The Seduction

by Nicole D'Annais ([email protected])

***

He was going to die from the pleasure, he was sure of it. Qui-Gon shivered as he fell against the wall behind him, the cool durasteel supporting his back at odds with the intense heat in his body.

The heat was due to his padawan, who was currently focused on Qui-Gon's erection and doing everything he could to increase the temperature further. He laced his hands through Xanatos' close-cropped hair, holding him there, thrusting into his mouth, climbing closer and closer toward release.

Qui-Gon awoke with a start, gasping, his climax too close to stop now. He gripped his erection relentlessly, letting the dream play back through his mind as he slipped over the edge, release flowing through his body, easing the tension that had preceded it.

He threw his arm over his eyes, unwilling to face reality just yet. His heart rate and his breathing slowed as the sweat cooled on his body, and still he lay there, eyes covered. How could he go on this last mission and not reveal himself?

The answer came swiftly--because he must. Xanatos *would* be a Jedi Knight. And Qui-Gon would be his master until that happened. Whatever might happen after would have to be put out of mind until then.

He was a Jedi Master. He had the ability to control this. Now he had to find it--fast.

Suppressing a sigh, he threw back the covers back and slipped to the floor to meditate.

***

Morning dawned, and Qui-Gon found himself reluctant to leave the relative safety of his room. Yoda had found a pilot with a cargo ship full of droids who was willing to take them to Telos. Hopefully the ship would be large enough to keep some distance between himself and his padawan.

Living in close quarters with the young man was tough enough, even with outside distractions keeping them both occupied. Being stuck onboard a ship with him would prove to be a difficult challenge.

A knock at his bedroom door had him sliding into his robe even before he heard the soft voice on the other side. "Master, we must leave if we're going to meet the ship."

"Coming," Qui-Gon called. He winced at his choice of words. This would be a difficult journey indeed.

***

The ship was large enough, though not as large as Qui-Gon had hoped. The pilot, a humanoid who looked to be about Xanatos' age, met them at the hatch with a smile. "Stieg Wa," he said, nodding in response to their slight bows. "That's my name, by the way, not some kind of odd greeting or anything. Welcome aboard."

"I am Qui-Gon Jinn, and this is my apprentice, Xanatos."

"Right, the Jedi. " He laughed, a brash sound that echoed off the metal walls of the hallways he was guiding them through. "As if I'd be picking up any other kind of passenger at a Jedi Temple."

Qui-Gon ducked through one of the many doorways set at random intervals in the halls. "Do you pick up many passengers?" He hadn't been able to sense any other life forms on board.

Stieg Wa shook his head. "I usually carry cargo only--much safer than passengers. Cargo is predictable. Well, most of the time." He turned and grinned at them as he stopped. "This is your room. Sorry I only have one, but like I said, I don't usually have passengers. I owed Master Yoda, though, so here you are."

"One room will be fine," Qui-Gon said politely as the pilot moved away, calling over his shoulder for them to join him in the cockpit when they were settled.

Mentally, he cursed his former master as he followed Xanatos into the room. With an effort, he released his anger into the Force. He could feel the curious gaze of his padawan, but he refused to meet the younger man's eyes.

If it were possible, he would ignore Xanatos for the whole week it would take them to get to Telos. But he couldn't ignore his student. Even though he was ready to be a knight, there was still much for the young man to learn. And much he could teach his master as well.

Thoughts and sensations assailed him, vivid enough to stop him mid-stride. Xanatos' dream from the previous day was the most prevalent, having replayed itself so many times in Qui-Gon's mind he imagined he could feel each thrust of the young body into his.

"Master?"

Qui-Gon jolted back into reality. Xanatos was staring at him, blue eyes wide, lips parted slightly. Try as he might, Qui-Gon couldn't pull his focus away from those wet, inviting lips.

"Is something wrong, Master?" His voice was slightly breathless, and through their training bond, Qui-Gon could feel Xanatos' growing arousal, no doubt fed by his master's emotions.

Suddenly, Qui-Gon regained enough control to slam his shields back in place. Xanatos gasped as he was released from the assault of his Master's feelings.

"Master?" he said again. "What--?"

"Excuse me, Padawan, I must go find...." He stopped, unable to think of any excuse to leave beyond the truth--and that was the one thing he couldn't say. "I'll meet you in the cockpit in twenty minutes."

Ignoring the confusion on his student's face, Qui-Gon hurried out the door. He tried three of the doors around their room before he found one that was unlocked. He opened it, relieved to see it was the bathroom he'd sought.

