Obi Wan Kenobi Gets His Hair Cut l Non Slash l

by SakuraFromJapan

Set between AotC and RotS. Shortly after Obi-Wan was chosen as a member of the Council and became a Master, he decided to have a more appropriate hairstyle to make himself look more dignified. Non-Slash.

Obi-Wan Kenobi Gets His Hair Cut ( Non Slash )

Author: sakurafromjapan

Rating: K+

Genre: Humour

Characters: Anakin and Obi-Wan ( Others: 3 Masters & 1 Padawan make a brief guest appearance. )

Disclaimer: SW is George Lucas's creation. This fic is mine but I have no intention of making money writing this.

Note: Many, many Arigatoh(Thanks) to Generale Kenobi-san for the information about the time frame. : )

Beta-ed by: Deborah-san. /hugs her tightly !/ : )

Feedback: Oh, yes, Onegaii(Please) ! I'd LOVE to hear what you think of this fic.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Anakin when he saw his Master who just got back from shopping, stared and said, "My God."

"I got my hair cut, Anakin," Obi-Wan said cheerfully, coming into their shared living quarters, carrying two crackling brown department-store bags. "They gave me their 'Smiphie Special' ! " He called back over his shoulder.

" 'Smiphie Special ' !? " Anakin said incredulously just as he heard the front door go click and lock automatically. "You've been to the Smiphie's Haircutter !? "

And he paid for this ?? Anakin thought.

Smiphie's Haircutter was one of the oldest barber's shops on Coruscant owned by two humanoid aliens and one Correllian. Anakin had heard it was the kind of place whose hairdressers eagerly put a large quantity of hair grease, pomade, gel or whatever oil was around into customers' hair and even worked it all through the whole length of the hair.

So, the place was always filled with businessmen who would like to keep their short hair greasy with these kinds of lubricants all the time.

From Anakin's point of view, lube should be used only for speeders.

Anakin followed his Master into the kitchen.

"Ah . . . .such a lot to carry ! " Obi-Wan said, dumping the groceries on the table and sitting down gratefully.

"How come you had to gothere to cut your hair ? "

"What ? " Obi-Wan looked up and asked with a questioning smile on his face. "You don't like their 'Smiphie Special' ? "

Anakin narrowed his eyes as he looked more closely at Obi-Wan's new "Smiphie Specialised" hairstyle that was unmistakably what people usually called "a helmet hairstyle."

Usually, his Master's reddish golden hair was simply beautiful and so soft and silky that it made Anakin a little jealous whenever he thought about his unruly, wavy hair. But now . . . it was too shiny from too free use of grease or pomade or lube or . . . whatever. On top of that, his hair was parted in the middle – so neatly that if he had worn black rimmed thick eyeglasses, he would have looked a lot like Pent Plaque, the character from the movie Super Gentleman he and Obi-Wan had seen a couple of weeks ago.

Anakin cocked his head and examined the hairstyle some more, all the while looking at his Master as if he was a new species of Tatooine frog or something.

Obi-Wan with this hairstyle would have looked better in a suit but . . . wearing his dull dark-brown Jedi robe, his new hairstyle only made him look like some kind of comedian from one of those late-night Holonet shows.

"Er . . . ," Anakin searched for the right word, blushing. The word that would not hurt the feelings of his beloved Master. "it's . . . different." Anakin said; and, because Obi-Wan's handsome face stayed waiting with its questioning smile, added, "You kind of look . . . " Older was the first word that popped into his head though he did not allow it to slip out of his mouth. The questioning smile stayed so Anakin finally said, "Er . . . you kind of look 'more sophisticated'. "

"Exactly !!"

Anakin jumped.

"They told me exactly the same thing, Anakin." Obi-Wan said, wagging his finger as if to a child. A large smile spread across his face.

" 'They' ? "

" 'The hairdressers.' "

There was a pause.

"Well," Obi-Wan said, getting up. "I'll put the groceries away."

Watching his Master putting away the nuts, fruits, 6 cartons of chocolate waffle powders, 2 large boxes of cocoa butter, some green leafy vegetables and 2 chunks of fatless fresh meat he had bought in the department store, Anakin just sighed and thought to himself, I guess it's just going to take a little getting used to . . .

