Turnabout

by KatBear

Title: Turnabout
Author: KatBear (katbear@cox.net)
Archive: MA. Any others please ask.
Category: romance, angst
Rating: NC17
Pairing: Q/others, O/other, Q/O/other
Feedback: Appreciated.

Thanks: To the beta readers who helped with various comments and encouragement (Emu for 2004 version, Merry Amelie and Sian for final version). All mistakes are definitely my own since I can't resist tweaking.
Summary: Qui-Gon finds out the hard way that turnabout is fair play.
Warnings: If you don't like male-male relationships you are in the wrong place.
Spoilers: None, pre-TPM. A few characters from the JA series are included. Disclaimer: The boys belong to George Lucas, I'm just playing with them. No profit is intended or made.

~ ~ Character internal thoughts

Note 1: This story has had a very long gestation period. It was started in 2002, the first full draft was beta'd by Emu in 2004, more revisions in 2007 and 2008, with a new beta in 2009 by Merry Amelie and a final beta by Sian and Merry Amelie for the Con*Strict zine in 2010. Thanks to everybody who helped this thing finally see the light of day. This is the final version after it was released from the Con*Strict zine.

Note 2: The story is a bit long, about 56,000 words, so if you just want a copy of the file drop me an email and let me know if you want doc or rtf and where to send it.

Haunting notes of a soft flute solo in the still air, sinking into silence.

Faint odor of sweet Alderaanian wine.

Thump of boots tossed aside, thud of bare feet, tinkle of glasses being dropped into the sink.

'Fresher door closing, then opening again a few minutes later.

Smoky trace of snuffed candle.

Familiar creak of weight dropping onto the old couch.

A high-pitched laugh quickly smothered.

Subdued whispers, a sudden exclamation.

"Shhh, you'll wake him …"

Even though he'd had plenty of experience in both situations these last few years, it was still difficult to decide whether it was harder to stay and listen to what was actually going on or to go elsewhere and imagine what might be happening out in the common room. He lay on his bed in the darkness, clad only in old workout leggings, eyes closed, breathing shallow, straining to hear.

Rustle of clothing, another smothered laugh.

"... take it to the bedroom... "

Thump.

Bare feet padding across the worn carpet.

Faint click of door closing.

A deep breath was let out slowly as he halfheartedly cursed the layout that left no bordering walls with the other sleeping room. If past experience held true, there would be little more to hear this night unless they got particularly rambunctious. This time it had been a new one, a Lashorian female, perky ears, lush, silky gray fur and deep black eyes, whom he'd met earlier in the evening.

"Ah, you're back early. I don't believe you've met Knight Maresha Lawiq. She has graciously agreed to play some of her native flute music for me tonight."

A nod and brief exchange of pleasantries.

"If you have work to do, we can go over to Maresha's quarters."

Damn him, always so courteous and considerate. "No, no, that's alright. I was just going to finish some reading and turn in early. We both have to attend that pre-breakfast seminar tomorrow."

"Thanks for the reminder. We'll make it an early night also. If you're sure we won't be bothering you..."

"Please stay, it's no bother at all." A quick smile for tonight's companion, a particularly fine-looking one. "A pleasure to have met you, Knight Lawiq. Good night."

Now just the quiet darkness. He ran a hand over his bare nipples, imagining the feel of soft fur against naked skin, hot lingering kisses, a rough tongue against a rapidly hardening cock. His hand moved lower, pushing his leggings down and stroking himself as he pictured the two joining together. Since they both had early calls tomorrow, he knew that for tonight's visitor it would be fast and hard, passion running hot but swiftly slaked for the sake of a night's sleep. Always the dutiful Jedi, he snorted wryly at his envisioned scene.

He pumped faster, also willing himself to a quick climax. Afterward, he wiped himself off and lay in silent misery. He always felt a little dirty, tainted somehow by letting this self-torture go on. The man he loved had always been honest and forthright about their relationship, about not having those kinds of feelings for him, but that didn't stop it from hurting. He kept desperately hoping that someday he would find a way to change those feelings between them, but until then he would take whatever vicarious pleasure he could and guilt be damned. With a final sigh, he turned over and sought refuge in restless sleep and muddled dreams of past events.

Sixteenth Nameday

A chorus of farewells rang through the hallway.

"Great party, Obi-Wan." "Had a wonderful time." "Thanks for the party." "See you in class."

Obi-Wan turned to the last few stragglers and joined them in picking up the debris.

"Thank you. I really appreciate the help in cleaning up."

"That's what friends are for, Obi-Wan," Bant said.

"Besides, what better way to claim the leftover food?" chimed in Reeft as he snatched the last piece of cake away from Garen's reaching fingers.

The friends laughed and made short work of restoring the suite to its normal appearance.

After a final look around, Obi-Wan thanked his friends again as they headed for the door to leave. He smiled when he saw his master come in.

"Good evening, Master Jinn," said Bant as all of the apprentices bowed politely.

"Good evening, Padawans," replied Qui-Gon with a small incline of his head as he stepped inside to let Bant, Reeft and Garen depart.

"Welcome back, Master," said Obi-Wan. "Would you like some tea?" He waited anxiously for Qui-Gon's reaction.

"Thank you, Padawan. I would appreciate a cup before I turn in," replied Qui-Gon. He hung his cloak by the door before looking slowly around. He nodded, a smile on his face. "Things look quite tidy, Obi-Wan."

"Thank you, Master." Obi-Wan began preparing the tea as Qui-Gon walked across the common area of their shared quarters. He had set aside a portion of Qui-Gon's favorite mix, hoping to put his master into a receptive mood for the question he wanted to ask. He hummed happily as he worked.

Qui-Gon went to his sleeping room, emerging a few minutes later, sans his boots, and seated himself on the couch, stretching his long legs out before him. "How was the party?"

"It was excellent, Master," said Obi-Wan as he came out of the small kitchen, carefully placing a steaming mug of tea on the side table near his master before sitting down at the other end of the couch. "Everyone had a good time, and Bant, Reeft and Garen stayed to help clean up." He hesitated a moment. "I wanted to thank you for letting me set up things by myself and convincing the other masters we didn't need a chaperone. I think everyone really appreciated that and was extra careful not to let anything get out of hand."

"You have a been good padawan and have worked hard," replied Qui-Gon gravely. "Not a perfect padawan, of course," a smile tugged at his mouth, "but you are growing up, and you deserved the opportunity to demonstrate that you could be trusted with a certain degree of responsibility. It appears that you have acquitted yourself quite well."

"Thank you, Master." Obi-Wan paused, wiping suddenly sweaty palms on his leggings. The moment he had been planning for weeks was suddenly here, and he felt his stomach fluttering, but he was encouraged by Qui-Gon's words. "Uh, Master, there is something else I wanted to talk to you about."

"Of course, Padawan. You know you can talk to me about anything."

"Yes, Master. It's about, uh," Obi-Wan's voice dropped to a whisper, "about you and me."

"Yes, Padawan?" Qui-Gon replied.

"Well, I've been doing a lot of thinking about, um, us," Obi-Wan hesitated, weight shifting uncomfortably, "actually, about the way I feel about you, I mean, I have these feelings..." His voice trailed off in confusion.

"Yes, Padawan?" Qui-Gon quietly repeated.

Taking a deep breath, Obi-wan slid off the couch to a kneeling position, words pouring out in a rush. "Master, I have been thinking about this for a long time and I want you to know I love you."

"I love you, too, Padawan. It has been my honor and privilege to have you as my Padawan," replied Qui-Gon in a neutral tone.

Obi-Wan could sense that this was not going as he had hoped. "No, no, not like that, Master," he continued doggedly. "I mean, I *love* you, I'm *in love* with you. I want to be with you, stay with you forever, be everything to each other, I want -"

"Padawan," interrupted Qui-Gon softly.

"Yes, Master?" said Obi-Wan, his tone laden with desperation. He saw Qui-Gon's eyes turning a darker blue and was afraid that his master was displeased with him.

Qui-Gon sighed as reached out to take the boy's hands in his. "Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan's eyes lit with anticipation. He thrilled to the touch of Qui-Gon's loose grip, despite his embarrassment over his own hot, sweat-slick hands.

"Obi-Wan," continued Qui-Gon quietly, "I know you believe these feelings that you have are real, and I understand that you feel this very intensely. You don't realize what you are really asking for, though, and the Code does not permit that sort of relationship between master and padawan until you are much older. In any event -"

"But Master, I have thought about this and studied it," interrupted Obi-Wan eagerly. He had anticipated this potential objection and had an answer ready. "If it's just the Code you are worried about, I can wait, Master, we can make this work."

"Please, Obi-Wan, let me finish," Qui-Gon said firmly. "Many padawans go through feelings like this for their masters at about your age, but sooner or later they almost inevitably grow out of it. It is just a natural part of growing up."

Obi-Wan felt his gut starting to twist, but Qui-Gon's hands tightened over his and he held back his words of protest.

"I have to be honest with you, Obi-Wan, even if you still have these feelings for me when you are older, I cannot return them. I love you as my student, as a friend, a companion, but I simply don't have the kind of physical feelings for you that you want. It's been a very long time since I have allowed myself to be close to anyone, but even when I was given to socializing, I have to tell you that I always preferred to be with those near my own age."

Stunned disbelief made Obi-Wan go completely still for a long moment as he tried to understand Qui-Gon's words. "But, if I was older, surely we could…"

"I'm sorry, Obi-Wan, but no," replied Qui-Gon gently. "I will always care for you, but the age difference between us is simply too great. I'm afraid I will always think of you as being too young for that kind of intimacy. It would be better for both of us if you develop relationships with your own peers rather than wasting your time and energy on something that simply can't be."

Obi-Wan abruptly pulled his hands back and stood up stiffly, trying hard to maintain his dignity despite his flaming cheeks. "I understand, Master. I apologize for bothering you."

"Obi-Wan, there is nothing wrong with you or your feelings, and I truly don't mind discussing them. It's just that sometimes we can't have everything we want in life, and we have to move on to other things. I know it hurts; I'm sorry that I am the cause of your pain, but this is not something I can change."

"Of course, Master," replied Obi-Wan woodenly. He was keenly aware of the hot flush making his face burn and the sympathy he felt flowing over their training bond added to his embarrassment and misery as he fought to hold back tears. "Thank you for discussing this with me. If there is nothing else, sir, may I be excused?"

Qui-Gon looked at Obi-Wan for a moment and sighed before speaking. "No, there is nothing else. Good night, Padawan."

Obi-Wan bowed and silently fled to the sanctuary of his room.

A few months later

Obi-Wan was halfway through his second bowl of rednut stew, stoking the voracious engine of a growing teenager, before he realized that his master had barely touched his own portion. Looking up, he caught Qui-Gon gazing at him with an odd expression as his master toyed with his spoon.

"Master, is there something wrong? If the stew is not to your liking, I can fix you something else," Obi-Wan offered. He knew he wasn't the greatest cook in the Temple, but his meals were usually at least as edible as most of the food in the dining hall they frequented.

"The stew is fine, Padawan. I suppose I'm just not very hungry tonight," replied Qui-Gon.

"Are you sure, Master?" This was not normal behavior for his master. "It would be no trouble to get you something else." He started to move his chair back.

"Please sit down, Padawan. You don't need to prepare anything else." Qui-Gon set his spoon down by the side of his bowl. "Actually, I would like to talk to you about something."

Obi-Wan sat back down with a puzzled expression. "Yes, Master?" He absently started eating again as he waited for Qui-Gon to gather his thoughts.

"Padawan, I've been thinking about the conversation we had on your Nameday."

A spoonful of stew went down the wrong way as Obi-Wan inhaled sharply. He choked, coughed and spluttered. Instantly Qui-Gon came over and pounded on his back. After a few anxious moments, Obi-Wan spat out the last of the food and sat gasping, his face red and his eyes streaming. Qui-Gon stayed behind his chair, gently kneading Obi-Wan's shoulders as he slowly returned his breathing to normal.

"I'm sorry, Padawan. I didn't mean to startle you," said Qui-Gon.

Obi-Wan waved vaguely, mumbling " 's alright," as he reached for a glass of water.

"Are you sure you're recovered?"

Taking a sip of water and wiping his face before replying, Obi-Wan said, "Yes, Master, I'm fine, thank you." Remembering what had triggered the problem, his pulse speeded up again. Carefully schooling his features, Obi-Wan looked over his shoulder as he casually asked, "What exactly did you want to talk about, Master?"

Qui-Gon patted Obi-Wan's shoulder, then returned to his chair. He cleared his throat before beginning tentatively. "As I said, I've been thinking about the discussion we had a few months ago."

Obi-Wan's heart flashed with hope, a feeling that was quickly dashed as Qui-Gon hesitated a moment before continuing in a firm voice.

"Please don't misunderstand me. I meant everything I said then, and I still believe you will be much better off if you work on developing relationships with your agemates." He looked at Obi-Wan sternly for a moment as if to make sure the message got through, but his expression quickly softened. "No, what I have been thinking about is that I have been neglecting my own friends for far too long. Your interest made me realize how completely I withdrew from any relationships after..." He paused momentarily, glancing down at the table, then gave a crooked little smile before continuing wistfully, "Well, let's just say it's been too long since I've let anyone be my friend."

"You said I was your friend," said Obi-Wan, biting his lip, "I'm not sure I understand, Master." He shook his head in confusion.

"Obi-Wan, you are my padawan. Your training and welfare are my primary responsibility in life. And yes, you *are* my friend, and I do and always will care for you a great deal," Qui-Gon said quietly. "What I am trying to say, though, is that I want you to have friends of your own, and your interest in me made me realize that I would also like to start seeing more of my own friends. Since we share these quarters, and this is your home as well as mine, I want to make sure we have a few ground rules for how we deal with company."

"Yes, Master," replied Obi-Wan numbly, fixing his eyes on the table, "I think I understand."

"Our duties must come first, of course, but either of us should feel free to have friends come to these quarters as long as it does not interfere with our work," continued Qui-Gon, seemingly oblivious to Obi-Wan's growing discomfort. "If one of us needs the common room for work, the other should ask his friends to meet quietly in his own room or go somewhere else, such as one of the lounges. Does that seem reasonable to you?"

"Yes, Master."

"Our private rooms are just that, private. I shall expect you to maintain certain minimum levels of cleanliness, of course, but I think each of us should continue to knock and wait before entering the other's room." Qui-Gon paused, then leaned forward. "If I have friends over, I want you to honestly tell me if you need quiet to study or if anything I am doing in my private life bothers you. I also expect you to act responsibly in your activities with your friends. Can you do that, Padawan?"

Obi-Wan swallowed, trying to speak around the lump in his throat. He pushed his bowl away, no longer hungry as he tried to understand the implications of what his master was saying. Finally he glanced up. "Yes, Master," he said heavily. "I guess that's fair that we should each have friends of our own." He stood up slowly, head down, unable to meet Qui-Gon's eyes. "Will that be all, Master?"

Obi-Wan must have let his hurt slip across their bond, and the compassion he felt reflected back added to his pain. ~ Dammit, it's not fair, ~ he thought to himself. ~ If he won't return my love then why does he want to rub it in by seeing others? ~

"Padawan," said Qui-Gon sharply.

Obi-Wan looked up. "Yes, Master?"

"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said firmly. "Having other friends doesn't mean I care for you any less. It just means that each of us has needs appropriate to our own age." He paused a moment. "I know we haven't really talked much about this topic, but the next few years are going to be very difficult for you. The Healers did discuss the typical development pattern for your species during your physicals, didn't they?"

"Of course, Master. I know I still have another growth phase within the next year or so. Final physical maturity, hormones kicking in full blast, that sort of thing." Obi-Wan smiled a bit ruefully. "They didn't hold out much hope for getting any significantly taller, though."

A brief answering smile touched Qui-Gon's lips, although his eyes were still somber. "It is the 'hormones kicking in' part that I am more concerned with. Although we both share many characteristics with certain other humanoid variations such as being long-lived, you will mature later and more intensely than many. Whatever stirrings you have felt so far are nothing to what you will be going through the next few years. At the same time your training will continue to become more challenging. I want to remind you that you can always come to me no matter what the problem; whether or not I have other friends and relationships does not change that."

Obi-Wan straightened his shoulders as he took a deep breath. "I do know that, Master. It's just… well, sometimes I guess I'm still a little too selfish. I have had you to myself for so long I just assumed it would always be like that. I apologize for not considering your feelings as well as my own."

"Being able to recognize and admit that is a good step, Padawan." Qui-Gon stood and put a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Understanding yourself may well be the most difficult task of all on your path to knighthood, and it is a challenge we face our entire lives." He sighed, his eyes going a bit unfocused before he shook his head and looked into his apprentice's eyes. "I probably should have started seeing others a while back; it might have helped your development to have more exposure to appropriate informal adult interactions instead of spending so much time isolated in my company. In any event, I want you to work harder on making more friends your own age, Obi-Wan. If you do run into problems you are not comfortable discussing with me or with putting into your journal, they might be able to help you."

"I will, Master."

Qui-Gon briefly tightened his grip as he smiled at Obi-Wan, then dropped his hand and stepped back. "Thank you for latemeal, Padawan. I am just not very hungry tonight, so you may clean up when you are finished."

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan automatically bowed as Qui-Gon turned to head for his sleeping room. Straightening, he stood and stared at the closing door, the room slowly darkening unheeded.

A few weeks before Obi-Wan's Eighteenth Nameday

Obi-Wan's cloak dripped from where it hung over his arm and his feet squelched in his sodden boots as he trudged wearily down the hall. His clothes were in that uncomfortable in-between state where the outer layers were cold and only damp but the inner layers were quite wet and rubbing in all the wrong places.

His field trip to Jewnaba had been curtailed two days early, after three days of unseasonable torrential rains had flooded the river banks and all of their food and tents were lost. What little he still possessed in his pack had also gotten soaked as their transport to take them to the spaceport hadn't shown up for hours and they'd waited unprotected in the downpour. The flight back to Coruscant had been one of the worst he could remember. The youngest initiates had cried interminably, the master in charge had grumped at everyone while the knights had snarled and snapped, leaving him and his fellow padawans huddled miserably in their steamy wetness and trying to look inconspicuous.

Finally reaching a familiar door, Obi-Wan shifted his leaden pack to his free hand. He palmed the entry pad and waited for the door to slide open. As he stepped forward into the dim lights of the common room, however, the greeting to his master died on his lips and he stood, open-mouthed, transfixed by an unfamiliar scene.

Candles flickered on bookshelves, their ghostly light reflected on the pale sweaty skin of the two naked bodies thrashing on the couch. A heavy scent of musk filled the air, an aromatic counterpoint to the audible slap of flesh on flesh accented by low moans and an occasional sharp, inarticulate cry.

"Oh, Force," Obi-Wan whispered. His eyes widened in shock and disbelief as he recognized his master, oblivious in the throes of passion as his hips jerked, lying atop a female master whom Obi-Wan vaguely remembered from an advanced linguistics seminar. Both masters suddenly shouted, a howl of ecstasy sounding from Qui-Gon as he slammed down and went still, glistening buttocks clenching as long fingers raked his back. Legs now entwined, Qui-Gon leaned down to kiss the woman, his loose hair falling in a dark curtain.

His vision still fixed on the pair of lovers, Obi-Wan tried to retreat silently toward his own room but tripped over a pair of discarded boots, the forgotten pack in his hand crashing into a chair by the dining table and knocking it over. Scrabbling to right the chair and retrieve his fallen cloak and pack, Obi-Wan was dismayed to see his master untangle himself and scramble to his feet, blistering the air with several oaths as he banged a shin heavily on the low table in front of the couch.

"I'm sorry, M'm'm'aster," Obi-Wan stuttered, still on his knees, glad the dim lights hid his burning face.

"Obi-Wan, it's not - " started Qui-Gon, but he was interrupted by a muffled laugh from behind him. Obi-Wan watched as slender fingers reached up to get his master's attention by poking his butt.

When Qui-Gon turned to glare at his companion, Obi-Wan took advantage of the distraction. "It's alright, M'master, I'm s'sorry, I d'didn't mean to interrupt," he stammered out as he grabbed his gear, ran to his room, and thankfully shut the door behind him.

In the darkness of his room, Obi-Wan's knees buckled and he slid down against the wall, shivering and clutching his wet pack to him. Resting his head against the doorframe, he closed his eyes, but he couldn't close out the things he had just seen.

"Oh, Force," he moaned softly, trying to deny the memory of what he'd seen and studiously ignoring the arguing and rustling coming from the common room. "It just can't be, how could I have been so wrong?"

When his master had first started talking about having his own friends, Obi-Wan had felt uncertain, afraid he'd been found lacking. Qui-Gon had gone to great lengths, however, to devote just as much, if not more, attention to Obi-Wan, and he'd made deliberate efforts to let Obi-Wan know that his place was secure in the older Jedi's affections. Almost every day they meditated together, even if it was only for a few minutes stolen from a busy mission. And when they were on Coruscant, they took trips to explore cultural, artistic or scientific activities and attended the occasional music event. As he'd grown older, Obi-Wan had been encouraged to choose their destination for these kinds of interactions. Qui-Gon carved time from his schedule to discuss Obi-Wan's progress in his courses, to teach him some of his own favorite katas, or just to talk about life as a Jedi.

While Qui-Gon had started reaching out to friends old and new, going so far as to spend an occasional meal or quiet evening with other masters or senior knights, over time Obi-Wan had come to feel comfortable with the situation, especially as he came to see how much his master enjoyed the visits. Even Master Yoda had stopped Obi-Wan one day and obliquely thanked him for helping Qui-Gon, although to this day Obi-Wan was still not entirely certain what Yoda had actually said.

Obi-Wan's journal carried the evidence of how hard he'd tried to follow his master's request. He had made a point of strengthening his own friendships with the small group of beings he had known practically since the creche, and tried to reach out to make new friends. He'd had little trouble making fresh acquaintances, but began to find deeper relationships eluding him. He had found it particularly frustrating when his hormones finally had 'kicked in' a few months before his seventeenth nameday. Many of his agemates had become sexually active earlier, so Obi-Wan had sought several of them out. Time after time, though, Obi-Wan had found himself unable to carry through. Despite the increasing urgency of his body's demands, his heart felt cold and empty while his mind felt hypocritical, when he could only think of Qui-Gon despite being with another.

Confused and frustrated, Obi-Wan had spent many hours in solitary meditation. He finally found a measure of peace when he decided to take his cue from the way his master was conducting his own relationships. As far as Obi-Wan had been able to determine, Qui-Gon seemed to find celibacy an appropriate life choice. Obi-Wan decided to endure until his eighteenth nameday and offer himself once more in hopes that Qui-Gon would reconsider a sexual relationship between the two of them. This had been a difficult path, but Obi-Wan had persevered despite the increasingly vivid erotic dreams centered around his master, and the testing of his composure whenever those big hands touched him during training or when offering praise.

Obi-Wan's hope and strength had been sustained by what he felt were the occasional flashes of deeper feelings his master let slip; each moment of praise, each affectionate touch to shoulder or face and each insight into Qui-Gon's private life had been carefully noted in his journal.

Nothing from all of that had prepared Obi-Wan for the reality of what he'd discovered tonight.

Tentative knocking on his door eventually interrupted Obi-Wan's reverie. "Padawan?"

With a muffled curse Obi-Wan hauled himself to his feet. Raising the lights, he dumped the pack on the floor and moved to sit at his desk, working to establish his composure.

Another knock, harder. "Obi-Wan, we need to talk."

Obi-Wan sat facing toward his desk and hoped he looked much calmer than he felt. He cleared his throat, then called out in a firm voice, "Come in."

The door slid open to reveal a freshly showered Jedi master in leggings and undertunic, wet hair pulled back. Qui-Gon stepped forward into the small room. "Padawan, I think we need to discuss what happened tonight." He reached out to touch Obi-Wan's shoulder but stopped in surprise. "Your clothes are wet. What happened, Padawan? And, come to think of it, why are you even here tonight?"

Obi-Wan turned around to face his master, draping an arm casually over the back of his chair. "It rained so hard on Jewnaba that our camp got flooded out. Master Ghorcho called off the field trip two days early because we lost the food and most of our supplies. I came straight from the hangar after we landed." He paused. "Didn't you get the notification that we were coming back?"

"I was out most of the day," replied Qui-Gon. "There were no red-flagged messages, and I'm afraid I didn't have a chance to check the regular mail before I became... rather involved for the evening."

"I see," said the apprentice dryly. Now that he'd had a chance to recover from the initial shock, he was starting to see the potential humor in the situation.

Qui-Gon paused before continuing. "I wish to apologize for tonight. We got rather carried away..."

"You did nothing that needed an apology," Obi-Wan said quickly.

"Judging by your reaction out in the common room, you seemed to be very uncomfortable with what was happening. This is your home as well as mine, and we had agreed to respect proper boundaries on our activities."

"Master, I will admit that I was uncomfortable with what I walked into, but that was probably in large part because I was so surprised." Obi-Wan leaned back against the edge of his desk. "But, as far as you knew, I was not supposed to be back for another two days, so you did not exceed the boundaries we agreed upon."

Qui-Gon looked thoughtful as he studied Obi-Wan for a moment, then nodded before answering. "You're right. It was intimate activity between two consenting adults, carried out with the full expectation of privacy. To be honest, I enjoyed it a great deal, at least, up until that last bit." Master and padawan smiled at each other ruefully.

"Actually, it is probably just as well that this happened now since I needed to talk to you soon anyway," continued Qui-Gon. He went to one knee so that he was closer to eye level, a habit he'd probably picked up as far back as when he'd been an apprentice himself, to Master Yoda. "Obi-Wan, I know you have had all the human sexuality courses, but I need to remind you that with your eighteenth Nameday coming up shortly, you will be considered sexually mature for your species. As far as I know you haven't really been very active in that area yet, and that is your own private business. You are, however, an attractive young man, and I have no doubt you will be getting many offers."

Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably in his seat and started to speak but Qui-Gon pushed on.

"Please let me finish. I have mentioned this before, but I also want to remind you that if you have any questions or problems about this or any other matters, you can come to me." Qui-Gon patted his apprentice's knee, his expression solemn. "If it should turn out that you wish to bring someone home, I will respect the privacy of your room. I also trust you to handle your private activities responsibly. You *do* understand all that, Padawan, don't you?"

Obi-Wan was torn between conflicting emotions. He resented Qui-Gon's words and wanted to remind Qui-Gon he was no longer an initiate, but his anger at himself for having so completely misread his master's feelings was building. His hold on his composure was quickly becoming far too tenuous for his liking; he bit his tongue and managed a relatively calm-sounding affirmative response, though he then had to look away from the earnest gaze boring a hole in his control.

"Something else I need to remind you of, Obi-Wan, is that both of our species are long-lived and normally sexually active for most of that life span. I have thought about this for a while and only recently made the decision to forego celibacy again. Now that I have, there will be occasions in the future when I, too, will wish to have privacy for activities with my peers." Qui-Gon let a crooked smile linger, but the apprentice did not miss the slight emphasis on the words 'privacy' and 'my peers'. "If it bothers you that your master is having sex, I'm certainly willing to discuss it with you. I simply ask that you respect my right to privacy as I will continue to respect yours."

"Of course, Master," Obi-Wan answered hurriedly before the conversation could go any further down that path. "That's only fair and I appreciate your concerns and frankness."

"There is one other thing, Padawan." Qui-Gon paused delicately, as if searching for the right words.

"What is that, Master?" prompted Obi-Wan.

"The issue of shielding, Padawan. I probably should have mentioned this earlier, but with increased sexual activity, or even just increased hormonal changes, well, there can be... leakage."

"Leakage?" Obi-Wan repeated. His blush ratcheted up several degrees as he remembered some of his more exotic wet dreams and masturbation sessions and he wondered just how much of 'significance' had inadvertently slipped across their bond. "Oh," he finished weakly.

"Yes, Padawan," said Qui-Gon gently. "I don't believe we need to go into any details, but I think this would be a very good time for you to take the Level Four shielding course with Master t'veeri. I will also add advanced shielding exercises to our afternoon sessions."

"Thank you, Master."

"Do you have any other questions you would like to ask, Padawan?"

"Actually, what I would really like most is to get a hot shower and a dry bed, Master." He stood up and shoved his chair back, hoping that Qui-Gon would take the hint and leave.

"Are you sure, Padawan?" Qui-Gon rose to his feet as well.

"Really, Master, I'm fine." Obi-Wan smiled in what he hoped looked like a reassuring manner. "Don't worry about tonight, I was just surprised more than anything else."

Qui-Gon looked intently at him again and hesitated, then, "Alright. Good night, Padawan."

An hour later, warm and dry, Obi-Wan rose from his meditation and went to his synthwood desk and the large, thin box sitting atop it. The only light in the room was from two candles that he'd placed near the box. Closing his eyes, he placed his hands flat on the box lid, extending all of his senses to ensure his privacy. After a few minutes, he cautiously probed the bond with Qui-Gon until he was satisfied that his master was asleep. He then drew a slow, deep breath and opened his eyes, letting his fingertips softly caress the container's flat surface. Very slowly he pulled off the top, then contemplated the document within.

It was a beautiful document, well worth contemplating. Genuine old-fashioned parchment paper, glistening black characters hand drawn on the pale surface. Characters which Obi-Wan had spent long months painstakingly perfecting before daring to set brush to the expensive pristine whiteness. Intricate characters which spelled out a carefully crafted letter reiterating the feelings that a young man had harbored for two years, and making an eloquent plea for the master to initiate his padawan into sexual adulthood to mark his eighteenth Nameday. A plea to share his heart and bed, to accept the heart held in loving reserve, to accept the heart and virgin body now offered freely.

It was indeed a beautiful document, and it made a crisply beautiful crackle as Obi-Wan slowly ripped it in half, then methodically began pulling off narrow strips.

"So, now I'm an 'attractive young man'," he whispered savagely. He had managed to bleed off the worst of his anger and humiliation in meditation, but the lingering residue still burned. He gathered the strips into a neat pile.

"I know what he really meant," Obi-Wan fumed. "I should be out screwing people my own age so he can be free to get laid by his 'peers'." He gradually fed the first strip into the candle flame. "I can't believe he talked to me like I was practically an initiate after the years we've spent together, all the missions we've been on together." Another narrow strip was sacrificed to the fire. "And I don't understand how I could have misjudged him so badly. Force, I can't believe how many months I suffered through those damned dreams because I thought he would respect my celibacy." He snorted as the pile was reduced by three. "Alright, Sith take it, I can wait. I'll get experience, I'll show him I'm old enough, how patient I can be."

Piece by piece, the pile slowly disappeared. Afterward, a quick breath guttered the flames into extinction too.

"Force, please help me... why can't I get that man out of my heart?" His whisper lingered in the dimness.

A few weeks after Obi-Wan's twenty-second Nameday

Freshly showered, Obi-Wan flopped onto his bed. Clad only in a soft pair of old leggings, he spent several minutes simply existing in the moment, enjoying the feel of being clean, blood pumping in a strong, healthy body, tingling burn from a hard workout, soft currents in the Force, afternoon sun warm on his chest, muted hum of the training bond, simply being alive. Finally, however, he sighed and rolled off the bed. Sauntering over to the battered desk, he pulled his private journal out of a drawer and set it down next to a tall glass of juice.

The last few weeks had been too hectic to keep his journal properly current; even his twenty-second Nameday had been marked only by a hasty meal between heated negotiations on Kebn'ata. Today, though, he had almost two hours until latemeal, plenty of time to get his entries up-to-date as well as the longer term review that he liked to do every half year or so. Settling down to work, he found it took only a few minutes to get his personal thoughts entered, followed by several observations on their last mission. He finished the juice before turning to a special section of the journal for his next entries.

"Hmmm... was it Laweek or Laveek?" he mumbled. He consulted the Temple directory, then began entering data about Qui-Gon's most recent encounter on a new page.

"Here we go, Knight Maresha Lawiq. Let's see, Lashorian, age, knighted... Force, she sure didn't look that old... personal interests, music, history, um hmmm." He sat back for a moment, eyes closed, then resumed writing, quickly filling out the rest of the page. He had gotten quite talented at faking just the right touch of polite interest in Qui-Gon's 'special friends', and was usually able to extract quite a bit of information under the guise of casual conversation with either his master or the partner du jour. His best guesses for the reasons for his master's interest in each lover ended each journal entry. Finally satisfied with his work, Obi-Wan took the journal back to his bed.

Lying belly down, head propped on one hand, Obi-Wan flipped through the pages, thinking about things he had done wrong, things he had done right, ways that he had changed and ways he had not. As always, there were two types of entries he spent a little extra time reviewing.

Obi-Wan's first indulgence was letting himself linger over the memories of Qui-Gon's special attentions. Despite an annoying tendency to occasionally address his apprentice as if he were still a junior padawan, Obi-Wan treasured the slowly built cache of Qui-Gon's words of praise, fond touches, hard-won smiles and increasing trust. He was convinced that Qui-Gon had feelings for him and believed that those feelings might be growing. There had even been several very precious moments during the last few years when they had just finished particularly grueling missions and Qui-Gon's formidable shields had relaxed more than usual; Obi-Wan was certain that he had detected unconscious glimmers of a deeper feeling going well beyond masterly affection. Unfortunately, it was also clear that there was still a definite limit in their relationship which had resigned Obi-Wan to the fact that he would most likely have to wait until his knighting to once more openly proclaim his love.

The other sections he paid particular attention to were the special entries which he had started adding just over four years earlier. Many were merely short bullets which marked some of the dozens of propositions Obi-Wan knew or suspected his master had turned down. There were also nineteen individual entries, the majority as single liaisons, several multiples, a very few recurring over long periods of time. Obi-Wan had added the information to his journal as reminders, seeking clues to his master's tastes and preferences. Some items were useful, some simply had to be marked up to Qui-Gon's occasional inscrutabilities.

