Chapter Text
Darth Vader walked down the shuttle ramp into the blistering heat of Tatooine’s binary suns. Shavit, he hated this planet. He had hoped to never come to this Force-forsaken place ever again, but his Master had asked (ordered) him to follow a recent tip that there was a Jedi hiding out on Tatooine near his old stomping grounds. He assumed this was just another attempt at asserting his control over Vader and screw another emotional reminder into him of how alone he was in the galaxy. He gritted his teeth, as he knew it was working.
Reaching the sandy ground, he stretched out with his senses, searching for the Force presence he had been told would be here. Lurching backwards in surprise, he felt out again cautiously, exploring the presence that had flared at his initial probe only to hide once again in horror at the realization of who it was.
Obi-Wan…
She was here, his former master, somewhere on this planet—somewhere close by. He set out immediately towards the city, his emotions churning at the unexpected reunion. Wandering through the familiar streets of Mos Espa, he searched out her presence. He knew she was nearby, but could not pinpoint her precise location. Turning a corner, he stopped suddenly as he saw a familiar figure standing at the dead end of an alleyway.
The figure slowly turned, and as they did, he saw her features come into view. He immediately recognized the curve of her face, the hints of auburn hair peeking out from under her hood and the set of her lips. Force, he missed those lips.
Old feelings of desire rose up within him at the sight of her, along with familiar feelings of anger and rage. The last time they had stood face-to-face, they had been dueling to the death on Mustafar. He could still feel the echoes of fire and heat as they had battled across the hellish landscape. In the end, she had left him there on the banks of the lava river, both legs cut off and their bond torn to shreds.
He had wondered almost every day why she hadn’t killed him, why she had let him live. She had been sent there to kill him most assuredly, and yet…yet she couldn’t bring herself to take the killing blow when she had the chance.
He had felt such hate, such anger that day, overwhelmed by the new sensations of the Dark Side, flooded by its power. He had thought Obi-Wan and Padme would have stood by his side, would have seen the corruption of the Senate, the failures of the Jedi. But instead, they had only looked at him with fear and disgust. He flexed his hand as he remembered tightening his grip on Padme’s throat, choking the life out of her. She had turned against him, they both had. He wanted them to join him, not fight him. But he should have known better. He should have known that Obi-Wan was too set in her ways, too set in the blasted Code, to ever see the truth.
And now, now he had nothing left—Padme dead, his child dead, and his relationship with Palpatine twisted and dark. He had thought Obi-Wan lost to him as well, but her reemergence relight the flame within his heart he had always held for her. The place deep within him where he had shoved the memories of Obi-Wan slowly opening like the bud of a flower in springtime. He clung to the ideal of her like a man drowning looking for a lifeline. He knew he could turn her to his side, now that he was more in control, and now, now he would make sure she would never leave his side again. He would be alone no longer. She would see the truth, the revelations he had experienced, and the freedom of the Dark Side. There was nothing left for her to run to or hide from. She would be his once more.
His attention returned to the present moment at the sound of Obi-Wan igniting her lightsaber. He studied her body as she slid into a defensive pose. It looked leaner than he remembered, at least from what he could tell under the voluminous robes she always preferred to wear. Obi-Wan had never been one to show off her body, never giving over to flaunting or exposure—ever the perfect Jedi. But he knew full well how toned and perfectly honed she had been. He knew every line and curve of her body, had worshipped it with adoration bordering on obsession. Looking at her now though, Vader suspected however that her time in exile might have reduced that perfectly fit body a little.
That mattered little to him though. What mattered was that she was here, before him. He knew with certainty that she could not kill him now just as she could not kill him then. But he knew she wouldn’t go down without a fight either. That wasn’t her nature. And he couldn’t exactly deny the thrill of fighting his old master once again, to finally win this time. He was stronger than ever before, and he knew he could overpower her.
He slowly reached for the lightsaber on his belt and ignited it, the red glow of the blade reflected on his face as he fell into an offensive position. “So,” he said, “We meet again, Master. Last time we met, I was the learner, but now I am the master.”
She snorted and shifted her stance slightly, the blue sheen of her blade bright against her sun-kissed skin. “Only a master of evil, Darth,” she said in a slightly mocking tone.
