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When Master Dooku first walked into the room where Obi-Wan was trapped, he was shocked, calling the man a traitor, to which Dooku denied that. He claimed of course that he had no idea that Obi-Wan had been captured, but that he would work to have him released swiftly. The man spoke of how it was a shame that they had never had the chance to meet one another prior to this, bringing up Qui-Gon in the process and saying that his old master had spoken highly of him. The hurt of the old forcefully broken bond ached in his chest at that comment, then Dooku said that he wished the man was still alive, and Obi-Wan had to stop himself from agreeing. He knew Qui-Gon would not fall, he would not leave the order and hire a bounty hunter, but he couldn’t help the sadness that flared in the force. Then, Dooku said something he couldn’t believe, the Senate under the control of a Sith?
“You must join me, Obi-Wan, and together we will destroy the Sith!” The man waited in front of Obi-Wan, if he could convince his grandpadawan he was sure they would have a chance at beating Sidious. After all, Obi-Wan had trained the boy that everyone believed to be the Chosen One.
Then Obi-Wan said what he had expected, but had hoped not to hear, “I will never join you, Dooku.”
Dooku frowned but stepped closer to Obi-Wan, bringing one hand up and pushing through the field, holding Obi-Wan steady. He rested his hand on the man’s chest and pulled him forward, dragging Obi-Wan closer before exhaling. Obi-Wan was confused but did not struggle as the man did this, only to then push him back into the field, fully captured once more.
What Obi-Wan didn’t know was that Dooku had just shared something of himself, splitting off part of his eternal flame to let it grow inside the Jedi. Dooku himself hadn’t known about it before his fall, it was the most closely guarded secret of the Sith. Something that was passed on between Master and Apprentice. It was one of the reasons for the idea that only two Sith at a time were ever possible. The more one split the flame, the less they might have for themselves without careful tending. Dooku felt the flame take hold within Obi-Wan, condemning him in a way.
“It may be difficult to organize your release.” And with that, the fallen Jedi Master was gone.
Things moved swiftly after that, the fight on Geonosis, the start of the war. It was as if the Galaxy had lost its collective mind and things were becoming more dangerous by the day. Obi-Wan forgot the conversation with Dooku, forgot about his weird behaviours, and focused on trying to help Anakin in the wake of his lost limb. There were times when Obi-Wan felt this hunger would possess him, the need to claim Anakin and stop him from leaving his side. He would shake off the feeling, but it didn’t stop him from asking the council to have Anakin’s battalion stationed alongside him.
There was something else though that he noticed, wounds healed and closing by the time his medic would get to him in battles. Cody would tell the medic that he had seen the wound for himself, that it should have killed their General. Yet by the time the medic could take a look it was often a wound that just needed some bacta or the wound was barely there. Obi-Wan attributed it to luck, and the force, both allowing him to avoid taking worse wounds. Surely it was just his men seeing things, if the wound had been worse Obi-Wan would have had no chance at surviving such things. He might be near-human as someone from Stewjon, but Stewjon wasn’t known for providing more resilient beings.
There was sometimes a darkness residing in Obi-Wan, something that he often attributed to the loss of life. Not knowing that it was actually from the flame that Dooku had passed onto him; the flame growing bigger and stronger due to the war. Feeding the darkness that had been within Obi-Wan since the day he defeated Darth Maul. No other Jedi seemed to notice the growing flame within Obi-Wan as he never truly fell, the flame wasn’t inherently dark itself, but rather grew with the darkness someone had within them. It was why Dooku had been able to force it upon Obi-Wan without his knowledge. By the end of the war, the flame had been what had kept Obi-Wan alive in his battle against Anakin, the darkness giving him an edge against the recently fallen Jedi. Obi-Wan had been fighting with this darkness for years, the strength of which had only grown at the start of the war because of the flame. It was long after the battle with Anakin, after leaving him to his death on the volcanic planet, when Obi-Wan started to realize something was different with him.
