Hello! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, followed or favourited! There will be more actual plot development in the next chapter, but for this, it'll mostly be focused on Anakin and Obi-Wan. :3 Warning: This chapter will contain slightly graphic mentions of child abuse. If this is triggering for you, do not read this chapter.
Pam: Thank you again for another review!
smile888: Thank you so much for the review! Yes, the councils' reaction to Anakin will most definitely be interesting ;)
Disclaimers: Still not George Lucas
"No!"
"Anakin-"
"No!"
"Anakin, you need to let me take some blood," The exasperation could be heard in Obi-Wan's voice as he tried to reason with the obstinate youngling, who's arms swathed in too long sleeves were crossed against his chest. Anakin glowered up at his master, who looked less than pleased himself.
"No!" came the determined reply, "It'll hurt."
"No, it won't-"
"Liar!"
Obi-Wan couldn't stop himself from rolling his eyes, "Yes, all right, it will hurt, but not a lot!"
Anakin 'humph'ed and wriggled a little away from Obi-Wan. Raena sat in front of them, watching the exchange with both bafflement and amusement. They were sat in the medcentre of the ship, the padawan sat on the examination table, his exasperated master standing over him, his own arms folded across his chest.
"No!" the padawan shouted again, determination etched on his fierce scowl, well, as fierce as any scowl could be when written on a face so young.
Obi-Wan ran a hand across his face and sighed. It had been a long day. They had barely made it to the ship by the skin of their teeth, their presence being alerted to the droids not long after leaving the building. Their entire escapade through the forest to Raena had ended with Obi-Wan sat on the floor of the ship, trying to calm down a rather hysterical youngling whilst a panicked Raena searched about desperately for the missing Anakin. It was only when the Jedi had managed to prise the boy off his chest that he could finally explain to the Jedi master what had happened.
She was still shocked, as was Obi-Wan really. He knew it was Anakin, but still, it was a surreal experience, to see your twenty one year old padawan turn into a child within the space of five days. Only Raena had the privilege of not having to actually deal with said child. Obi-Wan did not.
"Anakin," he tried again, trying to ease out any signs of frustration from his voice, "Do you trust me?" Though look on Anakin's face right then said that he really, really didn't, he reluctantly nodded his head, "Then you must trust me to do this."
"Why?"
Obi-Wan frowned a little, "Why you have to trust me or why I have to do this?"
Anakin nodded, "Last one."
"Because we have to make sure that... this is you."
"This is me!" Anakin cried, the hurt sound making the Jedi wince a little, "You don't trust me!"
"I do, padawan," he said with a sigh, cupping the boys cheek with a palm. The boy still glowered, yet he didn't pull away, his glare watered down a little with hurt, "I do. I know this is you, but you have changed a great amount, Anakin. And although I may know the truth, others may not believe what their eyes tell them unless they're given proof. Do you understand?"
Anakin broke his gaze, glaring down at the tunic that pooled around him. He stayed like that for a moment, before finally he gave a stiff nod. He huffed, turning his face from his master and stuck out his arm dramatically, as though he was condemned to have it removed. Obi-Wan smiled, "Thank you, Anakin," he said, though as expected, he got no reply from the sulky youngling. He pulled back the swathes of material and started. Anakin squeezed his eyes shut tight and whimpered as he felt a small but painful prick on his arm, "There" the Jedi said, smiling, "all done," the padawan's eyes shot open, holding his arm up to his face as though expecting to see a hole there, then looked back up at Obi-Wan, eyes round with surprise.
The Jedi couldn't help but chuckle, "See?" he said, smiling down at him, "that wasn't so bad, was it?" The scowl returned, though Obi-Wan knew full well why it was there. Anakin simply didn't like to be proved wrong.
"Was," Anakin grumbled, pulling back the offended arm to the safety of his chest.
Obi-Wan merely smiled and went to a small control panel to analyse the sample. Anakin watched him at first before he spotted Raena staring at him with a look he couldn't quite decipher. He wrinkled his nose in irritation and stuck out his tongue, making her flinch with surprise.
