Private Calling Upon A Snowbird

[Evelyn Shaw]

Evelyn sighed as she rubbed her eyes, finally clearing her vision. She looked over to where Amea was, though didn’t visibly seem upset that she was snooping around. Not like the Echani had any room to complain, the pictures and items were just sitting there on the desk open to be looked at.

It just wasn’t exactly common for anyone else to really see them.

“Not everything was happy…” She muttered, mostly to herself.

The Echani swung her legs over the side of the bed, shivering a little when her bare feet touched the cold floor. She really needed to put some rugs down, or figure out if the ship had heated floorings, something like that.

“I was thinking of you.” Evelyn turned her head to look over at Amea, giving her a straight neutral expression. “Someone decided they wanted to sleep with me.” She tried maintaining the straight face, but it quickly cracked into a smirk, then a grin and finally a small chuckle.

“When I carried you to the bed, you refused to let go. You pulled me down with you.” Flinching slightly at the chill underneath her feet, Evelyn walked up to Amea’s side. “And I’m guessing someone decided to tuck us in after we both drifted off.”

Evelyn glanced over to see Hoshi just flashing them a cheeky smile, before he stretched out and got comfortable across the top of the bed.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

There was no way not to frown at that. It painted the picture of a happy childhood at the very least, so hopefully Evelyn could find some joy in that? It was a weak excuse, but Amea put the frame down to brush her potential slight off of her bare shoulder. Seems Evelyn had seen it fit to pay her a favor that she hadn’t exactly given herself then. She fixed the straps, rubbed at her neck and then turned a far more distinct shade of red yet again.

“Yeah, that happens.” Amea said and cleared her throat. “I mean, you know, not with people that- it’s a, you know-”

She chuckled and glanced over at Hoshi who was not helping the situation at all. Amea’s heart pounded against her chest, felt like it was about to pop out of its cage and scream at her. So much had happened in the last twenty-four hours, and even more in the last eight. As Evelyn mentioned refusing to let go Amea was reminded of her dream again.

She had refused to let that feeling go even in there. Her eyes darted up with a smile, awkward as it was, at the realization. For what it was worth it was clear that Evelyn seemed to care a great deal about her, and yet even so…

“Just, why?” Amea asked for what felt like the hundredth time as she knelt down to pick up her tank top from the floor and put it on. “Why are you doing all of this?”

She sighed as she took a seat on the bed. “I mean, we used to be even, this just…”

“I don’t even know what this makes us now.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

I don’t even know what this makes us now…

Evelyn wasn’t entirely sure either, if she was being honest. When she first met Amea Virou, she was immediately turned off by her. As was the case with anyone who’d rather shoot first, ask questions later. But the months since then had left Evelyn to her thoughts on the situation, and those like it.

Time when that had to be the answer, trying to talk your way out of it didn’t always work, and just delayed the inevitable violent confrontation.

But there had been something there, with how Amea held herself. As though such an outcome felt truly inevitable in her mind. It was the only course of action that worked, even if it threw you into a worse situation further down the line.

Sure, you could kill every person there to ensure word never reached another pair of ears. But that kind of thing damaged the psyche, numb them to death and murder. What Evelyn saw was a lingering spark within her, a light at the end of the tunnel that her life didn’t have to be constantly killing, fearing for one’s own life.

At one point Evelyn thought she saw Amea as a ‘project’, someone she could ‘redeem’ or something like that. But the past twenty-four hours had crushed that as nothing but an excuse.

She cared for Amea, dearly.

To a point she didn’t hesitate to gamble her own life on helping her.

“I mean, friends don’t owe one another, right?” Evelyn looked over as Amea took a seat on the bed’s side. The Echani walked around, leaning against the wall opposite her. “I like to think we’re friends, at the very least.” She offered the woman a smile, before turning her gaze down to the floor.

