#poor stix

[inquisitorextraordinaire]

Falling All Over Again

Blue roses were a fabrication of dyes and inks and chemicals being applied to a previously pure white bloom, they weren’t natural. Everything about them from their colour to their meaning was an unattainable thing in nature, and yet. She was blue. You knew it was dye and colour and chemicals, applied to skin and a soul that was once so soft and white you could feel it in the air, you could feel it whenever she smiled, when she laughed, when she looked at you with those bright eyes. She was blue, chemical blue. Dyed blue. But you never saw the blue, you saw the soft white of her veins, the broken white edges of every scar she wore on her skin. Because behind the blue, she was still white.

The fall was fast and sudden, floor crumbling away beneath Rhell's feet as she heard the distant call of someone yelling - everything sounding muffled as explosions were set off around the room - and felt someone drag her close to their body, the freefall backwards stealing all the breath from her lungs as the Inquisitor closed her eyes, pressing herself close to the person shielding her body and sending them into a barrel roll in the air. She couldn't phase - she knew that going through the floor might mean being stuck beneath the rubble and getting crushed - and as she felt her body stiffen to brace for an impact, the slick sound of metal cutting through flesh and the heavy whump of something catching and suddenly stopping was the only thing that finally signalled to her that she wasn't dead. They weren't dead, but Rhell was being held close to her saviour's chest, dangling a foot from the ground as the other person had been caught on something out of sheer shitty luck, Rhell panicking as she felt their body painfully convulse against her.

Feeling her saviour's fingers go slack as they released her, the Inquisitor yelped as she was dropped a foot onto the secure ground, rubble and smoke making it impossible for her to see who had grabbed her save for the stark outline of their body, the person on all fours and looming above Rhell - stuck, their right shoulder punctured straight through their armour and impaling them, making the poor person look like a rag doll caught on a peg - as their breath went heavy and shallow behind their stormtrooper mask, her eyes wide and confused for a moment before finally being able to decipher the yelling that had permeated just before she fell.

Stix had run out in the middle of the explosion to try and catch Rhell.

Saying that her heart caught in her throat wouldn't be an exaggeration for Rhell, the near-silent sound of blood dripping onto her dress as she stayed on her back, shock keeping her immobile for a moment until the pained grunt of the Stormtrooper shielding her with his body snapped her out of her trance, Rhell sitting up and reaching her muddied hands up to cup Stix's helmet, her eyes wide and scared as she gasped out, "Stix... Stix!" Her brain not processing much else as she stopped holding his face and turned her gaze towards the large metal rail running through his right shoulder and all the way through his armour as if he was a piece of paper caught by a knife, Rhell trying to think of what to do as people called down into the crevice that the Inquisitor and her guard had fallen into.

Light shining down from the gaping hole in the floor above them, people yelled for the Inquisitor but she ignored their pleas that she be safe, Rhell's mind racing to the fact that Stix needed help before she did. He needed help now. Pulling his helmet off and taking a look at his face - pallid, sweating, but still conscious - Rhell hushed carefully, "Stix, it's me. Stix... Sugar... Trooperman! I... I'll get you help. I promise. I-" She started to ramble, Rhell reaching a hand over and gripping the metal rail impaling her guard, the Inquisitor feeling energy flow through her easily like water flowed through a fountain as she gasped and felt the pole disintegrate under her cruel touch, Stix gasping and slumping forwards onto Rhell as he was freed from the object holding him on all fours, his body leaning heavily on Rhell's as she kept hushing and muttering long strings of nothingness, her no longer sure if she was talking to comfort him or herself.

Using all her strength to flip Stix onto his back and get him into a secure seated position against a pile of rubble, Rhell trepidatiously brought her hands up to the stormtrooper's wound - blood seeping out from the wound and getting all over her palms while Rhell pressed the skirt of her dress against the injury, the action causing Stix to jolt and groan in pain, him garbling tiredly, "...'T'hurts..." Before slumping again, his face going paler as Rhell felt her fingers shake, not sure what else she could even do as tears began to bubble and drip down her face, Stix's tired gaze meeting hers and a blood-streaked hand lifting up to stroke Rhell's cheek as he mumbled, "...'S'not yer'fault..." He droned, voice wavering as Rhell gasped and sobbed loudly.

