The beep of a comlink broke through the relative quiet of the chamber, leaving only Asajj's breathless gasps echoing in his ears. "Leave it," she purred, lacing her fingers with the hand that reached for the still beeping device.

Obi-Wan grinned in response. "Can't do that, dearest. Might be important."

"More important than this?" A mild bite to his lower lip drew a hum of contentment from deep in his chest, but he was not so easily swayed.

He quickly rolled them over so that he loomed above her on the bed, comlink suddenly in his hand, the other stroking the soft flesh of her hip. "You've had my undivided attention for the past day and a half, darling. We both knew someone else would eventually want a little attention, yes?" She opened her mouth to argue, but he silenced her with a gentle shush. "Kenobi here."

"Master Obi-Wan." He froze at the sound of Yoda's voice. Asajj had no such compunction; her hands and lips continued to explore his body without the slightest bit of concern for their unseen audience. "A word with you, I would like, if time, you have."

The Master's voice revealed nothing, yet everything. Obi-Wan forced the lump from his throat and stifled a groan when his lover found a particular sensitive spot on his neck. She seemed to be trying to make him lose his composure in front of Yoda…so to speak. "Tell him you're in the middle of heated" –a hot kiss to his lips- "aggressive" –a tight squeeze of her thighs around his waist- "negotiations with a very dangerous bounty hunter."

Her playful whispers nearly broke his resolve, but he remained composed enough to answer his superior. "Yes, Master. I shall join you momentarily." The link had barely gone dead before a shuddering gasp was ripped from his throat; Asajj had taken his earlobe between her teeth and tugged hard, soothing the bite with full, hot lips. He was beginning to regret her discovering that weakness of his; she'd resorted to it far too often in the past hours and he'd crumbled every time. "That was not funny," he admonished half-heartedly.

"Funny, no," she agreed, that self-satisfied smirk still on her lips. "Fun, most definitely."

He couldn't help the smile that bloomed on his face. "It seems to me that you want to be punished, my sweet."

"Jedi don't do punishment, darling. Or have you forgotten that basic lesson already?"

A brief roll of his hips against hers had her arching into him, silently begging for more. It was a request his body demanded he grant, but he had more pressing matters at the moment. "In your case I'd make an exception."

Any argument or quip she may have had was drowned in the kiss that had her burning from the inside out, sounds she ordinarily would have been ashamed of tumbling from her as easily as water down a mountainside. She was only minimally aware of being raised up from the bed, her arms still wrapped around his neck, but quickly realized the deception when his warmth abruptly left her. "No fair, Kenobi," she mock-whined as he made for his personal 'fresher; although a more primal part of him liked the idea of walking around shrouded in his lover's scent, his rational side knew that only bad things would come of it.

"All's fair, darling," he replied with a smile. Admittedly, the sight of her, gloriously nude and still blazing with lust, was more than tempting. But he wouldn't let her know that. Let her simmer for a while.

When he stepped out of the 'fresher in fresh robes and all trace of her (sadly) washed from his body, she had lain back on the bed, legs crossed at the ankles, spine arched, and arms stretched above her head. Force, she was still enticing. He sat on the edge of the bed and tried to pay no attention to her while pulling on his boots. He succeeded for a while, but apparently she didn't take kindly to being ignored.

Her fingers delved into his hair from behind and yanked. Hard. The gasp that flew from his lips began as a startled sound but ended as a moan of pleasure. That was two weaknesses she (and surprisingly he) had discovered. He'd have to even the score somehow.

Asajj gave him a wicked smile; it was beautiful even upside down. "Don't keep me waiting too long, darling," she purred against his lips before sealing her mouth over them. Or else I'll have no choice but to finish what you started, then I'll really have no use for you anymore. It was good to hear the teasing return to her voice, but the added sensation of it through their bond assured him that she was not being serious. Reaching up to cup the back of her head with one hand, he hoped that playfulness would remain for a long time to come. He couldn't bear the thought of her sinking into despair once again. He could feel how content she was to finally have someone there for her, to unburden herself to should she choose. She wouldn't throw that away for anything. And he certainly wasn't planning on abandoning her any time soon.

He yelped when she released his lips and tugged on his hair again. That time it really did hurt. "You're thinking again. Stop it."

Obi-Wan turned to face her straight on (his neck was beginning to develop a cramp). "Could you hear any of that?"

"No, but I could feel it." She rolled her eyes at the apologetic look he gave her. Her hands went to his face, this time to soothe rather than harm or entice. "You don't need to worry about me. I'm a big girl. I can tie my own shoes and everything." She grinned at the chuckle that elicited from him. "I'm serious, Obi-Wan. I don't exactly what this Force bond entails, but I can already tell it's making a difference. I can't promise I won't have bad days again, but I can handle them if they come. You've got more to think about than me, what with the fate of the entire galaxy resting on your shoulders and absolutely no one else's."

"And I can't promise that I won't worry," he replied seriously. "Sorry, my sweet. It's in my nature." His fingers traced down her cheek, then behind her ear to draw her closer. A quick press of his lips to hers (he idly wondered if it was possible to become addicted to kissing her) and he stood. "Don't go anywhere."

"Hurry back then."

"My apologies for keeping you waiting, Master Yoda." Obi-Wan stepped into the empty Council chamber and took a seat opposite the diminutive Grand Master.

"Unnecessary, apologies are, young Obi-Wan. Enjoying your reprieve from the war, are you?"

