Once again, I have returned! This chapter has a song to go with it: Do What You Are Doing by Dexter Britain. Also, reviews encourage me to write more, for please, if you've enjoyed the chapter (or not), leave a review! Thank you! Quick note; I'm leaving for summer vacation with my family next week, so hopefully I'll have a chapter up sometime during the week. I'm not sure if I'll have internet on vacation, so if there isn't a new chapter up next week then it will be up 100% at the end of July/start of August. I know that's a bit of a long wait and I usually update quickly, but that's the best I can do because I'm going away for all of July.

CHAPTER XIII
Retrouvailles

the feeling of joy when you are reunited with a loved one after a long separation

or: when he sees his brother again, his heart almost fails him.

There were fleeting moments for Anakin when he forgot about the past. Seconds, when he forgot about Mustafar, about Vader, about the Empire and everything in between. There were times when he was just Anakin, a loving father. There were times when he was just Anakin, a pilot. There were times when he was simply Anakin, Ahsoka, Rex, and Cody's friend.

But then, there are also times when he was also Anakin, yearning for his brother, the one he betrayed.

For, of course, he blamed himself. It was his fault that he Fell, it was his decision to follow Palpatine on a blind crusade with no evidence that Palpatine actually possessed the power that would ultimately save Padmé's life. Looking over it now, Anakin realized that he had been blind. No, the Jedi did not help, and yes, Palpatine was a last resort, but why? Yes, he'd trusted Palpatine, but he knew that Palpatine was a Sith Lord, and he'd continued to trust him. Why hadn't he seen the fact that Palpatine had never meant to save Padmé? Never meant to help him, but only to use him as a pawn in his game?

Anakin drew a blank.

He came to the conclusion that it was out of desperation.

However, his biggest regret was not becoming Vader, or hurting Padmé. It was not the Empire, and nor was it trusting Palpatine.

Anakin's biggest regret was not placing his trust in Obi-Wan whilst he still could. Obi-Wan had been with him for years. Damn it, the man had pretty much singlehandedly raised him. And yet, Anakin hadn't trusted him. Thought he would go to the Council. How many times had Obi-Wan turned a blind eye to Anakin's endeavours? How many times had he coerced Obi-Wan into helping him?

Obi-Wan had done so much for him, had been there at times when the Council was not. And yet, Anakin hadn't trusted him, and that, ultimately, led to his Fall, and to everything that came after.

Of course he loved Padmé, and of course he had trusted Palpatine, but Obi-Wan had been with him longer that the other two. He'd spent more time with Obi-Wan that any other person, except for perhaps his mother.

He didn't blame Obi-Wan for what he did. Now, he would've thanked him. If Obi-Wan had not done what he had done, Anakin knew in his heart that he would've killed him, and he also knew that however heartless Vader had been, the small part of Anakin that had resided in him could not have felt no remorse over his brother's death, especially now. For now, he knew that what had happened had been necessary.

Yes, he had been in pain. Yes, he had devised ways in which to end Obi-Wan's life horribly and painfully. Yes, he had cursed him. Yes, he had hated him. That had been Vader. Anakin, however, could do none of those things, as now, he was wiser. Now, he knew more, had lived longer. The one thing that he could never do was hate Obi-Wan Kenobi.

How could he? Obi-Wan had been his brother, his mentor, his best friend. How could Anakin possibly turn his back on him? How could he have not thought to place his trust in the person he knew for certain would stick by his side? Who had stuck by his side? Who hadn't the heart to kill him on that day on Mustafar?

Anakin drew a blank once more.

The planet that Obi-Wan was on was half a galaxy away from where he knew the main base to be. That meant that while he journeyed through hyperspace to Waskiro, Obi-Wan had a lot of time to himself, and that gave Obi-Wan a lot of time to think.

What if Anakin pushed him away again? What if he didn't want to see him?

The rational part of Obi-Wan's mind then retaliated; of course he would want to see you.

Yet still, his doubt remained. Last time he had seen Anakin, it was when he had just recovered from surgery, packing his things, holding his son's hand. He had known it was dangerous to come to Coruscant, but Obi-Wan couldn't help himself. He needed to see Anakin. He had to. And when he had stepped into the hospital room, Anakin had taken his breath away. No longer was he the dying man on the shores of the lava river on Mustafar, no longer was he the man known to the galaxy as Darth Vader. No, while the man had been pale, and a bit weak, there had been no doubt in Obi-Wan's heart it had been Anakin who looked upon him. It was Anakin's piercing blue-eyed gaze, it was Anakin who had turned his head away and ran.

