#obimaul fic

[adh-d2]

Lil' Obimaul fic snippet

Two Men and a Baby Zabrak AU

[Part 2 here]

Summary

In which a disastrous attempt at ambush and subterfuge on both sides leaves Obi-Wan and Maul trapped on the ruins of Dathomir. Maul needs Obi-Wan alive for his lightsaber and his intel. Obi-Wan needs Maul alive to teach him what the hell to feed this abandoned baby he's found...

Word count: 570 | WIP | SFW | Dividers by @xurengu0

Maul gives a sidelong glance to the bundle that hasn’t even stirred in Obi-Wan’s arms.

“Perhaps there is a reason it was left for dead. It has no survival instincts to have slept through all that.”

Obi-Wan bristles, torn between a twinge of shame at his own actions and the strangest instinct to defend the child’s honor.

“I told you, he’s hungry. He cries the entire time he’s conscious. I-I’m enlisting a little help from the Force to keep him asleep for now. I don’t want him to suffer unnecessarily.”

“Then you should smother it before it wakes.” Maul doesn’t even break his stride, his eyes still scanning their surroundings like the predator he is. “Even if we find something to feed it, it will hunger again. It will be cold. It will cry for its mother, and she will remain too dead to soothe it.” His voice is low, conversational, as if he were discussing something as mundane as the weather. “To live is to suffer.”

Obi-Wan is silent for a long moment. The wave of contempt he braces himself to feel, then release into the Force, never comes. Instead he simply observes Maul. He watches the way the zabrak’s body moves as if on autopilot; as if hunting for food with nothing but his wits and his bare hands was so mundane to him as to become instinct. His horned head shifts in response to a near-imperceptible sound, and as his eyes catch the light his pupils seem to disappear in a flash of refracted glow. ‘He can see in the dark’ Obi-Wan thinks, a dormant memory of his studies of zabrak physiology returning to him. There was a time, not long after Naboo, when he’d obsessively trawled the archives for any information he could find on Dathomirian zabraks. ‘Well, the adult ones at least’ his mind ruefully supplies, aware of the weight of the infant in his arms. He’d hidden those long nights of research from everyone at the temple, knowing the mind healers wouldn’t approve. Something about unhealthy coping strategies. Even now he couldn’t explain exactly why he did it beyond the fact that he’d needed to know. if he’d just had the information, was there any weakness he could have exploited, anything else he could have done…Obi-Wan wrenches his thoughts away from the past. The man before him looks every bit the nightmare that has haunted Obi-Wan’s dreams for the past decade. For all of the countless hours that Darth Maul had consumed his thoughts in the years since Qui-Gon’s death, for all of the agonizing and analyzing and ruminating, Obi-Wan still finds himself unprepared for the reality that the Sith is walking right beside him.

 ‘But he is,’ the whisper of a thought sounds just like his old master. Obi-Wan takes a steadying breath, relaxes his shoulders, and centers himself on the present. On the living force. For perhaps the first time since their fateful duel all those years ago, Obi-Wan looks at Maul and allows himself to simply be curious.

To live is to suffer, he’d said.

“You’ve fought awfully hard to stay alive, for someone who believes that.”

Maul’s head swivels to face him, the hunt forgotten, and Obi-Wan finds himself pinned by the intensity of his stare. It is impossible to focus on anything but the weight of the Sith’s undivided attention.

Maul opens his mouth to speak-

and the infant begins to wail.

[Link to Part 2]

Yo, I figured I'd put this at the bottom rather than the top, but this is the first piece of fanfic I've posted. Like, ever. Anywhere. I guess I'm a writing blog now? It feels weird to make any kind of fuss about it, but just as fucking weird to post it without context.

Anyway, I'm hoping to keep writing this and turn it into a properly fleshed out AU, but just in case the mice in my brain move on to other things, I wanted to put this snippet out in the universe.

