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There were times when Cody felt like smacking Obi-Wan upside of the head. He couldn't understand how someone who was so preoccupied with keeping the galaxy at peace, would just shrug off a problem that could kill him. Sometimes he really hated Obi-Wan's relaxed attitude of if there is nothing you can do about it, don't worry about it. It drove him mad sometimes.
It all started when Cody finally got around to searching the Archives for past lightsaber tournaments after the tip Qui-Gon gave him a couple of months ago. But with Obi-Wan being cleared for missions a month and a half ago, Cody had not gotten around to looking at the old footage of his cyare fighting in lightsaber tournaments. He had smiled and taken holo stills of Obi-Wan as a young Initiate and throughout his Padawan years, seeing how Obi-Wan's fighting style changed from the basics Initiates were taught, to the style Cody was used to seeing him fight with.
However, Cody's good mood had been destroyed when, by searching through the holo clips that came up after searching Obi-Wan's name into the database. He somehow found the security footage of the duel Obi-Wan had fought that gained him the rank of Jedi Knight. As Cody sat back and watched, he could only stare in horror as he watched a younger version of his cyare fight the Sith Apprentice. It brought back the threat of Maul still somewhere out in the galaxy waiting to strike Obi-Wan down.
Before the end of the war, when Quinlan Vos had gone out searching for Maul after Obi-Wan had been almost killed by him. All leads had dried up and then all the Jedi's focus was on ending the war and clearing up the mess Palpatine had left behind. So, admittedly Cody had forgotten all about Maul. Until he watched the footage from the generator room in Theed. Then the protective anger rose up in him once again. Obi-Wan had been left with nightmares of the duel in Theed after Maul's re-emergence, and while Cody had tried to comfort him, he hadn't known exactly what had happened. Thanks to his stumbling upon the footage, however, he now had the colourised images of Obi-Wan being knocked off the catwalk and being shoved down the melting pit for his own subconscious to bring up alongside the images from the night Obi-Wan was almost killed when he fought Palpatine.
But that wasn't all. When he had gone to Obi-Wan and said the Council needed to send someone out to capture or kill Maul, Obi-Wan had the audacity to shrug it off and said the Council wouldn't do that unless Maul had been seen causing problems somewhere. Which led him to his current feeling of wanting to smack some sense into Obi-Wan.
Cody stared at Obi-Wan in disbelief. "You mean you are actually going to wait until he does something?"
Obi-Wan sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, looking around him as they were stood in a very public corridor. "Yes Cody. The Jedi can't be seen just chasing down anyone. We have to wait until he does something criminal to be able to go after him."
"He almost killed you! And Quinlan said he swore revenge! I think that's enough cause to go after him!" Cody argued, he saw Obi-Wan flinch at his raised voice, but he didn't care. Let the whole Temple hear, then maybe someone would be able to knock some sense into his cyare.
"That was months ago Cody," sighed Obi-Wan, his head leaned back so he could look up at the high ceiling. As if Cody was the one being problematic.
"And you're going on missions again! You are at risk!" Cody really, really, had to resist the urge to shake Obi-Wan. His hands were clenched into fists as he glared at his Jedi.
Obi-Wan looked at him steadily and had the audacity to smile pityingly at him as he shook his head. "No Cody, we will wait."
Cody felt anger well up inside him and he stormed past Obi-Wan and marched down the corridor before he could do something regrettable like punch his soon-to-be-husband. After he had stormed down some of the corridors, no particular direction in mind, the thunderous look on his face parting crowds of Jedi and brothers alike. He came to a stop and then slowly smiled having had a wonderful idea. There was someone he knew quite well at this point, who he knew wanted nothing more than to bring Maul in and also, quite crucially knew how infuriating Obi-Wan could be. Cody turned on his heels and began marching through the Temple corridors, this time not furious, but with a purpose. He had a certain Shadow Jedi Master to find.
Quinlan had been on board with his plan as soon as the name Maul was out of his mouth. Quinlan also seemed to have immediately sensed where Cody's frustration was coming from, or more accurately, who was the cause.
