Scars (Commander Wolffe x Jedi Reader)

Part 12

"I'm sorry," whispered (Y/N), a slight tremble in her voice. Her eyes darted around the small room. It was only her and Wolffe now; all others had left with the promise of returning later if only to check on her. Since then, the air has a sense of awkwardness to it, heavy and filled with tension. "For how I reacted."

"Forget that," replied Wolffe, his voice more like a low growl. His posture had stiffened when the two little words shook from her lips. He didn't want to talk about what happened between them; they hurt each other, even unknowingly. He didn't want her apology for something he brought on himself, or at least felt like he had. "What happened?" vaguely asked the commander, his voice lower now but softer than before, his glare a little warmer too, tainted even with glimmers of unspoken affection.

(Y/N) only looked back with confusion, clearly displaying that she didn't understand the question. The intrigue did, however, shine in her eyes. Something was different this time. He was different. There was no hatred in his mismatched eyes now; he wasn't as rigid as normal either, his words softer, and if she wasn't mistaken, concern had painted itself on his scarred features several times since she'd woken.

"I saw the pain in your eyes that night, the hope as it ..." began Wolffe after what felt like an eternity. He squeezed his eyes shut shortly after, the memory of the night in question returning, haunting him again. "Faded," he added, his voice slightly over a whisper. "I know pain like that; distrust like yours is only caused when one has been broken," he added once more, refusing to admit he tried to research what happened, although he'd hit dead end after dead end. It was as if he was being purposefully blocked. As if someone didn't want him to know the truth.

"Nothing," replied (Y/N), adverting her gaze to the small window toward the Jedi Temple. She didn't look over to Wolffe when he stomped toward her. Instead, she pulled her knees to her chest and secured them with her arms. As if she was once again closing herself off to the galaxy and the topic in general.

Gently, Wolffe reached a gloved hand out to her, hesitating slightly before grabbing her chin. He could see the pain shimmering in her eyes again, unushered tears just waiting to fall there, too. Despite happening so long ago, she still remembered what happened, as if her torment had ended just the day before.

"I'm not trying to hurt you, Ca'tra," admitted Wolffe, softer now. Even his grip had become gentle, as if he believed she was a fragile glass sculpture that would crack and shatter if handled too roughly. "I just want to understand so I can figure out a way to help," he added, once again pushing away the foreign feelings that bubbled when he was close to her. Despite his denial and refusal to accept his brother's encouragement, he knew they were right. Still, it didn't erase his vow or the conflict that so often plagued his mind. His heart had already decided, but his mind refused to accept it. Logic and duty, too, seemed to be hurdles he had yet to find a way to overcome.

"It is in the file," whispered (Y/N), reaching for the second rarely seen chain hanging from her neck. Upon first look, one could easily mistake the trinket dangling from the end as a pendant instead of the cleverly disguised key. "The Night Star file. Chancellor Palpatine created it after my return and year-long investigation. You can access it by scanning this," she explained, taking shallow but deep breaths to calm herself and regain her slipping composure. It had been years since anyone asked about what happened since anyone cared. "Are you sure you want to know?"

"You make it sound like an unspoken doom," answered Wolffe, finally sitting at the end of the bunk, at least before reaching for the pendant. Despite second-guessing himself, he had to know. The locked files, the concern many Jedi had displayed when she was missing, Skywalker's anger, and even Plo's protectiveness all contributed to the mystery, one he needed answers to and wanted, even if only to understand her better.