"Are you being brainwashed?" Aaliyah asked the man sitting opposite of her and although his chuckle could be heard in the quiet room, her face was serious. As much as his face was familiar, his role in all of this made her think, that she didn't know him as well as she thought.
"Believe me, I'm not," Rex shook his head and run his hand across his shortly trimmed blonde hair.
"Hard to believe it," she mumbled and crossed her hands on her chest, leaning against the wall, while he was calmly sitting on her bed. If she was honest, something about his presence relaxed her. Maybe it's the fact that he is familiar to her, that at one point he was somebody, who she would die for and she knew he would do the same. She would even say they were friends. A long time ago. Or maybe it was all just a part of his role. "Every time we speak, you are talking about Anakin as if he was a god."
Rex chuckled again. "No, not god. Just a dear friend."
"Was he your friend when you served with me? In the Clone Wars?" Aaliyah asked, curiosity burning her tongue.
"I knew Anakin since I was just a little fella," Rex said as if it was a known fact, but Aaliyah tilted her head and looked at the man with anticipation. She wanted him to continue, and he did, sighing heavily before he continued. "I wasn't raised in the same facility on Camino as my brothers. I was just a mere boy when they took me and brought me to Anakin. I was trained to be in his service. To be his right hand if you will. But I became more. I became his friend, and he became my friend. We grew up together, although I was growing up faster. I was loyal to him then and I always will be. When the Clone Wars started, I wasn't supposed to be in service, but Anakin made sure that I was serving under you."
His last sentence made her waver on her legs before she straightened up. "What? What do you mean?"
"I mean what I said. I was your captain because Anakin made sure that I will be. He wanted you to be alright and he trusted me to help you, protect you and advise you as best as I can," he shrugged his shoulders as if it wasn't a big deal.
"But that doesn't make sense," mumbled Aaliyah. "I met Anakin when I was escorting Padme back to Naboo and the Clone Wars already started, you were already with the army," he didn't say anything to that, only watching her silently while she figured it out on her own. And she did. But it wasn't sadness she felt after. It wasn't anger, just exhaustion. She felt as if her shoulders weighed a ton when she leaned against the wall again. "I'm so stupid. I'm so, so, so stupid. He knew me before we met officially, didn't he?" she said and looked at Rex, but it wasn't a question, because she knew the answer. Her heart ached, but somehow, she was numbed to it, because she felt it so often. Laughing quietly, she shook her head. "Of course, he did. He always knew everything and always had a plan. I was just a part of it."
"No," Rex quickly stood up, putting the helmet resting on his lap next to him. "He just," Rex started, but paused before he found the right words. "wanted you to be safe with somebody he trusted."
"Yeah, right," Aaliyah smirked, but it was more of an angry grimace. Her stomach was in knots and the bile was slowly rising in her throat, making the bitter taste on her tongue ever so present. She thought about his blue eyes, his smile when he greeted her for the first time and squeezed her hand. How charming he was when he said his name and his smile almost blew her away.
This is your pilot, Anakin Skywalker.
She could hear the voice of captain Thypo, when he introduced them.
It's an honor. The name's Anakin Skywalker.
His voice was so smooth, so kind, so magical in that moment and she could hear it over and over again in her head as if he was standing right in front of her, smile present on his young, handsome face.
It was all a lie, she thought and before Rex could register it, Aaliyah was running across the room, almost ripping the door to the refresher of the hinges, dropping to her knees in front of the vac tube. The small portion she had for breakfast was out of her the second she made contact with the hard floor, surely leaving bruises. She cried, and she moaned from the pain in her stomach, tears were running down her cheeks and she was a mess, but it didn't stop Rex from reaching out and gently holding her hair, while she emptied her stomach. Somehow, his presence didn't help, but it wasn't unwelcomed either.
It was almost impossible to catch her breath and Aaliyah was sure she was just seconds from a heart attack. "Hey, don't do this to yourself," said Rex, and put his gloved hand on her neck drenched in sweat. The leather was nice and cool against her heated skin. "Take a deep breath in and out. Slowly."
