The future was anything but certain. Nor was it promised. And as the weeks passed them by, that fact only became more and more evident. Small odd jobs here and there kept them afloat, but they still weren't sure how long it would be until they could leave the planet on a ship of their own. Ellia spent hours in the landing fields, slaving away on personal and cargo freighters alike. Din could disappear on bounties for long periods of time, leaving her to come back to an empty hotel room for days on end. Yet, even with all of their sacrifices, they still had very little to show for it.
But as Ellia stood there, staring out of the small, rectangular window, in a shirt far too big to be her own, eyes illuminated by the light of the moon...none of that mattered to her.
She had her home. And she was happy.
A pair of strong, warm arms suddenly snuck their way around her waist, dragging her out of her thoughts. And it was almost instantaneous, the way she let out a sigh, leaning back into Din's chest.
His chin dug into her shoulder gently,
"Come back to sleep cyar'ika" he beckoned with a throaty whisper.
The corners of Ellia's mouth twitched upwards slightly,
"You keep calling me that..." she mused quietly. "What does it even mean?" she asked, still staring out the window, down at the moonlit streets of Nevarro.
Din hummed thoughtfully, and Ellia could feel the vibrations resonate through her entire body. His head tilted slightly where it rested in the crook of her neck, bringing his lips down onto her cold, exposed shoulder.
"My beloved..." he finally answered, whispering the words into her skin. "Mando'a"
Ellia's cheeks burned, but her eyebrows knit together thoughtfully. She could have sworn she had heard that word before, back on the Crest. In the foggy haze of a nightmare-plagued sleep.
She spun around to face him, all but forcing him to tilt his head up from out of her neck.
"And...how long have I been- cyar'ika?" she asked, the unfamiliar syllables rolling off of her tongue awawkrdly.
But Din still smiled. Just hearing her attempt at speaking the language he was taught by the Covert when he was younger, made him feel emotions he didn't quite have a name for yet.
He took in a deep breath, thinking over her words, arms still tightly wrapped around her waist. Ellia's hands had found their home resting atop his chest, her fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt slightly.
"A long time." he finally answered, his voice low. "Long before I even knew it myself."
Ellia stared back up at him with interest. Her eyes tracing over the beautiful face that she still wasn't quite used to seeing looking back at her.
A smile quickly danced across her lips. She tilted her head up, pressing a soft kiss onto the bridge of his nose. She felt him respond with a content sigh, resting his forehead against hers.
"Come. Sleep." he whispered once again.
This time, she obliged.
Despite the nighttime trudging on, Ellia lied there awake as could be. But it wasn't unpleasant, or due to violent nightmares. No, those had mostly gone since she gave the room across the hall back to the hotel in order to begin staying with Din.
Instead, she kept her eyes open, listening to Din's quiet breaths as he drifted off to sleep himself, his arms wrapped around her protectively.
She freed her hands from underneath the covers, reaching out to trace the outline of his face lightly with her relatively cold fingers. She didn't leave an inch untouched, his jaw, his nose, his eyes, his mouth. Trying to permanently etch it into her memory.
YOU ARE READING
A Life Without Meaning
Fanfiction𝔸𝕟 𝕦𝕟𝕨𝕒𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕄𝕒𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕝𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟. 𝕎𝕙𝕠'𝕤 𝕕𝕒𝕪𝕤 𝕡𝕒𝕤𝕤 𝕙𝕚𝕞 𝕓𝕪 𝕚𝕟 𝕒 𝕙𝕒𝕫𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕓𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕓𝕝𝕠𝕠𝕕. 𝕎𝕙𝕠'𝕤 𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕘𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕩𝕪 𝕚𝕤 𝕤𝕙𝕒𝕕𝕖𝕕 𝕓𝕪 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕋-𝕧𝕚...