"Glad to hear everything's coming along okay," Eden confided over the comm, lingering longer than she had to, "I know we have unfinished business once we touch down on Dxun but I like knowing we can ditch that moon before my boots get too muddy."
Eden laughed, that casual laugh she breathed when nervous, unsure of herself but sure enough to put up a facade, not so much for others but more so for herself. Atton could feel it, he could tell. It wasn't anything he'd gleaned by prying, either, but something he'd begun to notice of his own accord, finding himself incapable of looking away from her whenever she was around.
"Trust me, I don't think any of us are a fan of this place," Atton agreed, though he felt strange as the word us crossed his lips, though less-so if he thought of it as just meaning him and Bao, who were still manning the ship during its seemingly endless repairs, occasionally joking that the moon was haunted when the sound of a hydrospanner being kicked around the garage would wake them between shifts - though Atton was sure that despite their mostly-forced small-talk and running jokes that this place was haunted, and he was glad someone like Visas wasn't around to say otherwise. "We'll all be better for it once this moon is behind us."
"Yeah," Eden joined uncertainly, "...Yeah."
Another moon had been a topic of late, and talking of moons in general had been … difficult to say the least, and for once Atton was glad that Dxun was the moon of the hour. As for Malachor, they'd get to that when they came to it. Which hopefully wasn't for another long while.
"Hopefully we'll be out of here soon," Eden sighed, looking around as if saying it out loud would jinx their chances, "The sooner we finish up on Onderon, the sooner we finish up on Dxun."
"Agreed," Atton rejoined, watching her as she tried to settle into the inevitable end of their conversation, clearly stewing over the idea of potentially being stuck on Onderon or Dxun, or a mixture of both, longer than any of them wanted. She picked at a nail off-screen, glancing up at Atton to show that she hadn't quite forgotten him, yet somehow prolonging her eventual sign off.
"It's weird," she said finally, making eye contact through the holo, her usually green eyes an almost silver-blue, "Being here. Without you - well, without both of you." She quickly corrected, her face darkening for a moment before recovering, Atton's breath catching in his throat as he noticed it, "Any luck with the navicomputer, by the way?"
She absently picked at her nail still, doing what she could to appear nonchalant. Atton knew that move well.
Eden had been on edge here since they'd landed, and Atton reckoned the fact that it was a crash landing (and their second one, no less) did nothing to help matters. Eden was famous for the campaign she held against the Mandalorians here, the Mandalorians that remained on this moon and sought to reclaim it along with their honor. Eden seemed to have found some odd-feeling peace at making nice with those she'd once faced down on the battlefield, hunted and killed in these very forests, but she was still unsettled, still plagued with memories she'd rather not remember. Atton could tell just by looking at her, so ravaged by memory that Eden could hardly keep her mask up - not that she had to, he reminded himself, but try telling her that - but he could also feel it in the air around her, stormy like the clouds rumbling across the jungles about them, only the thunder felt closer than the far-off clouds should have allowed, as if Eden were reliving storms of years past, dredging up memories even if it was the last thing she wanted. The others felt it, too, Bao most of all, but he had at least found some peace in being here, somehow. Atton had a mind to ask him about it, but figured it would be best if he didn't. If fixing the ship was Bao's way of fixing his past somehow, then so be it. In a way Atton envied it, still bitter about how his conversation with Eden had gone on Nar Shaddaa not too long ago…
"Not great, huh?" Eden cut in, a disappointed half-smile crossing her face as she assumed the worst in response to Atton's lack of response.
"Oh shit, sorry," Atton mumbled, apologizing for his lapse in thought, "Just… tired."
He glanced back down the hall, as if Bao might overhear and correct him, assuring Eden that he was doing most of the heavy-lifting, not Atton…
"Things aren't looking too bad," Atton continued, trying to sound hopeful. "May still be a long while 'til we're out of the woods. Er, literally and figuratively. Granted, at least we can leave these literal woods once you get back. Can't say the same about anywhere else in the galaxy, unless we have exact coordinates."