A few patterns had emerged; it was reassuring to know that Qui-Gon was comfortable with either male or female lovers, but not pleasant to get such consistent confirmation of the man's stated preference for friends near his own age. Physical appearance did not seem to matter; a spectacularly exotic beauty ended up as a one-night affair while a plain, rather chunky master with drab fur, half an ear missing and a long, fuzzy tail almost became an obsession. The best that Obi-Wan had wormed out of Qui-Gon about her had been that she had a remarkable control of the Living Force and could do some amazing things with tail and tongue; they must have been amazing indeed to produce some of the incredible moaning and yelling emanating from his master's room on the nights that she stayed over. One of the happiest days in Obi-Wan's life had been when she was transferred to another Temple; Qui-Gon had moped around for months but Obi-Wan still shuddered when he remembered the almost euphoric expression on his master's face when he mentioned 'the tail'.

Another observation was that among both lovers and non-lovers, Qui-Gon seemed attracted to those with intelligence and unusual backgrounds. Obi-Wan had often been surprised by the lively and wide-ranging discussions in their quarters when his publicly reserved Jedi master finally opened up to small groups of close friends and allowed his dry wit free rein; Obi-Wan considered it a profound privilege that his master had allowed him to actually start sitting in on some of those gatherings during the last few years.

Tiring of reading, Obi-Wan closed the journal and tossed it aside. He rolled over and stretched out with his hands behind his head, eyes closed, thoughts turning to his own situation. All in all, he generally preferred not to think of those first months after his eighteenth birthday, but he forced himself to do so at least once a year as an exercise in humility. In a very immature and highly misplaced fit of 'tit for tat' anger, he had gone on a mission to get 'caught up' with sexual experience. Qui-Gon had correctly predicted that Obi-Wan would have plenty of offers and for four months Obi-Wan took indiscriminate advantage of those offers. He found sex thrilling, learned fast and his enthusiasm and willingness to experiment made him even more popular. It was a heady rush to be sought after, to be so desired after his master's rejections. The physical sensations were exhilarating. Unfortunately, he 'd soon realized the emotional thrill of sex was short-lived. He'd begun to blindly seek more and more partners in an attempt to find the 'right one', who could help him recreate those initial blazing feelings.

With his eighteenth birthday had come a loosening of restrictions and curfews; after the first few months Obi-Wan abused his new status by starting to emulate some of the senior padawans' worst habits, drinking more than he should and seeking out partners to satisfy his new-found lust on missions or when he really should have been studying when they were in Temple. The classes in advanced shielding helped protect him for a while, and his master indulged him for a while longer, apparently having hoped he was only going through an experimental phase. Their master-padawan relationship had became rather strained, however, as Obi-Wan had become increasingly resentful of his punishments and his master's attempts to 'control his life'; he'd paid only lip service to Qui-Gon's occasional hints about emotional control and then the outright lectures about responsible behavior.

Things had come to a head when Obi-Wan became infatuated with a newly knighted Jedi getting ready to ship out on a mission. While Qui-Gon had been away at a conference on the other side of Coruscant, for three nights Obi-Wan had stayed with the knight, stumbling bleary-eyed back to his own quarters only to change and attend classes. Their last night they had stayed up for hours of drinking and fucking. The next morning the knight had dragged himself out of bed to catch his transport, but a groggy Obi-Wan had mumbled a lie about not having classes that morning and collapsed back into sleep. The knight hadn't been totally bereft of his senses, however, and had decided his own ass would be a lot safer if he called Qui-Gon instead of just leaving Obi-Wan there. By the time Qui-Gon had arrived, the knight had only had a few minutes to offer a hasty explanation and apology before leaving.

Extremely hung-over, Obi-Wan had recovered some degree of consciousness after ten minutes under a shower and several cups of hot caf. Unfortunately, he hadn't been alert enough to exercise a suitable level of self-control. Basically telling Qui-Gon off, Obi-Wan had shouted that if Qui-Gon wasn't willing to screw him, he could find plenty of others who would. That had earned him a blistering rebuke, with a grim-faced Qui-Gon stuffing him into his clothes and almost literally hauling him down into a private training salle. Those present practically fell over each other trying to flee when they saw Qui-Gon's expression. For almost an hour Qui-Gon had then run a very sullen Obi-Wan through a series of katas until he staggered to the wall and fell to his knees, gasping and vomiting.

Even now Obi-Wan felt shame from when Qui-Gon had then asked if he was ready to rationally discuss the situation, and he in return had made some exceptionally poorly chosen comments about his master's parentage and whined about being too hot, thirsty and sick to even think, let alone talk. He still felt the ghost of Qui-Gon 's hands as he'd been pulled to his feet, stripped of his clothes and then towed by his long, padawan braid down the hall to the shower facility. And he would never forget the chill and utter humiliation from being held under an ice-cold spray for fifteen minutes, swallowing, choking and snorting what had felt like a gallon of water before he'd then been dragged once more, still naked and now shivering and shrivel-dicked, out past two classes of round-eyed junior padawans and half a dozen amused knights before being returned to the training salle. While Obi-Wan had tried to decide if he was going to die faster from his embarrassment or the hangover, Qui-Gon had fetched two training sabers dialed to the lowest level, handed one to Obi-Wan and took up the beginning stance. It had taken two touches before he'd started defending himself; the next two hours had been little more than wretched torture as Qui-Gon had ruthlessly chased him around the salle, repeatedly finding every weakness in Obi-Wan's defenses, including several very painful shots to his unprotected genitals. Obi-Wan had again ended up collapsed by the wall, his stomach trying to turn itself inside out. He'd stayed on his hands and knees after his heaving had stopped. A stinging swat of the training saber on his bare ass had brought him out of his daze with a yelp. That time when his master had asked if he was ready to talk, he had merely bowed his head to the ground and meekly replied in the affirmative.

Obi-Wan grimaced as he thought about the three days of talking and meditations that had followed that miserable morning. Qui-Gon had patiently helped his reluctant apprentice work through his emotions of anger and resentment, and to come to an understanding of the difference between lust and love, as well as the importance of emotional control and moderation. Obi-Wan still clearly recalled that moment he realized that his master had not been angry with him, but instead deeply disappointed in Obi-Wan's lack of control and what Qui-Gon considered a blatant disregard of his teachings; Obi-Wan had never felt lower or more miserable, and had vowed to work harder than ever to regain his master's respect.

Unfortunately, his sincere repentance had not prevented Qui-Gon from restricting Obi-Wan to the Temple for three months with no sweets, no playtime, and extra meditations every single night. Qui-Gon's words had hurt even worse than that disastrous morning in the salle; when he pronounced the punishment, he had pointedly noted that Obi-Wan was being given a youngling's punishment because his actions had been as thoughtless and hurtful as those of a youngling. Eventually Obi-Wan had come to understand that the emotional link he sought was still with his master; sex was fun, but he had found it better to keep it to infrequent outings with a select circle of friends.

Obi-Wan sighed and opened his eyes, finding to his surprise that his musings had taken him into early evening, a rumble from his stomach confirming his time-sense. Thinking of his labors over the last four years, Obi-Wan was pleased with the progress he had made since that terrible lapse in judgment. Feeling renewed in his commitment to the Jedi and his devotion to his master, he ambled out to prepare latemeal, a serene smile on his face.

A few months later

"Food's ready, Master," called Obi-Wan.

Qui-Gon replied absently from his seat before the terminal. "I'll be there in a moment, I just want to finish these new messages."

Obi-Wan smiled fondly as he finished setting out fresh bread and a pitcher of chilled water. He patiently waited several minutes until he saw Qui-Gon turn off the terminal and stretch, then stepped back into the kitchen to retrieve the bubbling meat pies from the oven. Everything was ready by the time his master actually sat down at the table.

Qui-Gon smiled at him ruefully. "Thank you, Padawan. I'm afraid I lost track of time."

"You're welcome, Master," replied Obi-Wan, smiling in return. "You look like there was good news in the mail."

"Ah, yes," said Qui-Gon, his eyes lighting up, "I had a message from Master Rawvten Z'Trew. We were padawans together and he was knighted about a year after me, but I've rarely seen him since his own padawan was knighted. He left shortly after his master's ceremony and has been stationed on the Outer Rim for many years." Qui-Gon paused to put fruit spread on a slice of bread. "He said that he is coming back to Coruscant soon. I wouldn't be surprised if the Assignment Committee thought it was time to bring him back in to get reacquainted with 'civilization' and the finer points of the Code." He grimaced in reminiscence. "Rawv and I spent a great deal of time becoming intimately familiar with the rocks in the gardens and the flagstones in the central stairway due to our interpretation of the Code."

"You, Master?" said Obi-Wan with a mock look of horror.

"It was all Rawv's fault, of course," huffed Qui-Gon, feigning indignation before continuing with what Obi-Wan recognized as his best diplomatic, deadpan expression. "I was a very quiet padawan, very studious, serious and hard-working... but that reprobate Padawan Z'Trew somehow always managed to talk me into doing things, you know."

"Of course, Master," replied Obi-Wan indulgently.

"Well, it is true that Rawv always had a lot of problems with the 'serenity' part of the Code, and the 'passion' part may as well have been in a foreign language as far as he was concerned," said Qui-Gon, his smile turning lop-sided. "I'm very much looking forward to seeing him again." He took several bites, a far-off look in his eyes. Their meal continued in companionable silence for several minutes. Qui-Gon then shook his head. "Padawan, I almost forgot. Make sure you check your messages; the instructor postings for the next half year are out."

"Am I up already?" Obi-Wan asked eagerly. It was one of the significant marks of progress when a senior padawan was designated for his first full-term teaching rotation. He had already passed the course on methods of instruction, but had not dared to hope he might be chosen this soon.

"You have been doing well in your academic progress, and your yearly progress reports have been good, so I would say it is an appropriate assignment," Qui-Gon replied, quiet pride in his apprentice's accomplishment evident in his smile. "It looks like you will be staying on Coruscant instead of being sent out to one of the other Temples, but that probably means a heavy course load. I believe you are scheduled for the next instructor's review seminar coming up at the end of your current classes."

"This is certainly excellent news. Thank you, Master," Obi-Wan said, working hard to keep a smug smile off his face. ~ Force, almost a year earlier than I expected, ~ he thought gleefully. ~ That will put a few of those older senior padawans in their place when the word gets around. ~ So caught up in his thoughts was Obi-Wan that he missed the sharp look of concern on Qui-Gon's face when some of Obi-Wan's feelings trickled over their bond.

"Padawan," Qui-Gon said mildly.

"Yes, Master?"

"A certain amount of satisfaction in your progress is certainly warranted," Qui-Gon cautioned, "but I think an extra meditation on humility this evening would not be amiss."

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan replied, a blush painting his cheeks. His competitiveness and need to maintain his master's approval and respect drove him to work hard, but also tended to lead him into letting his self-confidence slide into cockiness. This was far from the first time his master had had to remind him about excessive pride.

"As I was saying, I believe you will be attending the next instructor's seminar."

"But that's the upcoming Firstday!" Obi-Wan exclaimed after a quick calculation. "I only have two more final exams this tenday and I'll be finished." He groaned and shook his head ruefully. "Well, I guess there goes any chance for some time off between terms. I expect it will take the entire tenday to get ready."

"Probably so," agreed his master amiably. "At least you will be able to use the standard syllabi and lesson plans at your level. And you won't have any missions to worry about."

The apprentice snorted. "Depending on which courses I get, a mission could be a blessing," he grumbled. "Dealing with some of the junior padawans and initiates can be worse than fighting your way out of a blown negotiation."

"Well, whatever you get, I am sure you will do well and the experience will be educational," replied Qui-Gon dryly, a hint of a twinkle in his eyes.

Obi-Wan shot him a suspicious glare, then smiled and shook his head. "Yes, Master."

Senior Padawan Kenobi whistled tunelessly as he left the main training salle and detoured through the gardens towards his quarters. It was a beautiful Eighthday: a warm sun, flowers waving in the light breeze, and he had made it relatively unscathed to the end of his first teaching tenday as a full-time instructor since there were no regular classes on Ninthday or Tenthday. He pulled in several appreciative breaths as he navigated past several fountains and a group of giggling initiates. Obi-Wan smiled as he passed the children; they reminded him of the students in his beginning lightsaber course. It was normally his last class before lunch and the most enjoyable.

Obi-Wan smiled again as he reached his own door. His last two classes had been cancelled and he was looking forward to surprising his master by joining him for lunch for the first time since he'd begun as an instructor. He palmed open the door and stepped in, but stopped short in shock. ~ Oh, Force, not again. ~

In the large armchair in the common room, Qui-Gon sat in profile, head back, tunics open and leggings pooled around his boots. Obi-Wan couldn't remember having ever seen the naked man straddling his master's hips. Short, light brown fur covered most of his solidly muscular body, darker brown fur forming a mask around the eyes and abbreviated muzzle, and faint stripes across the middle of his chest and back. He was leaning forward, kissing and nibbling at the base of Qui-Gon's neck, when a close-set, pointed ear twitched and a fur-covered tail swung up.

Obi-Wan started to silently back out the door when the stranger turned his head and dark golden eyes transfixed the apprentice. With his left hand the stranger gently caressed Qui-Gon's face and closed eyes. A deliciously wicked smile revealed pointed incisors among the row of even white teeth as he beckoned to Obi-Wan to come closer with his right hand. Obi-Wan tried to step back, but found himself drawn ever deeper into the hypnotic gaze. Before he realized it, Obi-Wan was standing next to the two seated men; he could hear a subdued purring from the stranger and a low moan from his master. As the stranger leaned back with a grunt, evidently impaling himself deeper on Qui-Gon's cock judging by the sound of flesh on flesh, Obi-Wan saw that a very impressive slick cock protruding from a furry sheath was leaving a wet trail on Qui-Gon's belly. The man smiled mischievously as he reached up to tap the Jedi master's nose with a retractable claw.

"Qui-Gon," rumbled the visitor, "you must introduce me to this lovely young man."

Obi-Wan shook his head as the spell broke, then blushed as he realized where he was and what was going on. He tried to back away again but the stranger took a firm grip on his cloak and tunic.

"Huh? What young man..." Qui-Gon said muzzily as he blinked several times. Eyes clearing, Qui-Gon looked up. Scarlet flooded his cheeks as he tried to sit upright.

"Oh, do sit still. You're not going anywhere for a bit." Lightly furred buttocks clenched tightly, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from Qui-Gon. With another teasing smile, the tip of the stranger's tail disappeared between his partner's legs while he tweaked a nipple with his free hand. Whatever the tail was doing drew another gasp from the blushing Qui-Gon.

"RAWV," Qui-Gon roared. "Stop it, Sith take you, you miserable son of a - "

The outburst was stopped short by a deep kiss. Coming up for breath, the stranger laughed. "You know I always get my way in the end, Qui. Now be good and introduce us."

Watching his master squirm in the chair as he glared at what was evidently his old friend, Obi-Wan was torn between embarrassment and laughter. He steadfastly ignored the tingle in his groin and the hot flash of envy so unbecoming to a Jedi.

Gritting his teeth, Qui-Gon finally relented. "Master Z'Trew, my padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Padawan Kenobi, this is Master Rawvten Z'Trew."

Feeling like he was in some sort of surrealist vid, Obi-Wan gave his best formal bow. "It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance, Master Z'Trew."

Master Z'Trew released his grip on Obi-Wan's clothing and saluted grandly. "It is very much my pleasure to meet you, Padawan Kenobi. You'll pardon me, I hope, if I don't get up, as I'm rather comfortable at the moment." He smiled blandly as if it was an everyday occurrence to make idle conversation with a padawan while intimately engaged with the erect sexual organ of said padawan's master in the middle of their common room.

"Of course, sir," replied Obi-Wan with a bemused smile, working hard to keep his breathing even and his gaze above chest level as the befurred Jedi casually played with his master's nipples.

"Stop it, you idiot," growled Qui-Gon as he clouted his friend on the chest. He looked in Obi-Wan's general direction with a chagrined expression, cheeks still flaming as he sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. "Padawan, I apologize. Master Z'Trew frequently has neither manners nor morals when he has decided he wants something or it amuses him." The insulted master sniffed with an affronted expression but Qui-Gon kept his gaze averted. "I wasn't expecting you back for at least a few more hours or I wouldn't have let things get this far."

From what he had seen up to this point, Obi-Wan rather suspected that Master Z'Trew was very good at taking things exactly as far as he wanted, whenever he wanted. Clearing his throat as he tried to maintain some semblance of normality, Obi-Wan nodded in acknowledgement. "It's alright, Master, you were correct in thinking that I wouldn't normally be here, but my last two classes of the day were cancelled. There's been an outbreak of Ghyurian flu among the older initiates, so they're running all of them through the Healers' Wing to get their inoculations updated before it spreads any further. I came by to tell you that Healer Vachnt'a said I was probably exposed, since most of my classes are with initiates or junior padawans. He wants both of us to stop by and get a booster shot today."

"You are on a teaching rotation already, then?" interposed Z'Trew with a toothy smile.

"Yes, sir," Obi-Wan responded as he cautiously edged out of arm's reach. "This is my first tenday of the term."

Z'Trew beamed as he thumped Qui-Gon's shoulder. "Your boy's making good progress, Qui. And such nice manners, too. You should be proud of him."

Qui-Gon just sat there shaking his head as words seemed to fail him. Obi-Wan decided this was an excellent time to retreat. "It's nice to have met you, Master Z'Trew, but I'd better get some lunch before I go to the Healers for my shot. I'll be back for latemeal, Master, if that's alright with you. I have a lot of student quizzes I need to start grading, so I thought I'd spend the afternoon at the library working on them."

"Of course, Padawan," replied Qui-Gon with a grateful look. "I'll see you later."

Treating himself to one last quick peek, the apprentice snatched a satchel of student datapads and fled. Catching an outraged roar and a snippet of conversation as the door closed behind him, Obi-Wan had to force himself not to snicker.

"But Jinnssy lad, if you let them give you your shot in the ass, I promise to kiss it and make it allll better..."

Once the junior padawans in his first class were all settled down and reviewing the assigned reading, Obi-Wan turned to the wallboard to begin inscribing a series of verbs to be conjugated. He caught himself halfway between a yawn and a grin as he thought about the last few days. Qui-Gon had spent most of Ninthday and Tenthday as well as the previous night with his old friend, 'getting reacquainted', as he put it, and Obi-Wan had seen very little of either man. Obi-Wan had gotten up very early this Secondday morning to see his master off on a new mission and had had to stop himself from laughing outright at Qui-Gon's bloodshot eyes and wide yawns. It had been well worth the loss of a few hours sleep to catch the normally composed Jedi master appearing exhausted and, dare he think it, almost hung over. His master would be gone for several tens, but Obi-Wan was eagerly looking forward to cornering Qui-Gon after his return and getting details for his journal. He had a passing notion that he should be worried about whether or not this was a rekindling of a serious, long-term affair, but with a shake of his head he forced the potential jealousy to the back of his mind and dragged his thoughts back to the present.

~ I'd better pay attention, ~ the apprentice mused, ~ the evaluator should be showing up anytime now. Wouldn't do to make a poor first impression. ~

The Jedi student instructors were usually given the first tenday to become familiar with their students and course material. During the second tenday a master or senior knight was assigned to observe each instructor and provide an initial assessment of his skills. During the rest of the term, there would be periodic observations by members of the permanent training staff, counseling or assistance where necessary, and another detailed observation period by a different master or knight in the final tenth tenday of the term. The assessment was an important part of a senior padawan's yearly progress report since the evaluators were looking not just for instructional skills but abilities to interact with students and fellow instructors, to handle pressure and flexibility. The padawan grapevine had spread the word that observers had already been assigned and were expected to start showing up on Second- or Thirdday, so everyone was being particularly careful to dress well and keep their students busy.

Obi-Wan heard the door softly open and close. A faint eddy in the Force and a few excited whispers from students alerted him to the new presence in the classroom. Finishing the list of verbs, he squared his shoulders and took a deep breath before turning around.

"Alright, class, today's topic is standard verb conjugation." Obi-Wan allowed his gaze to move across the rows of junior padawans and almost swallowed his tongue. Sitting in the back of the room was Master Rawvten Z'Trew, stylus poised over a datapad as half-lidded golden eyes focused on Obi-Wan. The master's expression was alert but detached, giving no indication of either his recent activities or his previous introduction to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan cleared his throat and launched into his prepared lecture, thankful that the training committee only assigned teaching subjects in which senior padawans had already demonstrated competence. His fluency in the Vendorian trader dialects enabled him to easily handle the introductory level class while trying to hide his distraction at Master Z'Trew's presence.

An hour later, Obi-Wan finally closed his discussion. "Tomorrow we will be going over the more common irregular verb forms, so make sure you finish all of chapter three." Over the muted groan, Obi-Wan plowed on. "Verbs are very important in Vendorian, so we will be spending a lot of time on both regular and irregular verbs this tenday. There will be verb exercises on the next quiz and probably every quiz and test from now until the final exam. If there are no questions, that will be all for today." Obi-Wan waited a beat, making a quick sweep of the room, but seeing no hands raised he quickly retreated to the front of the room to avoid the stream of students filing out.

"Padawan Kenobi, a moment please," came a low rumble from the back of the room.

Licking his lips, Obi-Wan quickly moved over, then stopped and bowed. "Yes, Master Z'Trew?"

"I have been assigned as the initial observer for your instructor rotation, Padawan Kenobi." He glanced at the datapad in front of him. "I would like to confirm that I was given your correct class schedule. The list shows Vendorian Level One, Introduction to Outer Rim History, Math Level Two, Initiates' Introduction to Lightsaber Techniques, then after the midday break you finish with Level Two Katas?"

"Yes, Master Z'Trew, that is the correct schedule," replied Obi-Wan with a nod. "The first three classes are here in this room and the last two are in the main training salles."

"Will you be using the standard lesson plans and syllabi?"

"Yes, sir, for the most part."

The stylus slithered rapidly across the datapad. Without looking up, Z'Trew continued briskly. "I will be observing from now through your last class on Eighthday. For the next several evenings I have reserved a study room for us. Initially, I would like to discuss your learning objectives for each class and any modifications you have made to the standard lesson plans and syllabi. Once we have completed those topics, I would like to observe and discuss your grading of some samples of student assignments. I have also reserved a meeting room for Ninthday; please report promptly at eighth hour, as I expect it will take some time to go over the results of the week."

Obi-Wan stared at the Jedi Master, his mouth partially open in shock. ~ Seven days? Discussions at night? *And* on Ninthday? ~ His thoughts recoiled in horror. ~ Nobody observes for more than two or three days! What in the Seven Hells of Havern is with this man? ~ His eyes narrowed briefly in suspicion and his mouth snapped shut. ~ If Qui-Gon put him up to this, I am going to get that son of a bantha. ~

The silence had grown very loud and Obi-Wan almost jumped when Z'Trew finally spoke again.

"Is there a problem, Padawan Kenobi?" Inner lids retracted above both eyes as the master stared at him intently.

"Uh, no sir, not at all, Master Z'Trew," blurted Obi-Wan. He swallowed hard. "It's just, uh, I was a little surprised. I'm sorry, sir."

The whiskered skin above one incisor lifted in a semblance of a smile. "Come now, let's be completely honest here, Padawan. You weren't a *little* surprised, and you're better than halfway to thinking I am either crazy or the worst bastard you've ever had the misfortune to encounter." As the silence continued, he tapped the stylus on the datapad. "Well, Padawan Kenobi?"

Obi-Wan swallowed again, licking dry lips, wondering just what this master really wanted. He decided to try for the diplomatic approach and ventured a tiny smile. "Well, yes, Master Z'Trew. To be honest," the smile briefly widened a bit, "I was quite surprised. Your proposed schedule was more extensive than I was expecting, sir, and the evaluation seems to be in greater depth than I had been led to believe is the norm."

Z'Trew snorted and threw the stylus down. "Not much doubt about whose padawan *you* are, my boy," he said dryly.

Obi-Wan unconsciously bristled and started to retort, his eyes flashing.

"Put your fur down," growled Z'Trew sharply as he sat back, crossing his arms. "That was a compliment, cub. Now listen to me and pay attention."

"Yes, sir." Obi-Wan buried his resentment at the admonishment as he stood stiffly.

"I've been a Jedi a while now, and seen some of the worst of how difficult it can be. This is not a calling to be taken lightly, although admittedly it did take a while to pound that into my thick head," said Z'Trew in a low, even voice. "I have very high standards for those who would aspire to be Jedi knights, and high standards for those who teach our youngsters. When I get an assignment such as this, I consider it an obligation to the Order to make a proper and thorough evaluation. You may not enjoy it, Padawan Kenobi, but you will learn. If you can't or won't learn from this session, I will find a way to come back for your final observation, and I guarantee that if you haven't improved, I will do my best to ensure that you repeat the duty until you do. I can assure you that it is not personal, only professional, and if you have any doubts on that score I can refer you to a dozen knights out on the rim who are still alive today because I pushed them to be better than they thought they could be. Do you understand this, Padawan Kenobi?" Golden eyes stared hard at his gray-green ones.

Obi-Wan's eyes dropped first. "Yes, Master Z'Trew," he said quietly.

The felinoid master stood up. Although Z'Trew was not as tall as Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan found he still had to lean his head back.

"Another thing, Padawan. If you think your master had anything to do with this, you can dismiss that thought immediately. He does not know that I have been assigned as your observer and in fact would probably object strongly if he did know. You will get no favors from me because of any relationship that I may have with him. If anything, I expect even more from someone who has been trained by Master Jinn."

"That's not - " Obi-Wan stopped himself and clenched his jaw to keep from saying anything else.

"That's not fair?" hissed Z'Trew softly. He extended a retractable claw on his stubby forefinger and put the point just under Obi-Wan's chin, forcing him to look up and make eye contact. "You're right, it's not fair. Neither is life. I guess you'll just have to work a little harder, *Senior* Padawan Kenobi." Withdrawing the claw, he handed Obi-Wan a datapad with his other hand. "This is the schedule for our sessions. Please arrive on time as I have a low tolerance for tardiness. I'll be back." With that parting comment, the master turned and left the room, leaving Obi-Wan to gather his wits as students began entering for his next class.

Spotting a few of his friends, Obi-Wan slipped through the Fifthday crowd in the dining facility to put his lunch tray on a table in one of the padawans' informal gathering areas. Murmuring a quick greeting, he began wolfing his meal.

"Hey, Obi-Wan, where's the fire?" asked Whevan, who was a few years older than Obi-Wan but also on his first teaching rotation.

"Got a lot of work to do," replied Obi-Wan between mouthfuls of salad.

"Did you get your observer's report yet?" asked u'Rtern, a winged padawan from an avian species. "I'm supposed to meet my observer at sixteenth hour today to go over mine."

"Hardly. We're not even having a final meeting until Ninthday." Obi-Wan moved on to his soup.

"You've got to be kidding," said Whevan. "We heard a rumor about a master just in from the Outer Rim who's observing the whole tenday instead of the usual two or three days, but I don't think anyone believed it."

"Believe me, it's true, because I've got him. He's observing almost every class this tenday, having horrendous inquisitions every night, *then* he wants to meet on Ninthday to go over the results."

There was a general round of shock mingled with commiseration.

"Force, Obi, who did you piss off to get stuck with this guy?" Bant stopped and asked, obviously having overheard the conversation on her way to drop off her empty tray.

"I don't know, but he sure seems to have it in for me," growled Obi-Wan as he finished off his meatroll and gulped down the last of his juice. "Gotta run, guys. See you around."

"Come on, I'll walk with you to the training hall," said Bant. "I've got to go that way anyway."

"Thanks. Let's go."

As they walked, Bant listened sympathetically as the beleaguered padawan poured forth his story of misery and persecution.

If Obi-Wan had not personally seen Master Z'Trew interacting with Master Jinn, he would have sworn it was impossible for two such totally different personalities to be housed in the same fur-clad body. There was absolutely no trace of the mischievous imp who had bandied social niceties while making love to Qui-Gon. Instead there was a rigorous and ruthless taskmaster who seemed intent on running him ragged for the rest of the tenday.

Obi-Wan had only thought his schedule was busy with class preparation, grading of student papers and quizzes, counseling students and his own physical training until he tried to meet his evaluator's demands on his time. During the day Master Z'Trew watched silently, sometimes staring intently, sometimes seemingly almost dozing, periods of inactivity punctuated at inexplicable intervals with furious bouts of scribbling with his stylus on the ever-present datapad. The evenings were turning into torturous marathon sessions as Z'Trew questioned every minute deviation from the established lesson plans and syllabi and Obi-Wan's handling of student discipline. Obi-Wan was forced to define and defend his teaching style and the assumptions he'd never realized he had made for each of his five courses, while standing at attention as the master threw question after question at him in rapid-fire sequence.

After the first day, he'd come to loathe the stylus which scratched and slithered at such unpredictable times almost as much as he hated Z'Trew's annoying habit of extending all five claws on his left hand and tapping them in odd patterns. Most of all, though, he resented being made to explore what seemed to be the abysmal depths of his own lack of understanding and true preparation for his teaching assignment by the master's quiet but relentless inquisition, while his peers floated through their evaluations relatively unscathed.

At the end of the ten-minute rambling tirade, Obi-Wan finished with, "And the damned son of a bantha makes me feel just so stupid, like an initiate who's not even got any business being in that classroom, let alone teaching the class."

"I have to agree he sounds pretty unpleasant," said Bant equably, "but, you know, Obi... " she trailed off, looking thoughtful.

"What?" snapped Obi-Wan irritably as he reviewed his class exercises one more time.

"I was just wondering, well, it sounds to me like he's trying to teach you some things, not just be nasty."

"Hey, I thought you were my friend!"

"Of course I am. But everything you've described, Obi-Wan, isn't really all that much worse than some of the exercises a lot of the masters, even your own, put their padawans through. I think this Master Z'Trew has found some of your buttons and is pushing them." She put a friendly hand on Obi-Wan's arm.

"That's ridiculous, I don't -"

Bant continued in a rush, "Obi-Wan, everyone knows you're one of the best senior padawans and you do work hard to keep up with your reputation, but you've got to admit that sometimes you're more than a little proud of that reputation. You do tend to get defensive or lose your temper occasionally when someone irritates you and acts all high and mighty, or implies you didn't earn your rank -"

"But that's not -"

" - or they call you on something that you think you're good at, then you get stubborn and angry." Bant finally stopped to take a breath. "Obi-Wan, I think maybe you've let him get under your skin instead of listening to what he's really saying."

The retort died on Obi-Wan's lips as her wide eyes looked at him anxiously. He winced instead and turned his attention to the floor. "Ouch," he said softly.

A long silence followed. Eventually Obi-Wan sighed and looked up.

"Alright, I suppose I deserved that." He grimaced. "I guess I was awfully proud of being chosen so early for a teaching rotation. Qui-Gon has certainly taken me to task about both pride and temper more often than should be necessary. But then Master Z'Trew came in asking a lot of questions I didn't really have answers for, and he's been implying pretty heavily that I'm too young and not ready for this duty... I guess that probably upset me more than anything else."

"The teaching duty is part of your training too, Obi-Wan," said Bant reasonably. "He hasn't really called you an idiot or chewed you out or said that you were too young, has he?"

"No, he didn't actually say any of those things," he admitted reluctantly. "But he certainly can make you feel ignorant."

"Maybe it would go better if you tried to figure out why he's asking the questions he does, perhaps anticipate some of them. Even, Force take the thought, admit once in a while you *don't* know all the answers. It couldn't make things any worse, could it?"

Obi-Wan snorted. "You haven't been on the receiving end when he starts shooting those questions." He smiled ruefully as Bant punched his shoulder and gave him her best 'please don't be a jerk' expression, then sighed dramatically. "Oh, alright. I promise I will try to work with Master Z'Trew instead of just reacting to him, but I swear I shall come back and haunt you if he drives me crazy with that stylus and they have to haul me away as a babbling idiot."

They both laughed as Obi-Wan pulled a face and made silly noises. He started to chase Bant out of the salle but as they both turned he almost ran into Master Z'Trew in the entrance. Bant squeaked, mumbled something unintelligible and ran out, leaving Obi-Wan to stand red-faced and alone. He managed to stammer out a greeting and was greatly relieved when the master merely nodded at him and went to seat himself on a bench at the edge of the salle.

The next few nights Obi-Wan made a very conscious effort to listen carefully to the questions and his own answers. Although he could still find no rhyme or reason for the random bursts of staccato note-taking, he did start to see that many of the questions were oriented toward forcing him to understand the purpose, focus and scope of the courses, how he was teaching and the relationship of the course material and teaching methods to his students. It quickly became very clear to him that the more superficial his answers, the faster Z'Trew dug in with more detailed and abrasive questions.

Instead of letting himself be caught up in a barrage of questions and trying desperately to answer with the first thing that came to mind, Obi-Wan began to take time to craft his answers more carefully, even to ask for clarification of the questions instead of taking them at face value. To his surprise, he found that the harder he worked, the more he was able and willing to distinguish between what he had been taught by rote, his own thoughts on how to teach and things he simply didn't know, the easier it was to work with his observer. Z'Trew was still just as impersonally stern and demanding, but he proved quite willing to slow down, elaborate on questions and refocus his questions to help lead Obi-Wan to his own answers. Their nightly sessions became even longer and more draining, yet also more productive. Often Obi-Wan felt like his brain was being turned inside out upon leaving those sessions to crash into bed in the early hours of the morning.

Yet, he had to admit, it also felt like it was growing.

Their last evening session on Eighthday turned out to be their longest; Master Z'Trew started at twentieth hour with a point-blank challenge to an already tired Obi-Wan. When confronted by the requirement to explain why, at the end of only the second tenday, his Math Level Two course was already almost two days behind schedule, Obi-Wan stared at his inquisitor blankly and finally had to admit that he hadn't realized they were that far behind. Z'Trew kept going past midnight and by the time they finished at second hour of the new morning, they had explored the purpose, objectives, structure and timeline for the entire course, discussed what Obi-Wan had actually taught, how he taught it, why he covered which subjects and when, and reviewed every single student's progress, both academic and disciplinary, in the course. After another hour of a rather lively debate, Obi-Wan finally pulled several threads of the discussion together to realize just how far he had been unconsciously dumbing down his material to meet the needs of his four slowest students, that probably more than half the class was bored, and the reason his two smartest students had been acting up was that they were beyond bored silly.

