Disclaimer: I officially do not own anything here. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is property of BioWare. And so are Canderous and Revan... that's a shame, because I'd love to have my own Canderous.
She's quick, efficient and bold. Not like this tight-assed Jedi princess preaching about the Dark Side. At first they're uneasy, wary, circling each other. But then she's interested. Wants to talk to him and is there anything more flattering for a man than a beautiful woman listening to his war stories?
He guesses not. Onasi wouldn't agree, but then Onasi's a whiny little brat and he's not.
So he falls for her, almost immediately, like he did while watching her crush this Starkiller boy. No effort. Moves of a dancer. Strikes of a warrior.
There's this shit-hole of sand and blinding suns and they end up lost, sweated and tired, and wanting nothing more than to see the Ebon Hawk, though he hates this ship deeply. The suns hide and the darkness falls, and suddenly they're both shivering, teeth clattering, legs giving out. She finds a cave and they hide there, looking at the sand storm beginning to rage.
"I'll take the first watch." He tells her. She's so worn out she needs good five seconds before speaking.
"Wake me up in four hours." She mutters almost unintelligibly and it's only a matter of seconds before she falls asleep.
He doesn't wake her up, of course. Gives her his vest, though it does little to ease up her shivers. Spends the night on the verge of consciousness and almost freezes to death. Gets his head bitten off by her when she wakes up eight long hours later.
It's still worth it.
Then there's Manaan and if he wasn't sure there's a planet he'd hate more than Tatooine, now he is. It's boring and peaceful, and false, and the only exciting thing is breaking into the Sith base. Their soldiers disappoint him thoroughly.
He spends his days and nights - mostly nights - in their poor excuse for a cantina, drinking cheap, disgusting Juma juice and threatening locals with his glare.
One night he finds her there, looking like she came there long before him. He considers it an achievement..
"What the hell are you doing here, girl?" He grunts after getting himself enough alcohol to survive the night. She sends him a tired, resigned glare.
"I need a break."
"From?"
"My life."
It takes her three more shots to start a conversation. He feels comfortable and warm, and loses his focus. They talk and laugh drunkily until the bartender says he's closing. They pick up a bottle of Juma on their way out. She drinks more when they stagger through the streets, not knowing the way and not wanting to. He just keeps an eye on her. This isn't a good time for a fight. Certainly not a good time for ending up in prison on this back-water planet.
She staggers more and laughs and kisses him eventually. Then he's forever lost. She tastes of Juma, earth and exhaustion and the feel of her hands drives him insane. They rent a room in some cheap hotel along the way. In the morning they come back to the ship, both having little sleep.
He was sure she'd do it. And she never disappoints him. She winks as the little froggy thing gives him a medal. A hero of the Republic, he thinks. Who would've thought.
He can make out a line of her newest scar on her cheek. Right where Malak's saber cut through her skin. She refused to have it removed. She still looks beautiful to him, maybe even more.
He finds her sitting by the ship, hand tightly clutching a bottle and gaze fixed on the sunset. He can barely hear the sounds of the giant party.
"Go have fun." She mutters, hearing his steps. He snickers and falls down next to her. The sand is warm and soft between his rough fingers.
"Where are you going now?" He asks straight-forwardly and she shots him a glare.
"Who says I'm leaving?"
"Don't play with me, little girl." He groans and catches her wrist in a steely grasp, because if there's anything he hates more than surprises, it's being toyed with.
"Outer Rim." She answers after a while. "Then we'll see."
She starts explaining the mission, talks shit about finding some ancient Sith and he finds himself not listening and not caring, nagged by one question.
"Can I go with you?"
"No."
The music is loud and her alcohol spills when he pulls her to him, crushing his lips against hers. He knew there will be the end, inevitably.
It was still worth it. For she's a warrior and so is he.
A/N: I've always thought Canderous should be a romance option in both games. Anyway, hope you liked this short story, please forgive me any grammar/spelling mistakes, you can mercilessly point them out! Rate and review please, it makes my day!
