Stay
Locations
Tia’s Apartment
Western Starport
Auriga
Endor
Factions
Players
Tia O'Mandalorio (Laurie)
Sabbath Rune (Jack)
NPCs
Lt. Lee Meriweather
Velayna Marus
Jayanna Korrs (JK)
Lady Adasta
Short Public Excerpt/Summary
Upon returning to Nigita after Lee’s memorial service, Sabbath walks Tia home. Breaking days of near-silence, they finally speak about where they stand after the losses they suffered on Endor.
Sabbath asks, ‘May I walk you home? We live across the street from each other. I promise, I won’t say a word.’ Velayna rolls her eyes and throws up her hands, glaring at Sabbath. Tia looks at Sabbath, then gives a somewhat amused sideways glance at Velayna. She turns back to Sabbath, and says, "Sure." He smiles tightly and nods. He offers her an arm, gets slapped in the back, and lowers his arm. A hint of Tia's usual humor appears on her face, and she gives him a small smile. "Come on. I'm ready to be home." Sabbath sighs a sigh that takes four hundred pounds off his shoulders. He remains silent as they walk. Once they reach the door, Tia turns around and gives him a faint smile. "Thank you, Sabbath." She pauses. "I'll see you later." She looks to Velayna and gives her a wave, then opens the door and slips inside, gently closing the door behind her. Sabbath looks at Velayna and she shrugs. Sabbath knocks. After a moment, the door opens and Tia is there. She blinks in confusion. Sabbath sighs. “I just wanted to say.... “ He looks back at the roof across the street. “I trust you. With all my heart.” Tia stares at Sabbath. After a moment, her eyes seem to crack, revealing a swirling mix of confusion and heartache. She swallows, but this time she doesn't shutter them, instead just staring at him with wide eyes. "I know, Sabbath." Her voice is soft. She hesitates, as if weighing something, then sighs. Stepping back, she opens the door wider and stands to the side. Resigned, she looks to Velayna. "Velayna, I think I'm going to impose on your teacher for a moment." She glances back to Sabbath, and her voice lowers, "As long as he allows me to." Her gaze goes back to Velayna. "Would you mind giving us some privacy?" She offers her a small smile. "You can come over for tea later, if you like." “Thank you,” she smiles though tears fall. She turns and goes home. Sabbath smiles gratefully at the girl as she goes. Then steps inside. Sabbath crossed the threshold and stepped into the parlor, stopping in the middle of the room. He turned to Tia, his shoulders square, his arms at his side. There was a calm about him that was rarely seen. "I won't take too much of your time," he looked at her and showed a contrite smile. "I wanted to tell you how sorry I am for the way I've treated you." He looked down a moment and when he looked at her again, she could see regret in his eyes. "Since I met you, you have been kind and supportive, " he took a deep breath. "You have been patient and tolerant and..." He closed his eyes and nodded to himself, as if finding courage. When he opened them again, the regret was still there. "And all I have done to repay that is burden you with my needs and my desires, forcing myself on you when I had no right," his face was calm but his eyes were haunted. "And still, you gave me everything you could give. "I am ashamed of that," he looked down, but only for a moment. "And I will never forgive myself for it. I don't expect you to forgive it, either. I never meant to hurt you and that is all I have done. I was just too selfish to see it. "I am sorry, Tia," his mouth tightened and his eyes glistened, but he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, he smiled sadly. "Thank you for everything. "You are the best person I know," he said as he moved toward her, toward the door. "I will leave you in peace. "The Force knows I haven't given you any since you met me." Tia's look of tired resignation freezes at Sabbath's words, and is replaced with a stark expression of shock. For an instant, she simply stares dumbly at him as he begins to walk towards the door. But as he moves to pass her, and it becomes clear that he has no intention of stopping, she abruptly turns, panic washing over her face, and her hand suddenly darts out, grasping his arm in a gentle but unyielding grip. For a single heartbeat, she stares at her hand as though she doesn't recognize it, as though it belongs to someone else. But then her gaze moves to rest on Sabbath's back, and she sees him silhouetted by her door. She swallows, and while he cannot see her, he feels her hand tremble. Her voice is a soft whisper. "Please don't go." He turns, his face is awash with warring emotions, but the strongest of them is gratitude. With a hand, he warms the hand that holds him. His eyes glitter as he sadly smiles. He whispers as she did. "... I don't want to go..." She gazes up at him, and her eyes are filled with a kaleidoscope of raw emotions. There's something desperate about the way she looks at him, and he realizes with a start that she's terrified. For a brief moment, he glimpses a faint echo of wounded vulnerability that seems to run to the very depths of her soul, a hairline crack in her outward facade. But it passes so quickly, he can't be sure if it was real or simply imagined. Biting her lip, she holds his eyes with hers, making no effort to disguise the complicated mess of emotions swirling within them. Giving him an almost pleading look, she offers a small lopsided smile. A hint of her usual teasing humor enters her eyes, but her smile seems to tremble around the edges. "Then stay." He took her by the hand, holding her smaller one with both of his. Gently, he drew her to a couch and helped her to sit as he sat beside her. He settled their hands on her lap and smiled sadly. He whispered in the quiet stillness of the cozy room. "I am afraid, too," he confessed, not needing to do it, because his hands trembled as hers did. "I have always been alone... always felt alone.... "... I was so afraid I... ruined...," his words faltered and his voice became choked, but he