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"Do I know you?"
His voice was exactly as Obi-Wan remembered it. That odd, rough accent. The sharp edge of his tone. And his expression; genuine confusion, familiar furrowed brows. Eyes as blue as the water on Naboo, a jaw as sharp as a piece of durasteel. The slice in his eyebrow, the dimple in his chin.
It was truly Anakin. It was him in the way he simply glowed with the Force, in the way his cheeks caved in with deep lines when he smiled.
And yet it wasn't him. This man wasn't Obi-Wan's Padawan. Because that boy was dead, killed in an explosion on Onderon. It had been two years since then. Two years without his dear one.
And yet here he was. On Tatooine of all places.
"I—" Obi-Wan spluttered, shock overwhelming him. "Yes," he managed. "Anakin. Anakin."
"I'm sorry." Anakin shook his head, pity shining in his eyes. "I don't know who that is."
Obi-Wan could sense he wasn't lying, but then how could this be? His dead Padawan was right in front of him, claiming he was someone else yet he felt the exact same in the Force. Was Obi-Wan going crazy? Was this all a grief-fueled hallucination? But why would it come now? He had already come to terms with Anakin's death—at least, that's what he liked to tell himself—so why would he dream this up now, after 2 years?
Anakin was already turning away, clearly thinking Obi-Wan was just another crazy sleemo.
"Wait! Please." He grasped Anakin's shoulder, pulling him back to face him. His hand was shrugged off the shoulder, and the man carried an uncomfortable look when he turned around. "Have you recently suffered from memory loss? Do you remember anything before the last two years?"
Anakin grew even more uneasy, his suspicion leaking into the Force. But he stayed. He looked Obi-Wan up and down, fiddling with the hem of his beige shirt anxiously as he always did. "Yes," he finally admitted. "How did you know that?"
Obi-Wan's heart was pounding, full of longing. He could get his Padawan back. Anakin was alive! He only needed to get his memories back, and then he would be Obi-Wan's padawan once more.
"I know you. From before. I thought—I believed you were dead."
Anakin looked surprised and rattled, brushing his mechanic hand through his hair, which had only grown longer since his 'death'. Still, he seemed unsure of whether he could trust Obi-Wan.
"How did I lose my arm?" he asked, suddenly. Then, quietly, "I've always wondered."
"You... You were fighting a Sith Lord and he cut it off with his lightsaber."
Anakin stared at him incredulously. "You're kidding." At Obi-Wan's shaking head, he laughed shakily, shocked. "I was a Jedi?" Then, excitement hit him. "No way! That's wizard."
Obi-Wan's heart ached at the familiar speech. When he had been new to the Temple, Anakin had deemed everything wizard. The food, the beds, the halls, the refreshers, the water, the plants: everything.
"I can help you regain your memories, Anakin—"
"Telum," Anakin said firmly. "My name is Telum."
Obi-Wan looked at him, silent. Then, he nodded hesitantly. "Fine, Telum." The foreign name felt odd on his tongue.
"You're a Jedi?" Anakin's excitement about being a former Jedi had vanished as quickly as footsteps on Tatooine, covered swiftly with fresh sand.
Obi-Wan confirmed the question with a slight bow of his head. "Yes. I want to help you, Ana—Telum." He hesitated, suddenly terrified. "Do you... Do you wish to get your memories back?"
Terror flooded him as he watched Anakin hesitate. What if he didn't want to go back, what if he was content with his life now? Or, even worse, what if he did and hated Obi-Wan for abandoning him?
But eventually Anakin nodded. He was tense, unsure of Obi-Wan's true intentions, but he knew that this would likely be his only chance at getting his old life back.
Obi-Wan bit back a relieved sigh, not wanting to appear too eager and scare Anakin off. "The Jedi healers on Coruscant will surely know how to solve this. Do you have to pack anything?"
"Yes. Follow me."
They walked through the dry streets, ducking into hidden alleyways and avoiding most people. Anakin informed him that it would be a bit of a walk; his home was on the far outer edges of the city.
Meanwhile, Obi-Wan had commed his troops, who were stationed outside of the city. He hadn't given away much details, not wanting them to come rushing into the city to see their former General. Most of 501st had merged with 212th after Anakin's... disappearance, and though they weren't supposed to grief, Obi-Wan had let them. After all, he hadn't been supposed to mourn Anakin as much as he had, either. Who was he to judge the clones? He knew what Anakin had meant to them.
"Who are you? To me?" Anakin asked, walking just ahead of Obi-Wan.
"My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. You... You were my padawan. My apprentice. However, you got knighted a few years ago, so you weren't truly my student any longer."
"Were we close? Did we love each other?"
Obi-Wan hesitated. "Jedi are not supposed to get attached."
"But—" Anakin looked confused.
"But yes, we were close. Closer than what was allowed. But... Well, you especially didn't care for what was allowed."
Following this, Anakin fell silent as they continued trekking through the streets. The only sounds to be heard were the muffled crunching of sand underneath their boots and the faint murmur of citizens a few streets over.
At times, loud screams would ring through the city: slaves getting punished.
-
Obi-Wan stared at the boy. He was carefully arranged on the bed, limbs straight and torso neatly tucked into the covers. His Padawan, his Anakin: back in the Jedi Temple.
It had been an unfortunate brain injury that had been the cause of the memory loss. Anakin had likely obtained during the explosion in which he'd supposedly died. In fact, he probably had died after the explosion, though only momentarily, causing his Force bonds to snap and making Obi-Wan believe he was actually dead.
But he had come back. Maybe he'd done it on his own, perhaps he'd been nursed back to health by citizens who had found him. Either way, he'd lived. With no idea who he was or what had happened to him, he lived for every day those following two years, using a strange name and somehow getting back to where it had all started, Tatooine.
And, by the Force's will, Obi-Wan had found him.
Now, Anakin's eyes were fluttering open. Consciousness returned to him periodically, slowly. But his gaze immediately caught on Obi-Wan, and wetness emerged in his blue eyes.
"M'ster," he slurred, a weak hand reaching up but failing to reach far enough. Obi-Wan hurried to help him, grabbing his Padawan's hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. With his other hand, he caressed Anakin's face softly, pushing long hair behind his ear and cupping his cheek. He blinked back sudden tears.
"Anakin. My dear Padawan." He smiled weakly, fighting the urge to cry. He'd never thought he'd be able to talk to Anakin ever again. For two years, this had been his reality.
A tear leaked down Anakin's face. "Obi-Wan," he simply said.