Sunburns & Hyperdrive Troubles

[Kurt Meyer]

Well, this was nice.

Kurt found himself sitting on a white sand beach, The Messa landed on a dune behind him and the ocean laid out in front of him. His shirt was tossed somewhere behind him, his hair a sandy mess and a pair of sunglasses on his face. Warm sun drifted down onto him, his eyes closed as he leaned back and soaked in the ocean air. A relaxing breath flowed through his lungs, a heavy breath passing from him as he sank deeper into the sands.

Very nice.

The planet that they had found for refuge wasn't anything of note, located in the middle rim far away from any hyperlanes or trade centers.

As far as they were aware no natives lived on this world, there were no spaceports, tradestations, or anything of the sort. The planet was terrestrial, with all sorts of different environments playing out all over the world. Kurt had of course decided that they would make their stay near the equator, choosing to be in the warmest place possible with the more relaxing atmosphere. A string of rather larger islands had proven to be just the thing they needed, and eventually Kurt had set the Messa down on the island where they were now.

It was relaxing, very much so.

In the distance, nearly a mile from where he sat he could see another island within the string, smaller than the one they had chosen but decorated with a variable ocean of green jungle. He smiled slightly musing that they would have to visit before leaving.

After they got everything up and running of course.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

'You're gonna get as red as a baked Rodian crab if you don't put some sunblock on," amusement would float over towards the lounging pilot, sand lightly dusting bare feet as one Kaile came over towards him.

A glass of his favorite drink along with precious icecubes was pressed against his shoulder. The cold would dart across his skin, as the mischievous Lorrdian gave a smirk. She was in an itty, bitty, yellow bikini. A pair of sunglasses were perched upon her pert nose, and her hair fell in soft waves around her shoulders and back.

The dark dye still hadn't washed off, it will be a bit before her natural strawberry blonde would show again. At the present time, it didn't look too shabby, and the conditioner had made it feel extra soft. There were moments where she just couldn't help but run her fingers through her hair. Not only did it feel nice, but it also was a small tick that had become a habit.

There were a few things that had to change. Well not really change as much as bits that she had to pay extra attention to. Things got all caught up on Tatooine and she managed to break that resolution once. After the events of the past two weeks, the young woman realized she couldn't let that happen again. It wouldn't be fair. Not to Kurt. Not for herself. As much as she wanted to, as much as she loved being back with Kurt again, Kaile had to make sure she didn't cross that line again. Even if her fingers twitched and her desire for comfort and touch wanted more. Not necessarily sex, but the intimacy that came of an embrace.

It was a conundrum, but one the Lorrdian knew she had to respect. It was better this way. At least, until he could figure things out. The last thing I want to do is confuse him even more...

Plopping down beside him, the Lorrdian gave a small sigh. While she did have to rein herself in, she didn't have to when it came to simply enjoying being out on the beach like this. It was nice. A nice little break from it all.

Cradling her own drink, she gave a small nod, flashing a seemingly wry smile over at the pilot's direction, "Reckon you picked out the best of the lot."

It was hard to argue it. It really was a damn good view.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt smiled.

"It certainly has the best view." That they knew of anyway. The island in the distance seemed to reach out and scrape against the sky, it's tall mountain seemingly stretching out and looking towards the heavens. Briefly he wondered if anyone else had ever been here before, or if they were the first. His mind raced for half a second, thoughts of exploration, of charting and cataloging, of being the first human to walk on that island. A small smile pulled at his lips, imagination running wild. "We'll have to visit before we leave."

Kurt made up his mind on that.

The Messa would take a few days to fully repair anyway.

They had most of the parts that they needed, at least in order to make the hyperdrive properly secured and operational, apart from that...well not much had been damaged. Kaile had been sad to see some of her stuff destroyed, but she had understood int he end what had happened, something he was grateful for. "I'm sorry again about your stuff..."

He said looking up at her with puppy eyes.

"I didn't mean to..." Trailing off the pilot looked back at the island. "Hyperdrives are finicky."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Kaile swept the condensation off of the surface of her glass, then immediately flicked the waterdroplets over to Kurt's face. It was the overall mood of her answer. An 'it's fine, you silly boy.' There were were trinkets and knick-knacks that Kaile did lament losing, but that by no means come close to the simple relief that Kurt had come out of that with his life and limbs.

Bruises could heal. Bones be set. Skin patched by Bacta. A dead Kurt was something Kaile didn't even want to think about. A knot came to her stomach at that, and she brought the glass to her lips to take a big sip.

Yeah. Not something I ever want to think about.

