If Dreams Can't Come True, Then Just Pretend

[Slade Zambrano]

Slade wasn't one to share his feelings or be relatively open with his wife Keira. He loved her and she loved him, and that seemed to be enough for the two of them. They raised a family together and through all the ups and downs, Slade had decided that he'd rather live a relatively normal life where he was a father and husband than a psychopathic Sith Lord wanting power and conquest. So within this so called normal life he to do boring things from time to time, and bring Keira along with him.

Which was one of the worst things he could honestly do to her. Keira couldn't do normal anymore, any semblance of normality had been killed for her long ago. She was a tortured soul disillusioned within the every day life of normal people. A cold and hard steel blade on the surface, but a well of nerves and unwanted emotions beneath that exterior. Slade of course didn't say anything about it, if she ever wanted to talk about it she knew his door was always open and that he would listen.

But today Slade had to expose Keira to the life of a normal person. And it was something that made him uncomfortable with how she might take it. Their children Reed and Kaya had been bothering them about attending their school play, a fairytale that would more than likely contain bad acting and crying children. But as halfway decent parents they had decided to attend the school.

"You know if you don't want to go, I can always record it and let you watch it later." Slade said as he placed a tie around the collar of his shirt.

Was he mildly overdressed for a school play? Yes. But if Slade kept anything from his previous life as a drug addict it was to look nice no matter what. It was his thing, just like Keira's thing was crushing the skulls of her enemies beneath her boots. You know standard stuff like that.

For now though they were home alone and getting ready to make the drive over to the school to see their children's play.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

Whenever she chanced to participate in normal, everyday life Keira found that there was always some part of her that wasn't entirely there. A fragment was always misplaced or disappeared entirely, or perhaps it had never even existed in the first place. More like than not it had been shattered somewhere in the past thirty-one years, fractured beyond repair after spending time on one too many battlefields and witnessing one too many terrible, indescribable deaths across a number of worlds. And because of that there was no aspect of her being that was well-adjusted enough to survive in day-to-day life, something about her already halfway living in the next warzone and never rooted to reality.

Today was different, however. Instead of finding herself up all hours of the night on this or that Crusader operation or otherwise indisposed on the field, she had been granted the closest thing to a day off she had had in a long while. It was odd, to not have anything with which to busy herself, and relaxing had been a struggle, if not entirely impossible. But Slade had sat there with her through the entirety of it, calming her with nothing more than his presence while in some moments throughout the day doing nothing more than holding her as they were caught in an embrace for a moment or two too long, the only complete solace they were capable of finding being present in the other's arms.

As he straightened his tie she finished pulling on her leather jacket, her ensemble far more casual than his own, something that was more of an anomaly for her than anyone else. Without her armor a strange weightlessness still pursued her, but she was slowly adapting as time wore on."No, I want to go. After being away for so long, the very least I owe them is attending their play." She looked down at her ensemble, gaze lingering for a few seconds too long on the scorched phrik plating across the hand of her left arm, the least noticeable scarring across her form. Sighing quietly she did nothing more than wrap her husband in a hug, burying her face in the crook between his head and shoulder, tense muscles relaxing themselves under his touch.

That silence communicated more than words ever could.

[member="Slade Zambrano"]

 

[Slade Zambrano]

Slade didn't day anything at first. The silence did indeed communicate enough for them, and he knew just how fragile Keira was outside of combat. Give her a rifle and a lightsaber and she could accomplish anything, but doing something as simple as going grocery shopping and Keira might be lost in the mundaneness of it all. The lack of death and danger that was so unfamiliar to her, and Slade accepted that.

So taking a few inches to pull himself back, Slade grabbed her by the sides of her face and gently leveled her head with his so they could stare each other in the eyes. He was very much in love with the woman, and even on their worst days together, even if they fought, or if Keira came home a bleeding mess, he never married her for the kids. He married her because she was the love of his life, and even though he rarely said it, this silence spoke it louder than any word ever could.

"They'll love having you there. They've been positively pissing themselves that you're coming." Slade said then gave his wife a small kiss on the lips.

"Ungrateful bastards." He then chuckled and let go of his wife.

Slipping on his heavy woolen black coat, the man looked over to Keira and gave a small smile at her. He out dressed her every way shape and form, and even though Keira was never one for dresses or suits, he'd still rub her face in it from time to time to try and lighten the mood.

