Disclaimer : Not mine. Oh well. George Lucas et al own 'em.
Author's Note : Before any of you read this and wonder why
Obi-Wan is so friendly to the boy, I'm assuming that his
relative coolness towards Anakin was prompted by the fact that
Anakin came between him and Qui-Gon. And I'm writing Irneh as
5, but if he seems too mature, that's 'cause he's a telepath
and so is exposed to a lot of mature thoughts/feelings. Oh, and
kudos to whoever can figure out where I got the names Irneh and
Tierza. I'll give you a clue. One of them is the odd spelling
of a name from a famous movie (not TPM <g>).
Timeline : However many years before TPM.
Spoilers : Huge ones for the Jedi Apprentice books. None for
the movie.
Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan waited patiently for their charge to say
goodbye to his guardian of nearly 5 years. "Tierza, why do I
have to go?" the young boy asked plaintively. "I want to stay
here."
"Now, Irneh," Tierza said, crouching down so that she was at
eye level with the humanoid boy, "you've always known that you
were going to have to go to Coruscant eventually. You need to
be trained."
"Aren't you coming?" Irneh pleaded, wide eyed.
"No, Irneh. The Jedi will go with you. You will meet your
mother there. I know she will be glad to see you," Tierza
assured. "Be strong, Irneh. I will see you again." Tierza stood
and backed away from the sad little boy, forcing herself to
smile reassuringly at the boy that had been her son in all but
body for the last five years.
Tears filled Irneh's eyes, but he held them back and turned to
the Jedi. Obi-Wan smiled down at him gently and guided him into
the ship with a light touch, leaving Qui-Gon to say their
farewells. The reluctant boy followed Obi-Wan to his cabin,
looking in at the large, empty room fearfully. "This is your
room," Obi-Wan said.
"All to myself?" Irneh tried hard to conceal his fear of being
alone, but to Obi-Wan it was clear as day.
"If you like," he whispered conspiratorially, "you can sleep
over in mine." As he had suspected, Irneh's eyes brightened at
the thought of company without his having to admit his fear.
"Yeah!" he exclaimed. "That'd be fun."
Obi-Wan smiled at the boy and looked up to see his Master. "Why
don't you settle in, Irneh. I'll see you tonight." He ruffled
the boy's hair and stood to walk with his Master. "He is older
than I expected," Obi-Wan said after awhile.
"It is safe to train telepaths at a much older age than Jedi,"
Qui-Gon commented. "It is the thoughts and emotions of others
that they must learn to control, rather than their own. That
being the case, it was a wise move for Senator Yalni to wait
for her position to become secure before sending for her son."
"Do you ever wish Jedi were allowed to have children?" Obi-Wan
asked curiously.
"No," Obi-Wan said after a thoughtful moment. He shrugged. "I
could not have children with the one I desire in any case."
Qui-Gon raised an inquiring eyebrow, but, seeing his
apprentice's discomfort with the subject, did not press the
issue.
Irneh poked his head tentatively out of his room and edged into
the hallway. He hadn't had many things to put away, and his
room was very empty. To a telepath, especially one without
shields, the whole ship felt empty. He could sense the captain
and the few crew of the small vessel, but they were all very
focused and, to his developing senses, distant.
Just up ahead, though, he could sense the Jedi. They were much
more apparent to his senses, so he found himself the most
comfortable with them. Following the quiet hum of their
thoughts, Obi-Wan's in particular, Irneh found himself in the
ship's small lounge. Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan sat at a table near
the window, conversing in low voices. Irneh tilted his head and
listened to what they were not saying, rather than what they
were.
Of course, since he was untrained, he couldn't sense distinct
thoughts. But he could get a very clear picture of emotions,
especially emotional connections. The connection between
Obi-Wan and his Master, Irneh found, was unlike anything he'd
ever seen before. It was more complex, more intertwined and,
somehow, incomplete...
They noticed him then and, with a smile, motioned for him to
join them. "We were just wondering," Qui-Gon said to him,
"whether your training would be anything like ours was."
"Tierza says I'm going to have to learn how to listen to
people," Irneh said. "Except not just on the outside. I have to
listen to their inside, too."
"That's a lot like what we do," Obi-Wan said. Irneh kept a
doubting expression off his face long enough for Obi-Wan to
add, "but we listen to ourselves." Irneh smiled then, because
that felt much more right to him. If they listened to each
other, he figured, their bond wouldn't feel so unfinished.
Qui-Gon sensed the emotions running through the boy and
wondered briefly what it was about his Padawan's statement that
had evoked them.
"How did you meet?" Irneh asked tentatively.
Obi-Wan looked surprised by the question, but answered easily
enough. "When I was nearly too old to be a Jedi, Qui-Gon took
me as his Padawan."
Qui-Gon chuckled a little at the extreme oversimplification and
elaborated, knowing that, as a telepath, the boy would be
curious about relationships. "I didn't want to take another
Padawan at the time. I had...made some mistakes with another. I
didn't want to ruin another Jedi."
"I wouldn't want any other Master," Obi-Wan assured Qui-Gon.
