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“That’s the third one this month,” Rex says as he comes to stand next to Cody.
The air of the room is thick with the iron scent of blood, sharp and acid in the back of Cody’s throat in a way that will wake him up in the early hours of the morning while his stomach twists with guilt and frustration. The third murder this month, the fifth one in the last three that has the same set up, the same odd symbols painted in the victim’s blood on the walls, the same oily ash smeared on bloodless cheeks and exposed chests.
“Our perp is escalating,” Cody agrees. “The question is why.”
“The victim’s name was Adi Gallia,” Rex says, “thirty-four, worked for a small local law firm. Her partner called in a welfare check when she didn’t come to work this week and didn’t call in.” Cody grunts. “It’s going to be another late one,” Rex adds. “But given her firm dealt mainly with questions of probate, I’m willing to bet she might end up being our connection between the other victims.”
So far they have no idea who has been killing these people or why. All they know is that the same ritual is being followed each time and that neither the gender nor the age of the victim seems to matter. There is something that draws their killer to each one, but as of yet Cody has not found the link and there is nothing obvious in any of the victims’ belongings either. Still, Cody doubts that the thirteen year old, their second victim, was embroiled in a nasty dispute about a will. He keeps that to himself, let Rex explore that avenue. His attention is more caught by the low, circular, seat that is in one corner of the room. Too large to be a foot rest, not the right shape to be a comfortable chair, particularly since it does not have a back to it either. One of the other adult victims had a similar piece of furniture in his office, a room that was as filled with plants as this living room is with candles.
“What?” He asks when he feels Rex’s eyes on him.
“It’s Friday,” Rex says.
“I’m aware,” Cody replies. “It’s been three weeks. I’m not that pathetic.”
“He could be there this week,” his brother mutters.
“And he could have just been passing through town,” Cody says. “This is a big city, he was a good lay, but I’ve got a serial killer to find and stop.”
Besides, if Obi-Wan had wanted more than one night he would have left his number instead of breezing out of Cody’s front door with little more than a kiss, a wink, and the vague promise of seeing him around. Cody is not the sort to stalk a bar in the hopes that he will run into a previous one night stand for a repeat performance, he never has been, and his dedication to his job killed his last two relationships anyway. Relationships he would have more time for if the population of Coruscant would stop finding weird and wonderful ways to murder each other. He feels his skin ripple, his eyesight and sense of smell sharpen. Rex stamps on his foot, the sensations ease, but not before Cody spots something that he had not previously noticed. He pulls out his phone, connecting to the evidence folder he keeps on hand just in case, swiping through images until he finally comes across the one that he is looking for as he moves towards the mirror near the door, eyes fixed on the necklace that has been hung over one corner on a chain that is too long to do anything other than hide the attached pendant when worn. He has seen that symbol before, wings curved around a blade with a star shaped hilt. It was in the home of the first victim, the adult male with all the plants. And he thinks he saw it tattooed onto the wrist of the mother of the child victim. He knows that he has seen it in one other place as well.
Tattooed over the heart of a handsome man with auburn hair and pale skin.
“I think I’ve found our connection,” he says, and perhaps he is going to be heading back to that bar later on after all.
He sets Rex on researching the meaning of the symbol as he makes his way back to the bar he had half promised himself he would not make a regular stop on a Friday night. No one wants a stalker after all and three visits does not a regular make. Obi-Wan had obviously been a frequent guest, if the way the bartender had spoken to him is to be believed anyway.
“If Obi wants to see you again, he’ll find you,” the bartender says when Cody asks. “I’m not in the habit of passing his address to his hook ups.”
The light behind the bar seems to make the gold tattoo across his face glow faintly in a way that makes Cody both curious and envious. Ink never lasts for him, not like scars do. Which should be less of a concern right now. As much as he would enjoy a repeat of their hook up, Cody actually wants to talk to someone alive who might know who is targeting people who wear the symbol that Obi-Wan has tattooed on his chest.
“It’s not about that,” Cody shakes his head. “Just tell him I’ve been looking for him, tell him it’s important.” He holds out a card with his number printed on it.
“Detective Fett?” The man asks. “Fox’s brother?”
“You know Fox?” Cody asks, eyebrows rising.
“Oh, yeah,” the guy says, tone speaking volumes about that relationship in a way which Cody would prefer to have never heard. “Should have spotted the family resemblance.” His face pulls into a frown as he turns the card over in his hand, eyes going distant for a moment. “Tell you what, this one’s on me. I’ll have him here in twenty.”