"How did you get this lucky?" He said with a chuckle before taking his wife's hand.

The two of them would step outside and into the "night air" of the station facility that was Echo'lya and into the driveway of their home. You had to hand it to mandalorians, even though they were a culture based on war, they could build. The entire station was large enough so that they actually had to make a trip in a speeder to get to their children's school, that was something to admire.

"You know how generous of a spouse I am, I let the woman take the speeded out herself once in a while. So you'll have the esteemed pleasure of driving us to the show." Slade said with a humorous chuckle.

In truth he needed to give her something to do, even if it was the smallest of tasks. He didn't like her sitting in silence, and he had to of course challenge her stubborn Ticon pride to keep her mind from becoming a mess of emotions and fear. Was it mildly underhanded of him to mask his true intentions from her as good as they were? Yes. But he was a Zambrano still, despite being almost nothing like them a few character traits did rise to the top.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

"I wasn't aware this was what 'lucky' looked like." Flashing a smile Keira kissed him on the lips, threading their fingers together and giving his hand a squeeze. In truth being with him made her feel luckier than anyone in the galaxy, as she knew full well his love was genuinely unconditional no matter what she said or did. He loved her for who she was, not one of the many faces she was wont to put on in order to disguise her true self, and that he was able to see past her facade said enough in the first place. Despite what others seemed to think about his family name and all the things she had done, the two of them made a far better pair than most anyone she had seen. At the end of the day they were just two broken people trying to make their way in the galaxy, and so far they were doing a good job of it.

Of course some part of her knew what he was doing. No, scratch that, it was more than obvious that he was doing what he could to keep her occupied, even if it was just simple tasks in comparison to what she had done when she served in the military. Driving a speeder was nothing in comparison to strategizing in the middle of a warzone, but in some way she appreciated that. The life of a soldier was eons more complex than anything a civilian would experience in their day-to-day, and despite her unease with that it was something she was thankful for. Her mind needed time to slow down and catch up with her body, and part of that was learning what it meant to be the closest thing to average she would ever be.

With a wave of her hand she opened the speeder door for him, flashing a smile before she sat down in the driver's seat, starting the speeder and sighing quietly as she positioned herself behind the wheel. After a moment or two she backed out before beginning to drive to the twins' school, silence hanging between them for a moment. "I'm sorry I haven't been around a lot lately." An out of the blue comment, seemingly, but it was something that had been weighing on her for quite some time. "I know it's not fair to you, or the kids, or anyone. And I'm sorry." They had discussed such a thing themselves on numerous occasions, but this was the first time she had breached the issue herself.

[member="Slade Zambrano"]

 

[Slade Zambrano]

Slade normally would of had a witty retort to his wife, he wanted to keep the mood light after all. But before he could say anything, Keira came in with a talk that wasn't really meant for a ride to their children's play. But it was clear that Keira wanted to talk about it, so he'd at least address it and give his honest feelings to her over the short drive. He didn't like lying to his wife, and he certainly didn't like dismissing her feelings when she was trying to apologize. So here went nothing.

"Keira." he said with his raspy voice as he looked over to her.

He would then put a hand on her cybernetic leg and give it a gentle squeeze. She wouldn't be able to physically feel it of course, but she knew it was there, and she knew that even though her job made her come home like this. He wouldn't love her any less.

"It's not fair, Keira. I miss you, the kids miss you, and we wish you were around more. Your job requires a lot from you, and we worry each and every day you're out there and not home with us. So no, none of any of this is fair to you or me." Slade would pause for a moment.

Then he would grab his wife's right hand and bring it up to his lips for a kiss on the back of it. His lips met her skin and then he would gently hold her callused hand in his own before making sure he was looking right at her.

"But I didn't sign up for fair. I signed up for you. The good, the bad, all of it. I love you, Keira. The kids love you, and we always will. So whether you're gone a week or a year nothing will change that. We'll be right here ready to pick up where you left off." Slade said his peace and then smiled as he kept holding on to her hand.

As he spoke the quick drive would come to an end and soon they would arrive at the school. It wasn't like they were going on a large trek or anything. It was around the corner and over the wall, and luckily they were a bit early. But before he would leave the car, Slade would stay behind with his wife until she was ready. He wouldn't dare pop the door to exit until she did. He needed to know she was alright.

[member="Keira Ticon"]