He brought Luke to Tatooine, leaving the boy with his Aunt and Uncle, although he longed to take the boy on his own and raise him. That was Anakin’s blood, even separating the twins hadn’t felt quite like the best choice. But he trusted Master Yoda, leaving little Leia with Bail to be raised by him and his wife. He knew they would both be cared for and that they would be loved, but he always worried. As time passed though, as he watched Luke grow from afar, Obi-Wan realized he himself was not aging. It wasn’t something he’d actively noticed during the war, he was the youngest Council member in years. And while the war had its effect on everyone, Obi-Wan had always been noted as keeping his young looks, not even the hint of gray appearing at his temples as it should with his species.
It was then that Obi-Wan tested things, he remembered his men saying he was surviving mortal wounds. He also knew that he should have died when those same men were ordered to shoot him down. Tatooine was a harsh, unforgiving planet, yet Obi-Wan could go without for longer than should be normal, even with the use of the force. Luke grew older, yet Obi-Wan looked the same, and he realized with a start that he looked the same as just before the war started. Obi-Wan then remembered something that he’d forgotten with the insanity of the war; on Geonosis Dooku had tried to get him to join him. He’d pulled him from the containment only to, in Obi-Wan’s mind, do nothing. Now, though, Obi-Wan realized that Dooku had done something to him, something that none of the Jedi or medics he’d seen during the war had noticed. When he was contacted about Leia, that she’d been taken and that Bail only trusted him to get the little girl back. He’d been worried, he still looked the same as he did so many years ago, but Bail had treated it like it wasn’t strange. Despite Obi-Wan looking the same as when Leia had been born. The little girl was so similar to both Padme and Anakin, despite not meeting either. She was inquisitive and had Anakin’s smile paired with Padme’s eyes, it hurt to look at her, yet Obi-Wan couldn’t look away. He’d missed Anakin every day and learning that the man had survived was gut-wrenching. When they fought, Obi-Wan was sure to keep his features hidden in the darkness, using a hood to try and avoid showing Anakin -Vader- his unaged body. When he finally got Leia back to Alderaan it was hard to let her go, she was so like her father, and he wished to keep a small part of Anakin with him. The darkness, that he’s realized was not just because of the war, squirmed with agreement. It would be so easy to take the little girl and go back to collect Luke. But then he saw Bail and Breha and how relieved they were to see their little girl. And so he went back to Tatooine, he knew that he would be there if Leia ever needed him, and he could protect Luke from Tatooine.
He made a vow when he got back to the sand planet, and there was no change in him aside from having used the force once more after such a long break. If he was stuck like this, if Obi-Wan truly couldn’t age and so far certain wounds couldn’t kill him… Then he would fix the Skywalker name. He’d been hiding on Tatooine for so long, avoiding the force, hoping that the lack of use would make the darkness inside him dissipate. That hadn’t happened, the flame burning still within him even as he had avoided the force.
So instead, he would train himself still, keep his strength in the force and then train Luke when he was old enough. From Tatooine he started helping the Hidden Path, helping to get force-sensitives out of dangerous places where the Empire might find them. Obi-Wan learned through the path that Quinlan was still alive, the Kiffar helping to get other Jedi and force-sensitives to safety. They spoke briefly but never for long, worried about Vader finding them together and the Hidden Path losing both of them.
When Luke was old enough, when the Empire’s strength was reaching a peak and the boy wanted to learn about his father, he found Ben Kenobi. The way Ben spoke, Luke was sure that the man should be older, but he hardly looked older than Luke himself. He helped Luke with training, and when they went to the Death Star to save Leia, that was when he faced Darth Vader once more.
Shock rang through the force when Obi-Wan dropped his cloak, Vader was staring back at his Master, but the man hadn’t aged a day since the end of the war. Something Vader knew was only possible with the eternal flame given to a Sith from their master. It had taken Sidious years to trust Vader enough to give him part of his. He knew that beneath this mask that kept his identity as Anakin Skywalker from the Galaxy, he had some scars, but Sidious had gotten to him swiftly and much of the burns had been healed by the medics. He still had lost his limbs to Obi-Wan’s saber, but much of his body had been healed. Sidious had told him that wearing the suit made him more than a man, that he had to wear it at all times around others in order to preserve the image of Anakin Skywalker. Not that it mattered, people within the Order still knew who he had been. They knew what he had done at the Temple, and since then. He knew that even Obi-Wan had learned who he was years ago. Facing him then, Vader hadn’t realized that Obi-Wan was no longer aging, he hadn’t been able to find the man since then.
