TITLE: Holiday Hugs
AUTHOR: Obi the Kid (hlnkid@aol.com)
RATING: G
SUMMARY: Humor. Pre-TPM. Obi-Wan is 13. Non-Slash. Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon
and Bren celebrate the Winter Festival.
ARCHIVE: Please ask me first.
FEEDBACK: Always appreciated.
MY WEBSITE: http://www.angelfire.com/movies/obithekid/
DISCLAIMER: The characters and venue of Star Wars are copyrighted to
Lucas Films Limited. The characters not recognizable from this venue are
copyrighted to Tracy C. Knight. The story is the intellectual property
of Tracy C. Knight and is copyrighted to her. She makes no profit from
the writing or distribution of this story.

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Holiday Hugs
============

Obi: Master! I got it. I know what I want for Winter Festival.

Qui: What?

Obi: A hug

Qui: No. That means I'd have to return the duct tape that I got for
you. No can do. Sorry, Obi-Wan.

Obi: A hug costs nothing, Master. But it means so much to the one who
is on the receiving end. Hug me.

Qui: Go ask Brazo.

Obi: I can't. He and Mari are in the Gardens making goo goo eyes at
each other. If there's one thing more disgusting than adult mush, it's
disgusting adult mush.

Qui: Ask, Bren.

Obi: She's watching that new Lima holo. Thud-19. I can't disturb her.

Qui: If I hug you now, then that's it until the end of the month.
There will be no hug on Winter Festival day. Your choice.

Obi: Boy you are stingy with your hugs, aren't you?

Qui: Be thankful I don't withhold them entirely.

Obi: Master, can we go shopping? I still need to buy you something.

Qui: I am NOT going back to that plaza. Ask Nev to take you.

Obi: He did. Last session. He said, never again. Just like you.

Qui: How did you fool him into taking you?

Obi: Charm.

Qui: No, seriously. How did you do it?

Obi: I bribed him.

Qui: With?

Obi: Um...cash.

Qui: I have no cash.

Obi: Not now, no.

Qui: Obi-Wan!

Obi: So, I can't go shopping. You will be giftless then.

Qui: I have you. What more do I need?

Obi: Really? You mean that?

Qui: Oh, sorry. A temporary moment of insanity.

Obi: Master!

Qui: I know what you can get me. A day of quiet. Peace. Relaxing.
Normalcy. No stress. Aaaaaaaaaaaah, this is nice. Solitude. Silence.


Obi: Master, wake up!

Qui: I was having a nice dream. You know better than to disturb me
when I am dreaming about having a normal apprentice.

Obi: What's the fun in being normal?

Qui: It comes with peace and serenity.

Obi: Who needs that! Mush is all you need.

Qui: I prefer sanity. Ask Yoda to take you shopping.

Obi: Master you know he only likes to go to the Thongs R Us store. Do
you want a thong for your gift?

Qui: Um...no. Bren already got...I mean...NO! Do not bring one of those
things in this apartment.

Obi: Uh huh. Okay, so how about I make you breakfast as my gift? Mr.
Bluwool told me about these things called grits. He said they are GOOD!
Whew. If you ask me, sounds like a food made of sand, but he's a
friend of Master Brazo's. And would Master Brazo steer me wrong?

Qui: Depends on if you hit him during a sane moment or not.

Obi: I can make you grits, cheeken eggs and a Qui Pie.

Qui: Obi-Wan that is not breakfast.

Obi: It's the best I can do. You pick it. A hug. A thong.
Breakfast. Those are your choices as they now stand.

Qui: I chose...none of the above.

Obi: I love you, Master.

Qui: Stop trying to make me feel sorry for you.

Obi: Are you usually this happy during the holidays?

Qui: Obi-Wan!

Obi: What? All I want is one little hug. Am I asking to much?

Qui: You are asking to often. You want a hug all the time. You think
just because this is a holiday, a special occasion that I will suddenly
become your mush buddy. Wrong. Accept the fact that life offers little
mush. Your enemy won't hug you. It's my job to teach you to understand
your enemy and to face him. Offering him a hug will not get you
anywhere.

