Private Evolution

[Rhia Kesyk]

Huh. So it wasn't just a heat of the moment pheromone induced decision to kiss him earlier. Nope, Rhia's heart skipped a beat when he pulled her closer and her thumb gently flexed along his cheek. Coarse and stubbly, but not entirely unpleasant beneath her soft hand.

The words he uttered when he eventually pulled back had her exhale a small laugh. "Really?" she inquired, squinting up at him before shaking her head. "That's where your mind went?" Lifting her hand from his cheek, she poked him on the forehead the way he'd done to her several times before. A sheepish grin played along her lips. "I'll have to find out which shampoo it was, then."

He said the scent of it fit her, sweet and spicy. Was that really a way to sum her up? Her head tilted a little to the side as she pondered it, but the thought was promptly overtaken by his query.

"Uh..." She followed his gaze, shifting slightly in place as she did, and squinted. "Observation deck, I think..?"

Rhia pondered on that for a moment, then pushed herself up to her feet with a small huff. Then reached down to offer him a hand up. "Wanna check it out?"

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

"Wait I like your hand on my—"

tk

"No fair, that's my thing to do." But it was cute, seeing her copy his mannerisms like that. "But you did ask if it was awful, and I wanted to say no, it isn't awful at all. Opposite." Before he could even catch up with what she said about the observation deck, though, she had pulled herself right back out of his arms, springing to her feet and offering down her hand. Always so quick to move and make decisions, it was almost like he was just being pulled along in the wake of this adorable emerald-eyed girl.

No, more than adorable. Sometimes adorable was still the right word to decide what she was doing, how specifically she was asking, but it wasn't quite enough to describe her.

Marus took the hand, coming up to his feet. "Sure," he replied, his fingers twining between her own. An observation deck, then, for the station? Just above the garden?

The garden that was also a makeshift miniature temple of sorts?

It almost sounded like the style of some of the rooms on that praxeum ship that he'd read about in the library on Kashyyyk once. The..."Chume'da?" he mused out loud, as Rhia led him along. "No, no, that's not right. Chu-Gon Dar...no, he was a master on that lava planet..." He furrowed his brow again, deep in concentration. Hopefully Rhia wasn't saying anything, because he was entirely missing it at that moment. "Churba, Chuzalla, Churruma...Chuundar, no, he was a disgraced ancient Wookiee chieftain..."

Another few moments of thought.

"Ah! The Chu'unthor! That old Jedi ship, that had a ton of domed training rooms on the top deck, looking out into the stars as it flew around. Sounds kinda like that, doesn't it?"

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

His response to her removing her hand caught the girl off guard, and once she was on her feet she reached down and settled her fingertips there again with a wry grin. "What, like this?" she asked, raising a brow. "Okay, Firebud, got it... I will definitely remember that for next time I see you. What else do you like..?"

When he rose up alongside her she lowered her hand back down to his and was surprised by the ease of it all. Maybe their extended voyage across the stars and through the Rift had helped to soften the awkwardness. Or maybe it was just easier now that the perfume had done the hard work for them.

She led him across the garden toward the outcropping which hid the way up to the deck, and when he began to muse aloud about various things she had little context to she had to bridge that gap for herself. In doing so, she quickly came to the conclusion he was looking for. "The Chu'unthor?" she inquired, though he didn't seem to hear her. He just continued on, and she found herself peering up at him, watching the expressions he made as he figured it out. She said it one more time, words falling on deaf ears, before giving up.

And when he said it for himself she grinned.

"Yeah, that's the one" she responded, without even trying to inform him of the fact that she'd already said as much. Let him have his victory, he'd ultimately come to the conclusion for himself after all. "It does, doesn't it?"

Up the steps they ventured, and she gave his hand a squeeze.

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

Oh, what's that? Is she proud of me for actually remembering?

Marus grinned back, squeezing her hand. "Cotan really pulled out all the stops with this part of the station, didn't he?" he asked. Of course, she might not even know; neither of them had any idea what all the stops even were or how much farther Cotan might've taken the project if he'd had the opportunity. But at least the garden was a small marvel of careful design and engineering.

