Jaing Skirata [Null-10]

After fleeing the Empire, when there was no longer an army to fight for, many clones struggled. Who would have thought the love front would be scarier than the real one?

Sometimes, looking at Ordo with Besany or Atin with Laseema, or hell, Darman and Etain, it was easy to forget that clones were often painfully far from the idea of human relationships. That's what happens when you're honed for combat like the finest blades, made unsociable — even if you have the best buir in the galaxy, one who genuinely tried to raise you, self-sufficient and aggressive as you are, as people, not just soldiers. Jaing, through the example of his latest (and apparently only) relationship, reminded everyone of a reality that wasn't so rosy.

— We talked about this, I know.

He takes off his helmet and sets it on his knees as they sit on an empty landing pad far from Kyrimorut. If someone had told him a few years ago that he'd fall head over heels for Walon Vau's offspring, he wouldn't have believed it. But he would have readily believed that their short-lived relationship would be full of loud arguments and fights — consciously or not, they were repeating the path of their fathers... Except their fathers didn't try to ask each other out on dates, and in the end, they just learned to tolerate each other. This, though? The only civil thing was the thought of breaking up like adults.

— But I keep coming back to the thought, — Jaing says in the calmest of tones, giving a dry snort, — that I can't move on. And that I still love you... Even though the last time, you nearly slit my throat.