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Obi-wan sighed deeply to himself as he climbed out of the car. The house was just as extravagant as he imagined, with large arching windows and yards of bright green grass. Obi-wan could not say he was exactly feeling optimistic about this.
“There he is.”
Obi-wan turned his head, seeing Bail Organa walking towards him, looking every bit the professional. His coat was draped over his shoulder elegantly, flowing as he walked. Bail was the producer of the show. And Obi-wan, of course, was the illustrious bachelor.
“How are you feeling?” Bail asked with a gentle smile. Obi-wan did like Bail. So at least he had that going for him; he was frankly quite scared that all the producers here would be, well. Rude.
“Oh, never better,” Obi-wan replied with a smile. Bail raised an eyebrow, clearly seeing through his response.
“Well, you’ll get in the swing of things soon enough,” Bail said calmly. He motioned for Obi-wan to follow him, and together they began the walk up into the house. It was enormous. The stone path they walked on led up to the front door, which opened into a large, three story mansion.
“I’ll show you around, make sure you’re introduced to who you’ll be working with. We start filming tonight; that’s when you’ll meet all the contestants,” Bail told him.
Fantastic.
“Hey, you applied for this,” Bail said with a grin. Obi-wan huffed. Unfortunately, he did. He was heavily encouraged by his siblings though, which he was sure Bail understood after how many times Obi-wan told him. Bail liked his attitude though, he had said. They needed someone different than the buff boys they usually got. Obi-wan took that to mean that they were perhaps, not the smartest. And he was scrawny. He was also a bit older than the average bachelor, Obi-wan knew.
“Over here are some of the other producers,” Bail said as they stepped inside. A group of people stood in the entryway of the mansion. Obi-wan waved politely to them all, seeing many faces he recognized from the neverending casting process. Bail’s wife Breha was there, along with a man named Plo Koon and a woman named Shaak Ti. All very nice people. Thank god.
Obi-wan… was nervous.
They didn’t need to know that though.
Obi-wan put on a bright smile, and spoke warmly with them all. They all seemed particularly excited for the season. Bail then took him around the rest of the house. Obi-wan found his room, the kitchen, and everything else he might need. He was a bit saddened to find there was no library. He was a librarian after all. But his own room almost made up for it. It had a tall ceiling, and a marvelous view over the garden that was just outside.
“And of course, this is the camera crew,” Bail said, motioning towards a group of people who seemed hard at work. They looked to be getting their cameras ready to start filming, but they paused briefly to say hello. One woman with a bright blue braid on each shoulder waved enthusiastically at him. Another woman introduced herself as Padme, and a man with dark brown eyes and a scar on his face nodded at him silently.
“Looks like you’re about ready,” Bail said. Obi-wan pressed his mouth into a firm, anxious line. Bail patted him kindly on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine.”
Soon enough, Obi-wan found himself surrounded by cameras and lights as he got ready for the contestants to enter. He stood close to the road, at the bottom of the path that led to the front doors. Bail stood next to him. “You’re just here to meet them, see what you think,” he said warmly. “You’re not the one being judged here. Don’t stress.”
Obi-wan rolled his eyes. He was right though. He was supposed to fall in love with one of these women. He ought to be a little more excited.
“Ready?” Bail asked the cameramen. The scarred man gave Bail a nod, and angled his camera towards Obi-wan. And with that, the contestants began to arrive. Obi-wan steeled himself, and put on a hopeful expression.
The first limo pulled up to the curb, and out climbed the first of many beautiful women that night.
Unfortunately, none of them make that strong of an impression on him. Though it was only the first night, he shouldn’t be worried. Ventress was a bit intimidating, but she matched his banter. Satine seemed promising, perhaps. She had spoken to him kindly, but Obi-wan could tell she was strong. Though it was hard to tell.
It was taxing. And his back hurt. Obi-wan couldn’t judge these women, he didn’t know them. He felt wholly inadequate for this job.
About halfway through, they paused for a moment so Obi-wan could take a break. He sighed, letting his shoulders drop in relief. Across from him, the camera man lifted his arms behind his head and stretched, tilting down his head as he did. He wore a simple black t-shirt. All the camera crew seemed to be in black, it seemed.
“Anyone got any ibuprofen?” Another camera operator, Aayla, Obi-wan thought her name was, asked. The man looked up, then reached a hand into a deep pocket of his pants, tossing her the bottle of medicine. She sighed in relief.
Aayla dumped a couple pills into her palm, and screwed the top back on. “You want some Kenobi?” She asked, raising an eyebrow in his direction. “You’re looking a little worn out.”
Obi-wan laughed despite himself. “Yes, that would be wonderful. My back can only take so much.” She grinned and walked over to hold out the bottle to him. He took it graciously. “You’re Aayla, correct?” He asked.
She nodded. “I am. Padme’s over talking to Bail.” She motioned to the side, where Padme was indeed in the midst of a discussion with several producers. Her camera was the main one getting the shots of the contestants as they climbed out of their cars. The man was currently the one getting the shots of Obi-wan.
The man was still stretching, his strong arms pulled across his chest as he looked away from the group. Obi-wan turned to him, opening his mouth to ask his name.
“Alright, let’s get ready to go again,” Bail said. He strode back over towards Obi-wan as he clapped his hands together.
Obi-wan cursed, running a hand through his hair as he watched the camera man reach for his camera again. Another time. He was promptly surrounded by make-up artists making some last-minute touch ups, and soon enough the next car arrived.
At long last, the night came to an end. Obi-wan felt an immense weight leaving his shoulders as they finally called the final cut.
“You did great,” Bail said. He walked over to Obi-wan calmly as the camera operators packed up their equipment. Obi-wan looked around quickly, trying to find where that man went. He’d really like to know his name. Finally, Obi-wan saw the back of his cropped curls as he kneeled on the ground.
Obi-wan opened his mouth.
And then the man was approached by Breha, and Obi-wan knew he had missed his chance. The man grabbed his equipment and walked away as he spoke to her. Obi-wan turned back to Bail, and tried to hide his disappointment.
-
Cody woke with a painful crick in his neck. He sat up slowly as he tried to be quiet and roll out his neck. He, Aayla, and Padme were all sharing a motel room for the filming of this season. Cody ran a hand over his face, and climbed to his feet.
He always tended to be a morning person. Silently, Cody slipped out the door and stood outside to watch the sun come up over the horizon.
Honestly, Cody wasn’t entirely sure how he ended up being a camera operator for The Bachelor. He’s been doing it for the past couple of seasons now. He enjoyed it. Even with the long hours, and the physicality of it, it felt rewarding. Even if most of the time the cast drove him up a wall. But that was alright. They weren’t really supposed to talk to him, and he didn’t try to talk to them. Perfect. Afterall, in all honesty, he was kind of an introvert.
Cody sighed, and leaned against the wall of the motel. The sun was high in the sky now, he ought to be getting ready for another long day. Slipping back into the room, he found Aayla and Padme just waking up.
“Hey Cody,” Aayla said. Padme gave him a sleepy wave.
“Morning,” he said easily, reaching to grab his clothes from his drawer.
They all met when they were hired. Cody’s been here a few seasons longer than the two of them, but fuck, was he glad they were here. It was good to have a team that he trusted. He was so used to being with his brothers growing up, that he feared it would be hard for him to work with other people. He shouldn’t have been worried; Aayla and Padme had his back. And he had theirs.
They were good people, Aayla and Padme. Sometimes they seemed so far from his own personality. Aayla was outspoken, just a natural around other people. Padme was direct, assertive.
Cody was glad he worked with them.
About twenty minutes later, they were all ready to go. Cody found himself in the back seat of their van, Padme next to him and Aayla in front.
“What do you guys think of him?” Padme asked after a few moments. “Obi-wan.” Cody raised a brow.
“He seems nicer than usual,” Aayla replied casually. The Bachelors tended to be a little… ugh. Mean? Mean. To them at least. Cody wasn’t even really bothered by it. They were usually… dumb. That was just annoying.
“He seems pretty smart,” Padme said, almost in a relieved voice. Cody snorted. Fair.
“Cody?” Aayla said, turning around to look at him. “What do you think?”
Cody shrugged. “He seems nice. I haven’t talked to him yet, though.”
“That’s how you like it, though,” Aayla said. “You like to be all strong and silent.”
“Or just shy,” Padme added, teasingly. Cody smiled, shaking his head. Yeah. Fair.
Cody tilted his head back, passively listening to their conversation. But in all honesty, his thoughts drifted over to Obi-wan. It was true, he hadn’t talked to him yet. Cody really didn’t know him at all. He wondered what he was like. Not that it really mattered. He was just curious.
-
Obi-wan looked around at the numerous women that would be going on the group date with him. He took a deep breath. He could do this.
The camera crew stood around him as he approached the group, ready to lead them to their date. It wasn’t really his idea, but the group was going to one of those group painting places. That also had wine. It was just supposed to be a fun way to get to know them, and Obi-wan was glad that it was something he may actually enjoy.
“Ready?” Obi-wan asked. Satine, who stood closest to him, smiled.
“Of course,” she said. “Wine is something I’ll always be excited for.” Obi-wan hummed in amusement, and led the group inside. They set up in a row across the room, with canvases placed on easels lined up down the table.
None of them seemed to be excellent painters. The image of the ocean they were supposed to be painting was not coming across well in Obi-wan’s canvas. He found himself laughing at his painting. It was… well. In a word, awful. He noticed the cameraman swivel his camera around when he started to chuckle.
“I’m going to need some more of that wine,” Tala told Satine with a grin. Tala’s canvas didn’t even have any blue on it. Satine passed along the bottle joyfully. Obi-wan was glad that it seemed like the women were getting along. He hoped the producers didn’t try to pit them against each other.
“How’s yours coming?” Satine asked. Obi-wan huffed.
“Oh my dear, clearly it’s a masterpiece.”
Satine peeked her head around, and laughed in the face of his canvas. Obi-wan groaned, but he had a smile on his lips.
Eventually, the date came to an end. They finished filming for the time being, the cameras being turned off and put away. Obi-wan followed the group of women and producers out the door.
As he walked outside, he heard Bail calling his name. “Hey,” Bail said as he made it to his side. “You need to go to confessional.”
Ah. Of course.
Obi-wan followed the camera operator off to the side. It wasn’t the man who usually did his shots, it was Padme. He really needed to introduce himself to him.
“Out of all the girls you brought, did anyone stick out to you?” Padme asked calmly. Obi-wan had been given the rundown on how to do these things. Always state the question in his answer.
“I’m not sure if anyone’s standing out, at the moment I’m just trying to get to know all of them. See who I might be compatible with.”
