Chapter Text
“Get some rest, Seungcheol,” Joshua says, patting him on the back with a good-natured smile. He’s been Seungcheol’s partner for most of his missions. How the other Jedi still looks poised and perfect after months out in the Outer Rim, Seungcheol will never understand.
“The Council isn’t calling for us yet?” Seungcheol says, a bit antsy. They’re only ever called back to Coruscant so they can be assigned elsewhere, and Seungcheol needs to be somewhere before they’re sent off-planet again.
“Not yet. I’ll comm you when they do,” Joshua says. Seungcheol feels Joshua look him over, suddenly feeling exposed raw. He loves Joshua to death (though Jedi that he is, he will never admit it out loud), but sometimes he curses how overly perceptive his oldest friend is.
Joshua raises an eyebrow at Seungcheol’s restless demeanor. “Do you have somewhere to be?”
Seungcheol hesitates. “I… have business to discuss with Senator Yoon. I haven’t checked on it since we were last in Coruscant.”
He sees Joshua visibly hold back a snort. “Of course you do. Say hi to Jeonghan for me.”
Seungcheol glares at him, to which Joshua answers with an amused smile. “What are you still standing around there for? Go… discuss your business with Senator Yoon, Knight Choi,” Joshua says, smirking knowingly.
“I hate you,” Seungcheol deadpans.
“It’s against the Jedi code to hate. Not very Chosen One of you, darling,” Joshua says, smiling placidly. Looking every bit the picture-perfect Jedi everyone thinks he is. Seungcheol wants to smack him on the back of his head.
“You are the worst.”
Joshua smirks. “Must be the result of being around you all the time. Go already, Seungcheol. Before the Council calls for us.”
To say that Seungcheol is glad to be back on Coruscant would be an understatement.
Nowhere in the galaxy is completely safe in times of war, of course, and the vigilance that being on the frontlines instilled in him will never leave, but being away from combat even just for a little while is a huge load off his back.
He missed his own bed, he missed not having to eat the same bland war rations twice a day (if that), and he missed not having to wake up to the sounds of blasters firing outside.
But more than anything, he thinks, knocking on the door of an apartment on the highest floor of a complex in the posh district of Coruscant, he missed…
The door opens. “General Choi,” Jeonghan says, face carefully neutral. This. He missed this most of all.
“Senator Yoon,” Seungcheol says, unable to keep the smile off his face, “can I come in?”
Jeonghan bows his head slightly, almost like a sign of deference if it weren’t for the amused twinkle in his eyes. “Of course, Master Jedi. Please come in.”
Seungcheol comes in and as soon as Jeonghan closes the door, he envelops him in an embrace. “I missed you,” he says, burying his head in the crook of Jeonghan’s neck and inhaling his scent.
Jeonghan hugs him back, just as tightly. “I missed you too, Cheollie. It’s been too long.”
Seungcheol takes a step back, absorbing the sight before him. Jeonghan looks even more beautiful than the last time he saw him. He can’t believe he’s managed to be apart from him for so long. Looking at Jeonghan now, the last thing in the world Seungcheol wants to do is leave his side.
“What are you staring at me for?” Jeonghan says, corners of his lips quirking into a smile.
Seungcheol grins. “A man can’t stare at his husband now?”
Jeonghan’s smile takes a sharp edge as he takes a step closer to Seungcheol. “Kept me waiting for months and all you’re going to do is stare?” he says, voice dropping to a provocative whisper.
“Is that a challenge, Senator?”
“What are you going to do about it?”
Seungcheol doesn’t respond. Instead, he pins Jeonghan to the wall and kisses him hard. Jeonghan kisses him back with the same ferocity, gripping the back of Seungcheol’s robes. Seungcheol laces his fingers through Jeonghan’s hair and gives it a firm tug, eliciting an involuntary whine out of Jeonghan.
Jeonghan gazes at him through half-lidded eyes, cheeks flushed. “Aren’t you going to take me to bed, General?”
