Obi-Wan walked slowly toward the cockpit in a slight daze.
He had just kissed the Queen of Naboo! What was he thinking? And after she had just told him she had kissed his Master!
She was a beautiful girl, but not really his type. She was too innocent. Too naïve. He usually went for older women, those who had been around the galaxy a few times.
There was something about her though. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but when he had held her in the hallway, he had the overpowering urge to kiss her. It was almost as if he didn't have a choice.
And the kiss was…great. She may be young, but apparently wasn't as innocent as he had assumed. She definitely wasn't inexperienced. At least when it came to kissing. Obi-Wan wondered what else the young and beautiful queen was experienced in. And he wondered if he would have the chance to find out.
Obi-Wan settled into one of the pilot seats in the spacious cockpit and listened as his Master described their upcoming voyage to Anakin. They would be arriving in Coruscant in approximately ten hours and he wanted the boy to get some sleep.
Good. It would give them some time to be alone. There were a few things he wished to speak about with his Master.
Obi-Wan watched Anakin leave the room and then turned back to Qui-Gon. "Master, I'd like to speak with you."
The queen's personal pilot, turned to look at the Jedi apprentice and then exaggerated a yawn. "Think I'm going to turn in too. Automatic pilot is set. Give me a buzz if there's a problem."
After the cockpit was emptied, Qui-Gon turned his attention to his student. "What is it, Obi-Wan?"
"I've been talking with Padmé." Obi-Wan started, not missing the curious and surprised expression on his Master's face. "She told me what happened in Mos Espa. She's pretty embarrassed about it. Maybe you could speak with her."
"I said all I needed to say." Qui-Gon replied bluntly, which shocked the younger Jedi.
"She's a remarkable girl, Master. I think she deserves a better explanation."
Qui-Gon regarded his apprentice suspiciously. "How much did she tell you?"
"She said that she saw your picture on the Holonet and apparently developed quite a crush." He stated with a grin.
"That's what I had figured." Qui-Gon answered with a frown.
"But still, Master, you could have let her down a little more easily. And that tired old line about her being too young. Surely you could have come up with something better." Obi-Wan teased, which received a raised-brow expression as well as a snort from his usually reserved Master.
"Regardless of your opinion, padawan. She is too young. She's not yet sixteen years of age."
Once more squinting his eyes, the Jedi Master proceeded cautiously. "Why are you so concerned with her feelings, Obi-Wan?"
"We've come to be friends." The younger Jedi answered, glancing down to the the toes of his boots.
"Friends?" Qui-Gon repeated questionably.
"Okay. A little more than friends. If that's all right with you." The apprentice jokingly replied.
"There's something about her Master. It's obvious, at least to me, that she's a beautiful girl, but she's also alluring and funny, and I feel comfortable talking to her. I like being around her."
You're falling in love with her, Qui-Gon kept to himself, as a worried expression crossed his face.
"Padawan. When we took this assignment, did you happen to study up on the cultural heritage of Naboo? Particularly the royal duties?"
"I regret that I didn't get that far into it." Obi-Wan admitted with his usual contrite expression.
Qui-Gon looked with concern on his apprentice. Obi-Wan sometimes neglected his responsibility in adequately preparing for missions. In the past, it had gotten them in quite a bind. But as a Master, Qui-Gon never failed to become knowledgeable about every governmental and societal detail of a planet they were assigned to.
Therefore, prior to their arrival on Naboo, he was fully aware of the duty of an unattached queen to be betrothed before her sixteenth birthday, and there was no doubt in his mind that it was the driving force behind Padmé's infatuation with him. But was it also responsible for her interest in his padawan? And if it was, should he warn Obi-Wan?
"Never mind." Qui-Gon said, after deciding that perhaps before he made such a bold declaration, he needed to have a discussion with the young Queen of Naboo.