THE THIRD RECEIVING (25BBY)
The seven years that followed the Second Receiving were much better than the seven that had preceded it.
Obi-Wan kept his promise and he and Naritha stayed in close contact—at least as far as it was possible while living two completely different lives.
They regularly communicate via holocom, sometimes just to say "Hello, how are you doing?", other times to engage in long conversations that lasted hours.
They discovered to a have a common interest in history, philosophy and literature and were able to debate an author's finest points or faults well into the night.
They talked basically about everything except for politics. Obi-Wan had candidly admitted he did not trust the politicians and given her experience with them, Naritha could not help but agree with him, even if she dared to suggest he made an exception for her. Her request was met by a hearty laugh and a murmured "Of course!"
They also shared details about their everyday lives and, in due time, Naritha became so familiar with the Jedi Temple routine and facilities it felt like she lived there too.
However, what made her happier was how Obi-Wan let her see glimpses of the man behind the Jedi Master. Yes, she had already seen him bared from any restraint. She has seen him in the throes of passion and had held him as he wept his inconsolable grief, but on those occasion Obi-Wan had not been himself. They were exceptions, not the rule. Now instead she came to know him as he really was. A dedicated Jedi that tried to do his job as best he could.
The task of teaching child so early in his life was a great responsibility, especially because his Padawan, Anakin Skywalker was considered to be somehow special.
Obi-Wan was sometimes unsure of his ability to deal with an hyperactive, bright child and since he knew Naritha had some experience with her nieces, he often asked "Am I doing the right thing, Naritha? Am I too strict? Am I too lenient?"
When it happened, she would ask him to illustrate her the problem and the solution he saw for it, and then she would give him her sincere opinion.
Sometime Obi-Wan would follow her advice, sometimes he would not, but no matter how it ended, Naritha was always glad to have been asked to help. In a certain way, training Anakin was the closest thing to raising a child either of them would get. It felt nice to be able to share some of the responsibility between them.
Naritha was not only captivated by her bondmate's inner beauty, but also by his outer looks. The day he contacted her after returning from a long mission sporting a neatly trimmed beard, was the day she felt like thanking the gods she was born a woman.
Confident in their growing friendship, Naritha dared to make her appreciation known to Obi-Wan, and enjoyed the way his cheeks reddened. It was the first time she had been able to make him blush since the day she had questioned him about his sexual education.
That thought led her to recall their time in the blocked corridor and for the first time she realized how lucky she had been things had gone as they did. Her relationship with Obi-Wan was not easy, but it was worth every single worry or moment of loneliness she had. Had she bonded with Voltan, she would have led a normal life, perhaps she would be a mother by now, but she was sure it would have not been as fulfilling as her current existence was. As her father often said, the things one has to fight for are those one appreciates more.
§
By the time Naritha had the chance to travel to Coruscant for official business regarding Angar, she was aware she was totally in love with her bondmate, prey to a need that had nothing to do with the Receivings.
However, her hopes for an intimate reunion with Obi-Wan were dashed by the fact they could not manage to spend more than ten minutes alone; there was always someone in the way.
She was surrounded by a large entourage and when she was finally able to take the visit he had arranged for her at the Jedi Temple, she discovered Master Yoda – a small green creature that talked in a strange way—had appointed himself as her guide, while "Master Obi-Wan his teaching duties continues".
However not even that disappointment managed to dampen her awe and amazement as she walked along the high-ceilinged halls of the Temple.
Naritha's Force-sensitivity was low, but her soul soaked in the serenity and the calm that permeated the venerable building.
It was amazing and she found the time to tell it to Obi-Wan during the few minutes Yoda left them alone and before Anakin stormed on them after completing one of his classes and accompanied them to the commissary where they had their lunch.
In the precise moment Naritha's eyes posed on the blond-haired young boy she had somehow helped to raise in the previous three years, she felt a sense of uneasiness crept inside her.
Anakin, to whom she was introduced as his Master's "good friend Naritha", had a way of looking at her she did not like. In truth she could not pinpoint exactly what it was. The boy was courteous with her and respectful with his Master. She could only think she did not like how intense he looked, or how prone to lose his control he was, or how possessively he referred to hismaster, or how arrogant he sometimes was.
Whatever the reason, from that moment on, Naritha offered stricter pieces of advice when Obi-Wan asked her an opinion about Anakin's education, in the hope they would be able to tame the wild streak she had sensed in the boy.
§
Naritha's and Obi-Wan's Third Receiving was their happiest so far.
Sensing her growing agitation through their bond, the Jedi Knight managed to convince the Council to grant him an immediate leave, so that he could travel to Angar in advance and spend some time with his bondmate, and regain some emotional connection with her before the fever forced them to mate.
Naritha left her aides to care for her office and travelled with Obi-Wan to the Lake District and to the simple but comfortable retreat her family owned there.
The cottage was made of wood, with a porch that overlooked one of the lakes. It was surrounded by a thick pine-trees wood inhabited by a great variety of wildlife.
There, alone in that beautiful, peaceful place, immersed in what Obi-Wan called Living Force, Naritha was able to see her bondmate as never before.
For the first time since she had met him, he discarded his Jedi uniform to wear civilian clothes and let go part of his usual solemnity to behave like the young man he still was.
He splashed Naritha with water as she sunbathed on the lakeshore; he dared her to be faster than him as they swam; he climbed on the trees and targeted her with tiny berries as she walked in the wood. But he also presented her with bouquets of freshly-picked flowers and took her to dine in a very cosy restaurant in a nearby village.
Obi-Wan was always smiling and full of energy, happy to be free of responsibilities for the first time since he could remember. Of course, he kept in contact with Anakin and spent hours in meditation, but for most of the time he simply enjoyed himself.
Naritha thanked the gods every day for that joyful time, and she willed her body not to succumb too soon to the mating fever. She thought there was much more intimacy in an evening spent outdoors, sitting on the porch steps with her head resting on Obi-Wan's shoulder as he coaxed a wild animal closer, than in all the sex they had done during their previous Receivings.
However she could not stave off the inevitable and one week after their arrival at the cottage, her body told her the time had come.
They often made love outdoors, rolling onto the soft grass, their cries of fulfilment scaring away animals and birds. It was after one of these encounters, as they rested and let the warm breeze dry the sweat on their bodies, that Naritha caught a stray thought in Obi-Wan's mind.
//I love you Naritha.//
//I love you too// She sent back, causing him to give her a shocked glance.
"You heard it?" He asked aloud, turning on his side to face her.
"Yes, Obi-Wan." She paused before adding, "You don't know how much I longed to hear those four words."
She smiled and he grinned back.
"I am sorry I made you wait so long, but it has taken time for me to first admit I love you and then understand this is not the obsessive attachment the Code forbids."
Naritha nodded and leaned forward to kiss his bearded cheek. "I know it was not easy for you. You were so young when we bonded, completely unprepared to cope with the consequences of your helping me. I confess I am surprised you never told me "I hate you"."
"Jedi don't hate, you know it," he commented quietly.
"You know what I mean. I could have had destroyed your life, and certainly made it much more difficult and yet you never held it against me."
"Because it was not really your fault."
Naritha smiled and murmured, "You are the best bondmate I could ask for."
"And you are the best bondmate a Jedi Knight who should not have attachments could ask for."
They laughed together, then looked at each other, communicating using their eyes and their minds. Soon afterward, the fever made them burn again, and they abandoned themselves to the whirlwind of their passion.