The following is a missing scene from another story I've finished: The Planet and the Star, between chapters 11 & 12. Anakin does not exist in this universe. Obi-wan has an OC as an apprentice. Since the standing story is mainly drama/adventure and a little romance, this element would have been extremely out of place. And ridiculous. And OOC. And I was already stretching it a bit thin. Consider this a character vignette.
Recommended listening for club background music:
Rachid Taha – Barra Barra
Banco De Gaia – Harvey and the Old Ones
Gaudi - Sufani
"Obi-wan, what… is this place?"
Thera was jostled by the small crowd at the entrance of the building. A blue haze pooled out onto the ground from the main door and exotic tabla beat reached their ears every time another creature was granted entrance or exit.
"A recommendation from Master Windu."
"What?" her head whipped around, daring to wonder if he had attempted at making a joke.
He grinned in return as they moved through the queue, "You seem to have this mindset that Jedi do not experience much culture."
"Well they certainly aren't social butterflies," she muttered as they approached what Thera assumed was the bouncer. The female Twi'lek's skin was of a midnight blue hue, and rather shapely with long lekku. Thera had to concentrate so as not to focus on her pearly sharp teeth as they were greeted. Although her contact with other species was limited to the Jedi of the temple, Thera didn't need to assume too much that the Twi'lek was considered quite attractive for her race.
"Welcome and good evening," she purred in Basic. "Have you an identity card?"
Thera watched with fascination as Obi-wan put on a sheepish expression. "Just the one, but I can vouch for my guest; Padawan Thera Munro."
The Twi'lek drank up the modest charm as she recognized the Jedi garb. Thera realized she was less conspicuous than her master, "Of course, Master…?"
"Knight Kenobi," he replied humbly as she looked over the identity card that he had given her.
"A pleasure to see the Jedi once again," she said while returning the ID. "I am Nura DeGai. We can certainly add your guest to our database should she wish to visit in the future," Nura said as she slipped a business card into Thera's palm.
Obi-wan nodded to Nura and placed his hand on the small of Thera's back, guiding her inside. "Thank you."
"Give my regards to Master Windu," she said with a stellar smile as they passed.
Thera's jaw dropped at the comment, and continued to do so as they entered the exclusive lounge.
In the elaborately decorated hallway that led to the main bar, her surprise was mixed with another emotion. Although Nura had been professional, Thera felt disturbingly inadequate. Normally she had no problem with anyone that towered over her; most did. But the feminine grace of Nura blared like a klaxon in her face of how disconnected she was from her own female desires; to be noticed and regarded as a beauty.
Thera rolled her eyes at the thought as they made their way through the hallway towards the main reception area. "Hmm, maybe she could give me some lessons in femininity. Force knows I'm not learning anything from your hidden powers of persuasion."Obi-wan chuckled as they stopped to survey the enormous main room. They could see the elegant lounge branched off on either side into smaller rooms, and a loft that overlooked the main bar that was centered in front of them. The musical bass thumped up their spines. "I think you're underestimating yourself."Thera checked herself before she snorted in reply, but her unconvinced expression answered his comment. She watched as an idea flitted across Obi-wan's eyes, and her internal defenses went up.
Her eyes narrowed, studying him. "What was that?"
"Nothing," came the diplomatic reply. "Stay here, I'm going to get us some drinks."
Thera motioned towards one of the booths, "I'll grab us a table-"
"No, just stay… right where you are." Obi-wan let his gaze sweep quickly over her, and then quite unexpectedly he stepped close and curled an arm around her back. Thera froze and their eyes connected as she felt a tug at the end of the long braid that Depa had taught her. Her hair slowly unwound and Obi-wan stepped back.
"Don't go anywhere," he said with a crooked smile and headed towards the main bar.
She had to shake herself from the ridiculous hold that she had been under. The sensation of his arm curling around her was… downright disturbing in how much she anticipated that it would end up bringing her closer to him.
Master and Padawan! the mantra barked itself in her ear. It was loud enough in her conscious to jerk back to the present and her immediate surroundings, which were a bit crowded than she had first experienced on entering.
She was in the center of the main lounge, within full view of the bar. A few of the patrons at the bar had turned to her in interest at her solitary form, and she scanned the area trying to find Obi-wan, who had now suddenly disappeared. Thera frowned and glanced about her.
"Comest deni afto dorlai?"
Thera found that a stately Dorlean with tailored robes had approached her. She blinked, and spoke over the music, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."
A calm smile spread over his dark features, "No apologies needed," he replied in Basic. "I was merely offering you a drink."
Before she could object, he motioned across the room. What she assumed was a waiter were actually a pair of Twi'lek males that approached, a glowing drink in each hand.
The Dorlean turned back to her and extended a hand, resting it briefly upon her forearm, "I am Lendor Direan, my dear. And you are?"
She glanced between the multiplying men, feeling wrong-footed. "Thera…Thera Munro-"
"A beautiful name," chorused the Twi'lek twins as they formed a half circle around her and looked over her attire. "For a beautiful Jedi."
