Knights and Eros Bound
Chapter 9
Anakin made his way to the meeting place with a lighter step than he had had in ages. Not even that that unwelcome and unexpected interruption by visit from Captain TyphooTypho had dampened his sprits. Thank the stars Dormé had the presence of mind to refrain from giving him away in a fit of laughter, but Gods knew he would hear it from Padmé upon his return… iIf he returned…
Anakin chased the thought away. This was a simple rescue and retrieval mission (although he knew differently in his heart),, [and] his companions were among the most skilled young Jedi (barring Master Obi-Wan) in the temple. They would all come home safely, even Gris…
When he arrived at the landing platform, Schurke and Kampher were already waiting for him. Both were sending waves of comforting welcome through the Force.
Schurke raised a hand in greeting, a grin on his face.
"Ahhh Anakin… or perhaps you are a clone of our dearest friend? The Anakin Skywalker we know usually radiates [brooding] throughout the entire core sector. The Force signature of someone who's spent time enjoying himself with…" Here he paused and raised an eyebrow.
Anakin shot him a look, cold as steel. "Kam… Schurke…"
"Much better! For a moment there, I thought we might have lost you!" Schurke laughed, and the tension between them vanished as quickly as it had risen.
Kampher took Anakin in her arms in a welcoming embrace, and she too widened her eyes. As she pulled away, she looked at Anakin questioningly.
"Anakin Skywalker…"
Anakin blushed, but remained stoic.
"You don't have to tell us now…" Schurke laughed, "But it's coming off your Fforce signature in waves…" he gave Anakin's robe a gentle tug. "Come on… we have a transport to catch…"
"Does Obi-wan know?" asked Kampher softly, stopping them both for a moment.
Anakin sighed, resigned.
"Oh of course not!" Schurke giggled. "If he did, you know he'd be… 'Vvery grumpy' right?" He took the arms of his comrades. "Come on then!" he said gleefully. "It'll give us something to talk about to pass the time! We'll get our good friend here drunk, and let him extol the virtues of Jedi lovemaking and secret illicit affairs…"
"It's not like that!" Anakin said hotly, still allowing himself to be pulled along. "It's more than that…" he added softly.
"We know, Anakin…" Kampher replied, whispering in his ear. "It's love… real and true…"
Anakin halted mid step, nearly causing his companions to fall down on to the duracreat. "You do?" he asked, incredulous. "And you don't… you don't mind?"
Schurke brushed Anakin's cheek softly with the back of his hand. "Why should we mind[,] dearest friend? For the first time in many, many months, you seem truly happy. The Order is wrong about many things… love the chief among them…"
Kampher nodded in agreement, but began pulling on her companions once again. "Come on! Our transport will take us to Carratos; from there we can hire a privet vessel to Ord Mantell. We can talk about it then…"
Feeling as if a massive weight had been rolled off of his shoulders, Anakin picked up his pace, laughing as his two friends struggled amiably to keep up with his long strides. He felt truly glad to be among them…