Chapter One: Yan Dooku

"My padawan believes we're pining for each other."

Jocasta Nu jumps, turning around from the shelf behind her desk to the tall, smirking man across from the desk. The light from the rising sun behind him gives him a halo, highlighting the gray at his temples. "Yan Dooku! How many times do I have to tell you - do not scare me like that!"

"You're a Jedi - you should have sensed it."

"Yan."

He has yet to come around the desk and embrace her - his hands are folded behind his cloak, probably hiding a wound of some sort. "I've been back for two hours and I get a lecture? I should head back to - "

"Don't you dare," Jocasta mutters, using a holo-book to poke at his chest. "The Temple has been quiet without your shenanigans."

"Eloquent words, my dear Jo."

She rolls her eyes, leaning her elbows against the desk. "Why are you in the library so early? It's not even dawn yet."

"Giving you," Yan pulled out a banquet of Asyr flowers, "these."

"You can't find these on Coruscant." Jocasta murmurs, taking the banquet gently and brushing her index finger over the stigma. Bits of pollen fall onto her skin. "How did you smuggle them in?"

"No one searches a Jedi."

Jocasta shakes her head, braid squishing against her back. "These need water - I'm sure I have a vase somewhere in the supply closet."

Yan smiles, then turns his head when some young knights walk into the library. He blinks in surprise when a kiss is pressed to his cheek..

"I don't know how much you can pine for someone you've been seeing for twenty years, darling."

"Is that the reason for the cot in your office?"

She swats his arm, though there's a smile on her face while she wanders to the supply office.

"You commed me tipsy at 11:30pm Qui," Tahl mumbles, spitting in the sink.

"Ah."

She pokes her head around the bathroom, toothbrush in her mouth. It was a bit amusing, watching the large hunk of a man sit up in bed and rub at his neck "I'm not expecting anything Qui."

Qui-Gon sighs, glancing around the small bedroom crammed with little knick-knacks and plants. He couldn't remember the last time he had been in her apartment - well, in this part of the apartment. The clock - an actual clock, with gears and hands and everything - reads 5:17am.

She went back into the bathroom for a moment.

"11:30? How drunk could I have been at 11:30pm?"

"Like I said - tipsy, not drunk." Tahl comes back out, wrapping her long hair in a ponytail and straddling his legs. She raised her eyebrows a little. "It was consensual."

"I didn't believe it wasn't."

Tahl smiles softly, touching his chest. "Xanatos again?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Qui-Gon covers her hand, sighing while he turned her palm upwards and traced the calluses.

"Your lineage is terrible at communicating."

"Terrible?" He chuckles, shoulders shaking and voice bemused.

"Fucking horrible." Tahl rolls her eyes while he brought her fingers to his lips. "I hate that scruff of yours."

"Hate is a strong word." He presses a kiss to her wrist, glancing at her. "We're Jedi, we don't throw such a cruel word around."

Shaking her head, Tahl has to laugh. "No, you're not convincing me to have sex - I have a meeting in an hour."

"Plenty of time."

Author's note: well hello there ;)

I decided to put "Pictures are Worth a Thousand Words" into a singular, cochise story - so now, we can all read all the little scenes - plus about five new scenes, minus maybe three - right in a row, without being confused about timeline and whatnot.

I know the original format of "Pictures" was confusing for a lot of people, and some people even sent me hate about it. My only defense, if you can call it that, is I wrote "Pictures" in the style I did originally because a lot of my friends - myself included - have ADHD, and they were often complaining they didn't have the energy or focus to read a singular story. So hence the vignette style.

Enjoy. I won't have many - or maybe any - author's notes on the rest of the chapters, since I've already written this story.

Expect this story to be fully updated by this time next week :)

ii Digestive Reader ii