Armor

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It was a comfort he had not known he'd missed. Cedric was rarely one for any physical contact aside fromthe occasional hand on the shoulder. Even now, he was rather uneasy about the whole ordeal. He had no means of escape, and no had little awareness to stop Romi if she chose to harm him. It was fortunate then that he suspected she meant him no such thing, and for a moment, he allowed himself to trust in the moment. "Thanks for that," he spoke quietly, his normally stoic tone softening somewhat.

"You've definitely been helpful with the alliance," it wasn't what either of them were likely thinking of, but the words distracted him. "Good for morale, keep the men inspired," he cracked something of an embarrassed smile, and drew back so that he might look her in the eye.

"This is going to be a very long and bloody conflict. Given how the Sith have marked me, I don't expect I'll survive all of it." He drew in a deep breath, his composure melting away for a moment. "If I'm killed, you have to train Marus. He's a good student, and he can take my place within the order once his training is complete."

Something within Cedric told him that it was emotional manipulation, and that he'd only elected to toy with whatever nostalgic feelings Romi might have had to secure his legacy. The other part of him said that all was as it should have been, and there was no manipulation because Cedric had pulled himself into a similar nostalgia.

Or perhaps it wasn't nostalgia. Friendships tended to change as the people did, but they remained nonetheless. None of these thoughts stopped him from raising a hand to Romi's cheek. "Can you promise me that?"




[member="Romi Jade"]

 

[Romi Jade]

She noted his smile as he drew back, her face lit up in response. Lips parting and eyes growing slightly wide, she playfully slapped his shoulder a few times in rapid succession "Just what does that mean!" she broke out into light laughter.

But when his gaze fell again, she followed. On a more serious note, he was really concerned with his survival. She shook her head, "Don't say that..."

She watched him melt again, and she wanted to stop that process as much as she could. "Of course." She agreed without hesitation. "But I'm sure that won't happen. He'll have you to complete his training."

Her eyes darted to his hand and then back at him, "I promise." she also said that without hesitation.

"But I don't want you to continue speaking as if this will be the last time I see you, the last time any of us see you."

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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The conflicts to come would test them to their limits, of that Cedric was certain. Both he and Romi were swept up into the heart of this conflict after having chosen to stand up rather than stand aside. Cedric did not blame the other Jedi for their choice not to intervene - they would eventually he knew - but the kinship he felt was shared between the two of them had grown in their absence. Romi had always held a special place in the knight's heart, though that place had always been as nothing more than a friend. Thoughts beyond such things were foreign to Cedric; the desires of a man with far less responsibility. They were naught but fleeting fantasies that only ever found him at his most vulnerable, and fantasies that he had long willfully ignored.

Such feelings came rushing back to him then as he felt the the warmth of her cheek against his hand. It was a child's excitement; the sort of butterflies in the stomach that teenager spoke of, not soldiers, and certainly not Jedi Knights.

His initial reaction was to cast it aside as he always had. To open the door to attachment was to open it to the temptations of the dark side as well - lessons that had been instilled in him since birth - and yet he found that he could not shut it entirely.

A quiet sigh fell from Cedric's lips as he cast his gaze toward the floor.

"Romi," he fought for the right words, "I hadn't realized how much I missed you." His voice was quiet, vulnerable, and honest. He looked back to her with an expression that made it seem as if he expected a swift reprimand. Something to pull him back into the proper state of mind.

"Damnit," shook his head, and broke into a small, anxious, but warm smile. "Can I kiss you?"

[member="Romi Jade"]