Tangled Webs, Act V
Forgiveness
Angyl
Disclaimer: Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
is the property of Lucasfilm Ltd.
Leaving Bandomeer was easier said than done. Obi-Wan had
responsibilities, a promise to be kept to the ambassador and his family.
Which meant he couldn't leave until a replacement was found. One that
Obi-Wan could trust. There was also Si Treemba. He owed his friend an
explanation before he left. He owed many people many things.
Facing the Council with his actions was by far the hardest thing to do,
however.
"I hope you will forgive my change of heart, Ambassador. I cannot in
good conscience continue down this road though. I am a Jedi or at least a
Jedi Padawan. I have to go back. I need to go back," Obi-Wan explained.
He'd told Indigor most of the story, glossing over the more intimate parts.
The ambassador had been extremely gracious and for some reason just a
little guilty. He'd offered Obi-Wan the use of his personal communications
room to contact the Council. An offer Obi-Wan was both grateful for and
loathe to accept. Chiding himself on his un-Jedi like response, Obi-Wan
squared his shoulders and contacted the Council.
"Worried for you we have been, young Kenobi," Master Yoda said
softly. He and Mace Windu were the only ones present at this conference.
They were the only ones who knew of his disappearance from Sellonia.
"Afraid for you and the struggle you faced alone."
Obi-Wan was more than humbled and awed at their calm acceptance of what
he had done. He'd abandoned the Jedi, the temple and his Master and
life-bonded, yet they were treating him as if he'd gone on a holiday. He had
thought for sure he'd be reprimanded, maybe even told he couldn't take his
trials... but no, he was being welcomed home with open arms. "Forgive
me, Masters, but you aren't upset with my behavior?"
Mace Windu hid his smile from the guilt-stricken young man. Obi-Wan
failed to see that his own guilt was 'punishment' enough for the Jedi
Masters. Obi-Wan had suffered greatly these past few months, as had Qui-Gon.
Both men would emerge from their personal struggles stronger for them.
Obi-Wan had grown-up, matured through his experience. He would be an equal
partner to Qui-Gon now, of that the Jedi Master had no doubt.
Hopefully these events had ensured that Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon would emerge
more committed to one another than before. Life bondings were rare indeed
among the Jedi, and a bonding that was as successful as Qui-Gon's and Obi-Wan's
happened once in a lifetime. Mace fought the desire to curse his stubborn
fool of a friend for hurting this young man. This incident was coming to a
conclusion, and that was all that mattered.
"When you return to Coruscant, Padawan Kenobi, you will face your
Trials. And you will pass them. Of that we have no doubt," Mace told
the confused young man. Then, more softly, "You've been through more
emotional upheaval in the last few months than most of us go through in a
lifetime, Obi-Wan. That you have survived your inner struggles still
following the light path, that you have not bowed to despair and grief
speaks volumes. You always have been and always will be an asset to the
Jedi. You do the order proud - Jedi Knight."
Obi-Wan stammered out his thanks, hardly daring to believe what he'd
heard. Mace Windu had called him a Jedi Knight! Could it be that his dreams
were not so unattainable after all? He took note of the name of the
transport the Council was sending to pick him up and time of its arrival,
still in a daze. Perhaps thing were going to be all right after... no, he
still had to deal with Qui-Gon. Nothing could be settled until then.
"He contacted us less than an hour ago, Qui-Gon, and told us
everything - from his point of view. We already know your version of the
story. He's a strong and courageous young man. He will be an asset to the
Order, of that we are sure. We are sending the Dauntless to retrieve him. It
will arrive on Bandomeer eight hours prior to the time we gave him. Be on
that ship, Qui-Gon Jinn. You will have him to yourself for one standard
week. The captain and crew of the ship will be told to avoid the Jedi's
quarters at all costs. Make sure this is settled before you get back. The
last thing that man needs is to be emotionally unbalanced when he faces his
Trials. And he will take his Trials when he returns. Obi-Wan is ready,"
Mace informed his long-time friend. "Don't mess this up, Qui-Gon,
because I have a feeling you're not going to get another chance."
Qui-Gon bowed his head as he ended the communication. He didn't want Mace
to see the sheen of tears in his eyes. Obi-Wan was coming home, coming back
to him. At last.
Obi-Wan wasn't sure which was harder - saying goodbye to Si Treemba or to
the sweet little girl who'd stolen a piece of his heart. In the end he
decided both were equally difficult. Kyria had sniffled and hugged him tight
- then proceeded to give him her favorite stuffed Ewok to remember her by.
Obi-Wan had nearly cried too. He'd hugged her close and promised to visit if
he was ever on Bandomeer again.
Si Treemba was equally difficult to say goodbye to.
"Thank you, my friend, from the bottom of my heart. Without you I
think I would have lost myself in grief. You were the rock I clung to,"
Obi-Wan told his oldest friend while hugging the Arkonan close.