It was only after Obi-Wan's epiphany that Z'Trew produced the notes and overheard conversations he had intercepted in the class and handed them over. Obi-Wan was mortified and flushed red when he saw the students' frank comments making fun of him for dragging the class down for the sake of a few and the derogatory nicknames they were starting to use about him. His first response was anger, both at himself and the students, but he reined it in under the master's steady gaze. Obi-Wan looked at the notes again, his innate honesty forcing him to admit he had done much the same sort of thing in classes where he too had felt like these students. In frustration, he finally turned to Z'Trew and asked outright for help. They spent another hour discussing instructors Obi-Wan had admired and the techniques they had used to challenge the better students while not losing the slower ones until Obi-Wan was able to put together some ideas on how he wanted to tackle his particular situation. It was almost fifth hour when the marathon session ended and Obi-Wan finally made it to sleep.

The bed was soft and the warmth was ever so inviting, so it was perhaps understandable that Obi-Wan hit the snooze button a few times. After the third time he stretched and yawned, then lay there wondering fuzzily why he even had the alarm set on a Ninthday morning when there were no classes. The digits on the chrono slowly ticked over toward eighth hour.

~ Sith! Classes! Eighth hour! ~ He clawed his way out of bed and dashed to the 'fresher. Taking time for only a most cursory washing up, he pulled on a clean uniform and hurried out the door, still fastening his belt as he left. ~ Force! What a stupid thing to do after Z'Trew specifically told me to be on time! He's probably already writing up his Sithdamned report. ~ Obi-Wan added several more heartfelt curses as he used every shortcut he knew to race through the Temple, pulling up before the door to the study room just long enough to get some of his breath back. Straightening his shoulders, he knocked, entered the room and knelt on one knee before his evaluator.

Master Rawvten Z'Trew was sitting calmly at the table, a mug of aromatic hot chal steaming next to a plate of pastries and fruit. Ignoring Obi-Wan, Z'Trew finished his entry in the datapad, then took a sip of chal. Putting the mug down next to a stack of datapads, he leaned back in the chair, arms crossed, expression inscrutable.

"You are seventeen minutes late, Padawan Kenobi," said the master flatly.

"Yes, Master Z'Trew," replied Obi-Wan humbly, still breathing heavily from his exertions. "I apologize, sir."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"Yes, Master Z'Trew. I knew what time I was supposed to be here and did not make it," said Obi-Wan quietly, gaze fixed on the floor in front of him. "I apologize and accept whatever penalty you feel is appropriate, sir."

"I see. Very well, stand up," Z'Trew brusquely commanded. For exactly seventeen minutes he wrote slowly on his datapad, occasionally taking a sip of chal or a bite of sweet roll, as Obi-Wan stood silently waiting. Obi-Wan allowed himself one longing glance at the two large thermal pots and the heaping plate of food, but decided he had already blown any chance he might have had of being offered anything. The premonition proved correct; once Z'Trew finally looked up he immediately launched into an hour of difficult questions. At the end of the hour he let Obi-Wan have an opportunity to summarize his view of the things they had discussed during the previous several days.

"This concludes the discussion portion of your evaluation, Padawan Kenobi," said Z'Trew, tapping lightly on the table with the stylus. "Please have a seat while I finish your report. Help yourself to some breakfast."

"Thank you, Master Z'Trew." Obi-Wan needed no further invitation, his empty stomach already rumbling in anticipation. He found that one thermal pot contained bitter chal but the other was full of sweet hot tea, one of his favorite blends. He poured himself a mugful and downed half of it gratefully before helping himself to some sweet breads and Regalat berries. It was only after he had blunted the initial edge of his hunger that he remembered an earlier comment the master had made about expecting their final session to take quite a while, and he began wondering whether it was a good or bad sign that they had been there less than two hours and Z'Trew was already completing his write-up.

Fortunately Obi-Wan did not have a very long wait to get an answer to his question. Only ten more minutes passed before Z'Trew tossed aside his stylus and leaned back in his chair, stretching.

"Padawan Kenobi," he said quietly.

"Yes, Master Z'Trew?"

Picking up the datapad and tossing it to Obi-Wan, Z'Trew continued, "This is the report on my observations of your teaching performance. Please read it carefully. If you have any questions, or feel that I have misrepresented your skills or abilities in any way, we shall discuss it. If I still wish to submit my report unchanged after our discussion, you will have the opportunity later to submit a reclama. If you prefer, I can leave the room while you read it."

"Thank you, Master Z'Trew," said Obi-Wan. "I have no objection to your presence."

The felinoid nodded, replenished his mug, and retreated to the sunny window ledge to wait.

Obi-Wan looked down at the datapad in his hands, not entirely certain he wanted to read it. He had expected some sort of out-briefing, perhaps a discussion of his major strengths and weaknesses, but he couldn't remember ever being given access to an actual evaluation report before it was submitted. He poured more tea and settled in to read.

Thirty minutes later the stunned apprentice sat back and drew a deep breath. Looking at the datapad centered neatly between his hands, he shook his head. Obi-Wan wasn't sure what he had expected, but what he had gotten was one of the most concise, precise, well-written reports he had ever seen, almost beautiful in its elegant sparseness. Professional and impersonal, it pulled no punches about his weaknesses, although Z'Trew had also gone to great pains to distinguish between Obi-Wan's personal weaknesses and what the master described as flaws in the Order's training system used to prepare padawans for this duty. Looking back through the report, Obi-Wan had to admit that all of the weaknesses were true, whether it discussed his temper and stubbornness, or his failure to recognize the shortcomings in his own teaching skills.

Just as surprising, or maybe more so, praise had also been liberally given, far more than he had expected and more than he suspected he deserved. The accolades were mainly for his being willing to recognize there were problems and his progress in resolving them, though Master Z'Trew had also found little fault with his knowledge of his assigned material, presentation skills and classroom presence. Finally Obi-Wan swallowed hard and set the datapad back down.

"Finished?" Z'Trew asked as he came back to the table and sat down.

"Yes, Master Z'Trew," said Obi-Wan quietly. He picked up the datapad and looked at it again, running a thumb up and down the side of it. "It is a very well-written report, sir."

"Padawan Kenobi, I did have some significant concerns about you when we started," said Z'Trew thoughtfully. "You were letting me wreak havoc with your emotions at first. I was quite impressed with your turnaround when you finally got around to listening and working instead of reacting."

Blushing, Obi-Wan looked down at the table. "Uh, I can't really take credit for that, Master Z'Trew," he said hesitantly. "It was a friend of mine who told me to quit whining and start listening."

"Ah yes, Padawan Bant, I believe her name was. Quite a perceptive young apprentice."

"You heard all that conversation?" asked Obi-Wan, aghast as he remembered some of the things he had said.

"I hear a great many things that people don't realize I've heard," said Z'Trew with a small smile. "That's how you stay alive in my line of work. In any event, you had the good sense to listen to your friend and to do something about it. That report would look a lot different than it does, had you not. Speaking of which, do you have any questions on the contents?"

"No, Master Z'Trew," said Obi-Wan, shaking his head. "It's quite clear I have a number of things I need to work on, but now that I understand that, I can do something about correcting those problems. Thank you for working with me and for letting me see the report."

"You did most of the hard work, Padawan. If there are no questions, I'll go ahead and send it now." Z'Trew went to the terminal at the side of the room, inserted the datapad, and transmitted the report. "There. I sent a copy to Master Jinn so he will have the unvarnished version to read, and the committee will no doubt be sending you a sanitized copy of the report in a few days, I would think."

"A sanitized copy, sir?"

"There is a reason the committees and training staff don't like the students to see unedited reports. The version you get will be very unlikely to contain any of the comments I made about the training system. You might ask Master Jinn about that sometime." Z'Trew smirked vaguely, as if thinking of past events.

"So I wasn't supposed to see that report, then?" Obi-Wan asked. "Are we in trouble?"

Master Z'Trew smiled broadly, golden eyes alight with humor. "Padawan Kenobi, when I sent the report, that completed the official relationship between us. I am no longer your evaluator, just another Jedi master. So, off the record, no, you weren't supposed to see that report, and yes, I will probably be 'counseled' if they find out, but they'd better not say anything to you or I will go breathe fire and brimstone on them. Also off the record, I don't give a Sithdamn about silly rules any more than your master cares about most of the bantha poodoo the Council is always spouting, which is why both of us tend to spend a great deal of time being 'counseled'." He shrugged his shoulders and gave a small laugh. "After a few years you get used to it, though, and you just get on with doing what you need to do in life. Anyway, since we are off the record, did you have any questions that you really wanted to ask?"

Obi-Wan was intrigued by the change in personality. This Master Z'Trew was much more like the one he had first met having sex with his master and he wondered about the kind of control the man must have to be able to change so thoroughly and sustain it for so long. Sitting back and thinking for a moment, he decided to take him at his word and ask about something that had been bothering him for days.

"Actually, Master Z'Trew, there is something I would like to ask you about," said Obi-Wan hesitantly, ready to back off if he was crossing any bounds.

"Fire away, Padawan."

"One of the things that I found rather unsettling, and, quite frankly, highly irritating, was the way you would take notes with that stylus. I couldn't tell if I was doing something wrong or something right. I still don't understand what you were really looking for, or what you thought was important."

"That unsettled you? Distracted you? Made you lose focus?" asked Z'Trew thoughtfully.

"Yes, it did. I was wondering if you would explain what sorts of things you were writing down."

The thoughtful expression on the master's face dissolved into a wicked smile and a rumbling laugh. "Then it worked!"

"What worked?"

Z'Trew leaned forward in his chair. "If I tell you, you must promise never to tell anyone else." He paused a second. "Well, Qui-Gon already knows, so I suppose you can discuss it with him, but no one else. Promise?"

"Yes, Master Z'Trew, I promise." Obi-Wan couldn't help lowering his voice to a conspiratorial whisper at the thought of having some esoteric bit of masterly wisdom revealed.

"It's all a trick," said Z'Trew slowly in a very low voice, then nodded sagely, running a hand over his short whiskers.

"A trick?" Obi-Wan leaned back in his chair and tried to suppress his disappointment.

"A most excellent artifice that I have found useful in all sorts of situations." Z'Trew held up his left wrist and pointed to the device strapped on it. "This handy little thing is not just a chrono, it is also a comm, a locator, and, among many other things, a random pulse generator. I can set it for how many times I want it to go off in a given period of time, so every time I feel the pulse on my wrist I grab the stylus and start scribbling away with anything that comes to mind, even if it's just nonsense syllables in another language. That way I make sure my scribblings have no pattern and are totally unrelated to anything of importance you might be saying or doing." He smiled triumphantly.

"So you weren't really taking notes at all...?"

"Of course not. The purpose is to distract and confuse; works particularly well on insecure and suspicious beings, on junior padawans who are scared spitless of cantankerous masters, and on senior padawans who think they are hot stuff. "

Obi-Wan couldn't help laughing as he shook his head. He toasted Z'Trew with his mug, then laughed again as he thought about the needless worrying he had gone through. "You know, I have to admit this has been a very educational tenday." He quickly held up a hand and smiled. "Not that I'd want to go through all that again, mind you. But I have learned a lot, certainly more than I expected. I will work on getting better; in fact, I've already got several ideas I want to try out." Obi-Wan put his mug down and folded his hands together.

"I guess I shouldn't be taking up any more of your time, sir. I appreciate what you were trying to do, even if it did take me a while to get my act together." Obi-Wan stood up, suddenly feeling an odd reluctance to leave. "Thank you, Master Z'Trew." He bowed and waited to be dismissed.

"You're quite welcome." Z'Trew nodded. There was silence for a long moment as the master drained his mug, then set it down. Z'Trew finally stood up and walked over to Obi-Wan.

"Is there anything else, Master Z'Trew?" Obi-Wan asked, puzzled by the continuing silence.

"No." Z'Trew sighed. He put a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder and gently squeezed. "You have a lot of potential, Padawan Kenobi. Keep working hard and you will be a good Jedi." He abruptly pulled his hand away and swiftly strode from the room.

A word of thanks hung unspoken on Obi-Wan's lips. He was surprised by the unexpected gestured, but stunned by the jolt of electricity the brief touch sent down his spine. When he eventually remembered to breathe again, he drew in a deep breath, held it briefly, then blew it out through pursed lips.

"What the Force was that?" he murmured to himself. He lingered in the room for a few more minutes while he tried to sort out the experience, but soon shook his head and left to walk slowly back to his quarters.

Obi-Wan sat at the small table in the common area of his quarters, datapads spread out before him as he worked on updating several of his lesson plans. Occasionally memories of the morning's encounter would tickle the back of his mind until he caught himself and doggedly returned to his work. The hours ticked away slowly through the afternoon.

The door chime interrupted Obi-Wan's work. He yawned hugely, the recent lack of sleep catching up to him, as he stood up to answer the door.

"Good day. May I come in?"

Obi-Wan blinked in surprise to see his recent tormentor standing in the hall. "Of course, Master Z'Trew." He waved the master in. "Master Jinn is not here, though. He's not scheduled to return from his offplanet mission for a few more tens."

"I know. Actually, Padawan Kenobi, if you have a few minutes, it was you I wanted to speak with," said Z'Trew quietly, almost shyly. "It's more of a personal nature, though, so I won't stay if you don't want me to."

"I don't mind at all, Master Z'Trew. Please sit down." Curious, and beginning to feel oddly attracted to this version of the chameleon-like master, Obi-Wan motioned his visitor to the armchair and then sat down on the couch which was positioned at a right angle from the chair.

"Thank you, Padawan," said Z'Trew. "May I call you Obi-Wan? Padawan Kenobi is a bit... ponderous for what I would like to say."

"Of course," replied Obi-Wan with a nod and a smile, becoming even more curious.

Instead of replying immediately, Z'Trew put a hand on the side table, extending and retracting his claws several times, then began tapping the claws. Looking up, he caught the expression on Obi-Wan's face and pulled his hand back as if the table had suddenly turned to fire. "Sorry," he murmured, a contrite smile flashing across his face. "I know that irritates a lot of people."

"It's alright," said Obi-Wan. "Is there something wrong, Master Z'Trew?"

"No, I was just having a little trouble deciding where to start," Z'Trew replied with a sigh. "I have a confession to make. When you told me you had been picked for your first teaching rotation, I, shall we say, manipulated the system a bit to get myself assigned as your initial observer. I wanted to see for myself what this padawan of Master Jinn was like."

Obi-Wan sat quietly, but his expression was questioning.

"Qui-Gon Jinn is my oldest and best friend," said Z'Trew, looking into Obi-Wan's eyes. "We haven't been able to see much of each other in quite a long time; his work takes him to the field often and I've been doing undercover work on the Outer Rim for several years. In fact, I was on a deep cover mission when all the trouble with his last apprentice took place." He clasped his hands tightly. "I knew Qui-Gon had to be hurting badly and it was the closest I've ever come to forsaking my vows as a Jedi when I almost broke cover to come back here to be with him and to find that little bastard Xanatos. In the end, I couldn't do it; there were too many lives at stake and I knew Qui-Gon would have my hide if I did, but it was a very painful time." Z'Trew shrugged and let his hands spread to lie flat on his knees. "Anyway, when I was recalled to Coruscant, I decided I wanted to find out more about Qui-Gon's current padawan. Qui-Gon doesn't always see the faults in those closest to him; that's how Xanatos got away with so much shit. The rumors said you were good and the two of you were getting along fine, but I wanted to see for myself."

"And what did you see?" asked Obi-Wan warily, an uncertain buzz in his gut.

Golden eyes blinked, the furred head nodded slightly. "A good padawan, a true Jedi, strong in the Light, and a young man who has been good for my friend. I meant what I said this morning; keep going the way you are, and you'll be a good Jedi knight," he smiled, "probably better than either of us creaky old masters. I apologize for my doubts, but I was only thinking of Qui-Gon. He's been through a lot of pain and I didn't want him to have any more if I could do something about it."

Obi-Wan blushed at the praise and looked down. "I would never do anything to hurt my master," he said softly. He looked up, "Qui-Gon has been the best master anyone could ask for."

"I believe that."

There was a long silence as Z'Trew sat looking at his hands.

"Was there anything else?" Obi-Wan asked tentatively. He felt that odd attraction again, a niggling in the Force that urged him not to let his visitor leave.

"Actually, there is something else." Z'Trew stood up, slowly walked over and sat down close to the apprentice. "Obi-Wan, I have to come see you as more than just another padawan. I also see a beautiful young man, someone I would really like to get to know better. I won't apologize for what I did this week, because I felt it was necessary for your training, but I'd like to make up for it by taking you out to dinner tonight if you'll let me." He put one hand softly over Obi-Wan's hands.

Sparks shot through Obi-Wan at that touch and his breath seemed to stop. With a sharp gasp he recovered, and looked up into the liquid golden eyes. "Master Z'Trew, I'm not entirely certain what to say..."

"Please say yes," he asked quietly. "I promise that nothing will happen that you don't want to happen, Obi-Wan."

"It's not that, it's just, well, I thought you and Qui-Gon..."

"Your feelings and discretion do you credit. Qui-Gon and I are friends, and we have been lovers, confidants, partners in crime, just about anything two people can be for each other." Z'Trew smiled widely and briefly squeezed Obi-Wan's shoulder. "However, one thing we most definitely are not or ever will be is bonded. Our friendship is a success in large part because we respect each other's right to have relationships with others. We've both had many other friends and lovers, no questions asked. Force, you've lived in the same quarters with the man for several years; if anyone knows whether Qui-Gon has had other lovers it should be you."

Obi-Wan made a non-committal grunt; he was all too acutely aware of the other lovers his master had taken, so he had no reason to doubt the felinoid's words. One other thought did occur to him, however. Hesitantly, he asked, "Uh, doesn't it bother you that I'm so much younger than you, Master Z'Trew?"

Z'Trew laughed. "That's Qui-Gon's hang-up, not mine. I've always told the idiot that age is meaningless for two legal, consenting beings. Tell you what, if it doesn't bother you that I'm a little older than you, then it doesn't bother me that you're a little younger."

"I suppose I could live with that," Obi-Wan smiled.

Z'Trew started to speak, but stopped short as he furrowed his brows. "Force, I'm sorry if I've been incredibly thoughtless." He hesitated a moment, then continued delicately. "If you're already seeing somebody else, then I apologize. It was not my intention to interfere or put you on the spot."

"No." Obi-Wan shook his head with a small smile. He had been too busy for quite a while to see any of his usual friends for anything other than an occasional meal or conversation, and he could hardly claim to be having a relationship with Qui-Gon when the man had made it abundantly clear that was not going to happen.

"That's good for both of us then." Z'trew grinned. "So, can I take you to dinner?"

Obi-Wan fell silent, his thoughts whirling at the unexpected request. The Code certainly allowed it now that Z'Trew had completed his assignment as Obi-Wan's evaluator, so he had no misgivings on that score, and he could not deny a certain attraction, but was this something he really wanted to or should get involved in? "I'm sorry, it's just that this is all so sudden and unexpected…" Obi-Wan paused, not wanting to voice his main concern about a potential relationship with the best friend of the man he secretly loved. He continued carefully. "I do have a lot of work right now, and, well, I'm not sure I should be going out with anyone."

"I understand and appreciate your concerns. I certainly would not suggest we do anything that might interfere with either of our duties." Z'Trew leaned back. He sighed softly and let silence linger a few moments. "May I make a suggestion, Obi-Wan?"

"Of course."

"Will you at least take the opportunity to get to know me better, even if it's as just a possible friend? No commitment, nothing that you don't want to do, but at least spend some time together."

"I suppose I could do that," Obi-Wan said slowly.

"Excellent. I promise you won't regret your decision," burbled Z'Trew. He paused a moment, an almost guilty look on his face. "If you don't mind, I'd really appreciate it if we don't tell Qui-Gon until he comes back. That will give you a chance to actually get to know me a little better."

"Qui-Gon won't be back for at least two tendays." Obi-Wan narrowed his eyes, concern clear in his expression. "Is there something going on here I should know about?"

"Of course not, it's just that I would like to have a chance for us to get to know each other without Qui-Gon's comments influencing things. There are some habits I have that we don't always see eye to eye on. Also, in some ways I'm even more unorthodox than he is and, to be honest, I've been doing a lot of the Order's dirty work for a long time; do enough of that and it can blur your own beliefs if you're not careful. I suspect Qui-Gon fancies that I might be rather a bad influence on our younger Jedi." A very self-satisfied smile flashed across Z'Trew's face. "In fact, I'd be willing to place a large wager that he'd be throwing a fit if he knew I got myself assigned as your evaluator. Qui-Gon doesn't always give me sufficient credit for being able to play the model Jedi master when I need or choose to."

"I'm not sure I'm comfortable keeping anything from my master." Despite his words, Ob-Wan felt his reluctance beginning to lose the battle with his new desire to see more of Rawvten Z'Trew.

"You have my word we *will* tell him when he gets back," Z'Trew said earnestly, leaning close. "What I am asking for is an honest opportunity to make my case, for you to make up your own mind if you like me or want to see more of me, without any outside influence." He put a hand on Obi-Wan's arm. "Please?"

Obi-Wan shook his head as he smilingly assented. He knew he would need to meditate later to sort out the strange whirl of new feelings running through his heart and mind, but, after all, Qui-Gon was always encouraging him to see other people and seldom inquired directly about his private affairs. If nothing else, this promised to be an interesting relationship, and he was looking forward to seeing Qui-Gon's reaction after he got back.

The charming Jedi master pursued his slow courtship with Obi-Wan over the next two tendays. They started with a simple picnic in the Temple gardens, then progressed to exotic Coruscant restaurants and even meals in the Temple dining hall, although Z-Trew professed to dislike the noise and the quality of the food. Throughout them all, Z'Trew was an amiable and entertaining companion. In the training salle he was a challenging sparring partner and on the dance floor a fluid delight. Obi-Wan quickly found that any inquiries into Z'Trew's past or current duties would be deftly diverted, but requests for assistance or advice were unfailingly answered. Z'Trew had a seemingly inexhaustible store of stories and some very interesting thoughts on the Jedi Code and the Force which, in some ways, went even further afield than those of the renowned maverick Qui-Gon Jinn.

Also true to his word, Z'Trew was letting Obi-Wan dictate the pace of their developing relationship. Despite his obvious interest, he had confined himself to a few chaste kisses, but there was promise in those golden eyes of much more. Obi-Wan found himself increasingly drawn to the enigmatic master as they moved to a first-name basis, but was happy to keep the pace slow as he tried to sort out his feelings. He meditated several times, but the Force was an elusive oracle, providing only a vague sort of warmth that did little to help him resolve his situation. Obi-Wan knew he enjoyed being with Rawvten Z'Trew, but decided he clearly needed to hold him to his promise to discuss their relationship with Qui-Gon.

Master Jinn returned a few days early in late afternoon of a pleasant Ninthday. Despite his usual protests that Obi-Wan no longer needed to perform such duties, his padawan bustled about efficiently getting Qui-Gon's bags unpacked, laundry done, and a new set of basic necessities packed in case of emergency missions, while generally making sure Qui-Gon was comfortably settled back in. Obi-Wan seemed to enjoy doing things for his master; Qui-Gon had long since learned that, short of a direct order, he could no more stop his apprentice's services than he could stop the sun rising and he had stopped making more than a token objection.

Obi-Wan was working in the small kitchen preparing a simple meal for his master when he uttered a sharp exclamation.

"Is something wrong, Padawan?" asked Qui-Gon as he came in to refill his tea mug.

"Not really, Master. It's just that I was so happy to have you back I forgot that I was supposed to be going out tonight at nineteenth hour." Obi-Wan stood uncertainly in the center of the kitchen, his gaze shifting between the chrono and his master. "I don't want to leave you alone on your first night back, Master."

"I appreciate your concern, Obi-Wan, but I certainly don't mind." Qui-Gon smiled indulgently. "I will be staying in tonight to get caught up on my messages and reports so I would be very boring company."

"Well, if you're certain you don't mind…"

"Of course you should go, Padawan. I want you to go." Qui-Gon smiled affectionately as he firmly shooed Obi-Wan out. "I will finish that. You go get ready."

"But don't you want to know who -"

Qui-Gon held up an admonishing hand to quell both the verbal protest and the odd discomfort he felt over their bond. "Not another word. You know I trust you to manage your own affairs, so you can tell me about your date later if you wish. Now go."

"Yes, Master," replied Obi-Wan, yielding to his banishment with a reluctant smile.

Several minutes later Qui-Gon carried his food to his desk and was seating himself at the terminal in their common area when the door chime sounded. He smiled as he crossed to the door; he could hear his apprentice humming through the open door to the smaller sleeping room and there was a little extra trill of anticipation slipping across their bond. ~ I'm glad Obi-Wan seems to have found someone he likes so much, ~ he thought fondly as he opened the door.

"Qui-Gon! You're back early, you miserable sod," cried Z'Trew as he pushed his friend back toward the middle of the room, enthusiastically embracing him, a quick kiss stopping the return greeting. As they broke apart, Qui-Gon caught sight of Obi-Wan standing in the doorway of his room. There was a tentative smile on his lips, but a puzzling buzz of trepidation seeped through their mental link.

"And I'm glad to see you, too," Qui-Gon said as he tried to get his breath back after the rib-crushing hug. He looked his friend over, noting the interesting effect of dark brown leather vest, leggings and boots on the light brown fur. "I must say that you do look quite enticing, but I don't think I'm really up to going out tonight."

"That's probably a good thing, because I don't think my date for tonight is quite ready for a threesome with an old fossil like you," replied Z'Trew with a smile.

Despite his denial, Qui-Gon felt vaguely disappointed and it must have shown in his face. He had hoped to see a little more of his old friend before Z'Trew indulged in his penchant for bed-hopping.

"Hey, don't make such a long face, Qui, it doesn't become you," said the other master with a wink. "How about Secondday I come over and beat you at Tangents? I'll even let you use your own cards."

"You haven't won in years," said Qui-Gon with a mild snort. "But you're certainly welcome to try. I'll see you after latemeal."

"You're on. Right now I need to get a move on, though. We've got reservations for dinner and I don't want to be late." Z'Trew turned away from his friend. "Are you ready, Obi-Wan?"

Qui-Gon did a double take, then started laughing. "Your sense of humor certainly hasn't changed, Rawv," he finally managed to get out.

"What?" said Z'Trew, a hurt expression on his face.

"For a second there, I actually thought Obi-Wan was supposed to be your date, you old reprobate."

Z'Trew walked over to stand beside Qui-Gon's apprentice. Quietly he announced, "Obi-Wan *is* my date tonight, Master Jinn."

Qui-Gon stood in stunned silence as he tried to digest the pronouncement. His face was a study in gathering thunderclouds as he realized that his friend was serious.

Hands on hips, Qui-Gon glowered. "That is my padawan."

"Yes, and a fine padawan he is," answered Z'Trew complacently.

"This is not a joking matter, Rawvten."

"You are quite correct. I am very serious about taking Obi-Wan out."

Qui-Gon advanced to tower over his friend and glare at him. "Over my dead body, you miserable philandering hedonist. I will not have you toying with him."

Z'Trew held his ground and looked steadily at his old friend. "Aren't you forgetting something, Qui?" he asked softly.

"What?" spat out Qui-Gon between clenched teeth.

"Obi-Wan."

"What?" This time uncertainly.

"Obi-Wan is your padawan, but he's not your little boy any more. He is twenty-two years old and has been a senior padawan for over a year. Why don't you ask him what he wants to do?"

"He doesn't know about you and what you're really like, not the way I do."

"So you are *ordering* him not to go out with me?"

"I'm not, I mean..." Qui-Gon glared at Z'Trew for several seconds before closing his eyes and taking several breaths. Finally he blinked a few times before turning to his apprentice. He spoke slowly in a carefully controlled voice. "Padawan, it's not just that he is more than twice your age, you don't truly know anything about this man. I don't think it would be a good idea for you to go out with him."

"Master, I've already been seeing Master Z'Trew for the last two tendays. I was going to tell you earlier, but you stopped me."

The thunder on Qui-Gon's face turned darker. "You what?"

Obi-Wan hurried on. "He has been incredibly nice, a perfect gentleman. Master Z'Trew was also my evaluator for my teaching observation and was very helpful in showing me several things I need to correct."

The fire in Qui-Gon's eyes turned to ice. "Master Z'Trew, did you finagle the system to get yourself assigned as my padawan's evaluator?"

"Yes, I did." Z'Trew held up his hand. "Would you listen for a change instead of jumping to conclusions? Yes, I fixed the assignment, but I originally did it because I wanted to see what this padawan of yours was all about, to make sure he wasn't like your last one. I did it for you, Sith take you for an ungrateful bastard. But the more I saw of him, the more I realized what a fine young man he is, and I wanted to get to know him better for my own sake." His expression hardened and his eyes flashed. "And before you go jumping all over me, read the Sithdamned evaluation report and, just for once, give me a little credit for being a Jedi master instead of that silly young padawan who used to get us both in trouble."

Qui-Gon stepped back, looking uncertainly from his apprentice to his friend and back.

"You are my master and I respect your judgment," said Obi-Wan quietly as Qui-Gon's gaze came to rest on him. "I do like Master Z'Trew and I want to get to know him better, but I won't come between you. If you don't want me to see him, you know I will obey your wishes, Master."

It was the disappointment in his apprentice's eyes more than his friend's anger that led to the flush in the tall master's cheeks. He closed his eyes, drew a deep breath, then slowly let it out. Opening his eyes, Qui-Gon reconsidered the sight before him; his friend was right, his apprentice was certainly not a boy anymore.

"Padawan, please forgive me. I do trust you to handle your own relationships, and you can certainly go with him if that's what you really want. I suppose I was just getting too over-protective in my old age."

"It's alright, Master, I know you care a lot." Obi-Wan paused awkwardly. "Well, it's getting late, so I guess we should be going. We'll see you later, Master."

"Of course, Padawan."

As Obi-Wan headed for the door, Qui-Gon said softly, "Rawv."

The felinoid stepped up close and replied just as softly, "Qui-Gon, it's alright. If I still had a padawan, I probably wouldn't want him going out with me either. Don't worry, I wouldn't hurt him for the world, he's much too special. I'm not going to do anything he doesn't want and I promise I'm not going to try to persuade him into thinking he wants me if he really doesn't." He leaned up and gave Qui-Gon a quick kiss. "You are still my best friend, and I love you, but you really do need to meditate about what just happened." He smiled, then swiftly paced out the door to catch up with Obi-Wan.

For several minutes Qui-Gon simply stood still, eyes unfocused as he thought about the events that had just taken place. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. Rawv was right, he certainly did need to meditate on this. ~ Well, at least it will be a quiet evening for it, ~ he thought ruefully as he went to fetch his meditation mat.

The establishment was dark and definitely on the dingy side, but also boasted one of the best slgr bands in the sector. The two Jedi at a small table along the back wall sat quietly enjoying the music for the moment.

Z'Trew leaned forward, both forearms resting on the table, fingers interlaced. "You've been very quiet tonight, Obi-Wan. Is something wrong?"

Obi-Wan swirled his ale around in the heavy mug. Eyes fixed on the dark liquid, he finally responded. "Master Z'Trew -"

"Rawv, please."

"Sorry, forgot." Obi-Wan paused. "Rawv, I do like you a lot, I want you to know that..."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a long moment.

The felinoid extended a claw and examined it intently. "Qui-Gon's reaction tonight bothered you, didn't it?"

"Well, he is my master, and I don't feel comfortable doing something he doesn't approve of, but I thought the two of you were friends, and I don't really understand what's going on." Obi-Wan paused, took a sip of ale. "What is it that I should know about you?"

Rawv sighed. "I was afraid of that." He leaned back, idly extending and retracting claws. "I told you that Qui-Gon and I go back a long way?"

Obi-Wan nodded.

"Our relationship started out as sort of a big brother, little brother thing. Even when we got older and became lovers, Qui-Gon never really lost that feeling of responsibility, and he was the only one I could confide in about some of the things I did. I will freely admit that I've never exactly been one of the Temple's model citizens; I'm not sure who was more surprised when I actually became a knight, me or my master. A lot of my work for the Order since then has been covert and not very pleasant. Aside from the Council, Qui-Gon is one of the few who knows some of the things I've done and how close to the edge of the Code I go." Rawv turned in his seat so he was facing Obi-Wan. "Qui-Gon also knows that my personal life hasn't been the most savory. I think promiscuous and irresponsible were his favorite terms when he used to chew me out when I'd done something particularly stupid. He has a right to be concerned; I'm not really a very nice person."

Reaching out, Rawv took Obi-Wan's hand in his and looked in his eyes. "Obi-Wan, obviously you haven't known me very long, but I swear that you are very important to me and I would never do anything to hurt you. This is not just another bed-hopping passing infatuation. I've never felt like this about anyone before, but I won't take anything you aren't willing to give freely. Let me talk to Qui-Gon and see if I can convince him I'm serious. He is your master and both of you need to be comfortable with this; I'll understand if you decide you don't want to see me anymore for whatever reasons."

Slender fingers squeezed short furry ones. Looking down at their joined hands, Obi-Wan replied, "This is getting complicated, Rawv. I'm not sure what to do anymore."

"Please. I'll talk to Qui-Gon or whatever else you want me to do to convince you I'm serious."

Obi-Wan looked into the golden eyes. "Alright. Let's go home and talk."

Qui-Gon was stretched out on the old couch, bare feet propped up, a datapad in his hand and a stack of 'pads on the floor beside him. He looked up as Rawv and Obi-Wan entered the quiet quarters.

