Because the world needs more Mereel Skirata tales!!
It was a busy night. You’ve only worked there for two weeks, and this was the busiest night so far. You and the girls behind the bar were serving drinks, and you didn’t have a moment to spare.
“You’re new” - you heard a voice behind you.
Oh great. How many times have I heard this in the past two weeks?
As you turned around, prepared to roll your eyes at the idiot with the brilliant pick up line, you struggled to find any words. You were met by a tall and dark stranger with the most beautiful smile. Oh, and he was an ARC trooper - you recognised that armour immediately.
Was that… Could it be…?
You heard stories about him from every girl in the bar. He was a legend. A myth. You didn’t really believe half of those stories, and you were sure the girls were exaggerating, but you thought they were fun, and there was no harm in some harmless fantasies about a dark and mysterious ARC trooper, was there now…?
But now he was there, in front of you. The one and only…
“I’m Mereel” - he said before you even managed to gather your thoughts properly. “And you’re new.”
You stared at him, not really knowing what to say.
“And apparently mute.”
Yes, you must have looked like an idiot, but you couldn’t really think of anything clever to say at that moment. It was overwhelming. It really was him. You heard so many stories about him that there were times when you didn’t even think he was real. And there he was, and strangely…. even more handsome than you imagined him to be.
Somehow you composed yourself, as you managed to smile and wink at him, and you turned around and went on with your work. It was the busiest night after all.
As you came back behind the bar to pick up some more beers, you heard two girls talking:
“Oh my god, Mereel is here!”
“I know, I saw him right away. Did you say hello?”
“No, I don’t think he saw me.”
“Well, you better hurry - how long has it been for you? And if you don’t, don’t mind if I do!”
Kriff, did Mereel really sleep with every woman in this bar? And why were they so… obsessed with him?
You decided right then and there that you wouldn’t play this game, charming or not, you are not competing for the man everyone else wants. You couldn’t win.
And yet…
There he was, on the other side of the bar, talking to a man who looked exactly like him, and every now and then, glancing over his shoulder and looking at.. you? You turned around to see if anyone was standing behind you, but no, Mereel was fixating his eyes on you. You couldn’t really read his expression - it wasn’t flirty, there was no subtle smile nor mischievous wink - his face was rather serious, in fact, like he would dip into some deep thoughts every time he laid his eyes on you.
Someone called you and you turned around, slightly startled, like awoken from a deep sleep. They wanted their beers.
The night was really busy, and everyone shouted their orders at you from all corners of the bar. You tried to remember them all, and bring their drinks as soon as possible, but new people kept coming in, and the bar kept getting more and more crowded.
“You need a break” - you now recognised that voice immediately.
“Yes, I do” - you said and turned around to face him.
“Oh, she speaks! I knew it” - he flashed one of those smiles that would make anyone’s knees weak.
“She does. And she’s very tired”
“Then why don’t you take it?” - he said, his eyes turning serious again.
“Take what?”
“Break, cyar’ika. You haven’t stopped the whole evening. The girls are exploiting you here. You shouldn’t let them do that.”
Oh.
“No, everyone’s really busy tonight, it’s a busy night…”
He came closer to you, really closer, till you could feel his breath on your forehead. He looked you in the eyes and you returned his gaze. It was hypnotic. Then he touched your chin and turned your head towards the bar:
“See that one over there? The redhead? She’s been leaning on that bar for the past 30 minutes, and just chatting away. The Twi’lek over there? She’s been in that lounge area just minutes ago, sitting and relaxing with those troopers. And Yduret over there, see, the bartender? Isn’t she supposed to mix drinks and pour whiskeys? What is she doing… oh, that’s right, she’s not behind the bar at all, she’s over there, shooting pool with some di’kut. And they all work here, just like you.”
You were speechless. You were working your ass off all night, and they were slacking off.
“So, you see - you need a break!” - he let go of your chin and took a step away from you. Strangely you instantly missed his closeness. He smelled good. His breath tasted like something… sweet. Like candy.
“Even if I were to take a break… I wouldn't know what to do, really…” - you said and you meant it.
You didn’t know anyone here, and you didn’t want to talk to those girls. You noticed one of them, the one from before, who said she’d say hello to him, now circling around him. You saw that she pretended to pick up some glasses off the table where Mereel was standing before, and now she was back, pretending to clean the table right in front of him, glancing over to him and flashing her décolletage. Mereel didn’t seem to have noticed her at all, but after he had just demonstrated that he was very much aware of pretty much every girl’s whereabouts in this bar, you knew that was impossible. He knew what she was doing. But his eyes were fixated on you.
“Come with me” - he suddenly said, and he took your hand. You managed to put your tray down on a table and you saw the girl who was after him flash you a confused look. You couldn’t really do much but follow him - you did need a break, and you were intrigued. Plus, you didn’t owe anything to those girls - and in any case, he was the one who grabbed your hand.
