Aeris inhaled sharply when he interrupted her, telling her he didn’t care. She felt tears continue to trickle down her cheeks, even though she felt some happiness in knowing that he was glad to see her. He took a few steps closer, reaching for her hand before Jax appeared, disturbing the moment. He didn’t stay long, though, just long enough to mess up her hair and let Jek know he was leaving before he did just that, taking her speeder as she had told him to and heading off, leaving them alone once more.<br/><br/>She looked up at him when he took another step towards her, finally taking her hand. She squeezed his hand when she felt its warmth in her hand. She took a slow, unsteady breath as his fingers ran through her hair before finding her cheek, his warm eyes staring into the deep emerald of her own until she closed them, unconsciously leaning ever so slightly into his touch. “I missed you too,” she almost whispered the words back to him. She could feel everything he felt, just as he would feel everything she felt.<br/><br/>Unlike the others, who she could still mostly shut out despite their bonds, she had never been able to hide anything from him, no matter how hard she had tried. It wasn’t like with any other person where technique or strength in the Force mattered when trying to read someone or to block them out. It wasn’t about wills. She guessed it was simply the nature of their bond. She could prevent herself from broadcasting her emotions to him as they passed by one another in the temple, but standing here, it was useless. Not that she was trying.<br/><br/>She felt some measure of peace when he told her that this was where they were meant to be, his thumb brushing the tears from her cheeks gently before he hugged her. She held him tightly, as though she feared that he might disappear if she let him go. She could feel that he had wanted to kiss her. If she were being honest—which she was, because she had no real choice in the matter—she had wanted him to, and she couldn’t help the mild disappointment she had felt when he hadn’t. Of course, she was still content to just be in his arms, and after a moment she loosened her grip on him, so as not to suffocate him, and relaxed into the hug, although she had no desire to let go quite yet.<br/><br/>She could feel the same calm from him that she’d always felt and she felt at peace for the first time in so many years. For the first time since she’d left the Jedi, she didn’t feel restless. She didn’t want to run or crawl out of her own skin. For the first time in a long time, she didn’t even want to move. She didn’t know how long they stayed that way before he moved, turning to lead her towards the cantina, one arm still around her as he did.<br/><br/>Normally, she wasn’t terribly fond of cantinas, even now. She could block out the emotions and thoughts around her now, but it wasn’t as though that were an effortless task. It required her to put up a mental barrier using the Force, and to maintain it. If she wished to block out all but one, she had to maintain it while leaving one ‘path’ open for that specific individual. Of course, in this case, leaving herself open to him was the easy part, as she could block out the rest of the world and he would still remain. It was fitting, she thought.<br/><br/>She wondered then if he had ever seen the restless side of her, itching to run, squirming in the presence of an overwhelming situation. Perhaps he had when they were children. Unlike Jek and An-Lok who had been with the Jedi since they were babies, she and Jax had been small children when the Jedi had found them. He had come first, when he was about three years old, and she had been nearly five. She recalled how overwhelming it had been when she’d first arrived on Coruscant. There were so many people… So many emotions. The temple had been a little better, as the Jedi in general promoted peace, calm, and did not approve of strong emotions. Still, some were better than others at this, and among the children, many still had little control, even those who had been with the Jedi since birth. He had been different, though.<br/><br/>She recalled one day not long after she had arrived when she been overwhelmed, and her head was pounding. She was pretty sure she had lost control and unleashed a Force blast that had broken some of the training equipment, or it had at least made a mess of the training room. She had stood there alone in the middle of the room while many of the other children were huddled in the corner. She could feel their fear. But he hadn’t been afraid. He’d taken her hand and told her it was okay and she had believed him. She had felt at peace, probably for the first time, and her headache had disappeared. After that, the others had joined them, no longer feeling threatened. That was the last time she had felt that overwhelmed. She had forgotten about that day, all this time.<br/><br/>That was right. If he was there, she would be fine, even in a place like this. With that thought, she allow him to lead her towards the cantina, where they found a table near the corner of the room where it was less crowded. She ordered a couple of drinks, deciding to get him something lighter that what she tended to drink, before ordering some food. It had been a while since she had eaten, so she was rather hungry. And she could use a drink. She was happy to see him again, and she felt calmer than she had in a long time, but everything that had happened in the last few days, it was a lot to take in. And on top of that, she realized that she had no idea what to even say to him after all this time. Yep. She needed that drink.