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They never spoke about his people’s race. Not once.
Not when Qui-Gon took Obi-Wan as his Padawan.
Not when they did their monthly medical checks or when the Healers mention something to do with his health.
Not even once over the dinner table as they ate whatever food they managed to make that night and Qui-Gon would drink his blood substitute.
Qui-Gon simply had not told Obi-Wan what he was. And Qui-Gon could not help but wonder if it was out of shame of his own kind or the underlining fear that is always in the back of his mind that Obi-Wan would leave him and find another Master when he heard the truth from Qui-Gon himself.
He knew that Obi-Wan had found out long, long ago; back when the boy was still in the first few months of his apprenticeship. He also knew that the boy had taken every precaution since finding out about Qui-Gon’s species to ensure that he does not accidently trigger Qui-Gon’s bloodlust.
Which was… Oddly endearing, if Qui-Gon was to be honest.
Obi-Wan had stocked up on blood proof bandages and Bacta every mission rotation and instead of using the normal blade razor his agemates used, Obi-Wan had taken to using the Laser-Razor to shave whatever hair that grew on his face, to make extra sure that he did not cut himself.
His Padawan had also take to making sure that there were extra blood substitutes within his own mission packs. Qui-Gon had not even known that the boy was doing so until he ran out on an extended mission that went south and Obi-Wan had merely pulled out his pack of the much-needed pills from his bag. Qui-Gon had never been more grateful that Obi-Wan was over prepared all the time then in that moment.
It was freeing, Qui-Gon would have to say if he was to choose a feeling, to know that his Padawan was aware of what he was and accepted it without question or without Qui-Gon having to even say a thing.
Stroking his beard and looking down at the sleeping young man on their living room couch, Qui-Gon could not help but give a small smile. The small red haired imp who had come into his life nearly eight years before has definitely grown on him.
Qui-Gon honestly could not imagine his life without Obi-Wan by his side anymore.
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This mission had been one shit show after another, Obi-Wan growled quietly within his own mind as he made his way through the dusty and old vents.
From the moment they touched down on the planet, things had gone from bad to worse.
From their hosts being offended by his red hair, to several failed assassinations attempts on different negotiators, to Master Qui-Gon being accused of trying to seduce a statue of all things; Obi-Wan would have to say that things had been completely strange, that was for sure.
And they had become almost deadly.
It was well over three days ago that their ship had exploded while they tried to leave the planet. Obi-Wan had been thrown painfully out the windshield and to the ground but Qui-Gon had not been the wreckage when Obi-Wan had come to.
Their bond was blocked on Qui-Gon’s end, leaving Obi-Wan to believe his Master may just be in trouble and in enough pain that he did not want it to spill over their bond.
Or worse, Qui-Gon’s hunger had all but consuming him and blocking the bond was a last-ditch attempt to keep Obi-Wan safe and away.
Neither was good and Obi-Wan was worried about wat he would find at the end of the vent. He knew that he would have to somehow feed his Master. Qui-Gon’s species could only survive so long without blood or the substitute.
Qui-Gon’s pills had been destroyed by one of their hosts whom had wanted them gone and Obi-Wan’s own supplies that he keeps in case his Master needs it went up in flames with the ship.
He hoped to the Force that Qui-Gon was not too badly injured or too consumed by his hunger. He was not sure if Qui-Gon would take fresh blood or not. Nor was he sure how the elder man’s body would react to the blood.
Gritting his teeth, Obi-Wan fought for calm and peace as he stopped by the room where his Master was being held, just like the guard who was now knocked out in a closet said.
Obi-Wan peered through the small grated wall on the vent and bit back a curse when he looked at the suspended and almost tortured body of his Master. Force Damn it all. Only half of those wounds could have been made by the ships crash. The rest were too neat and if the bloodied instruments on the table by Qui-Gon’s left were any indication, those wounds were made on purpose.
Why, he didn’t know. But one thing was for sure, Obi-Wan was getting his Master out of here and to somewhere safe.
With a quick sweep of the Force, Obi-Wan found that there was no one else in the room. Knowing that this was his only chance to get his Master before the alarms were sounded, Obi-Wan moved quickly.
Pushing open the grated hatch, Obi-Wan snuck out of the vent and moved quickly to his Master. There was very little time and the bug he had placed in the security system would not last forever. The closer he got to Qui-Gon, the more concerned Obi-Wan became.
There were more wounds that Obi-Wan had not noticed from the vent and the smell of sweat and blood was almost gag worthy. The sight of his Master was nauseating enough. Shaking his head, Obi-Wan quickly searched for a way to get his Master down.
