DATING IN THE DARK TIMES
CHAPTER ONE: THE THIEF'S TALE
Steela blamed the whole thing on the mission to the moons of Rion.
If they hadn't taken that job, then everything would be fine. But no, Lux had heard one word about an Imperial governor embezzling taxpayer dollars and they had to rob him blind. When they heard he was going to the moons of Rion, then all the better!
"Why don't we wait until he comes back from vacation and then strike when he's irritable from coming back to work and peeling from sunburn?" she asked at the meeting.
Her entire team gave her a look like she was the biggest buzzkill in the galaxy and Saw actually kicked her in the shin.
"Ow!"
"I'll set a course for the moons of Rion," Ahsoka said, and it was final.
Rubbing her shin, Steela poked her way back to her room to get ready for the con, completely ignoring the prattle coming from her roommates.
Katooni blasted past her, oblivious to Steela's bad mood.
"Moons of Rion!" she shrieked. "I read about them in my classes at the Temple. My instructors said they were beautiful."
"They are," Sierra confirmed, "Mom and Dad took us when I was little. The sun is always shining, and they have the planet developed for tourism. There are beaches everywhere you look."
"Whoop-de-do." Steela muttered.
"Steela, what's your problem?"
Steela's bad mood increased. "I hate beaches."
"Why?" Katooni asked innocently. "I love them. The sand is so warm and you can squish it between your toes, and you can look for seashells and build sandcastles and if you get too hot you can go in the water. When we went with Master Billaba, she even bought us ice cream."
Sierra's grifter instincts went off. "Katooni, how about you put on your swimsuit so I can put sunscreen on your back?" she offered, shutting the door to give them some privacy.
But oh, if only she knew. Steela didn't despise the beach because of the heat, or the sand, or the water, or the threat of cutting one's foot on a seashell.
Actually, she didn't know why she hated it. The one time her parents took her and Saw to a lake in the Onderonian jungle, Steela was miserable. She sat on the shore moping while Saw splashed in the water, happy as a clam.
"Steela, can you find me five nice shells for my sand castle?" her mother asked, trying to engage her in some form of beach-related activity.
Steela got up, grabbed the first five shells she found and handed them to her mother.
"Thank you. Do you want to build a castle too?"
"No." she said, and sat back down on the sand.
Back in the here and now, Steela rummaged around in her drawer trying to find her old swimsuit. Her fingers snagged on the polyester and she yanked it out, hurling it onto her bed.
"Is that your swimsuit?" Sierra asked, staring at the piece of faded and misshapen fabric.
Steela glared at her. Right now, she needed someone to dislike and Sierra was a perfect target, what with her love of beaches and big smile and pretty candy-red bikini.
"Okay…" Sierra backed off and opted to tie her swimsuit strings behind her neck.
Steela skinned out of her clothes and stepped into the one-piece. She was about to stretch the straps over her shoulders when… riiip.
She froze.
"Looks like your swimsuit's reached the end of its life." Sierra commented.
But at the moment, an idea formed in her head. "Yeah, that's unfortunate. Guess I can't go on the job now." She announced, tossing the ripped swimsuit in the waste receptacle and putting her clothes back on.
"Oh, it's not a problem." Sierra said. "You can borrow my extra suit."
"What?"
Sierra rolled her eyes. "Steela, seriously. Grifters need to change swimsuits so we aren't remembered on beaches when we play multiple characters." She reached into her drawer and tossed a swimsuit to her.
Steela caught the two pieces and gave them a look.
"No."
Sierra shrugged. "Okay, find another one. If you can't, then that's your only option."
Darn Sierra and her two bikinis. Darn her all the way to the Outer Rim and back.
…
"You want a swimsuit?" Hero asked.
"Look, mine tore right down the…" Her gaze caught Hutch's. "In a place I can't fix and if you don't have one I can borrow then I've got to wear Sierra's spare."
"Why don't you get a replacement when we're on the surface?" Hero asked.
Steela considered that for a half second, but her practicality stopped her cold. There was no way she was going to spend her credits on a swimsuit, for goodness' sake.
