Be kind. I don't really take fanfiction seriously, this is really just me killing time. This is going to be very, very slow burning.


Keeasi leaned against the cantina wall, dabbing her wrist against her brow to try and blot out at least a little bit of the sweat gathering there. After all this time you'd think she'd be used to the Tatooine heat, but evidently she would never acclimatise, not even after nine years. She glanced over the clientele, disappointed with the day's turnout. Yesterday was a good one. She'd had six clients and only four of them had wanted the full range of her services. One merely wanted affection and the other just wanted to talk. She'd left with a handful of truguts that night, enough for her to stock up on some more food for the week and contribute to her savings, too.

Today, though, the cantina wasn't looking promising. It was hot and everyone was focused on the upcoming pod-race spectacle, which, on the other hand, meant that tomorrow would be a great day for business. But today? She was leaning more and more toward throwing in the towel and going home. At least the small home she shared with three other people was somewhat cooler than the cantina today.

"Did you hear what Shoska saw today?" A high pitched wheeze began from beside her. She shot Nanka a glance. The Mirialan sipped on a drink, her eyes fixed on the small number of customers in the cantina the same way Keeasi's were.

"Shoska sees a lot of things," Keeasi replied. "Including half my regulars behind my back." She paused, giving a sigh and closing her eyes. No point getting mad over that again. "What did Shoska see, then?"

Nanka couldn't help but let a little smile escape. "Outlanders," she began, failing miserably at hiding her excitement. "Humans. Trying to buy parts for their ship from Watto." Keeasi gave a shrug as Nanka continued. "'Ey, don't you go shrugging at me, girl," Nanka laughed. "I haven't even gotten to the good part. So, get this, right? One of them tries to pay for whatever it is they need with Republic Credits."

Keeasi gave a snort. No one on Tatooine accepted credits here. They were absolutely worthless. "That sounds like an Outlander, alright. How'd that go down with Watto?"

"How do you think it went? They walked out of there with nothing." Nanka paused. "You know, those Outlanders… don't know where they're going, but I bet it's not the Outer Rim." Keeasi looked to her, frowning, unsure where she was going with this. "You've got a lot of peggats and truguts saved up. Given their lack of currency, I bet they'd be grateful if you made a donation. Grateful enough to say… take you with them."

Her eyes thinned at Nanka finished. Keeasi wasn't stupid. You couldn't be in their business. She knew exactly why Nanka was suggesting this: next to Keeasi, Nanka was the most humanoid working girl in the Cantina that wasn't owned by a Hutt. If Keeasi left, Nanka would most likely inherit her regulars - regulars who tended to avoid slaves for whatever reasons. Keeasi couldn't really fault her on it, though. She hadn't exactly made her aspirations to get off Tatooine a secret, after all. In fact, she often made a point of bringing it up, just so everyone knew. Just so there was a possibility that someone might feel sorry for her and take her with them.

It had never happened, though. Passage to somewhere like Coruscant was expensive, which she understood. Getting passage to anywhere in the Federation from a place like Tatooine was a risk. They had to feed you, give you space to sleep - and while she was handy with a blaster and a great negotiator, there wasn't a lot she was qualified to do on a ship to work her way there. Even her current trade was obsolete; plenty of ports throughout the Galaxy with plenty of girls to see, and she was hardly anything to write home about as far as working girls went. In fact, her being a working girl came as more of a risk. Most of the ships heading into the Republic from Tatooine were smuggling something illegal, and her line of work put her at risk of being flagged as a slave at any processing ports, which would put the whole ship in jeopardy. Not that she thought they'd find out. She could make up a story, a lie to get her through security checks… but getting smugglers and traders to believe that had been a whole other battle.

The two shared a silence for a few minutes, Keeasi weighing this up in her mind. "Right," she finally exhaled, pushing herself off the wall, "I'm off for the rest of the day. Too hot to stand around and watch people not hire me." She gave Nanka a nod. "Thanks for the tip."

"Eh, good luck," Nanka laughed, shaking her head. "You'll need it."

Keeasi gave a quick nod of acknowledgement to the barman as she passed him on her way out to let him know she was gone for the day, but it wasn't until she was outside and well away from Nanka's gaze and judgement that she picked up the pace of her steps. Watto's. She had to get to Watto's and ask where the Outlanders went. As much as she hated to admit it, Nanka was right. She had a healthy amount saved and it might have been enough to sway someone who had absolutely no tradeable currency, especially someone who wasn't local and didn't know she was a working girl.

