I Want U 2 Want Me

[Preliat Mantis]

"I think I'll be fine with just seeing the one at a time. Reminder- not a distraction. And I've been shot at least six times this week. You should see my armor- I literally took the most protective option I could get."He didn't know how to say it, he didn't know what he wanted to say. He just knew he wanted to say something. Then, it hit him. It hit him like a blaster bolt, or a hit from a leviathan."I want to come home to you. That way I'd actually have something to come home to, you know?"He stood up proudly. He was a Mandalorian Field Marshal. He was a lot of things. He was the god-damn Wolf for crying out loud. But he had never faced a challenge like this.

"Can I be yours?"It was an innocent enough question, four simple words that meant so much more than he let on. It was hard to describe how much she meant, but she meant more than anything he had in his possession. Or even would.

[member="Aditya Amadis"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"Protective is good, shooting bad. Protective good. Th-sh-uh. . . six times and you're almost smiling about it? Gosh I have got to learn more about Mandalore. Are you all this gun crazy? Do I want to know the answer 'cause I have a strong feeling that's an unendurable affirmative." The man stood prouder than she'd ever seen, pared down with no armour but the thickness of his skin [member="Preliat Mantis"] was a hearty example of a man who had usurped the walls of hell and immediately started blowing up the gates to go with it. Could she say she loved him? Before tonight, the Epicanthix Engineer was the sort of lost planet whose outer shell had begun to freeze. Her inner core was cooling faster than the woman wanted to admit. Before. This would always be the night she used whenever she said 'before'.

"What are you asking me, Eli? To come with you? What?" The woman pushed her hair out of her eyes and untied the all together too messy ponytail, ringing her fingers through until she could shove it up in a messy, hastily bound bun. "I don't have a home. I have a place to sleep or a couch to bed down on, on my company's ships whenever it suits my fancy and there's no hotel. Truth is, I've been far too many years without a place to go when I felt scared."

She mashed her fingers together, stepped up to the valiant Mandalorian and slid her fingers along the edge of his jacket's lapels. "But I'd like a home to make. I'd . . . I'd love that, Eli. Is there a place we could make 'home' to be? Even when we travel and I'm working and you're testing the resilience of your very very protective armour, I want you to be mine, if that means I got you, makes me feel kinda invisible, you know? Is that. . . is that dumb?"

Aditya couldn't look farther than the tattoo on his chest, a finger stroked across the lapel of his jacket. Was she turning beet red?

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"There's this....wonderful place I was looking about getting over in Mandalore. It's a little bit away from the hustle and bustle of Keldabe. I can look at the city at night, but I can also look at the other hills and plains around the planet. It's somewhere where I could settle down and live with someone but...I didn't have anyone to share it with, so I passed it up. But the offer was still open. I'm tired of sleeping on cots and in sleeping bags and knowing I don't have a bed of my own besides a cabin on a ship somewhere."He leaned his head forward, resting his forehead with hers. The blackest of brown eyes fixated on hers, and he slowly began to understand all those songs and poems about love and how much it could mean. It wasn't some schoolgirls fantasy, it was something he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"No. I'm tired of not going to sleep thinking about what I'm gonna do the next day- I want to think about you. And I wanna think about lying next to you, and waking up and...just being with you."He looked at her, as hopeless and monstrous as he was, he was finally showing the galaxy that maybe, he wasn't just an animal, maybe he had feelings and maybe he could be a good person."I want you to be there wherever and whenever I go."He said softly, blinking at the Epicanthix face to face with him. Nobody could say who was stronger of the two, they were both probably the most ferocious and tenacious Epicanthix in the galaxy in their own way. But, it was obvious Preliat needed her maybe a bit more than she wanted him. That was an obvious one- he wanted this more than life itself.

