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At first, the conversation Qui-Gon and the boy are having leaves Obi-Wan confused and distracted, even more so coupled with their distressing situation. His master had just barely avoided a renegade jedi – or something worse.
He doesn't know who the boy is or why he's joining them. The boy's quite vocal and insistent with his questions toward Qui-Gon. Obi-Wan wonders what Qui-Gon is thinking to take the boy with them on a mission such as this. He simply doesn't know what to make of the boy called Anakin Skywalker.
But then Anakin turns his bright, wide eyes on him and exclaims, “Wow! You're a jedi, too?” The boy's enthusiasm is disarming.
Yet, Obi-Wan notices in those eyes a sort of chronic exhaustion. The boy doesn't seem too well as he adjusts his dirty threadbare clothing, and then a slight tilt of his short brown hair reveals something that makes Obi-Wan’s breath catch.
There's a mating bite on the back of the boy's neck.
Obi-Wan’s mind reels. Does Qui-Gon know? Did he take Anakin away from his alpha anyway? Why the kark does a young boy have an alpha? Obi-Wan understands that Tatooine is not the most civil place, but surely, it can't be that bad.
Obi-Wan stares Qui-Gon down, but the man doesn't pay any attention to him besides a quick glance. He's already focused on the next point of their journey.
Obi-Wan knows he should let go of the matter for now, but when he settles down in a corner of the ship to get a nap in, he can't help but wonder if Anakin is suffering as the ship carries them farther and farther away from his alpha.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
With all that occurred, the temple healers understand and sympathize why everything's been delayed. They don't accuse Obi-Wan about any of it, even though Anakin's under his care. They simply do a full health check-up on the omega.
Obi-Wan’s jaw is clenched when a healer turns her attention to the bite. He watches her face closely and can see the gears turning in her mind, and as soon as she turns on him, he shakes his head with force. “That is not mine.”
Anakin speaks up, quiet and shy, for the first time since the healers started poking and examining him. After all, he's never had medical attention like this back home. “My owner did it...I mean Watto.”
Obi-Wan winces and turns his head away while trying to dispel his anger. He lets his disgust remain. While he doesn't want Anakin or the healers to feel anger through the Force, he doesn't care if they sense his disgust through his scent.
Anakin, emboldened a bit after finally speaking up, kicks his legs back and forth over the edge of the examination table. “Slave owners do it all the time,” he explains. It's not quite happiness, but relief, that he knows and can share something the adults don't. “Slaves might try and escape even with their transmitters, but they get sick if they leave while bonded. That's what Mom says.”
Obi-Wan worries that his feelings and those of the two healers will overwhelm the boy, so he attempts a smile after meeting his gaze and says, “You won't get sick here. The healers will take good care of you.”
Anakin smiles back.
However, Obi-Wan already sees and feels the boy's weakness. Anakin has dark circles under his eyes, and although he's been helped to receive nutrients and hydration, his small body gives off little waves of distress.
To make matters infinitely worse, the female healer pulls Obi-Wan out of the room. They step a good distance away from the closed door, and then she breaks the news without preamble. “Anakin will get very sick without his mate. He won't have a high quality life. He certainly won't be able to be trained as a jedi.”
“Isn't there something you can do?” Obi-Wan still hears Qui-Gon's dying words. He can't fail his master, and he certainly would never let that happen so soon. “There must be something.”
Her expression is grave. “He needs to be rebonded. He needs a new alpha.”
“For- For Force's sake, he's nine!” Obi-Wan’s almost certain Anakin heard him.
“I'm sorry. His mating bond triggered his growth, and that only compounds the negative effects of losing his mate.”
What is he to do? Do the healers expect to throw Anakin at some random padawan alpha and hope for the best? Most of the young padawans, even teenage padawans, haven't reached maturity yet.
Obi-Wan wonders what Qui-Gon would have done. What had been Qui-Gon's plan? He had to have known about it. Obi-Wan wishes it were Qui-Gon here instead of him. Anakin's problem would have been solved by now.
The healer pats his shoulder at an attempt of comfort. “You have some time to think it over and form a plan. We will do all we can to help you. We're going to put Anakin on suppressants, if he wishes to, and we'll do check-ups every week for two months.”
Obi-Wan nods because he has no idea of what else to do or say. He follows her back into the room, forces a light expression on his face, and acts as if everything's alright.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Obi-Wan isn't asleep, but he pretends to be, when Anakin slips into his room. He knows without opening his eyes to look that the boy has curled up on the floor by his bed. Obi-Wan had casually laid out one of his robes there a few days ago so the boy wouldn't have to lay on the hard floor.
Anakin doesn't smell like a young, innocent omega. He smells like a mature one and it makes Obi-Wan completely uncomfortable. Of course, he knows it's not the boy's fault and he has no problem with Anakin. Obi-Wan only thinks that it's just wrong and that there's a toydarian on Tatooine that he'd like to strangle.
