Warnings: fluff, wee bit oā angst, full-body massage, implied smut, bruises, visible injuries, reference to chronic disorder.
Summary: Maulās disquieted state sabotages his own cover when he tries to thoughtfully join you in bed to be welcomed by his embrace when dawn arrives. His sore muscles and battered bones are in desperate need of tender love and care while it also reminds him of the importance of decompression and connection.
Imagine your f/o lightly dragging their thumb across your bottom lip. Imagine their fingers gently rubbing across your bottom lip. Imagine their fingers trailing across your jaw as they kiss you softly and passionately. Imagine how gently theyāre hands are as they cup your face and neck
Hello again~ I come back bearing more Smaul and a lot of sweetness.
_
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was dreaming.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He knew he was dreaming because Deenine was there, and Deenine had been destroyed. Maul had watched the droid be thrown against the wall, seen the shattered pieces, watched the way it exploded upon impact, the way it collapsed and the smoke that rose from itā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā In his dream Deenine was back.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And he was chasing him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul could not escape, could hear the droidās numerous legs as they ticked on the ground behind him, growing closer and closer, an awful clanging sound as he ran across the hot and cracked ground of Mustafar. His feet were bare, the heat and the stone and the agony of the feeling driving him onward, fueling the Darkā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And as he ran he saw growing ever largerā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā His Master rose up, his hooded and cloaked form rising from the ground higher than Maul had ever seen, and Maul stared up at him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āFoolish boyā¦as though you could have ever escaped meā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul woke at the first feeling of electricity arching across his body. He reflexively rolled, curling up in a ball, toppling over the edge of the bed and crashing to the floor in a tangled mess.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āMaul?ā he heard, the voice the low and kind baritone that he had grown increasingly familiar with, the voice of his new Master.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There was a knock and Maul did not understand why he did not enter; he did not understand whyā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āMaul, are you alright?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace said he was a kind Master, said that he cared for him, but could he really? Were Masters anything other than pain? And even as the thought occurred to him Maul found himself still tangled, still unable to get out of the bundle of blankets and he was going to come in, Mace was going to come inā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And he would see just how pathetic Maul was, could probably see by the camerasā¦theā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And even as the thought hit him he found himself looking for them and theyā¦werenātā¦there.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul did not understand and the less that he understood the more frightened he became. In the wake of his nightmare and the fear and the uncertainty beating upon his skull Maul inched his way in the only defensible position he could reach.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Under the bed.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace knocked on the door again, and there was more franticness to it, something almost likeā¦like fearā¦likeā¦like concern.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āMaul, are you alright?ā he asked, āif you do not answer me in five seconds I am going to open this door. Fiveā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And as Mace counted down Maul tried to make himself respond, tried toā¦but it was like his tongue was made of duracrete and as though his hearts were trying to leap from his mouth, and he wasā¦he wasā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul closed his eyes and bundled himself in the blankets tighter, hiding under the bed andā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIām coming in!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The door slid open as Mace finally palmed it open and for a moment all was still. Mace entered the room, taking in the missing blanketsā¦and then Maul heard a very soft sound.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There was the sound of a soft grunt and a creaking of joints, and then finallyā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHey,ā Maceās voice came softly, and Maul finally opened his eyesā¦realizing that Mace was lying down on the floor. Maul closed his eyes again, terror building⦠āYou knowā¦the bed might be more comfortable,ā he said softly, āor was it too soft?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul looked up at the bed above him and then shook his head, āit was nice,ā he mumbledā¦weak pathetic babyā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHmm,ā Mace looked up at his bed, and then back to him, āthen why are you on the ground?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIā¦ā Maul sniffed, āI fell,ā he said softly. āI had aā¦bad dream. And I justā¦ā he felt the urge to bite at his fingers again, the urge toā¦he was so pathetic, just a big baby, no wonder his Master had alwaysā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNightmares are terrible things,ā Mace said softly. āDo you want to talk about it?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul shook his head ā more violently this time ā refusing to look at Mace as he did so.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āAlright,ā Mace said, āwould you like to come out from under the bed?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul hesitated, eyeing him for a moment before softly, āwhere are the cameras?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace blinked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āCameras?ā he repeated.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIn my room,ā Maul said, āwhereā¦I canāt see them, orā¦or feel them?ā and as he said that he was reaching out with fledgling mechu-deru. He was not good enough to rip apart a droid yet, but he was getting better at sensing them, had used it to sneak up on Deenine beforeā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThere are no cameras in you room,ā Mace said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBecause this is your roomā¦and what happens within it is not anything that we need to see. This is your space, your dwelling, and you deserve privacy. You deserve to have somewhere no one else can go without permission.ā Maceās face pulled into a funny shape, and he sent a glance towards the door. āI did enter without it, but you worried me. I heard a big thump and then you did not answer. I was afraid that something had happened to you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI thought Jedi didnāt get scared?ā Maul asked, frowning slightly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace smiled at him, the look so gentle, āwe do not use it,ā he said. āBut that does not mean we do not feel it. There are times, Maul when I have been terrified. When I watched my Padawan leap into danger that was so much bigger than himā¦and worried that it would finally be too much. It never has been. And so I have learned to breathe it out over the years, to trust that he knew what he was doing. You, though, are still so little I worry, particularly when you donāt reply. I was very scared that something had happened. I am very glad that nothing has.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI am sorry,ā Maul whispered, āI was scared. I did notā¦I did not mean to scare you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThatās alright,ā Mace said, and he slowly reached out a hand to him. āWould you like to come out of there and have some tea? We can calm down before we go to bed.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul hesitated for a moment, āWhat is tea?ā he asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIt is hot water poured over any number of things,ā Mace said, āI still have some of your favorite, would you like to try?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul hesitated for a moment and then softly, āI canāt get out of the blankets,ā he said. āIām stuck.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace took that in for a moment before he smiled, and he carefully reached under the bed, catching Maul under his arms and pulling him out from under the bed, gently working on unwrapping him and setting him on his own two feet. āThere we go,ā Mace said, beaming. āCome on,ā he held out his hand and Maul took it.
Mace led him into the living room and Maul was momentarily frozen by the sight of bright oranges and yellows and reds spilling out over the ground before him. He stared at them taking in the way they painted everything in warmth, inā¦inā¦the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul turned to look out the window, walking towards the glass to stare out at the sight before him. The durasteel of the speeders glinted like licks of fire through the sky, the buildings all glinting like pillars of flame, their many sides reflective and soā¦beautiful.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He had not realized he had let go of Maceās hand, that he was standing with his hands pressed up against the glass, staring out with wide eyes until he heard a soft click. When Maul turned he found that Mace was holding up a holocam.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI took your picture, if thatās okay?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul nodded after a momentās thought, turning back to look out at⦠āIs thatā¦is that a sunset?ā he asked so softly, his voice so hushed.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace walked up to stand next to him looking out, and equally softly, āyes,ā he said. āNight is coming.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIt is beautiful,ā Maul breathed softly. āIāve never seen anything like it before. I sawā¦a holovideoā¦but I didnāt realizeā¦ā he stared out at the colors, at the beauty, and finally looked up at Mace.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIt is beautiful,ā Mace said softly, staring out at it as well, and then smiled down at him. āWould you like to sit on the couch before it? Watch the sun go down?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYes, please,ā Maul said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āCome on,ā he said softly, āthough if you would likeā¦my Apprentice had a fondness for a way of sitting. He didnāt indulge in it that often, mind, but periodically after a hard missionā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhat did you do?ā Maul asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āCome here,ā Mace said, leading him over to the carpet before the couch. He placed a large blanket on the ground, and indicated that Maul lay at one edge. Maul lay down carefully, staring up at Mace with brief uncertainty, but before he quite knew what was happening he was rollingā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul rolled once twice three times over as Mace carefully wrapped him up in a roll with the blanket around him. Maul made a surprised sound in the back of his throat, feeling as Mace carefully pulled Maulās arms free so he was not completely trapped and could in fact pull himself out if he wanted, and then placed him on the couch, tucking the excess in around his arms. āUntil I get your tea,ā he said with a wink, āsit and enjoy.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul craned his neck to watch Mace as he left him, before once again being drawn back towards the sunset.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It was beautiful.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had seen nothing like it before in his life and to know that this existed at all felt like the most amazing gift he had ever received.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā A while later Mace returned, carrying two steaming cups of liquid, one of them he held out for Maul. Maul reached up, the blankets falling away from his arms and took it in his hands.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It was warm, and it seeped into his hands, one of the nicest feelings he had ever had.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It reminded him of the blankets that he had been in, only something he could hold, and it was nice. Maul had only known two temperatures with liquid ā boiling hot and an almost scorching cold that hurt in the deepest part of his bones. This was something different.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul looked up towards Mace, watching him as he blew on the drink to cool it and copied the motion, reflexively sniffing as the side-effect of the air blown over the liquid heightened the scent coming from it. He breathed in deep, his eyes closing. It wasā¦strange, earthy, yet there was a very faint iron tang that reminded him of⦠He narrowed his eyes at it, tilting the cup slightly to try and get a look at the color of the liquid within it. He did not think that it was bloodā¦yet he did notā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āItās bloodroot,ā Mace said softly, and Maul looked up at him, blinking. āThe tea is made of an infusion of bloodroot. When you get older itās one of your favorites.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took that in before taking a very careful sip, finding that it did taste a great deal like a watered-down blood, enriched with somethingā¦different, darker. Maul took another sip, before looking up at Mace with a nod, āI like it.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace smiled at him, the look almost as warm as the drink in his hands and held the cup up towards him and softly, āIām glad.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul turned his attention back to the sunset, sipping at his drink and watching the world dim. It did not get truly dark, the constant lights of the city and the flashes of the speeders reflecting these lights, flickering like schools of fish āthat he remembered from his classes - turned the night dazzling. Maul stared until he could stare no longer, blinking his nictitating eyelids to keep his eyes on it as long as possible.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It was beautiful.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And he was so warmā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā For the first time in Maulās life, he thought he might be content.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And as he sat there a sound began⦠A sound that he had never heard before, a low rumble thatā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul looked around for the source of that rattling vibration, for theā¦and then realized that it was from his own chest. Maul looked down at himself, startled, but could not see anything that had changed and even as he could finally start to feel it⦠He put a hand to his chest, blinking, looking up to Mace at the sound of his voice, āItās alright,ā Mace said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhat is it?ā Maul asked, āwhat does it mean? Am Iā¦am Iā¦?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIt is a purr,ā Mace said softly. āZabraks ā both Iridonians and Nightbrothers ā purr when they are content, or when they are happy. It is also used to alleviate pain, but that was never why you purred before. Or not often,ā Mace smiled. āIt is a very good sound. It is good that you are making it.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIāve never been happy beforeā¦I think I like it.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIām glad,ā Mace said, and his eyes were wet again. āYou deserve to feel this way as often as possible, and Iām glad, Maulā¦Iām glad that youāre able to feel it here.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul smiled at him, and found his gaze once again drifting towards the city before him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was happy.Ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was safe.
