Blue Crush:Alchemy Dream
A/N: This is just because I wanted to write something light, happy and romantic. If you want drama, turn back here. Please enjoy, and reviews are love!
Summary: Obi-Wan and Anakin are all but forced to a tropical retreat at Yoda's request to broaden the younglings' horizons. Obi-Wan exploits Anakin's fear of drowning, but at what cost?
Time line: Anakin's very early Jedi Knight years, pre-ROTS.
Warning: Fluff. Yeah, I said it, fluff. And little smudge of angst.
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Anakin didn't like sand. It was rough. It was coarse. And it got everywhere. But then, during his years as a Padawan, he had found a number of things he liked even less. There was Murninkam, smattered in thick, humid, murky swamps. There was Hoth, covered in ice which had a way of showing off his clumsiness, and also the uncomfortable, biting cold which had a way of showing him how lonely he really was.
Capza was entirely different from anywhere he had been so far. The atmosphere was balmy and filled with warm wind, and you could smell, even taste the ocean and the sand. It was a thickness in the air that surrounded you, cradled you. The shoreline was peppered with broad-leafed dwarfpalms, though they were close enough together to tie a netted hammock.
Which was currently Anakin's favourite place in the whole galaxy.
It had all started when the younglings had collectively contracted a positively insufferable bout of depression. Jocasta Nu had noticed it first, when the little ones had begun spending research time cuddled up together drawing pictures they found in travel books.
His wise old green eyes looked up at the opening door of his meditation chamber. Before him stood Jocasta Nu, a stern look on her face. Yoda's mouth twitched into a little grin.
"Jocasta Nu. Again, the younglings lose concentration?" She let out a warbly sigh, and bent to hand him the stack of colourful little drawings. Glancing through them, he couldn't keep a smile from his face.
"A growing number of Jedi artists we are breeding, hmm." Yoda said. There were drawings depicting the various planets they had been assigned to research, all complete with sunny fields, waterfalls, rainbows and oceans and mountains. There was blue grass, orange trees, and big, impossibly fluffy pink clouds. There were even stick figure representations of Master Yoda, Master Windu (complete with an enduring frown) and his favourite, Anakin Skywalker rolling his eyes at Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.
"Master Yoda, they need out of this establishment. They have cabin fever, and they can't focus on their lessons. I have years and years of child development experience, and I suggest you take them out to the park, or at least let them camp overnight in the gardens. Anything but this concrete prison!"
"Hmmm...think on this, I will. Right, I believe you are," Yoda contemplated, "see this, I did not." Jocasta bowed and smiled, moving to exit and leave him to his meditation. Yoda halted her.
"Looked at these drawings, did you?"
"Of course, Master Yoda," she said, smiling fondly.
"Sharp and simple, a child's mind is," he said, handing a drawing to the old librarian. Adjusting her glasses, she looked at the picture, of a playground on the shore. The shore was flat, and bright yellow, with big blue waves blending into it. On the shore was a swing set, crooked and toppling over from bad perspective, with everyone swinging. The swing set had been drawn long enough to accommodate their whole group, and Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Yoda. One could even see the jagged line where they'd decided to extend it to allow Mace to join in the fun. The librarian smiled, nodding, and left.
"Getting soft in my old age, I am."
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"Mastuh Obi-Wan, how many spires does the Temple have?" Loren asked as he packed more wet sand on the awkward sculpture.
"Four around the perimeter, and one large one in the center," Obi-Wan said, squinting his eyes in the sun. He picked up some cool sand, digging it from below the surface, and let it slip through his fingers. It truly felt wonderful. Well, except for the fact that it was in his hair, his shorts, and between his toes, as well as many much more uncomfortable places. He watched on as the younglings built a completely inaccurate, but well-intentioned sand replica of Coruscant. The Galactic Senate was falling over, and the hundreds of buildings were no more than little lumps of sand with seashells for decoration.
"Let's build a moat around the Temple!" a younger girl suggested. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes a little. Who had ever heard of a moat around the Jedi Temple? But then, they appeared to be having such a grand, adventurous time, who cared? Babysitting the younglings, while degrading, was also amusing. Of course, he had somehow ended up babysitting seventeen, instead of sixteen younglings.
Glancing over to the small alcove of dwarfpalms, he sighed at Anakin, snoozing away in a hammock. He was supposed to be helping Obi-Wan with the younglings, and Master Yoda had taken a long walk along the beach with no notice. He deserved it, of course, but Obi-Wan was feeling stranded.
