Chapter 166

Laetitia walked slowly and tiredly towards her room. She didn't know why she was feeling this way. She had gone through a lot worse. Was she really spooked with one assassin attempt? Or was this because she was afraid of losing Thexan?

Guess I'm more feminine than I thought.

Her vision was blurry, but when she saw someone in front of her, she stopped to see who it was. She narrowed her eyes, and ... it was Thexan. He looked as tired as she was.

"You alright?" He asked when he felt something was wrong with her.

"What are you doing out of Med Bay?" She ignored him.

He showed her the wound dressing to reassure her.

"They discharged me. Said I should get a few hours rest, and I'll be 100% again."

"This is your idea of resting?"

"Well, I had something to do first." He smiled softly.

Leah sighed. She had a feeling that 'something' had something to do with her. She just waited to see what it was.

Thexan took a deep breath to prepare himself. He was very nervous, but was hiding it quite well. He suddenly sat sat on the ground. Leah frowned in confusion and sat on the ground to level with him. It looked like ... informal kneeling?

"What are you doing?" She asked in complete confusion.

"I have something I wanna say. Will you listen until it's over?" He pleaded.

Leah nodded and let him go on. She could feel the anxiety without even touching the Force. What was he doing?

"When you and I first met, we had both lost so much and faced immense pain. But something beautiful came out of that pain … Love. A love that will always triumph over darkness. A love that I will lay down my life for ... You're my starting point." He softly started.

Leah suddenly felt like she was out of breath. They way he was talking ... Was he really doing what she was afraid he was doing?

"We're … talking about ... marriage." She breathlessly stated, hoping she was wrong.

Thexan was feeling a lot better when she caught on with just a few sentences. She saved him a lot of trouble. He slowly took out the ring around his neck and showed it to her.

"That okay with you?" He whimpered.

"It's just …" She paused to come up with words.

A few hours ago, they were fighting about his life. Now, they were talking about ... marriage. What was she supposed to say? How was she supposed to feel?

"With a past like mine, planning future … feels like … tempting fate. Besides, we don't know how long that will last." She quietly said, going back to the vision.

"I don't care. I love you." He softly said.

Now, Leah was completely out of breath. It was the first time she had heard that ... After her father 16 years ago. She promised herself to never let another man tell her that ... And here she was, hearing it from her ... future husband.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, even if it lasts 5 minutes. If we are to die, I want to die as your husband. I don't need to think about my past because you are my future. I don't need to separate my family from yours because you are my family … Or at least, I want you to be. There is just right now that matters. No more reuniting after years of torture. No more cryptic messages from encrypted lines. No more avoiding the fact that we belong together ... Marry me."

She waited until his speech was over. She had to admit, for a Sith and a Palpatine ... it was pretty good. It was good enough to make her speechless. He always had the ability to melt her heart in a few seconds.

"You sure about this?" She asked to reassure both of them.

"100 percent." He strongly promised her.

"No." She suddenly said.

"'No'? You're saying you weren't touched with my speech that I prepared in 5 minutes? You won't marry me?" He asked in surprise, half-joking.

"There is a problem with marrying you that I can't deal with. Sorry."

Thexan blinked in surprise and confusion.

"What?"

"I am NOT taking the 'Palpatine' name. I wanna destroy that name. Sorry!"

He chuckled out of relief when he figured she was half-joking. That was something he had predicted she'd say.

"If that's the problem, I'll take your name if you allow me. Satisfied?" He smiled.

Leah couldn't help but smile. She took a closer look to the ring. It was very simple, but so beautiful.

"Well ... I mean, it is a beautiful ring. But I honestly thought you'd get something that had more 'bling' to it." She smirked.

"Oh. Well, I know you. You're more 'bang' than 'bling' … And that's why I love you." He stated as he smiled.

Leah pressed her lips together to hide her smile. All the tiredness and sadness she felt disappeared. He always had a way of making her feel that way.

She squealed happily as she jumped into his arms. He was more than happy for her to do it, but the weight and the surprise made him fall, which made her fall. They both rolled on the ground and laughed in the situation they found themselves in.

"Woohoo!" A voice shouted far away from them.

Laetitia and Thexan both frowned and looked to see who it was.

Of course it's Han!

Han, Ahsoka, Luke and Rex were watching the whole thing from afar, not interrupting them. They were just smiling in happiness and excitement as they clapped their hands.

"Just to be clear, I'm going to be the best man!" Han shouted between the claps.

Thexan just laughed as Leah hid her face on his chest. It had been a while sine they were all happy.


Laetitia and Thexan were in her room, or maybe their room now. He was holding her from the back as he placed his chin on her shoulder. She was just looking at the ring Thexan had given her. It was simply beautiful.

"You better get used to wearing that. You're never taking it off again." He told her softly.

"Don't worry. I won't. And it's not because of you. Trust me. The ring is ... so beautiful." She stated in amazement.