"Oh no, I'm only a Padawan-" but her voice was drowned out by introductions and a thin glass that was pressed into her hand with a concoction that tasted like sweet lavender and rosemary. Over the sound of the music and the babble of questions, Thera began to relax and adjusted to her new company. She realized that there were some things about culture that you couldn't learn from Jedi training, and that this was what Obi-wan had intended.
But where was he? She stole glances into the crowd, sensing he was close by.
"Won't you sit with us? So much more comfortable," said the Twi'lek who introduced himself as Hadri. Thera saw his hand reach out to take her elbow, but her instinct sparked and she turned away, dancing out of reach while looking for Obi-wan.
"I would, but I'm here with someone. I think it would be impolite for me to just leave and sit with you."
Hadri leaned close and Thera was acutely aware of his sharp teeth near her neck as he spoke into her ear over the music. "Another beautiful Jedi, I hope?"
She had sensed it through their conversation; their leading questions buttered with flattery, drinks that had refilled in her free hands, so that over the past twenty minutes, she had been forced to stand with both hands on her drink. Intimidation had now become an unexpected factor. Her instincts had already spoken, and now a blanket of ire rested on her skin.
She had wanted to be noticed, perhaps admired, but the implications of being considered beautiful now narrated to her the kind of company that it would draw. The kind of company she would just as soon as avoid. The insincere, self-serving kind.
As Hadri stepped back with a knowing smirk on his features, the expression that Thera regarded him with was not what he expected. Instead of the unsure and flattered padawan they had corralled for the last fifteen minutes, a controlled and leveled gaze regarded them.
They had forgotten that they were talking with a Jedi.
"There you are," said a familiar voice from behind her. Thera turned to see Obi-wan close by her shoulder, looking down at her and holding a drink before her. "I'm sorry for how long that took, but I don't believe the bartender has a lot of experience."
Thera was momentarily confused as to why he was so close, or why he was giving her such intent and undivided attention. She only vaguely registered the Twi'leks and the Dorlean sighing with resignation.
Lendor bowed and excused himself, the two Twi'leks having already returned to their table. "Padawan Munro, it was a pleasure to meet you."
So they were listening, she thought as she watched the Dorlean disappear into another wing of the venue. Thera was confused. Was it normal or even polite to leave the way they did? She had so little exposure to the actual culture of Coruscant that she didn't know if she needed to be offended, or pleased that she didn't have to deal with an awkward situation.
She looked back to Obi-wan in question, but he only motioned towards the stairway. "Let's find a seat."
Patrons at the bar covertly watch the pair as they passed by. Thera gratefully followed Obi-wan up the stairs to the main loft, the music muted by the space. "So you finally showed up."
"I had to. I thought Force lightning was going to come out your eyes."
"Hmph," she sank down next to him in an alcove and watched the lounge and the other patrons in front of them.
"I take it you weren't having a good time."
Thera had to tamp down the sarcastic tone that wanted to spring from her mouth. His amused calmness only egged her aggravation on further. "Oh don't worry, I know about the little lesson that you intended for me to have."
His eyes twinkled, "And what was that?"
"How to read people. My stature doesn't exactly protect me, even if I do get what I want. It never hurts to know how to read others."
Thera could feel his eyes sweeping over her as she stared at her drink.
"What exactly did you want?"
She waved off the question, hoping that her cheeks did not burn in the low lighting. "It was childish."
Obi-wan leaned forward and caught her gaze. Thera realized that the booth they were in was quite snug. His voice was low and the music had seemingly faded in the background. "What does that matter? As a child we have no restraint around our most basic desires."
Just as before downstairs, Thera froze, weighing his words and his proximity. Damn him! her mind barked at the effect he could have on her. Wasn't she supposed to be a Jedi? In training at the very least, but this- this desire to be wanted was brought on by him, she now deduced. And if she told him… would that be the conclusion that he would come to? She would have to phrase this carefully.
Thera sighed and tasted her drink; elderflower and melon of some sort, but it burned a river down her throat. As she set the glass on the table, she swore she saw a trail of steam run from the top of it.
"I wanted… to look and be regarded as I feel as a Jedi. I don't think I appear that way, and I see it when I meet others."
"What do you feel as a Jedi?"
"Controlled. Confidant. Strong. A place where I'm meant to be. As a Jedi, I'm… me."
Obi-wan nodded and raised his drink to his lips, "Well, that's what I see."
Thera gave him a doubtful glance, "Is that what you always see?"
He paused, thinking for a moment. "The moment you became my padawan, I saw it. I have ever since. Although… you were plagued by other problems for a time."
Her gaze returned to the table, "What other problems?"
"You had no idea the change that I saw in you when I returned from Quintarna. You had your memories back. You were whole again; it was the Jedi I saw briefly in front of the council the first time." He turned to her fully, his hand curling around his drink on the table, "but when I came back, she took root."
Thera let out the breath that she didn't know she was holding. "Well," she raised her glass, "here's to the Jedi in us."
Obi-wan raised his glass to hers, "To the Jedi we are."
"This one," Thera pointed an accusing finger among the small glasses that littered the table, "tastes like shrip-(hic!) I mean shrimp mixed with gasoline."
