#the way he covers yoda up w the blanket ??

[gatalnta]

luke has such a caring nature like i am in tears for him.

#the way he covers yoda up w the blanket ?? #🥺🥺🥺 #baby boy

[meep-morp-s]

Febuwhump 19- delirium, Luke

The image of his own face in Darth Vader’s mask swam in Luke’s vision. He felt like he was going to be sick. He felt cold. He felt like he was dying.

Luke tried to sit up; he needed to get away from this terrible feeling, but walls constrained him and his arms refused to move underneath something wrapping him in place. A three-fingered hand pressed gently into his shoulder.

The dark cave fell away. Through blurry vision Luke recognized the warm hovel that was Master Yoda’s home. “H- how did I…?”

“Carried you back, I did. Collapsed, after your vision you had.”

The world swirled around him and his body shook violently. “W-w what’s hap-happen -ing t–t-to m-me?”

FORCE EXHAUSTION.

“Aaaah!” Luke cried. He forced his sore arms to fight through the blankets and cover his ears. It didn’t prevent the deafening echo of Ben’s voice from drumming into his mind.

“Shield, Luke. Shield your mind, you must,” Yoda implored. “No more of the Force, can your body withstand today.”

He remembered something about shielding that Yoda had mentioned earlier when he was running and climbing through the forest. He’d felt so alive then. Full of a newfound energy just waiting to give him the extra push he needed to jump a little further, climb a little higher, and balance a little better.

All that energy was gone now. It was replaced with what felt like getting Jundland flu after working out on the vaporators for hours on end, only about a thousand times worse.

He couldn’t think straight enough to shield, let alone think about how he was supposed to do so. Ben’ presence flared with guilt and worry so much so that Luke curled in on himself. The feeling faded, and Luke could tell Ben had left to give him some reprieve. The feeling of guilt lingered.

Yoda did not. He paced to the edge of the room and reached to pull a curtain over the doorway. “Rest,” he said.

Luke shivered. He was confused and reeling from the day’s earlier events. All he wanted was to able to close his eyes and rest as Yoda had instructed, but nausea prevented that. As soon as he closed his eyes it felt like he was unmoored and drowning in waves of pressure. He could not move (other than the shivers which he had no control over) or his aching muscles would scream in protest.

Even if he could not sleep, he tried to rest his mind and stared at a candle on the windowsill. Every time he blinked it seemed to get shorter and shorter. When it was only a melted stub, it shook violently in the wind that was beginning to pick up, and then went out.

Darkness swallowed the room. Luke could not see anything but his breath in front of him. Had the room temperature dropped? Things moved in the corners of his vision and strange noises came out of nowhere.

Something touched him. “Get back!” he shouted, and reached for his lightsaber. His hands searched for it at his side but came up empty. “Where is it? Where…?”

Luke forgot what he had been looking for. With his hands out in the open the began to get cold. He shivered, and felt like he was back on Hoth. He’d felt similar then, moaning about seeing Ben and some planet called Dagobah. How long ago had that been?

“What day is it?”

“Only a few hours, it has been,” Yoda replied. When had he returned? “Here, eat.”

Food sounded amazing, even the strange stews that Yoda made. But he only got one bite in before it tried to jump right back out of his stomach. Luke scrambled up to the window and let the meager contents of his stomach out. Then he slumped back into his bed, completely depleted of whatever energy he’d had left.

Someone tucked the blanket over him again. “Thanks, Uncle Owen,” he mumbled.

Uncle Owen let out a heavy sigh. Luke’s eyes were closed but he could hear him sit down next to his bed. “A challenging life, you have led,” he said.

Luke wondered why he was talking in such a weird way.

“This challenge, one of many it is. And on the other side, stronger you will be. Wiser, hmm.”

“Strong, “ he repeated. His voice was barley more than a peep, and it sounded like a rusty wheel on a droid. “I don’t feel strong.”

“Pah! A feeling, strength is not. It is a fact.” Luke tried to listen but most of the words he heard simply floated out of his mind. “A Skywalker you are. Strong, Skywalkers are.”

“Is my father strong?”

“Hmm, yes.”

“Is he wise?”

There was no reply. Luke wasn’t too bothered, though. He knew his Uncle didn’t know much about his step brother, but he rarely even talked about him. Although sleep was pulling him away, Luke prodded further.

“Will he ever come back? Do you think I’ll ever meet him?”

It was a question he had not asked since he was a child and did not fully understand the concept of death. In the back of his mind Luke was aware of this but the question slipped out anyway.

“Clouded the future is. But sooner than you are ready, I fear, will you see him.”

Luke did not understand his answer but his mind was whirling with too many things to understand much. Uncle Owen put three clawed fingers on his overheated forehead.

“Now, sleep, young Skywalker.”

Luke woke up when the sun made a rare trip through the fog directly into his eyes. He groaned and stretched. Alone in the hut, he got dressed and waited for Yoda to return from presumably meditating somewhere in the swampy forest. He wished he could shower, because he was starting to smell riper than the bog.

How are you feeling, Luke?

