Chapter Text
The room was too quiet.
Obi-Wan Kenobi sat beside him, hands resting still in his lap, as if any movement might break something fragile. Across from him, Anakin Skywalker leaned back against the wall, eyes half lidded with exhaustion, a faint, tired smile pulling at his mouth.
“You’re staring, Master,” Anakin murmured. “Did I miss something?”
Obi-Wan exhaled softly, but it didn’t steady him. It never did. Not anymore.
“No,” he said. “You didn’t miss anything.”
That wasn’t true. There was so much Anakin didn’t know. So much Obi-Wan wished he could keep from him.
Anakin shifted, wincing slightly, but still looking at him with that same trust that never once faltered. “You’re acting strange,” he said. “What’s wrong?”
For a moment, Obi-Wan said nothing.
Then, slowly, he reached out-fingers brushing against Anakin’s jaw, careful, familiar, as if memorising the shape of him.
Anakin stilled at the touch, confusion flickering in his eyes. “Master…?”
Obi-Wan’s grip tightened, just slightly.
“I’m sorry,” he said, so quietly it barely sounded like a voice at all.