Sun Kissed

Chapter Four

The looks, the pointing, the jeers…he was used to it all.



Being carted through the streets of Mos Eisley naked and caged did little for his pride, but then, neither did his trade. The slave transport hummed through the city en route to his destination – the space port. So he was going off-planet. Tatooine would be left far behind him as his body tried to adjust to a different climate.



The sand and dwellings from the slave quarters to the market tents of the main road seen through the cage bars would be his last sight of his birth planet. He may very well never set foot here again. Even for all the pain it held, it was still home. Sith, even the one thing he cared about seeing wouldn’t be possible.



It had been years since Anakin had been to the small dwelling in the slave quarters that he had shared with his mother. It was small and humble, but just so comfortably home. The best memories of his life were held within those walls and he lamented the fact that he would never see the familiar place again. It had long since been given to another slave family anyway; the meager possessions he and his mother had possessed were either sold for next to nothing or the new family was using them.



The corner of Anakin’s mouth twitched up as he imagined another young slave boy accidentally turning on See-Threepio. The eccentric droid he’d built would make even the dullest of lives a bit more interesting. At least he would if he hadn’t been sold or melted down into scrap.



His smile wavered as his mind drifted to the conditions of his last sleeping arrangements.



The brothel quarters could never have been called a home to him. More like a permanent place of forced employment. When not using the rooms above for clients, the slaves, no matter how successful, were made to sleep beneath the main floor. Anakin liked to call it a cellar. The cooler temperatures would have been a better reprieve from the desert heat had they not been forced three to a bed. Though in his case, he was more often then not being pushed out onto the floor.



The sandy floor.



He hated sand.



Sighing, Anakin supposed that his attitude never did garner him many friends. They were all either intimidated by his brash personality or annoyed by it. The professional prostitutes treated him a lot worse than the slaves though. The looks and threats thrown his way for ‘stealing’ the clients from them, hell if they wanted them, Anakin would have been more than happy to oblige. It’s not like he enjoyed spreading oil on his fingers and slicking himself up for his clients. And he was only allowed to do that after Kerr started losing money from the damage he was taking.

But he wasn’t going back there. And that was either for the best, or for the worst.



His stomach clenched as they neared the port and he felt as though it would drop out of his body as the hoverporter stopped. The cargo hold of the large Corellian freighter was open as gear and rations were restocked for the next interstellar flight.



If he wasn’t locked in a cage he would have loved to explore the large ship and watch the mechanisms in the engine room work, or see a working hyperdrive engine. The cockpit on something this size must be huge, room for at least a few people inside. The only cockpit he had been inside of was that of a podracer.



He missed flying those.



The speed, the acceleration…it was as close as he ever got to flying, to feeling free. It had been an incredible rush and a complete thrill to know that he was the only human alive who could do it.



But that was years ago, his last race had been when he was eleven – a year before he was auctioned. He wondered what had happened to his old pod, and everything else in Watto’s shop anyway…



Anakin’s brow furrowed.



Watto just hadn’t been there one day…nor any other day after that. He had simply vanished. It was four days before the benefactor of Watto’s belongings had come. Anakin assumed he was the Toydarian cousin Watto would talk about every once in a while. Everything after that had been confusing and it was Anakin’s mother who had told him that Calda meant to sell them. He had no use for slaves but could use the money they brought in.



There were rumours that Watto won big in a sabacc game and left Tatooine, other rumours had him getting into trouble with the Hutts, and another about a dark shape that had arrived at the shop late after closing. Whatever had happened to him though, gave Anakin a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he thought about it.



He just wished the Toydarian had been more careful about who he was dealing with. If he had, then Anakin would still be with his mother, he’d still be racing, and he’d still be doing something he loved in fixing the junk in the shop.



Watto had never been a horrible being. He was strict but fair, and no matter how much debt he got into or how much he wanted to make money, Watto would never have prostituted Anakin to do it.



