Adult-FanFiction.org : Movies

Fallen	By : serendip Category: Star Wars (All) > General Views: 3106 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Star Wars is the property of George Lucas. This story is for entertainment purposes only. No infringement of rights is intended. I do not make any profit from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-Fallen
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-the end...
- 7
- 8
- 9
They froze as one. There was a moment’s hesitation, a swift decision and then Anakin and the clones followed Obi-Wan’s lead into a narrow outside corridor to the right.

“No. No, no... no!”

The interjection over his comlink increased in both volume and urgency with each utterance and though it was somewhat vague, it was unequivocal and it made Anakin start so badly he drew his lightsaber from his side.

“You can’t go that way.”

Okay, fine then, they weren’t in immediate danger. It was Aala, and though he had never thought them anything alike, she sounded scarily identical to Padmé when she was upset – and that must be why he had been so startled. He’d thought he was in trouble.

They were trying to enter the palace covertly to extract the assistant prime minister, Phillip Barak. As an important part of the government on a planet that was currently flirting intently with the CIS, he had valuable information on the Separatists’ efforts and he had decided he was more than willing to trade it for his safety and a comfortable life on Coruscant. It was quickly decided his information was more important than the allegiance of Brilam, at this point. But if the prime minister discovered Barak’s impending betrayal, Barak would surely be dealt with swiftly.

“You can’t – who is that?” She sounded both concerned and commanding, and again, Anakin was reminded of Padmé.

As they crouched between the palace and a high concrete wall, there was no other sound except the not-distant-enough metallic clanking of battle droids. Whisky and Rex looked to Anakin for direction and he watched as Obi-Wan clenched his jaw. “That is me.”

“That’s a dead end, Kenobi, you can’t –” Anakin heard the Admiral in the background over the comm and Whisky made an indignant noise at the same time. Obi-Wan’s face was stone cold.

“Er... uh,” Aala stammered. “General. Um, that’s a dead end,” she repeated herself lamely. “You can’t go that way.” She must’ve left her terminal when they turned into the corridor. She wouldn’t have had an open comlink of her own and had to be at the center command table, now.

Anakin bit back a smirk at the look on Obi-Wan’s face; he apparently wasn’t in the mood to be told what to do. The sound of the droids grew louder. They were patrolling.

“We have no choice,” Obi-Wan said through gritted teeth. There’s a battalion of battle droids up ahead, on the planned route. There’s no way around them.” And he made the signal to move ahead, down the corridor. The walls were high and bare, allowing their foot falls to echo in an unsettling way, and the calm blue sky above was a perfect contradiction to the disorder below.

“No, you don’t understand,” Aala insisted.

Obi-Wan stopped again, clearly agitated.

‘Odd,’ Anakin thought to himself. ‘I thought Obi-Wan and Aala were friends. Certainly haven’t been acting like it.’

Rex and Whisky raised their blasters, at the ready, and Anakin could feel their unease.

“They’re... they’re corralling you. There’s a reason it’s called a dead end.”

“Are you saying they know we’re here?”

“No... I – it must be a pre-caution.”

“Why did we not know about this?”

Anakin could tell he was trying to keep frustration from tinting his voice, but it was clear on his face, his mouth drawn in a tight line.

“The field agent didn’t report any ‘droid battalions.’” Aala said, her voice sounding distant. “There were only a couple stationed at each main entrance. I don’t know what changed. How many droids are there?”

“Too many to dispatch without the chance of being noticed. It’s too dangerous.”

“But – um, General – you...”

Anakin heard the clicking of buttons; Obi-Wan signaled to move again. There was only the sound of their steps for a moment, while Aala searched.

“There’s no way out. You’ll be trapped.”

“You better figure something out quickly, then.”

***

“Have a seat, Agent Naberrie.” Admiral Yularen gestured toward her terminal.

