Opposites Attract [Complete]

Looking around at the tranquil halls of healing Meleana couldn’t help but feel as though she were a little too familiar with the place. Not that she was complaining, without the temples healers she’d have been on a funeral pyre years before making it to knighthood.
Though she no longer felt, or looked, like the living dead, the healers had insisted on keeping her. Apparently they were concerned that if released Meleana wouldn’t take their recommendation of bed rest seriously. They were right. Even in the halls of healing she’d been caught out of bed stretching and going through training exercises a few times. Meleana had argued that it would prevent her from having future visits to the halls, the healers were not amused.
Meleana had been in the midst of one of her more active training exercises when there was a knock on her door. She immediately leapt back into bed and under the covers.
“Come in,” she said.
She smiled at Master Windu when he entered the small room. She bowed her head, hoping the polite gesture would help hide her nerves.
He looked over the thin layer of sweat coating her. “The healers tell me they’ve been having some difficulty getting you to rest.”
Meleana licked her lips nervously. “I appreciate their concern for me, but I feel the best way to prepare myself for future issues, is to push myself. What better place to test my endurance than surrounded by healers?”
“Perhaps you should heed their advice; it would help them lighten their work load.” Mace smiled at the look of unwilling defiance in her eyes. She’d never been one to follow orders blindly. “But I’m not here to scold you for getting out of bed. I thought you might like the completed details of you last mission.”
Meleana leaned forward and nodded. “Have the slavers been removed from Republic space?”
Mace nodded. “As far as we can tell from the information you recovered from their facilities, that was the last of their bases within the Republic. The slaves have been returned home, and some additional arrests have been made. Were you able to take a look at their client list before uploading it?”
Meleana shook her head. “I was multitasking.”
“Well it included quiet a few high profile clients, as you might imagine. I suggest you use some of your prescribed bed rest to read up on some of the Holo-Net gossip. “
Meleana furrowed her brow. “Did you really just say that?”
Mace smiled. “Additionally, I was wondering if you might help me with something. Master Titania is still handling a trade dispute in the midrealm, and her Padawan had been acting… unusual. She should have noticed your disappearance long before any of us did. The fact that she was not communicating with her mission partner is alarming. Have you spoken with her since you returned?”
“No,” Meleana said shaking her head. “You’re my first visitor.”
“I was under the impression you were close.”
Meleana paused. She didn’t want to get Ketana into any trouble, but Master Windu had a point, she had been acting out of sorts. “If the healers will allow it I’d be happy to go have a talk with her.”
“That won’t be necessary. Do you have any theories that might help explain her behavior?”
“No Master.” None that I care to share at least, she wanted to add.
“In that case I’ll leave you to your rest. It appears your fever has returned.” he said with a grin.
Meleana smiled sheepishly. “Thank you for stopping by Master Windu. Perhaps if the healers ever feel I can be trusted to take care of myself we can continue where our last training session left off.”
Master Windu nodded. “May the force be with you.”
“And you Master.” Meleana let out a puff of air when the door shut behind him.
She couldn’t help but wonder what Ketana was up too. Now that the subject had been brought up it was all she could think about. It was unusual that she hadn’t stopped by to see her or apologized for her lack of contact during their mission. That paired with the argument they had had before she left had Meleana thinking something was distracting her. Something like her sister. Ketana wasn’t the jealous type, it wouldn’t have bothered her that Meleana had been Knighted first, but being torn between her family and her loyalty to the Jedi might.

When Meleana was finally discharged from the halls of healing she was itching to do something, anything. After several failed attempts at reaching Ketana, she contacted Master Windu.

She spent hours practicing lightsaber techniques with the Jedi Master before he was called away to handle other duties. Meleana tried once more to get a hold of her picturesque Jedi friend gone rogue, only to be ignored.
For the entire week she was confined to a bed all she could think of was not allowing her self to be put in that situation again. After Master Windu left she spent hours going through various forms until she was satisfied that she had done each correctly.
She stopped to take a break, seeing that the sun had set, and tried once again to contact Ketana, this time intent on asking her to come and spar with her. Once again, she was ignored. Meleana sighed and tucked her comlink back into her belt.
“You’re still here?” A familiar voice said from the dojo’s observation booth.
