Its the flinch that makes him sure that
Obi-Wan hadn’t been paying attention, green eyes quickly focusing
on him before smiling sheepishly down at Anakin. “Apologies
padawan, I was…” He sighed a bit. “Just apologies.”

“Its alright Master but…this is the
eight time today I lost you. Are you alright?” Anakin squeezed the
older mans wrist again, staring up at him in confusion. He was
starting to wonder if there was more reasons then just him being to
old that lead to the Council keeping such close eye on the two of
them.

The knight shifted a bit before sighing
and gesturing for one of the salle benches. “Lets…sit down. I
guess I should have told you from the start.” He sighed.

The blond frowned worriedly up at him
but obediently moved with Obi-Wan to the bench and sat down, blinking
at his teacher.

Rubbing the scruff on his chin, Obi-Wan
thought over how to explain it to the ten year old.

“I have…a disorder. A mental one.”
He started slowly, feeling Anakin’s eyes on him as he stared at his
knees. “Its not contagious and I’m not insane, though sometimes I
certainly feel it.” He gave a hollow laugh.

Small hands took his and Obi-Wan looked
quickly at the blond who was giving him a serious look. “Its not
nice to say bad things about yourself.” He offered as seriously as
he could.

“…No but I’m good at saying bad
things about myself. See, the thing is Anakin…I have something
called attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or ADHD for short.”
He fiddled with the small hands, rubbing them lightly while focusing
on how tanned Anakin was.

“…That’s a long word for
something.” Anakin blinked up at the man who was not looking him in
the eye anymore.

“Yes, yes it is. That’s why it
usually goes by its abbreviation, ADHD, much more manageable.”

“But what does that mean for you?”
The blond shuffled closer, squeezing the big hands holding his.

“Generally its considered a disorder
that makes it hard to behave, control your emotions, pay attention
and have excessive energy for activity.” The Jedi Knight took a
deep breath. “As for what it means for me…”

His shoulders slumped a bit.

“For me it means I get distracted
easily, I fidget a lot and have issues sitting still, focusing on one
single task without becoming bored unless it interests me, I very
easily show my emotions and I can have sensory overload. There used
to be more but Master Qui-Gon helped me cope with those. And unlike
what you may hear if you talk to people, I had very good grades even
if I couldn’t sit still for long periods.” Obi-Wan offered softly
if a bit sadly.

Anakin stared at the other and started
putting a few things into place. “You shake your foot often while
talking to people, or wiggle that rubber band around your fingers.”
He pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s how I cope with the
fidget. I also have medication but it makes me…” Obi-Wan blew his
breath, ruffling his hair. “It sometimes makes me very lackluster
or spacy as you may say. And I have a few other things that
associates with the disorder but those aren’t that important.”

Anakin blinked before leaning in and
hugging the other around the chest, smiling up at him. “Well, if it
helps, I think its pretty wizard that you’re you. I don’t mind if
you have a few problems.” He offered, beaming up at him.

The older man blinked before smiling
back at him and trapping Anakin in a tight hug.

It was when Anakin got older that he
understood what the ‘other things’ were.

Obi-Wan had anxiety and self doubts
that was related to his disorder.

Obi-Wan thought he was a slouch and
lazy yet cleaned their apartment alone and trained and feed them
both. Obi-Wan was fearful that others only tolerated him though he
hid it well.

And Obi-Wan’s medicine gave him
insomnia and made him lose his appetite.

Anakin could only watch in worry some
days when Obi-Wan grew gaunt only to suddenly bounce back and put the
weight he lost back on.

Other times he had to carefully
encourage the other out of bed and coax him into his routines.
Routines Anakin had learned were important because it encouraged
Obi-Wan to eat, work out, do his work and hold him active in a way
that worked out for him.

And then were the days Obi-Wan needed
space.

Needed to just lay on the couch with
all the lights off and his soft robes on, a blanket over him and not
do anything. Just lay in a dim area as quietly as possible.

Anakin usually worked on homework or
went to see friends when those days came.

