DISCLAIMER: This story is told by Obi-Wan´s perspective. Scenes are devided by Present Time and Past. Past is in Italics.

Chapter 2: "Someone told me: ´Stay away from things that aren´t yours.´ But was he yours, if he wanted me so bad?"

Obi-Wan found Anakin seated in the room of the Thousand Fountains. This was not a surprise, Anakin loved the place since he was a kid, all the plants and flowers seemed to entice him from the very beginning, things he never had when he was a kid in Tatooine.

The Knight was seated next to a river, feet bared of his leather boots that were positioned close by the shore, he was in a meditative pose which did surprise Obi-Wan since the young man didn´t attempt to meditate unless Obi-Wan made him to, but the Jedi Master was able to sense the conflictive feelings inside the Knights thoughts and that easily answered his enquires as to why he was attempting to seek reflection.

"Well, isn´t this a nice change?" Obi-Wan teased with an easy smile. Anakin almost jumped out of his skin and turned to see the Master standing behind him, then immediately flushed.

"Obi-Wan…" Anakin saluted with some red on his cheeks, Obi-Wan´s smile widened at the action.

"I just finished to deliver some reports to Cody." The red haired Jedi said, seating next to the blond man.

"Another mission?" he asked with a sigh.

"No. We are Temple bound for some time, Yoda promised." Obi-Wan reassured him with a small chuckle. "But I´m surprise to find you here, I assumed you would be training with the 501 or in the sparing rooms."

"I wasn´t feeling it today" Anakin confesses with a sad expression on his face.

"Oh" Obi-Wan shrugs, trying to sound mildly worried "Has that something to do with whatever you wanted to discuss yesterday evening?"

Anakin immediately tenses at the mention of such conversation.

"Because I´m perfectly capable to listen to you now, if you want to."

Anakin begins to stutter randomly and his eyes seems to be looking at every direction in an attempt to escape.

"Anakin…" Obi-Wan calls, voice now carrying a tone of enquiry, just a bit more severe.

"Master, I don´t even know how to begin…" he tells him, seemly defeated.

Obi-Wan smiles at this, Anakin doesn´t even notice.

"Why don´t you just begin from the start...?" he offers.

He had promised Mace and Yoda he would take care of Anakin´s and Padmé´s relationship, they were not allowed to continue like this, but he didn´t really know what to do about it. He had known about them longer than the other Jedi in the Temple did, he had confronted the Senator about it when it had started, right after they came back from Geonosis, at the very beginning of the war. He had told her, in no subtle terms, that he knew about their feelings for each other and that such relationship had no room in any of their lives, Anakin was a Padawan back then and she was a politician, their lives were just not compatible. He had trusted that she had understood, Padmé was, after all, an intelligent young woman, she would know what was better for her.

But the delusive ex-Queen had not follow his advice at all, she requested for Anakin to escort her back to her homeplanet and he had allowed it, expecting her to terminate whatever relationship they had then, but when his apprentice came back, he was not brokenhearted or discouraged, he was shining, bright and powerful in the Force, and Obi-Wan knew right there what have happened.

It has been years since that came to pass and now Anakin wasn´t a Padawan any longer, he could hardly tell him what to do but he still had a strong connection with him, a connection that he could use to take him away from the grasp that Padmé had seemly clenched him in. And now, with the explicit permission of the Council, he was going to do so, by any means necessary.

Obi-Wan found Anakin seated in one of the tables of the commissary, he was visibly angry and was eating his food as if it the meat has personally offended him. Anakin never ate there if he could help it, and when he was in planet he was more often than not visiting Padmé as long as she was not busy with her own duties; his presence here indicated that he had been refused by the Senator, who was probably too busy to attend to him.

Perfect.

"Anakin" Obi-Wan saluted with an easy smile of his "What kind of miracle has dragged you to the commissary?"

"Well, you know me, Master" Anakin said between bites "couldn´t cook to save my life." It was meant to sound like a joke, but between the lines one could easily detect the bitterness of the statement.

Obi-Wan knew that, of course. He knew everything when it came to Anakin Skywalker.

"You could have always come to me, you know" Obi-Wan tried, taking a seat in front of him "You have always loved my cooking."

Anakin looked at him with a surprised look.

"Well, you are always so busy, I didn´t want to bother you."

"Nonsense" Obi-Wan shrugged with a movement of his hands, smiling to him in an endearing way "I always have time for you, Anakin."

