A one-shot concerning Andronikus and Daphaene, shortly after he sends her his letter about him maybe leaving but coming back with a fleet for her. It was prompted by a reviewer wanting to know Daph's reaction to his 'swoon-worthy' letters (her words, and I quite agree), but I think that hers would be quite different one than what we had. So, read and enjoy.

I don't own SWTOR or any related characters.

Until the Stars Go Cold

Andronikos walked up the ramp to the Fury with a grin on his face and a spring in his step. It had been a damned good day. All the errands he had run had been easily completed, and he even got to shoot a few idiots along the way. Not only that, but he had found a fantastic place to eat out and they had given him half off when they found out he worked for a Sith. He was definitely going to have to take Daphaene there.

The door opened with a swoosh as he stepped inside and he stretched his arms above his head, a satisfied sigh passing his lips as his stiff muscles relaxed. "Hey, Sith!" he called out, using his pet name for their fearless leader. "I'm back!"

And then there was a huge wave of energy and he found himself flung against the wall, his head colliding painfully with the cold metal. The air was knocked out of his lungs and the world turned black while he tried to shake off the pain with his eyes shut. When he opened them, he was lying on the ground and a lightsaber was pointed at his throat. Holding the lightsaber was Daphaene, her eyes glowing with rage and… tears?

"You crying?" he asked incredulously, momentarily forgetting the precarious situation he was in. She snarled and threw him against the wall again. He grunted in pain and then launched himself at her, too quickly for her to react and hit her wrist at an angle that made her drop her lightsaber. It made her no less dangerous, but he kicked her legs out from beneath her and pinned her arms down with his hands. "The fuck is wrong with you?" he demanded angrily. Sure, she had attacked him before when he wasn't expecting it, but that had been playful, with an impish grin on her face and never vicious or intending to cause him real harm. This was different, and he knew it.

Daphaene stared up at him, the tears she had cried earlier leaving damp trails over her skin. "What happened?" he asked again, softer this time. If something was making her cry, it was serious and he wasn't about to let it go. Nothing made her cry without good reason, and he hated it when she did.

"Why," she whispered furiously, "did you come back if you were planning to leave again anyway?" He blinked in confusion and she continued. "Why'd you come at all if you were just going to disappear?"

"Babe, I'm gonna need some more context. Now, if you wanna sit up and talk like an adult, we can do that, or we can go back to trying to kill each other." He leaned forward and lowered his voice to a soft growl. "However you want it, Sith."

She gave a screech of outrage and head-butted him, reversing their positions so that she was atop him and he was lying helpless under her. He didn't dare move, as her body was flickering with static electricity, something that happened whenever she was seriously upset. "I like it here, but things change…" she hissed out slowly, every syllable pushing its way out of her mouth like it was painful to say the words. "I get restless, you get bored…"

"My letter?" he asked, the shock in his voice painfully obvious. "You're mad about my goddamned letter?"

She jumped off him, letting him sit up, and sat turned away, staring at the floor as if she could see through it, past the ground under them and into the core of the planet. He didn't move at all, wanting to understand why she was behaving so erratically before doing anything that would get his face burned off. "I shouldn't even be surprised," she finally said, her voice dull. "Everyone goes. Everyone leaves. My mother, my father, my sister, my brother. Why should you be any different? You've left before."

Andronikos felt like she had slapped him across the face. "You're gonna throw those times in my face? I always came back! I never left you!"

"But you're going to," Daphaene challenged him. "You said as much." She turned back to him, this time just pain on her lovely face. "Why…" her voice broke and she had to wait a moment before speaking again. "Why did you marry me and tell me you loved me if you were just going to leave eventually anyway? I could have handled you and I just sleeping together and you leaving then, but after all this, you just want to up and go. You've done some mean things before, Andronikos," she said, "but you've never been cruel, at least not like this."

He was completely quiet, just staring at her face and then finally said, "Force, girl, you don't get it, do you?"

"If you're just going to patronize me-!" she began shouting, but was quickly silenced when he wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her to him in a possessive embrace and kissed her fiercely, holding her until she gave in and moved her arms around him and kissed him back.

