Impact

[Kaile Vera]

“Oh, hold up.” Kaile said, following right after him. The mention that he didn’t know how the sonic would take to his bandages and whatever they did for his shoulder prompted another wave of concern. Following him to cross the distance, the Lorrdian went reaching out with her hand to take his, hoping to have him stop.

“You’re already slurring.” she told him, concern deepening the brow of her eyes and pursing her lips. She wasn’t sure if this was a good idea now. A few seconds had the brunette darting her gaze from the Wraith to the refresher and then back to him.

Well, can’t risk it.

“Just wash your hands proper.” she suggested, tugging him closer over to her so that she could get a good look at him. First that shirt had to come off.

“We’ll see on taking a sponge to you if you need more than that.”

Yup. Asmus heard that right. A sponge bath.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus made no protest to her helping him out of his shirt. He turned away from her to let her ease it off his right arm without pulling against his left shoulder. The sling was a very basic emergency kit option. Just a strap around his neck that secured him at both ends of his forearm.

“Doesn't look too bad,” he remarked. “It sprayed this film over the top of it, see.” There was never depression in his shoulder where the blaster had struck any more. “I've heard of that stuff it filled it with. It's like a biomatter gel with cells and chemicals. My body will heal up using the stuff.”

He grinned at Kaile. “Might not be more that a little scar on my skin,” he said hopefully. He delicately removed his left arm from the sling. A sharp breath and out of his nose revealed that he was still in some discomfort. He went to wash his hands and struggled to cup enough water to wash his face with one hand.

“Maybe just give the shoulder a very gentle wash?” he suggested.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile set the shirt off to the side, folding it once, twice, and then setting it down. It was an old habit based on keeping things neat and it only reared its head up even more with how fine the material was. She half felt a bit guilty with the manner her own greasy hands left more marks, making her acutely aware that she should wash her own. Better not touch anything else.

“Looks like.” Kaile commented, her eyes drifting over Asmus’ bare torso. This time there wasn’t the heat of awareness in her eyes as much as concern for his well-being. She bit her lower lip.

“Here, let me help you.” she offered as she heard the sharp intake of breath coming from the pilot. “Just gotta clean my own hands first.” came her murmur, floating on by as she came to stand beside him. Much like everything else, even the sink was rather fancy. And the fact that a ship this size even had water sinks…

“Everything is all shiny.” Kaile admitted, voice breaking a bit. “Kinda afraid to touch anything really.”

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus smiled and nodded in agreement. He watched the clean white marble of the sink become partially covered by the dull copper swirls of the engine grease from Kaile’s hands as she gave them a thorough scrub. Asmus dried his own hands then looked for something for Kaile to use to clean around the wound.

“Well…” he said in a deadpan tone, leaning into the cupboard under the sink. The wooden doors were made of the same carved wood as the bed and desk. “...don’t feel too bad. We’re dealing with the type of arse who had all of his flannels and towels embroidered with his initials in gold.”

He set a stack of two on the sink next to Kaile. He turned around the delicate looking bottle of soap to find it had some words engraved in the back. He started to read an excerpt.

“Each berry was hand picked from the plains of…each perfume was carefully selected from the range of…” Asmus could only shake his head incredulously. “Nobles,” he said in bemusement. The merchant class of Eriadu liked to display their wealth, but in a way that all could enjoy. Big brash balls, bonuses for their employees. In Asmus’ mind it was the nobles who liked to hoard their wealth and ensure they stayed with a big gap in station between them and those who really made them their fortune.

 

[Kaile Vera]

Kaile gave a smile in gratitude for the towels, taking a small red fluffy one for herself to dry her hands. It was made out of the softest terry cloth, practically drank the beads of water off her hands. Another wave of wonder along with uneasiness rose.

“Reckon still is what you’re use to.” She quietly added. In her mind she had every possible item available to him, what with how Asmus had described it to her. Might be a merchant class, but all those tales of fancy dresses, estates, and wealth spoke of a sort of lifestyle that was far beyond what the Lorrdian was well used to.

“Come on, let’s take a look.” She added, reaching in over the basin to take the towel she had used to dry herself and hover it under the faucet. Hot water spilled over it, saturating the towel. Steam rose and her hands turned pink from the heat as she wrung it with a tight grasp. Now it was damp, but warm. Good enough to clean up what she could.

