(28/06/2013) Author's notes: So, Corso's Companion 101 entry came in today. Apparently, the information in that invalidates some of the stuff in here. So some notable changes to this piece, notably the fact that Corso has a talent that I didn't know about until just now.

If you want to find out more about Corso and discover what I did (there is an explanation for something that happens in a cutscene there, actually), go to the SWTOR website and look for the developer blog, I've put the date on this entry (I'm working to European date style, so that's why my American readers might be a little confused; just switch them 'round).

Corso Riggs had to admit his Captain never ceased to surprise him. When she'd told him of cantina on Nar Shaddaa that didn't seem to be consumed with a brawl at least once a day, he was a little sceptical. He didn't like mistrusting her, but in his experience of the Smuggler's Moon, it had been bright neon lights trying to hide the dark, dirty underlevels, and the poverty and horrific dealings that went on there. However, he had been proved wrong when she steered him to a cantina guarded by some bouncers that gave even Corso pause. Despite their imposing presence, once they knew who they were they stood aside to let the human and Twi'lek pass, albeit with some bemused looks.

The cantina was quiet and subdued, seeming like it was straddling the boundaries of being a restaurant more than being just a place to drink and play pazaak. The music was soft and lulling unlike the heavy beat of other places, and Corso found himself warming to the Nexu's Den rather quickly; it seemed perfect for a date between him and the captain. The manager briefly came out to greet Zavvi, catching up as quickly as possible before he left the two to find a table tucked away, for some privacy. The servers didn't really seem to have that much on, but the young man noticed the distinct lack of collar and nervous edge most collared servers had, and relaxed knowing they were here because they wanted to be, not because they had to.

So now he sat on the opposite side to Captain Zavvi, swirling his almost empty glass on the table as she stared out into the cantina, people-watching. He realized once they'd got themselves settled that they hadn't really had to chance to relax in a long while, so took the chance now, whilst the fortune's riches held out. His brow furrowed lightly at the thought that Risha was a permanent addition to their crew, but in hindsight she'd already been long before the princess had made it offical. As much as he disliked the way Risha spoke to him, she and Zavvi were good friends, so he'd gritted his teeth and said he wouldn't mind her being onboard.

He was roused from his thoughts by a question from Zavvi that came out of the blue.
"You ever danced, Corso?" The mercenary blinked, and gave her a questioning look.
"Why're you asking, Captain?" He asked, a little thrown by it. She looked at him properly, glad the low lighting hid the beginnings of a blush on her cheeks.
"I, I was thinking..." She began, before she thought better about it and attempted to hoist up her bravado. "Well, I thought you gentleman asked ladies to dance?" She spoke, watching Corso's face darken.
"Ah, well, uh, yeah, but..." He stuttered. "I uh, I haven't danced...Not in a long time. Not since..." He trailed off, the Twi'lek's verdant eyes softening.
"Not since your fiancée?" She asked tentatively. He nodded, tracing a pattern on the table with his finger. After a moment, she reached forward and gently rested her hand ontop of his wandering one, stopping its endless journey.
"I didn't mean to bring up bad memories, Corso. I'm sorry." Her tone was soft, and after a beat, Corso's hand turned over, threading his fingers gently between hers. After many days of wearing gloves for their work, Zavvi found herself surprised by the callouses on his hands and how they felt under her fingers. It wasn't as if she had the dainty hands of royalty; she had callouses from firing blasters too, but Corso's were more extensive and tougher. And yet his touch was tender and somehow delicate.
"No, it's not your fault, Captain..." He muttered. "You weren't to know..."
"I know, but I should be more respectful and not dredge up bad memories." She replied, watching as he began to idly play with her fingers.
A pause settled between them, the smuggler bemused at what Corso was doing. He didn't seem to have a goal in mind or anything; all he was doing was touching her fingers and palms, almost examining them by touch and sight alone. Zavvi was content to let him continue, despite not really knowing why he was doing it.
"Captain...If you really wanted to...I'd really like to dance with you..." Corso murmured after a while.
"Don't do it if you don't want to, I'll be alright-" Zavvi said, before he interrupted her with:
"No, Captain, I want to." A slight blush danced on the top of his cheeks. "It's just...I haven't practised for a very long time...I'll be a might bit rusty."
"Well, I haven't danced in a while either, so we're both in the same boat." The Twi'lek smiled. "Besides, who's gonna care about two people who can't dance very well? So long as we don't bump into anyone, we'll be fine, right?"
"I...I guess so, Captain." He nodded, smiling. He stood up with her, his hand still intertwined with hers. His heart was beginning to hammer against his ribcage as he walked with her down to the dance floor, hardly believing this was real, yet if it was a dream, he certainly didn't want to wake up from it.

