Chapter Text
They'd been looking for hours.
After seemingly checking every alley and every dingy bar in this level of Coruscant, Obi-Wan still had no clue where the missing bounty hunter had gone. As every hour passed their hope got weaker and weaker, while the Council's demands got harsher and harsher. At the last check in nearly an hour ago, Master Windu had instructed them to find the criminal no matter what, and Anakin had, unfortunately, taken this command to heart.
No matter what Obi-Wan said, he couldn't get his former Padawan to take a break, even for five minutes. Anakin insisted that they continue to look, and wouldn't even let Obi-Wan take the wheel. He knew that Anakin blamed himself for letting the bounty hunter escape, and Obi-Wan was certain that his friend wouldn't rest until his mistake had been resolved.
Usually, this aspect of Anakin's personality didn't cause too much trouble, since most of his problems had quick and easy fixes, but Obi-Wan was becoming convinced that they wouldn't find their prey that night. They'd been out there for far too long already, and he could see and feel Anakin's energy levels dropping at an alarming rate. The poor boy could barely keep his eyes focused on the road.
After the third time that Anakin almost hit an innocent bystander, Obi-Wan finally had enough, "Anakin," he sighed, offering the disgruntled Rodian an apologetic smile, "You're going to get someone killed at this rate."
Anakin scoffed, glazed eyes not leaving the road, "I'm fine. I know exactly what I'm doing."
"I'm sure you do, but you must admit your technique is not the best," Obi-Wan soothed. Anakin was always touchy when he was tired, more so than usual, and the last thing Obi-Wan wanted was to pick a fight right now. "Why don't you let me take the wheel?"
"I told you, I have it under control."
"You've almost hit three pedestrians."
"But I didn't!" Anakin scowled, briefly turning to give his former Master a glare, "I can handle it."
Obi-Wan simply gave a soft smile in return, "I know you can. I'm telling you that you don't have to."
After a few tense seconds, Anakin's shoulders slumped in surrender, and he let out a tired sigh, "I know."
Obi-Wan reached over and put his hand on Anakin's knee, leaning closer to catch his attention, "Pull over, Anakin. Let me drive for a while."
"Yeah...yeah, ok," Anakin relented, finally stopping the speeder and giving his seat to Obi-Wan, "But I'm not going to sleep."
"That's fine," Obi-Wan replied easily, sliding into the pilot's seat and smoothly drifting back into the traffic lane.
Unsurprisingly, his companion's bold proclamation didn't last for even 10 minutes before Anakin was fast asleep in the passenger's chair. Obi-Wan rolled his eyes fondly and didn't hesitate to turn back around toward the Temple. Master Windu would be disappointed, but Obi-Wan would take the blame for this one, just this once.
They would find their bounty hunter one day, just not tonight.