"Let me guess, Obi told you not to worry about it," stated Quinlan, as he leaned back in his chair in the refectory with his arms crossed.
"More or less," confirmed Cody with a sigh. "It's so frustrating. Why does he shrug off any danger directed at him?"
Quinlan leaned forward and patted him on the shoulder. "Cody, I am afraid our dear Obi has always been like that." He then paused in thought and then added, "although I believe it got worse after he was made a Padawan and was introduced to Dooku. He sort of absorbed some of Dooku's devil may care attitude."
"Karking Dooku," muttered Cody. Still not believing that Obi-Wan just had the former Sith sent to the Lothal Temple on probation. Sometimes his cyare could be too forgiving for his own good.
"Karking Dooku," agreed Quinlan with a grin that showed his teeth. "Now, shall we go about capturing ourselves a former Sith Apprentice?"
"Yes," growled Cody in agreement. There was no way he was going to allow Maul the chance to enact his revenge on his cyare, even if his cyare was being stubborn about the issue. The only thing Cody felt guilty about, was that he was going to leave the Temple with Quinlan without telling Obi-Wan. He knew it had to be this way, otherwise Obi-Wan would stop the both of them leaving. They hopefully wouldn't be gone too long because, while Cody had forgotten all about Maul, Quinlan had not and had kept up to date with Maul's movements. So much so, some of his movements were becoming predictable.
As Cody boarded Quinlan's ship, he looked back at the Temple and murmured an apology to Obi-Wan to himself under his breath. He knew if Obi-Wan pulled this on him, he would be livid. But this was to ensure Obi-Wan's safety and in this case, Cody felt it was better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.
Cody and Quinlan's mission was a success, Quinlan had located Maul and just as Quinlan ran his lightsaber through Maul's chest, Cody even got to shoot the shabuirin the face. Something he ran over in his mind vindictively, thinking about the physical and emotional pain Maul caused Obi-Wan through injuries and almost killing Qui-Gon. Another positive was that their unsanctioned mission only took them two weeks. However, that was two weeks of Obi-Wan constantly calling his comm, leaving messages when Cody didn't have the nerve to answer. The messages ranged from pleading him to come back to as close to furious as a Jedi could get, where Obi-Wan was calling Cody all sorts of names that even left Quinlan looking concerned for Cody's own safety.
It was a warm afternoon as they disembarked the ship after the ramp lowered into the bustling hanger of the Temple, Cody cast his gaze around looking for Obi-Wan. During the war, if they had been on separate missions, the first one back always waited for the other's return in the hanger. However, there was no sign of his cyare anywhere, which Cody could admit did not bode well for him. He and Quinlan shared an uneasy glance, they were also unsure what they should do. Should they report their unsanctioned mission to the Council? Or just slip back into the Temple and just pretend they had never left?
Their questions were answered when Cody spotted Echo and Obi-Wan's best friend Garen approaching them. Garen was smirking at Quinlan, "you are a dead man walking Quin."
Quinlan shoved Garen's shoulder. "Don't be so dramatic."
Garen's smirk sharpened if it was possible. "You haven't seen Obi in the past two weeks. I have never seen him this before."
Cody wasn't worried, not a bit. He would explain why he did what he did and Obi-Wan would understand and all would be forgiven. If only.
Echo frowned him, his dark eyes radiating more disapproval than he had to Fives recently. Cody just stared back, he had been Marshal Commander of the GAR, Echo's look didn't worry him, but he silently admitted why Echo was disappointed could. Echo had become really good friends with Obi-Wan and immediately disapproved of anything that upset the Jedi. Which currently included Cody, fantastic.
"They are waiting for you in your quarters," stated Echo, his face blank of any expression.
"They?" Cody asked in confusion, all he received in response was a raised eyebrow from his brother. Cody sighed, Obi-Wan must be really upset if Echo was stonewalling him. "Alright, I'll walk up now."
