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Obi-Wan was not surprised when Ahsoka came to them with questions about the Jedi Code. All Padawans went through this at some point, struggling with the definition of ‘attachment’ and all it implied. What surprised him, however, was the vehemence with which Anakin seemed to disregard his advice.
“Obi-Wan, no offense, but I think I might have more experience with these matters than you,” Anakin said.
Obi-Wan blinked at him, a slight look of surprise on his features. “Anakin…” he started, trailing off a little like he was looking for the right words. “Do you really believe I’ve never…” he made a vague gesture with his hand, and the Force flared up with embarrassment for a second. Ahsoka hid a smile behind her hand, but stayed silent.
“I don’t know,” Anakin conceded, “but surely I would have noticed if you had…”
Obi-Wan coughed slightly. “First of all, I had a life before your arrival, Padawan of mine,” he said. “And secondly… let’s just say that, during your apprenticeship, you were not exactly… paying attention, to what was going on in my private life.”
Anakin felt indignation rise in him.
“What?” he said.
Ahsoka giggled. “Master Kenobi is saying you were oblivious, Skyguy,” she teased.
“Yes, I suppose those are adequate words as well,” Obi-Wan said, exchanging an amused look with Ahsoka. And really, what was Anakin supposed to do when his Master and his Padawan rallied against him?!
“I can’t believe this,” he said, though the other two had already started turning around to leave. “I think you’re lying.”
Obi-Wan threw him a look above his shoulder. “Alright,” he said. “Now, if you don’t mind, Ahsoka and I have some… business to attend to.”
Ahsoka laughed and took Obi-Wan’s arm, leading him away.
Over the next few weeks, Anakin couldn’t help but think of their discussion. However long he searched into his memories, he couldn’t recall any time where he’d seen Obi-Wan with an unknown woman. Granted, he had been very young for a while, which could explain his obliviousness, as Ahsoka had put it. But even when he had been of age, and Obi-Wan had started taking him to local bars after rough missions, he had never seen him approach anyone. Moreover, Obi-Wan had always seemed to gently turn down anyone who had tried their shot with him.
Anakin had seen Obi-Wan flirt a lot, obviously, but mainly with enemies, and he didn’t think his Master would stoop so low as to sleep with them.
As he pondered, a relentless curiosity grew inside of him, and he resolved to ask more questions the next time he met with Obi-Wan.
It arrived more quickly than he would have thought, with both of their fleets being called back to Coruscant to rethink their strategies and deployment. After countless meetings, they were finally allowed a few hours of rest.
Anakin wasted no time in following his Master, unsurprised when Obi-Wan led him to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. This was his favourite room in the Temple, and for good reason. Anakin himself still felt slightly astonished when he looked at the sheer amount of water pouring from every side, no matter how long he had been living in the Temple.
“What troubles you, Anakin?” Obi-Wan asked after a few moments of silence.
“Do you remember the conversation we had a few weeks ago?” Anakin asked frankly.
Obi-Wan huffed out a laugh. “Well, of course,” he said. “Has it really had that much of an effect on you?”
Anakin could hear the teasing in his voice and he tried really hard not to pout. They turned onto a path heading into a small forest, their footsteps soft on the green grass.
“I think Ahsoka still has some questions,” he said. “And I think it would be easier for me to explain if I had some more… examples.”
Amusement tinted Obi-Wan’s Force signature. “Of course,” he said, nodding. “Nothing at all to do with your own curiosity, I assume.”
Anakin felt his cheeks heat up. “Not at all,” he replied.
“However, I am afraid it has been a while. As I am sure you are well aware, the war has made it difficult to have encounters of the sort,” Obi-Wan said. “The current political climate does not lend itself to romantic meetings.”
“For sure,” Anakin agreed, mentally counting the days since he and Padme had had more than a couple of hours to themselves. “It’s not like you can really walk into a bar and flirt with someone, now.” Anakin could see the edge of Obi-Wan’s smile as well as the equivalent of a laugh in the Force surrounding them. “What is it?”
“How innocent of you, to think you can only meet someone in a bar,” Obi-Wan replied, somewhat smugly.
Anakin felt a bit lost. “What do you mean?” he asked. “It’s not like you frequent other places where you could… wait, Master, you’re not going to…?!”
“Of course not, Anakin,” Obi-Wan chastised him. “You know those places are only good for corruption and traffic.”
“Then where?”
Obi-Wan stayed silent, and Anakin felt realization hit him like a speeder.
“You’ve got someone on the regular!” he exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks, and Obi-Wan hastily turned around to shush him.
“No need for the whole Temple to hear you,” he whispered, but Anakin could see the undeniable blush on his cheeks.
“Oh Force, you really do!” he blurted out, albeit more quietly. He quickly linked his elbow with Obi-Wan, more to ensure he didn’t flee than anything else, and started down the path again. “Dear Master of mine,” he said, just short of singing. “Who knew you were capable of such affections?”