“Ben!” Like turned to find Ben’s glowing form leaning against the low wall. He had that sad look that rarely left his face and a fleeting recollection of guilt passed through Luke, though he wasn’t sure why. “I’m fine, just a little sore from yesterday, I guess.”

You mean… two days ago?

Luke blinked. “What? I was training, yesterday. The only break I got was when Yoda had me go explore that… that cave,” he frowned at the memory, but it was so distant and mixed with other confusing thoughts that must have been nightmares. “And then I…”

You experienced Force exhaustion, Ben explained. You overexerted your very newfound abilities.

“Oh,” he breathed. “And I was out for a day?”

Ben nodded. “Well, I feel fine now. Better, even!” Luke spotted Yoda coming towards the hut and kneeled in front of him. He was ready to train again.

Yoda smiled up at him then looked past him. Luke turned to see Ben’s frown now directed at Master Yoda. They had some sort of silent conversation before Ben’s ghost sighed and faded slowly. Yoda turned without a word and led Luke to a clearing with some rocks strewn about.

“Am I going to try and lift them with the Force?” he asked excitedly.

“Yes. But first, a handstand, you will do. Much focus you will need. Focus and insight, you too will gain.”

His head was still muddled from an apparent day of being so delirious he couldn’t remember what had happened, but Luke wanted to keep going. Maybe it would help him see more clearly what he had learned in the cave, or maybe he would see something else.

What he knew for certain and he steadied his hands on the ground, was that he had the strength to do it.

#febuwhump2022 #febuwhump #whump #angst #luke skywalker #master yoda #obi wan kenobi #force exhaustion #ESB

[sourskywalker]

You’ll be okay

SUMMARY: After receiving advice from Jedi Master Jadyaja Secrum which helped Anakin pass his Jedi Knight Trials, Jadyaja expects something in return...The reader finds out and snaps

WARNINGS:

Mentions of rape, violence, I’m not good at explaining but basically this is a very very sad fic involving Anakin being sexually assaulted so if your not comfortable with this subject then I highly recommend you don’t read this

“Anakin!” You exclaim, rushing over to him and throwing your arms around him “Congratulations on passing your trials! I’m sorry I couldn’t congratulate you earlier” Your voice was slightly muffled as it was pressed into his tunic. When he didn’t respond you pulled back, brows furrowed, finally noticing the look of uncomfortableness etched onto his features “Anakin, are you alright?” Your arms finally fall to their sides and you study him gently

“Fine” It was a short and clipped tone, you couldn’t sense any bit of emotion in his voice “Just tired” He definitely looked tired

“Alright…” You seemed unsure but let Anakin walk away, his head darting around the hallways every few seconds. Like he was watching for something- or someone

~~~~

You woke up with a jolt, rain pattering gently against your bedroom window. A sudden bolt of lightning illuminated your room enough for you to see a figure standing at the edge of your bed.

“Hello?” Your voice was laced with sleep as you sat up and turned the light on “Anakin? It’s late? What are you doing up?” Anakin didn’t respond, instead deciding to chew on his lip and hop on one foot to the other.

At this point you had your robes over your figure and were just a few feet away from Anakin when the damn finally broke and he crumbled to the ground, you threw yourself next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder and willing him to look up at you “Anakin! What’s going on?” His eyes were bloodshot and the bags under his eyes were more prominent at this point

“I-i can’t tell you” He said through hiccups, his shoulders shaking as sobs racked through his body

“It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me” You place a hand on his hair and gently stroke it “But you can if you want to…I won’t force it out of you” He nodded, trying to control his breathing before he started speaking

“I-i had gone to Master Jadyaja Secrum for some advice on how to pass my trials.” He started off, his voice raw as he spoke “She had been happy to help me, and gave me really helpful advice which helped me better concentrate on the force” You nodded, confused as to where this was heading “W-when I passed my trials, she was one of the first to congratulate me and had asked to speak to me privately. S-she took me to an empty room and everything was going fine until she said that she expected something in return”

The gears slowly started turning in your head, dread filling your bones as you prayed this wasn’t what you thought it was “She told me that without her I would’ve failed and that she deserved her reward”

“Anakin…” You murmured, the hand in his hair ceasing it’s movements and slowly retracting to your side

“She pushed me onto the table and started taking her pants and my pants off” The sobs started up again “A-and she put my private part in hers” He drew his knees up to his chest and started rocking back and forth “She told me that I liked it because I wasn’t soft, and that she wouldn’t stop until I let go” The sobs came out harder “S-she’s been doing it any chance she gets and tells me that I like it”

All you felt was anger. Anger coursed through your veins as you processed his words

How dare she lay her hands on him. “Kriff, Anakin, I’m so sorry” The memory of you from earlier that day when you wrapped your arms around him appeared and you instantly regret your actions “Is it okay if I give you a hug?” Anakin nodded tiredly and let you gently wrap your arms around him

His arms clutched onto your waist tightly as he let the tears run freely, his anguished cries made your heart hurt.

You sat there for a few minutes until you eventually pulled away “That’s why you’re so tired, isn’t it?” You ask “You’re scared to go to sleep in case she comes in during the night” Anakin nods in confirmation. You slowly stood up, offering him your hand to help him up. “Do you want to sleep in my bed?” You offer before quickly adding “I’ll sleep on the chair” You motion to the chair in the corner of the room

“Yes please” It was silent, but you could hear it as clear as day. You pulled back your covers and helped him climb onto the bed before tucking the covers up to his chin, his hand brushes against something soft and he pulls out a plush teddy bear

“That’s Poppy, I found her in a store on my first mission and decided to buy her” You explain, grabbing the extra blanket you stored in your small closet that you used for winters “She’s been my lucky charm ever since”

Anakin nodded absentmindedly, curling the bear tightly into his grip and shuffling under the covers a little more so only a peak of hair could be seen. The sounds of quiet snores filling the room within minutes.

“You’ll be okay, Anakin” You whisper to nobody in particular, settling into the chair “I’ll make sure of it”

