Act V

She thought that Richard didn't love her, but he did. It took him a moment to figure it out, and now he wants to tell her everything. Knowing her as well as he does, it's probably hurting her every day. He wanted to make her know exactly how he feels; to take his most trusted partner into his arms and tell her that all her doubts were wrong. That he DID care for her; far beyond the boundaries of a friendship.

Most of all; he wants her to come home.

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Klaara doesn't want to come home. She'd made a terrible mistake, expressing feelings that Richard couldn't possibly return. She vowed to be strong as he tells her he's sorry, but he just doesn't feel the same. It's a vow she knows she won't be able to keep, but she intends to try.

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Both count the days until she decides to return home. Richard receives the update on his Data Pad that the long-range rover has departed with Naudyai as a destination.

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Richard had been waiting for this day for weeks. He'd decided not to meet her with the others, who have decided to go down to the docks to meet her. He will meet her later, so he can tell her how he feels in private.

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Klaara had been dreading this day for weeks. She can hear his voice in her head as he tells her the words she doesn't want to hear. "I'd chosen Jennifer," he would say. "I thought you knew that."

At the last minute, Klaara leaves the rover, allowing its autopilot to take it home.

---

Three rotations later, Klakshan came to visit Richard with the news. The rover is back. Klaara was not on it.

The others were worried sick now; as sick as Richard had been. They assumed something had happened to Klaara, but it was Klakshan who finally calmed the group down as he returned from relaying his message. If something had happened to her, he would have heard about it by now. He was well-connected among the Taeski, after all, and had sent out a message warning others to notify him if they saw her. No news, in this case, was good news. And he knows everything, after all.

They asked him why she hasn't returned, which wiped the sardonically smug smile from the Taeski's lips. He didn't know.

Klakshan suddenly turned, seeing Richard walking down the dock toward them. He asks if the letter said anything. Everyone else is surprised by the mention of a letter and questioned him accordingly. What is it? Why didn't you mention it before? What did it say?

"Everything," Richard mutters as he fingers the torn and battered paper he kept in his breast pocket. "It told me everything I needed."

Richard knew where Klaara was. He understood and could say it now with certainty. He knew she didn't want to face him. That she was worried about how the letter would change their relationship; the letter says it, after all. He knew her doubts in herself despite her strength and integrity. She probably regrets leaving the letter, he assumed.

Richard didn't regret the letter. It sat in his pocket, well-worn and folded and unfolded hundreds of times. Klaara couldn't have written it worse, he thought honestly. It was pained and depressing and written with the foregone conclusion that he didn't care and never would. But it had done more than a thousand slaps to the face.

He decided to take the long-range rover back to its point of origin and search until he found her. He decided to leave the following evening.

When he arrived that fateful day, the rover sat where it had landed, humming quietly in its moorings. He sighed, popping his neck and shouldering his bag of supplies. He expected to make the journey across the stars and search for the rest of his life if he had to. He was going to find her.

He didn't expect her to find him first.

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Klaara took in the familiar surroundings of Naudyai as she stepped off the merchant vessel, marveling at the scenery and how it never seemed to change. The mere thought of being on the same planet as Richard made her stomach turn, knowing that now she stood only a short walk from him and the unthinkable conversation that would soon take place. But she had to confront him. She only wished she'd realized this before sending the rover back.

She wished she'd stayed away longer, though, but it wouldn't have helped. She'd have only spent her time the same way; longing to know what he'd made of her words and berating herself for her cowardice and unwillingness to find out. All things considered, it was for the best that she came back. Even if she found out—

Oh no…

It can't be him…

One glance at the omnipresent coat and gaunt face brought her thoughts tumbling down around her. Her hands trembled, her pulse quickened and her breath locked in her throat. Richard was there, right in front of her, pushing his way through the crowd with haste. At dawn. At the port. Why? How? And, more importantly, what now? She wasn't ready. Not now, not here…

She becomes uncomfortably aware of herself; every small movement she makes seems so large and obvious. She wants to turn and run back into the ship. Back to Sovereign. Back across the Universe and away from the one she still can't face.

His eyes met hers, if only for a moment, and he froze. His face was blank with awe. She looked away in panic, knowing that he'd seen her and it did no good. She can no longer pretend she hadn't seen him. She'd be a fool. Surely he would know. She returns her gaze to his, nervously gripping the single bag of supplies she'd packed with white knuckles. It does little to calm her nerves.

Richard opened his mouth to speak, but the words wouldn't come. It shouldn't have been so hard. Things were different now that he was no longer blind to how she felt about him. Now that he'd realized his own feelings. But now he stood frozen, staring across a sea of different aliens (some pausing to stare at the Vahran) into her troubled white eyes. He'd been awaiting her return for so long, but now that the day had finally come, he was speechless.

She approached him cautiously, her footsteps soft with anxiety. Finally, one of them spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

Her voice was soft with disbelief. She hadn't expected to see him at the port, Richard realizes. He'd had no way of knowing that she would have returned after all. She had no way of knowing that he'd have come after her.

"I… was going to Sovereing to look for you," he admitted, stepping closer. She wanted to take a step backward, unnerved by his intense expression but willed herself to stand her ground. She wanted to look strong, at the very least. "We were worried when you didn't… I was worried…" he trailed off. Klaara noticed that he didn't look the same. His words were quieter – she was almost confident that no one could hear them but her – and she saw the lack of sleep marring his features.

Something had changed in the way he looks at her.

She couldn't be sure, yet, of what it is or how he feels. Not yet. It could be pity, for all she knew. She pushed away the hope brought on by his concern. She wasn't weak. "There was nothing to worry about," she assured him. "I just… had a lot on my mind." She blushed faintly, lowering her head. He read the letter. He knew what she meant. He must know what she meant. "You… really worried?"

Richard could count (on the fingers of a boxing glove) the number of times her brave voice had sounded so unsure. It confused him. It always had. And yet it drew him to her. She can be so tough and brave, and yet he knew there was a need for support hidden beneath her hard exterior… and he wants to fill it. He's always wanted to fill it. And now he will.

"Yes," he said, swallowing. "I care about you, you know…" he pulled something form his pocket. A square of paper, folded and worn. Klaara gasped at it as it opened. She'd never expected him to keep the letter; not for so long. He handed back her defeated words. "I care about you a lot more than you think."

"Y-you…"

"I've had a lot on my mind too," he said, his mind going back to the letter he'd long ago committed to memory. "You're strong, Klaara, and I know you'd try to stay that way no matter what I said, but you don't have to…" he smiled, and his smile had never made her feel this much before. And she wasn't quite sure why. Maybe because she'd missed his smile. Maybe because now his smile meant more to her, after so long.

Or maybe because this time, his smile means the Universe to her.

"I… I love you too, Klaara."

The words sounded strange to Richard, even as he said them, but they felt right in his mouth. They're right because he knew them to be right and never doubted it for a moment.

The weight of everything she'd felt over the past weeks (or was it months?) bore down upon her and Klaara found tears falling from her eyes before she can stop herself. She stood there, shaking with emotion, as she stared at Richard through blurry eyes. "I'm sorry… I don't mean to cry… It's pathetic. I just… I wasn't… I didn't expect…"

"Don't apologize." Richard took her into his arms, holding her against his torso; the same torso she'd once commented was as hard as stone or marble. He held her there until the crowd around them had boarded their ships and departed, leaving them alone. Until her tears stopped and all that was left was the bounty hunter and the protector and all that is, was and would be between them.

And when they walked into the inn where the plans were being made, arms around one another, it became clear to everyone else as well.