Nu Kyr'adyc, Shi Taab'echaaj'la

Chapter 4 - Deeper Than Love

Author's Note: There's only one chapter left. :') 

But I am planning a sequel that takes place during ROTS, so if any of y'all have any ideas/suggestions for it, feel free to let me know! :D

~ Amina Gila

Anika goes to meditate while they're still enroute, slipping into the Force and letting its soothing Light wash over her. And then, she reaches for Fives. She doesn't know how to do it, exactly, but she knows he's out there somewhere, and she so badly wants to talk to him again before they go after Echo.

If soulmates were real, Fives would be hers. They fit together in a way she never has with anyone else. They were completely in sync, working together seamlessly though they'd only known each other for a couple years. Even she and Obi-Wan had taken longer to fit together. With Fives gone, it's as though a part of her is empty, missing, constantly calling out for her missing half. This, she thinks, a little miserably, must be what it's like to lose a soulmate.

Even doing what she knows Fives would have wanted is only a cover, a mask for the grief and pain. It's easier, knowing she isn't alone, grieving with the boys, but there's still – she knew Fives in ways none of the boys did, so it probably makes sense that a part of her grief is one that they can't fully understand, something that's deeper.

Or maybe it's just that she's always felt things so much more intensely than most.

She drifts a little further, and then, there's a slight tug, and she's lying on her back, on the mats in the training room on her Star Destroyer. Fives is on top of her, pinning her down, a devious smirk on his lips. "You figured it out," he says, a little amused.

Anika shifts underneath him, testing the strength of his grip. In answer, he only tightens his hold on her hand, keeping them firmly pressed against the floor above her head. "Why are we here?" she questions. She and Fives have been here many times, and she definitely doesn't mind being this close to him.

"Mm. It's a memory," he answers, dipping his head to brush his lips on her cheek. "Remember when we pulled that stunt and annoyed Rex enough to challenge us to a one-on-one spar, no weapons, no tricks, no Force?"

She huffs out a breath, relaxing on the floor. "Ah." Actually, she remembers that vividly. They'd done something a little bit stupid and reckless, and after chewing them out for being so careless, Rex had challenged the two to have a one-on-one spar with each other. Not like they'd minded, of course, still testing out their feelings for one another, no matter how much they might have just agreed to wait.

In retrospect, maybe Rex had been a little annoyed that they kept eyeing each other, so he'd forced them together in the probable hopes of making them less stupid.

Did it work?

She honestly has no idea.

All she does remember, quite clearly, is that they'd very nearly kissed in front of an audience.

"Ah," Fives mimics, obviously trying not to laugh.

Anika wriggles under him, attempting to free her hands, but short of shoving him off her, it doesn't seem as though it'll be too successful. Whatever. It's not like she has any objections to having Fives pressed so close. "How is this possible?" she queries, because she's still wondering. Even if this is really his spirit, not just a dream or her imagination, it doesn't say how. It shouldn't be possible; it's against everything she's been taught as a Jedi.

"You are the Jedi here," he teases. "How should I know?"

"And you are the one haunting me," she deadpans.