He locked the door quickly behind himself, jerking his leggings down and grabbing his erection unmercifully. His mind recalled those soft, inviting lips, committing every crease in them to memory as he quickly brought himself to orgasm.

Gasping, Qui-Gon leaned back against the wall and slid down onto the cool floor. He tilted his head back and rested it against the wall, eyes closed. He was an adult, a Jedi Master, and he was jerking off in a bathroom like a teenager. He had to do something.

The trouble was, he was beginning to think there was only one cure. And he would not, could not even contemplate that action.

***

Once he had composed himself into the image of the calm Jedi Master, Qui-Gon made his way to the cockpit. As he approached, he could sense a growing irritation in his padawan.

Frowning, he slowed as he drew close enough to hear the conversation. "Well, kid, I don't know about that cushy Temple of yours, but out here in the real galaxy, we have to pay our way, and therefore we take the quickest route possible. So we fly through pirate territory."

"It only takes four more days to go around," Xanatos said in a sulky voice Qui-Gon barely recognized.

"And those four days add up to at least one less shipment I can make a month, not to mention the wasted fuel. I didn't get to be where I am by playing it safe. But don't worry, I'm not stupid either. We'll be fine."

"I know *we* will be," Xanatos snapped. "Just don't expect us to protect you!"

"Xanatos!" Qui-Gon took the last few steps into the room.

His apprentice's head whipped around, anger quickly replaced by shame. "Master!"

"Apologize to Stieg Wa." He waited while the younger Jedi made a suitably contrite apology, then continued, "Perhaps you should go finish unpacking." Given the few belongings they traveled with, that really wasn't necessary, but it would help his apprentice save face. Ordering him to his room would do nothing to help the situation.

"Yes, Master." Xanatos nodded to Stieg Wa, bowed to his master, and left.

Qui-Gon turned to the pilot. "He has been under a great deal of stress with his trials approaching."

"Trials? What'd he do, kill somebody for taking the long way around town?"

"These trials are the final test to become a Jedi Knight, something he's worked his whole life for." Qui-Gon forced the annoyance out of his voice. "It can be a difficult time."

The pilot shrugged. "Sure, whatever. No skin off my back if the kid gets a little testy. I was meaner than a rabid bantha the last week before I tested for my pilot's license. Just don't expect me to treat him any different."

"Of course. It will be a good lesson for him in holding his temper," Qui-Gon said with a smile. He watched as Stieg Wa began checking instruments on the wall panels. "Is something wrong?"

"Looks like everything's fine. Just checking it over." He pointed to a row of instruments. "These go to the cloaking device. And those," he said, indicating another row, "go to an alarm to warn me about approaching ships. We're going to need both of those things fully functional if we run across trouble."

Qui-Gon nodded. "It seems you have everything under control--not that I expected anything less--so if you don't mind, I'm going to go have a talk with my apprentice." The pilot waved a hand in dismissal, so Qui-Gon turned and left to seek out his padawan.

***

Qui-Gon paused at the door of their room, his hand above the entry keypad, and took a deep breath before entering the code. He stopped short just inside the door; his apprentice had done a thorough job of the task he had been assigned, he couldn't argue that. Clothing was scattered all over one of the two small beds. Xanatos sat in the middle of the mess, accusing eyes raised toward his master. "Is there another task you wish me to perform, Lord Master?"

Stunned, Qui-Gon bristled at the cold anger in his apprentice's voice. "That's quite enough, Padawan," he barked. "I'll not have you take that tone with me."

"You *ordered* me out of there! In front of that pilot! The man will be treating me like a nothing the rest of the trip--as if he wasn't rude enough to me before!"

"Padawan! That is quite enough." Qui-Gon stared in shock at the younger man. "The only one I saw being rude was you."

"I was simply informing the man that we could make it safely to Telos without flying right through the middle of pirate territory."

"You told him we would not protect him," Qui-Gon countered, crossing to stand over his student. "We are sworn to protect, Xanatos. I don't care what you think of Stieg Wa's decisions; if it becomes necessary, you will protect him."

"Of course I will, Master," Xanatos answered immediately. "I wouldn't really leave the fool to die. Not that he wouldn't deserve it for getting us into the mess in the first place."

Qui-Gon frowned down at him. "What has gotten into you?"

The harsh laugh he received in response drew Qui-Gon down to sit next to the young man. Dark blue eyes just inches from his own clouded with something other than the anger that had filled them moments earlier. "Really, Master, do you have to ask?"

Answers crowded Qui-Gon's mind, some of them too vivid for his own good, but he squelched them all, choosing to pretend ignorance. "If it's bothering you this much, then yes, I do."