She twisted her hands together as he leveled her with a serious gaze. Her behavior thus far had been a bit odd for an intelligence agent, but she’d been highly recommended. Now was her chance to prove it. Certainly, she’d have to work a miracle for General Kenobi to consider marking her favorably in his report. Although the man displayed infinite patience on many occasions with Skywalker and Tano, he thought it unlikely he would do the same for her.

Aala nodded once and sat down at her terminal, bringing up her reports and layouts.

Admiral Yularen tapped at the center console opening up a channel for her at her terminal.

“Agent Naberrie?” General Kenobi’s authoritative voice came immediately.

Aala hit a button to keep the link open. “I’m looking.” She was pulling up readouts and maps, scanning them furiously, comparing them to her own notes.

“Look faster.”

“There,” she said under her breath, but General Kenobi heard her.

“Where?”

“At the end... there should be an– an add on. The prime minister had an addition built so he could have a bigger closet. It’s not reinforced.” She pulled up more screens. “You should be able to cut you’re way in easily.”

***

“How do we know where the prime minister’s closet is?” Anakin joked, making a face.

Obi-Wan did not share his good mood. He’d had a bad feeling about this mission from the start. He knew Barak, the man they were attempting to rescue from the terrible fate of joining the Separatists. He was misguided and self-serving, but he was not a bad person.

Obi-Wan knew the prime minister, as well. He was a bad person – indulgent and masochistic. If they were discovered, Barak would be lucky if he were executed quickly, and that was not something he deserved. Obi-Wan was single-mindedly determined to finish this efficiently and successfully, and planned on being well out of orbit before the prime minister had figured out Barak was long gone.

“You don’t want to know.” Aala answered wryly. “Do you see it?”

“No,” Obi-Wan said, his voice terse. The wall was straight and smooth as far as he could see – and ended just ahead. The sound of the droids had faded, but not disappeared. Rex and Whisky still had their blasters ready, backing down the corridor behind them.

“Around the corner,” she clarified, her voice certain.

Obi-Wan and Anakin turned the corner and immediately could see what was an obvious addition to the palace. It stuck out from the main building oddly, and was painted the same color, but not faded by the sun.

“Here,” Anakin said as he ignited his lightsaber. But Aala spoke up again.

“The problem will be coming out of the closet.”

Obi-Wan threw his hand up to keep Anakin still. “This might’ve been nice to know sooner,” he said bitingly. “What does that mean?”

“There’s a security panel to get into the closet – only the door is wired. You could fry the panel, but it might lock down or set off a secondary alarm. There should be some sort of emergency handle on the inside, so if you use that you’ll have about 10 seconds to enter the code into the panel on the outside before it sets anything off.”

“Do you have the code?” His patience was flagging.

“Yes. Of course. Sir.”

“And how did we get the security code to his private closet?” Anakin asked, clearly amused.

“You don’t want to know,” she said again.

Anakin smirked. “I hope no one had to –”

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan said sharply. “Best case?” he asked Aala.

“The rooms are clear. This’ll put you directly across from the meeting point, you can grab the target and be in and out in less than 5 minutes.”

“Sounds promising,” Anakin interjected.

“Worst case?”

“The minister is in his closet, with his guards and he screams his head off when you stick your lightsaber thorough his brand new beloved wardrobe. Naked.”

Anakin chuckled, despite the look Obi-Wan gave him. “You did ask for the worst case.” Anakin said and Obi-Wan sighed resignedly. “And if he is in his rooms?”

“You better think of something quick.”

***

The sarcastic retort had barely left her lips when the distinct sound of blaster fire erupted over the comm, followed instantly by the dual snap-hiss of two lightsabers, ignited almost as one.

Admiral Yularen leaned over her station, listening closely. “General Kenobi?” He could feel the tension rolling off Agent Naberrie in waves as she sat motionless beside him.

More blaster fire. The hum of a lightsaber slicing, first, through the thinness of atmosphere, then the density of metal. The clatter, as a droid fell in pieces to the hard ground below. No talking, no shouts... more blaster fire.

