Chapter Text
Obi-Wan didn't know what to do. Satine was many things, but a coward had never been one of them. Her voice in that message… She was terrified. He could keep the concern off his face in the meeting, but his heart was pounding.
But his hands were tied. He couldn't bring his men, but he couldn't abandon her either.
There was a time when he wouldn't have even hesitated to drop everything before rushing off. But times had changed. He still loved her, he did, but now-now his heart was split. He wasn't the same man he was before. His 'death' proved that.
It had taken a lot of time after his miraculous return for the ones he loved to warm back up to him, to trust him like they used to. Anakin had been the first to warm up, simply glad he had returned. Anakin had been the most passionately angry to start, but over time he had come to understand Obi-Wan's reasoning, as much as he disliked it. And Obi-Wan knew his padawan; there were few things Anakin could hide from him, and his relief that his master hadn't abandoned him was no exception, no matter what other feelings he got from the situation. Ahsoka had been close behind her master in warming back up to him, trusting Anakin's judgment. She had also seemed to pick up on Anakin's relief, which helped ease her own distress. His men were harder to read as a group, but similarly to Anakin their relief overpowered the hurt. Not that any of them ever showed anything but gratitude for him being back with them, but he didn't doubt that they had been upset.
Except for Cody. They never spoke of it, but Obi-Wan and Cody had some type of wall built between them ever since the incident. Cody never showed it in front of anyone, but Obi-Wan could feel it. He was still hurt. And not just from the lies, but from the treatment he had received after the fact.
Obi-Wan had heard of how none of his men were invited to his "funeral", despite considering himself closer with many of them than some of the Jedi that had attended. It hadn't seemed fair to his men or himself, that the ones he cared about weren't even allowed to properly mourn him. He still never understood the harm that could have come from allowing his men, or at the very least his trusted commander, to attend his funeral, but the council had made their decision.
And that gnawed at Obi-Wan's insides. Because he had realized how much he really cared about Cody, and what his commander thought of him. Obi-Wan never wanted to hurt him, but Cody wouldn't know that the decision was out of his hands. Obi-Wan couldn't deny that he loved Cody, and had for a long time. Because this hurt just as much, if not more, than when he walked away from Satine all those years ago.
He didn't want to make the same mistake with Cody that he had with Satine. He couldn't be a coward this time. But she needed his help. He couldn't let her down again.
It brought him to his commander's door late that night, after asking Anakin for a ship. Anakin hadn't needed much convincing, after all he was lax himself with the council rules, but Cody was a completely different story. He had been so rigidly by the book since the bounty hunter incident, that Obi-Wan truly wasn't sure if he would help or report him then and there for treason. He didn't know how he was going to phrase this, but he didn't have much time. It was simply time to be honest.
He could feel his heart racing as he knocked on the door and stepped back, giving a cough to clear his throat while he waited. For a few moments, he thought Cody wouldn't answer, but a second later the door slid open.
Cody looked tired, dressed in rumpled sleeping clothes and rubbing a hand over his face. He started to straighten to attention when he registered who was at his door, until Obi-Wan interjected. "At ease Cody. I just need to talk to you for a moment. I apologize for the late hour, but may I come in? It's urgent."
Cody gave him a suspicious look, and Obi-Wan tried to calm his racing heart. Cody stepped aside and gestured for him to enter, and Obi-Wan stepped inside carefully. He stayed silent, trying to gather his thoughts while Cody closed the door. It seemed the easiest way to do this was to tell him as fast as possible. Before Cody had a chance to ask what was wrong, Obi-Wan cut in with "Cody, you need to know. I'm leaving."
He saw Cody's eyebrows jump up in surprise, as well as the pang through the Force when he said those words, but Cody didn't have any other reaction to his announcement. Letting out a shaky sigh, Obi-Wan continued with "I had to come tell you first. The Duchess needs my help, and I have to go alone. I need you to know."
Cody remained quiet, listening intently with an unreadable expression as Obi-Wan quickly explained the situation with death watch, the criminals, and how afraid Satine sounded. He couldn't tell if his words were actually convincing or not, but Cody made no interjections and his face and posture remained the same. Obi-Wan tried to make it sound reassuring, like he was only going to be gone for a short time and it was nothing to worry about, but even Obi-Wan could tell that his words weren't very convincing. It was hard to push down the panic at what could happen to her, and how things could be getting worse every second he waited.
Cody didn't meet his gaze as Obi-Wan stuttered to a stop, giving a small nod of his head as the plan was outlined. Obi-Wan expected a protest, but Cody only replied with "Sir, you know I can't in good conscience let you go without at least attempting to change your mind-"
"Cody, I am well aware of that, but the fact is that I cannot bring any troops with me because of Mandalore's neutrality, and I can't stay here and do nothing or ignore-"
"With all due respect sir, I wasn't finished."
Obi-Wan snapped his mouth shut as Cody finally lifted his head to meet his eyes. In a low voice, never breaking eye contact, Cody said "As your commander, I have to advise you not to go. It will be dangerous, and you could be walking right into a trap. From what you have described, it sounds like one already. However," he sighed, looking back down at the floor as his tone turned regretful "There's nothing I can actually do to stop you. Even if I wanted to, I can't. You're a high general. "
Obi-Wan simply stared at him for a moment, speechless. This wasn't what he was expecting. He hadn't come here to get Cody's opinion on his battle strategy (even if it admittedly wasn't one of his best and he would have appreciated his commander's insight-he didn't have the time for this) he just needed Cody to know that Obi-Wan wasn't abandoning him again. Obi-Wan couldn't bear the thought of hurting Cody like that again.
There was a moment of silence while Obi-Wan processed Cody's words. Cody took a deep breath, before reaching out a hand to lay it on his arm. "General, be careful. I don't like this, but I won't stop you. You should go."
Obi-Wan nodded absently, laying a hand over the hand on his arm, before looking back at Cody. His commander had a serious look on his face, and Obi-Wan could feel tears starting to come on. Cody seemed to understand, and for a brief moment, it had seemed like they had broken the wall that formed, able to reconnect again despite what had happened. With a deep breath to try and stay calm, he nodded more firmly and turned towards the door, pulling out of Cody's reach.
His steps slowed and almost froze as he heard Cody say quietly "Be safe Obi-Wan. Come back to me." he couldn't bring himself to respond or turn around, instead pushing through the door.
He had no time to waste. Satine needed him.