[b]Chapter17[/b]
"Would you stop pacing?" Brady asked his apprentice as he sat in one of the large armchairs of their villa's living room, an open book spread across his lap.
"You stop pacing." She said as she once more walked past the large glass doors that overlooked the lake that lay outside their temporary home.
"I'm sitting." He said as he continued to watcher her pace, becoming dizzy from her movement and the movement of the water behind her. Sighing he pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down onto his lap, staring at the cover of his book. He would never be able to read in peace.
"Glad to know you listened to me." She said continuing her trek, never glancing in his direction.
"Chloe, come here please." He said marking the page of his book and closing it, placing it on the table next to the chair.
"What?" She stopped, finally looking in his direction. She could see the irritation that lay on his face as he folded his hands within his Jedi robe. With his arms crossed underneath and the look upon his face, Chloe knew that it was not the time to argue. Sighing she walked over to wear he sat and flopped down onto the floor in front of him. Crossing her legs beneath her robe she leaned back on her arms to look up at him. "What is it Master?"
"Could you please explain to me why you have been pacing in front of that window for the past hour? Is it just to drive me insane or do you have a valid reason for it?"
"While I do admit that it would be fun to drive you insane Master, if I have this time it was in no way intentional. It's just, well I just can't stand being cooped up in here. Just.waiting." She sighed. "I mean aren't you sick of it? How can you just sit there and read when a war is raging outside these doors? The whole galaxy is in turmoil and we have to wait here for something bad to happen before we can help. My sister has been delayed further and is now en route to Coruscant. We haven't heard from the council, nor from the government here, and I have been stuck in this house with you since our arrival four days ago and I am about to loose my mind!" Chloe exclaimed.
"Okay, so you are trying to drive me insane then. Figured as much." Brady mumbled as he stood up from his chair, careful not to bump into her as he did so. Once standing he reached his hand down to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her up to him. Once standing her looked over her face, mere inches from his own. Her blazing eyes, her heated skin, her disheveled hair. Slowly he lifted his free hand to cup her cheek, his skin burning from the single touch. He ran his fingers over it briefly as he allowed his hand to trail up the side of her face, stopping by her ear where he placed a single strand of loose hair behind it. He could feel her breath hitch from the single gesture, and he wanted nothing more than to lean down and kiss her lips. Take the full ripe blossoms within his own. Groaning he pulled his hand away. Now was not the time. Like she said, war was looming and he could not, would not, take advantage of her state. He needed to settle her nerves, not his desires. Once more he looked down into her questioning eyes, and for the briefest of seconds he could have sworn he saw the same desire that his eyes nearly always held in her present, in her own. He couldn't tear himself away but she did it for him, shaking her head and looking down towards the floor. With his other hand still within hers he pulled her towards the large glass doors. "Come with me."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So, this is your brilliant idea to cure my cabin fever?" Chloe asked as Brady cut the motor of the large boat they had rented. The short boat ride had been silent as the wind whipped past them, the only sound the boats motor against the waves. As she looked around outside of the boat, she noticed that their destination was nowhere. They sat, unmoving, in the middle of the water, no land in site, just the vast blue liquid that surrounded them.
"No, it's to cure mine. I plan on dumping the body here, then heading back to civilization, my brain still intact."
"Oh, now that was [b]my[/b] plan." She joked with him as she finally saw his face crack a smile. "Can I ask you a question? How come you don't have cabin fever? Aren't you as addled as I am?"
"Probably more so Chloe. I honestly didn't think that I would be able to handle living with you in the middle of no where, and I had also assumed that we would not be stuck there alone for as long as we have. But then it hit me one night. I may be uncomfortable and bored being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a person who is not entirely found of me." He said choosing his words carefully. "And I may not like siting back and doing nothing. But what occurred to me was, do I wish that this beautiful land be attacked just so I can be free of my confines? Isn't it better to be stuck and waiting for it means that as of that moment the people here are safe? Your family is safe. We are safe." He said sincerely as he watched the emotions on her face change, from joking indifference to shame to what appeared to be adoration.
"Thank you. I've been so wrapped up in what I was feeling that I didn't see the larger picture. I've been nothing but snippy to you and you have been doing nothing but worrying about my family and me and focusing on that instead of yourself. You are a good man Brady Black and I am sorry for ever thinking otherwise."
