POV: Anakin Skywalker

"You're a damn fool," he said. We'd been here for three hours already and Obi-Wan was already arguing with Quin. I rolled my eyes as Luminara sighed beside me. "Anakin's been trying to show you how to safely ride that damned bike and you still manage to injure yourself!"

The man I made love with earlier was hidden beneath the parental man he was. He had no children, but it sure felt like Quin was one of his kids. "Okay, mom," Quin said teasingly, "I'll be more careful next time." Obi-Wan's face was burning. It was hard not to tease him, but I love him and I know he's actually angry at Quin. The two of them have been friends forever. I could see that he was resisting the urge to slap Quinlan.

I stood up from my chair and cleared my throat. "Obi, why don't we go to the vending machine and get some chips or something?" I asked tentatively, hoping he wasn't going to snap at me now. He turned and gave me a slight glare. My stomach did a flip and then his features softened. He extended his hand towards me and I moved forward, taking it.

He led me out of Quin's room and we walked down a few hallways in silence. I shot a few sidelong glances at him, hoping he'd open up to me. I know I hadn't particularly been open with him, but I would try harder now. I knew I could trust him and I hoped he could trust me, too. Well, if he didn't after earlier, I'd be kind of shocked. "I'm sorry, Ani," he whispered. "He's like my brother. I've known him too long and I don't want to lose him."

I moved closer to him and swung an arm around his waist. "I know, love." We got to the room with the vending machine and I pulled my wallet out. He was standing behind me, absently playing with the hem of my shirt. I pulled out a few ones and smiled. "What do you want, lover?"

"Doritos," he whispered. I moved forward and he moved with me. I slid the dollar into the machine and pressed the combination for E-five. It slid forward and dropped and Obi-Wan pressed a kiss to my left shoulder blade. "Anakin, you know I love you, right?"

"Of course I do." I raised an eyebrow as I slid another dollar in and pressed A-three for barbecued chips. "Why?"

His arms snaked around me and rubbed my abdomen. "I just want you to know that."

I laughed quietly and he bent down to grab our chips. When he stood up, he headed over to the sofa and sat down, setting the bags of chips in his lap. He patted the cushion next to him and I moved to sit beside him. "I love you, too, Obi." He handed me my bag with a smile. We opened them simultaneously and laughed quietly. I was staring into my bag and I felt his eyes on me, so I glanced at him. He was looking me over and my face flushed. "Is something wrong with me?"

He chuckled and rested his hand on my thigh before taking my hand in his. "I wish. I haven't been able to find anything wrong." I smiled warmly at him. The way he looked at me always made me feel so loved. I felt like I was the center of his universe. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but his eyes made me feel that way. "Is it strange to picture you undressed?"

I smirked. "Nah," I replied, wiggling my eyebrow. "I've had your naked body on my mind since I saw it." It was true. The entire time we'd been here, I just kept staring at his gorgeous body. I hated the clothes on him. Not because they were bad or anything like that. I just wanted them off of him and they didn't seem to comply with my wishes. He tried to cover himself up in an attempt to look modest, but I smacked his leg. "Don't act innocent!" I teased.

He laughed and leaned closer to kiss me. "I'm no longer innocent thanks to you," he said with a wink. He took my hand from his leg and held it in his. I could instantly feel my teasing mood shifting to a very warm feeling. I leaned closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder. He lifted his other arm and stroked his fingers through my hair. "Anakin, I'm happy that we met," he whispered. "My life would be so dull without you."

I chuckled. "I think it was fate that brought us together." It took Tru from me, but… Maybe I was supposed to be with Obi-Wan. There were so many moments throughout our relationship thus far when I believed we were meant to be. He felt like my other half. He completed me. He kissed my hair and I knew from that that he agreed with me.

We stayed like this for roughly twenty minutes. I wanted him to have time to cool off so he wouldn't kill Quin. A woman with blue hair stormed past the room and Obi-Wan jerked a bit. "Aayla!" he called out. I raised an eyebrow as I lifted my head from his shoulder. "One moment," he said apologetically before running after her. I stood and walked after him. As I rounded the corner, I saw that the woman looked angry.

Angry by my standards was pretty close to pissed off. She actually look more pissed than she did angry. "I don't know why you insist on coddling him!" she screamed at Obi-Wan. I cringed at the same time that he did and I moved closer. I knew I had a protective side of me and it just happened to leave its dormant state when I felt like he was threatened. I stepped closer to him and stood behind him, crossing my arms over my chest. I loomed over both of them from his back and she stared up at me, raising an eyebrow. Her highlights were similar to the ones Ahsoka had – blue. "Wow, maybe I shouldn't be seeing Quinny anymore," she said breathlessly.

Obi-Wan turned to look up at me with an amused smile. "I forgot that I haven't introduced you both yet. Anakin, this is Aayla." I nodded and she smiled. "Aayla, this is Anakin."

"It's a–"

"He's my boyfriend." She stopped dead when Obi-Wan added that. I smirked and leaned closer to kiss his temple. "We've been together for six months." She looked flabbergasted and I couldn't help but chuckle. She had that 'no way in hell' look.

