Private Settle

[Inanna Harth]

It was already late when she arrived on Nar Shaddaa. By the time she reached Cato’s apartment, only the most harrowing creatures of the night were still prowling around outside their homes.

She was able to unlock the door with a spare key, entering as quietly as she could and locking it behind her. All the lights were off, leaving the apartment in darkness. Either Cato—sorry, Moonlighter—was still beating up criminals, or he would’ve gone to sleep by now. Hopefully it was the latter, because not only did the man need to sleep, she didn’t want him climbing through the window and freaking out upon seeing her there.

It had happened before, with poor results.

To be fair, she had called ahead to let him know she was coming. Whether he actually answered her calls or checked his messages while he was busy dealing out vigilante justice was up to him.

Tiptoeing over to the bedroom door, she slowly opened it, peeking inside.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Inside his room, Cato was dead asleep. He laid right at the edge of the bed on his stomach, one arm flopped over and grazed against the floor. His face, smushed against the pillow, with a bit of droll shamelessly pooling onto it as he snored away.

The knight looked like he'd been through the wringer. Nothing near-fatal, but smaller cuts and bruises decorated his bare body, most of them hastily bandaged over or wrapped up with as little effort as needed to get by. Such was the cost of his daredevil lifestyle. And with all that energy spent, he moved not an inch at Inanna's quiet arrival, save the rhythmic rise and fall of his breathing.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

She found Cato in bed, fast asleep. His position may not have been particularly dignified, but she was glad to see him again all the same. The shallow wounds that littered his body worried her, but she saw nothing that was cause for alarm. There was no blood leaking onto the sheets, and his breathing was normal.

Apart from the slight shifting of the bed as she lay down beside him, she didn’t disturb his rest. Her journey had been a long one, and she was tired too. Sleep came easily with him near.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

In the morning, Cato stirred slowly, lurching around in bed now that his soreness had somewhat faded. In his still waking state, he didn't register Inanna's presence until it clocked on his peripheral, startling the knight before he recognized just who was in bed with him.

"Damn, Inanna-" He started, regardless of whether she was awake enough to hear it, "You know you can say something when you come in." He chuckled his way out of the momentary punch of adrenaline. She had said she was coming prior, but it was easy to forget over such a restful night. Cato laid back down, on his back now, carefully wrapping an arm behind her.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Huh?” She opened her eyes a little, then waved her fingers, mumbling something that sounded like “Didn’t want to wake you.”

She wrapped both arms around him and was quiet for a little while, breathing him in. Well, him and the antiseptic smell of over-the-counter bacta and bandages. “Who beat you up this time?” she asked eventually. “Not another skull-faced goon, coked out furry, or a giant crocodile with a mini nuke launcher, I hope.”

That had been months ago. It had been months since she’d last seen Cato outside of holograms and comm calls, too wrapped up in Maranatha, the sanctuary city being built on Alderaan. She held him a little tighter, feeling a bit like an addict desperate for a fix.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato scoffed amusedly, "I wouldn't a minded." A smirk crossed his lips. How could he? Inanna was far and away the best part of his life right now.

Maybe not exactly a high bar to cross, but the point still remained.

He pulled her close to his chest, running fingers along her back. Cato rested his eyes as he spoke, "Just some Mods. Ran the gauntlet on one of their chop shop operations," A beat, before he clarified, "Street gang. Obsessed with cybernetic body mods. Hence the name," He added the last part jokingly, as if it were a profound reveal.

Cato let the silence linger for a little bit longer, just relishing in her company, before he asked, "How's things on Alderaan?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“Please, you would’ve been too tired to be of any use. But now…” She kissed him, her back arching against his hands.

“Ohhh, I see. They tried to give you some cybernetic modifications for free.” She pressed her lips to his chest, seeking out the few areas not bandaged. “I’m glad you didn’t take them up on their offer. I like you just the way you are.”

While Cato enjoyed the moment, Inanna seemed to be rapidly disappearing beneath the sheets. She popped back up to answer his question. “It’s actually going pretty well. Do you want to see pictures? I have some on my…” She looked around for her datapad, couldn’t find it, then shrugged. “Or I could take you there sometime.”

There was a hint of tension to her, like she wanted to say more, but thought better of it. She was waiting for the right time.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato thrummed low in approval as she reached up for a kiss. Her comment on the Mods made him chuckle, "That's how they get ya. Free install sure, but they neglect to mention all the future maintenance fees." He tapped a finger to his temple, and smirked as she continued, "I'm glad you said that, because there was a pretty cool robot arm that I thought was tempting." Unironically, a young Cato once found the idea of having a cybernetic limb to be exceptionally cool. In concept, sure, but with age, he was happy to maintain as much of his flesh and blood as possible.

