Chapter 13: true loves first kiss

Fantasy and reality should never be mixed, but right now, it's really hard to tell the difference.

Angel sat in the dark cold of her mind, there was no soft touch of her brothers, there was no warm embrace from Runt, there was nothing but the dreadful felling of emptiness, and she began to wonder if this was what death was like. Deciding to do something she stood up and began to walk, maybe this was what it was like to be blind and have no force abilities, she shook her head feeling bad for some of the clones who had lost their eyesight, it must have been depressing knowing you couldn't fight cause everything was black to you. Angel stopped walking and smacked her head, it was her mind, her dream she could make it more pleasant, and she could do anything here! And that was just what she planned on doing. Angel stood straight and lifted her head a bit, taking in a deep breath she tried to imagine what life would be like back on the leviathan, but her mind wouldn't allow her to stay there for too long.

Okay brain what should I do then? She thought as she sat back down. She closed her eyes, and the thoughts of Runt flooded her mind.

That's right, I'm going to die without even telling him how I felt, well, I feel empty, and depressed, she wanted to cry, to try and force herself awake so that she would be given that one chance to tell him everything she felt, to hug him, hear his voice one last time…kiss him, she shook her head, right like a she was going to kiss him, he would be in so much trouble.

There was another pull on her mind, and it pushed the images of multiple different people, couples, dying for some reason, she didn't want to see that, what was the point of it? Standing back up she decided that she should try and do something, anything that might help her heal, because this wasn't how it was supposed to be, no she was told that she wouldn't die, not yet anyways, she still had to do whatever it was those women failed to do!

You can't die Angel, you have a family, and friends who want you alive, you got Runt to return to when you wake up, don't leave this world without telling him how you felt! Her mind screamed at her as she fought back the mental sleepiness that had wondered into the cold blackness of her mind. Maybe that was the reason she couldn't think straight, that damned poison was doing things to her mind, her force abilities, and her body physically. She didn't know how much longer she would have to wait to be saved, and she wished there was a way for her to get through this without having help, so she could point a finger at Lucky and demand her credits she had betted him on. Then again, he didn't have any money ether, and she didn't know when he would ever get paid, he owes her a lot of credits. Not a perfect place to be silly, Angel huffed then fell back to the floor and crossed her legs ready to try and meditate, get to anyone who was force sensitive. Anyone at all would suffice since she was desperate to be woken up from this cold neutral zone. A nightmare would be a lot better than this! As if answering to a challenge she was taken from the dark and placed in a reality she wasn't sure was hers, a cold gray building with many men and women walking around like they had been doing this for years, the noise of busy scientist filled the air, and for some reason the place reminded her of the word fail, and the whole place seemed very familiar to her. She was like a ghost in the building; it must have been a memory of one of the other women who seemed to have taken a liking to her recently. Angel continued walking down the metal pathways, everything seemed to be leading to a wide open space, which had tubes and ladders heading down, along with a lot of light being directed down to that one area, curious as she is, she had to find out what it was that was down there, and what she saw/ felt made her sick. She covered her mouth and kept herself silent though it wouldn't have mattered to begin with, no one could hear her, or see her. In the middle of the room, where all the light was concentrated at, was a small group of doctors, who was struggling with restraining a young Togruta boy who looked like he had seen better days, his eye were blood shot and bulging, his muscles were oblong and misshapen, along with his entire right side. Blood dripped to the floor, and his body twitched, and went into spasms, as the men and women around him began injecting him with two or three different types of drugs, trying to make this boy settle down, but he couldn't and his cries filled their ears, and the large factory like building, his cries were echoed by the cries of the other experiments, all children, probably orphans or homeless , and soon he fell silent, Angel closed her eyes and turned around trying to detach herself form this image, this part of her history she never wanted to remember, but she remembered it all to clearly, she had been on that table, kicking and screaming, but she lived, and this haunted her, but it wasn't like back in reality, where she could shut herself off from the force, from the world around her, this was a dream, and a dream that she couldn't break away from. Tears rolled down her slender tanned face, and she felt so helpless, and weak. In the middle of her pain and sorrow she felt a warm breeze rush pass her, and she was taken into a tight embrace.

I have missed you baby girl, you don't have to cry anymore, you seem to be doing a lot of that recently. The voice of her beloved father flowed through her ears, and eased her pain she turned around and looked up into beautiful, caring, blue eyes, set in the face of a familiar green Twi'Lek, the red headband he once wore, but now belonged to Angel, was once again in its rightful place. She hugged him tightly; he was so warm, so real, that she wished she could stay like this forever.