"I'll take what I can get."

They both chuckled slightly as they lied down. They both had a rough day. They needed to rest. Leah suddenly frowned and turned to Thexan. He just stayed still as she glared him.

"What is it?" He asked in complete confusion.

Leah responded by hitting weakly in the chest.

"Ow. What was that for?"

"That was for you being stupid."

"Me being stupid for what? Wanting to spend the rest of my life with you? You're right. Now, I'm second-guessing it." He sarcastically said.

He knew what she was talking about. As happy as she was, she couldn't forget about the vision Luke had ... The one that Thexan had died in.

"I'm serious, Thexan. I would've been just fine if you hadn't pushed me out of the way. I mean, don't get me wrong. I am grateful that you protect me, but ... I don't need you to. You don't have to protect me. I'm not fragile." She quietly said with a bit of offence in her tone. She hated being underestimated.

"I know. Sometimes, I forget you are your father's daughter." Thexan quietly replied as he looked away.

"No ... I am your wife-to-be." She said as she smiled to make him feel better.

Thexan smiled back as he held her hand in his.

"I like the sound of that."

"It's growing on me, too." She smirked slightly as she held her head against his chest.

She could feel and hear his heart beating. It was strong and relaxing. It worked better than any mediation to calm her down.

"You know, before you died, I thought that the only thing that mattered was that I stayed in the light to atone for my sins as a Sith ..." He weakly broke the silence.

"But then I lost you ... And that pain was unlike anything I've ever felt before. I realized ... you are my everything. I love you, and I am never going to stop loving you." He strongly promised her.

Leah just looked down. She knew she loved him back, but she still wasn't ready to say it back. The last time she had told someone she loved them was her father in the Jedi Temple when he was slaughtering her friends. She didn't want to say it and lose Thexan, like she lost Anakin.

"Leah, I know you want me to promise that I won't save your life if it means me losing mine ... But I can't. I can't live without you. I don't wanna live without you. I don't want you to go through what I would force you to go through, but ... I'm selfish enough to do it. Because I can't live without you." He sadly whispered.

It broke him to see her like that. Disappointed and sad ... But what else could he do? He couldn't lie to her.

"But I need you." She pleaded quietly with tears in her eyes.

Thexan shook his head, also trying to stop his tears. Neither of them was strong enough to not cry. That was the life they had chosen for themselves.

"No, you don't ... You never have." He chuckled wryly.

"But the fact that you want me, despite that you don't need me ... It means more than you'll ever know." He sincerely thanked her.

He was truly grateful for her. To have her by his side. To have his trust and love ... That was all he needed. Leah didn't say anything and just sighed. She didn't want to admit it, but ... he was right. She didn't really need anyone in her life.

What did that say about her?

"So, yeah ... You can live without me." He stated.

"But I don't want to. I don't ever want to have to." She firmly finished his sentence.

Thexan held back the tears in his eyes as he held her closer. He didn't know how to feel about that. Sad, that he was making her go through this right after their engagement? Or happy, that she wanted his in his life? He knew that that was as close Leah would get to admitting her love for him.

"Just because we can live without something or someone, that doesn't mean we want to. So promise me that you'll treat your life as valuable as mine, because to me, it is." She begged him with desperate tears in her eyes.

He just exhaled deeply. He couldn't ask for more than that. She wasn't asking him to not do what he wanted to do. She was respecting it, while asking him to respect hers.

"I promise."

"Good."

"But instead, you have to promise me something."

"Okay ..."

"That you'd leave me." He suddenly said.

Leah frowned in confusion.

"Huh?"

"Promise me that if a time comes that you have to choose to be a Jedi or a wife, you'll choose being the Jedi."

"Thexan ..."

"You said it yourself. You can live without me. But the Galaxy can't live without you. If you choose me and let everyone else die, I won't be able to live with myself. You won't be able to live with yourself if you chose me over everyone else." He stated with sad tears in his eyes.

Leah didn't say anything to that. She knew he was right. But that didn't mean she wanted to do it ... How was it that he knew her better than she knew herself?

"I'm just one person. I may mean the world to you, but ... my life isn't worth everyone else'. So promise me that if it comes to me and everyone else ... you leave me." He desperately asked.

She just stayed still as she tried to hold back the tears in her eyes. That wasn't fair. Tomorrow was their wedding. How was he asking her to basically kill him? She needed him. She ... loved him.

"I mean ... I want to. I would really like to ... But it depends on how I'm feeling at the moment." She stated, half-joking.

"Leah ..."

"But I won't make a decision that I know I'll regret. That, I can promise." She strongly said to convince him.

Thexan just smiled softly as he nodded. That was the best thing he could ask for.

They both knew that a big day was coming for them, for all of them. It was a happy day ... But why was she having a feeling that she would lose him right after it?

Done :)