Attachment

Companion piece to Love

The knock came just a second after Gaff had thrown his dirty bodyglove into the automated chute.

"Damn." He stomped over to the door, unmindful of his state of undress and muttering unfavorably under his breath. If this was Kase with another report of unauthorized usage of storage space for bolo ball games, then he would...

But the royal dressing-down he'd been about to give died on his lips as the door slid aside and he saw just who was waiting for him.

"Commander." General Arhen started to bow, then stopped as he saw Gaff was dressed in nothing but his vat suit and cleared his throat instead. "Ah, I see I'm interrupting."

Gaff felt himself flush from the neck up and hoped to all haran that 'interrupting' didn't mean the same thing to General Arhen as it did to him. "N-no, sir. Not at all. I was just...ehm." He glanced around his cabin and hastily snatched up the towel from his bunk, wrapping it around his hips. "I was just preparing to hit the rack and..." He let the words trail off, deciding it was better to shut up now rather than dig himself a deeper grave.

"Of course." General Arhen remained standing in the doorframe, hands clasped before him. A few seconds passed, with the two simply staring at each other, then the general finally said, "I'm aware that it's late and you're off duty, but may I come in? It will only take a few minutes."

"Yes. Yes, of course." Sithspit, he'd been so startled, he'd left his general standing in the doorway like a blitzed Gungan. Hastily, Gaff made a sweeping gesture with his hand, inviting the general into his cabin and hoping to all Nine Hells that he was using the civilian gesture correctly. He hadn't had much occasion to use it before. "Please, sir, come in." The words felt hopelessly clumsy coming from him, but Gaff didn't know what else to say. He wasn't used to this amount of courtesy, especially not from a senior officer.

General Arhen took the single step necessary and the door automatically swished closed behind him. Gaff swallowed. With the Jedi, his already small cabin suddenly felt as claustrophobic as a womp rat trap.

"How may I be of service, General?"

The corners of his general's mouth twitched and Gaff was once more painfully reminded of the similarities between General Arhen and his sister, Ro. Like Ro, the general had a full, generous mouth that seemed made especially for smiling, though General Arhen was certainly more reserved than the ebullient Ro.

"Actually, I'm the one discharging a service." General Arhen produced a small holorecorder and held it out to Gaff. It was only now that Gaff noticed that the general was out of uniform as well. Instead of his customary beige robes, General Arhen was clad only in loose, brown leggings and a white, sleeveless shirt that outlined the wiry strength of his torso. "From my sister, with her...best wishes."

"From Ro?" Gaff was too surprised to hold on to his professional courtesy. "For me?" Ro had promised she'd keep in touch after leaving Gaftikar, but in his heart of hearts, Gaff had always doubted she would. She was a Jedi commander now, with responsibilities of her own and no doubt far too busy to comm a clone she'd known for barely two weeks. But the little recorder winking at him with reflected light was proof positive that Ro Arhen hadn't forgotten about him; no more than he had forgotten her.

Gaff accepted the holorecorder, gingerly holding it in his hand. He was at a loss for words. Then the magnitude of the situation hit him and Gaff fought down a wince. "It wasn't necessary for you to come all this way, sir. I could have picked the message up from your cabin."

"Oh, it was no problem." General Arhen waved his concerns aside with a careless gesture. "My sister charged me with prompt delivery and I've learned that it is best not to disappoint Ro. She can be, hmmm, very creative in making sure she gets her way."

Gaff shifted, not sure what to say to that. Ro had certainly proven herself creative back on Gaftikar, but agreeing with the general sounded too much like criticism. On the other hand, if he said nothing, that might be construed as not agreeing with his commanding officer, which was just as bad.

"I...Well, thank you, sir."

The general's eyebrows quirked up to his hairline. "Your welcome, Commander. Ro is very fond of you and I must say, I find it very refreshing for her to converse with someone of good sense for a change."

Which was both an unexpected compliment and tacit permission for Gaff to continue his relations with Ro. The commander relaxed, feeling a knot of uncertainty in the pit of his stomach untangle. He'd been worried that his sense of attachment towards Ro would meet with disapproval from his CO. "Thank you, General," he said again. It was all he could come up with.

General Arhen gave a nod of acknowledgement, moving back to the door. "I suggest you answer that as soon as possible," he said, indicating the holorecorder in Gaff's hand. "Patience is not one of my sister's strong suits and she's likely to call out a red alert if she doesn't hear from you within 24 hours." The smile was back on the general's face. "Consider yourself warned."

Gaff couldn't help but smile back and, feeling cocky, he awarded the general a reg-perfect salute. "Copy that, sir."

His commanding officer blinked, then hastily bit his lip and looked away; a rather unexpected reaction to what Gaff thought of as a harmless joke.

"Eh, well, yes. Good night, Commander." The door to his cabin opened, but General Arhen hesitated just within the frame. He seemed to think something over, then cleared his throat and without turning his head said, "Oh, and Commander?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Your towel is slipping."

Horrified, Gaff looked down and indeed, the thrice-cursed towel had slipped way past his hips. He grabbed for its edges, trying to cover his dignity and by the time he looked up, General Arhen was gone.