His heart soared in his chest at her declarations, almost threatening to burst out of his chest when she embraced him and reciprocated his feelings. He gently pulled a couple of inches away before bringing a hand to her cheek, stroking it lightly as he told her:
"Then it's settled. We take this life on together." He leaned in a bit, lips barely grazing hers.
"And I wouldn't have it any other way." Completing the initial lean, he planted a kiss on her lips, a long, passionate one that seemed to contain the essence of his feelings towards her. As he pulled away after a while, he chuckled.
"I've been waiting to do that for a while. SO worth it. Mind if I have another?" 

-End Act I-

____

-Two and a half months later- 

-Act II begin-(for my own reference)

"Ari?" Yerbol called out, slightly winded by the simple act of walking back to his parent's home. To be fair, the young man had been employed in rather tedious and difficult manual labor which involved constructing similar looking walls to the one around the Brell settlement(where his parents were located). This would be wall number three that he had participated in the efforts on and each successive time he hated showing up, but loved the feeling of seeing the work he and the other settlers had invested pay off when the final stones were melded together by cauterizing units brought in by Alliance construction teams. Yerbol was thankful every single day for Alliance crews, seeing as they worked hand in hand with the local settlers to not only fortify existing settlements, but build new ones as well as scout out wild areas of Taris for the terraformers to shape. Thankfulness also extended to the fact that there were no troopers hounding he and Aria to oblivion, no corrupt regime to gut and cleanse from the inside out, no insidious True Sith Lords attempting to deconstruct their very way of life and the list could go on. They were normal, working people...or so they portrayed themselves to be over the past couple of months. People KNEW who they were from their exposure on the holonet, which created a mixed bag of reactions. Some still thought Force users were blights on humanity, which was all too clear when a couple of settlers decided to throw rocks at the duo when coming back from a scouting trip(Yerbol had scared them off by picking up a chunk of earth with the Force and having Aria infuse lightning into it. The pair cackled gleefully all the way home.) Most accepted them for their heroic actions and felt even more apt to endorse them when realizing that Yerbol was Volgorl and Tabitha's son. With the prevailing attitude towards Force users positive, the sanctuary settlement being built on the ruins of Taris' former capital city got support and volunteer efforts from settlers who agreed that galactic peace couldn't occur unless "we worked together, regardless of affiliation, race or creed"(Saresh's words, often quoted by settlers who remember her efforts as head of the Tarisian restoration effort). Yerbol and Aria had gone to see the initial construction efforts, lending a helping hand to those who were sent to start the city, which included Voldon and Kira, who were all too happy to see them alive and well. They had wanted to help the Battlemaster and his wife with setting up the city, but the duo encouraged them to take some more time away from the situation, Voldon reminding them that there would "always be work for you once you're back on your feet." Kira's sideward, knowing glances at the pair was also a large hint that not only had she figured out their new romance, but told her husband to go easy on them. 

New romance didn't necessarily feel "new" to Yerbol, however. Their relationship only grew in depth, Yerbol appreciating his partner so much more every passing day. They had a new dimension to how they interacted(the kissing and other romantic gestures were very nice), but as Yerbol pointed out to Aria on multiple occasions: "You're my best friend. Shouldn't it be natural for me to love you?" A couple of times they had disagreements about how to proceed with a mission or how to properly cook something, but those minor conflicts normally ended with giggling, kissing and/or hugging(which, again, Yerbol would never protest). His parents were all too happy for the duo, cheerily sharing many meals together along with stories, life advice and overall good company, Tabitha and Vol attempting to spend as much time as they could with both of them. Tabitha especially enjoyed Aria's company due to their mutual ability to not only take their romantic partner's jests, but fire back with their own teasing that was just as good, if not better. 

In their spare time alone, they talked. Talked so much about the past, their future together, shared memories, read books, played games and did other fun activities that were normal for two twenty somethings in love to do. That was key for Yerbol; to just BE a couple. Not a couple dedicated to eradicating evil, not a couple that was on the run from death, just...well, two people in love. 

His love, at the moment, was nowhere to be found on this particular late afternoon. When they had gotten up in the morning, Aria had mentioned something about heading out with Vol to Echo Base for supplies, but that shouldn't have taken this long. Maybe they stopped somewhere to eat? Snorting a laugh at the thought of fast food on Taris(Rakghoul burgers?), he made his way to the bathroom and shed himself of the sticky clothes that threatened to impinge all movement before tugging on the bond that they had sharpened rather nicely on their hiatus, asking:

[i]Ari, honey, where are you? Did Dad drag you out on an unplanned expedition? Cause you know he'll do that.[/i]