Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As missions went, Stellan thought he was going to like this one. Master Rana had called Elzar, Avar and him into her chambers with a gentle smile on her green face. 

‘I have a request for you three’, she said, her voice serene. Even a decade into his apprenticeship with Master Rana, Stellan still tended to be in awe of the elder Jedi. She had a certain levity, a certain quietness that somehow calmed him. She didn’t even have to do anything for Stellan to be able to take a breath and center himself. 

‘A request?’, Elzar asked. ‘Master Quarry didn’t say anything.’

Elzar exchanged a quick look with Avar, that Stellan tried to pointedly ignore. 

‘They’re busy working on something. So is Cherff, Avar.’

The three padawans exchanged confused glances. 

‘I expect the three of you are able to handle yourselves’, Rana continued, ignoring the confused looks. ‘You’re all adults, after all.’

‘Yes, Master’, Stellan answered and Master Rana looked at him with approval. 

‘The three of you need to head to the meiloorun stand on the 5000th level and pick up something for me, understood?’

Stellan blinked. 

She can’t be asking us to- buy her meiloorun… right?

‘I need ten meiloorun and five jogan fruits.’

Uh- what, Stellan thought, managing to suppress his surprise.

Elzar didn’t have his restraint. 

‘What?’

‘I’m baking a pie’, Rana said as if it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy. ‘And I need fruit.’

‘You’re sending us on an errand run?’, Elzar continued, while Stellan grit his teeth, sending a nudge with the force into Elzar’s side. He was ignored. 

‘Yes’, Rana said, deadpan. She stared into Elzar’s eyes, unblinkingly. Both Stellan and Avar had learnt early on that getting into a staring contest with Master Rana Kant was a bad idea. The Duros didn’t really have to blink quite as much as humans, but Elzar always seemed to forget that. 

Stellan tried his best not to look at Avar because he knew the moment he did, they’d both break out into very un-Jedi-like giggles. 

After a minute or so, Elzar started to blink furiously, trying his best to hide the tears that had started to fill his eyes. 

‘I’ll see you all in an hour’, Rana said, satisfied. With that, the Jedi master walked away from the three perplexed padawans. 

‘Is she serious?’, Elzar asked when she was gone. 

‘I never really believed her to be the joking type’, Avar said smoothly, grinning at Stellan. 

‘Not about these things’, Stellan added, smiling. 

‘What are you two grinning about, we just got sent on a glorified shopping trip’, Elzar grumbled. ‘We’re nineteen, we’re just about ready to do the trials for kriff’s sake-’

‘Language’, Stellan grumbled. 

Elzar raised an eyebrow. 

‘Okay, Master Gios’, he shot back. 

‘Elzar-’, Stellan started, but Avar stepped in between the two of them. 

‘We have some meiloorun to get’, she said, a bit exasperated. ‘We can argue about semantics later.’

Stellan let out a sigh as Elzar threw an arm around his shoulders. 

‘Alright, bring us to the stand then, Master Kriss’, he said with a smirk that seemed just slightly out of place in the halls of the Jedi temple. 

Avar just rolled her eyes good-naturedly and led the trio out of the temple into the hustle and bustle of Coruscant. 

It was a surprisingly bright day, with Coruscant’s sun reflecting on the multitude of facades in all the colours of the rainbow. 

‘Can’t believe we’re being sent out on a grocery run’, Elzar grumbled when they were stepping into the nearest elevator down. 

‘No task is above a Jedi’, Avar said, but Stellan could sense that she was less than thrilled about their mission too. 

‘I know that, Avar- I just- fruit? Really?’ 

‘We do have to travel more than 100 levels down’, Stellan said. ‘I suppose that counts as training.’

‘It’s nothing that we haven’t done hundreds of times before’, Elzar said. 

‘Officially, we’ve only done it alongside our Masters once or twice’, Avar interjected. 

Stellan scoffed. 

‘Officially, there’s a lot of things we’ve definitely not done.’

‘Wait, do you think this is a test?’, Elzar suddenly asked. ‘Like, to see if we do it too well? So they can finally prove we snuck out a few times?’

‘I marvel at your definition of few, Elzar’, Stellan said. Avar laughed. 

‘Besides’, she said. ‘I’m pretty sure all of our Masters are aware of us sneaking out at least- I even think they might be letting us go.’

