Scene 22 – Interlude: You Keep Using Those Words

It wasn't easy having someone idealize you like that, Vacy decided as she walked aimlessly down one of Coruscant's wide boulevards. Riggs was a good man – capable and trustworthy. Not bad-looking, either. Why couldn't he be like any other good man and be satisfied with companionship and the occasional tumble?

And he was interested – she hadn't even needed the kiss to tell her that. He thought he was subtle about it, but she'd noticed him checking her out several times.

But what it came down to was whether she could lie to him to keep him around. He'd been dropping hints left and right since they'd left Ord Mantell, and she'd been dodging all of them as best she could, but she knew that sooner or later he'd just flat-out ask.

And she didn't know what she'd say.

Finding herself in the Senate Gardens, she ambled over to a bench and sat down, stretching her feet out in front of her and leaning back to look up at the maze of towers and walkways, taxi paths winding between them. If she squinted, she could almost believe that she was looking out from the bridge of the Wonder, surrounded by a sea of stars.

Somehow the thought made her lonely.

Then, as though in answer to prayer, she heard a familiar voice. "Well, well. It seems that tonight, the most beautiful flower in the garden isn't actually a flower at all."

Even as she rolled her eyes, Vacy couldn't hold back a smile. "Darmas Pollaran. What're you doing out here?"

The sandy-haired man with the brilliant smile sat down next to her. "I might very well ask you the same thing, young lady. This might be the least rowdy part of Coruscant, but that doesn't mean it's a good place to go wandering in the middle of the night." He looked around. "Or, well, morning, as the case may be. Your reputation might be tarnished."

"Eh, my reputation could probably use a bit of tarnishing anyway." Vacy shrugged, and as her shoulders relaxed, she sighed. "Couldn't sleep. Feeling kind of trapped here on-planet. I miss my ship."

Darmas put a hand to his chest. "You wound me, my dear," he said, putting on an exaggerated expression of pain. "Are you truly that eager to leave me in the dust? Am I to be just another one of your conquests, just another notch in the barrel of that old blaster you always have with you?"

Vacy wrinkled her nose at him. "Hey, now, don't go ragging on Flashy. He does pretty well for himself." She nestled up against the older man, resting her head on his shoulder. "Sometimes I feel like I'm caught up in things I've got no control over. Like the whole galaxy's just pushing me around." Her smile faded. "It ain't much fun, Darmas."

"Don't worry about that," Darmas said gently, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "You'll get your ship back. And you'll have your pick of the best jobs, and every spacer in an inhabited system will be begging to be on your crew."

She let out a contented sigh. "You always know just the right words," she said, and she laughed quietly. "But somehow, when you say them, they don't sound trite." She smiled at him, her heart beating slightly faster. "Somehow you make me believe that anything is possible."

Darmas looked away, out over the gardens. "Perhaps not anything, my dear," he said after a few moments. Looking back at her again, he traced his index finger over the tattoos on her cheekbones. "But certainly many things."

Cradled against him, gazing into his eyes, Vacy was silent for a little while. This was what she wanted, she decided. "Do you ever think about the future?" she asked softly. She took a careful breath. "I mean… well… do we have a future?" She felt his shoulders twitch as he tensed, which was certainly an interesting reaction.

It took him a bit before he responded, and he looked past her, rather than at her. "Vacy," he finally said, "I try to avoid thinking too much about the future. But there are certainly… possibilities." An instant later, his smooth charm was back in place. "All this depth and thinking – goodness, my dear, it's almost as though you wanted to make a reputable man of me."

Vacy smiled wryly, lifting her brows in invitation. "Oh no," she replied. "I certainly wouldn't want that. I rather enjoy spending time with a disreputable man. Oh!" She pulled away from him, standing up. "Almost forgot. I do have the payment for those medical supplies."

Darmas stood as well, shaking his head. "Nonsense, my dear, a lady in distress and all that."

But she already had a credstik out and was shaking it at him. "No, now don't give me any of that 'nonsense' nonsense, I said if you won I'd pay, so I'm paying. I keep my word." She pressed the credstik into his hand. "Just, um… can you make change? I didn't have a stik with the right amount," she explained, cheeks burning.

"I can, but not here. I've got a digital safe, and I can download the correct amount, and you can have your stik back," he said.

Vacy nodded at him. "All right. Do you want me to wait here for you to return, or would you prefer to have me come with you?"

Darmas blinked, and then slowly smiled. "My dear little night blossom, I can think of few things I would enjoy more than having you come with me." And he slipped an arm around her, leading her out of the gardens.

[Author's note: Yes. Yes, that is exactly what he means. The question then becomes, what did she mean? I'm really enjoying the Vacy/Darmas interplay, and I can't wait to write more.]