Private Cloudbusting

[Asha Sar'andor]

He tried to act like some sort of saviour, but in that moment Asha wasn't buying it.

"Wouldn't have been any need to catch me if you hadn't done that in the first place" she pouted, though she did nestle in closer to his warm embrace and belie her own state of apparent frustration. It was difficult to stay mad at him for even a second, and he knew it. It was how he got away with pulling chit like this.

Her threat was met with one of his own, to which she groaned. "Oh no, whatever will I do?" Frankly the idea of having to cozy up so closely with him was appealing, but so too was the warmth of their bed.

Speaking of...

She pulled the blanket back up around her, and cocooned up close to him.

"Ithorian Gardens" she decided with a murmur. Then she grumbled. "You only want to get the morning out of the way so you can torture me. with swordplay..."

Why oh why had she tempted fate the night before?

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"I would never torture you, beautiful," was Cotan's reply, quickly leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. It was a blatant lie, of course; no doubt he tortured her more than often enough with his humour. But, in his defense, it was in fact Asha who had started it, ages before; moreover, he would never physically torture her. That would just be utterly unbecoming.

As such, he wasn't entirely willing to throw the blanket off of them and get moving yet. "Besides," he started, a small twinkle in his eye, "Between last night and this coming afternoon, the bit of extra exercise is good for you. And we've already missed the sunrise."

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Cotan was in no rush to leave the bed either, so she nestled down into both him and the blankets and closed her eyes once more. "Just five more minutes" she whined, though a cheeky smirk played over her lips as she said it, and then feigned a pout.

"You are too a torturer," she retorted, peeking up at him from where she'd hidden her face, "I can't believe you'd make me wave around a stick of deadly plasma. How dangerous, how positiviely rude..."

She shuffled upward slightly, until her head was beside his on the pillows, and then leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

Force, she really didn't want the day to begin. It had been too long since they'd just laid together like this. Much too long...

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Rude? For making sure you've kept up with your training?" Cotan raised an eyebrow archly, after she'd drawn back from him. "Nonsense. I'm simply doing my duty as your love, making sure you can protect yourself." He grinned suddenly, thinking back to some of their conversation yesterday. "Or as your Grand Marshal, as the case may be...though we didn't discuss that 'sir' like we said we would."

Or, rather, like he joked they would. Not that it had made much difference.

He lay back for a moment, just to savour it, before sighing. "Alright, dear. Enjoy your 'five more minutes,' I'll get some breakfast started." He kissed her once again on the forehead, before sliding out from the blankets, pulling on some simple lounging clothes, and exiting the room.

Now, he just had to think of what to make for breakfast...not flatcakes, though. They resorted to that far too often.

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Asha hmph'd all over again.

Then she peeked her head from under the bundle of blankets she'd made her home. "You'd only be my Grand Marshal if I was also a Judge" she stated, setting her lips into a thin line as her eyes narrowed up at him. "Which I am not... Hence, no 'Sir' for you."

A moment of peace swirled between them, before he got up and left her to make breakfast though not before gracing her forehead with the kind of kiss that made your heart skip a beat. The truly intimate and tender kind, that really showed you cared. Forehead kisses were perhaps her favourite kind, not that she'd ever shared that fact.

She held it close to her heart, a tightly kept secret to savour as they came.

"Don't burn the place down" she sang after him, as he left the room. Then she turned over, rolling in the blankets, to stare at the ceiling. Five seconds passed. Ten.

She rolled again, this time right off the bed, and barely caught herself before she hit the floor. Still beneath the blanket, she tiptoed out of the bedroom and into the main living space, wherein she promptly plopped herself down on the ground, hopefully unseen and unheard, and simply watched him as he worked his way around the kitchen. Naught but adoration in her still-sleepy eyes.

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Hence, no 'Sir' for you."

Oh, we'll see about that.

But for the moment Cotan wasn't willing to press that point. Wait until another night, maybe, when they were each in significantly lighter spirits than they had been after the previous day's conversations, and when they weren't just so hungry to reconnect after so much time spent apart. Alongside that, thinking of hunger...breakfast.

Flatcakes were right out. In general, he wasn't feeling a particularly sweet breakfast. No, something savoury, a bit hearty, but not...not simple. Of course, not simple meant not easy, but that had rarely stopped him in the past. Beyond that, he felt like showing Asha something that he had grown up with, back on Naboo. Tomatoes, eggs, peppers, garlic, spices, toast; on some planets, shakshouka. On others, eggs in purgatory, or similar names. Even on Naboo, that was relatively close, although with less of a consideration on a place of cleansing and non-eternal punishment and more on their reverence for the elements, fire especially.