“Get you cleaned up.”

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus took the comment in good humour, chuckling and shaking his head. “Ah my family are well to do, that's fair. Not like this though isssss,” he trailed off and grimaced at the first touch of the flannel to his shoulder. “It's alright, carry on, thank you,” he said when she looked up at him in concern.

“It's a bit of a change when I go back to the family home. It's… pretty big. But just this guy's suite on a yacht makes the place seem plain by comparison.” He started to shrug and stopped before he hurt himself more. The artificial skin felt tight. The sensation from inside the wound was very strange. Like a scratch he couldn't itch, but mixed with flares of shooting pains.

He turned and watched her work. Asmus had always been tall, but quite a gangly creature still when he met her the first time. He'd filled out since then even if he still didn't have Kairon's brawn. Kaile was a good half a foot shorter than him and barely had to look down at his shoulder.

He felt a twinge of guilt at how much he silently enjoyed her attention and care. The incident with the caf had been unfortunate, but no one would ever accuse someone of getting shot for attention. Getting struck by a blaster bolt hurt a very great deal as it seemed Kaile would also be aware.

“Nearly ten years in space now,” he mused. “Used to the hum of engines and cramped cabins.”

 

[Kaile Vera]

“Sorreh.” Kaile apologized, drawing her hand back as if she’d hurt him. After his smile of encouragement, the Lorrdian brought her hand back up again. She gently did her best at gingerly wiping away what she could, the cloth warm and damp against his skin. The process was repeated. Hot water saturated the wash cloth, Kaile then wrung the excess off, and she brought it back to sweep across his skin.

Hearing him say that even his own family didn’t live in this type of luxury was hard to swallow. All the while, she kept her eyes downcast, merely hearing the pilot talk in a half slurr. The drugs were kicking in, that much she could tell. The tension melting away as the pain killer did its work.

“Got the adventure you wanted.” she replied, her breath fanning by his shoulder, her hand gingerly doing her best to not hurt him here. Kaile was almost too careful, barely brushing the washcloth in fear of doing him more harm than good.

“Ain’t too bad.” at this distance it was easy to spot the tiny freckles that scattered across her nose and her cheeks. Tiny little brown spots upon honeyed skin. Her hair swayed with each light movement she made, almost with a lull like quality.

 

[Asmus Janes]

“It's still going,” he replied to her comment on adventure at a whisper. In hindsight he realised it was a silly thing to say; he was currently getting washed with a flannel. Hardly high excitement. There was a slight bubble of nausea, a side effect of the pills.

He'd started to map those freckles as if they were a star chart, thinking back to some of the thoughts he'd had. She was what he wanted, his adventure now. That thought dominated all others. Being a smuggler had never been as great an adventure as he had hoped as a child. There had been adventure in Rogue Squadron. Hijinks and disciplinaries and action. Also loss. The name of every pilot lost under his command seared into his memories.

Asmus sighed. “I still get bored if there aren't challenges to push me,” he said thoughtfully. “But I'm certainly not all the way out here just to chase adventure. I hope no path ever leads me to becoming like Pute and his men, but I do believe in what we do.”

Those words were spoken with a particular clarity, in contrast to rest of his speech. There was a hardness in the set of his jaw after making the statement. That tension melted away quickly when he caught her glimpse up at him. He couldn't help the small smile, or noticing that more of her natural hair colour was appearing at the roots.

“Shame about dessert.”

 

[Kaile Vera]

His murmur brought another perk to the brunette’s lips. Kaile had even picked up a note of whimsy in his tone. A flutter of eyelashes brought her attention back up to his swarthy face. Not even thirty centimeters between them, close enough to where Kaile could feel the subtle fan of his breath.

“You ain’t like Pute, Asmus.” she replied quietly, taking the cloth and this time, bringing it up to his cheek. He had a smear of grease there. Likely had brushed his face and didn’t even notice. It lay along the arch of his right cheekbone, just above the dark stubble that lined his jaw and over the beige strip of flesh. Goodness, he had impossibly long eyelashes. Bet there were plenty of girls who’d be jealous of that.

“Don’t reckon you’ll ever fall down that deep into that hole.” she continued, gingerly brushing his cheek with the warm flannel. She used light brushes, but with him so close and them talking like this brought another layer of intimacy.