Meleana looked up and smiled at Obi-Wan. “You are stalking me.”
Obi-Wan smiled. “Anakin and I passed by earlier while you were sparing with Master Windu. I’m surprised you didn’t notice us.”
“Where is Anakin?” Meleana asked craning to see behind Obi-Wan.
“He’s gone to bed.”
“Is it that late?”
Obi-Wan nodded. “Thus my surprise to see you. Are you well enough to be exerting yourself like this?”
Meleana rolled her eyes. “I’m fine.”
“Hmm,” Obi-Wan leaned forward. “You know I think I’ve saved your life enough at this point to have a say in it.”
Meleana arched her brow. “Is that so? And what do you think I should be doing if not training?”
“I was just on my way to the dinning hall and I’m guessing you haven’t stopped to eat anything today.”
“The dinning hall is no where near here. You just happened to be walking by on the opposite end of the temple?”
“I may be stalking you.” There was a hint of mischievousness in his voice.
“Alright, I’ll have dinner with you, but you have to promise to spar with me tomorrow, and I expect you to stay at least one hundred meters away from me until then.”
“I think I can manage that.”

Meleana and Obi-Wan had nearly finished their meals when Meleana noticed a familiar face entering the dinning hall, or at least it appeared to be at first glance.
Meleana muttered a curse under her breath, in the middle of Obi-Wan’s speech.
“Is it that upsetting that I dislike Correllian liquors?”
Meleana turned back to him. “Not you, but on the subject of Correllians…” Meleana shook her head and looked back up at Crissida. “I can’t believe her!”
“Who?”
“Excuse me,” Meleana said getting up and storming across the dinning hall. “What do you think you’re doing?” She asked Crissida, who was dressed in Ketana’s clothing with the hood covering her face. “Are you out of your Novaing mind?”
“Meleana, right?”
“What in the name of the force are you doing here! No wonder Ketana’s been acting strange! How long have you been impersonating her?”
Crissida gave the angry Jedi an almost obnoxious look. “she said I could stay. It’s not your problem, so just mind your business.”
“Not my problem? I just spent the better part of a month locked in a cell and came very close to death, because my mission partner was too distracted to notice I’d disappeared. I’d say it’s my problem. I take it no one but Ketana knows you’re here?” Crissida nodded at her. “And how long do you think you can keep this up? It took me a day to notice you. When Ketana’s Master gets back she wont even need to see you to know something’s up. And the fact that you would have the audacity to go parading around dressed up like a Jedi while avoiding your prison sentence in the Jedi temple…. Don’t even get me started.”
“You’ve already started.”
“Give me one good reason not to march both of you up to the council right now.” Meleana crossed her arms over her chest.
“Shouldn’t you talk to Ketana first?”
“Well see I would if she’d answer any of my calls, or the door when I knocked on it. I cannot believe she would be so stupid!”
“You’re causing a scene.”
Meleana glared at Crissida. “Go back upstairs and tell Ketana that I’m going to deal with her before any of the Masters have a chance to, and if she ever wants to earn the title of Knight she’s going to need to do some serious reflecting on her current situation.”
“Can I get something to eat first?”
“No.” Meleana stared at her challengingly until she finally backed off and retreated from the dinning hall. Meleana returned to her table and sat back down with a frustrated sigh.
“Everything alright?” Obi-Wan asked watching her stab angrily at the food on her plate.
“No,” Meleana took a deep breath and dropped her fork to her plate with a loud clang. “I need to get some sleep. I can’t think straight right now. Good night.”
Obi-Wan kept his eyes on Meleana as she stalked out of the dinning hall, wondering what could have caused her to get so frustrated so quickly. Following her to see if she was alright crossed his mind, but she had asked him to remain one hundred meters away from her after dinner.

The next day Obi-Wan left Anakin in the temples archive room to work on his general studies. Slaves weren’t exactly given the best education, and holos were better than he was at retelling historical events. Assuming Anakin actually sat though all of them.
Meleana had left the night before without giving him a time frame for there sparring match. It took him longer than he’d like to admit to finally come to terms with the fact that he had spent the better part of a morning sitting in his quarters waiting for her to call. He shook his head, not sure what had come over him, and picked up his comlink.
