Firstencounterspart2
It was strange enough to see Obi-Wan looking unnerved, but having him in exercise clothes as well as a state of abject misery was truly something to behold. The word 'fidgeting' didn't even begin to describe it.
Even worse, Noela wasn't due to arrive for another hour.
"What's your sentence again?" Obi-Wan asked impatiently.
Qui-Gon cast a disapproving look on his Padawan, but Obi-Wan was obviously too preoccupied to notice.
"I am privileged," he corrected, "not sentenced and I am privileged to be escorting the concertmistress of the Coronet Philharmonic."
Obi-Wan made a noise that suggested he'd swallowed his own tongue, drawing another reproachful glare from his Master.
"What now?" Qui-Gon inquired.
"Typical," Obi-Wan said grouchily. "You'll always find yourself with some high-born or overachieving beauty while I'm consigned to a fate of cast-offs."
He was surprised to find himself so flustered so immediately. "Noela is not a cast-off!" he protested.
"Fine," Obi-Wan grunted unhappily, "but last year, I was assigned to the Gand delegation's resident nymphomaniac."
"Obi-Wan!"
"What?" he protested. "It's true!"
"Be that as it may," Qui-Gon spluttered, "you're too young to pass that kind of judgment on anyone, much less a diplomat."
"Yes, Master," Obi-Wan said emotionlessly.
"And moreover, you're too young to know that word!"
"Well, you're not setting the best example, either!" Obi-Wan shot back.
"It's not that kind of relationship!"
The door chimed, interrupting the argument and Qui-Gon's brow furrowed immediately as he sensed Noela outside.
"What is she doing..."
It was too late to wonder, however, since Obi-Wan palmed the door open to welcome their guest...
And froze dead in his tracks.
In hindsight, Qui-Gon reflected, it was probably entirely his fault. He had warned Noela to put Obi-Wan at ease, not dressing as if she were off to a Senatorial recpetion. Obi-Wan, for his part, had wisely come up with an activity--tandem swoop-biking around the Senate and Temple districts--that would allow both of them to be comfortable. They'd even decided on a restaurant that wouldn't require him to remember which fork to use first.
She was trying a little too hard to put him at ease, though. That could be the only explanation for the skin-tight black exercise pants and abbreviated green sleeveless tunic that she had donned for the occasion. Her hair was coiled into a bun high on her head, exposing every inch of skin that she had left bare from hips to head.
He suspected that Obi-Wan would have gone thoroughly cross-eyed if the Force hadn't been with him. As it was, Noela had to take the initiative and shake his hand.
Obi-Wan said nothing by way of greeting to her, only turned a glare on his Master.
"That," he hissed, "is not 'that kind of relationship?"
Noela, with too many years of diplomacy behind her, pretended not to notice his comment. "Noela Ovorp," she introduced herself. "You must be the Obi-Wan that I've heard about."
"Hrggh," he responded.
Qui-Gon was quickly reconsidering his plans for the evening when Noela stepped aside to reveal that she had not come alone.
"I figured," Noela said smoothly, "that if the both of us had to come, we might as well do it together."
He hadn't seen Meredith Ovorp much since the first time he'd met her, but it had obviously been too long. She'd gone from a gawky pre-teen to a young woman whose elegance of stature that rivaled her older sister's.
That was, until one or both of them ran into the door.
"Uncle Qui," Mere greeted with a broad grin.
"I'm not sure you're still young enough to call me that," he teased.
"I'm always that young," she rejoined. "I understand you get to be my grumpy chaperone for the night?"
"I didn't say grumpy!" Noela interjected. "Venerable, maybe..."
"You're just as venerable as I am," he reminded.
Obi-Wan was palpably starting to squirm, the situation not helped by the fact that he was trying to avoid staring at something by looking at something anatomically lower, to whit, his date's bare midriff. The look that he typically wore only when kicked hard in the head was returning.
"Padawan," Qui-Gon said with a slight edge in his tone, "would you help me get Noela and Mere something to drink?"