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"How long will you be gone?" Kandra asked, her voice a soft plea as she held tightly onto his hands.

Sweeping curls fell into Torbin's warm blue eyes as he gazed down at her, his heart torn between his feelings and his purpose as a Jedi. Each moment they spent apart felt like an eternity, but the mission ahead called for his unwavering commitment.

A sigh slipped past his lips and he murmured, his voice tinged with longing, "I don't know. Master Indara didn't say but it doesn't sound like we will be returning to coruscant for a while."

Her resolve began to falter as tears prickled at the corners of her eyes. "I've only just returned, it's not fair."

Gently, he lifted her hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to them as he whispered, "I promise you, Kandra. We will see each other again soon."

Her tears flowed freely now, mingling with the intensity of their feelings. She leaned into him, seeking solace in his embrace. Without thought his arms closed around her, holding her while he still had the chance. They served the order before themselves but that never made it any easier.

As she began to calm, finding solace in his embrace, Torbin too found himself holding back tears. The last thing he wanted was to leave her so soon but he had little say in the matter. When his master called, he came. It was the sworn duty of a padawan to obey and follow their master and, one day, when he becomes a master himself, he would still answer to the council before his heart.

They had spent so many years together growing up. So much time side by side, but now they were all but grown and what little time they had belonged to the order. The galaxy, always, before themselves.

No longer was the ease of their youth, filled with training and games. They had faced trials and overcome them, learnt to wield their lightsabers in defence of their own lives. They had been built from such a young age to be the very visage of peace and justice, to protect the galaxy even when no one else could.

Times were peaceful now, for the most part, but there was never any rest for the Jedi. Missions of exploration and expansion were voyaged on from one end of the galaxy to the next and, with each of their masters taking different posts, the young lovebirds often found themselves at times entire worlds apart.

This was a mission like any other, but Master Indara had told Torbin little about it. He always knew what he needed to know which, in the eyes of his mater, wasn't always a lot. She believed in learning things for oneself which, although an important lesson to teach, could also be infuriating. But Torbin had been taught in patience and had much practice of it in his time away from Kandra.

It was not that the Jedi ways were so hard to follow but that they were flawed, not that either padawan would admit it despite their longing for one another.

"One day, when we're Jedi masters, we'll be able to do whatever we want. We could go on missions together or ask to remain stationed here at the temple to teach the younglings," Kandra had once said so hopefully.

Torbin had smiled at that, the notion of their shared future together. They both knew it would be difficult but they were so sure that they could make it work. Maybe, in time, the council would even agree to romantic relations. They just needed time, and to show themselves a good example, for the council to understand that such a thing should not be frowned upon.

He still remembered the times when they kept their feelings to themselves and how strong that ache was. Not telling the person you love how you feel can be suffocating, more so when both of you face dangers across the galaxy. Bottling up feelings like that... it's like a bomb waiting to go off.

What if something where to happen to him, or worse, to her? How could he go on with that constantly scratching at his mind? That was how he came to tell her how he felt. In all honesty, it was a matter of life and death that pulled the words from his tongue.

They had been on a mission together with their masters, exploring the uncharted regions of a distant planet. It was supposed to be routine—mapping out terrain, establishing contact with the local population, and ensuring there were no threats to the peace. But things rarely went as planned in the far reaches of the galaxy.

During their exploration, an unexpected quake had struck, sending them tumbling down into a hidden cave system. The ground had swallowed them whole, separating them from their masters and plunging them into darkness.

Torbin instinctively used the Force to cushion his fall, but even so, he hit his head hard on a jagged rock on the way down. Stars burst into his vision as he landed with a thump, but the Force had softened the blow enough to keep him conscious. He stumbled to his feet, his head throbbing.

Kandra, however, hadn't been so lucky. She landed heavily, a sickening crack echoing through the cavern as her body collied with the hard ground. Pain shot through every inch of her, but her first thought was of him.

"Torbin," she gasped, reaching out as he rushed to her side. Her fingers found the gash on his forehead, gently touching the bleeding wound. "You're hurt. Are you okay?"

