Everything is hot and awful and he’s so hungry.

His
nest is too small but there’s no more to place in it, everything,
even his robe is in the nest and there is nothing more to do
but sleep as slick coats the inside of his thighs and makes him even
more uncomfortable.

He
knows there is food in the house, he has some but heat had
come too sharp and sudden for him to really prepare, only a day’s
warning and it was all he could do to just bar the house and get what
little he had for a nest.

This
had never been an issue back in the Jedi temple, Obi-Wan had been a
beta then due to the blockers and never had to think about heat or
being influenced by alphas.

But on
Tatooine, there was no access to what he needed.

Leaving
him to deal with the awful heats now that his body had to endure
them.

More
than ever, he missed Anakin.

Anakin
would have understood, looked out for him, known what to do.

He
knew to survive this world.

Obi-Wan
however was alone.

Anakin
was no more, only Vader, who had knelt for the emperor, the Sith.

Vader
would kill him for sure.

Only
then Vader is in his doorway with his helmet on the floor, staring at
him with golden eyes as light floods his little bedroom and it’s
all Obi-Wan can do to not succumb fully to his instincts. He had not
savaged Vader on Mustafar, had left him fine and alive if bruised and
aching as Obi-Wan fled with Padme.

Fear
and anger still rolled beneath his skin along with his misery but the
fear won over all of that, Vader standing in his doorway, a saber
hilt in his hand.

And
yet…

It is
dropped, Vader stumbles forward without weapons, though one can argue
the enforcer of the Emperor is a weapon in simply existing.

And
Vader is not doing any of that as Obi-Wan presses back into the wall.

Vader
reaches for him, soothingly, desperate, rumbling at him with shock
still present in his scent.

Its
instincts that drives Obi-Wan from the wall and cautiously towards
the Sith, recognizing survival in the other as he lets Vader pull him
close and into him.

Heat
drives his action as he lets Vader tuck him into his meager nest and
hold him, instincts allows Vader to wrap him up and the parts of
Obi-Wan that is lonely beyond belief hopes that there is some
part of Anakin still left in the alpha that holds him.

And he
is lonely, so lonely and here is an alpha, who despite never holding
him in his nest, is still familiar and isn’t threatening him in
this moment.

For
all that Obi-Wan wants to be strong, he feels the weakness in this
moment and submits to ancient instincts.

And so
he curls into the warmth of someone else, listening to the beat of a
heart through layers of clothes and just feels.

Comfort,
warmth, the presence of another person.

Of
Anakin.

Because
for all that Anakin must be gone, the scent hasn’t changed.

And
Anakin is gone… right?

()()()

Muttering
to himself, Vader barred the door with the Force after himself as he
walked over to the table, setting down the box full of items with a
smirk of satisfaction.

A
quick comm up to the Fist while Obi-Wan had been sleeping had given
him a lot more food for the other.

Piett’s
interest in the omega however had been unwelcome, the beta clearly
smelling the heat on Vader’s armor and to avoid any intrusion,
Vader was going to keep the barrier Obi-Wan had set up going.

But
now at least he had food for Obi-Wan, easy to eat things and make and
some mechanical components so Vader could fix the fresher.

It
hadn’t escaped him that Obi-Wan’s fresher was broken, recently
from the looks of it and Obi-Wan must be so uncomfortable with the
slick clearly soaking his leggings. It was a good thing he wasn’t
fertile for a pup because with that much slick, Vader wasn’t sure
he’d manage to keep back his instincts.

‘Lets
see, proper soap and not the Tatooine crap, bread packets, dried
fruit, some juice, cheese… good, good.’ Vader nodded, pulling out
the blankets from the bottom of the box. Add those food items to the
leftover pea stew with meat and Obi-Wan would be able to eat properly
throughout his heat.

Now,
how to convince Obi-Wan to leave his nest and shower…

Vader
paused before sighing deeply. “Time to cram myself into a tiny
shower with my former master, I guess…” Vader raised his eyes to
the ceiling, wondering if Mace Windu was laughing as hard in the
Force as Vader thought he was.