Padme raised an amused eyebrow. “No one?”
He knew what that meant. He should probably give a name. “Satine’s leaving a good impression on me,” Obi-wan said. “She’s very attractive, of course, but I enjoy her sense of humor.”
After a few more questions, he was good to go. Obi-wan stood up and stretched out his back. “Oh!” He said quickly, before Padme left. “Do you know where that man is?” He asked. “The other camera operator. I believe he’s the only person left that I haven’t properly introduced myself to.”
Padme seemed to be hiding a smile. “He’s still inside. I think he was packing up our equipment.”
“Wonderful, thank you,” Obi-wan replied with a bright smile. He strolled back into the building, running a hand through his hair. It looked like the equipment was all packed up and ready to go.
Obi-wan opened his mouth to greet the man, but as he walked up to him, what came out was: “Holy shit.”
The man looked up, his eyes wide. He was standing behind a canvas, and on it was the most beautiful painting of an ocean Obi-wan had ever seen. It wasn’t photo realistic; it was kind of stylized. With streaks of pink and electric blue flowing through the vivid water.
The man blinked at him, his surprised expression quickly changing into one of acceptance. “Hello,” he said calmly. He had a strong accent, New Zealand maybe?
“Hi!” Obi-wan said excitedly. “Sorry, that was quite rude of me. My name’s Obi-wan, I wanted to introduce myself. But your frankly amazing painting caught me off guard.” Obi-wan placed a hand on his beard, studying the canvas intently. It was remarkable.
The man hummed, dropping his paintbrush into the water. He wiped off his palms on his pants. “I’m Cody,” he said as he held out a hand. “Nice to meet you.”
“Cody,” Obi-wan said as he met his deep brown eyes. “It’s a pleasure.” Cody nodded.
Cody picked up his painting, and placed it carefully on top of his equipment. “That really is beautiful, Cody,” Obi-wan said. “Do you paint a lot? We should’ve had you come on the date, you could’ve shown us all how it’s done.”
Obi-wan decided to breeze past what he just said. He didn’t mean it like that.
Cody smiled, just slightly. “I do. I finished packing up and they were still filming, so they told me it was alright if I painted a bit.” Obi-wan grinned. Cody had seemed quieter than most of the people on set. This was a lucky opportunity to speak with him, it seemed.
“Do you do it professionally?” Obi-wan asked, for some reason reluctant for the conversation to end.
Cody shook his head. “I’d like to. Some day. I.. uh.. I’d like to be an illustrator. For children’s books, in an ideal world.”
Obi-wan's cheeks were beginning to hurt from how much he was smiling. “That’s wonderful.” Cody looked up, meeting his eyes with a curious look. He was a bit shorter than Obi-wan, he realized.
“It was nice to meet you,” Obi-wan said. “Truly.” Cody nodded.
“You too, Obi-wan,” Cody replied.
Obi-wan waved as he left, rejoining the group of people outside the building. They returned to the house, and overall, Obi-wan felt like it was a successful date.
-
Cody watched through his camera as Obi-wan gave his first impression rose to a woman named Satine. He made sure to get a close up of his face, and he knew Aayla was zoomed in on Satine. They were right, Cody had realized. Obi-wan did seem different from the other bachelors he had met.
Obi-wan was smiling as he handed Satine the rose, his cheeks blushed ever so slightly.
Once they were done filming, Cody pulled Obi-wan away for a confessional. The producers loved to make everyone do confessionals after big moments in the show, so Aayla and Padme went off with some of the contestants.
“Hello Cody!” Obi-wan said brightly as he sat down. Cody chuckled.
“Hello,” he replied as he got his camera into position. Obi-wan watched carefully as he did.
“Alright,” Cody said calmly. “Let’s start with why you decided to give the first rose to Satine.”
Obi-wan waved a hand. “Oh, she seemed nice. Satine-“
Cody cleared his throat. “The question,” he said.
Obi-wan’s cheeks bloomed a fair shade of pink. “Right, of course. I chose Satine because… well. She matched my energy, I suppose. She’s very kind, but has some wit about her. I enjoy that in a person.”
Cody nodded, and moved on to the next question. Obi-wan didn’t seem all that love struck with any of the contestants yet, but that was expected. The season had barely begun. As they wrapped up the last question, Cody turned off the camera.
“That’s all for today,” Cody said. Obi-wan was still looking at him with wide eyes. “Guess you’re free to go.” Obi-wan smiled, the corners of his eyes wrinkling as he did.
“Thank you, Cody,” he said as he stood. Obi-wan stroked a hand through his beard. “How are you liking it?”
Cody raised a brow. “Liking what?” Obi-wan shrugged, and waved a hand in the air.
“The season, I suppose,” he said. “Have you been enjoying filming it?”
Cody thought for a moment, watching as Obi-wan fidgeted with his long sleeve. Obi-wan didn’t look nervous, not at all. But that small movement gave him away.
“I have,” Cody replied honestly. Obi-wan smiled. “I always enjoy it. It’s not my favorite show by any means, but this season seems to be turning out better than most.”
Obi-wan smiled gently at him with that. They looked at each other for a moment. Then two. “Well, I ought to get back then,” Obi-wan said with a sigh. “I’m still not used to this house. Do you have a room?”
Cody shook his head. “No, the crew is staying at a motel a few miles out.”
Obi-wan furrowed his brows. “Oh, that’s a shame. I’m sure there’s plenty of room here.” Cody just shrugged.
“I think the house would be too much for me,” Cody said without thinking. “I lived in a tiny one growing up with five brothers.” Cody bit his cheek as he cast his eyes away. What the fuck was he doing? He didn’t tell people things. It was even a joke in his family. Rex told everyone everything. Fox was reserved except for with Quinlan. Cody didn’t tell anyone shit.
Obi-wan’s eyebrows raised. “Five?!” He said incredulously, and Cody felt a small smile on his own face. “I thought two siblings were bad,” Obi-wan said.
“Depends on the siblings, I guess,” Cody said dryly. Obi-wan gave a short burst of laughter.
“Yes, I suppose you’re right,” Obi-wan replied, with a grin still wide on his face.
A few minutes later, Obi-wan finally began to make his way back to the house. He walked away with his hands shoved in his pockets, his head tilted up towards the sky. Cody let out a breath, and grabbed his equipment to walk to the van.
“Hey Cody,” Aayla said as he climbed in. “I was just telling Padme about Satine’s confessional. I thought she’d be more excited.” Cody raised a brow. Not excited? That was a first.
“I mean, she was happy, don’t get me wrong,” Aayla said. “Just pretty lowkey about it.”
Cody furrowed his brows in thought. “I think Obi-wan was the same,” he said. They looked at him expectantly. He shrugged. That’s all he had. Obi-wan was happy, he knew that much. But not like the bachelors usually were.
“Strange,” Padme said, leaning back in her seat. “Bail’s really trying to switch it up, I guess. I bet it will be more interesting to watch.”
Cody nodded. Since it was a competition, a lot of the time it felt like the contestants were completely obsessed. It would be a nice change of pace if they actually got to gradually fall in love. A slow burn is much more interesting, in his opinion.
-
Obi-wan woke up far too early. He really wasn’t used to this house yet. In all honesty, Obi-wan wasn’t the most avid bachelor fan. He could not remember if this type of housing was normal, with him staying in the same house as the contestants. Anakin and Ahsoka would know.
He did enjoy the bachelor. Obi-wan never took it too seriously, but it had the potential to be a sweet way to meet people.
Anakin adored it though. Ahsoka did too. Anakin was the one to first suggest that Obi-wan apply, after he had let it slip he was feeling a little lonely after not dating anyone for a few years now. He had to apply for a couple seasons, until he was finally chosen. He didn’t know why he tried so hard. Obi-wan sighed, placing his arms under his head as he stared up at his tall ceiling.
This whole experience was definitely different than he expected. But he was enjoying it. He truly felt like he could fall in love here. Obi-wan finally sat up and stretched, and was off to find some breakfast.
Filming here was kind of strange. He knew he was being filmed at all times, pretty much. But they didn’t always have the full crew out, especially at night. But as he stepped out of his room in the morning, the crew was there, like they had never slept. It didn’t bother Obi-wan that he was being filmed, that’s what he signed up for. But damn, he hoped the crew were taking care of themselves.
Obi-wan trudged towards the kitchen, excited for the bagel he knew was waiting for him. In the kitchen sat Tala and Luminara.
“Hello there,” Obi-wan said, already headed straight for his bagel. They greeted him kindly.
“Alright Obi-wan, help me out,” Luminara said. Tala groaned. Oh ho ho. He’s been the tiebreaker between Anakin and Ahsoka’s arguments enough times to know where this was headed. Obi-wan sat down beside Tala with a grin.
“Of course,” he said eagerly.
“Tala here will not accept defeat, that putt putt should be an Olympic sport.”
Obi-wan snorted loudly, covering his mouth with his hand.
“There’s already golf!” Tala argued. “Putt putt is just drawing out the end with fancy decorations.”
“So?” Luminara said with an eyebrow raised. “You got a problem with fancy decorations?”
Tala groaned, rubbing her temples with her fingers. But she was grinning. “You think people would train for years just to play putt putt at the Olympics? I don’t think so.”
“Obviously,” Luminara said. She had a very deadpan way of speaking, like everything she said was an indisputable fact. “I’d do it. No question.”
Obi-wan raised his brows. He can’t say he’s considered it before. “Honestly… I’d be thrilled to see mini-golf at the Olympics. I think it’d be hilarious.”
Tala threw her hands into the air in defeat, feigned annoyance on her face. Luminara just grinned. Obi-wan chuckled, taking a sip from his tea.
A few minutes passed, and they were filled with very interesting conversations. Luminara had a long history as a film buff. Tala had tried, once, to be an actress. But when she got cut from Seussical she never recovered.
Eventually, Obi-wan looked up when he heard the sound of another camera operator entering the room. Far, far too early.
“Cody!” He exclaimed. “Did you even sleep?!” Cody turned to look at him slowly with a strange expression on his face. Behind him, Breha face palmed.
“Wait,” Tala said suddenly, her face shocked. “We can talk to you all?” she asked, turning to Cody. “I thought we weren’t supposed to! I’m so sorry, I’m Tala!”
Oh, fuck.
He wasn’t supposed to do that.
Cody tilted his head, looking at Obi-wan with an extremely unimpressed expression. Obi-wan stood up with his hands raised. “Sorry!” Obi-wan said quickly, trying to mitigate his mistake. “Sorry, don’t fire me!”
Cody raised an eyebrow in amusement. Behind him, producers were failing to contain their laughter.
Wonderful.
