The Lucky One (a Star Wars fanfic)

Chapter 43

Rider's pov

Slowly, but surely, I start to wake up once again, leaving behind the blissful world where my pain was nothing more than a distant memory.

As I try to slow my return back to reality, I hear a familiar voice ask, "When do you think he will wake up?"

"I don't know, but I hope that it will be before Master Kenobi realizes that you are gone," I hear another familiar voice say.

The sweet sound of her voice coaxes into no longer resisting waking up, knowing that feeling my pain once again will be worth it when I am finally with her.

The second I am fully awake, I am hit with a strong wave of pain that causes me to moan.

"Rider?" Zeba asks as I hear her approach me.

Hearing her say my name after so long causes me to smile widely, feeling so happy to be near her again.

"Zeba," I whisper as I open my eyes, searching desperately for her.

When all I see is the white ceiling above me, I sit up, ignoring the pain and dizziness doing so causes me.

When my eyes land on Zeba standing a few feet away from me, I break into a huge smile, feeling much happier than I have in so long.

As she starts walking toward me, I stand up, noticing that my legs are a little shaky, but that doesn't matter. Besides the fact that Zeba is here and I finally get to be with her, something that I didn't think would happen ever again, nothing else matters.

I take a step toward her on extremely shaky legs and nearly fall from the dizziness I feel, but she catches me and pulls me into a tight hug, causing me to smile more.

As I wrap my arms around her upper back I close my eyes and bury my head in the crook of her neck, feeling so many overpowering emotions right now that I don't know how to cope with all of them.

"I missed you so badly," I whisper after a few seconds of us simply hugging, feeling so blessed that I get to spend this time with her.

"I missed you more," she whispers back, her voice filled with emotion, like me, seeming to be having trouble keeping everything she feels contained.

"I doubt that," I say with a large smile.

A few seconds later, she pulls back from the hug. Now that we aren't touching, I am surprised by how sad and empty I am left feeling. With her no longer near me, I feel so hollow inside, a feeling that I hope I never have to get used to.

Seeming to notice the way her breaking the contact between us affected me, she grabs both of my hands and holds them in hers.

For several seconds, she simply stands a foot away from me, smiling as she holds my hands.

I can't help but smile widely at how simple this is, yet it makes me feel so happy. I never thought that there would be a day when the two of us could just hold each others hands and smile as we gaze into each others eyes. It's so simple, but I wouldn't want to trade it for anything else in the galaxy.

Once my smile grows even larger, her gaze drops from my eyes down to my lips.

Less than a second later, there is no longer a foot between us, instead, her lips are on mine.

For a second I panic, not knowing how to kiss since I never have.

Then, not wanting her to stop, I kiss back to the best of my ability, hoping that I am not doing this all wrong.

A few seconds later she pulls back from the kiss, leaving me wanting more. So much more.

I am about to lean in for another kiss, but I stop when she says with a small smile, "I thought that you would be a better kisser. What a shame."