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Tech knew coming out tonight was a bad idea. Hunter suggested a night out, in honor of Omega's second sleepover with her cousins friends. Tech assumed he'd still be overprotective and paranoid enough to keep it low-key. Without admitting so, Hunter would stay home, be idle, and keep an ear out for the phone whenever Omega went out without him or his brothers. Unfortunately, Echo took it upon himself to go to Cut and Suu's farm, as a third set of eyes and hands. So to speak.
He sat at the table, hunched over his datapad as his brothers relaxed in the booth. Aside from Tech, they pressed their backs leisurely against the seat, drinks in hand.
He adjusted his glasses, muttering, "Couldn't we have gone to the cinema instead?"
"But Omega got invited to the sleepover, remember? At least now, we get to let loose." Hunter said with a soft grin. He attempted to hand Tech a drink.
"Try this, it's a Tibanna & Tonic."
'Let loose?' Tech thought to himself. He thought about it for several moments. However, Tech couldn't move past the inconvenience of having to change tack, the day before their scheduled family night out. It wouldn't normally be a problem, but he didn't like to supplement their usual bonding events for ones like this…
"I cannot get drunk enough to 'let loose'," Tech replied, his frown persisting.
"It's impossible. I have tried. And as we all know, it wasn't pretty." Tech stated. He waved the drink away, then continued to write on his datapad. He ignored the growing silence.
Hunter rolled his eyes as Tech studied his device, both of their mouths twisting. Before either brother could make a frustrated remark, Wrecker eased into the conversation.
"Y'know Tech..." his hulking brother uttered gently, giving Hunter a look. "If you want, we can go to the movies after work tomorrow. But Hunter really needs this night out."
Tech sighed, his eyes still on the datapad. "I know that, Wrecker."
Something changed as the hours ticked on. His brothers stopped trying to appease him, for one. They drifted away from the table, leaving him to his own devices with encouraging grins. The karaoke cantina was busy, its owner gliding between the bar and karaoke stand. She had a friendly, round face and dark features which made her look like a Fett, from the right angle.
Whatever the case, she knew them from school events Omega attended. Moreover, she liked them, and Ayhana accommodated the brothers whenever she could. They didn't even have to wear earplugs.
Crosshair arrived during hour three, and dumped a mug of Netra Naas in front of Tech.
"What're you singing?" He chortled as he took his seat, looking fresh out of the shower. Someone's shower anyway, if the gait and smug look were anything to go by.
Tech tamped down a small grin. It seemed the night was salvageable.
"I'll leave that to the 'experts'."
Said experts, Wrecker and Hunter, were still arguing about which song they were going to sing. The twins sat together at the booth in silence, save for the vibration of their devices, the occasional quip, and sounds of amusement.
They all drank, with Tech graduating to ale at some point.
Cross's eyes were half-lidded as he reveled in Wrecker's strained performance. It wasn't that he was a terrible singer. He just never practiced. Wrecker boomed on the mic, singing a Foo Fighters song. Hunter winced next to Cross at every high note, and Tech glanced over, trying to feel sympathetic.
Hour five. Cross picked at his air guitar along with a Led Zeppelin song that Hunter wasn't drunk enough to butcher yet. The man swung his hips and hair in subtle movements that earned him some whistles from the local crowd. And he contributed to the ambient indoor air quality as his beer spilled on the cantina floor.
Tech snickered, his face warm from the modest rush of alcohol that flowed through his body. Soon though, he lost interest in his brothers' antics and returned his attention to the blue-light glow before him. Like a moth to a flame.
A cool breeze swept through the cantina as the door opened. For all that Tech was unseeing of all things past the light of his datapad, his skin prickled with foreboding. A light breeze brushed against his cheek. He failed to notice a presence approaching, still determined to distract himself from his disappointment. He wanted to watch 'Barbie', if only to capture Omega's unrestrained excitement. He liked seeing her happy.
Tech felt a tentative hand reach out for his shoulder, and after some moments it landed.
"Hey there, stranger."
Tech's breath hitched as he felt the ghost of a familiar touch. And his heart almost stopped when he heard that voice.
"Phee," he glanced up at the figure, not quite comprehending. "I didn't know you were coming."
