Private Of all the things

[Aiden Porte]

Post Sword Returns & Blog

Alina Grayson ​

Aiden hadn't slept well since returning from the call Lorn Reingard had made. What seemed even more ridiculous was that the events that had unfolded during it disturbed him more than the darkness within him ever had. What transpired after he left was something he didn't even want to think about. He could only imagine what might have been said had he stayed. Even worse, he couldn't imagine what would have happened if Alina had been present. For that alone, he silently thanked the Force.

The only thing that had managed to distract him was the laughter, the kisses, the gentle touches, and the love he shared with Alina after his return. It was a welcome reprieve from thoughts he would rather leave buried.

Lira, meanwhile, was making fast friends with several of the other children, or so he had gathered. Her stories from their visits to Theed were enough to make him smile and laugh, even though she seemed to see right through him, just as Alina did. Aiden simply laughed, pressed a kiss to his daughter's forehead, and ushered her off to play, to have fun, and not worry about him. This was her time to be a child. To laugh, explore and adventure. Not to concern herself with the lunacy of a Jedi Knight and those who sought to lead him.

Early one morning, Aiden rolled over and placed a gentle kiss on Alina's cheek before slipping from the bed. He washed his face at the sink, dressed quietly, and decided to visit the homestead center, the stone circle where much of his training and meditation took place.

The Jedi Knight rolled his shoulders. His neck gave a small pop as he took a deep breath. Before long, an hour or two had passed. Aiden remained suspended upside down upon a single hand, perfectly balanced as the Force flowed around him, calm, focused, and strong. Various objects floated in a slow orbit around him, steady and controlled, each moving in harmony with his concentration.

Then he felt her, Alina's presence. A small smile touched his lips, as he opened his eyes.

"Good morning, love. I hope I didn't leave the bed too soon." Aiden teased with easy smirk. "Did you sleep well?"

 

[Alina Grayson]

She hadn't needed the Force to tell her that he wasn't sleeping, though it certainly hadn't hidden it. Aiden carried his worries openly in ways he never seemed to notice. He smiled, he laughed with Lira, he kissed her, held her close, and somehow convinced himself that the people who loved him would miss the exhaustion lingering behind his eyes. The days following his return from Shiraya's Rest had been good. Warm days. Full of laughter, affection, and the kind of quiet happiness she had spent years wondering if she would ever find. Yet beneath it all, she could still feel the weight he carried.

She felt him leave the bed long before she woke. When Alina finally rose, the homestead was already bathed in the soft gold of morning. For a while she lingered in the kitchen, enjoying the simple comfort of a peaceful Naboo sunrise before eventually following the familiar pull of his presence outside. The moment she reached the stone circle, she found herself smiling.

Of course, he was upside down; the sight was so thoroughly Aiden that it robbed any concern of its urgency. Objects drifted around him in a slow orbit while he balanced effortlessly on one hand, the Force moving through him with calm precision. It was impressive. Ridiculous. Somehow both at once her boots crunched softly against the ground as she approached.

"You know," she said, unable to keep the amusement from her voice, "most people take a morning walk when they have something on their mind."

The smile lingering on her lips softened as he greeted her.

"Good morning, love."

The words still felt wonderfully new. She suspected they would for quite some time when he asked whether he had left the bed too soon; she tilted her head slightly, pretending to consider the question seriously.

"Well, I woke up and discovered my boyfriend had abandoned a perfectly comfortable bed to go balance upside down on a rock before sunrise, so the jury is still deliberating." Her azure eyes sparkled briefly before the teasing eased into something gentler.

"I slept very well." The answer came easily enough, but her gaze lingered on him a moment longer. "You didn't."

There was no accusation in it. No frustration. Just quiet certainty.

Alina moved closer and settled herself comfortably on one of the stones nearby, drawing one knee up slightly as she looked at him. The morning breeze stirred her blonde hair while sunlight filtered across the clearing, and for a few moments she simply enjoyed being there with him. They had spent so much of their lives fighting, running, searching, surviving. These peaceful moments mattered more than either of them often admitted.

"So will you make me drag it out of you? Or will you tell me what happened?"

TAG: Aiden Porte
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[Aiden Porte]

Alina Grayson​

"You know," she said, unable to keep the amusement from her voice, "most people take a morning walk when they have something on their mind."

"One thing you will learn about me, Alina." Aiden said with a small smile, and even chuckled lightly as the objects floating around him, began to slow before they were then lowered down to the ground. "I set loftier goals for myself." He laughed again as he flipped himself upright, letting out a deep breath. He reached for the towel and patted away the beads of sweat that were on his brow.

"Well, I woke up and discovered my boyfriend had abandoned a perfectly comfortable bed to go balance upside down on a rock before sunrise, so the jury is still deliberating."

"I slept very well." The answer came easily enough, but her gaze lingered on him a moment longer. "You didn't."

"Boyfriend....?" Aiden repeated, his eyes widened a bit. His voice full of love, and also laced with teasing edge. "That's very serious......" Aiden tossed the towel down as he took a seat on on stone circle, his arms resting on knees. "I"m glad you slept well, and yes....I didn't." Aiden chuckled lightly. He shrugged his shoulders with a smile as he began to tell her about everything that happened. And the events that followed after he left was what made things all the worse. The message that he recieved from Ala. It was all compounding, a constant hammer against stone. Not breaking him, but the sharp sound from impact was ever present in his mind.

"I'm starting to think it's a good thing I resigned my position when I did."

It was a lot to take in, much to process. And somehow Aiden still sat here, seemingly as calm as can be.

"Madness, and stupidty...." Aiden voiced, as he took a deep breath. "All sense of reason has been thrown out the window."

