Author's Note: To put a category or summary on this spoils the
story, so I'll just say yes, our boys are in it. No, there are
no major spoilers, no whips and chains (I know some of you are
disappointed) and no character deaths.
I'll add a summary and categories at the end so that our
wondrous and very overworked list mistress doesn't have to, so
if you don't want a surprise I suppose you could skip to the
end. But trust me, you don't know what you're missing.
This was both beta'ed by and written for my Padawan D'Angel,
who came up with a small plot bunny that I transmogrified into
this.
Disclaimer: The characters within aren't mine. Thou shalt not
make any money off of them.
Enough? Good, then on with the show!
"So what is it?" Han held the small object pinched between his
thumb and his forefinger, studying it, before it was neatly
plucked from his grasp. It bobbled in the air, floating, then
stopped, dropping into Luke's outstretched hand.
"Well, for one, it's very fragile." He replaced it on the
table, ignoring the look Han sent him that clearly said 'show
off'. "And to answer your question. I found in it Obi-Wan's
things after he died." While he'd been huddle in the back of
the Millennium Falcon. He'd been sorting through the small
satchel that had been all the older man had taken with him from
Tatooine, fighting back tears the entire time as the raw ache
of another death filled him.
And strange it had seemed then, to mourn more deeply for a man
he'd known only a handful of days than for the people who had
raised him. But he'd had a bond with Obi-Wan that he'd never
had with his Aunt and Uncle, or for that matter, with anyone
else, ever, not even Leia. Luke shook himself from his memories
and returned his attention to Han.
"Uh huh, it belonged to the old man. So, what is it?" Luke
grinned at his friend's impatience and motioned him toward the
computer terminal. Somewhat dubiously, Han went and on the
screen was a perfect replica of the small stone that was
resting on the table. Small as the palm of a hand, it was cut
like a gem, clear with streaks of translucent green shimmering
through it. It seemed to glow slightly, giving off a faint
luminescent shine.
"I found this on one of the data disc's we got on Dathomir.
According to this," he continued, pointed, "It's a meditation
device. It's supposed to 'induce visions'."
The expression on Han's face went from dubious to downright
skeptical. "Induce visions? Humph. Sounds like more Jedi
mumbo-jumbo to me." Han glanced up at the chronometer and
visibly winced. "Didn't notice it was that late. I've got to
go, Luke, before Her Royal Highness skins me alive." He turned
just as he reached the door. "Good luck with your meditation
device." His laughter was cut of by the closing of the door.
Luke allowed himself a smile. Some things never change. His
smile was replaced by a frown as he regarded the small stone on
the table. He sighed, there was so much about the Jedi ways
that neither Obi-Wan nor Yoda had been able to teach him in
their race to prepare him to meet the Emperor and now they were
both lost.
The data disc's they had recovered on Dathomir helped of
course, but there was more information there than he could sort
through in a lifetime, much less in the time he was able to
concentrate on them. With another heartfelt sigh he settled
himself in front of the monitor again.
It was hours later when he finally admitted defeat. There was
no more information on the stone anywhere else on the disc and
the tiny section he had found had been sketchy at best,
mentioning only that the stone was a focal point for certain
meditations. It could take him years to find anything else. It
had been a stroke of luck as it was to find this file.
His eyes narrowed. There was no such thing as luck. If he had
found that file, then he had been meant to find it and to find
the purpose of the stone. He looked at it again. A focal point
during meditation, the file had said. Well, there was no better
time than the present.
Luke settled himself comfortably on the floor, cross-legged,
the stone held loosely in his hands. He focused his mind, just
as Yoda had taught him all those years ago and opened himself
up to the warm embrace of the living Force. So complete was his
concentration that at first he didn't feel the stone heating in
his grasp until the energy surged up his arms and was driven,
white-hot, into his mind. Not pain, but power, energy unlike
any he had ever felt. He was helpless, images tumbling before
his eyes far too quickly for him to grasp and he was lost in a
swirling mass of color and light.
It seemed to go on for an eternity before he fell abruptly back
into his body and swayed backwards dizzily.
"Master!"
Strong arms caught him and held him and he leaned into them
gratefully. He managed to open his eyes and saw a young man
staring down at him, his face a mask of concern. Nauseous, Luke
closed his eyes again, breathing deeply in an attempt to quell
the sickness.
"Master, are you all right?"
"Yes, I'm fine," Another breath. "Just give me a minute." He
opened his eyes again and felt somewhat better. He was
stretched across the young man's lap. Apparently the young man
had caught him and probably saved him from smashing his head on
the floor. The young man grinned at him.
"You startled me, Master. Out of all the times we've meditated
you've never done that before."
Luke pulled back a bit, "Why do you keep calling...me..." The
sound of his own voice surprised him and he stopped. Concern
etched it way across the young man's face again.