True to form, Phee let loose a quip, but he didn't quite hear it. After he came up short of a response, she raised her eyebrow.
The charming, brown eyed woman gave Tech an easy grin. "It's been a while, huh?"
She shuffled him over a little, but Tech moved himself all the way into the booth's bend. In the end, there was too much space between them, but neither could rectify it without showing their hand.
"Yes, it's been too long," Tech said, face blooming with a dark shade of pink.
It had been years, in fact. Eleven long years. Not that he'd say something so dramatic out loud. He hardly even thought of her unless he came across her in the media. Or if an acquaintance tagged her in a post. Which happened more than he cared for.
"And now you're just... Here?"
All grown up.
Decidedly so.
Tech's gaze flickered over her form for a moment and he scratched the bridge of his nose as a distraction.
Phee chuckled, and he could be fooled into thinking she sounded nervous. "Didn't Hunter tell you?"
"He did. We were there." Crosshair remarked to Tech.
"Ah," he frowned as his twin's eyes began to glow with amusement. As though he noticed that Tech almost forgot he was even there.
"I wasn't listening."
"Problem...?" Phee asked, seeming confident. But she glanced at Tech with obscured uncertainty.
"Not at all."
So she settled in properly, making conversation. Their booth was shaped like a half circle, and Tech sat right in the middle of it. Phee and Cross sat at each end across from one another.
"I assume you were invited here tonight," Tech inquired, after Crosshair showed no surprise at Phee's late arrival.
His old friend gave an affirmative, becoming more animated as she described meeting his brothers again. "Well, I did a performance at Dawn Harvest the other week, and I saw Hunter and Wrecker in the audience."
She mimicked Wrecker's full body wave as he stood out from the festival crowd, calling out to her without any shame. "It was like seeing a ghost, I almost fell off the stage! And then we started talking again."
Tech adjusted his glasses in thought. Hunter and Wrecker, the traitors. They must've known she was performing. He remembered the harvest festival.
Dawn Harvest was primarily a Concordian diaspora community event celebrating the new year. It almost immediately evolved to include Mando'ade, as well. But that was not the issue here.
Tech remembered Wrecker and Hunter deciding to stay behind for the "Star Rise Ceremony"; where festival goers remembered the dead and celebrated the coming year. They must've known she was performing.
"We were at Dawn Harvest, as well."
"Yeah, Cross posted a story about it."
She said, because she and Cross still followed each other on social media after all these years. He knew that of course, but it still grated.
"Oh yes, I remember."
Tech used the corresponding photo as his lock screen. He and Omega posed with sticks of candy floss. It was the first time his sister has ever tasted the sugary confection, and he treasured the moment.
"So... You have a sister?"
Tech grew a more awkward at the stilted question. "I, we do, yes..."
Crosshair closed his eyes, cringing in silence. He sat in the booth but said nothing, amused and doubly mortified on Tech's behalf. Mercifully, Phee turned her attention to Crosshair, who was always the buffer in their particular dynamic.
"Cross, you wanna sing something with me?"
Crosshair grimaced, tapping out straight away, "Tech has perfect pitch, remember? Ask him."
"It is more accurate to say that I have relative pitch, which means I generally need a reference tone to to determine-"
"Oh, my kriffing Maker..." Cross muttered, almost snapping the end of his toothpick.
Phee shushed him, listening to Tech ramble.
"Since I no longer play any instruments," he continued. "My ability to identify notes, even in reference to another, has regressed. Whatever the case, I do not, and have never liked karaoke... Or ad-libbing."
"So, no Jizz?" Phee joked.
The gold accents in her hair and the nose piercing complimented her deep brown skin tone. Tech found his gaze lingering more than the polite amount of time. Especially when her ball piercing peeped out like a serpent's tongue. He gauged that it was a frenulum piercing, considering it wasn't visible at first or second glance.
Not that Tech was looking. He simply had superior observational skills.
"He's good with Sinatra," Cross noted, face impassive, but the amusement in his eyes was obvious. "Sounds just like the recordings."
Phee leaned on her elbows. "Usually, the point of covering a song is to make it your own."
Tech replied, "But this is karaoke."
"Touché. So... Sinatra," Phee coaxed, leaning her chin on her hands as she smiled at him. "When is it our turn to sing?"
