Responsibility

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

There was something about his kiss. The way his lips would linger in a half nibble, as if he were savoring the taste of her just a little while longer. It didn’t help matters when his hand would caress the margins of her neck as delicately as a warm breeze on damp skin. Top it off with half hooded gaze and the whisper soft hush of his voice, it was bound to cause flip flops of her insides.

Just you. Her mind immediately suggested. There were half a dozen ways one could go about that too. For now, goosebumps skittered down her arms and Kaile’s mouth burned to be kissed again. A selfish thought, certainly, considering the man was now in the midst of stretching that body that only hours ago had covered hers.

“...ahh,” she took a brief breath, as if remembering that was a vital necessity for the continuation of her longevity.

“Water is fine.” at least she managed to say something. Feet shuffled a bit side to side, sending them in a half turn as she went stretching her own toes. Parts of her protested, others simply reminded her more of what they’d done.

She bit her lower lip again. Right, food.

“Reckon somethin’ crunchy to eat?”

 

[Asmus Janes]

“Sure,” he replied in a tone that went no way towards convincing anyone he'd heard what she said. His hand didn't leave her neck, thumb slowly stroking up and down.

The speed at which he pulled her back in startled even Asmus. It was the way she bit her lip, the memories he could see being played out behind her eyes. This kiss betrayed the yearning that had simmered just beneath the surface all morning, ever since he'd looked up from his knees and watched her try and gather her own breath.

It was only when his own hand snaked up between them, palm to sternum, that he stopped by pushing them apart. As if simply stopping wasn't a viable option.
Short, shallow breaths followed as one leg took a tentative step back. “Water and something crunchy. Right.” Were the words for her or himself?

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

It was a good thing he had gently pushed himself back, giving them that space. That room to breathe. Otherwise, Kaile may have been tempted to tug him right back for another kiss, to nibble at his lower lip and draw him tight against her. He was quickly becoming an addiction. One she knew she couldn't very well keep.

A rather dazed nod and she gave him a half smile. "Yeah." one half trembling hand came up. Those slender digits went running through her hair, feeling the tendrils slip back away from her face, giving her a better frame to catch the shadows that had gone drifting over his expression.

"I'll stay up here." that was a rather hard thing to squeak out, but it would be better. Yeah. Responsible, right? A half step back, and the curve of her bottom hit the piloting console. Just a bit more space.

"... Unless you want some help?"

Or maybe not.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Well, if you come you can pick something to eat I suppose," Asmus replied, latching onto the offer. His hand was supposed to simply melt away from her, instead the treacherous thing gave a gentle tug at her shirt as it left.

He seemed distant for a moment, looking around the cockpit. She wouldn't realise he was momentarily distracted by the question of 'where in the cockpit would be most comfortable.'

It was had been comforting, her dead weight draped across him through the morning. It had been all too easy to forget how quickly she got his head spinning.

"You can't sleep all day I suppose," he added with an upwards twitch of his lips.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]


The corner of her mouth would twitch in a mirror of his own.

“No, I reckon it wouldn’t be the best thing to do.” she’d agree, amusement half playing in her brown eyes, staring up at him. They stood there like that for another awkward few seconds, both aware that meant that they would actually have to leave the cockpit to go to the galley, but not quite taking the first step to do so.

“Okay,” Kaile finally said, nibbling on her lower lip and stating the single word that had so many different meanings between them. Odd how that happened. Odder still how much more it truly meant. Taking the blanket from around her shoulders, she let the thick fabric slip down, setting it upon the chair.

“Reckon food isn’t goin’ to make its way up here.” Maybe gettin’ some more food in their bellies might keep their minds busy. That inspection would come round soon enough.

A half turn towards the door, and Kaile brushed back her bangs with her hand.

“Stretching the legs out won’t hurt us none.” she joked, her ponytail swinging at her back.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus opened his mouth for a witty reply, before part of his brain pointed out there was very little wit in those words. Very little at all.

"Yeah can get pretty uncomfortable after a while sat still in those chairs," he replied, instead of asking her about her flexibility. "I really shouldn't eat any more of that cake," he added as they walked. It was clear he was trying to convince himself. It took a good diet to stay as lean as he was.

As they stepped into the galley he made for the caf machine. He added some new grounds and set it brewing. His eyes followed Kaile instead of what he was doing. An almost vacant smile on his face as he tried to come to terms with the last day. The pair seemed to set each other off, bouncing back and forth between emotional highs so quickly.

