Following his presumed death at the hands of Eternal Empire, Darth Nox leaves behind a wealth of ancient artifacts and forbidden knowledge to the ambitions of Sith seeking to exploit the power vacuum left in his wake. His apprentice, Darth Evar, takes it upon herself to safeguard his secrets from the Eternal Empire and the restructured Dark Council...hoarding knowledge for herself along the way.
Had a commission from @spartanfoxart for our lovely babies, Rivk and Iravsa, and I just have to say this might be my favorite project of the year. They look so good. I'm SO happy with the way this turned out.
Even got inspired for a light drabble, so there's a bonus for that~
THANK YOU FOR COMMISSIONING ME, SARAH <3
[commissions open; info is here]
---------------------------
"I was wondering when you'd show up." Rivk gave Iravsa a slow look over--a mandatory check to make sure she still had all her parts--and stepped aside to let her in. "You look like shit."
"That's not what you're supposed to say," her boots were kicked off first, hastily knocked into a corner as she worked to get her pants undone. They were too tight, the fabric too abrasive. Her skin had suddenly turned uncomfortably sensitive after exposure to whatever that gas had been. She hoped Vector was recovering well. "Try--welcome home, or are you all right?"
"You wouldn't be here if you weren't."
She sighed heavily, threw her blouse atop her discarded pants.
"Pretend for two seconds that you were actually worried, laser brain." Glaring at him over her shoulder, Iravsa twisted her bruised lips in a scowl. "I don't need your Mandalorian glad you didn't die rhetoric."
"But I am glad you didn't die." Coming over, the taller Chiss looped an arm around her waist and lightly touched her chin, studying the bruises marking her pretty face. "And maybe I was worried. Do I have to fall all over myself to prove that?"
"Maybe don't tell me I look like shit the minute I walk through your door."
He didn't respond. Instead he made a thoughtful sound and began combing his fingers through her hair, pausing when she twitched her head away from the touch. Their eyes met and he knit his brows in silent question. Stubbornly, Iravsa remained silent. Neither spoke for a few moments, the only sound coming from the curious snuffling of Brian--Rivk's domesticated womp weasel.
"Hey--no." Making a sharp sound with his teeth, Rivk stuck a foot out to shoo the creature away from Iravsa's discarded clothes. "Get away from there."
"It's fine," Iravsa began to pull away, grunting when he held fast to her waist. "Thir'iv'klo--"
"Don't call me that. You know I hate that." He frowned at her when she looked up at him wearily. "Why are you mad at me?"
"I'm tired. I've had Kaliyo in my ear all week. I didn't think the first thing I'd hear out of you would be--"
Iravsa's words were interrupted as Rivk scooped her off of her feet, lifting her into his arms like she weighed nothing. He clicked his tongue and she could hear Brian scampering after them while he carried her down the stairs and presumably to the bedroom they shared.
"I saw the Twi'lek," he was so nonchalant about it. Like meeting with a Republic affiliated smuggler was no big deal. "He gave me a little present."
"I don't want to hear about what the two of you get up to." Rolling her eyes, iravsa chose to stare up at the ceiling instead of her lover. "I told you--you can have your fun, just leave me out of it."
"Not that sort of present, sweetheart." He chuckled in her ear and lightly kissed her cheek. She'd missed the feel of his stubble scratching her skin.
Iravsa gasped as the world suddenly spun around her, her belly clenching nervously at the sensation of being dropped. She would have shouted at him if he had not fallen back on the ugly sofa with her, arms still secure around her frame. The smile on his face was beyond devious, and she was barely able to meet the kiss he pressed to her lips as some sort of apology. Bastard. Untrained, rotten, scoundrel--
"Here you go." Seemingly from nowhere, he produced a single rolled spliff. It smelled strongly of luna-weed and something else. "Freshly delivered from the Smuggler himself."
"What's in that?" Squinting suspiciously, Iravsa almost didn't want to take it. It wasn't as though she'd never tried spice before. She was simply tentative about the sort of spice she put into her body. The last thing she needed was gut-rot and spice sweats because of a single spliff.
