Private Repercussions

[Aiden Porte]

Alina Grayson​

One thing among the many that Aiden loved about Naboo was the weather. The sun shone warmly overhead, broken only by the occasional drifting cloud. A steady breeze rolled across the hills, cool enough to bring comfort without stealing away the warmth of the day. It was peaceful in so many ways, that you couldn't find the words to describe.

Even with chaos brewing around him, Aiden could not imagine being anywhere else. Yet peace did little to silence the thoughts weighing on him.

Efret Farr was gone now. The dark side had claimed her completely. At first, Aiden had felt almost indifferent to it. At first, hurt.....that she had never came to him or sought the help she may have needed. Though if he were honest with himself, he did not know if it would have changed anything in the end. Still, the fact that she had not trusted him enough to try, said more about their friendship than he wanted to admit. Or what was worse, was that she wanted that. The darkness, despair, ruin.....The truth was simple and painful. Efret had chosen her path, and he couldn't go about chasing after her.

Then there was Lorn Reingard , just....gone without a word. Just what was heared in passing, by rumor. Aiden did not know where he had gone or what burdens had driven him away, but he hoped, more than anything, that he was safe.

The Jedi themselves felt fractured, seemingly off. As he waited for word from Ala about his status, part of him silently hoped it would never arrive. He had stepped away because he feared the darkness clinging to him would cast a shadow over the Jedi. Yet after the events at the Embassy, it seemed they were doing a great job of that themselves. Where to place himself, Aiden wasn't sure what to do.

Still, despite everything, hope remained. Aiden sat on the hill overlooking the homestead with a smile on his face. Even with all this going on, he still had hope, even against the impending darkness. That reckless, perpetual hope.....made him stronger than anyone could ever know.

Noticing Alina approaching in the distance, Aiden lifted a hand in a small wave. A smirk tugged at his lips as she drew closer, and a slight hint of mischief could be seen in his eyes.

"You talk a lot in your sleep, you know that?" he teased lightly. "Stuff like, 'Aiden is the best,' and 'I'm so lucky.'"

He barely managed to finish the sentence before laughter escaped him. He shook his head, grinning.

 

[Alina Grayson]

Aiden had a way of standing out even when he was doing nothing more than sitting beneath the Naboo sun, framed by green hills and open sky as if the world itself had decided to soften around him. The breeze caught lightly at her blonde hair as she made her way up the hill, the fabric of her clothing shifting with each step, her gaze lingering on him with a warmth she did not bother to hide.

There were things in him she could feel even before she reached him. The hope, yes, bright and stubborn as ever, but also the weight beneath it. The ache of friendships strained or lost, the uncertainty surrounding the Jedi, the quiet questions he carried about where he belonged, and whether stepping away had been wisdom or fear.

When he spoke, the corner of her mouth lifted. She stopped just close enough to look down at him, one brow arching with clear suspicion and a faint sparkle in her blue eyes. "Is that so?" Her voice carried amusement, but she folded her arms with theatrical seriousness, considering him as though weighing evidence in some very important trial. The effect was somewhat ruined by the smile she was trying not to show.

"I suppose it is possible," she allowed, tilting her head slightly. "Though if I were going to say anything in my sleep, I imagine it would be something much more believable. Perhaps, 'Aiden is impossible,' or, 'Aiden is very pleased with himself again.'"

The smile broke through then, soft and bright, and she stepped closer until she could lower herself beside him on the hill. She settled near enough that her shoulder could brush his if either of them shifted, her gaze moving briefly over the homestead below before returning to him. Naboo really was beautiful like this. Peaceful enough to make sorrow feel almost out of place, and yet perhaps that was why it mattered. Peace was not the absence of pain. Sometimes it was the place where pain could finally be set down, even if only for a little while.

"But," she added, her tone gentling as she looked at him, "I am lucky." There was no teasing in that part. No attempt to turn it into something clever before it could become too honest. Alina let the words rest between them as they were, simple and unguarded. "I do not know if I said it in my sleep," she continued, "but I have thought it often enough."

Her gaze softened as she studied him, taking in the smirk, the mischief, the laugh he had offered so easily despite everything pressing at the edges of his heart. That was Aiden. Not untouched by darkness, not untouched by loss, but still reaching for light with both hands. Still smiling at her from a hill on Naboo as though hope were not fragile at all, as though it were something that could be chosen and chosen again until the galaxy finally learned to believe in it.

Alina drew one knee up slightly, resting her hands loosely around it as the breeze moved around them. She spoke quietly, now letting the words fall gently; he was good at hiding his true feelings behind a smile, she knew that all too well. "So, what's on your mind. You are troubled, that's obvious." Her eyes moved back toward the horizon, giving him room not to answer. She understood that kind of silence. The Church had taught her discipline, but grief had taught her the weight of things left unsaid.