"Master Qui-Gon, are you sure you're all right? Would you like
me to call a healer?"
Master Qui-Gon. But Qui-Gon was the name of...
Luke sucked in a sharp breath, and the other man's brow creased
further. Luke realized he'd been asked a question.
"No, no, I'm fine," he stammered, "I just need to rest a
minute." He pulled complete away and sat with his back against
the wall. The young man looked doubtful, but apparently decided
not to disobey, instead settled into a kneeling position across
from Luke.
His hair was different, golden, not white, and short, with one
slender braid trailing over his shoulder, hanging almost down
to his waist. His face was different as well, cheeks smooth and
beardless, unmarred by both the passage time and tragedy. And
his voice had not the harsh edge of age. But it was -him-
probably not much older than Luke had been when he'd first met
him.
"Obi-Wan," he whispered hoarsely. The young man looked at him
expectantly. His brow furrowed as no more words were
forthcoming.
"Yes, Master?" Obi-Wan asked, hesitantly. He shifted
uncomfortably as Qui-Gon still said nothing. Perhaps he should
have called the healer after all. His master was looking at him
very strangely.
Luke looked downward at himself, at his hands, his clothes,
everything. No, this was definitely not the body that he had
woken up in this morning. It was much larger than his own with
long hair that he could feel against his neck. He remembered
the stone. A vision, then, he was experiencing a vision,
nothing more.
If that was true then this was a very elaborate vision. He
could feel the coldness of the floor beneath him and Obi-Wan
had felt very solid against him.
He sat, silently contemplating this when a thought hit him.
If Qui-Gon Jinn was still alive, then this was before Obi-Wan
had taken Anakin as his apprentice, it was before -everything-.
If he just...
He cut off the idea. If this was real, then he had no right to
tamper with the order of things. Everything happened for a
reason, even tragedy. As it was, he wasn't going to do anything
until he figured out exactly what was going on.
And right now he had other things to concern himself with. The
Force around Obi-Wan was practically humming with distress and
in a moment he was probably going disregard Luke's order and
call the healers.
"I still feel a bit unsteady, uh," What was that word?
Think..think, "Padawan." That must have been it, Obi-Wan
relaxed somewhat. "Perhaps I should lie down for a little
while." So I can figure out what is happening.
With a bit of effort Luke managed to push himself to his feet.
He swayed slightly, still disorientated, and Obi-Wan was beside
him in an instant, looping Luke's arm over his shoulder.
Luke leaned on him gratefully, biting back a smile that would
only have confused Obi-Wan further. Always previously around
Obi-Wan the man had seemed larger that life. In his mind's eye
Obi-Wan towered over him, even though in actuality they had
been very close in height. Now he was the one on high, both in
height and experience. The thought was both amusing and
disconcerting.
He leaned on Obi-Wan perhaps a bit more than necessary,
allowing the younger man to take the lead so that Luke could
hide the fact that he had no idea where to go. The corridors
they traveled were simple, no paintings or decorations on the
walls. But the windows...it took all his self-discipline not to
stop and stare at the strange beauty of the city outside.
Coruscant, in all its lost majesty, as it had been so long ago.
Obi-Wan lead him to a door and keyed it open, something that
Luke was silently thankful for. He helped Luke to the bed and
Luke sank down on it gratefully. He started when he felt the
young man's hands at his waist but Obi-Wan was simply removing
his belt. Luke allowed the young man the liberty, since he had
no idea how to take it off himself and had no wish to be
fumbling with it in front of his 'apprentice'.
His tunics followed and then Obi-Wan knelt, helping Luke to
take off his boots. Again, Luke allowed Obi-Wan to take the
lead, wary of doing anything unusual and arousing Obi-Wan's
suspicion. If only he knew what he was -doing- here! This whole
incident was bordering on surreal. He realized a beat late that
Obi-Wan was speaking to him.
"Would you like me to stay, Master?"
Luke blinked, somewhat bewildered. Surely Qui-Gon wouldn't want
anyone hovering over him like that, especially his apprentice,
but Obi-Wan hadn't been embarrassed or hesitant to ask...
"You may stay if you like," Luke answered carefully. He felt a
small wave of pleasure ripple through Obi-Wan and then the
young man got to his feet, folding Luke's/Qui-Gon's clothing.
Luke leaned back onto the bunk and sighed with relief. He
rolled on his side towards the wall and closed his eyes.
Perhaps in the morning he could make some sense of this.
Luke's eyes flew open in shock as a warm body slid into the bed
and spooned up behind him, snuggling close.
"Master?" Again that doubtful tone mixed with concern. "You're
very tense, are you feeling worse?"
"No, no," Luke managed to croak out. "It's just...just been a
long day."
