The medical staff opposed little resistance to Obi-Wan regaining his quarters the next day, knowing by experience that Anakin took his role of caretaker very seriously.
They all witnessed how the reckless Padawan matured into a Knight who, despite the risks he often took, made sure to take care of himself. After all, the story of Skywalker's wake up call still kept the gossips going.
About a year and a half ago, a significant leap of faith didn't pay off, leaving Anakin injured and his former master alone to handle the operation. The mission, although successful, remained a bitter memory as it nearly cost Master Kenobi his life.
The members of the staff present that day vividly remember the complete panic Anakin fell into when he overheard that the other man's heart had stopped. The terror in his eyes forever imprinted in the mind of those who met his gaze that day.
Since then, the Knight's visits to the medical wing for his own injuries grew rarer and rarer. The incident shook him to the core and he became more cautious, always making sure he would be capable of taking care of his copper-haired partner.
The pair was oddly endearing, and with time the staff grew to root for them. The task became easier once Anakin stopped coming in need of a bacta tank treatment every time he came back from a mission. Even more when he turned out to be an unexpected ally in the battle to convince a certain stubborn Jedi to properly take care of himself.
More than that, the pair proved to be quite the entertainment; switching back and forth from playful banters to what they assumed were sneak peeks of how they behaved behind closed doors.
Panicked anger, fierce protectiveness. Gentle touches and fond looks. Echoes of nervous pacing, whispered reassurances. The pair simply gravitated around each other, evidence that for once the rumors were true.
Glancing down at the sleeping form laying on him, Anakin allowed his mind to drift away to the questions he usually tried to ignore. The ones that came rushing back when Obi-Wan got hurt, carrying more urgency every time.
How long could this go on?
He grew up thinking the Jedi would be his life, carried this belief in his very core for a long time and placed the Order at the center of his life, confident that defending the galaxy would fulfill whatever desires his heart held.
And it did. He grew from a slave to a Padawan to a Knight whose name would mark history, that he was sure of. He took this opportunity, and with Obi Wan's help made the best of it, becoming a strong-willed Jedi and General. He accomplished his lifelong dream and even had a seat at the Council at the age of twenty-three.
Yet picturing the prospect of his life with the Jedi didn't thrill him the way it used to. He didn't look forward to the future if it meant staying at the Temple and living by a Code that felt more restraining every passing day. The Jedi might have given him freedom but he was starting to feel trapped.
These thoughts had been turning in his mind for nearly two years now, and he knew deep down that the day the opportunity presented itself, he would leave.
He would take the man whose love set his spirit free and get away.