Chapter 36
Gifts and Curses
A/N- Yes, I borrowed the title from the song by Yellowcard. It's not the type of band I usually listen to but I liked that particular song, so I decided to borrow the title. I do not own the song or the lyrics, Yellowcard does.
…. Oh, alright!! I admit it, I only got into listening to this song because I watched an Avatar (Last Airbender) AMV that used it in a totally wickedly awesome way. Happy? *Grumbles something in wookiee*
Oh, the wonders of music and writing… it makes for such a great combination.
By the way, I've set a number of hits that has to be reached in order for me not to enforce the email only updates (to those who have reviewed and/or sent me feedback through PMs) and the number of reviews that must be met by February 19th is 30. I'm going to be flexible and say two people together can meet that goal. But it has to be two new people; those who have already reviewed won't count towards this since they're going to be able to get the emails anyways. You have a little over three weeks, go forth!!
I hope everyone is enjoying the fic and I appreciate all the support and reviews I've received so far.
REMEMBER TO VOTE IN THE NAMESAKE SERIES OC POLL ON MY PROFILE!!!!!!
A special congratulations to jediluver033 who is now officially my beta, thank you for all your hard work!
Thanks to the following users for their feedback as well:
newworldwriter1
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JediBettyBug
Keep warm! (At least it's cold where I am).
-Don =)
Mary belongs to the words of a song.
I try to be strong for her, try not to be wrong for her.
But she will not wait for me, anymore, anymore.
Why did I say all those things before? I was sure.
(She is the one), but I have a purpose,
(she is the one), and I have to fight this,
(she is the one), a villian I can't knock down.
I see your face with every punch I take,
and every bone I break, it's all for you.
And my worst pains are words I cannot say,
still I will always fight on for you.
Mary's alive in the bright New York sky,
the city lights shine for her, above them I cry for her.
Everything's small on the ground below, down below.
What if I fall, then where would I go, would she know?
(She is the one), all that I wanted,
(she is the one), and I will be haunted,
(she is the one), this gift is my curse for now.
I see your face with every punch I take,
and every bone I break, it's all for you.
And my worst pains are words I cannot say,
Still I will always fight on for you. Fight on for you ...
-"Gifts and Curses" by Yellowcard.
"I got a bad feeling about this, Boss," Matek said as he stepped over the rubble scattered around them as they trudged through the ground level of Kessel. The place had, for the better of the years since the Empire had been toppled, a factory town and nothing more. To the surprise of Miko and his crew, it had also apparently been the target of an attack. By what, Miko wasn't sure.
That was what brought the crew of the Asteroid and Matek's own ship, as he was working with Miko as part of a deal, but soon that deal had extended when Miko saved Matek from being caught smuggling by the New Republic's police several years ago. Matek Karrde was, despite his mishap, in Miko's opinion at least, the best smuggler since Talon Karrde and Han Solo became respectable.
Karrde was now the commander of a squad of former smuggler pilots but spent most of his time playing Sabacc these days. Matek was now taking up his father's helm in his ventures in space with Miko. Of course, Matek had insisted on having a ship of his own. The Wild Karrde was, and would remain Talon Karrde's ship, not Matek's. His was similar to the Republic Consular class cruiser but sleeker and angled for quick dodging and weaving. Matek called his prized ship Black Moon. True to its name, the ship was only visible in the light of the moon or brighter planets. Matek took pride that he'd built the ship himself. Talon had commended his son but the older smuggler hadn't actually seen Moon in action. It was a demon to anyone trying to smuggle things under the Moon's nose, because there wasn't any way to do that. Matek had built in his own tracking system that was not only undetectable by outside scanners but it could sense the scanners of anyone else's ship.
"We're not here to worry about our fears, Matek," Miko said, turning his blaster rifle slightly so it could have more range in case of a sudden attack.
"I know that, Miko," Matek replied, his dropped friendly title for his friend indicated the smuggler's clear misgivings, and he felt the acid in his stomach churn as he saw the first body since they'd arrived. If one could call it a body since it was hardly a body anymore since most of the limbs had been blown off by some kind of explosive. It was probably the same explosion that had reduced most of the small factory town to rubble. Matek's cool hazel eyes flicked over to where he could see more bodies in a similar condition as the first one.
"What the hell happened here?" Matek voiced finally after he'd looked at what was the twentieth mutilated body.
