A Year Is A Long Time Passing

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera's reply would come snarky and sarcastic, and slightly irritated that he was still continuing to yell at her. "Well, THANK YOU for being SO CONSIDERATE in doing what I had asked of you AFTER THE FACT."

The only thing she was pleased about was not waking up in a prison cell, or on Ossus. Short of that, his decision meant little to her. He'd finally acknowledged her decision and plea not to return, but only after he'd nearly killed her in the process, his own stubbornness, pride, and ego having been in control throughout their interactions on Kashyyyk. Now she wanted to know why he chose not to bring her back to Ossus. Was it out of guilt? Why? What reason did he have to not act on what he had come there to do?

"Why? Why did you bring us here instead? After all that...After everything you decided afterwards not to bring me back? Why wouldn't you just listen to me in the first place?"

As Varus approached the two men and Sera underneath the large duracrete bridge, Trent and Carlise waived him over, ushering him to get out of the rain and under the cover of the bridge and around the warmth of the fire. "It looks like we've got another guest, Carlise. Welcome stranger. Make yourself comfortable, the fire is warm, and the bridge here will keep you dry during the storm."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"Thank you.", Varus said as he approached the man, carefully stepping around them to position himself between them and Seraphina. He watched her there for just a moment, having heard what she'd said and knowing that she was still angry and rather confused as to why Varus had gone through all of this trouble. All of a sudden, though, Varus turned back around to the pair of men and held out a pouch to the one who'd offered for him to make himself comfortable. He placed it into the man's hand and folded his fingers up around it and nodded to the man.

"For taking care of my friend and being kind.", he told the man whom he'd just given about 1,000 creds. "Go and fill your bellies tonight and be blessed.", Varus then told the man as he released his hand and stepped back. As he did, the man glanced down a little confused before raising the little pouch and opening it so that he could see what was inside. Once he saw what he'd been given, though, he showed the other man, who appeared equally as stunned before they both meandered over, a bit shaken up, and hugged Varus, who smiled and was a bit taken by surprise. When they hugged him, though, Varus allowed it to happen for the moment before taking a step back and saying, "Really, there is no need to thank me. Just used it wisely.", he told them before they turned and scurried away towards the nearest diner.

Varus soon turned around and saw Seraphina still there, in that same spot, curled up and sleeping, and so he thought about what she had said, and instead of responding and continuing their argument or answering questions of hers that he hadn't really had an answer for, he remained silent. He remained silent and let his feet carry him to her, though he didn't wish to disturb her slumber. With that in mind, Varus simply turned and sat down on against the wall next to her, leaned over on his knees and propped up his elbows. He then rested his chin across his forearms, but it wasn't long before the alcohol caused his eyes to flutter. He then leaned over and ducked his head down, resting his eyes for a little while as he waited there for something to happen.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Ah...There it was. The ever prominent presence of Varus himself. Sera felt the man as he approached. Her subconscious acting as a sort of beacon the closer he got to her. Still, she didn't wake. Not her body at least. Her mind was still as active as it had been prior to succumbing to rest. So while she couldn't see him, she could very much sense him around her. The two gentlemen that had been nestled underneath the bridge took their rather hasty leave when given such a large quantity of credits - enough to eat and stay a few nights in a warm bed. Her ears caught the voices as they danced along the air around her, brief exchanges between the three before the world fell again to silence, broken only by the patter of rain impacting the ground at varying intervals.

Sera expected his voice again, but there was only silence. He was next to her, or pretty close, but he hadn't spoken, nor responded to her questions. What is he doing?

After a short period of silence the Twi'lek spoke again, mentally, to him. "I think I broke my arm leaving the hospital. My body wouldn't cooperate any longer without rest. I didn't know why I was there, and what was coming after, so I had to take my chances and leave. I still don't know why you brought me here instead."

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus glanced over at Seraphina as she pressed the subject further, which he wasn't entirely too excited about. In fact, he'd have preferred to drop the subject, but he knew that Sera had always been rather persistent. Hopefully, though, she would move on eventually. "Do I really even need a reason?", Varus whispered back through the force as he raised his head up and glanced over his forearm at the sleeping beauty next to him. As he watched her there Varus glanced down at her arm, which didn't look too bad, though he was sure that it was still hurting and likely sore.

There didn't seem to be anything protruding abnormally from her arm, and so she hadn't likely had a full break through bone. In some cases, though, hairline fractures, chipped and cracked bones would be even more painful. He wondered if it actually was broken, but there was no way for him to know. He was certainly no doctor and he couldn't see through skin. He could almost taste the twinges of pain that would, every so often, course through her body and make him hurt for her just a little bit.

