When he touched her cheek, Tahiri turned her face into the touch slightly, eyes drifting closed for a minute. Of course he would miss them. Both of them. And she wasn't selfish enough to wish they would never come back. Well, Allana anyway. Tahiri wanted the redheaded girl back for the sake of her father.
But would Allana accept them any more than Anakin had? And what if Tenel Ka returned? With or without the memories of Lawrence. Would Jacen leave her and return to his great love?
Those were the questions she feared to ask, and looking him in the eyes might potentially reveal them anyway. Or show the complicated, indefinable feelings she had for him. It wasn't the love she'd had for Anakin, but that had also been a childish love, the innocence of first love. And she would never have that again, not with anyone. So maybe what she felt for Jacen was love.
When he tilted her chin up, she didn't have a choice but to look him in the eye, and she didn't want to have any barriers, any shields or hiding between them. So she kept her expression open, allowing all the swirling emotions she was feeling to show in her gaze. "I don't stay because of duty or because you asked, I stay because I want to. My choice." Because she knew, if she wanted to, she could walk away and Jacen would let her. Reluctantly, yes, but he would.
"It's not fear," she murmured, still looking at him, still open. "It's uncertainty."