"Be good for a moment," Obi-Wan said, rising from the beach and brushing the sand from his bottom. He strode over to his sleeping former Padawan, smiling at the sight.
The boy, no, man, was flopped out in the hammock, his long toes curled around the netting, an arm behind his head. The early afternoon sun made his already tan body glisten. He was getting darker again, just from being here. His skin seemed to accept pigment much quicker than Obi-Wan's, whose skin had gotten little darker, but more freckly and burned. Anakin's skin looked balmy and moist, irresistible under the orangey-pink light that highlighted the barely visible tufts of hair on his belly. He felt warmth spread in his already hot cheeks.
Maybe it was just a crush.
He didn't know...there weren't words in any of the languages he'd learned good enough to describe what the feeling was. It was dreamy heat, it rendered his muscles helpless when they were near. It wasn't a burning though. It was a tension, a spark. And the air here, in this paradise, seemed only to make it less sufferable. It sought to quell his inhibitions instead.
"You're very good with the younglings, Obi-Wan. You should have been a father," Anakin said, sleepily, rolling over to look at him through squinting long lashes. Obi-Wan swallowed, and then snorted.
"Oh, yes. And build mindless little sand castles all day?"
"No, if you're lucky we might get to colour tonight!" Anakin grinned. Obi-Wan groaned, hoping there was cantina in the little beach town.
"So, did you have a nice sleep, instead of helping me out?"
"Well, Obi-Wan, I'm no good with children! And yes, I did," he gloated, and made a distasteful face looking beyond Obi-Wan's hip. "Here comes one of the little suckers now."
"Mastuh Anakin, will you come swimming with us?"
"Ohoho! Of course he will!" Obi-Wan said, grabbing Anakin's hand and yanking him up from the hammock. Anakin looked incredulously at Obi-Wan.
"No, Amiyah, I'm sorry. I can't go swimming," he said, apologetically, bowing his head for emphasis.
"Why not?" Amiyah pouted.
"Because I...I um have this disease..."
"...called being a sissy," Obi-Wan finished, beaming.
"No, I'm afraid not, Master Kenobi," Anakin bent down to pet the little girl. "You see, Amiyah, my skin will bubble and peel off if I get in the water."
"Oh, my! How do you bathe, Master Anakin?" Obi-Wan said. Anakin made a very annoyed face.
"Amiyah, if Master Kenobi had any brains at all, he'd know that this water has salt in it. Very bad for your skin."
"The truth, Amiyah, is that Master Anakin here cannot swim,"
Anakin turned to look at Obi-Wan, and smirked snottily.
"How little Master Kenobi knows," Anakin snapped. He reached down and grabbed Amiyah's hand, leading her to the ocean. Obi-Wan all but skipped over the already broken in hammock for a nap.
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There was something about Obi-Wan.
Something he hadn't ever noticed before in his adolescence.
Obi-Wan was gorgeous.
Standing shoulder deep in the water with two younglings crawling over him, the only thing he could see, the only thing that caught his focus was the far off glint of the afternoon sun on mussed auburn hair. He could hear distantly the shouts and squeals of the younglings as they splashed around him.
He drew his legs up, raising his head to keep his chin above the water. There was something strange about this place. He hadn't felt so content in so long, and it wasn't entirely owed to the climate. It was something embedded in the wind, something transparent and amorphous. It seeped into his skin like the water, cleansing out the bad feelings. Something about being here with Obi-Wan and all of these children filled his heart. It was strange to say it, but it was like playing house. Of course it was cheating in a way, since the resort they were at provided meals and maid services.
"Spoil these children, this will," Yoda commented after the first night.
Anakin would never admit it, but he wanted a child. It was very possible now that he had married Padmé. But sadly, he didn't want children with her. It was fun to come here, share the responsibility with Obi-Wan of herding them into their rooms at night, of chiding them for throwing sand at each other, and telling them stories.
It hadn't taken him long to decide that this was what he wanted.
He was desperately crushing on Obi-Wan.
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"Did we have a good time, Master Anakin?" Obi-Wan said, stretching out as all of his kids came back onshore. Anakin was clearly irritated, holding the youngster's hand. Obi-Wan also noted the little girl's grimace as she shuffled her feet in the sand, Anakin pulling her along faster than her little legs could go.
