"I did not know that you would be at the Jedi council tonight." The sun had stained the clouds blood red, the orange outline of the horizon blinding. The white granite of the balcony glittered in the setting sun and cast an eerie white glow in the water below. She turned and smiled, showing all her pearly white teeth, and he wondered for a moment when that smile had found a way to become even more striking.
"I did not know myself." She said turning back to look at the skies of Naboo. "I was here, on assignment. Master Windu contacted me, requested my presence. I must admit I was intrigued when I was informed that you were here with your apprentice." He could see the words "The Chosen One" floating through her head. There was an easy silence as they cast side ways glances, appraising each other secretly.
"You've changed." He finally said. She smiled and pulled her long blonde hair over the shoulder of her blue Jedi robes and watched him.
"So have you." She studied him a moment. "Your face isn't bald anymore." He laughed heartily at this. He stroked his beard.
"No, I suppose it has been a while since boyhood." He said thoughtfully.
"Not so long." She said smiling. "I can still see little Obi-Won inside you, Kenobi."
"Why did you always call me by Kenobi? You were the only one." He said watching her face, trying to utilize his natural empathic abilities. "It always felt so formal." She shrugged, couldn't look at him.
"I suppose that was the allure." She said wistfully. "If I couldn't keep you at arm's length…" She shook her head then looked at him. "It was a way to distance you in my head." He frowned slightly, not even noticing that she'd stepped slightly toward him.
"Why would you want to …?" He asked, not realizing they were now facing each other, less than a foot away. She laughed softly, his liquid blue eyes meeting her piercing green ones.
"Think Kenobi. If you stop and think… you'll see it." She said it all in a whisper, as if it were so fragile it would break if said any louder. She raised a hand to his cheek, the new feeling of her fingers on his whiskers making her breath come out slightly shallow.
He opened his mouth, but the only thing, the only explanation – it was too scandalous to speak aloud. He searched her eyes for any sign she was perhaps being misread.
Malena inched forward, and all he could see were her large green eyes, dark tufts of black lashes framing them. Her pale cheeks, the apples lined with a faint blush, her nose sprinkled with small freckles. She was perfect. He was dumbstruck by her perfection. His large, rough tanned hand caressed her soft cheek, and he watched the long lashes fall against those cheeks, her lips beckoning him forward. He leaned forward, not closing his eyes, afraid he might miss some small detail of her face.
It was the longest three seconds of his lifetime.