[member="Aditya Amadis"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"I guess this means I'd better learn how to speak Mandalorian." Aditya had long known she needed Kei far more than he needed her. She'd been a convenient bed warmer for much of their time, where her mind and heart had been on fire. Now staring her in the face was the opposite of the equation and to Aditya Fitz-Kierke it felt fantastic to be wanted. To be needed so badly. To be useful and protected and loved was the biggest shock her life had taken, and she'd danced for the Queen of Naboo.

Standing on the deck holding onto his lapels, Aditya's black and red eyes swept up to [member="Preliat Mantis"]' face. "You'd better buy that house, Eli. I'm coming home to Mandalore with you. Try and get rid of me and hoh boy that armour you brag about will be in pieces. True story. You're mine now, buddy."

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"You'll learn quickly."He said, and his hands, as if controlled by some demon of a suave nature, found their way to the small of her back. Preliat had never been so...forward with a woman. He was no mind reader, and neither was she. Not that it would help them, after all, Preliat and Aditya were both Epicanthix and the species only real claim to fame was their jet-black hair and the jet-black way that nobody could read their minds.

He smiled, a genuine smile that had been rarely seen before the date."I'm all yours huh- Doesn't bother me one bit."

[member="Aditya Amadis"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"It'd better not bother you!" Aditya smacked him in the chest, wrangling her fingers up into his hair and pulling herself up on her tip toes to kiss him. He tasted like surf and turf and Aditya broke away smacking her lips. "You know what I want? I want to finish dinner and get out of her. Put on clothing that wasn't the recipient of foamy napalm and a pair of shoes I didn't break the heels off of. And then, [member="Preliat Mantis"], you are going to take your fair lady home."

It felt better the more she said it, the more she felt it. She grinned up at his smile and pulled up on her tip toes again to kiss him. "I can get used to it."

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Their lips met. Time stopped. The dogs stopped barking in his head. The hamster paused in it's wheel and questioned it's existence. Take his lady home. His. Her man. Their love. Their love that had grown while he was on the battlefield and she was in an engine room. Their love that had grown so close while they were so far apart. He grasped her hand, and smiled at her."I guess you'll want to see the rest of that tattoo sometime, won't you?"He smirked, and brought his body closer to hers. His viciously muscled body pressed against the dancer. The wolf and the dancer. A children's fable if he had ever thought of it.

"Me too, Aditya. Me too."

He grasped her hand to lead them back inside, taking his helmet with them. His buy'ce.

[member="Aditya Amadis"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"What, you're going to make me wait to see it? How cruel could you be?" Aditya ran her finger along [member="Preliat Mantis"]' jaw and wondered. Would he be as happy after she revealed her scars? Slug bolt damage, napalm burns, defensive wounds and old healing damage sustained during her life on the other edge of society. Were they any less badges of honour than her feet, which had been marred by so many years of dancing? A woman en pointe might look graceful and delightful, a beauty beyond compare but the cost was evident on her naked toes.

Through dinner she thought of what he might see, but the wine helped and the company helped more. Was she doing the right thing to go to Mandalore? After calling her lab to tell them she wouldn't be back (and getting the sudden and offending sounds of a relieved party in the background), Aditya finally pulled off her shoes, left them on the table and walked toward Preliat's ship in her stocking feet.

"So am I going to get eaten alive by all the eligible young women of Mandalore that know what they're doing and would love to be the one in a Field Marshal's bed? 'Cause I'm alright with that. I'll beat them into a soup, even in their armour. . . Oh gosh I don't have to get armour, do I? Is it a requirement!? What if I'm horrible at it!? What if I am thinking too hard!? Wh-where are we staying tonight?"

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"You won't wait too long. It's a bit of a hike to Mandalore. And don't worry, I'm sure the agent won't take long to argue with a Field Marshal and his..."He paused. Not yet. He didn't want to rush it. He knew that much at least. He turned and looked at her, and smiled. It was always going to be her, in the end. That much he knew. And she probably knew."His."He smiled, as he turned his head towards his ship. She lead him there, with, albeit, a bit of guidance. It was a Firespray- an ancient method of transporting prisoners. Now, it was transporting a man who considered himself a prisoner in his own mind of his own machinations.

