Private Nobody's Son, Nobody's Daughter.

[Wedge Draav]

​

Reima Vitalis

It was all her

Wedge couldn’t help but smile again. His movements were slow and deliberate, each step measured and timed perfectly to the music. He kept pace and rhythm expertly, not a foot out of place or a movement of his hands.

He had a sharp intake of breath when she moved closer.

She wanted him too. But he needed her.

“Don’t know what it’s called but I hope it’s the music I hear when I go to hereafter.” He looked over at the performer, who gave him a nod of approval. Wedge returned the gesture, returning his gaze back to Reima.

“I owe you my life. And I wanna give you everything I can with it. It’s been-“ A long, quiet pause. “Bad.” He looked down at the space between them, before he looked her in the eyes, pulling her closer.

“But you clear the mess from my head. I can’t thank you enough.”

Sincerity was scary.

 

[Reima Vitalis]

Reima was impressed with the way Wedge took to the dance. That boded well, she thought. Was it too much to hope for, a series of dances across many nights spent together, strung together like pristine pearls? Well, she was perhaps putting the cart before the horse. "The hereafter," she echoed softly, her eyebrows furrowing a little. She leaned closer, stepping on her tip-toes so that her lips could brush his cheek as she whispered: "I don't want you to have to think about that for a long time. A long, long time." As if wanting could make it so, could banish the existential confrontation they had faced -- separately and together -- at Coruscant.

But the specter wasn't ready to leave them, and that was all right. Trauma ignored was trauma compounded, and as much as Reima tended to stiff-upper-lip her way through the crises of her life, she had been a monument to that kind of disordered thinking. It had pushed her into dangerous and unhealthy liaisons, into terrifying and perilous pursuits.

"I only did what any other Revenant would have done," Reima told him, returning to her full feet, turning with him to the music. It was true. "Maybe not as stylishly, I'll grant you," she added coyly. "But -- if someone had to rescue you. I'm glad it could be me." This, the young pilot nearly croaked, for an alarming lump had grown in her throat, around which she could hardly speak. The truth was that he had saved her, too, in ways that she didn't know she could ever tell him. Even before this moment, before the subtle embers of the flirtation that had kindled this fire between them, his mentorship as a pilot had taken Reima from a road directly to ruin.

She looked away as tears stung her eyes and shifted closer to him, resting her cheek against his shoulder. "Don't let me go," Reima murmured quietly.

Wedge Draav​

 

[Wedge Draav]

​

Reima Vitalis

Hereafter.

"Wouldn't be much if you weren't there with me when I go." He had such a way of talking- saying a hundred words with ten. He meant more than he said, and his eyes spoke more than his lips ever did. He thought for a while, how to thank you, how to tell her what she did mattered more than anything, how she went above and beyond.

"Revenant didn't pull me out of that fire." He pulled back, just to get a look in her eyes.

"You did."

She pulled him out of a lot of things. A physical fire, and a mental one. There was a mess in his head, in his heart. Doubts, pains, regrets. Sorrows and could've-beens. Things that he didn't want to admit out loud, and never had. But his vulnerability was real, and it was there. He noticed her pause in speech, and felt her choke up a bit. He didn't do anything overtly, he just-

Held her a little tighter.

He waited for it to pass, for her to speak again. That lovely, sing-song voice, with that sweet, lovely accent. She asked a simple question. A simple request. Four words, four words that he would've moved a mountain to hear, would've crossed any river, tread any ice. He couldn't help but smile again, kissing her forehead. A reassurance, a promise.

He had to vocalize it. Let her know that he never wanted to let her go. Never wanted to not be with her, never wanted to not think about her. His duties and his responsibilities may keep them apart- but he knew that when he wasn't in Command, he wanted to be with her. His hands slipped to her upper back, holding her, swaying with her. Letting her take a moment, to let her cheek rest on his. Let her tears that he could see well up and run their course. He wasn't thinking or ignoring her, he was letting her appreciate the moment. Commit it to memory.

Because he was doing the same thing.

"Never will, Reima. I'm all yours."

He meant it.

Until Kingdom Come, until the Stars burnt out.

He'd love that woman, that Lady- all the things he could pick to title her with, adorn her name, guild it with. But he wanted to call her something greater, an honor bestowed to him by her. It was a higher praise than birthright, it was a higher calling than any medal he had ever received. Any promotion, any campaign.