Yet here he was, standing in front of him while a boy -a mere child compared to him- ran off with the Princess and some raggedy looking man. The child was clearly force sensitive, yet Vader couldn’t get a read on his signature. He was so wrapped up in Obi-Wan’s signature, so thoroughly covered that Obi-Wan might think the boy was Obi-Wan’s son. The only other option was that the boy was Obi-Wan’s lover. Padme had carried his signature in the same way, he had explained it to the council that it was simply to prevent the Senator from being targeted by Sith attacks, but it was for Anakin’s peace of mind.
Vader was angry by the thought that this young boy had gotten what he had always desired, gaining Obi-Wan’s love that Obi-Wan would cover him in his force signature. He lashed out at Obi-Wan, but while he had been expecting an old man, pushed past his prime, he instead got the same Obi-Wan that had beaten him on Mustafar.
“All this time, you’ve been just as I am, yet you claim the higher moral ground Kenobi?” Vader pushed forward with his saber, watching as Obi-Wan’s blue one came to block.
“Now now Vader, I’m quite sure I have no idea what you mean.” Obi-Wan had fallen easily into Soresu, deflecting Vader back and dancing back easily into the main hangar. Keeping himself between Vader and the ship Luke and Leia were heading to.
Vader screamed, the modulator on the mask distorting the sound, “That boy! He can’t possibly be your son, no, not perfect Kenobi. But taking on such a young lover is surely out of character.” His saber moved quickly then, but the strength behind the swings was intense.
Obi-Wan was able to block, but he felt as the blade carved into his arm, the flesh starting to knit back together as it always did. He had no idea how to respond to Vader, the thought of being in a relationship with Luke was dizzying, and he moved another step back.
“What? No witty response? No denial of it? Why him, Kenobi, why couldn’t it be me?” Vader’s blade swung wildly, no form or finesse in the swings.
“Ben! Hurry, we have to go!” Luke called from the ramp of the ship.
Obi-Wan turned wide eyes from Luke to Vader, there was nothing he could say to Vader, nothing that would make sense in the wake of the revelation. He turned from the Sith who had collapsed to the ground and ran for the ship. The minute he was on the ship the ramp closed after him and at the last moment he saw Vader’s mask being removed. There, looking back at him, was Anakin, his eyes were yellow, and he had a burn mark on the left side of his face, but it was him. The ship left and Obi-Wan was then left with what Vader had asked, why couldn’t it have been him? He thought that Obi-Wan was in a relationship with young Luke, was he suggesting that Anakin had wanted to be with Obi-Wan? He knew that Anakin and Padme had been together, they had not been subtle during the war. Why would Vader lie about it though, it didn’t make sense. Had Luke heard what he said? He hoped not as then he would need to explain how he knew Vader from before and Obi-Wan wasn’t sure if that was something he could do yet.
While Obi-Wan was dealing with his own turmoil, Vader was anguishing on the ship. He had placed the mask back on after seeing Obi-Wan’s face with his own two eyes without the barrier of the mask. Why was Obi-Wan with that boy, surely if he could fall for him, he could have loved Anakin. It was all he had wanted, the blond was so similar to who he had been as Anakin Skywalker. Blond hair and blue eyes, the ease with which he’d let the princess and the other man to the ship despite Vader’s presence. It was as if Obi-Wan had gone out and found himself a second Anakin, but this one was even younger than Anakin. He couldn’t have been more than twenty years old, Anakin had been nineteen when he’d married Padme, if he’d known just a year later Obi-Wan would have been interested in him, he never would have married his angel. He loved Padme, of course he did, but the minute he’d laid eyes on Obi-Wan when Qui-Gon brought him back to the ship, he’d known that the redhead was special. At first, he’d thought that he just wanted Obi-Wan as a brother or father, but as time passed, and he hit puberty, he started to see Obi-Wan differently.
The man had become the object of his desires, taking the major role in all of his wet dreams. When Padme had come back into his life, he’d thought that the dreams would subside, that Padme would take the starring role. And she had, for a time, but when he saw Obi-Wan again it had been clear his crush wouldn’t subside so easily. If Anakin had been a slightly worse Jedi, he would have called it obsession at the time. Vader now could see it for what it was, he’d recognized it as soon as he’d woken up from the medically induced coma to heal his burns. He missed Padme, their unborn child, but he was devastated by the loss of Obi-Wan and what he saw as a betrayal.