"I can feel it in you. Not in every thought, but enough." Her expression grew thoughtful, touched with concern but not pity. "You put on a strong face. You always do, but you don't have to be strong for me, Aiden. Sometimes even the strongest need to rely on another." She turned her head toward him, azure eyes seeking his. She turned back to him fully, her voice lowering into something more intimate, meant for him alone despite the openness of the hill and sky around them. "I love your laughter. I love that you can still find mischief when the galaxy is trying very hard to make you bitter. But I am here for the good and the bad." She reached over then, her hand finding his with quiet certainty. Her fingers slipped around his, warm and steady, not demanding anything from him except presence.

TAG: Aiden Porte
​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Alina Grayson​

Her initial response had him smiling. The 'Is that so?' made him nod quickly in a playful, teasing manner. Full of innocent humor, though she knew all too well it was often a facade he hid behind. "You've just admitted it. So technically, that means I win. Because it means you're thinking of me often, even while you sleep as well." A deceitfully teasing chuckle escaped him as he watched her lower herself beside him. Their shoulders brushed lightly, and he leaned into her a bit more than necessary before straightening himself again.

"I am lucky."

"I think it's fair to say that we both are." Aiden spoke with simple truth and steadiness. "Don't you think?"

His thoughts drifted back to their first meeting, and all the meetings that followed after. Lira, everything they had gone through together, and the home they had built. The foundations of the homestead may have already existed, but what truly made it complete was the warmth, truth, hope, and love they filled it with. That was what made it whole, no matter what.

"So, what's on your mind. You are troubled, that's obvious."

He smiled softly as he looked toward the horizon, just as she did. Thoughts formed slowly in his mind, fading and reforming before new words finally came to him as she began speaking again. Their fingers laced together, and he raised her hand gently, pressing a kiss against it.

"I know. And I love how you see right through me. That's a good thing, isn't it?"

Aiden cleared his throat before continuing. "Troubled, concerned as well. There is someone I know who has lost their path. A friend..." His voice remained steady, though a layer of somberness rested beneath it. "I'm not going to lie, it's upsetting that she didn't ask for help, you know? And then Lorn leaving without so much as a word. I get it, but it still troubles me. It feels like there was more I should've done. Something I should've seen, something that I missed."

He looked toward Alina then, unable to stop himself from smiling. Simply seeing her face brightened him immediately, even if she happened to be scolding him about something, or even upset with him about something. "I know I can't save everyone, or help everyone. I guess the selfish part of me believes that I can, no matter what."

Aiden glanced off to the side as his free hand picked up a small rock from the plains where they sat. He tossed it forward absentmindedly.

"And then there were the events at the Embassy. I don't know all the details, not completely. But I know enough to question things. To wonder...what are we doing?" Aiden chuckled lightly before looking back toward Alina. "What they were at the beginning...it felt like they could do anything. But now it seems maybe their way has been lost?" Aiden said there way, because he wasn't included in that anymore. He knew his path, and it would stay true, hopeful, and filled with light. Even with the impending darkness within him. "I don't know what else I could do. Or sometimes to my great shame, if I even want to do anything to help."

"What do you think, my love?" Aiden asked, a sincere smile gracing his face. Her advice and her words meant everything to him. Not simply because he loved her, but because her words always carried truth.

 

[Alina Grayson]

His question lingered between them for a moment, carried away on the breeze that rolled across the hills. Alina remained quiet, her fingers still intertwined with his as she looked out across the landscape below. Naboo was beautiful today. The lakes shimmered beneath the afternoon sun, and the fields beyond the homestead seemed untouched by the troubles of the wider galaxy. It was almost enough to make someone forget how much pain existed beyond the horizon.

A faint smile touched her lips when he spoke of always trying to save everyone. "That isn't selfish, Aiden." Her thumb brushed lightly across the back of his hand. "Painful, perhaps somewhat unrealistic. But not selfish; you care. That's what this really is. When people are hurting, you instinctively ask what more you could have done. What sign you missed, what burden you should have helped carry." Her smile softened. "The problem is that eventually you start holding yourself responsible for choices that were never yours to make."

Her gaze drifted briefly toward the horizon again. "She chose her path. That doesn't mean you failed her. It doesn't mean you weren't her friend. It simply means that in the end, she made a choice you could not make for her." There was sadness in her voice, but no judgment."As for Lorn, sometimes people leave because they're afraid of disappointing those who care about them. Sometimes they leave because they're carrying something they don't know how to explain. Sometimes they simply don't know how to ask for help." She looked back at him. "You can wish they had trusted you more without blaming yourself for their absence."

The conversation shifted naturally toward the Jedi, and Alina grew quiet again as she considered her answer. This was more difficult. Not because she lacked an opinion, but because she cared about the people involved. Unlike Aiden, she had never truly been one of them. The Church had taught her differently. The Eight Currents had taught her differently. She viewed the Force through another lens entirely.

