All I Found Underneath

[Kuzo]

If someone had asked her, on her first day on Panatha, if she thought she'd eventually be cuddling with Braxus Zambrano she would have dismissed them as utterly insane. And maybe avoided them in the future.

That part was unreal enough. She wasn't about to get into a loop of trading cute endearments with him on top of it. She was pretty sure the galaxy would implode. The whole thing brought another smile to her face, and she chuckled softly, shaking her head and accepting his kiss without hesitation, then returning with one of her own.

She settled her head on his shoulder. The emotional rollercoaster of the last few hours was leaving her thoughtful, but content. In this moment at least, she didn't have room for anything larger than that in her, but it didn't bother her. There was this quiet lassitude, a heavy but not unpleasant feeling to this moment that she simply allowed to wash over her without trying to study it too hard. Irajah wasn't particularly good at just allowing a moment to be whatever it was without either changing it or dissecting it. Here and now, however, she understood the appeal.

There were no queries of 'what is this to you?' or 'tell me more about your life'. Right then and there at least.... Irajah Ven didn't feel like talking.

Propping herself up on an elbow, she looked down at him- a vantage rarely afforded. A slightly crooked smile curved over her lips as her eyes cast over his face, simply enjoying the novelty of the moment before leaning over and kissing him deeply.

[member="Darth Prazutis"]

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​A cool breeze blew in through the open balcony doors as morning came to Vain Hollow as Panatha's blazing sun struggled to break through the mists of the treacherous Iron Mountains.

​The cold sweeping in through the balcony doors neither he nor [member="Irajah Ven"] had neglected to shut swept over the pair, the warmth of silken sheets hung low around their legs as the breeze crept up the skin, not enough to chill him but enough to wake him up, watching the gossamer curtains blow in the constant wind. Even with the cold blowing in there was still a warmth at his side, Irajah once again curled up against him after the night.

​Carefully he attempted to slide out from under her, gently setting her head down on the bed as he slipped out. Braxus walked over to the balcony doors and shut them, pressing in a series of codes on the panel to lock the doors. He could've dropped the blast doors but with battlement after battlement beneath and the rooms strategic placement, the only way someone was going to sneak in through her balcony after climbing techniques that simply weren't possible, was to fight through every row of guards to do so.

In the silence of the chamber he ruminated over the previous days events and the progress that had been made. He successfully achieved in bringing the doctor one step closer by breaching her oath. Another breakthrough he made was through the heart in his complex maneuvering that won her over, his careful façade enough to draw the doctor in. Not once letting it fall Braxus swept back over before moving back over to the bed.

He climbed back in it softly leaning down brushing hair from her face. "Good morning."

 

[Kuzo]

Not quite awake, the first thing Irajah was aware of was the chill. Not hideously cold, simply cooler than comfortable. The second thing was the warmth of a hand brushing over her face. She opened her eyes, blinking up at [member="Darth Prazutis"]. It took a moment to remember where she was, what this room was.

"Morning yourself," she mumbled, a slow smile curling over her face. She nuzzled his palm, laying a brief kiss there before sitting up herself, the silk sheets sliding. She yawned, stretching languidly before shivering suddenly.

"Egad, it's chilly in here."

There were no warm blankets on the bed- she'd get that fixed. It hadn't been a concern the night before, after all. But for now.... Sliding off the edge of the bed, she retrieved the first piece of fabric she found. Unlike last time, she didn't particularly care that it wasn't hers. Standing up, she pulled the massively over sized shirt on, not really concerned with the fact that, yes, it looked utterly ridiculous- the fact that the sleeves went down way past her hands and the hem down past her knees was really all she cared about right then. She frowned, fingers cold and clumsy as she worked on the buttons.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​"It'll warm up." ​Braxus said as he moved up to where [member="Irajah Ven"] stood struggling to slide his shirt on, a smirk on his face. She didn't care what she was putting on and the piece of fabric happened to be his shirt from the night before. In comparison it was massively oversized for her small, petite frame but it certainly did the job to cover all of her limbs, which was disappointing. The façade he was showing her ensured that she never needed to hide those bruises from him. "You don't need to hide those when your with me you know." ​The King said walking up to her, wrapping her up in his arms as he placed a kiss on her lips.

