POV: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Anakin was straightening out his clothes behind me as I pulled the door open to reveal the duchess and her guard. I knew what she was here for, but I couldn't let Anakin know that she and I had a romance together at one point. He'd get angry and ask me question after question to see if I'd cheated on him. He'd done the same thing when he realized Commander Cody was the same as we were. Cody and I had a… fling, but it was nothing serious. That had been one-sided because I had Anakin at the time.

"Master Jedi, may I speak to you in private?" she asked. I felt Anakin's confusion behind me and I knew he would ask me questions later. It was inevitable. The man loved me with every fiber in his body and he couldn't stand sharing me. His jealous side tormented him into being overprotective of me, but he was that way with anyone he cared for.

I nodded quickly and she began to walk down the hall with her guard. Anakin furrowed his brows at me and I could feel his jealousy building up already. I sighed and quickly moved back to him to peck his lips. "I love you, my Anakin."

"I love you, too," he muttered. I slid my fingers along his jaw and neck, sneaking in one last kiss, before leaving him to wander the halls with Satine. She, more than likely, wanted to discuss where she stood with me…

I kept a couple inches behind her with my walk. She and I were on... odd terms ever since I'd last spoken with her. She'd wanted to work on our relationship, but I knew where my heart was and I couldn't do that to Anakin.

"Obi-Wan, how have you been since we last spoke?" she turned to meet my eyes and I felt very uncomfortable with how it hit me. I kept walking as if she hadn't said a word.

"Now isn't the time to discuss such matters. You wanted our assistance and that is all I'm giving you. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, let that be the end of it."

"This is why you and I can never come to an agreement. You always walk away rather than face your problems. It seems cowardice for a Jedi to do such a thing." I could tell she was angry, but our past was too... difficult to talk about and I was in no mood to dive back into it.

I attempted to make my way back to Anakin, but Satine dashed after me, shoved me into a wall and kissed me quickly. I shoved her back wiping the residue of her kiss away from my lips. "And this is why you can't keep anyone. You fight, they leave, and you jump at an attempt to get them back. Satine, I no longer carry feelings in my heart for you."

"You did once, Obi-Wan. Don't you remember?" She got even angrier.

"Yes, I did," I muttered. "But I chose to remain with the Order and time has passed. I've grown fond of someone else."

She slapped me and I acted as though the motion felt like nothing. "I hope you're prepared to tell this someone of our little incident."

That was crossing the line for me. With that, I left her standing out in the hall. I quickly paced back to my room to find Anakin laying on the bed, fixing his saber. I sat on the edge, kissing his cheek to get his attention. "I apologize for leaving you." He sat up to kiss my lips as I pulled him closer to me.

He looked at me, concerned. "It's okay. What... what did she have to say to you?" I thrust myself at him, forcing him onto his back. He stared at me, waiting patiently for my answer that I refused to give him. My secret would kill him and... I couldn't bear hurting him. "Obi?"

"It was nothing, Anakin. Trust me." He looked skeptical, but I was able to change his mind through loving kisses planted along his jaw line and down his neck towards his collar.

"I trust you," he whispered breathlessly. I could sense his doubt, but he wanted to believe me. He lifted his chin up and I kissed the crevice leading to his chest. His arms wrapped around me and held my lower back, but he gave up and grew restless. He pushed me off of him gently and sat up. "No. You're hiding something from me. I can feel it. What is it?"

I stroked his jaw, giving him a loving smile. He smacked my hand aside with his mechanical one and furrowed his brows. "Anakin, I said it was nothing."

"I don't believe you, Obi-Wan. I can sense deception and it's emanating from you. Talk to me." He looked desperate for me to answer him. I just couldn't. "If you really love me -"

"Don't pull that one on me again. Anakin, go to sleep." I moved aside and got beneath the covers, rolling over to face the opposite direction, away from him. I gave it a few seconds before giving in to his silence. "Ani, you know I love you." I turned over to try to get him to look at me, but he kept to his side, which was away from me. I sighed, laying back down, letting the silence swallow time. "She kissed me."

"What?" he asked, turning quickly to face me with widened and hurt eyes.

"Satine kissed me." A long pause of silence passed and I felt him hurting emotionally. I didn't enjoy his pain. I wished I could take it away from him, but at least I knew I had to keep the entire relationship I'd had with Satine in the past a secret. If he got this hurt over a simple kiss, I couldn't imagine how intense his pain would be if he learned I'd had a physical relationship with someone else, even if it was before him.

