Office hours [Wednesday, February 14, all day]

[sith_happened]

Vader was in his office.

Alone.

On Valentine's Day.

Does "in a mood" even have to be mentioned?

The door was cracked open.

[OOC: Open for new mentees as well, though I am working tomorrow, so slow play is love. Conversation contents that occur with Aeryn and Rory NFB.]

Comments

[sith_happened]

Vader looked down into his lap. "I'm just somebody that you used to know," he said quietly. "Sith don't have friendships. Only temporary alliances before inevitable betrayals. I will disappoint you, Rory."

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

She shrugged. "Wouldn't really be out of the norm, Anakin."

It was the first time she hadn't corrected his usage of her name. He was right. She was using a new strategy today.

[sith_happened]

Vader winced, but didn't correct her, either.

"It's who I am."

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"It's who you choose to be," she corrected.

[sith_happened]

Vader shrugged. "Semantics."

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"Not really," she said, but she wasn't going to push it.

[sith_happened]

Vader spun the yellow rose between his fingers.

"It's good to see you happy," he commented after a pause.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

She smiled again. "It's been a long time since I was really happy."

[sith_happened]

And that was his fault, too.

Something else to brood about.

Vader shrugged again and stayed silent.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"Since...God, October," she said, thinking. "Since before that I was missing you, and then mourning you. And then after that I...found out."

[sith_happened]

And somewhere in there had been Bridge.

Vader chose to ignore that bit of Rory's life--or at least to mention it out loud. In the furnace of his heart, the hatred still raged.

But that was how Vader operated. Without anger and self-loathing, he was lost.

He had forgotten what it was like to be a real person.

"You will do well at whichever school you chose to attend," Vader said. "Though you do prefer blue to crimson."

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"Matches my eyes," she said, wondering about the game earlier. She could ask Aeryn later.

[sith_happened]

"There was a flower that was the exact color of your eyes," Vader said, speaking almost to himself. "It was in a Temple meditation garden that Obi-Wan showed me for my nineteenth birthday. I visited weekly. Never told anyone why."

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

Rory blinked, and cast about for a reason other than the obvious.

"Wow," she finally said softly. "And that would've been...what, eight months after you left."

[sith_happened]

"He said it was because there wasn't a pond to throw me into," Vader continued. "I...wasn't in the best of moods then."

Because he's happy fun guy now.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"Why weren't you?"

She was pretty sure, but she wanted him to say it.

[sith_happened]

Vader was quiet.

I missed you, he whispered into her mind.

"It was a long time ago," he said aloud.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

I still miss you, she replied in his head.

[sith_happened]

I know, he said, sounding almost unbearably sad.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

You still miss me.

It wasn't a question.

She uncertainly reached a hand over to touch his glove.

[sith_happened]

Vader let her fingers stay long there enough for her to notice that the hand under the glove were made entirely of metal before pulling back and turning his head away.

He didn't deny her thought.

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

"You can come back," she reminded him again.

[sith_happened]

Vader shook his head. "I don't want to talk about that."

[auroryborealis.livejournal.com]

She shrugged. "What do you want to talk about?"

[sith_happened]

"Anything else," Vader said.

I'm tired of fighting, he whispered.