Work Text:
Obi-Wan finished buttoning his shirt, he sat down at the small vanity patting aftershave on his freshly shaved skin.
It was fairly early still, a warm breeze fluttering the curtains of the open balcony door. Anakin, half dressed, came over smiling smugly and sat on Obi-Wan's lap.
“Seriously? Have I not given you enough attention this morning?” Obi-Wan sighed, but he gave Anakin a kiss and ran his hand through his messy curls. They felt so soft now that Ahsoka had cut the sun dried ends off and reshaped everything. Anakin smiled, his eyes half closed, he usually wasn’t up this early.
“Such a needy boy,” Obi-Wan whispered, but he pulled Anakin closer, squeezing him and pressing a kiss to his temple. Anakin sighed, his eyebrows drawn in a frowny pout. Obi-Wan continued holding him tightly for a moment and then nudged him off his lap.
They quietly continued getting ready for the day.
There was an impatient knocking on the door, “Are you decent?” Ahsoka asked, a bit muffled through the door.
“Yes!” Anakin shouted back, seemingly annoyed at the question. Obi-Wan had to stifle a smile at his indignation, as if he hadn’t just been riding Obi-Wan’s face and moaning like a holoporn star a mere fifteen minutes ago.
The door opened and Ahsoka bounded in.
“Are you excited for the fair?” she squealed, jumping onto the bed.
Anakin pulled on a sleeveless cropped top, he was wearing his black capri pants.
“Not as excited as you,” he said, “by the way you might not want to be rolling around in those sheets,”
“Oh gross!” she jumped up and swatted his arm.
Obi-Wan snorted as he finished rubbing in his face cream and reached for his hairbrush, muscle memory.
Anakin popped up behind him and rubbed his bristly short hair, “I don't think you'll need that hairbrush for awhile master,” he said smirking. Anakin had thrown a bit of a fit when Obi-Wan suggested the haircut, but he'd come around. Though Obi-Wan could do without him rubbing his head every chance he got.
“Padme wants you to watch the kids while she gets ready,” Ahsoka said, “c'mon, I don't wanna watch you guys sucking face,”
Anakin leaned down and licked Obi-Wan's cheek, causing Ahsoka to groan and roll her eyes.
Anakin immediately pulled a face and spit on the floor, “That cream tastes disgusting,” he grumbled.
“Well it's for skin, not eating,” Obi-Wan said, “go watch your children, I'll be down shortly,” he watched as Ahsoka dragged Anakin out of the room by the hand.
Obi-Wan was not particularly excited by the prospect of all the crowds and heat at the fair. But he knew Anakin didn’t want to go without him and Ahsoka really wanted to do something fun with Anakin. She’d been excited about this fair for a while now, so he would make the best of it.
Ahsoka dragged Anakin down the stairs as she excitedly chattered about the things they should do at the fair. Anakin felt a bit of apprehension about the outing, but at least Obi-Wan was coming and Padme.
In the kitchen Padme was holding Luke, her hair was twisted up in a towel and she was wearing a bathrobe.
“Oh good, here Ani,” she handed him the squirming child, “I need to finish getting ready, breakfast is on the table,”
Anakin sat down and grabbed one of the buttered toast pieces he took a few bites holding the bread away from Luke's grabby hands.
Quinlan came down in his underwear and looked around, “Where's Padme?” he asked, grabbing a few strips of bacon.
“Getting ready,” Anakin said around a mouthful.
“You didn't join me for a workout this morning,” Quinlan said.
“Oh I did a workout,” Anakin said smirking, his thighs were still burning from squatting, he'd not wanted to smother Obi-Wan too much.
Quinlan cackled, “You dirty bird,”
Ahsoka sighed, “I've lost my appetite!” she joked.
“Well there will be plenty of junk and sweets to eat at the fair,” Anakin said as he fed Luke a slice of banana.
They took two speeders, Anakin driving one and Cody the other. Ahsoka smiled giddily as they pulled into the makeshift parking area adjacent to the fair grounds. She could already smell the popcorn and scanned all the bright rides and tents sprawling out on the green Naboo fields.
She impatiently leapt out of the speeder, dragging Anakin and Rex with her. The rest of the group piled out. Quinlan whooping loudly, as he lifted Obi-Wan and spun him around.
Padme was already fussing around rubbing sun-shield on anyone close to her and reminding them to drink water cause it was a hot day and they didn't need to get heat exhaustion.
Ahsoka impatiently shifted her weight from foot to foot as everyone argued about what to do first and who was going with who. After much discussion (all of which was exceedingly boring), they all decided to meet up near the food area at noon.