"Welcome back, gentlemen," said Qui-Gon. "You're back rather early. Nothing wrong, I hope?"

The other two talked over each other trying to mumble assurances, then stopped in momentary embarrassment.

Qui-Gon sat up and looked at the two silent men. "I see," he said dryly. "Actually, if you have a few minutes, I would like to talk to both of you. There is a fresh pot of tea in the kitchen if you would do the honors, Padawan."

"Of course, Master." Obi-Wan hurried into the kitchen, seemingly grateful for the distraction.

Rawv shrugged, smiled hesitantly, then moved to sit down in the armchair.

The room was quiet as Obi-Wan came back with a tray, then poured out three steaming mugs of tea before sitting on the other end of the couch.

Qui-Gon reached down into the stack of datapads and pulled one out. "I wanted to speak to both of you because I owe both of you an apology." He held up his hand as the other two started to protest. "No, hear me out."

Turning to face his apprentice, Qui-Gon said, "Obi-Wan, I owe you an apology because earlier tonight I reacted without thinking and without respect. You are a senior padawan and earned that position through your own hard work, not just because you happened to reach a certain biological age. You are entitled to the respect and trust that go with that position; what you do with your free time and who you go out with is your own choice, and I was wrong to attempt to unjustifiably put limits on your decision. I do trust you, Obi-Wan, and I apologize for not remembering that."

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan replied quietly, bowing his head in acknowledgement.

Turning back, Qui-Gon watched the silent figure in the armchair as his fellow master absently flexed his claws. "You know, one of these days the bad guys are going to figure out who you really are if you keep habits like that, Rawv," he said with a smile.

Holding up his left hand, the felinoid extended all of the claws and examined them critically. Without shifting his gaze, he said, "You had justification, Qui-Gon."

"No," Qui-Gon replied. "You were right. I jumped to conclusions and reacted without giving you a chance. I read that evaluation report you did on Obi-Wan, and I also thought about what I know of you. I reacted to the Rawvten Z'Trew who was always getting in trouble as a padawan, who scraped into knighthood by the breadth of a whisker and who will screw anything animate enough to even look like it could say yes. I did not allow for the Rawvten Z'Trew who always stood by me as my best friend, the Knight Z'Trew who saved my life and who raised one of the most incredibly irritating little bastards of a padawan to knighthood, the Master Z'Trew who has done more of the Council's dirty work than they should ever dump on any one being," he paused and held up the datapad, "and the Master Z'Trew who went out of his way to help a friend and his padawan. This evaluation report reminded me how hard you really do work and how much there is under that scruffy hide that most people never see. I was out of line earlier, and I apologize."

Rawv was squirming in his chair and looking down at the floor. " 'S okay," he mumbled almost inaudibly.

Qui-Gon glanced at his apprentice and grinned. "I think I forgot to mention that dealing with compliments is not one of his strengths."

Obi-Wan grinned back at his master but quickly turned serious. "Master?"

"Yes, Padawan?"

"Does this mean you don't mind me seeing Master Z'Trew?"

"Whether I mind or not mind should not determine your choice in this matter, Padawan."

"Qui-Gon," interjected the other master, "he respects your opinion, and rightly so. Actually, that's why we came back early."

"Yes?" Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow.

"Obi-Wan is your padawan, and whatever you might say, he *does* respect your opinion and he does care what you think." Rawv stood up. "I respect and love you, Qui-Gon, and I would never hurt someone you obviously care for so much. I need this to be right with both of you. I know you have a lot of reason to doubt me, but I do care about Obi-Wan and I want to get to know him better. I swear it's serious, not just another notch on my utility belt." He took a deep breath. "I guess I'm asking for your approval, Qui-Gon."

Obi-Wan also stood up and went to stand beside Rawv. "I would join that request, Master. I like Master Z'Trew a lot, but I didn't feel right about pursuing a relationship that you seemed to disapprove of so much."

Qui-Gon smiled and shook his head. "You don't really need it, but it's yours if you wish. You are both very important to me, and if you wish to see each other I have no objections. I will admit that I have reservations about the age difference and Rawvten's past history, so I don't think this will be easy, but you're both adults. I owe you the opportunity to prove me wrong." He paused and looked at Rawv, then grimaced. "Well, mostly adult. I trust you both to be responsible and keep duty ahead of pleasure."

"Thank you, Master, we will," said Obi-Wan.

Rawv tried to look offended, then broke into a wide grin. "Don't worry, Qui-Gon, I'll take good care of him."

"If I think you aren't, I'll beat you senseless," said Qui-Gon with an answering grin. "In the meantime, I'll settle for beating the pants off you at Tangents."

During the next two tendays all three Jedi were busy. Qui-Gon was participating in a seminar, Obi-Wan was getting ready to administer the upcoming midsession evaluations for his classes and Rawv was hidden away during most days with a group working on Outer Rim intelligence activities. They managed to take a number of meals together, and Rawv spent several evenings in the Jinn-Kenobi quarters. Mostly he played Tangents with Qui-Gon when Obi-Wan was busy grading papers or preparing course material.

Tangents, a fast-paced, four-deck card game of strategy, was a long-time favorite that the two masters had learned as padawans from the pilots at the spaceport. The games were usually intense but occasionally degenerated into raucous shouting or even wrestling matches amidst charges and countercharges of dishonest play; when he was losing too badly it seemed Rawv was not above hiding a few extra cards or 'accidentally' sweeping a stack off the table. Obi-Wan was fascinated by this new view of his dignified master and the coincidental enlargement to his vocabulary the byplay provided, although he lost count after the fifteenth new way to say 'cheating bastard'.

Whenever there was time before Obi-Wan's self-imposed sleep time of twenty-third hour, he and Rawv would retreat to his room for some quiet time together. Qui-Gon would generally either turn up the news channel on the holovid or go to his own room; he was careful to never ask questions when Rawv left each night, but Obi-Wan suspected he was still keeping a close, if discreet, eye on their relationship.

With regard to that relationship, as he and Rawv had gone beyond chaste kisses to very heavy petting above the belt, Obi-Wan found there were certain technical changes in technique he had to use when making out with the felinoid. Rawv did not have true lips, although the skin on his blunt muzzle was almost as controllable, and the short but dense fur all over his body did not lend itself well to licking or kissing except on the face, ears, palms of his hands or the two rows of nipples hidden in the soft chest and belly hair. Rawv also had a remarkably long tongue, which he could literally put down Obi-Wan's throat when they kissed, and just rubbing against the soft fur when they had their tunics off was enough to send blood rushing to Obi-Wan's cock. Rawv seemed to enjoy using his muzzle to kiss and lick the base of Obi-Wan's neck, often wiggling his short whiskers to make Obi-Wan laugh. Rawv would wrap his tongue around Obi-Wan's nipples and dip into his navel but seemed particularly fond of nuzzling under his arms. Obi-Wan had never thought of his armpits as being particularly erotic before, but when Rawv pushed, sucked and licked with nose and tongue, growling deep in his throat as he held Obi-Wan down, the apprentice squirmed in joyful abandon. In turn, Rawv had certain very sensitive spots just behind his ears, at the base of his neck, and along his spine. When Obi-Wan scratched just right, Rawv would melt into a purring puddle of fur draped across his lap.

Rawvten Z'Trew also stayed true to his promise and never pushed Obi-Wan any faster than he proved willing to go. Obi-Wan could sense the master's growing frustration, however, in the increasingly urgent kisses and the all too evident erection straining Rawv's leggings most nights. A few discreet inquiries to Qui-Gon revealed that the previous longest known courtship Rawv had indulged in without bedding or leaving his object of affection was a grand total of nine days, a period of time they had already considerably surpassed.

Obi-Wan knew it was high time he made up his mind what to do with this relationship. In his earlier experiences, by now he and his friend/partner would have either fucked each other or clearly said thanks but no thanks. He was too honest to keep leading Rawv on if he didn't intend to go any further, but Obi-Wan still wasn't certain of what his own intentions were - at this point he wasn't sure if he was listening to his heart or to his cock. He couldn't deny the physical attraction he felt, but there were emotions stirring in his heart so closely akin to those he had thought reserved exclusively for Qui-Gon that he was confused and uncomfortable. Obi-Wan made time in his schedule to meditate on those feelings; for three mornings in a row he went out to the gardens alone to immerse himself in the topic. He concluded that his feelings had gone beyond simple lust or infatuation and that he wanted very much to go further in this relationship. This puzzled him at first, because he knew his feelings for Qui-Gon had not diminished at all; he finally decided that the stories about being able to love two people at once must be true.

The upcoming weekend was the perfect opportunity for Obi-Wan to test his new resolve. On Eighthday he handed out take-home exams to the students in his academic classes and the performance-testing schedule for the lightsaber and kata classes. This meant he had no student work or tests to grade until the following tenday. That night in their quarters he agreed to Rawv's request for dinner and dancing on Ninthday, then smiled as the master's eyes lit up when he casually suggested they plan on going back to Rawv's rooms afterwards instead of returning to Obi-Wan's shared quarters. The tight-lipped expression on Qui-Gon's face wasn't nearly as happy, but his master limited his conversation to questions about Obi-Wan's progress in his teaching duties.

Dinner on Ninthday turned out to be an exquisite meal in a small, very exclusive, very expensive establishment, the kind where they didn't bother listing prices on the menu. A flash of golden eyes and a lazy wave of a hand immediately got them a cozy wrap-around table where they could sit next to each other. When Obi-Wan protested both the cost and the overly casual use of the Force, Rawv just shrugged.

"I've spent so much time undercover I've got several years worth of stipend just sitting in my account," Rawv said with a smile. "What better way to spend the Temple's funds than on another Jedi? And the Force helps those who help themselves, so stop being a worryworm."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes for a moment as Rawv's pink tongue flicked out to touch his nose. Rawv then took Obi-Wan's's hand and softly kissed the palm before, with a wink and a big grin, he continued, "Officially, tonight we are celebrating the half-way point in your teaching tour, Padawan Kenobi. I think having survived the little monsters this long is quite a good thing to celebrate, don't you?"

Obi-Wan shook his head, then decided to just enjoy the evening and returned a string of feathery kisses on Rawv's furless palm. With a knowing smile of his own, he replied, "Well, since you put it like that, Master Z'Trew, I shall enjoy helping you spend all of the Temple's credits that you like. Although, to be honest, I have to say the little monsters haven't been nearly so monstrous since you taught me some ways to keep them in line."

"Does that mean you would like me to come back as your observer for your final week?" Rawv asked with a big smirk.

"Force, no," Obi-Wan said, the look of horror on his face absolutely true though he shrank back in mock terror. "I'd pay everything in my account to have anyone *but* you be my final observer. I'm not sure I'd survive another tenday like that first one." He tapped a finger on Rawv's chest. "And for daring to make such an awful suggestion, tonight *I* get to lead."

"Oooooh, I love it when you get all masterly," Rawv said with his best gushing holovid sigh. He wiggled his nose, then leaned in and whispered, "I guess I'll just have to find something else to do with my hands when we dance, like grope your lovely ass."

"Master Z'Trew," Obi-Wan replied in a shocked tone as he clasped a hand to his breast. "Such wicked thoughts." He put on his best face of pious innocence. "I'm a good boy, I am."

"I'm counting on you being a very good boy," Rawv leered as he leaned even closer to flick his tongue into Obi-Wan's ear.

At that point Obi-Wan could not contain himself any longer and broke out laughing, drawing a disapproving glance from the waitperson passing by. He finally pulled himself together in time to order, although he had to avoid looking at his companion to finish his requests.

The rest of the evening was excellent. The food was actually worth the unmentionable prices, the live band played every favorite the patrons requested, and the dance floor was large enough to stay uncrowded. The two Jedi danced several times, blending so seamlessly that Obi-Wan felt as if they had been together for years. Rawv kept the conversation moving, shifting effortlessly between humor, history, music, places he had been, and gossip about the Council members. If not for the excitement building in his gut about the rest of the anticipated activities, Obi-Wan could easily have stayed all night.

They didn't, though. And once back at the Temple, Obi-Wan found that even at the masters' level the quarters for temporary visitors were relatively spartan. Sitting on a nondescript couch, he and Rawv sipped wine, held hands and quietly chatted for several minutes. They had taken off their boots, but an unaccustomed shyness had momentarily settled, not just on Obi-Wan's part it seemed. Finally Obi-Wan took the lead, diving in for a long, slow kiss which triggered a frantic rush of hands and tongues as tunics were ripped off. Every stroke of Rawv's long tongue on his neck, his nipples and his belly seemed to send more blood rushing to Obi-Wan's cock.

After this breathless interlude, Rawv slid down Obi-Wan's body and then off the couch. On his knees, he rested his head in Obi-Wan's lap as he gathered his breath. Taking Obi-Wan's hands into his own, he looked up.

"Obi-Wan..." Rawv said. He kissed Obi-Wan's hands.

"Yes, Rawv?" Obi-Wan could feel his heart hammering.

"I never thought I'd be saying this." Rawv paused, swallowed, then looked up again. "Obi-Wan, I've been attracted to you since that first time I met you and my feelings have been growing. I thought this would just be another affair like all my others, but it's gotten a lot more complicated than that." He took a deep breath. "Obi-Wan, I want to make love to you, if you'll let me."

Obi-Wan looked into his golden eyes for a long moment, searching his heart one last time, and knew this was the right thing to do. "Rawvten Z'Trew, I'd like that very much." He then stood up and let a wicked smile settle on his face.

They moved eagerly to the bedroom, leggings disappearing along the way. Stretching out on a surprisingly large bed, they traded kisses and let hands rove over new territory. Obi-Wan was amazed at the electric effect of the full-length skin on fur contact, but was even more amazed at the length of the wet penis that had emerged from the furry sheath at Rawv's groin. They kissed and squirmed some more, rubbing and just feeling their cocks caressing each other. Obi-Wan was on top when Rawv surprised him, the tip of Rawv's long tail snaking around to stroke Obi-Wan's balls and anus from behind. Seeking even closer contact, they ended up with heads at each other's groins, licking, sucking, fondling. Obi-Wan was delighted by the slightly sweet flavor of the fluid leaking from the smooth tip and its contrast to the salty flavor of the lubricating fluid on the exterior of the long, smooth cock.

Both men had gradually lowered their shields to each other, and Obi-Wan could now feel the shared sensations in the Force, emotions of love and lust swirling with the physical feedback from hands and mouth. He could never remember this intense a sexual experience before, even among his first heady encounters. The rising tide of Force energy matched the growing heat in his body. The scent of smoky musk filled his nose. The blood roaring in his ears mixed with the muted growling of his partner, those same growls vibrating against Obi-Wan's cock as Rawv expertly sucked it deep into his throat. Incandescent tingles rippled up and down Obi-Wan's spine as a stubby finger entered his anus and gently probed against his prostate.

The heat and excitement were rapidly surging to a crest when Rawv abruptly pulled away, squeezing the base of Obi-Wan's cock to prevent the impending orgasm. Panting, no doubt from his own closeness, he swiftly flipped around and swallowed Obi-Wan's cry of disappointed surprise in a deep kiss. Rawv then pulled obi-Wan into a hot embrace, letting their cocks rub back together as sweat and precum mixed.

"Obi-Wan," Rawv panted hoarsely.

"Don't stop, damn it," Obi-Wan moaned. "Want you."

"Obi-Wan, I'm too big, too close, to try to take you this time." He pulled them even closer together. "Want you inside me. Take me, Obi-Wan, please."

"Yes, yes... where's the damned lube, Rawv?"

Rawv's hand scrabbled under the pillows, then thrust a tube of gel at Obi-Wan before shifting onto his hands and knees, his tail switching back and forth in a syncopated beat of urgency. Obi-Wan quickly coated his throbbing cock, then briefly shoved two fingers of gel into Rawv's pulsing opening.

"Now, Obi-Wan, I'm ready," moaned Rawv, "want it now."

Taking him at his word, Obi-Wan thrust forward with a grunt, driving in until he was buried to the balls. He paused as a yowling scream split the air, thinking that he had hurt his companion.

"Yes! So fucking good! Do it, do it!" A surge of Force energy spun around them, an almost visible aura of red and yellow haze reflecting their mounting physical excitement.

Reassured, Obi-Wan pulled back, then set to with a will, pounding in and out of Rawv. He was caught up in the moment, blood racing, sweat pouring down, his cock throbbing harder and harder. Furry hips thrust back to meet him as moans and yowls from both men filled the air, physical urgency joined by the outpouring of love and need in the Force aura spinning them together. Obi-Wan leaned in close as his hips worked, reached under Rawv, his hand joining the furry one frantically fisting the long cock. Joined in the Force, both men felt balls tighten as Obi-Wan drove harder. His climax came when Rawv's tail swung around and the tip forced its way inside, mimicking Obi-Wan's hard cock pounding Rawv's body into the mattress. With a final shove, Obi-Wan came, and Rawv too, in an explosion of light and ecstasy. Together they callapsed in a heap.

It was many minutes before Obi-Wan stirred. He felt so comfortable he didn't want to move, a boneless mass wrapped in a warm cocoon of fur and love.

"Mmmm. By the Five Goddesses, this has been the best night I can remember in ages."

Obi-Wan cracked open an eye as he rubbed his face in the soft chest fuzz, running a hand up and down the silky fur on Rawv's back, ignoring the loose fur that stuck to his wet skin. "Thanks, Rawv, you were wonderful." He stopped short as he caught sight of his companion's expression.

Master Rawvten Z'Trew was lying on his side, one arm wrapped around Obi-Wan, tail relaxed from its usual twitching. He gently stroked Obi-Wan's face with his other hand, but as he looked down his eyes were bright, a suspicious dampness darkening the mask of fur around them.

Confused, Obi-Wan let his senses seek the Force currents lingering in the room. He found a sharp undercurrent of sorrow mixed with the love and longing which still predominated. "Rawv, what's wrong?" he asked gently, catching the hand stroking his face so he could kiss the palm.

"Nothing I suppose I shouldn't have expected," Rawv replied enigmatically. He sighed as a half-hearted smile trembled on his face. Abruptly Rawv rolled out of the bed and stood up. His fists were clenched by his sides as he stared at Obi-Wan. "I need some time alone." A moment later he turned and practically ran from the room despite the quarters being his own.

Obi-Wan lay on the bed, looking helplessly at the swinging door as his feelings crashed into a maelstrom of confusion and pain.

Time passed unheeded as the young Jedi tried to recover from the shock of the sudden change of emotions. Remnants of the post-coital euphoria still lingered, mixed with the hurt of the sudden rejection. Obi-Wan tried to search for traces of Rawv in the Force, but the master seemed to have heavy shields in place. Finally he gathered himself together and stood up.

Pausing in the doorway, he surveyed the common area. There was no sign of Rawv, but the sound of a sob drew him forward. Through the open windoor he glimpsed the naked master on the narrow balcony. He was standing slumped over the railing, head in his hands.

"Rawv?" called Obi-Wan softly.

There was no reaction.

Obi-Wan hesitated, then went forward and put a hand on Rawv's shoulder.

Rawv raised his head, but looked only straight ahead.

"Please come back inside, Rawv."

The master drew a deep, shuddering breath, but let Obi-Wan lead him back to the bedroom. They climbed into bed and pulled the covers up. There was an uncomfortable silence for several minutes.

"What is going on, Rawv? That was the most incredible experience I've ever had with anyone. You were wonderful," Obi-Wan said. "Please tell me what's wrong and what I can do to help."

There was another long silence before Rawv finally started speaking in a low, tentative tone.

"Obi-Wan, after I was knighted, I swore I would never get permanently attached to anyone. I thought it wouldn't be fair to either of us because of the work I do and the kind of person I am." He wrapped Obi-Wan in both arms, holding him tight, then continued in a hoarse whisper. "Then you came along, and I knew I was lost. I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and I was hoping desperately to have you, even though I know they're probably going to send me back out to the Outer Rim. I would have settled for these few months if I had to, but now I don't know what to do."

"Rawv, there's still a lot about you I don't know or understand, but I do know that you are a good person, a good Jedi." Obi-Wan squeezed back, held the furred body close. "I've been thinking about you a lot, Rawvten Z'Trew, and I think I love you, too."

There was a moment of silence before the felinoid drew back a little, one finger tracing along the edge of Obi-Wan's face. "My beautiful Obi-Wan," Rawv murmured sadly. He paused, picked up Obi-Wan's long padawan braid, closed his fist around it. He continued in a choked voice, "If there had to be someone else to claim your heart before I could, I guess I would just as soon that it was him."

Obi-Wan stared in bewilderment, his mouth hanging partially open. "What in the Force are you talking about?" He watched as Rawv shifted his gaze to stare down at the braid still clenched in his fist.

"I have known many Jedi in my life, as friends, as lovers, as enemies. I know what just about every variation of Force signature looks like and how that signature reflects its owner." Rawv slowly let the braid slip from his hand. "When you let your shields down, your Force signature shone brightly, a stunning vision in shades of silver and blue." The master looked up, dark golden eyes shimmering with moisture. "I also saw that your inner signature is solidly entwined with another, far more intricately involved than is normal for a padawan." He paused, licked his lips, then continued in a soft voice. "You are deeply tied to an emerald green signature I know almost as well as I know my own."

"Rawv, I didn't... we've never..." Obi-Wan faltered, almost stunned as he realized what must have happened, "Oh Force, I'm so sorry." He leaned up on one elbow, dismay souring his stomach. "Please, Rawv, you have to believe me, I did want to be with *you* tonight. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt you."

Rawv stared hard into Obi-Wan's eyes before shaking his head. "I believe you, Obi-Wan, because I don't think you're the sort of person who would play those kinds of games, and I do believe you have some feelings for me." He gave a little half laugh, half bark. "If I didn't think we had something special together, I wouldn't have chased you this long. And this was about the best night of my life, too, until the end." He ran a blunt thumb up and down the braid. Looking up once more, he asked point blank, "You hide it very well, but you do love Qui-Gon, don't you?"

Obi-Wan stared back miserably into those golden eyes that pinned his. His breath hitched as his throat tightened, his mouth dry and ashen. There was only one answer he could honestly give, and they both knew it. "Yes," he whispered, then hung his head. "I've loved him for years."

"Does he know?"

"I told him once, but he rejected me."

Rawv gently grasped Obi-Wan's face to force his head up. He looked intently before dropping his hand. "Bloody hells, the stupid sod told you that you were too young for him, didn't he?"

"He's not a -"

Rawv put a hand over Obi-Wan's mouth before he could continue. "I've earned the right to call him a lot of things you probably don't want to hear. I know he's been a great master, has to have been to have turned out such a good padawan as you." He pulled his hand back. "But I still think he's a stupid sod if he can't see the wonderful gift sitting right under his nose."

"He was always very honest about the way he felt, Rawv. It's not like he ever led me on in any way."

"I suppose it started with the usual padawan crush?"

"Yes. I was sixteen." Obi-Wan shuddered at the memory.

"I'll bet you poured your love out on your knees, he gave you the standard brush-off speech, also said you were too young, and you wanted to crawl in a hole and die."

Obi-Wan laughed ruefully. "Something like that. You sound like you were there."

"I saw it happen with his first apprentice," Rawv replied with a smile. "She got over it pretty quickly, though."

"Oh." Obi-Wan nodded. "Well, you nailed it. It wasn't too long after that he started seeing other people again, which everyone seemed to think was a very good thing after how he had shut himself away for so long because of the problems with his last padawan." He paused to look away, too aware of the embarrassed blush staining his cheeks. "I got this silly romantic notion to stay celibate until I turned eighteen and spent months doing up a love letter to ask him to be my first lover."

"How did he take it when you presented it?"

A long silence fell between them before Obi-Wan could reply. "I never did. It was shortly before I turned eighteen that he started having sex again. I found out by walking in unexpectedly when they were going at it on the couch." He grimaced. "I got mad, tore up the letter, and went on a sex binge. I thought if I had lots of experience it wouldn't matter so much about the age difference. I was wrong, of course, but I didn't figure that out until after I'd made quite an ass out of myself." This time he managed a wry smile and self-deprecating laugh. "Since then, I've mostly just pined in silence."

Rawv reached out to embrace Obi-Wan again. "Force, this would almost be like one of those holovid farces if it didn't hurt so much. I finally fall in love, but you're already in love with my best friend who has a silly prejudice against taking a younger lover."

Obi-Wan leaned into the embrace, snuggling his face into the ruffled fur at the base of Rawv's short neck. "Rawv, I've loved Qui-Gon for a long time, but I also love you, too. What are we going to do?"

Rawv gently pushed Obi-Wan to arm's-length. He traced a finger down Obi-Wan's cheek, then pulled away and sat up. "Obi-Wan, I appreciate your honesty. I know that wasn't easy to talk about." He leaned back, staring up at the ceiling. "Right now, though, I need some time alone. This is unfamiliar territory for me and I'm very confused." He glanced at Obi-Wan. "I'm sorry if it looks like I'm kicking you out of bed; believe me this is not your fault in any way and you haven't done anything wrong." Rawv sighed. "It's just me… I need some space to let the pain subside enough to think, to try to understand what to do."

"I don't want to leave you -"

Rawv shook his head. "Please, Obi-Wan."

Obi-Wan looked pleadingly at his lover. He could feel his throat tightening as he tried to fight back a tear.

Rawv sighed heavily. "Alright, Force take it, would you at least move out to the couch? I promise we will talk in the morning."

"As you wish," Obi-Wan replied. He got out of bed. "If you want me for anything…"

"I know." Rawv slid back down to lie flat as Obi-Wan grabbed a spare blanket from the closet and headed for the door. When Obi-Wan was almost at the doorway, he called out softly, "Thank you, Obi-Wan."

One hand on the doorframe, Obi-Wan hesitated, then nodded silently before leaving.

Time dragged by slowly. Obi-Wan dozed fitfully in between roundly berating himself for having inadvertently hurt his new lover alternating with bouts of self-pity for his unrequited love for his master. He tossed restlessly in the darkness, listening to the quiet relentless pacing on the other side of the door, agonizing over what he should do, or if there was even a solution to his dilemma. He feared that he would have to decide between his new love that was so enthusiastically returned and his old love that was so deeply entrenched in his heart. Neither one carried any guarantees of future happiness and he felt close to losing himself if he could not resolve this storm of emotion.

At fifth hour Obi-Wan awakened from a light sleep. He yawned and stretched as he watched Rawv head for the 'fresher, then emerge a few minutes later to pause beside the couch. His expression was hard to determine in the dim light. "I'll make some tea," was all he said as he turned away.

Obi-Wan stretched again before rising and using the 'fresher himself. He turned up the lights in the common room and found the leggings he had discarded the night before. He pulled them on as Rawv came back with two steaming mugs. He handed one to Obi-Wan and then sat on the couch.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan said. He hesitated a moment, finally taking a spot at the other end of the couch.

There was an awkward silence for several minutes as the two men looked carefully anywhere but at each other. Occasionally one would take a sip of tea, self-conscious at the small noise.

Obi-Wan stirred at last. "Rawv, may I ask you a question?" he asked tentatively.

"Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Last night you talked about Force signatures, but just how much do they really tell you about a Jedi? I was wondering because I felt yours, a warm and amazing amber, but I just had an awareness of it in the Force. I didn't really get any specific information from it."

"And you don't understand how I saw Qui-Gon in yours?" Rawv smiled to take the sting out of his question.

Obi-Wan lifted his head and tried to ignore the blush rapidly warming his cheeks. "I suppose that's really what I wanted to know, but I didn't want to hurt you again by bringing it up. You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"It's alright, Obi-Wan. It takes a lot more than that to get through this tough old hide." Rawv leaned forward, cradling the tea mug in his hands. "Force signatures are something you have to learn pretty much by experience. It's been a subject I just happened to be interested in because I have found that it helps me to read other beings who have Force sensitivity." He paused thoughtfully. "The simplest explanation is probably that your Force signature reflects your collected life experiences and strength. Most beings have a foundation color like your lightsaber color. The stronger your connection to the Force, the deeper and stronger is your foundation color. Your experiences and beliefs will either deepen your base color or draw in traces of other colors."

"So a strong attraction to another will add some of that person's color to your own signature?"

"Usually. It depends on the strength of the attraction and the nature of the relationship. A temporary infatuation might not appear at all; a bonded couple might have deep color strands embedded in each other's signature. Even a strong but bad experience can leave traces." Rawv rubbed a thumb along the rim of the mug. "You'd be surprised at how much of Xanatos still lingers in Qui-Gon's signature if you know where to look for it."

"So how do you know what to look for?"

"You just have to practice. Good things are bright and taste good, bad things tend to be dark and taste bad."

"What do you mean, 'taste bad'?"

The master waved a hand vaguely. "I interpret things very sensually, so to me the Force elements have color and taste. They might not seem the same at all to someone else. That is one reason it's a hard topic to teach. You can also learn to block your signature, or to hide just parts of it." He looked up sideways at Obi-Wan, a partial lop-sided smile on his lips. "You, my young apprentice, have not yet learned how to do this, so when you released your shields I could see everything, including that lovely green of fresh spring grass that means Qui-Gon Jinn."

Obi-Wan shook his head in frustration. "But I didn't sense anything but amber in your Force signature."

"Ah, but I am a suspicious, hardened old curmudgeon. I have multiple layers upon layers of shielding, much more than most masters do, and it actually takes a conscious effort to release the deeper ones. If you were able to see further down, you would find not only a huge swath of bright green, but all sorts of murky brown and purple threads. Qui-Gon has almost as many layers as I do because of his years as a negotiator, but his surface signature is so bright few other Jedi realize the true depths of that man."

"Thanks, Rawv." Obi-Wan sighed. "I guess it's just one more thing I didn't realize I didn't know yet. No wonder Qui-Gon still thinks I'm too young."

There was another, more companionable silence as time drifted by, each man lost in his own thoughts.

Rawv was the first to stir this time.

"Obi-Wan," he murmured.

"Hmmm?"

"I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"I love you, too, Rawvten Z'Trew."

"But we both love Qui-Gon in our own way."

"True," Obi-Wan replied drowsily.

Rawv set his mug on the floor, then stretched over and took one of Obi-Wan's hands in his. "I need to ask you a very personal, very serious question."

"Of course." Obi-Wan sat up straight and put his mug aside on a small side table.

"I need to know what you truly believe about Qui-Gon's feelings for you." Rawv squeezed Obi-Wan's hand. "Not what you hope he feels, or might someday feel. Your honest assessment of the current relationship between the two of you."

"Alright. Give me a moment." Obi-Wan sat back and closed his eyes, carefully considering everything he had learned about his master the last several years. "Qui-Gon has always had affection for me, affection as my teacher, my guardian. I think I have earned more respect from him these past few years, although I'm not always sure he remembers." He paused a moment, then spoke slowly. "I believe that Qui-Gon also has feelings that are more than just affection. There have been times when we finished very difficult and physically demanding missions. He'd let his shields slip when we were alone together and I felt emotions that seemed to mirror what I felt for him. It has been very frustrating, though, because it has also seemed that Qui-Gon has deliberately set a limit on his feelings for me. It's been like running up against a locked door; there have been many times when I thought he was going to say or do something that might bring us closer, but the door always slams closed."

Rawv's eyes lit up with a golden glow as he smiled. Softly he said, "That would explain a lot, then."

"What would it explain?"

"I've been thinking about all three of us these last couple of hours. I've been further inside Qui-Gon's shields than anyone, and I've just realized that what I saw were his feelings for you. He really does care for you a great deal, you know."

"Are you sure?" Obi-Wan asked hopefully. "He's supposed to like me. He *is* my master, after all."

"No, no," Rawv said impatiently. "I've seen lots of masters and padawans; I know what a typical relationship does to their Force signatures and I can assure you there are many pairs that definitely do not like each other. When I first returned to Coruscant and reunited with Qui-Gon, I was surprised when I saw how deeply embedded you were in Qui-Gon's signature. I didn't think about it at the time, but now I believe that Qui-Gon has far deeper than usual feelings for you, but much of it is pushed down into his subconscious. That would match with your observations."

Abruptly Rawv stood up, pulling Obi-Wan with him. "This could work, Obi-Wan," he said with an excited grin. "At the moment, of course, Qui-Gon is irritated with both of us because I've been pursuing you, but that does not change the basic facts that we love each other, we both love Qui-Gon, and he loves me." He paused, then continued in his best matter of fact, 'it's perfectly reasonable' tone of voice. "The only thing that's missing is for Qui-Gon to love you." He hugged Obi-Wan tightly.

Obi-Wan coughed as the breath was squeezed out of him. "What are you talking about, Rawv?" he wheezed.

Rawv's chest vibrated as he laughed. "You. Me. Qui-Gon. If I can't have you to myself, we can turn the whole thing into a threesome. After all, there are plenty of other-somes out there, three, four, five and whatever you call the drop in/drop out circle the Zelusins have." He smiled hugely. "It would serve the bastard right if we ganged up on him."

Obi-Wan snorted into the fur, then sighed. "It sounds wonderful, but I don't understand how it could happen." He rested his head against Rawv's shoulder. "I don't know how to get past that wall he hides his feelings behind."

"My poor Obi-Wan." Rawv hugged him again, then patted his back soothingly. "Perhaps it is time we had a talk about some of your master's history."

"You know why Qui-Gon is so adamant about this?" Obi-Wan let his tone sharpen with excitement.

"Let's get comfortable in bed, and I shall tell you a tale."

A few moments later both Jedi were naked again and back in the big bed. Rawv grabbed a pillow, punched it up, then carefully set it against the headboard and sat back against it. He looked at Obi-Wan. "Some of this is not a happy story. Are you sure you really want to know?" he asked.

"Yes, please," Obi-Wan replied eagerly, "I really want to know."

"Very well. Just remember, this is Qui-Gon Jinn we're talking about, not somebody normal."

Obi-Wan smiled. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind."

"Once upon a time, in a magical place called Temple, there were -"

Obi-Wan couldn't help letting a snigger escape.