"Dunno," Miko responded, kneeling down on the ground, the strap of his blaster rifle strained and the butt clacked on the rocky ground. "Looks like something big blasted the kriff out of this town."
"The real question is why," Matek said, finishing Miko's thought. The dark haired man nodded and exchanged a glance with his brownish red haired friend. Miko continued to make his sweep of the area when Matek's broke through the smoke filled air.
"I think we might be in over our heads with this," Matek said, his voice sounding almost awestruck as well as disgusted. Miko came over to see what Matek was looking at and had to scowl to keep his anger in check.
"This is definitely not good," Because it was Miko saying it, Matek believed the words right to his core. So far, Miko had never shown any signs of misgiving or fear but at the moment but were in Miko's eyes. Both were spreading through both Matek's and Miko's crews.
Kirk dropped down the ledge and landed cleanly next to Natie as they walked further down the cliff's side and into the cavern hidden to the side of the junk yard mountain's gates. The lights of the city and the natural sky reflected into the cave's sides, illuminating the rocks to the point where they made glittering rainbows across the floor. The luminous cavern brought out the colors in the skin of the two people as Kirk crouched down to pick up one of the rocks. He pulled out a glow-rod and held it up to the rock, the glow of the gem inside reflected in his eyes and on the walls behind them.
"How did you find this place? I had no idea Coruscant had anything like this," Natie said, crouching down on her knees so she could get a closer look at the gem in Kirk's hands.
"I didn't either," Kirk said with a small amount of sadness hidden beneath his clear enjoyment of being in such a natural place. "Nina showed it to me, when I took her to Coruscant. She was born here, so I wanted to see it for myself. She said she found out about this cavern when she ran away from home. It's hidden behind all the junkyards and buildings, so you would miss it unless you were looking for a treasure in the murky waters."
Natie regarded Kirk as he continued to turn the gem around in his hand, creating hundreds of specks of multicolored light. His expression was neutral but she could tell he was conflicted by being in the cavern. His eyes showed the lost person inside that was still stuck in the past along with all the memories it held.
"Why did you want to show me this if it hurts to be here?" Natie decided on asking after a silence fell between them. Kirk's eyes finally left the gem and rested on Natie.
He was about to insist that it didn't hurt but in all honesty, it did. Ever passing minute caused a pang to his insides as the memories flooded back into his mind.
"Kirk, come on!"
"Hang on, where the kriff are we?" Kirk climbed over the rocks at the entrance to the cave and stumbled as he went down the end to where Nina waited impatiently tapping her foot.
"Don't swear, just trust me, okay?" She grabbed his hand and half pulled, half dragged the fourteen year old boy behind her. After a few minutes they stood in the cavern and Nina let go of Kirk's hand long enough to pick up a rock and pulled out a glow-rod.
"Hold this," she pressed the gem into his hands. Kirk did as he was bidden, confusion still etched onto his face. She then raised the glow-rod over the gem and the cave exploded with the glittering lights. Kirk's eyes widened with wonder and he found that he couldn't do anything but stare at the lights glowing in the cave like thousands of rainbow fireflies in the cavern's night sky.
"Neat, huh?" Nina asked, looking at Kirk with a smile. He nodded blankly. Something about the light was making his mind go around and around in circles, but mostly he was focused on the way the lights hit Nina's face. He couldn't think of any reason why he'd want to be spending his time with anyone else.
The gem hung loosely in Kirk's hand as he pulled his lips away from where they were on Nina's own.
"Neat," Kirk assented with a smile and Nina blushed.
"Kirk?" Natie asked as she stared into his eyes. "Are you okay?"
He shook his head, "This place has a lot of memories for me," He shivered half in pain and half in a bittersweet nostalgic way. This had been a place of beginnings for Kirk, the cavern was where Kirk's anger at the galaxy for its neglect faded and for a few hours, he had nothing to worry about. Naiveté could go a long way, at least until the truth was thrown in your face, Kirk thought to himself.
He glanced over at Natie, who was transfixed by the lights created by the gem, her youthful eyes wide with fascination and delight. Kirk watched her for a moment until the lights illuminated her entire face in the darkness of the cavern. He looked at her for a minute before the lights reflected on his face too.
Nina leaned back on Kirk's chest as they both lay on the cavern's floor. "Hey, Kirk, do you think we can change the galaxy?"