Shaking her head, Rhell's brow furrowed as she hushed quietly, "No, you... You don't get to leave me here, understand?! I'm not leaving you here! Stix!" She cried, voice cracking harshly in her panic before Rhell tensed her hands, dropping her blood-soaked skirt before placing a hand back over his wound, tears still falling freely from her face as she pleaded, "... Please... I-I... I love you..." Before inhaling deeply and closing her eyes, The Force flowing through Rhell like she was a power rod as her body began to ache, pain shooting up her neck and through her skull as her grip on Stix tightened, gasping out, "If I can take life, I can give it!" before releasing the burst of energy she was trying to build up, Rhell feeling all strength drain from her body as she started to see the world spin around her, her unable to hold herself up anymore as she dropped against Stix's chest like a pile of dead weight, the shallow rise and fall of his chest indicating to her that he was still holding on as she felt his hand gingerly come up to rest on her back, Rhell's vision tunnelling from exhaustion and the feeling of pain in her body overtaking her as she was dragged under just as a comforting voice rasped out.

"I... Love you... Too..."

Rhell wasn't sure how long she was out for, but when she did wake the sounds of medical equipment pinging mingled with the burning ache of too much light painfully jabbing at her from behind her eyelids had her groaning as her body complained while she began to stir.

What had Rhell coming to felt like her brain was being jabbed by needles, her cringing and gritting her teeth as fingers tensed in pain, everything feeling like she was pure dead weight as her eyes finally opened, the brightness of the room leaving the Inquisitor wincing and groaning in pain yet again before a warm hand rested over hers, Caez's voice calling out, "... Rhell? Oh Queen of Mean? You coming to?" They asked gently, as if afraid that being too teasing would somehow put the Sith back under while Rhell's vision cleared, her blinking blearily at the bounty hunter and turning her head towards the sound of their voice despite the pain.

God, her body felt like it was getting struck by a thousand shock-batons, Rhell grunting again before murmuring, "...Where's Stix..?" And letting her own words hit, the Inquisitor trying to sit up abruptly only for Caez to push Rhell back down on her medical bed, her gasping out again, "Wh-Where's Stix?!" And yelping as Caez clapped a hand over her mouth to silence the Inquisitor.

Looking around the room wildly, Caez shot Rhell a look before they pointed over at the far corner, the Stormtrooper in question donning a pair of white hospital pyjamas and looking like a right mess. Arm in a sling and a large cut across his face, his eyes stayed closed with his body slumped awkwardly in a wheelchair as he snored audibly, Rhell relaxing a bit as Caez muttered, "... He wouldn't sit in his room like the stubborn bastard he is. Once he was conscious again he was fucking demanding to be wherever you were, so we kinda just... Wheeled him in and hooked up a few Bacta packs." They stated blandly, Caez scrunching up their nose and rolling their eyes at the Stormtrooper's stubbornness, them continuing, "I dunno what kind of healing shit you did, Rhell, but when we found you two... Stix was being stitched back together with The Force and you were out cold. Been out cold for three days, but... Hey. At least you’re both back from the dead. So that’s a stroke of luck.”

Sitting up a bit more and pulling her face away from Caez's hand, Rhell scowled at the bounty hunter before fixing her gaze on Stix, everything about him looking beaten down - appearing nothing like the assured and prideful Stormtrooper she knew, the one she had so easily and foolishly grown attached to - as he stayed slumped against the wall sleeping, something in how he was poised reminding Rhell of long nights after missions with Stix falling asleep on the ship home, his hand still staying linked with Rhell's even when he drifted off, the feeling of his large hand warming her smaller ones and leaving Rhell at ease even when ships made her feel on edge.

It was a small thing, it was something that anyone could've done time and time again as well, but for a split moment Rhell felt awed by the loyalty Stix had always met her with, him rarely questioning her and always ready to throw himself in the way to keep the Inquisitor safe. And yes, that was his job - a duty meant to be performed, a requirement for his position - but that didn't make the heat spreading through Rhell's chest subside. No, any other guard wouldn't spend every night sleeping beside their charge, they wouldn't tend her wounds, hold her as she broke down, take every snap and strike from her like it was nothing, like it didn't matter just so long as Rhell finally let out all the pain she kept down. And it... It occurred to Rhell that she didn't deserve that sort of devotion, and as Caez spoke and tried to catch the Inquisitor's attention - every word from their mouth just empty fog in Rhell's mind as she sat up despite her physical ache - and only being met with silence, Rhell getting up and out of her bed slowly, her gasping as her body cracked back into place.