~~~~

The next morning you woke up to find Anakin sleeping soundly, Poppy still clutched in his grip. You started getting dressed, your mind replaying that night over and over in your head as you clipped your lightsaber to your belt and walked out the bedroom, quietly shutting the door.

“You’re up early, Y/n” Obi-Wan pointed out

“Just thought I’d get a headstart in my training, Master Kenobi” You lie smoothly, adjusting your robes slightly and continuing on down the hall until you reach the outside where groups of people stood on the grass, stretching their limbs and getting ready for their training.

You scanned each person, trying to find the dark haired woman. You couldn’t see her and just assumed she was probably getting ready.

I wonder if she’s touched her padawan like she’s touched Anakin you thought, turning on your heel and going back inside.

“Good morning, Master Yoda” You greet him “Have you seen Master Jadyaja Secrum by any chance?”

“I think she’s with the younglings, young padawan” He responds before shuffling away

“Thank you, Master” You begin the trek towards the youngling training room, your heart pumping in your ears as you neared the room, until it was just a few feet from you

Using the force you push the door open and stroll in “Good morning younglings” You put on a fake smile, eyes landing on Jadyaja who stood in the centre of the training room “Master Secrum” Without missing a beat you dashed forward, ramming yourself into her and toppling the both of you onto the ground

“Get off me!” She screeches, your fist connects with her jaw, then her nose as you delivered blow after blow to her face

“You hurt him!” You yell, spit splattering across her face, your fist ramming at her eye as you tug her by the hair “You get what you fucking deserve!” You quickly stand up, foot slamming down on her genitals and forcing her up by the force only to kick her towards the wall “You violated him!”

“I-”

“Violated him!” You roar, tears streamed down your face “You thought that you deserved something in return after helping him, and fucking violated him you dirty sack of-”

Pairs of hands suddenly grabbed you by the arms and forcefully pulled you away from Jadyaja, who crumbled into a heap “I’ll fucking kill you!”

“Enough” You recognised the voice as Mace Windus “Get her out of here”

“He trusted you!” You cried “He wanted your help and you used it to your advantage!” The pairs of hands started tugging you out of the room “You raped Anakin Skywalker!” Everything went silent, the tugging stopped “You raped him, you monster! You raped an innocent being!”

Apparently Obi-Wan was one of the people holding onto you because he firmly stated “Let her go” and the hands dropped “How do you know this? Y/n?”

“He told me last night” You replied “Told me that he’d gone to her for advice on his trials and that once he’d passed she wanted something in return”

“Where is he?” Windu asks

“Sleeping. In my room. I slept on the chair” You chewed on your lip, hands trying to soothe the throbbing feeling in your knuckles

“Go and get him. As for you Master Secrum, you will be put on trial under suspicion of sexual abuse, get her out of here” Windu ordered, and the people who were holding your arms were now dragging her away

You led Obi-Wan to your quarters, gently opening the door and letting him inside, noticing Anakin was still asleep “He hasn’t been sleeping” You comment, shuffling quietly over to the bed “Too scared to sleep” You placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking him enough for him to stir and for his eyes to peel open “Good sleep?” He nods, eyes still sagging slightly as you help him up

“Master Obi-Wan” Anakin exclaims “I-”

“Can I hug you?” Obi-Wan cuts off Anakin's sentence, tears welling up as he looks at his former padawan. Anakin nodded and Obi-Wan flung his arms over Anakins, holding him tightly “I should’ve realised” He whispers “Oh my god, she hurt you” Anakin started shaking again as his head fell onto Obi-Wan's shoulder, cries once again racking his body “I’m so sorry Anakin”

You slowly made your way over to the pair, putting a hand on Anakin’s shoulder and squeezing it reassuringly “You’ll be okay, Anakin” You whisper “I’ll make sure of it”

#anakin skywalker x reader #really sad #angst #mentions of rape #reader gets violent #comfort #sort of happy ending

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Time and Time and Time

Anakin mouths off too hard, and for his trouble, is de-aged back down to a five-year-old.

WARNING: This fic is sad and has brief mentions of child abuse because that’s what happens sometimes when you’re five years old and a slave. 

Ahsoka Tano is no stranger to a bad situation. It seems that every time she turns around, something has gone wrong. Betrayals. Explosions. Dead soldiers. 

That’s war, she supposes. And while it gets strange sometimes, it is rarely quite this weird. 

“Ahsoka, report.” 