"How do you get such a hot guy like him?" she asked, her jaw hanging as she looked me up at down. I raised an eyebrow and slid my arm around Obi-Wan's waist. It wasn't really the first time a girl hit on me, but that didn't make it any less disturbing as it always was. "Sweetie, you can't really be gay, can you?"

"I'm as gay as can be," I said cheekily. I was happy being gay. If someone had a problem with it, it wasn't my problem. They could suck it and I would say as much to them as well. "I love ramming and being rammed by men." She shuddered and Obi-Wan seemed to tense a bit at that. I gave him a curious look and he shook his head. "What?" I said quietly.

"We'll talk about it later." Shit. I frowned and he nuzzled his face against my chest, embracing me. "It's not bad. I promise."

The three of us walked – or in Aayla's case, sulked – as we made our way towards Quin's room. Obi-Wan took a chair in the corner, allowing Aayla the opportunity to sit at Quin's bedside and I stood beside Obi-Wan. He looked up at me and gripped my hand gently. I looked down at him and smiled a little. He used his other hand to pat his lap and I raised an eyebrow. He gave me a small pout and I rolled my eyes. I sat on his lap and we shifted a bit until we were both comfortable.

"Obi, have you heard anything from the station tonight?" Quin asked, pulling Obi-Wan's attention away from me. I wasn't starving for his attention. I just…wanted it on me a lot.

"No. I put my phone on silent before we left the house. Why?"

His hand was lightly stroking my thigh and I was playing with his shirt. "Our case," he said. It was almost like he didn't know I was in on it. Obi-Wan doesn't like keeping anything from me. He could get groped at a grocery store by some woman and he'd come home and tell me he felt guilty about it, which I didn't understand. It hadn't been his fault unless you blame him for being too sexy for his own good.

"What about it? Do we have more information?"

Quin nodded. "Another victim. He was nearby actually."

"How close?" Obi-Wan seemed to panic and his grip on my thigh tightened.

"About four blocks away from the station." That was about ten or so blocks away from our house. Obi-Wan was starting to think that the serial killer guy knew Obi was on the case. He worried that his case would get me into some trouble and I'd rolled my eyes. Calming him down from that explosion of panic and anger had been a blast. "I'm pretty much ready to get out of here."

Obi-Wan laughed darkly. "Oh, no. You are staying here, Quinlan."

"Obi!" he whined.

"Don't make me act like a father to you."

"Don't act like my father then."

The air suddenly got really tense and I just kept my eyes on Obi-Wan's hardened glare. I glanced quickly at Quin and saw the amused look on his face. He knew he was pissing Obi-Wan off. Aayla and Luminara stood up simultaneously, seeming to be on the same wavelength. "Anakin, can Quinlan and I have a moment alone?" Obi-Wan whispered gently, rubbing my chest. I nodded and started to get up from his lap. He pulled me down for a quick kiss before he let go of me.

I left the room and shut the door quietly, hoping that neither of them would kill the other. The two ladies were heading off down the hall and I stood where I was awkwardly until Aayla turned around and motioned for me to follow them. I quickly caught up to them. "So, Anakin," she began. Great. Here we go. "How old are you? You look pretty young to be dating Obi-Wan."

"Twenty-two," I whispered. She stopped where she was and I sputtered, "I'll be twenty-three next month."

"Do you know how old Obi-Wan is?"

I rolled my eyes. "Of course I know how old my boyfriend is," I answered, grinding the statement out as roughly as I could.

"I take it you have daddy issues?" she teased. I knew she was messing with me, but that didn't make it right. This bitch didn't know anything about me. What right did she have to judge me based on my interest in Obi-Wan?

"Fuck you," I said quietly. I didn't think she heard me until she gripped my shoulder. "Don't presume to know my life. I love Obi-Wan as much as he loves me. You can't be too old yourself either and Quin is the same age as Obi."

Twenty-five. That was my guess. "I'm twenty-six, kid." Bitch. "I know what I want and I know it's Quinlan."

"Right," I said sarcastically. I didn't want to rip on Quinlan. I knew how he was when he was around other women and she probably knew, too. "Seems like your daddy issues are the same as mine if you're dating a guy twelve years older than you."

That was when the whole verbal fight began. I let her lash out at me. It didn't really bother me. I actually tuned her out as much as I possibly could, which was really easy. "Okay, okay!" Luminara cried, exasperated. "Aayla, go sit down. Anakin–"

I was already walking towards the lounge area to take a seat. Aayla was still throwing a hissy fit while I read some magazines. I hadn't even said anything after the initial statement and I found it amusing that I'd pissed her off by using her 'slander' towards me against her.

I'm not sure when I dozed off, but I did. Strong, warm hands rested on my chest and slid up to rub my neck. A soft kiss was planted on my lips and I barely opened my eyes. "Good evening, sleeping beauty," his lovely voice cooed. He was smiling at me and there was a very faint handprint on his face. I sat up and lifted my hand to touch it, but he gripped my fingers gently. "I'm fine, my love. Let's get home. Your mother called while you were napping. I'll drive so you can talk." He looked at my phone? "It was ringing when I came out here," he said quietly, sounding ashamed. "I didn't read any messages or anything else." I nodded and stood up and he laughed quietly, drawing my attention to him once again. "I love the fact that you have a picture of us on your phone, Ani."

