Anakin wasn't surprised to learn that the Council was ignoring the recommendations put forth by the Temple Healers in regards to his leave time. While it was frustrating in a distant way, he found he didn't much care. A mission might do him some good, he thought. Even if Obi-wan and Ahsoka would be there too, it seemed likely that they wouldn't have to see each other too much. He hoped the mission would distract him from the uncomfortable emptiness that had consumed him since Padme all but doused him with a bucket of ice-cold reality.

He knew she was right. He knew it. Obi-wan finally taking an interest in him was everything he ever wanted. Everything he ever dreamed of. He shouldn't have let him in, shouldn't have been so vulnerable after everything. He shouldn't have been so destitute for the man's attention, but it overwhelmed him. His touch, his body, Anakin craved it like nothing else. And it wasn't new. The need ran deep within his being to his very core.

The desperate thirst ached in his chest. He wanted to please Obi-wan, wanted to see him beam with words of praise and adoration. He wanted to be wanted, to feel wanted. To feel seen and loved and safe. He wanted all of it so badly- wanted him so badly, it hurt. It hurt so much.

Despite his Master's assurance that he would stay this time, when Anakin thought about it, he wasn't sure he believed him. He wanted to, oh force did he want to. But he hadn't forgotten the conflict in his Master's thoughts before he all but begged him to forget about it. At that moment Anakin had accepted that they weren't going to last. He didn't want to think about it. All he wanted to see was how perfect they were together, how much Obi-wan wanted him. He wanted a sweet illusion where all that existed was their mutually destructive passion for one another.

Anakin's stomach twisted anxiously thinking about it. It was all so perfect, the way Obi-wan's body fit against him, inside him. A phantom ache throbbed in his belly at the memory of his Master's cock rutting him so savagely, filling him with hot seed. An overwhelming need washed over him again at the memory of it. He wanted more- needed more.

And that was the problem.

Obi-wan seemed to undo him to the point that Anakin didn't have a hold on who he was anymore. In the man's absence he was just a mess of anger, sadness and desperation. Just an empty pit where those things would stew until they consumed him.

You are mine, Anakin

And I am yours

If Obi-wan could be any less intense or overwhelming, Anakin might have had an easier time sorting through his feelings. But he remembered the blood on his skin, on his tunics, in his hair. Obi-wan was markedly different from the Master that abandoned him two years ago. Unstable, among other things.

He would be a fool to ignore the rift inside Obi-wan, the chasm between the Jedi he was and the man he had become. Obi-wan was many things, a martyr among them. Anakin had no doubt he would leave again the moment he thought it was the right thing to do, no matter how badly it hurt him. It didn't matter if Anakin gave him everything, it still wouldn't be enough. Not when Obi-wan decided it was over. But would he ever be strong enough to hold out against him? Did he even want to?

….

"I'll take the 501'st around the south-east end of the island and General Kenobi will take the 212'th to the south-west side. We'll merge and head north," Anakin said, drawing a line through the map that splayed out across the holotable.

Commander Cody nodded thoughtfully while Rex stood unwavering by Anakin's side. Obi-wan didn't think he would ever get used to being called General, which was what all Jedi Knights and Masters seemed to be called by default. Though after being greeted and introduced to both the 212'th and 501'st clone squadrons, it was starting to settle in a bit more. Anakin however, met with his ship and soldiers seamlessly, picking up right where they left off. It was a new side of him that Obi-wan had only ever heard of, but had yet to see with his own eyes. Until today, of course.

He was all business, he had been since they met aboard the Resolute that morning. Even their bond felt walled off, but he didn't press too much even though it was admittedly frustrating with how things had been left between them. Obi-wan knew objectivity was important for this mission, and he admired Anakin for his staunch single-mindedness while being equally humored for knowing the trait dominated most parts of his life.

He was slightly irked with himself for the jealous ache he felt for how the Clones regarded Anakin. It wasn't just respect, though it was clear Anakin had garnered their respect. It was more than that. They admired him, looked up to him. Maybe even idolized him. But he was his, not theirs. The thought pressed tediously in the back of his mind.

"We need a plan for infiltrating Czerka's facility," Obi-wan said warily, shoving his unruly emotions out of awareness.

"We have a plan," Anakin said, his jewel blue eyes glittering tenaciously.

"Would you care to enlighten us?"

"As we make our sweep I'll break off and retrieve the data myself. I'll rejoin with the 501st after." Anakin said with a wave of his hand.