Caez standing again and moving to try and get the Sith to lay back down, Rhell batted Caez's hands away and kept her gaze intent on the Stormtrooper across the room as her bare feet hit the cold metal floors of the medical bay, her grunting as she stood up and tried to keep upright - the world starting to spin again as she got to her feet fully - only to feel imploring hands bracing her shoulder and waist, the Inquisitor exhaling raggedly and turning her eyes towards Caez, who had their mouth pressed into a stern line while muttering to the Inquisitor, "The both of you are fuckin' stubborn. God, y'all are fuckin' lucky I'm a great friend and a fuckin' courteous person. And if Vinn or Kos catch me letting you walk around I hope you know they're gonna kick my ass. I'm risking damaging my handsome ass for you." They retorted, huffing as they shuffled Rhell across the room begrudgingly.

Rolling her eyes at Caez, the Inquisitor tuned sardonically, "Ah yes, remind me to graciously praise and thank you for making sure I don't break my nose on the floor. Really Caez, you're so melodramatic you're going to rival me one of these days." She commented with a chuff, the bounty hunter snorting and looking away just as the pair halted a foot away from the still-sleeping Stormtrooper, Rhell letting go of her friend and stooping as she braced her hands against the armrests of the wheelchair Stix was in, him stirring in his sleep and grunting unhappily until Rhell charmed quietly, "What, I finally come back and you're too busy drooling and dreaming of food to greet me?"

Blinking for a moment before jolting - then clearly regretting the snap decision, as it jarred his mending shoulder - and wincing, Stix's good hand came up to cradle his bad wing as his eyes went wide, Rhell looking down at him for a moment before kneeling on the floor in front of his wheelchair, her arms resting in his lap and eyes bright - the soft colour of cream and coffee, passionate and warm - as the Stormtrooper's own gaze kept with hers, frowning for a moment in disbelief before he finally murmured, "... I was worried about you, Madame Inquisi-"

"-Oh fuck off and kiss me, Trooperman." Rhell interrupted, leaning up and tilting her head as she pressed her mouth against Stix's, him going rigid for a moment before pressing back into the warm touch, the feeling of sparks making Rhell's skin  electric and face flush as her hand came up to cup her guard's cheek, the feeling of his stubble beneath her imploring touch being familiar, comforting, while their mouths locked. Neither of them smelled great - the lingering reek of medical equipment mingling with poorly cleaned blood filling Rhell's nostrils - but that wasn't about to stop her as she kept her mouth against Stix's own familiar one until her lungs ached, Rhell pulling back with a soft gasp, hushing, "... You mean so much to me. I-"

She had started, until the sound of slow clapping cut Rhell off as she turned to look at Caez, their face flushed with embarrassment - most likely from being stuck in the room while Rhell and Stix mashed mouths - as they toned sardonically, "Look, glad you two are all... That..." They commented, feigning gagging for a moment and earning an eye-roll from both Inquisitor and Stormtrooper before continuing, "... But if you two are gonna further the grossness and need my help bumping blasters because you're both still pretty damned dented up from your little fall, I'm gonna have to tap out and leave you on your own. I got Rhell across the room, I'm not helping her take a ride. You're on your own then." They commented briskly, looking away just as Rhell finally had the conscientiousness to blush in embarrassment, Stix bringing his good hand up to rub the back of his neck uncomfortably for a moment.

Shaking her head, Rhell replied teasingly, "Jeez Caez, if you needed help taking a spin on Ren I'd have been a bro and helped. Isn't our bond special enough to warrant the same? Isn't that what the ride part of ride or die means?" She commented with a laugh, Caez pulling a look of disgust at both Rhell and Stix as the Inquisitor snorted and toned, "Well we won't be fooling around, so you're safe for now. And speaking of safe," Rhell hummed, turning back to Stix again and giving him a serious look, her hand coming down and taking his own as she stated quietly, "... I'm glad you're okay, truly, because I... I love you." She hushed, as if she was afraid of what his response to that would be now that they weren't in a near-death situation, as if she was fearful that he might've suddenly changed his mind.