Obi-Wan grumbled next to him, but didn’t offer anything else. Anakin was proud to have managed to turn the conversation around to have the advantage. Obi-Wan wasn’t the one doing the teasing anymore.
“Come on,” Anakin prompted. “Who is it?”
“You know a gentleman never kisses and tells,” Obi-Wan said, struggling to retain his composure.
“At least tell me if I know her!” Anakin insisted stubbornly.
“Who says it is a woman?” Obi-Wan said, grinning as Anakin’s thoughts halted brusquely and he plunged into a shocked silence.
When he regained the ability to speak, Obi-Wan remained resolutely silent, no matter how hard he bargained and pleaded. At the end of their short Coruscant leave, Anakin left off without any more hints.
“So,” Ahsoka said, lying on her elbows on Anakin’s bunk. “Let’s rewind. What do we know so far?”
Anakin swiveled slowly in his desk chair. “Obi-Wan sees someone on the regular. Which is probably why I’ve seen him turn down everyone who’s ever approached him.”
“Except Ventress,” Ahsoka mildly commented.
She and Anakin pulled off similar faces of disgust.
“We have to assume it’s not her,” Anakin said while Ahsoka made throwing up motions. “Besides, he implied it was a guy.”
“Did he?” Ahsoka asked. “Or did he just say it was not a woman? ‘Cause there are a lot of species who have different genders.”
“You’re right,” Anakin conceded. “Which doesn’t help us narrow it down.”
“Still,” Ahsoka said, “it’s probably someone he’s known for a long time. He possibly met them during your apprenticeship, maybe even before that.” She paused. “Someone at the Senate, maybe?”
Anakin considered this for a moment. “It could be,” he admitted. “He knows a lot of people there.”
“So a senator, or an aide. Who is he closest to?”
Anakin immediately crossed Padme off the list and went to the next Senator he knew Obi-Wan considered a friend. “Bail Organa?” he suggested.
Ahsoka bit her bottom lip. “Could be,” she said. “Though it would definitively be a friends-with-benefits thing. Organa is madly in love with his wife, everyone can see that.”
“Do you think Obi-Wan could do that, knowing Organa is married?” Anakin asked.
“Maybe he has an agreement with his wife,” Ahsoka theorized. “And maybe it’s better this way, easier not to form attachments.”
Anakin shrugged and Ashoka nodded. “We’ll put him as a ‘maybe’,” she said.
They considered a few more senators and people working at the Senate for a while, none of them offering a conclusive answer.
“Maybe someone in the cleaning crew, or…” Ahsoka suddenly perked up, stricken. “The clones! We haven’t talked about the clones yet!”
“You’re right,” Anakin said. “But I’m pretty sure Obi-Wan doesn’t know many clones on Coruscant. And he doesn’t seem close with any outside of the 212th.”
“Let’s look there, then. He and Commander Cody are pretty close, wouldn’t you say?”
It was true that Obi-Wan and his Commander seemed to get along extraordinarily well. On the battlefield, they acted in sync without needing to talk, and Anakin had more than once found them drinking tea and just talking together. But the fact remained that Obi-Wan was Cody’s superior, and he didn’t think Obi-Wan would feel comfortable having this advantage over him.
He repeated his thoughts to Ahsoka, and suddenly remembered another detail: “He also told me that, since the beginning of the war, he’s not had much action. That rules out any person on The Negotiator with him. And it also means that he knew this person before that.”
Ahsoka frowned. “Someone at the Temple, then…?”
“I don’t know,” Anakin answered honestly.
Ahsoka groaned and flopped on her back. “It’s hopeless,” she whined. “We’ll never guess who it is without more information.”
“Don’t worry,” Anakin replied. “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”
After an unfortunate incident that left Anakin and Ahsoka stranded on a planet for two days while their fleet continued on, The Negotiator picked them up and began the return travel to Coruscant. Despite his scolding, both Ahsoka and Anakin could tell that Obi-Wan had been worried about them, and they agreed to leave their questions on the side for a while. Instead, they focused their efforts on following him around to make sure he ate regularly, and wrestling him to bed if needed. He acted annoyed and protested that he had too much work to rest, but the Force hummed with contentment when he was laying down between them –often on Anakin’s bunk, that was said to be the biggest onboard.
One day, they spent a while searching for him to drag him to the mess hall to eat, until a trooper thankfully pointed them in the direction of a more secluded transmission area. It was smaller than the main one, intended for more secure calls. But when Anakin thumbed the opening pad, it appeared unlocked and opened immediately.
Obi-Wan was standing in front of the holographic transmitter, a blue-ish figure disappearing as he turned around.
“Master!” Ahsoka excitedly said. “It’s dinner time!”
Obi-Wan smiled fondly at her. “I am aware,” he said. “Shall we?”
He offered his arm to Ahsoka, who gladly took it and lead the way out.
“Who were you talking to, Master?” she asked innocently. “If it’s not confidential, of course.”
