Title: The Gift
* * * * * “Not one lion!” Obi-Wan declared loudly enough for the entire shop to hear. He sifted through the bin of stuffed creatures, pink Banthas holding hearts that said “Be Mine” and red Rancors with googly eyes flying to and fro. “You’d think out of every creature in the known universe they’d have at least one blasted lion. One is all I ask. But no. Mynocks, Gundarks… Acklays!” Obi-Wan picked up one of the loathsome creatures which was made to look adorable and shoved it in Anakin’s face. “Just look at this, would you!?” Anakin blinked. He’d not been paying even an ounce of attention to Obi-Wan’s tirade. He was, in fact, stifling a yawn when Obi-Wan presented the heart encrusted beast for his perusal. “Master, we’ve been to every shop on Coruscant,” Anakin reminded him. “We’ve sifted through every bin in search of the elusive lovey-dovey lion. We have yet to find anything remotely resembling a feline. Can we please go back to the Temple and cut our losses?” “No,” Obi-Wan rumbled. “No, we cannot.” “Then, can I go back to the Tem—” “No!” “What good is it doing me to stand here and watch you have a mental breakdown over a stuffed toy!?” “Well, perhaps if you’d help me look, the search would go faster.” “I did help,” Anakin huffed. “At the Stuffed Emporium. And Coruscant Cuteness. And Gooshy Toys. And every other shop on the face of this planet. I want… to go… home.” “That’s it,” Obi-Wan said, some light popping on above his head. “We need to go off planet. Dex might know of a place…” “Have you lost your mind?” Anakin asked. Wait, isn’t that his line…? “We are not going off planet for this! At least, I’m not. You’re welcome to go alone.” “You’re a terrible apprentice,” Obi-Wan muttered, tossing the Acklay back to the pile and diving both fists in again. “You would abandon me when I need you most.” “For Force sakes…” Anakin rubbed his eyes wearily. He felt a headache coming on and suddenly regretted all the grief that had been dished out from his side. Did it really feel this infuriating? “You want the truth, Master? I don’t think Jade gives a good poodoo about whether or not you get her a stuffed lion.” “Anakin, her birthday is just days shy of coinciding with a rather notable holiday,” Obi-Wan said, his tone bordering on snarky. “I’d like to get her something I know she’ll enjoy.” Anakin laughed to himself, shaking his head. “I don’t think you can find that in a store. And not at the bottom of a stuffed creature bin if there.” When he burst into a fit of cackles, nearly doubling over with the force of it, Obi-Wan turned to him with a dangerous slowness. “And you’re insinuating exactly what?” Obi-Wan asked. “Forget I said anything,” Anakin said, wiping at the cheerful tears that streamed down his cheeks. “No, no,” Obi-Wan said. “What would Jade like that you seem to be so knowledgeable about, my young apprentice?” Anakin calmed and coughed self-consciously. “Uh, nothing, Master. I guess… she’d like a lion.” “That’s what I thought.” The Master returned to his painstaking search, and Anakin could only roll his eyes. “Might as well set up camp,” he joked. “I’m going to be here for the long haul.” “Your negative comments are not making this any easier,” Obi-Wan said as he punched through a wad of Rontos. “Do you think I enjoy being elbow deep in this… fluffy madness?” Anakin made a face and leaned against the bin. “Fluffy madness?” “Well, what would you call it?” his master snapped. “I’d call it a day, if I were you. Please?” Obi-Wan stopped rummaging, sighing as he pulled his arms free of the toy gauntlet he’d emerged them in. “I suppose I should.” “I know you wanted to get her that lion,” Anakin said, trying to soothe his master though he felt utterly ridiculous. “I’ll have to think of an alternative,” Obi-Wan bemoaned. “Just what that is…” Anakin considered bringing up the “other gift” again, then bit his tongue roughly enough to banish the thought. “You’ll think of something…” Obi-Wan nodded and trudged out next to his much more enthusiastic Padawan. Near the door, Anakin paused as something on the shelf to his right caught his eye. It was an orange sprig of fur. He pushed a Colo Claw Fish aside to reveal a lion hidden behind it. Smirking to himself, he pulled it free and whirled on Obi-Wan with the lion in hand. At first it looked as though Obi-Wan wasn’t computing what he saw, but when realization sunk in, he snatched the animal away. “HA! I told you! HAAAA!” Anakin was a bit shocked at this triumphant speech. “Just make sure Jade knows who found it.” “You want credit for my gift?” “I say again, who found it?” Anakin looked around, then grinned as though the answer had just struck him. “I think it was me!” Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes. “You’re a brat.” He then pushed past Anakin, who had not lost his victory smile, and paid for the lion. When they walked out onto the sidewalk, Anakin breathed in deeply. “Fresh air!” He spread his arms out wide, as if embracing the sky and all its traffic. “So good to be out of there…” “All right, I’ll give you credit for the lion,” Obi-Wan said, still lingering on Anakin’s previous words. “Good,” Anakin replied. He felt he’d finally bested Obi-Wan for once. “But… That means I need to find a ring.” “A what?” Anakin’s tone was dull with disbelief. “A ring. To go with it. So I can say, ‘the lion is from Anakin, and the ring is from me.’” “Why!?” “If we’re sharing a gift, there must be two parts. And I can’t let you give her the better half of it.” Anakin looked ready to cry. “All right… To the jewelry shop we go… Just promise me one thing.” “Yes?” “The next time you ask me if I’d like to go shopping for Jade’s gift with you… remind me to say ‘NO!’” The End
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