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Anakin has presented. Obi-Wan doesn’t think he’s ever felt this scared or anxious before in his life.
Sure, he had events in his past that were objectively worse, but that was happening to him. This is to Anakin .
Anakin, his young padawan who already feels so unsure about himself in the Temple, is too busy catching up to his peers but afraid to reach out or help to anyone other than Obi-Wan. He must have been so frightened during his presentation, at the sudden heat that overtook him while they were enjoying dinner a few days ago. Obi-Wan barely had any time to comfort Anakin after comming the healers that this is natural and was going to happen, that his master will be there for him.
A blatant lie, Anakin would know by now, since he wasn’t allowed anywhere near the wing where Anakin was secured to ride out the remainder of his presentation.
Master Che has not come out to talk to him, but Obi-Wan knows Anakin is an alpha. He could smell the hot spicy scent explode out of him the moment he collapsed, and Obi-Wan may have been on suppressors for years now, but he can still be affected by such strong alpha pheromones. The knowledge threw him into a frenzy once the medic’s doors were shut in his face, barring him entry to hold and comfort his padawan.
Alpha-omega pairs are rare in the Jedi Order, for the simple reason of incompatibility. There were just too many risk factors – sudden heats or ruts affecting each other or using their secondary sexes to influence the other being the main ones – and Obi-Wan knew the Council would not be happy about this sudden development. There was a reason why, despite the voice in the back of his head saying otherwise, he prayed to the Force that Anakin would be a beta or an omega.
It came as a great surprise when last night, when it was informed that Anakin could soon be discharged, Master Yoda and Master Windu came to visit him. He knew he looked frazzled, as he spent countless hours trying to construct a foolproof argument to allow Anakin to remain as his padawan. They graciously overlooked his state and got straight to the point, saying that Obi-Wan was allowed to remain as Anakin’s master. Not willing to look a gift horse in the mouth, Obi-Wan immediately thanked them and spent the rest of the night in deep relief, thinking of new activities for Anakin when they reunite.
Which should have been about 30 minutes ago, if sticking to the schedule Master Che sent. There’s a dull roar in his ears, like the Force is rumbling far away, trying to warn him of something. The second he attempts to reach out, the doors open and Master Che steps out with a tired Anakin right behind her.
He, thankfully, perks up when he realises Obi-Wan was waiting for him and charges straight for him, ramming into his legs. Obi-Wan would like to do nothing else than crouch down and embrace his young padawan, but restrains himself to a thorough head ruffle as he's conscious of the Jedi Master in front of him.
“Anakin has presented as an alpha, as I'm sure you could tell. The Council has also informed me that you will continue to be his master, which means we need to up the strength of your blockers. Come by in a week's time when we have them ready, but for now try to become used to each other, and report if there are any issues.” Master Che does straight to the point as usual, faintly smiling at the reuniting pair. Obi-Wan can only nod in reply and quickly bundle Anakin up to carry him back to their shared quarters. His young padawan would normally complain and try to wiggle out, but the extent of his exhaustion seems worse than it looks. He just hangs limply in Obi-Wan's arms, nudging his head into the crook of his neck, near his scent gland.
There should be no smells escaping his body, the main reason he and every other person takes suppressors, but Anakin seems to find comfort in the act, so he lets the boy be.
Anakin is still dozing off when they reach their quarters, so Obi-Wan gently lays him down on his bed, makes sure to tuck him in properly, and starts dinner. He's not verbally or physically affectionate, but providing Anakin with his favourite meals is one of his main ways to show that he cares. It's an old remnant of his omegan side, still peeking through even after years of neglecting it.
Now that he thinks about it, maybe he shouldn't go on the stronger suppressants. Maybe even space out the one he's using now more. He's read of older, more experienced omegas talking online about how exposing newly presented alphas to their pheromones actually helped them mature faster. He would need to dedicate time to research deeper, but some changes might be fine. There might be some side-effects, like him coddling Anakin more or being more sensitive to other’s scents, but surely it won't be that big of a deal.