Of course, as they went up the steps, Marus thought of another opportunity. He certainly didn't mind having Rhia pulling him along earlier, and now, going up the steps...he started to put on a feigned act of tiredness. "Wow, how long was that walk from the hangar bay anyways?" he asked her, a playful twinkle in his eye as he played up his seeming fatigue.

"Maybe you should walk ahead of me, help pull me up."

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

"Might be he did" she remarked, with a nod, "Though frankly I haven't seen most of the rest of it. There's a whole lot of station, and I don't know if my legs would like me much if I went and got lost within it all. I tend to stick to this corner of it, you know, close to my apartment."

As if reaching the same conclusion himself, he remarked on how far they'd had to walk to reach the gardens. "Exactly my point" she nodded, and then she peered at him with a raised brow. "You want me to..? Pull you up the steps..?"

Weird request, but then he'd not actually asked all that much of her, well, ever really. So she kept a hold of his hand and went ahead of him, dragging him along toward the deck. They were almost there, after all, what harm could it do?

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

Wait.

Did she really?

Did she really just...?

Best view in the station.

Marus honestly doubted that her legs would have much of an issue if she went exploring that much. Certainly not if the way the pants she wore hugged around her hips and all revealed anything; she might be small, but she wasn't slightly built. Athletic, not soft...and all too nice to look at, from the face down.

...

He'd have to let her lead him around like this more often, although—it was—with her putting in some more effort, it actually was getting to be a bit of a work-out to keep up, even being dragged along. Or maybe it was just how excited she was to get up there. "Must have a good view of the Rift up here, yeah?"

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

Blissfully unaware of the thoughts in his head, Rhia glanced back over her shoulder and shrugged.

"Dunno, not really been up here before" she replied, slowing some as they reached the final step and the landing which brought them out to the deck itself. "Clearly you're more perceptive than I am."

How many times had she been in the garden? Frankly it was sort of embarrassing that he'd noticed it on his first go around. She knew there was an observation deck somewhere out here of course, the signs in the foyer told her as much, but still...

She stepped into it, still clutching his hand - in fact, stood in front of him as she was, she actually reached back to take both of his hands in hers - and got her first real look at it.

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

"Me? More perceptive than you? Crazy." She was the one that knew how to use the Force—really, knew what it even was—and thus clearly had to be the more perceptive. That was how that worked, right? Still, he didn't have much to argue the point with, nor really much want to argue. So, when she reached back with her other hand, he obediently took it, following along behind her as the door opened.

Of course, he wasn't entirely sure what he expected. He knew he hadn't seen any big transparisteel domes or anything like that, but this wasn't exactly what he'd thought he'd find either. It was clearly an old Munificent-class frigate, he could recognize that now, and the ziggurat-shaped central structure of the bridge was still present. The computer terminals had been removed, however, and the floor was entirely smooth. There were a few free-standing benches to sit on or move as the heart desired, but down past the central structure the space was entirely open and free all around.

Much of the view from the bridge had been freed up as well, the old panels replaced with newer, stronger transparisteel, allowing most of the support beams and cross lattices to be removed entirely, allowing for an almost uninterrupted view of the stars and swirling nebulaic material of the Kathol Rift. It was certainly a breathtaking view, capturing the enormity of the heart of the spatial distortions in this entire part of the sector. It was almost hard to believe that the Rift itself was already as far away, in terms of travel time, as it had taken him to get to the station from Kal'shebbol.

He squeezed Rhia's hands again, pulling her backwards into his arms. Partially because he liked having her there, partially because he liked the smell of her hair, partially to make sure she wasn't so taken with the view she actually did forget to breathe, and just enjoyed the view for a little bit longer before speaking up again.

"Do you think we might be able to just have lunch up here?"

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

He seemed surprised by the sentiment, which in turn surprised her. "Hey, you're the one who spotted it" she shrugged, though anything else she might have had to say on the matter was momentarily cast to the wayside the moment the view was opened up to her. Rhia took a few steps in and then paused, eyes widening.

"Wow..."

