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They stand on the balcony, just the two of them. They watch Coruscant shine under the moonlight, bright and awake as always, with the wind rustling their hair and the lights blinking in their faces. The capital city is rushed, full, alive- and yet it’s calming, all the same.
It is one of the few bits of calm they have found, little bits and pieces of solace they snatch at when they have the chance. Domesticity is so foreign to these two, that when it knocks on their door, they yank at it and make it stay, make it work for them until they’re separated once again.
Domesticity. How funny a concept to them. So many others enjoy it daily, but they are lucky to appreciate it every few weeks- or even months.
Him: a soldier, a warrior. He’s never known peace, not as she has. Well, perhaps he did, a long time ago. When it was just him and his mother against the world ( a small world, one that started with his mother and ended where the dunes did. And after that, he imagined there to be nothing ), facing down their masters in the light of binary suns.
Her: a queen, a fighter in a different arena; one that uses words instead of blasters and fashion instead of armor. She is royalty, and yet she married a man who is anything but. However, in her mind, he could be a god; he’s as powerful as one, at least. But no matter who he is or what he’s done, she loves him- oh, how she loves him.
And she knows she will keep on loving him. She knows.
( But she doesn’t, and even now, long before it happens, the universe looks down upon its daughter-in-law and weeps for her. She has no idea of the heartbreak to come, and neither does he.
Of course, mortal beings such as them do not know the future; if they did, they would set about trying to change it, and though it is painful it must stay this way. See, the future is not exactly set in stone- but once someone sets about trying to change it, it might as well be.
It’s a funny thing. The destiny you most avoid is the one that ends up welcoming you at the door of fate.
Or rather, in the Chosen’s case, fate will eat him up, and by then he will be so lost he won’t know which way is the exit. It is upsetting for the stars to know, to live with; but they cannot interfere. He walks his path alone. Nobody, not his brother, his sister, the stars themselves, or even her , can change that.
So, until the day-it-all-falls-down comes, the stars watch over their cousin and his wife and they weep for them ).
She wraps an arm around his shoulder, and he responds by holding her even closer. She whispers something in his ear, words of love and promise. He, who only knows the harsh words of orders and chains, can only smile back and kiss her.
It’s a watery kiss, as he is crying, and she has started as well.
Water.
How strange.
How beautiful.
If he is made of fire (strong, explosive, hot), she is water (wise, caring, calm), and isn’t that a painful pairing? She has spent a long time trying to douse his flames, but she never will.
(She knows this, but she doesn’t at the same time-
How could these two bright souls know the darkness and horror that awaits them?)
She will never put out his flames, but she will keep trying, and she will keep loving him. Always, across the many, many stars that keep them apart.
He… he loves her. But he also loves… his feelings for her. And that is dangerous, as he has always been dangerous. Neither can predict just how strong his flames get, until they are so full and alive that even she will not be able to snuff them out. Neither can predict just how dangerous he can be, until suddenly the day will come when he chooses to be that dangerous.
The stars weep for their cousin and his wife, who do not yet know their pain.
Yes, yes, see- at the end of the day, no matter what voices whisper in his ear, no matter what happened leading up to it, no matter how long it’s been since he’s slept or he’s talked with his sister or spilled secrets with his brother-
It is his choice. The bloodshed, the genocide of a people and the enslavement of another, all the pain , it is his choice- one he will make over and over again.
No matter how much anyone and everyone might love him, it will always be his choice, his fault.
On the day-it-all-falls-down, he does not run or yell or fight. No, instead, he kneels in front of a monster, thinking he can play with things like fate and mortality.
The stars weep for their cousin and his wife, who cannot change the rules of life no matter how hard they try.
He will be in pain when it happens, and he will be in pain for a long, long time, until another comes who finally will put out his flames. And in the ashes, he will realize just how painful his life was, when before he was numb. And then, and only then, can he put the pieces back together in the Cosmic Force.
But until the day-it-is-reborn comes (and, sadly, that won’t be for a while), the universe will watch and wait and scream as its son makes all the wrong choices.
The stars weep for their cousin and his wife, who are at the center of a story they will not like the ending of.
She thinks they will be happy. Once the war’s over, no matter what happens, they will be together and... and happy.
He thinks they will be safe. He will keep her safe, because he is strong enough to do so.
He would do anything for her. Anything.
And soon, anything will prove to be too much.
They stand together, on that balcony, watching the speeders race by, never-ending. He loves her, and she loves him, and for now they are safe and together and happy and blind.
“This story happened a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. It is already over. Nothing can be done to change it.”
Wise words, from someone very, very far from here; far from the Chosen One and his beautifully strong wife. Words that ring true, no matter how painful they are. Maybe, that is how we know they are true; they are painful.
People seem to not like the truth, sometimes. The universe’s child doesn’t, even when it stares him in the face.
“You have allowed this Dark Lord to twist your mind until now . . . until now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy.”
He will not like that, he will not accept that.
And that is why the universe cries for him, even now, before it all comes to pass. Because it knows he will not listen, and really, how could he be so bright and fall so far?
The stars weep for their cousin and his wife, who will never get the happy ending they crave.