There were no good bars on Naboo. There was nowhere to go when you just wanted to spend the night with the company of lovely ladies and a drink in your hand. The ladies were all asleep with their children or their husbands, dreaming of peace and prosperity and casting away all thoughts to do with the low-life and scum that roamed throughout the galaxy. And the drinks were almost non-existent. So Killian Jones walked the streets of Theed and searched desperately for a place that looked shady enough for his kind.
He wouldn't have had this problem on Coruscant. Everywhere you turned there was another bar, another scum who might just be worse than yourself. Here, however, Killian Jones was alone. A dark blur among a clear white cloud.
It wasn't as if he had chosen to land here for the night, but his beloved ship, The Jolly Roger, had decided to malfunction on his way to his home planet Corellia. If he weren't so attached to it, he would surely have bought himself a new vessel by now. Unfortunately, the notorious ship had a knack for getting him spotted by the multiple bounty hunters that were constantly on his trail. That was just one of the many perks of being a notorious space pirate.
Throughout the galaxy, Killian Jones was known as the infamous Captain Hook, known for the hook that had replaced his left hand and the many occurrences upon which he had swindled someone out of a very substantial amount of wealth. He had adapted to a lifestyle of constant movement and isolation. It was an easier lifestyle than he had thought it would be. He was filthy rich; every planet was at his fingertips, waiting to be explored; the woman went crazy for a pirate, especially a good one. He had no attachments; therefore, he could never be hurt. Not again. Truth be told, life was much easier this way.
He knew what it was like to be good, to be everything the world thought a person should be, to be in love. And he had watched as his love was killed right in front of him. He had held her in his arms, heard her dying words. He had known pain, and he was not going through it again. Nothing was worth that.
With a large sigh, Hook stopped outside of a small cantina, the only place that seemed to be open at this hour. It was certainly the most shabby place in the city, but it would still be the least shabby cantina if it were in Coruscant. Killian debated continuing on his walk, but he needed a drink. He needed one bad, and he needed one now. Thinking about her always did this to him.
Hook stepped into the bar and up to the counter. No one turned to look at him, which he preferred. He didn't want to be recognized just yet. "Give me your filthiest drink, and make it filthier," he commanded the bartender, who gave him a disapproving sneer before setting to work.
A shotglass slammed down in front of him, and Killian threw it back in one go before ordering three more. As he slowly worked his way through his drinks, he scanned the bar. There weren't many people here, just as he'd expected. Three men and no women. Killian downed another shot. He might make exceptions for the women he slept with sometimes, but he would not be accompanying any men home.
Sex was another thing Hook needed when he thought about Milah. The alcohol was to forget, and the sex was to make it appear as if he had moved on. Given that the only person he had to fool was himself, he thought it was going quite well.
Killian tipped his head back again, the warm liquid biting his throat, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bathroom door swing open and shut. The pleasing sound of stilettos clicking against the floor caught his attention, and he turned to see a woman.
Hook had been many places, had seen many women of uncountable species. But he had never seen one as beautiful as this. Black locks as wavy as the sea, hazel eyes overflowing with confidence, elegant red lips, legs longer than anyone could ever know, hips that swayed from side to side teasing all those who cared to look at them, a red dress clinging to her pale skin.
He knocked back his final shot and waited. Eventually, she would notice he was looking at her. They all did.
Her head turned slowly, her curly black hair falling across her bare shoulders as she caught his eye. Killian gave a cocky half-smile, raising his eyebrow slightly, silently calling her to him. She returned the smile, but unlike every single woman he had ever come across, she sat down at a table, crossing one leg over the other.
Killian was thrown off for a brief moment, quickly regaining composure. Finally, a challenge. He slid off the bar stool and immediately walked up to the table, sitting down across from her. Her gaze never moved from her lap.
"Can't leave such a pretty lady sitting alone, can I, love?" he smiled. "You have no idea the kind of scum that are out there."
She laughed quietly, finally glancing up. "Scum like you, I suppose."
Killian shrugged. "That depends. Which would you like me to be?"
"I think I liked you best when you were sitting over there," she raised an eyebrow just as he had done. She was very good at this.
"Well that's not fair, love."
"It's not?"
"No, you see, I prefer it over here."
"Do you?"
"I quite enjoy the company," he smiled.
"Well, the company has to go," she whispered, grabbing her purse and uncrossing her legs.
"You haven't even had a drink yet," protested Killian as he sat up straighter, ready to stop her from leaving.
"And why would I want a drink? So that you can get me wasted enough to take back to your place?"
"Not quite," Killian laughed softly, "I don't have a place, lass. I have a ship."
"Oh, even better," she rolled her eyes sarcastically before standing and heading towards the door.