Okay, alright, she'd definitely been sleeping on the observation deck. It was extraordinary, providing an almost panoramic view of the Rift. That any sound had escaped her at all was something of a miracle, because it was truly breathtaking. They were far from the viewing ports though, set back against the steps, so she hurriedly pulled him forward, careful not to cause either to trip or bump into each other since she'd taken on a more awkward stance by stealing both hands, and then finally came to rest at a point wherein her entire vision, peripheral included was taken up by transparisteel goodness.

Therein she leant back against him, and felt his arms move around her.

"Good call" she murmured, "To think, I didn't even try to seek this place out..." His request came soon after, and she leaned her head back against his chest and tipped it up so that she could somewhat make out his face. More his chin than anything. "Sure, why not? You aren't going to find me complaining... Have you ever seen a greater view?" It took her a moment to realize that she'd said it while looking at him not the Rift. A slight blush fell over her again, and she hastily glanced back at the stars with a coy smile.

"Where are you from, Marus?" she asked, raising a hand to draw tiny little circles along the back of one of his hands absentmindedly. "Is there a star out there in the void with your name on it?"

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

"You mean other than looking down at you?" Marus asked, although for his part he actually didn't at that moment, as that would require letting go of her enough to do so. Something which he didn't exactly want to do, least of all when she just started to absentmindedly play with one of his hands. As for where he was from...He'd never put much thought to it. Where was he from? Some planet, brought up to a station with parents that left him behind? Or was he ultimately a refugee from one of the omnipresent wars?

Was he just born on a station? Was he abandoned, or was he orphaned?

The thought itself didn't make him uncomfortable, but not knowing at all did, a bit. "I...don't really know, I guess," he replied, a bit subdued. "Just station to station for as long as I can remember. Sometimes deep space, sometimes planetary orbit. First one I really remember was in the...Malagarr system, I think. Before that it's just a lot of vague having to keep moving further and further away from something. Sith, probably."

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

She didn't respond to his response, but she did sort of huddle in a little closer. The coy smile became something more of a bashful grin. In the silence which stretched she was more than happy to just stand there with him, not at all aware of the thoughts she'd forced to spring up with her honestly innocent query.

When his response came her expression softened, didn't fully devolve into a frown or anything just... Loosened up.

"Oh," she exhaled, still tracing her finger against his hand, a little randomly now though. Her other arm shifted, and she hugged his arms since there wasn't really any other way she could embrace him in that moment. He didn't know... Which meant he'd never been told. Which likely meant... "You too, huh?" she spoke, around an unexpected lump in her throat. She at least'd had the Jedi, despite all of their lies they had treated her well enough. She realized that he'd probably confuse her rhetorical question for meaning she'd also station hopped: she hadn't.

"I didn't know my folks, either. Either they dropped me off with the Jedi, or the Jedi took me in." She shrugged, and gave his arm a squeeze. Began to piece together more and more of his words and actions from not just today but their journey together. The way in which he hadn't balked at sleeping in the pilot's seat that first night... That's what sprung to mind more than anything else.

Rhia tried to detangle herself from him, and if successful she'd turn to face him. Gorgeous view of the Rift be damned. "Well, you can always find a star and make it your own one day. Home can be what you make of it, right? Family, too..." A thoughtful expression played over her face then. "That's sort of what happened for me, at least, with Cotan, and Asha..." She squashed down the complicated thoughts which rose up therein, particularly formed of eight year old Rhia's perceived abandonment, and offered him a tiny smile.

"You'll find your version of that, Maru. If you want it, I mean..." Some people seemingly did not. Which always confused her, but hey to each their own. She wrapped her arms around him this time, holding him close. Hopefully she hadn't just made some great presumption. How awkward would it have been if he had parents actively in his life?

Rhia hadn't considered that until now...

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

Maybe her comments should've made him feel a bit less uncomfortable, but for once they didn't. "Well, either way, you had people," he said, still fairly subdued. By this point, Rhia was rapidly approaching the longest-running friendship he'd ever had, and he'd only known her for a little less than four months. Even having been at the temple on Kashyyyk for a year or so before running off to try and get info on that 'smuggling ring' he knew some of the older knights had been unsuccessfully trying to hunt down, he barely knew anybody, and most all of the ones around his age had been living the Jedi life for...far longer than he had.