"After my Null Hockey contracts expired- so did my luck with women. Truth be told, I haven't been dating much."The true number was around zero."The only way you're getting armor is if you want to become a Mandalorian. And that's up to you. And tonight..."The ramp closed on the ship. He looked at her, holding his helmet in one hand. He blinked, smiling down at her."You're going to see the rest of the tattoo- among other things that may disturb you."

[member="Aditya Amadis"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"His 'we'll figure it out'." Aditya stepped away and straightened her hair again. Truth was, she was in no condition to marry again or consider the big-f Future. She was barely in the mode to plan ahead for her business, instead leaving that to her assistants and COO. What [member="Preliat Mantis"] asked of her was the largest chunk of her spirit and mind. Of all that made Aditya simply that. Aditya. And yet she didn't care. Eli was fulfilling a caving emptiness in her emotions. He bled the loneliness out of her, but why?

She didn't look to the answer. "I don't think it's wise for me to get into fights. I'll leave the warring to you." It was better that she didn't go Epicanthix-ape-berzerk on some poor sod. . . and then get killed when that poor sod turned into some kind of Force Using Knight or Lord or Master of Infinity.

"I'm not the only one with a potential to be disturbed tonight, Eli. . . have you seen what scattershot does when it goes off in a close range environment with walls the stuff bounces off of? 'Cause you're going to if that train of thought keeps running."

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"War- war is my specialty and profession."Honesty was a bit of a norm for Preliat. He laughed when she gave the answer about fights."Fighting is reserved for those who have no real skills. You, have plenty of those."He smiled, moving further into his ship. Slowly, he began to strip himself of the jacket. Not many had seen him without his armor, and even less- without anything at all. He slipped off his shirt, wearing only the tank top that kept him warm in the cool night without having to add another layer. He moved further into the ship, letting the long sleeve shirt he was wearing under the jacket fall to the floor.


He turned and beckoned [member="Aditya Amadis"] further into the firespray, the ancient war machine lying in wait for it's next flight."I don't think you know scars until you've seen what a Mandalorian warrior and a Null Hockey player put together looks like."

 

[Ginnie Dib]

Another warrior, another broken ship. The firespray felt tired, an old sergeant who'd lasted longer than any lieutenant or corporal thought possible. It was the sort of ship that needed constant upgrading - or lasted with the collection of disfunction's joining together to a workable vessel. What did it say for a man like [member="Preliat Mantis"] to live on a modified prisoner transport? Was he trapped?

Yes. And he kept the lock and key. Further in, Aditya pulled off her socks and let her bare feet soak in the coolness of the floor. Out of her boots and socks, Aditya's feet and ankles were criss-crossed with pale red scars. The scars didn't end at the ankles, up past the legs of her trousers. Her right foot looked broken, healed, re-broken and left to heal again. It was old damage, but formed by the high heeled and pointe shoes.

"I'm not doing the who has more scars competition. 'Cause it's not a competition. They should have never happened."

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"And yet..."

His back muscles turned, the thin cotton shirt showing the hills and valleys that had developed from years of physical exertion. He walked forward, his arm reaching out to place a finger on her lips. Say what you wanted about Preliat- his seductive nature not only lie in his savagery.

"They happened."


Knuckles covered in cuts, broken bones and burns slowly flattened, as his hand found itself placed on the side of her not-so-delicate cheek. A hard woman, for a hard man. He blinked, leaning forward. His lips pressed against hers, before he broke off for a moment, but didn't break the distance.

"I can still win at the who has more tattoos game."

He smiled at [member="Aditya Amadis"].

