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Closer

Day One

No deliberately attempting to sway the bet in your favor. No talking about said bet with anyone else, especially with a certain short, green Jedi Master. Hug. Be close. Be friendly. Anakin had had almost enough of this bet and its intricate guidelines before they'd even put it into motion. Lying in bed, gazing blankly up at the ceiling, he reviewed the details established the night before and waited in dread for the moment when he would have to rise and face the day.

It wasn't that he was worried that he wouldn't win – meditation and hairlessness aside, it really wouldn't be that bad – but he was rather more frightened that he would. He had a reputation to maintain, and nowhere in this reputation did it say anything about being in a relationship with his master. Sure, as a Jedi he supposed he should learn that the way others perceived him did not matter in comparison to who he actually was. But who he was happened to be a young padawan on his way to becoming one of the best Jedi the Temple had ever seen. Or at least, that was his goal anyway.

The thought of what others would say this week was simply disturbing. He just knew that everyone would think he was gay, that Obi-wan's quest for a closer bond would be taken for some kind of sexual relationship or "coming out" display. He didn't have anything against homosexuals of course, but it just … wasn't him. Obi-wan was his master and his friend. And he, Anakin, was in love with a woman he hadn't seen in years; a beautiful woman with deep eyes and dark hair and a soft voice. Although no one could possibly know of his feelings for her, he couldn't bear to have others think that he could be in love with anyone else, especially with his rather male Jedi Master.

He sighed, turned over to bury his face in the soft blackness of his pillow and silently told himself that he would have to get over it. It was only a bet, one that he was determined to win. Any chance to prove Obi-wan wrong was a chance worth taking, regardless of the outcome.

"Anakin!" rang Obi-wan's too-cheerful morning voice from the kitchen.

It was only a bet.


After a few minutes of mental preparation, and a push from Obi-wan, Anakin set foot outside of their shared quarters and into the corridor beyond. Looking around nervously, he saw that the hall was completely empty for the time being. "Thank the Force for that," he muttered grimly to himself.

"Ah," Obi-wan began brightly, "well since we have the corridor to ourselves for the moment, do you think we should practice?"

"Practice?" Anakin asked incredulously. "Why should we do that?"

"So we're prepared to hug in front of people of course. We don't want it to be awkward, right? It needs to appear natural, like we do this sort of thing all the time."

Anakin considered this for a moment. That's all he needed, was for people to think that they really did hug each other all the time. Then again, he dully realized, that was exactly what he needed for this bet. "Okay," he said, beginning to loathe the situation even more. "We'll hug. But only because I don't want it to be weird later."

"Good." Obi-wan said, positioning himself to face his padawan. "Now hug me."

Anakin watched as Obi-wan spread his arms open wide to embrace him and raised one eyebrow slightly. It was quite a spectacle, seeing his master standing in the middle of a hallway with his arms outstretched like some bizarre bird. He slowly approached the older man, trying to decide where exactly he should place his hands. Apparently he was taking too long, for after several minutes of arm waving and half-hearted lean-ins, Obi-wan sighed in exasperation and said, "Would you just do it already? Force, Anakin, you had a mother, right? Didn't you ever hug? Are you emotionally detached? Are you completely inept at showing a simple sign of kindness and affection?"

"Gah, shut up already!" Anakin shouted before finally seizing the man and pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.

"Master, I think Skywalker is trying to kill Master Kenobi!" a voice rang out from behind Anakin. After releasing a stunned Obi-wan, Anakin turned on the spot just in time to see the horrified expression on the intruding padawan's face. The girl, whom Anakin had spoken with on only a few rare occasions, was staring at the two of them as though fearing for their sanity. Her master, an unfamiliar Nautolan, came to stand by her side and gave them a small, inquiring look.

"Just a hug," Obi-wan quickly gasped in reply. The two stood watching them for a few more painful moments before leaving without another word.

Obi-wan turned to Anakin, rubbing his ribs with a series of winces. "We're definitely going to have to work on that."

"Yeah," Anakin replied, emboldened and yet horrified at the same time, "but did you see the looks on their faces? I believe that is one point for me," he said with a smug look on his face that did not reflect his very conflicted thoughts.

Obi-wan scoffed. "That clearly does not count, Anakin. They thought you were killing me, not kissing me. We shall call that one a draw."

Anakin thought about this before replying. "Fine," he said grudgingly. "There's always next time I suppose…."

Obi-wan let out a small laugh. "Now then," he said, "we have a meeting with the Council in about an hour. What do you say we head down to the Gardens to meditate until then?"

