Private Old habits die hard

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess hadn’t expected the touch.

She’d leaned in, focused on stealing the bite from Lily’s plate, only to feel fingers brush lightly along her jaw, guiding a loose strand of dark hair back behind her ear. It was such a small, practical, almost absentminded thing, but it caught her completely off guard. Her breath hitched softly, barely noticeable, and when she leaned back into her seat, her hazel eyes lifted almost instinctively to Lily’s. She caught the smile there, the ease of it, and something in her expression softened in response before she could stop it. The usual composure slipped just a little, replaced by something quieter, a little more unsure.

When Lily leaned in to steal a bite from her plate in return, Vess noticed it this time, the slower movement, the glance up, the way she bit her lip, and her attention followed without thinking. There was a flicker of amusement in her expression, but also something warmer threading through it now. She remembered quickly how Lily had brushed her hair back and reached up to do the same, a small hesitation, but she gently tucked it back as her fingers traced her cheek.

Her own face flushed a bit at the proximity and how deep those eyes of hers pulled her in. Mercifully, the food proved a distraction, and she let out a quiet laugh when Lily reacted to the taste, her shoulders easing slightly, and she quickly withdrew her hand.

“Told you,” she said, though there was no real smugness in it, just quiet satisfaction.

When Lily nudged her plate toward the center, Vess didn’t hesitate this time. She reached in again, a little more comfortably now, taking another bite before settling back. Her gaze drifted briefly around the restaurant at Lily’s question, taking in the low light, the quiet conversations, the effortless way everything here seemed designed to feel normal.

Her eyes returned to Lily, lingering there instead of the room.

“When you have it all the time, it probably stops feeling like something special,” she added, a faint smile returning. “Just another dinner.”

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

There was that little flush of colour in Vess's cheeks again, the gentle touch as she moved Lily's own hair out of the way, their eyes locking as something warm shifted in her chest. she had this aura of confidence about her, but in these little moments, her facade cracked and every time it did, it just made Lily want to see more. It would have been easy to, if she released the hold on her own guard, if she let herself reach out in the force, but Lily didn't want to invade Vess's privacy like that which, Lily realised, was a first for her. She wanted to see what Vess wanted her to see, what she allowed to come out of that shell.

"Seems like a waste for a chef to go so under appreciated." she answered, helping herself to another bite of the fish before letting her eyes settle back on Vess again, the faint smile was back in place, but there was something softer in her shoulders a layer of tension shed for something a little more comfortable as she helped herself to Lily's plate. Lily's face split into a warm smile as she leant forward slightly, reaching to steal another bite of the steak.

"So," she began before swallowing and reaching for the wine glass. "How did you claw your way off Denon?"

Vess Sadragen

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess didn't answer right away. Lily was still close, the warmth of her presence lingering even as she settled back into her seat, and for a moment, Vess's attention stayed there instead of the question. Her hazel eyes held on hers just a little longer, that softness from earlier still present, before she let out a quiet breath and shifted her focus.

She turned her glass slightly against the table, watching the candlelight catch along the rim as if it gave her something to anchor to, then looked back up at Lily. "The first time I saw her, I thought I was dead," she said, her voice low and steady, with the faintest hint of a smile at herself. "I'd just come off a job that went bad. Not loud, not messy… just wrong. The kind of wrong you feel before you can explain it. Then she shows up. Calm as can be, like she'd been there the whole time."

Her fingers stilled against the glass as her gaze stayed on Lily. "We were both Keshian, you notice that immediately. It's not subtle. Didn't make it better, just made it harder to ignore." She let out a small breath, something almost amused slipping through it. "So I ran. Of course I did."

Her eyes dipped briefly before lifting again. "She didn't chase me the way I expected. No pressure, no threat. Just… stayed close enough that I couldn't forget she was there. She talked. Offered me a way out like it was the most normal thing in the world." Vess shook her head slightly, still faintly amused by it. "I didn't trust it. Didn't trust her."