Anakin felt a hint of embarrassment coming from Obi-Wan, and he jumped on it like a tooka on a prey.
“Was that your secret lover?” he asked teasingly, walking up to his Master’s other side.
But Obi-Wan didn’t let anything else come through. “It was Master Vos,” he said flatly. “He has finished his latest mission and requested that we pick him up on our way to Coruscant.”
Anakin quickly did the math. With him and Ashoka on board, they were no other officer room available.
“I’m not sharing with him,” he quickly objected.
Obi-Wan opened his mouth, but Ahsoka beat him to it. “And I’m not bunking with Skyguy,” she protested, crossing her arms. “He snores.”
“I don’t!” Anakin exclaimed.
“Yes you do! Master Kenobi, tell him!”
Obi-Wan sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I was not going to ask you to,” he replied. “Master Vos will share my quarters.”
“Are you sure?” Ahsoka asked, calming down. “We know how he can…”
“Get on my nerves?” Obi-Wan offered as they walked into the mess hall. “Well, I suppose I will have to put up with it. It is only for a few days, after all.”
“He can share the clones’ barracks,” Anakin suggested. “Or another officer’s room. Maybe Commander Cody will kill him in his sleep.”
He saw Obi-Wan bite the inside of his cheek to keep himself from smiling.
“Who I am supposed to kill, sir?” Cody asked from behind them. Anakin carefully did not jump.
“No one is killing anyone on that ship,” Obi-Wan firmly asserted, to the audible disappointment of some clones. “Especially not Master Vos.”
“General Vos is coming on board?” Cody said, and Anakin had to give it to him: his poker face was excellent, and none of the contempt they all knew he felt towards Vos transpired.
“Only until we reach Coruscant,” Obi-Wan assured. “Unfortunately, we’ll all have to put up with him for a few days.”
A trooper Anakin was pretty sure was named Waxer stood up and slid an arm around Obi-Wan’s shoulders. “You know, General,” he stage-whispered, “we could just make his body disappear. No one will know.”
Obi-Wan smiled a little. “A tempting offer,” he said, leading them towards the food. “Shall we discuss this over dinner?”
As annoying as his constant presence usually was, Anakin had to admit he barely noticed Quinlan Vos during those few days. Of course, that could also be attributed to his consistent efforts to avoid him, but still. Vos seemed content to simply hang around Obi-Wan for the most part, leaving the others out of his perpetual teasing. The few times Anakin stayed beside him for more than a few minutes, he even noticed how uncharacteristically silent he was –silent, for one Quinlan Vos, was of course still annoyingly loud, but he seemed… muted, if such thing was possible. Despite Obi-Wan’s usual quick retorts and banter, Anakin could read the worry in him without even needing the Force. It seemed like even bright spirits like Vos’s had suffered from the war, after all.
Still, Anakin would not lie and say he was unhappy to see him go on his way when they landed on Coruscant. He and Ahsoka watched him go down the landing pad and sarcastically salute Commander Cody as he left, strict professionalism the only thing that held the trooper back from punching him square in the face.
“We should head to the Council for our report,” Ahsoka piped up. “Should we wait for Master Kenobi?”
“Let’s go get him,” Anakin suggested. “Knowing him, he probably lost track of time again and is still working on something or another.”
They headed back into the ship, quickly making their way to Obi-Wan’s room. On the way, Anakin suddenly realized it had actually been a while since he had set foot in said room. Even when he and Ahsoka had had to drag him to bed in the last few days, they had always ended up in either of their rooms. Shrugging, he touched the control board and the door swished open.
Predictably, Obi-Wan was sitting on his bunk, immersed in his data-pad.
The single bunk.
“Master,” Anakin said, as Obi-Wan lifted his head to greet them. “I didn’t remember you only had one bunk in your room.”
Obi-Wan threw a look around him, as if he had forgotten all about it. “Ah, yes,” he said, putting away his data-pad and getting up. “I had the other one removed to have more space.” He frowned slightly. “Why?”
“Where did Master Vos sleep, then?” Ahsoka asked. “Surely you didn’t leave him on the floor.”
The Force around Obi-Wan flushed with something Anakin could not exactly make sense of, a mix of embarrassment, fondness, and annoyance. Appropriate, when thinking about Vos, he supposed.
“As much as I wanted to, no,” Obi-Wan admitted, taking the lead towards the ship’s exit. “You know, it was not the first time Quinlan and I had to share close quarters.”
“Is that the mission we’re all supposed not to know about?” Ahsoka asked, a mischievous grin showing her pointed teeth. “The one on Cyrillia?”
Anakin almost whistled. That was a low blow, even for them.
Obi-Wan visibly startled. “Who told you ab–” his eyes narrowed. “Vos,” he hissed, and Anakin had to disguise his laugh into a cough.
“He already left the ship,” he offered.
Obi-Wan turned his murderous gaze towards the Temple. “He had better already be at the Halls of Healing,” he growled, as Ahsoka and Anakin exchanged an amused look behind him.
