I posted this and another story a little while ago on Ao3 and forgot to put it here. So here you all go:
While trying to get over a substantial writer's block brought on in part by, just, everything that's happened in the world over the past year and a half, I started making predictions about how I think season four might go. One idea I had that I don't think I've seen anywhere else relates to Callum's personality in regards to trust. It seems like trust is a really big deal to him; note the conversation in season two he has with Rayla about it and how he places a big emphasis on earning trust with people. Or how Claudia breaking his trust is apparently such a big deal to him he doesn't even acknowledge her as existing in season three.
So I imagine that Through the Moon's ending, particularly Rayla breaking such an important promise right after nearly dying, will have more of a negative effect on Callum than most post Through the Moon fics (outside of the ones where she's gone for years and years) have brought up. This is just a tiny scene of the exact moment of how I think their first meeting (re-meeting?) so while it ends pretty sadly you can comfort yourself with the knowledge that it would likely be resolved by some point in the season itself. Assuming I'm even close to right, that is. If not then there's nothing to worry about.
In the excitement of seeing all of them again, it slipped Rayla's mind that it meant she would see him too. At first she handled it by speaking only to the others in a group. She told all of them: Ezran, Soren, Corvus, Opeli, General Amaya, and of course him, about what she'd discovered. How Viren and Claudia were not only still alive but more a threat than anyone had imagined. Eventually the group dispersed after Ezran suggested getting everyone some celebratory jelly tarts. Without anything else to postpone it, Rayla felt she had no choice but to finally talk to Callum.
Rayla was a little surprised he hadn't tried to broach the subject already. Callum was always the more open of the two when it came to speaking their feelings. This time it would have to be her.
Callum stared at Rayla as she approached him. His mien was unreadable, save for little quirks like the slight narrowing of his eyes and the way his lips were a bit too tightly pressed together.
There were so many things she had to say to him and so many ways to say them. Yet all that managed to come out of her mouth was a nervous "Hey."
"Hey," Callum answered, dryly. The thin line of his mouth slowly turned downward into the beginnings of a frown.
Rayla wasn't sure how she expected this conversation to go, but whatever was happening now certainly wasn't it.
"Look," Rayla said, "I'm sorry about how I left. But you have to understand how important it was."
"Yeah, I do."
Rayla let out a breath she didn't notice she'd been holding.
"But I don't forgive you." Callum hardened his gaze.
The tension that left was suddenly back and far worse.
"I don't- but I had to-" Rayla stammered.
"You said we'd go together, you promised, and then you just left in the middle of the night! I trusted you and you just... you just..." Callum clenched his fists. "I can't keeping doing this."
Rayla's heart fell. "What are you saying?"
"A relationship is built on trust, and we don't have that anymore. Maybe we never did." Callum turned his head away, so that Rayla couldn't see his expression, or his tears. "We'll stop Viren and Claudia and whoever else they've got on their side, but after that... I'm done."
This was worse than even Rayla's darkest fears about how seeing him again would go. Callum started to walk away, his figure reducing to a blurred silhouette as tears filled her vision.
She cried out, "Callum, wait!" He stopped, but didn't look back. Rayla scrambled to think of what to say that would convince him to change his mind. To make Callum understand why she had to do what she'd done. But in her spiraling despair, all she said was, "We're still friends at least, right?"
Callum squared his shoulders and resumed his departure. "No."
Rayla watched in a daze as he walked farther away. She tried to convince herself this was just another of her constant nightmares instead of reality, and that she'd wake up at any minute. Deep down she knew this was no dream.
"Whoa, that's rough, buddy," another voice said once Callum was out of earshot. Rayla jumped. To her shock, Soren was standing a few feet behind her. How long had he been there? She looked over at Soren, her questions plainly visible on her face.
All Soren said in response was, "I mean, Callum's got a point, but he didn't have to say it like that."
Rayla didn't answer. Soren furled his brows and reached underneath his chest armor. He withdrew a slightly flattened jelly tart.
"Jelly tart?" He offered.
Rayla took the pastry from Soren's hand without a word.
"You looked like you could use it more than me."
I debated whether or not to end with Callum saying no or to include the Soren bit to lighten things up. I figured lightening things up a little is something the show would try to do so I included it after all.
Also I just realized I finished this during Rayllum month which makes the story extra ironic. So I'll just restate that they'd have to work things out later in the hypothetical season.