Repeat after me: Tory is an assbutt. Tory needs to stop paying attention to silly things like Supernatural and Hamlet so that she can write this story.

Ahem. This chapter is short but has a particularly delightful ending that I expect to gather me in like at least two reviews, ok?

Without further ado: HAVE AT IT. I LOVE YOU ALL.

They went to sleep not long afterwards, but not before Asajj and Kenobi had another conversation on the way of the world. She pulled up a holo of the universe, pointed out some of the most important solar systems. Honestly, she'd expected him to be satisfied with some of the more grand-scale knowledge, but as they talked, seated on the bed, he began asking about her.

"You're not a Jedi." And gazing at the holos of the universe had given way to this question… how, exactly?

"Mm, no. Not a Jedi. Far from it."

"But I am?"

"Yes; you're one of the best. That's why I thought I would have heard something about your M.I.A. status, but I suppose the Republic, or the Jedi, or both, are trying to cover it up."

"But back to you," Kenobi insisted. "If you're not a Jedi, and you don't work with the Jedi or the Republic, why… why are you even here? I mean…" He paused, attempting to find just the right words so as not to come off as rude. "What areyou?"

"A bounty hunter. One of the more civilized ones." A conversation that Asajj didn't particularly want to have was approaching- ominous as a dust-storm rolling in on the horizon. In his ignorant mind, she was good. More than good, she was his savior. And if they had the "who are you, why are you here" conversation, she might lose that. Lose his trust, lose his… affection.

He was still silent, watching the holographic star systems twirling lazily in the palm of her hand. "Am I…?" He probed a planet, watching the whole universe set ablaze with motion as a result of his action. "Is there a bounty on my head, then?"

What he really meant, of course, was "Am I here for the money?"And while there were almost certainly bounties on Kenobi's head, and dozens of people who would love to have him, dead or alive, she had begun prying into his situation out of curiosity and, if she were honest, personal interest. Some part of her hoped, deep down, that Kenobi would be declared missing, assumed dead by the Republic, and that he would take his chance to leave the war behind and stay with her. She'd teamed up with him before, and their co-ordination was effortless. He was simply different from anyone else the world had to offer, in a way that no bounty could express.

She lowered her hand, taking the worlds away from his focus so he'd look at her. "You're here because you're special."

She was looking into his eyes now. He certainly enjoyed it, but… something wasn't quite right. There was something he didn't yet understand, or rather, didn't yet know, and the fact that he didn't even know what he didn't know was driving him mad. He grasped her hand and raised it gently, so that the galaxy shone between them again. "It is a great…" he sighed. "Weight, to suddenly become important, you know?"

"You always were important. You've suddenly become aware of it. Now you know."

"And I need to know more." He'd abruptly dropped her hand and stood, in an attempt to pace. He didn't make it more than a few steps, stopping to lean against the wall and rest his chin in his fingertips and his elbow in his palm, as she was accustomed to seeing him do. "What sort of man am I? What was my life like? What do I want? What sort of influence can I have," he gestured towards the holo universe still in her palm, "on the whole galaxy?" The systems swirled at his motion, proving to them both that he was starting to be at least a little Force-sensitive.

"I can't answer those questions, Kenobi. Not yet, and not all at once."

"You, then." There was a new resoluteness in his voice. "Who are you? When did we meet? How? Have we always been…" like this? He finished the question only in his head.

Ventress let out a breath, closed her eyes slightly for a moment, preparing herself mentally. "It's a long story, Jedi. And you won't like it- not all of it, at least."

"Your story?" he made it back to the bed to sit beside her, though a bit closer than he'd been before.

"Our story." The correction was almost a low growl. "I suppose I ought to tell you all of it, then." And with only that, she was pouring out the truth, every piece. Her apprenticeship to the Sith, her obsession with fighting him that slowly gave way to a mutual respect and blatant, unashamed flirtation, his encouragement of leaving, her master's betrayal, her decision to go her own way, rescuing him from Maul and Savage, and finally finding him on the Separatist ship. He seemed to accept it- all of it, which made everything so much easier.

"You don't think this…Maul is the one who… you rescued me from?" His tormentor was still a touchy subject.

She shook her head. "Maul wants you dead, immediately and painfully. He wouldn't leave you alone on a ship, or even keep you alive for more than a few hours."

"We'll find him, won't we? Figure out… everything?" At this point she was right next to him- they were practically cuddled together, watching the holo stars twirl in the foreground while the corausant traffic lights raced above, out the windshield.

"My dear, we are going to solve the universe." And that, Ventress would often think upon looking back, was the beginning of their partnership.

He drifted off to sleep half in her arms, and she left him to the bed, choosing instead to doze lightly in the pilot's seat for a few hours. There was one more cantina she was hoping to investigate in this area before they moved on, and upon waking, she decided to head inside, leaving Kenobi to his sleep.

There was a brown-cloaked man at the end of the bar who sat quietly with his glass, and he was as good a place as any to start her information quest. Asajj sat next to him, her own hood pulled over her face, and ordered herself a drink. The humanoid at her other side, a tall, lizard-looking man with a rough face but wise eyes leaned a bit closer.

"You're not here for the drink. You're in the information market, aren't you?"

"Quite right." She took a swig of her drink, letting the liquid swirl around her dry mouth before swallowing it; it'd been far too long since she'd been in a cantina with decent drinks. "Although I can't say I mind a drink."

He smiled slightly. "What are ya looking for?"

"Anything recent about the Jedi General Obi-wan Kenobi?"

The man shook his head, swirling his own drink contemplatively. "Nothing past a few months back." She gave a dismissive little "hm" before turning nearer to the cloaked man on her right.

She needn't have. He was already leaning towards her, apparently having picked up on the details of her past conversation. "I think I can help you there..." he offered quietly.

Ventress swore for a second her heart stopped. The voice was familiar, but it couldn't possibly… how…. She must be imagining…

As he lowered his hood, he added a single word that confirmed her wildest ideas: "...Darling." Beneath the weathered cloak was the blue-eyed, bearded face that was Obi-wan Kenobi.

are we having fun yet?