goodbye   may   seem   forever  ;      farewell   is   like   the   end  ,    but   in   my   heart   is   a   memory  ,    and   there   you’ll   always   be.

she wishes she could read anakin’s mind.    enough to at least get some insight as to what must be going on in his head,   in his worries.    so that she,   and padmé,  and obi-wan could help reassure him.     “oh,   padmé…”    voice trails off for a brief moment,   a gentle hand reaching to press against the other’s shoulder,  a gentle gesture of reassurance.    “certainly he knows that he can come to you.    he must know it.”    she’s sure of it.       “how can i help?   there must be something i can do.”

          it leaves a cold sort of sensation to see leia turn away from her.  but magnolia knows it’s for the best,  she knows she cannot go back on the promise she made to anakin.  she only hopes bail’s spirit can forgive her for not being at his daughter’s side during this time.  magnolia wraps her arms around her middle,  as if she could make her heart and soul feel warmth again.  ❝  me too.  ❞  it’s no more than a whisper.  she has had a dreadful suspicion she will not leave this place alive.  and the young woman forsaking her now is the only reason she has left to wish to continue breathing beyond these walls.  

    “ and we’re all good at giving the people what they need, ” jesper says with a mournful sigh, stretching their arms above their head. “ proper little wake - up call. really, what would this city be without us? ” maybe a little less crime - heavy, one’d argue, but jesper would say that’s just ketterdam at it’s core.

    oh, that’s two in one night. their head cocks. an i like that and an agreement to come to dinner… wow, kaz really does miss him. “ you’re the one with the plans, brekker. how we spitting in these mercher’s faces this time? ”

          the small,  gentle smile which slowly curves about her lips is fueled by a depth of emotions she could never begin to unravel.  she believes him.  magnolia nestles in close to him again,  resting her face into his chest once more.  ❝  then…i’ll go.  an-anywhere.  you want.  ❞  she will follow him across the galaxy,  to any planet or dark corner.  that much has been guaranteed by his kindness.  her loyalty has only been further strengthened by his promise.   ❝  we can.  be…anything.  ❞  they can choose to become whatever they want.  they do not have to be tools for the republic to use up until they are dull and broken.  

“ you don’t know that. there’s so much that you’ve accomplished with this… ” her pointer finger gently tapping the side of his face at his left temple. “ and this. ” index fingering moving downward to point at his chest; his heart. “ there’s so much out there…so many possibilities in the universe. do you really believe there isn’t a way to bring them back, tony? ” pepper questions with a tilt of her head while a single tear falls down her cheek. “ have you even looked into the potential that there is something out there that can reverse what happened? ”

            well  it’s  too  late  for  that  now,  isn’t  it?  old  wounds  have  been  opened,  by  his  simple  presence.  obi-wan  might  be  keen  and  thrilled  that  mace  is  alive  but  it  is  also  a  reminder  of  the  years  past,  of  everything  they’d  had  a  lost.  and  now  to  speak  of  anakin,  of  the  smallest  chance  that  he  might  be  alive  –  “please,  mace.  if  you  know  something  about  anakin,”  he  begins,  trying  to  hold  back  the  tremor  in  his  voice,  the  way  his  knuckles  turn  white.  perhaps  he’d  already  known  there  was  a  chance.  perhaps  he’d  always  feared.  and  here  was  mace,  not  to  assuage  his  fears,  but  to  give  them  weight.  what  would  be  worst?  to  have  killed  anakin,  or  to  have  left  him  there  to  die  only  to  find  out  he  had  survived?

and  what  of  that  man  could  have  survived?  what  would  he  be  now?  he  can  tell  mace  is  being  cautious,  but  as  he  takes  a  shuddering  breath,  he  pushes  his  glass  away.  anxiety  rises  with  in  him,  something  he’s  spent  many  long  years  pushing  down,  clinging  to  the  calm  of  the  jedi  teachings  for  support.  those  supports  now  threaten  to  give  way.  "there  was  hardly  anything  left  of  him.  i  cannot  imagine  how  he  might  have  made  it  off  that  planet  alive.“

it   is   a   terrible   thing   to   watch   obi - wan   begin   to   fold   before   his   eyes.        it   almost   certainly   would   have   been   kinder   not   to   come   at   all  ,    to   let   obi - wan   continue   in   ignorance.      there   is   little   room   for   kindness   under   the   regime   of   the   empire.      mace’s   fingers   twitch   toward   him  ,    seeking   to   put   a   reassuring   hand   on   his   arm  ,    and   then   he   thinks   better   of   it.

             a small,  knowing smile ghosts about her lips  ❝  dark.  and i…old friends.  ❞  she too is a night flower,  she supposes.  it is not just for her sleeplessness that she speaks but how she has had to learn to bloom without the sun.  her gaze travels about their environment with an unfettered hunger and curiosity.  she reaches out to reverently touch a finger to the bright leaf of one of the flowering plants,  though her other hand remains firmly grasped in the queen’s.  she would like to stay here forever,  she thinks.  

❝     i  fear  i  shall  never  get  used  to  the  snow ,     ❞         margaery  says ,     resisting  the  urge  to  scratch  at  her  neck  where  her  pale  skin  meets  the  fur  of  her  cloak.          her  tone  is  playful ,     as  if  charmed ;    but  she  misses  the  sun.          she  misses  her  brother ,     gone  south  to  fight  a  new  battle.          she  misses  highgarden.

she does ;  she doesn’t.  harleen wanted to go to france.  she wanted to be joker’s only lover.  she wanted to leave.  none of those choices seem to have stuck – none have been what she expected.  what does she do with all that doubt?  “ sure,  christian.  we’ll try.  i’ll try.  for you.  i promise. ” 

            ❛  doing terrible things doesn’t make you terrible,  ❜  automated voice reads out after a period of thoughtful silence.  tilting her head,  she glances towards depa again and then just as quickly averts her gaze to the datapad in her hands.  ❛  i can sense when people are bad.  you don’t feel anywhere near it at all.  ❜  her shoulders rise and fall before she adds.  ❛  and i’m not jedi.  i’ve never really lived in much light anyway.  so,  it doesn’t matter.  you can be my friend.  ❜

you          𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭          𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩          it.     smoothing     back     her     hair,     tucking     it     safely     behind     her     ears,     mindful     of     your     𝚌𝚘𝚕𝚍     𝚝𝚘𝚞𝚌𝚑     against     her     heated     skin.     you     have     missed     her     as     you     have     missed     your     own,     and     you     can     see     the     chasm     still     in     her,     ripped     wide     open     chest,     slow     to     close.     thumb     and     knuckle     find     her     chin,     gentle     tip     to     meet     nothing     but     𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒎𝒕𝒉.     maybe     it’ll     settle     the     perpetual     𝚍𝚛𝚊𝚏𝚝     that’s     surrounded     her     since     your     return.     you     are     just     glad     they’re     both     here,     safe     &.     sound.          ❛           𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴     is     something     that     comes     naturally.     don’t     f̳o̳r̳c̳e̳     it.     you     don’t     have     to     accept     his     apology     if     you     aren’t     ready.     it     doesn’t     change     what     you     mean     to     this     family     if     you     do     or     don’t.          ❜