Part XVII

He stalked about, fuming, but trying his best to contain the emotion. There was no sign of any wildlife in the area, all of the forest silent. Anakin wanted to be furious with Obi-Wan. He wanted to obliterate the older man, to trap him in the same kind of prison he'd endured since Mustafar. He hated Obi-Wan more than he hated the creatures that had killed his mother. Everything had been perfect until Obi-Wan had started interfering. Obi-Wan always thought he knew better than him, never admitting when he was wrong or made a mistake. And, for so long, he'd fawned over the older Jedi, believing every lie that fell from his lips.

Scowling, Anakin dropped down onto a fallen log. He curled his durasteel fingers into the gnarled grooves of the bark, cracking chunks of it off. Anakin craved the arid deserts of his childhood. The lush greenery of Endor did nothing but aggravate him for reasons that he didn't know. It would be so easy to take Luke and run far away so that Obi-Wan could never find them. It was what he should do. Only, to run away from Obi-Wan now meant never making the man pay for all that he had done.

It certainly wasn't because of Luke.

Anakin knew all of the things Obi-Wan or Yoda (or even Gui-Gon) would think about his reasons for remaining on Endor, but none of them were true. For the time being, he had no choice but to stay with Obi-Wan. For all the resources he'd had only a few days before, his betrayal of Sidious would have neutralized all those resources. He no longer had any access to his funds and while he could easily steal the craft Obi-Wan had stolen from the Death Star's hanger deck, Obi-Wan would expect him to do as much and take precautions to prevent him. As much as he hated to admit it, Obi-Wan knew him well enough to be able to guess his actions.

It wouldn't be permanent, though. Because just as Obi-Wan would be able to predict his actions, the same was true for him. His former Master was far too predictable. Obi-Wan was trustful. Too trustful. So long as he could convince Obi-Wan that he wanted to return to his life as a Jedi, the older man would believe him.

Breathing as deeply as he was able, Anakin sought to clear his surface thoughts. Obi-Wan would be able to pick up his surface thoughts without any effort whatsoever. What he wanted to do would need to be buried deep. So deep that Obi-Wan would never be able to find it.

Pushing himself up off the log he'd been sitting on, Anakin shook his entire body, trying to dispel the tension that still tightened his muscles. When that failed, he punched his fist into a nearby tree. Mostly free of the tension that frizzled through him, Anakin turned back towards the cottage.

He was relieved not to see Obi-Wan in the common room. It gave him those few extra minutes to compose himself. The older man would be somewhere nearby—he wouldn't have left Luke on his own—but the silence that greeted his return was welcome.

It lasted barely a minute.

Luke's hysterical giggles were what broke the silence. Anakin couldn't help the smile that spread across his face at the sound of his son's laughter. He'd missed so much of Luke's life... all because of Obi-Wan and Yoda. Anakin wasn't naïve enough to think that Obi-Wan would turn on him without coercion. Obi-Wan had been his best friend and never would have betrayed him unless that little troll had turned his mind against him.

Walking towards the other bedroom where Luke's laughter was coming from, Anakin stopped short when he heard a second voice.

".... Blaster fire rained all around them, ricocheting off the matching blue lightsabers. Generals Kenobi and Skywalker fought back to back in the centre of the fray...."

It was the holonovel that Luke had found earlier. He couldn't blame his son for being curious, but he'd rather Luke not look into that part of his past. He wanted to forget the years he'd been a Jedi—thirteen years of his life that had been nothing but a lie. Anakin had believed in Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and in the end it had destroyed his life.

"Luke?" Anakin said quietly from the doorway that led into his son's room.

Flopping about on the bed until he was facing the door, Luke beamed at him. "Hey, Papa! Did you see? It's about you and Daddy. 'Bout how you fighted all the bad guy an' made 'em stop being mean."

Swallowing his frustration, Anakin managed a small smile for his son. "Is that so?"

"Uh huh," Luke said, nodding his head vigorously. "It also says that you and Daddy are bestest friends." Luke frowned then, setting the holonovel aside. "How come you don't like Daddy anymore? Daddy still likes you."

"It's... it's complicated," Anakin decided on eventually. It would have reassured his son to tell him that he still liked Obi-Wan, but it would be a lie. The best way to wrest Luke's affection from his "Daddy" was gently. It was something that he could do. After all, he'd spent thirteen years learning from the master himself.

Luke scowled at him briefly. "That's what Daddy says when he doesn't wanna tell me. I don't like compicated." He stared defiantly at his father, little shoulders held high. "I love Daddy. Daddy tells me stories and he makes cheesy noodles. Daddy makes the bestest cheesy noodles."

"He used to make me cheesy noodles when I was young," Anakin said before he could stop himself.

Before Anakin could say anything further, Luke had scrambled off the bed and darted towards the door. For a moment, Anakin thought Luke was coming to him, but the little boy scurried around him and went deeper into the cabin. To the main bedroom and the 'fresher it contained. Luke didn't so much as hesitate as he ran into the room where, from the sounds of it, Obi-Wan was showering.

"Daddy! Daddy! You need to make cheesy noodles! Papa said he likes cheesy noodles too!" Luke shouted, his small hands beating against a solid surface within the 'fresher. Having lived in close quarters with Obi-Wan his entire life, Anakin wouldn't have been surprised if Luke was knocking on the door of the 'fresher stall itself. It's what he'd done often in the past. Obi-Wan was too far away for Anakin to clearly make out his response, but from Luke's delighted laughter it was positive.

It frustrated Anakin that Obi-Wan related to Luke so easily. At the Temple, Obi-Wan had always seemed so flustered by the younglings. Even the beginning of their relationship had been filled with countless awkward silences and Obi-Wan fumbling to find something to say or struggling to discover a way to interact with him. He'd hoped to find that the same was true with his relationship with Luke.