Kirk turned his head, "Why would you want to change it?"
"Just tell me, if it was possible to change it for the better, do you think we could do it?"
Kirk considered and then smiled affectionately, "Why not?"
Why not, the words echoed in Kirk's mind as he suddenly lost track of where his head and mind were. Something warm and soft was touching his lips and sent warmth throughout his body in a tingling sensation. He was a fourteen year old again with the strangeness of a first kiss stunned and excited him.
"You're not as shabby at kissing as you look," Natie said with a smile, hiding her surprise at his sudden action. Kirk glanced around the cave for a second before he smiled.
Why not?
Anakin stood patiently waiting, chewing his lip as he waited outside the door. Tahiri had somehow convinced him that talking to someone about his pain over losing Jacen was a good idea, but Anakin wasn't entirely sure that she'd picked the right person for Anakin to talk to. After another excruciating minute passed, the door opened and Mara smiled at her nephew.
"Come on in, Anakin, I was just making tea," Mara stepped aside while Anakin stepped into the apartment. In seconds Ben came running from his room and threw his arms around his older cousin with intense energy that nearly knocked Anakin to the floor.
"Anakin!" The seven year old exclaimed, "I missed you!" Anakin smiled as he placed his hand on the younger boy's head.
"I missed you too, Ben," Anakin felt Mara's gaze on him but didn't comment on it. "Are you keeping up with your training?"
"Yup," The boy bobbed his head then looked sullen as he scuffed his shoes across the carpet, "But Daddy hasn't been home to teach me much."
Anakin ruffled his cousin's hair, "Hey, your Dad's a busy guy. But I'm sure you have other people to teach you."
Ben suddenly looked hopeful, "Will you teach me?"
Anakin chuckled, "Only if you mom will let me," he gave Mara a questioning look of amusement. She grinned back.
"We'll see," Mara replied and gave her son a nod. Ben bounded over to the door, which opened once more to reveal Luke.
"Ready to go, Sport?" Luke asked his son who let out a whoop before running down the hall. Luke shrugged at Mara and Anakin and then closed the door behind him.
Mara then turned to Anakin, "So, Tahiri tells me you're having some trouble coping with Jacen's death."
Anakin had told Tenel Ka that he'd be sending someone to protect her while she stayed on Coruscant, but the person, or rather, alien, in question was more than a surprise to the Hapan Queen, her aide, and especially to her children.
The only one who wasn't surprised was the alien himself. With his taught grayish blue skeletal face stared stiffly at Tenel Ka for a moment before he spoke. "Queen Tenel Ka Djo Solo of the Royal Family of Hapes, I greet you with honor," The alien crossed his arms in an x shape over his chest and inclined his head.
Now honor on the other hand, was something Tenel Ka had a lot of experience with. She lived by the code her people had set out in the beginning, the code she had lived by and then used in tandem with the Jedi code. But this was a little strange, having a Yuuzhan Vong as her body guard, on Coruscant no less.
But to Tenel Ka's surprise, at the waist of the warrior was a blaster and what looked like detonators and slug over the warrior's back was a metal force pike. Another long look confirmed that this particular Yuuzhan Vong had no qualms about fighting with what would normally be dubbed by Yuuzhan Vong as "abominations." The warrior also wore a light cloak and pants shaped for fighting with ease. Tenel Ka couldn't be sure what kind of experience the warrior had gone through in order to make him so different from her impressions of the Yuuzhan Vong from the duration of the war.
"Lord Anakin has informed me that you are adept with a lightsaber," The Yuuzhan Vong continued as though he hadn't noticed the direction Tenel Ka's gaze. He probably hadn't seen the facial expression of the warrior hadn't changed in the least. "I presume my duty will mostly be to watch your heirs?"
Tenel Ka nodded, her approval of the warrior increased somewhat. The warrior knew better than to underestimate the power of a Jedi and knew how far his protection would extend. Though Tenel Ka was still a little unnerved by the fact that someone had drugged her food and the culprit had never been caught.
"Your Highness, if I may," The Yuuzhan Vong said with another inclination of his head. Tenel Ka nodded for the warrior to continue.
"My name is Vua Rapuung. I am indebted to Anakin Solo and thus my protection extends to you because he wished for me to watch over you. I will not, however, overstep my boundaries should you wish to set them."