“You’re not fired,” Breha said from behind the cameras. “Just don’t keep doing that. Please.” Obi-wan sat down with an apologetic expression. Tala looked disappointed.
Cody shook his head. The other camera operators in the room seemed to be laughing at Cody. Oh, Obi-wan hoped he didn’t embarrass him.
“At least we know his name now,” Luminara said idly. She gave him a little wave. Poor Cody sighed, but he waved back. Obi-wan smiled at him sheepishly. He doubted Cody slept; he regretted nothing.
-
“Hey sleepy head,” Aayla deadpanned as Cody walked into their trailer for lunch. He glared at her. Padme hid a laugh behind her hand.
It didn’t take long for them all to have a good laugh about Obi-wan’s slip today. It didn’t really bother Cody. He was just doing his job, and Obi-wan was friendly. Of course he would try to talk to the camera crew. He talks to everyone.
Cody took a seat across from his friends, his microwave mac and cheese in a bowl in front of him. Padme was on her phone in front of him, no doubt reading through their plans for the rest of the day.
There was going to be another date today, this time with the whole group. At the end, Obi-wan would present some of the women with roses, and one woman would be eliminated. Cody thought the whole concept of the show was strange, but it made for good TV he could admit.
A few hours later, Cody found himself squinting into the bright afternoon sun as the group of women and Obi-wan held their group date in the pool.
Bail had told the producers and the rest of the team that they were going to really start pushing for more romance. Hence the pool. Hence the hot tub. Granted, the hot tub has not found any use yet, but Cody knew one lucky woman would end the date with Obi-wan there.
Many of the women were currently hanging in the chairs around the pool. Some with drinks, some with snacks. Most of them were in the pool, which is where Obi-wan was.
The producers had to force him to wear sunscreen.
Satine and him were currently bouncing a beach ball back and forth, their hits getting more and more aggressive.
“I fear we might pop it before one of us loses,” Obi-wan said. Satine hummed, a small smirk on her face.
“Maybe,” she said. She spiked it, trying to get Obi-wan to lunge for it before it hit the water. And he did. With a grunt, Obi-wan jumped and smacked the ball just before it made contact. Cody followed it with his camera.
“Oh shit,” Tala said from nearby as it flew towards her.
“Tala!” Obi-wan cried. With a grin, Tala hit it back, and she was sucked into the game. Cody almost laughed. This might be the farthest thing the producers wanted this pool date to be.
Ventress and Adi were currently having a handstand competition.
The date went on. Some women were doing an admirable job flirting with Obi-wan. He seemed to be a natural at it, every sentence he spoke could be seen as genuine interest. It probably was, Cody figured.
Behind him, he heard the producers muttering. “We need to do something,” one said. Cody couldn’t tell who was speaking. He knew there were a couple who were trying to drive home the romance. Or more accurately, the sexual tension. They weren’t too happy about how this season was going.
They wanted it to be much more steamy. Cody disagreed, but he wasn’t a producer. They couldn’t care less about his opinion.
With a twist to his lips, Bail walked past Cody out towards where Obi-wan was. He kneeled down, speaking to the man quietly. Obi-wan’s mouth opened, Cody didn’t know whether it was in surprise or understanding. Bail made his way back over, his suit out of place as he walked along the length of the pool. He couldn’t judge, Cody was sure he looked just as ridiculous in his black cargo pants. He liked the pockets.
On the stairs in the shallow end of the pool, Obi-wan stood and ran a hand through his soaked hair. He saw Padme twisting her camera to get a shot of him as he stood, the water running off his bare chest. Obi-wan held out a hand to Satine who had been sitting next to him. “Care to join me?” He asked softly. Satine smiled, uncharacteristically small and sweet, and took his hand.
They made their way to the hot tub.
Cody turned to Aayla and Padme. Padme shrugged, pointing at him. Cody rolled his eyes, and he followed the pair.
The producers better be happy now. Obi-wan and Satine were seated side by side in the hot tub. Satine had let her hair down, the soft curls becoming more evident in the water. Her deep blue bikini could easily be seen through the water. Obi-wan’s hair was soaked, but he had pulled it away from his face making it look almost slicked back. The water was almost at his shoulders, where Cody could see freckles covering his skin.
The viewers would love it.
As Cody walked up, Obi-wan made eye contact. And then he smiled. Cody forced his eyes away, looking back to his camera.
“You said you had a sister?” Obi-wan asked, redirecting his attention to Satine as Cody heard a producer walking up behind him.
“Bo-Katan, yes,” Satine said with a smile. She leaned just a little bit closer into his side, her head brushing his shoulder. “I don’t think she and I could be less alike.”
Obi-wan chuckled, shifting a bit. “Ah, well. I can definitely relate to that. I’ve got two siblings, Anakin and Ahsoka.”
“Oh yeah?” She asked. “They drive you crazy too?”
“Constantly,” Obi-wan replied with a wave of his hand. “You’ll have to thank them though, they’re the real reason I’m on this show.”
Satine smiled, ducking her chin down. “Guess I will, then.”
They talked for a while. About life, goals, family. And when they were done, Obi-wan presented Satine with a rose. Satine had gasped, and her cheeks blossomed to match the color of the flower in her hand.
The date wrapped up soon after that. The shots from the hot tub were just what the producers were hoping for. Skin, almost snuggling, flirty conversations. They would be able to edit it too, make it even more steamy. Cody has seen them work wonders out of the most mundane conversations.
Just another season of The Bachelor.
By the end of the season, Obi-wan would be head over heels for one of these women. Then they would choose another Bachelor and get right to work on the next season.
The women started to leave a few minutes later. The crew stayed in position, fanning themselves as they got final shots of the date. Confessionals would come later that night, Breha had told them.
“It’s so fucking hot,” Padme said once they had turned off the cameras. Cody snorted. Aayla peered over the side of the pool. She raised a brow.
A few feet away, Bail took notice. He laughed. “Go for it.”
Aayla grinned, turning to Padme so quickly her braids flew behind her. “I’m jumping in.”
“In your clothes?” Padme asked as she laughed. Cody didn’t know why she asked, she had already taken her sunglasses off and was pulling her hair out from her tight bun.
“Yep,” Aayla said as she kicked off her shoes. “Cody?”
What the hell.
They all looked at each other, and in mutual agreement, they ran and leapt into the pool. Cody almost gasped in relief as he hit the cold water. His clothes were heavy, but not unbearably so. He made the right decision. Cody emerged from the water, rubbing his hands over his face as he grinned.
Padme was laughing a few feet away from him, Aayla doing the same. Above them, producers were shaking their heads. But they were smiling. Unlike the camera crew, they didn’t have to wear black. And, you know, carry heavy equipment all day.
“Oh, sorry!”
Cody looked up, and there he was again. Obi-wan stood a few feet away looking just a bit bashful. “I left my sunglasses somewhere, I’m afraid.”
Padme pushed her hair out of her face. She wasn’t very coordinated with it, she still ended up trying to pull strands out of her mouth. “Well, don’t mind us,” she said.
“Oh please, have your fun,” Obi-wan replied as he began shuffling around in search of his sunglasses. “I was hoping you all would get some free time, it’s unbearably hot out here.”
Aayla grimaced. “Yeah, you got that one right, Kenobi.”
Cody glanced down at a dark shape floating near his feet. He squinted.
“You should try the slide!” Obi-wan said, though he wasn’t looking at them. He seemed to be taking apart the couch, holding up seat cushions and peering down in his search.
“I’m surprised there is one,” Padme said with a laugh. “Usually they don’t put too much that's entertaining, they prefer, well.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “Like, stuff that's going to get people to make out.”
“Maybe they knew I have a much better chance of making out with someone on a waterslide than a hot tub,” Obi-wan replied idly. Cody snorted, and then promptly tuned out of the conversation in favor of diving down and grabbing Obi-wan’s sunglasses from the bottom of the pool.
He liked how quiet it was at the bottom. Cody knew he interacted with way too many people in the day, it was exhausting, sometimes. He still liked his quiet. Quickly grabbing the sunglasses, Cody swam back up to the surface.
A stray thought crossed his mind that it would be fucking hilarious if he put them on. He didn’t though. He wasn’t much of a comedian, he left that for Rex.
He broke through the surface of the water, the water rushing off his face. “Found them,” Cody said after a moment. Obi-wan quickly turned away, and his face split into a grin.
Cody swam over as Obi-wan kneeled down to grab his glasses. “Thank you Cody, I should’ve known they fell off into the pool.”
Cody crossed his arms over the edge of the pool. “Not a problem,” he replied honestly. Obi-wan smiled, crossing his legs to sit in front of him.
“Did you enjoy today?” Obi-wan asked. He looked at Cody expectedly for a moment, before his mask fell into a frown. “I… fear I’m not doing a very good job at this.”
Cody furrowed his brows. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Obi-wan ran a hand through his hair as he quickly looked away from him. “I don’t know. Bail had to tell me to take someone over to the hot tub. It was so easy for Satine to just, lean into me. I can flirt with anyone without a problem, but. I don’t know.” He chuckled. “I think I did about thirty crunches before coming out here, since I knew I was going to be filmed with my shirt off. It’s all just… out of my wheelhouse, it seems.”
“You did well,” Cody said bluntly. He didn’t beat around the bush. He didn’t sugarcoat either. “The date went well. And, well. You’re comparing yourself to previous Bachelor’s. But no one’s here to fall in love with one of them, they’re here to fall in love with Obi-wan.”
Obi-wan swallowed, and then finally met Cody’s eye again. “Thank you, Cody. You’re very good at your job, you know. Maybe you should be a producer.”
Cody rolled his eyes. “Not in a million years,” he replied. Obi-wan laughed, and stood up with a stretch.
“Well, I won’t disturb you all any longer,” he said, a bit louder than he had been speaking with Cody. Obi-wan waved to the rest of the crew. “Thank you!”
They waved back, and with that, Obi-wan left. Cody swam back over to Padme and Aayla.
“Fett,” Bail called. Cody looked up to see the man smirking. “Maybe you should be a producer.”
“No,” Cody answered without hesitation. The producers laughed. He would fuck up the entire show if he was the one making decisions. A few seasons back they had asked the crew for date ideas when something had fallen through. Cody had suggested fishing. They were not impressed.
-
Obi-wan decided to lean fully into the fact that he was not a hunky, chiseled bachelor that people had come to expect. If someone were to fall in love with him, it wasn’t going to be some front that he was putting on. It would be with him. The weird librarian. The weird, hot librarian because he was also deciding to be confident.
After the pool date, that night they went into a rose ceremony. He presented many roses which were all happily accepted, but two women he didn’t give a rose to. It wasn’t anything specific, he just wasn’t feeling anything for them. They were disappointed, which was natural, he supposed. But they weren’t too upset, Obi-wan didn’t believe they really felt anything for him either.