“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Seungcheol says, smirking as he lifts Jeonghan up before continuing to kiss him. Jeonghan wraps his legs around Seungcheol’s waist and allows himself to be carried into the bedroom.
Seungcheol lays Jeonghan down on the bed, not very tenderly. Which works perfectly for Jeonghan, as months of being apart didn’t necessarily put him in the mood for tenderness.
Seungcheol knows this, knows his husband, other half of his soul, very well. So he offers no tenderness. Instead, what he offers Jeonghan is a reason to be grateful that he invested in making sure his apartment is extra soundproof.
“I knew you missed me, but now I know you missed me,” Jeonghan says, sly smile on his face. Instead of making him look disheveled (like Seungcheol knows he is), the sheen of sweat on his skin only serves to make Jeonghan look even more otherworldly, luminous.
“Of course I did. Not a day passed that I didn’t. It feels like this war has been going on forever,” Seungcheol says, frowning. The war has taken such a toll on him. He’s seen so many of his men, comrades, friends die battle after battle. The Jedi are supposed to be peacekeepers. Not generals. He was not raised to be a general.
Jeonghan, sensing the sudden somber shift in the atmosphere, places a comforting hand on Seungcheol’s arm. “I know. Believe me, I’ve been working with Senator Xu and the others to put a stop to all of this. But it’s been really difficult. Wanting the war to end seems to be a really unpopular opinion in the Senate.”
Seungcheol is unable to stop an angry scoff from coming out. “Of course it’s unpopular. It’s not like it’s them who’s in the frontlines. They’re not the ones dying, we are. It’s our men putting their lives in danger, not these politicians or their cronies,” he says, spitting out the word politician like it’s a dirty word.
Jeonghan winces a little and Seungcheol notices. “Of course I don’t mean you,” he says, caressing Jeonghan’s cheek. “You’re not like them. You actually care. Which is why I’m always worried about you. You’re too good for them, Hannie, you’re bound to make enemies.”
“I can handle myself,” Jeonghan says, jutting his chin rebelliously. “Have you forgotten how you met me, Seungcheol?”
Seungcheol laughs softly. “How can I forget? You derailed my entire mission to protect you because you wanted to rescue my best friend. Commandeered my ship and just went for it, armed with nothing but a blaster. You were amazing."
“Then you should know I can protect myself.”
Seungcheol sighs. “But sometimes I wish you don’t have to. Sometimes I want to just hide you away in Lake Country where no one will be able to harm you. Where you’ll be safe.”
This only seems to anger Jeonghan. “But you know I can’t. My job is just as important as yours. I can’t hide away just as much as you can’t stay here in my apartment. The war effort needs you. And I need to fulfill my role.”
Seungcheol’s brows furrow. “I know that. But I’m not here talking to Senator Yoon. I’m here talking to Jeonghan, my husband. Of course I’d want to protect you. How would you feel if the next time you saw me was in a body bag?”
This works to dissipate most of Jeonghan’s anger. He sighs. “You're right, I’m sorry. Of course I wouldn’t want that. All I’m saying is we have parts we need to play. Being a Jedi is your calling. This is mine.”
Seungcheol takes Jeonghan’s hand into his. “And I get that. All I’m asking is for you to be safe.”
Jeonghan squeezes Seungcheol’s hand. “I promise you I will do my best. I did promise you forever, didn’t I?” he says, smiling at Seungcheol in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Seungcheol returns his smile. “Forever. I love you, my Jeonghan.”
“I love you too, Cheollie. Forever.”
Later that night, when Seungcheol wakes up from nightmares of Jeonghan motionless on the ground surrounded by ash and fire, this word is what he holds on to. Forever.
He holds on to it despite the voices in his head whispering, all things die, Choi Seungcheol.
Even stars burn out.
No. He’s the Chosen One. Impossible has never been the word for him and it never will be. He will keep Jeonghan safe. He will do whatever it takes. As he looks at his husband, sleeping soundly beside him, looking so beautiful, vulnerable, heartbreakingly so, he realizes he means every single word.
Whatever it takes, he says to the Force. A conviction. A truth. A promise.