_
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace carefully took the tea from Maulās hold as Maul slipped into a deep sleep. There was very little left in the mug, and he placed it on the table before him, carefully coaxing Maul to lay properly on the couch, tucking him in and leaving him to lay there. Mace considered going to his own room, but after a moment of hesitation, staring at the tiny form of his once-Padawan sleeping at the end of the couch in a way that Mace still remembered so fondlyā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace also remembered joining him on that couch, sleeping at opposite ends, never quite touching but present. It had been helpful for Maulās visions, which would come periodically and were rarely pleasant. Mace had been there to comfort him through more than one, and the couch had become a very good neutral ground that they could both relax in.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Nowā¦Mace had comforted his Padawan yet again, woken up by a dream in a way that he remembered with such a painful sort of fondness.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Painful because Mace had never liked it when Maul sufferedā¦fondness because of the ritual to it, the softness of it.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace looked at the small body on the end of the couch in the dark of Coruscant and made a gesture towards the shades, finally plunging the two of them into the dark. Mace pulled the spare blanket around himself, and closed his eyes, letting himself fall asleep at the opposite end.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And wished very strongly for good dreams.
_
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen had fought to be here.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had given the word that he was going to come down for ābreakfastā with his once-Padawan, and the amount of people that had wanted to sit with them had skyrocketed.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Anakin and Ahsoka had been almost immediate, Depa had horned her way in because she was Maulās sibling Apprentice, Eeth had stepped forward, and then Agen himself had worked very hard at taking the last spot outside of Tiq. Yoda and Yaddle had turned up anyway suggesting that they didnāt take up any space at all.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā They were all waiting very patiently (not at all patiently) for the moment when Maul and Mace would finally enter, and had worked on getting their own meals together to give the two of them more time to adjust to everything that was around them.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had told them that Maul was interested in being able to meet them, but there was a certain amount of fear involved. Maul had barely been anyone at all for a significant period of time, and to suddenly find himself with so many people all around him, that was so much for anyone, much less a little boy like him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen still remembered seeing the cell where Maul had grown up.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen still remembered just how little Maul actually had as a child.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBy the Force,ā Depa breathed, Agen shooting his attention to her, before finally turning his gaze back to the entrance and thereā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Oh.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Oh, that was justā¦too much.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had walked into the refectory and standing next to him was a boy that was somehow smaller than Agen had anticipated, even having seen him last night, dwarfed somehow by the size of the room and his proximity to Mace, staring around with large golden eyes, and pointed ears that were far too big for him, and⦠Agen watched as Maul looked up at Mace, his eyes somehow even wider, and Mace smiled at him, so gentle, offering his hand andā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen was going to die.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took it, having to reach for it, but obviously comfortable with it, walking with Mace as he took him first to the omnivore choices, showing him how he collected his own food and how he could put different seasonings on it, and even let Maul try a bit of fruit. Maul looked up at him and there was such a wide-eyed look of startlement Agen was very aware of the fact that he was making a very strained sound in the back of his throat.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He was so little.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It had been one thing to see him, and even to hold him when they had met him the first time, but to see him standing there next to Mace with his hand held? Oh, it was almost too much⦠They hadnāt been able to properly speak to Maul last night, the little boy utterly exhausted ā and who could blame him. There were so many new thingsā¦even now Maul was learning new things.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace took Maul over to the carnivore section, talking him through what he was seeing, and very carefully guiding him away from⦠Oh. Oh, that wasā¦that was rightā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maulās Master had not given him properly seared food as a child. He had thrown him the raw scraps that Maul could have handled better as an adult but did not have the stomach for as a child andā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It was one thing to know thisā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It was quite another to see Maul have to be guided away from the ones that did not have a very distinct char. When Mace gave him the properly cooked food ā raw in the center but with the surface bacteria all seared right off - he also got a proper cupful of seasoning and then took Maul over to the fruits. Maul picked a meiloorun ā the rind already cut off. Maul looked up at Mace then, his little face so seriousā¦he was so stern!
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The knowledge that this was justā¦how the child was likely to be was something that Agen did not want to look at in the face just yet.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Let him pretend for just a moment that Maul was just a quietly studious little boy whose temperament ran very mellow.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Let him pretendā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā They turned towards them then, and Mace pointed them out with his tray, quietly asking Maul if he wanted to sit with them, he could tell, and Maul hesitated for a moment, his gaze trailing around the table slowly as he took in each of them in turn. Agen smiled when Maul caught his eye, holding up his hand in a wave.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā To Agenās surprise but rather warm delight, Maul narrowed his eyes briefly in concentration before he adjusted the tray, a very familiar flame ā flickering and much smaller than it would be but there and alive and real ā rose as the tray drifted out of his hands with the Force, and Maul offered him a very small wave before taking his tray back and looking up at Mace, giving a brief nod in agreement.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen was going to cry.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace led Maul towards their table, the little boy picking his way around everyone as they walked, following on Maceās heels without getting too far behind and certainly not besideā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen remembered that habit.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The hope was it would be much easier to break this time, along with whatever else that his Master had taught him. Mace had reported back that Maul did not have well-developed mental shields yet. They were there, certainly, but they were the reflexive sort that a mind naturally built, not the trained walls of a Jedi or a Sith.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It was a relief.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace paused before he put his tray down in one of the empty seats, the two next to each other with either the option for Maul to be on the very end, and therefore protected by Mace, or the option for him to sit between Mace and Ahsoka.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā She had been rather insistent, and in the end none of them could say no. Anakin sat next to Ahsoka and so Obi-Wan, and then Qui-Gon with Tiq at the end. Plo was sitting at the far end on the other side, with Eeth next to him, Agen next to him and then Depa, Yoda and Yaddle.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā They were quite a crowd and Maul was looking at each of them very seriously before he finally looked up at Ahsoka for a long moment, before finally sitting down next to her. Mace took the spot at the very end, and Agen could see the quiet pride in his eyes. As usual, Maul went for the most challenging position, a very solemn look on his little face and he was so little! The various piercings that had lined Maulās ears at one point were completely gone, and Agen had to wonder whether or not Mace had picked them up.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was just a little boy.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHello, Maul,ā Ahsoka said with a smile, āhow are you today?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul paused for a moment, taking in the question, before looking up at her and with a voiceā¦oh what a little voice! His accent, sharp as ever, Maul quietly said, āI am well, thank you. How are you?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen was not going to make it through breakfast.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He was going to have a heart attack and die of cute.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ignore the fact that he was six. He was six. Six.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā But the fact that Maulās Master had apparently trained Manners into the boy wasā¦interesting.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIām good!ā Ahsoka beamed, ādid you want to meet everyone quick before you tuck in?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul frowned slightly, āWhat is there to tuck in?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen thought he might die and was very hard-pressed not to aw, but he thought that it may not be appropriate. They needed for Maul to feel safe before they allowed themselves to laugh, and there was no doubt that he felt still that he was not safe. Agen could see his ears twitching slightly, see the way he kept stealing little glances at them, the way his shoulders hunched.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIām sorry, that wasnāt very clear of me,ā Ahsoka said, which was beautifully handled, ātuck in is another way to say āeat.āā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took that in for a moment, before nodding slowly, āYes, I thinkā¦I think that sounds adequate.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He knew the word āadequate.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Holy fuck.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And yetā¦and yet as Ahsoka introduced them all one at a time, including the ones that he already met ā Agen, Eeth, and Tiq all getting very solemn nods - Maul offering a quiet āPleased to meet youā if they said they were happy to meet himā¦Agen remembered a droid.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen remembered a droid with five sets of legs and three photoreceptors. A droid that was so much bigger than the boy that was sitting there quietlyā¦a droid that had taught Maul how to speak even as he broke his limbs and beat himā¦
