Private Love Story | Adhira xx Aarav Chandra

[Adhira Chandra]

The air in the Balmorran countryside was not nearly as thick with smog as some of the cities on the industrialized planet. It was clear and brisk and smelled of the mountains and the leaves which cascaded to the ground during the harvest season. The Chandra family had maintained a summer lodge in the years that followed her election as Chancellor - the vacation home where they spent whatever time she was allowed away from Capital City. Aarav had taken to spending extended periods of time there since the war began, taking advantage of his wife's busy schedule to spend quality time with their grandchildren and daughters. Adhira, meanwhile, had settled for the occasional holo-call from her family as she labored on Coruscant, relishing the times her husband was on the city-planet or when she managed to escape the trappings of her office.​

As the sun set over the mountains of Balmorra, the Chancellor crawled carefully out of one of the sky windows that overlooked the sloping rooves of their cottage and laid carefully out against the fanned out trim of her sari-like gown, starting up at the fading light and drinking in the twinkle of the stars. She could feel her chest expanding and collapsing with her every breath, focusing on it, attempting to slow and steady it, relaxing and meditating. Instinctively, she reached out in the Force, grasping for enlightenment as she did once when she prepared to undertake knighthood... Unfortunately, though, her meditation had a sudden interruption as the window to her hiding place opened once more.​

Adhira sat up and her dark eyes wandered to the opening where Aarav Chandra stood, smirking out at her. Adhira smirked back as she patted the rough roofing next to where she found herself resting on her haunches. He was older now, but Adhira noted that in the warm glow of the internal lighting, Aarav Chandra looked just as handsome as the day she met him as a young woman in the diplomatic corp. "Come on," she laughed, "I hope you brought your cloak."​

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Instinctively, she scooted closer to him, like a moon reaching out to its orbital companion, longing for his warmth and his touch. He obliged, meeting her in the middle.​

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[Spirit of Wisdom]

Compared to his wife, Aarav was a starkly humble looking man. His once sharp cheekbones had softened with age, as had his jawline and he chose to don simplistic suits that hid his paunch rather than extravagant cloaks that better reflected his status as "the first gentleman of the Alliance." That was what he had once been called. A repulsively elitist title. Yet despite his toned-down appearance, he continued to be accompanied by a phalanx of Senate Guard and found himself stalked by the media wherever he went. It was frustrating to no end, inhibiting his ability to travel and his ability to do what he loved.

Yet he endured the trappings of office happily for the benefit of his beloved.

He had been watching the wind ripple through the dark hair of the woman he had married for some time before she noticed him. Every new glimpse of the dusky Balmorran force of nature was a moment of awe for him, and every time they locked eyes he felt the familiar flutter in his gut that once brought him to one knee. He smiled.

"I brought this."

Aarav Chandra held up his hand revealing a furry blanket grasped tightly in his palm before clambering carefully out the hatch and onto the rough solar paneling that helped power their modest vacation home. She was his moon. He felt pulled to her by some unknowable force of nature as he moved carefully ever-closer to her until the two of them met in the middle.

In one swift movement, Aarav tossed the blanket over Adhira's shoulder before pulling one side over his own. His once strong arms pulled her close until he could feel the warmth of her body through the silken gown that hugged her hips. Aarav kissed her gently in the way that made his beard tickle her cheek - exactly how he knew she liked it and he joined her in gazing up at the stars. "How long are we here this time?" It was difficult for the careful man to conceal the sadness in his tone, but he held her tight all the same, knowing that it wouldnt be long before the love of his life was tumbling back to the center of the galaxy to oversee the war effort.

Adhira Chandra​

 

[Adhira Chandra]

The old woman could feel him before she saw her husband in her periphery as he immediately reached out to hold her tightly at the waist, pulling her one inch closer, into him. The smile that spread across her light brown lips was unavoidable and the contentment in her eyes unmistakable. Instinctively, she leaned into the ticklish kiss he placed on her cheek. "You know I hate that," she lied with a dull laugh, knowing his heart had been heavy ever since they left Coruscant.​

Being Chancellor of the most powerful faction in the galaxy had been far worse for her family than she had anticipated, keeping her away from her husband, her daughters, and her grandchildren more often than she had hoped. It had ironically been most divisive in her own marriage, though. Aarav had been the one constant in her life since she left the Jedi Order and now they found themselves on opposite sides of the Core more often than not. He still did his utmost to support her in everything, appearing at events at her side, consoling her after difficult days in the office, but as many nights he had slept alone on Coruscant in their official apartment as she toiled endlessly with her staff on new battle strategy or masterstroke political maneuverings.​