Anakin´s face colors red for a moment and it makes Obi-Wan smirks. Anakin still has a childish infatuation with Obi-Wan that goes back to his Padawan years, the Jedi Master had discourage every attempted advance, of course, such things are against the Code and it was also quiet unrequired; after all, the young man was a boy back then, but now, Obi-Wan found himself in an interesting position. Yoda was right when he said that Anakin was too prone to attachment and he wouldn´t let go of his need to love and be loved, they couldn´t tamed his undeniable crave for attention but they could re-direct it. If Anakin needed to have a romantic relationship to live, better to have it with Obi-Wan than with a Senator.

"Obi-Wan…" Anakin muttered under his breath.

"Moreover, we should go to have dinner" he invites with a broad smile.

"A dinner?"

"Yes, at Dex. I´m thinking about tomorrow. How about that?"

"Well, that sounds great but…" Anakin bites his lips as he overthinks things through as he always does. Obi-Wan already knows what the issue is, like he has said before, Anakin tends to spend most of his free time in the company of his lover, and he probably is planning to do so tomorrow as well, but Obi-Wan can also sense he wants to accept Obi-Wan´s invitation, rarely as they come. The Jedi Master was ready to help him make that decision.

"Come on, Anakin" he presses with a gentle voice "I know we see each other all the time but it´s always about the war, it´s about time we spend some quality time together that doesn´t involved being shot at…" he says with a huff.

Anakin seems to raise his eyes at this, and just takes a couple of seconds to think it through when he suddenly smiles brightly and nods. "Yeah, Master. All right, let´s go to Dex."

Obi-Wan smiles just as brightly. Like he said before: perfect.

"I know we have never talked about this, Master, but for some time now I have been having this thoughts and…"

"And?"

"…Well, everything I seemed to think it´s about you."

Obi-Wan´s face changed from a calmed expression to an incredulous look in a blink of an eye. It´s faked, of course, he could tell the direction of the conversation from the moment it started but his act it´s convincing, and his ignorance seems to encourage Anakin into continuing his words.

"I know I shouldn´t have these feelings about you, Master. I know it´s inappropriate, but I can´t help myself. I should be focusing in the war, in the missions but all I seem to think about it´s the color of your eyes or the sound of your voice…" he trails off, lost in his own fantasies and Obi-Wan would have being quite horrified by Anakin´s words if he wasn´t waiting for them in the first place.

Obi-Wan has never been a desirous man, when he was young like Anakin, he has been quite passionate and had deviated from the Jedi path a couple of times. He had fallen in love more than once, and had almost allowed his heart to dictate his actions, but he had raised above such things and had grown more matured and centered in his duties as time went by. Anakin was an attractive man and Obi-Wan was fond enough of him to actually care for his well-being and desires, he could force himself to love him if that was what he needed, he could force himself to feel aroused by his touch if that was what the young man required, and Obi-Wan was sure that the man was interested in such carnal things. He didn´t really feel those things anymore, but for Anakin, he was willing to pretend to do so.

"I wouldn´t talk about this at all" Anakin promised, capturing Obi-Wan´s attention once again "but these past months, I have noticed…" he trailed off again, this time not by his fantasies but by his insecurities.

"Noticed?" Obi-Wan asks, trying to help him find his words. He could not let him slip away like last night, Anakin hardly opened up about anything, if he was going to take his chance, he had to do it now.

Anakin flushed harder, his entire face almost the color of a Sith´s lightsaber.

"…you have been so kind…" Anakin said, voice almost breaking with contained emotion, Obi-Wan feels suddenly guilty at being the one to cause such confusion "… and I know that we haven´t been so close lately, we have been at odds, especially with the Rako Hardeen business and after Ahsoka, I…" Now, Anakin´s voice did break. There weren´t real tears in his eyes, but Obi-Wan could almost feel his heart clenching, and the trembling of his hands. In that moment, Obi-Wan forgot all about his cynicism of the other night, his almost evil like intent, at the sight of so many confusion coming from his friend he could almost swear to himself he would be perfect. Perfect for Anakin in every sense. He would be the most attentive lover, the kindest of friends, he would be soft and compassionate and amazing, if only Anakin choose him instead of Padmé.

"…I just want to know I´m not imagining things, Obi-Wan" he suddenly turns to see him, gone is the sorrow in his voice, now it´s almost demanding, his eyes still held doubt and fear, but they were also hard and unforgiving, daring him to mess things up, it made Obi-Wan afraid. "…I want to know I´m not seeing things, tell me I´m not imagining that when you talk to me your voice goes softer, or that your eyes grow kinder, or when you touch me…" he goes silent, he gulps before continuing "…when you touch me I can feel electricity between us…"

Now it was Obi-Wan´s turn to blush. Anakin´s words held some true. He had been all those things: soft, kind and electrifying. He had been aiming at being just like she was, since that was obviously what Anakin liked.