"Padawan," Obi-Wan didn't even have to look up to reprimand him, "behave."
"I am," Anakin protested, shuffling so that his feet were dangling off the table. For the next minute, the youngling was happily occupied watching the ripples his kicking legs were making across his tunic and Raena continued to observe without notice.
"Raena," Obi-Wan turned to her, nodding at the console, "come look. It's him."
She rose to her feet, shaking her head. Both Jedi stared at the analysis for a moment in silence before she murmured, "No, it... It's not possible, Obi-Wan. How can Anakin Skywalker be this little boy?"
Obi-Wan shook his head, "I don't know. But... he is. I mean... even before these results, I knew. I could recognise his Force signature. It's him. Though what could have caused this, I have no idea," he turned to her, "have you ever heard of something like this happening."
Raena scoffed, "I think if I did you would have heard about it as well. This... This is something- hey!" she dashed to the table, lifting Anakin, who was half dangling off the edge, back onto the top.
He growled in frustration and glared at her, "Boring," he grumbled, in way of explanation, "want something to eat."
"Anakin," Obi-Wan came forward to the table, "when was the last time you ate?" the padawan thought for a moment before shrugging, "or drank?" Another shrug, "Do you... know how long you've been missing?"
Anakin frowned at his lap, evidently thinking hard, before shaking his head, "Hard to remember," he mumbled, looking rather worried as he said it.
"Don't worry about it now. It's all right if you can't remember," Obi-Wan said gently. As much as Obi-Wan wanted to ask what had happened, he doubted it would do any good now, for either him or his padawan. Doubtless adrenaline was keeping him awake, but as soon as that ran out, he would feel the exhaustion of the past few days and tiredness rarely made way for coherent answers. All Obi-Wan knew was that they hadn't hurt him, which frankly was all the information he really needed right then. The only injuries he had were on feet, yet even the sight of the small soles bloodied with cuts had been enough to make his stomach turn. "Let's just focus on getting you fed first, hm?"
The boy nodded, though he still looked concerned. Obi-Wan turned to get some water, allowing a frown to cross his brow. In all honesty, he was surprised that he had remembered anything at all. It was strange; Anakin was definitely a child, he certainly spoke and acted like one, but he still remembered Obi-Wan. He was a youngling and yet somehow, he'd retained the memories and characteristics of his older self. If it was bewildering for Obi-Wan, so how was it not completely confusing and terrifying for his padawan? He certainly knew that he had changed, he acknowledged it, but he didn't find it particularly concerning. Perhaps he had got used to the idea during his captivity? It was as though somehow the adult and child Anakin melded together. Maybe it was for the best. His adult padawan would have doubtless been mortified to find himself in such a state and Kenobi would have taken no pleasure in seeing his friend so humiliated.
Obi-Wan pressed the cup into his padawan's small hands. Anakin started off slowly, taking a few sips, but soon he was gulping it down, "Slow down, padawan," the Jedi said calmly, pulling the cup out of Anakin's hands. The boy growled and tried to snatch it back, arms flailing as his master held it easily out of his reach, "if you drink too much too fast you'll get ill," he explained, trying not to smile at his padawan's fruitless attempts to snatch back his water. He couldn't deny that it was a slightly amusing sight, "drink slower this time," the Jedi said calmly, giving back the water, earning himself an insulted look from his padawan, yet he did drink the rest down at a reasonable pace.
It was quite evident that his memories had stayed in tact when Raena held up a ration bar. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and wriggled backwards from the offending food, "I know it doesn't taste nice, but we need you on something basic," she explained, smiling, "your stomach won't be able to handle much if you haven't eaten anything proper for days."
Anakin, rather desperately, looked to Obi-Wan, who nodded. The small boy huffed out a sigh of irritation and held out his hand for the ration bar. Both Jedi could tell by the numerous and rather amusing faces he was pulling that Anakin was not enjoying his meal. Ration bars were not known for their great taste, but it was basic and as Raena said, basic was what Anakin needed. He grimaced as he swallowed down the last bit of the bar, putting the wrapper into Raena's open palm, who then made her way to the cockpit of the ship.