Obi-wan was getting rather close with some of the women. Satine, of course. Tala as well. They were lovely people, both of them. At the very least he was making some wonderful friends.
And not just with the contestants, the crew were wonderful people as well. He found himself biting his tongue more and more often to keep himself from trying to tell Cody something.
They went on more dates, and more women left. They were really starting to push the romance more. Obi-wan and the women were encouraged to ask about their plans for their future, wedding ideas, anything they could think of. They went horseback riding, which Obi-wan loved. His horse was named Boga and he loved her.
“Oh aren’t you just the sweetest,” Obi-wan had cooed, petting her gently. The women had already left, the date finished and they were taken back to the house. Obi-wan would be in the car after them, so he got a few more minutes with her.
Boga whinnied as she tossed her hair. Obi-wan smiled. Earlier he and Tala had rode next to each other for the majority of the ride, talking softly and laughing quite a bit.
“Obi-wan.”
He turned to see Cody packing up a few feet away. Cody had paused, crouched down on his heels as he looked at him. “Looks like your ride’s here.” And he was right, Obi-wan could see his car waiting at the curb.
Obi-wan didn’t pout. He didn’t. He sighed and brushed his fingers through her mane. “Well, Boga, I must say my goodbyes. It was a pleasure.” He gave her one last pat, before turning back around to find his car. But Cody was still watching him. Obi-wan raised his brows.
Cody looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. “Seems like today was a fun one,” he said.
“Oh, it was,” Obi-wan said. He walked over to Cody as he finished packing. Cody then stood, and walked by his side. “I love animals.”
“Yeah?” Cody asked, one eyebrow raised. “You’re pretty good with them.”
Obi-wan felt a heat rushing into his cheeks. “I- well, thank you,” he replied. “My father loved them too, probably where I got it from.”
Cody smiled. “You ever have any pets?”
“No,” he said simply, to Cody’s evident surprise. “Though many animals would, frankly, just show up to our house. My father would take care of them for a few days, and eventually they would leave.”
Cody looked at him thoughtfully. “That sounds nice.”
“It was,” Obi-wan said. He grinned, wrinkles appearing around his eyes. “Though the snakes always scared the shit out of me, I have to admit.”
Cody laughed sharply, ducking his head. “We never had any pets either. Too many kids I think.”
“That’s understandable,” Obi-wan said. They stopped at his car standing face to face. Obi-wan’s eyes flitted to Cody’s scar for just a moment, and then stopped on his eyes. Those brown eyes. Obi-wan sighed. “Sometimes I wished my father wouldn’t care about the animals so much, then maybe he’d have time for his kids.”
Cody’s eyes widened a bit, but he didn’t seem shocked. Understanding, maybe. Cody nodded. “Sometimes fathers… think they’re doing better than they are,” he said. He met Obi-wan’s eye, but it felt like he was seeing something else entirely. Obi-wan felt just a little tension leave his body. Yeah. They did.
He smiled at his friend. “See you tomorrow?”
Cody nodded, and with that, Obi-wan climbed in. Obi-wan leaned back against the seat with a sigh. Qui-Gon was a good man. A good father… Well, he didn’t know.
He wondered what Cody knew of the subject.
Obi-wan shook his head, trying to bring his thoughts back to the present. They had another rose ceremony tonight. He had to be ready. Obi-wan truly hated having to eliminate people, but that was part of the show. They were about half way through, which Obi-wan couldn’t decide whether or not that was a good thing.
He was supposed to propose at the end of this.
The very idea seemed so far-fetched.
He wondered what Anakin and Ahsoka would think of the contestants. He wished he could see them soon, get their advice. Obi-wan knew that as the competition went on they would meet the women eventually, but every so often one family member or so would arrive early and hang out with the contestants for the day.
Obi-wan wondered if he might beg Bail.
-
Well. He didn’t have to.
Bail found him first, and told him that Anakin was arriving tomorrow.
-
Obi-wan was thrilled.
Anakin currently had his arm wrapped around Obi-wan in a bone crushing embrace. “So?” He asked eagerly. “Are you in love yet?”
Obi-wan rolled his eyes. “Clearly. Can’t you see how head over heels I am?”
Anakin shoved his arm, a wide grin on his face. “Okay, okay. You have to tell me everything.”
And so he did.
Well, he tried.
“So,” Anakin paused, squinting his eyes down at the notepad he was holding. He was a very hands-on kind of person. His thoughts got scrambled and he was able to think so much better if he could just write something down. “Tala, Satine, and Luminara are promising?”
Obi-wan nodded, his chin resting on one hand. They were in his room until it was time for Anakin to meet everyone on camera, so Obi-wan was giving the rundown.
“Okay,” Anakin said, marking something on the page. “What do you like about them?”
“Well,” Obi-wan said. He wanted to yawn. It had been a tiring few weeks, and it seemed Anakin being there was taking a bit of the stress off. He was worn out. But he was happy with his brother here. “Satine is very smart. Funny. Tala’s also nice, which I guess they all are. She’s down to earth, I suppose. Luminara’s humor is kind of dry, so. I think she’s funny.”
Anakin was frowning at him. Obi-wan almost felt, well, judged. He resisted the urge to fidget where he sat. “You… don’t seem very convinced about anything, Obi-wan.”
Obi-wan bristled. “Well, it’s only been a few weeks. I’m not going to fall in love that quickly.”
Anakin raised his hands in surrender. “Sorry! Sorry, I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just expecting a little more… I don’t know. Feeling. You sound like you’re playing Guess Who.”
Obi-wan shot him an incredulous look. “What kind of Guess Who are you playing? That’s not at all how the game is played.”
“You know what I mean!”
Obi-wan resisted the urge to sigh. He did, unfortunately. After all this time, Obi-wan didn’t really find himself feeling particularly strongly about any of the contestants. He didn’t seek any of them out specifically. He didn’t find himself wanting to talk to one of them individually. And that didn’t mean he didn’t like them, he just… wasn’t feeling that… feeling, you know?
Maybe he wasn’t cut out for this.
He had never been one to fall in love fast.
Obi-wan dropped his head into his hands. Anakin cursed.
“Uh uh, quit that,” Anakin said as he jumped to his feet. He grabbed Obi-wan’s hands and roughly pulled him out of his chair. Obi-wan groaned, tilting his head up towards the ceiling. “Whatever stupid thoughts are running through your head are… uh, stupid.” Anakin winced at his poor wording.
Obi-wan rolled his eyes.
“Besides,” Anakin said as he waved himself off. “It’s time to go!”
Oh. Wonderful.
Actually, Obi-wan was quite excited. This would be a good moment to really see how these women would be in an actual relationship with him. By seeing how they interacted with Anakin, of course.
-
Anakin was made for television, Obi-wan thought. His personality was loud and brash, but charming. The producers were thrilled. He had strolled into the room where the women were waiting with a smirk on his face.
Obi-wan rolled his eyes, and began to make introductions.
Tala had beamed and immediately asked him about his Halyx T-shirt. Anakin was a big rock band kind of guy, and it appeared Tala was the same. Obi-wan hadn’t realized.
“Hell yeah,” Anakin said as he looked down at his shirt with a grin. “Obi-wan doesn’t get it, I hate to say.”
“Well that’s not true,” Obi-wan disputed. He crossed his arms across his chest as the women waited for his response. “I like rock bands just fine, they’re just not my go to music to listen to.”
“What’s your go to right now, then?” Satine asked.
“Don’t get him started,” Anakin grumbled, turning away.
“Cats the musical,” Obi-wan said simply. Silence greeted him. He put his hands on his hips, looking around at the forced polite faces around him. Anakin looked like he wanted to gag. And then Obi-wan looked past the group to see Cody’s face peeking out from behind his camera, wrinkled in disgust.
Obi-wan scoffed, affronted. “Why-” but he stopped. He couldn’t say anything. Ugh.
Rolling his eyes, Obi-wan continued the introductions. He went through all the women. Satine spoke to Anakin wryly, their aggressive personalities working well with each other. But Obi-wan could easily see them fighting at the drop of a hat, which isn’t necessarily uncommon. He and Anakin argue all the time.
Anakin and Ventress didn’t seem to get along.
Luminara seemed a little awkward around him, which was valid. This whole show was awkward.
“So,” Anakin said. “Who wants to tell me how dumb Obi-wan has been since he’s been here?”
“Oh, gladly,” Satine said, sending Obi-wan a look.
“I should’ve brought Ahsoka,” Obi-wan said to his brother. “She wouldn’t embarrass me.”
“Well that’s a fucking lie,” Anakin said. Completely fair. He couldn’t complain, really; Obi-wan would do the same thing to Anakin if they’re positions were changed. Anakin turned to Satine. “Spill.”
“He tripped over one of the chairs in the morning and collapsed on the floor like he had been shot,” she said simply as she took a sip of her tea.
Anakin snorted. “Oh yeah, he’s got bad depth perception in the morning.”
That… was true.
“It could be a lot worse,” Adi added.
“Thank you,” Obi-wan said.
Anakin waved a hand. “It’s fucking hilarious though. I think it’s the reason he’s so bad at parking.”
Obi-wan sputtered. “Wh- rude! I am a fine parker. At least I can drive without going thirty miles over the speed limit.”
“I don’t know why you’re saying that like it’s a bad thing,” Anakin replied. “If anything that makes me a better driver. I haven’t died yet, so.”
“Oh my god,” Obi-wan said, rubbing his face with a hand. He felt someone patting his shoulder.
“I always refuse to let my sister drive me anywhere,” Satine said, removing her hand from his shoulder. “I think I lost years off my life.”
They talked for a while longer. Anakin would come with them to a group date later, but for now they were just all trying to get to know each other. At the end of the day, unfortunately, it was still a competition. The women knew that. The producers encouraged it. So they all tried to get to know Anakin.
Right now, Anakin had them in stitches. He was always pretty funny, Obi-wan could admit. He had never been a real funny guy himself. Anakin was just a natural. Obi-wan liked to say his brother had just the right amount of awkwardness for it to work for him.
Ventress turned to Obi-wan after Anakin hit ‘em with another zinger. “You got any jokes, Kenobi?”
“Oh lord,” Obi-wan said. “I really don’t have any good ones, I’m afraid.”
“Aw come on,” Luminara said. “Try.”
Obi-wan sighed. “Why did the monkey fall out of the tree?”
Anakin grumbled. “For fucks sake-”
“‘Cause it was dead.”
They stared at him in confusion. No one made a single sound except for one awkward laugh. Or it may have been a cough.