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"I kinda wish they hadn't. Nothing I can do about that now." She tried to joke, to smile and make light but it fizzled out as Aditya caught the rakes and pocks and scars on [member="Preliat Mantis"]' chest. Her lips smacked, she glanced at them with a sympathetic groan and her fingers found their way to her chest, brushing against the skin and fabric of his shirt. They never should have been there, he never should have been in battles and neither should she. That was the trick, the secret she held on to in these quieter moments. None of the evils in the universe should have been there. Maybe Aditya was around to be the spackle in the cracks.

Aditya took off her vest, and opened her arms as he leaned in for the kiss. She stroked her thumb across his cheek and found a timid smile for her lips. "You win the tattoo game."

She kissed him again, pushing up on her tip toes until she felt the air sucked out of the room - or was it her lungs? "I win the out-of-breath female game."

~ Fade ~

Aditya stirred. She pictured the defensive wounds over her arms, elbows and knees. The healed slashes, the scattershot above her left hip, spread in splashes up her ribcage. Had it mattered? Not from her perspective. She curled up in the blankets, feeling around before she opened her eyes.

 

[Preliat Mantis]

The ship was in flight now, and Preliat returned to bed. Ships these days piloted themselves mostly. He climbed in, wearing only his ranger panties. He sat on the edge of the bed first, his back in full view to [member="Aditya Amadis"]. He used to have a smoke right about now, but he had quit smoking shortly after becoming a hockey player. Messed with his lungs too much. He sank back in the bed, and his tattoo was finally in full detail. It was a terrifyingly accurate portrayal of the Mandalorian Shriek-hawk, commonly associated with the Death Watch group. Preliat saw it more as an association with him being one of the fiercest Mandalorians- and predators. He was a natural hunter and stalker, and coveted violence and war. It was red and black, it's talons coming near his pectoral muscles and his back covered completely in it's body. It's wings were spread, partly going over his right ribs, and completely over his left. It gave the impression that it was flying at whoever looked at it. He had no other tattoos.


His hand found itself intertwined with hers, curling his fingers around her scarred hand.



And they were there- vicious and more violent than Aditya's in some ways, though not entirely. They were the result of warfare and conflict, not hard work and commitment like some of hers. She was not a soldier, true, but she had experienced the intensity of combat and had to deal with the aftermath of it- and the consequences. Preliat's were awful in some places. Acid burns on his shoulder from the Dark Harvest, gunshot wounds from slugthrowers on his chest and stomach, scratches on his neck from his old armor, burns all over where the armor couldn't stop the bolt from burning him. Cuts and knicks littered his body, and one particularly noticeable one on his cheekbone, near his eye where a punch had landed. He looked upwards at her, smiling at her, his fingers tracing up her hands.


"You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met, Aditya."

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"Mmmrrrhh. You need to get out more. Wait, the other thing. You need to get out less? No. That doesn't work either. . . you need to say that every day over and over. Yeah, that's the one." She moaned with a yawn, burying her face in the pillow and feeling his fingers lace around hers. She pulled the blankets over her shoulders and up to her chin. Save a girl's pride and all. Pulling herself close to his body (heat, darn it! Heat!), she let her free fingers drape across his tattoo.

"What is it?" she asked, feeling along a wing. His scars and cuts would take years to decipher. It was shocking enough to picture the man, but to want to spend the time? The more time Aditya spent with Eli, the more she wanted to open her world to the possibility of years with the Field Marshal. Her fingers left the tattoo and pressed to her lips. She placed the fingers back on an ugly looking acid burn. "Every one of these is a story, isn't it?"

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"I think I can do every day. Promise you that."His lips found the way to her hand, kissing it tenderly. He clearly was more excited about having someone there that wasn't a fellow soldier, someone who cared about him as much as he cared about them. Not that he didn't have that with his vode, it was just a different kind of bond. This, this was deeper and more spiritual and personal. He can't even remember just 'hanging out' with people. Ever.


