"Keep holding my hand, please?" For Obikin?
Anakin woke to a pounding in his entire body, as though he’d been run over by a herd of Banthas. Twice. Groaning quietly, he blinked his eyes against the glare of bright lights and rubbed at his forehead. He didn’t remember what had brought him to this infirmary—and it was obviously an infirmary, just based on the color scheme—but it must have been serious. Most of the time, he’d wave Rex and Ahsoka off until his body had healed on its own time. The fact that his body’s own time was…a bit faster than the average human’s usually got him off the hook very quickly with them. Whatever had happened this time must have been enough to not only knock him out, but also injure him enough that his body’s natural healing abilities weren’t able to keep up with the damage.
That last part was much more concerning to him than being knocked unconscious was.
Glancing around, he narrowed his eyes against the inevitable glare that seemed to be a universal constant in infirmaries. Once his eyes adjusted to the glare, he was startled to find himself looking at a sleeping Obi-Wan. This was especially surprising to him because Obi-Wan had been assigned to the latest conflict on Ryloth. Anakin had been fighting on Felucia when he was injured. At least, he was pretty sure he had been.
“Master…?” Anakin rasped, his voice raw and tired from going so long without being used.
Obi-Wan started awake almost instantly, sitting up sharply and reaching out both physically and through the Force to ensure Anakin was all right. Anakin waved his mechanical hand in mild dismissal, but regretted that almost instantly as his body throbbed in protest.
“Ow,” he groaned, closing his eyes.
“Easy, Anakin,” Obi-Wan said gently, none of the familiar scolding in his tone. Honestly, Anakin had been half-expecting a very firm talking to. “You got quite beaten about.”
“I don’t really remember how that happened,” Anakin said with a wry smile. “Refresh my memory?”
“You were in the blast radius of an explosive,” Obi-Wan’s voice was shaking a little bit with an emotion neither of them had allowed themselves to put a name to. “It would have killed anyone else. In fact, it did kill many clones.”
Anakin flushed at this and looked away in shame. No matter how many times the clones assured him that they were willing to risk their lives for the Republic and the Jedi, it always hurt to know he’d led them to their deaths. If Rex had been hurt, or Force forbid Ahsoka, he’d never forgive himself. It was bad enough losing troopers who were so far removed from his immediate command; losing Rex would be a thousand times worse.
“Both safe,” Obi-Wan assured him. “You saved them.”
Relaxing a little, Anakin winced as doing so made his various aches and pains flare up even more. This was eased a bit when he felt Obi-Wan’s hand on his flesh and blood hand. Glancing over at the man he could never bring himself to admit loving, Anakin watched his expression intently.
“Why are you here?” Anakin asked with a frown. “You’re supposed to be on Ryloth.”
“I heard you were hurt—” Obi-Wan’s cheeks flushed underneath his beard and he hesitated, seeming to have difficulty with finding the correct words. “I had to make certain that you were all right, Anakin.”
They were both silent for several long moments, neither of them quite meeting the other’s gaze completely. Then, Obi-Wan stood as if he was about to leave. Anakin didn’t want that, though he didn’t know how to express what he did want. Reaching out before Obi-Wan could step too far away from him, Anakin took hold of the other man’s hand and squeezed it gently.
“Stay?” he asked, his voice low with a longing that neither of them would dare acknowledge.
Obi-Wan looked down at their entwined hands and sat down, keeping hold of his hand. “What do you want me to do, Anakin?” he asked, his voice just as low as Anakin’s.
“For now…” Anakin hesitated and then smiled shakily at him. “Keep holding my hand…please?”
Neither of them spoke after that for several hours, simply content with one another’s company. It was something they rarely got to indulge in, and Anakin was grateful to have this small moment.
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