So this one is for Sera Ash and clicketykeys, because they gave me the idea and then the characters took it off in a totally unexpected direction.
Serious smut in future chapters, you've been warned.
It was hard being back on Nar Shaddaa, after what had happened last time. Ryli and Corso strolled the streets, hand in hand. She took comfort in his hand against hers as they walked.
"It's just some time off, Captain, no need to look so worried."
Ryli shook her head, "I'm not worried." She opened her mouth to say something soothing, but Ryli heard the voice before she saw him and her eyebrows just about shot up off her head.
"What's wrong?" Corso asked her.
"Just a familiar voice, that's all." She smiled up at him.
Just then, Andronikos rounded the corner, his duster swirling out behind him. He was walking next to a deep red Twi'lek dressed in what seemed to be strips of fabric. A slave girl?
All four of them froze.
"Corso?" said the Twi'lek softly.
"You know her? Hey, Andronikos." Ryli nodded, not blushing at all, nope.
"Liri?" Corso's eyes widened and his hand slid out of Ryli's, which she frowned at.
"Ryli..." said Andronikos. He looked between Corso and Liri. "Lir?"
"You don't have a collar anymore," said Corso quietly, sounding strangely hopeful.
Andronikos raised an eyebrow at Ryli, who shrugged, disconcerted at Corso's reaction. "No more idea than you. Any chance you two want to fill us in?"
Corso blushed deeply at that and said something strangled in the back of his throat about a long time ago. Liri looked like she was trying to think of something to say.
Around the corner came a group of thugs. It was a large group, obviously not in the mood for talking. "There they are!" shouted one of them. Ryli sighed, her hands pulling out her knives. Andronikos gave her knives an admiring look, his blasters already in hand. Corso swallowed and took up his own blaster, looking at Liri carefully. She was looking at Ryli and Corso intently. Then she turned and her lightsaber came out while lightning started to flicker over her body.
"You know a Sith?" hissed Ryli to Corso.
"She wasn't Sith when I knew her! She was a slave."
Both Ryli and Andronikos turned to Corso and he quailed. Luckily, the thugs attacked then.
It wasn't exactly a fair fight, Ryli mused later. Her knives sang as she slid between people. She forgot she wasn't working with just Corso, but Andronikos never missed a shot and Liri cut through the group on the other side. She dragged her knife against a man's neck and slid her other one up and into one's heart. They kept coming and when they finally stopped, she sat there, bloodstained, panting hard. She looked up. Andronikos was giving her an appreciative look until Liri kicked him. He turned back to Liri and caught her face in one hand, smiling at her. After a beat she smiled back.
Ryli walked over to Corso, who was watching the other couple.
"Ah, maybe we should all go get a drink, talk some?" suggested Corso.
"I could use a drink," said Ryli and Andronikos at the same time. They looked at each other, startled.
Liri looked like she was going to laugh, "Yes, that's a good idea. Neutral ground somewhere."
"There's a cantina further down that way," said Ryli pointing.
Ryli took off in that direction and the younger man in a tan shirt and simple pants looked at Liri once before taking off after her.
Andronikos put his arm around Liri as they followed.
"So how do you know her?" said Liri amused.
"I knew her on Tatooine." Andronikos watched Ryli ahead of them, her tight pants and holster seeming the same as the last time he'd seen her. The jacket was fancier though, more pockets. He could tell she had a number of knife sheaths on her, although he was positive he couldn't detect all of them.
"You mean you two slept together."
"Fucked each other's brains out is more accurate," he said, grinning. "But yeah, that's the gist."
"On Tatooine?"
"Yes."
"How soon before I got there?"
"I don't remember," he said, walking faster.
Liri started to say something and then they caught up to Corso.
"Were those guys after you all or us?" Corso asked.
"Us, probably," Andronikos said.
They got a table and sat around it, ordering drinks.
"So what's the story with you and my wife?" Andronikos got right to the point.
The kid blushed hard and stammered, "We knew each other when she was a dancer." he blinked.
"Oho," said Andronikos, leering. Liri rolled her eyes at him, while Ryli looked down at her glass.
"So you're married now?" Corso said to Liri. "I went to the Gunplay awhile back, but you weren't there anymore."
Her face softened, "You went to the club?"
"Yeah, I made you a promise."
Ryli drained her glass and signaled for another. Andronikos followed suit. Liri grimaced and downed hers too. They all looked at Corso. He blushed and finished his drink. Andronikos got to his feet, "I'll just get us a couple of bottles."
"So you're a Sith," said Ryli.
