Down the Wrong Path, Chapter 6

My Chosen One

The shock bolted him upright. He looked around frantically, his heart beating heavily in his chest, loud enough to be the only noise in the room. He felt sweaty, and unusually warm. In a very localized area. He ran a hand through his longish, wheat-colored hair, trying in vain to remember what the dream was that would have left him in this state.

It took only a moment to realize it hadn't been his dream.

And in the next moment he could feel through their bond that his young padawan was very much confused.

Obi-Wan swung out of bed, pulling his robe on over his bare torso as he padded down the corridor of the transport ship to Anakin's quarters. He paused before keying open the door, realizing Anakin was not in his room. He closed his eyes, stretched out with the Force. He felt Anakin flicker uncertainly, then just as abruptly threw up a curtain between them, shutting Obi-Wan out of their bond. His brow furrowed, but it didn't matter. The connection was long enough for him to pinpoint the teenager's location.

The 'fresher was a couple doors down from Anakin's quarters. He tried to key the door, but it was locked from inside. He sighed, sensing only confusion and then a strong block from the other side. So he did the civil thing and knocked.

"Occupied," Anakin cried, stifled by the door. Whether or not he was actually crying, Obi-Wan couldn't tell. He hoped not, if just to save them from having that conversation again. "Go away, Master. Please."

The pleading, however, was very apparent. Obi-Wan's heart skipped a beat. He hated hearing that note in his padawan's voice. Even after all these years together, no matter how strong he got in the Force, there was that nagging thought that he'd never be able to quell the pain in Anakin's heart.

"Are you all right, Anakin?" he replied, softening the master pretense in his tone. "Are you injured? Ill?"

"No, Master, I just - "

The Force flickered. Anakin briefly let down his guard, enough so that Obi-Wan could feel the sweat pooling on the young one's brow, and feel a brush of heat off his body. Just like his had been.

Obi-Wan shivered. "Let me come in, just to make sure you're all right."

"It was just a - a dream."

Ah, that again. A road they've traveled often. Anakin could write a holo-drama based on all the dreams he had. Obi-Wan smiled, allowing himself to relax a little.

"Well, if it was just another of your dreams, how will hiding in the 'fresher solve anything? Unless you believe the 'bad men' can't find you in there."

Obi-Wan was trying to lighten the mood. It was, unfortunately, falling on a shut and locked door.

There was silence for a moment. Too long of a moment. His brow furrowed again.

"Anakin, please, unlock this door."

No response. Not even a flicker in the Force.

"Anakin, you know that if I really wanted to, I could open this door myself."

It wasn't a threat, and he wasn't completely sure it would be a good idea, or even how to pull it off. But it worked. He heard rustling as Anakin moved to the door and just as quickly retreated before it opened completely. When Obi-Wan entered, he had already withdrawn to the shower and was curled up on the ground, knees to bare chest. He didn't seem to be injured, although his body was flushed and still a little sweaty.

Obi-Wan knelt at his side, reached out to feel his forehead. Anakin jerked away, pressing further to the metal wall of the shower. Now this was getting annoying, and worrisome.

"Anakin, be still. You're flushed, and I want to feel for a fever."

"I'm not sick, Master," Anakin shot at him, finally making eye contact. They flickered from focusing on Obi-Wan's eyes, to his bare chest, and then very quickly back to the floor of the shower. "I just had a dream."

"But your dreams haven't affected you like this for quite some time," Obi-Wan mused out loud, while another part of him considered what he just saw in Anakin's eyes. "What was this one about? Was it the one about your mother? Or Jabba eating your house again?"

"No, this one was - different, new, unusual," Anakin trailed off as his head sank. What he said next he mumbled into his knees. It took Obi-Wan a moment after hearing this mumbled admission before what he meant actually sunk in. Then his eyes got big, his mouth froze open in an "oh" and he got up, suddenly feeling a little too warm and close for comfort.

He found the counter to lean on and silently contemplated Anakin before him. So young still, but he had grown so much these past five years. He was no longer a child. Taller, leaner, more muscle tone than baby fat now. And now...

Obi-Wan cleared his throat, made sure he was breathing. "Well, it is a normal thing, Anakin. Most human males go through the same thing at around your age, and I believe other races do as well, both the males and the females. It's just a natural phase of biological development."

