and now we return you to your regularly scheduled fluff... and the holls are over so Lagos and Amis are back at the Academy!

The halls were filling up with students again and with them the noise of unpacking and greeting friends and all the emotions of hormone crazed adolescents. Soniee wished she could turn off her brain for a few hours. Maybe there was something to be said for going to the Jedi Temple and being trained to handle all the incoming sensory information. She rubbed her temples and pulled on her headphones and visor. Before she could even pick a channel to zone out on, however, she heard a sound that was much closer and obviously intended to draw her attention.

"Lagos, what are you doing?" Soniee's roommate had arrived back a couple hours before and had spent nearly that entire time in the 'fresher that adjoined their dorm room.

"Just counting," came the blond's sing-song reply.

"Counting what?"

"...eighteen, nineteen... no they're all still here."

"What's still..." Soniee turned to look at the door and saw her friend holding a box out for her to see. It was a staple item for all med cabinets of cadets over a certain age, contraceptive strips that could be stuck on the skin prior to certain activities and would be effective for 24 hours. Soniee rolled her eyes and turned back around in her chair.

Lagos continued. "I thought for sure that there would be at least a few missing since we left the two of you alone here for the whole holiday."

"No," Soniee grumbled. "We didn't quite get around to that."

"Well that's good to hear or I'd be escorting you down to the med center for a little test I'm not sure even you could pass." She laughed at her own joke.

Soniee was now even more ready to get lost in her music and vids. She pulled the visor back down and was almost at the point of finding the channel she wanted when Lagos exited the 'fresher and cleared her throat for attention once again.

The blond spun around. "What do you think?" She was wearing a short skirt and a low cut, sleeveless blouse.

"Going out?" Soniee asked.

"Yes, and I'm going prepared." Lagos showed her roommate the prominently displayed strip that was stuck to her right bicep. Most girls at least hid them under a sleeve or waistline just in case. Making it so obvious left no doubt of someone's intentions.
"Well have fun." Soniee wasn't upset in the least that she would have the dorm room to herself for another evening.

"Aren't you going to ask who I'm going with?"

"Do I care?"

"I suppose not, since you've had him to yourself for a fortnight and haven't done anything about it."

That got Soniee's attention. "You're going out with Korkie?"

"Um-hmm." Lagos smiled.

Soniee didn't know whether to be hurt or angry or... it wasn't really any of her business. She and Korkie had never discussed being anything more than friends. But still something very close to jealousy took root inside of her chest. She jumped up from her seat. She wasn't really dressed for going out but she didn't care. She went to the 'fresher and took one of the strips for herself, sticking it to the bare skin of her forearm. Then pushing past Lagos she called back, "Maybe I'll see if Amis is back from his holiday."

She could hear Lagos hurrying behind her to watch the show.

Korkie met her at the entrance to the common room, "Soniee, I've got the best news!" But she pushed past him also, ignoring his words, and searching the room for the other boy.

Amis was intently focused on a game, thumbs busy on the controller, racking up points, blasting droids. She leaned over the back of the couch by his shoulder and whispered rather loudly. "You wanna go make out?"

He spared her half a glance, "Yeah, eh, sure. Just let me finish this level."

Soniee stood up straight and rolled her eyes. "Never mind. I'll be in the garage," she growled, aggravated. Laughter followed her out of the common room and down the hall.

Out in the Academy garage the smells of oil and coolant and fuel were oddly comforting. It reminded her of her adopted mother's workshop. She had grown up around speeders, ships, and Veeka Ordo's prized fighter. She had learned how to keep all kinds of makes and models running in prime condition. Not many people knew about that particular talent. Here at the academy she had mostly given her attention to smaller mechanical projects, but tonight she needed to get her hands on an engine again.

Soniee looked around at the assortment of vehicles that belonged to the academy. Some were for piloting lessons, others for transporting cadets to field trip locations. Ah, there it was! The swoop! Cadets had to have special permission to fly it, but she didn't want to take it out of the garage, she just wanted to give it a tune up. She found a toolbox and a hover-board on the wall and brought them over to her selected vehicle. She laid down on the hover-board and slid underneath the swoop. Then she pressed open the access panel and started work.

"Hey, Soniee!" she heard Amis call, when she had just gotten to the trouble spot.

"I'm," she grunted unscrewing a tightly stuck bolt and then since no one could see her, drew on the force to get the thing to move. "Over here by the swoop."

She could see a pair of feet come closer to her across the garage floor and then stop.

"What are you doing under there?" Amis asked.

"Well," She removed the piece that needed to be replaced and then slid out from under the swoop to look up at him. "You know that sound it was making, kind of like a sick nerf?"

"I thought it was supposed to sound like that."