By the time Keeasi arrived at Watto's, she'd broken into a sprint. Sure enough, the Toydarian floated about behind the counter, cleaning out… something, she didn't know what it was, but it looked technical. He smiled at first, the same, large, slimey one she saw on him in the cantina when bargaining with a Hutt or someone important - but as soon as she figured out who she was, the smile vanished, his expression dropping and his attention returning to whatever he was cleaning out. "Whadda' you want, eh?" He asked her. "If you here about tha' blaster, no refunds. It was junk anyway."

A little without breathe from the sprint, she shook her head in the doorway. "Someone said you dealt with some Outlanders," she paused, trying to regain her composure. "Any idea where they went? They're still here, right?"

Watto looked up at her, an eyebrow raised in suspicion. "...Yeh, but they ain't got any money for you, girl. Only credits." He clicked his tongue. "Pah!"

"That's fine!" she insisted. "I just need to speak to them. Please, Watto?" She paused, pursing her lips. "You still owe me four golden peggats, right? After that bet on that last race?" She asked. "Tell me where they went and I'll call it even."

Watto watched her for a moment, his eyes thinning. Watto was a regular in the cantina and was notorious for making bets bigger than his wallet. He'd bet her four golden nuggets that his slave boy would come last, a bet Keeasi had been happy to put money on. She could afford it, Watto could barely, and she quite liked his boy. Anakin, his name was. Always polite to her when she dropped by to sell scrap from clients who'd accidentally left things like blasters in her room. Well, Keeasi had won that bet on a technicality - Anakin didn't finish the race at all, which meant he was a scratch, not last place. While Watto had argued it with her, he hadn't been willing to argue it with any of the Hutts.

"Alright, fine!" He finally relented, dropping the thing in his hands onto the counter with a clank. "But as soon as you done talkin' to em', you go tell them Hutts we clear!" he ordered, pointing his finger at her. Once she nodded in agreement, he tilted his head to the back room. "Boy!" He called, followed by the sound of a light clank from the room. "Ey, boy! Come 'ere, eh?"

Within moments, Anakin appeared from the back room, some kind of grease on his hands. "Yeah?" he asked, wiping his hands on his trousers, careless to the mess they'd left. He smiled when he realised she was standing there. "Oh, hi, Keekee!" He said, using her working name. Everyone did, and even though Anakin was too young to know exactly what she did for a living, he was no exception. Come to think of it, she wasn't even sure anyone knew her real name anymore. Not since she started in the Cantina, anyway.

Watto pointed to her dismissively. "You take this one to see your friends, eh? She got somethin' important for 'em."

Anakin looked from Watto to Keeasi, confusion on his face, but eventually gave a shrug. "Sure." Without another moment's hesitation, he passed her, gesturing for her to follow. "Come on, they're probably still at my place!" Keeasi picked up the pace to keep up with the boy, who had a particular energy to his steps today as they headed through the market square. "So why do you need to see them?" He asked over his shoulder as he lead her through the small market crowd.

"Just have something to ask them, that's all," she explained, pausing for a moment as she side-stepped to avoid someone. "Are they friendly?"

"Oh yeah!" Anakin replied with a smile. "They're really nice. Mr Qui-Gonn even got Watto to let me race again tomorrow!" Anakin stopped suddenly as they came to one of the residential areas, taking her by surprise. "There he is!" he announced, pointing to a man across the clearing. "Mr Qui-Gonn!" The man turned, and something about his presence instantly made Keeasi uneasy. He was tall, yes, but she'd met tall men before. No, it was something about how he stood - unmoving, grounded, like a statue. "Mr Qui-Gonn!" Anakin called again, running to the man, leaving Keeasi to slowly approach the two on her own to close the gap. "Watto sent me to find you." He turned to her as she neared, gesturing to her. "This is Keekee. She's a dancer at the cantina. Watto says she has something important for you."

Qui-Gonn was silent for a moment, his gaze fixed on her. It was something she was used to, in a way, how he looked at her, sized her up. She'd come straight from work, and while telling a young boy she was a dancer may have worked, there was no way this Outlander would be fooled - not with the way she was dressed. "Does she, now?" He knew exactly what she was.

"It's not… I'm not here for my regular business," she spoke, urgency behind her words, anything to stop him from turning her back on her like so many did. "Please, just hear me out."

His gaze didn't move from hers, but after a few moments he gave a solemn nod. "Anakin," he said, looking to the boy, "why don't you head inside? Your droid has some things to talk to you about before you race tomorrow."

