(y/n) POV:

"We have to get up eventually." I chuckled to Anakin who had his arm wrapped securely around my waist as I laid comfortably on top of him. My head rested on his chest, my ear against the comforting sound of his soft heartbeat.

We completely disregarded our sole priorities for a little while, and took that time to rekindle the physical part of our relationship.

Our bodies became one, and our hearts finally matched the tune of the other. It was perfect. The sun shining down above us seemed to shine brighter with each passing second. And every glimmering mineral in the large, hollow portion of the cave sparkled more scintillatingly than any star I've ever seen. Everything is brighter for the first time in a long time; at last, we're happier.

I don't know how much time had passed, maybe a full night. But the bright light from the opening above tells me that it must be dawn now. We were both exhausted anyways when we found each other, and my bruised and bloody elbow needed rest and more bacta gel which I thankfully had on hand, so I was able to bandage it up as it healed.

"Or we could stay here forever." He suggested with a hopeful smile, tightening his arm around me.

Despite his content aura, I knew he was afraid to leave our current paradise and face our harsh reality. I am as well, but we're so close to putting an end to this madness once and for all. And I've finally figured out the true meaning to our convoluted prophecy.

I lifted myself up slightly, placing my arms on either side of him. "Anakin, you know we have to go." I reminded him in a soft tone.

He averted his gaze from mine. "Yeah, I know." He grumbled and closed his eyes, causing my heart to ache. I know that's something he only does when he tries to hide his hurt.

"Oh, baby." I soothed. "I promise everything will be okay." I assured him, and myself as well. I still didn't have a full proof plan, which is only part of the reason as to why we need to get going.

"I don't want to lose you again." He whispered. "I can't lose you again." He spoke like his heart would be permanently shattered if something dire happened to me.

I cupped his cheek in my hand so he would look at me again, and rubbed my thumb gently against his cheekbone, "Do you know just how endearing you are?" I murmured, feeling warmth in my chest to know he cares so much about me.

He grinned up at me and shrugged, "It's all apart of my charm."

I leaned down slowly and kissed him, again and again, wishing I could do it forever. Kissing him feels so safe, like it's the most gentle way we can show our affection for each other. He whimpered quietly beneath me and brought his hands up to my face, pulling me down further to create as little distance as possible.

Using all of my willpower, I reluctantly pulled away, and tried to not focus on Anakin's dejected expression. "So," I carefully got up off of him and stood up, "How do we get out of here?"

He let out a sharp laugh, "I was going to figure that out until you tackled me yesterday." He smirked, embellishing the story of our encounter.

I shook my head amusedly and continued to survey our rocky surroundings. The wind from above whistled softly around each midnight blue stone. Speleothems stuck out upwards sharply from where they were rooted to the ground. Echoes rustled as each fallen detritus found its place upon the cold floor. Stalagmites hung in every direction except for the large clearing above us, which splayed beaming daylight in every crevice of dolomite and limestone, glittering vivid platinum rays.

I pointed up at the opening, "Do you think we'd have enough power to jump up there?" It would be a pretty high jump, but it seems like it's the only simple and quick way out of here.

"I could probably throw you up there." Anakin suggested, coming up behind me and placing his hands on my hips to demonstrate his point.

I sighed and gently pried his hands off of me, turning around, "Then what? You'll throw yourself up there?"

His expression faltered at my question, as he realized he didn't think his suggestion through. I swear, when it comes to decision making, his brain often becomes a block of lead.

"Maybe we could go at the same time?" He questioned.

Now that might actually work. If we jump together, it could emit a double amount of force from both of us, and bring us higher up.

"It's worth a shot." I agreed after considering it for a moment. I then wrapped my arms around his neck, twisting his soft hair in between my fingers. "Anakin, before we do this I need to tell you what I figured out yesterday." I exhaled as I prepared to explain to him the epiphany I had when we began to truly reconnect.

"That damn prophecy," I chuckled, "I finally realized what it means. You and I are going to bring balance to the force together. Not just one of us, or by one having more power than the other, it's us together as one team; united. And that can only happen if our bond is strong. We can't destroy Palpatine with hate and vengeance, but with our love for each other. That's how our powers will grow." I explained quickly, in a jumbled mess of words that likely made no sense.

