So, you and Crosshair continue peering down alleys, searching for something to give you that boost to the upper levels. You can sense how tense Crosshair is; he's not fond of people, nor crowds, and thankfully they don't pay him much attention, despite being fully kitted out - Coruscant is used to the sight of armoured men, clone or not.
You overhear Crosshair grumble under his breath, his patience running dry as you turn another corner to find nothing of use, only people mindlessly wandering by. However, an unfortunate thing does cross your eye as you go to turn around the next corner, only to stop in your tracks, letting out a sharp exhale as Crosshair accidentally bumps into you.
"Why have you stopped?" he questions, and you can hear the annoyance in his tone, despite his voice being distorted through his helmet.
You peer behind the corner again, double-checking what thought you just saw. Yep, your target's friends have begun heading your way, presumably going to meet up with the target in the club. "We have company," you explain, and begin heading back down the alley you just came from, Crosshair following behind.
Thankfully, your target nor his friends know about you and your posse, nor do they know that they're being tracked - soon to be captured. You have the advantage of being anonymous, another pair of strangers throughout the sea of people that cover every square inch of Coruscant, but you still don't want to do anything that may draw attention - such as trailing them.
"Just let them walk past, they don't know who we are," Crosshair suggests, walking beside you rather than behind.
"And we should keep it that way. We don't want to look suspicious-"
"-Doesn't this look suspicious? Coming back the way we came?"
He has a point. Another small alley catches your attention, one that you're yet to go down, and you drag Crosshair by his wrist, pulling him down the surprisingly quiet passage. It backs onto a bunch of shops, with loth-cats rummaging through bins, and strangers sat on their back porches.
"Are they still following us?" you question.
Crosshair peers slightly over his shoulder. "Yes," he states. "You're taking us down an alley that leads to the back of the club. Have you not been paying attention to where we've been walking?"
"I was more focused on finding a ladder."
Crosshair lets out a defeated sigh. "We should have scaled a wall. It's Coruscant, people do weird things here all the time."
As true as his statement may be, your target and his friends would definitely suspect something if they saw two strangers scaling up a wall, especially when they have bounties on their heads. A ladder it is, hopefully.
Your comlink flashes, and Hunter questions what's taking so long. After explaining that Coruscant is lacking in the ladder department, and that your target has a few broody looking friends, he suggests that you two find somewhere safe to hide instead. Hunter needs to draw the target out before his buddies arrive, so the mission goes on without you two.
No bother, this isn't the first time they've had to leave one of you out, or two...
The alley finally leads to the back of the club, and there's a hefty crowd of people. This is the smoking area, possibly? But the sight of another alley catches your attention, a thin one, somewhat safe and hidden behind the thickness of strangers. You two begin weaving your way through, eventually coming to a halt between the tight walls.
You prop yourself against one, and Crosshair takes the other, your feet touching subconsciously. It's a tight squeeze. You let out a deep breath, thankful that you're not buried under a helmet or a heap of armour; Crosshair seems indifferent, looking out over the sea of people and watching as the targets friends begin heading inside the club. Phew, you went unnoticed, just two strangers making their way through the universe.
"One of them is coming this way," Crosshair unfortunately announces, his eyes meeting yours under the thickness of his visor. "I told you we shouldn't have come back the way we came."
Shit. Ugh. Hunter told you two to stay safe and hidden, and this is definitely not heading in the direction that you want it to go.
You look at your surroundings, attempting to find an escape route, but all you can see is a variety of strangers, busy chatting away, mingling, unaware of the danger that surrounds them.
Wait.
Maybe you can make it look as if you're just another pair of strangers in this crowd, and it'll be hard for your tailgater to begin asking questions and making accusations if both your mouths are occupied.
"Take off your helmet," you order, and frown as Crosshair laughs from beneath it.
"This isn't a very smart plan. I'd prefer having my helmet on if this stranger is going to start-"
"-Just take it off! Trust me!" You cut him off, and watch as Crosshair grumbles whilst removing his helmet, cooping it beneath his arm.
"Now what?" Crosshair questions, unimpressed as ever.
You peek over the crowd and pull a worried expression as the stranger continues nearing, struggling to get through the thickness of people, and even barging a few clueless people out of the way. People always seem to forget that manners are a blessing.
There's a sickly feeling in your stomach, both nervous about kissing your associate, and nervous that he'll reject you. How are you meant to explain this plan? Ask him to kiss you? Attempt to explain your silly thoughts to him? There's no time, and words fail you.
Crosshair raises a brow as you babble "sorry," split seconds before stepping between his feet, placing a soft hand on his armoured chest, and pressing your lips to his.
Crosshair freezes. He's tense, thick, eyes widening. You're kissing him. If his lip weren't occupied then he'd laugh and comment "brilliant plan," because it really is, but instead he stupidly stands there, as if he's forgotten how to function, let alone kiss back. And unknown to you, he has butterflies churning in his stomach, along with a thick lump in his throat.
But he finally kisses back, his spare gloved hand moving up to cup the back of your head as he moves his lips against yours. Just in time, too, as the stranger who was about to begin asking questions realizes that you're just another pair of lovesick fools in this sea of people. He rolls his eyes at the sight before beginning his journey back through the crowd, heading into the club to unfortunately find that the rest of his crew has gone missing.
Neither of you peek open your eyes to wonder if the stranger has gone away, but nobody has attempted to catch your attention, meaning the stranger must be gone. He's gone, you two are safe, and neither of you are moving away.
The grip on the back of your head tightens, and Crosshair gambles a bold move by lightly running his tongue across your lower lip, only to be welcomed into your mouth. You can feel the corners of his lips move, turning upwards, smiling as you allow him to make the kiss messier. It's needy, desperate, and something that you've both been craving for a long time.
"I think he's gone," Crosshair quietly mutters against your lips, not giving you the ability to answer as he kisses you again.
Sadly, the sound of your comlink beeping forces your lips to part, and you remain pressed up against Crosshair as you answer. It's Hunter, ordering you two to return to the ship. They have the target, the mission was successful in every aspect. Every. Aspect.
"We should get back. You know what Hunter's like if he's kept waiting," Crosshair comments. His hand removes itself from the back of your head, and he gives your hip a comforting squeeze before fully moving away.
"Yeah, come on," you sigh, and unwantingly pull your body away from his. You're about to begin heading through the crowd once more, but Crosshair lightly tugs your wrist.
"Nice plan," he comments, a smug expression across his lips. The expression disappears as he puts his helmet back on, although you know he's going to be looking smug for a long time. You did kiss him, after all, but he also kissed you back.
"Thanks," you reply. "You played your role well," you jab back, earning your own smug expression before turning your focus to heading through the sea of people, overhearing Crosshair laugh behind you, his hand slipping down your wrist to entwine his fingers between yours, keeping you close.
