Chapter Text
“No one will miss us for a while, right?” V’rel asks, wrapping her arms around Theron’s waist. One little kiss doesn’t seem like nearly enough right now, not when he’s looking at her like that.
“Do you even care if they do?” Theron asks with a chuckle, a wry smile on his face.
V’rel pretends to think about the question for a moment. There’s really only one answer. “No, I don’t,” she says with a laugh. “You know me so well.”
“I’d like to,” Theron says as seriously as she’s ever heard. “I mean, I’ve studied your SIS file at length, I’ve seen you in action-”
“Studied my file?” V’rel asks. “Agent Shan, you make it sound so sexy.”
A shiver runs down V’rel’s spine as Theron brushes his lips against her neck. “But it is,” he says, pressing his lips more firmly against her skin, causing V’rel to bunch fabric from his jacket in her fists. “The King’s Ransom Heist is particularly illuminating.”
“I’ll keep that in mind if I have to write any reports in the future,” V’rel says, pulling him a bit closer as his lips move up her jaw to her cheek, and then finally pressing softly against her own.
Her eyes close, and for the first time since she woke up from her carbonite nap, V’rel finally breathes. The crushing pressure around her chest doesn’t seem so bad when Theron is right next to her.
Theron breaks away first. “Let me just close the door for a bit. We can log the time as an official meeting.”
V’rel watches Theron walk to the door, and thinks of the last time she had sex with a spy in a cantina. She wonders where Darmas is, if he survived the last five years, if he’s okay. She’ll have to ask Lana, maybe see if they could use him in the Alliance. But that’s most certainly a question for another day.
“There,” Theron says as the door closes. He starts to lean against the wall, but the moment he put weight on his shoulder, he straightens up, before taking two large steps to be back next to her.
His arms are around her almost at once, and the intensity of his kiss startles her. But she responds back in kind, kissing him hot and opened-mouthed, and giving herself the gift of not thinking of anything but him for a moment.
“We should…” he says softly. “I mean… Why don’t we?” Theron shakes his head and goes to sit on the sofa. “Look at me. Bumbling like an idiot.”
V’rel places a hand on her hip. She’s got to admit, Theron’s bumbling idiot side is pretty damn cute. “I take it that means you missed me.”
“You have no idea,” he says, and when he speaks again, his voice is hoarse. “Come here.”
She takes her time as she walks towards him, biting her lower lip when she sees Theron’s fingers dig into the sofa. He has missed her. Once V’rel stands in front of him, she wastes no more time, her thighs straddling his lap.
Pressing her brow against his, V’rel whispers, “Thank you.” She kisses him gently, barely brushing their lips together, but it’s what she wanted to say.
“What’s that for?” he asked.
“You found my ship,” V’rel says, holding onto the front of his jacket. “My ship.”
“Couldn’t think of a better ‘welcome back’ present,” Theron says. He slides his hands around her waist to rest on her ass, and V’rel leans in a little closer. “Just wish I could have found your crew, too.”
V’rel looks away, then, thinking of her friends. No captain could ask for a finer crew, in her humble opinion. “They’re out there somewhere,” she says with more confidence than she feels. “But my ship…”
At fifteen, an adult by Chiss standards, V’rel left her foster home on Datooine, ready to make her own way. That way lead to being assigned assistant quartermaster on the pirate ship, The Sky Princess. Andronikos Revel might have been a feared pirate, but he was a damn good captain, and when V’rel knew she didn’t have it in her to be a pirate, he set her up with a loan that let her buy a used XS Light Freighter, who she named Blue Dawn.
Ole Blue served V’rel well over the years. She might be scrappy, but damn if the ship didn’t quit. That ship is home, more than a planet or a house could ever be. And some day, V’rel will find a way to thank Theron, for all the time he must have spent looking for her ship.
“Maybe you could give me a tour later,” Theron says. “I wasn’t able to actually go inside when I found it. Just confirmed the ID and had it towed.”
“Gladly,” V’rel says. And because she’s suddenly impatient, and stars, she’s alive, she kisses him. She kisses Theron with every ounce of energy she has, and Theron gives it right back.
As they kiss, V’rel takes off her vest, while pushing Theron’s jacket off his shoulders. While naked would be the ideal for both of them right now, she’s not willing to chance someone interrupting them. Various states of undress would have to do.
“Eager, are we?” Theron asks. His palms slides down her pants, cupping her ass.
V’rel lets out a laugh, loud and bright. “It’s been five years since I’ve had sex, Theron. Wouldn’t you be?”
Granted, thanks to the carbonite, in her head, it’s only been about two months since she last saw Theron. But five long years have passed. He looks mostly the same. Definitely more grey at the temples, though. A few more crow’s feet around his eyes. Makes him look distinguished, she thinks.
“I suppose I am, too,” he says, kissing her neck.
“Wait, what?” V’rel asks, sitting up straight, placing her hands on Theron’s chest. Granted it’s not her business, but now she’s curious, and when she’s curious, she doesn’t let go of things. “You weren’t with anyone else?”
Theron looks away, staring intently at the wall. “You were dead,” he says, no louder than a whisper. He takes a breath and meets her gaze. “You were dead. I saw some of the footage of the battle from scouting ship. Didn’t think there was any way someone could live through that explosion. V’rel sucks in her breath when he grabs her wrists. “I mourned you. You have no idea how much.”
His words feel like a punch to the stomach. She hadn’t even thought of that. Her crew probably thought she must be dead, too. Her eyes close, thinking of Akaavi and Bowdaar, who consider her family. She has to find them. She has to.
“I’m sorry,” V’rel says softly. “I didn’t mean…”
“Not your fault,” Theron says, placing a hand on her cheek. V’rel leans into his touch, putting one of her hands on top of his. “Just when I thought it was time to move on, to put you behind me, I get word from Lana that you’re actually alive.”
“And you wrote me that note,” V’rel says. That note meant everything to her, allowing her to actually anchor herself in this insane galaxy she woke up in.
“And I wrote you that note,” Theron repeats, squeezing her hand. “So, no. I haven’t had sex with anyone else in the last five years.”
Her heart feels like it might be ready to burst. She knew walking onto Darth Marr’s ship that she cared for Theron, but it’s only starting to dawn on her just how deep those feelings go. The thought that this might actually be love terrifies her, and yet? She’s learned that there are much scarier things in the galaxy. Love is a cakewalk compared to some of the things she’s seen.
But she’s not ready to say any of this. Not yet. So instead she says, “Well, that’s going to change for both of us in the next fifteen minutes or so.”
“Fifteen, huh?” Theron says, raising an eyebrow. “Make it ten and you’ll have my attention.”
And just like that, she’s smiling again. She’s smiling and has Theron’s arms around her. Zakuul doesn’t stand a chance.
Leaning forward, she starts to unbutton Theron’s trousers, while she whispers against his lips, “Ten it is.”