CHAPTER 35: Is It Love?
Angela and Obiwan walked in silence all the way back to the apartment. Upon walking inside again, Angela was immediately greeted by Anakin who came running in from the kitchen.
"Angela!" he exclaimed happily while he ran up to embrace her, "I'm so glad you're back!" Angela hugged the young boy and laughed softly at his enthusiasm.
"I didn't realize I would be missed so much." She lightly teased while Anakin released her and followed along side her as she moved further into the apartment. Obiwan walked by Angela and headed straight for his room without a word or glance. She watched him disappear while hundreds of thoughts ran through her head.
"What am I gonna do about him?" she asked herself; Angela was brought back to her senses by Qui Gon's voice coming from the kitchen.
"Ani, lunch is ready!" he called
"Ok!" Anakin called back before he turned to Angela, "You coming Angela?" he asked curiously
"Uh, you go ahead Ani, I'm gonna go find my saber and when I have it, I'll join you at the table." She replied; Anakin shrugged his shoulders as her response
"Ok." He answered before he ran back into the kitchen. Once he was gone, Angela began to walk around the apartment in search of her weapon. After five minutes of searching, she found it lying neatly on a small coffee table in front of the hologram. She quickly picked it up in her left hand and just like she promised, she went to join Anakin and Qui Gon in the kitchen. She found them both sitting at a table eating their lunches; Angela silently moved on in and took a seat beside Anakin. Qui Gon glanced up from his food and gave a small friendly smile,
"Did you enjoy the tour?" he asked before he looked back down at his food.
"Yeah…it was nice, I learned a lot today." She answered, "….a lot indeed…" she softly added thinking about what Obiwan had told her.
"That's good to hear. So what happened to my apprentice?" he asked curiously,
"Oh…uh he went to his room for some reason." She answered
"I see…." Qui Gon murmured, not sounding surprised at his apprentice's disappearance, "He has been doing that a lot lately." He mumbled; Angela sat up straighter, suddenly becoming very interested,
"He has?" she asked curiously
"Yes…don't know why though. He wasn't like this before the mission. He began acting abnormally once we got to Tatooine." Qui Gon informed; Angela's eyes lit up in remembrance of the events that had happened on Tatooine between him and her.
"……strange….." she murmured innocently.
"Very…..oh and by the way, can I get you anything Angela?" He asked
"Hmm? Oh no thank you Qui Gon. Thanks for the offer though." She politely replied
"No problem Angela." He answered. As Angela sat in silence a t the table, a strong restless feeling started to grow within in, and she knew that she had to walk around.
"Uh Qui Gon?" she suddenly spoke up, "I know this is random, but would you mind if I had a look around?" she asked,
"No go right on ahead." He answered; with a small smile and nod of thanks with her head, Angela rose from the table and swiftly left the kitchen. As she stepped into the living room of the apartment, Angela spotted some picture frames above a fireplace mantel. Drawn to them by curiosity she made her way over and stopped in front of it and looked up at the pictures. The first picture she looked at was one with a young, skinny boy who looked to be a few years older than Anakin with familiar blue-green eyes who stood next to a towering and younger looking Qui Gon. A small smile came to her face and a tiny laugh escaped her lips as she studied the younger version of Obiwan. As her eyes traveled down the neat row of pictures on display, she got to see Obiwan transform from young boy, to young man. A light, warm feeling arose from inside Angela; her heart quickened its pace and butterflies took over her senses. Angela wrapped her arms tightly around herself and she bit her lower lip in deep thought,
"What am I gonna tell Obiwan?" she asked herself, "……..I don't know!!!!" her mind screamed. Angela groaned softly and began to pace back in forth across the living room, She, after a few minutes, stopped her pacing and began to think long and hard about her life now, her feelings for Obiwan and all the possibilities. But she still couldn't come to a decision, "How did this happen?" she asked out loud
"How did what happen?" a curious voice spoke from behind her, Angela spun around to see that Obiwan had apparently come out of his room.
"Uhhh…..nothing, I was just talking to myself." She mumbled softly. Obiwan raised an amused eyebrow at here,
"Do you do that often?" he questioned teasingly,
"As of lately……yes." Angela honestly answered. Obiwan smiled as he then walked up to her and took her by her hand,
"Come out to the balcony with me." he whispered. Before she could open her mouth to reply, he led her over to two doors on the right side of the fireplace and opened one up; then he stepped outside and pulled Angela along behind him. Once they stood outside he closed the door behind them; Angela faced Obiwan, who stood in front of the doors,
"What's this all about?" She asked curiously; Obiwan looked down at her and smiled,
"I decided that there was one more thing I wanted to show you before the 'tour' was officially over." He answered; Angela raised an eyebrow up at the tall Jedi before her.
