I'm Begging You

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He stuck out his tongue, but complied with her request.

She had asked first after all, and it was the least he could do...but that didn't mean Kurt looked forward to it. Wine had never really agreed with him, and he doubted that this would be any different. Gently he set down his own cup on the counter, taking the glass from Jamie and inspecting the crimson liquid for just a moment. He eyed it with no small amount of suspicion, taking a small whiff of the liquid and scrunching his face before bringing the glass to his lips and taking a sip.

The wine splashed across his tongue, his eyes closing as he bit down the taste. There was an odd sort of sweet and sourness to it, but...bleh. "It's..."

He trailed off.

"Great..." He didn't want to insult her choice of drink. "For some people..."

But he also wouldn't lie.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The smartest girl in the galaxy Jamie was not, but she was also certainly not the dumbest. The face and reaction she got from it made her erupt into a small giggle fit. "You're such a liar!"

Her hands reached out, taking the glass back from him and his sour face. "You hate everything about it!" She was still fighting back the laughter as she spoke.

"It's okay. Not everyone can appreciate a fine drink."

Taking another sip herself she seemed content with his reaction. It wasn't as though she was offended, as she knew right well that whatever poisonous concoction he had made up for himself was like ten times more despicable than the crimson liquid she was drinking. Her eyes settled on the amber colored glass, her throat rising and falling as she swallowed the nervousness.

"Okay. Give me yours. Let's get this over with." She extended her hand and tried not to smell it. Jamie knew if she smelled the fuel it would only repulse her more. With one quick tilt back of the glass she felt the small wave of toxic liquid rush past her lips and into her mouth. And as she suspected it was strong, overbearing, and utterly repulsive. Something her father might enjoy. She nearly choked, forcing herself to swallow before placing the glass back down and raising her hand to cover her mouth, index finger curling past her lips in a disgusted expression.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Oh please!" He declared at the sight of her face, a small smirk playing on his lips.

"It's not that bad!" Compared to a Racers Delight this was practically child's play. "This is what little girls drink back home!"

That wasn't entirely accurate, though he had seen a twelve year old down an entire glass of this before...though it had been on an ill-advised dare and she had immediately thrown it up. That was a detail he wouldn't be sharing with Jamie anytime soon of course.

"You just can't handle a real drink." He smirked at her, a tiny bit of teasing.

The realty of course was more than any drink born on Tatooine was really an acquired taste. Much like everything else about his homeworld the drinks were harsh and difficult to like at first glance. He supposed it was an avid reflection of the people themselves.

Except for himself of course.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Her nose scrunched, nostrils flaring. "Gross." She said beneath the cover of her hand. "That's a real bad drink."

In a basket beside the sink sat three potatoes. Each one she removed and carefully washed beneath the running sink before setting them aside to dry. As she worked she turned her head towards Kurt to speak. "Those little girls back home should be treated to something actually good." Jamie stuck her tongue out towards Kurt before turning back. "Do you want to cut these for me while I peel the onions?"

This was by far her least favorite thing to do. The stinging, burning sensation caught her eyes every single time, no matter what she tried to do to prevent it.

"Then we just have to wash and cut the carrots, season and brine the Shaak, and make the salad."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"I can do that." Kurt said as he put the drink down on the counter.

He couldn't cook worth a lick, but he could at least cut up some vegetables. His mother had always instructed him to do as such anyway, mostly because she hated touching raw meat and that usually left Kurt to trim all the fat from the bantha steaks they would eat. He smiled slightly as he wandered around the counter he slipped behind Jamie, looking for a cutting board real quick until Jamie pointed out which cabinet they were in. Kurt pulled out a wooden board that likely cost more than his first pod-racer.

He frowned but chose not to question it.

Without much hesitation he pulled a knife from the small block to his left, beginning to do as Jamie had instructed him. The process went rather quickly, and funnily enough went right besides her as she began to cut into the onions.

"I hope you don't expect me to do more than this." He told her with a smile. "Mostly because I think you actually want to enjoy the meal."

Generally when Kurt cooked things didn't end up...good.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Maybe I'll teach you how to cook sometime." Jamie tossed a look over to Kurt, "Surely you're capable of more than just cutting up potatoes."

Many of the things Jamie was taught as a child were things involving the running of a household. Those talents had proven to serve her well, despite the uses she tended to put them towards, rather than the ones intended by her parents. Instead of taking up the lead on the Pyne estate, she more often found herself lending those talents towards her own ideas elsewhere in the galaxy.