And then the sound cut out.

“Obi-Wan?” Aala tapped at the console, closing and reopening the channel as she called his name, the barest hint of panic beginning to creep into her voice. “Obi-Wan?”

By the Holy Stars. “General,” he reminded her, again, then strode back to the command table to see if he could establish a new link, but they were back before he could get there.

“We’re fine, it’s fine,” came Skywalker’s voice through the comm at Aala’s terminal.

“Just a couple of stray clankers,” Rex added. “We took care of them. We’re in the building.”

Yularen looked over this shoulder to Aala; she was still obviously strained, one hand gripping the table in front of her as she leaned forward to listen.

“General Kenobi?” he inquired, so she wouldn’t have to.

“Yes. We’re in,” he answered, his voice clipped and controlled. “Stand by with the code.”

Aala was already moving, much to Yularen’s relief. At least, she could do her job. The rest was ‘Obi-Wan’s’ problem.

***

Aala held her breath as Obi-Wan and Anakin strode onto the bridge. Why had she opened her mouth, why had she called him that?

She was no one, and he... well, he was General Kenobi.

Force, even Anakin still called him ‘Master.’

She shook her head; first ‘Kenobi’ and then ‘Obi-Wan.’

Admiral Yularen, not to mention the clones on the bridge, had looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Then came the blaster fire, and she knew they were caught in that alley with no cover, and an image rose to her mind of Obi-Wan, hurt, bleeding, or worse, so close, but so far, and for a second she thought she was going to lose her mind. But she’d been overreacting, instead of doing her job.

‘What is wrong with me?’ she berated herself. For over a year, she’d been doing this; she understood the necessity for formality and she’d never had a single problem with anyone and none with her. And now she’d offended an Admiral, clone troopers, and Generals all with a few misplaced words because she couldn’t keep her emotions in check.

She didn’t know what she had been expecting... Almost immediately, she’d calmly decided she would simply put her feelings aside and just do her job, but the way Obi-Wan did just that, so effortlessly, bothered her to no end.

All she could think of was that he hadn’t called, and she chided herself for hoping he might. Of course he didn’t need her. He hadn’t even spared her a second glance and she had begun to wonder if he had decided he really hadn’t felt anything for her at all.

Confused and a little hurt, she’d been pushing his buttons all week, making pithy comments before she could think better of it and arguing with everything he said. Not that he’d given her much chance; he’d been avoiding her like the blue shadow virus, letting her handle strategy with Anakin.

And apparently, she had a problem with authority. His ‘General Kenobi’ persona seemed to bring out the petulant adolescent in her; she’d been trying to phase that out of her personality since she was a petulant adolescent. ‘How professional of me...’ she thought to herself.

She chewed on her lip as she felt his gaze come to rest on her from behind. She shouldn’t have flirted with that field agent just to irritate him...

She definitely shouldn’t have insinuated they had –

“Agent Naberrie.”

“Yes.” It was more an acceptance of what she knew she had coming, then a question. Turning in her chair, she stood up to face him.

“I know you’re only an intelligence agent –”

Ouch...

“ – but you’re still expected to follow certain protocol when we’re in the middle of a campaign.”

Aala felt her cheeks redden at the way he was looking at her. “I – yes, sir.” Force, she felt stupid calling him that, but she didn’t know what else to say at this point.

“This does not include a running commentary on what you perceive to be our ineffectiveness. It does include you addressing me as ‘General Kenobi’, at least for the sake of decorum, if not respect, and an understanding that things can change very quickly in the field. It does not include erroneous details added only for the sake of humor.”

She swallowed thickly. Rex and Whisky were standing behind him, helmets now off; Rex with a serious stare and Whisky, a look like he couldn’t believe how undisciplined she was.

“Yes, sir.” He didn’t really think she didn’t respect him, did he? Kriff, she’d really messed this up.