Blinking for a moment at the suddenness of Rhell's words - a sort of quiet urgency punctuating the affirmation - before nodding slowly, Stix squeezed her hand assuringly for a moment as he shifted in his wheelchair and leaned down slightly, voice careful and unhesitating while he murmured back, "... I meant it before and I still mean it now. I love you. Despite everything, I love you." He assured, his forehead bumping against Rhell's comfortingly as they both closed their eyes for a moment, as if letting their newly spoken affirmations sink in fully before being interrupted as Caez began to make louder gagging noises behind them, Stix's head shooting up and his usual annoyed scowl back on his face as he barked at the bounty hunter, "You know you can fuck right off, right?! Nobody is asking for your commentaries, you snarky shitfucking-" Only to be halted in his angry spouting as Rhell got up on her knees and brought her mouth to Stix's to silence him, the Stormtrooper going into a quiet seething mood once Rhell pulled away, him glaring daggers at Caez and Rhell toning with a laugh.

"Hey now, no need to get snappish Loverboy! What, you have to get prickly right after confessing your deepest and most elicit feelings for me? Awe, you afraid Caez is gonna tell everyone that you're a big softy? That you're in wuv with me?" Rhell teased, Stix rolling his eyes and exhaling deeply as he slumped in his seat, grumbling dourly.

"You two are the literal worst. Can't have one tender moment without someone ruining it."

"Oh unknot your nuts, Trooperman. You'll catch a break one of these days. Not today, but someday!"

"Oh, just you fucking watch, I'll be a veteran before that goddamned happens."

(Caez and Stix belong to @caezsucksdangs, Rhell belongs to myself)

[inquisitorextraordinaire]

Inquiries from a Lost Soul Part 3/?

Gasping, waking, and finding the light in an otherwise dull, meaningless world is gone. Metal on metal, all steel grey like her gaze when she’s angry. Blue, everything in her is blue, as if her soul was formed of stained glass, of crystal and ice and water and skies. She’s aqua, she’s teal, she’s the deepest blues of every ocean in the galaxy. And now it’s only steel grey on grey on metal.

Of all the things, Stix had really royally fucked up this time. He had one fucking job - to watch the Inquisitor - and now what had happened? Oh, very simple, she had kept him up for seventy-two straight hours because she couldn’t sleep and it was his job to make sure she didn’t get into trouble, and after exhausting himself for that long he finally cracked and dozed off when leaning against the wall in her room watching her do work. He really couldn’t help it though, after three days of being awake and running around with someone who seemed to have endless amounts of energy, watching her just sit still and levitate her holocrons and oracle stones to do her work was just so... Soothing. The way her hands were so gently poised, how the objects just smoothly hovered around her in patterns, every once in a while landing in her hands and either helping her foresee information or catalogue it, then floating back in beautiful patterns around her. It was relaxing, and in the quiet room with just her breathing punctuating the silence, the trooper guard had unfortunately dozed off.

It wasn’t a long time he had been out, but it was a deep enough slumber to have Rhell sneak out by the time he had woken back up, bolting awake and stumbling away from the wall as he scanned the room and found it tidy as usual, but completely void of the insufferable charge he had acquired. Trying to look around for clues on where she might’ve gone, the trooper was about to make a call out to other guards to be on the lookout for Rhell only to see her regular clothes laying on her bed, neatly folded. Dammit, she had most likely changed into something else to avoid being spotted. Getting down on his hands and knees and trying to find some sort of clue about wha she could be in, Stix let out a growl of frustration as a small wooden chest was just barely obscured by a pile of blankets under her bed, him pulling the chest out and popping it open only to groan louder as he found her stash of extra clothes. Gods, she was cunning enough to know to have some sets of uniforms stowed away, and none of this was enough information to figure out what she might be wearing.

