Thanks to all of you who have hung in there with me with my first slash story and have reviewed, it means a lot to me. :) Here's the last chapter, guys, hope you like!

Chapter 9

Anakin was pulled out of the depths of sleep by a gentle shaking motion. There was a hand on his shoulder; someone was trying to wake him up. Rolling over, he groaned and buried his face in a pillow. He breathed in deeply the familiar scent . . . Obi-Wan's pillow, not his. Bolting upright as he remembered where he was, Anakin found himself face to face with his Master.

"Good morning, Anakin." Obi-Wan said quietly, an inquisitive smile pulling at the edge of his lips.

For a moment, Anakin could only gape, not having expected to get caught sleeping here. "Um, good morning, Master." he said, cringing internally at how nervous he sounded. "It's very . . . early." he offered lamely.

"That it is." Obi-Wan replied, raising an eyebrow. "Though it is technically morning, so I got the Healers to release me. I thought I'd catch a bit more sleep before starting the day," he said pointedly. Strangely enough, Obi-Wan did not ask what he was doing in his bed, much to Anakin's relief.

"I'll just be leaving now, Master, sorry for the trouble." Anakin said meekly as he scooted off of the bed and towards the door, hoping against hope that Obi-Wan would not pursue the matter.

"Anakin."

Anakin turned back slowly at his Master's soft call. "Yes?"

"Come here, my Padawan." Obi-Wan said, patting the space beside him on the bed. Unable to escape, Anakin complied, seating himself not a hand span away from Obi-Wan. "Something has been on your mind these past few days." Obi-Wan said calmly, not posing it as a question.

He knew. Anakin didn't know what Obi-Wan knew—or thought he knew—but he definitely knew something. At that moment Anakin truly, fervently hoped that Obi-Wan didn't know what he himself had only confirmed last night. He may be ready to admit his feelings, but he wasn't ready for rejection. Not now, and maybe not ever. But could he keep this from Obi-Wan, and more importantly . . . did he want to?

"I . . . suppose so, Master." Anakin said hesitantly, pausing to gather his thoughts.

Obi-Wan waited patiently for a few moments, then prodded gently, "And? Would you like to talk about it, Ani?"

Completely missing the use of the familiar nickname, Anakin replied, "It's so hard, Master. I want to tell you, but . . . I just . . . I need more time to think!" he burst out, frustrated by his inability to articulate his feelings. He stood up and paced over to the door, his back turned to Obi-Wan

"Very well then, Padawan." Was it his imagination, or did Obi-Wan sound faintly disappointed? He heard soft footfalls behind him, and felt a hand reach up and settle lightly on his shoulder. "I'll be in the kitchen getting some tea, if you need me."

The hand started to withdraw from his shoulder, but Anakin caught it in his larger one and turned around to face its owner. "Master . . . . Obi-Wan . . . wait."

"I'm listening." came the quiet reply.

"I don't know how to tell you this, Master, but I have to anyway. I hope you'll understand. You know that I love you, don't you?"

"Well, yes--" Obi-Wan began.

"But what you don't know is that I love you more than I should. I've always cared for you as a friend and mentor, but lately . . ." he trailed off, and took a deep breath, and said it. "I've found myself very attracted to you." He looked at Obi-Wan carefully, bracing himself for the reply.

"Is that all?" Obi-Wan replied calmly, looking at him with those clear blue eyes that seemed to be telling him something.

"What do you mean, is that all?" Anakin exploded, twisting away from Obi-Wan. "I pour my heart out to you and that's all you have to say?" he said angrily, feeling his cheeks start to burn.

"Did you really?" Obi-Wan queried, looking closely at Anakin.

"Did I what?" Anakin said, exasperated now. Did everything have to be a lesson?

"Pour your heart out to me. I heard an admission of physical attraction for your Master, nothing else. Problematic as such a thing may be, there is no shame in it. But is that all?" Obi-Wan said, in a tone that Anakin could not quite interpret.

Anakin knew that it would be easier to say that yes, that was all, he just wanted to have sex with him. But that would be a lie, and that wouldn't do in the long run. He'd come this far . . . he needed to finish this, whatever the outcome may be. Choosing his words carefully, he replied, "No, Master, its more than that." he admitted miserably. "I don't think you understood me before. I love you."

"Are you certain?" Obi-Wan raised a brow.

"Yes, I'm certain," he replied dully, certain that Obi-Wan was thinking up a lecture for him at that very moment.

But to Anakin's great surprise, his admission was met with a small though genuine smile. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Why?" And before Anakin knew what was happening, Obi-Wan had crossed the short distance between them and put one arm around his waist, and used the other to tilt his head down towards him.

"Because I love you as well." Obi-Wan breathed near his ear.

Eyes widening, Anakin stuttered out a reply. "I – you -- love me too? How?" he said wondrously, almost to himself. Of all the possible responses he had expected, this was not one of them. "You knew!" he said accusingly, though he was too elated to beangry.