“Admiral,” he said turning away from her. “Let’s get out of here. Naberrie, why don’t you make sure our, er, guest, gets settled in.”

So, he hadn’t completely lost his sense of humor. Aala nodded, and caught Anakin’s eye. He gave her an apologetic smile. “I’ll...” he gestured vaguely to the door, presumably offering to take her to their ‘guest’. As they left the room, he looked to her again. “Barak’s a little, uh, shaken up,” he explained.

“I can imagine.” Aala muttered. “He sounds like a sweetheart.” He had started neurotically making his demands the minute they had left dirtside and he sounded as equally concerned for his comfort as he was his safety. ‘He’d better have some good intel,’ Aala thought, or she would escort him back to Brilam herself.

“You did a great job, Aala.” Anakin spoke up, and she offered him a small smile in thanks.

“Obi-Wan didn’t seem to think so,” she said.

“Don’t worry about him, he’ll come around. It was a tough situation; I’d much rather just run in lightsaber blazing. He won’t admit it, but I think he would, too.”

Aala smiled.

“This is him,” Anakin said as they came to a small door.

Sighing, she decided she might as well try to start a report since she was here, and she steeled herself for spending the next few hours with their high maintenance defector.

***

Something in Obi-Wan’s voice had made Anakin think there was much more to this then he would ever let on.

And it struck Anakin, as it had only once before, and quite briefly, for legal purposes, at least, Aala was his sister. He remembered wanting siblings when he was younger, and he suddenly thought maybe in the future he might like the chance to get to know her, but for now he could take the opportunity to stand up for her. Isn’t that what brothers did?

It was only after they made the jump into hyperspace Anakin decided to broach the subject.

“You were kind of hard on her...”

Obi-Wan was at a terminal, studying something, and he didn’t look up when Anakin spoke. “Was I?” he asked absently.

“She did an excellent job, everything considered.” Anakin said.

Obi-Wan held his chin in one hand stroking his fingers across his mustache and beard in thought. He seemed much more himself, now that horrible place was behind them. “It was a stressful mission. I suppose I forgot to commend her for her quick thinking.”

“Her solution was better than the original plan.”

“It was risky.” He said matter-of-fact.

“It worked. That guy was a handful, it would’ve been next to impossible to get him through that place unnoticed.”

“Yes.” Obi-Wan seemed to be thinking it over, a look on his face that Anakin couldn’t quite place. “I’ll make a point to say something to her when I see her next.”

“Say something?” Anakin prompted.

Obi-Wan was quiet for a moment. “Apologize.”

Then another thought struck him, and he had no idea where it might have come from, but he had a feeling... “Master... this woman you might’ve hurt... it wouldn’t be Aala, would it?”

“Possibly.” He answered softly.

“Then maybe you should apologize now.”

***

Aala was at her terminal in her room when one of the clones showed up at her door to fetch her for the General.

“General Kenobi requests your presence immediately.”

“I’m busy,” Aala replied flatly without turning around.

“He said you’d say that. He said I‘m not to leave your room until you’re ready to see him.”

Aala gave a short, resigned sigh. “Fine.”

Turning around, she recognized him as Whisky, the trooper that had been with Obi-Wan, Anakin and Rex. He had an almost indiscernible smirk on his face as he escorted her to Obi-Wan’s quarters.

Obi-Wan was at his kitchen unit, his back to the door, when she came in. “Did you argue?” he asked when Whisky left, dry humor laced his voice.

Aala couldn’t help herself. “Maybe...”

Obi-Wan didn’t say anything.

“The mission is over, I’m not under you command anymore, General.” She paused. “Only at your mercy.”

He turned to face her, offering her a cup of tea and gestured toward the small couch. She was relieved to see most of the earlier tension had all but faded from his face.

She took the cup and perched on the edge of the seat hesitantly. Though she felt better, the air around them was charged and Aala felt unsure of what she should say – there was still so much unspoken between them.

“I –” Obi-Wan started.

