Chapter Text
Anakin had seen hundreds of slaves in his life, most of the time when he was a slave himself, so he knew intimately how you could find anything in a slave market, but he had never seen a creature like the one on display for everyone to see, drawing in the onlookers from afar.
It vaguely resembled a man in the sense that it was bipedal, the arms and legs ended in hands, feet, fingers and toes – disproportionately long and slightly webbed – and a partly human face, but that was where the resemblance ended.
Without meaning it maliciously, it was as if a woman had slept with a monster and this was the result. Or that a man liked to fuck a monster and this was the result, of course, after all the merchant said he breathed underwater so maybe some adventurous sailor had impregnated a mermaid. As far as Anakin knew, they were sea creatures from the legends of the coastal kingdoms.
Strong curiosity for the green skin, strange fish eyes and cranial tentacles aside, Anakin did not approach aimlessly: he happened to be looking for someone who could swim deep without breath-hold diving being a problem and this thing might well be his solution if it was trained and understood enough human language to be useful.
"I'm interested."
"In this one?"
Anakin understood, it was like a circus freak whose exotic appearance attracted customers to the rest of the merchandise but scarcity had a cost... but Anakin could pay that cost now.
"This one yes. When you say “he breathes underwater”, how long are we talking about?"
"As long as you like," the salesman said with quiet assurance. "I once locked him underwater for three days straight and he came out as if nothing had happened."
Three days?! Indignation and rage immediately flared up in him. It was wanton, purposeless cruelty, so disgusting.
The slave, perfectly passive and unperturbed until now, looked at him with a hint of curiosity in his expression before looking straight ahead of himself again as the man Anakin had called out approached him.
"Of course I wouldn't leave you without proof, please see for yourself."
And suddenly, much to Anakin's surprise – and fear – he forced the other strange man to his knees and plunged his head into a tub of water.
Should he intervene? If the man was lying to inflate the price of this thing, then he might just kill the poor creature just to convince him. Unsure, Anakin glanced around the crowd, searching for Rex's gaze, who obviously knew what he was thinking, and slowly shook his head.
No.
Why not?
Rex shook his hands and Anakin looked at the slave's hands. They were not moving. In fact, he was not reacting at all to his situation, even though the time he spent with his head under water gradually rendered the crowd silent in an almost religious expectation.
"Take him out," he ordered after forcing himself to wait twice as long as he would have liked.
He was looking for someone capable of staying underwater longer than their current divers to avoid any more fatal accidents, but not to the point of needlessly injuring people.
The man pulled him off with a sudden tug on one of the creature's strange, smooth tentacles and he straightened up on his own before standing up again as if nothing had happened.
It was true, he really was breathing underwater.
"I'll take him."
They haggled for a while and Anakin took advantage of the fact that few people around here would be interested in an amphibian creature, after all these things were of little interest in a desert, and lowered his price to something acceptable.
His mother was still going to kill him for it, but Anakin did not care: the investment would pay off in the long run and she would not be angry for long. She was never angry with him for long anyway.
When at last they completed the exchange, a paper and a metal plate for a decently full purse, someone someone removed the chains from the ankles of the clearly not quite human being and made him take off the shapeless tunic he was wearing before pushing him towards Anakin, completely naked.
He was green all over, was the first thing Anakin noticed. Then he noticed almost immediately and like a second thought that he was human there and... wow, like a human with whom the gods had been bloody generous.
Anakin would know something about that, he was only looking for lovers who could fill him up properly and few men were so well equipped. He found himself breathless just thinking about what such an impressive cock at rest might feel like deep inside him.
No, he chastised himself as he felt his traitorous body react to his fertile imagination. No. No such thing with a slave, he had promised himself years ago. Never a slave.
"Come here," he said, not realising until he was in the parting crowd that he had not checked he would be understood.
The fact that he was being closely followed by the taller humanoid – and Force if it did not give him other fantasies about him that he did not know about because it was the first time he had even imagined that fucking a monster could be fun – did not mean much but they had have to wait until they were somewhere else to check these things out in more detail. For the moment, they had to move away.
"Rex, could you give him your cape while we find him something else?"
His cape was easier to distinguish, it would draw too much attention if Anakin gave him his own and Rex understood this immediately, taking off his cape to wrap it without hesitation around the shoulders of the creature who was looking at them one after the other.
"Hmm..."
"He's tall," Rex declared flatly, looking as he did at his still clearly visible calves – green – and feet – also green.
"Isn't this your lucky day, Rex, we're in for a shopping trip. "
The blond let out a grunt of annoyance but followed without any real reluctance, the men under his orders to protect Anakin surrounding them and their new acquisition in complete safety, making it clear to everyone who passed them without ever speaking or trying to distinguish themselves that they were important and influential.
In short, not the kind of people anyone would want to annoy for no reason.
Eventually, they found what they were looking for in a local handicraft market, a woman had a few sets of clothes that might fit a figure taller than Anakin who was already taller than almost absolutely everyone else, and they found Echo, Fives and the docile, silent slave in a little-used street.
