Private Like Old Times

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric had to hold in an awkward chuckle when her faint cheer was picked up by the comm. As cute as it was to see her in this light, he dared not embarrass her any further, "Of course." He added, giving her an out to close off the conversation. With that over, he made sure to triple check his comms before talking to himself.

"Just a lunch… Just a lunch…" Aldric mumbled as if to downplay his expectations. But deep down, he just couldn't help but grin. What was there not to like? Valery was beautiful, strong, and kind. She had it all. This wasn't the kind of feeling Aldric had expected to fumble through any time soon. He felt out of his element. But that was exciting.

"Does she now?" Aldric chuckled as they came in for the landing, "Guess you're a popular one, huh?" Valery was well-connected both with the SIA and the Jedi. And, he could only assume, elsewhere. Her dedication was admirable. Just another check off the list.

The ship landed with a groan of metal, and the whine of pistons. In short order he hopped out, dusting off his hands and straightening his shirt. Which reminded him that he was still dressed like a farmer. Comfortable enough, but the thought of getting to put on a nice suit was growing in appeal. What's the point of being a superspy if you can't add a bit of style to your wardrobe?

"Well. Looks about the same as I remember it." Some things never change. Already he was getting deja vu to times before. He turned to Valery. She looked the same, too. "Shall we?"

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Azbrian
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"Very popular," she joked in return with some confidence again. Her stunts thus far had probably made her look a bit silly, and that was not the impression she wanted to make, but at least she had the strength to move on from them and be herself again. He also wasn't the type to joke about it or confront her with it, which helped avoid her actually feeling bad about it.

Valery then made her way over to him and watched as he glanced in the direction of the large building.

"Well. Looks about the same as I remember it."

"The Director always kept things simple, so no need for change," Valery said with a nod before she began to smirk, "I'm not sure if they'll recognize you with the new look, so just stay close to me and we'll get through security without them thinking you're some civilian trying something."

She chuckled and began leading the way there. Before coming here, she had of course informed the SIA about these plans, so nobody made a move to stop them, and soon they were at the front desk, where they somehow already had all the paperwork sorted out for him to sign.

Valery looked at him and flashed a sheepish smile, "Was a small gamble, but I had a feeling you'd come back."

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"Simple works. Familiar works." Aldric nodded, following her into the edifice. "Hey, I thought you said I looked more or less the same," He teased, scratching at his chin, "You sure I'm not too old to be here?" Aldric was only in his thirties, but at this point he just found it mildly amusing to play the part.

In surprisingly short order, they got through initial security and were at the front desk. Right away he set to signing off, giving most of it just a cursory glance. He'd read it all before. Val spoke, and he looked back at her with a faint twinkle in his emerald eyes, "What can I say? You can be… very persuasive, when you want to be."

A beat passed, and he averted his gaze. Then he asked, more curious now, "What gave you that impression?"

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"You do... sort of," she smiled innocently and turned around to look up at him when he mentioned being too old again. It sparked a quick eye roll before she patted some dust or leftovers from Azbrian off his chest. "You look like you're in your prime, so shut it," Valery said, feeling a slight blush form because of her own comment.

"You uh, just need to get some more proper clothing. For in the field." She nodded content with that as an answer.

The two then turned to the front desk, where Valery greeted the lady with a smile and stepped back so Aldric could go through it all without prying eyes. It didn't seem to take him very long to sign it, so he was quick to turn back to her. "I swear I didn't mind trick you into this," she joked while she looked into his eyes with that signature smirk of hers.

A brief pause followed, and the joke turned into a more genuine question. It caught her by surprise a little, which showed when she blinked and began to smile almost nervously again. "Oh, I just... had a feeling this war would change your mind. I'd like to think that I know you pretty well," she continued with a smirk. "...so I know you care about keeping this Alliance safe."

Now it was her turn to pause briefly, her eyes still meeting his. There were plenty of other retired agents or others she could have called on, but she had specifically only visited him.

"I came to you because I trust you, and because I'll be working with the SIA more again, that was important to me. I'd like you to join me for some of my upcoming tasks."

