Disclaimer and such in Part 1
After a standard lunar cycle of endless wandering, the
excitement Padme and Obi-wan had first felt, had worn off. They had known
it was going to take awhile to reach their
destination, since their current galaxy was huge already,
but the reality was only hitting them now.
However, a month isolated on a spaceship did have its advantages.
For instance, the Padawans were able to get even closer
in their relationship, not to mention their mental bond. No more did they
constantly tease eachother, although it still
happened. Instead, they would sit down and talk for hours
on end, have sparing sessions, and sometimes Padme would even get Obi-wan
to listen to her while she taught him to garden and dance. In return, though,
she would have stay awake through his attempts to teach her how to play
some sort of running and catching a ball while trying not to be tackled
thing. Padme never really understood what it was, or what the point could
possibly be.
Of course, this never took time away from their daily
training and lessons, or meditation and down time with their masters. In
reality, their schedules were very strict. They
only had a couple hours of free time to do anything they
wanted. This was mostly because they did have to help operate the ship
and keep it in prime condition.
The midday break was Padme's favorite time to spend with Obi-wan, since it was so long.
She was, in fact, beginning it at the moment.
She wore her usual friendly smile, as she walked down and twisted through the several corridors that separated her and her best friend. Her long, gray cloak billowed behind her.
~Padme?~ She heard Obi-wan through her mind.
~Sorry I'm late, but the ship logs caught a glitch and Qui-gon wouldn't let me leave until it was fixed.~
She nodded her head to an officer as she passed him.
~I'll be there in only a moment. No need to call for a search party.~
Obi-wan smirked in the make-shift sitting area of his quarters. Good to her word, Padme entered through the door seconds later.
He stood up to greet her.
They sat for a while just talking about this and that.
When the conversation turned to training, Padme stood up and started pushing
the furniture out of the center of the
room.
"Um, Pad, what are you doing?"
"Well we were talking about training, and tonight Qui-gon is testing me on levitation. I was thinking that we could do a little practice? I could certainly use some good advice."
"Of course." Obi-wan moved to one side of the room. "Why don't we try some suspending jumps and then move to actual levitation just to get your mindset right."
"Stand about ten paces away from me......good. Now, lunge at me and act as if you're going to plant your feet straight down onto my chest."
It was quite a simple thing he was asking her really. Padme had done it many many times before, but, she had never gotten it completely down.
Nevertheless, if she was going to pass her test, she needed to practice. So, crouching down and closing her eyes, Padme jumped.
It worked, for the most part anyway. She got about halfway to him when she fell.
Growling, she stood up and walked back to her starting position.
"It's okay, it was a good first try, but don't forget to keep in tune with the Living Force. Close your eyes and concentrate."
She nodded her head slightly, and closed her eyes again.
She could feel the life giving energy all around and through her. With
each pulsating moment, a wave of warmth
racked her body. All she had to do, now, was tap into
it.
She opened her eyes after a moment or two and jumped again.
This time, however, Padme had too much power. She jumped
over him and hit her head on the high ceiling. That in itself, caused her
to lose concentration and fall straight
down.
Obi-wan quickly rushed under her and caught her falling
body, but the impact of the action caused them both to go tumbling to the
floor. Absent-mindedly, Obi-wan's form
pressed firmly on top of hers.
Padme burst out laughing. He was soon to follow.
"Some advice." She giggled and stared up at him.
"I didn't think you'd take it that much to heart."
They continued their giggle fest for a few more minutes, but their laughing soon subsided as they finally realized how they were lying.
Her eyes instantly locked with his. The stare seemed to
last for an eternity to them. Both were shielding their thoughts from the
other, although they were thinking the exact
same thing.
Coughing, Padme rolled out from under him and stood up.
"I'd better go. Thanks for the advice." It all came out too quickly and she knew he noticed.
To avoid further embarrassment, she about faced and made a hasty exit, leaving Obi-wan lying on the floor with a bewildered stare.
The two Padawans religiously avoided each other for the rest of the day, each desperately not wanting to look the other in the face.
Not only that, though, the confusing thing for both, was that they enjoyed the closeness and the attraction that passed between them.
'It's a strange feeling to all of a sudden have unclean thoughts about your best friend,' Padme thought. 'Not a bad feeling, just a strange one.'
She needed time to think.
The Force wouldn't allow that though, for when she entered her quarters that evening to sleep, a message went through the whole ship.
"This is your captain speaking. All aboard, we've made it. Iagone is in site!"
"Just my luck." Padme groaned.
Sitting back up from her bed, she huffed and headed to the cockpit.
When she entered, her breath was completely taken away.
Through the glass was the most beautiful planet she had ever seen.
Brilliant white clouds moved swiftly across the sky, while the interior consisted of every color green imaginable. She could've sworn she saw the the color pulsating.
Obi-wan entered a moment later.
Padme glimpsed at him sheepishly but quickly looked away before he could notice.
Qui-gon and Rohhe exchanged inquiring glances but went back to viewing Iagone.
"Wow, it really is something." Captain Penkin breathed.
"It looks so peaceful." Padme commented staring intently so she wouldn't have to look at anybody else, namely Obi-wan.
"I'm sure the people and the planet are..."
Before the captain could finish a huge explosion jolted the entire ship.
tbc..