Edit: As of 5/17/2020, I am fixing the dialogue tags in this fic. I got a comment over on ao3 telling me about it which was awesome and then someone commented here about it too and I realized I never tried to fix these ones as I posted them. So, that's what the updates will be so I hope it's easier for you all to read! Thanks!
The ground drops out from under him as his ringing ears try to grasp what they had heard. He can't feel anything (not even the familiar weight of goggles on his head that he knows would garner a snort or two from long lost friends…) through the tingling sensation running through his body. He thinks someone bumps into him, maybe yells at him, but he's not all there.
Obi-Wan Kenobi stands in the near center of a busy Mos Espa as his mind grasps at the words he heard, trying to make sense of them.
"That Vader's a real psycho huh?"
"Heard he went crazy again and slaughtered a group of people, said he was looking for someone."
Obi-Wan's breathing stutters and he stumbles as someone else bumps into him.
"He's alive." He thinks, noting that his inner voice is just as shaky as his hands at his side are.
"He doesn't seem that scary." A scoff follows the statement as Obi-Wan still listens in on the conversation.
"You're tellin' me, that if he walked up to you in that weird black suit, waving that red laser sword around, you wouldn't shit your pants?"
A choked sob escapes his lips and his vision blurs slightly.
"-obi?" The hand that settles on his shoulder is what jolts him out of his thoughts, though it does nothing to help the ever-growing worry in his heart. His breathing speeds up and he stumbles around to look at the person that grasped his shoulder.
"Owen?" Obi-Wan chokes out. He knows he must look a sight. Trembling with unshed tears in his eyes. He swallows harshly and clenches his eyes shut for a moment, trying to calm himself. His mind doesn't work, he can't think well enough to repeat the code to himself.
"Ben?"
Is that worry in his voice? No. It can't be.
Obi-Wan (Ben, now) opens his eyes and plasters a smile on his face.
"What can I do for you?" He feels some joy in knowing that his voice doesn't shake as badly this time.
"You weren't responding."A flash of worry seems to flit across Owen's eyes, but Ben knows he doesn't mean it.
"Apologies," Ben flashes a bigger smile, tilting his head in the process. "My mind seems to be elsewhere today." Ben can see that Owen doesn't believe him. Ben doesn't give him the time to reply. "I must be going." He tells him, feeling his hands still shake as they grasp the straps of the pack he's wearing. "It was wonderful to see you."
Ben turns on his heel and walks away, missing the genuine concern on Owen's face.