He watched with an intrigued raise of his brow as Inanna seemed to slink below, but his intrigue shifted after she spoke. "Sure. Anything to get outta here for a while longer, right?" There was something more there she wasn't saying, even if he couldn't quite figure out what. Cato kept his hand on her as if to keep her from slipping away, even though it couldn't really, "Inanna, are you… good?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Inanna, are you… good?"

"I'd like to think so," she said innocently. Sobering up, she added, "I'm afraid I'm reaching the end of my usefulness. Once the city is built, it will be out of my hands. I'll have nowhere else I need to be, nothing I'm needed for..."

Sliding back up, she leaned over him, locks of white hair falling forward. "Would you mind if I stayed with you? Permanently, that is."

She had even contemplated asking him to marry her, but didn't want to push her luck too far. Start small and work your way up.

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato's curiosity turned to a frown. It was good that the Shi'ido were getting the home they needed, but for her it seemed like a gateway to ennui, "You're not useless, Inanna."

He smirked, staring up at her as he brushed a few white locks aside, "Here? Sure, but…" Cato reached up, nibbling a kiss against her chin. The idea seemed fine to him, as he continued to regard it with the same tired , go-with-the-flow attitude as most things this morning. His hands ran down her sides as he continued, "You sure there's no… grander plans out there for Ms. Inanna Yomin?" She could be more, if she set herself to it. He believed that much.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“I didn’t say I was useless, I said I won’t be useful anymore.” But she didn’t much feel like quarreling over semantics, at least not while Cato was kissing her chin. It tickled a little.

He was quick to accept her proposal. She wasn’t sure whether to be relieved that he had no objections, or worried that he might not be taking things seriously enough. At least, until he mentioned grander plans.

Did he picture her as a great leader, like Alicio did? She had never wanted that. She only wanted a home. She missed having a family, being a mother. If she could just have that back…

But she couldn’t literally bring her family back from the dead, and making a new one might still be a ways off.

She sighed. “This is the grandest plan I have at the moment. Just you and me.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Feels like you're saying the same thing," Cato teased, still smirking. He was an easily content man. Perhaps Inanna was not too different. But he wanted to be certain of that much before letting her be tied down to a life with him. Especially one here. If this really was going to be something more one day, Nar Shaddaa was not exactly the kind of place he wanted to have a family.

But that was something Cato had not given much thought to regardless. Inanna had lived his lifespan nearly eight times over. His perspective was a little different from her own. It's not that the idea was unappealing to him, but it felt like something too far off to even muse over.

He raised a finger as she continued, "Ah- at the moment," Using her word choice against her. Cato then held her a little firmer, and rolled around, making them switch places, with him over her, "And you're sure you wanna plant your flag… Here? Specifically here?"

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

“If I were useless, I’d have no use to anyone anywhere. If I am no longer useful to Maranatha, I can still be of use elsewhere,” she clarified. “Such as here.”

But it was too late. Cato had discovered that he could use her own words against her. Inanna opened her mouth to protest, only to suddenly find herself lying on her back with him above her. The new position was quite agreeable, but it also made it more difficult for her to think straight.

“Cato,” she growled. “I have no idea what’s going to happen, but I do know that I’m going to outlive you. Probably. Maybe not, if I can manage to get myself killed first. But it will always be ‘at the moment’ for me.” Despite her slightly flippant tone, her grip on him tightened. Hopefully the end of the moment was still decades away. “I also know that you’re young and still want to run around in your superhero costume beating up criminals every night. So, uh, no kids yet. If you want a sidekick, I’m sure there are plenty of orphans around here for you to train.”

"And you're sure you wanna plant your flag… Here? Specifically here?"

“Do you have to talk about planting flags while you're on top of me?” She groaned. “Of course I don’t want to stay on Narsh forever. Do you?”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

"Oh, so you might say you're useless in Maranatha?" He grinned an irritating grin. It did little for his argument beyond teasing her further, but at this point that's all it was really about for him.

As Inanna continued, though, he couldn't help but frown a little. The difference in their lifespans was one of those things that wasn't necessarily fun to confront for either party. In theory, he may spend the rest of his life with her, growing old until he eventually withered away. But in the end she would still have ages more to live on without him. It was a tragic hypothetical, but the idea of her dying earlier was of no better appeal. He didn't want to think about that right now. They were both young (relatively). The moment was a better time to live in. He eventually managed another smirk, "You mean you don't wanna be my sidekick?"

