A/N: Thanks to RogueDragon and Nebulon and Mandalore18 for their reviews. Enjoy the latest, oldies and newbies!
"This has to be against the Jedi code or something." A wisecrack. One that the Handmaiden secretly welcomed in their current situation. "I mean, I hardly expect some decrepit Jedi a thousand years ago built the first lightsaber to use as a flashlight."
"Atton, hush and stay still. I have not finished."
The scoundrel grimaced as she applied the kolto from the medpac to the long gash in his shoulder. In his other hand, he held one of his sabers to give her light. He watched as her nimble fingers smoothed the kolto patch across the wound gently, her grey eyes fixed on her task. Atton never noticed how deep her eyes were until he looked up close. True, he'd seen them lit with fury and often rolling in annoyance, but now as she tended his wounds, they softened.
Speaking of soft…
He dropped his eyes to her full lips, roseate and rich as the sunset on Tatooine. As she worked, the Handmaiden bit her lower one in concentration.
…why did he suddenly find himself envying her teeth?
To take his mind off the feeling, Atton cast about for something else to comment on. "So…how does it feel to have been away from Telos and the academy for so long?" Mentally, he slapped a hand to his head. Oh, well done, Rand. Great conversation topic, there.
However, the Handmaiden didn't seem to mind, finishing and sitting down next to him, back against the wall. "Different…and interesting," she admitted. "It…feels better to be out and doing good in the galaxy than waiting for it to change on its own."
"Any regrets?"
She gave him a sharp glance, found him serious, and looked away. "About becoming a Jedi and breaking my vow?"
"What else?"
"No."
Atton realized she was revealing more than she normally did and felt an odd sense of privilege that she said it to him. "You still aren't happy, though, right?" he pressed, quirking a brow.
"No. I…still feel…" her voice trailed off as she struggled to find the right words. "…restrained. There seems to be something still holding me back. Perhaps it is the remnants of the promise. I do not know."
"Restrained, huh?" Geeze, how do I get myself into these conversations… Eyes wandering to her hair, Atton squinted in thought. "If you want to be less restrained, I have a suggestion."
Surprisingly, she liked it.
One month later, the Exile asked her if she was growing her hair out. The resulting pink tinge on her cheeks coupled with the way her eyes flicked toward Atton, then back again was highly suspicious.