Obi-wan hid his face in his hands as he started to laugh at himself. “I told you I didn’t have any!” He exclaimed. “You made me do it!” They laughed a little then, though Obi-wan could tell it was just out of politeness. His father had told him that joke when he was little. Obi-wan had thought it was the funniest thing in the world and went to school the next day and told all his friends. It went about the same way it did just now, actually.
“Oh my god,” Tala said suddenly, a wide grin forming on her face. Obi-wan furrowed his brows. Did she just get it? It wasn’t that complex of a joke. But Tala pointed a finger behind him as she started to laugh. Obi-wan turned to see what exactly she could be pointing at.
It was Cody. And he was shaking with silent laughter. “Cody!” Obi-wan exclaimed despite himself. Cody shook his head stubbornly, keeping his lips firmly shut. He had to have been biting his cheek. The camera on his shoulder was shaking; he just couldn’t seem to stop.
Obi-wan burst into laughter himself.
“Fett, your footage is just going to be shaking!” Bail said from behind the cameras, starting to laugh himself. Obi-wan saw Padme quickly whirl her own camera around to get a shot of Cody.
Cody waved a hand, unable to keep the grin from his face. “Sorry,” he said finally. He looked right at Obi-wan. “That was so fucking stupid.”
Obi-wan just laughed louder in glee.
“That was not funny,” Anakin said bitterly. “Y’all better not fucking gaslight me into thinking it was.”
Cody was still shaking. His eyes were watering.
“Fett,” Bail said with mock disapproval. Cody finally let out a sharp laugh, the first that wasn’t completely silent. “Take a walk or something, jeez.” Cody nodded rapidly, quickly handing off his camera to Bail and hightailing it out of there. They could still hear him laughing after he had left the room.
Anakin shook his head, stubbornly refusing to laugh. The women seemed like they didn’t know what to do. They seemed to think the whole situation was funny, though.
A few unproductive minutes later, Cody returned already back to his calm and steady self. “I would just like to point out-” Bail began calmly. Cody shot him a pointed look. “-that before this season Fett over here was the most professional man on the planet.”
Cody looked offended.
“You still are!” Bail added quickly, his hands raised in surrender. “But we had quite a difficult time getting you to talk to us.”
“Keep talking and I’ll never speak to you again,” Cody muttered. Bail laughed and waved a hand.
“Carry on!” He said.
Not too long later, Bail called cut and they all left for the date. But first…
“Anakin!” Obi-wan said right before they were taken to their car. “Let me introduce you to everyone else.”
Anakin raised his brows. “Okay,” he said, quickly making his way over. Obi-wan cleared his throat.
“Of course you know the producers,” he began. Anakin nodded, greeting them once again. “Then our sound team,” Obi-wan said, introducing them warmly along with the makeup team. “And then the camera crew! Aayla, Padme, and Cody.”
“Hey!” Anakin said. “I’m Anakin.”
“Nice to meet you,” Padme said kindly. Anakin smiled widely as he met her eye. Aayla greeted him as well, which Anakin responded to in kind. Then he turned to Cody, setting his hands on his hips. Cody raised a single brow.
“What the fuck was that about?” He asked. “You can’t laugh at his jokes like that. He’s gonna start thinking he’s funny.”
Cody’s expression didn’t change. “Won’t be an issue. He’s not.”
Obi-wan made an affronted noise.
“Glad we’re in agreement then,” Anakin said. “I remain the funniest person in our family-”
Cody, still without changing his expression, said, “Well, that can’t be true.”
Padme snorted. Anakin looked at them both in offense. “Hey now-”
“I doubt it’s you,” Cody said idly.
“Ha!” Obi-wan exclaimed, a victorious finger pointed at his brother. Anakin scowled at him, an aggressive frown downturning his features. He whirled back around to Cody.
“Who would it be then? Cause it’s not Obi-wan, I guess it could be Ahsoka, she’s pretty far up there-”
“Seems like you're pretty low on options,” Cody said bluntly. He turned to Obi-wan. “You said something earlier about snakes?”
Obi-wan’s jaw dropped, and then he laughed. “Well, that’s certainly an idea. Our father sure thought they were pretty funny.” Cody smirked, nodding in agreement.
“Aw, he knows about the snakes?” Anakin asked. “They were so cool. I named one battery.”
Padme raised her brows. “That’s an interesting choice.”
“Yeah,” Anakin said seriously, turning so his attention was fully on her. “It’s because it swallowed a battery.”
She laughed, valiantly trying to hold it in. Her face was tense as she held back a smile. She looked like she was about to cry.
Obi-wan turned to Cody. “It’s alright, you can admit it, Cody,” he said. He leaned forward, just a bit. “Come on, tell me how funny I am.” Cody’s judgemental stare gazed back at him. A bit of light was shining on one side of his face, one eye practically sparkling in the sun.
“You know Obi-wan,” Cody said calmly. “I’ve always valued honesty.”
Obi-wan stared at him, waiting for Cody to say more.
He didn’t.
Instead, Cody turned around and walked away.
Obi-wan burst out laughing.
-
The date went quite smoothly, all things considered. Everyone, for the most part, got along. There was only one instance of an argument, which was when Anakin and Ventress got pretty heated over something silly. She thought Anakin had taken her food. He hadn’t. At least, Obi-wan was pretty sure he hadn’t.
Obi-wan spent most of the date with Satine and Tala. They seemed to be the frontrunners right now. By the end of it, he had presented Satine with another rose. Anakin wasn’t even too obnoxious. He knew when to hang back if it appeared like Obi-wan was in the middle of a personal conversation.
Not like he really let them get all that personal.
He pushed that thought out of his mind.
Anakin was currently laying across the couch of his room. Books were littered across his coffee table, a long forgotten cup of tea beside them. “You seem to know the camera crew pretty well,” Anakin remarked.
“I suppose,” Obi-wan replied. “They’re very kind people. Easy to talk to.” It was true. He almost found them easier to talk to then the women he was supposed to fall in love with. Which might be the reason, now that he thought about it. There was no pressure when he talked to them, no expectations.
“Cody especially,” Anakin added. He remained facing away from him, only the top of his hair visible from behind the arm of the sofa.
“He’s…” Obi-wan trailed off, unsure how to describe his friend. Cody was becoming especially dear to him. He couldn’t put any words as to why. Obi-wan really hadn’t realized just how lonely he’s been since he’s got here, Cody was just so easy to open up to. “He’s a good man,” he decided to say. Anakin finally turned to him, but said nothing more. He looked lost in thought, like he too couldn’t find the words.
-
Cody pulled the camera away from his face as he wrapped up with Tala. “That’s good. Looks like you're done for the day.”
She smiled warmly. “Thanks Cody,” she said. Cody nodded, smiling back. She and Obi-wan had just gone axe-throwing, which Cody actually thought was a pretty great date. Typically the dates here were… memorable, to say the least. He felt like he had trauma from awkwardly filming contestants having to partake in a dance competition date a few seasons ago. It was painful to watch. And apparently to perform too, one of the girls got sent home with a broken arm.
Anyway.
Tala had received a rose at the end of the date, and she seemed to be feeling pretty good. She seemed to really like Obi-wan. They had been bonding more recently, so Bail was thrilled Obi-wan seemed to be feeling a bit more confident in himself.
Cody met up with Padme and Aayla once they were done with their shots.
“Have you heard about tomorrow?” Aayla asked without hesitation. Cody furrowed his brows.
“No,” he said simply.
Padme smirked. An unmistakable feeling of dread crept into Cody’s chest.
Tomorrow came. They filed out the door, equipment in hand, as they got in the van to head to the club.
Cody was not a club kind of person, he thought bitterly as he packed up his camera to take in the van. Padme and Aayla knew this. They thought it was funny. Cody did not.
They were perfectly fine with clubs. It wasn’t their favorite place in the world, but they went from time to time. Cody had been once, on Fox’s twenty-first birthday. Cody was forced to talk to a guy. Said guy forcibly pulled Cody on the dance floor. Cody was not happy.
The guy ended up bailing after laughing at Cody’s dancing.
A drunk Rex almost fought him in the parking lot.
Whatever.
Cody sat next to Aayla, Padme in front of him and Breha driving. He didn’t know why he was bitter about this. He wasn’t the one technically going clubbing. He was going to film people clubbing.
In past seasons, whenever they went to bars or clubs there was usually a ton of dancing, a ton of drinking, and a lot of making out. Cody felt kind of awkward being up in their business with a camera in their face, but it was his job. And those casts loved it; they loved the camera in their face and the idea of trending on twitter after the episode aired.
Cody sighed.
This was going to be fun.
Once there, they filed into the club. Cody set up his camera quickly. It was second nature by now, and almost calming. He enjoyed it. He hoisted it onto his shoulder just a few moments before the cast piled in.
The producers had rented out the club for them. The DJ and the workers remained, but as for everyone else, it was just them. Most everyone went straight to the bar for a drink.
Which made sense, Cody supposed.
The women seemed drawn to Obi-wan. That’s how it tended to go, the Bachelor or Bachelorette was the center of attention wherever they went. Which once again made sense. But the women also just wanted to be around each other. Tala and Satine were practically glued at the side tonight. Luminara currently had one hand on Adi’s shoulder, Ventress had the other.
Cody liked them all, really. They were kind.
“Oh, dear,” Obi-wan said to Depa with a drink in his hand. She had hopped down from her stool at the bar. “Are you going to be the first one on the dance floor?”
She smirked. “If I have to be.”
Obi-wan’s eyebrows raised in amusement. He had on a white shirt buttoned low on his chest, a blue bomber jacket on top and his hair swept back. There was a dimly lit light near him, brightening Obi-wan’s face just enough to really see. Quickly, without thinking about why, Cody looked down at his own outfit. His black button up and cargo pants seemed out of place in the dim lights of the club. Cody shook his head. The rest of the camera crew were the same, he didn’t know why he was thinking about it.
After Depa took one for the team, many of the cast ended up dancing. Everyone was so close to each other, hardly enough room for them all, yet it seemed that they relished in it. They were drawn to each other, Satine brushing against Obi-wan as she danced, Tala pressing a hand to Adi’s back as she laughed, Obi-wan gently touching a hand to Luminara’s arm.
Cody remained to the side, his camera on his shoulder and far from the other’s.
He had never been like that. He’s slow to get close to people, hesitant to initiate anything really. Cody didn’t have a lot of experience with relationships. He had a girlfriend in high school that not much came from. He realized he was gay soon after. Funnily enough the girl realized the same thing about herself, so. No hard feelings.
