Nothing of much note occurred over the next three or four days. Mel finally got over being mad at Obi-wan, once she'd realized that it never went anywhere. Katie had perfected the art of slipping out of the room at night to meet with Anakin, and as far as she knew no one suspected a thing. It was exhilarating; she had to admit, having a secret. Though she desperately longed to tell her friend, she resisted, knowing that Mel would never, ever approve. It made her feel a bit guilty, when she thought about it, so she tried not to. There was nothing to gain from empty wishes.

It was late afternoon, and Katie had finally gotten away from the insufferable saber lessons. Obi-wan had seemed to be in a permanent, manic happy mood and it was as scary as it was infuriating. She was on her way to the 'personal force lessons', which had managed to avoid becoming a massive make-out session.

So she was waiting at the door, when she realized that it was partially open. Unsure of what to do (after all, one never barged into a Master's room) she wavered for a moment before peeking in. Later, she would come to regret this, but for now she was squinting through the darkness trying to make out forms.

She couldn't see Anakin's face as he seemed to have his back to the door, but he appeared to be talking to someone. This someone turned out to be the skinny, pale, owlish Mujab, who was looking nothing less than alarmed.

As she watched, Anakin extended a hand and curled it into a casual fist, as Mujab collapsed on his knees clutching at his throat. "P-P-Please-I-I… I'm sorry…" The man gasped, fighting to breathe.

"You have failed me one to many times, Mujab." The Sith's voice was cold and emotionless. "You know the rules."

Mujab tried to gasp out another plea for mercy but could not. His pasty paleness was slowly turning blue, and his eyes were beginning to pop out of his head. He suffered like this for several more long moments, before his head involuntarily wrenched halfway round, snapping his neck and killing him.

Katie could not help giving a small, cornered-animal sort of squeak. Vader whirled around at the noise, but only caught a glimpse of a cloak as she fled. Rushing out into the hall he tried to catch up with her, but she'd already gone. Cursing his bad luck he went back into his dark, glaring at the crumpled body.

Giving it a vindictive kick, he threw himself in a chair to brood. That had been exceptionally brilliant timing on her part, though regrettable. But when she said she loved him, hadn't she understood who he was? Or had she simply known, but not really known until she'd actually seen him kill? One did not become Darth Vader without sacrificing the lesser lives of others, something that should be obvious. He sighed bitterly. Four days. That had to be some sort of record for ruining a relationship.

- - -

Katie closed the door to her room behind her, panting. She'd run, not wanting to actually face him until she'd had time to think things over. Thankfully Mel wasn't there, or it would have been extremely awkward. "So, Katie, wussup? You look paler than usual." "Nothing. Nothing at all. I just found out the man I love is a murderer." "Really? Who?" "Oh, no one. Just a Sith Lord. You know, Darth Vader?"

- - -

Katie found it ridiculously easy to avoid him for the next few days. Except for when it was absolutely necessary, she wandered the halls instead of meeting for a lesson. He was obviously letting her do this, as it would have been all too easy to seek her out or make her show up.

But she had resolved nothing, until the epiphany. It was not a bolt from the sky, so much as a realization that she was being an idiot. Nor was it caused from a falling apple, metaphorical or otherwise. Ironically, it was inspired by Obi-wan.

They were discussing a highly effective Empire take-over of a planet when she spaced out. This was not unusual, as she tended to tune out Obi-wan's voice when it wasn't directed at her. This also tended to annoy him, which was again his usual state of being.

"And who do you think ordered the planet-wide destruction? Including that of innocents?" Obi-wan snapped his fingers in front of her face, calling her to attention.

"The Emperor?" She guessed, trying to pretend that she had been paying attention.

He paused for a second, before regaining his air of school-masterly displeasure. "No. Had you been listening, you would know. The answer is our very own Darth Vader. Now, do you know why?"

She blinked at him. That was answer enough, because obviously, she didn't know.