Standing up quickly and looking over at her holocrons which were once again shelved neatly against the wall - one thing was for sure, Stix appreciated how organized and generally clean Rhell kept her things - the guard debated on wether or not he could try to crack one open before remembering that those stupid memory banks could only be opened using Sith magic. Of all the people he had to be stuck with, it had to be someone smart enough to evade capture. Taking a moment to try to calm down a bit and think reasonably, the trooper tried to figure out what Rhell could possibly leave to do and who she might try to see to the point where she’d be willing to sneak off. Okay, she wouldn’t sneak off to go see Kos or any of the other generals, she hated Kylo and didn’t keep that a secret to anyone, but she might slither off if it meant being around either Caez or Vinn. But Vinn was on a surveillance flight all day and Caez... Shit, where the fuck even was Caez?

Taking his one lead and running with it, the guard grabbed his blaster and pulled the strap over his head to hang it across his chest, closing and locking Rhell’s room quickly before setting off to the room that Kylo had given Caez to live in. If they weren’t there, then he’d look in other places he knew the wannabe Sith liked to lurk. Finally getting to the room and sighing at the very obvious burn marks that were crisscrossing the large metal door, Stix inhaled before opening the door and walking in, looking around the messy and rather cramped quarters before exhaling and stalking back out to try and find where the indolent whelp could possibly be. Okay, the next closest place was the dinning hall. It was about the time that some people would grab a late lunch, so maybe Caez had finished their training late and was getting something to eat.

Once again breaking into a hard trudge, Stix tried to look like he knew what he was doing so people didn’t draw attention to him and his very slowly escalating panic. By gods, if the stormtrooper had lost the sole Sith Inquisitor, he knew very well that Hux, Phasma, Kylo, and Vinn would have his skin torn off, then repaired, then torn off a few more times for good measure before making a fireworks show of him using enough force-lightning to shut off half the station. In all honesty, the only person he actually was worried about was Vinn, but that was more because of how eerie the flyboy was when Rhell had introduced them. She had walked off to chat with Kos about something, and as Vinn was shaking Stix’s hand he very sweetly smiled and charmed, “Oh, and just so you know, if you ever dare hurt Rhell or let anyone hurt her, my new life goal will be to make sure you live through every ounce of suffering I can dole out.” Before taking his hand away from the trooper’s and returning to his work, the odd assuredness in Vinn’s tone sending an involuntary shiver down Stix’s spine that he would never admit happened. Well fuck, now he really had to find Rhell.

Skidding into a sudden turn into the dining hall, Stix scanned the space once again as he tried to spot- Oh, there Caez was. And with Turbius, too. Feeling slight relief wash over him, the stormtrooper walked over to the table where Turbius and Caez were, looking down and observing they were trying to play cards - Caez was losing - as the guard cleared his throat and removed his helmet, unruly hair now sticking to his face slightly due to overexertion trying to get around half the station while running on foot as the pair paused their game, Turbius wailing something that Stix didn’t understand at all as Caez answered promptly, “You’re right, Turbz. What could this jerk want now? And where’s Rhell? Is she stuck in another meeting?” They inquired, looking slightly confused and setting down their cards as Stix swallowed the panicked lump stuck in his throat before sitting down next to Caez.

Looking directly at the Sith delinquent, the trooper paused before gaining back his cold demeanour and stating plainly, “Don’t you fucking lie to me, Caez. Where the hell are you people hiding Rhell. You’re the only person on the station she’d sneak off to meet, so where are you people keeping her hidden.” He demanded, tone a little too tense and betraying the slight worry as Caez blinked, then cracked into a mean grin.

Leaning in and resting their chin in their hands, the rebel gave Stix a mean look as they finally answered cruelly, “What, you think we hid her? Oh, like we’d be able to hide Rhell from fucking you, Mister Guard Dog Extraordinaire. What, did you get too focused on something stupid and let her slip off? Did she trick you? And why do you even care, you fucking loathe following Rhell around like a trained dog.” Caez taunted, turning back to their game with Turbius as the Wookie raised his stakes with a bag of sweets, the trooper not standing for this type of sass when he was already starting to stress out and slamming his fists against the bench-style dining table, the surface groaning in disapproval of the action as the few other people in the dining hall looked towards the trio nervously, room silent for a moment while Stix tried to calm himself down a bit.

