Private Karma

[Sam Sheridan]

He did as she asked and her holsters were thrown aside, out of range. Smart move from his part. He then returned the kiss, earning a light moan from Sam as a hand circled around his neck to hold him close. But just as she thought she was going to get her fun, he broke the kiss and stopped. He told her that they were going too fast, but to Sam that didn't mean much. "Fast and hard is how I like it." she muttered with a grin as she started to grind her hips. He mentioned that they just met and tried to get her to stop, but she didn't seem like she wanted to. "What's the matter? I clearly want it. You clearly want it. What's wrong with that?" she continued before giving him a kiss on the lips again.

But the hands on her hips and the look on his face got his point across. The fire in her slowly died down until it disappeared completely. The familiar frown and annoyed look returned as she simply sat on top of him. She gave a sigh as her hand slid down his chest and instead pushed a few strands of hair out of her face. "Great. The one time I don't end up with a scumbag he has standards." she commented as she looked back at him.

She then pushed off him, getting back on her feet. "Great job, Matt." she said with a bitter tone as she walked back to her shorts. With a struggle she slipped back into it and tightened her belt, then turned to face him again. "Is it because of what I said in the cell?" she asked him curtly as she rested her hand on her hip. "Or did the thought of me being with other guys just turn you off? You're not exactly that pure yourself, you know." she continued, now just jumping to conclusions. It was clear she wasn't happy about stopping, not when she was in the mood for it.

Though getting into her head and understanding something even she struggled to put into words wasn't an easy task...

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

He gave her a soft, sympathetic and almost pained smile as her annoyed look returned. He was grateful that she stopped as she had really been testing his self control for a while and ultimately, this would probably be for the best - for both of their sakes. "Hey!" he said, almost weakly but noticeably higher than when he whispered "Not a scumbag. I'll take that" he joked in an effort to lighten the mood. He could still feel how he was a bit exited from what had just happened - but at least now, she had stopped.

Almost ashamed, his eyes fell as she felled the sarcastic comment. Knowing how angry she seemed, his eyes then ventured over to the kitchen area as she went to get her shorts back on. By the time she was done, Mathieu had stood up and walked over to the kitchen. Looking down at a drawer and just having picked up a pan, his attention soon turned to Sammy. While she maintained her hard facade, the Morellian mainly saw the vulnerable girl in her, thin, minimal clothing, standing out there in the open asking for why he rejected her. While he did see the big picture, it was not quite clear how to best approach her questions and accusation. "Sammy" he said, wishing that she would stop being upset.

Setting down the pan on the kitchen island, he walked over to her and wrapped his hands around her shoulders, brushing up and down just a little in order to give her some warmth. His friendly eyes looked down at her and the hint of a faint smile could be seen on his lips "You're not just a one-night-stand, okay?" he said with a stable voice. He wasn't quite sure what their relationship status was right now. They had just met and she might just be crazy, but maybe there was something there? Nevertheless, he continued "You're right though. I'm not perfect and I've had them before. And sometimes, it can hurt after" he said, bringing his right arm to tap lightly on his chest where the heart is. "And I don't want that for you or me" he finished, putting the arm back onto her shoulder, squeezing lightly.

Letting out a gentle sigh, Mathieu looked her in the eyes for a bit - calmly and peacefully if she would allow it. After a while, he repositioned to have her at his right side whist his arm wrapped around her with the hand on the shoulder "We're probably both hungry now. Let's have a look and see what they have" he suggested, still maintaining the tenderness he had been displaying throughout. Stopping at the barstool by the kitchen island, he said "You're hurt, let me throw something together for us this time." It was only then that he remembered that they still hadn't applied neither kolto nor bacta to her wound. Eyebrows shooting up in surprise, he looked around and begun the search around the ship. Once found, he returned to her, ready to apply the kolto and hope for the best.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

He calmly walked over to the kitchen and took out a frying pan...that really ticked her off. "What? You think simply making food is gonna chill me the kark out?!" she shouted further, though there was a slight tone that indicated it might do exactly that. He then calmly came over to her and pulled her in a gentle hug. "Oh for...could you make up your mind already?!" she kept on going, refusing to accept the hug. His words, though, took her completely by surprise.

