Some Planet. Some Where...

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Danger gave a little shiver at the sensation of Alric’s fingers dancing over her skin. He rocked her in his arms for a bit, an expectant expression over his face. Just looking up at him now made her heart ache. Made her realize just how surreal all of this could still be.

Twenty years ago, Danger never considered that he would look at her with that exact expression. That there would be a softness in his eyes, a knowing smile gracing those sinful lips, and that he would hold her against him so. Where would they be, if Danger had asked him to leave the lounge of her starship back then? When after his sudden revelation that he was alive at the gala had resulted in the former Titan sitting at her acceleration couch, an utter wreck and completely lost?

What would be if I hadn’t been able to forgive him?

The thought scared Danger to say the least. Would she have grown even more into a bitter woman? Would she still have been alone, with no family? Her closest friend was Judah Dashiell and his son Makai, who she loved on as her own. They had managed to become part of her life, but Judah had his own marriage and his own responsibilities. As he had told her back then, his family business was his own.

The press of Alric’s fingers drew her from her reverie, and Danger gave him an apologetic half smile.

“Sorreh…” she murmured, smoothing over his right lapel with the pass of her fingers. Widening her smile, she tipped her head back, letting the thick waves of auburn hair fall over her shoulders.

“I love it.”

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He squeezed her gently. The room was perfect, Danger loved it, and everything...everything was settled. They would have some thing to do of course, some things to shuffle around and take from the apartment on the station, but things were already solidified in his mind. This was their home now.

It was where they would raise Myra. Where there love would continue to thrive.

That idea made him happier then anything else, made him glad that he had chosen to this. There was nothing else that could have delighted him so much. The Farm would be an exquisite place to live, calm and relaxing enough that there would be no real issue with Myra, but exciting enough that she wouldn't live a completely sheltered life. They would raise her to be a fine young woman here, and Alric and Danger themselves would survive a few more years because of the fresh air.

Force knew they needed it.

"Come on." He said with a kiss. "Let's go to bed."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Mmhm," Danger could agree with that. They both needed rest. They were getting tired more often than not, and as the years passed, their bodies protested at staying up into the early hours.

"If I recall correctly," she began, leaning back to appraise the man, his arms still banded around the dip of her waist.

"You said you wouldn't argue about getting your rest," she said, the flat of her palms sliding down and over the collar of his crisp white shirt. With a deliberate trace of her fingers, Danger unbuttoned the line of flat pearl buttons. Each one would reveal a little bit more of his chest, the dark whorls of hair peeking through.

"And that you'll stay put." she sang, lips twitching as the fabric of his shirt slipped off him with a slide of her fingers.

"But how keen are you on taking a hot bath for your knee?" she asked, teasing him a bit.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Oh no." Alric said flatly. "I'm not allowed to to do that."

He smirked at her. "My wife would kill me. She made me promise to get straight into bed and stay there or else she'd get me in trouble."

Alric nodded emphatically.

"Can't go disobeying the wife, can I?" His voice was of course, dripping with delight. He grinned from ear to ear, there was a fire of mischief in his eyes, and one couldn't help but think things were going rather well for him today. That was the truth after all, today couldn't have gone better if he'd arranged for it exactly. He'd gotten Danger to agree to move to The Farm, Myra was delighted with her new home, Mr. Tuggles even seemed excited. Everything was perfect.

He only hoped tomorrow would be the same.

"No no." Alric went on. "Just bed for me."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

“Uhhuh,” Danger would hum with a roll of her eyes.

“Well, I reckon you can’t go and do things that would make your little wife upset now.” she coo’d, hooking her fingers along the loops of his pants. A gentle tug and she began backtracking out of the refresher towards the bedroom. As large as this suite was, it would be a ways. Regardless, she kept her stride slow, allowing the Tetan to not have to focus too much weight on his bad knee.