"Ew," he murmured, looking at Obi-Wan.
Obi-Wan smiled, "I know. I'll cook you something better once we get back to Coruscant."
"Promise?" Anakin asked, squeezing his eyes shut as a huge yawn came at the end of his sentence.
"Yes, I promise," Obi-Wan murmured, "Do you want to take a nap?"
Anakin nodded, now looking at his master with bleary eyes. He stretched out his arms and made a grabbing motion with his hands. Obi-Wan frowned, "Cloak," he muttered.
"Oh," Obi-Wan pulled of his cloak and wrapped it around his small padawan. The boy managed to roll himself up in it until he made a cocoon for himself, the garment wrapped up to his nose. Nearly as soon as his head hit the table, he was asleep. The Jedi pulled up a chair and sat, watching the even rises and falls of his padawan's form. He wasn't altogether too sure how long he sat there watching him. He could hear Raena in the control room contacting the Jedi council. He'd have to remember to thank her for that later; Force only knew how she could even begin to attempt explaining this to the council. He didn't envy her position at all.
He sank back into his chair with a sigh. His own tiredness was catching up with him. He hadn't got that much sleep of his own recently, most of his time being spent worrying about his padawan. But he was here now. Anakin was safe. Obi-Wan shut his eyes, allowing that reassuring reality to sink in for a moment. He was safe. He was safe. It didn't matter how much he had changed, he was still his padawan and he had saved him. That was all that mattered. Even though there was so much unanswered, so many questions yet to be put forward, in that moment, all Obi-Wan cared about was the youngling curled up in his cloak, sleeping peacefully in front of him.
When Raena finished contacting the council, she headed back to the medcentre, though she barely got a few steps in before pulling up short. She stared for a moment and then smiled. Obi-Wan's front was sprawled out against the table, head resting on his arms. Anakin lay next to him, wrapped up in a loose, messy nest of his master's cloak, face pressed against Obi-Wan's forearm, arms wrapped round the rest. She pulled off her own cloak and placed it carefully around Obi-Wan's shoulders. Neither master or padawan moved. Without really considering why, she ran a hand through Anakin's blonde locks, before turning to leave them in peace.
...
"Obi-Wan? Obi-Wan?" The Jedi shifted under the hand shaking his shoulder, groaning into his arms, "Obi-Wan. We're nearly here," sounding far from the dignified Jedi Master he usually was, Obi-Wan sat up with a moan, grimacing as he stretched out his stiff back.
"We can't be there already," he mumbled, blinking to clear his bleary eyes, "we still have a few hours to go yet before-"
"You fell asleep," the amusement could be heard in Raena's voice and it was only then that Obi-Wan acknowledged the feeling of a cloak slipping off his shoulders.
"Oh," he scrubbed his face with his hands, pushing back a yawn, "Why didn't you wake me?"
"You needed it," Raena explained simply, taking back her cloak that had pooled at the seat of the chair, "besides, I think you'll need the energy you can get when it comes to looking after him," she nodded at Anakin, who had remained asleep despite the Jedis' conversation.
"I'm not going to argue with you there," Obi-Wan murmured dryly. Anakin was a handful when he was nine and, in the nicest possible way, a nightmare as a teenager, so Force only knew what he would be like when he was this young. Perhaps if he got worse with age, then he would now be easier to handle, but something told him that that wasn't the case, "by the way, what exactly did you tell the council?"
"I told them it was something they needed to see with their own eyes," she said simply, shrugging.
"I bet they liked that," Obi-Wan said with a wry smile, "Anakin," he said, shaking the youngling gently by the shoulder, "come, Anakin, we're nearly home. You can sleep once we get there," the boy groaned and rolled over pulling up the hood over his face. He smiled, "I'm afraid that isn't going to help you much, padawan," he said, pulling away the folds of his cloak and pulling Anakin out from his make shift blanket, sitting him up on the table.
The youngling looked exhausted, rubbing at his eyes, which hadn't actually opened yet. He whimpered as he felt the warmth disappear from his legs, "I know, I know," Obi-Wan murmured, pulling on his cloak, "but we'll be there soon."