That hollow laugh rang out again. "Which is the greater sin, Master, being rude, or lying?" When Qui-Gon could find no response, Xanatos leaned closer, lowering his voice to a near whisper. "Do not tell me to be the model of a perfect padawan while silently asking me to be anything but."

Qui-Gon swallowed painfully. His own forbidden desires were to blame for Xanatos' riotous emotions. The next seven days spread out before him, one long nightmare of trying to fight his own demons as well as quell the reactions they caused in his padawan.

The answer seemed so simple in that moment. He could lean forward, capture those lips taunting him so close to his own. Take what he wanted, what he now knew they both wanted, and the volatile emotions would calm.

Such an easy solution. Such a pleasurable solution. He leaned forward until his lips were almost there, savoring the sweet breath from the mouth so close, tasting it, anticipating the next taste he would have.

A knock at the door brought him back to his senses. He pulled back suddenly, scarcely able to believe what he'd been about to do.

"Midday meal will be served in my office, right next to the cockpit, in five minutes," Stieg Wa called through the door. "Be there, or be very hungry until evening meal."

The muted sound of the pilot's footsteps faded quickly, leaving the two Jedi in silence for a long moment. "Master, I--"

"We must go," Qui-Gon interrupted, hurrying to the door. "It wouldn't do to be late."

He waited, hand on the door controls, until he heard the rustle of fabrics as his apprentice rose from the bed. "Yes, Master." Qui-Gon ignored the sulky tone that once again laced the young man's voice. Considering that his own actions had put it there, there was little he could say that would help. He opened the door and turned down the hallway without looking back.

***

Midday meal was one of the most uncomfortable experiences Qui-Gon could remember. Stieg Wa told them a little about himself, the route they were traveling, and the ship. Qui-Gon listened with interest, or at least appeared to. The majority of his mind was still trying to come to terms with the scene with his padawan in their room.

Xanatos ate quickly, paying little attention to the pilot's chatter, but not going so far as to be openly rude. Even if Qui-Gon couldn't sense the young Jedi's emotions through their training bond, the tightness around the corners of his mouth and the barely-veiled anger in his eyes would have given them away. The two of them were going to have to have a talk. Just as soon as Qui-Gon figured out what to say.

Pushing those thoughts aside for now, Qui-Gon turned his attention back to Stieg Wa. "Of course, like every old ship, she has her drawbacks. I never had her fitted with sonics, since I prefer a nice, long soak in real hot water myself. I keep an extra tub in the 'guest' bathroom, just in case, so you can bathe. Water's short, though, so I'll be cutting back, and you'll only be able to fill it halfway once a day."

Qui-Gon felt a sharp rise in Xanatos' emotion, saw the look in his eyes, and decided it would be prudent to get his apprentice out of the room before another fight with the pilot ensued. "I'm sure we can make do," Qui-Gon told Stieg Wa. "Thank you for the meal. I hope you'll excuse us; it's time for our afternoon katas."

"Sure. Evening meal's in here as well. I'll hunt you down when it's ready."

The Jedi Master nodded absently, his attention on Xanatos, who clearly knew he was being handled and didn't like it. "Padawan, shall we?" After a moment's pause, Xanatos nodded curtly to the pilot and followed his master out of the room.

***

The two Jedi walked slowly to their room, footsteps echoing off metal in the silence. Neither seemed anxious to arrive at their destination. The near kiss from that afternoon hung over them like a heavy cloud. As they reached the door, Qui-Gon was still searching for a solution to their problem that didn't involve simply giving in, but the answer eluded him. How could he start the discussion when he didn't have the answers? He needed more perspective.

His mind made up, he turned to his padawan at the door. "I want you to go inside and meditate on your anger. Find the source and resolve it." He held up his hand when Xanatos would have spoken. "Stay here. I expect to see a vast improvement in your actions when I return." With that, Qui-Gon turned and strode off down the hallway, trusting his apprentice to go into the room and do as he was told.

He didn't stop until he reached a large cargo hold as far from his room and his apprentice as he could get. There was limited space in the hold, but it was enough to do some of the more restrictive katas if he didn't use his lightsaber.

Two hours later, Qui-Gon collapsed onto the floor in a sweaty heap. The familiar exercises had helped calm his mind, and he was ready to see if meditation could bring him the answers he sought. He shifted into a position more conducive to meditation, legs crossed, arms resting lightly on his thighs. Eyes closed, he let the Force flow through him as his mind drifted without conscious direction.