At the mention of desert her shoulders gave a twitch. “Heh, bet this place likely has a chocolate cake or two if’n you feelin’ that put out.”

 

[Asmus Janes]

“The waistline on his trousers would suggest so, yes,” Asmus replied. That cheeky grin cut through the very serious expression that had settled on his face. The drugs had him feeling a little lightheaded which helped to erode some of the veneer of professionalism that had existed between them.

He brought his own hand up. First he wrapped his fingers around her wrist gently. Then it slid down her forearm, a delicate brush before releasing her hand.

“Thank you,” he whispered. Whether it was for her comment or the delicate wipe of the cloth, that left his cheek tingling, he did not say. His right hand didn’t fall to his side, but came to cup the line of her jaw and keep her gaze lined up with his own. Such wide, chocolate eyes that he could lose himself in.

“You’d best… get a sonic before I kiss your greasy self and you end up having to do that all again.” It took every ounce of self control not to do so anyway.

 

[Kaile Vera]

There it was, the peek-a-boo of a dimple within the dark scruff of his swarthy, angular face. A flutter came to her belly, and the Lorrdian couldn’t help the slight incline of her face towards the graze of his hand. That brief trace of his hand had sent the tiny hairs along her arm on end, the pressure on her wrist evoking another memory. One where he had awoken beside her after that second night to catch her about to sneak away. How he had gently encircled her wrist with his slender fingers, no words save the plea in his eyes and the gentle tugging pressure that had followed.

Much like with Asmus, it was hard to hide that from kaile’s eyes, less so when she swallowed hard a second later. Her fingers went curling tight against the wet washcloth, and she took a breath, as if remembering her lungs required it.

“Yeah.” A few rapid blinks later she added, “ Ain’t no trouble.” Filling the space as her weight shifted from one foot to the next. Right. Although the brief glance down to his lips was too obvious to miss before they rose back to his eyes again.

Another breath and she tried to swing her gaze back on over towards where the sonic was at, murmuring, “Should get you to bed then, “ before turning back to look at him.

 

[Asmus Janes]

“Yeah,” Asmus replied after a moment's hesitation. He'd seen her swallow and then glance down at his lips. That, more than the drugs, left him standing on the spot and trying to decide what to do next. It was difficult to draw his eyes away, to stand straight and take even half a step away.

“Just give me a quick hand with this and I'm sure I can manage on my own,” he chuckled, holding up the sling. He managed to keep most of the grimace from his face as he was helped back into it. Another awkward pause.

“Right, yes. I’m going to raid the wardrobe and find something to wear. I’ll see if they’ve got a nightshirt for you if you’d like.”

He looked down at the trousers he wore, deciding he would rather wear those again the next day than attempt to get some of Atherton’s to fit. As he gave her the courtesy of stepping out of the refresher he called over his shoulder: “Can you chuck my clothes in the sonic after you?”

 

[Kaile Vera]

“Umm.” Right, okay, his clothes. Kaile spun on the ball of her heel, turning back to face Asmus, her eyes wide as the awkward moment went slipping away. There was focus again, a reminder on what had to be done. He was injured and required rest. Some much needed rest.

“Yeah. Won’t take but a few seconds.” literally. Sonics were made to gently vibrate the dirt, oils, and grime away under that flowing light. A thorough cleansing could be all of a minute. If she wanted to, she could use a sonic fully dressed and come out a cleaner than she had started.

Moving alongside him, the brunette took to quickly bending over and picking up the discarded clothing. Atherton’s shirt, or more aptly the tattered, grease stained remains would be beyond saving. Too bad due to the high quality of the silk.

“You okay to walk to the bed?” he wasn’t an invalid, but she just wanted to make sure out of concern if he would be okay. With the medication already settling, Kaile caught the staggered sway Asmus would fall into now and again. The pupils in his eyes had dilated, and his entire musculature becoming more relaxed. Yeah, he was sure to pass out for a few hours at least.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Asmus turned and walked out of her sight. He walked out of the refresher and round into the walk in wardrobe. There was a clunk as he undid his belt.

“I can manage, thank you,” he called back around. His lids we're starting to feel heavy. It would be good to get a few hours of rest in, but he might have to skip the next dose. There was always a chance the Subversion would arrive with unwanted company and he would need to take the helm.

