Before We Fall (Obi-Wan Kenobi x OC)

Reluctance and Passion

Obi Wan and Kaden were still as can be, their bodies shocked and overwhelmed with the dilemma they had presented to themselves. Still propped up on his lap, Kaden was breathing deeply, her heart aching to continue what they started. Within Obi Wan was the same conflict, his hand still wrapped in her hair as they stared at one another in horror.

In a moment of weakness, he tried to kiss her again, wanting the mistake to prolong itself; after all, it had already happened anyway. Moving further from his reach, Kaden sighed, shaking her head. "We can't, Obi Wan."

"I know," he said softly, his words completely betraying his actions.

"I mean we can't," She emphasized, "It's about more than just the code now." He still held her face, caressing the side of her cheek gently with his calloused hands. Like a gentleman, he waited for Kaden to explain her dilemma. "When I was retrieving my kyber crystal, the voice in the temple told me that if I acted upon my feelings for you-," she choked on her own words, looking away. It was hard enough to speak the words, but she couldn't dare speak them while looking into Obi Wan's glassy eyes. "-that I would fall to the dark side."

The Jedi Master was quiet, a large sum of concern filling his expression. Shaking his head lightly, he leaned on his denial. "That's impossible," he argued, "You would never fall to the dark side Kaden, I wouldn't let you."

"I don't think you have that power," Kaden shook her head, and got up from Obi Wan's lap, pacing across the ship's interior. "Of course, I have no intention of falling, Obi-, but I've felt conflict within me ever since I returned to the temple. It's scaring me."

"I know," he said softly, surprising Kaden. She was unaware of the level in which he understood how she had felt about the Jedi Order. "Conflict doesn't mean your falling to the dark side. Every Jedi experiences it."

"Have you?" Doubt was heavy in her voice, as she looked upon the one person she knew fit the mold of a basically perfect Jedi. How could he understand her conflict?

"As a matter of fact, Kaden, I have. When I killed Maul, I did so using my anger. The one thing that granted me my knightship was driven by my own conflict, and I learned from that."

"I sink there even without a Master being murdered in front of me. The methods in which you killed Maul were understandable-..."

"Kaden, I see what you're doing and it's not helping," Obi Wan sighed, getting up from his seat and walking over to meet Kaden. "Look at me," he told her, spinning Kaden till she faced him. Their eyes met, and Obi Wan held her focus there hypnotically, his glassy grey eyes an anchor to her gaze. "You're stronger than the dark side of the force, you're strong enough to resist it."

"I'm strong enough to resist you, too."

"Resisting me is a wildly different matter, I'd say."

"That's not true," Kaden said softly, backing away from him slightly after finding her focus. As if in a trance, Obi Wan took her hand in his, and caressed each wrinkle and crevice as she spoke, as he used to do many years ago. "You shouldn't be willing to sacrifice this life just for a moment with me."

"A moment?" Confusion bubbled within Obi Wan. Kaden had misunderstood their moment, or at least, his intentions during that moment almost entirely. "Don't you know this is about more than a moment?"

Kaden remained quiet. She should have felt happy. After all, having Obi Wan pining after her was all she ever wanted. To see that glassy look in his eyes and really know what it meant... she had waited for it for years. I love you.

But now, that look had struck a chord with her. His whole demeanor had changed in this moment, faded away by the certainty of their momentary bliss. Obi Wan seemed ready to pick up everything, and go.