Anakin winced as metal squeaked against metal. His holding cage was now firmly set in the ship’s cargo bay and locked in tight. The drop in air temperature was one of the first things he noticed. It was much cooler than outside as if it had just landed planetside and was still trying to warm up.



Prattling from across the bay caught his attention, as two Twi’leks in their own respective cages conversed with each other.



So he wasn’t the only slave on this ship after all.



>>>



Obi-Wan groaned as he made his way onboard the Calypso’s Homage. His transport back to Bandomeer was right on time, as he expected it to be, but it was Guyrek’s slave handlers who had been early. The boy was already in the cargo hold, they’d told him, all set and secure and could he sign this?



Not only that but two other slaves had been put on as well. That was one thing that had surprised Obi-Wan. Not the other slaves, but the fact that the Calypso’s Captain had no problem running slaves. He would have thought the AgriCorps transport unit would have discovered that little tidbit. Though he supposed it was always a risk one took with operators who mainly did business in the Outer Rim.



Palming the door open to his cabin, he entered and sat heavily on the bed, dropping his face into his hands. He really hadn’t wanted the boy in the cargo bay during their ascent and jump to hyperspace. Who knew how cold it was going to get in there? The temperature was usually always set to keep extra food in their prime and he didn’t know what this ship had its set to.



It was one of the reasons Obi-Wan had wanted to beat the handlers to the ship. He was planning to let the boy out and board like normal people. It probably would have been better to meet under those circumstances, create a modicum of trust perhaps.



If the boy was even capable of trust; a pleasure slave was quite different from a pleasure worker. The workers chose their profession and did so willingly, a slave on the other hand had no choice, did they? Their owners told them what to do and they did it, if they didn’t there were many barbaric forms of discipline if they did not comply. Discipline, that the slave trader had been all too helpful in informing him about.



Obi-Wan knew he would have to tread carefully. It wasn’t as though he was planning on using the boy. But it was him that Obi-Wan would have to convince of that. Having him stuck in the cargo hold made Obi-Wan feel as though they had already started on the wrong foot.



Force, he couldn’t even ask the boy if he had family on Tatooine; or whether there was anyone important he was leaving behind. A mother? Father? Brother and sisters, friends he considered family? Or was he an orphan, perhaps? Was everyone he cared about sold or taken away from him?



Obi-Wan may not have been a slave but he could understand what it felt like to leave what you loved most behind.



The Jedi were his family. The only one he had ever known. And they were parsecs away on another world in a Temple he could never return to. He missed the Room of A Thousand Fountains especially; the crashing waves and beachfronts of Bandomeer weren’t nearly as relaxing as the cascading waters in the Temple.



And then there had been his friends. Bant, Garen, and Reeft who were all chosen to become Jedi when he was not. The day he left he hadn’t said good-bye to any of them. He was far too ashamed.



Obi-Wan felt the jump that snapped him out of his reverie and looked out the window. The stars streaked by in their characteristic pattern inside of hyperspace. Now that their coordinates were locked in, he probably should go see about releasing the boy.



And learn his name.



>>>



He was so cold.



The chill inside the cargo bay was the only thing Anakin could focus on as he huddled his knees closer to his chest for warmth. He knew it wouldn’t do anything but he had to try, he had never been so cold in his entire life and couldn’t imagine ever getting used to it.



The bars of the cage had also grown cold with the atmosphere, making every part of his body they touched feel like ice – or what he imagined ice would feel like.



Everything had been tolerable before, and even when he felt the ship start to move and the inertial dampeners kicked in, the temperature was still something he could stand. It was only when it kept dropping and dropping that he started to worry.



He would freeze to death. He was certain of it.



And coming from Tatooine, Anakin didn’t think that freezing to death would have been an option for him.



His teeth chattered. Looking over at the Twi’leks, he was glad to see that he wasn’t the only one suffering and at the same time, feeling sorry for them at having to feel the cold like he was as well.