She opens her mouth, but no sounds come out.

“Ahsoka!” Master Obi-Wan’s voice is sharp and worried. “What’s happening down there?” 

Ahsoka blinks once, and then again, but the sight before her is still the same. 

In place of her master, who is tall and strong and every inch the hero the holo news always makes him out to be, is a very small boy, no more than five years old. Sandy hair. Tanned skin. Big blue eyes. Malnourished. 

Terrified. 

“We uh...have a problem,” Ahsoka stammers into her comm. “Master Obi-Wan, Master Anakin angered the witches of Dathomir. And they...have retaliated.” 

“Oh, Force,” Obi-Wan grumbles. “Oh, Anakin. I’ll be planet-side in a few minutes.” 

“Yup,” Ahsoka says, her voice going an octave higher than it normally does. “Great. See you soon.” She clicks off and takes a breath, before carefully kneeling down in front of the boy, who stumbles away from her. “No, no, no, it’s okay,” she tells him gently, putting her hands up in a peaceful motion. “I won’t hurt you.” 

The boy - who is most definitely her master - watches her carefully as he tugs on his lightweight tunic, seemingly trying to pull it tighter to his body, and it confuses Ahsoka for a moment. 

“He’s cold,” Obi-Wan says from behind her as he steps up. “At this age, Anakin had never been off of Tatooine before, and they don’t have seasons there. It’s just desert.”

 Ahsoka gets to her feet and turns to face him, Rex and Cody. “Rex, can you please get the-...well...the General a blanket?” 

Rex nods, and dashes off without a word. She can feel through the Force just how stunned he is. 

Just how stunned they all are. 

Obi-Wan sighs heavily and kneels down in front of the little boy, who stumbles back again. 

“It’s alright, Ani,” he says gently. “We’re going to help you.” 

“How do you know my name?” Anakin asks, looking worried. “W-where am I? Where’s...where my Mama?” 

Obi-Wan swallows. “We’re on a planet called Dathomir,” he says. “And...and your mother isn’t...she isn’t here. We’re going to take care of you for the time being.” 

“Did Gardula do bad things to her again?” Anakin asks, his big eyes filling with deep worry. “Sometimes Gardula does bad things to Mama but then I help take care of her until she’s better. I can take care of her. I can help.” 

Ahsoka feels a deep wave of sadness wash over her, and it’s not just her own. It’s radiating off of Obi-Wan as well. 

“I know you can, Ani,” Obi-Wan nods. “But we have to leave this place first.” He gets to his feet and holds a hand out to him. “Come along, little one.” 

It’s like a duck to water the way Anakin takes his hand, following after him. 

“Master-” Ahsoka starts. 

“Later,” Obi-Wan tells her. 

***** 

“So...this is what Master Anakin was like when he was young?” Ahsoka asks softly from the copilot seat, as Obi-Wan pilotes. 

Anakin himself is curled up in one of the back passenger seats, a blanket wrapped around him, shivering in his sleep. 

“No,” Obi-Wan admits. “He was quite a few years older when we met. He was...brash and confident. A funny little boy. Defensive. Harsher.”

“He mentioned Gardula...the Hutt?” 

Obi-Wan nods. “He and his mother were enslaved by the Hutts before being sold to a Toydarian.” He goes quiet for a moment. “I...I suppose I never really thought about just how terrible it must have been.” 

“We can’t tell him his mother is dead,” Ahsoka says, her voice lowering.

“Of course no,” Obi-Wan says quickly. “He is five years old and he has no memories of his life. We must bring him back to the Temple. The rest of the Council will know what to do.” 

“And if they don’t?” Ahsoka asks. 

“Then we find the Witches who did this, and we make them turn him back.” 

Ahsoka purses her lips and glances back at the shivering little boy worriedly. “He’s so small.” 

“Yes.” 

“Like he hasn’t eaten in days.” 

“He probably hasn’t.” 

“Should I get him a ration bar?” 

Obi-Wan shakes his head. “If he eats it too fast, he’ll likely vomit it back up. There’ll be soup at the Temple.” 

She nods. “What are we going to tell Senator Amidala?” 

“We are not going to tell Senator Amidala anything,” he tells her firmly. “This situation is complicated enough without bringing...whatever her feelings for Anakin are into this mess.” 

“But-” 

“For now, we keep this within the Jedi, Ahsoka.” 

“Rex and Cody know.” 

Obi-Wan says nothing.

“You’re really upset about this.” 

“Of course I’m upset about this,” Obi-Wan says, frowning at her. “Anakin is my brother, and to see him like this…” 

She nods again, crossing her arms tightly. 

He sighs and gets to his feet, tugging his Jedi robes off and draping them over the little boy before sitting back down.

**** 

It’s shocking to Ahsoka, a little, to watch Obi-Wan scoop the little boy into his arms - robes and blanket and all - and carry him off of the ship and towards the Temple. 

For his part, Anakin is half-asleep, eyes hazy, but his little body shivers harder in the breeze and he nestles further into the robes and Obi-Wan. 

“It’s alright, Ani,” Obi-Wan says gently. “We’ll be inside soon.” 

