Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Knights of the Old Republic.
Mical stumbled onto the Ebon Hawk wearing an expression akin to a puppy that had just been kicked. Atton couldn't help but feel a small prick of joy – anything that upset the uptight, holier-than-thou Disciple was fine by him. He mentally kicked himself; he was a Jedi now, he wasn't supposed to extract pleasure from other people's discomfort. Still, He silently argued with himself. The Jedi who made up that rule clearly never met this kid.
"Where is she?" Asked a voice from behind Atton. It made him jump; he hadn't seen Kreia enter the room. Her question brought something to Atton's attention that he hadn't noticed before: Mical was alone. Earlier in the day he had left with Eva, intent on protecting her while she scoped out the local cantina for information. (Atton had snorted into his caffa at the idea of Mical being able to fend for himself, let alone anyone else.) He would never have willingly left her, and she was far too nice to tell him to get lost. So why was he returning to the ship now without her? Atton felt a sudden rush of panic, but shoved it down quickly. Mical still hadn't answered Kreia's question.
Atton pushed his stool away from the table and got to his feet, hurrying around the table to reach Mical. "Where's Eva?" He snarled. "Is she in trouble? Has something happened?"
"Eva's fine." He mumbled. "I just felt like coming back."
"Right." Atton rolled his eyes. "When do you ever miss an opportunity to tag along with her, drooling over her?"
Mical's eyes flashed with unfamiliar anger, and for a moment Atton thought he might be foolish enough to try to throw a punch. Then both of them were suddenly flying through the air, crashing into walls on opposite sides of the room. Kreia regarded them both with contempt, shaking her head wearily. "I grow tired of this foolish bickering." She sighed. "Both of you would do well to reign in your testosterone." She turned her back on Atton, focusing entirely on Mical. "Now, where is Eva? And don't lie to me, boy, because I'll know."
Rubbing his shoulder, which had taken the brunt of the impact into the wall, Mical got shakily to his feet. "She told me to come back." He muttered, not quite meeting Kreia's eye.
"Why?"
"I don't know." Mical shrugged. "She just told me to get back to the ship."
A muscle in Kreia's jaw twitched. When she spoke her voice was low and dangerous. "There's something you're not telling me." Atton couldn't help but feel a twinge of sympathy for Mical; that was exactly the tone of voice that Kreia used when she was determined to get something from him. It never meant anything good.
Mical shifted his weight awkwardly from foot to foot. "I tried to go with her!" He burst out. "I really did! I told her it would be dangerous, but she wouldn't listen."
"Where is Eva?" Kreia now sounded furious. Atton's own anger began to rise as he wondered what kind of danger Mical had let Eva walk into on her own.
"She said she's going to see Vogga." Mical sighed.
"Vogga?" Atton frowned as he hoisted himself up onto his feet. "Why's she going to see him? I thought everything about Telos had been arranged already."
"It has, that's not what she's going for. She found out about a secret stash of weapons he has, and she's going to try to infiltrate it."
Atton and Kreia stared at him in disbelief. Kreia let out a low hiss of annoyance before turning on her heels and stalking out of the room, leaving Atton and Mical glaring at each other. "Let me get this straight." Atton closed his eyes and breathed deeply in an effort to remain calm. "You let her go to break into a stash guarded by kath hounds and a Hutt on her own?"
"You know what she's like, Atton!" Mical said, desperation beginning to show on his face. "I tried to go with her, but she forbade me to follow her. She said there's something she doesn't want me to see."
"What?"
"I don't know!" Mical said forcefully, gritting his teeth. "She wouldn't tell me."
Atton grabbed his blaster and stuffed it into its holster. "I can't believe you let her go alone." He growled.
"I am the padawan and she is the master, I must obey the orders she gives me… Where are you going?" Mical asked as Atton pulled on his jacket and headed for the door.
"Where do you think?"
"She is your master as well. The same orders apply to you." Mical reminded him as he followed him out of the room.
"I need to know that she's safe. I'd rather she be pissed at me for a few days than for her to be hurt when I could have stopped it." And if you cared about her half as much as I do, you'd feel the same way. Atton silently added to himself. He clattered down the loading ramp, leaving Mical staring helplessly after him.
Atton slipped the stealth field generator around his waist and waited for a group of drunken Rodians to stumble past. As soon as they were around the corner, he flipped the switch on the belt and watched himself slowly fade from visibility. Satisfied that he'd now be able to slip by the guards undetected, he tiptoed towards Vogga's room, being careful not to bump into anyone. He may be shielded from sight, but if he should brush against anyone or make too loud a noise he would alert the whole place to his presence.