Anakin blinked and looked wearily up at his master, too tired to even bother being angry with him. As a way of compromise, Obi-Wan pulled the exhausted boy onto his lap, which would doubtless be more comfortable than the table. His head lolled back onto his chest and the Jedi looked down to see bleary blue eyes gazing up at him. He smiled down at the youngling without thought, stroking the soft, blonde hair, "Not long now, padawan."
Despite Obi-Wan's best efforts, Anakin soon fell back asleep. It wouldn't be good if his padawan continued to doze off in the middle of meeting the council, who undoubtedly bombard him with questions Kenobi doubted he could answer. His only hope was that he could convince them to save questioning him till later; of course, he understood just how bizarre and confusing it all was and that the council would want answers, but in this state, the Jedi doubted they would get anything more than yawns.
Obi-Wan hadn't been surprised to see Master Windu and Master Yoda waiting for them in the main hangar bay, despite it being the early hours of the morning. That certainly wouldn't stand in their way of seeing something that couldn't be explained with words. Still, he wished he could have prepared Anakin for this, who was currently sleeping in his arms, head resting against his chest.
"Well, this should be fun," he murmured to Raena, watching the landing platform descend slowly.
"I'll leave this to you, shall I?" Raena asked with a smirk, her reply a rather derisive snort.
There wasn't a time Obi-Wan could recall where Master Yoda or Master Windu were surprised, or if there was, certainly they didn't show it. Not like this. He felt their eyes follow him as he walked down the ramp, their gaze falling onto the child cradled in his arms. He watched as Windu's jaw slackened just a little and Yoda's emerald eyes widen with realisation of just who that little boy was. He reached the Masters, bowing, though the move was made a little difficult with the sleeping padawan in his arms.
There was a moment of silence, before Windu, eyes fixed on the boy, asked, "Is that Skywalker?"
Obi-Wan nodded. At Yoda's wave of his stick, he knelt down and gently tipped Anakin up onto his feet. The youngling let out a half wine half groan at the movement and tried to push away at the hands holding him up. "Padawan," Obi-Wan said gently, ignoring the watchful stares of the Masters, "you need to wake up. Open your eyes."
Anakin rubbed at them with a fist before he finally opened his eyes. He recoiled a little against Obi-Wan's legs when he saw Yoda right in front of him; it was clearly not what he expected to see. The Jedi Master peered into the youngling's face, the said youngling a little more than surprised by his examination.
"Anakin Skywalker, are you?" Yoda questioned, peering into his face.
Anakin nodded.
"Know who I am, hm?"
"Master Yoda," came the quiet reply, his voice a little raspy with exhaustion and disuse.
"Here," Obi-Wan handed Windu the vial of Anakin's blood, "you can analyse it if you want, but I have already done so. It's him."
"Know that before the test you did, Obi-Wan?" Yoda asked, though it was more of a statement than an inquiry, "strong is the bond between padawan and master. Changed he is not to you."
"Only in some things, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan concurred, smiling down at Anakin who simply looked baffled by the whole conversation, still drowsy from his sleep.
Yoda looked at the youngling for a moment more, before turning his gaze back to Obi-Wan, "Take him home now you may, Obi-Wan. Much rest I see he needs."
"But Master, surely we should question him?" Windu asked, frowning at Skywalker, which made the boy recoil against Obi-Wan even more. Anakin had always rubbed Windu up the wrong way, some times through his mischief, other times through no fault of his own. Evidently the padawan had not forgotten the less than cordial relationship with the Jedi Master.
"Deprived of the company of younglings you have been for too long, I think, Master Windu," Yoda said, looking up at the Jedi master. Obi-Wan could hear the amusement in the troll's voice, "no use is a youngling too tired to stand without his Master's help."
Windu sighed and looked at the small boy before him. He did look exhausted, his eyelids drooping, though he could see that the child was doing his best to stay alert and keep his gaze on him. Yoda had a point; they wouldn't get much out of Skywalker in the state he was in. He nodded at Obi-Wan, who gathered his padawan back up into his arms, the youngling cradled to his chest.