I expected him to ask follow up questions or at least look confused, but to my surprise he just smiled softly at me. "I know." He spoke like it was obvious and chuckled. "You explained it better, but I've always known it was meant to be you and I working together in some way. That's a big part of why I was so frustrated when you kept that secret from me, about the Council." He admitted in a soft tone.

I lowered my gaze, my head drooping slightly as my shame from that memory resurfaced. I feel awful for what I did, and how much of a hypocrite I was back then for insisting that Anakin be honest with me when I couldn't even do the same.

The Council had asked me to complete those steps on my own, and transform my powers only. They left out Anakin; I left out Anakin. To this day I still regret my decision to agree with that plan. At the time I felt so stuck, like I had to not only please the Council but diminish the darkness inside of me and prove that I could do something right for once.

Anakin gently gripped my chin between his thumb and index finger, and lifted my head until his gaze locked on mine. "I forgave you a long time ago. Now you need to forgive yourself." He instructed, using his other hand to hold my hip and rub circles into it with his thumb. "Promise me you'll do that."

Forgiving yourself is way easier said than done, but the least I could do for Anakin is to try.

"I will." I breathed as I felt myself melting into his touch.

He smirked, "You sure you want to leave already? I think we'll have a much better time down here than up there." He whispered.

Part of me wanted to give in so badly, but I knew that the longer we stay down here, the more likely something catastrophic is to happen. We still don't even know where the rest of our friends are, and despite Anakin's persistency to stay down here with me as long as possible, I know he's worried about them just as I am, and is afraid to confront Palpatine in fear that he may have already gotten to them.

I shook my head, rolling my eyes halfheartedly, "Nice try, but we still have a job to do."

He sighed and nodded in agreement, pulling away from me to stand at my side instead. We both grabbed the hand of the other, and gazed up into the clear sky above us.

"Ready?" I asked, already preparing myself into a crouching position.

"As I'll ever be." He copied my stance, and we both took the next few moments to channel all of our power and energy into the force, preparing to make one of the biggest jumps of our lives. The opening up above had to be at least around two hundred feet tall.

After slowly counting to three, we finally pushed off together.

The might of our leap was so powerful, that neither of us realized we could hardly keep control of how fast our bodies flew. Since Anakin is bigger than me, he didn't go as high. But me on the other hand—being lighter than him—I went much higher and it caused me to unwillingly let go of his hand.

I would've tried slowing myself down and grabbing him once more, but making any sort of movement was now out of my control. The impact of my body leaping upwards created a heavy, burning sensation of wind on my face, making my eyes water.

The opening to the outside world became larger and larger until I finally made it, and my body continued to spring higher until I was about ten feet off the ground. I landed with a grunt on the green, lush grass surrounding me. It felt nice to be outside again, and safer, away from the darkness and closed spaces of the underground caverns.

"(y/n)..." Anakin's strained voice broke me out of my thoughts, and I instantly scrambled over to the edge of the pit where I instantly knew he was.

My heart dropped as I looked down. He definitely didn't make it as far as I did; he was dangling just below the edge of the opening onto a small rock that stuck out from the walls of the cave. He was so close, but I feared he wasn't close enough for me to be able to reach out and grab him.

"Anakin." I gasped in terror, and felt myself beginning to panic. He won't be able to hold on to that rock much longer.

"Help me. Please." He grunted out, with a look of fear in his wide blue eyes. I could see his hand beginning to slip on the rock, which was no doubt slightly damp from the mist in the cave.

"Okay, okay." I breathed out. "Just stay calm, and try to hold on as long as you can." I instructed in the most calming voice I could give.

I peered down farther, keeping both of my hands planted in the ground so I wouldn't fall back in. There's no way I'll be able to reach out and grab his hand. He's too far, and probably not even close enough to pull himself up.

There's only one way this might be able to work. And I'm praying that it does.

"Okay, Anakin." I spoke softly but clearly to get his full attention. "I can't reach you from here but I have an idea. It might sound insane at first but I need you to trust me." I eyed him seriously.

