Blood is thicker than water...

[Julius Sedaire]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zAThXFOy2c​

It hadn't been a particularly glorious beginning to their relationship. Keira had been away for a good part of it. And he had been busy. Helping fledgling Corellia stand again, though as always from behind the scenes. Introducing this person or that person to another. Connecting networks and strengthening bonds. Ever present with that trademark smile and a dash of charm to help the ideas come across right. But they found ways to express their growing affections. He would leave notes about the house. Send trinkets from some silly backwater shop. Ways to be his goofy, if slightly annoying, self without always being around.

Today though, he was home, and she should be too shortly. Though she didn't know that, as he had left his return vague. He had intended to surprise her, though not in a literal sense. He had tried the whole surprise hug from behind bit once. His beloved had nearly put a knife through the bottom of his jaw, and had bruised his larynx from an armored elbow to it. Corellian and Mandalorian did certainly make for a fiery mix. Regardless, he would have her no other way.

The table was crowned with a singular bottle of a very hard-hitting tihaar from Concord Dawn he had bought from one of the training officers the Mando'ade had provided to CorSec. Keira just wasn't a moscato kind of girl.A single sabacc card sat just under the bottle, The Queen. He had taken to commissioning a local artist to handmaking the deck. Maybe he'd try her on Corellian Spike, since he was convinced she rigged the other versions.

Stepping back, he dropped his heavy brown coat over a chair at the dining table and dropped his holster over the left part of the top, and turned to head for the shower. Though he was never one to perhaps primp, he still had a Judge's shield, and he was positively battered looking from chasing a fugitive across a desert world just slightly out of the Core. He had focused more on making Corellia a safe haven for those like [member="Jorus Merrill"] and others from the Outback when it came to being a lawman still. He'd prefer to have the dust of the trail off him for this encounter. It was an important day.

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

No matter how embroiled in Mandalorian affairs she became, Keira could never deny the pull of Corellia, and even less so now that she had a family there once more. Somehow the planet would always be home, no matter the memories it held or how broken it appeared. She'd always had something there, and that would never change. The simple sight of her homeworld from the cockpit of the ship she had taken from Dxun brought a smile to her face, and she relaxed a touch easier in the pilot's chair. When finally the vessel settled in the spaceport she breathed a quiet sigh of contentment, making her way from the landing pad through the streets of this suburb of Coronet City with ease, her armored figure drawing second looks from those about. Though she knew Julius would likely have something to say about her showing up like this, instinct and habit both had shown her the worth of this sort of protection, and she would be slow in sacrificing it.

Her entrance into the house was quiet and subdued, and she made her way from the entryway to their shared bedroom, methodically stripping off her armor until she was left in nothing more than the bodysuit beneath. To be twenty pounds lighter was a relief, and it felt good to be able to finally stretch without that extra weight bearing down on her. From there her steps carried her to the bathroom door, and from the sound of water running it was evident he'd only just gotten home, though she had sensed his presence from the moment she was within miles of their house. There was no need to bother with knocking in order to alert him of her arrival, and instead she reached through their bond in order to meld their auras as one, that unspoken solidarity all the more notice that was needed.

The bottle that sat on the table only drew a crooked smile from her, and she caressed the edge of the card beneath with her fingers, not quite coaxing it out from its anchor. It was a gift most would have overlooked, but to the two of them this was something special and truly thoughtful. Her fingertips trailed lightly over the worn leather of his duster, and she picked up both that and his holster, retreating to the bedroom once more and placing both next to the phrik plating of her armor. From there she moved to the closet, supposing she should find something to wear while waiting for him to vacate the shower so that she could take her turn and perhaps wash away a fraction of the stress that came with being at the front of a nation, so the two could exist as individuals rather than the titles they held, for once in their lives. Rare as it was for her to find herself in scenarios such as these, she doubted she owned anything exactly suited to the occasion.

But, just as he'd done for her countless times in the past, she would try.

It was the least she could do.

[member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Music

The touch was gentle almost, but strong. Not unyielding, not to his senses, but wary and forward. He smiled as the aura of hers and his mingled for a moment. Stress leeched from his shoulders, and the smile blossomed into genuine happiness, absent of any smarm or snark. Stepping from the shower, he dried off, noting that there seemed to be a few more scars and a little sag to muscles as the years passed by. Still lean, he remembered a few of these tattoos with brand new ink and less fading. Regardless, he shook his head as he pulled on a simple robe over a pair of positively ratty house pants he knew Keira had tried to destroy at least a dozen times. Not even bothering to cinch the robe since it was his, or rather their house, he strolled into their room, the smile blooming again at the sight of her by the closet.

