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“Anakin?” Obi-Wan calls to him again, and even though Anakin is standing a few feet away from him, it’s like his voice is reaching him from underwater. Anakin can’t focus on Obi-Wan; he’s stuck feeling distant and apart from himself in this moment, motionless and unable to stop staring into space. He vaguely senses Obi-Wan coming closer and then feels a hand on his shoulder. It makes him jump a bit, but he tries to focus his gaze on Obi-Wan. It’s hard though, and he can only make it to the top of Obi-Wan’s chest.
“How are you feeling, darling?” Obi-Wan asks him gently, and Anakin swallows, his throat feeling dry. He shakes his head.
I don’t know, he replies through their bond, and Obi-Wan squeezes his shoulder, giving him something to help him come back down to planetside.
“How about we get you comfy and take a nap,” Obi-Wan says, and Anakin shakes his head again, more fervently.
No, I—have stuff I should do— he tries to explain, knowing there are things waiting for him, knowing there’s always too many goals to be accomplished and that he can’t put them away now. That he can’t give into the possibility of regressing if he allows himself a break, not when there’s so much depending on him. Obi-Wan squeezes his shoulder again and Anakin finally drags his eyes up to meet his for a moment.
“Padawan,” Obi-Wan says, softly but firm. “I wasn’t asking.” Anakin wilts and nods his head, and Obi-Wan smiles at him. “Good boy.” Obi-Wan uses the hand on his shoulder to guide him forward, taking them towards the bedroom. Anakin still feels sort of dazed and unaware, so he goes easily when Obi-Wan helps him sit down on the bed. Then Obi-Wan rummages through the dresser and pulls out some clothes, before returning to Anakin and helping him get out of his current robes. The clothes Obi-Wan picked out are comfy ones that Anakin usually wears when he’s feeling little—a soft sweater and fuzzy pants in soothing colors—but he doesn’t complain because he doesn’t have the energy for it. Besides, they are comfy, even when he’s too stubborn to act like he likes them.
Anakin curls up on himself when he’s dressed, his hands immediately hiding themselves in the long sleeves of his sweater and feeling the nice texture. Meanwhile, Obi-Wan pulls back the covers on the bed and turns the main light off in exchange for the dim light of the nightstand lamp. He also takes off his belt so he can be more comfortable as well, and then gets under the blankets. “Come here, dear one,” Obi-Wan coaxes, and Anakin crawls up the bed towards Obi-Wan with his mind feeling sleepy and hazy now that he’s allowed himself to let go of control.
Obi-Wan has his plush tooka that Obi-Wan previously bought for him ready and waiting for him when Anakin gets cozy, cuddling up to Obi-Wan’s warm body and grabbing his tooka that he admittedly is much more protective of than he likes to admit. He holds it to his chest and rests his head on Obi-Wan’s shoulder, as Obi-Wan’s arm wraps around him. “I love you,” Obi-Wan murmurs as he kisses him on the head. “And I’ll be here when you wake up.” Anakin didn’t realize how tired he was until he shuts his eyes, because Obi-Wan’s words are barely out of his mouth before he’s falling into unconsciousness. But he doesn’t need to worry about saying I love you back, because he’s certain Obi-Wan already knows it, and he sleeps comfortably with that knowledge.
***
Obi-Wan listens to Anakin’s even breaths and soft snores as he sleeps, his cheek squished against Obi-Wan’s shoulder and his mouth parted, with his hands still lightly holding his tooka and his braid draped across Obi-Wan’s chest. His hair tickles Obi-Wan’s chin as Obi-Wan continues to hold him close, content with seeing Anakin finally relax when he so obviously needed it. He looks so soft and sweet in sleep, unworried by everyday stresses just as he is when he’s little, and Obi-Wan hopes that Anakin will wake up that way.
After about forty minutes, Anakin starts shifting as he wakes up from his nap. He whines softly as he does so, blinking open his sleepy eyes and peering up at Obi-Wan, who can’t help but smile widely. “Hello, Ani,” he says softly, petting Anakin’s tiny curls at the base of his neck. “Did you have a nice nap?” Anakin doesn’t answer with words, but he nods slightly, still looking at him with such open trust. And as Obi-Wan predicted, Anakin is little, which is just what Anakin needed.
