Chapter 2
The door to his room burst open. Anakin groaned and pulled the covers over his head.
"Go away, Snips. I'm not feeling well."
"Ahsoka may fall for that crap, Anakin, but I don't."
Anakin forced his eyes open. "Padme."
Padme yanked the blankets away from him. "Get up, Ani. You stink. You need a shower."
"I'm sick," he moaned.
Padme put a hand to his forehead. "You don't have a fever. Have you been throwing up?"
"No," Anakin admitted.
"Then what are your symptoms?"
Anakin couldn't come up with a believable lie. "I just don't feel good."
"You don't feel good because you haven't eaten or gotten out of bed in three days. Ahsoka is worried sick about you. Now, get in the shower, and afterward, you're going to tell me what's wrong."
"Forget it, Padme. I'm tired. Please, just leave me alone."
Instead of leaving, Padme grabbed his wrist and practically dragged him to the bathroom. "Get in the shower. I'm going to change the linen and get you some clean clothes to get dressed in. Don't make me undress you myself."
Anakin flinched and pulled away from her.
"Anakin? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he muttered, already ashamed of himself. Of course, Padme wouldn't hurt him. "I'll get in the shower."
"Good."
He spent as long as he possibly could in the shower, knowing that when he got out, Padme would try to make him talk.
Just the thought of admitting what he had let Maul do to him filled Anakin with crushing shame. He couldn't tell Padme. He couldn't tell anyone. The thought of their looks of disgust when they realized what Anakin truly was was unbearable.
He was a whore, nothing more. Maul had shown him that much.
He got out of the shower when the water started to run cold. Padme handed him some clothes to change into, which he did without complaint.
Anakin crawled back into bed. Padme perched on the edge of the mattress.
"Tell me what's wrong," she said in a much softer tone than she had been using previously.
Anakin refused to meet her gaze. "I told you, I'm just not feeling good. It's probably a bug or something."
"Bullshit, Anakin. I've never seen you like this. Something must have happened to put you in this state."
"Nothing happened!" Anakin couldn't quite hide the note of panic in his voice. He was all too aware that his ass was still torn up after what Maul had done. Using the toilet was agony right now, but there was nothing he could do about it. Seeing a doctor would require confessing what had happened, which was something he wasn't willing to do.
"Something happened, that much is obvious."
Anakin changed tack. He wasn't going to be able to convince Padme that nothing was wrong; she was too perceptive. Admittedly, it didn't require great perception to tell that something was wrong with him. He hadn't left bed for three days, after all.
"Look, Padme, I don't want to talk about it, ok? Please, could you respect that?"
"Whatever it is, it's eating you up inside. Shoving it down and not speaking about it won't help."
"That's my choice to make," Anakin insisted.
Padme sighed. "I suppose it is. But you know I'm always here for you, right?"
"I do. Thank you, Padme. I'll try to do better." The last thing Anakin had wanted was to worry Ahsoka, and he'd gone and done just that.
He couldn't stay in bed forever. He would have to face the world at some point. Anakin was seized by the irrational fear that people would know what had happened just by looking at him.
Of course, that was stupid. Padme was looking at him right now and she clearly had no idea. Apart from Ahsoka, Padme knew Anakin better than anyone. If she couldn't figure it out, then no one could.
"When you're ready to talk, I'll be here."
Anakin would never be ready to talk, but he appreciated the sentiment all the same. "Thanks, Padme. I suppose I'd better go talk to Ahsoka. I never meant to scare her."
"She loves you. She only worries because she wants you to be well."
"I know."
Padme left and Anakin went to Ahsoka's room, where she was doing homework.
She leaped up when she saw him. "Skyguy! You're out of bed!"
"Yeah, I am. I'm sorry to have worried you, Snips."
"What's wrong? Padme thought something must have happened to you."
"No, nothing happened," Anakin lied. "I've just been really stressed recently. I needed a few days in bed to recharge."
