Office hours [all day]

[sith_happened]

Anakin decided that when Luke hadn't contacted him on Sunday for his birthday dinner that Rory had told him everything.

The wall of I'm Fine, Really that Luke was throwing up through the Force was almost as painful as Rory's numbness.

But Anakin was a teacher, dammit, and his personal issues were just that.

So if anyone was looking to stop by the door was open as Anakin stared at a beautiful jewel of a planet as it hovered in the middle of his office.

[ooc: open, though I work all day so sp is love.]

Comments

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

River had practised keeping people's thoughts and feelings out of her mind during the past week. Perhaps it wasn't essential to see Anaakin again for that reason, but she felt a little silly for trying to wind him up last Thursday in class when something was clearly bothering him. Not that she intended to bring that up, but a visit might make clear that she wasn't proud of her behaviour.

She knocked on the door. "Hello?"

[sith_happened]

Anakin looked away from the planet in front of him and gave River a small smile. "Come in, River."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

Quietly entering the room, River's gaze moved from Anakin to the planet floating in the room. "Where is that?" she asked, smiling a little nervously.

[sith_happened]

"This is Naboo," Anakin said, "my wife's homeworld. It's still one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

Tilting her head, River reached out a hand towards the planet. "Tell me about it?" she asked.

[sith_happened]

Anakin gave her a shy smile. "It was the first place I'd ever been that had fountains full of water. I was nine years old--on my homeworld water was precious, hoarded. On Naboo, it was art."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"Precious commodities in abundance." River smiled a little nervously. "Properly controlled, water creates prospeity."

[sith_happened]

He nodded. "Naboo was a beautiful place. I haven't returned in years. It's not the same now that she's gone."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"What happened to her?" River asked uneasily, not sure if this question was too intrusive. Still, she guessed Anakin was a person who would refuse to answer if it was.

[sith_happened]

Anakin didn't meet her eyes and the absolute vacuum of emotion coming from him was a pretty good indication of how much effort he was putting into making sure River didn't pick anything up from him.

"She died."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

Wincing from the lack of feeling, River just nodded, deciding that this was not a subject to pursue further. "Am sorry," she said finally.

[sith_happened]

"It's an old wound," Anakin said, finally looking up. He waved his hand and the planet disappeared from view. "I should stop poking at it. It'll never heal that way."

He smiled at River. "I'm sure you didn't come in here to get bombarded with my issues."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

She'd come here to see if he was still upset after she'd tried to wind him up last Thursday, but she wasn't going to tell him that. "I've practised," she said. "Am improving."

[sith_happened]

Anakin sent a small wave of pride towards River. "I'm glad to hear it," he said, giving her a smile.

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

River returned the smile, happy that he was pleased, but then looked nervous, as she really didn't have much else to say. "Shouldn't disturb you any longer," she finally said.

[sith_happened]

Anakin waved his hand in a soothing gesture. "You weren't disturbing me," he said quietly. "I hope I didn't upset you last week."

It was as close as his pride would let him come to an apology.

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

River smiled again, this time looking relieved, and shook her head. "Sorry about... experimenting."

[sith_happened]

Anakin waved it off. "Don't be. You have to learn barriers somehow, and I was certainly giving you incentive to prove something."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

Smiling quickly, River looked relieved. "At least the flying was enjoyable."

[sith_happened]

Anakin smiled back. "I'm glad. It's always been a release for me. Up in space, you can't hear anyone else's thoughts."

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"Quiet," River agreed. "Less distractions."

[sith_happened]

"And in a starfighter, no one but you to be held accountable if something goes wrong," Anakin added.

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"Makes things easier," River smiled half a smile.

[sith_happened]

"I always thought so," Anakin agreed, smiling back. "I'll see you in class?"

[moonbrain-tam.livejournal.com]

"Unless something unforseen happens," River replied. This was Fandom after all. She turned towards the door.

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

Sometime during Master Skywalker’s office hours, a pink-haired origami ninja came skipping by intending to leave an apology (http://images.businessweek.com/ss/06/08/pluto/image/solar_system_model.jpg) for her behavior last Friday. Only instead of only having planets, the small mobile had a few (http://www.union.ic.ac.uk/scc/icsf/library/history/picocon22/xwing/37.jpg) other brightly (http://www.starwarsorigami.com/Naboo%20Starfighter3.JPG) colored items circling the center masterpiece (http://www.starwarsorigami.com/Death%20star3.jpg). She knew better than to poke at a flight instructor during a public class. If it had been a private lesson, maybe, but she shouldn’t have been teasing him with other students around.

Anemone paused briefly to try and figure out if she could hang it on the doorknob and dash before he saw her.

[sith_happened]

"You may come in, Anemone," Anakin said quietly. "I won't bite today."

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

There was a slight 'eep' and a thunk, and then a sheepish Anemone poked her head around the door. "Er. I forgot about the telepathy thing. So much for sneaky."

"I wanted to apologize for teasing you on Friday during class. I knew you were in a bad mood, and it was a combination of wanting to cheer you up and wanting to get some sort of response. I'm used to having no control over my life, so I tend to push boundaries with people as a way of reassuring myself that I'm a real person. It was out of line for me to do it during class." She sheepishly held up her creation. "I'm still working on the people-skills thing, so I made something. I usually feed people instead of trying to apologize, but John ate all my quiche."

[sith_happened]

Anakin gave her a wry smile. "I'm guilty of that behavior myself," he admitted. "It's very hard to stop yourself from pushing just to see what happens. The apology isn't necessary."

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

"No, it is. I'm not apologizing for the joke itself, just for my timing and my snotty behavior when you rightfully told me cut it out. You're the instructor, and it's bad form for me to not take you seriously during a class." Anemone grinned and tipped her head to the side. "If you had been one of my instructors from U.F. Force, I would have gotten smacked upside the head. Hard. I prefer the verbal twacking you gave, my brains are rattled enough as-is."

[sith_happened]

"I prefer to leave hitting to other instructors," Anakin said. "The apprentice braid that young Qui-Gon has in class? I had one for years. I believe I'm this tall because my master yanked on it so much to get my attention."

[death-of-hope.livejournal.com]

"Were you that easily distracted by shiny things as a child, or was it part of the contrary nature?" Anemone giggled. "I always got the 'Anemone, you have until the count of three. Then you won't get an option' speech, which quickly followed by promised reprisal. I wish I had a braid to be yanked instead. I wouldn't mind being taller."

[sith_happened]

"I didn't get the count," Anakin said. "I got a Look, instead."

He smiled. "Obi-Wan had that down to a science."