He shoves a glass onto the bar, pours far more than the usual measure of whisky into it, and disappears around the corner before Cody can object or make mention of the fact that he’s still on duty. He takes the glass and finds himself a corner, pulling out his phone so that he can at least read through any lab results and preliminary findings that might have come his way. Ordinarily he might be waiting days for anything to come through, but with five murders by seemingly the same perpetrator Cody’s case has been bumped up the list. Rex, at least, has managed to get somewhere.
Cult connection, the text says. Something dad would have told us to keep clear of. All the victims had it on them or in their belongings. It’s our connection. Watch your back, Wolffe says their kind and ours have a history
Something Cody could have done with knowing about before now, particularly as he looks up at the sound of footsteps to see Obi-Wan approaching. He is, if possible, even better looking in the dull grey afternoon light which streams in through the window, auburn hair carefully styled rather than mussed the way it was when they parted, his beard is as neatly trimmed as it was three weeks ago, and his blue eyes seem to glow even in the low light much the way that the bartender’s tattoo did. Rather abruptly, Cody realises that he may have stepped into something that Jango always advised him and his brothers to stay well away from. Their nature got them run out of Concord Dawn in the end, and his family have spent a lot of time and money settling themselves in Coruscant where they can simply exist while carefully hiding their true nature. If only the text had come through a little bit sooner.
“I hear you’ve been looking for me, Detective,” Obi-Wan says, taking a seat opposite Cody and reaching for the drink that Cody still has not touched. “I’m flattered, but you didn’t have to resort to a police summons.”
Cody clears his throat.
“It’s not about that,” he says, pulling up a picture of the necklace he found at the most recent crime scene. “Do you recognise this?” He asks.
“Of course,” Obi-Wan says. “It’s tattooed on my chest. As you are perfectly aware.”
“It was found in the home of a murder victim this morning,” Cody says, “and it’s also been connected to four others.”
“Who?” Obi-Wan demands sharply, and this time Cody is certain that he did not imagine the glow of his eyes. He pushes the list of names scribbled into his notebook across the table. “Ah,” Obi-Wan breathes. “I know them, two of them anyway, quite well. The other three are names I’ve heard but… How did they die?”
“I’m the one supposed to be asking the questions,” Cody replies. “What does the symbol mean?”
Obi-Wan pulls a face.
“Well, that depends on how much you believe in magic.”
“More than I think most people would expect,” Cody replies.
“It’s the symbol of one of the largest practicing groups of Light witches in the world,” Obi-Wan says and Cody feels lead fill his stomach. “We’re known as the Jedi Order.”
“The Jedi helped a rival clan chase my family out of our home,” Cody snarls, seeing Obi-Wan’s eyes go wide as that sentence reveals far more of Cody’s true nature than he has in years.
“In a group as large and spread out as ours,” Obi-Wan swallows, takes a deep breath. “In a group as spread out as ours it wouldn’t surprise me that some might take sides with clans of others if it meant having somewhere safe to settle. We have our enemies, Detective, as all of our peoples do, mundane and magical. You’re not a witch, I can tell that much. But you remember our encounter, which means you aren’t exactly pure human either…”
“I’m a shapeshifter,” Cody says and understanding crosses the other man’s face. “Although my brothers and I prefer to keep our heads down and our nature quiet.”
“Yes, I can understand why,” Obi-Wan agrees. “Please, Cody, I need to know how they died. I might be able to help. At the very least knowing would let me point you in the direction of whichever of our enemies might have made the move, and I know several spells which would be very useful when it comes time to arrest any of them. Quinlan would help too.”
“Your friend behind the bar?” Cody raises an eyebrow.
“He’s psychic,” Obi-Wan shrugs, “he reads objects. It’s how he knew it was so important that I come and see you.”
Cody would be well within his rights to declare this whole mess a conflict of interest and walk away from it. He could let someone else in Coruscant PD handle it and wash his hands of helping a Jedi and finding whoever it might be who has been murdering them outright. Jango would not blame him, he isn’t entirely certain Rex would disagree with it either. Except… Except as far as he can tell there isn’t anyone else who would be able to handle this. As Obi-Wan said, most non-magical people tend to forget their encounters with the weird and the wonderful people who populate the magical communities scattered about the world as anything other than superficial interactions. Some have it easier than others, shape shifters and the like, the sort who tend to be unable to connect with the magic that created them, generally live very normal lives among the non-magical populations of the world. The witches, the psychics, the fae folk, tend to keep more to themselves, populating the back-alley magical stores and fulfilling the specialised jobs for the magical world where a non-magical option would make things difficult. Cody can well believe that Obi-Wan assumed he would be forgotten, and he can equally believe that the Jedi have enemies other than the Fett clan of shapeshifters.