"Do you have one?" she begged.
Hero shook her head, her dark hair falling on her shoulders. "Sorry."
Steela closed her eyes.
…
The rebels' speeder pulled into the beach parking lot.
"All right, does everyone know what they're doing?" a swimtrunk-clad Lux asked. "Steela?"
Steela pulled her towel tighter around herself.
"It's not that bad," Ahsoka coaxed. "You look pretty."
"What isn't that bad?" Hutch asked, cocking his eyebrow.
"Don't ask." Steela grumbled.
Lux parked the speeder and opened the doors. "All right. Sierra, distract the lifeguard. Hutch, get into the mark's financials. Everyone else, surveillance."
Steela shuffled out of the speeder and toward the beach, keeping her distance from Sierra and Ahsoka (damn them).
"Whatever it is, it can't be that bad."
She glanced over her shoulder. Captain Rex locked step with her, his sandals flip-flopping on his feet.
"Don't tell me you're jumping with joy over this." She retorted.
Rex shrugged. "I like to swim. And we could all use a vacation, especially you."
"Me?"
"Sliding through those vents and doing all those lifts has to be exhausting."
"So does fighting the mark's goons." She adjusted her towel. "I know we need a break, I just didn't think Lux and Ahsoka would pick the beach. I hate it here."
Rex opened his mouth, undoubtedly to ask why she hated the beach so much when Steela felt the towel scrape across her skin, then disappear entirely.
She whirled around, her feet twisting in her sandals to prove what she already knew: Katooni was sprinting toward the beach, giggling devilishly with Steela's towel in her hands.
Leaving her standing in nothing but flip-flops and an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, island-water-blue bikini.
Dread pitting in her stomach, she turned back around toward Rex. The clone's face had turned tomato red.
"Here," he sputtered, thrusting his towel into her arms.
Steela wrapped it around herself. "Thanks." She said gratefully and wrapped up. "Let's get this job over with."
...
From her vantage point on Captain Rex's towel, Steela surveyed her teammates.
Ahsoka and Lux were at the edge of the surf, dipping one-year-old Tav's toes into the water.
Sierra lay sprawled on the sand, soaking up the sun.
Hutch sat on a towel, his comlink out to take the mark's money.
The mark was under a beach umbrella, completely unsuspecting.
Hero and Katooni (the little towel thief) were building a sand castle.
Mina and Tandin relaxed in deck chairs under a grove of palm trees.
In fact, aside from Hutch it looked like Steela was the only one working.
She rolled her eyes. Of course they weren't working. They were all too distracted by the beach. Heck, they were distracted from the second they walked out of the speeder, apart from Rex.
Speaking of him, where was Rex?
Steela shaded her eyes against the sun and scanned the beach. No Rex. She glanced toward the food stands. No Rex.
"Hey!"
Steela's ears perked. She followed the direction of the voice into the surf, where Saw and Rex stood up to their waists in deep blue water, a Frisbee in Saw's hand.
"Go long!" he yelled, tossing the Frisbee to Rex.
Rex dove for the Frisbee and caught it in one hand before his body hit the surface and slipped beneath the waves.
Steela watched, amused by the men's game. She was thankful Rex had given her his towel to cover up, but it was now covered in sand from her laying on it and it wouldn't be a pleasant experience for him to dry off with. Kind of a sad repayment for a gentlemanly gesture.
All thoughts about getting sand on the towel disappeared when Rex emerged from the water, dripping and shining in the sun like some sort of ocean god.
Steela had to check to make sure her jaw hadn't dropped.
It's not like she was looking; there was no way she was looking. Rex hadn't gawked at her in the bikini; it wasn't polite to focus on the way his blond hair shone in the sun, the way the rivulets of water ran down his muscles…
Oh force, she was looking.
Steela quickly averted her eyes and decided to watch Hero and Katooni build a sand castle.
But for one nonsensical, fleeting moment, she thanked the universe that she had been born with eyeballs.
…
In the surf, Rex shook water from the Frisbee and tossed it to Saw, invigorated from his brief dunk in the water.
