Miss Me?

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"I..." Kurt thought for a moment. Was this really the time to talk about this? Internally he shrugged, realizing that they had already put something on the table, might as well throw out the rest. "Have a lot less money than your family."

He stopped for a second, looking half to the side. "I mean, my family."

This wasn't really something that he could explain, or rather, not something that he knew how to explain. Kurt had never really been one to bother with money, he had what he needed and at times he got more than he did. A few occurrences in his life he'd owed people a fair chunk, but he'd always come out ahead in the end. This though...Jamie's wealth...well he assumed that her parents didn't pay for that estate on Theed with the same kind of chump change he had.

"You don't think I want you for your money, do you?" That was a weird question, given that just a few months ago Jamie had been cut off from said money.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Head tilt. Awkward look with one raised eye and a pass of her hand through her hair. "Why would I think that?" Letting that same hand fall to Kurt's, she gave a gentle squeeze. "I've never and will never mention money in terms of our relationship." She let a moment of silence pass between the two while she mulled over what to say to sate his fears. "Look, if credits were most important to me I wouldn't have left home. I would still be there on Naboo right now making appearance after appearance at events and gatherings and marrying some other noble boy to keep the cycle in full swing."

Taking Kurt's fork for him she stabbed into a chunk of the omelet and raised it to his mouth, a small smile on her face. "Sure, my mother likely isn't going to take kindly to my decision, though that certainly is nothing new. But remember, if I listened to her I'd still be home. My father is the one who will understand. He's got a knack for seeing through the intentions of a person. He'll know you're good inside, and why I picked you. Don't worry so much, and ignore my mom as best you can."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He fidgeted slightly. It was good that she didn't care, mostly because...well Kurt could never really provide that level of wealth. The truth was that he and Kaile had gotten incredibly lucky to find what they did, even more so to survive it all. Yet what they had found...well it wouldn't last forever. Kurt knew that, and he knew that when it was gone things would likely be back to normal. He would never be rich, and if Jamie had expected something like her parents had...well, he would never want to disappoint her.

"Okay." Kurt said slowly.

"I don't know." He continued on slowly. "I guess I've never...well seriously thought about just how differently we grew up."

They had spoken about it before of course, but it had mostly been about law, about the trouble making he had done and the like. They had never spoken on money before, of wealth or anything of that sort. In his own view Kurt was a pretty poor provider, and it wasn't something that he ever wanted Jamie to worry about.

Suddenly he felt a tad bit added pressure.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"I think about it frequently." Jamie admitted. "I'm envious of you in many ways." Another admission. She was guilty of the jealousy she felt towards the freedom Kurt had to explore on his own, to do what he wished. The things he had seen and done far surpassed even the wishful thinking that she had done as a child.

"You quite literally grew up on the other side of the galaxy. Your life has been symbolic of that difference as well." She set the fork down, rather than holding it there forever. "Sure I have all the credits one could likely ever need back home. But what's the point if all my life is spent isolated and ignorant to the galaxy as a whole? What good is it?"

The blonde lowered her hand beneath the table atop Kurt's leg above the knee, rubbing it gently. "It's fine. Promise."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He smiled slightly, perhaps a bit shyly. "It wasn't all freedom you know."

Kurt said the words slowly, as if he were remembering something. He had never really talked much about his past with Jamie, at least not beyond the superficial. She knew about his winning the races, some of his antics, but never anything beyond that. It was mostly because Kurt fantasized about his past, created a story around it. He loved his homeworld, but part of that love made him romanticize it. The truth was that Tatooine was no haven of human rights, and those that lived there often suffered in some way.

As great as entities like Arceneau Trade were, even they couldn't improve an entire planet on their own, and some old practices simply stuck still. He knew that, his family had experienced it.

"We did okay." He said honestly, turning his head to the side slightly. "But if I hadn't won those races, If I didn't have the talent I'd have...my parents would still be indebted to The Hutt's, I'd probably be a two bit mechanic working for some Racer for scraps. A lot of people I knew...a lot of my friends...They're either gone or still stuck there, lost to it all."

Most were smugglers now, pirates, criminals of some sort. It was why Kurt had lost so many of his friends, why Kaile was the only one really.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Indebted?" Did that mean the Hutts owned them? "What do you mean? Were you and your family slaves?" Jamie hated that word. Slaves. The idea of slavery made her sick. Most all civilized worlds had abolished the practice in most every sense of the term, though there were still some who dealt in black market trafficking, and others who still had open slave trades, even commerce built around it. Was Tatooine one of them perhaps?

