Title: Take a Chance

Author: BrynneEryn

Timeframe: Right before ROTS

Summary: Anakin decides to act on his feelings for his former Master during their deployment to the Outer Rim.

Rating: M/Strong R

Warning: Obi/Ani Slash

Take a Chance

"Love is for fools wise enough to take a chance."
-Anonymous

Chapter One

Anakin stretched his arms above his head, trying to loosen the muscles in his right shoulder as he and Obi-Wan surveyed the remnants of droids piled up across the battlefield.

Obi-Wan clapped him on the back. "Well done, Padawan, and just in time. The Republic transport should be here later today."

"What do you want to do now, Master?"

"Anakin, we just finished destroying hundreds of droids. Don't you want to rest?"

"No, not really. And we'll be fine by the time we get back to the camp."

"Are you afraid you'll have to do something productive, like pack?"

Anakin laughed as they turned from the battlefield and started back toward their tent. "We have hours to dismantle the tent and pack our things."

Obi-Wan just smiled and shook his head, seeming to lament his former Padawan's restless nature.

Anakin looked at Obi-Wan hopefully. "We could spar."

His Master rolled his eyes in feigned annoyance. "I'll consider it."

They walked in silence back toward their camp. Anakin imagined that his Master was writing their progress report in his head. Anakin was thinking too, but not about battle droids or progress reports—he was thinking about Obi-Wan.

Anakin didn't really want to spar, but he could not stand another minute of sitting inside a tent, staring at Obi-Wan. Being in such close proximity to his Master for all these months had started to affect Anakin.

He had always looked up to Obi-Wan, and had probably worshiped him to some extent. As he grew older, Anakin's admiration had often turned to irritation, but he had always valued their relationship.

But he never thought of his Master in that way until he was around eighteen. Obi-Wan had been scolding him for some small transgression and Anakin had stormed away in anger.

Obi-Wan rushed after Anakin, an uncommon look of fury on his face. "I won't tolerate any more of these childish tantrums when you don't get your way."

Anakin felt himself yanked backward as Obi-Wan grabbed his wrist. Anakin glanced down in surprise—Obi-Wan never lost his temper. And a strange heat was radiating from the spot where his Master's skin touched his own.

Anakin felt a tingling warmth flow through his arm and out through the rest of his body. As he stared down at his wrist, he noticed for the first time how strong his Master's grip was and how right it felt for him to wrap his fingers around Anakin's arm.

Obi-Wan must have felt something too, because his eyes widened and then he dropped Anakin's arm quickly and backed away.

They had never spoken of that incident.

When they finally reached their tent, Anakin reluctantly followed Obi-Wan inside, watching as his Master sank to the floor and studied his boots. As his Master grabbed a towel and started trying to wipe the caked mud from the sides, Anakin heard him mutter something about the importance of well-kept boots.

Anakin sighed. These days, even watching Obi-Wan, who smelled of clay and wet grass, pick at the filth on his boots turned him on. After he had become aware of Obi-Wan at eighteen, he had fantasized about touching him occasionally, but it wasn't a constant torment. And the next year he been reunited with Padme, and touching Obi-Wan hadn't seemed as exciting as his forbidden love with her.

Anakin loved his wife—she hadn't judged him for his mistakes like the Jedi had done. But in the last year or two, suddenly Obi-Wan wasn't judging him either—he was on Anakin's side as well. And without the constant buffer of disapproval and arguments between them, Anakin could not quit thinking about what it would be like to feel Obi-Wan's naked skin against his own.

It was then that their constant interaction became torture. Anakin was able to ignore it most of the time. Earlier in the war their missions were relatively short and he was able to lose himself in Padme more frequently. But something had always been missing between them—Anakin sometimes wondered if he was only drawn to her because of the losses in his life.

He had no idea how Obi-Wan felt about him. He didn't even know if his Master liked men—there had been rumors that he and Master Tachi had been involved. He knew Obi-Wan considered him his best friend and often referred to him as a brother, so his Master might think him sick and perverted for having these thoughts.

But just when Anakin would convince himself that Obi-Wan would never ever consider getting into bed with him, Anakin would feel his Master's eyes on him, and it would seem—just for a moment—that Obi-Wan wanted Anakin too.

When they had been sent to the Outer Rim together, Anakin found that he was losing his control. It had been nearly five months of fighting alongside Obi-Wan. As each day passed, his feelings were becoming stronger. Even as Master and Padawan, they had never spent this much time together. And just yesterday, after a battle droid had cornered his Master, Anakin had realized that he didn't just desire Obi-Wan, but he loved him too. He was in love with Obi-Wan.