She looked up at him in disbelief. Her mouth hung slightly agape as she stared at him. She simply wanted some fun with the tall and handsome merc, but he just kept on being a gentleman to her despite her not giving him any reason to be one. It was infuriating her. No matter what she said or did, he just brushed it off and knew exactly how to disarm her...literally and figuratively. She wanted him to get angry, she wanted to have a proper reason for being angry that wasn't selfish. but he didn't give her any.

The frown returned as he pulled back and led her to a bar stool. She rested her good arm in her lap as she sat down and looked off into a direction, acting rather childish as she ignored him flat. She merely grunted or huffed when he spoke to her. Though when he ran off and returned with a medpack, she gave him a quick look before turning away again. She turned slightly to give him her injured arm, but her gaze was still turned away and hidden by hair that fell in her face. She whimpered and clenched her jaw when he started to apply the kolto and fix her arm up. The fact that he was still helping her and also being gentle about it was ticking her off more. Once he was done she finally broke her silent treatment. "Could you just stop already!" she spoke up, looking back at him finally. "Like...just stop! Stop being so karking nice and thinking you're a bloody knight in shining armour or whatever! Just..." she grunted out of frustration as she hopped off the stool and stomped off towards the cockpit. "Why? Why be such a gentleman? What karking reason do you have to be?!" she shouted as she stopped by the door.

"You don't know me! You don't know what I do for a living! So why do you keep on doing all this ?!" she turned on her heel and stormed out of the mess room. For a few moments there wasn't a sound...then she came marching back in, blood red in the face from anger and embarrassment. She kept her eyes down as she walked past him and grabbed the cigarette packet she found earlier. When she walked past him again she stopped and gave him as hard a punch as she could muster in her current state on his chest...which was probably just enough to make him flinch.

She then stormed out again, grumbling all the way as she struggled to shove the packet into her pocket. But as she stormed out, she failed to notice a small, old and crinkled up picture fall from her pocket.

A picture of her many years ago sitting on a souped up swoop in the arms of a handsome Zabrak roughly the same age as her, a genuine smile on both their faces.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

He flinched. Immediately removing the hand that was applying the kolto whilst maintaining the one that held her arm still whilst doing it. Mathieu looked up at her with a surprised expression on his face. It took a little while before he realised that she wasn't referring to the way he treated her wound. Rather, she seemed to be upset over the strangest of things - him being nice to her. Remembering their earlier exchange, the large Morellian was about to raise finger to joke that he was not wearing any armour this time either - but she did add the 'or whatever' part and really didn't seem to be in the mood for jokes. Sitting there in silent surprise, Mathieu's gaze eventually fell as he really didn't know what to say. Pleasing her seemed like a rather impossible task - at least not if he didn't submit to her rather forward initiative from earlier.

Seeing her leave, the mercenary tightened his grip on her arm. While he could have held here there, the force he applied was only enough to slow her down, allowing him to do a few finishing touches on her wounded arm, The Kolto application wouldn't be as good as it could have been if she stayed, but he had made a solid effort and was certain that it would be enough to fix her up. He almost looked sorry as his eyes followed her leaving until he finally turned to start preparing something to eat. Only when he had taken the ingredients out of the fridge did he hear her angered comment from the door. A flare within him fired up but he kept his face down to hide it. He knew how to go rough, show someone a good time and get what he wanted. So why not go ahead and take what he wanted? Angered, he stayed his tongue, again, and simply started cutting onions as she turned to leave.

It didn't take long before she returned. Looking up at her, it was clear that she was quite fired up. There was something about seeing her that made him want to forgive her again. Why he would do that wasn't clear, but there it was. Turning to face her, Mathieu was about to speak as he received a punch to the chest before leaving. While the act could easily have been infuriating and provocative, the mercenary just found it adorable. Replaying her relatively tiny little fist bump into him with little to no effect in his mind, it took quite a bit of willpower to hide his amusement from her.

As soon as she had left, he let out a silent laughter. It was then that the old picture revealed itself on the floor. Picking it up, he looked at it and soon gained a sorrowed smile on his lips - on the one hand happy for her sake and on the other that she didn't seem to have it anymore. Knowing Sammy and her foul mood, Mathieu put the picture back on the floor, exactly how it was when it fell out of her pocket. Deciding to pretend he never saw it, the Morellian continued preparing food. Once finished, he let out a loud "Food's ready!" and started walking to the cockpit.

