Anakin shot bolt upright in bed, barely managing to keep a yelp down as blank light flashed through his room. He groaned and flopped back down, panting from the nightmare.

Boom.

Thunder echoed through the Temple, making Anakin duck under his sheets in surprise. Seconds later, when it had completely subsided, he mentally berated himself for being such a baby.

I am twelve years old, and a Jedi Padawan. I know better!

However, when lightning flashed and the thunder answered again not five minutes later, Anakin knew he was outmatched. Four years in the Jedi Order and he still wasn't used to thunderstorms.

Carefully, making every effort to remain quiet, Anakin crept out of bed and eased his door open, glancing down the dark hallway to the room where his Master slept. Thunder echoed again and he jumped, almost running the opposite direction toward the kitchen.

"Fine, fine, I'm fine," Anakin muttered as he reached the room they shared for meditation. He almost, almost considered sitting down on one of the hard cushions and immersing himself in the Force, but then his master might feel it and know something was wrong.

"No, nothing's wrong. I don't need to release my feelings." Anakin turned away and entered the next door to the kitchen.

Opening the cabinets, Anakin realized that this really wasn't one of his better thought-out plans, but then again, when does he ever think his way through things? The cupboards were practically empty, only a few stale crackers and cans of condensed soups...ah-ha! A small box of chips rested on the very top shelf, much to high for Anakin to reach.

However, Jedi don't have the Force for nothing, do they?

Hopping onto the perilously narrow counter, Anakin slowly reached up. Almost...almost...he grabbed onto a lower shelf to pull himself up a little higher, but he still couldn't reach. Straining his arm, Anakin closed his eyes and felt the Force flow along it...stretching into his fingers...wrapping around the bag...almost...got it…

Boom, the counters rumbled.

CRASH!

Anakin didn't realize he was falling backwards until he felt the hard ground collide with his back as jars and canisters landed heavily on his chest. He seemed to watch in slow motion as the shelf he had been leaning on started falling towards his face...only to stop and hover a few inches from his nose.

Uh-oh.

Turning his head slowly to the side, Anakin was able to make out the figure of his master standing in the doorway, arms crossed and fingers tapping impatiently.

"And just what do you think you are doing, Padawan?"

Anakin grinned sheepishly. "Getting a snack,"

Obi-Wan sighed tiredly and lifted his hand to push the floating shelf away from his apprentice's face. As soon as it was gone, Anakin lifted himself out of the mess of broken glass and grains. He gingerly brushed his backside off, wincing when his hand hit a sore spot on his hip.

"Alright?" Obi-Wan asked quietly, brushing a bit of flour off Anakin's nose.

"'M fine, Master. Thanks. Sorry for waking you."

"You didn't wake me," Obi-Wan sighed, grabbing his padawan's hands to check for cuts. "I couldn't fall asleep because someone's Force presence would spike every ktime there was a bit of thunder."

All the blood ran to Anakin's face at Obi-Wan's pointed look.

"Sorry Master, but you know I can't stand storms!" As if to prove his point, an enormously loud peal of thunder made the glass on the floor tremble, and Anakin didn't bother masking his shout of surprise. He ducked his face into his master's solid chest and grabbed at his soft tunic, almost whimpering when it took a few seconds to abate.

Instinctively, Obi-Wan's arms wrapped around the shaking figure. "Oh Ani, you know thunder can't hurt you."

"Don' call m' 'hat," the muffled voice came from within his robes. Obi-Wan chuckled and rested a calloused hand on top of the soft blond head, for once devoid of the spikes that were customary for a padawan.

"Very well, Little One,"

Anakin lifted his head to glare at his master through his fringe.

Smiling, Obi-Wan gently pushed the boy away. "I'm tired, Anakin. How about we go back to bed and clean this up in the morning?"

Anakin smiled and nodded, hiding a yawn. However, he was wide awake again with the next thunder crash. The edges of Obi-Wan's mouth lifted into a patronizing smile. It wasn't often anymore that his Padawan allowed himself to be seen as scared or dependent, and Obi-Wan learned to cherish the moments when he was allowed to smother the boy he looked upon as a son.

"Come along, Anakin," he urged gently when the boy's feet refused to move. Anakin shook himself out of the thunder-induced paralysis and obediently followed his master to their rooms.

"G'night, Master," Anakin mumbled as he palmed open his door.

"Where are you going, Anakin?"

Anakin turned around, a confused look on his face. "um, to bed,"

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Come along, Padawan mine," he opened the door to his room and gestured Anakin to follow. A smile split the Padawan's face as he hurried to to do as he requested.

The two jedi slid into the still-warm bed, Anakin pulling the comforter to his chin. Obi-Wan had barely closed his eyes when thunder shook and the bed bounced from Anakin flinching harshly.

"Sorry, Obi-Wan." He muttered as he ducked back under the blanket.

"Oh, Little One."

Obi-wan fished under the comforter, eventually finding Anakin's shaking arm. "Come here," he muttered, pulling the unresisting Padawan up into his embrace. Anakin didn't protest, shifting to rest his head on the warm chest and snuggle deeper into strong arms.

"Sleep now, Anakin. You're safe." Obi-Wan smiled down at the blond head, sighing when the blue eyes slid shut and his breathing evened out. "I have you, little brother."