“Before you say anything...” she interrupted, “I have to tell you, I’m so sorry I left that diner. I’ve regretted it since the moment I walked out. I didn’t know what to... say and I was upset.”

“It’s not your fault Aala,” Obi-Wan said reassuringly, “it was difficult, to the say the least.”

“You were hurt; I should’ve been there for you, no matter what. I’m your friend and I – I shouldn’t have left.” Obi-Wan nodded, but it wasn’t the reaction she’d been hoping for. Actually, she had no idea what she had been hoping for – she felt more disconnected from him than she ever had. And she felt that pang again, that maybe he had realized he didn’t want her at the same moment she had realized how much she cared for him. But he was here, and he was talking to her...

“My turn?” he asked, looking at her carefully.

She tried to smile at him. “If you insist.”

“I would also like to apologize.”

But she knew he meant the mission. “No,” Aala protested. “You –”

“Now hear me out.” He continued. “I let the stress of the mission get to me. Your work and quick thinking were invaluable to all of us. And without your help, I’m not sure it would have been the efficient success it was.”

“I – thank you.” She spoke quietly, looking down and ran the tip of her finger along the rim of her tea-cup. He clearly felt bad for what had happened, and his sincerity gave her a spark of hope.

She looked up at him. “I need to learn to just be quiet, more often.”

Obi-Wan smiled, and she couldn’t help but return the expression. “So... are we even, then?”

“Well, I don’t know...” Aala fiddled with the cuff of her jacket, trying to hide a grin and looking at him innocently. “Your tirade – ”

“It was not a tirade,” he chided her playfully.

“Your... admonishment... was in front of everyone, and it was, at least partially, undeserved.”

Obi-Wan’s mouth quirked in a half-smile. “How can I ever make it up to you?”

“Hmmmm...” her eyes fell on a door across the room. “You have a water shower, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I haven’t had a proper shower for over a week. I can’t stand the sonic, I feel dirty.”

“Hm, it’s rationed...”

“I’ll be quick, I promise.”

“Well, okay. Five minutes.”

“Five minutes.” She repeated happily, then almost bolted for the ‘fresher. “This is going to be the best five minutes of my life,” she murmured blissfully, already unbuttoning her shirt.

Obi-Wan laughed softly, but then stopped abruptly. “Hey,” he grumbled.

Aala just laughed, letting the door slide shut behind her.

***

Obi-Wan sighed as he glanced at his chrono and tried not to think the things he was thinking. It was unfair to categorize her. For the most part, he could guess, she was quite different than... most... women.

Then again, he really had no idea. But it had already been more than five minutes and his water really was rationed – he had thought he was being generous – the amount of hot water he had worked out to just over four minutes a standard day. And he was anxious to talk to her.

He hadn’t meant to come across so harshly during the mission, but the stress of the entire situation had proven too much for his patience. And Aala’s attitude didn’t help the matter. He knew the intricacies of her personality well, but his doubt of her feelings had added an unknown layer to the tension. As much as he wanted to sit her down and just talk to her, they had not had the time, and so he’d left her alone. Until now.

Grabbing his bath robe from his bedroom, he opened the door to the ‘fresher. Steam billowed out of the tiny room. “It’s been five minutes, Aala.”

“Sorry,” she called out over the sound of the running water. “I’ll be out in a second.”

Obi-Wan hesitated a moment, then left the robe on the counter and went to wait in the other room.

Aala emerged a minute later, wrapped in his robe, her hair wet and sat down next to him on the couch. Pressing her shoulder against the back rest, she shifted sideways, so she could face him.

“That was seven minutes,” he said, implying it was a very serious infraction.

“Sorry,” she smiled guiltily, “I owe you two minutes.”

“Two minutes of what?”

“Anything you want.”

“That sounds nice,” he teased.

“Hmmm...” she agreed, watching him.

“Aala, we need to talk.”

“It helps if you don’t approach it like an interrogation.”