Eden snorted, as if mentally recounting their journey so far and tallying their luck, "Doesn't look like we can afford to head anywhere new just yet, I just-" she sighed, looking off-screen, almost wistful. "I could use a good distraction, that's all."
As their plan would have it, once Eden spoke with the Jedi called Kavar they would either make a return visit to Dantooine or to the Republic depending on whether the Council of old decided to gather quickly or if the Sith tailing them decided to attack the galaxy at large first. For now they'd play it by ear, but it didn't look like things would let up either way, and as much of a reprieve as this little jaunt was proving to be they all still seemed to use a rest.
"How 'bout a game of Pazaak?" Atton offered, mostly sarcastic but still slightly earnest, hooking his arms behind his head as he leaned back in his pilot's chair. "Last time we played you almost beat me."
"You let me win. Almost," Eden could hardly contain her smile, though she tried her damndest. "I don't count cheating as actually playing."
"Does it count as cheating if I let you win?" he countered, his voice softer than he intended, though he tried to play it off coolly, "C'mon, I promise I'll play nice."
Eden considered him, balancing her chin between her thumb and forefinger as if in genuine thought.
"Atton, why do you-?" she started, her expression still playful for a moment before suddenly growing serious. "Ah, nevermind. Just deal."
Swallowing her expression and replacing it with one of easygoing revelry, Eden gestured to Atton as she rummaged around her pack, which was apparently set on the table beside her holo.
"Why do I what?" Atton asked, his voice quiet but probing as he thumbed his own deck out of his jacket pocket hanging off the back of the co-pilot's chair, gentle as he tried not to push too hard though too curious to let it go completely.
Eden finally pulled out her own deck from her unseen bag on the table and shuffled before drawing a hand. It wa sa deck he'd helped her build in their time on Nar Shaddaa, before things had gotten too dicey, before their conversations had grown too serious, when things between them still felt friendly and less… heavy. She eyed him over the cards now fanned out in her hand, their decorative backs facing him like a mask, and part of him was proud she was being so playful despite avoiding his question. Fair enough.
Atton shrugged, letting his query go unanswered, though he held onto it like the card he always kept up his sleeve. Well… figuratively. And literally. He'd sworn off cheating after the mess that got him into his stint at Peragus, having unknowingly tried to out-cheat a known cheater, not realizing the prick had a card hidden somewhere unexpected when Atton'd already counted the cards, including the one he thought was up their sleeve. Now, Atton only mirrored their trick to mess with Eden. And to piss off T3 when he was in a mood, since T3 was the only other one on the Hawk that bothered to play with him. And droids weren't equipped to anticipate cheating, or handle it very well for that matter…
"Ready to draw?" Eden asked, raising a brow provocatively in jest.
"As you wish, Master," he joked, though Eden blanched at the word, her face paling even with the blue-white tint of the holo feed.
"Please don't call me that," she said through pursed lips, waiting for Atton to pull the first card. She settled once Atton slipped a card from his deck and showed it to her, laying it flat on the Ebon Hawk's still-dormant control panel, before showing him a card of her own.
He could keep score in his head, so seeing her card only once was enough. He watched her as she registered his play, her eyes darting between him and the number displayed before considering her hand again.
"I didn't think you'd be up for it," Atton considered aloud as Eden pulled her next card.
"Up for what?" she said almost absently, taking a few moments to keep track of the game in her head.
"Pazaak," he said after a few seconds, giving Eden time to get her rein on things. "I was half joking, y'know."
"Oh, I know," she said, her voice somewhere between a sigh and a thoughtful statement, "But I wasn't kidding when I said I needed a distraction."
Eden flashed him a quick smile - genuine though fleeting, her smile meeting her eyes, their upturned corners creasing with the effortless gesture - and glanced back at her hand again before placing another card down and surrendering.
"Not surprised that was a quick round, though," she conceded, already shuffling her deck again as she counted her loss.
Atton considered her, watching on as she mixed the cards up in her deck again, but this time with too calculated of a focus.
"I do it to keep them out of my head," he offered, still watching her, waiting for the thought to register.
"Do what?" she said, looking up, doing her best to appear caught off-guard, though part of her was.
"That was what you wanted to ask, wasn't it?" he asked quietly. "Why I play Pazaak in my head?"