He loosened his arms for her to turn around in when he felt her pushing to do so, though the small frown remained on his face. It didn't really go away at all either, although by that point it was almost more due to what she was saying, the way she was saying it, that small flash of something across her face. She almost seemed worried again, a little bit. Like she'd said something wrong, even though she hadn't. He just had to figure out the right way to reply, but with her talking about family and all that actually got a bit easier.

"I honestly haven't put much thought into it," he said with a shrug. "But I feel like trying not to end up with some version of a family is the result of active avoidance or deterrance, not chance, so...yeah, probably." His frown softened a little bit, hands resting in the small of her back, as he thought about how best to address that bit of awkward worry she still seemed to feel. Nothing like tried and true (or at least, so he thought) strategies, ultimately.

"Are you going to kiss me or not?"

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

He hadn't had anyone at all?

That certainly made her expression collapse in on itself, and for a moment all she could think about was a littler, far younger Maru, alone on some station... Her heart cracked, breaking for him - then, and now. Everything she'd said felt hollow after learning that, wrong of her to press even.

Her embrace tightened, as she struggled to find the actual words she wanted to say or how to say them. Probably both. He was right, she'd had someone growing up, a community around her. That he'd managed to survive at all was a testament to his strength. If she hadn't already known him before the revelation, she might have expected him to be closed off, emotionally distant, cold even, but he wasn't.

Quite the opposite in fact.

Rhia didn't know how to make sense of that, so she shelved the thought for now. Instead peering up at him as he made a silly comment instead. Oh, so was this how they were doing things now? She'd be the instigator, hm? Reaching up a hand, she lightly caressed his cheek and then shifted up on her tiptoes to place her lips on his. Slow and a little more tender than before, she allowed the kiss to linger before she finally pulled away.

"Come on," she whispered, not yet returning to the flats of her feet, "You can't tease a girl with lunch then leave her hanging." For a moment she might have sounded serious, but then she cracked a grin, kissed him again, then settled back down.

Her stomach, however, growled in agreement.

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

yaaaaaaaaaay

All the other, more bothersome thoughts were gone as soon as she brought her hand back up to his cheek and kissed him. Hugging her and feeling her small, lithe frame up against him was very nice, of course, but it didn't make the rest of the galaxy slip away like having her lips pressed to his. Still, it never lasted quite long enough, not as she broke away, saying something about lunch. He wasn't entirely sure yet, he was still enchanted by her eyes and her hand on his cheek, but eventually it started to—

Well, before she kissed him again it had started to break though, but that set the timer back another moment or two. But once she pulled away, stomach growling just at the edge of hearing, he noticed his was doing the same. "Right. Yeah. Lunch." He blinked, looking away from her eyes back out at the nebula, so that he actually could manage to complete a thought or two about something other than how much he wanted to spend the rest of the day with her. Really, lunch would facilitate that goal, anyways.

"...It has only just occurred to me that I have no clue what's actually available on this station food-wise. But if any of it delivers, do you think we could just get it delivered to us here?" Her small hand was still on his cheek. It was a little distracting, but only in the best way. He closed his eyes, leaning slightly into it with a contented expression. "If not, I guess we'll have to go get it ourselves."

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

Rhia found that she liked the touch of his cheek. Even when they broke their kiss it lingered there for a little while, as she peered up at him when he went quiet and contemplative on the idea of lunch. He looked out over the nebula, and for a moment she was tempted to follow his gaze; she didn't. She just watched him instead.

"A whole load of things, really," she said, when he questioned what was available, "It's almost like a weirdly contained city, though I admit I haven't explored it for myself. But, uh, what are you in the mood for? We can get a droid to deliver something, save us the walk."

He leaned into her touch and Rhia blushed deeply. Wanted nothing more than to hide her face, but she didn't. Lunch by the nebulous rift? With Marus? Lucky... She felt, in that moment, incredibly lucky.

And here she thought she'd never see him again.

"I'm glad the Galaxy didn't eat you up when we parted ways" she muttered, in perhaps the most ridiculous way she could have said that statement, "I uh... I was afraid that'd be that. We'd talk a little, then drift, and..." She sighed, and turned her own gaze over to the Rift. Maybe that was still what would happen, when all was said and done. He was a Jedi, he'd end up drawn back out there wouldn't he?