But Padmé lacked something he didn´t.

Anakin already had her.

She wasn´t unrequired or hard to get, she was there, sweet and ready, Anakin could come and go as he pleased and he knew that Padmé was going to be there at the end of the day, waiting for his return like a loyal dog. Obi-Wan had always been forbidden, and that was so much more attractive. He was Anakin´s old Master, his mentor, his friend, his guidance, and Anakin always have craved his approval as much as he had resented his criticism. So Obi-Wan had been inviting and accessible as he had never been in the past, and Anakin had bitten the bait perfectly, latched at the possibility to have something he could have never have before.

Obi-Wan had expected all of that, all right. But he had never expected himself to feel wishful of his attentions, of his love. Until now.

"Obi-Wan, please… tell me I´m not seeing things…"

"I can´t believe he said that!" Anakin laughed, almost doubling forward over the table.

"Oh, I swear he did" Obi-Wan assured him while he took a sip from his beverage.

They were at Dex, they have been there for a couple of hours now, and in that short period of time they have eaten and conversed like only a few times before. Obi-Wan was genuinely surprised by their mutual openness, not that he only pretended to like Anakin before this or something like that, his friendship with him had always being honest and true, but as a Jedi Master and a private person all together he always tended to be on guard, to speak shortly and to never say too much, it was a nice change to just drop the shields and have a real conversation with someone else.

"Man, Quinlan must be really crazy" Anakin remarked, getting a bite of his food.

Obi-Wan took that moment to put his hand closer to Anakin´s flesh one, allowing the Knight to be able to feel the heat coming from his skin. Anakin seemed to have noticed that for he sent a quick look at their hands, but he didn´t mention anything.

"He had always being a bit erratic, even when we were initiates." Obi-Wan confessed, recalling days of the past. "I have never presumed to understand what goes through that mad head of his."

"It must have been fun, though" Anakin remarked, supporting his head with this mechanical hand. "Growing up with him, I mean. And with Garen, he seems a lot of fun too."

"Ha, as if" Obi-Wan huffs.

"Come on, Master. I heard that you were member of a group called The Fearsome Foursome." Anakin teased, smirking in that challenging way of his.

"Oh, yes, when I was a youngling" Obi-Wan conceded.

"Tell me about you then, when you were a boy…"

Anakin seemed eager, interested and deep into the tales of Obi-Wan´s childhood. Obi-Wan would be wary of this, it´s a topic of conversation that they had before, and one that Obi-Wan had rebuked as quickly as it came. There was no much to say, he had the life of any other Jedi youngling, he spent his days training and learning his lessons and he didn´t remember anything important to tell. But right now he wasn´t avoiding questions, he was seducing Anakin Skywalker, so he opened himself like a book.

"Well, I was just like everybody else, I suppose. Was trained by Yoda when I was quite young, and I was a good student, talented I assume" he said with a meditative voice, Anakin´s eyes shifted for a second, almost clenching with a note of disgust and Obi-Wan captured the emotion before it faded. Funny.

"But I was also a bit rebellious. Arrogant if you will, until Master Yoda put me in my place. I was also skinny and awkward, I was too tall at the start, my limbs were kind of long but my chest was smaller, so you can imagine…"

Anakin´s eyes shined with laughter then, softening and obviously amused, erasing the jealousy that it had peak when Obi-Wan flattered himself saying he was talented, which was true, he was. But that didn´t make Anakin happy, hearing that Obi-Wan excelled in being a Jedi even from a short age didn´t made Anakin´s heart flutter, so the Soresu Master was willing to undermine himself if that was what the brat needed to hear.

"I was also impulsive and a bit defensive. To be honest with you, Mace hated me a bit…" he laughed with pretended amusement.

"No way! And you have had me fool all this time, Master, pretending to be so perfect and all." Anakin smiles again, with too much teeth, happy to hear imperfections of his ´perfect´ Master. Obi-Wan almost scoff at his childish craving of superiority.

"I´m hardly perfect Anakin. I was quite incompetent at the start, with time and good guidance I came to be where I am now."

Lies. He had always been gifted.

When he was a child he was really smart, he was an excellent programmer, a great mechanic, an amazing pilot, a strong duelist and an impressive student. He had nothing to be ashamed of.