"I wasn't-" Eden began, cutting herself off before she could muster up an excuse, "I just noticed-"
"It passes the time," he said, before she could make any more of a fool of herself, since it was the last thing he wanted. "Beats listing off engine sequencers, memorizing hyperspace routes or counting the ticks in power couplings."
"I'm sure any memorized hyperspace routes would be welcome now," Eden mentioned, her voice light and airy, detracting from the invasive nature of her question, no matter how genuine. And there she went again, giving him credit, making him feel important. Something she'd done since Peragus, and even though Atton wasn't used to it, he knew she meant it. "Though, all I meant was that I-"
"I get it, I get it," Atton said, waving an unbusy hand about as he continued the next round. "Things still a bit haywire?"
He still wasn't sure how the Force worked, or how it felt for Eden to be disconnected and then reconnected to it after so many years, but now that he knew for an undeniable fact that his intuition all these years had been some facet of it, he was just as curious about its nature as Eden was about his innate abilities no matter how sensitive the subject.
"A little," she confessed, her eyes darting from her cards to Atton every millisecond, "Dxun didn't help, and now Kavar-"
Eden shook her head, effectively drowning out the rest of her thought as it remained unvoiced, her mask of calm slipping again, though Atton could still sense her soothing serenity sitting somewhere beneath it all, trying to calm her thoughts.
Atton only nodded, pulling the next card, letting Eden register the draw before countering him with her next play.
"What are you thinking about right now?" he ventured, testing her, knowing that part of him wished to hear something other than what he was expecting…
"The score, my hand, my next play..." Eden answered almost instantly, as if reading off a list, looking from Atton to the card he played again, counting the score silently before her eyes returned to his, questioning now. "Why?"
"That's why I play Pazaak in my head," he said, drawing the next card, letting Eden choose between reading the play and waiting for his response. "If I'm playing Pazaak in my head, then no one gets in."
"You hold the deck," Eden answered in understanding, almost laughing with a sort of relief, "You literally hold all the cards."
"Exactly," he said, before laughing himself, though this time with genuine mirth. "You win."
Eden paused, looking from her hand to Atton again, though this time in disbelief. She smiled, letting it steep instead of hiding it away as she usually did, except for the smile she afforded him on G0-T0's ship, the brightness of it still fresh in his memory. Before she could sense it, he glanced at his losing hand, placing its numbers at the forefront of his mind, putting up a wall - but the look on her face told him it was all but too late.
"Smart," she said, still impressed, "I'm sorry I-"
"Don't apologize, and you don't need to explain anything," Atton said, reshuffling his cards again and putting them down for the time being, "Jedi… light or dark… do it, more often than you'd think. But I never heard one say they were sorry before… That's a new house rule," he huffed a dark laugh, "I didn't realize I was doing it myself until you-"
Atton had pried into minds his entire life, counting cards and calculating moves - it's what made him both an excellent card player and an expert assassin. A brilliant interrogator on both counts, though he wasn't sure just how proud he wanted to be about either of those things just yet.
Eden only frowned.
"That still doesn't make it right," she said, her voice suddenly soft, her regret plain on her face.
"I feel…" Eden started, trailing off as she sought out the right word, "Gross."
"See why I don't like Jedi?" Atton said, "I mean, not you - not that you're a -"
Eden put up a hand to shut him up, not that it had much effect across planets, or moons or whatever length of space stretched between them.
"I get it," she said, "It's not that I wasn't expecting it, you said as much. It's just that it really does feel weirder from the other end of things. Even when I was cut off from the Force, I was just… empty. But this…? I wonder how many Jedi would condone this if they knew what it felt like, if they were taught to wonder what it was like, to really put themselves in the shoes of those they… used."
Atton didn't say anything in response, only nodding as he listened but not quite in agreement, more so to indicate that he was actively listening to her every word. As Eden had met with each hidden Jedi over the past few weeks, earnestly pled with each ex-Council member for help against the Sith, she'd grown more and more confident in her original convictions, convinced she'd made the right choice in walking away even though the others had already deemed her exiled. And in a way, she still was, only they had branded her an outsider before she could claim her own path, even though it was hers to walk alone.