"I think institutions lose their way sometimes." Her voice remained gentle. "Not because the people within them stop caring, but because they become so focused on preserving what they are that they forget why they existed in the first place." She paused, searching for the right words. "The Jedi were never meant to serve themselves. They were meant to serve others. The moment any organization begins protecting its own image, its own authority, or its own traditions more fiercely than the people it claims to protect." She gave a small shrug. "The path becomes harder to see."

Her azure eyes found his again. "But I don't think the answer is to give up on them either." The sincerity in her expression deepened. "When I look at the Jedi, I don't think of councils or politics or embassies. I think of people like you." A faint smile returned. "I think of people who throw themselves into impossible situations because someone needs help. People who refuse to let bitterness win. People who keep choosing compassion even when it hurts."

She squeezed his hand gently. "The Order may stumble. Leaders may make mistakes. Entire generations may lose sight of what matters. But that doesn't mean the Light itself is lost." For a moment, she simply looked at him. "I think you're asking the wrong question." The breeze shifted her blonde hair slightly as she spoke. "You keep asking what you should do for the Jedi." Her smile softened.

"I think the better question is what kind of man you want to be." There was no accusation in it or challenge, only honesty for the man she loved. "Because if you stay true to that answer, whether you stand beside the Jedi, outside them, or somewhere in between, you'll still be Aiden Porte." Her expression warmed noticeably. "The man who built a home instead of a fortress. The man who adopted a little girl because she needed someone. The man who somehow remains hopeful even when every piece of evidence suggests he shouldn't be."

A quiet laugh escaped her. "And if I'm being completely honest, I trust that man far more than I trust any institution." The words settled between them as naturally as breathing. Then Alina leaned slightly closer until her shoulder rested comfortably against his. Just letting the quiet settle between them as she leaned her head against his.

TAG: Aiden Porte
​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Alina Grayson

He didn't want it to sound cliche, but it was the truth. She could see more of him, than he saw of himself. She could pick out the pieces, the rough edges, point them out. The canvas wasn't complete without her, that much was clear. It was the strength, wisdom, and grace she carried that helped guide the way. Essentialy a lighthouse in the fog.
​

"You are right, I guess that part of me that feels I could've done something to change it, is still there." The more the words came, the more the own truth in his mind and eyes began to see clearly. It wasn't the organization, it wasn't the establishment. It wasn't the High Republic, or the Jedi Order that he bound himself to. It wasn't the name....it was the people. He dedicated himself to defending and protecting Naboo and its people.

It was the people, his friends. Those he respected, those he cared for.

"I think the better question is what kind of man you want to be."

Aiden chuckled lightly, a smile on his face still as he looked over to her. "I know that answer easily enough." His eyes met her azure ones, eyes that he had been lost in before, time and time again. He thought to one of their first meetings on the riverbank, the lessons taught and learned there. The many moments after, her will to reach for strength and not be corrupted by its power. He took a deep breath, as she rested her shoulder against his, hands coveted one another.

"I will continue to be a constant light in the darkness, a beacon for those who have lost their way. I'll keep fighting as hard as I can, for as long as I can. And the Force will take care of the rest."

Aiden's other hand rose to gently caress Alina's cheek, tenderly lifting her face to meet his. A warm smile touched his lips as he looked into her eyes. Leaning forward, he captured her lips in a soft, passionate kiss, pouring every ounce of his love, devotion, and hope into the moment. He broke away and let out a happy sigh.

"I love you, Alina."

 

[Alina Grayson]

For a moment, Alina forgot how to breathe.

The kiss alone would have been enough to leave her heart racing but the warmth of his hand against her cheek, the tenderness in the way he looked at her, the quiet certainty that had always existed between them even when neither of them spoke it aloud. She felt all of it, and when he pulled back, she found herself smiling before she even realized she was doing it.

Then he said the words,and everything else seemed to fall away the breeze moving across the hills or even the distant sounds of Naboo. The worries that had occupied so much of their conversation. All of it simply disappeared beneath words she had imagined hearing more times than she would ever admit.

Her azure eyes widened slightly, the implication was always there, unspoken and only hinted at or implied. Neither of them had said it until now she had seen it in the way he looked at her. In the way he spoke. In the way he welcomed her into his life, into his home. She had felt it in countless small moments that neither of them had ever needed to name. For a brief moment, emotion stole every clever response she might have made. Any teasing remarks, all the playful observations she usually reached for so easily simply vanished.

"Aiden..."

His name escaped as little more than a breath, Alina's hand rose to cover the one still resting against her cheek, holding it there as though she never wanted it to leave. Slowly, she leaned forward until her forehead rested gently against his.

"I love you too."

The words came easily "I've loved you for longer than I think I would like to admit. Though in my defense, you made it very difficult not to." Her fingers intertwined more firmly with his she thought back to the riverbank where they had first trained together. To Naboo. To Lira. To every conversation, every hardship, every victory and quiet evening in between. All the moments that had slowly built the life they shared now. A life she would not trade for anything when she looked at him again, there was no uncertainty left in her expression. She leaned in finally pressing her lips to his.

TAG: Aiden Porte
​