A Long time ago he'd gotten closer to Seraphina than he had been to anyone else in the world. During that incredible experience they'd shared, at some point along the way, Varus had grown so close to her that he could actually feel when she was happy, sad or in pain. When she hurt, he could feel it not only through the force, but in his heart, which was why when she left him behind he'd almost lost himself completely. And when he'd found her again and almost killed her, he felt every blow, and not just the ones that he'd received from her.

Reaching out, Varus rested a large, powerful hand on her thigh, hoping to sooth the sleeping woman as his eyes fell closed once more and he slipped into a bit of a slumber himself.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The only response Varus would hear in return would be an irritated grunt before the woman dropped the subject. Maintaining the mental connection through the Force was becoming taxing and she was slowly slipping into total unconsciousness. She wasn't certain what to expect when she awoke, and she was in no way eager to be reminded of the pain from her injured arm again. Though as she began to transition into a deeper sleep she felt Varus' hand rest on her, which despite her irritation with the man felt somewhat comforting as her connection to him severed, and she drifted off into the far reaches of her own mind. The area beneath the bridge remained relatively warm, at least enough so that the pair wouldn't freeze to death. The bridge provided enough cover that only a few rogue water droplets occasionally splashed against the ground beside the two, speckles of liquid bouncing from their impact zone to the boots or legs of both Sera and Varus as they slept. Over time the fire would die down, though the heat would sustain until morning, when the heaviest of the rain would lift, leaving an early morning fog as the temperature rose, a light mist cascading across the lower city limits.

---------------------

The Twi'lek opened her eyes slowly, her right hand running along her cheek to her forehead and temple, sliding back between her pair of lekku as she craned her neck, attempting to release herself from the dull pain that came from sleeping in an uncomfortable position for far too long. Looking down she noticed Varus had somehow managed to slump himself across her lap, resting his head on her stomach while he slept. deaf to the world. With a few short breaths to mentally prepare herself she attempted to move her arm, much to the disapproval of the limb, and she grit her teeth to stop herself from crying out. It was no use, that would take time to heal, whatever it was that was wrong with it. Leaning back against the duracrete bridge she watched as Varus slept, debating as to whether or not she should wake him up.

Deciding against it, Sera simply remained quiet, looking out through the mist that encompassed the area, creeping in beneath the archway of the bridge, listening to the sounds of the city.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

The moment Varus felt the movement beneath him his ice blue eyes snapped open and saw what had become of him from the night before. He'd fallen asleep draped over his own legs and ended up Sera's lap, which he had to imagine was incredibly uncomfortable for her considering what they'd been through only just recently. Varus was probably the last person she wanted to be around right now, and if he wasn't, that didn't mean that she was physically comfortable with a two-hundred and some odd pound man laying on top of her.

Immediately Varus snapped up right and leaned away from Sera, allowing himself to sit back into the wall behind him that he'd started on when he'd fallen asleep. He raised both hands to his head and cradled it, rubbing his eyes before he realized that the sting in his brain wasn't a needle or a tumor, but a headache he'd managed to obtain and further aggravate by drinking himself into a sloppy mess only hours prior. He'd even gone so far as to let his guard down and fall asleep on the street when what he should have done was pick Seraphina up and bring her to a speeder that could get them to a hotel. Somewhere they could get some good rest and not wake up sore, still tired and wet, but here they were.

Wait... why was he wet?

It had rained, and the cover of a bridge wasn't necessarily a roof, four walls and windows. Really, he knew he shouldn't have been surprised, but they'd been through what they'd been through, and there was nothing to be done about it now. There was no way to change what had been said and there was no way to manipulate the decisions they'd made that had already got them where they were. They just had to deal with the circumstances now.

"Sorry...", Varus said, having pulled himself from her rather comfortable lap, lowering his hands and dropping them into his own lap, having gathered himself.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"It's fine." She said quietly, eyes still cast into the distance. "I've only been awake a minute or two." Well this is awkward... The woman sat in silence for a short while before finally looking directly at Varus until his eyes turned towards hers. "So...What now? You brought me here instead of Ossus, left me in a hospital, and then came back and fell asleep underneath a bridge next to me and for what reason? I have absolutely no idea Varus. You confuse the kark out of me."