"But… it feels better knowing now, knowing that I can stop it."
"We can stop playing for now, if you want to," Atton offered, ready to place his cards back on the table but also suddenly reluctant, knowing the moment he did there was no reason to keep their call going, not quite ready to say goodbye just yet.
"No, no, let's play another round, I want to try again," she replied, eagerly reshuffling her cards, ready to play again.
"Are you sure?" Atton asked, trying to mask the smile stupidly overcoming him, trying to throw up another wall before Eden could see just how intent he was to keep playing, even if it only meant he'd get to talk to her for a bit longer…
Eden nodded, putting her game face back on, "I'm sure."
"I know it feels a bit strange, but now you know why I do what I do. And you can do it, too."
Atton waited for her to reshuffle her deck so they could start again, assuming they would so he could prove his point.
"So these are your walls?" Eden probed, her tone still wary, testing the waters. She fanned out her deck again like a miniature fence blocking her from Atton, almost playful, something light to hide the genuine curiosity that plagued her, "Pazaak plays, hyperspace routes, coordinates..."
"Give it a try, during our game," he offered, nodding in encouragement, amused by how timid she suddenly was but understanding why. Part of him was glad, but he felt guilty for it too, realizing it was part of a deep-seated issue he had with Force-users and the fact that Eden had likely never learned what it felt like from the other side of things. "I'll try to get through, but I won't go too deep."
He watched her for a reaction. Eden's eyes were fixed on her cards as she thought it over, finally looking at him with a nod, affirming, "Not too deep."
Atton smiled a small smile, more to reassure her than anything, though it was secretly for himself as well. He didn't say it but this was a bit of practice for him, too. As a Sith, he'd never controlled how far he broke into Jedi minds, never once stopping himself, only willing himself deeper until there was something to break, until he found something that could be used as a weapon, something that would hurt. But the thought of doing that to Eden, even unintentionally… it made him sick. He swallowed any queasiness that overcame him and prepared to flip over the first card, steadying himself just as much as he was sure Eden was doing the same.
Eden locked eyes on Atton's first play, refusing to look away as she waited and played in turn, silently trusting him, "Shit hand."
Atton laughed, even though he knew she was only trying to lighten the mood. Her first draw had, indeed, been a terrible one, and Atton silently promised to buy her a better deck once this was all over if she didn't manage to win the cards herself.
He played his next card, trying not to wince at the number, realizing they may reach the finish line faster than intended. Eden considered her hand and Atton decided that now was the time… he reached out, probing, and sensed something…
"A plus five, minus two, and a minus three," Atton muttered, sucking in a breath through his teeth set in a grimace, "That really is a shit hand."
Eden only smiled, playing the only card that made any sense for her to play. Atton probed again, this time finding a phrase on the tip of Eden's tongue - Nice try, smart ass. Now try this.
Without thinking, an image entered Atton's head - or perhaps it was more accurate to say that it sauntered in of its own accord - a vision of Eden in those Peragus undergarments what now felt like years ago, wreathed in the half-sick glow of Atton's poor vision through the force cage he'd been withering away in. His face instantly turned red, the heat threatening to stay where it was despite how much he willed the opposite.
"You're never gonna let that go, are you?" he teased, though his voice was edged, annoyed to be caught off guard with such a… sensitive image. "I was delirious, you know."
"Mhmm," Eden murmured through a half-hidden laugh that threatened to burst over her pursed lips, a faint smile present despite her efforts, "You seemed pretty coherent once I let you start talking."
"Talking is one of the only things I'm good at," Atton laughed darkly, "Other than drinking and shooting things."
"And Pazaak," Eden added as she tucked a loose strand of dark hair behind her ear, her expression growing serious, "But you and I both know that's not true."
"Okay, I guess I'm not the best shot on board, but I can drink the entire crew under the table."
"And over it," Eden chuckled, "But you also know that's not what I meant."
