Give Me Love

chapter fifty

"I just–" he huffed, stressed, raking a hand through his already messy hair. "I know what they'll say. They'll tell me I'm paranoid, reading too far into things..."

"What things?"

"It's happened before. I know what it feels like. This... this is the same thing. I know it's... I can't... I need to tell them.

"Tell them what?" His stumbling words, that lost look in his eyes– it was alarming.

"Things are going to change," his eyelashes fluttered. Face twisted with torture. "Very soon. And you... you... you're not there."

"In your dream?"

"In all of them."

"For how long?"

"Several months."

"Every single one?"

His silence was answer enough. You let your hand drop.

"If I'm not there," you chose the words carefully. "Then where am I?"

Again, his silence was all you needed to know exactly where you were.

"It doesn't make sense," you shook your head, and he stiffened. "No, I mean– I believe you. Of course I believe you. It's just... how will I be dead, but you'll still be here? I thought... I mean, our hearts..." Aren't they connected? Ever since he brought you back? Sharing that life force he gave you?

"I don't know," he murmured. "All of this is... I don't know. I see you on the table, like the one from the crash, and you're so... still. And the rest of it, it's not very clear... but I can feel the pain. The red, the heat, the anger. And the absence of you."

His hands tightened on your waist as he said this, pulling you that much closer. As if to remind himself you were still here.

And you let him, melting into his touch, sharing the same breath, as if to remind yourself you were real.

"And you want to tell the Council... what exactly?"

The question scared you. You were hiding so much, the both of you, and the things he might have to reveal– the consequences it could have on his future, on your future, on the future of the galaxy if things went wrong–

"I'll speak to Yoda," Anakin decided, lowering his forehead to rest on yours. Both of your eyes fluttered closed. "He should know what the dreams might be trying to say. He'll tell us what to do."

"You're going to tell him about us?"

You would stand by whatever he decided. With so many pressures weighing on him, so many uncertainties... you trusted that he knew what to do best in this situation.

"No," his response surprised you. "We both know what will happen if they find out about us, and I won't let them tear us apart." He took another little breath. "I'll choose my words carefully. We'll figure this out– how to save you. I won't lose you, Y/n."

"I'm not going anywhere," you forced yourself to laugh for his sake. But in reality... your blood had run cold long ago.

Anakin's dreams may as well have been prophecy. The last time he had had nightmares about something, it was his mother. And when he spoke about it, no one believed him. And she had died.

You were going to die.

For real this time.

That much was clear, the thought shared between the two of your shuddering breaths. The trembling of your fingers. The fear in your hearts.

You let yourself be afraid for one breath. Two. And with the last, you pushed away from him an inch, something hardened in your eyes.

"You talk to Yoda," you little less than ordered. "And I'll go to the Chancellor."

His breath stuttered. "The Chancellor? Why?"

"He already knows about us. I want to see if there's anything he can do to help." Something shone in Anakin's eyes, and you would have hated the sight of those unshed tears if they weren't in the nature of relief. "You told me once that he is very wise. I'm sure he can do something."

"He'll be glad to finally meet you. He asks about you often."

"He does?" you forced a smile to your lips. "Well, I guess our meeting has been long overdue. He's going to let me in, right?"

"Just tell the guards your name and there won't be any trouble."

"Perfect," you deepened your smile. Traced the bags under his eyes with your fingertips, savoring the small glimmers of light that returned to them. "Anakin– we're going to figure this out. I know it might feel like things are crashing down on you right now, but we have all the time in the world. The pieces will fall right into place."

He nodded once.

"And whatever happens, I'll be on your side throughout it all."

Another nod.

"It's going to take more than a dream to kill me," your lips curled wryly. "You, out of everyone, should know that."

There it was. That tiny smile. "Yeah. I do."

The only thing holding you to this confidence was the fear in his eyes. The fear that no one else was able to see– because even though the public had deemed him the Hero with No Fear, they couldn't have been more wrong.

He was terrified. With every waking breath, he feared for the lives he loved. That they would be ripped away from him, and he would not be powerful enough to stop it.

It was a burden he had to carry alone– because the Jedi do not love, and they do not fear. He was an imposter among the people he was prophesied to save.

But he was not alone anymore. He had you now. And you'd be damned if you let him fall from grace without so much as a fight.

"Good. Now let's go get this over with."