The Republic has fallen.
In the final days of the Clone Wars, Chancellor Palpatine died under mysterious circumstances. With the Senate struggling to retain a sense of unity, it was the perfect time for the Separatists to strike. And strike they did...
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Much as expected, sneaking out of Noreino House a second time was easier said than done; the eyes and ears monitoring all the obvious exits had tripled, and the security around Lux was tighter than ever before. Thankfully, Alynna made a self-explanatory alibi, and his suggestive grin had scared the guards right off.
"Lux, where are we going?" Alynna asked tiredly, releasing his hand to slow to a stop halfway down the corridor to the landing platform. It was the only tone of voice she'd spoken with for the last two days – when she spoke to Lux at all.
Lux smiled brightly instead of pursing his lips in consternation. Any other day, she would've thought his antics with the guards excellent fodder for a joke or a sly remark. He could think of three off the top of his head about how he'd fussed the last time she'd played up the level of intimacy in their relationship to their minders.
And yet... nothing. Always nothing.
Ever since he'd found her curled up on the floor, crying about someone named Rex, she'd been a shadow of herself, blank of any feeling but that cold, unyielding grief. He'd seen it in her once before, just after the auction, as she mourned the loss of her chained brothers and sisters. He hadn't known her well enough then to recognize it in its entirety. Now, she could hide nothing from him.
Alynna had told him only the bare bones of what happened to this friend of hers, but he knew the deep grief of losing friends and family intimately. As quiet and unresponsive as she'd become, could she even grasp how well Lux understood?
He was hoping she would, after today; she'd tended to him with such badly-needed affection when grief had overpowered him at the villa. Provided they could actually get out of Kyzeron and sneak back in unmolested, he was hoping to do the same for her now that she needed the favor returned.
So he kept that smile stuck to his face like he'd glued it there and said, "But that would ruin the surprise."
Alynna crossed her arms, hunching around herself, but the added eyeroll was a welcome display of emotion – even if it was snarky. "Lux, I'd really prefer if I just–"
Lux took her hand again, kissing her knuckles in silent apology for invading her space to pre-empt any protests she could make. Then, he threaded his arm securely through hers. "Please, love. Trust me."
Something sparked in Alynna's eyes at the endearment. Lux flushed, but he refused to be embarrassed by the slip of the tongue. He did, however, allow himself to sigh in relief when she nodded and pressed closer.
Lux took a breath as they began walking again and tapped the button on his new wrist comm – one he wasn't expecting he'd get a chance to use again, but that was fine by him. The relay he'd stashed in his belt hummed to life a split-second later, and Alynna gasped as the air before them shimmered before blanketing their bodies in the armor of a pair of Noreino guards.