He didn’t come out anytime soon after that. Cody just didn’t enjoy talking about himself. Rex was the first he told. Then Fox. Wolffe. The rest of his brothers found out eventually. He had always been too terrified to tell dad. His dad was never really fond of Cody’s weird little hobbies, when he was young Jango would put his drawings on the fridge. Eventually, he stopped. Tried to get him to do other things. Wanted him to join the army, of all things.
And Cody just never got around to telling him he was gay.
It was too late now, anyway.
He’s had a couple boyfriends since, but nothing really special. No one he brought home to his brothers. No one he thought about before he went to bed. No one he wanted to be around. But in all honesty, he was kind of a romantic. He wanted a love story. Something more. He just didn’t know if he was capable of it.
Cody was just… closed off, he supposed.
Not like Obi-wan. Putting himself on a tv show where he had to be open. He had to be vulnerable. Give confessionals, open himself up knowing that it would be on tv. Hell, everytime he talked to Cody Obi-wan was telling him how he felt, something new about himself, just something that made him so much braver than Cody.
He couldn’t compare, could he.
Cody shook his head. Now wasn’t the time.
Obi-wan was a natural on the dance floor. He was confident, fluid.
Cody looked away.
Obi-wan wasn’t the only one, though. Satine was quite good at it, actually, like she had some sort of dance background. Tala was clearly having the most fun, swaying and bouncing to the beat.
The night went on, and the cast got more and more drunk. Production made sure everyone stayed safe, with cups and bottles of water on hand and ready to step in if anyone was close to having too much.
For the most part, it was just making them more and more chaotic. Satine had even let her hair down. It was really getting wild.
Cody smirked to himself.
The night came to a close at around two in the morning. The dancing had gotten increasingly… Cody sighed. Slutty, in the most respectful way possible.
Cody finally took his camera down from his shoulder as the women filed out the door, leaning on and helping each other out the door. He shook his head with a smile, running a hand through his hair.
“Cody.”
He looked up. Obi-wan was walking toward him, a drink in one hand and a wide grin on his face. “Obi-wan,” he replied.
“I didn’t see you on the dance floor,” he said with an eyebrow raised.
“Well,” Cody said, putting his hands on his hips. “Considering I was doing my job you really had no reason to.” Obi-wan smiled. He did that sometimes, when Cody said something that could possibly be taken as mean. He didn’t know why. “And I’m not much of a dancer.”
“That’s alright,” Obi-wan replied. His cheeks were a bit red from the alcohol and his hair was in disarray. “I do wish you could’ve enjoyed it, though.”
Cody shook his head. He gestured down at himself. “I wouldn’t say I prepared for a night at the club, anyway.” Obi-wan tilted his head, then looked down at his own outfit. It had gotten a little more unbuttoned as the night went on. His jacket had been lost somewhere, and his sleeves were pushed up to his elbows.
“Oh please,” Obi-wan said with a laugh. “You know you’re prepared for anything.” He was swaying a bit now. “Though, I’d love to help you, if you’d allow me to.”
Cody nodded, no words coming to mind. Obi-wan smiled, stepping closer. Their breath was intermingling, and Obi-wan reached out a hand. Lightly, so lightly, he touched Cody’s collar. “May I?” Obi-wan asked in a whisper.
Cody swallowed. He nodded.
With careful, gentle hands, Obi-wan unbuttoned the top button of Cody’s shirt. He looked up, making eye contact with him. Seeing no argument, Obi-wan slowly unbuttoned the next one.
Cody couldn’t breathe.
“There,” Obi-wan said softly. “Now you’re prepared.” He slowly took his hands away, resting one on his own beard, his eyes never leaving Cody. His eyes seemed darker than normal, a glint in them that Cody couldn’t describe. Obi-wan’s own chest was covered with a slight sheen of sweat, the humid atmosphere of the nightclub leaving him shining.
“Kenobi!”
Obi-wan startled, almost falling over. Cody reached out his own hands to steady him, the warmth of his body almost leaving him reeling. Bail raised a brow. “Time to go,” he said to Obi-wan.
Obi-wan turned back to Cody. “Well, my dear.” He grinned. “It’s been a pleasure. Will I see you tomorrow?”
Cody nodded.
“Wonderful,” Obi-wan said as he turned to leave. Bail rolled his eyes, reaching out to grab his shoulder. Which turned out to be a good idea, because Obi-wan immediately fell face forwards towards the floor.
It broke Cody out of his spell. He quickly turned away as Bail tugged Obi-wan to his feet. Cody’s chest was heaving as he breathed for what felt like the first time in years. He roughly ran his hands through his hair.
Fuck.
“Cody?”
He turned, finding Padme and Aayla walking towards him. “What was that about?” Aayla asked with a concerned look on her face. Padme followed behind her, pulling her camera off her shoulder.
“I don’t know,” Cody replied. Padme furrowed her brows.
“He unbuttoned your shirt.”
Cody grimaced.
“He-” Aayla stopped, clenching her fist in the air. “You were okay with that, right?”
Cody jerked abruptly. “Yes, of course I was,” he replied. “Obi-wan wouldn’t do something like that without knowing it was… okay…”
They were staring at him. Why were they staring at him? Padme opened her mouth, a questioning expression overtaking her face.
“Cody,” Padme said calmly. Too calmly. Cody shifted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Do you…?” She trailed off, studying him carefully. Cody quickly looked away, clenching his jaw shut.
He was fucked.
-
Obi-wan woke up in pain.
He groaned, throwing an arm over his eyes with a wince. He had never been much of a drinker. He really hadn’t had all that much, but yet he was already paying for it. He scrubbed at his face before sitting up with a grunt.
His room here was much nicer than his own. But it felt more like a hotel room than a real place to stay. The early morning sun was casting rays through the large windows that he had forgotten to pull the curtains over the night before. He had fallen into bed without a second thought. Obi-wan hadn’t even gotten under the covers.
The club was… entertaining. What he could remember, at least. He could remember his dancing getting more and more provocative. There were some strong dancers in the cast. He could recall the look on Tala’s face when Ventress finally let loose. He remembered seeing Satine doing what Anakin would call the freeing white girl dance. Obi-wan remembered…
He gasped.
Obi-wan remembered Cody. Cody against the wall, his camera already down, a glow to his skin from the warm light of the club. And Obi-wan unbuttoning his shirt.
Obi-wan lurched to his feet.
What was wrong with him.
He paced aimlessly, pulling his hands through his hair. He just… he saw Cody. He wanted to talk with him. Be by him. And then he went and unbuttoned his fucking shirt.
-
A few hours later, Obi-wan forced himself out of his room to face the world again. He had desperately tried to calm himself down. It was fine. Really.
As he walked out into the living room, it seemed like the rest of the cast was in a similar state of disarray. Not one of them looked like they wanted to be alive. The crew, on the other hand, were a bunch of assholes. They were chipper little bitches.
Satine threw a pillow at Bail when he tried to open the curtains.
The team slowly started pulling people out for confessionals, probably so they could get all the gossip from last night. Obi-wan was a little surprised they didn’t just do it then, but then again they would have gotten some very drunk responses.
Padme came up and tapped Tala’s shoulder. Tala groaned. “Sorry,” Padme said with a sympathetic smile as Tala rose to her feet. The other girls waved goodbye as Tala walked to the other room. Obi-wan sighed. He hadn’t seen Cody yet.
His leg bounced with anxiety.
“You okay?” Satine asked. Obi-wan turned to her. She was leaned up against one side of the couch, her cheek resting on one fist. Obi-wan sighed.
“I’m afraid I did something… wrong, last night,” Obi-wan said quietly. Satine furrowed her brows.
“I don’t remember you doing anything,” she said, her voice unconcerned.
“It was after you all left,” Obi-wan replied. He ran his hands through his hair that he had neglected to fix.
“Oh,” Satine said, seemingly at a loss for what to say. Obi-wan couldn’t blame her. He was being vague. He opened his mouth to add something else, when the door opened. Obi-wan jerked his head to see who it was.
It was Aayla, walking through the door and not even looking at him.
He sighed, turning back around. Satine was watching him with an eyebrow raised. “Are you looking for someone?”
“Uh, no,” Obi-wan said as he rubbed his beard. “Not really.” Satine continued to watch him.
“Obi-wan…” she said slowly. Her eyes were piercing, like she could see every thought floating around in his head. “Are you looking for-?”
“Obi-wan?”
Obi-wan practically jumped to his feet as he spun around to face just the man that he was waiting for.
Cody stood calmly, looking just as professional as ever. “You’re up for confessional.”
“Right,” Obi-wan replied stiffly. Cody turned around, and began to walk towards the door. Obi-wan followed, desperately flattening his hair as much as he could. He had to look good on camera. It was practically part of his contract. Just as he was about to leave the room, Obi-wan paused. “Oh, talk to you later Satine!”
She waved casually, a thoughtful look fixed on her face.
Obi-wan turned back around, and followed Cody once again.
“Cody,” he said as he sat down. Cody raised a brow as he stepped behind his camera. “I wanted to tell you how sorry I was.”
Cody peeked his head out to meet Obi-wan’s eye. “You are?”
“I-” Well. That wasn’t exactly the response he had been expecting. “Well, yes,” Obi-wan said, almost perturbed. Cody hummed.
“I thought it was kind of funny.”
Obi-wan just about choked. “Wh- funny!? I unbuttoned your shirt! I fail to see how that is funny.”
Cody, the bastard, was smirking. “To be fair, you asked first.”
“I-” Obi-wan paused. He didn’t remember that part. He frowned. Cody chuckled.
“Really, Obi-wan,” Cody said. “It’s fine.”
Obi-wan let out a breath, feeling his anxious energy beginning to fade away. “Really? I feel awful.”
Cody nodded. “If I wasn’t okay with it, it wouldn’t have happened. Drunk Obi-wan is apparently a bit of a slut, and it makes him very happy to see other people ‘slutting it up’ as I think you described it.” Cody smiled. “It was funny. Don’t worry about it, please.”
“Alright,” Obi-wan said with a sigh, finally leaning back in his chair as he let himself relax for the first time since he woke up. His mind wandered back to the image of Cody in front of him, his dark skin shimmering in the humid club. “I have to say, though.”
Cody raised a brow. “What?”
Obi-wan shrugged. “You looked pretty damn good.”
Cody froze. He opened his mouth, then shut it. Obi-wan grinned as Cody ducked his head behind the camera again.
“Anyway,” Cody said, clearing his throat. “Tell me about last night.”
“Aren’t you going to turn the camera on?” Obi-wan said suddenly, not ready for the confessional to start. Cody leaned his head out again to meet his eye.
“It’s been on.”
“Oh fuck.”
Cody laughed loudly, his head tilting back as he did. Obi-wan shook his head with a smile, watching Cody pull himself back together. “Come on Kenobi,” Cody said sternly, schooling his face back to cool professionalism. “Back to business.”