Killian immediately decided his game plan was not working. This woman was different, and so he decided to try another play. "Please." He put as much emotion as he possibly could into the word. "Just stay and help me pass the time before I have to go back to my ship."
The woman turned and seemed to debate with herself for a moment before returning to the table, cocking her head at the bartender who nodded, bringing over two beers and setting them on the table. "Are you happy now?" she muttered, reaching for the closet mug to her.
"Thank you..." he smiled, waiting for her to fill in the gap.
The woman set her glass on the table again. "Ruby," she said. "But most people call me Red. And you are?"
"Killian," he replied, echoing her. "But most people call me Hook."
Ruby took a second to process this information, which was the one thing she seemed to have in common with most of the women he chose. "So, Hook, what are you doing in Naboo?"
"My ship broke down, and I had to stop for repairs."
"I see. I thought you might be here for the night life."
"Oh yes, the nonexistent partying is truly marvelous."
Ruby actually laughed, a smile splitting across her face that made Killian's heart stop, though he would never admit it. Her eyes - hazel, now that Killian thought to look - were aglow as she shifted in her seat.
"So what is a pretty lady like you doing on this lifeless planet?"
"I live here with my granny, and she's pretty determined to keep me here."
Killian leaned forward, his hands wrapping around his mug. "That's quite the shame, isn't it?"
"It's not very ideal," she shrugged. "But I don't have much of a choice."
"Of course you do, love. Everyone has a choice." Now was his chance to make a move, and he was not going to let it pass by. "In my travels, I have seen many realms, fought many battles, discovered many things. It's been a freedom of which I could never dream. I can take you with me, let you see all of the stars in the universe."
A spark lit up across her features, and she bit her lip before asking, "What's Coruscant like?"
Killian smiled widely. "Coruscant is my favorite." He was surprised to find himself going on a very enthusiastic rant, and surprised to find Ruby listening with intrigue as they went through a few more beers than she had planned.
By the time he had finished, they were both unstable, Ruby laughing much too hard at the jokes Killian knew weren't very funny. And now he felt sure that his offer would not be turned down, his drunkenness giving him much more confidence than usual.
Killian had his arm wrapped firmly around Ruby's waist as they stumbled down the street. He pulled her body close to his every chance he got until she grabbed his hand and pulled him into an apartment.
Before he could even take a breath, he was slammed against the door, the force causing it to shut with a bang. Red lips pressed to his, hands slid around his neck. She tasted like beer, but he didn't mind. Beer had never tasted so good. She smelled like she had fallen asleep in the woods, traces of vanilla and pine that he was only noticing now. She felt so smooth, every inch of her. Her arms, her shoulders, her cheeks, and Killian was careful as he picked up her legs and wrapped them around his waist, careful not to hurt her fragile body with his hook. But her grip was strong around his neck, and when he fell back onto a bed he hadn't registered was there, he was less careful with each second.
He gripped her waist as she straddled his, one leg on either side, her hands sliding up his chest underneath his shirt. Kililan usually had to try to get aroused, but this time, it was easy. It was different. Killian usually preferred to stick to the same thing, but this time he welcomed the change. Ruby wasn't just different. She was the good kind of different.
Kililan woke up expecting to find Ruby's hand across his chest, his arm holding her close to him. But instead he found both arms handcuffed to the posts of the headboard and Ruby sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed. She was inspecting her nails very closely but looked up with a smirk as she saw that he was awake.
"How did you sleep?"
Killian would be lying if he said he wasn't confused. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked.
Ruby stood up. "You're a hard man to catch," she said vaguely.
Hook pulled at the ropes only to let out a laugh. "You're a bounty hunter," he said, no doubt in his mind.
When she smiled coyly and sat on the edge of the bed, Killian could tell he was right.
"It's funny how easy it is to convince men to sleep with you."
"Well," Hook put on a smug grin, "I'm sure there was no one who compared to me."
"No," she nodded slowly, "you were very good."
Killian's smile grew. "And you were the best bounty hunter I've had the pleasure to sleep with."
"Ha," Ruby replied sarcastically, reaching into her holster and pulling out a small blaster. "Now you stay here, and I'll be right back."
Hook winked at her as she walked out of the room. "I've got nowhere better to be, love."
Ruby would have been lying if she said she wasn't proud of herself. Captain Hook was worth a fortune, well worth the amount of time she had spent chasing him. Getting him to sleep with her had been easy, and, for the first time, enjoyable.
She set her blaster on stun and reentered the room. A laugh burst from her lips as she surveyed the disaster that was the bed. The ropes lay untangled from the headboard and scratched in the sheets, clearly by a hook, were the words: I'm on Kamino. Try and find me.
Ruby re-holstered her gun and placed her hands on her hips. This was going to be harder than she had thought.