         Was it any wonder the slang terms were ones that he had no reference for? Was it any wonder�
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIt is good to meet you once more,ā Agen said as Ahsoka introduced him, ālittle cousin,ā he finished softly, and watched with a pang in his heart as golden eyes stared up at him with such brilliant and uncertain interest, also looking towards Eeth. āYou were my little cousin when you were here, just like you were Eethās,ā he said softly. āIf you would like to be now you may continue to be.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took in this offer before he nodded, his gaze so bright.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThen well met, little cousin,ā Agen said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWell met,ā Eeth agreed with a deep nod.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took that in with an utterly unreadable expression on his face, but Agen thought that those eyes spoke of a complete and utter disbelieving joy. And Agen could do nothing but smile.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka finished introducing everyone, before they all finally began eating.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen watched quietly as Maul first went for the fork and knife and wondered, though at the realization that he was a bit clumsy with them Agen had to imagine it might have been for the novelty of it. Thatā¦made Agen a bit concerned.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhat do you think?ā Agen asked, smiling, Maul looking up at him with those large eyes as he finally managed to eat it. He finished chewing thoughtfully before looking up at him again.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIt is different,ā Maul said. āMy Master never had anything cooked for me,ā he frowned, āand I never had any cutlery. Iā¦wanted to tryā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen was quiet for a long moment. He knew. He remembered. The pain of it choking him hearing this tiny little boy say it, and it was soā¦it was so much worse. It was so much worse.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul shook his head. āIt was just raw scraps mostly,ā he said. āI donāt know what it was.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen felt his blood boil. āThatās not good for you,ā he said, Eeth also shaking his head.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYouāre too little for you to eat anything raw,ā Eeth said softly. āYour Master was doing youā¦a great deal of harm. Your body cannot process it well and you can get sick.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took that in for a moment, looking at the meat on his plate. āOh,ā he finally said, his voice so quiet.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBut itās okay,ā Eeth said, āweāll work on that!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul gave a soft sound, nodding slowly. āMace says he is taking me to the Healers after we eat.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āSmart this is,ā Yoda said softly, nodding firmly and Maul looked at him, his gaze low, almost shy. āWell Healer Che will make you. Strong and healthy you will be,ā and his face pulled into a wide smile, one that Maul returned lopsidedly, and hesitantly, but nonetheless returned.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maulās gaze shifted towards Agen, and he was very aware of the fact that he was holding his meat with his fingers, raw this time, though liberally seasoned. He did not take his food as hot as Maul did, but he did believe in some spice. They were very nice strips of meat, the perfect sort for ripping with your teeth. Maul frowned slightly, āDoā¦Zabraks use cutlery?ā he asked softly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āSometimes!ā Eeth said. āGenerally speaking, most carnivorous species use their fingers,ā he dipped his head to Ahsoka as well who also was eating her meat rare today. She was old enough that she could start to eat raw meat and she had a few pieces on her plate that Agen had traded with her for a few of her cooked ones. She had beamed at him and Agen had offered her a wink. She was growing and it was very good to start eating properly. āBut it is good to learn how to use cutlery. Some cultures find it very rude to eat with your fingers, so it is always important to at least learn. You are not doing anything wrong by trying. But if you would like to eat it with your fingers, Maul, please feel free.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul hesitated for a moment, and then very carefully put the fork and knife down. āIām too hungry to learn,ā he stated very primly, and it nearly made Agen spray food across the table. What an absolutely Maul thing to say. He picked up his meat then and sank teeth thatā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Oh, dear Force he was missing a tooth.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He gave it a very perfect little rip, makingā¦making⦠Agenās hearts leapt into his throat ā a very tight squeeze ā as he realized that Maul was making the tiny noises that came from most Zabrak kittens. A very rough rumble low in his chest, not quite a purr, not quite a growl, though as soon as he caught Agen looking heā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIām sorry,ā he said roughly, letting go, and there was suchā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen immediately ripped at his own meat, letting the rumbling purr that came from the maneuver immediately start up again, completely unwilling, and unable to let Maul keep that expression, or indeed say anything more. Maul looked up at him with wide eyes, realizing as he did so that Eeth had also joined in with him. Ahsoka was very fiercely ripping at her own meat, unable to make the same sounds as the others but very happy to provide solidarity.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul stared at them with the widest eyes for the longest time, and then with the smallest of smiles, the tiniest of nods, immediately began ripping at it as well.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen beamed at him, and he was very aware of the others very politely eating and pretending as though nothing was at all odd. There truly wasnāt, outside of the fact that Agen might have been playing it up just a little. But if they were able to encourage little Maul to make the noises that he should have right from the beginningā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Then it was all worth it.Ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā They finished their food, all of them very happily chowing down and very contentedly watching Maul while pretending that they werenāt. He was so little! By the Forceā¦he was so littleā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And to know all of the horrific things that had been done to himā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Healer Che perhaps had the hardest job of all, though Healer Tiq had also volunteered. He would help should it be needed.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And it would likely be dearly needed. Even so, Ahsoka and Anakin were in conversation with Maul, and he had turned his attention to them with definite curiosity burning. There was such a genuine shyness there, and such a genuine desire to learn and to connectā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Little wonderā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Little wonder.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhoās your favorite Sith Lord?ā Ahsoka asked grinning. āHave you been learning about any of them?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI have,ā Maul said brightly, nodding. āI thinkā¦I think I really like Darth Nihilus.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Yoda made a sound in the back of his throat, waving a hand, āDarth Nihilus, Darth Nihilus,ā he said, ābetter choices you can make young Sith.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBut he was so powerful!ā Maul said, āhe ate a planet!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āAnd killed all of the people and the things on it,ā Depa said softly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI guess so,ā Maul allowed quietly, āI had always thought that he looked cool,ā he shrugged. āI donātā¦ā he frowned. āIt doesnāt seem right that he killed everyone, I suppose, butā¦I guessā¦ā he hesitated. āI wondered sometimes what it was like to be that hungry that you are literally eating your own body in order to stay alive.ā He rubbed at his face. āSometimes my Master didnāt feed me,ā he said softly, āfor a long timeā¦and Iād lay there in my room, and I wouldnāt be able to moveā¦and Iād wonder whether or not Iād turn into some all-consuming entity and eat everything around meā¦ā he paused. āIt didnāt happen,ā and it was said in the kind of tone as though he wasnāt sure whether that was good or bad.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It cut Agen to his core.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen had heard that story before, heard that exact same reasoning for the favoritism, though older Maul had laughed, and told him that he preferred Vectivus, he thought, at least for what he had done, but Nihilus beat him in Aesthetic.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen had thought it was fair.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā But to be staring at a childā¦to look at the very boy that his Master had brokenā¦had hurtā¦had literally starved to the point of immobilityā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā That was a special sort of agony, and all Agen could do was offer his hand, and slowly, carefully, Maul took it. āThat will not happen with us, child,ā Agen said softly. āWith usā¦you will be able to eat whenever you need, whenever you get hungry. We will not starve you. You shall not be a well of hunger.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took that in for a moment and quietlyā¦so quietlyā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThank you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen gave him a very lopsided smile, and Maul smiled back. They finished eating and then Maul took Maceās hand as it was offered and he had cleaned his own hands, being waved away as they promised that they needed to go to the Healers to get properly well, and that they had their trays. Healer Tiq had stood up with them, also told to leave his own tray behind, the Rodian healer laughing and agreeing.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā They nodded their thanks to them, and Agen found himself swallowing.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Agen remembered, watching Maul hold Maceās hand, quiet words spoken about how once Maul had learned what an open hand actually was he had always reached for them. Words that Tiq had quietly repeated in a council meeting. Never had that seemed truer.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Never than when Agen watched a tiny boy who had been starved and kept in a room, who even now he could see the evidence of scarring and starvationā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Never than when he took the hand offered without question and walked with Mace out of the refectory.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He hoped it would be the first of several.
I'm back~ more tiny Maul! Also more headcanons than you can shake a stick at. I am BEYOND excited at weird alien biology etc so like. expect a lot of that LOL. also expect references to The Wrath of Darth Maul and how fucking awful Sidious was to him.