Anakin stripped off his tunic and unhooked his lightsaber, tossing it in the air and catching it. He knew it drove his Master mad when he juggled his weapon, so he continued to throw it into the air, hoping that Obi-Wan would agree to some exercise just to make Anakin stop abusing his lightsaber. "Can we spar now?"

Obi-Wan looked up in exasperation. "Anakin. It's about to rain." He went back to the diligent scraping of his boots.

Anakin stood over Obi-Wan, memorizing the way his hands looked as he attacked the flecks of mud on the leather with painstaking precision.

Anakin spun his lightsaber again in frustration—he had to quit thinking about Obi-Wan like that. "The rain can wash some of this mud off of us."

Obi-Wan sighed. He gave up trying to clean his boots and simply stared at Anakin.

"Come on, Master. I can't stand to sit in this moldy tent for another second."

"All right." Obi-Wan sighed again and pulled his filthy tunic off, tossing it on the ground next to Anakin's.

Anakin turned and walked out of the tent, forcing himself not to leer at Obi-Wan's bare arms and chest.

They began spar, blades clashing, but soon large raindrops were falling, causing the lightsaber blades to sizzle.

"We should go back in the tent. The lightsabers will be damaged." Obi-Wan deactivated his lightsaber and gestured for Anakin to do the same. "I knew it was going to rain."

Anakin grinned and re-hooked his lightsaber to his belt. He was willing to do anything to avoid going back into that tent. If he went back in, he might attack Obi-Wan and throw him to the ground in a fit of lust. "We can do hand to hand."

Obi-Wan clipped his own saber to his belt and approached Anakin. "I don't know why I let you talk me into these things."

Anakin was trying hard not to stare at Obi-Wan. His hair was already wet, plastered to his head, and his leggings were soaked and clinging to his legs. And the water just looked so right, running down his bare chest. Anakin longed to lick the droplets from the damp skin around Obi-Wan's belly-button…

Anakin shook his head and looked away, pretending to stare across the valley toward the remnants of the droids they'd demolished earlier.

Anakin realized too late that he had left himself unguarded. Obi-Wan used Anakin's distraction to Force-shove him backward onto the ground. Instead of twisting to land on his feet, Anakin let himself roll over and landed on his back as gracefully as possible.

Obi-Wan came and stood over him, smiling. "I got you there, Padawan."

Anakin grinned up at his Master. While Obi-Wan was still celebrating his victory, Anakin brought his right leg up and hit Obi-Wan behind the knee, causing his legs to buckle and his body to pitch forward.

Anakin had intended for Obi-Wan to fall next to him, but his boot caught in the mud and he fell directly on top of Anakin.

Anakin started up at his Master, whose face was only inches from his. Could Obi-Wan have fallen on top of Anakin on purpose? Obi-Wan was always graceful and such a fall was unlikely. Did he want to feel their chests touch, slick with rain and mud, just as badly as Anakin did? Anakin closed his eyes and lifted his head, making contact with Obi-Wan's lips.

Amazingly, Obi-Wan did not shove Anakin away in disgust, but simply stopped moving altogether. Too embarrassed to ask if it was all right to proceed, Anakin lowered his head back to the ground and sank his fingers into the back of Obi-Wan's hair, bringing his Master's head down so that their lips did not part.

Anakin squeezed his eyes closed even tighter, afraid that he might have misjudged his Master's reaction. When Obi-Wan still did not pull away, Anakin opened his mouth a little and ran his tongue across Obi-Wan's lower lip. The feel of his Master's lips against his, after all these months—no, years—of wanting, was explosive. Anakin felt his cheeks flush as he wrapped his other arm around Obi-Wan's waist.

His arm slid around Obi-Wan, whose back was now completely wet. When Anakin had fantasized about this moment, he had never imagined that it would be outside in the rain, on the ground. But the splash of the raindrops, and the feel of the water trickling onto his skin as it dripped from Obi-Wan's face, was more erotic than he had dreamed.

Obi-Wan let out a small sigh and parted his lips, meeting Anakin in a full kiss.

As Obi-Wan's tongue entered his mouth, Anakin moaned and pressed his body up against Obi-Wan's. When he realized that Obi-Wan was as hard as he was, he grabbed his Master's waist and flipped him over so that Anakin was now on top.

Anakin shifted his weight onto his right arm and leaned to the side, giving himself enough room to move his left hand down between them. As Anakin grasped Obi-Wan's erection through the fabric of his pants, it dawned on him that this was the first time he had ever touched a man other than himself.

It was a strange feeling—the hard length felt so much like his own, but it belonged to his Master. It felt so right in his hand—he wanted more. From what he could tell, Obi-Wan wanted more too. His Master's his breathing was rapid now as he ran his hands down Anakin's back.