"But you did win." There was a moment of complete guilt, where she had lived quite literally like royalty. "Is there a way to help your friends?"

Generally everyone in the galaxy spoke common tongue when it came to credits. Perhaps if they were slaves, they could barter or buy their release. Though that hardly changed the grand scheme of things. There would always be more slaves so long as the trade was practiced. The very idea of that infuriated her to no end. Nobody had the right to own another living person!

"Do you want me to take you to Naboo?" She asked pretty cordially. Perhaps lifting that bit of weight off of Kurt's conscious would help alleviate his worrying of her background and lifestyle. Plus then she'd get to see her home again, and even show him around.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Kind of." Kurt said slowly. Slave wasn't the correct description, not for his parents. "My mom and dad were scientists for the Old Empire, I've told you that before. When they escaped, they didn't have a lot of money, so they ended up borrowing from a Hutt. That Hutt lives on Tatooine, that's why they went there...well that and The Empire had absolutely no interests there."

He shook his head. For all his love of Tatooine he realized that the planet was relatively worthless when compared to other worlds. Naboo for instance had a massive energy trade. Tatooine in comparison had...well nothing. Their main source of income was as a haven for pirates. "He wasn't bad...not compared to other Hutt's anyway. Borga is his name. My parents had to pay off their debts to him so they worked for him for a bit...then payed him their dues from what money they made off the farm. Eventually when I won my first Boonta Eve I payed off their debt entirely."

Borga wasn't bad, in fact at times he had actually been rather kind to his parents.

It could have been a lot worse in fact.

"No." He shook his head. "They're not slaves, not that I know anyway. They didn't have the options that I did, they couldn't leave under their own means. Most of them signed on with Pirate or Smuggling crews...others dealt spice."

Kurt shrugged. It wasn't like they didn't make the decisions on their own, but many of them...many of them had been better then the decisions they had made. Most of his friends had been just as smart as he, just as talented, perhaps just a step behind. It saddened him to think about them. When she mentioned Naboo however he perked up slightly, though with a bit of confusion. "You mean now?"

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Mmmm, I see." She said, scooping up a few potatoes from her plate and chewing on them throughout Kurt's story, nodding along where appropriate. Well, that was a positive. At least they weren't slaves. That made things a tad less bleak, though still not exactly wondrous. Though the prospect of reversing the situation somewhat dawned on her that perhaps Kurt's family might think she were simply some spoiled rich girl looking to use Kurt for some kind of end goal and then dispose of him. She wasn't exactly ignorant of the reputation that came tacked on by default to anyone generally seen as nobility, royalty, or influential.

"Whenever, I guess." Shrugging her shoulders. It wasn't exactly up to her. "If you don't feel comfortable that's fine." It wasn't like she was going to force him one way or the other. But perhaps shedding one barrier in their relationship would do some good she thought. "You should really eat something though." Blue eyes fell to Kurt's still full plate of food, a look of concern in her face.

"What would your family have to say, you think?" Gesturing with her index finger between Kurt and herself. "About us."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Oh." Kurt said as though he had entirely forgotten why they were here in the first place. His mind had become preoccupied with what they had been talking about instead of the food that was right in front of him. In truth he simply hadn't even considered it. A quick glance at the omelette told him that it probably was quite good, but for some reason the appetite that he had earlier worked up was completely gone. Shaking his head for a second Kurt only continued with their conversation.

It was more important right now. "Whenever you want to go."

Oh he had to overcome some nerves at that, but it was true. If Jamie wanted to take him back to her parents...well then he was ready for that step. Though when she asked him about her family he couldn't help but picture Jamie meeting his father.

"They'll like you. I know my dad will. He's...he'll be happy I found someone that makes me happy. That's really only ever been the most important thing to him." He smiled at that, chuckling a bit.

"My mom." Kurt shook his head. "I think my mom will be more concerned with what kind of dress you'll wear at our wedding."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie's lips pressed together, eyes lowering with a bit of sadness at Kurt's refusal to eat. How was he going to feel better quickly if he didn't get the energy his body needed! Stupid boy! She huffed, dropping her fork defiantly onto the plate as if to say without speaking Fine then, neither will I!

"I just said it's up to you! Why do you have to make this so difficult, hmm?"

The blonde rolled her eyes, shook her head, and looked off towards the other tables for a moment, curiously inspecting the other patrons and what they were doing. After taking a moment to peer around the restaurant she turned back to Kurt, a sort of glimmer in her eye that gave off an expression of childish excitement.

