Title: The Wreck of a Dissolved Dream
Author: DarkTemplar(LadyVos)
Summary: A newly minted Sith can't let go of the past.
Rating: MA (Just a touch of slash action at the end there)
Pairings: Anakin/Obi-Wan.
Characters: Anakin, Obi-Wan, Sidious and Ventress.
Feedback: Yes Please, if you feel inclined.
Betas: Thanks to Jen, for all her encouragements and bubbling enthusiasm. hugs
Author Notes: An AU story where the ages of the players are set around the time of ROTS, though ROTS is not the background of the story.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters featured in this work, George Lucas does. I make no money from this. It's just purely recreational.
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He stared out over the balcony. In the distance the sun was setting over the plains. It was still quite warm for so late in the afternoon, he noticed as he looked to the tall structures that dotted the landscape. As the sun sank lower, rainbows of color splashed over giant petrified anthills, formed long ago. They stood to attention like sentinels. Somewhere in a distant corner of his mind, he registered that they were quite beautiful, the way the failing light played upon them. The people on this planet of Megido called these structures The Pinnacles. They had been listed as a natural treasure to be preserved and they were worshiped by the populace, people even made pilgrimages to them. It was an antiquated notion, a sentiment he did not understand. Vader wondered how long they'd last before the conflict reached this planet too and thought how long it would take for these Pinnacles to crumble to dust among the red and gold tussock clinging to the coarse grainy grey sand that covered the planet's surface.
He drew his attention back to his immediate vicinity and looked down past the railing of the balcony at which he stood. He saw a contingent of troopers training in the courtyard far below him. The grunts from the troopers as they went through their drills, coupled with the commander's incessant baying instructions, rose up on the wind to assault his ears. The noise of war; even if it was only the sound of troopers in training was particularly annoying to him today. He sighed audibly. This evening he wanted to drift off, to forget his duties for a while. He just wanted to be at peace, to enjoy the soft warm breeze on his face, and take in the sweet fragrance of the flowers that hung from the balcony railings. He wanted to bask in the little things that nature could provide, and yet, he was distracted.
He fingered the disc in his pocket for just a moment and then let it go. He would not risk taking it out to look at it. It had a hold of his attention all day, that little disc. A torment and yet just a simple device, such a little thing. No good could come from re-awakening the past, he thought to himself. In the past, certain things must stay, for his sanity, they must. He raised his head and shook it, as if he could clear his mind this way and stared out over the landscape once more. But, this time his eyes were glazed and his mind already wandered treacherously of its own accord, to another time, another place, when he was still…Anakin.
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"No! Oh Force, please no."
Obi-Wan lay in his arms, gasping for his next breath. Anakin could feel the tears tracking down his own face. This was the end of his world as he knew it. It had come to this at last. Everything pointed to utter hopelessness. He would be lost now and forevermore.
"You can't leave me." He pleaded brokenly with Obi-Wan, crying and clutching his dear Master to his chest. He rocked him gently in this their last embrace. He felt Obi-Wan put an unsteady hand on his cheek, probably for the last time. The hand trembled, and he could sense Obi-Wan weakening with every painful intake of air. He raised Obi-Wan's face to his own to hear his last dying words.
"Do not despair Anakin…" Anakin could only tighten his hold on Obi-Wan. He was awash with the impending reality of being left behind and Obi-Wan's wish to him meant nothing. Anakin could only cry softly in Obi-Wan's ear, and stroke his hair gently shaking his head slowly as his tears fell upon Obi-Wan's face.
"You are my Master…you can't…" He sobbed quietly. Not able to say the word that would make it real.
"And I will always… be your Master, dear one. So dear to me...you are." Obi-Wan all but ground out the last words. He was phasing out; he could feel himself slipping away. The warmth of Anakin had disappeared now, though the younger man's arms were still tight around him. All Obi-Wan could feel was the cold seeping into every fiber of his being; his time had come. He smiled weakly and looked deeply into Anakin's eyes. He would do that for him. He would look upon his Anakin for the last time with as much love in his eyes as he could convey.
