"Did Atton love me?"

"He is a fool. That is answer enough."

Beads of sweat formed on Atton's brow as he maneuvered through the treacherous falling rocks and general destruction of Malachor V, knowing that she was on the ship, safe. That's all that mattered. He had finally saved her. As the Ebon Hawk escaped from Malachor's surface and made her way into the depths of the galaxy, the Exile's presence filled him, and he didn't need the Force for that. As she took the copilot's chair next to him, he could tell that she hadn't been expecting to make it off the planet alive; how glad he was that she did.

"So…Where are we going?" Atton asked, glancing sideways at her, his usual cocky lightheartedness filling the otherwise silent cockpit. The Exile didn't speak for a long time, but slowly turned to look at Atton with a peculiar expression he couldn't identify.

"What? Do I have a mynock stuck on my face?" He joked, turning to focus on the controls.

"Atton…do you love me?" What could have been the single most important thing Kreia had told her at the Trayus core was finally out in the open, and Atton had been dreading the confrontation since his discussion with Mira shortly after leaving Dantooine (the first time).

"Look Atton, you don't stand a chance with her, and anyone can see that."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Mira shrugged.

"I call it like I see it. Either way, you'll never actually know unless you talk to her about it."

"That's the last thing she needs to be dealing with, especially with all that's going on."

"Either you can tell her, or I can."

"…Fine."

"Did Mira talk to you about something?" Atton dodged the question with the quip, making a mental note to murder Mira if he ever saw her again. The Exile shook her head.

"No, it was something Kreia told me before she died." Ah, thought Atton, the scow got to her first.

"Oh really? Well what'd she say exactly?" The Exile turned in the chair to face Atton, the expression on her face far too serious for Atton to be comfortable with.

"Atton, stop avoiding the question." Atton frowned and set the controls to auto-pilot, standing and making his way to central chamber of the Ebon Hawk, the Exile following close behind.

"If you want to know so badly, why don't you just take the information from me?" He countered defensively, his tone harsh and cold. The Exile was taken aback, his hostility surprising her.

"You know I wouldn't do that. But if you're coming with me on this journey we need to lay all of our cards on the table." She argued, refusing to let him do this to her.

"What good will that do?" He asked her, folding his arms. The Exile rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Kreia wouldn't give me a straight answer about your future. She told me what's going to happen to everyone else, but she didn't say anything about you other than that you're a fool the Force looks out for. I don't know what's in store for you, especially if you come with me. It could be dangerous if there are unspoken feelings that might cause one of us to act recklessly." She told him after a moment of silence. Atton stared at her, thinking deeply.

"You want to know if you need to drop me off in the nearest system like Revan did to the Admiral, right?" His voice held no anger or heat, and wasn't even much of a question as much as a statement. The Exile said nothing, all Atton needed to know he was right.

"Whatever answer keeps me here with you is the answer I'm giving you then." He decided, heading back towards the cockpit. The Exile scowled.

"That's not an answer, Atton!" Atton turned around, and in a moment that felt like déjà vu for the Exile, said,

"I'm a fool, Meetra. That's answer enough."