Chapter 11

"Are you sure?"

Anakin nodded. "I'm ready."

Obi-wan took a measure of the determination in his eyes before nodding. "Alright, then. Lay back, dearest. I'll take care of you."

Anakin nodded and did as Obi-wan asked. Obi-wan took Anakin's cock back into his mouth, bobbing up and down to create the most delicious friction. Anakin's fists clutched the sheets as he thrust helplessly up into Obi-wan's mouth.

Obi-wan urged Anakin with one hand to open his legs, which Anakin did eagerly. He wanted Obi-wan's touch to erase the memory of Maul. He knew that he liked bottoming and was eager to overcome this particular barrier.

Obi-wan's fingers spread his cheeks and brushed against his hole.

Anakin gasped as the memories hit him all at once. He tensed, waiting for the unbearable pain, but it didn't come.

"Anakin?"

"Stop. Please, stop."

Obi-wan's hand vanished at once. "It's ok, sweetheart. Come here."

Anakin bit back tears as he crawled up into Obi-wan's arms. "I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, dearest. You know it's not your fault. These things take time."

"I'm just so ready to move on, but my brain won't cooperate."

"So, we try again in a week or two. There's no rush."

Anakin nodded miserably. He hated this. He just wanted to move on. Was that too much to ask?

He realized that while he had gone soft, Obi-wan was still hard. Anakin reached down for his cock, but Obi-wan stopped him, gripping his wrist lightly.

"Not now, Ani. Not while you're distressed."

"But you –"

"Don't worry about me. Just relax and breathe."

Anakin knew he didn't deserve Obi-wan's patience. He lay in Obi-wan's arms, doing his best not to cry, but losing the battle against tears. He swiped impatiently at his face. Obi-wan gently captured Anakin's wrist again and took to tenderly wiping the tears himself.

Obi-wan pulled a blanket over the two of them, burying his head in Anakin's hair. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Anakin choked out, pressing his face into Obi-wan's chest. Why couldn't he be everything for Obi-wan? It was so unfair. Maul had taken so much from him. Anakin didn't want him to have this too, but he didn't know how to stop him.

"You know, maybe we're going about this the wrong way."

"What do you mean?"

"What if we did things the other way around? Maybe you should try topping before you attempt bottoming."

It wasn't a bad idea. Anakin preferred bottoming, but any form of penetrative sex would be a step in the right direction. "Alright. Let's give it a shot."

He reached for Obi-wan's cock, but Obi-wan pulled his hand away. "I told you, not while you're distressed." He wiped another tear off Anakin's cheek. "We can try tomorrow, dearest."

"I don't know why you're so patient with me," Anakin mumbled.

"Because I love you," Obi-wan said simply.

Anakin couldn't think of any response to that other than to press a light kiss to Obi-wan's lips. Obi-wan smiled into the kiss for a moment before pulling away. Anakin whined, which just made Obi-wan smile more.

"Patience, my love. We will get through this, together."

Anakin liked the sound of that.

"Skyguy, do you – oh. Sorry."

Anakin frowned at Ahsoka, well aware that his face was blotchy and his cheeks covered in dried tears. "Ever heard of knocking, Snips?"

"Sorry," Ahsoka repeated, backing out and closing the door.

Anakin groaned. He was grateful that Ahsoka left him and Obi-wan alone without question when he was having one of his moments, but he still didn't like for her to see him like this.

"She'll be fine, Anakin."

"She worries about me."

"Because she loves you. When you love someone, you worry about them. That's just how things work."

"Yeah, but watching me have multiple mental breakdowns can't be good for her. I'm supposed to be the parent. I want her to be free just to be a kid."

"She is, Anakin. You do a wonderful job with Ahsoka. She's lucky to have you."

Anakin wasn't so sure about that, but he didn't say so.

"I wish you wouldn't do that."

"Do what?"

"Think bad things about yourself without giving me the chance to refute them."

"How could you possibly know what I was thinking?"

"Your brows scrunch up just like that when you're putting yourself down, whether it's aloud or just in your head."

Anakin sighed. Obi-wan just knew him too well. "I sometimes just don't have the energy to argue with you about it."

Obi-wan ran a hand down Anakin's back. "I wish you would believe me. You're incredible, Anakin. What must I do to convince you?"

Anakin shrugged.

"I will show you who you truly are, even if it takes the rest of our lives," Obi-wan swore.

Anakin basked in the love in Obi-wan's voice, snuggling closer to him, hooking a leg over Obi-wan's hip. Obi-wan chuckled and allowed Anakin to cling to him like an octopus. When they were lying like this, just the two of them, he could almost believe what Obi-wan told him, that Anakin was actually worth something.