Finally exhaling and leaning in towards Caez, the trooper whispered angrily, “Do. Not. Play. Games. With. Me. I need to find Rhell, and as soon as possible. If the flyboy comes back and finds out I lost her and she got hurt or something I’m doing to be launched into the vacuum of space in nothing but my skivvies. So quit joking around and either tell me where she is, or help me find her. Now.” He all but demanded, tone wavering slightly as he glared right at Caez with unbridled intensity, ready to kick both theirs and Turbius’ ass if they didn’t give him what he wanted in that moment. This wasn’t a time for fooling around.

Pausing and freezing up at the minor outburst from Stix, Caez relaxed after a few moments with a hard glare back, growling under their breath, “We literally don’t know where Rhell is. She could be anywhere from sector one to sector fifty-eight, and she has clearance everywhere so if she was hiding she could easily go somewhere you don’t-”

“I’m her retainer. I have universal clearance for the express purpose of being able to access my charge at any time when necessary. Did she tell you she was going anywhere? With anyone?” He asked, cooling down slightly as his head whipped over to look at Turbius, the Wookie bellowing out something that he once again, did not understand, as Caez nodded along and shrugged, Stix scowling and inquiring, “What the hell did the space bear say this time.”

Packing up their stuff and ignoring Stix for a moment, Caez finally sighed and muttered, “He said that unless Rhell got someone to take her off the station, she’s gotta be somewhere here. And even then, there’s been no messages on the intercom saying that any ships have left recently.” They commented, Stix nodding along as Turbius called again, Caez continuing, “Turbz said we should probably try the places she frequents, then move from there. Also asking might help, if you aren’t so fucking prideful you can’t admit that Rhell slipped o-”

“We can’t ask people for help. If Kylo, Phasma, or Hux hear I lost the fucking Inquisitor they’ll have my head for a hood ornament. Now hurry up, we have a witch to hunt.” Stix stated plainly, standing up and stretching out his back slightly before putting his helmet back on, heading toward the dining hall doors as Caez and Turbius exchanged glances, really unsure of how to take Stix’s volatile mood but not about to quote him or ask him about it as they just followed suit and began to assist in looking. And really, how far could an impish inquisitor go?

Well, they had asked themselves that, but as it turned out Rhell was very skilled at hiding when she wanted to. Going from one end of the station to the other and looking over every single inch of the metal floors and walls - and a few ceilings, as well - if had finally gotten to the point where Caez sent off Turbius to try to sniff out the Inquisitor while they stayed with Stix and looked over Rhell’s room once more. Sure, Caez couldn’t open Rhell’s holocrons or use her oracle stones, but amidst rifling through her closet and digging in the pockets of her bodysuits, the rebel finally stated, “So. You really want to find Rhell. Is it because you’ve gone all stupid and decided you have a shitty crush on her?”

Going rigid at the question, Stix paused his leafing through Rhell’s bookshelf and didn’t look back over at Caez, thinking for a moment before stating carefully, “What kind of a question is that. Rhell is my charge, and I’m meant to protect her. And besides, she’s an Inquisitor, so even if I felt inclined towards her pathetic, pushy, intolerable nature it wouldn’t be feasible. And I’m not saying yes or no with that question in saying that, I’m just pointing out fact.” He commented blandly, practically hearing the teasing dying in Caez’s throat as Stix returned to leafing through Rhell’s books.

Or at least, he would’ve continued if Caez hadn’t countered quickly with, “No, you shitbrain, you can’t lie to me here. You like Rhell, just not the way everyone thi-”

“I like her when she’s quiet. And when she isn’t saying stupid pick-up lines or getting the two of us into trouble. I like Rhell when she isn’t who she is, which is pushy, insufferable, and privileged. Plain and simple.” He snapped, tone getting slightly more agitated with the constant questioning as he tried to not think too hard about the Inquisitor as a whole. And sure, there were a lot of things that Stix liked about Rhell - the way she smiled, how she got excited about simple things, how she was okay with him being stiff and never apologizing even when he was in the wrong - but she was pushy, and frustrating. She didn’t like respecting authority unless it benefitted her, and without inclination to do so she never took her title of Inquisitor seriously. She was bossy, stubborn, and didn’t expect people to like or appreciate what hard work she put into honing her force abilities. She never expected any adulation for going above and beyond with her work, and never expected a thanks from others. 

