Guys I fell into the slave!Anakin hole, have this as a little snippet 👀
The young man - Anakin, Obi-Wan remembers - is curlded up on the furthest bench of the room (the furthest one from him), bare legs drawn up against his barely more covered chest, blue eyes fixed on him and following each and every one of his movements.
He's shivering, even though he tries to hide it as well as he can. Like Obi-Wan is going to punish him for being cold during his first space travel. He thinks about bringing him a blanket but as soon as he moves, Anakin straightens up, delicate muscles tensing up below the poor excuse of clothes he wears. His presence in the Force perks up in alarm and he makes himself smaller against the wall of the ship, at the same time his gaze intensifies, pinning Obi-Wan in place like an insect to be dissected.
He doesn't dare move. Instead he forces himself to relax under the scrutinizing look of the former slave, keeping his hands crossed behind his back to avoid scaring him.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
Silence. Anakin keeps staring at him, still as a statue except for the occasional tremors betraying how cold he feels.
He might have heard that plenty of times before. Obi-Wan realizes, compelling his own eyes to stay on the boy's face instead of roaming over the scars covering his body. He doesn't want to make him even more uncomfortable than he already feels. But the truth is... He has no idea how to communicate with Anakin.
Freeing him seemed like the right thing do to at the time. More than that, a barely controlled urge mostly driven by the Force he can't totally explain. He didn't have to think as he sprung into action, as he planned and tricked and gained the slave's freedom. But now that the heat has passed, now that he's faced with the consequences of his choices, he finds himself helpless.
"I- I realize I didn't even introduce myself." He says for lack of anything else to tell. "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Another silence. The intensity of Anakin's gaze on him doesn't decrease.
"It's my name." Obi-Wan precises. "You're Ah-nakin, right ? And I'm Ob-"
"I'm not stupid." Obi-Wan almost startles when the young man opens his mouth. His voice his deeper than the softness of his features would suggest. It's also the first time he hears it. "And it's Anakin, not Ah-nakin."
Obi-Wan clears his throat.
"Far from me the idea of implying that. And I believe that's what I said. Ah-nakin."
"No, it's Anakin." The boy repeats stubbornly. "You make it sound snobbish."
Obi-Wan frowns. He tries to silently mouth the word. It shouldn't be that difficult. Then he gives it his best try.
Anakin actually rolls his eyes at him, like he's the stupidest thing in the galaxy. Obi-Wan tries not to be offended by it.
"Nevermind. You can call me what you want now that you owe me, anyway."
Obi-Wan can't stay still at the words. He takes a step forward on instinct and Anakin flinches hard against the wall, stopping him on his track.
"I don't-" Obi-Wan takes a deep breath, exhaling while he pushes into the Force the emotions those words aroused in him. Disgust, revolt, sadness. Anakin certainly doesn't need his misplaced pity. "I don't owe you, Ah-nakin. I didn't... buy you. I freed you. You belong to yourself, now."
He doesn't know what he expects. Thanks. Gratefulness, maybe. Joy. Relief. He's humbled real quick when all Anakin does is bark a sharp laugh.
"Yeah, sure. Like Watto is actually gonna free me. Good story but I've heard better."
Again, Obi-Wan tries not to be offended. It's natural, after all, that Anakin doesn't trust him. That he doesn't see him as a saviour but as another potential threat. There's probably a lesson to be learned in this, somewhere. Most probably about Obi-Wan's ego.
So, he doesn't insist and changes his angle instead.
"Are you hungry ? You seem to be cold, can I bring you a blanket ?"
Anakin squints at him. His lips slowly start to turn blue but he still shake his head defiantly.
Obi-Wan bites the inside of his cheek, pulling closer to the Force to borrow a little bit of patience.
"You're not really... Dressed for space travels." He tries carefully. "Space is cold. You're used to the constant heat of Tatooine, so... I have spare clothes if you ever feel the need to cover more."
Anakin grins at him, despite his now obvious shivers.
"You don't like how I'm dressed ?"
The question brings a faint blush on Obi-Wan cheekbones. He orders his eyes to stay on Anakin's face. Nobody with common sense would call what the boy is wearing proper clothes. It's nothing more than complicated bands of sheer material intertwined around his body and leaving nothing to the imagination. He must be currently freezing.
"That is not the question." He answers quickly. "I'll bring you warmer clothes. You can do whatever you want with them."
And on that, he flees. He's not proud about it but there's something in Anakin that both fascinates and makes him uncomfortable. He needs some time to disentangle all of it, and to think about what's next.
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