[severenireincarnated]

Reserve AU - Sith!Obi-Wan and Jedi!Maul

Based and inspired by this absolute banger of a fic “Polite company”, written by @spicedrobot 💖💖💖

[thedynamicworm]

Man I love how any ship with obi wan just works. He really is the multi purpose tool of shipping

[spicedrobot]

Obi wan is in charge of shepherding Maul back to the temple after a disastrous mission saw Maul lose his memories. However, Maul is left with strong, complicated emotions for his carer, which he doesn't not interpret as hate... Aka Obi-Wan can't make two steps without Maul flirting and trying to drag him into bed.

Commander Cody knew who the prisoner was before anyone mentioned him by name. He didn’t know how he knew, exactly. Rumors, perhaps. The GAR was created as the perfect fighting force, but they weren’t droids. They talked. And certainly General Kenobi had never mentioned this man, no matter how nebulous their relationship was. The general was too professional, too closed off, to bring up his past outside of facetious, off-handed comments that could always be more amusement than truth. 

Cody decided, immediately, that the prisoner was ugly. Clawed head, clawed hands, clawed tattoos—everything about him was sharp, marked him as dangerous as a Thunian wart-hornet. He was prone to sneering and snarling, unwilling to be touched though he was in dire need of medical care. Left alone, he watched each medic warily as they checked his readouts and went about their business. That was another thing Cody didn’t understand. The prisoner was a Dathomirian zabrak, red with black tattoos, half metal, with an earring in his left ear. There was only one person he knew that matched that description. Only his eyes… they were a muted brown. A Sith’s eyes, Cody knew, were always yellow. 

His unease only compounded when General Kenobi arrived. The general often looked tired, but now he looked exhausted. He had several burn marks peppering his roughspun robes and an angry, crimson wound across one cheek. His lip was also split, and a deep bruise darkened the underside of his jaw. Cody hadn’t been there when the ambush occurred. But he knew without a doubt that he could thank their new prisoner for every wound on the general. He unfurled his fist, unsure of when he had first tightened it. 

“Thank you for holding down the fort, Commander,” General Kenobi said with a small smile. The expression was empty of its normal mirth. “I can take it from here.”

“General?” Cody replied.

But the man was already walking past him… past him, and towards the prisoner. Towards Darth Maul.

The general spoke the name that everyone had been avoiding, but the single syllable word went soft at the end, unsure. 

The Sith’s dour expression evened out. A placid, neutral mask. He watched the general, unblinking. His nostrils flared once. Cody bristled. Was the zabrak… smelling him?

General Kenobi hesitated again. He stood a few steps away from Maul, watching, waiting. Cody watched too, hand balanced on his blaster. He knew how quickly Jedi could move, and Maul could move just as quick, judging from the poor state of the general. 

The Sith made a sound, a long, low growl. Non-threatening. Considering. “I know you,” he said, at last. A pause, a moue. “Who are you?”

Jedi could be quiet. Eerily so. Cody had walked in on the general meditating, had entered a room a time or two, thinking—knowing—he was alone, only for the general to greet him. General Kenobi went just as quiet now. No movement, no breath, no blood through his veins.  

A flicker. A shudder, so slight as to be unnoticed. He could hear the warmth in the general’s voice as he spoke.

“You’re injured. I can help, if you’ll let me.” 

The Sith grimaced, but he didn’t show his teeth, didn’t coil tight with violence as he’d done before. He nodded, after a few beats, unfurling from the wall and easing himself to the edge of his cot.

Was Maul serious? This had to be some kind of trick. Then, Cody thought of his eyes, hard but dark. His obvious, steely confusion. How he had fought his medics, but hadn't hurt any of them.

Still, Cody took a step forward and to the side, keeping an open angle as General Kenobi approached. The general was unarmed. It didn’t mean he was helpless, but. The feeling in his gut kept churning. General Kenobi couldn’t possibly trust this man. He was more level-headed than General Skywalker, but Skywalker had learned his foolhardiness from somewhere. Cody had also witnessed General Kenobi in some highly avoidable situations, situations that he’d had to clean up himself. This, Cody thought, might be one of those.

The general perused the medkit that was next to Maul’s cot, abandoned by the first medic that had tried to treat him. While his head was turned, Maul’s nostrils flared again. His eyes were fixed on the general, his lips parted, expression lax. 