Obi-Wan moaned as Anakin increased the pressure against the curve of his erection, and Anakin moved his hand to the top of Obi-Wan's pants. He had just gotten half of his hand inside when Obi-Wan pushed him to the side rather roughly and scooted backward, panting, with an almost horrified look on his face.

Anakin pushed himself up and stared back at Obi-Wan. What had gone wrong? Was Obi-Wan angry with him? Anakin reached for him but his Master got to his feet and rushed forward, almost stumbling into the tent. Anakin followed him quickly.

Obi-Wan grabbed a towel and began to wipe the rain from his face. "Do you want to talk about what just happened?"

Anakin did not want to talk at all. He wanted to touch and feel, but not talk. "Do you?"

Obi-Wan took a deep breath and looked Anakin in the eyes. "Yes. I think we should."

Anakin lifted his hand to Obi-Wan's shoulder, tracing his finger down his arm until he reached his wrist. He loved the way his Master's hands looked, so strong and powerful, but almost delicate at the same time. "I don't see why we need to talk."

"Anakin, as much as I want this—and I do want it—you were my Padawan. It wouldn't be right of me to take advantage…" Obi-Wan's voice trailed off as Anakin moved his fingers up to Obi-Wan's forehead, where he gently outlined his face, across his eyebrows and then down his nose to his chin.

Anakin flashed his lopsided grin. He was doing his best to sound confident, although he was shaking inside. He had done this so many times, but never with a man, and never with his Master. "I don't think anyone will be taking advantage of me."

Obi-Wan exhaled and nodded. "I can see that."

"Master, if you don't want this, then I'll stop now and never touch you again. But if you do want it, then please—don't push me away."

Obi-Wan sighed softly as Anakin rubbed his beard gently. "I want this. But we must go slowly—no more sudden moves."

"All right, Master." Anakin's hand left Obi-Wan's face and lingered on his chest. "But only because you asked nicely."

Obi-Wan jumped as the chrono beeped shrilly, signaling that it was time for them to depart. They both flew into motion, pulling on their grimy tunics and gathering their supplies. They took the tent down efficiently, as a result of many months of repeating the same motions.

They walked to the transport without talking. Clone soldiers were nearby, and it would not do for them to discover their Generals were…Anakin paused as he wondered what exactly they were. Not lovers. Not yet.

Anakin could hardly believe that his Master was interested in him in that way. And he hadn't reprimanded Anakin for kissing him…or for touching him. Anakin could still feel the way Obi-Wan had felt against his palm. He took a deep breath—how was he ever going to make to the transport?

Once they boarded the transport, they were finally alone. As they started down the corridor to their rooms, Anakin glanced at his Master. "There's something you should know before—"

Obi-Wan interrupted before he could finish. "Padme?"

Anakin stopped walking and leaned back against the wall of the corridor. "You knew?" He had no idea that Obi-Wan suspected that he and Padme were more than friends. Had he been that obvious?

Obi-Wan stopped and faced Anakin, raising his eyebrows. "I am not blind. I know you are gone many nights and I've seen you escorting her around the city."

Anakin exhaled and closed his eyes briefly before blurting out the entire truth. "We're married."

His Master's eyes were wide. "What?"

Anakin nodded and lowered his head. "Right after Geonosis." Anakin looked up and met Obi-Wan's eyes. "I love her, but I'm not in love with her."

Obi-Wan took Anakin by the elbow, dragging him away from the wall of the corridor and motioning for him to start walking. "Has that always been the case?"

"I think so. We got married right after I lost my mother—it was like I had a family again. I felt like I belonged." Anakin was startled—no lectures, no admonishment about breaking the Jedi Code. Obi-Wan was really listening to him.

"Anakin—did you not feel like you belonged—with me?" Obi-Wan tried, but could not keep the bewildered tone from his voice.

Anakin looked at the floor. "I'm sorry Master, but no. I felt judged—all the time."

Obi-Wan's voice trembled a little when he spoke. "And do you still feel that way?"

Anakin shook his head, guilty at the pain that admission caused his Master. "No. I was stupid to ever feel that way. And after I was knighted, I finally realized it."

Anakin stopped as they reached the door to his cabin and touched Obi-Wan's shoulder lightly. He wanted Obi-Wan to know that he loved him completely. "You were the best Master in the Temple."

Obi-Wan's eyes looked wet as he looked at Anakin. "Anakin, I'm sorry—"

Anakin smiled. "Shhh. You have nothing to apologize for." Anakin tilted his head toward his cabin. "Are you coming in?"