Padme sat in the shade with the babies, Quinlan hovering near her. Obi-Wan said he wanted to look at the market area, Anakin started to agree to go with him, but thankfully Cody quickly offered.
“C’mon guys, let's look at the rides,” Ahsoka whined.
Anakin and Rex followed her as she darted off towards the area where all the rides were clustered.
Obi-Wan and Cody silently pursued the market area, handmade and artistic goods were spread out and displayed everywhere. Obi-Wan looked tired, Cody knew Anakin’s constant nightmares and meltdowns were taking a toll on him. This was supposed to be a relaxing vacation for everyone. But of course Obi-Wan was stuck looking after Skywalker as always. Cody considered mentioning something, but Obi-Wan always got super defensive and it never went anywhere.
“What do you think?” Obi-Wan asked, pointing at something in the jewelry section. Cody came over, it was a golden collar with dangling loops of blinding white pearls.
“Gold’s not your color, silver is more complimentary to your pale skin,” Cody said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear jewelry," he added.
Obi-Wan laughed loudly and genuinely, “I was thinking of getting Anakin a small gift,” he said, “he’s been having a hard time, “ he reached out and rubbed the smooth gold.
Looking at the price tag Cody thought they differed on what a ‘small gift’ was.
“I just wish I was more help, he’s suffering and I don’t know how to help him,” Obi-Wan hung his head. Cody hated seeing him looking so dejected, he did feel bad for Anakin –he wasn’t THAT callous of a man. But seeing Obi-Wan so worn out and dejected hurt a lot.
“You do help him, I know you do,” Cody said.
Obi-Wan looked up a bit timidly and gave a small smile.
“The colors go good with his skin, but it's a little gaudy,” Cody said, he pointed to a simpler style golden collar, “this one would suit him better,”
“Thank you, you’ve always had a good eye for these things,” Obi-Wan said, he paid the vendor and they both watched as the elderly Gungan wrapped it in tissue paper.
After standing in line for ages and going on three rides, Rex was tired and hot. But seeing how excited and happy Ahsoka was made it worthwhile. Him and Anakin sat drinking fizzy blue drinks while Ahsoka was buying cotton candy.
“I hope she’s appeased, I really don’t want to go on any more,” Anakin whispered, he looked a bit pale. Luckily Ahsoka was distracted by the shooting games and they spent a fair bit of time there. Finally Anakin succeeded in winning a stuffed Porg. They wandered around a bit looking at things. Rex was ready for lunch and was about to suggest meeting up at the lunch area a bit early, Padme would probably be there with the kids.
“Look! There’s hardly any line at the huge one!” Ahsoka shrieked and took off dragging Rex by the hand, Anakin trailed behind. As they waited to board the ride, Rex felt a cold clammy hand slip into his and grip weakly. Anakin looked apprehensive, Rex squeezed his hand tightly, hoping to reassure him. The General hadn’t been the same since the war ended, he seemed so delicate now.
Rex positioned himself in the middle of the bench, Ahsoka and Anakin on either side. The ride was slow climbs and steep fast drops, very erratic and lurching. Ahsoka was shrieking happily, but Anakin was in danger of breaking Rex’s fingers, his chest moving rapidly as he gasped for air. Rex freed his hand and then drew his arm around Anakin holding him close to his chest, well as close as their restraints would allow.
The ride grinded to a halt and Anakin was shaking and clinging to Rex still. The next batch of people were waiting to board, Rex was finally able to undo the safety buckles and get out of the ride all while practically carrying Anakin. Now Ahsoka was wearing a worried expression as she helped Rex guide Anakin to a quiet area. They sat down on the grass behind one of the large tents.
“I’m sorry, I got scared,” Anakin gasped, his voice trembling, “it felt just like a crashing ship, I'm sorry snips,” he hung his head.
“No I’m sorry for forcing you to go, I wasn’t paying attention,” Ahsoka grabbed his forearms.
“I hate being like this,” he started to cry and then so did Ahsoka. Rex had to fix this somehow, he couldn’t bring them back to the lunch area upset and crying. The day was supposed to be about having fun.
“Both of you come here,” he opened his arms, two pairs of teary blue eyes looked at him, then they both crawled into his lap.
“It’s ok,” Rex said, “try to calm down,”
Anakin succeeded in composing himself first, rubbing his tears off on the stuffed Porg toy. But Ahsoka was still crying.
“It’s all my fault,” she blubbered.
“No it’s not,” Rex said.
“He’s right, it’s not your fault,” Anakin added sniffling. The sun beat down on them, and Rex felt even hotter with the two bodies pressed up against him.
“Let’s try and have some fun, there’s lots of stuff to do,” Rex said, “why don’t you make Quinlan go on the huge ride?”
