Private Don't Kill My Vibe

[Xan Deesa]

Denon/Seven Corners​

Evening/Clear skies​

Theme​

Xan was feeling on top of the world...literally and figuratively. She was walking along the rooftops of the buildings in the Seven Corners, tossing aside a bottle of tihaar before slipping her mask back on. She had a job now, she had money to spare again, she had a place to stay even if it wasn't the usual nice places. But it suited her fine. She was quite content with this new life she found for herself and, with the bottle of hard liquor done, she was feeling ready for anything to come at her.

She heard an airspeeder buzzing ahead of her and smirked. Her pace kicked up a notch as she sprinted towards it. She leapt through the air and landed on the back of the speeder. The driver glanced behind him and his eyes widened in shock at the woman smirking at him. She gave him a wave before jumping off it again and soaring through the air towards another building. She kept jumping from one dangerous position to the next, feeling the adrenaline spurring her on. A slight misstep from a broken piece of wall even gave her an extra rush as she glanced down at the walkways far underneath her. With a hearty laugh she jumped off the roof and plummeted down to the ground beneath her. She grinned wildly at the ground coming closer and closer. When she felt she was close enough she drew her blaster and launched her ascension cable to a building, quickly stopping her fall and allowing her to swing through the air like a maniac.

She landed on a dumpster finally, hopping off to catch her breath and enjoy the surge still coursing through her body. All she needed now was someone to join her for some proper fun...and maybe some creds for the evening. She got the answer to her second issue when she spotted a broad fellow ahead of her. She quickly caught up and walked past him, swiping a wallet full of credits before sprinting off through the rest of the pedestrians to make her escape, a laugh erupting from her as she ran for freedom. She was on top of the world, and she wasn't going to let her vibe die now...

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas Tynen was grounded. After a piloting mission that involved leading a squadron into facing a pirate frigate that had been plundering cargo in the Corellian Run, his starfighter took quite the beating. Suffice to say, the mission was a success but despite his piloting skills, Cas was reckless and because of it, he was forced to remain on Devon for a few days while it was outfitted with repairs.

With not much to do he simply spent his free time training, hanging around the repair shop where his starfighter was located, and playing video games with BB-5 being the worst backseat gamer imaginable during all of this, he felt tremendously guilty that he wasn't there to help Yenna train. Today, however, he decided to explore the city because... what else would he do?

The young Jedi Knight wandered the busy city streets, hands folded into his jacket pockets as his head hung slightly low in deep thought. Reflecting on the years that passed, his induction into the Concord, his progression from Padawan to Knight and even acquiring a Padawan of his own - he felt like he'd accomplished a lot and was indeed proud of himself... but he couldn't help but feel something was missing. A partner, he knew he was still young but... believe it or not and despite his reputation, he was a hopeless romantic he just didn't like to show it.

Finally lifting his head up to watch out for the crowd of people in front of him, he spotted a figure that looked like a walking rainbow. Her clothing was so... loud it was hard not to look at her. He quickly noticed her swipe a broad guy's wallet before quickly bolting followed by a... familiar sounding laugh? Regardless, finally, some action!

A small smirk crept on his lips as he quickly booked off after her, pushing his way through the river of people - "Hey, lady!" he called out "That isn't yours! Put it back where you found it!" he quipped as he kept his eyes locked on her throughout the crowd. Something was strange though... something felt familiar about her and it wasn't just her laugh? Who was she?

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

She heard someone call out after her. She ignored him and kept up her full sprint as she aimed for an alley. Though she couldn't shake the fact that this guy sounded very familiar. She was getting closer to the alleyway but the guy's voice was nagging in the back of her head. She'd met a few guys since her arrival on Denon but none of them ever sounded like this. She had a hunch...but not by a longshot did she want to believe it.

Regardless, she needed to be sure.

When she reached the alley, she disappeared into it and took the brief moment of broken line of sight to launch her ascension cable upwards. She hoisted herself up and out of sight, hugging a wall behind a large pipe to obscure her figure. Once the guy entered the alley, she dropped down and readied her pistol. She braced herself as she aimed to drop right on top of him.

