Wedge Antilles… Sex God?
"You're late." Corran grinned at his former partner as she approached the table he shared with Mirax and Wedge.
He jerked back when she jabbed a finger at his face. "Don't even start with me, Horn."
"O...kay." I'll leave Cranky Iella to her husband. It is, after all, his job.
Wedge reached for her waist. "Tough day, love?"
Iella pushed his arm away with a loud slap that caused other diners to peer at them curiously. "Don't touch me."
"Iella-"
"Have you ordered?" Iella cut him off sharply, taking the seat opposite him.
"No, we were waiting for you," Mirax assured her, pouring a glass of wine. "Did Cracken want to talk about that Levedru Bloodblades situation again?"
"Bloodblades?" Corran snorted. "They sound like a fun bunch."
Iella barely glanced at him. "Just some minor points. No, mostly I was making up for time I lost this morning." She fixed Wedge with an icy glare.
"Ooh, General!" Mirax laughed with delight. "Delaying tactics, huh?"
Wedge blushed but was saved from having to reply by the waiter appearing to take their orders.
Corran watched Iella while she scanned the menu. Past the angry glare, he could see that her face was drawn and there were dark circles ringing her eyes.
Once the waiter had trotted away, Iella and Mirax picked up their conversation about the Bloodblades – whoever and whatever they were. Corran turned to Wedge and raised his eyebrows. "Late?"
Wedge rolled his eyes. "Do we have to discuss that?"
"We don't, but I'd bet my X-wing you two are going to." He glanced at the women again, noting the very deliberate way Iella refused to look at her husband. "And I don't think it's going to be very pleasant."
"Great. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I have something to look forward to." Wedge leaned back slightly as their waiter distributed their meals. "Thank you."
"Just calling it as I see it." There was a momentary lull as everyone dug into their food. Wedge looked a little depressed and Corran decided to change the topic. "So, anything interesting happening in the big offices, General?"
"Only if you think it's interesting having to referee two ships captains arguing about who should get which squadrons. I finally told them that if they were going to squabble like children over toys, I would take all of their squadrons and assign them to people who actually gave a damn about their pilots. That was three days ago, and I haven't heard from them since." Wedge smiled. "So the highlight of today was when I put the last signature to the last bit of paperwork and clocked out."
"Lucky you." Iella's tone, and gaze, had upgraded from 'icy' to 'acidic'. Corran winced, sympathy for Wedge's situation warring with relief that it wasn't his.
"Iella-" Wedge's voice held a clear note of pleading. Those who think that General Antilles has ice water running through his veins have never seen him facing his angry wife.
"Because of you, I was late to work!"
If that's her only objection, I think she's overreacting.
"I was late too-"
"You weren't late to a meeting with General Cracken, four Wraiths and assorted other NRI personnel!" Iella pointed her knife at Wedge. "Do you have any idea the sort of cracks I had to put up with?"
Oh. Now that makes more sense.
"I'm sorry, love. You could've said-"
"I tried to!" Iella's knife hit the table. "But you had to be all 'I'm Wedge Antilles, Sex God-' "
"'Ella!"
Corran spluttered with laughter; at Iella's comment; at Wedge's expression of shock and embarrassment; at Mirax choking on her wine.
Iella's cheeks flushed red as she downed her drink in one go. Wedge was staring at his wife in disbelief. "Do you suppose we could have this private conversation, about our private lives, later, in private? As opposed to now in a public forum?" His voice was rigid and controlled; his 'command' voice.
"Fine," Iella all but whispered, focussing on her food.
Wedge watched her for several minutes, leaving Corran and Mirax to stare at each other and fidget with their cutlery.
'Awkward,' Mirax mouthed, and Corran nodded in agreement. Knowing that the Antilles' sometimes fought was one thing – actually having front row seats for the event was quite another.
Wedge finally looked back to them. "So how are Valin and Jysella?"
Mirax beamed. "They're great. Sella's been sleeping through the night for the last week – I'm so proud."
"Relieved is more like it. And Valin's still totally fascinated by her." Corran grinned. "He'll sometimes spend ages just watching her."
Iella stood abruptly, her chair clattering backwards. Without a word, she strode quickly towards the back of the restaurant. Corran watched her go, bemused, then turned back to the others.
Wedge's eyes were dark with hurt and worry. "Mirax, could you…?" He gestured vaguely after his wife.
Mirax squeezed his hand. "Alright. I'll do the 'women congregating in the 'freshers' thing. Only for you, Veggies." She kissed Corran's cheek as she hurried after Iella.
Wedge buried his face in his arms, not even objecting to the use of his childhood nickname. "I hate this." His words were muffled.
Corran gripped his shoulder. "Come on, it'll be fine. These things are just phases. I'm sure the two of you have been in snits before."
"Not like this." Wedge raised his head with a sigh. "I usually know why we're fighting. This time – I just don't understand."
"You're fighting because you made her late for work." Corran couldn't help smirking. "Congratulations on that, by the way. That must have taken quite an effort."
Wedge covered his face again. "Not talking about it."
"Iella takes her work very seriously. I could count on one hand the number of times she was late at CorSec. You must have been very… convincing."
"I outrank you and have full authority and resources to make your life miserable."
"Mm-hmm. Does she call you 'Sex God' often, or was this a special occasion?"
"Corran, I'm warning you…"