"I will admit I haven't quite known what to do with myself lately. It's been far too long since the Jedi have had a chance to enjoy peace. But I've found ways to occupy my time before I go back to the front tomorrow."

Yoda made a low noise of agreement, but there was something else in the sound. Something knowing. "My reason for summoning you, this brings me." Obi-Wan straightened up ever so slightly, a trait he'd developed as a Padawan whenever he knew a lecture was not far off. "Direct, I will be. Blunt, I must be. Know of your visitor, I do." Obi-Wan tried not to react, but he must have let slip some twinge of apprehension in the Force or some fear to creep into his eyes. "Try to deny it, do not. Glad, I am, that you have found such joy, temporary though it may be. But wary you must be, if a relationship with Ventress, you pursue."

"Master, my duty and my life have always belonged to the Order."

"Know this, I do."

"But, foolish as it may be, I had never given up hope that Asajj may be turned from the Dark Side. When she…died on Boz Pity I felt her change. She had returned to the Light before her last breath."

"And returned in full, she has. Died, she did not."

"No." He let out a sigh that had been building inside him ever since that day when he watched the life leave her eyes on that battlefield. "She somehow survived, though she won't tell me anything specific." He raised his eyes to meet Yoda's and suddenly felt very much like a youngling again, trying to explain something that at the time had seemed nothing but natural; it was like trying to explain the thought process and mechanics behind breathing. "Master, I know what she's done. I know what she's still capable of should the Dark rise in her again. But I am confident that she has left that life behind. She fell to the Dark Side in despair at losing her master, and there was no one around to comfort and support her. Dooku certainly was no help to her in that regard."

"Think yourself the one to give this aid, do you?"

"She came to me, Master. At great personal risk, I might add." His voice rose the more he defended the former assassin, but he did not notice it. He wanted so very badly to believe that she had abandoned her desire to become a Sith and would soon enough join him and the other Jedi in the Light. "She said that I was the only one who truly understood her when even she did not fully understand herself. In the past week, I think I've come to understand her even more."

"Love her, do you?" Obi-Wan reeled back at the simple question as if he'd been struck. There was no condemnation in Yoda's voice, no hint of disappointment or anger in his Force signature. "Love you, does she?"

The younger Master cast his gaze to the floor where the fading sunlight streaming through the windows gave way to shadow. "I…have no answer to either question, Master."

"Less attempts to kill each other, there are, yes?" Was that a joke? Yoda chuckled, obviously pleased with himself, and Obi-Wan soon joined in. The lightheartedness in Yoda's voice was soon replaced with a touch of sadness. "Careful you must be, young Obi-Wan. Let your emotions for your once-enemy cloud your judgment, you must not. Long have you thought of her. Long have you desired to see her free of the Dark Side. Intertwined now, your paths are. But let her go if the Force demands, you must."

Obi-Wan could not speak. Was Yoda, the unofficial/official head of the Jedi Order, actually encouraging him to continue his relationship with Asajj, the very one who had killed dozens of Jedi and tortured him on Rattatak not so long ago? True, he had taken liberties with some of the more archaic statutes of the Order (and looked the other way when his former Padawan currently flaunted them), but this…

To engage in such a dangerous, forbidden affair in secret was one thing. For Yoda to know about it, let alone begrudgingly approve of it, was entirely another. Did he also know about their bond through the Force? Should the Knight even dare mention it? He certainly wanted to know more about such a bond would mean for them, and though Yoda was probably the most logical person to speak to he couldn't bring himself to ask. It seemed such a private…no…intimate matter.

Still unable to form some sort of coherent response, Obi-Wan could only bow his head and stand to leave, recognizing that he had effectively been dismissed. "A word of caution, I would give you," Yoda called out suddenly. "If discovered in the Temple she is, if captured she is, protect you both, I cannot. Answer to the Jedi Council, you both will."

Again, Obi-Wan had no response. Except… "I am…happy in her presence, Master Yoda. And I believe the feeling is mutual. I feel her hatred for the Jedi growing weaker each day. I have faith that she will soon be free from all hate and learn to trust in the Force as we do."

"All I can ask, that is."

The trek back to his apartment seemed to take an eternity. His entire life had just been turned upside down in mere moments. He wanted to delve into meditation before he returned to his duties as a general to think everything through. He wanted to discuss this newest development with Asajj before he had to leave; she deserved to know, after all. He wanted to sink into her arms and forget everything for the next few hours.

With so many options before him he could not think of a single one to act on first.

When he reached his door he noticed how vacant the room felt. Asajj had left once again. The discovery hurt more than he'd anticipated. She'd done this many times before, so why did he feel so…empty? The hurt lessened when he found a small piece of flimsy on the bed, still mussed from their earlier activities, along with a datachip. I hate long goodbyes, but call me when you get a chance…and don't you dare get killed out there.

She didn't sign it, but he felt his disappointment lifting as he looked at her handwriting. Her concern, though hidden by a demand, was touching, as was the trust she was placing in him by leaving him a direct method of contact. If he'd been a less honorable man he very easily could have turned the chip over to the Council and used it to set her up for a trap. But he wouldn't, and she knew that.

That trust was what kept a smile on his face as he programmed her information into his comlink. Settling in for his last night on Coruscant and comforted by her lingering scent, he sent an experimental wave of calm along their bond. He hoped she felt it wherever she was.