The door swooshed open and Mathieu hung in the door frame as he looked down at her, probably sitting in the co-pilot's chair. "Food's ready" he repeated in a soft voice, thinking that she might not have heard it the first time. "Common, we both need the energy" he said, prepared to playfully pick her up and carry her to the kitchen if she was going to stay grumpy at him - it was only fair considering the fact that she had thrown a punch at him earlier. Perhaps some playfulness would keep them both distracted for a bit - something which could probably only do good in their current situation.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

Sam was sitting on the co-pilot's seat, staring out in space while keeping her legs tucked into her chest on the seat. A cigarette hung from her good hand and a couple buds were lying smothered on the dashboard. The smell of cigarette smoke poured out when the door opened and Sam flinched slightly. She looked up at him with soft, pitiful eyes then looked back at the hyperspace tunnel in front of her. "I'm not hungry." she muttered softly, tucking herself in more. She took a long drag then killed the one in her hand as well on the dashboard, leaving it there as she wrapped her arm around her legs. She was quite hungry, but between spite and the previous fight she had with him, she wasn't in the mood to eat.

However the smell coming into the cockpit was really breaking her willpower. Her stomach growling finally signified her willpower breaking as she looked up at him again. "Fine, I'll come." she relented softly and slowly got out of her seat. She kept her gaze down and walked past him to the kitchen. Once she entered, she noticed her picture. Her eyes went wide and she snatched it up, glancing at him as she tucked it into her pocket. She hoped he didn't see it.

She then sat back down at her seat and waited for him to serve the food. She slowly started to eat, taking small bites and chewing slowly before swallowing. Though eventually she started taking larger and quicker bites. At least it was good and it's been scientifically proven that good food tended to work like a charm on the girl. Every now and then she looked up at him through her hair before looking back down to avoid eye contact. She stopped eating for a moment and spoke up in a meek voice. "Once I'm done, can you...can you help me out of my shirt to shower?" she asked him. "My arm is making it hard to do anything at this point." she explained, though it was still a lie. She was trying to work around her own mind for a way to...do something. She was stuck. He clearly is a genuinely nice guy, completely different from what she's used to. But her pride refused to let her accept that and work with him.

But in the back of her mind she couldn't help but admit that she was starting to like being around him.

"If I'm not just a one-night-stand, then what am I?" she asked softly, no hint of venom or hostility present at all. "You're not just after me, 'cause you already turned that down. You're nice to me even though I never gave you reason to be. It's...strange." she explained, talking normally and softly. "I mean...it's nice to feel like a normal person. But why do it?" she asked him, looking him in the eye.

She took another bite and looked back down. "The food is really delicious." she mumbled, barely loud enough for him to hear. Her mind was starting to go places. Places she hadn't entertained in a long time. Perhaps he was just that good a person?

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

A victorious smile slowly started growing on his lips as she rose, only taking its full form as he followed her to the kitchen. "It's, uh, mostly modified workout food" he said, almost a little embarrassed. While he did tend to primarily consume protein, he had added more pasta and a quick salad to make it more normal. At first confused that she just sat down without offering to help herself out, the Morellian remembered what he had said about her being injured. It was only fair that she rested and in the end, he didn't mind serving the food to her. Seeing her recover the picture, he quickly turned to the kitchen, hoping to allow her to retrieve it with as much privacy as possible.

Sitting on the opposite side of her, Mathieu quickly started digging in - he was used to eating a lot and what they had gotten in the cell really didn't do him much good. This was quite the welcome change. Looking up at her, Mathieu felt how blood was surging to his head as she asked the question. Doing his best to hide whatever he was feeling, the Mercenary nodded "Sure thing. As long as you're okay with it" he said before the gaze returned back to the food.