Using her momentum and surprise, she drove him down and pinned him beneath her. With unnatural strength she held him down and pressed the barrel of her gun against his head. Her head lowered beside his as she scowled at him. "Who the kriff are you?" she hissed into his ear. With a quick motion, she let go and flipped him over to get a proper look at him. Though once she studied his face, her scowl turned into shock and her grip on him relaxed. Her pistol lowered and she sat up, staring at him with wide eyes. "Cas?" she muttered, shock clearly in her voice.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

She ignored him. Of course. But that wasn't about to stop him from having some fun with it - he called out again "Come on, lady! You aren't gonna make me banter with myself, are you?!" as he continued to shove his way through the crowd. The Jedi noticed the thief making her way into an alley way and quickly picked up his speed as she rounded into the alley.

Cas skidded to a halt when he reached the middle of the alley but she was gone. Raising an eyebrow he spun around, scanning the area before letting an annoyed groan "Great job, esteemed Knight. You let her get away." he muttered to himself as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he realised he hadn't actually checked the rooftops and when he tilted his head upward to look up a flash of a person collapsed onto him.

Falling forward with a pained grunt, he dug his fingers into the floor and was ready to toss this, whoever this was, off of him before he felt the barrel of her blaster against his head. This girl was freakishly strong but he couldn't toss her off of him without risking being blasted in the head. Her familiar voice demanded to know who he was before being aggressively flipped onto his back, he grunted again as his back slammed into the concrete. He didn't expect her to call out his name... who the hell was she?

Although, it was a perfect opportunity to get the upper hand. Cas swiftly lifted his leg from between the thief's legs before forcing a hard kick into her abdomen to get her off of him, rolling backward he quickly got to his feet and ignited his lightsaber in a defensive stance. "I don't know who you are or how you know who I am but you should've killed me, you schutta." he called out in a threatening manner, the Kiffar really took having a blaster aimed at his head to heart. Still, she seemed so damn familiar.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

She didn't expect a kick at all, but then again, in was understandable. She quickly got back on her feet and holstered her blaster. He seemed inclined to fight but she kept a relaxed posture, though the annoyance was clear on her features.

She pulled her mask and cap off, ruffling her hair out a little before looking at him. "Drop the karking saber, Cas. Unless you want me to kick your ass. I'd gladly do it, so do give me a reason." she threatened angrily as she folded her arms over her chest.

She really wanted to kick his ass but at the same time she didn't want to get into a fight with him. Not only was he a Jedi, but for some reason she didn't want to actually hurt him. Though if he did come at her, she was ready to counter.

"And I swear, if you can't recognize me, I'm gonna be pissed. You need me to take my clothes off for you to remember me?" she continued. Of everything going on, the fact that he didn't recognize her was what bothered her the most. But then again, she didn't need to do this. She shook her head and waved him off. "Y'know what? Screw this. This is the last thing I need now." she dismissed as she turned to leave the alley...

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas' eyes widened when the familiar woman revealed herself: it was Tess. Why'd it have to be Tess? Of all people in the galaxy, why her? He'd sooner lose the rest of his limbs rather than see her again, although he didn't exactly reveal to her that he knew it was her yet.

However, her threat quickly brought Cas back to his initial feelings and caused him to let out a genuine laugh as he lowered his lightsaber slightly "You think you can kick my ass? he chuckled again while shaking his head, aiming his palm directly at her "All it'd take was a thought to put you down." he threatened, still aggravated over what the bad terms he and Tess parted on. In fact, he was very much tempted to use the Force to strangle her right now for the stunt she had just pulled on him with her blaster but... he knew he'd regret it, and there were still some underlying feelings for her that he wished he could just purge.

She commented on how pissed she'd be if he didn't recognise her and in fact, turned to leave. Deactivating his lightsaber, Cas glanced away beside himself and pursed his lips before tutting to himself quietly. Of course he uncharacteristically had nothing to say when Tess was involved. Balling up his fists, Cas finally locked eyes with her frame and called out to her, quipping "You must've taken the breakup pretty hard to be going through a mid-life crisis this early on." in a cold, unapologetic manner "Hand over the wallet." he demanded with the same cold tone, left hand still gripping his lightsaber tightly in case Tess, or whatever the hell her alter ego was called, wanted to make a thing out of it.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

She was doing a magnificent job of ignoring him...then he said it. She stopped and turned as she glared at him. He wanted the wallet back but that wasn't going to happen now. "Kark you, Cas!" she shouted at him as she marched back to him. "Maybe you would too if you put even a fraction of effort into us being together! I went all-in with it and what do you do? 'Uhhh muh trust!'" she berated him, putting on quite a retarded voice as she reached the end. "I should have left your carcass on Lothal." she continued as she folded her arms over her chest.

