A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! As I promised it would be, this chapter is a bit longer than the last one. Only one more part to go!
Part Three
"So," said Obi-Wan after they'd finished eating and cleared the dishes.
"So," repeated Anakin, unsure of what else to say.
"Um…you want to watch something?" suggested Obi-Wan, nodding toward the holonet program he hadn't bothered to turn off when they'd left earlier that afternoon.
Anakin looked hesitant.
"Don't worry, we don't have to watch anything in black and white. Or any musicals," Obi-Wan assured his young friend, caught somewhere between the urges to either grin or roll his eyes.
Oddly, though, his promise did not seem to put Anakin at ease. The young man just gave an obviously (obvious to Obi-Wan, anyway) forced grin and collapsed onto the couch.
Unfortunately, the couch only had three cushions, which were not spaced nearly far enough apart for Obi-Wan's liking. They sat on opposite ends of the sofa, pressed into the armrests in their effort to create as much space between them as was possible.
Obi-Wan began flipping through the different channels in search for something they would both enjoy. Normally, he would have just let Anakin pick something to watch, and slipped into a light meditation. But right now, he knew that obtaining inner peace was completely out of the question. His only hope was to distract himself with one of the various programs in front of him. Whether it was a holovid or a documentary, he didn't care. He just needed something.
Any something but that something.
"…which brings us to our next story. Who's the hottest new celebrity couple? You know them, you love them…you've read about them in every magazine in existence, (come on, you know you have)…Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi! It has been reported that this Jedi Duo have, in fact, been a couple for quite some time now. It was printed in the Inquisitor…"
Obi-Wan could not change the channel quick enough. He didn't dare look at Anakin. The younger Jedi's mental shields were firmly in place, and Obi-Wan double and triple-checked his own shields, for good measure. The last thing he wanted was for Anakin to get a glimpse of the flood of emotions that had come rushing forth, utter mortification easily the most prevalent.
He turned his attention back to the holo, settling on what looked to be a modern music show. No way this could possibly humiliate him.
"People are talking, talking bout people
I hear them whisper, you won't believe it
They think we're lovers kept under covers
I just ignore it, but they keep saying
We laugh just a little too loud
We stand just a little too close
We stare just a little too long
Maybe they're seeing, something we don't darlin
Let's give them something to talk about
Let's give them something to talk about
Let's give them something to talk about
How about love?"
Apparently it could. The Master Jedi wondered which was the deeper shade of red: him or the ripe fruit in the dish on the table in front of him. He hastily switched channels again.
"I'm haunted by the kiss you should never have given me. My heart is beating, hoping that that kiss will not become a scar. You are in my very soul, tormenting me."
Biting back a growl, Obi-Wan switched the Holo off, as it obviously only existed to mortally humiliate him. "On second thought, why don't we do something else?" he said.
Anakin nodded, looking relieved. "What do you want to do?"
"How about we watch a holovid? I just got a couple from Quinlan the other day," suggested the elder Jedi.
"All right," agreed Anakin.
Ignoring the fact that lounging around on his couch watching movies together could have been the setting for a date, Obi-Wan shuffled through the holovids Quinlan had lent him. With the war, he and Anakin rarely got the chance to enjoy the simple pleasures of things like this. The Council had granted them this time off in order to relax, and what could be more relaxing than watching a holovid in his living room? Now if only he could just stop thinking about the fact that Anakin was three feet away from him on a couch, of all things…
"I've got Horror House, Dead Will Rise, and…Blooming Love? What's Quin been watching?" Obi-Wan shook his head. "Well, we can skip that one. So, which will it be? Horror House or Dead Will Rise?"
"Dead Will Rise," said Anakin eagerly.
Obi-Wan slipped the slender disk into the Holo set and sat back on the couch. Grotesque mutilated bodies, bloodcurdling screams, people getting their eyes clawed out, and not one mention of love or couples or kissing. This was more like it.
Five minutes later, Obi-Wan was ready to kill Quinlan. He glared at the two people occupying the screen, wishing the culprit would come and kill the both of them off already. This was supposed to be a horror vid…not an excuse for amorous couples to express their undying love for each other and then passionately snog the other. So what if the guy was the next target of the murderer and he was leaving the planet and the two lovers might never see each other again? What the hell did that matter?
"Um, Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan glanced at his young friend, who looked rather uncomfortable.
"Anakin?" He was turning red all over again. Control. He needed control. How was it that Anakin could make him lose every last ounce of self-control that he possessed? It was extremely aggravating, not to mention embarrassing. Everything he had learned since the tender age of three concerning emotions and control and release flew out the window the moment he looked into those stunning cerulean eyes. Yes, it was those Force-damned eyes. Why did they have to be so brilliantly blue and sparkly and innocent and kind and…what was he thinking about? Oh, right. Control. Something he desperately lacked whenever he looked into those eyes. The blue ones. They were his downfall. The way they lit up when he laughed and conveyed every emotion and captured you and drowned you in their depth. How he hated those eyes and the fact that he loved them so much.
"Uh, well…I just wanted to apologize," Anakin mumbled, looking ashamed.
"For what?" asked Obi-Wan, puzzled.
"For…well, for kissing you." Anakin was avoiding his gaze now, his eyes fixed instead on his boots. Obi-Wan found himself unaccountably grateful for this.
"Oh, Anakin, you don't have to be sorry about that." Really. You don't. "I know it wasn't real." Unfortunately.
Anakin nodded, still not meeting his eyes. Obi-Wan tried to probe the bond for a glimpse of what his friend was feeling, but met only tight shields.
"It's just…you've been acting…I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable or anything." Anakin bit his lip (which Obi-Wan was sure he was doing just to tempt him) and finally turned to look at the older man.
Uncomfortable? Me? Well, maybe a little. A uncomfortable, drooling, mindless mess of mad desire and longing. Yes, that's about right. "You didn't. It's fine, forget about it." Wish I could. This is torture.
Anakin nodded again and redirected his gaze to his footwear again. "Obi-Wan?"
"Yes?"
"What if I said that…that it wasn't?" asked Anakin, closing his eyes as if to brace himself for Obi-Wan's reaction.
"What wasn't what?" asked the Jedi Master, confused.
"That the kiss wasn't fake," explained Anakin.
Five words. Five words and his blood starting pumping furiously. His palms grew sweaty. His heart starting hammering. His thoughts raced a mile-a-minute. Five simple words and he was driven to the brink of losing all self-control. Again. Because of Anakin. Why did the man have to be so…whatever he was? Obi-Wan wasn't sure just what to call it, but whatever it was, it was hopelessly intoxicating.
"Wasn't it?" he asked, hardly daring to hope. Don't toy with me, Skywalker.
"I― well, um…" Anakin stammered. "It was…for the picture."
"Oh," Thirty-six years of training was the only thing that kept the immense disappointment he felt out of Obi-Wan's voice.
Anakin let out a deep breath and said, in an almost reluctant admission, "Which I only wanted to have taken in the first place as an excuse to kiss you. I've wanted to for so long…I just― I love you, Obi-Wan. Plain and simple." The young man's eyes pleaded with his friend to understand, begged him not to hate him for his confession.
Even while a million thoughts raced through his head in a whirlwind of surprise and love and a fierce, wild joy, Obi-Wan found that he was completely incapable of saying anything. Could Anakin really be saying what he thought he was saying? Did the man he love really love him back? It seemed almost too good to be true.
"I'm sorry…I should go." Anakin stood and made a hasty dash for the door.
"Anakin, wait!" Obi-Wan called after him, but the door had already slammed shut. Anakin was gone.
He uttered softly under his breath the words that had come too late.
"I love you, too."