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Wake up, Ani ! Rise and shine !" Obi-Wan said in a sing-songy voice, opening the curtains of his Padawan's bedroom to let the sunlight in.

"Don't call me Ani, Master," Anakin grumbled, lying on his stomach; and his voice was muffled since his head was still buried beneath the thick blanket. "My name is Anakin."

Obi-Wan snorted, "Well, if you don't want to be called Ani, then, don't try and sleep in on our washday," he said. Then: "Now, get up !" He yanked away the blanket that had been covering his padawan's naked body.

"Master !"

Obi-Wan simply laughed and flattened out the blanket before folding it up.

Grumbling, leaving dreams of home on Tatooine and his mother and naked Padme and grouchy Obi-Wan behind, Anakin sat up; and still half asleep, stared up at Obi-Wan and cocked his head to the side. "What happened to your hair ?"

"What happened to my hair ?"

"Yeah. Um, I mean . . . you had a shower last night – before bed, remember ? And you washed your hair then, and . . . well, afterwards, you air-dried it so . . . your hair looked kind of 'wild'. "

And more natural, Anakin thought, but did not say it.

"Hmm . . . but not 'wild' anymore, I hope." Obi-Wan said, flattening his hair some more.

"Did you buy a bottle of pomade or something ? At the Smiphie's ?" Anakin asked, his eyes squinting at the light that kept pouring into his own bedroom.

"Oh, yes," Obi-Wan said cheerfully, all the while folding the blanket neatly into the smaller shape – small enough to fit into the washing machine. "I bought an economy size bottle of 25 ounces."

"25 ounces !?"

"Yes. And I styled my own hair, using some of it this morning," Obi-Wan said, holding the blanket securely in his arms. "So . . . how do I look ?"

"Um, you look . . . , " Anakin swallowed. " . . . just fine, I think."

"Thank you, my young Padawan," Obi-Wan smiled. "Now, will you please get up and get dressed, Anakin ? We are going for a walk."

"A walk ? Where are we going ?" Anakin asked, wearing his tight black underwear. His very favourite.

"We're going to the Room of the Thousand Fountains."

No way ! Anakin was horrified. He really did not want to be seen walking with this . . . ; Anakin stopped. For a minute there, he hated himself for even just thinking of his beloved Master that way. "Uh . . . , " Anakin said. "We haven't had breakfast, yet, Master."

"Well, we can have chocolate waffles when we get back."

"All right, Master," Anakin sighed. "We'll go."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Anakin and Obi-Wan were just stepping into the Temple's cool hallway when they saw Barriss Offee rounding the corner at the end of the hallway.

"Hey there, Anakin !" Barriss called, walked quickly over to the two male Jedi, and bowed deeply in Obi-Wan's direction, "Hello, Master Kenobi."

Then she looked up, and she laughed, and she laughed.

Anakin gaped, frowning.

Obi-Wan cocked his head to the side curiously.

Still laughing, Barriss left, walking quickly down the hallway – away from Anakin and the very object that set her off laughing.

"What was that all about ?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Um . . . she's always like that, Master," Anakin said. "She's giggly and laughs a lot."

"But . . . what was so funny . . . ?"

"Search me, " Anakin said. "Now, let's go, Master, shall we ?"

But just as they took only several steps away from their quarters, Luminara Unduli appeared round the corner, jogging towards them.

"Anakin," Luminara asked when she came to a halt. "Have you seen Barriss ?"

"Er . . . she went . . . that way, " Anakin said, pointing in the direction she went. "Master Unduli."

For some reason . . . it took more than a minute before Luminara noticed there was something different about Obi-Wan's hairstyle. She turned and, being ready to chat with Obi-Wan, was about to offer him a smile – but froze.

"Luminara ?"

". . . you got your hair cut ?" Luminara asked, her voice barely audible.

"Ah ! You've noticed !" Obi-Wan said happily, blushing, and then, still blushing, asked. "Well . . . how do I look ?"

Anakin gave her a pleading look.

Meeting the boy's eyes for a brief second, Luminara said, "You look – " She paused and said, " 'more sophisticated'. "

Anakin made a mental note to send her a box of Correllian candies while Obi-Wan thanked her, saying something about the hairdresser and the economy size bottle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After Luminara left them, going after her Padawan, Anakin and Obi-Wan finally made it to the northwest corner just as the turbolift's indicator blinked from two to three.