At least they have clothes though, he thought. Even the small amount was better than nothing.



He jumped as something in the distance hissed open. A tight feeling filled his chest as he felt another person before he heard the footsteps on the durasteel floor. He could have brushed it off as some crewmember coming in to check on things now that they were, supposedly, in space, but something told him otherwise.



This was it. Him, actually. His new owner. And if it was Dejiak, he swore that he’d find someway to escape or kill himself before the flight was over. There was no way he would be subjugated like that. He’d rather die. Being used by him was one thing, to be owned by that sadist was another entirely.



He unconsciously tightened his legs together as a figure in a hooded brown robe drew closer.



Anakin clenched his jaw and tried to force himself to stop shivering.



If it wasn’t Dejiak though, he just might fuck the man or being out of pure gratitude for buying him.



>>>



When Obi-Wan walked into view of the cages, his eyes widened as he was taken aback. The boy had had clothes the last time he saw him. He had pants the last time he saw him. Where were his pants? Glancing at the Twi’leks he noticed that they hadn’t been stripped.



Why was the boy…?



Steeling himself for an entirely new, and probably awkward first impression. He was letting a human being out of a cage for Force sake! A naked one at that. How does one go about creating a positive rapport after that? Why couldn’t those Sith begotten, completely uncivilized, bantha hearders just let him take the boy minus the whole cage thing?



It looked like it hurt. The bottom wasn’t even solid, just the same bars like everywhere else. It just wasn’t right.



Obi-Wan’s eyes narrowed. And neither was tying his limbs so he couldn’t move. He could see the bindings around his ankles, and…blood…what had they done to this boy!?



Shoving back his hood, Obi-Wan reached for the lock on the cage and snapped the crude key into place. As the bars swung open, he had a better look of the damage. Bruises, some small cuts in his upper arms, most likely from fingernails, a large gash on his leg…



“Force, what have they done to you?” he muttered



Surprise. Confusion. Disbelief.



Obi-Wan could read every emotion coming off of him, as with most untrained force sensitives they projected strongly without knowing how to shield. But this boy, his emotions were far stronger than anyone he had previously encountered. Tightening his own shields, Obi-Wan grabbed a small knife from the inside pocket of his robe and started to cut away the bindings on his legs. He ignored the grimace as he worked through the thick rope. Once it was off, Obi-Wan motioned him out of the cage.



He resisted a wince when he saw that the boy was taller than him. Glancing at the small space to which he’d been confined, it seemed nearly impossible. Obi-Wan couldn’t imagine how uncomfortable that must have been.



“What’s your name?” he asked walking behind him to cut through the bonds on his wrists. The boy’s back tensed as if he expected a surprise attack. Once he was finished, Obi-Wan walked back in front of the blonde.



The boy held his eyes and raised his chin slightly.



“Anakin Skywalker.”



Keeping Anakin’s gaze, Obi-Wan nodded and shrugged off his robe, wrapping it firmly around Anakin, ignoring the start and confusion that poured off of him.



“My name’s Obi-Wan Kenobi,” he said. “How bad is it? Your leg?”



The boy blinked.



More confusion.



“Come on then, if you can stand I’m assuming you can walk. We need to take care of that.”



Obi-Wan turned and started out of the bay. He turned after a moment when he realized Anakin was still standing by the open cage. Their eyes locked and slowly, Anakin trailed after him.



He would first have to clean the would and then wrap it, it looked like the bleeding stopped on his own which meant it probably wasn’t that deep. He’d also have to find Anakin something decent to wear once they arrived at his quarters. Obi-Wan knew that everything he had would be short and possibly a bit tight in places, but it was better than wearing nothing at all under that robe.



Proper clothes would be at the top of the list once arriving back on Bandomeer. Turning back to the matter at hand, Obi-Wan stopped, looking up and down the corridors before setting off again. With any luck, they could avoid being seen by any of the other few passengers. He really didn’t want to deal with anyone seeing him bring back his ‘slave’ to his room and having to hear their misinterpreted and lewd assumptions.



