Title: A Steady Flame that Grows

Paring: Anakin/Obi-Wan

Disclaimer: No Copyright infringement is intended. This is written purely for fun. The story of Star Wars belongs to Mr. Lucas.

Chapter Summary: Anakin and Obi-Wan settle in on Shimeh for the night whilst on an important mission.

Chapter One: A Sliver of Light

The sun had set on the lush planet of Shimeh; a small, almost forgotten body orbiting a solitary star in the Middle Region of the galaxy. The planet consisted, mostly, of large dense forests, populated with towering trees; each of them spawning countless exotic flowers and berry-like fruits. Interspersed within the forests were areas of grassland and mountainous regions through which rivers and streams ran through them in valleys.

In some ways, it reminded Anakin of being on Naboo, but it lacked the distinct architectural, aesthetical buildings that Naboo had. It was a far cry, however, from the dry almost barren terrain of his home planet of Tataooine. In contrast, Shimeh's climate was temperate and the air was clean, filled with a sweet aroma which was intensified with each soft breeze of the wind.

Indigenous life consisted mainly of mammalian animals, birds and various other species of exotic flora. It was an idyllic place and it reminded Obi-Wan of his birth planet of Stewjon; a planet similar to this world which he recalled from his infant years as a youngling. During the very early start of his Jedi training, Obi-Wan had been allowed to visit his parents and his brother a few times. Although at the time he was still too young to retain any specific memories, he did have a fond, vague recollection of his visits there.

Usually, these days, Obi-Wan and Anakin found themselves visiting the hostile and dangerous worlds that populated the Out Rim. It had been a pleasant surprise when the mission brief had stated Shimeh as their intended destination. This serene place was not a setting that one would consider to be, in some way, connected with the war.

It had been eighteen months since the battle of Geonosis, since the Clone Wars had begun. Team Skywalker and Kenobi, now known affectionately by the Holonet, had fought many battles, each one of them resulting in different and difficult physical and psychological consequences.

Here on Shimeh however, the war seemed far away, a small paradise bringing a blessed reprieve from the horrors of the war and the insidious odour of death.

Obi-Wan and Anakin had been slowly hiking towards a small settlement, where, according to clone recognisance teams, an informant held information on the location of General Grievous. The dense, uneven terrain had made it too dangerous for the use of any kind of high speed land transports. The settlement they were travelling to was nestled deep, within a thick forest, which also made it impossible to land any ships nearby.

For Anakin, this mission held personal significance. The war was beginning to take its toll. His body and mind were fatigued as he continued to push them to the very limits of endurance. Despite this, he suffered many sleepless, fitful nights; his ever present ambivalence tearing him apart. There was a part of him that wanted to continue his quest for more power, despite bringing him closer to the dark side and another, that pulled him back, telling him he needed to fulfill his commitment and obligation to the Jedi Order. The constant internal battle he faced every day was wearing him down.

The capture of General Grievous was of utmost importance. In the last twelve months the Droid Supreme Commander had been responsible for the deaths of many Jedi. It was already known that Grievous had been working under the instruction of Count Dooku. The Council hoped that by capturing Grievous it would also bring them one step closer to finding out the identity of the elusive Lord Sidious too. Anakin hoped that if they could capture and eliminate the Sith Master, the war and all the pain it entailed, would finally come to an end.

As dusk had begun to settle in, Obi-Wan and Anakin had decided to stop and set up camp. Not much information was given to them about the route and it would have been dangerous to attempt to transverse, unfamiliar terrain in the dark of night. Shimeh had only one, naturally occurring satellite; a large moon orbiting close to its host plant. It was a clear night and the moon shone brightly but the light it cast was dim at best, most of it absorbed by the towering trees of the forest.

There was a distinct chill in the air now the sun had set. Anakin had been busy walking around collecting firewood as Obi-Wan had extracted the blankets and rations from their backbags.

"A fire was a good suggestion, Anakin. It will get quite cold tonight," Obi-Wan said whilst laying a couple of blankets on the ground.

Anakin nodded and smiled in agreement, "It will keep us warm while we eat too," he mumbled, stretching his arms up above his head in order to work out the tension residing in his neck and shoulder muscles.

Obi-Wan smirked in return, regarding the younger man with a playful chuckle, "Always thinking about food."

"We've been walking for hours, Obi-Wan. I've burnt off our last meal."

"Here." Obi-Wan gestured his hand toward Anakin, passing him a small piece of ration.

War rations were manufactured quickly and dispersed to all battalions throughout the galaxy. It was a balanced mixture of protein and carbohydrate, fortified with all the vitamins and minerals one's body would need. However, they did lack a distinct taste.

Once, whilst on a training mission, at about sixteen years of age, Anakin had decided against eating his rations and had picked a few fruits from a nearby bush. Unbeknownst to him at the time, they were poisonous to humans and after enduring a harsh reprimand from Obi-Wan, Anakin had taken to his bed for full thirty-six hours.