"Of course," I said with a smile. I stroked the good side of his face. "What else would I have on there?" He shrugged and I smirked. He already knew I was up to something just by the look on his face. I waited to see if he'd catch on to my thought process.

"I'll give you as many as you want if I can have some for myself." Yes! I laughed and hugged him. "I'd recommend putting a lock on your phone if you plan on having nude pictures of me on it, however."

"As long as you do the same, it's a deal." He took my hand and led me through the hospital until we miraculously reached the outside. It was a huge hospital. We got into his shit-car and he took the keys from me as I held them out for him, simultaneously taking my phone out. He started up the car and backed up as I called my mom. It rang three times and I knew it would go to the answering machine soon. She normally picked up as soon as the phone rang because she knew it would be me.

"Hello?" she whispered. She sounded afraid and I sat up straighter in my seat.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Obi-Wan glanced at me for a moment, his worry as evident on his face as my own was. I could hear her breathing shakily and sniffling, which was never a good sign. "Mom, answer me," I said a bit roughly.

"Ani, I can't make it over for dinner tonight."

"Why not?"

"Baby boy, I need some sleep. I'll see you soon. I–"

"Don't you fucking hang up!" I hissed. Obi-Wan jumped and his right hand slid over my thigh, trying to calm me down. "Tell me what the hell happened, mom." I heard the click echo in my mind and my heart snapped. She hung up on me. I shoved my phone into my pocket and he took a right turn instead of a left without me having to say a word. I gripped the armrest roughly and his hand continued its light strokes over my thigh.

He turned once more to the right and we pulled up outside of mom's house. I practically launched myself from the vehicle before it even stopped and I ran up the stairs and started banging on the door. Obi-Wan was quick to follow me and he stood behind me with his right hand on my lower back. "Ani, please," she begged on the other side of the door, "go home."

"Let me in right now!" I growled. This was the part of me that went the most animalistic I could ever go. My mom had been the center of my world for so long. Anything or anyone that hurt her instantly signed their death sentence. "Mom!" She started sobbing as she opened the door. I stood there, my jaw hanging open as I stared at her. Her face was bloody and there were fresh welts and bruises forming on her pale skin. I stepped over the threshold when she backed up and I brushed her hair out of her face. She looked like an animal attacked her. "Tell me what happened," I said softly, rushing my words.

"Your father–" She began sobbing again and I could just feel my anger boiling deep inside of me. "Baby, he threatened me."

She threw her arms around me and sobbed into my chest and I closed my eyes, stroking her hair like she'd done for me when I needed to cry against her when I was little. "Mommy, I'm here. Tell me why he threatened you."

Eventually, she calmed down. She hadn't told me anything yet, but I didn't plan on leaving as long as I knew she was hurting. Obi-Wan sat on the coffee table in front of the couch I sat on with mom. He was just as concerned as I was. I was gently dabbing at her face with a wet rag to clean the blood and everything else. "He wants to take you away, baby. I fought him on it." She leaned against my hand and smiled weakly at me. "You're an adult. You earned the right to be called that and I wish he saw that you're not a sixteen year old boy anymore. You're almost twenty-three, baby."

I was about to speak, but Obi-Wan quieted me by resting his hand on my shoulder. I stared at him curiously and he moved to take my mom's hands in both of his. "Shmi," he whispered soothingly, smiling sadly, "why don't you come live with us? You practically live with us and I know it'll make you both happy to see one another more often than not."

My heart stopped and it felt like time froze and rewinded repeatedly. She looked cautious and didn't answer right away. "You…You'd really let me live with you?" We both smiled widely at her and her face flushed. "Boys, that would mean so much to me, but–"

"Then it's settled," Obi-Wan chimed in. "Pack up your necessities. Anakin and I will provide you with whatever you need, Shmi."

Just call her mom. He was so hesitant about calling her 'mom' because he hadn't really had parents growing up. "Obi," she whispered, "I appreciate you so much. You're sweet to my baby and you're sweet to me, too." He smiled wider when she leaned closer to him to hug him. After that embrace, she ran upstairs to pack her things. That left Obi-Wan and me alone.

"Anakin, I'm s–" I leapt from my position on the couch and tackled him. We both toppled over the coffee table and landed on the floor with me in the dominant position. I pressed sweet, passionate kisses on his lips and he knew that he had no reason to apologize. It meant the world to me to know that he was just as willing as I was to help my mom. It meant a lot to know that the three of us had become something like a small family. "I love you, Anakin. I told you I'd do anything for you." I sighed contentedly against his chest and he stroked my hair. "I'll do anything to see you and your mother happy, my lovely Anakin." I lifted my head only to tell him that I loved him as well and that I would never be able to repay him for this, to which he insinuated one possible way for me to make up for it.

As he'd do anything for me, I would do anything for him without a question.