The Ancient Homeland

24

     "Were you able to get any information from Cal about his trip?" Cere asked quietly as the two of you relished in the newfound sunshine. Since it had risen, the sunlight had cast a lovely dew over everything it was able to reach. The serenity of the moment was heart-stopping, as you'd never been able to appreciate such things for the majority of your life. But that's what induced that feeling of enthusiasm of what was new, yet with it all, despair twisted around it like wisps of smoke from a chimney that billowed into the night sky treacherously.
   In the dewy grass little critters and varmints bounded and teased each other. And in the sky, beautiful birds flitted about, singing elegant melodies in a language foreign to you. The tranquility of it all was immensely soothing, easing worries you didn't know you had at the back of your mind.
    "Earth to Y/N!" Care yelled in a somewhat quiet manner, snapping you out of your short reverie. You chuckled and shook your head to focus on Cere's question.
   "Sorry... Guess I got caught up in the atmosphere." You chuckled, making Cere roll her eyes dramatically and huff a breath of slight indignation.
    "So did you get anything out of him? Or were you too busy making out for that to happen?" Cere questioned skeptically, quirking up an eyebrow as she did so. Her comments deeply flustered you, to say the least, your cheeks heated up and you began stuttering uncontrollably, spurring Cere to nearly double over in laughter.
"C-Cere!" You somehow managed to squeak out indignantly. Cere was on the metallic mesh flooring, laughing so hard tears were welling up in eyes. You lightly stomped your foot in slight irritation, trying to stifle the grin that was trying to creep its way onto your flushed face.
"You s-should've seen your f-face!!" Cere gasped, pointing at you as she tried to gather some air as her laughter racked her body. You sat down next to her and pouted jokingly, which only made her roughly snort and fall into another fit of laughter. "Honey t-that doesn't w-work on me, " She gasped out, clutching her stomach in pain. "only with Cal does it d-do wonders!!" She cried, and your face dusted a dark crimson red.
"I hate you..." You mumbled darkly, folding your arms in annoyance.
"Uh-huh yeah sure!" She wheezed, somehow still laughing after she spoke.
"I'm going inside, you turd." You mumbled, face still aflame. You grabbed your lightsaber and trudged inside, thinking about how in the world you could possibly get Cere back. In your brooding mood, you bumped into Greez who had just woken up.
"What's up with your face kid?" Greez asked in a grumpily sleepy tone.
"Cere." You grumbled back in a half-heartedly disgruntled tone, and you trudged to your room to grab some clothes to wash up.

After your shower, you changed quickly, all the while reflecting on the ultimate revenge. You then swiftly left the bathroom and speed-walked to your room, not wanting Cere to make you any redder than you already were.

Eventually, you made it to your room quick enough, decided to do something to occupy your hands while you thought. Ultimately, you decided upon brushing your hair. As you thought, you gradually brushed through your hair, thinking intently on what your next move was. Then it hit you. You were going to make a pretty looking pastry, but fill it with the ultimate disgusting mixture of Yoda Slop and Jawa Juice. You smiled mischievously to yourself at the thought. That'll be perfect. You thought to yourself, and with that, your mood lifted. The next step wouldn't be too hard, you'd just have to locate both vile mixtures without suspicions arising. You finished up your hair quickly and made it out to the kitchen to grab something to eat.
Cere and Cal sat at the tiny table next to the counter as Greez whipped up something random from scratch. The chatter seemed to die down as you entered, which made your face tinge pink.
"Still mad at me?" Cere inquired, feigning innocence as she spoke. You rolled your eyes and instead of replying to her, you grabbed a mug of juice on the counter to drink as you sat down at the couch.
" 'Dunno..." You murmured with a shrug, and Cere rolled her eyes.
"What happened?" Cal asked quietly, curiosity etched across his face, making him infinitely cuter. You silently chuckled and rolled your eyes as a smirk grew onto Cere's face.
    "Well, " She began, an impish look glinting in her eyes as she spoke. "I was wondering if Y/N had gotten any information out of you about your escapade in Kashyyyk, and She had spaced out and then I said, 'So did you get anything out of him or were you just too busy making out for that to happen?' and her reaction was priceless!" Cere explained, her breathy giggles quickly following thereafter. Your face was turning a deeper pink as you risked a glance to Cal. His face was a bright red, causing his adorable freckles to pop out more. You quickly looked away and back at your mug, not even uttering a word as Cere wound up herself to continue. "But wait there's more!" She said as she viewed Cal's expression with a snicker. "Her face was bright red and it was hilarious, but then when I was on the floor dying, she begins to pout." Cere expounds, barely holding back the onslaught of giggles that was about to come forth. "S-so I said, 'honey that doesn't work on me, o-only with Cal does it do wonders!'" Cere announced, unable to contain her giggles as Cal's face darkened to the shade of a pomegranate. You didn't dare to look away from your cup, already feeling Cal's eyes on you as well as Cere's as she gasped for breath a second time that day.
   "Oh wow look at the time! It's time to feed Boogie!" You declared very quickly, prompting Cal and Greez to chuckle alongside Cere. You looked at the imaginary watch on your wrist and nodded your head rapidly. "Yup, just as I thought! Well, I must be off! See you never!" You explained with an awkward smile. You quickly placed your cup on the counter before scurrying out of there to your room. Boogie in question had heard your words from within the bowels of the ship where he's recently liked to spend a lot of his time. You chuckled as you saw Boogie shake quickly as his form of a weird greeting was too endearing to not love. You walked into your room hastily, allowing room for Boogie to walk alongside you as you entered the small area.

