Revered and Reviled

They sold the landspeeder to their Jawa friends, who wouldn't be too particular about ownership, and secured a good price by telling them that not only was the Great Dragon dead, but that there were more landspeeders just outside the cave.
Carth smiled at the little Jawas running around Patience in their glee before they ran off to scavenge the remains of Nord's mercenary army.
"Onasi? Carth Onasi? Is that really you?"
Carth turned, and his jaw dropped. "Jordo?"
His old wingmate stretched out a hand in welcome. "It is you! How have you been, flyboy? What are you doing on the ground? I thought for sure you were still fighting the good fight on some ship or another."
"I was," Carth grinned as they shook hands. "I crashed. It's a long story. And how have you been, Lefty?"
"Passing good. I never really recovered from my wounds, so I'm a civilian now. I do runs for Czerka. Who's the pretty pair of eyes?"
"My name is Patience Keçrye," she smiled, and shook hands. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"So, flyboy, is she the reason you have dirt on your feet? If she is, she's a good one."
Carth laughed. "Oh, I'm not grounded. I'll be back where I belong in a day or two. How is your family, Jordo? Did they all make it out all right?"
Jordo's eyes fell for a moment. "They're good. Everyone made it out except the little one, she didn't… like Morgana… there wasn't any hospital or anything for the wounded."
"I'm so sorry," said Carth, his voice tight and hurt. "I didn't know."
"No, it's all right, man, we haven't seen each other in years. I only knew about Morgana because I saw them taking her away, after you left to rejoin the fleet. At least your boy made it out alive."
"What?"
Jordo looked at him in surprise. "I – I thought you knew."
Carth shook his head in shock. "No, I had no idea. Dustil – he's alive? Are you sure? He was missing after the attack, I looked everywhere for him. I thought… I thought he was dead."
Jordo nodded slowly. "I saw him on my last run. He didn't recognize me, of course. We never spent enough time at home for our kids to recognize us," he said bitterly. "He's the spitting image of Morgana, now. And he's still using your name. That's why I thought you knew."
"Where? Where did you see him, Jordo?" Carth demanded.
"You really don't know?" said Jordo, confused. "He's on Korriban. At the Academy."
"What?" Carth shouted.
"He's a student, at the Academy. He's a Sith."
Carth just stared in disbelief. "No. He can't, he would never…."
"I thought you knew," said Jordo again. "How could he have gotten there without anyone telling you he was alive?"
Carth shook his head. "I don't – I don't know. I have to go find him, this… I'm sorry, Jordo, I have to go." Carth turned and walked away, heading back to the Ebon Hawk.
"I hope everything works out," said Jordo nervously, and Patience smiled gratefully at him before she turned to run after Carth.
"Well, I guess I know where we should go next," she said sweetly as soon as she caught up to him.
"What? No, you don't have to. Not just for me."
Patience shrugged. "We have to go there anyway. It's on the list. Might as well." She smiled at him, trying to reach past his darkness and pain.
Carth pulled her into his arms. "Thank you, Patience. Thank you so much. All this time, I thought he was dead! He must be a man by now, if he's been planetside all this time."
"No hyperspace travel locking his aging process? Keeping him trapped in the body of a handsome, loving man?" she whispered to him. Carth smiled at her, and she reached up for him. "A loving man who could probably really use a kiss?"
"I like the way you think, little woman." He kissed her, softly at first, then with all the hunger and need that he had kept pent up ever since they had first met; all the jealousy that Canderous' admiring glances stirred; all the admiration that her wonderful spirit aroused; all the desire that her slight frame and delicate beauty brought to life in him. Patience melted in his arms, warm and soft, clinging to him and making sweet noises of surrender.
"Carth," she whispered, stunned by the wonder of his kiss. "I … " she blushed, unable to say the words, and laid her head against his chest.
He kissed her again, gently this time. "I do, too." He looked down at her, shy and sweet in his arms. "Let's get back to the ship."

Carth came up from the galley, and checked the garage. There was no sign of Patience. He idly wondered where she had gone. Shopping, most likely, he told himself, and he sighed to think of how quickly she could burn through all the credits they had just earned. He finished his naranja, and tossed the peel down the incinerator shaft before heading to his cabin.
The lights were dim as always, but not so dim that he didn't see her, sitting nervously on his bed, her little feet bare and tapping a little rhythm against the side of the bed, clad only in her shorts and one of his shirts, her hands twisted in the sheets, her hair held back in a ponytail as always.
