lumy12

Title: "Warmth"
Fandom: Star Wars
Characters: Kitster, Shmi
Prompt:

swficchallenge's #2010-05 -- Tatooine. Originally posted in the comm here.
Word Count: 435
Rating: G
Summary: Kitster misses his best friend.
Author's Notes: It turns out [Bad username or site: fialleril title= @ livejournal.com] is fine with the non-fanon-compliance of this, as well as the detail I stole from her (as noted at the end).

Kitster Banai deposited the day’s haul at the foot of the junk mountain. Normally the two coins jingling in his pocket would be a happy sound, but not today.

Today it meant that he had collected his loot without the company of his best friend; one of those coins should have been his.

He turned and made his way back through Watto’s shop as quickly as possible. This was the last place he wanted to be without Anakin.

He has a better life now, Kitster told himself firmly. He’s free! And he’s gonna be a Jedi and come back here and free us all, just like in that dream he had. I will see him again. So it doesn’t matter that he didn’t say goodbye.

There had been no time for goodbyes. Kitster knew this. He also knew he shouldn’t feel angry or hurt. That knowledge didn’t stop the emotions plaguing him, nor did it keep the tears from springing to his eyes as he looked out at the dusky pink sky. Night came quickly to Tatooine and the wind soon licked his tears away. He’d been warm a few minutes earlier; now he shivered.

Anakin was too far away to see Tatooine’s twin suns set, which was really a shame since that was his friend’s favorite time of day. Was he watching a different sun disappear from view instead? No… no, whatever time it was on that Core planet, it wouldn’t be the same time that it was here. Anakin might be asleep right now. He might not even miss Kitster at all.

A gentle hand on his shoulder interrupted his thoughts. “I miss him too,” said a kind female voice behind him.

Kitster regarded Anakin’s mother solemnly. “What are we gonna do without him?”

“We’re going to live our lives, one day at a time, just like Ani’s doing,” Shmi answered, sounding calm and confident. “Would you like to come inside?”

Kitster blinked. Anakin’s hovel was right behind him… he hadn’t even realized. He didn’t have to leave just yet. But he wasn’t sure spending time with Anakin’s mother would make him feel any better. Shouldn’t he be trying to forget all about his friend?

Kitster did feel better just being in her presence, though. Her voice was reassuring, and her warm dark eyes were more loving, more motherly than any back in his slave quarters…

Shmi slipped her arm around his shoulders. “Come, I’ll make you some tzai.”

Well, he couldn’t say no to that.

The motherless child and the childless mother retreated inside as the first sun dipped below the horizon.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Note: The tzai tea thing came from