Dark Legacy

Chapter 17 - Solace

Obi-Wan leads Anakin to the couch in their apartment as soon as the door closes behind them. Anakin spies a few datapads lying on the table in the center of the room, courtesy of Dooku. At least they're alone for now, and they don't need to worry about their conversation being interrupted since Dooku is in the Halls of Healing – and won't be leaving for a while – and Ahsoka is helping him with research right now, in addition to attending whatever classes she missed because of the war. She might not be a Jedi anymore, but there are still classes of practical subjects which she could benefit from.

Anakin sits hunched over on the couch while Obi-Wan makes each of them a cup of tea to soothe them for the conversation which is sure to be extremely emotional. His emotions whirl within him, far too complex for him to examine, but fear is the strongest. Despite Dooku's reassurances, Anakin isn't convinced that he didn't see a vision of something that will happen, regardless of what he does to try and stop it. He's also not convinced that he isn't evil or destined to forever become lost in the darkness.

"Please don't think like that," Obi-Wan says with a sigh as he sits down, resting a hand on Anakin's shoulder. His words make Anakin wonder what he was able to read from his body language and expression. Or maybe he's projecting too much. Even if he is, he doesn't have the energy to care right now.

"Like what?" he mumbles numbly, twisting his fingers in his robes. Evil, a voice whispers in the back of his mind. You're evil. It's only a matter of time before you snap and murder him. No. He wouldn't. He couldn't. Obi-Wan is – he can't live without him. Not anymore. Not after having seen everything in his mind. They're bond is so strong that Anakin knows it couldn't break without physically damaging his mind, provided it didn't kill him entirely.

"I can think of a whole handful of places your mind is probably going after seeing whatever it is that you saw," Obi-Wan explains. "Would you like me to elaborate?" His voice is calm, soothing, and nothing in his tone or Force signature indicates that he's upset at or disgusted by Anakin. Which is good. Force, he thought he had already moved past these insecurities. It's been a while since they've troubled him at all, much less to this extent.

Fear bubbles up again, demanding that he not let Obi-Wan find out what he's thinking – or what happened in his nightmares – his mind automatically falling back to old habits, to the point in time where he couldn't trust his former master with anything, much less everything. Anakin pointedly ignores it, reaching out to Obi-Wan, and feeling immensely gratified when the elder doesn't hesitate to pull him into his arms.

"Sure," he agrees burying his face in Obi-Wan's robes. He feels like a child again, and he doesn't much mind the feeling so long as Obi-Wan is here to comfort him.

"Very well. For one, you probably worry that whatever you've seen has more meaning than being a nightmare. You think it's a vision, something which is destined to happen no matter what, am I right?" Anakin can hear the genuine desire to understand in Obi-Wan's voice which is what makes him give in.

"Spot on," he admits, exhaling harshly, turning his head so that his words aren't entirely muffled. "I don't – it doesn't make sense for me to be seeing things like this unless the Force is trying to warn me about something."

"I'll contend that statement in a moment," Obi-Wan replies. "I think that the other thing you worry about is... that you saw yourself killing Dooku... and me." From the way he says it, and the obvious hesitations, he must be more shaken up than he's letting on. It's enough to make Anakin wraps his arms around Obi-Wan tightly enough that it's almost as though he's trying to merge them together through sheer willpower. Obi-Wan touches him through their bond with appreciation and affection before continuing.

"I assume you probably wonder what it says about you now as a person. You needn't worry," he adds dryly. "Though I know you won't accept my word for it, I want you to know that I think you to be a better person than all the Jedi – and Sith – including me."