Aristocrat, Jedi, Duel-Specialist, Babysitter
"Obi, wake up!", Qui-Gon Jinn called his yet sleeping, little 8-year-old Padawan, however, he didn't like it at all. "Wake up, little one."
Obi stirred under his blanket, then opened his eyes, blinking at his master drowsily and rather uncomprehending. But he sat up and hugged Softy, his plush kitten.
"Yes, master?"
"Sorry for waking you up, but I have to leave for a while and I didn't want to go without saying goodbye" Qui-Gon explained, letting Obi crawl into his lap.
Obi fully woke up immediately, his lips trembling a bit as he snuggled close, hugged his master's neck and grabbed his long hair tight. They had been in this partnership just for a month yet, but Obi grew to be cuddly in record time and apparently, Qui-Gon was the most important person in his life right now. So of course he hated the idea of him leaving.
"I wanna go with you!" Obi protested, his small voice shaking a bit.
"You can't, I have to go alone now. But I'll be back by tomorrow the latest, I promise. You won't even notice" Qui-Gon comforted him, stroking his back slowly. At first, he was reluctant to take a Padawan; now, he couldn't put into words how much he loved this little fluffball in his arms.
"But I don't want you to be completely alone while I'm gone, so I've asked my ex-master to take care of you. He's really kind, you'll like him" he added a silent minute later.
"Who's your master?" Obi asked, his natural curiosity showing through his distress.
"Master Dooku, I'm sure you've heard about him."
Indeed, Obi had heard about master Dooku, he was a well-known Jedi and lightsaber-duel instructor. And he didn't seem kind at all, but if Qui-Gon stated he was, then Obi believed it.
After a last hug and a gentle kiss on his messy hair, Qui-Gon bid farewell to his small Padawan, telling him to sleep some more until master Dooku got here. Obi curled up under his blanket, hugged Softy tight and tried his best to choke back the tears that threatened to fall on his pillow as he heard his master leave.
Dooku opened the door of Qui-Gon's apartment as silently as he could, assuming Obi was still asleep. It was atrociously early, after all, so much that the sky was still dark. But, as it turned out, Obi wasn't asleep at all.
When Dooku went further into the apartment, he heard a door creaking open, and as he turned toward the noise, he saw the Padawan, in his pyjama, hugging a plush kitten tight to his chest and looking up at him with big, teary gray-blue eyes. He was so small and looked so sad that Dooku instinctively wanted to hug and comfort him; but he didn't just yet, for he was a stranger to Obi.
"Good morning, Obi, I'm master Dooku" he smiled at the kid. "Have Qui-Gon told you that I'll take care of you while he's away?"
Obi nodded and went closer. Dooku crouched down so they were more or less on the same eye-level. Obi looked him up and down, trying to determinate what to do next; the Jedi master waited patiently for the judgement.
"Are you hungry? We could eat something if you'd like" he offered when Obi still didn't say anything.
"Okay" Obi answered and followed Dooku into the small kitchen. "Where did master Qui go?" he asked as he watched the Jedi making breakfast.
"The Council asked him to help a few other Jedi in the city. He didn't even leave the planet. He'll be home soon" Dooku answered, trying to calm Obi; the kid obviously didn't get the separation from his master well.
"I miss him" Obi stated, hugging his kitten tighter.
Dooku knew very well how much Qui-Gon was against this mission; the only reason he still took it was that he didn't have to leave Coruscant at all.
"I'm sure he misses you, too."
That got a shy smile from Obi at last. After the breakfast Obi went back to sleep a bit more, and when he woke again, Dooku offered him to go to the gardens to play for a while. Obi picked up his blue-white ball and followed his temporal master.
As he spent more and more time with Obi, and the kid gradually opened up to him, Dooku began to understand what made Qui-Gon fully reconsider his opinion about the Padawan-question. Before Obi, Qui-Gon didn't want a Padawan. After he found the kid, his every concern was his Padawan. Obi was pretty hard not to love. He was a bit shy, yes, but very cute, smart and even polite and obedient. Very important qualities in a Padawan.
In the evening, after Obi had dinner, Dooku sensed that the kid's composure began to crumble. Qui-Gon was still away, and Obi dealt with it worse with every passing hour. By his bedtime he could barely hold it together. Then when Dooku was sitting on his bed, telling him a story, Obi snapped. He kept his distance from master Dooku for the whole day, out of respect, but he couldn't do it anymore. He snuggled into the Jedi's arms, buried his face into his shoulder and began crying.
"Oh, little one... Please don't cry" Dooku murmured as he hugged Obi tight and stroked his back, wishing that Qui-Gon would get back really soon. "It's okay, everything's going to be fine. There's no need to cry."
It felt comforting that master Dooku didn't reject him, but Obi was at the end of his strength now. He just wanted his master back.
Qui-Gon got home well after midnight, just to find his ex-master and Padawan in Obi's bed, Obi curled up into a small ball in Dooku's arms, and the Jedi master hugging the kid protectively in his sleep. If he hadn't been so damn tired, he'd surely have melted by the sight, but he was. So Qui-Gon took a quick shower and collapsed on his bed only in his underwear. A split second later he was fast asleep.
Next morning Obi was of course sleeping in his arms, grabbing his hair, and Dooku of course watched them grinning in the door of his room.
"Thanks" Qui-Gon whispered as he shifted carefully, trying not to wake his sleeping Padawan.
"No problem" Dooku answered, and then helped himself out.
Qui-Gon was asleep again by the time his ex-master reached the door.
The End