"I'm making something out of what is left." He hadn't tossed everything out yet. Something old can turn into something new. Even if it was a new modern art deco salvage frame for Bobo's new nutrient branch extension.

"Waste not. Want not." that smile would grow with genuine warmth, and while her eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses, Kurt would know that she meant it.

It was okay.

Her hand that was covered in the remaining dew of condensation went flopping towards him, fingers lightly curled upward, the shell of her palm up.

She might have made a resolution, but that didn't mean that she'd stop enjoying holding his hand.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He nodded to her, grateful. "I think it'll take me a few days to fix the Messa...us, us a few days."

Kurt grinned at her as she squeezed his hand a bit too hard when he had said 'me'.

That was their relationship, he liked that. The ship was still technically Kurt's, with it being wholly in his name, but the two of them had worked on it so much together that Kurt basically considered the vessel to be as much hers as it was his. That might have been silly, but it was his point of view on the subject, especially given that half of the ideas for the ships modifications came from Kaile, not Kurt.

"I doubt we can do any of the mods here." Kurt said quietly. "We'll have to wait for Raxus for the shield and everything else, but that should be okay. I doubt we'll need it if we get the hyperdrive running smoothly. Plus, I don't think there's any need for a Transponder cycler. Raxus is pretty open."

Last he heard anyway.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Mhmm," her nose would wrinkle and give a slight wiggle, her lips losing the small purse they had when she had to show Kurt a little emphasis on the 'we'. Knees spreading, she set down her glass in the sand, making use of the insta cup holder. They rarely were able to relax like this. Prior to this, it was either a courier mission or she had to do a quick one-two with the Alliance.

It wasn't to say they didn't do their own little vacations, they did. They just had shallow pockets and had to work around when they could afford it. Right now though?

Yeah, this was nice.

Her thumb would start an idle rub of the flesh over the top of his hand. You can take the Lorrdian out of Lorrd, but you couldn't quite take all the touchiness out of Kaile. One can't just stop cold Dantooine Turkey after all.

"No, reckon we'll be right as rain there. We'll just need to stock up in supplies first." among other things, " With what we need and how long it might take, could take us a week... or longer."

That reminded her.

"Oh!" she turned to face him, her lbody perking up in attention. Right, she still hadn't told him. "The Big Guy agreed to increase my stipend." a waggle of her brows and a small sense of smugness would follow. It was just an example of the brighter, cheerier Kaile returning. She wasn't fully there yet, and it would take time; she had some things to work out, but they were bantha calf steps.

"I convinced him that it would be cheaper in the long run to opt to pay for half of the lease of the Messa a month than risk us having to do more jobs that could... make things inconvenient."

Maybe Retii bought that. Or maybe he was just glad that Kaile accepted the position again. Either way, Kaile wasn't going to argue their good fortune. It would serve as a fair price to what Kurt now brought himself willingly into.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He smirked from ear to ear. So this was at least one good thing. He had already paid off nearly half of The Messa on his own, with this additional cash? They would almost have it entirely paid off. Oh that was an exciting prospect, a very exciting prospect. Kurt nearly jumped up and out of the sands at that news. Instead however, he did something very unlike himself. He slowly let his body fall back, his fingers slipping from Kaile's hand as he fell into the sands.

His eyes closed, his chest filled with air, and then he began to laugh.

Oh he laughed.

It was a laugh of joy, of absolute mirth and happiness. He couldn't describe how he felt the idea of it, of finally being totally free. Oh he had Alliance strings on him now, but he could break those if he really needed to, he could run away, he would owe no debt...no debt but to Kaile. He was okay with that. He was perfectly fine with it.

"Brilliant." He said as the laughter finally stopped. "Karking brilliant."

No sarcasm entered his voice, he was genuinely happy.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

There was something about watching Kurt laugh without holding back, carefree, that twisted a knot in Kaile's stomach. She let him enjoy himself in the sand, his laughter booming and echoing to crash against the break of waves. A soft smile would frost her lips, and the strawberry blonde took a deep breath of salt kissed air.

Brilliant. Aye.

It was one less worry. One less anchor for the pilot. One less thing to fret for Kurt. Just doing that was enough to bring joy in Kaile's heart. The simple things really, and seeing the genuine happiness that radiated from the pilot made it all worth it. In the wake of his laughter, Kaile upturned her face to the warmth of the Odessen Sun. There the rays kissed her skin, and she shut her eyes.

All she could hear was Kurt's laughter, the roar of the waves, and the cry of seagulls.

For Kaile, that was paradise enough.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Beautiful.

