Bad Idea

The apartment was its usual kind of calm. The only sound coming from the absentminded taps of Obi-Wan's pen against the table as he lost himself in his assignment.

Qui-Gon glanced at the teenager, watching him switch from tapping his pen to twisting his braid around his fingers. It was about time Qui-Gon left for his own assignment, staking out one of the night clubs in the lower levels.

The council had been asked to help investigate illegal spice being sold on Coruscant. It wasn't something the Jedi were usually asked to help with, but the authorities were at a loss, and it was becoming more evident by the day that the batches of spice were tainted. More and more dead bodies were turning up on the streets of Coruscant. Something needed to be done.

"Obi-Wan."

The boy turned to face him, his eyes lingering on the datapad long enough to finish the sentence before they connected with Qui-Gon's. "Master?"

Qui-Gon stood up, slipping into his long cloak. "I need to leave for my assignment. I won't be back until tomorrow morning. I trust you can finish your assignment alone."

"I'm almost done, Master. Thank you for letting me stay here and finish it."

Qui-Gon hummed. "You shouldn't be around the Coruscant nightlife anyway. I will see you tomorrow, Padawan. You would do well, not to wake me unless there's an emergency."

There was a small smile on the boy's face as he nodded. "May the Force be with you."

"And with you."

. . .

Obi-Wan watched the door close behind his Master and let out a short sigh of relief. He turned his datapad off, happy to be rid of that paragraph he had been pretending to study for the last hour. He had hoped Qui-Gon would leave sooner so he could get ready. Now he needed to hurry.

Obi-Wan vaulted over the sofa to his room. He threw his belt onto the bed and jumped to get the shirt off the top shelf in his wardrobe. He exchanged his tunic for it and busied himself with wrapping his braid around his tiny ponytail. Lastly his cloak hid the makeshift outfit as he made his way towards the Temple entrance. Knights ignored him as he weaved his way through the corridors with his hood raised until he found Garen pacing impatiently by the door.

"What took you so long?" He hissed, "People were getting suspicious."

"I'm sorry. Qui-Gon wouldn't leave."

Garen huffed. "Whatever. Let's go, before we get caught." He took hold of Obi-Wan's sleeve and pulled him down the stairs.

Now out of the Temple, they dropped their hoods and grinned at each other.

"I can't believe we're doing this…"

"Live a little, Obi, we might never get the chance again."

It was true. Tonight was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Garen and Obi-Wan were both Master-free for the night and they would be fools not to take full advantage of it.

"What does your Master think you're doing?" Garen asked as they made their way through the streets of Coruscant.

"Finishing Master Tyro's assignment." He couldn't help smiling at the way Garen's messy hair flopped into his face when he laughed.

"You mean the one we finished two weeks ago?"

"The very same. To be honest, I almost wish I hadn't. Pretending to intensely write an assignment for a whole day is almost worse than actually writing one. You have no idea how bored I am."

Garen nudged his shoulder with his own. "Good thing we're going to a club then, right?"

"So what does your Master think you're doing."

Without warning Garen dropped his head onto Obi-Wan's shoulder, making him falter in his step. Two people almost walked into them, cursing as they went on. Garen didn't seem to notice.

"I have the worst migraine in the history of migraines. I think I'm going to die, Obi! I swear, I'm not going to make it!"

Obi-Wan bounced his shoulder, forcing Garen to stop leaning on him. "She bought that?"

Garen looked offended but then shrugged, "I gave her a better performance."

"I sure hope so."

Soon enough the two Padawans found themselves on a street lined with restaurants and clubs. Loud music battled in the streets filling their ears with an odd cocktail of sounds. Neon lights flashed left and right as people milled in and out of the various establishments.

"Which one are we going to?" Garen yelled, looking far more excited than Obi-Wan was feeling. Suddenly this all seemed like a bad idea.

But Garen didn't wait for an answer. "Uhhh, this one!" He took Obi-Wan's hand and pulled him towards one of the clubs with a holographic woman dancing on the sign.

"Are you sure?" But Obi-Wan didn't think his friend could hear him.

They came to a stop in front of the 2-metre-tall bouncer.

"Little young, aren't ya?" He growled. His skin changed colour with the changing lights but Obi-Wan was sure he was actually more of a reddish tone. Obi-Wan felt a very whiteish tone.

He weakly tugged at Garen's sleeve to no avail.

Garen just smiled at the huge Espirion who looked like he could throw Qui-Gon Jinn across the road without much effort if he wanted to. "Thanks for the compliment."

The corner of the bouncer's mouth turned downwards, disapprovingly. "I ain't kiddin around. Go home, kiddies."

Garen cleared his throat, holding a finger up at the bouncer. "I'll have none of this kiddies business," his hand moved through the air in front of the bouncer's eyes, "We're 22 and you've seen our identification, so I'd appreciate it if you got out of our way."