Even now, seeing the man again unchanged was breathtaking. If Vader was right, and Obi-Wan had somehow been given his own eternal flame, it meant he couldn’t lose the other man. What had happened to Padme would never happen to Obi-Wan, not as long as he could get Obi-Wan away from that child he was so obsessed with. Obi-Wan had defended the boy, gotten between him and Vader. The way he had looked at Vader at that moment had hurt, the sting of rejection from the man he’d always coveted. The first thing he does is send out bounty hunters looking for the kid's name. He had to know why this boy was able to get Obi-Wan’s love when he wasn’t.
The first to bring him news was the bounty hunter Boba Fett, Vader remembered that he was the one clone that Jango had as his son. He stood before Vader who was lounging on his throne, it hadn’t been long since he'd seen Obi-Wan, but he was itching in his skin to follow after him.
“I’ve got a name for you, Lord Vader.” Boba gave a half-ass bow, enough that Vader just waved at him to continue, “His name’s Skywalker, he’s from Tatooine.”
The force exploded around Vader, knocking Boba back and launching anything not bolted down across the room. The Sith was on his feet quickly, and he marched towards Boba who was climbing to his feet. “He can’t be, you’re wrong. What is the kid's real name?”
Boba didn’t step back, but it was a close thing, “It’s Skywalker, just like the Jedi from the war. Why would I lie, I don’t get paid if I lie?”
Vader paused at that, a Skywalker from Tatooine, so Obi-Wan really had replaced him. The man had somehow gotten a flame, and he had found his own new Skywalker to replace Anakin. Vader stepped back from Boba, waving at him to leave, which the bounty hunter had the good nature to follow. He couldn’t understand what this kid had that he didn’t, he had to see Obi-Wan again. Vader had to know why he was so unworthy of Obi-Wan’s love…
He took his ship and went to Tatooine, abandoning the suit he wore, but making sure to keep his face hidden. Anakin Skywalker might not be synonymous with Darth Vader but here on Tatooine, it was a dangerous place to be either. Landing on Tatooine made his skin crawl, he would need to stay covered not only to prevent the double sunlight on any remaining burn marks, but also to keep sand out of his cybernetic limbs. He hated this planet, it really was the last place he would ever go to try and find Obi-Wan, but Vader was desperate. He stepped off the ship, making sure to tell off the Jawa’s who were eyeing his ship.
“Watch the ship without taking anything, and there’s another one of these for you.” Vader tossed them a trunk of pieces he’d nicked from different Imperial facilities.
The Jawa’s nodded excitedly, not watching as Vader walked off before starting to dig through the box. Vader wasn’t sure where to start looking for Obi-Wan, but for the first time in many years, he listened to the light side of the force. He got a speeder from one of the people in town, paying an exorbitant cost for the machine, but he said nothing as he climbed on. The engine kicked on after a moment and then Vader was off, following a small inkling in the force.
The force led him to the outskirts of the desert, the trip was long, having left from Mos Eisley. He could have rigged the speeder to be faster but hadn’t thought it was worth the time. If he had, it likely would have cost him some time, but he would have been able to pass through the desert with much more efficiency. Vader continued through the night, not wanting to stop in the desert and risk further Jawa interaction or worse, Tuskens. He wasn’t sure what he would do if he was encountered by them. So it left him to drive through the night, nothing that he hadn’t done in the past, both as Anakin and Vader.
The first sun was only just starting to peak over the horizon when a building came into view. It was similar in nature to the homestead that his mother's husband had lived in. Similar to most buildings on Tatooine, but there was something about it that brought him back. He parked the speeder and as the engine cut off, the front door hissed open, and then out stepped Obi-Wan.
“If you’re here to kill me, I believe you’ll have to try much harder to catch me by surprise.” Obi-Wan folded his arms over his chest and watched him pull the fabric that was covering his face off.
“I don’t want to kill you, at least, not yet. I want answers, Kenobi, and I won’t get them if you’re dead.” He snarled, the movement pulling his scars and twisting his features.
Obi-Wan looked to where the suns were rising, “Well come along then, my dear, this is a conversation best had indoors.” With that, he turned and walked back into his home.