For a moment, he simply basked in being near her without either her or someone else trying to kill him. She brought chaos and danger and mortal peril. But she also brought him peace, comfort, support and a growing love that was something he found he had begun to depend upon from her. Depending on another in any such basic fashion might have made another swaggering scruff-lord nervous. But... Maybe he was finally getting old, or growing up, or some such nonsense. But that need and reliance seemed more comfort and encouragement than weakness. Plus, realistically, Keira could more than handle herself in most fights. He couldn't really think of any scruff imaginable where his other half wouldn't leave the foe in the encounter battered and bruised, at the least. Maybe a sniper with a very big rifle a really long ways away might be able to get the drop. Maybe.

Clearing his throat, he leaned easily against the door frame, propping his left arm above his head, the vine markings of his former mentors gleaming as they showed.

"You know, you can still knock or speak. I give you a key and you act like you're in charge..."

There was a warmth and affection, even admist the tease, but then the tone shifted, full of happy relief. It was only for a second, followed by another teasing bit of tenderness.

"I am glad you are back. It gets awful quiet here without you. But we should talk once you change. I have news."

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

"News with you is always a coin toss." There was a smile just as much in her eyes as on her face when Keira turned to look at him standing in the doorway. To have him here and tangible was something new, and she wanted nothing more than to hold him tight and not let him go for fear of not knowing when they would be allowed the opportunity to exist in the same space again. "I missed you. You know, a call or two on your less busy days wouldn't hurt anything. I do like knowing that you're safe." In their line of work personal well-being was always up in the air, and the majority of their time was spent not quite certain if the other was still in one piece. Already there had been times where each had lectured the other for coming home with a new scar, and neither had any desire to repeat that process with more grievous injuries.

Turning back to the closet, she began sorting through her clothing again. "It shouldn't take me that long. Then we can see about this surprise of yours." After a few more minutes of searching - no more than five, to be exact - she opted for comfort over practicality for once in her life, throwing on an old, loose-fitting pair of pants and an equally worn tank-top, running a hand through her hair. For just a second or two she stood in front of the mirror in speculation, deciding to save the shower for after he imparted whatever he had to tell, half-expecting that it would require her to get dressed up in some manner anyhow. He'd always had a way of going about things, and nothing about that had changed as they grew ever closer.

Finally emerging from their room, she sat down beside him on the sofa, tucking her legs beneath her and knotting their fingers together, allowing herself to relax entirely as she rested her head on his shoulder. it was rare for her to present entirely unguarded displays of affection, and as such she usually only did so in the relative comfort and familiarity of their shared abode. "What is this news of you have, cyar'ika?" She turned her head to look up at him, nothing but warmth in her eyes. "You wouldn't have waited if this was just another deployment."

[member="Julius Sedaire"]

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Music

The weaving of their fingers still, even after it had become rather casual for them, set his pulse quickening. Women were something of a forte of his, but this one tied him in knots and was often right on the same footing or a step ahead of him in 'the game' as it were. He leaned down to softly plant lips on her forehead, breathing in her scent. Always there was the trace of gun oil and the lapping powder used to clean and care for her beskar'gam in between battles. But there was a light floral presence he always placed too. Nothing perfumed or artifical, but a sort of natural scent all her own. Maybe it was in her shampoo or such. Regardless of the random musings, he pulled back, nodding as she made it plain she knew something was up, and tapped her nose with his free hands' index finger, smiling wanly.

"Ahhhh, there's the keen mind that keeps me in check. You're right, it's not a deployment... Or anything of the sort. It's... Well, it is something I myself wasn't terribly aware of until just recently. I assumed my family dead in the diaspora, to a one. They were the old bloods, and would have stayed to the last I thought. But my parents apparently faked their own demise to help lead a group out. Altruistic at last, for some reason or the other. Apparently, a few days ago, they contacted the League asking about me... I've had them idling in a nice penthouse on the other side of Coronet, not sure exactly what to do... Or if their story is even true... Force, or what to do if it is... And... Well... I need you to figure it out. I would rather not face this alone. I can take on Empires if need be, but my parents still terrify me."

[member="Keira Ticon"]