Whatever It Takes

Summary: Anakin has a nightmarish premonition and slips into Obi-Wan’s bed for comfort
Warning(s): Spanking; spoilers for episodes 1-3 of Star Wars; AU; references to violence; some hints of sexual content
Pairing: Obi-Wan Kenobi/Anakin Skywalker

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It wasn’t unusual for Anakin to crawl into bed with Obi-Wan. In fact, it was rare that more than two weeks went by without Obi-Wan waking up to the younger man slipping under the blankets. For a long time, it had been purely innocent. Just Anakin seeking out comfort after one of the many nightmares he suffered. Even after they’d fully formed their relationship, bed sharing still ended innocently. At least most of the time.

This time was different to the previous, though. Normally, Obi-Wan would wake up when Anakin crawled into his bed. He’d comfort the younger man and they’d cuddle, with Anakin eventually falling asleep in Obi-Wan’s arms.

It was different now, though. For one thing, Anakin had closed himself off. Completely. For someone whose emotions often bled though and overwhelmed the bond, him being so closed off was truly concerning. For another thing, he was shaking so badly, Obi-Wan’s arms wrapped around him did little to settle him. And for a third thing….

“Spank me.” Anakin whispered the words into Obi-Wan’s chest, clutching tightly at his sleep robe. “Spank me hard. So I can’t sit for a week.”

“Anakin.” Obi-Wan stroked his hair. Touched the other man’s cheek, thumb stroking towards his chin, and tilted Anakin’s face to look at him. “You know I don’t spank you for no reason.”

“Just….” Anakin pulled his face away and buried it in Obi-Wan’s chest once more. His next words were muffled. “Just imagine the worst possible thing I’ve ever done. And how you punished me for that. Then imagine what you’d do if it was a hundred…no, a thousand times worse.”

Obi-Wan frowned and tightened his embrace. “If you know anything about me, you know that I would never punish you without knowing the full story first. Why do you think you deserve a punishment far worse than I would ever give you?”

“I had a nightmare.” Anakin’s voice was barely audible.

“Anakin, I’m not going to punish you for having a bad dream.”

“I killed you,” Anakin whispered hoarsely.

Obi-Wan was quiet for a few moments, just holding Anakin close, stroking his hair and down over his back. When the calm, rhythmic petting finally calmed the younger man’s shaking, he murmured, “A nightmare doesn’t mean those events will come to pass.”

“But they will,” Anakin insisted. “It wasn’t just a bad dream. I know the difference, Obi-Wan. It was years from now. We were both older.” He swallowed hard. “I don’t know the path we took to get there, but I know we were on opposite sides. I don’t want that future for us.”

“Anakin. Punishing you for actions you haven’t yet taken is not the answer,” Obi-Wan said gently. “I don’t know what paths we can take that would end with us on opposing sides, but I know that spanking you when you haven’t done anything to deserve it will only breed resentment. It will move us towards what you want to avoid, instead of away from it.”

“But it….” Anakin took a deep breath and pulled back enough to look into Obi-Wan’s eyes. His own were red-rimmed and filled with tears. “It helps me,” he whispered. “When you spank me. It doesn’t feel good, but…it helps me remember. To be good. To obey you. To know you’ll pull me back from the darkness. I need you to be in control, Obi-Wan. I need you to be in control, Obi-Wan. I need you to punish me because…I can see what I’m capable of. And if you don’t punish me, I’ll do it to myself,” he added. “And I know you don’t like that.”

Obi-Wan shook his head. He was used to Anakin trying to manipulate him. Far too used to it. He slid his hand down Anakin’s back and swatted him firmly over his sleep robe. “You don’t dictate when you get spanked, Anakin. And you certainly don’t try to manipulate me.” He delivered another firm smack, his hand this time landing at the top of Anakin’s right thigh.

Anakin hissed and jumped, hands rising to grip onto Obi-Wan once more. “I’m sorry.” He sniffled. “I just don’t like the future I saw. I don’t want you to let go of me, Obi-Wan. I don’t want you to let me turn into a monster.” Allowing his head to fall against Obi-Wan’s shoulder, he whispered, “I’d rather die at your hands than live long enough to kill you.”

“Anakin. I won’t kill you. No matter what happens.” But the younger man’s words were concerning. More than concerning, they were scary. Looking into Anakin’s eyes, Obi-Wan probed carefully through the bond. Anakin opened up to him without hesitation now, allowing Obi-Wan to feel everything; all of his fear of turning into a monster. His guilt at the actions his future self had taken. And his firm, unwavering belief that Obi-Wan could and would help him.

I know you don’t want to punish me for something I haven’t done yet, Master, whispered through the bond. But I need you to make me answer for those future actions. So that I don’t need to be scared of what I could do. What I could become.

“All right, Anakin.” Obi-Wan spoke the words out loud. He pushed himself up slowly, settling back against the bunk, and draped the younger man across his lap. “But it’s not your decision how this spanking will go. You are not in control here. I am. Is that understood?”

“I understand.” Anakin reached his hands behind him, crossing them over at the small of his back.

Taking Anakin’s hands in his own, Obi-Wan squeezed them gently and then raised the robe, moving it clear off the other man’s backside. He rubbed Anakin’s back for a few moments and then moved his hand lower, raising it and bringing it down firmly on Anakin’s right buttock.

The younger man jumped and hissed out a sharp breath. His hands clenched in Obi-Wan’s, though he didn’t pull away even as the smacks continued at an even, steady pace, from the crest of his backside down to mid-thigh. He squirmed at the smacks to his thighs, but Obi-Wan knew that was a response to the sting and not Anakin attempting to get away.

“This isn’t a punishment for whatever might happen in the future,” Obi-Wan said, as he completed the second circuit of smacks. He started over from the top and began to swat harder and faster, turning Anakin’s bottom from pale to a light and then darker pink. “I don’t believe you have no choice. I don’t believe you’ll turn into a monster. I don’t believe you’re evil. This spanking is about proving to you that I’m here. That you have me and I’ll stay with you, for as long as I live. I love you.”

Anakin’s breath hitched and then broke as he began to sob, collapsing over Obi-Wan’s lap. He was crying too hard to talk, but through their link came a wealth of gratitude and Anakin’s own feelings of love for Obi-Wan.

Bringing the spanking to a stop, Obi-Wan rubbed Anakin’s lower back for a few moments. Then, he lowered the robe back in place and moved Anakin back into his arms, cuddling him close and tight.

It took a while, but Anakin’s tears finally died down to faint sniffles. He settled against Obi-Wan, hands clutching at the front of the sleep robe. “Feel like you should have spanked me way worse,” he muttered, snuggling in close.

“I told you. This wasn’t about punishment, Anakin. But you don’t need to worry about the future.” Obi-Wan stroked the side of Anakin’s face and gently tipped up, so that he could kiss the younger man.

Anakin kissed back hard, almost desperately. “I don’t want to go back to sleep,” he gasped out against Obi-Wan’s lips. “I don’t want to dream.”

“We don’t have to sleep.” Obi-Wan slid his hand under Anakin’s sleep robe; pulled the younger man closer and tighter against him. Kissed Anakin deeper and harder, nipping at the lips to demand access into Anakin’s mouth. When Anakin opened up, Obi-Wan pushed him down onto the mattress…and proceeded to make sure he drove all thoughts of possible futures from the younger man’s mind.

The End