“Will you show me where it hurts?” the general asked as he faced Maul. Wordlessly, the Sith slipped his robes off his shoulders. 

Tattoos everywhere. Expected. But not the wounds, fresh and angry, burns that he knew matched the general’s. Cody hadn’t thought it was possible for a single opponent to go to toe to toe with him. He’d seen the general kill with effortless precision, a single swing of his saber, the curling of hand into fist. Maul, Cody realized, had been difficult for him to overcome. 

The Sith had older wounds too, harder to see but no less present. And lower, where the man’s artificial midsection began, a mass of scar tissue so complete there was no unblemished skin left. A killing blow. But the man lived and breathed.

Cody felt sweat pebbling at his temple. If he shot to kill, would it even matter?

The general began to touch and prod. The Sith frowned then, but he didn’t fight, didn’t swear or snarl. The general asked Maul to lean back. To turn. Breathe in and out. Hand over the left side of his chest. Then lower, where a spleen would be on a human. The second heart, Cody knew, from the schematics they had pulled for treatment. Bacta was carefully applied, the perfect picture of field care. Were his legs in need of maintenance? The general assured him a droid would be by for inspection and repair.

Then, without hesitation, he touched the Sith’s jaw. The Sith let the press lead him, tilting his head to the side, neck long, exposed. His eyes were half-lidded by then, lips pursed. He had not flinched from the general’s touch. Not once. 

The general held the Sith’s face, thumb balanced beneath the swell of his lower lip, while he administered the hypos. Cody knew his eyes weren’t playing tricks on him. He was alert, so keenly focused as if he was still on the battlefield. 

The Sith was relaxed. He had leaned into the general’s grip. And the general had let him, had held him for a few moments longer than necessary. His thumb had even slid over his chin, once, before he withdrew. 

It was bizarre. Inappropriate. It was a thousand things that burned and smarted and confused. The general never touched anyone outside of a friendly clap on the shoulder. Cody could not see the general’s face, nor did the general see his own. 

He was glad for it. 

Only his training, his unerring loyalty, kept him from turning away, kept his hand on his blaster still, though there was no longer a reason for it.

Not with the soft question that came again from the dark-eyed Sith, free of anger or threat. 

“Who are you?”

The general told him. Quietly, the Sith repeated his name. Not general, not even Kenobi. 

Obi-Wan.

This time, Cody looked away, and forced his hand from his weapon.

-

Next chapter ->

[owlarchimedes]

Snippet from my unpublished obimaul wip because I want to share 👉🏻👈🏻:

“Kenobi,” Maul growled. 

Kenobi’s blue eyes were almost comically wide. However, he didn’t look as angry as Maul believed he would; instead, he looked almost…relieved to see him. 

“Maul,” he breathed, the wind knocking his hood down, which he didn’t bother to fix. 

Against his will, he felt the fight burning alive in his chest die. Kenobi’s almost palpable excitement in the Force from seeing him, the man who killed both his master and his lover in front of him, was almost heartbreaking. How beaten down must he be, to be anything but horrified by Maul’s presence? 

It knocked the wind right out of his sails. 

“I have to say, it is a shock to see you, old friend,” he smiled softly. “I had believed you dead yet again. Although, I suppose I should stop believing even death can stop you.” 

Maul just stared at him, unblinking. 

Kenobi sighed at his silence. “You’re worse than the Force ghosts, Maul.” He got to his feet, as graceful as always even if he looked way older than Maul knew he was. He leveled a stare down at Maul, taller than him now that he was standing. “You tracked me all the way to this sandy hellscape, but you don’t have any words for me except to growl my name?” 

But how can Maul explain that his reasoning for being here was utterly gone? The man in front of him was a shell of his former being. Obi-Wan Kenobi, no matter how much Maul tried to break him, was unbendable. 

And yet, Sidious managed it. Skywalker managed. Betrayal was what unwound Obi-Wan Kenobi into this sad, middle-aged man.

