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Obi-Wan had not been an easy Padawan, he knew this.
He followed the rules to an extent that it subdued him in battle. He spent more time in the library instead of training or meditating. He cared too much.
He’d put Qui-Gon through the wringer despite desperately wanting to impress him. Today was the day he’d passed the trials, to finally show Qui-Gon all his efforts were not made in vain. He quietly followed the taller man out of the Jedi temple, looking up at him and quickly looking down before he’d catch him. Such was their routine.
“May I show you something?” Qui-Gon asked, Obi-Wan could tell his former master wasn’t too certain on how to speak to him now that he was no longer his Padawan. He’d begun to grow out his hair, it hugged the back of his neck. Qui-Gon looked at it a lot.
“What is it?” Obi-Wan replied, brightly smiling up at his former master. Qui-Gon shrugged, his monstrous shoulders practically touching his ears. He had his hair pulled in a braid that rested on his back, something he only did for special occasions.
“You’ll see,” he replied, looking down at Obi-Wan, careful not to stare.
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He’d brought him to a planet that Obi-Wan had always read about but never been to, Cambio. The atmosphere changed on the hour, creating a completely different sky that had been there before. When they touched down on the icy ground, the sky was dark blue with bright, luminescent streaks of purple and green over idyllic cliffs. They stared, for a while, watching the lights move about like waves on the sea.
“I’m going to miss you,” Qui-Gon said, quietly. Obi-Wan felt his heart loudly thump in his chest, he wondered if his master could hear it. He dug his fingernails into his palm, this wasn’t really happening.
“I know I haven’t given you the easiest of times, but you have been excellent,” Qui-Gon said, the purple and green skylights bouncing off his dark eyes. Obi-Wan knew Qui-Gon could sense his nervousness, why say all this if he couldn’t?
Obi-Wan stepped out in front of Qui-Gon, close enough that the clouds of their warm breath met in the same place. The older man slyly smiled down at Obi-Wan.
“Why did you bring me here, Qui-Gon?” He asked.
There hadn’t always been so much tension between the two of them. However, the past few years had been painful for Obi-Wan. He’d held Qui-Gon’s body, nearly lifeless in his arms, and begged the Force not to take him away after his battle on Naboo. The nature of their relationship had changed, Obi-Wan felt for him in a way he’d never felt for anybody before.
After Qui-Gon had returned to full health, Obi-Wan found himself dreaming of him every night. There would be whole days where he couldn’t look at his master without imagining how it felt to be surrounded in his arms.
Obi-Wan felt his breath catch on a thought when Qui-Gon placed a warm, large hand on his neck. He drew circles with his thumb at the base of his jaw, rendering his former Padawan quiet and shocked.
“I’ve always been ready to be one with the force, ever since I was young,” Qui-Gon said, now running a few long fingers through Obi-Wan’s hair. “Do you know why I didn’t? On Naboo?”
Obi-Wan shook his head and looked down at his boots. Qui-Gon softly ran his fingers over his jaw, so he was looking at him again. Obi-Wan didn’t breathe, he wouldn’t dare.
“You were waiting for me,” Qui-Gon carefully placed his other hand on Obi-Wan’s robes, lightly draping his fingers over the small of his back, “nothing has ever tethered me to my own life quite the way that you have.”
Obi-Wan hadn’t let himself imagine this moment, yet it ceaselessly appeared in his dreams. Qui-Gon’s hands on his face, their bodies close together. They’d had been physically closer, in training, in battle. Yet, the air around them felt different. Obi-Wan could feel Qui-Gon holding him in the force, touching him in a way that he never had before.
“Don’t do this to me,” Obi-Wan whispered, recklessly, “not unless you mean it.”
Qui-Gon furrowed his eyebrows, realizing how much he’d hurt Obi-Wan by keeping his feelings a secret. The two of them never had to speak much to communicate, Qui-Gon had always trusted Obi-Wan to simply know.
“I didn’t want to get my hopes up, I didn’t-“ Obi-Wan started, his face growing warmer as he stumbled over his words. Deciding that actions would be better than words, Qui-Gon bent down and placed a warm kiss on Obi-Wan’s lips. He felt no resistance from Obi-Wan, who quickly sank into his arms like hot sand. He breathed hard into the kiss as years of desperation and wanting began to rise to the surface.
“How long?” Obi-Wan asked, whispering into Qui-Gon’s lips as he struggled to get a word out. He wanted to carelessly card his fingers through his long hair, he’d imagined it enough times.
Qui-Gon kissed him harder, pulling tight breaths out of his chest. Warmth spread over them as the sky began to shift from navy to orange, the small suns of Cambio beginning to peak over the mountaintops.
“Forever, I believe,” Qui-Gon replied, unashamedly staring at his former Padawan.
Obi-Wan scoffed, shaking his head and briefly resting it on Qui-Gon’s chest.
“Then I believe you owe me quite a few of these,” Obi-Wan replied, standing on his tiptoes to reach Qui-Gon’s height and kissing him again.
Obi-Wan perched a hand behind Qui-Gon’s neck and pulled him in closer, only poking the fire he’d felt for his master for so long. He dug his fingers into Qui-Gon’s robes as he felt the older man dig into his skin. Obi-Wan let out a sharp breath, nearly reminiscent of a needy whimper, as Qui-Gon pulled him in.
Qui-Gon softly moved away, knowing that any more time kissing Obi-Wan like this and he’d be a slave to his own whims. He wanted more, but also knew he wanted to wait until his former Padawan was ready.
He placed a warm kiss on Obi-Wan’s temples as he took his hands into his, the suns of Cambio now hanging in the dusty sky. The two Jedi now happily aware of how often things changed.