Miri and Obi-Wan laid side by side in his bed, with the shared blanket tucked under their arms. They faced each other, speaking only intermittently. Obi-Wan brought his hands up to Miri's hair, and began running his fingers lightly through it. She closed her eyes in contentment.

"Mmm," she hummed in approval. "That's nice."

The suns had set by this time, and Miri had decided that she wasn't quite ready to return to Mos Eisley. She'd told Obi-Wan that in the morning, she would be ready to face her father, and hear what he had promised to tell her. Obi-Wan had promised that he would be there as long as she wanted him.

Which had brought them to the matter at hand. Miri hated the thought of returning to Mos Eisley for good. She felt that there was no way she could return to the way things were. Nor would she want to be apart from Obi-Wan. He had been silent since she'd asked him the question that still hung in the air.

"What now?" she had asked.

Obi-Wan, as wise as he was, had no idea how to answer that. He had gone over all the different scenarios. She could return to Mos Eisley, and continue to live with her father. But she had promised her work at the cantina was over, which left her working for her father. As luck would have it, Lee had all the help he needed in Bastien, his new apprentice. This left Miri with little to no purpose. She was no longer studying languages formally. There was no way in the universe she would be going to one of the Academies.

No, Obi-Wan knew that her place was with him. Where he could train her properly. Where he could watch over her. But it was a solitary life out in the Dune Sea. The hut rested on what used to be a moisture farm. Obi-Wan had considered making it a working farm again, selling his harvest at the market to supplement what money Bail Organa had given him to fund his vigil over Luke. Obi-Wan was not intimidated by a mundane life as a moisture farmer, but worried that life in a small hut would not be enough for Miri.

He wanted her with him, that much was certain. But if they were to keep attention away from them, and by proxy Luke, the best way to keep tongues from wagging in the market of Mos Eisley was to keep her there with him under legitimate circumstances.

He worried, irrationally, that being his wife would not amount to what Miri deserved. He was in disbelief that he was not only thinking about marriage, but thinking about it pragmatically, which made him feel worse about it to begin with. Even though it was a desire he was certain they both shared, his approach to it made it feel disingenuous to him.

So, Obi-Wan wondered to himself, "what now" indeed?

They all sat in uncomfortable silence. Miri wedged her hands between her knees, and sighed as she wondered who would start talking first.

It turned out to be Obi-Wan who spoke first.

"Lee," Obi-Wan started. "Miri knows all that you have told me. But I know she has questions of her own."

"Yes, anything," Lee said, "I'll tell you anything you want to know." He looked defeated. Ashamed he hadn't told her sooner. Sorry that things had to come out the way they did.

Miri bit her lip a moment. "Did you know? About me, I mean. Aside from my mother being this way, did I ever…"

"Did we see it manifest in you?" Lee clarified.

"Yes."

"Yes, we did. You were very young when you started exhibiting talents. But your mother was able to divert these talents. Distract you from them. It's why your mother insisted you put your energies into your education, not outdoor activities. Activities around too many children."

Miri's nostrils flared at that.

"Would you have ever told me? Would she?"

Lee sighed. "She wanted to. She was having regrets… near the end. But she still feared Palpatin. He swore he wouldn't stop looking for her. If what Obi-Wan says is true, he may not be anymore, now that he has Vader. But I just couldn't live with myself if he knew you existed."

Miri swallowed the urge to lash out at her father. She blinked back tears at having heard her mother might have come clean. But there was nothing to do about that.

"I just don't know how to feel anymore."

"I understand."

"I know now," Miri said simply. "And Obi-Wan is my teacher. Nothing can change that. I'm done with the cantina. I'm not going to one of the Academies, in the Empire, where I could be found out."

"Secretly I had hoped you never would… I'm relieved to hear it's not on your mind."

"But the fact remains. I may not be a student of languages anymore, but I am going to learn from Obi-Wan. I had hoped… It would just be easier if I were there. With him. I didn't have to take the speeder back and forth."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened. He hadn't come to that conclusion with Miri. Not verbally. But he knew Miri had most likely been thinking it too. He opened and closed his mouth. He rubbed at his beard thoughtfully.

"This is something you two have decided?" Lee asked, stoically.

"No, Lee," Obi-Wan said. "But, I had the same thoughts myself. Miri and I… have a special bond. The force connects us."

Lee nodded knowingly, and stared momentarily at his aged hands. "I know of this type of bond. Greta said it guides training between a master and padawan. She had one with Mace Windu. Although, I never understood how, through the bond, Master Windu never knew she was still alive."