All this effort Anakin took in, he could feel every thought, every movement Obi-Wan attempted to make. The Force was strong between them, even while one of them was slipping away. Anakin tried to smile for him in return, as he picked up on Obi-Wan's thoughts and felt what he was trying to do.
"I love you so much." Anakin whispered to him as he bent his head and placed his lips to Obi-Wan's forehead. Obi-Wan's hand went slack and dropped from Anakin's cheek as his remaining strength gave out. Anakin felt that Obi-Wan needed one last gasp, one more breath to say what he needed.
"I will find you Anakin…Through the Force…I will…find you…again…" H shuddered once, and went slack in Anakin's arms. The noble Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin's Master and his great love, was dead…
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The memory jolted him back to the present. He was shaking slightly, and he could feel the beaded sweat on his brow and the trembling of his lower lip, which he tensed immediately upon noticing it. He strove to compose himself, and it was then that he felt something else that disturbed him greatly. He touched his fingers to his face to find that it was wet with tears. He stared at the moisture on his leather clad fingers in disbelief. He took a steadying breath to collect himself, swiping his face with his sleeve as he did so. That was a long time ago, a time when he was once a Jedi Knight that served the Republic. He was now a Sith Lord, serving the Empire. He shut out the memory as best he could.
He looked up to see the first stars beginning to peak through the darkening blue of the sky. It was twilight time, and the comforting darkness of the night was not far behind. The light would soon be gone, as would be these dangerous thoughts he was plagued with. He wiped his hands on his sleeves and rubbed his hands together, before locking them in a clasp and raising them to his chin, as if in prayer. He looked down and focused on the tiled floor, summoning his composure.
"What is best in life?" He asked of himself. It was something that Sidious, his new Master asked of him from time to time, and he looked upon it himself as a grounding exercise. Each time Sidious asked him the question, he had a different answer, and each time, Sidious would laugh and beckon him to his side; to counsel him on the ways of the Dark Side and its rich rewards. Somewhat desperately, Vader mentally clamped onto Sidious now. He needed to get his calm demeanor back. Sidious' teachings filtered back into his head, a slow trickle at first and then a steady flow, like a returning tide. As he focused upon the Sith Lord, he thought of the allure of domination and the punishment of insubordinates. He thought of how he enjoyed the fear he evoked in others, the wealth along with all its comforts, and of all the things he'd gained over the last two years. All these things stemmed from being the second in command to the Emperor.
The Emperor himself had bestowed upon him a great honor; to rule by his side, as a deputy of sorts. After Obi-Wan's death, he had wandered the galaxy in a kind of stupor. The Jedi had all but abandoned him. Master Yoda had told him to rejoice in the Force and those now joined with it; He all but Force pushed Master Yoda to a wall, for that cold counsel of his. He looked to others but he found no answers, no solace. He walked away from the Temple and wandered alone. The Republic was falling apart with or without him. He was aimless in his solitude. There were months when he did not know or care where he was, where he slept, or what he ate; nothing mattered except giving into the emptiness of loss. This was his life for some time until someone found him again and brought him back to life. It wasn't the Jedi, the purge had already begun by then, it was the Supreme Chancellor himself who had found him, in some derelict hovel. A sorrowful, miserable and filthy heap of rags he was by then. His dirty blond head was pillowed on some dusty, discarded burlap sackcloth, with his tattered and stained cloak for a blanket, as his only source of warmth. He was huddled down in a deep sleep after many days and nights in pursuit of it, though his lightsabre remained at the ready by his hand. That part of him would never change. A fateful night that was, and it was not violence that turned the tide, it was a hand reaching out to him, a promise of another way. It was a consolation, a deliverance of sorts that resurrected him from his grim situation.