Oh this was just perfect. With The Messa payed off they would be able to buy so many more things, some nice things. He grinned wide and began to think of it all. Perhaps it was a bit self indulgent, perhaps even foolish, but it was a nice thought. "We can a new couch."

Kurt began with a grin, sitting up quickly.

"We can new parts for The Messa." Kurt sounded giddy. "We can get you that Blue frilly dress."

Kurt gave her the widest grin yet, there was no hint of a joke in his tone, no hint of mocking or anything of the sort. He meant it. For so long nearly every single credit that he had earned had gone towards paying off The Messa. With this news? It meant that they would actually have some credits to burn. That prospect in it of itself excited Kurt alone, but doing something nice for Kaile? After everything that they had been through?

Yes.

That was a beautiful thought.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

Oh Kurt Meyer knew exactly where to hook Kaile.

"... Like..." her voice caught a bit, as if the mere prospect of it dawned on her. It was a small glimmer of hope, but none the less brought such a curious expression of wonder on her face.

"You mean the one at Cloud Nine?" as if needing to get clarification. Did he really mean it? A sudden double take, and a flashback right to the price tag. Oh, no. That was far too expensive. In that instant, Kaile shook her head, hair swinging as she immediately wagged a hand in the negative.

"Nah. Best consider what we can get for the Messa." that was far more important that a frilly blue dress. Besides, speaking about the dress reminded her of the Arceneau Kuhn wedding and how she'd lost the coin. Her expression sobered for a moment, biting her lower lip in that nervous tick.

"Gotta think of what parts would do better new than salvaged for that hyperdrive." not to mention the shielding. Just cause they got a bit more pocket money don't mean that they had to go head over heels with it.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt looked at her strangely for a moment. She should have been far more excited at the prospect of that dress, especially considering how much she had liked it. "Kaile, it's fine. The Messa is will run well and it's not like we need to go out and buy parts from Kuar Drive Yards. We can afford to get you that dress. Upgrades come and go, Frilly blue dresses are forever."

He grinned at her, grabbing her hand and pulling her into a hug.

Sand sprayed everywhere, but Kurt had never been one to mind a bit of sand. He smiled at her, nuzzling her hair for half a second before shifting and looking back towards his ship. He was proud of her, proud of what he and Kaile had built, but every once in a while...they deserved to treat themselves too. If that meant getting one or two nice things, then they would get those nice things. It wasn't that hard to figure out, and Kurt would rather do that then let the money just sit.

"Let me do this for you." They would take a job near Raxus, get paid, then get that dress. "Please?"

He gave her the most winning smile that he could.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Whoaaahahaha!"

Sand, and a tangle of arms and legs came next, sunglasses becoming askew as the pilot would tug her into a hug. Strong arms wrapped her in an embrace, the briefest of grazes of his scruff against her cheek, and then the worst offender of all.

That little boy smile.

He was full of giddiness. Practically glowing with emotion and enjoyment. Like a child given the best gift ever on Life Day, Kurt was running on all after burners and shaving just another eighth of a point on that hyperdrive.

It was hard to refuse him like that. Hard to not mirror his excitement, to break into a wide grin from ear to ear, squirming in delight.

"Okay!" she said, throwing her arms around him, laughing as she shoved him back to try and get him pinned.

"And you'll pay for that!"

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He grinned at her, half rolling over in the sands and catching her as she tackled him. Kurt had forgotten how much he had missed this, just not being alone. Kaile hadn't been gone for long, only a little over a week really, but it was still time that he had had to spend on his own. The Courier had never realized how frightening it was, to be alone. He had felt so...off, so different. There had been no joy in him, no mirth, none of his usual flare. He hadn't been himself.

Kaile's absence had been hard on him.

The incident with the cube painted that perfectly. He was not known as an angry man, hardly ever raising his voice or anything of the sort. Yet as they tumbled in the sands Kurt couldn't help but think back to that, the way he had reacted. His hands eventually lashed out and grabbed Kaile, pinning her to himself so that she could not move an inch. "Uh huh."

Kurt said with a grin.

"Sure I will." He taunted. "Tiny."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"Oomph!"

And just like that, Kaile was captured. Kurts arms bound her against him, and she laughed. A light musical laugh that made her body shake against his. Her squirms and wiggles began in earnest, laughing as her askew sunglasses fell into the sand.

"That's not fair!" She exclaimed through a shiver and a series of giggles. Curves pressed, fabric shifted, and the devious Kaile would ready her counter attack. Another layer slipped, and Kaile couldn't help herself. Kurt made it hard to.

oh no you don't!

