Title: I Love

Timeframe: Shortly post-VOTF

Genre: Romance

Note: This is a bit short and odd, but some RL inspiration struck and I like how this turned out. Enjoy!

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I love your hair in the morning, before we go out to face the world. It's knotted and tangled, golden waves everywhere. You protest and tie it tight behind your head, I only smile and say it doesn't matter. I hear you later mention to Leia you're having a bad hair day. I watch, amused, because you look beautiful no matter what.

I love how when I'm not around you, your name is the only one on my lips. Han asked me today if there was anything else new besides iMara/i. I chuckled, turning a bit red from his teasing… but the truth was no. With you in my life, everything else seems a pale comparison. I could talk about you for hours, days, and still have more to say, and not remember what I've already said.

I love the way that you can make cooking lunch a major ordeal. The fact that I have a fondness for cooking doesn't mean you have to try too, but that's how you took it. You make a huge fuss, mix up details, light some things on fire, and pretend not to care how it turned out. I can see the seriousness behind your dismissive wave, and the way you pick at your meal half-heartedly. I also see the smile on your face when I pretend to savor it like fine cuisine.

I love it when you rest your head on my shoulder, affectionately, after a long day. In fact, you just leaning on me makes me smile. No one else notices, but I do. The shuttle ride home was long and uneventful, but with you there I felt as though galactic peace found its way to me. Your head finds that perfect spot on my shoulder, and I am your support, your resting place. I feel decidedly content with the world. My arm finds its way around you, and there are no words for this feeling.

I love the way you breath my name in the silent solitude of the night. These moments, this passion, is something no one else sees in you, and no one sees in me. You save this part of yourself—passionate, soft, and irresistible—for only me, and I treasure it each and every time. I worry if I seem to forward, and you assure me you feel the same. There are moments when my breath is truly stolen from my lips, and captured by your utter beauty. When we unite, body and soul, my mind reaches out for yours, and the world falls away to gentle waves of peace.

I love it when you whisper igood night/i, just before you drift into a tranquil sleep. Each tiny muscle in your face comes to a relaxing doze, and your body curls instinctively around mine. The troubles and conflicts of the day fall safely behind us, each task and trial worth its pain, because I am here with you. I find myself often not able to sleep until you've said that, though I wonder what you would say if you knew I cared so much about those words. It is the best part of my day, and I pull you closer in my arms before joining you in sleep.

There are so many aspects of you, Mara, so many nuances and details hidden from the world, actions and silences that add up in day. I watch you now in my dreams, a sweet reverie, and remember all the details that add up…

For all the things you do, I love you.

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