Anakin's head lifted slightly, enough to peer at his master. Under that new gaze, Obi-Wan shifted uncomfortably. Like he's looking right through me...

"Do you want to talk about it? I mean, about who it was about?" he found himself asking, although he wasn't sure why he just did that. Of course Anakin wouldn't want to talk about it. Who would? He wasn't even sure he wanted to know who it was about, although why that mattered didn't exactly make sense just then.

Anakin's head fell back down. "I don't remember."

Get a grip on yourself, Obi, this is your padawan here. You're a man, a blasted Jedi Knight. Surely you can handle this. What did you do when it happened to you?

Obi-Wan set his jaw and returned to kneel at Anakin's side.

"Trust me, my young apprentice, this is just a part of growing up, of becoming a man. It's nothing to be ashamed of." Anakin peered out at him again. Spurned on, Obi-Wan continued to extol wisdom he had heard from his master so long ago. "It is just another part of our nature that as a Jedi we must neither deny nor embrace."

Anakin's head came up higher as his brow furrowed. "But, then, what am I supposed to do?"

Obi-Wan's lips curled. "What do you do when you fly into an ion storm?"

"Disengage thrusters and ride out the wave, or else you'll fry your circuits," Anakin grinned.

"Exactly. This is the same thing," Obi-Wan agreed, relieved that Anakin's enthusiasm for piloting made these little metaphors easier. "A Jedi must always be one with the Force, must always go with its flow. Don't deny that you have these feelings so that they fry your circuits, but also don't embrace them so that they consume you. Do you understand?"

"Don't fight, don't embrace, just go with the flow and ride it out."

Obi-Wan relaxed, his smile bigger. "That's it. Trust in the Force to tell you when it's time to fight, when it's time to run, and when it's time to embrace." The older man patted the young man on the back. "Now, back to your quarters. A 'fresher's no place to spend the night."

Anakin got up. He was already eye-level with Obi-Wan. Remarkable, in only five years. What would the next five years bring?

He awoke, or came back from unconsciousness, whatever it was, and the first thing he felt was a sickness in his stomach. He curled reflexively at the sharp pain. He couldn't do anything about it. There was no Force to call upon here to help him. In a fetal position, he concentrated, focusing on all the meditation techniques he'd been taught that should be effective without the Force, even if only somewhat. He was beginning to feel nauseous as he concentrated on slowing and deepening his breathing. The floor swayed slightly underneath him. He kept his eyes clamped shut and rode it out.

It felt like hours passed before he finally stopped the racing of his heart, made his breathing reach down into the pit of his stomach to quell the uprising. The floor slowly stopped swaying, and actually felt nice, being cool against his flushed bare skin.

Bare skin? It all came back in, and he rode out the images, the flood of sensations by keeping his focus on his heart rate and breathing. It had been Padmé. Just as he'd always... But no, it couldn't be. He was a captive of the Xaantiins. He was in some sort of metal hut that was somehow blocking him from being connected with the Force. He was being fed by a young human girl named Eyuria. He couldn't have been with Padmé.

Right?

The floor no longer swaying, Obi-Wan ventured to open his eyes, although he remained curled. Yes, it was the same metal hut. Still dark, so at least he hadn't been unconscious long. He saw his tunic lying before him and tentatively uncurled to retrieve it. Struggling to sit, he slowly pulled it back on, squinting into the darkness of the hut. Were those scraps of clothing he saw?

"Come to think of it, wasn't Eyuria in here just before everything got, well, confusing?"

As if in response to her name, he heard the door being unlocked. He tied his tunic together as quickly as possible, although it improperly left a lot of his chest bare to the night air. He steadied himself as he sat. Eyuria was going to have some questions to answer.

But when the door opened, all his questions were immediately displaced.

Sweaty, disheveled, with a thin cut oozing blood along his forehead, Anakin threw open the door.

"Master, I found you."

Obi-Wan's heart leapt into his throat, strangling a response, as his arms threatened to stop supporting him. Anakin was immediately at his side, holding onto the Jedi Master in his strong hands.

"Master, you're hurt!"

Obi-Wan placed a hand on the young Jedi Knight's arm. His other brushed away a trail of blood that threatened to invade Anakin's eyes.

