You're fat enough already. You don't deserve food, demons reminded him.
Of course, they were right. Obi-Wan glared at the bowl that long since cooled down to room temperature.
Yes, I don't. But Luke does, he replied.
Excuse! You use that boy as an excuse to eat. Selfish whale.
Obi-Wan gritted his teeth and refused to listen. They hate Luke, he reminded himself. He couldn't listen to them in this matter. Luke came first. Before himself. Before everything.
Obi-Wan locked the door and took off his tunic. His palm made the last journey on the rugged landscape underneath. He committed all of them to memory. Every dune, every ridge, every cliff. He said his farewell.
I will miss this.
He ate the damn soup.
Again, Obi-Wan ate. It was nerf steak that Luke made. This dish was Luke's favorite meal, that was why he told the boy he wanted to eat it. Luke was overjoyed when Obi-Wan told him so and disappeared into the kitchen to prepare the dish.
Obi-Wan sliced the meat to a thin strip and cut it in half and then half again. He impaled it with his fork and brought it inside the mouth. He chewed, teeth grinding down for exactly 50 times before he swallowed.
"How is it?" Luke asked, rubbing his hands together.
"It tastes very good."
Luke beamed and it reached his eyes. The boy took a bite from his own plate." Mmm, I like this spice rub. Next time I'll add thyme and bay leaf. It will taste even better."
Obi-Wan nodded and took another bite. It was good to see Luke chattering and smiling freely. He kept swallowing. Luke did the same. The boy's happiness the only thing that kept him from stopping.
"I think vaporators need new batteries," Luke said. The current ones were almost useless. they hadn't been changed for decades. "Condensers aren't working properly without sunlight."
Luke was probably right. Obi-Wan didn't have skill or energy to do these mechanical stuff. Given his luck, he'd gotten himself electrocuted in 4 minutes if he'd tried. "We'll pick them up next time we go to town."
"Alright. Thanks."
"I have enough,"Obi-Wan said. His stomach was stretched and filled uncomfortably as it digested the food.
And it'll absorb all the FAT, the demons supplied helpfully.
Luke's smile vanished for a second and reappeared. It didn't reach his eyes this time. "A few more bites," Luke urged. "For me."
Obi-Wan picked up the utensils and did as Luke asked. He couldn't refuse that puppy-dog eyes and Luke knew it.
"Thank you," Luke said.
Obi-Wan stood, picking up both plates.
Luke took empty plates from him. "I'll do the wash-up. You can go rest."
It was already ten in the morning and Obi-Wan wasn't up yet. Weird, Luke thought.
He knocked on Obi-Wan's door. He couldn't barge into other people's bedroom as he did when he was younger anymore, or so he was told.
He knocked again. "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Obi-Wan replied.
Luke rolled his eyes at himself. He didn't know why he even bother to ask. Obi-Wan could have a broken leg and said he was fine.
Yeah, and decorum was overrated anyway.
Obi-Wan huddled into himself under the blanket facing away from him and didn't even turn.
"Are you ill?" Luke reached for Obi-Wan's forehead. It was clammy with sweat but not burning.
"I'm fine. Just need some rest." Obi-Wan pulled away from Luke's hand and rolled deeper in the blanket.
Luke pulled away the thick cotton fabric. Obi-Wan's nightshirt was unbuttoned, underneath was rib cage prominent under old scars and unhealthy pallor. Both of his arms wrapped around his middle. Soft loose pants clung low on protruding curve of his hip bones. The sight made Luke want to close his eyes and run away and forget.
Obi-wan had always been thin, his bones always stick out. This, though… This was pushing it. Luke wanted to and scream and cry and sleep.
He had to be strong. For Obi-Wan. He could do this. He could do this.
Luke pried at Obi-Wan's arms. The abdomen was not a flat and somewhat concave plane he knew it to be, but a stiff protruding was a stark contrast to his emaciated chest. He touched the distended area lightly, ignoring Obi-Wan's futile batting hand and a noiseless groan.
"I'll sleep it off. It'll be better soon," Obi-Wan said.
"Do you need anything? Food? Some med? I'll get it for you," Luke offered.
Obi-Wan shook his head.
Luke sighed. He would come check later.
Obi-Wan's bloating was better than yesterday, unnoticeable under tunic that swallowed him whole. After some coaxing, obi-wan agreed to have a light meal in the evening, the first one since the steak.
The food was ready. Luke went to fetch Obi-Wan. He was probably asleep, like he had been doing more than usual lately. His body was hibernating to preserve its insufficient energy.
Obi-Wan had a peaceful expression that smoothened out his face. Luke paused. It was rare to see Obi-Wan looked relaxed. He was always agitated in his sleep, tossing and turning and mumbling in his sleep, face curled in a grimace or a frown.
Luke slipped out soundlessly, ignoring the protest of his stomach.
Maybe later.
Obi-Wan ate his porridge without reheating it. Luke followed his suit, imitating his every swallow.
"You don't have to do this, Luke," he said with more than a hint of wariness.
"I know," Luke replied. "But I'm doing this."
"Nothing good can come out of this," Obi-Wan said as he refused to hand Luke the bowls and began to wash them up.
"You already said that."
"Yes-" Obi-Wan halted and a hand came to cover his mouth. He bent down just in time to sick in the sink.
Luke rushed to Obi-Wan's side, his fingers made a fleeting touch on Obi-Wan's back just so that he knew Luke was there, but not solid enough that he would flinch away. He tried to ignore knobby peaks of spine that poked through and passed Obi-Wan a clean cloth and a water jug when he finished.
Obi-Wan wiped his mouth and rinsed away the foul taste.