He winced at her touch, the sting sharp despite her care. "Just a concussion. I'm fine," he assured her, though his vision swam slightly. Then he saw the blood pooling around her leg, the unnatural angle of it. Panic tightened in his chest, fear coiling around his heart like a viper. "Can you move it?"

Kandra shook her head, fighting back the tears that began to well in her eyes. "No. I-I think it's broken."

Torbin's heart pounded as he glanced around the dim cave for anything that could help them, any sign of a way out. "We'll get out of here," his voice was steady as he looked up the way they came, squinting through his hazed vision to examine how far they had fallen. "I'll find a way."

"You should go," she urged, her voice strained. "Find help. I'll be fine."

But the young Jedi was reluctant to leave his friend behind. "No, I'm not going anywhere without you. I'll find something to help you walk... a-a branch or something."

He was already turning, his eyes frantic as they searched for anything of use, when Kandra laughed.

"A branch? All the way down here?" She sighed and her voice took on a more serious tone once again. "Torbin, go. I can't go anywhere, not like this. You have to leave me. I... I'll be okay, you'll come and get me when you've found our masters."

He knew she was right. There was no way she could walk and to move her would only cause her more pain but if he left her who was to say she'd still be well when he got back? Who knew what else was down in those caves. He couldn't bear the thought of leaving her behind, not when there was something he could do about it.

The padawan pulled off his cloak and began to work, using whatever of the material he could salvage into a makeshift splint.

"Hold still," he murmured as his hands gently began to move her leg, wrapping carefully in spite of her painful winces. It was rough but it would have to do.

"Thank you," she whispered with a trembling voice.

He offered her what little of a reassuring smile he could muster and looked around the cave again, his eyes landing on a narrow passage that seemed to slope upwards. It could lead anywhere, or nowhere at all, but was their best chance. "I'm going to carry you. We're getting out of here together."

With great care, he lifted her up onto his back, her arms draped around his shoulders. She stifled a groan as he stood, again trying to ignore the pain in her leg. Torbin took a deep breath, centring himself and putting his faith in the Force, and began to navigate the treacherous cave.

Each step was a struggle, the uneven ground threatening to trip him at every turn. His head pounded, and his vision blurred, but he pressed on, driven by his promise to Kandra. They would make it out alive, he was certain of it. The darkness seemed endless, but he kept his mind focused and alert.

One foot in front of the other. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other.

For hours they walked and walked but every path seemed to lead to dead ends or more perilous drops. The longer they walked, the more fiercely Torbin's head throbbed, his vision growing more blurred with each step. The sickening feeling of dizziness became too much and his strength began to wane. Finally, he had to stop.

"I'm sorry," he panted with a strained voice as he gently lowered her to the ground, his hands shaking, "I need to rest for a moment. Just a moment, then we can keep going."

Kandra's eyes were filled with concern as she watched him sink to his knees beside her and she reached out to check his wound again. Without complaint he leaned into her touch, allowing the Jedi to place her palm tenderly to the side of his face.

"Rest, we won't die down here. You said so yourself. We... We'll be okay. They'll be searching for us already. Someone will find us soon, I'm sure of it."

He took her hand from his face and squeezed it gently in comfort. They were so close, their breaths mingling together in the damp air. When he leaned in and his lips met hers it felt as though everything would be okay—even if they died down there—because at least she now knew how he felt. Not only that, but now he knew she felt the same way too.

"Together." She smiled as he pulled away, their foreheads resting together.

The young Jedi hummed, his smile too now shining in the darkness. "Together."

That was when Torbin realised that losing her was a fear more potent than any danger he had ever faced. In that cave, surrounded by darkness and uncertainty, she had been his only light.

When they finally made their way out of the cave and were reunited with their masters, they knew things would never be the same. They were whole now, complete by each other's side. 

And in that moment, he knew that their love, forbidden as it was, was worth every risk and every challenge they would ever come to face.

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