Atton bit his lip, not quite ready to acknowledge that Eden had given him credit again, and tried her best to let him know it. Part of him felt he didn't deserve it, wishing she'd drop the subject so they could continue, but Eden failed to elaborate, wishing for Atton to come to the conclusion himself, or at least voice that he had.
Atton only just realized that neither of them had made a play as he thought it over, still undecided whether he would say anything in response to the credit he craved but felt undeserving of, and without a proper table Atton had actually forgotten whose turn it was. He combed through his brain for the right numbers, the correct pattern, finding it again but not before Eden found his lapse of thought.
"Damn you're good," he said, putting up a wall just as he sensed she might break in again, this time holding it tenfold. It was like a gentle tug from her direction, a polite rapping at his brain, as if someone wanted to see if he was home. He almost laughed. "See? You're a natural.'
"I didn't realize it felt like this," she admitted, looking somewhat guilty, but watching him curiously still, waiting for him to acknowledge what she had said earlier, "The only time my mind was… breached I was made very, very aware of it."
She shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment as she no doubt relived the memory. Atton paused, watching her, realizing now would be a good time to sneak in and catch a glimpse, but also knowing that he respected her too much to catch her in a low point.
"With my brother it was different," she continued again, opening her eyes and seeming to settle into herself as she moved passed the darker memories, "We used to talk to each other like that, in our minds. It was like our secret way of passing notes in class."
"Like what you did just now?" Atton said, referring to her clever quip, the image she willed him to see of her on Peragus. Eden nodded.
"I thought it was maybe a Force bond thing, but now I'm not so sure. I'm surprised it worked with you, actually."
She smiled again, laughing quietly, triumphantly that her joke had worked.
Now, Atton thought. I'll try again now.
Without so much as looking at her, Atton reached out with his mind, a polite probing if there were such a thing, and he was met with a flimsy image of Eden's hand - minus two, minus three, and the plus one she'd just added into play - but it was mingled with a weak feeling of her brother… of Aiden… the young man Atton had turned all those years ago, and the man they saw again in the flesh on Korriban, at Sion's side. The image was more a kaleidoscope than a set picture, a mix between the man as he was now and the twin Eden had known as a child, as well as whoever it was Aiden was perpetually in her head, in her memory, a feeling more than an image.
"See what I mean?" Atton said once Eden registered the breach on her end, hastily sending up another wall of numbers, but this time gibberish and not quite a solid hand worth playing. "Most people don't feel it, especially not when they're unguarded. I think putting up a wall makes it more obvious. Without a wall it's harder to tell when someone might be digging around, but with a barrier up you feel them pass through it or push it down. Or better yet, you know when you stop them dead in their tracks."
Eden nodded, grasping the concept as she soaked in his words, connecting the dots. He had felt it when she had first tried to get into his mind, sensed the feeling of someone trying to get in and peruse its contents. It had been quiet, and he had almost half a mind to drift off to sleep when he felt her. But it wasn't just Eden… he sensed Kreia, too. He'd felt her presence even though he knew it was Eden trying to read his thoughts, sending out tendrils of the Force across the ship to get a feel for it and everyone on board, a lesson of Kreia's, no doubt. Eden's quiet exploration was more curious and careful, her energy more like a sprite than a shadow. But there was something about Kreia that felt different, darker, not quite malicious but… deliberate. Atton wasn't sure which was worse.
He wondered now just how many times Kreia had violated the thoughts of the others on the ship, and now that he knew Eden was only just learning how to send up walls, he wondered how many times Kreia may have breached her thoughts as well? He didn't want to think about it, and he didn't want to think about what someone like Sion or even Eden's now-Sith brother could do, what someone trained in the Dark Side of the Force could glean from a person's mind, willing or otherwise.
"If you're fighting anyone, and I mean anyone, whether light or dark," Atton began, not exactly sure where he was going with this, already certain his tongue was getting ahead of him, thinking of Kreia, of the lost Jedi, of the Sith that hounded them and everyone else in between, "If you're facing someone who might have power over your mind, put up a wall, so at least they'll have to knock."
Eden watched him, her gaze earnest as she listened to his every word, her eyes locked on his even through the holoscreen.
