When it happened, Anakin was eleven years old. Just barely—Obi-Wan had gone over the top to make his first birthday celebration at the Temple a memorable one just weeks before their departure.

Eleven-year-old memories are often unreliable and somewhat biased, but he remembers it all. From the crisp air nipping his cheeks down to the erratic thump, thump, thump of his heart.

He remembers the mission to Translucia—it was supposed to be diplomatic. Short and simple. Easy.

When has anything ever been easy?

He remembers everything going to hell in the blink of an eye. The traitor. The bomb, the explosion. The palace caving in on itself.

Anakin remembers all of it.

"Go!" On the rare—very rare—occasions he dreams about the ordeal, he can still see Obi-Wan's young face lined with barely-concealed panic.

"What about you?"

He remembers the way his Master offered that reassuring smile. "I'll be right behind you."

And Anakin had obeyed.

Anakin ran.

Even as the ceiling crumbled, he ran, retracing his steps back to the exit.

Right behind you. Like a child, Anakin had believed him.

Like a fool.

The hum of his Master's lightsaber had faded into the distance, Anakin remembers it well.

He remembers nearly coughing up a lung as he ran through a cloud of dusty plaster.

What he remembers most of all is the waiting.

Waiting outside in the clear, where several innocents had huddled, hoping their loved ones would make it out alive.

Waiting for Obi-Wan to make good on his promise.

But he never actually promised, did he…?

Waiting.

Waiting.

To this day, he swears an eternity passed while he waited. He remembers the feeling of desperation, of that horrible thought that maybe—just maybe—his Master had lied.

That, maybe, his Master wouldn't come.

No…

The fear, he'd been able to control—he could use fear. No, it was the devastation that had suffocated him. Slow and choking. He remembers not being able to breathe, chest screaming for air.

No!

Finally, he remembers Obi-Wan bursting out of the wreckage, the princess in his arms and a layer of white dust coating his determined face.

That's where the memory ends. Slam! Somewhere, blessed relief entered the scene, no doubt, but Anakin doesn't remember… The residual feeling of devastation is too strong, taking over the scene every time it enters his mind.

"I'll be right behind you."

He had kept the promise, hadn't he?

Come on, it's Obi-Wan. When has he ever lied?

Anakin takes care to push the Rako Hardeen fiasco from his mind, locking it back in its cage.

He doesn't have time for that right now.

Right now, he has to focus. Focus on the battle. On his troops. On—

BOOM!

His heart skips a beat in real time, yet the explosion is a replay. A replay of a memory…

"This place is coming down!" Voice straining, he shouts into his comlink, hoping upon hope that his troops heed the warning.

"You heard the general! Go, go, go!" That's Rex, but Anakin isn't focused on the conversation anymore.

Obi-Wan.

They're more than six yards apart and Anakin closes the distance in a single jump, harnessing the Force and making it work for him.

Flashing a grin, he whips around, back-to-back with the older Jedi as they fend off their alien adversaries.

"So, what's the plan?" Despite the situation, that mischievous smirk takes hold of Anakin's face as he risks a quick glance over his shoulder at Obi-Wan.

"I was thinking run would be as good a plan as any."

"And where's the fun in that?"

"Getting crushed by a massive cavern isn't top on my list of fun things to do," his friend replies. "In fact, it's not very high."

Lightsaber flying, Anakin slides it through the last couple of aliens, not taking the time to stop and watch their heads roll. "Funny. I'm surprised it's even on there at all."

"Ha. Ha. Ever the humorous one, aren't you? Come on." With a flash of blue, Obi-Wan slices the air for good measure before Anakin feels that old familiar tap on his shoulder. "I think we've worn out our welcome. Let's get out of here."

A jagged chuck of rock falls, landing mere feet from Anakin. Faint walls of dust cloud the air.

Dust… Right.

Breathe.

And run.

The mad dash is made easier by the matching footfalls that race his own. Obi-Wan… right behind him in a race to the finish.

A race of survival.

Go, go, go! Rex's command bounces off the walls of his head, driving him forward.

Until the lack of echoing footsteps makes him slide to a screeching stop.

"What?" He heaves, straining for breath. And coughing. The dust fills his lungs and pulls a cough from his throat. "What's wrong?"

The conflict on his brother's face is too complex to read, so Anakin doesn't even try.

Obi-Wan holds his wrist up, brows furrowed, comlink crackling. "Man down. Crys, about ten yards back. You keep going, I'll be right behind you."

The words are quick, almost flippant as Obi-Wan turns on his heel, retracing his steps with enviable speed.

Right.

Anakin propels his legs forward, the bright light of the exit beckoning him like a mother reaching out her arms.

