One Night – Chapter 3

Obi-Wan made his way back to the quarters he shared with Anakin, positive that he could sort out the mess he had created. He certainly did not expect the sight that greeted him when he walked into the kitchen.

His apprentice lay on the floor, a pool of rapidly expanding blood around him and the knife that had committed such a gruesome suicide lying, almost innocently on the floor beside the gradually cooling body. Obi-Wan was in shock as he wondered a great number of things. They whirled around his head, chasing each other, tormenting him with the thought of what his life was going to be like, blaming him for what Anakin had done.

A voice brought him back to the planet like a slap in the face. He looked at Anakin and saw the teen's mouth moving constantly, whispering something that even Obi-Wan's finely-tuned ears couldn't hear. He forgot the blood and his fears to lean down and place his ear near Anakin's mouth.

"I love you, Obi-Wan." The youth whispered over and over, forcing tears to Obi-Wan's eyes. The man gently lifted Anakin's torso and placed it gently on his lap. As he fumbled for his comlink Obi-Wan cradled Anakin's head and placed a clumsy kiss on the cold forehead.

For the next week Anakin lay in the Med-Wing, slipping in and out of consciousness. Obi-Wan refused to leave his side. The Healers didn't try to make him. Every time they suggested that he go and get some sleep or fresh air he would look at them with dull, haunted eyes before his gaze shifted back to Anakin's prone figure. So they left.

Whenever Obi-Wan moved to go to the 'fresher, a Healer would watch Anakin for the few moments the man was gone. Obi-Wan ate and slept by the bed and when he wasn't doing either of those things he would be staring at the walls or the multitude of tubes that ran into Anakin's body, dwelling on his guilt.

Anakin slowly opened his eyes. The ceiling above him was stark white and his eyes stung painfully until they adjusted.

"Anakin?" A small voice asked from beside him. It sounded familiar for some reason. No! It couldn't be! Yet, as he turned his head he saw it was true. The small frail voice belonged to his Master. With tears in his eyes, Anakin lifted a heavy hand and rested it on the older man's head.

"Oh, Anakin, what did I do to you?" The man asked in disbelief. Tears began to flow down his cheeks as he crawled on the bed with Anakin, cradling the boy to his chest and stroking his hair. The man began to whisper indiscernible sentences into the younger male's short hair.

A Healer made his way into the room and spoke with Anakin. They both tried to gently coax Obi-Wan to let go but after several minutes gave up and the Healer gave Anakin a check-up with Obi-Wan still lying with his arms tightly wrapped around his younger lover. They spent the next two days with Anakin under observation. Obi-Wan fussed over the boy, feeding him, helping him get rid of cramps, making him comfortable.

A smiling Anakin sat through his Master's fussing and was tempted to take advantage of it several times. However, when they got back to their own quarters it did not stay the same. Obi-Wan returned to his old self, well, as much as he could when he had to keep a constant watch over Anakin. He was still the gentle man he had always been but set Anakin gruelling theory tasks instead of physical training.

Finally, after two months Anakin was deemed healthy to train. The violent red scars that adorned his wrists were beginning to fade to a pinkish-purple. His training began again, not as intense as it once had been but exhausting Anakin to the point of collapsing and slipping into unconsciousness. Obi-Wan appeared not to notice anything and when Anakin asked, very politely if the boy said so himself, for a day of relaxation he was denied with the reasoning that he had just had two months of freedom.

So, one night when Anakin was about to fall asleep and he heard soft-spoken words in the living room, he had to beat his exhaustion with a stick in order to move. Groaning mentally, he hauled his body from the welcoming sleep-couch to lean against the doorway, listening intently. He did this silently and was grateful when the occupants of the living room appeared not to hear him.

"You know it is wrong, Obi-Wan." Mace Windu's voice said gently. "Anakin is barely an adult."

Obi-Wan sighed gently and Anakin heard him shift. "It will not affect his training or his performance."

"It is not a question of whether or not his training and performance will be affected." Mace Windu stated quietly. Anakin was focusing on keeping his breathing silent.

"Then what is it a question of?" Obi-Wan asked, tiredness beginning to show in his voice.

"It is a question of morale and ethics. We cannot simply allow men and women of the Jedi Order to pick whether or not they want a relationship and we most certainly cannot allow you to take a child as your lover." At this Anakin heard his Master stiffen.

"He is not a child!" Obi-Wan hissed. "He is a young man who can make perfectly good judgements and decisions. He has matured past the level of a child and is independent and defiant. I am proud of him." Anakin gasped involuntarily.

"Go to bed, Padawan Skywalker." Master Windu snapped impatiently.

Hanging his head in defeat Anakin moved to his bedroom and shut the door firmly. Exhaustion took over him to moment that his body lay on the soft pillow of his sleep couch. The energy that had allowed him to move to the doorway in order to listen had been pulled from his body. And so, he slept deeply, not listening to any more of the conversation that went on outside his bedroom walls.

Hours later, at around midnight, Obi-Wan made his way to Anakin's room, a smile tugging at his face when he saw the sight of his apprentice. Anakin was spread out across the sleep-couch, the blankets twisted around his legs and hanging off the edge of the bed. He walked over and gently untangled the blankets before he pulled them up to Anakin's chin. The boy shifted in his sleep and mumbled incoherently. Obi-Wan smiled again and wondered how the youth could sleep so peacefully when his Masters feelings were in turmoil. He laid it down to the fact that Anakin had nothing to worry about and nothing to fear. As Obi-Wan turned to leave he felt a soft tug at his sleeve and found that Anakin, although asleep, had wrapped his fingers around the sleeve of the elder's tunic.

A sad smile tugged at the older man's lips. He looked down at the beautiful boy, no, young man that lay on sleep-couch in such peace. Anakin's eyelashes were splayed across pale cheeks that had a bluish-tinge to them in the eerie light.

Obi-Wan gently uncurled the fingers around his sleeve and kissed them gently before curling them around the blanket. He kissed Anakin's lips one last time before he left the room and the homely quarters.

He never once looked back, even as his heart shattered and he closed the door on his previous life.

A/N: Righto peoples. Sorry it took me so long to upload a new chapter. I've had it there for ages just haven't had time to type it up. My life has been slightly depressing at the moment. Sorry that it's probably not very long again. I don't get it. I write about three pages for every chapter and it turns out really really small on the net. It's evil! Evil I swear! Right. Should have the next chapter up soon. By the way, I have been alerted to the fact that maybe the first chapter moved a bit too fast, if anyone else has the same views then please tell me and I will try to revise the chapter and make a little bit slower.

Review and tell me how you liked this new installment. Please...oopsie. Lost my manners for a moment. Terribly sorry.