"Wow, what a beauty, what a grace," Aaliyah's breath hitched in her throat when she heard the sarcastic, sharp, feminine voice coming from behind her, but she didn't turn around, too scared she will throw up again.
"Calista, stop it," Rex snapped in a hard voice, and Aaliyah noted that she never heard him speak like that. To anyone. Ever.
"What? Just an observation," she mumbled, and Aaliyah could hear her moving closer. The heels of her boots click-clacking on the floor. Before she knew it, Calista was crouching next to her, moving a strand of her dark hair from her face. "So, what's the problem now," Calista said, and the disgust was not only evident in her voice, but also her face, when she analysed Aaliyah's red, tearstained face and puffy eyes.
"None of your business," Aaliyah mumbled and wanted to bury her head right in the vac tube when she heard how small and weak her voice sounded. She shoved Calista's hand away from her, which made the curly-haired woman laugh.
"Feisty little thing," she said patronizingly, even though Aaliyah was sure Calista was way younger than her. However, her attitude seemed to think otherwise.
"Calista, leave before I make you," said Rex in a booming voice, and his hands never left Aaliyah, still holding her hair in one hand, the other resting reassuringly on her back. He could feel how much was the woman sitting on the floor shaking.
"Calm down, Rex. I'm here because the master wanted me to start training with her. Believe it or not, I'm not ecstatic about it either, but here I am," she commented and even though Aaliyah wasn't looking at her, she could hear the smile on her face. The pleasure she had when she saw Aaliyah in such a state on her knees. Literally on her knees.
"Does it look like she can train today? Leave, I will speak to Anakin," Rex was persistent but so was Calista, refusing to leave and not see the show she was so enjoying.
"Oh, our poor little, frail princess is not feeling good? Or is she just scared? Is she heartbroken again?" Calista was chuckling, mocking Aaliyah, which made her clench her fists, knuckles turning white.
"Anakin wouldn't like it, Calista. In case you don't want him to know, you better leave her alone," snapped Rex and watched Calista with hard eyes. He never really had a problem with her, but there was also no relationship between the two. The only thing they had in common was their loyalty to Anakin. However now, Rex was just seconds from taking the woman by her throat and pushing her out the door himself.
"Hmm," Calista smiled sweetly at the man in armour and then looked at Aaliyah who was still sitting without a single movement. Her body went even more rigid when Calista leaned over her and caressed her cheek with one finger. "Let me know when you grow up, so we can train, princess," laugh was at the tip of her tongue, but it never came, because Aaliyah's fist collided with the left side of her face. And now, only the shock was evident in the dark eyes of Calista, when she stumbled backwards, catching herself on the door frame. But Aaliyah was already standing, sending the girl backwards, right into her living quarters with a single, powerful shove to her chest.
"You want to train? Come train," Aaliyah got ready for Calista's next attack and as soon as she swallowed the shock, the two women were already fighting. This was not training; this was a real fight. Perhaps even fight for survival. Their movements were violent, guided by anger and hatred, frustration and heartbreak. It wasn't graceful, somebody would even say that women shouldn't behave like this. That they were like two animals trying to tear each other apart, but they didn't care. As intense as the fight was, it didn't last long, but both women were breathing harder than ever, trying to take down the other. Aaliyah's hand found the way to Calista's collar, catching her off guard and stealing the lightsabre from her belt with her free hand. Before the younger woman could recognize her movement, Aaliyah pushed Calista over her shoulder, throwing her right into the table near the wall. Calista went down with a grunt when the weight of her body broke the piece of furniture. However, she wanted to continue the fight, but Aaliyah was standing above her with a red lightsabre ignited near Calista's throat.
The fight was over.
Aaliyah won, but she didn't feel satisfied. She didn't feel better. Especially, when she saw a movement at the corner of her eyes and Anakin nonchalantly walked into the room with Rex right behind him. Rex had concern written all over his face and Aaliyah was sure that he went to call Anakin, whose face didn't tell much. His eyebrows were in a slight frown but other than that, there was no emotion on his face when he watched the absurd scene.
"When I said you are going to be training together, this is not what I had in mind," he said in a flat tone and Aaliyah scoffed, deactivating Calista's lightsabre, before she threw it at the girl. She turned around and walked over to her bed, sitting down without paying attention to the three other people in her room. "What happened?" asked Anakin and hoped, that somebody will answer him this time.
