TITLE: Padawan Jitters
AUTHOR: Obi the Kid (hlnkid@aol.com)
RATING: G
SUMMARY: Pre-TPM, Obi is 14. (Humor) A date does not go as planned.
FEEDBACK: Always appreciated.
ARCHIVE: Please ask me first.
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.
NOTES: This is a sequel (of sorts) to a story that Brenda and I wrote called: From a Certain Point of View. You can find that story on my website. Thanks to Brenda for this bunny!!!
===============
Padawan Jitters
===============
Qui: Obi-Wan would you settle down please. You are as nervous a newborn Bantha. Look at you, sweating all over, eyes wild, face twitching. Padawan Kira is going to think you are someone else.
Obi: Master, I can't help it. This is my first date...EVER! I don't want to mess anything up. Was that the door chime? Is she here yet? I'm not ready.
Qui: RELAX! You have an hour. Now, what are you going to wear?
Obi: Um...uh...I don't know. I don't have anything to wear. What am I gonna do?
(Qui-Gon grabs his apprentice by the shoulders, shaking him slightly.)
Qui: Settle down before you fall on your face. You have a clean dress tunic, right?
Obi: Oh, I do. Okay, I can wear that. And I have a new pair of boots. This is good.
Qui: Right. You need a shower because you stink. One way to offend a young lady is to smell like a sparring gym. So, into the shower you go.
Obi: But master, what if she gets here early? I don't think...
(Shoving the boy towards the shower, Qui-Gon tries to maintain his composure.)
Qui: We will talk more after you are clean. And make sure you wash out your braid.
(Ten minutes later, a clean, yet soggy Obi-Wan Kenobi came wandering out into the common area with a towel wrapped around him.)
Obi: What now master?
Qui: Clothes would be a good next step.
Obi: Oh yeah.
(Obi-Wan runs into his room, and closes the door behind him. A few minutes later, Qui-Gon heard him yelling and strolled over to see what the commotion was about. But right when the master opened the door, Obi-Wan came bounding out, hitting the Knight square in the chest.)
Qui: Oooof! Obi-Wan you are not dressed.
Obi: Master I have a crisis. This is bad.
Qui: Yes?
Obi: I can't find any clean underwear. I don't have any. Oh, this is not good. I've looked everywhere. Okay...think...what can I do? Oh, I know...I can just take a dirty pair and turn them inside out...yeah...that will work.
Qui: Freeze that thinking Mr. You are NOT even going to consider that.
Obi: THEN WHAT DO I DOOOOO???? WAIT!! I GOT IT!! I can borrow a pair of yours. A bit big, but, it's better than nothing, right?
Qui: Obi-Wan, I don't think...
Obi: No time to think master. I need underwear. Kira is gonna be here in...(looks at the chrono on the wall)...in THIRTY MINUTES!! Master please???
Qui: Alright, you can borrow a pair of mine. Third drawer down. And NO laughing!!!!
(Obi-Wan sprinted into Qui-Gon's room, desperate to find the undergarment he was after. But after several minutes of frantic searching, he could only find one pair. His masters light saber boxer shorts that Yaddle had given him as a gift.)
Obi: (Running back out into the common area) Masterrrrrrr?? This is all I can find. (He holds up Qui-Gon's boxers.)
Qui: Put those back Obi-Wan. NOW! Those are...special to me.
Obi: I NEED UNDERWEAR!!!! Forget it, I will just go with my original plan and turn mine inside out.
Qui: You are so sad, you do know that don't you?
Obi: I need to find a pair now!
Qui: You are NOT leaving this apartment with dirty underwear. You must have on clean underwear. I mean what if a speeder runs you over. I will not have my padawan found dead in dirty underwear. What will they think of me?
Obi: That's a nice comforting thought. Thank you. Please let me borrow your boxers. She will be here soon master. Please? Don't make me beg.
Qui: You are gonna turn my hair gray. You can wear them on ONE CONDITION!!
Obi: What's that?
Qui: You show them to NO ONE!!!! UNDERSTAND?
Obi: You think I go around showing my underwear to all my friends?
Qui: Well, no I suppose not, but I put nothing past you anymore. Okay, you can borrow them. But I want them sanitized before you return them. Now, go get dressed. Hurry!