"Here, get dressed."
For a second or two he thought they might have to dress him themselves, but the other finally took the layers of long tunics and put them on without any doubt or difficulty, and did the same with the trousers, even putting on the sandals without struggling to tie them, seemingly used to the gestures.
"Let's go," he announced when a familiar whistling from Hardcase informed them that the place was no longer safe, throwing a much longer, covering cloak over the creature who looked much more human once dressed. "Let's hurry up!"
They made it out of the city, and Anakin sighed, looking back once they had taken refuge in rocks where no one but the Tuskens would dare to venture into. And Anakin was a friend of the Tuskens, so they were safe.
"Another city I won't be able to set foot in any time soon," he said sadly.
In truth he did not really care, it was just annoying that his face was so well known – and distinctive – that bounty hunters in contact with Hutts other than Jabba targeted him as soon as he left the area that was now his.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?" He then asked towards their terribly silent shadow.
He wondered if they had cut out his tongue but the creature turned to him, meeting his gaze with a placid expression.
"I understand."
"You talk?!"
"Only when I want to," the other replied with a sly, cheeky smile that drew an amused laugh from him.
He was a sentient creature.
"What are you?"
"Among my people we call ourselves Nautolan. A people who live on the islands, far to the south."
"And do you really live underwater?"
"Most of the time, but we also have villages on islands."
Fascinating.
"As exciting as all this is... shouldn't we be on our way?"
"Just a minute, please. Are you hungry? Thirsty?"
"Hungry, I had plenty to drink earlier."
"Yeah, about that, are you okay? You can really breathe underwater, he didn't hurt you?"
The other blinked slowly before shrugging – again, a very human gesture.
"For me, air or water, it's all the same."
"And do you have to eat anything specific? We have fruit, meat, cheese and bread."
"I can eat like you."
Without waiting for his orders, Dogma returned from their bags with bread and cheese for their new travel companion.
"Do you have a name?"
"Kit."
"Your name is Kit?"
"A fairly ordinary name where I come from."
Anakin nodded. Every culture had its own ways of naming its members, that was just the way it was.
"I am Anakin Skywalker." He introduced himself before he saw that the other was completely unresponsive. "How long have you been on Tatooine?"
"I've been in this particular town for three days, plus a couple of weeks to get here I suppose, why?"
"I'm not exactly a slave owner."
"You bought me. What's the matter, you force disgusting monsters like me to breed with women or other monsters?"
Anakin flinched and only stopped himself from recoiling out of his already much-tested self-control. What, he thought this was the kind of horror that awaited him?
"No, not at all, you... you've done this before?"
"Let's just say it wouldn't surprise me," the other replied simply, looking calmer as he watched them attentively. "How can I serve you, Master?"
"He won't be your Master, not really anyway," Rex answered for him, keeping things factual.
"How's that?"
"Anakin Skywalker is a name that should have made you react if you'd been here long because he started a slave revolution a few years ago with his mother and now they control part of the region together."
"A slave revolution... but you bought me."
"We don't have the financial or military means to extend our influence beyond that, so when we need particular skills we prefer not to rock the boat. Jabba had a place where there are pearl oysters on the river bed. The problem is that those who dive sometimes lose their lives. We've tried to change that as much as we can since then, but just three days ago someone drowned when they got stuck at the bottom. You'll be paid for your work."
"What's the point of getting paid if I'm a slave?"
"We don't have slaves here. In case you hadn't realised, I was a slave. I was born a slave. Now we're free."
"It means absolutely nothing. A lot of people experience slavery, once they get out of it they become persecutors without a second thought."
"We don't-"
Anakin took a few slow breaths as a hand came to rest on his shoulder, probably Rex. There was no point getting angry with him and he did not deserve it. He was right to be worried, up until now he had hardly been treated like a person.
"Let's get some rest, it's getting dark, it would be stupid to move now," he finally sighed, moving away from the “Nautolan”.
He had never heard of such a people.
"What do we do if he wanders off?"
"Let him be," Anakin ordered after a minute's thought. "Don't stop him exploring unless he's heading for the sand, A'Sharad says that area is home to the Krayt."
"Bloody hell, aren't the Krayt supposed to be nesting at this time of year?"
"They nest where they're born, Rex."
"Hng."
Anakin chuckled at his friend's look of annoyance.
"Come on, not to me, Mandalore's hardly better than here!"
"It's much better than here, anywhere is better than this dust bowl. In Mandalore it's dust. Here it's sand."
Anakin could not say anything to that, so he walked away with a “I'm not listening to you” smile and went off to check the surrounding area with Fives and Jesse, finding everyone except Echo asleep when they returned.
Kit was still there.
"He didn't move," Echo murmured.
"Thanks, Echo. Wake Hardcase, go to sleep."
The mercenary nodded and went off to shake his comrade, yawning all the way.
They set off just before dawn to take advantage of the fresh air and reached the caravanserai where their mounts were waiting for them.