"That's a terrible plan," Obi-wan said with disapproval, trying to quell the protective instinct he felt from leaching into his words.

"Do you have a better plan?" Anakin shot back.

"We should go in together. That place is teeming with those things." Obi-wan asserted. "It's not a one-man job."

"I can handle myself, Obi-wan." Anakin sneered, clearly taking offense. It felt like he was trying to prove something or make a statement. His objectivity was slipping. Suddenly Obi-wan began questioning the walled-off bond, the cool way he had regarded him all morning. Was he really so mission-minded, or was there something else going on?

"I don't doubt that you can handle yourself, Anakin, but you underestimate the difficulty of this mission-"

"I don't need to get your approval, Obi-wan. This is the mission plan, like it or not." Anakin said, sending him a wicked glare.

"With all due respect General," Commander Cody broke in, appearing slightly uncomfortable by the venom in Anakin's words. "General Kenobi is right. This is not a one-man mission, Jedi or not."

Rex's unwavering expression seemed to soften with edges of doubt. Clearly he wasn't comfortable contesting Anakin, or questioning orders, but Obi-wan could see he agreed with Cody.

"I can come with you, Master," Ahsoka said evenly, keeping the untamable excitement she felt from her voice rather well. Obi-wan's stomach dropped at the suggestion.

"I'm small, I can get into tiny ventilation ducts and open doors so we won't have to use our lightsabers as much. We can get in and out without even being noticed." Ahsoka explained. Obi-wan hated how logical it sounded. "Besides, I've seen these things before. I know what we're dealing with."

Obi-wan could see Anakin mull it over in his mind and gritted his teeth. Was Ahsoka ready for such a deadly mission? If he lost one of them, or both- He couldn't think about it. He would be a mess if he did.

"And that attitude will get you killed, Padawan," Anakin said sternly. "The question is, will you follow my orders?" He asked, studying her with a scrutinizing stare.

"Yes, Master," Ahsoka said seriously. "Let me come with you. I can help."

"You're asking the wrong Master, Padawan." Anakin chided.

Obi-wan saw Ahsoka wilt at his words. He couldn't believe he was honestly considering it, but he was. There was some peace of mind knowing Ahsoka would be on mission since she did not do well with idle hands. Knowing Anakin would have some backup also made him feel better. It would have been preferable for Obi-wan to go with him, but seeing that Anakin was so opposed to the idea he knew it would never work.

Anakin was taking things personally and being spiteful, but Obi-wan wasn't about to call him out in front of his men. He was hardly the pinnacle of objectivity himself. But was he willing to risk his Padawan just to save Anakin's ego? Or perhaps Obi-wan was being too strict with Ahsoka. It was hard to tell with his emotions so wrapped up on both ends of the situation.

"I don't like it," Obi-wan said pensively. "But, stealth will be to your advantage."

Ahsoka's face lit up, but she did her best to keep herself reined in. She waited for him to continue as patiently as she could. Her aura was bursting with excitement. She wanted to make him proud more than anything else, to finally stop feeling like the failure who had gotten her previous Master killed. She wanted to redeem herself. It was something he understood well. He knew it was a dangerous motivator.

"You must heed Anakin's words as if your life depends on it. I guarantee you it does." Obi-wan said gravely.

"I won't let you down, Master," Ahsoka said seriously.

Obi-wan's gut wrenched. She was so concerned with what others thought of her. She didn't want to feel like a burden, she wanted to be seen as someone who could hold her own. She was almost as hungry for validation as Anakin was, only in a much more youthful way. Obi-wan tried to ignore the growing trepidation he felt that enveloped this entire cursed mission to the best of his ability.

After they finalized mission details, everyone went their separate ways. Rex and Cody went to brief their squadrons and Ahsoka went to her quarters to meditate and center herself as much as possible before they made landfall. Obi-wan imparted a few words to her about letting go of the need to please others and focusing on the moment that he hoped settled in her mind. At the very least he could tell she was trying her best to listen and adopt the teaching. It only helped him feel slightly better. Currently they were still barreling through hyperspace about an hour away from their destination. Not much time between themselves and the mission at hand.

Obi-wan might have partaken in meditation himself if he thought it would have helped him calm his nerves. Once upon a time it would be the balm for all his ailments, but not since Kraysiss. Instead he paced the halls. His mind was full of conflict, warring with his heart. He wanted to go to Anakin, tell him everything. About the puck, about how jealous he was about Padme, about how he wanted to take him and claim him again so there was no question to whom he belonged. He wanted to tell him he was acting juvenile for trying to prove himself. A stray part of himself wanted to force Anakin into submission.