Maul couldn’t help but growl again. “I tracked your ass all the way out here to finally enact my revenge, but I can see my Master has done the work for me yet again.” 

His lips twisted, almost a smile, almost a grimace. “Yes, well, this new Empire is quite stifling, isn’t it?” 

Maul snorted. “I’ll say.” 

[starpains]

I just woke up and I dreamed an amazing modern!au obimaul fic idea:

Obi-Wan’s a sweater-vest wearing prim and proper boring guy (preferably working in academia).

Maul is this pierced-everywhere tatted-from-head-to-toe scary people-cross-the-street-to-get-away-from guy (preferably a tattoo artist).

Possible things to include:

It’s a soulmate-identifying-marks!au where Obi-Wan has some ultra common name on his wrist like John Smith or something (Maul changed his birth name to Maul Opress to fit his ‘persona’ better). Maul couldn’t be assed to remember where his own mark is, he covered it with tattoos as an act of teenage rebellion years ago - it had been a very weird name like Obi-something (thing is Obi-Wan goes by Ben cause he doesn’t like his hippie birth name). That’s why they couldn’t find each other, but they meet cause Obi-Wan wants a tattoo and comes to where Maul works and uses his hippie birth name on the intake form.

If not a soulmate!au then Obi-Wan is a psychology professor or something and when he sees Maul in all his modified glory he is very intent on interviewing him for his new research paper about childhood trauma or sth. Maul is offended at first but ultimately agrees and they get to know each other better as Obi-Wan grills him about his whole life over the course of a few weeks.

Maul has a tongue piercing and gives Obi-Wan a life-changing blowjob.

Maul has modded his dick so it’s ribbed OR pierced it all over lol and gives Obi-Wan a ride of his life (if that’s too icky he can just be really into ribbed condoms).

Obi-Wan has some typical guilt/shame/other issues and at first is not ok with being seen with Maul, especially around his work colleagues and friends. It creates friction between them (cause Maul doesn’t give a fuck about showing his professor boyfriend to his pierced and tattooed fam).

Either Maul or his brother Savage have modded their heads to have horn-like things on them.

Maul wears yellow contacts and refuses to tell Obi-Wan his real eye color.

[eli-little-workshop]

Inktober day 26

Took the oportunity to draw the twins together :)

[batsyl]

Since this fic will be completed in about a month (we are at chapter 28/34), I wanted to make some self-advertisement again.

I wrote a ObiMaul fic called "The Way of Two" and maybe you want to give it a read?

I send the boys on a scavenger hunt through the galaxy in an attempt to stop Sidious from winning the war. And next to prophecies, adventures and lots of bickering, I make them fall for each other and deal with *gasp* emotions.

It’s 250k and I’m very proud of it, so yeah!

Here’s the link:

[maulfucker]

the obsession is mutual

[thechaoticfanartist]

Gen

M/M

Warning(s): Major Character Death

Character(s): Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Maul

Relationship(s): Obi-Wan Kenobi/Darth Maul

Additional tags: Grief/Mourning, Angst, Episode: s03e20 Twin Suns, Obi-Wan Kenobi-centric, Missing Scene

Summary: Obi-Wan buries Maul on Tatooine

Read On A03

It was over.

After all of these years it had finally come to an end.

Maul was dead. Obi-Wan held his body in his arms.

Despite all of the suffering Maul had caused him, Obi-Wan still comforted him in his final moments. And with his final breath, Maul had assured them both that Luke would avenge the two of them. Not just him - not just Maul. He had said “us”. Maul had said; “He will avenge us.”

After spending a lifetime of harboring hatred in his heart, hunting for revenge - he died promising both of them would have it. Of course, Obi-Wan knew that it wouldn’t be for revenge. But the sentiment meant more than he could put in words.

And now he held his body in his arms. 30 years after he thought he had initially killed him on Naboo. He lay dead on Tatooine, in his own arms.

The Jedi Master was surprised by the tears that suddenly began to fill into his eyes. He didn’t really have a reason to grieve the former Sith. He had taken so much from him. He had succeeded in making him suffer - even if he hadn’t believed it was enough. And by now, Obi-Wan had lost so much more.