"Recite engine sequencers, start listing hyperspace routes…" he continued, not breaking her gaze, "And when they try to use their power over you, it won't be as easy as they thought. Because you'll be right here with me, playing Pazaak, where they can't reach you."
It was part in jest, a playful suggestion that his playing Pazaak was just a big fuck you to the galaxy at large, especially anyone that thought enough to mess with him, or Eden now that he'd invited it… but it was also an earnest vow to keep her safe, to offer her safe harbor, whatever that meant and whatever the case may be.
"Atton, I-" Eden balked almost, her mask slipping again, somewhere between her usual calm and collected self to something more vulnerable, the gratitude evident on her face for just a moment before she settled into a half-smile, "I'd like that."
Atton didn't say anything in response - couldn't say anything in response - he was only capable of smiling dumbly at her, his affection clear on his face.
"You didn't have to tell me," she continued, her voice quieter, deeper now, "After what I did."
"You deserve to know," Atton replied almost too quickly, hearkening back to their conversation on Nar Shaddaa, "It's not as much a favor as it is a courtesy."
Eden was staring at her cards now, but she smiled at them, at him, and said "I'm glad you have just as much to teach me as I have to teach you," she sighed, her smile dissolving only a little, "You know how I feel about positions of… power."
"Oh, I know," he said, smirking in response, knowing she had more power over him than perhaps she cared to know. "Your turn."
It took Eden a moment to realize that Atton was referring to the game at hand, showing her hand easily as she settled into a newfound calm again, but this time Atton could tell he had something to do with it. And for that, he was glad.
They played Pazaak for a couple more hours, by far their longest game, and by far their longest call since they'd been separated. It was only when the sun threatened rising on Dxun did Atton think to finally cut their game short, realizing it may have been more telling for Eden to find the cockpit suddenly sunnier of her own accord than him bidding her goodnight of his own volition.
Part of him wanted her to know just how much he wanted to keep talking to her, just how much seeing her face changed things, but he also knew it only made her inevitable return more complicated. At least Eden hadn't seemed to want to call it quits, either, though her reasons were her own.
Atton finally signed off and bid her farewell, cracking a joke while he was at it. Eden smiled at that. It was the last thing he saw before the comm feed faded out, losing her signal, and it was the last thing he thought of before finally drifting off to sleep.
But Eden hadn't called in three days. Not that Atton was counting…
He kept busy with Bao most of the time, though now they were only running diagnostics on the parts of the ship they'd already repaired and conducting routine maintenance on the rest. Atton knew quite a bit about ship maintenance before their impromptu repair training camp, but he had to admit he'd learned a lot from Bao in the past week or so. Atton had never met anyone as well-versed in circuitry than Bao-Dur, and no one near half as ingenious. Everything the Iridonian proposed seemed so obvious, so natural, that Atton was surprised at least half of it wasn't taught during his training with the Republic Flight Academy. Not that pilots were meant to be technicians, but everything that came out of Bao's mouth felt like something that should have been common knowledge, almost to the point where Atton wanted to call Eden and tell her about it…
Only he didn't call her, and she didn't call back, so he had no excuse to tell her. He picked up the comm several times, considering it, his thumb hovering over the button, but he resisted each time. Their calls had been so regular before, almost scheduled, and Atton wondered if there was perhaps something behind it all, something more than Eden's simple need to update the other half of her crew on her current party's tasks and whereabouts. She'd sent him a few text-based messages, as well, a few jokes here and there, snide remarks she likely had no one to half-mouth them to as the reaction came naturally to her - and at these Atton couldn't help but smile, fool that he was. There were moments where he'd plant jokes only to find they never quite landed with Bao-Dur, and though the man never complained, Atton couldn't help but wish that Eden was there by his side to roll her eyes and try to swallow a laugh at his expense. Maybe she felt the same.
And in those past three days Atton found himself perusing their text log, reliving old messages as if they were new again one moment while the next he was berating himself for being such an idiot.