It took him precious few minutes but finally, Obi-Wan managed to find the right button to release his Master. And it was only years of experience in the Force that let him catch his Master before he fell to the ground.
The sudden moment woke Qui-Gon and with a horrible groan, the elder man opened his blood shot eyes and looked at him. “Obi-Wan.” The Jedi Master breathed, there was relief and pain on his face.
“Easy, Master.” Obi-Wan cautioned, walking carefully over to the other man. “We need to get out of here. Can you walk at all?” He asked, biting his lip in worry as he gently lowered Qui-Gon to his feet.
The taller man wobbled and looked pale but gave a slight tip of his head. A grim look was on the other man’s face and Obi-Wan kept as close as he dared to the other man, sending him a small amount of his strength through the Force. He could feel Qui-Gon’s gratitude and spared his Master a small grin before they began the dangerous journey out of the warehouse they were in.
It took them nearly three hours and two fire fights to get out of the warehouse and to the safe house Obi-Wan hard organised with one of their more sympathetic hosts. There would be a ship for them to leave the planet ready in the morning and Obi-Wan was ready to collapse already if he was to be honest.
But he couldn’t just yet. His Master’s wound and hunger needed to be dealt with or they would run into more trouble on the week-long trip back home.
He helped the older man to the ‘Fresher and sat him down on the toilet seat while he rummaged around the med kit that had been left for them. He pulled out what he needed and stripped off the bloodied and torn clothes from his Master’s body before he began to clean the wounds.
Qui-Gon hissed in pain every now and then but for most part Obi-Wan worked in silence. That was until he finally worked up the courage to speak.
“Do you need to… feed, Master?” He asked quietly, clearing away the blood that had dried to the skin and wounds.
He felt Qui-Gon tense under his hands but didn’t raise his head to look at the older man. “Obi-Wan…” The older man started, voice trailing off.
“I don’t have any substitute, Master.” Obi-Wan spoke a little louder this time. “I need to know if you need to or not. We have a week’s long trip a head of us and you could become very sick in that time.”
Qui-Gon remained silent for several long minutes as Obi-Wan started to patch up the wounds. “I do not want to hurt you, Padawan.” The Master finally said.
Obi-Wan looked up from his work with a frown. “You won’t Master.” He stated firmly. “I trust you. And we can put you into a healing trance if it isn’t enough.” He pointed out.
“You could put me into a trance right now and not risk your life.” Qui-Gon’s voice was harsh and Obi-Wan flinched back slightly from it.
“Master… I can’t.” Obi-Wan admitted quietly. “I am too wounded myself to put you into a trance without your help. And you are currently too weak and wounded to help me do so. If you feed. -“
Qui-Gon quickly interrupted. “If I feed on you, Obi-Wan, I will run risk of killing you.” He snarled, pulling away from Obi-Wan. Qui-Gon tried to stand and nearly collapsed as his legs buckled under him. Obi-Wan caught him just in time and managed to get him to sit back down. His whole body ached just from those quick movements.
“Master please. You need your strength if you are going to get better. I can spare a little blood.” Obi-Wan knelt painfully in front of the taller man. “I trust you Master. Please. I can’t protect the both of us the way we both are now.”
Qui-Gon’s head was bowed and Obi-Wan could feel his conflict and pain through their bond. He reached out and grabbed the other man’s hand, sending his conviction and assurances through the bond the best he could.
Qui-Gon gripped the hand back and gave a painful sigh. “Obi-Wan…” The Master’s blue eyes looked down into Obi-Wan’s. “Obi-Wan if I do this, it could mean we both get into a lot of trouble. When I took you on as a Padawan, I had to swear to the Council that I would not feed on you unless it was the most dire circumstances. Do you understand?”
Obi-Wan nodded and gave a small quirk of his lips. “Master Windu explained that to me when I went and asked him for information about your kind, Master. He said that I can offer myself to you if it is needed and in this circumstance, I fully believe that it is. I am willing to go up against the Council on this when we get home it needed.”
Qui-Gon looked up in surprise and snorted softly through his nose. “Why am I not surprised?” His smile pulled at his spilt lip, almost opening it back up before he sighed. “Help me up Padawan. If we are going to do this, we may as well go to the sleeping quarters. We are both likely to pass out.”
Obi-Wan gave a small nod of understanding and let go of his Master’s hand so he could use the sink to steady him as he stood. Once he felt stable on his feet, Obi-Wan carefully helped his wounded Master stand and together they shuffled out of the ‘Fresher and to the sleeping quarters.
The sleeping quarters consisted of two lumpy mattresses and blankets and a bordered-up window. “Well, this is cheerful.” Obi-Wan quipped, rolling his eyes at his Master helped the older man down to one of the mattresses.
