Chapter 32 – Fold
[AN: Checkit! I have NOT forgotten about the 'current' storyline, or my others, I promise. You know, you'd think over the summer I'd have MORE time to write, but between visiting family and trying to clean house it seems like there's LESS! Sheesh. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and remember: reviews equal love!]
[AN #2: Almost forgot - this actually connects with the scene from the songfic "Always." You get more of Corso's perspective there, so if you want to know what actually happened between him and that girl... go find out!]
Vacy paused as they doubled back along the entrance to the cantina. The dull ache behind her eyes was relieved by the sudden darkness. She let out a sigh of relief as she stepped into the main room and looked around briefly, then frowned. Risha was still up at the bar, but the table Corso had wandered over to was now occupied by a pair of rodians. She made her way over to the stool next to Risha's and nodded at Tookreek when he glanced her way. Bowdaar leaned up against the wall nearby, but shook his head, waving away the offer of a drink.
Risha glanced between the two of them and coughed delicately. "You smell ..." She looked up – way up – at Bowdaar and thought for a moment. "Different," she finished.
"Oh?" Vacy inquired, keeping her tone neutral. She shot a quick glance past Risha and saw Bowdaar glaring a silent promise of violence at the curvy mechanic. "Really? I wasn't sure you'd notice." The wookiee barked a short, sharp laugh, and the two women chuckled together.
The nikto brought another mug of what they'd had earlier and set it down in front of Vacy. "You two seem to be enjoying... what in double blazes is that?" He wheezed a bit, stepping back and gaping up at Bowdaar. But it didn't take long before he was stammering apologies and heading quickly back toward the other end of the bar.
Vacy shook her head with a grin. "C'mon, Big Guy, he wasn't being rude a'purpose." She looked around the room more carefully, then turned to Risha again. "But I was hoping to catch up with you guys and call it a night, head back to the Wonder. Bowdaar and I could both stand to get cleaned up. What happened to Riggs?"
"Haven't seen him for a bit. Think he went off with that girl." Risha made a face before finishing off her drink. "You know, hail the conquering hero and all that. She probably wanted to express her appreciation... privately."
It took a fair bit of concentration to keep her reaction tame. "Really? Huh. I … well, I guess I hadn't thought he was that sort." All that talk of wanting 'something more' … spose it wasn't as important as 'something hot.' Is it because I'm not a human like him? What's she got that I ain't? Belatedly, she realized that Risha was making some kind of comment about men in general, and she nodded, forcing a wry grin. "Guess it was bound to happen sooner or later."
Risha smirked back at her. "Especially with him tagging along after the two of us." She leaned against Vacy with a dramatic sigh, slipping her arms around the mirialan's shoulders. "We have corrupted our young man well," she said, lifting her empty mug in a mock toast. "And I'm sure the debauchery is only getting started." She blinked, and then nudged Vacy with her elbow. "And speak of the devil himself – here comes the Mouse now! Though I don't know if I can still call him that any more. I've got to think of something more manly now, I suppose."
Turning to look in the direction Risha had nodded, Vacy saw Corso ambling in with a soft, dreamy smile on his face. He stood inside the doorway, looking around absently until Risha lifted her hand and waved him over.
Risha looked him up and down as he approached, and then cleared her throat. "About time you got back, Mouse," she snipped. And then her full lips curved into a slow grin.. "Though it looks like that was time well spent."
His eyes widened, and a flush crept up his neck and colored his cheeks. He stumbled over his words as he looked down at the toes of his boots. "It – well – ahm..."
"C'mon, let's head back to the ship," Vacy interrupted, her jaw tight. "We've got lots to do tomorrow."
The Coruscanti sky was as crowded as ever. Normally this wouldn't have been a problem, but the passengers in the back of the airspeeder were bickering, and Corso was having some kind of problem with his datapad, so the directions to the Galactic Archives were questionable at best and sometimes downright unhelpful.
"Okay, you wanna hang a left just... uh-oh." He smacked the side of the datapad and the screen fizzled.
Vacy felt the tension between her shoulderblades winding itself into a knot. "What do you mean 'uh-oh'?" she returned, her voice as tight as her spine.