With a shout, he Force-jumped forward, causing their blades to crash together. This close to her, he could see the new aging lines that crinkled at the corner of her eyes and mouth. And yet, she was still beautiful—beautiful and stately, wise and powerful—perfect.
She disengaged out of his hold and they exchanged a few quick parries, the blades going almost too fast to track with the eye. With a grunt, she leapt backwards to avoid his swing and then somersaulted over his head, forcing him to turn and put his back to the dead end. Obi-Wan was a powerful duelist, the best in the Jedi Order. Only Vader had only been second to her. But he could tell she had lost some of her skills, most likely from her exile, while he had only increased his. After all, he had been chasing down Jedi and training every day, whereas she had been here, hiding out.
He forced her backwards down the alleyway, raining down heavy blows keeping her in a defensive stance. She blocked and parried, but could find no break in his offense.
Swinging wide, she ducked his overhead swing and crouched low aiming for his legs. Bringing his blade down quickly, he barely blocked her return attack. Taking advantage of her lowered position, he kicked up sand into her face. Stumbling backwards, she scrubbed at her face and swung her blade out and wide trying to fend off his advancing attacks while she tried to recover.
Pushing forward, he reached out with the Force and yanked her leg sharply causing her to fall over to the ground with a yelp. Still blinking sand from her eyes, she Force-pushed him backwards as he swung down forcing him to stumble backwards and miss her with his downward stroke. He growled and advanced forward again as she scrambled to her feet. He brought down his blade once again trying to overpower her.
She strained against his hold and looked up into his eyes. His head reared back as she spit in his face. Wiping it quickly off, his anger grew as he looked at her smug expression. He would show her. He swung once again and while she parried his strike, he let go with his metal hand and punched her in the stomach.
Gasping, she fell to one knee as she tried to suck in air. Taking advantage of her momentary lapse, he punched her in the face, the sound of the leather of his glove cracking satisfactorily against her cheek.
Her hand flew to her face where it was already reddening, and she glared up at him. Vader then threw all his rage at her and Force-pushed her to the ground, causing her lightsaber to fall out of her grip and roll a few feet away. Quickly straddling her, he reached up and pinned her wrists to the ground.
“You are beaten,” he panted.
She only glared up at him and blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. His eyes tracked the movement and he was distracted as he realized their position and how close he was to touching that beautiful hair again.
He was brought out of his distraction as she said, “You will never win Vader, not now, not ever. You may strike me down, but I will only rise more powerful than you could possibly imagine.”
“I do not wish to kill you, Obi-Wan, far from it.”
She frowned, not understanding. “Then what do you want?”
He leaned down and whispered in her ear, “I want you.” Breathing her in, he was almost tempted to take her then and there. Shoving away the dark thoughts, he forced himself up and away from her intoxicating scent and looked back down, reveling in the fear sparking in her eyes.
“Now sleep.” He reached out with the Force and sent the strong suggestion to her. She struggled against him, but his Force presence soon overwhelmed her defenses forcing her down into sleep.
~~~
Obi-Wan woke slowly with a groan. Her body felt like it had been run over by a speeder and her cheek was on fire, but she ignored it and forced her eyes open. She found the sight of a large beautiful room before her with the decoration understated but still opulent. Sitting up slowly, she tried to order her thoughts. Her hand ran almost unconsciously over the silk sheets of the bed she was in. This was not what she had expected.
After fighting Vader, she expected to wake up in a cell or not wake up at all. She wasn’t expecting…this. Taking stock of her body, she saw that she had been dressed in casual sleepwear with her old clothes and lightsaber nowhere to be seen. Not that it surprised her. What did surprise her were the bracelets around her wrists. Holding them up for inspection, she hissed as she realized they were Force-dampening. She tried reaching out to the Force, but while she could feel it swirling and ebbing, as always, she was unable to touch it— like it was just out of reach of her fingertips.
She growled and spent a few fruitless moments trying to pry the bracelets open and get them off. Letting her hands drop with a frustrated half-cry, she slumped forward, cradling her head in her hands. How could she have let this happen?
She had failed in so many ways so many times. First by allowing herself to even start something with Anakin in the first place, then by allowing it to continue, and even after watching the recordings of Anakin killing all the younglings and Jedi and swearing allegiance to Palpatine, she failed to complete her duty and kill him. Her eyes slid close as the memories of that fateful day assaulted her.
