Let Me Count the Ways

The Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, strolled aimlessly through the gardens on Bakura. He loved this time of year, for the planet came alive. Tiny silver flowers peeked through rows of pink blossoms, the large and pendulous red roses hung heavy on their stems, and the towering trees allowed just the right amount of sunlight to filter through. The wind grabbed the hem of his brown cloak - it danced about his ankles, sending the beautiful aroma of the garden to his lungs. He felt peaceful in this place, comforted, relaxed, and blissful. There was only one thing that could possibly make him feel better now.

"Obi-Wan!!" sang a voice from not far away.

A grin flashed across the Jedi's face as he quickly dashed behind a tree. Small white seeds, picked up by the wind, seemed to hover in the air, obscuring the view. Once more the voice called out, and Obi-Wan poked his head around the tree, his hands scraping along the delicate tree bark.

The Princess was barefoot and tiptoeing across a patch of flowering white alyssum with her hands clutching her dress, lifting it several inches above the ground. Her silvery blue eyes quickly scanned the area, narrowing in on one spot in particular. Obi-Wan watched as the she silently inched her way closer and closer to a berry bush. With one swift move, she parted the branches.

"Aah ha!!" the Princess cried. The look of victory on her face gave way to frustration. She spun around quickly and stomped her foot. "Obi-Wan! Where are you?" her voice had changed from a high-pitched song to a more serious tone, but playful all the same.

Still clinging to one of the trees, he softly laughed as he watched her look under shrubs and behind crumbling stone statues.

"Fine then! I guess you don't want the lunch I brought!" tempted the Princess. Walking over to a marble slab, she opened a large brown basket and produced a piece of chocolate. Obi-Wan's eyes grew wide. Chocolate was rare, more rare than certain varieties of Kessel Spice, and just as addictive. His mouth watered for the small brown piece of food delicately lying in the palm of his love's hand.

Slowly, Obi-Wan emerged from his hiding spot and laughed. "You're not mad at me are you, Annika? I couldn't resist. We haven't played hide and seek in a while, and it's a beautiful day for it..."

"You know I can't stay mad at you for long," Annika smiled, "Here, have some chocolate." Placing the small silky confection into her boyfriend's mouth, she sat cross-legged on the gentle grass. She flopped backwards and gazed at the clouds, her white hair flowing behind her in large tendrils. She stretched her arms wide and closed her eyes.

"Can you feel it? Can you feel the energy and the love? Is it wonderful, Obi-Wan?" Annika asked.

Lying down beside her, he smiled. "Yes. It's beautiful... just like you."

Annika rolled her head in Obi-Wan's direction; their eyes met and locked. The Princess smiled and, with a devilish gleam in her eye, she whispered, "Let's eat more chocolate."

An hour later, after eating over a pound of sweet, velvety candy, Obi-Wan and Annika walked, hand in hand by the banks of a small stream.

"When are the festivities going to start?" he asked.

"Not until tonight, not until the sun sets. Obi-Wan... I can't tell you how thrilled I am that you agreed to come to the Festival of the Red and White Hearts with me," she said, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I'd go anywhere with you."

She paused and looked deep into his eyes. "Anywhere?" She smiled and bit her lip, letting Obi-Wan know that she was up to something. She turned and walked north. Obi-Wan suddenly grabbed her and held her close.

"What's this all about, then?" Annika laughed. Obi-Wan wasn't laughing. He held her closer and looked around.

"I'm sorry. I was suddenly filled with this urge to protect you. I felt as if I wouldn't be seeing you again."

"Don't worry, where would I go?" She took his strong hand and walked with him some more.

Soft flower petal drizzled from an unseen hand, falling softly onto Yuki's closed eyes. She felt Ben's warm hand stroke her arm, but she didn't move. She wanted to remember every detail of this moment. She smiled, causing some of the flower petals to fall to the soft ground beneath her, yet she refused to open her eyes. The breeze found its way to her; it rifled her ice-blue hair and blew the petals from her face. Ben, the handsome man next to her, took that opportunity to plant a soft kiss on her quiet lips. He moved arrant strands of hair from her face and ran his finger along the bridge of her nose.

"Are you going to open those gorgeous eyes of yours any time soon, or are you going to continue to torture me?"

"Torture."

"Two can play at that game," he said, taking his lips and placing close enough to Yuki's that they almost touched. Moving slowly, he lowered his mouth, so that their lips only grazed. After repeating this a few times, Yukiko was more than ready for a real kiss. She raised her head a few inches above the ground trying to find Ben, but he pulled farther away.

"Okay! You win!" she laughed, opening her eyes.

"That's better," he whispered, giving her the real kiss she was waiting for.

Yuki lay back on the grass and looked at the sky. She never realised planet Bakura was so beautiful and full of life. The sun was further down in the sky than only a moment ago, and it made beautiful shadows on the nearby lake.

"Credit for your thoughts," Ben asked.

Yukiko smiled and looked at the love of her life. "I'm just thinking about how much I love you. How much I wish we could stay like this forever." She stretched her arms above her and folded her hands under her head. She looked at Ben and smiled. Sometimes, no words were necessary. She could feel the love flowing from him like warm water; it surrounded her, soothed her, made her whole.

"I never thought I could feel this way," she whispered.

"What? I didn't hear you," Ben said.

"Nothing. We should really head back to the Palace."

