A/N: Thanks for your comments everyone! Since doesn't seem to want to let me reply, I'll do it here.
Lincoln Six Echo: thanks for the positive feedback and it's a good point you make there. I have made a small change to the first chapter in response. I hope this second chapter makes a little clearer why (in this AU at least) I think Obi-Wan wouldn't seriously try to reprimand Anakin about romantic entanglements, other than perhaps being relieved that it isn't really his job any more and Anakin wouldn't listen to him anyway, heehee.
Pronker: thanks! I like to think Obi-Wan is sometimes so straight-laced and serious even the other Council members would be shaking their heads and plotting how they could convince him to have some fun :)
And everyone else: thanks for the comments! Glad you liked it. Here is the second and final part...
One year later
"This is no speeder, no racing pod, no crude jumble of power couplings and hastily welded spare parts. This is a piece of art. And you must treat it as such. A gentle, but confident touch. Too much power, and you will be on your backside in the dirt before you know it. Too little – well I expect that will not be a…" Obi-Wan's voice trails off as he realises this is starting to sound like a lecture.
But for once, Anakin doesn't seem to mind. In fact, it looks like he's not even listening. He finishes running a hand along the sleek body of the bike in front of him and looks up. His grin says it all.
"I can't believe, all these years, and you never told me!" Anakin's teeth are absurdly white against his dirt-smudged face, his eyes as blue as the sky.
"You're enjoying it then?" Obi-Wan matches the infectious smile, ignoring the voice in his head that is telling him he's playing a very dangerous game.
Anakin parks his bike and dismounts, stretching an arm up to rub the nape of his neck. "Well apart from the fact that my bike is obviously underpowered next to yours-" he frowns only half-seriously as he glances from Obi-Wan's bike to his own, slimmer one, then looks up with a smile- "Yes. It's exhausting. And wonderful. And I'm starving!"
Obi-Wan laughs and pats his back. "One step at a time, Padawan. Now, let's find some dinner. This town only has one place to eat though, I'm afraid, so we don't have much choice."
Anakin slings an arm casually around Obi-Wan's shoulders. "I don't care. I could eat fried womp-rat right now and be perfectly happy."
Me too, thinks Obi-Wan, as Anakin's fingers accidentally brush his neck. Me too.
On the second day, when Obi-Wan is satisfied Anakin can handle the bike without killing himself (which he can, of course, he's a natural, just as Obi-Wan knew he would be), they strike out into the countryside, speeding across the flat plains, enjoying the easy riding. When they stop for a brief lunch break, Obi-Wan says very little, a contemplative expression on his face as he eats in silence. Anakin smiles as he sits down by the other man's side, and follows his gaze into the distance.
"I think I'm getting the hang of it, you know."
"Quite." Obi-Wan replies curtly, lips curving upwards, wondering where Anakin's new-found modesty has come from. Maybe it's the country air…
They sit and eat in silence for a while, watching the clouds drift across the peaks of the distant mountains, listening to insistent cackles of the large black birds that circle above.
"You don't resent me for being here, do you?" Anakin says, eventually.
"Why ever would I? I invited you, didn't I?"
"I thought that might have been because you were so adamant I shouldn't accept the Chancellor's invitation." Anakin shrugs as takes the last bite of his food.
"No, I asked you because I thought you might enjoy it." Because I want you here, too.
"I never imagined you were doing this, you know."
"Oh really?"
"No, I thought you had a secret lover somewhere."
Obi-Wan coughs as a piece of bread gets stuck in his throat. Without blinking Anakin hands him the canteen of water.
"But you don't. Do you?" Anakin's eyes flick up to meet his and the piercing blue intensity of the look prevents any words arranging themselves coherently in Obi-Wan's mind. So he simply shakes his head and takes a drink, before standing and brushing crumbs from his clothes.
"We'd better get going." Obi-Wan avoids his companion's eyes, and walks to the bikes. "Still rather a lot of distance to cover today."
"Ah yes, I was meaning to talk to you about that." Anakin calls out after him, getting up to follow.
"Hmm, now why do have a bad feeling about this?" Obi-Wan mutters under his breath.
"I was just looking at the map, and I found an interesting road we could try, across the mountains."
Obi-Wan shakes his head as he fiddles with the straps attaching his gear to the bike. "No no, it's far too dangerous. I began along that road once. It's treacherous, narrow, winding, precipitous drops."
"Sounds exciting."
"Anakin you have only been riding a bike for two days. I've been doing it for years and I would only take that route if I had no other option. You can't possibly…"
"Oh come on Obi-Wan, I thought we were supposed to be here to have fun! Besides, I've only fallen off twice, and one of those was your fault."