"Well, it's not. So I'm fixing it." She grabbed a rag and wiped off her hands before offering one of her hands to the boy so he could help her up.

"You." He looked at her amazed. "Can fix bikes?" he didn't let go of her hand.

"And speeders, and light freighters, and the odd star fighter..."

He looked her up and down as if seeing her in a whole new light. "That's kind of hot."

She blushed. "My mom's a pilot. Actually both my moms were pilots."

"You've got two moms." He stepped closer to her and she took a step back so that she was backed up against the side of the swoop. "That's pretty hot too." Then he was leaning closer to kiss her.

"That's not really what I..." She couldn't finish because his lips clumsily claimed hers. Her instinct was to push him away immediately and she might have done so with the added power of the force, which would have been disastrous for keeping her secret and might have really hurt Amis and any of the vehicles she slammed him into. But just then she heard the footsteps and voices of more people entering the garage. She had no problem sensing that one of them was Korkie, so instead of pushing Amis away she took hold of his upper arms and pulled him closer.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?" Korkie sounded angrier than she had ever heard him as he pulled Amis away from her.

Lagos was standing off to the side with her arms folded over her chest, grinning.

Amis looked slightly dazed and laughed. He put up his hands in a placating gesture. "Only what she suggested, mate."

And then Korkie looked at Soniee. He glanced down at the strip stuck to her arm and then back up into her eyes and she read hurt and disappointment in his expression.

"I wasn't going to..." she started and then threw back at him. "You were going out with Lagos!"

"I was..." Korkie looked around at the other girl who gave him a smug wave. "I was walking her down to Peace Park because she was meeting someone and didn't want to go alone."

"Amis can do that!" Lagos called. The blond grabbed the other boy's arm and pulled him toward the garage exit. "Our work here is done."

Amis laughed and gave Lagos a high five. "See ya, kids!"

"You mean you weren't..." Soniee asked eyes glued to Korkie's, not watching the other two leave.

He shook his head. "Of course not." He took her arm in his hands and ran a thumb along the strip. "And you weren't..."

"I couldn't have gone through with it. It's just that Lagos said you and she..."

Korkie looked back toward the exit where the pair had gone. "There is nothing, at all, between Lagos and me. Believe me." And then he added. "Ever."

Soniee smiled. "And there's nothing between Amis and me. Ever."

"Good." He smiled and pushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "Because I would kind of like for there to be something between... you and me." He looked at her questioningly.

"I would like that, too."

"Then would it be okay..." he swallowed. "Can I kiss you?"

Soniee nodded and lifted her chin, tilting her head back. As he leaned closer, she closed her eyes. When their lips touched it was that same pleasant tingle of excitement that she always got when she sensed him coming into a room only closer and more powerful. It felt so essentially right and she never wanted it to end.

Then there was a burst of applause and they heard Amis shout, "It's about kriffing time!"

She felt Korkie smile against her lips and he broke away just enough so that their foreheads were still touching. "I agree," he whispered to her.

"Me too."

Korkie called out toward their matchmakers, "Thank you. You can go now!"

"Going," Lagos called back and she gave a little squeal of delight that trailed off down the hallway.

Once he was sure they were really alone, Korkie raised his hands to either side of her face and pulled her close for another kiss. Almost as soon as it had begun however he broke way. "Soniee, I forgot! I wanted to tell you!"

"What is it?" She grinned, sorry for the kiss to end but taken in by his obvious excitement.

"He's not dead! My father! He impersonated a bounty hunter and saved the Chancellor of the Republic!"

"That's incredible!" And she was truly happy for him. Of course just about anything he said just then would have made her happy.

Korkie caressed her cheek and she closed her eyes leaning against his hand. "This means I still have the chance to meet him and I want you to meet him too. I want everyone to know that you are the woman I love."

Her eyes fluttered open. "You love..." she asked. "Me?"

"Yes," he breathed pulling her into another kiss.
"I love you, Korkie," she whispered when they finally broke apart.

He backed up just a bit to look at her, like he was seeing her for the first time, or like he was trying to memorize her. He noticed the strip on her arm again and gulped. "You know we don't have to... if you're not ready."

Soniee blushed and looked away from his eyes. "I think I would like to wait, for a while, till both of us are ready."

He turned her face to look at him and smiled. Then he took her arm and pealed off the adhesive strip in one quick motion. He wadded it up and threw it over his shoulder. "Till we're both ready."

She winced for just a moment but smiled again as soon as the slight sting passed. Then she sighed, "Maybe some day we won't even have need for..." She let the sentence drop, blushing again.

He nodded, "Some day." Then he grinned. "Till then though, kissing is alright, right?"

"Yes." Soniee pulled him into the kiss this time.

After a second he pushed away with a questioning frown. "Better than with Amis?"

She giggled. "Much better!"