Down by the River

[Judah Lesan]

It took Aden a total of about twenty minutes to get Valen to sleep. He was motivated. The mando sniper had not seen Mesh’la this happy since he had come back into her life. Until they took the time in the river to just “play” Aden had felt as though his attempts had been tolerated. He knew he read more into it than he should have, but Mesh’la still had not made her mind about where they stood. Would they raise Aden as husband and wife, or just partners. He’d never said it out loud, but after today he was unsure if he could be happy with anything less than winning Mesh’la back in full.

He could see the smoke of the fire from the small window of his and Valen’s room. A smile formed at his lips as it was a sign Mesh wanted to stay out past the sunset. Aden grabbed some blankets for them. The nights had been cold, and the fire would keep them only so warm last dark. The supplies for s’mores weren’t noticed until he came out, but he would be happy for the sweet treat.

”Still have that sweet tooth,” Aden said with a wink as he laid one of the blankets out on the grass.

The sun was just beginning to turn, and the clouds were starting to show the beginning signs of color when Aden looked out at the sky. It was so big. The sky seemed to stretch on for kilos and kilos without an end in sight. Such a thought elicited a sigh from Aden as he thanked Mesh for the offered ale.

”How did you know this would be the perfect thing for the sunset!?”

His dark eyes looked over to Mesh’la. There was a spark of hope in them. His hope was that the night was not over. The river had sparked something between them, something Aden wanted to see grow into full flame.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

Mesh's golden head turned as [member="Aden Dral"] joined her at the fire pit. Electric blue orbs met rich brown before the sniper laid out blankets for them to sit on. She added another log to the fire, then made her way over and handed Aden his ale; hers finished already. Wha? It was cold. She was thirsty, and it tasted good. It had nothing to do with being nervous and wanting to take the edge off...

"Well you know me... I'm always looking for a good excuse to indulge in sweet pleasures like s'mores," Mesh'la quipped lightly with a small smile, then walked back over to the fireside and picked up a whittled, long stick.

Grabbing a marshmallow from its bag, the petite medic plunked the while puff onto the sharp end of the stick, then held it over the orange-red dancing flame to toast it. Mesh had always been a perfectionist so she took pride it getting it just the right shade of brown; no flame outs for her.

"Help yourself... I don't want to be the only pig here," she chuckled softly, then asked casually after a moment.

"So Mandalore sunsets or Concord Dawn... Which are more beautiful, hmm?"

 

[Judah Lesan]

She was nervous. Aden could tell, but he didn’t blame her. If Aden was honest, so was he. He took the ale without any hesitancy and began to drink it. His eyes took in the sunset, though they didn’t stay on it for long. His eyes wandered to Mesh’la’s backside while she dug into the bag of marshmallows. At this point he didn’t care if he was caught looking. Aden had been away from
Her for a long time, and his blood was pumping especially after the river.

Aden reached his hand into the bag and pulled out a treat. Placing it on a stick he put into the flame and let it burn. Unlike Mesh, Aden liked a burnt offering. He blew out the flame as he looked to his wife and pumped his eye brows. He stuck the treat into his mouth, chewed it around a bit then swallowed.

Mesh wanted to know about the sunsets. He sighed.

”To be honest, I watch you most of the time, though I do miss the sunsets by our river...”

This was the time for honesty if any time ever was. Aden grabbed another treat and put it on the stick. His plan was to make a s’more this time, and now that he had his burnt offering he took more time with this marshmallow. He looked over to Mesh.

”Soooo that kiss... it was nice.”

Aden brought it up.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

Mesh'la watched in mocked disgust as [member="Aden Dral"] stuck his marshmallow directly into the hottest part of the fire and let it burst into flames. They weren't bad per se that way, though the charcoaled outside left a funny taste in your mouth and took away from the overall pure melted goodness of the white puff.... Well at least in her opinion.

"If honest, those were the best of times," Mesh flashed a small smile his way, then took her evenly toasted marshmallow out of the flame "...and you really should pay more attention to the sunsets because you are missing a lot. Each one is unique and sets the tone for the rest of the night. For instance, no storm clouds are present tonight so the colors have a warm embrace to them, don't you think?"

The petite blonde grabbed a graham cracker square and maneuvered the toasted puff off the stick, then placed a slab of chocolate on top of that followed by another cracker square. She pressed the gooey sandwich together with the melted marshmallow spilling out on the sides. Mesh'la licked the edges clean with her tongue, then took a bite, chewed a moment and answered the elephant in the room so to speak question the sniper had put forth to her.

"Yes, it was nice... but not as nice as this. Holy cow, this is sweet tasting! I'd forgotten how good these were," she exclaimed with a soft chuckle.

 

[Judah Lesan]

”I mean I pay attention to the sunsets, but it’s not just the sunset that I enjoy. Say whatever you want about where things are between us, today was a reminder about the best of times. The sunsets are pretty, but you’re company is what makes them worth watching.”

Aden wasn’t trying to lay it on thick. He was simply being honest. A drink was taken from the bottle to keep himself from going too far with his words. His mother had once told him men talked too much when it came to women. Aden was doing his best to say what needed to be said and nothing more.

Mesh’la was right about the colors. There was a gentle tone to them. Without the storm clouds threatening to break up their evening the sky did have a soft and majestic hue which was more than warm. It was inviting. Aden knew he could get lost in the sunset if he wanted to, but the truth was he would rather be lost in the gaze of his wife. He chuckled when she dodged his question with a retort about the s’more. Aden just nodded and patted the blanket next to him as he watched the sky and put his own treat together.

”You’ve always loved chocolate more,” he said sticking his tongue out and then took a bite of his own. He chewed on it, and decided to eat the rest of it before saying anything else. He didn’t want to let it go despite the way Mesh’la was putting it off. If it had just been a kiss maybe he wouldn’t, but had been more.

”Still... it was more than just a kiss... even you have to admit there was something to it.”

Aden was still fishing.

[member="Mesh'la Dral"]

 

[Alleycat]

That tongue of his never changes, always sticking it out at me, Mesh thought amused at Aden's antics. One of these days I'll catch it... again, maybe. Why not? What is holding me back, huh? I need to get over what he did and move forward, right, not dwell on the past? But if he does it again, I don't think I can survive the hurt again, not to mention the effect on Valen. He was too young to be truly affected the first time.

"Yep... That's me in a nut shell, chocolate lover through and through," the petite blonde shrugged with a matching tongue, then she finished off her S'more, licking the fingers that held it to get every bit too.

The dark-haired sniper continued pressing Mesh'la on the kiss they'd shared down at the river. She just sighed to herself, then moved over to the spot on the blanket Aden had patted for her to sit down right beside him.

Gods Mesh was thirsty now, and wished she hadn't had drank her ale so quickly.

"Yes," the golden-haired medic simply answered, then reached across her estranged husband's body to grab his bottle of ale. She took a swig, blue gaze looking out thoughtfully at the near complete sunset, then handed it back to Aden as she sat back. "My only question for you, [member="Aden Garon"], is will you stay this time?"