“Yes?” Meleana snapped.
“You’re busy, I’m sorry to have bothered you.” In the back of Obi-Wan’s mind he was chastising himself for being so timid. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d behaved that way.
“No Obi-Wan,” Meleana stopped him before he could shut off his comlink. “I’m in the middle of something. Meet me in the dinning hall in about an hour?”
“Sure.” He heard Meleana shut off her comlink and clipped his back onto his belt. “What is wrong with me?” He asked aloud.

“Looking for your Padawan?” Garen asked as he approached Obi-Wan, who hadn’t noticed him walk in, or up to the table in the dinning hall.
Obi-Wan turned to him. “No, just waiting for someone.”
Garen took a seat and noticed Obi-Wan had no food in front of him. “You’re not eating?”
Obi-Wan continued to scan the entrances to the room. The lunch time rush had started and he didn’t want Meleana to miss him. “I’m waiting for someone. I’m not eating until they get here.”
Garen shrugged. “You can always eat twice.” Garen watched Obi-Wan silently for a few minutes. “So how was your mission Garen? Oh it was good thank you Obi-Wan. How have you been? I’ve been sitting here waiting for someone.”
Obi-Wan furrowed his brow and turned to Garen. “Do I get to participate in this conversation?”
“Hopefully, at some point, you will. Who are you waiting for? And do they know you’re waiting for them? Because if they do they’ll find you.”
“She’s late.”
Garen waited for Obi-Wan to elaborate. He didn’t. “Is it Siri?”
“No… Why?”
“You’ve got that look about you. It’s an incredibly obvious look by the way, I’d tone it down if I were you.”
“What look?” Obi-Wan asked, annoyed both that Garen had called him on it, and that he was so transparent.
“The look you’ve given Siri since you two were teenagers.”
“I told you it’s not Siri.”
“Daryn then?”
Obi-Wan’s mouth dropped. “Really? Am I really that transparent?”
Garen swallowed a mouthful of food. “To me you are. Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone. So it is Daryn?”
“No! It’s no one.”
“The busty brunette?”
“The….” Obi-Wan buried his face in his hands. “Honestly?”
“The pretty Knight you made me sit with? Cute, but very serious aristocratic features, long brown hair, big violet eyes, and not afraid to flaunt her… assets, that one?”
Obi-Wan felt his cheeks flush. “I feel like we’re thirteen again.”
“Well I wouldn’t, Oafy-Wan wasn’t exactly a nickname that made women’s hearts flutter, and if it is the brunette you’re waiting for she’s standing over there looking for you.”
“Wonderful, just after I’ve lost every shred of my dignity.”
“We can always trade places again. If you’re her type I’m her type right?”
“Garen!” Obi-Wan said peeking up at him from beneath his hands. “This isn’t funny.”
“For you, I think it’s hilarious.” He waved until he had Meleana’s attention. “I will never understand your relationships with women.”
“Now is really not the time to have this conversation,” Obi-Wan said composing him self. “Besides, I’ve already decided we can’t see each other anymore.”
“That’s a portion of what I don’t understand. I’d say if she can handle the emotional detachment…” Garen smiled at Meleana as she took a seat. “Hello,” he said cheerfully.
Meleana smiled at Garen then at Obi-Wan. “I’m sorry I’m late. I was handling some unpleasantness.”
“It’s alright. I was worried you’d be waiting for me. I got caught up with Anakin.”
Garen hid his grin by taking a swig from his drink. “Well I’ve got things to do.” He pat Obi-Wan on the shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”
“You don’t have any food?” Meleana asked.
“No… I was waiting for you.”
Meleana looked off into the distance as though she were watching her problematic morning replay itself. “I don’t know what made me think I’d have an appetite after that.”
“After what?”
Meleana looked around the room. “I don’t really want to talk about it here. Too many prying ears with Jedi hearing. Let’s go back to my ship? I can cook something for you if you’re hungry.”
Obi-Wan stood up. “No that’s fine.”
“Is it because of my cooking?” Meleana asked as they walked out of the dinning hall. “Because I have a recipe.”
“A recipe?” He asked with a smile.
“Well… I have a few, but something gets lost in translation with most of them.”
“What language is you cook book in?”
