He wasn't sure how long he was going to last.

But he had to—he had to last, because the gunship was lowering itself to the ground in front of Anakin and his men, and there was still a battle raging below them, and they still needed to get rid of the droids and the tanks before clearing this sector, and they still needed to just survive today.

That was what Obi-Wan told himself as he combatted the wave of dizziness that threatened to drag him under. Obi-Wan was grateful that the gunship swayed a little as it tried to make its landing, otherwise he was certain that everyone else would have noticed that he was, in fact, not as steady as he would have been otherwise.

Which was good. Everyone needed to stay as focused as possible now, given the numbers of droids and tanks to trooper.

Obi-Wan only hoped that Anakin and his men hadn't suffered from too many casualties. He hoped that he wasn't too late.

And then the doors of the gunship were flung open, and Obi-Wan looked down at the mass of droids below him. He turned around to the troopers around him and braced on the most determined smile he could manage even with the dizziness and the ache in his head.

And then he jumped.

Obi-Wan heard shouts and cheers from around him—the 501st as they saw the 212th come flying down from the gunships. Reinforcements have arrived.

Obi-Wan tasted dirt and ash as he swept up to his feet, lightsaber already activating and cutting through a droid. Pain needled at his head, and Obi-Wan felt as though he were moving underwater. Too slow, he was too slow, his aching muscles struggling to hold himself up.

Obi-Wan gritted his teeth as he practically threw himself at another droid. He called on the Force, as he had been doing for the entirety of the last twelve hours or so. Using the Force to shield him, numb him from the rising nausea and heat within him.

They just needed to survive today.

Obi-Wan was glad for his shields when he felt Anakin come up beside him, his blue lightsaber already swinging.

"Took you long enough," Anakin grunted over the clatter of droids falling to the ground. "Did you get lost?"

Obi-Wan managed to huff out a laugh, ignoring the ache in his chest. "I would think you appreciated my grand entrance," he said, taking care to check his shields as he deflected another blast. The last thing he needed was for Anakin to start shouting at him in the middle of a battlefield. The last thing he needed was for Anakin to get further unsettled, period. Because the last few weeks—

"Of course I did," Anakin said, tossing Obi-Wan a slight smirk. Which was more than Obi-Wan had seen in a long time. If he hadn't been so dizzy or sick—because that was what he was, he was sick, but generals didn't take sick days—he would have tried to return the gesture, but Obi-Wan only deflected another blaster bolt. "Still took you long enough."

Obi-Wan attempted to laugh at that—but his chest protested, and he only managed a half-sigh, half-breath in response. He cut down another droid, and to his relief, he found Anakin already turning around, paying attention to the enemy lines.

He let himself get lost in the fighting. Let the Force shield him and guide him through the droids, let the Force take control of his body. He could feel the determination and fear of the troopers around him, but not one of them balked away from the droids. So many of them had gotten used to this strange adrenaline. With nearly three years of war under many of their belts, of course they would.

Obi-Wan let himself slip back in control in time to sense the cannon fire a second before Anakin did.

"Down!" Obi-Wan shouted, grabbing Anakin's wrist. He dragged him aside just as debris and soil flew up from where Anakin had been a moment ago. Anakin crashed into Obi-Wan's side, their hands tangling together briefly before Obi-Wan heard a sharp intake of breath—not his own, Anakin's.

Obi-Wan let go of Anakin, his head spinning as he raised his lightsaber over his head. He felt Anakin's eyes boring into his head, and then a quiet, "Obi-Wan…?"

"Careful, Anakin," Obi-Wan only said. He twisted around, cutting down two droids in one swift motion. That movement left Obi-Wan dazed, and for a moment, the world tilted dangerously around him. He stumbled back a half-step—just a half-step, nothing more, and then he was just barely dodging a blast.

"Obi-Wan—"

"Anakin, pay attention," Obi-Wan managed to say. He straightened himself, blinking the blur from his eyes. He forced himself to breathe—breathe—as he lifted his head. He could feel Anakin's frustration coming off in dips and waves, but to his relief, his former apprentice only attacked the droid in front of himself.

Anakin was a vicious blur of dark robes and blue light, maneuvering around the droids with the deadly ease of someone who had become too used to the war. His face was a stony mask, cold and intent on exacting his own will to those who stood in his way. And Obi-Wan let himself watch for just a moment as Anakin dove through the Separatist forces. He knew where Anakin was using that frustration now. He knew that Anakin tunneled deeper and deeper into his frustration and anger these days, and each time he did, Obi-Wan wondered how much longer it would take for him to draw Anakin back out.

If perhaps Ahsoka had stayed, then maybe—

He was becoming as bad as Anakin.

Obi-Wan shoved those thoughts away and blinked into focus.

Blinked back into chaos of battle around him. The shrieking of wounded soldiers and cannon fire.

Cannons, Obi-Wan dimly thought, lifting his head to the tanks inching their way across the field. They needed to take care of the tanks and the cannon fire. He swept his eyes across the field, at the battle droids still coming closer and closer. And then he looked back up to the three tanks behind them.

