For cherryjammyjams
She never did forget Cad Bane;
Not when she saw her closest friend among the Jedi, the one whom she trusted the most, shot down mercilessly by one of Bane's close associates. Bane was not present at the time of the murder, but she could not look him in the eyes when he arrived to pick up his acquaintance. She could sense his deep red eyes on her form as he fled the scene, not bothering to so much as mutter a word;
Not when she was forced to watch helplessly as Bane himself attempted to kill her former padawan, nearly succeeding. Her heart had refused to beat during those horrible mere minutes; her blood had ceased to flow as the bullet grazed her bygone apprentice's side, his cry of pain deafening;
Especially not on her final mission to bring the bounty hunter and his business associates to justice, during which her clone commander had ordered his battalion to turn their weapons on her. The sudden insatiable thirst to kill radiated from them through the force, hitting her stronger than any blows dealt by her clones. Commander Staack had been the first to shoot, his bullet being followed shortly by those of Ghost and Delight. She had trusted all of them and had even thought of them as friends; now they were trying to kill her.
Cad Bane had been a witness to the whole ordeal; he watched, seemingly impassive, from his perch atop a building. She had glanced up at him, a disbelieving look drawn on her features. He did nothing as she deflected the bullets that were meant to strike her down, and his expression did not change as she silently begged him for help. Ever since he had saved her life, she had felt their connection; it was the strongest bond that she had ever had, and in spite of the Jedi Code and all that she stood for, she had admitted to herself that she was attached to him. Now here he was, sitting idly by as she fought desperately for her life. Her heart was no longer in one piece.
She had leapt into her speeder and left the system immediately, her mind racing as she attempted vainly to register what she had just been subjected to. She could not stop the tears from flowing as she received distress calls through the force, alerting her to the fact that she was not the only Jedi whose troops had turned on. It seemed as though as she tried desperately to contact them that she was one of the only Jedi to survive the ambush; the realization brought her already fragmented heart to shatter once again.
Her time had come, and it had arrived so abruptly that nothing could be done to stop it.
· · ·
(Y/N) (L/N), as usual, was in trouble.
She huffed as the guards tossed her carelessly in front of the platform where she would face the consequences for her actions. Their intrusion had put the party at a temporary standstill, the silence unwavering until the crowd was ordered to go about their business. Satisfied, the guards turned to make their exit. For good measure, one even felt it necessary to give (Y/N) a solid kick to her side; she knew not to expect much hospitality from the Hutt Clan, however she had been forgiven before- why would now be any different?
Of course this time, Gardulla was not in a forgiving mood.
Gardulla Besadii the Elder, in spite of being fully aware of (Y/N)'s status as an exiled Jedi Master, had agreed without much hesitation to take her on as an employee shortly after the birth of the Galactic Empire. The Hutt had instructed (Y/N) to begin again as a personal servant, which had mostly entailed running around and delivering messages within Gardulla's own home. She had been smart enough not to allow (Y/N) to step outside for quite some time, knowing that the galaxy would still be enamored by the recent order to execute the Jedi. Once a few years had passed and the Empire had shifted its focus towards other aspects of ruling the galaxy, Gardulla felt secure enough to let (Y/N) run errands for her in the areas that saw more illicit activity than most. Once she had seen that no one wanted to have anything to do with the Empire, even if it meant receiving a generous sum for the capture of a Jedi, the Hutt had no qualms whatsoever about allowing (Y/N) to spend as much time outside as she pleased. She had even been bold enough to send (Y/N) to Bespin to retrieve an order of hers.
That wasn't going to happen again.
(Y/N) stood silently before her employer, all but ignoring her lecture. The protocol droid, who was the acting translator, tore into the former Jedi with every word. Gardulla spared no expense when addressing her feelings towards (Y/N)'s failure to bring back all of the cargo, and the protocol droid was very hesitant to repeat much of the Hutt's unfiltered speech. (Y/N), after several minutes of being called every name in the galaxy, was finally so fed up that she didn't even consider her employment when she interjected;
"How could I have possibly known that the Imperials would check every single crate?"
The Hutt, now infuriated, spoke so quickly that even the droid had difficulty keeping up.
