Closed to morally_cryptic

[talentedscavenger]

Rey had experienced a whirlwind of events from locating Luke Skywalker's lightsaber to being pulled through time to meet the person who started it all; Anakin. The man was her grandfather, someone who was the 'chosen one' to bring balance to the Force. If that wasn't enough, she learned of her own powers and had to be trained to use them. It was an interesting time, spending weeks learning about the man and studying under him. They developed a friendship, a strange bond between two adults who happened to be generations apart. As much as she enjoyed her time with him, she was thrust back to her present time.

Anakin was right, it was like she never left. Everyone was still at the Cantina, looking for her. The First Order arrived...it was chaos.

But that was then, and this was now. She found out about Kylo Ren and the man he idolized so much. It pained her, no, angered her to know the same person she met had turned to the Dark Side. Rey kept her mouth shut to her cousin, managing to use the Force to keep him out of her mind and push him back. Now, she had a target on her back. The events didn't go well from there, losing her friend and semi-father figure, Han.

Now she was on a quest to find Luke. The man who could or could not be father. She didn't know how many children Anakin had, though she still remembered those strong Force visions of two children. Chewie and her managed to land the Falcon on the right planet, now she had to make the journey to find the Jedi. At least the time to herself would let her deal with her emotions. She was conflicted, angry, and hurt. From losing a friend to learning some of the truth about her grandfather...it was disheartening.

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[morally_cryptic]

When she reaches back to him too, he clasps his hand with hers almost instinctively. The touch is like a shock, or a wave of warmth that travels through him, a feeling he only remembered ever associating with his mother. Like she'd just stepped into some hole in his life shaped perfectly for her.

"I shouldn't," he echoes, his voice thick with emotion, "but I do."

[talentedscavenger]

The shock traveling through her is something she hasn't felt before. A warm, comforting feeling. Something she's always wanted, but never had, yet with him it's there. Her emotions were getting the best of her. She needed to stop, pull away and sort everything out. But the idea of pulling back makes her tighten her hold on his hand.

"..what does this mean?" she asks, her voice soft and small, unsure of what to do. She hasn't felt this lost since she was young. So lost, but at the same time, found.

[morally_cryptic]

He lets out a short laugh, only barely resisting the urge to tug her close and throw his arms around her. "I have no idea."

Except he does, maybe. That sense that of course this is more than just a chance encounter, that of course he can't discount this at all. And he certainly can't leave her behind.

"I think we must be-" he hesitates over the word siblings even with the echo of his mother's voice in the back of his mind, "-related."

Maybe every Jedi felt this way when they met a blood relative? How would he even know?

[talentedscavenger]

Rey lets out a short laugh of her own. It sounds too far-fetched for it to be true. Them? Related? No, it was....whatever was transpiring between them was something that would fade away in time. He needed to get back and she....she needed to keep waiting.

"You think? Or know?" Two difference things, even with her own instincts telling her they were. She found herself drifting close until her arms were thrown around him, holding him. Her heart jumped to her throat, beating loud enough that he might even hear it. The sense of nostalgia grew then, making her believe she had held him like this for hours.

Every feeling coursing through her, Rey was trying to ignore it or rationalize it away. She didn't want to get attached only to be left behind again.

[morally_cryptic]

Her embrace just gave him permission to wrap her in his arms so he holds her tightly like a promise she won't be left behind on this forsaken dirtball. And it's impossible not to notice the way it feels their hearts are beating in sync.

"I know what I feel," he murmurs. "My mother never told me about her family." So Rey could be a...cousin?

No, he doesn't know what other people feel for their families, not really, but he's fairly certain this is not what cousins feel like. This closeness? He's only ever seen hints of it between siblings.

"And I don't have a sister," he adds even as he can almost taste the lie on his tongue now that he's said it. "At least...I didn't think I did."

[talentedscavenger]

It's impossible to not notice how strong her heart is beating, or how their hearts are beating in sync. The softness of it was loud in her mind. When he holds her, she doesn't want to let him go. There is a strong part of her that's rejoicing in being with him, reunited with someone who could be family. Yet, the part she was still listening to was her fear. A fear of being abandoned, because why would anyone want her?

