AN: Reupload because I guess the format got wonked when I tried to fix it in the thing :\
Lead-up to a much steamier sequence that will be put on AO3 (when I finish writing it) but for now I thought this was good enough to stand alone
Enjoy!
000
They bumped into each other in the medical room. Rather, he had been...passing through.
She had been checking the scanner's circuits on her back on the table, one knee raised. Bao-Dur would throw a fit later, but you sometimes had to do things yourself. She wiped industrial lubricant from her forehead as it dripped. Her cloak was a crumpled blob beneath.
Atton, however, had been going through the calibration routine for the table: activate, punch the code 1-7-3-5-7, go through diagnosis subroutine, then the treatment subroutine, and then
"Hey," he said, apparently sensing her. His surface thoughts were murky for a moment, and continued on through the calibrations, though haltingly. A tendril of lust threaded itself into it.
She smirked. She sat up. Legs draped over the table's corner, spread. She dropped the hydrospanner on the floor. "Hello."
"What were you...doing." He began to count the ticks in the hyperdrive. He crossed his arms and leaned against the curved door frame. He was very good at pretending to be unaware.
(They planned their trysts very carefully, to avoid unwanted interference.)
She gestured, allowing one eyebrow to arch up. "The scanner was damaged when we landed on Dxun. I wanted to take a look."
She thought he looked like he was about to play pazaak again, though he seemed to be invested in staring moodily at the floor as well. His hair bounced into his face. She wanted to rake it back and expose his caf-dark eyes.
"Where's your fanboy?" he said, with a not insignificant amount of smugness. "I thought he'd be hovering over you, waiting to hear some of that Jedi Wisdom."
"You could ask Kreia. I think she had him run an errand." She smirked again, and left it in place.
"...I'll pass."
"What were you doing?" she murmured.
"I happened to be in the area." He pushed his hair back with a single motion. "Looked like you could use a hand."
"With...?"
"Getting the scanner to work." His gaze, however, swept from her boots to her smudged forehead. "Calibrating the table..."
A flick of the wrist, and the door closed, very nearly clipping Atton's jacket. A twitch of two fingers, and it locked. "I don't know..."
"Want me to check it out?" he murmured, sidling up. He laughed, genuine. "That might have been the stupidest thing I've ever said."
She half-smiled up at him, gray eyes matching the gray metal walls around them. "I dunno."
He cupped her face with one hand in a way that suggested he was almost afraid to. "We could always head back to your bunk, you know?"
She briefly pressed lip to palm, and tugged his face in closer. "There's actually privacy here," she mumbled, feeling a rush of embarrassment.
His hands slid down her sides and began to unfasten her belt. He rested his forehead on her shoulder as he worked it. Click, clack, thud. A trail of wet flutter-kisses up to her jaw, then a sigh.
"How many layers do jedi even need?" he muttered. "It's not even cold in here."
"Shh." She hovered her index finger over his lips. "You're one to talk."
He turned, and she tugged his wristbands and jacket off. His back was a long, lean triangle, narrowing into the perfect shape for her caress. His hands were warm over hers. But only for a few seconds.
"Alright, let me get rid of the belt, too, then." Mirth.
It slid through the loops with a rhythmic flapping. A flash of pale flesh as he pulled his shirt out of his waistband.
They continued disrobing in turns, letting each garment float to the floor. No blaster holsters, no boots. No shirts, no shoes. Her hair tie disappeared into the brown fabrics. They were left only in their undergarments and each other's embrace.
She finally finger combed his hair out of his face and just looked. At the lopsided smile, the place where he bit his lip. His hooded eyes. Stubble like fine sandpaper.
(She needed to remember him like this, before Kreia's plans swallowed their whole crew up.)
"You're beautiful," he whispered, and pressed his mouth against hers.