Papa, I missed you, are you here to take me away with you, like back when I was little?

No, you can't come with me, not today, my dear.

Angel looked up at him with hurt in her eyes, why wouldn't he want her with him, when after so many years of being separated, why would he want to push her away. She buried her face in his chest and shook her head. No papa, I wanna stay with you, I finally got to be with you, why are you pushing me away? She asked.

Sada didn't say anything for some time and just held her, he felt like a failure, for he had hurt her more than he could have imagined, and he didn't want to hurt her anymore. Because Angel, you don't belong on the other side just yet, you have to let go before it's too late, her father's voice rang sternly, yet tenderly. He pushed Angel aside. You have grown to be a beautiful, and strong young woman, and I'm proud to have been your father, he smiled and placed a tender kiss on her forehead, then pressed his forehead with her's and sighed deeply. I'm sorry I wasn't' there for you when you needed me.

It's okay, papa, I know It's not your fault, it was Lances.

Her father pulled her back again and gave her a stern look, do not blame him, for my death, never hold a grudge my dear or it will be the end of you.

With those last words of wisdom Sada pushed himself up and picked Angel up and placed her on her feet. Smiled kindly at her again and backed away slowly their fingertips touching before he faded away, and Angel was left alone again, tears welled in her eyes, as she pulled her hands into her chest, trying to control her sobbing, and it was in that moment of utter sadness, and pain, that time where she felt like her world was breaking under her feet once again, something warm, tender, and burning with passion, wrapped itself around her and brought her out of the darkness….

I have to find out how to use this damn thing if I'm going to save her, but everyone needs to shut up and let me think!

"There has to be a way to use this blasted thing," Lucky yelled scratching his helmet.

"What if we used the antidote the same way the poison was applied, with a small prick," Anakin asked.

"That's what she said."

"Lucky shut up!" Doc yelled then waved options off, like it wasn't going to work; he turned to Ahsoka and Rex. "tell me, what do you two think TLFK means, don't' think in military terms, or scientific terms, from what we gathered, Lance is the creator of both the poison and the antidote, but he isn't primarily a scientist, and he isn't a general, he has some connection with Angel, and he cares enough to try and take her back no matter what, if it was me, and I had no connection to her other than for a simple project that can be redone, I would have killed her in order to keep the secrets of the project just that, a secret," Doc continued trying to find some hidden secret, some clues on how to use the antidote.

"I'm not sure Doc, why ask us?" Rex asked raising an eyebrow.

"I see…well, no reason, just a hunch," he waved with a light smile.

"Well, I did sense a bit of tension, and regret from the young man while we were chasing him," Obi wan joined in.

"That's what she said."

"LUCKY!"

There was a long pause then Anakin spoke. "As did I, but what does that mean, that he likes Angel?"

"that could be it," Doc murmured, he was scratching his head trying to find the answers, the answers that were right in his face and yet he couldn't find out what it was, frustrating to say the least.

"She does look rather peaceful sleeping like that," Cody stated and everyone stared at him, then Angel.

"Peaceful, and beautiful, and her skin has that unreal glow to it," Spaz added.

"The angel in her must be trying to get rid of the poison in her system," Lucky thought out loud believing that she was part of the most beautiful creatures in the entire galaxy.

Doc rolled his eyes, this was no time to talk about how cute their sister looked while she slept, they had only a few more minutes before the hour hit, and they lose Angel piece by piece.

"Wait, what was that you guys said?" Runt asked pulling his long and tender gaze from Angel to the others who just happened to forget that he was even there.

"All I said was that she looked peaceful when asleep," Cody repeated, not sure if this was the answer to his question.

"and I said that it wasn't just peaceful, but beautiful, and her skin glowed" Spaz added shyly, pulling some of his hair down to try and hide his face, before Lucky handed him his helmet, which Spaz gladly took and placed it back on his head, tuning it on as soon as he heard it click into place

Runt looked from the two brothers to Ahsoka and Rex, who came to the same conclusion as he did.

"sleeping beauty," the three said at the same time, excitement coming into their eyes, well Rex wouldn't show it so willingly like Ahsoka did, and Runt had that childish energy still running though his system, so he was excused from being a little weird every now and then, but not Rex, who was, physically, a grown man, so he must act like a grown man, and things like this wasn't something a grown man, who led other men to war, would do.

