deercountry | (no subject)

He peered up at her almost shyly at the pretty clear offer, before he reached out again. His fingers gently traced the lines of her hand, marveling privately at how small her hand was -- smaller than Leia's even.

"I will," he said, his voice soft, like he realized what he was doing was intimate. "I promise."

It was, by far, the most intimate thing she'd ever done.

Even more than dancing. She realized how much the girls at court would laugh at her for that. But she tried not to measure her life by them. For one thing, they were all wildly unhappy. For another, they were Elves. Which was something that she could never actually be.

"I believe you," she said. He was too much like her not to. After all, when she made a promise, she always kept it.

Always.

The soft smile he gave her was a clear sign of his appreciation, before he turned his attention back to what their hands were doing. His fingers traced along her fingers, like he was trying to memorize every line, every dip, as well as the feel -- worn from hard work but no less soft. He felt his face turn a bit pink, before he finally peered up at her again, suddenly feeling very shy.

"A...Airy, I... um..."

She tilted her head to one side, a piece of hair falling out of her braid. Was she being too forward? She didn't think Humans cared all that much about...

No. No, no, no. She wasn't going to play games with herself, trying to interpret.

"What?" she asked instead, a neutral question, curious and a little uncertain.

Luke's mouth worked a few times, before he pulled himself back, settling on a small smile and a faint blush.

"Nothing," he replied at first, before he let out a sheepish noise. "But... I guess... thanks. For trusting me."

Ariadne shook her head. She knew there was something else he wanted to say. It didn't require listening to his pulse or trying to catch his scent.

She'd watched enough people to know.

"I do trust you," she said. Including to say...whatever it was.

That soft expression was back on his face, the one that both showed his gratitude and kindness at once. His gaze drifted down to their hands again, his fingers still absently moving, though now like they were following a road they had traveled many times before. It was… nice, to be invited to know someone like this. It made him feel relaxed, like he really didn’t have to worry about war or teaching or anything of the like, and… just be Luke.

He closed his eyes, letting out a faint breath as he leaded back in his seat, releasing the tensions from the last few days (and the last few minutes) into the Force, before he finally looked up to her again.

“Would you like another story?” he asked.

"Always," she replied at once.

She sensed there was something going on in that mind of his, but Ariadne--for all of her time on the outside, looking in--was no expert in the way that Humans thought. Especially these Jedi, with their rules that made no sense to her, try though she might to understand.

And she was always trying.

Still. Luke knew her weakness. And it was enough to let her set aside her thoughts. For the moment, anyway. "A good one, of course."

He reached out to her again, slipping his hands gently around hers, and started talking; starting to tell the story he had read of in Ben's journal, about how Yoda had ended up helping out a planet of sentient rock people, and how it had led to him finishing what he couldn't. From there he went on to talk about how they captured a Star Destroyer with a minimal crew in order to run a planetary blockade, and the stormtroopers that tried to route them.

It was at least over an hour before he finally stopped, chuckling faintly as he dipped his head in embarrassment.

"...you know, it's been ages since I've talked this much, and never this much about things I've done."

The time felt like it was flying. Flying on a ship in the stars. Or something like that. Ariadne wasn't good with metaphors. She just wanted him to keep going, to keep telling her about everything he'd done. Not knowing his world, she couldn't say for sure if it was impressive. It certainly sounded that way.

And noble too, which was also important.

She smiled when he laughed, her skin tingling, aware of the touch of his skin against hers. "You've do so many things! Been so many places. I could listen to it...kind of forever."

Luke chuckled softly.

"I'll run out of stories eventually, you know, no matter how much I enjoy sharing," he said, offering her a quick, teasing wink, before finally letting go of her hands. "But right now, I should head to a place to sleep. It's getting late."

She blinked in surprise. "A place to sleep?" What did that mean? "Do you...not have a home?" Okay, maybe that wasn't a good word to use. "I mean...house."

Some people weren't ready to consider Trench home.

Just because she was...

"Not one just for myself."

Luke shrugged slightly, like he wasn't bothered by it.

"It's fine; I'm used to drifting around, so this works well for me," he admitted. "Some habits are hard to break."

Huh. She kind of hated that for him. There was something to be said for having...a place to return. A space of your own. With your own things and your own memories and thoughts.

Had Deerington spoiled her in that respect?

She'd shared a room with Aunt Lysia back in Valeria. Not wholly her own, but it was a space and protected place. And then she'd started living on her own and she...well. She adored her little apartment.

"Where do you go, then? What sort of places?"

Luke shrugged slightly again.

"Well, I usually stay at Maul's place, since it's so large. I crash with Usagi and Blue occasionally as well."

The relationships among the Jedi and Sith continued to amaze her. And yet, Luke was such a kind, sweet soul. Having him around might be good for Maul. Savage too. As long as they didn't...

Well, Ariadne didn't think they would...

No, a sneak attack wasn't exactly their way.

"Well, if you ever need a place, you know you're welcome here." Never mind the fact that she only had one room. And one bed.

Edited (I have a problem. It's called editing.) 2022-03-14 00:58 (UTC)

Luke paused at that, feeling a warmth creeping up in his face. Well, that was...

Well.

He dipped his head slightly, trying and failing to hide his blush. What, no, he totally wasn't thinking about the fact they would probably share the bed, that was ridiculous.

"I'll keep that in mind," he mumbled.

She caught the blush. It was unexpected, and it was a moment before realized the source.

Oh.

Her cheeks got a little lavender. "I'm sorry, that sounded..."

Forward. It sounded forward. The sort of thing one of the courtier girls might say, batting their eyes and flashing coquettish smiles.

Ariadne didn't have that in her. Sometimes, she wished she did.

He held his hands up quickly, shaking his head rapidly.

"No, no; I know you didn't," he replied. "It's my own fault my brain went there."

Welp, his face was a brilliant shade of red now. He let out an embarrassed noise, trying very hard to turn away and hide it, but even his ears were red, and the blush was creeping through his hair and along his scalp, visible through his hair.

"U-um... I-I should go."

"You don't...have to."

But he did. She was pretty sure he felt that way. And from the look on his face, she supposed she ought to feel embarrassed. Maybe even a little bit ashamed.

She wasn't, but she lowered her eyes all the same.

"Thank you. For your stories today."

Luke peered over at her at that, a small smile coming to his face.

"...I'll tell you a story any time you want," he said softly, not sure entirely if he meant something more than that himself, but... he was definitely being genuinely honest in that statement.

"I'd like that," she said, folding her hands in her lap. "Stories are so important, you know. They're one of the few lasting impressions we can leave in the universe. Or multiverse now."

And a good way to feel close to another person.