When they emerged from their room half an hour later, Ahsoka was watching TV in the living room.

"Have you finished all your homework?"

Ahsoka rolled her eyes. "Of course. I know the rules. No TV until homework is done."

Anakin ruffled her hair, causing her to squawk in indignation. "Mind if we join you?"

"I suppose not."

The three of them watched a random cooking show for an hour before Anakin got up to make dinner. Obi-wan insisted on helping chop up ingredients, while Ahsoka continued watching her show.

It was so domestic and sweet, and Anakin couldn't get enough of it. He never wanted this to end.

"I look stupid."

"You look hot."

Anakin glanced doubtfully at the mirror. He knew that Obi-wan had been putting off work functions for his sake, not wanting to stress him when Anakin was already in such a fragile mental state. This one, however, could not be put off, though Obi-wan had assured Anakin he didn't need to come if he didn't want to.

Anakin wanted to do this for Obi-wan, though, even if he did look utterly ridiculous in a suit.

"It just isn't my style," he complained.

"It isn't your usual style, but I promise, you look great. Everyone is going to be green with envy when they see you with me."

Anakin chuckled. Obi-wan was ridiculous, but he appreciated the vote of confidence. "Fine, but if people laugh, you owe me… something."

"Oh, how scary. I'd best hope people don't laugh, then."

Anakin swatted Obi-wan's arm. "It's not my fault you've already given me everything I ever wanted! Not to mention a few things that I definitely didn't need."

"This is still about the watch, isn't it?"

"Yes, Obi-wan, it's about the watch! Who needs a twenty-thousand-dollar watch?"

"I wanted us to match. I thought it would be sweet."

"Sweet," Anakin muttered. "Who spends twenty thousand dollars to be 'sweet'?"

"The man who loves you, clearly."

Anakin rolled his eyes but returned Obi-wan's light kiss. "Now come, dearest. We can't be late for my own party."

Ahsoka and three friends from school were already in the lounge, watching Star Trek. Ahsoka's eyes widened as she saw Anakin.

"You look great, Skyguy."

"Really? Anakin asked desperately. "I don't look like an idiot?"

"Not at all."

"You look hot," Bariss added.

"Ew, he's my brother!"

Bariss shrugged. "Enjoy your event!"

"Thanks." Anakin felt a little more confident as he and Obi-wan went to the car.

The event was huge. It was a dinner for Obi-wan's top investors, of which there seemed to be many. Anakin felt awkward and out of place, but Obi-wan never left his side. The two of them made their way through the crowd, chatting to people here and there.

Anakin didn't say much, but he did listen. He wanted to be able to participate in these events. He wanted to be a part of Obi-wan's life, and this was part of that. He wanted to be useful and contribute, even though Obi-wan swore that he didn't need to be useful to be loved.

Reporters were hanging around the edges of the event, but Obi-wan ignored them, and Anakin tried to do the same.

"Obi-wan!"

Obi-wan stiffened for a moment before pulling a very obviously fake smile across his face. "Asajj. A pleasure, as always. This is my partner, Anakin."

Asajj didn't take Anakin's proffered hand. She looked Anakin up and down and sneered at him. "I always could spot an elevated whore. I never would have thought you would stoop so low, Obi-wan."

Anakin felt his face going red. Asajj was right, of course. He was nothing more than a whore elevated to a station above his worth.

He suddenly felt impossibly out of place here. All these people probably knew what he was, but they were too polite to say anything in front of Obi-wan. If Asajj could deduce who he was so easily, surely the others could as well.

Anakin wanted to leave. He tried to spin around and rush out, but Obi-wan's firm hand on his arm stopped him. Obi-wan was glaring daggers at Asajj.

"Don't you dare talk about Anakin like that," he hissed. "I don't care what your friend Sidious has told you. Anakin is my partner, and you will show him the respect he deserves!"

The confrontation was drawing a small crowd, including reporters.

"I never would have guessed that a tight ass would be worth pissing off your investors, Obi-wan, but I suppose it's good to know where you stand."

"Get out," Obi-wan growled. "Get out, right now, and take your money with you." He raised his voice, turning to the people watching. "If anyone else has a problem with Anakin, the man I love, then I suggest you leave right now. I don't want your business if you can't accept the love of my life."

The temperature of Anakin's face probably rivaled the surface of the sun. He kept his eyes downcast, not wanting to see the judgment in the gazes of Obi-wan's guests. Asajj made a rude hand gesture and stormed off.