Obi-Wan wasn't sure how early afternoon could count as a long
day but it wasn't his place to question. Instead, he lightly
massaged Qui-Gon's shoulders, soothing the taut muscles.
Luke forced himself to relax, again relying on Obi-Wan to not
do anything that Qui-Gon wouldn't permit. Obi-Wan responded to
that relaxation by pulling Luke close again and with a jolt
Luke realized that Obi-Wan was as near naked as he was.
Obi-Wan pressed his face to the back of Qui-Gon's neck,
inhaling the clean scent of the silky hair and skin. He sighed,
contented, blowing an accidental puff of warm air on the
exposed ear.
Luke's skin prickled at that heated rush of air and he had to
forcibly tamp down his body's reaction to it, ignoring the warm
figure behind him. Obi-Wan the Jedi knight had been fascinating
but Obi-Wan the apprentice was beautiful. And very warm. And
curled up behind him on a bed.
No, this would -not- do, a Jedi must have complete control over
his body as well as his mind and he wasn't about to even
consider doing such an inappropriate action. He was clearly
seeing too much in this, of course Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon would
have a close relationship. But this close? his mind
asked.
He took a deep breath and began a calming technique, settling
his mind. He might have succeeded if Obi-Wan hadn't chosen just
that moment to press a soft kiss to the nape of Luke's neck.
More kisses followed tentative, seeking kisses and Luke would
have to be a fool or a virgin not to hear the unasked question
in those soft touches.
Close relationship indeed. All right, Master Jedi, he thought,
now what?
He could dissuade him, could plead illness and surely Obi-Wan
would understand, would pull back and settle into sleep. All he
had to do was tell Obi-Wan he was too tired, too unwell. All he
had to do was say it, just a few simple words. Words that
refused to come.
In the end he did nothing and Obi-Wan seemed to take his
silence as a tacit agreement. Light kisses were followed by
hands with long slender fingers, tracing circles over Luke's
borrowed flesh. One hand slid up and cupped Luke's cheek, nails
lightly scraping the beard that Luke had been unaware of until
just that moment.
A thumb brushed over Luke's lips and he parted them, barely
letting his tongue touch it before he could stop himself. Oh,
but this was wrong, this was insane! Obi-Wan's mouth had moved
up to his ear, sucking the soft lobe into his mouth and Luke
groaned, finally leaning into the caresses that were wreaking
such havoc within him.
It wasn't just sex he knew. Sex he could resist, he had power
over the physical demands of his flesh. But that physicality
combined with what Obi-Wan was feeling, the young man had
opened himself up to who he thought was his lover, letting his
emotions wash over Luke; pleasure, heat...love. And this was
-Obi-Wan-, Obi-Wan was touching him, with talented fingers that
were drifting lower, now lightly pinching Luke's nipples. And
Obi-Wan was loving him. To have such emotions coming at him, if
not for him, was something that Luke could not resist. Not from
Obi-Wan.
And so even as he was guiltily aware of being the usurper, a
thief who was stealing that which did not belong to him, he
reveled in it, lost himself to the sensation. Those teasing
hands cupped his erection through the thin barrier of his pants
at the same moment Obi-Wan's mouth closed over Luke's. He
gasped and Obi-Wan's tongue took advantage of the lapse,
sliding in to explore the wet silk of Luke's mouth.
Obi-Wan pulled back, his hands went to the waistband of
Qui-Gon's trousers and skimmed them off. He quickly shed his
own pants before again snuggling up behind his master, this
time with no barriers between them. Obi-Wan could feel his
master's arousal, the air practically vibrated with it, but
still he was very gentle, very careful in his touches, giving
the other man every opportunity to say no.
His Master was acting so strangely. Never before in their
lovemaking had he been so...passive. They had always been
equals here, if not elsewhere, and their passion had sometimes
been more of a battle than making love, each fighting for and
allowing dominance in turn. He knew that Qui-Gon wasn't just
humoring him, allowing sex that he didn't really want, but then
why was he acting so oddly? Obi-Wan pushed the thought aside,
now was definitely not the time to be worrying about this.
Instead, he simply enjoyed the pleasure of touching the one
that he loved so, the firm silky flesh beneath his hands that
he knew so well.
Luke felt the damp, heated length of Obi-Wan's arousal pressed
against his back and blood surged to his already throbbing
cock.
Obi-Wan's hands resumed their path, lazily slithering down
Luke's body to return to his groin. Slender fingers combed
through the coarse hair, teasingly avoiding the cock that
swelled up from that soft nest. Luke made a soft sound of
protest, angled his hips upward towards those hands but they
skittered away, returning only when he relaxed.