She had the makings of an amazing leader but never honed it, and when told to shove off she respected Stix’s space more than most. She took a blaster shot for him and just took him lashing out at her for that action, she was arrogant but cared deeply for her friends. And fuck, he was positive she barely tolerated him. He knew he had been in the wrong for a fair bit of things, and surely to god she just kept her civil guise up because she had to. The bad flirting? Probably because she was trying to play it nice but was bad at it. Her taking a shot for him? She already explained that she wouldn’t’ve been able to get back without him. She was unpredictable, and questionable at best, and yet he didn’t just throw in the towel with dealing with her antics 24/7. If he were reasoning with himself, he’d say it was because she was dynamic and outrageous enough to keep his interest piqued. And like he had said to Caez, she was an Inquisitor. They weren’t compatible as people - personality-wise, morality-wise, etc - or even on the same status level. There’d always be that cruel and jarring imbalance no matter what. So that’s what Stix stuck with. That they weren’t compatible.

Or at least, he was forced to stick with that thought as the comm system pinged on and announced the arrival of Vinn’s squadron’s return, the sinking feeling that Stix had been ignoring dropping like a shooting star into the depths of his intestines as he kept his face stern in front of Caez, wordlessly waving for them to follow him out to the landing bay so that he can face his imminent end promptly. Hell, maybe having Caez there might postpone Stix’s demise in some way, either through Caez stepping in or Vinn not wanting the wildcard in the room while he’s going medieval on someone. Really, the best the trooper could do by this point was hope.

Entering the landing bay, five near-identical ships rolled in, the only deviating things to them being the numbers on their sides and the colours those numbers were painted in. Looking at the ships, Stix could immediately spot Vinn’s ship due to his droid and the orange spattering on it where he had undoubtedly messed up painting his numbers onto the craft, swallowing and observing the ship pulling into its parking section so that it may be pulled away for maintenance later. Well, the best Stix could say to Vinn was that he had tried and failed, and just as the door to the ship opened and the flyboy poked his head out, he began to remove his helmet, completely not acknowledging the pale and tired looking stormtrooper or the rebel as he unlatched his helmet and made sure that his short brown hair wasn’t- Wait. Fuck.

What Stix and Caez had assumed was Vinn originally, was startlingly Rhell dressed as a flyboy - the surprise revelation catching Caez looking like a fish out of water as Stix tried to keep from expressing his disbelief, blinking rapidly to make sure he was seeing things correctly as Vinn popped up behind Rhell and helped her off the ship, handing her a few large travel bags of stuff before waving to her as he began to pull his ship in towards his maintenance hangar. Waving goodbye and spotting Caez with her guard, the Inquisitor dragged her large bags over as she bounded along, happy and overly energetic spring in her step as usual while she trotted over to Caez and grinned widely, chiming, “Caez! What’re you doing he-”

“Where the hell were you. Who said you could go off without me. How dare you trick me, you conniving, indolent little...” Stix immediately interjected, trudging over and letting off all his steam by scolding the hell out of Rhell as he grabbed her cheek, pinching her face and making her whine and kick at his knees while he growled out, “I can’t fucking believe you’d be so selfishly underhanded as to leave the station without telling me. You’re a goddamned adult, what makes you think you can-” 

“Awe, didja miss me that much, Stixy? I’m flattered! And to think I thought you didn’t care if I got lost!” Rhell quickly quipped, ceasing her struggling in his grips as she broke into laughter as Stix’s face turned a completely different shade at her new form of torment. Going rigid, the trooper promptly released his charge and watched as she rubbed the sore spot he had left, sticking her tongue out at him childishly before returning to talking to Caez, leaving Stix to be ignored as he tried to mentally clamp down on the aggravating and freshly revived mental predicament he was once again facing. No, he didn’t miss her, he was just the kind of person to take his job seriously, to the point where he’d push his devotion to his task to an unreasonable and sort of obsessive length. That was it. That was all he was allowing himself to think.