“Basic,” Meleana said with a giggle.
It amazed Obi-Wan that she had so quickly gone from stressed out and serious to giggling over her subpar cooking. “And this one recipe what is it?”
“Cold noodles with mixed vegetables and sauce. I have to cut the vegetables, cook the noodles and make the sauce, yet somehow, it almost always turns out fine.”
“It doesn’t sound like there is too much possibility for failure in that one.”
“The sauce can go terribly wrong.”

Meleana tossed her robe onto the booth in the Jaded Star and headed for the kitchen. Obi-Wan did the same. He stopped her before she could actually start cooking anything.
“Meleana I… I’m not really hungry.”
Meleana bat her eyelashes at him. “So you lured me back here under false pretenses?”
“Not really, you invited me.”
“What’s the matter?” She asked seeing something was troubling him.
He kissed her, rather than answer her question. His mind was telling him he’d already allowed himself to go too far with her, his body was pinning her against the cooling unit. He broke the kiss momentarily to speak. “We shouldn’t see each other any more.”
“Ok.” Meleana said before he crushed her lips again.
His hands had already slid under her shirt when he pulled himself away again. “I mean it.”
“Ok,” Meleana said again, this time a little more insistently. “Stop it with the mixed signals.”
“So you’re alright with that?”
“Pinning me to the cooler or not wanting to see me any more?” Meleana asked, genuinely confused.
“The latter.”
Meleana nodded. “Yeah I’m fine with it. Generally though, I don’t get ‘I don’t want to see you any more’ mixed with passionate kissing and groping.”
“Its nothing you did.”
“Obi-Wan, I’m fine with it really. I’m not going to lie, I’ll miss the sex, but you aren’t the only man in the galaxy.”
“So that’s it then?”
“Did you want something else?”
He stitched his brow, she was much better than he was at being emotionally detached in these situations. “Typically there’s more emotion.”
“I’m sorry?” Meleana’s confusion was only increasing as he went on. “Do you need to cry or something? I won’t tell anyone if you do.”
“No… I just mean… never mind. I should probably go.”
Meleana shrugged. “If that’s what you want.”
“It isn’t necessarily what I want,” Obi-Wan said stopping him self before he could finish leaving the kitchen.
“Then stay?” Meleana raised one of her arched brows at him. “Are you feeling alright?”
Obi-Wan took a deep breath and shook his head. “Yes I’m fine. I should go.” He turned and quickly left the kitchen.
Meleana looked at the door, expecting him to come back in and babble incoherently. After a minute had past she opened the cooling unit and pulled out a bottle of juice.
“You’re really alright with this?” Obi-Wan asked appearing at the door.
Meleana gave him a concerned stare. “You’re really starting to worry me. You should probably go before you embarrass yourself… any more.”
“Right, I just wanted to make sure you were alright.”
Meleana set the juice down on the counter. “Obi-Wan… How can I put this delicately...? Men are like missions; you get them done and move on to the next one. Do you get hysterical after every mission?”
“No.”
“See my point?”
“Yes.”
Meleana fixed her purple eyes on him trying to discern what exactly he was thinking. “Should I pour you a drink or are you leaving? It’s really up to you. I’m fine either way.”
“I really should go.”
Meleana rolled her eyes when he had finally left. No matter how much wisdom she gained, she was sure she’d never understand men.
Meleana had just taken a seat with her cup of juice when her buzzer rang. “Force what now?” she muttered. She was beginning to miss the prescribed rest in the halls of healing.
She set her juice down on the table and answered the door. Ketana nearly pushed her down to get inside.
“If you wanted in that badly the door was unlocked,” Meleana said shutting the door.
“I wanted to talk to you before I lost my nerve. I found a place for Crissida to live, but I need your help. She would only agree to move out if we could promise her some sort of protection.”
“Which we can’t,” Meleana cut in.
“Not forever just until everything dies down. Just listen to me, will you? I found her an apartment right near the temple I just have a few things I need your help with.”
Meleana walked back over to the booth and picked up her drink. “What would that be?”
“For one thing I need you to escort her there, since we can’t be seen together leaving the temple. And I need you to pay for the apartment.”
“So you want me to get caught smuggling your sister out, and you want me to draw money from an account that, while set up in my name, is available to any and all Jedi who need it?”
