InsaneJournal

Who: Obi-Wan and Verity
When: Mid May
Where: Verity’s Place
What: Catching Up
Rating/Warning: Low/None
Status: Complete


Verity was excited to have Obi come over and visit. Charlie was playing with Christina in the backyard, and maybe Verity would drag Obi out there to see him and the baby. She didn’t want to interrupt the Charlie and Christina bonding time, though, if she didn’t have to. It was important for Christina to form a bond with Charlie if he was going to take on the role of Daddy. Both terrifying and exciting, the prospect of Charlie becoming Christina’s Daddy made Verity’s heart skip a beat. She didn’t want to be hurt again. She didn’t want to lose him the way she’d lost Oliver. She wasn’t sure she could survive it.

The kettle started to boil and whistle just as a knock came at the door. Verity went for the knock first, pulling the door open with a slightly frazzled smile. “Come in! Let me just get this!” She said, quickly, and dashed into the kitchen to take the kettle off so the whole house wouldn’t have to listen to that horrible whistle.

Obi-Wan stepped inside at a relaxed pace, taking the time to see how the house had changed since he’d last visited. There were a few new baby things, a higher pile of DVDs by the television, and a guitar resting upright in the hallway. Charlie’s Force signature surrounded it like an aura. Yes, even people who were unable to use the Force left their mark upon it. The old Jedi sighed.

But it was with a smile on his face that he entered the kitchen. He took a seat at the table. He was eager to get comfortable. “Where’s the little one?” he asked, though he could sense she was close.

“She’s outside with Charlie. In the garden. I’m planning on doing some gardening out there, but… well, I wanted them to have some bonding time.” Verity had pulled the kettle off the stove and was pouring them each a cup of this amazing blueberry tea that she’d found at the world market. You know, one of those shops that carries imported everything--the kind where you find rainbow colored pasta from Italy and peanut sauce from Thailand. She brought the two mugs over to the table and sat down with Obi.

His smile lasted through his first sip, though it had more to do with Charlie than the tea. He’d known the young man for a long time. Seeing him mature and take ownership of his life was something Obi-Wan had hoped for since those early days. He took the smallest amount of credit for it. “So, things are going well then?”

“Things are going very well.” Verity sighed happily, leaning back in her chair. “We’re becoming a family. He’s an amazing Daddy, and Christina is possibly more fond of him than she is of me sometimes.” She couldn’t stop smiling. “We’re taking some things slow, and others have just… fallen into place like they were meant to be.”

“They do say that fathers and daughters have a special bond,” said Obi-Wan. There was a window nearby. He glanced outside and saw what Verity meant by preferring not to disturb them. “How old is she, now?”

“She was born on Halloween, so… almost seven months.” Verity blew across the top of the tea in her cup, then sipped carefully. It was still pretty hot. “I couldn’t have asked for things to turn out any better. I just… I’m sort of waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

A relatively mild scowl knitted Obi-Wan’s brow as he turned back to her. “What do you mean by that?” He hoped the comment didn’t have any real depth or hurt attached to it.

“Every time things start going really well in my life, something comes along and makes it… I don’t know.” Verity turned to look out the window, too, and her heart softened at the sight of Charlie with Christina. “...Things aren’t always this easy. I’m not used to it.”

The scowl softened. He looked, for a moment, as though he was even about to reach for her hand. "Verity... you can't waste your valuable time thinking like that. Besides, you'll have to remind me of what part of this was actually easy." Obi-Wan smiled a bit, he understood how easy it was to expect bad things to happen to you.

Verity chuckled softly. “You’re right. None of it up until now was easy.” She lifted the mug to sip. It was cooling, but still quite hot. “I just can’t believe… I don’t know. I’m happy. I should just enjoy it.”

Obi-Wan nodded, taking a quiet, thoughtful moment. “I’d be a liar if I said I believed everything in this world works out for the best. But what I do believe is that you ought to fight for the things that are good. And, yes, enjoy them. While you have the opportunity.” His eyes were a little sad, but his voice was firm.

“I’m never letting him go.” Verity said, her voice sounding more determined now, much less said. “Either of them. Never letting my family go now that I have it.”

With a sigh and a drink from his mug, Obi-Wan looked out the window again. Charlie was lying back on the grass, lifting the baby skyward. No doubt, Christina believed she could fly. “And you have a beautiful family,” he said. “I’m very happy for both of you.”