(Obi-Wan dressed as quickly as he could. He got his belt as straight as he could, then hung his saber. His shaky hands tried to re-braid his padawan braid, but it was no use. He called for Qui-Gon.)
Obi: MASTER???
Qui: Yes Obi-Wan. Wait a minute! You do not take your light saber on a date with you. Put it away.
Obi: But...
Qui: Obi-Wan!!!!
Obi: I can't tie my braid. I keep getting my fingers tangled. Help me!!
(Standing in front of his apprentice. Qui-Gon took the small brush from the dresser and de-tangled Obi-Wan's braid. He then proceeded to carefully re-braid the short tuft of hair. Securing it with the yellow band, he patted the boy on the shoulder.)
Qui: See how easy that was? You get so nervous about certain things. Relax and let the Force aid you. Let me fix your belt...there...it's straight now.
Obi: What do I say to her when she gets here?
Qui: How about something crazy like, 'Good evening Kira?'
Obi: Wow!! You have a way with words master.
(Qui-Gon could only stand and shake his head. He stood his student in front of the mirror, and smoothed the wrinkles from his tunic.)
Qui: I think you're ready! I want you to be a gentlemen, do you understand me? No showing off for your friends. You are to have fun, but I want you home by the eleven hour.
Obi: But...master, that's so early...can't I just...
(The stern parental look from the older Knight stopped the younger in mid-sentence.)
Obi: Yes master.
(The door chime sounded. Obi-Wan began to flip out.)
Obi: Oh no, that's her. Do I look okay? How's my braid look? Belt? Saber? No, wait...no saber.
Qui: Relax Obi-Wan. Let me go answer the door.
(Trying to center himself with deep breaths, Obi-Wan realized it was no use. Qui-Gon called from the common area.)
Qui: Obi-Wan? Padawan Kira is here. You are going to be late for the dance.
Obi: Coming master. (He stepped out of his room.)
Kira: Hi Obi.
Obi: Hi...uh...um...(Qui-Gon whispered into his ear.)
Qui: Kira.
Obi: Hi Kira. You look...um...beautiful.
Qui: Take her by the arm and escort her to the dance.
Obi: Oh, uh...okay. Kira, shall we go?
Kira: Thank you Obi.
(As Obi-Wan led the young lady down the corridor, Qui-Gon smiled, and breathed a sigh of relief.)
Qui: Whew, okay. Let's see, now all I need do is invite Master Bren over, pop in a holo-vid, and relax for the evening. The apartment is mine for three hours.
==============
Obi-Wan and Kira joined their friends at the dance and for the first two hours, had a wonderful time. Finally getting over his jitters, Obi-Wan joined the others in a rowdy dance called the Dodec. It involved a group gathered in a circle with one person in the middle. The one in the middle would run and bounce off the others. Occasionally the one would bounce so hard that he lost his balance and ended up crashing to the floor. Obi-Wan was determined to be the one in the center of things.
Running and bouncing as impressively as he could, he made sure that Kira was watching him. Qui-Gon had warned him about showing off. But in the frenzy of the evening, Obi-Wan had forgotten his master's words. Throwing himself into the crowd, he bounced off them, his footing slipped and he ended up in a split position on the floor. There was silence...followed by the deafening sound of hysterical laughter.
For a moment, Obi-Wan sat there in a trance. Then he reached around to his backside. Just as he thought. His pants had torn from his waistline down about eight inches. In full view of every padawan his age, the boxers with the little sabers on them, glowed as bright as the suns on the tropical world of Varus.
Reeft stood over him, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe. Garen and Bant were both hiding expressions, heads face down in their hands. The pain of laughter continued to spread and after a few minutes, Obi-Wan had begun to hyperventilate. His eyes were big, his pulse was wild. The young face...Sith red.
Doing his best to focus, he felt a hand on his arm. He looked up to find the gentle features of Kira looking down at him. "Come on Obi, I will help you home."
The pair left the dance amidst one laughing apprentice after another. "Nice undies Kenobi!!" "Can you tone them down a bit? HAHAH!!!" "Lil light sabers for Obiiiiii. Does your master know about this?" The comments continued until Obi-Wan was hurrying out of the door and towards the turbo-lift. Neither he nor Kira said a word until they were the lift and heading for home.