“Oh, but dear-”
“Obi-wan,” Cody said softly, raising a brow. Obi-wan ducked his head, hiding a blush on his cheeks.
“Alright then,” Obi-wan said, looking back up. He crossed his legs, folding his hands on his lap calmly. “If you insist.”
Cody rolled his eyes, and so they began the confessional.
-
The season carried on. More women were sent home as the days passed. They went on dates, Obi-wan handed out roses, so on and so forth and what have you. Obi-wan was living the dream.
Obi-wan sat down on his bed with a sigh. It was exhausting, being on camera all the time. There were so many people around. Usually Obi-wan thrived around other people, but this was just so much.
His musings were interrupted by a knock on his door.
Biting back a sigh, Obi-wan stood to open it.
“Hey,” Bail said once the door was opened. “Do you have a minute?”
Of course.
Why wouldn’t he.
Obi-wan stepped aside to let Bail in. Bail calmly took a seat on the edge of his bed, folding his hands in his lap and looking up at Obi-wan expectedly. Obi-wan looked at him curiously before taking a seat at his side.
“Is something wrong?” Obi-wan asked. Bail shook his head.
“Not at all,” he said. “It’s just…”
Oh lord.
He was getting fired.
“We’re getting closer to the end,” Bail said. Obi-wan nodded, letting him continue. “We’ll only be here, well, really another week. There’s only four women remaining. The producers were talking… and we’d really like to see you get really vulnerable with the contestants.”
Obi-wan furrowed his brows. “I don’t think I understand. What do you mean?”
Bail grimaced. “We really don’t have any… usable footage of you being vulnerable. Or even really personal. You’re making great relationships, but just,” he hesitated, breathing out calmly. “I don’t know. They don’t feel very personal.”
Obi-wan immediately wanted to argue. He was more vulnerable here than he’s ever been before. He felt like everyday he was having a conversation about himself that he would never have back home. He was talking about his father, his brother, his goals, his fears, his-
Obi-wan’s thoughts skidded to a halt.
He… he was having those conversations, it was true.
But not with any of the contestants.
“Oh,” Obi-wan said simply. Bail was watching carefully. He nodded slightly.
“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to criticize-”
“No, no,” Obi-wan said with a wave of his hand. “You’re right. I hadn’t realized.”
Bail sighed, leaning back on his hands. “I know it’s hard.”
Yeah. It was.
Bail stood with a grunt. “You’re doing well, Obi-wan,” he said. Obi-wan clenched his jaw, nodding as he did. Bail looked at him for a moment, before turning to leave. Obi-wan fought off the urge to throw his pillow across the room.
He thought he had been doing good. He was opening up, talking about himself. Fuck, he was so stupid. None of that really mattered, because it had all been with Cody.
Cody. It had all been with Cody.
Obi-wan clenched his fists at his side. He was doing everything a bachelor should do. Talking, flirting, becoming closer and closer-
And falling in love.
But no, this wasn’t right. This wasn’t supposed to happen. He had women lining up for him to propose to, yet somehow he fell in love with the one person he can’t have. Obi-wan wanted to sob.
He sat back down heavily on his bed with a shaky breath. He didn’t know what to do. There were four women left… he could fall in love with one of them, couldn’t he? They were all lovely people. He could do it. Obi-wan was the bachelor. He couldn’t fuck this up anymore than he already had.
-
Obi-wan went on more dates. Cody watched him dial up the flirting, dial up the charm. The vulnerability. Cody knew Bail was going to talk with him. It must have worked, whatever he said.
They were getting ready to film the final rose ceremony before the proposal. Cody mechanically got himself ready, watching Obi-wan pacing out of the corner of his eye. With a shake of his head, Cody looked away.
But Cody paused. He squinted, turning his head, and quickly narrowed his eyes at whatever was on the floor in front of him.
Oh. Great.
Cody stepped forward, and scooped the rose up off the floor. “Obi-wan,” he called out, walking towards the Bachelor.
With wide eyes, Obi-wan turned to face him. “Cody?”
Cody raised a brow. “I think you’ll be needing this.”
Obi-wan’s jaw fell open in surprise. “Well, how did that get away from me?” He carefully took it in between two fingers, their hands brushing for an instant. “Thank you, Cody,” he said softly. Cody nodded, meeting his eye for just a moment, before going back behind the cameras.
-
As Obi-wan handed the final rose to Satine, Cody was already ready to pack up his equipment. He sighed, feeling the pinch in his back and the heaviness in his eyes. He was getting more tired by the day.
Cody kneeled down, silently putting away his camera. Obi-wan had caught his eye just as Satine had taken the rose, but the bachelor had quickly looked away. Cody’s heart had leapt, just a little.
“Cody?”
He looked up in surprise to find Satine standing over him. “Yes?” He said, a little confused.
“Can I talk to you for a moment?” She asked, fiddling with the rose in her hand. She had a formal way of speaking, never once stumbling or questioning her words. It might be intimidating, to a lesser man.
“‘Course,” Cody said. He made to get up, but before he could move Satine had gracefully dropped down in front of him, crossing her legs as she did.
“I wanted to ask you something,” she said, her voice low. Cody furrowed his brows, suddenly yearning for the days when no one talked to him. But he nodded, encouraging her to go on.
“Well,” she began, looking away for a moment. “I know we’re supposed to be… head over heels for the bachelor.” Satine paused, her lips working as she watched him. “But… I’m not. I thought it would come with time, maybe. That I could grow to love him. And I do care for him. I might even really love him. Just not in the way the show wants.”
Cody’s eyes widened. “Satine-”
“I’m not in love with Obi-wan,” Satine said. “And I think it’s clear he doesn’t love me. Or Tala. Or any of the other girls that got sent home. Cody-”
She leaned in closer. “What I wanted to ask you, Cody. Do you love him?”
Cody leaned back, his heart beating rapidly in his chest. He clenched his jaw shut, shaking his head. “I’ve got to pack up,” he said quietly. Satine watched him calmly.
Cody climbed to his feet, avoiding her eyes. “It’s okay,” she said softly. He didn’t look at her, he just went back to his camera.
His hands were shaking.
Cody heard Satine getting to her feet behind her. “It’s not a bad thing,” she said.
He knew that. He knew that.
She moved closer. It wasn’t really that close at all, but Cody felt cornered. “It’s… not ideal,” Satine continued. Cody snorted bitterly. She winced. “Look, everyone wants a love story. Just, maybe, think about your options here.”
What the fuck did that mean. He shifted to give her a look, but she was already walking away. Cody clenched his jaw, turning his gaze to the floor.
This was so fucking stupid.
With a scowl, Cody grabbed his equipment and threw his bag over his shoulder.
The ride back to the motel was silent. Padme and Aayla were halfway asleep the whole time. Cody wished he was too.
They made it back, and the two of them didn’t hesitate to fall into bed. Cody took his time, spending far too long in the shower and not getting into bed until he had tired out his mind from his racing thoughts. But still, as he laid there, he just couldn’t fall asleep. He laid there, staying on one side of his bed just because he never broke the habit from his years of sharing bunk beds with Fox. Cody stared up at the ceiling.
It wasn’t a bad thing, Satine had said.
But how could it not be?
Cody sighed. There were so many reasons why. He was the bachelor, for fucks sake. Cody rolled onto his side, and climbed out of bed. Quietly, he left the motel room, opening and shutting the door with the softest click.
It was past midnight at this point. Cody ran a hand over his face, and took a seat on the little bench next to the door. It was warm out.
It wasn’t a bad thing.
“Hey dad,” Cody said quietly. He had never been the kind of guy to go to his fathers grave to talk to him. He could do the same exact thing whenever he wanted, he didn’t need a slab of stone in front of him. Not like Cody ever talked to him either way.
“So, uh.” Cody rubbed the back of his neck.
Cody breathed out. He had a thousand things he wanted to say.
Why’d you want me to join the army so badly?
Why didn’t you care?
Why’d you have to go and get yourself killed?
Would you support me? Right now? If I… if I told Obi-wan…
Would you be proud of me?
But Cody’s never been one to say all that. Not to Jango. So all that came out was-
“I’m gay.”
Cody breathed out. Nothing had changed. It wasn’t some big revelation. There weren't a hundred cameras proving it. The night was still quiet. Cody was still Cody. Yet somehow, he felt better. Cody nodded. “Good talk.”
He stood, rubbing the palms of his hands on his pants. Yeah. Good talk.
-
There were two women left.
Obi-wan found himself staring up at the ceiling, unable to sleep. Satine and Tala were the final two.
He was going to propose to Satine.
Obi-wan sighed, feeling a pit grow in his stomach. This is what the Bachelor did. They proposed. So why was this so hard? It was what he was supposed to do. He could do this.
He could always just… not propose at all. Obi-wan thought that might’ve happened before, but people weren’t happy. It’s not like Obi-wan didn’t like them. Maybe none of the Bachelor’s really fell in love… maybe they just picked the person they clicked the best with and hoped for the best.
Without realizing it, Obi-wan had sat up in his bed.
Because, well. It’s not like he hadn’t fallen in love.
His mind raced back to the brush of Cody’s fingers, a rose in his hand and the glow from the lights on his skin.
Fuck the show, a voice in the back of his head said. It sounded suspiciously like Anakin.
If you could do anything you wanted, right now, what would it be?
Could he? Just do what he wanted?
Obi-wan never wanted to be anything he wasn’t. He did his job. Obi-wan fell in love, didn’t he?
Obi-wan was standing, throwing a robe over his pajamas and rushing out of his room. He was doing this for him. This is what he wanted. Obi-wan hurried to the room where he knew the producers would be, still going over the footage from earlier in the day. He stopped, seeing the producers in front of him. Bail turned his head, his eyebrows furrowing as he saw him.
“Obi-wan?” He asked kindly. Obi-wan almost cried. Bail was always so kind. “Is everything alright?”
“I need to talk to you,” Obi-wan said without a moment's hesitation, fierce determination lacing his words. Bail nodded, his face filled with concern. Obi-wan didn’t know where this would go. But he had to try.
-
The crew arrived early the next day for the final ceremony. It would take place outside this season, and it had already been decorated extravagantly. The sun was just beginning to set, and once the cast arrived it would be well into the night.
Cody set up his equipment meticulously. His camera was on a stand this time, focused on where Obi-wan would be standing. Obi-wan would be in the center of a small platform surrounded by flowers and warm lights, waiting for Satine and Tala to join him.
Cody wondered, idly, if Obi-wan chose Satine, whether or not she would say yes.