Vader was stunned, not only was Obi-Wan inviting him in, but he’d turned his back on him. He scrambled off the bike, feet sinking into the sand and despite the cybernetic limbs, he could almost feel the grains of sand on his skin. The house was small, it barely had two rooms, as he could see Obi-Wan’s bed tucked away behind a half wall. Obi-Wan had moved into a small kitchen off the entry and watched as Vader entered the home cautiously. He started making tea, adding extra sugar to Vader’s cup without thought, before he paused. Vader might not even like sweet tea like Anakin had. The man was so different from the one he’d known, he could only hope something as simple as tea was the same.
Obi-Wan sat across from Vader at the small table he had, putting the sweetened tea in front of Vader, “I never thought you’d come to Tatooine, not even for me.”
Vader’s face twisted up in disgust as he looked out Obi-Wan’s small window, “If you hadn’t shown up looking like that,” He gestured wildly to all of Obi-Wan, “And with some young new lover at your side, I wouldn’t have come here.”
Obi-Wan hummed in response, taking a sip of his tea and watching Vader as he picked up his own cup and took a hesitant sip. The Jedi smiled behind his cup as he watched Vader’s eyes widen as he took another sip. “The boy I was with isn’t my lover, far from it. I do care for him and I will admit, I do love him. But I would never take him as a lover, my dear.”
“So what? No Skywalker is good enough for you then?!” Anakin’s hand slammed down onto the table, rattling the tea cup he’d placed down. The cup was empty so nothing spilled out, but the sound was still jarring.
“Ah so I see you’ve learned of his identity, I’m surprised you aren’t seeking him out.”
Vader’s gold eyes flicked over to Obi-Wan, meeting his gaze before jumping away again, “I’m not his father, what right do I have to seek him out? I’m nothing but a monster, just the Emperor’s Right Hand.”
“You used to be much more than just that, especially to me. Perhaps you wish to be so again, that would explain the trip to Tatooine.” Obi-Wan leaned forward a bit, a hand just within reach of Vader’s cybernetic one.
Vader studied Obi-Wan for a moment, “I want to know how you got a flame.”
Obi-Wan started at the abrupt topic change, “A flame? I’m not sure that I understand what you mean.”
“You have an eternal flame, Kenobi. Surely you noticed you don’t age and that wounds don’t affect you as they should.”
“Of course I have, I wasn’t aware of the cause though. I realized I looked the same as the day the war started, and Dooku had likely done something to me.” He shrugged, he wasn’t aware of any flame as Vader put it, but it would take a fool not to notice that he wasn’t changing.
Vader scoffed, “It took Sidious years to trust me enough to give me part of his, yet Dooku had one and was willing to give a piece to you.”
Obi-Wan’s mind started running, he knew that it had something to do with Dooku, he’d never known what specifically, but this was clearly a hidden Sith practice. “Dooku asked me to join him that day, and despite my assurance that I would never join him, he did something.” He huffed out a laugh, “I thought during the war I was just incredibly lucky, and the force was looking after me.”
Vader’s lip pulled into a snarl, “So perfect Kenobi has a Sith flame, how does it feel?”
The old Master Jedi felt as Vader’s force signature reached out to him, and he felt the darkness that resided in his chest respond. A flare of power and overwhelming feelings took over the redhead, and he doubled over at the force of it. He could feel Vader’s flare of shock before the man pulled his force signature back.
“Now, Vader, it’s not nice to touch others with the force when having a pleasant conversation.” Obi-Wan wheezed out, still doubled over. “I thought I taught you better than that.”
“I didn’t think- you’ve had it so long… surely you touched the dark side before, Master?”
Obi-Wan’s head jerked up at that, and for a moment he thought he caught a flash of blue in Vader’s eyes, “What did you just say?”
“The dark side? Surely you’ve touched it once before, I don’t believe the flame would have survived if you hadn’t.” Vader seemed to have not noticed his slip of the tongue, and Obi-Wan sighed internally.
“When Qui-Gon died, I touched the dark side of the force to defeat Maul. During the war though, I think this flame grew even stronger, I could feel it, I just wasn’t aware of what it was.”