‘You think so?’, Elzar asked. 

‘Yes’, Avar said. ‘Maybe they think it’s part of growing up. I heard some stories about Master Yoda- apparently even he was caught sneaking out of the temple as a padawan.’

Elzar snorted again, a wide grin on his face. Stellan couldn’t help but smile too. Elzar’s joy could be infectious at times. 

‘I can’t believe Master Yoda would ever do anything against the rules. That’s like- Stellan not being the first one to get grey hair.’

Stellan put a hand to his chest in mock offense. 

‘If I am, it’s going to be your fault.’

‘What, you think I’m gonna sneak into your chambers and dye it at night?’

‘I think he means stress, El’, Avar said, snickering. 

‘I feel the strain already’, Stellan said, groaning for effect. ‘You’ll be the death of me, Elzar Mann.’

‘Well, I’m sorry you can’t handle such a handsome devil as myself, Stellan’, Elzar declared as the elevator finally dinged. The boy whipped his long padawan braid behind him and stepped outside. 

Stellan exchanged a glance with Avar and he could see mirth and something else dance in her eyes. She stepped out in front of him and for a moment, Stellan watched his two best friends, an uneasy feeling in his gut. 

It’s none of my business, he thought and shook his head, quickly following them into the bustling market square, his padawan braid and impeccable brown robes flowing after him. 

‘You remember which stand Master Kant was talking about?’, Elzar asked when Stellan had caught up with them. 

Stellan nodded and pointed into the right direction. 

‘There’s a shortcut this way.’

‘Is there really, or is this a shortcut like that time on Corellia?’, Avar asked with a lopsided smile that only Stellan and Elzar ever got to see. It was endearing, somehow, that the golden child of the order had such a mischievous side that only her closest friends were privy to. 

‘You always bring that up’, Stellan grumbled. 

‘Because it’s hilarious’, she said. 

‘Plus, you go all red every time anyone mentions it’, Elzar added. 

Stellan just mumbled something under his breath. 

‘I know for a fact that it’s a shortcut because Master Rana showed me’, he grumbled, leading his friends into the right direction. 

‘Lead the way, Master Gios’, Elzar said and Stellan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It wasn’t very Jedi-like, but somehow Elzar had the power to tease all kinds of strange reactions out of Stellan.

I suppose that’s what childhood friends do, Stellan thought. 

He slipped into an alley, his friends close behind. Immediately, the rush of the main streets died down. There were a few smaller stands outside of houses, but the customers seemed to stick to the main roads more often than not. Mostly, the three of them walked past houses, picking up on the hundreds of people living so close to them. There were children crying, parents laughing, teenagers kissing behind crates of merchandise, old people sitting in rocking chairs in the artificial mini gardens behind the high houses. Stellan felt the force hum with a myriad of emotions, the deep hum of the energy reverberating through him. 

‘So did your masters say anything about the trials yet?’, Avar asked, ripping Stellan out of his thoughts. 

Elzar laughed. They all knew that Avar was scheduled to take her trials first. She’d excelled at every part of her training.

‘No- I don’t think Master Quarry thinks I’m ready yet’, Elzar said. 

‘I’m still struggling with animal bonds’, Stellan said, staring at the ground. ‘Master Rana says that if I master animals, I’m ready- but I haven’t.’

Avar looked at him sympathetically. 

‘You’ll figure it out. I know you will, Stellan’, she said. 

Elzar nodded enthusiastically. 

‘We can always train a bit together, Stel’, he offered. ‘I could use some more training with meditation as well- we could trade.’

Stellan smiled at his friends. 

‘Thank you- I would appreciate that.’

Elzar opened his mouth to say something, when they suddenly came out onto another large plaza filled with people selling and buying wares. 

‘See, I told you!’, Stellan exclaimed triumphantly, pointing across the square. ‘Meiloorun stand.’

The infamous stand was standing on the other side of the plaza. It was run by a bright, broad middle-aged twi’lek woman with an infectious smile. Her name was Seria and Stellan knew for a fact that she gave wonderful hugs. 

‘My, my’, she said in a slightly accented voice as they approached. ‘My eyes must be playing tricks on me- is that little Stellan Gios?’

Stellan saw Elzar mouth the words little out of the corners of eyes, but he ignored his friend. 