When they get to the Temple, it is likely the last thing that Obi-Wan was hoping for, as a delegation of senators sits in the Council Chambers, meeting with Mace and Yoda. 

The look of complete shock on Senator Amidala’s face is a sight to behold, Ahsoka thinks. 

“There was an incident on Dathomir,” Obi-Wan tells them hesitantly, trying to look anywhere but at Padme. “The witches de-aged Anakin to what we believe is about five years old.” 

Mace closes his eyes for a moment before opening them again and turning to the senators. “Excuse us, Senators. It seems that something urgent has come up.” 

They exchange their goodbyes, and most walk out. 

All but Padme. She stays behind, gazing at the little boy with sad eyes. “He needs to eat.” 

“Yes,” Obi-Wan nods. “We’ll get him something soon.” 

“It’s not fair to make him wait,” Padme says firmly. 

“Senator, I must speak with Masters Windu and Yoda first,” Obi-Wan tells her. His voice is equally firm. “We will take care of him.” 

“Fine,” she snaps, reaching forward and taking Anakin into her own arms quickly, before Obi-Wan can really protest. “If you won’t feed him, I will.” 

He sighs heavily, squeezing his eyes shut. “Ahsoka, please escort the Senator down to the kitchens and help her heat up some soup.” 

Ahsoka nods and heads for the doors, glancing back at Padme, who is holding Ankin tightly in her arms, whispering comforting words to him. 

“I know it isn’t easy to see him like this,” Ahsoka says quietly. 

“No, it isn’t,” Padme says. She sighs and seems to loosen up a little. “I’m sorry, Ahsoka.” 

The Padawan nods as she leads Padme into the kitchens, starting to rummage in the refrigeration unit. “I know there’s some leftover soup somewhere.” 

Padme nods and settles Anakin onto the bench of a little table before kneeling in front of him and smiling sadly. “Hi, Ani.” 

“Who are you?” Anakin asks, finally more awake now, rubbing his eyes as he adjusts Obi-Wan’s robes. “Where did the nice man go?” 

“He’s upstairs,” Padme tells him. “We’ll go see him after you’ve had some food. My name is Padme.” 

He lights up. “Food? Is there really food?” 

“Yes, darling,” she smiles, brushing some of his hair away from his eyes. “Miss Ahsoka is going to make you some soup. And I bet there’s bread.” 

“Oh boy! Can we wrap some up for my Mama? She’s hungry, too.” 

Ahsoka’s heart sinks. “Of...of course we can,” she stumbles over her words as she heats the soup and starts slicing the bread. “There’s plenty.” 

“Maybe…” Anakin says hesitantly. “Maybe I could go get Mama and we could come and live here? Mama cooks real good. I wouldn’t be any trouble. We could help.” 

Padme takes a deep breath and rubs his arms with the robes. “Eat, and then we can talk once Obi-Wan is done talking to the Council.” 

The hope dims in the little boys eyes, but he nods. 

**** 

“A troubling matter this is,” Yoda says as Ahsoka leads Anakin back to the Council Chambers by the hand. Padme had had to leave, though reluctantly.

“Padawan Tano, if you would wait in your quarters?” Mace asks. 

“But-”

“We’ll keep you informed, Ahsoka,” Obi-Wan promises. 

She sighs and steps out, leaving the three of them along with the little boy.

Yoda steps over to Anakin, examining him. “Feel better, do you, Skywalker? With some food in you, hm?” 

Anakin giggles and reaches out, tugging on Yoda’s ear gently. “You’re funny.”

Yoda chuckles, though Mace stands behind him, looking slightly unnerved. 

“Tell me, Young Skywalker,” Yoda says. “The last thing you remember. Before finding you, Ahsoka and Obi-Wan did.”

The smile dies on the little boy's face and he looks down, before covering himself in Obi-Wan’s robes, including his face. 

Mace huffs, looking amused. “Just as difficult as a child…” 

“Gardula gave me to one of her friends for a present,” Anakin says. “And he touched me. And I got scared. And then part of the building came down. Because I was scared.” 

Obi-Wan’s face crumbles. “That’s why Gardula sold them,” he says quietly, to no one in particular. “He accidentally used the Force and brought half a building down.” 

“I didn’t mean to!” Anakin insists. “I was scared!” 

“Always afraid, you have been,” Yoda nods. “Things you have been through, that most of us have not.” 

“I want my Mama,” Anakin says, pulling down the robes again. “Where’s Mama?” 

“She isn’t here, Ani,” Obi-Wan says gently. 

“I gotta go find Mama. She’s gonna get in trouble for what I did!” 

“Anakin-” Mace starts, but doesn’t get a chance to say more as the little boy drops the robes and runs from the Chambers and out into the hall. 

“That went poorly,” Obi-Wan says sadly, getting to his feet. “I’ll go after him.” 

“Obi-Wan,” Mace says, stopping the younger Jedi. “Did you know? About…” 

“I always had a feeling,” Obi-Wan says. “But it was all so painful. I didn’t want to hurt him.” 

Yoda nods. “Hm. Find him, you must Obi-Wan.” 

He nods, grabs his robes and dashes out.

***** 

He does find him eventually, in the gardens, under one of the larger trees, shivering without Obi-Wan’s robes. 

