Small Obi-Wan jumped out of bed, it was Yule! It had been his favorite holiday in the crèche and now he was spending it with his Master!
Though he and Qui-Gon had gotten off on the wrong foot, Obi-Wan hoped that maybe today they could change that. All of his friends had plans with their own Masters, and though Qui-Gon hadn't said anything; Obi-Wan dearly hoped that his Master would spend some time with him.
The apartment was cool and quiet as he opened the door, and the smile that had been on Obi-Wan's face when he woke up slipped from it. Qui-Gon was usually either meditating in the sitting room or in the kitchen drinking a cup of tea every morning. Yet he was in neither place.
Obi-Wan slowly walked into the kitchen, looking to see if a note had been left. Seeing none he walked into the sitting room, doing the same.
Obi-Wan tried to ignore the feeling of dread that crept into his belly.
Instead he tried to convince himself that his Master simple stepped out and would be back soon. He made himself some breakfast, every couple of seconds looking up at the door, ears trying to hear the sounds of his Masters tread. Yet his Master had not returned by the time Obi-Wan finished eating and washing his dishes.
Obi-Wan still had hope that his Master would be back soon. He went into his room and grabbed the present he had gotten his Master. It wasn't much but he hoped Qui-Gon liked it. He brought it out and set it in front of Qui-Gon's spot on the couch. Obi-Wan wanted it to be the first thing he saw when he came back and sat down to take off his boots.
Satisfied Obi-Wan settled on the couch, and waited some more. Minutes passed by and the only thing that moved was the shadows on the wall as the sun began to move across the sky. Obi-Wan tried not to fidget and tried to fall into a light meditation. However his mind wouldn't settle, wondering where his Master was. Then a thought struck Obi-Wan.
Jumping off the chair, Obi-Wan went into his bedroom and grabbed the comm. A quick glance told him no, his Master had not left him any messages of where to meet him. Obi-Wan tried the bond but could only feel the blocks Qui-Gon had put into place as soon as the bond was established.
Obi-Wan sadly settled back down onto the couch. Hours went by, and Obi-Wan barely moved from his place on the couch, waiting for his Master to return. But the day of Yule slowly slipped away and Obi-Wan was left alone.
Only when the sun had set did Obi-Wan let the tears fall. He slowly uncurled himself and picked up the present he had gotten for his Master. He should have known not to get his hopes up. His Master had explained to him that this was just training. Qui-Gon would see Obi-Wan got Knighted, make sure that he received the necessary training. However they would only be teacher and student and nothing else.
Obi-Wan bereted himself for every thinking maybe Qui-Gon and he could at least be friends, maybe even family someday. However today Obi-Wan finally realized the truth, he had been foolish in getting his hopes up. With trembling hands Obi-Wan threw the package away and climbed into bed, unashamedly crying himself to sleep.
It was well past the midnight bell when Qui-Gon entered the apartment. He frowned when he felt the Force curl with sadness throughout the apartment. He followed the faint Force echo to Obi-Wan's room and peaked inside and saw Obi-Wan curled into a small ball. In the low light, Qui-Gon could see the tear tracks that were left on his pale face. A tendril of guilt curled in his gut as he looked at the young boy.
His mind flashed back to the conversation he had with Tahl as she had cornered him on his way out of the Temple.
"Qui-Gon it's Yule! You can't leave Obi-Wan here by himself." Tahl had said pulling on Qui-Gon's arm.
"I made it perfectly clear that I was his teacher Tahl, nothing more. I will see Obi-Wan knighted as it is my duty but that is as far as our relationship goes," Qui-Gon said trying to step around her.
But Tahl wasn't done yet. "I see he has to be as miserable as you are! He's just a boy Qui-Gon! Stop punishing him for Xanatos's crimes"
Qui-Gon ignored his oldest friend and finally succeeded going past her. He felt her glare on his back as he exited the Temple.
Sighing Qui-Gon went to the kitchen and put on a small kettle for tea. As he waited for it to boil he wondered if he had been wrong to leave Obi-Wan alone. What he said to Tahl was true he had been clear to Obi-Wan what their partnership was supposed to be. He couldn't afford to let himself get close to another padawan, to let himself love him. It would blind him to signs, signs that he had ignored about Xanatos because he couldn't see past his attachment. And Obi-Wan was making it difficult, he was too easy to love.
Qui-Gon was about to dump his tea leaves when something blue caught his attention in the trashcan.
Qui-Gon slowly pulled the small box out of the trash. It fit in the palm of his hand, and was wrapped in blue paper with a dark blue ribbon and tucked underneath the ribbon was a small card. For a long moment he just looked at the card.
To Master Qui-Gon. I thank the Force every day that I have a great teacher – Obi-Wan K.
Qui-Gon walked to his bedroom, his tea forgotten. He closed the door behind him and set on his bed with his elbows on his knees with the gift in his hands. It felt wrong to open the small gift, but curiosity got the best of him as he slowly opened the small gift and tipped it into his hand.
It was a simple chain, but what was on it wasn't.
To many it would be a green crystal, but it was an extremely rare and highly collectable Zycoranician crystal. A piece this size was worth a small moon, it had only been found on a handful of planets in the galaxy. How had Obi-Wan come across a piece?
The Force seemed to pounce as he was gifted with a vision, the fourth in his life.
"Master look at his stone!" Obi-Wan said with some excitement, "It's the same color as your lightsaber!"
"Pay attention Obi-Wan!" Qui-Gon had snapped back, "We do not have time to pick up every rock there is, we have a job to do."
Qui-Gon didn't turn around, so he didn't see the crushed look on Obi-Wan's face at the statement, nor when he pocketed the small stone into his belt.
Qui-Gon slowly put the chain away into his bedside drawer, to ashamed to look at it any further. It would stay in that drawer for years, until Obi-Wan rediscovered it upon cleaning his Masters bedroom after his death. Anakin would find him later curled up in a little ball with tear stains on his check, gripping the chain for dear life.
Going through my laptop and found this gem and since its Christmas seemed like a perfect time to post.
Like any of my stories don't expect regular updates