He recalled how at the time, a strange sensation filtered into his mind, right into his unconscious state that night. He awoke, startled to find Palpatine kneeling down and looking at him with great concern writ all over his face. The look of abject pity on the elderly man's craggy face took him by surprise much more than the fact that somehow, he had managed to find him. He remembered looking down at himself, at what he had become, and for the first time in many months an overwhelming feeling of shame overtook him. It was then that the Chancellor did something quite remarkable. The stately supreme ruler took Anakin's chin in his wrinkled hand and made him look up into his venerable eyes.
"No more of this. You will get up and let go this sadness. I will take care of you now Anakin."
It was all the Chancellor had said. At the time, he had no idea that Palpatine was a Sith Lord. Indeed, he had no idea that the era of the Jedi was over and his own name, Anakin, would soon become extinct. Palpatine took him under his wing from that moment, fully taking into possession what was once Anakin, and moulded him into something altogether different. Somewhere along the way a Republic crumbled, an Empire emerged to take its place, and Supreme Chancellor Palpatine became Emperor Sidious. A Sith Lord and Dark Godfather to Anakin, he gave Anakin a new name, and christened him Lord Vader. Vader discovered the Dark Side as Sidious illuminated it for him, in turn showing him the power it held and Vader arose and took his place at the Emperor's side and embraced the Dark Side for himself...
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He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. It didn't feel like it was enough today. His hand went to the disc in his pocket once more. Its existence had thrown him into a state of anguish from the moment he found it again earlier in the day, while he had searched through some old archives for a technical manual. It was a temptation almost impossible to resist, the overwhelming urgency to look. It was just an ordinary message disc containing files of holo communications. He thought that he had destroyed everything when he'd gathered up his things on Coruscant and came to this outpost. Somehow it had turned up here and it now taunted him, and beckoned him to reminisce. There was a good chance that a certain individual was immortalized in hologram in this device, a very good chance.
"Is he…still…?" Vader all but whispered under his breath in daring hope, as he felt his heart pump a little harder in his chest. The expression on his face was one that Lord Sidious would not have been pleased to see had he been there. He would have been ill at ease to witness the sight of his apprentice taking out the disc from his pocket, closing it into his fist carefully, reverently, before pressing his closed fist to his forehead, eyes closed, as if in silent worship. These emotions should have been buried by now. Both Master and apprentice would have attested to this equally, in normal circumstances. At any other time, Vader would have berated himself this weakness, and yet, there was still the despair, despair that would never be snuffed out. Sidious fed off it and plundered it for his own gain. Vader knew this and allowed it, though right now he called upon a remembered altogether different emotion that swam alongside his faithful despair. Vader knew that this would have been distasteful to his Dark Master.
He did not want to ponder on Sidious anymore, though for some reason, Sidious remained in his mind just then quite strongly. He did not like that he could not shield himself that well from his Master at the best of times. Vader was a very private man who appreciated mental boundaries. It helped maintain order in his mind. He swept all thoughts of the Emperor Sith aside. His thoughts were reserved only for one man right now. Today, it was all he could do to not think of Him. He felt the blood pumping in his veins and he swallowed carefully, closed his eyes and opened them again. He uncurled his hand and took one final deep breath before he pressed a button on the gadget and scrolled through the menu, crucial seconds ticked by, as his eyes scanned for that one name.
"Oh!"
Before his heart could burst out of his chest, he hit another button and suddenly there he was. His Obi-Wan was before him, all aglow in a purple blue haze talking about some rendezvous point at a certain docking bay on some insignificant planet, a new assignment…aeons ago…Vader wasn't listening to the details, he was too busy raking his eyes over the small holo form of his former Master. Vader heaved a sigh as he drank in the gauzy shimmering image of Obi-Wan. He felt an ache deep in his soul, but he could also feel his pulse quickening and his heart beginning to race.