Any innuendos regarding flags were unintentional on Cato's part, but amusing nonetheless. He rolled with it, "Just wondering when we're gonna stop fooling around and start fooling around," Cato leaned in closer, "Of course not. This place sucks." Closer still, until he craned down enough to start kissing her neck.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

She glared at him. “Yes. That’s exactly what I’ve been saying all along.”

"You mean you don't wanna be my sidekick?"

“I tried, remember?” She hadn’t done a terrible job, but the whole situation had been a clusterfuck. “Do the people you fight normally throw nukes at you, or was that just a special occasion thing?”

She bared her throat to him, noises that were not words in any language escaping her as he kissed her neck. “I missed you too,” she whispered, rocking her hips against his as she pulled him closer still. “And I agree… But part of me doesn’t believe you’ll ever stop.”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato smirked, considering his teasing to have been a success.

The events on Denon had given him a bit of a scare actually. Seeing her unconscious made him a bit more cognizant of the dangers, and made him a little more glad she didn’t seem to take much interest in the idea to begin with. He hummed, “Nnnno, nuclear croc monsters seem to be more of a Denon problem.” Freaks certainly crawled out of the woodwork that night. Himself very much included.

There was an undeniable rush to what Cato did. He rarely spoke it aloud, but it was clear in his actions. The excitement, the fervor of battle. And the fact that he kept doing it. But he always managed to defend it with the idea of doing a bit of good. Which was undoubtedly a crucial factor in why, but it would be a lie to say that was all there was. So when she voiced her concern, Cato froze, his mounting excitement put on hold, “…Do you want me to stop?” His voice still tickling against her neck.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

She wished she hadn’t opened her mouth, but it was true. Clearly he was getting more out of vigilantism than just the satisfaction of doing good. There was a thrill to it akin to bloodlust, a rush that nothing else could compare to. It was intoxicating and addictive, and left its scars as surely as any drug.

But did she have any right to ask him to stop?

“I don’t know,” she replied, rubbing his back. “I care about you, and don’t want to see you get hurt…” She hesitated before adding, “But I also love you, and that means I want you to do the right thing. It’s very frustrating.”

Turning her head to face him, she kissed him gently. “I'd like for you to stop eventually… Preferably before it kills you…”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato listened, unmoving, save a faint smile across his lips. Even with that bit of uncertainty, it was nice to hear her voice how much she cared. He met her halfway as they kissed.

“I’ve been known to be frustrating,” He smirked. But then, more seriously, he added, “...Love you, too.” He had half a mind to prove that now, but he couldn't stop mulling over his long-term possibilities, “I’d like that, too. Vigilantism is not uh… sustainable, I think. If I could just…” The knight sighed with a bit of frustration, “Do something. Something big. Something that would prove I actually made some kind of impact here…” But on Nar Shaddaa, who was to say if that time was ever to come.

Cato shook his head, “I don’t wanna think about it right now,” It had been some time since they were together. He kissed her cheek, then moved to her lips. A hand ran down to her leg, as he pressed himself a little closer.

Inanna Harth​

 

[Inanna Harth]

"Eh, you're not so bad." Her heart beat faster when he said he loved her.

So he needed closure if he was ever going to leave Narsh behind. “Maybe we can work on that together,” she suggested. As long as the sidekick gig didn’t involve any more nukes, she wouldn’t mind it as much.

“I don’t wanna think about it right now.”

“I can tell,” she muttered with a smirk, letting her leg wrap around him. It was nearly impossible at this point to focus on anything other than how badly she wanted him, but she also enjoyed messing with him. “What are you thinking about?...”

Cato Harth​

 

[Cato Harth]

Cato's eyes seemed to shine at the suggestion, "Really?" A second pair of hands would no doubt make his work easier. It was something they could do together. Beating up criminals as a bonding opportunity…?

Whatever works.

He didn't need to cleanse Nar Shaddaa of crime. He'd since accepted that as an impossibility. But if he could put a dent in it. Something not so easily forgotten or painted over. Then maybe, just maybe, he could rest knowing that all this work wasn't in vain.

But for right now? Cato grinned slyly, a hot breath hitting Inanna's face, "Would you prefer I describe it to you, orrrr shall I give a demonstration?" It was clear which option he preferred.

Inanna Harth​