Sitting down beside Obi-Wan on the blanket, Anakin quickly muttered a quick reply of gratitude as he popped the morsel in his mouth.

"Now," Obi-Wan said with a shiver, pulling his cloak tightly around his body, "let's get working on this fire. It's getting awfully cold."

Anakin huffed in exasperation and shot Obi-Wan a look, gesturing with his eyes at the tray of rations lying beside his former Master.

With a roll of his eyes, Obi-Wan passed the tray over to Anakin. "Like I said...always thinking about food."

A few hours later, with the camp set up and their meals eaten, Anakin and Obi-Wan were lounging on their blankets, lying beside each other in comfortable silence.

"We need more fire wood, Anakin."

Sighing in mild frustration, Anakin reluctantly rose to his feet and proceeded to roam around, gathering pieces of branches and dry leaves, yawning as he haphazardly tossed them onto the fire.

"Do you want me to help you?" Obi-Wan moved forward, getting ready to get up but was abruptly pushed back down by a hand on his shoulder.

"No. It's okay, rest," Anakin returned with a gentle smile.

Relieved, Obi-Wan lay back down. He didn't want to admit it but he was exhausted. His body and legs ached dreadfully, his overworked muscles had stiffened while he had been resting and he didn't think he'd have the energy to get back up. He tried to hide it from Anakin, of course. It was not like Obi-Wan to admit to any kind of vulnerability. Gallant to the end, he always felt as though he should retain his Master-like demeanor. Even though it had been three months since Anakin had been knighted, Obi-Wan didn't yet feel ready to relinquish that role he had forged with Anakin during all the years of training.

He watched as Anakin quietly carried on with his task at hand, remembering the young lad Qui-Gon had introduced him to all those years ago; A brash young boy with a fiery temper but also, residing within him, was a huge capacity for love and compassion.

As Anakin had grown up, even though the Jedi condemned such emotions and attachments, he had retained the same characteristics. Anakin exuded warmth and affection. To be near him was intoxicating and overwhelming; both magnetic and repelling at the same time. The Force resonated around Anakin, permeating Obi-Wan deeply.

Lately however, Obi-Wan had sensed confusion and conflict in the younger man. Even more troubling, a deep sense of underlying sorrow. Anakin seemed to grow more distant as the weeks went by; his usual camaraderie and mischievous demeanor had been slowly disappearing. He would now often appear lost in deep thought and seemed to prefer to be alone rather than enjoy the company of others.

It had been like this ever since Obi-Wan had returned from Jabiim.

The chill in the air receded as the camp fire roared back into life. Anakin joined Obi-Wan on the blanket. Leaning back a little, he leisurely gazed up. The stars and constellations stood out brightly against the black canvas of the night sky.

"Look at the sky. So many stars," Anakin whispered. He smiled sadly. "There's still so many I haven't visited yet. I remember when I was nine; I wanted to visit them all. Not only that, but I wanted to be the first one to visit them all."

"I shared the same sentiment when I was that age. I would look up at the stars in wonderment thinking of all the strange planets that reside in the galaxy," Obi-Wan acceded, following Anakin's gaze up to the sky.

Anakin's thoughts began to wonder. It had been simple back then. Even though he had been a slave he'd been fortunate to have Watto as his Master. Some of the other slaves he'd known had been sold to the Hutts. Anakin could only scarcely imagine the horrors and degradation they must have suffered at hands of the well-known, ill-natured gangsters. Although Watto had sometimes displayed a bit of a temper, he had treated Anakin well, also introducing him to podracing, which had given Anakin a passion to pursue and a means to release his pent up frustrations.

His thoughts then turned to his mother and painful cramp began to constrict his chest, his heart. Back then, he'd had her, a warm, welcome, smiling face that he would always return home to. Sometimes, whilst looking off into the horizon as the twin suns had set on Tataooine, he'd wished that he could become a Jedi. Although he'd known it would entail sacrifices, he never imagined that it would be like this. In his naivety, Anakin had dreamt of an ideal life, where as a Jedi, he would right all the wrongs in the galaxy, end suffering, slavery and bring about peace.

However, to be at war? This was not something any of the Jedi had expected. A lot had happened in just a few short years. There was never really anytime to stop and think about all the death and destruction.

Anakin had suppressed it all; the terrors of the war, the abrupt ending of his relationship with Padme and more so than ever, the intolerable grief and bitter anger he felt about the senseless murder of his mother.

There had been, however, one sliver of light; one constant comfort that, until recently, had remained the same. Resonating in the Force within Anakin was a presence that grounded him and brought him balance amongst the turmoil in his life.

Obi-Wan.

TBC

A/N: I have no beta, so due to my mild dyslexia, there may be some spelling and grammatical errors in this chapter. I've checked this piece thoroughly but there is still a chance that some mistakes have slipped through the cracks. If you see any, please feel free to point them out in your review. I won't be offended as it will give me the chance to go back and fix them.

Although corny, the suggested song for this fic has got to be "We Are One" by Westlife. The lyrics describe perfectly, the relationship between Anakin and Obi-Wan in this story.