“It’s over Anakin, I have the high ground.”
He only stared back her with hate and anger in his gaze, “You underestimate my power.”
“Don’t try it.” She shook her head, desperate for him not to force her into this decision, into killing him.
She watched him jump as if in slow motion and she swung instinctively, cutting off both his legs. He toppled to the ground crying out, his lightsaber flung to the side. She watched him lie there, scrabbling with his arms to try and leverage himself up the hill.
With tears in her eyes, she yelled at him, “You were the Chosen One! It was said you would destroy the Sith, not join them! Restore balance to the Force, not leave it in darkness.”
“I hate you!” He screamed back.
“I loved you Anakin! Even when I shouldn’t have, even when it was forbidden. I loved you and you betrayed me!”
He stared up at her, the yellow of his eyes overwhelming everything around her. “You betrayed me when you chose the Jedi over me!”
They glared at each other, an unfathomable chasm between them. Obi-Wan straightened her back. He was right. She had chosen the Jedi and she had a duty to fulfill. To hunt down the Sith and destroy them. If Anakin had fallen, so be it. She would do her duty once more. Striding forward, she shoved aside all her feelings. With a shout, she thrust her blade downwards toward Anakin’s neck.
Looking down, she saw her blade driven into the ground, inches from his neck, spitting out sparks. Letting out a scream of frustration, she railed against her own weakness. Even now, her body wouldn’t let her kill him. Sobbing, she could barely see his body through her tears. She couldn’t do it. She thought she could, she thought she could fulfill her duty and bring balance back to the Force. But when it came down to it, she couldn’t complete her mission. She couldn’t kill him. He was her other half, so intertwined with her soul she barely knew where she began and he ended anymore.
Breathing in deeply, she stood up and reached inside herself and began to rip Anakin from her soul, tearing out every root and stem of him she could find. She could barely hear his screaming beneath her. If she couldn’t kill him, she would just remove him. Shutting down the jagged remains of their bond, she turned her back on him and walked away, refusing to look back.
Her eyes blinked open as she fought back against the tide of memories. She thought she had rooted out Anakin from her soul, removed their bond, but she had left pieces of him behind. Just enough jagged edges to remind her she was no longer whole.
She kept the remains of the bond repressed and lifeless. Even with the Force dampening bracelets, she could at least access that portion of her mind as well as keep her shields intact. Ignoring it for now, she took better stock of the room and slid out of bed, walking to the door. She palmed the door release, but of course it was locked. She tried prying it open manually, but again no luck. Obi-Wan thought about trying to hardwire it, but with the lack of available tools at her disposal, she would probably get nowhere with it. Stepping backwards from the door, she looked around the room and spotted another door, presumably leading to a refresher. Figuring she better take what time she had in there, she walked over quickly and entered. It was modestly sized and also surprisingly equipped with a bathtub. She hadn’t had a good soak in ages, and after staring wistfully at the tub, she tore her gaze away. She couldn’t have one now, not with her situation and not knowing how long she had before someone came for her. She also figured her room was under surveillance, but couldn’t spot any obvious cameras or bugs.
After completing her ablutions and splashing some water on her face, she retreated back to the bedroom. Deciding to meditate while she waited, she sunk into a meditative pose in front of the viewport. From here she could see the city of Coruscant stretched out before her. It had been seven years since she had been on this planet, seven years since the destruction of everything she had known and held dear. She closed her eyes as grief threatened to overwhelm her. Releasing what emotions she could to the Force with her limited ability, she sank deeper into a meditative stance and began to calm herself, centering her thoughts and emotions.
After a while, she was brought out of her trance by the sound of the door swishing open behind her. Taking a moment to take a deep breath, she slowly opened her eyes. The sunlight had dimmed while she had been meditating and it was the beginning of a beautiful evening. She stretched her neck and popped it, releasing some of her tension.
“Still clinging to your Jedi ways then, my old master?” A voice sneered behind her.
“Meditation is a powerful tool for both Dark and Light users as I am sure you are aware, Darth.”
