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Alee sat cross legged on the small balcony gracing their apartment and stared at the night sky. Not that you could see it with the billions of lights on Coruscant casting their glow upwards and hiding the rest of the galaxy from view. But it was there. And Dru was out there in that night sky. Coming home. Tonight.
A smile kissed her lips as Alee remembered their union as lifemates. Four months ago now, but a memory so clear she could recall it with perfect clarity. The shock of meeting Dru's friend, who turned out to be none other than Rebellion hero and leader of Rogue Squadron, Wedge Antilles. And the additional shock of being whisked away to stand on the bridge of Home One and be united with Dru by Admiral Akbar, who claimed he was honored to do such a small favor for a friend of Wedge's.
But what Alee remembered most was looking down on the glittering ball that is Coruscant while she pledged to love and cherish her new lifemate. And choosing to take his name as a symbol of her new life, with Coruscant sparkling all the brighter as she did so. And the Living Force flowing through them and binding them together more completely than words ever could. And the sense of a luminescent host of witnesses, so fleeting, so precious - friends long gone, wishing her well.
Alee pulled her cloak tighter and brushed her cheek against the soft brown material. Her friends had almost all been Jedi. She was a Jedi. It was easy to forget that, cocooned inside Dru's love. It was easy to remain distant and uninvolved at work. But she had been temporarily assigned to work with clean-up crews. Every day she saw the havoc this war of liberation had wrecked on countless lives. The Living Force would not be ignored. It was time to act. It was time to reclaim her heritage. She was a Jedi.
A hand came down on her shoulder. Alee started and looked up into Dru's smiling face. He sank to the floor and sat with his leg propped up and his elbow resting on it. They said hello with a kiss. Alee brushed his mind with the Force and his eyes lit up. He couldn't return the action, but his reaction always made her passion flare. It almost frightened her sometimes, how he could swamp her with physical sensations that obscured everything else.
Druce caressed her braid and started to undo it with one hand. "How is my sweet Jedi?"
Alee smiled at his private endearment for her. "Always better when you're around. How was Bothawui?"
"Very boring without you to liven things up. But very profitable."
"I was glad to stay home this time. The Bothans are such political creatures, I would've been sure to offend someone or start a war or something."
Dru chuckled. "Like I said, it was highly uneventful without you."
He finished undoing her braid and ran his fingers through her auburn hair without speaking. His fingers drifted down to twist the edges of her cloak. He looked at her with worried eyes.
"I haven't seen this since you packed it away on our union night. Is something going on, Alee?" He drew a hesitant breath. "You aren't regretting our becoming lifemates, I hope? You aren't leaving me, are you?"
Alee reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind his ear. She delved into Dru's fathomless blue eyes.
"Jumping to conclusions is always a risky business," Alee said. "You're stuck with me. I promised to love you always. The promise of a Jedi, Druce Nardo. One that can only be broken by death."
His eyes lightened imperceptibly, but flickered with confusion. "Then I don't understand. What's with the cloak? You told me you started a new life the day we were united."
Alee took his hand and brushed his knuckles against her cheek. "And it's true. But nothing can ever change the fact that I am a Jedi, Dru. And even though I don't feel the Force leading me to reveal my identity to one and all, the Living Force is calling me to action."
Dru frowned. "Action? I don't like the sound of that. Bring to mind visions of prisons and explosions and injuries. And death."
A smile touched her eyes. "I don't know where you would get such ideas." Dru shot her a wry look and Alee continued, "Not all Jedi were warriors, Dru. That may have been my tendency in the past. It may be a necessity in the future. But this moment, I am being called to peace, not war."
"Alee ... You're doing it again. Saying a lot without saying anything. Please stop frying my circuits and just tell me what you are planning."
The Jedi popped to her feet and braced her hands on the railing as she scanned the Coruscant skyline. Dru joined her and draped one arm across her back to rest his hand on her hip. He made little circles with his thumb. Alee forced herself to ignore the tingling that radiated outwards from his minute action. Easier said than done when that tingling was settling in the pit of her stomach and scattering her thoughts. She grabbed his hand and held it still. Alee looked askance at his face, a study in innocence, except for the mischievous glint in his blue eyes.
"Do you want me to tell you my plans? Or are you sidetracking me with a plan of your own?" Alee asked.