​In the aftermath he stepped back and finished buttoning up the shirt on her, before carefully taking the time to roll up the sleeves so that her arms were showing. He moved his own large hands up and down her cool arms before taking one of her hands in his massive one. Braxus guided her to the bedroom door and opened it up, a rush of heat flowing into the cold bedroom, the temperature difference becoming evident. In the night before they were too preoccupied, and neither were exactly concerned with the cold. In fact it was quite warm before they finally slipped into the realm of sleep in the early hours of the morning.

 

[Kuzo]

Since [member="Darth Prazutis"] seemed to be immune to the cold, she didn't really feel bad about stealing his shirt for the moment. Part of it of course was the temperature- and part was the fact that she was still uncomfortable with the sight of the bruises on her arms. She never got used to them herself, so having them visible with someone else, even after she had fully bared them, was difficult.

​She couldn't help it that her cheeks turned a little pink, embarrassed but not displeased, as he rolled the sleeves back up. When she shivered slightly at his touch, it had nothing to do with the chill of the room.

"I know," she murmured softly. "It's.... a hard habit to break."

Following him, she paused for a moment, sighing with relief as the warmth from the rest of the suit flowed in. She closed her eyes, suddenly grinning.

"Okay, no more falling asleep with the windows open," she declared, clearly making it a rule for herself then and there.

Padding out of the room barefoot behind him, she followed in his wake. Leading her down the hall, they entered a small kitchenette. Small, relative to the rest of the suite anyway. In all honesty, it was half the size of her entire apartment on Dosuun. She glanced around, but her attention ended up on what could only be described as a 'beverage nook'-

"That is the fanciest caf machine I have ever seen."

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​"Go take a look at it." ​Braxus said letting [member="Irajah Ven"] go check it out. The machine took a good deal of time to find, tasking his sources to scour the core worlds for some of the best machines. After hunting through many prestigious cafe's, high class lounges finally they had found one and brought it right back as a piece in the beverage nook of her kitchen. The machine brewed extremely high quality, rich, good tasting caff and it had countless features to create new and inventive caff drinks.

As she looked at the device he swept up behind her his hands moving down her arms again, before wrapping around her waist. "It's a unique machine." ​Braxus said his hand moving to grab her own as she moved to start making coffee he pushed her hand down to her side. Carefully Braxus spun her around then while he commanded the force, cabinets started opening and items started floating through the air around them while his hands remained around her waist. "You have a catalogue here, access to it on your terminal where you can order new brews. There is a cabinet." He looked nearby to the cabinet in Irajah's reach and opened it up.

The cabinet was filled with a variety of world class famous brews including Dathomiri dark roast. The Sith Lord kissed her then while a pair of mugs floated through the air. "Its a special machine I've had brought in from some of the most prestigious core worlds." He said planting a kiss on her lips while a pair of mugs floated past them "You'll have an electronic catalogue of a compiled caff list from across the galaxy, and you'll be able to order chosen flavors to be brought in with the supply shipments." He said pausing to claim her lips once more. "Money is no object. These lists only have the proven best flavors on the market, compiled specifically because I knew you'd enjoy most if not all of them." He said while the machine worked, the familiar smell of coffee hitting the air. Carefully the pair of hot mugs floating past them once more while a small basket with varying sugars. Braxus unbuttoned the shirt she wore now that they were warm, letting it hang on a nearby chair as he walked up to the caffs, fixing his own. In truth he did so because she didn't need to be so afraid, so self conscious about her bruises around him. "Come let us sit, we'll talk more." ​He gestured to the couch.