‘Good evening, Seria’, he said with a nod. ‘It’s good to see you again.’

‘Oh you too, kid! You’ve grown so much since you were last here, haven’t you!’

Stellan nodded, not stopping the smile of genuine joy on his face. He’d missed Seria. Her force signature was warm and welcoming and she had a wonderful sense of sincerity surrounding her entire being. 

‘It’s been a few years’, Stellan admitted. ‘The temple’s kept me busy.’

‘Nice to see you still remember good old Seria’, she said with a smirk. ‘So what can I do for you and your friends?’

Stellan turned back to his friends who were suppressing smirks. 

‘Oh- right, these are my friends Avar and Elzar- Avar, Elzar, this is Seria, Master Rana introduced us years ago.’
Seria nodded enthusiastically. 

‘I supply the freshest meiloorun this side of the Senate. Master Kant has always had an appreciation for good fruit. She’s been coming to this stand ever since my parent ran it. It’s nice to meet you two- any friend of Master Kant and little Stellan here is a friend of mine!’

Elzar and Avar seemed a bit overrun with the sheer amount of blackmail material they’d just gained on Stellan, but the boy turned back to the twi’lek. 

‘How’s Reina doing?’, Stellan asked and Seria’s eyes lit up. 

‘Oh- she’s fantastic- we got married a few months ago, actually.’

‘Oh, that’s great! Congratulations’, Stellan said. 

‘Thank you, thank you, kid. Now what can I do for you?’

‘Master Kant sent us down to pick up some fruit’, Elzar said. 

‘Ten meiloorun and five jargon fruit’, Avar added. 

Seria nodded thoughtfully. 

‘She’s making her famous pie, then?’

Stellan nodded. 

‘Strange, usually she’d just ask me to deliver it to the temple.’

Avar, Stellan and Ezra exchanged a confused smile. 

Why did she send us down here, then, Stellan wondered. 

‘Huh’, Avar mumbled. 

‘Well, maybe something came up’, Seria said, collecting the fruit into a bag. ‘Here you go, kid.’

‘Thank you, Seria’, Stellan said, accepting the bag and handing over the correct amount of credits. 

‘Always a pleasure, kid. And do say hi to Master Kant for me’, Seria said. ‘Now off with you, I’m sure you Jedi have work to do that isn’t talking to strange ladies with too much fruit.’

She shooed the three padawans away with a placating hand and Stellan dragged his two friends away before they could ask too many awkward questions. 

‘Why didn’t you tell us you had a friend that wasn’t us?’, Elzar teased as soon as Stellan dragged them back into an alley. 

‘I have friends’, Stellan grumbled. ‘I just- tend to be a bit less out there than you.’

‘Elzar, stop’, Avar chided. ‘Just because you talk to everyone within a five mile radius whenever the opportunity presents itself doesn’t mean that that’s the only way to make friends. Stellan is just a bit shy.’

‘I’m not shy.’

Avar raised a single eyebrow at him and turned back to Elzar when Stellan suddenly sensed something in the force. 

He heard a hiss behind him and a cold shudder ran down his spine. Stellan whirled around and was suddenly faced with something fluffy standing on a crate that was just about chest height for him. The result was an angry tooka staring directly into his face. 

For a split second, Stellan was frozen. He’d never been good at animal bonding and feline species had always proven particularly difficult for him. They were too stubborn to control easily. 

But then, something clicked inside of him. He didn’t know if it was the mundanity and consequent serenity of their grocery run or the knowledge that any second, Elzar or Avar would step in front of him, their arms outstretched to save him from the scary tooka (who wasn’t really that scary, it probably just wanted food), but he let the force flow through him and gently nudged the mind of the disgruntled tooka. 

It’s alright, he tried to think, remembering the gentle serenity he always felt when he sat in the meditation chamber next to his master or Elzar or Avar. Nothing is going to happen to you. 

The feline mind felt alien but familiar at the same time. In the force, all things were connected, but the difference between Stellan’s mind and the tooka’s was still quite a lot. But underneath that gap, Stellan could sense a kindred spirit, warmth, a vibrant symphony of colours that he recognized as the presence of the force. 

He distantly heard a low gasp from Avar and an impressed whistle from Elzar, but he focussed on the tooka’s mind that was slowly calming. 