"Besides, what do you wanna do with the wallet? The guy's long gone by now." she returned back on topic. Though pretty soon another figure entered the alley. "There you are, you queen!" roared the broad man she stole from. He raised a hand and Tess' scowl faltered as his arm transformed into what she could only guess was a rotary blaster cannon. "That's not fair." she muttered. The weapon started to spool up and Tess dropped a smoke grenade in front of her and Cas. She rushed past, instinctively grabbing Cas to pull him along behind a nearby dumpster as the alley got lit up with blasterfire.

Bolts zipped past them, getting uncomfortably close at times. Tess tossed a flash bang past the smoke and waited for the explosion before running for an exit on the other side of the alley. She made sure Cas was close to her...she wanted to kick his ass personally. She kept leading the way through the alleys until the blasterfire got further and further away. She only stopped once they were safe from the crazy cyborg. She took a breath and regained her posture...then followed up with a hard kick to Cas' groin and temple in one swift motion. She quickly followed up with a stun bolt from her pistol to knock him out completely...

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

He knew that'd piss her off, Cas had a mouth that could put the best kriff-talkers to shame. Even someone as composed as Tess couldn't ignore his diss. As she marched toward him, Cas folded his hands in his jacket pocket and met her glare with a bored expression and as she berated him he rolled his eyes at her before casually firing back "Wow, you really showed me." completely unimpressed with her attempts to mock him.

However, what she said next stung to the point his otherwise stoic expression twitched slightly. Cas' eyebrows subtly furrowed as his brown eyes met hers "If you'd done that, you'd have never gathered all that Intel on me. Couldn't just let your pet project have gone to waste now, could we?" he retorted in a mocking tone, looking down on her. Cas' tutted and sighed at Tess' statement as she returned to topic "Obviously, I'm going to take it to the local precinct. What do I look like?" he informed her while absently looking passed her, his eyes quickly returned to her in a glare "Don't answer that." he knew she'd have something smart to say back - that was one of the things he loved about her, and he hated that he did.

The broad guy she stole from had actually managed to track her into the alley way and a smug smile formed as the rightfully pissed off man called out to her. The smile remained plastered on his face as he looked back at her "It's just not your day is it?" his eyes then widened as he saw the man's hand begin to morph into a rotary blaster cannon, or a variation of it, but before he could react and avoid the attack Tess was already on it with a smoke grenade. She grabbed him as she fled but, he quickly turned around and aggressively pulled his arm away from her. Still, she had the right idea and he followed her behind a dumpster "Of all the people you had to rob, Tess."

After she threw her flash bang, Cas quickly held both his hands forward and used the Force to push the dumpster at the broad cyborg before following after Tess. Honestly, he could stay and fight but with Tess there and their current issues, she was a wildcard in itself and didn't trust having her there. He had no choice but follow after her. Once they were in the clear, while Tess gathered her breath he began scanning the area before feeling a a hard pressure in his groin followed by sharp and intense pain. Before he could even react to the pain, the same process repeated to his temple.

Grabbing his temple, his vision was hazy but he saw Tess point her blaster at him - reacting instantly, he ignored the pain and rolled to the side narrowly avoiding her stun bolt. The Jedi Knight followed his evasive manoeuvre by extending his arm and using the Force to disarm her, hurling her blaster away as quickly as possible. He then quickly swept at her feet with a hard kick to knock her over. It was a cheap tactic to blindside him like that but now he was ready and focused.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

As much as she wanted to keep the verbal sparring up, it just wouldn't work now. Right now, beating him into a pulp seemed much more satisfying. Thankfully he wouldn't just roll over and let her do it.

He managed to evade her stun shot and sent her pistol flying off somewhere. Though she quickly noticed what he was trying to do. As he went down to try and sweep her, she jumped up and drove her heels into his face and chest, launching herself back a few feet. As she landed, she propelled herself forward with inhuman speed and strength, dropping to drive an elbow into his ribs and knock his air out completely. But not for a moment did she keep still. She was light on her feet and ready to counter whatever he had to throw at her. She was ready to take a hit from him. He was a Jedi, after all.

