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Master Vesemir had been disapproving of the amount of time Leo had spent speaking with Aiden since the Sith had been brought back to the Temple, but he had not yet forbid Leo from visiting while Aiden was still under heavy supervision by the Temple Guard. In turn, Leo did his best to prove to his Master that Aiden was not a corrupting influence by continuing to apply himself in his studies and devoting himself to his various duties around the Temple.
Even so, he took time at least once every week to seek out Aiden, usually in the gardens where the Temple Guard would stand within sight, but a respectful distance away so that they could talk without an obtrusive presence hovering over their shoulders.
“You work so hard, little Padawan,” Aiden chuckled, spotting the datapad Leo carried with him. “More homework?”
Leo shrugged. “There is always learning to be done,” he replied, settling down on the grass beside the Sith to enjoy the serenity of the gardens.
“Indeed,” Aiden agreed with a smile. “You do well to continue to expand your mind. Understanding the galaxy is key to achieving your goals; you cannot win a battle if you do not know your enemy.”
Leo shook his head, amused in spite of himself at the way Aiden always seemed able to bring things back to violence and destruction somehow.
“I’m actually reading up on the history of Nautolan art,” he explained. “It is important to expose ourselves to cultures outside of our own in order to ensure our minds are never closed to new thoughts and ideas.”
"Art?" Aiden’s brow ridge lifted in surprise, and Leo let out an amused rumble. "What could art history possibly tell you that is relevant to the present moment?"
"Everything, if you know how to read it," Leo assured him. "What is preserved in art speaks to what is important to a culture, and art displays a community's evolution over time."
They sat in silence for a long moment, Aiden mulling over Leo's words while Leo considered a thought that had occurred to him.
"I suppose that makes sense," Aiden allowed, inclining his head in acceptance.
"What does Sith art depict?" Leo asked, picking a blade of grass out of his fur.
Again, Aiden appeared surprised, and again he turned contemplative as he thought deeply about the question.
"Ourselves, mostly," he finally confessed. "Which I suppose rather proves your point. We're a vain, self obsessed, power hungry people, and so our art is massive statues of ourselves, or giant temples filled with goods we have stolen from our enemies. We depict wealth and power, because that is what we crave."
It seemed rather sad, in Leo's mind, to live a life so obsessed with power that it overtook every other desire.
"Well, I'd say you've won this round, little Padawan," Aiden said with a chuckle. "I concede; art history is a most useful subject. Now, tell me what you're learning of Nautolan art."
Leo spent the afternoon relaying all he knew, and then reading entire passages from his datapad once his own knowledge was exhausted, until it was time for latemeal.
Master Vesemir frowned when Leo joined him in the refectory, but said nothing about his Padawan's long absence.
"Lambert has not visited since our arrival here," Aiden said one morning, shaking Leo from his meditation.
They'd been sitting in total silence in the gardens again, and Leo had assumed that the Sith had been meditating too, though he now wondered if Sith meditation looked anything like Jedi meditation at all.
"He's been sent out to act on the information that you gave him," Leo explained, shrugging. "Master Erland knows that Lambert is one of the best Shadows the Order has seen in generations; if anyone can undermine the Empire's plans, it's him."
Aiden’s shoulders drooped a fraction of an inch, though Leo could not tell if it was relief or dejection.
"I… I understand that I may have caused some… concerns about his commitment to your Order," Aiden said. "I have tried to assure Master Erland that, despite my original intentions, Lambert has not allowed me to corrupt him, but Master Erland will not speak with me about Lambert, or the friendship that arose between us."
Leo truly didn't know what to say to that. He was just a Padawan, and he too had been afraid that Lambert would be punished in some way for bringing Aiden to the Temple.
"You don't want him to be in trouble because of you," Leo surmised. "I don't think he's in trouble. Not really, anyway. I think Master Erland, and the Council, and especially Master Vesemir, are frustrated with Lambert, because he keeps things to himself that they think he ought to share, and because he sometimes acts before he thinks, but they know that he's a good man, and he does what he believes to be the right thing whenever he can, and that is all any of us can do."
Aiden gave him a small smile, shaking his head. "You are very insightful, for someone so young. Are all Jedi younglings taught to think so deeply, or does it just come naturally to you?"
His words might have sounded mocking, were it not for his warm tone, and Leo grinned.
"Guess I'm just special," he teased.
"Truly, you are a marvel," Aiden agreed. He was quiet for a moment before speaking again, becoming sombre once more. "On Dromund Kaas, or Korriban, keeping secrets is expected, but to be caught making alliances with a Jedi… Were Lambert a Sith, and the Dark Council had discovered him rescuing a Jedi and bringing them into the heart of the Empire, a painful death would be the kindest end he would find. I am… baffled by this place, and most of all by the fact that I have been allowed to roam freely, save for my ever silent escort." He gestured vaguely toward the Guard stationed nearby, watching over them.
Leo tugged on his Padawan braid as he considered how best to respond.
"Lambert is known to be an excellent judge of character," he declared after a long moment. "If Lambert trusts you, then most would agree that you are worth at the very least considering. Lambert claims to trust you with his life, and so anyone who knows Lambert is willing to take it on faith that you are to be trusted. If they didn't trust Lambert’s assessment of your character, I would not be allowed to come speak with you, especially not this often."
Aiden frowned, the ridges of his brow furrowing as he thought over what Leo had said.
"Trust is… difficult to earn, among the Sith," Aiden said, eyes fixed on his hands resting in his lap. "I'm afraid I cannot yet trust any here but Lambert… and you."
Leo let out a pleased rumble at hearing Aiden’s confession of trust.
"I hope that, in time, you will see that the Council can also be trusted," he said, placing a clawed hand on Aiden’s shoulder.