"I was just doing what any Jedi would do."
"No you weren't. And you know that. Easing my mind is not something you were obligated to do. It's what your heart told you to do. Thank you for listening to it."
"Like I said, it's nothing." He said blushing from her praise. Who knew that for once saying and doing what his heart said instead of his defensive brain, that things would go his way. "Besides you would do the same thing for me."
"Before now I question if I would. I know that I have said that I wanted to be more than a Padawan to you. That I wanted to be a friend. But I have not shown you as such. I mean, I don't even know where you are from."
"Neither do I." He said shortly, as she gave him a questioning look. "I was taken nearly from birth, much like you, but was never told of my family or my home. I don't know if it was their choice or the council's, but I have never known. Most Jedi never interact with their family but they know where they are from. I don't. I mean you know probably more of your family, even though you have not visited with them, mostly because you have had a sister in the spotlight. You have seen them visibly from a far. You've studied your home and fell in love with it, without even remembering being there. I don't have that."
"Is that why you then have looked down on my relationships. My strong belief in family?" She questioned.
"Perhaps subconsciously. It has most to do with a Jedi's position of duty and honor, our vows. That is why I am against your priorities lying with the people in your life. But maybe also because I have wished, deep down, for family, with every fiber of my being. And it's funny to say, because of our past problems, that you are the closest thing to anyone caring for me that I have ever had."
"But what about your Master?" Chloe asked as she watched his face become hard.
"My Master was cold and unfeeling. He taught me what it meant to be a Jedi, and I did what he said to the letter. He was not the warm caring Master I have heard you speak of. Nor the dutiful father figure I have seen Master Kenobi be to Anakin. And suffice it to say, I have learned all that I am from that man. I have kept myself guarded and alone out in the middle of nowhere on my missions. Having the council give me you goes against all that I have known. You are passionate, caring, loving, and you want to share that with everyone. And I honestly do not know how too handle that. Being around you has had me questioning my entire existence. And I don't like that. I don't know what to do with that. Can you honestly say that you do?"
"Since the moment I met you, I have never know what to do or think or feel next. So, I can not honestly tell you I have no answers for you." She said truthfully. Since he began his heartfelt diatribe, she did not know what to think. He knew more about more than she ever cared for him to, and now she was gaining insight into him. And knew not what to do with it. "But I can tell you that if you want a home, Naboo is an excellent place to have as one. So, take it for yours and I'll tell no one otherwise. Besides you've been here as much as me and I am a native, so as a native I say you can be too."
"Good. Because this place is beautiful and I would have done so without your permission."
"Then I'll give you permission for something else Brady. Since you've taken on my home world, perhaps then you will take something else from me. If you wish, you can consider me family. That way you will never feel alone." Chloe said smiling at him, the light glistening off of the water as well as his golden hair.
"You already are apart of me Chloe. But thank you for saying so."
"So, I think then you need to be cleansed into the family. It's a Naboo thing if you are wondering. And since you're a native now."
"Okay, what do I have to do?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"This." Chloe said placing her hands upon his chest and pushing him square into the water, laughing as she watched the top of his blonde head bob near the surface, finally emerging drenched.
"You think that's funny right?" He asked as he continued to float a few yards away from the boat.
"Extremely." She said still laughing as he began to swim over, finally reaching as he placed a hand upon the edge of the boat. Reaching over she grabbed a hold of his wrist and pulled him in, his whole body sopping. Smirking he reached down and pulled his cloak off of him, revealing his soaked through pants and shirt, the tan color hiding almost nothing. Trying desperately not to stare, Chloe reached down to remove her own robe and handed it over to him, which he quickly used to attempt to dry off. After he dried his hair and face, Brady draped it across himself, his body shivering as a cool wind surrounded them. "I take it by the look on your face that we should perhaps head back home?"
"Unless you want me to throw you into the water then?" He asked pouting as she quickly leaned over him to start the motor.
"Home it is." She said steering the boat in the direction of their villa, all the while trying to keep from laughing at her drowned Master. And he was right. This was a lot more fun then pacing around a house. If only it could last forever.