Yet that pang. That all too familiar pang of grief, began to spill into his heart. By now grief was an old friend, just as Maul had been an old wound.

An old wound that he could finally let heal, and lay to rest.

Carefully he set down Maul’s body. Laying it on the sand. He knew he couldn’t just leave him here. Despite all that had been done, he knew that he deserved peace too. He had gone all of his life without it. Maybe just for a moment in death, Obi-Wan could offer that to him.

He had only the moonlight. Maul had extinguished his campfire moments before their final confrontation. But the light of the moons was all that he needed.

Obi-Wan carefully picked up the two halves of Maul’s lightsaber. He set them together, still broken but given an illusion of being whole. He placed the lightsaber pieces on Maul’s chest, and gently rearranged his hands to be holding them.

Obi-Wan stood up and overlooked his body. Again he found himself surprised by his tears and the grief.

He reached out into the Force. Closing his eyes as he fell into its gentle embrace.

Something about the lack of Maul’s cold presence even though his body was right before him, only solidified part of the Jedi Master’s grief. And also it gave him some relief. Maul was really gone. And while that surprisingly hurt, a part of Obi-Wan could now rest knowing that he could move on. Both of them could. Even if Maul was gone now, he was simply one with the Force. All living things joined with it eventually, it did not matter the path they set on in life.

He let the sand sink underneath Maul’s body. Carrying him with it. Deeper into the ground. Then he allowed the sand to cover him up. Burying him where everything had started all of those years ago.

Obi-Wan opened his eyes. He looked down at the unmarked grave. He was silent for a moment. He would have to leave soon, and he knew that. But he stayed, because the moment he left, he knew he would never return. Maul was gone. It was really over.

“Goodbye, my old wound,” he finally said softly. “Maybe now we can both heal.”

Tag List (let me know if you want to be added or removed) : @padme--amygdala @soclonely @mrfandomwars @jgvfhl @starlonkedd @andorlorian @togrutanduin @jedi-valjean @one-real-imonkey @traygaming @keoxus @veiled-in-stars @sentineljedi @spicysucculentz @it-was-rose @thejediprincessqueenofnaboo @veradragonjedi @arrthurpendragon @shrinkthisviolet @thebrainofocto @forloveofcodywan @mandalorian-general + @autistic-mandalorian since you expressed interest

[adh-d2]

Lil' Obimaul fic snippet

Two Men and a Baby Zabrak AU

[Part 1 here]

Summary

In which a disastrous attempt at ambush and subterfuge on both sides leaves Obi-Wan and Maul trapped on the ruins of Dathomir. Maul needs Obi-Wan alive for his lightsaber and his intel. Obi-Wan needs Maul alive to teach him what the hell to feed this abandoned baby he's found...

Word count: 537 | WIP | SFW | Dividers by @xurengu0

It is sometime in the night, deep in those unknowable hours after most nocturnal hunting species have settled, but before the first rays of dawn. Kenobi is asleep on his back atop a makeshift bed of his own cloak and outer robes. He sleeps the still and silent sleep of a field soldier – that particular mix of exhaustion and discipline which allows one to lay their head wherever and simply shut down, knowing that the time until their next rest is never guaranteed. Maul does not wonder how long into the Clone Wars it took Kenobi to learn this particular skill, or whether he has always had it. Maul is meditating. 

There is a scuffling noise to his right, then the sound of tiny hands smashing two pebbles against each other in the dirt. 

Maul is trying to meditate. 

With a deep sigh he cracks his eyes open to observe the little zabrak lift a pebble and attempt to stuff the whole thing in its mouth. Passively, his mind still drifting, Maul wonders if it will choke. But the pebble is rather large, and there is only the soft grinding noises of the infant’s sharp teeth against stone as it gnaws and drools ineffectually. More’s the pity. 

Maul closes his eyes again. 

The grinding noises continue, quickly setting his own teeth on edge. 