Stellan opened his eyes, not remembering closing them and he stared into the large eyes of the tooka, seeing his own eyes reflected in them. He realized that the tooka was simply hungry and that he’d been waving food in front of it. Any animal would’ve gotten a bit tetchy.  

I’m sure Master Rana won’t mind, he thought as he slipped a meiloorun out of the bag and gently placed it on the crate in front of the tooka. Slowly, the tooka moved forward, its large ears twitching. It sniffed the fruit, baring its teeth and then took a large bite out of it. Stellan couldn’t help but smile at the happy purrs the tooka was letting out. 

‘What did you just do?’, Avar asked and Stellan knew without looking that she was grinning broadly. 

‘I just- reached out’, he whispered, amazed. ‘Don’t know how- but I did.’

The tooka finished the meiloorun and slowly snuck forward to nuzzle its face against Stellan’s still outstretched hand. 

‘Man, I wish I had a holo’, Elzar whispered. ‘This is fucking priceless.’

‘Language’, Stellan said, automatically, but he wasn’t really paying attention, too enthralled with the tooka rubbing its face against his hand. 

It didn’t last very long. At some point, the feline seemed to realize that Stellan wasn’t going to give it any more fruit, so it nudged him a last time and disappeared into the shadows of the back alley. 

His friends teased Stellan all the way back into the Jedi temple, but nothing really managed to sour his mood. The knowing look on Master Rana’s face when she received the bag with nine instead of ten meiloorun told Stellan all that he needed to know.

Chapter Text

‘You’re on, Gios’, Elzar said with a broad grin on his face. Stellan only sighed.

‘What exactly are you referring to, El?’, he asked, tiredly. 

‘You looked at me’, Elzar explained, letting his feet dangle off the wall he was sitting on. ‘That obviously means you’re ready to spar.’

Stellan turned to his side to share a glance with Avar, but she only shrugged. 

You know as well as I do that there’s no way to stop him if he’s set his mind to something, her expression seemed to say. 

‘Come on, Stel, I want to try out these new forms Master Quarry has been teaching me’, Elzar continued, cocking his head to the side, a pleading expression on his face. 

‘I could have something to do, you know’, Stellan said, crossing his arms. 

‘You don’t’, Avar commented and Stellan turned to her with a shocked expression.

‘What’, she asked, grinning. Stellan ignored how infectious her smile was. 

‘Traitor’, he grumbled. ‘I thought we were going to go to the archives.’

Avar grinned and looped an arm through his. 

‘We can still go to the archives after Elzar wipes the floor with you, Stel’, she said serenely. ‘Not to worry.’

‘Exactly!’, Elzar exclaimed from his seat. 

‘You have that little faith in me, Avar?’, Stellan asked, pretending to be hurt. 

‘Of course she does!’, Elzar said, clambering all the way up the wall. ‘Come on, Stel, don’t you want to prove us wrong?’

Stellan watched as Elzar balanced on the wall elegantly. 

They were currently on leave in the Coruscant temple, waiting for their masters to return from a long term stealth mission. Stellan and Avar had taken to studying in the archives together every morning, while Elzar preferred to sleep in and join his friends after lunch, getting most of his work done after the sun had set. For some reason, however, Elzar had shown up on their way to the archives, sitting on a high wall in the temple gardens. 

‘You know I’m only saying this to get you two to spar, right?’, Avar said quietly while Elzar started running on the thin wall. If he hadn’t been a Jedi, Stellan would’ve been worried about his friend falling and scraping his knee. 

‘You’re an evil mastermind, sometimes, you know that?’, Stellan answered, but he couldn’t stop himself from smiling lopsidedly. 

‘Noone is ever going to believe you if you tell on me’, she said, a conspiratorial smirk on her face. 

Stellan rolled his eyes fondly. 

‘Guess I’ll keep your secret then. As long as we get to go to the archives after this.’

Avar smiled.

‘I promise.’

Then, she grinned widely and used her hold on his arm to pull him toward where Elzar was currently jumping from wall to wall. Stellan let himself be dragged along. 

‘Enjoying yourselves, you are, hmm?’, a familiar, old voice came from a small alcove to the side of the gardens. 

Elzar froze. Avar and by extension Stellan came to a screeching halt. As a trio, they turned to see Master Yoda levitating underneath a tree, six stones hovering around him, with one eye open. 