"Would you stop pacing?" Brady asked his apprentice as he sat in one of the large armchairs of their villa's living room, an open book spread across his lap.
"You stop pacing." She said as she once more walked past the large glass doors that overlooked the lake that lay outside their temporary home.
"I'm sitting." He said as he continued to watcher her pace, becoming dizzy from her movement and the movement of the water behind her. Sighing he pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down onto his lap, staring at the cover of his book. He would never be able to read in peace.
"Glad to know you listened to me." She said continuing her trek, never glancing in his direction.
"Chloe, come here please." He said marking the page of his book and closing it, placing it on the table next to the chair.
"What?" She stopped, finally looking in his direction. She could see the irritation that lay on his face as he folded his hands within his Jedi robe. With his arms crossed underneath and the look upon his face, Chloe knew that it was not the time to argue. Sighing she walked over to wear he sat and flopped down onto the floor in front of him. Crossing her legs beneath her robe she leaned back on her arms to look up at him. "What is it Master?"
"Could you please explain to me why you have been pacing in front of that window for the past hour? Is it just to drive me insane or do you have a valid reason for it?"
"While I do admit that it would be fun to drive you insane Master, if I have this time it was in no way intentional. It's just, well I just can't stand being cooped up in here. Just.waiting." She sighed. "I mean aren't you sick of it? How can you just sit there and read when a war is raging outside these doors? The whole galaxy is in turmoil and we have to wait here for something bad to happen before we can help. My sister has been delayed further and is now en route to Coruscant. We haven't heard from the council, nor from the government here, and I have been stuck in this house with you since our arrival four days ago and I am about to loose my mind!" Chloe exclaimed.
"Okay, so you are trying to drive me insane then. Figured as much." Brady mumbled as he stood up from his chair, careful not to bump into her as he did so. Once standing he reached his hand down to her, grabbing her hand and pulling her up to him. Once standing her looked over her face, mere inches from his own. Her blazing eyes, her heated skin, her disheveled hair. Slowly he lifted his free hand to cup her cheek, his skin burning from the single touch. He ran his fingers over it briefly as he allowed his hand to trail up the side of her face, stopping by her ear where he placed a single strand of loose hair behind it. He could feel her breath hitch from the single gesture, and he wanted nothing more than to lean down and kiss her lips. Take the full ripe blossoms within his own. Groaning he pulled his hand away. Now was not the time. Like she said, war was looming and he could not, would not, take advantage of her state. He needed to settle her nerves, not his desires. Once more he looked down into her questioning eyes, and for the briefest of seconds he could have sworn he saw the same desire that his eyes nearly always held in her present, in her own. He couldn't tear himself away but she did it for him, shaking her head and looking down towards the floor. With his other hand still within hers he pulled her towards the large glass doors. "Come with me."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"So, this is your brilliant idea to cure my cabin fever?" Chloe asked as Brady cut the motor of the large boat they had rented. The short boat ride had been silent as the wind whipped past them, the only sound the boats motor against the waves. As she looked around outside of the boat, she noticed that their destination was nowhere. They sat, unmoving, in the middle of the water, no land in site, just the vast blue liquid that surrounded them.
"No, it's to cure mine. I plan on dumping the body here, then heading back to civilization, my brain still intact."
"Oh, now that was [b]my[/b] plan." She joked with him as she finally saw his face crack a smile. "Can I ask you a question? How come you don't have cabin fever? Aren't you as addled as I am?"
"Probably more so Chloe. I honestly didn't think that I would be able to handle living with you in the middle of no where, and I had also assumed that we would not be stuck there alone for as long as we have. But then it hit me one night. I may be uncomfortable and bored being stuck in the middle of nowhere with a person who is not entirely found of me." He said choosing his words carefully. "And I may not like siting back and doing nothing. But what occurred to me was, do I wish that this beautiful land be attacked just so I can be free of my confines? Isn't it better to be stuck and waiting for it means that as of that moment the people here are safe? Your family is safe. We are safe." He said sincerely as he watched the emotions on her face change, from joking indifference to shame to what appeared to be adoration.
"Thank you. I've been so wrapped up in what I was feeling that I didn't see the larger picture. I've been nothing but snippy to you and you have been doing nothing but worrying about my family and me and focusing on that instead of yourself. You are a good man Brady Black and I am sorry for ever thinking otherwise."
