Slaves Of The Empire {1}

Twenty-Six | Catch and Release

As a rule Lux kept pace with whomever he was walking with, matching his speed to theirs out of courtesy. It was enough to make a person forget how long his legs really were, but Ahsoka labored under no such delusions now: it was a struggle to keep up with him without jogging. They were already some distance into the villa's sprawling gardens by the time she was close enough for her voice to carry.

"Lux! Hey, Lux, what's going on?"

Lux jumped, but came out of his surprise quickly. One hand slid under his cloak for the blaster he always tucked in the back of his belt, and Ahsoka grinned, pleased with him. His reflexes were shaping up even better than she'd hoped.

"Oh. Alynna." He retraced his steps to meet her halfway and took her hand as soon as it was within reach. His fingers smoothed over hers, tracing the ridges of her knuckles with touches so gentle Ahsoka could only think he was asking forgiveness. "Excuse my abruptness; you startled me. What are you doing up so late?"

"I was going to ask you the same question."

Lux winced. "I didn't wake you, did I?"

Ahsoka shook her head, and put her free hand over his to still it. "No, I was already up. I heard you rush down the hallway."

"How did you know it was me?"

"Well... it wasn't exactly a tough guess," she said, laughing lightly to cover up the lie. "I mean, who else around here is up this late as consistently you are?"

"Only you, I suppose. And I bet that's partially my fault to begin with."

"Partially, maybe, but sometimes I just find I need to be up and moving. I'll admit, though, it's nice to have someone to share the night with. My brother would get the odd bout of insomnia before a..." A battle, she'd been about to say, but that wasn't information she could volunteer. "Before a big day, but most of the time I only had the shadows for company."

Lux smiled, just the slightest quirk of his pretty mouth, and squeezed her hand affectionately. Something in Ahsoka's stomach fluttered. "Tell me more about him, if that's not too much to ask," he said. "It'd be nice to get my mind off things – plus, it's been a month since we met, but I still feel like I know so little about you."

Ahsoka chewed her lip. She hadn't expected this. Maybe she could–

"That's all right, though," Lux added quickly. "A little mystery never bothered me, and you don't owe me any explanations if it's too hard to talk about. I– I just get curious, sometimes, with all the time we spend together, and–"

"Hush, before you trip over yourself trying to apologize." Ahsoka calmed herself with a reminder that Rex didn't have news, either. Decreased odds weren't the same as a definite conclusion. "I'll tell you about him. Walk with me for a bit?"

Lux beamed and offered her his arm. She linked hers through it, and began.

"My brother was... is the best person I ever knew," she said, unable to keep from frowning as she made the correction. "We got off on the wrong foot when we first met. I was a reckless, headstrong fourteen-year-old who was convinced she knew everything, so I guess that makes sense. But it didn't help that even if he had the benefit of age and experience, he wasn't much better than I was.

"It was only once we realized how similar we were that we started working together as a team, anticipating each other's moves when there was trouble so our opponents had to face two halves of a whole instead of isolated fighters. The more he taught me, the more I became like him, and the more I understood him. I'm still understanding him more every day, because..."

Ahsoka faltered, hesitating for a second before continuing on down the tidy garden walkway. Lux frowned at that, and prodded, "Because what?"

"He was born into slavery. He was freed years before I met him, but I know he still carried those experiences with him."