Obi-Wan is aging surprisingly well (obi1) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-10-22 18:08:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, faiza hussain (excalibur), obi-wan kenobi |
Who: Obi-Wan and Faiza
When: Immediately following his transmogrification back to human
Where: Faiza’s Home
What: A knock on the head and a heart-to-heart
Rating/Warning: PG, for mild ftb stuff at the end
Status: Complete
Wearing borrowed clothes that almost fit--which Hermione had given from her husband's closet, so Obi-Wan wouldn't have to run home naked--he bounded down the sidewalk toward Faiza's house. He was human again! And as an additional bonus, the aches and pains that he'd grown accustomed to with age had been mended by Hermione's spell, as well. He really had jogged all the way back; and as Obi-Wan approached the house, he opted to hop through the window instead of bother with the door. Some of the cat instincts would take a while to fade…
He was met promptly with a cricket stick to the face. Faiza had head and intruder and acted accordingly. Since she couldn’t take him apart without her powers, she opted for the next best thing. “Take that you wretch!”
Obi-Wan saw stars. And when he opened his eyes again, he was looking up from the floor, flat on his back, with a terrible ringing in his ears. It was possible to blacked out for a second, seeing as he couldn’t recall actually falling. “Agggrrr…” he grunted, unable to express himself any better, though it did describe exactly how he felt.
“Oh my… Obi-wan! What were you doing! You don’t just sneak into a woman’s flat!” She dropped her stick and knelt over him, inspecting his head for damage.
Her voice was tinny in his head. "Sorry... Feline tenancies..." He tried to sit up and grin, though it looked more like a grimace at the moment. "But the spell worked..."
“I’m glad.” She pressed an ice compress to his head and sat next to him. “I’m sorry, duck.”
Perhaps he’d been out longer than he thought. Obi-Wan leaned back against the wall. Truthfully, she didn’t seem as excited as he was, but maybe he’d given her too big a scare. “Did you like me better as a cat?”
“Of course. Your fur was soft,” she replied easily. “How many fingers am I holding up?” She held up three.
Obi-Wan blinked a few times before the six fingers he saw lost their twins. “Three.” His voice was more steady now, as was his hand. He reached out and wrapped his hand around hers. “Three, right?”
“Yes. Good.” She wrapped her arms around him. She felt horrible for beaning him over the head like that.
He hummed contentedly. “Mmm…” It had been so long since they’d been able to hug at all. He breathed in the spice that clung to her hair. And then Obi-Wan moved to kiss her, kiss her lips, because it had been so long for that as well.
She stiffened, at first, then relaxed. It had been a long time, and while she still felt like eggshells, she had missed this.
It wasn't overtly passionate, but Obi-Wan lingered when he trusted Faiza wasn't about to push away. He felt so very alive, head bump and all. "Thank you," he said, voice low, "For taking care of me."
“And cracking you in the skull?” She raised her eyebrows, lips still tingling from the contact. Really, she didn’t want to let him go.
He was still holding onto her hand. “I deserved that. And you did bring me ice.”
“Well, do no harm, and all that.” She kissed his nose. “I’m glad to see you...as you are supposed to be.”
His nose was tender. Obi-Wan was pretty certain he was headed for a black eye. “I ran back here to show you straight off.” He wasn’t even wearing shoes, only socks.
“Sometimes you prove how old you really are.” She moved the compress over to his eye, clucking her tongue at him.
"How so?" he asked.
“Running excitedly to show me you’re okay. LIke you’re five.” She winked at him.
Chuckling softly, Obi-Wan continued to gently massage her fingers, not wanting to break contact, enjoying the small rough patches that had come from working with medical tools. “...Because this place feels like home,” he said.
“This place, really?” She looked around. It was cluttered today, stray bits of robot, medical journals and the remains of her lunch.
It also smelled vaguely of cat, and Obi-Wan knew he was the guilty party. “Of course… I lived here as your pet for weeks.” He smiled and took a breath. “More than once, I’ve wondered if this happened to me in order that I should learn a lesson.”
“And what lesson would that be?” She quirked her eyebrows at him, and wondered if he was learning the right lessons.
“That I have far too much pride than is healthy… and I’m not all that gentle when I think I am right. Even when I’m actually wrong.” He smiled lopsidedly and sighed. “You can’t learn much that way.”
“That’s something that’s good to learn, Obi-wan.” She smiled at him reassured.
Reaching up, he pulled Faiza's hand away from his eye and regarded her for a few moments. She was so lovely. Her physical beauty was only part of it. "There's something I've been meaning to ask you."
She looked at him expectantly, wondering what he planned to ask. She had no real expectations, only that she’d answer truthfully.
He was nervous, to be honest. Rightfully so. "I've been thinking about it for some time, and with Loras getting married and moving out. I think it's time I changed my living situation, too. And... what would you say to you and I, to my moving in?"
“I...what?” She stated at him, a little fish mouthed.
"Is it rude of me to ask out right?" A gaping mouth hadn't been what he'd hoped for.
“I wasn’t expecting that, that’s all.” She ran her hand through her hair (which was down and uncovered for once.
"Too soon?"
“I don’t...maybe it is, and maybe it isn’t, duck…” She wanted him around, she wanted to be with him. Was his wall down? Had he looked into himself enough to be able to be whole? Did he still doubt?
Obi-Wan swallowed, because his mouth had gone a little dry. He could sense what Faiza was feeling; and even though his heart felt like it was vibrating, he continued on--or, in fact, it was because his heart was beating so quickly that he did so.
“I know we’re starting over, but I think part of that means I handle things differently than I did before. I don’t want to keep putting big decisions off, just because they’re big decisions. I’d like to…” What was it, move forward? Take the next, logical step? “...Dammit, I’d just like to live with you, Faiza.”
Faiza searched his eyes. She didn’t have his ability to sense what others felt, so she had to rely on her eyes and her heart. Starting over had been one of the hardest personal decisions she’d ever made. She wondered if there were handholds where she could scale his walls now. “That’s a big step, for anyone.”
Obi-wan nodded silently. They’d been together, if touch-and-go at times, for almost a year, now. She knew him. She knew all the bad parts, and the good ones, too; but he could only hope Faiza understood how much he loved her… He swallowed again. “...No more hiding. I don’t want separate lives.”
“Then I suppose we’ll have to take this next step,” She replied, sounding a lot more confident than she actually was. She felt like she could end up with her heart ripped out, but wasn’t risk a part of love?
Perhaps her exact thoughts crossed right through Obi-Wan’s mind. Or maybe his reaction was more instinctual. He lifted his hand and pressed it against her heart, he felt the rapid, nervous beating. She didn’t have to act brave; he was a little scared himself. So he moved her hand, which he was still holding, to the matching spot on his own chest.
Faiza fell forward a little, until her face was against his and her lips were on his and with that kiss gave him her answer.