Obi-Wan knows it is not necessary to say his idea of fun doesn't involve them risking both their necks on some wretched crumbling road; Anakin knows this all too well.
So he simply arches an eyebrow and looks away, swinging a leg over his bike and ignoring Anakin's crossed arms, knowing exactly the excitement that is dancing in those blue eyes. "Three times. And the answer's still no."
The narrow road winds sinuously up the rocky mountainside, crumbling in places and scattered with fallen rock in others. The two bikes crawl cautiously along, teetering around sharp bends as they wind their way up into misty clouds.
Progress is slow, and the sky is beginning to darken before they are within sight of the top. When the road widens for a brief stretch Obi-Wan pulls over and gets off his bike, frowning as Anakin glides to a stop behind him and cuts his engine.
"Running out of daylight. Think we'll struggle to make it down in the dark, too. I told you was a bad idea."
"Erm… why don't we just camp here, then?" Anakin asks, in that particularly irritating isn't –it-obvious-Master? tone.
"Well, apart from the poisonous snakes, I'd be all for it. In fact we probably don't have any choice." Obi-Wan pauses, frowning towards the dense, dark forest on their right. "So... better find a suitable place..."
Anakin's face falls as he watches the other man walk to the edge of the road and look out towards the grey line of the road winding across the mountainside ahead of them.
"Wh-what do you mean, poisonous snakes?"
"Not just poisonous, deadly. Kill you in seconds. Now where do you think? Looks like there's a clearing there, up ahead."
"Erm, yeah, okay." Anakin's hands clench and unclench nervously by his sides.
"Well come on then, or it will be dark before we get there," Obi-Wan says, as he walks back to the bikes, turning his face to hide the humour that crinkles the corners of his eyes.
Both men have slept beneath the stars many times. It is no longer much of a novelty when you have spent long nights outdoors on hostile planets, freezing in muddy trenches, hiding from the enemy and counting the men lost in this battle. Wondering how many you will lose in the next…
But here, Obi-Wan has to admit, the night sky is particularly beautiful. His eyes scan the dusty swirl of the galaxy's edge, lingering on the pristine pattern of star systems, uncluttered by the usual messy splutter of space traffic.
Behind him both tents are pitched, side by side. Both are empty. Obi-Wan sits on a blanket next to the fading heat of the camp fire, back propped against a tree stump. Anakin is asleep by his side, the young man's blond head somehow having managed to find a resting place tucked between Obi-Wan's hip and his chest.
Maybe it's the distraction of the stars, or maybe it's just physical exhaustion - they have after all, ridden a far more gruelling journey today than Obi-Wan would ever tackle alone- but before he even notices what he's doing, Obi-Wan finds his hand brushing over those blond curls, fingertips brushing Anakin's forehead, tracing path down his temple, along his lightly-stubbled jaw, then stroking back though the soft hair at the nape of his neck. It's a gesture that, right here and now, feels like the most natural thing in the world. And when Obi-Wan realises what he's doing, he doesn't snatch his hand away, but leaves it to rest there, on Anakin's head, just for a little while longer, allowing himself the brief fantasy that it could be like this, for more than just tonight.
Dawn on the mountain top is cold and damp, and shrouded in a blanket of fog. Obi-Wan puts a hand up to find dew on his face, and confirm the identity of the weight that is sprawled half across him and responsible for the fact that he can't feel the left side of his body.
He chuckles, and gives Anakin's shoulder a gentle shove. "Time to wake up, sleepy-head."
Anakin stirs a little, keeping his eyes closed and turning his face to smile against Obi-Wan's neck. "Mmm you're too comfortable, Master."
Obi-Wan swallows as Anakin's lips brush his skin, shivering a little as he feels the warmth of the other man's breath. He shoves a little harder. "Come on Anakin, you're squashing me."
Anakin groans and sits up reluctantly, frowning sleepily back down at Obi-Wan through the dishevelled hair that falls over his face. "Hmm. Cold here."
"Well it would have been better to sleep inside the tents, admittedly."
Anakin turns his head to look around the small clearing. "No snakes though, apparently, seeing as we're both still alive."
"Snakes? Oh yes… snakes." Obi-Wan is disarmed, both by the sensation of the blood returning to his squashed limbs, and the sight of Anakin looking down at him, like that. So he's just about powerless to stop the grin that breaks across his face.
"Master!"
Obi-Wan sits up slowly. "What?" Avoiding Anakin's indignant gaze he gets to his feet and starts to pack up their belongings. "How many times have I told you to read the archive records for a planet before we visit it? Look up the dangerous flora and fauna, so you are prepared. How many times have you actually done that?"
