"...Who are you?" Danielle glares at the red-haired man leaning against the huge durasteel cargo container she's supposed to be picking up. Her leatheris jacket creaks as she puts her hands on her hips to put extra emphasis on her displeasure without using the Force. She tries to ignore the fact that he has 30 centimeters in height on her.
The man moves away from the crate and bows with an extravagant flourish more suited to a man in formal robes than to his cut-off vest and cheap trousers. He meets her dark eyes with one of clear blue and a form-fitting eyepatch. "Cap'n Dani, I'm Sebastian from Klavers Kourriers." He holds out an ID chip and a datapad.
Danielle takes them from his fingerless gloves and subtly reaches out to the man with her Force, taking his measure, memorizing his signature. Bland, strong, boring... She slips the ID chip into her scanner without sparing a glance at the screen. "...This is all well and good, but what are you doing here, with my cargo?"
Sebastian reaches out to put his hand under her chin, but Danielle takes half a step to the side and slips her booted foot into position to trip him. To her displeasure, he stays on his feet and gives her a Cheshire grin before saying, "K's doesn't normally take on contractors, but apparently the client insisted that you captain." He winks his single blue eye at her and with the other covered he just looks more the fool. "I can see why."
Danielle doesn't take the bait and instead pursues the data from the ID chip. It confirms what he's said and when paired with the datapad, she can't think of a good argument to get rid of him. "Darth Vallen is protective of his goods. Especially in Republic space."
Sebastian touches the bottom of his eyepatch and visibly scans the cargo bay. Work crews in reflective vests are moving wooden crates on the far side, but there isn't anyone in human hearing range. "Best not say his name too loudly. This may still be Hutt space but this hanger is all Rep departures."
"You never answered my question." Danielle pokes his chest, using the motion to hide that she's feeling the Force in him again. She makes a show of wiping her finger off on her expensive brown trousers.
"You may be the captain, but this is still K's job. They won't sign off without me here." He touches his eyepatch again and then folds his hands behind his head, leaning back against the durasteel again. "Best just accept it, Beautiful."
Danielle frowns, part of her wishing she had her mask to hide the expression. She wants to push this arrogant spacer out of her face, but she has a part to play if she wants to move her animals through Republic space. Her hand clenches hard enough around his datapad to crack the screen before she throws it and his ID chip at his chest.
He scrambles to catch them and, much to Danielle's disappointment, does, just centimeters before they hit the cold floor.
"...My ship, my rules, cabin boy. And the first one?" She pulls out her blaster out of her hip holster and points it at his face for a moment before re-aiming it between his legs and releasing the safety. "You stop calling me names."
Blaster first, Sebastian peeks around a stack of half-empty durasteel crates to check on their attackers' position. A flurry of red bolts is his reward, so he ducks back behind the crate with Danielle. He keeps his eye and blaster forward, scanning for a shot. Despite the tension, his tone is conversational, "So, is what's in these crates actually worth this much effort?"
"It's worth more than your pathetic hide." Hers is sharp and terse.
He just laughs. "Make sure you use me as a shield then, my tiny Captain."
Forgoing the danger in favor of her irritation, she slaps the back of his head. "I'm not your anything."
One of the attackers comes into few and Sebastian fires six shots and there's a skittering sound when the man drops his blaster and then a thump as his body hits the ground.
Danielle feels the Force leave the man's body, even from this distance. If this idiot wasn't here, those last three would fall before I had time to blink.
Even though Sebastian doesn't have the Force to boost his confidence in their survival, he turns his back on their enemies and winks. "Oh, but you want to be."
"In your dreams, Spacer."
His, "Yes, there, too" is nearly drowned out by the sound of his blaster as he fires a round of green bolts at the man that tried to rush them.
Good instincts, at least, Danielle thinks before Sebastian holds his red hot blaster in front of her face. For an instant, she thinks he expects her to start firing it, but then she realizes that red hot is not a good state for a blaster and she trades it for the rifle he'd handed her earlier.
He anchors his shoulder against the empty crate and takes aim at the gangster he can see. The man goes down with a single blue shot. "This is a nice piece of equipment."
"You're the one who gave it to me," She says, but he's clearly not listening as he fires a charged blast through an empty crate on the other side of the 'customs facility' they had been ambushed in. Danielle feels outward with the Force and finds no other signatures, but doesn't mention it when Sebastian motions her still and carefully activates his stealth generator before stepping out of cover.
Danielle can't see anything except flashes from a vibroknife as Sebastian slits their throats with cold efficiency. She feels a grudging appreciation for his professionalism. She can feel him moving around in the Force, but can't see him and clenches her right hand into a fist to hold back the unease.
In a blink, he reappears, one hand straightening his eyepatch and the other sheathing his knife. "It's clear, Dani." His tone is flat and Danielle can see the muscles in his jaw working.
She stands and brushes stray black hairs out of her face back towards her pony tail. With deliberate movements, she dusts off her thigh-high black boots and ignores the stinging nail marks in her bare palm. "...I can see that."
He shakes his head, red head sticking to his sweaty forehead. "So much for a routine customs inspection." He holds out his gloved hand for hers.
She ignores the hand, though she squeezes his arm as she walks past him back to her ship. "Let's make sure the cargo is intact and get out of here."
"K definitely keeps his safe houses stocked." Sebastian holds up a bottle of Corellian brandy to the light before pouring a perfect serving into two crystal glasses.
"Getting drunk is against my rules." Despite the words, Danielle takes the glass and settles back into the overstuffed couch. She runs a hand idly across the upholstery, appreciating the quality.
"One drink won't get you drunk. Well, it won't get me drunk. You're so small, it might only take one." He laughs when she slaps his shoulder and then has the nerve to sit inside her personal space on the couch. She only just moves her hand in time.
He holds his drink with his left hand and puts his right arm around her shoulders without invitation. "I think a solid job done deserves a drink between friends."
She knocks his arm with her shoulder, but makes no real attempt to move him. "We're associates, not friends." Nevertheless, she takes a sip holding the sharp liquid in her mouth for a moment before swallowing.
"No no, the job is done. We're friends now. Unless..."
She bites back a sigh. "Dare I ask?"
Sebastian puts his hand under her chin, like he tried when they first met, only this time, she allows it. She hopes her tight expression makes it clear that she can change her mind at any moment.
"Dare you?" He leans over and kisses her.
Danielle doesn't respond and leans back as soon as Sebastian breaks contact. She turns her head and finishes her drink in a single, undignified gulp. She sets down the glass and stares into Sebastian's good eye. "Just what do you think you're doing?"
He chuckles low in his chest, traces one finger down her cheek with the lightest of touches. "Whatever you'll let me get away with, my tiny captain."
"...Why do I have a feeling this is going to be way too much?"
"Because you want me as much as I want you." He kisses her again, hard this time; he puts an arm around her, pulls her tight against his chest. Against her lips, he murmurs. "Well, maybe not that much."