"Obi…" He had not uttered his name out loud in two years and he felt the sorrow of that keenly. Oh but he looked so serious; that was Obi-Wan, serious but beautiful. He always had, Vader thought absentmindedly as he gazed upon the holographic image before him. He basked in the sight of him with a heavy hearted realization that he would never talk with him again; never touch his beautiful Obi-Wan. He ghosted his gloved hand over the form, as if it were real. Like a delicate caress, Vader skimmed his fingers up and down the holo form of Obi-Wan, his eyes filling with tears that did not fall.
"You said you would find me…" Vader's voice trembled on a whisper.
"You said…"
He was startled by the beep of his communicator at his wrist. He looked up and around him to get his bearings and let out a steadying breath. One press of a button and the holo image was gone. He mourned for its temporary loss, but he collected himself as best he could and assumed his normal attitude, the professional demeanor that greeted all his officers. His face soured as he felt something, and just then, it dawned on him what the impending communication was all about. He became aware of what was coming, or more specifically, who was coming.
"No...Not now." He groaned softly. He could sense her presence already. He cursed softly under his breath before pressing the receive button on his com-link.
"Yes?"
"Lady Ventress is here my Lord." The officer dutifully informed him.
"I am not to be disturbed. Send her away. Make up an excuse Officer, anything. I leave it up to you."
"Very good my Lord."
He sensed that she was already too close for the Officer to be able to carry out his order. He took a degree of pleasure from the fact that the Officer would quake in his boots later when he apologized to Lord Vader for his failure. Vader would be merciful this time, given the situation. He looked to retreat from his quarters quickly, making his way from the balcony hurriedly, though he was too late. He heard her light footfalls on the tiled roof above, and before he could turn on his heel, she lowered herself down from the edge of the roof, looped over the railing, and jumped into the balcony space where he had been musing just moments ago.
"My sweet Dark Lord, where were you going?" She asked as she sauntered towards him. Her voice sounded harsh to his ears, her accent was one he found irritating. He was not in the mood for this.
He allowed her to approach him. Her sabres were not drawn, though that meant nothing. She was quite gifted, he acknowledged that fact grudgingly. He had a scar to prove it. An instant would have been all she'd have needed had she wanted to make things interesting. Vader was ready for her though, if she tried anything. They had come to an understanding of sorts. They were on the same side now after all. Though the past was the past, Vader was not one for forgetting feelings of resentment, especially hateful feelings of resentment. She had tried to kill his Obi-Wan on several occasions. The last time she attempted it, she was seemingly in her dying throes, and at the last moment confided some truths to Obi-Wan as he looked on them both, she the dark Jedi, Obi-Wan his shining light ever wanting to believe the best in everyone. She recovered, evidently and had returned with the new order of things. With the Empire still young, they were brought together in a wholly different capacity. They were an alliance forged through orders by Sidious himself, who was the ultimate Sith and ruler of the galaxy. Sidious had told Vader that he knew what was best for him; that through obedience many rewards would come and his old life would pale in comparison. He would lead Vader to that realization. Vader remembered his Master's earlier words to him.
"You will come to see this, my young apprentice, a life of significance which you could never dream of before. I will help provide this for you, but you must trust me my friend." The Emperor's words were seductive. The Dark Side provided solace, and it was more forgiving, it reflected his true nature, his tendencies that the Jedi never understood. Vader could relax with the Dark Side; give in to its flow within him. Sidious was right about the Dark Side; Vader needed to believe that Sidious was right about Asajj too, and he deferred to his Emperor as was expected of him.
He turned to Asajj as she closed the last remaining distance between them. She put out her hand slowly and ran her fingers over his leather gauntlet in a manner that suggested something reptilian, rather than humanoid.
"I never noticed the detail in this before. I like it." She said, seemingly lost in her own thoughts as she lightly ran her hand over the clamps and ribbing. Anakin watched her curiously for a moment before replying.
"How would you like it wrapped around your throat?"