As he started to walk out of the hanger, he spotted Quinlan trying to walk in the opposite direction but was grabbed by Garen who began dragging Quinlan towards Cody and Obi-Wan's quarters. "No Quinlan, you are not getting out of this one," stated Garen with far too much glee in his voice for comfort.
When they finally reached the front door to the quarters, Cody took a deep breath before he unlocked the door. As he walked through the door, he was immediately met with the sight of Master Yoda sat on the sofa wearing a frown on his face, Master Windu was sat beside Master Yoda with his arms crossed over his chest with a blank look, Qui-Gon was stood near the glass door of the balcony as his gaze flickered between Cody and Obi-Wan. Cody looked at Obi-Wan and was dismayed to see his cyare was standing in front of the balcony glass door, with his back facing the room and looking at the Jedi's reflection, Cody saw Obi-Wan's arms were crossed and he was frowning as he stared at something out of the window.
Slowly, Master Windu got to his feet and looked at Quinlan and Cody with a disparaging look. At this point both Garen and Echo decided that they did not need to witness the conversation that was about to occur and fled the quarters. As Cody waited for Master Windu to say something, he kept his gaze on Obi-Wan who was still keeping his back to the room. Which was starting to worry Cody, as he had never seen Obi-Wan shut down like this before.
"While I understand the reasons why you both decided to go after Maul alone. I have to say the Council were not happy with your decision. You both could have been seriously hurt," stated Master Windu. He turned his head to look briefly at Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, two Jedi that had nearly been killed by Maul. Master Windu's look clearly indicating to Cody that the Master of the Order was non-verbally telling them that Quinlan and Cody acting alone, one Jedi and one former Commander, could have easily been killed by Maul.
Quinlan stepped forward so that he was stood slightly in front of Cody as he stood before the Councillor, a hint of defiance in his stance. "Cody and I felt Maul needed to be dealt with and as you can see, we handled it and nothing happened to us."
Cody frowned when he spotted Obi-Wan flinch at Quinlan's statement, he wondered what Obi-Wan was broadcasting down his training bond with Qui-Gon. Because the older Jedi moved so that he was stood with his shoulder pressed against Obi-Wan's shoulder, a clear sign of comfort. Before Cody could ponder what was going on with Obi-Wan anymore, his attention was diverted by a sigh coming from Master Yoda.
"Change their minds we will not. Change the past we cannot," stated Master Yoda as he climbed down from the sofa and began leaving the quarters. A clear sign that the meeting was over. Wordlessly, Master Windu began to follow Master Yoda and gestured for Quinlan to follow him. Quinlan clapped Cody on the shoulder and followed the two Masters out into the corridor, leaving Cody stood on the edge of the living space watching as Obi-Wan continued to stare out of the window.
Qui-Gon looked between them, before he squeezed Obi-Wan's shoulder and then walked over to the sofa Master Yoda had just vacated. Clearly leaving Cody to talk to Obi-Wan, which was fair, it was Cody's actions that had led to the current situation.
As he grappled for something to say, Obi-Wan beat him to the punch. "So, what are your excuses for yours and Quinlan's unsanctioned mission?"
"No excuses. I stand by what we did," stated Cody, automatically standing to attention at the flat tone in Obi-Wan's voice. The tone he used when addressing Admirals on the Negotiator.
Obi-Wan suddenly turned away from the window and glared at Cody, "you stand by what you did?" His voice dangerously low.
"Yes," stated Cody stubbornly, he wasn't going to back down, he did what he did to protect his cyare and didn't regret it.
"If I had done what you did during the war you would not let me hear the end of it!" exclaimed Obi-Wan, his eyes narrowing in frustration. Cody didn't know what to think, he had never been on the receiving end of Obi-Wan's frustration before.
"This is different!" he protested; he knew he was sounding like a hypocrite but he would never accept he should have left Maul alone.
"This is not different!" thundered Obi-Wan, his blue eyes flashed with irritation. "You could have been killed! –"
"But we weren't!" protested Cody. He walked closer to Obi-Wan, but his chest tightened when Obi-Wan stepped around him, keeping a distance between them. Something he had never done before. It was leaving Cody unsure of what to say, he promised to never lie to Obi-Wan, but it was clear what he was saying wasn't helping. "I needed to keep you safe! I had to stop him! You weren't going to do anything, so I decided to do something instead!"