"Erm... do you know how to ride?" Anakin asked, seeing that Kit was keeping his distance from the horses.
"No, I don't."
They took some goods off the wagon to attach them to the mount they had prepared for him and he sat uncertainly in the wagon among the food and other goods they had brought back. He had been their last purchase, they wanted to be ready to go in case things went wrong.
Two days and a meeting with some Jawas later, Jabba's Palace – now their palace – came into view and they began to relax as they mingled with the travellers approaching the city.
"Echo, I entrust him to you, show him the places he needs to know and show him where he will sleep."
"As you wish, my lord," the young man teased, motioning for their strange addition to follow him.
Anakin realised something as a heavy silence surrounded the Nautolan who looked like some sort of deformed green man.
"Make sure they understand that he's one of them, they have no right to do anything to him just because he looks strange," he whispered to the Mandalorian who nodded as he understood his worries.
Even among slaves, looking like a fantasy monster from children's horror stories would make you an outcast.
"Anakin!"
"What is it now?" He sighed.
"Lady Shmi is asking for you."
"She's already told you a thousand times not to call her “Lady”," Anakin reminded Beru, the girl shrugging, unrepentant, and because she assisted his mother and was like a daughter to her she often did as she pleased.
Anakin often thought that this was what it was like to have a sister. He liked the feeling.
"I'm going. Rex, with me."
When he pulled away, he looked one last time at their only Nautolan, who did not seem to be really listening to Echo but instead seemed to be looking at him. Or maybe he was looking at something else, it was hard to tell with those strange eyes.
"Your mother's going to kill you when she sees you've brought someone back again. From the look of him, he must have been expensive."
"He breathes underwater," he announced as his only justification and the young woman understood immediately.
"It's amazing! My God, who'd have thought it, there's actually a real strategist here."
Anakin did not dodge the hand that messed up his hair in time, but he got his revenge straight away, smiling innocently at his mother, who had a stern look on her face but smiled at their antics all the same.
"Anakin Skywalker-"
"Oh the family name is never good," Beru murmured as she walked away quickly.
"Mom, really, I can explain-"
"You're grounded."
"But I only-"
"You weren't supposed to leave, I asked you to stay, anything else is inconsequential."
"... but he's breathing underwater."
"Fascinating. And very useful," she admitted. "It doesn't change anything: grounded."
"For how long?"
"A month."
Anakin pouted. He had planned to meet A'Sharad again at the end of this lunar cycle... but he understood why she was being severe. Attacks were more frequent in this season and he was the one in charge of their defence and attack strategies, he should not be taking these kinds of risks.
He had a target on his back at all times, he knew that, it was just...
"I wouldn't ask others to do something I wouldn't do myself."
His mother sighed, rubbing her face.
"I know."
Chapter Text
Anakin had not sought Kit's company, not actively anyway. It was just that he loved water, he loved looking at it and hearing its soothing lapping in the same way he loved listening to the rain.
For the children of Tatooine, water was life, quite literally, more than for anyone else, so he loved to walk along the river or the pools built by Jabba in a man-made river that had made his fortune with easily accessible pearl oysters. Well, easy access for people like Kit, for the others it was... extremely risky and deadly, as much as working in the mines.
He never got too close, staying at a distance so as not to disturb him, but he found it soothing to watch him dive and resurface with obvious relaxation. Anakin himself could not swim, he could barely float without drowning, so for him to see this kind of ease was almost as surreal as his appearance which, although it surprised him less now, was no less exotic.
Several times he had been noticed, but Anakin was a little too far away to read the Nautolan's face and detect his emotions. That is, until one day he arrived at his usual spot in the shade of some palm trees and found a figure lying on the ground with total nonchalance, rather like a relaxed cat.
"What, do I really scare you that much?" The man called out to him without even opening his eyes as he started to turn back, surprising Anakin who stopped for a second to look at him, stunned.
He had expected him to be more... hesitant and frightened than that in his presence.
"I'm not afraid of you, it's more like the other way round."
"Do I look scared of you?" Kit asked with a slow mischevious smile, looking at him without moving an inch from where he was lying on his back, hands on his stomach.
"Well, you're the one who refused to believe that you weren't my slave when we met."
"That doesn't mean I'm opposed to a decent conversation between two polite people. I've had time to get used to the way things are here."
Anakin remained silent, observing with his own eyes how much good being among them had done him. His skin seemed healthier and his features relaxed. His somewhat hollow cheeks had filled out and his arms and legs also seemed a bit more muscular from all the swimming he did every day.
It was always a source of pride for Anakin to see that the life they had created here on the ruins of their misfortunes could bring back health and peace to broken people, whoever they were.
"That said, I know when my company isn't wanted, so I won't occupy your favourite vantage point any longer."