There was a slight shift in her posture as she leaned back into her chair. "And I didn't leave right away. That was the mistake. I tried to go back to what I was doing, told myself I was fine, that nothing had changed. It had." Her expression tightened just slightly before easing again. "Jobs stopped being clean. People started noticing me. Not the kind of attention you want. I stayed longer than I should have and nearly got myself killed for it."

She held Lily's gaze when she said it, not dramatic, just honest, then let that moment pass as easily as it came. "So I ran again. This time, I knew where I was going. Coruscant. I didn't even know if I'd find her, or if she'd still mean what she said back there." A faint, softer smile touched her lips. "She did, and I had no clue who she was."

Vess relaxed back into her seat, shoulders easing as the edge of the memory faded, her attention settling fully on Lily again. "So, no great rescue, no me turning over a new leaf. I just eventually stopped running in the wrong direction." Her eyes lingered on Lily's a moment longer, the candlelight catching in them, something quieter and more open still there beneath her usual calm.

Then the corner of her mouth lifted slightly. "What about you?" she asked, her tone gentler now but still curious.

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily listened attentively, her hand finding her own glass of wine sipping it as a frown creased her forehead. Something about the story felt familiar. Was it possible? Valery Noble was known to travel, and Lily had met her on Denon herself though their interaction had been different…for a lot of reasons. She’d still been kind, given Lily enough money to get herself moving again. That had been before Malum, before she’d known who her family was.

She set the glass back down, fingers gripping the stem, spinning it slowly.

The question came back to her, soft and full of curiosity.

“Oh, nowhere near as exciting.” she smiled. “I saved a cut from every job I did, stashed it away until I had enough to survive for a couple of months and stowed away on a ship to the outer rim. Would run a job or pick a few pockets at each place I stopped, not enough to get noticed, but enough to keep me going. The real fun came after I got off Coruscant.”

There was a fondness in her tone, despite having nothing, life had been far easier. There was only the next meal or the next job to worry about. “Then, I got way into rummaging through this massive cargo hold, looking for a few things I could sell. Apparently, they don’t check the cargo hold before they take off and the next thing I know I’m stuck on a ship with no idea where it's going.”

She shrugged. “I figured it would be fine, there were rations and blankets, I’d be good to the next port but then I can hear this sound like a fething monster is in the hold with me and I figured I was a dead girl. But I was never any good at avoiding trouble so I decided to go looking for it, turns out it was another stowaway. A whiphid. Like eight foot tall, sprawled out snoring.”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “I woke him up, because I didn’t want us to get caught and it turns out we were on a science voyage into the firefist galaxy. I freaked out, he offered to help, so we stole a ship he flew us out. We stuck together, explored the Firefist, got into a couple of scrapes and made a home for ourselves on Jaibrek. I think we needed each other in different ways. But he gave me the leg up I needed to carve my own path without relying completely on being a thief.”

Velok Brokentusk was the only family she cared for and it showed in the way she spoke about him. “I have to ask, because Its driving me nuts. This keshian that gave you an out…it wasn’t Val Noble, was it?”

Vess Sadragen

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess listened and kept her attention settled fully on Lily now in a way that pushed the rest of the room into the background. The low hum of conversation, the soft clink of glassware, even the movement of servers faded into something distant as she followed the story piece by piece. There was a faint shift in her expression at the mention of stowing away, something quietly familiar in it, but she didn't comment. Instead, her gaze stayed on Lily, steady, attentive, the corner of her mouth lifting slightly when the story took its turn.

"A Whiphid," she echoed, "Don't see too many of them around usually. Lucky find for a street kid like us."

Her eyes lingered a moment longer as Lily talked about him, about Jaibrek, about her adventure. There was something familiar in the story, different events, yes, but Lily learning to survive and even thrive on her own, that she could relate to very easily, even if her own path hadn't ended the same way. Her expression softened just slightly.