"There is something I want to show you first. Obi-Wan told me about a secret, and I want to share it with you."

Ben stood and looked down at his life partner and smiled. Yuki's soul outshone every flower, every star, every living thing, and he worshiped her. She was his Queen, his reason for everything. He took her hands and helped her to her feet.

Ippin stomped her foot and folded her arms at the beauty that surrounded her. How dare the sky be blue and the flowers grow? Annika said it was usually snowing this time of year on Bakura; instead it was more like spring. It seemed like the day was special, just for those in love, but Ippin was mad; she always lived up to her reputation as a fiery redhead. And her temper was spiking now because of her lame excuse for a boyfriend.

"Who can forget Valentine's Day? He knew we were coming here and he didn't bring me a gift? He hasn't even said 'I love you' to me once today!" she fumed. She looked around her at the magnificent gardens and the passion bud vines. "Stupid flowers! Stop being so happy!"

She sat on a large wooden swing that was suspended under a tree and pouted. Everyone else was having a wonderful day, and she was out here. Riku could be so infuriating sometimes. Ippin was so angry; she didn't want to go to the dance that night, and she didn't want to eat all the confections the chefs prepared. All she wanted to do was hit Riku over the head.

Suddenly, two warm hands covered her eyes, and a warm pair of lips brushed against her ear.

"Guess who?" a sweet voice purred.

"Well," Ippin said, "If it's my pathetic example of a boyfriend, I want nothing to do with him!"

"Even if he told you that he's had a gift for you this whole time, and that he was only pretending not to know about this day, and that he was fooling you?"

Ippin sat quiet. She didn't care about the gift - all she wanted was for him to say I love you - but she smiled anyway; he had made an effort and that meant a lot. Not to mention the fact that he was brave enough to approach her even in her bad mood.

Riku walked around to face his beautiful girlfriend and got down to one knee.

"Uh... what are you doing?"

He laughed softly before kissing her hand. "I'm giving you your gift." Standing again, he pulled Ippin to her feet and ran with her to the middle of a field. The grass billowed gently in the swaying breeze, and several birds chirped their approval of the pair.

"Riku... what?"

"Shhh... look." He pointed straight up to the clear blue sky. Ippin saw a ship that looked conspicuously like the Black Fire Legendmaker circling the area. After a few moments, the ship released its exhaust into the atmosphere and it began to spell three simple words: I Love You.

Ippin's hands flew to her mouth as she batted the tears away from her eyes. "Oh Riku... it's just what I wanted!" She flung her arms around his neck and squeezed. "How did you...?"

"It took a lot of bribery to get Priire to agree to do it, but... What's that?" he said pointing directly above his head. The Black Fire Legendmaker quickly flew off in the other direction, and a flying water balloon hit Riku on the head.

"I'm going to kill your sister!" he growled.

"Come on! I know a great place for you to get dry! I saw it this morning."

A lot had been said about Xarae Sarin over the years, some of it good, some of it not so good. However, one of the things never attributed to her was the phrase "closet romantic." Yet, she stood on the balcony of the Crystal Palace that overlooked the Quartz delta and marvelled at the beautiful decorations. Paper heart-shaped lanterns were strung everywhere; red and white hearts of all sizes and shapes littered the Palace. Xarae shuddered thinking about what Annika's room must look like at this time of year.

From the balcony she could see Obi-Wan and Annika walking around the grounds. They looked very happy together. She frowned because she felt bad things about their future.

"Why are you sad on today, of all days?" a voice asked from behind her.

"I don't know... I suppose it's because -" She spun around to face the man who dared sneak up on her. "Maul!" She cried jumping into his arms. Time froze for the separated loves; their hearts were suspended in love.

"I had no idea! How long have you been here?"

"Long enough to sense you trying to hide the romantic feelings inside your heart. You never were good at that, you know."

"Don't tease! I'm just so happy you're here!"

Maul slowly kissed each of her fingertips, then her eyelids, and then finally her mouth. The sky was getting darker and cast glorious orange and pink streaks across the horizon. The lights reflected in Xarae's eyes, and she looked like a goddess. Maul would never forget this moment with her.

Silently he led her through the huge palace, down the large staircase and out to the grounds. The place he was taking her was so magical, so pure; it would make his beloved forget all her troubles. Rounding a corner, he motioned in the direction of a large carousel.

Xarae stood in awe of the gigantic work of art. It was intricately carved with beautiful designs of flowers and hearts. Long gold and silver poles were connected to spectacularly carved horses. Some possessed long gold horns; others had folded white wings. The occasional closed-in bench sat perched on the rotating platform. The carousel turned slowly and had Xarae transfixed.

Suddenly a voice startled her back into the present. "Oh gross! Get a room, you two!"

Xarae turned around to see Ippin and Riku approaching, and not far behind them were Yuki and Ben. Xarae looked back at the carousel and saw the offending sight that sat on one of the benches: Annika and Obi-Wan.

"We're gonna have to get you a snorkel for your birthday, Annika!" Riku chided as he helped his girlfriend ascend the platform.

"Hey! We were here first! And what's a snorkel?" Annika yelled.

Yuki and Ben climbed aboard, as did Xarae and Maul. They each chose a quiet place to relax and let the carousel turn. As the sun finally set in the distance, the sound of celebrations began, and the four couples watched the red and white fireworks as they exploded in the sky.