“Yeah and take a holorecording of him screaming,” Anakin added, chuckling a bit, “and we’ll try to win a few more toys before lunch,” he got off Rex’s lap.
Ahsoka finally calmed down and wiped her eyes, “Ok,” she smiled.
They all composed themselves and stood up.
“Guys, please don’t tell Obi-Wan,” Anakin said quietly, “he worries about me so much, please don’t tell him,”
Rex and Ahsoka both promised and then she ran off in search of Quinlan. Rex felt that Obi-Wan should know, but he’d keep his word.
“Rex, what if I don’t ever get better?” his lip wobbled.
“We’re all alive General, most of us thanks to you. We are all here to support you, no matter what,” Rex said emphatically.
After playing the shooting games for a bit and winning a bunch of different colored stuffed Porgs, they made their way to the lunch area.
Padme sat in the shade, Quinlan had kept her company as she watched the twins. Ahsoka had just dragged Quinlan off to try the large ride. Cody and Obi-Wan came back and sat down.
“I can watch them for a bit if you wanna go with them?” Obi-Wan offered. Padme watched as Quinlan kept ‘trying’ to run away from Ahsoka and she kept marching him back in line.
“Oh alright, thank you Obi-Wan,” she never did spontaneous things like this. She ran up to Quinlan and Ahsoka, they were near the front of the line. Luckily no one threw a fit about her cutting in line. Immediately Quinlan began to behave, it was endearing.
“Is it very scary?” Padme asked Ahsoka.
“Not to me,” Ahsoka said, “but it is pretty fast,”
It was fast and thrilling, Padme enjoyed herself. Quinlan was shrieking and lurching around and Ahsoka was laughing and recording him.
The trio disembarked on wobbly legs. Quinlan offered his arm and she took it.
“I’m gonna show Obi-Wan how loud you were screaming,” Ahsoka taunted and ran off.
“He’s heard it before,” Quinlan said, “in the bedroom,” he added, smirking.
Despite herself, Padme giggled behind her hand and shook her head.
They slowly made their way back to the shaded area. Obi-Wan was holding Luke and Anakin was holding Leia, there were colorful stuffed toys everywhere. Immediately Padme noticed that Anakin was upset, he was hiding it well though. If she got a quiet moment with him she’d ask if he was ok, but didn’t wanna draw attention to him in front of everyone. Obi-Wan was giggling at the holo-recording of Quinlan screaming.
Everyone ate, Anakin mostly picked at his food. He wanted to sleep, just curl up in his bed and not be a bother to anyone. The day was dragging on and on. Everyone was in a jovial mood, but he still felt like he ruined the experience for Ahsoka by having a panic attack and causing her to feel bad and cry. Padme and even Obi-Wan went on a few more rides and there was so much to do and see that no one really noticed he wasn’t participating. Rex kept a watchful eye on him, but eventually Quinlan and Cody dragged him off to try the strongman game.
It was evening now, Quinlan had had a grand time chilling with Padme and then going on rides with everyone. Ahsoka kept teasing him about the recording. The fashion show was about to start and they all made their way to the big tent.
Tiny women in huge extravagant outfits marched down the runway and Gungan’s modeled more native ware. Quinlan mostly watched Padme’s face as she whispered about types of fabric and the cut of certain dresses.
It was very late when they got back to the villa, Quinlan drove one of the speeders, since Anakin had fallen asleep. Everyone went off to their bedrooms, Quinlan sat in the kitchen nursing a beer. Padme joined him after she put the kids to bed, she excitedly pointed out different outfits on a datapad, showing where the designers had gotten their inspiration.
None of it made a lick of sense to him, but he enjoyed watching her talk.
Ahsoka lay in her bed, it had been a very fun day, but she still felt so bad for Anakin. She almost wanted to go talk to him, but he was with Obi-Wan in their bedroom. Maybe they’d talk in the morning, she’d try her best to not be so pushy. Thankfully Rex had been there. She found herself wandering out of bed and knocking lightly on Rex’s door.
“Come in,”
She opened the door, he was sitting cross-legged on his bed.
“Can’t sleep,” she said, coming over.
“Probably too much sugar,” he smiled, “did you have fun?”
She nodded, “Should we have told Obi-Wan?”
“Obi-Wan already knows he’s not doing very good, no need for us to interfere,”
“I just wish we could cheer him up somehow, get him back to his old self,” she began to pick at a loose thread on Rex’s blanket.
“For now we just have to show him we're here for him no matter what,” Rex said.
“Yeah, you’re right,”
“Why don’t we play Sabacc for a bit?”
They played a few rounds and Ahsoka fell asleep on the foot of Rex’s huge bed.