"I...I'm sorry Kira. I...was so nervous about going tonight with you, that I...uh..." The boy was blushing as he lowered his gaze.
"It's okay Obi. You don't have to explain. They are very interesting though."
Reaching the tenth floor, Kira walked Obi-Wan to his quarters. He had gone completely silent once he stepped off the lift. Kira could see a few dried tears on her friend's face. She wasn't surprised. He'd just been humiliated in front of two hundred padawans and Knights on an evening that was supposed to be special.
After punching in his lock code, Obi-Wan wandered inside. His face went red again when he saw Qui-Gon and Master Bren cuddling on the couch in front of a holo-vid. Quickly he made a hasty retreat to his room.
"Obi-Wan? Come here please. Kira what's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?"
"Yes Master Jinn. Obi just had a little accident is all." Obi-Wan re-entered the common area. Kira thought it best that she call it a night. She took her friends hand. "Don't worry about it Obi. I did have fun tonight. I hope to see you again."
"Thank you Kira. Thanks for understanding. Good night."
=================
Obi-Wan faced the two masters as he closed the door behind Kira. "I split my pants. Everyone saw me, and laughed. I think they are still laughing. I will never live this down."
Master Bren stepped forward. "Turn around kid. Oh, I see. Those are cute. But Qui, you let your boy go out in those? This was a special night. I am ashamed of you."
When Qui-Gon went to protest, the student chimed in first. "It partly my fault Master Bren. I didn't have any clean underwear, so I asked master if I could borrow some."
"You have no clean underwear? Obi!!!! Qui don't you do laundry? Oh wait, you're a guy. Dumb question. Obi, Obi, Obi...never ask your master for underwear. Bad things can and will happen." She turned to Qui-Gon. "And you!!! How dare you let him go out of here like that!! You are his master, you have the final say. You knew something like this could happen, and you let him go anyway. Shame on you Qui. The poor kid is gonna be scarred for life. His friends...or former friends will do nothing but laugh at him. His mates will mock him in sparring class. No one will ever take him seriously again."
By now, Obi-Wan was just about in tears. He hung on Master Bren's every word, knowing that it would ring true. Qui-Gon stopped her. "Enough!! Look at him. See what you just did?"
Bren turned around, and saw the sad, depressed face of the young Knight. Immediately she regretted her words. "Awwww...you poor thing. Hug him Qui."
"What? I...uh..."
"Never mind," she said as she pushed him out of the way. "Come here kid." She wrapped her arms around the small body and let the boy cry. "I'm sorry Obi. I was just kidding. It's not fun when embarrassing things happen. I know. Cry all you want." She looked over at the tall Jedi beside her. "You know Stretch, this is your job. You are his master. He looks up to you, in...uh...more ways than one. Why don't you just hug him?"
"I shouldn't have to hug him to..."
"QUI!!!! IF YOU EVER WANT ANOTHER CUDDLE, YOU WILL HUG HIM!!! NOW!! And not because I say so. Show him that you love him. I realize that you don't know the proper hugging technique...but anything is better than standing there looking stupid. HUG! NOW!"
Qui-Gon moved forward to take the small burden from Bren's arms. Without hesitation, Obi-Wan settled into the large mans' embrace. Rubbing his hand in circles on the boy's back, the master sighed. "Well now, this isn't so bad. I think I can do this."
"Qui, talk to him, not to yourself."
"Oh, right. It's okay padawan. Don't listen to those evil things that Bren says. She will cuddle with me again, I just know it."
Bren could only shake her head. "Sad...just sad. You really don't have a clue do you?"
"What? I am hugging him. What more do you want?"
She continued to wonder at the man. "Love him Qui. Talk to him. Bond with him."
A few minutes passed and Obi-Wan asked if he could turn in. Exhaustion had set hit hard. Qui-Gon released him and squeezed his shoulder. "Let me tuck you in."
Bren smiled. "There ya go Stretch. Now you got it."
Obi-Wan was led to his room. He sat still on the bed as his master pulled his dress clothes off and fixed him up in his night tunic. "Now, lie down and I want you to sleep. Okay?"
"Yes master." He lay back and allowed Qui-Gon to tuck the blankets around him. "Master? What is that sound?"
"That is your astrophysics teacher singing."
"Oh, she sounds nice. But master?"
"Yes padawan?"
