Bittersweet Devotion [Star Wars x Anakin Skywalker]

10.

"I don't know where you get your delusions, laser brain"- Leia Skywalker.

Rain sat cross-legged in the cold, metal cell, her back pressed against Anakin's, their hands bound in front of them. The icy chill of the floor seeped through her clothes, making her shiver uncontrollably. She tried to draw some warmth from Anakin's presence, feeling the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed, but the fear of what awaited them gnawed at her insides.

The silence between them was heavy, filled with the weight of unspoken words. Rain knew it was only a matter of time before their captors came to drag them to their deaths. She couldn't bear the thought of dying without Anakin knowing the truth about how she felt. It was a truth she had hidden even from herself, but now, in the face of impending death, she couldn't keep it inside any longer.

"Ani?" she whispered, her voice so soft it was almost lost in the quiet of the cell.

"Yeah?" he answered, just as quietly, his voice carrying a hint of vulnerability that he rarely showed.

"Are you afraid?" she asked, her heart pounding as she awaited his answer.

Anakin shifted behind her, the movement causing his warmth to press more firmly against her back. His next words were muffled, tinged with sadness. "Rain, I'm not afraid to die," he said gently, his voice steady. But as he spoke, he leaned his head back against her shoulder, looking up at the ceiling as if searching for something beyond the cold, metal confines of their cell.

Rain frowned, sensing that there was more he wanted to say. "Then what is it?" she pressed, her voice laced with concern.

Anakin hesitated, his chest rising and falling in a deep sigh. "It's not death that scares me, Rain. It's... not telling you the truth," he admitted, his voice tinged with regret. Rain could feel the weight of his words pressing down on her, and for a moment, she wasn't sure how to respond.

"What truth?" she asked, turning slightly to look at him over her shoulder, her brow furrowed in confusion.

Anakin remained silent for a moment, as if struggling to find the right words. "Rain, I've been confused for so long," he began, his voice low and filled with a vulnerability that she wasn't used to hearing from him. "I thought I knew what I wanted... what I felt... but I was wrong. When I spoke with Padmé, she helped me see things more clearly."

Rain's heart tightened at the mention of Padmé, but she listened intently, her breath catching in her throat.

"I thought I had feelings for her," Anakin continued, his voice wavering. "But Padmé... she made me realize that those feelings were rooted in something else. I admired her, I put her on a pedestal because she was this... beacon of hope when I was a child, a slave. I thought I loved her because it felt safe, familiar."

Rain stayed silent, processing his words. Anakin turned slightly to face her, his eyes searching hers with a desperation she had rarely seen in him.

"But when we talked, she helped me see that my feelings for her were never love," he said, his voice growing softer. "She saw what I was too afraid to admit to myself. She saw... us. She said that I wasn't really in love with her, but rather, I was holding onto the idea of what she represented. She told me that what I felt for you was real, and it terrified me because it wasn't safe or familiar. It was intense and overwhelming."

Rain's heart pounded in her chest, and she found it hard to breathe. "She said that?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

Anakin nodded, his gaze never leaving hers. "Yes, Rain. She helped me see that what I feel for you... it's the kind of love that changes everything. And it scared me, because I didn't know if you felt the same way. But I can't keep pretending, not when we're facing the possibility of never getting out of here."