All she wanted was a straight answer. Did he simply feel guilty over nearly ending her life? Did he decide to respect her wish after some soul searching on his own? Was it because he was still in love with her? Regardless of his motives, there was one hell of a lot of broken pieces to this relationship scattered all over that would take some serious work to put back together, if that was even what he still wanted. On Kashyyyk, she'd have guessed not, but now he'd manage to thoroughly confuse her, so she wasn't certain what to expect out of him.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"I had every intention of leaving you in that hospital and letting you find your own way.", Varus admitted immediately as he glanced over at Seraphina to show her the respect of, at the very least, eye contact. "I wasn't planning on coming back, and the hospital bills had been paid for, so all you needed to do was wait for a nurse to explain that to you and you'd have been fine, but you freaked out, escaped out a fifth story window, fumbled down a couple of stories and fell about three, as the nurse tells me.", he said, shaking his head at Seraphina lightly as he watched her, disappointed that she was so brash, but realizing that it was part of who she was. After all, he wasn't exactly the most patient and understanding person.

"So... they contacted me and... here I am.", he said, raising his arms to suggest the bridge that they were under. He'd come all this way and stopped just short of Ossus, turned around and found a place he knew he could get a few drinks and perhaps even some company that might be able to get his mind off of everything. That part, however, he hadn't gotten around to. He wanted to lie to himself and act like he just hadn't had the time to get that far yet, but it wasn't true. It wasn't that he hadn't gotten around to it. It was that he had decided against it, knowing that despite all of his faults, he'd never been the kind of man that would pay for a woman's company.

He couldn't be. It was weak and in his opinion disgusting. He'd already been inexperienced with his relationships all together, and so how he thought that it was even an option was beyond him. He had, however, been a bit on the drunk side when the notion even entered his mind.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

"Well how was I supposed to know what was going to happen? I didn't know what the reasoning was for taking me to Zeltros. You left, what was I supposed to expect? So yes, I escaped, not gracefully, but that's not the point. And that still doesn't answer my question: What now?" She wasn't sure what to expect from this whole escapade, or what either of them wanted to come of it. Things were in a state of disarray between them and she had no idea of how to fix that, or if it were even possible.

She wanted to apologize, not just for leaving, but for everything. It just didn't feel like the right time at the moment. She wanted to thank him, for not following through with his original intentions, but again, it didn't seem appropriate, since she had pleaded with him not to do so in the first place, and only decided after the fact to respect that wish. She wanted to be angry at him, but she wanted things to be OK. Everything running through her mind was driving her crazy. Having no control over what she was feeling was confusing and scary. Instead of saying anything else, she simply laid her head back against the duracrete and closed her eyes, placing her hands against her face.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"I don't know.", Varus said firmly in reply, which seemed a bit abrupt, but he had just woken up, was sore and hung over. He hadn't had the best last couple of days, having found out what had happened to Sera only to come and find her, have a stressful confrontation with her, almost kill her and then end up here, feeling like this. As she pressed her questions, though, Varus become even more impatient, not knowing what exactly she expected him to say, which was why he responded in an even more aggressive manner when she asked "What now?"

"I don't know!", he exclaimed, snapping at her just a bit as he glanced over at her, but immediately his look softened and his mood changed to a more patient one. He sighed, letting out a lot of his frustration with the simple, yet popular act of relieving stress. "I'm sorry... I just. I don't know what you want me to tell you.", he told her, honestly.

"I had plans past this point, but those were ruined by guilt, so... whatever's next will be just as new to me as it will be you."

After a few silent, slightly awkward moments, Varus pushed himself up from the ground and stood upright, stretching for a moment before he turned and reached down to Seraphina with an open hand in order to help her up. "How about I treat us both to lunch?"

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera's eyes flinched when Varus snapped at her, her head twitching ever so slightly at the sudden outburst as if a small animal had just been frightened by a rather loud noise. She didn't really want him to explain what his plans had been after leaving her in the hospital, so she left the subject alone and instead returned to sitting quietly, looking out and away from him, the tense awkward cloud enveloping the two again while her eyes wandered to anything and everything but his. Everything she said irritated him in some form or fashion, so silence seemed like the proper path to take.