Surprisingly, they managed to spend a few days at the Temple before being sent back. Anakin took every excuse to enjoy a warm bath and a real meal, trying to spend as much time with Padme as was possible without raising too many suspicions. Ahsoka seemed happy to ignore his whereabouts for the most part, thrilled to see her friends again. And Obi-Wan… well, Obi-Wan was Obi-Wan, he supposed. Always in a meeting with the Council, or helping other Jedi find a satisfactory strategy for a mission or another. Anakin almost saw him less when they were together at the Temple than he did when they were both fighting on opposite sides of the galaxy.
He managed to catch him one of his rare free evenings, wanting to ask some advice about training Ahsoka with a different Form than the one he preferred.
He could feel Obi-Wan’s signature through the door of his quarters, calm as always. He was probably making tea and preparing for his afternoon meditation, so Anakin only knocked once before entering.
He froze when he saw Obi-Wan, dressed in one of his finest robes, in the midst of putting on a coat to go outside.
“Hello, Anakin,” his Master simply said, apparently unfazed.
“Are you going out?” Anakin blurted out.
Obi-Wan shrugged on his coat, checking his reflection in a window to make sure his hair was in place.
“Well, yes,” he said. “I am meeting Senator Organa for tea. And I am already late, so if you could–”
“Senator Organa?” Anakin said, squinting suspiciously, his discussion with Ahsoka coming to mind.
“Yes,” Obi-Wan repeated. “As we do regularly. What are you…” he trailed off as he looked at Anakin, and amusement bled through the Force. “No, Anakin,” Obi-Wan resumed. “It is nothing of the sort. Though he is a very handsome man, we are simply good friends. May I remind you that he is married?”
Anakin tried not to let his embarrassment show. “Some people don’t mind,” he grumbled, and Obi-Wan let out a clear laugh before putting his hand on Anakin’s back, guiding him outside the room.
“I can’t believe this,” Anakin loudly complained. “Is Vos gonna show up every time we meet up?”
Obi-Wan turned sharply towards him, lips pinched tightly together.
“Master…” Ahsoka whispered, and Anakin received the equivalent of an elbow in the ribs through the Force.
“What?!” he snapped. “Can’t he find his own transport home? Or will he always need us to pick him up? We’re not a taxi service!” He crossed his arms on his chest. “This is my ship, and I don’t want him on board!”
Obi-Wan glared at him so furiously that Anakin had to resist the urge to take a step back. He faltered, realizing too late he might have gone too far.
“This is not a pleasure trip,” Obi-Wan hissed. “This is an emergency retrieval. No one has heard from Quinlan in three weeks! We don’t know where he is, if he’s injured, or worse. So, Anakin, kindly shut up and turn this ship around. This is an order.”
The entire bridge fell silent, and Anakin could see from the corner of his eyes some troopers exchanging fearful glances.
“Understood, Master,” he said quietly, motioning for the orders to be followed.
Obi-Wan deflated, the tension around him loosening a little. “I apologize,” he said, somewhat still tensely. “I should not have gotten so upset.”
Anakin shrugged. “It’s alright. I had not realized the urgency of the mission. Sorry for being annoying.”
Obi-Wan briefly touched his shoulder, sending a nudge of comfort through the Force. Anakin sent one back and watched as the lines on Obi-Wan’s forehead eased a little.
“We will find him,” he promised. “The 501st has some of the best scouting men you will ever find.”
“May I even say,” Rex interjected. “The best. No offense to Cody, but you have nothing on us.”
Cody, standing on the side, predictably bristled. “I’m sorry?!”
“If your men were as good as you say they were, you would not have blown up your own ship and needed us to pick you up.”
“It was a tactical decision–”
Anakin felt Obi-Wan’s slight amusement, and watched him take a few deep breaths to recenter himself. “I know we will,” Obi-Wan replied.
As a matter of fact, they hardly had to look for Vos, as it was Vos who ended up finding them.
After two days of research and tense communication with the Council, they had pinpointed his location on one of the moons of Mindor, the planet where he had started his assignment. From what they had been able to ascertain, Vos had been undercover in the local mafia, whose influence had turned out to reach way further into the galaxy than previously thought. Unfortunately, Vos’s cover had been blown and he had been taken by the criminals and locked up in their semi-secret prison.
Anakin could see the moon from the bridge windows as they started to hash out a plan to rescue Vos. It was mostly bare of vegetation, composed of grey mountains that made it hard to find the prison’s location, and harder to approach undetected.
While they were discussing the merits of sending scouts ahead, taking the risk of being detected early, one of the clones surveilling the radar perked up.
“There’s a ship approaching on our right,” he warned.
Anakin jogged to the radar screen, then looked out the window right as the ship came into view. Anakin barely refrained from scoffing.
“It’s more like a piece of junk than a ship,” he commented, watching as some part of the right wing detached and flew off with a puff of smoke.
“We can’t raise them on the comms,” another trooper signaled. “Should we open fire?”
