Rules are meant to be broken

High stakes

Melanie finished her first glass of wine quickly, eager for anything to stop her nervousness. Obiwan finished his glass not long after. After pouring another glass they began talking about what had happened here on Coruscant.

"I heard that it was a separatist bombing although I highly doubt it was to compromise stopping this war," Melanie said out loud, furrowing her brow.

"Indeed, however, the peace offering could have been a way to get the Republic to lower their guard." Replied Obiwan.

Melanie narrowed her eyes. "How cynical. Now you're sounding like the Chancellor."

"You're not fond of him?" Obi-Wan said in surprise.

"Can you tell?" The girl laughed bitterly.

"Only a little. You know, you better no let anyone in the senate know. They jump at the chance to accuse anyone of being a separatist these days." he turned to look her in the eye. "But between you and me, I'm not his biggest fan either."

Melanie couldn't tell if it was the wine, the romantic lighting, or anything else but she felt butterflies in her stomach. The way the candlelight flicker across his face made him look ethereal. Obiwan was thinking the same thing about her.

"Lemme grab you a top-up," Melanie suggested even though their glasses were still half full. Obi-Wan stood at the same time and placed a hand on her abdomen to stop her. His thump slipped accidentally through the slit in her dress and his calloused finger brushed her skin.

"No, let me get it." He offered, feeling the blood rushing to his head at the contact. Melanie felt her skin raise into goose-bumps as she sat down with a nod.

After a while, the bottle of wine lay empty on the table. To say that the alcohol wasn't starting to take effect would be a lie. Melanie found herself getting increasingly silly, laughing at every little thing. Obi-Wan, on the other hand, found himself getting rather dizzy. Melanie told stories of her childhood and Obiwan talked of the battles fought recently.

After a nice bit of acting from Obiwan as he tried to explain a battle that Anakin and he had won back in the day, he came to sit down next to the giggling Melanie. They had started the night at opposite sides of the sofa, however, now their legs were touching and neither of them made a move to change it.

"That's hilarious." The girl complimented as they sunk into a comfortable silence. Melanie began to reflect on where she would have been if it weren't for the war. Would she still be happily on Raxus? She wouldn't have known Obiwan, Anakin, or Ahsoka. So much would be different. "Obi...? Do you ever wonder if things will go back to how it was?"

Obiwan, taken off guard by this question took a moment. "It isn't within my training to focus on the past or future. However, I do hope that it does. I've forgotten what it's like to just be a Jedi and not a General."

When Melanie looked up she noticed a lock of his hair had fallen across his eyes. She reached up and pushed it back unconsciously. She went to let her hand drop back to her lap when Obiwan caught it. He put it back to his cheek and held it there, closing his eyes to remember the feeling. Melanie stared at him in shock. It must be the wine, it must be.

At that moment, Melanie realised that he had probably never been touched like that. Something niggled at the back of her brain, a little voice telling her to restrain herself but in her tipsy daze. 

The two stayed in this position for a while, enjoying the feeling of each other's warmth. Obi-Wan knew he shouldn't do anything more but his mind was filled with Melanie. Only Melanie. The wine was seriously impairing his judgement, he thought absentmindedly. But he didn't care. All he cared about was Melanie's warmth on his cheek.