“But at the very least, we should make you a bit comfortable.” She purred, her hands sailing over him to unbuckle a belt. The soft hiss of leather sliding from belt loops whispered just before the soft clank of it being tossed on the floor came.

It was playful banter. The usual game they played. However, this one was done with the intention of actually getting Alric in bed to rest. Honestly, sleeping at his side for a few hours was something she was looking forward to.

Maybe she was getting old, but the thought of simply having him hold her in his arms while she heard him breathe at her side was more than enough for her then.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

In truth, bed didn't sound too bad at the moment. Much like his young daughter, Alric tended to get tired more often now. He knew that was the touch of age settling upon his shoulders, the feeling of getting older weighing heavily upon him. He tried to ignore it most of the time, but with his knee acting up every so often and everything else...well it became more than obvious he was getting up there in years. He stretched slightly as Danger's fingers caressed against his skin.

"I suppose." He began to take backward steps.

The bed in the room was larger, larger then the one they had at home.

That had been a request by Alric, mostly because he tended to want more space to sleep on. As they slowly crossed the room Alric began to settle more of his weight on Danger. Walking backward was apparently more difficult on his knee than simply walking forward.

His fingers slowly curled on her hips, eyes watching her with heavy lids.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

Her throaty chuckle would wash over him as the Queen of Trade settled the former Titan onto the bed. She sat him down, finally letting him take off that weight from his knee.

"Come on, let's get you out of these clothes." Danger murmured low. Much like with Myra, the woman took to looking after Alric. Some of the banter and play was gone, but none of the affection.

"How's your knee?" she asked, his pants now on the floor along with his shoes. Her eyes gave it a narrowed survey. It looked a bit swollen truth be told. Honestly, he should have rested earlier. There was no arguing with him, however, when he got into that excitable state.

"Want your medicine before you get comfy?"

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"I'm 57." Alric said plainly. "Not 80."

There was a bit of bite to his tone, though not in a mean way, but more of a challenge to his statement. Alric knew that he was getting older, but he didn't need to be coddled. She did it out of affection, but the question fo needing his medicine? Well that was just a bit too far there.

His arms swept around Danger, his hands quickly wrapping onto her hips as he quickly spun her around and then pulled her into his lap. "I can prove it too."

Almost immediately his lips dug into her neck, first kissing, then suddenly opening up farther.

"Om." Alric said, then he quickly kissed here two thousand four hundred and ninety seven times while yelling. "Namnamanmanam"

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"What.. are you doing?!" Danger cried out in mock affront, curves and shoulders shaking as she attempted to push the old fool away from her neck. Alric was not so easily deterred, and damp omnomnom bites ran up and down the curve of her neck much to growing protestations.

"That ain't proving anythin'!" she cried, out, feeling the shivers and tickles of the kisses despite the attempt at tucking her neck away. Alric held her in place against him, his fingers dancing over her hips and holding her to him.

Goodness, she had only wanted to see if he wanted his painkillers and to help out with the swelling!

"Whatever happened to listening to your wife and having some rest, you old fool!?' she teased, only to feel the drift of his hands slip over to return the favor of slipping out of her clothes.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

"Namnamanam." Alric continued despite the protests, smiling throughout. There was a simple joy to just being silly sometimes, to not being an adult. Responsibility had weighed heavily on the both of them for most of their lives. Many people were like that of course, they bore dozens of responsibilities, carried a hundred weights, they moved and pressed on in their own time then eventually forgot. They forgot how to enjoy themselves, how to have fun, how to take time for themselves.

"Nam." Alric didn't want to forget. "Namnam."

Eventually the press of his lips came to a stop, the assault ceased, and Alric pulled Danger tightly against himself. "I'm an adult, I don't have to listen to anyone if I don't want to."

It was an excuse that he had often given his daughters when they'd asked why he could stay up past bed time and they couldn't. Childish really, but it was also extremely relevant, Alric was after all an adult. He smiled slightly, nuzzling her neck for a moment.