swallowed his weakness and continued. "... I don't want to be afraid anymore. "I don't want you to be afraid anymore," he placed an arm around her and drew her comfortingly closer, his other hand touching her chin, raising her face gently to see him. He stared into her eyes and showed her the same honesty she showed him. "And whatever fear threatens us after this, know that I will be your truest friend and face it with you. "And I pray you will one day trust that, no matter what else, I will not be a thing you fear." A tear fell, but there was no sorrow in his eyes. Only hope. Tia watches him for a long moment, that same look of raw vulnerability in her eyes. Her lip quivers, and she swallows. "Sabbath... What happened to you before you came back? The Lady said..." She trails off, and her eyes look agonized. "Did you run into some kind of trouble? Something that tried to stop you from coming back? Or did you... Not want to come back? I know you never wanted to be a Vanguard in the first place..." Her voice falters and she drops her eyes, though she doesn't pull away. "It... Seems peaceful there. In the Force." Her voice is soft. "I wouldn't blame you if that was where you wanted to be. Instead of here." She hesitates. "It isn't fair. For you to...die. And watch people you care about die around you." Her eyes remain carefully downcast, her expression miserable. "You deserve better than that." His eyes glazed for a moment, but he did not look away. His finger traced the line of her chin, then settled onto her hand. "When I said I didn't want to be 'here'," he swallowed hard. "I meant I didn't want to be in a room full of people celebrating a sacrifice I did not make. I tried... "When the end was near," his eyes lowered, some of his shame returning. "I thought... I could save.... "I took off my... Abbatar," he looked down at the small stone on his chest. "I put it on... Lee... I hoped the Force would find her... even if that meant... it couldn't find... "... me," he closed his eyes and leaked tears. "But, it did. It found me. And I think, in that moment I removed the stone, it left me ... open... for something to cling to me. To come back with me. And something did. "I begged the Force 'let it be her'," he did not try to stop his tears. "And when the door opened... I ran through as fast as my spirit could carry me. "What came with me... wasn't... her," he took a deep breath to steady his voice. "It was something else. Something ... dark. "Jayanna told me that it could not do me, or anyone, any harm," he explained like a confession. "As long as my faith in goodness and my strength remained committed. And it will. "I have so... much worth fighting for," he sighed. "I always wanted to come back. To you. "When I said I didn't want to be here," he shook his head, chastising himself in his mind. " I just wanted to be alone... with you. "But because I was more concerned with my own pain," his head tilted and his lip trembled. "... I didn't see yours. I am so sorry, Tia. For so much. "You deserve better." A tremor passes through Tia, and she turns her eyes up to look at him. A tear leaks from the corner of her eye and slowly streaks its way down her face. She takes a deep breath, then opens her mouth as if to speak. Time seems to hang for an instant as no sound emerges. A strange, disbelieving expression passes over her face before she gives the barest shake of her head, then leans forward, giving him what starts as a gentle, lingering kiss. She puts into her kiss what she could not find the words for - her gratitude and sorrow for his failed attempt to save Lee, her relief that he had made it back. The memory of her fear on the Auriga, and her new fear for what his words might mean for the future, what darkness might haunt him. And something softer, something fragile and new and not fully understood. Sabbath melted when their lips touched, the sultry warmth of her was intoxicating. He savored the softness, the tender press that was as sweet as it was sincere. That she had initiated it encouraged him, chasing away the doubt that had come so close to unmanning him. But, doubt was gone, now. His heart beat with a strength he could feel in his fingertips The longer they kissed, the more potent his hunger for her became, until he felt himself fighting to resist his growing passion. With an effort he might have thought impossible, so long had he imagined this moment, he drew back, searching her eyes for what he knew smoldered like a fire in his. Tia stills as he pulls back, and she watches him intently, her gaze catching and holding his. Seeing his expression, a faint note of amusement enters her eyes and a wicked smile slowly spreads over her face. Letting out a low chuckle, she leans her forehead against his, bringing her hands up to rest lightly behind his neck. "You really don't do anything halfway, do you, slugger?" Still smiling, she shakes her head as it rests against his, then pulls back just far enough to look at him. At first her eyes are gently playful, but as she continues to watch him, sparks of heat kindle and grow within them until they are dancing with a potent mix of mischief and fire. Leaning forward, she brings her hands up to rest against either side of his face, pulling him closer and lightly tracing his lips with hers. She looks at him, a mere breath away, and there's an unspoken challenge gleaming in her eyes. It was all the encouragement he needed. He kissed her again with the same teasing tenderness she had done. He slowly stood, drawing her up, never letting their lips part as they shared the same breath. His arms slowly circled her waist, holding her against him tightly, his lips becoming bolder and more consuming. He did not relent and neither did she. His ardor was unmistakable as he bent to sweep her up, hungrily drawing on her. He was unaware that the room began to vibrate in pulses that matched the thunderous rhythm of his heart. He turned with her in his arms and moved up the stairs, her door opening as if pushed by a gentle breeze.
Comments