Obi: You'd be surprised. Maybe my enemy got that way because his
teacher never hugged him. So he turned to anger to deal with it. Mush
is a powerful tool, Master. I might turn to the dark side if you don't
hug me.

Qui: No, you'll just pout for three hours and then try again. I know
you.

Obi: Okay, fine. How about I make you something decorative for your
gift? Maybe I can make you a pair of boxer shorts.

Qui: No, thank you. I have enough underwear.

Obi: Do you have black socks to go with it? No wait...creepy memories of
Palpy from our last shopping trip.

Qui: How about you give me and Bren a day alone. You can busy yourself
with other things. She and I haven't had much time together lately. It
might be good for my stress.

Obi: Master, I want to spend Winter Festival with you. Not by myself,
sitting alone in some corner somewhere.

Qui: Obi-Wan, I was talking about Bren and I spending a day together,
not THAT day. Just because I have a problem with your mush obsession,
does not mean that I don't want to spend the holiday with you. Don't
look so pathetic.

Obi: But you like pathetic life forms.

Qui: And now you know the true reason that Yoda stuck us together.

Obi: All right. That can be my gift to you. But it seems
so...unfulfilling.

Qui: It won't be. For me anyway. I guarantee.

~*~

Obi: Master! Wake up. It's Festival time! Hug me.

Qui: I thought we agreed no...

(Obi-Wan launched himself at his master, wrapping his arms tightly
around his neck just as Qui-Gon was trying to get himself out of bed.)

Obi: I made you breakfast. Come on. Get up.

Qui: I can't. You've attached yourself to my neck. Let go.

Obi: Not until you hug me back.

Qui: Okay, okay. (Qui-Gon wrapped his arms around the boy and gave a
warm embrace.)

Obi: Aaaaaaaaaah. You see, Master. You are good as this mush thing.
You just have a hang up
about it.

Qui: And a padawan who's obsessed with it.

Obi: It's good stuff, man. Wow. Okay, food time. I made you
something very special, Master.

(They entered the kitchen area.)

Obi: Grits! Poofberry flavored. Fried cheeken eggs. And choc nog.

Qui: Um. Ah. Hmmm.

Obi: I've been up for hours. Burned my hand and my braid. I followed
all the directions for cooking this stuff. I hope it came out okay.
Sit down, Master.

Qui: This is a very...unique breakfast. How long did this take you?

Obi: Four hours.

Qui: Obi-Wan, you've been up since three in the morning?

Obi: Yes. I wanted to try to get everything perfect. The grits are a
little burnt though. Sorry. And the eggs might be a tad on the watery
side. But the nog is good.

Qui: I've never had choc nog before. I didn't know you could make it
in chocolate flavor.

Obi: Well, I kind of invented it this morning.

Qui: Ah.

Obi: Here's a plate for you. A little of each. Taste it.

(Qui-Gon tried to swallow the food without making to many horrid faces.
But he was beginning to feel like he was eating in the desert. Flavored
sand and water.)

Qui: Obi-Wan...this is...quite...

Obi: It's horrible, isn't it? I knew it would be. Things started out
good, but went downhill from there. I'm sorry, Master. I wanted to do
something nice for you.

Qui: It's...tolerable. (He paused after another bite.) No, on second
thought. It's not tolerable. It's quite bad.

(Obi-Wan's face fell.)

Obi: I'll clean up my mess now. I'm sorry to wake you up for this,
Master.

Qui: Obi-Wan, sit down.

Obi: Yes, Master.

Qui: The food is horrible. But the thought is not. The fact that you
put so much effort and time into this is what counts. You did this for
me, just because you care about me. As mushless as I can be, you didn't
let that stop you from doing something special for me. Thank you,
Padawan. This is the best gift I could receive. You have permission to
hug me now.

Obi: Really? No strings attached? You won't lecture me on mush vs.
enemies if I hug you?

Qui: I promise.

Obi: Awww, Master you do love me.

(He hugged Qui-Gon as tightly as he could and then smiled as his master
returned the gesture. But after several minutes, Obi-Wan hadn't let go
yet.)

Qui: Obi-Wan?

Obi: Yes?

Qui: You can let go now. We have other things to do today.

