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Peli sighed as she made her way down the corridor to the throne room.
She loved Boba’s palace, and she loved Boba, but she’d had to excuse herself from Boba’s last guest, and now she was just hoping he was gone. All the feelings the guest brought up within Peli had her yearning for some TLC from her husband, but she understood the importance of trade negotiations, especially now that Boba had abolished slavery.
As she reached the end of the corridor, the guest walked in, having finished with his and Boba’s negotiations. Peli immediately turned and started to walk the other way, hoping to avoid him, hoping to find a door she could slip into until he was gone.
She’d almost reached one of the storage rooms when she was grabbed by the shoulder and spun around to face the guest from before. He was mere centimeters from her face, studying her, and she bit back the urge to spit in his face.
“Well, well, well…” The guest scoffed, making no move to let her go.
“Get off me.” Peli scowled, pulling her arm free. “Asshole.” Turning to leave, she made for the storage room again, but the man had other plans; He growled, grabbing Peli by the shoulders and forcing her into the wall behind her, one arm coming up to press on her neck and keep her still, while his other hand coming up to cover her mouth. Despite this, Peli did her best to snarl at him.
“You always had a bad temper on you… I know a guy who could break that out of you in no time.” He studied Peli carefully as she clawed at the arm pushing on her neck. “Wonder how much Fett would sell you for-”
A blaster shot rang through the corridor and the hands holding Peli to the wall fell away, sending Peli crashing to the ground, gasping for breath. Strong arms pulled her up, and she fought them in a panic through a fit of coughs before a soft voice shushed her.
“Easy, cyar'ika …” Peli relaxed into Boba’s hold, panting heavily. She was shaking, she knew she was, and from the way Boba tensed, she knew he knew she was too. “Let me look at you.”
“I’m fine…” Peli whispered, her voice raspy. Her eyes fell on the slaver, who was now sprawled on the ground and glaring at her and Boba. Boba caught him glaring, and tensed with rage.
“You dare to touch my riduur ?!” Boba growled, holding Peli closer protectively. The man laughed nervously.
“We used to do business together, is all! Say, how much are you selling her for? Would be an interesting project, she was difficult to break in the first time but-“
“She is not for sale.” Boba was trembling too now, though not with fear like Peli had been. No, this was pure rage.
“Surely we can work out a deal. A slave like her-“
“She is not my slave, she is my wife .” Boba spat. The way the man’s blood drained from his face satisfied Peli somewhat, but Boba wasn’t amused, and something told Peli he wouldn’t be until he wiped the scumbag off the planet. His voice softened as he addressed her.
“ Cyar'ika, my dearest, go and find Fennec.”
“Don’t burst a blood vessel.” Peli whispered, pulling Boba down to peck his cheek. As she left, Boba caught sight of the bruising around her neck that had already formed from the man’s hold on her. Rage consumed him, and he snapped the moment Peli exited the corridor. He reached down and grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt, slamming him into the wall, like the man had done to Peli, before pushing his arm over the man’s neck.
“Slavery has been illegal on this planet since I took over the throne! You know this!”
“Y-yeah, but you leaders all say something and then do it yourselves-!”
“I have never kept a slave, nor do I intend to! Not only have you laid hands on my riduur , but you have caused her harm! Not only today, but in the past as well!”
“Slavery was legal back then!”
“Hey!” Boba didn’t turn at the new voice, he kept his eyes firmly fixed on the scumbag in his hold. “Hey, what the fuck? Peli just- oh. This guy causing trouble?“
“I can deal with him, Fennec.”
“Okay. Well,” Fennec turned so the guy couldn’t hear her. “She’s doing that thing where she needs help but she’s insisting she doesn’t and I can’t get her to come to the healer’s wing.”
“I’m in the middle of-”
Fennec cut him off by slamming the side of her blaster rifle into the side of the man’s face, dazing him. Boba dropped him, turning to Fennec.
“Look, you know I hate seeing her like that, so if you don’t go and kiss your wife better, I’m gonna do it. Why don’t you let me have a crack at this asshole, and you can go to her, alright?”
“I don’t want him to leave the palace. Once you’re done, kill him. Cancel all trade deals with his people, and send his corpse to them as a warning to never cross us again.”
“That bad?”
“He tried to buy her from me as a slave. Talked about how ‘she was difficult to break in the first time’.”
“She was a slave…?” Fennec asked softly, before her expression turned stony and she glared at the slaver.
“His slave.”
“Hm. Leave him with me.”
-
“Peli?”
Boba found the mechanic sitting behind his throne, her knees pulled up to her chest uncharacteristically, much like a child hiding from their arguing parents. One of her pit-droids sat next to her, the one with the red rim, leaning against her while looking at her in concern. Peli stroked it’s top absentmindedly, as though it were a loth-cat.
“Are you alright?” Boba asked, and gave her a moment to respond, but she didn’t. He sighed, sitting beside her, his eyes falling on the bruises around her neck. “You should see the healer.”
“You should mind your business.” Her voice sounded hoarse, sore.
“How old were you?” He dared to ask.
“Seven.”
“Seven?”
“My Dad needed drinking money.”
“So he sold his child?”
“Well, my Mom was dead, so he couldn’t sell her.”
“Sounds like a decent bloke.” Boba growled. Peli scoffed. “Did he hurt you anywhere else?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine.”
“Just… seeing him brought it all back, you know?” Peli sighed. “I put all that shit behind me, I got the hangar, I got my boys, I got you and Fennec and Din… I-I thought, just for a moment, I thought ‘what if it all goes back to the way it was’?”
“We’d never let that happen. Before you became my Riduur , I promised Din that you were under my protection. That hasn’t changed, though the reasoning has.”
“How so?”
“You are not under my protection because Din said so, but because I couldn’t bear for anything to happen to you.” Boba whispered, cupping Peli’s cheek in one hand, turning her to face him.
“…You’re gross.”
“Oh, really?” Boba smirked, leaning down until his forehead rested against hers in a keldabe kiss. “If you wanna see gross, you might wanna send your droid out.” Peli snorted.
“Maybe later.”