Reaching the door to Vogga's room, he was unsurprised to find it locked. A security tunneler, as well as his own considerable skill at being able to get into places he shouldn't, made short work of the lock, but he had to wait until the guards weren't looking before he could open the door and sneak inside. A handy distraction arrived in the form of the drunk Rodians, who had returned to pick a fight with one of the guards who apparently hadn't paid up what he'd gambled on a lousy hand at pazaak. Taking advantage of the brief chaos that the ensuing scuffle caused, he hurried inside Vogga's room and shut the door quietly behind him.
Atton turned to survey the rest of the room and felt his jaw drop. He had assumed that Eva would be trying something similar to him, using stealth and secrecy to get to whatever it was that she wanted. He did not expect her to be standing in full sight in the middle of the room. Neither did he expect her to be wearing one of the dancer's outfits that Vogga's slave girls wore. The red and gold scraps of fabric hugged her tightly, barely covering her up. Gold circlets decorated her slender ankles and wrists and her hair, normally pulled back in a tight plait, flowed freely down her back.
She was dancing. Her head was thrown back and her arms were held in the air. She moved with great ease, almost lazily, but was still entrancing. What was even more surprising was that she was dancing gracefully. The only time Eva ever had grace was during battle; in day to day life she was amazingly clumsy, always bumping into people and knocking things over. That she danced so exquisitely now, her movements so natural and flowing, was nothing short of astounding.
So this is what she didn't want Mical to see. Atton thought, suppressing a chuckle. He couldn't wait to see the look on his face when he told him about this; no matter how pious he might act, Atton knew that the thought of him witnessing this would drive Mical crazy. A loud snore broke the silence in the room, ripping Atton out of the trance he had fallen into watching Eva. He managed to tear his eyes away from her to look at the Hutt: Vogga had fallen asleep. Atton stared at him in astonishment, wondering how anyone could have dozed off during the performance that Eva had just put on.
He turned his gaze back to her and felt his heart sink. From nowhere she had produced one of her many robes, and was in the process of pulling it on over the dancer's outfit. As she began to rummage through her pack, Atton judged that it was now safe to reveal himself; apart from the sleeping Vogga, he and Eva were alone in the room. He deactivated the belt and became visible again almost instantly. Absorbed in searching for something in her bag, Eva didn't notice his presence at first. When she finally looked up, she let out a small yelp and staggered backwards. Atton grinned at her sheepishly. "Hey, Gorgeous."
"What are you doing here?" She whispered furiously, casting an anxious look at Vogga to see if her cry had woken him. He slept on soundly.
"Mical showed up and told us you were planning on raiding the Hutt's secret stash. I decided to come and check up on you." Atton kept his voice low, not wanting to disturb Vogga or the guards that were just outside the door.
"I told him not to tell anyone." Evan grumbled, mostly to herself. Something suddenly seemed to occur to her, and she glared at Atton suspiciously. "How long have you been in here?"
Atton's grin was back. "Long enough."
"Schutta!" Eva growled. "Nerf-herder! Monkey lizard!" As she turned and emptied an unmarked bottle into the kath hounds feeding bowl, she continued to insult Atton in an array of different languages. Even though he knew he was being called things that would make the most battle hardened Mandalorian blush, he couldn't help but admire her linguistic skills; he hadn't even heard of some of the tongues she was speaking in.
Having finished emptying the bottle, she finally stopped cursing and took a deep breath. She moved away from the bowl as the kath hounds rose and began to sniff the air curiously. "Feel better now?" Atton asked as she moved to his side. Her only response was to glare at him and pull the robe tighter around herself. She turned her attention back to the kath hounds who, after some initial wariness, were now lapping up the contents of the bowl eagerly. It wasn't long before they'd finished everything and were moving back to their posts beside Vogga.
"What did you put in there?" Atton asked.
"Juma juice."
Atton frowned. "Why?"
A small smile of satisfaction flickered onto Eva's face. "That's why." She pointed at the kath hounds, who were already yawning widely. Both of them were sprawled on the floor, their eyes slowly closing. "Now you probably won't get anything bitten off when you pick the lock on that door." She murmured.
"That's good to kno – Hey!" Atton rounded on her. "What do you mean when I pick the lock on the door? Probably won't get anything bitten off?!"
Eva smiled up at him sweetly. "Well as long as you're here you might as well make yourself useful. Besides, you're much better at that kind of stuff than I am."
Atton tried to look at her sternly, doing his best to ignore the swelling of pride he felt whenever she complimented him. "I still don't like the sound of that probably." He muttered as he moved towards the door, keeping one wary eye on the kath hounds.