"Sounds like you found a good friend and mentor," she said, her voice low, thoughtful rather than teasing for once. "Not a lot of people get that after starting where we did." Her fingers idly traced the rim of her glass, then the question came. a small smile and a raised eyebrow, "You know, Val? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I had no idea at the time, but she definitely traveled a lot, and being a grandmaster of the Jedi, people tend to know who you are."

A small, almost amused smile followed, subtle but real. "Yea shes the one who found me on Denon, the same one I tried to shoot with a holdout blaster." A soft chuckle escaped her lips, and she shrugged, "Didn't even hold that against me." Her tone stayed light, but her eyes lingered, watching Lily a little more closely now, curiosity threading in beneath the calm.

"So, you heard my story about running into Val. How did yours go?" she asked before she took another sip from her wine glass, the food almost forgotten at this point as she listened to Lily.

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily helped herself to another bite of food, her gaze drifting momentarily to where rain tracked down the restaurant window, distorting the city lights beyond. Vess was right that finding him had been luck that she had long been in need of. She missed Velok, but going back beyond the Blackwall was not an option she was ready to consider just yet, sadness crossed her expression briefly, vanishing after a small breath before her attention moved back to Vess.

"Oh, you tried to shoot her?" She laughed. "That's hilarious."

Her smile became sheepish. "I was stuck on Denon, between jobs, working the streets and she sticks out like a sore thumb. And me, like the dumbass I am, have always wanted to get one up on a jedi, so," she paused, fingers drumming on the base of the wine glass once, "I had no idea who she was I just thought she was another Jedi. So I stole her wallet."

Lily chuckled. "I was never gonna get away with it but you better believe I ran as soon as she realised. I think I offered her three different wallets before giving hers back when she caught me. She was pissed." she laughed.

Vess Sadragen

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess couldn't help it; she laughed.

It wasn't loud, not enough to turn heads, but it was real, the kind that slipped out before she could smooth it over. She shook her head slightly, reaching for her glass for a quick sip before setting it back down, her expression still carrying that lingering amusement.

"You stole her wallet," she repeated, a grin pulling at the corner of her mouth as she leaned back just a touch, looking at Lily like she was reassessing her in real time. "That might actually be worse."

Her hazel eyes held on hers, bright now, the earlier weight of the conversation completely gone. "I don't know," she added, tilting her head slightly, that grin widening just a fraction, "I'm still deciding what was stupider. You're trying to pickpocket her… or me trying to shoot her." Vess reached for her fork again, cutting into the nerf with a little more ease now, like the conversation had settled something between them. The bite didn't slow her down this time. She already knew it was good, and she let out a small, satisfied breath before continuing.

"I panicked," she admitted, glancing back up at Lily. "Didn't know who she was, just knew she was following me and wasn't losing ground. Blaster felt like the obvious answer at the time." A faint smirk followed that. "Turns out it was not."

Her gaze flicked briefly to Lily's glass, then back to her, still carrying that warmth. "At least you had the sense to run first," she added lightly. "Offering her replacement wallets might've been the boldest move I've heard all night, though."

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Vess's laugh did something to her, sent a flutter of something in her stomach, another little crack in her mask that made Lily want to hear it again. "Oh, definitely me trying to pickpocket her," she replied "You weren't looking for trouble, you were just doing a job and protecting yourself. I was the idiot who thought she was good enough to get past a Jedi."

She tilted her head in thought. "Actually, you know what, I still think I can, just not her." She chuckled taking a sip of her wine, before turning her attention back to her own plate, briefly, taking another bite. It still tasted just as good as the first time. The way Vess's eyes flicked up from her plate made warmth spread through her chest.

"Definitely my dumbest move." she agreed. "When I realised who she was, I nearly chit myself. But despite being pissed, once she had her wallet back and understood my predicament, she bought me dinner and left me enough credits to fuel my ship and get out of there." She paused, her expression thoughtful for a moment. "I wonder what happened to her."

