Anakin had been somewhat reluctant to bring Obi-Wan with him. The older man was still very much on edge after their confrontation with Masters Yoda and Windu. Even with his assurances that they wouldn't be separated by the Council, Obi-Wan remained nervous. Anakin himself wasn't faring much better, he thought that seeing Palpatine would be a good distraction. After that they could go and see Dex and get something to eat that didn't come from the Temple commissary. While Obi-Wan had still been in the bacta tank, Anakin had learned that Palpatine had somehow found himself in possession of Obi-Wan's stolen lightsaber. Obi-Wan may not remember how to use one then, but the lightsaber was still his and belonged with its rightful owner.
"How very well do I know this Palpatine?" Obi-Wan asked as they boarded Anakin's speeder.
"Not very well," Anakin admitted, waiting for Obi-Wan to belt himself in before starting the engine. "He's really more my friend. I've known him nearly as long as I've known you and I trust his counsel. He may know of a way for us to remain together even if the Council decides against it."
Obi-Wan still did not look entirely convinced, but neither did he protest. Anakin had earlier suggested, albeit without much conviction, that Obi-Wan remain behind while he visited the Chancellor, but Obi-Wan would have nothing of it. He would not be left behind, not that Anakin had been entirely willing to be separated from him.
Neither of them spoke much on the trip across the city to the Senate building where Palpatine's office was. When he glanced over at him, Obi-Wan was staring out at the cityscape. For Anakin it was strange to see him without a beard. Obi-Wan had started growing one almost as soon as he'd become a Jedi Knight after being teased by a few of the older Jedi that he still looked far too young to have a padawan of his own. With his hair cropped short, Obi-Wan looked as young as he had when they had first met. And far more innocent. All of his cares were wiped away by his lost memory.
"Watch where you're going, Anakin," Obi-Wan mused, a smile curving his lips. He turned his head towards Anakin, his smile growing. "I'd rather not end up as decoration on the side of a building."
Swinging his head back around, Anakin focused on the traffic zooming around them. "Sorry about that."
Out of the corner of his eye, Anakin could see the grin tugging at the corner of Obi-Wan's lips. It was a far cry from the lecture he would have received a few weeks before.
Obi-Wan walked half a step behind Anakin, still unsure about the planned meeting with the Chancellor. Obi-Wan had no memory of the man, but he felt uneasy about the simple fact that he was a politician. The Chancellor was Anakin's friend, though, so Obi-Wan would not judge him too quickly. He would have stayed behind in their rooms had the thought of being parted from Anakin not create a knot of fear in the pit of his stomach. Obi-Wan didn't know enough about the Jedi to trust their goodwill.
"Ahh, my boy, how glad I am to see you safely returned to Coruscant," Chancellor Palpatine enthused as the two of them entered the richly appointed office. "You gave me quite a scare when you went rushing off like that."
"I had to go find Obi-Wan," Anakin answered automatically, his hand drifting back to brush against Obi-Wan's. The contact was fleeting but it was enough to comfort Obi-Wan.
"Nor should you have been expected to," Palpatine assured the young man, rising from his desk and crossing over to them. "The Council should not have separated you from Master Kenobi in the first place. It was their folly that you risked your life to correct."
Everything around Anakin sizzled with a tension that hadn't been there before. Closing the distance between them, Obi-Wan placed a hand on the small of Anakin's back. He wished that Anakin wore fewer tunics so that Anakin would be better able to feel his touch. He wanted to comfort him, to ease the tension that stiffened his posture.
"Anakin tells me that you have something of mine," Obi-Wan spoke up in an attempt to change the subject.''
The Chancellor's sickly smile did nothing to comfort Obi-Wan. "Your lightsaber, yes. It was sent to me by the same traders who abducted you. I am greatly relieved to see that their claims to have killed you were false, Master Kenobi. It would be a great loss to the Republic to lose a Jedi of your abilities. Especially now that war has broken out between the Republic and the Separatists."
"Please, no politics," Anakin pleaded, leaning into Obi-Wan's touch. "I fear that I don't have the patience for it today."
"When have you ever had a head for politics," Palpatine chuckled, stepping past them to collect a box from a nearby table. "A trait you share with your master if I recall correctly. Your lightsaber, Master Kenobi."
Opening the lid of the ornately carved box, Obi-Wan was somewhat surprised to see the durasteel hilt lying innocently on a plush crimson pillow.
"I had meant to make a gift of it to Anakin if his mission proved a failure," Palpatine explained as Obi-Wan reached inside to pick up the hilt. "Thankfully that was not necessary."
For close to an hour, Palpatine did everything he could to incite Anakin's anger against the Jedi Council. Anakin refused to be baited, though, even with the threat of separation from his beloved master should the Council will it. Not that Palpatine actually believed that the Council would risk alienating their Chosen One. Even they were not fool enough to ignore the boy's power nor his devotion to Kenobi.
If anything, it was Kenobi who was more prone to anger during their conversations, lashing out verbally at the mere mention of Masters Yoda and Windu. The restraint that Kenobi was renowned for seemed to have transferred to Anakin in the past few weeks. Kenobi was as brash as Palpatine remembered him being ten years ago on Naboo. If the rumours were true, the revered Jedi knight had lost his memory on the folly of a mission to the Ranth'fer system which would explain his actions. All of the restraint that he had enforced upon himself as Anakin's Master had been wiped away by whatever had left that scar on his temple.