Obi: But, this might be the last time you ever hug me. I have to get
all I can now.

Qui: It won't be the last.

Obi: You say that now. But tomorrow the real Qui-Gon will reappear and
run from me when I say the word hug.

Qui: We will worry about that later. Come on. I have a gift for you.
But it's at Bren's apartment.

~*~

(They wandered around to Bren's quarters and rang the door chime.)

Bren: Stretch! Kid! It's about time. Obi-Wan's gift was about to
leave.

Obi: Huh? Leave? It's alive?

Bren: Oh yes. Very alive. He's sitting in there now. Sipping on
coffee and watching the morning news.

Obi: HE? Don't tell me I have a little brother already. You two
really took that adult mush thing to far this time.

Qui: Obi-Wan!

Obi: Sorry.

Bren: Hurry up, kid. He's got other appointments today.

(The trio entered the common area. Obi-Wan took one look at the man who
had just turned around to face him. Dark hair. Blue eyes. Tall. Then
the boy fell over.)

Bren: I knew that would happen. Same thing happened to me. Get up,
Obi-Wan. Lima can't stay long.

Obi: Huh? Lima is here. In your apartment. Drinking coffee. On your
couch. Is this a dream?

Bren: No way, kid. He is real. He came to give you an signed copy of
his new holo-vid, Trolls of New York.

Obi: No way. This...he...um...

Lima: Hi, Obi-Wan. I met you before, in the theatre. It's good to see
you again. Happy Winter Festival to you and your master. If I recall
correctly, you enjoy hugs more than anything.

Obi: You remember. You...(Obi-Wan's eyes rolled back and he fell over
again.)

Bren: Obi-Wan! Come on. Cut that out. Hug him before he has to
leave.

Obi: I don't think...I can't think right now. Um...

(Lima walked closer to Obi-Wan and picked him up off the floor in a huge
embrace.)

Obi: Groovy.

(When Obi-Wan was placed gently down, he swayed on his feet. Legs
unsteady. Qui-Gon put an arm around his shoulder and then looked
intently at Lima.)

Qui: You look...familiar. Have I seen your face somewhere before?

Obi: Master! It's Lima! His face is everywhere.

Qui: No, this is different. That nose...those eyes...hmmm...where have I
seen those before?

Obi: On my holo monitor every night of the week.

Qui: Hmmmm...

Lima: Well, I do have to be going. Bren, thank you for the coffee.
Obi-Wan, thank you for being such a loyal fan to me. I do appreciate
it. All of you have a good holiday.

(Lima retreated from the apartment, leaving Obi-Wan in stunned silence.
But only for a moment.)

Obi: Did that just happen?

Bren: Sure did, kid. Your master's idea actually.

Obi: No way. He's not that creative.

Qui: Excuse me...I...

Bren: Trust me, Obi-Wan. This was his idea. I told you he loves you.

Obi: This is...whoa. I think I need to sit down.

Bren: Good. Make yourself comfortable. I've got breakfast all
planned.

Qui: Obi-Wan made breakfast for me.

Bren: Good job, kid.

Qui: Tasted like uh...no let's not get into that. It was the thought
behind it that counts.

Obi: And he hugged me. Twice.

Bren: Wow. You okay, Stretch? You're not running a fever are you?

Qui: I do know how to hug.

Obi: He just doesn't like to. But these were genuine.

Bren: Did you take a holo of all this?

Obi: No.

Bren: Rats. No way to prove it then. And use it against him.

Qui: Did I volunteer to be picked on?

Bren: No, you just ask for it.

Obi: Hugs and Lima all in the span of an hour. I might never come
down.

Bren: You'd better. Because I need help with breakfast. Obi-Wan, set
the table. Qui-Gon, don't get in the way.

~*~

(A short time later, the three of them were sitting down to a full-out,
old-fashioned breakfast. And when they each stuffed themselves more
than humanly possible, they gathered on the couch for a holo. A holiday holo. Starring Lima of course. Obi-Wan tucked himself into the wedge that he'd created between Bren and Qui-Gon. Content. Warm thoughts and feelings passed between them and they settled in to share the holiday together.)

END