“Ani.” 

“I want my Mama.” 

“I...I know, Anakin,” Obi-Wan nods. “She isn’t here.” 

Anakin looks up at him, a deep sadness in his blue eyes. “Something bad happened to her, and it’s my fault.” 

It’s then that it dawns on Obi-Wan what’s happening.

Anakin can’t feel his mother’s presence anywhere in the galaxy, and he doesn’t have his memories. He doesn’t remember his mother’s death. 

“It is not your fault,” he says gently, sitting in front of him, and wrapping the robes around him again. “Nothing that happened was your fault, Ani. You must understand that you were...are...just a little boy. One who had- has...no control over your destiny. All of these things happened to you. Not because of you.” 

Tears spill from Anakin’s eyes as he huddles into the robes, his face disappearing, and Obi-Wan settles down in the grass next to him, silently pulling him close, holding him tightly. 

He wonders if perhaps they’d had this conversation before...the first time Anakin was young and afraid and alone...perhaps their relationship would not have been so tumultuous. 

Obi-Wan wonders if it’s too late to right that wrong. 

He hopes not. 

**** 

It takes a few days, but the Council finds a way to re-age Anakin back to the way he should be, and Obi-Wan is relieved, but also dreading the conversation he knows is coming.

It’s late at night when there’s a knock on the door of his quarters, and when he opens it, he finds Anakin - back to his regular adult age, and freshly showered - standing there, holding Obi-Wan’s Jedi robes tightly. 

“Anakin?” 

“These are yours,” Anakin says, holding the robes out. “Thank you for letting me borrow them, Master. I was very cold.” 

“I know,” Obi-Wan says gently, taking the robes back. 

“I think I got some snot on them,” Anakin admits sheepishly. 

“They’re washable,” Obi-Wan assures him. 

Anakin nods, crossing his arms and looking down. “It’s late. You’re probably tired, and-” 

“We should talk,” Obi-Wan cuts him off. “There is much to say.” 

Anakin swallows. “Is there?” 

“Yes,” Obi-Wan tells him. “There are things we should have discussed long ago. I am ashamed that I’ve waited until now to admit that.” He settles the robes on the back of a chair in his quarters and beckons Anakin inside. “Come along. I’ll make some tea.” 

‘But not the weird green stuff,” Anakin says, hesitantly following him. 

“I keep the black tea just for you,” Obi-Wan grins. “Have a seat.” 

END

#Anakin Skywalker #Obi-Wan Kenobi #Ahsoka Tano #Padme Amidala #Yoda #Mace Windu #fic #au #TW: mentions of child abuse

[alabasterswriting]

In A House Without Doors

Hello! This was written for @elevenknope who came up with the idea, and @itcouldbendoritcouldbreak and @1980s-jean-ralphio who both came up with the idea of El’s room and Mike not wanting to leave Will’s side. I hope you guys like it! Thank you for letting me use your brilliant minds! Enjoy!

Hawkins National Laboratory was too sterile for its own good.

The cloying scent of antiseptic and overpowering blast from the air conditioner were more than enough to set Mike’s teeth on edge as he sat at Will’s bedside. It was cold. There was a blanket across his lap that was far too thin and his sweater did little to keep out the chill. Idly, he wondered why all medical facilities found it necessary to freeze their occupants to death. Did they think it was funny? Were they trying to grab more patients by inducing hypothermia? It seemed like such an unwarranted use of funding that could have easily gone towards providing more comfortable furniture. His chair, for instance, was a rickety old thing, cushioned only by cheap styrofoam covered in plastic, and his butt ached from the stiffness. He’d long stopped being able to process anything from his fingers.

But that part wasn’t from the chill.

Will’s grip was vice-like - a trembling, desperate attempt to keep hold of something, and Mike wasn’t about to tell him to let go. If anything, he held on just as eagerly, hoping to transfer what little body heat he could manage to his friend in an effort to induce some type of coloring other than chalk. Will was nothing more than a still-breathing corpse. 

They were alone.

For the first time in what felt like years, the room was devoid of other people. It was almost a relief to be free of the questions and the shouting and the nonstop conversations he wasn’t allowed to have a voice in, but with that loss came the all-too unsettling void of sound only broken by the beeping of Will’s heart monitor. Mike would have been tempted to turn it off if doing so wouldn’t bring a stampede of people back into the room.

He’d much rather be alone with Will than surrounded by adults who couldn’t understand that the more incomprehensible words tossed into the aether the more terrified Will got. Mike wasn’t about to put his friend through that. He already had enough shit on his plate.

“Mike?” Will’s rasping call snapped his attention away from his discomfort and back into the real world.

Condensation had gathered along the inside of Will’s oxygen mask, and Mike struggled to smile as he leaned in. God, it was so hard to hear him. “Yeah, Will? I’m still here.”

Will smiled - tremulous, as if he had to put in all his energy just to make the effort. “I-I know. I c-can feel your h-hand.”

“Heh, is it warm?” Under normal circumstances, Mike would have made a joke about how at least one of them could, but Will was the type of person who would instantly let go after that, and Mike knew Will needed the connection more than he needed the circulation.