Vess Sadragen

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess's smile lingered for a moment at Lily's answer, but it softened slightly at the question that followed. She didn't answer right away, her gaze dropping briefly to her plate as she cut another bite, more out of habit than focus, letting the knife move cleanly through it while she considered how much to say.

"After I ran to Coruscant, I stayed with her for a while," she said after a moment, her tone quieter but steady. "When she left Coruscant, I followed."

She took a bite, swallowed, then continued. "I followed her out to Odessen. She was setting something up out there. Something smaller without the bureaucracy of the Alliance. She wanted something mobile that they could strike at the Sith rapidly."

Her eyes flicked up briefly to Lily's, then back down as she set her fork against the edge of the plate. "A lot of it was behind the scenes. Routing ships, slicing manifests, scrubbing identities, getting people from one place to another without anyone asking the wrong questions." A faint hint of a smile touched her lips. "Turns out that part suits me."

Her shoulders lifted in a small, easy shrug. "I stuck around. Helped where I could."

She reached for her glass then, turning it slowly between her fingers before taking a small sip. "She had to leave, she said she had to handle something. Her gaze drifted for just a second, not far, just enough to show she remembered it clearly. "Said it wouldn't take long."

She set the glass back down, her fingers lingering against it for a moment before pulling away.

"That was a while ago."

There was a brief pause, but she didn't let it stretch.

"Haven't heard from her since."

Her expression stayed mostly even, though there was a faint tightness there if you knew where to look, something held in place rather than pushed away.

"She's not the type to disappear without a reason," Vess added, more matter-of-fact than anything else, as she'd already run that thought through more than once. Then her eyes lifted back to Lily's, the edge of the moment already easing.

A faint smirk returned, subtle but enough to shift the tone.

"Sounds like you got the better deal," she said lightly. "Dinner and credits for a failed pickpocket? I just got chased halfway across a planet and ended up doing logistics."

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily ate as Vess spoke, explaining about Odessen and Val's intent before something tightened in her expression, and Lily's fork paused halfway to her mouth. Everything unspoken made her uneasy, she liked Val, for her to disappear like that after making such a statement? It didn't bode well. She popped the food into her mouth, chewing slowly before she swallowed and set her own fork down, picking up her wine again.

She let the tension fall away as the faint smirk crept back onto Vess's face signalling it wasn't something she wanted to linger on. Lily smiled in response. "Ok, first of all, it wasn't failed, I did actually steal her wallet, she was just faster than me." she argued with an amused tone. "Secondly, I'd think I'd rather do logistics, than deal with what I dealt with after we parted ways."

She took a sip of her wine, letting in rest on the table as she absently twirled the stem in her fingertips. "I'm guessing as you're here with me, you're no longer running with the same crowd, so what are you doing instead? Besides the obvious." She hoped the sharp veer away from what had happened after she met Val would be clear enough that Lily wasn't ready to share that story with Vess.

She wasn't sure if she was ready to share it with anyone.

Vess Sadragen

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess caught the shift, the way Lily's expression tightened for just a second before she smoothed it over, her gaze lingered a moment longer than usual, softer, then she let it pass as if it had never happened, her hazel eyes always more observant than she portrayed. At the argument, her mouth curved again, that easy, quiet confidence settling back in. "You got it off her," she allowed, lifting her glass slightly in acknowledgment. "Briefly."

She took another bite, slower this time, letting herself actually enjoy it before continuing. "Logistics wasn't bad," she went in a light, even tone. "Not exactly a challenge in it either, and I hate being bored." Her fingers brushed the stem of her glass again, turning it slightly. "After she left, it kept going, but it wasn't the same. Different people, different direction. But I was there to help Val, not whatever this movement was."