Just as he was about to finish, she asked about before - this time, calmly. The change of tone was appreciated, but still, it caught him off guard. Thinking, the Morellian let out a low hum as his eye looked around her. "I don't know" he answered honestly - not quite having worked out all the feelings that tumbled about in his head. After poking at the food with his fork for a bit, rearranging its position on the plate and whatnot, he spoke "You're nice, I guess. Like a nice person" he said, showing that maybe it wasn't always his sweet talking skills that had gotten the girls for him. "But I think anyone should be treated with decency and respect, right?" he asked before shrugging lightly "Besides, you're nice" In what way she was nice was never specified, but it wasn't needed either. Not wanting to poke too much at a bear the slept, Mathieu considered long and hard what to say next and finally settled on the relatively tame "And what about you? Are you feeling better?" he asked - it could easily be seen as a question about the arm, but what he was really thinking about was the mind.

A genuine laugh escaped him and was followed by a bright smile "Heh, Sammy! Thanks! That means a lot. I could hug you right here and now" he exclaimed, almost bouncing in her seat from receiving her compliment. She actually liked the food he made for them. While the Mercenary was not a poor cook by any means, he wasn't the best either and basically only knew how to make his usual workout foods properly. It was only natural for him be be pleased by it, especially when the praise came from someone as harsh as Sammy. It wouldn't be long until the food was all eaten. Picking up the plates and the pans, he started dishing them, thinking that they might actually use the ship's facilities again. "So, where did you learn to break out of pirate prison?" he asked, quite interested in her broad set of skills.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

He agreed to helping her and she gave a nod. She wasn't mentally in a position to talk too much. She looked up at him as he gave his explanation. She was nice and deserved to be treated well like a normal person. While she wasn't sure about the first part, the second part was genuinely surprising to hear. Very rarely has she been treated like a normal person. It was alien to her. And here he was, gladly treating her as such without any reason to do so. "I guess. Arm's still sore." she admitted meekly, looking back down at her food again. She had a suspicion what he meant, but she didn't want to let anyone in the dark pit that was her mind.

He brightened right up at her compliment and admitted to wanting to hug her. In all honesty it sounded like such an alluring offer, she was tempted to accept it. Soon enough they finished their meals and he took away her plate. She sat in her seat, still unable to look him in the eye. "I had to learn to pick locks to survive. Whether it was to steal food, a speeder, or break out of a holding cell or cage. I learned how locks worked and took them apart when I could to see inside. If I didn't learn quickly, I would have died long ago." she explained, careful not to give him more detail. But even then, just admitting that little wasn't something she was very comfortable with. She didn't want anyone to know about where she came from. Not in detail, anyway.

She wanted to ask him where he learned to fight and shoot, what else he could do, all kinds of stuff. But in the moment she was both too tired and too scared to ask. To get too close to him. She liked keeping people at arm's length. It made it easier to keep a gun on them to keep them from getting too close to her or hurting her. So she decided on her original plan.

"I want to go shower." she said softly, looking up at him. She slipped off her stool and figured out which way the crew quarters were. Once in the refresher, she tried to loosen the knot of her makeshift sling but failed miserably. "Help, please?" she asked, glancing behind her.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Sending her a sympathetic look, Mathieu listened as she spoke of stealing food and speeders. It sounded like a tough upbringing. But when the mentioned having to break out of cages, his heart wept for her. Standing up, he took a few steps, getting around the table and next to her. Standing next to her, he put a hand on her shoulder "Sammy" he said with a sympathetic voice whilst his hand went up along her shoulder to her head, pulling it close towards his torso for what could be interpreted as a hug. Trying to find a positive, he let out a "And now it saved both you and me" as he softly rubbed his hand against her hair. A part of him wanted to bring her to his ship and just keep her safe from the any further evils. At least now, he could do his best from the harsh outside world - at least for a while.

Soon, she mentioned wanting to go shower, meaning that his promise would have to fulfilled. "I'll help with the shirt" he said, indicating to her that she wouldn't have to ask twice. When there, Mathieu truly put some effort into focusing on his task, trying to ignore all other distractions. Before she even managed to ask about helping with the knot, he said "Let me help you with that" and quickly got to work on untying it. Before truly removing the knot, he put a hand by her injured arm, gently pushing against it to avoid the sudden loss of support from doing anything bad.

With a low voice, the large Morellian spoke again "I'll can help with the shirt" and continued aiding in getting it off, knowing that it was hard with just one arm. His eyes lingered on her bare back for a few moments longer than they should have before he managed to steer them away. Still, standing there in his body glove, the Mercenary felt how it became quite impossible to hide where his thoughts had gone. "I'll be outside if you need anything" he said, still standing behind her back "Just holler, okay?" he said before turning to leave the room.