"Hey, this is my story, and I'll tell it any way I like," Rawv growled.

"Yes, sir, o great Master, sir," Obi-Wan said with an obsequious bow.

"Smart-ass padawan. Keep that up and Qui-Gon will think I really am a bad influence on you," Rawv grumbled.

"Oh, don't worry about that." Obi-Wan grinned. "I think I must have done hundreds of hours of meditation on the topics of impertinence, inappropriate humor, and being respectful of elders even when you think they're pompous windbags. However, you were saying?"

Rawv shook his head. "I knew there was a reason I loved you." He sat up straighter in a cross-legged position as his tail sneaked over to caress Obi-Wan's face.

"I think we have a couple of different stories here to deal with. The short version of the main story is that once upon a time there were two young, very idealistic Jedi knights set on righting the wrongs of the galaxy. These fine young knights thought they were quite men of the galaxy, very full of themselves. Well, they had a good friend, also a young knight, who fell prey to the temptations of love with a much younger padawan. Qui-Gon, who already had a natural preference for older beings but at the time was having a bit of a fling with a padawan himself, tried to talk him out of it. Unfortunately, the knight couldn't leave well enough alone when the padawan decided that perhaps it wasn't really such a good idea."

Rawv paused, worrying his left incisor with the tip of his tongue as if considering his next words. "Things got out of hand and there were, shall we say, serious questions about consent. The knight was sent away for punishment and rehabilitation but ended up committing suicide. Very nasty scandal, hushed up very quickly. Qui-Gon, being the eager idealistic young idiot that he was and feeling rather guilty for his own little affair, saw this as an object lesson from the Force and swore he would never again get involved with someone much younger. I tried for a long time to make him see how ridiculous he was being, but as you should know by now, once Qui-Gon gets something like that in his head as a principle, he just doesn't budge." The felinoid shuddered, a long ripple ruffling his fur. "Force, I can still hear him to this day, 'I will do what I must, Rawvten', he would tell me. I hate it when he calls me Rawvten in that tone of voice."

"He still says it today. Whenever we get chewed out by the Council and I try to talk to him, that's all I get from him, 'I will do what I must, Obi-Wan'. I know what you mean, there are times I'd like to just hit him, Code or no Code." Obi-Wan settled back gloomily. "This sounds very bad, Rawv. We are up against one of the immovable forces of nature, a Jinn Principle. What could be worse than that?"

"Well…"

"There's more?"

"I did mention two stories, Obi-Wan." Rawv softly caressed Obi-Wan's cheek with the back of one hand. "Your predecessor was a handsome young man, you know."

"My predecessor?"

"Xanatos." Rawv cocked his head. "How much do you know about Qui-Gon's last padawan?"

"I've read what is in the Temple public records, seen the pictures there. He was definitely good-looking, and evidently very talented." Obi-Wan shook his head. "I've heard rumors about what happened when he left the Order, but Qui-Gon never talks about him."

"I didn't get to see very much of him, but he was quite the charmer. Qui-Gon used to be incredibly profuse in his praise for Xanatos." Rawv glanced at Obi-Wan. "Actually, Qui-Gon used to be much more outgoing overall, until Xanatos turned on him. That was a very difficult time; afterwards Qui-Gon retreated into a dark empty shell and hasn't really been himself since." Rawv picked up one of Obi-Wan's hands and softly kissed the palm. "Even if I didn't love you, I would be grateful to you for having brought him back this far into the light."

"You think he still has issues about Xanatos?"

"Even making allowances for all the other things he has been through in his life, Qui-Gon still is quieter, more reserved than he was before Xanatos. I believe there is still an emotional wall there, a wall that he deliberately built to keep himself from getting hurt again. And I think that wall is why he is so reluctant to give you a lot of praise or overt affection." Rawv kissed Obi-Wan's palm again. "I've been watching the two of you, and there is almost a formality in the way he tends to keep you at arm's-length much of the time, as if he is unconsciously afraid of letting you get too close. I don't think he even knows how deep his real feelings are."

"That just makes things that much worse." Obi-Wan sighed. "Maybe it would be better for both of us if we just let it go."

"Obi-Wan, I want you to be happy. I have both of you, but you only have me, and it's not likely that I'll be here on Coruscant for more than a few months. The work I'm best at is undercover and the Council *will* send me back out sooner rather than later." Rawv turned and leaned over, staring at Obi_Wan fiercely. "I want you to be happy, and getting Qui-Gon to share our love is what we need to do. I want him to be there for you when I can't be."

"You would do that for me?"

"Absolutely."

Obi-Wan returned Rawv's tight hug. He muttered into the soft fur, "Rawv, you're wonderful, but how are we doing to do this? We have to show him somehow that age doesn't have to make a difference and that it's alright to have feelings like we have for each other."

"Oh, yeah. Uh, credibility could be a bit of a problem." Rawv shifted back to leave room between them and looked down abashedly as he cleared his throat. "Qui-Gon has known me a long time, Obi-Wan. He wasn't all that far off the mark when he said I have a history of screwing just about anything that moves, although I do generally make sure they're at least of the legal age for the planet."

"That doesn't bother me as long as he believes you've treated me properly, which you have. I don't think you're giving yourself enough credit, Rawv. I've noticed you can be pretty persistent, one might even say persuasive," Obi-Wan said, rapidly gaining enthusiasm for the undertaking. "Qui-Gon complained that you were always talking him into things that got the two of you in trouble."

"Hah! Lying bastard! He did his share of instigating," the master said indignantly.

"Alright, I believe you," Obi-Wan said soothingly, "but the point is that you know Qui-Gon even better than I do." He moved over to snuggle up against his still-agitated felinoid. "I love you, Rawv." He began rubbing Rawv's belly. "We both love Qui-Gon," he whispered seductively into Rawv's ear. "You must have some ideas to try, don't you?"

"Obi-Wan..." Rawv started to purr as Obi-Wan's hand drifted lower. "Mmmm, that's so good, Obi-Wan." He started to slide down, but abruptly grabbed the apprentice's hand that was rubbing his penis sheath.

"Whoops, there are a few special anatomy topics we need to discuss before you get too enthusiastic, my lovely apprentice," Rawv said dryly. "I don't want to hurt you."

"Qui-Gon knows you quite well, my furry master." A wicked grin lit his face as he whispered, "Why don't I ask *him*?"

The long tongue flicked out as golden eyes blinked. "Obi-Wan Kenobi, I love you." The next moment the bed was covered with laughing, wrestling Jedi.

"Good morning, Padawan," Qui-Gon said. He was seated at the table, several datapads laid out as he prepared for a seminar on treaty compromise tactics, and looked up as Obi-Wan entered their quarters.

"Good morning, Master," Obi-Wan said cheerfully. He stopped briefly to remove his boots and throw them into his room before returning to the kitchen to rummage for food.

"How was your evening - " Qui-Gon's voice abruptly stopped as his apprentice sat down and he caught a whiff of a strong odor. Being very well-acquainted with that particular musky fragrance, his jaw tightened as he realized what must have happened.

"It was wonderful, Master. Rawv took me to this fabulous restaurant; the food was truly exquisite and the music divine," Obi-Wan enthused.

"How nice," Qui-Gon said flatly.

"It was ever so much more than nice, Master. Rawv is an incredible dancer, but I'm sure you already knew that. He has moves that could put a Beranian sperl dancer to shame." Obi-Wan paused to take a long drink of juice.

"Yes, he certainly does have a lot of moves," Qui-Gon said darkly.

Seemingly oblivious to Qui-Gon's swiftly deteriorating mood, Obi-Wan chatted for several minutes about how much he had enjoyed the evening, how nice Rawv had been, how good the food was, how nice Rawv had been, how good the band was, and how nice Rawv had been.

Draining his second glass of juice, Obi-Wan leaned back in his seat and smiled hugely. "Do you know what the best part of last night was, Master?"

"What?" snapped Qui-Gon, who had become heartily tired of hearing about the wonderfulness of Master Rawvten Z'Trew.

"We made love, Master," Obi-Wan said. "It was wonderful, incredible, better than anything I could have imagined."

"Rawv is quite talented in bed when he wants to be," Qui-Gon said warily, waiting to see if past experience would hold true.

"Oh yes, he was magnificent." Obi-Wan abruptly leaned forward. "This morning, though..." His voice trailed off as an anxious expression formed on his face. "Master, you've always said we could talk about anything, right?"

"Of course, Padawan," said Qui-Gon. He braced himself for the seemingly inevitable. ~ I knew it, the son of a bantha finally got him in bed and then dumped him. I am going to kill him, very, very slowly and very, very painfully. ~ He picked up his mug of tea to take a calming sip.

"He said he loves me and wants to see me again, but he needs to explain some anatomical differences for our next time," Obi-Wan said. "You've been Rawv's lover for a long time, and I was wondering if you knew what he was talking about?"

Tea slopped over onto the table as Qui-Gon's mug came down with a thump. It took all of his control to keep from spitting tea all over his apprentice but it was a close thing. Finally he swallowed, red-faced, and took a deep breath.

"You're seeing him again?" was Qui-Gon's incredulous reaction. He took another deep breath as he tried to gather his spinning thoughts.

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan continued. "We're in love, and we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other. I thought since you've known Rawv for so long, you could give me some pointers on what he likes. I really want to be able to make him happy, Master."

For a long moment the stunned Jedi master sat at the table, hand clenched around his mug, breathing heavily through his nose as he stared at his apprentice.

"Master?" Obi-Wan said anxiously. "Is something wrong?"

"Padawan, please don't misunderstand me," Qui-Gon said, fighting to keep his tone and expression neutral, "but are you quite certain that you clearly understood whatever it was that Master Z'Trew said about your relationship?"

"Yes, Master," his apprentice replied. He smiled, a faraway look in his eyes. "We spent a long time hashing out our feelings for each other. We're definitely in love." He paused, dragging his gaze back to Qui-Gon. "Don't worry, Master, Rawv said you're still his best friend, and he still loves you too."

"That's not the issue that bothers me," Qui-Gon replied with a touch of irritation. "Obi-Wan, I'm concerned about you. This is a very serious matter, and I think we need to discuss -" He was interrupted by the door chime.

"I'll get it, Master."

The door opened to reveal a cheerful felinoid Jedi master. After a light kiss for Obi-Wan, he came around the table and squeezed Qui-Gon's shoulder.

"Good morning," Rawv said. He pulled his tail out through the hidden opening in his leggings and used it to give a playful tickle to Qui-Gon's ear.

Qui-Gon did not reply or even smile.

Rawv leaned over. "Oh come on, it's a beautiful day, lighten up, old friend."

Qui-Gon sighed, then looked up. "Master Z'Trew, we need to talk."

Rawv wrinkled his nose. "We are talking," he said lightly.

Qui-Gon gave Rawv a reproachful look.

Rawv sighed in turn.

Qui-Gon stood up. "Padawan, if you will excuse us, please." He led the way toward the balcony.

It was quiet in the warm morning air as both masters leaned on the balcony railing. Finally Qui-Gon straightened up and turned to his friend. "Rawvten, I must ask you a serious question, and I need a serious answer for a change."

"Of course, Qui-Gon." Rawv looked up.

"I have worked very hard at not interfering with the relationship Obi-Wan has wanted to pursue with you, despite some major reservations. He told me that the two of you had sex last night, and I know damned well what that usually means with you. Now he's even spouting some nonsense about being in love with you." Qui-Gon's voice was low and serious, his face carefully controlled as his eyes bored into those of his friend. "Rawvten Z'Trew, what are your intentions toward my padawan?" Qui-Gon asked. He stood waiting, arms crossed over his chest.

There was silence again as the felinoid slowly straightened, stared out over the city, then turned. "I love him," he said simply.

"And just what in the seven hells is that supposed to mean?" Qui-Gon growled.

"Look, I know... bloody hells, we *both* know all too well what I've always been like," Rawv said quietly, "so I do understand that you're concerned, and rightly so." He paused, looking down, letting one hand absently play with the end of his tail. "Qui-Gon, we've been friends a very long time, and you know you'll always have a special place in my heart."

Qui-Gon nodded. "As you do in mine, Rawv."

"Well, that young man in there has captured a piece of my soul." Rawv stepped close. "I've never felt this way about anyone before and I swear to you I will never, ever, do anything to hurt him."

"That still doesn't answer my question, though," Qui-Gon said softly, letting sympathy bleed through his tone and expression.

"Ah, yes, my 'intentions'," Rawv said slowly. "There are really three of us involved in this, aren't there?" His pink tongue snaked out to touch his brown nose. He took a deep breath. "Within the bounds of our mutual responsibilities as Jedi, and with all due respect to your master-padawan relationship, my 'intention' is to make him as happy as he will allow me to for as long as I can."

There was a thoughtful silence as blue eyes stared into golden ones. Large hands gently grasped fur-covered shoulders.

"What happens when they send you back to the Outer Rim for another long undercover mission?" Qui-Gon asked, voice low and deep.

"We shall do our duty, however painful it may be, and cherish our love inside, even if a little bit of me dies each day we are apart." Rawv embraced Qui-Gon. "We will all do our duty, wherever each of us may be sent, but now I will have two lights to help find my way in the darkness. Please, Qui-Gon, give us your blessing for whatever time we may have together, and take care of him when I am gone."

"Just when I think I know you so well, you still manage to surprise me, Rawvten Z'Trew." Qui-Gon squeezed a little harder before holding his friend at arm's-length. "I'm not going to pretend I'm happy about the situation, but I appreciate your candor. If this is what Obi-Wan truly wants, I wish you both well, but I will be watching."

"I understand. Thank you, Qui-Gon," Rawv replied. He leaned in to give Qui-Gon a kiss. "I promise you won't regret it. Come on, you can ask him for yourself." He wrapped an arm around Qui-Gon's waist and tugged him back toward the entrance.

As the two masters stepped back inside, they were greeted by the sight of an apprehensive padawan sitting stiffly at the table. Obi-Wan jumped to his feet as the two older Jedi entered, his gaze shifting back and forth between them.

Qui-Gon could feel the anxious query hovering delicately along the edges of their bond; when he glanced sideways he could see Rawv practically jigging with excitement, a huge grin plastered across his face. Shaking his head, Qui-Gon gestured to his apprentice to sit down, then went to join him. Rawv moved over to stand near Obi-Wan, carefully refraining from touching him.

"Padawan," Qui-Gon said gravely, "Master Z'Trew has assured me of the seriousness of his feelings for you. I know you said earlier that you love him, but are you truly certain this is what *you* feel?"

Obi-Wan stood and drew himself up to his full height. "I have carefully considered my feelings, Master, and I know that my feelings are sincere. I love Rawvten Z'Trew."

"You still have obligations as a Jedi, and as my padawan." Qui-Gon stared up intently at his apprentice.

"With all due respect, Master, I would have hoped that by now you would not feel the need to say that," Obi-Wan replied, irritation and disappointment clear in his eyes and stiff back. "I fully understand that my training and my..." he briefly glanced to the side, "*our* obligations as Jedi take precedence over personal feelings. I honor those obligations and I will not let our relationship interfere with them."

"My apologies, Obi-Wan, I did not mean to find fault or demean your feelings," said Qui-Gon, taken aback by the intensity of his apprentice's reaction. "I care very much about you and your welfare. There are such differences in your ages and experiences that it seems to me to be a difficult situation, so I needed to be certain."

"I appreciate your concerns, Master," said Obi-Wan, relaxing a bit. "I do believe our feelings for each other are true."

"Very well, then, I wish both of you well in this relationship. However - " He raised a hand to dampen the enthusiastic grin and outpouring of happy words starting from his apprentice.

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan replied, a smile still peeking out from his serious facade.

"You know that it is likely, almost certain, in fact, that Rawv is going to be sent back to the Outer Rim for extended undercover missions? And that we will also have missions of our own which will separate you?"

Obi-Wan stayed still and silent for a moment, all traces of humor vanished. Taking a deep, slow breath, he leaned forward, put both hands flat on the table and solemnly surveyed Qui-Gon and Rawv. Then, nodding slightly, he shifted his gaze solely to Qui-Gon. "I do understand, Master," he said softly. "Waiting for love, and separation from those we love, is painful, but we *are* Jedi first. No one ever said it would be easy." Continuing to look steadily at Qui-Gon, he straightened up and took Rawv's hand in his. "Friends or lovers, we must take comfort in them where we can find them, enjoy them while we are together, and treasure their memories when we are apart. My heart tells me this is the right thing to do and that our faith will give us strength to do what we must."

Qui-Gon studied the two men as they waited silently for his response. Finally, he slowly stood up, went to them and gathered them both in a hug.

"It's a difficult path you are treading," Qui-Gon said quietly. "You have my blessing, and my support. If you need me, I will be here for you." He squeezed them tightly one last time before stepping back. "May the Force be with both of you on this journey."

As the two men turned to each other for a long, deep kiss, Qui-Gon discreetly gathered his datapads and retreated to his own room. He paused in the doorway, looking thoughtfully at his padawan, an odd feeling stirring inside him as he watched the two joyous lovers for a moment before shaking his head and closing the door.

The next few days were busy ones as the two masters were occupied with their assigned duties and Obi-Wan put in long hours grading exams or evaluating performance tests for his students. There was little time for more than a few shared meals in the dining hall and some brief cuddling by the two lovers.

At the end of one day, Obi-Wan trudged through the door and haphazardly flung his cloak toward its hook. His ever-present pack of datapads dropped to the floor with a dull thud as the strap missed the other hook next to the cloak. Obi-Wan ignored it and headed through the quarters toward his room, muttering to himself.

"Good evening, Padawan."

Obi-Wan glanced up to see his master setting three places at the table for latemeal. "Good evening, Master."

"A difficult day, Padawan?"

"We finally finished the last of the midsession testing." Obi-Wan paused by the table. "But the last five hours were nothing but second-level kata performance tests for junior padawans." He shook his head ruefully. "I know a lot of them are going through growth spurts now, but surely I didn't look as bad as what I had to deal with today."

"There were some rather remarkable new versions of katas created when you were fifteen," drawled Qui-Gon, a hint of mischief twinkling in the blue eyes.

"Oh Force, please don't bring that up," groaned Obi-Wan. "I think I spent more time in the Healers' Hall than in the training salles that year -"

A rattling followed by a hard thump and a florid curse from the kitchen interrupted their conversation. Obi-Wan followed Qui-Gon toward the entrance, where they were waved off by a familiar figure dressed only in leggings and a stained apron.

"Is everything alright, Rawv?" Obi-Wan knew Qui-Gon's grin was tempered by concern.

"Of course, of course." The felinoid master scowled at the steam rising from the pot in the sink as he sucked at his thumb. Removing the offending digit from his mouth, he transferred his scowl to his witnesses. "I'm fine. Now get out while I finish. Latemeal will be served in five minutes."

Qui-Gon grabbed a basket of rolls and pitcher of chilled water from the counter before Obi-Wan joined him in quickly backing out of the entrance. He placed them on the table and sat down to wait while Obi-Wan retreated to drop his boots off in his room and then wash up.

Obi-Wan hesitated as he came back to their dining area.

"Is there any particular occasion tonight, Master?"

"Not that I know of." Qui-Gon motioned to Obi-Wan to sit. "Rawv must have gotten out early today. He had already taken over our kitchen by the time I got home." He smiled fondly. "Rawv does occasionally get these urges to cook and I have found it's better to just leave him alone until he is finished."

"Ummm... is he any good, Master?" Obi-Wan kept his voice low as he looked anxiously at the kitchen from which rattling and muttered curses were still emanating, wondering how severely his new love was about to be tested.

"Well... it's hard to say as things never come out the same." Qui-Gon leaned in with a conspiratorial grin. "I believe Rawv regards recipes merely as suggested starting points and considers measuring devices to be instruments of the Dark Side." He finished with a wink, "I recommend having plenty of cold water available to drink."

A loud thump heralded the arrival of a huge bowl of steaming noodles on the table.

"I heard that!" Rawvten Z'Trew drew himself up to his full height and pointed an accusing finger at his friend. "I will have you know that cooking is an art, requiring both talent and inspiration. Plebian cretins such as yourself, Master Jinn, simply have no appreciation for an artist's creations." He hmpphed loudly. "You even think that glop they serve in the dining hall is good." Dismissing Qui-Gon with a snort, he turned to Obi-Wan with a dignified pout. "You may fetch the salad, Padawan Kenobi."

"Yes, Master Z'Trew." Fighting to keep the grin off his face, Obi-Wan hurriedly followed the felinoid into the kitchen. Carefully retrieving the large bowl and two bottles of dressing, he carried his prizes back to the dining table and set them down. Qui-Gon was still shaking his head and trying not to laugh too loudly.

A few moments later Rawv, now with his tunics on, came out of the kitchen with the final dish, a heavy pot of meat and mavrooms in dark brown sauce. He glanced over the table, then sat down with a satisfied smile. He started to drizzle dressing over a large heap of salad, but stopped when he noticed his table-mates were not eating.

"Is there a problem, gentlemen?"

Obi-Wan echoed Qui-Gon's quickly murmured denial. Although there were a few items he couldn't quite identify, Obi-Wan felt reasonably safe in starting with the salad. He sniffed at the two bottles of dressing, trying to figure out what was in them before pouring.

"The creamy blue is based on Requfel cheese, very mild," said Rawv helpfully. "The clear orange is based on celantro and Vuwan peppers. You might want to try it first, it's a bit hot."

Noticing that Rawv's salad was very liberally covered with orange and knowing that his own tolerance for spiciness was high, Obi-Wan poured some into a spoon and chugged it. The next moment he was coughing and choking as he desperately downed the contents of the extra-large water glass his master had used in setting the table. Obi-Wan also quickly disposed of a second glassful Qui-Gon thoughtfully poured for him.

"I did tell you it was hot," chided Rawv mildly.

"Yes, you did." Taking several deep breaths, Obi-Wan carefully poured a bit of the blue dressing into another spoon and tentatively touched just the tip of his tongue to it. Finding that it was, as promised, very mild, he poured some onto his salad and took several bites.

"Mmmm, this is pretty good, Rawv."

"I'm glad you like it. The main course is even better."

Obi-Wan sneaked a glance at his master, noting that both he and Rawv were ladling generous servings of the meat and sauce over large piles of noodles. ~ Of course, that doesn't necessarily mean anything. Qui-Gon's been to so many diplomatic banquets he could probably eat dirt and pretend he liked it. ~

Saving part of his salad to munch on later if necessary, Obi-Wan warily took a carefully measured portion of noodles and meat. He too had been to enough diplomatic functions that he had a well-honed sense of how much he could gracefully eat regardless of taste. Fortunately he was not called upon to exercise his diplomatic skills on this occasion.

"This is excellent," Obi-Wan said eagerly as he finished the first few forkfuls of tender meat and savory sauce. He plunged into the rest of the small pile with new enthusiasm.

"I told you it was good." Rawv smiled proudly as he saluted Obi-Wan with a forkful of noodles.

"Too much garlenic," murmured Qui-Gon with a deadpan expression. "And the noodles are not quite done enough."

"Bitch, bitch, bitch." Rawv rolled his eyes, then reached over to punch Qui-Gon's arm. "There can never be too much garlenic and the noodles are perfect for the consistency of the sauce. You simply don't appreciate good food."

"I suppose it's not bad." Qui-Gon sprinkled a generous helping of shredded cheese, then took another bite. "Ah, much better."

Rawv shook his head and muttered to himself.

"Well, *I* like it." Obi-Wan helped himself to another serving, much larger this time.

"At least somebody here appreciates my hard work."

Qui-Gon snorted and turned the conversation to more general topics.

The rest of meal proceeded pleasantly. Rawv seemed pleased by Obi-Wan's genuine enthusiasm for the food and Obi-Wan provided much of the conversation by relating examples of some of the less fortunate kata attempts by the junior padawans during the day's performance tests. The two masters then vied with each other in dredging up examples of how awkward the other had been during their apprenticeship. Obi-Wan was grateful that Qui-Gon refrained from commenting on his own youthful mishaps.

The three men were in a pleasant, mellow mood as they lingered over the frosted cream and fruit for dessert.

"That was an excellent meal, Rawv," Obi-Wan said. "Thank you very much."

"Yes, it was indeed better than the dining hall," Qui-Gon added. "Thank you."

"You are quite welcome." Rawv paused, then stood up. He took a deep breath and squared his shoulders. "Padawan Kenobi, if you would please clear the table, I need to speak to Master Jinn."

Obi-Wan blinked at the formal tone. He had forgotten how quickly his lover could change his persona. Belatedly remembering his training, he jumped to his feet and bowed. "Of course, Master Z'Trew."

The two masters went out onto the balcony as Obi-Wan began efficiently cleaning up. The lights were on, so he had a good view of Qui-Gon's bemused expression and could almost hear the exclamation of disbelief as his master's jaw dropped. When he returned from the kitchen to finish gathering the remaining dishes, he saw that Rawv had moved very close to Qui-Gon and had put both hands on the taller man's shoulders. The last thing he saw before returning to the kitchen was Qui-Gon slowly shaking his head.

It took almost twenty minutes for Obi-Wan to finish washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen. He took a last look around to ensure he had not missed anything, then paused by the entrance to wait, as the two masters were coming back into the common room. Qui-Gon stopped next to the holoprojector unit, arms crossed and expression resigned.

"Padawan Kenobi, will you please sit on the couch?"

"Yes, Master Z'Trew." Obi-Wan hurried to obey. Both older Jedi appeared to be in full formal master mode and he anxiously wondered if there was a problem.

"Padawan Kenobi, you and I have recently initiated intimate relations. It is my understanding that you wish to continue those intimate relations with equal participation by both of us in many different activities. Is that correct?"

"Uh... yes, Master Z'Trew." Obi-Wan looked back and forth between the two masters, his brow creased.

"Good. This evening I would like you to learn more about the anatomy of my species. You need to understand the functioning, in particular, of the male genitalia so you will know why there are certain preparations and precautions I will want you to take in some of our activities before we can pursue our relationship any further."

"Yes, Master Z'Trew. But why can't you just -"

"Silence, Padawan. You need the education and I have asked Master Jinn to join us because of his practical experience in this matter. He has graciously agreed to assist, but with the understanding that this is a strictly clinical training exercise to help prevent injury to you. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Master Z'Trew." Obi-Wan suddenly realized that his lover must also be trying to pull Qui-Gon a little further into their proposed triangle relationship, and was amazed once more at the persuasive powers that had managed to hook the formidable and clearly uncomfortable Master Jinn into participating in the 'training exercise'.

"Very well." Rawv glanced at Qui-Gon. "Shall we begin?" Rawv sat at the end of the couch, opposite from Obi-Wan's position.

"Padawan," said Qui-Gon. "I agreed to participate in this demonstration because Master Z'Trew is one of a very few Melsheevan Jedi and their species is not included in the basic sexuality courses. There are indeed some things you need to understand, and I want you to feel free to ask questions of either of us."

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan nodded.

After loading a disc, Qui-Gon moved away from the holovid to sit stiffly in their lone armchair.

"We haven't discussed my species, but there a few salient facts I would like to mention," Rawv began. "For centuries my people were warriors, and many of them still are today, despite adopting technology over the last seven hundred years. From before recorded history Melsheevan clans warred for generations, stealing women and resources from each other, and these practices helped shape our evolutionary physical development."

"That's nice to know, but -"

Rawv held up a hand. "This is the part that you need to pay attention to." He punched a button on the holovid remote.

Obi-Wan sat up as a vid started. It was a very dry but highly detailed description of Melsheevan male and female genitalia. Some of the information Obi-Wan had already gleaned for himself; the sheathed penis and partially withdrawn testicles were hard to miss when you had been as close to them as he had. He nodded at the explanations for the different fluids; small glands in the exterior of the extended penis generated a very slippery substance to ease penetration while semen was generated by the testicles as they descended and enlarged.

~ Ah, so that's why there two such different tastes, ~ thought Obi-Wan, ~ that makes sense. ~

The vid shifted focus for several minutes to discuss the female Melsheevan reproductive system. Much of the emphasis was on the remarkable flexibility and expandability of the vaginal canal, which helped greatly ease both the insemination and birth processes.

~ Well, I guess that's interesting, but I don't see the point. ~ Obi-Wan was starting to get a bit bored by the repetition.

Almost on cue, the vid shifted to a demonstration of male genitalia 'in action'. The first thing that caught Obi-Wan's attention was the instructor's casual mention that males could achieve either partial or full orgasm, although it was customary to restrict themselves to the lesser release if their partner could not physically accommodate the full orgasm.

~ What the Force is he talking about? What I saw of Rawv's penis wasn't all *that* big. ~

Obi-Wan got his answer in the next shot. A long penis slowly emerged from the sheath, shining and wet, as the test subject was slowly stimulated by a device. Over the next few minutes Obi-Wan watched in fascination while the penis extended to its full length and the testicles dropped and filled. With a long moan, the test subject began pumping his hips as the mechanical stimulator increased in speed. Fluid dripped steadily from the rounded tip; the male suddenly yowled his release and the last several inches of the organ dramatically expanded to half again its original size and a veritable flood of semen gushed forth. Obi-Wan heard very little of the rest of the explanation as he stared at the screen while the engorged penis gently pulsated for over two minutes before finally shrinking slowly back into its sheath.

The screen went dark. Obi-Wan blinked a few times, licked dry lips. He turned his head, only then realizing that Rawv had completely disrobed sometime during the vid.

"But, yours didn't... I mean, when we did it, what..." Obi-Wan shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't think I understand."

Rawv stood up. "Actually, mine does and did, but you were penetrating from behind so you didn't see it." He seemed to allow himself a small smile before returning to his earlier formality. "Padawan Kenobi, a Melsheevan male can indeed hold back to what we call 'little light' if he does not wish to hurt a smaller partner or is indulging in casual sex, although it is not as satisfactory as a full orgasm." He paused, drew a deep breath. "If you will recall, for much of our history our clans were often at war and stole women from each other."

Obi-Wan nodded.

"It is believed that the expanding penis and copious quantities of semen evolved as a mechanism to help ensure that stolen females could be impregnated to carry the raider's child. The penis expanded to block any fluids from escaping and the large flood of semen would hopefully overwhelm any seed still in the female's system. It is not an uncommon development among a number of different species. Among my own people, females have very expandable tissue and usually have no problem accommodating the penile expansion unless they are very young or undeveloped."

"Soooo, are you saying you were holding back?" Obi-Wan was having trouble keeping his eyes off the furry crotch.

"Except for our very first time, yes. That's why I insisted you had to be the penetrator. I think it's time for a practical demonstration so you understand just what you are getting into here."

Qui-Gon stirred for the first time. "Rawvten, I'm not sure I really should be part of this."

The felinoid knelt by the chair, one hand on his friend's knee. "Qui-Gon, you promised."

"I know, but -"

"But nothing. He needs to understand the risks and you are the one best able to pass that knowledge on. I could never forgive myself if there was another accident like the one we had." Rawv tapped Qui-Gon's knee. "Besides, we're all big boys here, so what's the problem?"

Qui-Gon stared at Rawv for a long moment, looked over at Obi-Wan, then slowly nodded. "There is no problem. Very well, let us continue."

"Thank you, my friend." Rawv smiled, then stood up. "Now, as I was saying, I think it's time for a practical demonstration." He pulled a large towel off the side table and laid it on the couch before sitting down on the towel, his legs spread wide.

"Now, gentlemen, as you will note, in its flaccid state the Malsheevan penis is totally contained within the protective sheath and the testicles are mostly drawn up inside the body." Rawv's dry monotone totally dispelled any prurient interest the topic might have generated. "This is, of course, a far superior arrangement to the dangly bits that many other species so absurdly display, both for general movement and for cold weather protection."

Obi-Wan had to bite back a sudden urge to chuckle when he saw Qui-Gon's eyes roll up toward the ceiling as if this was a long-standing argument between the two friends.

"The penis enlarges through the expansion of the blood vessels, a mechanism essentially the same as yours. The testicles will generally start descending once the penis has achieved its initial full extension." Rawv paused, then began to slowly massage the base of the sheath. "Note that as the organ starts to emerge from the sheath the tip is rounded and it is already beginning to self-lubricate."

For the next few minutes the felinoid continued to gently massage the base of his sheath, adding occasional dry comments about the process.

"There, that is the normal initial extension. As you can see, it is average for my species, longer but not as large around as yours and certainly not nearly as impressive as Master Jinn's. In its current state we could comfortably and safely engage in quite a variety of sexual activities."

"But you wouldn't achieve a complete orgasm with it like that?"

"Almost all males can repress the sensation sufficiently to prevent a full orgasm, yes, and it will not get any larger nor will there be a very large volume of semen generated. I can, however, recover far more quickly and have several minor orgasms in the same amount of time that it would take to have two full orgasms. Many males, particularly when having casual sex with other males, prefer this technique."

"What do you prefer, Master Z'Trew?" Obi-Wan looked challengingly into the golden eyes.

A short silence as the stare was met and returned.

"I prefer the real thing," Rawv answered softly.

"Then that is what I want to do for you. Teach me what I need to know."

Rawv nodded, then glanced quickly at Qui-Gon. "I think we should finish the demonstration first."

Qui-Gon nodded briefly in return.

"Padawan Kenobi, watch carefully." The felinoid draped another towel across his lap, tucking it under his engorged penis. He began to rapidly stroke the entire length of the organ with one hand while squeezing the descending testicles with the other. After a few moments of intense concentration the penis expanded and both testicles were full, the skin stretched tight. With a muffled grunt and a shudder, Rawv released a flood of semen onto the towel as the last several centimeters of the turgid shaft expanded rapidly. Panting, his head lying back, he moaned, then caught his breath to murmur, "You can look at it if you like. It will stay like that for two to four minutes."

Obi-Wan started. To see it on a vid was one thing, but to see it in person was something else altogether. He stared at the transformed organ, lips parted. "That thing exploded to almost half again in width in less than five seconds." He shook his head. "I want to do the right thing for you, Rawv, I really do, but how in the Force am I supposed to deal with that?"

