I'm not entirely happy with the ending of this chapter, but I'm tired of looking at it. Eh.

Oh, and the outfit Asajj is wearing in this installment is based on a fanart by chewyli. Just Google "Ventress chewyli" and it's the first result.

Shortly after the confrontation in the forest camp Obi-Wan sent Asajj an encrypted message:

This may be my last message for a while. Anakin nearly saw one of our holotransmissions and started asking questions. Please don't misunderstand. I'm not ashamed of you, not in the slightest. But…well, I don't have to recite your history with him. I'm afraid he's growing more suspicious every day. I don't like keeping secrets from him, but he just wouldn't understand. I miss the sound of voice already, darling. I'll contact you as soon as I can. Oh, and I'll do try my best to stay alive for you.

The following weeks passed without another incident, but Obi-Wan made sure to keep the conversations amongst his forces about the missions at hand. He also made sure to minimize his downtime for two reasons: to not give Anakin another opportunity to barrage him with more questions and to resist the temptation to contact his bonded. He had duties to attend to, and she was more than likely busy hunting down dangerous criminals. They both needed to be on their toes.

So it was when the summons back to the Jedi Temple, some three weeks after the initial incident, came that the knot in his gut turned into a spark of excitement. Outwardly he simply accepted the order in stride, dramatically lamenting having to leave the thrill of battle. Inwardly he couldn't decide of he was more joyful, anxious, or tense. Even if he had time to slip away from the Council, what if he couldn't meet with Asajj? As a bounty hunter, if she didn't work she didn't eat; he would be loath to interrupt her during a job.

Or worse: what if something had happened to her? He hadn't heard from her since his final message (either through the holo or their Force link; the distance probably kept the latter communication from being as effective as it could be), and as far as he knew her lightsabers were still locked away in the Temple. He had no doubt she could very well handle herself in a confrontation, but she'd fought so long with her sabers that anything else would only be second rate.

Or even worse: what if she'd changed her mind about him and no longer wanted anything to do with him? That was probably the worst scenario he could imagine. He wouldn't blame her if that was the case. She'd been forced to see everyone who ever cared about her be ripped away in one way or another. She might have thought it best to distance herself to spare herself that pain again…

Obi-Wan shook the thoughts from his head. Agonizing over hypotheticals wouldn't do him any good. If she had wanted him out of her life he would have felt it through their bond. They may not have been able to speak to each other over the vast distance, but every now and then feelings not his own would well up inside him and he knew that it was her. Having that tiny connection put his mind at ease.

Besides, Asajj was cunning and discreet. If anyone could survive the Coruscant underworld without a scratch, she could.

A thought of her in his mind and a half-smile on his lips, Obi-Wan descended into Coruscant's atmosphere.

The note left on his bed had said to be here at this time. Yet all he saw was a sea of unfamiliar and mostly unfriendly faces. Obi-Wan calmed his anxiousness and found a small spot in the doorway of an abandoned building in which to stand. Hood drawn up and robe swathing his frame, he looked less like a Jedi and more like a vagrant. Good. Then no one would give him a second glance.

What in blazes is keeping her? Although confident in his 'disguise', he was very much eager to leave the oppressive crowd as soon as possible. He sent the thought along the glimmering strand of his side of the bond he shared with the person in question, hoping it was heard on the other end (he was still getting used to communicating solely by thought). For a brief but excruciating moment, only his bright blue link pulsed in the Force. Asajj's deep violet one, though a constant presence even when he was half a galaxy away, remained still and silent. An icy weight sank into his stomach. Had she changed her mind at the last minute?

He was about to turn away and make for the Temple (and his empty bed) when he felt it. A playful brush against his psyche. The mild paranoia of being watched. His heart jumped when he looked to the left…and caught sight of a hooded figure. Nothing out of the ordinary here I the lower levels where half the population wanted to hide their faces. But this one wasn't scurrying along with the crowd or hawking spice or other illicit items. No, this one stood as still as a statue, head held high, unseen eyes fixed on him. His breath caught in his throat at the intensity pouring from the figure, and a shiver went down his spine as a thought not his own caressed his mind: Come and get me, my dear.

The smirk had only half formed on his lips when she disappeared into the crowd. A non-Force sensitive may have had a difficult if not impossible task in following the figure, but Obi-Wan had only to latch onto the now-swirling violet aura and his job was half done. Now he just had to remember how to move his feet.