"Hard pass," Tech scoffed, his response pure automation.
After a tick, he realized she said 'our'. Crosshair let out a small, admonishing cough.
"I would... rather hear you put the others to shame."
Phee chuckled at his amendment. "I dunno, Hunter's got a pretty good voice."
"You wait. After three successive shots like the ones he took, he gets very pitchy. I am surprised he hasn't damaged his vocal chords with all that drunken wailing."
"Bon Jovi. Classic."
He turned to Crosshair, muttering. "Make sure he doesn't go past six too soon, or he'll break out with 'Whiskey Lullaby'."
Crosshair snorted. It almost took him back to when they were younger and dumber. They'd stay up late in the garage as teens, so Ninety-Nine could keep an eye on them. The 'party' attended only by their brothers, would go from tolerable to fun, then quickly slither down to depressing just as the sun would rise, if they weren't careful... Still, they had some good times while trying to figure out their limits.
Cross cast an appraising glance at Phee, who sat across from him checking messages on her phone. She was a busy woman, due to the nature of her profession.
"I've never seen a design like that."
After seeing where Cross had his finger pointed, Tech almost short circuited. The high collar of Phee's shirt wrapped snugly around her neck, and the square cut dip in the front settled over her sternum. It left a window view of her throat and collarbones, which was fine...
Except Crosshair eyed that area and Tech couldn't figure out if he was doing it to get a rise out of him. The way he always did when they were younger, and Phee wasn't so seemingly reserved in how she dressed.
"Hm? Yeah, it's a semi-traditional Kulosti design. My cousin actually-"
Tech observed the interaction between the two, where Phee explained the origin of her shirt. The design and motifs were quite simple. The fabric clung to her form. The paneling in darker shades at her neck and around her abdomen highlighted aspects of Phee that some would appreciate.
"She's still as interesting as I remember," Crosshair drawled after Phee headed off to the bar. Tech bristled at the mention of her.
"Phee is not exactly your type," he replied, adding a smug little, "As you well know."
"What would you say my type is, four square?" Crosshair hissed.
Bitches.
"I would say they are usually bitter people entombed by emotional issues. Unlike you, they can manage to hide it with charm or crass humour."
Crosshair's eyes widened a little, as though seeing his brother in a new light. For example, Tech hadn't been this defensive over another person in a long time. His last argument with Tayo and Echo had to do with what programming language was best and for which occasion. Standard bantha-shit for Tech.
"At least she and I are still in the same league," Crosshair said.
For reasons Tech refused to acknowledge, he dug in automatically. "Hunter might be, but you're as pretty as a wet tooka with all its teeth missing."
"Well, then," Cross blinked. "Point taken."
"What?"
"I owe Wrecker some credits," Crosshair made it halfway through his sentence before breaking into a throaty laugh. It caught in there somewhere -and like the cigarettes Cross swore up and down he was done with- it made him cough like hell for a moment. Tech couldn't bring himself to enjoy his brother's sudden mirth, still concerned by the implication of his words.
He eyed his datapad, scrutinizing it more than he ever had before.
Tech didn't quite notice his brother getting up to leave, because Phee was already making her way back to the booth, drinks in hand. He watched her sashay around and away from interested parties with expert precision and some breezy one-liners. A burly, six-foot-something patron took her rejection with a good natured laugh. Phee glanced toward the booth, and gave Tech a charming little wink.
Crosshair tapped the table next to where Tech laid his datapad and he glanced up. His twin stood there, smirking.
Crosshair's sharp face was wrought with amusement. "Good luck, baby brother."
"I was born first."
"Mando rules," his twin retorted, finger pointing in the air.
"Those aren't Mando rules. They're aliit rules!" Tech called out in vain as he walked away.
Somehow Phee convinced Tech to stand near the front of the stage while she sang one of her own songs. It seemed Phee had fans at the cantina, and they requested an impromptu mini concert. She sang, and her style was loud and flamboyant. It wasn't cookie cutter. It was provocative and a little bit theatrical. As singers went, Phee was not an A-lister and was unlikely to ever make it big. But, from Coruscant to Dantooine, people knew her music. Even if they didn't recognize the face behind a lot of the songs.
