Chapter Text
Iden watched Hask navigated the busy ballroom with two glasses of Alderaanian wine in one hand and a glass of whisky in the other. He carefully manoeuvred around the group of drunk officers socializing without spilling a drop. When he reached the table where his very fancy looking teammates sat he said, “Have you guys noticed how we are the best dressed here?”
Del rose up to meet his friend, “Well actually I was too distracted of how good you looked in that suit” he said as he took the two wine glasses from Hask's hand and passed one to Iden who was sitting beside him.
“You’re right Del, I am distractingly good looking in this suit.”
Iden laughed and rolled her eyes at her friend's banter. It wasn’t uncommon for the group to be hanging out and drinking off duty, but it wasn’t very often that they were so relaxed about it. There was this light, airy feeling surrounding them and Iden wasn’t complaining. The past couple months had been really stressful for all of them, one too many missions that went off the tracks, a few too many close calls for all of them, and way too many injuries spread out over three people had really taken its toll. Iden was thankful that it was Empire Day and they could sit back and enjoy each other's company without worrying about what to do next.
She looked down at the bubbly teal drink that was handed to her. Alderaanian wine. The same wine that she and her squad shared that first night they were a team. It was a rare find these days, and yet she wasn’t surprised that the Empire had a few bottles. It felt wrong drinking it, not that she was complaining, Alderaan knew how to make good wine. She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach. It was not right to be drinking wine from a planet that had been destroyed by the Empire, on Empire Day. All the innocent lives that had been taken that day two years ago, Iden thought that that the destruction of Alderaan was a mistake. Sure they had taken out plenty of rebels, but at what cost?
She felt a hand on her thigh. She looked up and saw that Del was staring intently at her, he knew exactly what she was thinking. Of course, he had, she thought, the same thing probably crossed his mind. Del and she had bonded over not agreeing with what everything the Empire did, that was their thing between them. Hask could never understand that. His love for the Empire ran deep and pure. Dels look told her to stop thinking about what she was thinking and to enjoy the party. She reached underneath the table and grabbed his hand. Taking a breath, she took a sip of her drink and forced herself to remain present at the moment.
A couple of speeches had passed and so did a few drinks. Iden got up from her seat and headed toward the bar to get more wine. When the bartender handed her the bubbly teal drink, she moved outside. It was a warm evening, the sun was just beginning to set. They were on the upper levels of Coruscant, and the setting sun had backlit the skyline of the city making it look like it should belong on a postcard. Leaning on the railing, she took a sip of the wine. The smooth taste of the alcohol had helped calm her nerves earlier. Her first instinct was to down the whole drink, and get pissed-face drunk just for the hell of it but all the Imperial officers around her let her think differently. We are guests here, she thought. Although a nice buzz wouldn’t be out of place. She took a generous sip of her drink when she felt somebody come beside her and join her. Immediately she knew it was Del.
“It’s weird,” she began, “this,” she gestured to her drink. She had to be quiet about what she was saying. This was not the time nor the place where you disagree with the decisions the Empire has made.
“I know, I feel like its an odd choice,” he reassured her, “But that is not something you should be thinking about right now. You should be basking in the glory of the Empire,” Iden nearly laughed, “Enjoy tonight. We don’t have to be Inferno Squad right now. We can be just us. Iden and Del. You and I.”
Iden stared at her drink, she took one last sip of it before setting it down. She turned to face Del, a smile toying on her lips, “You and I? Are you’re it’s not you and me?”
“Iden, no don’t start this again.”
“But it's you and me.”
“No Iden—” Iden reached up with her hand, grabbed Del's face and kissed him before he could finish. Surprised, Del froze. He quickly realized what was happening and kissed her back, sliding a hand down her waist. It by no means was their first kiss, there had been plenty of those before on missions. All of the Inferno Squadron had kissed each other at some point in order to keep a mission from failing. But this was different, this was Iden and Del. This was a kiss between them, not as Imperial agents. She could feel Del smiling against her lips as she began to deepen the kiss—
“Are sunsets always like this on Coruscant, Del?” Hask asked, genuinely curious. He was coming up behind them from inside the ballroom.
Iden and Del immediately broke apart. Iden bit the inside of checks to conceal her smile and she looked away hoping to hide the flush of her checks. Del rubbed the back of his head awkwardly with his hand, “Uh-what? Sorry I-uh-didn’t catch that?”
“You grew up here right? Has the sunset always been like this? It’s really beautiful,”
“Um. Yes, Hask, sunsets don’t often change,” Del said awkwardly, watching the man come over and join them leaning on the railing.
Iden focused her attention on the potted plant next to them. Had Hask caught them? It probably wasn’t wise kissing someone in the middle of a party. It seemed like a good idea at the time… Would he report them? She listened in on their conversation, Hask was asking Del about Coruscant. If he saw what happened, why didn’t he just flat out say it? She bought her drink to her lips and finished it. This could be a long evening.