#riooooooo

Rionnic paused, walking towards the window overlooking Odessen. "Maybe. I was close to killing him a few times before," as he turned towards Lana, sharing an acknowledging glance. "I have a theory that Arcann's move with freezing him finally succeeded in mellowing his mental defenses enough for Vitiate's entrance. Not to mention that I was far away, looking for my family. Now, I... still feel a lingering presence… as if he still has one last card left to deal."

"I wouldn't discount your hunch, at this point we've dealt with Vitiate too many times already it's no longer surprising. We should discuss this with your brother and Sana-Rae. "

"Agreed…" he nodded, then increased his volume a little. "Don't just stand there, come in."

An audible gasp escaped Jaesa's mouth. She reluctantly opened the door to Lana getting up from her seat, excusing herself. The Sith lightly nodded to her before disappearing from view. Wordlessly, she placed the evening tea and bites on the table. There was a seed of jealousy already planted inside her heart, as ridiculous as it sounded. They both ignored each other; seated but sulky Jaesa with her cheek on her palm looking out the window, while Rionnic resumed his mind-numbing paperwork routine. So much for the tranquility and renewed determination after meditation.

She should be the one he confided in. She used to be.

Thankfully, Rian came to the rescue as always. He was always such a welcome sight with his smile and newfound enthusiasm. "Good evening! Are you two ready for my class lecture today?" said the boy with such a commanding tone, causing the father to smirk.

"Yessir!" Rionnic saluted as he took a seat, his mood becoming better than his wife's.

"So! Miss Nadia told us about selflessness. While we must always take care of ourselves, helping others is also a form of self care. The galaxy may throw so many hurdles that challenge the idea but every little thing we do will make it better... So today, I helped C2 deliver some of his comfort packages!"

"That's wonderful! I'm confident that the base is improved by your help, kind Sir." As the father's eyes sparkled with pride. Jaesa agreed while pouring the tea for her little family. While it was a little too Jedi for him, he was glad to see his son learn and build character properly. So far removed from his dark and brutal childhood.

A thought flashed across his mind.

"Would you like to come with me to Zakuul? I bet you've never been there."

Jaesa was taken aback by Rionnic's proposition. It figuratively unlocked another aspect of him that was always there but was ignored by her misconception. That he was no longer the lone executioner but the leader of more than one planet. Perhaps she was nothing more than a small piece of the past for him.

"Wow, really?! I only saw the holos and heard the stories about it. Are they not… angry at us?"

The question surprised Rionnic. "Well, like how the bald man--I mean Arcann--changed, I'm sure they won't mind a visit from us. I already have a few places I want to show you."

"When will we go? Is Mother coming too?"

"Of course she is. The shuttle will be ready by the next hour."

"In that case, I'll hand over my homework to Miss Nadia real quick! I'll be right back!"

After Rian closed the door, Jaesa was met with Rionnic's disdained scowl. It was getting tiresome, having to deal with his anger. "Did you make him say that?"

"Say what? Ask if I'm coming along?" replied her without looking at him.

"I thought I was already clear about not using-"

"What, you're going to berate me each time he says my name? It never occured to you that my son actually loves and cares for me because you clearly don't!"

After delivering that blow towards her husband, she got up angrily and left him there. It was baseless anyways; none of them predicted that Rionnic was going to ask Rian for a Zakuulan trip, therefore his accusations came out of nowhere. Her mind concluded that he was just using her as an emotional punching bag. At that time, she needed some fresh Odessen air, but the base seemed more crowded than usual. Upon using the elevator, she bumped with her sister-in-law.

"Heyyyy sis. Umm, you look upset. Is there anything wrong?"

She was reluctant to spill her heart to Vyria, but not answering her question might seem rude. "It's nothing important... Oh, by the way, have you received the invitation to-"

"YES!" exclaimed Vyria, pumping her fists up. "It's gonna be so fun I can't wait! I played a lot with Rian, he's such a bubbly kid! We went rock climbing the other day, did some sparring, and some tag! Wait, invitation to what?"

