Looking for a place of their own had temporarily fallen to the wayside. It wasn’t that Cybelle desired it any less but revealing her fate on Exegol made her feel strange. Unburdened. Lighter.
But no less concerned about the truth of it or the possible ramifications. So, she settled for normal. They were in Brandyn’s place that morning and she'd taken to making breakfast. Eggs, toast, and bacon. She pottered about as the sun came up because sleep never came...But also to have the rental listing ready for Bran when he woke up.
As long as she was alive... She still wanted to live. That meant pushing forward.
A loud yawn could be heard coming from the room across the living area, and the door slid open to reveal Brandyn scratching just above his waistline. “Good morning, gorgeous,” he called across the small distance. He was trying to keep things light, for Cybelle’s sake. She seemed to be pushing into the normal. He didn’t mind, though for him it was entirely a charade.
When not in view of his beloved, Brandyn was studying, meditating, and learning all he could. He was barely sleeping, not for lack of freedom to sleep. Oh, he was overtired. No, he was on a quest to save the woman he loved from whatever had happened to her. The problem he was coming up against was the lack of information in the Jedi Archives. It was starting to feel like he needed to seek out a practitioner of the arts that may have been employed.
A few steps were taken, in what appeared a snippy perhaps overhappy pace, and he was beside Cybelle, arms wrapping around her from behind. His fingers laced together, hands resting on her growling stomach. “Seems like you need these eggs more than me,” he said before pressing a gentle kiss on her cheek, “how is…the future…Mrs Cybelle Sal-Soren this morning?”
Lie to me softly, my love. He thought.
A soft sound welled in her throat that was one of simple happiness. It was...Hard to keep her thoughts away from Exegol. Harder than ever. But when Brandyn wrapped her up as if she were the only thing that mattered...She was truly happy. She nestled herself back against him but blushed thoroughly when her stomach made itself known. “We both know you can only last so long without a little snack or two...Mr. Sea-Food-Eat-Food diet.”
The kiss on her cheek mollified her and she tilted as well as she was able to kiss his shoulder in return. “Good morning...”, she murmured, though, was quickly caught up in warmer emotions that were spawned by hearing her name so close to his. It was such a simple thing. But...It meant the world to her. “Better now. Much better.”
Cybelle was always better when Brandyn was close.
She picked up a piece of toast and popped it in her mouth before reaching to give him one too. Thoughtfully, nibbling. “I started looking at properties.”
It felt like they were playing. But it was a game that he enjoyed. The offering of bread was gratefully received, and Brandyn waited till it was appropriately chewed and swallowed. His mother hadn’t raised a heathen, after all. “Nothing in the Western Reach…right?” He said, releasing his grasp on Cybelle and moving to lean on the bench beside her.
“Show me what you have,” he said, picking at a bunch of grathemberries in a bowl nearby.
“No nothing that far...”, she murmured while reaching for the tablet to slide it between them. They hadn't really decided on anything concrete so she'd taken a look at the three planets they visited the most. Coruscant, Naboo, and Hapes. “I wasn't sure what you wanted but... There are a few here...”
She blushed a little when she offered her selections, a little shy, for thoughts that he might not like them. “Coruscant is really expensive though even for... Well. A closet.”
They could both afford a fair amount she assumed. She hadn’t really touched her inheritance save to visit her family home. She didn't know what to do with it and had been rest assured that charitable donations were made regularly... Cybelle had gotten used to humble. She didn't know what to do with having more than she needed.
“No fixer uppers…that is a good start,” Brandyn said with a quick scroll through the list, “I like it when I see the words fully furnished too.”
The numbers on the apartments on Coruscant were huge, but Brandyn seemed not to notice. Perhaps it was something that he was used to seeing. Coming from and growing up amongst the generationally wealthy had long since dulled his sticker shock. “This place in Uscru looks nice,” he said pausing on a spacious apartment overlooking the opera house, “but you just know the sound pollution is going to be nuts…what does it have in the way of sound dampening…I see it has an open area balcony…that would need to be shut off if there was something going on at the Opera House…and when isn’t there? But I do like the inset living space…big but surprisingly cozy…and the central fire pit… ambiance would be nice…can see us spending some quiet nights there.”
“You don't like Opera?”, she teased gently while slowly helping him flip through the varying images. “It does look nice...”
Her stomach sank at the sight of the security deposit and other associated fees. There were several bedrooms that they really wouldn't be using.... But what if Briana or some of their friends wanted to visit? Or Bast wanted to stay over? Cybelle was looking for....A happy home. Honestly, she would have taken a tiny cottage if it meant they could be together. Carefully she chewed her bottom lip. “I can dip into what my parents left me... Should we afford this?”
Not can, should. Eventually, they'd be sharing everything anyway. She bit the inside of her cheek and kept flipping through offers. The prices only seemed to be going up. “I like something with a little space though... Room to meditate and stretch. Be alone but... Not really alone every now and then.”
Brandyn didn’t flinch at any of the prices, only scrunching his nose when he saw decor that he didn’t care for. Some apartments he dismissed at first glance, though he knew he would not be able to describe why if pressed on it. “We can afford it,” Brandyn said, not really catching her hesitancy until he glanced at her.
“We could…get one of the temple quarters,” he said with raised brows, “I think they have spaces that are slightly larger than the norm…might be able to squeeze…say…king single in there? Or bunks?”