Mereel took you through a narrow hallway next to the refreshers and past a few doors. You’ve never been here before - you weren’t even aware of this part… what was behind all these doors? He suddenly stopped, took a key out of his pocket and unlocked a door, and showed you to enter. You did. You trusted him, strangely enough, even though you didn’t know him. Of all the stories you’ve heard of him, not one was bad. The girls talked about how charming he was, how he flirted and how incredibly handsome he was - but also how he had an insanely beautiful body, and how he took care of them - apparently he was the best sex every single one of them ever had. And none of them had any bad experiences with him.
So you followed him inside. He turned the lights on and closed the door behind him. You noticed that he locked it. It was a room, just a simple room, with a table and a brown leather couch. A lot of bottles in one corner, and some empty bottles in another. You weren’t sure what this room was, but it was… his?
“Want to sit?” - he asked and showed you to the couch.
“Don’t mind if I do” - you smiled. Your legs begged for it. You sat on the couch and then stretched your whole body on it. You really needed that. Mereel stayed next to the door and just observed you.
“Would you like to sit?” - you finally said. “I’ll make room. I just couldn’t resist stretching.”
He stayed in his corner for a while, and once again, you couldn’t really read his face.
Did I do something wrong? Did I say something to offend him? What if this was some kind of exclusive, expensive couch and I’m lying here with my shoes on?
“Just to get one thing straight, cyar’ika” - he finally said, his voice low, almost like a whisper - “I will join you on that couch. And I will take all of your clothes off, piece by piece, until you’re completely naked and shaking with desire for me. Then I’ll kiss every part of your body, twice, and I will eat your drenched pussy in ways you didn’t think were possible, and just as you recover from the blinding orgasm I’ll give you, I’ll stretch your little pussy till it burns and fuck you for the rest of the night.”
You instinctively stopped breathing for a second, and you didn’t really know why. It was like his words punched all the air out of your lungs and now you almost gasped. None of you said anything for a while, and all you could hear was the muffled sound of the music coming from the bar.
“I just wanted us to be clear on that.” - Mereel said, as he started moving towards the couch.
Mereel quietly fell into step beside the unluckiest Alpha of the Alpha batch as the other boy left the medbay. “So.....I heard an interesting rumor that Jango gave you a name, Thirteen?” Mereel said as he inspected the poor guy’s injuries, Jaing had really left a mark.
“What of it, Null?” Thirteen snapped which caused Mereel to raise his hands in a peaceful gesture. Alphas were a dangerous lot if they felt cornered, which only made matters worse if they were injured like Thirteen was.
“Easy, I ain’t here to pick a fight.” Mereel said as he nudged his younger brother. “It’s Jaster, from what I heard.”.
Thirteen hummed at that with a slight nod. Success!
“My name’s Mereel.” Mereel continued with a grin as they continued their pace. “We’re both named after Jango’s adopted father. You know what means?”.
“No?”.
Mereel beamed at his brother as he wrapped an arm around the Alpha who tensed instantly, more on the defense then offense. “We’re name twins, Jaster!”.
“I...what?” Jaster asks in confusion.
“Name twins. We share a name and we’re nearly identical. I’m just taller then you are.”
Jaster’s lips twitched at that. “And more graceful.” The other boy pointed out as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean to trip Jaing. It just kinda.....”.
Mereel snorted, recalling exactly what happened when the Alphas had started roughhousing. “Yeah, I know. I ended up having Sergeant Skirata help me explain that to Jaing.” Mereel responds. “You’re Thirteen and that’s an unlucky number within many cultures.”.
“I can’t help it. It’s worst when I’m not training.”.
Mereel laughed at the as they continued walking. “I know, that’s why Prime keeps ya in constant view.” Mereel remarks as he nudged the Alpha. “Stick by me, kiddo. I’ll teach you the ways of charm and grace.”.
Jaster stared at him but a brief moment before he snorted, which quickly caused giggling then laughter to come from the smaller clone.
“I knew it! You guys do have a sense of humor!” Mereel crackled.
Fox knows it, since they were cadets A-17 always told them to stay away from the Nulls when they came looking for things to scavenge.
Fox always watched them whenever they came around, always captivated by the vode that were good enough for a natborn to actually adopt them.
Mereel Skirata, decanted as N-7, ARC trooper, Lieutenant, vod to Prudii, Kom'rk, Jaing, Ordo and A'den- stands tall, large in his arc armour as he takes in the Guard around him, all on watch, all careful, like they're waiting for him to snap.
"Mereel."
Fox acknowledges him by name. He's only interacted with Mereel once before, when he was the first point of contact between a strike team and Fox's forces on the ground. Fox hadn't been around then, too busy begging for his own life from dieties that barely bothered to listen on a good day, 150 levels down from where Mereel and Stone had rendezvoused.