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric looked away as she patted at his chest, chucking, "Feeding my own lines back to me huh?" He clicked his tongue, "Prime, though. I'll take it." The mention of clothing got him to look back, a bit of genuine interest seeping through, "I'm looking forward to it. This is well and comfortable," He gestured down to his current outfit, which was little more than boots, work pants, and a well-fitted tan button up, with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, "But I always liked the look of something more professional."

As he finished up his signatures in record time, he turned back to Valery, her smirk bringing out another of his own, "I didn't think you did. But know that you say it out loud… can't help but wonder…" Aldric joked back. But as the question turned more genuine he fell silent, listening to the sound of her voice, studying the cinders of her eyes. When she finished, he lingered on the silence for just a moment longer before he remembered to speak.

"I like to think I know you pretty well, Val. And I know you wouldn't ask for me back if it wasn't important. I'll be glad to work with you again," He rubbed the nape of his neck awkwardly, pivoting on his phrasing, "To- Just- Help however I can." In spite of that, he nodded firmly, adding, "I've got your back, Val. I trust you."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"Were you expecting a different answer?" she asked, clearly with a more playful tone — one that had been gone for a while now. Slowly but surely, she really was moving forward in life again, and while she still wanted to be careful and take things slow and steady, she couldn't help but feel some excitement when those green eyes looked down into hers. As if they were the spark to her fire.

"I think you'd look great in a suit for a more professional appearance," she was quick to add as images of that were already invading her mind. "But you'll need proper field gear as well."

At his joke about the mind trick, Valery just waggled her fingers and shot him a playfully dangerous grin, "Careful now, it's never too late." She chuckled along with him but that tone became more serious as the conversation shifted to the important question. It made her feel a little nervous because she really cared about his opinion and view of her, but he was quick to reassure her with kind words in return.

This time she made no attempt to hide the rosy cheeks, and nodded when he said he'd have her back, "I know, thanks..." she trailed off and looked up as another moment of silence fell between them. She wasn't quite sure what to say for those few seconds and just looked at him with that charismatic smile before she finally pushed herself to say something.

"You want to go look at some gear and fancy suits? Or lunch and mission talk first?"

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Were you expecting a different answer?"

For that he had no answer. Caught off guard, he laughed, a bit more flustered that he had been before, "I uh— I don't know what I was expecting." There was that excitement again. This whole job was about being the one to know, to expect what comes next. To act on it. But here the agent was at a loss. Something about being on the back foot. The simmering undercurrent of adrenaline. When the stakes weren't about life and limb, but something else.

He missed working with her more than he'd realized. Seeing her in this new light. The same, but different. Aldric dared not let his imagination seize hold any further.

"Of course," He straightened up a little taller, tugging at his shirt, "Shame they can't always be one in the same." Their talk of a mind trick got him thinking, "Never been mind tricked before… Not that I'm aware of, anyway…" He clarified, then smirked, "Think I'm too weak minded to handle it?"

As much fun as this all was, they would have to get to work eventually. Her thanks was met with a single, slow nod, unspoken sincerity chiseled into his features. Aldric looked around them, and answered, "We're already here, right? Might as well see what they've got in stock first."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

After making a complete fool out of herself earlier, it was amusing to see him on the back foot a little. But much like him, she also wasn't looking to embarrass or push things too far — she just enjoyed messing around with her friends. The only difference here was that she felt a little more flirtatious, and when he looked into her eyes with his emeralds, she felt something from his side as well. Or at least, that's what the rising heat made her believe.

Sometimes it really did suck not knowing how to flirt well, but she was also still in the process of healing fresh wounds, so she wanted to take that part of her life slow. Perhaps too slow for anybody to be remotely interested. But for now, she put those thoughts aside and just focused on enjoying his company.

"Some variety never hurts," Valery finally said when they talked about gear again. "And hmm, I think a mind trick on you would be very hard. You were trained to resist torture and interrogation, so your mind is strong. But..." she gained a devilish smile, "I don't need mind tricks to be persuasive."

Of course, she was not going to clarify more than that.