So close…

He is so close—

What are you doing?

"I'll be right behind you…"

Sucking in a breath, Anakin sidesteps another cluster of falling debris and blocks the invading memory.

Jedi Knight.

A shudder grabs hold of him. He shakes it off, doesn't let the fear dig its nasty claws into his skin.

Right. Jedi Knight…

Breathe.

You're a Jedi Kriffing Knight, not a trembling Padawan.

Hadn't Padme told him how much he had grown since Tatooine? Gone are the days of old, the simple years of Master and Padawan.

Where the Master makes the rules and the Padawan obeys.

But that's the crazy thing about growing up: he isn't a child anymore. And this isn't a diplomatic mission gone wrong.

This is the Clone War.

Gritty, mean, and cruel, the war keeps taking what it doesn't deserve faster than Anakin can stop it.

He already lost Qui-Gon. And his mother. And Ahsoka… Losing anyone else isn't an option.

Not today.

Not Obi-Wan.

Whiplash tugs at his neck as he spins around, doing a full 180 and racing back toward the fight. Toward the collapsing cavern.

Toward Obi-Wan.

Rocks fly this way and that, determined to lop his head off. Anakin dodges them, giving a particularly large boulder a rough shove with the Force.

And there's Obi-Wan, lifting rubble with ease, making an arch around his fallen soldier using their invisible, eternal companion.

Steadying his hands, Anakin reaches out and takes some of the weight off his Master's shoulders, pulling the rocks out of the air and smashing them to the ground beside Crys.

The trooper definitely looks for wear, head lolled and neck limp.

"What are you doing? I told you to get out of here!" The cavern seemed to agree with Obi-Wan as it chose that moment to collapse on top of them.

Anakin's reflexes screamed at him and he thrust up his arms, stopping the barrage before it could bury them in stony graves.

"Yeah, fat chance of that happening. You'd be crushed without me, Master." Even though Anakin tries, his bravado falls flat as the memories flash across his mind's eye.

What would have happened had his Master not escaped that fateful day? Would I have been able to live with myself, knowing I'd done nothing more than run away?

Yeah, like he told you to.

You were just a kid. It wouldn't have been your fault.

Nothing even happened.

Tightening his grip on the Force, Anakin tries not to listen to the way his mind shouts at him.

Too heavy.

It's too—

"All right," Obi-Wan slings Crys over his back, nodding at his unexpected companion. "Let's get out of here."

"I thought you'd never say that. I'll give you a head start, now go! I'll be right behind you, I promise!"

Obi-Wan glances at him then, a strange look Anakin has no time to decipher, before he dashes off into the chaos.

Come on… Gritting his teeth, he shoves the crumbling ceiling of rock upward. Just give us enough time to get out of here.

Just a few more seconds…

The pounding of his heart tells him it's time to leave and he makes a mad dash after Obi-Wan.

They barely escape the wreckage alive.

"General!" Cody approaches with no small amount of concern on his face. "Are you all right?"

Anakin doesn't miss the glance his Master gives him, a warm feeling blossoming in his chest.

"Yes, thanks to Anakin." His smile dies as business as usual takes over. "Is Coric busy?"

That's when Cody first seems to take notice of the unconscious trooper draped across Obi-Wan's shoulders. He motions two privates over and they relieve their general.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan says as they haul Crys away.

Cody is still here, eyeing his general with the same expression Anakin has felt on his own face countless times before. "You're sure you're okay, sir?"

"Not a scratch, Cody."

The commander nods, moving on—albeit reluctantly—to the next injured soldier in need of attention.

Had Anakin not grown up in the constance of Obi-Wan's presence, he might have missed the small sigh that escapes his Master's lips.

"I told you to get out of there."

Anakin offers a shrug—it's the best he can do. "I know."

"You could've died."

"You could've died, too." No, you would've died if I hadn't… He shakes his head. "I'm not a Padawan anymore. You can tell me what to do but it's my choice whether to follow through or not."

"Yes, I've noticed." And is that a touch of humor lacing his tone? "I suppose a thanks is in order."

Another shrug. "Hey, only if you want to."

Obi-Wan's genuine smile stands in stark contrast to Anakin's smirk. "Well, then… Thank you, Anakin. Truly."

"Anytime, Master."

Anytime.

I promise, I won't fail you.

Not like that little sandy-haired boy.

Not like the child who thought it best to save himself instead of—

Stop it. You were only a kid.

Yeah?

Well.

Anakin morphs his smirk into a smile.

Now I'm a Master, too.

Now, I can make my own decisions.

And I promise, Master, I'll never fail you.

Ever.

I'll always be right behind you.