When prompted by his question, the woman tilted her head up and nodded, unsure of what else to do. This would likely be the quietest, most uncomfortable meal she'd ever had, but if she'd said she wasn't hungry, or said he didn't have to, or any other form of indirect refusal it would likely just add to the bickering, so she just kept quiet and maintained the nod, though she helped herself to her feet, ignoring his hand, before picking up her pack from the ground and sliding a single strap over her good arm, waiting for him.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus let his eyes slant to a close lazily as she helped herself up, refusing to take his offering to help. Clearly she was still not thrilled with him, but he didn't know what else he was supposed to do about that. They'd both been rather upset with one another, clearly, which would only make the rest of the day tough, but Varus was determined to at least get out of this foggy mood they were in, one way or another. Whether or not she would try, Varus would do his best to answer the questions she would have and not go to war with the woman he'd told himself he loved once upon a time.

Catching up to Seraphina, Varus matched her stride and walked with her out from under the bridge, down the street and towards one of the more wealthy sectors of Zeltros. After a few minutes of walking they found themselves on a well populated street with much to offer, but Varus wasn't much in a mood to have a debate on where they went, and so he offered her the opportunity to make that decision for herself.

"Have your pick. It's on me.", he told her, glancing over to the young Twi'Lek to see what she would say.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Passing by a number of vendor stands, each offering their own form of delightful treats, trinkets, and other oddities, the Twi'lek stopped for a moment, looking towards one particular establishment, emblazoned with flashing neon lights, purple, pink, and yellow in hue, offering music, dance, and entertainment. Sera heard Varus speak, but remained quiet, at this point it felt safer to just remain silent than to hear him yell at her anymore. Instead she continued to walk, her destination seemingly apparent as it was close to the last establishment on the block, and by far the fanciest.

Pausing just outside she pressed her face against the glass windows, covering the sides of her head with her hands to block out the glare while she peered inside. Sure enough, there were dozens of booths, raised chairs along an incredibly large U-shaped bar, where at the end was a small pathway that led along either side, followed by a stage that stretched from wall to wall at the far end of the building. The area was large enough for a full troupe to perform, or dueling cantina bands.

All of the staff were dressed in fine garments, and appeared extremely professional in their presentation and behavior. Sera shrugged, and pressed her way through the front doors.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

The Silent Treatment was going to get old sooner or later, but Varus let it go. He'd snapped at the woman before, and he knew that her response, or lack thereof, was a combination of his impatience with her and the fact that they'd gone to war, only for him to leave her at a hospital after almost killing her. She had her reasons to be upset with him, but it did take two to dance, and she'd held a fair amount of the blame in their ending up like they had. She might not would admit it, but at least in the blonde Jedi's mind, she should take some responsibility for all this. That, however, wouldn't be the first topic of conversation and certainly wouldn't enhance the current situation.

Instead of give the cold shoulder right back to her, Varus stepped through the door behind her, letting it close behind him as he raised his hand to the young woman seating guests. She couldn't have been any older than a teenager, but Zeltroni were flirtatious even in their younger years, whether or not they followed through on their suggestive natures and taunting. She batted her eyes at Varus, who wasn't about to entertain he playful nature and extended two fingers as he said, "Booth for two, please."

When she realized that he had no interest, she sighed and rolled her eyes, showing them a bit of her true nature through the slight attitude and disappointment she displayed. She then motioned for them to follow her as she showed them across the bar to one relatively vacant end where there was a booth that she showed them to. She set eating utensils down on either side of the table and pulled out a datapad, bringing up a note panel in order to get their orders. "What will it be? Drinks first or do you know what you want?", she asked, glancing back and forth between them both.

"I'll just have water for now, thanks.", Varus told her as he took his seat, wondering if Sera was going to take her seat.


[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

Sera glared at the woman giving doe eyes towards Varus. Not a good way to start. Still, she followed behind the other two as they made their way towards the booth, her expression remained mildly irritated until after the woman left. "Water. And a Twistler." Her eyes shifted as the woman left, back towards Varus, lower lip slightly pulled back by her teeth as she bit down on it. She could feel the aura of awkward silence creeping in - something she desperately wanted to avoid but no matter what she tried to think about to discuss her mind kept coming up blank. "So." She paused. There it was, she was about to use 'small talk' - something even worse than awkward silence. It was too late, she'd already started, there was no going back now. "This place looks nice."

Ugh. Smooth, Sera. Real smooth. Why don't you talk about the weather next?

The girl glanced out the window to avoid even more awkward eye contact, tapping her fingers nervously on the table, her arm ever so slightly reminding her that her grand escape from the hospital was likely a mistake, as this was far more painful than laying in bed with only a nurse to occasionally bother her. Now she had to pay attention to this little Zeltroni tart that wanted in Varus' pants not two seconds after seeing him, while attempting to discuss something other than the past few days terrible events.