_
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was not how he was supposed to be.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had known that the first time he had woken up and found himself in a room that he had never seen.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā A part of him would have thought of it as a test, something engineered by his Master if not for the words written in blood before him, āSTAYā had been one, written in Sith and then āHELP COMINGā was written beside it. Maul had stared at it, breath catching in his lungs, fear burning within him⦠He had slowly pulled himself up and back, realizing as he did so that he was covered in a largeā¦black fabricā¦and as he moved he had felt a pain in his hand.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā That was when he had stared at his fingers, realizing that there was the remnants of dried blood upon them, and that was when he knew that the blood was his.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā His messages.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā His writing.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul crawled his way out of the large black fabric and found it to be a tunicā¦a tunic that wasā¦that had beenā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul stood there, looking at his writing, looking at the blood on his hands, and looking at the clothes that had once been hisā¦and known that something had gone wrong, and that whatever it was⦠Whatever happened he had realized it had gone wrong and tried to help himself. Maul took that in, took in the comm that had been opened and fallen to the ground, and finally picked up the weapon that had been beside it. A staff, so largeā¦so bigā¦and holding it in his hands, Maul had truly felt small, but for the first time he realized he was powerful.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The burn of the Kyber within gleamed with the strangeness of something Bled, but somethingā¦different. They winked at him in greeting, and Maul knew that they were hisā¦for as different as he must have been they were still his.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had taken all of that in and finally decided to stay. He had taken the tunic and refashioned it into something he could wear, and gone to find a place to hide. The man that had eventually come was not one he recognized, but he sensed no ill-will, and in fact felt something quite different.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And he had known Maulās name.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had watched him from a distance, recognized him as a Jedi andā¦and Maul knew what his Master had said about the Jedi, Maul knewā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā But his Master was not here and Maul himself had called him help. Maul had approachedā¦and the look on the manās face as he saw himā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had not understood.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā But eventually after days and days where Maul had slowly worked up the courage and found that Mace Windu (the Jediās name) was help, was someone that he could trust⦠And for whatever reasonā¦
         For whatever reason Mace liked Maul. Mace was kind to Maul. And even now, carried into the heart of the Jedi perched on his hip⦠Maul did not feel afraid.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul felt safe.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had never felt this way. It had taken Maul asking Mace about it to help him understand why he did not⦠Maul was so used to Deenine attacking him from the shadows, so used to every step he took being watched, for the possibility that he was about to be hurt at any moment⦠It had been strange to walk down the halls of Maceās ship and realize that he was not going to be hurt. That he wasnāt going to be attacked, that the hands that reached out to him were never clenched in a fist or crooked for electricityā¦they were hands that held him, or hooked his horns gently, or took his hands, orā¦or were justā¦they were kind.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had not known what kind was either.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace took him through the Temple, and as they walked Maul began to realize that there were many eyes that were following them. Yetā¦these eyes did not hold any threat in them, did not have any anger, or fearā¦they hadā¦they hadā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āMace,ā Maul said quietly, Mace looking at him out of the corner of his eye, his mouth softening slightly in the way that it did whenever he looked at him. āWhy are they looking at me like that?ā he asked, looking back at them, āwhatāsā¦whatās that look mean?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace cast his gaze out around them, looking at the people that were staring at them, taking in the wide-eyed looks, the way that some had even pressed themselves close together and were whispering, looking back at the two of them with such⦠āTheyāre happy,ā Mace said. āThey are happy to see you, and a little confused.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBecause I am not how I am supposed to be,ā Maul said softly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYes,ā Mace agreed with a nod. āYou are much younger than any of us have ever seen you. You came into the Temple at eighteen. None of us have ever seen, much less held you as a child.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI have never been held as a child,ā Maul said, frowning. āAt leastā¦not like this.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āDo you like it?ā Mace asked. āShould I put you down?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul thought for a moment, considered the idea of being put down, of walking behind Maceā¦leaving the warmth of the arms around him, of leaving⦠āNo, please,ā Maul said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOkay,ā Mace smiled at him fully, and Maul had a sudden idea that he wanted to carry him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was content to let him, peering back at the people who stared at him. At one point Maul found himself copying the Togruta girl, Ahsoka, baring his teeth at a brown-haired man with a beard, who was staring at him with the widest blue eyes that Maul had ever seen, standing next to another man with even longer brown hair who was also staring at him with wide eyes. At the sight of his bared teeth the man with the shorter hair and blue eyes started to laugh, and when Maul allowed his lips to curl into the slight twist of a smile he grinned back, baring much less threatening teeth as he was at least near-human, the longer-haired man dipping his head in acknowledgement.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā That was nice. Maul was not used to being acknowledged like that.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul frowned slightly as the shorter-haired manā¦moved his hand before him in a similar gesture to Anakinā¦tugging at Maceās robe he dipped his head towards him, āWhatās he doing?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āLike this,ā Mace said, holding out his other hand that was not holding Maul and waving it in the same way, Maul finally copying the motion. This made the other man wave harder with the biggest smile on his face, the man with longer hair also waving then. Maul could not help the grin that spread across his mouth, before finding himself with his face buried in Maceās robes. Mace gave a soft laugh and hopped him up a little, continuing to walk.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul caught the way that the two men were laughing, quietly whispering to each other, following the two of them with their eyes that were absolutely soā¦happy.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul did not understandā¦but it was nice.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace carried him to a lift, and Maul found himself gripping tighter to the fabric of his robe as he realized that⦠āDo you want to be on the lift with only me?ā Mace asked softly. āI can make sure that no one else gets on with us.ā Maul nodded. He did not want to be in such a small space with strangers, even with Mace in there with him. Mace waited until the lift was empty and then stepped in. Maul closed his eyes briefly against the brightness of the light, hearing Mace give a soft, āsorry, here,ā and he heard a soft chime. When Maul opened his eyes again the lights were much dimmer. āIs that better?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOf course,ā Mace smiled. āHow are you feeling?ā he asked, looking to Maul.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul frowned slightly, trying to pick through the tangle in his chest. āI do not know,ā he said finally, ābut it is not bad.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI am going to introduce you to a few people,ā Mace said, āweāre going to go slow at first, do you think you would be up to three at a time, or would two be better?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWill you be with me?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI will,ā Mace said, and his voice had gotten thatā¦funny little hoarseness to it, like he was trying to swallow something back.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThen I will do three,ā Maul said with a determined nod. āWho are they?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThey are members of the Council, and some of them were your friends.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āLike Ahsoka and Anakin were my friends?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYes, and Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon. Those were the two that waved to you. Qui-Gon had the longer hair.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul frowned at him, but ultimately had to concede.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was letting Mace hold him, after all. Mace was at least good enough to not drop him, and had not hurt him, or bit him, or done anything to him that was mean or unkind⦠Mace did not even mind when Maul hid his face in his robes. Maul found himself leaning into him, hiding another yawn against his shoulder. Mace gave a soft sound, āIāll get you in a bed soon, kiddo,ā Mace said softly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhatās kiddo?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYou,ā Mace smiled, āitās just an affectionate endearment. Do you know what endearments are?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNo,ā Maul shook his head.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āTheyāre words that we use to express our care for a person, sometimes theyāre nicknames that we call a person when weāre fond of them, things like āsweetie,ā and ādear one,ā and ākiddo.ā Itās a little word of affection,ā Mace explained. āSome of them are for very young kids, like you. You do not tend to address someone who is grown as kiddo unless youāre aiming for a fight.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOh,ā Maul frowned. āSo, it can also be a challenge?ā Maul asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIf said in the right tone,ā Mace agreed with a nod. āBut for you, I just mean it as an endearment.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul nodded slowly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The lift dinged, and they stepped out into a long hall, and Maul was momentarily distracted from the conversation by the sight of the people that were within it.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace walked past them with his head high and his arms wrapped around Maul comfortably, Maul hiding another yawn in Maceās shoulder. āAlmost there, kiddo,ā Mace said again softly. āIf you want to wait until later to meet them we can,ā he said, Maul looking up to meet the dark eyes that stared into his own, taking in the way they crinkled in a smile, ābut if you do it now, you want to get them to leave or are overwhelmed all you have to do is yawn and I bet theyāll rush right out.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took that in and gave a nod of agreement. āI want to meet them.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI know just who to start with,ā Mace said with a smile, and finally pressed a couple buttons on a door sensor that beeped briefly, Mace shifting Maul close enough to press his hand to it. It gave another series of beeps in recognition and swung open, Maul blinking as he saw the lights dim automatically, lowering to something that made it easy for Mace to see everything, but was not in danger of threatening his own eyes. Mace carried him into the middle of the room and put him down.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had never seen a nicer room!
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There was a massive couch that was in front of a large pair of windows that overlooked the city, and it was so big! The structures sparkling in the sunlight, the flash of tiny speeders buzzing past so quick! The sky was the most dazzling sort of blue, something that Maul had never truly seen, something that he stared at for so long that it burned in his retinas when he finally looked away. The couch was flanked by two tables, and upon one rested a large flowering plant, beautiful blue blooms that were a much deeper color than the sky itself.
Maul took in the kitchen that he recognized from his studies, unable to help the curiosity that led to him walking into it, pulling out drawers, taking in the cutleryā¦there was cutlery! Actual forks and knives! Maul wouldnāt have to just eat with his hands!