"Did-did you kiss her back?"

I sat up on the bed, looking down at the side of his face. He absolutely would not look me in the eye. "No, I shoved her away and she struck me. Ani, why are you hurting?"

It got too quiet I rubbed his arm, trying to get him to talk to me. "Obi, just leave me alone, okay?"

"Anakin, please talk to me. Don't bottle this in."

He sighed and I could hear the tears in his voice as he reluctantly spoke. "I feel like you care about her and are sick of me."

"Anakin Skywalker, I love you. I have no feelings for her whatsoever. Granted, she and I aren't on speaking terms anymore, but please. Don't you trust me enough to know I won't hurt you?"

He sat up and eyed me; his face was red with angry tears. He tackled me, kissing my lips and I held onto him, rocking him like a child until he was calmer. "I'm so sorry I doubted you..." he whispered, resting his chin on my shoulder. I stroked his hair and closed my eyes, pressing my face against his. He knew I loved him, but he felt so insecure about our relationship and I could only imagine the vast amount of other insecurities he has inside of him.

"Don't apologize. In your position, I would've acted the same way. I'll try not to be so secretive to provoke you." He nuzzled his face into my neck and kissed below my jaw. "I love you, Anakin, very much."

His grip on me became tighter, like he absolutely refused to let me go. I loved him so much and I wished that he had more faith in me. I swore I'd never hurt him. I held him in my arms, kissing his soft hair, rubbing his back gently. I did each motion sporadically as he grew weary, falling asleep shortly thereafter.

I gently moved him to lay on the pillows. I shifted myself so that I was up against his body. I pulled the cover over us and gently held his hand. We rested alongside one another, nose to nose, hand in hand, never wanting to be apart. Ever.

I wasn't tired enough to sleep yet, so I resorted to watching him. Even as he slept he looked troubled. He was relaxed, but I felt an inner turmoil inside of him and I only assumed it had been my fault. I lifted my hand from his, laying his hand palm down on the mattress between us. I lifted my hand up to gently stroke his cheek. I moved down and rubbed his back slowly. He was so tense. He looked like he was as relaxed as he could possibly be, but he really wasn't upon touching him. I tried to gently ease the tension out of him without waking him.

I looked at his face and I saw his face relax. I smiled and kept repeating my motions. Once his back was relaxed, I laid beside him again. I laid on my back and tried to get some sleep. His snoring and breathing eased me into it, which was helpful.

I didn't even realize how much time had passed until he woke me up, screaming. I shot up, my heart pounding. I looked at the time and saw that only four hours went by. After that realization, I turned to look at him. He was sitting, his knees bent, his hands holding his face. I felt one of his hands move across the bed and I quickly grabbed it to reassure him that I was still with him. "What happened?" I whispered, using the Force to turn a dim light on. He was sweating crazily and I saw tears streaming down his face. I used my other hand to wipe his tears. He remained silent, forcing a few sobs to stay in. I could see that he was getting ready to break and I was just waiting for it so I could help him.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. I could already hear his voice with so much sadness in it. "I had a nightmare about you," he said, the sobs almost slaughtering his words. I'd been with him long enough to comprehend things even if he was crying. I stared at his face sadly, silently urging him to speak. "You-you left me," he said through a sob and the muffling of his face to wipe his own tears. "I hated you," he said angrily, still sobbing. "You broke my heart and I just let you go." His voice was straining and I felt horrible. I felt even worse when he shoved my hand away from his. He couldn't even look at me. He was really upset…

I couldn't watch him be so upset with me. I hadn't done anything to make him doubt me and I never would. I refused to. He just assumed I did. Regardless, it hurt me when he cried to himself. I watched his body heave with each breath he inhaled and exhaled. He trembled beside me and he began to grow frustrated, as he always did when he cried in front of me. I let him continue because I knew he needed it. Nightmares for him are always rough, especially when they're about me.

I grabbed his hand gently, thumbing across his skin slowly. He turned to look at me, sniffling a little bit, breathing heavily, his eyes raw and teary. He gave me the saddest look I think I've ever seen. He mentally apologized to me and I shushed him, smiling weakly. I leaned towards him and he got the hint as I neared him. I kissed his lips lovingly, allowing my other hand to pull him closer to me. He gave in and moved with my hand. I wanted to make him feel better. I loved this man. I hated when he was hurting. I wanted to lift his mood, but I also wanted to let him know that I loved and wanted only him.