Obi-Wan hesitated. "Anakin, are you sure about this? I never want you to feel like I've coerced—"

Anakin wrapped both arms around his Master, pulling him close. "I've never been more sure about anything in my life." Anakin kissed Obi-Wan and whispered in his ear. "I've never been with a man before. Have you?"

"Yes."

"Will you tell me who?"

Obi-Wan bit his lip. "Quinlan."

"Master Vos? Wow."

Obi-Wan raised his eyebrows. "You find him attractive?"

"He's nice looking. But you're the only man I've ever wanted."

Anakin realized that those were not words to appease Obi-Wan—his Master was the only man he had ever desired, just as Padme was the only woman had ever wanted. Don't think about her now.

Anakin lifted his hand to Obi-Wan's shoulder and drug him into the cabin. "Is this enough talking?" His Master closed his eyes as Anakin ran his fingertips down the ridge of Obi-Wan's collarbone. Anakin paused as his fingers reached the spot just below his Master's neck and then traced a line up to his chin, rubbing his beard again. "Will you shave it off?"

Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open. "What? No. I need it—it makes me look more distinguished."

"Please? It will…increase our pleasure." Anakin rubbed the side of his hand against Obi-Wan's cheek. "And I think it will look so sexy."

Obi-Wan groaned. "Oh Anakin. How am I supposed to tell you no to that?"

Anakin gave what he hoped was his most seductive smile. "You're not."

"Just a trial. I reserve the right to grow it back."

"Deal." Anakin leaned forward until his lips brushed against Obi-Wan's. "Can I do it?"

Obi-Wan frowned. "Do you even know how to shave?"

Anakin laughed as he squeezed Obi-Wan's shoulder. "Master. I am twenty-three, not fifteen."

Obi-Wan looked his Padawan up and down. "You're right, you're definitely not fifteen anymore."

Anakin took Obi-Wan by the hand and led him into the refresher, peeled his tunic off and grinned at his Master. "We need to get you out of this." He grabbed the hem of Obi-Wan's tunic. "It's dirty." Anakin relished the site of Obi-Wan as he yanked the tunic off over his head.

Anakin grabbed a towel, the shaving lotion, and the razor. "Don't look so tense, Master. It's just a razor, not a lightsaber." He sat on the edge of the tub and pulled Obi-Wan down to sit between his knees.

Obi-Wan squeezed Anakin's knee affectionately. "I suppose if I can trust you with my life, I can trust you to shave my face."

Anakin draped the towel around Obi-Wan's shoulders and squirted the lotion into his hands. He rubbed his hands together a few times until the lotion was warm, then smeared it onto Obi-Wan's face and neck. He went slowly, wiping the creamy goo across Obi-Wan's cheek, stopping to caress the place where his jawline met his neck.

Obi-Wan sighed. "That feels good."

Anakin said nothing but continued to rub the lotion into Obi-Wan's skin. When he was satisfied that the lotion was even, he picked up the razor and positioned it against his Master's neck. He pressed and pulled up gently, feeling the drag of the razor against his skin. Anakin squeezed his thighs around Obi-Wan, nudging him closer. "Lean back."

Obi-Wan obeyed, scooting backward and pressing his back directly into Anakin's erection.

Anakin moaned slightly, relaxing his grip on the razor. The razor clattered to the floor as Obi-Wan spun around and tugged at Anakin's belt. Obi-Wan kissed Anakin's bare stomach, leaving a trail of shaving lotion behind.

Anakin could barely think, yet he felt more elated than he ever remembered. Earlier today Anakin thought being with Obi-Wan would remain a fantasy, and now his Master's mouth was gliding across his stomach. Anakin gripped Obi-Wan's shoulders. "Master. If you don't stop…"

"I suppose we should finish the beard?"

"Yes. Let's finish. I'll be quick."

Anakin retrieved the razor—his movements were no longer as gentle, but he only left a few nicks. Obi-Wan scrubbed the remaining lotion from his face and rinsed the traces of the smell away with warm water.

When he was finished washing, he turned to face Anakin.

Anakin opened his mouth, and blinked. With all the cream washed away, Anakin saw his Master's face without a beard for the first time in years. "Wow. Obi-Wan…you look…incredible."

"Really?" Obi-Wan brought his hands to his face and touched his chin. "You don't think I look too young?"

"Who cares?" Anakin rested his cheek against Obi-Wan's. "You look—and feel—amazing."

Obi-Wan leaned into Anakin, pressing his hips forward so that Anakin could feel his erection. "I think we need a shower Padawan."

Anakin swallowed hard—a shower with his Master? Anakin's stomach turned over with anticipation as Obi-Wan reached behind him to turn on the shower spray.