#vector x agent

[bestsaltinalltheshire]

just a girl and her bugsband

[elliedearest]

I completely forgot that I romanced Vector for the Agent! So when I got the message from Aygo about speaking to a Killik representative that wanted to join the Alliance, my heart dropped to my stomach.

The break up was brutal. And I hate that those were the only two options! She sounded so choked up when she talked about her fears for his future.

There should have been an option to let him down gently.

I need to write a fanfiction.

[darthmama]

For themightyzan who is so deprived of good TOR Fanfiction. ;)

10. One sliding their hand into the other’s hair slowly.  Vector/Agent (cause that’s the only one I’ve actually made a character for...)

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“Agent?”

Shades yelped in surprise, trying to sit up and cracking her skull against the innards of the ship.  Call her weird but she insisted on going over things like this herself, droid or no droid.  Swear viciously in her native tongue she squirmed out to blink up at Vector.  He looked as clean and pressed as ever and it had Shades wanting to hide in her greasy work clothes and engine fluids caking her cheek from where she’d wiped them.

“Bug boy,” she said, trying and failing to sound pleased due to the goose egg she was likely to get on her head.  She was already kicking herself that her habit of using nicknames for everyone still lurked.  “What did you need?”

“We were going to offer aid but it seems you now require the services of the doctor,” he said as he knelt down by her.  

“What?  This?  Bah, it’ll sting a bit but be fine,” Shades told him with a grunt as she tried to ignore her throbbing head.  “Pretty sure my skull is still intact.”

“We have heard about how hard of a skull it is,” Vector said with a small smile.

Shades wasn’t sure if that was suppose to be a compliment or a joke and decided to ignore it instead.  Diplomats...a poor girl that had turned to a life of crime and then gotten caught she didn’t know anything about handling such polite comments.  She still had a hard time figuring out how the bug boy worked.  Amusingly enough she understood everyone else but Vector was far more alien to her than hutts, wookies, or any other crazy alien they had met.   That was not even including the bug part of things.

Obviously that was why she was turning red as he extended one hand and ran it slowly through her hair.

“I...uh...” 

Those dark eyes blinked at her and Shades tried to figure out where he was staring.  Vector was so bloody hard to read in comparison to others.  She hissed and winced though as he found the goose egg and poked and prodded lightly.

“We believe you are right, but we would recommend something cold just the same.”

“Noted, after I finish with the engine though,” Shades stated.

“Do you ever stop working agent?” Vector asked with a puzzled look.  

“Course I do, I’m off duty right now,” Shades responded as she dug through the tool box sitting next to her to escape the uncomfortable feelings in her stomach from Vector’s hand still running carefully through her hair.  She wasn’t sure if she wanted him to stop or keep going.

“You method of relaxation is to do ship maintenance?” he asked sounding puzzled.  

“Seems more productive than starting a cantina brawl with Kaliyo,” Shades pointed out as she selected a tool.  “Besides, I have to keep busy.  Mind goes faster than the rest of me.  I’ll start thinking about work and that makes me restless.  Better to have something else to focus on, no matter how mundane.”

Vector gave a hum and suddenly Shades felt a light tug at the back of her head causing her to look up.  The hydro-spanner in her hands clattered to the floor in shock as she found lips on her own.  They did nothing more than press lightly over her own but her hands came up to twist into the shirt Vector wore.

She wasn’t use to this kind of treatment.  Besides the fact that she just refused to use sex as a weapon for any reason, she wasn’t the kind for it with one arm and an eye being mechanical.  Go figure but folks didn’t find that kind of thing sexy.  He was very gentle though, careful, as if she was glass and precious which puzzled her to no end.  She was usually the rough and tumble type that got a one night stand if she felt like it...which was next to never.

Vector though only gave her a gentle brush of lips that left her feeling deprived and hungry for more.  Or maybe it was some bug trick he was doing?

He pulled away slowly with a grin.  Shades wondered if it was cocky, pleased, or some mix of the two.  Either way there was no mistaking the intent.  