"Oh! I already know what I would wear! I've had it picked out since I was a kid." One could easily tell this kind of discussion excited her to no end. "There's a shop back home that makes these amazing dresses. There is one that is their 'signature' dress." Jamie reached into her pocket and retrieved her datapad and tapped a few times on the screen, before turning it and pushing up to Kurt's face. It was a rather simple, yet flattering strapless princess dress with an attractive floral bodice and accented gemstone belt. "Isn't it gorgeous!?"

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Kurt paled slightly.

He had asked her to move in with him...well, kind of, but marriage? No that wasn't quite something that he was ready for. It was his own fault of course, but perhaps he shouldn't have used those words exactly. His eyes wandered slowly towards the screen, his face remaining carefully impassive as he looked down at the screen. His fingers froze slightly, shifting as he looked at the image.

In all honesty, the dress was beautiful, and picturing Jamie in it...well, Kurt was more than pleased at the thought. He mused on the thought for a moment, letting the idea linger within his mind for a second, though truthfully it was more about what would happen once the dress was coming off. He couldn't help but gain a goofy little smile at that moment, though as he returned to the gentle folds of reality Kurt remembered exactly what they had been talking about.

"It's nice." He said with a smile, meaning it.

Marriage was another one of those things Kurt had never really considered, mostly because he had thought it wasn't something for him. Clearly Jamie felt differently, and he wouldn't be surprised if she had already thought of everything alongside the dress.

Oddly enough, he didn't mind that.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Mhm!" She replied, turning it back around and staring down at it for a moment, before tapping on the device to turn it off. Sliding the datapad back into her pocket she caught that same deviant grin on Kurt's face that he was known for having when thinking nefarious thoughts. The blonde narrowed her eyes and pushed out her lips, staring him down for a moment. "Mhmm." She said again, with a bit more sternness to her voice, as if she already somewhat knew what was going on in his mind.

"Well, anyways, it's up to you. We don't have to travel there right after we leave here if the idea irks you. It's just a thought."

Jamie sat back in the seat, relaxing herself a little bit more. The thought of their current predicament still well at the forefront of her mind, though suppressed as best as one could muster. It wasn't at all that she was hoping Kurt would ask her to marry him, but the idea of a wedding, and all of the fairy-tale things that come with it that made her overly excited. It was a girl's one real opportunity to be a princess for a day. It was that capturing of a childhood dream coming to life for a few short hours.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Don't you have to get back to training?" He didn't mind going to Naboo, in fact, it might be just what they needed. Perhaps seeing how Jamie's parents lived, perhaps seeing her homeworld or perhaps even on the way there they would figure out what they needed to.

Kurt realized that not every solution came immediately, but if the trip could help? Well it wasn't like he was doing anything.

Kaile knew not to expect him back for a while, and with the money that they had just made it wasn't like he needed to go back to work any time soon. Kurt had all the time in the world to travel, so in the end it came down to Jamie and her training schedule. She still needed to learn more from Keira, and that was decidedly something she couldn't do if she were traveling around the Galaxy with Kurt. Especially since Naboo was three or four days journey from Spira.

He frowned for a moment.

Could they even get a public transport there? Or would they have to rent a ship?

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Tapping a finger against her cheek several times she hummed to herself, lost in thought at Kurt's question. Yes, technically. Buuuuuut...

"I think Keira would understand. After all, I did kind of run away from home with her without initially telling them I was doing so." She gave a quick shrug. "If not, I suppose she'll just have to berate me a bit, or make me do extra push ups, or run another four miles or something. Who knows." She laughed. That felt good. It helped relieve a small bit of the tension still lingering in the air. Jamie smiled, lifting her hand from Kurt's thigh to his cheek with a gentle caress. Leaning forward she kissed just beneath the man's ear, but also whispered quietly.

"Besides, that will give me more time to help you relax from your injury on the way there."

Kissing the cheek once more she pulled away and went back to eating the rest of her breakfast.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

A wide smirk fell over his lips. "Alright."

He did need to relax after all.

"We'll need to rent a ship though." Kurt told her as he watched her eat her food. "I don't think Spira runs any transports to Naboo."

At the very least Kurt knew where to get a ship here, if only because he'd seen it on the way from the starport. What's more he could actually pay for it too. The latter fact pleased him more then it should have, but with their earlier talk of finances...well it gave him a certain bit of pride. Perhaps that was rather odd, but in truth Kurt didn't really care. His concerns had been pushed to the back of his mind for now, his confidence returning as he began to think about a different kind of future.

