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Obi-Wan did not even hesitate for a second before heading towards the entrance of the establishment, a sort of... nightclub perhaps? In any case, he could hear music from inside. Their target had just entered, they absolutely had to follow this woman and install a tracker on her for their Shadow who had been caught up following her two hours before.
Damn Quinlan, all too recognisable with his bodybuilder's build.
"Where's your partner?" A security guard asked, blocking his way in.
"My partner?" Obi-Wan repeated without understanding, turning his head towards Qui-Gon when the other Jedi caught up with him and put a hand on his waist to pull him closer.
He was rarely so expressive of his concern for the safety of his loved ones in public.
"Ben, wait for your old husband, will you? Gentlemen."
The Chevalier did not have time to say anything – HUSBAND?!? – as the two Nikto on duty stepped aside to let them pass and Qui-Gon was pushing him inside.
"What the-"
"Obi-Wan, this is a swingers' club."
The redhead slowed to a stop, the curtain that served as a door at the bottom of the stairs in front of him opening to let the couple before them through.
The bodies, in varying degrees of nudity, were perfectly visible even from this distance.
"Are you going to be all right?" Qui-Gon asked in a whisper, coming up to him and leaning over him as if to kiss him, letting his hair fall over his face and cover their lips as another couple rounded them to go downstairs. "If it's too much for you, you can stay in the bathroom just there while I go around and place the tracker down."
"No," he mumbled, his stubbornness characteristic of their Lineage showing through. "Something as unimportant as my discomfort won't stop me from completing a mission."
Qui-Gon smiled at this, leaning in a little closer.
"Yes, I see our Master has instilled in you his fighting spirit."
Obi-Wan smiled reluctantly at that, looking away out of habit as he did every time the man was mentioned. He knew he was still a long way from making their Master proud by realising his full potential, it was a rather sensitive subject for him. On the other hand, it was not Qui-Gon, who had disengaged himself from politics to an almost artistic level, who was going to judge him for his slowness in finding his feet in this environment.
He knew that but still felt like he was not enough and somehow always inadequate in front of someone with such a reputation, and deep down, even though they liked each other and spent a lot of time together these days, they were still getting to know each other a little because he had not met Qui-Gon until he was sixteen, more than three years after becoming Dooku's Padawan, and that was just a quick meeting in passing. They had seen each other a few times and this was already their third time working together but sometimes it was just strange and even a bit awkward to be with someone who knew his Master even better than he did. It was all the more strange and embarrassing since Obi-Wan had begun to develop an awkward crush on his much older Padawan brother.
Older but... elegant, confident and capable.
Whatever.
"Ready to go?"
"Ready."
Qui-Gon took the lead and Obi-Wan followed, trying not to look too hard at the people who suddenly surrounded him and were naked or dressed in mock clothes that made things paradoxically even more obscene than full nudity. It was useless.
Everywhere his eyes turned, people of all ages, bodies and species were naked, and often these people were engaged in... oh Force.
Many and varied sexual acts.
Obi-Wan was not even halfway across the room when hands grabbed his arse and the Jedi Knight froze, unable to move.
He was paralysed and terrified.
Why the hell was not his body moving?!
Suddenly, the hands disappeared and familiar arms embraced him. Qui-Gon.
"Sorry, it's his first time," Qui-Gon said with a smile as he pulled Obi-Wan closer to him. "This way, dear. Don't look up," the Jedi Master added, and Obi-Wan blamed himself for not heeding his advice when he discovered that the ceiling was transparent and couples were having sex in a public and explicit display.
"I think I'm going to throw up," he murmured softly, "and also that I'll never feel sexual arousal again in my life."
"Don't say that, maybe a few appointments with Healers will be useful to bring peace to your mind and regulate things, but it's nothing to be ashamed of. And if you want to throw up, I think there's another toilet round here. Oh, look over there-"
But Obi-Wan did not look, he could not, he did not want to see any more horrors and rushed into the toilets, nauseous until he finally found an empty spot to vomit in out of sight.
After a moment's silence, the other people around had moved away after asking if he was all right as they heard him vomit – the universal repellent, ironically he could not have wished for a better situation – familiar boots stopped beside him and a hand came to rest on his shoulder, comforting.
"Hey, Obi-Wan, how are you?"
"I feel pathetic. I am pathetic."
He could feel the other man shaking his head even without seeing him.
"Don't say that."
"I shouldn't need your protection," he mumbled, on the verge of tears. "Thank you for stepping in, really, but... I should have been able to manage on my own."
It was so humiliating, he was not a child anymore, he should be able to react, say something, stop it!
"Don't talk nonsense, nobody reacts in the same way to such an intimate intrusion, your standards are unrealistic. Be more patient and kind to yourself, Obi-Wan, I don't like to hear you say things like that."
The redhead shrugged, exhausted and on edge but too proud nonetheless to admit it so quickly as he was lifted to his feet, taken back to the washbasins and given a small package after a beep sounded in the silence.
"We won't be alone for very long, I've managed to get us some privacy but this is a club, other people are going to have... pressing needs too."
Obi-Wan avoided thinking too hard about why there were dispensers of mini toothbrushes and toothpaste – otherwise he knew he would throw up again – and dutifully brushed his teeth until he felt like himself again.
"Let's get out of here. "
The toilets were not exactly a pleasant place.
As they walked through the door, Obi-Wan felt himself blush as he saw all the eyes on them and multiple hands reaching out to touch his face.
"Oh my, he does look pale. "
"Kid, how are you? "
"He's fine," Qui-Gon answered for him, gently pushing their hands away from him. "A little too much emotion for the first time, but he's feeling better, thanks to all of you, thank you very much for your help and your patience. "
Obi-Wan then realised that their solitude was no accident but the result of Qui-Gon having managed to negotiate a little peace and quiet to allow him to regain his composure.