“Besides, I know your type.” Evelyn’s eyes flickered up, catching Amea’s reaction. “I know people like you, some of my favourite people, are people like you.” She took a breath, then exhaled. The weight that had been lingering atop her was starting to become lighter. “You don’t necessarily focus on the greater good, but nor do you focus on your own self interest. You want people to think you like being alone, but you always wind up finding yourself back with friends. You hate losing-” She paused as Amea interjected in that moment.

“...Yeah, but you’ll keep running at a problem without a concern for your own wellbeing, until you either find a solution or run face first into a durasteel wall.”

Evelyn shuffled on the spot, feeling nerves welling up to the surface, equal to the flush she could feel across her cheeks. It gave Amea time to speak, but not for long before the Echani interrupted.

“Because when people like you run into those walls...you should have someone there to pick you back up.” Evelyn finally looked her friend in the eyes, and smiling. “That’s why.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw​

Friends don’t owe each other? Amea raised a brow with confusion that quickly faded into something else, something warmer. From the moment that she had woken up on that couch there had been something in the way Evelyn acted that had Amea wishing she would stay. From the way her lips curled just a little further to her left when she laughed, to the way that she smiled, the way that she spoke and how it brought a warmth to her that Amea struggled to understand. While she liked to think they were friends as well, there was a big part of Amea that held on to the idea that maybe, just maybe…

Her eyes fixed on the Echani, a slight blush setting her cheeks on fire, eyes averted to hide it before she turned back around, lips pulled into a weak smile and a nod. The two of them were friends, they were even close friends despite the short amount of time in which they had known each other. Over the last few hours alone Evelyn had left an impression that few — if anyone — had ever managed to leave on Amea.

As she spoke, Amea listened, and as she smiled so did Amea as well. It was a two-way mirror, and yet the reflection was vastly different from who Amea would have expected to see. No, there was something in the way that Evelyn breathed, the way she looked at Amea as she spoke and tried to probe for a reaction to the words she uttered. Deep down it left a desire for more. Evelyn showed a measure of affection that Amea hadn’t known that she’d missed, and for a moment she phased out of existence only to be brought back by Evelyn’s plain lie.

“I don’t hate losing.” Amea fired back and rubbed at the back of her neck. “I am perfectly fine with not winning, as long as I get to keep going, you know?”

Her neck felt stiff, tension rising in her chest and shoulders as she pushed herself out of the bed. This was not how she would have acted to this, it was a plain intrusion into her private life and most of all none of Evelyn’s business. But even so, the words didn’t strike a single nerve. Amea merely stood, she listened and she hesitated to speak.

One thought snaked across her mind. A desire more like, but a thought nonetheless. Evelyn stopped talking for little more than a second before instinct got the better of Amea. Her hand reached out for the Echani’s. Her fingers slid across the soft skin of the savior’s hand before they eased into a gentle squeeze. A tug led either closer to the other before ever so slowly Amea let herself fall into an embrace.

Her lips brushed against the Echani’s lips with a burn unlike anything she had felt before. For a moment Amea’s entire body seemed to be at a stand-still as it ached and cried out in panic before ever so slowly she eased herself out of the kiss. Amea backed off for a moment, hands still in Evelyn’s, eyes jittering as she tried to probe the Echani woman’s reaction. Was that a mistake? Was it the right thing? It had felt right just then, right?

“Sorry, I-” She exhaled, let out a single chuckle of uncertainty. This was to lay it all bare, to truly let someone in and it was terrifying. “I, uhh…”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Amea’s words rang true in the Echani’s ears. It was a reminder of that spark she had seen in the woman, that she wasn’t absolutely self-destructive. She would take a hit to her pride if it meant living on another day. But it was still an endless cycle, lose but live on, only to circle back around to the same scenario another time.

Until the cycle broke and there was not another chance, never again.

It reminded Evelyn of her parents, of the downwards spiral they both fell into. No matter what her grandparents had tried, no matter how much her mother and father tried to salvage things. They still hit that point of no return, never to resurface again.