Obi-Wan walked up to the window beside Anakin and frowned. He briefly closed his eyes and Anakin felt him reach into the Force, further than the bridge. Then, his eyes snapped open as the Force lit up around him.
“It’s Quinlan,” he breathed out.
“Hold your fire!” Anakin ordered. “Are you sure?” he asked his Master, more quietly.
“Positive,” Obi-Wan confirmed, eyes hardening. “He’s gonna crash into the main hangar. Call a medic team.”
He took off without another word in the direction of said hangar, and Anakin quickly followed after having ordered for some fighters to take off and escort Vos’s ship, as well as take care of those who would undoubtedly follow him, if Anakin had any experience with mafias –and he had.
He and Ahsoka quickly caught up to Obi-Wan at the door of the hangar, watching as the small ship started its descent. Worry was rolling off Obi-Wan in waves, his shields uncharacteristically lowered. Anakin spared a glance to Ahsoka, who seemed slightly destabilized by it, before reporting his attention on the entrance.
As much as he focused, Anakin still could not tell if the pilot was truly Vos, barely that they were Force-sensitive. He hoped Obi-Wan was right in his assessment and was not letting an enemy into his ship.
The starfighter crash-landed down the main lane in a cacophony of metallic sounds, sliding towards the end wall with a loud screeching noise. Fortunately, it slowed down and stopped inches from the wall; unfortunately, it immediately caught on fire.
The overhead smoke system detected the flames and instantly started raining water, while a couple of droids splashed the lower parts.
Anakin only realized that Obi-Wan was not by his side anymore when he saw him climb on the wing, uncaring for the fire or the water drenching him.
“Ahsoka!” Anakin called out, running to the ship. “Keep an eye on the fire and warn me if it comes close to the engines!”
Ahsoka grimly nodded and posted herself just outside of the water’s reach, while Anakin attempted to catch up with his Master without slipping.
Obi-Wan had already managed to pry open the cockpit and was bending inside, talking to the pilot.
“Vos,” he said urgently as Anakin joined him. “Vos, come on. Wake up.”
For it was Vos, despite being almost unrecognizable. Both of his eyes were blackened and one of his eyebrows was slit, steadily dripping blood onto his face. His clothes were torn up in places, where Anakin could distinguish bruises and other wounds. His hands were free of the gloves Anakin usually saw him with, but his fingers were bloody and scorched. One of his legs was bent in a way that screamed wrong no matter how he looked at it. Most of all, it was his Force signature that Anakin had trouble to identify; it seemed weak, frail, like a burst of wind would suffice to tear it in pieces.
This was serious.
Obi-Wan had clearly felt it, too, as his pleas became more desperate. “Quinlan!” he shouted, his Force signature bleeding and entangling into his friend’s, mentally shaking him.
This seemed to jolt Vos awake, as he blearily cracked an eye open, a task made difficult by the blood drying around it.
“Obi…?” he whispered weakly, fingers slightly flexing on his thigh.
“Yes, Quinlan, it’s me,” Obi-Wan replied, looking no less worried.
Vos seemed to relax, letting his head rest on the seat. “Knew you’d… come for me,” he managed to say, wincing a little.
Obi-Wan pushed back the soaked hair clinging to his forehead and smiled softly, maybe more fondly than Anakin had ever seen him do.
“We’re gonna get you out,” Anakin said, reaching into the cockpit to–
“Don’t touch him!” Obi-Wan snapped, and Anakin almost fell back down.
It was only his quick reflexes that allowed him to grab onto the metal and regain his balance. He lifted his head to his Master, who looked as shocked as he was; for it was unmistakably Obi-Wan who had instinctively lashed out with the Force and pushed him.
Obi-Wan blinked at him, water dripping down his face.
“I’m– I’m sorry,” he stammered, clenching his hands into tight fists. “I just meant, don’t touch his skin.”
In all fairness, Anakin had forgotten all about Vos’s psychometry, in his haste to help him. But, though Obi-Wan’s warning made sense, it had seemed a little too harsh for it to be anything but a visceral reaction, and they all knew it. A reaction to Anakin coming too close to an injured Vos.
“Heh,” Vos chuckled, ignoring the blood trickling down the side of his mouth. “My dear Obi-Wan, always–” he coughed a little, and more blood dribbled down his chin. “–taking care of me.”
“Someone needs to,” Obi-Wan replied, tone gentle. “As you obviously lack the means to do it yourself.”
Vos half-laughed, half-spluttered again, and Anakin shared a tense look with Obi-Wan. Together, they reached out with the Force and lifted Vos, gently floating him away from the still-smoking ship.
The medic team was thankfully already there, and the two Jedi were able to deposit Vos directly onto a stretcher. As soon as they had released him, Obi-Wan dropped to the ground and raced to Vos’s side.
“Don’t touch him with bare skin,” he panted, and Kix very obviously snapped latex gloves on with a pointed look. Obi-Wan didn’t seem to notice him, busy as he was interweaving his Force signature into Vos’s to give him more strength.