Asajj kept ahead out of sight, but she made sure to keep her Force signature shining like a beacon. She ran the risk of drawing the attention of other Force users, but this far in the lower levels that risk remained incredibly low. She would risk that chance if it meant enticing the only Jedi she cared about right now.

Every now and then she allowed him to catch a glimpse of her, just enough to put a little more speed in his steps. One time he was bumped by a lumbering Gamorrean, his hood briefly falling back. He'd quickly replaced it, hoping no one had recognized him in that split second. But someone had.

Glimpsing his quarry beneath a flickering street post, Obi-Wan saw Asajj's eyes widen in surprise. She had known it was him following her, right? My, my, she whispered through their bond, her aura dripping with sensuality.

He swallowed hard before finding his voice. Might I inquire as to what has you so speechless, my sweet?

She chuckled mentally, her dark lips turning up in sultry smile as she vanished once more. Catch me and maybe I'll tell you, my darling.

That was all the incentive he needed.

Obi-Wan trailed her for several more minutes until he stood in the shadow of an apartment complex that had probably seen better days. Wider than it was tall, he counted scores of windows on this side alone. There was no telling how many apartments were in the building. Thankfully he had the Force on his side.

Following her glowing aura to the fifth floor, he easily found his target. A nondescript door with chipping paint separated him from his lover (he never thought he'd use that word at all, let alone when describing Asajj Ventress). One thin piece of durasteel. The excitement of the chase paled in comparison to the sudden rush of being so close and yet so far to its end. Taking a breath to steady himself, he waved a hand over the door's entry pad and stepped inside.

A cursory glance told several tales at once. Hairline cracks in the walls and a dark stain on the ceiling spoke of neglect by the landlord, another commonality in the lower levels. The single bed, flat and thin with no pillow told either of its owner's discomfort with softer accommodations or the lack of finances to afford better (he suspected the former). The corner littered with permacrete shavings and half-finished carvings suggested a place of escape into art; he'd have to ask about that. The absence of anything else to personalize the room (the apartment was in fact little more than one oversized room meant to serve as bedroom, living area, and kitchen all in one) conveyed no intention of maintaining residence for very long.

There was certainly more to the apartment's story, but the sight of its occupant was decidedly far more interesting.

Asajj was looking out the sole window through the blinds, ancient devices that went out of style lifetimes ago in favor of the digital ones favored by most everyone of all walks of life, her back to her visitor. Only her tattooed head was visible from the swath of her black robe. She cocked a hip to one side, the movement visible even beneath the cascading fabric. "I was beginning to think you'd lost your way, darling." An exaggerated roll of her shoulders sent the cloak falling to the floor. Grey fabric stretched taut across her back and shoulders, merging into a long black skirt and sleeves that also served as gloves. Every feminine curve was on display from slender neck to flared hips. Obi-Wan had to consciously remember how to breathe. Perhaps it was the knowledge that this was all a show for his benefit that rendered him wordless. "And what kind of Jedi couldn't follow such an insultingly easy trail?" She turned.

Obi-Wan swore his heart and lungs had stopped at the sight before him.

Although she was clothed from neck to fingers to feet, the entire center of her torso was exposed by the daringly low (and wide) cut of her bodice. The fabric only barely covered her breasts, descending lower and lower to stop in a curve several inches below her navel. He knew he was openly gawking but he couldn't help himself. The contrast of so much of her body concealed by the dress with so much flesh tantalizing exposed…

By the Force…

Her throaty chuckle sent a tingle through his body like an electric jolt. "Somehow I knew you'd approve, Obi-Wan." Even the way she said his name affected him. He could only watch helplessly as she leaned her elbows back onto the window's ledge. The movement forced her hips and chest up, a primal display of sexuality that even a human as civilized as Obi-Wan Kenobi was not immune to. "Are you just going to stare all night?" She lifted her right knee, revealing a smooth thigh through a hip-high split in the skirt that had been hidden until now. "Must I always be the one to take initiative, my dear?"

