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Obi-Wan stood by the window, the faint orange glow of the streetlamp tracing the sharp angles of his face. His arms were crossed tightly over his chest, fingers digging into the fabric of his sleeves like he was trying to hold himself together.
Outside, the world looked so still, so deceptively peaceful, while everything inside him warred for control. Cody sat on the edge of the couch, leaning forward with a growing sense of unease. He watched Obi-Wan like someone watching a storm roll in. Quietly, warily, bracing for the moment it would finally break.
“Obi-Wan?” Cody’s voice was careful, soft. “What’s going on?”
Obi-Wan didn’t turn around. His voice was low, hollow. “I think we should break up.”
Silence dropped between them like a glass shattering on tile. Cody blinked, then slowly rose to his feet.
“Excuse me?” he said, disbelief cracking through his tone.
Obi-Wan turned now, eyes rimmed with red but dry, jaw clenched like he was holding back more than just words. “It’s not working, I’m not what you need. I’m unnecessary baggage. You deserve better.”
Cody’s heart twisted. He took a step forward. “Is this about what happened with Anakin? I though you were getting help—”
“It’s not about Anakin,” Obi-Wan cut in, voice rising before he reined it back, “and it’s not about anything you did. This is me. It’s always been me. People either leave me or die, Cody. I don’t know how to hold onto things, and I’m not going to sit here and wait for the day I lose you too.”
Cody’s expression darkened, his eyes glinting with a flare of frustration. “So your big plan is to preemptively destroy something good because you’re scared it won’t last?”
“I’m not scared.” Obi-Wan’s voice broke despite himself. “I’m certain. You should be with someone who doesn’t look at love and expect it to vanish. Someone who can give you more than fragments.”
Cody was in front of him now, standing close, close enough to touch. He didn’t, not yet. “You think I don’t know what I chose?” he said, voice quieter now but laced with something fierce. “I chose you, Obi-Wan. With your sharp edges and quiet nights. With the weight you carry and the way you still try to protect people from it. You think I don’t see the cracks? I see all of you. And I still want you.”
Obi-Wan laughed, but there was no joy in it. Only pain. “That’s the problem. You deserve someone who can love you with a whole heart. Mine’s long been broken.”
“You don’t need to be whole to love someone,” Cody said, stepping closer, finally reaching out. His fingers brushed Obi-Wan’s arm, grounding. “You just need to stay. Stop trying to run from something that’s already yours.”
Obi-Wan’s shoulders trembled. He looked at Cody like he was trying to memorize the way he looked, like he was preparing to walk away, but his feet wouldn’t move.
“I don’t know how to believe you,” he whispered.
Cody cupped the side of his face gently, thumbing the edge of his jaw. “Then let me keep proving it. You don’t have to be perfect, Obi-Wan. Just be here. That’s all I’ve ever needed.”
For a long moment, Obi-Wan just stood there, staring at him like Cody was a light he hadn’t dared reach for. Then, slowly, his posture sagged. He leaned forward until his forehead rested against Cody’s shoulder, breathing unsteady.
And Cody held him like he always would.