Thankfully, Ahsoka seemed to accept this excuse. "Have you made any progress in finding a job?"
Anakin's heart sank. There was no way he could go back to Sith Escort Services. He couldn't take it. But he still needed a job.
The money he'd gotten from Maul, both the standard fee and the very large tip (as if money could ever make up for what he'd done to Anakin), would cover rent and food for a few more weeks, but that would only last so long. He needed a job.
"Not yet, but I'll find something soon, I promise. You don't need to worry."
Ahsoka nodded, but her brow was pinched in the way it always did when she was anxious about something.
Anakin vowed to himself that he'd find something. He had no other choice.
He sent an email to Sidious, telling him that he had decided escorting wasn't the right job for him, and requesting that Sidious take his picture off the website. Sidious didn't reply, but Anakin didn't really care. He had said all he needed to say. Now, he needed to focus on the future.
Anakin caught up on the college work he had missed while he was in bed. He didn't have work taking up his time, but he was more exhausted than ever. Whenever he managed to fall asleep, he was plagued by nightmares. More than once, he had woken up screaming.
Anakin slept with the door closed now, so that he didn't wake Ahsoka. The nightmares left him shaking for hours afterward and unable to fall asleep again.
Padme, Rex, and Ahsoka were all worried, but Anakin brushed off their concerns. Surely, things would get easier. Time heals all wounds and all that crap. Right?
It didn't help that he was constantly anxious about his job situation. He'd been applying for anything and everything with an opening, but apparently, no one wanted him.
It seemed that all he was good for was a rough fuck.
A week after Maul had hurt him, Aayla came for an unscheduled check-in. Aayla was Ahsoka's social worker. Anakin knew she was just doing her job, but he hated it when she came to check on Ahsoka. He always worried that she would decide he wasn't taking good enough care of Ahsoka and might take her away.
"Aayla, hi. Ahsoka is in her room, doing homework."
"Great. How are her grades?"
"She's doing really well." Anakin glowed with pride. "Top in her class for English and math. Her lowest marks recently have been Bs, but she mostly gets As."
"That's great, Anakin. And how are you doing? How's work?"
Anakin hesitated. He didn't want to confess that he'd lost his job, but Aayla would find out eventually, and if he lied to her, that could get Ahsoka taken away.
"I… I lost the job," he admitted. "Don't worry, though, I'm going to get another one."
Aayla's brows furrowed, a terrifying sight. "Are you certain, Anakin? We can't have Ahsoka in your care if you're not able to provide for her."
"I can provide for her just fine!" Anakin forced himself to moderate the volume of his voice. "I've got enough money saved to last us until I get a new job."
That was a lie, of course. He hadn't had anything saved, but he couldn't exactly tell her that he got the money from working as an escort. That would get Ahsoka taken away for sure.
"Well, if you're sure… but I'll be keeping a close eye on the situation. Tell me once you have a new job, will you?"
"Of course."
"Excellent. I'll just check in with Ahsoka, then I'll be off."
Aayla spent a few minutes talking to Ahsoka before leaving. Anakin sank into a chair, shaking. He couldn't let Ahsoka be taken away from him. He had to find a job, no matter what it took.
He spent the next week frantically applying for things, but no one got back to him. Not so much as a single interview.
Anakin knew that it was because he had no degree and no references, but there wasn't anything he could do about that. He'd been lucky to get the job with Watto in the first place, and he knew that he had only gotten it because Watto sensed someone he would be able to manipulate. Anakin had needed that job and had put up with a lot from Watto.
He could only keep trying to find something else.
He did his best to hide his worry from Ahsoka, but she could still tell.
Anakin was even starting to consider asking Padme or Rex for help. Every time he was on the verge of doing it, though, he stopped.
They were already giving him their friendship, which was more than he deserved. How could he possibly ask them for anything else? He couldn't, it was that simple.
Anakin's phone started ringing, making him jump. He'd been focusing so intently on the paper he was writing for college that the rest of the world had faded away. He loved it when that happened. It was part of the reason he so enjoyed mechanical engineering. It calmed his mind in a way that nothing else did.