Anakin in general is always squirmy, especially little Anakin, but soon Anakin starts moving more than usual against his side. “Do you need to go potty, little one?” Obi-Wan asks him sweetly, and though Anakin furrows his brow and pouts so cutely, Obi-Wan knows that he does. “I will help you.” He sits up in bed and pulls the covers down, even though Anakin whimpers at that, before getting out of bed. “You can bring Fluff along with you,” he tells Anakin, pointing to the tooka plush that big Anakin would never admit to having named, even though he’s heard him calling him that several times. Anakin shuffles to the edge of the bed and lifts up his arms just as Obi-Wan expects him to, looking up at him pleadingly and with Fluff still in one hand.
“Alright, up we go, Ani,” Obi-Wan says, picking up Anakin who immediately clings to him. He may be only little on the inside during these moments, but somehow he can also feel so small and light in Obi-Wan’s arms despite the strength Obi-Wan knows he has. Obi-Wan carries him to the ’fresher and gently sets him down on his feet, helping him stand upright just in case he needs it. After helping him use the toilet, he washes their hands together, kissing Anakin’s cheek and smiling at him in the mirror to distract him from having to put Fluff aside for the moment.
“You can play with your toys and I’ll get some supper ready, okay?” Obi-Wan tells him as he turns off the tap and dries Anakin’s hands between his own. “I’ll make your favorite.” Anakin smiles happily and picks up Fluff again, hugging her to his chest and wiggling against Obi-Wan’s chest. Obi-Wan smiles back at him again and picks him up, walking him over to their main living quarters. He sets Anakin down on the fuzzy rug that’s close enough to the kitchen for Obi-Wan to keep an eye on him, and gets out Anakin’s special box of toys. In it are soft blocks, some board books, and miniature speeders that Obi-Wan had gotten after a curious little Anakin got into big Anakin’s spare mechanical parts.
Anakin starts flapping his hands with excitement when he sees his toys, his happiness infectious. Obi-Wan dumps them out for him and Anakin gleefully picks up one of the toy speeders, before moving it across the floor and mimicking speeder sounds. Obi-Wan can’t help but watch him for a minute before getting up. “Can you play on your own for a bit, sweetheart?” Obi-Wan asks him. “I’ll be right over there,” he says, pointing to the kitchen. Anakin makes an affirmative sound, not looking up from his toys, so Obi-Wan makes his way to the kitchen.
Still keeping an eye on Anakin, Obi-Wan gets out a package of frozen nerf nuggets, Anakin’s safefood. He prepares some for Anakin to be heated up and also gets a sippy cup out to fill it with juice, thankful that he already had dinner for himself earlier. Obi-Wan can hear Anakin still making sounds and chattering to himself, and Obi-Wan watches him again for a moment, the sight tugging on his heart. These are the times when Anakin can finally unmask completely around Obi-Wan—he doesn’t mask around him a lot anyway, but it’s still always in place out of habit from being a boy on Tatooine. Now is when Anakin can have the chance to fully be the little kid he couldn’t be before.
Once the food is ready, Obi-Wan puts the nuggets on a colorful plate and carries that and the juice to the table. Then he walks over to Anakin, who stops his playing and smiles up at him blindingly. “Ready to eat, little one?” He asks cheerfully.
“Fluff come?” Anakin asks in that soft, sweet voice, and Obi-Wan nods.
“Yes, Fluff can come eat too,” Obi-Wan assures him, and Anakin lets him pick them both up. Anakin whines a bit when Obi-Wan sets him down on the chair with the food in front, but Obi-Wan quickly shushes him. “We have to eat at the table, but I’ll be right next to you,” he says, and pulls another chair up close to Anakin’s so that he can help him eat. Anakin already gets distracted so Obi-Wan picks up a nugget to encourage him to eat, and though he does take a bite, it isn’t very enthusiastic. So Obi-Wan uses a butter knife to carefully cut the nuggets in little pieces that he can guide to Anakin’s mouth, who eats them more readily.
Anakin kicks his legs and plays with Fluff on the table as Obi-Wan feeds him, interspersed with drinks of juice, until Anakin is finished. “All done, Ani?” Obi-Wan asks, and Anakin nods happily.
“Yum!” He says, and Obi-Wan laughs.
