"Well that's a relief. Stay as long as you'd like. We've got two spare rooms at the end of the hallway that you guys can use."
"Wait, what happened to my room?" Vol whistled guiltily and looked away as Tabitha filled in:
"Your father converted it to a study."
"And Lysa's room?" Tabitha's spine stiffened, sitting up as her tone grew melancholy. 
"We...we haven't touched it." So they did know. HOW they knew would be a subject of discussion sooner than later. Vol broke the uncomfortable silence that had come over the table with a jubilant suggestion: 
"Right, so dinner and bed? How's that sound? I've got some good stuff in the fridge that Eli harvested a couple days ago. Best potatoes and Nuna you'll find around here." 
"Haven't had Nuna in AGES!"
"Well get ready for the stuff that'll have you rejecting any other meat for ages to come." 

_____

Dinner and sleep treated the duo well; so well in fact that Yerbol didn't shuffle out of bed and to the kitchen until noon. So that was what, fourteen, fifteen hours of sleep? He wanted to crawl back into bed, but the sight of his parents gazing at him from the kitchen table banished the thought. 
"Got some nut milk for you." Vol commented, leaning back in his chair as Yerbol extracted the beverage from the fridge and joined the duo, whose eyes reflected the very opposite range of emotions from yesterday. 
"What is it?" Tabitha tucked some loose strands of hair behind her ear as she said softly:
"I felt her death, Yerbol. Felt it all the way from here." Yerbol grimaced, leaning forward on his elbows. 
"Were you there, son, when she passed?" Vol asked quietly, hopefulness laced in his tone. 
"I was close. She sent me a message to join her on Korriban and-"
"We know." Yerbol's brow shot up in alarm.
"What?!"
"Lysa came here about eight months ago, battered and bruised from what she called her latest 'adventures free from the Jedi'. You know how I feel about the Jedi, the Sith, all of them, but...she was different. Angry. Bitter. Said she was so glad she was liberated from their oppression." Tabitha shook her head, gripping the mug in front of her tightly. 
"Did she tell you about the Academy?"
"She mentioned Korriban and-well, your father and I aren't stupid. Korriban plus hatred for the Jedi? We knew what she was trying to do and it was as if...as if..." Tears trickled down her face as Vol drew closer, finishing his wife's thought:
"She told us that whatever happened to her out there would never affect the love she had for us. Now, in hindsight, we think she was saying goodbye, like she knew the path she was on would only end one way." A momentary silence before Vol added:
"She sent that message to you in her old room. We could hear her cause she left the door open. Tried to stop her, tried to reason with her, but we got nowhere." Tabitha leaned into her husband's shoulder, nuzzling into him as he drew his arm around her. 
"I almost got to her in time, but...but she was already gone." 
"How?" Tabitha asked, straightening up slightly. Yerbol's lips pursed, fully aware that his mother's Force sensitivities might pick up on his hesitancy. He thought for a few moments, then answered confidently: 
"A Sith acolyte got her in one of the tombs. I fought with her, but the tomb's supports were unstable and our fight slashed some of the support pillars to pieces. Tried to get Lysa's body out, but couldn't risk it." Another silence dominated the room until Vol nodded.
"We'll choose to remember her the way we see fit. Right, darling?" Tabitha mirrored her husband's reaction, taking strength from his resolve. 
"That's right. And we should feel lucky enough to have our son with us...who brings a lady in tow..." Tabitha's brow quirked upwards in a very similar fashion to her son. 
"Mom, wait-"
"No, don't you 'Mom, wait' me. You two are adorable together. You ARE together, right?" Yerbol slapped a hand to his forehead. 
"No! I mean, well, we're together in the sense of being partners and best friends and-"
"And what else do you need to show you that you love this girl?" Vol's question prompted a slack jaw from his offspring, the former following up his question with:
"Son, are you really that oblivious?" 
"Love is a strong term, wouldn't you say?" Tabitha chuckled. 
"Baby, what does she mean to you?" Yerbol quickly answered:
"Well, everything." 
"Mhhmm. Would you die for her?"
"Of course! Almost did several times." 
"Would you be willing to take care of her at her worst and celebrate with her at her best?"
"Yeah! She's my best friend, of course I would!" 
"And what did we tell you when you were just a boy? About love?" Yerbol strained to remember, Vol jumping in to remind him:
"Love is when your best friend in the whole world BECOMES your world. Is she that? Is she your world?" Memories flooded into his mind of the past six months that forced him to consider the question. Their endless battles together, their laughter filled walks, their meaningful embraces, their...

He was in love. No, scratch that. He loved her. He loved her so much that it sunk into his bones, consumed his heart. 

Tabitha looked to her husband with mischievous eyes.
"I think he just figured it out."
"I love her." He mumbled, eyes sparkling with epiphany. 
“I love her!” He nearly shouted, his parents waving for him to lower his voice. 
“Don’t want her to find out before she’s ready.” Vol chided gently.
“Right…” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand nervously. 
“So…I need to think. Be back in a few. Are the old walking trails still around?”
“Just out the back through the gate. Actually prettier than you remember.” 
“Good.”
He returned about ten minutes before Aria awoke, having set the stage for what might be either his biggest accomplishment or his biggest mistake. In either case, his parents supported him, telling him confidently that love is something that doesn’t wait for an opening, but instead just emerges and forces you to deal with it in whatever way you choose. The way he had decided to handle telling her…well, he thought it would be a fun surprise. 
__
Leading her gently up the soft slope, he told her:
“Just a couple more feet…there…we….go!” He unshielded her eyes to display a clearing that ended about two hundred yards north, allowing for spectacular views of mountain peaks in the distance, green valleys below rolling gently into each other, the tops of trees shimmering from the afternoon sun’s light. 
“This is what I grew up with. I wanted to show you.” He brought her forward, pointing at the various settlements, sharing a couple of small memories before he faced her, looking into her striking ebony irises. She was beautiful. On so many levels. And he was about to tell her. 
He gulped slightly, shifting his feet a bit before he began:
“So…so I brought you out here for more than just the views.” He sighed. 
Here we go. 
“When we first started out on this journey together, I didn’t think I would gain such an amazing friend.” He reached for her hands, taking them into his own, stroking the tops of them with his thumbs as he continued: 
“You are so wonderful. In so many ways. You’re kind, thoughtful, really, REALLY funny, loyal, compassionate(even if you’ll deny it), you put others before yourself and…well, I could keep going, but you get the point. You’re awesome.” He chuckled slightly. 
“The past six months have shown me that friends can show up when you never see them coming and that….” He couldn’t contain it anymore. 
“Friendship can evolve into so much more.” He paused, but then shook his head, knowing he couldn’t say it any other way than:
“I love you, Aria. I love you with all of my heart, with every fiber of my being…and if you’ll let me, if you feel the same, I will never leave your side. I will always treasure you, defend you, honor you and make you snort milk out of your nose.” A teasing smirk accompanied the last bit. 
“And if you don’t feel the same, I’d get it. I’ll never stop loving you, though. I can’t. Not after all we’ve built together.”