"We were only too happy to help you, dear friend. We owe you our
life and the lives of our people. Beyond that you are our closest friend. We
saw your pain and wished to soothe it. We are glad you have rediscovered
your path. You were born to be Jedi. Your heart cries out for it, just as
your soul cries out for your Master. Be happy, Obi-Wan Kenobi - and be
Jedi." With one last fierce hug Si Treemba let his friend board the
transport that would take him back to his future.
Obi-Wan slung his pack over his shoulder and followed the steward to his
quarters. He was exhausted and needed to get some sleep. A week of nothing
but the silence of space would help to prepare him for the coming battles.
He almost laughed. Since when had facing Qui-Gon become a battle? And yet,
that was exactly how he saw it. He was fighting for his life and his love.
And he would win, Obi-Wan was certain of that.
His steps faltered as he was led past a sealed room. There was
something... no someone inside. Someone who was masking his presence. But
who...? Shaking his head and tamping down his curiosity, Obi-Wan entered the
room that the steward had opened for him. It was none of his concern who the
Council brought to Coruscant, and he had more important things to occupy
himself with than a mystery passenger.
Qui-Gon breathed a sigh of relief as he felt Obi-Wan continue on. He was
not about to reveal himself to his love just yet. Not until they were within
the icy cocoon of space and there was nothing else for Obi-Wan to do but to
face him. They would deal with this soon enough. He was determined to
reclaim his life-bonded, and by the Force he would not let Obi-Wan's
stubbornness stop him this time. There was nowhere for the bratling to run
now - except into his Master's open arms.
Obi-Wan shucked out of his clothes and slid tiredly between the cool
sheets. It had been ages since he'd had a good night's sleep. The nightmares
had stopped when he had decided to come home, but there'd been so many other
things to take care of that he'd yet been able to get the rest his body
needed. Although it was the height of laziness Obi-Wan decided to sleep
until he could sleep no more. The sound of the ship's engines kicking into
gear and the whine of the hyperdrive engine lulled him into the first
peaceful slumber since... since before he'd set foot on that accursed planet
of Tatooine.
When he thought enough time had passed, Qui-Gon left his quarters and
made his way down the narrow hallway to Obi-Wan's quarters. The Captain had
given him the override code, so he punched it in and moved silently inside,
hoping to catch his lover unawares.
Instead it was he who was caught by surprise. There was Obi-Wan, sound
asleep and gloriously, wantonly naked - exposed to his Master's hot and
hungry gaze. Obi-Wan had restlessly kicked off the covers as he'd rolled
onto his back, unknowingly leaving him exposed to Qui-Gon's ravenous eyes.
Qui-Gon keyed in his own personal code, locking the crew out and Obi-Wan
in. Then slowly, deliberately he stripped out of his clothes and joined his
love on the bed. He shuddered voluptuously as he closed his arms around
Obi-Wan and sighed. The ache in his heart that had been there these past
months faded away as he held his love to him. The pain of the denied
life-bond faded as the torn places inside both men healed and mended now
that they were connected once more.
Obi-Wan turned onto his side and snuggled back against the heat of his
Master's chest, thrusting his hips back into the aroused flesh of his
life-mate, still firmly entangled in his dreams. Qui-Gon moaned with need.
He was hard and aching. He wanted nothing more then to sink into Obi-Wan's
heat, to reclaim his life-bonded in the most intimate and expressive way he
could. He wanted to join his body with his love's, to feel Obi-Wan's heat
consume him even as he possessed Obi-Wan's body. Only through a sheer force
of will did Qui-Gon clamp down on his desire and join his love in sleep.
Morning would come soon enough and with it, their reckoning.
Hands were moving up and down his chest, caressing and petting. Fingers
carded through his sparse covering of red-gold curls and tweaked his
hardened nipples. Lips suctioned on his neck, kissing and nipping. A tongue
traced the curve of his ear, before dipping inside to tease then moved back
to his neck, tasting the saltiness of his skin. The hands moved, one down to
his blood-engorged phallus, the other up to his lips, and he pulled it into
his needy mouth, suckling on it. He whimpered as it was removed then moaned
as it was replaced in a more intimate location.
Slowly the finger breached his anus, moving and rotating... sending
fireworks shooting through his nerves. The finger was removed and replaced
with two more, stretching and filling him. The something else was filling
him. Something larger and hotter and longer. Moaning, he thrust himself back
into the heat. So long... it had been so long since he was taken like this.
A mind brushed his, and his pleasure increased. Qui-Gon - beloved...
My Obi-Wan. Ohhhh, you feel so good. I've missed you my love... I've
missed you.
Obi-Wan was rolled onto his stomach and pulled into a kneeling position
without the connection of flesh being severed. Sleepily he opened his eyes
as he braced himself against the wall. Qui-Gon's hands held his hips in a
vise grip as he began to thrust harder and harder into the beloved body
writhing beneath him.
Yes, oh yes - harder, I need to feel you harder and deeper inside me
than ever. I've missed you, oh how I've missed you, Master, Obi-Wan sent
as he reached down and began jerking his own cock in a rough rhythm. So
close...he was so...
