14 cycles after they had left the village they reached the edge of the jungle.

Anakin swore and Obi-Wan couldn't help but agree.

"Thankfully, the River seems to continue a ways out. We can follow it until it dries up or reaches its source. However, we should return to the jungle, stock up on food and water, and rest until nightfall. Then we'll venture forth."

Obi-Wan turned the grumbling Anakin around and headed back to the forest.

"Great. Just great. We go from humid, bug-infested jungle to a sandy, grainy, hot desert. We have no semblance of luck whatsoever."

Obi-Wan smiled faintly and pulled Anakin close.
"Maybe it won't be so bad. The desert might not be so large as the jungle."

"It's still going to be hot and the sand is going to fry the circuits in my hand."

"Stop being so dramatic. You came from a desert planet. Let's get some sleep before we move on."

Anakin sighed, and looked back at the desert with ultimate distaste as he followed his master, mentor, and lover back into the jungle.

Two black figures walked next to a softly sighing river as they were bathed in the soft silver light of the moon reflecting off desert sands.

Obi-Wan shivered.

Anakin moved next to him and shared his cloak, and smiled slightly.

"Not used to the cold of a desert at night, huh?"

"No, not really. You seem fine, though."

"You stated why I'm used to it earlier. I grew up on a desert planet. You have to get used to extremes."

Obi-Wan nodded and shivered again. Anakin draped an arm protectively over Obi-Wan's shoulders, pulling him closer.

Obi-Wan thought as they walked in silence.

"There aren't enough sheltered areas to rest during the day. We'll die before finding any other civilization. We'll have to take turns sleeping and walking."

"But...?"
"No, don't worry. I'm strong enough that I can carry you piggyback while you sleep."

"Oh...I see how it works now. One of us will walk carrying the other, who is sleeping."

Obi-Wan smiled.

"And your body heat will keep me warm during the night, because I refuse to walk during the day. You're more used to the heat than I."

Anakin laughed and drew Obi-Wan close, and kissed him.

"I can think of other ways you can keep warm."

Obi-Wan gaped at him before scowling. Anakin sighed.

"Right. The Jedi Code. We're already breaking that, Obi-Wan. 'No attachments' remember?"

Obi-Wan pulled away, face dark, his hands hidden in the sleeves of his shirt.

"This violates more than the Jedi Code, Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured softly.

"Oh?"

"Where I was born, and in quite a few other systems, our kind of love is forbidden."

"Obi-Wan." Anakin caught up to him and stood in front, blocking any further progress. He pulled Obi-Wan to him, who snarled at the rough treatment.

"What are you-?"

"Do you love me, Obi-Wan? Really love me?"

"Yes...I do."
"Then what others think, how others act, doesn't matter. You're mine, Obi-Wan Kenobi. My lover, and if anyone tries to convince you how you feel is wrong or harms you mentally or physically, they'll have me to answer to."

"Possessive, aren't we?"

"Protective. There's a difference."

"Which I fail to see."

The tension ebbed as they laughed, walking side-by-side again.

"So, I'll carry you during the night and you get to carry me during the day."

"My pleasure," Anakin said with a smile that made Obi-Wan laugh. Anakin relaxed, glad that at least one secret was no longer so.

Obi-Wan, however, was troubled. This desert didn't seem natural to him. There was something eerie about it, something that felt of death...and the Dark Side. That was the real reason he wanted to be awake during the night. Anakin felt secure in his power, felt he could deal with anything, which was fine during the day. Anakin would be able to see his enemies, and so would be able to fight them physically. Obi-Wan smirked.

He simply doesn't have tact, he thought with a glance over at him. That glimpse made him want to gasp. Anakin was a shadow against a rising blue moon, his hair twining in highlights of silver, his eyes becoming an even more vibrant blue. He soaked up the moonlight and only reflected enough to make him look mysterious and enticing. He looked away before Anakin could catch him staring, but couldn't help but smile.

Tall, dark and handsome...how cliche of me, he thought wryly. Obi-Wan stopped abruptly when the moons reached the zenith in the sky, bathing the planet in light as bright as day.

"Do you feel that?"

"Yes...it's not living...but not dead. It's like an..."

"...Echo, or a memory. It's unsettling."

The two moved close together, lightsabres in hand as they continued to walk n the shifting sands, staying close to the River.

Anakin gasped.

Obi-Wan stared.

"Is that a city?"

"It looks like it..."

"And it looks advanced too! I'll have the parts I need to repair my hand!"

Anakin started off at a run before Anakin could stop him.

"Of all the impulsive, stupid things..."
Obi-Wan snarled a curse and followed. The city felt wrong. He'd be damned if he let Anakin face it alone.