“We thought that perhaps we could give you something else to think during the menial tasks that would slow down your restless mind.” 

“Uh...right...” Shades said, staring even as Vector got up.  Her face turning quickly red and she moved to stick her head back in the engine before she got ideas.  “I’ll uh...let you know if I need your hands-A HAND!  I’ll let you know if I need a hand with things.”

The former thug and the former diplomat...just a fairytale to add to the galaxy she told herself.

[yamisnuffles]

Vector Romance Ramblings

While going through the IA storyline, I've been trying to sort out my thoughts on her romance with Vector. I love Vector and his romance, but couldn't always put my finger on why. This is still somewhat nonsensical, I am sure, and doesn't even cover everything I want to say. However, without going over why I love every single scene with the two of them in it, here are some of my rambling thoughts on the matter.

(Note: I tried to keep things vague with the agent. There are specific reasons why I love my agent in particular with Vector, but I wanted to explore the more general reasons I enjoy them together. That said, I'm sure a bit of headcanon has slipped in.)

Vector's story- both personal and romantic- is the story of a man who is to his very core a diplomat. He's always trying to break through barriers, make compromises, and bring understanding, all in the hopes of getting to a better place. This seems to come from Vector's strong mix of both idealism and realism. He highly respects both the Killiks and the Empire. He wants a Killik/Imperial alliance because he's deeply aware of how much the Killik have to offer the galaxy and he respects the ideal vision of the Empire. At the same time, he's perfectly aware that almost none of the Imperials he talked to really wanted to be allied with the Killiks, finding them frightening or disgusting. He knows, though, that there are enough people who can get some personal gain or see some sort of utilitarian advantage to the alliance to get things started. Deep down, I think he hopes that if he can at least start things, they might reach the ideal he sees in his head.

The same can be said of his romance with the agent. Eventually, he decides he would like something more with the agent, but isn't entirely sure how to proceed. Like his first hesitant steps back into the role of diplomat, he slowly feels out what it means to be human again. All the while, he keeps in mind both the ideal and the real. He says again and again that he is content with who he has become as a Joiner. He's not interested in looking for a “cure” and has no real interest in going back to being simply human. Still, he is perfectly aware of how people look at him and while that normally wouldn't bother him, he wants the agent to be comfortable with him. Ideally, she would accept him as he is, but realistically, he knows she might only want the part of him that is a man and not the part that is Killik. After all, he heard Anora's message.

We've watched it seventeen times and meditated to the static.

Here's someone whom, at one point, he deeply loved and who deeply loved him. She wants him to go back to who he was and makes this plea in the name of others who still care for him. It does nothing to change his mind on being a Joiner, but he says he hadn't considered that people might want him to go back to what he was before. The part of his life with Anora is over, so he needn't worry about this for her sake but there is the possibility of someone new in his life. Does she too wish for him to be someone else?

This concern over what the agent really thinks of him, is highlighted by the romance scene. He has learned to suppress the Joining pheromones in order to appear more human (something, perhaps, he went out of his way to learn just for her). It's a sweet gesture to the agent, to let her see another side of him and to offer her some time for just the two of them. Her different reactions to this gesture- and his response to those reactions- show what this really means to him.

If the agent agrees to his decision to repress the bond, he is happy. Content. He confesses his love in this route and- if the agent reciprocates- he says, “Then it all works out” after he stops repressing his bond to the Killiks. Clearly no matter the route the agent takes at this point in their relationship, he is in love. However, this response seems to suggest he still wasn't entirely sure of her feelings. Saying that it “works out” also suggests, so long as she says she loves him, he's willing to accept that she may not be entirely comfortable with his status as a Joiner. This echoes an earlier sentiment where, if the agent says she's not sure she'll ever get used to kissing a Joiner, he quips that at least he's memorable. It's almost heartbreaking, but he cares for her enough and hopes for enough, that he's willing to forge a relationship in the hopes that one day she'll love him just as he is, as he loves her for who she is. (Note: I'm not saying players/agents that choose the first option don't or can't like him as a Joiner, but he definitely seems to want that approval, and tends to need things spelled out for him)

This is all underlined by a couple of the different options. If the agent says she doesn't think it was a romantic gesture, Vector is a bit distressed and confesses:

We don't usually worry about making people uncomfortable, but we care for you. If you were part of the nest, you would know our thoughts. Since you aren't, we sought to prove our feelings in a human way.

