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[neverjedi]

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[neverjedi]

"There's a Chinese place on the corner before my place that caters to late shift workers. We can grab the food there." He pulled his phone out, swiped through to an app, called up the appropriate place and then handed the phone over. "Why don't you go ahead and order so we don't have to wait."

[darkforcerising]

“What do you want?” Anakin asked as he scrolled through the menu.

As he scrolled, he realized he probably should have been more picky. Chopsticks were right out for him, so he took his time finding something he could eat with a fork. He settled on beef and broccoli. Bonus: the broccoli made it healthy.

[neverjedi]

" Szechuan shrimp and lemon chicken, add extra vegetables."

...Was he going to eat more 2,000 calories worth of take-out after midnight? Yes, yes he was.

Well, maybe. He'd probably also have lunch tomorrow.

[darkforcerising]

“Extra vegetables makes it healthy.”

He placed the order and handed the phone back to Obi-Wan.

“Have we reached the point where I get to start asking more personal questions?”

[neverjedi]

He snorts, because there is nothing healthy about this and he... kind of relishes that, actually.

"We reached that point when you agreed to come skating with me." He was still being careful with Anakin, because there was just something... guarded and fragile about him, that made him . It meant Anakin set the pace, at least. "Ask me anything you want."

[darkforcerising]

“Oh?” Anakin raised his eyebrows. “Is that when it happened?”

And then he considered exactly what question to ask.

He decided to go simple first. “Where did you grow up?”

[neverjedi]

He thought Anakin had a specific question. This was clearly going to be twenty-questions and...

He didn't really mind.

"In a series of ice-skating rinks?" he wasn't being evasive though and shook his head. "I was born and in San Jose, California and that's technically still home for my parents, but once I started competing there was a lot of movement with coach changes, partner changes once I started in pairs, and competitions." A pause, slightly cautiously, but: "You?"

[darkforcerising]

“Ha.” He knew there was more to come in the answer than just ‘in an ice rink.’ The answer was satisfactory. He now also knew Obi-Wan’d parents were still alive.

“In a junk yard.” He could be just as facetious. But he added, “Middle of nowhere, Arizona. And I do mean middle of nowhere.”

[neverjedi]

It explained, at least partially, the desire to join the Air Force immediately, he thought. Or, rather, added context to it.

"How long have you been in New York?"

[darkforcerising]

That would be a good guess - there is nothing in Anakin’s home town. But his reasons ran deeper than that.

“About six months. I got a job with Lockheed Martin. How long have you been with the FBI?”

[neverjedi]

Added context was not full context, for sure.

"In total? Nearly five years." He didn't love it, actually, but that was neither here nor there.

[darkforcerising]

Anakin caught something in the way Obi-Wan said that, it made him curious.

“Do you like your job?”

[neverjedi]

He made a low, thoughtful noise in the back of his throat, and focused more on the sidewalk ahead than Anakin.

"I don't... dislike it, and I don't think there's much I would like more. I like that it pays the bills while giving me an opportunity to help people."

[darkforcerising]

“What would you like more?”

If Anakin couldn’t be a pilot anymore, designing engines was good enough. And he really did like the stress-testing phase of design. Not many jobs let you purposefully wreck your work.

[neverjedi]

"I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe increase my coaching hours."

It's not like he lives for performance himself, and competition is kind of unimportant to him, but if he could spend a lot more hours on ice? He would.

[darkforcerising]

“Why’d you get into skating?” He asked and then noticed the sign of the Chinese place.

“This it?”

[neverjedi]

"This is it, yeah. Let's grab food, then I'll get to your answer." Which was true enough, and at least pick up was fast. He could use technology when it suited him, even if he was old fashioned about it.

Once they were back out and all of a block or so from his apartment building: "I don't remember a time I didn't skate. I feel in love with it because it's demanding, it's hard, it pushes physical and mental limits - but it is the most... absolutely perfect combination of freedom and control I can imagine."

[darkforcerising]

Anakin tried to give the best smile, and the lightest tone, because the comment wasn’t about him, it just reminded him of what he’d never have again. And he was genuinely happy Obi-Wan had that.

“That sounds like flying,” he said.

“Or,” he found a way to mask his feelings, he smirked, “skydiving.”

[neverjedi]

"Sounds like you need to find the important parts and figure out how to get them back into your life," he murmured. "Or just skydive more often."

[darkforcerising]

Explaining the near impossible licensing process he’d specifically have to go through to get a pilot’s license again was a bit too heavy for this second date, so Anakin changed topics.

“Do you have brothers or sisters?”

[neverjedi]

Near impossible was not impossible and yeah, way too heavy for a second date.

"I have a much older half brother. I've met him once, and I was six at the time. I don't know anything about him, beyond that he lives somewhere in Wyoming."

[darkforcerising]

“Esh- Wyoming, poor guy,” Anakin said.

“Do you have pets?” He’d never mention one before, but Anakin could picture him having fish or a turtle.

[neverjedi]

"I do not." He'd thought about it? Not that aquatics had occurred to him. "Unless the jade plant one of my students' mothers gave me counts." It shouldn't. "Do you?"

He wasn't sure Anakin wasn't a dog person, which was a time commitment that didn't seem likely with his life. Somehow. Even not knowing much.

He headed up the small flight of stairs to the building and opened the door for Anakin.

[darkforcerising]

“No.” Obi-Wan was right, Anakin’s life wasn’t conducive to owning pets at the moment.

He paused at the door, with an excited grin.

“I just want to make the prediction that I bet your apartment looks like a museum.”

[neverjedi]

He was confused but he couldn't not return that grin. He wanted to touch that grin. "In the sense that it's filled with old things? No. Otherwise... you might be right."

He nodded Anakin toward the elevator. "But before we confirm, is there a wager, or just a general bet?"