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All the indicators in every part of the ship were the right colour and silent, and the instruments linked to the internal and external sensors were the same. The dangers were more likely to be related to a possible attack than to a problem with the equipment, but technical failures did not just happen to other people, and they were bound to pass by asteroid fields, so he would have to be careful because it was unfortunately a well-established truth that young people did not perceive danger in the same way as adults who unfortunately knew better.
Despite all of those considerations, Dex was satisfied with things, really, he was being sincere. The take-off had been a little quicker than expected, there had been some unnecessary jerks due to the brusque driving of the beginner at the controls, but it was an honourable performance for a young man who did not even have an official licence yet.
He might have been a bit biased though. In his book, if it did not explode, it was a success. He had experienced too many problems in his youth, and that had shaped his view of what a good and bad pilot were. For Dex, a good pilot was one who got you where expected alive and with as few injuries as possible, and Anakin's admittedly somewhat hectic ride did not seem to contradict that criterion, so he was not too worried or tense and even found himself quietly yawning and looking up at the stars even before the first hour in space was over.
The stars. It had been so long since he had left Coruscant, how long, years? The days blurred into an almost alienating renewal, time flew by and yet things did not seem to change. That was probably what children were for too, at least that was what Dex assumed when he looked at the families he knew. Since they were growing all the time, it was clear that time was passing, the little ones were changing and growing, both physically and mentally.
He was about to fall asleep, he had to start talking, he preferred to be awake to help if there was a problem.
"You're a pretty good pilot, have you done it with Obi-Wan lately?"
Oops. He had mentioned Obi-Wan, that was a clumsy remark unworthy of him.
"Not really, pilot training has been extremely limited for several decades among the Jedi. I learnt mostly from Garen, he's a childhood friend of Obi-Wan's, a Jedi pilot, he took me for a ride with him when he could and gave me a few lessons in secret. Obi-Wan doesn't really like me driving though, he says I drive dangerously."
"It's not very flexible and you're well above the average speed of pilots our starship’s size", he says absently, noticing the growing tension in Anakin's shoulders before continuing with a chuckle, "but since there are no speed limits and some little genius won a pod race based on speed and superhuman reflexes I guess it's okay. Smooth piloting can only be acquired with experience, there's no better way to learn".
The human's expression softened and he smiled knowingly at Dex.
"Thanks, Dex."
"Watch out!" He shouted spontaneously as he saw an asteroid approaching much too fast for his liking in the pilot's blind spot.
Anakin swerved sharply and Dex was never so grateful for artificial gravity as he was now. The ship whirled around a few times before stabilising safely in completely empty space. Empty. Empty = safe.
Damnit…
"Don't take your eyes off the space."
"Gotcha."
"Like... really."
"Sorry", the other muttered, looking shaken by their narrow escape from imminent impact. "Do you want to take the controls back?"
"No, you like piloting more than I do and, as I said, you get better with experience. But look at this bloody space, not me!" He repeated emphatically, pressing his index finger on the blond's face to point him in the right direction, when the teenager stared at him open-mouthed.
"I... really?! I can go on?"
"What, didn't the Jedi teach you that failure is the best teacher? Well, don't take my word for it, we can only afford semi-failures, I value my life. And my ship. And my restaurant."
Anakin let a laugh slip.
"Understood boss."
"Well, well, well... when I think I've already got a chauffeur at my age, that's really what you call making a success of your life."
"Hey, Dex, I always wondered... Aren’t you actually rich?"
"Rich?" Dex repeated, swallowing hard, coughing to catch his breath. "What gave you that idea?"
"Well, you've got your own business and your own flat above it, so that means you own it, doesn't it? It's above surface and it's Coruscant, so the rents are high, aren't they?"
"In fact, most people rent the premises they use as a business", Dex explained with a smile, "that's not my case, not anymore, however, this area was pretty bad when I set up there, it was hardly considered better than below the surface because of the crime. I've also avoided the trap of asking banks for money, I've borrowed reasonable sums from lots of people, I'm lucky to have lots of friends".
Above all, he knew a lot of small-time crooks and mid-level criminals who appreciated being able to come and exchange information for money or simply eat in a real restaurant without fearing for their lives. He had built up his first clientele precisely because he was sufficiently well-liked – and sponsored – by various groups that everyone agreed not to cause problems for his establishment.
"To tell you the truth, it's only been about ten years since I really started putting money aside, I'd finally paid off my last sponsor. I suppose I'm well off, but that's because I'm my own boss, my employees are robots and I have no family. Families are expensive. I don't spend much. I don't take holidays either, now that I think about it."
"You work hard, you deserve it, you should take care of yourself and do things for yourself too."
"And what do you think I'm doing? A weekend on Tatooine, isn't that terribly exciting?"
The boy rolled his eyes in his direction, so Dex took great pleasure in saying without even looking at him:
"In front of you, the eyes."
"Tsk."
"Ahahah."
Three hours later – including almost two hours of involuntary napping – Dex was woken up to take the reins while the much too small human settled into the co-pilot's seat to rest.
Now that he thought about it, the controls must have been difficult to reach and required a lot of strength and energy for such a small, thin-muscled creature. He had not really been paying attention.
Once again Dex: human = small = fragile.
The Jedi might have been an exception, but that was only in combat and when they were preparing, the situation required him to be more careful than that.
He really did not have what it took to be a father, did he? It was just proof that he had done the right thing by never trying to start a family, that would have been a disaster. He was too caught up in his own thoughts and routine to think about anything else, let alone infants, but at least Anakin was grown up and responsible, so he did not have to worry too much. And it was only temporary.
He allowed the music occupy him and let Anakin wake up at his own pace as they entered the Tatooine Space Sector. They were not far from it now.
"Out of curiosity, what does your mother look like? Is she anything like you?"
It would be better for him to have an idea of who to look for.
"Not at all, Mum's dark-haired and has dark eyes. She's quite small I think, but I was barely ten when I left so I can't be sure about that..."
"You are rather tall for a human."
"And I haven't even finished my growth spurt", the other added, stretching with a sound of quiet pleasure. "Can I take over as pilot?"
"Sure, but be careful, as we get closer there will be a lot more ships around us."
"It can't be any worse than taking off from Coruscant, can it?"
"Of course, when you put it like that."
He looked at him distractedly after that. Tension seemed to be a constant, but even as a child he seemed nervous and agitated. Alert and attentive, perceptive and intuitive. That had not really changed.
"What's the matter?" The blond finally asked under his breath.
Dex could pretend not to understand, but they knew each other too well for that, and anyway he knew better than to treat Anakin like a stupid, oblivious brat.
"You really have no idea? I'm wondering why you left the Jedi. Is it even an argument with Obi-Wan or do you not want me to call him because you've done something else that would result in a fight?"
"I don't... want to talk about it."
"I know you don't want to, but don't you think you're going to have to at some point? I didn't call Obi-Wan, but what if he calls me? What are you going to do then?"
The boy pouted, so Dex rolled his shoulders and stretched his neck.
Diplomacy, Dex. Emotional. Attack
"Did you really think I was going to leave you in the middle of nowhere to get by on your own?"
The mask was starting to crack under the guilt, good, he could make use of that, because he was being sincere here: he was not going to leave him just because he asked, he wanted proof that things would be okay before he let him live his life.
He wanted him to stay safe.