As Zavvi had said, no-one paid them any heed, but even so, Corso was a little nervous about putting his hands on her, to which she chuckled good-naturedly at his hesitant manner, yet was surprised that Corso put his hands exactly where they were supposed to go. She raised any eyebrow.

"Is there something you're not telling me, farm boy?" She spoke, and he looked surprised.

"What, Captain?" He asked, brows raising. She frowned slightly.

"No, it's nothing. Sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down." She shook her head, smiling. "Let's just enjoy, hmm?"

The music was soft and lulled, the beat gentle, and it didn't take long for the couple to settle into it. To Zavvi's immense surprise, Corso was much, much better than she'd expected; in fact, she felt like the one who was inexperienced! He quickly moved their slow dance into a waltz he knew very well, and Zavvi noticed from the corner of her eyes that others were looking over at them with a mixture of awe and jealousy. The Twi'lek had thought he wouldn't have been too bad since he had good footwork in a fight, yet he'd be a bit rough around the edges, but this was something else. She felt like he was teaching her, not the other way around.

"Corso, when did you learn to dance so well?" She asked him as he effortlessly drew her into his body with the gentlest of tugs.

"Ah, I'm not that good..." He said, blushing.

"Ronto shit, Corso, you're better than me!"
"You're a real good dancer, Captain." Corso replied, brown eyes warm. "Where'd you learn?"

Zavvi didn't really appreciate him deflecting her question, but decided to answer it anyway.
"Dance classes in the school I went to." She replied. "But that was only really basic boring stuff." She chuckled. "I kinda learnt more of the, eh, 'traditional' stuff by myself. I hate to slot into the 'Twi'lek dancer' cliché, but if you're careful who you work for and for how long, you can make enough credits to cover anything you need to..."
He couldn't help it; he blushed. What Zavvi wasn't to know, however, was Corso had been having dreams of a similar nature, so the mere mention of his captain in the only just decent outfits dancers wore set the images tumbling back, with the mercenary trying his best not to let his blood careen southwards. He swallowed hard, trying to distract himself.
"Uh, yeah, so, um..." To his chagrin, his brain failed him, and he knew he was in trouble when the smuggler giggled.
"Why do I get the feeling you like this subject very much...?" She mused, smirking to herself as she slid up against him, feeling him tremble slightly.
"Captain please, I-" Corso didn't get the chance to finish his sentence, as Zavvi continued with:
"Why don't we find a quiet back room so you can...cool down?" She purred.

She didn't quite expect Corso to suddenly push her away, face burning red and immediately chagrined by his action. The other couples gave them a sharp look at this sudden flurry of movement, and they moved meekly out of the way of the others.
"Zavvi, I'm sorry, I just- I mean-" Corso stuttered, stumbling over his words as thoughts crashed into one another in their haste to come out of his mouth, not exactly sure what to do with his hands. The look on her face was twisting his heart into the most painful shape. "Look, Zavvi, I can't..."
"I thought..." She began, and the mercenary could see the smuggler was getting ready to retreat into her shell, so he quickly moved back to her, grabbing her hands in his.
"Don't take this the wrong way, Captain, please." He begged. "I just..." He sighed, squeezing her hands slightly. How was he going to explain himself to her? This was going to be difficult to do without getting her to think he was some sort of, of...amateur.
"Why don't you want me that way? Am I not good enough for you?" The Twi'lek asked, the accusing sting to her quiet tone making him flinch.
"Of course I do!" Corso cried. "Captain if only you-" He paused, starting again. "I do want you, Captain. But I...I don't want to be just a thing we do...just something to pass the time." He sighed, looking at his feet. "I'm not experienced with this sort of thing, Captain. I can't..."
"Corso-" He wouldn't let her finish, however.
"Captain, I ain't got anything to offer you that's anythin' better than what those other guys can give you. I'm not suave. I dunno what things to say and when. I can't play those games like they can. I couldn't hope to beat you in a game of sabacc. I'm just a farm boy from Mantell. I could teach ya how to ride a ronto, but that's about it." A sigh, and his voice got quieter, and Zavvi was surprised that there was a hint of anxiety in the timbre, a very real fear that Corso rarely exhibited, that he usually kept locked up, a shield even more strong than hers guarding himself. She waited patiently until he regained his courage to speak again.