It seemed... tensed and hurt, even to him. Anakin had understood that their new – and now only – diver had integrated well socially. He had made a few enquiries of his close friends who rubbed shoulders with a wide range of people in the area so as not to give him the impression that he was being watched and he had understood that according to the rumours he had actually become rather popular with a charming smile and a very pleasant attitude but... perhaps he was still finding it hard to make friends here. Maybe some people accepted to be in contact with him because they had to but still preferred to avoid him.
"Wait, stay! There's actually something I wanted to talk to you about."
The guy turned and looked at him for a moment before sitting down cross-legged with an unusual amount of grace for someone so tall and beckoning him to join him.
"Great, after all I've been waiting a while for you to come and talk to me."
"You've been waiting for me?"
"You've been looking at me almost every day since you started walking here," Kit said in a perfectly neutral and factual tone, sounding as if he did not think much of that fact.
Anakin laughed awkwardly.
"Yes, sorry if that made you uncomfortable... it's a desert here, you know? It's rare to see people so comfortable in the water."
"Hmm... yes, I suppose I can imagine how incongruous that is for someone from around here," the Nautolan admitted as he rested his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands together, unwittingly drawing Anakin's attention to the general area of his crotch and the young man immediately turned his gaze away to look at the water.
He had been pretty frustrated recently, there were not many foreign travellers and even fewer among them had piqued his curiosity or aroused his desire, he was somewhat in need of action and he would not have been able to forget what this guy was hiding under his clothes. Anakin had a... rather particular taste in the kind of partners he enjoyed seeing. Women were fine, but since discovering a different kind of pleasure with a woman of unusual tastes, Anakin had realised that he preferred men. He loved their strength, their muscles and the way they could fill that void in him in a way that a normal woman could not. And really, even the most well-meaning woman in the world faced some natural limitations in that regard. Unless she paid a man to fill you up while she had fun with you in some other way, no toy could replace the feeling of having a real person's cock inside you. The sensations were just different and Anakin was now addicted to the warmth, to the throb of every shudder that reverberated inside him and to the soft texture that rubbed against even more vulnerable walls.
"Are you still with me?"
"Yes! Sorry, I was thinking about something else."
He knew he could not afford to make a pass at someone who could not be absolutely sure he could refuse. Whether he liked it or not, he was the one who had started this slave revolution and united the movement, he commanded dozens of fearsome and very deadly Mandalorian mercenaries and his mother was the head of business here. No matter how much he tried to deny it, in everyone's eyes she was a Queen and he was therefore the equivalent of a prince.
If he really understood how things worked here, then Kit knew that. Who would refuse a prince anything? Nobody, especially not a newly arrived slave in a precarious social position. Anakin would not take that risk, never, there was a reason why he only fucked passing foreign merchants or mercenaries.
He smiled pleasantly and relaxed when the other smiled back. It was slightly pointed and sharp, almost predatory, but it was still a smile so Anakin felt appeased.
"You said you wanted to talk to me about something?"
"Oh, yes, I did. Do you want to go home?"
"Do I... wait, what did you just say?"
"You heard me."
"I heard you... but what do you mean by that?"
"That you could go home."
"Does everyone get the same offer?" Kit asked slowly, looking suspicious again.
"Believe it or not, when we surprisingly managed to survive our successive revolts and guarantee our independence, very few people wanted to leave. They preferred to make a life for themselves here and start afresh free rather than try their luck where they'd been kidnapped... or sold. Many were born into slavery too, like me. We don't hold people back, so if you have to go home, if there are people waiting for you, I'll make sure you can go back to your people."
"Glee Anselm is far away from here."
"I have a friend, he's a nomad and his tribe will soon be travelling through our lands. They'll be able to get you closer to the coast than we could, so if you're interested I can introduce you to him so you can talk about it."
"You'd do that? You bought me because you wanted someone to dive and get those bloody pearls!"
"We have a lot of sayings here. One of them is ‘Free together’. Being free together means nothing to us if we enslave others. You've already helped us, if you don't like it here we'll help you."
"You... I have nothing to pay for safe passage to the coast."
"A'Sharad is my friend, he won't ask you for money if I ask him. And at worst we can give him something."
Seeing that the other was overwhelmed, Anakin did the sensible thing and stood up.
"You've got a choice, he won't be here tomorrow so you've got time to think about it."
"Okay… thanks. Come and talk to me next time you come around!"
"It's a deal!" He promised with a smile.
That went well.
Two days later, Anakin was waiting at the water's edge and waved to the Nautolan as he surfaced. He was not going to hide anymore, after all he did not have much to do these days apart from look for company, in every meaning of the word.
When the other swam towards him, he put down the book of children's stories he had been reading to practise his reading and looked up just to see-
"Why the hell are you naked?!" He exclaimed, covering his eyes.
"What, I spend all my time in the water, I'm not going to wet any clothes or bother with said wet cloth." Was the amused reply."
"Then put on a loincloth!"
"I don't feel like it. Don't be a prude, I've got exactly the same parts as a human."
If only all humans were built like him, Anakin would not have to spend most of his lonely nights fucking himself with his fingers or his toys to try and recapture the feeling of a nice cock in his arse.
