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- Look, you're one of the prettiest girls here and I really need a fake date tonight, will you go with me?
Sitting next to a Nautolan she had barely met in her life, Aayla still didn't know why she had agreed.
At least she knew why he had asked her, that was a good start.
But she didn't know the purpose of her presence here.
- "I hope it's not your parents," she said as she saw two Nautolans enter the restaurant and wave, looking very cheerful and lively.
A fake date could have many reasons or explanations, the most obvious would be to meet a bet by taking someone on a date, Aayla had done that herself earlier in the year. A fake date with relatives, though?
- Unfortunately, yes, they are ordinary civilians, but they... how shall I put this, they flatly refuse to hear that a Jedi has no attached partners.
- And you didn't tell me because...?
- Because I'm desperate to calm them down, they're pestering me sympathetically, and because I was afraid you'd refuse if I told you, the other people I told about it were categorically against it. Not very honourable, I agree, but I felt a bit blocked. Don't worry, I wouldn't do anything unseemly.
However, it was not said that Aayla would not do anything improper, just out of a sense of revenge. Part of her Master's upbringing would always remain, she was likely to act as a maverick at any moment, Quinlan was just better at hiding it than most. Aayla knew how to cover her tracks too.
Her attention returned to her surroundings as the yellow Nautolan, the taller of the two, stepped forward to kiss her fellow Jedi on the cheek and take one of Aayla's hands to embrace her.
- Kia To, nice to meet you my dear, we've been looking forward to meeting you.
- Mom please...
It was when she saw that the mother was taller than the father that Aayla realised how little she knew about the customs or even the biology of the Nautolan or even of any of the individuals that could live underwater, for being honest with herself, she knew that she didn't know much more about the Mon Calamari or the others. There was so much she didn't know about the world.
- Tera Fiskelne, nice to meet you.
Aayla blinked slowly, her brain working at full speed as she bowed and replied briefly:
- Aayla Secura, Jedi Knight.
Kia To and Tera Fiskelne.
She'd forgotten that the Nautolan were named by the combination of their parents' names, and that was why the Knight next to her was called Fis-To, even though the humans amused themselves by calling him Fisto until he didn't say anything more against it. Wasn't Ki, by the way, the word for "honour"?
- "I'm sorry, what are you saying?" she said as they all turned to her, seemingly waiting for a reaction.
- "My father was asking your opinion about attachments," her fake boyfriend repeated graciously.
Oh. They were trying to judge her seriousness. The depth of her commitment to their son. It was cute, mostly because she wasn't really involved.
For the sake of honesty, however, she was as forthright as possible, lies could be spotted by all, not just the Force-sensitive, so she might as well be truthful:
- For Jedi, maintaining strong emotional relationships is tricky, because we can lose control of ourselves even if we are not able to accept the harsh reality of life, such as grief. However... although I have never had a relationship that did not turn around sex, I think a balance can be found. About a third of Jedi Masters treat their Padawans as their children and love them genuinely, my Lineage feels more like family than my biological parents and my Clan who would have sold me into slavery if Quinlan hadn't found me when I was little. It is possible to love in a healthy way, the most important thing I think is to be sincere and careful, to protect yourself and the other.
The young Twi'lek didn't really know how to interpret the variations in Force emotions in the civilians in front of her, but since the Knight who had set this trap for her was smiling sweetly, she had probably expressed herself well enough.
He leaned towards her and she did not react, even when he put his head against hers, his face turned towards hers and thus away from the civilians. To keep their misconception alive, Aayla turned her face as if to embrace him.
- I believe the interrogation begins... now.
- "Hummm... you're paying for the restaurant," she decided with a sly smile as she kissed him on the corner of the lips before backing away and sitting back down normally.
A meal for an acting performance was pretty reasonable, maybe she should have asked for more. To make up for it, she ordered according to her tastes without counting and winked teasingly at the Nautolan who held back a laugh at her choices.
- Don't worry, I can afford to feed you.
- And how did you meet? Kuith just told us about you and he said your relationship was recent...
- "She was in combat training," the Fis-To Knight replied without giving her time to think about something. "She hit another Padawan in the jaw so hard she knocked out a tooth."
- "That's... rather violent," Tera remarked, looking openly puzzled.
- "He'd been far more violent with his words," the Nautolan Jedi growled, his tentacles very agitated and his fists clenched. "He told her to her face that she was weak, that she would always be weak, and that she would make a better life for herself by prostituting herself."
Oh Force, with this kind of detail she had finally put that moment back, and it had really happened!
- "I should mention that he actually lost a second tooth on the way to the Healing Halls," Aayla added, grabbing her drink, her eyes on the liquid. "I took the punishment of my life, but the other Padawan was forced to follow a Jedi who was doing daily work to help men and women who were victims of forced prostitution rings, and when he came back, he had changed his mind."
- Of course, he had, what a jerk.
- Well, Kuith, my son, it's taken you a long time to find a mate, but you could say she's feisty.
- "I like a woman who knows what she wants," Fis-To said, nervously sipping his drink.
Hmm... why was he nervous?
The Nautolan tentacles revealed more than the Twi'lek Leks which were consciously moved to speak in silence, in the Nautolan it was an instinctive movement related to primal reactions, impossible to truly control, even for a serene and calm Jedi.