It was still a new feeling to want Anakin without guilt taking hold of him. Obi-wan hadn't allowed himself to think much about the things Anakin wanted from him. Bruises, bite marks, violence. In the moment when Anakin bared his thoughts, his most base desires, Obi-wan thought he should have felt sick. But he didn't, not at all, actually. It felt natural, like something he wanted. And for the first time he could want without completely feeling like a monster.

Mostly he tried not to let himself think about it. He didn't want to hurt Anakin. He vowed he never would, but someone who was being hurt didn't beg you not to stop. They didn't crave the way Anakin craved him, and all the things he wanted him to do to him. He wanted it, begged for it. It was hard to reconcile with it when he thought about it too much, and he didn't want to ruin it.

"Something on your mind?" Anakin asked him, pulling Obi-wan from the mess of his thoughts.

"Hm? No," Obi-wan said, startled by the man's sudden appearance.

"So let me get this right- you're pacing outside my quarters because absolutely nothing is on your mind." Anakin shot back, more irritable than playful.

"Oh, sorry, I…" Obi-wan trailed off, thoroughly embarrassed. He had been so preoccupied he'd thoroughly lost track of himself. "I didn't realize-"

As Obi-wan searched for words in an attempt to redeem himself, Anakin's mood took a startling turn from frustrated to outright seething. "Do you truly have yourself fooled or are you just straight out lying to me?"

Obi-wan repressed a sigh. This was not a good time to be getting into arguments. They needed to be clearing their heads for the mission ahead of them, and right now they were doing the exact opposite. "We can't do this right now, Anakin," Obi-wan grumbled.

"This?" Anakin snapped, his arms crossed over his chest, his shoulders tense. Their bond was still walled off but Obi-wan could feel anger almost entirely eclipse the man's aura. "What is this?"

Obi-wan felt his body respond to his own frustrations, pulling him further and further away from reason. He needed to be a Jedi right now, not a jealous lover, but it was so difficult to keep his footing in the increasingly messy life he led. And Anakin made everything feel like a losing battle. He found his heart warring with his mind, drowning out all good sense. It asked questions like, why was Anakin shutting him out? What really happened when he left Anakin with Padme that night?

Obi-wan pushed past them, clinging to the last bit of resolve he could muster. He had to stay objective. To give in to his treacherous emotions right now was dangerous. It would put all of their lives at risk. It was unacceptable.

"We can't afford to let our own thoughts and feelings get in the way of this mission. It's too dangerous." The Jedi Master said sternly, but perhaps not convincing enough.

"It's too late for that now, isn't it?" Anakin chided, glaring at him through narrowed eyes.

"I'm not the one who is compromising this whole mission because I'm trying to prove myself." Obi-wan shot back, his composure slipping.

"You think I'm trying to prove myself?" Anakin scoffed. "I didn't want you on retrieval with me because you were just going to get in the way."

"Now who's the liar?" Obi-wan challenged. "You've been blocking me and ignoring me all morning. Your feelings are more obvious than you think."

"You're such a hypocrite. Don't act like you aren't consumed by your own emotions. And you want to lecture me on mine?"

Anakin was right, Obi-wan was absolutely consumed by his own feelings. And right now he was drowning in them. He felt like his chest might explode from holding in so much all at once. There was nothing left to hold him back. He was exhausted.

"You have something to say? Then say it." Anakin growled. "I'm tired of your games."

Obi-wan stood for a moment, his chest tight and his breathing rapid. He was angry, furious even. Anakin always knew how to push all his buttons, and he swore he did it on purpose.

He was jealous about Padme, even though he knew it was irrational and foolish. He was angry with himself about not saying anything about the puck, at Anakin for how he was handling the mission. He was mad at Master Windu for assigning them this march through hell, at Master Yoda for sending them to Kraysiss all those years ago. He felt raw hatred for Zaann who still taunted him from the grave, for that bounty hunter who dared put hands on his Anakin. He cursed the force for it all. Why couldn't he let any of it go?

And Anakin was always so fucking contrary at every turn. He always managed to come up with something to disagree on or fight about. And to say anything about any of it would make him a lesser Jedi as well as a lesser man. He shouldn't have been in torment over any of it, but he was.

