SERA: The Republic

33: Love & Pain - P2

33 BBY | Month 7, Day 4
Coruscant, Fae Housing-Verity District

Sera's residence | 08:00
Two months have passed since that moment in the garden, a moment that seemed to freeze time itself as Maul asked Sera the question that would shape their future. By now, Maul is in a meditative state, his eyes are closed, seating on the floor by the couch. Near him, Sera is engrossed in her police work, her datapad emitting a soft glow as she looks through reports and updates.

For a brief moment her eyes look at her ring finger, wondering how he even constructed it to fit her size. 'This man... oh how much I love you...'

Her gaze drifts down to Maul, a subtle smirk forming. With a gentle sigh, she sets her datapad aside and calls out his name in a whisper. "What's meditation like, for a force sensitive like you?"

Maul replies without parting his eyelids. "The way I have learned from growing up... it is focusing, channeling my thoughts, my emotions, my rage... controlling them through the Force, allowing them to become a conduit for strength, power."

She slips off the couch to settle on the floor in front of him, her legs crossing beneath her. Her gaze remains fixed on him. "What if I show you a different way?"

Maul opens his eyes, meeting her silver gaze for a moment. "I'm open to learning your way, my love."

She smiles subtly in a feeling of acceptance before closing her eyes, inhaling deeply. In a soft voice, she guides him. "Focus on your breath. Let go of everything else. Picture each breath as a gentle wave of an ocean, washing away your worries, anger, pain... Imagine it bringing a sense of peace."

Maul follows her lead, his breathing falling in sync with hers. The room envelops them in silence. For the first time, he begins to experience a serenity that isn't associated with his usual forceful tapping into his dark emotions.

After a span that feels both fleeting and eternal, Maul's eyes flutter open. His gaze meets Sera still in her meditative state, and a newfound tranquility rests within his features, he smiles more noticeably at her, this will be his wife at some point, and it pleases him.

Memories of the moment she saved him from Sidious stir within him in that pit, her taking that staff, blocking that powerful attack, reflecting the lightning... Then only to hold his lightsaber in her hands... Yet she does not remember.

He then decides to test her. With a thought, he subtly nudges her datapad, causing it to gently slide off the couch. Sera's eyes open, her reflexes fast as she catches the falling object. She stares at him with confusion. "Why did you do that? This is expensive, Maul."

Maul looks at her for a moment, then to her hand. "Sera, are you absolutely certain you're not attuned to the Force?"

Her brows knit in confusion. "No... I... What are you even talking about?"

"What you just did, can easily be symbolized as force sensitivity."

Sera's gaze narrows as she meets his gaze, before rolling her eyes and placing the datapad back on the couch. "Or you are just testing my mother instincts..."

A hint of a smile touches Maul's lips. "You are no mother, my love... I can almost feel something else within you."

"If I was... wouldn't the Jedi tell me that? I took Casi there to the temple, I've visited a few times since then, no one said anything."

Maul shifts into thought, turning away. "Maybe because they didn't focus on you directly, they focused on the child at the time, unless they spoke to you by yourself."