His eyes settled on hers. "Maybe if you're good I'll let you fly."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"I'm always good, aren't I?" She said, enunciating the word 'good' with a cheeky grin. "But if you're planning on reaching Naboo in one piece, perhaps it's better if you do the piloting."

Jamie had finished her food by now, though the look of concern as she eyed Kurt's still entirely full meal was on full display.

"You should really eat something. It's not good for the healing to go hungry."

Of course by now the omelet was likely to be reaching room temperature, and the fresh, warm goodness was surely to be fading. Jamie had tried to make him eat twice already, but she wasn't about to force feed the man. If he refused, then there was little more she could do except express her own concern for him. Though for the moment her thoughts shifted back to the problem of getting to Naboo from Spira. "Do you have any idea where we can rent a ship?" She hadn't seen anywhere in particular that had rentals. "Most everything I saw when we landed were all yachts or other vacation transport ships."

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

He wasn't too concerned with that, though it did mean that the rental would likely be a bit more on the expensive side...unless they lied a bit. "Well, we should be able to ask someone at a hotel, they can lead us somewhere. Cost isn't too much of an issue."

The windfall that Kurt had received would see to that.

"Naboo is a pretty safe destination." Kurt continued as he slowly picked up the fork besides the plate and cut into the omelette, the metal scratching slightly against the porcelain plate. In truth he had completely lost his appetite, his stomach having dropped from their earlier conversation, but he knew that Jamie would be upset if he didn't at least have something. It was a small thing that he could give to her, something that would at least please her a little. "So we won't have any issue there."

He took a bite, chewed, then continued on. "On top of that...if we were to imply that we're on our way to a certain important event..."

Kurt hinted at the possible telling of a lie, trying to feel Jamie out to see just how she would react to doing that.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

The blonde's pale blue eyes fell to Kurt's plate as she watched him finally cut into his food and take a bite. Her jaw practically mimicked him, opening and closing ever so subtly in unison before she caught herself and snapped out of her momentary space-out. Naboo was safe, though it was a bit out of the way in terms of the distance from Spira.That might very well mean a spike in cost by whatever company, or captain, is willing to rent a ship to two strangers from completely foreign worlds. It wasn't as if there was much in the way of choices, but that was the situation regardless.

"Imply we are on our way to an important event?" The smallest shift of her body and tilt of her head would indicate a raise of suspicion.

The girl's eyes narrowed slightly, trying to get an understanding as to what he meant by that statement. "And which event would that be exactly?"

Jamie wasn't exactly aware of anything important that was to be held on Naboo in the coming days. None of the yearly festivals were in the next day or so. There were no elections, no congregations of galactic powers, no summits and no senatorial gatherings. That lead the girl to believe but one thing, Kurt was looking to lie to either get a free ship, or to hop aboard as free passengers to a nearby system, where a ship would be much cheaper to acquire.

[member="Kurt Meyer"]

 

[Kurt Meyer]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Our wedding of course, dearest." He blinked innocently at her. "Our ship is grounded for repairs, and we can't quite make it back."

He took another bite, smiling slightly. "That's why we need to rent...or borrow someone else's ship."

Kurt smiled slightly. The plan was quite devious, enough to fool most people with a good heart. He of course didn't want to steal anyones ship, just borrow it long enough to get them to Naboo. From there he could return the vessel at a later date...or maybe have someone pick it up. The idea wasn't all that difficult, he just wanted the story to make the whole endeavor cheaper. He already knew that they could rent a ship, but Kurt wanted to see if they could do so for less, or better yet, for free.

"Think of it!" He exclaimed. "Our parents would be so disappointed, all that money they spent..."

He began to spin the story as though she were the one renting the ship.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Kurt Meyer!" The girl practically shouted, though caught herself with a hand over her mouth, repeating his name in a softer, though higher pitched tone. "Kurt Meyer! That's terrible! We're not on our way to our wedding! What if the person asks more questions? I don't make for a good liar, remember?!." As her head shook from left to right several strands of hair freed themselves from behind her head and wagged along in front of her face.

"I'll slip up, say something stupid, or contradictory, or forget."

The girl's hands became animated, lifting and falling as she dropped the napkin to the table atop the now empty plate of food.

"And that's just the start of it! Bad Ju-Ju always follows!"

[member="Kurt Meyer"]