Looking at her now, Tech could be sure she was happy with it. Perhaps finding it preferable to the alternatives. It filled him with some measure of relief, to see her so content.
He waited as the crowd gave her good favor and as she fielded requests for more.
After a while of resting and easier conversation, she flipped through the songbook trying to find something good to perform.
She pointed at a title, ignoring the stickiness on the laminated page. "Oh, look. I love this version!"
Tech looked down and pressed his lips together in an aborted grin.
"Ne'lise haa'tay- Ah, you know the Mando'a version...?"
"Well, not exactly, but I've definitely heard this one. Somewhere..."
He wasn't quite expecting that.
"Do you remember where we heard it, Tech?" Phee asked, face open and curious.
"What time do the hot air balloons go up?"
"Eight-thirty."
"Then we've got plenty of time. That's hours away!"
The boy huffed, pushing his hastily repaired glasses up the bridge of his nose. Tech and Phee ambled down the stretch of road leading to their bus stop. Mild weather and good company made the journey easier. Though it was a fifteen minute walk from Phee's house.
"Yes, but it'll take us that long to herd everyone together. You said Essa can't come, so Crosshair won't come. Echo and Fives are training. Wrecker's visiting his mother, so he may get a ride. But..."
Tech muttered. "We should go by ourselves."
He was tempted to kick the empty can he spotted in the gutter in frustration, but he put it in a nearby trash can instead.
Phee watched as he did it, both charmed and amused. She squinted at him, hands on her hips,"Tech. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, why?"
His friend gave him an odd look. "Mr. Tech 'I can't go anywhere without half my closet, ten books and all my brothers, just in case" Fett, wants to go to the big balloon festival with little old me? Just us?"
Tech averted his eyes, amused by her description of the event they were about to attend.
"It'll be faster. The others can catch up."
"Yeah, that's what I thought..."
She pulled up beside him, sun shining against her skin as it set. She smelled like perfume oil. It was both floral and woody and Tech went a little hazy as it wafted toward him. Of course, that could be the tihaar, but he doubted it.
Phee hummed, changing the subject. "You're gonna help me with my entry, right?"
"Of course."
"Do you think I'll win?"
"I'm not sure Alternative Folk-Jizz is that popular a genre, but we can try."
"I like the sound of that. 'We can try'. I mean, I like producing solo, but collaboration is the best part of making music."
Phee was slowing them down. She tiptoed on the curb side, singing to herself. Tech watched her, unable to stop his mouth from curving into a smile.
She squinted again. "What?"
"Nothing," he answered, with a soft bite to his voice.
Phee tilted her head, and Tech could see the charming glint in her eyes. "Sing with me."
He replied nervously. "Don't be stupid."
But Phee demanded, "Sing for me!"
"Oh, even better..." A chuckle escaped his throat.
Phee heard Tech's amused sound and stepped away from the curbside. The girl stopped right in front of him. She was very close, not allowing him to alienate himself from her presence. She somehow peered into his face without looking directly into the heart of him, so he let her. She could smell the tihaar.
Phee let out a huff, trying to decide if she wanted to be a good friend or take the opportunity for what it was. The possibility of a fun adventure. A possibly illegal, and potentially dangerous adventure. That... was kinda why he liked her. As a friend. She was a lovely girl and a bit troublesome, which meant she fit in with his brothers, too. Even Crosshair.
Her eyes fell toward his lips, and in a blink they rose toward his own again.
"You should eat something before we go. I'll buy it," is what she settled on, avoiding his gaze for a moment.
So they went to the corner store to buy a tiingilar pie and chips that his trainer would kill him for eating.
"Do you know what song you remind me of?" Tech said unprompted, walking with Phee as though he was joined to her hip. The bus stop stood in clear view in the distance.
"Tell me."
Phee turned to him, long locs swinging gently. She was a head shorter, and her warm brown features were open at that moment. Soft for him.
Phee was always there. She listened, whenever she wasn't on a diatribe. She put him in his place, but nicely (by his standards, though she'd been known to make others cry). And she only had eyes for him, which wasn't new, but he was beginning to like it. Probably.