Strangely enough, the nakedness of these people no longer bothered him so much as he thanked them in turn.
"Thank you very much, please go back to enjoying yourself, I have my white knight in armour with me to protect me. I must admit I wasn't expecting that," he then admitted as he stayed close to Qui-Gon, following him through the crowd.
"It may seem frightening, but in these places perhaps more than anywhere else, consent and being comfortable is particularly important. And everyone's been a newcomer once, they know how it feels."
"You're a frequent visitor, aren't you?"
"What? Me? Absolutely not," Qui-Gon replied, bursting into laughter, strangely not offended by his almost accusatory tone or the nature of his words. "I was curious about it when I was younger, but it seems that I'm a great romantic just like you. It doesn't really have the kind of vibe I'm looking for, but I like the energy and the life that comes out of the people in these places."
It must have had something to do with the Living Force, the unbridled energy, passion and exchanges could be stimulating for a Jedi like him.
"My Master told me about Mandalore, you were apparently a hopeless romantic with Kryze's daughter."
Obi-Wan grumbled as he stomped on the floor. He had immensely liked Satine, the daughter of Adonai Kryze whom he and his Master had protected from numerous attempts on his life during profound but necessary political reforms on a planet in the Outer Rim, but he had not expected such gossip!
"What a traitor."
"Poor man, at his age, rambling proudly about his lineage and having a Padawan and Grand Padawan antics contest is the only thing left to entertain them, have pity on him."
"He'd hate it if I felt sorry for him, for whatever reason, so... no?"
Qui-Gon smiled affectionately and led them through a curtain and up some steps... the steps?!
"But the mission-"
"Accomplished," Qui-Gon announced simply with a wink. "We walked around the place, now it's time to end the evening at home so I can admire you and have you all to myself."
"I know you said that for the security guards," Obi-Wan said it once in the street, "but did you have to be so explicit?"
"Trust me, I can be much more explicit. Sorry," he added when Obi-Wan said nothing, speechless.
"No, it's... it's fine. Did you really do it?"
"She was right next to us when you slipped away. It took me a few tries to get a tracer onto her shoes, but I finally did it."
"Great. Good job."
If he was a little bitter about his own inability to manage his discomfort, it showed, but Qui-Gon did not hold it against him, walking him back to his flat without saying a word.
"Don't beat yourself up too much, okay? You've done nothing wrong, you've pushed your limits, it would be unfair to ask for more."
"I seem to want to be on top of that too quickly."
Qui-Gon let out a chukle.
"It's just, it's just so much like you... and otherwise, anything else that you'd like to be on top of?"
"Don't be like that," he sighed, for that flirty little tone was causing him great pain.
It gave him ridiculous false hope.
"Me? No, you, Obi-Wan, don't be like that," Qui-Gon replied shortly. "You're so obtuse sometimes."
"And you're so good at paying compliments."
"You're lucky I love you so much," said the Jedi Master, jostling him once he had arrived. "The things I hear, I swear..."
Obi-Wan looked at him in surprise but hid it under a serene mask and finally smiled when he saw that the other was looking at him with a gentle smile.
He could never hold a grudge against him for very long, even when he was very annoying.
"You know how you are," he said anyway, "you're probably the more stubborn of the two of us, by far."
"And yet, somehow, I pale in comparison to our old Master."
Obi-Wan laughed loudly at this before hiding his mouth with his hand: it was true, but the polite thing to do was not to laugh at it.
"Thank you for cheering me up," he finally murmured, stepping closer once his cape was down, aware of what the other was doing.
"I'm glad I could lighten your thoughts even for a few minutes," Qui-Gon replied in the same tone, leaning towards him before the Jedi Master decided to tease him a little more by leaning on the doorframe. "Do I get a goodnight kiss for all my efforts? A real one."
"Not a fake one?"
"I want a real goodnight kiss," Qui-Gon confirmed. "As if you meant it."
Obi-Wan could not explain his gesture at that moment, but he clearly gathered his courage and leaned forward to brush Qui-Gon's lips with his own.
"Not like that?" He asked, pulling back when the other did not return his kiss, looking at him with wide eyes.
Qui-Gon's whole expression softened and the tall man leaned over, putting his right hand on his cheek before leaning in to kiss him back, slowly, deliberately, and Obi-Wan felt himself melting in the warmth and softness of his kiss.
"Yes, exactly like that. Now stop convincing yourself that you're imagining things, I like you as much as you like me, and we'll talk again very soon."
"Not now?"
"I think we've had quite an emotional evening, and it's probably best to have this conversation once everything's calmed down and we're sure of what we want. What about we meet again tomorrow, lunch at Dex's?"
"Twelve o'clock?" Obi-Wan suggested. "Master Dooku wants to see me in the morning for training."
"What a coincidence, he also wants to see me in the morning for training... how much do you want to bet he wants to humiliate us by beating us both?"
Obi-Wan would not bet on it, he already knew that this was the only possible outcome when the opponent was the best duellist in the Order.
"It would be wiser to bet on how long it will take us to defeat him at least once."
"Fair enough. You have until tomorrow to choose your bet, and if you win, I owe you a favour."
"And if you win, I owe you a favour," Obi-Wan replied, laughing happily like a teenager discovering love when Qui-Gon kissed him again before slipping away.
"It's a promise. Good night!"
"Good night!"
The Jedi Knight closed his door and went off to sit in the dark, staring at his door, dumbfounded, before a new laugh burst out of him.
Wow.
That was unexpected.