Does Anakin know he's giving out signals of distress? Does he even fully understand what being an omega means, and what it means to have an alpha under normal circumstances?
Obi-Wan senses Anakin calming down over time, but he doesn't have much hope since Anakin has yet to fall asleep. Ironically, it isn't until the distress is gone that Obi-Wan gains alpha-like courage.
He whispers as lightly as he can. “Padawan?”
Fabric rustles. “Yes, Master?”
“Would you like to sleep next to me? It's more comfortable...And, I need to ask you something.”
Obi-Wan waits in the dark, and then he feels the mattress sink under a new weight. He listens as Anakin gets on and lays beside him.
He isn't sure if he can ask the question now. But Anakin is waiting, and he knows he can't avoid the issue forever. Anakin's health and happiness depend on it.
“Anakin, you understand that being away from Watto is keeping you sick.”
“...Yes.”
There's a spark of fear, and Obi-Wan realizes Anakin might think he's being sent back. Obi-Wan pours reassurance into their Force bond while simultaneously kicking himself. “Well, if you had a new alpha partner, you would get better.”
“Really?” The boy's voice oozes hope.
Obi-Wan nods in the dark. “You could choose someone. I need you to understand that it's not a light decision. You don't have to rush into it. Plus, I've come to understand that you will get sick for a few days while your body fights the new bond. Like when you got your vaccinations, okay?”
“Okay." Then, "How about you?”
Obi-Wan chokes on his own spit and sits up. “What about me?”
“You're an alpha, Master. Why not?” Anakin sits up and sets a hand on Obi-Wan’s arm. His voice is light and still full of hope. He also sounds completely sure about it. “I feel like you're meant to be my alpha.”
He wishes the boy wouldn't say it like that. “Anakin, there's certain omega needs that alphas take care of. I can't do that for you. I can't.”
“...Well, that's okay. I've gone through that on my own before. It's just to make me get well, right?”
Obi-Wan cringes at the thought of Anakin, younger than nine, already going through a heat all alone. Force, he wants to punch Watto in the face. “If- If you're really sure about it. I'll do it, but we should wait until morning when you're fully awake.”
“I am awake.” Anakin shuffles closer and sets his hands on Obi-Wan’s knees. “Can you do it now? Please? I don't like feeling sick.” His voice turns so small at the end.
“Anakin...”
The boy shifts in the dark, hesitates when he becomes shy, but overcomes it and plops down in Obi-Wan’s lap with his back against his chest. “I'm ready.”
Obi-Wan’s sure he mentally cites every curse word he knows. He pushes Anakin forward a bit. He wonders if Anakin wants it somewhere in particular, but the poor boy is so unwell that Obi-Wan tells himself to stop stalling.
All he can say is, “It'll hurt.”
“I know.”
Obi-Wan bites down right on the back of the boy's neck, winces at the boy's muffled cry as Anakin tries to be brave, and he pulls his teeth away as quickly as he can.
Anakin reaches back to feel the bite and frowns at the sticky mess of his blood. He turns his body slightly, hesitates again, and then pulls Obi-Wan into a hug. “Thank you, Master.”
Obi-Wan has never felt so pathetic. He pats the boy's back to hint at him to get up. “I'll get a washcloth.” He turns and gets off the bed, hears a small thunk as Anakin jumps down, and reaches out blindly when he senses that Anakin's going to fall.
“Sorry. I feel woozy.”
“It's the bite. It'll go away overnight. Come on, I'll wash your neck.” He sets a hand on the boy's shoulder and leads the way to the refresher.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
The voice of his fourteen year-old padawan is one laced with desperation, a little fear, some pain, and wounded pride. “Obi-Wan?”
Obi-Wan knows that tone of voice. He slams his book shut and rises from the couch. At least it started here in their rooms, and not in an inconvenient place. He still doesn't understand why Anakin refuses suppressants, but it's also none of his business, so he never says anything about it.
Anakin exits his room and keeps his gaze glued to the floor. “Um...It's starting.”
Obi-Wan would have known by the boy's smell if not his voice. The boy's pheromones are strong, not in an unpleasant way, but in a way that makes them impossible to ignore. Obi-Wan’s glad he’s had a patch on to hide his own smell. He had assumed the boy's heat would start soon.
Obi-Wan is already heading towards the door and pulls his boots on in a hurry. “You want-?”
“Yes. Her, please.” Anakin can't help but scoot closer. Everything in him screams not to let his alpha leave him. He already made a nest, and now, there's nothing to do to distract him.
Obi-Wan notes Anakin's proximity. Should he have another master fetch the padawan alpha? Won't that only make it more difficult for Anakin if he stays?
He approaches Anakin and pulls him into a hug. He hopes it'll scent Anakin enough to keep him calm until the boy's friend arrives.