"Alright, let's go take a look." She grinned and guided him to the elevator that brought them into the basement area, where guns, armor, and tons of gadgets were being kept. "I don't know if you're dead set on using those old pistols of yours, but there are some new ones we use, and I heard more compact ones are about to come out too." She knew nothing about guns, so all of this knowledge was just stuff she learned before visiting him. Had to impress a little, right?

Stopping in the armory, Valery grabbed the pistol and offered it to him for inspection.

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric listened to her analysis with amusement, nodding in approval when she factored in his training. And, of course, the role her own assets played in the matter. She wasn’t wrong, “No indeed.” He grinned, “I’ll accept that answer.”

But now it was time to get to the interesting part of the job. Spy work was well and good, but it was nothing without all the fancy gadgets and guns. It was amusing to him that there really were some aspects of agent work that really did feel like a holoflick come to life. Aldric slid into the elevator beside her, and leaned against the wall as they went down.

“I could be convinced to try something new,” He flashed a smirk. They arrived, and he followed Valery in her beeline to the armory. She presented him with a new weapon, and he took it in hand for study, “Hello~” Aldric ejected the gas cartridge, and pulled back the slide, giving all its details a fuller inspection. Old knowledge began flooding back into his mind. Old muscle memories twitching back to life.

Aldric then reassembled the pistol, loading the cartridge and racking the slide as he made a beeline for the basement firing range. In short order he posted up, and fired a few shots at the target. Most hitting the center mass, with one headshot for style. “My aim, eh? Still got it,” He shot her a cocky, lopsided grin as he vented the blaster, apparently having not noticed the one stray shot that missed the target fully.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"I could be convinced to try something new,"

Valery's eyes widened briefly at the smirk he flashed her way, but she said nothing and just smiled a little to herself, clearly amused by something on her mind. It was fun to tease and throw out comments, but some things a woman kept to herself. The elevator door then opened, and after offering him a pistol, she watched him take a look at it.

"Need a room alone with it?" she joked after hearing him get a little excited over the pistol. But she wasn't sure if he even heard it with the way he studied it. With a cartridge in hand and a grin on his face, he walked over to the testing range, where Valery watched him hit a couple of good shots in a row. "Proud you can hit a stationary target now?" Valery said, who suddenly had a pair of pistols as well, their holsters strapped to her thighs.

"A friend gifted me these," she said before she tried to show off a little, leveled both pistols at the same time, and hit a couple of targets. Buuuut, her aim still wasn't amazing, so it wasn't quite as good as his performance. A sheepish grin followed, "At least I didn't shoot the wall once...?"

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Valery’s joke got a dry, quiet laugh out of him. It was a nice pistol. The secret agents always got the most fun toys. He holstered the weapon after his little display of showmanship, and nodded, “Quite.” He wasn’t exactly afraid of his skills going into this, but it was good to see for himself that they hadn’t rusted.

Aldric’s gaze fell down to her thighs, and the holstered pistols. Another smirk followed, “Very nice.” Thighs or pistols? Didn’t matter, “You ever even shot a gun before?” He watched her take a few shots of her own, perhaps not quite as consistent in accuracy as his own, but noteworthy all the same. Her other comment made him do a double-take, finally spotting the scorch march on the wall behind his target.

So maybe his skills had rusted a little bit. No biggie. “Not bad, Noble. Not bad,” Aldric scanned the rest of the room around them, when his eyes seemed to lock on to something in particular, “Hellooo~” He hummed again, approaching a display that had some kind of bracelet-like device on top. The agent studied it, before equipping it for himself. He reached out his hand to the target once again, firing the QuickShot for a little test, “Neat.” Aldric approved.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

She watched his gaze drop down to the pistols strapped around her thighs or was he...? Again without realizing it, she briefly bit down on her lip but made no comment about it. She just quickly drew in a sharp breath when he looked back up at her eyes, trying not to show the heat burning in her cheeks.

"A family trip where I decided against bringing my lightsabers once turned into a cult trying to take my daughter. I had about 6 guns strapped to me that day, and I don't think I ever saw more fear in Kahlil's eyes. And of course, the cultists." She chuckled at the memory, and there wasn't even the faintest sign of depressing thoughts coming back. Shai Maji and Amani had helped her focus on remembering the good parts of the past, rather than focusing on just the pain of loss.