Her fingers stopped their exploration immediately, though they remained on his glove. She looked up at Vader and stretched her neck out in an open invitation. A faint smile played on her features, though her eyes conveyed steely and defiant resolve. He took a step forward, and she let go of his gloved hand as he clamped it around her delicate neck, applying subtle pressure. He could feel her pulse beneath his fingers, steadily and evenly thrumming under his touch. As he looked into her eyes, he saw in them no fear at all. He had to admire that. She raised her own small hand and placed it to his throat in return. They both smiled as they continued looking into each others' faces, holding onto each others' throats. If an officer had walked in on them by chance, he would have been met with a most peculiar sight, but they were quite alone, and they did as they pleased.
The strange spell was finally broken by Asajj as she let her grip slip from Anakin's neck to a lock of his shoulder length hair. She tugged on it lightly and paused as if in deep reflection. Still fingering the honey colored strands, she whispered, as if to herself.
"Hmmm… So much better than that silly Padawan braid you had before." She nodded to herself as if she was mentally checking off a list.
"Why do you come here?" He snarled out, batting her hand away from his hair, as he walked back into his chamber, becoming agitated. He wanted anxiously for her to go and leave him to…leave him to what exactly? Now he was angry. He stopped in his tracks to turn and look at her with a menacing glare.
"I want to be alone. Just leave me." She walked in from the balcony to stand in front of him.
"No." Was all she said before she noticed something reflecting off the chiselled plain of his right cheek. He had not removed all evidence from his face, the traces of his tears remained. He could only be thinking of one person, she surmised. They had come to an understanding about Him too in their truce. She had tried to kill his former Master, and he had indeed dispatched her traitorous gentleman Sith, Dooku, to Oblivion.
"Ahh, you've been remembering again, I…"
"Don't!" He cut her off immediately and raised his hand in a threatening manner.
"You will not speak of him. I have nothing to say to you about him. You are nothing to me, and he was everything…"
There was a hitch in his voice. He walked over to the chaise lounge in the corner of the room, sat down heavily and dropped his face in his hands. Asajj just stared at him.
"What is this?" She wondered silently. She felt the gloom earlier, before she had even entered his chambers. A heavy melancholy air was all pervasive, and he looked so very troubled from the moment she came in. In fact, he looked broken, defeated somehow, internally. She watched him with his head in his hands and his shoulders slumped. This was some new display of his; she had never seen him this way before. He looked utterly unlike a Sith should. A Sith should not cry. A Sith should not feel pain, unless that pain was born of disappointments in battle, the inadequacies in people as well as oneself, physical hurts; and even then, it should be controlled. But this was different. There was emotional, heartfelt pain here, pain she thought he had let go of long ago. It radiated from him very strongly, he pulsed with it. It was born of love. Remembered love, long gone now, the pain of parting, and of death; her suspicions were confirmed in an instant.
"Ah, so they were lovers after all." She thought back to all her encounters with the two Jedi.
"Yes, how could I not see this before?" She mentally checked off as she bit her lip and mused on what to do with this new bit of information. Sidious must have known, and probably used it to his advantage over him. It explained a little more what had always puzzled her. It explained what exactly made Vader take that last step and go over to the Dark Side. She had her answer.
Despair.
One only had to look at him to see that. Their bond had been strong, she understood that from the very beginning, but it seemed they shared more than that; they shared everything. There was that other level of intensity that emanated from them when they were together, and now she knew why. She did not understand such intimacy and so had never picked that up. What good was love? She questioned distastefully. It was fleeting, it was a weakness. Oh she well understood the pleasures of the flesh, of physical union, but addiction to another's soul? A bad investment of time and emotion all round, for very little pay off. The sight of the despondent Sith Lord before her was testament to that. She recalled somewhat uncomfortably how merciless he had been the last time she attempted to harm his Master. She had thought it simply a display of awesome anger, but now she understood it within its proper context. Such deep and abiding emotion was rare for Force users. Attachment was rare and unwelcome.
She approached him cautiously and dared to sit down next to him. She breathed quietly by him, as silent as the dead, her Sith trick that she did so well. Vader gradually became aware of her beside him and looked up slowly and turned in her direction. He rubbed at the scar that marked his face, for it had begun to itch. She smiled with a little bit of pride when she saw what he was doing.
"Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?" He said absently, like he was asking her about the weather, or something innocent.
She looked at him warily. "I recall at the time, it was quite a difficult thing to do." She raised an eyebrow as she looked into his eyes. A faraway look had begun to creep into them.
"You are not so easy to kill, even now, as you sit here, your mind elsewhere. You would not allow it, as you would not take your own life. This I understand, as I too, would not take my own life. I have but one and I shall hang on to it, as would you."
"Phfft!" That brought him back somewhat. He was sceptical of her summation of him. He shook his head slowly and just stared at her, taking in her smooth bald head, her piercing eyes, and the markings on her face. She was the complete warrior to him, yet she had such insight he never thought to hear from her lips.
She ignored his response however and went on. "The persistence of life, we both have it, and in you my sweet Dark Lord, it is very strong."
She was right, and it hit him fair and square in the gut as he acknowledged it to himself. However bad things could get, he still wanted to live. Somewhere deep inside himself he wanted to believe that. All possibility of joy for him was now gone, this he knew well, but there were other things now; things to fill the void. If he were destined to be mindful of pain that would always be there, of nightly thoughts that led to misery and despair, interrupted only by the days filled with activity through duty and servitude to his Dark Master, then he would accept it. He would remain alive. Alive…He sighed shakily and swallowed hard.
But, there was that other thing too; How to exist without Him? He ran an unsteady hand through his hair and fixed his eyes on Asajj.
"So, The Emperor has sent you to check on me then."
"Careful boy, I am no servant spy." Her face showed her disgust at his speculations.
"Then what are you?" He asked, raising his chin slightly to her.
"A warrior without a Master." She rose up from her place and walked away from him. She kept her back to him as she turned her head almost imperceptibly.
"My Master abandoned me, and then, you killed him." She turned around fully now to face him and she looked into his eyes in a cold steely manner.
"I'm glad you killed him." And she bowed her head to him slightly in a manner that suggested gratitude for the deed, before once again taking a seat at his side where they both sat in silent contemplation for a little while, each to their own thoughts.
"You loved him then?" Asajj broke the silence and ventured back to the forbidden topic. She made ready to fly if necessary, knowing he was so raw. She could feel this most strongly. He was so unpredictable in his reactions, maybe even to the point of forgetting the truce between them. But he just sighed softly and stared out across the room, his expression just then unreadable.
"I loved him completely." He didn't bother to argue the point or wonder how she arrived at the question.
"Please leave me now. I have things to attend to." He squared his shoulders, though he looked antsy and anxious in his movements.
Asajj could see his growing discomfort, how unsettled he was becoming again. A palpable mood of melancholy was descending. The gloom of its time was how she sensed it. It was a strong Force disturbance and it rippled around the man next to her. She looked at him quizzically and somewhat disturbingly, noting the device in his hand. She wondered what it was. He seemed to be quite protective of it.
"What is that?"
"Nothing!" He all but spat out as he clutched the disc to his chest in a guarded manner. Enough of this, she thought as she got up and made to leave. There was much she had to do before she would see her bed tonight, and this sullen mood of Vader's was starting to get on her nerves. No spiteful banter like she was expecting, no threats and no sparring. Her timing was off today, and the city awaited her. She could pursue her own fun. She went to the door but just before she pressed for the exit, she turned and saw something that deeply shocked her.
He was a revelation to her today, tonight. It was later than she had at first realised. All was darkness from the balcony, and one small lamp in the corner of the chamber was all that lit the young Sith's features. His head was bent down slightly and he had begun to weep silently. Tears coursed down his face, his chest heaved and yet he made no sound. He looked wretched in his grief. Yes, grief was the right word, she thought. There was a time when she would have lapped up this pain, delighted to be a witness to it, but now, as she watched him, she felt awkward yet fascinated at the same time. Maybe there was even some pity mingled with it, but she wasn't philosophical enough by nature to contemplate her responses so articulately. She stared at him for a long time. Just as she thought to turn and go, the images began to filter into her mind.
