Waking up alone a second time didn't frighten Obi-Wan as much. He recognized the room this time and while he was annoyed that Anakin had taken him out of the workshop, his sore muscles were thankful. As he slowly scanned the room, Obi-Wan caught sight of Anakin walking into the room across the hall, pulling off his shirt in the process.

Curious, Obi-Wan heaved himself into a seated position and slowly swung his legs out of the bed. He was very careful getting up, ensuring that he was steady before releasing his hold on the bed. It frustrated him that his body was so sluggish, barely following his mind's commands. He was determined, though, and followed Anakin into what he found out was the 'fresher.

"Anakin?"

Obi-Wan shuffled forward, trying to peer through the hazy walls of the shower. He watched as Anakin slowly turned towards him. All at once Obi-Wan realized that he didn't know what he was doing or why he had even followed Anakin in once he'd realized what room it was. He had no right to intrude on Anakin. Still, Obi-Wan couldn't make himself turn around. He wanted to feel connected to someone and even without his memory he knew that he'd been close to Anakin.

It was a shock when Anakin opened the door. Water misted out of the 'fresher, dampening Obi-Wan's chest. So, without thinking about what he was doing, following his instincts, Obi-Wan stepped into the 'fresher stall. It was only afterwards that he realized that he still had his pants on, but by then it was too late.

Anakin laughed quietly, lifting a hand to the bangs from Obi-Wan's face while his other hand came to rest his hip. "I'm usually the one who does this."

Not sure what his role was, Obi-Wan did what came naturally. He lifted his hands to frame Anakin's face and leaned in close so that he could catch Anakin's lips with his own. Anakin had let him in-- he was the one who had opened the door --but Anakin wasn't kissing him back. He was just standing there, shock still. Obi-Wan didn't realize he'd been backing away in response until his back hit the tiled corner of the 'fresher stall.

"I'm sorry. I thought... I thought that..." Obi-Wan couldn't even bring himself to look at Anakin as he stammered the words out.

Anakin had reacted so negatively that Obi-Wan was genuinely shocked when he took a step forward and cupped the side of his face. "You weren't wrong. We've always had a very intimate relationship. I just didn't expect you to show up like this after everything that's happened."

Somewhat relieved by Anakin's explanation, if still a little dubious, Obi-Wan allowed himself to raise his head. It was another minute or so before he would allow himself to meet Anakin's gaze. Obi-Wan didn't much feel like making a fool out of himself and couldn't quite convince himself that he hadn't.

"So it's okay?"

"Yeah, it's okay," Anakin assured Obi-Wan as he drew him into his arms.

Obi-Wan nodded his head, pressing his face into the crook of Anakin's neck. He'd made an outright fool of himself and Anakin was brushing it off as though it were nothing. It made Obi-Wan question whether there was truth to Anakin's words. Something tugged in the back of Obi-Wan's mind, perhaps hinting him towards what their relationship had been before he'd lost his memory.

"Is it okay that I love you?" Obi-Wan said into Anakin's shoulder.

He felt Anakin's lips against the top of his head then. "Only if it's okay that I love you."

Anakin didn't know what to make of this new version of Obi-Wan. On some level he had always known that it was the Jedi Code that restrained Obi-Wan, but to see such obvious proof of it was rather startling. Prior to his mission to the Ranth'fer system, Obi-Wan had never been so free with his emotions. There was a long time Anakin had been convinced his master didn't even have them. At least not in the traditional sense. After all, Anakin had seen first hand just how devastated Obi-wan had been by Qui-Gon's death. For a short while after the older man had even flirted with the Dark Side of the Force. It was Obi-Wan's innate goodness that had kept him from straying too far into darkness.

Dropping another kiss to Obi-Wan's head, Anakin dipped his head down so that he could peer into familiar blue-grey eyes. "Mom's made dinner, and I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Food sounds good," Obi-Wan agreed. "Only I don't know what I'm going to wear as I don't fancy sitting in wet pants."

"My step-brother Owen looks to be roughly your size, I'll see if he has a pair of trousers you can borrow," Anakin offered, supporting Obi-Wan with an arm about his waist as they exited the 'fresher stall. He motioned for Obi-Wan to lean against the sink and, after wrapping a towel around his own hips, helped Obi-Wan with the fastenings of his pants.

"This happened before," Obi-wan said just as Anakin was kneeling down to help him out of his pants. "Reversed. I was helping you. You were all wet. You'd done something stupid."

Anakin very nearly lost his balance at that and had to grab hold of Obi-Wan's right calf to keep from tumbling over. "You remember that?"

"I think so," Obi-Wan murmured, furrowing his brows. "Did that happen?"

"Just before we were separated," Anakin whispered as he rose to his full height. "I'd decided that it would be a good idea to stand in the rain even though we'd decided that it was--"

"--decidedly harmful to an individual's health. Yours in particular," Obi-Wan finished, his eyes suddenly far away. He shook his head slightly, turning his attention back to Anakin. "I said that, didn't I?"