"I guarantee nothing." Eva chuckled. Atton glared at her over his shoulder as he began to work on the lock. He had it open within moments, and was about to enter the room when he felt a small hand on his arm restraining him. He looked down at Eva questioningly.
"I can handle things from here. You head back to the Hawk." She ordered.
Atton shook his head. "No way. What if Vogga wakes up, or the guards come in and see what you're doing?"
"Nothing I can't handle." Eva shrugged. "Now go, I'll be back soon."
"But-"
"Please, Atton." She pleaded with him softly. "I need to get what I came for on my own."
After a long silence, Atton sighed. "Alright, I'll go. But you owe me one for this!"
Eva chortled. "How do I owe you anything?"
"I'll be worrying about you all the time you're gone. You definitely owe me for putting me through that kind of stress."
"Okay, okay." Eva rolled her eyes. "I'll make it up to you. What do you have in mind?"
Atton grinned wolfishly. "Well," He began, a sly look in his eyes. "I still haven't taught you the Nar Shaddaa version of pazaak."
"I think you've seen enough of me already, don't you?" Eva snorted.
"I think I could see more…"
Eva punched him lightly on the shoulder and then pushed him towards the door. "Get going!" She ordered. "The sooner you leave the sooner I can do what I need to." And the sooner I can get back to the ship and change into a less revealing outfit. She thought to herself.
Several hours later, a soft knock on Atton's door roused him from his slumber. He rolled out of bed feeling confused; he hadn't meant to fall asleep, he had wanted to stay awake and wait for Eva to return to reassure himself that she was unharmed and still in one piece. But his tiredness had gotten the better of him almost as soon as his head had touched the pillow. He staggered over to the door and opened it.
Eva was standing outside, a small package clutched in her hands. She smiled up at him, but as she took in his ruffled hair and the sleepy look in his eyes, the smile turned into a frown. "Did I wake you?" She asked, concerned. "I could come back later, if you'd like."
Shaking his head, Atton stood aside and motioned for her to come in. "Now's fine." He said, stifling a yawn. Eva hurried inside and came to a halt in the middle of the room. She shifted from foot to foot, looking awkward. Atton waited patiently for her to say something, but when it became apparent that she wasn't going to, he spoke. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, but what are you doing here?"
"Oh! Sorry…I…" She averted her eyes, looking down at the floor. "I have a… present for you."
Atton was suddenly wide awake. "Finally! I'll get the pazaak deck."
"No." She glared at him. "Not that kind of a present. My dignity has taken a big enough beating for one day." She tried to ignore his smirk as she pressed on. "It's… well, it's something I think you should have." She held out the package to him.
Atton moved forwards and took it eagerly, his curiosity burning. The wrapping was simple brown cloth, bound with a length of coarse fabric. He untied the knot quickly and let the cloth fall to the floor. To his amazement, he found himself holding a lightsaber. He turned the cylinder over in his hands, running his fingertips over the cold metal.
When Eva spoke, she sounded nervous. "It's double bladed; I remembered you saying that double bladed weapons are harder to master, so I thought you might like the challenge. I fitted it with a silver crystal, but I didn't craft the lightsaber myself. I'm sorry. I should build your first one… Or I should at least help you build it… But with everything that's been going on…" She waved an arm helplessly, indicating their chaotic circumstances.
Atton realised that she was actually feeling guilty about not having built it herself. "Don't feel bad." He ordered sternly. "It's amazing… I… Thank you." He smiled at her and clutched his new lightsaber. "If you didn't build this yourself, then where…" Atton trailed off as realization hit him. Eva blushed and turned away. "This is what you got from Vogga's stash? You did that for me?"
As Eva nodded mutely, Atton felt a stab of guilt. She had risked her life, not to mention her pride, for him. The guilt wasn't quite strong enough to drown out the feeling of happiness that he meant enough to her for her to go to such lengths to procure a lightsaber for him. "You didn't have to do that." He muttered.
"I did." She said firmly. "You're my padawan, and it's my job to find you a lightsaber. It wouldn't be right if I didn't." She smiled as he continued to look at his gift with wonder. "I'll give you some time to get used to it, and we'll start training tomorrow." She said as she moved past him towards the door.
"Thank you again." Atton said, turning to face her.
Eva paused in the doorway and smiled at him. "You're welcome. But that's only one part of the present."
"What do you mean?"
"You missed the first part. Take another look at that." She pointed at the discarded piece of cloth on the floor. Atton obeyed and picked it up; it was a robe.
He groaned as he inspected it. "I'm not so sure I like this part. Do I really have to wear this?"
Eva grinned evilly. "Of course. It's about time you showed off those legs…"