The smaller boy nodded. “Y-yeah. Really w-warm.”

“Good. I’d turn off the air conditioning, but knowing me I’d probably set off some sort of alarm.” 

Will’s eyes brightened, overshadowing the fog for just a moment, and a tiny weight lifted from Mike’s chest. “Y-you would.”

“And they’d definitely throw me out after that,” he continued, hoping to keep the joke alive.

“Can’t h-have that.”

“Nah,” Mike shook his head. “So holding hands is really the best we’re going to get.”

“I-I don’t m-mind. It’s nice.”

Nice. Mike had to swallow back bile. He could see the way Will’s body quivered under the blanket. His friend was in agony. It wasn’t hard to notice, and the doctors (the horrible, evil doctors who didn’t have an ounce of compassion anywhere in their horrible, evil bodies) refused to give him anything for the pain, citing they didn’t know what type of effect the medicine would have on him.

Bullshit, Mike hissed in the back of mind. They just wanted to study him. They didn’t want Will to get better because if Will got better they would have to let him leave, and if Mike knew anything it was that the scientists of Hawkins Lab never let anyone of interest leave. No, they locked them away and kept them separated from their friends and family and any inch of happiness and - no. Stop.

It wouldn’t happen. Not to Will. He’d never let it happen to anyone else. Will wouldn’t be like-

“Mike?” Will shook his hand weakly. “A-are you okay?”

Shit, he really had to work on controlling himself better. He tossed Will another smile, hoping it looked real. “Yeah, I’m okay. How ‘bout you?”

Will shrugged one shoulder. The sleeve of his hospital gown pulled awkwardly to reveal a bony shoulder. “O-okay,” but his body must have chosen that moment to remind him that he was anything but because his face contorted in obvious pain and he sucked in a whistle of air through his teeth.

His grip tightened.

“Will?” Mike half-stood from his chair. He was ready to sprint across the hall and grab a doctor if need be, no matter how convinced he was of their malicious intentions. 

An eternity of harsh breathing passed before Will finally shook his head and relaxed his hold. “I-I’m alright. Really,” he added upon seeing Mike’s disbelief.

“You’re not alright, Will.” As if that wasn’t evident enough by the oxygen mask, hospital gown, and current location.

God, Mike wanted to get out of here. 

This place just…he shivered. Chills ran down his spine.

“H-hey, Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“Ca-can you t-tell me something funny?”

Mike could feel the way his brow furrowed in confusion. Funny? It was hard to think of anything funny right now. Granted, that was probably why Will wanted it; anything to take his mind off the pain if only for a second.

But what could possibly be funny at a time like this?

He looked around the room. All fresh white paint and bright lights and beeping machines. Everything was new, as if the old was something to be washed away. It was hardly the most delightful atmosphere. The air was stale with the scent of illness and the video camera hanging from the ceiling didn’t so much as make the room feel secure as it did a cage at the zoo. For all Mike knew, there were a dozen Hawkin’s scientists on the other side of that camera just watching them, recording everything they said and did for future analysis.

For perhaps the first time, Mike understood what it meant to be completely on display. Enough so, at least, that a little girl felt perfectly okay with undressing in front of a total stranger.

He ground the thought to a halt with enough speed to leave skid marks.

Nope. Not going there again.

It wasn’t funny.

But what to say? Will needed this. He couldn’t leave him hanging, but this place just seemed to sap happiness right out of the air as if it were a vacuum of depression. No wonder El had been so-

Shut. Up.

But the thought wouldn’t leave. El not understanding privacy. El not knowing what a friend was. El’s fear of adults. El not knowing how to tell time or articulate or even speak to them about what hell she had gone through.

El smiling.

Her tiny, tinny laugh as he made her swing back on the La-Z-Boy in the middle of his empty living room. The way her eyes glazed over with unfamiliar happiness as he said goodnight to her. Heck, even her complete lack of enthusiasm for his Yoda impersonation was endearing in hindsight.

A light went on in his head.

“I once did my Yoda impression for El before we, you know, knew. She, ah, wasn’t impressed.” Was that funny? He hoped it was funny. He hadn’t done humor in what felt like years.

The snort that erupted from under Will’s mask was enough to send Mike’s heart soaring. “I w-wonder why,” his best friend teased, and Mike rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

“I didn’t know, okay?”

Will raised a delicate eyebrow. “You h-had a real J-Jedi living in your house and you did y-your Yoda impr-pression?”

“What part of ‘I didn’t know,’ aren’t you getting?” Mike glared, but it was the teasing sort that had his friend not even bothering to hide his grin.

Not that it would have mattered. It was hard to see Will’s mouth behind the fog gathered along his mask anyway.

Once again, this place sucked the joy out of everything.

Will must have sensed it because he was suddenly silent, sunken eyes focused on Mike as if trying to find something buried there. His fingers - so cold, so skeletal - squeezed around Mike’s warmer ones.

Mike almost couldn’t feel it and it wasn’t because his fingers were numb.

Will was getting weaker.