Valery then demonstrated her skills and flashed a smirk his way.

"Told you so~" she practically sang before she watched his attention being drawn to another toy. Valery didn't recognize it at first, but when the dart left the barrel, she quickly understood what kind of weapon it was. "You like those kinds of gadgets?" she asked seriously. "There should be plenty, and you can even get custom things made."

Valery then walked over and grabbed what looked like lipstick and gloss, "I once used this. I could show you how it works but..." she blushed and wanted to facepalm another ship panel for even saying that. "Being paralyzed isn't fun." Yep, that was the real difficult part.

"How uh, are your tech skills these days?" she asked to shift the topic a bit. "I still can't get a clock to work properly, so if you can slice or do all that fancy stuff, it'd be helpful."

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

"No kidding," Aldric listened to her story with surprise and amusement, though it flickered away just a moment as she mentioned her passed husband. He expected her to have a similar reaction, but it seemed Valery wasn't overstating when she said she had been getting better. That improvement at least brought a smile back to his face. He was happy for her. "Clearly not the smartest cult that ever existed. If that was their plan," Aldric had never seen Valery as a mother before, but she was fierce. It didn't take a genius to envision how much that might be amplified when it came to her family.

He gave her a smirk, which turned into a glimmer of piqued interest as she mentioned more gadgets, "Anything to make it a little more interesting, right?" Aldric studied a few of the other displays, commandeering the ones that grabbed his attention. "I'll have to keep my imagination open." Chances are, if he wanted something special, the SIA had the resources to fund it. Something to keep in mind for the future.

Valery pulled his attention over to a stick of unassuming lip gloss, and Aldric raised his brow. It didn't take long to get a gist for the application, and he failed to hide a smirk, "Oh yeah. No, I don't need a repeat of what happened on Zeltros." Paralysis was, to put it mildly, an unenjoyable experience. Of course that talk was really just to avoid playing up the… implication.

Aldric looked at her with some indiscernible interest, but let the topic shift. He cleared his throat, "Well, I won't claim to be a genius or anything. But with the right resources…" He gave a confident shrug to fill in the blank, "I can get us out of a pinch." He gave the room another once over before settling back on Valery, "Anything else you'd like us to take a look at? Just about cleared this place out of all the fun stuff, it seems like."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"It was a terrible plan, but still a difficult situation for me. It's weird to say this as a Jedi, but it took a lot of self-control not to, you know..." she moved her index finger horizontally back and forth in front of her throat. "But we didn't." Valery was strong and could be incredibly fierce but as a mother, she was an unstoppable force if she had to be.

She then watched him browse all his options for gadgets and chuckled, "I have good contacts, so just let me know if you need anything. But I've seen what you can do with just a pistol already, so..." she trailed off and left it there. He didn't need gadgets necessarily — they were just useful extras.

"Oh yeah. No, I don't need a repeat of what happened on Zeltros."

Valery blinked and tilted her head slightly, "Hmm, I may have missed that part. I thought you were knocked unconscious by one of the guards..." she shook her head with a playful grin. They were good memories and certainly helped keep her from thinking about the implication of her earlier comment.

"Good, even just a little bit of tech skill will help. My vambraces have an integrated slicing unit, but it won't work on more complex systems or heavy security doors." It was still a useful tool, a gift she had gotten from Yula a long time ago. "But for now..." she looked him up and down and smirked.

"There is this local place where custom clothing is made. They also produce these suits for the SIA for undercover work that can take a couple of hits. We can both get something fitted for us? Then grab some lunch after and I can tell you more about the missions we have going." It seemed she was dragging him across Coruscant for a whole day at this point, but she didn't mind at all. In fact, she was having an amazing time.

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

“You stopped ‘em. That’s what matters,” Aldric nodded. He wasn’t a cold-blooded killer by nature. If it could be helped, he preferred otherwise. But he couldn’t blame her even if she had taken a more extreme response when it came to her family. Force knows he’d do the same, if he had any children of his own.