Vader seemed shocked at the revelation that Obi-Wan had used it so long ago and not gone back but held his tongue. He watched Obi-Wan for a moment longer as the redhead stood, collecting their cups and bringing them back to the small kitchen. He wasn’t sure what to say, he didn’t want to ask about what Obi-Wan had said, about being more to him before when he was Anakin. Vader desperately wanted to know what he meant, but he was also afraid of the answer, he also wanted to know more about the child… Obi-Wan hadn’t denied that the kid was his, which meant that Padme’s son had survived, even though Sidious had told him that they’d both died. After working with him for so many years, it wasn’t a shock, but it still hurt. He’d only ever wanted to save Padme, if he couldn’t have Obi-Wan, he wouldn’t lose his angel as well. Yet in the end he thought he had lost both of them and his child. But here was Obi-Wan, the same as when he’d last seen him as Anakin Skywalker, and his son had survived, albeit being raised without him or Padme.
When Obi-Wan came back to the table he took a moment to really study Vader, he knew the man was a dangerous Sith, they’d fought before when he was saving Leia. But now, he just looked like a broken shell of a man, and it hurt Obi-Wan in a new way to see him like this. “Why are you really here, Vader? It can’t just be that you thought I took on some young lad as a lover, I’m sure Sidious wouldn’t approve of that reasoning.”
Vader flinched at the mention of Sidious but said nothing still, just watching Obi-Wan, who looked on in confusion. After a few minutes of silence, Obi-Wan sighed, moving to get up, “Feel free to enjoy my meager amenities, I must do some work on the vaporators if I’m to get enough water for the coming storm.”
Just as Obi-Wan moved to step away, Vader was on his feet and crowding Obi-Wan back into the wall, hand wrapped around the redheads’ wrist. Obi-Wan was stunned, but didn’t feel any warning through the force or malice from Vader.
“Please don’t leave me alone, Obi-Wan… Not on this planet, not ever.” Despite towering over Obi-Wan even more than before, Vader bent down and pushed his face into Obi-Wan’s neck.
Obi-Wan’s free hand came up easily, cupping the back of Vader’s head, it was a position he’d found himself in before when Anakin first became a knight. If he had been away from Obi-Wan for a spell during the war the first thing he would do upon getting to the Negotiator, would be to pull Obi-Wan aside and bask in his force signature. It had always fed that deep possessiveness that Obi-Wan had in the deepest part of himself, and he’d allowed it without complaint. Now though it was different, many years had passed since he’d last seen Vader, this was no longer the boy he’d trained or the man he’d fought next to during the war. This was someone else, someone that Obi-Wan knew little about aside from the cruelty he imposed on the Galaxy at Sidious’ order. He couldn’t stop himself though as his hand touched the blond curls, from feeling that same possessiveness he’d felt during the war after whatever Dooku had done to him.
“You can come with me dear one, but I do need to get the work done or else my meager water savings won’t keep us both alive.” His hand was running soothingly through the blond curls as he was held close to Vader.
Vader murmured something into Obi-Wan’s neck, much too quietly for the man to hear him, “Speak up my dear.”
Vader moved his face a bit but didn’t let go of Obi-Wan, “We don’t need water to survive, Sidious taught me that.”
Obi-Wan pulled Vader closer at that, was Sidious torturing Vader when he didn’t abide by his rules? He didn’t think that Vader was ready for the conversation now, but Obi-Wan wanted to get him out of the Emperor’s grasp. If he was truly to save the Skywalker name, having Luke trained and working with the rebellion wasn’t enough. Getting Vader to their side would be the true act of saving their name. It was something that he would be able to work on if Vader decided to stay, and given how he was clinging to Obi-Wan on a planet that he hated was a step in the right direction. They would have time to discuss everything further at a later date, he wouldn’t be able to go back to helping the Hidden Path or the Rebels. But taking Vader out of the equation would be a benefit for them. And perhaps, he’d even get Anakin back or at least some new version of this man that was no longer Vader but perhaps not wholly Anakin.
He was willing to work on it with Vader, and leaned down to press a kiss to the top of Vader’s head. Obi-Wan had denied his care for Anakin in the past, and he had lost the man to Sidious. He wouldn’t deny his feelings further and would do what he could to turn Vader away from the deep clutches of darkness.