"No more than you are."

"A minor scratch," the young warrior smiled ruefully. "You should see the other fellow." His smile soon fell. "I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner, Master."

Obi-Wan patted his arm. "Enough with the Master bit. I'm glad you've come. Let's get going."

"Can you walk?"

"Just get me out of this hut, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to fly."

Obi-Wan started to get up, with Anakin's hands still firmly in place around his chest and waist. Obi-Wan was beginning to feel warm, but dismissed it as being, one, in his tunic again and, two, being so close to a very flushed Jedi Knight. Now on his feet again, the room began swaying once more. All other thoughts vanished except for thank the Force Anakin is strong enough to catch his old man before he falls on his face once more.

"Wait, we have a moment, drink this."

Anakin offered him his canteen. The liquid inside smelled weird, yet familiar somehow.

"What is it?"

Anakin shrugged, smiling mischievously. "Don't know. Found it in a spring in the woods. Tastes really good, very refreshing."

Obi-Wan eyed him suspiciously. "Fine, but if this makes me drunk, I can't be held responsible for my actions."

Anakin smiled more as Obi-Wan gulped down the strange, yet admittedly very refreshingly liquid. He could feel his legs getting stronger even before removing the canteen from his lips. He nodded appreciatively to Anakin, offering it back.

"No, keep it with you. You need it more than I do. Ready?"

Obi-Wan flexed his fingers, anxious to wrap them around something.

"Anakin, where's my lightsaber?"

Anakin cocked his head. "Your lightsaber?"

"Yes, I dropped it in the forest. You didn't find it?"

Anakin shook his head. Then Obi-Wan noticed the strange absence in the young man's hand.

"And where is your lightsaber, young one?"

Anakin looked away. "I sort of, lost it?"

Obi-Wan found himself chuckling instead of sighing. For some reason, that just made complete sense.

"We'll worry about that later. Let's go before we're - "

"Heyupso gretnak telan uyurio!"

He felt Anakin pull him outside and through the darkened village. He was able to stumble alongside, but Anakin's strong hands never left their secure places on his body, as if afraid of losing his mentor again. Obi-Wan didn't complain. Without his saber, and still feeling too weak to fully immerse himself in the Force, there was little he could do other then warn Anakin when a Xaantiin was swinging a cudgel or metal blade at them. Anakin gracefully ducked, dodged, used the Force to parry or thrust away their attackers without actually killing anyone, and without dropping his hold on Obi-Wan.

The older man couldn't help smiling at the grace and cunning of his savior. Perhaps Anakin had been listening, all this time.

They were at the edge of the camp before Obi-Wan suddenly remembered his pledge.

"Anakin, wait, stop!"

Anakin whirled around, placing himself between the village and Obi-Wan. He looked down at his mentor's face, confused.

"We're almost free!"

"We have to go back," Obi-Wan ordered, pushing himself from Anakin's embrace. Anakin reluctantly let go, but refused to remove himself as a barrier. "There's a young human girl being held in the camp. They hurt her. We have to save her."

Obi-Wan made a move around the young man, but his knees buckled and he found himself once more in Anakin's arms. Damn, what is wrong with me? He found the canteen pressed in his hands and took another long swig as Anakin deflected a spear aimed for their bodies.

"We don't have time, Mas- Obi, we have to go, now!" he replied, rather forcefully, as his eyes grew dark - with concern?

Obi-Wan puzzled over that expression as he finished his draught. It wasn't right. He couldn't just leave Eyuria behind, especially without knowing what happened earlier. She had the answers, which, he chided himself, was a really selfish reason for bringing her with them. But he knew Anakin was right. Obi-Wan was still weak, from whatever those insects had done to him, and from whatever had happened earlier. He could just barely sense the Force, which buzzed weakly in the back of his mind. Was the insects' poison more to blame for the loss of his connection than that metal hut he'd been in?

He shook his head, returning the canteen to his side, as Anakin Force-pushed a group of Xaantiins into a mud hut that collapsed on top of them. All this needless pondering and worrying was going to do them no good right now. The Force would return to him when the time was right. And then he'd come back to free Eyuria.