"Guess what, jackass! Nothing you did or chatted about was ever worth studying. So literally all I did was waste almost a year of my life with you!" she shouted at him as she moved in to try and clock him across the jaw with her fist. She was mad at him and she wanted to hurt him. Perhaps seeing him battered and bruised could make her feel better after the stunt he pulled. "I could have just smashed your windows like any other ex, but that requires you to actually own a speeder or something of your own!" she continued as she stood at the ready to counter him.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

She had managed to evade his sweep and tried to drive her heels into his face and chest though he quickly protected them both with his palms. With both her propelling herself off of him and Cas pushing her heels away with his hands - sending her a few feet back. However, she came back even harder when the assassin launched herself at him as he quickly got back to his feet as she thrust her elbow into his rib cage.

Coughing, expelling the air knocked out of him Cas quickly planted his right foot behind him before throwing both arms a few inches on both sides of his head, entering a defensive stance. "You have no idea how satisfying that is!" he fired back with a smug grin as he swiftly jerked his head out of the way, avoiding the attempted shot at his jaw.

"I'm so hurt. Y'know, your words are affecting me more than your actual love taps!" Cas retorted. Honestly though, they did kinda hurt but the first thing to winning a fight was to get into your opponent's head, put them off their game. Countering with a hard left hook, he followed it with a swift jab with his right fist and then finally, a knee toward her gut. If she would counter in anyway, the Jedi Knight had his back foot at the ready to slip any attacks she threw back at him.

As an Ataru practitioner, he had to be athletic and quick with his reflexes and quick overall. Problem was, Tess was the exact same. The two would be here all day if things continued like this.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

She couldn't deny that his quips were getting to her. Usually she could keep a calm head. But he was making it very hard to do just that. Though he wasn't the only one with a mouth. "If your fighting were as good as your words, you wouldn't be stuck with a Sith sigil carved onto your chest." she fired right back before receiving a few solid shots from him. But getting that close was his mistake.

His knee slammed into her gut, causing a sick grunt to escape her. But in that moment she wrapped her hand around his lightsaber, sneakily unclipping it in the chaos. Using it as a blunt weapon, she slammed it into the side of his thigh to paralyze a pressure point. Quickly following up, she pressed the ignition and bathed the alley in bright yellow light as she angled the blade at his throat. But just as she regained her posture and straightened out, she felt her desire to fight dwindling. Her harsh glare faltered and she sighed, bringing a hand to her stomach. The pain was fading quickly enough, but she could still feel the sting of the kick clearly enough. She looked him over then to the lightsaber, extinguishing it and tossing it by his feet. "The kark are we doing?" she asked rhetorically as she simply took a step back and picked up her hat from the ground.

With a defeated look on her face she slipped her hat back on and looked at him. "I can't do this, Cas. It's pointless. You got the force, I'm built to take a hit, we're just gonna be swinging punches until we can't stand anymore." she commented, giving a shrug. "And as much as I want to hurt you...I won't enjoy it." she admitted further, walking over to pick up and holster her pistol.

"I'm going home. I got a good vibe going here, I don't need this." she said as she turned to leave, not caring if he wanted to continue the fight or not. But as soon as she started to walk...she stopped. Slowly she turned to look at him for a few moments. "You want a drink or something?" she asked him gently, slipping her mask back on.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

"Nice! I'll admit, it was a bad judgement call!" he responded honestly "Your current get-up's way worse than the carving though, it's like angst hurled all over you." he quipped one last time before receiving a hit to his thigh with the hilt of his lightsaber. Grunting his leg jerked as he dropped to one knee, she did something to it, but as he fell and she angled her lightsaber to his throat he was willing to use the Force to completely shatter her wrist - glaring at it for when he'd have to.

Although, he was surprised when she deactivated and tossed it back to him which he caught with the Force. As feeling returned in his thigh, he awkwardly got back up to his feet as he answered her rhetorical question "Airing out our grievances in a completely healthy way?" sarcastically but in a humorous tone. Cas holstered his lightsaber back onto his belt before returning his attention to her "Yep. We are quite the specimens." he quipped patting off his black trousers.

Running a hand through his dreads he replied to her comment "There might be a line for that." referring to her wanting to hurt him. As she turned to leave, Cas simply puffed his cheeks and let out a deep exhale before turning to leave himself as he scratched his temple. He stopped when he heard Tess' voice ask if he wanted to grab a drink, stopping in place himself, with his back toward her he stared forward. Deliberating if this was a good idea or not. Realising he had nothing better to do, Cas held his head back and stared at Denon's sky with his hands on his hips.

Finally, turning round to face her "Sure." he agreed with a hint of begrudging in his voice "What about the cyborg with the gross, morphing turret hand?" he wondered, pointing his thumb behind him over his shoulder "Looks like you got a line of people who wanna hurt you too, huh?".