"Thank you," Obi-Wan said, grateful that Yoda understood Anakin's needs, even if Windu was a little more reluctant to do so. He took leave of the Jedi, feeling the eyes at his back, yet he didn't turn round to meet their gaze.
It was pleasant walking through the halls; it carried a peaceful silence the Jedi found could only be generated by the calm of an early morning. Anakin had always been different in that regard. From too many forced early mornings as a slave, he'd grown to almost hate the morning, preferring instead to sleep through it. He appreciated the night more by far; ever since he was his padawan, Obi-Wan had often had difficulty dragging him from the window where the star struck child would stare in awe at Coruscant's lights, gazing as though the stars had rained down from the sky and had attached themselves to all of the planet.
A new world, a strange and exciting world, so different from the barren, desert planet where he had been raised. At times, Anakin had been scared of something so incredibly different and foreign, but mostly, he found his new home amazing. Even at day, the boy had always admired the spires of the city, whether they were sun-soaked in the morn or sparkling in the night like diamond encrusted towers. It had been one of the things he had been teased about; all of the padawans had grown up in the city and so didn't quite appreciate the scenery as much as Anakin had. They found it amusing when he was told off for not listening in class when he was too busy gazing out of the window.
The sun bathed corridors didn't rouse his padawan from his slumber, nor did the quiet swoosh of the door opening as Obi-Wan stepped into their apartment with sigh. It certainly was nice to be back. He shut the door behind him and headed to Anakin's room. He sighed as he walked inside, "What did I tell you about tidying your room, Anakin?" he asked, exasperated as he looked at the disaster that was his padawan's room, "you'll be helping me clean it up once you wake up," he promised the sleeping Anakin, "It doesn't matter if you're three now, you were twenty one when you made the mess, so you'll still be tidying it up."
He pulled back the covers on the bed and gently, laid the unconscious youngling down on the mattress, pausing, the covers in his hands. He looked so small, so impossibly small. It was frightening and for the first time in years, Obi-Wan felt a thrill of worry, panic and foreboding all in the same rush that had ran through his body when he first realised he would actually have to raise a child all on his own. It was the knowledge that something so delicate, so very breakable relied entirely on you, to keep them fed, to keep them happy, to keep them safe. It paralysed him. It took him a moment to come to his senses, mentally reprimanding himself for allowing to be so caught up in his emotions. This was not like before, it wasn't starting from the beginning all over again. It was Anakin, his Anakin, the boy he knew and raised. It wasn't a stranger, he wasn't lost in grief. It was different this time. It would be all right.
He pulled the rumpled sheets up over the sleeping form, gazing for a moment at the boy before rising to his feet and heading outside. He practically collapsed down on the sofa, allowing his eyes to close and his hand to come up to his face. Out every single scenario Obi-Wan had pictured happening on that rescue mission, this was most definitely not one of them. Now Anakin was asleep, he allowed himself to ponder the incredulity of the situation. His padawan was a child. He was a three year old! How could it even be possible!? He leant back against the sofa and groaned.
How long would Anakin be like this? What if he had to bring up his padawan all over again?! He shuddered at the thought; as much he cared for him, he did not want to relive Anakin's teenage years. Force, the hormonal levels that boy suffered from must have been astronomical. He swore no one else's padawans were half as moody or liable to mood swings as his was. He looked over to the boy's room, the door still open. He stared for a minute or so, before scrubbing his weary face with a rough palm. These questions, pressing as they seemed, did not need to be answered right this minute. He wasn't going to be getting the answers any time soon, so he may as well just leave the questions alone. Obi-Wan couldn't help but imagine Qui-Gon's voice calmly remind him to keep his mind on the present. What needed to be sorted out right now was feeding Anakin and getting him some decent clothes. He couldn't walk around in his tunic, he'd probably end up tripping over every other step.
He glanced again at his padawan. He was reluctant to leave him, despite knowing full well that he wouldn't wake up any time soon, that he was safe from any harm. Still, it wasn't a pleasant feeling to leave a three year old on their own for any extended period of time, but he couldn't take Anakin with him to get clothes. The scene it would cause was not something he wanted a half asleep youngling to be part of. No, it would be better if he went on his own. With any luck, he wouldn't meet anyone in the laundry room and would avoid any awkward questions. With one last look at Anakin, Obi-Wan left their apartment.
