“Tell me,” Hel demanded, tracing his fingers along the frayed outer edges of the scar tissue.
Vic hesitated and he could swear that got Hel even more interested. The man was too fucking perceptive. Could smell weakness like an akk dog could smell blood. And never let go once he had his fangs in.
Vic was absolutely in no mood to remember the day when he'd almost bled out in the stinking jungle of that force damned backwater dung hole. He'd almost died that day. Not something you wanted to remember in the afterglow of a really nice evening and lots of vigorous sex.
Hel kissed him then, with an urgency that didn't really surprise Vic. The sudden intimacy of his touch was kinda unexpected, however. Vic felt his resistance melting away.
“Please?”
Damn this man! When was the last time he had been able to say no to him.
little Vic and Tal – prompt #14: Tear-stained
After a few hours of searching through the slums, Tal finally found the kid in a dark alley not far from where the gang war had found its gruesome end. Vic was crouched on the ground, and for a moment Tal feared the boy had gotten shot after all.... then he noticed the body. Zabrak. Couldn't have been much older than Vic.
Tal tried to swallow his anger. When he spoke his voice was almost calm again. “Hey, kid.”
When the boy turned around, Tal saw that he had been crying.
Tal stepped closer, instinctively, but then thought better of it. “Have you thought about my offer?”
The boy nodded, wiping angrily at the tears. “I'll come with you,” he said and followed Tal back to the docks without ever looking back.
part 2 of a longer story that I will probably never finish, part 1 can be read here (it's super old and it shows...)
A few days later Julien was busy filling out reports. He was so focused on his work and the data files on his desk that he jumped a little when a shadow fell over him.
He looked up to see the bounty hunter looming over him, hands on his hips, insolent grin on his tattooed face. Once again the man had managed to sneak up on him without making any noise, despite his heavy armor.
Julien exhaled and tried to act like the Imperial Officer he was. “Yes?” he heard himself say, voice higher than he would have liked. He cleared his throat. “Can I help you?” he quickly added, in a more professional tone this time.
The bounty hunter just kept smirking. He was probably enjoying this, making a young lieutenant sweat. He’d been going in and out of the Admiral's office all week, and it wasn’t the first time Julien had caught him looking.
Julien had always tried to look busy and melt into the background. However, another perhaps suicidal part of him had sometimes considered engaging the bounty hunter in a conversation. Who knew, perhaps the man could be convinced to part with some … juicy details about his client, the admiral?
The hunter finally spoke up, supporting himself on Julien's desk with one dirty hand. “Now that you're asking, maybe there is something you can do for me.”
The deep voice sent a shiver down Julien's spine. He had no idea what the man could possibly want from him, but he tried to keep calm. Perhaps this was the chance he had been waiting for.
At least this time the bounty hunter didn't seem particularly angry. However, he still made no move to tell Julien what he wanted, he was just looking... no, not looking, staring, and Julien felt distinctly uncomfortable under the attention.
Damn, he could feel the blood starting to rush into his cheeks. He hated that he blushed so easily.
The hunter's smirk widened and Julien got a little angry. There was a voice in his head telling him to stand his ground. He was the son of an Admiral, from a proud imperial family, winner of the golden nebula award, best of his year at the academy. He would not let some dirty bounty hunter make fun of him...
Julien gathered all his courage and got up from his seat... which didn't really help: he still only came up to the man's chest. Now he felt even more silly and very small. His cheeks were burning. Great.
“Just tell me what I can do for you... sir,” he pressed out, determined not to lose face in front of a ruffian like that. He just wants to embarrass you, he told myself. He wouldn’t dare to hurt you. At least that's what he hoped.
Julien held his breath when the hunter reached into his pocked, but the man only pulled out a little data chip. He shoved it over the desk before he turned and left the office without a word.
Julien stood frozen for a few minutes. As soon as he could move again, he sank back into his chair, heart still beating in his throat. It took him a few minutes to work up the courage to examine the object on his desk.
His jaw dropped, along with the data chip.
There was the name of a cantina and a time later this day. A little note:
part 1 of a longer series that I will probably never finish – Vic and Julien's first meeting
***
“I'm here to see the admiral,” a deep voice rumbled, sounding as if its owner had every right to be here.
Julien looked up from his desk and blinked. Well, whatever he had been expecting to see, it didn't come anywhere close to this.
The man was young, he couldn't be much older than Julien was, but he was armed to the teeth, clad in dirty armor -- patched in several places, with the paint already peeling off. Probably some kind of mercenary or hired gun. A criminal wouldn't just walk into an imperial administration building like that, or at least that's what Julien hoped.
An impatient growl startled Julien, and he realized he had been staring quite openly and longer than was strictly appropriate.
“I'm sorry but you can't just barge into an admirals office, you need an appointment,” he told the man, speaking slowly and clearly, making sure he understood. Not that the likes of him would get an appointment with an admiral, but he wasn't going to say that.
Unfortunately, the mercenary didn't seem impressed. He just crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned, creating a rather intimidating impression. It was not only because he was heavily armed, his entire jaw looked as if it was covered in black tattoos. Julien had never seen anything like it before... well, he hadn't exactly seen a lot of mercenaries up close, of course.
“If you would please leave now. I've got important work to do.” Julien helpfully pointed out the direction of the exit, but his gesture was ignored. He could have just as well tried to teach a nerf to dance.
“I won't leave before I get to see the admiral,” the man repeated stubbornly.
“The admiral is a busy man. Surely you must understand that he has better things to do than talk to a …,” he hesitated, looking for a word that would not anger the man unnecessarily, but the harm was already done.
Suddenly there was a dangerous glint in the ruffian's eyes. Julien blanched, thinking that the bounty hunter could, and probably would snap his neck with those hands if he didn’t get what he wanted...
His heart skipped a beat when the hunter took a few big step towards him. For a moment he thought he was actually going to hit him, or just grab him by the collar and pull him over the desk.
Julien was saved by the voice of the admiral coming through the com-link on his desk. “Lieutenant, if that’s the bounty hunter I called for, send him in immediately.”
“Yes sir,” he breathed a sign of relief and hastily pressed the button to open the door.
The bounty hunter glowered at him for a few seconds, then finally turned and disappeared into the office of the admiral. He moved almost silently despite all the heavy armor, and Julien found himself staring at his back until the door had closed
This was not how he had imagined his new post. What would be next, pirates? Hutts?
He exhaled deeply and relaxed back into his chair, trying to cool down his cheeks with his ice cold hands. A boring desk job, eh? Well, if that was a normal day on the job, he'd rather be transferred to a less “exciting” post.
He tried to focus on his work, but one thought didn't leave him alone. What in the name of the Emperor's teeth could the admiral want from a bounty hunter? It was none of his business, of course, but on the other hand.... such knowledge could prove to be useful one day.
Julien chewed his lower lip, deep in thought. Almost a pity that there was no way to find out.
How do you feel about your older brother marrying the Harlaw girl?
"It seems a fair match to me," the young Greyjoy said, "House Harlaw is one of the most powerful in the Iron Islands. Excluding ours, of course." Victarion made a brief attempt at a grin, though it only appeared as though he was screwing his face up. "Lady Alannys is quite comely, so I’ve heard," he admitted, "though her brother, the lord-to-be, is said to hardly be Ironborn at all. He cares little for ships and swordplay, and buries himself in books."