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

It was a simple gesture of...something. It just felt like the right thing to do, though she fully expected him to turn down her offer. To her surprise, he agreed. She turned to face him fully and smirked at his question. "We better get moving then, before he catches up." she quipped before motioning for him to follow.

She led him to the Blue Flame, though the walk was an awkward one. She occasionally glanced at him and the people around them as she walked beside him, but she was completely silent. She wanted to say something, but there was nothing that came to mind. They finally arrived at the place and she got them an open booth away from everyone else. She ordered herself a cider and a soda for him, paying with the credits from the wallet she stole.

She waited for their drinks to arrive, setting her mask and cap on the table beside her. She took a breath and finally figured out what to say. "What the kriff are you doing here, Cas? Denon is completely out of the way and I doubt you're here to catch up. So what happened that you got stuck here?" she asked him with a calm voice. any desire to fight him now was gone. She studied him for a few moments longer before giving a smirk. "Hair's better at least. You looked like a mop with your previous hairdo." she quipped with a smug tone, leaning back into her seat. Their drinks arrived soon enough and she took a sip from her bottle.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Placing his hands in his jacket pockets, Cas nodded in agreement before following her. He no doubt knew Tess felt the same way he did about their walk to the Blue Flame, awkward - normally he'd fill the void with jokes and quips galore but this was different, there was too much baggage that even he probably couldn't talk his way out of the lingering awkwardness.

Inside the bar, Cas seated himself at the booth Tess chose and watched as she ordered drinks with the credits from the wallet she stole. Normally he'd voice his disapproval but under the circumstances of its owner trying to kill them - he'd let it slide this instance. While his ex asked him what he was doing there, Cas relaxed his hands behind his head and leaned back on the seat, letting out a deep exhale as he did so. Narrowing his eyes onto her, he flashed her a smirk "Jedi business." he answered coy, but there were no ill intentions behind it. Glancing away to the bar, Cas revealed further "I'm grounded though, at least 'till my starfighter's repaired. Though I think I'm being hustled." concluding his sentence with a chuckle.

The Jedi Knight frowned as his gaze returned to her, taking her opinion of his previous look to heart. Ruffling his dreads "I was trying something out." he responded defensively as he took a sip of his soda, satisfyingly smacking his lips together "You can't get on me about the 'mop' with that get-up." he playfully fired back, pointing a finger at her new stylistic choice. Cas leaned forward slightly, face turning serious "What's that all about anyway?" referring to her new look "And what're you doing on Denon?" the Knight prodded further.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Tess raised an eyebrow at his quip, though she half expected him to pull that card on her. She smiled as he tried to defend his horrid hairstyle and a giggle started to bubble from her as he turned the teasing back to her. "Hey, I think this looks good! Plus it's definitely an eye-catcher. I think it's a fitting look for this planet." she admitted, defending her own new appearance as well. It felt good to laugh like that again. A sense of longing was brewing inside her as she took note of their current situation.

Her smile faded at his question. She took a sip of her cider and looked back to him for a few moments. "I ended up here on a whim. After what happened, I felt like I needed to get away. Just...get away from it all, you know? The new look...it's just something I've wanted to try for a while. I originally had it planned out for if I ever needed to impersonate a rapper, but it's perfect for Denon." she admitted gently, looking around the bar for a bit then back to him. "Right now, I'm working for a syndicate. The crime thing's been something I haven't been directly involved with...and I figured that it'd be a fantastic way to take my mind off things. Plus it's fun. I haven't enjoyed a mission this much in a while." she admitted, a small smile forming on her lips.

She looked off into a corner, sipping at her cider for several moments as she sat deep in thought before finally looking back to Cas. "I'm not sorry for what I did, you know." she started with a calm voice. "I felt that we've been together long enough, that you deserved to know who I am. Who I really am. As much as it hurt me to see what it caused, I don't regret telling you." she admitted softly, looking in his eyes. "I'm not lying when I say you're the only person who knows. You're the only person I felt I could just...be me. Real me. No masks or personas, just...me." she continued, nibbling on her lower lip. She took a deep breath and released a heavy sigh. "But that's all behind us. I still need to do the typical crazy girlfriend thing and stalk you on the holonet." she quipped with a chuckle, trying to shift the topic.

