Chapter Text
The day began like any other, with the subtle whirs and hums of the Drekis ' innerworkings kicking into gear to start the morning off. A low symphony of unenthusiastic groans crescendoed from within a mess of excessive pillows and blankets in the Chiss' nest, followed by a muffled trumpeting barrage of long-held flatulence that was completed by a sigh of intense relief. Vuarum kicked his leg up and preemptively aired out his blanket, not looking to get high on his own supply first thing in the morning. His jaw cracked a bit as he yawned and stretched each of his limbs out like a tooka across the bed, grunting and popping his joints like a seventy-year-old man as he did so. When he was satisfied and more or less awake enough, he instinctively rolled over to nuzzle into the pleasant familiarity of Thott's warmth - only to find her side of the bed cool and empty.
While it wasn't entirely uncommon for her to be up and about before him every now and then, her absence was still a little disappointing. Every day that he could wake up beside her was a good one, which implied there was a chance this one would be fairly mediocre and uneventful. No complaints from him, though. It was just as well that Thott was long gone and busy already - his fart had been pretty bad.
The Chiss rose from his cocoon of bedding, the resulting static electricity from the fabric he was laying against making his hair stand on end as he sat cross-legged in the center of the nest, contemplating whether or not he simply wanted to go back to bed for a while as he yawned again.
From the ship's aft, he heard the trilling of B-IO5 and the little taps of droid feet trotting over to his quarters, followed by the voices of his kids. Thaler and Hel were talking in the holotable room as Kayell no doubt was repeatedly cleaning the mess of food the toddler was likely dropping everywhere, and Thaler was simultaneously teaching his young sibling some Basic from his own lessons as he helped them with breakfast.
Vuarum smiled. He was casually reminded in that moment that he was an "adult" with "responsibilities" and couldn't sleep in for half the day like he used to before parenthood, but really, he didn't mind it so much. B-IO5 chirped loudly when they finally entered the room and jumped onto the bed, immediately hopping onto Vuarum's knee to bonk their head unit against his chest in a form of greeting.
"Mornin', Bios."
-Acknowledged. Reciprocated. Mom has a message for Dad.-
The little droid hopped down and initiated their holoprojector, a display of Mitth'ot'turi in full Nihil getup with a datapad in hand appearing in front of them. She was clearly busy, multitasking as she spoke.
"Hey, ch'acah . Get ready for a busy day." She sighed, and even behind her grandiose avian mask, it was apparent she was relatively stressed. " That mission starts today , it seems. We need you as soon as you're ready. Eat as much as you can, you're gonna need the energy. Oh, and take a shower." She briefly looked up from her datapad to look Vuarum dead in the face, her expression abundantly clear even through her mask. " Actually take a shower. A real one. Like I said, it's gonna be a long day. Thaler and Kayell will be watching Hel while we're gone. Report to the bridge of the Gaze once you're all set. Love you."
Her silhouette dissipated with a crackle, and B-IO5 followed it up with a little encouraging "time to get ready to kick some ass" dance. Vuarum chuckled.
"I guess. Fighting's fun and all, but I'm a little overdue for a break. I feel like an old packbantha with a broken back."
B-IO5 warbled, a sympathetic sound. Droids could be upgraded and maintained when they were feeling worn, but it was a little harder for organics. They needed rest and therapeutic intervals to keep them going, and Vuarum was teetering on the edge of collapse if he didn't get some maintenance of his own soon. There never seemed to be enough time for anything anymore, between missions and life and everything that came with parenting. Even when the rare opportunities came for some much-needed sexual release, the Chiss were often too tired to initiate it. Finding a moment when the stars aligned for some uninterrupted quality time was like finding an oasis on Tatooine.
Vuarum patted the tiny droid's head and smiled.
"It's all good. Gotta keep the drives and engines running somehow."
Not that they needed money or supplies since the potential for materials was nearly limitless; the exertion came from the actions he deemed necessary in order to keep his family safe. They had more enemies than friends, and although that always seemed to have been the case since forever, the stakes were a little higher now. He'd do anything to ensure their precious livelihood remained content and his progeny could have every opportunity for whatever future they desired as well as all the love he never had the luxury of when he was their age. It wasn't always easy, but every moment was worth it.
This thought was only reinforced when he walked into the holotable room after finishing up his mission preparations and was greeted by the smiling faces of his young ones. Hel cooed and reached their tiny arms out to him the moment he came into view, excitedly shouting "daaah" as concisely as their one-and-a-half-year-old vocabulary would allow. Thaler lifted Hel from the couch onto the ground as Vuarum crouched low and opened his arms in return, a huge grin plastered across his face as the tiny chissling clumsily tumbled over to him as quickly as they could, shrieking with joy as he captured them in his hands. Vuarum rose and held Hel closely in his arms, giving them a kiss on the forehead as he chuckled and looked into that happy little face.
"Hey, stinky! How's my stinky? You been a good stinky?"
Hel laughed and cooed as their parent blew a raspberry into their cheek, those sweet baby giggles filling Vuarum's heart with glee. He made his way over to the seating area and occupied the space beside Thaler, giving the boy's hair a ruffle as he briefly reclined with the toddler in his arms.
"How's it goin', bud?" he asked, glancing at all the aurebesh reading material on Thaler's questis.
The boy shrugged, responding in slightly accented yet understandable Basic. "It is going well. Are you heart-jumping for today?"
"Am I...heart-jumping?"
"Um…" Thaler ran through an index in one of his tabs. "Excited. Sorry, I meant excited."
Vuarum chuckled, always finding Thaler's creative language substitutions endearing. "That makes sense. Sure, I guess. Not much more than any other day. A mission's a mission."
Thaler raised an eyebrow. "Is it not your anniversary of b- OW!"
The eleven-year-old's question was interrupted with a sudden electric jab from KL-60's arm against his leg. The droid casually explained their actions to the confused organics, Thaler's expression shifting from surprise to understanding as they did so while subtly nudging him.
"Apologies, there was a bug. I got it."
Thaler assumed it was a well-crafted excuse, but there really was a bug. KL had zapped it before it could crawl up Thaler's pant leg, the insect twitching on the ground with its large yellow eyes and holographic exterior sparking from the shock.
Hel growled at the protocol droid, their only two canine baby teeth looking more cute than anything as Vuarum pat their back to calm them down.
"It's okay, stinky, it wasn't on purpose. Anyway, what were you sayin', bud?"
"Er…" the boy began, uncharacteristically at an impasse for words, "I was hoping fortune for you well for your battle."
It was the thought that counted, not the grammar. Vuarum felt a momentary bit of guilt when he decided not to correct the boy even though he knew he preferred him to whenever something was off with his Basic, but he enjoyed it too much. It wouldn't be long before Thaler was perfectly fluent and he'd miss these entertaining days of learning, like so many other moments in time that never seemed to last long enough.
"Thanks. We'll be back before you know it. I appreciate you being willing to watch this little monster while we're gone."
"It is my gladly," the boy replied with a smile as Vuarum passed Hel over to him, "I love this little sibling. I have the help of Kayell, also."
The chissling whined a bit after Vuarum stood, but was soon comforted by their brother's hold. Their father wasn't entirely enthused about leaving either, yet he knew as much as he wanted to stay with his family, this mission was necessary in order to ensure he always had one to come back to. He stepped over to the Drekis' main entrance and activated the boarding ramp, gathering a few last-minute weapons as he bid them farewell.
"Later, kids. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."
Thaler looked thoughtful for a moment. "So...all is permitted?"
"Damn right."
They exchanged amused glances as he waved goodbye and departed for another day of rough-and-tumble pirate shenanigans.
Or so he thought.