darkforcerising | OPEN POST

Anakin smiled at that. Good, he could carry this hug for another few moments.

"You still smell like fruit."

He was saying nonsense but it felt good after everything that had come before it.

He kissed Obi-Wan's neck, lightly. "Do you want dinner?"

Anakin could, really, carry on the hug as long as he liked. Obi-Wan wasn't naturally physically affectionate, but exceptions could be made.

And this, right now, was important enough for him to really enjoy.

He combed his fingers lightly through the hair at Anakin's nape. "Not particularly, but I think we should eat."

Anakin kissed Obi-Wan's neck again. "What would we do instead?" He could be persuaded to push back dinner if Obi-Wan really wanted to.

"Watch a movie. Cuddle. Walk to the lake." He kept rubbing Anakin's back. "But we really should eat. Maybe we could eat outside." Or in front of a screen. "I think Bail will be bringing Leia back to swim with us before we leave...."

"Cuddle?" Anakin asked, and you could almost hear the grin on his face. Of all the things Obi-Wan's demeanor conveyed about his character - a cuddler was not one of them. Maybe it was possessive to think, but Anakin liked that he was probably the only person alive who knew that side of him.

"Let's eat, walk to the lake, and come back and watch a movie."

"Only with you," he clarified, because this was not going to become a tendency he -

Actually it might.

Attachments, dark side, being rattled. He was learning the value in physical reassurance, almost in spite of himself.

"That sounds like a good plan. Help me with the rest of the food and getting it on the table?"

"Okay," Anakin said and finally let go of Obi-Wan.

He helped with the remainder of the work left for dinner. Dinner was better than they'd been used to, given the kitchen was well stocked.

The walk after dinner was peaceful - even Anakin, who thrived on commotion, thought it was nice. Especially because it was what Obi-Wan wanted. The man had been through hell recently - or really since the day Anakin had come into his life - and Anakin wanted nothing but good things for him.

Anakin hoped their planned evening activities would continue to help Obi-Wan fine peace.

The best place for Goose to project the movie was in their chosen bedroom - it had the biggest blank wall to work with across from their bed. (Once Anakin moved a wardrobe. Not to worry, he didn't damage it or anything in the process.)

Once he and Obi-Wan were settled against the pillows on the bed, he said, "Okay, this is a movie from where I was living. It takes place... sorta near where I lived. Same country. Just remember the world I lived on was not technologically advanced- even Tatooine has more advanced tech in some ways."

Then he told Goose to start playing.

The childlike music started to play as the shooting stars of Disney's classic castle flew across the screen and the Pixar hopping lamp jumped into place. Then the image turned to black and Joy started talking, "Do you ever look at someone and wonder, what is going on inside their head?..."

Obi-Wan was more than ready to settle back into bed by the time they had finished their walk. It had been a long day for both of them (if not in number of hours) and there was still a kind of... tiredness in him that was going to linger.

He was still warmer, more receptive, and wanted to stay close to Anakin though. That that was a side-effect of the Dark Side and using it was possibly the... least expected part of this, for him.

It didn't change things, though and in bed, against pillows, close enough that their shoulders lightly touched was good. The movie he was curious about, too, because it was something from Anakin's other life.

He still shot Anakin an amused, slightly skeptical, look at the music and hopping ... lamp? The skepticism didn't stick around long. About the time there was mention of 'circle of sadness/making sure the sadness stayed in the circle' he was picking up themes and deeper meaning.

And his expression shifted to something softer, and his affection for Anakin grew. "Remedial emotions?" he asked, self-depreciating but not without humor.

Anakin eyed Obi-Wan and then snorted.

"Okay, through the lense of colorfully anthropomorphizing emotions, the movie tells a story about how our brains process emotions to develop memories which shape our personalities. And how all emotions are necessary for mental balance."

Anakin scooted closer and slipped his arm over Obi-Wan's shoulders, to pull him in closer.

"But ya, you could call it remedial lessons in emotions."

Just at that moment, the girl on the screen was introducing herself, there was a fight between her emotions and Joy and Sadness were sucked up a tube.

He was pretty content with his synopsis, especially when it came to keeping sad in its circle, thank you.

But he was dryly amused at himself and at the moment.

He was mildly confused and for a split second passively resisted being pulled in closer to Anakin - but only a split second before Anakin being Anakin registered and he relaxed into him and wrapped his arm around Anakin's waist.

