TITLE: There Is No Try
AUTHOR: Allocin
SUMMARY: Anakin and Qui-Gon are both witness to Obi-Wan's perfectionism. No one demands more of Obi-Wan than himself.
RATING: PG
CATEGORIES: Action/Adventure
CHARACTERS: Obi-Wan, Anakin, Qui-Gon
TIMELIME: Anakin's apprenticeship; Obi-Wan's apprenticeship
A/N: Movieverse only. This is an attempt to explain why Obi-Wan is such a mean-spirited, endlessly unsatisfied, overly-critical person in AOTC.
DISCLAIMER: Star Wars and all related names, places and merchandise, are the property of George Lucas, 20th Century Fox, and whomever else. I make no profit and mean no insult by this venture.

ONE

"Feel the Force flow through you," a voice said, gently permeating Anakin's thoughts so as not to ruin his concentration. "The Force is a partner, not a tool. You must cooperate, not dominate."

Standing on one hand in the apartment he shared with his Master, Anakin focused his attention on the objects scattered around the room. His Philosophy textbook, the coffee table, a datapad about their next mission, the pile of wires and circuits in the corner that would soon become a robot once he had a moment to finish it, all gently lifted into the air, floating effortlessly. Obi-Wan circled him, gently probing Anakin's connections to the objects with the Force, as comforting a presence as it was annoying.

"Only by focusing the mind can you hear the call of the Force. Only by hearing the Force can you choose to obey its commands." Anakin had, of course, heard it all before. These practices were commonplace, as Obi-Wan seemed to feel that Anakin needed the concentration exercises more than any other part of his training. It irked him that his Master couldn't see he was ready to do the levitations without a helping hand. It was the subject of most of their current arguments. He had only been a young child when he had left his mother, but even before then, she had let him figure things out for himself; she hadn't made him do things he didn't want to, or made sure he was always with someone. To Anakin, it was abundantly clear that Obi-Wan didn't trust him, and that hurt more than he cared to admit.

As if sensing his thoughts, Obi-Wan paused in his pacing, lips pursed. Then, after a brief internal debate, he seemed to come to a decision. "I'm just going into the kitchen for a drink. Remain focused, Anakin," he said, and left the room.

Anakin couldn't believe it. His restrictive, restraining Master was finally trusting the Padawan to perform the exercise by himself? The pleasure and satisfaction surged through him, buoying him up like nothing else could until it had all of his attention … and, with a cry, he tumbled to the ground.

Master Obi-Wan strolled out of the kitchen, glass of water in one hand, and leaned against the doorjamb, his eyes quickly flicking over his apprentice's sprawled body. Flushing with shame, Anakin used the Force to banish the fallen objects to their places, all too aware of the smug smile dancing on Obi-Wan's face.

"What did you do wrong, Padawan?" his Master asked. Always what he had done wrong; never what he had done right. Sometimes, Anakin felt he could cry for lack of praise.

"I lost concentration, Master," he answered, and if he sounded petulant, it was because his fall had hurt quite a bit, though his Master hadn't thought to ask him. Obi-Wan's eyes narrowed at the tone, but he did not call his Padawan on it.

"Until you can concentrate with purpose you are a danger to yourself and others, Anakin," Obi-Wan said, in the tone of voice that made Anakin feel lower than dirt. "You will meditate on this, and practice again in the morning. Now go wash up."

For a moment, Anakin stood where he was, torn between the urge to obey his Master, and the urge to argue. It wasn't fair! He was perfectly capable of levitating a few objects; he didn't need someone to hold his hand while he did it. "You have something to say, Padawan?" Obi-Wan pressed, the muscles in his jaw tightened for yet another argument.

"Master, I don't need to meditate on what I did wrong. We've been working on this for months! Just because I'm better than everyone else, doesn't mean you should make me work harder than them on things I can already do! You're always pushing me, and I can never do anything right for you! I bet you never had to train so hard –"

"Padawan, that's enough!" Obi-Wan's stern voice seemed to echo in the ensuing silence. Anakin could have kicked himself for speaking so rashly, and especially for bringing up the past. If there was one thing he knew, it was never to bring up his Master's own apprenticeship to Qui-Gon Jinn. "You will go to your room and meditate on what you did wrong in today's session," Obi-Wan repeated frostily, and Anakin knew he had managed to throw a very large rock into the calm lake that was Obi-Wan.

"Yes, Master," he bit out, and stormed into his room.