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Loch wrapped his arm around his companion's shoulders once they were both situated in the taxi. He gestured to their way-too-bright-to-not-be-hiding-something surroundings, "Ah, home. I almost missed it. Don't you love it here, Mako?"
"Not one bit, you?"
"Hate it." They smiled.
Visiting Nar Shaddaa had always been weird for the two of them; they had enough baggage there for themselves, let alone together. It was a wonder how it was all able to fit in the taxi's only seat.
"So...this friend of yours we're visiting? Care to tell me a little more than 'slimy son of a hutt'?" She asked in a playful tone, body shifting towards her twi'lek employer.
Loch pretended to think for a few seconds to have an excuse to stare into those beautiful dark eyes, "He's the reason I had to leave Nar Shaddaa in the first place."
Mako scoffed, gesturing with a hand as she spoke, "And that's not a good thing?"
"It...wasn't at the time."
"Well if it hadn't been for him you never would've met me. Ever consider that?" The smile returned to her features.
"Nope." He lied. From the weirdly suspicious invitation to the meeting ground of objectionable Nar Shaddaa, Loch had little doubt that the best part of his day was going to be the spunky little cyborg at his side.
"Let's get a drink after this." The bounty hunter drawled as the vehicle came to a steady stop above ground, "I'm gonna need it."
One after the other they hopped out of the taxi and, after giving the droid a few credits, approached the open door to the man's home. Home probably wasn't the most accurate description, however, because one could hardly hear themselves over the blasting music and vivacious crowd, nor see in the sole light of glow rods and flashing lights.
Mako had to yell just to be heard over the raucous, "You sure this is the right place?"
The twi'lek tilted his head toward her, hoping she'd be able to hear the bass of his voice at all, "Invitation didn't say anything about a party..."
She pulled on his arm to get his attention, simultaneously shaking her head and gesturing toward her ear. She wasn't getting a word.
Someone hurried by with two precarious handfuls of drinks, very nearly sending them crashing down and completely drenching Loch and his companion, not to mention the wall they were inching along. Frustrated and unimpressed, Loch was about to steer Mako back toward the door when someone on the balcony above caught his eye. A tattooless twi'lek man, the perfect image of his holo, nodded in Loch's direction.
Not willing to wait for a formal invitation, Loch pulled a confused and disgruntled Mako up the stairs, across the balcony, and through a door whose metal blocked out most of the noise from the floor below.
"Finally." Mako sighed in relief, her gaze darting from the pale twi'lek sprawled across a couch to the watchful one at her side, and then to the two armed houk bodyguards near the entrance, "So um...what's this about, exactly?"
Loch turned to their host, expectant, "She took the words right outta my mouth, Zapo."
Zapo looked at Mako but spoke to Loch -- something that irked him greatly, "Do cheeka sa grandio, murishani."
"Chess ko." Loch growled, the Huttese rolling off his tongue. When Mako sent him a look of absolute despair, he added, "Basic, Zapo."
"Right, sorry, gorgeous. What's your name?" She would've told him, had he not cut her off by rudely showing her his palm, "Never mind, it doesn't matter. If I don't get back to those partying idiots soon, they'll wander upstairs and find the mess."
Before they could respond to the oddly-camouflaged threat, the twi'lek yelled, "Ateema!" Luckily Mako understood the tone, ducking just as a few blaster bolts flew past her head. By the time she was standing straight again, weapon drawn, the houk were on the ground with matching smoking holes in their foreheads. It was a good look for them.
"Seriously?" Loch had one blaster pistol fixated on the couch Zapo was hidden behind, probably wondering how his evening could have possibly gone wrong, "Did it not cross your mind that there may be a reason no one's claimed the bounty on my head yet?"
He watched Mako brush something off her sleeve from the corner of his eye, "Come on, let's just leave. This guy's not worth our time."
The bounty hunter mulled over the idea for a moment, "Hold on."
Loch kicked the side of the couch with a good amount of force, sending it colliding into an equally ostentatious holoprojector. Zapo, having lost his back rest, fell to the floor and recollected himself in a hurry, his expression a shameful grin.
Loch smiled right back, "You're going to call your employer and tell 'em how badly you fucked up. Now."
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"And the smell of the place...ugh." Mako stuck her tongue out and scrunched her nose, grinning when Loch laughed, "At least we got to see him grovel in front of that Hutt."
The twi'lek finished off the last of his booze as she did, waving the bartender off when she asked about another bottle.
"We probably should've listened to Gault." She continued, giggling a bit as Loch rolled his eyes, "What? He was right!"
"Gault thinks every meeting is a trap. Besides, this is still sort of a vacation, isn't it?" He spun on his stool and flung out his arms, attracting the attention of a few unhappy-looking patrons.
"You embarrassing dork." She teased, jabbing his midsection with her forefinger.
"Me? A dork?" He mock-scoffed, desperate to keep a straight face at the sight of her growing smile, "I'll have you know, my tauntaun finds me to be quite the witty caretaker..."