Obi-Wan patted Anakin's shoulder, bringing his attention back from the village. He nodded to the younger man, who pursed his lips and picked up Obi-Wan in his arms - actually scooped him up like some helpless invalid. Before Obi-Wan could protest, Anakin was running into the woods. A loud crash behind them told him Anakin had managed to topple several trees to block their retreat. Anakin only stumbled briefly once, grunting in annoyance, and soon they were deep in the woods.

Minutes passed, but Anakin didn't let up his pace, or let Obi-Wan down. While he felt embarrassed, being carried like some child, he had to admit it was probably the smartest thing to do given the circumstances. He'd have done the same were their situations reversed. Besides, he was so tired, and it just felt nice to be with Anakin again.

Where the blazes did that thought come from? Okay, Obi, that damn drink is getting to your head. But now would be a good time to have some more.

"Um, Anakin, don't you think we've gone far enough?"

"Just a little further," was the reply, which came out strained. Obi-Wan saw it in his face. No matter how strong the boy was in the Force, this much physical exertion would make keeping up this pace impossible for much longer.

"Anakin, you're about to pass out! Now stop and put me down!"

"You're no longer my Master, Obi, you said so yourself. I don't have to obey your orders."

Obi-Wan scoffed. "Not that you ever did."

"Right, so why start now? Now be patient. We'll be there shortly."

"Easy for you to say. You're not being carried like some damsel-in-distress."

"No one would ever mistake you for that," he replied, grinning mischievously. "At least, not with that beard."

"I happen to like my beard. It makes me look very distinguished."

"Yes, sir, very distinguished. A little old, but still handsome."

Obi-Wan peered at the man's face again, but Anakin wasn't showing anything more than concentration on his progress.

Did he just say I'm handsome?

"Obi, you feel warm, are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes, must just be an aftereffect of the insects' poison," Obi-Wan responded, hoping to convince himself as well. "And please don't call me Obi unless you want me to call you Ani again."

"I never minded when you called me that."

Okay, please tell me we are almost to wherever the stars it is that he's taking us. Things were starting to feel very warm again.

And then they broke through the forest into a clearing. He heard the burbling before Anakin turned in such a way that he could see a small spring and stream cutting through a clearing, into which moonlight poured. There were no insects, and only a light breeze wafting through the canopy joined in the melody of the babbling brook. It was very peaceful.

Anakin set him down on some very springy moss, propped him against a log. He smiled as Obi-Wan sighed in relief at being on solid ground. Obi-Wan patted his shoulder, smiling gratefully. His boy had done very well.

"We'll rest here for the night."

"How do you know about this place?" he asked, again marveling at how calming it was. He felt at peace even without the warmth of the Force around him.

Anakin took the canteen back and drained it, wiping sweat from his brow. He was so close Obi-Wan could still feel the heat radiating from him, the beat of his heart through his chest. Obi-Wan found his gaze lingering on the man's tunic covered chest, and couldn't make his eyes move away. Until Anakin looked back at him, and he found himself hastily looking anywhere else.

"This is where I found the drink," he answered, ignoring if he even noticed the weird look from Obi-Wan. How could he not have noticed? "That's the spring. And there are no insects here. I think the water might be toxic to them."

Obi-Wan nodded, looking at the water. Anakin got up stiffly and went to the spring. Even in the dark, Obi-Wan could see the gash in his tunic that ran across his back.

"Anakin, your back!"

Anakin's shoulder sagged, but he looked back to Obi-Wan, who was starting to push himself up. "One of those Xaantiins threw a blade. I didn't catch it until too late."

Obi-Wan was on his feet and moving towards him before Anakin could get up to stop him.

"Let me check it," Obi-Wan ordered, happy that his feet didn't give out until he could reach Anakin and drag him down to the ground with him. "They may be using that poison from the insects on their weapons."

"Really, I'm feel fine. Could I have gotten this far if I was poisoned?"

"Fine, at least let me clean the wound." Anakin pursed his lips, but Obi-Wan was resolute. "It's the least I can do for your saving me."

"Again."

Obi-Wan smiled as they both relaxed. "Yes, again."