This was Anakin’s master and Anakin
had learned to be mindful about what the older man sometimes needed.
And he really disliked Palpatine talking about Obi-Wan appearing lazy
by not escorting Anakin to the Supreme Chancellor.

“Obi-Wan?” The blond teen peeked
out of the kitchen at the couch where the other was laying on his
back with his legs over the arm lean and a datapad in his hands.

“Mmmn? Yes Anakin?” The other
lifted his head.

“Do I have to go back to the Supreme
Chancellor?” He wiped his hands on a kitchen towel and Obi-Wan
blinked, sitting up fully and giving Anakin’s his full attention
despite his foot twitching around.

“No but could you tell me why?”

“He…I don’t like some of the
stuff he’s saying. That’s all. And I really didn’t like the bar
he took me to.” Anakin wrinkled his nose.

Obi-Wan dropped his datapad in
surprise. “Bar?!” He rasped and got to his feet. “He took you
to a bar?”

“I…yes?”

“Anakin, you’re barely thirteen.
You’re not ALLOWED in bars. There’s a reason I never bring you to
any. The Supreme Chancellor brought you to a bar…” Obi-Wan ran
his hands through his hair and then looked sharply at his padawan.
“Anakin has he ever said or done something that made you
uncomfortable?”

“Errm, yes?”

“Oh Force…he hasn’t…touched you
has he?” Obi-Wan stared at the other, wide eyes.

“What? You mean like-no! Nothing like
that. You don’t think he-”

“He brought you to a bar!” Obi-Wan
moved towards him and picked Anakin up on his shoulder, heading for
the door. “We are going to talk to the Council, now!”

“Master!” Anakin yelped.

()()()

“And now for our emergency news cast.
Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine has been called in for
inappropriate interactions with a junior padawan of the Jedi Order.
The padawan in question has not been named or even species identified
as they are a minor by their race standards. The chancellor has declined to
comment but several Senators have confirmed that he has been seen in
underage padawans company without their masters in view. More on this
case tomorrow.”

Its the flinch that makes him sure that
Obi-Wan hadn’t been paying attention, green eyes quickly focusing
on him before smiling sheepishly down at Anakin. “Apologies
padawan, I was…” He sighed a bit. “Just apologies.”

“Its alright Master but…this is the
eight time today I lost you. Are you alright?” Anakin squeezed the
older mans wrist again, staring up at him in confusion. He was
starting to wonder if there was more reasons then just him being to
old that lead to the Council keeping such close eye on the two of
them.

The knight shifted a bit before sighing
and gesturing for one of the salle benches. “Lets…sit down. I
guess I should have told you from the start.” He sighed.

The blond frowned worriedly up at him
but obediently moved with Obi-Wan to the bench and sat down, blinking
at his teacher.

Rubbing the scruff on his chin, Obi-Wan
thought over how to explain it to the ten year old.

“I have…a disorder. A mental one.”
He started slowly, feeling Anakin’s eyes on him as he stared at his
knees. “Its not contagious and I’m not insane, though sometimes I
certainly feel it.” He gave a hollow laugh.

Small hands took his and Obi-Wan looked
quickly at the blond who was giving him a serious look. “Its not
nice to say bad things about yourself.” He offered as seriously as
he could.

“…No but I’m good at saying bad
things about myself. See, the thing is Anakin…I have something
called attention deficit hyperactive disorder, or ADHD for short.”
He fiddled with the small hands, rubbing them lightly while focusing
on how tanned Anakin was.

“…That’s a long word for
something.” Anakin blinked up at the man who was not looking him in
the eye anymore.

“Yes, yes it is. That’s why it
usually goes by its abbreviation, ADHD, much more manageable.”

“But what does that mean for you?”
The blond shuffled closer, squeezing the big hands holding his.

“Generally its considered a disorder
that makes it hard to behave, control your emotions, pay attention
and have excessive energy for activity.” The Jedi Knight took a
deep breath. “As for what it means for me…”

His shoulders slumped a bit.

