"Do you ever have visions?"
Darra tilted her head. The green ribbon in her hair rustled at the movement, "Yes. Not like you do, I suspect."
Anakin wasn't blinking. Wasn't moving, except for the slight shake of his hand beneath his chin as he gazed at her. He looked so tired.
There was an ironic swirl in his presence that she interpreted as an unhearted smile, "How do I see?"
Darra sighed, inviting herself in from the doorway at last. There was a very soft swoosh of air behind her as the door closed; he must have tinkered with the servomotors. Her eyes skimmed over him again. The more she looked at him, the more it hurt.
"It's more spontaneous for you, I think. I've never seen anything without trying." She walked slowly towards him, stopping an arm span away from where her huddled on his sleep couch. She leaned against the wall limply, "Mostly I see moments."
His eyes were dim as he mimicked her position, falling against the wall. He should have winced – she felt the un-nuanced pain of his bruised forehead, his strained shoulder – but his eyes remained fixed upward on her own.
"How do you see them?"
"I run at the wall until I see the gaps." She smiled, "You'd be surprised how many things that applies to."
"So the future is a wall?"
Darra nodded, "This is a gap."
He moved his head slightly, "That's not how my visions work. You see spaces that exist; I see pieces that don't."
She laughed a little, "Don't be so literal. Gaps aren't empty. And pieces don't have to exist to be real."
He squinted at her, "You are very cryptic."
She smiled.
He closed his eyes, "I always thought there were necessary things."
"And now you're being cryptic." She frowned at him, "What are you talking about?"
"What we've been talking about this entire time. Master Yaddle."
Darra's eyes went wide, "You had a vision of her death?"
He snorted, "I had a vision of a lot of things. Luckily, I made to sure to interpret it the one way that would lead to her death."
She didn't know how to respond to that. She was sure it wasn't true. She was sure both Master Obi-Wan and Master Yoda had told him that. She knew that her own words weren't as valuable to him as theirs were.
"What do you mean 'necessary things'?"
Anakin swallowed; he closed his eyes. "You know. Necessary things. Not good. Maybe not bad. And maybe . . . maybe bad - but just necessary."
She was silent, suddenly very glad they did not take Philosophy together.
"I don't know why I can't accept that she did what was needed."
"Do you think it was needed?"
And his enervation was quite suddenly drained from him. His features became tight, fierce. His voice, vehement – "No. I don't."
"But she did," Darra prodded.
He pressed his head against the wall, "Because of the situation I put her in."
Darra released her irritation into the Force, "I can't believe you."
He blinked at her, confused by the withdrawal of her metaphorical crying shoulder.
"You don't believe in necessary things. You believe in them for yourself. That's meaningless. You can't believe in this wall," she rapped her knuckles against it, "but no other. And I don't know – I wasn't there – but I can't believe you made that situation for Master Yaddle.
"And even if you did, it was her moment. She chose what was needed."
And she watched him, seeing how her words settled in his eyes. She watched him shake them away.
Darra reached out, taking his hands and kneeling in front of him. She opened her mouth –
And he cut her off, "Why are you here?"
She expected that sooner, at the doorway, not at the foot of his bed, "What?"
"Why-Are-You-Here?"
Her brow furrowed as she thought. It hadn't really been a decision, just like it hadn't been a decision all the times she hadn't come.
She refocused her eyes on him, a slightly wry expression on her face, "Sometimes I see you." She shook his hand gently, "Moments of you."
He frowned, "Why?"
Darra shrugged, "I don't know, but I saw this."
Anakin didn't look like he understood. She didn't understand either, but at least she was awake. Every minute seemed like more of an effort to just keep his eyes open. If she waited any longer, he might not remember.
She leaned in close, "Promise not to be mad at me."
"Promise," he mumbled.
"Okay," she whispered and she kissed him, brushing her lips lightly against his. She pulled away.
"You saw this," his voice was low. He didn't seem happy.
Darra grinned, "Mind the gap."
Disclaimer: Star Wars ownership goes to Lucas, and inspiration (via the Jedi Quest series) to Jude Watson.