“Will he be alright?” Ahsoka asked timidly next to Anakin, who had not heard her approach.
“They’ll do the best they can,” he replied, unwilling to lie to his Padawan. Vos’s state was pretty alarming.
They watched as the medic team rolled the stretcher out of the hangar, closely followed by Obi-Wan.
“And Master Kenobi?” Ahsoka asked again.
Anakin stayed silent.
Vos was still in medical care a few hours later. When Anakin had gone to check on him after giving the bridge orders to take the fastest route to Coruscant and showering quickly, he had been told by a very agitated Obi-Wan that, though he was out of surgery, the medics were not willing to let anyone enter yet.
Anakin did not let himself be fazed by his Master’s nerves and led him out of the medical bay under Kix’s grateful gaze.
Obi-Wan seemed out of it, but Anakin could tell he was just focusing on Vos’s Force presence, making sure it did not suddenly fall silent. He was still soaked to the bone, and Anakin had to bargain for a full two minutes before managing to convince him to take a shower. He had strong suspicions that Obi-Wan had not spent any time under the warm water, and merely put on dry clothes to fool him before coming back out, but he did not comment as he was dragged back to the medical bay.
Ahsoka was already there, pacing in front of the doors. She perked up when she sensed them arrive, but Obi-Wan completely ignored her greeting as he made a beeline for Kix. The medic tiredly explained that Vos’s state had not changed since the last time he asked, that he was stable but still at risk.
“I’m truly sorry, General,” he said. “There’s nothing else we can do.”
“It’s alright,” Obi-Wan replied. “I know. Thank you.”
He turned to sit on one of the waiting chairs next to Ahsoka, who started chatting to distract him.
“You want me to give him a tranquilizer or something?” Kix whispered to Anakin.
Earlier, Anakin would have strongly considered it. But now, Obi-Wan seemed calmer, though he still felt agitated in the Force. Anakin had rarely seen his Master in such a state of disarray. Maybe only when he or Ahsoka had been seriously hurt, or caught in a difficult situation. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that the matter was out of Obi-Wan’s hands, now. There was nothing he could do to help Vos.
Anakin shook his head and Kix sent a last look at Obi-Wan before slipping back into the room Vos had been placed in.
“It’s gonna be alright, Master,” Ahsoka was saying when Anakin sat down on Obi-Wan’s other side. “Kix is the best medic I know. He’ll help Master Vos, you’ll see.”
Obi-Wan visibly tried his best to offer her a smile, but it was obviously strained. “Thank you, young one,” he said sincerely.
Anakin’s gaze was drawn to Obi-Wan’s lap when he clasped his hands together, only now noticing that they were shaking. He put a gentle hand on his Master’s shoulder.
“Ahsoka is right,” he added. “Vos will pull through, if only to have the opportunity to annoy you further. That guy could walk back from the grave if it meant making fun of you.”
Obi-Wan did not quite laugh, but his smile looked less forced. Gratitude pulsed through the Force and he voluntarily relaxed his muscles, leaning more on the wall behind him.
They waited silently, slipping into a near-meditative state, only interrupted by troopers coming in to get further orders or check in. Anakin could feel Vos at the edge of his consciousness, and he kept a careful metaphorical eye on him.
Suddenly, Obi-Wan straightened next to him, tensing a fraction of seconds before Anakin felt it as well: a deep feeling of alarm, frenzy, confusion bubbling up until it obscured his senses. He painstakingly dragged his mind out of it, making sure Ahsoka had as well. They exchanged a perturbed look, and Obi-Wan jumped to his feet, just as the doors burst open.
“There’s something wrong with him,” Kix blurted out, holding the doors open. Before the words were even out of his mouth, Obi-Wan slipped by him, a sense of hurry the only thing Anakin could feel from him.
He and Ahsoka followed quickly, stopping as soon as they took notice of what was happening.
Vos, now dressed in the customary medical wear and sporting fresh bandages and bacta patches, was trashing on his bed, clumsily fighting off any medic who tried to approach him. One of his hands had been restrained against the bed’s railing, but the other swung wildly around as he tried to defend himself.
For it was what he was doing, Anakin quickly realized. The strongest emotion emanating from Vos was one of danger, of someone under attack.
“He doesn’t know where he is,” Ahsoka surmised next to him.
The worst was maybe the lack of sound; despite his apparent terror, Vos did not emit any noise, which implied far too many things Anakin did not want to think about.
Already, Obi-Wan was trying to get closer, dodging Vos’s attacks.
“Quinlan!” he said hurriedly, “Quinlan, it’s okay! It’s me! You’re safe, I promise, you–”
He stopped as Vos’s foot collided with his face, sending him stumbling back a few steps.
“Master!” Ahsoka exclaimed, but Obi-Wan waved her off.
“I’m fine,” he said, wiping off the blood dribbling from his busted lower lip.