But for Cotan, reminiscing on when he was just a young man from the outskirts of Theed, it was simply the plan for breakfast.

As Asha sneaked her way out of the bedroom, clad in the blanket they'd both been under so recently, he was currently knelt down and rifling through the cabinets for all the various foodstuffs and items he would need, chief among them being a well-sized, enameled, cast-beskar pan he'd managed to win in a game of sabacc back on Zonju V. At the time, he'd mainly bought it for the novelty—after all, who could resist an almost-indestructible, lightsaber-proof cooking utensil?—but over the years he'd grown to treasure it.

Next came the garlic that he crushed, a multitude of cherry tomatoes, oil...

And he set about making their breakfast, too consumed with the act to realize that Asha was currently watching him.

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

From her little comfortable corner of sanctuary, Asha just sat and watched while wrapped up like a burrito. Warm and hidden, she was in no haste to move, or to eat, or well for anything really. While Cotan pottered around the kitchen, searching cupboards, collecting items, prepping food, etcetera, she observed him in a way she'd never before been able to. The real Cotan, without any pretense or worry, when he thought he was alone.

That thought made her feel a twinge of guilt, just a tiny one, and she hoped he didn't find it invasive once he realized she was there. She leaned back against the wall, brought her knees up, and just... smiled.

He was cute when he cooked. Of course it helped that he'd just bent down to search for a pan... Part of her wanted to head over there and pester him, the way couples did in holoflicks, but honestly she was far more content where she was. Force, she could have sat there for an eternity and been perfectly happy with the view.

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

With Asha watching him—utterly unbeknownst to him, as he was focused on preparing their food—Cotan assembled the last of breakfast. 'Assembled' being a fairly loose term, as it was essentially only two parts:

Eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, and crusty toasted bread. Sure, there were ultimately quite a few ingredients that went into it, but the dish itself was simple. Next was just pulling out bowls and spoons, serving up a portion each, returning to the bedroom...

"Alright, Asha, time's up," he said good naturedly, pushing the door back open, just to find the bed empty. Bereft even of its blanket. As small and sneaky as the woman might manage to be, he knew for a fact she hadn't left the apartment entirely. Hadn't gone to the refresher to shower, either, which left few options for where she could have gone. He turned on his heel, walking back out towards the kitchen and living room, just to spot the bundled up blanket-creature 'hiding' in a corner.

"Enjoying the view?" he asked, one eyebrow raised. "Now that you're out of bed far later than normal." He paused, and before she could even respond, started up again: "Why the floor?"

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Maybe she should have said something when he'd finished plating up and made his way to the bedroom to hunt her down, but honestly seeing him walk away like that was too good a view to pass up. So she didn't. She giggled quietly to herself when she heard him calling out to her in the bedroom, and waited in her low perch for him to return to the main space.

After that it didn't take her very long at all to be spotted. She was, after all, bundled up in a blanket made for two.

"Always" was her immediate response to his question, a bold grin forming upon her lips. "I'll have you know I got out of bed mere moments after you did... You're cute when you cook."

His question had her frowning in thought, and she tilted her head to one side.

"I dunno. Comfortable? Doesn't everyone enjoy a good floor-sit?"

For as long as she could remember, Asha had gravitated to the ground. Grass was preferred of course, even as a child she'd loved nothing more than to feel the blades of grass beneath her hands and between her feet, but as she'd grown even harder surfaces didn't seem to bother her the way they might other people. Was that really so strange?

With a groan she began to rise up, still bundled in the blanket for good measure. A real burrito indeed.

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Cotan's brow furrowed in response to her answer. "It depends on whether or not I think the cushioning will be too much and mess up my back," he replied dubiously. "Otherwise, if I'm on the floor, I'm probably laying down. And asking you to walk on my back not long after." As she started to struggle to rise in her handily-crafted cloth prison, Asha quickly found herself lifted off the floor entirely. Floating weightlessly as Cotan, seemingly paying her no mind, came and sat on the couch, bowls on the coffee table in front of them.

Before she was floated on over and deposited next to him.

"You do know I'm not letting you stay like that all day," he said, giving her a sidelong glance. "Can't risk that falling away and everybody in Cloud City getting to see what I did last night."

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

"I dunno" she mused, shaking her head at him, "It stopped affected me a long time ago. Heck, sometimes I sleep on the floor for the fun of it. No bed's worth its weight in gold without you anyway."

She found herself magically plucked off the ground, and levitated over to the sofa. A pout formed, but in truth she was more than happy to be able to remain bundled and warm. Plopped down beside him, she took up the bowl of delicious, savoury breakfast and glanced across at him as he made his statement.