Swallowing hard for the second time in less than an hour, Obi-Wan came back to himself with a snap. He had to put an end to her cruel teasing…and he knew just the method for it. "Well, it does only seem fair," he said when he finally found his voice again. He lifted a hand and called on the Force to wrap around his tormentor. She started at the sensation, but forced herself to relax when the invisible tether pulled her away from the window and drew her towards her visitor. "And besides," he whispered when she stood mere centimeters from him, "you must be exhausted after craving my touch for so long." The words felt odd coming from him; he wasn't exactly experienced with this kind of flirtation.

Asajj didn't seem to mind though. She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck and slid her lower body against his. "Still so arrogant, Jedi."

He bent his head to growl his next words into her ear, these coming more naturally than the last: "It's not arrogance if it's true, dearest." Using the Force to turn her around so that her back was pressed against him, he managed to maintain his composure as she laughed again. That laugh died in a sigh when one hand molded to her waist, the other lighting on her throat. His fingers ghosted over the thin skin, lingering on her pulse for a beat. "I do believe I've found one weakness, Asajj." He was proven right by the shuddering gasp wrenched from her when his lips pressed into her neck. "I wonder if there are any more to be discovered."

Asajj turned her head, her eyes half-closed in pleasure. "You're going to have to find out on your own. Where's the fun if I tell you everything?"

Obi-Wan hummed against her skin, his beard leaving darkening patches in his wake, before remembering something. "Speaking of explanations, what were you so surprised by earlier?"

Her answer was a hand rising to his head, fingers burying themselves in the russet strands. "You cut your hair."

"Do you like it?"

"Not bad, but I liked it better longer." Her fingers tightened suddenly and pulled him down until her lips brushed over his. "Really gave me something to get a grip on." He groaned. She smiled.

Obi-Wan carefully removed her hand before she got any more ideas. He had a few of his own that would require his attention and he couldn't focus if she was going to make good on her implied threat.

Asajj inhaled sharply at the sensation of invisible fingers trailing down her chest. She took a quick inventory of her lover's hands to assure herself she wasn't going crazy; his left stroked up her side to the curve of her breast, his right cradling her arm so that his lips could trace her palm, wrist, and fingers. Reaching through their bond, now glowing brightly with the intensity of their combined emotions, she confirmed what had been her first guess: he was using the Force itself to caress her bared skin.

She stared at him in awe. To an outside observer, he would seem entirely intent on her, his eyes closed as he savored the feel of her flesh beneath his palms, her skin teasingly separated from his lips by a single thin layer of supple Rancor leather. All that he was, but he was simultaneously commanding the Force with such precision and care that very few others could manage. And he made it look so effortless. She'd always known how strong in the Force he was, but this was something else. She realized now that all this time, every instance they had crossed lightsabers, he had been holding back. Not in terms of raw power or strength, but in sheer control.

She couldn't decide if she was more impressed at his skill or annoyed that he hadn't unleashed his full power before.

The bounty hunter came out of her reverie with a gasp when those phantom fingers slipped under the edge of her neckline and closed over her breast. A quiet curse spilled from her lips, earning her a smug grin against her neck. "It's not often I can surprise you so, my darling." His breath pushed her earring against her neck and sent a shiver down her spine. She had no reply despite her instinct to offer a biting rebuttal; his touch, both physical and metaphysical, stole her words and set her skin on fire. "Might I take your silence as encouragement to continue?" As he spoke, his right hand abandoned her arm in favor of more exotic destinations. His fingers pressed gently into the hard bone of her sternum before drifting down to the softer flesh of her abdomen. "Turnabout is fair play, dearest." She lost all coherent thought when his hand slid further down, pausing for a beat on the long scar that ran across her belly just below her navel, then disappeared beneath the grey fabric.

Obi-Wan's mouth descended on her neck as her head fell back to his shoulder with a deep sigh. He grunted at the sudden clasp of her hand on his thigh, right over the place where Dooku's lightsaber had pierced it years before. There was no actual pain, just the memory of it. He pushed it aside and refocused his attentions on the delicate wet flesh beneath his fingertips. Emboldened by her reaction, he tried his hand at verbal seduction once more. "Have you dreamed of this, my darling Asajj? Imagined me touching you just like this?"

She tried to reply but found her throat and tongue quite unable to form the words. Your mouth could be better used for things other than talking, my dear.

