Private Do You Even Lift?

[Haro Aven]

Listening to Leshanna reminisce about how she and Naami had met and become friends brought out some complicated feelings in Haro that he wasn't sure how to make sense of yet, especially given his decidedly stormy mood, but he tucked those away for later. He didn't want to burden Lesh with his more bitter thoughts about her best friend but he did find it problematic yet unsurprising that the way she'd earned the respect of the hard-headed zabrak was by dueling him and through competition. Despite his simmering frustration with Naami at the moment though, it was nice to hear that he had treated her with respect from the start and that their camaraderie made her happy.
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He chuckled along with her at the "dense" comment but he wasn't as sure as she was that Naami meant well to Haro specifically or that he would come around. It sometimes felt like Haro "just being himself" irritated the zabrak more often than not. She did know Naami better than he did though so maybe she was right.

"Hope you're right," he muttered, trying his best to keep his tone light despite the doubt he was grappling with.

"Well, you two clearly care about each other. I'm glad you have someone like that here." There was no bitterness in his words. He meant what he said and he smiled warmly at her to show her as much.

"I just hope he knows how lucky he is to have a best friend like you."​

 

[Leshanna]

Haro Aven // Naamino Zuukamano
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The girl glanced at Haro as they walked down the long hall, his muttered voice tinged with some emotions, though he tried to keep it light and nonchalant. Lesh just smiled confidently at him; she had a feeling that Naami would start treating Haro with a bit more respect - for he had seemed rather receptive to the words she had said. But, only time would truly tell. She hoped her words had meant something to Naami.

"Well, you two clearly care about each other. I'm glad you have someone like that here." Haro said as he smiled at her, before adding: "I just hope he knows how lucky he is to have a best friend like you."

A blush flooded the girl’s cheeks again and she averted her gaze from Haro as she took in his words. “Aww heck. I sure hope he knows how lucky he is too!” she said with a devious little smirk, trying to ignore how hot her face suddenly felt when she realized she really did care about Naami, and had for some time now. And, if she was being honest with herself, she was beginning to care about Haro too. A lot. Something about him just...made her feel lighter. She liked being around him, and she realized that she really wanted the two boys to get along.

“Joking aside though…I do hope you two can sort out your differences. Naami is…a pretty good friend to have in your corner. Don’t push him away, even if or when he’s being a dolt. Give him a chance to be better.”

They continued to walk a little further down the hallway, before Lesh glanced back over at Haro, her expression a bit shy. “Hey - thanks again for walking with me to my class; sure is nice to have some company. You uh...wanna meet up for dinner later on...?”

 

[Haro Aven]

Her blush and the way she bantered with him made him feel lighter, but he grew serious again when she did.

“Give him a chance to be better.”

That gave Haro pause and he looked down at the floor as they strolled along for a long moment, contemplative. Not for the first time since he'd been here at Kor'ethyr, he was struck with the rather surreal realization that these Sith acolytes could actually care quite a bit about each other and even valued "being better" for each other, despite their devotion to the Darkside. At least Leshanna was like that, but maybe that was because she was destined to become a Jedi, or at least she had been at one point. He had yet to see if Naamino valued such things or if he was just adept at playing social games and forming valuable alliances with his peers. Lesh seemed to have a lot of faith in the zabrak's loyalty and ability to be a "good friend" so Haro resolved to consider that in deciding how to approach next steps with Naami.

"Hey - thanks again for walking with me to my class; sure is nice to have some company," Lesh said.
Drawn from his thoughts and back to the moment, Haro perked up and met her eyes again, realizing they had arrived at the door to Lesh's next class. "Oh, yeah! Of course. My pleasure."
"You uh... wanna meet up for dinner later on?" She asked with a shy glance that made Haro's chest flutter. A grin lit up his face and he swelled with delight at the invitation. She'd beat him to it, but he didn't mind at all. He'd planned on asking the same thing but he'd been too distracted by his own thoughts.
"Yes!" He blurted out before he could school himself. He looked a bit sheepish and chuckled a bit at his own foolishness but soldiered on, affecting a more relaxed tone even though he was unable to wipe the charmed smile from his face. "Uh, that'd be great."

He had the impulse to hug her but realized that might be too forward and his shirt was still wet with sweat from his workout so he opted for a casual little salute and a wink instead and he took a couple slow steps back.

"See you at the dining hall later!" He called as he turned to head back to his dorm.​