Chapter Text
Priest sets a steaming mug of something in front of him, then sits down across the table with his own drink, identical.
Faie has never seen this before. He’s not sure what he’s expected to do.
“It’s tea, dipshit. Drink.”
Ah.
“What’s tea?”
“Do you always have to ask so many questions? It’s a reward. Drink it.” Priest takes a gulp from his own cup, so Faie does the same. It’s very hot and so many different flavors at once that it might as well burn him twice. “Do you like it?”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” Faie takes another sip.
“Atta boy.”
For a few minutes, there are no words. Priest watches Faie. Faie drinks his slowly cooling tea and does not make any faces except the one he’s decided must be ‘neutral pleasure.’ This is some sort of test. Priest has that look on his face. There’s nothing to be done about it. Faie drinks his tea as best he can.
Finally, Priest picks up his mug again. He blows across it like Faie’s seen the Nulls do with their caf before taking a sip and suddenly Faie feels very, very stupid. Of course he wasn’t supposed to drink it yet. It wasn’t supposed to burn him. The look on Priest’s face says he agrees.
Priest looks down at Faie’s hands. The one not on the cup is on the table, fatter than usual and clumsily with the tape the Longnecks had wrapped his fingers in to keep them from moving. ‘To give the bacta time to work,’ they’d said. Faie doesn’t make those decisions. He’d just nodded.
“You know I don’t like having to do that, don’t you?” Priest asks, nodding at his broken fingers.
“Yes, sir.”
“I’m just trying to teach you a lesson. Some days, you leave me no choice.” Priest’s right eyebrow has a little scar through it. It wriggles when he moves the eyebrow. Like a caterpillar.
“I’m sorry, sir.”
Priest nods again. “You did good, though. Didn’t cry. Didn’t even make a sound. I’m proud of you.”
That feels… good. That feels so good. Good enough to make up for the tea not being good. Good enough to make up for the throbbing fingers. He’s done something well and Priest is proud of him. “Thank you, sir.”
Priest narrows his eyes in a sort of smile. “You’re not soft, are you, Faie?”
Faie doesn’t know.
“No. Not soft at all. Not like some of those boys. Like ‘77. That’s why we get to do things like this, you know? Because you’re good at this, Faie.” Priest takes another sip of his tea
“Thank you, sir.”
Priest is silent for another long while, in which Faie finishes his tea. It’s a bit better when it’s not burning him. Still not great, though.
Priest tips his head back and drinks the rest of his tea in one long gulp. He sets the mug down and fixes his eyes right on Faie’s. Pinned.
“Tell me something, boy. You ever killed a man?”