Oh you're not old
And you're not familiar
Recently discovered and I'm learning about you
Don't let it go away
This feeling has got to stay
And I can't believe I've had this chance now
Tech cleared his throat. They had both been silent for some time as he walked along beside her, having relinquished the directing of the mobility vehicle to its occupant. "So," he began, "now that we have seen the university stadium and had the experience of viewing a live game, are there any other sights in the city that you as a native would recommend to a visitor?"
Genna had to think about the question. She was usually so busy just going to and from the market and the orchard and home that she didn't think about any of the places in her city that someone else might just want to casually observe. "There's the palace, I suppose, they offer tours occasionally, or the new art museum. Then there's the temple of Unifar, my brothers and I were never very religious but there are supposed to be some very nice sculptures of the saints that are worth a viewing."
"I don't suppose any of those sorts of places would be open this late."
"I know Meg and Wrecker have already seen the harbor," she continued. "But the rest of you might find it interesting, even if it's not helpful with your mission." Then she chuckled and batted his arm with the back of her hand lightly. "Just don't ask me to give you a guided tour of any of the boats. I get terribly seasick whenever I'm on the water."
He cocked his head intrigued. "Even here, on the river?"
"Yeah," she laughed. "Kebiin thought it would be great one year for us all to watch the Lifeday fireworks from a riverboat cruise. He got the tickets weeks in advance but as soon as I stepped onto the gangway from the shore, I started to feel queasy, and from the moment we left the dock, I was stuck in the fresher being violently ill. Daryc stayed right by the door to make sure I was okay and missed the whole show, too."
"So no boats." He nodded as if checking off a mental box. Then he smiled and asked, "How about eating establishments? Are there any of those with menus that are worth sampling?"
"Restaurants? Hmmm… I've heard great things about the one in the lobby of the new hotel off the square. It's got a private party room for big catered events and the food is supposed to be incredible." She wrinkled her nose. "But it's got a price tag to match." Then she sobered a bit. "There was another place. The owners used to buy all their produce from us. Ret always made the deliveries. He had a crush on their daughter but then she went and joined the rebels and… I don't know if the business survived the post war economy."
They lapsed into silence again before Tech made an effort to recharge the conversation. "Well, how about music venues? You said you missed dancing but perhaps there's a place where we could just sit and listen to the band."
She stopped her hoverchair and looked up at him. "We?"
"Well, yes. It is still fairly early in the evening and the others have all been left to their own devices."
"Are you asking me out?"
"Yes I, I suppose that I am." His fingers tapped out a rhythm against his leg as if he might have been much more comfortable texting her a message on his comm unit. Then the corner of his mouth tipped up in half a smile. "You are the one who called me your boyfriend back in front of all those holo reporters."
"I suppose that I did." She teased him back. "But maybe I was just trying to make the other guy jealous." She didn't wait for a response and she couldn't help herself; she had to ask. "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
His fingers typed even faster until he forced them to still and then pushed his goggles up on the bridge of his nose. "I have not, but I am not completely ignorant of the goings on between romantic partners. I once employed an expert for instruction in anatomy and procedure…"
"What, did you go to a brothel for scientific research?" She was mostly kidding but the slightly guilty shrug of his shoulders confirmed her assumption. "Seriously?"
"Forgive me if that is offensive to you." He wouldn't meet her gaze and looked as if he might bolt.
She reached out and grabbed his hand. "No, it's… it's not. My own experience was rather… experimental."
She was a little shocked at the turn of the conversation but she certainly didn't want it to end and his admission had the side effect of making her terribly curious of what he actually might have learned from his instructor.
"What about that Limmie player?" Was that a hint of jealousy?
"Nathon? No, well, he , like most other things, was what everyone else thought would be good for me and when we tried, well, it wouldn't have worked out."
They continued their procession down the path for a while longer hand in hand in silence until Genna voiced something else that had been on her mind. "What does it mean?" She hurried to elaborate. "I mean you called me cyar'ika . I know it's Mando'a."
"The translation is something like, 'sweetheart'."
"Sweetheart." She smiled and nodded. "That makes sense. I remember hearing my parents say it to each other or even to me or my brothers."
" Vode , that's 'brothers,' in Mando'a. And yes, cyar'ika need not refer to a romantic partner but it can carry that connotation." Tech had relaxed a little again and he offered. "I can teach you if you'd like me to. I downloaded that translation program onto your datapad but it would most likely be easier and quicker to learn the language if you had someone to converse with on a regular basis."