"MAASSTTEERR..." Obi-Wan cried out as the flash fire of
his orgasm swept through him, burning every nerve ending with pleasure.
Above him Qui-Gon roared out his pleasure as tight inner muscles clamped
down on his thrusting cock, squeezing it tightly, milking his cock, bringing
him to a star shattering orgasm.
Collapsing into the mattress, Obi-Wan felt himself blanketed by his
lover's large body. A bearded chin tickled his shoulder as a wet mouth
suckled on his neck. I love you... oh how I love you... never leave me
again. My Obi-Wan... I won't let you leave me again... you belong to me.
Forever, came the disjointed thoughts. It was real. Qui-Gon was above
him, in him - in his body and mind. The mystery guest...
"Get off me..." came the low, warning growl.
"Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon shook his head to clear the sleep from his
mind and realized where he was. Who he was with and what had just
happened...
"Get. Off. Me. Now!" the deadly voice reiterated.
Qui-Gon levered himself off his now infuriated lover. He tried to reach
for Obi-Wan, but the younger man erupted from the bed - furious beyond
words.
"Just who the hell do you think you are!" Obi-Wan yelled.
"How dare you come in here and seduce me and pretend like everything is
as it was? How dare you think that I would let you!"
"Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon tried to soothe "I didn't mean to... I
was half-asleep, love..."
"And that's supposed to make it all right? It's supposed to take
away the pain and the fear and the self-loathing? It's supposed to make me
believe that none of this ever happened? You ripped my soul to sheds, Qui-Gon.
You rejected me, our bond, my place in your life - everything I am - with no
warning. I could have lived with you taking another Padawan - I would have
lived with it. That's the way of things. But to do it so coldly, without
warning. Why didn't you just tear my still beating heart out of my
chest?" Obi-Wan seethed.
"I loved you above all else, even being a Jedi - I would have given
that up for you willingly, did you know that? No, you never even bothered to
ask. You assumed I would know your mind without sharing it with me. You
assumed too much. I thought you loved me, Qui-Gon, I thought we were
life-mates. How could you do that to me?" he whispered, rage leaving
him as he collapsed, naked, hugging his knees protectively to his chest.
Qui-Gon was off the bed instantly, cradling Obi-Wan to his chest. "I
do love you, Obi. You are my life, my breath, my heart, and my soul. Never
doubt that, my love. I was blind and foolish, hurting the one person who
mattered most in this universe. You are my light, my salvation, Obi-Wan
Kenobi. You keep me focused and sane. You know me better than anyone, all my
faults and flaws, and still you love me. Oh Force above, I don't deserve
you." Qui-Gon's throat ached with Obi-Wan's pain. Again he'd misstepped
and hurt the one he loved. Again he'd failed.
"I cannot begin to tell you how important you are to me, Obi-Wan
Kenobi. My life isn't my life without you in it. You are the other half of
my heart, my soul. You are my life-bonded, my life-mate. Not a day has gone
by since you left that I have not ached for you, cried for you. The boy is
just that - a boy - one who needs protection from the dark things that will
hunt him. But you - you are everything precious and wonderful in my life. In
you I see a galaxy of possibilities and a universe of love. Without you by
my side I have no life, no purpose. We are forever, love. Never doubt that
again. Our life-bond will last forever. I will love you forever."
Obi-Wan's breath hitched in his throat as he looked up at his love
through rain-washed eyes. In the dark blue gaze he could see answering tears
and equal pain. Slowly he reached up and hesitatingly brushed his hand down
a beloved cheek. "My Qui-Gon?" a small, shaky voice whispered.
"Always, always your Qui-Gon as you are forever my Obi-Wan. Never
leave me again, love. Rage at me, hit me, even hate me. But never leave me.
I nearly went mad these past weeks without you. I could not survive losing
you," Qui-Gon pleaded. "Forgive me my trespasses, love. Forgive a
blind, hurtful man who loves you more than his own worthless life. Although
I don't deserve it, forgive me."
"Only if you forgive me. I was a coward, a child. I should have
stayed and faced you, faced us, but I ran and left you with pain. I was
wrong. How I ever thought I could live without you I cannot fathom. We are
one, Qui-Gon Jinn. I am made for you and you alone," Obi-Wan pledged.
"As I am for you, love. But I warn you right now, Obi-Wan - if you
ever willingly seek your death again, I will not be responsible for my
actions. You belong to me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; your life is mine, and I want
that life merged with mine for as long as possible. Do you understand
me?" Qui-Gon shook him in emphasis.
Moving so that he was kneeling face to face with his life, Obi-Wan kissed
Qui-Gon with dozens of soft kisses. "Never again, Qui-Gon. Never again
will I doubt you, doubt us. I swear."
"Very well, so long as you understand," Qui-Gon growled
seductively. "Now let's go back to bed, love. Coruscant is a week away,
and we have lost time to make up for."
"Yes, Master."
END
 since 02-17-07
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