cassian andor (inthisfight) wrote in saveatlantisic, @ 2018-02-12 20:31:00 |
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2nd January - Late Afternoon Mara Jade ✦ Cassian Andor Talking about Luke's arrival PG - Just some kissing & a FTB Closed & Complete |
The last face Mara had expected to see on the network was Luke Skywalker’s. She knew there was always a chance, this was Atlantis after all, and apparently he came back in some future and they had children together. It wasn’t this one though, she’d learned the story from Ophelia and Owen while they were here so this could be Luke from the other timeline. For that matter he could also be from before they met or at some point in the ten years before they got married. All she knew was that she needed to find out where he was from as soon as she could. Regardless of that, it wouldn’t change the way she felt about Cassian or their relationship but it would require a little more explanation if Luke came from a time when they were most definitely together. The conversation she had with him on the network told her what she needed to know. He came from the other timeline and while she couldn’t give him any answers about what made time split, she knew he believed her when he didn’t know Jaina and said Leia only had one child. They could work that out, she thought as she shut down her tablet. She had someone else she needed to talk to. Cassian hadn’t posted a reply to Luke but that didn’t mean he was unaware that he was here. There was also a damn good chance that someone might have told him just to see what he would do. Although that was a rather cynical idea, Mara was more than a little cynical. She left HQ and headed toward the towers, wondering if he was home yet. She paused long enough to send a text and discover that yes, he was indeed home. Her mind was whirling as she made her way to his apartment, wondering what he was thinking. Cassian was like her, he was good at masking his thoughts but she had an advantage that she’d never told him about and maybe it was time to tell him that she could sense him, sense him in a way that she couldn’t normally sense other non Force users. When she reached Cassian’s apartment, she found the door unlocked so she walked in and looked around. It appeared to be empty but she reached out with the Force and found him. He was in his bedroom sitting in a chair and she walked in, shutting the door behind her. “Hey,” she said. “Hey, yourself,” Cassian said, setting his book to the side as he looked up to find his girlfriend standing in his bedroom. Seeing her right now was a surprise, but Mara’s presence was never unwelcome and he smiled at her as he stood to greet her properly. There was something in her expression that suggested she had something on her mind, but that didn’t stop Cassian from reaching for her, pulling her close and kissing her for a moment. He suspected it was something he’d never get tired of doing. Mara returned his kiss, holding him as close as she could, drawing strength from his touch. When they broke apart, she didn’t move from the circle of his arms, instead, she reached up and pushed the little strand of hair that always flopped across his face out of the way with a little smile. “Luke’s here,” she said simply. “He just got here apparently, I saw him on the network. I was hoping that you hadn’t seen it so i could tell you myself.” Mara watched his face carefully but he was just watching her and she knew he was waiting to see what she would say. “He didn’t know me or Jaina, he’s from the other timeline although he’s only a couple years past the Battle of Endor. I looked online before I came home, that’s where the timeline split and there was at least one more big batte before things ended there. So he’s younger than when I knew him but he’s not the same person.” Cassian nodded as she explained the reason for her visit. It would be a lie to say that he hadn’t wondered, for a moment, what Luke’s arrival in Atlantis could mean. He knew about Mara’s future with the Jedi and he knew having him here could complicate things at best. But Cassian trusted Mara. For all they’d once both made their living on lies and deceit, they were always honest with one another, at least in this life here in Atlantis. “Would things be different if he was from your timeline?” he asked her, truly curious. He knew there was one future in which she had children with Luke and they’d learned that he was with someone else in that same timeline. It did make him wonder what would happen if her Luke did show up. One of the things that she loved the most about her relationship with Cassian was the fact that he listened to her and she to him. Even if it was something that might be difficult to express, they were always honest with each other. Mara could sense that he wasn’t worried, he just wanted to know and she reached up and rested her hand against his face. “No, they wouldn’t be any different,” she said. “We were just really becoming friends when we came here and he wasn’t here that long. The only reason that I know what happens in the future is because Ben came and obviously the fact that his last name was Skywalker clued me in. I saw Jacen and Jaina just after they were born so the fact that they knew me didn’t surprise me. I assumed that Luke and I eventually became better friends after I stopped wanting to kill him.” She had told Cassian the story and while now she could laugh about it, it also bothered her to think just how deeply she had been entrenched in the Emperor’s sick plans. “I love you. Even though we both had children in that other Atlantis future with other people, we’d never been together. I learned that from Owen and Ophelia. What we have here is real, Cassian. This is for keeps if that’s what you want. I know it’s what I want and besides we know we’re going to have three kids so that would seem to indicate that you feel the same way.” she gave him a little smile. “Having Luke here is going to be strange but he’s not the man I knew. Since I’ve been working with Jacen, I’ve been getting better at reading people and I can feel that he’s not the same in the Force even though he’s still Luke. I hope that we can be friends, all of us, because we do share some common experiences but no matter what happens, my feelings for you won’t change. I’ve never felt like this before, I’ve never even really believed love existed but it does and it’s what we have. No one from any future can show up and change that.” Maybe it was stupid, but Cassian believed her. He believed that Mara was with him and that it wouldn’t necessarily change things if the other Luke did show up. He had to believe that what they had was enough to survive the arrival of the man who would one day be her husband in their home world. Atlantis wasn’t home and things were different here, for both of them. “I love you, too,” he murmured. He caressed her cheek with his hand and smiled down at her. “I’m very relieved to hear that you don’t believe anything will change if the other Luke does show up, because the future I want is the one where you and I are together.” “And that’s what we’ll have,” she said. “With our three kids although I’m not sure if I’m ready to carry around two at the same time.” Mara grinned. “But I’d do it for you. Although I might complain about it when I’m big as a house.” She was pretty sure that she would but she also knew it would be worth it in the end to see her children looking back at her. “I’m not that good at expressing my feelings but the fact that you and I led lives that weren’t all that different, it makes me feel that you understand me better. We both know what it’s like to have to hide who we are but I never want us to hide who we are from each other. I promise you that I’ll always be honest with you even with the hard stuff.” “None of this is anything I ever expected for my life, Mara,” Cassian admitted, holding her close to him, “but I want all of that with you. Eventually. I’m not in any rush to share you with our children, but I love knowing there’s a timeline where we have them and as far as I’m concerned, that is our future.” They’d both had children with others in some of the other possible timelines, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was the two of them together and this vow they were making to be honest with one another. “I’ve spent enough of my life lying. With you, I will always tell the truth, too. I think we can easily promise each other that much.” Showing her emotions wasn’t easy for Mara, but she found that with Cassian, she could do it far more easily than she ever had before. Maybe it was because they had led such similar lives, they both had hidden so much of themselves from everyone they knew, but it was nice to be able to share herself with him, heart and soul. “I don’t want to lie anymore either. Everything that I’ve ever said to you, or shared with you or will share with you, is real. I won’t hide anything from you, Cassian, I don’t think I’d be able to even if I tried.” she smiled at him. He had a way of looking at her that made her want to open up to him and she knew that he’d always listen and that he would always tell her the truth. “I love you and I have never said those words to anyone else or even wanted to. You are my forever, Cassian Andor. I promise.” “I love you, too, Mara Jade.” As soon as he said the words, he was pulling her even closer, pressing his lips to hers. It felt to him as though this was a moment where words should give way to actions and, assuming she would let him, he intended to demonstrate just how much he meant what he’d just said. |