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul looked up at Mace, who smiled at him, āwould you like to see the rest?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul nodded, his eyes wide, following Mace as he walked him into the rest of the rooms. There was a separate refresher! It had a toilet, and a proper sink! Maul had never had either of those, though it was a bit out of his reach, Maul standing on his tiptoes to look at the inside of the sink basin. He couldnāt see his reflection in the mirror. Ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIāll get you a stool,ā Mace said, his voice full of a smile. āThen you can reach without climbing. I also haveā¦ā he paused, reaching over the sink to the shelf that Maul had noticed when he walked in, and he crouched down, holding out⦠Maul narrowed his eyes at it.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYes,ā Mace smiled, āI never got rid of it. Which will be just perfect for you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul reached a hand up to his horns that were dry and sometimes hurt a good deal. āWill it stop them hurting?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āEeth and Agen both will be able to help you with that,ā Mace said, ātheyāre both Zabraks like you, theyāll be among the first to meet you. They had to go through the exact same growing pains that you did.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āAre they Nightbrothers like me?ā Maul asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNo,ā Mace shook his head. āUnfortunately, we do not have any other Nightbrothers at this Temple,ā he said. āThey are Iridonian.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOh,ā Maul said softly, before nodding. āThat is acceptable then. When shall I be meeting them?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āLetās see the rest of the apartment first,ā Mace said with a smile and Maul nodded, following him out of the refresher. āMy roomā¦ā he said and pressed his hand to a panel by a door, āis here.ā Maul watched as the door slid open, finding a fairly spartan dwellingā¦but so much more than he had ever seen. The bed looked comfortable, a series of holoimages placed across the room andā¦a hand-painted image that depicted the sunset over Coruscant. It was beautiful, and for just a moment Maul stared at it, before turning back to Mace. āYou are free to enter it when I am there,ā he said, āthe only thing I ask is that you knock first, but if you have a nightmare, or something happens, please come get me.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul nodded slowly, āWhy would it matter if I have a nightmare?ā he asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNightmares pass quicker if you have someone with you,ā Mace answered, smiling.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul did not know about that, but he would trust him. Mace then walked him over to another palm sensor, dipping his head towards it. Maul blinked, before standing on his toes to press his hand against it. There was a click and a hiss and then the door opened.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul stared into another room that was like the first. There was a beautiful bed, andā¦he frowned briefly, before looking up at Mace.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āCome on,ā Mace said walking into the room and ducking down, pulling a long box out from underneath it. āWill you help me with this?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul walked over, helping Mace to open it andā¦the smell that hit him as the box was opened was immediate and familiar. It smelled like him, even past the washings, the scent of clean, he recognized it as home. He pulled one of the silky sheets up to his nose, burying his face in it briefly, before looking to Mace, his eyes wide. āWhyā¦?ā he started softly. āWhy does it smell like me? Why does itā¦ā he paused, looking around, ādidā¦did I stay here?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhile you were my Apprentice, Maul, you stayed with me. This was your room.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul blinked before looking up at Mace with a sudden horror burning in his chest.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYouāre my new Master?ā he asked, finding himself falling a step back, instinctively dropping to his knees, bowing forward to fall into the proper form for such a thing, to show the proper respect, terror burning in his chest and a sick feeling in his stomach. He should have known, he should have done something better, he should haveā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHey, hey,ā Mace said, his voice so gentle, and there was a chokedā¦broken sort of tone in his voice. Maul held perfectly still, not looking up until he felt a hand gently trace his scalp before hooking one of his horns so gently ā and Maul had never felt that before Mace had started doing it, did not understand why it felt so nice, why it made him warm, gave him feelings of safety and beingā¦held⦠āLook at me, Maul,ā Mace said softly and Maul slowly, carefully allowed himself to raise his head, looking up at his Master from the corner of his eye, not willing to make eye contact now that he knewā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had been so disrespectful and soā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āMaul, no,ā Mace said, āyou do not have to do that. I do not want you to do that. The way your former Master treated you was wrong and I will not treat you the same way as he did. He does not deserve your loyalty. You do not have to bow to me like that, you do not need to avert your eyesā¦ā Mace took a breath and Maul realizedā¦Maul realized that his eyes were wet⦠Maul stared up at the man before him with open shock as he realized that Maceā¦Mace was crying.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āCrying doesnāt help,ā Maul said before he could check himself. āCrying doesnāt do anything it just makes it worseā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNo,ā Mace said very softly, āyour Master was a liar and he was wrong. He has done everything possible to gut you, and telling you not to cry was one of them. You are allowed to cry, Maul, sometimes it is even very good.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took that in for a moment, soā¦so⦠āBut why are you crying?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBecauseā¦ā Mace took a breath, ābecause I had known that your Master had hurt you dearly. But to see evidence of it when you are so young, when you are so little and to know that he broke you at every opportunity even when you were just the child I see before me⦠I grieve and my heart breaks, and the only thing that I can hope is that this timeā¦this time will be different. And because I do not believe in simply hopingā¦if you will let me, Maul, I would like to make it so. Will you let me help you? Will you let me show you that your Master was a Monster and a Liar?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul stared up at Mace for the longest time, took in his grief and his pain, and knew that it was for him, for what happened to him, knew that Maceā¦cared about him⦠And softly, so softlyā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYesā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace smiled at him, a gentle look, and Maul found himself slowly smiling back. āMaul,ā he said softly, āI was never your Master. I was your Teacher and you were my Student, my Padawan. And do you want a very well-known secret?ā he asked, leaning closer, looking around as though someone would overhear.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āWhat?ā Maul whispered.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI have always been so proud of you. And I want you to knowā¦that that hasnāt changed. You are so brave, Maul, and I am so proud of you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul smiled, feeling it pull across his face in a way that he could not help and did not understand, a swelling of warmth bursting to life in his chest as words that Maul did not even know he had wanted to hear were spoken into being. Words that he had never heard before, words that burned with truth and with sincerity. Maul basked within those words for a moment, his eyes closed as he let them settle within him, and then he finally nodded. āThank you,ā he said softly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThank you,ā Mace returned, ānow come on, letās get this bed made. Have you ever made a bed?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āNo!ā Maul said, standing up and taking the sheets in his hands, āwhat do I do?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace showed him how to make it, indicating that Maul should take off the boots that he had been wearing.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had gotten them on the way back to the Temple, stopping off at a planet that had a market square that had been filled with so many colors and so many people. Flowers of every sort, beings of every type, and Mace had taken Maulās hand and walked him through the marketplace, the two of them looking for something that could properly fit him. Mace had told Maul to stick with him, and Maul had listened.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He knew what Nightbrothers were thought of. He knew what would happen if he wandered too far away.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had told him then that other people might try and accuse Mace of being Maulās Master, of the idea that Maul was his slave, but they would both know the truth ā that Maul was no oneās slave and no oneās property ā and they would refuse to engage. They would keep doing their shopping.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It had been hard.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There had been words and looks and Maul had kept himself pressed tightly against Maceās side. It had taken an old woman sitting in the midst of a colorful array of fabrics dipping her head in acknowledgement of Maul, a wide smile spreading across a wrinkled face⦠She had been a Twiālek, Maul knew because of the Lekku, and he had allowed himself the tiniest of smiles.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYou look about the same age as one of my grandsons,ā she had said, her voice low and husky. āYou wonāt find much here for him,ā she had said, looking up at Mace, her gaze the brightest blue in a face of green. āBut if you will wait here for a momentā¦ā she had pulled a comm out of her bag and Mace had smiled,
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThank you,ā he had said, and she had waved him off.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had stood by her shop for a while, Maul looking at all of the colorful fabrics and listening to their conversation. When a little boy that looked around his age came running up, lekku flying behind him, Maul had stared at him in wonder. Maul had always wanted to see another little boy. Had always wanted to see another⦠The boy had introduced himself as Elav, and held out a pair of boots, talking to his Grandmother as he did so. Maul had taken the boots, putting them on his feet and finding that they fit well. Mace had attempted to give the woman credits, but she had waved him off, telling him that she had also needed help a long time ago and found great kindness. She was only trying to pay it back.Ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had not known what that meant, but he had thanked Elav for his boots, and Elav had beamed at him, taking his hand, and running him through the Market. Interestingly, held by Elav as he had been, the Venders turned out to be much nicer. Two had even offered them something that was sticky and very sweet, Maul finally shoving the entire thing in his mouth to keep from getting it on his hands. Elav had laughed at him, and once again they had run off.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā When Maul had been brought back to Mace he was holding a few clothing items, these ones he had apparently paid for. They all fit Maul very well, and he was currently wearing some of them now as he crawled across the bed, tucking in the weird āfitted-sheetā into the corners of the bed as Mace indicated, his feet well above the covers, crawling on his knees.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā When he was finally finished he rolled off the bed, which had been soft and plush in a way that he had never felt before. Mace threw the last cover over it, spreading it out from his height, and put a hand on Maulās head, gently hooking a horn with his thumb. Maul leaned closer to Mace reflexively, his eyes closing.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There was the sound of a knock and Maul straightened, turning to look up at Mace and then at the door.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āCome on,ā Mace said softly, and led him back into the main room, his hand held out to him, after a beat Maul took it, feeling the human-warm hand hold his. They walked over to the door and palmed it open revealing three people.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Two of them were Zabraks, Maul could see that immediately, taking in the various marks they used to show lineage, one with much darker skin than the other that used scarification, and the other with thin black tattoos that traced his face. They both had long black hair, and Maul could see their proud horns rising up from their foreheads.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The other was a Rodian of a brilliant blue, and at the sight of Maul his large red eyes creased in such a wide smile they were nearly shut. Maul stared at the three of them standing there, taking in their Jedi robes and their strange still pools, and yetā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There was no denying the way that they were looking at him, the utterā¦warmth that Maul could read in them.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHello, Maul,ā the darker Zabrak said, taking a step forward. āMy name is Agen. This one is Eeth, and the Rodian is Tiq.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āāLo,ā Maul said softly, and then straightened, for a moment fearing repercussion for allowing himself to slur his speech, to show that much weakness, but he was notā¦he was not expecting for the way that the three of them smiled at him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHello, little cousin,ā Eeth said so softly, lowering himself to his knees before him, āit is so good to see you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul watched as Eeth tilted his head forward, not toā¦to fight, but to⦠Agen smiled down at him when Maul let his gaze wander up, tilting his own head forward with a signal that Maul should do the same and he⦠Maul hesitated for just a moment, before allowing his horns to connect with Eethās.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And the feeling was so strong and so deep and so strange that for a moment Maul could only close his eyes and bask in it, nearly falling forward into him, but Eeth wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into an embrace, and Maulās horns were still interlocked, and he feltā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ohā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had never felt like this.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul did not know why he felt likeā¦like home.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI have missed you,ā Eeth said, and Maul felt his eyes welling with something he didnāt understand and could not hold back, finally wrapping his own arms around Eethās neck andā¦andā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul felt the moment Agen lowered himself down next, Eeth shifting Maul slightly to be between the two older Zabraks, the both of them pressing their horns to his on either side, both of them whispering soft words of welcome of howā¦good it was to see him, of how they were glad he was whole andā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul felt the tears slip down his faceā¦and there was nothing he could doā¦and nothing that was done.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was safe.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā When they finally pulled back, Maul wiped at his face with both hands, wiping away the remains of tears and trying to regain his composure.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had not cried like that in so long, had not allowed himself to when the last time he had cried like that his Master had used his lightning on him until his muscles would not stop twitching and he had screamed himself raw. Maul had been somewhere between expecting for something like that to happen again and soā¦certain that he was going to be hurt. Nothing had happened, even now⦠Maul blinked as he realized there was a piece of white fabric dangling before him. Maul looked up to see Tiq smiling at him, and he held the fabric between two fingers.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āFor your tears, kitten,ā Tiq said softly. āWipe it over your face to catch them.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āKitten?ā Maul asked, frowning, slowly reaching out towards the fabric.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThatās what you are,ā Tiq smiled, āa Zabrak youngling is a kitten.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took this in for a moment. āOh,ā he said softly, taking the fabric and carefully wiping his face with it. It was soft and it smelled recently laundered. He looked at the Rodian quietly for a moment, frowning, āwhat is a Rodian called?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āA hatchling,ā Tiq answered, that smile softening. āAnd then you have a baby human, or a child.ā He dipped his head towards Mace, who grinned.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āKitten,ā Maul repeated to himself softly, handing the small fabric back. Tiq pocketed it. āThank you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOf course,ā Tiq said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul found himself staring between the four of them, for a moment unsure what to say, how to feel. There was so much happening, and it was all so overwhelming.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul could cry. He could cry and nothing would hurt him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā All of these peopleā¦and the soft things andā¦andā¦Maul felt another yawn take over, belatedly covering his mouth with his hands, and he heard a soft sound.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI think itās time for bed,ā Mace said softly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āAh, Nightbrother hours,ā Agen said with a laugh, āyou ready to get used to that again?ā he asked Mace, who grinned.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI think it might be a lot easier this time,ā he said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āAlright, come on,ā Mace said softly and held his arms out. Maul stepped closer, letting them enfold him in an embrace, taking him up to rest on Maceās hip once again. He walked into the room that had been Maulās, and Maul watched as Eeth turned the blankets down, Mace lowering him down into them.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul felt the softness of the bed envelope him, Agen pulling the blankets up to his chin. Maul felt the brief press of Agenās horns to his own, followed by Eethās, Tiq hooking a horn with his finger and giving him a fond little shake. Mace clicked the light off, the room in darkness.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āRemember,ā Mace said softly, āYou need me Iām right outside. Youāre not alone. Youāre safe here.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And as he said itā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul found that he believed him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And then he knew no more as sleep finally claimed him.