"Qui-Gon, would you explain?" Rawv asked hoarsely. "I want the same rules for him as we had for us."

Qui-Gon nodded, took a deep breath. "Actually, Padawan, now that you understand what is going to happen, with the proper preparation and caution you should be able to engage in just about any sexual activity together. Master Z'Trew and I have been active with each other since we were both padawans and have found the interaction quite pleasurable."

"Master, no disrespect intended, but internally you are a lot bigger than me." Obi-Wan looked doubtfully at the still-distended penis jutting from Z'Trew's crotch, his brow furrowed.

"Overall, that is certainly true, but the human body is quite flexible. You are fully developed for your species and in excellent physical condition and health. With proper preparation such as stretching and plenty of lubrication, Master Z'Trew should be able to achieve complete anal penetration. The base of his penis does not expand at all, so there is no tearing of muscle at the entrance, and your internal tissues are truly flexible. It may take a while to grow accustomed to the sensation, but it can certainly be done safely, and can be exceptionally enjoyable."

Obi-Wan pondered for several moments, still staring at the slowly softening organ. Finally looking up, he addressed a point somewhere between the two masters. "What did you mean about the rules you had?"

"We agreed on a few rules for sex to keep our friendship intact," replied Qui-Gon. "First and foremost, sex must always be fully consensual. Ensure that both of you are prepared. And if you are having problems in the relationship, talk them out, don't use sex to punish the other."

"Absolutely," added Rawv. "You must never feel obligated to have sex if you are not well, or ready or just not in the mood. The relationship is far more important than a bit of passing physical pleasure, and I want you to know that I will respect your decision any time you say no."

"Those make sense," said Obi-Wan thoughtfully. "I can certainly live with that, and I will respect your feelings about intimacy also."

There was silence for a long moment. Rawv then sat up, wiping away the remaining mess as his penis finally retreated into its protective sheath. He looked at Qui-Gon, then turned his attention toObi-Wan.

"There is one more thing, Obi-Wan." Rawv's long tongue snaked out to flick his nose. "I know you want to please me, and would like to experiment with some things, but in one area we both need to remember to act responsibly. Under no circumstances do I ever want you to attempt deep fellatio. That is a rule I absolutely insist on. Do you understand?"

"No, I don't, not entirely," Obi-Wan admitted. "I've done it with others. Why wouldn't you just pull out before you climax?"

"The danger is just not worth it and I will not have it." Rawv looked at Qui-Gon, swallowed hard. "I don't want to risk losing you and I promised Qui-Gon I would take proper care of you. I learned my lesson the hard way on this one."

"Rawv is right," said Qui-Gon softly. "I don't wish to frighten you unnecessarily, but among the stupid things we did when we were padawans was to get very drunk one night and try to have sex. Neither of us was thinking very well and I insisted on trying to take Rawv's penis into my throat. Unfortunately, I succeeded."

"It was just as much my fault, Qui-Gon. I certainly should have realized what might happen." Rawv turned to look at Obi-Wan. He continued softly, "You remember how quickly my penis expanded when I climaxed?"

Obi-Wan nodded somberly, beginning to see where this was heading.

"Well, it did that while I was inside your master's throat. We found out the very hard way that the tissues of the trachea are not nearly as expandable as the tissue in the rectum." Rawv closed his eyes. "I thought for a while I had killed him. He was choking and I couldn't pull out... eventually of course I got out, but he couldn't talk for two weeks with all the bruising and torn muscles. Believe me, the punishment our masters gave us was nothing compared to the guilt trip I put myself through." Golden eyes snapped open as Rawv reached out to take Obi-Wan's hand.

"As much as I love you, and want you, there are some things we just won't be able to do. That's the way it has to be."

"I know you are excited about this relationship, Padawan, but I don't want you to make the mistakes that I did," Qui-Gon added.

"I understand."

"Good." Rawv smiled broadly and kissed Obi-Wan's hand before releasing it, then stood up and began putting his uniform on. "Well, now that that's taken care of, it is getting rather late and we have duties tomorrow. I think we should call it a night, yes?"

"I agree." Qui-Gon quickly rose and turned toward his room.

"Master," Obi-Wan called softly as he also moved to his feet.

Qui-Gon hesitated, then turned back.

"I just wanted to thank you, Master, for helping with this."

Qui-Gon bowed slightly.

"And thank you, Master, for caring for both of us."

Glancing briefly first at Rawv, Qui-Gon rested his gaze on Obi-Wan as he waited attentively on his master. "You are both worth caring for," he murmured, a light flickering across his blue eyes. "Good evening, Padawan. Rawv."

Obi-Wan bowed as Qui-Gon rapidly disappeared into his room. He was still standing, contemplating the closed door and his master's words, when a warm presence enveloped him from behind.

"Didn't scare you away with all that tonight, did we, love?" Rawv planted a warm, gentle kiss on Obi-Wan's neck.

"No, not really. I understand now why you made me stop the other day." Obi-Wan tightened his grip on the arms that encircled him. "I still want to please you. We'll work things out." He paused, still looking at his master's door. "You know, Qui-Gon did not look very happy at being dragged in to your little 'training session'. How did you convince him to take part?"

"After softening him up with latemeal, I ruthlessly" another warm kiss "played on his feelings of responsibility" swish of tongue on ear "and guilt" swift nibble of sharp teeth "until I shamed him into doing what I convinced him was his duty." Quick squeeze of the arms as furry face nuzzled against hairless cheek.

Obi-Wan squirmed around to face his lover. "Rawvten Z'Trew, you are terrible."

"Yes, I am." Whiskers twitched as a huge self-satisfied smirk plastered itself across the felinoid's face.

After a quick kiss, Obi-Wan wriggled out of his lover's embrace. "Good night, Master Z'Trew. I think we need to take your suggestion and call it a night."

"Of course." One hand went caressed Obi-Wan's cheek as Rawv's expression turned serious. "You did well tonight, Obi-Wan."

"What do you mean?"

"I think we're starting to make a few dents in Qui-Gon's armor. You reacted thoughtfully to a very serious topic tonight, and that's a side of you I wanted him to see more of."

"You really are a devious son of a bantha," Obi-Wan sighed, "but I love you anyway."

During the evening of the next Sixthday, Rawv wandered in while Obi-Wan shared latemeal with Qui-Gon in their quarters.

"No, thanks, I already ate," he said in response to Qui-Gon's inquiry as he continued into the common area.

A few minutes later, as Obi-Wan reached for the water pitcher, he saw his master stiffen and stare.

"Rawvten, what are you doing?"

Obi-Wan twisted in his chair to find out what was disturbing his master.

"I thought I'd take a quick nap while you finish." Now naked, Rawv dropped his pile of clothes on a side table and flopped onto the couch. "Don't mind me."

"Rawvten Z'Trew, you don't have any clothes on."

One golden eye flicked open briefly. "Very observant. Clothes are a nuisance. I've told you that often enough."

"You're not molting again, are you?" Qui-Gon scowled. "I don't want loose fur all over the place. The damned stuff gets everywhere and it's impossible to clean it all up."

"No, I'm not. You know I've never liked wearing a lot of clothes, especially here at the Temple where they keep the temperature so high. Besides, Melsheevan warriors traditionally don't wear a lot. So there." Rawv turned so his back faced outwards.

"We're not on Melsheev," muttered Qui-Gon.

Trying not to laugh, Obi-Wan murmured, "He's not hurting anything, Master. And he is rather decorative." Turning on his best puppy dog eyes, he said plaintively, "Can we keep him, Master? Please?"

Qui-Gon glared at both master and apprentice, then heaved a great sigh of abused martyrdom. "Oh, alright. It's better to just ignore him when he gets like that anyway." He wagged a finger in Obi-Wan's general direction. "But this time he's *your* pathetic lifeform and you will clean up after him."

"Yes, Master," replied Obi-Wan with a grin. "Thank you, Master."

A disgruntled snort was the only response.

After finishing their meal and washing dishes, Obi-Wan quietly worked alongside Qui-Gon at their common table. Occasionally a soft snore or thump of tail would interrupt the silence. After an hour passed, both men set down their work.

"That's it for tonight." Obi-Wan stood and stretched. He gathered his datapads and deposited them in his pack.

There was a muttered rumble and thump of bare feet from the direction of the couch. Rawvt wandered over to energize the holoprojector and the image of a popular news program appeared.

Qui-Gon and his apprentice headed for the couch and sat down, one at each end.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to watch this program," said Rawv. "They're starting a series on Outer Rim drug activities and I want to see how much is getting out into the popular newsies. If there's something else you'd rather watch, of course, I can catch it later when they post it on the holonet."

"No, this is fine," said Qui-Gon. "I'm a little out of touch myself with some of the Outer Rim activities."

"Thanks," Rawv replied. He settled himself onto the couch, stretching out with his feet on Qui-Gon's lap and his head on Obi-Wan's. With an irritated growl, he rubbed his ear where it had gotten caught on Obi-Wan's utility belt. Muttering a curse he unhooked the belt and flipped it over the back of the couch, then snuggled belly down with a contented sigh. Nudging open Obi-Wan's tunics, he rested his head against the bare skin.

Obi-Wan gently ran his fingers through the fur on Rawv's neck and shoulders. He glanced up at the sound of a muted grunt to his left and saw Rawv's tail whap Qui-Gon's face. "Sorry, Master," Obi-Wan said. His concern abated when the irritated frown on Qui-Gon's brow melted away and his master seemed content with simply rearranging Rawv's feet into a more comfortable position and pushing the errant tail off to the side before directing his attention to the news program.

The next hour passed quietly as the three Jedi watched the program. Rawv occasionally provided commentary on the people and places mentioned in the show, a few times muttering to himself. Gradually Obi-Wan's focus drifted to his companion as he became fascinated by the movements of his tail. Eventually the last reporter spoke his piece and local advertisements crawled across the screen.

"Rawv?" Obi-Wan scratched delicately at the base of Raws's left ear.

"Hmmm?"

"How much control do you really have over your tail?"

"Well, it's not truly prehensile, but it's pretty strong and flexible. I can push things or knock them over if they're not too heavy. Mostly it just seems to be left over from before my people developed fingers. Why?"

"I was watching it during the news show because I was thinking about how rarely I remembered seeing it when you have your clothes on."

"Mostly I keep it inside my leggings. It hangs down straight or I curl it around one leg unless I need to take it out, like when I want to annoy Qui-Gon. That's what that special opening in the back of my leggings is for." One ear twitched uneasily. "Why the interest?"

"I was just noticing some things, that's all." Obi-Wan shrugged and scratched behind Rawv's right ear.

"What things?"

"Well, when the announcer talked about Outer Rim gangs running drugs, your tail twitched mostly to your right. When he talked about gangs infiltrating towards the Inner Rim, your tail twitched mostly to your left. When I heard you mutter something about the Council, your tail was going in little clockwise circles. But then the announcer mentioned the Senate committees and your tail started jumping around and you almost hit Qui-Gon in the face again. Does it always do that?"

There was muffled coughing from Qui-Gon's end of the couch that sounded suspiciously like smothered laughter.

"Is something wrong, Master?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks, Padawan." Qui-Gon cleared his throat as he reached out to capture the tail which now beat against his stomach. "Do tell us about your wonderful tail, Master Z'Trew, and why you hide it in your leggings." He grinned as he tugged gently.

With a withering glare Rawv slid off the couch, snatching his tail back. "Sod off," he growled. Ending up sitting cross-legged on the floor, he clutched his tail protectively to his chest with both hands.

Obi-Wan watched Qui-Gon's grin grow even wider. He'd twisted to sit facing Obi-Wan, one long arm stretched along the back of the couch.

"As you so perceptively noticed, Padawan, when he is not actively controlling it, Rawv's tail tends to react to things he is thinking about. It took him several years to figure out why I always beat him at cards and why his master always seemed to know when he wasn't being absolutely truthful."

Rawv scowled. "A minor problem which I learned to use to advantage later. Besides, you liked it well enough when I figured out how to tickle you with the damned thing when we had sex. And when we took tests in class."

"I didn't say that it wasn't useful. Especially, of course, with the crechlings."

"No, not the crechlings." Rawv groaned and hid his face in his hands. "Force-forsaken little monsters."

"Both of our masters were rather fond of assigning us to creche duty as punishment," Qui-Gon said, conspiratorially leaning toward Obi-Wan. "They claimed it was also to teach us patience. I rather enjoyed it, actually, although of course I didn't tell my master that." He smiled fondly, likely in remembrance, but the smile quickly turned wicked. "And the crechlings very much enjoyed having Rawv there."

"Horrible, nasty, vicious little monsters," moaned Rawv.

"Whenever the Creche Master needed someone to quiet the little ones or keep them occupied, she always called on Rawv if he was on duty. Absolutely fascinated, they were, with his tail."

"It was terrible," Rawv whispered. "They would chase it, and pull it with their grubby little hands and appendages, and even chew on it." He shuddered as he stroked his tail defensively.

Qui-Gon snorted. "It took you long enough to figure out that if you kept the silly thing inside your leggings instead of flaunting it nobody would see it or bother it."

"You weren't any help, you miserable sod. You used to encourage them."

"Well, it *was* pretty funny," said Qui-Gon with a smirk. "The big, bad padawan being cornered and swarmed under by a horde of crechlings trying to get his leggings off so they could play with his tail."

"It wasn't funny. It was awful." Rawv crawled back to the couch and looked pathetically up at Obi-Wan. "Traumatized, I was."

Obi-Wan slid down to sit next to the felinoid. He wrapped an arm around Rawv and held him close. "It's alright, Rawv. I've had creche duty, too, and I know what they can be like. I'm sure it must have been terrible." He pulled his lover in for a tight embrace and kissed his forehead. "And I'm sure that mean old Qui-Gon was just awful to treat you like that."

Qui-Gon snorted again and rolled his eyes.

"Poor Rawv," Obi-Wan crooned. "Let me kiss it and make it better." Suiting action to words, he tenderly kissed the end of Rawv's tail, then moved up for a long, deep kiss. Finally breaking the kiss, he began working his way down Rawv's chest while the master leaned back with a happy sigh.

Looking up, Rawv stuck his tongue out at Qui-Gon. "At least somebody around here appreciates me," he sniffed.

"Oh please," Qui-Gon groaned. "It's getting too deep in here for me. I'm going to my room."

"Good night, Master," Obi-wan responded, his voice muffled as he nuzzled in the vicinity of Rawv's belly.

"Good night, you two." Qui-Gon stood and stretched, then hesitated.

Obi-Wan glanced up and caught the quick smile that flitted across Qui-Gon's face as he leaned down to pat Obi-Wan and Rawv on the shoulder before turning and retreating to his room. Obi-Wan wondered at the meaning of that smile for a moment, then shrugged and turned his attentions back to his lover.

Obi-Wan drifted slowly toward awareness. He yawned, then snuggled deeper into the cocoon of furry warmth with a contented mumble. The relatively small size of the bed in Obi-Wan's room enforced a cozy intimacy for two occupants, but the warmth was quite welcome after Rawv had wheedled Qui-Gon into dropping the temperature in the quarters several degrees. Obi-Wan grinned lazily as he remembered his master's grudging acquiescence amidst Rawv's masterfully vague promises to consider wearing leggings in return for the reduced heat.

The grin turned to an irritated scowl as a light knocking on his door turned to a determined rapping.

"Padawan."

~ It's Tenthday, damn it, ~ Obi-Wan thought. ~ What does he want? ~

"Padawan, get out here now."

"Uh oh, Qui-Gon does not sound at all happy," Obi-Wan mumbled. He grunted as he slid out of bed, pain from his nether regions reminding him sharply that he had gone a little too far in the previous night's romantic adventures. He quickly pulled on a pair of leggings when the pounding on his door resumed. He glanced behind him, but the only thing visible on the bed was a lump under the blankets. He took a tentative poke at the training bond, but grimaced when he met only stony shielding at the other end. "Definitely not good," he muttered.

Obi-Wan slipped through the door, closing it softly behind him, and found himself staring at the large fist poised to strike that door. Qui-Gon quickly stepped backward and stood, arms folded, glaring.

"Yes, Master?" Obi-Wan swallowed in the face of the angry stare from his sweaty, disheveled master.

"Your 'roommate' has been using our 'fresher for almost a tenday," Qui-Gon said sarcastically.

"Uh, yes, Master, I would assume so," Obi-Wan said uneasily. Rawvten had casually moved into his room on Secondday with a glib story about wanting to be able to see more of both of his friends for the short time he would be here in the Temple. Since then he had made himself at home in the shared quarters, keeping their intimate relationship in clear sight despite Qui-Gon's obvious hints about the two having more privacy in the guest quarters.

"Padawan, do you understand what happens in a 'fresher used by a fur-bearing species?" Qui-Gon's tone was ominously polite.

"I can't say that I've ever really considered the question, Master."

"The 'fresher accumulates loose fur, Padawan. Everywhere." Qui-Gon took a step and leaned in close. "But do you know where the loose fur accumulation is the worst, my clueless Padawan?"

"Uh... the floor, Master?" hazarded Obi-Wan. He gulped as Qui-Gon leaned in a bit closer, his master's eyes at least three shades darker blue than normal.

"No, Padawan. It accumulates in the bathtub. Specifically, in the drain. Do you understand what that does to a shower tub that has a safety cutoff tied in to the drain sensor?"

"Not much water comes out, Master?" Obi-Wan offered weakly.

"Brilliant deduction, Padawan. Yes, a tiny, pathetic, miserable little trickle of water comes out of both the shower-head and the faucet because the drain is almost completely plugged up by an incredibly disgusting mass of wet fur and dirt." Qui-Gon leaned in even closer, almost nose to nose with his apprentice. He poked Obi-Wan in the chest. "Which means that after completing my katas, I was not able to take the long, hot, soothing bath that I look forward to with *great* anticipation every Tenthday morning we are in the Temple."

"Yes, Master. I'm sorry you weren't able to get your bath, Master."

"It is fur from *your* pathetic creature that is plugging my drain, Padawan. Therefore, unless you want me to throw both of you out on your pathetic, miserable arses, you are going to clean my 'fresher."

"Yes, Master."

"Totally. By hand and without the use of the Force."

"Yes, Master."

"Every single surface and corner."

"Yes, Master."

"And my tub will be spotless and sparkling, with abundant and copious amounts of hot water flowing freely down the clear drain."

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan wisely refrained from pointing out that it was also supposed to be his 'fresher. He quickly broke in as Qui-Gon paused to draw another breath. "I'm very sorry about the 'fresher, Master. May I start cleaning now, Master?"

Qui-Gon stood for a moment, caught in mid-tirade. He closed his mouth with a snap, glared again for a moment and then drew in a long, slow breath through his nose. Hands hanging at his sides, he exhaled sharply before speaking relatively calmly. "Very well, Padawan. And remember, spotless."

"Yes, Master. Spotless, clear drains and no Force. Right away, Master." Obi-Wan bowed and turned away. The light but unexpected swat on his rear caused him to yelp in pain.

The next moment Qui-Gon was next to his apprentice, a hand on his shoulder, anger replaced by concern. "What is wrong, Obi-Wan?"

Obi-Ean winced as he tried to twist away. "Nothing, Master," he muttered.

"Padawan," Qui-Gon ordered in a flat no-nonsense tone, his hand tightening on Obi-Wan's shoulder.

"Yes, Master." Obi-Wan looked down, swallowed. "I'm fine, really, Master, just a little sore. I'm afraid we went farther last night than I was actually prepared for."

"I told that miserable - " Qui-Gon's eyes flashed as he turned toward the small sleeping room.

"Master, please." Obi-Wan grabbed his master's arm. "Any problems were my fault, not Rawv's. I thought I was ready and I nagged him into penetrating me. I know you tried to warn me, but I still didn't fully understand how much preparation I should have had." He looked up at Qui-Gon anxiously, then squared his shoulders. "Please, Master, it wouldn't be right for you to yell at Rawv. It really was my fault, not his, and I accept full responsibility for the results of my impatience."

Qui-Gon stood for a moment, jaw locked tight as he glanced between the closed bedroom door and his apprentice. Finally he sighed. "Very well, Padawan." With an odd light flickering in his eyes, he brushed a finger along Obi-Wan's cheek. "Be more careful in the future." Qui-Gon abruptly turned away and headed for his room.

"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan whispered. He watched Qui-Gon disappear behind his own door as he slowly traced the path his master's finger had taken on his cheek. With a sigh of his own, he went into the 'fresher to survey the damage. He quickly realized that he must have totally missed the rapid accumulation of grunge since he had been taking most of his showers in the locker rooms after his afternoon sparring sessions. Obi-Wan shook his head and set to work.

A half-hour later a very sweaty Obi-Wan looked up as the 'fresher door opened. He had been toiling diligently but seemed to have hardly made a dent in removing the seemingly ubiquitous light brown fur that lurked on every surface and in every crevice, not to mention the amazingly disgusting mass of fur, soap and dirt that clogged the drain in the shower tub.

"Morning, Obi-Wan." Rawv, naked as usual, yawned as he sauntered into the 'fresher and relieved himself. He turned around after washing his hands and watched Obi-Wan for a moment. "You're awfully energetic this morning. How's your ass?"

"Qui-Gon was not happy with the clogged drain in the tub," Obi-Wan mumbled as he scrubbed along the baseboards. "And yes, it's sore, and if you even think 'I told you so', so help me Force, I'm going to stuff you down that miserable drain."

Rawv laughed before making a production of brushing his teeth, then perched on the counter and watched for several minutes. "Would you like a hand?" he finally offered with a grin.

"Considering that most of this came from you, that would be nice," Obi-Wan replied, irritation sharpening his tone as he continued to doggedly scrape at the bits of fur and hair dried on to the wall and floor.

"My, my, aren't we in a mood this morning."

"Have you *seen* the glop that's clogging the damned drain?"

Rawv walked to the shower enclosure, wrinkled his nose as he stuck a claw into the slimy mess in the opening, then watched critically as a trickle of water limped out of the shower-head even with the controls full on.

"Hmmm, I suppose Qui-Gon was a trifle upset when he couldn't take his Tenthday leisurely morning bath," Rawv said thoughtfully. "No wonder he snarled at me when I asked him why he was washing at the kitchen sink."

"'Upset' has to be the understatement of the year." Obi-Wan sat up and rubbed sweat off his face with his forearm. He stoically ignored the sharp twinges from his abused rear.

"Well, let's see what we can do about cleaning things up." Rawv had a wide grin on his face as he began stuffing towels under the door.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to help you clean." Rawv swept up all the loose items and towels and put them in the cabinet under the sink. He stepped into the shower tub enclosure, closed his eyes and pointed one hand at the drain.

Obi-Wan felt a surge in the Force. "Hey, don't do that. Qui-Gon said the cleaning has to be done by hand."

Rawv grinned a little wider. "I'd bet my entire stipend Qui-Gon said *you* can't use the Force, yes?"

Obi-Wan reluctantly nodded.

"Well, then, stand aside and watch a master at work."

Obi-Wan stood up and moved near the door. He felt a swirling Force current building in the room. There was a sudden plopping noise from the drain, then a stream of water began pouring from the shower-head. Obi-Wan ducked his head as a sheet of water was suddenly diverted from the shower-head and began sweeping across the small room. The water increased in speed and intensity, powering across every surface from ceiling to floor like a miniature typhoon for almost a full half-minute. The water stopped as suddenly as it had started, only to be followed by a whirlwind of hot air.

Two minutes later Obi-Wan stood looking around the gleaming 'fresher as the exultant felinoid beamed at him.

"Well? How's that?"

"It's certainly clean." Obi-Wan knelt to retrieve the towels and sundries from under the counter.

"You don't sound very appreciative," Rawv pointed out.

"Look, I do appreciate the help," Obi-Wan said, his voice muffled as he hunted for his master's hair brush. He stood up and placed the brush next to the sink, then turned. "But I don't think that was what Qui-Gon had in mind. I'm sure he'd have something to say about proper uses of the Force."

"What good is it to spend all those years learning to control the Force if you can't use it for something practical?" Rawv scowled. "I'm positive the Code says nothing about not cleaning 'freshers."

Obi-Wan removed the towels that had been stuffed around the door and tossed them down the laundry chute. "Yes, Master Z'Trew." He shook his head resignedly and opened the door. "Whatever you say."

Leaving the pouting master in the 'fresher, Obi-Wan crossed the common area and stopped by the dining table. He bowed to Qui-Gon, who was just finishing a bowl of cereal.

"The 'fresher is clean, Master."

Qui-Gon glanced at the open door through which a faint chorus of disgruntled yowls drifted. He turned his attention back to Obi-Wan. "I see," he said dryly. "Do I want to ask how the 'fresher managed to attain an appropriate state of cleanliness in such a short time?"

"Not really, Master." Obi-Wan stared resolutely at the floor. "But I promise not to let it get that dirty again."

A brief grunt of acknowledgement was followed by silence as Qui-Gon drained his glass of juice, then stood up. "I'm going to the gardens to meditate. The rest of the day is yours."

"Yes, Master. Thank you." Obi-Wan waited uncertainly as Qui-Gon simply stood by his chair looking at him. "Is something wrong, Master?"

"No, of course not, Padawan. I just..." Qui-Gon's voice trailed off uncertainly. He hesitated a moment, then grabbed a plain box from the table and thrust it atObi-Wan. A faint blush colored his cheeks. "Here, you need this more than I do. Master Z'Trew can instruct you in its proper use." Qui-Gon fled out the door, barely snagging his cloak on the way.

Obi-Wan blinked at the unexpected turn of events. He was turning the box around in his hands as Rawv came up behind him.

"What was that all about, love?"

"I don't know," Obi-Wan muttered as he tugged open the top of the box and dumped the contents on the table. His eyes opened wide as an inflatable butt plug tumbled out.

Obi-Wan stood immobilized, staring in shock at the dull black device.

Rawv dropped down in a chair, laughing uproariously. "I can't believe he still had that thing," he finally managed to get out.

Obi-Wan looked at him, one eyebrow raised questioningly.

"I got that for Qui-Gon when we first started having sex together as padawans," Rawv explained. He picked it up and patted it affectionately. "It's perfect for stretching exercises." He leered smugly. "I do believe we're getting to the poor man."

With a feral scream of possession, Rawvten Z'Trew thrust deeply into the hot passage, his seed pouring forth as Obi-Wan clenched hard. A moment later Obi-Wan followed, white fluid spurting onto the sweat-dampened sheet as he moaned in ecstasy. Rawv pulled them both over sideways and they lay spooned together, his expanded cock firmly embedded in Obi-Wan's well-stretched ass. A thump and muttered curse from beyond the closed door went unheeded.

"Good?" panted Rawv.

"Wonderful," Obi-Wan huffed out. He had to pause to take several breaths, his chest heaving. "You are entitled to an 'I told you so' if you want. The extra stretching the last few days did help tremendously."

"That's why I'm a master." Rawv licked sweat from Obi-Wan's neck and shoulders. "We really should thank Qui-Gon for that plug."

"I'm certain he has already figured out we are using it." Obi-Wan grinned as he clenched his buttocks a few times. "I think the whole floor heard you on this last one."

"As long as that silly sod in the next room heard it, that's all I care about." Rawv nibbled on Obi-Wan's ear as one hand sneaked down to fondle his lover's balls. "And if you keep squeezing like that, love, it might be quite a while before my cock comes out of your delicious ass."

"And that is bad how?" Obi-Wan laughed as a mock growl vibrated the chest plastered to his back and the hand on his balls moved upward to stroke his belly. He luxuriated in the contact for a few moments.

"Speaking of Qui-Gon…"

"Were we?" Rawv licked and nibbled the pale shoulder in front of him.

"Yes," Obi-Wan replied firmly. "Since Firstday he has been coming to at least one of my classes almost every day. He never says anything, just sits in the back with his hood up, and always leaves before the end of class."

"He *is* your master." Rawv paused thoughtfully, his hands still. "Does he normally sit in on your training as part of your evaluation?"

"Sometimes, but he hasn't talked about it at all, and that is quite unusual."

"I think we are making more dents in his armor," Rawv said. "I've been watching him, you know. Twice now I've caught him looking at you in a distinctly non-paternal manner in the communal shower after the three of us spar."

"Are you sure?" Obi-Wan grabbed his lover's hands.

"Definitely. I know that particular gleam and that special shade of blue in his eyes, and it was not a master looking at his student."

"That is wonderful." Obi-Wan closed his eyes and let himself ponder the possibility that his dreams might be moving closer to reality. He smiled as the moment lingered.

Rawv nuzzled the back of Obi-Wan's neck. "Was there anything else?"

"I've also noticed that he complains about how noisy we are and threatens to evict you if we keep making out on the couch, but he seldom ever goes any further than his own room and he still sets three places at the table like he expects you to stay."

"I think, my lovely apprentice, that perhaps it is time to step up the intensity a bit."

"What do you have in mind?"

"Worry about that later, Obi-Wan. At the moment, I have my hands full."

Obi-Wan eagerly accepted Rawv's renewed attentions, and soon the sounds of passion filled the air again.

Next Sixthday found the three Jedi ensconced on the sofa for another installment of the news series on Outer Rim drug problems. There seemed little of significance until the focus shifted to various Senate committees and their roles in areas such as drug law enforcement, research and intelligence.

Rawv's ears perked up, however, when the scene cut to a reporter interviewing a Malastarian senator in an ornate office.

"Now that one is a genuine, galaxy class slimeball," Rawv snarled. "Senator 'Oh, I'm such a dedicated public servant' Nuxtek." He snorted in disgust. "Supposed to be chair of the investigating committee to which I am ostensibly providing my expertise, but I think he has his grimy appendages in more greasy doings than you can shake a buzzstick at."

"I take it you don't care much for the esteemed senator?" Obi-Wan asked with a smile.

"He's an obnoxious son of a bantha who likes to throw his weight around," Rawv sneered. "Unfortunately, he pays very well for some exceptionally talented lawyers and accountants and is very generous at election time, so he's kept his seat for far too many years."

Much of the rest of the show was lost in the frequent mutters and growled imprecations of the recumbent master. Not even the combination of Obi-Wan's best ear scratching efforts and Qui-Gon's belly rub could silence the grumblings.

"Rawv, if you're not going to be quiet we may as well shut the thing off," Qui-Gon finally complained.

"You can always watch it later on the holonet," Obi-Wan added soothingly. "Would you like to - OW!"

Obi-Wan's words were lost in a yelp of pain as his lover leapt fiercely from the couch, scratching both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Rawv was crouched in front of the screen, claws out and gleaming.

"I thought I killed him two years ago," snarled Rawv, tail whipping about as he glared at the screen.

"Who?" said Obi-Wan as he nursed the scratches on his arm.

"That piece of slime. Goes by Urtov K'ra most of the time." Rawv jabbed at the screen with a claw. Barely visible in a gaggle of senate aides was a dark-skinned humanoid with a ragged scar pulling down one corner of his mouth. "If it's nasty and profitable, he's done it. If he's here on Coruscant, I need to take a closer look and then finish what I started."

"Rawvten Z'Trew, this is not your mission. You don't have the contacts or support here on Coruscant for this kind of work," Qui-Gon said sharply. He stood up and moved halfway to the holovid projector. "You should report it to the Temple intelligence group and let them investigate."

"The kind of nastiness those slimeballs are involved in is out of their jurisdiction. They're supposed to work with the local police and intelligence for this stuff, and Nuxtek has far too many of them on his private payroll for my peace of mind." Rawv slid close to his fellow master and tapped him on the chest. "You stick to your diplomatic games, Qui-Gon, and I'll stick to taking out the bad guys."

Obi-Wan had quietly moved close to the two other Jedi. "Surely you don't just go around out there killing people, do you?"

"It's not all I do, but yes, I have killed a lot of scum, and I will kill again when I go back out. And however much most of the Order might like to ignore it, sometimes those deaths don't happen in the heat of a battle or self-defense," Rawv snapped angrily as he turned to Obi-Wan. He stopped, closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. Opening his eyes once more, Rawv forced himself to speak slowly. "Obi-Wan, you must understand. Under a thin veneer of civilization, blood and passion are in the genes of my people; it is a large part of why so few of my species have ever become Jedi. The Force speaks to me in shades of gray and red, not black and white. It whispers to me in the dark of the night, a cold gray voice that pushes me to do things that other Jedi can't or won't do, and the Council tolerates me because they use me to achieve their own ends. It is not a very comfortable relationship that I have with either the Force or the Order, and I do envy the rest of you. It is why I have depended on Qui-Gon for so long to help keep me anchored in the Light."

He shrugged helplessly as his gaze fell to the floor. "I'm sorry, it is part of who and what I am. I have tried to tell you I'm not really a very nice person; it's why they send me out on those missions in the first place. It's one of the main reasons Qui-Gon was justified in not wanting me to see you." Rawv's whole body seemed to slump as he finally looked up at Obi-Wan, his expression somber. "I know I have not been very forthcoming with details about what I really am, but I was afraid of how you might react. If this is a problem for us, I will understand."

There was a heavy silence as gray eyes locked with amber.

"My master taught me that it is the same Force that speaks to all of us, though we may hear its voice differently," Obi-Wan finally said quietly. He smiled and reached up to caress his lover's face. "I may not understand what really drives you, and we do need to talk about this at greater length sometime, but I believe that you are still a good Jedi. Tell me, though, Master Z'Trew, does the Force tell you that you need to kill this time?"

Rawv reached up to capture Obi-Wan's hand. He swallowed hard before speaking softly. "It would seem that Master Jinn has raised a wise apprentice. You're right, Obi-Wan. I was speaking without thinking; the Force has not asked me to do any such thing in this case." He kissed Obi-Wan's palm. "Thank you."

"That's very touching, but you're still going out there to stick your nose into this business, aren't you?" Qui-Gon said sarcastically. He stood with arms folded across his chest, a disapproving expression on his face.

"Umm, well, there is some unfinished business…" Rawv shifted from foot to foot and looked away.