He was all hers.

And she was all his.

And that man, that pilot, that scoundrel at times, the rebel, the reckless man that he was-

He was totally, madly, truly, deeply, in love with Reima Vitalis.

He leaned into her ear, speaking softly.

"Wanna hold me a little tighter at that nice lake house?"

 

[Reima Vitalis]

Reima didn't challenge him this time; she was sure none of their compatriots would have left him for dead, but it was true that it had been Reima that found him. A proud moment and a terrible one. And then to have hauled him off in a makeshift harness from a wing! She wouldn't have believed it if someone had told her the story -- if she hadn't lived it. herself. "Do you think they'll make a holo about that story someday?" Reima asked him, her tone light but not entirely unserious. "It is the stuff of action flicks, when you think about it. Danger, daring, romance, two incredibly attractive leading characters. God, I just hope they don't make me blonde." She closed her eyes to roll them as they continued to sway together, keeping the beat but not in any particular style of dance.

The dusk had turned to night by the time he invited her back to the lake house, and the shops along the riverfront were beginning to close up. She suspected that the busker wanted to wrap up, too, so she agreed. Reima excused herself a moment, approached the musician to toss a few high-denomination bills into the open case at his feet. "It was beautiful," she told him. "Just beautiful. Thank you."

She returned to Wedge, laced her arm through his. "Captain Draav, I'm afraid I'm a little tipsy and I'm not sure I ought to drive." The drinks had truly impacted her slight frame more than she expected. They apparently poured them heavy on Naboo. "Would you care to drive?" She drew the fob from her pocket, dangling it from her fingertip in front of him. "I'd hate to be taken in on a foreign planet. Or any planet, but -- you know what I mean."

Reima grinned and settled closer to him, matching his gait. He was warm and solid next to her; she could get used to that. Warmth. Reliability.

"I'll come back with you, Wedge. I trust you won't try anything fast," she declared with mock imperiousness, shooting him a smirk as they walked back towards the speeder.

Wedge Draav​

 

[Wedge Draav]

​

Reima Vitalis


Felt good, felt right, felt... real.

"A wayward royal, a dashing, daring, handsome, capable pilot... a war that threatens them both, and their secret affair leading up to them declaring their affection for each other when the other protagonist was on the brink of death... why no, I think that'd make for dry theater. Plus, they'd make me blonde, if anything."

He laughed when she admitted she was a bit tipsier than she wanted to be. The bartenders did pour the drinks strong, but maybe it was Wedge's size compared to hers, or his love of recreational drugs that it took quite a bit more to set him down the tipsy path than her.

"That should be in the movie. The lovely lady Vitalis, taken in on her first shore leave for drunkenness. How shameful to her royal family..." He said with a wry grin, taking the fob from her, placing one hand on her forearm, their footsteps echoing on the quiet street. "Only to be saved and spared the humiliation by her impeccable Commander, and that's when they lock eyes..." He laughed, unable to continue the tangent.

But he'd watch a million movies made about Reima.

"I think they'd have a hard time getting an actress to get your looks right. Haven't met a prettier woman." He said as they arrived at her speeder, opening the door for her. She didn't seem tipsy, but perhaps, just enough to not drive. He let her sit in the speeder, leaning over the door, looking down at her. He couldn't help it, kissing her again, before he walked to the pilot's seat, settling in, fixing his uniform before turning the speeder over, letting it hum to life.

"Baby, I am going to take my sweet time with you. Won't ever move fast with you. I'll go fast, be fast, in every other aspect of my life- but not with you."

One hand piloted the speeder, the other went around her shoulder, pulling her into him. He wanted to grant her some reprieve from the cold air rushing over their speeder, heated seats and all be damned. He turned the speeder, heading back to the Lake House, and there was a comfortable silence between them. He looked down at her, smiling, watching the night, trees, stars, and moon pass them both by in a slow blur.

"I told my parents about you. They wanna meet you. Thank you for everything."

He already met Mrs. Vitalis- indirectly, of course. When he cursed out a General, and a majority of the Senators. Thankfully, however, that little incident lead him here, and lead her here, more importantly. So, the lesson he took away from it was-

Curse out your bosses more often.