...
It was noon by the time Anakin woke up. Obi-Wan was sitting at the kitchen table, reading the news whilst sipping a cup of tea when heard a soft thud from behind him. He turned round and watched as a half asleep Anakin stumbled into view. He rubbed at one eye with his fist, pausing to grind out all of the remaining sleep before he noticed Obi-Wan watching him. He looked over and gave a big, sleepy smile, one which his master happily returned.
"Good morning," he said lightly, "or should I say good afternoon."
"Hi," Anakin said, giving a little wave. He made his way over to Obi-Wan, constantly nearly tripping over, arms held out like he was on a trapeze, though the issue wasn't his balance but the long tunic practically acting like a dress, "promise," he said expectantly, looking up at his master.
Obi-Wan frowned, "Promise what, padawan?"
Anakin rolled his eyes, "Your promise. Food."
Obi-Wan grinned, "Oh, I see, that promise. Yes, I'll make you some food now," he rose to his feet, watching Anakin attempt to clamber onto one of the chairs before simply lifting him up onto the seat. The boy huffed in annoyance when he found he was barely able to see over the table top. He scowled at Obi-Wan, unimpressed by how his master found the situation amusing to him, "'s not funny, Master," he grumbled at him.
"I'm not laughing at you, padawan," Obi-Wan assured him gently, lifting up Anakin to slide cushions underneath him.
"It's not my fault I'm small," Anakin protested, looking much more satisfied to find his place elevated.
"No," Obi-Wan agreed, "It's not."
Obi-Wan found Anakin was very easy to entertain. He watched him make their lunch with fascination, despite the simplicity of what he was actually doing. Perhaps it was the mere fact that he was hungry or that he was simply happy to be in his master's presence after being parted from him for so long. The Jedi knew that days could span on for ages for children. It must have seemed like weeks to Anakin since he had last seen his master.
He smiled brightly as the food was placed in front of him, nodding at the reminder to eat slowly. Obi-Wan rolled up the long sleeves, making sure they didn't get in his padawan's food before starting on his own food, quite hungry himself. Padawan and master ate in comfortable silence, intersected with the Jed pulling up Anakin's too long sleeves around his elbows. He watched him eat, frowning a little. It was only in the light of day that Obi-Wan could see just how dirty his padawan was. When was the last time the boy had washed? It had been days since he had been missing...
When Anakin declared himself finished, Obi-Wan rose to his feet and lifted Anakin up into his arms, balancing him on his hip and thus saving him the trouble from falling all over the place, "Come, I think you it's time you had a bath," he chuckled a little as the boy's eyes widened at this exciting piece of news. Coming from a desert planet, water had always been a privilege, never a commodity. So baths and showers for his padawan was something of a magical experience, a feeling which was apparently heightened by his recent change in age.
"Okay!" Anakin chirruped, a wide grin now on his face.
Whilst the bath was running, Anakin stood at the edge of the bath on tiptoes, small hands gripping the edge as he peered into the tub, watching as the cascading water slowly filled it up. When it was done, he turned to Obi-Wan, lifting up his arms expectantly. Of course, the tunic was so big it was always in danger of sliding off his shoulders anyway, but he bowed to his padawan's whims this time and pulled off the tunic and lifted him up and into the bath. Judging by the look on Anakin's face as he sat in the water, Obi-Wan could leave him there for hours if he wanted to and the padawan would still be as happy as he was now. He just sat there, smiling up at his master, as though he was given the best present in the world.
