Disclaimer; I only own Roman and the plot/story. Star Wars and TOR belong to their rightful owners.

Background; This takes place sometime after Tatooine story arc for the smuggler in The Old Republic. Assumed to be Light Sided and flirting with Nariel Pridence, but not Zare.

Hired Guns and Reluctant Roses

Roman sat tiredly at the bar, nursing a drink. He was slumped against the wall, though absorbed in the simple act of his drinking. Despite the general liveliness about him, he seemed rather down.

It was odd for him. Normally he was the one taking on the Galaxy with nothing but his blaster, his ship, and his wits and charm. Though, the Wookiee helped out too. He other crew too.

In his free hand, he clasped a datapad. Roman's eyes stayed trained on it, reading the words. And rereading them. Then flipped to a second message and repeated the process several times. His distress seemed to grow each time.

The first one brought a slight smile to his lips. A message from Nariel Pridence, the Jedi from Tatooine. A thank you for his help in the matter of Diago and that Sith, Zare. Honestly though, it'd been his pleasure. It's been the most entertaining thing that'd happened in a while, and that was something.

And Nariel's company certainly didn't hurt. He might have grown a bit too fond of her during that mission. He didn't know whether it was how caring she'd been or naiveté. He ended up writing it off as simply her being able to handle herself and being a big help during those encounters.

It wasn't like he was fond of her in a serious romantic sense or anything.

Which brought him to the second message. Reading it caused a surge of an her through him and he flung his glass across the table, shattering it on the wall. That only made him feel worse and he through a few more credits on the table for a replacement.

The second letter was a message from the Jedi Council in response to his return letter Nariel. Well, his /multiple/ return letters. It was summed up to basically Nariel was no longer on Tython, having had left for a personal pilgrimage, and they lacked a way to get a hold of her.

Kriff, he couldn't even thank the lady for her help. What he wouldn't give for a chance to talk to her again...

"Wanton anger will only lead to your own destruction."

Great, now he was hearing her voice. He must have way stronger drinks than he'd thought. Though, hallucinations was a new thing to spring from his drinking. Maybe Corso was right and he did have a problem.

"Roman. May I have a seat?" The voice asked, making itself known again.

This prompted the smuggler to actually look up this time. Then rub his eyes. He nodded out of shock, scooting over in his booth to allow her room. For there, now sitting calmly beside him was a certain Jedi knight.

"Nariel?" He asked, unable to form a coherent thought or response to her sudden appearance.

"I'm pleased that you have not forgotten me," She smiled.

"But...the temple said you were on a personal pilgrimage. They didn't have any way to reach you." Roman gawked, slowly gathering his bearings. He needed to get a hold of himself. He was kriffing Roman Sondo, Smuggler extrodinare. Taking on the Galaxy only armed with his wit, charm, and an itchy trigger finger. He needed to say something witty, regain his clever reputation and dissuade his shock.

"W-what are you doing here?"

Well, close enough, Roman sighed mentally.

"The Force lead me here. It is..." Roman could have sworn he saw Nariel almost blush. But he was drunk and was probably just the booze talking. "Good to see you again."

"Likewise, Nariel." The smuggler recovered, motioning for her to sit across from him. "The Council said you were on some sort of pilgrimage or something."

"Indeed. I came here to Alderean to observe the war and try to calm the situation." Nariel said, taking him up on his seating offer. "I didn't expect to encounter you here."

"Ah, and here I thought you were following me," Roman smirked before reclining back. He'd managed to gain back his stature. He hadn't been all that drunk, more simply allowing it to run its course. Now that he had reason to be sharp, he'd 'sobered up.' "Though, I didn't think I'd get to see you again. It's good to be wrong."

"Agreed. After we defeated Zare, I have been unsure of myself. I wanted to speak to you about her," Nariel said slowly, as if not sure she wanted to be this blunt about it. "I wanted to know why you helped me instead of Zare. I know she offered you...her company in return for your help yet you helped me, when I offered nothing. Why?"

"Partially because it was the right thing. Partially because I couldn't stand to see a beautiful damsel- in- distress get hurt," Despite the blatant pass, Roman was being honest. He just wasn't one for saying what he meant in the way he meant it.

"I was hardly a damsel in distress but I do appreciate the concern." The Jedi frowned. "And I don't believe I ever properly thanked you. I owe you my life and I believe the Force has given me a way to repay that debt."

"No thanks necessary. You helped me out and I helped you out. That seems fair to me," Roman shrugged, fiddling with something on his jacket. He was finding it increasingly hard to meet Nariel's eyes. Something about them...

"I would like to join your crew." The Jedi stated as if Roman hadn't said anything.

The cocky smuggler stared, unsure if he'd heard correctly. "You'd like to..."

"Join you on your crew." Nariel repeated. "I am a Jedi so I won't take up many supplies and I do not need special quarters and I will be a significant asset in battle. In addition, I have special authority as a member of the order and can assist in that way as well."

"Uh, wait, I don't doubt you'd be a significant help but I can't believe a Jedi like wants to help, you know, me." The self proclaimed 'best shot in the galaxy' fumbled, trying to express his skepticism at such good fortune. "It just..."

"Do you...do you not wish me to join you?" Nariel asked, accidentally letting something suspiciously close to disappointment slip in.

"No! Just normally I have to rescue or coerce the lovely damsel to join me. Not the other way around."

"I believe you have already attempted both," The Jedi smiled. "It was just a delayed response."

"True." Roman smirked, relaxing a bit. "Soooooo. Should we we head back to the Fair Lady...?"

"I'll follow you there." The woman agreed, and in a fleeting moment of courage and rash action, gave the blushing smuggler a peck on his cheek before exploding into scarlet herself as they left the bar.

The galaxy was looking up for once.

Author's Note; This was inspired by, shocker, the Tatooine arc for Smugglers. Easily my favorite planet arc overall, I was upset when it ended. Both Pridence and Zare were interesting characters and I would infinitely prefer either of them on the crew opposed to Risha, who I found honestly pretty boring. I understand why it wouldn't have worked with coding and content wise but it cant stop me from wishing. Well, thanks for reading and tell me what you thought. Until next time, Baldore out!