‘Ah- sorry, Master Yoda, we didn’t mean to disturb you’, Avar said, standing up straighter and letting go of Stellan’s arm. 

‘Yes- we were just headed to the training grounds’, Stellan added. ‘We’re very sorry to have interrupted you, Master.’

‘Yeah- sorry’, Elzar said, quietly. 

Yoda smiled and slowly, the six stones as well as the elderly Jedi Master floated to the ground. 

‘No need to apologise, there is, young ones’, he said, reaching out a hand to call his walking stick toward him. ‘Every right to be joyful, you have.’

‘T-thank you master?’, Elzar answered, exchanging a confused glance with Stellan and Avar. 

‘When your age I was’, Master Yoda mused, making his way towards them. ‘Loud and jovial I was, too.’

Stellan couldn’t really imagine Yoda ever running through the temple halls as a youngling, but he had a hard time imagining the Grandmaster as anything but that anyway. 

‘A gift, youth is’, Master Yoda continued. ‘Enjoy it, you should. Soon, less time you will have together.’

Stellan opened his mouth to answer but Yoda waved a placating hand. 

‘Miss these days, you will’, he continued. ‘Miss my own days, I do.’

Stellan shared a glance with Elzar and Avar, but he could see that neither of his friends really knew how to react to that either. 

Yoda nodded serenely and Stellan could’ve sworn that there was a little bit of mischief in his eyes, but he could never be sure.

‘A good day, I hope you have, padawans, hmm’, he said, waving at them and stalking away slowly, leaning on his cane. 

‘G-goodbye, Master Yoda!’, Avar called as Stellan raised his hand, equally confused. 

‘I- I think he was messing with us’, Elzar said, an eyebrow raised. 

‘I’ll be’, Stellan mumbled. 

‘You sound like Master Kant’, Avar said. ‘All posh and proper.’

Stellan raised an eyebrow and grinned at his friend. 

‘You’re one to talk, Avar. You just said posh and proper.’

‘Yes, because I was teasing you, Stel.’

‘You both sound pretentious’, Elzar interjected. ‘See? Now everyone’s happy. Stel, we’re sparring.’

Avar and Stellan turned to Elzar with twin expressions of distaste. 

‘Noone’s happy, El’, Avar deadpanned. 

‘Well, too bad. Sparring time.’

With a broad grin, Elzar took off toward the training grounds. Avar and Stellan shared a glance. 

‘You’d better kick his ass’, Avar said. ‘Or I will.’

Stellan snorted. 

Elzar was already swinging his saber when Avar and Stellan caught up with him in the padawan training quarters. Some other, younger padawans were running through drills somewhere off to the side, but the larger sparring area was empty. 

‘About time you showed, Gios’, Elzar said, with a toothy grin on his face. 

‘Why do you insist on calling me that every time we spar?’, Stellan asked, running a hand through the beard he’d been growing out. 

‘It makes it sound like we’re rivals’, Elzar said. ‘Fighting across the stars- never to stop- not until one day when we finally determine who’s the master- an epic rivalry of mythical proportions.’

‘You got all that from Gios?’, Avar asked, settling down in a meditation pose next to the mat reserved for sparring. 

Elzar gasped indignantly. 

‘Well, I’m sorry Avar, I simply seem to have more imagination than the two of you.’ 

‘You should write one of those holo novels about jedi rivals’, Stellan quipped as he shrugged off his robe, leaving him in his simple temple attire. ‘I bet you’d make good money off that.’

‘Maybe I’ve already done that’, Elzar grinned, stepping in front of Stellan, his lightsaber in training mode and raised. ‘You don’t know.’

‘I think Avar and I would’ve noticed if you were a secret author.’

‘Maybe I’m just really good at hiding stuff from you guys.’

Stellan raised an eyebrow. Elzar was decidedly not good at hiding things- be it the extra food he snuck out of the cantina on ships or the fact that he and Avar had been having a… fling for a while now. 

‘I doubt that, El. You’d burst if you didn’t tell at least one of us.’

‘Stel’s right’, Avar said, her eyes closed. ‘You can hide stuff from others, but not us.’

Elzar rolled his eyes. 

‘Well- maybe you guys just don’t count, alright?’