“I’ll keep that in mind. A little extra convenience never hurts.” They were both plenty skilled with or without. But an agent was always prepared.

Her interpretation of events on Zeltros earned a scoff of faux-offense, “Me? Never,” Aldric smirked, “Woulda preferred I did, though. Some kinda localized nerve agent. Not fun.” It's like Zeltrons went out of their way to look for more ways to mess with your brain. At the mention of the vambrace, he looked down at her arm and nodded, “Hm. Might have to look into something like that myself.” Something that would make it just a little simpler. But in any case, he could make do.

The mention of a clothing store made those emeralds glitter once again, “Now you’re speaking my language.” It had been some time since he had an excuse to show off in a nice fitted suit. Something that could take a few hits was even better for this line of work. And one for herself, too? Aldric smirked at the thought. “Let’s do it.” He wasn’t exactly complaining himself. This was a nice little reintegration back into society. Thanks in no small part to the company he kept.

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"Me? Never,"

She didn't even need to say anything — her teasing grin was more than enough to show him that she loved every bit of this. It reminded her of the past again, when they worked together and share some of the funniest memories she had to this day. Now she had a second chance, and she really hoped it could last longer than the first. "Mhmm, but not as bad as having to drag you out of there and get you to wake up again." She shot him a wink.

The decision was then made to go shop for some proper formal clothing meant for out in the field, and there was a sparkle in her own eyes as well. It would be quite useful on a ton of missions... and the idea of seeing him suit up was definitely crossing her mind as well. Or maybe a few times.

"Great! Let's go, then." She pushed against his back and gently nudged him out of the headquarters, so they could head into the city.

...

A taxi ride and some walking later, they arrived in a busy shopping street — a far more expensive looking one too. The suits were made with special materials, so they weren't exactly cheap, but luckily the Alliance paid for them since they were classified as gear for work.

Along the way, there were some people who seemed to take note of Valery. She was a more public figure these days, and she walked around in her usual outfit, which paired with her eyes, scar and long hair made her easily recognizable. Judging by the way she looked, however, she didn't seem to like it much and quickened her pace to reach the shop.

"Let's get you sorted with a suit first, okay?" she asked to distract herself from people pointing and looking. "They'll have to uh, take your measurements and then it won't take very long."

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

“You managed,” Aldric shot his own wink in return. She wasn’t the only one loving every part of it. The back and forth was something sorely missing on Azbrian. He was starting to wonder why he even left in the first place. With the sudden nudge in his back, Aldric turned to shoot her a sly smirk, before they headed back out.

Being out in the street was an even more alien experience than coming back to SIA HQ. The crown jewel of the Alliance was a far cry from the vast fields of Azbrian. Streets filled with people milling about. His operative instincts made him much more observant of crowds. Just another part of the job that was steadily coming back to him.

That said, it didn’t take a particularly observant individual to see that Valery was actually drawing some attention around these parts. At first, Aldric chuckled quietly, “You really are popular,” He did a double take though as he realized her discomfort at the situation. The agent cleared his throat, and stepped up his pace to match her own. He used his frame to his advantage, walking right at her side to help block some of the passing gawkers’ line of sight. It wasn’t a perfect fix, but well as could be given the circumstances.

When she turned to speak to him, Aldric locked eyes with her, like he was trying to magnetize her focus onto him and away from everyone else. He nodded encouragingly, “Sure, yeah. Whatever you think is best,” His gaze slipped only a moment as they approached, checking the civilians around them, before he took her arm and guided her into the storefront, ahead of himself.

Once inside, he’d turn her to face him again, loosening his grip, “Heh. Busy town, huh?” He chuckled quietly, hoping to add an ounce of light to the situation in the event that she didn’t want to dive any further into it than that. But he still had to ask, “...You alright?”

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

"You really are popular,"

This time there was no response, no joke or teasing — she just kept walking and tried to keep her focus either on him or where she was going. Normally, she never minded people staring or even approaching, but she wasn't really feeling that type of stuff yet. Somewhere deep down, she also worried about being seen alone with someone like Aldric. What would people think of it, depending on how tabloids framed it?