He wanted Xanatos. An obvious fact, but he needed a place to start, and the blunt admission was as good a place as any. Master/Padawan infatuations were not uncommon, from either side of the relationship. But they generally occurred earlier in the apprenticeship.

These feelings for his padawan were fairly new. Only a few months before, they had been working in a training room at the Temple. Qui-Gon had corrected a sloppy defense move by his student, and as the young man repeated the move, Qui-Gon's attention had been more on the ripple of young, strong muscles beneath pale, silky skin than the skill they were working on. He'd had to have Xanatos repeat the move three more times before he'd been able to pay enough attention to declare it passable.

That night, the dreams had begun. His subconscious seemed to be unable to stop seeking out Xanatos when the young man was engaged in his pleasurable pursuits. It was as if he was tuned directly into his apprentice's emotions, and the moment he sensed Xanatos was aroused, Qui-Gon couldn't stop himself from having a look.

He'd told himself it was a reaction to Xanatos' impending knighthood, an attempt to find a way to hold on to his student, that his physical reaction was just because it had been so long since he'd been intimate with another person. So he'd gone out and found a very accommodating man, and thought about Xanatos the whole time, no matter how hard he'd tried to keep his mind on the man beneath him. When that didn't stop him from obsessing, Qui-Gon tried sleeping with a woman, with the same results. Finally he'd had to face facts; he wanted Xanatos.

Which left him in the same place he'd started--enamored with his padawan and without and idea what to do about it. Unless...no, he could not give in, not even now that he knew Xanatos felt the same.

His thoughts went back again to the snippets of the dream he'd intercepted, focusing on the intense desire he'd sensed from the younger man as he'd dreamed of taking his master, and the answering desire it awakened in him.

All thought of meditating on a solution left him. He tried desperately to center himself as his fingers itched to grab his erection and relieve the pressure the mere thought of his apprentice created. His hands, however, seemed to have a mind of their own, creeping across his thighs, moving down--

"Master?"

Qui-Gon jerked out of his meditation, staring up into the clouded eyes of his apprentice. "Padawan! Did I not tell you to stay in our room?"

"Yes, Master." The words, the low voice, thick with an emotion Qui-Gon couldn't quite put his finger on, cut straight to the core of him. "But I felt something...a call...through the Force." The younger man knelt suddenly, his hand falling to Qui-Gon's thigh, nearly sending the Jedi Master running from the room. Xanatos' tongue snaked out, wetting his lips. "Is...is everything all right, Master?"

"I'm fine, Padawan." Qui-Gon paused to clear his throat, trying not to stare at the tempting mouth. "You should go back and finish your meditations."

Xanatos settled on his knees and tucked his legs beneath him. His hands rested more firmly on his master's thigh. "I have found the source of my turmoil, Master."

A raised eyebrow was Qui-Gon's only reply. He didn't trust his voice enough to speak. The warmth of Xanatos' hands had quickly spread to his now painful erection. "I wonder though, Master...do you feel it too? Is that the call I felt?"

Midnight blue eyes burned into his, not so much demanding the truth as daring him to lie. Qui-Gon stared wordlessly, losing himself as that look changed to one of certainty. He sat there, frozen, as Xanatos leaned closer, inviting pink lips moving in until they captured Qui-Gon's in a soft, probing kiss.

Hands that had been intent on stroking his own flesh now reached for his padawan. They slid up the young man's forearms to the muscular biceps, tracing every muscle he'd been responsible for forming.

He reached for Xanatos' neck to pull him closer, intent on dragging him down until they were lying on the floor together, until they could be pressed against each other from head to toe.

"Hey, Jedi!" Stieg Wa's voice rang out from the corridor outside the cargo hold.

Qui-Gon pushed his student away and jumped to his feet, shocked at his own behavior, but Xanatos smiled up at him, completely unashamed.

Stieg Wa entered the room. "Master Jinn, I've been looking for you all over the ship. There's a communication from Master Yoda."

"Thank you." Qui-Gon replied, sparing the pilot a glance. "I'll be right there."

Stieg Wa nodded and left. Qui-Gon turned his attention back to his student. "We'll talk about this later," he said quietly.

"Yes, Master." The smile on Xanatos' mouth widened.

"For now, stay here and run through some katas. Use the exercise to release your anger with Stieg Wa. I trust you will not let his barbs get to you again?"

Xanatos shook his head, still smiling. "No, Master."

"Good. Now, get to work."

"As it pleases you, Master," his apprentice replied as he stood, the proper phrase taking on volumes of meaning when combined with the look on his face.

Qui-Gon turned and left before the promise in those words could entice him to stay.

END PART 2

~ proceed to Part 3 ~