neverjedi | Open Post

neverjedi

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From:

darkforcerising

"And it's now on your bucket list?" Anakin asked, calling Obi-Wan out.

From:

neverjedi

"With or without you. There's clearly something about it I don't understand. I want to."

From:

darkforcerising

"Okay," Anakin said, backing off. But... It was Obi-Wan who'd asked him to spend the night and the next morning with him after the date Anakin took him on.

Their food arrived, giving them a break from that topic.

From:

neverjedi

Anakin's confusion and backing off were clear. "Ideally with you, but I just realized how... overwhelmingly intense that could be if it was... "

He sighed and gave up, took his food with a polite thank you and saved himself by eating.

From:

darkforcerising

"I don't have anyone else to jump out of a plane with," he said smiling, digging into his own food. "Surprisingly few people want to do it."

From:

neverjedi

"I suppose putting a condition on it makes it less meaningful." A pause for a few bites. "Though I suppose having already admitted I want to try, once, does the same."

He sort of regrets not having turned it into a game though.

Those had worked out really well for them.

From:

darkforcerising

"How is it less meaningful if you admit you want to do it, if only once?" Anakin was confused.

From:

neverjedi

"...Because I'm horrible at explaining myself until I'm sufficiently fed, let's just eat and pretend the most confusing parts of this conversation never occurred?" He was asking, really, pretty close to dryly begging.

From:

darkforcerising

Anakin smiled, it relaxed him to know that maybe Obi-Wan was feeling nerves like he was.

"I think skating will be good for me," picking an easier subject. "It's another way to practice balancing."

From:

neverjedi

"You mentioned being in physical therapy a couple of times a week, didn't you?" That makes it okay to discuss, right?>

Because yeah, nerves. He had them in waves. Apparently he was... more invested in wanting more of this than he'd been willing to admit

From:

darkforcerising

"Ya, learn to use this arm-" He lifted his prosthetic arm. "Re-learn how to do everything now with my other arm. Non-medication pain management. Re-learn how to balance- I didn't realize how much losing an arm can throw that off."

From:

neverjedi

"Did you have time to mention that you'd gone ice skating, yet?" He...trusts Anakin's judgement, of course, and whatever the answer is it won't second guess that.

That doesn't mean he isn't curious.

From:

darkforcerising

"Yes, it was one of the tamer things I've told them I've done. Not that I have to," he said. "It just helps if I'm transparent about what I'm doing. And they don't mind whatever I do so long as I keep up with exercises."

From:

neverjedi

"The only physical therapists I've seen were ones who were paid to be fairly controlling, but the focus was different."

He wasn't at all implying that Anakin should be asking permission, or wasn't intending to at any rate. Just talking, fairly casually, about his own experiences and being quietly glad Anakin was willing to talk to him this far.

Then again he got curious, fast, by the obvious thing: "What are the less tame things you've done?"

From:

darkforcerising

Anakin's physical therapy wasn't about professional performance. The goal was the ability to do average things.

"Well, skydiving, obviously. But I've tried out rock climbing a few times. I don't think they like the concerts either."

From:

neverjedi

He understands the objections to skydiving and rock climbing, but: "What's their problem with the concerts?"

From:

darkforcerising

Anakin laughs. “I took you to a tame concert.” He wasn’t going to expose Obi-Wan to anything hard core on a ... was that their second or first date?

“I don’t think they believe me when I say I don’t go to do drugs.”

From:

neverjedi

Second date, yes.

"I might not have entirely believed you if I hadn't already seen you avoid alcohol and had known more about the environment before you warned me." He suddenly wants to go to another concert -

and make out against a wall or in the middle of a crowd.

...He may have some issues.

From:

darkforcerising

Anakin would say those weren’t issues at all... if asked.

“I even do routine drug test me. I never have a dirty test.” He shrugged. “Some people believe what they want to.”

And then he wondered if he should explain the drug testing. “It’s part of participating in the trial with this prosthetic. They want to know all the variables, I guess.”

From:

neverjedi

He would have assumed routine drug testing was part of the job - or that Anakin had a history of drug abuse, or that there was conflict with his medication or...

Apparently there were a lot of ways to put those pieces together, and it was probably good that Anakin explained.

"I didn't know the prosthetic was a trial." He was going to assume since Anakin had brought it up that it was a fair topic to at least ask about: "What part of it's different?"

From:

darkforcerising

"I can move it with my mind." Was the simplest answer.

The more complex answer. "There are sensors in it that can interpret the brain signals that travel down my arm's nerves when I think about moving my hand or arm in a certain way. It works with involuntary muscle reactions, too. The more I practice with it, the easier it is to use. No other prosthetic does that. Part of physical therapy is regularly reporting with the team that builds these."

From:

neverjedi

"That's amazing." Which was of course still not great given that Anakin had still lost his arm, but -

but.

That was an amazing piece of technology.

"How long have you had it?"

From:

darkforcerising

Sure. Anakin was equal parts amazed by the prosthetic and frustrated with it. It wasn't the same as a real hand.

"Little over six months."

He pushed the last bits of foot around on his plate. It wasn't that the topic was out of bounds, it just... came with complicated emotions.

He tried to lighten things by saying, "Someday maybe I'll have a fully integrated cybernetic arm."

From:

neverjedi

"If that happens, I'll be the first to take advantage and you can lift me. It'll make for a novel change." He went with the lighter pretty easily, around focusing on finishing his meal. "Or scare me out of my mind. I have no idea how women do it."