Anakin felt him dive into the Force more firmly, and he wordlessly joined him to help. Vos’s mind was a whirlwind of terror and shock, and any attempt to soothe him resulted in a forceful rejection that almost sent Anakin to the ground. He blinked back to his senses, suddenly aware that some of the lighter furniture had started to float around them.
“I can’t get close enough to sedate him,” Kix said, always so calm despite the chaos. “Permission to stun him, sir?”
Anakin opened his mouth to agree, but Obi-Wan frantically jumped in. “No! I know what to do. Just give me a minute.”
He closed his eyes and Anakin sensed him slip into the Force again, but this time centered on himself. Instead of reaching out to Vos, he gathered the calm more tightly around him, soothing himself until his nerves had all but disappeared. Then, he surrounded himself with contentment, peace of mind, tenderness, probably drawing from his own happy memories.
Anakin could feel Ahsoka’s confusion, and he had to admit he did not understand either. Vos had not given any sign of calming down in the meantime. What was Obi-Wan trying to achieve?
After a few moments, Obi-Wan opened his eyes again, and he felt infinitely more focused than he had been since they had caught word of Vos’s disappearance. His gaze fixated on Vos and he advanced again, this time avoiding any flailing limb. He reached Vos’s bedside and swiftly grabbed his wrist, at the sleeve. Vos started trashing even more desperately, the bed creaking under him.
Promptly, with a move that spoke of habit, Obi-Wan slotted his bare hand against Vos’s palm and intertwined their fingers.
Vos instantly quieted down, melting against the mattress as adrenaline rolled off his body. His eyes were vacant, probably focused on whatever he was seeing from Obi-Wan’s skin contact. Obi-Wan himself had his brows furrowed in concentration, sweat starting to form at his temples. Ahsoka wordlessly brought a chair closer and he slumped into it gracelessly.
It seemed like the whole room had gone quiet, transfixed by the sole point of contact between Obi-Wan and Vos.
After what seemed an eternity, Vos’s fingers flexed around Obi-Wan and he blinked a few times, looking lost.
“Obes?” he said faintly once his gaze stopped on him.
“Welcome back,” Obi-Wan said, relief evident in his voice. “You were lost for a while there.”
Vos smiled and winced immediately after when it tugged on his bruises.
Anakin was barely aware of the medics silently leaving the room, captivated by the scene taking place in front of him. He felt Ahsoka lean slightly into his side.
Obi-Wan was still holding Vos’s fingers, and he did not let go as he reached for the other side of the bed, deactivating the cuff tying Vos to the railing with a slight flick of his wrist. Then, he sat back down and dragged the chair closer before putting his elbows on the bed, clasping Vos’s hand between both of his.
“Did I hurt you?” Vos murmured, bringing up his other arm to brush against Obi-Wan’s lip.
“Barely,” Obi-Wan replied in the same manner. “Quin, if you ever pull this shit again, I’ll kill you myself.”
Vos grinned. “You’re gonna have to catch me first,” he teased, and Obi-Wan’s lips stretched into a soft smile.
Suddenly feeling like he was intruding on a very private moment, Anakin gently pushed Ahsoka in front of him, steering her out of the room. He threw a last look in as he was leaving, just barely catching sight of Obi-Wan tilting his head and pressing his lips to Vos’s hand before the door closed in front of him.
Despite his numerous tries, Anakin only managed to get his Master alone the day before they reached Coruscant.
Though alone was maybe simplifying it. And maybe it was more Obi-Wan who managed to get Anakin alone than the opposite. Whatever.
Anakin was sitting in the mess hall, on an empty table. Most of the clones there at the same time were clustered around Vos, who was entertaining them with stories of the wildest missions he had been a part of. They all seemed captivated, Ahsoka included, reacting with excitement at every twist.
Vos had recovered well, all things considered. A mere three days after they had found him, his face arbored no more signs of the ordeal he had gone through, thanks to many, many bacta patches. Anakin had been present when Kix had cleared him, and he had watched him take a few trembling steps on his own before Obi-Wan had slipped under his shoulder to assist him.
“I can do it,” Vos had protested, though the way he had leaned almost all of his weight on Obi-Wan had contradicted his words.
“Clearly,” Obi-Wan had deadpanned, exchanging an exasperated look with Kix. Anakin had not spent much time in the med bay with Vos, but apparently, he had been a supremely annoying patient, to no one’s surprise.
Though he still had to check in every day and go through a few weeks of physical reeducation, the medics had considered his health stable enough to let him leave the med bay and spend his nights in a real bunk (Anakin wasn’t surprised when he found out that Vos had ended up in the room Obi-Wan was using).
Anakin lifted his head when Obi-Wan sat across from him, delicately putting his plate on the table.
“Mind if I join you?” Obi-Wan asked futilely, already seated.
Anakin shrugged and took another bite.
“I apologize for this,” Obi-Wan said, gesturing a little in direction of Vos’s table.
Anakin shrugged again. “The men can enjoy a distraction,” he replied simply.
