That's All I Believe
by Jaden Knight
jaden@multiboard.com

Disclaimer: I own neither the characters, nor the song. However, what I do with them belongs to me. Lucas owns Star Wars references, and the song was, as far as I know, written by Melissa Etheridge. The Sith Academy Belongs to Siubhan.

Maul stood in the street outside his squalid apartment building, watching from the shadows of the building across the street as Qui-Gon stumbled to his speeder. Scowling darkly, eyes narrowed on the tall Jedi's back, Maul's hand twitched towards his belt, but found only smooth leather. Fuck. The aging hippy would get to live another night, if he didn't crash his speeder, stoned as he was. I can only hope, Maul thought, as he watched the Jedi tear off down the dark street.

It began to rain, as he tipped his head back to peer upwards towards his floor, eyes seeking a certain window. He could barely make it out at this distance, but a dark silhouette moved behind the curtains.

I know you're home,
You left your light on.
You know I'm here,
The night is thin.
I know you're alone,
I watched the car leave.
Your lover is gone,
Let me in.

Obi-Wan let the curtain fall back into place as his Master drove off, suddenly aware of the feeling of being watched, as if some predator was stalking him. He glanced about his neat and tidy apartment, from the covered Habitrail, to the high-tech, top of the line CD player. He crossed to the latter, pushing the eject button and snatching out the John Tesh CD, popping it back into its case and setting it precisely on the shelf. He scanned his own collection, and finding himself indecisive, he closed the disk tray and switched the stereo off.

He glanced towards the window a moment, listening to the rain strike the glass, then he crossed the room to the balcony door, unlocking the latch with a soft click. He gazed into the darkness outside, then turned away and made his way down the hall to his bedroom.

Open your back door,
I just need to touch you once more.

Maul made his way up forty-two flights of stairs, cursing the broken lift under his breath every step of the way. On reaching his floor, he paused outside his door, fishing his keys from the pocket of his leather jacket. Almost against his will, his eyes turned to his neighbor's obnoxious pink door. A faint light spilled from underneath, easy to see in the dim hallway.

It's just sex, Maul's mind whispered tauntingly as he closed his eyes and allowed his brow to rest against his door. "Just sex," he muttered aloud in agreement. "That's all it is." He clenched his jaw in restraint, as his eyes were drawn to Obi-Wan's door yet again.

I want to come over,
To hell with the consequence.
You told me you love me,
That's all I believe.
I want to come over,
It's a need I can't explain,
To see you again.
I want to come over.

Obi-Wan slid between his cool silk sheets, the soiled linen from his and Qui-Gon's earlier encounter bundled up and stuffed into the basket in the closet. He sighed softly, enjoying the soft smoothness against his bare skin. Perhaps I shouldn't have pressured Maul earlier about our relationship, he thought, gazing into the darkness of the room. And telling his sister was definitely a mistake. He could still hear her voice in the room.

"Obi, are you nuts? Fucking Maul is one thing, but telling him you love him? You have to be out of your Padawan mind. He'll only hurt you, if you give him that opening, Obi. Trust me, I know guys like him."

I know your friend,
You told her about me.
She filled you with fear,
Some kind of sin.

Maul entered his apartment, one booted foot crushing a pizza box civilization before it could develop the A-bomb and do it themselves. He tossed his keys on the table, watching carelessly as they skittered across the surface, knocking papers to the floor before falling there as well. He ignored My Apprentice as she twined about his ankles, hoping to trip him up, or entice him into getting her food, and after a moment, her whiskers twitched in annoyance. He was too busy staring at the wall separating his apartment from Obi-Wan's to be susceptible to her Mind Whammy.

Stepping over My Apprentice, Maul moved to his balcony door. Not giving himself time to consider what he was doing, he slid the door open, and stepped out into the rain once more, closing the door behind him. A moment's hesitation, then he vaulted over to Obi-Wan's balcony, hand reaching out to try the door.