Anakin couldn't stop the smile that spread across his lips. "You did say that. Exactly that." Framing Obi-Wan's face with his hands, he leaned in close, kissing the other man for all he was worth. Obi-Wan wasn't lost. All of his memories were still there, it was just a matter of getting them back.

"Ani, your food is going to get--"

In the space of a breath Anakin moved them both quickly so that Shmi wouldn't be able to see Obi-Wan's naked body. There was, however, no point in making a big deal of the situation. She hadn't walked in on anything scandalous, but instead merely one friend comforting another. It was a rationale Anakin very nearly believed.

"Mom, do you think Obi-Wan could borrow a pair of Owen's pants?" Anakin requested, not offering up any explanation as to how his own had been soaked.

It took Shmi a moment to come out of her shock. When she did she immediately nodded her head. "Certainly. I'll be back in a minute."

For several long seconds after Shmi left neither Anakin or Obi-Wan said anything. For his part Anakin couldn't think of anything to say. At least not anything that wouldn't be stammered or complete nonsense.

"You should put your pants on," was what Obi-Wan chose to say.

Dinner was a strange affair. Obi-Wan felt entirely out of place at the table. This was Anakin's family. He knew them and could interact with them and have actual conversations. Obi-Wan didn't know what to talk about so he sat next to Anakin, silently picking at his food. It had obviously been a long time since Anakin had seen his mother from what Obi-Wan could judge of their conversation.

"So that little braid of yours means that you're going to be a Jedi," the younger of the Lars men, Owen, asked as he sipped from a glass of Jawa juice.

Anakin straightened his shoulders, chin held high. "I am a Jedi. The braid merely identifies me as a padawan learner. An apprentice."

Instantly, Obi-Wan's attention was peaked. Anakin had never answered his question that afternoon; had never told him what a Jedi was. As he listened, Obi-Wan slowly gained a clue as to just what the Jedi were. It was almost surreal listening to Anakin explain the inner workings of the Jedi Order. On an intellectual level, Obi-Wan knew that he should have fully understood this mostly philosophical code and it frustrated him that he couldn't remember. Still, the way Obi-Wan figured it, if he had been taught the ways of the Jedi from the age of three its teachings should have been instinctual to him regardless of his lost memories.

"They won't separate us, will they?" Obi-Wan asked suddenly just as Shmi and Beru were rising to clear the dishes from the table. "If I can't remember how to be a Jedi, how could I be expected to teach you to be one. They could take you away from me."

Anakin appeared stricken and immediately reached over to grasp Obi-Wan's hand. "Your memory will be restored by the time we return to Coruscant. This is only a minor problem that will sort itself out soon. Hopefully even now."

Tugging on his hand, Anakin pulled Obi-Wan up from the table and then out of the kitchen. Anakin wouldn't tell him what was going on, but when they arrived at the workshop it was not hard for him to figure out and he brought his free hand up to touch the collar. Suddenly Obi-Wan was very nervous.

Anakin would have preferred to have someone else to test his little machine on before using it to remove the Force inhibiting collar from Obi-Wan's neck. He couldn't even be sure that it would work properly and not short circuit the thing. Nervous as he was, Anakin knew that he had to at least try. He couldn't even fathom what it was like to be cut off from the Force, nor did he want to. What he wanted was for everything to go back to how it had been before the Council had split them up.

"So that thing will..." Obi-Wan murmured, his eyes glued to the small device Anakin held in his hand.

Curling his fingers around the modified scanner, Anakin nodded his head. "Provided everything works out, yeah, it will."

Obi-Wan was silent for a minute, still regarding the device that would hopefully help him regain his memory, then nodded his head. "Let's get to it, then."

"Okay," Anakin whispered as he turned it on. Checking that everything was working as it should, Anakin stepped behind Obi-Wan where the locking mechanism of the collar was. "Time to see if I'm as good as I claim to be."

As Anakin walked behind him, Obi-Wan shut his eyes. he didn't know what was coming and that worried him. The only clue he had as to what the collar's purpose was that it was hindering his senses. It was an initial suspicion that Anakin had confirmed for him earlier in the day. Hearing each step that Anakin took, Obi-Wan immediately reached his left hand back, desperate for contact.

A great deal of tension left him when Anakin's fingers threaded through his own.

"Focus on me as much as you can," Anakin instructed, his fingers tightening around Obi-Wan's.

It seemed an odd instruction until Obi-Wan heard a click and then the collar fell away.

Sitting in the meditation room of his quarters on Coruscant, Yoda's eyes suddenly opened. For the past few days much of his attention had been on the Kenobi and Skywalker partnership. It was becoming impossible for the Council to ignore the bond the two men shared. Yoda knew, like all the other members of the Council, that their bond should have been more closely monitored over the years given the situation surrounding its conception. Grief for his late master had clouded Obi-Wan's judgment and he had used the boy to distance himself from that grief and his brief flirtation with the Dark Side of the Force. Anakin, meanwhile, had always been too emotional for a Jedi, never having mastered the art of releasing his feelings into the Force.

For the moment, though, Yoda's unease was filled with a great sense of relief. Once again he could feel Obi-Wan's presence in the Force.