Gambling,

Alcohol,​

Death.​

Evelyn had felt that twist of the knife, when she was potentially condemning Orion Vane to death at his brother’s hands. For some reason that she couldn’t quite grasp, it felt like she had been condemning her parents too.

Fine! If you don’t care about your own lives, then don’t try and take another with you!

She did it for Amea...who couldn’t know. No. She would know, just not right now. At some point, yes. Someday that baggage will have to be unloaded and put out on display. If there was going to be something with this, with them. The truth had to be unveiled.

Evelyn had spoken her piece and had gone quiet, only to get surprised when she felt Amea’s fingers weave in between her own. It allowed for the woman to pull her closer, and brush her lips against hers. It was faint, for a moment, a chaste kiss if anything. But it held a lot of meaning for just a single moment.

How bold of her, was the thought that crossed the Echani’s mind. But then, Amea was someone of action, compared to her focus towards words. Right now though? Words could kark off.

Evelyn tugged against Amea’s hold, pulling her back towards her. The Echani returned the kiss, holding it for a bit longer than Amea’s. Then she pulled back, smiling at her, arguable more of the goofy-happy grin. For as much as she liked to continue, Evelyn knew there would be time for that later. This was but an answer to Amea’s unasked question.

Yes.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

It wasn’t over yet. For a second Amea’s eyes went wide in surprise, her balance thrown off by the pull before she was right back where she wanted to be again. Lip to lip, nose to nose for a while longer before they separated with a soft sigh. For the moment Amea allowed herself to remain within the Echani woman’s arms in a rare sign of meekness. Cheek to shoulder she remained close, unwilling to be the one to break it off as the joy grew hard to contain.

One shaky breath, two shaky breaths and the burn of eyes glossing over in appreciation. Her shoulders sunk and rose, not with a shiver but with surprising ease, a small snivel snorted from her nose as she glanced at the Echani woman and the grin on her lips.

“Thank you,” Amea breathed a breath of relief. “For everything.”

She let the other woman go and carefully rubbed at her own shoulder with a weak smile. It had been a gamble, a break in protocol, and yet it still felt right. The tension in her shoulder remained from her brain running in overload to try and comprehend what had just happened. It was reciprocated, it was a warm feeling and it was…

Alien. Distant. Welcome.

“So,” She spoke under a chuckle as she wiped her cheek. Her voice failed her, lacked the weight to give it the sass she needed. Warmth, uncertainty, but ultimately acceptance. It was all there. “So we’re, like, married now, right?”

Her teeth exposed with another small laugh. “I can’t even-”

“This was not how I expected this to go at all when I called you, Snowbird.”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

Holding Amea in an embrace was nice, warm and long overdue in an odd sense. It wasn’t unlike the half-hug from earlier in the day, that had been a glimpse for Echani into how Amea reacted to affection. Yearning for it, but refraining from claiming it herself. And when someone took action, a small internal conflict erupted until she either pulled away or let her walls down, if ever slightly.

Right now, she was showing a side of herself that Evelyn doubted many saw. Only to those Amea allowed it, and that warmed her heart. She wrapped her arms around the woman, a hand gently rubbing against her back..

If emotions were something that could be felt like a wave, they’d be crashing into her right now.

“You’re welcome.” She replied, with a warm smile. And a look in her eyes that said she’d do it all again if needed.

The embrace eventually ended, as much as neither woman wanted it to. But a mark had been made on both, and even though they had parted, each could still feel that new warmth within.

Evelyn let out a small laugh, shaking her head in nothing but amusement at Amea’s words. “Not quite, no. But I’ll offer you the option of moving in.” The words were spoken with confidence, but seconds later and Evelyn was rubbing the back of her neck sheepishly. “I mean, I don’t even know if you have a ship yourself these days. I figure you've been going from ship to ship for ages now, but like...if you've got somewhere you need to run solo on? We can drop you off, and pick you back up when needed. I’d...love for you to join me-us, I’m sure the sleeping mischief maker over there isn’t going to complain.”

For a moment she glanced over at the sleeping Hoshi, who she could’ve sworn had a smile as he slumbered.