It was a shattering realization. His breath was stolen from his lungs as if ripped out by some otherworldly force and Mike had to physically restrain himself from bolting out of the room. He was selfish. So, so selfish, he thought, as he held on just that much tighter, gluing his hand to Will’s so that the doctors here would have to use a crowbar or some sort of strong acid to make him let go. Anything to keep himself anchored to this room. How could he think to run? How could he possibly contemplate leaving Will here at the mercy of people who only saw him as a walking cadaver and not a living child? He bowed his head to keep himself from throwing up.

Oh God, he really might vomit.

“Mike?” But the voice wasn’t Will’s. Will was as quiet as the corpse that had been dragged out the quarry all those lifetimes ago. No, this voice was softer, higher pitched even though Will was the only one of their friends who’d yet to reach puberty.

It was fleeting, too. Incomprehensible, like a whisper that had traveled too long in the breeze.

Or, more to the point, a ghost left haunting the halls.

He could see her, curled up in the corner like some sort of phantom. Dressed in a hospital gown to match Will’s, she had never looked smaller. Her smell, usually maple syrup, had been replaced by rubber and metal and nothing, and the warmth Mike had always associated her with now surrounded him only with the bone-aching chill of absence.

She was everywhere. Her feel, her smell, her image. She was imprinted into this place as much as any tile or brick - as much a part of the building as an inanimate object. Because that’s all she’d ever been here: an object.

One who could do extraordinary things. One who could help them win a war. One who could move things with her mind and tear holes between worlds. She was an object, an experiment, a nameless subject. 

But never, ever a child.

She screamed. It bounced off the walls and traveled through the halls in an unearthly wail that only served to rip his heart from his chest. He bit his lip so hard it was a wonder it didn’t bleed and Mike belatedly wondered how Will couldn’t hear it. She was so loud; how could everyone else be so deaf?

And then she was gone.

Wait, no. She was next to him. Beside him. Across from him. She was curled up on Will’s bed, bony fingers clinging to the little stuffed lion toy Jonathan had grabbed in his rush for something to help his brother. They were sharing it - two messed up lab rats garbed under the disguise of children. 

Maybe it was the other way around.

Mike tried to shake the image away. It wasn’t real. She wasn’t here. He knew that because he knew where she was, and she had hair now, and living people didn’t leave ghosts behind.

So why wouldn’t she go away?

Why was she here - in this too small room, with its too small bed and a lion toy made for toddlers?

“Mike?” She called again, sound absorbed into the walls so that no one from the outside could ever hear her. 

Why did -

Mike stopped. He was suddenly inextricably struck by how at home she looked. She knew this room. She knew Will’s room as if it were own.

Unbidden, the thought came. This was El’s room.

The fresh paint suddenly made a terrible sort of sense.

Mike started, leaning forward towards the phantom of El, but the words died on his lips. She was gone, vanished as if she’d never been there to begin with.

This time she didn’t come back.

“Mike?” That was Will this time. His brows were scrunched along a forehead dotted with too much sweat - a feat considering how cold the room was - and he eyed his friend with open concern. “W-what’s wrong?”

Everything. Mike wanted to shout it from the rooftops. Everything was wrong.

Because how dare they? How dare they place Will in this room? A room where the men and women here only ever viewed an experiment. How dare they make El live here for so long that even alive she haunted the place?

Anger coursed through his body like an inferno, and he sent a glare to the camera that would have melted the skin off a Demogorgon. He hoped someone was watching. He hoped they knew exactly what they’d done.

He hoped they regretted it with every fiber of their being.

It’s your fault, it’s your fault, it’s your fault, he repeated in his head, even as he calmed his expression so as not to worry Will. “Sorry, just tired,” he reassured, and it wasn’t even a total lie. He was tired, but he was tired and terrified and so goddamn angry that it hurt to breathe.

But Will didn’t need to know that. It wasn’t Will’s fault. It was this place. It was the people in this place - the people who came here every day and thought it was okay to experiment on children like something out of Nazi Germany. It was all their fault. It was their fault El had been used. It was their fault the gate had been opened. It was their fault Will was suffering. It was their fault El had been forced to sacrifice herself to a literal monster.

It was all their fault. And they thought it was okay to place Will in this room where only an experiment had ever lived.

Mike seethed.

Eleven had been a test subject. Test subject number eleven. What did Will’s chart say? Was it twelve? Thirteen? Fourteen? Was it higher or lower? Or maybe because he was so different they’d moved onto using Greek. Test subject alpha. Test subject beta.

He slid his eyes surreptitiously to Will’s uncovered forearm.

Still unmarked.

Good. It had better stay that way.

El haunted these halls. He didn’t know the specifics of what had been done to her, but then he didn’t need to. This room told him enough. She had been an experiment, and as Mike held tighter to Will’s trembling hand he made himself a promise.

No matter what happened, no matter how much he was threatened or coerced or pushed, he would not leave. He wouldn’t so much as budge.

El had never had anyone to help her, but Will Byers did.

Mike would make sure of that. 

#stranger things #mike wheeler #will byers #eleven #stranger things fanfiction #this took so long to write #like why am i so slow #not sure how i feel about the ending but oh well #thank you for reading! #and yes i know in one of the stills will is obviously not in el’s room #but let’s pretend mike was very vocal about moving him #posting this before heading to work:)