Asmus appeared a few moments later. He'd found a pair of silk pajama bottoms with a ribbon tie to keep them from falling too far down his hips. He kicked his trousers along the floor for the sonic. In his right hand was a long, blue nightshirt.

“You can wear this for a bit,” he suggested quietly. With a nod and a slow breath through the nose he turned back and headed for the bed.

 

[Kaile Vera]

In the time Asmus had gone to the closet to change, the Lorrdian had already begun to undress. She had plucked his discarded clothing and hung them along a few hooks inside the refresher. A closer inspection revealed that not only was it a standard sonic, but it also featured a water dispenser. The Solaris utilized its water recycler not just for the small since but for the refresher as well. Temptation had risen to make the most of it, but practically rooted itself instead. No need to do that when there was a perfectly functional sonic. Besides, she still had to clean Asmus’ and her own clothes.

“Hmm?” The soft inquisitive noise would cut the silence, that dark head swiveling over back towards the entrance of the refresher. Her boots had already come off, the right flopped to its side while the left stood firm. Belt unbuckled, her pants had slipped free and she was in the middle of sliding one foot off of the pile of cloth when the pilot had returned.

“Oh.” that length of brown hair swayed; she’d tugged the hair tie off, letting the dark waves scatter over her shoulders. With that dark fringe for bangs and wisps of hair sticking in different directions, she was a whimsical, if slightly grimy Kaileann.

A small stagger as her bare foot came down and she caught herself. “Thanks.” she added, bending down to pick up her pants first before reaching out to take the shirt from Asmus’ fingers.

 

[Asmus Janes]

Even through the haze Asmus felt a slight quickening of his pulse. The still greasy Kaile with her hair free and half her clothes piled before him would have been enough to fully counteract the medication if he'd allowed it to. He recalled fondly the time she'd allowed him to wash her hair. He tilted his chin down and smiled at the memory of her confusion over the presence of a hair dryer.

Asmus cared little for modesty, but he couldn't stand in the entrance to the refresher and gawp all evening. “A shame our noble patron wasn't a little more trim around the middle,” he said, right hand waving to indicate the battle to keep the silk pants on his hips. “He has some very nice shirts too,” he bemoaned as turned around. The refresher and walk in wardrobe were on the right of the bed, the exit from the suite on its left.

Once more he walked around the bed returned to the side he'd become accustomed to occupying without even thinking about it. There was a bed runner, an embroidered silken oversheet, then a pair of blankets. There were also scatter cushions to remove before he could find a comfortable spot. Though once he found it, it was quite agreeable. He reached over, despite causing himself some discomfort, and pointedly pulled back the blanket on the other side of the bed.

“My word,” he called after Kaile. “I might never get up again.” He gave a little wriggle into the mattress. It wasn't too stiff or soft, it just seemed to support her weight perfectly.

“What do you think of our new droid friend by the way?” By now she was probably in the sonic. A part of his mind noted that he could see the door to the sonic in the mirror in the refresher.

 

[Kaile Vera]

For a second there, Kaile had the thought that Asmus would reach out with his hand again and encircle her wrist. That he would tug her over, bare legs scissoring under her shirt before drawing her into his embrace. That the shirt and pants she held in her grasp would flutter to the floor and her mind flow into the ether as all thought floated away.

But it didn't.

Even heavily medicated and despite the slow, growing heat she caught in those gold-flecked emerald eyes, he held himself back. Kaile read the tension that had run through his body, found the subtle twitch of his fingers as they tightened around the shirt he had held out to her. He wasn't a kid to go tumbling over his head as he had in the past -- or weeks ago in the aftermath of catching her in his shuttle.

Watching him walk away - or more swaying stagger out of the refresher and towards the bed was an odd thing to experienced. Part of her regretted it; another was grateful. A hot puff of air blew out her cheeks, the Lorrdian trying to calm her nerves down. Right.

Removing the rest of her clothes and slipping into the sonic was a quick affair, the clear door clicking shut behind her. A deep breath and Kaile stood under the wide sonic showerhead for a few seconds. A quick press and the hum would almost drown out Asmus' words.

What do I think?