"Yes."
Ryli gritted her teeth and Liri frowned, "I'm not..." she looked around. "I'm not evil, not in the way you judge it. I used to be a slave. I work in the Empire to give slaves rights."
Ryli's head shot up. The two women inspected each other carefully.
"Don't lie to me," Ryli said quietly.
"I'm not. I swear, I work for slave rights because I was one."
"She was a slave, Captain," Corso said.
"I think it's about time we heard that story then." Andronikos returned with four bottles. Ryli took the Alderaanian vodka and poured herself a glass, threw it down her throat and poured another. Andronikos watched her, looking amused and did the same with the whisky.
"Okay, so what's the story?"
Liri looked at Corso, gave him an apologetic smile and started, "Well, I was a dancer here in Nar Shaddaa. We got sent to some backwater planet as a favor to be repaid. One of the men got rough with another dancer, so I protected her. Corso saw me, we got to talking." Liri kept her voice neutral, "Spent the night together. He adjusted my slave collar so it gave me less pain and we were supposed to meet the next night; he was trying to get my collar off." She sighed, "We got shipped off early though. Some issue with how the favor worked, I don't know."
"You never told me about that," said Ryli to Corso.
"I didn't really want details on your past lovers myself," he admitted. Ryli saw Corso's eyes widen as Andronikos winked at her. Corso was momentarily speechless. "Wait, him? Really?"
Ryli rolled her eyes and kicked Andronikos under the table. "Your wife is right there!"
"We're not exclusive," Liri murmured. "Can't be as a Sith."
Ryli saw Corso finish his drink and pour another one, nervously. She eyed Andronikos, who was grinning like he knew something she didn't.
"See, they got married," said Corso to Ryli, like he wasn't putting much thought into what he was saying.
"Ah, girls like that don't get married," Andronikos said, one eyebrow raised at Ryli cockily. "They like being able to bolt."
"What does that say about me?" Liri asked him.
"Oh, I wore you down," Andronikos smirked, drawing her hand up to kiss.
Ryli's eyes locked on how Andronikos' mouth lingered on Liri's palm. What is happening to me? She reached for Corso's hand, but he wouldn't take it and she saw him watching Liri with the same sort of focus.
Oh that's where this is heading. This is some kind of Sith mind trick, I bet. Yet, she couldn't make herself get up and drag Corso back to the ship with her. She was starting to be slightly put out that he was paying so much attention to Liri, but there was no denying the woman had a quality to her. Andronikos filled her glass suddenly and her eyes shot up to his face.
"Problem?" he asked, all pretense and joking gone. She knew exactly what he was asking.
"Can't really answer that straight right now, can I?" she said coolly.
He shrugged, "I say enjoy the ride," he smirked at her, "I always do." He finished his glass, "But if you don't want this, you better leave now."
"Is she always so..."
"Yeah, it's her aura. Worse around me, apparently worse around him too. They must have had one hell of a night for her to react like this."
"I can hear you," Liri murmured, still staring at Corso, who was blushing.
Andronikos shrugged and got to his feet. "I'll go get a room."
Ryli carefully pulled Corso's head to face her, "Corso, if you don't want this to happen, then we need to go now."
"What to happen?"
"We're all going to go upstairs," Ryli inspected his face.
"You mean..." Corso blushed, but Ryli suspected blood was rushing elsewhere in his body also.
"Was she your first?"
"No, second."
"Do you want this? We can leave now."
Corso blinked, "We can leave if you want, but I wouldn't mind staying." His eyes strayed back to Liri.
Ryli gritted her teeth, "How am I the logical, rational one right now?"
Corso looked apologetic, "Might as well stay Captain, got a bunch left in the bottles."
"Right. So you want this... her." She let go of his head and went to stand up. Andronikos' hand landed on the back of neck, his voice in her ear.
"C'mon beautiful, grab the bottles." Everything about the way he said that made her whole body clench in response. She was angry, but she didn't quite understand why. Andronikos slid his hand down her back slowly. Alright then, but if we do it, we do this together.
She grabbed two of the bottles. "Get two more," she murmured to Andronikos. "I plan on getting ripped." He moved off to the bar and Liri gathered the other two bottles.
"Hey, I can carry those," Corso told her.
Ryli marched over to Andronikos and he grinned at the look on her face.
"This is a bad idea," she said.
"Yeah," whispered Andronikos. "But it's going to feel so good."
He walked confidently towards the stairs, Ryli trailing behind him. She heard Corso and Liri murmuring to each other as they followed her.