Qui-Gon gave a small quiet snort and quirked his lips at Obi-Wan. “It’s not the worst place we have slept.” Qui-Gon pointed out.
Obi-Wan had to agree with that. They had slept in some truly horrible places in the last few years, that was for sure.
They both sat on the mattress for several minutes before Qui-Gon gently pulled Obi-Wan into a hug. “You don’t have to do this, Padawan.” The older man said into Obi-Wan’s hair.
“I do, Master.” Obi-Wan whispered back. He rested his head on his Master’s chest and let out a low breath, pushing away the aches and pains from his body as he did so. They both needed medical attention but they would not be able to get it for over a weeks’ time. He just hoped that his ribs were not broken and were just bruised. Resetting broken ribs hurts.
Qui-Gon nodded and pulled him closer, understanding that Obi-Wan was not going to back down from this at all. The taller man shifted the two of them around slightly so that Obi-Wan was sitting across his legs like a youngling. “This will make it easier on the both of us.” Qui-Gon said to Obi-Wan’s unasked question.
Obi-Wan nodded and wrapped his arms around his Master’s neck as he tilted his head back, feeling calm and relaxed. He trusted his Master completely.
“Just relax, Obi-Wan. Just relax.” Qui-Gon murmured, breath tickling Obi-Wan’s skin moments before the sharp feeling of teeth biting into his neck overcame him.
Obi-Wan could not stop the gasp of pain that escaped his mouth. Shit, that hurt. Obi-Wan has been bitten before, by animals, previous lovers and even by people who he has fought with but none of those bites had ever hurt as much as this. Shit, none of the writings ever indicated it would be this painful!
Breathing heavily through his nose, Obi-Wan almost missed the soft voice that seemed to be speaking in the back of his head.
Relax. Relax. Just breathe. Accept the embrace Obi-Wan. Don’t fight. Fighting only brings pain. Relax.
He groaned in confusion as the voice continued to speak. Was that Qui-Gon speaking to him through their bond? Or was this something apart of his Master’s biology trying to get him to stop fighting? The writings he read were never clear on what happens when one is feed on.
Either way, the advice was good enough for him. Obi-Wan slowed his breathing and forced his muscles to relax. The area where Qui-Gon’s teeth were still ached but the constant throbbing pain was lessening quickly, much to his surprise.
In fact, the pain was being… replaced? Obi-Wan’s eyes opened when he realised that yes, the pain was being replaced. An overwhelming bliss was sweeping across his body, taking away the hurt and pain. It wasn’t pleasure or arousal, no this was something else.
This was like a hot bath after a long sparing session. This was like a hot meal after months of rations. This was sitting on the couch late at night, watching a stupid holo movie. This was the kiss from Satine, soft and sweet. This was perfection.
Force, no wonder Qui-Gon’s species had lines of people willing to feed them. If this was what you felt every time you were feed on then Obi-Wan can definitely see the appeal.
For several very long minutes of pure bliss, Qui-Gon continued to feed and Obi-Wan did not care. It felt so good. So perfect. Why hadn’t Qui-Gon done this before? Obi-Wan would have willingly given everything he had to kept this feeling. Everything.
But the bliss soon stopped and Qui-Gon’s mouth soon moved away from Obi-Wan’s bloodied neck. Obi-Wan whimpered at the loss of the feeling and frowned as he felt his Master heal the bite.
“I think I may have taken too much.” Qui-Gon whispered, laying Obi-Wan down onto the mattress and covering him with a sheet.
“It’s fine Master.” Obi-Wan insisted, not at all minding the blood on the lower half of his Master’s face. If anything, it made him feel oddly… satisfied? Why did it make him feel that? He wondered.
“No.” Qui-Gon shook his head and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I went overboard and took too much. You won’t notice it now, not with the venom still fresh within you, but tomorrow you are going to be very weak.” He reached down and gently pulled Obi-Wan’s braid.
“It’s okay.” Obi-Wan insisted, blinking slowly as he felt a wave of tiredness come over him. “Hey, no fair. Thought we agreed that sleep suggestion aren’t allowed remember?” Obi-Wan whined and pouted up at his Master.
Qui-Gon chuckled and another wave of tiredness hit him. “Go to sleep Obi-Wan. I will take care of everything from here on.”
Obi-Wan huffed but let his eyes close. The blissful feeling was now a background feeling he could barely touch and the desire to sleep was more interesting to him at that moment. He would talk to his Master in the morning about the venom and the use of the sleep suggestion. And about how Qui-Gon must be feeling after being taken and torture. Plus, they still had to find out why Qui-Gon was taken in the first place away.
For now, Obi-Wan let his mind and body rest. He would worry about everything when morning came.