It took her a moment to respond. Not because she didn't want to agree to the proposition but because she thought she remembered the word for yes and she wanted to get it right, to impress her instructor. " Elek ." She looked to him for confirmation.
His features spread into a grin. " Jate. Gar hibirar iviin'yc ."
She giggled. "Okay, we're going to have to take it a little slower."
"I can go at any pace you believe is necessary." There was a heat in the gaze of his brown eyes from behind the lenses of those goggles that she was sure would make her melt.
She sucked in a breath and said in a rush, "Hey, are you hungry, at all? You said something about a restaurant before but I don't think either of us really want another crowd after the stadium. Maybe we could just stop by the market, there should still be a few vendors open and we can grab a few things to throw together back at my place?"
" Elek ." He bowed his head in acceptance. "I would like that very much."
So still holding tightly to his hand she led him back to the marketplace and there were, as she had predicted, still a few of the vendors offering the last of their merchandise for the business day. Malgan Market was much quieter now than it had been during regular working hours and Genna was relaxed in the familiar atmosphere where she had done the majority of her growing up.
She chose a loaf of seed bread from a merchant who knew her by name and the vendor from whom she purchased the brick of hard, yellow cheese said he had seen her close up her shop early and he was glad nothing was wrong.
Genna didn't really need anything from the elderly Pantoran woman whose shop was in the shadow of the scaffolding that rested against the building that was still being repaired, but she stopped there anyway just to say hello.
"It's a shame your young man wasn't able to taste your mujas while they were in season," the old lady remarked with a wink at Tech. "I've seen him over there mending your awning and working on that holopad of yours."
"I'm going to make him a jogan salad to go with our bread and cheese, Mrs Cheefre," Genna informed her.
"You take this." She held out a jar of preserves. "It's from the last of that carton you brought over to me last month."
"Oh well, let me pay you something for that," Genna insisted.
"Don't you dare." The old lady glowered playfully. "You let me have those berries at such a good price I felt like I was stealing them from you. Just bring me back the jar when you're finished with it and I'll use it again next year."
"Alright, Mrs Cheefre, I will."
"Thank you very much, Madam." Tech took the jar from her and added it to the pile of their other purchases. "It was a pleasure meeting you."
Once they had continued on their way and had reached the more residential streets he commented, "They all know you."
Genna nodded. "There are other places to shop, more modern, galactic franchise stores, nearer to the palace and Yolan Square, but Malgan Market is still very much like it was when my brothers and I first moved here. It's like a small community. I'm sure I took it for granted growing up there. For the longest time all I wanted was to be anywhere else. I was going to go professional after a stunning athletic career at the University and travel the whole galaxy."
Tech could tell she wasn't finished so he waited patiently for her to continue.
"It was Mrs Cheefre who the twins were trying to help when that building came down. She used our stall for her shop while I was in the med center and the debris was still covering her section of the street."
"And there was no one there for you when you woke up after the accident?"
Echo must have told him that part of the story.
" Elek ." This time the Mando'a felt easier on her tongue and she gave him a sad smile and gestured towards the house before which they had come to a halt. "But we're here."
…
She welcomed him into her home, hovering over the threshold and through a comfortable sitting area arranged around a holonet screen. It didn't look like it had been used much as of late.
"The kitchen is this way," she called back over her shoulder but Tech hesitated by a shelf that held an image in a frame of a young girl in graduation attire surrounded by four young men, her brothers.
All of them were smiling. Three of them were blond and broad shouldered but the fourth had hair dyed as dark as Genna's was in the image. He had his arms crossed over his chest and something about him seemed familiar.
Tech recalled her saying something earlier, " Ret always made the deliveries. He had a crush on their daughter but then she went and joined the rebels …" Had Ret joined the rebels as well, following this girl in whom he had been interested? He must have, because Tech was sure he had seen the young man before, in the jungle with Saw Gerrera.
"Hey," Genna poked her head around the doorway into the next room. "If you'll just bring the bread and stuff in here we can get it all prepped and then go back in there to eat."
"Yes, of course. I'm on my way."
She put him to work chopping and spreading preserves and pouring drinks and soon in the simple domesticity he forgot that he was going to ask about her brother's involvement with the insurgent group.
They settled back in the living room and while they ate she asked him to tell her more about Hera and Omega and their flight that enabled the rescue of the Twi'lek girl's parents. He loved the sound of her laughter so he tried to make his story as entertaining as possible.
While he was speaking something tickled his forehead and he combed the fringe of his hair back with his fingers. Almost immediately Genna reached up with a mischievous grin and tousled it back into its previous disarray.
