Two Days Later
Wraith Headquarters' Roof, 2053
Kai was sitting on the roof of Wraith squadron's headquarters. The sun had already set on their side of the planet and now all she wanted to do was watch the stars rise. A quick glance at her chrono told her she had been 14 for a whole three minutes. But she didn't really mind it anyway; her life days were always uneventful. Garik had given her a holocube that projected views of the night sky from different planets and in turn, she'd given him a new simulator datacard. Her mother and father had taken them out to dinner and their hold-parents had come as well. Garik had received a new utility belt and she'd gotten a bag filled with her favorite explosives. Inyri, who had come home three weeks ago from her most recent under cover mission, had given her a necklace from Cloud City and Ciny had given her a new transparisteel box in which she could organize her datacards- apparently her sister thought they weren't organized enough. The Afyons had given her, as a family, a new astromech to replace her old R4 droid, S-O, when he had been destroyed by laserfire. Kai knew that the Afyons had asked the New Republic if they could replace the droid for her, rather than having the New Republic replace it with a generic one that she'd have to alter later.
During her unconscious lapse into her thoughts, she hadn't noticed Ty come up on the roof next to her. It came as a bit of a shock, therefore, when he offered her his Jedi robe. Before accepting it, she looked up to see him watching her silently, a slight grin evident on his face. It wasn't until then that Kai realized how cold she was. Nodding her thanks, she accepted the robe and wrapped it around her shoulders. Looking up at Ty again, she nodded to the rooftop next to her, indicating that he could sit down if he felt like it.
As Ty sat down next to her, Kai lent against him silently, not realizing what she was doing. She was so used to sitting up here leaning on her brother that it just seemed second nature to huddle close to any other person on the roof. Through the Force she felt surprise leaking off Ty before it vanished into happiness. Realizing that she wasn't actually with her brother, she started to move to sit up. When she looked over at Ty, unsure of what his face would look like, or what he'd say, she felt an uncustomary red heat begin to spread across her cheeks.
Her eyes never left his face, even as one of his hands reached forward to tuck a loose bit of her hair behind her ear. The hand moved from her hair to her cheek. At the same time she registered that the distance between them had diminished, she heard the blood pounding hard in her ears. Kai didn't move her eyes from his in the moment that seemed to hang in eternity before she felt the gentle press of Ty's lips against hers.
Although brief, the kiss left Kai stunned and a bit breathless even. Ty was looking down at her, a sheepish smile on his features. Kai glanced up to look at his face, then grabbed his collar and pulled him back down to her. He didn't even bother to protest as she did so, kissing him firmly on the lips. After some unknown time, both pulled away to take a breath of needed air.
Kai moved over towards Ty, her head resting on his shoulder. An arm wrapped hesitantly around her and she felt herself being pulled over towards the figure next to her. Knowing it couldn't be later than 2100, she still felt slightly tired. Closing her eyes on the flurry of lights that signified Coruscant as the planet that never slept, she released a sigh that carried uncertainties and anxieties out with the air. There was silence for a minute, then Ty spoke.
"You okay, Kai?" His voice was soft and, as so, a bit rough, but it was almost like music to her.
"I'm fine," she replied quickly. She drew up her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, almost curling into a ball.
About to say something else, she saw the lights below them blare on just as Ty placed a kiss on her hair. Kai picked her head up off his shoulder and smiled, but quickly looked down to see six figures looking up at them. Garik and Koyi were looking at their respective twins with scorn, Ciny, Inyri, Lis and Meli all exchanging grinning glances. Realizing her brother was speaking, Kai looked at him, trying to focus.
"Would either of you care to explain what you were doing at 2100, on the roof, in the dark, sitting next to each other?" Kai cringed, wondering how her brother managed to phrase it like their parents. Neither Ty nor she answered.
Koyi sighed as she glanced between them, then said, "Look, we're not going to tell mom or Aunt Adra, but would you do us a favor and cut yourselves off from your twins next time? Garik over here thought you were in serious trouble, Kai," she gave Kai a hard glare, "when he apparently felt you getting nervous." She said this with disbelief, as Kai was rarely one to show nerves at all.
Kai felt herself blush, wishing to hide her face in the Jedi robe that was still draped over her shoulders. As if the situation couldn't get any worse, a pair of footsteps were coming towards the docking bay. The next second, Kai recognized the backsides of the new figures and wished she could just disappear.
Her father looked around at her friends and siblings, a grin easily seen on his face even though he was so far below. "So," he began, voice tone easily recognizable as playful, "what are we all doing out here, gawking at the roof without Kai and Tynian?"
Her Jedi Master nodded in agreement to the question, glancing at Koyi as he did so. It was she who answered.
"We were enlightening mine and Garik's twins to block themselves from the Force next time they prove us wrong about who would get their first kiss out of the remainder of us."
Through the Force, she felt her father grow confused, then watched in something like slow motion as he turned around to look up at the roof. Kai carefully cleared her face, feeling the heat in her cheeks ebbing away only to turn to dread when her father's eyes locked on hers. Silently she pleaded with him not to yell or say anything only to see that it was wasn't working. His comm was already to his mouth before she saw it flying up towards her. Kai looked at Ty to see him grabbing the comm from the air. Her father was looking livid.
"Kaizan Loran!" The shout seemed to echo around the open space. Uncle Bror was now looking up to where her father was shouting. Behind them, Kai saw her siblings and friends looking at her father in something like horror. Inyri stepped forward hesitantly, then seemed to gather the courage to talk to her obviously upset father.
"Daddy..." Inyri's voice trailed off. "Daddy, it's not like she's your first daughter to kiss someone. She's not your little baby hacker anymore."
Her father rounded on his eldest child, the child that had been his pride and joy as an actress. Kai could sense the anger rolling off him. Quickly she stood up, making sure to make no sound as she did so, then pulled Ty up with her.
"Yes, 'Nyri, I realize that. Only you kissed the Imperial Nerfherders because you'd look suspicious if you didn't," he rounded to look at Kai again. "Kaizan, don't even think of slipping off unnoticed. Get your butt down here right now."
Kai watched her father as he fumed silently but shook her head. He gaped at her, now shaking his own head. "No you don't," he commented as she turned again. "You're going to actually verbally reply to me, young lady."
She turned back to her father, black hair fanning out behind her, black eyes locked on his face. Coming to an immediate decision, she walked over to the edge of the roof, landing easily on the ground, nearly nose-to-nose, minus height, with her father. Staring silently at him for a few minutes, she took a step back and snapped into a salute.
"Yes, Commander," her voice stated. "Now, sir, I demand, not request, permission to speak freely." Dimly aware of virtually everyone staring at her, she continued. "I'm sorry to disappoint you in my choice of co-stars, but as Golden Child clearly stated, I'm not a miniature mom in that I'll be your little hacking daughter forever. If you having nothing to add, sir, I'll take my leave."
At this point, everyone was staring at her in complete silence. She felt the hot glare of Master Bror as he looked at her incredulously. Her father appeared none-plussed by her outburst and didn't say anything. Counting silently to 'ten-Dantooine', Kai turned sharply on her heel and walked back into base. The moment she was inside, she broke into a run for her parents' suite. The door was already open, as if her mother was expecting her. She felt the warm arms she'd known all her life wrap around her and somehow the galaxy seemed all right.