He pulled away only after all her resistance was gone and then cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs brushing along her cheeks, a grin on his face. "Sith, I was telling you that no matter what happens, I'll always come back to you."

"It said you'd leave because you'd want to," Daphaene said, some of the stiffness returning to her shoulders and arms. He eased the tension by kissing her cheeks down to her neck and nibbling lightly along her collar bone before trailing back up to her lips. It distracted her anger, but not her train of thought, which he was fine with. He just didn't want her mad.

"Maybe I used the wrong words," he admitted, "I probably should have thought about what you'd been through before I said something like that. But I was trying to say that even if something happens, if we get separated, if something sithy or piratey comes up, it's just an interruption." He leaned back until he was laying on the floor and she was straddling him, looking down, a calm imitation of the position they'd been in before when she was still angry (or rather, angry enough to cause some serious damage). "You know how long it takes for stars to go out?" he asked her. "From what I remember, it takes billions of years. I know some of you Sith live a long time, but not that long." He traced a hand up along her arm. "Billions of years. That's how long we're stuck together. So if a few years pass when we can't see each other, it'll be alright. We'll end up together again."

"In each other's orbits?" the Sith sitting on his lap asked, the tiniest flicker of a smile coming to her lips.

He grinned "Until the stars go cold." The former pirate watched as her face softened and she reached her hand out to trace the line of his jaw. "I don't want you to leave," she admitted finally. "Ever. I know you don't care and you'll do what you want, but I don't want you to go."

"Well, I don't want to. So it all works out just fine."

She said nothing, and he knew that she was still lost in her worries and concerns, but she wouldn't voice them because she'd feel there was no point. Instead he eased her uncertainties by rolling over so that she was in his lap. Then with one movement, he scooped her up into his arms and carried her bridal style into their bedroom and locked the door behind them.

"You've got to be joking," said Daphaene as he tossed her onto the bed and then shrugged off his boots and jacket.

"What?" he asked, and then pulled back the covers and slid into bed. "I plan on taking a nap, I dunno what the hell you're thinking about."

She rolled her eyes and then kicked off her own shoes and joined him, snuggling against his side out of habit and as a source of warmth. He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and they fidgeted until they both got comfortable and settled. "Ron," she said finally after a few minutes, "just so you know… if I did get bored and left, I'd fully expect you to come after me and make me interested again."

He laughed and kissed her forehead. "And if I get restless, I expect you to shock my ass back into place and make damn sure I'm happy to just stay put."

"Deal."

"Of course… if you let me go and pretended not to care, I could come after you as a pirate and take you hostage… and convince you that I'm the best man you'll ever know…"

The suggestive tone of his voice made her laugh softly. "You wouldn't last one month without me."

"Maybe. But I don't intend to find out any time soon. Now shut up and go to sleep." He knew they would talk more about it in the future. But he didn't feel like telling her that he'd never leave her willingly, that if she tried to go he'd drag her back kicking and screaming, and that every time he acted like it was no big deal to be separated for a while he had to force himself to not grab her and run. If she hadn't figured out by now that she was stuck with him for as long as they both lived, then she'd just have to find out as time went on. And they had plenty of it.

With that comforting thought, he spooned up against her and rested his hand on her side, letting her enjoy the closeness of his body before they both drifted off together.

So, not sure where the ending was really supposed to go… It was one of those "start here and see if you can follow the lines or if you end up with squiggles" kind of thing, but it turned out fairly well in my mind.

I very much doubt that Andronikus would leave the Inquisitor without a really good reason (i.e. supposed death or need for allies) but he'd still be unsure about his feelings and a little frightened of them because, well, love is scary, especially when you realize how much you care about someone. And Daphaene, who as a slave was probably separated unwillingly from a great deal of people, would see what was meant as a reassuring remark as deeply troubling and hurtful. So, they'd work it out like most people do: by trying to kill each other. Okay, not really, but I'm sure the thought has (very, very, very) briefly crossed their minds.

I'll probably do a one-shot with Andronikus and my other Inquisitor (different servers, different background) depicting his relationship with her at some point, but right now, Daph is my main.

I hope you all enjoyed it! Reviews and constructive criticism really help, so do let me know if you see something that needs some tweaking. Thanks!