“Alright,” Cody sighs, if only because forensics is swamped with more mundane work and are entirely stumped anyway. He wants this one off his books and dealt with before it unmasks what he, and Rex, are to the rest of his department. “Take a look at these and see if you recognise anything.”
Of course, solving a crime with his one time hook up is going to put the man quite firmly off his list of people he might want to look at dating. Not because of any conflict of interest, or anything like that, if whatever they’re after is magical in nature this will never see the inside of a non-magical court anyway. It is simply because Cody has a sinking feeling that Obi-Wan will see how dedicated he is to his job and decide that Cody is not boyfriend material after all. This doesn’t stop him from looking his fill, Obi-Wan is a good looking man, and good in bed at that, and their conversation the night they met hinted at an intellect which Cody would relish the challenge of keeping up with. So he looks and watches, catalogues the way that the front of Obi-Wan’s hair flops forward as he peers at the pictures on the too small phone screen, the way his nose crinkles a little bit as he frowns and his mouth pulls down miserably behind his beard. He sees the moment that Obi-Wan realises who has murdered his people in the paling of his already too pale cheeks before he sets the phone down and covers his mouth with his hand.
“You may want to walk away from this one, Detective,” he says.
“Not happening,” Cody tells him. “I’m not leaving whoever this is to hurt more people.”
“His name is Maul,” Obi-Wan says. “And believe it or not, I thought I’d killed him ten years ago.”
There have been, it turns out, other murders following the same pattern as these ones, that started a little over ten years ago just as Cody was joining Coruscant PD. Nothing ever reached the police, of course, because in those days there had been several members of the Jedi Order working with the mundane police to combat magical crime. Something which the current police commissioner, Sheev Palpatine, had put a stop to not long after. Obi-Wan speaks about it bitterly, because he was one of the young enforcers left without an official connection to the Coruscant PD to get him on the cases before situations like this could happen: situations where Obi-Wan and his people should have been called to handle a job because someone with the power that Maul wields should not be brought to the attention of a human officer. How fortunate, Cody thinks, that he is not entirely human.
“So you think he’s out for revenge? Cody asks.
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Obi-Wan admits. “The most recent two victims were friends of mine and I recently had a message from an ex that someone very much like Maul was seen near her place of work.”
“When?” Cody asks.
“Three weeks ago,” Obi-Wan replies. “Satine’s people dealt with it, but she was pretty shaken. My brother and his apprentice offered to go and keep an eye on things in Sundari, but I think that has as much to do with the fact that Anakin’s wife is going there to meet with Satine as anything else.”
“Your ex is Satine Kryze?” Cody hisses. Obi-Wan nods.
“Yes, and her swan form is delightful,” he says. “I assume the Fett’s are a more traditional clan.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Cody mutters. His clan are isolationists. In fact, until Jango had married and somehow managed to father twelve children the clan had been very much at risk of dying out. “Alright, if Maul’s out for revenge we need to work out where he’s most likely to head next. You said your brother and his apprentice are heading to Mandalore?”
“If he wanted to draw me to Mandalore he wouldn’t have waited until Anakin was heading there, he would have attacked Satine outright,” Obi-Wan says. “My guess is he’s trying to find a way to draw me out. We need to give him a tempting target.”
“Or we could track him down before he has time to set a trap,” Cody replies. Obi-Wan gives him a lopsided grin.
“I assume you have an idea?”
“Maybe a couple,” Cody confirms.
A couple is an understatement. They start with getting Quinlan into the station so that he can fiddle with some of the evidence and see if he can get a sense off them for what Maul might be up to. Then they move onto the blood samples collected at the latest scene, one of which turns out to not belong to Adi Gallia at all. Seems like she got a good hit in before Maul was able to subdue her. Quinlan refuses to touch it, but Obi-Wan admits, somewhat uncomfortably, that he knows a spell he can use to track Maul using the blood.