Maul opens his eyes, properly this time, and with a tug of the Force rips the pebble out of the child’s mouth. For a moment the creature just sits there stupefied, like a droid with a lagging processor, and Maul’s entire body tenses in anticipatory rage at the incoming shrill cry. The infant’s fat orange face scrunches up...and it growls. It’s the tiniest, most pathetic growl Maul has ever heard.  

Still growling, the infant wobbles forward and tries to snatch the offending pebble back into its mouth. Its stubby little arms miss the thing completely. It tries again with marginally better aim, and just before it manages to swipe its prey into one clumsy fist, Maul uses the Force to twitch the rock an inch to the left.  

That pathetic growl intensifies and the infant topples forward to rest its weight on its arms. Maul twitches the pebble again, and a chubby palm is slapped down on top of it before it can go any further. The rock is rapidly shoved back into the child’s mouth and the infuriating grinding noises resume, now with an unsettling overlay of victorious growls and wet suckling. 

It’s revolting.  

Resigning himself to the fact that any attempt at stopping the sound will likely result in worse (and louder) ones, Maul settles back into his meditation. He centers his focus on the noise before turning it inwards to his own disgust, allowing the feeling to suffuse through his torso and into each limb. He feels the familiar cold, coiled, barely-contained stillness settle into each muscle group as he scans upwards from his feet; noticing the weight of his body against the ground beneath his thighs, the way his hands clench as if strangling open air, the knotted tension of his shoulders. When his awareness reaches his face, however, he is unnerved to realize that his lips are still twisted into a slight smile.

[Link to Part 1]

Once again I am here to throw a random chunk of this fic into the void like chum into the ocean. Which is imagery my little OC baby zabrak would enjoy, given I headcanon the species as carnivorous ambush predators.

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

Summary: Obi-Wan and his betrothed do not share a language. They make do.

Author: @jayofolympus-writes

[severenireincarnated]

Reverse AU - Sith!Obi Wan and Jedi!Maul

Based and inspired by this banger fic “Polite company” by @spicedrobot

[thedynamicworm]

I see all your “anakin was found by the sith as an infant” AUs and raise you:

Everything’s the same in Star Wars except the roles for the main cast in TPM are reversed (ie. Qui gon and obi wan are sith, while darth maul is a Jedi, though the Jedi order is still the same) but the events still play out largely the same (maul kills qui gon, obi wan takes anakin on as his apprentice, with palpatine keeping a close eye on his training, though the rule of two would be pretty much ignored by palpatine here, and padme is still saved, this time by maul). Basically the entire disaster lineage are sith in this, barring yoga and ahsoka. I want ahsoka to still be a Jedi in this, so maybe she’s mauls apprentice here.

I can see Obi wan still becoming a general, maybe he is masquerading as a regular military general, so he still gets to interact with the clones. When obi wan is sent to infiltrate the army, palps ends up taking anakin as his full apprentice. Also, I want ahsoka to be the one to

This can either make the prequels more tragic or less tragic, depending on how it plays out. The cast could have something like an almost redemption arc, only to have it ripped away at the last moment, falling back into darkness.

Or, by the end of the clone wars, with Padmes pregnancy and ahsoka convincing him, anakin turns back to the light, killing Palpatine. By this point, Obi wan would have already been secretly turned by either Cody or maul (yes I am a multishipper), so he’s also becoming a Jedi with anakin.

Yeah, I don’t really know where I’m going with this, so anyone feel free to add on :)

[spicedrobot]

what was lost, what was gained Ch. 2

A continuation of my amnesia maul fic. I'm also posting this on ao3 if any would prefer to read there! thanks @bluedaddysgirl for the original ask and @withercrown for the beta. 💕

-

Cody left the medbay. The general had the situation under control, and there was always another fire to put out in the 212th. By the time he made the long trip back to central command, he had only managed to loosen his jaw. 

Shake it off. Focus.

He acknowledged the troopers on duty and got to work. There was a small mountain of reports to get to, so he handled the most egregious ones first. Then he signed off on some requisition orders, adjusted the schedules of a few troopers, beefing up security. They hadn’t planned for a Sith prisoner, after all. If General Kenobi mentioned it later, Cody would be sure to press the issue.