 

[Reima Vitalis]

Reima couldn't help but laugh and laugh at his description. Oh yes, it would be quite a sizzler, she thought. "Someday, when we're old, I'll write my memoirs and we can retire off the royalties and the holo rights. I'll insist on creative control so they don't make us blonde and they cast the prettiest actress there is in the part of Reima. I'm terribly, insufferably vain, you see," she added, her tone jovial but matter of fact as they walked back toward the speeder. She slipped into the passenger seat and was entirely distracted from buckling herself in by Wedge's kiss.

She discovered it was impossible not to smile when he kissed her. The smile stayed as she watched him go around to the driver's side and get in. Even before he reached for her, Reima was scooting toward him on the front bench seat, and she settled against his side comfortably, her slender frame nesting easily against his side.

Reima had plunged into battles before in her X-wing and various other crafts, a thin bit of transparisteel and durasteel the only thing separating her from the cold void of space. She had raced treacherous races against treacherous opponents, had crashed and been injured, had pulled bits of a fightercraft out of the man to her left, but nothing -- nothing -- struck fear into her heart the way his mention of his family did. In a way it felt almost like an intrusion; they had been alone together before, but now there was the promise of a gaggle of others. It would have had to come at some point, if this ended up being a long-term thing, but still.

It was endearing, too. That he had told them about her. And yet some lingering feeling of discomfort made her shy about it. Would they be able to smell the unearned privilege on her, these salt-of-the-earth people who had produced this dashing hero? Would they know that she was unworthy of his attention in so many ways? Reima was quiet as she considered these things, the thunderclouds of apprehension gathering on her mental horizon.

After a few minutes of silence, she said: "I'm sure I'd love to meet them. And to see where you grew up. But then you'll have to meet mine, too. Do you think you can manage?"

Wedge Draav​

 

[Wedge Draav]

​

Reima Vitalis


I wanna be here, forever.


She smiled when he kissed her. He smiled when she smiled. It was that simple. He didn't just want to be happy. He wanted her to be happy, he wanted to do everything in the galaxy to make her happy. The wind was pulling and pushing his hair, the same with hers. He was quiet for a while, just smiling. Enjoying the time they had together, limited as it was. She was close to him, closer than he ever let anyone be in a long, long time.

But he knew that there wouldn't be anyone else there. Not now, not ever.

He saw it on her face, felt it in her. He knew her well enough at this point to know when her mind was somewhere else, or at least, wandering. And something was eating at her, causing just the slightest bit of apprehension. His mind- sharp as ever, thought back, and smiled. He knew what was worrying her, the only thing that could. The man who could fly an X-wing without a droid was fast on his mind as much as he was fast in the cockpit.

"They already love you- you'll be fine. Can't do no wrong, to them. Your family though- I think your mother knows who I am. I ain't worried. I got you." He stayed silent for a while, thinking. Thinking of when to say it. But their time was so limited. They only got so many days. Only so many minutes. So many hours. So many seconds.

So he had to make them count.

"But I think I love you more than they love you."

They were getting closer to the house he was staying at. He pulled her closer to him, having said that.

"I don't know what comes tomorrow, or what'll happen next time we're both in a cockpit. I don't know when the Sith or the Empire is coming back, when I'll be there next, or what horrors or monsters we'll have to fly against- But I gotta tell you now, I gotta tell you before I kiss you again. If I don't-"

He looked over at her, meeting her eyes as he slowed the speeder to the lovely house, stopping the vehicle in one of the pads designated for speeders. Didn't want to ruin the grass, after all.

"I don't think I'd forgive myself for the dishonesty. I love you, Reima. You need to know that, before anything and everything else."

He knew the exact moment when he loved her. He knew for sure, without a doubt. The first thing he saw when he about died and was rescued was in fact, an angel.

 

[Reima Vitalis]

Reima was quiet throughout Wedge's confession. She had the presence of mind despite her tipsy state not to stop him. To say that he couldn't possibly, that he would need to endure the emotional gauntlet that was getting to know Reima Eleanor Grace Vitalis before he could stand to think he loved her -- and many countless more trials to discover that there were better pursuits for his time, like swallowing broken glass and shoving parts of his anatomy into a blender. At least then he'd have good practice with things that were sharp.