No. She shook her head — it didn't matter. She couldn't allow herself to care about what other people thought about it.

At this point, she was so deeply lost in her thoughts, that she didn't even hear his acknowledgment of her suggestion for him to go first. Only when he grabbed her arm, did she suddenly snap out of her trance and looked up at him, eyes widened briefly and her face bright red. But when she realized why he did it, she quickly relaxed and carefully leaned closer to make it easier.

The two then entered the shop and while he loosed his grip, Valery was still holding on a little... which she realized a second too late. She very quickly let go and smiled nervously up into his emerald eyes, hoping it didn't bother him. "Yeah.. uh, very busy." She sighed and ran a hand up through her hair to relax again. "I'm okay, I just need to get used to it all again." She paused and stared more deeply into his eyes this time. "Thank you," she said, her lips curling up into that beautiful smile again.

"Now go get your measurements done," she quickly added before she pushed him forward into the shop and grinned at the shopkeeper, who walked over with his tape and got ready to help. Aldric was a big guy, so it was important to get everything right, as standard sizes definitely wouldn't fit him.

Valery meanwhile just watched and wasn't too afraid to show she was staring a little. Yeah, this was definitely a fun change of pace from the prying eyes outside.

"I think you should go with a classic black suit..." she said after a moment. "Would look great on you."

​

 

[Aldric Laurent]

Aldric watched her hand as it slipped away. They both took a moment to recompose, with him standing little taller and stiffer, his gaze struggling to flick to anything that wasn’t Valery. But the flames of her eyes were hard to miss, and harder to avoid, pulling his own back to her. The Jedi’s smile brought another smile out of him, “...Don’t mention it.”

He almost forgot where they were. But she was quick to remind him, “Right,” He chuckled, stepping up to meet the tailor; An older, gentlemanly-fashioned man who was at the ready with a tape measure. Aldric straightened up and lifted his arms to let the man begin his work.

It wasn’t until Valery spoke that he even realized she was watching. A faint redness graced his cheeks, which painfully he could not hide, given his current situation, “Read my mind. Can’t go wrong with the classics.” Simple and clean. Just his style. Not long after, the tailor went to go grab an actual suit for him to compare with, leaving them a brief moment alone.

“Got any ideas for your own? Something with a bit more flair, or…?” He smirked, "Not sure I've ever seen you in proper suit before..."

Valery Noble​

 

[Valery Noble]

Outfit | Weapon | Appearance

Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant
Tag | Aldric Laurent

The tailor taking Aldric's measurements was a distraction in several ways — it kept her from lingering too long on the way their eyes met earlier or the way he held her arm... but it also had her focus on Aldric a little more intently. She wasn't going to start talking about it out loud, but he was incredibly attractive and it kept her mind racing. From the jawline and emerald eyes to the athletic body that could even belong to a battle-hardened warrior, rather than an operative.

"I remember the last time you wore one... so I have to agree," she smiled, concealing what she exactly thought about it in favor of just giving a more simple compliment.

The tailor then left them alone for a moment while he began preparing his suit in the personalized style Aldric wanted, but with the specifications, they came here for. "Heyy, I can be stylish," she said as she glanced down at the outfit that tightly hugged her body. It was somewhat simple, but looked okay, right? "But yeah, I usually wear a dress when I go formal, which doesn't always work for out in the field."

Except for that time she fist-fighted Koda Fett in one...

"But I'm thinking a formal black undershirt first," she said. "I uh, like more form-fitting things." If that wasn't obvious yet. "But I'll add a fancy top over it. Some gloves and maybe a purse to conceal weapons too, and I'll be ready for anything." The tailor returned with a suit in hand, but also his measuring tape. He beckoned Valery to step closer, and much like Aldric, she spread her arms and stood still, her back turned to him just in case she couldn't stop her cheeks from reddening.

This way he couldn't see it.

"You two will look like quite the couple," the old man said with a very kind and polite laugh, and there it was... the bright red face she tried to hide. She said nothing in return.

​