Scene 16 – Say You Wanna

The 'gallant hero' who had saved her from a fall reeked of alcohol and stale smoke. Vacy remembered to giggle. "I bring you drink?" she offered, mimicking the accent Arri had shown her. She knew that if she left her area, the managers would look for someone to replace her, and things would quickly spiral into unpleasantness from there.

Unfortunately, her 'hero' was not so easily dissuaded. "Nah, honey," he replied with a smirk. "I think I oughta take you backstage."

But before she could respond, Vacy felt a firm hand on her shoulder. "Actually, sir, I've already made my own arrangements for this one," came a familiar drawl. Vacy stumbled again as the man who'd been grasping at her suddenly let go. "You'll have to wait your turn."

"Aw, c'mon, man," whined Burly. "These twi'lek, they're up for anything. Bet she'd like to be shared."

Corso stepped past Vacy, reaching forward and taking a fistful of the front of the man's shirt. "Listen, honey," he snarled, his voice low and dark. "This one's mine. And I. don't. share."

And with that, he smashed his forehead into the other man's face.

After escorting the last of the slaves out the side door of the cantina and down the alley, Corso headed back in for Arri and Vacy. He caught up with Arri first, and handed her saber to her as he let her know they were ready to move. She nodded, calling upon the Force to allow her to slip through the crowd without being noticed, and headed for the door to the office to jam the communications network.

Working with Skavak, Corso had spent plenty of time in cantinas – most of them dives like this one. He'd learned how to avoid looking, as that sort of flagrant objectification made him awfully uncomfortable. Skavak never seemed to tire of ribbing him about it, but he didn't care.

But then, sometimes, you have to look. And when Corso spotted Vacy, the next-to-nothing skirt swirling around her as she spun, pebbly tattoos up and down her torso, he found it was suddenly hard to breathe. She wasn't remotely as graceful or as talented as the other dancers, but the passion that flashed from her eyes caught him and wouldn't let go.

Then someone touched her.

Once, when he was younger, Corso had very nearly gotten himself into a whole lot of trouble when he lost his temper and nearly killed a neighbor. The man was known for treating his animals poorly, but the first time Corso saw him raise his hand to his wife, he lost it. It was only the timely intervention of his father that saved Corso from jail – or worse – and a lifetime of guilt. From that moment on, he'd made keeping his temper such a priority that his laid-back demeanor had started feeling natural to him.

Until now.

Rage burned through him, white-hot in its intensity. He didn't remember storming across the room, but suddenly he was by her side, speaking much more coherently than he had imagined would be possible. Actually kind of proud of himself, considering that what he really wanted to do was dig his fingers into the man's throat and rip it out.

And then that trash went and said something really vulgar, and Corso felt the world tighten, darken around him. He felt the man's nose break and was ready to follow up with a beat-down that would be whispered all over Coruscant for years, when somehow Vacy slipped in front of him with a playful laugh. "So strong," she purred, sliding a hand up along the contours of his arm. He forced himself to be still, shaking from the effort.

So when she tucked that hand behind his neck and pulled him close and kissed him deep, he was a mite startled.

But it didn't take much for the hunger for violence that was pulsing through him to point itself in a different direction. And for that brief moment, it was as though the entire galaxy paused, and ceased to exist. Arms around her, he held her tightly, and she was warm, and so soft, and she shivered and arched her back and her fingers curled into his hair and she tasted like peaches, sweet and rosy and a little bit tangy. Damn if he didn't want to find out what she tasted like everywhere else as well.

It took every bit of self-discipline he'd ever practiced, and possibly a bit of smuggler's luck, to pull back from that embrace. He gazed down at her, her eyes heavy-lidded and slightly confused, lips passion-full and still parted, and with a bit of a smile he promised himself that he would see her look like that again someday.

And that he would be the reason for it.

[Author's note: If you've seen Leverage, I bet you can guess which character just stepped forward and auditioned (brilliantly!) for the role of Corso Riggs.

I also started out picturing Kenneth Branagh as Darmas Pollaran, but I really think Nathan Fillion would be a better fit: Charming, witty, debonair, incredibly sexy Castle, with a bit of Mal's intensity, depth, and drive.

I'm not coming up with anybody good for Vacy, though! I kind of like the feel of Angelina Jolie, with her verve, obstinacy, and passion, but the look is ALL wrong. Vacy scans as 'little and cute' ... and I think anyone who thought that in the vicinity of Miss Jolie would find themselves impaled. ;D]