Anakin looked from the excited expressions on his padawan's and trooper's faces, and also took note of Rex's little show, which he had to admit was funny, as he watched the captain regain his posture and cleared his throat, looking around to see if anyone had noticed the one time he didn't act like a captain. From those three he looked at Obi wan, his eyebrow raised in question, but Obi wan was just as lost as his former padawan, and he searched through his mind, while stroking his beard, for the answers. Cody looked at Rex with the same questioned look in his eyes, but Doc patted his arm, and the two turned to Lucky as he mouthed the words that Ahsoka was brave enough to say.

"TLFS, it stands for True Loves First Kiss," she said, with the slight hint of blush running across her face.

"True loves first kiss?" Obi wan asked a little baffled.

"That doesn't make any sense," Anakin tried to wave it off, it would be a weird day if that was the case. Or so he thought, he had no idea what was really going on, on his ship.

"Look it's the only shot we got, do you trust me?" Runt asked looking around.

Ahsoka and Rex nodded their head. Lucky gave off his signature quote, and was smacked for it by Doc, who afterwards, gave Runt the thumbs up; Spaz still refused to take off the helmet, and only nodded his head. Soo ran the back of his hand across Angel's cheek, and looked up at Runt, he wasn't sure at first, but the pleading look in Runts dark brown eyes persuaded him to trust the man with his padawan's life, Cody had a wide smile across his face as he figured he was going to be one of the few clones to witness such a thing, and suddenly wished that he was paired with a female general, or that Obi wan took up a female padawan, so he could try this 'true loves first kiss,' with her. The only two who were still unsure was Obi wan and Anakin, Anakin didn't want to see this happen, it was, making him miss his own secret love, and Obi wan was wondering if it would work. He let out a deep sigh and waved his hand in approval, though every bit of his being was screaming out about how this was wrong, and against the code, and it could only lead to bad things. Anakin saw that it was going to happen anyways, and got up and left, he wouldn't be here to see it unfold. With the approval of everyone minus Anakin, Runt took the vile, popped it open and chugged it down, everyone gasped, a little uneasy, but Runt calmed them down, begging them to continue trusting him. After everyone calmed down Runt leaned over Angel's sleeping form and taking a deep breath, to calm his nerves of what he was about to do, he stared down at her, her tanned face, the scars that outlined her eyes and reached up to her head, how her hair seemed to curl up her cheek, and her perfect lips, and couldn't help but outline them a few times. Causing the two elder Jedi to raise eyebrows, and he wasn't going to hear the end of it for a very long time. Pushing the thought aside, he focused on Angel again, gently caressing her face in his hand, he gently pressed his lips to hers, closing his eyes, her lips were somewhat cold, they did look pale when he looked at them, but he didn't know they would be this cold. He continued kissing her…even after she returned the kiss.

I've always wanted to tell you, that I loved you, and I realized now that words couldn't possibly describe how I truly felt for you. ~runt and angel

Well this was awkward, did she kiss him back? ~ Obi wan

On the way back to the Resolute, Angel had kept her distance from Runt, she spoke with Soo, and was giving him updates, she was acting as if nothing had happened, and she was at the moment a perfect padawan, and Anakin and Obi wan dropped the subject of the kiss, Runt and the other troopers had their helmets on and in their private channel within the helmet, they spoke, Lucky was making little perverted jokes about kiss, Rex congratulated him on doing the one thing he was meaning to do now before it was too late, Cody laughed, and asked what it was like. Doc wanted to know how something from a children's book could have cured his little sister, and Spaz still wasn't talking. To everyone who wasn't in their little circle of communication, thought that they were just standing there waiting to get on the cruiser and get some orders. Other than that, the ride back was a quiet one, Angel would try and touch Runt with the force, push her presence on him, share with him how she felt, since she felt his uncertainty, and she hated that, she hated making him feel so confused, but she knew she couldn't do a thing while other Jedi were so close by. Ahsoka had kneeled down next to Angel, she gave her a small hug, rubbing her arms and telling her quietly not to worry. Angel thanked her; it was nice to have a friend that wasn't her brothers, it was comforting. For some reason the trip back was a lot longer than Angel remembered. When they got on the Resolute a medical team had a Repulsorlift stretcher waiting and with careful hands they lifted Soo onto the stretcher, and pulled him away to the medbay, Doc saluted the small team he was a part of and ran after the fleeing stretcher. Angel got up, but just as her master before her, her energy reserves were gone, and she couldn't hold herself up anymore. Ahsoka helped her up, and was walking her to the medbay as well, Angel protested, she didn't want to go to the medbay, she had a serious fear of doctors, needles, and pills. She wasn't going into a medical facility unless she was knocked out and dragged.

"That can be arranged," Anakin said jokingly when Angel told them.

