Threads of Silver

Hurt

It seemed like a good two weeks before you saw him again. 

You were ever so kindly given three small meals throughout the day. Bland coffee in the morning, and bitter tea at night. You slept alone, which, you had once thought was what you had wanted. But the loneliness was eating at you. Again. 

You told yourself you simply missed his familiarity, but cursed yourself when you found yourself actually missing him. His angular face, dark satin hair, foreboding, angry eyes.... 

Honestly, you had wondered if he was gone for good. And that emptiness was heavier than you thought it would be. 

The creeping feeling of isolation, which had once completely taken you over when you were stranded, was coming back. It was bitter de ja vu, reminiscent of the mindless routine you once found yourself trapped in. It was smothering. It ate at you, crept into your chest like a weed. It seemed to have choked the thread that was once lively within you- it has remained dormant and lifeless since he left. 

You found yourself revisiting memories that were once so faded and worn you'd figured they were lost to time. The crash had affected your memory in ways you hadn't realized until they began to come back, like breathing cold air onto a steamed mirror, they resurfaced. 

Your partner, Khoan. 

The name that just prior had barely struck a chord in your mind, that you had almost forgotten to injured memory. The day you both were given the tip off of a Resistance ship, housing mountains of unclaimed bounty. You revisited that same scene over and over again, on repeat. Trying to find answers. 

------

Khoan snuffed out the end of his cigarette onto the countertop of the quiet, musty cantina. You tapped an impatient finger to the side of your beer glass, watching the little bubbles race to the top foam. 

"Khoan, I'm telling you," you turned to look at him, but he seemed more focused on finishing his beer. "This would set us for months, we'd-"

"You really aren't suspicious? It's just... too easy." He said, taking a drink, but still not looking at you. Which only made you more annoyed. You set your glass down, and completely swiveled in your chair to face him. 

"Maybe it's untapped because no one else knows about it." You challenged, still trying to keep your tone light. You wanted him to agree with you- you knew you were right about this. 

Just the previous night, you overheard two men discussing the location of the fallen ship- and how it was completely up for grabs- cargo holds full of machinery, codes, and tech pieces that could be sold at high prices. Now, it was just a foot race to see who got to the spoils first. 

"Those two blokes were sure aware of it..." Khoan scoffed, finishing off his glass and waving to the bartender for another. You frowned, and called for another drink as well. 

"Please." You said quietly after the drinks were delivered. 

"Why are you so up in arms about this, huh?" He glanced at you sideways, setting his drink down to turn to face you now. You halted, never really finding yourself at a loss for words, but this time...

"I don't know." You admitted. He laughed, turning away to rest an elbow on the bar again. You sputtered, putting a hand on his arm to bring his attention back. "But it just feels right. Okay? Think of it... we could rest comfortably for a long, long time if this ship holds what those guys were saying it did." 

He looked at your hand resting on his forearm, then glanced up at you. A slow blink, and he sighed. After a moment of deliberation, he nodded.

"Fine."