They had to wait a little more.

"Obi-Wan !" Someone called.

Anakin groaned inwardly at the voice he knew so well.

In the southeast corner, Mace Windu and Yoda appeared. They stopped to chat with the two younger Jedi.

Anakin and Obi-Wan, with their customary courtesy, inclined their heads, "Good Morning, Masters."

"Got your hair cut, Obi-Wan ?" Mace asked.

"Well," Obi-Wan blushed and smiled to himself. "I seem to have cut it a little bit too short though . . . "

"That's not too short, Obi-Wan," Mace said, wrinkling his brow with mock seriousness as he shook his bald head, "Not short, at all."

Taking his comment as a compliment, Obi-Wan thanked him twice and offered him a polite smile.

Anakin glanced over at Yoda, but noticing that the aged Master was engaged in a brief conversation with some other Padawan he had never seen before, again he turned his attention back to Mace and Obi-Wan's conversation.

Mace was laughing and Obi-Wan was just smiling, his face still flushed.

"But . . . " Mace chuckled. "You look so much older with this current hairstyle."

"I . . . " Obi-Wan blinked. " . . . beg your pardon ?"

Anakin swallowed, blinked, and raised his eyes to stare at the bald Master.

This time Mace raised his voice as if Obi-Wan had a bit of a hearing problem or something. "I said, YOU LOOK OLDER ! "

"And 'more sophisticated'. " Anakin added, though Obi-Wan did not hear him. Too numb. Too shocked.

"Well," Mace smiled, not knowing what was going on – more precisely, what he had done. "I gotta go . . . or Master Yoda and I'll be late for the meeting. I'll see you two around, then."

Then they were gone.

A few seconds later, the lift door slid open and Anakin stepped inside, while Obi-Wan behind him, turned around and started heading back to their quarters.

"Master ! "

The door slid shut and the lift started to move, taking Anakin alone to the other floor.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Five minutes later, when Anakin ( finally ) got back to the quarters he shared with his Master, he found Obi-Wan in the living room, lying on their dark-pink sofa with a big blanket draped over him.

"Master . . . ?" Anakin asked. "Are you all right ?"

Obi-Wan was completely still, lying on his back, his face buried in his hands. His hands and sadness muffled his voice, "I look older . . . " He said rhetorically.

Anakin's heart stung at the sight of his poor Master. And at this precise moment, he really hated Mace. Doesn't he even know that people can easily be wounded by words ? Anakin thought. He made a mental note to send him a boxful of Bantha Poodoo – anonymously.

"You're not old, Master," Anakin tried to smile in false cheeriness. "It's the haircut that makes you look – "

Obi-Wan sat up.

"You didn't even say that yesterday ! " Obi-Wan's voice which was almost a scream cut through their quiet living room.

Tears threatening to pour, Anakin said quietly, "It's just . . . I didn't want to hurt your feelings, Master."

Obi-Wan blinked few times, quietly pulled the blanket, and swung it over his head. He sighed and lay curled in a tight ball, his comfy blanket wrapped tightly around his body.

"Master . . . "

"Just . . . " The voice came back muffled, sullen. "Leave me alone for a while, Anakin."

Anakin stood there for a few seconds, frozen like a rabbit in the headlamps.

Then, out of the blue, he had an idea.

Anakin dashed across the living room and into the bathroom, all the while ignoring Obi-Wan who was now completely wrapped in a cloak of self-pity. Then he grabbed a fluffy Naboo cloth towel from the towel rack, wet the towel with hot water, wrung it out, snatched his favourite bottle of Correllian Natural Mousse, grabbed a comb and a small hair dryer, and finally hurried back into the living room.

"Master, get out of there !" Anakin sat down on the edge of the sofa with a loud thump. "NOW !"

"What the Sith . . . ! " Obi-Wan jumped and quickly got up, almost knocking over the potted plant on the table, and had a sudden urge to run away when he saw a warm, damp towel draped over the palms of his Padawan's hands.

Using Force Speed, Anakin quickly covered the head of his Master with the damp, but comfortably warm towel before Obi-Wan could get away.