She heard him scoff behind her. Sighing, she rose gracefully to her feet and turned around, her long loose hair tumbling down around her form as she faced him. He still wore the dark robes he had favored as a Knight, although it was now fully black on black, no hint of light anywhere on his form except for the cold metal gleam of the lightsaber hanging off his belt. She appraised it, wondering if she could strike quickly enough to grab it from him. Tracking her gaze up his form, she assessed the rest of him. He had been hooded and cloaked in Mos Espa, and she had been unable to see him fully then. Now, he wore only a loose-fitting tunic, leggings and a pair of boots.
He looked strong and fit, with his dark blonde hair loosely curled around his face. Her eyes roamed upwards to meet his hungry gaze, the yellow of his eyes shining out towards her like fiery suns, no longer the beautiful blue of the sky she had loved.
“See something to your liking?” He sneered.
She huffed and crossed her arms across her chest pretending to ignore the way his gaze zeroed in at the movement and stared at her raised and slowly blushing chest. Curse this stupid outfit. She felt almost naked in it, so used to her multiple layers of clothing and large Jedi robe. She knew he had dressed her in this on purpose for that very reason.
“I could say the same to you,” she retorted back, falling back onto familiar banter.
A cruel smile slid across his face. “Oh,” he said suggestively, “I definitively see something I like.”
Annoyed, she uncrossed her arms and ran a hand through her hair. She could kill for a brush right now as she winced when her fingers caught on the gnarled strands. Breaking his gaze, she turned and walked back in front of the viewport trying to regain her composure. It hurt, being so close to him like this. She could barely even look at him. Every time she did, she only saw the flames of Mustafar and the results of her failure as a Master.
“Why am I here, Darth?” she said after a few moments looking out the viewport and not at him, her eyes shining with an unspeakable sadness.
“I have a name you know, Darth Vader.”
She barked out a laugh. “Oh yes, Darth Vader, how quaint.”
She could feel the temperature in the room plummet. “It is the name I was reborn with, the name that strikes fear into the hearts of many, the name of who I was meant to be.”
She kept her head down and turned further away from him. “Of course, my old Padawan. And yet…yet you are nothing without your master, just an attack dog waiting for the next bone to be thrown their way.”
If the temperature had been cold before, it was downright icy now. She rubbed her arms subconsciously, trying to regain some warmth.
“You know nothing,” he snarled.
“I know you were once Anakin Skywalker,” she threw back over her shoulder, “I know that you were one of the greatest Jedi of our age, one of the fiercest warriors alive, my only Padawan, my son, my brother, my lover, the best men I had ever met. That’s whom I knew. I don’t know you. You just wear his face.”
“Anakin Skywalker is dead,” he hissed.
“Then why am I here?” She challenged. “My heart belonged to Anakin Skywalker and as you say, he is dead and you are not him. You do not have any claim to me or my heart.” She resolutely turned her head and stared out the viewport at the sunset descending upon the city.
She remained with her back turned to him as she felt him enter her personal space, the hairs rising on the back of her neck from his closeness. She felt the delicate brush of his fingers over her neck as he reached forward and gently pulled her hair to one side. His hand continued its trajectory and lightly traced its way across her back, around her shoulder and back across her front before finally coming to a feather light stop against her collarbone. She closed her eyes and forced herself not to sway back into his familiar touch as he leaned down and ghosted his breath over her sensitive skin. This was not her Anakin, she reminded herself.
“I wanted to kill you for what you did to me on Mustafar,” he whispered into her ear. Obi-Wan immediately stilled, her body tensing at his words. “I wanted to kill you for leaving me there bloody and broken. I’ve thought of a thousand different ways to kill you, to torture you, to make you suffer as I did. You tore yourself from me, removed me from your mind, rooted me out and left me incomplete. You threw me away like I was nothing.”
The hand resting against her collarbone reached up and grabbed her throat. Her eyes flew open as he spun her around to face him. She choked as his fist tightened.
“You left me alone,” he hissed. “But I will be denied no longer. I have you now Obi-Wan, and I will never let you leave me again. You are mine and have always been mine and always will be mine. We are inevitable.”
She stared up at him, shocked at the dark possessive tone of his voice. She had expected death, torture, all the things he had promised, but not this. She had underestimated the depths of his obsession.