"I can't sleep with that noise. Can you go cuddle or something? I need quiet. I've had a bad day." Obi-Wan curled himself in the bed covers, and closed his eyes. Leaning over his student, Qui-Gon ran a soft hand through the rusty colored hair, then left the room.
Master Bren awaited the Jedi in the common area. "Well?"
"He's asleep."
"He'll be okay Qui. Tough kid you got there. He like my singing?"
Qui-Gon laughed. "He said he did, but then he told me to make that noise stop. So, the padawan is in bed...how about we finish that holo-vid cuddle thing on the couch?"
Just before the pair could get completely comfortable, Obi-Wan dragged his tired body out of the bedroom. "Master?" He stood next to the couch.
Slightly agitated but understanding, Qui-Gon turned to the boy. "I thought you were sleeping."
"I was, but the glow from these boxer shorts is keeping me up. Do you have any non-gleaming underwear?"
Bren, unable to contain herself, burst out laughing. "HAHA!! Qui, your underwear is scaring the kid. You really could used a woman's touch around here."
"If you haven't noticed, I have my hands full with my fourteen-year-old student. That's enough for this old man."
"Master, I can't sleep. Can I stay here out here with you?" The dejected look on Obi-Wan's face was heartbreaking. So much so, that Master Bren spoke before Qui-Gon could.
"You pathetic thing. Come here. Sit right next to me. Better yet, sit between us."
Qui-Gon put an arm around the young Jedi. "Well padawan, tomorrow will be a brighter day. Pardon the pun. We will wash laundry. Then you will have all the clean underwear you can handle. How's that sound?"
Holding a finger to her lips, Bren motioned downwards. "He's out."
"He can't sleep in the dark with glowing underwear, but he can sleep sitting up, on the couch between two grown adults. Strange boy."
"You were made for each other, that's the sad part. I will help you tomorrow to make sure all your clothes get clean. We can't have things like this happening to this kid all the time. He's already got every complex you have; he doesn't need any more. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the vid. Okay Stretch? Stretch? Qui?" When Bren turned back, the older Knight was sound asleep. All she could do was roll her eyes.
"Men. Go figure. G'night boys."
END
AUTHOR: Obi the Kid (hlnkid@aol.com)
RATING: G
SUMMARY: Pre-TPM, Obi is 14. (Humor) A date does not go as planned.
FEEDBACK: Always appreciated.
ARCHIVE: Please ask me first.
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.
NOTES: This is a sequel (of sorts) to a story that Brenda and I wrote called: From a Certain Point of View. You can find that story on my website. Thanks to Brenda for this bunny!!!
===============
Padawan Jitters
===============
Qui: Obi-Wan would you settle down please. You are as nervous a newborn Bantha. Look at you, sweating all over, eyes wild, face twitching. Padawan Kira is going to think you are someone else.
Obi: Master, I can't help it. This is my first date...EVER! I don't want to mess anything up. Was that the door chime? Is she here yet? I'm not ready.
Qui: RELAX! You have an hour. Now, what are you going to wear?
Obi: Um...uh...I don't know. I don't have anything to wear. What am I gonna do?
(Qui-Gon grabs his apprentice by the shoulders, shaking him slightly.)
Qui: Settle down before you fall on your face. You have a clean dress tunic, right?
Obi: Oh, I do. Okay, I can wear that. And I have a new pair of boots. This is good.
Qui: Right. You need a shower because you stink. One way to offend a young lady is to smell like a sparring gym. So, into the shower you go.
Obi: But master, what if she gets here early? I don't think...
(Shoving the boy towards the shower, Qui-Gon tries to maintain his composure.)
Qui: We will talk more after you are clean. And make sure you wash out your braid.
(Ten minutes later, a clean, yet soggy Obi-Wan Kenobi came wandering out into the common area with a towel wrapped around him.)
Obi: What now master?
Qui: Clothes would be a good next step.
Obi: Oh yeah.
(Obi-Wan runs into his room, and closes the door behind him. A few minutes later, Qui-Gon heard him yelling and strolled over to see what the commotion was about. But right when the master opened the door, Obi-Wan came bounding out, hitting the Knight square in the chest.)
Qui: Oooof! Obi-Wan you are not dressed.
Obi: Master I have a crisis. This is bad.
Qui: Yes?