“For me it means I get distracted
easily, I fidget a lot and have issues sitting still, focusing on one
single task without becoming bored unless it interests me, I very
easily show my emotions and I can have sensory overload. There used
to be more but Master Qui-Gon helped me cope with those. And unlike
what you may hear if you talk to people, I had very good grades even
if I couldn’t sit still for long periods.” Obi-Wan offered softly
if a bit sadly.

Anakin stared at the other and started
putting a few things into place. “You shake your foot often while
talking to people, or wiggle that rubber band around your fingers.”
He pointed out.

“Yeah, that’s how I cope with the
fidget. I also have medication but it makes me…” Obi-Wan blew his
breath, ruffling his hair. “It sometimes makes me very lackluster
or spacy as you may say. And I have a few other things that
associates with the disorder but those aren’t that important.”

Anakin blinked before leaning in and
hugging the other around the chest, smiling up at him. “Well, if it
helps, I think its pretty wizard that you’re you. I don’t mind if
you have a few problems.” He offered, beaming up at him.

The older man blinked before smiling
back at him and trapping Anakin in a tight hug.

It was when Anakin got older that he
understood what the ‘other things’ were.

Obi-Wan had anxiety and self doubts
that was related to his disorder.

Obi-Wan thought he was a slouch and
lazy yet cleaned their apartment alone and trained and feed them
both. Obi-Wan was fearful that others only tolerated him though he
hid it well.

And Obi-Wan’s medicine gave him
insomnia and made him lose his appetite.

Anakin could only watch in worry some
days when Obi-Wan grew gaunt only to suddenly bounce back and put the
weight he lost back on.

Other times he had to carefully
encourage the other out of bed and coax him into his routines.
Routines Anakin had learned were important because it encouraged
Obi-Wan to eat, work out, do his work and hold him active in a way
that worked out for him.

And then were the days Obi-Wan needed
space.

Needed to just lay on the couch with
all the lights off and his soft robes on, a blanket over him and not
do anything. Just lay in a dim area as quietly as possible.

Anakin usually worked on homework or
went to see friends when those days came.

This was Anakin’s master and Anakin
had learned to be mindful about what the older man sometimes needed.
And he really disliked Palpatine talking about Obi-Wan appearing lazy
by not escorting Anakin to the Supreme Chancellor.

“Obi-Wan?” The blond teen peeked
out of the kitchen at the couch where the other was laying on his
back with his legs over the arm lean and a datapad in his hands.

“Mmmn? Yes Anakin?” The other
lifted his head.

“Do I have to go back to the Supreme
Chancellor?” He wiped his hands on a kitchen towel and Obi-Wan
blinked, sitting up fully and giving Anakin’s his full attention
despite his foot twitching around.

“No but could you tell me why?”

“He…I don’t like some of the
stuff he’s saying. That’s all. And I really didn’t like the bar
he took me to.” Anakin wrinkled his nose.

Obi-Wan dropped his datapad in
surprise. “Bar?!” He rasped and got to his feet. “He took you
to a bar?”

“I…yes?”

“Anakin, you’re barely thirteen.
You’re not ALLOWED in bars. There’s a reason I never bring you to
any. The Supreme Chancellor brought you to a bar…” Obi-Wan ran
his hands through his hair and then looked sharply at his padawan.
“Anakin has he ever said or done something that made you
uncomfortable?”

“Errm, yes?”

“Oh Force…he hasn’t…touched you
has he?” Obi-Wan stared at the other, wide eyes.

“What? You mean like-no! Nothing like
that. You don’t think he-”

“He brought you to a bar!” Obi-Wan
moved towards him and picked Anakin up on his shoulder, heading for
the door. “We are going to talk to the Council, now!”

“Master!” Anakin yelped.

()()()

“And now for our emergency news cast.
Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine has been called in for
inappropriate interactions with a junior padawan of the Jedi Order.
The padawan in question has not been named or even species identified
as they are a minor by their race standards. The chancellor has declined to
comment but several Senators have confirmed that he has been seen in
underage padawans company without their masters in view. More on this
case tomorrow.”