She could hear the sadness in his voice when he asked about the length of time they would be spending on Balmorra and loathed the idea of answering him truthfully. Adhira smiled at the man who had once knelt to ask for her hand. To her, he was the same Aarav who met her at the end of the aisle - defined cheekbones and sharp jawline to the strong arms that held her and the rough hands that grasped her waist. She melted into him. "Let's not think about the return trip just yet," Adhira could feel his eyes on her now, but did not dare meet his gaze, choosing instead to lean her head against his chest.​

"I know this has not been easy for you, Aarav," she said softly into the warmth of his clavicle, "for any of you.... I'm sorry." Adhira could feel a warmth behind her eyes that threatened to burst forth when she uttered the forbidden phrases.​

 

[Spirit of Wisdom]

The hardest thing about his wife's transition from Senator to Chancellor was seeing the toll it had taken on her. Silver strands stood out more prominently now in the ebony black of her silky smooth hair. The lines on her forehead, which often creased in concern, had grown deeper, and dark circles had been slowly creeping up under her eyes for weeks. But what hurt most was how much it had taken her - and him - away from their home on Balmorra and their daughters and their grandchildren. Adhira becoming the leader of the Alliance had completely upset the balance within the Chandra household. But Aarav understood how important she was to the people of their nation and how important they all were to her.

When she deflected his question, sighing into his chest, Aarave squeezed her arm to comfort her, knowing how hard it had been to utter the two words she said most infrequently. "You are the brightest light in my galaxy, my love" he whispered into her hair, which he noted smelled like flowers and leather, "would it be fair for me to hide that light from the rest of them?"

At the window, one of their grandchildren appeared, smiling brightly out at the pair, and in the background, Aarav could hear one of his daughters shouting for him. "Will you tuck me in baba?" the little boy said enthusaistically to him. Aarav leaned away from Adhira and nodded. "I'll be right in."

The older man slipped his arm from under the blanket and found her own, squeezing it tightly before bringing it to her lips and placing a firm, loving kiss, on the top of her fingers. "I would follow you into the void, Dira, and I would do so happily so long as it meant I could spend just a few moments at your side..."

"I love you all the world."

Aarav released her hand and slid back through the window, following the distant sounds of giggling to his grandson's bedroom.

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[Adhira Chandra]

The morning sun was cutting through the haze of the Balmorran countryside when Chancellor Adhira Chandra found herself staring deeply into an ornate mirror hanging from her sitting room wall. The smell of a spicy breakfast was wafting through the room from the kitchen where she and their cookery droid had been busy preparing an early morning meal for the family. Adhira was draped in a bright orange sari, elegant and beautiful as most of her wardrobe had come to be, but far more relaxing than the heavy robes that she wore on Coruscant or at public functions in general. The old woman had not quite realized how long she had been staring at herself in the mirror.​

Gingerly, she prodded the skin of her neck, massaged the bruised skin under her eyes - it was returning to its normal color, now - and pulling back the wrinkled bits of her skin to catch a glimpse of her old self. Even some strands of her hair had started to go gray, she noted forlornly. "Nani?" a small voice behind her snapped Adhira out of the trance. In the reflection she could see a young girl standing behind her, rubbing the sleep from her eyes, and smiled back at the visage.​

"Pavati, you're up early," Adhira said, brushing the dark hair background her grandaughter's face.​

"Nani... Is something burning?" the child asked innocently. For a moment, Adhira was going to instinctively brush off the concern, but as she considered the scent wafting through the air she suddenly remembered that she had been cooking... and realized it was, in fact, now burning. Her eyes grew wide and she rushed past the young girl and into the kitchen where dark smoke was rising from the large metal tray that had been left on the heating element. The pan itself was not hot due to the inherent technology of the element, but the large yellow disks on the tray were frothing angrily when she removed them and tossed them into the disposal where they hissed away.​

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Adhira held a hand to her heart, relieved the situation had not gotten any more out of hand, but the terrified look in her grandaughter's eyes made her rush to the child and scoop her up. "Well... the doctor did say you could use more fruit," she whispered reassuringly through a kiss on girl's forehead and smirked at a bowl of fruit on the counter.​

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[Ishana Chandra]