"The Great Gardulla Besadii the Elder is very unsatisfied with your work, and wishes for me to translate this directly; 'You are a shadow of what you used to be, (L/N). I knew that you would not always be useful to me, but I had no idea that you would practically be begging for me to turn you in to the Empire so soon. I cannot say that I am surprised that the Imperials exterminated your pathetic force-user club- had they not, I am certain now that I would have done it myself, starting with you.'"
(Y/N) almost felt bad for the protocol droid as she knew that it probably had to rattle off harsh lectures several times daily. She pushed back a sigh as it attempted to escape her lips and eyed the ground, deciding that her best move would be to pretend to be ashamed of her failure to do the impossible. As the Hutt barked out more insults, forcing the poor droid to repeat each and every one word for word, (Y/N)'s eyes widened as she suddenly sensed an oddly familiar presence. She blocked out the rest of the galaxy and reached out, hoping for more information.
The force, desperate for her attention but reluctant to satisfy her need for knowledge, told her nothing. (Y/N) reached further, trying vainly to grasp what she could not see. After several failed attempts, she returned to the present, defeated. She noted that Gardulla had now become preoccupied with a being whom (Y/N) recognized as a messenger for the infamous Jabba the Hutt, and as such she would not notice if she quietly slipped away. (Y/N) needed to know where this feeling was coming from, and she couldn't do that under Gardulla's watchful eye.
Careful as to not alert the Hutt, (Y/N) silently crept into the shadows, ignoring the immense feeling in the pit of her stomach that she would regret abandoning her post later. Feeling secure enough to continue her meditation, (Y/N) closed her eyes and reentered the force current as it discreetly flowed around her.
Just as she had expected, she was met with a void of emptiness.
She opened her eyes and huffed. Slumping against the wall behind her, she scanned the room with her own eyes rather than those of the force, searching for anything that would be of use to her and her new quest to spite the force in obtaining answers without its aid.
Her eyes eventually landed on a figure seated at the bar across the room. Its back was adorned with a deep brown leather jacket, and its head was hidden under the wide brim of a matching hat. Her breath hitched as she realized who he reminded her of.
Ever since he had clearly shown that her life meant nothing to her, (Y/N) had cursed the name of her beloved bounty hunter. Cad Bane had always been a charming man, however nothing could free him from his newfound reputation in her mind; that reputation of a conniving, careless creature. She couldn't find it in herself to call him a man after leaving her for dead. After all that they had been through over the years, starting with that fateful night on Coruscant which (Y/N) had forsaken in her memory, he would just watch her be murdered, no emotion on his face.
She hadn't realized that her emotion was visible until she looked down and noted her white knuckles. She released her grip and sighed, her eyes returning to the crowd. Most of them were dancing drunkenly around her, completely ignoring her presence; some were seated precariously at the bar, downing drinks as though their lives depended on it; a select few were standing respectfully on either of Gardulla's sides as they had been tasked with guarding her and her possessions. Regardless of their identities and chosen activities, (Y/N) did not have to use the force to sense the daze that clouded their minds. She couldn't blame them, being locked away and forced to give the illusion that the home of Gardulla Besadii the Elder was a lively establishment; it was not a desirable lifestyle.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the return of what she had sensed earlier, only this time the feeling was overwhelming. She gasped and leaned into the wall for support. She looked up and saw that the man at the bar had moved, allowing her the ability to peer into the gaping doorway in the back of the room. What she saw beyond that made her blood run cold;
He hadn't changed his attire in the slightest. He still bore the annoyingly wide brimmed hat, not caring enough to even look to see who he had struck with it as he walked; that same long, billowing jacket covered his lean body as it directed the eyes to his infuriating rocket boots- the very same that he had used to force (Y/N) to chase him vainly through large crowds of people for hours on end. She watched as his deep red eyes scanned the room, pausing every once in a while on important figures in the large gathering of people. The glowing eyes did not stop until they met (Y/N)'s.
Cad Bane, for the first time that (Y/N) had ever witnessed, gasped.