Fingers lightly tripped downward, stroking Luke's hip, down his
thigh before skimming back up leaving Luke's flesh entirely to
hover over his erection, not touching but close enough for Luke
to feel the warmth of the palm only centimeters away from his
aroused flesh. He held his breath, waiting, not daring to move
for fear of that hand being retracted yet again.
The tip of one finger just touched the crown, found the
teardrop of slick liquid there. That finger smeared the fluid
all over the head and down the shaft, forcing a muffled whimper
from Luke. More fingers joined, fluttered over the shaft in
ever changing patterns before finally curling around it, barely
squeezing it.
Luke was lost in a storm of frustration and anticipation,
struggling to remain still. A soft, keening cry wrenched its
way past his constricted throat as the hand tightened briefly
before pulling back.
He nearly screamed, would have screamed if he hadn't felt a
soothing mind touch, reassuring him. Luke settled back into the
blankets, again forcing his body to stillness, to wait.
He heard the sound of a jar opening and then the hand returned,
cool and slick with gel and he moaned helplessly as it
tightened, squeezing then releasing. The other hand, the one
that he had been dimly aware of stroking his back previously,
slid downward to the dark crevasse of Luke's ass.
Luke stiffened as those fingers sought the puckered entrance of
his body, this was so new to him, he'd -never- done this but
the body he was in apparently had and those fingers slid in
with little resistance despite Luke's tension. The hand around
his cock tighten, distracting him and another oiled finger
eased its way into his body, sliding carefully in and out. They
twisted slightly, rubbed a spot that flared sensation across
Luke's already overwrought nerves.
The fingers pulled out and Luke was so irrevocably lost in a
fog of ecstasy that he hardly noticed the thickness that
replaced them, seeking entrance.
Obi-Wan soothed his master as gently as if he'd been a virgin,
ever conscious of his unusual tenseness, carefully easing his
cock into the tight passage even as Qui-Gon finally relaxed. He
sank in almost abruptly, gasping slightly as the heat and
tightness engulfed his throbbing erection.
With care, he began to move, only a tiny bit at first, in and
out, but Qui-Gon began to respond, beautifully, as he always
had before, pushing backwards into each thrust.
Luke arched against Obi-Wan even as he thrust into the slick
tunnel of Obi-Wan's hand around his own cock, the pleasure
doubling and redoubling with each deep lunge into his body, all
his senses focused on ecstasy within and without.
Until he felt the brush of Obi-Wan's mind against his.
He was reached for a bond that wasn't there and Luke nearly
wept, knew that this would end now, that he would be evicted
from this warm cocoon of sensuality and love. He waited for the
exclamation, the rejection.
They never came.
Instead, he felt a decade-old bond, a link of master and
apprentice that had been barely formed and then only completed
after death, snap into place within him and then they were
-joined-, two separate beings as one.
Luke could feel Obi-Wan's bewilderment, he knew something was
strange, felt the shift, the reversal, but the younger man
could also feel that the man in his arms loved him and for this
brief suspended moment that was all that mattered.
Usurper no longer the love he felt was directed at -him- and
even as his body exploded into a brilliant swirl of light and
passion, no greater pleasure could be had then the embrace of
emotion that surrounded him. He had barely touched it when the
world seemed to shatter like a mirror, raining down a million
silvered fragments into Luke's mind. He erupted into a
kaleidoscope of color and sensation until it stopped abruptly
and he reeled backwards into his own body, his pulse still
throbbing in his ears.
Before he even realized where he was the stone slipped from his
lax fingers and fell to the hard polished floor, where it
fractured in half, its luminescence dimmed.
He collapsed backwards onto his elbows, his mind still dazed
with aftershocks of pleasure and its abrupt withdrawal. Long
moments passed before he finally struggled back up to a sitting
position to stare bleakly at the broken stone. He found that
the meaning was clear to him now, as if someone had whispered
words directly into his mind. Now he understood.
The stone had not been a focal point as much as it had shown
him -his- focal point. And it had shown him that his focus was
wrong.
It had made him realize that Obi-Wan was not -could not- be his
chosen one, his love, no matter how much or how long he wished
it could be so. Deny it to himself as he might, even after all
this time he had still held a kernel of longing in his heart
for Obi-Wan. The man had been his focus for so long, for so
many years; it was easy to see how Luke had allowed this to
happen.
And now he had been allowed to stand, briefly, in Qui-Gon's
place, just long enough to realize that he didn't belong there.
He saw that he had to let it go and start seeking his own true
one, to stop yearning for one that was not his. Somewhere he
-would- find someone to love him like that. He would let go of
Obi-Wan and wrap himself within the soul of his other.
But not tonight.
Tonight, he pulled the blanket from his sleep couch and curled
into a corner, eyes closed against the flickering candlelight
as he sat and mentally replayed old memories. And new ones as
well.
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