"Well, close the blinds then" she huffed. A smile broke the mock frown soon after, doubly so once she'd tasted the meal. "mm... You've been keeping this one a secret, haven't you? So good...."

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"I am a man of many talents," Cotan replied mysteriously. She'd already heard of one other of his culinary talents—that being the baking skill that had made him the envy of the other Judges multiple times—though maybe now she'd be more likely to believe it. "And what good is closing the blinds going to do if we're leaving the apartment?" Of course, as she shifted and began to eat, he closed the blinds with a look anyways. Blankets weren't entirely known for being the most secure garments to wear, and as she stuck her arms out and began to move around, and it started to shift off of her shoulders...

He almost wondered whether or not she was doing it on purpose, to try and tempt him away from their plans for the day, and to just lie around with her instead. He almost wondered it; after the thought hit him, he quickly came to the conclusion that it wasn't worth wondering about. It was exactly what she was doing. "Besides, you don't want to miss the Ithorian Gardens. They've got plants from everywhere from Ithor, to Telos, to Onderon, Dantooine...it's very impressive. They serve food there, as well, so after you've had your fill of exploring the flora we can have a nice lunch, before..."

He reached out, poking at her side where the blanket had shifted away. "I give you reason to start calling me sir."

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Oof. Well, if the pout had been fake before now it was very much real.

"But I thought that would work for sure" she moped, between mouthfuls of food, shifting her gaze across to him and giving him hella side-eye glares as he continued to press on about how they would in fact be heading out, and that would in fact lead to sparring practice. Oh well, a girl could try couldn't she?

Truth be told as she sat there trying to eat she quickly found the blanket more of a hindrance than anything else. With one final huff she settled the bowl down, not yet finished, and made to rise. Not before she stuck Cotan with a very quick response.

"The day you get me to unjokingly refer to you as Sir is the day I'll no longer complain about combat practice" she declared, triumphantly, before she walked past him and headed off toward the bedroom to change into something a little less burdensome. It was one thing to snuggle in a corner watching her beloved at work while being a burrito, and another thing all together to actually do something productive.

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"It'll come," Cotan replied cooly, without looking at her, focusing on his food. "Before long you'll be wanting to call me sir. Probably even happy about it." He couldn't let her triumph go unspoiled, after all. Then she went off to the bedroom, which was likely for the best; if she was to change in front of him, he really might have lost track of the plans for the day.

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

"Uh-huh" she retorted, barely even paying his words any mind by this point. She was quick to dress into comfy clothes, still looking nicely put together of course but she had never been the sort for tightly fitted, uncomfortable chit. Every now and then you might, might catch her in a dress, though not without good reason. Nope, she sported the patented explorer look, and it worked for her. Off-white linen shirt, buttoned almost all the way up, some beige shade of trousers - sometimes switched out for a moss green, if she was feeling particularly adventurous - and her boots which provided ample ankle support.

Certainly, she looked more ready for a hike or to make her way through some Temple of Doom more than she did a nice day out through Cloud City. Still she had what she had, and this was that. Wasn't like Cotan had any of her other clothes lying around after all. Not that she knew of.

Asha flopped down on the sofa beside him, making a point of sprawling her legs over his. Obviously she did not have the boots on now, goodness no she'd never - inside?!?! - but her feet were unusually covered with socks for once. Apparently she was actually, actively ready to leave when the time came. No more stalling. She rescued her bowl from the table and made quick work of finishing it, savouring every bite as she went.

"Alright, alright, I figure if you're going to torture me later we might as well make sure there's enough time for fun first." As the last of the food was dealt with, she let out a satisfied sigh and patted her stomach. "Mm, you should do this more often. You're way better at making breakfast than I am." Asha loved to cook of course, but she'd always found breakfast decidedly lacking. Uninspiring. Shakshuka though.. Mm, she reckoned she could get used to shakshuka in the morning.

Shuffling as close to him as she could muster without actively sitting on his lap, Asha rested her head against his shoulder and sighed. So much for not stalling. Her legs still lay leisurely across him. "You know... I know you're a big deal and all in the Galaxy, and lots of people rely on you, and what not, but... Cotie?" She propped her chin on his arm and peered up at him, nothing but adoration (and perhaps the faintest, tiniest sign of fear) in her eyes. "I really don't want to keep rushing off. I love exploring, I love flying through space and finding new worlds, and all of that, but... I think, no I know... I'd much rather do it all with you. You know... When you're not busy."

Asha wasn't stupid, she knew the only one standing in her way of such a reality had been herself, she wasn't even really looking at him for permission to do precisely that, to stay with him, but she didn't know how else to approach the topic. Moments like these... They were a little scary for her. To lay her cards out, and trust that her heart wasn't going to get crushed in the process.