"Anakin ! Stop it !" Obi-Wan grabbed his wrists and held them there tightly. "Don't do that to my hair – "

Obi-Wan stopped. And still having the words stuck in his throat, he saw sadness in Anakin's forget-me-not blue eyes – and his firm grip on his wrists eventually loosened.

"Master, please . . . " Anakin looked at Obi-Wan with a sad but determined look on his face. "Let me . . . "

Obi-Wan blinked his eyes, nodded and, finally recovering his composure, let go of his hands.

"Go ahead, Anakin," Obi-Wan said. "Do what you have to do."

Anakin's face brightened.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

First, he got down to removing all excess oil from Obi-Wan's hair, occasionally patting and rubbing and squeezing it gently with the warm towel, concentrating solely on his Master's hair.

When Obi-Wan's hair was finally soft, silky and more importantly, oil-less, Anakin smiled to himself and , being satisfied with what he had accomplished, decided to move on to the next task.

Not wanting to break his concentration, Obi-Wan rarely spoke while Anakin worked on fixing his hair. He was rather enjoying himself simply watching his Padawan who was looking very, very serious.

Anakin put aside the used towel and grabbed the bottle of Correllian Natural Mousse. He shook the bottle, held it upside down, pumped a small amount about the size of a small golfball of mousse into his hands, and rubbed his hands together. Then he spread the oil-free mousse evenly throughout Obi-Wan's hair, all the while finger combing the hair gently and occasionally massaging the scalp with his finger tips.

"My Force," Obi-Wan said shakily when he could speak again. "That feels good."

"It contains Correllian Wheat Protein that gives your hair natural moisture and gloss, Master," Anakin said, gently massaging it well onto his scalp. "So, it's very good for your hair."

Obi-Wan whimpered, enjoying his Padawan's amazing massage technique and a faint, lovely scent of the mousse.

After drying his Master's hair with his light-weight Copper Ionic hair dryer, Anakin finally started parting his hair with the comb.

"Master ?" Anakin said, his brow furrowing in concentration as he parted Obi-Wan's hair, trying hard to figure out the best way to do it. "You know . . . in my opinion, men should part their hair on the left."

"Hmmm . . . I didn't know there is a correct side for men."

"Yes, there is. It's my philosophy."

"Your philosophy . . . " Obi-Wan chuckled.

Finally, Anakin stopped combing his Master's reddish-blond hair ( with a hint of grey near the temples ) and put the comb back on the table; and taking one last look at Obi-Wan's completely fixed, re-born hair, finally, looked at the bearded handsome man before him, nodding to himself.

The love and adoration Anakin was feeling for this older man was now all brand-new.

"Done ?" Obi-Wan asked.

"Yes, Master," Anakin said, smiling. "Why don't you go look at yourself in the mirror and check your new hairstyle ?"

Smiling to himself, Obi-Wan went into the bathroom and came back in only a minute later, a more relaxed smile curving the corners of his lips.

"How do you feel ?" Anakin got up and walked over to his Master.

"I feel . . . " Obi-Wan said, touching his hair. " . . . brand-new, happy, and . . . more confident," Obi-Wan gazed into the clear blue eyes of the younger man before him. "Thank you, Anakin."

"You're very welcome, Master. I love your hair that way. I really do," Anakin said, blushing. "This way . . . some of your hair will naturally fall when you move around, and . . . that will make you look more attractive." He said. "It's a . . . um," Anakin hesitated but went on. "a big improvement over that 'Smiphie Special', if you don't mind my saying."

"So . . . what's this called ?" Obi-Wan asked, pointing his finger at his now-well-styled hair.

"Why," Anakin giggled. "It's called 'Ani Special'! "

Still being dazzled by Anakin's charm, Obi-Wan smiled adoringly at him.

He really loved this one.

"So . . . " Obi-Wan said, blushing. "How do I look ?"

"You look . . . " Anakin looked at the man he had cared for for over ten years with love and respect, looked away from him searching for the right word, and then at the floor still thinking, and then at his Master's blue-grey eyes again. A slow smile spread across Anakin's handsome face. " . . . perfect." He finally said.

For the first time today, Obi-Wan finally managed to smile broadly and Anakin was just happy to see him smile that way.

End