You and I

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

A few hours had passed, a day really. It was dawn now, the first of Tatooine's two suns was slowly raising upon the Horizons. The haze of the desert was appearing and the cold touch of wind was beginning to turn warm. Alric was still there. He had left Danger last night, but he hadn't left the fortress.

Was he mad? No. Was he disappointed? No.

His emotions were difficult to describe, impossible to quantify, and hardly definable. The truth was, he didn't know. He had spent every hour since leaving Danger simply thinking. His hands had been made busy, his desk and most of his things had been moved into one of the apartments within the fortress. He had done that out of an odd sense of obligations, that perhaps it was time to stop teasing, if only for a while.

If only until she got better.

His hands were wrapped around a cup of tea, steam rose from it and the strong scent of flavor pulled from the cup.

Alric held it with a calm sort of serene as he wandered forward. The liquid within seemed completely still despite his steps, as if this was a practiced motion. Perhaps it was, Rose's favorite drink had always been hot Chocolate, there had been many nights where Alric had carried the drink up to his daughter. He smiled slightly at the memory, then slowly pulled open the door to Dangers room.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger found no solace in sleep. There was no oblivion for her as the long hours of the night passed, and before she knew the glint of the first rays of Tatoo I barely cresting the distant dunes and canyons. Restless, she’d taken from the bed, grimacing and sucking in sharp breaths of air as her body protested the movements. But she had to get up, she couldn’t just lay there.

A few notebooks had spilled upon the floor at her movements, and she’d found herself studying the fluttering pages for a full solid minute before she painfully bent down to pick them up. Catching sight again of the bold, purposeful script filled with dates and past conversations had brought an ache in her heart.

The expression on his face. The wounded, confused glimmer in his eyes. The frustration. And yes, even the guilt. Guilt that he had been oblivious, that he had not known.

She didn’t know how it began, and honestly, it was likely feeding fuel to the fire, but she found herself reading the first page. An inconsequential meeting, most would forget, but it was one of the few times they had begun to discuss beyond the baser nature matters that normally drew them together. Before she knew it, the rest of the night had been spent re-living those moments, one notebook after the next, until by daybreak, each notebook was carefully set on top of her desk, every scratch, smudge scrawl, and date stamp read.

So when Alric swung open the reinforced turadium doors to her quarters, he’d would not find her on her bed. Searching the the area, he’d instead find her sitting behind her desk, bandages stark against the light tan of her skin over her chest, and wearing only the undergarments put on her for decency. It wasn’t a glistaweb robe, but it was Tatooine and she didn’t have the inclination to try and grunt through putting on clothes.

She’d be leaning back on her chair, eyes shut, with only the slight tap of her forefinger on her armrest as an indication she was even awake. Truth be told, she had fully expected Alric to leave. When things got complicated, that was Alric’s usual go to move; he left. At least, when it came to things he rather not have to dwell on, in her experience in the past.

Then again, there were sixteen notebooks that said there were a few things about Alric Kuhn that had changed. The him in the past wouldn’t have written them.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric watched Danger for a moment. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

She shouldn't have bee. Aspha was great, it healed within hours and regenerated lost tissue, but Danger hadn't taken a bath in Aspha, and most of her wounds weren't quite healed yet. She would need at least a few more days of rest to actually be able to walk again, Alric knew that the trip to the desk had likely been a painful one. Funny, usually he was the one doing stupid things.

Maybe he had been rubbing off on her.

Slowly he walked over towards Danger's desk, the liquid within the cup of tea still remained remarkably still, though steam still steadily rose from the beverage.

The former Titan placed the cup at the edge of Danger's desk, looking down at her to study her injuries. It was very clear that she was still hurt, very clear that she was still in pain. Just by the way she sat, the posture that she clung to, he assumed that if she shifted or moved in any way she would be in immediate agony. Again, this is something he would have done. Danger should have been smarter.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Yeah well, we all have our off days.

Stupid is as stupid does, and frankly, Danger had been riding a rollercoaster of emotions the past few days, so seeing her leave her bed and head to her desk felt like a good idea at the time. Pain was good, she could focus on it. Clear her mind -- kind of. She learned a long time ago that Alric Kuhn was a topic that rarely ever left any real clarity.

Her eyes went snapping open at the sound of his voice. Normally, she’d just know he was there; that slight rush at the nape of the neck akin to feeling a faint draft. But seeing how she was also rocking medication and her body was constantly reminding her of just how delicate a contraption a human body was, she didn’t catch his entry.