The Jedi slowly began to feel the pooling of water beneath her eyes as the onions worked their magic. Jamie brushed her arm past to dry away the water before setting down the pieces now cut. She washed her hands and the blade before setting to work on the last of the vegetables that would be set with the Shaak, the carrots.

"For now I'll take care of the important bits. I do want to eat, after all."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"I've tried before." He admitted. Back on Tatooine he and his father would sometimes be left alone by his mother for one reason or another, either she had to attend a local meeting or something else came up that would leave Kurt and his dad to fend for themselves. More than a few times they had both attempted to cook, following instructions meticulously and doing the best that they could to actually get a meal going but...they always ended up a horrible mess.

"Doesn't work out well." Kurt said as he sliced through the final potato. "Usually ends up a burnt mess, or tasting too salty, or not salty enough, or..."

He shrugged. Despite his earlier joking he was hardly an expert chef, far from it in fact. When he had lived on his own most of his meals had consisted of instant ramen or powerbars that he scrounged from a fuel station. It had been incredibly unhealthy, but he'd never minded all that much.

Kurt leaned over and washed his hands real quick. "I'd have thought you'd be full by now."

The smirk on his face was hard to miss.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

She froze entirely. Her face immediately reddened to that of a beet. Jamie spun her head towards Kurt, golden hair curving in front of her face before falling back into place. A harsh glare followed, but not a single word. She could feel the heat growing on her cheeks as she stared him down in silence. Without knowing what to say she quickly reached for her glass of wine, pulling it to her lips and taking several sips before setting it back down and turning away from him with another disapproving shake of the head.

"Take the Shaak out of the fridge, please."

The blonde let out an indignant huff, then, grabbing a bowl, began to mix a variety of spices together, including a bit of oil, butter, and sugar.

"And set it in the pan."

She decided not to entertain him with an answer to that previous remark.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He smiled, but again did as he was told. Teasing her was just a little bit too fun not to do it, even if it made her a little bit upset. She would get over it in a few minutes.

"Have you made this before?" He asked her with a smile, deciding to move on from his comment as well.

Kurt knew that Jamie liked to cook.

When they'd first met and he'd taken her aboard The Messa she had made him a meal that he couldn't even remember the name of. It had been absolutely delicious, and he remembered almost exactly how she'd made it, though for the life of him he couldn't remember the name. Perhaps he'd have to ask her later.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Yes." She replied, stirring the contents of the bowl until it turned a slight tan color, thickening a bit. There was enough to cover the meat with, but would need to be continually basted throughout the cooking process to prevent drying out. "I used to watch my grandmother make this when I was very young, maybe five. She taught me."

Jamie paused, setting the spoon down inside the dish, allowing herself the moment to reminisce.

"It used to be one of my favorite things she would make."

Once Kurt had done as she asked she set about artistically 'painting' the Shaak meat with the mixture she had created, brushing it along all of the sides to ensure an even coating. A minute later she set the vegetables the two had prepared inside the pan around the meat, poured in a small bit of water, then set the pan into the oven.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He smiled slightly.

Kurt was glad that he could relive some of the memories Jamie had with her family. The Courier knew that he would never really be a part of Jamie's family, not really, but it was little things like this that he could do at the very least. He would never fit in with high society, he would never really be able to attend a ball or something of the sort, but...this he could do. As she stepped away from the oven Jamie would find Kurt's arms wrapped around her.

"So." He asked her with a smile. "How long do we have?"

Jamie's mind would immediately jump to something, but Kurt would curb that. "We could watch a movie, or play a game maybe."

The suggestions were legitimate, not an insinuation.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie checked the chrono on her wrist, "About an hour and forty five minutes."

Turning back she gave him a quick kiss and then began to place all of the dishes now dirtied into the washer.

"We can if you'd like."

Cleaning up wasn't much trouble. The spices were put back into the appropriate cabinets, trash deposited into the bin, and a quick wipe down of the counter tops would do it. "Did you have something in mind?" She said, tossing the wash cloth onto the neck of the faucet.

Her fingers tapped on the screen of the device on her wrist, setting a reminder and a timer so that she would not forget to baste the meat every fifteen minutes.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Uhhh." Kurt considered for a moment. That had a good chunk amount of time, an hour and forty five minutes could accomplish quite a bit. He slowly wandered around the edge of the counter, tapping his fingers along the way.

"Movie?" He asked her. "The only games I know are drinking games."

He smiled. "Don't think we want to do that."