Obi: I can't find any clean underwear. I don't have any. Oh, this is not good. I've looked everywhere. Okay...think...what can I do? Oh, I know...I can just take a dirty pair and turn them inside out...yeah...that will work.
Qui: Freeze that thinking Mr. You are NOT even going to consider that.
Obi: THEN WHAT DO I DOOOOO???? WAIT!! I GOT IT!! I can borrow a pair of yours. A bit big, but, it's better than nothing, right?
Qui: Obi-Wan, I don't think...
Obi: No time to think master. I need underwear. Kira is gonna be here in...(looks at the chrono on the wall)...in THIRTY MINUTES!! Master please???
Qui: Alright, you can borrow a pair of mine. Third drawer down. And NO laughing!!!!
(Obi-Wan sprinted into Qui-Gon's room, desperate to find the undergarment he was after. But after several minutes of frantic searching, he could only find one pair. His masters light saber boxer shorts that Yaddle had given him as a gift.)
Obi: (Running back out into the common area) Masterrrrrrr?? This is all I can find. (He holds up Qui-Gon's boxers.)
Qui: Put those back Obi-Wan. NOW! Those are...special to me.
Obi: I NEED UNDERWEAR!!!! Forget it, I will just go with my original plan and turn mine inside out.
Qui: You are so sad, you do know that don't you?
Obi: I need to find a pair now!
Qui: You are NOT leaving this apartment with dirty underwear. You must have on clean underwear. I mean what if a speeder runs you over. I will not have my padawan found dead in dirty underwear. What will they think of me?
Obi: That's a nice comforting thought. Thank you. Please let me borrow your boxers. She will be here soon master. Please? Don't make me beg.
Qui: You are gonna turn my hair gray. You can wear them on ONE CONDITION!!
Obi: What's that?
Qui: You show them to NO ONE!!!! UNDERSTAND?
Obi: You think I go around showing my underwear to all my friends?
Qui: Well, no I suppose not, but I put nothing past you anymore. Okay, you can borrow them. But I want them sanitized before you return them. Now, go get dressed. Hurry!
(Obi-Wan dressed as quickly as he could. He got his belt as straight as he could, then hung his saber. His shaky hands tried to re-braid his padawan braid, but it was no use. He called for Qui-Gon.)
Obi: MASTER???
Qui: Yes Obi-Wan. Wait a minute! You do not take your light saber on a date with you. Put it away.
Obi: But...
Qui: Obi-Wan!!!!
Obi: I can't tie my braid. I keep getting my fingers tangled. Help me!!
(Standing in front of his apprentice. Qui-Gon took the small brush from the dresser and de-tangled Obi-Wan's braid. He then proceeded to carefully re-braid the short tuft of hair. Securing it with the yellow band, he patted the boy on the shoulder.)
Qui: See how easy that was? You get so nervous about certain things. Relax and let the Force aid you. Let me fix your belt...there...it's straight now.
Obi: What do I say to her when she gets here?
Qui: How about something crazy like, 'Good evening Kira?'
Obi: Wow!! You have a way with words master.
(Qui-Gon could only stand and shake his head. He stood his student in front of the mirror, and smoothed the wrinkles from his tunic.)
Qui: I think you're ready! I want you to be a gentlemen, do you understand me? No showing off for your friends. You are to have fun, but I want you home by the eleven hour.
Obi: But...master, that's so early...can't I just...
(The stern parental look from the older Knight stopped the younger in mid-sentence.)
Obi: Yes master.
(The door chime sounded. Obi-Wan began to flip out.)
Obi: Oh no, that's her. Do I look okay? How's my braid look? Belt? Saber? No, wait...no saber.
Qui: Relax Obi-Wan. Let me go answer the door.
(Trying to center himself with deep breaths, Obi-Wan realized it was no use. Qui-Gon called from the common area.)
Qui: Obi-Wan? Padawan Kira is here. You are going to be late for the dance.
Obi: Coming master. (He stepped out of his room.)
Kira: Hi Obi.
Obi: Hi...uh...um...(Qui-Gon whispered into his ear.)
Qui: Kira.
Obi: Hi Kira. You look...um...beautiful.
Qui: Take her by the arm and escort her to the dance.
Obi: Oh, uh...okay. Kira, shall we go?
Kira: Thank you Obi.
