𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙪𝙞𝙩 - 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘧𝘧𝘦

31 - 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦

𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘣𝘣𝘭𝘦

Thea and Wolffe stood in the elevator, waiting for it to ding for her level, before getting off. His hand held hers tightly and she wondered if he had finally accepted that they were meant to be together.

She led him to her door, their fingertips barely grasping each other, as she opened it and allowed the comfort of her apartment to engulf her. She turned to look around her apartment, kitchen, and living room to ensure no shadows or red silhouettes were lurking.

"Are you alright?" Wolffe asked.

"Yes, why?" Thea said.

"You seem off, have been ever since we left that hell of a planet," Wolffe said.

"I'm fine, just happy to be back with you," Thea said, her arms wrapping around his neck.

"You scared me, to death," Wolffe started, "I thought the last thing we had done was argue."

Thea remained silent.

"Say something please," Wolffe begged.

"Dooku may be evil now, but he was good to me when I was younger, cared about me, protected me. He taught me how to fight and fly a ship," Thea said, "he was my greatest friend growing up."

Wolffe took a deep breath, "I'm sorry I yelled at you, I can't control your past."

"You don't think I hate him now?" she started, "He tore the galaxy in two, people who used to be my friends now wish me dead, I am in constant danger, and the Senate is becoming more aggressive by the second. I hate what he has done."

"I'm sorry," Wolffe said, "We contacted him, to help look for you."

"What?" she asked.

"We asked him for help..." Wolffe started.

"And did he?" Thea asked.

"Yes, he said he didn't have you," Wolffe answered.

"Can we not speak of this," Thea started with a deep breath, "I just want to shower and sleep, I'm exhausted."

Wolffe took a step forward to gently lay his hand on the small of her back, allowing him to pull her slightly in his direction and lead her to their bedroom. There, he let go of Thea's back and started taking off his gloves and armor before sitting on the bench at the foot of her bed, in only his black shirt and pants.

Thea looked at him sadly before sitting next to him and holding his hand securely in her lap, as if she was praying for their relationship to blossom as it once did. She brought their joined hands to her lips and kissed his tourn knuckles.

"I love you, Thea Black."

She stared at him, her eyes beginning to glisten with tears before he separated their hands to let one of his come up to the side of her face and wipe away the tear that fell down her cheek. The warmth of his hand made Thea lean into it, before turning and planting a kiss to his palm. His cheeks heated, he had gone months without the soft touch of a lover, and far too long without sitting in front of the woman he loved most in the world.

She softly got up from the bench and moved to the closet, where she took out a sheer white slip before moving to the bathroom in her apartment. She moved quietly as Wolffe watched her from his place.

"I'm going to wash the grime off me," she said.

"I'll be here if you need me," he replied.

Thea nodded with a small smile before heading to the bathroom and turning on the water until the mirror started to fog up and she could see the steam rising from the glass wall. She stepped out of her clothes and got into the shower, closing her eyes with a deep sigh and allowing the water to wash away the red dust from her skin and hair.

All too quickly the memories of her stay in Mustafar had come back to the forefront of her mind, and as she looked down onto the floor of her shower, the water ran into blood. Her heartbeat and breath quickened as she looked to the floor, watching the blood rise to her ankles.

Just before she screamed, a pair of arms circled around her middle and a head found its place in the junction between her shoulder and neck. Thea tensed before she relaxed into Wolffe's front and allowed her head to lean on his shoulder. Her posture relaxed and she allowed herself to sigh as Wolffe's arms rubbed gently up and down her arms, coming to a stop at her hands and threading their fingers together.

With her eyes still closed, Wolffe began to kiss lightly down her neck and shoulder before he turned her around and raised her chin to look deeply into her eyes. The water continued to cascade down onto them, but the burn of the water no longer seemed to bother either of them. Thea glanced up at him, her mouth slightly parted as to say something before he leaned down and rested their foreheads against each other, their fronts pressed together, their hearts conjoined.

Thea leaned in first, standing slightly on her tiptoes, and pressed her lips against his, pressing them so softly Wolffe thought it was an angel kissing him. Wolffe tightened his hold on her back and pushed her more into him before he deepened the kiss, his hands then coming up to cup her jaw. Wolffe walked her back into the wall, causing Thea to gasp, allowing Wolffe to part her mouth just enough to kiss her breathless.

"Wait," Thea said breathlessly, her chest rising and falling with deep breaths.

Wolffe stopped in an instant and looked down into her eyes, searching for a sign of regret, repulsion, or rejection. He sighed in relief when he found none, only concern.

"I don't want to go further tonight, I just want to rest -" she was shushed by Wolffe who pressed a quick kiss to her lips and turned the water off.

"Come on," he said instead.

He stepped out of the shower first, taking the smaller towel of the two, and wrapping the other one around Thea gently, coaxing her out of the shower. Her feet barely touched the towel before she was pulled up into his embrace, gasping and grasping at his shoulders just as she had done when he took her from the bed in Mustafar.

"What are you doing?" she asked, breathless.

"Helping you rest," he replied.

He set her softly on the bed, the towel still around her when he shed his and used it to dry her. He started at her feet, kissing his way up to her knees, and then continuing to dry her. She watched as he dried her, relishing in the way the water drops stuck to his body and how, ever so softly, he traced the towel up her body.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Wolffe looked up at her but didn't say anything, instead bringing the slip from the bathroom and helping her put it on. He fluffed her pillow before pushing her slightly to lay down, his knees next to her knees, straddling her, before he placed a lock of her hair behind her ear.

"I would do anything for you, princess," he whispered back.

Thea's eyes started to close with exhaustion, but before she drifted off she could feel strong arms wrap around her and pull her head off her pillow and into his chest. Her lips curved into a soft smile as she snuggled into him before laying a kiss on his chest and drifting off.

Wolffe laid still for a while, looking up at the darkness of the ceiling before kissing the forehead of the girl on his chest. He had questions, oh so many questions.

What was she looking around for?

Who took her?

Why were they taking her blood?

Were they still engaged?

His eye stung slightly at the last thought, regret pooling back into his chest at the reminder that he left her after asking her to marry him. That maybe, maybe, had he not left, she would not have been taken.

His thoughts were disrupted when Thea shifted on his chest, her arm coming up to rest on his heart.