"I'm scared, Zavvi. I'm scared I'm not good enough for you an' you're gonna see a guy who's better at knowin' what you want, an' sayin' the right things which I wouldn't know head nor tail about an' I'm gonna lose you-" He didn't get a chance to continue as Zavvi bridged the gap between them, grasping Corso by his shirt and pulling him into a searing kiss that almost took his knees out from under him. It did as she intended though, as after she released him, the Mantellian was silenced, staring at her in a mixture of shock, surprise, pleasure and just general 'what in the blue blazes was that?!' Zavvi, on the other hand, had an expression of determination, her light green eyes burning bright.
"Corso, do you think I'm not taking that fact I'm courting you seriously? I didn't accept because I thought it would make you happy; I accepted because I, because I wanted to try a relationship with you. Sure, I used to sleep around a lot, and I did at one time have a 'lover' in every port, but do you seriously think that I'm going to keep doing that after I accepted the request to let you court me? If I didn't want you to court me, I would've told you straight, not said yes and then do that to you!" Her brows furrowed further. "I'm not some cliché spacer that leaves a trail of broken hearts behind her!" She made a noise that was a cross between a sigh and a snort. "I take love seriously; I'd never sleep with anyone who wanted more if I only wanted a fling, because I didn't wanna break their hearts. Because I never wanted to get my heart broken. I couldn't think of a worse thing." She turned away. "You're the first man I've ever had a relationship with, Corso. I thought..."
He reached for her, touching her shoulder and moving close, the guilt clear in his eyes as the dammed tears were in hers.
"I'm so sorry Zavvi, I didn't mean it that way..." He said. "I didn't mean to assume...You know. I just...The way you act around the other guys, I can't help but get scared that maybe-"
"You're the only person who isn't blood that knows of my injury." Her voice was barely there. "You're the only one who's accepted me because of it. You think I'd throw that away? You don't know how much it means to me..."
"I don't, and I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, Zavvi." His hands brushed against hers. "Just...You're the only lady that I've really cared about, and I'd hate to lose you because I couldn't do any better..."
"Corso, I..." Zavvi opened her mouth to say more, but it wedged itself in her throat and refused to come out, so she had to fumble for something else that wasn't the spontaneous thing that had just tried to leap from her lips. "I, I understand if you're...you're not ready, for more. I'm sorry, I shouldn't've been so forward with you. I didn't know it was making you uncomfortable."
A part of him rejoiced, the other half screamed with rage. Corso himself wasn't really sure how to fully react to it.
"I'm not ready just yet, Captain. I just...I need more time." He said. "I wanna do this right. I don't want this to be just a fling."
I can't guarantee it will be anything but that, farm boy. She thought to herself, but even now a part of her doubted it; a little voice whose nagging questions had steadily gotten louder over time, and it was getting harder and harder from the captain to be sure of herself in this matter.
"I won't pressure you, Corso. Just take your time." She said, though a part of her couldn't help but feel disappointed. She shoved it viciously aside; she respected this man and be damned if she was going to let her urges and the childish behaviour that book-ended it push him away from her.
"Thank you, Captain." A brief silence fell before he asked: "Do you wanna dance some more, or go back to our table?" Zavvi glanced out towards the dancers, then their table before she shrugged.
"I guess we should finish our dance." She said, and Corso smiled as he took her hand once more, leading her back out.