He heard the splash of his friend diving after the disc and wiped the water from his face. Splashing after the Frisbee was half the fun, but getting saltwater in your eyes hurt. He looked at the shoreline to check on the con's progress, if they were making any at all.
In all honesty, this was a job Hutch easily could have done on his computer on the ship. Rex suspected that the job was only a ruse to get everyone to come on a badly-needed day trip to the beach. They never would have gotten Steela off the boarding ramp otherwise.
Speak of the devil. Rex looked around for her. Steela had been unhappy ever since Lux announced the job and it had only gotten worse when she had to wear Sierra's bikini, a far cry from her old conservative one-piece.
Now, for the record, he hadn't been staring. He knew a thing or two about respecting women, and Steela had been mortified when Katooni snatched her towel. Her body was covered in surgical scars from treatment after her fall, and she'd gotten a few others from fights or a particularly nasty tumble in the vents. In the instants between seeing her in the swimsuit for the first time and handing her the towel, he couldn't help but notice that she looked nice despite them.
Rex scanned the beach one more time until he spotted her, sitting on his towel and watching Hero and Katooni build a sand castle. He hadn't noticed before, but the swimsuit looked pretty on her. It was just the right color for her eyes.
He mentally slapped himself, hard.
What was he thinking? He and Steela had been the butt of too many marriage jokes, up to and including a gift of fake wedding rings for Life Day and a con where they pretended to be husband and wife, slapped a fake baby bump on Steela, and even named their phantom child when a lady started to ask too many questions. And through it all, they had remained strict "just friends."
Was Sierra working some kind of grifter trick on him? Impossible – she was asleep on her beach towel. Could Ahsoka be messing with his head using the Force? Also impossible, unless she had found a way to simultaneously do it and coo over Tav while Lux dipped the child's toes in the water.
It must be too much sun, Rex decided as Saw came up from the water and tossed the Frisbee.
It must be too much sun.
…
"Steela? Steela, come in."
The sound of the comm startled Steela out of her stupor. "Huh? What it is?"
Lux's voice filtered through her earbud. "Hutch has the mark's money. It's time to go."
The sun was also going down, but Steela elected not to mention that. She shook the sand out of Rex's towel, rolled it up, and walked back toward the speeder.
Rex took the seat next to her, and she handed him the towel. "Thanks for letting me borrow it."
"Not a problem." Rex said and wrapped the towel around his shoulders. "I'm sure Katooni will be happy to wash it out for me when we get home."
Between Hutch and Hero, Katooni sank lower in her seat.
…
That night, a second body flopped onto Steela's bunk.
"So," Sierra whispered into her ear. "Did you enjoy your view of Mr. Clone Captain?"
Steela sighed. "Unlike you, I was actually doing surveillance."
"Yeah, surveillance of Captain Rex." Sierra teased. "Come on, Steela. You looked really pretty today; Rex would have to be blind not to notice – oof!"
The last sound came from Steela's blindly whacking the other girl.
"Just go to sleep," she grumbled and pulled her blanket over her head.
…
As luck would have it, the next morning Steela woke up before the others. Thank Force. At least the kitchen would be quiet while she ate her breakfast.
She walked into the galley to find Rex sitting at the table, drinking a glass of blue milk.
He swallowed. "Hello."
"Morning" Steela replied, opening the fridge and willing herself not to think of what happened yesterday, not to think of what happened yesterday…
On the other end of the room, Rex cleared his throat, all his courage balling in his stomach and forcing his lips to move.
You can do this. And the way you say it, it won't be awkward.
"Steela?"
Steela shut the fridge and gave her attention to Rex. "Yes?"
"I just checked the pantry. We're out of bread." He choked.
"Okay. Darn, I like toast."
"Do you want to go to Pancake World?"
Rex crossed his fingers under the table.
"Sure," Steela shrugged. "Do you want me to go wake up the others?"
"They won't be up for a while and we won't be gone long. Do you just want to pick up a loaf of bread for them on the way back?"
He watched with victory in his eyes as she nodded and tugged on the hem of the baggy T-shirt she'd worn to bed. "Sure. Just hang on while I get dressed and brush my teeth."
