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“Mommy?”
Mira turned her head toward the blue eyes on the stairs. Blue eyes that were wide with worry.
Her 5-year-old son held his favorite Loth-Cat plushie in his hands, clutched tightly into his body.
She motioned for him to come closer, and he did, padding over with soft footfalls.
She gently picked him up and placed him on her lap.
“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked, though she didn’t need the answer.
He nodded, a hand coming up to rub his eyes.
“What are you and Dad doing?” He questioned, looking up at her through his hair.
He needed a haircut she mused, running her hand through his dark blue locks.
“It’s nothing you need to worry about, okay?” She responded, looking into his eyes “Just know that we’re working to make your life better”
He scrutinized her then, as much as a 5-year-old could as if he somehow knew she was hiding something from him, but then shrugged it off, and nestled into her. A tiny yawn escaped him, indicating his tiredness.
Slowly, she moved his head into her lap and began massaging his head. She gently began scratching his head and rubbing circles on his scalp.
She reached over to the remote and dimmed the lights, hoping to get him to sleep.
In the faint light, his eyes began to droop, the tiredness starting to take over.
Her hands transpired onto the sides of his head, rubbing smooth circles gently coaxing him into relaxing, only stopping when he finally let out a soft snore and fell asleep.
Ephiram chose that moment to enter the main room by climbing up the ladder. She gently placed Ezra into his arms, placing a small kiss on Ephiram’s forehead.
“He’s getting bigger,” whispered Ephiram “Soon we won’t be able to carry him anymore”
He wasn’t talking about carrying him. No, what he talked about lay outside, in the footsteps of the stormtroopers marching down the street. It lay downstairs, in the small, hidden room that broadcasts messages.
“We have hope,” She whispered “And that’s all we need”.
And that was all, wasn’t it? Hope, hope for things to get better, hope that one day, the sun would rise upon a new free Lothal. Hope was all they ever had and ever needed.
For now, they tuck him in, whisper “I love you” and hope that they will always be there for him, whenever he needs it to be.
~~~~~~
Ezra didn’t need the Force to tell that his girlfriend was stressed.
She paced about, muttering about…something. He normally could comprehend her rambling but in his current, sleep-addled brain, it was lucky he could hear anything at all.
He squints at the Chrono near the bed. It reads 4:43 am.
…
Great.
He sits up, rubbing his eyes, hoping to wipe some of the sleep from them.
“Has anyone told you you have a horrible sense of time?” He asks, half joking, half annoyed. He finds his prosthetic on the floor and reaches to attach it to the stump on his thigh. He hisses slightly as the regular numbness is replaced by a slight jolt of pain.
She snaps to him, her glowing red eyes focused on his face, before turning away and uttering out a quiet “Sorry”, a lavender blush growing on her cheeks.
Sighing, he gets up and begins to walk toward her, grabbing her hand and tilting her chin toward him.
“Vah’nya, What is it?” He asks, his brow furrowed in concern.
“Nothing.” Her reply is sharp.
He moves his hand to his hips and raises an eyebrow. “Well its clearly worrying you, so talk”
He uses the force to reach through their bond, reading anxiety, worry, and tinge of anger.
She sighs a little, before grabbing his hand and motioning to the bed
“Let’s…sit”
Not what you had in mind earlier.
She raises an eyebrow and a side of her mouth quirks up, clearly having read it from his mind. He simply grins in response.
They sit down facing each other. Her mind is still clouded by worry, and her eyes seem a little bit dimmer than usual. He rubs his thumb against her cool skin, hoping to coax her thoughts out.
“The Admiralty is…hesitant at releasing me.”
The lack of bluntness in her tone is worrying, to say the least.
“When the time comes when you leave for your home, they might make it tough for me to follow.”
He sighs and looks away. This was what both of them have been dreading for a while, but secretly hoping would never come to fruition.
He turns and finds Vah’nya staring intently at her free hand, forehead scrunched in anxiety. He cups her chin in his free hand turning her head towards him so she can look him in the eye.
“Vah’nya” he begins “We have our own allies within the Admiralty. Ar’alani, Thrawn, and Eli. They have agreed to argue our case. Not to mention Patriarch Thrass has been putting effort into convincing the council.”
“But it may not be enough. The Alani has been strong in their position, not to mention, there are still those who disapprove of Thrawn, and by association, you. Ezra, your--”
He silences her by putting a finger on her lips.
“Trust the Force, Vah’nya. After all, it brought me, it will do what is best for us. We only need to trust it.”
Her eyebrows furrow, as it usually does whenever he mentions the Force. Still, he can feel her anxiety and worry start to lessen, but not completely.
A memory comes up in his mind. Late nights with his mother, her hands running through his hair…
He gently grabs her head and coaxes her to lie down on his lap. She stiffens slightly, eyebrow raised.
“Trust me.” He says, and she lays down completely.
He begins the massaging motions. Running his finger through her hair, and soft scratches on the top. Alternating between rubbing circles on the scalp and sides. Slowly but surely, the anxiety and tension beings to loosen, and her mind is in a much more relaxed state.
He chooses the moment to slow down just a little bit, tracing the cartilage on her face with one of his hands.
When a soft rumble begins to fill up the room, emanating from Vah’nya’s chest. Ezra lets out a small smile. He remembers how odd it was to see what initially seemed to be a cold, unfeeling species purring like a Loth-Cat.
Now he is glad, for it means she feels safe, comforted, and satisfied.
He is able to tell she is about to fall asleep, with her eyelids slowly beginning to droop. Her purring slowly begins to subside, being replaced with breathy snores.
Sleepiness beings to try and overtake him too, and the hand motions finally come to a complete still.
“Ch'ah ch'acah vah” Vah’nya whispers, just before he is about to fall asleep. Her mouth is quirked up in a smile.
Ezra presses a kiss to her forehead and whispers four words of his own before he finally lets exhaustion find him.
“I love you, too.”