Elbows settled on his knees, Vader stared at Obi-Wan as the Jedi stared back at him, the omega finally having calmed down after what felt like forever.

After he had finally calmed down, the redhead had settled on the single chair in the room by the desk, ignoring all the mechanical work that Vader had as the Sith found a loose shirt.

He had taken the hint at that, settling down on the bunk that Obi-Wan had not taken.

Wouldn’t take.

Even though it smelled of Obi-Wan, of his and Obi-Wan’s scent mixed together.

Like a mated pair.

“…What happens now?” Obi-Wan finally asked, his voice rough from his breakdown.

Absently Vader took note of how the other was fisting his hands into the leggings he was borrowing, Vader’s pj leggings. He shrugged slightly, watching Obi-Wan as he leaned back against the wall the bunk was settled against. “If I’m honest, I’m not utterly sure. But I do know I’m not letting you go back to Tatooine.” He tacked on sharply when he saw Obi-Wan open his mouth.

Alpha hormones flooded the room and Obi-Wan flinched back from him.

Vader couldn’t help but be… discomforted by that.

He had never seen Obi-Wan react as such when alphas got aggressive.

Generally he used to just roll his eyes and sigh loudly, muttering about barbaric and uncivilized behavior.

It was just… it didn’t fit with the Obi-Wan he remembered.

“Fine. So I’m not going back,” Obi-Wan bit out, his chin tilted up but avoiding looking Vader in the eyes. “But where am I going if you’re not going to kill me?” He huffed out.

“Coruscant,” Vader stated, stretching his legs out with a quiet groan of satisfaction as sore muscles eased out and snorting when he saw the others eyes widening ever so slightly with suppressed panic. “I got my own place there, you aren’t going near the Imperial palace.” He stated a tad more quietly, guessing what the other was thinking.

A brief pause settled in before Obi-Wan nodded, indicating that the alpha had hit bullseye and as curious as Vader was to what the other was thinking, he didn’t ask nor try to skim the others mind.

He needed the other to trust him slightly at the very least and skimming his mind was one hell of a way to break any burgeoning trust at all or shut down any future trust.

It was hard to read Obi-Wan’s expression too, the other was too blasted good at it still, a blank mask settling over him.

‘I used to be able to read him… micro twitches in his face told me everything. Now I’m stuck without being able to read him. And Skywalker thought Obi-Wan didn’t tell him anything…’ Vader was almost bitterly amused by how little Obi-Wan was really giving him. “You’ll have to hide your identity.” He tacked on, watching closely.

Obi-Wan’s brow furrowed a bit, eyes narrowing slightly in suspicion. “Meaning…?” He stated slowly.

Standing, Vader made his way over to the desk, ignoring the way Obi-Wan tensed up and leaned back into the chair.

Pulling out the drawer, he held up a bottle for the other to see.

Obi-Wan squinted at the bottle and not for the first time did Vader wonder if the other needed an optometrist appointment.

The omega’s eyesight had seemed a bit poorer towards the end of the war.

“Hair dye?” Obi-Wan stated, sounding startled, finally meeting Vader’s eyes with obvious surprise.

“Along with trimming away the beard and letting your hair grow, this will hide your identity quite well, its only a few shades away from your natural hair, so the after growth won’t be too visible.” Vader confirmed, holding out the bottle for him to take.

Hesitating, frowning heavily, Obi-Wan slowly took the bottle to study before looking up sharply. “I’m not removing my bear-” He started in outrage.

Vader cut in harshly. “You will because Obi-Wan the beta Jedi can disappear into the void, no one will be looking for omega Ben from Tatooine on Coruscant, are we clear?” He growled sharply.

Obi-Wan flinched but bared his teeth right back at Vader and for several long, tense moments, Vader wondered if he had pushed too hard, too fast, if Obi-Wan would attack him.

But finally the other slumped a bit, staring at the bottle with an obviously confused and exhausted expression crossing his face. “…I don’t understand what you’re doing Sith. This… I don’t understand…”

Hesitating, Vader slowly reached out, gently stroking Obi-Wan’s hair, feeling him tense under the touch but not stopping despite it all. “Because… whether we like it or not… we have a connection my old master. And regardless how much we fight it,” He slowly knelt down, looking up at the worn out man in front of him. “We can’t help but care… I can’t help but care.” Vader decided to be honest.

Clearly it threw the Jedi for a loop as he stared back, hands clenched on the dye bottle and his lips lightly parted with surprise.

‘…Who knew there would come a time I wouldn’t find amusement in the Negotiator himself being left speechless.’ Vader couldn’t help but smile bitterly as he stared at Obi-Wan, watching as a single tear slid down the omega’s cheek.