_
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth backed out of the room with the other three, brushing the tears from his eyes.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth would have never believed that this would have been possible. Would have never imagined that he would be staring at a version of his little cousin that so lived up to the name. Maul was so tiny, barely up to his hip and Eeth was not a particularly tall man. Coupled with the fact that Maulās build was so petite, battling the effects of malnutrition yet again and how Eeth hoped that this was a reflection of what the boy had been like as a child and not the man that he had grown up to beā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth hoped that Maul was taking care of himself, was working on keeping himself alive and healthy and happy and not just following a mission with single-minded intensity.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth knew that Maul had a mission.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The Temple knew that Maul had a mission.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The knowledge of the steadily growing destruction of the Outer Rim Slave Trade had made its way to the Inner Rim, to Coruscant. No one had known what was happening, only that there were a series of strategic deaths, of cut ties and destroyed shipsā¦of slaves walking free for the first time in years. When asked the Jedi had stated that it was out of jurisdiction ā and it was, they were chiefly interested with the Inner and Middle Rims, there had been no talk of the Outer, and most of them thought that the Jedi were infringing. They had been able to watch it happen, and oh how Eeth had watched.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It changed something in the atmosphere, in the feel of it all when he knew precisely who it was that was doing this. When he knew who it was that was causing the Slavers to feel truly threatened for the first time in centuries.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth was proud.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth was proud of the young man that had taken a stand and said no. Eeth was proud of the one that had managed to put a dent in something that had never seen a true halt.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It was a testament to Maulās lethality and above all his calculating and truly brilliant nature.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It was a delicate balancing act to maintain order and not create a power vacuum that would suck all of the recently freed down into it or cause a wave of destruction across the Outer Rim.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The ultimate shattering of the slave trade of Zygerria had been one of the more resounding echoes and had been one of the first things that made Eeth certain that Maul had to be involved.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There was no one else he could see able to do something so big. Maul had not been in contact, though, for years. Eeth would sometimes hear from him in the beginning, but as the scale of what Maul was attempting to do had gone up so too did the silence. It was the one thing that Eeth had despaired of. He wanted to know how Maul was doing, he wanted to know that he was still safe, was well⦠The fact that Maul now was so thin, so smallā¦Eeth had to hope that it was a reflection of the boy as he had been.
         One of the main ways he could think of to be able to tell was the fact that Maul did have a massive scar across his middle. If it was not there then it perhaps was a more complete transformation⦠Eeth knew that it had been a Holocron of some sort that had done this, some sort of Sith Magick that had twisted him, but the full consequences of that were unknown.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth could only hope that if it did turn out to be permanentā¦if it didā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā They would be ready.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And if it was not then they would work so hard to give him a gift that he could look back on, could know with all that was in him that he was loved.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And above all Eeth wanted Maul to know that he was loved.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth turned to Mace then, who had wiped his eyes, before looking to Tiq. āAre you planning on taking him on as a patient again?ā he asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIf Maul will have me I will offer my services,ā Tiq agreed with a nod. āI definitely will offer either way.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āGood,ā Mace said with a nod. āI was going to ask you to if he would let you, I think it would be very good for him.ā Mace hesitated. āHe doesnāt remember anything of us,ā he said, āand truly I am grateful. I cannot imagine waking up to see that you have more scars crossing over your body than you have ever seen.ā Mace shook his head. āHe has a few still, and there is evidence of Lightning, but it is nothing like it was when he was in my care as an Apprentice.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āAnd you would definitely know,ā Agen grinned, laughing, quietly referencing Maulās tendency to train without a shirt that had followed him throughout the Temple.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHey, as I always told him, if someone else got almost cut in half and used their intestines to strangle someone that was attempting to kill our younglings they could perhaps tell him to put a shirt on, as it is I donāt think anyone has much of a say,ā Mace shrugged and there was a quiet laugh. āI never wanted him to be ashamed of it,ā Mace said quietly. āI never wanted him to feel like itā¦was unsightly or shouldnāt be seen or appreciated for the mark of sacrifice that it was.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āI would have done the same thing,ā Eeth said, taking Maceās shoulder in his hand, and there was a quiet agreement. āBut from what youāre telling usā¦ā he paused, āhe truly is six years old?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āFrom what I understand,ā Mace agreed. āHe has his tattoosā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āMeaning he has already taken a life,ā Tiq said softly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And for a long moment there was silence.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThat poor boy,ā Agen whispered. āHeās justā¦heās so little. How could anyoneā¦how could anyone do that to him? For him to haveā¦heās so small. Heās so small.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āSeventeen days on the surface of Mustafar when heās that small,ā Eeth said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThat was then,ā Tiq said, and his gaze was firm. āThat was then, and we need to show him that it does not have to be now. We focus on what we can do for him now. We show him that life does not have to be like he was used to, that he deserves to be cared for, that he deserves to be loved. That is what we can do for him.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThen it is what we shall do,ā Mace said softly. āThank you all for coming. Weāll be introducing Maul to the rest of the Council shortly I think. Will you join us for evening meal?ā Mace asked, looking to them and Eeth nodded, recognizing the affirmation the others gave.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOf course,ā Agen said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIāll be getting my sunlamp out of course,ā Tiq said, stretching.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThank you for being so willing, Tiq,ā Mace said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āOf course,ā Tiq said, āprovided he still accepts me he is my patient and that has not changed. I will do what I can.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There was a brief acknowledgement and they all made to leave.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Eeth could not help but smile. Regardless of the iteration, of how old or how young Maul wasā¦there was no doubt that he was always the shakeup that the Order needed.
I have no excuse for this outside of I wanted De-Aged Maul.
Contains mild spoilers for the second part of Twin Sons and references to Maul's awful terrible horrible no good very bad childhood.
_
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā When Mace Windu had received the call a month ago he never would have expected this.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Waking up what seemed like a lifetime ago because of a call coming through on a number he had not heard from in so many yearsā¦hearing the panicked rattling breaths, and the way the line had gone dead and Mace⦠Had panicked. Mace still remembered the frantic rush to beg the techs to triangulate the last call, the one that had come from his old Padawan.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maceās heart had been in his throat, watching and listening as they worked to finally, finally give Mace a location. Talking the Council into letting him go to find his former Padawan had been easy, what had been harder had been finally tracking down Maul himself.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The signal had been relatively straightforward to follow, but what Mace had found within the small Temple he located at the signals sourceā¦that had been different.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It had taken weeks before he had established enough trust.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It had taken weeks before finally, carefully, a little boy that Mace would never had expected to find, would never have expected to seeā¦had finally taken his hand.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And now here Mace was, standing by the door, holding the hand of a child.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā A small boy, blood-red skin, black tattoos that were fresh and gleaming covering him, his large yellow eyes staring around at everything with a glint of intelligence and cunning that belied his youth.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace held the hand of Maul ā who was at the most six years old.
