Very
little could prepare them for Mace to start cursing before throwing a
credit chip at Qui-Gon, the man cackling loudly as Mace glared at
everyone else. “I’ll pay the rest of you at another date.” He
sulked while some of the council members just rubbed thumb and
forefinger together if they had it in the universal ‘pay up’
motion with sly grins.

Ben
and Anakin traded long glances.

Catching
on, Depa just grinned at them. “We kind of suspected something big
was going on, though… I didn’t expect cloning of all things.”
She blinked, rubbing her chin a bit and sitting back in her seat.

“…So
you started a bet?” Anakin blinked at them with wide eyes.

Qui-Gon
pointed at Mace, still wheezing. “He said he’d feel the
shatterpoint, he said he’d figure it out, that it was that large he
would have felt it and
at least have a guess on it, he has bantha shit at this point,
cloning was never in his list of suggestions.”
Qui-Gon finally flopped back in his seat and wiped his eyes.

“Okaaaay,”
Ben blinked, staring at them, tugging awkwardly at one
earring before shaking his head. “Well regardless, the Sith master
is the one orchestrating
the whole thing through former master Yan Dooku unfortunately and
using Sifo-Dyas
as a scapegoat.”

Of
course that made everyone grow serious finally as Ben and Anakin
explained what the clones were ordered for and how things had gone
down.

Both
Ben and Anakin lost their shit however when Yoda spoke up after the
council had soaked up the seriousness. “Pay me you can with showing
up for dinner with me Mace.”

Finally
the two time travelers were allowed to leave, both mute as they made
their way to the elevator as they knew they would be summoned once
more to clarify details once the council had confirmed the troopers
existence since there was some uncertainty.

Neither
Ben nor Anakin took offense to that… too much that was, there was
some offense on Anakin’s side but he understood the need to verify.

Quietly
they made their way towards one of the gardens for a moment of peace,
knowing to take it while they had it as they knew that once the
troopers were out of Sidious and Plagueis
hands…

Well,
things were going to become terrible.

But
hopefully not as terrible as the war had been and then the
destruction of the Jedi.

Flopping
down on the brownish colored grass and rubbing his hands in it,
Anakin sighed deeply and glanced about. “They’re going to stop
the production of the clones, aren’t they?” He questioned quietly
while staring up at the dome ceiling made of glass above them.

“Most
likely.” Ob-Ben answered, moving around Anakin and rustling around
the bushes.

“…Hopefully
I won’t mess things up again, things went so wrong before and I’m
not sure I can handle seeing Padme again,” The blond grimaced. “I
don’t think there will be a Luke and Leia this time.”

Ben
paused somewhere at the edge of his sight but Anakin didn’t turn
away from the sky he could barely see through Coruscant’s clouds
made of both normal sky and pollution.

Then
he jerked in shock as Ben came over and dropped something on his
head. “Wha-”

Touching
the thing Ben
dropped on his head with a noise of confusion, Anakin looked up at
the other with wide eyes as he pulled the soft thing a bit to see
what it was.

A
flower crown of those yellow flowers that grew everywhere, even
in the temple gardens.

Weren’t
those… weeds?

Why
were there weeds in the temple gardens!?

Invasive
as all hell and could start growing on the worst of planets?

“Dandelions
are flowers that can grow practically everywhere,” Ben
knelt down in front of him, smiling at his padawan as
if he knew what the other was thinking.
“They stand for survival through the harshest of conditions and the
warmth of many
suns
because of their yellow glow. And when they get ready to let go of
their seeds they are also said to make wishes come true when you blow
off all the seeds to let them fly.” He brushed his hand down over
Anakin’s cheek. “Just like you and
me,
they survived not
because they were nurtured but despite
all the shit that was thrown at us
and you glow just as brightly as
these blooms.
They may be weed to others, but to me? They’re quite the beautiful
flower.” Ben
smiled wryly.

Blinking
several time, dropping his hands down in his lap while leaving the
flower crown alone, Anakin
stared at Ben before swallowing harshly and throwing himself at Ben,
clinging to the other man, the only other one who understood all
Anakin had gone through. “Ben…”

“We’re
weeds Anakin, beautiful and flawed and yet alive,” Ben whispered
into his hair, hugging him tightly. “Utterly alive with second
chances… lets not let Sidious win this time.” He squeezed the
other.

Then
he smiled sadly as the adult in a teen’s body started to silently
cry into his tunic, his body shaking.