Instead of cake, Asmus managed to find a bag of dried meat and another of dried fruit. Wouldn't have much fresh now. "Snacks are down there."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]


He tossed one bag of dried fruit at her, and Kaile catched it with a slight hop of her feet. “Oh these are good!” she said, commenting as she flipped the bag over. They were a mix medley of various dried fruit. Standard rations but nothing she would mind at all. Nuts and dried fruit along with any fruit dried ration bars were okay with her.

“Did you want anythin' else?” she’d ask in query, setting the bag down upon the counter. Crouching down to her knees, Kaile also took a gander at what other snacks there may be. She found one more of dried fruit and nuts. Jackpot!

There was a calm to the mundane. To the simplicity of just coming down to the galley and finding something to eat. To drink. Funny how that was.

With her booty in h and, Kaile shot back up to her feet, closing the latch behind her. If he was making the caf, might as well get two clean mugs and the sugar.

Two sugars for him. Three for me.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Nah I'm good," he replied. He turned his head back up to regard one of the overhead cupboards. "There are some biscuits up there if you'd like," he offered. He pursed his lips. Biscuits would be much nicer with coffee, but he'd already indulged in cake.

He watched Kaile as she wiped out a pair of mugs and started to spoon out the sugars for them. As the last of the water dripped through the grounds he removed the pot and walked over to Kaile. He poured out their drinks, the smell of bitter caf rising with the steam. They were moving around, doing regular things again. That was good. They could have been rooted to the spot for a long time back on the cockpit, unwilling to break apart. Asmus sighed. Just one more night was a cruel thing.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

They worked well together.

The scent of freshly brewed, bitter caf floated between them. Steam rose from both of their cupus, a faint iridescent film starting to form in those slow, dark, whirlpools. Kaile took a spoon and gave each a few stirs, mixing in the sugar before putting away the tin and securing it behind the latched cupboard.

“You want to take the cafs and I’ll take the snacks?” Kaile would suggest, sparing a glance from under the lengh of her long strawberry blonde lashes.

“Or did you just want to eat here?” either worked fine -- it just depended on if they needed to be up at the cockpit soon enough for the inspection.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus looked to the table and considered that briefly. It would have been nice to sit opposite her and talk for a while.

"Best get back to the cockpit," he said. He wrapped his fingers through the handles of both mugs and lifted them from the counter. Their machine did tend to o the caf a little too hot. "I should probably keep an eye on the old girl as we come in. Like I said, they don't take well to people coming out of hyperspace on the wrong place!"

"Funny how different the wars can make things. Yet you go to some of the planets in the deep core and you wouldn't know they were run by the Sith. Guess those types are so busy being important they just leave their billions of citizens to crack on with life, for the most part."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

“Yeah….” Kaile began a bit tentatively. To a degree there was some truth to what Asmus had said. There were areas in the Core Worlds that saw no difference to One Sith rule than that of the Galactic Republic. In fact, most companies had simply continued on, making new deals and ensuring that their neutrality and commerce would continue.

Comparatively, there were worlds that had seen a great deal of change. Some that had suffered under it. Togaria. Manaan. Aldaraan. Those were just a few.

“But I reckon there are others who feel it a bit more keenly.” she’d add, following him up with a slow amble. In her hands, she carried their snacks, making sure she didn’t drop any. Considering the subject matter, curiousity got the best of her.

“What you think of all that?” she asked him, big, brown eyes turning up to him in query. “The One Sith and all that?”

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

"Oh yeah, didn't mean to suggest that the fact that some of their billions of citizens avoid the gaze of the sadistic feths in charge in some way exonerates them," he said as he looked for somewhere to put his at.

Back in the early days he'd forced Kairon to buy a while new console by leaving a mug on one. Slight jolt to the ship and sparks were flying. He'd been so green back then, before even Jarrick and Mei were on the crew. Three seperate people had threatened to kill him in the first port.

Placing his mug on a benign cabinet he turned and regarded her curiously. "Not sure exactly what to think of it all. You didn't...didn't lose K...the person you lost to them did you?" he asked quietly.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile was in the midst of figuring out where to set things down when she caught the question. She was struck by it so that she didn’t notice the slight slip up. A small bit of tension shot through her spine, making her stand rigid for a moment. Her profile to him, she seemed to be internally mulling exactly how to answer, the bite of her lower lip then a tell of hesitation and a slight bit of anxiety.