Damn, he was still thinking about it. On the other hand, how could he not think about it? He had had it right in front of him and even at rest Anakin could not miss that it looked deliciously thick and if it was engorged with blood every slide inside him would fill him perfectly for sure.
"I'll be a prude if I want to be," he sighed before throwing the cape he had been resting his head against to cover himself, the other fortunately rolling up around his waist in it before joining him on the floor.
"Don't be a child..."
"What's the matter?" He asked as he saw the other's face become very still. "Are you all right?"
"Tell me, how old are you?"
"I'm twenty, what about you?"
Kit looked uncertain for a second and stood up as if to leave, before sitting down again with a neutral face.
"I'd say you're about fifty."
"Fifty?!"
"From the looks of it, yeah."
"But you're... I mean, you're not..."
"I'm not what?"
"Old?" Anakin murmured weakly, unsure now that he realised he had no idea how to judge a Nautolan's age and that the smooth-looking skin and vigorous body had perhaps misled him completely.
He did not think he would ever been attracted to a man that age... but there was clearly a first time for everything though.
"I'm not old, take that back! I'm a young man."
"But if you're fifty... oh, right. Is twenty young for you?"
"Isn't that young for humans?"
"It's not old, but I'm not a child, I'm a man."
"Are you old enough to get married?"
"I'm... what? Yes, of course I'm old enough to get married," he stammered.
Kit nodded, looking at him with a thoughtful expression before nodding again.
"Are you coming back tomorrow? I'd like to get to know you."
"You want me to come back tomorrow?"
"I won't be working. I'll be dressed and we can talk more quietly and see other places."
"Then I'll be there," Anakin promised with a sincere smile. "I'm looking forward to it."
"Me too. You're interesting."
Anakin swore as the other stripped again, reflexively catching the ball of cloth he received without seeing it, only opening his eyes when he heard a distinct splashing sound.
If he had buried his head in that cape while jerking off and had not cleaned it until he really could not smell his scent on it any more, that was nobody's business but his own.
The next day he had kept his word and they talked, visited places Kit did not know and Anakin even gave him a riding lesson. The horses were nervous around Kit, as if they sensed he was not a normal rider, but after much encouragement they managed to get him into the saddle without his mount bucking or rearing up.
The guy was uncomfortable the whole time but determined and listening to him attentively. If he decided to leave, Anakin would at least have helped him a little. They would have time to find someone else to dive for next year, it was out of his hands now.
They saw each other almost every day but at some point Anakin realised he did not know much about his unusual friend so he asked questions, fascinated by the answers. Then one day he asked more personal questions.
"Do you have any family there?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I don't know, I don't know anything about you on a personal level."
"I don't have a partner, my parents are my only family, but I left the Clan years before I was captured, I wanted to explore the human world."
"Is it more peaceful underwater?"
"Not really, just different. We have several species, not just mine. Some are friends, others less so. In the end there are always conflicts over food or safe places to breed and raise the kids, it's... it's always the same, you know?"
Somehow, Anakin had the impression that he perfectly understood.
Eventually, his mother gave him permission to leave the town again and Anakin was back to patrol with his men, delighted to be reunited with them... but he found himself frustrated several times at not seeing as much of Kit, even though it usually felt like the days away from home lasted forever the Nautolan always managed to make him feel like he had never even left.
Which brought up an unexpected problem. Anakin was becoming attached to him. He became very attached. Far too much, if Rex was to be believed as he began to worry about him, and after several attempts to convince him that he was not biased about Kit, Anakin had had to admit that he liked him and just wanted everyone to leave him alone.
Kit had no idea that Anakin welcomed the pleasure of male company, perhaps among his own people what he was doing was considered the worst of infamies, he did not want to know. It was easier to pretend everything was fine and just continue to enjoy his company whenever he could. That and give him a few presents, after all he did not really have anything of his own apart from clothes that did not fit anyone but him because of his size.
He needed to get his mind off things and he needed to do it quickly, to put an end to these unfounded thoughts and hopes before it was too late.
The night A'Sharad finally arrived to visit him, Anakin had made sure they met to talk and had left them alone, disappearing into the crowd, finding among the foreign merchants escorted by A'Sharad's tribe a tall, strong man to fill that void in him. It took Anakin being filled in his body to realise that what really needed filling inside him was his heart.
It was already too late, Rex was right, as always.
And Kit was going to break his heart.
"Heyyy... hey."
Anakin raised an eyebrow, curious to know why the tone that had been so welcoming and teasing had turned somehow colder and more impersonal.
Disappointed.
"Hey," he returned with a gentle smile.
The man must have been drinking, it would not be the first time alcohol had made him strange.
"I guess it was a pleasant evening."
"It was, it was," he replied with a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "Not as good as I'd hoped, but not bad."
He would have preferred to end his night with someone else, for the first time in a very long time he wanted to spend all his nights with the same person... and it was going to hurt like hell to wake up.
"Were you able to speak to A'Sharad?"