"I take it we didn't?" Obi-Wan said softly. "What's the matter, Amiyah? Did you not enjoy the water?" The seven year-old's face smushed up, not sure whether or not to voice her opinion on the matter.
"Anakin really is a fraidy-puuri cat, Mastuh. He wouldn't swim with us, he just stood there!" she blurted, "Next time will you come swim with us, Mastuh Obi-Wan?" she added softly. Obi-Wan looked at Anakin, who was staring off at the hotel, a light but telltale blush creeping into his ears. He was embarrassed.
"I promise, Amiyah. Now let's get you all toweled off and inside. I thought I heard thunder," Obi-Wan said, scooting the little girl along back to the herd. "Are you coming, Anakin?" he said, accidentally stepping into the weeping Coruscanti shopping district, much to the terrified protest of the children. But quickly, they decided it looked like fun and rushed over to obliterate their favourite parts of the sand-city. Loren, who got a little overzealous with the moat, accidentally kicked sand in Tleck's eyes, and the three year old boy collapsed on his bottom wailing. Obi-Wan turned to see what the ruckus was, and walked over to Loren, his eyes stern and concerned as he picked the littlest boy up from the sand, wrapping a towel around him.
"How many times have I told you, all of you, not to kick sand? You see now the consequence. Tleck, let's go get your eyes washed out. Come on, everyone, hurry," Obi-Wan said, balancing the boy against his ill-accomodating hip the best he could. "Anakin, are you coming?" he nearly yelled, not meaning to sound so impatient. Anakin hadn't moved, looking out along the beach as the wind began to whip his hair.
"No, go ahead. I'm going to wait for Master Yoda to return," Anakin said in a low voice. He was still irritated.
But Obi-Wan already had sixteen younglings to deal with and punish, he didn't need another. And he wouldn't need any help with them at dinner, so he simply shrugged, hoisting the weeping boy again as he lost his grip.
"Suit yourself. I'll save you a plate." Anakin waved his thanks, and looked back out to the water.
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Running was nice. Walking was peaceful and flying was even better. But floating was divine. The thunder wasn't all that fazing, nor the approaching clouds that held the rain. Anakin dipped his head back against the cool lapping waves, staring into the sky. It was hard to remember why he was afraid of water...perhaps because he had grown up on a desert planet, and never had too much contact with it. It was a luxury to him still, and to see so much of it in one place was amazing, daunting. It was the experience of looking at a natural wonder, invaded and consumed by both awe and a horrific, paralyzing fear. It was beauty and power all at once, but so gentle feeling as it surrounded him, cooling and caressing his back as he floated. He had to admit, the feeling of it going into his ears was frightening, and when his body lost control and he began to sink, he panicked. But he had learned to be patient, be still, and most of all, breathe.
It frustrated him, this basic human maneuver that he couldn't get the hang of. He was always the best at everything! Why couldn't he master swimming? Kick your feet, hold your breath, wave your arms. It was like combat. You had to move yourself in a certain way to get the results you wanted. He shook his head, lazily tracing circles in the water. His thoughts drifted to Obi-Wan.
He hated that Obi-Wan was so smug about it. He had toyed with the idea of asking Obi-Wan for swimming lessons. Any kind of lessons involving those long, lean legs in those little red and white briefs was worth the extra teasing. Anakin smiled as he dipped his head back, enjoying the feel of the water on his forehead. He loved letting it soak his long, curling hair. It made him feel sexy when he shook it around under the surface.
Obi-Wan really had looked amazing today, what with his normally perfectly coiffed hair all crazy and curling at the ends from the drying moisture and the salt. The shortened copper tresses were beginning to bleach a little from the salty water and the prolonged sun exposure, bringing them to a reddish blonde on top. His hair was becoming a rainbow of auburn, blonde, brown and grey, Anakin thought, smirking.
On that note, a particularly bright bolt of orange lightning brought him back to the present. Opening his eyes, he noticed the sky, completely dark and roiling. Hard drops of rain began pelting his skin, stinging on contact with little time to react.
Not a good sign.
He sighed, wishing he could have practiced longer, and turned himself over, letting his feet drift down to touch the ocean floor to walk back to the hotel.
Only he couldn't reach it.
Panic set in as he stretched as far down as he could before his nose went under, searching for solid ground. Looking through the sheets of stinging rain, he searched for the shore in the darkness. Straining his eyes to focus, he noticed a light the size of a small button in the distance. That was the humongous lantern in front of the shore! Had he drifted that far out to sea! Anakin struggled to push the panic back, focusing on moving his arms and legs through the breaking waves in unison. It seemed like the harder he fought, the further away he drifted.
