Troopers understand duty, they are after all manufactured for the war as much as Obi-Wan hates to think that way.

That however doesn’t mean they don’t feel hurt.

Doesn’t mean that they can’t feel like you’ve betrayed their trust and fair be, Obi-Wan has betrayed everyone’s trust even if he’s doing his duty as a Jedi of the Republic.

He gets it.

That doesn’t mean he has to like it, especially combined with Anakin’s anger and Ahsoka’s sad disappointment.

And he certainly doesn’t have to like the cold professionalism Cody and the rest of the 212th display or Anakin’s surprisingly scorching ‘cold’ shoulder.

And Ahsoka, for all that they have forced her out into a war, is still a child, a child he has disappointed. Obi-Wan will not make her choose between the adults and instead just quietly smiles at her and gestures for her to follow Anakin when she seems to hesitate.

Holding onto anger is not the Jedi’s way she knows.

But Obi-Wan understands.

Anakin doesn’t handle loosing people well and what Obi-Wan did…

So he lets the treatment continue, spanning from days to weeks after his return from his mission.

It hurts of course, he won’t deny that and from Anakin, it feels hypocritical considering the ‘secrets’ he thinks he has and what Obi-Wan knows he’d do to protect the people he cares for. And the Chancellor is a friend of Anakin, he’d go far for that friend.

But Obi-Wan understands, he failed them even as he did his duty, duty that personally hurt them even if the 212th at least understood why.

Hurt is a hard emotion to handle and Obi-Wan understands.

That doesn’t mean he handles their rejection, professionalism or coldness well, retreating to his room when there isn’t either a planning, battle or conversation with the council in progress.

He’s… isolated, to say the least.

‘When was the last time I was this isolated?’ Obi-Wan wonders, fiddling ideally with the ration bar he had grabbed before putting it aside and pulling his pad over instead. He’s not really any hungry, so he can get some work done instead.

Not that he’s been hungry all that much lately if he was honest, waking nauseous as he has with only a cup of tea in the morning to try and settle his stomach.

And eating in the mess was…

No, he’d rather not sit alone at a table in the mess with the emotions pounding against his shields.

So, eating and working in his quarters it was, not that the ration bars were all that… interesting if he was honest.

A bland smile crossed his lips. ‘Anakin or Cody would hunted me down and forced me to eat it before, watched until they were sure it was gone… or gone and searched for something else if we had the time and resources for it… maybe a kelpbar if I was lucky…’ He mournfully mused.

The thought seemed to echo through him, Obi-Wan’s hands shaking before a muffled sob escaped him, the Jedi master dropping the pad to cover his mouth in surprise even as his eyes watered.

Blinking rapidly, Obi-Wan tried to control himself, tried to push the emotions into the Force just for it to keep building, tears rolling down the back of Obi-Wan’s weathered, callused covered hands.

Hunching over, Obi-Wan wrapped his shields around himself tightly, not wanting Anakin or Ahsoka to catch him as he let go, sobbing into his own hands for all that he had lost. The trust, the companionship, the care and the friendships.

‘I’m sorry!’

()()()()

Nibbling on her bottom lip carefully, Ahsoka watched Master Obi-Wan’s back as the other retreated from the command space.

Ever since the whole Hardeen fiasco as she had come to call it, everyone had been upset at Master Obi-Wan, including her but she was honestly starting to get rather worried. In the beginning, it hadn’t seemed like the human Jedi had made much notice of the cold shoulders he was getting from Anakin but…

Well, Ahsoka wasn’t an expert on humans but master Obi-Wan was starting to look unhealthily pale, though the fact that he had mostly managed to grow out his hair and beard covered it more up once again.

There was however a fine tremble in his shoulders now that she was watching closely, one he seemed to try to hide as one of the shiny’s interrupted his path, a pad in his hands and questions on their lip.

Maybe a requisition order?

Master Obi-Wan was smiling, but there was something blank in his eyes and had Master Obi-Wan’s profile always been that sharp?

Nervously, Ahsoka slid to Anakin’s side, tugging at his sleeve while mentally bolstering herself, eyes half on Obi-Wan still. “Snips?” Anakin raised his brows, blinking down at her, though she noted with some pride that she was catching up to the man. “Something up?”

Licking her lips, Ahsoka tilted her head to the hallway. “I know you’re upset with him,” That was saying it mildly but saying he was angry with master Obi-Wan wasn’t a good idea she felt. “But doesn’t Master Obi-Wan look gaunt?” Ahsoka questioned, holding onto the others sleeve as she saw from the corner of her eyes that Obi-Wan saluted the trooper and started walking once more, though her main focus remained on her master.

She therefore got to see Anakin go stiff, thundering frown darkening his face before his eyes narrowed at her words, his gaze shooting to the hallway.

Due to her attention being on her master, she missed the sight of Commander Cody tensing behind her, the man’s attention also shooting to the hallway.

Which was why they all got the full view of Obi-Wan falling forward, the human male hitting the floor with a dull thud that seemed to echo all the way back to the now silent and shocked command, the shiny that had been talking to Obi-Wan looking spooked as he stared at the Jedi master from his position nearer the room than the General.

A second of cold, unnerving silence seemed to echo before Anakin ripped his sleeve out of her grasp and ran forward. “OBI-WAN!” He roared out, his worry plain even without the Force as it pressed down on everyone, the blond practically teleporting to his old master’s side with Cody not far behind.

Obi-Wan Kenobi however remained oblivious to the concern, sprawled on the durasteel floor of their current setup, dead to the world as his nose oozed blood onto the cold, metal floor.