"It's the distance," Obi-Wan said, as if reluctantly admitting a secret. "If a master and padawan are separated long enough, far enough… the feeling of absence can feel like a death."

Lee's eyes filled with understanding. He looked from his daughter to the man he still thought was far too old for his daughter.

"So you propose she lives with you?"

Obi-Wan's stomach lurched. "It would be the most logical move."

"Logic, Master Kenobi, is not enough to warrant my daughter moving in with a man to whom she is not married."

The word hung in the air. Obi-Wan and Miri exchanged a look. It was one of knowing.

"That has not been a discussion we have had, Lee." Obi-Wan uncrossed his legs, interlacing his fingers, and resting his arms on his thighs. "It is one that, logically, I know is far too soon. And extremely unorthodox in my case."

"Obi-Wan, everything about you coming into my daughter's life has been unorthodox," Lee admitted with some humor. He shook his head. "No, I must insist… I know that my daughter does not mind gossip, but I will not have her living with a man to whom she is not married. I care about how she is treated by others who might view the two of you living together, unmarried, as a scandal."

"I hardly think you have the right to decide for me. I'm not a child, father," Miri said, a little too indignantly.

"No, you are not," he said with seriousness. "So I expect you to look at this the way I am. Obi-Wan says it is too soon to marry, and I agree. I understand the necessity of living with him, and I will not stop you from doing so, but I beg that you do this the right way. Obi-Wan, if you want my daughter to live with you, you will do right by her. And because you know this to be the right thing, I must ask that you wait before you do so."

"Wait?" Miri asked, confused.

"Give time for an engagement to be natural. Not rushed. Do this the way others in town do. And then you may have my blessing."

"Very well," Obi-Wan said, nodding. He extended a hand to Lee, and they shook hands.

Miri stood with Obi-Wan outside of her home. The suns were setting, casting an orange glow about the back alley of the complex of houses. Beside Obi-Wan's hover bike, he cradled Miri's face in one hand, running a thumb over her cheek, and held the small of her back with the other. Gazing into her eyes, he shook his head in disbelief.

"I have been to more planets than I can count," Obi-Wan started, "I have fought in so many battles, and seen so many evils, but I cannot describe to you how utterly terrified I was to have that conversation with your father."

They both laughed, smiling broadly, unable to hide their elation.

"I know it's unorthodox." Obi-Wan kissed Miri's forehead. "This is absolutely the last thing I expected to happen."

"But it looks like it is," Miri said, incredulous. "Are you sure this isn't… I don't want you to think that this is something you have to do." Her eyes searched his for any hint of doubt. She found none.

"Nonsense." Obi-Wan kissed her lips lightly. "The force has a will of its own. There are many mysteries of the force that are still unknown to me. They may always be unknown to me. But this much I know. Who am I to deny the will of the force?"

Resting her forehead on Obi-Wan's chest, Miri's eyes widened in disbelief. "Alright. I just don't know how long I'm going to be able to stand being apart."

"And how long, exactly, is an engagement on Tatooine?"

"No less than six weeks," she said. "Father is a little old-fashioned, and I know he would want one longer, but… half the girls I grew up with had suspiciously faster-than-normal engagements. It's become kind of the norm. I think we could get away with it."

"Now, who's to say we would be immune to such gossip?" Obi-Wan asked in mock surprise.

"Let's not worry about it right now, ok?" Miri said, bringing her arms around Obi-Wan's neck, pulling him down into another kiss.

The fruits had all been stocked, and Miri had started packing smaller bags with the tealeaves from the large bag they came in. Humming as she worked, Miri's thoughts dwelled on Obi-Wan.

Part of her agreement for a period of engagement, with her father's blessing, was that while she lived at home, she worked the stall to help Bastien and her father. She was perfectly happy to comply with this request. It got her out of the house, kept her out of the cantina, and in six weeks, she would be able to be with Obi-Wan completely, with no expectations from anyone else.

Still daydreaming about Obi-Wan, Miri didn't notice the set of blue-skinned arms that snaked around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug from behind. Instantly, Miri knew whose they were. She smiled into them and hugged back.

"You are absolutely in trouble," she heard Jaki's voice from behind her. Turning, she saw the Twilek who had been her best friend since childhood.

"Why's that?" she asked.

"I had to hear from Mal," she said. "Mal! Our surly boss. I asked why you hadn't come into work now that the Hutt business is over with, and what did he tell me? That you'd gone and gotten yourself engaged and wouldn't be working there anymore."

Miri forced a smile, ducking her head slightly. "I was going to tell you tonight. When you got off work."

