The airlock finally hissed shut on Hoth, and good riddance. Kira hugged herself and shivered, even if the Defender's controlled atmosphere was perfectly comfortable. "Never thought we'd find a planet that would make me miss Tatooine."

Ghereth, leading the way as always, stopped to smile over his shoulder at her. "I for one prefer the cold over the sand literally everywhere."

"T7 told me he's still got grit in his servomotors," Kira chuckled. She made a point of yawning and stretching, but then she remembered that Ghereth didn't have eyes. Crap.

Then again, judging by the way he turned to face her, maybe he did. "Master Braga is expecting me to call him so we can go over the next phase of the plan...but he doesn't know when."

Kira smiled and sidled up closer to him. "Is that so?"

Ghereth cleared his throat, obviously nervous. How was it possible that one man could kick so much ass and still seem like an anxious little boy scout? "Kira, I've...I've been thinking. Sometimes I wonder if I let my skin get a little too thick, you know? Never give myself time to pause. Let my defenses down for a bit." He took her hands in his and smiled back at her. "To pass an evening with a few drinks and someone special."

Kira's grin turned mischievous as she leaned in closer, until they were all but nose to nose. "Why, Master Jedi...are you coming on to me for once?"

"I promised I'd practice, didn't I?" Ghereth closed the gap, and their lips met. Kira linked her arms around his neck as the world fell away around them.

Since they had no eyes to close, Miraluka didn't sleep. Kira knew that much. She had no real understanding of what Ghereth did instead, but he didn't sleep. So when she awoke from her sex coma some hours later, she was unsurprised to find him still awake, arms around her and gently running his fingers through her hair. She couldn't imagine how that felt; the wonderful warmth and depth of a post-coital nap was one of her favorite things about lovemaking. Well, second favorite.

Third favorite. Fifth?

Kira made a happy little exhalation and slowly ran the palm of her hand over the hard muscles on Ghereth's chest. "Have I mentioned lately how much I love your scars?"

It was true. Scars criss-crossed his face, and still more snaked down his neck and over his chest in all directions. He'd taken a lot of punishment. But he always got back up, always kept on fighting.

Ghereth smiled and brushed a sweaty lock of red hair out of her eyes. "When we first met, I was worried they'd put you off. They're pretty ugly."

Kira laughed, shaking her head. "Are you kidding? Chicks dig scars, tough guy." She bent to press a kiss to one that twisted down from his collarbone to loop around his pectoral muscle. "They give you character. I bet they all have a story to go with them."

Ghereth leaned back against the bulkhead behind the bed. "Well, you're not wrong. That one is a lesson from Master Orgus I won't soon forget."

Kira shifted to kiss a scar that started behind his left ear then snaked downward to just below his collarbone. "And this one?"

Ghereth's expression sobered. She felt his fingers in her hair go still. "You can thank the pirates for most of the other ones."

Kira lifted her head to observe him quizzically. "Remind me. When was the last time we fought pirates?"

Ghereth shook his head. "It was a long time ago. Before I met you. Before I was even a Jedi."

"Whoa…" Kira breathed. Imagining Ghereth as anything other than a Jedi - or imagining a Jedi Order without Ghereth - simply failed to compute. "Do you...want to tell me about it?"

Ghereth smiled weakly, but she could hear the pain in his voice. "Not much to tell. I was sold into slavery when I was very young...a pirate crew that liked to collect slaves and forcibly addict them to stimulants and adrenals that enhanced strength and aggression. They'd use us like rabid akk dogs when they would board ships."

Kira just stared, mouth agape. No wonder he understood her so well…

Ghereth had to pause and take a deep breath before he continued. "But then, the captain decided to board a Republic diplomatic vessel...he thought we'd score a diplomat or a Senator, someone we could ransom back to the Core Worlds for a lot of credits. Instead, we found a Jedi. A Kel-Dor with the most amazing combat skills I've ever seen, to this day."

Kira found herself clinging to Ghereth like a life preserver. "Master Braga?"

Ghereth nodded. "Yes...he cut through the rest of the crew like wet tissue paper, but for some reason, he spared me. He told me he could feel the Force flowing through me in combat. As soon as the adrenals wore off, he took me to Tython for training."

Kira slid her hand over his chest to loop around his neck. She pulled his face tightly to hers. "But...he's never mentioned...you never mentioned…"

Ghereth shrugged one shoulder and pressed his forehead to hers. "It was a long time ago. I was much younger, and not quite so...put together as I am now. I doubt he even remembers me."

Kira smiled again. She felt a single tear roll down her cheek and drip onto his, running over all those scars, all those stories. "Actually...I think I have a pretty good idea why he picked you for this whole 'let's go kidnap the Emperor' thing."

Ghereth chuckled and kissed her. This one was of an altogether different breed than the ones they'd shared earlier in the evening. It had a note of claiming, of affirmation. As they began anew and Ghereth touched her and kissed her in ways that sent sparks exploding behind her eyes, Kira made sure her message was clear. She was here, and his, for as long as he wanted her to be.