10 Months and 3 Days after Order 66
Kaden didn’t look at him, at first, then he shifted so he was facing Harsh. The former Jedi was standing in the ‘fresher naked from the waist up. His torso was bruised from his collarbone to the top of his stomach. An old scar crossed from his shoulder to his chest.
Something about Kaden changed--the playful look in his eye, the clever quirk of his brow, all but vanished as the man trained two very dark, deep eyes on Harsh.
“I missed you,” Kaden said.
What seemed like eons ago, but was only two standard years, Kaden had stood over the remains of his Jedi friend with tears in his eyes. Harsh had never seen the Jedi so serious, never heard him speak tender words about anyone or anything. The former captain’s mouth dropped open, but no words came out.
Kaden chuckled, but he couldn’t brush off the amount of sincerity he had poured into those three words. He made a move to go around Harsh and leave the ‘fresher, but Harsh stopped him with a gentle push.
Harsh’s hand remained flat against Kaden’s chest. The commander had cut his hair short, kept a layer of stubble on the lower half of his face. Almost unrecognizable from the Jedi he once was. Harsh reached up and laid his hand on the side of Kaden’s face, felt the roughness of his stubble on his palm. The other man’s eyes slid shut and he leaned into Harsh’s touch--hands that had pulled him out of harm’s way more than once, hands that had healed--and Kaden’s breath caught in his throat.
Harsh lowered his head and placed a kiss on the shorter man’s shoulder, his lips barely grazing the scar. As he lifted his gaze, Kaden met his lips with a kiss of his own.
“I never knew,” Harsh said breathlessly, his lips brushing against Kaden’s cheek.
“I did,” said Kaden. “Since the moment we met.”
“Really. I was just another trooper--”
“No. You were special.” Kaden said softly, as he stepped into Harsh, and he could feel the low vibrations of his voice. “I felt drawn to you, but I didn’t know how until much later. Then you saved my life, and I--don’t know how to thank you.”
Avan Kaden had always been honest, almost brutally so, but this was too much. Harsh wrapped Kaden up in his arms and held him tight.
“Then don’t,” said Harsh. “This is enough.”