His hand pressed in deeper, deep enough to leave bruises. She gasped and tried to draw in what breath she could. She may not have access to the Force, but she still had her fists. She would not; she could not stay here, with him, like this. Letting a strangled cry rip out of her bruised throat and taking him by surprise, she broke his hold on her neck and threw them both to the ground, grappling for the lightsaber at his hip. They rolled back and forth on the floor, each trying to leverage purchase over the other. He pulled her hair and in return, she kneed him in the gut. He grunted and she finally managed to wrestle the lightsaber off his belt. They both scrambled to their feet and she lunged forward, brusquely shoving the lightsaber hilt tight under his chin, forcing his jaw up.
They both panted hard and her hand shook slightly as she held the lightsaber hilt under his chin. She held her trembling thumb over the ignition button searching in vain for the blue she had known for so long amidst the yellow eyes staring back at her.
“You couldn’t kill me on Mustafar Obi-Wan, and you can’t kill me now,” Vader finally said softly.
She growled, her emotions swirling. But she knew he was right. With a shout, she threw the lightsaber to the ground. “Just because I can’t bring myself to kill you doesn’t mean I agree with you!” She stumbled back from him, her hands running through her disheveled hair. “You are wrong on so many accounts, in so many ways!”
He merely stood there looking at her like a predator assessing his prey. “I wasn’t wrong about you,” he finally replied after a few moments. “If Yoda was as wise as we all thought he was, he would have seen right through us ages ago and he never would have sent you to kill me. He would have known he’d have to do it himself.”
He stepped toward her and Obi-Wan flinched backwards, her back hitting the wall she didn’t realize was so close behind her. He quickly covered the remaining distance between them and crowded her up against the wall. Bracing both arms on either side of her, he trapped her against the wall with his body.
She could feel the nearness of him. She knew every line of that body, every muscle, every bone. Closing her eyes, she tried not to inhale the scent of him, the sweet salty smell now tinged with smoke and fire. This was the man she had loved and this was the man who had taken everything from her and left her world to burn to ashes. She felt a single tear escape her eyelid. So much loss and pain, and for what? Power? Obi-Wan could feel the closeness of his breath upon her face as he leaned in closer. A hairsbreadth separated them and yet she still refused to open her eyes. She pleaded silently for him not to kiss her, for if he did, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t kiss him back.
Choking back a sob, she felt him instead nuzzle her neck instead of kiss her like she thought he would. He knew her just as well as he knew him, two halves of a jagged whole. Breathing her in, he stood there for a moment before sharply biting down on the juncture of her neck and shoulder.
Gasping, her eyes flew open and her hands flew forward automatically to cradle his head. Grabbing her hands mid-air, he forced them back against the wall with his durasteel grip and pushed his body flush against hers. He then proceeded to pepper her body with kisses and bites, marking her. Straining against him, she tried to break free, but could find no leverage to push herself out of the swirling mess of desire and lust she could feel pressing down on her.
“Anakin,” she gasped out, “Stop, Anakin, please stop. I don’t want –-“
He cut her words off by lunging back up and capturing her lips in a fiery kiss. She could feel the Force swirling around her, the Dark Side pressing and hemming her in from every angle. She let out an involuntary moan as he deepened the kiss, shoving open her mouth with his tongue and plunging in deeper. She tried not to return the kiss, but oh, how she wanted it. How she wanted him. She loved his lips, his kisses, his touch…everything. But this? Not like this. Not after what he had done, to her, to Padme, to the galaxy.
She wished she had the Force to fight back, but she could do nothing with the Force dampening bracelets on. She only had herself. She could barely move with the weight of him, but finally she was able to break off the kiss with a large gasp pulling back her head as far as she could go. She caught his eyes, smoldering with desire and something else she couldn’t quite determine. Whatever it was, it scared her. This wasn’t the Anakin she knew and loved. That Anakin was lost to her. She felt the anger rise in her and her eyes narrowed. Managing to get a leg free, she kneed him hard in the side and head butted him, her forehead cracking against his.
He let out an oompf, letting go of her wrists and stumbling back a few steps holding his head. Breathing hard, she fell against the wall, needing it to keep her upright for a few seconds while she tried to recover from the intensity of the moment.
She glanced wildly at him as she heard his chuckle. “Oh, Obi-Wan, still just as fiery as ever.”
She couldn’t bear it anymore. Launching herself off the wall, she ran for the door. She had barely made it halfway across the room before she felt her body forced into a stop. Breathing hard, she tried to move, but found herself unable to. Her eyes flicked frantically side-to-side and she strained for the Force, trying to break his Force hold on her.