"No worries," Rex hurried. "I have to get ready too."
…
Steela yanked on a pair of shorts, snagged a pair of Sierra's shoes and grabbed Hero's favorite top off the top of the washing machine.
You're being ridiculous, she told her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth. You're only going to Pancake World with Rex because we're out of food and I guess he doesn't want to go to the store and then cook.
She rinsed her mouth and spit. I mean, seriously. We're on the moons of Rion! If Rex wanted to take you out on a date there are no shortage of bars and beaches and other "romantic" places. Pancake World isn't one of them.
That didn't stop her from opening Hero's makeup bag and sharpening the eye pencil. It's not like Hero would mind.
Across the ship, Rex compulsively checked the amount in his wallet.
How did these things work? Was he supposed to pay for the whole thing? Was he supposed to split the check? What if Steela got something really expensive? No – he dismissed the idea – Steela wouldn't order anything too pricey. Should he wear a tie? No, people don't wear ties to Pancake World.
You're overthinking this. He told himself, yanking his favorite shirt over his head. You're going to Pancake World, not proposing marriage.
Marriage? Oh man, someone must have put love potion in his multivitamins or something.
"Hey Rex? Are you ready to go?"
Steela stood in the doorway, a soft gray shirt with blue trim falling around her shoulders.
Rex forced himself to nod. "Yes. Let's get there before we meet the breakfast rush."
…
Rex cursed the Kaminoans for neglecting to provide him and his brothers with any kind of practical civilian life training.
How were these "date" things supposed to work? If that's even what he and Steela were doing, walking to Pancake World at seven AM. His only point of reference was a plethora of sappy romance holos that Cupid made the whole barracks watch.
Well, he remembered one thing from all the dates on the holos that actually went well: the man was always supposed to drive. He and Steela were walking, so that was out the window. What else?
It hit him. As they neared the restaurant, Rex jogged ahead to open the door. "After you."
Steela nodded and walked through, maybe not seeing the small victory smile on Rex's face, and how it faded a little when she grabbed the second door and held it open.
"Thank you. Allow me to return the favor."
Rex graciously thanked her and walked up to the stand to ask the host for a table, ignoring the whispers from a nearby elderly couple that chivalry was dead. Hey, he already opened the first door for her. What was he supposed to do, elastic-stretch to the second before she got there? And anyway, Steela could open a door by herself. Heck, Rex had seen her open vaults without so much breaking a sweat.
"Two, please." He said, burning with unexplained embarrassment.
"Of course. Right this way," the host replied and led them into the restaurant toward a table right by a window. Rex was about to sit down when he remembered another part of those holovids.
He quickly stepped behind Steela and pulled out her chair for her to sit.
Steela turned three different colors. "Thanks, Rex." She said awkwardly, and sat down for Rex to push her up to the table.
Across the restaurant, the elderly couple nodded approval.
…
"What do you think you're going to order?" Steela asked after they had been studying the menu for a while.
Rex scanned the page he was currently on. "I think I'm going to get pancakes."
"I was thinking of those too. Blueberry." She said and folded her menu. "They make the best pancakes here."
Rex wasn't surprised, considering the place was called Pancake World.
Steela leaned back in her seat and took a sip of her caf.
The elderly man on the other side of the restaurant cleared his throat.
Right, conversation! "I've never been here before. So, do you think Lux will take us back to the beach?"
"I hope not," Steela made a face, as if her caf tasted bad. "I like to be active."
"I do too," Rex agreed. "Maybe we can go fishing."
Steela perked up. "We could bring Saw too; he loves to fish. But speaking of Lux, did you leave a note or something to tell him where we are?
…
Meanwhile, on the rebels' spice freighter…
Sierra begrudgingly counted out a small stack of credits and placed them in Saw's palm. "I can't believe you won."
"What can I say?" Saw muses, putting the credits into his wallet. "I know my sister, and she's no night owl. Of course they would wait until the morning for their date."
Tandin, on the other hand, was completely wired. "Hutch, where are Steela and Captain Rex right now?"