Instead of a proper dance this time, they stayed out of the way and settled into a nondescript slow dance, just trying to recapture the mood they'd started off with, and to also think through all that had been said. Neither wanted to end this night on a bad note, so they quietly kept to themselves. After a while though, the Twi'lek noticed the young man was looking at her quite intently, as if trying to work something out.
"What's troubling you, farm boy?" She asked good naturedly, smiling as she saw the crimson flush on his cheeks; it never seemed to stop being adorable.
"This sounds really stupid, Captain, but..." he let go of her to briefly gesture, "your eyebrows don't look quite right..."
"You know, I don't mind you touching them if you wanna find out for sure..." She chuckled. At her permission he did touch her eyebrows, eyes widening.
"Uh. They're...um..." His own brows knotted.
"Tattoos?" She offered, unable to keep the smirk from her lips.
"Yeah." Zavvi giggled richly, a sound that made Corso's heart somersault.
"I guess you didn't know about the little quirk of our species lacking all hair except eyelashes." She explained. "We tattoo or draw eyebrows onto ourselves so we don't look as weird to others. Of course, some like to not do that..." She shrugged.
"All 'cept your eyelashes?"
"Mmhmm. That's why I feel a little different to you; you forget you're covered in little hairs, whilst I'm completely bald all over..."
This was an innocent comment enough, but Corso's mind decided to point out to him that hey, if she's hairless, that means that down there...And so, to the mercenary's chagrin, a mighty blush blossomed on his face, and it didn't take Zavvi a great mental leap to work out what he'd just stumbled upon, though she decided that just this once, she'd let his embarrassment slide under the carpet.
"Uhh, that, that reminds me, Captain. I was gonna ask about your tattoos. How did you stand to have them done on your lekku? I mean, I know they were done before, you know, but it still musta hurt..." He smiled weakly, thankful for his captain not teasing him on his rather ungentlemanly thoughts.
"Yeah, they did hurt..." She nodded, one headtail twitching in sympathy. "And as you can tell, my tattoos aren't few in number, though I haven't any you can't see, they're all on my face, neck and lekku. But if you go to a person who knows what they're doing, or better yet, a specific Twi'lek tattoo artist, then it isn't all that bad."
"When'd ya have it done?" He asked.
"Had it done in stages, mostly. Had my face and neck done at eleven, then my lekku were done one little bit at a time until I was finished up when I was twelve. They looked strange at the start, but that's because they need to take into account the fact the skin stretches and that when we grow. I'm glad they were done when they were, 'cos I'd need pretty strong painkillers for them to be done now."
"Do they mean anything, Captain? They're mirrored on each one of ya headtails, but I just wondered if their pattern meant anything, you know, special. Like Mirialans have them tattoos they get when they've done something important. Was jus' wonderin' if yours were similar." She shook her head.
"No, they're just pretty patterns. My father helped me choose them, said they reflected my personality..." Her small smile ignited one of Corso's.
"I think they do too. And that they're beautiful too, jus' like their owner." He replied, making Zavvi blush.
"Stop it, you. Anyway, how do you know about Mirialan tatts anyway?"
"One of the guys I was with in the Peace Brigade was one, and he told me afta I asked him." Corso explained. "I'm not as daft as ya think, Captain." He grinned.
"I never thought you were daft!" She exclaimed.
"Oh really? So you an' Risha weren't laughing about me talkin' to Torchy then, were you?" Her blush deepened, much to her annoyance.
"You heard us?"
"Them walls are not as solid as you think they are, Captain. I could hear you two laughin' about me." His grin widened. "'Course, you don't really have a leg to stand on, what with you callin' the ship ya 'baby'. Even I'm not that bad."
"I do not!"
"Ya do too! I heard you when you were tinkering with the autopilot!" Corso knew he couldn't imitate her for the life of him, so didn't even try. "'Don't worry baby, everything'll be just fine...'"
"Yeah, well, I don't have an accent!"
"You do; you got a Coruscanti accent."
"Do not!"
"Yeah ya do. You can't have lived in Coruscant fer most of your life and not gotten an accent. Perhaps not as clear as mine, but ya still have one." Zavvi snorted crossly, pouting.
"Why do you always have to be right? It's not fair!"
Corso laughed.