Instead of letting it be a hindrance, Kaile would use it to her advantage. The Lorrdian could be a mischievous imp when she wanted to be. And she was not above dirty fighting.

Which is why she wiggled closer, shoving her face against his cheek to give him one long bantha lick.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He felt slime collect on the side of his face and within the scruff of his hair. Kurt emitted a noise that was a mix between a scrambling groan and 'ew'. He shifted slightly and pulled Kaile towards him, his hand's finding her wrists as he rolled on top of her.

With a slight bit of force, Kurt pinned Kaile to the sands.

He grinned down at her, victorious. "What are you gonna do now?"

There was no denying that Kurt was stronger than Kaile. Sure she had combat training, but he did weight training and cardio on a daily basis, part of being a good pilot was to be able to push against g-forces that one experienced while flying, and Kurt did plenty of training for that. It also helped that Kaile really was tiny in comparison to him, smaller arms meant smaller muscles meant less resistance. Kurt waggled his eyebrows down at her, claiming victory once more.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

“Haha--GAH!”

Kaile gave a giggling shriek. Laughter shone in her eyes, bringing color to her cheeks. Laughter that had been absent to the Lorrdian as of late. It felt good. It felt nice. Kurt always did that to her.

He was infectious. A salve to her wounds. He was home. He made her laugh. He made her feel good. She’d missed it. Missed it terribly.

Pushed into the sand, her hair scattered about her in an artful display, and her body shook in her mirth. He hovered over her, a little out of breath but grinning that scoundrel grin. The rake!

“Oh just you wait!” she said with a determined growl, her legs coming up to latch around his waist. Undulating her belly, she attempted a trick to drop her weight to the right, hopefully catching him off balance so she could capture her victory on top!

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt was prepared for the move, being well wise to the ways that Kaile moved and bucked when she was beneath him.

"No you don't." The Courier yelled as she tried to weave beneath him, one hand slipping around both of her wrists to pin her in place while the other reached towards her side and jabbed a finger right above her hip. In one press he interrupted her action, causing a squirming tickle to reach through her.

He grinned all the while. They were supposed to be here to relax, to have fun, and most importantly to fix The Messa. That was why they were here, to take a break. Everything that had happened to them over the past few weeks and everything that had kept on going would weight heavily on them, life would weigh heavily on them. It was okay for them to hit the pause button, okay for them to simply take a break and hold onto each other for a little while.

It was okay.

It had to be.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"N-ooo!"

He got her at her weak spot! Ticklish sensations went running up and down her ribs, the dribble of his fingers prompting her to unlatch her legs and instead just writhe in her attempt to get away. A half buck, and loud burst of laughter, and Kaile fought desperately within the clutch of his hand.

Sand went everywhere, and her bikini was starting to suffer from the extra wiggling, as each mammaquatia would teeter fabric dangerously. Kaile didn't care. Kurt was here. They were at the beach. It was just him and her together again. It was nice. It was great.

It was all she could ever ask for really.

"Stop! Stop!!!" she would plea laughing out. "Okay! OKAY! You win!" she finally gave in, out of breath and struggling in writhe under the pilot.

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Kurt didn't let up, his fingers jabbing into her side to bubble up her laughter more and more.

He didn't want to stop this. He loved hearing her laugh, mostly because he had missed it over the last two weeks. Everything seemed a bit brighter with Kaile around, though not in a romantic sort of way, not in any way that he could really describe. Kaile was the type of person that simply made everything...better. She didn't care what was happening, what she was doing or whom she was doing it with, she just wanted everyone to have a good time.

It was an attribute that Kurt wished he had.

Something that he desperately wanted to be able to do. "Suffer!"

Kurt yelled out as he continued his tickling escapade, his fingers gently caressing her skin before suddenly poking a bit harder to catch her off guard.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

"OhmystarsstopthatKurt!"

Tickle torture. Oh he didn't mean it in that way, but Kaile was already extremely sensitive and ticklish. Not to mention, she just drank a full glass of water before she brought another out here to sit with Kurt.

"You'regonnamak--hahaha"

With a full bladder, things were not in the best position for one who was being overrun by damnable fingers intending to make her laugh until she couldn't take it anymore.

"Hahahaha!" her eyes were cinched tight, and she couldn't do anything but laugh and writhe and wiggle. Her stomach clenched, it quivered, it -- oh no.

Ohno.

Oh nonononono nono... no!

Well if there ever was anything that could embarrass Kaileann more, this was it. Completely and utter mortification bubbled under the veneer of laughter as her bladder let loose. Kurt could reap his measure of Karma.

Well, at least it was an itty bitty yellow bikini...