Chapter Three
Fox starts for the building's roof to meet his contact to arrange the next transport. He doesn't know how much longer he can keep up the charade and keep his distance. Every meeting it gets harder to walk away and not tell her the truth.
He doesn't know for sure if she knows who is under the helmet. He could be anybody--that's the point of the armor. During their first meetings she treated him with the kind of distant politeness she used when he first met her. Lately though she gives him looks that makes him believe she can see right through his borrowed armor. Fox doesn't know whether that makes things better or worse.
As usual he sees Riyo hiding in the shadows. She watches intently as he finishes his climb. When he reaches the roof and stands up, he swears he hears her whisper "cyare".
When she steps out of the shadows he takes the sight of her in, still looks beautiful, yet tired. Riyo Chuchi has changed, she's a different person to who she used to be two years ago. He's not sure he likes the change.
When she looks at him her golden eyes are hopeful but she stands with her spine straight with her hands under the folds of her short cloak, close to the blaster that hangs from her belt.
He doesn't think she trusts him completely. She will help, if she can, but he worries the longer he holds off telling her who he is the less she will understand why he did it.
His breath is too noisy inside this borrowed stormtrooper helmet, but when he speaks, his voice distorted through its vocoder, he sounds calm and cold and professional. He tries to flatten his accent when he talks to her.
"We are still looking for the youngling," he tells her. The datachip with the Jedi youngling's information is in his fist. "But when we find them, we'll need to move fast."
Chuchi hums. The only thing Fox can see of her face is the glint of her eyes, the tip of her nose, her pointy chin. They are on the upper levels on the her building's rooftop hidden from Coruscant's sleepless night by the remains of what used to be a small hothouse. His stolen swoop bike rests under the remains of a stunted wroshyr tree. When he's done here, he'll take it to the Works and wreck it somewhere.
He's actually looking forward to that.
"I cannot help you to find them," she says, her voice low, slightly raspy.
Fox already knew that. He keeps silent, waits for her to continue. By now, he knows the texture of her silences as well as he knows the exact shade of her hair--he knows she's thinking.
"I am able to arrange a transport," she finally says. "What kind of timeframe are we working with?"
"Once we find them, we can hide the child for a few days, maybe a week," he tells her. "But any longer runs the risk… "
"I know. I understand," she says.
Fox can hear it when she opens her mouth, the soft exhale that preludes whatever she's going to say before she changes her mind. Her jaw clicks then, and she turns away, looks in the opposite direction, away from Fox.
This is dangerous for her. More than it is for Fox. If he's found out, they'll just kill him. What they'll do to her is much, much worse.
He makes sure to make more noise than it's necessary when he closes the distance between them, his borrowed armour clicking and clacking away, his boots scuffing the rooftop. She turns her head to look at him, and a curl escapes from her cowl, soft and pale against the city's lights. She has to tilt her head up to look at him, her eyes searching ineffectually for the face under the helmet, and her cowl slips back.
Fox looks his fill. He very carefully puts the datachip on the metal railing between them, and she lowers her gaze once again.
"This is what we have on the youngling," he says. He clears his throat, looks away. "It's not much. I'll contact you when we have him."
This is when Fox usually leaves. They cannot risk being seen together. It's exactly the same as it was before the Empire, except in all the ways it's infinitely worse.
In his nervousness he reaches up and rubs his neck. She watches his hand as the black bodysuit catches and the line of gold tattoo shows. She would know that tattoo anywhere. She remembers the story behind it. This is the confirmation she been looking for. When she gasps, he knows he messed up.
She steps forward and grabs his wrist.
"Is it you?" she suddenly asks, her voice small. She's looking at him, he can feel her gaze through the plastoid, and he wants to tell her. It's not safe to answer.
When he lifts his gaze it's to see her eyes filling with tears. (Yes it's me. Yes I miss you. Yes I want to come home.)
He knows he should say No and walk away. He just can't anymore. He turns away and nods. She gasps and then faints. He turns swiftly to catch her before she hits the roof.
Looking down at her he brings his hand up to cup her cheek. He has been longing to touch her for two years. When she doesn't come around he carefully picks her up and heads for the stairs. Luckily for him he is the one who set the security layout. He can get down the stairs and to her apartment without triggering the security cameras.
He enters his old code on the keypad and smirks when the door opens. She never changed the code. It's like she knew he would be back one day.
As he walks back to the bedroom, he glances around the apartment and notices the door to her office is ajar. He's curious but he doesn't stop.
He lays Riyo on the bed and sits down at her hip. He removes his helmet. He wants to see her with his own eyes. She's been out for 15 minutes when he hears something that sounds like another persons voice from the other room and curiosity gets the best of him. He glanced down at Riyo to see if she heard the sound. When she doesn't he gets up from the bed and walks to the office door. He stares at it till he builds up his courage to open the door further.
What he sees renders him speechless. Sitting up in the crib is a little boy who is babbling but looks on the verge of tears. The little boy sees him and smiles as he raises his arms to be picked up. Walking into the room Fox looks around and notices toys that look like troopers and holos of Riyo and him. As Fox moves closer, the little boy is staring at him. Fox reaches the crib and the boy whimpers "buir".
I hope you are enjoying this story. This is my first fan fiction. Even if he was not in the canon series much, he's one of my favorites within others stories.