"...I don't remember my family," she admits, ignoring the faint tremble in her voice.

She doesn't recall having a mother, or a father, but there was something she could recall. A bond she with someone else, someone who was so close to her. She didn't have a brother, but denying it sent a cold shudder through her. The idea they were siblings didn't seem to cover the flurry of emotions running through them. They were closer than siblings....were they...twins?

"I've lived on Jakku all my life. I don't know if I have a sibling or...anything else."

[morally_cryptic]

And he'd been born on Tatooine. That he knew for fact. But there was something else, too. "We were slaves," he starts. "I didn't know my family because my mother had been taken from them."

He pulls back slightly so he can look her in the eyes, "maybe you were taken from us." It didn't explain why Shmi hadn't told him about her, but that was likely as simple as she hadn't wanted to cause him the pain of knowing what he was missing and knowing he's probably never be able to find her even after he became a Jedi.

And it would certainly explain for Rey why she'd been waiting for her family for so long and no one had ever come.

[talentedscavenger]

What he saying...it seems logical, rationale even. If she was part of his family, and she had been taken, it would explain how she wound up on Jakku. What Rey had been hoping for, what she had wanted all her life, it was right in front of her. Yet, in looking into his eyes, it's easy to see the fear there. The trepidation and uneasiness.

"That's one possibility out of thousands," she told him, not meaning to poke a hole in his theory, but it was true. They really wouldn't know if they were related unless they had a test done on their blood, or if Anakin spoke to his mother.

Then again, his mother did keep a very important fact from him. Maybe it was to shield him from the pain of knowing he lost a sibling, or perhaps his mother couldn't bring herself to say she lost her child.

[ooc: Did we ever establish who was the older twin in this? xD]

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: Nope, you have a preference or we could flip a coin? :) I also don't remember if I said somewhere up there (replying by email at the moment) that she's already dead in this AU. Because she could theoretically not be already dead and they can go find her on Tatooine...]

"One possibility that makes more sense than the others," he counters. And she might not believe (yet) that the Force is with her but he can feel its certainty. This is right, it has to be.

He's just glad she hasn't asked about his (their?) father yet. Better they focus on Shmi, first.

[talentedscavenger]

[ ooc: I say have Anakin be the older one just so he could pull big brother rank and she just glared at him, like calm down. Hmm, we could have her be alive. It depends on how much angst you want. ]

"Still a possiblity, " she counters right back, not believing the Force is with her. Ever since she was a child, how Force sensitive she was. How the Force has been guiding her all this time.

She doesn't think to ask about their parents, if only because it's hard to get it through her mind that she has a sibling. It's difficult to go from thinking she was alone to having a family in the matter of minutes.

"You don't know for certain, Anakin. " even though both can feel it, she doesn't want to have that hope. That's....too much for her.

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: okay! and I'd be down for them finding her similarly to how she was found in AotC. Coin toss whether she actually dies though. Or whether Rey keeps Anakin from enacting some revenge.]

"I know enough. Can't you feel it?" Of course she can. Hell, they're still hugging. "And we can find out for sure."

Or he hopes they can.

[talentedscavenger]

[ ooc: oh god that is tempting. How much angst do we want? Either way it'll lead to heartache and possible murder. ]

The only reason they're still hugging is because Anakin won't let go...and because Rey can't either.

"You can find out, I...I need to get back to work. " was she avoiding her feelings? Yup. It was too much to lose for her. To have that hope and have it be dashed...but if he was family...he was the person she was waiting for.

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: coin toss says death is in Shmi's future.]

Anakin snorts and yes, he isn't letting her go. Not until she lets go first, anyway. "You need to leave here," he says, stubbornly. "It's not like you're an actual slave."

Just almost one. With the added benefit of not having an explosive implanted in her body to keep her from running away.

[talentedscavenger]

[ ooc: coin toss says Shiminis dead. ]

"I can't.." She begins to say but stops herself. He was the person she had been waiting for. All these years, waiting.