"We kind of, um, passed it a second ago. Hang on, I'll, uh... figger somethin' out..." He gave the datapad another whack, scowling a bit. "Dammit... stupid piece of crap..."
Right, because hitting it is going to make it work better. She could hear Risha in the back explaining to the passengers they'd taken on that no, wookiees did not carry diseases - at least not ones particularly different from those that humans carried, anyway. While this was both true and reasonable, it was apparently not the right tactic, because they became even more upset and accused Risha of implying that they were the filthy, disease-ridden ones.
"Ma'am, you have to let us off right now. Ma'am?" A large hand clamped on Vacy's arm from behind, and the speeder lurched slightly. "I'm not feeling so well, ma'am..."
The benefit to waking up from a dream like that, Vacy reflected, is the immediate relief of realizing it's just a dream, and also, not being covered in vomit. She shuffled her bleary way toward the galley. The downside is that there's no way C2 has steamed the kaf yet. She wiped at hazy, sleep-crusted eyes, grumbling a bit as she got out her mug before padding over to the steamer. The bowl stuck a little, but she yanked harder and it came free suddenly, sloshing a bit of yesterday's kaf on her nightshirt. Of course. Stupid machine. She peered into the bowl, frowned, and then dumped the remainder of the stale, sludgy mess into her mug and chugged it down, wincing as she swallowed the last of it. I really have to quit drinking this crap.
She set the mug on the counter and shoved the bowl back in the steamer and shuffled off in search of the droid. It'll probably apologize profusely. But really, is it too much to ask to have the kaf steamer working properly?
Grouchy and sleep-addled as she was, she almost didn't see Corso before she bumped into him. "Uf! Dammit, sorry, I should've been watching where I was going," she muttered. Then she blinked. "You're up early. Everything all right?"
He lifted his shoulders. "Far's I can tell. Heard some noises, thought I'd check it out, just to be sure. How 'bout you?"
She shook her head, wishing she could think about something other than how well-cut his upper arms were. "Meh. Arright. Woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. Figured I might as well get up and get ready to head out."
"So are we heading to the Czerka compound to copy those documents for Fauler today?" he asked, his brow puckering as he mentally flipped back through their open jobs.
Nodding slowly, Vacy looked down at the floor. "Yeah... sort of." Except I need to get my head on straight, and having you around is gonna make that damn near impossible. She took a slow breath. "Actually I was thinking that you probably ought to stay here. I want you to take the Wonder up and get a feel for how she handles. Risha can talk you through takeoff and landing. Bowdaar can help me out with this. Shouldn't be too much trouble - we'll be sneaking in, if we can, and if not, well... it's a bunch of scientists and bureaucrats, right?"
He reached over and took her hands in his; almost reflexively, she stepped closer. "Just promise me you'll be careful," he murmured.
And when she looked up into his dark eyes, oh, stars, it would have been so easy to nestle against him and hold him close and kiss him until neither of them could breathe. Except that it would be really stupid, given that he's finally starting to get over you. Isn't that what you want?
"Of course," she whispered, though her smile was a little unsteady. She pushed it into a smirk and nudged him with her shoulder. "You too, buster. Better not get a scratch on her."
He grinned back easily enough. "What, like you'd notice another one?"
She yanked her hands free, grinning more naturally, and gave him a good poke right in the middle of the chest. "Don't think I wouldn't."
"Ow!" Corso put on a mock-pout. "Careful. I bruise easily."
Their laughter was interrupted by a few solid thumps. "Some of us hadn't planned to get up this blasted early!" came Risha's voice in a tinny echo.
"Sorry, Rish - I forgot you need every second of beauty rest you can manage to get!" Vacy called back.
That earned a snort-giggle from Corso. "C'mon, Captain, that ain't very nice."
She looked up at him with her usual sass-filled smirk, and for a moment, things were the way they'd always been. "Pff. When has anybody ever accused me of bein' nice, Farm Boy?" Still grinning, she turned and headed down the hall toward her quarters, calling over her shoulder, "I'm gonna pack up and head out. I'll catch you when we get back."
Corso let out a long, soft sigh as he watched her walk away. What if Risha's wrong? What if this don't work? What if she really ain't ever gonna think of me like that? If she'd just look back at him, just once, maybe he could make himself believe that he wasn't a complete and utter fool.
But she didn't..