"Oh!"
She was caught off guard. Did he know that he was projecting through the Force? Was he aware that she could see him; see them? She saw them, as they once were together a long time ago, Team Skywalker and Kenobi, Jedi Knights and yes, they looked so beautiful. Even a hardhearted warrior woman as herself could acknowledge that. A wave of real pity washed over her this time. Then the images became more graphic. She saw the way they loved, the shared kisses, the hugs and caresses, and the sex itself. She grew warm at that. They were so happy…
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"Do you have any idea how beautiful you are Anakin?" Obi-Wan sighed as he looked down upon the younger man looking up at him adoringly.
"Obi, it's because of you. My Obi-Wan…Love you so much…" And they kissed with abandon, as they rolled on the grass under the moonlight. The sheen of sweat on their skin as they writhed against each other heatedly made them glisten as if they had been caught in the light of a blue haze. The stars watched over them as they lost themselves in each others passionate embrace. After a little while, Obi-Wan raised a hand to caress the younger man's face and look deeply into his eyes. It seemed that Obi-Wan had a question for him.
"Anakin…" Obi-Wan whispered softly.
"Yes." Was the younger man's only reply, and then Obi-Wan's eyes almost rolled back in his head, and she could see why that was so. Oh my, she thought as she saw Vader, or Anakin. Obi-Wan's lover had rolled him onto his back and was riding him expertly and exquisitely. The moans that elicited from the initial thrust did not stop from either of the two men as things progressed. She was starting to feel a little weak. She leaned on the door for support. She could not hazard a look at the instigator of these Force projections, could not dare to, but she started to enjoy the projections nonetheless.
"Oh, Anakin…you're so beautiful."
"Obi- Love you…want you…need you. So good…So good to me."
Obi-Wan looked like he was literally transported to another world. Anakin had bent his head forward now and they were both locked in a passionate kiss. They were joined completely and blissfully. Honey blonde hair mingled with shorter ginger colored hair as they rocked together in their love display. Obi-Wan's hands clamped firmly on Anakin's lower back urging him on. Anakin was in turn, lightly caressing him with hands planted on either side of his face. As they ground together, Obi-Wan sighed with the pleasure of Anakin in him and around him. Anakin delighted in Obi-Wan's pleasure as well as his own. Joined with Obi-Wan, and in love, he could not want for anything but this. The leaves on the trees must have agreed, because they shook themselves loose and showered them from above. Gold and red mixed with the green, nature rejoiced with them and approved. They broke from their kisses and with a wave of his hand, Obi-Wan swept the leaves that were all over them into a neat pile some distance away. They looked back lovingly at one another, and then they resumed as before, the thrusts quickening in pace. Obi-Wan tangled his hand in Anakin's hair and caressed his head, and Anakin mirrored his actions, but it never interrupted the dance. Then finally, mercifully, she thought, release came for them both at last, and they collapsed against one another as they took in great big gulps of air. She continued to watch them as they came down from their high; hands clasped together now, and noted the look that passed between them as they dreamily gazed at one another. It almost took her breath away.
She chanced a look at Vader now. He had collapsed on the chaise lounge and was now lying down with his head thrown back and his leather gauntleted hand covering his eyes. He looked exhausted and forlorn, but he too had been breathing heavily, and his face was flushed. She quickly looked away and pressed the exit button for the door, but not before she heard him inside her head.
"Now you know."
On the other side of the door she leaned against it heavily and composed herself. She made a mask of her face in case anyone chanced to walk by.
"Oh Vader, I understand, I understand at last." She responded back to him. Then
she checked herself over once more and began to walk down the burgundy carpeted corridor towards the elevator. She nodded once to the droid at the elevator control pad.
"Ground level."
"Yes, milady."
She stepped into the elevator and watched the door close in front of her.
"Vader…" She said quietly to herself and that was all.
-The End-