Obi-Wan hasn’t really been around young alphas, he soon realises. At least not recently. Some of his oldest friends, like Quinlan and Garen, are alphas, but he learned to control his scent years ago. Master Qui-Gon was the same as well. It's been at least a decade since he's spent long periods of time with new alphas, which explains how much he was unprepared.
Anakin is… much more difficult than he thought. The countless books Obi-wan read doesn't seem to help quite all that much, and the main reason is because of Anakin's extreme sensitivity to the Force. It's widely known that those who are attuned to the Force have more severe reactions to their presentation, and Anakin seems to has the worst case seen in the Order’s history.
His sweet and childish padawan disappeared with the heat, and an erratic and territorial teenager took his place. Alphas do tend to be possessive and protective, but this is the third time Anakin has jeopardised, what was supposed to be, a peaceful meeting in the span of five months. The first one was with Alderaan and his good friend Bail, who understood and laughed Anakin's antics off easily, but the one not even two hours ago was with a random planet who were already suspicious of Jedis. It was only due to Obi-Wan's silver tongue that they finished with a good relationship at all.
It started off well, then quickly spiralled downwards as Anakin’s glare burned holes into the prime minister's head, watching his every move like he was suspicious. Obi-Wan sent a warning through their bond, chastising Anakin for all of five minutes before he was glaring at him again. He also wouldn't let go of either Obi-Wan's hand or robe sleeves, attached to his side like a limpet and leaking his pheromones out to cover the pair. The only saving grace was that this society didn't care about pheromones, otherwise they would have been in much worse standings.
It didn’t do much good in the end, because no matter what Anakin could have thought, the prime minister was not blind not dumb, and became offended by his padawan’s gaze. Obi-Wan had to order, order Anakin, like he was a misbehaving youngling, to retire to their room for the night just to continue with the discussion. To his chagrin, at least three senators came up to him afterwards to give him advice on how to control young alphas, which was one of the most uncomfortable conversations he’s ever had.
On the walk back to their room, and no doubt an upset or enraged Anakin, Obi-Wan thought deep and hard about his padawan’s behaviour. Maybe it’s time to have a more in depth conversation about his changed mannerisms, and how to better suppress them. Anakin has already begun a habit of nuzzling Obi-Wan every morning despite his protests, rubbing their scent glands together to “mark his claim” or whatever it is he thinks he’s doing, He comes running back to Obi-Wan whenever he’s tired or upset, nudging his head against his master’s busy hands to not-so-subtly ask for headpats. The meeting with Bail, not a few months ago, Anakin growled at his friend because of a friendly shoulder touch, then let out a pitiful whimper when a scandalised Obi-Wan lightly swatted at his nose. He spent the entire night avoiding Obi-Wan and pouting but also never letting his master out of his sight.
He should have done something on that first night, he knows, but Obi-Wan honestly believed that it was just a settling period and that Anakin would just stop . But today proves that he needs to put his foot down and be firm. They will get through this problem tonight, once and for all.
As expected, Anakin is trembling in what is supposed to be Obi-Wan’s bed. That’s another thing; Anakin constantly seeking out Obi-Wan’s scent and gravitating to any sources of it. His room has been raided too many times for clothes and sheets back in their dorms.
Obi-Wan can’t help but let out a small sigh at the sight, a migraine already forming at what looks to be another difficult night. The lump in his bed freezes at the sound, then a small face streaked with tears pops out. It should be disgusting, but it fills Obi-Wan with nothing but resignation and affection.
“Anakin…” Just saying his name is enough to make the boy scramble up, still covered with blankets, and start explaining.
“I can't help it Master, it feels weird whenever new alphas come near you. My whole body feels itchy and I'm trying to stop, but it's not working.” His voice is a pitiful mumble, and Obi-Wan’s chest clenches at the admittance. He remembers his alpha friends saying how difficult controlling their instincts were soon after presenting, but it’s been nearly a year from that night. He had been asking other master with alpha padawans for their insight, but they unanimously said they got better within a few months. Of course Anakin would be the exception.