He nodded and swallowed thickly, making his fear all the more evident.

"I'm going to need you to let go of the rock—" I began explaining slowly, only to be interrupted.

"Let go of the rock?!" He questioned incredulously. "Are you trying to kill me?" He growled, bristling with anger and confusion.

I knew his attitude was coming from the fear for his life, but he shouldn't have interrupted me after I told him to trust my plan and wait to hear the whole idea.

My eyes narrowed as my irritation spiked, "Anakin just shut up." I snapped. "What I'm trying to do is save you, so if you'd let me get through more than one sentence without interrupting, then we can get on with it faster. Got it?" I demanded with a tone and expression that yielded no argument.

That instantly shut him up.

I sighed, "I need you to let go, and then use the force to try and pull yourself up as much as you can. I'll do the same, and hopefully it will be enough to get you up here.

"Hopefully?" He quailed in fear. "We already used most of our energy for that leap. What if we don't have any left?"

I shook my head, "We're stronger together, and our adrenaline will give us an extra push. I know we can do it, Anakin. You just need to have faith." I urged him with a pleading expression. This can only work if our faith in each other is as strong as our power.

I could tell my idea horrified him, and I didn't blame him. But it's our only option.

Anakin finally nodded in agreement to my plan, and took a deep breath. "I love you." He whispered as he locked his gaze with mine.

"I know." I whispered, willing myself to hold back my tears.

I then slowly counted to three just like before, and on the count of three, Anakin's hand was no longer grasping onto the rock.

In the first few seconds he spent free-falling, he lifted his arm into the air as if he was reaching for me. I did the same, but held mine out towards him, using every ounce of strength I had in my body to will the force to pull him up.

My heart leapt to my throat when all of a sudden, his body stopped moving in midair.

I let out a short laugh, "It's working! Keep going." I encouraged breathlessly.

A new burst of energy surged through my bones, and I let out a short cry as I pushed myself one last time to move Anakin from his stilled position in the air.

I expected him to slowly rise, but instead he shot up like a bullet, taking both of us by surprise. It was all a blur from that moment on, but soon enough he reached both of his arms out to latch onto me as if his life depended on it; and in this case, it did.

He crashed into me, and the impact made both of us go tumbling backwards in the soft, grassy field.

We eventually landed with a small thump, with Anakin on top of me, both of us completely collapsed and still holding on tightly to each other. My hands went to his hair as he nosed into the crook of my neck, while his arms were wrapped around my waist. We spent the first few seconds laying there and catching our breath.

"Let's never do that again." He chuckled against my neck, tickling my skin.

"Agreed. You've got way too much junk in your trunk." I teased.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I couldn't quite hear you." He murmured deviously before ravishing my neck with fast, ticklish bites and kisses. I shrieked and attempted to get away from him, but failed seeing as he was holding me tightly beneath him. I was left to laugh and revel in my giddiness of this affectionate moment that may be our last one before the upcoming battle brewing on the horizon.

Obi-Wan POV:

"Obi-Wan, are you sure you want to do this?" Padmé asked doubtfully.

After (y/n) had commed me yesterday and explained what she knew of our current situation, I instantly got to planning and was able to come up with something that I know for certain will work. The issue is, the consequences of this plan could be fatal.

"Yes." I answered without hesitation. "Palpatine won't be expecting it, and (y/n) and Anakin will have more time to fulfill their task once and for all."

What I am about to do is something I've trained for all throughout this past year, and is a topic I have studied thoroughly as a Padawan. I had a feeling that I would need to do this someday, and it seems today is the day.

Elijah walked up to me from where he stood next to Padmé and held my face in his hands, "I'll kill you if you die on me, Kenobi." He joked as he leaned in to kiss me.

I kissed back instantly with fervor, and held onto him as if I may never get the chance to again. He is aware of the decision I've made, and knows the price I could potentially pay by doing it. But I plan to do everything in my power to ensure it won't come to that.

"I won't leave you." I murmured against his lips. "I promise."

(a/n): Hope you liked it🥰 One more chapter left!! Or that's the plan, at least. As much as I adore this story, I am very excited to finally finish it❤️