"And I wanted you safe!" shouted Obi-Wan, his emotions reaching a boiling point. Qui-Gon got to his feet and was obviously talking through the training bond, trying to keep Obi-Wan calm as he rested a hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder. But it seemed Obi-Wan wasn't interested in remaining calm anymore. "I watched Maul almost kill my Master! He almost killed me! I've lost friends before and during the war! The war is over, those I care about are supposed to be safe. But you can't be safe if you and one of my best friends are traipsing around the galaxy chasing a former Sith Apprentice! Vanishing from the Temple without a word!"
Cody closed his eyes when it all became clear. Obi-Wan hadn't brushed him off before because he was shrugging off a danger to himself. He brushed of Maul's threat because he didn't want Cody to go after him. Suddenly, Cody was filled with shame and now saw what his protective anger had done. He had left Obi-Wan alone for two weeks, terrified that the being who almost killed his Master, could kill Cody and Quinlan, two people he cared about very much. "Cyare…I'm-"
But Obi-Wan didn't want to listen, he had shaken off Qui-Gon's hand and was storming out of the quarters. Cody could only watch as his cyare disappeared with the bottom of his brown outer robe twisting in his rush to leave. While Cody was glad Maul was dead, he regretted the pain his leaving had caused his cyare. He was rooted to the spot, considering what he should do. What he wanted to do was find Obi-Wan and apologise for what he had done, but even without the Force he sensed that would be a bad idea.
Cody jumped when a hand was placed on his shoulder, he turned his head and met Qui-Gon's sympathetic midnight blue eyes. "Just give him some time. Wait here and I'll go and talk to him," said Qui-Gon softly. Cody just nodded and numbly walked over to the sofa and heavily lowered himself to the soft cushions, burying his face into his hands. He stayed in that position as the afternoon sunshine slowly turned into night.
Eventually when it became late at night, Cody forced himself to go to bed, when it became abundantly clear Obi-Wan didn't feel ready to return to their quarters. Cody tossed and turned for a little while, his mind swirling with regrets as he recalled the almost devasted look on Obi-Wan's face when he showed no remorse for going after Maul. Just as he was drifting to sleep, he heard the front door open and Obi-Wan's familiar footsteps shuffling around the living space. Cody forced himself to wait, knowing right now he should let Obi-Wan lead the conversation, but the conversation and his apology didn't happen. He heard the tell-tale signs of Obi-Wan settling down to sleep on the sofa. Cody sighed to himself and then let himself drift off to sleep, wanting to get some rest before he apologised to Obi-Wan for his actions in just disappearing from the Temple without a word.
Qui-Gon followed his instincts when he went to search for Obi-Wan. He had seen and felt Cody's shock when the former Commander got his first look at the rare sight of Obi-Wan losing his temper from desperation. Qui-Gon had only seen it once when Obi-Wan had been fourteen, when he had been unable to save a friend. At the time, Obi-Wan had been struggling to deal with his guilt and as the teenager's Master, Qui-Gon searched for an outlet Obi-Wan could have that would allow him to expend his negative emotions when it was clear meditation wasn't helping. So, Qui-Gon entered the Temple's smallest training salle, due to its size was basically a private salle and one he knew Obi-Wan went to when he needed to work through his emotions.
Sure enough, as he slowly walked through the wooden doors, he found his former Padawan with his blue lightsaber activated as he battled against a few training droids. Sensing Obi-Wan wasn't ready to talk, Qui-Gon leaned against the cold stone wall as he watched as Obi-Wan's lightsaber deflected stun blaster blots and struck the droids. He felt Anakin through the friendship bond enquiring why Obi-Wan was upset. Don't worry Anakin, Cody got back today, but I'm with Obi-Wan. Just give him some space for now. Anakin sent a mental version of a nod and then retreated back down the bond.
