Smile
Chignon 3.
General Unduli disembarked first, looking a little worse for wear, with her padawan walking a few steps behind her.
The docking bay was not busy, being late into the ship's night. The arrival of the two Jedi was the most exciting thing going on for at least the last few hours, and it gave Cody something to do, for a few minutes anyway, before the end of his shift. Following General Kenobi, he hung back a few paces, standing at attention just behind him.
"Are you alright?" General Kenobi asked, gesturing towards the makeshift bandaging around General Unduli's arm. Judging by Padawan Offee's missing a sleeve, she'd been the one to tend to her Master.
"Well enough, though a trip to the medical bay seems to be in order," she replied, before turning to her padawan. "We'll debrief in an hour. Meet me on the bridge. Try to get a bit of rest before then."
Commander Offee made a small curtsy, bowing her head. "Yes, Master."
"I'll escort you," General Kenobi offered, falling into step beside the Mirialan Master, who nodded courteously at him in reply.
Cody hovered, watching as General Kenobi led General Unduli out of the hangar bay. He turned back to Commander Offee, who, though uninjured, seemed a little worn as well. "Are you in need of anything, Commander?" he asked.
The girl straightened, looking at him with wide eyes. "No, thank you…Commander Cody?"
"Yes sir," he confirmed. She smiled politely.
"I'm fine. I think I'll make my way to the mess."
"Yes sir," he repeated, taking her words as a dismissal, and as she began to walk towards the exit, he followed at a distance, keeping his own pace. A couple of technicians were heading across the bay, and he directed them towards General Unduli's transport with a gesture.
It'd been a quiet day, amid several definitively unquiet days. It'd be good to get some rest, though he'd have to attend General Unduli's debrief as well. There was no telling what the end result of that would be. Though the pair of Jedi seemed tired, neither seemed particularly alarmed, upset or hurried, so with any luck, their mission had been successful, and he could sleep easily that night.
Commander Offee veered away from the exit, just before reaching it, and angled herself out of the way beside one of the Jedi starfighters, her posture a little strange, shoulders rounding in as though to curl up around herself. It was hardly alarming behavior, but it was slightly odd, and Cody found himself moving into a parallel position to her, wondering exactly what she was up to.
The Commander sighed heavily before closing her eyes, tilting her head to the left and tangling her fingers into her hair, moving quickly. At first, he wasn't quite sure what she was doing, but after a moment, the black coils of her hair began to fall, one by one, down over her shoulder.
He stared. It was a strangely personal moment, he realized, watching a woman do – or in this case, undo – her hair. Though her shimmersilk dress was tattered, missing a sleeve and charred in a couple places, it did nothing to detract from the intimacy of the moment. She sighed again, this time with a small, relieved smile, as she ran her fingers through the dark locks. Some of it was in tangles, knotted in places, and she tugged at them to unravel the last of the coils.
His fingers itched, twitching with curiosity. His own close, military crop looked nothing like that, though they shared shades of black– his a more black-brown, while hers was a truer black that gleamed blue under the harsh florescent light of the bay. Even tangled, it suggested that, when brushed, it would be just as soft as the shimmersilk she wore.
It was then that she opened her eyes and looked back up, just in time to catch him gawping. She blinked, turned an unusual shade of viridian, and stared back at him with her mouth slightly open.
Cody did the first thing that came to mind: he flung himself to attention, arms locked at his sides, back straight, chin up, and silently thanked whatever Force there was in the galaxy he had his helmet on, so she couldn't see his face. When her expression didn't change, he hesitated, then added a salute to the pose, cursing himself for being caught doing something so stupid.
"At ease," she said softly, cheeks still a bright shade. He dropped the formal stance and took on a parade rest instead. "Dismissed," she added after a moment, and he tried to relax.
Commander Offee, for her part, was quickly turning away, several locks of her hair sliding around her shoulder to cascade down her back, instead. But while she turned, a hand coming up towards her mouth, he was sure that he saw, for just a second, a pleased little smile.
Then she was out the exit, and gone.
He stared after her for a moment, uncertain of what that smile meant, but eventually decided he didn't care. It was awkward, and silly, and a strangely private moment between them.
When it was his turn to turn away, he too was smiling.
Just wanted to send a big thanks to everyone who's reviewed! *sends hugs* You guys are awesome!
~Queen