If he could take over one of the tanks and use it against—

But a familiar blur of dark robes and blue light was already darting for the center tank.

Obi-Wan swore under his breath. He should have known.

Always on the move, Obi-Wan thought grimly, and cutting through another line of droids, he went for the tank on the farthest right. Anakin remained in the corner of his eye, and he watched with half exasperation, half awe as his former apprentice flipped himself up to the top of the tank. He popped open the hatch and dove in, and Obi-Wan saw the light of a wayward blaster bolt before the tank suddenly halted, and then a cannon was launched right into the droid forces in front.

With that, Obi-Wan pushed himself up to the top of the tank in front of him. It moved under his feet as the controlling droids probably caught ahold of his presence. But even despite the wobbling and the turning, Obi-Wan managed to get to the top of the tank without losing balance.

When he opened the hatch, the droids already had their blasters pointed up at him, but with a twist of his wrist, both blasters and droids were cut in half, and Obi-Wan fell, rather than jumped, into the tank.

His legs gave out almost instantly before him, and suppressing a groan, Obi-Wan straightened himself the best he could. The inside of the tank was unsettlingly warm, doing little to aid the thin haze of pain that overtook Obi-Wan's head, his body.

Focus. He had to stay focused.

Obi-Wan's hands fumbled for the controls, and once he found them, he turned the cannon onto the remaining droids. The rest of the forces went up in a shower of dirt and grass, and when the ringing had stopped in Obi-Wan's ears, he became aware of the shouts of glee from the troopers farther up ahead.

Relief flooded Obi-Wan's whole body as he looked out the viewport. He found Anakin already taking care of the last tank. He saw droids fly out from the hatch, and then a shower of sparks that told him that the tank's controls weren't working anymore.

And then Anakin was climbing back out of the tank, a breeze picking up his hair as he surveyed the wreckage. But Anakin didn't smile, not even as the last droid fell over.

Obi-Wan watched as Anakin jumped down from the tank, hooking his lightsaber back to his side.

And Obi-Wan decided then that it was time for him to get out the tank as well.

He pushed himself away from the controls with trembling arms. He tried to call on the Force for some stabilization, some numbing, but he found nothing. As though sensing the battle's end, all of the strength seemed to seep out of Obi-Wan's body as he practically shoved himself up the ladder.

The breeze was both a relief and a curse once Obi-Wan stood at the top of the tank. The burst of fresh air temporarily cooled his skin, but then he was too cold, and his throat was too dry, and—

Obi-Wan shivered as another breeze—stronger, this time—swept past him. His head felt too light, being carried away with the breeze itself.

He needed to get down from the tank, he realized as his eyes adjusted to Anakin's approaching figure. He had been standing here for too long.

Move, Obi-Wan ordered himself.

So he took a step forward.

Another breeze curled around him, and Obi-Wan found Anakin far below him—too far now, Obi-Wan thought numbly. The tank had either grown, or Anakin had shrunk, but that was silly, because Obi-Wan didn't think tanks were capable of growing, and he was sure Anakin wasn't capable of shrinking…

Obi-Wan wondered if he could ask. If he should ask. Just in case, if perhaps the Separatists really had found a way to enlarge their tanks and shrink men into a mere blur of color, and—

Obi-Wan heard someone shouting his name, and he wanted to open his mouth and tell that voice to quiet down, no need to shout—

Obi-Wan suddenly felt too light and too heavy at once, and then he became aware that he was no longer looking at a blur of Anakin, but instead he was looking up at a grey sky, and that sky was getting farther and farther away from him as he—

He heard a grunt, and then he was staring at bright eyes that were comically wide and searching his face, Obi-Wan realized a second later.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured.

"What were you thinking?" Anakin asked, his voice low and harsh. "What's going on with…" Obi-Wan felt cool hands push up to his neck, the side of his face. "Obi-Wan…"

Obi-Wan tried to move himself away. He should move himself away. But his head felt too heavy, and Anakin's hands were cool, and he was so hot—

Obi-Wan heard murmuring above him. Cody, he recognized dimly. Rex, a moment later.

And then Anakin: "call a medic." His voice was sharp, too sharp, and Obi-Wan opened his mouth to chide him, but all that came out was a feeble cough.

"Now," Anakin added. Obi-Wan felt cool hands push up to his forehead, fingers threading through his sweaty hair. "Hang on, Master."

Obi-Wan made out the crease between Anakin's brows.

It didn't belong there, Obi-Wan thought. He wanted to say so, but he was fading fast, and when the darkness settled in, he let himself be carried away with it.

Obi-Wan was dimly aware of the rustle of cloth against cloth, quiet murmurs around him. A cool hand settling against his cheek, and then a hissed order. Obi-Wan didn't have to open his eyes to know who was next to him. He could feel him always, know him by that warm glow within the Force alone.

He could feel his panic and anger, that frustration that had been roiling within him for weeks on end.