Obi-Wan leaned over and whispered in a pointed ear. Both Jedi were clearing wicked smiles from their faces as Rawv straightened and turned to face Qui-Gon, still clutching Obi-Wan's hand.

With great dignity, Rawv solemnly announced, "I shall do what I must, Qui-Gon."

Obi-Wan and Rawv ran for Obi-Wan's room, the sound of a pillow thunking against a barely closed door echoing in the quarters outside. Inside, the lovers rolled on the floor in helpless laughter.

A new routine emerged for the three Jedi. Obi-Wan continued his teaching duties, of course, but about this time Qui-Gon was assigned to conduct a new series of seminars on negotiation strategies for knights and masters; this work filled his mornings but left him free in the afternoons. Rawv began venturing forth at night, usually after midnight. Most of the time he returned in time for breakfast, frequently bemoaning his lack of local contacts until a sharp "I told you so" from Qui-Gon silenced the worst of his comments. To make up for the lost sleep, Rawv napped in the evenings while the other two worked on their assignments.

"Last repetition for today," Obi-Wan announced. The young padawans whose masters had enrolled them in the Level Two Kata class for various reasons obediently assumed the starting position. From the corner of his eye Obi-Wan noticed his master slip quietly into the training salle. He allowed himself a small smile in anticipation of their upcoming sparring session.

"Remember, half-speed. We want to do it correctly before we do it quickly. Ready, begin." Obi-Wan moved around the small group making corrections and giving encouragement. When the exercise was complete, he led the young Jedi in several stretches before dismissing them with more words of praise and encouragement.

A lone young man watched his peers as they laughed and joked on their way out.

"Is something wrong, Torbek?" Obi-Wan put a comforting hand on the youth's shoulder.

"I'm not doing any of these katas properly, am I, Padawan Kenobi?" was the disconsolate query.

"You're making progress, Torbek," Obi-Wan replied soothingly. "That is the important thing. Everyone learns at a different rate, and it is just taking you longer to master the new katas at this level."

"But everyone can do them except me," the apprentice said. "My master doesn't understand why I'm having problems. He's a quadruped and insists it should be easier for me because I only have two legs."

"You know most of the basic moves already. You just need to learn to put them together. Would you like to stay and work on it for a while?"

"Would you really?"

"Of course. Let's start with a few simple exercises." With an apologetic wave at his own master, Obi-Wan turned back to work with his student.

An hour later a quiet presence spoke softly from behind Obi-Wan. "The Sleeping Shoger is often best shown by example. May I be of assistance as a demonstrator, Padawan Kenobi?"

"That would be very helpful, Master Jinn, if it is not an imposition," Obi-Wan replied.

"It would be my pleasure." With a formal nod Qui-Gon moved into the starting position.

After another half hour they finally ended the impromptu class.

"Thank you so much, Master Jinn, Padawan Kenobi. That was great." The young apprentice was glowing with enthusiasm. "I think I actually understand it now."

"Good. You just need to keep working on it and you'll be fine. Now, off to the showers with you, Torbek." Obi-Wan gave the youth a friendly pat on the shoulder and watched fondly as he practically bounced out of the salle. He then turned to Qui-Gon.

"My apologies for that taking so long, Master. I know we were supposed to spar at fifteenth hour, but Torbek has been very despondent about his problems with the katas."

"We can spar anytime, Padawan. What you were doing was far more important." Qui-Gon put a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder and looked at him thoughtfully. "You handled that very well, Obi-Wan. Actually, I've been meaning to tell you that I've been very impressed at how well you are doing with all of your teaching duties."

"Thank you, Master. I know I still need to make improvements, but it is nice to know I'm making progress."

"Oh yes, definitely good progress." Qui-Gon hesitated but remained silent. He seemed fascinated by a trickle of sweat meandering down Obi-Wan's face.

"Was there anything else, Master?" Obi-Wan tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. He felt the large hand tighten on his shoulder but he remained silent.

Qui-Gon finally shook his head and abruptly snatched his hand back. "No, that was all," he said in a rough voice. "Come, we still have time to spar for a while." He turned away and marched toward the center of the salle.

Obi-Wan smiled at the retreating figure. "Yes, Master. It would be *my* pleasure," he said quietly before following.

A hissing, spitting whirlwind slammed through the door. Qui-Gon jumped out of the way as the phenomenon stormed past. Obi-Wan left his latemeal preparations in the kitchen and joined his master against a wall.

"Sith-damned son of a bastard bantha!" Rawv's curses alternated with angry snarls as he continued to storm around the quarters. Sparks and swirls of red Force energy vibrated in the air around him as he flung his cloak down.

Obi-Wan started to go to his lover when Qui-Gon held him back. "You must be careful when he gets like this, Obi-Wan. He has sharp claws and doesn't always realize he's using them."

"But Master, he's broadcasting tremendous amounts of anger. If he doesn't stop, he's going to upset a lot of people if he hasn't already."

"I know, Padawan. He's been disciplined before for lack of control, but I don't want to see him in more trouble. We have to stop him." Qui-Gon winced as datapads crashed into a wall.

"What do we need to do, Master?"

"The best thing is to get him down to the training salle and spar with him until we can wear him down. The trick is to get him down there first." Qui-Gon unhooked his lightsaber. "You stay here and help shield the room. I'll try to slow him down enough to talk some sense into him."

Obi-Wan nodded. He retreated to just inside the kitchen and concentrated on expanding his shielding to join his master's efforts to keep the angry Force current confined to their own quarters. He watched Qui-Gon cautiously move into the common room, lightsaber held at his side.

"Rawv," Qui-Gon said loudly. "Listen to me, Rawv."

An angry snarl rang in the air as Rawv whirled around, claws slashing. His tail was out and whipping savagely about.

"Rawvten Z'Trew!" Qui-Gon yelled. "Stop, damn it!"

Rawv advanced, gold eyes flashing in rage. "Don't fuck with me. I don't need any more shit today -"

Matching Qui-Gon's pained look, Obi-Wan saw Qui-Gon fling his arm and a wave of Force energy slammed into their friend.

Rawv hit the wall with a thud and a 'whoof' of escaping air. Qui-Gon dropped his lightsaber and leapt to pin him against the wall, holding his arms down, getting in his face.

"Rawv, don't be an idiot. Stop this. Get yourself under control."

The two masters glared at each other as Rawv struggled futilely against the larger, grimly determined Qui-Gon.

A heavy, persistent knocking on the door caused all three Jedi to freeze.

"Are you going to stop being stupid?" Qui-Gon hissed.

Rawv slowly nodded, jaw clenched.

"Padawan, answer the door," Qui-Gon directed as he cautiously stepped away from Rawv.

Obi-Wan went to the door as the two masters stood apart. He opened the door to see Mace Windu flanked by two knights from the master-at-arms office.

"Master Windu, come in, please. What can we do for you?" Obi-Wan stood aside as Windu stalked in.

"There were numerous complaints received of a Jedi venting inappropriate feelings into the Force, disrupting several classes and shoving a security guard at the Temple entrance." Windu's gaze swept briefly past Obi-Wan, paused on Qui-Gon, then settled on Rawv. "The reported Force signature was indicative of a master. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this, would you, Master Z'Trew?"

"There are a lot of masters in the Temple." Rawv stood sullenly.

"I see." Windu stared hard at the unrepentant felinoid. He glanced at the lightsaber and datapads on the floor before turning to Qui-Gon. "The perpetrator never took his cloak off, so I don't have a positive identification this time, but I will be watching both of you. Remind your *friend* that we do expect civilized behavior if he wants to stay on Coruscant." He turned on his heel and marched out, closely followed by the two knights.

Rawv muttered a curse and threw his hand up in an obscene gesture before starting to pace around.

"Stop that before you get us all in trouble. What happened?" Qui-Gon demanded. He called his 'saber to his hand; the heavy slap of metal on flesh was a resounding notice of his irritation.

"We were in the Senate committee room and they were doing press conferences," Rawv snarled as he continued to pace angrily. "Nuxtek was playing it up as chair, spouting off his pet theories about drug gangs for his toadies from the newsies. I realized that he was starting to throw in bits of real information about ongoing operations, stuff that most of the idiots in that room were not cleared to know." His tail switched back and forth. "I tried to redirect him, change the topics, anything to get him to stop without hitting him. The bastard got all uppity, started throwing his authority around and making nasty comments about the Jedi's incompetence."

"Was he really saying anything that damaging?" Obi-Wan asked. He had moved up to stand beside Qui-Gon.

Rawv stopped short. "The information he was sharing could get people killed if it got into the wrong hands or the wrong people made the right connections." He stepped in face to face with Obi-Wan. "I personally knew two Jedi who died because of information leaks like this."

Obi-Wan swallowed and had to look away from the intense golden stare. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"In any event, the son of a bantha spent what was left of the meeting playing big shot but at least he didn't let out anything else of significance." Rawv began pacing again. "You should be proud of me. I didn't hit him or even turn on my lightsaber."

"For you, that is indeed remarkable restraint," Qui-Gon remarked. "I *am* proud of you."

"Rawv, you're still broadcasting," Obi-Wan said. "Can we help you meditate?"

"Meditating doesn't work." Rawv continued pacing restlessly.

"If you're up to it, then, how about a little trip down to the training salle so we can beat you into submission?" Qui-Gon waved his lightsaber.

"Ha! It will be a pleasure wiping the floor with you two!"

It ended up taking over an hour for the combined efforts of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to finally wear down the angry felinoid's huge reserves of pent up energy. They danced, hacked and slashed around the floor until Rawv finally yielded.

"I'm glad you don't lose your temper often, Rawv," Obi-Wan panted as he leaned over, hands on knees, sweat dripping.

"It's the showers for me," Qui-Gon got out between gulps of water from the wall fountain. "And that goes for both of you as well if you have any intention of getting back into our quarters."

"Well, you two certainly do stink." Rawv grinned as dirty looks were directed at him. He winced as he leaned over to pick up his cloak. "I think perhaps I need to practice a little more frequently."

"But that would require you to actually do some work for a change," Qui-Gon retorted.

Obi-Wan grinned as the byplay between the two old friends continued into the shower room. He closed his eyes and let the hot water run over his body, washing away the sweat and weariness.

"Obi-Wan, be a good boy and wash my back, will you?" Rawv leaned forward, bracing his hands against the tile.

"Your wish is my command, love." Obi-Wan rinsed off, then gathered a large handful of soap from the dispenser and moved behind his lover. Slowly he worked the soap in, kneading the heavy muscles, gradually moving from the shoulders down the back. He smiled as he drew several appreciative moans from Rawv. The nearness of the hot body and the occasional suggestive wiggle of the furry ass in front of him were slowly causing Obi-Wan's cock to fill.

"Oh, yesss, right there, yessss," Rawv moaned as Obi-Wan dug his thumbs into a spot at the base of the master's spine. Obi-Wan grinned and worked a little harder. He let himself slide a bit closer, his hard cock brushing against Rawv's ass.

An intake of breath to his left distracted Obi-Wan and he glanced up.

Qui-Gon was standing under a shower-head a few meters away, streams of water flowing down his body. His head was turned and his eyes seemed fixed on Obi-Wan's lower body. His mouth was partially open. As Obi-Wan watched, Qui-Gon's tongue slowly traced a path along his lower lip, then retreated into the still-open mouth. Qui-Gon gradually let his gaze travel up Obi-Wan's body. As his eyes met Obi-Wan's stare, he started and blushed. Without a word, he turned away and walked swiftly from the shower room.

Obi-Wan stretched, a bone-cracking effort that left him sprawled across the bed. He blinked a few times as he realized he was the only occupant of the bed. It was only after this information had penetrated his sleep-fogged brain that he realized that there was a remarkably enticing aroma in the air. He quickly rose.

As he headed for the 'fresher Obi-Wan noticed that Qui-Gon was on the balcony meditating. He started to change direction.

"Probably not a good idea, Obi-Wan. He was already out there deep into it when I got up an hour ago." Rawv stood in the doorway of the small kitchen. "You wouldn't happen to know of any particular reason he's spending so long in meditation?"

"It might have something to do with the fact that I caught him staring at me in the shower room last night. You were hot, I was hard and he seemed to be quite embarrassed when he rushed out."

"Ahh." Rawv cast a speculative glance at the kneeling figure. "I must think upon this development. At the moment, however, breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes."

Obi-Wan quickly showered and dressed, emerging from his room in time to set the table.

"Smells good, Rawv." Obi-Wan sniffed appreciatively at the veritable feast loaded on the table.

"Wait until you taste it," Rawv said smugly. "One of my better turnouts, if I do say so myself."

"Which you have no hesitation in doing." Qui-Gon had silently entered the room and was standing by the table. "What favor are you trying to cadge this time?"

"Qui-Gon! I am wounded, yes, wounded, that you would say such a thing!"

Obi-Wan grinned as they sat down and began loading their plates.

"I didn't say I wasn't going to eat it," Qui-Gon retorted dryly, "but I am always suspicious when you exert more effort than necessary."

"Actually, I wanted to apologize for yesterday. I shouldn't have lost control like that." Rawv waved vaguely. "This is just a little something to thank you for helping me."

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan looked at each other for a moment. Qui-Gon shrugged. "If you say so."

Conversation was desultory as the three Jedi concentrated on enjoying their meal. Obi-Wan noticed that his master kept steering the topics to neutral subjects, such as their work.

"That was excellent, Rawv. Thank you very much." Obi-Wan leaned back with a satisfied sigh.

"Glad you liked it." Rawv turned on one of his most charming smiles. "You know, I was just thinking that if you had a little extra time you might be interested in doing something useful."

Qui-Gon threw down his napkin in disgust. "I knew it. What trouble are you trying to get us into this time?"

"No, no, this is perfectly simple and respectable," Rawv purred. He leaned forward, eyes a warm golden pool. "Between what I've learned and some things our friend Nuxtek's staff let slip, I think I'm getting very close to a breakthrough. I just need a bit of help with some research and a few other little things."

"Surely some research couldn't hurt anything, could it, Master?" Obi-Wan leaned across the table to take Rawv's hand.

"It's not the research that concerns me, Padawan," Qui-Gon said sternly. "It's those 'other little things' that I worry about."

"Qui-Gon, you know I wouldn't do anything to let Obi-Wan get hurt unnecessarily."

"You certainly will not. Let me make this very clear." Qui-Gon stood, then shifted to bend over his fellow master. "Research is fine as long as it doesn't interfere with anyone's duties. I'll help myself, if I can. But -" He tapped Rawv's chest for emphasis. "What you are doing is not a sanctioned mission. Obi-Wan is my padawan and I will not let anything interfere with his progress toward knighthood. If you even hint about trying to take my padawan down into the lower levels chasing drug-runners or any of your other crazy stunts that could get him put on probation or worse, I will drop kick you off the tallest tower in the Temple."

"But Qui-Gon -"

"Absolutely. Not." Qui-Gon leaned down even further until he was nose to nose with Rawv. "Don't even think about it."

"Of course, of course." Rawv held up his free hand. "You have my word."

Qui-Gon straightened, hands on hips. He stared at Rawv for a moment with a decidedly jaundiced expression that Obi-Wan well recognized.

"Very well. I have to go to my seminar. Leave your notes on what you want us to look into on the terminal."

"Thank you, Qui. I really do appreciate the help."

"Hmmph." With one last glare, Qui-Gon grabbed his datapads and headed for the door.

Obi-Wan and Rawv sat quietly for a few minutes. Finally Obi-Wan stirred. "I need to get to my first class, Rawv." He pulled Rawv's hand to his mouth for a quick kiss, then asked softly, "Just how dangerous is this little affair you've gotten yourself into?"

"I've only been doing some investigating up to this point, Obi-Wan. Relatively mundane activities, actually."

Obi-Wan sat back, one eyebrow raised skeptically.

"Why does nobody believe me this morning?" Rawv complained pathetically.

"Probably because Qui-Gon knows you too well and I'm also starting to learn just what a devious son of a bantha you are."

Rawv pouted for a moment, then went over to sit on Obi-Wan's lap and kissed him. "I promise that I haven't been doing anything riskier than a normal mission." He leaned in and licked Obi-Wan's ear. "And you have to admit I certainly seem to have taken Qui-Gon's mind off whatever he was brooding about this morning." One hand started to sneak inside Obi-Wan's tunic.

"You," Obi-Wan kissed his brown nose lightly, "are trying to divert my attention. And you are succeeding too well." He captured Rawv's wandering hand, then pulled his lover close for a hug. After a quick kiss, Obi-Wan stood them both up. "I really do have to leave now, but I'll try to help if I can."

"Thanks, Obi-Wan. I love you both."

Obi-Wan shook his head, then headed out for his first class.

All three Jedi were too busy over the next several days for Obi-Wan to think much about Qui-Gon's reaction in the shower room, although he was concerned about his master's increased bouts of meditation and reticence, and not entirely certain he should be comforted by Rawv's assurances that he had a plan to take care of Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan spent much of his limited free time in the Temple library looking into seemingly unrelated queries on several small freighter companies and recent reports on prostitution investigations. Qui-Gon had pulled Rawv onto the balcony for an intense discussion the day after Rawv requested help and had emerged with a troubled expression. Since then, however, he had spent long periods of time away from the Temple. He did not discuss his activities with his apprentice, but Obi-Wan recognized many of the encrypted email messages on their shared terminal as coming from some of his master's contacts in the Senate. Rawv, meanwhile, went out most nights looking his most scruffy and disreputable worst under his cloak; he returned in the early mornings smelling of alcohol and cheap brothels.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" Rawv threw his cloak onto its hook. His smile lit up the room even more than the late afternoon sunlight streaming in. "Wonderful day, Qui-Gon, wonderful." As he waltzed past the table he planted a kiss on his friend's face as Qui-Gon looked up from his datapad. He continued into the kitchen, depositing several bags on the counter before swinging Obi-Wan around in a big hug. "Now then, I'll finish up in here, love. You go relax."

A perplexed Obi-Wan found himself standing by the table as Rawv bustled about in the kitchen with latemeal preparations. He looked down at his bemused master.

"Is today another special occasion that I missed, Master?"

Qui-Gon shrugged. "I gave up wondering how his mind functions a long time ago, Padawan."

"Yes, Master."

Latemeal was a lively affair as Rawv kept them entertained with stories and hilarious anecdotes. They were lingering over a heavenly chocolate confection the affable master had provided.

"This is wonderful, Rawv," Obi-Wan said. "Is there some special reason?"

"The investigation is going well and I wanted to spread a little of my happiness."

"Getting close, are we?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Oh, yes. Very close, indeed." Rawv rubbed his hands gleefully. "The bad guys are going to be in for a nasty surprise soon. And since I couldn't have gotten this far without your help, I just wanted to express some of my appreciation for that help."

"Mmm," Qui-Gon grunted. "Just remember what I said about involving my padawan."

"Your lovely padawan is very much in my thoughts, old friend." Rawv leered briefly before assuming a serious expression. "However, it has recently come to my attention that you have grievously neglected a very important part of the young man's education. I am very disappointed in you, Qui-Gon." He clicked his tongue several times. "Yes, very disappointed indeed."

"What are you prattling on about?" Qui-Gon scowled suspiciously. "I happen to think I am doing quite well without your help."

Rawv stood up and walked around the table to stand behind the apprentice. "Qui-Gon, you have left out a most important element in his understanding of strategy and tactics. We must rectify the oversight immediately."

"What the Force are you talking about?"

"Tangents, old friend, Tangents." Rawv put his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders.

"What?"

"You have not taught your apprentice how to play Tangents!" Rawv pointed an accusing finger. "Absolutely fundamental requirement for a proper education and you haven't even started."

"Are you serious, or has all that loose fur clogged up what little brain you have left?"

"Absolutely serious." Rawv grinned and waggled an eyebrow. "And if you don't teach him, I will."

"Oh, no you don't, you miserable cheating scoundrel." Qui-Gon stood up. "If anyone is going to teach him, it will be me."

"Well then, no time like the present, right?"

"You're on."

Obi-Wan had been trying to suppress a grin as he watched the increasingly intense banter between the masters. Fortunately he had already finished his work for the day, so he was more than happy to go along with the plan on which he had not been consulted. Within a few minutes the dishes were cleaned and they had cleared the common room to provide a playing area. Rawv had, as usual, stripped to his fur, but magnanimously turned up the temperature so the other two were comfortable in leggings, tunics and bare feet.

Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan were sitting on the rug as the master began explaining the basic rules and card layouts, demonstrating on a low table. Rawv ambled in from the kitchen with cold bottles of a particularly potent ale and passed them out. He settled in behind Obi-Wan, his legs spread on either side of his lover. He limited himself to the occasional caustic comment as Qui-Gon continued his explanations. Qui-Gon pointedly ignored the jibes.

"That covers all of the fundamentals, Padawan. Any questions?" Qui-Gon asked as he shuffled the cards back together.

"I think I understand everything."

"Don't worry, I'll help him," Rawv said.

"With friends like that, you won't need enemies, Padawan," Qui-Gon said. "We'll play the first couple of rounds slowly so you can follow the action."

"Yes, Master."

"Don't worry about him, Obi-Wan," Rawv whispered loudly in his lover's ear, "together we can take Master Hotshot."

Qui-Gon snorted disdainfully and started dealing.

The first few rounds passed quite peacefully. Obi-Wan quickly realized the attraction of the game as he started to get a feel for its potential complexity and the flow of attack and counterattack. He soon settled into the action and began to enjoy himself.

"I don't believe that was the correct stack for that suit."

"Of course, sorry."

"You might want to try a red queen in that situation."

"Thanks, but I think we'll stick with the black ten."

The pace of the games began to pick up along with the rate of ale consumption. Obi-Wan found that his lover was prone to following high risk strategies while Qui-Gon enjoyed swooping in with unexpected counters. After a while, he was happy to mostly just hold the cards for Rawv and let the two battle it out.

"Hey, you can't put that card there!"

"Caught you! Put that back!"

"Did not!" "Did too!" "Did not! And anyway you were dealing from the bottom!"

"Fine. Redeal the second stack, then."

"What! Where did you get that card, you fleabag?"

"Nyah! You just can't stand to lose, asshole. Stuff your fucking finesse and show me some real action."

Several rounds of ale later the cards were running fast and the air was blue with invectives from many different languages. Obi-Wan was starting to get in shots in support of his lover, trying to deflect his master's attention from Rawv's more outrageous card maneuverings. Unfortunately, Rawv's addiction to trying to fill low probability card runs had them quite a bit behind.

"Seventeen! That takes the third stack. Your redeal, son of a nutless bantha dung beetle."

"Ha. You just wait, son of a son of a pestilent piss swine."

"I'm still waiting, bantha-brained skankhauling seksucker."

A rapid flurry of cards brought the two lovers surging back into the lead after Obi-Wan pulled off an exceptionally dangerous end run around two of Qui-Gon's moves. Rawv kissed him enthusiastically as more cards flew back and forth. Qui-Gon eventually countered with a seemingly desperate low-scoring ploy.

Rawv dramatically threw down a series of four cards. "Kiss my ass, you shambolic sheepshagging schwanz!" He pulled the grinning Obi-Wan to his chest for a hug.

Qui-Gon looked over the array of cards, looked at his own cards, then back at the array. Slowly he pulled a card from his hand, frowned at it, then put it down into the array and moved two cards from the end stack into place.

"Got ya, got ya, got ya! Suck my balls, you sorry savok!" Rawv crowed.

Qui-Gon carefully arranged his cards, then slowly put the whole set down into the array and moved the winning card from the second stack onto his layout.

"Blasted, ship down and battle to me! Suck your own balls if you can find them, asleyp sooksin!" A triumphant shit-eating grin lit Qui-Gon's face.

Rawv choked on his ale. "What, how could you, where did that come from -" he spluttered. He yowled in outrage. "You must have cheated, damn you!"

Qui-Gon smirked. "I don't have to cheat to beat a brainless idiot like you, even with Obi-Wan helping you."

"That does it!" Rawv staggered to his feet, pulling Obi-Wan with him. "Get him!" He yelled again, flinging the table aside, cards scattering as he jumped onto Qui-Gon, still pulling Obi-Wan with him.

For several minutes the Jedi wrestled around the floor, although it was not at all clear who was fighting whom. Their ale-hampered reflexes resulted in no real damage being done except to the tunics that got ripped off, and eventually they were too breathless from laughing to continue.

The three men were lying tangled together in the middle of the room. Loose fur from Rawv was stuck to the sweaty exposed skin of the other two. Obi-Wan had ended up between the two masters, on top of Qui-Gon and so close he could feel his master's heart beating against his own chest. He reached up to sweep away a patch of sweat and fur but found his hand captured. Time seemed to stop as he suddenly found himself pulled down in a hot kiss. His blood roared in his ears as he realized it was Qui-Gon, not Rawv, who held him tightly. He closed his eyes and enthusiastically returned the kiss. He opened the training bond to release the joy and love singing inside him.

A moment later the pile of bodies erupted. Obi-Wan was flung onto his back, but quickly scrambled to his knees. He found Rawv was on his hands and knees, shaking his head. Qui-Gon was sitting on his haunches, back to the couch, arms at his sides.

"Force, what the seven hells was that for?" Rawv complained as he wiped a small trickle of blood from a cut on his chin. He'd had the worst end of an encounter with a side table.

Qui-Gon stared at Obi-Wan. His face was pale except for bright red spots in each cheek. His hair was disheveled, sweat trickling down his face and staining his torn tunic. Qui-Gon's eyes were dark blue, almost black.

Obi-Wan sat for a moment, still a bit stunned by the suddenness of the upheaval. He dabbed tentatively at the training bond only to find it shut down hard. He shifted his weight to move forward.

"Don't," Qui-Gon cried harshly. His chest heaved as he breathed heavily through his mouth. At his sides both hands were clenched into fists, knuckles white. "Padawan, I must apologize…" Qui-Gon stopped, swallowed hard. "My actions were not appropriate. I'm sorry."

"You did not do anything that I have not wanted for a very long time, Qui-Gon Jinn." Obi-Wan stared at his master, working to try to control his own breathing. He reached out a hand but stopped as Qui-Gon flinched back.

"No, this is not right. You are my padawan. I am supposed to protect you, teach you, take care of you." Qui-Gon shook his head, looking around, everywhere but at his apprentice. "It is wrong to want this."

"What is so wrong? Please, talk to me, explain it to me, because I don't see anything wrong here." Obi-Wan sat up straight, trying futilely to catch his master's eye.

"You're too young, Obi-Wan. There are too many years between us for this to be right. I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you." Qui-Gon slumped back against the couch, eyes closed, shaking his head.

"You bloody miserable idiot!" Rawv had crawled forward to confront his old friend. He grabbed Qui-Gon by the shoulders and shook him. "Look at me, damn you. And look at Obi-Wan!" he shouted. "That is Senior Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi. He's not a boy, he's not a young apprentice still wet behind the ears." He shook Qui-Gon again. "He is a man, a man who loves you. And it's way past time for you to get over things that happened years ago and screwed up your head."

"He's my *padawan*." Qui-Gon shoved Rawv away. "I'm not supposed to have these kinds of feelings. I don't *want* these feelings and what might happen between us. It's just not right."

Rawv sat up. "Qui-Gon, you are my oldest and dearest friend, but sometimes you are utterly blind to what is right under your nose. I've been trying to make you see him, to see us, and how much we love each other. But we both love you as well. Aside from you, Obi-Wan Kenobi is the best thing that has ever happened to me and damn well the best thing that's ever happened to you."

"There's certainly been no doubt about how the two of you feel about each other. You've taken every opportunity to throw that in my face," Qui-Gon said bitterly.

There was dead silence in the room.

Obi-Wan looked uncertainly at Rawv, who was sitting on his rear with a stunned expression.

"I am sorry, Master." Obi-Wan hung his head. "We never meant to hurt you, but there didn't seem to be any other way to get you to hear what I needed to say."

"Get it out, then," said Qui-Gon, his fists clenched.

"Master, I do love Rawvten Z'Trew, but I have loved you for years." Obi-Wan held up a hand to forestall his master's protest. "I'm not talking about that ridiculous teenage lust; that was an embarrassment to both of us. No, it took me a while to understand what love really means, but you were my teacher in that as in every other thing. It means to take all of you, the good and the bad, to want all of you, to be part of your life forever. But as much as I have come to care for Rawvten, if you had really wanted us to stop being so obvious, or even if you had wanted me to stop seeing him altogether, you only had to say the word. I thought you knew that, Master, especially when we sought your permission to be together. We would both have obeyed you because we both love you."

"I apologize also, but he's right, Qui-Gon." Rawv nodded toward Obi-Wan. "It has always been a three-way relationship, whether you wanted to acknowledge it or not. And the real power to change that has always been yours."

There was another heavy silence in the room, even the Force currents subdued to a murmur.

Qui-Gon took several ragged breaths, head on his chest. Finally he forced himself to look up, his jaw working. "I couldn't," he whispered. "At first I thought it was just another one of your infatuations, Rawv, and my only concern was to keep Obi-Wan from getting hurt. But then it turned serious, and I had to start looking at both of you differently." He stopped to take a slow breath. "And I did start looking. And listening. And wanting what I felt was wrong for me to want." Qui-Gon closed his eyes, bit down hard on his lower lip. Finally he continued in a rough whisper. "There were nights… you were making love… I would creep into the common room to listen. To listen, to imagine, to masturbate." He opened his eyes. "And I was ashamed of myself for doing those things. I felt dirty and guilty for feeling for those things, wanting my own apprentice that way. But I couldn't stop, and I didn't have the strength to tell you to stop."

"Qui-Gon, I understand why you vowed never to take a younger lover," Rawv said gently as he gathered the resisting man into his arms. "I was there, remember? We were all young knights, it was a difficult time and a terrible thing to happen." He held Qui-Gon for a long moment, then pushed him out to arm's-length. "That was a long time ago, Qui-Gon. This is a different time, different circumstances, and none of us are the same people. And dammit it to the seven hells, this beautiful young man is also not that Sith-blasted little bastard Xanatos who hurt you when he turned on you and then left the Order. I have heard you say many times how much you respect what Obi-Wan has accomplished, how he has earned his rank as a senior padawan, how much you trust him. Did you really mean any of that, or are you so blinded by your own prejudices, by an oath you took in your own youth, by the things that happened with your last padawan, that you don't really see the man that Obi-Wan has become? Will you not even listen to what he has to say?"

Qui-Gon pulled away, shakily stood up. Obi-Wan also rose to his feet.

"Rawv explained to me about your friend, about the rape. He also told me about the things that Xanatos did," Obi-Wan said quietly. "It helped me to understand why you had turned me away, why you kept our relationship so distant most of the time. I had planned to wait until I was a knight, hoping that perhaps you would see me differently then." He shrugged, a rueful smile on his face. "Obviously it's out in the open now, for good or ill. I love you, and I love Rawv, but I have never wanted to take any action that would hurt you. I will do whatever you want to prove that I love both of you; I will drop every shield that I have and I would willingly have you search the depths of my heart and my soul."

Obi-Wan looked at Rawv, held his eyes for a moment, then turned back to Qui-Gon. "I also understand that we are all Jedi and what that means." He knelt before Qui-Gon. "You are my master, and I will obey whatever your wishes are in this matter. If you command silence, I will be silent." He hesitated a moment, a hitch in his breath. "If you command the sundering of my relationship with Rawv, so it shall be. Above all else, we are Jedi, and you are my master. What do you wish me to do?"

Qui-Gon stood frozen, staring at the figure kneeling before him. He looked helplessly at Rawv, who was standing silently several feet away.

"He is wiser than either of us, Qui-Gon." Rawv glanced down at Obi-Wan, than looked back at his old friend. "I have to confess that I am only now beginning to realize that I have meddled far too much in the relationship between you and your padawan. If it's any consolation, I am not feeling very proud of that right now." He gave a strained smile. "I can only apologize and offer the excuse that I wanted what I thought was best for Obi-Wan and for you. He does love you so much, Qui-Gon, if you will but look. I knew I would not be allowed to stay on Coruscant very long - the work I seem to be best suited for is not here. I thought I could bring both of you together so he would have your love to sustain him when I'm gone. I am sorry if I've hurt you both."

"I believe that you thought you were trying to do good, even if I'm upset about how you went about it," Qui-Gon said, his voice hoarse. "You may be reckless and crazy and a lot of other things, but you have always been my best friend. I know you meant well, just as I have come to know that your feelings for Obi-Wan are true." Qui-Gon paused.

"Padawan."

Obi-Wan looked up.

"Padawan, I don't know what to say." Qui-Gon knelt before Obi-Wan, and gently ran his fingertips down Obi-Wan's cheek. "I have to sort out my own feelings before I can tell you what we need to do. I don't want to cause pain to either of you, but I also have an obligation to do what is best for your training so you will reach knighthood. I have much to meditate upon and I must seek the will of the Force to guide me." He dropped his hand to his side. "You have waited this long, Obi-Wan; I must ask you to wait a little longer."

"Of course, Master."

Qui-Gon got to his feet slowly. He sighed heavily as he looked down at his apprentice. He looked briefly at Rawv, his eyes somber. Qui-Gon hesitated, then quickly, almost furtively, ruffled Obi-Wan's hair before moving away and retreating into his room.

Obi-Wan stood up. He stared expressionlessly at the closed door for a minute before turning to Rawv. He offered a hand to his lover; silently they sat together on the couch long into the night.

The next two days were difficult. The relationship among the three men was strained; conversations were formal and confined to mundane practicalities during the few times during the day when they were actually together. Obi-Wan immersed himself in his teaching duties. Qui-Gon retreated to the Temple gardens when he was not working, spending long hours in meditation. Rawv was away at the Senate committee room when he was not out 'investigating'.

The third day proved far different indeed.

Obi-Wan hurried into their shared quarters, carelessly flinging aside his cloak and datapads. He moved quickly from room to room, checking every counter, table and the bed in his room. Evidently not finding whatever he was searching for, he sat down at the shared terminal and began rapidly keying through screens.

