Chapter 11

Luna opened her eyes with a satisfied smile. The events of the previous night had left her feeling deliciously sore. After their first encounter and a brief rest, they had made love two more times before falling asleep in earnest. She shivered with pleasure at the memory. It had been like nothing else she had ever experienced.

Knowing she had been his first was a heady aphrodisiac. Because of his inexperience, she had anticipated the first encounter would be over relatively quickly. It didn't last long, but what she hadn't been prepared for was the intensity of their connection. She felt his joy and excitement as if it were her own, and when he finally entered her his ecstasy was so intense she came along with him. How this incredible man had remained celibate for so long astounded her.

There had been a few other men over the years, but none of them held a candle to Obi-Wan. He fit perfectly into an empty place in her heart she hadn't even realized was there making her feel complete in a way that she wasn't anticipating. Currently he was curled up behind her breathing steadily, his strong arm draped around her waist.

She hated to get up, but nature was calling. When she came out of the refresher, Obi-Wan was beginning to stir. "Mmmm…Luna…Luna?" His eyes opened and a smile spread over his face. "Come back to bed." He held back the covers and she slipped in beside him. He immediately drew her into his arms and began lazily kissing the sensitive skin of her neck and nuzzling her ear. "Good morning my darling. How do you feel?"

"Mmmm…good."

"Just good?" He placed small soft kisses along the shell of her ear.

She smiled, turning towards him and kissed him gently on the lips. She shook her head. The great Jedi Master was fishing for compliments. "Ok, not just good. Incredible."

He beamed. "Incredible? Really?"

He looked so happy she giggled. "What I want to know is how you feel. Did reality live up to your imagination?"

"Yes." he answered without hesitation. "I feel marvelous. I never imagined it would be like that." A look of wonder mixed with utter contentment washed over his features.

A wave of affection flooded through Luna. To think she might have ended up who knows where in that escape pod. Thank the Force they had found each other!

Suddenly she looked at the chrono and realized it was getting late. She kissed him soundly and sat up, grabbing his hand. "Come on, we should take a shower or we'll miss check out time. Besides, I'm starving!"

….

On the way home they discussed Obi-Wan's plan to visit the Lars family. He hadn't been to see them in person since dropping Luke off that first evening. Owen Lars was understandably upset by the whole situation. Being asked to care for the child of a stepbrother he had only met once was a major imposition. Beru had been hesitant as well, but the moment Obi-Wan pulled back the blanket to reveal Luke's tiny face she had fallen hopelessly in love with the boy. They finally agreed to take him for Shmi's sake, but sensing that Owen was still very conflicted, Obi-Wan had quietly departed and stayed out of the way to give them a chance to bond with the child.

"So they are raising him using his actual name? Isn't that dangerous? Skywalker isn't that common. Aren't they afraid someone will find out who he is?"

"When I brought Luke here I thought Anakin was dead. That's what I told them. It wasn't until a few weeks later that I realized he was still alive. I couldn't exactly go back and tell them they were caring for the son of a Sith lord who had committed mass murderer. Owen already hates Jedi as it is. Besides, the Anakin I knew and trained is dead. Darth Vader is all that remains in the husk that used to be his body so it wasn't really a lie. At least from a certain point of view."

She looked at him skeptically. "I don't know. It seems wrong somehow."

"I thought about this for a long time. What good could come from Owen knowing the truth right now? He might take his fears out on the boy, or worse. Imagine if he tried to contact Vader for some reason? He has no idea what kind of a monster Anakin has become and he wouldn't believe me if I told him."

"True. But, I do think Luke has a right to know. Maybe not until he's older, but someone should tell him. Dealing in half truths never ends well."

"I intend to tell him everything when he gets older. For the moment though, my main priority is to find out how he is doing and if he has displayed any signs of Force sensitivity yet. If he has, then he needs to begin training immediately."

"But he's so little!"

"Younglings were brought to the temple at this age all the time. I was only about 6 months old myself when I was discovered and brought to Coruscant. It's not unusual at all."

"What was it like growing up like that?" Luna asked.

Obi-Wan thought back over his childhood. "It was fine I suppose. There's not much to tell, really. In the nursery there were droids to watch over us. Sometimes Jedi would come to visit. Yoda made a point of stopping in each day. Then when we got older we were assigned to different clans. We had classes together and went through our initiate trials. I suppose it was something like boarding school."

"Boarding school with lightsabers?" She giggled.

"Something like that." He smiled.

It didn't sound bad, Luna thought to herself, but it did sound impersonal and a bit cold. Her youth had been vastly different. She had been an unexpected but joyous surprise to her parents who had given up hope of ever having a child of their own. While they were careful not to spoil her, they had adored her. How sad to grow up never knowing your family she thought. If she ever had children, she wanted them to know who they were and how much they were loved.

…

The hut was a welcome sight after the hot sandy ride through the desert. They fixed the vaporator and cheered when it hummed to life again, slowly extracting moisture from the air. That evening they sat in their customary spots watching the suns set. It was nice to be home again. He was starting to think of this as home, he realized. When had that happened?

"What time do you think you'll go in the morning?" Luna asked?

"Early. They are always up at the crack of dawn."

"We'd better get to bed then." She rose to go inside and and looked back over her shoulder expectantly. "Coming?" There was no need to ask him twice!