“Yes?”
“Why can’t you do any of this?”
“If they see us together it will be a dead give away. If you get caught just blame everything on me. Tell them you were trying to keep me out of trouble.”
“Which will help how? I’ll still get reprimanded for it.”
“You’re a Knight, I’m a Padawan. There is no reason why you shouldn’t be allowed to deal with me. Just tell them you didn’t think the problem had escalated to the point where it would have been necessary to bother a Master with it.”
Meleana shut her eyes while she weighed her options. “Alright, fine, I’ll do it, but only because I want to see you without a Padawan braid one of these days. Once we’re sure no one is trying to kill her, that’s it, you two are done. Understood?”
“Yes,” Ketana thrust a durasheet into Meleana’s hand. “Here is all of the information on the apartment. Thank you so much I owe you!”
Meleana looked over the durasheet. “You don’t owe me anything. Just make sure she hurries up and gets down here.”
“Thank you!” Ketana said again as she raced out of Meleana’s ship.
Meleana sat back down with a sigh. She was beginning to think it would be better to just avoid people altogether.

Crissida was standing in front of the Jaded Star less than an hour later.
“Thank you for doing this,” Crissida said as Meleana lead her out of the temple and onto the bustling Coruscant streets.
“Don’t thank me just yet. If you think I’m letting you get off the hook so easily…” Meleana was interrupted by someone shouting her name. She looked towards the source of the sound to see Rendain running towards them.
“I’ve being trying to get a hold of you all week!” he said when he’d finally caught up to them.
“Did you try my comlink?” Meleana asked, knowing he hadn’t.
“Well… No. I tried to get in to see you, they wouldn’t let me in.”
“You do fit a loose description of someone trying to kill me.” They continued walking towards the apartment building as they spoke. “What is it you need?”
Rendain gave her a sly smile. “I may be having a little trouble with my ship.”
“Trouble?”
“Let’s just say it’s out of commission at the moment. I was hoping you might let me sleep in yours. It’s a welcome alternative to the streets of Coruscant.”
“You’ve been sleeping on the streets?” Meleana suddenly got an idea. “So you need a place to stay?”
Rendain nodded.
She looked back at Crissida. “And you need someone to protect you.”
“Why would Ketana need someone to protect her?” Rendain asked with a frown.
“Look again,” Meleana said.
“Oh…”
“You’re going to leave a random homeless man in charge of protecting me? Did Ketana explain the sorts of bounty hunters that would be coming after me?”
Meleana rolled her eyes, she wasn’t in the mood to get complaints from either on of them. “You’re lucky I’m not leaving you in the capable hands of Coruscant Security forces, but he isn’t just a random homeless man. Rendain is an adept healer who can hold his own in a fight.”
Rendain gave her a questioning glance. “Have you seen me fight?”
“You’re not helping and this isn’t up for debate. You two are both completely at my mercy. I say things will work out best for both of you if you buddy up. You’re alternatives are not happy ones.”
“That’s not terribly Jedi-like,” Rendain said, not sure why he was arguing with her.
“How so? You both have problems that I am resolving for you, for no other reason than too see the two of you go on to live long happy lives. I’m not trying to bend you to my will. I personally won’t dole out any punishments to either of you. You’ve both put yourselves in the positions you’re in. If you want my help those are my conditions. Take it or leave it.”
Crissida and Rendain looked at each other. “Fine,” They said in unison.
Meleana’s comlink began to buzz on her belt. “Jedi Ariadne.”
“We have a mission for you,” Master Windu’s voice chimed through to comlink. “It shouldn’t take long, its here on Coruscant. I’ve sent all the details to your datapad. Your mission partner will meet you there.”
Meleana scrunched her nose, she was sick of mission partners. “Thank you Master. May the force be with you.” She clipped her comlink back on her belt and looked at her companions. “I’ve got to go.” She pressed the durasheet with the apartment information into Rendain’s palm. “Please call me only as a last resort. I mean it.”
“I love you too!” Rendain said enthusiastically.
Meleana ignored him, fixed instead on her mission details. “I’m going shopping!” she said happily. She waved at her companions and trotted off happily towards the upper levels of Coruscant.