She gave a small shrug, like it hadn't been a big moment, just something that happened over time. "So I stepped away. Drifted for a bit, picked things back up where I left off. Returned to what I know." Her gaze flicked briefly to Lily's plate, then back to her. "Jobs like the one we just pulled," she added, a faint smirk returning. "Cleaner, usually. More predictable. Less… idealistic."

Not to say the hidden path wasn't a noble cause or anything, Vess just was never the type to die for a cause. Her loyalty was to the people she cared about, not the structures they built. Her eyes lingered on Lily again, a little more curious now, a little warmer. "Better company, too," she added quietly, almost like an afterthought, before reaching for her glass again. "Although that one guy was a great dancer..." The corner of her mouth lifted slightly, a slight tease, maybe even the hint of a challenge to Lily as she lifted her glass again, her eyes looking over the rim of her glass at Lilly.

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily grinned at the acknowledgement, fingers going still as she listened, nodding in sympathy regarding her statement about behind bored. Lily hated it, she hated being still. She'd tried it, tried a normal life on Jaibrek, feth she'd even tried to be still on Atrisia with Malum watching over her like a mother hen, but still always led to problems, either created by her or by her simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

She crossed her ankles under her chair to stop the urge to start bouncing her knee, the simple thought of being in one place for too long making her itchy.

The glass lifted to her lips as she took another sip before setting it down, hand moving to her fork as that soft smirk appeared back on Vess's face. "I consider myself lucky that you did." Her smile was warm before her attention shifted back down to her plate, carefully loading another mouthful and savouring the taste all over again before her eyes snapped back up at that teasing tone.

Hazel eyes peered at her over the wine glass and Lily felt heat spread through her chest. Stars, she was beautiful.

"I'll take you dancing any day of the week," she said, her voice low, her smile soft. "You'll forget about him soon enough."

Vess Sadragen

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess noticed the way she shifted, the way Lily held herself a little tighter than before, like she was choosing not to move instead of simply being at ease. She knew that feeling all too well; her gaze softened, and a knowing smile touched her lips, but she said nothing. The warmth in Lily's voice when she called herself lucky pulled a smile from her. Vess turned her glass between her fingers as she watched her for a moment, then took a small sip.

"I'd say you have questionable standards," she replied lightly, the corner of her mouth lifting, "but I'm not exactly complaining."

Then Lily made the offer, and she waited as if it were some grand decision she had to think about. Her fingers stilled against the glass, her gaze settling on Lily properly this time, taking her in without pretending otherwise. There was a small shift in her expression, not uncertainty exactly, but something more aware than before.

"Any day of the week, huh?" The mention of him earned a faint exhale through her nose, something just shy of a laugh. As she tended to, she decided to double down. "He was a great kisser, though," Vess brought a finger to her lips, as if to accent her point. Though in fact the boy had never kissed her, she just wanted to see how Lily reacted.

"If you're offering," Vess continued after a second, her tone lighter, but her gaze settled on Lily's, "I'm not going to turn it down."

Her fork moved again, slow, deliberate, but it was almost an afterthought, her attention still fixed where it had been. The corner of her mouth lifted just slightly, that same quiet confidence settling back in, though there was something more deliberate behind it now.

"Just don't step on my toes," she added, before lifting another bite of food to her mouth.

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Lily let out a huff of a laugh at Vess's question of her standards. From where she was sitting, her standards were pretty high. Ves was not only beautiful, she was intelligent arguably more so than Lily, and she was resilient. You didn't life the childhood they had without coming away from it scarred in some way, and she was still here and smiling at her like that.

Lily's breath caught when Vess brought a finger to her lips, talking about a boy kissing her. She blinked, colour and heat rising up her face, not because Vess talked about kissing, but because Lily had suddenly wanted to be that finger. She cleared her throat, her eyes dropping briefly as she took a steadying breath.

"Tease."

She muttered, lifting her eyes back up a smirk playing on her lips as she picked up her fork again.

