Private Aftermath In Stride

[Veyran Solis]

Bastion
Evening Time
Xian Xiao
​

This life seemed to have found Veyran, and he took in stride. He never would have guess that his life would have turned out like this, before he answered to his hatred, that was his purpose. It burned within him, every person he killed, every enemy that fell before him. And now here he was, delivering, escorting, protecting. Odd jobs on Bastion came in the plenty, the fall of the Diarchy came swift and suddenly. Veyran for his own right, didn't care in the slightest. The only part that concerned him was how its fall would affect Xian.

That was the only thing he truly cared about not. That was her.

Veyran delivered several boxes to a well lit front door on the outer edge of Ravelin, where he was working today. There was smile, small exchange of pleasantries and an quick nod from Veyran before he gave a quick nod and turned away, moving into the evening atmosphere. Darkness was falling, slowly but it was coming. That was his last stop for the day, he returned to his speeder. He reached for his communicator, sending a quick message to Xian that he would be on his way him.

The message was sent, and he looked up into th sky for a moment. A small sigh, simple and content.

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian had been reading when the message arrived, or at least pretending to. The datapad rested in her lap while she sat curled into one corner of the couch, one leg tucked beneath her and a blanket draped across her knees. She had allegedly been studying the same set of pages for nearly an hour, though in truth she had reread the same paragraph six times without absorbing a single line. The apartment had been quiet lately, not lonely, just quiet in a way she noticed more than she used to, and the silence made it far too easy for her mind to drift.

The communicator chimed. Veyran. The simple notification pulled an unconscious smile onto her face before she even realized it was there. On my way home.

Ordinary words. Nothing dramatic. Nothing profound. And yet she read them twice, letting the warmth of them settle in her chest. After months of upheaval, governments collapsing, loyalties shifting, and the galaxy reminding everyone how temporary stability could be, there was something grounding about that message. No politics. No crisis. Just someone she cared about coming home.

She set the datapad aside and rose from the couch, crossing into the small kitchen as the evening light stretched long shadows across the floor and Bastion's skyline glowed beyond the windows. For a moment, she paused, looking out at the city, not searching for anything, simply thinking.

The fall of the Diarchy should have frightened her more than it did. In some ways, it still did. It had given her a home when she needed one, a purpose she hadn't expected, and a future she hadn't believed she would have. Some of that remained. Some didn't.

But Veyran was still here. The thought settled with a quiet, steady warmth.

Almost without realizing it, she began moving around the kitchen, putting water on to heat and pulling together something simple for dinner so he wouldn't walk into an empty apartment after a long day of deliveries across Ravelin. Every so often, her eyes drifted back toward the communicator resting on the counter, not impatient, just aware of it, as one becomes aware of something that matters.

When she finally sent a reply, it was brief, as her messages always were. Drive safe. Food will be ready when you get here. For anyone else, it would have sounded ordinary. For Xian, it was as close as she ever came to saying I missed you out loud.

Veyran Solis

 

[Veyran Solis]

Xian Xiao​

Veyran simpley smiled at her response, glancing away a for a moment to takea look at the message and he set the communicator back down as he made his way home. The city was a little quite tonight, nothing out of the ordinary, just seemed a little different is all. For him, it was nice the quiet he had grown accustomed too.

He soon arrived at his home, the home that he had Xian had for each other. A place for now, something simple and easy. He moved through the doors, the good smell hitting his nostrils and he smile once more. He could see Xian from the door. He took of his cloak and placed it to the side as he moved towards Xian.

He placed a kiss on her cheek. "How was your day, love?"

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian looked up from the kitchen as Veyran stepped through the door, the familiar sound of him arriving home pulling her attention away from the datapad that had been steadily wearing down her patience for the past hour. The moment he crossed the room and pressed a kiss to her cheek, something in her shoulders loosened, as if the tension she had been carrying simply decided it no longer needed to exist.

"Welcome home," she murmured, her voice soft in a way she rarely used with anyone else.

She leaned in and returned the kiss, a quiet brush of affection that lingered just long enough to make it clear she had missed him more than she would ever say outright. Only then did her gaze drift toward the datapad sitting abandoned on the counter.

"I have been trying to study civic administration and regional governance structures." A small pause followed. "Trying being the important word."

The skepticism in her tone suggested she was not entirely convinced she had made any progress at all. She rubbed lightly at one eye, letting out a quiet sigh that carried the weight of someone who had been fighting the same paragraph for far too long.

"Why is reading so hard?" she asked, completely sincere. "I have read the same section six times and somehow understand it less every time."

A faint smile touched her lips as she looked back at him, the frustration softening into something warmer simply because he was standing there.

"So my day was probably not nearly as exciting as yours."

When he lingered close, she shifted slightly toward him without thinking, her body finding its place beside his as naturally as breathing. She rested one hand against the counter and studied him properly now, taking in the tiredness around his eyes, the familiar way he carried himself when he was finally done with work, the quiet contentment that always settled over him when he walked through their door.

"How was your day?" she asked, her voice gentle. "Any dramatic delivery emergencies, criminal conspiracies, or rogue pirates. Or was it just a normal day for once?"

The question held no teasing edge this time, only the warm curiosity of someone who genuinely wanted to hear whatever answer he gave.

Veyran Solis

 

[Veyran Solis]

Veyran smiled and then a giggle escaped him as he listened to her about the reading and what she was reading exactly. "Well, it sounds like you had rather rought day. Mine was good, and no. No dramatics or craziness that occured. Althought I might pick up an offworld job, high stakes, escort and deliver. Rare goods, high quality."

He smirked as he gave her a nudge with his body. "Don't worry, its completely legal." He wrapped his arms around her, as he pulled her close to him, playfully pulling her away from what she was doing.

"I can probably help you with the reading, help get your mind more focused." He said, teasing tone leaving him, as he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. After a few moments the kiss broke. "What do you think?"

Xian Xiao

 

[Xian Xiao]

Xian narrowed her eyes the moment he mentioned an offworld job, not out of objection but because she recognized the look he wore, the smirk, the timing, the deliberate pause that suggested he knew exactly how suspicious he sounded. His preemptive reassurance that it was "completely legal" only deepened her skepticism. Still, she let him pull her away from the datapad and into his arms without resistance, the impossible bureaucracy of Bastion fading instantly into the background. The kiss softened the last of her frustration, and when she rested her forehead briefly against his shoulder, she sighed with the weary sincerity of someone who had been defeated by paperwork rather than combat. Civic administration, she informed him, was killing her spiritually, and the datapad was abandoned proof of her hour spent rereading the same paragraph while thinking about dinner.

Her attention eventually drifted back to the earlier topic, curiosity replacing exasperation. "What kind of rare goods?" she asked, her tone carrying both interest and the faintest warning. There was, after all, a very large difference between escorting expensive artwork and escorting something that only sounded legal after the fourth explanation. The amusement in her expression made it clear she was teasing him mostly as she settled more comfortably against him, enjoying the simple relief of having him home after a long day. If the job paid well and no one was trying to shoot them, she was already inclined to support it.

A thoughtful look crossed her face as she added that the not‑being‑shot part might actually be the most exciting feature at this point. The corner of her mouth lifted in quiet amusement. "We should probably be concerned that I've started considering that a selling point," she murmured, though the warmth in her voice made it clear she wasn't concerned at all.

Veyran Solis