Come To Bed, by Mystique
"Come to Bed"
by Mystique

* * *

"Come to bed, Obi-Wan."

The dark form loomed above him, blocking out the stars. Obi-Wan had heard his master's steady tread, rustling through the grass towards him, heavy boots crushing the tender stalks, but had lain still and silent. He needed this. His Master needed this. Obi-Wan was content to wait.

* * *

Now Qui-Gon was waiting. He'd finally found Obi-Wan lying on on his cloak on the dew-damp ground, hands clasped loosely on his belly. Perhaps he was meditating.

Qui-Gon grimaced tiredly, trying to brush aside his impatience. His Padawan had certainly picked the wrong moment to come out here and put his lessons into practice. He was bone weary, and was looking forward collapsing into bed. It had been a hard few weeks and before that a hard few months. He just wanted to sleep, to share the comfort of his young lover's body for a few short hours. Traipsing accross a moonlit paddock in search of an errant Padawan was not what he had been looking forward to.

Obi-Wan's eyes seemed fixed on the sky above him. Did he see some threat? Curious, Qui-Gon tilted his head upwards. Two moons, both small. A few high clouds. Stars. Several satellites silently winking. A local transport ship, blue and red navigation lights burning softly, heading towards the spaceport. Qui-gon blinked, his eyes gritty with exhaustion. He could see nothing unremarkable.

"What are you doing Obi-Wan?"

"Sshhhh..." Obi-Wan's voice seemed to come from far away. "Listen."

Qui-Gon listened, serenity rapidly fraying at the edges. Was there danger here? The night was quiet, but as he strained his ears he realised it was far from silent. He heard the faint hum of a distant hovercar. A night bird woo-wooped in the distance. More faintly he caught the clank of metal on metal and the low muffled voices of the Ceremonial Guard at the Leader's rural retreat. Shrill creaks from some indigenous amphibian population in the nearby river sounded loud now that he was actually listening to them instead of just hearing them as background noise. He could hear the thin whine of some flying insect threading its way through the gentle blanket of sound. Nothing unremarkable.

"I don't hear anything, Padawan." It was a gentle reminder of his authority. "Come to bed."

Obi-Wan didn't shift his gaze from the heavens.

"Master" he breathed, acknowledging, but not moving to obey Qui-Gon's request. "Lie down next to me."

Qui-Gon repressed a sigh.

But Obi-Wan was not to be denied, and Qui-Gon found he did not have the heart to over-ride his Padawan's wishes and order him back to his sleeping quarters right away. Repressing yet another tired sigh he dropped to his knees and stretched himself out sideways alongside his Padawan.

"What is it, Obi-Wan?" he asked, wearily.

"Look up, Master." Obi-Wan's voice was distant. "Just look."

Qui-Gon lay back, settling his head in the cradle of his hands, and looked up. It was the same unremarkable sky he had noted earlier.

"What?" He allowed a little of his impatience to creep into his voice. "What is it I'm supposed to be looking at?"

"All of it."

It was almost too much. Qui-Gon bit back an impatient response. He understood Obi-Wan wasn't being deliberately vague. That wasn't his Padawan's style. He must be in the grip of some powerful experience, and he wanted to share that with Qui-Gon.

"Open your eyes, Master."

"They are open, Obi-Wan."

"Look... harder..."

Qui-Gon forced himself to relax, opening his eyes to take in the stars above, and as he did so he began to open himself to the Force. The stars seemed to burn brighter, and as he opened his mind, the connections betwen the stars seem to spring into life. Each star glowed with its own light, and with the light of the Force, seperate, and yet connected. Trails of Force energy blossommed into being, weaving in between the stars until the glorious tapestry of the Force filled his vision. Warp and weft. Each thread contributing to the whole, and the beauty of the tapestry made Qui-Gon's breath catch in his throat and his eyes begin to smart.

"You see?" Obi-Wan's voice seemed to resonate now. Not distant, but reverberating with the Force of the far-away stars. "It's so beautiful".

Qui-gon's stomach clenched in response and an iron band seemed to tighten around his chest. How could he have forgotten this?

"On Coruscant there are so many stars." Obi-Wan's voice was so close now. "So many stars, you can't see the distance between them. You can't see the individual beauty of each star, and see how they dance amongst each other, each one part of the whole, and yet seperate."

"I used to see it", Qui-Gon rasped, his own voice now sounding to him as if it came from a distance. How strange it seemed.

"I remember the stars being like this" Obi-Wan continued, as if he hadn't heard his Master. "I remember seeing the stars dance when I was very young, but you can't see them at the centre, on Coruscant, where they are all so close together. So many stars. You need to get a little further away."

Qui-Gon blinked away the unshed tears. Obi-Wan was right. It was so beautiful. How long was it since he had lain back and looked at the starlit sky in awe? How long since he had listened to the sounds of a living planet and felt the Force crackling amongst the grasses and the birds and the trees and the insects, and really, really heard it all? Too long.

He had been so caught up in his work. Oh yes, he had felt the Force. It was there for him every waking moment. He had seen it sparkling in every living thing, heard it whispering to him throughout the hard, hard months of talks and palaces and diplomatic missions, in negotiations and meetings. He had felt it gathering him in its encompassing arms every time he made love to Obi-Wan. But for how long had he been taking it for granted whenever he needed to call upon it? It came so easily to him, he had grown used to being surrounded by the Living Force, the connection always strong and vibrant. But when had he stopped just gaping in wonder at the sheer beauty of it all?

This. This was why he was a Jedi. Not for respect or power. Not because he wanted to right all the wrongs in an unjust universe, the desire for justice a banked fire he knew still burned in his heart. It had been for the sheer glory and beauty of the Force as it wove its magic through every strand of life.

His focus had slipped as he talked, charmed, cajoled and blustered his way through all those interminable diplomatic duties. Trust Obi-Wan to show him the way back again. Obi-Wan, who knew his heart almost better than he did.

Qui-Gon turned to his Padawan, and breathed in deeply at the sight. Obi-Wan's mouth lay slightly open, just begging to be kissed. He reached out, slipping his hand under his Padawan's tunics until it rested upon the smooth muscled belly beneath.

"How beautiful you are to me, Obi-Wan" he breathed. "Thankyou for reminding me."

Obi-Wan turned to him and smiled, and Qui-Gon could feel his own mouth twitching in response. He leaned over, breathing in his Padawan's breaths, covering the velvet of those lips with his own. And just before his Padawan's lashes veiled his eyes he saw them, deep within the midnight of his Padawan's eyes. Stars.

[the end]


26.02.01