"Strange set of emotions to be in conflict." Or maybe not, as he mulled it over a bit more.

Anakin grinned and dropped his face to Obi-Wan's hair.

"Of course you'd be confused by Joy and Sadness being in conflict." Which was a subtle dig about how, for Obi-Wan, Joy and Sadness were intricately linked.

The parents' emotions were one screen now.

He just shot Anakin a totally confused look at the dig, but backed it up with some humor in the Force, sent directly toward Anakin.

"This reminds me of some of your... therapy talk," he said, eventually, still comfortably cuddled (shhh) up against Anakin.

"Just you wait until we get to the subcon- Or this part."

In the movie, the girl's personality island, Goofball Island, was crumbling into the memory hole, seemingly lost forever.

"You lose your core memories, your personality can... change." And he knew from excruciating experience how that can happen.

He watched curiously, but he was now distracted and processing it as much more than a story. Which meant he was... well, pre-occupied with implications.

"Mm. I can think of some changes that you might prefer. I don't think I'll be giving up the memories, though."

"Hmm, I don't want to change anything about you." Anakin said, and it was the complete truth. He let Obi-Wan feel how earnest he was.

Though, Anakin didn't say anything about memories changing as you self examined them, gaining depth and new meanings. They'd get there.

"You're biased. You might have liked me a lot more a lot sooner if I'd lost some baggage."

He was still mostly watching the movie though. Processing some of it, bits of it kind of sliding over his head. Which was sad since this was a child's movie. He was doing the best he could with what he had.

Anakin considered that, not wanting to just brush off Obi-Wan's concern.

"I think you should focus on the malleability of emotions. And... the part that matters is that right now I want to be with the you that is now."

The emotions in the movie where now dealing with the chamber of Abstract Thought. And if he had to guess, Anakin thought Obi-Wan was doing his own abstract thinking.

He was having his own abstract thoughts, but not about loneliness - not even when it was mentioned in passing.

Mostly he was thinking about the fact that sadness was the voice of reason. There was nothing surprising to him in that part, at least. Or in joy being impulsive and somewhat fool hardy.

He was also - "Of course emotions are malleable," he murmured.

And kept watching.

While Joy kept being... ineffective.

At everything.

Particularly cheering up.

Anakin took to running his fingers through Obi-Wan's hair, enjoying the feel of it and the fact that Obi-Wan let him do this.

He stayed quiet for a while and just let the movie play and be content with this moment they got to share.

"Do you need me to explain the clown?" he asked when Jangles finally showed up.

"Yes," he said, without hesitation.

Because he understood absolutely no part of that scene. He wasn't even entirely sure that the clown was a clown until Anakin had said so. Or what the droid thing with the light was, or -

Yeah, he was lost.

"Do you want me to pause the movie?" Anakin asked.

"...Only if you anticipate needing to explain something else before you've finished explaining this?"

"Goose, pause the movie."

Because yes, clowns needed an explanation.

"So clowns... are a weirdly paradoxical."

He had to think for a moment before coming up with an answer.

"They are supposed to be a fun thing. An actor puts on makeup that's meant to... diminish the details of the human face, but in a comical way. And they put on a ridiculous, colorful costume, and then perform for people in exaggerated, comic ways... Usually for kids... Weird, now that I think about it... Unfortunately, about half the people who experience clowns come away with an irrational fear of them- I guess it makes sense, the erasure of non-verbal communication cues can leave you feeling uncertain about their motives. Their performances can feel invasive because they often utilize the concept of crossing social boundaries as props for laughter. They're subversive in a way that is hard to process. And most people first experience them as young children, when they don't have the knowledge and language to verbalize why they don't like the clown."

He nodded, slightly. "They're creepy."

Which was a really overly simplistic summation, but he thought it was a pretty good summation. Though he wondered how people from that reality would respond to the number of entirely alien sentient beings that existed in this galaxy. Then again they weren't... subtly off, they just were what they were and known as their own thing.

"...and the laughter makes it worse." For him, anyway.

"I agree, though they don't bother me like they do other people." He thought it was best not to bring up Pennywise right now.

"Goose, continue the movie."

They were getting to a good part, on the Train of Thought, where the first hints of the concept that memories were more complex than one emotion were revealed in the memory of Riley's failure at the play-offs. Followed by Riley planning to run away.

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