[IC CONTACT]

[photophobic]

You should know where to find me.
But if you leave a message here, I will see it.

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[photophobic]

[ And strangely, he knows she's telling the truth. She really does consider his presence comforting, somehow. He can't begin to fathom why- it's not like Hux, whose half-formed fear of being taken by his enemies here vanishes in his presence. No, it's something else.

But he doesn't really know what it is. ]

You're kind, Padmé. I'm--

[ He pauses, trying to force an idea he doesn't even properly understand into words. All he knows is that something rebels inside him when she says he is kind, even though it's something he wants to hear from her. It's frustrating, and it takes him a little too long for the pause to seem intentional, even without the other clues of his furrowed brow and firm-pressed lips.

In the end, it isn't a pause at all because he has nothing to follow it with. He just glances down at his hands before easing up onto his feet and offering her an arm up. ]

[functusofficio]

[ She takes his arm easily, standing up and leaning into his warmth. ]

You're kind as well. [ That is something she will not let him question of himself, so as kind as her tone is it is also firm. But for the most part she will be content to walk in silence, should be want it. That he seems better for now, even if she knows there is still likely a fair amount of fall out to deal with from all of this -- that is sufficient for the moment.

Her hand is firm against his arm, and she walks closer than is strictly necessary. The comfort does not come from the additional safety she knows his presence provides.

It comes, rather, from having him here and close and trusting her, and from the knowledge that he is open to what help she can give, and that he cares for her happiness and safety. ]

[photophobic]

[ He doesn't say anything else for a long while, almost as if trying to decide whether or not he should speak at all. But the truth of it is, he's been... lonely. For a long time. He doesn't really remember being anything else, but he does know he's always hated it.

So when he speaks again, it's an awkward but genuine attempt to connect with her.
Without the filter of their pasts and futures. Just as people. ]

You don't seem to mind the cold. As Anakin does.

[functusofficio]

[ She considers the question, answers easily. It has been comfortable to walk with him in silence, but it is equally so to speak with him. ]

Anakin grew up on Tatooine -- a desert planet with two suns. He didn't leave it until he was nine. He's never really gotten used to the cold.

My own planet was fairly temperate, but I spent a great deal of time travelling in space from a young age. There's never a way to keep a ship warm in the middle of space, not truly. I'm sure you know.