As daylight turned to night, Qui-Gon stood against the wall, watching his former Padawan. Seeing flashes of the grieving fourteen-year-old the copper haired Jedi Master used to be. Eventually Obi-Wan came to a stop, he was breathing harshly and deactivated his lightsaber, but still gripped the hilt tightly with a shaky hand. Qui-Gon slowly walked across the wooden floor, his footsteps echoing around the room as he approached Obi-Wan. "Padawan."
Obi-Wan's shoulders tensed, "I know, I know. I overreacted."
Qui-Gon stopped so he was facing Obi-Wan's back, sensing his former Padawan was trying to reign in his emotions and wasn't ready to face him yet. "I wouldn't say that," Qui-Gon calmy stated. "You had spent two weeks worrying over the man you love, worried he was in danger. Your reaction is normal."
Obi-Wan spun around to face him, his ocean blue eyes glinting with unshed tears. "I was worried about him, but shouldn't that mean I should have stayed in our quarters to check on Cody?"
"Cody is fine," said Qui-Gon as he rested both of his hands on Obi-Wan's shoulders. "And I say it again, your emotions were all over the place the last two weeks. You needed an outlet and it is understandable how you reacted." He then pulled an unresisting Obi-Wan into a tight hug, he rested his chin on the copper head. "It's alright. Quinlan and Cody are safe."
Obi-Wan buried his face into Qui-Gon's shoulder, they stayed hugging for a few minutes until Obi-Wan pulled back so he could clip his lightsaber back onto his belt. Qui-Gon brushed a hand through the soft copper hair, just like he used to when Obi-Wan was a Padawan who had pushed himself too much in lightsaber training. Obi-Wan directed a shaky smile at him before he began walking out of the training salle. Qui-Gon turned and watched as his former Padawan left, sighing in relief as he sensed Obi-Wan was feeling calmer. So, he began making his way to his own quarters, knowing Obi-Wan was going back to the quarters he shared with Cody. While Cody and Obi-Wan still needed to talk about what had happened, both of them trying to protect the other, Qui-Gon knew they would be alright.
As Obi-Wan settled down to sleep on the sofa staring up at the ceiling of his quarters, he felt guilty about not talking to Cody, sensing his cyare was still awake. But he just didn't have the energy to talk about what happened and despite what Qui-Gon had said, he still felt like he had overreacted. Something he would have to apologise to Cody for. He had seen Cody's eyes widen in shock when he was unable to control himself and he felt bad about it. He sighed, when all he had wanted to do was check Cody was unharmed and hug his soon-to-be-husband close to him, he ended up getting frustrated and snapping at Cody.
Despite his swirling thoughts, his eyes began to feel heavy with exhaustion and eventually his eyes slipped closed as he fell asleep.
Obi-Wan found himself stood just outside the generator room in the Theed palace, he was stuck behind the red ray shields, casting everything in a red glow. Despite the red glow, he could clearly see everything. He was staring in horror as four bodies lay at the feet of Maul. The Sith scorching the ground between the bodies of Qui-Gon, Anakin, Quinlan and Cody, taunting Obi-Wan with his failure to protect those most important to him.
"No. Nononono!" he cried, he used his activated lightsaber to try and hack his way through the ray shield keeping him away from his family, even though nothing would get through the shield.
Anakin twitched from where he was lying, his head bent backwards as he met Obi-Wan's gaze. "M…Master," slurred Anakin, blood starting to drip from behind his teeth, staining his lips red. "Help…help me…please…" Maul laughed and plunged his red lightsaber into Anakin's chest. Anakin's pleas choked off into a sharp gasp, before his eyes rolled back and was still.
"Anakin!" screamed Obi-Wan, he felt the training bond snap, a searing pain split through his head. Tears streamed down his face as he could only watch as Maul did the same to Quinlan and Qui-Gon, he hovered over Cody and sent a sharp smile towards Obi-Wan as Cody tried to drag himself along the floor away from the Sith.