"Gasoline?" he asked with an amused smile.
Her hand flitted about as she tried to find a replacement for her old language. "Napalm. Oil. Fuel. Whatever those old generators run in on in Warrenglen." Her mouth was already starting on her next description; "And this one; Jawa juice that's been out in the sun for a day. Just a dash of verugan root."
A rare laugh burst out of Obi-wan, and Thera watched as his eyes crinkled and he tried to pass a hand over his features to calm himself. After his smile had died down, he caught the captivated look on her face. The attention sobered him a little.
"What is it?"
Thera hunched herself over and pointed her swizzle stick at him, using her best Yoda voice; "Laugh more, you should."
She watched as he tried, and failed at holding back another laugh that burst from him. It came from deep within; a truly delighted laugh that was musical in its masculinity. She smiled as she took in the scene, knowing that it would be a rare sight in the future.
Obi-wan gestured at the lineup of glasses on the table. "Alright, you've officially tested all of the Valorian cocktails."
"I did. And did that make me more cultured?" She attempted to sweep her hand in a grand gesture, but the result was her hand tangling in her long hair. "No. It will give me a Bantha-sized headache tomorrow. That's an expression…isn't it?"
Obi-wan watched as her hand somehow became more entangled. He sighed as he reached over and gently began to unwind her locks, "Not that I'm aware of. But it makes sense."
Thera was still as she watched him free her wrist and fingers from her hair. His hand pulled delicately at her strands and she made her hand go limp, allowing him to mold her fingers.
A Jedi tangled in her own hair, he thought idly. I let her drink too much.
As he thought it, Obi-wan glanced up. Thera was watching him with rapt attention. Her eyes were dark, her cheeks flushed from the heat of the lounge, and her lips wet from the simple habit of licking them after every sip she took of her drink.
She said nothing, simply content to study him.
"I… I think it's time to leave."
Obi-wan had led his padawan out of the lounge and was now keeping her from weaving into other people near the entrance. "Why did you bring me here?"
"I thought we covered that already. You are a sloppy drunk."
Thera waved off the comment, her voice lilting and amused. "No, I'm a curious drunk. You didn't bring me here to teach me another lesson. Well, maybe you did, but I think you also did it for yourself. Didn't you?"
"Whatever you say, Padawan."
Thera blinked at him, her expression turning dark, "Stop placating me, Kenobi! I'm not so completely inebriated that I can't tell when you're being dodgy!"
His brow only furrowed, it was hard to keep up with her when she threw in words from her old language. "Dodgy…?"
They had stopped in the walkway, and Obi-wan had to steer Thera into another corridor to make it to the main causeway. "I think you've been wondering who I really am. When I'm not a Jedi." She poked a finger into his chest, giving a triumphant look at her theory and poked again for emphasis; "You thought you knew, but you just wanted. To. Make. Sure."
He sighed with relief as he spotted the main boulevard that was the most direct route to the temple. "Alright, so what have I learned?"
When she didn't respond immediately, he turned to see her standing in the walkway a few feet from him. The ominous clouds in the day turned into rain that started to fall.
"Nothing," she said sadly. "Nothing. You had your chance. You'll never ask me."
Had he been setting up a barrier between himself and Thera? He had told himself that if he ever had a padawan, that the stoic relationship he shared with Qui-gon would not be the same as his. Thera was giving him an out. He would be a fool to not take it.
"If I asked you now…"
"I would tell you everything," Thera said wearily, "Just ask me."
It took him a moment, but the rush of questions suddenly spilled from his mouth.
"Your favorite kata?"
She gave a weak smile, the rain coming down hard now. "Shoresu."
He smiled. "A planet you always wanted to visit."
"Tetandra."
"What you would do on a break between missions."
"Go on a meldorian trek through Naboo."
The list could go on and on in his head, but Obi-wan realized that most of what he was asking were safe questions, ones that he could ask anytime.
"If you could go home, would you go back?"
An aching heartbeat as she said, "No."
"Connect with the Force. Entirely. Right now."
A surprised and fearful look came over her features. "I'm drunk," was her excuse.
"Last chance," he said quietly as he stepped up close to her.
Her eyes focused, her sheepishness suddenly gone as she took the challenge. "Give me your hand."
His hand was warm, as always, and Thera concentrated through the murky haze of her mind and focused on the immediate Force around her and Obi-wan.
Similar to the bubble that rose out of the waters when she had awoken to see Obi-wan manipulating the Force, a buffer formed around them. Above them, he saw the rain hit the invisible barrier, and slide away.
"Deep breath," she whispered.
Before he could react, the barrier around them contracted them into a tight embrace- a coating like strong tendons that pushed Thera into his chest and melded his cloak around his legs. And then, as if emerging from a slow blink, they were in her unlit quarters, the motion sensors activating the lights. The net fell away and Thera would have crumbled to the ground unconscious if Obi-wan's instinctual reaction wasn't there.
"Thera-"
But then the gravity of what she had done hit him- a Padawan capable of bending space and possibly time. Her hair had tangled in his hands, and he wondered what exactly he had gotten himself into.