"Well now, look I've found." Risha grinned to herself, beckoning to Bowdaar to come to her side. Her curiosity had been piqued when the captain and mercenary had changed into more casual clothes, and were leaving the ship. Together. They'd denied any romance between them; well, the captain had, Corso had stayed quiet, yet Risha just knew there was something going on, and the fact they were together whilst not being on a mission was just screaming that they were involved. The mechanic had eventually decided to follow them surreptitiously a few minutes later, just so she could be content in the knowledge that she knew they were dating whilst they pretended not to be. Bowdaar had come with her just as security around Nar Shaddaa; Risha was capable of handling herself with her sniper rifle, but a wookie would negate all but the stupidest people from attempting to mess with her.
She was surprised by the presence of bouncers at their cantina; most contented themselves with one or two, but this one had several, and pretty mean looking ones. Risha wisely decided there were more ways to skin a womp rat, so found an exposed terminal and managed to slice into the cantina's security cameras, and had eventually found the couple. Though she lacked a sound feed, it only took one look at the fact they were dancing together for an observer to confirm that they were in a relationship.

"The Captain seems enamoured with him." Bowdaar commented in the barks and growls that made up his language.
"Yes well, frankly I don't see the appeal." The older woman drawled. Though he does keep himself fit... She admitted privately. "But you can't say they don't fancy each other from this footage. I mean look at those lovey dovey eyes he's giving her. It's enough to make you ill."
"They could be more." The wookie said, which made Risha raise her eyebrow.
"How so? I mean, they must be dating if they're doing stuff like this, so surely they're in love."
"Corso knows he loves her. He shows it freely but is too nervous to admit it to anyone but himself. The Captain, on the other hand, is hiding not only from us, but also from herself. She has not accepted she has feelings for him." Bowdaar explained, much to the mechanic's disbelief.
"When did you become a relationships expert?" She asked incredulously. He shrugged.
"I'm not. I just guessed from how they acted to each other." He said. "For example, it was the Captain who affirmed that they weren't in a relationship, but Corso did not say anything. This means he clearly has feelings for her, but is maybe too nervous of her authority to contradict her."
"Or the fact he's not sure if she feels the same way to him, because she's not showing any outward signs to him, at least in public." She finished. "So she's nervous about getting in a relationship with him in case something bad pops up and they get hurt." She frowned at the flickering pictures as the young man bumped his forehead against the Twi'leks, ellicting something that looked like a giggle. "That's sensible enough, but I can't help feeling she's being a fool, and I don't know why. Makes no business sense allowing yourself to get attached to anyone; you need to make sure you've got no weaknesses that people can exploit. And yet..."
Bowdaar's blue eyes crinkled in the corners, an indication of a wookie smile.
"You want your friend to be happy." He rumbled softly, and Risha nodded. Yes, she did think of Zavvi as more than just a partner and the Captain. She was a trusted friend who was willing to take time to listen to her, and she'd comforted her when Audila told her to get out of the Togruta's life and also after her father had properly died. Though she'd had time to grieve the latter, she'd still felt the sting that he was never coming back, not ever, and Zavvi had graciously opened her arms to the older woman. And even before then, she'd found the Twi'lek a great travelling companion, who trusted her almost without question and in return Risha had saved the Captain's (and Corso's) life when she was in dire need. After a mostly solitary life, Risha had felt the warm embrace of friendship once more, and had welcomed it, so Bowdaar's comment was not only true, but the mechanic had accepted it totally.
"Well, it's going to get very awkward on the ship if they fall out, that's for sure." She commented dryly.
"They won't, if we leave them to it." The wookie let the comment slide off his fur.
"What makes you so sure of that?"
"Did you ever ask them what happened on Tatooine the first time we went there?" The slight inflection to the wookie's voice made Risha's blood run cold.
"They didn't tell us fully, did they? Zavvi just said something had come up..." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "How'd you get a different story?"
"I talked to Corso after he came back. They'd been arguing a lot recently, but whilst on Tatooine, Corso had pushed Zavvi too far, and she had fired him on the spot."
"What?!" Her eyes were wide.
"She fled from the scene, but had left her blasters behind, as both of them had been given to her by Corso. Because of this, when she was attacked by slavers, she was wounded and captured, and only escaped with Corso's timely arrival." The wookie shuffled his feet slightly. "He wouldn't tell me any more than that, and I doubt he'd retell the story again." Risha was astounded.
"That explains a lot, actually. Her limp, the reason why they didn't talk for a while, the fact she went to meet her sister on Carrick Station...Thank stars he'd managed to rescue her, otherwise we'd have been in a very big mess. But I don't know how this supports your theory..."
"Think about it. She fires him from the ship, throws his gifts back in his face. And yet he's still loyal enough to follow her in order to make sure she's not undefended. If that isn't one lifemate proving himself to the other..."
"I've gotta say, I've never seen anyone as loyal as Corso in my life." Risha admitted, before going: "Wait, lifemate?!"
She swore Bowdaar was grinning at her.

