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Obi-Wan was absolutely exhausted and soaked to the bone. It was Qui-Gon and his first solo mission as senior Padawans and it had quickly gone from bad, to worse, to downright miserable in a matter of hours. They had been given the simple task of retrieving a senator from a nearby planet and escorting them back to Coruscant. It should have been a quick milk run of a mission, but their starship’s systems had gone haywire as they encountered a freak energy field when dropping out of hyperspace.
The Padawans had been able to land their craft safely on the small, rainy, uncharted planet using the Force and their emergency landing gear, but the turbulence they had to fly through to make the landing had further damaged their ship. As soon as they touched down, they started an emergency SOS broadcast to their Master and the Temple, and had left the ship to check the surrounding area for signs of civilization. They had landed in a clearing amid dense forest, and the storm continued to rage around them as they set off.
Not long after they had closed the boarding ramp, before they could reach the forest proper, a bright bolt of lightning cut through the sky, crashing into the ship’s deep space comm antenna, frying their communication gear and destroying the already damaged primary power systems that were needed to open the ramp, stranding them in the eternal drizzling rain.
After evaluating the damage done, they had decided to split up, Obi-Wan checking for any way into the ship, and Qui-Gon continuing to search for signs of life.
Obi-Wan groaned as he sat under the ship, wondering if they should be concerned about another lightning strike, even if the storm seemed to be lifting. Taking shelter under the ship would keep them from the worst of the downfall and they had Qui-Gon’s small travel pack, but most of their rations and supplies were still onboard the ship. They had considered using their sabers to cut a hole in the hull, but, if by some miracle, the power came back on they didn't want to compromise the ship. They couldn’t even be sure their signal had made it off planet, let alone to their Master.
“Hey, are you hungry?” Qui-Gon held up a brightly wrapped bar as he sat next to Obi-Wan.
“Where did you find that?” The chocolate bar in Qui-Gon’s outstretched hand was Obi-Wan’s favorite, a fruity dark confection studded with toasted nuts and pieces of caramelized sugar that could only be found in select shops on Coruscant. It was expensive, something he had only had given to him as gifts or on the even rarer occasion he had a bit of spending money.
Qui-Gon laughed, a deep, rich sound, “Oh, this? I’ve been carrying it around since your last name day. It was going to be your present, but I figured you had quite enough chocolate for one day after what happened on our mission to Alderaan.”
“Don’t remind me.” Obi-Wan shivered at the memory. It had been over eight months since that terrible decision and he still had regret for his behavior and questions he didn’t dare ask Qui-Gon.
“Did you find anything?” Obi-Wan asked, shifting the attention away from his mistakes back to their current predicament.
Qui-Gon shook his head, “Nothing except for a few rodents. What about you? Any luck getting us inside?”
“No, it’s sealed tight. It’s a good thing we got the signal started when we did before everything blew. Hopefully our Master will receive it.”
“Here.” Qui-Gon broke off a piece of the candy for himself and handed the rest to Obi-Wan. “Chocolate always helps.”
“Thank you.” Obi-Wan let the chocolate slowly melt across his tongue, the almost overly sweet burnt sugar mellowing the sharp bitterness of the chocolate that coated his mouth. It was beautiful harmony in every bite, all of the components in perfect balance.
A cold breeze blew through their rough camp, and Obi-Wan shivered, his clothing still damp.
“Why don’t you join me? We will be warmer together.” Qui-Gon asked as he stretched his long limbs, leaning against one of the ship’s large landing stands.
Obi-Wan scooted closer to the stand, sitting with his back braced against it, careful to leave a respectful amount of space between them. Qui-Gon had other ideas, wrapping his arm around Obi-Wan and pulling him close to his side, pressed thigh to thigh.
“That’s better.” Qui-Gon shifted again, reaching out to break off another piece of chocolate, but left his other arm around Obi-Wan’s shoulder. Obi-Wan felt his face heat, his heart and thoughts racing at the maintained contact.
Trying to distract himself, Obi-Wan looked up to the ship above them, where the landing gear housing was located and noticed a small seam line around the leg.
“What if we try to force open the landing gear hatch? There should be an opening for the astro droids to do repairs during flight.”
“We can try, but let’s finish your chocolate first. We don’t need to rush, by the look of things, we will be here for a while.” Qui-Gon nestled his head against Obi-Wan’s shoulder, shifting his arm lower to rest almost around Obi-Wan’s waist, something he hadn’t done since their youth. The urge to run his hands through Qui-Gon’s soft hair swept through Obi-Wan. Instead, he broke off another piece of the confection.
“Would you like some more?” Obi-Wan asked, holding the bite out to Qui-Gon. Instead of using his free hand, Qui-Gon took the offered piece between his lips, leaving his arms wrapped around Obi-Wan. The soft brush of lips against Obi-Wan’s fingertips sent a shiver down the Padawan’s spine.
They stayed like that for a long time, the drizzling rain against the hull of the ship and the distant thunder the only sound as they slowly ate small bits of the chocolate, Obi-Wan delicately giving Qui-Gon pieces while Qui-Gon held him tight, neither of them wanting to let go of the comfort and warmth they had found in each other.
It was times like this Obi-Wan found he enjoyed the most in his life as a Jedi apprentice, quiet, almost meditative moments with Qui-Gon by his side. Even the rain didn’t seem so miserable as he munched on another piece of the rich treat. Now that he was taking the time to simply be, the planet was beautiful with its misty gray rain and giant bright green trees. Even Obi-Wan could feel the strength of the Living Force surrounding them.
Well before Obi-Wan was ready to let go, the chocolate ran out and Obi-Wan exhaled a remorseful sigh. Doubt started to sink into his chest, even if they could pry the hatch open, there was still the question of if one of them could fit inside, or if it would lead to the ship proper. There was also the off chance that they would cause some sort of damage and lose even the half shelter they had made under the ship.
“Are you ready to try and pry this open?” Obi-Wan asked, unsure if it was even worth the effort as he looked up into the landing gear.
“In a moment.” Qui-Gon lifted Obi-Wan’s hand, palm up, running his large fingers across the sensitive skin drawing Obi-Wan’s attention to a small smudge of chocolate.
“You can’t eat chocolate without getting it all over yourself, can you?” Qui-Gon asked as he inspected the offending smear, his eyes bright with laughter.
Obi-Wan tried to pull his hand back to wipe it on the thick grass beneath them, embarrassed that he hadn't noticed, too distracted by Qui-Gon’s closeness. But Qui-Gon held his hand firm, pulling it, and Obi-Wan closer. Obi-Wan could feel warm breath against his skin as Qui-Gon leaned into his palm, kissing away the last bit of chocolate.
“I trust you, Obi-Wan. This will work.”