<br/><br/>She was quiet as they waited for the food, fidgeting beneath the table. She suddenly felt like a teenager on their first date, on top of all of the other feelings that continued to swirl around inside. That was silly. Jedi didn’t even have dates. She wasn’t a Jedi anymore but… She glanced up at him for a moment just before the server returned to set their drinks on the table.<span style="font-style: italic">This is stupid,</span>she told herself. It wasn’t like it was actually a date, Jedi or not. And at any rate, they had once been so close, so how was it that she could think of nothing to say to him?<br/><br/>If she thought about it, though, that wasn’t really the issue, was it? It wasn’t that she had nothing to say, but she had so much she wanted to say that she didn’t even know where to begin. She sighed a little to herself and took a large sip of the liquid before finally speaking up, deciding to stay with the most obvious, and probably least invasive question on the list. “So, what are you two doing here, anyways?” she wondered, tilting her head a bit, almost like a curious puppy.<br/><br/>-----<br/><br/>Jax was rather surprised when An seemed to wake up, yet she didn’t respond to his presence at all. He knew that she had felt his presence, he had felt that much, but he soon realized that the reason she had no reaction was because she hadn’t realized that it was him. She must have thought it was Aeris, he guessed. He didn’t dare to correct her, though, instead staying still where he was. For now, he was content just to be near her, whether or not she realized that he was.<br/><br/>She soon declared that the soldiers were idiots, slowly sitting up but not looking his way initially as she told them that they didn’t have time for [i]this]/i], ordering them to take her back to the planet, opening her eyes and glaring at them. It was only when she moved to get up that her eyes fell on him, finally registering his presence. Her eyes were still the same amber they had always been, yet the color somehow felt cool, almost cold, where once it had been warm enough to fill him with warmth on even the coldest days. He stood when she did, facing her as the realization washed over her.<br/><br/>Her reaction was… Not what he had been hoping for. He didn’t need empathy or even their bond to feel the emotions coming off of her. He saw the tears that formed in the corners of her eyes as she pointed at him, repeatedly denying his existence, which hurt perhaps more than it should have. She tried to reason with herself, going on about hitting her head, a spanner, and children before instead deciding that she must still be asleep.<br/><br/>He didn’t say anything as she muttered to herself, he only stood there, waiting. After a few moments, she closed the distance between them, her hand reaching out, he guessed to try to prove to herself that he was nothing more than a figment of her imagination. But instead, her fingers found his cheeks, and his own hand moved to cover hers. “You’re not dreaming, An,” he finally spoke, his voice deep, warm, and gentle as he squeezed her hand, his sea blue eyes staring into the familiar amber eyes of the woman he had thought he’d never see again.<br/><br/>His hand trembled slightly as he moved to touch her cheek, brushing away tears that he had caused. She was beautiful, even more so than he remembered, with or without the faint grey near her eyes. His gaze wavered as he searched her eyes, only hesitating a moment before he took a step towards her, easily closing the short distance that separated them. As he did this, his free arm slipped around her waist, pulling her closer to him as he leaned down and kissed her, harder than he meant to, conveying pain, longing, and so many things he didn’t know how to put into words. He easily lifted her off the ground slightly as he kissed her deeply, his hand moving from her cheek to tangle lightly in her hair. He wasn’t ready to let go, but if he felt that she wanted him to, he would honor her wishes.<br/><br/>Some part of him was afraid she would reject him, but this time, he wouldn’t miss his chance to act because he hesitated or because he was afraid. That night, he had embraced her, but despite wanting to kiss her, he had been afraid, and he had let the moment pass him by. He had always regretted that. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice. Besides, he didn’t think that he was the best with words, so he let his actions speak for him.<br/><br/>He slowly set her back down, pulling away slightly, loosening his arm around her so that she could pull away if she wished, placing his forehead against hers breathing more heavily than he did after a sparring match, “I’m sorry it took me so long,” he said, taking a deep breath, trying to calm the pounding of his heart as his hand move back to her cheek, caressing it tenderly for a moment before leaning in to pull her into an embrace that was strong, as if to tell her that she was safe and that he didn't want to let her go, but also gentle, as though was the most precious thing in the universe and he didn’t want to hurt her. He leaned over, resting his head on top of hers, “Please don’t run,” he whispered, his voice gentle and filled with pain and heartbreak, “I can’t lose you again.”