She'd sent two messages since their last game, and Atton pored over them now, almost anticipating if another might be sent while he contemplated sending one himself. One was about the sad state of the Pazaak tables at the Iziz Cantina, and the second was a photo of a sad droid merchant she'd spied in the city's Western Square, pairing it with a sardonic comment about the shop she'd run back on Tatooine, a story she'd told him in confidence over drinks back on Telos - before they'd ever met Atris, before Kreia thought to blackmail him, back when things were a lot simpler and Atton was still planning on leaving and hoping he'd not only leave Eden behind but forget about her, for his own good as well as hers.
He wondered how Kreia might feel if she could see him now, wondered whether she considered her blackmail successful in that he stayed or a failure in that Atton ended up caring for the Exile more than he'd anticipated, to the point where no amount of coercion could get him to leave when it had first been the only thing to convince him to stay… She'd probably sneer, or laugh that hollow laugh of hers that was more of an annoyedly exhaled breath. He didn't like that Kreia traveled with Eden now, without him, finding little comfort in the fact that Mical was in his stead, but was at least glad to know Mira likely had her wrist-launchers perpetually set to fire should anything happen.
Reveal the face of the +8 card, switch the face of the +10/-10 card, the total is 18/0…
"The hell?"
Atton nearly threw the comm across the dashboard of the ship as the image entered his mind before disappearing entirely. Jolted, Atton stood suddenly, checking his surroundings and reaching out with the Force, the way Eden had taught him to after he'd quietly pleaded for training after leaving Nar Shaddaa. He still wasn't used to the reach of it, his mind tentatively stretching out over the ship like an outstretched hand, fingers poised to sense any interlopers… but the ship was quiet, empty. Bao had gone for a walk an hour ago, claiming that he found the rain calming, and now only T3 remained along with the still-unrepaired vestiges of the HK unit the Hawk came with.
There was a pause, like a breath baited, waiting, before Atton sensed it again.
Reveal the face of the +5/-5 card, totals are… well, shit.
Atton had subconsciously begun counting cards in his head more times than he could, well, count. But this… this was something different. This was planted, and there was only one person Atton knew who owned a shitty Pazaak deck.
"Eden," he breathed, reaching over the dashboard now to retrieve the comm he'd thrown, its scratched hull now lying closer to the duraglass than he'd prefer.
Adrenaline coursed through his veins as he climbed over the console to reach the damn thing, fumbling with the controls before he could properly call her, his blood thrumming in his ears as he waited for Eden to pick up.
After a moment and a wave of static, a lounging Eden with wide eyes greeted him from viewscreen, but before he could utter a greeting he blurted, "What, what happened? Are you alright? No one's trying to-"
"Whoa, whoa settle down there," Eden laughed nervously, "I didn't think you'd actually pick up."
Her voice was deep, as if having just woken from a deep sleep, and her hair was unkempt, barely held aloft from the nape of her neck in a complete mess of a bun. She blew a dark strand of hair out of her face as she leaned in to get a closer look at Atton, suddenly paling as the realization dawned on her.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry, you didn't think I was-?"
"In potential peril? Yes!" Atton barked, not quite angry but still coursing with too much adrenaline, more than his otherwise motionless body could cope with right now, his mind mentally preparing for another crash landing via dashing rescue.
"Oh my god," Eden sighed, covering her face, "I couldn't sleep."
"You- wait, what?"
"I couldn't sleep," she said through her fingers, her voice muffled slightly but hiding none of her anguish, "I was afraid to call, in case you were busy, or asleep, or, I don't know."
"I…" Atton floundered for a moment, realizing his hands were braced on his hips with an almost motherly consternation, quickly relaxing them at his sides before continuing, "You were afraid to call?"
His question came out whisper-soft, watching Eden as she slowly lowered her hands down her face to place them in her lap, where she kept her gaze as she continued.
"I thought about what you said, about playing Pazaak in my head to occupy my mind, to keep others out. But this place…? This planet is so old, and there's so much energy left over from so many years of conflict, and there's still stuff at work I can't quite figure out," Eden nursed her temples, as if merely talking about it was muddling her head with worry and the Force, "I kept dreaming about it while I slept and finally I got fed up. I just wanted… I wanted to relax, to do something else… so I thought about doing what you said, in case it helped with other things, like keeping the Force out, even for just a minute. But then I thought… well, we hadn't talked in a while, and I wasn't sure if you'd answer, even though I know you would, I just… I don't know, it all seems so silly now that I say it out loud."