"Hi," said Patience softly. "Can I ask you a question?"
Carth tore his eyes away from her, and tried to regain his self-control. "Sure."
She smiled at his reaction, and blushed slightly. "Was she very beautiful?"
Carth smiled. "She was beautiful, but not the way you are. She wasn't at all like you." He gazed admiringly at Patience again. "She was brave and stubborn, but … in a lot of ways, we weren't really right for each other. But she was too stubborn to give up, and not brave enough to follow me." He walked over to her, and drew her into his arms. "But I loved being in love with her. It gave me a connection to my home, something to dream about at night when I closed my eyes. I would see her, and Dustil, and our house on Telos, every night in my dreams. Until she died. Then all I could think about was how foolish I had been, how I had abandoned her, and how I needed to get revenge for her death and all my pain. And then…." He kissed her lips, gently, reverently. "Everything changed."
He gently tugged the ribbon away, and heard her laugh softly, joyously. He kissed her hair, her ears, her lips, worshipping and loving her at the same time. She kissed him, her hands around his neck, running over his back and through his soft, dark hair. She slowly moved back to the bed, drawing him with her, lying down slowly so that he was over her, his hands on her waist, holding her close to him.
Patience smiled at him, ran her hand along his stubble, and kissed him again.
He kissed her neck again, moved so that he could whisper in her ear. "Now, I'm in love with the most beautiful woman that I've ever known, one who is brave to the point of insanity, kind, generous, loving," he kissed her with each word, "and yet, for all her strength and skill, still needs someone to watch over her."
"Oh, Carth," she whispered softly, and kissed him, dug her hands into his hair, pressed herself against him, savoring the feel of his body on hers. He moaned in response, grinding his hips against hers.
"You don't remember being in love with anyone, do you?" he asked.
She kissed him before answering. "I've never been in love before. I don't think you would ever forget that feeling. No matter how far apart you are, or how long it's been, you would never forget."
"I think you're right. I could never forget you," he whispered, and she smiled joyously.
"Even if you lost everything, if you really loved someone, you would still feel it, you would miss something about them - their eyes, their scent. You would go crazy trying to remember, wouldn't you? And you'd never stop looking. I don't feel anything like that. Whatever I had, if I even had anything," she giggled, "it wasn't love. Probably someone who was glad to get rid of that crazy woman!"
Carth laughed with her, and then kissed her again. It was more likely that someone had died, and that she didn't remember the loss, he told himself. No one would ever forget Patience, or give her up if they had a choice. He kissed her hair again, breathed in her scent, trying to imprint everything about her in his memory. He returned to her lips, kissing the velvet softness of them, tracing the outline of the perfect curve of her lips with kisses. She slid her hands under his shirt, ran her hands along the muscles of his back, held him close.
"You're so beautiful," he breathed softly, and she froze. "Patience? Are you all right?"
She pushed him away, and sat up, breathing shallowly, barely holding back a sudden flood of rage. The memory replayed in her mind. A lover's eyes, dark grey and wild with passion, telling her that he loved her, that she was beautiful. And she knew that he had lied, she knew that now. But she didn't know who he was, if he was even alive. Had they parted as friends? She doubted it. Did it even matter?
"Patience?" Carth stroked her hair, and she turned to him, her beautiful blue eyes wild with emotion.
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just remembered something."
"Doesn't seem like a good memory," he smiled wryly.
Patience smiled sadly. "No, it wasn't. He lied to me," she said softly. "That was all I remembered, and I was so angry. I hate that, I hate when things make me so mad and I don't even know why. I feel like I'm going to lose control of myself and do something horrible." She whispered something that he couldn't hear.
Carth pulled her into his arms. "I didn't catch that last part."
"I'm afraid I'm going to do something horrible, and then you'll hate me."
Carth smiled at her weakness. "Send me a Sentinel," he sang softly, "someone to watch over me." He kissed her again. "I will never hate you, Patience. If I see you slipping, I'll stop you. If I see you falling, I'll catch you. I'm not going to let you go, and I'm not lying to you."
She smiled gratefully at him, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears, and she threw her arms around him.
Carth held her tightly, and kissed her hair again, then lay down on the bed with her still in his arms. He pulled a pillow behind his head, and made himself comfortable. Patience snuggled up to him, and he could feel a silent tear or two fall to his chest. "Get some rest. I'll still be here when you wake up."
"Carth?"
"Mmm?"
"Thank you."
He kissed her hair again, and he held her in his arms, peaceful and loving, until they fell asleep.