To say that she was surprised to see him would be a slight understatement. Then again, in her mind, he had already left. Verdant orbs went flicking from his face, down to the steaming cup he lightly set on the desk, and then rose again.

Why was he still here?

Her fingers would halt their slight tapping on the armrest, slightly curling inward to lightly start rubbing the pads of her fingers together. It was a nervous tick; she had very few clues to her emotional state and that was just one of them.

Where the night had cast its shadows as a sweet blessing to keep the bulk of his features in the dark, in the rising sun the light would chase the shadows and bring them out into the open. Normally, the silence between them spoke more than actual words, and often times each were just rightly at peace with it. However, there was no denying from what had been discovered the night prior, things were a little tense to say the least. Much like a standoff play at Dejarik, wondering exactly where the next piece should go.

“Reckon I’ve never been one to sit still.” she finally said, her voice low and edged with a hoarseness.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric looked down at her, there was concern in him. He hadn't forgotten last night of course, he hadn't forgotten what he had found out or what the two of them had screamed at each other. It had been an interesting night to say the least, an exploration in revelation and in what their friendship had actually meant. Of course Alric knew now, he had wrote those notebooks, noticed everything that had been between the lines and then realized.

She had never said it last night, but this time around she hadn't needed to.

"Go back to bed." Alric said in a stern tone. "Your body still needs rest and being up and about won't do you any good, even if you are sitting in a chair."

At least it looked like a comfortable chair.

Still, no matter how he felt, no matter what revelation had been made or what amount of tension was in the air, Alric still wanted what was best for his friend. She was wounded, she needed to rest and relax.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

A half pained snort came out of her. Probably not the reaction Alric was expecting, but seeing him stand there so sternly like a father chiding his daughter was apt to make the situation humorous. Or maybe that was just the uneasiness latching into something familiar; like irony.

.
“You got fatherin’ pegged down well, don’t you?” she’d joke with a shake of her head. Considering the woman was older than Alric by a bit- something she’d never admit aloud - it was none the less amusing and the mild ice-breaker that she’d need to draw away from the underlying issue.

“I’ll be fine. Ain’t the first time I’ve had to suffer through a slug wound.” of course, she was talking about Corellia, but he wouldn’t know about that. That also wasn’t her only battle scar per se, but that one had been one that almost had taken her life. A slug to the shoulder, respectfully, was a cakewalk. Granted, the rest of her was protesting and heavily agreeing in Alric’s favor.

Not to mention, would be heavily inclined to a stab at a refresher.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He let out a sigh.

Of course she wouldn't agree right away, that would have been too easy, too simple. Danger, like him, was headstrong and entirely too confident in her own decisions. Of course occasionally this would lead into certain missteps, but generally it had guided them both in a good direction in life. Though with last nights revelations that might have been said to be entirely incorrect.

"Okay." Alric said with a sigh.

His hand pushed the teacup further towards Danger, as if he intended on forcing her to drink it.

"I'll make a deal with you." His fingers curled beneath his palm and into a fist, scrapping across the table for a second. "You get in that bed, stay there and rest until you're one hundred percent better, and I'll get my own apartment after."

It was what she had been after for a while now, would it be enough?"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger’s gaze went flicking from Alric down to the tea. then back up again. Well that was an interesting proposition. Figures that the former Titan would go into ‘negotiations’ in order to get what he wanted. They were, after all, at their core businessmen.

Half hooded eyes would attempt to stoically peer up at the resolve etched over his face. To an extent, both went into familiar territory now. Indeed, one may even say it was a bit ‘safer’. Danger had spent a lifetime conducting business, weighing out the pros and the cons.

She’d get more bang for her buck with this offer, if all it required her was to remain in bedrest. It would mean that Alric would find his own apartment - and in the wake of last night’s dusting off the cobwebs of the past might mean that she would get the physical distance from the man whose presence was… well.. disconcerting.

Funny, how things could change in the span of a week. Then again, over twenty years ago he had done the same thing. The only difference now, is that Alric read her like a book. He knew her ticks, her mannerisms, her method of deflecting and redirecting. All the more when it came to discussing things that made her uncomfortable -- more so when the rose colored glasses of oblivion had been cast aside.

Her wanting to put distance between them would be well and clear why; she was protecting herself. He knew what had happened to her in the past. With Nox. With Narevni. With everything. The why’s and the how’s and the self confidence issues were plain to see; and in light of what had occurred there after… well… seen through eyes of an Alric twenty years older made it easier to connect the nav points.