Tech sailed under the influence, chipping away at his food, because she asked. Because it was 'good' for him. Tech gave her a secret smile. He let loose a melody, both familiar and foreign. If asked, he couldn't say why he did it. Nor would he ever admit to applying some charm to his expression as the words flowed. Something he wouldn't have done sober.
"Gar nau hettir adol ni,
Ni ne'lise haa'tay be'chaaj…"
Phee gasped, tipping her head back in a laugh. She licked the salt off her lips and ended up coughing in surprise.
As they inched closer to the bus stop that would take them to the fairgrounds, Tech gave her a little more of himself. To stay between them.
"Ni mar'eyi'manda,
Ni vercopa kar'taylir gar.
Ner kar'ta rang nu munit
Vor'e at Manda, ni su cuy
Gar nau hettir adol ni.
Nelise haa'tay be'chaaj."
They did make it to the big balloon festival, and so did some of the others. Crosshair and Wrecker in particular. Though they ran into Howzer and Gregor, kicking back with them for a while before the pair and their friends ambled toward the teacup ride.
Chopper stood near the Giant Wheel, eyeing the group as they walked by. When Phee slipped away, Tech followed, face shuttered, as she started sweet talking the amber eyed dealer. Slick gave him bad vibes, but Tech couldn't attribute the same to his brother. So he stood by protectively, analyzing the older boy as she picked something up. He ignored his brothers' surprised looks as they stood back, trying to be subtle.
Soon, Tech and Phee, Wrecker and Cross started exploring the grounds, high as kites, tethered only to each other.
Their world became titled and a little warped. But it was bright and loose.
They would be this close to ruination if Hunter or Echo found out, which made them laugh harder and scream louder on the rides.
The boys didn't have much money, counting credits between them behind Phee's back. Though she still managed to wring the pride and humility out of them by forcing the trio to win her prizes every so often. Which they all had to carry. And she shared with them her modest, but not insubstantial riches.
As it stood, the group wandered around the stalls, games and rides; Wrecker laughing and roaring. Crosshair minding him. Phee and Tech walked arm in arm contemplating whether they should share the candy floss between them the way they wanted to.
As Phee and Tech walked the grounds together, she turned and winked at him, and he responded with a little smile.
Phee was something else. Her time was valuable, as evidenced by the way she fielded requests for her attention.
As though she were already famous, Phee held court with several friend groups. From one moment to the next, people angled Tech away from her. Sometimes they simply pushed him. But Phee always made her way back to his side. Or he to hers, Tech couldn't tell.
After a while, Phee simply slipped an arm around his waist, holding him loosely. She glared at anyone who got too close. Nobody who saw it said anything. They didn't seem to acknowledge their closeness, or Tech, which was downright insulting. And Tech began to hold her back tighter, out of spite.
Phee foisted two fuzzy Loth cats onto passing children so she could hold Tech as they walked. She talked about a genealogy project she was working on, having come across several published academic texts in the process. Each prominent work was written by a family member of hers, and the respective subject matters fascinated Tech.
After a while, she started batting her eyelashes at him. Phee liked to prod and tease people, but especially Tech. Her comments danced around the subject of their shared affection. Phee turned to face him, smiling brightly, with confidence. As though she wasn't out of his league and he wasn't struggling to keep up with her.
They gazed into each other's eyes, or near to it. The pair had played this game before. Tech's irises flared as he moved closer, ready to wash her indulgent smile away with his touch under the amusement lights.
For many moments, Phee waited, until she didn't. She pressed forward with a little huff, but somehow it felt as though she was giving chase and he balked.
"Aww, you flinched!" Phee said, hitting his arm lightly.
It was fun. It was special.
But Tech could only go so far.
"Wait. I need a do-over." He said, almost breathless. Even though nothing even happened. Phee laughed, dragging the clueless, bespectacled boy behind her.
"One day, Brown Eyes..."
Phee waited for Tech to answer. He searched her face and in a split second, he could tell she didn't know. They shared so many milestones together in the short time Phee attended Ord Mantell High.
It wasn't as though Phee could recall every single, little moment in her life…
So, he said, "No... I don't remember."
Tech remembered everything.
Ru mar'eyi'manda.
Ru haa'tayli be'chaaj...
I found heaven.
I looked away.