Disclaimer: I have very few possessions in life and, sadly,
not one are the Jedi boys. I have fanfic but I don't get a penny for this; it's
all in fun.
Notes: After trying to write a long Obific for the challenge
and failing miserably, I decided to just go with short fluff. Can't go too
wrong with fluff. And although this
might be slightly too fluffy, it's far better than the crap I was originally
working on. LOL!
Satisfied
Glancing at
the clock, Qui-Gon swore. The slice of time allotted for lunch was almost over.
He had been running late all day thanks to taking so much time to tend to his
padawan that morning. He really knew he shouldn't have come home from meetings
across the city for lunch. Lunch had been his opportunity to grab a quick bite in
the city and catch up. Instead, he had returned to their quarters in order to check
on Obi-Wan and, as a result, he was starving without time to eat a thing.
What he
found, when he arrived, was his padawan out of bed and out on their balcony. His
morning of worrying about his padawan, apparently, had been more justified than
he had thought at the time. And that was what made him swear more than the fact
that he was running late.
He took in
the sight for longer than he really should have, finding it quite enthralling. Obi-Wan
stood there, leaning forward with his arms crossed against the railing. He
looked rather ethereal, dressed in sleep clothes but with a white blanket
around his shoulders that caught the wind and blew about his frame. Qui-Gon
first thought Obi-Wan wore a pensive expression, but as he looked harder, he
recognized that Obi-Wan was actually looking out into the haze and rain in
search for something. And he looked as though he were willing to stand there
forever until he found whatever that something was.
Then
Qui-Gon saw Obi-Wan's gentle blue eyes close and his head snap down in the
motion of a sneeze. Qui-Gon could not hear it through the sliding glass door,
but he knew the motion well enough to be sure it had been a sneeze.
This was
enough to make Qui-Gon stop looking and start walking. He slid open the door and
embraced Obi-Wan with strong arms and with the force all at once. Obi-Wan fell
into him, sniffling and nuzzling and hugging back with his arms around
Qui-Gon's waist.
Qui-Gon
lowered his face to the top of Obi-Wan's head and took a deep breath of his
padawan's scent. The young man's natural odor was masked, however, by the smell
of herbs and vapor rub. "You've been drinking your tea as I asked you to,"
Qui-Gon said approvingly.
Obi-Wan
nodded and sniffled a little.
"But why
are you out here? This isn't the place for a sick young padawan to be." He stroked
the back of Obi-Wan's head as he gazed out at what bits of Coruscant he could
see through the fog and mist. He could feel the rain brush lightly against his
face when the wind blew. Obi-Wan sniffled a little more, which seemed to be his
only answer. "Let me take you back to bed," Qui-Gon suggested, and Obi-Wan's
head bobbed up and down in a nod.
Avoiding
looking at the clock this time, he guided Obi-Wan inside and across the main
portion of their quarters. Obi-Wan seemed drawn to their bed and burrowed
beneath the covers with a shiver. Qui-Gon tucked them around him and rubbed his
side through the blankets to warm him.
If the boy
was cold and shivery there beneath blankets then he definitely had no place out
on the balcony during a rainstorm. "Now you're not to leave this bed and
certainly not to go back out on that balcony until your fever's gone."
Obi-Wan
nodded and sniffled more. "You have to go already, don't you, Master?" he
whispered, his voice rough and deep.
Qui-Gon
nodded back. He did indeed need to go. His presence was required all the way on
the other side of the city again. If he hurried, he might just make it in time.
"Master?"
he whispered softly. "I think I'm going to... ehhh..."
He cupped a hand over his nose and mouth and waved his other hand back and
forth. "hehhh-IHShhhhh! hehhhShhhhh!
hehhhShuhh!"
Handing him
some tissues, Qui-Gon stroked Obi-Wan's head, first feeling his forehead and then
petted the back of his head where the hair was longer, fuller, pulled into a
ragged ponytail. "Sith," Qui-Gon swore again. "Obi, your fever's even higher
than I thought." His fingers dug beneath Obi-Wan's hair, massaging his scalp. "Maybe
I should stay. You need looking after and you can't come with." The idea of a
sick Obi-Wan accompanying him during these strategy sessions and drills was
laughable.
Obi-Wan
shook his head and snuffled into the tissues. Then he closed his eyes. "You're
needed. Go. I'll be... fine... ehhh-heh-CHShhhhh!"
He winced and shivered.
Qui-Gon
looked highly concerned. "Clearly you will not be fine." He thought for a
moment, searching the force to help think of other options. "I'm going to give
Mace a call and ask him to stay with you."
Not so
thrilled by the idea of Master Windu watching him as he sneezed, Obi-Wan shook
his head. "No need. I'll just be sleeping."
Qui-Gon
stroked Obi-Wan's cheek soothingly. Obi-Wan smiled and moved into the touch,
finding the sensation pleasant and then realizing his actions had just given
away how needy he felt. "Well, if all he'll be doing is sitting around working
while you sleep I can't imagine why he would refuse to come over. And I will be
far more relaxed to know someone's here to watch you. You should have seen how
jumpy I was this morning. And you know a Jedi should never be jumpy." He kissed
Obi-Wan gently. Obi-Wan kissed back, though broke off prematurely in order to
yawn. "Now get some sleep," Qui-Gon, his tone soft and suggesting.
It was
either the fever or the fatigue, but Obi-Wan began to drift off almost
immediately. "Obi-Wan?" Qui-Gon whispered. "What were you doing out on the
balcony? You never answered me that."
Obi-Wan
stirred. He barely made noise as he breathed out his response, but Qui-Gon
could read his lips. "Watching for you." His mouth turned up in a smile. "So
glad you came home for lunch. Sensed you would."
Qui-Gon
kissed his smile then silently let himself out of their quarters, feeling far
more satisfied than if he'd taken lunch in the city.