"It's driving you crazy, isn't it?" she asked with a smirk. "I could cut it for you. I used to do my brothers'."
"Yes?" He might have just been agreeing because he liked the feeling of her hand in his hair.
"Yes?" She repeated, brightening at the prospect. "Alright. I'll need to get my things. Could you clear away our dinner?"
Tech nodded, stood, and gathered their plates and cups. He busied himself in the kitchen, wrapping the leftovers to place in the mostly empty conservator and rinsing off the dishware so she wouldn't have to do it later. It struck him as regrettable that she lived in this place all alone.
When he returned to the living room she had placed shears and a comb and hand mirror on the end table next to the sofa but she seemed to be searching as if she had lost something. She glanced up at his entrance with a perplexed expression.
"It's just that you're so tall. I'm not sure where to have you sit so that I can reach."
"Oh." He scanned the room as well and noticed a footstool that had been shoved out of the way. He went to retrieve it, placed it in the middle of the floor so that she could still maneuver her hoverchair around it, and sat. "Will this do?"
" Kandosii !" She exclaimed as she moved forward to begin. "I did use that word correctly, elek ?"
" Elek, ori jate ." He turned his head. "That means 'very good'."
She nodded and bit her lip, reaching out her hands toward his goggles. "I'm going to have to take these off."
"Yes, of course."
She was very gentle and placed them where they were still within his reach. But then she paused. She seemed to have noticed the spot over his right temple where the hair had just begun to grow back over his scar.
She ran her thumb over it lightly. "I'll be extra careful there."
He should tell her about the chips, about Crosshair, about seeing her brother.
Beginning her work and having her hands busy at a familiar task, however, seemed to loosen her tongue. She told him about the first haircut she had given, Daryc, her eldest brother, and how it was so awful but he had strode out into the marketplace the next day like it was the height of fashion.
"Don't worry," she patted Tech's shoulder. "I've had a lot of practice since then. I'm just going to do a little trim to shape up the sides so you can comb it back for your helmet and it won't hang over your goggles when you brush it forward."
Tech closed his eyes, enjoying the sensation of her touch against his scalp and the sound of her voice.
"I told Daryc I wouldn't mind just doing this professionally. It's something I enjoy and I could have worked to put myself through beauty school with no need for a scholarship. He should have been the one to go to the university and be out on that pitch playing the beautiful game. He loved it but he never even got to finish grammar school. He was fifteen when we landed on Onderon, told everyone he was older so he could keep us all together."
She paused and Tech thought it might have been so that she could wipe away a tear. He picked up the hand mirror from the table beside him, not to check her progress but rather to watch her blurry reflection as she continued the narrative.
"He never took a break. The only thing he ever really did for himself was sign up to coach our team when I was little. Of course I didn't understand that he needed that at the time. I wanted to quit. Nathon had been making fun of my hair or some osik and I told Daryc I would rather take dance lessons."
"Did he allow you?" Tech asked when she broke off.
"He did." She took a deep breath. "For an entire season he took on extra delivery jobs so I could attend the class. I didn't know that he got a discount for my pitch and uniform fees by coaching. The dance classes and shoes and costumes were all out of pocket.
"It was Ret who told me I was being selfish and that I should go back to limmie. So I did. Thankfully by then the girls and boys were separated in different leagues so I didn't have to be on a team with Nathon anymore."
Genna and this Nathon obviously had a longer history than he had originally realized. Tech noted an acute burning sensation in his chest every time she mentioned that name.
"Anyway," she went on, more just playing with his hair now than actually doing any cutting. He didn't mind. "When the militia asked for civilian volunteers to go to Aargonar to help construct the base there and offered a significant sum of credits in return, Daryc signed right up."
The next part of her recitation was broken up as if it was difficult for her to say aloud. "We were told they were ambushed - by clones . But then later after the Separatists came in and put Rash on the throne and had the droids marching through the streets for our protection , there were rumors that Count Dooku had only dressed some of his own soldiers in your armor to try to force King Dendup and Senator Bonteri to take his side."
He didn't mistake her emphasis. She was obviously still trying to come to terms with what he was. She wanted answers.
"There was a detachment of clones who were deployed to Aargonar." Tech informed her honestly.
She gasped and drew back away from him.
He lifted his hands as if in surrender and turned to face her. "But they never reached the base. Their orders were to make contact peacefully and to negotiate terms to have your people rejoin the Republic or at the very least allow them to declare their neutrality as Mandalore and some of the other systems had already done. The Grand Army was only made aware of what took place after they had lost comm connection with the transport."
He reached for his goggles on the table still in an attitude of bearing no weapons but he wanted to see her reaction clearly.