"We spoke, he said he'd get me as close to the coast as he could for free because you told him I was your friend, he has friends in Ryloth who could probably help me get to Chandrilla and then to the sea."
Because he was going back, of course he was. He did not belong here, no matter how much Anakin would love it if he wanted to stay with them forever. With him.
At least, when they parted ways Kit sounded like himself again and took his face in his hands to rub their cheeks together.
"That's how friends greet each other back in my homeland."
"Is it?"
"It's for people who are special to us," Kit confirmed with an intense gaze and a tone that sent pleasant shivers down his spine.
That was it, he was going to leave with his heart.
Chapter Text
Anakin had spent some time with A'Sharad, so he knew that his friend was planning to take to the road again after no more than a week in the city. This was the life of nomads and caravanners, they were almost always on the road. Which meant that Kit would be leaving very soon.
Anakin had made a conscious effort not to run after Kit until then, to avoid any temptation, but it was over, he had no more time, he had to be there to enjoy his presence before he left.
He waited at the water's edge for a moment, but saw nothing and no-one approaching. Was he already underwater? He would have arrived very early if he was.
Anakin approached the water curiously and took a few steps on the pontoon, trying to catch a glimpse of something below the surface when suddenly he was below the surface.
Suddenly, as if in slow motion, Anakin felt his body slide off the pontoon and fresh water surrounded and closed in around him.
The ground had literally shifted beneath his feet and he was in the water. He was in the water.
IN THE WATER.
And Anakin could not swim.
After a few seconds of total panic as he struggled in the void and sank inexorably to the bottom, he did what his mother had taught him. He held his breath and flapped his arms but he could not keep his eyes open because of the water and the panic in his body was not helping much either.
Then something touched his legs, and Anakin struggled blindly with much more vigour, one hand over his face not to let any air escape even though he could feel himself sinking until two hands bigger than his grabbed his waist.
He felt stupid as he realised what was happening, it was Kit, of course it was Kit.
His head was spinning and he was blindly clinging to anything he could and when they finally emerged to the surface, Anakin was exhausted as ever, clinging to his saviour who gently rubbed a comforting hand over his back.
"There, there, breathe."
Anakin could not really do anything else at the moment, breathing was good. Breathing and crying, but with all the water and his heavy breathing he hoped he would not be spotted. He did not like being weak.
"You're fine, take your time."
"Thank you."
"Don't mention it."
"Thank you."
Kit obviously understood but did not add anything, content to just float and support him without moving, not for a second seeming perturbed by Anakin's weight, which he kept in his arms.
"Do you need me to have someone come for you?"
"No, I'm fine, thanks."
"Did you breathe in any water? Think about it carefully, it's important."
Anakin paused for a second to think about it.
"I don't think so."
"Good, finally something not to worry about," Kit muttered under his breath. "So... all this time you've never joined me in the water because you can't swim?"
"Yeah, I... I've been trying to learn but I just can't."
"Maybe you didn't have the good teacher," the Nautolan teased him with a smile and a raised eyebrow that obviously meant "they were not me" and Anakin suddenly realised their positions and how close their bodies were.
Damn, underwater he could distinctly remember now that he had grabbed everything he could lay his hands on... which included that whole flat, muscular torso.
The young man felt himself blush and tried to look away. In the end, it was lucky that their bodies were in the water so that neither of them could see anything. He did not know how he could explain having the beginnings of an erection at the moment.
"Yeah, that's for sure-"
"Tell me, are you ever going to tell me that you want to fuck me, or is that just a fantasy about a freak?"
The blond stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth open and his expression stupid.
Kit, for his part, just seemed... almost annoyed.
"What... I don't know what you're talking about."
"The second you saw me naked for the first time, you ogled me," Kit said calmly before adding, touching one of those strange smooth tentacles Anakin had always been curious to touch, these aren't just for decoration, they allow me to smell things with a precision you don't have."
"Okay?"
"What I'm saying is that I feel your desire every time you're with me, and I can smell it right now."
So much for discretion.
"Also, in case my opinion isn't already clear..."
Anakin made a brief surprised sound as he was pulled so close to Kit that he was finally firmly embraced but less than a second later it was something else that caught his attention further down where their bodies were touching because there was something that had slipped between his spread legs. Far too small to be a leg but too big to be... or maybe...
"I want you to think very carefully about my offer, when you do you'll know where to find me, won't you?"
Anakin nodded weakly and was carried back to shore, walking away without saying a word, in a daze until he reached his room.
What the fuck had just happened? It was too much, it was... wow. From drowning to... what, a proposal to shag?
He had never imagined he was interested... and in fact, maybe he was not. Not like Anakin at least. Maybe he was just lonely like that and frustrated and any interested human would be enough to keep him happy.
He should not think about it seriously, it was against his personal code to even entertain this fantasy... but on the other hand Kit was leaving, it would probably be the only opportunity he would have to share this kind of moment with him.
