If Anik'seth was being totally honest with himself, he wasn't sure why he had come to the Nexus Room tonight.
There appeared to be a Huttball match on, showing on each of the holoprojectors in the corners; Kaliyo had wanted to watch it for some reason. The crowd was so thick around each projector that she couldn't get close, and she couldn't see them from where they were seated, near the bar. Their proximity to the crowd was making him nervous; he didn't like people looking at him. He felt as though they were staring.
When he got nervous, his trigger finger got itchy.
He hated crowds.
"Hey." He felt Kaliyo elbow him. "Lighten up, will you? You've been death glaring at that guy for almost five minutes now. He's starting to look at us. Not that I mind the attention, mind you, but I think he's some kind of Sith Lord, and you know how kindly they take to being stared at."
"Almost as much as I do," Anik muttered, but obediently looked away from the man. It was too late, though; the man and his companion, a dark-skinned human with a large cranial tattoo, were already making their way through the crowd.
"Is there some kind of problem?" the Sith, a Zabrak of all species, asked.
"Maybe there is some kind of problem," Anik said, standing to his full height, which about matched the Sith's. "I'm tired of being here." He drew his blaster and took aim.
His blaster bolt, aimed at the Sith's head, was deflected by an orange lightsaber into the ceiling as fast as he could shoot it. Immediately, the Sith's companion leapt at Anik, who threw him off into the crowd behind himself.
All hell broke loose.
Despite Anik's years of combat experience, even he couldn't say what happened during the fight. All he knew is one moment he was standing in front of the Sith, aiming his blaster for another shot as soon as he could, then the next moment he was going toe-to-toe with the Sith, whose lightsaber was forgotten in the heat of the brawl.
He traded punches with the Sith - an eye for an eye, slamming a fist into the Zabrak's pretty mouth as the Sith did the same - then suddenly, in the midst of the melee, both stopped.
Another man had gotten in on the action, punching Anik in the shoulder and following through to land a blow on the Sith's chest.
The next moment, the third man had a blaster bolt through his head.
The Sith stared at Anik. "You didn't have to kill him."
"He hit you. The only one who can do that is me."
"Well, if you put It that way," the Sith muttered, leaning in close.
He pressed his lips to Anik's, tongue poking out to seek entrance. Anik allowed it, pressing back on the other man's mouth.
Anik wasn't quite sure what it was, but there was something about making out in the middle of a battle that was really hot.
Inevitably, the kiss had to end as both men came up for air. Anik pressed his forehead to the Zabrak's, being careful to avoid his sharp horns.
"It's Anubin," the Zabrak muttered. "Darth Occlus to the public, but my name is Anubin." A bright green eye winked shut. "Call me."
Without even pausing to program his frequency into Anik's holocom, Anubin grabbed his companion and disappeared. Anik could do nothing but stare after him into the chaos they had created together.
Maybe there was something good about the Nexus Room after all.