"It's a shriek hawk. One of the most terrifying animals on Mandalore. I hope you never, ever meet one in the middle of the night. Jai'Galaar in Mando'a. The Death Watch uses their likeness as a symbol, but, it's a bit different. You'll hear them, time to time, on the planet in the middle of the night. It's a cry that pierces the soul. You'll never forget that cry, that awful screech. I promise you."


He blinked at the acid burn. That one- was old. Dark Harvest old. He blinked, rotating his body to be on his side, facing her. He pulled her closer, lowering his voice to it's natural husky and soft spoken tone. Preliat was an incredible stoic and soft spoken man- when he was comfortable and happy.


"Not a lot of them happy stories."


[member="Aditya Amadis"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"Then it's a promise. Don't break it." The unforgivable sin - breaking a promise. She'd had enough of broken promises and tall tales of what folk would do for her, because of her. Aditya wanted an honest man and so far Eli was it. His body was more honest than the suns and stars of the quadrant of space. Honest in his pursuit of being some poor sod's worst nightmare.

"Remind me not to go throwing birdseed around at dusk on Mandalore. J-jai um . . jai Galaar? Sounds kinda pretty, being ignorant of the creature. Jai'Galaar. No midnight walks in the forest, I take it?"

She was pulled into his chest and was reminded of her first-hand experience of how strong the man could be. How strong he was at all times. [member="Preliat Mantis"] had Aditya curled against him and she smoothed her hand over the sheets and up his back, her head propped up on his shoulder.

"That just makes a girl want to give you happy stories to balance the scales. I bet I can do it, too. Work real hard balancing the scales, I bet I can do it, what do I get if I win? Hmm? Eli? What do I get if I make you happy stories?" She grinned up at him, her lips brushing against his skin as strands of her black hair fell over her black-and-red eyes - no whites within them. A throwback of Genetics, Aditya's eyes always would be more sensitive to the light than most. "Eli," she sang his name, prolonging the vowels until they faded happily from her tongue. "What will you get me when I balance those scales? Make it something pretty."

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"Never broken one before. Won't start now."He mused, and looked down at her. He saw it in her eyes- she was sizing him up by his scars. Not in a negative way, just taking in what he had done and what he could do.


"Remember, Mandalore is a threat itself- Mandalorians have to not only fight everything else in the galaxy, but even the home, everything wants to eat you, kill you, spit on you, bite you, or sell you something. And that's what I love about Mando'a, it's such a pretty language."



Stories. Happy endings. Someone to come home to. A home in itself. Something to tip the scales. Scales that hadn't been tipped in such a long time that he forgot that there existed a balance in life. Red-colored eyes danced into his before he thought on her words for a while. Thoughtful with his words, but brash with his actions, Preliat was the ideal warrior.

"I'll get you something that you'll never ever be able to put down. Including your own set of armor- maybe."

[member="Aditya Amadis"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

"Better not. You break a promise and I'm leaving." Aditya slid her finger across his collarbone, her ultimatum drawn in a line on his skin. So from what [member="Preliat Mantis"] displayed Mandalore was going to be a wild ride that never ended. Maybe she should think of some armour?

Naw, it'd never look good on her. She'd get herself killed!

But it would be so much fun. Terrifying fun, like a horror movie! Maybe if she had a bodyguard, and the woman knew just who to hire. Shimmying up to ween body warmth from the man, Aditya put her arm around his neck and pulled herself up to kiss his lips. "Never be able to put down. . . hmmm wonder what that could be? It'd better be a special present. . . let's see what you think when I get into a sticky situation and then see if you want to give me armour. . . I ah, I don't know if it'd be safe. Well, unless I had a passionate, enticing, strong man around to keep me from going berserk." She accentuated the 'k' in berserk, running her fingers through his hair to smooth it behind his ear. "I'm all . . . high in my stomach. Like I'm falling from a big drop and don't know how far it goes down. I like it. I like being here with you. Like it more than I thought I would." She brushed her nose against his chin and nuzzled in. "You're warm. . . all over."