"Don't you fall asleep on me, Captain. Risha's gonna tease me to death if she sees me carryin' you back." Corso smiled down at the Twi'lek leaning against him, stroking a lekku with his finger. The music had settled to a very romantic sound, soft and gentle and their slow dance had become slower and warmer, their bodies close to one another, to the point that Zavvi had began to doze off due to the lack of much movement. She grumbled softly at his touch, which was guaranteed to wake her.
"Could get a room here fer the night if you wanted." She murmured. He shook his head.
"A noble idea, but I can just imagine Princess sniggerin'. It was hard enough as it was to get out tonight without her wanting to know everything we were gonna do."
"I guess..." Zavvi sighed. For some reason, she felt bad leaving his embrace. She pushed the thought aside, untangling herself from him. "I am getting pretty tired, and it must be late.I'll go pay for our tab..."
"No Captain, let me pay. It was my idea after all." He said, the smuggler groaning slightly.
"I'm not in the mood to fight with you, Corso. How about let's just pay halves, okay?" The young man looked a little reluctant, but could tell her fatigue, so he just nodded.
"That's fair, Captain." He replied, going over to the bar with her.
"You two had a nice night?" The bar keep asked as they paid; a man in his forties. They looked at each other briefly, before nodding.
"Yeah, it's been good." Zavvi replied, feeling Corso take her hand. "We'll head back to my ship now. This respite couldn't last forever, unfortunately."
"Aye, back to the old grind eventually, eh? You two take care now." He nodded, happy that they'd paid their bills and caused no trouble.

The bright neon lights of Nar Shaddaa's Promenade certainly weren't the same as starlight, but they'd do for now, as Zavvi and Corso walked back from the Nexu's Den to catch the next taxi to the spaceport, unaware that Risha and Bowdaar were just getting back from having spied on the couple for a while, whilst in a deep discussion of whether it was better to fight in melee combat, or from range.
"Hey Corso?" The smuggler gently took and squeezed his hand to get his attention.
"Yes, Captain?" He smiled smiled down at her, and felt his heart miss a beat when she leant against him.
"Thank you for a great night, farm boy." The Mantellian felt a weight lift from his shoulders, and he squeezed her hand back.
"The pleasure's all mine, Zavvi." He whispered back, and as she turned away to hide the small blush around her cheek tattoos, she couldn't help but feel...complete. Suddenly, Corso had a thought, his brown eyes sparkling in the city lights. "Hey Captain, when we next have some time to ourselves, I wanna teach you something!"
"Hmm? Is it riding a ronto?" She asked, half tiredly, and half curiously.
"No, it's a dance I know." He grinned. Or made up on the spot right now. He thought to himself.
"What's it called?"
"Ah, well, I call it 'The Mantellian Mosey'."