“I know,” he admitted quietly. Absently, he raised his hand, brushing his fingers across her temple and pushing her hair behind her ear. She was more beautiful than he remembered, and she was looking at him and suddenly talking didn’t seem quite as important as kissing.

His fingers slipped into her damp hair to the back of her head and he pulled her close, bringing her lips to meet his. The kiss deepened almost instantly as he sealed his mouth over hers. Aala’s hand came up to stroke his jaw, her fingers running through his beard. His own hands dropped to her waist, instinctively pulling her warm body closer to his.

His tongue swept along her lower lip and she opened fully to him, leaning into him in a way that made him wish they were somewhere much more alone.

Ardently, he explored her mouth, and her skin, intent on relearning everything he might’ve forgotten in the time they’d been apart, and she responded eagerly, only pulling away when she was breathless.

“Ohhh...” she sighed, a dreamy look in her eyes. Her head dropped sideways to the back of the couch and she tilted her face up to look at him longingly. “Mmm, how long has it been?”

Obi-Wan smiled. “For you or for me?”

Her head shot up and she pinned him with a hard stare, a moment passed before she must’ve decided he was only teasing her. “It should be the same,” she said dryly.

“I wasn’t sure, I wouldn’t want to presume –”

“Obi-Wan.” Her head dropped to the couch again, and he realized it was more a sleepy look than dreamy. She probably hadn’t gotten much rest at all since she came aboard; she’d been working nonstop.

“Three months...” he said softly, and she winced.

“...one week and four days.”

Aala laughed and he smiled brushing his hand over her hair again. They were quiet for a moment and Obi-Wan tried to gather his thoughts.

Even if she didn’t feel the same, he needed to be honest with her, so they could get back to the same place. He didn’t expect anything from her; he knew she cared for him, in her own way. But he needed her to know it was her in his thoughts, and she was important to him, and it mattered – it all mattered. They could never understand each other if he didn’t tell her this.

“Aala,” he said, “when –”

Obi-Wan’s comlink chimed from where it sat on the counter in the kitchen unit, and Obi-Wan frowned. “I’m sorry. I have to get that.”

Aala nodded and Obi-Wan left to answer the comm. He kept the conversation as short as possible, anxious to return to Aala. But when he finished and went back to the couch, he found Aala, her head still tilted up on the back of the couch, with a charming look on her face that he knew intimately, the one that told him she was sound asleep and nothing short of a cataclysmic event would wake her for hours.

Baring his heart would have to wait.

***

The first thing Aala became aware of was that her head was bent at an odd angle and she had a horrible crick in her neck. She tried to shift her position, but found it strangely difficult to move.

Reluctantly, she forced herself into full consciousness and the second thing she became aware of was two strong, masculine arms - one wrapped tightly around her shoulders, the other curved across her back. And yes, that was a well-muscled chest her cheek was pressed against.

She couldn’t recall ever having woken up in Obi-Wan’s arms quite like this before, and now she knew why... while it sounded sort of romantic, it was a bit uncomfortable, and getting more so, the more she woke up. She moaned quietly and wriggled, trying to loosen his hold on her. She hadn’t thought it possible, but somehow his arms tightened around her even more.

“Oomph,” she groaned as all the air was squeezed out of her lungs and she pushed against his chest.

Obi-Wan chuckled, a low throaty sound that sent tingles all the way to the tips of her toes. She squirmed again, feeling the thin fabric of the tunic she was wearing bunch around her hips. “What happened?” she mumbled against his chest. “Did you take advantage of me?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Oh. Darn...”

He chuckled again. “You passed out on me.”

“Oh. Not that I’m complaining... but why, then, am I plastered to your chest?”

“I was resting on the couch – ”

“What?” She lifted her head a fraction of an inch to try to glare at him, but he ignored it, keeping his tight hold on her.

“ – and when I came in to check on you, you were shivering.”