"Thank you," Tenel Ka said with a curt nod, "I will only need for my children to be protected, I will be fine."
"As you will, Your Highness," Vua Rapuung bowed low and then stepped aside to give Tenel Ka space but was still close enough for intervention in case of danger in the park. Without the force in Vua Rapuung, Tenel Ka felt strange around the alien. It was odd that only a few years ago the very idea of a Yuuzhan Vong warrior being indebted willingly to a human, let alone a Jedi, was inconceivable, until now at least.
True to his word, Vua Rapuung did not even make his presence obvious to passersby, as his cloak was up and a quick glance would only show that it was someone tall with a cloak, most would probably assume Vua Rapuung was a Jedi, not a Yuuzhan Vong warrior turned tame by New Republic standards. That was probably the reason why Anakin had Vua Rapuung wear a cloak and pants, if that had in fact been Anakin's doing at all.
"Mommy, look!" Valin held out in his palm a small turtle-like critter with horns on its head that he had picked up from the bushes of the park. Tenel Ka bent over to look at the turtle with some interest of her own. There was no doubt that Jacen would have liked to see the horned turtle his son had found. Valin was so like Jacen it almost hurt just to look at the little boy as he scampered away to put the turtle back onto the grass where it crawled slowly, but steadily away.
As though he had felt his mother's distress, Valin turned his head and then came over, peering up at his mother with inquiring eyes. "Mommy?"
Tenel Ka smiled, "Nothing, Valin, I am fine."
"Nuh-uh, you sad," Valin said, not quite forming his sentence but Tenel Ka got the gist of it.
"Your son has good senses, Your Highness, if you do not mind my saying," Vua Rapuung said, folding his arms in what looked like a meditative gesture to Tenel Ka. She looked over at the Yuuzhan Vong. "I may not be the most compassionate of creatures, but I am able to see pain clearly on the faces of those around me."
Tenel Ka thought for a moment before replying, "I do not believe the Yuuzhan Vong are uncompassionate, nor do I believe that you are any exception, Warrior Vua Rapuung." Tenel Ka turned her head to look down at Valin, who was still gazing at his mother with clear cut concern and worry ridden on his features. "I am still in mourning over my husband." She stated simply, though it seemed almost distant as she said it. A heavy breath came out with her next words, "Over Jacen, my best friend and only love."
Vua Rapuung, once again to Tenel Ka's surprise, looked almost sympathetic, "Loss is a difficult thing. Even where death is common, it causes pain and tension where we would rather not have it." He looked down at Valin, "Though there is always hope at the end that the pain will pass in time to leave good memories in peace."
Tenel Ka found the words both truthful as well as poetic. It never would have occurred to Tenel Ka to consult a Yuuzhan Vong over something as painful as Jacen's death had been in the beginning and still was, then again, Jacen himself had been a surprise.
It was time to stop expecting gifts to come in obvious forms.
Matek kicked his foot out, and when nothing happened, he turned to Miko, who was still examining their find. It had turned out to be the carcass of a Vongcor, but it was mutilated far beyond recognition of either of the species it was combined with.
"How did this thing get here? I wasn't aware that the Yuuzhan Vong invaded Kessel," Matek said, grimacing. Miko scowled, his furrowed brow casting shadows over his eyes.
"That's because they didn't." Miko said, looking over his shoulder at the mass of carcasses surrounding them.
"What?" Matek looked at Miko questioning as well as took a step back from the stench of the rotting bodies. Matek held his sleeve up to his face. "Gas masks would have been nice," He muttered under his breath. "You mean something else killed them?"
Miko nodded as he knelt down to examine the carcass closest to them, "They were killed by something that could have burned them."
"Flames? Someone burned them?"
"Or cut them," Miko said, standing back up. Matek's eyes widened then narrowed in comprehension.
"Wait, you mean…?"
"Yes, these creatures and the people here were killed by Jedi,"
Zekk stood in front of the mirror, fidgeting with his shirt for what seemed like the hundredth time. He couldn't be sure when he was getting it right since he hadn't had much experience with a suit and tie, let alone a tux. Luckily most of his outfit would be covered by his green Jedi robes made especially for the wedding. Their wedding, which was tomorrow, two days before Anakin and Tahiri's wedding.
