"Obi-Wan? I mean – Master?"
"Yes, Anakin?" Obi-Wan answered, but his attention was solely focused on the proprietor of the salacious establishment they were in, who was, at the moment, shuffling around nervously behind the bar. He could feel the uneasiness and guilt rolling off of him as if 'Don't trust me' was tattooed on his forehead and Obi-Wan was reticent to lose sight of him until he figured out if he was going to cause trouble or was just fidgety.
"What was playing on that viewscreen?"
Oh dear.
"You know, when we walked in? The owner turned it off real quick, but..."
Obi-Wan turned to Anakin who was sitting across the table from him. The club was brightly lit, but there were no outside windows. Even on this level there were rules; no windows meant in the evening there could be as many scantily clad females dancing about as an owner wanted. Very few buildings here had windows.
Still, Obi-Wan had thought even a place such as this one would be innocent enough during mid-day for his very young apprentice, but it seemed he'd been wrong. Again.
He hadn't seen anything inappropriate when they'd walked in, the place was nearly empty, but apparently Anakin had. "Don't let your mind be distracted, Anakin. Focus on the present, on the mission."
"Yes, Master."
Obi-Wan spared another glance across the table at Anakin. He seemed deep in thought, his forehead knitted in concentration and Obi-Wan was forced to question himself - did he mean what he had said, or had he only been trying to avoid having to answer?
Before he could think about it, the owner shifted unexpectedly, reaching jerkily below the bar. Obi-Wan tensed, his hand resting on his lightsaber for assurance, but the he'd only been grabbing for a bottle of whisky and a glass, pouring a shot and gulping it down.
Was it the mere presence of Jedi that was making him so agitated, or was he hiding something more sinister? Obi-Wan widened his perceptions through the Force as if sifting through waves of sand for something illusive.
Ultimately, he sensed no deception, beyond what one would expect, only anxiety. He made a mental note to drop in some evening, though, just in case. No one should be this nervous in the presence of one Jedi and a padawan.
"Master – Obi-Wan?"
"Yes?" He gave Anakin his full attention now he was certain they weren't about to be ambushed.
"Is this really a mission?"
Obi-Wan smiled. "Yes, Anakin, I told you I received a message to meet with a contact of mine. Master Qui-Gon taught me it's important to have acquaintances from many different walks of life that you can trust. Important information can come from any variety of sources."
"Oh."
Glad for the momentary change of subject, Obi-Wan leaned back in the padded booth, but to his dismay, the owner flicked the viewscreen on once again. Thankfully, it seemed to be a sports event of some kind, but Anakin looked up, clearly perplexed, a slightly confused expression on his face.
Obi-Wan sighed, unable to help wondering what Qui-Gon would have done in this situation... but it didn't take him long to figure it out. He would have faced the question head on, calm and frank, no doubt.
Nothing had ever seemed to embarrass Qui-Gon, though Obi-Wan couldn't recall ever asking him about sex. He remembered learning much of what he knew at that age from peers - not always correct information, but informative in its own way, to be sure.
Anakin had not yet found a way to fit in with his age mates at the Temple, and as a slave, had very little time for friends on Tatooine. Obi-Wan was grateful, however, Anakin had not seemed to be exposed to some of the more baser experiences of slavery.
That left the teaching, for now, entirely up to him.
"Do you want to talk about what you saw, Anakin? On the vid?"
Anakin shifted to face him, sitting up a little straighter. "I thought you said to focus on the mission?"
"Reach out with your feelings, do you sense any danger?"
Letting his gaze drift, Anakin was only quiet for a second before he answered. "No, Master."
"We seem to have an extra minute or two, if you'd like to talk."
His brow furrowed again and he stared at the table before casting Obi-Wan a serious expression. "It was a man and a woman... the owner seemed embarrassed when he saw me looking, but I'm not sure what they were doing..."
"What did it look like they were doing?"
"Well... it sort of looked like he was giving her a big hug... like... my mom always gave me a cuddle at night before I went to bed. I really liked that."
Alright, this didn't sound so bad. Maybe it wasn't...
"But these people didn't have any clothes on," he added.
Oh dear.
Obi-Wan paused. "There are different types of hugs, Ankain," he started, sounding much more sure than he felt. "Your mother liked to give you a hug because she loves you and she wanted to give you comfort. When a man and a woman love each other... sometimes they like to – cuddle – as well. It's also a form of comfort, but it's different." Obi-Wan smiled gently, feeling pleased with himself as Anakin nodded in understanding.
"Which kind of cuddle do you like, Master?"
Obi-Wan would have choked, had he anything to choke on. Anakin just looked at him, confused and oblivious to the implications of his question.
"Jedi don't cuddle." It was the first, and only thing Obi-Wan could think of to say.
"Oh," Anakin's face fell as he considered this startling bit of news.
Taking a deep breath, Obi-Wan tried to think of a better way to explain when his contact strode in through the front door, a bright beam of afternoon sunlight shining across the floor in front of her. "We'll finish this discussion later, Anakin."
Maybe Master Yoda will know what to say, he thought, then he shook his head, quickly dismissing that disconcerting idea.
Maybe Anakin will forget. But Obi-Wan had a feeling, with Anakin, this conversation was going to come up more than once.
More (not) cuddling! (thanks to laloga) And I still have plans for this, as well :D Feedback inspires me to do more and better, so please take a second to let me know what you think.
Thank you to everyone for the great reviews on the first part!
Just in case, if you're following the adventures of Aala, rest assured I'm still working hard on that as well. I'm writing ahead a bit, for a change, I have about three parts (roughly) written. I plan on posting first thing in December.
Thanks for reading! ~Ashley