Private The Trials

[Cassian Abrantes]

Shade ​

Cassian's chest tightened, not from surprise but from the quiet finality in her words. 'We're together.' She said it without hesitation, and somehow that made it hit harder. He watched the way she said it, measured, deliberate, like every syllable was a decision she'd weighed and chosen to keep.

For a heartbeat, he couldn't speak. The soldier in him, all his life, ever since he could pick up a weapon, he had lived by the sword; he could face the most desolate of things and not budge. But then she reached across the table, her fingers brushing his, and the rest of the world simply….stopped moving.

He turned his hand beneath hers, catching it in his palm, the warmth of her skin grounding him. "Together." he repeated quietly, testing the word like it might slip through his grasp if he wasn't careful.

The simple state that existed as their hands were with one another was more intimate than any gesture he could've planned. "You don't owe the galaxy an explanation. We are something worth fighting for…" He paused, smiling just slightly.

A lake breeze drifted through the open window, carrying the morning air and the warmth of the stove. Cassian's gaze softened, tracing quiet resolve in her expression, the way she didn't flinch or guard herself even as she held his hand.

"I know what it means for you." he said. "To choose this. To choose me." His voice was low, steady, sincere. "I'll match you, every step. No running. No pretending."

He squeezed her hand lightly, the ghost of a grin pulling at the corner of his mouth. "Though I should warn you." he added, the humor softening the weight of the moment, "Since we're together, I'm definitely making breakfast again. You don't get to back out now."

Cassian looked down at his food as he took a small bite.

And for the first time in longer than he could remember, Cassian Abrantes felt the simple, startling peace of knowing exactly where, and with whom, he belonged.

 

[Shade]

Shade let the quiet settle between them like a silver thread stretched across the table. Not tense—simply real. She didn't pull her hand from his. If anything, her fingers curved more deliberately around his, grounding herself in the warmth of his palm.

His question still lingered in the air, warm and fragile. Together.

She leaned back slightly in her chair, but her hand remained with his. Her thumb brushed across his knuckles, slow, intentional—an intimate gesture that didn't require proximity, only honesty.

"Together," she said again, the word calm and deliberate. Her voice didn't tremble. It didn't need to. "It is not something I choose lightly. But I choose you."

Her crimson eyes lifted to meet his, the morning light catching faint reflections along their surface. For a woman who lived in silence and shadows, trust was not given—it was earned. And he had earned it.

"You said you don't want ghosts." Her thumb brushed his hand again, subtle, grounding. "Neither do I. I have spent years convincing myself that closeness was a liability." Another breath—steady, controlled, soft. "But with you…it no longer feels like something that can break me."

Shade's fingers tightened gently around his, a quiet promise shaped in skin and closeness rather than reach.

"It feels right," she murmured.

She watched him carefully, reading every shift in his expression, every breath, every trace of emotion he didn't hide from her—a privilege she didn't take lightly.

"If you make breakfast again," she added, a faint, rare warmth threading into her tone, "I will get used to it. Faster than you think."

Then, softer, honest in a way she rarely allowed herself to be:

"I am with you, Cassian. Not partially. Not cautiously. Completely." Her fingers slid lightly along the ridge of his thumb, a quiet echo of the tenderness she could not show with distance. "Whatever comes next," she said, her voice steady as her grip. "We face it together."

And she meant every word.

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Shade ​

Cassian couldn't help the faint grin tugging at his lips as Shade spoke, her voice even and sure. He looked down, pretending to focus on his plate, though his attention was anything but casual.

He took another bite of breakfast, the faint clink of his fork the only sound. Occasionally, his gaze lifted, subtle and almost unintentional, catching her in the soft morning light. The sun brushed her hair, her expression calm and steady; it was all something he hadn't known he'd memorized until now.

When she looked up, he shifted his gaze back to his plate, a small, knowing smile giving him away. He didn't need to fill the silence; it was alive, shared.

He set his fork down and studied her. "What do you feel like doing today?" he asked, open and unhurried.

His voice held genuine curiosity, with no hidden agenda or expectation. He simply wanted to know how she wished to spend a day that, for once, was theirs.

He reached for his mug, fingers along the rim, then added, almost offhand, eyes never leaving hers, "I've got something planned for later."

"You should love it. I promise."

He tilted his head, watching here expression. "You'll see," he added, his tone lower now, a mix of teasing and affection.

For a while, he let the quiet return, taking another bite of breakfast as sunlight filtered through the windows. Every so often, he caught himself looking at her again, those subtle, unguarded glances he didn't bother to hide anymore.

 

[Shade]

Shade held his gaze for a moment, the faintest curve tugging at her lips—not quite a smile, more the idea of one. The morning light caught the edges of her eyes, softening their crimson glow, almost warm.

She leaned back slightly in her chair, letting her fingers brush the side of her mug before answering.

"Love, hm?" she murmured, tone dry as morning sun on stone. "If that's part of the itinerary, I'll need to see written proof. Preferably notarized."

The humor was subtle, quiet, but unmistakably there—the kind she only ever let him hear.

Her gaze flicked down to her plate, then back up to him, expression softening only a fraction.

"Fun," she echoed. "That's…not something I learned to plan."

She glanced out the window toward the shimmering lake, almost thoughtful.

"Vacations weren't a thing. Peace wasn't a thing. You train, you fight, you survive. That's the list."

Her fingers idly traced the rim of her mug, a small, unconscious motion.

"So no," she admitted, a hint of dry amusement threading through, "I have no idea what people do on days like this."

A slight shrug, casual but honest.

"You might have to teach me."

She tilted her head, watching him with a steady, almost challenging calm—that quiet, unspoken trust settling into the space between them again. "Whatever you've planned…I'll follow your lead."

Cassian Abrantes

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Shade ​

Cassian couldn't help but smile, probably the most he had smiled in the longest time. "That's something I can manage, my sister is the queen after all." He said with a light chuckle.

"You will get used to the fun, I assure you. We can experience it together, and this is just the beginning. Something good and true."

His hand reached out for hers, his palm lying upward so she could place hers in his.

"We can teach each other. We can take turns following each other." Cassian gave her hand a gentle squeeze as the morning sun's light continued to pour in. It was going to be a beautiful day, and a good start to what both Cassian and Shade had committed to. They had nothing but time.

Thread End​