Have you managed to wake up yet? Who: Obi-Wan and Faiza When: Early January Where: Their cabin What: They are groggy, Obi cooks a big breakfast Rating/Warning: Status:
Obi-Wan was up early, making pancakes. Lots of them. More than two people should reasonably eat, but he’d mixed too much batter and it was either cook it or toss it. ...To be honest, there was a good chance he could finish them off himself. With Loras’s news that he and Renly were moving away, he was in serious danger of overloading on comfort carbohydrates. And coffee.
The house smelled like an IHOP.
Faiza watched him as she tried to wake up, ingesting several mugs of coffee to recover from an all night session. Everything was fine, but lord she was wiped. She scratched at her chin, then got up and took away the spatula. “Take a break, love.”
It was a little like trying to take a lightsaber from a Jedi. ”This piece of kitchen cutlery is your life…. Obi-Wan resisted for a second, then relinquished it with a sigh. Oh well, at least he could start eating the pancakes now. He began to make plates and brought them to the table. “Did you leave me any coffee?” he asked, a little smile passing over his face.
“I left you two whole cups,” she promised him, rubbing at her eyes before giving him a kiss on the cheek. “We have more pancakes than we can possibly eat, duck.” It was an admonishment but one in good humor. She was amused.
The fact that Loras was leaving to start a new life with Renly had softened the blow of losing his closest friend. He knew they would keep in touch. The worst of it was that the old house, where they’d met, was totally empty now. Margaery had also elected to find a new place.
“You doubt my ability to eat breakfast foods,” said Obi-Wan, adding an ample amount of cream and sugar to his coffee. “Have you managed to wake up yet?” She still looked exhausted.
“I’m getting there. The smell of pancakes and syrup has certainly helped.” Her stomach rumbled and she looked a little sheepish. “I’m sorry if I was a little snippish when I came in this morning.”
He lifted an eyebrow. He’d been too groggy to really notice--besides, Faiza’s crabbiness was most people’s normal--but it was clear she’d had a difficult night. And he’d missed her in bed. “What was it?” he asked. Obi-Wan didn’t expect the doctor to be specific, of course.
“A long night with several kids who thought it would be a good idea to engage in a prank war,” Faiza said, rolling her eyes. “You’d think they’d gone to a real war.”
Obi-Wan chuckled a bit, as he cut into his pancakes with his fork. There had been a time when he was a child himself, but he could hardly remember it. He felt like he’d been born old. “And you spent the night putting them back together. I’d be snippish, too.”
“Putting them back together and then breaking them up. I had to call Shepard in and she was not happy.” Faiza smiled, as though the sight of Shepard verbally laying into the kids had been something to see.
He was still smiling, too. Obi-Wan popped a bite of pancakes into his mouth, chewed and swallowed, washing it down with coffee. “You wouldn’t give it up for anything,” he said, as his smile turned into a bit of a smirk. He leaned over a kissed her cheek. It was good to hear Faiza talk about her powers again, just for the sake of her peace of mind.
“You’re probably right. It’s actually a lot less stressful than the hospital or the practice and I feel like I’m still contributing to people who really need the help.” She wriggled her fingers. “And I feel more like myself again.” She hovered in the air a bit to properly kiss him.
They both smelled and tasted like coffee and maple syrup at this point, but that wasn’t a bad thing. Loras, his best friend, was gone, but this was an awfully good reason to stay behind, in Orange County. There was no comparing it, really. “I can tell. And I’m very happy for you.”
Faiza smiled softly. She knew he was hurting a little bit, with his friend moving away. “We’ll visit them in April. How does that sound? I’ll need a holiday by then anyway and we can make a trip of it.”
Obi-Wan quirked a playful eyebrow and brushed a hand through her hair. “Reading my mind, are you?” Not literally, of course, but he knew he was doing a poor job of pretending he wasn’t hurting. But it was the kind of hurt that reminded him of how he’d grown over the past years. Loras had been a big part of that.
“I just know you so well,” she returned, closing her eyes as his fingers moved through her hair. “Or perhaps I know he and you were so...very close. I was always afraid I’d come between you.”
“It was difficult to move out of that house,” admitted Obi-Wan, as he continued to play with Faiza’s hair, enjoying the expression on her face. “He got me back on my feet and I had a hard time believing that I was ready to start walking on my own. I haven’t regretted one moment of living here, with you.”
“He did a good job by you and I’m grateful for that.” Faiza didn’t think they’d have ever gotten together otherwise. Or maybe even back together. Her gratitude was genuine.
Every time he looked at her, Obi-Wan felt something like a tug on the line. He realized he just had to kiss her again, so he did, a little more deeply this time. The sense of loss he’d been feeling fizzled and was all but forgotten by the time he pulled back.
Faiza’s fingers trailed down Obi’s face as she kissed him back. Deeply, so deeply she felt herself falling into him that when he pulled back she nearly fell forward.
While he’d been the older version of himself, he’d not totally avoided contact like this, but it had been a little awkward. It was good to feel like his old self again. Er, his young self. Young</i>er</i> self. There was still some gray in that red hair, after all. “Careful,” he said. “If you fall, I can’t put you back together like Humpty Dumpty.”
She was definitely happy for that. While he’d been handsome and elegant, she would rather watch him grow old over time. Together. With her. “Mm.” She picked him up, princess style. She felt like she suddenly had a few points to prove as she flew him towards the bedroom.