A Light To Guide You by Nix (formerly Krychick)

[capra-maritimus.livejournal.com]

Title: A Light To Guide You
Author: Nix (formerly Krychick)
Rating: NC-17, more or less
Pairing: Q/O (AR)
Warnings: Not really.
Author's e-mail, web site and/or LJ id: kirstenp@direct.ca
Link to story: http://www.angelfire.com/realm/obsidianquills/sfiction/tpm/ALighttoGuideYou.txt (author's site: Obsidian Quills)

Reasons for recommending:

I admit it. I went through a phase where I read every 'soul/force/whatever bond' fic I could find. Good, bad, indifferent, it didn't matter. I read them all. This is one of the ones that actually stuck with me.

I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I like my Jedi acting as Jedi. Here we have Jedi sparring and preparing for missions. (Yippee!) Here we have Jedi actually going on missions. Here we have meditation and 'theological' discussion. Here we have hot Jedi fuc-- ahem. Well, okay, so Mr. Lucas never included that last bit. :D That all of this was intertwined with what is a basic first time/bonding fic made me verreh, verreh happy.

Quote from story:

Qui-Gon checked the roster outside the practice hall and found, to his disappointment, that everyone had already paired up. Turning to leave, a name caught his eye. There. Obi-Wan Kenobi was signed up to spar an hour hence...and the space for his partner was still blank. Qui-Gon filled his name in and entered the hall. He would run through the solitary katas while he waited for the Knight to arrive.

The kata slowly drew to a close, and Qui-Gon was still for a moment as he surfaced from near-meditative concentration. Opening his eyes, the older man found Obi-Wan watching him with a curiously contemplative expression on his face.

Remembering that they had not been formally introduced, Qui-Gon bowed. "Qui-Gon Jinn."

Obi-Wan returned the gesture. "Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"My apologies," Qui-Gon began, "if I am late."

Obi-Wan shook his head. "No, it is I who am early. I must admit, I was expecting to have to find a partner from among the Padawans again."

"Do the knights shun you?" Qui-Gon asked, startled.

"Oh, no!" Obi-Wan insisted. "It's just that they prefer the company of old friends, rather than going out of their way to make a new one. It is a lonely but by no means permanent situation."

Qui-Gon nodded his acceptance of the explanation. "Shall we begin?" he asked, motioning to the ring. Obi-Wan nodded, shedding his cloak and setting his lightsaber to its lowest power. Qui-Gon followed, adjusting his own weapon.

The two Jedi saluted each other and traded a few exploratory blows, getting a sense of each other's style. Then Qui-Gon went on the offensive. Obi-Wan met him, a wrinkle of concentration appearing between his eyes.

Qui-Gon relaxed, allowing the Force to flow through him. He was preparing to step up his offense when Obi-Wan disappeared from in front of him. A moment later, he felt the heat of a lightsaber at his back.

"I concede," he said, and turned to regard his partner.

"I had not expected to best you," Obi-Wan commented, suppressing a grin. "I'm not sure how I did."

"You found my weakness and used it," Qui-Gon pointed out. Obi-Wan looked a bit confused. "I do not often have the opportunity to spar with partners who favor the acrobatics," he clarified. "Thus I am unused to defending against them."

Obi-Wan nodded his understanding. "Shall we go again?"

"Of course."

Blue and green blades met, the contact resonating in the Force and thus joining the symphony of energy that Knight and Master wove as they fought. When Obi-Wan next went spinning through the air, Qui-Gon met him upon landing, though the quick turn around left him a little off balance. After another overhead flip and an entirely unexpected roll, Qui-Gon managed to tighten the fight up, not allowing the younger man the space he needed to incorporate the acrobatics.

The second round, much longer than the first, finally ground to a halt with Qui-Gon's 'saber hovering a few inches from Obi-Wan's throat. "I concede," the younger man said. "And I am relieved."

"Relieved?" Qui-Gon asked, lowering his 'saber.

"Me, defeat the legendary Qui-Gon Jinn? Padawans and Knights everywhere would be crushed to see their hero brought low by a new-made Knight." Obi-Wan was grinning openly now, though Qui-Gon could see a touch of nervousness in his posture.

Qui-Gon's lips twitched, trying to hold back a little smile and failing. "I am glad to have preserved the fragile illusions of so many," he said dryly, and Obi-Wan relaxed. "Again?"

More discussion:

In this fic Qui-Gon never took another padawan after Xanatos and Obi-Wan was trained by someone else. Our two Jedi meet after Obi-Wan is a newly made knight.

Once again my Competent!Obi-Wan kink is satisfied. He is poised, knowledgeable, and still manages to have that slightly dry, snarky sense of humour we all love. He is also very much an equal in this relationship: in fact in some ways Obi-Wan is the stronger one, especially with regards to Qui-Gon's inner darkness regarding Xanatos' fall. During Qui-Gon's moment of crisis it is Obi-Wan who brings him back from his inner maelstrom of turmoil and grief.

Qui-Gon is hurting in this one - hurting and too stubborn to let it go. He is tired of members of the Order seeing him as their pet project to 'fix'. He is therefore initially attracted to Obi-Wan because he is the first person in a long time who hasn't looked at him merely with pity for his weaknesses. He sees someone who might be willing to guard his back while he fights his inner darkness instead of trying to do it all for him. Obi-Wan does indeed rise to the occasion and Qui-Gon finds out to his horror just how cut off from the Force he has become. It is a testament to his skill as a diplomat that he has had so many successful missions despite his inner isolation.

I liked the description of the bonding - it was gradual, and not all hearts and flowers and sappiness. It was also refreshing to see that the healers didn't know what to make of it exactly, and the details and ramifications of their bond were not revealed right away. Yes, the characters suffered problems with the bonding, but the angst quotient never became overblown, thank the Force. :D

All in all an enjoyable fic.