"How's things going with your padawan, by the way. You at least got your baggage sorted? I haven't kept tabs on you in a bit." she asked, giving him a teasing wink towards the end.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas looked at her suspiciously as she actually defended her outfit, lifting his glass to his mouth he quietly spoke into it "It's definitely... eye catching." he remarked with a grin taking a sip of his soda. Placing the glass back on the coaster "Your old look was way more intimidating." he confessed flashing her a wink.

Listening intently as she began to explain what she was doing on Denon, his expression faltered into a serious one. When she concluded, Cas took another sip of his drink "Well... good for you, I guess. At least your happy." he said with a shrug, although he was nonchalant on the surface he was indeed happy that she was doing well for herself since they last saw each other and despite her dramatic change, she seemed well off than him - emotionally speaking. Although he didn't show it, he wasn't completely over Tess and to make matters worse, old feelings were beginning to return.

There was a brief silence between them as Tess was visibly deep in thought, he watched her with a curious gaze before she finally spoke up again. When she began talking about their relationship, Cas gently bit his lower lip and glanced away from her direction as a sorrowful expression befell his face. When she finished with a quip, he chuckled a little and his eyes trailed back to her "Yeah, thanks... for telling me." he said truthfully while taking another sip "For what it's worth, I haven't told anyone either." he assured her with a small smile.

Cas cleared his throat, attempting to rid himself of the returning feelings as he did so. But the thought of Yenna brought a smile to his face, chuckling slightly, he realised how much progress she'd been making and how proud he was of her "Things... are going pretty good, honestly. She's a fast learner, making a crazy amount of progress - I mean, I'm barely doing anything. It's all her." he revealed smiling "She's like the little sister I never wanted." he chuckled although he meant that in the best way possible.

There was a silence again, and the old feelings stirred up once more like a growing flame. He awkwardly cleared his throat again as he took another sip "So, uh, got a new boyfriend on the scene? Or a boy toy maybe?" he asked as he put the glass down, his face had a hint of concern but mainly curiosity.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

He didn't say it but Tess picked up on it. Something was on his mind and it was bothering him. If she had to guess, it was the same issue she was having...and it was starting to get to her. He admitted that he didn't snitch on her which was something she was grateful for. "I appreciate it." she said softly, returning the smile. He went on to explain how he was faring with his padawan which made her grin. "I'm glad the two of you are getting along. Last time you spoke about her, you two were not getting along at all. I'm happy to see things are getting better." she commented, taking a sip of her drink.

His question caught her off guard. She chuckled as she raised an eyebrow at him. "Nosey little kark, ain't ya?" she quipped as she laughed. Her laugh faded along with the smile as she thought about the question. "No boyfriend, no. I'm...not really liking that idea. Not sure when I'll be able to trust someone as much as I trust you. Plus it's a little too soon for me." she admitted truthfully, finishing her drink. "Though that's not stopping me from having fun." she continued with a smirk, flashing him a wink. "Like I said, I'm here to unwind. I'm definitely doing that." she admitted as she smirked at him. Though the smirk faded somewhat the more she looked at him.

"You got a place to stay?" she asked him calmly. "I got room at my place. Not as snazzy as the other places I got but it gets the job done. I'll walk you back to your ship if you need something, then we can head off. It's got a lovely view too." she offered him with a warm tone as she grabbed her things to leave. "Come on, let's get you settled in." she spoke as she led the way out of the bar. From there, she let him lead the way.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas smiled and gave Tess an appreciative nod at her comments about his and Yenna's improving master-student relationship. When she began to answer his question, he quickly injected a response "Maybe, or I'm just curious." he said flashing her a wink. Cas almost felt... relieved when she mentioned she wasn't in anything serious although his head jerked slightly when he found out she'd been 'having fun' with other people. The Jedi Knight averted his gaze and quietly sighed, realising he had been in a bit of a dry spell since Tess.

Tess completely caught him off guard with what she proposed next, startled he barely got out a word as he stammered "I-- wha--" Cas was currently staying in a cheap hotel alongside BB-5, but for some reason, something stopped him from telling her that. Cas' brows furrowed as deep thought showed on the Kiffar's bronze face as he questioned what he was about to do, and was it a good idea? As his feelings began to override his critical thinking, Cas glanced up at the woman whom he still had strong feelings for... maybe some closure was a good thing? He tried to tell himself.