"It's not silly, and you know I'm always on call. Always," Atton said, sitting down now, trying to match her near manic expression with one of unending calm, something she'd taught him indirectly, something he'd simply observed. "That was a shit hand though."
"A really shit hand," Eden laughed, looking relieved that he'd somewhat changed the subject to spare her any more embarrassment, "I lost before I even gave you a chance to pull a card."
"We really need to get you a new deck," Atton sighed as he finally found it in himself to grow comfortable, once his vitals realized that danger wasn't at hand and that… Eden had simply thought of him when she couldn't sleep. He tried not to smile at the thought. "That is, if you want to."
"A problem for another day," she said, biting one of her nails now as she gathered the courage to look up at him, "Care for a game, regardless?"
Atton smirked, already thumbing his deck out of his jacket, "Still in need of that distraction?"
"Desperately," she replied, her demeanor lighter now, better… "You deal, you're better at it."
"Oh, how ever will you learn?" he joked, looking up at her as he shuffled through his deck, and he swore Eden bit her lip before looking away, swallowing her expression and replacing it with as good a Pazaak face as she could muster given the circumstances. "I'm glad you called."
Even Atton was surprised by his own words, feeling heat rush to his face as they escaped his mouth almost unbidden.
"You did the calling," Eden reminded him, not hiding her smile now, though she looked downright mischievous as she eyed her new hand, "Remember?"
"Yeah, well," Atton began, readying the first card of the game as he tried to shrug nonchalantly, "You sent me that god awful play first, I had no choice."
"Right," Eden said, smirking now.
"I thought you said you needed a distraction?" Atton conceded, waving a hand about impatiently, putting on a show. Eden laughed, so much easier now than when he'd first called, than she'd been in weeks, even. "You know I'm always happy to oblige."
Atton thought back to something dumb he'd said on Peragus, cursing when Eden had been fortunate enough to find some clothes and backpeddling like an idiot as he realized he accidentally called her a distraction. Eden was far from a distraction, or anything nearly as trivial, but Atton could be hers, for now… whatever she needed. He owed it to her, if anything.
"Alright, alright," Eden said, pulling her next card and showing it to Atton. "How'd I do though?"
Atton knew she meant the message, the fact that she'd sent him a play through the Force alone.
"Impressive," he admitted, still struggling with remnant adrenaline, "I should have known it wasn't serious when I saw that play, though. Y'know I didn't expect you to pull out a deck of cards while trying to keep someone like Sleeps-with-Vibroblades out of your mind, so I should have known you were actually looking at your cards, that you were-"
Atton rubbed his face now, feeling the weight of his worry dissolve into an easy sort of tiredness, thankful that Eden was okay and humbled that she'd thought of him.
"Maybe… do you want to try it again?" Atton paused, putting the idea out there, still somewhat shocked and honored that she had trusted him, that she'd opened the bridge between them and invited him in, even if it was just for a game. "Y'know, as practice?"
Eden bit her lip but watched Atton with a careful eye, "Are you sure?'
Atton nodded, even though he was less sure of the feelings coursing through him - though not for their legitimacy but for what they might do to him, as if he wasn't already enough of a fool to begin with.
"Alright, I'll continue my hand in three, two…"
Eden disconnected, her image dissolving into static on the holofeed before she could say one, but just as she would have said it, her play entered Atton's mind, like a polite rap at the door, only it was Atton's consciousness that answered with a warm hello and the ghost of a laugh.
Switch the face of the +8/-8 card and… shit.
Atton laughed heartily now, not caring if Bao heard or if Eden could feel it. It was almost as if she were in the room with him, her presence heavy yet ghostly all the same, as if she were there trying not to laugh at his side. It was the calmest Atton had felt in a long while, the pouring rain now a gentle thrum against the duraglass of the cockpit as he mentally pulled his next card. He smiled.
Your turn.
Notes:
This most likely needs another round or two of editing but I'm too eager to wait. I'll never get these two idiots out of my head, will I?