Even if the general trusted Maul’s supposed amnesia, change of heart— whatever—it didn’t mean that it would last. They needed to be smart about this, and Cody didn’t have the Force to guide him. He only had his training and, barring that, his gut, which still hadn’t settled.

If this was the final straw that gave him an ulcer and he got reassigned to security detail like Commander Fox, he would throw himself out of the nearest airlock.

He surveyed the rations and supplies for the voyage to Coruscant. The trip wasn’t planned, but it was also the only good thing that had come out of the Sith’s presence. It gave the 212th a welcome reprieve from battle. The deployments had only grown in length and intensity these last few months, and though he and his men were proud and battle-hardened, they wore down the same as any soldier. 

As he finished his review, his wrist comm pinged. Even through the hazy banding of the holo, the general still managed to look exhausted.

“Commander Cody, please send someone to fetch my datapads and bring them to cell 202 in block two. I will be rooming here for the remainder of our voyage to Coruscant.”

Two-oh-two. The cell across from Maul’s. Cody frowned under his helmet. 

“General. If I may speak plainly…” General Kenobi nodded.  “You’re exhausted, sir. Surely you would sleep better in your own quarters.” He saw fight in the general’s expression and pressed on anyway. “I’ve added a few troopers to security detail, and I’ll personally oversee the prisoner while you rest.” 

The general ran his fingers through his hair, pushing it back from his forehead. It was a mess. All of him was a mess, actually. 

“I would be asking too much—”

“—you wouldn’t.” And even if you did, I would do it anyway. “Would I lie to you, sir?” 

General Kenobi seemed to perk up at that, smiled a small, unguarded smile, short-lived though it was. 

“No, you wouldn’t,” the general replied. Against his better judgment, Cody felt his own lips twitch upward. 

“I’ll be there in five, general.”

“Of course. Thank you, Cody.” 

-

Cody pulled up a chair in front of cell 203. He wasn’t planning on relinquishing his post until the general had gotten proper rest. That meant letting him sleep past the beginning of his next shift. For all that General Kenobi stretched and skirted rules… Well, two could play that game. It would be good for him. Besides, the Sith was more or less inert—as much as that was even possible.

In the cell, secured behind two levels of ray shield, Maul was lounging on his cot. He dragged a clawed forefinger along the metal band on his neck. So the general wasn’t as trusting as Cody had thought… or maybe the Force-nullifying collar was for everyone else’s peace of mind, rather than his own.

Sssrk. Sssrk. Sssrk. Keratin on metal, just loud enough to hear over the hum of the shields. It was, of course, irritating. Cody almost adjusted his helmet’s adaptive sound parameters, but decided against it. He didn’t want the Sith to know that it bothered him. 

Even without the Force, Maul still looked as relaxed as he did when the general had handled him. Half-reclined on his cot, metal legs splayed, head propped against the durasteel wall. He didn’t acknowledge Cody in the slightest. His eyes were cast downward, a dark gaze through darker lashes. 

Cody pulled up Maul’s medical report on his datapad. It wasn’t as useful as he had hoped. A few blaster burns, several lightsaber wounds… including a stab through the shoulder. The general had checked that injury so fastidiously during his examination. Why? Had he felt guilty? The Sith wouldn’t have thought twice about killing him… or his entire squadron, for that matter.

The headache that had begun in the medbay bloomed behind Cody’s eyes. He continued to read.

Sssrk. Sssrk. Sssrk. There was slight cranial trauma, but it didn’t seem like the kind of injury that would cause amnesia. Though their knowledge on this race of zabrak was limited. Few of them ever left Dathomir, and their people were a secretive bunch.

Sssssrk. Sssssrk. Sssssrk. Cody looked up without raising his head, watching the Sith through his visor. The scratching had slowed, elongated, dragging from one side of his neck to the other. The motion looked unnervingly like cutting a throat. Just how sharp were his claws?

“If you break your collar, I’ll be forced to sedate you. Or worse,” Cody warned.