Kurt knew a few card games as well, but most of them weren't even half as fun without alcohol. A movie was probably the best choice, and knowing what the rest of this house was like he suspected that Jamie's parents had an entire collection of the damned things.

It certainly was true of everything else.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"I don't want to play a drinking game with you. Not unless it's a 2:1 ratio. Otherwise it's not fair."

She stuck her tongue out.

"But we do have a small holo-theater on the other side of the estate. Seats about twenty people. We can watch something there if you'd like." Though getting up every fifteen minutes to check on their food would likely be a bit of an inconvenience. She considered for a minute before shrugging.

Her parents had taken their two labor droids with them it seemed, so Jamie was more or less on her own.

"It's this way." She called, heading towards the hallway that led towards the theater room several corridors away, past the rather large library.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He smiled slightly, of course they had their own holo-theater, why wouldn't they? In Mos Eisley the only theater that existed was sponsored by ATC, and that thing only managed to stay in one piece because of the respect people had for Mrs. Arceneau. He slowly shook his head as Jamie guided him through the estate, still somewhat stunned by the size of the whole place.

Even when he'd been a kid Kurt had never even dreamed of living in a place like this.

"What do you want to watch?" He figured it was easier to decide now than later. "Fantasy? Sci-Fi? Romance?"

The last one was a bit of a tease of course, Kurt wasn't generally one to watch chick flicks unless he was forced into it. His favorite movie was of course The Battle of Endor, a retelling of the Rebel Alliance's fight against the Empire. It was a good one, though of course embellished a little to make everyone look better.

Good movie though.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

A digit tapped against her chin as they walked the halls towards the theater room. "Hmmmmmm." Her nose wiggled from side to side. "Nothing scary."

She didn't handle horror well. Especially not after living through the horrors of things like Terentateks. Those were actual, real, monsters. No, she could do without horror films for pretty much ever. "Anything else I can do."

Maybe that made her a baby. But that was fine by her.

"Something funny maybe?"

Those types were really her favorite.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He considered. "What do you have in that department?"

Comedy was really hit or miss.

The galaxy was so massive and had so many species in it that humor could jump wildly from place to place depending on where you got it from. The hilarious thing in one system could be enough to earn you a death warrant in the next. Kurt's own sense of humor was a bit...dry.

"Maybe something Corellian?" That was about as relaxed as it got. "Nothing from Korriban please."

He joked with a smile.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"CorSec Academy? Or Coronet City Blues?" The library of HoloVids they had was astounding to say the least. Not to mention a dozen or so memberships to various services that broadcasted even more than what they already personally owned. "I'm sure there will be something you'll like. I don't even think I've seen everything in my parent's collection."

Every time Jamie watched something it seemed as though there were even more than the last time she'd checked.

Two double doors with ornate crystal handles separated the two from the darkened room beyond. Taking hold of one of the heavy doors the blonde pulled it open for Kurt to see and step inside the beautifully staged theater.

"Near the front, off to the side is a terminal you can look through if you'd like."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He couldn't help but be taken aback. She had said theater but this was a bit ridiculous. The Courier found himself overwhelmed once more with the sheer size of everything. The pool had already been built for what he assumed was a hotel but this...this was something entirely different.

Slowly Kurt stepped inside of the theater, feeling a slight chill on the back of his neck from the air conditioning.

"I'll just pick something simple." He told her, not mentioning that he felt somewhat uncomfortable in a place this...big. It wasn't that he judged her or her family, but this reminded him a bit too much about the sheer difference in wealth between Jamie and Him. Her parents could afford something like this easily enough, but to his parents? Well it would have been a marvel in it of itself. Kurt shook his head slightly and plucked one of the holo-vids from the shelf.

"Your parents must be a fan of the classics." Kurt said with a smile, his thoughts momentarily forgotten. "I love this movie."

He held up a box that simply said 'Spaceship!' on it, a photo of an oddly twisted and knotted starship on the front.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"My dad, mostly." She corrected Kurt's assumption. "Mother doesn't watch too much. She is always busying herself with other things. She rarely relaxes for long enough to enjoy a video." The girl allowed the heavy door to clank shut behind her as she dropped herself lazily into one of the comfortable reclining chairs. Slowly the chair began to tilt back from her index finger holding the button on the side of the chair.

"Okay. Sure."

She'd seen it before, a long time back, even remembered the premise and the actors, but hadn't seen it in years. It would be like reading an old book again.

"I'll have to check on dinner every few minutes or so, but that's okay."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]