A short story I wrote based on a joke between myself and a couple of friends. Anakin has the pink elephant because in a sense he's "drunk" on Padme, ha ha. Read and enjoy!

Pale flakes of snow drifted aimlessly downward from the night sky of Coruscant, reflecting myriad colors of the bright lights that adorned the city-planet as they danced in the whirls and eddies of a cold wind. Bursts of night sounds and humming transports gradually faded away near the slender turrets and curves of the Jedi Temple, now shrouded in blurred shadows of blue and purple. It was a haven of serenity, a refuge from the revelry and activity that flourished at all hours in the rest of Coruscant.

Gazing up absently at the invisible ceiling, Obi-Wan Kenobi lay quietly in the soft darkness of his room. Thick coverlet pulled comfortably up to his chest, arms folded behind his head, the newly confirmed Jedi Knight reflected on the sudden twists life often took, just to make sure one did not always assume one was in control, it seemed. He smiled in spite of the grief he had endured the last few days. One such twist lay sleeping in his room on the other side of the apartment. At least, Obi-Wan hoped the boy was sleeping.

Reaching out through his ever-present companion the Force, Obi-Wan expected to encounter the lulled, semi-conscious presence that would indicate his apprentice was in fact asleep. Instead, he met a flurry of emotions which clearly showed the boy was wide awake. Several moments later, the Knight felt the other slip from his sleep couch and pad into the common room that separated their chambers. Closing his eyes, Obi-Wan braced himself.

"Master Obi-Wan?" came little Anakin Skywalker's tentative call.

A slight smile on his lips, Obi-Wan did not reply. He felt the edge of the couch sink slightly as Anakin knelt beside it, placing his arms on top and then resting his chin on his crossed wrists.

Oh, Force, the Knight lamented to himself. He wrinkled his nose, catching a whiff of flowery scent, which he knew to have come from a plush pink something Anakin had "found". Personally, Obi-Wan believed it to be representative of a private joke between his Padawan and a certain Senator, doused liberally with a massive dose of said Senator's favorite perfume. He paused, thinking. What was it the boy called it? Oh, yes, the infamous pink "elephant", whatever that was supposed to mean.

"M-master?" Anakin said again, this time through audibly chattering teeth.

Obi-Wan opened a scrutinizing eye, his face expressionless. "Yes, Padawan?"

The young apprentice sank a bit lower into the couch. "It's cold."

"Not really."

"Yes, it is."

"A bit, perhaps."

"No, it's really cold."

"Hardly."

"Really, really cold -" Anakin paused for emphasis, then mumbled, "And my knees hurt."

"Well, kneel on the pink elephant," Obi-Wan suggested sarcastically.

"I am kneeling on the pink elephant."

The Knight rolled his eyes as Anakin's hand began inching its way under the coverlet.

"You're all warm!" the boy protested, accusingly.

"If you'd stayed under your own covers, you'd be warm too," Obi-Wan pointed out, with a touch of smugness.

"Can't I just - ?" As he spoke, Anakin rose and scrambled in next to his master. "Ooh, this is nice!" he exclaimed, plumping the pillow enthusiastically.

"Anakin!" Obi-Wan protested loudly. "Don't you dare bring the elephant in, too!"

"Don't worry, Master." Anakin grinned up at him. "I left the elephant on the floor. There isn't enough room for Mister Lumpkins."

"'Mister Lumpkins'?" Obi-Wan repeated incredulously.

"That's his name."

"I see."

"And if there still isn't enough room," Anakin continued happily, "we can put you on the floor, too."

"I don't think so. And why am I so cold now?" It was the Knight's turn to be indignant. "You're taking up all my heat!"

The apprentice wriggled down further. "I'll make more heat soon." He tucked his head against his master's chest, as he would have done with a father. "Mmm, cozy."

"Now what are you doing?" Obi-wan asked in exasperation.

"Snuggling. Nice, isn't it?"

"I don't know. Maybe I don't like snuggling."

Anakin let out a small gasp. "You don't like snuggling?"

In response, Obi-Wan turned his eyes upward. "I said maybe I don't."

"You don't like it, do you?" was the boy's forlorn reply.

"That's not what I said."

"That's what you meant."

"Anakin -" Obi-wan groaned.

"Hmm?"

The Knight sighed. "Why don't you go snuggle in your own room?"

The apprentice shook his head vigorously, his hair fuzzing across his master's neck. "It's not the same."

"Well, then go to sleep."

"All right."

"Not here!" Obi-Wan pushed him away.

"Why not?"

"Because -" He sputtered furiously. "Never mind why, just - let me go to sleep, I'm tired too, you know."

"You don't want me."

"No, it's not that -"

"It is! I see how it is. You think I'm an annoying nuisance."

Obi-Wan heaved yet another sigh. "Only sometimes. Now please -"

"Tell you what," Anakin offered, his voice muffled against the coverlet, "I'll leave if you give me a hug."

A long silence ensued.

"You want me to give you," Obi-Wan said in a strangled voice, "a hug?"

"Mm hmm," the boy responded in a satisfied tone. "Do you like hugs?"

"Well, I -"

"Didn't Qui-Gon give you hugs?"

"Rarely. He wasn't the hugging type."

Anakin marveled at this. "Wow. No hugs and no snuggling. No wonder you came out funny." He tugged the other's arm. "Come on, where's my hug?"

With a groan, Obi-Wan draped an arm about his Padwan's shoulders. "Happy now?"

"Nope. You're not squeezing."

Obi-Wan squeezed a little. Anakin let out a small sigh of contentment.

"That's better, master. Now don't forget to give me a hug every week."

The Knight ruffled his apprentice's hair fondly. "All right, you wretch. Now off to bed, you warm, fuzzy little Padawan."

Anakin seized his master in a massive hug then bounced happily off into the chill of his own room, calling back, "We're having a snowball fight tomorrow!"

Once again smiling to himself, Obi-Wan settled back for sleep, reflecting as he drifted off that maybe, just possibly, Qui-Gon's pathetic life forms were not as bad as he had thought.

Of course, no one needed to know that.

Please review! I love comments! May the Force be with you.