Obi-Wan nodded, and though his hand hovered over his fork, he did not pick it up.
“I am sorry for not spending more time with you these past few days,” Obi-Wan finally let out with a sigh. “I’ve been rather occupied, with Master Vos.”
Anakin frowned slightly. Of course, Obi-Wan had spent most of his time with Vos, but that did not mean Anakin had felt neglected. It was rather normal, he thought. It would’ve been weirder if Obi-Wan hadn’t stayed at Vos’s side.
Upon further studying his Master’s face, Anakin noticed the deep circles under his eyes, darker than usual, and he wondered if maybe Vos’s recovery wasn’t going as well as he had thought.
“It’s fine,” he answered belatedly. “Obi-Wan, are you okay?”
He felt slightly guilty for not asking earlier. Obi-Wan had, after all, gone through a very stressful ordeal, with the simultaneous destruction of his ship and the disappearance of his… whatever Vos was to him. And even after they had found Vos, his state had been critical for a while.
But Anakin had been so busy, with their impromptu travel back to Coruscant, with guiding his troops still on the front, while still making time for Ahsoka… Though Anakin was self-aware enough to realize that he had been using these excuses to avoid Vos and his Master, still coming to terms with what he had discovered of their relationship.
“I’ll be alright,” Obi-Wan answered. “Once we arrive at the Temple, Quinlan will benefit from the mind healers’ help, which will undoubtedly be more effective than my own.”
“He’ll be fine,” Anakin said, trying to send some of his conviction to Obi-Wan. “He’ll recover before you know it.”
Obi-Wan sent him a grateful smile. “I suppose you’re right.”
His eyes glid to Vos for a second, something troubled in his gaze that Anakin knew all too well. Obi-Wan would not be able to stay beside Vos for the next part of his recovery. He and the 212th would probably be sent out again in mere days, going back to the front.
“I suppose you have questions,” Obi-Wan said after a beat.
“Nothing important,” Anakin replied.
Obi-Wan sent him a slightly amused look. “What better time than now, then?” he said, pointedly looking down at their meals.
Behind Anakin, a chorus of “oohhh”s and “no way!”s rose from Vos’s table, Ahsoka’s laugh bright among them. Anakin waited for Vos to continue his story to ask what had been making circles in his mind for the last few days.
“I was just wondering… why did you never tell me? About you and Vos, I mean.”
“I thought you knew,” Obi-Wan answered honestly.
Anakin blinked. “How would I know if you’ve never told me?”
“We have never tried to hide,” Obi-Wan said. “But perhaps you were just too young, when you were still a Padawan. I realized I had been wrong when you and Ahsoka started asking questions a few months back.” He paused to throw a quick look at Vos, as if to make sure he was still alright, then resumed, the slightest hint of teasing in his tone. “However, I had assumed, rather foolishly I admit, that you two had figured it out since then.”
“What makes you think we would have figured it out?” Anakin exclaimed.
Obi-Wan sent him a blank look. “Quinlan and I shared a bed on the Negotiator,” he said slowly. “You even made a comment about the only bed in my cabin.”
Anakin opened his mouth to object, but Obi-Wan continued.
“When you were young, how many times did you barge into my room and saw Quinlan there? How many times did I tell you I was spending the night with him? Surely you cannot blame me for thinking you had pieced it together.”
“I thought you were just close friends!” Anakin protested.
Obi-Wan smiled, slightly hiding behind his hand. “Like you and Senator Amidala are close friends?” Anakin startled, and Obi-Wan let out a laugh. “I am not blind, Anakin. Unlike you, apparently.”
Anakin felt his cheeks heat up. “Shut up,” he mumbled.
Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow, and, though his Master was not usually that petty, Anakin got the distinct impression that he would never let that go.
Thankfully, his Master did not get the time to say anything else, as Vos slid on the bench next to him and put an arm around his shoulders. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, but did not move.
“So,” Vos said, a mischievous grin on his lips. “Did you finally figure out Obi and I have been fucking through most of your apprenticeship?”
Obi-Wan flushed red and elbowed him sharply in the ribs, hissing a furious “Vos!” between his teeth. Vos only laughed, followed by the troopers, and Anakin felt a murderous feeling rise inside of him. Surely Obi-Wan would not mind if he strangled Vos, right?
Obi-Wan was not surprised when Anakin came to him with questions about his relationship with Quinlan. Most Jedi did, at some point, struggling with their own affections. What surprised him, however, was the notable efforts Anakin made to be nicer to Quinlan. It was barely noticeable, but Anakin had stopped grumbling under his breath whenever Vos was mentioned, and was even taking it upon himself to ask after his wellbeing. He still didn’t like him very much, but he seemed to tolerate him, which was more than Obi-Wan could ask for. Hopefully, when the war came to an end, he would be able to make them realize they were more alike than they thought. But for now, seeing Ahsoka not-so-secretly plot a way for him and Quinlan to meet up at the front, while Anakin glowered behind her was enough.