All in all though, their first meeting was a lot less awkward than he thought it would be.



>>>



Confusion didn’t even begin to cover what Anakin was feeling. Sure, a new owner would be pissed that his property was damaged but that didn’t explain the direction in which this man’s displeasure was sent in.



Most owners would have taken it out on Anakin, blaming him for forcing the handlers to be more than rough with him. But to actually have been asked how bad his wound was? He’d even asked his name.



Anakin followed his owner, this Obi-Wan, as he led him through the ship.



He had seemed -- stars, he didn’t know what to think of him. This wasn’t what he was expecting at all. Being let out of that cage was one thing, but then being given something to cover up in. He shivered and pulled the scratchy robe closer around himself.



Anakin tried to focus on the copper-haired man in front of him. He couldn’t get a decent read from him. And he was usually pretty good at reading people. It was almost like he could read their minds a bit, like he could look at them and feel their intentions. Kenobi gave him nothing. There were snippets but nothing he could really grasp.



When the reached the end of the corridor, the door chimed open and admitted them to a small room. The cramped space consisted of a bed on one wall and a small couch near the other, separated by a single nightstand.



”Sit down,” said Obi-Wan making a general direction with his hand towards the bed.



Anakin swallowed and reluctantly sat on the edge as the man disappeared through another, smaller door than the main one they had come through.



Obi-Wan reappeared a few minutes later with a bowl and small towel. When he set it on the nightstand Anakin’s eyes widened. He barely noticed Obi-Wan dip the cloth in the water until the wet fabric was being handed to him.



“Here. It’s to clean the blood off your leg, we don’t need it getting infected.”



Taking the cloth, Anakin bunched the fabric of the robe up and started to wipe away the crusted blood as Obi-Wan turned and rummaged through a cabinet. The cloth was completely red when he was finished with the skin around the wound.



Turning the cloth around in his hand seemed enough for Obi-Wan to take it from him, and to Anakin’s horror, dumped it back in the clean water and rang it out without a second thought. Anakin was sure he had never seen so much water in one place in his life. The bowl wasn’t exactly small and the once-pure water was saturated with his blood.



He didn’t realize how long he’d been staring until a pain in his leg made his refocus on the man pressing the cloth to his cut.



“Sorry.” Obi-Wan winced as he felt the boy jump. The cut looked clean enough now, so he could apply a bacta patch and bandage him up. The younger man seemed to be in some sort of shock.



“If you need to use the facilities the refresher is just through that door,” he said applying the rest of the dressings to Anakin’s leg. When he was finished, he stood and carried the bowl and cloth back to the ‘fresher.



Anakin blinked down at his wrapped thigh.



He blinked again.



None of his previous owners had ever helped him with an injury before. None of them had wrapped it themselves. Each and every one of them had looked at him in disgust, like his blood would contaminate them, as they told him to clean himself up and try to look presentable.



But this one had…no. No, it wasn’t right. Nothing was what seemed. This man who seemed so concerned with his well-being couldn’t possibly be his new owner. He was just someone to baby-sit him until he could be delivered to his real owner.



Maybe Dejiak really had bought him. Maybe he had been bartering with whomever won Anakin at the auction. Maybe this man was a hired hand or something.



Maybe this was all a deception. A trick for him to let his guard down. A pretense, a game, it was all an elaborate plan to get him to hope, and then that son of a bitch would be there, ready to rub it in his face.



Anakin’s breathing quickened as he glanced towards the door.



“Anakin?”



His name startled him; he turned his attention to Kenobi, who stood hesitantly just outside the ‘fresher door.



“Look, you don’t have to be worried about what’s going to happen to you. I did…I was the one who…I-“ Obi-Wan stumbled. “I bought you.”



Just saying those words made him feel extremely dirty. Like he’d just rolled in celuchua slime and bantha dung.



Anakin looked at him suspiciously. “You…really bought me?”