Finally, the smile came back to Verity’s lips. She gave Obi a warm look. “Thank you. And… are you okay?” She asked, softly. Now she suddenly felt selfish for talking so much about herself when he might need support or comfort or something.

He didn’t have to be a Jedi to sense what she was thinking. The change in her eyes was enough. In the past, Obi-Wan might have squirmed under such a gaze. He’d lived through too much now. He didn’t have the energy to hide what he was feeling anymore. “I can’t say that some days aren’t...nearly impossible. But there better days in between.”

“You know Christina and I are here, right? Whenever you need a friend?” Verity offered. She knew it was a feeble thing, but she wanted him to know. She was there for him just as he’d been there for her.

Obi-Wan pressed his lips together as he nodded; a thought took its time forming words. “I know. I’m sorry it took me so long to visit. I...become trapped within myself. I imagine I’m being strong, but… it’s mostly in my imagination. In reality…” He shook his head. “Thank you. For inviting me until I finally took you up on it.”

“Of course,” Verity said, smiling softly. “I don’t give up on people, Obi. Especially not my friends. I could have been a bit more pushy, but it’s hard with the baby and the new boyfriend and everything. Time management isn’t my strong suit at the moment.”

“Come now. We can’t both be so self-deprecating.” With a gentle smile, he took another drink from his mug and glanced out the window at Charlie and Christina, looking for all the world like they belonged together. “And I would say that your new boyfriend is taking to the position of father like a duck to water.”

But Obi-Wan knew how difficult it could be to recover from tragedy or even merely a long dry spell. He also knew he was a survivor. Verity would realize that, too. Charlie would show her. The peace that had descended on the household was tangible.

Verity let Obi’s mention of Charlie bring her attention back to the window, too. She turned and looked out into the yard. A bright, warm smile crossed her lips as she gazed fondly at him and her daughter. “...I think he wants to marry me.” She said, softly. “He suggested we get married.”

At this, Obi-Wan looked back to Verity with a certain amount of shock. He turned back to the window. “And what did you say?” But it was clear they had not gotten married.

"He didn't actually propose." Verity responded, eyes still on Charlie in the yard.Her face took on the kind of expression that only true love can bring out on a face. "But if he did, I'd say yes."

"Or you could propose to him," Obi-Wan said, going so far as to give Verity a wink. He turned back to his tea, recalling a conversation he once had with Faiza, wherein the two of them seemed determined to dance around the same topic. "If I can offer any advice, don't beat around the bush with that sort of thing. If you both want to be married to one another, does it really benefit you to wait? ...But keep in mind that I'm not exactly qualified to give advice on this topic. You should do what you feel is right, of course. But don't waste time if you don't have to."

Verity nodded, smirking gently at the wink. Though she was a take-charge kind of girl, something told her that Charlie would want to be the one to initiate that step. Either that, or she was scared to. Even though Charlie had as good as suggested that they should get married, she was still scared to do anything that might frighten him off.

“Why do you think you’re not qualified to give advice on this topic?” She asked, trying to buy herself a little time and willing the blush to fade from her cheeks.

"What makes a person qualified? My experience is limited and my track record..." Obi-Wan paused. He was catching himself. He knew he was opting for a vague response when Verity deserved sincerity. "Well, Faiza and I were together for a long time, but we never truly saw eye-to-eye on our future together. I could have done more to make sure she felt more secure than she did. Apparently I'm... difficult to get close to."

Verity chuckled softly. “Apparently all a girl has to do to get close to you is be pregnant and in danger of being attacked on the street.” Which was how they met, wasn’t it? “...I’m not sure what I need to do to make Charlie feel secure in this. He’s already part of the family as it is.”

"Ah! Well, rescuing people is my speciality." The final word rolled off his tongue with five syllables instead of three. He chuckled a little and folded his arms, again contemplating the Charlie he had met so long ago. It seemed like he had only been a boy then. "What I know about Charlie is that he may take a while to come around, but that's only because he's preparing himself to go all in. He refuses to do anything halfway."

His words made Verity beam. She knew she’d found a best friend in Obi. She only wished that she could be there more for him. She knew losing Faiza was nearly impossible, and if only she’d been there more… “Good. I don’t want anything done halfway.”

Obi-Wan nodded, still smiling with his eyes as he sighed through his nose. “Good for me, too. I needed someone to take him off my hands.”