"You'll be fine, Zekk," Jaina said as she walked through the living room on her way to the kitchen. He turned his head to look at her incredulously. "Calm down."
"We're getting married tomorrow and you're telling me to calm down?" Zekk blurted, fidgeting even more with his bowtie and then just let it hang around his neck.
"Yes, I am," Jaina replied, coming back to the bedroom where Zekk was standing with his tux partly on, the rest of the parts lay on the bed in their wrappings from the stores. The robe, of course, was being handmade by a friend of Luke's who knew how to make Jedi robes better than anyone else. She raised her eyebrow at him but when he continued to look distraught she walked over and placed a hand on his arm to stop him from fidgeting even more.
"What's wrong, Zekk?" Jaina asked, "If you're not ready to do this, if you don't want to have the wedding, just tell me." She gave him a long look but before she could continued Zekk cut in.
"Of course I want to marry you! I've wanted that since I came back from the void, it's just…" He averted his eyes but Jaina's hand brought it gently back around to look into her brandy eyes.
"Tell me, Zekk," She pressed, "I'm not going to run away just because you have something to say to me."
"You might," Zekk said hesitantly.
"Try me," Jaina challenged with a sharp glance back at the door to make sure no one had walked in on their conversation, though she already knew from the force that nobody had. It was more reflexive than anything else.
"I don't know if you realize how I feel about you," Zekk said tentatively, his eyes still working hard not to look away, even with Jaina's hand there to keep Zekk from looking down his eyes still darted from side to side.
"Well, we're getting married, aren't we? I think it's pretty obvious," Jaina said simply then her eyes narrowed. "Unless you're talking about something else… are you?"
Zekk swallowed as quietly as possible, "Do you feel anything when you touch me?"
Jaina frowned and then thought about the question for a moment, "Well, yeah, I mean I feel something. It's hard not to."
"That's not what I meant," Zekk said, pushing her hand down and staring hard into Jaina's eyes. "I know how we both stand emotionally but I don't know about how you feel physically."
Jaina opened her mouth and then shut it slowly when no sound came out. She knew this conversation would come up, but she hadn't expected Zekk to bring it up this close to the wedding. She expected him to broach it later rather than sooner. But apparently Zekk had been thinking the latter for a while. It wasn't a mystery to Jaina where Zekk's thoughts lay. No, she knew exactly what he was thinking even without their bond.
"Jay, when I said I loved you, I meant it," He said, grasping her hands, "That means all of you."
Jaina blinked, searching her mind for the words, but once again they didn't seem to be forthcoming. Finally she managed a small response, "Well, it's not like I haven't thought about it, Zekk. I mean I do feel a lot of things when I'm around you, both emotional and physical. I'm just taking things one step at a time." She nodded, "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Don't worry about how we feel now." She squeezed his hands and then leaned over and kissed him tenderly on the lips, both of them savored the moment before they broke away, twin smiles on their faces.
"So you don't hate the idea?" Zekk questioned. Jaina sighed and then rolled her eyes.
"Like I said, we'll get to it when we get to it," Jaina saw his smirk and then punched him in the arm. "You were pulling my leg, weren't you?"
Zekk laughed, "Only just now."
"That still warrants a punishment," Jaina said, folding her arms across her chest and then grinned in contemplation. "What should I do?"
Zekk shifted uncomfortably, when Jaina decided she was going to "punish him" it usually involved something really painful, like sparring with Jaina while he only had a sparring stick and she had a lightsaber. A glint appeared in her eyes, indicating to Zekk that she was done thinking and he stiffened, but his surprise, Jaina didn't say anything and then stepped back away from him.
Zekk braced, Is she going to charge at me with her lightsaber? His force sense then picked up a presence that wasn't there before and turned his head to look in the doorway.
"Peckhum!" Zekk exclaimed.
Once they were settled on the couch with two mugs of tea, Mara fixated Anakin with a gentle look of understanding, "Jacen's death wasn't your fault," She said, "He died while we were sleeping, Anakin."
"Still," Anakin said, his teeth clenching and then unclenching like his fists. "If I hadn't been wandering around the galaxy, I could have been there sooner."
"And done what?" Mara asked sternly, "Sacrificed yourself so he could live?"
"If it'd make Jaina and Tenel Ka stop crying, I would do it in a heartbeat," Anakin answered firmly. Mara regarded Anakin silently for a moment before she spoke.
