A/N: Here's another chapter! I wrote nothing for weeks then sped through this in a space of two days, so I hope it's okay!

Been struggling with some mental health issues, but I'm doing okay! The story should hopefully speed up from here, I'm getting bored of writing scenes with less angst!

Tuesday 5:35pm; Jedi Temple.

Swinging his legs, Anakin sighed. Clutching at the tangle of wires in his hands, he once more tried to separate them. But neither his heart nor his mind was in it, and soon he found that he was once more staring out the window, unfocused, the pieces slipping from his hand. No matter how hard he tried, he could not force himself to do anything. Every single thing he wanted to complete, no matter how easy it was, felt far too difficult for him to attempt.

Even when he did attempt to do one of the few tasks he had been allowed to do, he could not seem to coherently form a clear picture of what he wanted in his head. So instead, he resigned himself to gazing out at the clouds, the sky swarmed by ships, of a such huge diversity that Anakin was at least moderately entertained by trying to guess from which systems they had originated from.

But still. It wasn't really what he wanted to spend his afternoon doing. He would have much rather been out of the quarters, doing something exciting. Well, even being out of the quarters would be nice.

Anakin had made the mistake of mentioning, in passing, that he felt an ache in his shoulder after sparring on Sunday. He had not expected much to come out of it, and so far he had not felt any pain since telling his Master. Sadly Anakin had not possessed enough to sense what Obi-Wan would do if he got even slightly worried.

For the past two days, the first two days he was meant to be allowed to attend sparring lessons, Obi-Wan had decided to be stubborn. He had held Anakin back at home, telling him to rest to regain his strength.

To say Anakin was annoyed would be an understatement. The understatement of the century.

He knew Obi-Wan was trying to protect him. He knew that he had his best interests at heart. But to have one of the few things he'd been so looking forward to ripped away from him, because of a trivial pain, had sent him into a state of despair beyond what he could have imagined.

Recently he had taken comfort in routine. Everything had to be laid out exactly. All activities of the day were written down, not physically, but in an unspoken list in his head. Obi-Wan had been happy to let him do this, even encouraged it as a coping mechanism. Yet he did not seem to understand how much Anakin was beginning to rely on the reassurance of knowing what was coming next.

Anakin had woken up expecting the day to go a certain way, for everything to go as planned. But Obi-Wan had unintentionally rocked the balance he had been precariously teetering on. Anakin had told him that he was okay, but the second he had left the room he had panicked. He could not function nearly as well.

Crying over something so small made him feel weak, but he could not stop himself. He felt so helpless, as if he had no control over anything in his own life. He had calmed down slightly after half an hour, but he still felt a bit shaky.

When he had ventured out from his room, he'd found the place empty. No sign of Obi-Wan, or anyone else. Relaxing a bit, he grabbed a warm drink and sat down, trying to remain calm. And he sat some more. Then sat somewhere else. Sat and read a book. Sat in his room.

Long before the panic had worn off, boredom had settled. Mind numbing boredom, the lack of the energy nor joy to do anything which he would have previously occupied his time with. Soon even his lingering anger dissipated, leaving him feeling empty. But, he supposed, at least that meant that by the time Obi-Wan turned up again, that he wouldn't do something rash.

Eventually even sitting down became a hassle, so Anakin leapt up and began pacing. He no longer had the brain capacity to come up with ideas for any different types of entertainment, his mind was taken up by thinking of other things. Like Marius.

There was not much he could do without more information. And the information was accessible, Anakin definitely knew his way around tracking someone, but the point was that he was physically limited from the holonet. Obi-Wan had somehow managed to deactivate all searching capabilities on every device they had. Anakin knew because he had checked them all. And Artoo was barely around anymore, too often Anakin had found his droid in Obi-Wan's company rather than his own.

That on its own seemed unusual for the little droid. He had been Padmé's gift to Anakin almost ten years ago, and had remained loyal the entire time. But now he was always with Obi-Wan. Anakin hated to say so, but he definitely felt some abandonment, which he was pretty certain stemmed from the droid's sudden disinterest.

Artoo definitely could have helped him gain information surrounding Marius, and the night on the Lower Levels. The desire for revenge had not dimmed in the slightest, obscuring his fear. While in the back of his mind he was terrified, the rest of him was fully focused on finding Marius. It was only at night that he felt too scared to continue, that he felt he might give up on doing anything, give up altogether. But the second dawn arrived he always felt more confident.

Finding Marius was what he wanted to do. But he wasn't the only one who was putting their efforts in.

Obi-Wan, feeling guilty about pulling Anakin out of classes, had taken a walk to clear his head, down through the gardens. Originally he had planned to stop by the archives, to try to garner some idea, even a vague recollection, of the research he had done while Anakin was still missing. He stupidly had not saved the files. It wouldn't be hard to find them again, but he could not find where he had written the details down, nor where Artoo had sent the data. He had too many things on his mind.