"This planet isn't in the archives, Obi-Wan."
"Ah, good point." Obi-Wan reaches for the two metal cups set beside the remnant of the camp fire. "Would you like some tea then? We have enough water."
"Don't change the subject."
"Look, I'll make it up to you, all right?"
A lazy smile spread across Anakin's face. "How?"
"However you want."
"Anything?" Anakin's eyes flick behind Obi-Wan's back.
"Except that."
"But you said anything."
"Stop pouting Anakin. You're not riding my bike." Obi-Wan pours water into a pan and sets it on the portable stove.
"But it must be at least fifty percent more powerful than mine. And it's more easily tunable too."
"No!"
"Hmm."
"Look. When we get down off this mountain, let's head back to the town, and go back to the shop and hire you another bike. They have several. I only picked that one because it's supposed to be easy to handle for beginners," Obi-Wan says, making sure to clearly stress that last word.
Anakin narrows his eyes and leans back, propping himself up on his hands. "Okay. But don't think that means I've forgiven you. I'm going to have to pay you back, you know, new bike or not."
Obi-Wan just shakes his head as he pours steaming water into the cups, chuckling under his breath, suddenly finding himself happier than he's been for as long as he can remember.
The floor seems to tilt slightly under Obi-Wan's feet as he returns from the refresher, crossing main floor of the inn towards the bar. After a good twelve hours in the saddle, walking seems alien; it had taken a full day to get back down the mountain, and night had fallen by the time they reached the outskirts of the town. So they'd had no choice but to return to the inn where they had stayed on the first night.
After eating a dinner of unidentifiable stew followed by some sort of bland white pudding, a hesitant silence had fallen between them. Both men were physically exhausted, but it seemed neither wanted to give up on the day just yet. So they've been here, in the inn's bar, for over two hours. And the current unsteadiness of Obi-Wan's legs is not only due to a lack of familiarity with walking.
"Got you another," Anakin says, lifting a finger to indicate the glass of iced amber liquid set on the bar next to his own. "S'good stuff." He smiles as he picks up the glass and takes a careless slug.
Obi-Wan slips onto the bar stool, ever so slightly mesmerised by the way the liquid spills over Anakin's lips, glistening for a moment before Anakin's hand comes up to wipe it away. A momentary confusion registers on Anakin's face. Abruptly, Obi-Wan looks down, feeling a heat begin to blush his cheeks, swiftly downing half of his drink in one gulp.
Three drinks later, the day's exploits have been debated many times over, with increasing enthusiasm and decreasing coherence. Obi-Wan's head is fuzzy and happy and he knows full well that he's letting his guard down, but right now, he doesn't frankly care. Right now life is easy. Just him and Anakin. No war, no politics, no Council. Just the open road and each day as it comes…
"Hey," Anakin's voice interrupts his reverie, softer now and sleepy, and Obi-Wan's eyes focus on Anakin's face, propped up by his hand, watching with a hazy, half-amused expression, giving a little wave of his hand. "Hey. Thought you'd drifted off for a minute."
Obi-Wan knows that he should be shaking his head, and rubbing his eyes and frowning, and now he should be muttering something about an early start in the morning. But Anakin is there, all feline and sleepy and sexy as hell, and all Obi-Wan wants to do is smile back, and hold those eyes with his own, and put a hand up to brush a thumb against Anakin's cheek.
And so he does.
A long moment later finds Obi-Wan's hand still resting on Anakin's cheek, and the noise of the bar fading into the background as the galaxy shrinks down to just the two of them.
"You know, sometimes I really wish I knew what you were thinking," Anakin says quietly, his eyes locked on Obi-Wan's.
Obi-Wan's thumb makes a slight movement that could be interpreted as nothing other than a caress. "I'm thinking…" he starts, finding everything he wants and needs to say suddenly won't fit into words, especially with his already fuzzy thoughts distracted by the texture of Anakin's skin. "I'm thinking…" Reluctantly, he lets his hand fall down to his side. "…that I, for one, have had far too much to drink tonight. And so, I expect, have you."
But before he has chance to look away, before that familiar sense of hopelessness has chance to rise in his chest, Anakin's hand is clasping his, pulling him off his seat, in the direction of the door.
"Then lets go outside and clear our heads," Anakin says, not looking at him, voice still thick with alcohol but tinged with impatience.
