Archive: Um. If you really want to...
Category: Angst
Feedback: C/C appreciated.
Notes: Why can't I ever write anything short? And yes, I know I'm insane,
why do you ask?
~~italic inside marks~~ denotes dream sequence(s), italic denotes thoughts.
Pairing: Q/O
Rating: R
Series: Um. Sorta. First part of something.
Warnings: Angst. LOTS of angst. And implied rape.
And pain. The usual.
It was the dream again. The terrible, roiling dream of terror and pain that left him raw and vulnerable.
~~It's dark, but the lights are blinking above. Far above...I'm on Coruscant. But down, below the higher passages, and far from the Jedi Temple.
Too far.
A noise beside me...be on guard, Obi-Wan. Don't lose yourself. Fear's the dark path. Careful...there's someone -no, some ones- here. Nearby. Their minds are muddled, misty and drunk. Clatter of glass.
My hand to my side-the lightsabre, my trusted weapon, gone.
Foolish Padawan. No lightsabre, no blaster.
Movement behind me. I turn and - no one's there. Wha-
Hands like talons grip me from behind, hurl me down. Crack of skull on pavement, splash of red, hazy black - I turn back, to look...my attacker is huge, massive - Taller even than my master. The talons are poised. His face is hidden.
And he is not alone. My fear grips me, too late do I sense two forms behind me. They strike me, bind me, strike me again. I barely feel my clothes tugged from my body. I know what will happen, always. Forced down, on elbows and knees, I brace for the agony, and somehow I'm never prepared because the pain comes and I scream, I scream and blood runs from my mouth, drips down my chin and neck, stains the paving beneath me scarlet, and I scream, and scream and scream and it never ends....
And I scream.~~
"Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarh!"
Obi-Wan's howl sliced brutally through the cold-dark silence, and Qui-Gon snapped into wakefulness. He grasped the flailing body beside him, trying to pin the younger man down, lying on him with almost his full weight.
Obi-Wan stared up at him, his blue eyes full of dazed panic. His breath came short and sharp, punctuated by soft whimpering noises. He had stopped struggling physically, but the terror in his mind beat at Qui-Gon like a whip-lash.
"Obi-Wan," he said, a little too sharply than he'd intended. Obi-Wan blinked, looking about, blinked again. Thought for a moment.
"M-m-master?"
Relief flooded through the elder. "Yes, it's me." The terror had ebbed now, though it still hurt, and Qui-Gon could feel his Padawan's rapid pulse beneath his hands. He relaxed his grip, settling down with his arms still around Obi-Wan. The younger man turned his face into Qui-Gon's shoulder, pressing as close to his master as he could get. Qui-Gon rubbed his back gently, feeling Obi-Wan's mind calming slowly.
"M-m-master....h-h-hurt...p-p-please d-don't..." confusion slithered like a serpent through the youth's mind, cold and scaly. The master felt his charge's tears, hot and wet on his bare flesh, felt those young shoulders shake with the memory of unspeakable agony.
"Shh...be calm, padawan." I am here for you, please don't be scared. "What hurts?"
"Hurt." A miserable croak. Memories sifted through Obi-Wan's mind, black charging shapes, a huge creature whose face remained unseen. And pain. That memory came on so powerfully that Qui-Gon was forced to block for a minute. "T-the d-d-dark ones.....hurt." Even with memories and speech combined, Qui-Gon could make no sense.
"Shh, Obi-Wan. I am here, be calm...sleep." I won't let them hurt you. He rubbed Obi-Wan's bare back in a steady pattern, lulling him into a deep sleep through a combination of physical and mental presence. Perhaps, in the morning, he will be able to talk...
With that thought, Qui-Gon as well slept, still holding his young Padawan close, in body and mind.