"hah hah master Skywalker, even in my current state, it would still take a Jedi and half a legion of clone soldiersto get me into that blasted medbay," she smiled weakly, slumping slightly in Ahsoka's grip, Runt wanted to help her, he wanted to be the one to carry her away, but Rex pulled him back and shook his head, and Lucky helped Ahsoka hold up his sister.

"What you need is rest little one, and a checkup," Anakin smiled.

Angle gave him a pleading look, she didn't want to go to bed, she spent most of the mission asleep and this wasn't how she wanted to spend her moments finally awake. Lucky gave her a stern look, and though it wasn't noticeable through his helmet, Angel could feel it in the force, she let out a little whimper in defeat, and signed, she turned her head slightly to Runt. He looked at her, wanting to help her out, but Skywalker was right she needed a checkup, food, and sleep. She needed to get over whatever side effects that she might be suffering from. He walked away from her, following Rex, Cody, and the two Jedi masters back to the briefing room.

"Angel, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Angel muttered, she wasn't okay, her side hurt, her head hurt, and she felt like crying, all in all she just wanted the day to end. "Just hungry," she added knowing that neither of the two was going to let her drop the question with such a cruddy answer.

"Alright sis, we'll get you something to eat," Lucky said with a great deal of tenderness in his deep voice.

Angel didn't say anything, just nodded her head, and when they finally got her food she didn't eat, just moved things around with her fork. If she would use her eyes, she would have been staring blankly at a white wall, not paying attention to what she was doing, thinking of the kiss, how it felt, and what she did afterwards, but she refused to use her eyes when she awoke, feeling dirty about using something that wasn't hers to begin with, her grip on her fork tightened as the thought of the kiss came to her mind, her body shaking slightly in response. She wanted to be with Runt, wanted to talk to him, but, he was busy with debriefing, and she began to wonder, if the kiss they had shared, even though it was meant to save her life, if it meant anything to him. Or if it was just another job he had to do, was saving her life just part of the job? She didn't want to think about it like that, she wanted the kiss to mean something, for both of them. Her heart was pounding she could feel it in her throat, her leg twitched, and she couldn't seem to concentrate long enough to put some of the food in her mouth, she just kept her mind focused on the door of the mess hall, waiting for Runt to walk in at any moment, and tell her that he loved her, she was just waiting. It had been hours and she still waited for him to walk in, but after waiting for hours she had enough, she would go to him herself, and find out. She stood up and took up her tray placing it on the counter and walked to the door, as it opened she was shocked to feel Runt standing there in front of her, fact she only noticed when she walked right into his chest.

"Sorry," Angel said quietly.

"It's alright commander Sada," he smiled then looked at her. "You alright?" he asked. "Did you eat?"

"I'm fine, I ate," she lied.

"No you didn't, I can tell, don't lie to me, but, I'm glad to see you up and walking on your own."

"I'm sorry, I'll eat soon."

An awkward silence befell them, Runt was trying to find some words to say, things that would ease the tension, things that would make her laugh, but he couldn't find anything to say, Angel took in a deep breath.

"Yeah know that kiss," she started, feeling a little blush rise to her cheeks.

"Yeah," he said quietly.

"Did you mean it?"

There was a pause, and he looked down at her with a look on his face like are you kidding me? He took hold of her arms, looking both ways before he spoke.

"I did," he said freeing one of his hands to cup her chin, tilting her head up so he could place a tender kiss on her lips.

She shivered at his kiss, and kissed him back, her free arm wrapped around his neck. It was a few breathless seconds before they released their lips, she hugged him, burying her face in his chest, smiling. Runt stoked her curly hair, his gloved fingers combing through the thick strands of black hair.

"I love you," he whispered the words he had been meaning to say.

"I love you too," she giggled.

Sure they had only met a few days ago, sure they were part of different legions, sure life sucked and there wasn't a definite time when they may see each other again, but for now that didn't matter, nothing mattered, she loved him, and he loved her back. He had a reason to live, he wasn't just another number on the field, he wasn't just some toy the senate can mess with and insult, and he was in his way complete.

Make sense of my life, make the pain go away, you are the cure to all things that's wrong, don't leave me, I believe I was made for you and you for me.

a/n

alright so i typed this up without really thinking, i try not to put personal matters into my fics, idk y, but i just don't like doing it, however, the kiss, was taken from the night i kissed my beloved, and unlike poor angel who was dieing, i wasn't i was just laying in his arms, and thinking 'damn it kiss me already!' but yeah, i didn't notice this till i was rereading the fic, and i liked it so much, i didn't bother changing it lol anyways enjoy.