“Oh. I hate space. I swear I come within a parsec of freezing to death every time.”

“Mmm...” his arms loosened, and he let one hand drift across her back, catching the material of the tunic and sliding it aimlessly back and forth against her skin.

A beeping came from the other room and Obi-Wan languidly pulled away from her. She rolled off of his arm and stretched sleepily, trying to regain circulation in her limbs.

When Obi-Wan didn’t get up, she peeked over at him.

He opened his eyes slowly. “That’s you.”

“Oh,” she sighed. “They can leave a message.”

She turned on her side to face him, but her eyes drifted closed. It felt so good to lay here, and she was so warm and so comfortable in Obi-Wan’s bed. Even if it was on a blasted ship.

She must’ve drifted to sleep because the next thing she knew, that insistent beeping was rousing her from a rather pleasant dream. She squinted her eyes open, completely offended, but it didn’t matter, the beeping continued.

“Still you,” Obi-Wan muttered, his arm flung over his eyes.

She sighed deeply, but couldn’t find the motivation to get up. The beeping would stop. Eventually.

“Might it be important?” The general asked.

“I know what it is, and it is important, but it can wait.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“I already have another assignment. I was just waiting for some final details. In fact,” she added, thinking, “maybe you can drop me off.”

“I’m not an air taxi.”

“Fine, then you can just jettison me off into space and I’m sure I”ll figure something out.” Aala stretched and sat up, pulling her hair back and yawning.

Obi-Wan got up as well, and Aala almost giggled. “Do you only have one set of sleep clothes?” she asked, eyeing his bare chest and the loose sleep pants that were the obvious match to the tunic that was a size too big for her that she had on.

“Would you rather I was wearing them both?” He stood in front of her crossing his arms.

Aala smirked and shook her head. “No.”

“What’s the assignment?” He asked as she finally swung her legs over the side of the bed.

“It’s classified.” She answered, standing up and heading for the ‘fresher.

“I think, as the commander of the Armada, my ‘clearance’ is a bit higher than yours.”

Aala stuck her head out the door. “And modest, too.” She knew he was teasing, but out of the warm haven of his bed, things felt strained between them again. She frowned as he waited expectantly for an answer. “Then it’s need to know, and you don’t need to know.”

“Aala...” he said in a warning tone. He leaned against the door jamb, watching her as she washed her face.

She looked at him in the mirror then frowned again. “Well, if you drop me off, you’ll know exactly where I am, and since when did you decide you need to keep tabs on me?”

Obi-Wan watched her closely, not saying anything. Aala shook her head, giving up on getting an answer or any privacy and she grasped the hem of the tunic, pulling it over her head and dropping it on the floor just to annoy him.

She started to pull on the clothes she had been wearing the night before, and looked at him carefully. “I’ve told you not to worry about me,” she said quietly.

“I’m just – interested in what you’re doing,” he finally answered.

She regarded him, her expression softening.

“Obi –”

Beep. Beep.

Aala sighed and brushed past Obi-Wan to get her comm. She looked at him apologetically as she passed; she wasn’t sure what she was going to say, anyway. Aala picked up her comm off the table. “Can you give me five minutes, I’m not in my room.” She paused as she got the sarcastic response she’d been expecting then rolled her eyes. “Not in my room.” She answered then switched it off..

She glanced at Obi-Wan, still watching her. She had the feeling there was a lot he wasn’t saying. “I’ll let you know when I have the details.”

He nodded.

“We didn’t get to talk.”

“It can wait.”

She forced a smile and turned to go. Blasted war.

The old Aala would’ve been fine to leave well enough alone and let fate decide her path. But this Aala... she wanted to make this work, she needed to make this work, but she had no idea what it would take. And it bothered her that she felt like a different person, but she realized when she had looked into Obi-Wan’s eyes that she saw everything she felt reflected back, and she knew he had changed with her.

I'd love a review ;) Thanks for reading
- 7
- 8
- 9
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Fallen