"I think I'll let your precious Commander feel my pain," snarled Maul. Obi-Wan watched wide eyed as Maul used the Force to drag Cody towards the melting pit, as Obi-Wan's cyare struggled against the Sith's hold feebly as his injuries sapped away his strength.
"No! Stop!" begged Obi-Wan, hacking at the ray shields with more desperation. Maul laughed as he threw Cody over the edge of the melting pit. "NO!" Obi-Wan dropped to his knees with a thud, his chest tightening as he couldn't pull enough air into his lungs. "No," he sobbed around his gasping breaths. Obi-Wan felt himself shake as his breathing turned into wheezing gasps all the while Maul's laughter rang in his ears, almost drowning out the sound of Cody calling his name. "No..."
Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open and found himself looking up at Cody's worried brown eyes, as his cyare was desperately calling his name. "Breathe Obi-Wan! You need to take slow breaths!" ordered Cody, as his hands rested on Obi-Wan's chest. Obi-Wan pulled a deep breath into his lungs and slowly released it, repeating the process a few times. Cody relaxed and smiled at him, "there you are," he murmured as he looked into Obi-Wan's eyes. One hand running up from Obi-Wan's chest to rest on his cheek and brushing his thumb under Obi-Wan's eye, brushing away the tears on his cheek. Obi-Wan's breaths choked off as he sobbed, the images from his nightmare replaying in his mind.
Cody frowned and then pulled Obi-Wan up into a sitting position and then Obi-Wan found himself crushed against Cody's chest as his cyare hugged him tightly. A part of Obi-Wan felt he shouldn't be receiving comfort after how he treated Cody earlier in the day. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he sobbed into Cody's shoulder.
Cody clutched his cyare tighter to him, his heart breaking at Obi-Wan's apologies. He should have been the one apologising, but instead all he could do was sit on the sofa as Obi-Wan nestled himself as close as he could to Cody. As Obi-Wan's sobs started to die down, Cody's heartbeat started to also slow down, his heart had been pounding the second he suddenly woken up to hear Obi-Wan's terrified screams. He had run into the living space to find Obi-Wan twisting and turning on the sofa, on the edge of a panic attack as he begged for Maul to stop and screaming Cody's name.
He kissed Obi-Wan's forehead and soothingly murmured, "you don't need to apologise. I should." Obi-Wan just shook his head, sensing that he wasn't going to get any further, Cody carefully lifted Obi-Wan up and began to carry him into their bedroom. He gently laid Obi-Wan on the bed and immediately slotted himself beside the Jedi, wrapping his arms around the other man comfortingly. Obi-Wan turned in his arms and pushed Cody so that he was lying on his back and Obi-Wan was lying tucked up on his left side with his head resting on Cody's chest.
Cody ran his hand through the soft copper hair, and gently pressed his fingers along Obi-Wan's scalp, something he learnt during the war would make Obi-Wan sleepy. Sure enough, Cody noticed Obi-Wan starting to drift off, but obviously trying to fight the pull of sleep. "Sleep cyare, I'll be here in the morning," he murmured into the copper hair beneath his chin. Cody hugged Obi-Wan closely, even after his cyare drifted to sleep, he watched his cyare's sleeping face and ran his fingers across the sleeping man's forehead to brush aside hair that had fallen into his face. Cody smiled and then pressed a kiss to Obi-Wan's head before he also settled into the pillows to go to sleep.
The next morning, Cody woke up in their bed alone. He frowned and pulled himself out the warm blankets that had been tucked around his frame, he opened the bedroom door and his gaze immediately locked on the slumped figure of his cyare sat at the kitchen table. Cody paused for a moment and observed Obi-Wan's slumped shoulders, his hands wrapped around a mug of tea he wasn't drinking and the far away look in the blue eyes. Cody slowly walked towards the kitchen table, walking along the wall so that he was always in Obi-Wan's line of sight. Getting no reaction from the Jedi, he carefully pulled out the chair opposite Obi-Wan's and sat down in the chair and then reached one hand out and clasped it around one of Obi-Wan's, that was still wrapped around the mug.
