Series: Inspired by Anne Higgins' Bonding Universe
Date: September 1999
Rating: G
Warnings: none
Summary: Qui-Gon deals with a stubborn four year old Obi-Wan
about his food likes and dislikes.
"He's not a bad child, Qui-Gon. He just has a Sith's own
stubbornness." Creche Master Aronna sighed then let a smile
quirk up her lips. "Rather like a former pupil of mine who, as
I remember, ate nothing but squirtzen pudding for six months
straight when he was five."
Qui-Gon gave a little sigh of his own and ran his fingers
through his hair, stopping short of tugging on it in
frustration. "What should I do, Aronna? You know, even now when
things get tense, I get a craving for squirtzen pudding."
She chuckled and tossed her long braid of white hair over a
shoulder. "It's comfort food, sweetheart. Just as mentha bread
is something from Obi-Wan's former home that reminds him of
when he was safe and surrounded by his family."
"While I've been off on one mission after another with only a
quick visit every few weeks or so." Qui-Gon gave a guilty
little start.
"And you've been with him every night with a story or a lullaby
to lull him to sleep. Your mental link is just as important as
your physical presence." She patted his face with her warm
four-fingered hand and smiled up at him. "But now that you are
here and will be for a few days, you need to spend some time
with him. Especially at meal time."
Obi-Wan scowled down at his plate. Torracs. He really, really
disliked torracs. Master Yoda said hating something was bad so
he wouldn't hate the ugly crunchy things but he could dislike
them. His favorite mentha bread was to one side but not even
that could make him feel better.
It had been . . . counting slowly way up to fifteen; Obi-Wan
suddenly wanted to cry at how many days it had been since he'd
had a hug from his bondmate. But only the littlest little ones
cried where everybody could see them so he wouldn't. He
swallowed hard and tried to get rid of the lump in his throat.
No way could he swallow anything with this big old lump just
sitting there.
"Obi-Wan, just look at the nice surprise I have for you."
Master Aronna's voice came from over his shoulder.
Blinking rapidly so she wouldn't know that he'd been even
thinking of crying, Obi-Wan turned his head obediently. Looking
up and up to where his surprise stood with a smile behind the
Creche Master. //Quigee!//
Then, he was being raised up high and hugged tightly while the
warm voice in his head said his name over and over. He held on
tightly, trying very hard not to cry because a Jedi shouldn't
cry just because he was happy.
//Obi-Wan, it's perfectly all right to cry a little when you're
very happy. I am very glad to be home with you.// Qui-Gon spoke
gently into his mind while his big hand slowly patted Obi-Wan's
back in a comforting rhythm.
Obi-Wan sniffed and pulled back just a little to look up into
the face of the person he loved best in the whole world. There
was just a little moisture on the cheek above the tickling
beard and Obi-Wan reached up and patted it away. "I'm very glad
you're home, Qui-Gon. It was a little lonely."
"It was very lonely without my imp to keep me smiling." Qui-Gon
smiled down at him. "I'm starving and I've interrupted your
dinner."
"That's okay. It's torracs." Obi-Wan whispered the awful word.
"Really. I love torracs." Qui-Gon said with every evidence of
enjoyment. "They're very good for my eyesight. A Jedi must be
able to see for long distances. How about we have dinner in my
quarters and I'll eat part of your torracs and you can have my
share of mentha bread?"
Obi-Wan nodded quickly and kept his 'yuck' to himself. Maybe
Qui-Gon wouldn't make him eat too many of the crunchy things.
He held tight to his bondmate's tunic while Master Aronna gave
her permission for Obi-Wan to be late back to the
crèche. Qui-Gon spoke to one of the older trainees and
asked him to deliver two dinners to his quarters. Then they
were striding out of the dining hall.
It was great fun to be perched so high above everybody else. He
could see so many things that he couldn't see while he was
walking. It always seemed that all he could see was knees and
the bottoms of tables whenever he walked by himself. But even
better, Qui-Gon was explaining what he was seeing before he
even had to ask.
Sometimes it seemed like Qui-Gon knew everything and everybody.
And for sure, everybody knew his bondmate since everyone nodded
and bowed to him in the halls. He was pretty important and
Obi-Wan knew that was why he had to go away so often.
//I never want to leave you, Obi-Wan but the Jedi have a duty
to help those who can not help themselves.// The love in his
bondmate's mind voice washed through him with bright warmth.
And it felt good but not as good and real as the big hand that
held him securely to the broad chest.
But he didn't know how to say that in words so he just held on
tighter to the long hair that was his anchor and returned a
wave of love to the mind who always held him close. Then they
were walking through the door into Qui-Gon's rooms and he was
eagerly looking around to find out what was different. It was a
treat to have lots of time to explore this place that made him
feel so safe.
Qui-Gon set him down on the floor and he immediately ran to the
travel bag that lay on the floor near the table. Part of his
job was to empty out the bag whenever his bondmate came home.
There were always such interesting things hidden among the
clothing and datapads. His bondmate explained what everything
was, including the pretty rock that felt good when he held it.
"That one will remind you of me whenever you miss my presence.
It's very strong with the Force." Qui-Gon rumpled his hair and
went to answer the door chime.
Pulling the spare tunic from the bag, he sniffed at it and put
it in the pile to be washed. Most of the clothes went into that
pile and it soon rose as high as his head. He took a deep
breath and held it for as long as he could. It was the scent of
his bondmate that told him he was really home. Turning his
head, he could see Qui-Gon setting plates out on the table.