The thought made her heart sink.

Rather than flee from him though, rather than walk away before it became all the more difficult when that time did come, she found herself reaching out with her free hand and laying it against his shirt. Curling her fingers into the fabric. A strange sensation washed over her then, one she wasn't inherently familiar with. Something akin to... neediness? Ugh, no Rhia, that's not allowed, it's too soon.

Her heart fluttered all the same, and her frown deepened.

Might be that he would leave, but in the meantime..? Well, nothing ventured nothing gained; wasn't that the saying?

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

"But, uh, what are you in the mood for?"

you

Wait, wait, that probably wouldn't be a good answer. That might get him in trouble. No, food, the mood for food.

The mood.

What was he in the mood for?

Aside from her. "I don't know. Something light and simple? I don't think I've got it in me for something big or complicated." He really was at a loss, there, with no clue what the station had. But hearing her say it was like a floating city...seemed right. It was pretty large. "Maybe we could—" He opened his eyes again, and looked down at her, with where her mind just went. He couldn't deny having worried the same thing, he'd already been worried enough when he showed up in the hangar that she wouldn't want to see him, but that had already been proven wrong.

Maybe that worry was what made the sniff—well, okay, it was a lot more than a sniff—of the perfume make him immediately turn back around. But now, knowing that she was happy to see him and be around him, and—

—everything else—

—she wasn't even looking up at him—

—clutching into his shirt—

—he still held her with one hand, although the other rose up, taking her hand from his cheek and brushing it gently against his lips instead.

"You worry too much, Rhia."

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

Something light... In that moment Rhia's mind wasn't even really working to figure out what that could constitute as. Nope she'd plunged herself down into an unnecessary world of concern over something that hadn't even happened, something that might not happen going forward, like a fool.

"Uhhhh...."

Nope. Wouldn't play ball. Maybe they could see if there was anything they could find on their holopads to get a general idea, or...

It took her a moment to realize he'd trailed off. "Could..?"

Her hand was shifted from his cheek, and brought to his lips instead; that immediately had her eyes upon him.

Then he had the audacity to tell her she worried too much! For shame. She frowned at that, and adamantly shook her head. "Nope. Nu-uh. It was a sane worry. How was I supposed to know you'd turn back around?"

She squeezed his hand. "Now maybe I'm not going to be so willing to let you run off again..."

A pout. Narrowed eyes. Daring him to even try.

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

"Keep holding onto me like this and I don't think I'll even be able," he replied with a smirk. "It's not like I'd even want to, anyways." Certainly not with a pout like that facing him. Of course, even if he did try, he had no doubt she could catch him without any trouble; still, that wasn't even what he was referring to saying she worried too much. Sure, he'd had the same worry, but...

He let go of her hand, his own returning back to her waist as he pulled her in and kissed her forehead; he might still have been a bit hungry, but with her expression food was rapidly being forgotten. "When I said you worry too much, it's not what you're worrying about. You've got me here, now, make something of that rather than getting caught up in all the what-ifs for what could have happened or when one of us does have to leave again."

Rhia Kesyk

 

[Rhia Kesyk]

Rhia grinned wickedly at that idea, contemplating it for a second... It was tempting. One small part of her almost wanted to make good on it. And yet the larger part knew that she would never be the kind of person to stand in someone's way, to keep them from becoming the best version of themselves. Still, for now, while he was here..?

The kiss set upon her forehead stole away any of the words she'd been meaning to say, and instead she just peeked up at him. There he was full of wisdom again, setting her mind from motion to relief. She'd become accustomed to such by now, in fact in many ways she hung on his every word and waited for moments like these.

They were like diamonds that burrowed their way to the surface here and there.

"Alright, alright," she responded, not quite as impatiently as one might expect, "Well then I'll turn my worries toward withering away. You've got three seconds before I decide on lunch for us."

She said this with a firm nod of her head. A threat to many who valued their own ability to decide what they ate... Certainly she meant for it to be such. A fire under his butt.

Marus Saretti

 

[Marus Saretti]

"Just so long as it isn't ration packs or potato sticks." Marus wasn't particularly picky, and he'd already told her the little bit of thought he had.

Rhia Kesyk