“Let’s go for a walk in the rain.” Techie to Matt
“Let’s go for a walk in the rain,” Techie murmured the words so quietly against Matt’s chest that he almost thought he’d dreamed them.
“Babe, are you awake?” He asked, expecting no reply.
“Yes?” Techie raised his head from Matt’s chest to peer up at him through the mandatory darkness of the night cycle. “Of course I am.”
“Oh. I thought you were talking in your sleep.”
Matt blushed. He must have some lingering hearing damage from the evacuation of Starkiller. “What did you say then? I could have sworn you suggested we go for a walk in the rain.”
“I did.” Techie replied with what sounded like a smile. Just at the edge of hearing his eyes whirred happily. “It’s lovely at night, and no one else is ever there.”
“Ah. So I’m the one who’s dreaming. Okay then.” Matt patted Techie gently on the shoulder and closed his eyes. What a cute but ridiculous dream.
“We’re on a Star Destroyer, it doesn’t rain on Star Destroyers.” Everyone knew that who knew anything about spacecraft.
Techie giggled. “I bet you a week of dessert rations that it does.”
Matt should have known better than to take the bait, but Techie was too cute and the bet was too easy. Famous last words that.
The door Techie lead them to was unlabelled. That wasn’t entirely unusual these days- the General had gotten his knickers in a twist about espionage and now Matt spent 25% of his day lost as all hell- but this didn’t seem like a door for humans. There was a very well used hatch at the bottom for mouse droids, but the rest of the door was dusty at the seams.
The impression that maybe they shouldn’t be here was increased by the fact that Techie was actually wearing his officers uniform for once. Matt had never been entirely clear on what rank Techie held, the rank band was an obscure pattern that Matt had never managed to study properly because he always got distracted by the strange way the uniform distorted Techie’s figure.
Perhaps Techie’s rank allowed him to legally open this door, but the time spent fiddling with the access panel suggested otherwise.
Matt was just about to say something about it when the seals on the door hissed dramatically. A cloud of literal fog rolled out across the ceiling and steamed over the lenses of his glasses.
Before he could clear his vision Techie had grabbed his hand and dragged him forward.
The first impression was of humidity. Matt could feel his curls fluffing up to make him look like a walking cotton ball. If he stayed here too long they’d probably collapse around his ears.
The second thing he noticed was the smell. He’d grown up on space stations and construction platforms but the few years on Starkiller Base had taught him the scent of living things. This wasn’t the rich deep green of the coniferous forest, but it was similar enough to tie his stomach in knots of nostalgia.
His glasses were carefully lifted from his face. With his vision free from condensation Matt could just make out the fuzzy shape of Techie cleaning the lenses with the edge of his uniform tunic. Even out of focus Matt could tell that Techie’s appearance was already far from the uniform regulations. It was no wonder his brother let him wear civilian gear most of the time.
“Here,” Techie punctuated the word by pressing a soft kiss to Matt’s lips as he slipped the glasses back into place.
Matt had never seen so much green in his life. Techie stood in the middle of a million leaves like an orange and peach flower, grinning shyly from ear to ear.
“Welcome to hydroponics,” he said with a proprietorial little wave.
Matt couldn’t help but grin back at him. “I had no idea we had something like this onboard.”
“It’s a secret,” Techie said as he took Matt’s hand and led him deeper into the foliage. “Rooms like this used to be accessible to any off-duty crew but stormtroopers have been know to, uh, try their hand at growing contraband if they’re left unsupervised. There was an incident with some baked goods a few years ago… Armitage was really upset when he finally stopped hallucinating. So now this place is only open to command level officers.”
Techie blushed when Matt goggled at him.
“… and us, of course, because I broke us in, I don’t have, I’m not, I mean, I….”
“What rank are you?” Matt asked. “Really?”
“Classified.” The reply was quick as a blaster shot and accompanied by a cringe that said Techie would really rather not talk about it.
“Ok, but it still isn’t raining in here,” Matt said to change the subject. “The occasional wet splat of condensation doesn’t count.”
The smile Techie gave him was devious and a little too much like his brother, but he’d also taken both of Matt’s hands in his and was leaning up for what promised to be a toe-curling kiss, so Matt could be forgiven for not noticing.
“Just… wait…” Techie whispered against his lips.
“Wait for wh…” there was a tongue in Matt’s mouth before he could finish the question.
Above them something clicked, clicked again, and then…
“Ah! Fuck!!” Matt ducked instinctively, knocking his glasses against Techie’s nose a little as water suddenly poured from the ceiling.
He’d taken showers- where he was always naked, and he’d been in snowstorms- where he was always bundled up in half a dozen layers, but he’d never been caught out in the rain before. His overalls were instantly soaking wet so that they stuck to his skin and his hair was plastered to his forehead. It was a strange sensation that he didn’t entirely approve of until he looked up.
Techie had taken his tunic off and was standing under one of the sprinklers with his arms outstretched. His sleeveless undershirt clung to his skinny frame in a way that highlighted all Matt’s favourite features. The cold water made his nipples stand proud while his relaxed attitude revealed the cute little belly just peeking over his jodhpurs.
“Oh, babe.” Matt sighed as Techie shook back his hair like heavy copper ribbons. “You’re beautiful.”
“I knew you’d look good soaking wet,” Techie replied and stepped forward for another kiss. “And now you own me seven days of desserts.”
Matt shook his head ruefully. “That’s not really fair is it? I mean, you were the only one who knew this was here.”
“I didn’t say what I was going to do with the desserts, though.”
Techie winked in a way that was probably meant to be seductive but just came off as filthy. Matt loved that wink best of all.
