time soon.

Their exit from Jabba’s palace had required no small amount of speed – thankfully, the music provided by the band meant nobody had heard Maul ripping the grate from the ground, but they hadn’t wanted to push their luck. Maul had even been . . . ‘kind’ enough to fetch Ben’s saber – though he had a feeling it was for their eventual dual more than anything. Hurrying out of the palace and toward the dock, the motley group made their way to Maul’s awaiting ship. It was as about as obnoxious as Obi-Wan had expected, but he wasn’t about to begrudge his rescuer. Not yet, at least. The suns beat down on them, and Ben absently wondered how Maul managed – he expected that the zabrak’s tattoos hungrily absorbed all that heat. If it bothered him, he didn’t show it. He had aged little since their last meeting, which absently annoyed the vain part of Obi-Wan he didn’t think existed anymore.

“Why are we going along with this guy?” Luke asked, gently tugging at Ben’s sleeve as they waited for the gangway to lower. His eyebrow was raised in an almost painfully Anakin expression, tugging nostalgically on Obi-Wan’s heartstrings. “Wasn’t he trying to kill you a few minutes ago?”

“He will help us, as he said.” Obi-Wan murmured, casting a cautious glance at Maul. He was presently walking beside Leia – who had vowed not to let him out of her sight – patiently enduring her interrogation with a small smirk on his face. “I will deal with the matter of, erm, payment, later.”

“Are you sure we can trust him?” Luke frowned.

“Not at all. But we don’t have much of a choice, do we?” Ben smiled weakly down at him, gently resting his hand on Luke’s shaggy blond head.

The gangway hit the sandy ground with a sleek hiss, and the slim figure of Maul’s attaché greeted them. She was a young human woman, dressed finely even despite the weather. Her expression was guarded and almost professionally flat, but Obi-Wan could sense her confusion. Clearly she hadn’t expected stowaways, but she clearly thought better of speaking against her master's wishes.

“Lord Maul, the ship is prepared for take off.”

“Excellent,” Maul lifted his gaze from little Leia, his hands tucked neatly behind his back as he gestured for the Jedi and his younglings to board. “We will have a few, mnh, stops to make.”

“Of course, my lord.” She frowned ever so slightly, leading the small group toward the crowded seating area.

“This is my lieutenant, Qi’ra.” Maul gestured to the young woman, a small sense of pride on his tattooed face. “She will take care of any needs you may have on our journey.”

The woman, Qi’ra, nodded in greeting to the small group, but her expression did not warm. Ben could hardly blame her; she seemed about as pleased at their sudden intrusion as Ben was.

“Oh, wizard!” Luke forgot the danger of their situation as he stepped up into the ship, his eyes wide and glittering with delight. “This ship is incredible!”

“The Nightbrother is a unique ship, yes.” Maul said, his pleasure evident in his tone. He never was one to turn away admiration, no matter who it came from.

His uncharacteristic friendliness toward the children set Ben’s teeth on edge. He had a feeling he knew why, and he didn’t like it one bit. But at the same time, the last thing he needed was one of the twins to panic. That would certainly complicate matters. He decided, for the first time in his life, to take Maul’s lead and remain civil for now. There would be plenty of time left for ugliness later. He only hoped the twins would be home before they had to see any of it – he wasn’t sure he’d be able to bear that burden.

“Would you care to see the cockpit?” Maul purred, bending slightly at his artificial waist to meet Luke’s eyes. Obi-Wan wrinkled his nose, banishing the memory of burnt flesh smell.

“Oh, Ben, can I?” Luke immediately turned to Obi-Wan with a pleading expression, practically buzzing with excitement. Oh, children. He envied their ability to compartmentalise. “Please?”

“Erm-” Obi-Wan bit back the instinct to immediately deny him, something softening at Luke’s wide eyes. He glanced at Maul, who smiled at him hungrily – his expression was almost a dare. “Yes, I, I don’t suppose why not.”

“Come, little one.” Maul turned, making his way through the seating area toward a thin duraplast door that slid open with a pneumatic hiss as he approached. Luke scrambled after him, already beginning his barrage of questions about speed and turrets. Ever the little pilot, just like his father. Though, Ben kept that thought to himself.

Obi-Wan gently pulled Leia close to him, unable to stop himself from frowning.

“Is Luke going to be alright with him?” Leia narrowed her eyes, watching as the door closed behind them. Her arms were folded across her chest, her expression poisonous. She was clearly not satisfied with the results of her interrogation of Maul.

“Yes, he’ll be quite alright.” Ben grumbled, turning slightly to look at her. “He won’t hurt either of you.”

“It’s you he wants, isn’t it?”

“You are perhaps a little too perceptive for your own good,” He said, shaking his head with a small smile.

“Would you care to sit?” Qi’ra offered, gesturing to the small leather seats wrapped around the holotable.

“I will give Maul the coordinates for the Lars homestead, first. Thank you.” Ben dipped his head to her, gently placing his hand on Leia’s shoulder. “Would you like to sit, Leia?”

“No.” She said definitively, jutting her chin and walking confidently to the cockpit. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

Qi’ra raised an eyebrow but said nothing, disappearing into the thin corridor to their left. Obi-Wan trailed after Leia, the cockpit door sliding open. Luke sat at the controls, practically about to come apart at the seams with excitement. He was diligently asking the purpose of just about every button he could see, and Maul answered him with an abnormal patience. Leia sat in one of the cramped passenger seats slotted into the side of the wall, her arms folded and her feet dangling; too short to touch the ground.