And out of it all- Padme. Of course it was her. Her slender body and delicate complexion, that pretty face and long brown hair that was undoubtedly soft and irresistible to the touch. Anakin was his, not hers. Not anyone else's.

"Fine, don't tell me, then. I don't care. Just go pace somewhere else." Anakin muttered irritably as he turned and walked back into his quarters.

At that moment Obi-wan felt something inside himself snap. It wasn't a new feeling. Anakin always seemed to find something else inside him to break. Just another piece of the Jedi he was abdicating from the whole, forever lost in the chaos of his raging emotions.

Obi-wan followed after him, storming through the door into Anakin's quarters. His skin was flushed and hot against the cool air the recyclers kicked out. He felt adrenaline pulsing through his veins, surging in his chest.

There was no thought, only action as his hands grabbed ahold of Anakin's tunic, shoving up against the cold durasteel wall. Obi-wan felt the hardness of a body against his chest, felt his heart beat faster for it. His hands were trembling, his whole kriffing body was shaking when his lips parted to taste Anakin's skin- the delicate flesh of his neck that bruised so easily under his teeth.

Obi-wan was so desperate, so insatiably hungry for him. He wanted to find out what every inch of his skin tasted like, where his teeth would make Anakin squirm the most. He wanted to fuck him senseless and raw, make him forget about everyone that had ever felt him how Obi-wan wanted to feel him.

Need burned brightly inside of him, hot and demanding. Obi-wan's tongue trailed with a mind of its own, tasting Anakin's throat, feeling the strong muscle of his jaw, the contoured ridges of his ear. Anakin shuddered in response- Obi-wan felt it like a drug slamming through his veins. There were so many things he wanted, so many things he wanted to do to him it scared him. He wasn't sure he could make himself stop, not while Anakin trembled against him so sweetly.

"Tell me you want me to stop," Obi-wan taunted, whispering unsteadily, planting wet undisciplined kisses under his jaw. His cock was aching, wanting to feel the taut embrace of hot, slick muscle pulse around him.

He would stop if Anakin told him to. He would do anything he said, be anything he wanted. A soft moan hummed in Anakin's throat, Obi-wan felt it on his tongue, on his lips. His hips rocked against him while his hands went to Anakin's belt, shakily undoing the clasps.

"Tell me to stop," Obi-wan breathed out, feeling his fingers burn as they worked Anakin's tunics loose, then the closure on his leggings.

Anakin's body buzzed with want while his aura steadied to a peaceful frequency. Obi-wan could feel him so deliciously pliant and open, their bond no longer walled off. The anger that boiled in him only moments before ceased to exist. Pulling back he saw the massive blacks of Anakin's eyes thinly rimmed in blue, begging.

Obi-wan slipped a hand up under Anakin's tunics, feeling his hard musculature contrast the smooth of his skin. Anakin shuddered again as gooseflesh danced across his belly. The bond between them was gushing, overwhelming him.

Want want want please Master please please

All of it circled Obi-wan's heart with a heady satisfaction that was entirely too addictive. He pushed inside Anakin's thoughts and felt the mindless compulsory need to be consumed and used. Obi-wan was shaking before but now he was all but coming apart at the seams.

A desperate, senseless pang of need shot through him as he spun Anakin around to face the durasteel wall while he fumbled to pull himself from his leggings. Anakin reached out, pulling a bottle of lubricant to his hand from the recesses of his quarters that he offered up to his Master.

Obi-wan hurriedly dispensed some into his palm and worked himself over with it before yanking Anakin's leggings down past his ass and roughly slicking him up. With a hand on Anakin's hip to steady him Obi-wan slid his throbbing tip between the man's firm cheeks, rutting against his hole. The thought of being inside him at that moment was too much to bear. He tried to hold himself back, he didn't want to hurt him. He would never hurt him.

Obi-wan draped himself over Anakin as he arched his back, pushing his ass towards him encouragingly. Obi-wan pressed steadily against him and felt him yield quickly, swallowing his tip deep inside that tight ring of muscle, inching down his cock until he was completely enveloped. He pulsed his hips against him, burying himself inside as well as he could. A pleasurable shiver ran down his spine for how well Anakin was taking him. The man was working his length already, spearing himself on his Master's cock greedily.