Sam Sheridan

 

[Sam Sheridan]

She didn't resist when he gave her a light hug. She leaned into him and her eyes closed for a moment to simply enjoy the warm feeling that filled her. He was so gentle and hearing him admit that she saved them both really helped her mood. It felt oddly nice to hear that.

In the refresher, he immediately helped loosen the knot while carefully holding her arm up. She winced as she slowly lowered it. He then helped her out of her shirt, thought she could feel his eyes on her. Her good arm came up to cover her breasts as she turned to watch him leave. Her mouth opened to thank him, but no sound escaped her. She let it go and focused on completely undressing. In the shower she let the warm water soothe her mind and body. She pulled the rubber band from her hair and let her head get drenched.

For several moments she simply stood with her head against the wall, the water flowing over her and allowing her mind to wander. Her thoughts kept on circling around him. How he treated her. How he spoke to her. What he thought of her. She barely knew him but she kept feeling like she wanted to be close to him. The thought scared her. She had encountered people like that and they simply used it as a means to get something out of her. But those were different kinds of people from a different way of life. Matt was different. There was something in his eyes that told her that he could be trusted.

After many minutes, she snapped out of her trance and started to wash herself. After a while she emerged and tried to dry herself with one arm. She was tempted to ask him, but she could see that he was trying to avoid getting too distracted by her. So she soldiered on with one arm until she was dried off. She slipped back into her shorts and with a struggle she managed to get her tank top back on. Her hair was a wet mess, hanging freely down her back to dry out properly.

She finally emerged looking miles better than before she went in. The shower did wonders both to her mind as well as her body. "I needed that." she looked him in the eyes...and gave a small smile. "Thank you." she said sincerely. She walked past him, but stopped and turned back around. Walking up to him, she took hold of his collar and pulled him down until she could place a kiss on his cheek. "I'm going to look for a bed." she explained as she pulled back and let him go. "Today's been a hell of a trip." she admitted with another smile.

With that she turned and went over to the sleeping quarters, where she crawled onto a bunk and got comfortable. Though no matter how much she tried, she couldn't fall asleep. So she laid awake, listening to what he was doing...

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

As the door shut behind him, Mathieu could hear as she set foot in the shower and let out a sigh whilst thinking "I just got way too excited." Head shaking, slightly disappointed in himself, the Mercenary walked back into the messhall. Deciding to let loose some steam, he started doing push-ups before transitioning into sit-ups. It wasn't anything which would cause him to break a real sweat, but it was refreshing and more importantly, helped clear his mind. Once done, he got up and started cleaning and tinkering with his armour which was much needed after he took a few shots during the fight, all absorbed by the heavy plates. None of the activities caused much sound which was fully intentional as he wanted to hear if she called for him, knowing how difficult menial tasks could be without both arms.

Despite having prepared for her emergence mentally, the Morellian was still taken aback by her beauty after the shower. A friendly smile grew on his lips as he let go of the chestpiece with his one hand to give her a thumbs-up "Lookin' good" he said with a friendly voice. His eyes followed her as she approached and thanked him, prompting a "No problem" from him, speaking with a rather soft voice. Eyes still tracking her, Mathieu wasn't that poorly prepared for what was about to happen when she returned.

Seeing her pull him by the collar, the Morellian obliged and slowly bent down to see what she wanted. What happened next caused his belly to fill with butterflies and his body to relax. While he wanted to play it cool, Mathieu accidentally dropped the chestpiece, causing a loud 'dunk' as the armour hit the metallic floor "That was smooth, Matty, really smooth" he thought, embarrassed by what had just happened. Still, regaining his composure quickly, he laughed relatively silently whilst looking her in the eyes, having more than enough self-distance to laugh off his own shortcomings. After keeping his gaze at her eyes for a few moments, still leaned down to her level, he nodded "Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow" Continuing to nod, he let out a short "Goodnight" softly before seeing her leave.

He would really need a good workout to clear his mind now, and after that, more than likely a shower himself. It would be a few hours before he could head off to bed himself, but once there, he would sleep like a babe.

Sam Sheridan

/End thread​