He answered at once. Maybe it was one of the jobs he had applied to.
He froze at the sound of the voice on the other end.
"Hello, Anakin."
Maul. If he wasn't too terrified to move, Anakin would have hung up.
"I must say, you made quite an impression last time. I'd like another night with you."
"You – you think I'd be with you again after what you did to me?" he choked out.
"Now, Anakin, don't be like that. We had a good time. What do you say to double your usual fee?"
Anakin's fingers finally started listening to his brain's frantic commands and he hung up. He quickly blocked Maul's number, but that did little to settle his nerves.
Ahsoka found him ten minutes later, curled up under every blanket he owned, still shaking.
"Skyguy? What's wrong? Anakin?"
"I'm fine, Snips," he whispered through numb lips. "Just tired. I'll be up to help you with your homework in a bit."
"Do I need to call Padme again?"
"No! I promise I'll be up within the hour. Just… just give me a bit of time."
Thankfully, Ahsoka did as he asked. Anakin spent the next hour trying to pull himself together. He managed to put up a pretty good façade, though inside he was still just as shaken up as he had been when he'd hung up on Maul.
The knowledge that that monster still wanted him was enough to send Anakin into a panic. He could never do that again. He wouldn't survive it. How had Maul even gotten his personal number? Had Sidious given it to him? Anakin wouldn't have put it past the slimy bastard to do so.
The worst of it was, Maul hadn't even broken any of the conditions on the contract Anakin had signed. Anakin had literally signed his rights away. It was his own fault that Maul had hurt him.
There was nothing to be done about it now. Anakin just had to do his best to move on and live with his shame.
He splashed some water on his face and forced himself to smile as he went to help Ahsoka with her homework.
Two weeks after he'd seen Maul, Anakin got a call from Sidious.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Anakin."
Anakin scowled. "Sidious. I told you, I'm not working for you anymore."
"You may want to reconsider when I hear the offer I've received."
"I don't –"
"How does fifteen thousand dollars a month sound, Anakin?"
That got Anakin's attention. "Fifteen thousand?"
"That's right. You've caught the eye of one Obi-wan Kenobi."
Kenobi… oh yes, that's right. Obi-wan Kenobi, the billionaire owner and CEO of Kenobi Technologies. As far as Anakin was aware, Obi-wan was one of the richest men on the planet.
"What does he want with me? How did he even find me? You didn't take my photo off the website, did you?"
"I thought I'd leave it on for a while, and a good thing I did. Mr. Kenobi is offering a monthly salary of fifteen thousand dollars for a permanent escort. You'd go on dates with him, go to work functions, and most importantly, please him in bed. He's willing to give me a once-off fee of fifty thousand dollars if I can convince you to take the job. Ten of that is yours if you meet with him."
Ten thousand dollars, just to meet with the guy?
Of course, it wouldn't be just to meet with him. Obi-wan would want sex. The thought made Anakin want to throw up.
But he needed a job. He would rather die than let someone violate him again, but what would happen to Ahsoka then? Anakin didn't know how he would deal with having an experience like the one he had had with Maul on a regular basis, but he was out of options. There were no other jobs, at least not any that wanted him.
"Alright, I'll meet with him – but only if you take my photo off the website."
"Consider it done," Sidious promised. "I'll send you the address. He wants you there tomorrow at ten p.m."
Tomorrow. So soon. Anakin supposed he may as well get this over and done with.
With the salary Obi-wan was offering, he could even start a college fund for Ahsoka. Surely, it would be worth whatever Obi-wan decided to do to him.
This time, he was going in prepared. At nine-thirty, after Ahsoka was asleep, Anakin used his fingers and some lube to open himself up. Hopefully, he could avoid tearing this way.
He was so nervous he thought he might be sick, but his resolve was set.
He took the bus to Obi-wan's house. Trembling, he knocked on the door.