DELICATE

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"Mother!" Ishana wandered down the ornate steps of the Chandra vacation home with a sour, dissatisfied look on her face and glared through the haze that accumulated in the downstairs rooms at the form of Adhira Chandra. She was barely dressed in a white dressing gown and her hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail that cascaded down to the crest of her bottom. The entire downstairs smelled of bitterness and smoke. She winced. "What are you doing?"​

Her delicate feet were raised into delicate tiptoes as she scurried across the floor to the liquor cabinet. The sun was far too bright for her and she was still feeling the headache from the previous evening's family game night. "And please dont say cooking breakfast," she grimaced as she rummaged through the large wooden cabinet that contained the family's large supply of alcohol before withdrawing with a bottle of clear liquid in her hand, "breakfast." Ishana pointed at the bottle in her hand before taking a generous swig, ignoring what would surely be a look of outrage from her mother.​

"Mausi!" Ishana rolled her eyes as her sister's child squirmed out of Adhira's arms and clamored over to her. She felt tiny arms attempt to wrap her waist in a vice grip, but Ishana was too quick "Uh uh," Ishana protested, pushing the child off of her. "Too early."​

To her dismay, the child persisted and, in an attempt to not look too weak in front of their brass-bra'd matriarch, rolled her eyes briefly before returning the hug. "Where's Ashanti?" She grumbled. "I've told her about letting her brood run amuck when she isn't awake."​

 

[Spirit of Wisdom]

Delicate

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"I've been up for hours, actually," Ashanti was out of breath, but she still managed to squeak out the hint of contempt in her voice as she wandered into the kitchen with a microfiber towel draped around her neck and sweat still dripped from her neck from the intense morning workout she'd been having in the lower levels of the estate. Her dark eyes trained on her sister as Pavati rushed over to her and clutched at her thigh. The elder Chandra sister could hardly hide the judgment in her eyes as her gaze passed over the liquor bottle in Ishana's hand. Ashanti shared a gaze with her mother before hoisting her daughter up onto her hip. "Hello, baby," she cooed into the girl's ear, snarling at Ishana over her head.

"Morning Maa," Ashanti kissed Adhira on either cheek as she grabbed a muja fruit from the bowl and bit into the tender flesh, Now that Ashanti was in the kitchen she smelled something putrid and pulled a face. "Oh mama," she said, fanning the smoke out of the immediate air as her daughter clutched her nose tightly, "where is the droid?"

Her mother had a habit of turning off the maid droids and cooking herself. She was not a bad cook per se, but this marked the second time in as many days that Adhira had accidentally burned the food she was cooking. Ashanti might have pegged her as having some form of chronic forgetfulness if she didnt know the root cause was the stress of her mother's job. The first time it happened, Adhira had been in the study in a top-secret call with her cabinet. "Are you feeling alright maa?"

 

[Adhira Chandra]

There was very little explanation that Adhira had to offer either of her daughters as they sauntered into the room. She had judgment for Ishana and shame to offer Ashanti, but in both instances felt that she had, in some way, failed both of them. As Pavati squirmed out of her arms she smiled at the brief moment of affection the young girl shared with both of Chandra women. In their own way, each of them made her proud to be their mother. She found it hard to believe they felt similarly about their mother lately. "Oh, yes, I-" she gestured helplessly to the kitchen, noting the look that the girls shared before stopping.​

"My mind was elsewhere, I suppose," she admitted, sounding rather defeated by the statement. There was a commotion at the base of the stairs and she turned to see Aarav descending them with the other grandchildren in tow. His warm smile, despite, the smell that had no doubt woke him when it wafted up the stairs, was reassuring to her. She had been playing the part of the great stabilizer for the Alliance for so long, it was easy to forget that she was still anchored by his presence. "Oh no, did we wake you?" The older woman crossed the room and kissed Aarav. When she pulled away to gaze into his chocolate brown eyes, her own were full of apology. He ignored it, though.​

"Oh no, I was just thinking I'd come down and surprise you all with Dada's famous fruit salad!" The younger children cheered while Ishana and Ashanti smiled coyly at the love their parents so clearly shared for each other. They did not just support each other in private. Aarav frequently, and happily, covered for Adhira's mistakes in public and she for him. It made her consider how impossible the job of Senator or Chancellor would have been without him by her side. "Sounds like a wonderful idea," she tilted her head in the discreet way she did when she had something to tell him that could not be said allowed. In this case it was 'thank you.'​

The grandchildren slammed into her and Aarav, still cheering, and she could not help but feel completely content with every wrinkle she had previously been stressing about.​

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