Fractured Galaxies [o. kenobi]

three

CHAPTER THREE
( CANDY STICKS )

MOIRA ENTERED THE SMALL apartment filled head to toe with utter exhaustion at three-something in the morning. A passed out two year old laid on her back, and the woman, barely buzzed from the alcohol she drank after her unexpected run-in with Obi-Wan, held a large jar of candy sticks and her bag in her arms as she moved around in the dark, clumsily using her elbow to find the switch that turned on the lights.

Freya's small arms were wrapped around her neck loosely so Moira had to use the Force a little to keep her from falling, unable to use her arms and hands to hold her up. Her elbow finally hit the switch. The hallway lit up the darkness, and she blinked rapidly, quickly adjusting to the light. She ventured to the kitchen and set the things down as quietly as she could before maneuvering Freya. Carefully, she brought the two year old to her front. Thin arms went around Freya securely as she whimpered from being moved, being awoken the slightest bit, and Moira cradled the child against her and blocked out the light the best she could.

"Shh, go back to sleep," Moira whispered, turning off the lights again. Darkness swallowed the apartment once again. Tentatively Moira walked through the halls as to not run into anything, all the while humming a lullaby her mother and father used to sing to her – a song she, admittedly sometimes, sings to herself as a way for comfort, and a way to be closed to her deceased parents. She made it to the tiny bedroom for Freya and, while still humming, put the baby to bed successfully.

Within moments, Moira left the room and kept the sliding door cracked open a few centimeters. She made her way back to the kitchen where she flipped the light on and grabbed the jar of candy sticks she bought right after she left her job. The jar held an assortment of colors and flavors, the sticks hard and sweet, and every piece left Moira satisfied no matter the taste. She took one of the few yellow and white striped ones, put the lid back on, and went to the living area where she collapsed onto the tiny couch. She shifted around until she got comfortable. Blue eyes stayed stuck to the ceiling and the candy stick protruded out of her mouth, the tart flavor covering her taste buds as she sucked on it. Only the light from the kitchen across the hall lit up the room.

Despite knowing she should go to bed and sleep, the woman stayed put on the couch. Exhausted filled her entire being, yet here she sat, refusing to go to bed while eating candy while the time neared four in the morning. It certainly wasn't the best decision but, in truth, Moira didn't want to go to her room. The lightsaber that sat in a box under her bed was the root cause of the bartender's refusal to enter her own bedroom. The memory that flashed before her eyes was seared into the back of her eyelids once again. For years, she successfully pushed it out of her mind, made herself believe that the final reason she left the Jedi Order without a word to anyone but Kenobi and Master Qui-Gin was because she didn't agree with them. That she left because the Jedi Masters and little Moira Astra saw things differently, time and time again, and she refused to change her mindset. And sure, those reasons were still true, but the final push hadn't dealt with the fourteen year old disagreeing with someone.