"Which is?" she asked.
"Close your eyes."
"What!?"
"Trust me Angela, just close your eyes." He pleaded softly. Angela gave him a soft glare of suspicion before she let out a sigh of defeat,
"Alright fine, I'll go along with this." She mumbled before she closed her eyes. Obiwan, who still held her by the hand, moved around her and turned her away from the doors,
"Follow me Angela." He said while he began taking a few steps backward leading Angela close to the balcony's railing. With a little resistance in her step, she moved slowly to where Obiwan was directing her to, and she stopped when she felt a solid barrier hit her knees,
"Obiwan, what is this?" she asked, her brows furrowed in deep thought.
"It's just a railing, nothing to worry about. Now, Angela I need you to do something else for me,"
"What Obiwan?"
"I need you to step up onto the lower part of the railing."
"Say what?" she asked in disbelief,
"If you need to, hold onto the railing with your han….oh you've got your saber….let me see that for a second." He asked as he lightly removed it from Angela's left hand; she heard him set it up against the railing beside her. Then she felt him take up both her hands in his and lift them up so they now rested on top of the railing; it was cold beneath her hands but smooth like marble.
"Now step up." He softly ordered and Angela hesitantly raised one of her feet off the ground and searched for the place Obiwan was asking her to put it; the place was half a foot off the ground and once her foot was secure on it, her other foot followed and she stepped up. The top part of the railing, where her hands now gripped tightly for support and balance, now reached her hips, "I swear Obiwan Kenobi, if you push me off this darn thing, I'm taking you with me…" she muttered under her breath before she quickly added "…..anything else?" she asked as she steadied herself on what felt like a thick bar under her feet, "…..please say no." she begged. Obiwan, who stood behind her, chuckled at her threat and plea,
"That's all." He murmured to her relief and she let out a sigh,
"So……why did you want me to do this again?" she questioned, her eyes still closed tightly; Obiwan leaned down close to her left ear,
"See for yourself." He whispered. His words and nearness sent small shivers down her back, and after taking a deep breath in, she slowly opened her eyes. She let out a small gasp of surprise and her eyes widened in awe,
"Oh Obiwan," she breathed out, "It's beautiful." She whispered. Angela stood high looking out at one of the most breathtaking sites she has ever seen. She had the perfect view of the City that stretched on for miles; her eyes traced over everything from the towering buildings in the far distance, to the bustling streets beyond the Temple. Angela glanced up at the sky and found that it had cleared, and was a deep blue with the sun shining brightly above; then she leaned over a bit to glance below her and found that she was actually a lot higher up than she had imagined by a couple hundred feet.
"Wow……" she murmured as she looked back up, a smile had appeared on her face, "We're so high up….and standing like this makes me feel like we're flying." She giggled softly then glanced over her shoulder at Obiwan, who still stood behind her closely. Obiwan's eyes were gazing loving upon Angela's face as he softly smiled at her comment,
"No…," he murmured before he reached for Angela's hands again and lightly pulled them off the railing, then he stretched both their arms out like wings, "…..now we're flying." He gently corrected. A full smile spread itself slowly across Angela's face, and a soft twinkle lit up her eyes as she stared at Obiwan over her shoulder. A light also shone brightly within Obiwan's own eyes as he smiled back, and Angela found herself completely drawn into his two beautiful blue-green orbs. Almost like she had lost control of her body, her arms slowly pulled themselves to cross her front, bringing Obiwan's strong arms around her waist. She lightly placed her hands under his forearms as she felt them wrap securely around her body and she angled it slightly so she could get a better view of Obiwan behind her. Her eyes then softly began to trace his handsome face before they flickered down to his lips then back up to his tender gaze. Obiwan gave her a tiny smile before he stepped closer to her so that his chest was against her back, and she willingly leaned back into it; their gazes not once ever left each other's faces. Then slowly, Obiwan started to lean his head down, and Angela, without hesitation, tilted her head back. Her eyes closed again when she felt Obiwan's soft, warm lips against her own. A sudden spark of electricity shot through Angela's entire body during their kiss, and she was certain that Obiwan had felt it too. When they finally pulled away, they were breathless, Angela in particular. She gazed up deeply into Obiwan's eyes and saw a love within them, a deep passionate love that took her breath away and ignited a flame deep inside her heart. When Obiwan leaned his head down again so that his forehead rested against hers, she couldn't help but whisper to him,
"I think I've fallen completely in love with you, Obiwan Kenobi." And as those words left her lips, she was absolutely positive about them. As her words sunk in, a small loving smile came to Obiwan's face as he gazed down at her,
"And I with you, Angela Johnson." He whispered back before he pulled away and planted a soft adoring kiss on her forehead.