How can you turn,
Denying the fire.
Lover I burn,
Let me in.

Obi-Wan sat up in his bed as soft footsteps sounded on the carpet outside his bedroom. His braid fell forward with the motion, bushing his chest, and he caught it up to chew on the end, gaze fixed on the locked door, and his senses on the dark prowling presence beyond. He didn't need the Force to know who it was. He knew the sound of his steps, even muffled as they were by the tan shag carpet. He knew the sound of his breathing, even on the other side of the oak door. And he knew that presence, dark and stalking, yet at the same time, under all there, there was more.

He swung his feet from the bed, and stood, tugging his braid from his mouth. The end fell damply against his chest as he moved towards the door.

I know you're confused,
I know that you're shaken.
You think we'll be lost,
Once we begin.

Maul stood in the hallway outside Obi-Wan's bedroom door, ignoring the small voice in the back of his mind that mocked him for being here. He snarled at it, and it retreated to a corner, taking one last pot-shot. If it's just sex, why don't you kick the door in and take him? Maul shook his head slightly, surprised at what he found when he turned that thought over in his mind. He didn't want to kick the door in. He didn't want to just throw the twit down and fuck him senseless. Not this time. He wanted Obi-Wan to let him in, and lock everything else out.

He heard soft footsteps, and then a click as the door was unlocked. A moment later, it swung open, and Obi-Wan stood just inside the doorway, moonlight from his window silvered on his pale body, driving a hot spike of need into Maul's groin. But still, he waited. Silent. Watching.

I know you're weak,
I know that you want me.
Lover don't speak,
Let me in.

And Obi-Wan stepped back invitingly, smiling as Maul entered the room, and let the door close behind his lover. Obi-Wan lifted his arms, holding them out to Maul wordlessly, and was rewarded with sinewy strong arms that encircled him, crushing him against a hard, muscular body. He lifted his head, and Maul's lips claimed his, all hot need, and raging desire, but under that, something, something. And that elusive something was enough to wind the Jedi's arms about the Sith's neck, to return those hot kisses with a mounting need of his own, to arch his body against Maul's wantonly.

He was backed towards the bed, and he went willingly, bringing deft fingers, and a bit of the Force to bear on Maul's clothing as they moved, tugging and pulling, until the other man was as bare as he, and he moaned at the feeling of Maul's heated flesh against his as they tumbled into the cool haven of silken sheets.

I want to come over,
To hell with the consequence.
You told me you love me,
That's all I believe.

Everything else faded, as Maul draped himself over the pliant willing human beneath him. Nothing mattered except the feel of soft skin under his hands, the tang of arousal mixed with the vanilla the Padawan scented his sheets with. Nothing but animal rutting, the small voice in his mind tried once more, desperately, and then that faded to under the tide of desire and pleasure, his body moving in rhythm with Obi-Wan's, soft moans spilling from both of them.

They thrust together, two bodies entwined in the night, darkness and light melding so seamlessly, it was impossible to tell where one left off, and the other began. Obi-Wan's hands slide up to cup the back of his head, pulling him down for a searing kiss, despite his slight resistance. And then too was gone, and all that remained were two lovers bathed in moonlight, moans interspersed with panting cries. And when climax took them, they cried one another's names, bodies seeking to be even closer as muscled limbs trembled in ecstasy.

I want to come over,
It's a need I can't explain,
To see you again.
I want to come over.

Spent now, Maul and Obi-Wan lay nestled together, the Sith spooned against the Padawan's back. Obi-Wan's hand idly stroked along the corded muscle in the possessive arm about his waist, eyes half closed in the dark room. Neither man spoke, nothing needed to be said between them. Here, in the dark, with the pretenses gone, they knew what they were to one another, even as they knew what the dawn would bring.

But moonlight would dance across the bed again another night, and that was all they needed to believe.

I want to come over,
To hell with the consequence.
You told me you love me,
That's all I believe.

Finis

(9/3/99)

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