Sighing, Obi-Wan perches on the edge of the bed, right next to Anakin, and starts rubbing the near-dried tear tracks on his padawan’s face. He knows Anakin will shut down and fall into deeper despair or lash out if he admonishes him now, so the talk has to be pushed to tomorrow at the least. He’d rather have dinner and rest for the night.
“We’ll talk about this tomorrow Anakin. We can get through this together, hm? I’ll be here to help you.” Loosening his control a bit, he lets some of his pheromones to seep out to comfort Anakin. It’s not much, and definitely not breaking any rules, but it’s enough to stop Anakin from heaving like it’s going to pass out and let him calm down. “There we go, my padawan. We can have dinner then retire for the night.” Anakin doesn’t seem happy about that, but has enough mind to quietly nod.
Dinner is a quiet affair. Anakin usually does the bulk of talking, which obviously isn’t going to happen this night. He offers to do the dishes like every night, but Obi-Wan just shoos him off and tells him to spend the time meditating. The replying scowl nearly makes him laugh, but to his surprise, Anakin does leave without a word and have a attempt. It’s a short one, lasting not even a full hour, but Obi-Wan is proud of him. His unruly child does listen, especially when he knows he did something wrong. A self-preservation tactic, surely, but he can’t complain.
Obi-Wan himself tucks himself into bed a few hours later, after researching more about young alpha behaviour and contacting some master he’s talked to before for some new advice. He’s more determined than ever to help Anakin move past this period of uncontrolled behaviour, and the resolution helps lull him to well-deserved sleep.
A quiet shhk of the room door opening rouses him awake. He’s so disorientated that he doesn’t know what’s happening, but soon feels Anakin’s familiar Force presence within his room, standing by the door.
“‘Nakin…? What are you doing there?” Obi-Wan mumbles, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and sitting up to see his padawan better. There’s minimal light here with no windows in his room, the only faint source is from a lamp in the main room. Anakin shuffles closer to the bed with a pillow clutched tightly in his arms, like it’s his only lifeline.
“I’m sorry Master, I can’t sleep. Can I…”
He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t . It’s been ages since Obi-Wan last allowed this, trying to teach Anakin how to sleep alone and seek comfort in the Force rather than another person. They needed to be more independent of each other.
But Anakin constantly begs for Obi-Wan's approval or any kind of affection, and he's never been strong enough to say no. A better master would rebuff his pleads, but Obi-Wan finds himself growing too affectionate of the boy, too close and too soft to him. He also should have taken the stronger meds by now, effectively turn himself into a beta, but Anakin takes comfort in Obi-Wan's omegan side and cutting it off now seems so cruel .
Especially right now, when he looks so small standing there, face shadowed by the entrance of the room.
Ignoring rationality, Obi-Wan slowly lifts one of the corners of his blanket and smiles when Anakin quickly scrambles in. He shuffles into Obi-Wan's arms, tucking his face into the crook of his master's neck and rumbling lowly. Obi-Wan snuffles against any part of Anakin's face he can touch, mainly his forehead and temple. Before he realises what he's doing, the tip of his tongue peeks out to lick at Anakin's skin, leaving imprints of calming omegan pheromone.
Shock strikes through him when he realises what he's done, how uncomfortable Anakin must be as he's treated like a newborn pup, but the little boy in his arms only lets out a pleased purr and dig further in. His arms and legs are melded onto Obi-Wan’s waist and legs, tangled so tightly that it would be nearly impossible to separate them once Anakin falls asleep. Loathed to admit it, Obi-Wan also feels content and warm when they’re together like this, bound so tightly that it feels like it’s just the two of them together.
Tentatively, he starts petting Anakin’s back, humming a soft lullaby to help the boy drift off to sleep, ignoring the wet licks against his scent glands. They’ll just talk about it tomorrow, he thinks, closing his eyes.