Maul turned as they entered, his acidic yellow eyes locking onto Obi-Wan’s face. There was something more . . . mature about the way he stood now – more measured and less impulsive, his obnoxiously handsome features controlled into the expression of a man who knew he’d already won. His calm was unsettling to say the least, and wasn’t a state Ben had thought him capable of. Maul had forever been like a shark in his eyes – unable to stop moving, spurred by his unsatisfiable hunger. He doubted time had dulled Maul’s ferocity even an inch.

“Ahh, Kenobi. What is the first stop you are seeking to make?”

“The Lars homestead,” Ben tucked his hands into his sleeves, guarding himself within the Force. While potentially unnecessary, he didn’t want to give Maul any more satisfaction in his discomfort than absolutely necessary. “It’s thirty clicks north of here. In that direction. A moisture farm.”

“Aww don’t tell me I have to go home already!” Luke groaned impatiently. “Can’t I come with you to take Leia home at least?”

“You’ve already been away long enough, I think.” Ben raised an eyebrow. “Your uncle will be angry enough with me.”

Maul’s calm veneer cracked ever so slightly, his smile faltering almost imperceptibly. His gaze slowly slid from Luke to Leia, who was glaring at him fiercely. He seemed to be making internal calculations Obi-Wan didn’t need to be Force sensitive to decipher. It occurred to him then, that he would need to discretely warn Owen and Beru that they would need to leave the homestead for a while once he left; he didn’t want Maul to simply kill him at the end of this and return for what he clearly saw as a potential apprentice.

“That’s so unfair.” Luke pouted and turned back to the controls, making a show of ignoring Ben.

“Take a seat, Kenobi. I will assist you in delivering him.” Maul gestured to the cramped seat in which Leia sat, ushering Luke into the copilot seat. Condescension dripped from his tone, as slick as oil.

Before he could protest, Obi-Wan’s commlink buzzed in his pocket, the little light blinking furiously. He frowned and gripped it under the cover of his robe sleeve. He didn’t like the idea of leaving the twins to take the comm, but he liked the idea of Maul learning the truth of their situation even less. It would be no small feat for him to trust his lifelong enemy.

“I must take a comm, please excuse me.”

“As you wish,” Maul waved his hand dismissively, gearing the ship to life and slowly raising it from the ground. Forgetting his frustration, Luke leaned forward to watch his every move. “Do not disturb Qi’ra. She will take less kindly to it than I.”

Somehow, Ben didn’t believe that, but he did not dignify it with a response.

“I’ll be right back, Leia.” Ben said quietly, offering her a sympathetic smile. “Just call for me, if anything happens.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll watch him.” Leia nodded sharply, giving him a knowing look. Certainly her mother’s daughter. She would be a formidable force one day. Obi-Wan was sad he would likely not get the chance to see the woman she would grow to become. Maul would truly be no match for her at this rate.

Obi-Wan slipped from the cockpit and waited until the door was closed behind him before he jabbed the button atop the commlink. While he didn’t love the idea of leaving the twins alone with Maul even for a moment, he had meant what he said – Maul was too aware of their potential to harm them. Obi-Wan knew vaguely that Maul was a seer of some kind; he was too slippery in the face of certain death for Ben to doubt such a thing. It was unlikely he hadn’t an inkling of what the twins were, but he hoped he could keep the truth of it away from him for long enough.

The commlink beeped. There was no image, but he knew the voice right away.

“Obi-Wan, can you hear me?” Bail Organa’s voice crackled through the receiver.

“Bail? Is everything alright?” Obi-Wan murmured, scanning the room for Maul’s lieutenant – blessedly, she was skulking somewhere else within the ship. “Did you receive my last transmission?”

“Yes, I did. Thank you for keeping Leia safe. Truly, I cannot thank you enough.” Bail sighed; he sounded exhausted. Moreso than he had when he’d initially approached Obi-Wan. “But there is a problem. I must be quick.”

“What’s wrong? Has something happened?”

“The Empire caught wind of one of my transmissions. They have no solid evidence against me, but they are putting pressure on me. Their presence on Alderaan is growing. I . . . I cannot in good conscience let you bring Leia home. It will be too suspicious, after everything that happened on Daiyu. This pains me to ask of you after everything you’ve done, Obi-Wan, but please . . . will you keep her safe until an opportunity presents itself for you to return her?”

Obi-Wan felt his gut twist. This was all his fault. If the Inquisitors had not caught wind of him, if he hadn’t been so foolhardy, Leia would be home by now and back with her family. Her real family. He stroked at his beard anxiously, biting the inside of his cheek. This was not fortuitous, not at all.

“I . . . I cannot guarantee her safety on Tatooine, Bail. I would have to hide with her off world.” Obi-Wan said softly. “I do not want to make this any harder on her than it already is.”

“Has there been further problems, Ben?”

“Well,” Obi-Wan cast a flatly frustrated glance at the cockpit door. “I wouldn’t call it a problem. Not yet. How long do you suppose until she can return home?”

“I cannot say. I am entertaining an Imperial colonel who I believe is investigating me.”

“That does not bode well at all,” Obi-Wan grumbled. “I will keep her safe, Bail. I swear it. You know I would give my life for her.”

“Hopefully, it will not come to that.” Bail said gently, though he could not hide his discomfort at the thought. “I will be in contact when I can. They are monitoring me closely.”

“I will await your comm. Be safe, Bail. Please.”

“You as well, Ben. You as well.”

As he clicked off the link, Obi-Wan readied himself to re-enter the cockpit. With Maul around, he wasn’t sure keeping safe would be such an easy task.