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“Marker… this a joke.”
The frigid cold of Orto Plutonia was more tenacious than predicted. It swept underneath clothes, chilling and biting at the skin with its coat of frost and endless expanse of snow.
Her hands, she concluded, were the coldest. The gloves the Council had issued were thin, allowing for dexterity to properly yield her saber, but provided no warmth. Her jacket, yet lined with artificial fur, did little overtime to shield them from the wind as she shivered at the bone-chilling gust of wind ruffling through.
She lowered her chin into her scarf and coat, only glancing over to Obi-Wan who shuffled closer to her as Anakin proceeded to complain.
“One. Hilarious. Joke.”
She curled and flexed her fingers, noting how numbness settled into them.
“Argh! Blast!”
She and Obi-Wan turned their heads to shoot Anakin an amused look, but he doesn’t seem to notice, only staring out over the frozen field, looking forlorn.
A series of muttered profanities spewed from him – face a blotchy pink as his arms wrapped tightly around his waist. Anakin did a poor job fighting the shivers racking his body.
She would have laughed at him had her face not been frozen into a similar grimace.
“Something the matter?” Obi-Wan asked, amusement lacing his voice.
“I’m not in the mood for your teasing right now, Master.”
“It’s an honest question. Maybe it’s something to do with how violently you’re shivering.”
“Ah, yes,” Anakin drawled, “must be because of the sun.”
“It is lovely out.”
Harsh and howling, they fell silent when the wind hit them again as they trekked further across the horizon. Anakin could be heard sucking in a pained breath and the sounds of fresh snow crunching under their boots. Even Obi-Wan turned his back sharply against the breeze, shielding both of them while several clones in the distance huddled closer together for warmth.
Anakin groaned loudly, pulling the hood of his jacket further down to shield his face. “Why is it so kriffing cold!”
She was foolish that it was impossible to get any colder than she already was and with a cloud of breath bursting out from her along with a laugh.
“Perhaps it’s because it’s winter,” she shot back, fist curling and uncurling.
A pointed elbow knocked her in the side as he grunted something inaudible.
“Have I mentioned that I hate you?”
“The Jedi cannot hate, Anakin,” Obi-Wan breathly exhaled.
She, however, found herself smirking. “Not since Naboo.”
“Oh,” he drawled, “I’m long overdue then.”
Obi-Wan forced down his smile while keeping his eyes fixated on the building they’ve been monitoring, senses alert and mind ready for impending danger.
“Okay,” Anakin hissed out dryly. He spun around, looking at the General as he slowly began inching his way back down the fill. “I can’t do this. I’m going to see if the Senator or droids need me.”
“May the Force lead you to some warmth, then,” Obi-Wan replied, only to hear Anakin spout how the Force can ‘stick it,’ much to his dismay whose only response was another wearily sigh.
Both Jedi cast one look back towards Anakin’s disappearing outline before reflexively turning towards each other. They drew closer, walking in companionable silence until more violent winds halted them in their tracks.
“Let’s finish securing the base,” he said hurriedly.
Never had she agreed to an order faster.
Time was easily lost.
They had spent hours making certain the security around the perimeter of the abandoned Republic base was stable and void of any suspects. But even inside it felt colder: the damaged heat generators broke down with long-disused fireplaces.
With what was left, the day eased into dusk as exhaustion wore down on her, the mission becoming far more violent than originally intended.
She pulled herself into a secluded room and stared out to the open sky, catching a glimmer of streaking starlight and letting tranquillity settle through instead before shifting into a meditative state.
Perhaps it was the calling of her name or the unwelcome chill engulfing the little bare skin still exposed, but she snapped out of her reverie as Obi-Wan stepped in, closing the door behind him and stood by her side.
Silence fell around them for a long, blissful moment, letting the stiffness roll from their shoulders.
He turned to her eventually, giving her a thoughtful look and murmuring, "I’ve been looking for you.”
“I tried to find somewhere warmer.”
By her side, her fingers twitched: burning from the cold before rubbing them together in hopes to convert the friction into warmth.
Instinctively, Obi-Wan reached to grasp one, pressing a kiss over her knuckles.
“I told you to pack warm,” he muttered, pulling her close to his chest. She watched his mouth curl upwards.
He beckoned her into his arms, feeling the hot air brush against the nape of her neck while he dipped his head to press a kiss to her jaw and cheek. A shiver thrilled down her spine.
“We could always share body heat later.”
Obi-Wan sighed with a low humming laugh that managed to break out a few giggles from her.
And yet, he continued to observe her with a faux-skeptical arch of his brow, standing beside her with cross arms as though he wrestled internally with a sort of dilemma. He looked at her with a strange intensity and she felt just the slightest brush of his signature against her own.
His fingers raised to tip her chin up, tenderly letting his hand brush against her cheek while his azure gaze greeted her.
“I want to show you something.”
Slowly, he tugged off his gloves before hers – not without protest – as his hands cupped hers into a ball. His eyes fluttered shut as he concentrated: the Force around them shifted, pulling out something deep within Obi-Wan.
A small gasp tore from her.
A flicker of warmth materialized in the space between them while his signature flowed outwards. It ebbed away at the cold filling their bodies with warmth and he continued to emit light.
Like this, with the little light still left to reflect off the blinding white snow, it glinted off strands of his auburn hair and made them burn like gold.
“Better?” he asked, eyes fluttering open with a slight pink hue on his cheeks.
As the cold released her from its hold, her body relaxed into his warm embrace. She could feel her hands again, that dull numbness vanishing the longer he held them.
“Better.”
He hummed and like muscle memory, Obi-Wan briefly let his signature expand out, checking for anyone close before leaning in, pressing warm lips against hers and sliding his hand down the base of her neck.
It was soft, without urgency, and everything felt like an unravelling of heat – open-mouth kisses that held no meaning other than just being content to be near each other, to simply have something just for them at that moment.
She kept breathing him in, feeling her head swim and body effervescent.
It was only the sweeping cold that managed to work past the walls and barrier of warmth that stopped them. Obi-Wan’s signature flickered intensely, feeling another wave of warmth wrapping around her dotingly.
“You have to teach me that one.”
He gently pressed his forehead against hers.
“I don’t know. I like holding you like this.”