Kit was leaving, he could do what he wanted, and if he wanted to fuck him, who the hell was Anakin to stop him?
That was right, nobody.
Finally, he waited until evening to go into town and knock on a now very familiar door.
"I didn't think I'd see you again," Kit admitted as he saw him on his doorstep, letting him in for some quiet and privacy.
"I'm sorry, I-"
"I'm deeply sorry. "
Anakin frowned, annoyed at being interrupted, but soon confusion overtook annoyance.
"You're sorry.
"Deeply," the Nautolan confirmed, still not looking him in the eye.
Even in the depths of despair, even as a slave who thought he could not be saved, Kit had looked him in the eye.
"What have you been up to? I'm serious," he added when Kit turned away. "I don't understand, what are you apologising for?"
"You're either very naive or you have no idea of the danger."
"I guess I'm more reckless than naive," he replied, knowing full well that that was not the real issue here. "Look, if you're going to apologise, at least let me understand what you're talking about."
"I acted very inappropriately and attacked you."
"Did you take a blow to the head this afternoon?"
"I'm serious!"
"You're not making any sense. When did you attack me?"
"Earlier today. In the water."
"When you saved my life?"
"Oh, hell, when I put my... you know, between your legs."
Just thinking about it Anakin could feel his blood going down between his legs. Something Kit could apparently feel. How humiliating.
"You smell a lot like lust, and I know you enjoy the company of men," the non-human continued without looking at him, making hand motions as if to back up his words. "I don't know why, I... I thought it was for me, I was sure it was-"
"It was."
"... but I never should have been so keen without making sure you were okay with it."
"I'm interested," Anakin said once more just to make sure he had been heard.
"I know, but just because you wanted it doesn't mean what I did was right."
What, he wanted Anakin to use his words to tell him exactly what he wanted? Okay, it would not be the first time.
"Whatever you want, now, you told me to come find you and here I am."
"This is a serious conversation."
"As I said, I'm extremely serious," he promised without moving, not wanting to be seen as encroaching on his space if he needed to breathe. "I get it, you blame yourself. The thing is, I don't blame you, so I'm not going to dwell on it when we could just, you know... do more?"
"You really are a brat."
"A very demanding and needy brat, I like to be well looked after."
"And I like to be picked up."
If it was like that...
Anakin grabbed him by the tunic to pull him to him and kiss him. Tricky, given that he was on tiptoe because the other man was so tall, but hey, it was what he chose. At some point Kit was magnanimous and leaned in so he could be steadier and at that moment things had become as hot and intense as his mouth and body were cool and slippery. To kiss that mouth was to share sudden, demanding, passionate kisses.
It was amazing. Sometimes he felt like he was going to explode from all the tension in his body or choke because his tongue was different from his, longer and wider, but it was so great.
Kit's hands were touching everything they could reach and Anakin was not left behind, caressing a slender chest through his rough clothes and burying his hands in the lengths that apparently could detect his arousal.
"Do you smell my desire?" He asked at one point. "Do you smell it?"
He was curtly pulled against the other man and something thick and hard rubbed against him through their clothes.
"Can you feel mine?"
A moan muffled in a kiss was an answer, was not it?
He was lifted effortlessly onto the only dresser in the room and tried not to sigh too loudly as he felt his trousers become uncomfortably tight when he felt the implicit strength of hands touching the back of his thighs and long thick fingers almost touching his arse.
Kit pulled back from their kiss to look at him and Anakin did not know what he was thinking, God almighty, he did not even really know where he was looking, all he knew was that he felt small and he loved it.
"Can you even begin to fathom how crazy you are driving me?"
"I can," he replied with a chuckle as he continued to touch his strange cranial tentacles with increasing confidence.
He would even say that he had driven him mad in the first place.
Kit smiled and damn, that smile was really devastating and made him feel weak at the knees.
"Do you-"
"KIT!" A voice shouted from behind the door just before a fist thumped loudly against the wood. "Let's go!"
It took Anakin a few seconds to realise what was happening because the Nautolan had covered his body with his own as if to protect him – and God, it made him feel strange to realise that he had sought that protection when he never did.
"What's all this?"
"It's storytelling night, everyone loves to hear my stories because nobody knows them," Kit replied with a pout. "I promised the children a story that they've been asking me about for days."
In other words, he was going to go.
Fuck.
He had really hoped tonight would be the night.
"Come and find me if you're not too tired from your evening," he finally offered as a compromise. "If you're interested."
"Oh, I'm very interested," Kit laughed before kissing him one last time. "Besides, because of you, I absolutely have to put on one or two more tunics if I want to hide it."
Anakin nodded, hoping that his disappointment and especially his concern that he would not be coming would not be too obvious.
"Will you want to fuck me?"
"Hmm?"
"I said, will you want to fuck me?" The Nautolan who was getting dressed repeated. "Or the other way round? Or no penetration too if you like, anything's fine with me."
"Uh… why?"
"Because, depending on what we choose, you'll have plenty of time to prepare yourself thoroughly before I come back to you, if you know what I mean."
