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You can feel it in your bones.
The chaos that has been unleashed upon the galaxy, the pain and sorrow inside every living thing. The desperation, the fear. You can feel everything inside you in the same way you can almost taste the blood in the air.
The blood of innocents.
And it's their fault, not yours.
Sitting at the top of a cliff in Mustafar, you contemplate the scenery with the disturbing serenity of someone who has finally realized that their life has been a lie. You think about the way they took you away from your family back when you weren’t even old enough to remember them. You think about how they lectured you into thinking that feeling something more than desire to help others was wrong. Your mind fills up with the memories of the Masters telling you that you’re too emotional, too stubborn, that swimming against the current isn’t good for you and for others. Always holding your true self back, so you could be the perfect Jedi for them and everybody else, but never for yourself.
And a sudden wave of pure anger hits you when you accept in your heart that you have dedicated your entire life to people who don’t even care about you.
All this time they only cared about your abilities, about what you had to offer to the Order, but never about you. Your feelings and how hard it was for you to control them wasn’t, apparently, a reason good enough for them to just stop for a second and look at you, at your needs, your insecurities, your pain.
The Jedi have never been your family. But he is.
Your gaze is fixed on something distant when the sound of his boots against the floor brings you back to reality. He stays there, standing by your side for a long moment. The bottom of his robes swinging with the hot air and softly brushing against your arm.
"He's going to come." You say, and your voice sounds too calm, too distant. "He's looking for you."
"He's looking for us." Anakin corrects you. "Obi-Wan will try to stop us."
There's great conflict within you, that is not a secret for neither of you. Your feelings mutate from one minute to the other, and even though your hate towards the Jedi Order has grown in the last few weeks, you don't want to hurt people. At least not yet.
That's why it pisses you off when he says 'us', because you aren't ready to accept that the fulfillment of your destiny is just a matter of time. Soon enough you will be just like him.
Still, you fight against it, against the darkness.
"Us? I'm not the one who swore obedience to a Sith Lord and killed children."
If you were someone else, he would've killed you the moment you finished saying those words. But Anakin knows that both sides of the Force are fighting inside you, and he also knows which one is going to win. So he waits for a moment before asking you to stand up and go to him, and as he expected, you comply without hesitation.
When you're standing right in front of him, you allow yourself to look at him in the eyes for the first time in what it seems like a long time.
He looks different. Maybe it's the bags under his eyes or the madness that glows inside them; maybe it's the feelings of anger and desire of destruction that flow through his Force signature, making him look a little different from the Anakin you love. But what scares you, what really makes you feel uneasy, is the realisation that you are willing to love this Anakin as well.
"The Jedi have taken everything from you." He says, and his voice when he talks to you is still as soft as ever. "I'm offering you a new life, (y/n). Together, we can build our new empire. No one will be strong enough to stop us."
If he said this to you three months ago, you would've called him crazy, you would've done everything in your power to try and bring him back to the light. But your own path has led you to the same place where he stands now, and you realise that there’s nothing else but Anakin. There’s no coming back to the light, because you won’t find him there.
It's like your entire life flashes in front of your eyes. You can see yourself meeting him when you were little children, you see the smiles and the glances he used to give you when you were old enough to understand that you were falling for each other. You remember the day he told you he couldn't live without you, and also the first night you spent together. The hundreds of moments you shared are still in your mind, as well as the loving, good man he was. He's intertwined with the person you used to be.
The man in front of you is not the same, but his gaze holds the promise of a new kind of love, a new life, a new you. More powerful, without pain, without guilt, without limits.
His hand is on your cheek, caressing your skin with his thumb. He's looking at you with those eyes full of adoration and desire, making you feel weak. How could you say no to the only person who matters in the entire universe?
"I don't want to rule an empire." You whisper the moment he comes closer to you, looking for a kiss. "I just want a real home, Ani."
His gaze travels from your lips to your eyes in a matter of seconds. Something shines behind those blue orbs, and you immediately know that is some sort of twisted joy, because he knows what you're about to do.
Still, you need the last little push. So, with his voice full of all the love he feels for you, Anakin speaks.
"My love, I am your home."
And the way you kiss him in response is enough to assure him that he's leaving this planet with you by his side.