Leo knocked incessantly at Aiden’s door a little before dawn, grinning at the Guard posted in the hallway.
"Will you cease that infernal racket?" Aiden snarled as the door slid open. "What is the matter?"
He had a fist clenched at his left side, as though wishing for the weight of a lightsaber there, and Leo considered that perhaps waking a man raised amongst backstabbing and betrayal in such a jarring manner was not the wisest nor kindest approach.
"Apologies, Aiden, I'm just excited," he explained, ducking his head in contrition. "Lambert commed to say that he would be arriving just after dawn, and Master Erland says I can take you to the hangar to wait for him."
Aiden blinked at him, and his fingers uncurled from the fist they'd been drawn into.
"That's… very good news, thank you," he said slowly, shoulders relaxing as the tension drained from him. "If you'll give me a moment to change into something more appropriate, I will be with you shortly."
Leo didn't see anything wrong with Aiden heading to the hangar in the sleep pants and tunic he was already wearing, but the less furry species often seemed overly concerned with which clothes were allowed at certain times.
When Aiden reemerged, he was wearing the clothes he'd worn back on Nar Shaddaa, only without the armour and cloak covering them. They were freshly cleaned, and the damage they'd sustained in the fight had been patched up so that they looked new again. Well made and perfectly tailored to Aiden’s form, they reminded Leo that Aiden was a Sith from an old and powerful family. He likely had wealth to rival small planets.
Leo felt suddenly very silly for having spent so much time pressing his presence on Aiden, who had surely only entertained him because he knew no one else in the Temple.
"Will… do you think… Ah, nevermind," Aiden said, hurrying along at Leo's side. They were of a height with each other, but Leo's stride was just a little longer, which left Aiden having to work to keep pace.
Leo truly had no idea what Aiden was trying to ask him, but it seemed important, whatever it was.
"Do you think he's alright?" Aiden’s question flew from him as though he'd had to tear the words out by force. "I mean… that is… Well, I've never really…"
"You care about him," Leo said, coming to a strange realisation. "You're in love."
That was why Aiden had changed into his own clothes, rather than just wearing the clothes the Temple had provided him with, as he had been doing the past several weeks. He wanted to be wearing what made him look his best when he greeted Lambert again.
Aiden’s cheeks flushed purple, confirming Leo's suspicions.
"I… That is not… entirely inaccurate," Aiden confessed. "I have a lot of admiration for Lambert; he is strong, and confident, and yes, he is also attractive to me. I am not sure that I would say that I am in love, but… I care deeply for him."
Leo chuckled at Aiden’s description of Lambert. Of course a Sith would find strength and confidence attractive.
"It is no matter, because Lambert is a friend, and your Order forbids love," Aiden continued, frowning now.
Leo paused in his tracks at that mind boggling announcement.
"The Jedi Order doesn't forbid love," he said, utterly baffled at such an assumption. "I… This probably isn't the best time to have this discussion. I couldn't explain it fast enough, and I don’t think you'd really understand yet."
Aiden’s face morphed from anger to confusion, and Leo knew he would need to find the time very soon to try to explain the difference between love and attachment. Perhaps he could convince the Crechemasters to let Aiden sit in on some lessons…
Lambert’s ship docked before Leo could let that thought get too far, and then they were distracted with greetings and catching up.
It wasn’t until the next morning that Leo was able to spend any more time alone with Aiden.
He knocked much more gently this time, and waited for a response rather than continuing to knock until Aiden opened the door.
"Is everything alright?" Aiden asked, looking very concerned to find Leo at his door a second morning in a row.
"Do you want to go for a walk outside?" Leo asked, gesturing to the empty hallway. The Guard had left with a nod when Leo had arrived, which was all the permission he really needed.
Aiden followed him out into the grey-purple of early dawn, and the two found a comfortable spot to sit and watch a flock of birds sail slowly across the sky.
"Love isn't attachment," Leo said quietly, once the birds passed out of their field of vision. "Love is selfless and giving. Attachment is possessive and jealous. It's destructive rather than productive. The Jedi Order thrives on love. The Temple is filled with it. I'm sorry I haven't been able to show you that yet."
Aiden was silent for a long time, and Leo worried he'd offended the Sith somehow.
"I do love Lambert," Aiden confessed, almost inaudibly. "When Karadin discovered me on Nar Shaddaa, I was afraid he'd catch Lambert too. I tried to warn him, but Karadin caught up with me, and so I tried to lead him away from where you would be so that no harm would come to either of you before you could leave the planet. I make no claims at selflessness, but… I could not live with myself if I brought harm upon Lambert, or those he cares for."
Leo placed a hand on his shoulder, offering what small comfort he could.
"I don't think you're selfish," he assured Aiden. "I think you were taught a lot of terrible things, but you've still turned out to be a good man."
Aiden scoffed. "A good man would not sit idly by while his own family suffers," he countered. "And yet I allowed Gaetan to be taken to Korriban, and have made no attempts to contact him while he is there."
Leo shook his head sadly. "As I said; you've been taught terrible things, and I think that those things make you afraid to try, because the price of failing is high. But there's still time to change things. There's always time to change."
He wanted so badly for Aiden to understand that he could choose to change. He wanted Aiden to turn to the Light and be able to know the peace Leo knew.
Aiden closed his eyes for a moment, and Leo could feel his heart pounding as he awaited Aiden’s answer.
"You say there is time to change things?" Aiden finally replied. "Again, I must praise you for your wisdom, little Padawan. My fear has kept me frozen for too long. I… I should speak with Lambert, and then perhaps with Master Erland, in order to plan for how best to contact my cousin."
Leo grinned, thrilled to have been able to help Aiden move past his fear.