Obi-Wan jumped and then his blue eyes locked onto Cody's brown ones, as Obi-Wan went to open his mouth. Probably to apologise again, and Cody didn't want to hear another apology, what happened hadn't been Obi-Wan's fault, he shouldn't have left the Temple like he did. So, Cody talked over Obi-Wan, "I am so sorry for what I did Obi-Wan. N'eparavu takisit. I was just so blinded by my anger over Maul nearly killing you that I just felt an overwhelming need to do something about it."
Cody waited patiently while he watched as Obi-Wan absorbed his words. The Jedi then rubbed the hand that wasn't clasped by Cody's over his beard. "What brought on the anger? It was as if something had reminded you that Maul was out there, you hadn't mentioned him in months," stated Obi-Wan, his eyebrows furrowed as he tried to understand what had happened.
"In the Archives, I stumbled upon the security footage of your duel in Theed," said Cody as he pushed away the memory of just watching as a younger version of his cyare was almost killed and desperate to save his Master.
"Ah," nodded Obi-Wan, his eyes glazing over, most likely reliving the duel.
"I'm sorry for what I did and said. I just…I just couldn't bear the thought of him getting his hands on you again. I couldn't take the risk that he might kill you," commented Cody, his voice cracking.
Obi-Wan pulled his hand back and stood up. Cody watched as his cyare walked around the kitchen table and embraced Cody from behind, obviously ignoring the back of the chair pressing into his stomach. "I understand dear one, I really do," Obi-Wan said calmly, his chin resting on the top of Cody's head. "I know you don't want to hear this, but I am sorry as well." Cody went to protest, Obi-Wan was right, Cody didn't want to hear him apologising. Obi-Wan shushed him and gently rocked Cody from side to side. "I don't cope well when people I care about are at risk and I didn't tell you this…but when Maul fought me during the war…well he promised to hurt every single person I cared about. So, when you came to me wanting to find him, I was determined not to let you anywhere near him. I should have told you what he said, but I thought the best way to protect you was to keep you as far away from him as possible."
Cody leaned back into Obi-Wan's embrace and took hold of Obi-Wan's hands that were resting against his stomach. "I should have known there was a reason you were telling me I had to wait."
Obi-Wan chuckled and Cody felt his cyare press a kiss to the top of his head. "We both did things that were wrong. But the important thing is you are home."
"I am," smiled Cody, as he gently pulled himself out of Obi-Wan's embrace and then stood up and pressed himself against his cyare as he kissed the other man deeply. He felt Obi-Wan's hands rest against the side of his face and then travel up into his dark hair, while he rested his hands on Obi-Wan's hips and gently tugged Obi-Wan even closer to him. When they had to pull away for air, they kept their foreheads pressed together, breathing in the same air. "Say the riduurok with me soon cyare," murmured Cody, with missions taking up their time for the past month and a half, they hadn't had chance, but Cody was determined to make the Jedi his riduur. Fighting against Maul reminded him that there were many risks to Jedi out in the galaxy and he would always regret not marrying Obi-Wan should something happen to his cyare.
Obi-Wan smiled brightly, "I will cyar'ika. Should I pencil you in between Council meetings?" he teased, his blue eyes shining with amusement.
"Oh! I'm that important, am I? I You'll marry me between meetings?" laughed Cody. He playfully pushed Obi-Wan backwards, forcing Obi-Wan to walk backwards until his knees met the arm of the sofa and then Cody pushed him so Obi-Wan was splayed out across the sofa. Cody immediately dropped down above Obi-Wan, his knees bracketing Obi-Wan's legs and his arms resting either side of Obi-Wan's head, the two of them laughed between kisses. "I love you cyare," murmured Cody, his lips almost touching Obi-Wan's.
"I love you dear one," responded Obi-Wan, the Jedi then wrapped his arms around Cody's shoulders and pulled Cody down into another deep kiss. The tension between them broken and Cody felt like they each knew the other better, while Cody would always regret how he went after Maul, he would never regret taking care of the threat to his Jedi. He planned to live a long and happy life with Obi-Wan, and no one was going to get in the way.