There was a commotion when Calista slowly got to her knees, her ego deflated, cheeks red either from the activity, she participated in or from embarrassment. "I'm sorry, my Lord. Forgive me," said Calista, but didn't give him an answer he was looking for. And what was she supposed to say? That just minutes ago, she was focused on killing the woman her Lord, her master loved? Or whatever feelings were between the two.
"Go, we will talk later," Anakin's tone didn't leave any room for resistance, so Calista quickly left the room, with Rex behind her. However, before he closed the door behind him, he looked at Aaliyah one last time. "You are bleeding," said Anakin after silence enveloped them. He was closer to her and before she could look at him, his fingers were moving over her lower lip, which was bust open after Calista's punch.
With anger still burning in her stomach, Aaliyah turned her head away from his reach. "Don't touch me."
She heard him sigh, but he didn't fight her on it. "Rex told me you got sick."
She laughed. It was cold and without any trace of humour. "Yes, sick of you," only now she looked at him and saw him tilting his head with a raised eyebrow to continue. "Everything is and was a lie, am I right? Everything with you is always a lie."
"What did I lie about?" he asked calmly, almost making Aaliyah act irrationally. She wanted to attack him just like she did with Calista, but she stayed still, sitting on her bed.
"What didn't you lie about?" she asked with a raised voice. "You already knew me before we first met, didn't you?"
If he was surprised, he didn't show it. His face didn't change whatsoever. "I did."
"How?" she asked quietly.
"I saw you," he started and looked down at the ground. For the first time, he looked as if he was just slightly nervous. But when he looked back into her eyes, his face was as calm and relax as ever. "on the streets of Coruscant. You were with that girl, with that Togruta."
Aaliyah was waiting for him to continue, but he was silently watching her. "And?"
"And nothing. I knew you were a Jedi. You were everything I hated," he said with borderline anger in his voice. "I thought the force must surely test me when I felt the attraction to you. From the very first moment, you were like a light and I was a mere fly who wanted to get closer, and it didn't matter if I burn in the process. And I hated you even more because I found myself seeking you out. Then I realized that seeing you wasn't enough anymore. I wanted you to know about me. So, I made sure you do," he finished and put both of his hands on the black belt around his waist. He waited and waited for her to speak, but she couldn't. She didn't know what to say.
Aaliyah's eyes were glossy, and her mouth hung open when she listened to him. She didn't find his confession romantic. "You manipulated me," she uttered in disbelief.
He frowned. "How? How did I manipulate you?" he asked, voice rising just slightly. He came to her and bent a little to be closer. "We met because I wanted to, so what? But I didn't manipulate you. I didn't make you fall in love with me. You did because that's how it's supposed to be. Because this was meant to be," with his hand he waved between them.
After his heated speech, Aaliyah was shocked again. There was too much going on inside her brain and she couldn't focus on a single thing for too long. She didn't know what to think, what to believe, because rightfully, her trust in Anakin was ruined a long time ago. She didn't react when he crouched down in front of her and took her face between his palms. "Listen to me. I know you're angry, but you can't say that I manipulated you. Maybe I manipulated the situation to make sure we meet face to face, but you can't blame me for that," his thumbs were gently caressing her cheeks. Her eyes were looking into the empty wall, but she was listening to every word. "I never lied about my intentions. About my feelings. About my love. Never. But I also couldn't come up to you just like that, let alone tell you who I really am," his face was closer to hers and his lips slowly pressed against the corner of her mouth. It was feather-like touch, light.
Aaliyah looked into his eyes but wasn't able to say much. Taking his wrists with her hands, she slowly pulled them away from her face.
"I want to be alone," she said quietly. "Please," she added when his face fell. Anakin looked like he wanted to argue but nodded at the end. Slowly standing up, his eyes never leaving her.
"I will send a medical droid to look at you," and with that, he swiftly left the room, leaving Aaliyah to crumble on her bed. Alone once more.
Sorry for the waiting. Let me know what you think and thank you for feedback on previous chapters.
Love you all!