"But your bond was too strong," Irneh interjected, continuing
the story.
Obi-Wan glanced over at him, eyebrows raised a little. "Yes.
Still, we would have gone our separate ways, but, as fate would
have it, our ways lay in the same direction."
"I have a feeling," Qui-Gon commented wryly, "that Yoda had
more to do with that than fate."
Obi-Wan grinned and continued. "Even though we were not Master
and Padawan, we were drawn to each other. By the time my
Master's mission had reached its end, he knew I was to be his
Padawan."
Irneh's face twisted into a childish scowl. "There's more,
isn't there?" he prodded. Their story didn't explain much of
the bond he felt between them, especially not the broken part.
"That is all," Obi-Wan told him.
"No, there's more," Irneh insisted stubbornly. Then he
remembered one of the talks he'd had with Tierza when his
abilities had begun to manifest and he'd been confronted with
some very confusing thoughts and feelings. "How old were you?"
he asked Obi-Wan.
"Nearly 13."
Irneh nodded as if that explained everything. Tierza had said
that would be too young for the type of bond he sensed to begin
forming. It must have grown slowly. He considered not
mentioning the things he sensed about their bond. After all,
Tierza said that lots of people liked to keep their feelings
inside and would get angry or scared if he brought them out.
But the Jedi didn't feel at all scared, and even less angry. He
wasn't sure they could be scared.
"You're not whole," he said simply, looking first at Obi-Wan
and then at Qui-Gon. It felt good to do this. After all, Tierza
had said he'd be doing this for people when he got home, after
his training.
Qui-Gon regarded him intently. "What do you mean, Irneh?"
"There's a bond between you that isn't finished," Irneh said,
struggling to put into words what he sensed so clearly. "It's
like you're reaching out to each other, but you keep missing."
Obi-Wan glanced at his Master in surprise and found Qui- Gon as
startled as he was. "If you stopped hiding from each other, you
probably wouldn't miss," Irneh mused.
There was a moment of silence and then, with a bright impish
grin, Irneh jumped up from the table. "I'm going to my room.
Don't worry, Obi- Wan, I don't need to sleep over. I'm not
afraid anymore." That wasn't entirely true, but Irneh didn't
want to get between Obi-Wan and his master right now. Tierza
had said he's have to make sacrifices when he came back after
his training.
"Master..." Obi-Wan trailed off uncertainly.
"Come with me, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said, rising. "This is
something better handled in a private arena."
Obi-Wan followed his Master to his quarters, trying not to
allow his nervousness to overtake him. By the time he reached
Qui-Gon's door, he had lagged several steps behind and his
Master was already inside. Taking a deep, steadying breath,
Obi-Wan stepped into the room.
Qui-Gon was standing, waiting for him. He looked calm, relaxed,
and Obi-Wan wished he had that kind of peace. "Padawan," his
Master said gently. "Relax. It's okay." Qui-Gon reached out and
stroked a thumb tenderly down Obi- Wan's cheek.
With that touch, Obi-Wan could restrain his emotions no more
and he realized with joy that Qui-Gon, too, had surrendered to
the passion, the love that he could feel between them. His body
moved without conscious thought and he reached for Qui-Gon with
hands and lips and heart. The touch of his Master's lips
against Obi- Wan's was sweeter than he had imagined. The slick
tangle of lips and tongues continued until Obi-Wan was forced
to break away, breathless.
Taking a moment to catch his breath, Obi-Wan's hands moved to
strip Qui-Gon of his robes. They fell away as if designed for
it, even the boots coming off smoothly. The Padawan was aware,
at some level, that he is also now nude, but his attention was
riveted by the planes of his Master's body. One of his hands
went to Qui- Gon's hip, and the other to brush over the tight
peak of a nipple.
Every touch, every brush of skin against skin deepened the bond
between them. At once, both of the Jedi were overcome with the
need to touch more. Qui-Gon led Obi-Wan to his bed and drew him
down so that the entire length of their bodies were pressed
together. For a moment they were still, enjoying the slow burn
of their desire, savoring the heat of each other's skin and
another deep, exploratory kiss.
After long moments, the urge to move overpowered Obi-Wan and he
felt, through their intensifying bond, that Qui-Gon felt it
also. Obi- Wan began to thrust urgently, his cock rubbing
against his Master's thigh, and the other Jedi mirrored his
movements. Arching up, the younger man pressed his cock more
firmly against Qui-Gon and bent his head to take a nipple
between his teeth.
The action tore a moan from Qui-Gon and the sound inflamed
Obi-Wan even more. Still suckling his Master's nipple, the
Padawan shifted his loins so that their cocks came into
contact. Releasing Qui-Gon's nipple to nibble at his neck,
Obi-Wan began to move faster, more eagerly.
Both men could feel their climax building, the Force growing
strong around them. Together, acting and moving as one, Qui-Gon
and Obi- Wan seized that power and used it to silence their
cries even at they found release. Clinging to each other in the
aftermath, Obi-Wan smiled at his beloved and treasured the
smile he got in return. Truly, their connection was complete
now.
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