(Y/N) held her glare as the bounty hunter practically tripped over himself in his attempt to push through the crowd towards her. She watched, her frown unwavering, as he finally managed to reach her. He looked her up and down several times, trying to confirm that she was exactly who Bane thought her to be. His eyes held an alarming mixed look of relief, shock, desperation, and sadness; he had no idea that he was gaping at her, or that his eyes had glossed over, making it appear as if he was about to cry. (Y/N) felt her heart and expression soften simultaneously with Bane's, but she hurriedly stopped herself. This was the man who had abandoned her when she needed him the most. Clearly, he thought he had watched her die all those years ago, and that did nothing to soothe the former Jedi's anger.
After what felt like hours of silently gaping and restraining sobs, the bounty hunter finally brought himself to speak; "You...you've aged well."
(Y/N) barely refrained from force choking him.
"What are you doing here?" (Y/N) hissed.
Bane took a moment to register her words. He seemed taken aback as he said, "I-I'm here for a job...how did you get here?"
The loss of his usually confident demeanor hinted to (Y/N) that he felt some remorse for leaving her to die. The thought of him possessing a guily conscience softened her expression, and she then allowed herself time to consider how best to respond to his question. How did she get here? As she recalled all that had happened over the years, she peered cautiously into the eyes of her former adversary. The eyes that had once held a cunning and mischievous gleam were now devoid of any such emotion. He looked tired, and the fact that he had aged was clear. She wondered what she looked like to him. Was she just as tired and worn?
How did either of them get here?
(Y/N) realized with a startling burst of raw emotion that Cad Bane was all that she had left of her former life. After all of their fighting, chasing, scheming, and searching for one another...one was all that the other had left.
Choking back a sob, she slowly reached out to Bane. He stared at her outstreched arms, recoiling in shock and uncertainty. The confusion was brief, as before she could blink the bounty hunter had taken her into his arms. It was an odd sensation, and it must've been a mind-boggling sight; an exiled Jedi clutching the once most fearsome bounty hunter in the galaxy as though her life depended upon it.
(Y/N) took the time to consider; the Jedi were gone, and no one could've done anything to prevent their demise. What was the point in holding a grudge against someone who had been just as shocked as she was when her trusted clones had attacked her?
Especially someone who she had become attached to in such a way as she had to Cad Bane?
After some time had passed, (Y/N) pulled away just enough to where she could look up into his eyes once more. She could feel the force coaxing her to allow it to guide her tounge in speech, and so she did;
"I don't know how I got here, but I don't want to be here. Please...take me away."
Cad Bane stared at her, his shocked expression slowly turning into a knowing look.
"That's not you talking, is it?"
(Y/N) smiled sadly. "I allowed the force to chose my words. Clearly, it wants you to help me escape this fate."
Cad Bane smirked. It was that same smirk that (Y/N) had both wanted to imprint into her mind and slap off of his face in equal measure since she first saw it; his seemingly most insignificant detail brought (Y/N) to tears almost instantly.
"Come with me," Bane said quietly. He turned back towards the door, grasping (Y/N)'s hand all the while as he made his exit. Once the two were outside of the main room, they sprinted outside. They knew that they would have had time before anyone took notice of their absence, but neither one could wait a moment longer.
Once they had reached the landing pad, (Y/N) began searching for the Xanadu Blood. She was surprised to see Bane run into a roomier, less-impressive small freighter instead. She followed him nonetheless.
"Where's the starfighter?" (Y/N) asked in spite of herself. She knew that there wouldn't have been room on board the ship for the two of them, however she was well aware that Cad Bane treasured that starfighter. She had found out the hard way exactly how special it was when her own Jedi Starfighter had scratched it several years ago- Bane had actually tried to shoot her hyperspace ring in return for damaging his transport.
"It's easier to live in something you can transport when you need to make a fast escape," Bane said simply. He was already firing up the ship when (Y/N) took a seat beside him. He suddenly stopped and turned to face her, his smirk still resting on his features.
"Where are we going?" He asked.
(Y/N) returned his smile. "Anywhere a Jedi wouldn't go."
Bane shook his head as he began punching in coordinates. "Have I ever mentioned I love you?" He asked, laughing.
(Y/N)'s smile grew. "No, but I think getting me off this rock is proof enough."
And then they were gone.