Ever the diplomat, he does his best to reach a mutual understanding. There is a bridge the agent can't cross, so he'll cross it for her. He can admit in other dialogue choices that suppressing the bond in this way is such a strain that it would destroy him to do it often. Yet, he is willing to undergo that strain, at least once, in order to show her just how much he cares for her and cares for what she thinks of him. He does this because he is willing to wait for his ideal. Like the Killik alliance with the Empire, he forges a beginning in the hope of getting to a desired end. Nothing shows this more clearly than if the agent acknowledges that it was a nice gesture, but that it's not what she wants.

V: This is a time for us to be together; one you needn't share with the Oroboro or the Colony.

IA: You're sweet, but the man I care for isn't human.

V: We didn't know, but we expected to learn one day- we're glad it happened like this. ~[changes back and then smiles]~ And we're glad to be with you.

IA: Trust me with who you are. Because I'm glad to be with you, too.

V: We will remember.

Vector doesn't say that he doesn't want to share the moment, just that she needn't do it. If she wants to be with just him- the human him- at least this first time, he's more than willing to make that happen for her. If she tells him plainly that that's not what she wants, he is relieved to finally know for sure. He's able to give his whole self to the agent and rest in the knowledge that it is him that she loves, and not some idea of a man that he can never be. She loves him exactly for who is now and not in spite of it.

This brings me to why I love this particular relationship (and the above dynamic) so much. Both parties bring something to the table and balance each other. The agent, by nature of her job, is a solitary being. Most of the relationships she is allowed to forge are fleeting or shallow. As Watcher X and later events prove, her environment encourages her to trust no one but herself. Meanwhile, Vector is never alone. Every detail of his life- everything he was and ever will be- is given freely to others all across the galaxy. The agent's fierce, independent presence helps to remind Vector of what it means to be human. Vector, meanwhile, allows the agent a connection to something huge. By loving and connecting to this one man, her love and connection is echoed through countless minds throughout the galaxy.

Furthermore, it's not hard to imagine that the agent might be a bit jaded. Surely she has seen good, but she's also seen the worst the Empire has to offer on a frequent basis. People are there to play her or to be played. Foreign planets and cultures are to be consumed and turned to cover. Vector meanwhile- so guileless, so good- sees absolutely everything in a brand new light due to his Joining. He manages to add freshness and levity to even the most mundane things.

V: Last night, we ate our first ration bar since leaving the nest. We savored the flavor for two hours. We could taste every nutrient, every chemical compound, and trace of foil. Do you know what Joining the Killiks does to a person's senses?

IA: You get excited over a ration bar. That's cute, Vector.

V: We'll let you know when we try the Chaka noodles.

As much as Vector needs the agent in order to find himself, the agent needs what Vector has to offer. In traveling with the agent, he not only gets to experience the galaxy with fresh eyes, but also brings the agent into this wondrous world. In a life with so little trust to spare, is a man willing to give every dream, every feeling, his entire self, to others. Forced day in and day out to play roles and abandon her identity, she can rely on a man who only wants her to be herself, even if it means he'll never know her as he would another Joiner. If he wants her secrets, it's only so that he can know every part of her and never to use them against her. He wants what she is willing to give him, nothing more.

There are days when we realize how little we know you. For every Joiner who has ever joined the nest, we remember her youth, her first spring and her birthdays and her intimate moments. We remember his dreams and his childhood fears. We know the words you've spoken, your scent and your taste, your triumphs and your sacrifices. We know there's no other being whose song we'd rather hear as the days pass. We do not know more than that. But it is enough, and we are glad.