“I reckon there’s more folk than not that have been affected one way or another.” she said carefully, trying to keep a neutral tone in her voice. She failed. There was just the slightest quiver in the vibrato. Setting down the bags of nuts, dried fruit and meat snacks on a bare area, Kaile found herself avoiding Asmus’ eyes.

One could make the argument that due to her job, the One Sith was one of the reasons she had to keep a low profile. To ensure that little collateral damage came out of it. It sounded terrible, but ultimately, that is what the Big Guy would say. To him, Kurt and his family were potential collateral damages. Kaile didn’t have the heart after meeting them to wish them any harm. Much less when they weren’t even aware of it.

No, this one was all on me, Kaile mused, recalling the expression of betrayal on Kurt’s face. Her entire focus suddenly fell to opening up a bag a dried fruit for herself.

“Although ain’t nuthin’ like the time the dead rose or folk all up and disappeared.” those were specific references to the time of the Dark Harvest and the galactic wide disappearance of countless sentients. There were still netherworld rifts scattered about, but that had almost sent them all back to the time before the plague.

Wonder how that would have turned out.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

He was too well attuned to her now. Asmus caught the falter in her tone, the way she shifted her gaze. His own gaze turned South. There it settled on his lap. Asmus suddenly looked uncomfortable, embarrassed perhaps.

"Corellia was important to a lot of people. We know a lot of smugglers who lost nearly everyone they knew in that...whatever that was."

Asmus looked up at Kaile, then back down to his lap again. "Look, I'm sorry. That was unfair of me to pry. I won't do it again," he stated. The tone of his voice was flat as he tried to convey himself quickly before he lost his nerve. He'd been selfish again. There was no outcome where that question did any good for Kaile. Just his curiosity. He felt so much for her so quickly and knew so little. Who was Kurt?

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

He meant it.

Kaile’s large, brown eyes caught the unsteady shift of his hands. The sheepish drop of his shoulders, the way the subtle nuances over his youthful visage indicated that he truly meant the apology. He hadn’t intended to pry, but he was also very curious. There was concern there, nothing malicious. One could understand why they would ask. With everything, Kaile knew she had been acting like a watering pot and a ninny since she met him. All he knew of her was how she had acted up until now.

It was his genuineness that made it difficult for Kaile to remain quiet. She knew that she couldn’t divulge too much information. Yet the troubled expression on his face tugged at a part of her that made her want to explain. To tell someone. But if she started with one thing, how could she keep the rest silent?

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed hard, and her eyes fell to the back of dried fruit in her hand. “It’s fine.” she told him, finally answering. “Thank you.” she added again, in reference to him not asking her anymore about it. Scatting a few dried pieces of fruit in her palm, she took a slow breath.
“No. It had nothing directly to do with the One Sith.” one piece of the puzzle. An alive branch per se, but what Kaile didn’t realize that it could very well be more bait, more questions.

Even more quietly, it followed with.

“There are just situations in life that end up tearing people apart.”

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

“Yeah, I guess,” he replied softly. His only experience in that regard was how he had drifted apart from his family before escaping on a stolen freighter. Certainly no one had even been torn from him in a way that cut as deeply as Kaile clearly had been. The poor girl. He felt a sudden swell of anger at whatever situation had conspired to wound such a kind soul.

She kept her eyes low. Her voice had been so faint. Asmus finished the sip of caf and placed the mug back down on a surface. He hauled himself to his feet and took two quick steps to stand behind Kaile’s chair. Learning forwards before she could turn up towards him, he wrapped both arms across her chest. His lips brushed her ear before he kissed her shoulder and nestled his chin in the crook of her neck.

“You can talk to me about it if you think it’d help, I wouldn’t mind. But I won’t ask again,” he said quietly. “Come snuggle in under the blanket again until we get there?” he suggested, punctuating the notion with a gentle squeeze.

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

Kaile felt the comforting nuzzle of Asmus’ smooth cheek along her neck, the slight hum of his voice against her skin as his breath spilled out warm. There was solace in his embrace. A flutter of her lashes and they fell shut, the encouraging squeeze of his arms drawing her close.

A silent nod was her show of gratitude for the offer to listen, while a soft, “Yeah,” came at the suggestion to cuddle. She couldn’t voice aloud what had occurred with Kurt. It was too fresh, too raw. Too much of a reminder of where she stood and where she’d be going; and how that came to play with the current situation at hand.

“I’d like that.” opening her eyes, she gave a twist of her neck to turn up to look at him. A measure of gratitude there would reflect in her eyes. The bag of dried fruits were forgotten for a moment, her right hand coming up to cup his cheek. There, her fingers slid over the smooth skin, thumb brushing over the high arch of bone.