(As Obi-Wan led the young lady down the corridor, Qui-Gon smiled, and breathed a sigh of relief.)
Qui: Whew, okay. Let's see, now all I need do is invite Master Bren over, pop in a holo-vid, and relax for the evening. The apartment is mine for three hours.
==============
Obi-Wan and Kira joined their friends at the dance and for the first two hours, had a wonderful time. Finally getting over his jitters, Obi-Wan joined the others in a rowdy dance called the Dodec. It involved a group gathered in a circle with one person in the middle. The one in the middle would run and bounce off the others. Occasionally the one would bounce so hard that he lost his balance and ended up crashing to the floor. Obi-Wan was determined to be the one in the center of things.
Running and bouncing as impressively as he could, he made sure that Kira was watching him. Qui-Gon had warned him about showing off. But in the frenzy of the evening, Obi-Wan had forgotten his master's words. Throwing himself into the crowd, he bounced off them, his footing slipped and he ended up in a split position on the floor. There was silence...followed by the deafening sound of hysterical laughter.
For a moment, Obi-Wan sat there in a trance. Then he reached around to his backside. Just as he thought. His pants had torn from his waistline down about eight inches. In full view of every padawan his age, the boxers with the little sabers on them, glowed as bright as the suns on the tropical world of Varus.
Reeft stood over him, laughing so hard that he couldn't breathe. Garen and Bant were both hiding expressions, heads face down in their hands. The pain of laughter continued to spread and after a few minutes, Obi-Wan had begun to hyperventilate. His eyes were big, his pulse was wild. The young face...Sith red.
Doing his best to focus, he felt a hand on his arm. He looked up to find the gentle features of Kira looking down at him. "Come on Obi, I will help you home."
The pair left the dance amidst one laughing apprentice after another. "Nice undies Kenobi!!" "Can you tone them down a bit? HAHAH!!!" "Lil light sabers for Obiiiiii. Does your master know about this?" The comments continued until Obi-Wan was hurrying out of the door and towards the turbo-lift. Neither he nor Kira said a word until they were the lift and heading for home.
"I...I'm sorry Kira. I...was so nervous about going tonight with you, that I...uh..." The boy was blushing as he lowered his gaze.
"It's okay Obi. You don't have to explain. They are very interesting though."
Reaching the tenth floor, Kira walked Obi-Wan to his quarters. He had gone completely silent once he stepped off the lift. Kira could see a few dried tears on her friend's face. She wasn't surprised. He'd just been humiliated in front of two hundred padawans and Knights on an evening that was supposed to be special.
After punching in his lock code, Obi-Wan wandered inside. His face went red again when he saw Qui-Gon and Master Bren cuddling on the couch in front of a holo-vid. Quickly he made a hasty retreat to his room.
"Obi-Wan? Come here please. Kira what's wrong? What happened? Are you okay?"
"Yes Master Jinn. Obi just had a little accident is all." Obi-Wan re-entered the common area. Kira thought it best that she call it a night. She took her friends hand. "Don't worry about it Obi. I did have fun tonight. I hope to see you again."
"Thank you Kira. Thanks for understanding. Good night."
=================
Obi-Wan faced the two masters as he closed the door behind Kira. "I split my pants. Everyone saw me, and laughed. I think they are still laughing. I will never live this down."
Master Bren stepped forward. "Turn around kid. Oh, I see. Those are cute. But Qui, you let your boy go out in those? This was a special night. I am ashamed of you."
When Qui-Gon went to protest, the student chimed in first. "It partly my fault Master Bren. I didn't have any clean underwear, so I asked master if I could borrow some."
"You have no clean underwear? Obi!!!! Qui don't you do laundry? Oh wait, you're a guy. Dumb question. Obi, Obi, Obi...never ask your master for underwear. Bad things can and will happen." She turned to Qui-Gon. "And you!!! How dare you let him go out of here like that!! You are his master, you have the final say. You knew something like this could happen, and you let him go anyway. Shame on you Qui. The poor kid is gonna be scarred for life. His friends...or former friends will do nothing but laugh at him. His mates will mock him in sparring class. No one will ever take him seriously again."
By now, Obi-Wan was just about in tears. He hung on Master Bren's every word, knowing that it would ring true. Qui-Gon stopped her. "Enough!! Look at him. See what you just did?"