"I wouldn't dream of it." she replied, popping another bite of fish into her mouth with a grin.

Vess Sadragen

 

[Seris Mataan]

(reee wrong character)

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Her smile widened when Lily laughed, as if she had won some private little victory. No greater prize, really, than drawing a breathy laugh from a beautiful woman. She let the fork slip from her fingers to rest against the plate, then brought that same hand up beneath her chin as she regarded Lily. The blink, the hitch in her breath, the quick clearing of her throat—none of it escaped Vess, and it only made her smile curve a little brighter.

"Tease?" she asked, mock offense flickering across her face. "Me?" The act lasted all of a second before the smile returned. "Yeah," she admitted, entirely unashamed. "I am."

Her eyes lingered on Lily a moment longer, amusement warm beneath the edge of it. "You alright over there?" she asked lightly. "You went a little quiet." Finally, she leaned back again, but not before taking the wineglass in her hand first. "I think tonight at least earns me three or four dances."

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Vess's confidence clearly knew no limits. She was beautiful and she knew it, and she was playing Lily like a fiddle. She let out a small chuckle, and shook her head. When was the last time she'd had this much fun? when was the last time she'd been this relaxed? Not once had she felt the need to look over her shoulder, and why would she when doing so meant taking her eyes off Vess.

"Me?" she smiled "I am doing just fine." she set her fork down, picking the wine glass up slowly as she sat back. "A little warm but..." She trailed off eyes roaming, deliberately before coming to settle back on her hazel eyes "that's to be expected."

An eye brow raised. "Just three or four?" she smirked, twirling the glass between her fingers. "I'll dance with you all night and it still wouldn't be enough."

She was already picking venues, trying to figure out if Vess was a club kinda girl, or if she was going to have to up her game and find a real fancy party for them to sneak into.

Vess Sadragen

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess watched Lily sit back with the glass in hand, watched the deliberate way her eyes moved over her before returning to meet hers. She had expected some kind of answer, maybe a little deflection, maybe another joke thrown back across the table, but the warmth in Lily's voice and the ease of her smile landed a little more cleanly than Vess was prepared for.

For all the confidence she had been wearing, there was a brief flicker where it slipped. Not much, just enough for the amusement in her expression to soften, enough for a faint flush to touch her cheeks before she hid it behind the curve of her smile. The glass she gently moved in circles, letting the wine stir a little before taking a drink. "Warm? Yeah, I guess it is," she said, her voice light, though there was a quieter edge to it now.

Her gaze dipped briefly to the table, then back to Lily, lingering there with a little less performance than before. The teasing was still there, but something more honest had slipped in with it, something she couldn't quite tuck away fast enough. When Lily said she would dance with her all night, and it still wouldn't be enough, Vess's smile changed again. It lost some of its sharpness, becoming smaller, warmer, and almost caught off guard despite her best attempt to look like she had expected exactly that.

"All night," she repeated softly, as if she were still deciding whether to believe it. The corner of her mouth lifted.

Then she glanced down at their plates, at the last few bites of food neither of them seemed especially interested in anymore, and let out a quiet breath of amusement. Dinner had done what it needed to do. The wine was good, the food was better than it had any right to be, and Lily sitting across from her in that red dress had become far more distracting than either.

Vess finished the last small sip before setting it down with care. "You know," she said, her tone light again, though her eyes stayed on Lily, "we do have an extremely expensive suite upstairs." She leaned back slightly, one hand resting against the table, her smile turning just a little more mischievous.
"And I'm starting to think dragging you across the city looking for somewhere to dance would be a waste of a perfectly good private room."

She let that sit for a moment, then lifted a hand to catch the server's attention with the same quiet confidence she used for everything else. There was no need for a check, not really. The room, the dinner, the wine, all of it was already tucked neatly beneath the false names she had slipped into the hotel's system earlier. Still, she gave the server a polite nod when they approached, murmured something about charging it to the suite, and waited until they had gone before she looked back at Lily.

