The Archives always felt like a different world at night. It was like the entire temple had belonged to only while the last of the younglings all had gone to bed, emptying the premises, leaving it to . I was just sitting there, looking at the rows of shelves going back and forth, barely illuminated by the dimd lamps overhead.
Okay... I wasn't completely alone as I heard another voice, not far from .
“Curious... Most curious,” C-3PO mumbled, his voice carrying from the corner to my left, “I could have sworn this particular variant of old script used a different preposition… Why leave it out here? The youngsters have no love for Master Luke's books.”
He hadn’t even looked up when he walked past with a handful of books... Perfect. I didn't really want to talk with him right now... I ca here to relax a little, as only here could I feel everything be... silent. The fact that I was picking up on everybody was making it hard to focus.
Watching him shuffle away, I sank back into one of the low seats, resting my back against its leather-covered backrest, breathing out loudly. Finally... Quiet and peace... Well... until footsteps padded across the floor, quick and purposeful, heading directly towards . I was about to curse, but... I didn’t need to look up to know it was Vila.
“Kael,” she said, appearing out of nowhere, standing right before .
Slowly, I lifted my head and looked at her face. She stood with her arms crossed, her head tilted slightly, and her lekku twitching in what I’d co to recognize as her version of nervous anger. At the mont, she wasn’t wearing her tunic, just her sleeveless training top and belt, like she’d co after straight from drills... Or was she here to drag out for so midnight exercise? No, she was training with Master Katarn, I could feel it... Damn it! I didn't want to read her thoughts... Why can't I stop it from happening?!
“I knew you’d be hiding in here.” She began, probably noticing that I grimaced.
“Not hiding,” I said, trying to keep calm, “Just… being... here...”
“That’s just the fancy word for hiding.” She pressured as she walked over and flopped into the seat across from , arms still crossed. “We haven’t talked. About anything...”
“I know...” I muttered, looking away.
“You’ve been avoiding .”
“…I know.”
"..." She didn’t say anything right away, which was sohow worse than being scolded. Eventually, though, she leaned forward, “So,” she began, “are we going to talk about it or do I have to beat you up first? Because we are talking about it. Here and now. If you start running, I am tackling you.”
"Um..." I blinked, trying to play dumb, “Talk about what?”
“The kiss, genius.” Her voice was flat, but her cheeks were pink, and I caught her thinking about how it felt, “Or did you hit your head harder than I thought? Don't play dumb, you kissed , and both of us rember it.”
My mouth opened to say sothing, but then it closed.
"Yeah... I rember..." I muttered in the end.
"Good. I don't know what's wrong with you, but if it is about that," She began speaking.
“Vila, that wasn’t—”
“Don’t say it wasn’t real,” she cut in, just as I cut her off, her eyes narrowing. “Don’t you dare! We were in the middle of losing ourselves, and you brought back, not with a Force push or a smack on my head, or so weird lecture... Both of us know you were more direct, you scoundrel! You kissed . That was you. You. So don’t you dare tell it ant nothing to YOU. Because it ant everything to !”
“I wasn’t going to,” I said hurriedly, “I just… didn’t want to assu what it ant for you...”
"Ah..." She blinked her eyes, like she hadn’t expected that answer. “…Oh.”
"I am not troubled by the kiss, Vila," I rubbed the back of my neck, feeling really bad now, because I was, despite not wanting to, getting assaulted by her wild feelings, making it feel like I was sitting before a burning furnace. “Things have been weird... I’ve been turned weird... Vila... Since I woke up, I’m not who I was before...”
She didn’t respond right away; she just watched closely, eyes flicking over my face like she was doing her best to read my thoughts... Only if she knew...
“You’re still you,” she said.
“No,” I whispered, “Not entirely.”
"Nonsense," she argued, her anger very quickly turning into worry, all aid towards .
I took a breath and looked down at my hands, flexing my fingers, focusing on them instead of Vila, because if anybody, she was the one who I didn't want to cheat... or assault with the way I was reading others. She didn't deserve that...
“I can’t shut it out,” I explained, feeling that my eyes were watering already, mostly from my frustration, “The people, their emotions... I can feel all the little lies they make throughout the day, or just their happiness, fears, joy, sadness, whatever fleeting montary emotion that gets to them... I can feel everything. I can know things I shouldn’t... Vila, I—” I swallowed. “I knew you lied to , too... About the nightmares.”
She went still, but just for a second. Seeing her flinch and look at like that... Yeah... this is what I was most afraid of.
“I didn’t an to pry,” I rushed to add, “I didn’t do it on purpose! It’s just there... I an... People’s feelings... I... I'm lost, Vila... they seep through. It’s not like before... It’s so much louder that it feels like I can hear people the way you can hear whispers... If I ditate, it is even worse...” I didn't see it then, but her eyes softened while listening to . “I am afraid,” I continued, pouring everything out, “That I’d read sothing in you. Sothing you didn’t want to see because it is a... private thing... That I’d find out things you’ve never said out loud and wouldn't want to... I don’t want to break your privacy just because my brain forgot how to... work.”
“You thought that would scare off?” She asked, her voice unusually quiet.
