Chapter Twenty One – Grease Stains
The hanger bay was slightly active at this time of day, though not really more than a few pilots meandering around in a morning grog. Cloud Ritril, on the other hand, had been up for twelve hours so far and was hanging upside-down in a long-since out-of-use TIE fighter. He had technically been working on it for over three hours, but that was to expected of a craft that hadn't been flight-worthy for over five years. Why the Wraiths had kept the TIE around was beyond him, but it certainly gave him something to do.
Frowning slightly at one of the wires he could make out in the dim light, Cloud used the Force to call another wire to him from outside on the hanger floor. It was a rather nice thing to be able to use the Force in full again, including a lightsaber. A few months previous, the Council had reversed its decree on his never being able to learn the Force further. What had made them change their opinions was beyond him, but he was certainly glad for it. He now had a lightsaber and could use it much better than he could back when they'd been rescuing Tyria.
Tyria. The thought of his girlfriend caused Cloud to smile into the darkness as his hands deftly performed their duties. Tyria Tainer, the woman he had met and soon after developed something of a crush on, one of the two New Republic computer slicers, and sister to Cloud's best friend. Originally, she'd said she would never date an explosive lover, but somewhere alone the way she'd changed her mind.
Hands double-checking the connection he'd just created in the wires, Cloud's smile broadened, his mind still lost on Tyria Tainer. The way they'd ended up getting together was certainly an odd one, but he wouldn't have changed it for anything. The relationship was too good to give up, in his opinion.
Seconds later, the mechanic pushed himself out of his hole and jumped to the ground, not at all phased by the sight of grease on the majority of his coveralls and shirt. Coveralls were perfect for dirty work, as anyone from Jaina Fel to Wes Janson would tell you. He was putting away his tools, the hydrospanner still in his hand, when he heard the hanger door open. Not turning around, he felt himself grin again as he realized who it was that had entered.
Cloud continued putting his hydrospanner away, then turned to face Tyria. She was a pace away and stopped walking as he turned.
"You cheated," she grinned, taking the final step up to him and giving him a soft kiss.
A grin widening on his face, he shook his head, laughing slightly. "I did no such thing. Jedi don't cheat, we just use the resources available." Tyria laughed at him, shaking her head. "So, for what reason did the most vigilant of hackers give up her post to come and visit a lowly mechanic like me?"
Tyria flashed a quick smile, her eyes finally seeming to take in his grease-stained clothes. She didn't say anything, merely pinched the shirt sleeve and pulled at it, effectively turning the tips of her fingers black. Cloud raised an eyebrow at her, waiting for her to comment. "That's a good look for you, Ritril," she said after a moment. "I came out here to make sure you didn't stay out here for another day and night without getting any chance to socialize. And on that note, I only lock myself away with the computers when I don't have anything better to do, so there's another reason for you to come back inside."
Debating the point even as the pair of them began walking back to the door, Cloud finally agreed with her theories. Upon entrance to the building however, he immediately wished he had demanded staying outside. It had been two weeks since Nicola Afyon had last been allowed to fly, though nearly everyone on base knew that she and Adra had worked out a way to use the sims without it registering that Wraiths 9 and 10 were in them, and it was plain to hear that she was not happy about it. The sounds coming from down one hallway were enough to prove his point.
"Or was the real reason you came to get me based on the Afyon's argument, and you figured I wouldn't want to miss it?" Cloud asked, frowning towards the sound of Nicola's voice.
Tyria rolled her eyes visibly, but shook her head. "Nope, I honestly missed having you around, considering my glorious sibling is off with his wife, and so on. And Adra's on Nicola's side, of course, so she can turn into a horror to talk to in the computer room. Other than that, you honestly don't expect me to sit around and listen to Gaeriel and Asyr debate over some mindless topic or other, do you?" Cloud shook his head, seeing her point. "Good. And while your friends are no doubt great people, namely Face, Ryok and Elix, I can't stand listening to them talk about explosives for long. I suppose I could always sit and talk with Jade, though that might turn into a monotonous conversation really quickly."
Far past getting the point, Cloud halted his trek to wherever Tyria was leading him, causing her to stop moving too. Tyria turned to face him, obviously wondering what he was stopping for. Instead, he just bent his head down and kissed her. When at last air became a needed thing, the pair broke apart to take their breaths.
"What was that for?" Tyria asked him.
Raising an eyebrow, he shrugged. "I didn't know I needed a reason to kiss you. However, that was just to make sure you got to the end of your talking mission soon."
For that he received a slap on the arm, but all-in-all it was worth it. Tyria nodded in understanding, and grinned up at him. "Yeah, I suppose I was rambling." Cloud nodded simply in reply. "You aren't supposed to agree, you know," she reprimanded him.
"Oops," Cloud said, not at all penitent.
Tyria didn't reply, merely poked at his shirt again. Cloud waited for her to relay what she was thinking, though he already had a vaguely good idea of what it was. "You really need to go change," she finally said, laughing a bit.
He looked down at himself, frowning slightly. "Hey, I happen to like the grease look, thank you!" He received yet another slap for that one.
"I'm sure you do, considering I told you that you looked good in it. But it is a bit messy." It took a minute, but Cloud finally caught her jist when he saw her shirt.
The gray top was now a mixture of its normal color and black grease stains. Grinning sheepishly, he sighed and opted to continue the conversation while walking. "Sorry for ruining your shirt, but you really did leave me no option on the part of whether I should kiss you or not."
"Oh really," she challenged. "How so?"
Now outside his room, Cloud stopped at the door. He glanced back over at her, a grin marking his face as before. "Well, think about it. Kell wasn't there to glare at me, and you were talking quite a bit. Those sound like perfect circumstances to me." And with that, he used the Force to open his door, leaving a laughing Tyria walking down the hall to change.