Chapter 10: At The Pond’s Edge

True to her word, it was the best night of sleep that Lana had had in a while. She woke up before her Chiss companion, who was still wrapped around her tightly. Attempting to extricate herself to get ready to leave, Lana found that was easier said than done. Somehow even in slumber, Vera resisted Lana's escape attempts, pulling her tighter until finally Lana gave up and went with her backup plan. Wriggling herself around, she got them face to face before slowly tracing Vera's lips with her tongue. The other woman grumbled as she started to return to the realm of consciousness, which Lana spurred along by firmly kissing her. Vera's eyes fluttered open as her mouth immediately responded, parting slightly as the lips puckered up against Lana's.

"Wouldn't mind waking up to that more often." Vera's voice was gravelly, which made Lana want to do more than kiss, but she knew they needed to get out of this town. The less time they spent loitering in one place, the safer they'd be.

"Maybe you'll get to experience it again, but we need to get moving," Lana said, her tone shifting from playful to serious. Finally able to remove herself from Vera's grasp, she began to get dressed as the bounty hunter yawned, stretching out her arms and inadvertently cracking one of her hands into the wall.

"Damn it, ow, this room is so small," Vera grumbled, repeating her observations from last night. "Next time we're staying somewhere nicer than this."

"If I recall correctly, you weren't even supposed to be here," Lana chided, tightening the sash around her waist.

"I didn't hear you complaining last night."

"And yet you're complaining now."

— 

It didn't take them long to vacate the tiny room, leaving no trace that they had been there. They even lucked out with the front desk being empty as they exited the building. It probably wouldn't matter either way, but you could never be too careful, especially when dealing with Sith Intelligence, which Lana knew all too well. Keeping an eye out, they walked a few blocks until they got to a side alley where Vera had tucked her speeder bike, in between two buildings with a ragged tarp thrown over it. Whipping the tarp back, Vera tossed it to the side and proceeded to stow their belongings on the side and back racks of the bike.

"I take it the tarp isn't yours?" Lana asked, amused at the apathetic way Vera had discarded it.

"Nope, just found it in the alley and gave it a purpose, at least for one cycle." Finished packing, Vera seated herself behind the handlebars, turning her helmeted head toward Lana. "Well? You getting on or do you want to walk again?"

Chuckling, Lana pulled herself onto the bike behind Vera, wrapping her arms around the bounty hunter's waist. She never realized how much she'd truly appreciate somebody who wouldn't tip-toe around her, afraid of her reaction or falling out of her favor. Vera's sarcasm was honestly such a turn on, and one that Lana never had to wait long to hear again. As Vera maneuvered the bike out of the alley and accelerated down the main road, Lana tightened her grip. Not because she needed to: her connection to the force and own physical strength meant there was no chance she was going to lose her balance or fall. It was solely for her own pleasure, flexing her fingers just below Vera's chestplate, feeling the Mandalorian's taut abdominals. Lana rested her chin on an armor-clad shoulder, slightly disappointed the helmet prevented her from being able to indulge any more.

"Having fun back there?" Vera's voice was somewhat amplified so it could be heard over the wind whipping past them. Deciding on a more tactile response, Lana let one of her hands slide lower until it hit Vera's belt, before flexing her fingers to get them under the belt, now resting just below Vera's waistline. She heard the Chiss woman suck in a breath and felt her abs tighten under the other hand. "I guess that answered my question."

They continued on, passing over grassy fields and occasional dirt paths. Their speed was slow enough that the wind, while present, wasn't so violent as to force Lana to shield her exposed face. Instead she was able to observe the planet as they traveled, keeping an eye out for the occasional wildlife that was brave enough to stand their ground as they passed. The wind felt nice, as did the sun shining down, so Lana allowed her eyes to close as she reached out with the Force and just let herself be.

Eventually, Lana realized that they had been traveling for longer than it should have taken them to get back to the Distant Slayer. Popping her eyes open, she squinted against the sun, which was getting closer to the horizon. Although she had only been through the area once on her way to town, she did not recognize any of the landscape which they were currently immersed in.

"It would appear we are not heading back to the ship at the moment," she commented dryly.

"You would be correct." Lana could hear the smirk in Vera's response. "We've got some time to kill while Mako finishes her work, and it wouldn't be the end of the world if we took a bit of a rest ourselves." She held up a hand before Lana could interject. "I know the sooner we track down the Revanites the better, but we don't want to be too aggressive and scare away any potential leads. Also, you know that Theron is working on this from his end too. Obviously he's not as talented as you, but I'm sure he'll find something at least mildly helpful."

Laughing, Lana shook her head. "Fine, you've convinced me. Now, where are we going?"