The elevator stopped at Jaesa's destination. She could only chuckle while confirming the invitation details. As they parted ways, her mind was debating whether to ask Vyria for advice regarding her eldest brother since they both seemed to be at odds with each other all the time, but their bond was always strong. The only reason why she didn't go ahead with it was Vyria's blabbermouth.

Not wanting to be overcome with sadness, she spent the hour meditating again on a hill overlooking a waterfall.

Meanwhile, Rionnic kept himself busy with his governing duties, seemingly unaffected by Jaesa's words. But only for the first half of the hour. The instances where his wife shut him up kept repeating as background noise in his head, becoming distracting enough until he made a mistake in counting those logistics. He slammed the datapad on the table, then angrily swiped the rest of the gadgets off the table. His hands grasped his hair, then shifted towards covering his face.

Jaesa was wrong. The reason why he was still so hurt was because of how deeply he loved her. He never forgot the way she improved his character, how she gave him normalcy in a life so involved with war. Perhaps the lack of space away from her after the heartbreaking reunion and his responsibilities deteriorated his mental health. To combat the heartache, his mind replayed the good moments he shared with Rian. Like a certain proverb--or whether it ran in the family, seconds after being thought of, Rian opened the door to a mess of gadgets on the floor.

"Father?"

Rionnic immediately returned to reality. His son's face said it all; that he wasn't supposed to see him like that. The Sith promptly started cleaning up the mess while apologizing. "Are you alright?"

"Y-yes, I was just trying to clean the table but I got clumsy."

Rian's hands reached out to his face, making the father stop his actions. That little caress and the look on the boy's face, it made him feel both vulnerable and invincible at the same time. Moments like these are the reason why he still kept his sanity. “Are you sure? You look sad…”

“I’m sure, kind Sir. I just want you to know,” as Rionnic’s heart fluttered and his hands grasped Rian’s arms, “That I love you the most. I’m proud and complete with your presence, and I’ll dedicate my life for you, always.”

“Hmmmm… okay. Do you feel that way towards Mother as well?”

He did not see that coming. All the fluttering was instantly replaced with anxiety, not having an answer to that question. Perhaps children can truly see and feel the tension between parents. Especially since Rian might inherit Jaesa's unique power. Rionnic needed to make up his mind in mere seconds.

"Of course I do. I still love her very much. You're proof of that."

The little padawan seemed satisfied with his answer. So did the mother who was eavesdropping. It might seem suspicious to enter the room right after the confession, so she waited for a few more minutes as the father and son continued bonding. Her husband's words looped in her mind, but she was still hurt by the recent fight. She opened the door to both of them having just finished tidying up the table.

"Aha! Mother's here! I want to see you both love each other."

"What? Rian, what are you talking about?" asked Jaesa in pretense of lacking context.

"Father said he loves you so much," as Rionnic's eyes and mouth widened, wanting to crawl to a hole at the very moment. "So I want to see how. I've never seen you two kiss."

"Rian!"

Not wanting to make his son feel rejected, he decided to honor his request.

"Very well, but first, remember… you must always ask for their consent. If they say no, you stop and respect their response," the Sith straightened his pose, then took a few confident steps towards his wife. "May I kiss you?"

Those words felt like the death of her. Chaotic heartbeat and his eyes piercing into her made her knees weak. "Y-you may."

As soon as his lips touched hers, the world seemingly crashed around them. He explored the softness of her lips, and how long he was starved of her, of all the hurt that was still raw. Both of them converted the pain into passion, prolonging the kiss until it made their son blush. His tiny gasp abruptly ended the hungry kiss.

"Uhm… I think I've seen enough."

That statement embarrassed the parents to no end. "S-sorry, Sir. Let's go board the shuttle now. It should be ready."