"Time to eat, Obi-Wan. Goodness, do all of those need to be
washed? I will be busy." Qui-Gon reached down and lifted him
up. "Let's wash up so we can eat."
Obi-Wan smiled. He loved splashing in water, even if soap was
involved. His bondmate set him down on the counter and they
played their game of catch-the-soap through the warm water in
the sink. Qui-Gon laughed out loud twice and Obi-Wan
congratulated himself on freeing the wonderful sound from his
bondmate.
Qui-Gon carried him to the table and set him down on the
overturned basket that sat on the chair just for him. Removing
the covers on two of the dishes on the tray, Obi-Wan sighed at
the sight of the glistening orange-red tubes next to the mentha
slices. Two more covers disappeared and steaming bowls of some
kind of clear soup appeared before them.
"Now, let's see. I believe I was going to take some of your
tarrocs and you were going to have my bread. Are you sure you
want to give them up?" Qui-Gon tilted his head in question and
Obi-Wan nodded vigorously. "Very well. Have you seen them
growing in the kitchen gardens? Did you know that they grow
deep under the earth from a very tiny seed? I always think of
them as hidden treasure."
Obi-Wan looked down at them and shook his head. Oh dear, he
still had six of them to eat. Looking back up at his bondmate,
he saw him crunching happily on the three inch stick. Maybe it
wouldn't be so bad. He picked one up and began to gnaw on it
but his attention was on the man across the table who was
beginning a story about a small life form he'd found on a
planet who loved tarrocs and often slipped into the garden of
the king to pull them up and munch on them.
Enthralled at the tale of the brave little ynnub who dared the
wrath of the Head Gardener, he finished the soup and everything
on his plate. Maybe tarrocs weren't so very bad. Qui-Gon had
said that by the time he'd left McGregor's Planet, the little
ynnub had grown very big and was a great favorite of the Royal
Family's children. So, maybe they'd help him get taller. Then
he wouldn't be the littlest one of his age group.
"Very good, Obi-Wan. You finished everything on your plate. I
expect you'll be much bigger when I come back after my next
mission." Qui-Gon smiled at him and cleared the plates away.
"And now for my favorite dessert. Do you think you'll have some
room for it?"
Obi-Wan struggled with the need to please his bondmate and the
need to see whatever it was first. The bright blue eyes across
the table won. "Sure. What is it?"
"Let's go over and sit on the couch. The best way to eat this
is to share it out of a bowl." Qui-Gon picked up the last
covered dish and came around the table to scoop Obi-Wan into
his other arm.
They settled on the dark brown couch and Obi-Wan watched
curiously while Qui-Gon pulled the lid off the bowl of . . .
quivering green stuff. He swallowed hard and looked up at the
man who held him. He was smiling and actually looked pleased
that they were going to have to eat something that looked
really weird and kind of yucky.
"Now, just a taste because it's very cold. Qualla frost really
should be iced but this looks almost cold enough. You can get a
headache by eating it too fast so I want you to just take a
little sip from my spoon first." Qui-Gon cut into the side of
the shivery stuff and scooped up a spoonful, bringing it to
Obi-Wan's lips.
He didn't want to hurt Qui-Gon's feelings by telling him it
looked gross, so he gulped and screwed his eyes tightly shut
before opening his mouth. Yeow! It was really cold . . . and
slippery . . . and kind of tingly . . . He opened his eyes and
looked at the stuff more closely. While he was swallowing, it
felt like something rich sliding down his throat.
"What's it called again?" He asked cautiously while watching
Qui-Gon spoon up a bigger chunk and suck it into his mouth.
//Qualla frost. It's from a small planet in the Gregorry
System. I discovered it years ago when I was a young Padawan.
It's one of Master Yoda's favorite dishes. That shade of green
looked awfully funny to me and I resisted my Master's urging to
try it for almost a week.// Qui-Gon smiled down at him and
brought the spoon up again.
Obi-Wan leaned forward and took another bite. It didn't taste
like anything he'd ever had before. //Tingly. And sharp. And
kind of good.//
Qui-Gon laughed out loud and hugged him closer. "No 'kind of'
about it, Imp. It's delicious and I'm glad to see that you are
braver than I was. Ever since I finally tried it, it's been my
very favorite dessert."
Obi-Wan was too busy taking another bite to answer except for
his mental request for another story. His bondmate just
chuckled and spun yet another tale about his life as Master
Yoda's Padawan. They finished the bowl of qualla frost and
Obi-Wan helped Qui-Gon do his laundry. He soaked up the
wonderful chance to touch the man who made him feel like he was
home again.
He was practically asleep on Qui-Gon's shoulder when the tall
Jedi carried him back to the creche. Being undressed and put in
his pajamas was hard because he just wanted to fall asleep.
Suddenly an awful thought woke him up completely.
//You don't have to go away again, do you?//
Qui-Gon knelt on the floor by his bed. //Not for some time,
Obi-Wan. Don't worry, I'll be here for almost two weeks and
we'll have lots of time to spend together. Now lay back down
and I'll finish the story about the brave little ynnub who kept
sneaking into the Royal Garden and how the young prince found
him.//
Obi-Wan smiled and nestled in under the warm blanket, letting
his eyes close while still holding on to Qui-Gon's hand. The
warm voice in his mind lulled him to sleep before he even had
time to find out the name of the little prince.
the end for now ( I expect you noticed the liberties I took
with the story of Peter Rabbit. But I figured, whatever works!
<g>)
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