Anakin undid his tunic. It was a sight he'd seen numerous times. Slight frame, with just enough muscle to indicate strength, but not revealing the true power at the young man's disposal. A power Obi-Wan had both witnessed and been the recipient of. The skin was smooth, flawless, like chiseled stone, all the way down to the right arm that ended in a metal hand that was at times hot or cold to the touch. And all of it was covered with sheen of sweat that made it glisten in the faint light of the clearing.

Steady yourself, Jedi Master. Remember the Force. Go with the flow.

That admonition would be better, if he could actually sense the Force and follow its course. Right now there was just him, and Anakin, who undoubtedly could sense the confusion in his former master. So why wasn't Anakin doing something about it? His eyes were locked on Obi-Wan's, until the Jedi Master broke the contact to move around behind him.

The gash did run across Anakin's whole back, but was not very deep and barely bled any more.

"It doesn't look too bad, but I should still clean it." Obi-Wan shrugged off his tunic.

"Obi-Wan, leave your tunic on, you're not - "

"We're both banged up, Anakin," he chided, dipping part of the tunic in the water. "Besides, I'm getting rather used to having my tunic off."

"I'll remember that," was the smart response. "I can't even recall you sleeping without your tunic on."

"I'm not that much of a prude, am I?"

Obi-Wan wrung out the excess water and applied the wet cloth to Anakin's taunt back. Anakin shivered as the water dribbled down his back, beneath his trousers. For a moment, that watery trail caught Obi-Wan's full attention.

"Obi, are you listening?"

He shook his head. Anakin had said something? Not having the Force was really disconcerting.

"Sorry, I was just contemplating on why I can't feel the Force."

Obi-Wan started rubbing the blood away from the cut, carefully tracing circles across Anakin's back. Anakin shivered again, but his shoulders sagged. Obi-Wan could feel his body relaxing under his ministrations.

"Not at all?"

"I haven't been able to since I was poisoned by the insects." Obi-Wan dipped the cloth again, cleaning it, before revealing more of Anakin's unblemished skin from underneath the blood, sweat and grime. "I thought it was just the hut they put me in, but now, I'm beginning to wonder."

"So you can't sense -- anything?"

One last pass and everything was cleared away. The gash didn't look so bad at all now. He washed out his tunic again, then draped the cool clothe over Anakin's shoulder, running his hands lightly over it to press the fabric against Anakin's skin.

"I'm sure it will be all right. I don't think it's possible to be completely de-sensitized from the Force."

Anakin's hand found Obi-Wan's as it brushed over his shoulder. They stayed there, and suddenly Anakin's hold on his hand grounded him. Their bond was instantly rekindled. He could feel Anakin's life pulsing through that hand, and through that warmth he could feel Anakin's life just as strongly as he ever could in their Force bond.

Perhaps stronger. The effect was definitely stronger, as his body flushed, his knees quivered despite his sitting cross-legged. This was the flow, the warmth and pulse moving between them through the simple contact of hands. But it wasn't enough. The flow was pulling him, catching him in the gut. This was Anakin, the man he had brought up since Naboo. He had been his mentor, his teacher, his master, his father figure, his brother in arms. But, was that enough?

Even as these thoughts raced through his mind, they were quelled by the flow, the pull.

Obi-Wan wrapped his free arm around Anakin's waist and allowed himself to sink against the back of his young padawan, his savior, his chosen one.

For a moment, Anakin stiffened at the weight of Obi-Wan so freely pressing against his back. But the moment soon passed, and the wet tunic between them refreshed his chest as it sucked away the quickly regenerating heat from both of their bodies. Obi-Wan and Anakin shivered together.

"This, this wasn't what I had planned."

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. He hadn't either. Nothing had gone as planned since he fell in that hole.

"Jedi have to remember that even their best plans may not be the plans of the Force," Obi-Wan muttered, turning his head to fit his chin into the crook where Anakin's neck met his shoulder.

Anakin chuckled, bouncing Obi-Wan against him.

"Even now, you're still trying to teach me a lesson."

Anakin's free hand began to lazily trace circles up and down the arm that encircled his waist.

Obi-Wan nuzzled his face into Anakin's neck. His hair smelt impossibly sweet, given the dirt and sweat lodged there.

"I would think now would be the perfect time for a new lesson."

Anakin turned as much as he could to regard the Jedi Master, much to Obi-Wan's disapproval. It moved his ear out of Obi-Wan's range.