He smirked against her shoulder, drinking in her broken moans and quickened breath as he continued to stroke her mercilessly. Quite right you are. But how best to use it…

Her fingers, now trembling, found their way into his hair again. I can think of one thing…

Obi-Wan, however, had other ideas. He turned his head into her neck when she tried to pull him in for a kiss. Any other place, any other time he would have acquiesced. But now that he had control in an area that was normally her expertise he wasn't about to give it up. And despite her unconscious whimper of frustration, he had a feeling she liked it.

While he tormented her neck with sharp nips and soothing sweeps of his tongue and her most sensitive flesh with strong, rhythmic strokes of his talented fingers, he whispered to her through their bond, relishing the spikes in her link when his words hit their mark. How many nights have you imagined your fingers as my own, lying there in the dark? Or my voice whispering to you through your dreams? I often thought of you, Asajj, nearly to distraction. A firm press of his fingers punctuated the half-truth and had her back arching away from him, her hips pressing back.

"Liar," she breathed through a smile. He may have thought about her, but he was far too disciplined, far too good a Jedi to let himself get distracted in the midst of a firefight or hostage negotiation no matter what. "Keep talking." But that didn't mean she didn't enjoy the fantasy of it.

"Your command is my wish," he murmured against the underside of her jaw.

Asajj quickly lost herself in the sensations as they amplified through the Force. Was that his doing as well? It was becoming increasingly hard to tell what sprang from her and what bled over from his own aura. With anyone else she would have been ashamed of the way her body reacted, of the sounds tumbling from her lips. But with this man she couldn't care less. For just a moment there was no war. No Jedi. No Separatists. No blood-soaked past. No judgment.

So when her body pitched forward, held upright only when his arm shot across her shoulders, and a flash of fire consumed her from the inside out she let it happen without the slightest resistance.

Her chest heaved as she fought to catch her breath when that flame finally subsided; the only reason she remained standing was because of his arm still wrapped around her. Several moments passed before she realized Obi-Wan was trying to do the same. Obviously thoughts weren't the only things they could share through their bond. Her shaking fingers traced the line of his jaw. "Tired already, my darling?"

Obi-Wan inhaled deeply to calm his frantic heartbeat as he slowly withdrew his hand from the warmth between her legs. "No in the slightest, my sweet."

The way he said that one word coupled with the way he licked his fingers clean made something inside her snap. Her post-orgasmic fatigue swiftly forgotten, the former assassin captured his lips with a ferocity that stunned them both. She ignored the taste of herself on his tongue and focused instead on his groans of appreciation and the grip of his hands on her shoulders.

Cool air hit her skin as the edges of her dress were suddenly peeled away, pushed down to her wrists until his quick fingers pulled the softened Rancor leather away. One more pass of his hands pushed the gown from her hips to crumple at her feet. He gave her no time to savor the feeling, however.

An uncharacteristic squeak of surprise tore from Asajj's mouth when she found herself lifted from the floor and deposited on her small bed in the blink of an eye. One hand kept the majority of his weight off of her, the other pushing his robe from his back. "Now comes the real fun," he said with a smirk.

The next moments were agonizingly exquisite, filled with a pleasure so sharp it bordered on pain. Obi-Wan seemed to be everywhere at once. His lips and tongue busied themselves with the still-sensitive flesh between her thighs. Soon enough he pressed a finger inside her, then another, pulling back and pushing forward again and again. That alone had her mind threatening to separate from her body, but when his free hand closed over her breast to tease the nipple into a hardened peak and those two digits curled up inside her she couldn't bear it.

Asajj bolted upright with a scream that sounded suspiciously like his name. He quickly followed, removing his hands from her as if he'd been burned. "Are you alright?"

Worry colored his voice, a fact that she would have found amusing if she weren't currently fighting for breath. "Too…much." It was all she could manage, but it was enough. "Too much."

She leaned into his palm when he cupped her cheek. Even opening her eyes was too great a task right now. "My apologies," he said sincerely, a hint of a smile sounding in his voice. He quickly removed his robes and boots so that only his pants remained, then carefully lowered his lover back onto the mattress. Her skin trembled against his as he laid his head on her chest. Her erratic heartbeat was music to his ears as were her gasps. It was almost…meditative.

The unconventional serenity shattered around them when another voice cut through the small apartment. "Hey, you's okay in there?"