 

[Alina Grayson]

Alina stared at him for a moment, genuine surprise crossing her face before a laugh escaped her. "Boyfriend?" she repeated, unable to keep the amusement from her voice. "You make it sound as though I've just knighted you." She shook her head, still smiling as she looked at him. "Aiden... did you think I simply invited any man into my bed?" There wasn't an ounce of embarrassment in the question, only affectionate disbelief. Her hand found his, giving it a gentle squeeze. "No, love. You're my boyfriend. Quite unapologetically, I might add." A mischievous glint found her azure eyes. "Though if that title feels a little too serious, I suppose I could start introducing you as 'the extraordinarily handsome man who stole my heart and has somehow convinced me to tolerate upside-down meditation before breakfast.' It is rather wordy, though."

The smile lingered for another moment before softening as he admitted he hadn't slept and began explaining everything that had happened after she'd left Shiraya's Rest. Alina listened without interruption, her expression growing more thoughtful with every passing minute. She had already felt the weight he carried since he'd come home, but hearing it spoken aloud gave new perspective to what had only been instinct before. When he finally fell silent, she let the quiet settle naturally between them rather than rushing to fill it.

"I don't think resigning was a good thing, don't misunderstand it was the best decision for you," she said at last, her voice gentle. "I think it's a tragedy that someone like you ever felt it was necessary; that was a great loss for the Jedi. But that was a situation of their own making."

Her thumb drifted absently across the back of his hand as she searched for the right words. "You know what stands out to me? It isn't that everyone disagreed. Disagreement has always existed, and it always will. It's that somewhere along the way, people stopped listening because they had already decided they were right." She looked down for a moment before meeting his eyes again. "I've seen that before. The Church gathered the same way. Different beliefs, different purpose, but the certainty... that sounded familiar. Everyone believed they were protecting something greater than themselves, and because they believed they were righteous, every compromise became easier than the last."

A quiet sigh escaped her as she looked out across the fields surrounding the homestead. "I don't think they're stupid, Aiden. I think they're hurting. They've watched worlds burn, friends die, and every victory seems to come with another loss waiting behind it. Pain has a way of convincing people that compassion failed them, that kindness was weakness, that if only they became harder, then perhaps they could finally stop losing." She shook her head gently. "It's a convincing lie because grief always makes certainty feel comforting."

Her attention returned to him, warmth replacing the sadness that had briefly crossed her features. Reaching up, she brushed a loose strand of hair away from his forehead before letting her hand rest lightly against his cheek.

"But that's why I believe in you."

The words came quietly, carrying none of the grandeur that so often surrounded conversations about Jedi, only simple conviction.

"You've never measured your worth by the people you've defeated. You've always measured it by the people you've helped. That's why I told you I trust you more than I trust any institution." A small smile returned. "I wasn't flattering you. I meant it."

She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss against his temple before resting her forehead lightly against his for a moment.

"You can't decide what the Order becomes, any more than I could decide what became of the Church. But you can decide what kind of man you'll be tomorrow morning when you wake up." Her smile grew warmer as she looked back into his eyes. "And if the man sitting in front of me is any indication, I don't think the galaxy has managed to change you nearly as much as you fear it has."

TAG: Aiden Porte
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[Aiden Porte]

Alina Grayson​

Aiden's eyes narrowed playfully, as she spoke and her own eyes were upon him. Those azure eyes he could get lost in, for days, perhaps longer. "Your bed, I suppose we will have to say it's ours now, for all intents and purposes." He returned her gesture, giving her hand a gentle squeeze, before he raised it up and kissed it lightly. A full display of devotion in that gesture, she was something that he never thought he would have. Something over the course of the last few years he had given up on finding. And then here here she was, in all her splendor and goodness.

It was truly a gift from the gods, if there were any.

She had a way of speaking to him, simple and honest truth. One of the many things that he loved about her. Aiden breathed easily as she spoke, listening to every word, not only because it was important but because it came from her. That's why he came to her about these things, his trust in her was absolute, one would say he was biased, but it went beyond that. It was what he had seen and what he had been shown from her. Since their first meeting, and to the moment she wielded that sword.

There was much he wanted to ask, so much that he wanted to say. Not to her, but to Lorn, Ala. See where their mindset was at. What caused Lorn to go on this path, was it arrogance, darkness. What caused Ala to act as she did, was it her own issues with Lorn that was clouding her judgment. That caused her to act out as she did. These were people that he had fought with for a long time, and now, it seemed all sense of intellect and such were cast aside and it was just blind ambition and emotion that fueled such things.

That would be his next task, to see if he could meet with either of them, he had to hear it from them. And if they wished not to, then he would have his answer.

Then her words came....

"But that's why I believe in you."

He looked into her eyes, and he smiled. His hand rose, and laid gently against hers that rested against his cheek. The kiss against his temple and her forehead resting against his.

He wanted to say 'thank you' but those words didn't seem like it would do justice. She had a deep way with her words that, even as he knew the answer, it just solidifed his own resolve and gave him that much more clarity on the situation. He wasn't sure what the future held for him. He just knew who he needed to be, what he needed to be.

Savior, Jedi, Lover, Father, Protector and many other things.

"I know what sort of man I want to be, its the same one I've always been. One that continues to fight for hope, for Naboo. One that continues to be a loving man to his girlfriend." Aiden spoke with a smile. "And of course, one that continues to be a loving father to his daughter, and to do his best to protect them for whatever he can."

He leaned in and kissed her forehead, before placing a gentle kiss against her lips, then speaking after "I love you, Alina. I feel, I know....my heart has always belonged to you."

Aiden chuckled lightly as he looked at her. "I can get washed up, make breakfast, and see what its in store for us, for the day." Aiden glanced around and he wondered if Lira was still in bed.

"Was Lira up when you left the house?"