He was determined to make their time here fun.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

“Oh, you have to listen when you done promised you would.” Danger would tease him in turn, giving his hip a gentle smack at her side. Although to be honest, having his arms around her and his silly little antics were enough to ease the tension from her body. He could be silly at times, much like now.

There was a tiny wet trail that he left on her neck, and the fresh air was blowing across it. Breathing in deeply, Danger snuggled herself into his arms. Okay, maybe for just a few minutes. The man was spoiled with how he managed to sway her so.

“Are you happy?” Danger quietly asked him, her hand coming up to gently comb through his tousled hair. It no longer was slicked back, instead falling into long forelocks over his brow and temples. Long enough for her to enjoy running her hands through his hair, but short enough so that it wouldn’t be a hindrance

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

He let out a sigh as they fell back into the bed, the blankets bunching up slightly beneath them. Danger's arms wrapped tightly around him, curling around him. There was a moment of peace. For them that had been rare in the past, but not anymore. Twenty years ago their lives had been all action, all work, all interference. Every waking moment had been spent trying to do something.

Alric couldn't even remember it all.

Star Cabal, Titan, Corellia, Citadel Station.

There had always been another project, another thing to do or create. He'd liked it at the time, every challenge needed to be met, every single victory needed to be one. Back then Alric thought that he could change the entire course of the galaxy. He had been cocky, arrogant, and fast...too fast. He had never taken the time to enjoy himself, to look at the opportunities that had been directly in front of him. He'd been a fool then, but then, perhaps that wasn't too rare.

"I am." He said as his fingers traced down her back. It was the truth too. He'd found happiness, found the time to slow down.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

That made Danger smile.

It was a soft, slow smile that slowly brightened her face. It shone in the warmth of her eyes, in the tiny crows feet that now decorated the edges. Time had aged her, streaked white into her hair, and etched itself over her skin. Yet it did not mar the expression of love and affection that now lay contently upon the Queen of Trade's face.

"Good." she said, murmuring it softly, content in the skim of his fingers down her spine. Leaning close, her forehead came to press against his chest. Their they lay, five decades of life that had passed to bring them here. Funny that.

But it felt right.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

The next day came rather swiftly, the air cooling, the dawn bringing rays of warmth. There was a calmness to the valley, as if nothing had yet stirred and everything was still...silent. It was nice, and Alric couldn't help but admire the distant parts of their new home as he wandered out onto the landing platform.

Alric and Myra were back at the Farm making breakfast, the Tetan having left to go and collect Nel.

The woman had said that she would arrive as soon as she possibly could, and early this morning she had sent a message that she would be arriving a little after dawn. Alric had taken a shower and woken Danger, then had slowly made his way towards the landing pad where their own shuttle still sat. The walk was quite far, but in truth Alric enjoyed it. There was a calm to it, a nice stillness that he quite enjoyed and hadn't experienced in what seemed like years.

A yawn passed his lips.

The ship began to descend in the distance, the old Tetan spotting the small craft dipping from the sky.

Whatever Nel had decided needed telling, it had better be good. The CEO of Vanir Technologies was interrupting time with his family, and while he had always liked Nel...he just wasn't quite in the mood to solve business problems right now.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"You gonna help with the biscuits?" Danger would ask Myra, chuckling as the little girl empathically nodded her head.

"Alright now," she began, setting a wide bowl in front of the six year old. It was empty for now. But add in flour, milk, butter, a pinch of salt and baking powder would change that.

"We are gonna get all the dry ingredients first." Myra had an affinity for cooking and baking. It was amusing to see her, as she very carefully did her best to measure out the ingredients with the care of one far older than her years.