“I did.”



“I belong to you?”



“Yes.”



Stunted relief seemed to flow from the boy as his shoulders dropped from their rigid, defensive position.



It might be okay then, Anakin thought to himself. It might also be because this is a public transport though…



But either way, if he belonged to this man then it meant that he did not belong to Dejiak. He was sure that he had been in the crowd, but if he belonged to Kenobi that meant he beat Dejiak’s bid for him…



He let out a large breath of air. With luck he might never see him again, and he could put Tatooine’s brothels behind him…unless he was trading one brothel for another…



Anakin shook his head. He was getting ahead of himself. He wouldn’t know anything for sure until they reached their destination. But until then…



He did swear to fuck his new owner if it wasn’t Dejiak, did he not?



Anakin looked Obi-Wan up and down as he was busy setting the Med Kit back into the cabinet. He wasn’t bad looking and if he jumped at the chance at sex then Anakin would know exactly where he stood and what his purpose was. He hated feeling out of control, and this confusion mind game Kenobi was playing with him had him off balance.



“Do you have any lotion?”



“Um, yes. I think so.”



Obi-Wan moved around to the foot of the bed and rifled through his belongings. One of the Healers that had cleared him for the trip had given him some softening cream as his skin was prone to drying out in hot, dry environments.



From what he’d glimpsed earlier, Anakin’s wrists looked pretty raw and his ankles were probably chafing as well. The cream would help with those.



Handing it to Anakin absent-mindedly, Obi-Wan went back to his bag. The blonde needed clothes, but it was finding some that would reasonably fit that was going to be difficult, as he didn’t bring many options.



Engrossed in his mission, he barely noticed when Anakin slid up the bed to the headboard and shrugged off the robe.



Coating two fingers in the lotion, Anakin smoothed them across his opening; allowing himself to relax enough, he carefully inserted his first finger and worked it inside of him. Adding a second, a soft noise escaped him at the stretch.



Obi-Wan looked up at the sound and felt his chest contract painfully, his eyes nearly fell out of his head as his entire body stiffened.



“Wh-What are you…doing?” He choked out.



Anakin looked at him for a moment before sighing. “You’d rather do it dry then?”



Removing his hand and spreading his legs caused the bag in Obi-Wan’s hands to drop to the floor.



“I…you, ah…we…I…no, cover…cover up.” Forcing his body into action, the older man backed up awkwardly and made a dash for the door.



Anakin blinked.



Oooookay, not what he was expecting. What was wrong with this guy? Anakin huffed. Sure a part of him, a big part, was happy that he wasn’t getting fucked but to have someone just up and leave him like that, just…didn’t happen. Ever. No one left him alone for long.



He was confused. And cold.



He hated both.



Pulling the robe back around him, Anakin made his way over to the couch and laid down. He supposed that Kenobi could be exclusively into women, because even if he had bought Anakin, he could still be a gift for someone else, right?



Anakin shivered and pulled himself into as much of a ball that the couch would let him. He hated not knowing what was coming.



>>>



Obi-Wan leaned heavily against the door, breathing deeply. That had not just happened. He had not just…



The older man groaned and buried his face in his hands. What was he going to do?



He could not put up with that, if that was what the boy was going to offer so…wantonly…spread out like that with his hands…



Obi-Wan cursed himself and his body for reacting to the images Anakin elicited. Yes, his first reaction had been surprise, but none of him could forget the fact that Anakin was a very, very beautiful young man.



Shaking his head to try and clear it, Obi-Wan leaned back against metal and took a few calming deep breaths. He would have to meditate these feelings out. And give the boy the first pair of clothes he grabbed out of his bag. He didn’t care anymore as long as he was dressed.



Force, what had changed from the auction until now? That was not the struggling, angry boy that he had first seen in there, that was…was…something else entirely. Obi-Wan didn’t know what to make of it. Defense mechanism? Feelers? A test?



This was not his day.