But Anakin didn´t need that. He didn´t need to hear about his accomplishments or his numerous abilities, no, the boy before him wanted to hear of Obi-Wan tripping on his feet, being small, and weak and fearful like Anakin once was. Anything that would made him feel better and adequate. It was a shame really, since it was rather an ugly trait, to be this envious and this terribly insecure; it was quite unattractive, but if it was what he wanted from him, Obi-Wan was willing to walk the mile.

"I couldn´t imagine you like that, Master" Anakin said, scratching the back of his head.

"Oh, but it´s the truth, Anakin. Not all of us can be as talented and as smart as you, I´m afraid." Obi-Wan flattered with a generous smile, bringing his hand closer to Anakin´s, making him more susceptible to his advances.

"Come on, Master, it´s not like that…" Anakin laughed with a nervous twitch, embarrassed and already getting red.

"I´m not teasing, Anakin. You are quite remarkable, I don´t think there was ever a more talented student in the Temple for a rather long time." He offers tersely, finally putting his hand over Anakin´s in a tentative moment.

Anakin flushes red and turns to look at their hands.

Obi-Wan is almost nervous at Anakin´s next move, this will decide if he could move forward; he didn´t have more time to waste in being subtle, he needed to push him away from Padmé now that they have some time of their own, which was rare, if Anakin allowed this touch, everything else would fit into place nicely and smoothly, if not, well, he would have to start all over.

After a couple of seconds, Anakin smiles sweetly and moves his hand to cover Obi-Wan´s, finally tangling their fingers together intimately. Obi-Wan smirks behind his beard, tasting victory.

"I always had the impression I was more of a trying student, Master. You certainly made it feel like that half the time" the Knight commented, suddenly a bit bitter.

"Not at all" Obi-Wan amended carelessly "you were different than the rest, they were raised inside the Temple, you weren´t. Of course, you were different, but you were not worse than them, or tiring, I always saw you like a gift."

"A gift?" the blond man almost jumped on his seat.

"Well…" Obi-Wan started, allowing some memories to come back "you were Qui-Gon´s last wish, he asked me to train you, and I promised to do so. You were the last thing my Master ever gave me."

Anakin´s eyes were wide, surprised and almost teary at the words that came out from Obi-Wan´s mouth. The Jedi master was almost baffled by the unexpected reaction but he held himself back and didn´t allowed any emotion to escape him.

"You never told me that…"

Obi-Wan blinked, perplexed.

"No. It hadn´t occurred to me that I hadn´t." Obi-Wan felt a powerful tug at their bond and in the joining of their hands. The red haired man turned to look at their tangled fingers and felt the strong clench of Anakin´s hand on his own and the almost lost smile on Anakin´s face.

"Thank you…" Anakin whispered "Thank you for saying that…"

Obi-Wan smiled, nicely and honestly, smiled.

"You´re welcome."

"Of course not, Anakin."

Obi-Wan grabbed the Knights hand with his own and raise it to his lips to give a small kiss to the back of it.

"You haven´t imagined a thing. I have felt it too."

Anakin´s eyes winded at the movement and his cheeks turned red in an instant.

"Obi-Wan…" Anakin whispered, his face suddenly too close to the Jedi Master´s "Obi-Wan…" he repeated.

The grey eyed Master didn´t move, he waited until the young Jedi decided what to do. Everything was meant to be started by Anakin and Anakin alone. For this relationship to work, Obi-Wan was to make him feel he was in control, that it was Anakin´s who was taking the lead and it was Obi-Wan who followed.

Soft lips were on his own in a minute. They were warm and tender, a chaste kiss that was meant to initiate the inevitable. With a light tug, Anakin forced Obi-Wan´s lips open and started a soft motion of mouths taking each other by assault, the older Jedi could feel the need behind Anakin´s skin but the Knight was making a great effort in containing himself, to just move their lips in tandem, slowly and carefully, as if he was going to break at any minute. Obi-Wan had no rush, this was only the beginning, the very start, if he rushed Anakin into a passionate embrace he would probably scare him, the best was to let the young man lead and touch and feel at his own expense.

After a couple of minutes the romantic gesture was over. Obi-Wan opened his eyes slowly, only to stare at the very embarrassed and very flushed face of his ex-apprentice. Anakin was red from head to toes, his hair was a bit ruffled and his eyes seemed lost and almost dimmed with lust.

Obi-Wan always thought that seducing Anakin Skywalker wouldn´t be too hard, there was nothing complicated in getting someone who lived his life dominated by his passions and that embraced any possibility of deviation from his Jedi path to fall into his advances. It´s just that Obi-Wan never thought it would be this easy.