After a few minutes of Rhell explaining that Vinn had agreed to take her on his surveillance flight so she could stop at a nearby planet and collect supplies for herself, Stix had cooled his attitude slightly. Sure, she had tricked him, but at least Vinn wasn’t about to beat the trooper to death for losing Rhell because she was with the flyboy the entire time. Finally dragging the Inquisitor away from Caez and back to her quarters, Stix didn’t waste his time with pushing his charge into her room and locking the door behind them, gaze exhausted but still angry as he stated gruffly, “Listen. You were an ass today. I was running around trying to find you all day because you ran off when I fell asleep, so you owe me one. And I’m redeeming it now.” He commented blandly, moving to remove his armour while Rhell raised an eyebrow, confused by what the hell he was doing as he sighed and grumbled, “Don’t take it like that, you pervert. You’re going the fuck to sleep, because I need sleep. Sorry I’m not an energetic Sith demon entity like you that doesn’t need physical rest.”

Scowling at Stix’s retort but not disagreeing with him, the Inquisitor just shrugged off his comment and walked over to her closet, pulling out an old oversized shirt and a pair of black shorts as she changed into more comfortable clothing. Switching her attire as Stix finished removing his armour and boots, Rhell walked casually over to her bed and sat down, patting the open space on the large bed and stating cooly, “Well, if you’re going to sleep then you might as well sleep on a bed instead of on my couch. I promise, I’m not trying anything funny.” The small woman stated, watching Stix pause for a moment as he tried to figure out if she was bullshitting him.

After a moment of finally deciding that he was too tired to care if Rhell was being a fucking jackass, the trooper made his way to the bed and laid himself down on top of the covers, not wanting to let himself get too comfortable just as the Inquisitor scooted towards him and slung an arm over his chest, causing Stix to look down at her questioningly for a moment before relaxing again. She usually liked physical contact with people because she was always cold, and so long as her hands didn’t roam anywhere else he guessed he could tolerate her clingy nature in this sort of situation. That is, until Rhell opened her mouth again and muttered, “I just didn’t want to wake you up. I wasn’t trying to be sneaky, but you looked so nice and relaxed when you were asleep. That’s all.”

Thinking for a moment about her words, Stix was initially unsure if her comment meant she always watched him sleep. In all fairness, he really didn’t think he had ever seen the Inquisitor actually rest - every time he had being going to bed she had been either reading or meditating - but he wasn’t about to ask her about that just in case he got an answer he didn’t want. Well, at least she was giving an apology in her own ridiculous and not really apologetic way. Just sighing and shrugging off her comment before stating tiredly, “Yeah, whatever. Just sleep already. Oh, and orange doesn’t suit you, by the way.” He commented, sighing and closing his eyes as he reclined himself.

Knitting her brows together and looking up at Stix with his comment, Rhell let her free hand tug at the hem of her shirt - which was Vinn’s originally, so of course it was obnoxiously orange - while asking, “Yeah? And what colour would suit me better then, Mister Wise Guy? Ya got a suggestion or are ya just bashing my sense of style for fun?”

Grunting at the fact that Rhell could never just leave anything be, Stix opened one eye and met her deep gaze, asking, “If I tell you will you shut up and go to sleep?” Before watching Rhell nod quickly, him sighing and closing his eye again while mumbling, “You look best in blues and reds. That dress you wore to that stuffy induction ceremony made you look stunning, like the stars were woven into that fabric. Now. Sleep.” He stated, yawning and dozing off quickly as the Inquisitor tightened her grip on the front of his shirt, hard blush spreading across her face for a moment before she rested her head on Stix’s chest, his arm underneath her instinctively clutching around her back as Rhell felt unbelievably embarrassed by his compliment. Finally slumping and moving to close her eyes despite knowing she didn’t want to sleep - to dream, specifically - the Inquisitor relaxed herself against her guard, listening to his heart beat steadily in his chest, feeling the rise and fall of his torso to indicate he was breathing while she let herself enjoy the moment, liking having someone close to her while she was letting herself relax.

With one last deep inhale and exhale, Rhell started to feel herself get pulled under into sleep, eyelids drooping tiredly and fingers going slack against the coarse regulation fabric of Stix’s uniform shirt while she hushed out, “Sleep well, Stix. Maybe you’ll be less of a grump with some rest...”

(Stix and Caez belong to @caezsucksdangs, Kos belongs to @skelemitis)

[satchelsnipple]