Instead of doing that however, he made a detour. He could not face mindlessly scanning through the same data he had poured over during nights past. His heart was not in it today. Not that his desire to find Anakin's captor was any less, only he felt far wearier that he'd done for weeks.

He had thrown himself into caring for Anakin, but now he was becoming independent again. And it was getting harder to accept the realization that Obi-Wan had to start letting his Padawan do things on his own again. He was improving at a startling rate, beyond what they both had thought possible. Going back to lessons definitely helped, even when Obi-Wan had barred him from physical activity.

It was just the other day when they had sparred together, and Anakin was already clamouring to be allowed to do it in class. Obi-Wan should have realized that it was coming, but he had put the notion off. He was not ready for it.

Sitting down carefully on a bench, he breathed deeply. Tried to calm his heart beats, steady himself. Placing his hands on his knees, he closed his eyes.

The gardens were busier than usual, much to his annoyance, but thankfully nobody had been sitting in his favourite spot under the shade of a large tree. Obi-Wan had a suspicion that it originated from Naboo, but he couldn't be certain. Padmé would have been able to tell him, had she been there. Or Qui-Gon, who had an extreme affinity for plants.

Qui-Gon would have known what was best.

Obi-Wan tried his best to not lament over the loss of his Master so early, knowing that he was luckier than most, but he often found it hard to ignore the sensation of a lack of control.

He'd never got the chance to ask Qui-Gon for help training Anakin, or what to do about the Council, nor anything else. All questions which he now desperately wished for answers for. Qui-Gon would certainly know what to do about Marius, and looking after everything, and how to deal with the dark tendrils of the Force which even now we're slowly creeping around Obi-Wan, their grip getting tighter-

Laying his head in his hands, Obi-Wan clenched his eyes shut. He would never know if Qui-Gon would have helped. Maybe he would. Maybe he wouldn't. The most painful thing was knowing that he would never know. He would never get to see how Qui-Gon reacted. Because he was gone.

While their relationship had been rocky at best, Obi-Wan relied on him. Always had done. Their disagreements had come regularly, but Obi-Wan had bit his tongue to avoid conflict. Unlike his own Padawan, who saw no problem in petty fights. Yet now Obi-Wan wished for at least one chance to see Qui-Gon. Speak to him even. Any help at all would be welcomed.

Master Yoda, although trying his best, had done little good. The same could be said about Master Windu. Quin was trying his best to maintain contact from further away, but to say he was failing would be an understatement. Obi-Wan had not heard from him in weeks. He still needed to ask him about the dark side of the Force, but had not received the chance.

Kit had called a couple of times, but Obi-Wan was not comfortable talking to him about confidential matters. They'd barely spoke, and after all, he was just someone from the Lower Levels. He'd been in the right place at the right time. Obi-Wan did not truly know him.

Shmi, too, she had done her best to give advice, but to little effect. She did not know Anakin. She knew the little boy on Tatooine. She did not know the young adult he was now. She did not know who he had become. In a way, Obi-Wan felt that he was far more connected to Anakin. He would not say if for fear of offense, but she had barely witnessed his achievements. He was not sure if that was him being jealous, a trait he tried to dodge, or just honesty. But the idea lingered in his brain.

Soon he would have to tell Anakin that he had been in contact with his mother. But not today. Not now. Shattering the balance he had found would do no good. He hoped that he would find a stable point soon however, a time and place where it would be suitable to bring it up. Obi-Wan had sought her out for his sake, he had plans for them to get to talk. Hopefully it would help. Maybe.

And then there was Marius. Anakin's captor. Whoever he was. Obi-Wan could barely even begin to comprehend what was going on when it came to that.

He had forced himself to sit through the messages a few evenings ago. In hindsight, a very very bad decision, but he wanted to get more of a feeling for who this man was. Look for clues. But to say it had awoken his fear would be correct. It definitely contributed to him keeping Anakin off classes.

He had gone and awoken them for no reason too. There were no clues. Nothing he could see, no decipherable meaning. Just Anakin, the forefront of pains that Obi-Wan did not even want to think about. The second message was worse, after Anakin had faced days of what Obi-Wan could only call torture, though putting a name to it made him want to be sick. In fact, he had been sick, quietly as to not wake Anakin. He was such a light sleeper that Obi-Wan would not have been surprised had he gotten up at the slightest noise. So he'd muffled it as best he could.

Even thinking about it now made him shiver. With a sharp jolt, he forced himself to remember why he was there. To relax. To take a moment. Not to think of his troubles.

He was failing in that however. Failing badly. So, rising to his feet, he picked up his cloak. How long he had been sitting there he would not know until he got back, but the light seemed to be dimmer than before. He pushed all his thoughts away, far away. Clearing his head, he started to move back to his quarters.