Anakin knew exactly what he meant.
Suffice to say, he was a bundle of nerves as Kit slipped into his room, staring in amazement at the splendour of the room before spotting him and approaching.
"I've never been in here before, it's really beautiful."
"Did you find me easily?"
"All I had to do was follow your scent," he replied, leaning over him to... oh my god, sniff him in a very obvious way. "It was so easy."
The blond was not even offended by the innuendo – after all, they were both there for the same reason – and got up from the bed with a smile.
"So? Still interested?"
"Oh darling, I never stopped being interested. Have you made up your mind?"
"You'll find out soon enough," he laughed, wordlessly encouraging him to undress, the toy inside him just waiting to be replaced by the real thing.
They soon fell into bed, stark naked and exploring each other's bodies more calmly until a hand grabbed his arse and got a strangled noise from him.
"Anakin?"
The blonde took his hand and moved it just enough to touch the edge of the toy.
"Oh fuck, I want to see that."
He could feel but not see Kit carefully touching and manipulating the toy, on all fours with his face resting on his forearms, trying to breathe calmly.
"For fuck's sake, Kit, stop teasing me and take it off," he muttered to a slow, slightly too rough rubbing of his prostate.
"Of course, darling."
He did it just as slowly as the rest and complimented his body in a way that made him surprisingly responsive. It was rarely said with such affection. Taking a man passively was supposed to be shameful.
He was never ashamed of it though. He loved it. They were the ones who did not know what they were missing.
"Let's be clear, if something goes wrong, we slow down or stop. Just because you thought you could do it doesn't mean you should force yourself to go through with it if it hurts or you don't like it any more."
"Got it."
The beginning was fine, it was easy. It was after that that things got tough. Very quickly after that.
It was not that it was unexpected, he knew what he was getting into, it was just a lot.
"It's hard for you to take it all, isn't it?"
Anakin could only nod. It was surprisingly hard, yes. More so than usual.
"That's because mine's kind of bumpy compared to yours," the Nautolan whispered in his ear, his body hugging his back as he held him close. "With a bit more relief, and therefore slightly wider."
Anakin could feel exactly what he meant and let out a broken sound as one of those bumps stretched him painfully before a sizeable portion of his dick slid smoothly in its wake.
"It's a good thing I'm slippery, that makes it easier after all, doesn't it?"
"Is your cock slippery?"
"I'm made for mating in water, you need some useful special features for that."
"Hmm," he hummed as he felt his hips rest against his arse.
He had tears in his eyes because it was too much and not enough at the same time.
"Get moving."
"Just a minute."
"Kit, move."
A hand wrapped around his neck and Anakin worried for a second that he was trying to choke him, but he just pulled him to his knees.
"If I move now, I know myself, I'll be too rough for you. Just wait until I've got myself under control."
He blushed a little at that, it was incredibly sexy but mostly tender and in the end things were less sporty and quick than expected but no less passionate and intense as he was fucked by the biggest cock of his life and caught in the living embrace of loving tentacles that stimulated him everywhere at once.
He navgated through a haze of pleasure and fell asleep in protective arms.
That was life.
The next few days were much the same, they did what they had to do and saw each other when they had time, to fuck of course, but also to touch each other without sex and Anakin watched each sun set with anguish as the final separation drew ever closer.
Then one night, that was it. Their last night together, the last time they would see each other, because tomorrow Kit would be long gone with A'Sharad by the time Anakin opened his eyes.
"I wish you could stay forever," he murmured softly, sad but resigned as he looked at his sleeping lover.
It had been madness to have fallen in love with him... but if he had to do it all over again, he would do it without hesitation. He had no regrets. The last few days had been wonderful.
When the sun woke him the next morning, Anakin was surrounded by arms that would hold him firmly against their owner and he enjoyed the coolness of the skin he had come to recognise as Kit's. He lazed happily in the embrace for a long moment before realising.
"You're still here."
"You never kicked me out of your bed."
"Oh God, A'Sharad must have gone already, you-"
"I already told him not to wait for me, don't worry."
It took Anakin a moment to understand.
"... What? But Kit, how are you going to get home?"
The green non-human man sat up slowly and shrugged.
"I'm just not going back, not this time anyway."
"But why?"
"Because you're here, and I want to stay here to be with you for as long as it lasts. Why the surprised look? What, did you think this was just physical for me?"
Anakin rolled his eyes. No, he did not think it was just physical, he was not that dumb. It was just that he did not think he loved him that much.
"Don't be silly. It's just... it's a really difficult choice."
"Just as was yours in arranging for me to be able to leave when you actually wanted me to stay. No choice is easy but I know what I'm doing, don't worry about me, I won't have any regrets. Come here, I like having you against me."
Anakin looked at him blankly before smiling and obeying, snuggling up against him.
More conversations would be needed but for now, it was probably enough.
Whatever they would do next, it was with a real desire to stay together for as long as possible.
The other details were up to them.
Today, they were together to last.