"You and me, against it all?" That sounded nice. And besides, she could still sneak off on adventures here and there when he was busy with meetings and Judge stuff and fighting the big bads. But... Sticking close at hand? Enough that it would only take a day to get back to him? That she could return the moment she was done, not months later?

Yeah... She'd trade even her beloved Pilgrim to make that so.

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Well, in the face of her laying across him like that, he couldn't do much but play along—at least until their breakfast was finished. "You never give me the opportunity to do the cooking," he responded to her comment about how he ought to be the one to do breakfast more often. He wasn't entirely wrong, either—there were multiple times the two of them had rolled out of bed at the same time just for Asha to be the first to the kitchen. Cotan, of course, could always have offered to take over for her, but he had his own brand of laziness to consider.

Laziness that was only starting to feel a bit stronger as Asha slid over nearly entirely on top of his lap, gazing up at him like a newborn puppy. "Against it all? I certainly hope not. Even I'm not that good. But when the galaxy looks like it can hold together long enough, I'm always willing for an adventure or two." He set his finished bowl down, wrapping his arms loosely around Asha's waist. He gave her a critical once over, noting her choice of garment...before a couple of the topmost buttons on her shirt popped open, seemingly of their own accord. "There you go. Now you're stylish, Ashie."

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Was it true? Did she really hog all of the kitchen time? Well maybe she'd have to see about changing that going forward, find out what other tricks he had up his sleeve. If this was breakfast, then what could dinner look like? She shook her head internally, and then huffed at the response he gave.

"Yes, against it all. Any who would stand in our way." She nodded firmly, reaffirming what she'd said. Truth be told though it wasn't as though she had any real enemies out there in the Galaxy, she was a nobody - and she was happy remaining a nobody. Cotan on the other hand... Well, he had enemies to spare. No doubt one day they'd see fit to put her pacifism to the test, too, but for now... Well for now she could rest easy knowing he was right here at her side.

When he was done with food and wrapped his arms around her she shifted her head back so she wasn't staring up at him and savoured the moment she knew would soon be ending. She felt two of the topmost buttons open, exposing her neck to the warm air of the apartment, and grinned. "Stylish, huh, Cotie?" Ashie... It had been a while since he'd used that name for her.

With a grumble and a groan she wriggled free from his hold, and swung her legs down from his lap. She really didn't want to leave the sofa, but nor did she want to immediately jump right into training when they did move. As such, she forced herself back to her feet and offered both hands down to Cotan to haul him up too.

"Alright, let's go find those gardens mister?"

Cotan Sar'andor

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

As Asha jumped up, a third button popped open. "Even more stylish," he said, a goofy grin on his face. "High necklines are out, Asha. Besides, you're beautiful! No reason not to be willing to show yourself off just a little bit." She reached out, helping pull him up off of the couch, and he had to admit: He certainly wouldn't mind if she was willing to show herself off a bit. He'd quite enjoy it, in fact. Of course, perhaps fortunately—or, perhaps unfortunately—the floating city had to constantly adjust its altitude to remain within the life zone, and from the weather forecast he'd checked today, they were relatively high up within the habitable band of atmosphere.

And it was windy.

"Here, before we do—" he moved to the rack near the door, grabbing an old jacket of his, given that she hadn't walked up with the one she'd taken the last time they'd been together. "It's not a long walk, but it's likely to be cold, and I don't want you luckily getting sick before this afternoon." Before she could object, if she even wanted to, he quickly wrapped the jacket around her shoulders, pulling her in for a quick hug. And, just before he released her...

"But you can't keep this one."

Asha Hex

 

[Asha Sar'andor]

Another button.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously toward him, undermined by a coy little grin. "I mean, hey, if you want to forget the plans we can stick around here... Find that blanket again... I wouldn't mind..." ...not training...

But nope, he was up on his feet at this point, pulled up by Asha, and she was more or less ready to leave. See some plants, heck yeah! Forget about what would come after lunch...

She watched as he fished out a jacket for her to wear, a cool leather jacket, one that was more warm browns than the black jacket she'd once 'stolen-but-not-really' during their trip to Atrisia, and she found herself more than happy to be bundled up in it. Oversized, but quite fetching if she said so herself. Certainly it went with the whole look, though now she was giving off more spacer vibes than ruined temple crawler.

Truth be told, it was a good look.

She wrapped her arms around him when he hugged her, and for a moment seemed as though she'd be unwilling to pull away even when he did. But then she huffed.

"Finneee.... But I'm going to have to find one like it some time. More than enough shirts, but somehow I always overlook jackets..."

She slid her hand into his, and then glanced toward the doorway. "Ready, Mr Training Man?"

Cotan Sar'andor