Obi-Wan looked up at her for an explanation. Asajj merely groaned. "Landlord." She had calmed down enough to summon a small part of the Force to press the call button on her comm unit by the door. "Fine."

"Y'ur neighbors been callin' down sayin' sounds like you's dyin'."

"Everything is fine." Her voice strained with irritation. Obi-Wan suppressed a laugh at that.

"Well, keep it down. Can' 'ave people botherin' me all night."

"Then tell them to get auditory plugs. I pay my rent like everyone else." Without waiting for a reply she sent a burst of energy towards the console, the metal and wires caving in until it became nothing but scrap. "And what is so funny?"

Obi-Wan couldn't help it. He buried his face in the crook of her neck to stifle his laughter. "Nothing, dearest." When he finally stopped he lifted still-smiling eyes to meet hers. "Now tell me: who is responsible for that dress and when can I shake his or her hand?"

Asajj's annoyance with her landlord subsided with those words. "I knew you'd like it. It's always fun to find new ways to shut you up."

He gave a mock pout in response. "Just a few minutes ago you were encouraging me to keep talking. What a fickle woman you are."

"A woman is at liberty to change her mind, my dear Obi-Wan. Now you tell me: where the hell did you learn how to do that?"

"Well, I do have a very good imagination when it comes to you, darling."

A shared laugh, a wave of affection rippling through the Force, and a long comfortable silence. Obi-Wan closed his eyes and wrapped himself and her in the Force, almost drifting to sleep in contentment. Asajj stared at the ceiling. "How long can you stay?"

The words were whispered so softly he almost didn't hear them. He didn't want to think about leaving just yet, but it was a fair enough question. "'Til dawn." His arms tightened around her as if staving off reality. "Then it's back to the glorious life of leading the war." An idea, one that had been buzzing around in his head for some time, sprang out of his mouth before he could stop it. "You could come with me."

Asajj tensed. Part of her wanted nothing more than to be with him, to see where this bonded life would take them both. But her rational side stomped down that daydream with brutal honesty: he would never leave the Jedi, especially not for her, and she would never be accepted by them. And after so many years of seeing the hypocrisy of the Order and how the Jedi refused to evolve with the changing times she didn't particularly want anything to do with them either. "That wouldn't be a good idea."

Obi-Wan raised himself up just enough to meet her eyes. He wanted her to see how sincere and honest he was. "If you're worried about the Council, I'll vouch for you. They would at least hear your side…"

"And Skywalker?" The name tasted bitter on her tongue and came out like a lead weight. "Your precious Chosen One wouldn't exactly welcome me with open arms."

"Anakin wouldn't understand at first, but he'd come around."

"Right. Just like the Sith Lord controlling this war will stop being a Sith if you could talk to him for five minutes." She shook her head, one hand going to his cheek as if she were speaking to a child. "I appreciate your concern, but the answer's always going to be no."

Obi-Wan avoided her gaze at those words. "'Always' is a very long time." He was disappointed, yes, but he knew not to push her. If he kept looking at her he would have ignored that little voice telling him to stop while he was ahead and continued pleading his case. Instead he glanced down at the scar slicing a pale line across her abdomen. It had come from his lightsaber on Ord Cestus a lifetime ago. His fingers traced the clean line, sadness coloring his face and his Force signature. "I gave this to you."

"I remember very clearly. And don't apologize for it. If you hadn't defended yourself I would have thought much less of you." She tried to make her tone lighter. It only barely worked.

"It's not that. I'm more sorry I couldn't reach you before our battle came to it."

Asajj pulled his head up none too gently, her lips turned down in a frown. "Are you ever going to stop blaming yourself for things out of your control? We fought, I missed a block, and now I have a reminder of my failure to never let it happen again. What's done is done."

He offered a tentative smile, taking one of her hands in his and pressing a kiss to the palm. "Now you're sounding like a Jedi, my sweet."

She gave a dramatic shudder. "Don't insult me, Obi-Wan." Her playful expression assured him she did not truly take offense, though he would be wise to not repeat that in the future. Her body shifted beneath him, her legs finding their way around his thighs and her arms around his neck. "Now that we're done with this dreary talk, dawn is still so far away. However are we to pass the time until then?"

Obi-Wan answered with a devilish smile. "I have a few ideas…"