hurt // obikin au [on hold]

f i f t e e n

"you're killing me."

anakin doesn't even look up, but he knows it's padmé's voice. he shifts in bed, closer to the wall, squeezes his eyes shut tighter. it doesn't even feel like summer; he's as exhausted as ever, and all he wants is to stay in bed.

"ani, are you going to be like this until august?"

"no," he answers. "just until next weekend."

he knows this kind of codependency is probably a cause for concern, but he misses obi-wan. after literally seeing him every day since september, going so long without his presence is strangely unpleasant. even more so than anakin had anticipated. they've spoken on the phone and facetimed and everything, of course, but he still feels so far away. anakin goes right back to not feeling like himself as soon as they hang up. 

"okay," padmé says suddenly, with finality.

he finally rolls over. "huh?"

she tugs at his blankets. "come on. get up."

"where are we going?"

"do you trust me?"

his answer goes without saying, so he gets out of bed, smiling sheepishly when she lets out a delighted cheer. he slips into the bathroom to brush his teeth, and when he heads back into his bedroom, she's shoving his laptop and his wallet into her backpack.

"something you wanna tell me?" he asks, and she just grins mysteriously.

- - -

"i don't like this," he tells her as their road trip kicks off. she refuses to tell him anything. "you better not be taking me back to the beach." just the memory makes him sad – obi-wan's eyes squinted from the sunlight, shoulders red with sunburn. the way he'd smiled down at anakin so fondly.

padmé rolls her eyes. "we're not going to the beach, ani." she tosses him the aux cord. "here, play some tame impala or something. something to make you stop asking so many questions."

he can't help but laugh at himself at that, but he does, and they both scream-sing along to the less i know the better. it's so fun to sing to that he immediately plays it again, which makes padmé laugh.

"wanna grab a blizzard?" she asks, pointing at a sign for a dairy queen at the next exit off the highway. anakin perks up, nodding emphatically, and padmé cracks a grin and takes the next exit. "let's go in instead of the drive-thru, yeah? i wanna stretch my legs," she says, and anakin nods. 

he brightens even more once he's inside, mind set on a strawberry cheesecake blizzard. he's about to pay for both his and padmé's when a hand tosses a debit card to the cashier. anakin turns, indignant, more than ready to snap at this person when his words die in his throat.

"hi there, sweetheart," obi-wan says, grinning from ear-to-ear.

anakin is completely speechless; all he can do is stare at his boyfriend, unable to find words. the only movement he can manage is to press his hands to his face as if to convince himself he's not dreaming.

"not gonna lie, i expected you to be a little more excited to see me," obi-wan grins, eyes scrunched up at the corners, and anakin lets out a happy sob and tucks his face into obi-wan's neck. "that's more like it," he chuckles, and anakin feels the rumble against his cheek.

"what are you doing here?" anakin asks, refusing to move from his spot in obi-wan's neck. "what the hell?"

"your padmé is pretty persuasive. said you would've stayed in bed all summer if you weren't seeing me. i couldn't have that." his voice is warm, and he runs his fingers through anakin's hair.

"that isn't true," anakin lies, sheepish.

padmé rolls her eyes, eating a spoonful of anakin's blizzard. "it most certainly is, but okay. you literally weren't getting out of bed this morning."

obi-wan's hand gives anakin's side a pinch, making him squirm a little, laughing. "no doing that, yeah? i gotta know you're gonna be okay if i'm not there."

anakin squeezes him a little closer. "i'll be fine. i just...miss you. i'm not used to not seeing you." his voice goes quiet – this kind of intimacy and vulnerability makes him uncomfortable. he feels the urge to shut up, the discomfort so strong he wants to squirm away from it.

obi-wan kisses the top of his head, and the discomfort significantly lessens. "i love you, too," is all he says back, but it's more than enough. he knows what anakin is trying to say.

they spend the day together. they spend a good while just sitting on the hood of padmé's car, anakin refamiliarizing himself with his spot in the crook of obi-wan's elbow. he could stay there forever, zero complaints. something about being close to obi-wan makes anakin feel safe, like nothing can ever tear them apart. and nothing ever could.

"hey," obi-wan says, nudging him gently. anakin opens his eyes, looks up at him. "pride is the weekend i'm coming to visit you. would you be interested in going?"

anakin blinks in surprise; he hadn't even thought about pride. he didn't even know when it was. "oh, uh, sure. if you want to go, we can go. i've never been or anything."

"i'm going, too," padmé says without opening her eyes. "anakin, can i put eyeshadow on you when we go?"

"sure," he says with a shrug. she beams at his assent, and he rests his chin on obi-wan's shoulder again. everything feels so right again. he is with his two favorite people, the two people who love him despite everything he is. he has never felt warmer.