“And you’re not wrong there, this was certainly not what I expected from when you called me. I will admit, I was initially disappointed it wasn’t for a couple drinks, but this became something much...much better.”

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

Moving in? Amea seemed taken aback for a moment. Although she had called many places ‘home’ before, none of them had ever really stuck around. Jared’s crew was good, she still counted them amongst her friends. Loske’s old apartment on Coruscant was certainly good too, but they all lacked a reason for her to come back. If home was where the heart was, then needless to say there hadn’t been such a place for her. Not until now. In reality the thought should most likely had terrified her, and perhaps to some extent it did.

“I’d like that.” She admitted, eyes set on the floor in thought. “I’ve never been much of a person who stays in one place for all that long, but…” She looked back up, lopsided smirk on her lips and all. “But I think, I can make an exception. I mean,” Here came the joker again, the coping mechanism. “You clearly need my help taking care of that little guy over there.”

Amea laughed at herself. “But first, drinks.” She slowly nodded to herself. “Just regular drinks. No theatrics or fights, just… You, and me. Alone.” Force, it felt weird to even say. “Get to know each other. See where the stars aligned for all of this, right?”

“... At least, I’d like that. I don’t know about you, but…”

 

[Evelyn Shaw]

The biggest smile formed when Amea agreed to the offer, and tempting as it was to kiss her, Evelyn refrained from doing so. Knowing full well they’d just get distracted from actually making something of the new morning.

“You’re not wrong about that.” She laughed lightly, Hoshi was certainly a handful, but he was also adorable so it balanced things out.

Evelyn raised an eyebrow at the mention of drinks, a bit surprised that Amea still wanted to do that. “I’d like to do that too, sounds lovely. I’m sure I have something around here we could use.”

The Echani began to think, until her eyes lit up with an eye. “Although...I do know one or two places we could go, without having to take a single step into the Criminal Underworld.” She looked at Amea, grinning.

“Up to you, but first we should probably freshen up a bit, no? You take the first shower, I’ll go and fix us up something to eat. Give the idea some thought.”

Evelyn was suddenly a bundle of energy, as she gave Amea quick kiss on the cheek before dashing out of her quarters and towards the kitchen.

Amea Virou​

 

[Amea Virou]

Evelyn Shaw

It was time to let this one sink in and become something normal, set a new standard. At least for a while, for as long as it would last. They both led lives with a certain form of danger to it, and Amea was fairly certain they were both hooked on the danger of it all. Evelyn could have clearly become anything she’d wanted, but here she was. From a naive looking woman to an intimidatingly beautiful femme fatale that had managed to steal the one thing Amea thought unreachable. It was a good sort of warmth from an otherwise terrifyingly cold void. It was something that the two women were free to explore together for as long as they both wished to. And right now, Amea very much wanted to.

“I uh,” She laughed as Evelyn seemed to jump straight into action. “Yeah, I meant more of the places where we aren’t surrounded by our associates.” Amea grinned and glanced over towards the refresher. “I’ll clean up, you get us something good to eat, and we’ll spend the rest of the evening finishing up that series me and Hoshi got started on, deal?”

Judging by Evelyn’s nod it was fair to say it was indeed a deal. Amea threw her one last wink and smile before she disappeared out of view. For a moment while the water had still poured along the contours and scars of her skin it felt like the longest shower she had ever taken, a final breath for herself before she took the biggest leap of faith she could remember. Her arms rested against the wall, water flowing with a steady stream to the ground before she turned it off and began to ready herself for whatever came next.

The imagery of the cherry tree popped into her mind again and the crystalline ground it had grown from. There had to be some sort of symbolism to it, but it was lost on her. A new set of clothes materialized out of her alchemized wrist and she got herself dressed.

As the evening turned to morning they had been well on their journey into something new. Amea’s head remained rested against Evelyn’s shoulder, always by her side - or at the very least she was for now.

Right now, all they could do was ride the wave and with time see where it took them. But that one was a story for another time.