#the “crawling inside him” metaphor is something I've never done before

[lilredghost]

WIP Wednesday: Caught

GFFA Soulmate AU (follow-up to this post)

Anakin is two screws and a hex bolt into dismantling the saber, hardly ankle-deep, when the front door slides open.

And Obi-Wan steps in. “Padawan, have you seen my…”

Anakin grimaces in mortification as his Master trails off, clearly having found what he was looking for.

He looks calm, but a spark of fear lights in Anakin anyway. If his Master knows, if he catches wind of this insatiable need that Anakin has—

“Anakin,” Obi-Wan says carefully. His body is tense. “What exactly are you doing?”

“I’m sorry, Master!”

He’s been made. He’d tried to pry Obi-Wan open and crawl inside while his Master wasn’t looking, and now he’s been caught red-handed, still covered in his blood.

The two of them are Master and Padawan, but—

He knows that doesn’t give him permission for this kind of intimacy.

At best, Obi-Wan will see it as rude and violating.

At worst, he’ll see it as a betrayal.

“I just wanted to see,” Anakin begs. “I’m sorry, Obi-Wan. I know I should have asked.”

“Oh.” His Master’s gaze flickers to the mess on the living room floor, the electrical and mechanical parts scattered around from Anakin’s various projects, and then back to him.

Obi-Wan furrows his eyebrows, looking nonplussed.

“So this is… purely academic interest?”

Anakin seizes upon the excuse gratefully, trying to rein in the rampage of feelings inside him. “Yes, exactly! I wanted to see how it was different from mine, especially given that we’re using a lot of the same materials.”

Obi-Wan raises a hand to cover his mouth, stroking his beard, which means he’s a little rattled and needs a moment to regain his composure.

Anakin can relate.

“Tell me, Padawan. What do you feel when you touch my lightsaber?”

“What do I feel?” Anakin asks in surprise. “I guess— um.”

He scrambles for an answer he can say out loud, something other than Like I’m yours. Anything Obi-Wan would accept.

He remembers, with sudden clarity, the incident with Ferus’s lightsaber two years ago.

“I feel like I’ve eaten a good meal,” he lies. “Like I’ve eaten my fill, and I’ll never be hungry again.”

It’s only half a lie, anyway. Obi-Wan does make him feel all those things, with the way he looks after him, ensuring he always has more than enough to eat, even when they’re on missions.

It’s just not the lighstaber that does that.

Still, the answer has some kind of tension releasing from his Master’s form. Obi-Wan sags a bit, his expression settling into a small smile.

“Well,” he says lightly, shaking his head. “I suppose I can’t begrudge you that.”

Obi-Wan points a finger at him, mock-stern.

“But I expect you to ask next time, Padawan.”

Anakin, still reeling from the easy acceptance— from the explicit permission, the absolute trust— snaps to attention. “Yes Master!”