"How did you know, I mean, after all these years, that I, that this - "

Obi-Wan brought his arm up from the waist to firmly grip the young man's chest, to pull him even tighter against him. It wasn't enough. The bond needed to be stronger. He needed to be reassured, that even without the Force, that he wasn't alone. That he never would be. That Anakin would always be there for him. That they would always be together, through thick and thin, just as they had been for over a decade now. That their bond would always be there. More than friends, more than brothers.

"Why else would you save my sorry ass every time I got in trouble?" Obi-Wan breathed, trailing his beard across the young man's bare shoulder, delighting in the shivering that coursed through Anakin and then his body. "You just like keeping it around."

"See, you don't need the Force to read my mind."

Anakin swiveled, dropping the hand on his shoulder to grip the older man's neck.

"Or to know my feelings."

There was no moment of hesitation. Of uncertainty. It just felt right. It had to have been the will of the Force. Because when their lips met for the first time, the electricity of Anakin's touch, the warmth of his body, the pounding of his heart crashed into Obi-Wan, and made everything else in the universe less then inconsequential.

It was not a slow dance. It was years of knowing each other intimately through their bond finally being realized. They knew each other well enough, were in such perfect sync, that their hands did not awkwardly linger anywhere longer than was needed. They knew how to touch each other to maximize the sensation, to hold onto it and lengthen the pleasure they could derive with their fingers, their tongues, their noses. It was a perfect ballet of give-and-take, of two bodies of equal power crashing over each other, fighting to give more to the other and take less. Neither won this battle, but neither lost.

They didn't feel the ground beneath them. Didn't hear the brook, or the wind. The stars were in their heads, all around them, as they moved against each other, panting, moaning, laughing deep within their throats and in each others ears. It was the best workout either had gotten, and both had needed.

At some point they had become completely naked. At some point Anakin was on his hands and knees and Obi-Wan was over him. At some point Obi-Wan lost himself within Anakin. At some point, for a brief moment, they were connected far more deeply than anything they could have achieved through the Force. At that point, when the universe was around them and in him, Obi-Wan felt a peace of mind, of heart, of soul, he didn't know was possible to achieve. And all he could do was hold onto Anakin as his body convulsed with this new power.

And then, that point of time passed. They collapsed to the ground, panting. Obi-Wan withdrew from Anakin, but pulled the young man's back possessively to his chest. This was his chosen one. It had been the will of the Force that they would be together. There was no fighting the will of the Force. All that he could do was embrace it.

They didn't say anything. Didn't have too. Anakin was right. He didn't need the Force to know the young man. Not anymore.

His heart began to slow, and his breathing grew quieter. He could again hear the babble of the brook, the wind through the trees. But it was the beating of his Anakin's heart and the way he traced circles up and down his arms that finally lulled Obi-Wan to sleep. Content for the first time in a long, long time.

She waited until he was snoring lightly into her hair. She smiled, tracing circles along his arms. He seemed to really like that. She heard the door open but ignored it. It was too soon. She wanted to stay like this, even if was just a little bit longer.

"Eyuria."

She tensed, which only made Obi-Wan hold her tighter, nuzzle into her neck. But thankfully he didn't wake. She didn't want him to look at her. Not like this. Not right now.

"You should not have such concerns, Eyuria."

She opened her eyes, knowing Tamolok was scowling at her. She shut away those thoughts.

"Obi-Wan, roll over," she whispered back at her telan.

Smiling sweetly, he fully complied, leaving Eyuria bare. Tamolok tossed her a robe from his place at the doorway. She wrapped it around herself before getting up and bowing to her father.

"It is done, lord," Eyuria announced, emotionless. "He is ready for my sisters."

"You have honored your people, my daughter," Tamolok said, placing a hand on her head. "Your child will lead our people in strength and power."

"Yes, lord, it is my duty to serve our people."

Tamolok grunted and withdrew.

Eyuria straightened, pausing a moment to glance back at Obi-Wan. He was sleeping so peacefully, a smile lighting up his features even in the dark of the hut. Her hand brushed over her stomach, where she had captured his power. Their child would be strong, like its father. And perhaps, just as handsome.

A grin flitting across her lips, she followed her father into the village as the light of dawn crept through the forest.