“Thank you.” she whispered. It lay heavy with meaning and a multitude of reasons it was said for. Searching his emerald gaze for a moment, Kaile traced the contours therein. Ever so slowly, the hand slid from his cheek down towards the nape of his neck. There, it gently tugged him closer, until her lips met his. While it wasn’t a surrender of her secrets, it was one that held a truth. Asmus Janes was no ordinary scoundrel, not to her now.

Likely more than she’d ever expected him to be.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Asmus knew what can next before the gentle tug started. Her eyes revealed a lot. His lips parted before he felt that coercive pull. Asmus closed his eyes and lost himself again. There was no past, no future, just here with her. He knew those last two words had not been for getting her out of a quarantine zone.

As he paused for a sharp intake of breath before he pulled closer, his mind replayed those little moments where she'd started to pull out of her mental retreat. Just those first hints of appreciation at his constant quest to cheer her up. He thought of the first smile that had spread from her lips to her eyes.

Asmus was reticent to open his eyes when his lips eventually parted from hers. His hand had migrated up to cradle her cheek and now it fell back down and caressed her craning neck.

His eyes held that strange mix of adoration and bemusement. Not once had anyone ever captivated him like this, caused such an overwhelming flood of emotions at a touch. It confounded him.

"I don't always do right by others," he said softly, lips just inches from hers. "But I'm glad I got to see more of you on this trip."

He looked down suddenly, lips twitching upwards. "Not like that," he countered a perceived interpretation. "I mean I'm glad you came out of your shell a bit. Glad I got to see your smile." Asmus looked back up to her, searching for what he could read from her eyes. There were a lot of lonely people in the verse. He found it hard to imagine Kaile could have been just travelling with bobo so long, no one to go to when she was parted from Kurt.

"Call me whenever you want," he added suddenly. "If you feel down or just want to talk about any old crap."

 

[Kaile Vera]

[member="Asmus Janes"]

“ Call me whenever you want. If you feel down or just want to talk about any old cr--”

Asmus didn’t get to finish. Not when Kaileann’s second hand came up to rest against his chest, her torso now half turning towards him. He was rambling. Truth be told, Kaile likely would have done the same thing. But there were times where words need not be said. I already know all that, Asmus.

Kaile knew. Knew that he meant every word. Asmus Janes may be a charming scoundrel, may be still doing some growing up of his own, but when he said such things, he meant it. No binds. No ties. No conditions there. Reminded her of Kurt a bit. Only difference being that Kurt never looked at her as Asmus did. Never held her in quite the same way. It was different.

Different enough for her to register it somewhere in her mind where she kept it tucked away. Where she couldn’t hover over it. Inspect and dissect it. To figure out what it meant.

Maybe the kiss was less about halting Asmus ramble as much as it was to stop the mental one of her own. Here she was, half heavy of breath and already shifting up in her chair to meet him. Those fuzzy feelings taking over and getting her lost.

The bag of dried fruit gave a soft smack as it hit the ground, scattering a few pieces of apricot on the floor. Yet it went unnoticed. Tender soft kisses would deepen in the surrender of her tongue, drawing him in, tasting the bitter of the caf and the sweetness of lingering chocolate cake.

There were times to talk yes; but there were others much like this one where there was nothing but the space between. In what is wrong and right. Where strange allies and warring hearts meet between wicked lies and the desperate hope to keep safe from the pain.

 

[Asmus Janes]

[member="Kaileann Vera"]

Silence. Sweet silence. Thank you, he thought to himself at her timely intervention. A half step to his right brought him closer to her side so she didn't have to crane her neck back quite so far. One hand gently rested against the back of her neck as the right held her cheek. He pulled back for a just a moment, pulling her lower lip with him. One short breath in; elastic at the end of its tether. That hand no longer sat idle as he pulled her in, canting his head to the right and kissing her deeply.

Silence was broken by low content murmurs that accompanied the stolen breaths. Warmth built from his chest as his brain became so lost there was no chance it could even try and form words. His hand slid down and took a grip on her shirt. There wasn't much give in the fabric, but that third button took some strain. Soft murmurs turned to quiet moans.

"Mmmhmm." A coy smile found his lips as he broke away. "Okay," he murmured with a sigh, his right hand relinquishing its hold to slide down onto her leg. He'd been doing something before asking stupid questions, but he would be damned before thinking of anything else.