Noventa - A Star Wars Story

"Huh." Cal acknowledged with a grunt.

He gave her a glance, fondly amused. "You wanna get some shut-eye?" He asked. "That's fine by me." He settled back a little, letting her rest more comfortable against him, his arm guiding her. "I'm plenty comfortable just like this if you are."

"Mm... not really, I don't think," she said yawning. "For some people, they give visions of what will happen, but not why."

Cal didn't answer that first part, just hugged her a little tighter.

"Huh." He said. "Well, that's quite a way to get together, huh?" He chuckled softly. "And it really does sound like quite a pair. Must have been something special, for them to come together and make you."

He sighed again, as pleasantly as before. "It's funny what makes things work out. Or not." He shrugged, bare shoulders rising and falling. "Either way. I don't know. Does the Force give any insight into why things happen?"

"Maybe he thought I was old enough to take care of myself," she sighed.

"As for them... Mom was still a Padawan when the Clone Wars kicked off. She was assigned to a special forces group with my dad and a few other people. They actually told me they first got together over a fight. She thought he was insulting the Jedi who raised her, he was agitated by the Clone army and how it was like they were controlling his people since the genetic template for them was a Mandalorian. And that she was following along blindly, as well. They ended up caring about and relying on each other over time, as well as having that passion. They were sort of opposite, but similar."

"Oh." He was silent for a minute, just stroking her hair. Doing his best to give her the comfort of his touch.

Finally, he spoke again. "You wanna tell me a bit about 'em? I mean, a Jedi and a Mandalorian? There's gotta be a story there." He tilted his head, trying to find her eyes with his. "You don't have to, of course. But I'd kinda like to hear."

She sighed and shrugged, trying not to let resentment leak into her voice. "He went to look for Mom. Or for revenge. Or both. I don't know. He didn't come back."

It was a subtle thing, but Cal's arms tightened just a little around Runi. One hand came up to gently stroke through her hair, down her back, again and again.

"I know a little something about that. Sorta." He said, his voice soft. "Can you tell me what happened with your father?"

She sighed. "I just... feel alone, I guess. Despite everything. My parents leaving still hitting me hard."

"Yeah." Cal sighed. "There is." He was silent for a few moments.

"Oh?" Again he tilted his head, but this time, he also gave her a little nudge with his hip. "You've told me a bit about that, before. Sounds like there's somethin' on your mind about it, now?"

She chuckled at his response. "I liked you. You seemed trustworthy... And... well, there's something to having somewhere to go back to."

She sighed a little. "I always have my Clan, but... I don't know."

Cal's voice was deep, and had a tendency towards the gravelly. This was most evident to Runi when resting on his chest. He sighed pleasantly, the rumbling of it audible to her.

"Yeah? Really?" He tilted his head, peering down at her. His expression was neutral, but his brown eyes showed a hint of surprise. Pleased surprise, most likely. "Well." He said, grinning suddenly. "Ain't that a thing."

Tilting his head further, he kissed the top of her head, before flopping back down to the bed. "I guess I always was gonna head back here. Coulda gone anywhere after the end of the Empire. Instead I came back here, to the house I grew up in." He gave her a wry smile. "Didn't ever figure on you seeing it. Maybe I should have. It's a lot different now, anyhow."

She was more than happy to snuggle up close, enjoying his warmth. "Well, maybe your path did. I decided to come back because I figured you'd still be here."

Cal laughed softly at that. "Well." He said. "You certainly know how to put a smile on my face, there's no denying that."

His arm slid around her, gently encouraging her to lean against his chest. "Well. How about that, huh?" He sighed. "You know, I had a lot of questions about how things would work when you showed up here. Wasn't sure if we'd be friends, or we'd pick up where we left off, or what. I guess..." His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "I don't know. Just funny to think about, our paths leading back here again."

She looked over as he pushed himself up a little and smiled at his words. She reached up and run her fingers lightly along his jawline as she caught her breath more fully and teased, "There's a little extra something to you, too. You can look really focused, but I can tell when something makes you feel really good."

Cal, too, was lying on his back on the bed. It wasn't the largest bed, or the softest, but it certainly suited the purpose they put it to. Short hair was somewhat harder to put in disarray, fortunately, but his chest still heaved with the efforts of their mutual exertions.

"Damn, yourself." Cal panted. With a bit of effort, he pushed himself up onto his elbow, grinning as he looked down at her. Somewhat self-consciously, he tucked the sheet around himself with his free hand. "I forgot how beautiful you look when we're doin' that. I mean..." He chuckled. "You always look beautiful; don't get me wrong. Just... that was something special." He reached over, his fingers gently running along her bare flank.

/fbi

Runi laid back on the bed, covered in sweat, long hair in disarray as she caught her breath. "Damn..." she murmured.

Cal laughed openly at that. "True enough." He said. He smiled, crooking his arm even as Runi reached for it. "Of course." He said, grinning. "Right this way, Miss Runi." He said, his tone playful.

It was with the same flair that Cal displayed when he opened a bottle or drew a gun that he led Runi up to his room. And that he opened the door. His room was simple but neat; a good match for him.

He maintained the playful flair right up until the door slid shut. After that, all bets were off.

/ftb

"Well, not with the one sitting on your shoulders, hmm?" She teased with a grin. She listened and nodded. "One day at a time, then... So let's see where things go," she says getting up and taking his arm. "Gonna escort me, Mr. Gentleman?"

Well, if things were gonna be slowed down by a red woman, it was probably better that it was this one. Breathing deeply, Cal took a half step back; he knew he wasn't gonna be doing his best thinking, otherwise.

He cleared his throat. "Well... honestly, I wasn't thinking quite that far ahead. Probably because I wasn't thinking with my head." He gave her a playful smile.

The smile lost its playfulness as he looked at her, his own eyes wide in the dark. "But, I mean, if I had to pick..." One hand came up to brush across her cheek. "I think we should take it one day at a time. But if I'd had my way last time, it wouldn't have been a one time thing. So..." He trailed off, tilting his head. "What do you think?"

She chuckled and looked into his eyes, but something occurred to her. "Hey, uh..."

Some part of her felt bad about breaking the moment, and... this would definitely do that. "So... I hate ask this... but... is this just a one time thing like last time?"