         Mace stood before the hatch that would let them into the rest of the Jedi Temple, the only place that Mace could think of that would be safe for the small boy that was with him until he could⦠Mace did not know. Mace did not know whether or not this was a permanent state of existence. He did not know if Maul would wake up one day and be the young man that Mace still remembered with nothing but fondness.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace did not know if Maul would have to grow again.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace did not know if Maul would be stuck like this and he did not know how to find out.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had spent time not just questioning Maul on what he remembered but trying to get⦠Mace had initially thought there must be some trap that Maul had triggered, someā¦curse, and perhaps there was. But the reason for it had gone up in smoke, a shattered Holocron that Mace could not salvage anything from, and had left where it lay.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The last thing that they needed was for the both of them to be in this predicament.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul looked up at him and Mace met his gaze, taking in those bright yellow eyes as they looked at him and then back to the door. Maul had yet to let go of his hand.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā That was how Mace knew that he was afraid.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul did not often seek his physical touch, but Mace had learned that when he did it was often because Maul found something else less appealing than Maceās own presence. It would have been funny if it didnāt make something deep within Maceās heart twist.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The fact that Maul was so resistant to touch and yet would constantly seek his out whenever there was something that was too big for him to handle aloneā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace would breathe it out, but not now.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Right now, he had a small boy that needed him and so quietly, gently, āwould you like for me to carry you?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took in the question, looking from Mace to the door where Mace knew that Maul was able to feel more Force Presences than he had ever felt before in his life ā and similarly knew that they were different to anything that Maul had ever experienced. Mace had learned from his Padawan years ago what it felt like, had learned how different it was from his Masterās presence, and similarly Mace had felt Maulās own presence in comparison.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā It had taken Mace time to get Maul to recognize that the Jedi would not hurt him, that Maul was safe around them, that his Master was lying⦠But it had not taken as long as it had to convince an eighteen-year-old, mostly because Mace had been familiar with what Maulās Master had done to him. It had been so much easier to get a small child to take his hand.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had never been more grateful for all of the work they had put in than when a small body had finally curled up against his, seeking warmth instinctively without truly understanding why.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And now Mace was once again giving Maul an opportunity to seek that warmth, to seek that acceptance that he had been deprived of for so long.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul hesitated for a long moment, before finally giving the smallest of nods, and Mace stooped, carefully picking up a boy that was still so small ā too small, and took a breath.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āReady?ā he asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul nodded once.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace opened the hatch of his starship and took that step into the Jedi Temple.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace brought his former Apprentice home.
_
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka had been zoning out for what felt like an hour.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Anakin had initially been meant to teach her about mechu-deru, but Ahsoka could not keep her mind on it, and unfortunately mechu-deru was complex enough that she needed to keep her entire attention upon it. The problem, however, was that there was something else that was keeping her from focusing on it entirely. It wouldnāt be so bad, she thought, but she could tell that Anakin wasnāt entirely focused either.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā How else could she have gotten away with not doing anything for as long as she had?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā But neither of them could focusā¦the rumors had been stirring for too long and too strongly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And he was bringing someone else with him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka remembered Maul with a mixture of memories. She had known him when she was very small, from whenā¦when Maul had been someone on the other side of a transparisteel wall, someone that was untouchable and yet equally something that she had wanted to know. And then she had finally been able to, had been able to meet him, play with him, had drawn picturesā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka remembered going hunting with him, curling up against him and falling asleep, the warm safety that Maul had always brought with him, that feeling that no matter what happened Maul would always be there.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā That had turned out not to be true, not as such, but Maul had done something for her that she never would have believed, and in a way had given her his presence.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul had given her his purified Kyber, and Ahsoka had used them in her sabers ever since.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was and always shall be the one that protected her, and it had comforted her in the moments when she realized how much she missed him. In those moments right before she breathed it out.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And nowā¦Maul was coming home.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Her oldest brother was coming home.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And then Anakin stood, letting go of his concentration on the droid he was working on, the parts dropping to the ground, Ahsoka also standing up, turning her attention to what Anakin was staring atā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace Winduās ship. She recognized it immediately, and as she watchedā¦the doors remained closed. She watched, waiting, hoping⦠Hopingā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā The door slid up and out, and the little exit ramp lowered, and Ahsoka stared, taking a step or two forward, staring atā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maceā¦Windu?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Butā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka looked around the human, looked behind him for a flash of red, for a bit ofā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Anakin gripped her hand suddenly, Ahsoka not even realizing he had gotten closer, and she froze, turning slightly to look at him, and then flashing back to Mace as she heardā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka felt her eyes widen.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā She hadnāt even noticed.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā She had been so busy looking behind him for a sight ofā¦for a sight ofā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā He was so tiny.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Bundled within Maceās robe, the only thing that gave him away was a small sliver of red and black, and the largest golden eye that she had ever seen, the other hidden behind Maceās neck with the other half of his face. But there was no doubting whose eye that was. There was no doubting the horns that rose up proudly ā so tiny, but sharp, she realized, they were sharp andā¦andā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul was peering at her specifically, those yellow eyes fixed upon her with an unerring carnivore precision.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka could not help it, curling her lips back in a mock-snarl, before turning that into a wide grin.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul wrinkled his nose at her, baring his own teeth back, andā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā By the Force, he was missing a tooth!
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka fought very hard against the urge to squeal, and instead walked with Anakin, keeping her pace sedate, not rushing⦠Mace watched both Anakin and herself approaching, watching as he leaned towards Maul and whispered something to him. Maulās gaze briefly shot to Maceās, before he once again trained his gaze towards Anakin and Ahsoka. Mace kept whispering to him, a soft rumble that Ahsoka could just barely pick out.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Telling Maul their names, that they were safe, that they were Jedi, that Ahsoka was a Togruta, did Maul know what a Togruta was? Had he ever seen one?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka had wanted to ask that question, but she trained a bright smile on Maul, allowing herself to swagger just a bit. āHello, Maul,ā she said, putting her hands on her knees as she bent forward a little to be more at eye-level and a lot closer. āMy name is Ahsoka Tano, Iām a Togruta and a Padawan. Do you know what that is?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul stared at her with those large unblinking eyesā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āTogruta,ā he said finally, āa sapient carnivorous species ā like the Zabrak ā known for their distinctive Montrals and their lekku. The Montrals are hollow and can be used for echolocationā¦they can also be utilized to destabilize a Togruta and are a prime weaknessā¦ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka blinked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āDang, āSoka, heās got your number,ā Anakin said, turning to her with a wide grin. There was a flash of something in his eyes, something that told her that he knew what this was about, as well as something like a half-smile curling his mouth, turning to look at Maul properly. āYou obviously know a lot, yeah? You know how to defeat most of the people you see?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul stared at him for a moment, almost eyeing him, before he mumbled, ākick out your legs, go for the eyesā¦or pull your hair.ā He paused. āWhy is your hair like that? It looksā¦weird.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka couldnāt help the shattered giggle that left her, eyeing Anakinās Padawan haircut with a grin on her face. āIt does look really silly doesnāt it?ā she asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āHey!ā Anakin said, grinning, ājust because neither of you can grow hair doesnāt mean you can insult mine. Thatās mean.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āSomething thatās done to hurt another person when they havenāt done anything to deserve it,ā Anakin said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āBut I am meant to hurt the other person,ā Maul said, his eyes narrowing, something uncertain on his face.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āSure,ā Anakin said with a slight shrug, āwhen youāre in a fight, but when youāre not then thatās just spiteful, and thatās not a good thing to do and be. And since neither of us are fighting, yeah? That means that you donāt have to be mean, or try and hurt me.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took this in for a long moment, before finally giving a slow nod. āI see,ā he said. He frowned slightly, āCan I make it not hurt?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Anakin smiled at him, āSure,ā he said, āyou say āIām sorry,ā or āI apologize,ā and I get to tell you that youāre forgiven.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āThen I am sorry,ā he said.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYouāre forgiven,ā Anakin grinned, holding a hand up to him. Maul stared at his hand, his eyes narrowed. āTake it in your hand gentle,ā he said, and Maul hesitated before finally reaching out, Mace shifting him slightly in order to let him reach. āAnd we shake,ā he said, taking Maulās hand and shaking it up and down. āNo hard feelings, and no hurt.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul slowly nodded. Ahsoka watched as Maul curled the hand that Anakin had held back towards his own chest, still staring at him likeā¦like he had never seen anything like him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsokaās heart was in her throat.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āMy name is Anakin Skywalker,ā Anakin said, āyou can call me Anakin, okay?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āDo you have a name?ā Anakin asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka felt like laughing, of courseā¦of course he had a name, he wasā¦but Maul at first was shaking his head, and then his expression brightened and he nodded. āYes!ā he said, āmy Master gave it to me, I finally earned it. My name is Maul!ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Earned it, likeā¦like it was something that he didnāt deserve untilā¦until⦠Butā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka had known some things about Maul. Had known that heā¦he was strong, and he was dangerous, and he was one of the most proficient swordsmen in the Order, even when he had been one of the youngest counted among the honor. She had known that he wasā¦stiff, and often had difficulty socializing and hadā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And as she stared at the tiny boy thatā¦that did not knowā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka had not known.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā There was so much that Ahsoka had not known, that Maul had not told her andā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka looked to Anakin, who was grinning at⦠Ahsoka took a step back, for a moment soā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace was smiling at Anakin, and when Anakin looked at him Mace very clearly mouthed the words āthank you,ā and that was when Ahsoka realized that Anakin⦠Ahsoka looked at him, and then looked to Maul.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Anakin had been a slave.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka had learned that, had talked to him, grown up next to him due toā¦due to Maul, whoā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Who hadnāt had a name. Who had known how to hurt but not how to say āsorry,ā who had been meant to hurt⦠Who hadā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Was that what Maul had been?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka realized that Maul was staring at her, his expression so⦠Ahsoka realized that what she was seeing was something almostā¦worried, something almost afraid. Likeā¦like he was expecting for her to react in a way that was poor or hostile. Like she was somehow angry at him for not havingā¦for not knowing.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka took a breath, breathed out the tangled knot of emotions, the horror, the realization, theā¦the anger.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka was angry, and the realization momentarily stunned her.