"You'll see."

— 

The sun had drooped even lower in the sky before they finally stopped. At first glance, Lana had no idea why this would be their destination. There was a copse of trees next to a small pond, the surface sparkling in the waning light of the day. There was a rustling in the tall grass as some small animal darted away from them, hiding somewhere else in the brush. As Vera killed the engine, Lana was overtaken by the stillness that permeated the air. Straining her ears, she picked up the soft swish of the grass, a faint scrabbling of some critter, the near imperceptible ebbing of the water, and nothing else. Looking over at her Chiss companion, she raised an eyebrow in question as Vera took off her helmet, brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen out of her bun.

"So … where are we?"

"The only place that I'll be able to get you to relax," Vera replied with a wry grin. "Nobody around for kilometers, outside of the range of any comm towers to be able to access the holonet, and not even any large rocks to practice your Force powers on." Setting her helmet onto the seat of the speeder, she stretched her arms up high, then bent down at the waist to touch her toes, working out some of the tightness of the long ride.

Lana couldn't help but admire the curve of Vera's ass as she was folded in two, letting out a slow breath and tearing her eyes away before she was caught. "And what makes you think that I need to relax?"

"Oh, just because you never do unless I force you to," Vera remarked casually, sauntering over to the trees near the water. "You coming?"

Making a noise that was half exasperation and half pleased acceptance, Lana shrugged off her outer robe, draping it next to Vera's helmet, before she joined the other woman at the trees. Vera had already kicked off her boots and removed her shin armor, and was currently in the process of rolling up her pant legs. Catching Lana staring, she scoffed.

"Just because I'm a badass bounty hunter doesn't mean I don't like the simpler things in life." She finished cuffing her pants and sat down at the edge of the pond, letting her feet dip into the water. Lana watched her as her head tilted back, eyes closed in bliss. Lana's eyes slid down Vera's body like honey, before getting to her bare feet, listlessly drawing circles in the water. The Mandalorian looked so at ease, and as much as Lana hated to admit it, she was right about how often Lana truly relaxed. It wasn't quite never, but close enough that it fell within the margin of error. She realized she was toeing off her own boots, apparently having already made the decision before thinking about it. Carefully setting her footwear to the side, she mimicked what Vera had done with her pants before settling in next to the hunter.

As soon as she broke the surface of the water, Lana couldn't hold back the sigh that slipped out. The water was cool, but not cold, and surprisingly clean given it was in the middle of nature. A plant of some kind brushed against her heel, slick and soft, causing her foot to twitch away from it.

They sat in silence for a while, alternating between keeping their eyes closed or watching the sun touch the horizon and begin to disappear beneath it. Vera was the first to pull her feet out of the water. She stood up and stomped on the grass a few times, getting what water she could off, before folding her pants down and getting to work on the rest of her discarded clothing.

"Aren't your feet still wet?" Lana questioned.

"Oh definitely. It's going to be annoying as hell until we get back to the ship and I can actually dry them off fully." Vera tugged on her other boot and grabbed a shin guard.

"Ugh," Lana groaned as she pulled her own feet out of the water, trying to shake them dry. Sadly she wasn't very successful, and resigned herself to awkwardly damp feet for the speeder ride back. Getting her boots on, she wandered over to the bike, not appreciating the slight squelch she felt with each step. Vera tossed her robes at her before grabbing her helmet. "All that relaxing is going to be undone by how uncomfortable my feet are now."

"Ah, come on, big bad Sith can't deal with some wet feet?" Vera teased, her red eyes twinkling. "Besides, that's not how relaxing works. You can't just undo relaxing. Now come on, let's get back to the ship." She quickly pushed up on her toes and pressed her rough lips against Lana's before slipping her helmet on and swinging a leg over the seat of the bike. Feeling her cheeks warm slightly, Lana sat down behind the Mandalorian, barely getting her arms around her before they took off, racing the fading daylight across the fields.

As they sped through the approaching twilight, a sudden thought popped into Lana's mind. Unable to resist, she tilted her head closer to Vera's helmet and shouted to be heard over the noise of the bike. "Was this a date?"

There was a pause, almost long enough that Lana thought maybe she hadn't been heard. "What, you don't think I take all of my Sith friends to soak their feet?" Though her words were flippant, Lana could hear the vulnerability in them. She could feel Vera's muscles tense up just a little bit as she spoke. Somehow, it was reassuring to know that the confident, sarcastic bounty hunter wasn't completely infallible.

"It was definitely one of the better dates I've been on," Lana responded, then smirked. "I think you could do better though." Vera's laughter caused her body to shake against Lana's, and they spent the rest of the trek in a comfortable silence.