The bouncer looked at them for a moment and Obi-Wan could have sworn he was going to throw them into the street but then he actually stood aside. "Of course, enjoy your evenin' lads."

Garen grinned his thanks and dragged Obi-Wan into the dark, stuffy, overfilled room. 22 was a bit of a stretch. Obi-Wan was only just 15.

"You've been practicing."

"Good, aren't I?"

Obi-Wan couldn't answer as the crowed dragged them further into the room. The bass vibrated through his bones, making his head throb. Garen's fingers started slipping away but Obi-Wan reinforced his grip in time.

This whole thing had seemed like a much better idea whilst they were scheming in the library a few weeks ago. They should have just snuck out for sweetrolls and a holovid they were too young to see. Anything would beat the taste of artificial smoke and ethanol in the air.

Somehow Garen managed to navigate them towards the bar.

"Two shots of your finest," Garen announced in the most exaggerated way possible.

The bartender narrowed all four of his eyes at them suspiciously. "IDs."

"Oh of course, of course," Gare pulled out twenty credits and waved them at the guy, "good?" He asked.

The bartender took the money and went off to pour their drinks. Obi-Wan wasn't sure if that had been another force-suggestion or plain old bribery.

"I don't think I want to be here…" Obi-Wan finally said, when Garen turned to him again.

"Psh," Garen waved a dismissive hand, "you just need a little alcohol in your system."

As if on cue, they were handed a small glass of pink liquid each.

"Trust me," Garen clinked his glass against Obi-Wan's and then downed it in one. Obi-Wan followed suit and then thought they probably looked rather comical. How Qui-Gon could do this with a straight face, Obi-Wan would never know.

"It's horrible!"

"It's meant to be!" Garen took both their glasses and shook them at the bartender. "Another."

With the second shot in his system, Obi-Wan was already starting to see the appeal. He was expecting Garen to go for a third but instead he pulled them both to the dance floor. Obi-Wan had never danced in his life. Luckily for him it seemed all you really needed to do was jump up and down in vaguely the same rhythm as the others around you. Garen went at it like he knew exactly what he was doing and Obi-Wan followed his lead. He couldn't remember the last time he laughed so much at himself.

Time blurred and so did everything else. Obi-Wan felt like he was drifting in and out of reality, getting pushed closer to Garen as the crowd thickened. He looked so happy, flickering in the strobing lights. At some point they were pushed together so hard they almost fell. Garen somehow managed to keep Obi-Wan upright, he wouldn't have managed it himself. He wrapped his arms around Garen's neck, keeping himself on his feet.

"This is fun!" He yelled over the music.

Garen laughed but Obi-Wan didn't quite catch his response. It was a pretty laugh though. Having never really been the kind of person to just do things without thinking, it came as a surprise to find his hands pulling Garen even closer. His lips found Garen's and it was probably the worst kiss ever but that was okay, he had just wanted to try it and if not now when then? Who else would there be to kiss, if not his best friend? It wasn't like he was ever going to meet someone.

"Hello…" Garen smirked, putting a little distance between them again but not so much that Obi-Wan couldn't lean on him anymore. "Someone is definitely drunk."

"Just a little maybe," Obi-Wan dropped his forehead onto Garen's shoulder laughing, but he didn't really feel like laughing. "A little a lot."

"Obi?"

"I think I need to sit down." Obi-Wan felt himself sink to the ground but the floor never came. They were walking, well Garen was walking, Obi-Wan was being dragged along.

Fresh air would have been nice, but unfortunately the streets of Coruscant were just as packed as the club and filled with all sorts of smells Obi-Wan was in no hurry to identify.

Garen brought him to an alley where Obi-Wan could sit down, propped up against the wall.

"Hey, Obi, you're okay, right?" Garen tapped his cheek lightly. He looked worried.

"Fine," Obi-Wan mumbled, nodding even though he was feeling decidedly unfine. "Can we go home now?"

"Definitely."

Obi-Wan begged the Force that he was so far gone that he was hearing voices. Unfortunately, Qui-Gon Jinn was actually standing over them.

"I knew you two were up to no good. Did you have fun, Padawan?"

"So much fun…"

"Hm," Qui-Gon knelt down in front of him, taking Garen's place. He was even more intimidating now that he was close enough for Obi-Wan to see him properly. "Are you going to throw up?"

"I certainly hope not."

Qui-Gon looked him over again before pulling him to his feet. When he was convinced that Obi-Wan wouldn't fall over again, he let go of his shoulders.

"Make sure he gets back to the Temple in one piece," he said to Garen who bowed so low he almost fell over himself.

"Yes, Master Jinn."

"That's it?" Obi-Wan asked before he could stop himself.

"I'm still on an assignment and I think, if you haven't already learned your lesson, you will tomorrow morning."