Obi-Wan smiled down at him, only he saw something that made his smile falter. He saw something that made him feel sick, that made the colour drain from his face. He was staring at Anakin's back, eyes fixed there. He froze. He couldn't see his padawan's smile any more. All he could see were scars rupturing the skin on the youngling's back. They looked old, though how such scars could be old on such a young child's back was something that was beyond comprehension. He had seen them before, so much fainter then, easier to hide, easier to ignore, easier to avoid the awkward and painful conversation that would doubtless follow, easier to convince himself that Anakin was fine, that he was okay, because at the time, Obi-Wan himself was so very, very far from okay. He never brought up how Anakin flinched whenever he told him off, how he always tried to make a little distance between himself and his master whenever he was angry with him. By the time they would have felt comfortable enough with each other to address such an issue, both felt that it was too late and it would be too awkward, bringing up things that Obi-Wan would prefer to pretend didn't matter and that Anakin wished never happened.
Guilt rose up in him. He felt sick. He was actually scared of vomiting and he had to put a hand over his mouth just to be safe. How could have ignored it? How could he have just let something as horrific as this slide? What was wrong with him?
"Master?" His gaze snapped back to Anakin's face, who was frowning at him, clearly concerned, "What's wrong?"
Obi-Wan sucked in a shaky breath and forced a smile, "Nothing, padawan," he ran a hand through his soft hair, blinking rapidly, "nothing at all."
Anakin was never a fool. The Jedi knew he wasn't convinced, but perhaps the youngling guessed that maybe it was something best left alone if his master was willing to lie about it. Soon, he was smiling again, making small waves with his palm as his master washed his hair, not feeling tremors running through his hands, not noticing how Obi-Wan's gaze constantly returned to his back. Despite all of the poisonous feelings that were burning a hole through Obi-Wan's gut, he couldn't not steal a smile when he heard his padawan's giggles as he rubbed off all the dirt and grime from him, especially round his face and neck.
By the time he was done, the water was a milky white from the shampoo and Anakin's hair was sticking up in small tufts all over the place, the boy grinning at Obi-Wan. He groaned as he saw his master reach for a towel.
"No!" he whined, "I want more time!"
"Anakin, the water's nearly cold!" Obi-Wan said, smiling fondly, "you'll have another bath tomorrow, I promise."
Anakin sighed, knowing he wasn't going to win and reached his arms up, waiting for his master to lift him out of the bath. Obi-Wan couldn't help but take special care in drying his padawan, the image of the scars still seared into his mind. He accidentally ran a hand over the youngling's back and had to repress a shudder.
Soon, Anakin was fully dressed in new clothes he seemed rather pleased with, his hair still messy and damp. Obi-Wan was about to stand up before he felt a hand pulling him back down. A small fist was tugging at the front of his robes. It's owner had a face of seriousness unsuited for someone so young. He sat back down again, surprised when Anakin climbed onto his lap, stood and wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan's neck. He wrapped his own arms back in return, confused as to why his padawan seemed so serious about this embrace until he heard a small voice in his ear.
"It's okay."
He stiffened, frozen, but the voice continued, a small hand in his hair now, "It's okay, Master. Don't be sad. Please. It's okay."
Anakin was trying to comfort him. He noticed him looking at his back, at his scars and he was trying to comfort him, him, when he was the one who had neglected the issue for so long, when he was the one who had brushed it off. It didn't matter that at the time Qui-Gon had died. It didn't feel like that was a good enough excuse to ignore such abuse. And Anakin was trying to comfort him, this small boy, trying to make up for a mistake that wasn't his.
Obi-Wan brushed away the wetness on his cheeks, sniffing a little. He squeezed his padawan tightly, burying his face against him, "I'm sorry, Anakin. I've let you down."
"No!" Anakin pulled out of the hug, placing both palms on Obi-Wan's face, gazing into his eyes with such seriousness, "Don't be stupid! Don't be sorry," he pouted a little, sadness seeping into his gaze, "please don't be sorry. Don't be sad, Obi-Wan, please," gently, he wiped away the few stray tears, checking his eyes for any more, "don't be sad. Ever."
Obi-Wan managed to smile a little, "Not ever, padawan? Not even a little?"
Anakin thought for a minute, "Okay. But only sometimes. Not all the time."
"No," Obi-Wan murmured, running a hand through his hair, his smile growing a little. He leaned up slightly to press a kiss against this precious child, the boy who would always try to fix things even when they were beyond repair, "No. Not all the time."