“Using the blood perverts the spell,” he says, rubbing his forehead. “Usually it would be an object or at most some hair belonging to the person we want to find, but the blood will do the trick.”
It makes Cody’s gut curl to steal the remains of the small sample, but they need it if they are to stop Maul. Part of him is screaming that he is a fool to trust Obi-Wan this much. If they are caught it will be the end of his career, after all, not to mention that it will throw the other cases he has managed to close into question. There are people behind bars who should not be released, who most certainly committed the crimes Cody arrested them for, and he would not have this incident destroy the peace he was able to bring the victims of those crimes, or to their families at least. Part of it is the simple fact that there is a secret part of Cody which has always wished to see magic, true magic, done. He has seen the side shows and the so called magicians on TV, he knows how those tricks work. But true magic? Jango had grounded him for a month when he discovered Cody’s childhood fascination with the witches who inhabited their own sphere of the secret world beneath the mundane surface, he would be spinning in his grave if he knew that not only had Cody had a one night stand with a witch, he is still actively trying to think of ways to make a relationship work regardless of Cody’s job and the difficult history between their two peoples.
The spell allows them to track Maul, tracing him to one of the better districts in town, and to a restaurant with the kind of prices that make Cody’s wallet scream and Obi-Wan’s eyebrows rise.
“I very much doubt that Maul could afford a place like this,” he mutters. “He certainly couldn’t the first time we encountered one another.”
“He might have done pretty well for himself while he’s been in hiding,” Cody points out. “He doesn’t need to have been in Coruscant for that, plenty of other places in the world he could have done it, especially if he’s as powerful as you say.”
“It’s the blood magic that gives him that power,” Obi-Wan whispers. “His recent escalation will be as much about getting power he needs to be able to confront me as about revenge and drawing me out. Most practitioners tend to be careful about their chosen victims so as not to draw Jedi attention, or that of the more mundane police forces.”
“You think he might be meeting someone?” Cody asks.
“It wouldn't surprise me,” Obi-Wan says. “Commissioner Palpatine wasn't the only one who disliked Jedi involvement with political bodies and law enforcement. He certainly isn't the only one who thinks we should come out of hiding and use our magic for the benefit of humanity.”
“Would it really be so wrong?” Cody asks. The idea of not having to hide what he is definitely appeals to him.
“Mankind barely copes with the fact that there are people whose skin is a different colour to their own,” Obi-Wan mutters. “As much as I would like to believe they are more enlightened now than they were three or four hundred years ago, the fact of the matter is I think they would react with wonder for the first week and then become fearful of what could be done with our magic within a very short time. They'd call for controls and regulations far more stringent than those we already live under. Anakin believes as I suspect you do, but I think his reasons have more to do with the fact that his wife is as non-magical as they get. It took a lot of work on his part to convince the council that he should be permitted to use the spells it would take to allow her to remember him properly… is that Commissioner Palpatine?”
Cody looks away from the restaurant they have been watching for the last few hours, muttering curses under his breath when he sees Palpatine headed towards their parked car. He can hope that Palpatine will not recognise Obi-Wan, given it has been a little under a decade since the Jedi side of the force was disbanded, but he can tell from the way that Obi-Wan shifts that he does not want to be seen by the older man. The problem being, Palpatine is headed their way and while Cody is in his personal vehicle rather than one from work, Palpatine has seen him in the parking lot often enough to potentially recognise it. The man has an infuriatingly good eye for detail at precisely the times Cody often does not want it. Fox has said similar once or twice. Since Obi-Wan does not want to be recognised, and Cody suspects that Palpatine is capable of reading when his presence would be entirely unwelcomed by an off the clock colleague, he does the first thing that comes to mind.
He leans in and kisses Obi-Wan like their lives depend on it. Besides, he has wanted to do this since the witch turned up at the bar to speak to him about the case, he might as well take the opportunity when presented to him. Obi-Wan, fortunately, seems to understand what Cody is doing because he kisses back with equal fervour, long fingered hands tangling in the curls that Cody has been meaning to get cut off for over a week and tugging in a way that pulls a low groan from him before Cody can stop it. Obi-Wan hums, apparently pleased with the reaction even if this is a ruse and Cody frantically reminds himself of that as he lets his body shift slightly, lets his ears and hearing change so that it is sharper, allowing him to hear the measured footsteps approaching his car, hear them pause. For a moment he wonders if Palpatine will knock anyway, then he hears a huff and the footsteps resume. The door to the restaurant opens, he hears Palpatine being greeted by name, and he knows that they can stop. Obi-Wan is still kissing him, but he has moved, his lips making a slow journey down Cody’s neck.