"I'm sure they're all right, Tandin." Hutch said. "They're probably walking on the boardwalk or something."
But Tandin wasn't convinced. He knew what the moons of Rion were famous for, and if that thought so much as crossed Captain Rex's mind, he was going to learn just how Tandin became a General of the Onderon Royal Militia.
"Find them." He growled, and Hutch's fingers flew even faster over the keyboard.
…
Captain Rex felt like the king of the universe.
He had spent the whole day yesterday playing Frisbee in the ocean. His job at the moment consisted of lying on a beach, and now he was taking the best thief in the Inner Rim on a date.
He forced himself to swallow a bite of pancake, sneaking a glance up to Steela as she poured maple syrup over her plate.
Unbeknownst to Rex, Steela was only using the syrup as a smoke screen so she could watch as Rex stuffed a short stack down his throat.
It was actually kind of cute, she thought. Aside from Saw, she'd never seen someone gulp down pancakes like Captain Rex was at the moment.
While she was pouring the syrup, Rex wasn't talking to her and she could just observe this quirk that she hadn't noticed before. Weird.
But for now, she poured the syrup as slowly as she could while trying to recall the location of every single Pancake World in the galaxy.
The server returned with the bill. Steela put the syrup bottle down and grabbed her purse, but before she could pull out her wallet Rex handed his credit card to the server.
"You didn't have to do that." She said, replacing her wallet.
"I wanted to."
Steela went back to her pancakes, internally smiling as she remembered what her mother had told her when she broached the subject of dating.
"The dates that hold doors, pull out chairs, pick up the check, and still treat you like the strong woman you are – those are the men who are worth your time."
…
"Well look who decided to come home!" Hero razzed as Rex and Steela walked back up the boarding ramp onto the ship.
"What's the big deal, Hero? We were just out grocery shopping." Steela protested, holding the loaf of bread up as evidence.
"Sure, sure." Hero winked at Rex. "Saw and Sierra had a betting pool going. He just got ten credits richer."
"So, where did you really go? The beach?" Ahsoka teased.
"The grocery store," Steela insisted.
Tandin huffed and sank deeper into the couch cushions. Steela decided that now wasn't a very good time to talk to him.
"Right, grocery store." Hutch said, rolling his eyes. "How were your pancakes?"
Rex froze. "H-how?"
Hero pointed at Steela. "Because that top is both gorgeous and mine."
But for the real reason, Hutch pointed to his computer screen, which contained two blinking red beacons labeled REX and STEELA, as well as some kind of official form.
"You should know by now that you can't hide from Cashier from Hell." Hutch smirked. "Seriously, a credit card? I could have found you in Wild Space."
"We were hungry." Steela defended herself. "We were hungry, and we're adults."
"True. You know what else adults can do? Get married." Ahsoka teased.
Rex turned red and placed the grocery bag on the counter. Why did this joke have to pervade his life everywhere he went? He and Steela didn't do anything serious; they just went out for breakfast.
He walked off toward his room, grumbling under his breath. It had started out as such a good day, and then Ahsoka had to tease him. At least he had the beach to look forward to for the rest of it.
"Rex?"
Rex pulled himself out of his pity party, and there she was. Standing inches away, so close their toes almost touched.
Steela leaned in and pressed her lips against Rex's.
For once in his life, Rex had no clue what to do.
He had never been kissed.
The only thought he could register was Is that maple syrup?
Two dizzying, maple-syrup-flavored seconds later, Steela pulled back with a huge smile on her face.
"Let's do it again sometime," she said, and sauntered off to her room.
Shocked, Rex touched his lips.
Did Steela just...?
Yes.
And from that day forward, the very sight of maple syrup was all it took to make Captain Rex very weak in the knees.
What is this? The ship that's a joke in the While Others universe is happening?
Surprise, everyone.
And another surprise, today marks one year since I started writing for this site. It's been extremely productive, what with two oneshots, Black Sheep, and eight While Others stories! I'd like to thank everyone who has read, reviewed, and supported me throughout the year. And speaking of which...
May the Fourth be with you all,
Lux's Sister