Stellan felt a warm tug in his stomach. He ignored it- mostly because he didn’t really know what to do with the warm feelings he got whenever his friends were being particularly sweet- or particularly infuriating. 

He let out a deep breath and closed his eyes, settling into a defensive position, his lightsaber raised and ignited in a salute. 

You might not be able to hide things, Stellan thought. But neither of you have seen this yet. 

He opened his eyes and smiled at Elzar. 

‘Are we going to do this, then?’

Elzar grinned. 

‘It’s on, Gios.’

They bowed to each other and Stellan quieted his mind, remembering the hours upon hours he’d spent in the training grounds after nightfall when he knew his friends were off doing something… he wasn’t a part of. He settled into a loose defensive stance, letting the familiar Soresu forms replay in his mind. The position looked weak to the untrained eye, but it was designed to lull the opponent into a false sense of superiority. 

Avar raised her hand, and the duel began. 

As Stellan had expected, Elzar attacked first, whirling around and bringing incredible force down in his first blow. He’d never chosen one form to focus on, not because he wasn’t good at any of them, but because he believed in the beauty of interplay. Master Quarry seemed more than happy to support their padawan’s rather unconventional approach to duelling. 

Stellan blocked the first stroke with ease, pretending to struggle with the second one, as Elzar brought down his blade quickly, effortlessly switching from Shii-Cho to Makashi. 

Stellan gritted his teeth. 

This is going to be harder than I thought, he admitted to himself. I need to stop being so- prideful.

Elzar grinned, pressing his blade down harder and Stellan looked up into his friend’s face, seeing him illuminated in blue from both sides of his face. Elzar’s eyes were positively sparkling- and Stellan wasn’t sure whether it was the sparring, the light from their sabers or something completely different. 

Beautiful, he thought for one moment, before catching himself and planting his feet firmly, twirling a little to the side to send Elzar off balance and kiltering. With another elegant twirl, Stellan caught Elzar’s saber with his own blade before the other could attack again. 

‘Smooth’, Elzar commented, jumping back and beginning to circle Stellan, twirling his saber in his hand, his eyes bright and focussed intently on Stellan. It should’ve been unnerving to have Elzar look at him so closely, but Stellan only felt warmth and appreciation. He liked it when Elzar looked at him. One quick glance to the side informed Stellan that Avar was watching him closely too. The knowledge that both of his friends were seeing him, really seeing him made something warm churn in his stomach. 

With a smile, Stellan closed his eyes. 

‘What are you doing’, Elzar asked and Stellan didn’t need to see him to be able to imagine the disbelieving frown on his face. 

‘Well’, Stellan said. ‘We were talking about secrets, right?’

‘Yes?’, Elzar asked and Stellan could feel him inch closer, his blade drawn.

‘Yes’, Stellan said and he moved to the side before Elzar’s strike could hit him. He opened his eyes quickly, turning around and catching Elzar’s blade underneath his own, clicking the button he’d added just a few days ago. 

With a hiss and a twang, the new crossguards on his saber sprung out, and the containment field of the crossguard hummed to life. 

Stellan heard Avar gasp as Elzar let out a curse. With a satisfied grin, Stellan twisted his hands to the side quickly and powerfully, trapping the bright blue of Elzar’s blade underneath his own. He pushed with all his might and slowly, his saber slid up Elzar’s blade, heading for the hilt. 

But before Stellan could knock the hilt out of Elzar’s hand, his friend had regained his bearings. 

‘Fuck, Stel’, Elzar whispered and within a second, the force was warning Stellan as Elzar simply switched off his saber and jumped back. 

With a little aid from the force, Stellan managed not to tumble to the ground. He looked up at Elzar with a smirk, letting his newly improved saber twirl next to him, sparks flying everywhere as the tip of the blade met the ground.

‘You’re going to have to show me how you did that later’, Elzar said, with a broad grin on his face as he reignited his saber. ‘But first, I’m going to snatch that shiny new saber out of your hands.’

Stellan smirked and he could feel how much the unfamiliar expression excited Elzar. 

‘I’d like to see you try, Mann.’

Elzar’s grin darkened and Stellan could see… something in his eyes, something that made his chest feel weirdly tight. 

‘Oh’, Elzar whispered, performing an intricate twirl with his saber that lit up his face with quick flashes of light. ‘It’s going down, alright.’