Anakin glanced between the two, but the expression on the older man's face was enough persuasion for him to take his suggestion without real question. "See ya later, Keekee," he sighed before dutifully heading inside. Not a word was spoken until the door was closed behind him.

"Let me assure you that you're wasting your time if you're trying to-"

"I told you," she spoke, interrupting him, "I'm not here for my regular business." She paused, taking a breath. "Someone told me that you only have Republic Credits and that you're in need of ship parts."

Qui-Gonn gave a nod. "I see word travels fast."

"Like you wouldn't believe," she replied with a smile, trying to be friendly. Somehow, though, she doubted her charm wasn't going to win him over on its own. "Anyway, I know it won't cover all of it, but I have 4,600 golden peggats and I can probably help you source more. All I ask is that you take me with you." Qui-Gonn smiled a little, crossing his arms and giving a nod as she continued. "I don't care where it is you're going or why, I just want to get away from the Outer Rim. And before you ask," she added, her palm raised, "I can work. I'm handy with a blaster and I am incredibly good at talking my way out of things. I'll be useful."

To her disappointment, he shook his head. "A generous offer, indeed. Unfortunately, I've already come to another arrangement, and it's not in my interests to smuggle slaves. I'm sorry, but I can't afford to risk angering your owner."

"Owner?" She repeated, her voice absolutely incredulous. "I am not a slave and I do not have an owner." She tensed her jaw. "I happen to be what I am of my own choice."

He was silent for a moment, reading her reaction, the way he studied her giving her second thoughts on what kind of person he was. "Of course," he finally relented after a moment. "Forgive me, in my part of the galaxy, that's usually the case. Regardless, however, I already have a full crew as it is." She must have betrayed herself to him even though she'd done her best to hide her disappointment, because his expression softened suddenly. "I assure you, if it were possible, I'd consider your offer. The best I can do is offer you some Republic Credits. Perhaps you can trade them with some smugglers." He paused, catching her gaze with his. "I'm sorry, I really am."

In any other case, Keeasi probably would have argued the point, or even offered him free services to try and sweeten the deal… but something about the way he spoke told her that he was being genuine. That he really was sorry. "That's uh, fine," she finally replied, trying to hide her disappointment. "I understand, just thought it would be worth asking." She gave him a smile, although she knew fully well that he could see in her eyes it was only one out of politeness. "Thank you for your time, and wish Anakin luck for me."

With that, she turned on her heel and made her way back to the Cantina. For a just a second, she thought she'd found a way.


"You shoulda' seen it," Coshto remarked as Keeasi lay against his chest, trying to kill time before his hour with her was over. "I've never seen a race like it, that Skywalker boy just… it was incredible." He laughed, shaking his head. "You shoulda' put some money on him like I did. You'd be one rich woman."

Coshto gently began to rise, allowing Keeasi to separate from him to her relief. "Leaving so soon?" She asked, a false expression of disappointment on her face. She actually couldn't stand Coshto - he was cocky and all hands and assumed he was doing her a favor by hiring her. But, he was a client, one who fell for it hook line and sinker when she pretended he was different to the rest. She had to keep up appearances.

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and reached for his pants. "Sorry, love," he explained, "gotta finish that shipment up before those Outlanders leave."

Keeasi paused, an eyebrow raised, "Outlanders?" She asked. "The ones who own the pod he raced in?"

"Yeah," he replied, reaching for his shirt and pulling it over his head. "They made a big supply order for their trip. Urgent, too. Don't think they wanna stick around long."

She watched him get dressed, chewing on her lip, her mind racing with the possibility of… "Coshto," she mewled, moving across the bed to sit behind him and snaking her arms over his shoulders in an embrace, resting her head beside his, "why don't we ever spend any time together?"

Coshto raised an eyebrow. "We spend plenty of time together," he assured her. "I come see you at least once a week."

"No," she replied with a pout, "I mean outside of work. I thought I was special."

She tried to not hold her breath in anticipation, but when Coshto completely froze, she knew she had him. "Y-you are special, Keekee," he said, turning his head to face her, his expression so soft that she could describe it as 'melty.' "I had no idea you felt like that, though."

She gave a hurt look. "I tell you all the time that you're special to me! I thought you knew you didn't have to pay for my time." She hoped this worked, because if it didn't she was out of a client. "I was starting to think you didn't care."

Gently, he shifted out of her embrace, turning to face her entirely, cupping her face with his hand. "Of course I care, Keekee. You're all I care about."

She smiled, looking downwards, raising her hand to meet his. "Let me walk you to your shipment?" She asked. "Any time spent with you is heaven to me."