sith_happened | Office hours [all day]

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Office hours [all day]

Anakin opened his office door.

And stared.

Someone had redecorated.

Anakin stomped around the office examining streamers on the ceiling and paint on the wall, then the glitter-bestrewned Farrah Fawcett poster, and finally flounced over to sit in his chair.

With its pink boa.

He waved a hand and started up his little galaxy of stars, then picked up a pen that had been decorated with feathers--all of his pens had been decorated with feathers, what the hell?--and hoped no one visited today.

Though that didn't seem very likely.

[OOC: Door's closed, post is open!]

I Am What I Am - John Barrowman

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Anakin sighed. "A glitter fairy, apparently," he said. "Or a blind four-year-old."

"Not blind," Dean decided. "It takes sight to achieve this lack of taste."

"That's a good point," Anakin admitted. "You to talk to me about something?" he asked. "Pull up a chair. Watch out for the glitter. It's on everything."

Dean gingerly settled on the edge of the chair, his mood going serious again. "Last week I got grabbed by Manticore -- the group who made and are now after Alec. And... some stuff happened when they had me. Bad stuff."

Anakin's eyes flashed with anger.

No one got to do bad stuff to his students, dammit.

"What do you need from me?" he asked quietly. "I'm in."

Dean flashed a brief grateful smile, that quickly faded again. "They had psychics that they used to try and information from my mind. I want to learn how to keep people out of my thoughts so that doesn't happen again."

Anakin nodded slowly. "I can do that," he said. "It was part of the initial training we received as Jedi. We couldn't do a lot of good if everyone knew what we're thinking and feeling." He looked carefully at Dean. "It takes concentration and determination. You'll do fine."

Dean let out a breath he'd been holding. "Thanks. That... I really don't want to go through that again. At least, I want to be able to fight back."

"I understand that impulse," Anakin said with a small smile. "A downside you need to know about--while you're learning, you won't block me successfully all the time. I'll get to see the memory you're trying to protect." His eyes flicked up to lock on Dean's. "I wouldn't mention them to anyone, but if it's too soon for you to have someone poking in your brain, I'll certainly understand."

"I know." Fear flickered in Dean's eyes, but his voice didn't waver when he answered. "It scares the hell out of me, but he longer I put it off, the harder it'll be. I... need to learn this. Not just for me."

Anakin held his gaze for another long heartbeat, then nodded, satisfied in what he saw in Dean. "When Obi-Wan taught me," he began, "he told me to imagine building a wall around all of those parts of you you didn't want anyone else to touch."

Obi-Wan had been amazed at how quick a study Anakin had been on it. Anakin had just had a lot of things he didn't want to share.

"My job is to try to knock that wall down. Yours is to keep blocking. Ready to try?"

Dean took a deep breath, closing his eyes to better visualise the image of a wall that Anakin described. When he felt he was ready as he was ever going to be, he nodded.

Anakin took a deep breath of his own. As Vader, he'd had absolutely no problem rooting around in other people's minds.

This was the first time he'd done something similar in a month.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on Dean's mind, giving a gentle push at a part that Dean seemed anxious to hide.

Even though he thought he was prepared for it, the feel of someone else in his mind basically threw Dean into a panic. The wall he'd envisioned dissolved at Anakin's first touch and Dean found himself pressed into the back of the chair he was sitting in, halfway hyperventilating.

Anakin stopped immediately, eyes flying open.

"They really did a number on you," he commented quietly. "Deep breaths. You're fine."

A little voice he tried not to listen to added Manticore to a list of smiteable places and people.

Dean concentrated on breathing for a long moment and slowly managed to get the urge to run and hide back under control.

"Sorry," he managed finally.

Anakin scooted his desk chair around to the side where Dean was sitting. "You have nothing to apologize for," he said firmly. "Truly. Do you need a glass of water? Something to hold onto?"

Dean laughed weakly. "Like a security blanket or a teddy bear?" he joked.

"I'm fresh out of both," Anakin said with a faint smile, "but I have a charming pink boa..." He shrugged. "Gripping the chair helps, too. It reminds you where you are." He met Dean's eyes. "And where you're not. I won't do anything to hurt you."

"I know," Dean said immediately. "I wouldn't have asked for your help if I wasn't absolutely sure of that." He considered Anakin's advice. He'd been gripping the chair he'd been tied in when the Manticore psychic had taken a stroll through his mind so he suspected that wouldn't help much at all. But...

Dean reached up and closed a hand around his amulet, feeling its edges pressing into his palm. Yeah. That'll do.

Anakin watched him. "Are you ready to try again?" he asked quietly.

"No," Dean answered honestly. "But I don't know if I ever will be so let's give it a try."

"All right," Anakin said, blowing out a breath and reaching back towards Dean's memories, carefully reading the Force for any signs of the panic Dean has shown the last time.

Dean clutched at his amulet harder and the wall he was trying to envision was more like wavery smoke than a wall, but he managed not to freak out this time.

"Better," Anakin said soothingly. "I'm here," he said, nudging at a memory. "Build that wall up."

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