"I had my suspicions, yes," Obi-Wan admitted. "Though that kiss you gave me the other night confirmed them." he said teasingly. Anakin's eyes grew wide in astonishment at this. Who knew that his prim, proper Master could be so coy?

"Oh . . ." Anakin uttered, still disbelieving.

"Do you find it so hard to believe that I could love you, Anakin? More than my Padawan learner, you have been my friend and companion for many years. And the love between friends, if deep enough, often becomes something more. It is not a difficult transition" Obi-Wan told him with a smile. "Is that not what you have found as well?" he asked.

"You said it perfectly, Master, though I wish I'd been so eloquent." Boldly, he wrapped his arms around Obi-Wan's waist and drew him closer, and felt a thrill of pleasure when Obi-Wan wrapped his arms around his back. "But," Anakin said slyly, "There's more to communication than words." Obi-Wan rolled his eyes at the uninspired line, but responded readily as Anakin drew him up into a kiss. Anakin delighted in the feel of Obi-Wan's soft mouth against his, and kissed him hungrily until they both had to break for air.

"That . . . was nice." Anakin managed dazedly as he gazed down at Obi-Wan – his lover? He could only hope. "Very nice." He would have liked to simply relish the moment, but he just had to know. "Master? What now?" he asked quietly.

Obi-Wan looked thoughtful for a moment. "It's early yet. Why don't we get some more sleep? I must admit, I'm still a bit drowsy from whatever the Healer's gave me." he replied. He then sat down on the bed and proceeded to take off his shoes and outer tunics.

Anakin visibly deflated at this, having been hoping for something more. Obi-Wan, is seemed, wasn't taking this seriously. "Yes, Master," he said unhappily as he turned to leave the room.

He head a soft chuckle from behind. "Anakin, where are you going?" Obi-Wan inquired.

"To sleep, of course." he replied hollowly, not looking back.

"As you seemed to like my bed so much, I thought we could share. Unless you'd prefer not too--"

"No!" Anakin replied, turning back to face Obi-Wan as realization dawned. "I mean, that would be wonderful, Master."

"Not in this, Anakin, never in this am I your Master." Obi-Wan corrected him gently. "And don't look so surprised. Though I do hope you know what you're getting yourself into. I don't form such attachments lightly." Obi-Wan informed him.

Anakin froze for a moment, unable to process Obi-Wan's words at first. A warm feeling welled up in his chest as he realized what this meant, as if the Force itself was rejoicing. Sitting down next to Obi-Wan at the foot of the bed, he took the other man's hand in his and said, "Neither do I." he said sincerely. Not anymore.

Together, they climbed into bed and Anakin pulled the covers up over both of them. Anakin spooned up behind Obi-Wan and draped an arm over his waist, taking care not to put any weight on his wounded side. As Obi-Wan shifted into a comfortable position against him, Anakin nearly groaned aloud at the contact. He may not have been under the influence of an aphrodisiac, but he quickly grew hard as Obi-Wan moved beside him.

"Ma—Obi-Wan?" he asked breathlessly, deriving no small pleasure from the use of his name rather than the formal title. Feeling Anakin's erection pressed against him, Obi-Wan tilted his head up and gave Anakin a light smile.

"Of course, Anakin," he said gently. "But later. I am tired still, and we've no need to rush. We have all the time we need." He gave Anakin an almost playful grin. "I look forward to it," he finished, sounding drowsy by now.

Anakin pressed a kiss to his head and held him tighter. "As do I." he replied softly, releasing his lust into the Force as he had done earlier. He was sure that Obi-Wan would be proud of him for his self-control; but Obi-Wan, still weary from his injury, was already asleep. Anakin simply lay there for a few minutes, watching the slow rise and fall of Obi-Wan's chest as he pondered recent events.

So much had changed between them in such a short amount of time, though Anakin truly felt that this was right. The Force seemed to hum around them, as if in agreement, and Anakin couldn't help but wonder if Master Yoda had somehow known that this would happen. But as much as the thought of Yoda meddling in his love life bothered him, he couldn't bring himself to be annoyed. Making a note to talk to the matchmaker of a troll, Anakin closed his eyes and awaited sleep.

There was so much in the way, but Anakin wasn't bothered. The cloud of his mother's death, the doubts of the Council, even Padmé . . . none of that mattered now. With Obi-Wan, he would make things right.

It was simply a matter of time.

END

Thanks to you all for reading, its been fun:)

And I'm sure some of you were disappointed by the lack of a sex scene, sorry. But as I mentioned at the beginning of this story, the slash was to be "mild" and "non-explicit". Plus, I don't think I could write a half-decent sex-scene to save my life. ;) My next slash story is quite a bit . . . racier, though.

As always, feel free to stop by my site's forum or drop me a mail if you have any comments/questions/ideas, I'm all ears!