"What have I told you about coming in while I'm showering?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice clearer than it had been a few moments before.

The dramatic sigh that followed nearly brought a smile to Anakin's face. "Not t' do it. 'Cause shower time is Daddy's time an' I hafta wait till yer all finished.... But Papa likes cheesy noodles too! Can you please please iplease/i make us cheesy noodles?"

When Obi-Wan laughed in response to the little boy's excited questioning, it took all of his remaining self-restraint to keep from stalking out of the cabin once again. Anakin refused to let Obi-Wan win. In the end, he would be the last one standing in Luke's affections.

"Papa, Daddy's gonna make cheesy noodles!" Luke shouted as he barreled into Anakin's legs.

Never before had close contact been an issue with his prosthetics and, as a result, rather than crashing into his father's legs, Luke's own legs collided with something unyielding. Before he had a chance to react, Luke was down on his bottom and rubbing at his knee The little boy didn't outright cry, but his eyes were noticeably damp as Anakin knelt down in front of him.

"Ouch."

There was surprise in Luke's statement and he stared up at Anakin with wide eyes, rubbing his left knee. Anakin immediately reached out, trying to draw Luke into his arms, but his son pulled back. Luke didn't turn away from him or even flinch. The boy merely sunk into himself a bit, his shoulders hunching, as he turned his head back towards the main bedroom.

"Daddy, how come Papa's legs are like trees?"

Luke scrambled to his feet and walked back towards Obi-Wan who was emerging from the bedroom. He glanced back at Anakin then down at his own legs, confused.

Obi-Wan ruffled Luke's hair as he passed him, inclining his head briefly in Anakin's direction, his expression one that Anakin couldn't read. "His legs aren't tree trunks. His prosthetics simply lack a synthflesh overlay which would give them a more squishy feel."

"Oh. Okay."

It was as simple as that. Luke scampered back into the smaller bedroom to retrieve the holonovel, bringing it with him out into the main common room. In the space of only a few seconds, both he and Obi-Wan had been forgotten. Anakin stayed standing near the edge of the common room, watching as Luke wiggled about on one of the plush chairs. Against his will, his eyes darted towards Obi-Wan as well.

The older man was in the kitchenette making tea. It was always tea. Obi-Wan's obsession with tea had been slightly worrying at times when he was younger and still trusted the older man. Still thought him worthy of respect. Now he was merely a faded figure from his faded past. Before long, once he had Luke's trust and devotion secured, he would never have to deal with Obi-Wan again. The man could be put firmly in his past where he belonged.

"Quit your festering," Obi-Wan said without looking over his shoulder. His voice was quiet enough that Luke wouldn't be able to hear over the sound of his holonovel. "Luke came to me because it's what he does. Your son has thousands of questions a day and for his entire life I've been the one answering them. Give him a chance to spend time with you and he'll turn to you with his endless questions."

Anakin opened his mouth, ready to refute Obi-Wan's claims, but he was beat to it.

"The blame for what happened is not entirely mine. You carry a fair share of it. I did all that I could, but without knowing all of the facts, how could you expect me to help or save you? Was I wrong to confront you about Palpatine? Yes, I was. I should have handled the Council's request differently. But you could have come to me. You had so many chances to stop it and you ignored each one." Obi-Wan paused, staring out the window at the landscape beyond. "I would have stood by you, Anakin. If you had let me, I would have stood by you."

Whatever response he would have made was lost as Obi-Wan turned suddenly and stalked into the common room. He paused briefly, telling Luke to behave and listen to Anakin before leaving the small cottage.

Anakin merely stared after him, not sure how he to react. All of the anger he felt towards Obi-Wan was still there, but he'd been caught off guard. He hadn't expected Obi-Wan's anger. For all the years he'd known him, Anakin could only recall seeing the older man lose his temper a handful of times, most of them occurring either when he was drunk or in pain. It had never, not even on Mustafar, been directed at him.

"Yer 'sposed to say sorry," Luke called from the common room. The holonovel was resting on his drawn-up knees, but his attention was on Anakin. "You did something that made Daddy sad so now you've gotta go say sorry."

"When he apologizeses for taking you from me," Anakin said before he could stop himself.

Whatever Luke's reponse, Anakin did expect the anger that was directed at him then. The mug behind him flew across the counter, crashing into the wall.

"Daddy didn't take me 'way from you. He kept me safe from the monster."

"What monster?"

Luke shuddered a little bit, curling up on himself even more. "The bad man with the scary face. He took you away."

Once again, Anakin found himself without a response. He wouldn't have put it past Palpatine to try and abduct Luke. Luke was someone he could have trained from birth, someone he could mold into his ideal Sith. And though he would never admit it to Obi-Wan, he had to be grateful that Obi-Wan had kept Luke safe from Palpatine. It had taken Anakin himself too long to realize that he was being manipulated by the Sith Lord. As a result, he'd lost Padme, several limbs, and Luke's trust; to say nothing of the fact that he'd helped to destroy the galaxy and laid waste to the Jedi Order.

"He's gone now, Luke. Palpatine's gone."

Luke stared straight at him, refusig to let Anakin break his gaze. "Tell Daddy yer sorry."

Sitting on one of the free chairs, Anakin leaned forward with his forearms resting on his knees. "Luke, there's a lot you don't know about. A lot you don't understand. I can't just—"

"Daddy loves you. He'd say sorry."

Luke slid off the chair, holonovel in hand, and went back into his bedroom. The quiet swish of the door closing sounded very loud in the quiet cabin.