And that had hurt. Yes, once again, Obi-Wan knew the reasoning, but still.

The console of the shuttle blinked. Waskiro was only an hour away (Anakin was only an hour away). He needn't wait much longer. For a Jedi, patience was necessary for success. Anakin never claimed the virtue of patience. At the current moment, Obi-Wan hadn't any patience either.

He'd waited years for this.

It was early in the morning, but Mon Mothma and the rest of the Alliance High Command all knew that he was coming. He, of course, being Obi-Wan. When the transmission from his shuttle came through, they were not surprised. When the shuttle landed on the planet and Kenobi bounded out, they were not surprised. When he made straight for them, they were not surprised.

"Where is he?" Kenobi said, his hair tousled by the light wind, his breathing a tad erratic, his eyes shining underneath the still-rising Waskiro sun.

They told him, of course. How could they keep something like that from him? From Obi-Wan Kenobi himself?

For they were all old enough to have lived in the golden age of the Negotiator and the Hero With No Fear.

And they all secretly, unanimously agreed; it shall be that way again.

They will rise again.

Obi-Wan's mind raced. As he walked, people gave him space. People paid him little mind as he walked through the seemingly endless hallways, trying to form a coherent thought. What to say? What to do?

He hoped that Anakin would be in his room. If not, that would be a bit awkward. Just a bit. He wouldn't mind waiting, no. He would wait and wait and wait. Well, he could, if he really wanted to, but right now, at this moment, the prospect of waiting another second didn't seem like something he'd want.

He wanted to see Anakin. He'd waited long enough. The little glimpse he got at the hospital was not good enough. It would never be good enough.

The door loomed up ahead, the end of the road.

Obi-Wan paused.

This was it. The moment he had unknowably been waiting for for the last nine years. He'd never thought this moment would come, and he daren't let himself hope. Alas, here it was.

Here he was. Anakin was on the other side of that door. Obi-Wan could feel it.

He only needed to muster up the courage to knock upon the door.

And so, he did.

And then, the door opened.

It was him. Really, truly him. Anakin's hair (golden-brown, just as Obi-Wan remembered), his eyes, shining, sparkling, blue, like the sky above the endless Tatooine desert. The scar, right above his left eye. Someone must have provided him with Jedi robes, for that was what he wore, in the usual brown and black he had always had.

Anakin's eyes went from shocked, to guilty, and then to an emotion that Obi-Wan couldn't place.

"Anakin," the older man breathed.

He could feel Anakin's presence, his mind already reaching for the bond that they both had never, and could never, cut, for they were brothers in all but blood, closer than friends, their bond on some levels more intimate than that of lovers, for they were The Team.

They stood in silence, and only then did Obi-Wan notice Anakin's eyes misting over, his walls falling away like clouds clearing on summer day, like a sandstorm receding, the barriers he had built up so precariously falling like autumn leaves, and he stood, tall, his shoulders starting to crumple in upon themselves, his eyes, his eyes holding unshed tears, and then, at the zenith, one sole tear fell, and Anakin broke down completely. Obi-Wan could see that he was trying, oh so hard, to hold himself together, but it was far too late for that.

All of a sudden, Anakin's arms wrapped around him. Obi-Wan felt as if Anakin were gripping him like a lifeline, and that would not be surprising, because that's what Obi-Wan himself was doing. While they embraced, Obi-Wan could hear Anakin crying softly, and in that moment, he could care less if his robes got soiled, for it was Anakin who needed him, and Obi-Wan would always, always be there for Anakin.

"I'm sorry," whispered the younger man. "Obi-Wan, I'm so sorry…"

And of course, Obi-Wan accepted the apology, not out of pity, but because he had already forgiven Anakin long ago.

Anakin Skywalker embraced Obi-Wan Kenobi. His walls had fallen, and so had Kenobi's. They were linked by the Force, their bond far stronger than any Master-Padawan bond that had ever been. Skywalker cried tears of guilt, of pain, and of longing. Obi-Wan was there, like he would always be.

They were One.

The Force sang.