"If you can prove we're related, I'll go with you. " then again, can Jedi take people away? Didn't Jedi have restrictions on this?

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: wait...did your coin agree with my coin that she dies when they get there and thus a bunch of Tusken lives are in danger or are you saying she's already dead and so they don't go? I'm confused.]

[talentedscavenger]

[ ooc: Urgh. This is why I hate auto correct. Puts words in then takes them out. I meant coin toss says Shimi dies when they get there. I'm so sorry! Forgive my fail. ]

[morally_cryptic]

[ooc: hahaha, it's okay, just wanted to make sure we were on the same page? :)]

"Well, I can't prove it here unless you've got a medical droid in your pocket that can do the blood tests. Or we'll have to go ask my mother." Their mother, but he's not exactly inclined to push that too hard just yet. Or maybe he's feeling suddenly territorial.

Mostly he's just feeling a sudden deep longing to find Shmi and make sure she's okay.

[talentedscavenger]

[ ooc: On the same page! :) ]

" You can ask, I can stay here." Just in case his mother was wrong. Just in case the people she was actually waiting for came back in the time she was gone. Rey wasn't about to put anything to chance.

But in order for him to go she would have to release him from her hug. Hesitating, she began to pull away. Was it sad that, the hug she gave him was the longest she actually held onto someone?

[morally_cryptic]

He scowls down at her for the first comment even as he reluctantly loosens his hold on her when she begins to pull away. "If you think I'm going to make at least two trips when I can just as easily make one, you're crazy."

One trip to go to Tatooine and find Shmi, one to come back and find Rey. Possibly another to take Rey to Shmi again. And if he had his way, another trip to carry them both to some place with better scenery. Naboo, maybe, or Alderaan.

"Besides, you can't tell me you don't want to fly..." It was a gamble, anyway, after watching her with his ship.

[talentedscavenger]

The scowl doesn't look good on Anakin. He isn't pleased with her decision, but he had to respect it. She wasn't about to leave everything behind on a haunch or a guess. Even though it feels like they're related. Even though every fiber in her being is already missing the warmth and comfort of being held by Anakin. No, she wasn't about to get her hopes up.

Howeve, he does know what to say to pique her interest.

"Fly? You would let me fly your ship?" No, she would not give in. She would leave Jakku for a joyride mission.

[morally_cryptic]

"Well I don't know," he says as he crosses his arms and leans against the side of the ship again. "Just because you made a lucky guess about the part...assuming it actually works...doesn't mean you can fly."

Yes. Yes he is indeed throwing down the gauntlet.

[talentedscavenger]

Oh, now he was starting to ruffle her feathers but she doesn't easily take the bait. Instead she stares at him with a sly smile coming over her lips.

"A lucky guess? Coming from the Jedi who doesn't know how to clean the parts of his ship, yeah it's a lucky guess. ". Never mind she spent hours building a flight simulator. Or that she spent more hours training on that.

"Or maybe I'm a better pilot than you. "

[morally_cryptic]

From the other side of the ship a whistle from Artoo can be heard that sounds distinctly like the little droid is going, buuuurn! or whatever the droid equivalent of such a sentiment might be. Anakin shoots a sharp glance in that direction, "not helping, Artoo." The cheerful chirp he gets in response is, of course, not at all repentant.

"Well," Anakin says as he gives her a level stare, "you're not going to find that by standing on this sand pit, are you?"

[talentedscavenger]

Rey's sly smile turned into a grin hearing the whistle coming from the droid. Oh she likes being right. At least she knew what she was doing, compared to him. However, he was giving her a tempting offer. Did she take it?

"...get in." One trip that's all. One short trip to prove she wasn't family to someone. She had all she needed anyway. All that mattered to her was her staff. The only weapon she had.

She started to climb into the cockpit, anxious, nervous and excited.

[morally_cryptic]

"You're just lucky it fits two," he quips as he closes up the panel they'd opened earlier to inspect the ship before he climbs in the other side of the cockpit.

But no, he has no intention of helping her get the thing started. A test is a test.

"Have you ever actually even flown anything before? I can't imagine Unkar would go for that."