The young Jedi eventually went with his emotions and nodded "Yeah... that'd be nice." he agreed with a soft tone, he stood up and gently rubbed the back of his neck "All I'll need is a toothbrush but I can buy one on the way to yours." he explained, trying to deflect on getting back to his ship that was in the shop. The repair shop was probably closed at this time anyway. Cas followed her out of the bar before switching it round and allowing Tess to lead the way - as they stepped outside, Cas felt a droplet of water hit his forehead. Holding his hand out, more fell onto his hand... it had started to rain.

Xan Deesa

 

[Xan Deesa]

Tess found it amusing when Cas seemed rather caught off guard. He sat deep in thought but finally relented. Tess could feel a tug in her chest as she smiled at him. She felt rather happy that he came along.

Outside she took the lead and walked to their destination. Raindrops started to fall, making her zip up her pockets and jacket. She glanced at Cas as rain started to come down with more force. She giggled as she removed her cap and slid it onto his head, her mask making her grin look rather menacing. "Don't want that snazzy new look getting ruined now." she quipped as she walked beside him. She remained quiet as she walked beside him, however the grin never left her lips as she slowly started to creep closer to Cas. By the time they reached her apartment complex, she had her arm around his side. "Here we are!" she proclaimed as she let go and called the elevator. The apartment, like she said, didn't look like much. Frankly, it was quite a downgrade compared to what she usually had. But the view of the neon skyline definitely helped to improve the look.

"Come in!" she said as she pulled him into the apartment, unzipping and tossing aside her jacket along with her mask. They were drenched from head to toe. "Let's get you out of those before you catch cold." she said as she worked on getting rid of his wet clothing as well as her cap. "Bathroom is down the hall on your left. Better catch a shower. I'll get you a towel." she said as she started to scrounge through her cupboard for another towel.

Once she found the towel, she brought it to the bathroom. With a knock on the door she entered and placed it close to the shower, keeping her gaze averted. "There you go." she said as she turned to leave...but she stopped. Her heart pounded as she pondered about what she was thinking of doing. Her hand slowly reached out and closed the door before she got to work undressing herself. Without a word she stepped into the shower behind him, pushing her magenta hair aside. "Mind if I join?" she quipped, giving him a devilish grin.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas adjusted Tess' cap on his head, before shooting her a toothy grin "My dreads thank you." he said with a chuckle as the rain grew heavier. The walk to her apartment was quiet although he noticed her gradually draw closer to him, she was smiling, Cas could tell by her raised cheeks under her mask. What was she so happy about? Could it be...? Maybe?

By the time they were at the complex, Cas somehow had his arm wrapped around her shoulder as hers was wrapped around his side - he had no idea how it happened, but he was uncomfortably soaking wet. Entering the apartment, he scanned the apartment and chuckled slightly "Homey... big. Could get a lot of stuff done here." he commented, taking Tess' cap off and giving his hair a shake. Cas physically displayed his uncertainty with getting changed in front of Tess - weren't there supposed to be boundaries post-breakup? Regardless he unzipped and took off his drenched white jacket before doing the same with his black t-shirt and handing it to her. After slipping off his boots, it took Cas a few moments to take his trousers off as he internally wrestled with himself if this was the right call or not - eventually, he ended up pulling down his pants and handing them to her.

Although he was in his drawers, he still felt exposed - finding this awkward, he motioned to the direction of the bathroom and made his way toward it. Inside the bathroom, Cas wrapped his hands on each side of the sink and leaned over, staring himself down in the mirror. Using his cybernetic hand, he gently placed his palm on the faded scar on his chest "What're you doing, Cas?" he quietly asked himself, every part of him was screaming this was a bad idea. Sighing, he ran his hands threw his hair before getting into the tub and turning on the shower.

Turning the shower to a warm temperature, he stood under the shower head and hung his head low as his dreads drooped over his face. He was beginning to have second thoughts when, on cue, Tess knocked and entered. Cas turned to watch her drop off his towel, his heartbeat began to raise when she stopped and began undressing herself. Cas averted his gaze and stared at the drain below, when he heard her enter and ask to join him his heartbeat increased even more he felt it in his ears. Cas said nothing, he stood still and his back remained facing her. Clenching his hands, Cas was about to regret this, without a word he turned to face her.

Cas stared at her intently for a few moments, scanning her face and then her entire body. The Jedi reached over and grabbed her with his metallic arm and pulled her closer to him, there was no space between them as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Face inches apart from hers, Cas stared deeply into her pale eyes before leaning in and planted a deep and assertive kiss.

Xan Deesa