The cold night air washes over them, and Obi-Wan finds it quickly brings sobriety, shortly followed by a whole sequence of unwelcome, all-too-familiar thoughts, doubts and worries. Anakin pulls him out into the middle of the deserted street and stops, spinning around so they are face to face, tip of booted foot to tip of booted foot, Anakin's ungloved hand still holding his, skin against skin.
"Better?" Anakin asks, looking down at him, with that same intense, possessive expression that suddenly realises is only ever directed at him.
Realisation dawns on Obi-Wan, and with it a secret joy, a leap of his heart. And yet still, his wretched brain does not allow him to feel it fully. He glances to the left of Anakin's face, towards the stars above their heads, seeing everything that normally separates them. Everything that is not here.
Obi-Wan feels like a river is trying to sweep him away, and he wants more than anything to let it take him.
"It… it's complicated…" he says, eyes flicking back to Anakin's, seeing not only intensity of feeling there, but determination.
And what Anakin Skywalker wants, Anakin Skywalker usually gets…
"I…" Obi-Wan starts again, "We… can't… I… can't… The Order. Anakin, listen. I'm not like you. I can't break the Code one day and face the Council with a clear conscience the next. I… You must realise that much as I want y-"
But at that point Obi-Wan's words are cut off, because Anakin, apparently, has heard enough.
And Obi-Wan is having trouble thinking of anything much at all because all of a sudden Anakin's mouth is pressed again his, soft and yet firm, and now Anakin's hand is coming up to the back of his head, and holding him there, so that he can't escape, and Anakin's lips are parting to swallow his little yelp of surprise, flicking tongue against tongue enticingly before pulling back just far enough to grin against his cheek.
"No." Anakin's breath is unsteady between words. "Not complicated. Simple." His mouth moves to Obi-Wan's ear. "I love you. You love me. The Code is already broken, and you know it."
Then Anakin pulls away, so their eyes can meet again, and Obi-Wan sees a familiar defiance there, but beyond it sincerity, along with a depth of emotion he had never even dreamt of.
And Anakin is absolutely right. Obi-Wan has, in fact, broken the Code for most of his adult life. Attachment is forbidden. Falling in love is forbidden. Whether one acts on that love is irrelevant. And Obi-Wan has never needed the Code to tell him why he shouldn't love Anakin. He knows all too well the soul-splitting pain at the loss of someone he should never have loved. Knows how it feels to touch the dark side in a frenzy of grief. Knows how it feels to wake every day and relive the horror of what happened.
But Obi-Wan also knows the joy, and the happiness and the comfort, and... and all of this is irrelevant because he just can't help how he feels. It is not something that can be denied, or argued away with logic. It is simply part of being human. And being human is something Anakin, for all his power and bravado, is incredibly good at.
Along, apparently, with kissing.
So maybe it's finally time for Obi-Wan to give in, and be human, too.
"So..." Obi-Wan starts to say, throat suddenly dry and heart hammering in his chest, wanting nothing more than to push Anakin against the nearest wall, and taste that kiss again.
And again, and again...
But those soft, if infuriating, lips are curving up into a smile of victory. "So.." Anakin helpfully continues for him, his eyes starting to dance with a wicked humour. "Let's go to bed."
Dust shimmers in the yellow light, drifting lazily in the morning air of the hotel room. Anakin sits up slowly on the bed, swinging his legs over the side and glancing back to the figure sleeping beside him. He smiles at the sight of auburn locks spread on the pillow, hiding Obi-Wan's face, and the smooth skin of Obi-Wan's back, bare and lightly tanned against the white sheet that rests low across his hips.
As Anakin's feet touch the floor and he begins carefully to rise to his feet, he's stopped suddenly by a hand on his wrist that catches him off balance and pulls him back down, onto the bed.
"Not so fast," Obi-Wan growls sleepily, as Anakin lands half on top of him, only the thin layer of the sheet separating their bodies in places. Important places. "I want you again," Obi-Wan continues, "before we leave."
Anakin grins as Obi-Wan's hands pull him down for a kiss. As lips and tongues clash, hot and rough and dirty, Anakin can't help but be pleased with himself. It would seem that in a single night he's managed to do pretty damn good job of getting Obi-Wan to tell him exactly what he wants…
"But the bike…" Anakin gasps, breaking away for breath.
"We have three more days," Obi-Wan interrupts huskily, nudging him suddenly so he rolls off and to the side, Obi-Wan's hand yanking the sheet away and to the floor before pulling their bodies back into alignment. "Are you really saying you'd rather nghhhh…" The words falter and turn into a moan as Anakin shifts, pushing Obi-Wan's legs apart with his knees, grinding their groins together as his mouth finds Obi-Wan's neck, teeth grazing the skin that tastes of salt and sex.