"It is unfortunate that you will soon be called into duty, my boy," Palpatine murmured as he finished the glass of claret the protocol droid had given him. "A talented Jedi such as yourself will not be able to avoid the war for long. It is a shame, however, that your master will remain side-lined. For all their assurances, it seems likely that the Council means to separate you."
"You are baiting me, Chancellor. Why?" Anakin demanded, his body tensing considerably.
Palpatine offered him what was meant to be a comforting smile. "I only mean to prepare you, Anakin. That is all I have ever hoped to do. You are very dear to me and I would hate for anything tragic to befall you."
Lunch with Dex was far more enjoyable than their meeting with Palpatine. Even though he couldn't remember the giant cook, Obi-Wan had enjoyed himself immensely from what Anakin could tell. He was smiling and laughing, his wide grin truly infectious. He had eaten ravenously as well, his stomach finally able to handle the heartier foods served at the cantina. The day before Obi-Wan had only idly picked at his meal and neither of them had cared much to eat before their meeting with the Council.
Stuffed full of what Dex assured them was Obi-Wan's favourite meal, an entirely unhealthy fare that tasted positively sinful, by the time they returned to their quarters the older man was blinking like a youngling who refused to admit to his own exhaustion. Obi-Wan, however, was more than willing to admit that he was tired, mumbling around a yawn that he meant to lie down for a brief while.
"Join me?" Anakin must have made a face because Obi-Wan's cheeks flushednoticeablyy. "I sleep better when you're there."
Smiling a bit, Anakin crossed the brief distance between them, his hand coming up to rest on the side of Obi-Wan's throat. "If it's sleep you desire then we'll do nothing but sleep."
"Sleep," Obi-Wan murmured, his head bobbing slightly.
Though his thoughts were not entirely innocent, Anakin stripped down to his undergarments. He was just climbing into bed when the door slid open, announcing Obi-Wan's return from the 'fresher. Obi-Wan was gloriously naked, the late afternoon light reflecting off his pale skin. Feeling slightly overdressed, Anakin nonetheless remained where he was, enjoying the unselfconscious way Obi-Wan crossed the room, idly scratching at his left hip.
"Where did this come from?" Obi-Wan asked, briefly touching a faded scar near his navel.
"That, so I am told, is a result of your misspent youth," Anakin grinned, shifting over so that there was room on the narrow mattress for his master. "If I remember correctly, you got an inflection wrong while speaking to a rather hot-tempered nobleman in a less than reputable cantina here on Coruscant who tried to gut you. Being more than a little intoxicated, he got a quick jab in before you were forcibly separated. Master Qui-Gon insisted that the wound heal naturally in order to ensure you learned a lesson once you were sober."
"Ah," was Obi-Wan's response as he climbed in beside Anakin.
"Ah, indeed."
Obi-Wan awoke with a start, unable to recall the dream that had woken him even as the fear it caused left him panting and trembling. He immediately turned to Anakin who was already moving to draw him into his arms.
"It's over now. You're safe," Anakin murmured against his shoulder, along with various other nonsense words meant to soothe him. Most soothing, however, was Anakin's fingers massaging the back of his scalp.
Not entirely sure how it happened, Obi-Wan found himself lying beneath Anakin, his legs drawn up on either side of the younger man's hips. He would his arms around Anakin's shoulders, holding tight to him when he tried to pull away. The feel of Anakin's bare chest against his own was a comfort that he was not willing to do without. After a time, though, he allowed Anakin to draw back enough to raise himself up on his elbows. He shifted slightly, bringing his hands to rest on either side of Obi-Wan's head, fingers twisting about the longer strands of hair.
"Obi-Wan...?"
"I don't want to sleep right now," Obi-Wan whispered, tilting his head so that his nose rubbed against Anakin's.
Anakin still seemed a bit unsure, his eyebrows furrowed, so Obi-Wan took the advantage. Raising his shoulders up, Obi-Wan caught Anakin's lips with his own. Anakin was still for a moment, but soon began to respond to the kiss. At once Obi-wan could feel the tension leaving him and when he sunk back against the pillows, Anakin followed.
The air around them seemed to glow, the gentle hum of their bond becoming a pulse that was echoed elsewhere in his body. It was swirling around the both of them, this Force that they both supposedly served. It was singing in his ears and Obi-Wan felt almost giddy with the feel of it. And of Anakin's hands roaming his body. At some point he could not recall, the two of them had risen, Obi-Wan seated and Anakin straddling his waist. Any closer and they would have been of the same flesh.
Lifting his hands, Obi-Wan framed Anakin's face, his palms tingling where they touched Anakin's skin. "I may not remember who I was before, but I do know that I loved you then. I could not feel everything I do if that wasn't true. And if I never remember that person again it will still be true."
Tears glittered in Anakin's eyes, a few spilling over his lashes. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to say to that. You've always been far better with words than me. I love you, though. I love you."
Obi-Wan smiled broadly, surging upwards so that he could once again catch Anakin's lips with his own.
A/N: Due to its rating, the remainder of this chapter can't be found here. It can, however,be found on my website, the link to which you'll find in my profile. Click on the picture of the two sexy Jedi and you'll find your way.