Obi-Wan!
"Obi-Wan!" he shouted, not caring about futility, steadily gulping air. He felt the waves cover his head, and he wriggled desperately against the waves, trying uselessly to gain leverage at the surface. There was no sound under the water. He could barely hear the rain, and then only as if stuck in a vacuum. His arms and legs began having a hard time cutting the waves, but he finally breached the surface again, this time screaming at the top of his lungs.
"Obi-Wan! Please! I'm..." He couldn't say it. Drowning. He sputtered some water out of his lungs, the force of his cough causing him to vomit up the rest of it. He cried Obi-Wan's name a last time before succumbing to the crashing water.
He could feel his heartbeat, the only sound under the water, thudding in his ears, under the storm and under the sky. It was ridiculous, for water to claim his life. He'd fought and killed so skillfully, survived more than the average man could dream of, and yet would meet his fate at the bottom of the ocean? He thought of Obi-Wan. What was he doing right now? Probably reprimanding one of those little suckers for arguing at the dinner table or chewing with their mouths open. He smiled a little as consciousness left him.
Obi-Wan...
It was like a sigh.
And then Obi-Wan was there. He wasn't sure who it was at first, as something shaky grabbed his wrist, pressing into the center for a long time. Finally satisfied with the pulse, Anakin was hoisted up from the depths, back into the stinging-ass rain. Suddenly he would have been happy to be back underwater. But then, slippery, clammy arms wrapped around his shoulder and his waist.
"It's alright," a smooth, but shaky voice said against his ear. The warmth and hastiness of the breath felt wonderful inside his ear, and he decided to wrap his arms back around the person.
"Kick your legs, Anakin. You're going to have to help me," the voice said. Only then did it dawn on Anakin.
"Obi-Wan! Could you hear me?" he said, suddenly very surprised and amused. And very dizzy.
"Not over the nervous racing of my heart, no," Obi-Wan said, adjusting Anakin against him. There was heat between them now, the warmth of Anakin's belly against Obi-Wan's side. He did his best to kick, accidentally kicking Obi-Wan a few times instead. It wasn't long until the button-sized light was big again, and his feet could touch the sand. Obi-Wan let go of him as soon as they reached the shore, and shot like a rocket heatedly towards the hotel. Anakin frowned, angry that Obi-Wan left him alone so soon.
"Where are you going? Wait!" Anakin shouted, coughing up water. The older man kept walking, beating Anakin to the door and running up the steps to his room. Anakin did his best to keep up, shivering from the cold of his black briefs against his skin, along with the chilled air inside the building. His feet thudded up the stairs, and he stuck his arm in Obi-Wan's door before he could slam it. Sliding inside, Anakin looked at Obi-Wan, full of confusion. He watched the older man run his hands through his newly soaked hair, still shaking, and not entirely from the cold. He paced the room, landing at the linen closet to toss a towel viciously at Anakin.
"Are you stupid? I know I trained you better than this. I am appalled by your blatant disregard..."
"I'm fine now, Obi-Wan! Besides, why are you so worried about..." Anakin broke in, just to be interrupted.
"For ME, Anakin! How could you disregard me like that, Anakin?" Obi-Wan exploded. He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to calm his nerves. Anakin's heart jumped into his throat. He had been so scared...and to scare Obi-Wan...
"I'm sorry, Master," Anakin said, not sure what to do with himself. He looked at the soft towel in his hand, and then at his shaking comrade, and padded cautiously over to the bed. Obi-Wan looked over as the bed sank beside him in the dimly lit room. He began rubbing the soft terry cloth over Obi-Wan's wet shoulders and neck, reaching up to ruffle his hair dry just a little bit. He wrapped the towel around the man's back, rubbing lightly to warm him up.
"I'm so cold," Obi-Wan said softly. Anakin felt a blush rise in his cheeks. His Obi-Wan had never looked so vulnerable before. He abruptly stood up, reaching into the small leather travel bag he'd toted along. He pulled out two pair of identical blue cotton sleep pants.
"Would you mind turning?" Obi-Wan said, reaching for the waistband of his swim briefs. Anakin nodded, turning his back to Obi-Wan. He listened intently to the sounds of the wet garment sliding down hips, thighs, pooling around feet. He heard Obi-Wan rubbing the towel over himself quickly, before yanking the pants on, leaving the drawstring loose.