         What had that come from? Where was it from, why would she�
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā But she was looking at a tiny boy that could not have been more than six and yetā¦and yet⦠Maul had not told her any of this. He had never said, and she had never known, and someone had done this to him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Someone had hurt him.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Someone hadā¦had taught him how to hurt.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā And that realization was piercing in a way that nothing had ever been.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Who had taken a tiny six-year-old child and done this to him? Who would dare?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Who had done this to her older brother?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Why hadnāt he trusted her with it?
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka breathed it all out and once again showed him all her teeth in a teasing grimace that broke into a wide smile. Maul grimaced back at her, but his lips did notā¦quite manage to curl into the same smile, his head tilting slightly as his mouth curved, his eyes narrowing almost thoughtfully, but before she could say anything Maul opened his mouth suddenly in a jaw-splitting yawn. Mace looked at Maul fondly, and that was the moment when Ahsoka realized that he was holding a tiny version of his Apprentice.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace had technically always been able to pick Maul up, he wasnāt particularly big, but it had never been like that. It had never been when he was so youngā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āShall we get you to bed?ā Mace asked.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul looked at Mace for a moment with a flash of something that might have been fear. Almost likeā¦like he had done something wrong, and Ahsoka felt that anger inside of her twistā¦
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āItās alright if youāre tired,ā Mace said gently, smiling, āyouāre a Nightbrother, of course youād be tired in the daytime. Your body is just doing what itās meant to.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul took that in for a moment, and then slowly gave a brief nod.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āCome on,ā Mace said, āI promised you that weād meet some people and then Iād take you to your room. I have a few more for you to meet and then I shall let you sleep, alright?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul nodded once more, looking back to Ahsoka and Anakin.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āIt was good to meet you,ā Ahsoka said, smiling, and Maul hesitated before giving the slightest bit of a nod, looking from her to Anakin, who was waving, and then back.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Maul bared all his teeth at her, before giving her that slight twist of a smile, and it startled her so much that Ahsoka could not help but laugh.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Mace carried him out of the hanger, heading into the rest of the Temple, and Ahsoka rounded on Anakin.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āYou were too little,ā Anakin said before Ahsoka could say a word, and she closed her mouth. āWhen Maul first met you, you were four, andā¦and he knew that they rescued you from being sold into slavery, but Ahsoka you werenāt a slave. Maulā¦Maul was.ā Anakin stared after Maul, before looking back at her. āAnd he was a slave thatā¦had been that way almost his entire life. The freest Maul had been by that point was within the prisons. Have you thought of that?ā Anakin paused for a moment, āI have,ā he said quietly.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā āButā¦ā Ahsoka hesitated, āI got older, though. Why wouldnāt he have told me when I was older?ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Anakin paused for a moment, āMaul didnāt know how not to hurt until he was eighteen,ā Anakin said. āI donāt thinkā¦I donāt think that he wanted to hurt you, even when you were old enough to understand it better. He didnāt want to hurt you, and Maulā¦has always just been quiet.ā Anakin hesitated. āI donāt know all the details, and I donātā¦I donāt want to go behind Maulās back and tell you everything, but I will tell you that Maul was a Blood Slave.ā He dipped his head towards where they had left, āBut now heās not, okay? Donāt be mad with him, Ahsoka,ā Anakin said, his brows lowering, something almost pleading there. āHe didnāt want to hurt you.ā
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka took that all in and then slowly breathed it out. It wasnāt fair for her to hold it against him, and as she thought about it she found herself thinking about⦠Maul had left when she was nine. Ahsoka thought of the child that she had seen and realized that she could not have been much older than him when he had left.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka looked after the brother that had left, had given his love and his protection, and taken his burdens with him, and found herself realizing just how much he had spared her.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka tilted her chin up, balling her hands into fists. He really was always trying to protect her ā even from himself and his own past.
Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ahsoka made a promise to herself that she would honor thatā¦and she also found herself promising that this timeā¦if Ahsoka had a chanceā¦this time Maulās childhood would be better.
ā” Imagine your grumpy f/o showing you affection! We all have that one grump who might find it hard to outwardly express how much they love you all the time, but on those nights when they want to hold you and tell you just that, grumpy expression and all, itās always welcomed! Your grumpy f/o loves you so much!
warnings: extreme comfort, a few curses here and there, fluff, mentions of canon typical violence, implied smut, references to smut, mentions of murder
a/n: hi. i missed him. thatās all.
every once in a while, he cracks.
itās not often, so far and in between that you cannot even fathom the last time it happened. was it six moons ago? a year? itās blurry in your memory, barely even visible enough to remember.
it's not often the leader of a sprawling crime syndicate completely collapses under the pressure. with his past, with all he has faced in his life, it almost shouldn't be possible.
sith lords didn't show weakness. natural born leaders never scrambled under the stress.
yet, here he is, lying beside you on the plush mattress, practically sinking into it. his eyes are closed, lips drawn together in a deeply carved frown. he's still, the only movement the steady rise and fall of his chest, the dual heartbeats in sync.
he's been in this state for a few minutes now, not even bothering to discard of his robes before burrowing into the bed.
and you knew it was only a matter of time before those little cracks shattered his sanity completely.
"long day?" you hum, shifting your body, inching closer and closer.
he lets out a huff, "long isn't even the word."
carefully, you link with your elbow with his, the tip of your index finger trailing along the fabric, "is there anything i can do? do you want to talk about it?"
"i would rather not burden you with the stress of my day," the zabrak exhales, "so much went wrong in such short time. it was quite horrendous."
"well you're here now," you murmur, resting your chin on his shoulder, "and i don't mind listening."
under your touch, you can sense him loosen, the tense muscles relaxing, "my love, it is quite all right. nothing that can't be fixed with a couple of beheadings."
"trouble with the pykes?"
"there's always trouble with the pykes," maul mutters darkly, "there was a shipment that was lost in transit, and i worry that it may have been captured by another syndicate or a rogue. apparently, no one seems to recall the ship's last whereabouts, or know of a way we can retrieve the last few comms before it was lost."
"and what was on the ship? what was so important about it?" the inquiries slip from your lips, earning an arched brow from the zabrak.
"you're that concerned about my dreadful day? i can spare the details, love. it was--"
"hush," you coo, the pads of your fingers connecting with his lips, "i'm not sure if you're aware, but you don't hide your stress very well. if there's anything i can do to help, i want to help."
a long-winded groan fills the space, the zabrak burying his face into his hands, "i swear, they're all imbeciles. all of them. i should just kill them all and start over. start a new crimson dawn."
"i don't think that's a very good idea," a giggle bubbles up in your throat, "i assume there was more to today than just a lost ship?"
maul nods slightly, rolling over so that his body presses against yours, nuzzling into the crook of your neck, "too much for me to deal with by myself. did i mention that i was the most intelligent being in that--"
"hey now," you warn, hand creeping towards his back, "i believe your followers are well aware you're the most intelligent being in the galaxy."
"are you mocking me?" your heart swells as you feel his lips curl into a grin, "i thought you were supposed to be helping me feel better, even if that means i boast a little about myself."
"isn't that always?"
"careful with that teasing love," his breath is warm as it fans against your neck, "i could relieve my stress in other ways. i have this itch to ruin you, even under all of this pressure."
swallowing thickly, you feel heat flood into your cheeks, "i imagine there was something pretty important in that cargo ship."
"don't change the subject on me now," a hand flattens on your stomach, drifting towards your waistline, "i'm serious, we could relieve my stress right here, right now."
your mouth connects to his temple, kissing it gently, "i would suggest some sleep first, then maybe we can try the latter."
"mmm i believe i'll be just as stressed in a few hours," maul tsks, wrapping his arms around your frame, "however, some shut-eye wouldn't hurt."
"are you comfortable?"
"extremely."
"good," a smile creeps onto your features, "i want to help you, in any way i can."
"thank you," the zabrak's voice is thick, notes of exhaustion apparent, "i hope you know there is no one else in the galaxy like you, my love."
bliss ripples in your chest, tugging at your heart, "i love you, maul."
"and i love you more." waves off heat radiate off the zabrak, pulling you into a state of slumber, "i can go into depth about the events of today later. for now, i want nothing more to sleep in your arms."
"promise you'll tell me all about it?"
"i promise," he mumbles.
it was not very often that the leader of the crimson dawn caved to the stressors of his work, but when he did, you knew that would be there for each and every occasion.
maul cherished you for that, more than you knew.
and as long as he was in your arms, he knew that it would all be right. as long as maul had you, he could face anything that was thrown his way, even if it meant a few bad days here and there.
maul was more than content with the idea of coming back to you every night, especially since you dispelled any worry or frustration.
you had a knack for it. and gods, did he marvel at that.
maybe he needed to bring you along with him for those meetings and other tedious activities. after all, you made everything about his life better. maybe he would have less of an urge to murder everyone there if you came with.
Imagine kissing your f/o so passionately so breathlessly just so hard that they get dizzy... It's usually them who kisses you with such passion and enthusiasm so when the energy is returns you can almost see them get dizzy and feverish maybe you have an f/o that that doesn't want to show their weakness just yet and tries to hide the fact that they're coming undone from your deep kisses yet you can see it in their eyes the way they dialate the way their breath hitches and they pant and they become desperate for more moaning into your mouth and clawing at your body bc they need to get close close close...