"He called it Dantooine Damsel. It's decent. Relaxing."
"And the effects?"
"Nothing terrible. You won't see pink Hutts, if that's what you're asking."
"And after?" Finally taking it, Iravsa brought the spliff close enough to get a better whiff. It was light, almost floral. But she'd been tricked before.
"I had half of one and fell asleep. Woke up and probably drank through Nar Shaddaa's clean water supply. Other than that? Nothing." Rivk shrugged a shoulder, patting himself down for a lighter. "I know my tolerance is higher than yours, but you should be fine."
"Should be doesn't inspire confidence."
"Sweetheart," pausing, he leaned over to look at her and gently nudged his fingers under her chin. When she allowed herself to look at him, Rivk locked eyes with her and thinned his lips, looking serious. "One--I wouldn't give you anything I haven't tried first. And two--there's no pressure here. You don't want it, you don't have to have it."
Iravsa sighed. For lack of any other way to respond, she simply sighed in defeat and rested her head against his and shut her eyes. The warm brush of Rivk's lips across her nose made something in her chest tighten. She had missed him. She had needed him on that mission but she couldn't risk calling him.
"Why don't you relax?" His fingers were in her hair again, carefully avoiding that tender spot on her scalp. "You're home. You're safe. I've got you."
I've got you.
The closest she sometimes felt she was ever going to get to I love you.
Nodding agreeably, Iravsa turned back around and made herself comfortable against him. She could hear him lighting the spliff and scoffed quietly to herself. When it appeared in front of her face, she only sighed again and allowed him to park the end between her lips.
What was the harm? She could use a good night's rest, after all.
The taste was nothing to write home about, but she had to admit--the instant feeling of weightlessness and relief was wonderful. Behind her, Rivk chuckled when she sank deeper against his chest, his mouth brushing against her ear.
"Missed you," he tucked his head against hers and hummed quietly, allowing her to guide his hand back to her lips for more pulls from the spliff at her leisure. "Take me with you next time."
"Not my call." Reaching back, she blindly found the single braid dangling from the front of his hairline and fiddled with the crystal hanging at the end. "But we'll see."
"I'll stow away on your ship." He kissed her neck, her shoulder. "Toss Kaliyo out of the airlock."
"She wouldn't like that."
"Don't care." Brushing away the strap of her singlet, he grazed the edges of his teeth over her skin. "Someone has to keep a better eye on you."
"And only you can do that?" Tipping her head back to look at him, Iravsa quirked a brow and smiled. Rivk made a rough sound deep in his chest and bowed his head to kiss her, still being mindful of the bruises on her mouth.
"Only me." He dotted more kisses over her nose. "I love you, damn it. No one else in this galaxy is going to protect you better than I can."
Iravsa stared at him, her red eyes wide and glassy from the spice. Rivk looked back at her questioningly and when she did not speak, he opened his mouth to say something, only to have her cut him off.
"Me too. I love you too, I mean." She squeezed her eyes shut, shaking her head to try and make her thoughts make sense. Damn him. Damn whatever it was that Twi'lek of his had given him. "You really had to say this after getting me high?"
"Have I not said it before?"
"No!"
"Huh." He made a face, leaning back against the arm of the sofa. "Coulda sworn I have. Maybe not out loud...?"
"You're a dick." Huffing, Iravsa turned away again and thumped her head against his shoulder for good measure. The sound of his amused snickering made her roll her eyes.
"Yeah," Rivk wound his arms around her and settled his head against hers. "But you love me."
Finished commission for @ozarlu-seda (PickledGuava on AO3), of their fic Looking For A Better Tomorrow
It was pretty fantastic to be asked to represent in an image not only the moment when a character reaches an emotional breakdown, but also why, and where it all came from.
It took quite some time and it's probably some of the most complex work I've ever made, so I'm happy and proud to finally show it to the world :D
[CW: blood, though not gore, it's more the metaphorical kind]