Obi-Wan wanted to reach for him and tell him that he would not have to suffer yet another loss—that this panic and worry was for nothing.

But he found himself quite incapable of speech, and so the best Obi-Wan could do was just turn his head in the direction of Anakin's hand and hope that his surrender to touch would be enough reassurance for his former apprentice.

Obi-Wan woke up alone in the medbay.

For a moment, it was all he could do to blink at the bright lights. He tasted something sour and bitter in his mouth, and his clothes were tacky with drying sweat, but he was awake and forming coherent thoughts, which he supposed was a good sign.

Obi-Wan pushed himself up by the elbows and instantly regretted it.

A soft gasp left his lips as he waited for the room to stop spinning. He was aware of falling back into the cot, and then he heard the doors open.

"Take it easy," Anakin said, sitting down beside Obi-Wan. "Medics say that you were wiped out."

Obi-Wan turned his head towards Anakin. He found a pale face, shadows dancing under Anakin's eyes. He hadn't been sleeping, Obi-Wan could tell that much.

"How long?" Obi-Wan only asked.

"A few hours," Anakin replied.

Obi-Wan closed his eyes. "Debrief?"

"I took care of it," Anakin said. "The Council understood the reasons for your absence."

Obi-Wan noticed the slight ice in Anakin's voice as he mentioned the Council. Knew the reason for that coldness, and though his expression remained neutral when Obi-Wan opened his eyes, he couldn't ignore the turn in Anakin's presence.

But he also didn't know what to say. How to talk about the Council to Anakin, especially after the most recent events.

He had tried to talk to Anakin about Ahsoka before. In their quieter moments, or when things became too tense and too cold for either of them to bear the weight of it anymore. And in each of those moments, Anakin would seem to tunnel deeper and deeper into himself.

"Thank you," Obi-Wan decided to say at last.

Anakin grunted now—a halfhearted sound that signaled to Obi-Wan that he didn't want to linger on the topic of the Council for any longer than they had to.

"Did anything else happen while I was out?" Obi-Wan asked. He started to push himself up again, only to come about halfway before his arms were giving out again.

"Careful," Anakin said, easing Obi-Wan back to the cot. "It's going to take longer than just a few hours for you to get your strength back."

Obi-Wan exhaled. "A pity," he managed to say, but Anakin didn't smile.

"You shouldn't have gone in," Anakin said. "Kix said that you—"

"And leave you without reinforcements?" Obi-Wan asked. He shifted himself towards Anakin. "You know as well as I do that that wouldn't do."

"You could have gotten hurt. Or worse."

"We've survived worse."

"You shouldn't push it."

"You're one to talk."

Anakin's face tightened. "I mean it," he said. "If you—if something happened—"

"You can't control that, Anakin," Obi-Wan said quietly. "No more than I can."

Anakin turned away, and Obi-Wan knew that he knew the truth as much as anyone else. But he also knew that Anakin hated and raged against that truth every day, as he was doing now.

That hatred and rage was dangerous. Incredibly dangerous, and flared incredibly brightly for someone as young and as powerful as Anakin. Obi-Wan had done the best to cool it, tamp it down. He wondered now, looking at his friend, if he would ever fully ease Anakin away from that intensity.

He could. He would.

After everything, Obi-Wan promised himself that he would.

"I'm sorry," Obi-Wan said. "To have worried you."

Anakin stayed turned away. For a moment, Obi-Wan wondered if his words were at all a comfort, but then Anakin asked, "No lecture?"

"Not today, I'm afraid," Obi-Wan replied.

"You must be tired." A halfhearted attempt at humor. More than Obi-Wan had gotten in the last few weeks.

"Consider it my gift to you."

"A gift." Anakin let out a soft huff and turned back to Obi-Wan. His eyes had softened just a bit—just a fraction.

And then he lifted his hand, hesitated. "Are you…"

"You can check," Obi-Wan replied.

With that, Anakin settled his hand against Obi-Wan's forehead. His hand was cool, and Obi-Wan could feel familiar callouses from where Anakin had spent long hours either working with tools and the lightsaber.

"Not as bad," Anakin said, withdrawing his hand after a few heartbeats. "But you're staying here."

"I don't suppose I have a choice, do I," Obi-Wan murmured.

"No," Anakin agreed. He dropped his hand to his lap.

They were quiet for a little while.

And then Obi-Wan asked, "Do you have anywhere to…"

"No."

Then, Anakin: "Do you want me to…"

"No."

Anakin nodded.

There was still much Obi-Wan wanted to say. Much he wanted to share and confess, but—

He figured this would have to be enough.

They sat together in silence.

A/N: I imagined this would take place somewhere in early S7/late S6, after Ahsoka leaving/Fives dying/the whole Clovis-Padme chaos. At this point, Anakin's clearly a mess, and Obi-Wan's clearly trying to hold it together for the two of them. I initially wrote this fic from Anakin's perspective, but then I realized that I haven't written a whole ton of Obi-Wan whump from Obi's perspective, so I decided to try something new!

As always, reviews/favorites are greatly appreciated!