Anakin put up the last of the decorations and admired his handiwork. In the galaxy around them, Life Day was a Wookiee tradition, but the Jedi Order was a hotbed of multiculturalism due to the official encouragement of syncretism and Jedi of various species and cultures keeping in touch with their heritages, so some traditions spread through certain lineages or friend groups, and others became unofficial festivals of the entire Order. Life Day, celebrating family, joy, and harmony, suited the Jedi tenets on two counts out of three, and thus was one of the traditions that almost the entire Temple celebrated. Obi-Wan hadn't really been into the celebration beyond a token string of lights and a cup of fancy tea, but Anakin was now a Knight with quarters of his own and had decorated accordingly.
In the privacy of his own mind, he could admit he'd perhaps gone overboard. On the other hand, Life Day only came once a year, and with the Clone Wars a-raging, he needed the celebration of joy, as did the rest of the Jedi.
He went over his to-do list once again. He'd called Obi-Wan, deployed to Felucia, and Mom earlier – it had become a Life Day tradition ever since he seized the chance to go to Tatooine and free her after being captured by pirates at the age of 16 – and he'd left well-wishes to the Chancellor and Senator Amidala, both on Kashyyyk for the main celebrations. He had hung up every decoration he'd gotten his hands on, to the point that the apartment looked more like a demonstration exhibit put together by someone with more product than sense, and the traditional songs would start in a few hours. He had a bottle of mulled wine in the fridge and was looking forward to the communal dinner. Hopefully he'd meet a few people there.
But most of all he was hoping for a soulgoose. Legend had it that if one wished hard enough, the Force would bring forth a soulgoose to guide one to one's soulmate. And what better day to wish on than Life Day, celebration of joy, since wasn't finding one's soulmate the truest expression of joy?
So it was with high spirits that Anakin Skywalker went to the main hall, decorated with a mural of the Tree of Life and a variety of glass orbs for the occasion. The place was only half full, despite being the most popular place to celebrate Life Day in the Temple. He stood at the edge of the crowd and tried to find Master Yoda where he was hidden by Wookiees on the main stage.
"A time of joy, this is," Yoda began the customary gathering. "Of friendship. Of family." He paused gravely. "Lost many, we have, in this war. Lose more, we shall. But gained many, we have, as well – our family, the clones are, no? Find our joy in that, we should."
Then the Wookiee next to him, Master Attarawiik spoke about how the dead had walked into the stars and we should not be sad – Shyriiwook had never been Anakin's strongest language – followed by a brief explanation of what the murals represented. Plo Koon, whose Master had been a Wookiee and who thus was also wearing red Life Day robes, added something, and then the festivities started in earnest.
The lights turned off and everyone automatically made way for the procession. This year, Master Sharrook must've been unavailable, for Anakin didn't recognize the Wookiee leading the procession and carrying the Life Day orb. She walked slowly to the stage and handed over the orb to Master Attarawiik.
Master Yoda used the Force to project the field of stars in the orb over the walls and ceiling. The view itself would've been breathtaking enough, but what truly captivated Anakin was the display of prowess with the Force: the depth and breadth of it, the control inherent in keeping it up for such a long time with all the flickerings in position being intentional, but most of all the sheer beauty of the structure.
The music swelled and Anakin smiled as they reached his favorite part: singing A Day to Celebrate. Obi-Wan had complained that it was much too schmaltzy in Basic, but Anakin didn't care. He joined the chorus of Jedi, singing in more ways than could be called harmonious, but again the beauty was in the Force. They were many, yet one, together in harmony with the Force.
"A day that brings the promise / That one day we'll be free," Anakin sang with the rest of the Jedi, and like every year, those lines stayed to echo in his mind.
Then the song ended and Yoda gradually let go of the projection. Various colored lights turned on instead, bathing the hall in spots of color, and the music turned to danceable pieces. Anakin, now an independent Knight whose mother hen of a Master was offworld, did not go to bed like Obi-Wan would've insisted, but joined the revelers in the dancefloor.
He danced his heart away, letting himself go into the music and motion. He hadn't sneaked out as a padawan to go clubbing, but if it resembled this, he could see the appeal.
The hour grew closer to midnight and Anakin found himself getting tired. He remembered the books on Force phenomena he'd illicitly read as a padawan had mentioned midnight as the hour most likely to produce Force geese, though, so he determinedly stayed up. It would all be worth it.
At a quarter to, he took a bathroom break. On the way back he considered that since meditation was the way to increase one's connection to the Force, maybe he should meditate in hopes of a soulgoose.
He sat down next to the wall and sank into the Force. It had taken some time for him to grasp meditation in general and seated meditation in particular, but when he'd realized he shouldn't open up like Obi-Wan did but rather sink down into the depths beneath him, he'd had much better success. Today was an easy day, the joy of the Jedi around him counteracting Coruscant's general depressive miasma.
In. I am one with the Force. Out. The Force is with me.
He found his inner peace and happiness until someone collided with him. Anakin eagerly opened his eyes, hoping to see his soulgoose, only to find it was Mace Windu.
"Hello, Master Windu," Anakin said. "Happy Life Day."
"Happy Life Day, Knight Skywalker." Windu looked at him quizzically. "Is there any reason in particular you're meditating in a corridor just outside the Life Day party?"
"Midnight is the hour of change and the festive feeling makes it easier to connect to the Force," Anakin explained.
Windu looked intrigued and reached out with the Force as if he'd never thought of that possibility. "I think I see what you mean."
Then the clock struck midnight. Two HONKs echoed through the corridor.
Wait. Two? Wasn't each person only supposed to have one?
Anakin had barely completed the thought when one of the geese charged at him, beak open and terrifying teeth bared. He leaped to his feet with Force-enhanced reflexes, only barely dodging the bird.
Next to him, Master Windu was being similarly accosted and took a step toward Anakin to avoid a powerful swipe from a wing. Anakin froze as he considered the implications-
Windu pulled him to himself by the belt. "Were you perhaps trying to summon a soulgoose?" he asked, unimpressed.
"Uh. Yes?" Anakin did his best to smile charmingly.
"Hm." Windu pulled them away from a final avian assault and looked at Anakin consideringly. "Are you drunk?"
"Only on the spirit of Life Day!" Anakin said, trying to process the fact that his soulmate was Mace Windu. He'd sort of been hoping for Padmé, but he was willing to give this a chance. Besides, if he squinted, he could sort of see why the Force would consider this interesting maybe?
Then Mace slid a hand to the nape of Anakin's neck and all thoughts emptied out of Anakin's mind. "Then I think we should see if we can take care of our goose problem. May I?"
Anakin leaned in and mashed his lips against Mace's. The two geese disappeared with self-satisfied HONKs, and Anakin shuddered as some deep sense of rightness hit him like a sandstorm, reshaped the dunes of his mind and left the world forever changed. He let Mace gentle the kiss and adjust his jaw as he let this sea change wash over him from head to toe.
"What would you like to do next?" Mace asked, slow and careful like how his thumb was stroking Anakin's cheek; Anakin caught the backwash of a multitude of emotions, concern and curiosity and a hopeful anticipation Anakin would not have predicted.
"I have mulled wine I could heat up?" Anakin suggested.
"That sounds acceptable," Mace said and let go of Anakin. Anakin grabbed Mace's hand, unwilling to part for even the short while it'd take for them to reach his rooms.
The conversation they struck up was slightly awkward, but this had been suggested by the Force. Anakin would at least give it a try. Besides, now he had someone to invite for Life Day dinner tomorrow.