Cybelle started to say something but stopped before the words started. “... Do you really want to sleep in bunks?”, there was a touch of amusement in her eyes while she imagined them both squished into a single. Likely, with his feet hanging off the end.
“I really would like something that's our own... Something that's just us.”
After all that had happened Cybelle wasn't certain living in their workplace was a smart move. They needed space and distance from the Order so they could perform their duties properly. And not get...Lost in them.
“How's this one?”
He saw the one she pointed at and pushed off from the counter. His hands ran through his hair in frustration. “That one has a shared refresher for the guest rooms…we had wanted ensuites…”
He wandered over to the window, looking out over the city. “Maybe we just take residence in the Elyance Estate on Hapes?”
Cybelle paused thoughtfully at the suggestion. In truth, she wasn't certain Brandyn would be content with a home in Coruscant that was only slightly larger than a prison cell. She was also accustomed to space from living at Spritegate Shore. It was humble but so free and open... But living in that place? On Hapes?
It was the place where she'd been born. It was the place that held any fragmented memories of her childhood. It would make her mother's family very happy to see her take up residence and it was just collecting dust... “Would you want to live on Hapes?”
“It's... Huge. The estate...I never thought or dreamed...I claimed it but I don't know what to do with it. I'm used to making do. But...”
Hesitation. Would it be wrong to want to be closer to her parents?
He had only been venting, but she didn’t seem entirely opposed to the idea. “Hapes,” he said to himself, “it does feel secluded when you are there. Naboo is not an option…too…much…happened there. Coruscant feels…not right. I do not want to be around my father’s family on Corellia...Hapes deals with the expense side of things too. We can donate the money we would have spent on a house…perhaps?”
Her face scrunched in consideration. Cybelle definitely hadn’t caught on to the venting part but Bran had offered a solution to more than one dilemma. Her lips curved into a soft smile when he mentioned donating what they might have spent. “I really like that part...”
“Why don't we go back and stay a little while? See if... We can make it feel like home?”
And if it didn't... There was really no harm done.
“We could…have the wedding there?” Brandyn said with a single raised eyebrow.
Every time he said the word “wedding” she flushed straight to the roots of her hair. It was only her slight tan that saved her from looking like a walking warning sign. Her eyes dipped down, shy. “We could.... If you wanted. It would save on trying to find a venue.”
“I wasn't sure...”
She paused before letting her head tilt to the side to rest on his shoulder. “If that was still something you wanted. I know you love me but... Things are different.”
He paused for a moment, emotions flaming with the suggestion that he might forsake her when she needed him most. He did not reprimand her though. Instead, he leaned his head on hers. “Perhaps…perhaps we should get married at the Shore…”
“Master Aegis would like that. So would John... But they would also understand why we wouldn't want to.”, Cybelle mused softly while kittenishly nuzzling into him. She always felt better the nearer he was.
His parents had passed not that long ago. Celebrating their happiness amidst so much residual sorrow felt misplaced. She had felt him, however. The moment when his emotions charged the particles in the air...”It's okay, you know.”
“I won't break. I wasn't just talking about my situation but... You can be mad at me if you need to be.”
“I’m not mad at you,” he said quickly. It was the truth, but probably said too quickly. It may have come across harshly.
“Let’s…just go get married now,” he said in a whisper.
Cybelle lifted her head from his shoulder so she could look at his face. It was tempting to simply agree... To join together in quiet and peace and not have to worry about anyone else. “I don't think your sisters would forgive us...”
She reached up to touch his cheek and draw his eyes to her own. There was always so much to say. So much love to express. “I'm sorry I didn't tell you then what really happened. I...”
Realistically, she'd spent the last few months living in shock with a touch of denial.
“...were scared how I would react?” Brandyn finished.
She bit her lip. Cybelle wanted to deny it but...”I wasn't scared of how you would react to me. I was worried that you might feel responsible when it wasn't your fault.”
It was a burden she never wanted for him. Beyond that...”More than anything...I just didn't want it to be real. If I told you...”
It was real.
She was right to be worried. He was responsible. And it was real now. He had failed his parents, and he now knew he had failed his soulmate. His arms wrapped around Cybelle, enveloping her in his strength.
“I will never let something like that happen ever again,” he said, mostly to himself.
Her whole being seemed to relax into him while breakfast got cold...Part of her had wanted to keep it away from him forever. Part of her still did. “That's...”, she murmured with his promise, feeling both warmed and saddened.
“That's not something you let happen in the first place. It was my fight. The Force... Must have willed it. Just like it willed me back.”
Then we shall bend the Force to our will, Brandyn found himself thinking in that instant. His eyes closed to ward off such thoughts.
“It brought you back to me. And for that I am grateful. I will cling to you all the more for having almost lost you,” he said, kissing her head around the part in her hair.
“Hapes it is then?” He said, face pressing into her hair just slightly.
She didn't mind the clinging. Cybelle often wondered if he got tired of having her orbiting around him like some lost moon... But if he was the one orbiting? Well, she wouldn't complain. “Even if it was my last breath... You wouldn't have lost me.”
Cy nodded her head at his suggestion of Hapes. Aside from politicking it was usually fairly peaceful. “I'll start making arrangements. You should already have access but I'll check.”
He didn’t respond but with a soft kiss on her ear.