“And make it a home?” she would ask, aware that he may get an apartment but then just not live in it.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Yes." Alric said. "I'll even let you pick out the curtains."

An apartment wouldn't be so bad? Would it? He frowned slightly, thinking of the implications of that, what it would mean, to be alone. His head shook, it wasn't important right now. He could deal with it when it came to be that time. It would take Danger at least a week to fully recover, probably a few days more.

Alric would stay until then.

"It'll be fun." His voice changed slightly, though there was something he didn't add.

When she was better, when they were ready to go look for apartments for him, they would talk. It wouldn't be a short talk, but a long one. Alric knew this already. He knew that it would have to happen, he knew that it was going to happen, and he knew that Danger would hate it.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

How domestic of him.

She didn't miss that he was keeping the conversation relatively neutral, if not light with a dash of humor. Maybe he was going to drop it. Maybe after taking the time to think about it, he realized that he didn't want to bother with it. That was the best case scenario; deep inside, a voice told her it wasn't going to be easy.

"You'd end up with none." Came her quip. That was a reference to how there actually were no curtains in the stronghold. Looking back down at the cup of tea, she mulled over its contents. Slowly, she began to straighten, leaning forward a bit. It resulted in defined grimaces of pain, but she managed to extend her good hand up toward the cup.

"...but you got yourself a deal. "

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Alric smiled.

Of course he had left out part of the deal, the most important part. They would talk. It was an inevitability at this point, a simple point of fact, but not now. For now she had to get better, she had to rest and recover. After, after they could speak. Slowly Alric moved around the desk, stepping behind the heavy wood and wandering to Danger's side.

He offered her his hand.

Pain would happen either way, but at the very least he could move with her to the bed, help her get there. It would be an awkward thing, he imagined the pain would steadily carry through her for some time, and getting up from a chair would likely be pure agony. At least with him offering her a hand she didn't have to do it alone.

She would never have to do anything alone, that much he was sure of. "Well come on then."

Alric prompted her with a slight smirk. "I know you old folk don't move around so spryly anymore."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

Annoyance went drifting over her face.

"Pot to the kettle." She'd quip back, holding the cup of tea just over her lips. She had yet to take a sip. Staring up at him over the faint rise of steam, with his presence drawn closer, that unnerving sensation began to return. She hid it by drinking the tea. It wasn't scorching hot, so small favors. The irony didn't leave her.

"I guess you can make your own damn tea." She'd say ruefully, grimacing through the pain the small movement of setting down the cup made. The brighter the room became with the rising Suns, the more one could see how pale she was. There was a fine sheen of sweat over her face and just above the bandages of her chest. The red streaks left behind by the Aspha spidering out over her right shoulder in ugly lines. Aspha. Fantastic at healing, but left one with the tangible reminder for the rest of your life.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"If you remember." Alric began as he studied her. "I just rampaged my way through a cave full of bandits and came out on top."

Slowly the former Titan reached up and scratched his beard. "I reckon I've never felt younger."

Perhaps it was a tad crass, but it was true. Alric had never done anything like that before. He had gone with Kiran on missions, he had helped rescue his wife and nearly pushed himself over that edge, but this time, Alric hadn't just gone over that edge, he'd jumped over it. A part of him still felt the adrenaline, still felt the exhilarating feeling of moving through that cave. It had been a mix of emotions, fear, anger, hatred, but most of all pure and simple drive.

He had wanted to save his friend, and he had done so.

Of course it helped that the way he had done it had been utterly clever, if he didn't say so himself.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"Then I reckon you can teach an old Kathhound new tricks," came the retort, along with a slight grimace as she straightened in her chair again. The pain of moving and walking had been something she could push to the back of her mind when all she could think about was what had happened in the wake of 'The Life and Times of Arcenesu and Kuhn.' Not so much anymore with the light of day.

This was gonna hurt like the Nine Hells.

Glancing up at him, standing there within her reach, his hand extended out towards her, she was struck by how odd that was. She wasn't used to someone being there. Even last time she'd sent Aeri away. She had no desire to feel like and invalid.

Pride rose again, but also the reminder of the 'deal'. A second later, her good hand went slipping over his larger one, feeling the curl of his fingers wrap around hers.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

His fingers gently curled around her's, being well aware of the damage they had sustained. Slowly, almost at a snails pace he pulled Danger out of her chair, making sure that she hardly had to strain or move herself. The Tetan practically lifted her out of her place, pulling her up to her feet and then ensuring that she remained steady where she stood. For a moment he half considered picking her up all the way, yet in the back of his head he knew she wouldn't want that.

