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To say your day had been rough felt like a huge understatement. Your Padawan was not progressing as he should have been and it had reflected poorly on you during your meeting with the Jedi Council. They had been critical of your training and you had known better than to argue with them. The fact was your Padawan was extremely stubborn and resisted your teachings and advice with every step. You cared about him and he had potential, if only he would listen.
To make matters worse, Obi-Wan was on the Council. You had been best friends since you yourselves were Padawans; you were practically inseparable and you made for an effective team on missions. Recently, feelings had come to light between the two of you and though attachment was forbidden by the Jedi Code, neither of you seemed able to keep your feelings at bay. No one could know. It was a dangerous path to tread, but it was worth it if it meant you could be with him. You both cleared your minds when you were around others, effectively keeping them in the dark about the nature of your relationship. The one drawback to this plan the two of you concocted was that Obi-Wan could not defend you from the rest of the Council, not when they all seemed to be in agreement. To do so would show that he was unable to be impartial when it came to you and you didn't want the other Jedi looking too closely at the implications of that.
While you stood in front of them, taking their criticism in stride as best you could, you let your eyes flick to Obi-Wan for a brief moment. You were met with a pinched brow and a sympathetic look in his blue eyes. A few moments later, you were dismissed and you dropped his gaze, bowing slightly and thanking the Council for their feedback—however much you disagreed with it—before heading to your quarters. After everything that had happened today, you were drained and exhausted. All you wanted was to rest.
As you step into your room, you pull off your robe and toss it across the back of a chair. Being in your Jedi robes right now feels uncomfortable, a reminder of your failure. With the robes and tunic gone, you take in a shaky breath and let it out slowly as you work to keep control of your emotions. You slip into your sleep clothes, grateful for the loose-fitting and soft material as you settle yourself on the sofa in the small living area of your apartment. Almost as soon as you sit down, you hear a soft knock against your door. Frowning, you get up and open the door.
"Obi-Wan," you whisper as he steps inside. You have just enough sense to slap the button to close the door behind him before you throw yourself into his arms.
He laughs softly, wrapping his arms around you. "Hello, darling," he says fondly. Pulling back so he can look at you, an expression of concern crosses his face. "You took that meeting with the Council pretty hard, didn't you?"
You sigh, turning away and going back to your place on the sofa, your legs curling up to your chest as you make yourself as small as you can. "It's not fair," you mutter. "They don't understand what it's like to have a Padawan who refuses to follow orders and doesn't listen to anything I say!"
Obi-Wan sits next to you, still leaving a little space in case you want to be left alone. "No, perhaps most of them don't," he says thoughtfully. "But I do. You remember how long it took to get Anakin to start listening. And even now he still does whatever he feels is best more often than I'd like. But the point is, some Padawans just…need a little more time."
You unfold your legs and shift to lean into his side, laying your head on his shoulder as he wraps his arm around your waist.
"You're a good teacher," he says quietly as he strokes his fingers up and down your side in a comforting gesture. "And I know the Council will see it soon."
"Thank you," you murmur against the coarse fabric of his tunic. The warm scent of him always manages to calm your nerves and you move to get closer to him, straddling his legs and settling yourself in his lap so you can lay your head on his chest, wrapping your arms around his waist.
You can feel more than hear his soft chuckle rumble against your ear where it's pressed to his chest. One arm wraps around your back and you feel his other hand slowly start to stroke your hair until you go boneless in his arms. Pressed up against him as you are, you can feel every breath, every steady beat of his heart and it lulls you into an almost meditative state of calm.
The cooling system cuts on and your back is slapped with a sudden blast of cool air, causing you to shiver and snuggle closer to Obi-Wan's warmth. He pauses his soothing caressing of your hair for a moment and you're about to protest when you feel warm fabric wrap around you. It takes a moment for you to realize that he's wrapped the ends of his robe around you both, but once you do your whole world shrinks down to just Obi-Wan, the warmth and scent of him completely surrounding you. He resumes the slow stroking of your hair and you sigh contentedly. His beard scratches against the top of your head—though not unpleasantly— as he presses a kiss there and you can't remember a time when you ever felt as comfortable, as safe as you feel right now.
"You're not going to leave if I fall asleep, are you?" Your voice sounds so small and quiet as you voice this new concern.
"I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart," he reassures, kissing you again; it's little more than a brush of his lips against your skin but you feel every bit of the tenderness he pours into the gesture. He soothes any remaining worries with a little nudge from the Force and maneuvers you both so he can stretch out along the length of the sofa. You feel his head lean against your own and the hand in your hair stops to simply cradle your head against his chest. It's not long after that when you drop off into sleep, your frustrations and worries forgotten in the warmth and comfort of the man you love.