D U M B
Aerik held the empty dish loosely in one hand as his footsteps echoed through the stairwell that led back toward the suite Quinn had once offered him as a temporary home. He had not stayed long, but the arrangement had mattered more than its length suggested. His arrival on Dromund Kaas had pleased her, and her invitation to let him stay until his own quarters were ready had been offered easily enough that refusing it had never truly crossed his mind. He had accepted without much hesitation, even if his reasons were not entirely uncomplicated.
Living in such close proximity to her had revealed things he had not noticed when he was still a student at the academy. Distance had a way of smoothing over details. Familiarity sharpened them. He had seen the rhythms of her day, the way she carried herself when no one was watching closely, and the difference between how she regarded him and how he once hoped she might.
Had it changed anything for him.
No.
Aerik refused to let his aspirations drift too far where Quinn was concerned. He understood, at least on some level, that he was likely setting himself up for disappointment, but he decided he was still young enough to remain willfully ignorant of how one sided his feelings were, or at least partially ignorant. This visit, he told himself, was not about that, no matter how convenient the lie felt.
What had drawn him back to her quarters were events that had recently transpired. She had cooked for him, an act that still sat warmly in his chest, and then she had walked into something she should never have had to witness. Skadi should never have been in his quarters under those circumstances, and Irina should never have turned on Skadi the way she had. The aftermath had been exhausting. Requisitioning repair droids, restoring the space, and erasing visible signs of the altercation had taken far more effort than he cared to admit, all so the apartment would appear untouched.
Words had been exchanged in the process, words that caused Quinn to retreat behind walls Aerik had not known were still standing. He was not accustomed to distance from her. Whatever tension existed between them before had never felt like separation. Even the night she had used him to draw the attention of another woman had carried an unexpected closeness, one that allowed the barrier between them to drop. Aerik found himself resenting how quickly a single sentence had rebuilt it.
He had never been drawn to Quinn because of her position or title. His interest had always been rooted in who she was, not what she represented. Whatever Irina had damaged in that moment was something Aerik felt responsible for repairing. Confronting the fiery Sith herself would have to wait.
He stopped in front of Quinn’s door and knocked, the sound hollow in the quiet corridor.
“Quinn… it’s me.”
He did not wait long. Habit took over, and he opened the door and stepped inside the way he had countless times before. She had always said her door was open, and he had never needed an invitation before.
“Quinn… you around?”