Say something...Don't just stare out the window... Nope. She had no idea what to say. She wasn't good at this sort of thing.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

Varus became almost sick as he heard Seraphina's attempt at small talk as if they had only just met and not already shared grand adventures with one another. "Ugh... really?", he asked her in an almost pained way, not knowing what really to say either. "Have we really rewound so far to this? It's like we don't even know each other.", he told her, sighing lightly as he glanced over at the young waitress who'd aroused new confidence in herself and come bouncing back to their table with their drinks. "Here ya go!", she squeaked, looking at Varus almost the entire time as she handed either of them their drinks.

Instantly Varus became frustrated, having noticed the way Sera seethed silently before when watching the young and flirtatious woman. "Look...", he said as he produced a couple of credits and handed them off to her. "...no offense, but I can't take it anymore. Please get anyone else in this place to serve us for the rest of our stay. I'm sorry.", he told her as she gasped, credits in hand and turned slow as if her puppy had just been put down right in front of her. She then sulked as she walked away and found someone else who she explained the situation to as Varus got back to Seraphina.

"I can't do this.", he told her, those ice blue eyes watching the pink Twi'Lek across the table from him as he raised his glass and took a sip of the cool water. "This is not the way it was supposed to be between you and I. At least, this isn't what I ever wanted for either of us. What can I do to... save what we had?", he asked her as a smooth skinned, slightly older young Zeltroni man stopped next to their table. His almost pink eyes had only hovered on Varus for a moment, but soon had found the more appealing of the two being the pink Twi'Lek, and instantly he became the next problem.

"How can I help y...", but Varus was quick to step in while the red skinned young man undressed Sera with his eyes. "Nope.", Varus said forcefully, which didn't draw the attention of the young man who had clearly been eyeing Sera from the moment they'd walked in and now he was trying his luck. This only made things worse "I swear to whatever gods there are that if you don't look at me right now I'm going to break your damn legs.", Varus said, which finally drew the young man's attention back to him, rapping a single knuckle violently on the table, and causing the young man, practically a boy, to jump visibly in fearful surprise.

"Anyone else. ANYONE... else, but you.", he said, glancing across room and seeing an older human woman behind the bar. "You.", he said, waving at the woman. "Please take over here before I lose my patience.", he said, glancing back to the young man next to him who immediately put on a stunned look before he scurried away only to be replaced by the older woman who didn't give a damn about either of them more than what they were worth in tips.

"Something to eat, dear?", she asked as she glanced over at Seraphina first.


[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

The right side of Sera's mouth pushed back in a bit of a grimace. It did sort of feel like she didn't know him anymore, but it wasn't something she was going to share with him. Their entire relationship was akin to a burned out building. "I don't know, Varus. It's not that simple. It's not like what happened can simply be undone or forgotten. I don't know what you can do, I don't know what I can do." She looked away from him again, towards anything but him. "You can't just snap your fingers or say something to make it better."

After Varus dispatched the first waitress, and then had to suffer through the male that seemed rather interested by the Twi'lek, Seraphina held back the smile that tried so desperately to cross her face. It was a bit childish, one could admit, but the idea that Varus was so agitated by the man that was interested in showing the Twi'lek a bit of a good time made her want to grin. It also made her a hypocrite, but she didn't care. It wasn't like she was going to act on impulse for some random stranger in a restaraunt.

Once Varus had ordered the third member of the wait staff over to serve them, that person being an older woman, Sera smiled to her and ordered some strange Zeltros dish off of the menu that she had never heard of before, but it sounded good, and she liked the name. She wasn't overly picky as to what she ate, and the combination of the pronunciation of its' name along with the long list of items made it appetizing to her.

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"Isn't that the point though?", Varus asked as he reached out and took his glass again, taking a other sip from his drink as the older waitress delivered Sera her requested meal after a few minutes. As she set the plate down for her Varus glanced past the pair of them to where the young Zeltroni man was serving someone at the bar. His eyes had already wondered back towards Seraphina, and Varus was well aware and waiting for the overconfident kid to look over to him.

Perhaps he wasn't expecting Varus to be so protective, but eventually the pink boy looked over to the angry looking blonde man who narrowed his eyes and grimaced at him a bit. Immediately the boy grew rigid and slinked away into the kitchen where Varus could no longer stare daggers into him. Varus then looked back over to Sera as their waitress left them and finished his thought.

