C O M P A S S I O N ⇉ Assorted Star Wars Pairings

| Ventrobi- Keep Up, Kenobi |

    The Veri Terraform Complex on the outskirts of Coruscant tended to be a lively place, full of creatures of all backgrounds and statures, and mostly consisted of individuals who didn't prefer to share their life stories.

    Whether the inhabitants were on the run, indulged in wrongful habits, or simply didn't want to run into someone they knew, the staff of the bar in its midst did not pry. Credits were credits, and as long as the drinkers paid up, no questions were asked.

It was a place Asajj Ventress frequently visited- not one she'd ever assume a Jedi Master might ever visit.

    But there he was- concealed in the brown cloak of a Jedi, Ventress could just barely make out the etchings of Obi Wan Kenobi’s face and the outline of his beard in the low light.

    Smiling a sinister grin, she flattened herself into the shadows and watched as Kenobi ordered himself three shots of Corellian Noale- strong stuff, she mused, specks of light glinting off her scheming eyes.

    “I'll have what the lady’s having,” she called out, revealing herself from the shadows and slinking over to where the bartender was pouring a blackish toxin into three- now six- shot glasses with a glare.

With a graceful leap, she pulled herself onto the countertop and flipped around so she could smirk at Kenobi.

    “Ventress,” he addressed, flipping back his hood with an amused expression etched across his features. “What pleasure do I have meeting you here at this time of night?”

    “Skip the pleasantries, my dear. You must know that the pleasure is all mine.” She purred, her slender fingers reaching for a shot to pour the entire glass down her throat without so much as a flinch.

“The real question,” her sultry tone added, “is why a Jedi Master has come to a place that only criminals and hiders of their past populate.”

    Obi Wan shrugged. “You caught me, love. I've been drafted into smuggling, and I'm on the run from my lost spouse, Mace Windu, for stealing his entire collection of unrefined Coaxium.”

    Ventress gave him a teasing frown. “Oh, if only you and the Jedi were actually that fun. Unfortunately, you spend all of your time and power to save. Tell me- has Skywalker finally been your undoing, or is it his apprentice giving you the grey hairs?”

    Obi Wan poured a shot down his throat with a small shudder before answering her question. “Although I'd love to talk about how you find my grey hairs attractive, it's not about what Anakin or Ahsoka have done to me. It's what I'm going to put them through.”

His eyes saddened and Ventress raised her eyebrow.

“Do tell, Kenobi.” She said- not remarking on either the weakness of his alcohol tolerance nor the attractiveness of his grey hairs.

“What's it matter to you?” He countered with a raised eyebrow of his own. “You’ve attempted to kill them both- and me- numerous times.”

But Ventress didn't take to his bait. She only smiled as she downed another shot.

    “Now, now. If I had killed either, you wouldn't be talking to me right now. Besides, killing either would result in the loss of a fair fight, and where's the fun in that?”

“You don't fight fair, Ventress. And that's what sets me apart from you.”

The answer shocked her, and she coughed on the vile liquid running down her throat at his words.

    “My whole life, I’ve lost the people I come to care about. I've been taken advantage of, betrayed, and left for dead. And you see me as the villian for standing up for myself?” She snapped. “I fight fair with those who deserve it.”