“He’s gone,” Cody whispers. Obi-Wan hums. “We can stop,” he adds as he tangles his fingers in Obi-Wan’s hair. The witch kisses him again. “It’ll look suspicious if we’re still here when he leaves,” Cody adds.
“True,” Obi-Wan agrees. “My place or yours, darling?” Cody blinks. “You don’t expect me to believe this was all a ruse, Cody?”
Sleeping with people he’s working with is a bad idea, Cody knows it with the same certainty that he knows how essential breathing is. He still can’t bring himself to say no.
“We were at my place last time,” he says. “Only seems fair I should see yours.”
It only occurs to Cody much later, when he is lying boneless and naked on Obi-Wan’s bed, that they should probably have dug deeper into Maul’s connection to the restaurant they had been staking out, unsuccessfully, for hours. Obi-Wan is draped over him and part of Cody considers sliding out from under him, but he’s comfortable and tired and, frankly, not entirely sure his legs will hold him up anyway. He sleeps, and leaves the next morning with a smile and a promise from Obi-Wan to bring dinner to Cody’s place later on so that they can compare their findings on Maul’s connection to the Dark Star Restaurant. Cody may be technically off duty, but given the recentness of this murder he should be seen to be working on the case.
He spends the day fruitlessly digging into the restaurant, coming up short on any information in police or public files on a Maul Oppress thanks to the general disconnect between mundane and magical registry systems. Some magical parents, like Cody’s, will register their children under both systems. In some respects it gives them an advantage. Others, particularly those communities where the magic runs deeper, will not. As technology has progressed, however, the separation of the two worlds is becoming harder. There was a time when Cody felt fairly safe in taking the risk of shifting if it would help him to solve a crime. These days he’s careful only to shift in the safety of his or his brothers’ homes. He works through the day, takes the ribbing from Rex about coming in to work in the same clothes with far better humour than he would under normal circumstances, and has a brief encounter with Palpatine that makes his hackles rise and his instincts scream. Nothing is said, but Cody cannot shake the feeling of being threatened as he pulls his coat on and leaves for the evening. He tries to shrug it off, preferring to think about what he and Obi-Wan might be able to get up to this evening once they have finished comparing notes, only to get to his apartment and find the feeling back in full force as he reaches to put his key into the lock.
Something is not right.
He reaches for his gun, leaving his keys in the lock as he pushes the door open carefully. In human form his sense of smell is not as sensitive as it would be in animal form, but it’s still more sensitive than that of a baseline human. The scent of something, or someone, that doesn’t belong is clear. The smell of ozone is thick in a way that Cody noticed happened the previous day when Obi-Wan had been casting his locating spell, but it isn’t touched by the faint scent of citrus and lavender that follows Obi-Wan around like a wisp of cloud. Instead it is thick with the tang of acid and iron, similar to the smell that had filled Adi Gallia’s apartment in a way that makes Cody realise he was not simply able to smell her blood. He had been able to smell the scent of the one who had killed her. And like a fool he’d overlooked it. He moves to step back, not willing to risk encountering Maul on his own, and feels the hook of something sharp and ugly in his gut, feels it yank him forwards across the room, neatly missing the battered couch and the stained coffee table, to bring him face to face with a man whose eyes glow yellow in the unlit room.
“A pleasure to meet you, Detective,” the owner of the eyes says, hot breath fanning across Cody’s face in a way that makes him gag. “Now, I could simply kill you,” the unseen hooks that hold him shift, closing around his throat in a way which makes Cody gasp and struggle, “but you still have a use. For the time being. So sleep, Detective. Sleep.”
The air fills with a new smell, one that is thick, cloying, so sweet that it makes Cody’s eyes water even as exhaustion gnaws at him. He tries to fight it off, to wriggle his way free so that he can shift and run, but he knows that if he shifts now the spell will just take him that much faster. Worse, Maul will be expecting an escape attempt at this stage and as much as Cody wants to try and get away, wants to try and warn Obi-Wan, he knows that he will not get anywhere. Better to be alive when Obi-Wan gets here. Better to let his shift to animal form take Maul by surprise later on when Obi-Wan might be able to take advantage of it. He lets sleep take him and wakes tied to a chair in his own living room, being watched by a man who has painted his face and hands in a swirl of red and black.
