Anakin shuffled from his room at five hours exactly. He sniffed loudly and wiped his nose on his sleeve. Obi-Wan grimaced; clearly he needed to do a more thorough lesson on the finder points of etiquette.
"Feeling a bit under the weather today?" Obi-Wan asked casually.
"No," Anakin grumbled, making his way to the fresher.
"Good, then we'll be going. You can shower after we spar." Obi-Wan told him with cheer that was absolutely inappropriate for such an early hour. Anakin looked balefully at his master. Deciding he was serious, Anakin sniffled pathetically before bowing his head.
"Yes, master," he grumbled finally.
"There's no time for pouting, Anakin," Obi-Wan told him, tweaking his braid. "We've got a lot of ground to cover."
The bout did not last as long as Obi-Wan had hoped. His apprentice was unusually slow today and unsteady on his feet, earning him plenty of burns and bruises. Obi-Wan tried to go easy without letting him off the hook completely because it was clear that his recently healed arm was giving him some trouble as well. Obi-Wan disengaged, then lowered his sabre.
"Have you been doing the exercises the healers assigned you?" He asked mildly.
"Yes, master," Anakin replied truthfully. Obi-Wan beckoned and Anakin obediently held out his arm. Obi-Wan gently manipulated Anakin's arm, frowning as Anakin released small flares of pain into their Force bond. Anakin was still swaying, making it difficult for Obi-Wan to assess his healing limb.
"Hold still," he said and gently tugged on Anakin's arm. Anakin stumbled into his chest. "Surely you aren't that tired," Obi-Wan teased, catching his shoulders.
"No, master," Anakin replied dutifully. Obi-Wan looked carefully at his apprentice's face. Two spots of colour burned on Anakin's otherwise pale face. Obi-Wan brushed the back of his hand over Anakin's cheek.
"You're feverish," he murmured. Anakin pulled away.
"I am not," he grumbled, "You just don't want to spar again." Obi-Wan snorted.
"You wish, padawan mine. Now are we going to the healers, or are you going to bed?" Anakin scowled and weighed his options.
"Bed," he muttered sulkily.
Anakin was curled up on the broad couch, hiding under a blanket as Obi-Wan made them tea. Obi-Wan made a great deal of noise in the kitchenette that intensified the pounding in Anakin's head. Obi-Wan appeared with the tea a moment later. He set the cups on the table and poured. Obi-Wan added a large spoonful of honey to each, well aware of Anakin's hungry stare.
"You're spoiled," Obi-Wan muttered as his slid Anakin's mug over and sat.
"Yes, master," Anakin grinned and sipped his tea, immediately scalding himself. He half yelped and set the mug down glaring at it. Obi-Wan snickered.
"It isn't the tea's fault you cannot practice patience," Obi-Wan informed him lightly. He blew on his own tea, discretely cooling it with the Force before taking his own sip. "Our trip to Alderaan must have been very tiring for you," Obi-Wan observed, "It's unusual for one so strong in the Force to catch a virus," he paused brows slowly drawing together. "Unless it's Force specific," he unconsciously shifted away from Anakin, who was shaking his head.
"I don't think so," he said, "just Force resistant." He sniffed loudly and Obi-Wan made a face.
"After you've slept you should attempt a healing trance," he suggested.
"I tried," Anakin said.
"There is no try," Obi-Wan reminded him. Anakin huffed and came dangerously close to an eye roll.
"Fine, well I did it earlier." Obi-Wan gave him a distinctly unimpressed look as he began to clear their dishes.
"Get yourself to bed," he ordered, "I don't want to hear from you for at least the next hour." Anakin shot him a look before gathering his blanket around himself. He walked from the room with as much dignity as he could muster; a difficult task while suppressing sniffles.
Obi-Wan was drafting the report on the Alderaan mission. He was fully engaged in his pursuit when a heavy thump issued from Anakin's room. It had barely been fifteen minutes. Obi-Wan scowled and set the report down.
When the door to Anakin's room hissed open, he saw Anakin standing in the middle of the room part way through a complex kata. Anakin froze, guilt colouring the bond between them.
"Bed," Obi-Wan told him firmly.
When he returned to the couch and his report, Obi-Wan checked on Anakin more thoroughly. His present calm told Obi-Wan that he wasn't sleeping, but gave no indication that he was doing anything but resting. The crease between Obi-Wan's eyebrows deepened as he realized Anakin's Force signature had weakened slightly. Obi-Wan pursed his lips, then got back to his work. A half an hour passed where Obi-Wan only half paid attention to the report. A large part of his energy was still directed at Anakin who still wasn't sleeping. Obi-Wan chided himself for his lack of focus before once again setting down his data pad. Anakin had time to stuff his own data pad under the covers before Obi-Wan had opened the door.
"What are you up to now?" His master enquired suspiciously.
"Resting," Anakin replied, yawning to prove his point. He put on his most angelic face and sniffled loudly for further effect. Obi-Wan made a low, doubtful noise and sat on the edge of Anakin's bed. He winced and shifted to pull the data pad from the covers. He held it up.
"This does not look like resting," he informed his sheepish padawan, "It looks," he examined the tablet, "like advanced astrophysics."
"I'm behind," Anakin mumbled. Obi-Wan allowed some of his exasperation to flow between them in the Force. "Sorry, master," Obi-Wan sighed and set the data pad on Anakin's desk. He moved further onto the bed and both shifted to accommodate the other. They ended up with Obi-Wan leaning comfortably against the wall and Anakin's head practically in his lap. Obi-Wan leaned forwards to feel the side of Anakin's face.
"You're warmer," he chided. Anakin didn't reply except to wiggle closer. Obi-Wan sighed lightly. With a sweeping wave of nostalgia, he realized that he had missed the signs of affection that had been becoming less and less frequent as the months and years went by. He tried to let the feeling pass without too much thought as was proper, but it stuck with him. "Go to sleep, young one. Your assignments will still be here when you wake." It didn't take more than a touch of the Force for Anakin to drift off. Obi-Wan pulled Anakin's blankets to is shoulders and began the long task of shoring Anakin's reserves of strength with his own.