Kaile bit her lower lip. She didn't answer. Not right away at least. Then there was the question if Jay Four was still listening? For now, she let the hum drown out everything else, feeling the pulses over her skin as the grime and grease were swept away.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

She didn't answer at first. Asmus wasn't certain if she hadn't heard him or if she was trying to be more discreet in talking about the droid. He didn't mind. A glance in her direction and he caught her slowly swaying in the sonic, the clear door barely barring his view.

He sighed a stuttered sigh. Always the sonic cubicles. That tease she'd ended up apologising for back on the Quin with the slow shimmy into her clothes. Asmus turned his head away. Even wounded and drugged the temptation to go and join her was high. If he'd been in good health he would have already been there.

Every night on the Subversion since they had made love had been the same. The show had been more than an excuse, it had been a way to soothe frayed nerves, to hold each other and make idle conversation until they had felt ready to let gravity draw them into each other.

These thoughts made him desperate for her touch. He wanted her close again before he drifted into sleep. Neither of them were particularly modest, he reflected. Yet Asmus had been laid bare before Kaile far more than the reverse. Everything had happened so fast, but she had raised her hands and those men had gone tumbling back down the corridor.

When he heard the click of the door opening he turned back towards the refresher suite and the well placed mirror. “Come here,” he called out softly, the need in his tone, in his expression, laid bare for her.

 

[Kaile Vera]

His voice was low, but Kaile heard it. She'd barely went reaching out for the nightshirt when his plea came drifting over. Fingers went curling over the soft Nabooian silk. It was soft, went slipping over her fingers like water. However, it was the call of the pilot’s voice that demanded her attention.

Her brown eyes fell to the shirt. The pads of her fingers gently shifting and rubbing over it. A second later, her arms went slipping through the sleeves and the fabric drawing over her head.

“Coming.” She replied in that soft, muffled voice of hers. Her hair mused further, puffing up a bit as the oversized shirt slithered down over her body. Kaile had never worn anything so fine before, even if it was two sizes too big and hanging off her like a muja sack of berries.

“You okay?” Stepping from the refresher, the fresh faced Lorrdian fluffed her hair out of the collar of the shirt with her hands, spreading it up and out until it feathered back down over her shoulders.

Bare feet and toes went curling over the polished floor and thick rugs on her way over to the bed. She'll just check on him some. Well, that was her intention anyways until she caught the image of Asmus laying there. His expression and what she saw there tugged at the strings of her heart and only made her want to curl up next to him and hold him close.

“Need water?” Her query was but a murmur, the woman coming to pause along the side of the bed she usually took. Just habit one supposed, but like Asmus their bodies were far more open in communication than any words could.

 

[Asmus Janes]

“I'm fine,” he replied softly to both questions. “Though about as lost in this bed on my own as you are in that shirt I reckon.” Would she allow herself a moment's rest? He wondered to himself. He saw her eyes flick between him and the obvious space he'd made by drawing back the covers.

The instant she started to crawl into the bed he reached over his head and thumbed to the switch to dim the lights. It didn't plunge them into complete darkness. On a ship when the lights were truly out there was no adjusting to the complete dark. It left the pair in a comfortable dusk light.

He turned back to find her on her side watching him, hands underneath her face as she rested her head on the pillow. He shuffled closer and before she could protest threaded his arm under her neck and drew her close. The corner of his mouth twitched upwards. This was as they normally laid together back in his cramped bunk, with her nestled against his chest. They'd never been afforded so much room and if she'd let herself sleep for a few hours he imagined they'd end up waking up in an entirely different place.

“That's better,” he sighed in contentment, before planting a gentle kiss on the crown of her head. There was no need to ask her to be careful of his shoulder; she was always so careful. For now they were safe on their luxury vessel, hidden from prying eyes in another plain of existence. Hyperspace had never felt such a retreat from reality.

A low throb of pain stopped him from drifting. Instead he gave a quiet noise of frustration through closed lips. He spoke quietly to take his mind away. His left arm was frustrated to be bound, his right indulged itself by finding the hem of that long shirt and lifting it enough that he could stroke the small of her back.

“You think… we could get some time off and go somewhere together. Maybe somewhere with good food, conversation and dancing. Or maybe somewhere with no one else at all…”

That last one was a new idea. Planted by just a moment of realisation. When he'd found themselves all alone, caught by the beauty of those woods.