"Oh, I plan to sidetrack you, all right." Dru rubbed his nose against hers and teased her with the faintest touch of his lips on hers. "But first you have to divulge your secrets, or worry will drive me to distraction."
"Maybe I like you distracted."
"And I like you disrobed or de-cloaked or whatever. Fess up so we can move on to distracted, please." Dru nuzzled her neck.
Alee drew a shaky breath. "There is so much pain out there, Dru." He stopped to listen and her voice grew stronger without the physical diversion he was providing. "So many have been left homeless. Children. Orphans. And they are sinking into oblivion, disappearing into the murky depths of the lower levels." She shuddered. "I was near the surface a couple times in the distant past. It was a retched, fetid place of eternal darkness. I have no doubt that under the Emperor's rule it grew far worse. We live our lives on the upper levels of the city, never even needing to venture downwards. But so many are driven there, Dru. The Living Force is drawing me to find these orphans and find them homes."
"You can't help them all, Alee. It would be impossible."
"No. But I can help. One life at a time."
Dru sighed. "I always was a sucker for a hard luck cases. Take you, for instance."
Alee elbowed him gently.
"Ouch. Give me a break. I was about to ask what I could do to help," Dru complained.
"I was hoping you'd offer."
"Are you that sure of me?"
"Yes. And that sure of your love."
"Arrogant Jedi," he murmured as he kissed her jaw line. Her earlobe. Her neck.
Alee's breathing grew shallow. "Stop. Don't you want to know what I want you to do?"
"Oh, I know what you want me to do ..." He kissed her chin. Her nose.
"Not now, Druce. For the orphans." She was finding it hard to stay focused.
Dru stopped suddenly and turned her to face him, his hands on her shoulders. "Okay. Tell me."
Alee blinked repeatedly as she tried to clear her thoughts. "You can set up databases for me. We'll need names of people willing to take the orphans in. Temporary shelters. Permanent homes."
"Done. And I suppose you find the children?"
"The Force will lead me to them."
"Into the lower levels, I presume."
"Not always, I'm sure."
Skepticism furrowed his brow.
"I'll be perfectly safe, Dru," Alee reassured him.
"Then why the cloak?" He held it open to reveal her full Jedi outfit. "And why the lightsaber?"
"Insurance. You know I can take care of myself, Druce Nardo. With the cloak I will simply melt into the shadows. And I would never use the lightsaber without extreme provocation."
"But you can be so extremely provoking."
"Thanks."
Dru shrugged. "So I just stay at home and worry."
"No. When you're at home I can think of a lot more interesting things to do than worry. I'll venture out when you're away."
He rolled his eyes. "That is so much better. I can worry from a distance, instead."
Alee wrapped her arms around his neck. "But just think of the wonderful reunions we'll have when you come home."
"I like our reunions just fine."
Alee raised a brow.
"But you've made up your mind, haven't you?" Dru asked.
"Yes."
"Single-minded and arrogant." He shook his head sadly. "How in, all the galaxy, with all the women out there, did I end up with you?"
"The Living Force drew us and bound us together. And don't even think about other women, or I'll slice your circuits beyond repair."
Dru grinned. "I love it when your jealousy shows, sweet Jedi."
Alee snorted. "It's not jealousy. It's a fact. And a warning. Would you like to test it out?"
Dru cast her a teasing look. "Careful, my heart. Such wicked sarcasm might drag you to the Dark Side."
"And would you rescue me?"
Dru cupped her cheeks in his hands. "Yes. Or I'd die trying."
Alee felt her insides melting. "Do you practice these answers when you're away?"
He captured her eyes with his. "No. I've always trusted my instincts when it comes to you, my sweet Jedi."
"Do you ever regret it?"
"Not for a micron. How could I? You are my heart."
Alee's fingers traced his brow, his nose, his lips, his jaw. They burrowed into his black hair as she dived into his deep blue eyes - eyes to drown in.
"And you are the air I breathe," she whispered.
A groan answered her from the back of his throat. He swept her into his embrace and plundered her senses with a soul-searing kiss. Deep and passionate. Like her love for him.
Silent approval touched her mind for a brief second.
Thank you, Qui-Gon.
Alee gave herself completely to her new life.