She'd always been independent.

He smiled at her, then slowly turned so that they could walk over to her bed. "I already knew the trick."

That was certainly true. Years had been spent training, months at a time. Kiran had taught him everything, or everything that the Zeltron had thought him capable of. Of course in the end that had only been half the knowledge of the mercenary, maybe even a third, but it had been enough apparently.

"I'd just never done it before." He wrapped his arm around her, holding her tightly but gently.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

It was a conundrum.

Oh every step was agony, but having Alric there to help her was a blessing- as much as an annoyance. It was a comfort as much as it made her uneasy. Figures things could never be easy. She felt the brace of his strength, the gentleness in his steady hands, the attention he gave to ensure she didn't strain herself. The walk back was not going to be pretty. He helped her to her feet and began the awkward, slow guidance of her body around the back of the desk. Danger's forehead puckered in concentration as each bit of movement reminded her that she was the idiot who got here to begin with.

He did manage to distract her by talking though.

Her smaller body leaned against his, her grip knuckle white at the pain, but she gave no whimper. Instead her breathing spiked, coming in and out with a slight ragged sound to it.

"Fancy." Another grimace just as they both rounded her desk, her other hand bstely using the desk as a way to keep her balance as well "Blame K-iran, then."

They both managed to pass her desk. Now the hard part. The distance to the bed.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He supported her more, making sure that she didn't have to set too much of her weight on her own feet. Walking must have been difficult. She tried not to show any of the signs, but Alric was neither deaf, nor was he dumb. He could see when she was in agony, could see when she barely made it one step.

"You mean thank him." He said to her quietly in an amused tone, tightening his grip on her as he felt her waver slightly. "I suppose you'll have to send him a card of some sort."

Without Kiran, things likely would have gone differently. "Maybe a nice bottle of Corellian Whisky?"

He joked of course. Kiran had never expected any reward save for what he already had, and now that the two of them were officially partners he had quite a lot. The Zeltron hardly worried about anything any more, he simply did what he enjoyed the most. Alric respected that, and he appreciated it. It was something that he wanted to do himself.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"He's already--" another wince and a grimace,"a smug sonova'schutta." They would come up by her analog dejarik table, the pieces set for a long term game with another Yonta master. She'd been waiting on a move for several months. It would not dawn on her that it was as long as Alric had come back from the grave. Instead, she knew that the correspondence chess had taken a few months before, granted, never this long.

They went walking past the black and white circular carved table with slow shuffling steps.

Danger loved her suite in the stronghold. It had a wide open concept plan that made her feel as if she had enough room to breath. The problem now was the same thing she adored, the wide open space.

Her hair fell over her face, another grimace. Feth, she smelled of sweat and sickly sweet bacta. She'd need to waddle into the refresher soon.

Maybe after Alric left.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

They moved slowly, at a pace equal to that of a snail really.

Alric didn't mind it too much, he knew that Danger needed to take her time, and he knew that at least this way she would be able to kept some of her pride intact. The easier method would simply have been to scoop her up and carry her over to the bed, it would have taken a few seconds, but it also would have seen the redhead either very angry, or depressed. No one liked to realize they couldn't do something on their own, especially when they actually could.

So they walked, slowly. "Yes, he is."

Alric said referring to his long time friend.

"No denying he's good at what he does." Perhaps a little too good, Alric had heard about Copero. "Saeva grew quickly."

He tried to steer the conversation, talk about something that they both knew about and were comfortable in speaking about. It was little more than pleasantries, but for now it would do.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

"Not surprised." Safe topic was safe. Neutral. Granted, she did not know Saeva and in turn, Kiran had been responsible for Coporo. To say she would have been pissed was an understatement. If there were things she strongly disliked, it was the needless deaths of innocents and stupid people. Coporo had been a catalyst that made Danger go beyond her normal interaction with the Sith into a full blown involvement, often times at a high risk of her life.

She didn't want Coporo to ever happen again. Not on her watch.

Maybe it was because she was older now. Maybe because the decades of carefully preserving her reputation to make the networks and connections she had be of some good use. Or maybe she had a death wish and was living up to her name. It didn't matter.

She had to do something.

Their shuffle drew them closer to her bed, Alric's strength and guidance easing the transition.