"No, I'm-" Anakin murmurs, biting Obi-Wan's earlobe as two strong hands cup his ass, a finger then tracing down to tease right there…"ohhh…"
A hand leaves his buttock as Obi-Wan calls the small bottle of oil from the nightstand to his grasp. The older man chuckles. "Good. Turn over then."
But that sounds all too much like an order, and so of course Anakin ignores it completely, lifting himself away from Obi-Wan for a moment, pushing up with his hands so his face hovers above the other man's, groins pressed together even harder with the leverage but chests now separate.
Anakin smiles down lazily through half closed eyes, "Remember Master -" he rocks his hips to continue the delicious friction, pushing back against that oil-slickened finger, moaning as a second joins it. "You said anything?"
Obi-Wan's breathing is erratic and he closes his eyes for a long moment, finding it very difficult to focus on anything beyond the sensation of Anakin grinding into him, wondering what the hell Anakin is talking about…
Then Anakin dips his head down, licking a hot line along Obi-Wan's collar bone, damp curls tickling Obi-Wan's shoulder.
"Poisonous snakes, remember?"
Obi-Wan swears and Anakin laughs, moving to sweep open lips against Obi-Wan's mouth, leisurely sliding his tongue inside, swirling it there and letting his weight relax down onto Obi-Wan's briefly before pulling back to separate their bodies, relishing the anguished groan that emerges from the other man's lips.
"Don't tease, Anakin…"
"Then give me what is mine," Anakin demands, lifting his hips up suddenly so Obi-Wan's hand falls away, pushing Obi-Wan's legs further apart bending them at the knees, grabbing the oil himself and pouring it liberally all over the part of Obi-Wan now exposed to him.
Anakin looks down at Obi-Wan, and bites his lip in concentration as he rub his own erection shamelessly at the other man's opening. "Please." Seeing a flash of uncertainty pass across Obi-Wan's face, Anakin reaches with the other hand to wrap oil-slickened fingers around Obi-Wan's hardened flesh, caressing him with firm, steady strokes.
Obi-Wan groans and half-closes his eyes at the sensations threatening to overwhelm him, lifting a trembling hand to Anakin's face, tracing a finger along a sweat-slicked cheek and across the full lips, wondering if there has ever been anything more beautiful than the sight of Anakin in this moment.
Obi-Wan knows that with this he will give Anakin all of himself. That this will be his surrender.
And for once, there is no need for hesitation, or protestation. He wants this, and every instinct he has is telling him this is right. So he just smiles, and pulls Anakin's weight back down on top of him, voice wavering in a single word of reply.
"Yes."
Dusk is falling as they pass over the last rise of terrain to see the cluster of white buildings in the distance. They stop one last time to stretch their legs. The time here is nearly over. As Anakin tinkers with his suspension, still unable to resist the need to customize every piece of engineering he lays his hands on, Obi-Wan smiles and walks a few steps to the top of a rocky outcrop, craning his neck towards the thin strip of ocean on his left.
The anger he had once felt has long gone, the pain now well-worn to a familiar sorrow. The happiness, the completeness, he feels here and now, with Anakin, brings a security he has never experienced before.
"Ready to go?" Anakin calls out, and Obi-Wan glances across to see the younger man already swinging a leg over his bike.
"Yes, you go on ahead," he replies, nodding the affirmative and walking back towards his own machine. Anakin grins and disappears with the growl of an engine and a thick cloud of dust.
Obi-Wan coughs and shakes his head jovially, placing a gloved palm on the seat of his bike to steady himself, knowing he'd better not take too long, or he'll never catch up.
As Obi-Wan straddles the bike, his thoughts turn to that morning, when he had woken with Anakin wrapped his arms eyelids fluttering open to be greeted by a clear blue sky.
Of course a moment later he began to worry about Coruscant, and everything they faced when they returned. But then Anakin had smiled sleepily up at him, and wondered aloud if they'd still be sleeping out under the stars here in thirty years time, when they were old and feeble and grumpy.
With that single question came an implicit assumption, that to Anakin, apparently, was obvious.
That they will both be here in thirty years' time, because what they have will last.
And that had given Obi-Wan the strength, for once, to let his worries drift away, up into the empty sky, where the songbirds swooped, singing a greeting to the new day.
And now, as Obi-Wan speeds down the hillside, chasing the figure that races ahead, a black silhouette against the setting sun, he smiles into the wind, looking forward to the future and everything it might bring.
Because whatever happens, Obi-Wan is certain that the two of them will survive, as they always have.
Together.