"If you're going to make promises," Vess said, pushing her chair back and rising smoothly to her feet, "I should probably give you somewhere comfortable to prove them." She stepped around the table, close enough now that the warmth between them felt easier to notice, harder to ignore. Her hand extended toward Lily, palm up, the gesture casual on the surface but not careless. "Come on," she added, softer now, the teasing still there but threaded with something warmer. "Let's see what you've got."

TAG: Lily Rhodes
​

 

[Lily Rhodes]

Vess’s confidence flickered, colour dusting her cheeks and Lily’s smile widened. It wasn’t that Vess’s confidence was entirely a facade, it was simply that Lily was working her way between the cracks and every time that mask slipped Lily just wanted to see more. More of the warmth in her smile, more of the softness in her eyes.

Quiet settled briefly between them as Vess’s gaze dropped, assessing before making a decision and finishing her wine. Lily’s head tilted as she spoke again, reminding her they had a perfectly expensive suite to make the most of. “That,” she said gesturing with her wine glass, “is very true.”

Dragging themselves across town wasn’t just a waste of a good private room, it would have been noisy and messy and with how both of them were dressed, they would probably spend more time brushing off attention instead of focusing on each other. Lily watched as she slipped into any easy role, summoning the waiter, charging it to the suite that they definitely weren’t paying for. Lily grinned behind her glass before finishing it, watching her rise, her gaze wandering briefly again before settling back on her face.

Slowly she set the glass down, reaching to take the extended hand she rose with a small smile, stepping in close. “Alright,” she said softly. “Lead the way.”

Vess Sadragen

 

[Vess Sadragen]

Vess felt Lily's hand settle into hers, warm and certain, and for a moment, the easy line she had been walking between confidence and performance nearly slipped out from under her again. Lily stepped in close enough that the scent of wine and rain-warmed skin reached her, close enough that Vess had to remind herself she was supposed to be leading them somewhere and not simply standing there in the middle of the restaurant, letting the moment set until one of them did something neither of them could politely blame on the wine.

Her fingers closed around Lily's, not too tightly, but with enough intention that it was no longer just a polite gesture to help her from the chair. The smile that touched her lips was smaller now, less dazzling and more real, though the mischief had not left it entirely. She turned at last, guiding Lily from the table with a smoothness that almost made the whole thing look respectable. Almost. The server gave them a polite nod as they passed, and Vess returned it with the same composed ease she had used all evening, as though everything about them belonged there. The expensive dinner, the private suite, the two women leaving hand in hand before dessert. She could wear that kind of confidence well when she needed to, and tonight it came easier than usual.

The restaurant opened back into the hotel's polished lobby, all marble floors, soft gold lighting, and rain-streaked windows that reflected them in brief passing fragments. Vess did not rush, though she had every reason to want to. Her thumb brushed once, almost absentmindedly, over Lily's knuckles as they crossed the lobby, the contact small enough to be innocent if either of them still cared about pretending. She caught their reflection in the dark glass as they passed, Lily in red beside her, close enough that the colors seemed to belong together, and the thought made her smile before she could stop it.

By the time they reached the lift, Vess pressed the call button and leaned back lightly against the wall, still holding Lily's hand. The doors had not opened yet, and the quiet little pause felt different from the ones at dinner, less like a test and more like the space just before something shifted. Her gaze dropped briefly to Lily's mouth before she caught herself and looked back up, the faint color returning to her cheeks despite the way her smile tried to turn it into another tease.

"I should probably warn you," she said, voice low enough that it belonged only to them, "I don't actually know if the suite has enough room for all-night dancing." The lift chimed softly, the doors sliding open behind her, but Vess did not move right away. Her eyes stayed on Lily's, warm and intent beneath the playful edge.

"But I'm sure we can improvise."

TAG: Lily Rhodes
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