But she didn't say that. She didn't say anything for a few moments, and let her body do the talking as she settled closer into his side, her head against his shoulder.

Maybe this time things would be different. Maybe some element of their liaison was different enough that it would have a better ending, and the quiet truth that Reima had always known would turn out to be both untrue and unknown: that it was her fault things didn't work out. Her impossible standards, her impenetrable moods, her indefatigable distrust for people that only seemed to intensify the closer they got.

But she had to say something or that would make this whole affair rather awkward. "I don't know if I know how to love people," Reima said slowly, as if she was deciding each word carefully, one at a time. "I've always found it difficult to share my life with other people. My space, my... bandwidth, I guess." Her dark eyes found his in the rearview mirror; she didn't want to shift in the seat or move away. "But I know three things as clearly as I know my own name: first, I feel as strongly for you now, in this moment, as I have ever felt for another person; second, if my angsty little heart is capable of love, I surely love you, too; and third: I will try to get it right."

Reima hesitated a moment, closed her eyes as the wind whistled above their leads. "I'd really hoped to outgrow my teen angst by now," she said after a little pause.

The speeder had stopped by then; Reima kissed his jaw lightly and then scooted back across the bench to let herself out, shooting over her shoulder: "Nice driving, Flyboy."

Wedge Draav​

 

[Wedge Draav]

​

Reima Vitalis


Whoever or whatever is out there- let this be it. Please.

Wedge was silent, but smiled when she spoke. A great fear had been lifted, and a great relief had been put on him. He heard about Reima, her family, how she was. What her family was up to before the Alliance. Hell he even knew a little about her- how she was raised…

Her terrifying mother.

“Reima you and I both know-“ He stepped out of the speeder, catching up to her, hands in his uniforms neatly pressed pockets. “That you and I are going far. I remember hearing something early on- you wanna go fast, go alone. You wanna go far, go together.” He smiled at her, cupping her chin to raise her head to look at him. Dark eyes to bright blue, even in darkness.

His other hand pulled her into him. He kissed her again, moonlight, wind, stars above. He wanted to live in that moment forever.

“So let’s go far.”

He looked up at the house, smiling down at Reima.

“I think we oughta get outta these fancy clothes before we go to bed, huh?” He said, eyeing his woman up and down. Just like he hoped she- would eye her man up and down.

 

[Reima Vitalis]

"You sound like an Alderaanian," Reima said teasingly. The closest she could think of to hippie. But she liked his optimism. It was a long time since there was something to be optimistic about for Reima. She glanced past him at his suggestion that they should change out of their fancy clothes. She had some idea of what he meant, but here she was -- ever mindful, ever demure (for once) -- feeling the tiniest bit modest and shy. Something about going far, instead of going fast.

"Let me get my bag," she said after a moment, reaching into the back seat to snag the oversized handles of her fashionable overnight duffle, its tobacco leather well-worn and creased from use, patched in one part, and slung it over her shoulder with her free hand.

"It's been awhile since I wore anything but the standard issue pajamas to bed," Reima said coyly. "You know the junk they give us for when we're on deployment in those soulless bunks. It took me some time to find some things that might be... more appropriate to the occasion, shall we say?" She laced her fingers through his with her free hand, glancing sidelong at Wedge with an arching brow. Captain Draav, it seemed, might turn out to be the true beneficiary of Reima's Black Lotus shopping spree.

Wedge Draav​

 

[Wedge Draav]

​

Reima Vitalis


Wedge cocked an eyebrow. "Those pajamas are my lifeline. Besides, you look good enough in them." He leaned in, breathing in what she smelled like, what she was going to taste like.

"Brought a bag just to visit me, huh?" His hand lingered on hers, before he lead her into the house. It was quiet, and the lights were still on. He blinked, his turn to be impressed by a change of appearance- he adjusted his tie, loosening it as he sat in the living room, and crossed his leg over the other.

He waited for a moment when she went to get changed, but instead- classily, as he learned, poured himself and her a glass of wine. He set it in front of him, and held the glass over the side of the chair, eagerly awaiting his lovely lady's return- or an invitation into the bedroom that she was in.

"You know- just occurred to me that this whole night may have only seemed like my idea." It clicked on him, dawned on him.

But he didn't mind one bit.