"Alright," he said, "If I were you, I'd do the same." Obi-Wan tossed the towel over to Anakin, and he looked down at it. Looking everywhere but at Obi-Wan, he tugged his shorts off, not nearly as modest, but still concealing himself as best as he could with the towel. He bent over, picking up the pants, pulling them up to his waist, and then tugging them back down past his hip bones to make the length right. This would be prime shot at a height joke if only the air wasn't so thick and tense. Obi-Wan drew the curtains and paced a little before collapsing on the bed.
"Master Yoda got back a couple of hours ago. The younglings are all asleep. I was beginning to wonder where you had gone," Obi-Wan said. Anakin nodded, and turned to the door.
"Would you like me to turn the lights out?" He offered, his voice cracking. Silence filled the room for a moment, before Obi-Wan shuffled.
"Please," he mumbled, pulling the blankets up over his feet. Anakin nodded again, shutting off the lights and opening the door. A sliver of light crept in, illuminating the corner of the bed. He got halfway out the door.
"You don't have to leave if you don't want to," Obi-Wan said softly. In a shameless dash, Anakin was back inside, the door firmly shut and locked. He felt his heart pounding, there in the dark. Only the sounds of their breath, of the rain pattering against the window. Anakin hesitantly cleared his voice and stretched out on the opposite side of the bed, above the covers. Both awkward men took turns switching around against the groaning mattress, trying to find a comfortable position. His foot accidentally brushed against Obi-Wan's leg, Obi-Wan's arm against Anakin's nipple. They both muttered apologies, and drew further away, eventually both perching at the the opposite edges of the bed.
There was so much to be said, and yet nothing to say. It was nerve wracking, the silence, the tension. Anakin was grateful for the void the rainfall filled.
Water seemed to have many faces, a shapeshifter that could be a blessing or a curse.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you," Obi-Wan said, his voice blanketing the darkness. Anakin almost felt his heart skip a beat. Turning his head, he could barely see the liquidy glint of Obi-Wan's eye in the darkness. He was watching him. Meeting no resistance, Obi-Wan pushed on. "I was very worried. I always said you'd be the death of me," he chuckled lightly. Anakin rolled his eyes under his eyelids.
"Don't say that, Obi-Wan. You're like m..,"
"Don't, Anakin. Don't...say that. Because I'm not," Obi-Wan said, exhaling shakily, his resolve swelling, before scooting closer on the bed, pulling Anakin over. "C'mere. You'll fall off."
Anakin went numb, barely in control of his body, his motor skills, his central nervous system, as Obi-Wan hesitantly reached out for him. He almost instinctually pressed fully against Obi-Wan's body, takinig his chances. The crush was too strong now, and there was no turning back. It wasn't a crush any longer. It was an intoxication, a numbing, heart stopping intoxication. He nearly moaned when Obi-Wan responded, separating his legs to loop one of his between them. Anakin concentrated on the feeling of Obi-Wan's toes curling towards his ankle, the way the top of his thigh pressed lightly against his groin. The sensations topside were equally divine, their clammy skin forming symbiosis, creating warmth. He reached down and pulled the blankets over them, grinning a little when Obi-Wan snuggled deeper against him to get under the duvet. He wrapped his arm around Obi-Wan's back, rubbing to create friction.
"Be still, Anakin."
"Okay."
He pressed his face against the dip in Obi-Wan's neck, fitting his chin against his shoulder. He could feel the heat burning from his skin.
"You have a burn," Anakin said. Obi-Wan nodded sleepily.
"If you hit me, I'll make you sleep on the floor." Anakin nodded back, not willing to risk such a cruel fate.
Slowly he became aware as he pressed still closer of every chill bump, every hair standing on end, every grain of sand between them. It was incomprehensibly intimate, warm and perfect, this gritty, twining, unsure embrace. Anakin anxiously pressed a long, wet, languorous kiss to Obi-Wan's mouth. He could taste the ocean still, the cool water. It filled Anakin with sunshine, as his crush's mouth opened wide to taste him as well. He felt himself lost in the wet smacking sounds their lips and tongues made, in the way their bodies responded experimentally, before finding sleep together in the sandy sheets.
Anakin didn't like sand. It was rough. It was coarse. And it got everywhere.
He decided that right now, he was pretty alright with that.
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