Title: Remember
Rating: PG
Summary: We make a lot of mistakes in our lives. This is about doing what is right at the end of all things. Anakin/Obi-Wan slash, m/m
The acrid gases seeping from the lava holes would have dulled the senses of any other ordinary creature but Anakin Skywalker was no ordinary human being. The Force screamed through him as he delivered every blow and met every attack with a well-executed parry. He twisted about, meeting a low slash before spinning away, watching Obi-Wan Kenobi with a hunger akin to a predator.
Anakin caught a flicker of uncertainty in Obi-Wan's eyes as he watched him. He could not feel Obi-Wan's uncertainty through the Force-bond they had once shared a dozen years ago. That bond had been severed long before this battle had started. It had been severed before Mustafar, before he became a Sith, before Utapau, before Jabiim, before the war – before Geonosis. Now, there was just a gaping emptiness where a presence had once been.
There was just Anakin and Obi-Wan.
"Walk away now, Obi-Wan, and I'll spare your life," Anakin offered.
"Did you spare the lives of the younglings in the Jedi Temple, Anakin?" asked Obi-Wan softly as he raised his lightsaber in a classic defensive stance. His voice was tinged with remorseful determination. "Did you hesitate as you lift your lightsaber to slaughter the children who could not defend themselves? You didn't, Anakin. You have become a danger even to yourself."
Anger coursed through Anakin as he heard Obi-Wan's words. Here, at the very end of all things and Obi-Wan still had the audacity to lecture him. He raised his lightsaber, the blue blade humming in the air between them.
"You made your choice, Master. So be it."
As Anakin smashed his lightsaber against Obi-Wan's, he channeled his pain, anger and guilt to the Force. It came back as a blow that nearly shattered Obi-Wan's arm. There was no pleasure from it or any guilt – just a driving need.
This battle had nothing to do with obligations. This battle had nothing to do about avenging the deaths of the Jedi. It had nothing to do about commitments to the ways of the Force. It had nothing to do with Jedi against Sith.
It was all about Anakin and Obi-Wan.
It was all about a choice they never really had.
It was about a trust that was shattered by deceits and lies.
It was about a path they could not take.
It was a battle that had to happen.
'It was a battle,' Anakin reflected, 'about a love they could not accept.'
Every blow Anakin made forced Obi-Wan to give ground and at the same time shatter another piece of his heart. Anakin shot into a bewilderingly fast kata that forced Obi-Wan backwards on the walkway. Despite the speed of the attack, Obi-Wan met every one of them perfectly as if they had rehearsed it a million times before.
They knew better. It was all due to the instinct born out of the hours they spent fencing together in the training rooms and the many times they fought side by side against armies that outnumbered them a hundred to one. It was an instinct born out of knowing each other too well.
Except this time, they were fighting each other.
They whirled about on the platform, parrying, slashing, blocking and feinting. Their feet never stumbled or staggered as they danced above the pit of lava that churned beneath them. They could feel the heat of the lava as if it reflected their frustrations, pain and anger.
They were emotions, Obi-Wan knew, he should have let go years ago before he became a Jedi Knight. But denying those feelings was like denying he was alive. Obi-Wan back flipped onto another platform, getting a chance to catch a breath before Anakin joined him a moment later. Out of instinct, his lightsaber was raised to meet the attack before launching into a counter-attack.
He retreated into the cooler shade of the disintegrating base, beckoning Anakin to come. When Anakin swung at him from the right, he was ready.
It had been one of those times when Qui-Gon Jinn had once again gone against the advice of the Jedi Council to rescue a fellow Jedi who had once been a close friend. Obi-Wan had been frustrated – unable to understand why Qui-Gon would so rashly abandon the advice of the Jedi Council and foolishly attempt to save someone who had turned.
"You do not understand it now, Obi-Wan," said Qui-Gon, as he looked outside the window of the cockpit. "But the Jedi Council is not always right – especially in the matters of the heart. Would you give up on someone whom you considered your friend for the better part of your life? Sometimes, Obi-Wan, doing it the Jedi way is not the best way of doing it at all."
Obi-Wan had not understood what Qui-Gon meant and had not for many years to come. But now, as he parried and slashed in a duel against his best friend, he understood perfectly what Qui-Gon had meant.
The battle continued in the platform outside of the room. Anakin's attacks grew more furious and Obi-Wan parries grew more desperate. He fell to the floor, defending himself against the blows that Anakin rained down on him. In Anakin's crimson tinged eyes, he saw anguish and anger.
Sometimes, all it takes is a little bit of trust.
Without any further thought, Obi-Wan moved his sapphire blade an inch to his left, leaving his heart bare for the final kill. He closed his eyes in silent prayer as the blue blade descended with frightening speed.