 

[Kuzo]

"Alright. This? See this? This is almost enough to convince me it'd be worthwhile to learn the Force."

She was joking. Mostly. Because watching the March of the Caf was both hilarious and impressive. Catching knocked over beakers, opening doors- meh. But making caf for both of them while still wrapped in his arms? That was noteworthy.

It also was useful to distract from a certain unease. Irajah was 100% certain that this? This was not typical behavior for royalty. Granted, she didn't have a lot of experience with all of that, but personally making her caf? It was.... a little overwhelming. When added into everything else? It was almost terrifying in the implications.

Too much. Too fast. Too serious.

So why was it all, at the same time, so comfortable? So easy?

The fact that she was barking up the wrong tree entirely didn't occur to her. It was so comfortable and easy because that was how he had orchestrated it. It was how he was acting in the role he had given himself. But she couldn't see it. After all, why would someone go through that level of trouble? No, there was a far more mundane, if equally panic inducing explanation for all of this.

She let him slide the shirt back off again. It was more than warm enough in here, and beyond the temperature and the self consciousness about the bruises, she'd be perfectly at ease just like this. However, one of those factors still remained. A little self conscious, but trying not to show it, she padded across the room, plucking the mug from the air and smiling at him.

She was happy enough to try to mask those feelings with a joke and setting up her own cup of caf.

Both hands were wrapped around the warmth of the china mug as she settled down. The fabric of the sofa was incredibly soft. The smell of the caf rich and strong. Irajah had been self conscious for more reasons than one as she settled onto the couch. But the series of the sheer physical sensations, added by the warmth of the line of [member="Darth Prazutis"] made those reasons seem.... not particularly important.

Leaning back against him with a sigh, she tilted her head back, smirking slightly.

"Talk more? That sounds ominous," she teased. It was easy to relax here with him. It was so strange.

 

[Darth Prazutis]

​Every action, every word spoken were part of the elaborate scheme being carried out by one Darth Prazutis over [member="Irajah Ven"]. However the one thing he didn't expect was how the relaxing environment made it easier, allowing even him to relax. As they settled on the couch he choose the far end by the arm, resting one arm on it while he kicked his feet up on the coffee table. As Irajah leaned back onto him he moved his arm across her chest, adding to their warm line. The sofa was incredibly soft its fabric pleasing to the skin, the caf smell in the air was rich and strong.

​There were certainly less relaxing and more stressful ways for the morning to go, and this was definitely the way he preferred it. In truth under the mask he was content with being here. It was a nice escape from the rigors of leadership and a calm morning without its obligations, where his staff even Allocer the droid that followed him everywhere knew never to interrupt him.

"Talk more? That sounds ominous,"

​Braxus laughed lightly then leaning over to her even while sunk into the couch their size difference still ensured he towered over him. He left his mug of caff hanging in the air as one hand came up to grace the other side of her face, while he gave the most precise upside down kiss one could possibly have given. "As I mentioned the other day. The suite is perfect for you and your son. The office at the end of the hall will let you work remotely if you so desire. Its equipped to handle it. I've also taken the liberty of having it locked separately should you want to keep...undesirable parties out." He said as he grabbed the mug of caf, sipping it.

 

[Kuzo]

She sipped her caf, closing her eyes and sighing for a moment as the sensations washed over her. The fingers of her free played idly over the back of his wrist, her head leaning lightly against the hollow of his shoulder. Hazel eyes opened again at a certain pair of words.

"Undesirable parties?"

She tilted her head back, looking at him upside down. The smirk was written clear across her features.

"What, you mean like you?" Her tone was obviously teasing. "After all, I never get any work done when you're around. Great! I can focus on my research without having you startling me or distracting me. I'd get started right now buuuuuuut.... I think I'll finish my caf first at least."

The smirk widened into a smile.

"It is very good caf, after all."

[member="Darth Prazutis"]