"You have a gift for being able to care about other people Anakin," Mara said, giving him a nod, "But you can't let that become your curse as well. The void, if anything, should have taught you to be cautious about throwing your life away so easily," She frowned slightly, "I know it's hard to see right now, but you'll be happy you didn't consider going on a revenge streak that could cause you to lose what you have now."
Anakin leaned back on the couch, scowling skeptically, "What would you know about that?"
Mara smiled wryly, "I was the Emperor's Hand, Anakin. Luke was my natural enemy when I met him for the first time and even before then I'd believed he was my enemy. After the Emperor fell, I strongly believed it was my responsibility to kill Luke. I almost did, too," Mara looked at Anakin as his face revealed his horror mixed with confusion.
"What stopped you?"
"Well," Mara paused for a moment as she thought about the battle that had taken place in the presence of Joruus C'baoth's violently deranged clone. "The Emperor's echoing voice had been commanding me through the force to take revenge on Luke for Vader's betrayal, but in the end, C'baoth was the one who really stopped me from killing Luke."
"C'baoth?" Anakin repeated, "Wasn't he killed before then?"
"Yes, but the one we met was his clone," Mara replied, folding her hands together, "He had a clone of Luke and planned to make one of me in case we didn't bow to his will." She grimaced, "You can guess how Luke responded to being someone's servant, especially a clone with violent intentions."
Anakin's eyes widened, "He didn't try to fight him, did he?"
"In the beginning, no," Mara replied, "But C'baoth isn't much for talking. So eventually Luke was forced to fight another clone. His own."
Anakin frowned. He had heard the story of how Uncle Luke had gone to Degobah and faced Vader in the cave, but when Luke cut the helmet off, the mask exploded and revealed Luke's own face. Anakin had gone to Degobah twice. Each time bore different results but Anakin was sure that he didn't want to fight himself as a dark Jedi.
"So then you ended up killing the clone instead of Uncle Luke?" Anakin asked, guessing where the story was going. Mara nodded and took a sip of her tea.
"I didn't think about it until afterwards, but I was glad that I hadn't killed the real Luke," Mara smiled wistfully, "Funny how that works, but you lose one thing but you gain another." She looked carefully at Anakin, "I lost the Empire but I gained a life where I could live for something more."
The door opened and Ben rushed in and jumped at Mara's legs. "Mommy, Mommy, Dad took me for a ride in the Jade Shadow and he even let me drive for a whole hour!"
Mara gave Luke a strange Look, "Did he now?"
Luke looked almost sheepish, "We were cruising, so I thought he might enjoy it."
"Go get ready for dinner," Mara said to Ben, "I'll deal with your father."
Ben grinned, "Dad's in trouble, Dad's in trouble!" He sang as he ran to his room. Anakin looked over at his uncle. It was strange to imagine that his uncle, Luke Skywalker, had once been an insecure young man and Mara had once been a cold killer and member of the Empire. Now they were two loving parents who had a lively son who was their entire world.
"I think I understand what you mean," Anakin said with a secretive smile in Mara's direction. He stood up and then nodded. "Thanks for the tea, Aunt Mara." Then he went out, closing the door behind him. Luke turned to Mara in confusion.
"What was that all about? What'd you tell him?"
"Just some advice from one stubborn Jedi to another," She smiled at the closed door, the feeling Anakin had left with was more level than the one he came in with. Mara then turned to Luke and folded her arms across her chest. "Now what's this about taking the Jade Shadow for a joy ride without my permission?"
Tahiri paused as she felt the other presence enter the training room. A snap-hiss sounded to her left and a violet blade glowed next to her elbow.
"I thought you could use some company," Anakin said with a smile. Tahiri's eyes went back to normal after her surprise dissipated.
"What did Mara say to you?" She inquired as they deflected the first round of attack devices the training room had to offer.
"Just that I should consider what I've already got instead of risking losing it on something else," Anakin slashed down one of the laser shooting droids before it could even touch Tahiri. He then turned around to kiss her, ignoring the lasers that singed his training gear. He then used the force to send the droids into the wall where they crackled with electricity before crumpling in a heap on the floor.
But Anakin had stopped paying attention to the threat of the droids a long ago he was exactly where he wanted to be, with his arms around his best friend.
A/N- Thanks for your patience in the posting. Please review! =)