“Amidala,” Cody heard quietly from behind him. He turned, seeing Bail walking towards Padme. “A word, if you don’t mind?” Padme nodded, not phased in the slightest, and she followed him a few feet away. It wasn’t uncommon for producers to talk to crew members one on one like that. She wasn’t getting fired or anything.
A few moments later passed, and Padme still hadn’t returned. Aayla caught his eye and made a face. Cody just shrugged.
Finally, once the sun was set and only minutes remained until the cast was set to arrive, Padme walked out. Her face was impassive. Cody had never been good at reading people like that. Only their actions, really, told him anything.
“Everything good?” Aayla asked.
“Oh yeah,” Padme said casually. She smiled, looking up and quickly meeting Cody’s eye. She looked away. “Just some blocking stuff. They want me to get a lot of wide shots for whatever reason.”
Cody shrugged again. Sounds fine to him. They took an awful long time to tell her that, though.
In the back of his mind, he knew something was wrong.
A few minutes later, the cast arrived, and their job began. Obi-wan was shown to the center of the platform, the warm light illuminating his skin casting him in a gentle glow. His pale blue suit fit seamlessly into the expanse of flowers around him. Cody centered him in his frame, just like always. Obi-wan caught his eye, and he smiled. It was small, maybe a little nervous. Cody smiled back.
Tala and Satine arrived next. They each stepped out of their limo, and walked towards the platform.
…side by side.
And that was when Cody really knew something was up.
Because that’s not how this went. The women arrived one at a time, and the one to arrive first was dumped. The second one got the proposal. But… they were here together. Cody looked to Aayla, who looked just as confused. Padme stared straight ahead, not looking at either of them.
“What the hell?” Cody muttered, forgetting every rule of being a camera operator for just one moment.
Satine and Tala looked confused as well, but they were handling it phenomenally. They stuck close to each other, a little concerned, but they soldiered on, joining Obi-wan on the platform.
“Hello,” Obi-wan said.
“Hey,” Satine said, suspicion laced in her words.
“Hi,” Tala said, not with suspicion but with question. Obi-wan chuckled nervously.
“I am… sure you’re curious about this, er, unconventional approach,” he said. Cody focused on his face. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Padme shifting her camera ever so slightly, smoothly turning it.
“I truly have enjoyed spending time with both of you these past weeks,” Obi-wan said. He had a quality about him that the cameras loved. Even with a hundred people watching, it always felt like he was speaking with just one. “Tala, you’re just so easy to be around.” Tala smiled, a blossom of red blooming on her cheeks. Obi-wan smiled. “You make everyone feel instantly at ease when they’re around you.”
He turned, catching Satine’s eye. “And Satine. You’re such an incredibly strong human being. I admire you, and I feel as if you’ve taught me so much.” Satine nodded, never breaking eye contact with him. He breathed out.
“I love you both,” Obi-wan said softly. “And that’s why it pains me to say I can’t propose to either of you.”
Tala gasped. It was soft, hardly even noticeable. But Satine just nodded. Padme’s camera turned even more.
Cody realized he was holding his breath.
“I’m so sorry,” Obi-wan said, wringing his hands in front of him, but he kept eye contact with them both. “You came on this show for a reason, and I couldn’t give it to you.”
“It’s alright,” Satine said. She had never looked away. Tala still seemed to be in shock, but she looked to her friend. “I understand,” Satine continued. “It’s true, I came on this show for love. And I found it. I think… we all did. Just not in the way anyone expected.”
Obi-wan looked at her for a moment. Then he breathed out, an airy chuckle coming from his chest. “Yes, I believe you’re right.”
Tala smiled, a little shakily. “I understand too. It’s… well.” She ran a hand through her hair, her updo already falling. She looked to the side, looking at something, before looking back at Obi-wan. She smiled. “Yeah. I understand.”
Satine and Tala looked at eachother. “Thank you,” Obi-wan said, like a great weight had been removed from his chest. Satine nodded. She leaned closer to him, just for a moment.
“Good luck,” Satine whispered, before she and Tala made their way off camera. Obi-wan remained standing on the platform, staring straight ahead. Obi-wan breathed out, shaking his head with a smile. Cody quickly turned to look at the producers, who didn’t look shocked at all.
He didn’t understand.
Cody looked back to Obi-wan, but to Cody’s surprise, Obi-wan was already looking at him.
“Cody,” Obi-wan said. He looked nervous, his mouth tight, but with the glimpse of a smile. Cody’s mouth parted, ready for the usual reprimand. Don’t talk to the crew. But no one said a word. Cody looked around, and that was when he noticed Padme’s camera was pointed directly at him.
Cody blinked, the lens of the camera surprising him. Padme stuck her head out so he could see her, and she smiled. Encouragingly, she nodded.
Cody turned back to the Bachelor. “Obi-wan,” he replied. Before he could move, he felt a light pressure on his shoulder. He turned, and suddenly Bail was at his side, desperately trying to fight a smile. Bail gestured toward the platform.
Oh.
Cody looked at Bail.
“If you don’t want this,” Bail began, only looking at Cody. “Then I’ll call it off right now. None of it will be on TV, we’ll film a different ending. It will be okay.”
Cody didn’t even think. He smiled.
With a determined set to his jaw, Cody stepped in front of the cameras, into the lights, and walked forward to stand face to face with Obi-wan.
Cody stepped onto the platform. Obi-wan smiled nervously. His suit was pristine, just a classic black suit and tie. Cody refused to feel out of place in his black t-shirt.
“Hi,” Obi-wan said with a sheepish grin.
“Hey,” Cody replied. He had never really been on this side of the camera’s before. He didn’t know how the cast could just ignore it all. Not like Obi-wan ever did, though. There were so many people watching.
Obi-wan let out a breath. “So, this isn’t a proposal.” Obi-wan reached into the pocket of his suit jacket, and carefully, he pulled out a long red rose. “I thought that I wasn’t falling in love here. I thought that I was failing. But that wasn’t true at all. Because… I believe I’ve fallen in love with you.”
Cody smiled.
“You’re the one I want to talk to,” Obi-wan said. “Everytime I’m away from you, I can’t wait for the moment I get to see you again. I feel like you’re a part of me that I didn’t know I was missing.”
With a blush on his cheeks, Obi-wan continued. “I know it’s a little unorthodox, but.” He looked Cody on the eye. And Cody knew exactly what happened next.
“Will you accept this rose?” Obi-wan asked, so soft and nervous that Cody wondered if the audio even picked it up. But it didn’t matter. Because Cody heard it.
“Yes,” Cody breathed out without a moment’s hesitation. Obi-wan’s grin split his face. “I…” Cody looked around. There was a crowd of people just watching him, all waiting for him to say something more. And then he looked back at Obi-wan. And yeah, maybe he did have something to say.
“I think I’ve been falling in love with you from the start,” Cody said. “I just didn’t let myself believe it.” Obi-wan laughed breathlessly. “I’ve never felt comfortable around someone like I do with you, Obi-wan.”
Obi-wan smiled, his entire body seeming to lift in the moment. “May I…?”
Cody didn’t hesitate. He leaned in.
Obi-wan placed one hand on the side of Cody’s neck, his finger’s in the bottom of his hair and his thumb trailing along Cody’s jaw. And then they were kissing.
Kissing him was like nothing Cody’s ever done before. He felt like he could breathe for the first time. When they pulled apart, it seemed the crew had abandoned all rules. Because they were cheering.
With wide eyes, Cody and Obi-wan looked around at the cast and crew surrounding them. Padme looked like she was about to cry, but her camera never wavered. Aayla had the widest grin, her camera now panning the set to take in every single person who was watching. And every single cast member who had been eliminated was back to watch. Cody knew they were still around, and that they would be here to film finale stuff. But he didn’t realize they would all be so happy.
“That’s the season!” Bail shouted.
Cody turned back to Obi-wan. Obi-wan was looking at him, with the brightest glint in his eye. Cody smiled. “That was something,” Cody said.
Obi-wan chuckled. “You don’t know how nervous I was.”
“Understandably so.”
“Well,” Obi-wan said, leaning heavily into Cody’s side. “It worked out, didn’t it?”
Cody hummed. “Yeah.” For a moment, he was able to tune out everything around him. He wrapped his hand around Obi-wan’s. The Bachelor. “It did.”
Cody got dragged away for a confessional a little while later. It was probably the most efficient confessional they’ve ever done, Padme didn’t need to remind Cody at all about stating the question and stuff like that.
He was told to try and be a little less stiff though.
“That’s part of my charm,” Cody replied dryly. Padme just rolled her eyes.
Cody was pretty nervous about the season airing. He didn’t know how they would edit it, if they would even use him at all until the end. He’s never wanted to be on TV. His brother’s weren’t going to believe it. He sighed, standing up and making his way back to Obi-wan.
“You okay?” Obi-wan asked as he approached. The energy was finally beginning to die down around them. “I know it was all quite sudden…”
Cody smiled. “I’m good.” Obi-wan smiled brightly back at him.
“Well, that’s a relief. Honestly I was preparing for the rejection of the century.”
“It’s not too late,” Cody replied. Obi-wan gasped, placing an affronted hand on his chest. Cody just laughed, leaning into his shoulder. They walked out of the way of all the cameras, past the crew and the cast congratulating them and found a little corner on their own.
“You know, they’d probably scrap the whole season if you asked,” Obi-wan said thoughtfully. Cody raised a brow. “If you didn’t want to be on TV.”
Cody shook his head. “I’m okay with it,” he said as Obi-wan watched him carefully. “I want this. I want… uh,” he paused, feeling a little awkward with himself. He breathed out. “I want you. And this is how it happened. I’m okay with people seeing it.”
A blush bloomed across Obi-wan’s cheeks. He ducked his head bashfully. “Well, I’m glad. I don’t think my family will believe it otherwise.”
Cody snorted. “Yeah, fair.” He could picture Wolffe’s judgemental stare now. He shook the thought out of his mind. “You know, you did something pretty brave today.”
Obi-wan raised his brows. Cody shrugged. “I don’t know if anyone else would’ve been able to take that kind of chance.”
“It wasn’t hard,” Obi-wan said. “Well, actually, that’s a lie.”
Cody laughed sharply.
Obi-wan shoved him lightly. “It felt a hell of a lot easier when you were the one I was talking to you, my dear.”
Well. Cody didn’t know what to say to that.
So he kissed him. Obi-wan smiled into the kiss and pulled him closer, his hands comforting around Cody’s shoulders.
He was still kind of in shock. Rex was going to go insane. Wolffe was probably going to cry. Cody… well. He should probably be scared of what would happen next. But he was just excited. Obi-wan was right. Everything seemed a hell of a lot easier with Obi-wan.