“Just in time,” Maul says. “It’s always so much more fun when people are awake for this and Kenobi will be here any minute. He just entered the building.” Cody wriggles against the ropes experimentally. “Keep still, Detective,” Maul breathes, “I would hate to accidentally kill you before Kenobi is here to witness it.”
Cody stills, he is not an idiot. He has to wait until Obi-Wan arrives before he makes his move and he won’t know Obi-Wan is here until Maul does. The man’s scent is thick, overwhelming, and Cody does not want to take the risk of even a minor shift to help him keep tabs on Obi-Wan. It is difficult, however, especially when the seconds seem to tick by at a crawl and Cody has a moment where he wonders if Obi-Wan will come at all. After all, who is Cody to him really? Which does nothing to lessen the monumental relief when Obi-Wan steps through the door, hand outstretched and eyes glowing blue as he mutters a word and throws the other dining chair in Maul’s direction.
Maul retaliates instantly, although Cody doesn’t really have that much loose furniture for them to throw around. He is surprised, then, when Obi-Wan bats the table away using a sword of light that he has pulled from inside his jacket. Maul laughs and draws his own, this one so dark that the light seems to sink into it. Cody can cope with magic spells, but a fight with swords made of light and darkness is where he draws the line, especially as they seem to be throwing spells around at the same time. He swears as something fizzles over his head, ducking as best he can and shouting in alarm as Maul takes advantage of Obi-Wan’s distraction to launch him across the room.
“You have outlived your usefulness, Detective,” Maul declares.
“Cody!” Obi-Wan shouts as something sizzles through the air towards him.
Cody has never changed form so rapidly in his life, shrinking down so quickly that it almost hurts and flinging himself from the chair almost before the change is complete. He races across the room, ducking and weaving as Maul stares in shock, using sharp claws and strong legs to race up the man’s trousers as Obi-Wan leaps for him once again, distracting Maul from Cody as he raises his sword to deflect the light blade. Cody chitters in satisfaction, pleased that his claws are holding him in place even against the movement that would normally threaten to displace him. He is determined to reach his goal, however, moving around against Maul’s back and climbing higher and higher, until he can sink sharp teeth into Maul’s neck, ripping and tearing at flesh so that Maul roars, hot blood flooding his mouth. He skitters, drops, racing away to take shelter under the bookcase as Obi-Wan takes advantage of the distraction he has caused to part Maul’s head from his shoulders.
This is going to be an absolute bitch to explain and clean up.
“Cody?” Obi-Wan gasps. He emerges carefully. “Oh, you’re a stoat!”
He crouches, holding out his hand so that Cody can sniff him. The smell of ozone makes him sneeze, but the lavender and citrus is clear, comforting even. Obi-Wan coos, rubbing his finger gently over Cody’s head. Cody permits it for a moment, then carefully shifts back, aware of the ache in his bones from changing so rapidly and the pull of muscles more accustomed to a lazy race around the room than the frantic climb of a moment ago.
“Not what you were expecting?” Cody asks, mouth still thick with the taste of blood.
“Not in the slightest,” Obi-Wan replies although he sounds delighted.
“Not as elegant as a swan,” Cody adds, making his way to the kitchen to grab some water to wash his mouth out with, and then maybe a glass of something very alcoholic to take the taste away.
“I wasn’t made for that kind of elegance,” Obi-Wan replies. “You’re magnificent.”
“I’m a stoat,” Cody reminds him.
“Well, I have a feeling if I said that you’re cute you’d refuse to let me take you out for dinner,” Obi-Wan replies. “I do hope all of this unpleasantness hasn’t put you off the idea.”
“I thought you’d never ask,” Cody says, leaning in to kiss him without thinking.
“Teeth first, darling,” Obi-Wan says. “And while you do that I’ll call in a few favours to clean up here.” Cody grins at him. “Of course, you’re more than welcome to stay with me until everything is sorted and settled.”
“Stop saying things that make me want to kiss you,” Cody tells him. “Or marry you.”
He’s a shifter, they tend to know very quickly when they’ve found the right person.
“Let me take you to dinner before you start sending out invitations,” Obi-Wan grins and Cody hurries away to clean his teeth and grab some clothes before temptation really does get the better of him.
The question of how Maul knew who he was, where to find him, and that he’s become involved with Obi-Wan, can wait.