I nodded, not daring to look at her. She was silent for a mont, then stood up and ca forward, sitting down in my lap, and reached for my robe. Before I could even think, she grabbed the front and yanked toward her, slamming her mouth into mine. I just... sat there, my eyes wide as ever, looking into hers.
Wel... It wasn’t a peck. This was nothing like the first one at all... It was Vila, giving her everything. This kiss was wild and impulsive, the kind of kiss that made my brain stop like it had hit a wall. Not only that, it made blank out so much that I didn't even return it for a few seconds. Her hands were tight in my robes, her lips hot and fierce, and when I began returning the kiss, she took it to another level. Without waiting, her tongue brushed mine, and I forgot what thinking even was one more ti, letting her invade .
I might have stopped breathing, too... I don't know... But... It was so good! When she finally pulled back, I stared at her, eyes wide, my pulse sowhere in the stratosphere or beyond it, making blink my eyes in surprise.
“So,” she asked, a little breathless, “did you feel everything that ti?”
I opened my mouth, but I genuinely couldn’t form a coherent answer.
"I take that as a yes," She grinned. “Good. Then I’ll just keep doing this whenever you start freaking out. I’ll use my lips to shut you up, along with that overthinking brain of yours.”
“Vila,” I said hoarsely, finally returning to my senses, “you can’t just… weaponize kissing.”
“Why not?” she smirked. “Seems to work.”
“You’ll give a heart attack!”
“Then I’ll resuscitate you with more kissing.” She giggled, licking her lips, holding onto my neck, flicking her lekku over her shoulder, “Problem solved.”
Before I could co up with a retort worthy of that level of nonsense, a high-pitched, proper voice cut through the Archives. Ugh... The only thing I can't perceive... droids.
“Oh my! I do apologize. I didn’t realize the two of you were, ah… conducting a romantic entanglent. But please don't go too far, these are the archives.”
I turned so fast my neck popped, I swear I heard it crack... Of course, C-3PO stood nearby, holding a data slate as if it had betrayed him... Or we did. Co on... We didn't go that... far! No fair! I watched as his photoreceptors blinked rapidly in what I could only describe as digital embarrassnt.
“We weren’t—!” I started,
“I saw nothing!” 3PO declared, “Truly. My mory circuits are already overloaded. You two carry on... ignore ! I’ll be over there. Just please, keep in mind this is a public space. Oh my creator... These two are like Captain Solo and the Princess were back then...”
We both watched as he shuffled away, muttering to himself, still going on while disappearing.
“…You okay?” Vila asked, turning back to , her voice quippy, holding back a laugh.
"Reset to factory default settings: completed." I nodded.
"Hehe," She tilted her head. “So... does that an you’re not afraid anymore?”
“…No,” I smiled a little, “Well... Maybe a little less.”
"Hmm," She nodded, then nudged her boot against mine. “Hey.”
“Hm?”
“Will you sleep with tonight?”
I froze again... What? Looking at her, I noticed that she imdiately went wide-eyed, too, realizing the misunderstanding. Oh... so it was a misunderstanding. Khm... Of course...
“I didn’t an like that! I an, like, sleep beside . In the sa room. Strictly. Mh... Well... Um... Maybe in the sa bed... But with clothes on! Okay?! Clothes. On. Just... You know... So I don’t have the nightmares.”
“Oh,” I said, heat rising to my ears, totally lost in her panicking eyes.
"Scoundrel..." She flushed too. “You knew what I ant.”
“I thought I did,” I muttered... Well, when she realized the mistake, her thoughts were also going to the sa thing mine did, and it was... spicy. But why didn't I feel her recoiling from the idea? Oh... oh...!
“Still,” she said with a small smile, “you didn’t say no.”
"No,” I admitted, then shaking my head, “Wait! You can read minds, too?”
"Hmph!" She snorted, standing up, fixing her clothes, glancing at with a pout, "I am a twi'lek. I can notice a hungry gaze when I see one! It's okay, I am a cutie."
"Boasting is a step towards the Dark Side," I warned her, standing up too, feeling relaxed for the first ti since waking up.
"Please!" She rolled her eyes, holding onto my hand as she began leading to her alcove. "I can read boys without your gift! So, keep in mind, Kael..." She looked up at my face, "Not weird touchy-touchy business. Otherwise, I am hacking off your hands and kicking you out!"
"Ouch... But... you can touch and kiss ? Your tongue went so wild just a minute ago, you sucked out all my thoughts!"
"That's different!"
"In what way?" I pressed on, chuckling.
"I am a girl. I am the one setting the boundaries. Currently, we are an item. Hand holding? Check. Hugging? Check. Kissing? Check. Groping? Wrooong~! You need to earn the next step!"
"What, is this so new holonet ga I am not familiar with?"
"Sure!" She grinned, "You need to... hm, level up before the next fight!"
"Fight?" I asked again, raising an eyebrow, and to my surprise, throughout our discussion, I never once invaded her thoughts... The flow between us was... so smooth, it felt... natural like... Yes. This is how it should be.
"Duh." She blushed, squeezing my fingers, "The next step is a wrestling match... isn't it?"
"Oh..." I blushed too, almost falling over. "I... I don't know... I... guess..."
"Then learn it!" She stomped as we arrived at her door, "Because I don't know either..."
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