"Failing relationships are wrought by inaction.", he told her, which was something he truthfully believed. "So, I suggest we do this.", he said as he leaned over on the table and crossed his arms beneath his chin comfortably so that he could watch her closely and gauge her reaction. "After you're done eating we're going to go back to the hospital to get you fixed up. After were done there the evening should be setting in. That means things will be getting more lively. So, I propose that we go to the casino and lose a little credit. Perhaps maybe you can even show me how to gamble.", he said, smiling at her lightly as he was trying hard to show her a little bit more of that playful side of him she seemed to prefer.

It was still there, but lately he'd been out of sorts. That much was clear, but he wanted the chance to make this all right. She was, after all, the only thing he'd lost track of that he'd care to reclaim. Everything else, the Jedi, the Republic and the space that they had previously protected was all falling apart, and Seraphina was the little flicker of light in his life that wouldn't go out.

"Maybe if we're not too tired by the time it gets late we can find a club to visit. Perhaps even dance to some terrible music and enjoy some far too fruity drinks.", he told her as he leaned back in his seat and laughed a bit.

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]

 

[Seraphina Shel'tah]

As much as she hated to admit when he was right, Sera nodded slowly as she sipped from her drink. "I suppose you're right." She remained silent again until he finished with his proposal. "You think they're gonna put me in restraints if we go back to that hospital? I mean, I did kind of leap out of a window from the fifth floor or so. They might consider me dangerous." Sera laughed, almost maniacally at the thought of it. "Maybe we ought to find another hospital?" The Twi'lek looked over at her shoulder, rotating it slightly to observe the level of pain and general location of the injury. Her face winced as the pain came in full, forcing her to return to its' resting position as she reached for her drink again and took a heavy gulp.

"Casino sounds good." She managed to get out as she swallowed the last of the alcohol, setting the cup down lightly on the table and shaking the burning sensation from her mouth. "But if I keep drinking, there won't be anything to lose at the tables. That, or I'll be too drunk to see the cards." She stuck out her tongue in jest. "There's nothing to teach at gambling, unless of course you are some kind of card counting genius, I usually just play til I win something, or I go broke."

A bit of a grin made its' way across her face as she thought about his final offer - the club. "You want to go to a dance club? Full of Zeltroni men. Like the one that was serving us a few moments ago? Except, lots more of them? With alcohol by the numbers. Boy, you are quite the daring one, huh?"

[member="Varus Shatterstar"]

 

[Varus Shatterstar]

"We'll go to another hospital.", Varus said softly as he smiled back across the table at Seraphina. Just then he began to sense the tension between them dissipate, though not all together. There was a hint of their previous playful nature still lingering there in their company, and slowly but surely it was growing stronger. That feeling was a good one, and as Varus watched Seraphina speak, her playful attitude reemerging as she poked her little pink tongue out at him, he realized who she'd had such a profound effect on him to begin with. As she mentioned the club, however, Varus laughed lightly when she questioned whether or not he was seriously suggesting that they go somewhere that there would be music, alcohol and drunk young Zeltroni men, and to that Varus had an immediate response.

"I don't think you're considering all the variables.", he told her as he clasped his fingers around his cool glass of water and raised it to his lips. He then reached back out and set the glass on the table before moving that same hand across the table to take Seraphina's. When he did, he raised his other hand and cradled his head with it as he put on a serious face, slanted his eyes and watched her carefully as he explained.

"If you're assuming that there won't be young women at this aforementioned club just like that tart over there.", he said, glancing over his shoulder slyly only to find a young, pink skinned woman across the establishment sitting on the far side of the bar, eyes carefully watching the scene between he and Seraphina before she noticed that she'd been found out. The second she did her eyes grew wide with fright and she shifted her gaze, not sure what to do with herself as Varus circled those frozen eyes back to his Twi'Lek companion. "Well... let's just say there will be plenty of both young men and young women, and I'm not so sure that some of those young boys you're referring to wouldn't prefer other boys.", he said with a bit of a smirk playing at his lips.

"Plus, you're not just going to be there with a bunch of drunk, hot blooded Zeltroni. You'll be dancing with yours truly.", he told her, his deep blues glancing down at her delicate hand as he raised it and gently gazed his thumb across her soft skin before looking back up to those pretty eyes she possessed. "A man known for incredible impatience who has proven increasingly jealous as they years have passed. And there will be, as you've said already, plenty of alcohol.", he told her, his smirk turning into a little grin. "People could get hurt, you know... and it could end up being your fault if you try and make me jealous by dancing with some soft, scrawny young man instead of me."

[member="Seraphina Shel'tah"]