Obi-wan put an arm around Anakin and led him to the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

"Sweetheart, are you ok?"

Anakin stepped into Obi-wan's arms, resting a head on his shoulder, taking deep, shaky breaths. "I'm ok," he mumbled. "Thank you for standing up for me. You didn't need to do that."

"Of course, I did. I love you. I won't stand for anyone bullying you. I never liked Asajj anyway. You did me a favor, finding a way for me to get her out of my life."

Anakin chuckled weakly. "She was just saying what everyone was thinking –"

"No, she wasn't. She had outside information about you from Sidious – the two of them are friends. No one else here knows about your history."

"They probably guessed. I mean, it's not like I fit in here."

"You're just not comfortable yet. You haven't been to big, fancy events like this one before. It'll take some time for you to settle into the rhythm of them. I don't see how anyone would make the jump from you not being entirely comfortable here to you being an ex-escort."

Anakin supposed it did seem a bit far-fetched when Obi-wan put it like that.

"Come on, let's get you home."

"No."

Obi-wan looked at him in surprise. "No?"

"I'm not going to let Asajj chase me out. I may not belong here, but I need to work toward fitting in, and I'm not going to do that by running away every time someone is mean to me."

"Are you sure, dearest? All I care about is that you're happy. If you're not comfortable here, then we should leave. You don't even have to come to these events with me if you don't want."

Anakin didn't want to leave Obi-wan without a plus one. Like it or not, this was part of Obi-wan's life, and he wanted to be in all parts of Obi-wan's life.

"I'm fine. Let's get back out there before someone assumes we're having sex in the bathroom."

Obi-wan chuckled. "Maybe another day."

So, the two of them went back into the slightly scandalized crowd. A couple of reporters tried to corner Obi-wan to ask him questions, but he brushed them off.

Anakin did his best to smile and talk to people as though nothing had happened.

The rest of the evening crawled by, but by the end of it, Anakin was pleased to be able to say that he hadn't allowed Asajj to scare him off.

"Well, that wasn't a complete disaster," he told Obi-wan as they drove home.

"No, it wasn't. I'd actually call it a success."

"I don't know if I'd go that far."

"Everyone loved you, Anakin."

Anakin snorted. "Sure, because I was a good piece of eye candy."

"Oh, so now you're admitting you look hot in the suit?"

"Shut up," Anakin mumbled.

"I'll have you know that you're much more than eye candy. You're funny, smart, and insightful. I was right; people were practically green with envy to see you on my arm, and that envy only deepened from the moment you started talking."

"You're exaggerating. I was just your date to a stupid work function. No one paid me any mind."

"You are not 'just my date'. You're the man I love and I want everyone to know that."

"You said I was the love of your life," Anakin said shyly.

"Because you are."

"You're the love of my life too. I've never felt this way about anyone before. I didn't even know it was possible to be this in love with someone."

"Keep saying things like that, darling, and I might have to pull over and show you just how much I love you."

Anakin chuckled. "You're a big boy, Obi-wan. You can keep it in your pants for a few more minutes."

When they got home, Ahsoka and her friends were thankfully asleep. Obi-wan pulled Anakin by the hand through to the bedroom.

"We should try –"

"Not tonight, dearest. You've already had a stressful evening. I don't want to go any further than we have before today."

Anakin opened his mouth to protest, but his mouth suddenly went dry as Obi-wan slid easily to his knees in front of Anakin. He deftly undid Anakin's pants and pulled them down around his knees.

Anakin gasped as Obi-wan took his cock into his mouth. Anakin's cock quickly filled as Obi-wan sucked him off, doing positively sinful things with his tongue.

"Obi-wan – fuck, I'm close."

Obi-wan grabbed Anakin's ass, squeezing his cheeks. Anakin moaned and thrust into Obi-wan's mouth, three, four, five times before coming hard down Obi-wan's throat.

Obi-wan swallowed and smiled up at Anakin, who gazed dazedly down at him.

"You taste as delicious as always, dearest."

Anakin chuckled weakly. "Come here."

They moved to the bed and Anakin pulled Obi-wan's pants off, letting his hard cock spring free. Anakin took Obi-wan into his mouth eagerly, enjoying the feeling of being able to pull strangled sounds of pleasure from Obi-wan's throat.

When Obi-wan finally came, Anakin swallowed and then crawled up to cuddle with the man he loved.

"Thank you for standing up for me."

"Of course, dearest. I would do anything for you."

Anakin knew that to be true. He only hoped that someday, he could find a way to be worthy of Obi-wan's love.