Qui-Gon entered from the balcony, the afternoon sunlight at his back making it difficult to see his face. He paused just inside the doorway.

"Is there a problem, Padawan?"

"It's Rawv." Obi-Wan stood up to face Qui-Gon, a troubled expression on his face. "He was supposed to meet me at fifteenth hour in one of the conference rooms to help with some problems I was having in one of my teaching courses. He didn't show up, I have not found any messages from him, and he is not answering his comlink. He has always either shown up or sent a message, Master. Always!"

"That is definitely unlike him when he has made a promise to help someone. Are you certain there are no messages?"

"Yes, Master. I looked in the student-teacher boxes, everywhere here in our quarters, and in every mail and voice address on our terminal and on my comlink. His comlink is working because I can get the standard voice address request to leave a message, but he has not answered any of the four messages I left, nor does he answer the comlink itself."

"One moment, Padawan." Qui-Gon pulled out his own comlink. There were no messages. Silence was the only response when he tried to call his friend.

"There is something else I can try." Qui-Gon sat down at the terminal and began keying in several high level security codes. After ten minutes of working through several screens and additional security codes, they got a blinking green light and a map coordinate. "At least we now know where his comlink is. It is still operational and set to receive mode."

"We know where his comlink is?" Obi-Wan felt a sick tug in his stomach as he saw Qui-Gon's worried expression. "Master, just how dangerous is this business Rawv has been working on? Should we expect to find him separated from his comlink?

Qui-Gon sat silently for a moment, still staring at the terminal. "Anytime you are dealing with drug smuggling the situation is potentially dangerous, Padawan." He rapidly punched more keys. "The comlink signal is here in the Temple."

"But he is not answering calls, Master." Obi-Wan stared anxiously at Qui-Gon.

"True." Qui-Gon finally turned to look at his apprentice. "If he is here in Temple, he must be shielding heavily. I can sense no indication at all of his presence." He looked at Obi-Wan for a moment. "Get our cloaks while I look up the coordinates."

Even with coordinates, the search still took almost an hour. The master and apprentice ended up in a stony, almost desert portion of the gardens. There were large rock formations scattered about the entire area. Rawvten Z'Trew was not responding to either comlink calls or to shouts, so they had to search through numerous formations before they finally came across a shapeless figure in a brown cloak tucked in an alcove between three particularly large boulders.

"Rawv?" Qui-Gon knelt beside the still figure and shook its shoulder. "Rawvten Z'Trew, is that you? Are you alright?"

Obi-Wan was shocked when Qui-Gon pulled back the hood to reveal the missing Jedi. Rawv sat hunched in on himself, arms wrapped around his upper body. The normally vibrant golden eyes were dull and flat. Rawv's shielding was so dense there was no discernible Force signature at all. He stared ahead of him, motionless as if all the joyful life energy had been sucked from him and he was naught but a part of the stones among which he had hidden away.

Qui-Gon grabbed both of the master's shoulders. "Rawv, it's Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. Talk to us. What happened to you?"

There was a dim stirring in the dull eyes. One ear flicked. Rawv tilted his head to let his gaze pass across them before turning back to stare forward.

"I was called in front of the Council this morning." The tired voice was harsh and ragged.

"Certainly wouldn't be the first occasion for either of us, Rawv. What did they want this time?"

There was a long silence before the harsh whisper started again.

"Something went wrong somewhere, or I pushed the wrong people too hard. Someone filed a formal complaint on behalf of Senator Nuxtek as chair of the Outer Rim intelligence activities. I was reported for exceeding the bounds of my authority and undertaking unauthorized investigations without regard for proper authorities. The Council was not happy."

"What happened, Rawv?" Qui-Gon sat down beside the still figure as Obi-Wan knelt in front of the pair.

"The Council said I had to stop whatever I was doing, turn over all information to the committee and apologize to the Senator. Immediately. Or they would send me back out on the next transport."

"So how did you talk your way out of this one, Rawv?" Qui-Gon attempted a jovial tone, but it wasn't quite working.

"I didn't. I... I backed down." Rawv's head fell even further, muffling his voice. "Knowing that if I gave the information I had to the Senate committee it would be leaked and could get people killed, I broke and backed down."

"That doesn't sound like you, Rawv," Obi-Wan protested.

"You have never backed down from what you believed in before. Why this time? What happened?"

Rawv's head snapped up, the first real sign of life since they had found him.

"You don't understand what it's really like for me." He grabbed Qui-Gon's arm, looking wildly back and forth between him and Obi-Wan.

"It is so fucking lonely out there. So lonely and so cold." Rawv's voice was intense, spitting words out. "The Force keeps me going, because I have believed all of my life in doing the right thing, but she can be a cold gray bitch of a mistress."

He paused, looking sightlessly into the distance. He pulled his arms back in close, hugging himself tightly.

"She pushes me, pushes me hard, and when I don't do her bidding out there she sends dreams. Terrible dreams of the children, the drug addicts, the prostitutes, the slaves. Have you ever held a child in your arms while she goes through drug withdrawal, and you feel so helpless when she screams and begs for drugs, then begs for death because it hurts so much to live? Even on the good days I still sometimes have dreams out there. Blood, blood everywhere, and eyes that stare back at you, eyes from beings that I have killed, or even worse, the ones I couldn't save."

Silence.

"It was bad enough these last several years," Rawv's harsh whisper continued. "I missed you terribly, Qui. There was never anyone I could trust, never anyone else I could afford to let get close enough, not even other Jedi. Always undercover, always living a lie, always looking over your shoulder into the dark… so cold… so fucking lonely…. The one light in my life, the fire that kept me warm, was knowing that you were out there, Qui, that I had someone to come home to. Someone who understood, who knew. Hell, Qui-Gon you *were* home for me, not this fucking Temple."

"And now, now there are two of you." A few tears slipped out to darken Rawv;s brown mask of fur. "It was bad enough before, but now... just the thought of being separated from Obi-Wan after I've finally found the kind of love I never thought could exist for someone like me... it's terrifying."

He then gave a humorless snort. "The Council had quite a bit to say, so I had lots of time to think, and even more since then. I always believed that I knew what the right thing was, what the Force called me to do. But standing there in front of the Council, listening to them chew me out, I wasn't sure anymore. I backed down, but at first I didn't know if I backed down because they were right or if I was just afraid of being sent out, being sent away back into the cold and dark, being sent away from the warmth and light. I wasn't ready to get kicked back out there, not now, not so suddenly."

Rawv reached out to take the hands of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. "I've been trying to meditate, but the Force does not answer. So I've had to do some hard thinking on my own. I've had to face some difficult truths."

He turned his head to Qui-Gon. "You were right about many things, Qui. I've never truly taken the Code all that seriously, and I've done a lot of stupid things. I justified my pleasure-seeking by telling myself it was just a reward for the hard work of being a Jedi, but some of it really was just laziness and self-indulgence. You were especially right about my reasons for going after Nuxtek's bunch; I was angry because that one bastard had gotten away, not because I really had any evidence of what he was doing on Coruscant. And you were right that I was in over my head. I didn't have the proper contacts or support to be doing that kind of risky freelancing here on Coruscant, but I was too stubborn to admit it until I realized just how big this was turning out to be."

Rawv pulled his hands back, hung his head. "And even worse, I tried to change your feelings toward your padawan. You are my best and truest friend, but I manipulated you and encouraged your padawan to manipulate you." He shuddered. "I intentionally wanted you to feel lonely and left out, schemed to make you break oaths you had sworn to yourself. I was an arrogant bastard and a lousy friend."

Qui-Gon put a hand on Rawv's shoulder, but the master shook him off and turned his attention to Obi-Wan. Rawv sighed heavily. "Your master was right to not want me courting you, Obi-Wan. I haven't been a very good Jedi, I haven't been a very good person, and there was a lot I didn't tell you. I was afraid to lose you - it was the main thing screaming in my head when I was in front of the Council." He swallowed hard. "Obi-Wan, I've had to face myself and I don't like what I found. Now I'm even more afraid to let you stay with a monster like me, that some of my demons might rub off on you. I can't honestly say that I truly believe in the Code, not the way you and Qui-Gon do. I have lied, stolen, killed for what I told myself was a higher reason, but I know there were times it seemed that was just the lie I told myself. There is too much blood on my hands and I'm just not good for you."

"But what about the Council? And what you found out about the drug smuggling?" Qui-Gon asked quietly.

"Oh, that." Rawv shrugged. "Turns out I was fucking wrong about a lot of that, too." He let his head bang backward against the rock. "It's bigger than I realized, and different people are behind it than I thought. I did find out that the distribution network is set up behind a screen of brothels on the lower levels, and I think there is a huge shipment coming in about three days from now. I offered to turn over my information to the Council; they insisted it must also go to the Senate committee and that I have to make a full, formal apology." He rose to his feet. "I guess I'll do that at tomorrow's session, then I have to report to the Temple's intelligence oversight group."

Rawv stood quietly for a moment, head down. "I don't know what I'll be doing after tomorrow. I'll get my stuff out of your quarters tonight." He raised his head but could not meet the eyes of his companions. "I'm sorry for everything. You've both been far better to me than I deserved. I will miss you, but it will be best for all of us if I leave." He turned and started to walk away.

With one mind, both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan reached forward to snag their sorrowful friend. They each grabbed an arm and pinned him against the nearest boulder.

"Rawvten Z'Trew, that is some of the most abject, self-pitying load of bantha shit that I have ever heard, even from you."

Rawv stared at Qui-Gon in shock. A flicker of life returned to the golden eyes as his back stiffened.

"You may be reckless, lazy, bed-hopping, hard-drinking and an abuser of the Force for some very flippant uses, but you didn't volunteer for those jobs the Council sent you on and you have never turned away a friend." Qui-Gon pushed his face into Rawv's. "You've done a lot of dark work, but that doesn't make you a dark Jedi."

Obi-Wan pressed closer, crowding in next to his master. "Maybe I just haven't been around long enough to know the difference, but I believe in you, Rawvten Z'Trew. Qui-Gon's probably right about all your faults, but I see a good friend, a faithful lover. You've let me in a long way, and what I saw tells me you *are* a good person and a good Jedi."

"You're just trying to make me feel better." Rawv shook his head. "You don't understand the kinds of things I've done. I have killed people in cold blood. Not self-defense, but deliberate killing. Where do you think some of those faces in my dreams come from?" He shuddered.

"Did you enjoy the killing, Rawv?" Obi-Wan asked.

Rawv stared at him wordlessly, mouth partially open.

"Did you enjoy killing those people? Did you ever kill someone like that you weren't ordered to kill?" Obi-Wan persisted.

"Force, no!" Horror and indignation sparked a fire in the golden eyes. "How could you think such a thing?"

"I don't. And it is time you realized that you don't either," Obi-Wan said.

"Rawv, I'm sorry you've had to face some of these things, but I think it means you're finally realizing that you have a conscience, however inconvenient or unpleasant that might be." Qui-Gon shook Rawv's shoulder. "We both believe in you. Let us help you remember how to believe in yourself. Come home with us, Rawvten Z'Trew."

The master wavered for a long moment, then his face hardened. "No, I can't," he whispered. "You'll be better off without me." He turned and began swiftly walking away.

Obi-Wan was quicker and was the first to reach Rawv. He spun the felinoid around and shoved him against a rock wall.

"Rawvten Z'Trew, you are a good Jedi and a good person. Force take you, I'm not going to let you do this to yourself, to me or to Qui-Gon." When Rawv tried to struggle, Obi-Wan kissed him hard and long. "You are coming home with us if we have to drag you."

Rawv licked his lips, looked from Qui-Gon to Obi-Wan. "You truly still want me?" he whispered.

"We both want you," Obi-Wan said firmly.

Qui-Gon smiled, nodded. "You're not getting away from us, Rawv." He turned his head to gaze at Obi-Wan and the firm hold his apprentice had on Rawv's arm. "Besides, we have unfinished business to resolve about the three of us."

It took several hours of shared meditation before Rawv could be convinced that perhaps he wasn't such a miserable excuse for a Jedi after all. It was almost first hour before the three Jedi found themselves sitting around the table sipping tea.

"There is one more thing we need to discuss," Qui-Gon said thoughtfully.

Rawv blinked half-lidded eyes. His shoulders were slumped, both hands grasping his mug. "Hmm?"

"Earlier you said you thought there was a big drug shipment coming in soon. If you turn over your findings to the Senate committee tomorrow, what do you think will happen? Would it be redirected or delayed, or is there still a possibility the Council will be able to get the local authorities to intercept it?"

"Once everything goes to the committee, there are so many leaks that within a day, two at most, I'm sure the whole thing will be changed. Just because they're criminals doesn't always mean they're stupid." He scrubbed wearily at his face. "It's kind of ironic, really, when you think about it."

"What's that?"

"When I saw Urtov K'ra on that holovid, I assumed he was working for Senator Nuxtek. But some of the information I was able to worm out of Nuxtek's people plus a little after-hours research in his offices led me to believe that K'ra is probably working for one of Nuxtek's competitors. I suspect Nuxtek would actually have been just as happy to have us take out that shipment, but he's got his paws in so many other dirty deals that he must have assumed I was after him when he got wind of my activities. Hence the complaint to the Council." A mirthless smile graced his face. "Not that we ever got along that well in the first place."

"A competitor, hmm?" Qui-Gon leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowed.

"He's got a plan brewing," Obi-Wan stage-whispered with a grin.

"Yeah, when he gets that look on his face, somebody's going to be in trouble," Rawv replied in the same tone.

"Scoff if you like, but I think I know how we can satisfy the Council, keep your worthless arse here on Coruscant and still make the drug bust," Qui-Gon said.

"And we will do this how, o great one?"

"Quite simple, really." Qui-Gon paused for a sip of tea, clearly savoring the moment. "We let your friend the Senator do his public duty."

Obi-Wan marveled at how simple Qui-Gon made it seem. Not simple in execution, of course, as real life seldom is, but the concept was perfect. Qui-Gon called in some favors and managed to get a private meeting with Master Yoda, Chancellor Finis Valorum, Senator Nuxtek, Rawv, himself and Obi-Wan. The apprentice supported Qui-Gon when he'd had to be very firm after Rawv heard the plan, but the felinoid was still feeling low enough that he did not protest as strongly as he normally would have. At the private meeting Rawv had apologized repeatedly and profusely to the Senator for not keeping the committee fully informed and had laid out everything he had been able to learn. The Senator, although even more oily and unctuous in person than Rawv had described, was also very intelligent. As soon as he realized that he was being offered an opportunity to take public credit for a major drug raid which, coincidentally, did not impact his 'private business interests', the Senator moved quickly.

With Valorum's quiet backing and the Senator's official request, the Jedi Council mobilized a group of its own operatives to assist the police team. Since the raid took place on Ninthday and would not impact his primary duties, Obi-Wan was able to get Qui-Gon's permission to join the Jedi team. This turned out to be quite a good thing, actually, since there were significantly more 'bad guys', as Rawv called them, than they had planned for, and all three Jedi, along with the police, had their hands full keeping their own skins relatively intact while trying to capture as many live drug smugglers as possible for interrogation.

Rawv gave a triumphal whoop as he bounded into their quarters first. He flung his cloak in the general direction of the hook and proceeded to alternate between kissing and hugging Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan after they entered somewhat more sedately.

"I do not think I have ever in my entire life more thoroughly enjoyed an official press meeting than I have that one," Rawv declared. "Did you see the expression on Mace Windu's face when Nuxtek put his arm around him, called him 'my dear boy', and told him the complaint against me was simply an administrative error? And that oozy, smarmy smile on the Senator as he explained that he expected the error to be removed immediately from this poor, brave Jedi's record. If Mace could have turned purple I think he would have. Delicious, absolutely delicious!"

"And I thought that was quite commendable of you to keep smiling and nodding while the Senator went on and on about his selfless efforts to track down this 'terrible menace to our law-abiding society'. You'd think he single-handedly went into the depths of hell to do the investigation and led the raid in person." Obi-Wan grinned, then shook his head in reluctant admiration. "He certainly had the newsies wrapped around his little finger, though. They were practically writing him up for a medal by the time he finished. I can understand why you didn't like having to work with that committee of his."

"Whatever his other faults, Nuxtek is a smart politician," Rawv grimaced. "He keeps the hounds well supplied with juicy news bites, good food and lots of alcohol. I think he takes it all off as a tax write-off." He dropped his utility belt onto the couch and proceeded to try to remove his formal tunics with one hand, but got stuck part-way.

"Some help anyone?" came a subdued plea.

Obi-Wan hurried over and carefully tugged the offending garments off his lover.

"Oww," complained Rawv. "A little sympathy for the wounded here? After all, I actually got this one in the line of duty." He rubbed at the heavy dressing on his upper left arm where a blaster had removed a chunk of fur and skin. Obi-Wan obligingly kissed the wound, murmuring solicitous encouragements.

"You wouldn't have gotten hit if you weren't always taking such stupid risks, Rawv." Qui-Gon offered as he moved into the kitchen to grab a tall glass of juice before returning to the common room. "There were at least twenty of them trying to escape down that tunnel. You didn't need to take on the whole bunch."

"Ah, but our Obi-Wan was so magnificent coming to the rescue." Rawv hopped up onto the couch and struck a dramatic pose. "Leaping down from the catwalk, lightsaber flashing, evil villains scattering before his righteous wrath."

"Rawv, don't be ridiculous," Obi-Wan protested, a blush painting his cheeks. "I was just doing my job."

"But you did it so well!" Rawv exclaimed. "However we mustn't forget our marvelous Qui-Gon." He jumped down from the couch and moved in to kiss Qui-Gon. "Now *your* dealings were truly superb throughout this whole affair, you devious old sod. Convincing that bastard Nuxtek to take over, orchestrating from behind the scenes, wonderful, just wonderful." He waved his good arm. "But the masterpiece, the absolutely stunning masterpiece - oh, to have a holo of Windu's face when General Alzero handed him that letter from Valorum asking for me to be transferred to work with military intelligence here on Coruscant for the next six months. I seriously thought Mace was going to strain something."

"I think Mace made it quite clear after the session that he was not happy," Qui-Gon said dryly. He finished his juice and put the glass on the table. "He'll be watching like a kenhawk for any of us to make a mistake. And I don't think I'm going to be looking forward to my next couple of missions if Mace has his way."

"Minor details." Rawv waved a hand airily. "What's important is that we are alive and well and together." He reached over to pull Obi-Wan into their close proximity.

"Rawvten," Qui-Gon said firmly.

Qui-Gon's tone obviously caught the attention of his old friend. Rawv quieted and stood uncertainly, his good arm still around Obi-Wan's waist. "Yes?" he asked warily.

"There are a few things we need to discuss."

"I'm listening."

"I called in several years' worth of favors to fix this mess you got into."

Rawv started to protest, then closed his mouth and nodded. "I understand. I appreciate it, believe me."

"I expect that you are going to behave yourself while you are here on Coruscant," Qui-Gon said sternly. "No more freelancing, no more personal vendettas, play nice with the people you are supposed to be supporting and be polite to Mace Windu."

Rawv grimaced at that last directive.

"Rawvten?"

"Alright, alright." Rawv bit his tongue and bowed. "I promise. I will be a good little Jedi." He turned solemn. "I mean it this time. I learned a lot, from both of you, and you are both very important to me. I had actually thought about giving it all up until you showed me what an idiot I was, and I will never forget that." He smiled ruefully. "Even if I do have to live with that damned conscience."

"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for, Rawv. You'll be fine." Qui-Gon smiled briefly, but his expression quickly turned grave. "There is still one major unfinished piece of business among the three of us, however."

The room was so still Obi-Wan could hear his own heart beating. He felt the arm around his waist tighten. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he stared at Qui-Gon's belt, unable to raise his eyes any higher for fear of what he might see.

"I have meditated a great deal over the last few days," Qui-Gon said slowly. His voice was so soft Obi-Wan had to listen carefully. "I have had to re-examine a number of my beliefs about myself and about some very important people in my life. It was not an easy process." He paused as if considering his words.

Time stopped altogether. Obi-Wan felt suspended in the Force. He could not feel his body; no air moved in his lungs, no blood flowed in his veins. The Force signature at his side shivered in amber and gold; a bright green web pulsed within the gold, blue sparks drifting in slow clouds. He felt his own signature surrounding him; the silver blue shot through with amber and green streams. Across the room, tightly contained, a shimmering emerald incandescence held tight to its secrets within. His breath caught when Qui-Gon moved and the spell was broken.

"Rawvten Z'Trew." Qui-Gon moved forward until he was standing directly in front of the other master. "You have been my closest friend for most of my life. I value that friendship." He smiled. "You're probably not good for me, given the amount of trouble we've gotten into together, but you keep me young and help me remember why we wanted to be Jedi in the first place." He lightly tapped Rawv's chest. "I was not happy with you, not at all, when you set your sights on my padawan."

Rawv smiled awkwardly, bobbed his head. "I never meant to cause you any pain. I was far too selfish, and I'm very sorry if I did."

"I realize that now." Qui-Gon smiled. "At first I was only concerned that you might hurt Obi-Wan. When I came to see how much the two of you truly cared for each other, my feelings started to change in ways I did not understand. Lust, physical attraction, these were things I was not supposed to feel about my own apprentice. On one hand, I was angry with both of you for what you had and for making me feel those things; on the other hand, I felt a growing fear of losing both of you if I sent you away. That night we played Tangents I finally realized that I had to decide what to do. I should thank you for forcing things to a head." He put a hand on Rawv's shoulder. "You've been a good friend, and I love you. I hope I can always be there for you when you wander in the dark."

Qui-Gon slowly, deliberately took a step sideways. He stood in front of his padawan, hands on his hips.

Obi-Wan felt the arm around his waist slip away as he straightened, shoulders back, head high. He swallowed hard as he waited. He had made his feelings known and would now have to live with the consequences.

"Senior Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"Yes, Master?" Outwardly calm, Obi-Wan bowed respectfully. Inwardly his pulse pounded, blood roaring in his ears.

"I did you a great disservice, Padawan. I offer you my apologies."

"I don't understand, Master." Obi-Wan had to remind himself to keep breathing.

"For many years I kept telling you how proud I was of your progress, your maturity, how much I trusted you. I actually thought I meant those things until your relationship with Rawv forced me to re-evaluate what I was feeling. I have realized that I had never truly seen you as an adult. You were still my apprentice, the boy I raised and treasured, and I didn't want to lose that." He smiled ruefully. "When you add that to my deliberate choice not to even consider younger lovers, it kept you in a nice comfortable box where I didn't have to think about the fact that you were growing up."

"It wasn't just you, Master. It did take me a while to grow up," Obi-Wan said. "I didn't understand what love was when I was that boy."

"You're not that boy anymore, Obi-Wan." Qui-Gon raised one hand to cup Obi-Wan's cheek.

Obi-Wan felt a flush run through his body as the large hand touched his face. He leaned into the caress. His eyes widened when a questioning nudge slipped over their training bond. His breath quickened as he dropped his normal shields and an answering rush of warmth expanded in his mind.

"I love you, Qui-Gon Jinn," Obi-Wan whispered.

Blue eyes darkened as Force energy swirled between the two men and the truth of the words poured into two souls. Qui-Gon reached out and pulled Obi-Wan forward in a hot, wet kiss.

Obi-Wan embraced Qui-Gon hard, drawing their bodies together to feel the heart pounding against his. Eagerly he opened his lips to push tongue against tongue, giving and taking, exploring slick depths. Sensing air beneath his feet as he was lifted, Obi-Wan wrapped his legs around Qui-Gon. Molded together, passion building, Obi-Wan felt the growing arousal poking against the hardness at his groin.

A tapping at his shoulder startled Obi-Wan from the kiss. It took him a moment to focus on the bearded face breathing into his own and realize that he really was in his master's arms instead of another dream.

Behind him a throat was noisily cleared. Obi-Wan turned his head to locate the source.

"Excuse me, is this a private party or can I join the dance?" drawled Rawv, a huge smile on his face.

Qui-Gon dropped his apprentice, shifting his hold to grab him around the neck. With a wolfish grin he reached out to snag Rawv by the neck also. He pulled them in close.

"Alright, you two," he growled, "let's get a few things straight. First, we are Jedi above all else. Duty comes before pleasure, including my padawan's training." He lightly but firmly shook the pair.

"Yes, Master," chorused Obi-Wan and Rawv with big grins. Obi-Wan grabbed Rawv's hand, his grin feeling wide enough to split his face.

"Second, my shower gets clogged up with fur again and you're both out on your sorry arses."

"Yes, Master," came another chorus.

"And third…" Qui-Gon paused. Suddenly he changed his grip and pulled his lovers into a rib-crushing embrace. "Sith take rules. I love you both."

There was a long silence as the trio enjoyed the moment.

"So..." came a throaty purr. "How about showing us just how much you love us, you miserable sod?"

"Be careful what you wish for, you scruffy flea-bag," growled Qui-Gon. "You're going to be on the bottom for one hell of a long time to make up for everything you've put us through."

"Promises, promises," complained Rawv as he grabbed Qui-Gon's belt in one hand and Obi-Wan's hand in the other. "Let's get to some action."

Both Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan chuckled as they let themselves be led into Qui-Gon's bedroom. Obi-Wan felt anticipation building the closer they got; a little shiver passed through him as they went through the door.

"You devious son of a bantha!" Rawv stopped near the large bed and pointed accusingly at a stack of several outsized towels next to two bottles of lube on the nightstand. "You've been planning this, haven't you?"

"I simply believe in being prepared," replied Qui-Gon, one eyebrow raised. "And I don't like that huge wet spot you leave when you bottom." He bent down to remove his boots.

"Copious amounts of semen are simply an indicator of the remarkable virility of Melsheevan warriors," said Rawv, oozing wounded dignity.

"So what do their remarkably tight asses indicate about Melsheevan Jedi masters?" interjected Obi-Wan as he finished pulling off his boots and tossing them aside.

"That we can provide incredible sex in multiple incredible ways," said Rawv with a smug smile.

Obi-Wan looked up and met Qui-Gon's eyes - with a small nod they moved as one to throw their friend upon the bed. They swiftly divested him of footwear and the remnants of his uniform, managing to lose all but their own leggings along the way. Qui-Gon gave his apprentice a quick education in finding the most vulnerable ticklish spots on the furry body. Rawv howled and wriggled under the ruthless attack as they ended up wrestling back and forth until there was a heap of laughing Jedi sprawled atop the rucked-up covers.

A twisted blanket had captured Obi-Wan's feet - as he kicked it loose a large hand pushed his chest down until he was lying flat on his back. He looked up into brilliant blue eyes, warm breath mingling with his own. The hand crept up his throat to caress his cheek.

"Force, you are so beautiful," whispered Qui-Gon. "How could I not have seen you all these years?"

"Perhaps we both saw what we wanted to see for too long," replied Obi-Wan. "But that's over now." He reached up to pull Qui-Gon's head down.

Qui-Gon went willingly, even eagerly, his lips locking onto Obi-Wan's.

Heat flooded through the apprentice as the kiss continued. He was oblivious to anything but his master's presence, the lips on his, the tongue in his mouth, the hands moving on his body. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and absorbed the warmth, so engrossed he failed to notice when his hips were lifted and his leggings removed. When he finally came up for air with a small gasp, it was to find himself wedged between undulating fur on his left and bare flesh on his right. There was an unmistakable hardness poking into each of his hips.

"Oh, yeah," sighed Obi-Wan happily. He reached a hand on each side to grasp Qui-Gon and Rawv's erections, watching greedily while Qui-Gon pressed closer and kissed Rawv deeply. He gently squeezed the organs as the kiss continued until the masters suddenly shifted their attentions. Obi-Wan gasped and arched upward when a mouth descended upon each of his nipples. He moaned and twisted as tongues lashed his nubs into hardness, then moved, one up and one down, driving him frantic, two sets of hands seeming to touch him everywhere.

A large cock wandered near Obi-Wan's face and he blindly turned to capture it. His heart sang as he realized who the owner must be. Obi-Wan shifted onto his side and worshipped his master's phallus, long, slow licks from root to tip, sucking on the crown, running his tongue just underneath the sensitive ridge. He rubbed his face along the length as he took the heavy balls into his mouth and rolled them around. He hummed in pleasure as a hot mouth engulfed his own cock and began moving up and down; Obi-Wan wrapped his hands around Qui-Gon's organ to get better leverage for his own attempts to reciprocate. He bucked and moaned inarticulately, almost choking, from a sudden lewd assault on his rear. Stubby fingers joined the long ones imprisoning his hips as a long tongue slid down his lower back, along his crack, and then vigorously assailed his opening, penetrating deep, a teasing precursor of the larger incursion to come.

The fervid dance continued as Obi-Wan writhed in voracious hunger. His sweat-slicked body slid between his captors, the wet slippery heat feeding his cravings as the fire in his belly burned ever hotter from the insatiable tongues plundering his nether regions. The warning signs of his impending climax drove him to cry out.

"Too close!" wailed Obi-Wan. "Want you... inside... please!"

Both of his lovers immediately pulled back. "Easy... it's alright," crooned Qui-Gon softly as he shifted around to softly kiss and caress Obi-Wan's face.

"Don't worry, we're not going without you," added Rawv. He gentled Obi-Wan with slow strokes up and down his belly.

Obi-Wan sucked in several deep breaths as the exquisite ache in his cock subsided to a more manageable level. "Force, want you so much!," he mumbled. His eyes stung from the salt sweat dripping down; his nerves buzzed with the intense urges pulsing through him. "Want you both!"

"Then have us you shall," Rawv barked gleefully.

Shaking his head to clear his vision, Obi-Wan turned his eyes to watch.

Rawv plumped up a pillow and laid two towels over it, then settled himself face down. He looked back with a wicked grin. He ran his tongue along his lower lip as the tip of his tail fondled Obi-Wan's erection. "Come and get me, if you think you can handle it, that is." He wiggled his ass.

Obi-Wan laughed. "You'll see what I can handle, Rawvten Z'Trew." He felt Qui-Gon reach under his shoulders and pull him up; with both men on their knees, they paused for a kiss that ratcheted Obi-Wan's pulse back up to a racing fever.

"Hey! A little more action down here, you two!" Rawv wiggled again impatiently.

"You first," Qui-Gon whispered. He bent to retrieve the lube as Obi-Wan shuffled into position behind the furry rear. He poured a generous dollop onto Obi-Wan's fingers.

Rawv was hot, his opening pulsing. He grunted as Obi-Wan inserted one finger, rapidly followed by another. He needed little preparation and growled, "Now, dammit."

More lube, Qui-Gon massaging it directly onto Obi-Wan's hard cock, then urging him onward. Obi-Wan closed his eyes while he slowly pushed in, letting himself sink into the greedy pressure that enveloped his erection.

"Ooohhhh," breathed Obi-Wan. He shuddered as he settled the last inch, flesh to flesh, balls to balls, and let the bliss wash through him.

"Good?" came a voice in Obi-Wan's ear.

"More than good," moaned Obi-Wan. He started when Qui-Gon pushed a slick finger into him.

"Alright?" rasped Qui-Gon.

" 's good," muttered Obi-Wan, relaxing as Qui-Gon added a second finger, stretching him, tantalizingly nudging his prostate, making him whimper with need. Gentle clenching and unclenching around his cock electrified him and he swallowed roughly. He felt his knees being moved apart and scalding flesh spooned into his back as a hard, slick presence rested against his opening.

"Coming in now." Qui-Gon suited action to words. Hands on Obi-Wan's hips, he pressed inward, his engorged rod impaling his padawan.

Years of yearning exploded into delirious passion. Obi-Wan felt his blood pounding, consumed between lovers new and old, the line between lust and love vanishing in the raw physical hunger devouring him. He teetered for a long moment until prodding from below and behind pulled him back from the precipice.

"Force!" Obi-Wan tried to lean back into Qui-Gon, hesitating as his cock reluctantly began to slide from its warm berth. The three Jedi awkwardly shifted until Obi-Wan yielded to Qui-Gon's muttered command to "Relax, let it flow!," and they settled into a smooth rhythm.

Euphoric delirium filled Obi-Wan as he moved, plunging forward into Rawv, then reversing as Qui-Gon drove into him from behind. Time was meaningless in the red haze building behind his eyes; his blood roared in his ears, Z'Trew's yowls mingled with Qui-Gon's grunts and his own moans, sweat trickled, his chest heaved as he fought for breath and the earthy musk of sweet sex filled his nose.

Urgent pounding, sliding of flesh on flesh stoking the ravenous fire of need, burning away the will to prolong the rapture. Hips jerked. Hands pulled. Bodies collided in a frenzied rush to completion.

A final keening wail floated in the air as cocks thrust deep, then stilled as a fervent explosion blasted them to euphoria. They hung suspended, one mind, one body, joined in love.

Obi-Wan shook his head muzzily. He panted as he tried to catch his breath and shift away from the hot weight pressing down on him. He felt incredibly happy, a dreamy elation filling him; he smiled as he realized where he was and the source of his joy.

"Mmmm," muttered a voice. The heap of bodies shifted as Rawv tried to roll over. "Force, that was good."

The pile sorted itself out and Obi-Wan found himself on his back between the two Jedi masters.

"You alright?" asked Qui-Gon and Rawv almost simultaneously as they gently wiped off the worst of the sweat and loose fur.

"Never been more alright in my life," replied Obi-Wan. "That was fantastic."

Rawv tossed the wet towels and pillow off the bed. "Love you, Obi-Wan." He leaned across the apprentice to kiss Qui-Gon. "And I love you, too."

"You will always have my love, old friend," said Qui-Gon softly. He caressed Obi-Wan's cheek. "And I hope to always have your love, Obi-Wan."

"Forever," whispered Obi-Wan. He kissed Qui-Gon, then turned his head to kiss Rawv. "Both of you will always be in my heart."

The Force rejoiced in a swirling flow of green, amber and blue currents as the three Jedi drifted into blissful sleep, limbs entwined.

Finis