“I’m glad, darling.” He takes a quick look at the time and plans out what he wants the rest of the evening to be like. Anakin will need to get to sleep earlier than usual, but there’s still plenty of time for Obi-Wan to take care of him. “How about we take a bath?” Obi-Wan asks him, adding excitement to his voice. “Does that sound good?” Anakin squeals and flaps his hands again with excitement, and Obi-Wan smiles, glad that little Anakin likes baths as much as he does. He helps Anakin out of his chair and carries him to the ’fresher again, able to leave behind Fluff without much fuss.
After Obi-Wan sets Anakin down on the bathtub rug, he gets the few bath time toys he’s collected out of the cabinet, ones that big Anakin pretends not to notice. He gives the toys to Anakin to keep him occupied while Obi-Wan turns the faucet on and gets out a soft towel. Opening another drawer where Anakin definitely pretends not to notice most of the time, Obi-Wan gets out a diaper, expecting Anakin to need it tonight. After he fills up the tub, he puts in some bubble bath liquid, much to Anakin’s delight. Anakin is already trying to get into the tub, so Obi-Wan has to help him quickly take all his clothes off.
“Okay, are you ready to get in the tub now?” Obi-Wan asks with a smile, and he helps Anakin get in, before Anakin sits down with a splash. Obi-Wan puts the toys in with him as he kneels down next to the tub, and Anakin giggles as he picks up some bubbles with his hand. Little Anakin is always fascinated by large amounts of water like this, and especially getting to be in it, so he’s pretty distracted as Obi-Wan uses a clean washcloth to gently rub Anakin’s skin. Anakin took a shower this morning, so this is less about cleaning and more about taking care of Anakin, which means Obi-Wan mainly watches as Anakin plays while he runs the soapy cloth soothingly over his body.
Suddenly Anakin whimpers and pulls back slightly, and Obi-Wan realizes he’s rubbing over a scratch Anakin got on a recent mission. “Oh, I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Obi-Wan says apologetically, setting the washcloth down. “I know it hurts.” He leans in to give Anakin a kiss on the forehead, and Anakin seems a bit more appeased. He goes back to playing, mumbling nonsense to himself in a soft voice and splashing water against the side of the tub, until Obi-Wan’s knees start to ache and Anakin’s skin prunes up. Obi-Wan figures he can skip the teeth brushing and the usual routine tonight and instead get Anakin to bed soon.
“Okay, little one, we’re going to get out now,” Obi-Wan says gently, and Anakin immediately pouts. “We’re going to get all nice and dry and then we can cuddle in bed with Fluff,” he continues, though Anakin’s nose scrunches up. He makes a complaining sound and jerks his head away, looking upset. “Don’t you want to get all cozy with me, Ani?” Obi-Wan tries, putting on his own best pout. Anakin gives him a side-eye and considers him for a moment. Finally he reaches his hands out and Obi-Wan smiles. “Good boy,” he says as he helps Anakin out, before wrapping the towel around his shivering body.
As the tub drains, Obi-Wan helps dry Anakin off while giving him some sweet kisses on his face, which makes him giggle. Then Obi-Wan carries him out to their bedroom and sets Anakin on the bed, before grabbing the diaper and the comfy clothes Anakin was wearing. Anakin’s brow furrows for a second when he sees the diaper, but thankfully he seems to be feeling good enough that he doesn’t fight it, instead letting Obi-Wan put it on. “There,” Obi-Wan says as he secures it. “You’re nice and safe for sleep.” Anakin is squirming more now, his hand making its way to his mouth where he sucks on some fingers. “Do you want your pacifier?” Obi-Wan asks him, and Anakin nods, looking a little more sleepy already.
Obi-Wan gets Anakin’s pacifier out of his nightstand drawer and gently replaces Anakin’s fingers with it, and Anakin’s eyelids immediately droop. “Let’s finish getting you dressed and then we can go to bed,” Obi-Wan murmurs, and he puts on Anakin’s cozy pants and sweater. And with a quick run to the other room to grab Fluff, Obi-Wan settles both of them under the covers with the lamp on. He wraps an arm around Anakin who rests his head against his chest, his own arms around Fluff and the pacifier bobbing slightly in his mouth.
“Do you want me to sing?” Obi-Wan asks, and Anakin immediately nods against him. So Obi-Wan sings a song from Tatooine that he learned specifically for these moments, singing it softly as he rubs Anakin’s back just how he likes. Anakin sighs and settles more deeply into his hold, and it doesn’t take long for his breaths to even out as he slips into sleep.
“Sweet dreams, dear one,” Obi-Wan whispers with a final kiss to his head, before he turns out the light.