The room to Anakin's bedroom opens. Out comes the young padawan, his untied braid is tangled and the hair at the back has fallen loose. It's an odd look but one Obi-Wan himself used to hold two years ago -has it really been two years already?
Anakin yawns, scratching at his head with half-open eyes. Without a word, he gathers his breakfast items and settles across from Obi-Wan at the dining table. From there, they sit in comfortable silence.
Reports, assignments, and an ever-growing list of things to do fill Obi-Wan's datapad. A growing boy means constantly needing bigger robes and shoes. It feels like a race, seeing who will get to him first: the temple's tailors or his growth spurts.
Setting the datapad down -it sets a bad example to check it with his padawan in company- Obi-Wan sits at his warm tea. Anakin is more awake now, his eyes tracing the back cover of his cereal container. There must be a good puzzle in there. He typically doesn't bother with the children's games.
Normally, Obi-Wan would start relaying their plans for the day. Whatever mission they may be preparing for or a lesson he would like to discuss, it usually came early, so his padawan could prepare himself for it. But today, Obi-Wan would rather the air stay light and simple. There's no need to start so soon every day.
That is, until he nearly trips over a droid part on his way to the sink.
"Anakin, please clean your mess. I'm going to meet my premature end at this rate." Without much thought, Obi-Wan continues to the sink and rinses out his cup. Then, when he's about to officially start their morning routine, he notices the look on Anakin's face.
The boy stares in disbelief, then promptly lets out a screamed groan of frustration. Obi-Wan is left in shock at the pure anger that ripples off of him in the Force. It's strong enough to throw Obi-Wan off balance, metaphorically speaking.
"No! You- Why did you say that?!" Anakin curls in on himself. shaking fingers reach up to pull at his short hair in a way that looks painful.
Obi-Wan blinks. "...Padawan, it must be done. We agreed that your tinkerings were allowed so long as they stayed within your room."
"Noo!" He's grinding his teeth now. The healers told Obi-Wan it's a bad habit but in times like this, teeth grinding is the least of his worries. "I was gonna do it as a surprise! I was- urgg!"Tears are starting to build up in the corners of his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Anakin." What else can he say? He had no clue of his padawan's intentions. For all he knew, it would be weeks before the parts were even noticed at all.
"Now I can't do it!" Anakin cries. "I wanted it to be a surprise! Why did you have to tell me?!"
Obi-Wan is trapped to watch his twelve-year-old padawan sob over his breakfast. There have been breakdowns before, more than he could ever care to number. It's the nature of raising a deeply traumatized child into a lifestyle so foreign to him. But until now, there have usually been triggers or some kind of build-up. A way to show Obi-Wan how things escalated too quickly. Here, it went from nothing to explosion within a single question.
Things get truly out of hand when Anakin starts hitting himself with those balled-up fists.
"No, no, no!" Obi-Wan surges forward and takes those hands into his own. Anakin tries to pull away, his motions supported by his strong hold on the Force. If nearly lifts the man from off his feet.
Quickly, Obi-Wan forms a circle around them in the Force. It's made to both keep Anakin in and everyone else out. The last thing he needs are other masters feeling the intensity of this breakdown and coming in to look. He also knows that he may not be the Chosen One, but his control of the Force is stronger. He can keep this bubble without much strain, despite having to physically wrestle Anakin on top of it.
Obi-Wan gets the boy locked in a tight embrace before he finally stops fighting. Anakin stops pulling at his trapped arms and instead leans into Obi-Wan. Heavy sobs shake the whole boy's frame and there will most definitely be a wet spot on his shoulder after this, but it doesn't matter now. Right now, he's more focused on guilting his padawan through deep breaths.
"In...out. Good, Anakin- in...out."
After a while, the sobs turn into silent tears, then to hiccups, then the occasional shiver. All through it, Obi-Wan keeps taking deep breaths and rocks them back and forth.
Gently, quietly, Obi-Wan speaks. "Are you alright, Padawan?" His answer comes in a slight nod. It seems words aren't favored at the moment. It's no bother. "Will you be alright if I let got?"
Another nod and Obi-Wan lets go of his charge; not only by his wrists, but in the Force too. He pops the bubble he formed and lets the air settle as normal, like he's opened a window. Anakin, true to his word, does nothing more than lay against his master's chest.
He's almost afraid to bring it up again, but Obi-Wan knows he must. "How about this, we can clean the parts together. Is that alright?"
The answer comes as a nervous frown.
Obi-Wan is quick to recover. "We can wait a moment longer if you need to. It's alright." This time, Anakin burrows further into his hold, like a baby lothcat to its mother.
They sit there until Anakin's blue milk has grown warm and they're about to start cutting into official class time. Obi-Wan then decides he can let it go for today and they spend the rest of that time until lunch picking up spare parts.
These moments are scary and Anakin never stops finding new ways to surprise him, in the good and the bad, but Obi-Wan has never regretted taking on this boy as his padawan. He loves Anakin and while he wishes he knew how to handle someone with so many emotions, he wouldn't trade this for anything.
After all, it'll be over before he knows it.
I never know whether to capitalize padawan or not when they're just talking about a padawan.