Touch Starved

Chapter 16 - A Ray of Hope

Author's Note: Just fyi, but we started releasing another Obi-Wan time travel where he time travels from after the OWK series back to ROTS. It is also very Anakin-Obi-Wan-centric like this fic, so if you like this fic, you will hopefully like that one, too. ^-^

If you are interested, the title is Fading. :')

WARNING: Depression (major depression), slight (or more than slight) possessiveness, codependency (does that need a warning? xD).

~ Amina Gila

It's been four weeks since Obi-Wan told Padme the truth when he and Ahsoka return to Coruscant after a somewhat lengthy mission to see a message from Padme waiting on his comm. The weeks have been... hard. More than once, he's reached for Anakin through the Force, or turned, expecting to see him there, only to see nothing. It hurts. It hurts more than it has any right to hurt. He has no idea how he's made it through these weeks except through sheer willpower.

Fighting with the clones again is hard, especially when he's fighting with them alone. Without Anakin. They've gone on separate missions, of course, during the war in the past, but it's – after everything which happened, it's not easy anymore. He's tired of fighting; he's not the Jedi Master he once was. He knows that he's slipping back into the same habits and patterns and mindset that he had on Tatooine for the past ten years, but... It's been giving him a sense of stability after everything has changed all over again.

He never would have thought that he could possibly end up in the past again, redoing everything all over, but here he is. Some days it doesn't even seem real to him.

Obi-Wan pushes those thoughts aside as he opens the message that Padme sent him. It's short and cryptic, only saying, "Contact me when you return to Coruscant." He has no idea what it could be about, what could have happened that would result in Padme needing to talk to him. If she discovered some useful information about Palpatine to help unmask him, then she should have gone to the Council already.

He tells Ahsoka about the message, and together, they head to 500 Republica once it's evening. Padme greets them, and something about her is lighter than it was weeks ago when they met. "What is it?" Obi-Wan questions once they've taken seats in her living room. "What did you need to speak to us about?"

"Anakin," she answers with a small smile. "Sabe reached out to me. He's with her. She set up a conversation between us, and we talked. It was a few days ago, now, but I imagine that, if you wanted, the two of you could speak to him as well."

Obi-Wan can feel his heartrate pick up, and he feels both nervous and relieved at once. "How is he?" he wants to know. What is he doing? Where is he?

"He seems... okay," Padme answers. "He didn't say much to me. We mainly talked about the past, about... what happened between us." That explains the strange sorrow lurking in her eyes, the feelings of bittersweet regret hanging around her, feelings which are still mingled with hope.

"And are you two...?" He can't finish the question, but she seems to understand it anyways.

"We'll be alright," she assures him. "We just need time. And so, I think, do you." She gives him a look, something hardening in her eyes.

Beside him, Ahsoka is completely quiet and still, watching with curiosity and uncertainty. There are so many questions buzzing her mind, most of which probably center around what the future between Anakin and Padme held, questions which only they can answer for her, if they tell her at all. Some things are better left unknown.

"He told me... what you did to him," Padme elaborates, and Obi-Wan stiffens.

He had expected it, of course, but for some reason, it never occurred to him that she would confront him about it. It makes sense that she would, since she is undoubtedly angry at him, and for good reason. Still, he never... expected it, or thought to consider it.