Master Apprentice
Archive
Balance
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The Jedi Temple echoed with the cries of the dead and dying. Obi-Wan Kenobi walked the deserted hallways alone, just one last time, stepping carefully over bodies and checking each one for signs of life.
There wasn't much; a few Jedi, mostly padawans and initiates, a handful of Dark warriors that had fought at the command of his former padawan, all mortally wounded. He spent a moment comforting any unfortunate enough to still be conscious and then sent them peacefully into the Force.
Master Yoda had already left the planet, at Obi-Wan's insistence.
"You're the only Council member still alive," he had argued. "The only Master. You must survive. Vadar could still return . . ."
In the end, weary and grief-stricken, Yoda had agreed. Obi-Wan knew where he had gone, but he put the knowledge carefully aside, guarding it behind layers and layers of shielding. No one would steal the information from him. Ever.
A small sound drew his attention, and he hurried to a robed figure that was stirring slightly. He knelt and gently turned the man over.
"Mace," he moaned, feeling his eyes fill with tears. "Oh, Mace."
The Jedi's breathing was ragged, shallow, and the scorched hole in the center of his chest revealed why. Force, Obi-Wan thought, not giving voice to it. Just like Qui-Gon . . . He supported his friend's head as a painful cough tore through the ravaged body.
"How many - left?" Mace managed to gasp, his voice pitifully weak.
"Only myself and Yoda," Obi-Wan said, not counting Mace among them as he was clearly dying. "He's gone into seclusion, as I will shortly."
Mace nodded, then grimaced. "Qui-Gon was right, you know," he said, barely audibly.
That statement cut through Obi-Wan's heart like a red 'saber. He closed his eyes against the memories. "No," he said, his voice breaking on the word. "He was wrong to trust me with the boy. I failed, and this is the result."
The dark-skinned man shook his head. "No. No, Obi-Wan. This --- was . . ."
Obi-Wan glanced down at the man in his arms, but Mace was dead, his eyes blank and staring. He laid him down on the cold stone floor and stepped back, watching as the body disincorporated as only those steeped in the Unifying Force could do. Obi-Wan sat back on his heels and finally allowed his tears to fall.
"You did not fail."
The familiar but shockingly unexpected voice made Obi-Wan leap to his feet and turn. There, not two feet away, stood the blue-tinged Force ghost of Qui-Gon Jinn.
"Master!" He started to throw himself forward, into arms that no longer had substance, and stopped himself at the last minute. "Master . . ."
"Yes, Obi-Wan. Mace told you the truth. I was right all along. Anakin was the Chosen One."
"Chosen One!" Obi-Wan shouted. He spread his hands to indicate the disaster surrounding him. "How can you say that? Look at what your fucking Chosen One did!"
Qui-Gon nodded slowly. "Yes. He brought balance."
"Balance? You call this balance?"
"There are always two Sith, no more, no less. Now, there are two Jedi." Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan sadly, with eyes that were still as blue as the knight remembered. "Perfect . . . balance."
Obi-Wan felt his knees go suddenly weak. Balance, he thought bitterly. Yes, of course. Balance . . .
"If I hadn't trained him ---" he said aloud.
"The results would have been the same. My only failing was in not understanding that when I asked you to train him." Qui-Gon told him gently. "If the Jedi had not trained Anakin, the Sith would have. The prophecy would still have been fulfilled."
A glowing blue hand lifted and caressed Obi-Wan's cheek, the touch tingling against his skin. "So, you see, my padawan," Qui-Gon continued, "you did not fail. Only Anakin's death could have prevented this."
Slowly, Obi-Wan nodded, the weight of guilt lifting finally from his heart. He looked up, meeting those eyes he'd always adored. "Master," he began, not really knowing what he was going to say.
But Qui-Gon nodded as if he understood. "I know, Obi-Wan. I know." Again, his master's hand brushed his cheek, and Obi-Wan leaned into it gratefully. "There is one thing I didn't have time to tell you, padawan, as death took me too quickly."
Obi-Wan looked up, not daring to hope, and was nearly overwhelmed by the love shining though that blue gaze. "Master?" he asked breathlessly.
Qui-Gon stepped close, his aura pressing against Obi-Wan almost like a living presence. One hand slipped behind the knight's neck, almost substantial, and Qui-Gon lowered his head. The kiss, when invisible lips met living ones, was slow and tentative and entirely erotic. When it ended, Obi-Wan opened eyes he didn't know he'd closed to see Qui-Gon still standing impossibly near.
"Oh, my master," he breathed. "How I've longed for that."
A glowing hand stroked Obi-Wan's bearded jaw. "Yes. I was a fool, wishing to wait as I did until you were knighted. I had planned to tell you then."
"T-tell me?"
Qui-Gon nodded. "Of my love, of my wish for you to stay always at my side."
This time, it was Obi-Wan who initiated the kiss. Unlike the first, this one was hard and possessive, and sent an arrow of desire straight to the knight's groin. His need for oxygen finally broke them apart, and he grinned as Qui-Gon's gaze skimmed downward to his tented leggings.
"This is hardly the time or place for that, my own," Qui-Gon said with a smile, the endearment heightening Obi-Wan's arousal all the more.
Obi-Wan sobered. "No, of course it isn't. But, one thing still bothers me, Master," he said.
"What?"
"Why now, Qui-Gon? Why didn't you come to me before, when I needed you so desperately?"
"You only thought you needed me," Qui-Gon told him. "You've always been much stronger than you thought you were. And, besides -"
"Besides, what?" Obi-Wan asked when the master broke off. He watched as Qui-Gon's gaze dropped to the floor in what could only be embarrassment.
"I -" Qui-Gon cleared his throat. "I only just learned how to do it."
Obi-Wan felt his eyebrows rise at that. "Master," he said in the patently patient voice normally reserved for unruly padawans, "you've been dead for years. Why did it take you so long to figure out?"
"First of all," Qui-Gon said firmly, "time has no meaning once you're dead. Second, it's not as easy as it looks, especially for someone who spent their entire life concentrating on the here and now. This is - well outside my experience."
Obi-Wan couldn't help but laugh at that. "So," he said when he had regained his composure, trying not to let too much of his hopefulness leak into his voice, "does this mean I can expect more visits?"
"Oh, yes, my Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, stepping close to enfold the knight in ghostly arms that felt as if they were giving Obi-Wan back his life, his future. "Oh, yes."
The End