Starter for @chromecaptain (finally omg)
He’d made it. It hadn’t been easy, and for a long time he hadn’t even been certain that he’d survive (there were a few weeks where he felt like he wouldn’t, as a matter of fact) but despite it all, he had gotten away. He felt older now, although it surely hadn’t been more than six months, the beard he’d finally started to grow coming in thick and red.
The beard was meant to wait until he was emperor, but-- that was never to be, now, was it?
It hadn’t taken long for him to realise that he’d outlived his usefulness. It became apparent rather quickly after Ren’s succession to the throne that his survival had a clear expiration date, that the Sith had no need of Generals. Or-- perhaps of him specifically. And, coward that he was, he did what he did best. He ran.
The first few months back on Arkanis had been agony. Coming off of the cocktail of drugs that had been pumped into the First Order meals had nearly killed him, especially doing it alone like this. There were days when he didn’t leave the quiet house on the coast, where he hadn’t even made it to bed before the shaking overtook him. But time marched on, and the knowledge that going back would only kill him faster kept him.
He was smaller here, without his crisp uniform, or a title in front of his name. Unremarkable, something that might have been torture for him only a few months before. But now, it meant safety. It meant he could have a quiet drink in a bar without turning heads. It was a lonely life, but it was life, and for now-- it was better than the alternative.
He sipped his drink, paying no mind to anyone around him, just as easily as they ignored him. He felt secure by now, maybe too secure.