Obi-wan reached down and took Anakin's weeping girth in hand. He was so wet he didn't need any extra lube to comfortably slide his fist up and down his cock. Anakin tightened around him when he started to pump his shaft, letting out small breathless gasps and moans. Obi-wan sensed how much he loved feeling his Master's cock so deep inside him. It brought a mind-numbing bliss that emptied him out till there was nothing but pleasure and want filling his thoughts.

Obi-wan raked his tongue behind Anakin's ear and bit gently on its shell. He wondered if Anakin ever trembled like this for anyone else, if he had ever stripped himself so bare of rank and pride and slaved on someone else's cock the way Anakin was fucking himself on Obi-wan's now. Red hot jealousy burned inside of him at the thought of it.

Obi-wan firmed his grip on Anakin's manhood and began rutting into him hard, pumping him in the same tempo. He was so tight, wet, so hot around his aching, wanting cock. And Anakin was his. He had always been his. He was so fucking frustrating and irrational, so defiant and it made Obi-wan furious. He was seething, really, overcome by desire and want and broken down past all moral and Jedi codes he ever clung to.

Obi-wan could feel his anger leaching out of him in every brutal thrust of his hips. He was so angry with Anakin, so in love and so wild with passion and he never imagined being able to feel all of those things at the same time, but he was. Having Anakin like this seemed to be the salve for all of it- literally fucking him into submission. Obi-wan had him moaning and begging as if he paid him for this but none of it was for show, or even voluntary for that matter. He felt Anakin's legs trembling as he leaned harder against the wall for support.

"Such a good boy," Obi-wan growled between gasps for breath. He was fucking him so hard, their clothes were thoroughly dampened by sweat. The air was hot and tepid from the heat of their bodies. "So good- so good to fuck… Oh fuck Anakin you're so tight-"

Obi-wan's voice was so feral, the words felt like someone else's. But they weren't. They were unmistakably his. He felt them. He meant them.

"Do I please you mmh-Master?" Anakin moaned between desperate cries of pleasure. His voice held a sweet innocence that Obi-wan couldn't handle. There was something so savage about fucking him like this. Sure he was infuriating and there were times Obi-wan wanted to strangle him. But he was still his Anakin in every way, and his Anakin held a sweet, vulnerable side. It was the core of his being- who he really was.

"Oh Ah-Anakin, yes," Obi-wan whispered.

"Do you love me, Master?" Anakin cried. Obi-wan thought for a moment that he really might have been crying, the way his voice twisted with tears and pleasure.

"Oh baby, of course I do. I love you Anakin. I love you- you're my world." Obi-wan said softly. He wanted to slow their pace, to look Anakin in his eyes and make him understand. He was everything to him.

"Harder Master harder, don't stop don't stop don't- don't-" Anakin begged. Obi-wan kept up the brutal pace. He was so close, he couldn't hold out much longer even though he was trying to.

"Anakin I'm going to-"

"Cum inside me Master please I need- I need you-"

Anakin's sweet pleas immediately pushed him over the edge. Wave after wave of trembling pleasure washed through his body as he came. He felt Anakin spill in his hand seconds after. The two of them were a cacophony of Anakin's and Oh-Master's punctuated by noisy pleasure-filled moans that left no passerby guessing the nature of what they were doing behind closed doors.

Obi-wan collapsed against Anakin's back and Anakin steadied himself against the wall for support. Obi-wan still rested inside of him, just enjoying the feeling of being so close. When they were stripped down past titles and politics things were so simple. If only that simplicity could carry them through after moments like these.

"Anakin," Obi-wan asked sweetly, no trace of the anger or frustration he felt before remaining. "You do know I love you, don't you?"

A silence filled the air between them that seemed to last a little too long. "I know you do, Master," Anakin said quietly, his voice shaky. He sniffed his nose, lifting a hand to his face. Obi-wan reached a hand up to feel his cheeks wet with tears.

"Anakin, love, what's wrong?" Obi-wan whispered, feeling like his heart was breaking in half. He pulled back and quickly put himself in his leggings, turning Anakin back around to face him.

The look of heartbreak he wore all but brought him to his knees. "Anakin, talk to me," Obi-wan pleaded. "Please."

Just as Anakin might have said something, the ship jolted back into realspace. A message rang out through the ship-wide com system. They were needed on the hangar floor. It was time to be a Jedi again. Already he saw Anakin's face harden as he fixed his tunics and leggings.

"Promise me we'll talk about this after." Obi-wan insisted.

Anakin's face lightened a bit before he gave Obi-wan a gentle peck on the cheek. It made him feel slightly better.

"I promise."