It was hard to tell what he was feeling just from that. To be continued.
- "And I like honest people," says Aayla. "The first sentence Kit said to me was honest and clear, I like that."
The identical smile on all three of their faces left her blushing, which Knight Fis-To noticed strangely with a devastating smile.
- And for the children?
Never before had Aayla seen a person lose their arrogant, superior smile so quickly.
- Daddy!
- It's a legitimate question! I want grandchildren!
- I want grandchildren too!
- You already have grandchildren! And seven other children!
- Kuith my dear, you are our youngest and we haven't enjoyed you in over twenty years, we can't wait to have Nautolan babies in our home.
- Or Twi'lek, or hybrids of course my dear.
- "Actually, we've never talked about it," Aayla said with a smile that only grew fierce for the Jedi Knight beside her. "What do you think, Freykaa?"
Aayla may not have been strongly connected to the Living Force, but her Master was, and Quinlan hadn't wanted her to ever find herself in a weakened state due to lack of preparation, so the Twi'lek dimly sensed the Nautolan's emotional releases into the Force.
Shock.
Surprise.
Amusement
Tenderness.
Something more.
- If it's with you, I'll do anything, have ten children or none, whatever makes you happy.
Aayla blinked in surprise. This exuberant Jedi... he was doing what she was doing, for he had clearly been telling half-truths and no lies all along. What was true about that?
- "Ten?" she finally teased, not really able to hide her confusion.
- "We can go higher," he admitted casually, looking very carefully at her Lekku.
Was he...
/What a smooth talker/
- Thank you.
Aayla's heart began to beat faster and faster in her chest and she consciously moved her Lekku again.
/I didn't think knowing this language was common/
- I'm an exception in that aspect, I admit it.
Aayla turned back to the couple in front of her who were exchanging knowing glances and smiles, and the rest of the conversation was incredibly simpler and smoother, but part of her mind was elsewhere.
Understanding Ryl was rare enough for non-Twi-lek, as it was literally a language that was split between words, body language and Lekku movements. The Lekku language, on the other hand, was not spoken by outsiders, it was just too complicated and time consuming for them to learn to watch the minutiae of Lekku contractions when there were a thousand more interesting things to do. Even Quinlan had stopped at the Ryl, without the words and the body, he didn't understand much...
If he were Twi'lek himself, she would understand, but he wasn't. He was a Nautolan, and his Master had been a human before Master Yoda finished his training, there was no rational reason for him to understand this language, no good reason to learn it, unless...
She would check on that later, for now, she was going to enjoy her truly succulent meal.
It was just divine, even if she usually preferred meat to fish, and Fis-To's dish was actually so good that they shared their two plates in half without really thinking about it as they took a bite from each other's plate. When the night was well underway, the Jedi's parents decided to return to their hotel so that they "wouldn't be back too late, we wouldn't want anything to happen to you on the streets".
Aayla excused herself to go and laugh in the restaurant's bathroom before joining them. Had they even listened for a second to what being a Jedi entailed when they'd left their son with the Order? Because really, it didn't seem like it.
Honestly, the Twi'lek wished courage on anyone who wanted to attack two Jedi, it wouldn't even be a challenge for them.
She joined them in time for the farewell and before she could say "Force" she found herself promising to be there for a future dinner two months later. It was a strange feeling to be manipulated by civilians with good intentions. Both for the manipulative, civilian and well-intentioned part.
They walked away and Aayla clung to Knight Fis-To, one hand on his waist.
- "Arm around my shoulder," she murmured before leaning a little more against the other once that was done.
They let go of each other as soon as they were behind a building and continued on as if nothing had happened.
- "Thank you for your help," he murmured. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for the awkward moments, I didn't really expect that."
- The food was good.
She turned and waited for him to face her.
- So was the company.
Bingo. He was turning even greener and it was starting to spread all over his scaly body. She had her answer.
- So... you have a crush on me?
- Uh, I... yeah, sorry.
He had confessed. He hadn't made an excuse or tried to change the subject, he hadn't tried to minimize it or make a joke of it, he'd just... been honest, despite how hard it must have been.
An honest man who had approached her hoping to spend time with her, a man who had fallen in love at first sight during one of the less glorious moments of her life and who had learned one of the hardest languages for non-natives to understand – they were still missing... well, Lek! – in what was probably a pipe dream to feel closer to her.
- Were you ever going to tell me about this?
- No, not really.
- But you asked me to come tonight.
- I knew I'd never be able to fake feelings for anyone else, so I took a chance. Sorry about that.
- Don't apologize, we don't control these things, and you've been a nice fake boyfriend, I guess, I never have. What about a real date this time? A tête-à-tête this time.
A happy smile came over the Nautolan's face as he understood the – rather obvious – meaning of her words.
- Really? Kriff, yes! Thanks, I won't let you down.
/I hope not/
- I'll take care of everything.
/And after this real first date, we'll see if you deserve a kiss/.
When she blew a kiss in his direction, Aayla was pleased to see his tentacles twitch and quiver with excitement.
Okay, really, that was flattering and she was intrigued. She couldn't wait to tell Master Tholme and Master T'ra, hopefully her success would encourage the two idiots to confess their love for each other.
- Good night, Kit.
The smile he returned was dazzlingly fragile and gentle.
- Good night, Aayla.