"Only you would suggest that," Anakin said, following Obi-wan as he began walking in that general direction. "Is that all you ever think about, Master? Haven't you ever heard of just relaxing? What does meditation even really do? You just sit down and close your eyes. If you're going to be that useless, why not just stay home and watch the Holo-net?"

"I am very much looking forward to a week of meditation without your incessant complaints, padawan. You have absolutely no patience." Obi-wan sighed heavily. And then a slight smile began to form at the corner of his mouth. "Fine," he said, "if you would prefer a more stimulating activity, how about we practice hugging again in the Gardens? I would really like it if I didn't end this week quite so bruised."

"Sounds okay I guess," said Anakin, thinking that he would at least avoid being completely bored for an hour. "But what's this about me having no patience?" he continued indignantly. "I have plenty of patience I just, you know, express it differently. Qui-gon seemed to understand…."

Anakin glanced at his master as he said this and watched the nostalgia slowly spread across Obi-wan's face as they continued on their way toward the Gardens. "Now Qui-gon was one who liked to hug," said Obi-wan. "He was never afraid to be close to someone – you know, in a non-homosexual way. Too bad he had to die slowly and ask that I train such a non-hugger."

Anakin smiled at this. He knew Obi-wan found him intolerable at times, but their light-hearted banter only reminded him of how well the two ultimately got along as friends.

They arrived at the Gardens shortly and once again Anakin was relieved that the early hour provided them with solitude.

"Right," started Obi-wan, turning to Anakin as he had done earlier, " I think that perhaps I should try hugging you this time. It might be a little easier considering I am not quite so emotionally distant as you seem to be."

"Whatever," Anakin sighed, dimly acknowledging the fact that the most emotionally distant person he had ever met just called him emotionally distant. "Just do it." He tried desperately not to grimace as Obi-wan leaned toward him and engulfed him in a friendly embrace. He patted Obi-wan's back awkwardly, unsure of what he was actually supposed to do. And then Obi-wan spoke.

"Your hair smells nice. What shampoo do you use?"

"Obi-wan, ew!" Anakin exclaimed in disgust, pushing the other man away. "Do not smell me, it's weird!"

Obi-wan looked genuinely perplexed. "What?" he asked. "It smells good! Obviously you don't use the same shampoo that I do and I was just trying to figure out -"

"Just stop," Anakin broke in.

"Alright, I'm sorry. If I'd known you were going to get so upset about it…. Would you just like to try again?"

Anakin hesitated momentarily before finally conceding. "Okay."

This hug proceeded relatively well. It was certainly less uncomfortable than the other two anyway. Anakin started to think that maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all. He could handle this, really. Not too much touching, arms and hands in appropriate places, faces a comfortable distance apart. But then there was that odd sound….

"Obi-wan, are you sniffing?"

Obi-wan pulled back slightly to look at his padawan. "Well seriously, what is that smell?"

"Okay, that's it!" Anakin said, stepping away from his master. "I think we've had enough practice. Let's just head up to the meeting now."

Sensing that his padawan was growing more irritable by the minute, Obi-wan resignedly let Anakin lead the way.


Anakin had no idea what Master Yoda was talking about. They had been speaking with the Council for at least a half an hour and his attention to the conversation had dissipated about fifteen minutes ago. Luckily his shields were strong and he was able to zone out freely – gazing at the weird shape of Ki-Adi-Mundi's head – without the masters being any the wiser. He hoped fleetingly that they weren't talking about anything too important.

It almost looks like a volcano, the padawan thought to himself, not taking his eyes from the domed head before him. With the hair sprouting from the very top like that…. And those wrinkles – you could almost find pictures in his face….

"Anakin?" a voice suddenly broke through his haze of thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Skywalker!"

Anakin snapped back to reality with an abrupt start. All eyes in the room were upon him.

"My apologies Masters," he said quickly. "I was just … thinking."

"Well," Master Windu began impatiently, "do you think this is a task you would be willing to take on with your master?"

Having absolutely no clue what was going on, Anakin merely replied, "Uh, sure."

"Settled, it is then," Yoda spoke, seemingly satisfied. "Appreciate this, the Council does."

Anakin stole a glance at Obi-wan and saw that the man was grinning broadly. So apparently it isn't a bad thing.

The two bowed respectfully and then turned to leave. Without any warning, Obi-wan pulled Anakin into a tight, one-armed hug.

"Force!" Anakin yelped out of surprise, jumping back and tripping over his cloak as he did so. He landed sprawled out on his back in the middle of the room with a dozen pairs of curious eyes turned his way. Whatever the task was, it had to be better than this bet.