"I was just doing what any Jedi would do."
"No you weren't. And you know that. Easing my mind is not something you were obligated to do. It's what your heart told you to do. Thank you for listening to it."
"Like I said, it's nothing." He said blushing from her praise. Who knew that for once saying and doing what his heart said instead of his defensive brain, that things would go his way. "Besides you would do the same thing for me."
"Before now I question if I would. I know that I have said that I wanted to be more than a Padawan to you. That I wanted to be a friend. But I have not shown you as such. I mean, I don't even know where you are from."
"Neither do I." He said shortly, as she gave him a questioning look. "I was taken nearly from birth, much like you, but was never told of my family or my home. I don't know if it was their choice or the council's, but I have never known. Most Jedi never interact with their family but they know where they are from. I don't. I mean you know probably more of your family, even though you have not visited with them, mostly because you have had a sister in the spotlight. You have seen them visibly from a far. You've studied your home and fell in love with it, without even remembering being there. I don't have that."
"Is that why you then have looked down on my relationships. My strong belief in family?" She questioned.
"Perhaps subconsciously. It has most to do with a Jedi's position of duty and honor, our vows. That is why I am against your priorities lying with the people in your life. But maybe also because I have wished, deep down, for family, with every fiber of my being. And it's funny to say, because of our past problems, that you are the closest thing to anyone caring for me that I have ever had."
"But what about your Master?" Chloe asked as she watched his face become hard.
"My Master was cold and unfeeling. He taught me what it meant to be a Jedi, and I did what he said to the letter. He was not the warm caring Master I have heard you speak of. Nor the dutiful father figure I have seen Master Kenobi be to Anakin. And suffice it to say, I have learned all that I am from that man. I have kept myself guarded and alone out in the middle of nowhere on my missions. Having the council give me you goes against all that I have known. You are passionate, caring, loving, and you want to share that with everyone. And I honestly do not know how too handle that. Being around you has had me questioning my entire existence. And I don't like that. I don't know what to do with that. Can you honestly say that you do?"
"Since the moment I met you, I have never know what to do or think or feel next. So, I can not honestly tell you I have no answers for you." She said truthfully. Since he began his heartfelt diatribe, she did not know what to think. He knew more about more than she ever cared for him to, and now she was gaining insight into him. And knew not what to do with it. "But I can tell you that if you want a home, Naboo is an excellent place to have as one. So, take it for yours and I'll tell no one otherwise. Besides you've been here as much as me and I am a native, so as a native I say you can be too."
"Good. Because this place is beautiful and I would have done so without your permission."
"Then I'll give you permission for something else Brady. Since you've taken on my home world, perhaps then you will take something else from me. If you wish, you can consider me family. That way you will never feel alone." Chloe said smiling at him, the light glistening off of the water as well as his golden hair.
"You already are apart of me Chloe. But thank you for saying so."
"So, I think then you need to be cleansed into the family. It's a Naboo thing if you are wondering. And since you're a native now."
"Okay, what do I have to do?" He asked raising an eyebrow.
"This." Chloe said placing her hands upon his chest and pushing him square into the water, laughing as she watched the top of his blonde head bob near the surface, finally emerging drenched.
"You think that's funny right?" He asked as he continued to float a few yards away from the boat.
"Extremely." She said still laughing as he began to swim over, finally reaching as he placed a hand upon the edge of the boat. Reaching over she grabbed a hold of his wrist and pulled him in, his whole body sopping. Smirking he reached down and pulled his cloak off of him, revealing his soaked through pants and shirt, the tan color hiding almost nothing. Trying desperately not to stare, Chloe reached down to remove her own robe and handed it over to him, which he quickly used to attempt to dry off. After he dried his hair and face, Brady draped it across himself, his body shivering as a cool wind surrounded them. "I take it by the look on your face that we should perhaps head back home?"
"Unless you want me to throw you into the water then?" He asked pouting as she quickly leaned over him to start the motor.
"Home it is." She said steering the boat in the direction of their villa, all the while trying to keep from laughing at her drowned Master. And he was right. This was a lot more fun then pacing around a house. If only it could last forever.