Title: Remember

Rating: PG

Summary: We make a lot of mistakes in our lives. This is about doing what is right at the end of all things. Anakin/Obi-Wan slash, m/m

Had it not been for the small amount of self-control Anakin had exercised throughout the battle, his lightsaber would have easily penetrated the Jedi robes and sink into the soft flesh underneath, burning a sizzling hole through the heart. It was surprise that made him hesitate and the sapphire blade hovered a millimeter above Obi-Wan's chest.

Obi-Wan's eyes opened when he realized that Anakin had not speared him through. Looking up, he saw the tears brimming in the eyes of his former Padawan. There was confusion, disbelief, anger even relief in they eyes that had haunted Obi-Wan during sleepless nights – taunting him for something he could not have.

Anakin looked down at him, his hands trembling as he held his lightsaber.

"Why?"

Anakin's voice sounded so scared and so different that Obi-Wan was reminded for a moment of the boy he had raised to be a Jedi since he was nine. It was a memory of a boy he had cared for, taught, laughed with and argued with. It was a memory of a boy he had grew to love more than he should. Now, the person that stood over him was a creature that had became a living nightmare – a Sith and a murderer of innocents. This creature had the power to take his life away by simply plunging the blade into his body.

But he did not.

And this was what Obi-Wan clung onto like a cable dangling above a lava pit of destruction. There was, perhaps, some hope that the boy he loved was still in the heart of this creature somewhere – hidden but there. He could not be certain, he could only hope.

Certainty was something he had never been gifted with Anakin. They had spent a huge part of their lives denying and pretending that whatever that was between them never existed. It would have been easier to deny than it was to accept because if they did, Obi-Wan would have no idea what he would do.

Obi-Wan wondered briefly is Yoda had known about this. There were a lot of things the green goblin knew about and somehow, he would not be surprised if the Jedi Grandmaster knew that out of all the Jedi in the Order, the only one that Anakin would hesitate to kill would be Obi-Wan.

And Obi-Wan clung onto this hope.

Obi-Wan met Anakin's eyes, letting the shields over his emotions fall away.

"Because…because I want to help you, Anakin," he managed to choke out as tears fell freely from his eyes only to evaporate due to immense heat. "I've been wrong before. I've been wrong so many times. Please, Anakin let me help you."

"Why should I?" Anakin asked in a barely audible voice before raising it in the heat of anger. "You never listened to me before! Why should now be any different?"

The look Obi-Wan gave him almost made him collapse.

"I want to keep my promise because this it the only thing I have left," the Jedi Master admitted. "We've made mistakes. I have made mistakes so I need to do at least one thing right. Please, Anakin let me help you. Let me help you save Padmé. I'm sorry for not listening – for not being there."

Anakin fell forward, kneeling between Obi-Wan's legs. The lightsaber in his hand fell and rolled a few inches away. His face hovered above Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan allowed himself the luxury of feeling of Anakin's curls against the skin of his hands. He felt wetness against his cheeks and he realized that Anakin was crying.

Obi-Wan began whispering soft, comforting words with no other intention than to comfort Anakin as the base around them fell apart. Anakin raised his hand without hesitation to wipe away the tears on Obi-Wan's cheeks. Obi-Wan had no idea which surprised him more – the feel of Anakin's real hand on his cheek or the gentleness of his caress.

"Couldn't it have been any different?" Anakin asked and there was a hint of regret in his voice that Obi-Wan could never have missed.

"Perhaps," he answered, wanting to lie here forever with Anakin above him, pretending that the last few years had all been some terrible nightmare. "But it's too late to change that. We had rules to follow."

"The rules were flawed, Obi-Wan, even the Jedi Code. The entire system was flawed."

"No, Anakin," Obi-Wan replied gently. "The system was perfect but it never took into account that it served people who are already flawed. This was how the Jedi fell. We could not adapt."

"Is that why you never listened to me?" Anakin asked.

"A part of it," agreed Obi-Wan. "I was never one to challenge the rules of the Jedi Code."

"Why the sudden change of heart, Obi-Wan?" Anakin asked, stroking Obi-Wan's face gently. "You aren't a person to change ideals so quickly."

"I didn't change them. I simply admitted that they were there."

Anakin stopped abruptly and withdrew his touch as if scorched. "What are you going to do if I let you go?"

"I want to help you, Anakin. There's nothing in it for you to lose. If it doesn't work, feel free to kill me and if it does, Padmé lives."

The question of Obi-Wan's fate was left unanswered but Anakin did not breach that subject.

"Will you help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi? Would you willingly help Anakin Skywalker?"

"The Order I served is now destroyed and the oath I sworn is now empty. There is nothing left for me now."

With a single nod, Anakin stood up.

As a precaution, Obi-Wan Kenobi walked in front of him. Obi-Wan was virtually harmless at the moment as Anakin had Obi-Wan's lightsaber safely clipped on his belt. When Anakin had picked the lightsaber, he had felt a surge of sensations flowing through him. He had felt Obi-Wan's strengths, weaknesses, skills, elegance, power…and violence.

He had been a little surprised to sense violence. Obi-Wan was the type of person who would rather negotiate than fight. He would prefer to talk himself out of a brawl instead of diving headlong into battle, lightsabers blazing. But as Anakin delved deeper, he found more startling facts as if a door in Obi-Wan's life was suddenly open to him.

Obi-Wan, it seemed, was not the calm and controlled warrior everyone thought he was. He had a rebellious side – a violent side. In battle, Obi-Wan became a bloodthirsty creature, slaying any who fell unto his path without any remorse or guilt.

Obi-Wan had a Sith side.

Despite this, Obi-Wan was an honest man who admitted he made mistakes and was modest about his abilities. He was ready to accept advice and criticism unlike many of his hard headed peers. Anakin knew that among all of the Jedi in the Order, he should be able to trust Obi-Wan the most and yet, he could not.

There was a rift between them – a rift they could not cross – no they didn't want to cross because they feared what they would find on the other side. And now…now Obi-Wan was putting his trust in him like he had never done before on any of their missions together and it puzzled him greatly. It was as if Obi-Wan was trying to build a bridge from the other side and Anakin is not sure if he could help to build that bridge.

For once, Anakin is not sure if he is strong enough.