To say Anakin had done a variety of activities in the space between coming out of his room to find Obi-Wan gone and now would be an untruthful statement. He was swinging his legs, sitting quietly on the counter. He couldn't see much point in attempting to do much else, he'd done everything he could think of. Maybe in the past he would have tried harder, but nowadays he had no idea where to start.

Scowling, Anakin went back over his thoughts to correct that phrase. 'Maybe in the past.' He kept thinking it, he'd tried to erase it from his frequent sayings but it always came back.

It wasn't beneficial to compare himself to an alternate timeline, and alternate reality where things had not tumbled and gone as badly wrong. If he pushed himself to be as good as the version of him from another place, a fictional fantasy, he would never feel happy with what he had become.

And there were many causes to feel happy. He was making huge advancements. Relapses happened yes, happened often. He had days where he had to start from scratch and pick himself up again. But mostly the progress was massive. He was getting there. Soon he believed he could get back to normal. Be happy. Eventually. Maybe when Obi-Wan stopped smothering him quite so much.

He had been right in thinking the attention would get annoying quickly. It had. In a matter of days. While it was still just as caring, and Anakin forced himself to remember that, it was also becoming restricting. Obi-Wan just didn't see, couldn't realise how much of an advancement he had made. How much better he was. Anakin didn't need protection anymore. He needed to be free again.

A sharp rap brought him out of his thoughts, calling him away. He jolted, almost falling off the counter he was sitting on.

Obi-Wan never knocked. He knew the passcode, obviously. And he tended to announce his presence even so.

Clutching at his belt, Anakin's fingers found his lightsaber. The encircled it, ready to bring it up as defence should he need it. Slipping quietly closer to the door, Anakin called out, hiding the tremor in his voice.

"Who is it?"

For a moment, he could hear nothing but his heartbeats. Then, a reply.

"Padawan Healer Mai."

Letting out a breath of relief, Anakin waved the door open. Kyla came into view. For a moment she looked around, then her eyes landed on him and she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh. I thought it was Master Kenobi."

Anakin smiled, letting his hand drift to his side.

"You really thought I sounded like Obi-Wan?" Anakin joked incredulously.

"You do sound kind of similar." Kyla huffed. Grinning, Anakin stepped aside to let her in.

"Oh, I'm in a rush. Just wanted to stop by to see if you wanted to come."

"Come? Come where?"

"Oh, I don't know, out somewhere. Me and a few others wanted to go do something."

Anakin stilled.

"You... you want me to come with you?"

"Sure. Why not? It's okay if you don't though!" She hastened to add. "That's fine too! Whatever works man!"

"No! No wait, it's not that I don't want to come. Just... Won't your friends mind?"

"They're all cool! They're not all my age either, so there's a mix. Couple of younger, a few older. You'll fit in, if you want of course."

"I- I..."

Anakin almost agreed. Almost. The words were on the tip of his tongue. But then, remembering, he bowed his head.

"I don't think Obi-Wan would allow it. I'd love to but I don't think he'd be happy."

"Do you wanna ask him at least?"

"He's not here now. And I know what he'd say. I'd love to go Kyla, I really would, but- "

"How much do you want to go?" She asked suddenly. Anakin, puzzled, cocked his head to the side.

"How much? Like... Do you want a number rating or...?"

"I mean." She began. Then she paused. "Well I just mean that we're also going out later. Like. A lot later, for a few hours maybe."

"If Obi-Wan won't let me out now, do you really think he'll let me out later?" Anakin said sarcastically.

Kyla laughed.

"You really don't get me. I'm saying," she answered, emphasizing the words, "that Obi-Wan doesn't need to know."

"Oh." Anakin said. "Oh! I get you."

"There's no pressure obviously! Just wanted to let you have the option! You seem really cooped up, it would be good to get out a bit! Meet some people, have some fun. I don't know what you've been through, but I think having some time outside would help! Especially some time where Obi-Wan, Master Kenobi I mean, isn't breathing down your back."

Anakin nodded.

"I- I would probably like that." He said, sheepishly and after a long internal debate.

"So is that a yes?"

Anakin stood still. Kyla was practically bouncing on her feet. He stuttered, trying to make the decision.

"I really have to go. We could do it another time maybe, when you feel -"

"No! No, I'll go tonight. Later."

"You will?"

"Sure. I guess. Where... where are we going?"

"Oh, meet by the dining hall. I know the way out. I'll explain there. At about one, if that's good for you?"

Anakin was already slightly regretting his decision. One was late. Very late. But the other part of him craved it, the excitement, the freedom.

"Sounds good."

"Cool! So, later?" She asked, already speeding done the corridor, away from Anakin.

"Later."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Feel free to review!