Stellan was dimly aware of Avar in the corner of his eyes, looking more and more interested in the duel. The younger padawans who’d been running drills had stopped in their ministrations as well to watch Elzar and Stellan spar. Stellan focussed his eyes on Elzar’s, trying to catch even the smallest of hints about what his friend was planning. 

Remember, he heard Master Kant’s voice in his head. You must be as calm as the eye of the storm. 

Stellan let out a gentle breath. 

As calm as the eye of the storm, he thought. 

With another breath, he let go of his pride, of the strange warmth in his stomach and simply focussed on the moment. And he wasn’t a second too late, because Elzar came charging toward him, saber raised, dealing quick and heavy blows, one after the other. 

It wasn’t easy to deflect them, but Stellan felt his muscles respond accordingly as he ran through the forms he’d spent so many hours perfecting at night. With every block, he gave a little ground, feeling the wall behind him grow closer and closer. 

They were evenly matched- they always had been, and they were both aware of it. No matter how much Elzar might talk, they also knew that they’d forget who won the last duel in a few day’s time. It wasn’t so much about winning, usually- at least it wasn’t supposed to be. Stellan liked sparring not because it allowed him to beat his friend in something- he liked it because it felt like he was dancing- like they were intertwined in an intricate waltz, trading blows, but not truly hurting one another. He loved seeing the innovative ways Elzar combined the styles just as much as he loved seeing Avar’s Shien up close. 

As Elzar slowly pressed Stellan back towards the wall, Stellan felt himself fall into an easy rhythm. He wasn’t using his full force- neither was Elzar- but he could feel the meditative trance that Master Kant had told him about settle over him. 

As calm as the eye of a storm, he thought, again. He could almost feel the wall against his back. Then, in a smooth motion he hadn’t even had to plan, Stellan pressed his saber against Elzar’s, using his new crossguard to lock it in place again and before Elzar could even think of turning his saber off again, Stellan had turned them around so Elzar’s back was facing the wall. With a quick and gentle force push, Elzar’s back hit the wall and Stellan stretched out his arm, his saber hovering inches away from Elzar’s throat. 

‘Yield’, he whispered, surprised by the depth of his own voice. He felt… slightly shaky. 

Elzar stared at him with wide eyes- and somehow, the usual deep brown looked almost black, and Stellan could see the light of his saber reflect in Elzar’s eyes. He didn’t know why the image burned itself into his mind. 

‘Yield’, he repeated, stepping a little closer, not breaking eye contact. He didn’t really know why he didn’t want to look away from Elzar- the depth of his eyes, the slight darkening of his tan cheeks, the way his mouth was hanging open just a little- be it out of surprise or to let out the silent pants of exertion and maybe something else. 

‘I- I yield’, Elzar whispered. Stellan stared into Elzar’s eyes for a moment longer, cataloguing just how… warm the sight made him feel. Then, he extinguished his lightsaber and reached out a hand. 

‘G-good match’, he said, clearing his throat. 

Elzar took Stellan’s hand, stepping a bit closer to him. 

‘Good match yourself’, he answered, his voice slightly raspy. Stellan had no idea why that sound made shivers run down his spine. ‘Well won.’

Stellan only nodded dumbly and if it hadn’t been for Avar walking up to them slowly, he was sure that Elzar and he would still be standing there, holding hands and staring into each other’s eyes. 

‘You’ve been training’, Avar said quietly as she reached the two of them. 

Stellan blinked once and squeezed Elzar’s hand tightly before letting go and turning to Avar. 

‘Ah- yes- I- well, I’ve had a lot of free time in the evenings lately- and Soresu is very relaxing. Meditative.’

Avar only blushed slightly at the implications, but as always, Stellan didn’t comment. 

It’s not my business, he reminded himself. 

‘Well, it’s paid off, Stel’, Elzar said, obviously having gotten over his momentary speechlessness. With a grin, he threw an arm around Stellan’s and Avar’s shoulders, pulling them both close. 

‘Now’, Elzar said, with a grin on his face. ‘The three of us are going to get some lunch and you’ll tell us exactly what you did to that lightsaber of yours, because that is nasty.’

Stellan rolled his eyes good naturedly and let himself be led out of the training grounds. Whatever those strange feelings were, he would deal with it when the time came. For now, he and Avar were swept away by the human whirlwind that was Elzar Mann.