Like Master, Like Apprentice
The sun had just begun to peak over the
skyscrapers of Coruscant when Tahira awoke. She was lying next to
him, her head nuzzled into his chest and his arms wrapped around her.
She tried to sit up, but his arms would not budge.
"Where do you
think you're going?" he whispered sleepily.
"I didn't know
you were still awake."
"I was up about ten minutes ago, just
waiting for you to get up."
He relaxed his hold on her and
leaned down to kiss her. As his lips met hers, she felt the tears
leak from the corners of her eyes.
"What's wrong?" He asked,
wiping her tears away.
What was wrong? Technically, there was
a lot wrong with this situation. Jordana and Anakin were Force knows
where on Corellia, possibly fighting for their very lives, and she
was cuddling next to Obi-Wan. Her friends had been sentenced to death
because they had fallen in love, and now here they were, lying next
to each other in a way that clearly proved their relationship had
moved beyond platonic.
"Don't you find it ironic that we're
doing exactly what Anakin and Jordana were put on trial for?"
Obi-Wan
sensed her guilt, "I know how you feel. All of this would seem
wrong, especially since I was the one who...agreed to the execution."
He choked. "But one of the things I've learned from Anakin in all
of this is to trust your instincts and your heart. I realize now that
life is too precious and too short to not tell those we love how we
feel. I love you Tahira, and I should have told you this a long time
ago. I only wish Anakin and Jordana didn't have to die for me to
realize this."
He embraced her, and she cried a muffled 'I
love you too, Obi-Wan' into his shoulder. Guilt was tearing at her
heart. She wanted to badly to tell him that their former apprentices
were still alive. But at the moment, she had to put Anakin and
Jordana's safety above all else, including her grieving lover's
heart. It wasn't that she feared Obi-Wan turning them in, it was if
the Council were to ever find out. But she wasn't going to deny her
love for Obi-Wan either. Liked Jordana, she too had dreamed that the
object of her heart's desire would return feel the same way. Even
she would understand the situation she was in. Just then, she figured
out how she could keep her promise to Jordana, and have her and
Obi-Wan still be together.
"If you truly want to be with me,
when I leave the Order, leave with me."
He gazed into her
deep, cobalt eyes with a look of worry and confusion.
"Leave the
Order? Tahira, you never mentioned this before."
"Because
until now, I didn't know what I wanted to do. But I can't stand
being here, knowing that they died trying to escape here. But I also
can't leave you, not now, not knowing that-"
His lips brushing
gently against her own silenced her. "You were the one who told me
to wait and heal. And we will do just that."
"Alright." she
whispered.
Jordana, please wait for us. she prayed.
Just
then, Obi-Wan received a message from the Council. They were about to
hold a meeting and requested his presence.
"I have to go. The
Council's having a meeting. Wait here for me."
Obi-Wan sat
in his usual seat among the Council members. They were, very
casually, discussing yesterday's events. He couldn't understand
how they all could just sit there and talk about death, the death of
two people he cared about, so easily.
The topic soon turned to
whom the news of their deaths should be made privy to. Obviously, the
Chancellor would be, but there was a heated debate about whether the
public and Senate should know.
"Master Kenobi, what do you
think?" Ki-Adi-Mundi asked.
What he wanted to say was 'Since
my opinion doesn't seem to matter to you, make your own damn
ruling', but he held his tongue. His anger was a product of
depression, and it wouldn't be fair to take it out on the other
Council members.
He chose his next words carefully, "I will do
whatever the Council agrees is best."
But Yoda was not satisfied
with this answer, "Works best the Council will, if a unanimous
decision is reached."
"Master Yoda, do you want me to be
honest with the Council?"
"Honesty, the best policy always
is."
"With all due respect my friend, I couldn't give less
of a damn whether or not we inform the public or not."
Dear
god, I sound like Anakin. he mused.
Yoda just smiled and nodded,
understanding where his friend's emotions were coming from.
"Master
Kenobi, while we understand you're grieving, it is imperative that
we come to a conclusion." Master Windu stated.
"The war is not
over yet. Informing the public that two of our best died could
severely weaken moral and make us appear weaker."
"But the war
is over." Obi-Wan protested, "The Separatist leadership and
General Grievous have either been destroyed or captured."
"But
as long as Count Dooku is alive, the war will never be over." Windu
replied.
"He is one man, and without his followers, he'll
never be able to attack anything."
Obi-Wan knew this war would
increase the time before him and Tahira could even think about
leaving the Order. The rest of the Council continued to argue and
squabble like politicians until it was decided that the public would
not be informed of their deaths.
Obi-Wan rushed back to
Tahira's room, where he immediately scooped her up and laid her
down on the bed.
"Obi-Wan, what's going on? What did the
Council want?"
He told her everything, including that the war
was technically not over.
"So this means means we won't be
leaving the Order for a while." he concluded.
"We? What
happened to 'we'll wait and heal first'?
"I've made up
my mind, I want to be with you. And if that means leaving the Order
when the war is over, then that means leaving the Order when the war
is over."
There I go again...sounding like Anakin.
Tahira
gasped as he kissed her passionately. While locked in each other's
passionate embrace, she knew that sooner or later, she was going to
have to tell him the truth and that it was going to be the hardest
thing to do. But she pushed all of that out of her mind for the time
being, and focused on the deep and firey kiss she was sharing with
Obi-Wan Kenobi.