Bren turned around, and saw the sad, depressed face of the young Knight. Immediately she regretted her words. "Awwww...you poor thing. Hug him Qui."
"What? I...uh..."
"Never mind," she said as she pushed him out of the way. "Come here kid." She wrapped her arms around the small body and let the boy cry. "I'm sorry Obi. I was just kidding. It's not fun when embarrassing things happen. I know. Cry all you want." She looked over at the tall Jedi beside her. "You know Stretch, this is your job. You are his master. He looks up to you, in...uh...more ways than one. Why don't you just hug him?"
"I shouldn't have to hug him to..."
"QUI!!!! IF YOU EVER WANT ANOTHER CUDDLE, YOU WILL HUG HIM!!! NOW!! And not because I say so. Show him that you love him. I realize that you don't know the proper hugging technique...but anything is better than standing there looking stupid. HUG! NOW!"
Qui-Gon moved forward to take the small burden from Bren's arms. Without hesitation, Obi-Wan settled into the large mans' embrace. Rubbing his hand in circles on the boy's back, the master sighed. "Well now, this isn't so bad. I think I can do this."
"Qui, talk to him, not to yourself."
"Oh, right. It's okay padawan. Don't listen to those evil things that Bren says. She will cuddle with me again, I just know it."
Bren could only shake her head. "Sad...just sad. You really don't have a clue do you?"
"What? I am hugging him. What more do you want?"
She continued to wonder at the man. "Love him Qui. Talk to him. Bond with him."
A few minutes passed and Obi-Wan asked if he could turn in. Exhaustion had set hit hard. Qui-Gon released him and squeezed his shoulder. "Let me tuck you in."
Bren smiled. "There ya go Stretch. Now you got it."
Obi-Wan was led to his room. He sat still on the bed as his master pulled his dress clothes off and fixed him up in his night tunic. "Now, lie down and I want you to sleep. Okay?"
"Yes master." He lay back and allowed Qui-Gon to tuck the blankets around him. "Master? What is that sound?"
"That is your astrophysics teacher singing."
"Oh, she sounds nice. But master?"
"Yes padawan?"
"I can't sleep with that noise. Can you go cuddle or something? I need quiet. I've had a bad day." Obi-Wan curled himself in the bed covers, and closed his eyes. Leaning over his student, Qui-Gon ran a soft hand through the rusty colored hair, then left the room.
Master Bren awaited the Jedi in the common area. "Well?"
"He's asleep."
"He'll be okay Qui. Tough kid you got there. He like my singing?"
Qui-Gon laughed. "He said he did, but then he told me to make that noise stop. So, the padawan is in bed...how about we finish that holo-vid cuddle thing on the couch?"
Just before the pair could get completely comfortable, Obi-Wan dragged his tired body out of the bedroom. "Master?" He stood next to the couch.
Slightly agitated but understanding, Qui-Gon turned to the boy. "I thought you were sleeping."
"I was, but the glow from these boxer shorts is keeping me up. Do you have any non-gleaming underwear?"
Bren, unable to contain herself, burst out laughing. "HAHA!! Qui, your underwear is scaring the kid. You really could used a woman's touch around here."
"If you haven't noticed, I have my hands full with my fourteen-year-old student. That's enough for this old man."
"Master, I can't sleep. Can I stay here out here with you?" The dejected look on Obi-Wan's face was heartbreaking. So much so, that Master Bren spoke before Qui-Gon could.
"You pathetic thing. Come here. Sit right next to me. Better yet, sit between us."
Qui-Gon put an arm around the young Jedi. "Well padawan, tomorrow will be a brighter day. Pardon the pun. We will wash laundry. Then you will have all the clean underwear you can handle. How's that sound?"
Holding a finger to her lips, Bren motioned downwards. "He's out."
"He can't sleep in the dark with glowing underwear, but he can sleep sitting up, on the couch between two grown adults. Strange boy."
"You were made for each other, that's the sad part. I will help you tomorrow to make sure all your clothes get clean. We can't have things like this happening to this kid all the time. He's already got every complex you have; he doesn't need any more. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the vid. Okay Stretch? Stretch? Qui?" When Bren turned back, the older Knight was sound asleep. All she could do was roll her eyes.
"Men. Go figure. G'night boys."
END