It has been two years since Ben first appeared in this time. He has quickly shed his mantle as a Jedi, realizing that he would not fit in with the Jedi of this era. His penchant for attachment would cause him to just be expelled from the Order, if he could even be accepted in the first place. Yet he could not forgo his desire to help others.
With the help of Rostek, Ben had managed to have an identity created for him, and joined the Corellian Security Force. Tomorrow he is getting his new partner, a fresh recruit right out of the academy, and someone who happens to be his best friend, Valin, or Hal Horn as he calls himself anymore.
Ben thinks back to what has occurred over the two years, the information he has found out about the Clone Wars and Jysella's family, things that she still did not know, and probably never would. Silently he wonders if he'll ever be able to tell her, even while knowing the truth is that he probably won't ever be able to.
As much as it pains him to admit it, he's gotten over Jysella, resided himself to the fact that he will never be able to get home. He is moving on with his life.
And he thinks that Syal Senthe is and will continue to be a part of that moving on. He glances at her sitting beside him in the speeder and gives her a quick smile which she returns. For her part, she loves the speed and recklessness with which Ben drives; the sharp turns, the sudden acceleration and deceleration. It calls to her, to a fundamental part of her which wants to run and fight, to live life fast and hard.
The part of her that draws her to Ben.
Landing the speeder in front of the restaurant, he quickly jumps out and rushes to open her door, escorting her into where they're having this their latest date. He smiles at her, as they walk into the restaurant arm-in-arm, making inconsequential small talk.
But deep down Ben is still worried; the last time that he was this happy he was thrown back in time to here. In the back of his mind he wonders just what will happen to ruin his happiness this time.
After the meal they are served a small desert, and Ben watches Syal over it. Admiring everything about her, for a second a frown flits over his face, as he realizes that he hasn't compared her to Jysella in months, but that thought is quickly expelled. He realizes and accepts that Jysella is his past, and he returns to watching her with just a ghost of a smile on his lips. She notices his stare. "What?"
"Just watching." A blush starts to color her cheeks, as he continues speaking. "You know, you've made me happier than I can ever remember being."
She quirks an eyebrow. "Is this why you brought me here today? To tell me how happy I make you?" She smirks and glances around at the restaurant. "Rather expensive place to do so, something like that could be said sitting in the parlor at home."
Ben looks down at the confection in front of him. He is suddenly self-conscious, unsure if he's doing the right thing. He remembers the lecture that he gave to them all the night before Nejaa went away, about not allowing his presence to change things. The rule about not doing things differently because of what he told them.
It figures that he would be the one unable to listen to that rule.
He looks up and sees the slight amusement in her eyes. "No, or at least not just that."
"Oh? And tell me Ben; just what did you bring me here to tell me?"
"Did I ever tell you how many parents met and ended up getting married?"
Syal leans back in her chair, somewhat startled by his change of topic. "No."
He smiles at her. "Well it's a really interesting story; remind me to tell you someday." And then he laughs.
She frowns slightly and throws her napkin at him. "You're teasing me!"
"Oh, I'd be much to terrified to tease you, milady."
The look she shoots him is one of pure disbelief, as if she's stunned he could say such a thing with a straight face.
He laughs lightly and then once more takes to studying the confection in front of him. He is startled by her voice as she speaks again. "It tastes better than it looks."
He looks up, and starts to blush. She smiles at him. "Ben, why not just tell me what you brought me here to say?"
He sighs, and starts fiddling with the small box in his pocket. Finally he locks gazes with her. "Do you remember when I arrived; I said that you all should behave as if I had never appeared in the timeline?"
She silently nods her head.
Pulling the box out of his pocket, he sets it on the table next to her desert plate. Her eyes follow his hand, and as he pulls back, they stay locked on the small box. "Well I broke my own rule. I've fallen in love with you, and want you to marry me."
Her eyes dart up to him at that, a smile beginning to break out on her face, as he slides from his chair, to kneel beside her. Taking her hand in his, he formalizes his request. "Syal Senthe, will you be my wife?"
Unknown to both of these two, across town, a similar event is playing out, as Hal proposes to Nyche. He is hoping to make the day he graduates from CorSec academy the happiest of his life, by asking for her hand.
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The first news stories about "The Hero Without Fear" and "The Negotiator" begin to circulate, spreading from Coruscant's media machine, throughout the Core, Colony and Expansion regions. Posters and action figures are adorned with their likeness, and the populations of the Republic have some new heroes to give their love to. News reports from the Office of the Supreme Chancellor tell stories of the exploits of Skywalker and Kenobi, Anakin and Obi-wan.
They are hailed as the scourge of the Separatists, and their exploits quickly become playground fodder, and tales told in break areas at jobs and schools. Sympathizers of the Republic look up on the two with awe and love. Separatists look upon the pair with fear and loathing. Only Ben Skywalker and those around him know the truth; that both points of views are correct and wrong, that one should be loved and the other feared.