"Put in the flour, the baking powder, and that bit of salt." Danger instructed the youngling, watching as Myra did that with careful precision so as to not spill any. Alric had already gone to meet Nell at the landing pad and would be back soon enough. With luck, Myra and she would get the biscuits done along with the rest of breakfast by the time the pair would return.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

The ship eventually touched down on the landing pad. It was one of the sleeker models that Vanir Technologies produced, a luxury craft. They were nice really, Alric had used them a few times. They reminded him of the Nubian crafts that had been produced on Naboo for generations. Those ships had always been all sorts of fancy, and although they were expensive many people throughout the galaxy thought them well worth the price. He frowned for a moment, then shook his head.

Alric let out a yawn.

Nel was likely already standing at the door of the ship, waiting for the ramp to lower. Of course the pilots would have to run a few security checks first, just to make sure that everything was alright. The Tetan knew the procedures all too well.

Eventually however there was a loud hiss as the pressure of the ship and outside were equalized, the door to the ramp fell away, and Nel began to strut out onto the planets surface.

The blue woman looked tired. That was his first thought, and really the most surprising too. Nel had never looked tired, not after hours upon hours or work, research, and dozens of other tasks that she undertook simply for fun. That struck him as odd, especially since he'd always figured that the woman's species was incapable of getting tired.

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Now you mix it all up... gotta use clean hands now." Danger instructed the youngling, chuckling as Myra finally showed some measure of gusto in this.

"Not too much now, we want to make sure that they stay flaky." she advised, moving behind the little girl to see how she was doing.

Myra was all for playing with dough and mixing the globs of butter in. Her little hands were covered with flour and milk, already hand mixing the batch.

"We use cold butter here because it will melt once we bake it." Danger told her. Just then, the caf machine gave a little beep to say it was ready. For Alric, she had some water warming up for his tea, while Myra had her juice.

Breakfast would be served soon enough.

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

Before Nel could even open her mouth Alric held up a hand. "Let's talk about it at the house."

This was his home now, he wasn't going to take any news on the landing pad.

Not when breakfast was likely waiting for him back in the kitchen. He quickly lead Nel towards the path, limping slightly and wandering onto the cobblestones with his back straight and his eyes set forward. The woman had her jaw set hard, and there was a tiredness to her eyes, but she seemed slightly calmed in the presence of the Titan. There was a slack to her shoulders, a sort of ease that told a weight had already been lifted from her. She moved alongside him, watching the slight limp.

"Still hurts?"

She questioned him quietly, respectfully. He nodded slightly.

"Sometimes." Alric admitted. "The brace has helped a lot."

 

[Danger Arceneau]

[member="Alric Kuhn"]

"Alright, now we are gonna roll it all out." Danger told Myra, coming alongside her to her right. They both wore aprons, at least to keep the majority of the flour and such off of them. Not that it was doing much good. Myra already had a streak of flour over her left cheek, and despite the length of her hair drawn back into a ponytail, there was a light dusting alongside that too.

"First, we put down a little bit of flour," she told the youngling, showing her how to sprinkle it all out on top of the wooden board in front of her. The little girl mirrored the older woman's movements, then they both took the mass of dough and began to roll it out.

"Don't need to mess with it too much," Danger advised, making a nice long rope of it.

"We just want to make it easy to cut it in small circles to place on the baking sheet."

 

[Alric Kuhn]

[member="Danger Arceneau"]

The walk went quickly, mostly because it was so quiet. Nel wasn't much for pleasant conversation, and Alric thought that she was half happy just to take in the sights of everything around The Farm. It was easy to admit that this place was a certain kind of beautiful. There was a serene calm to the surrounding lands. The rolling fields, the stretching fields, how the Valley's mountains seemed to curl and reach into the sky all around. It was nice, calm.

Better then the constant action of Coruscant.

"There." He said as they crested the hill. Nel took in a slight breath as she saw the massive building. It was funny really, the woman had just spent the last year of her life constructing one of the galaxies largest shipyards, a feat that would take anyone's breath away, yet here she was gasping at a Castle. Alric shook his head and bade Nel to move forward. No doubt Danger and Myra were already done with preparing food, and Alric didn't want the meal to get cold.

He was hungry.