From the front of the stall, Bastien cleared his throat, pointedly not turning around to look at the two women gabbing in the back. He scratched at the ledger with a pen, actively listening but not listening. Distracted for only a moment, the two women reverted to their conversation.

"Well, I couldn't wait that long. I'm on my break. So naturally I had to come pester you," Jaki said, sitting on a nearby stool. "Ok, so when?"

"When what?" Miri said, blushing and tucking her hair behind her ear.

"When is this going to happen?"

"Six weeks," Miri said, tying a bag up, and stacking it with the others.

"I can't believe it. Ben Kenobi… What an enigma."

"I know, I hardly believe it myself."

"Well," Jaki said, "how'd he do it? How'd he ask?"

"Well, he didn't exactly ask or anything, it just sort of—"

Bastien let out a sigh from the front of the stall. Miri pressed her lips together for a moment.

"It's not really all that great of a story," Miri said, stalling her friend. She honestly hadn't thought of what she'd tell people when they asked. She made a note to herself to come up with a story to feed people when they did. "I don't want to take up too much of your break. I will see you after your shift is over. I'll come by the cantina after, how's that sound?"

"Ok, fine," Jaki said, standing and pulling her friend into a hug. "But I expect all the mush."

Miri nodded. "Of course."

When Jaki had gone, Miri watched as Bastien flipped a page with much more gusto than was necessary. She waited a few moments before speaking to him, his back still turned.

"You know, I never got to thank you for helping my father when the Hutts had me."

Bastien nodded silently. "Let's hope that doesn't happen again."

Miri sat dumbfounded. "What is that supposed to mean?" She stood, approaching Bastien, and standing beside him, forcing him to look at her.

"I respect your father is all," he said, setting his pen down. "He's a good man, and the last thing I want is for him to have to run around after his daughter. Seeing him so distraught… No father should go through that."

Miri couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Unless I'm mistaken, Bastien, it was my own father who took a loan from the Hutts. And it was me who helped pay it off. Or did you forget that entirely?" She paused, waiting for an answer. "No, on second thought, I don't see why it concerns you in the least."

She turned on her heels, and retreated to the back of the tent. Bastien followed her. She turned, having felt him behind her.

"He's no good for you," he said, towering over her.

"My father?" Miri knew exactly who he meant, but wanted to allow him to walk himself out of the mess he was about to get himself into.

"Ben Kenobi," he said simply, setting his jaw.

"I don't see how it's any of your business," Miri said, trying to take calming breaths. She could feel the force practically crackling around her. She would lose control quickly if Bastien did not let up.

"It should have been." Bastien's green eyes burned with a fire that unsettled Miri.

"That's right, I forgot," she said, setting her hands on her hips. "My father had some foolish notion that you and I would get along. That he could hand pick my husband for me. That I'd have someone to 'take care' of me. I can take care of myself just fine."

"Is that what you call the business with the Hutts?" Bastien asked, glowering down at her.

Miri's face burned. She would not allow herself to get flustered. "I am far more capable than you know. But you…" Miri could feel herself sinking deeper into her anger. "You barely feel like your life is under your control."

She began to reach forth into the front of Bastien's mind. Her judgment clouded with anger. "The last two women you courted rejected you. We both know why. But I'm telling you now, I never rejected you, because I was never going to be yours. I owe you nothing."

Bastien stepped back a pace, frightened at the accuracy of Miri's words. He racked his brain for how Miri knew about the other women he'd tried to court. Mos Eisley could seem like a small place, but in their case, they had enough degrees of separation that her words felt far too exact.

"I don't know who you've been talking to," Bastien started, "but what ever you've heard…" He shook his head, unsure how to finish the sentence.

"It doesn't matter," Miri said, chastising herself for reaching too far into Bastien's subconscious, out of anger. "I'm just here to help, Bastien. I hope we can work together amicably. While I'm still here. If not because it's the proper thing to do, then try to keep your thoughts to yourself for my father's sake. If you respect him as much as you say you do."

Bastien swallowed. He had no desire to lose his position, and by extension, the very business he was to take over upon Lee's retirement. Still, beneath his skin he itched with irritation at the accuracy of Miri's words.

Saying nothing, Bastien returned to his bookwork, but still, he vowed to find out exactly what Miri knew about him. And how.

AN: Ok, I wrote something I completely despise seeing in most fanfics... a quick engagement. But I promise I'm being thoughtful in my intentions. There is a purpose for everything.

With that said, I hope this brightens your weekends, as I know I love when my favorite fics are updated. Hoping to keep up the trend of regular updates. Your reviews, follows and favorites are the fuel for that. I truly appreciate each of you taking the time to review or add a comment. Enjoy, and happy weekend!