Obi-Wan pulls back and patiently waits for Anakin to let go of his robes. “I'll get her and everything will be okay. Comm me if you need anything.”
Anakin stares at his socks and nods his head, clearly miserable.
“Drink water and eat. Have her call the cafeteria if you need to. And-”
“Master,” Anakin whines.
“Sorry, sorry.” Obi-Wan turns and hurries out of their rooms.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
Anakin bends over on the bench to fix his pant leg caught up on his boot. His long hair hides the red marks on his neck only partially.
Ahsoka had been so disgusted the first time she saw them, and the thought of her expression back then still amuses both Anakin and Obi-Wan. She had expressed never wanting her own omega or beta after that.
Obi-Wan waits for Anakin to finish getting ready, and then they head out to meet up with the group. Obi-Wan’s half-distracted with every twist and turn the war’s been leading them on, but he has enough awareness to know that Anakin isn't feeling like himself.
Anakin looks at him as if he senses Obi-Wan’s concern. “My heat,” he explains with a touch of bitterness in his voice. “My suppressants don't work so well.”
Obi-Wan looks away and struggles to keep a neutral expression. He knows why Anakin resorted to suppressants after so many years of refusing them – his partner isn't there to help him through it. He also knows why Anakin never got a new alpha bite to replace his – his partner’s a beta.
Anakin lightly shoves him by the arm. “Get a patch if you're going to worry like that. Ahsoka will smell you from miles away and she'll blame me.”
“Sorry. Though, she'd be correct.”
Anakin glares, but they both end up smiling at each other. Anakin then looks away. He kicks at a rock and a cloud of dust floats up. “Alpha, I'm...I'm sorry. About her.”
Obi-Wan’s surprised, not by his term of endearment, but by the subject he's brought up. Some time has passed. Is Anakin hurting for Padmé so badly right now that it made him think about him and Satine? “Thank you...Omega, if you need to, you can sit this one out.”
Anakin wrinkles his nose. “No way!”
Obi-Wan sighs. Since when has he accepted defeat so quickly? To be fair, he and Anakin both know that benching Anakin right now would be an incredibly stupid idea. Would sticking by him help with the portion the suppressants can't aid in? “Just stay close to me, then.”
Anakin grumbles but complies right then and there by shuffling closer to his side.
▪︎▪︎▪︎
His teeth hurt. Actually, everything hurts. As much as it strengthened him, helping Leia and having the Force return to him, the whole experience of fighting has left him sore. Of course he would get a rut only two days later.
He tries to ignore the possibility that being in Darth's presence triggered it.
There's no alphas around to give him trouble, and no omegas or betas are nearby to hassle him either. Is the latter a good or a bad thing? He tries not to think about it.
Obi-Wan has enough self-discipline to keep water and food nearby, right on the floor beside him. He's opted to lay face down and use his arms as a pillow. Force, if only Tatooine wasn't so hot.
A voice sounds from the corner of the room. “Do you remember your first experience of Tatooine? Your initial reaction to it?”
Obi-Wan turns his head and looks at Qui-Gon's ghostly form. “You're not helping, Master.” He's glad Force ghosts don't have a smell. If an alpha did come by, he's certain he'd go feral.
Qui-Gon smiles. “Two alphas may not have been the best pair,” he says in a light tone.
Obi-Wan smiles a bit. “No, perhaps not...But I'm grateful all the same.” He turns his head and rests his forehead against his arms again, mostly so his heart doesn't ache at seeing the man's smile turn to one of fondness.
“Obi-Wan, drink.”
A boyish part of Obi-Wan that has never quite died tells him to ignore his master's command. He gives in instead and gulps the cup of water down.
“Get some sleep.”
Obi-Wan grunts. How can he sleep when he feels like he's on fire, when a part of his body is physically uncomfortable — to put it in gentle terms — and when both a ruined Force bond and mating bond are screaming in his ears?
He tries to sleep anyway, and does manage to doze off for a few minutes at a time.
Eventually, he sleeps for a longer period, then wakes up shivering from the cold night air. He sits up and pulls his cloak on. It hits him that his rut seems mostly over, and he recognizes that he's starving.
He eats the food nearby in a hurry. It's completely silent as he does so. Qui-Gon isn't there, but Obi-Wan doesn't worry. The man comes and goes as he pleases, just as he's always done.
Obi-Wan rises and heads outside to look up at the clear dark sky. Something about it has always reminded him of home.
A part of him tells him that he should give in and find a partner already, but he pushes the thought aside. He's never given much thought to it throughout his life, and he doesn't want to do so now – not yet.
Alpha and omega had only ever been about Anakin's happiness.
After a wind picks up and chills him to the bone, Obi-Wan heads back inside and decides it's best to try and get more sleep. He'll check on Luke in the morning, maybe head into town with the dwindling hope that someone on this forsaken planet has decided to import suppressants, and maybe he'll see Teeka again.
He places his bets on the first and last.