After a moment or two Genna hovered close to him again. She set down the shears to show that she also meant no harm and then she reached out to run her fingers through his neatly shorn hair once again. "So many colors, it's really beautiful, hard to believe it's natural."
"Part of my genetic…" he swallowed, "mutations."
"Echo said you lost a brother also, that he replaced the original fourth member of your squad."
"Crosshair."
"I'm sorry for your loss."
"Well, it wasn't really…"
"So are we going to talk about it?" She was leaning closer to him now.
"About what exactly?"
"The ummm… kiss. I mean it wasn't much of a kiss. It probably wasn't even that memorable."
"Oh no." Tech cleared his throat. "I remember. I thought about it quite a lot while we were off planet."
"I did, too."
This time the meeting of their lips was much more deliberate and when he assisted her to slide out of her hoverchair and onto his lap it felt more right than anything he had yet experienced in his short life.
"I'm sorry," she breathed, too soon.
"Whatever for?"
She didn't look him in the eye and instead began to brush off his shoulders. "There are little hair clippings all over your tunic. It must be terribly uncomfortable."
"It's not really…" he began. It was the University of Onderon tunic that she had lent him that he was still wearing and he rather liked it but she seemed to be intent on taking it off him so he raised his arms so that she could ease it over his head.
"Manda," she murmured.
Tech knew he was lankier than his brothers but he had still been training physically his whole life. Lean muscle carved his frame of which Genna seemed to approve. She laid her hand over the skull that had been tattooed on his chest and then he pulled her close to kiss her again.
Getting her out of her clothing seemed to be the next item in the order of operations and he wanted to tell her everything that he was feeling but Basic didn't seem to contain all of the words he wanted to say. He began with Mando'a and then a phrase in Ryl. He remembered a snatch of an old Onderonian poem that seemed to fit the occasion.
She answered with a lusty chuckle, "Shut up and kiss me again."
"Yes, ma'am," he barely got out before his mouth was too busy moving on hers.
He knew what he wanted and what she obviously desired as well but Tech had to force his brain to return to Basic speech so that he could ask the question in a way that she would understand, "May I carry you to your bed?"
Her blue eyes gazed into his. "I - can you set me back in my chair?"
…
She understood and she was thankful. He wasn't just asking if she wanted to change the location of their activities, but how she was comfortable with getting there. He recognized the need for her independence.
She held tightly to his hand as she led him into her bedroom, all the same. She wanted him to understand how much she needed him as well.
She didn't let go until necessity required her to pull up her chair to the side of the bed and leverage herself from one to the other. As she grabbed hold of a pant leg to lift the dead weight to take off one of her merely-for-show shoes, she realized that he was the first person, since the nurse who had come to the house to help her learn to do things on her own, to see her perform this ritual.
He stood, waiting patiently, not presuming to hurry her or ask if she needed help.
Before she started on the second shoe she reached back and patted the other side of the bed. "It's okay. You can… I'll only be another minute."
She tried to focus on the shoe as she felt the bed shift with his weight. She tried to remind herself that he didn't know her before. He wasn't comparing her abilities before with what she was able to do now.
He wanted her and Kriff she wanted him too. Her hands trembled slightly in anticipation while she tried to undo her shoelaces and then her foot slipped right off her opposite knee. "Osik," she hissed under her breath.
Again the bed shifted behind her as Tech turned. He lifted her hair out of the way and kissed her bare shoulder.
"Kriff." At least the heat coiling in her belly confirmed that the most important parts of her anatomy still functioned to bring their mutual desire to fruition.
She bent out of his reach for just a moment so that she could grab her wayward foot and yank off the offending shoe. She didn't care if she twisted her ankle in the process, she couldn't feel it anyway. She tried to arrange her legs on the bed and hold herself up in a sitting position while he did some very distracting things in his exploration of her exposed upper half.
"Tech…" she moaned his name and then his fingers found a ticklish spot on her ribs and she lost her balance, collapsing back onto the pillows and hitting her head on the wall. "Ouch, osik!" she swore with a mirthless laugh.
"Are you alright?" he immediately worried.
"Yes, I'm fine, it's just…" she sighed. "I don't know if I can…" A tear leaked out of the corner of her eye and she wiped it away.
"Do you want me to go?" he asked.
"No!" She grabbed one of his shoulders desperately and then said more softly, "Kriff no. That's the last thing I want."
"Then I'll stay," he breathed, arranging his long body to configure as closely to her side as he could manage and wrapping his arms tightly around her. And he kept his word, the entire night.