"Was it because it was a Resistance-controlled planet? No. Was it even remotely useful to the Resistance? No. I'll quote from the official elimination papers 'for personal insult'. Nearly a billion innocent lives lost, an entire planet blown up, for personal insult." He seemed to be really getting into this, enjoying a chance to rant against his superior and pass it off as a lesson.

And, unsurprisingly, Katie had stopped listening again. But this time she was actually thinking, instead of just zoning out. The incident in question had been at least a year ago, the bits of planet no more than dust in the wind by now. He's been killing for years now…

How absurd was she, to flip out over something as simple as one? The man had screwed up rather badly too, and while death is extreme it was a precedent. She'd already declared love while knowing that he had caused death. So it was more than hypocritical, then, to change her mind after such a relatively small incident? The last few days had been torture, lonely torture, as she couldn't explain to anyone why she felt what she did. There was a line she'd found somewhere, as cliché as it undoubtedly was that fit her situation perfectly. I forgave you the moment I set eyes on you…

The rest of the hour was little more than a multi-colored blur. As soon has they were let out, she set off to find him. That shouldn't be that hard but… there was a small, nagging little voice in the back of her head. Great job of being strong, Katie. Running right back into his arms. He kills in cold blood, and you don't care. Bit of a shock, but you were only really afraid for yourself, weren't you? But just as long as you'll be safe, it's fine with you! Why don't you just stop pretending? The Dark Side's just where you belong. You never wanted a knight in shining armor, much to clean and good for you. No, you wanted a shot in the dark, someone you can fear as much as you love… Katie quashed it, or tried to. Some of it sounded alarmingly like what she thought Mel would have to say to her about this sorry love affair, the rest like normal self-deprecating mind babble.

So what if she was being pathetic? She loved him, or thought she did. Wasn't that enough? She'd been happy. Was this why girls went back into abusive relationships? Or why serial killers had girlfriends? She didn't want to care, but she did, and it was horrible. How stupid was she being, diving off the point of no return headfirst? It would be so much easier if he hadn't let her have a choice, but he had. And why did it all matter anyway? Its not like she actually knew what love was.

Her musings were interrupted by none other than the devil himself ('speak of the devil…'). He looked rather surprised, as she was leaning against a wall, eyes glazed and holding her head in one hand. Looking up, her eyes met his. Feeling her heart do a flip and fly to her throat, she realized how very futile even thinking about saying no had been.

Not quite throwing herself at him se flung her arms about his neck, burying her face in his chest. "I love you," She murmured, voice muffled by the cloth.

He blinked. He was not caught off guard often, but he'd expected something far more melodramatic. He'd also never imagined her forgiving him so… suddenly. Or at all, for that matter. He'd resigned himself to gradually forgetting the potential happiness, and receding back into himself. But that was all just a distant dream, as here she was… back in his arms. "I love you too."

"I've been such an idiot." More of a shock. She was the one apologizing, and sounded like she meant it dearly. "I… I overreacted, and… I'm sorry." It seemed right to her, but deep inside the nasty little voice of doubt saw it as yet another example of her weakness. She drew apart a fraction, looking up at him questioningly.

He leaned in, giving her what she wanted. The forgiveness was unspoken but mutual, the afterglow settling into a nice warm buzz.

Anakin had to suppress a sudden feeling of triumph. It was completely out of place, and more than a little selfish. She loved him, and it was in spite of the fact that she knew he was Sith, and that she'd seen him kill in cold blood. But that other woman… no, she'd gone as far to renounce vows in light of the change. No longer need he mourn for her, however deep his remorse.

Now he had someone who actually appreciated him, who could overlook that. Besides, if she'd forgiven him so easily, it should be easy to turn her to his side. That would be a glorious day, and mark the final downfall of the pesky Resistance. One of the main reasons love was denied the Jedi was the creation of dynasties, or feuding families. The Force often ran in bloodlines, though there had never been children with both parents gifted. There had also never been a female Sith, as there were precious few female Jedi in the first place.

Now how would Obi-wan like that?