“Now where do you think you’re going?”
She panted hard as he paced around to her front again. “Let me go Vader,” she pleaded. “Please let me go.”
He tutted and tapped his finger against the side of his face. “You know,” he said, “I rather like you like this. Helpless and begging.” He stepped in closer, grabbing her chin and forcing her to meet his hungry gaze. His voice sank to a low rasp, “I will never let you go, Obi-Wan, never again. You’re mine.”
She closed her eyes as another tear fell forward. “No…” she whispered to herself, trying to deny his words. “Not anymore.”
Her eyes flew open with a yelp as she felt him Force grab her and throw her onto the bed. As she landed, she tried to scramble backwards and off, but Anakin lunged forward and grabbed her ankle, pulling her back towards him. Flipping her over, he pinned her down on the bed.
“The Jedi are gone, the Republic is gone. There’s only me, Obi-Wan. You tried to remove me that day, but you failed. I can still feel you; you’re still there in the recesses of my mind. I was so angry that day, I felt so betrayed. But I know better now. I will never leave you. And you will never leave me again.”
She could only stare at him as she finally began to accept the reality of her situation. Anakin had always been more prone to his emotions, even as a Jedi. She used to love it about him, that he was so protective over her, how focused he was on her. But now it all scared her. That possessiveness had turned into something ugly, something wrong.
“Anakin, you have to see,” she stared up at him, a pleading look in her eyes. “You have to see how far you’ve fallen. You’ve fallen so far you have lost everything, even me. I can’t…I can’t be with you like this, I can’t follow you down this path.”
“I don’t need you to follow me, I just need you to stay.”
She breathed out, trying and failing to reconcile the man she loved with the person holding her down. She tried to change tactics. “Palpatine will never let you keep me. He will kill me the second he finds out I’m here. He knows how much of a danger I pose to him, through you.”
“If that is the case, then I will just kill him,” he said casually, shrugging his shoulders.
“You would turn against your new master so easily?”
“If he tries to take you away from me, then I most certainly would. I will have it all.”
Tugging her hand gently out of his grip, slightly surprised he even let her; she reached up slowly and tucked his hair behind his ear. “Anakin, you must see. You cannot have it all. Sooner or later, it will all come crashing down around you and the price you will pay will be bigger than the one you have already claimed.”
He breathed out and lowered his head, his hair hiding his gaze from her. She waited patiently. When he looked back up, she was startled to see small threads of blue intersecting with the previous yellow of his eyes.
Feeling her heart catch in her chest, she wondered…could she bring him back to the light? Could her Anakin come back?
Hesitantly, she wrapped her hand around the nape of his neck, bringing him down slowly to her lips. Reaching deep inside her, she let the old tattered remains of the bond between them flare open again. He let out a low groan as the bond reconnected their minds. Obi-Wan let Anakin’s force presence wash over her, feeling overwhelmed from being disconnected from it for so long. It was dark and tainted now, but she could see small tendrils of light flaring at the edges.
Leaning up into a kiss, she chastely pulled at his lips. He was frozen for a second before leaning down and deepening the kiss, his force presence swirling and tightening around her. She moaned as she felt their presences intermingle, feeling Anakin once more.
“Come back to me, Anakin,” she whispered in his ear. “Come back to me.”
They made love slowly, cautiously, each wary of the other. Their passion and pleasure passed through and to each other through the bond, heightening the experience. Soon Obi-Wan could only tilt her head back with the rightness of it all. This was where he belonged—with her forever in this moment.
After they had both released, he lay slumped over her as she carded her fingers through his sweaty hair, both too tired and worn out to say anything. She pressed a quick kiss against his temple. He muttered something under his breath before finally extracting himself from her arms and quickly getting dressed.
“Vader?” she asked quietly, sitting up and pulling up the sheets to cover her nakedness. His back remained turned to her.
“I will return,” he said standing up and walking towards the door.
“Return? Vader, where are you going?”
He stopped and turned slowly back to her. “To report to my master."
Obi-Wan immediately stilled. Anakin’s eyes were back to yellow.
“No…you tricked me! You bastard!”
“I told you I would never let you go again. But Palpatine is my master for now. And I will have it all –my new Empire, my new powers and you.”
Frustrated, she let out a cry as she threw a pillow at his retreating form.