Maul didn’t stop immediately, finishing the motion before the block fell silent. He looked up at Cody then. Cody stared back. The Sith was a frightening figure, even in repose. Cody couldn’t imagine what he looked like normally, yellow eyes drowned in red and black, saberstaff arcing and blazing, singing for blood. The general could kill as easily as breathing. If a Jedi could do that, what was a Sith’s capacity for violence?

“Commander… Cody, was it?” Maul asked. He drew himself up, sitting back against the wall. “I hope you will excuse my… hesitance during your medic’s initial examination attempts. As you know, I was not in my right mind.”

Cody wanted to laugh. “And are you in it now? Your right mind?”

The man’s frown was slight, soft. “No, I suppose not. But I am no longer acutely disoriented.” Maul touched his own face, a seemingly absent gesture. Thumb followed forefinger over chin. He blinked. Caught Cody’s gaze again. The shift was abrupt, the attention intense.

“Would you remove your helmet, Commander?”

Cody bristled. “Why?”

“Let’s call it curiosity.” The way he dragged out the last word, rolling it along his tongue, made Cody’s skin crawl. 

Fear. It was a healthy response, but it angered Cody anyway. He took a long breath. Focused. Maul couldn’t hurt him. He also had to watch the Sith for several more hours. What was the harm in humoring his request?

Cody took off his helmet. He met Maul’s gaze head on.

“Hm. Another clone,” Maul said. He looked away, as if he’d seen everything there was to see. “Though you have a fine scar. Attractive, among my people."

The insult was expected. The compliment was not. What was Maul playing at?

“Thanks,” Cody murmured, wary. “It’s attractive to humans, too.”

Maul smirked. A sharp, mean expression. “Is it now…” he trailed off, as if lost in thought. But his lips remained upturned, as if he was enjoying some amusing joke all to himself. Cody wasn’t about to ask after it.

Exhaustion, when it caught up to the Sith, was sudden. Cody had only just returned his attention to his datapad when he noticed Maul had fallen asleep. The Sith didn’t even have the chance to lay down. It looked like an uncomfortable position.

Cody didn’t wake him.

-

“Commander,” General Kenobi said. His voice was carefully pleasant. He was annoyed. 

Cody kept his own expression neutral. “Sir?” 

The general approached. His inner robe was neatly tucked, but the collar of his outer was folded under itself on one side. His hair was still a mess. His complexion was ruddier than normal.

“It seems I’ve overslept…” He ran his fingers through his hair, as if only realizing its current state. “I was so tired, in fact, I seemed to have forgotten to set my alarms.”

Cody fought the urge to smile. “It was no problem, general. Nothing unusual to report in your absence.”

General Kenobi sighed. “I know it was you, Cody.” The ire in his voice softened. “I appreciate your concern, but there are schedules for a reason.”

“Of course, sir. I won’t adjust your chronos again.” 

I’ll just have Gregor do it. 

“You know I can tell when you’re being facetious. You’re very bad at hiding it.” The general crossed his arms, but his own facade was broken. He shook his head, and then he smiled. It was one of those looks that made Cody feel like he was watching the sun break through the clouds on Kamino. “Thank you, Cody. It was nice getting a full night’s sleep for once.”

He touched Cody’s shoulder and gave it a slight squeeze. Cody could hardly feel it through the armor, but that didn’t matter.

“Of course, sir. Anytime,” Cody replied. They both smiled, sharing that small, short-lived peace. No enemy to fight, no problem to fix. Not in that moment.

Maul watched them through his eyelashes, feigning sleep. He did not smile, but he did experience a sort of strange pleasure from the sight before him, knowing not where the cruel glee from within had manifested.

Next chapter ->

[meadforspeed]

TCW gave me just a HINT of what Ahsoka and Maul could be, if they were allowed to simply annoy the shit out of each other. TDYK is just that. Just more of that. Also, Obi-Wan is there.

Ahsoka doesn't even pretend to get whatever's going on between Ben and Maul, but since there hasn't been any attempted murder just yet, she's trying to be supportive

alas, living up to the family legacy, she is incapable of being supportive without also being kind of an asshole