    You had been in your room for a few minutes now, your face having finally calmed down as well. In the silence, you fiddled with Boogie's thick fur absentmindedly as your mind drifted to the one thing that had been on your mind for you don't know how long. Cal. You felt like a young, stereotypical teenager because of how your heart pounded and did flips whenever Cal so much as breathed in your direction. A part of you felt embarrassed about it, but a larger portion of your heart threw caution to the wind, and you found yourself without a care as to how ridiculous it might seem to some to an outside perspective. You'd known for a while now, but you finally owned up to it now. The way you looked at Cal was too obvious even for yourself not to disregard. You liked Cal, and you couldn't deny it.
   Your cheeks blushed as your other hand, out of habit, lifted up to run your fingers along the precious necklace. Your thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the metallic door, a familiar voice making your breath catch in your throat.
   "Y/N?" Cal's voice asked, concern underlying his somewhat light tone.
   "Y-yeah?" You quietly croaked out, internally facepalming at the stutter.
   "Are you- Can I come in?" Cal softly mumbled out, and your cheeks totally didn't flush at the overly caring tone he held.
    "Yeah..." You replied, just barely loud enough for the other to hear. The door opened with a low 'woosh', and immediately your eyes lifted up so you could see Cal's pink cheeks and sheepish smile as he leaned against the doorway. You softly smiled back, cheeks tinting the same color as his. "You gonna come in?" You joked, provoking Cal to laugh as he walked inside.
    "Sorry, sorry." He said with mock remorse, holding his hands up in surrender jokingly. You laughed lightly and rolled your eyes at his antics, also ignoring the way your stomach flipped at the all-too-familiar unreadable emotion he held in his eyes as you laughed. "Are you okay?" Cal asked after your laughter died down, true concern painted on his face. Your cheeks blush for what seemed to be the nth time that day, and you nodded.
    "Yeah, thanks for asking, " You quietly replied, true gratitude warming up your heart. "Are you?" You asked, barely restraining your hand from rubbing the other's knee.
   Cal smiled endearingly, "Yeah..." He whispered back, his hand inching towards you slightly. It was so slight that you nearly missed it, but you didn't. Suddenly, you remembered your plan.
   "So I was thinking..." You began, a playful smirk toying at the corners of your lips as you tried to build suspense. "What if you and I pranked Cere back?" You implored, hope blooming in your heart at the aspect of you and Cal spending time alone together. Cal laughed and nodded his head instantly.
    "Sounds amazing!" He divulged, a brilliant smile across his face. You smiled and looked down at your fingers, realizing if you looked any longer at his perfect smile your heart wouldn't be able to take it. "So what would we do?" Cal inquired, his forefinger tapping at his chin in thought. You giggled as you remembered what you were going to do.
   "So I think that we should make like a good looking pastry, but wait! We fill it with an absolutely vile mixture! Yoda Slop and Jawa Juice!" You quickly whispered, excitement coursing through your veins as you explained to Cal your idea. Cal laughed heartily at the suggestion and nodded his head in understanding.
     "I love it!" He affirmed, a smile toying at his lips as he gazed at you adoringly. You smiled brightly at his statement, silently ecstatic that he liked the plan.
    "So how would we find the ingredients? I was thinking Greez might know, but that would raise some suspicions, 'ya know?" You rationalized, beginning to ramble on and on about how the next few steps of the plan should go. During your rambling, you didn't catch how Cal inched his way closer to you, his eyes fixed solely on your lips as you spoke. "If we could stop at Zeffo that'd be nice because it's possible that the marketplace could have some of the ingredients we need... Maybe we could play it off and say we wanted to try making dessert for once? I'm not sure, what do you-" You were cut off by Cal's slightly calloused yet gentle hand tenderly cupping your cheek, sending a wildfire of goosebumps to spread across your skin at the motion. "C-Cal..." You stuttered out, but Cal only raised your head so you would be looking into his eyes. His intense gaze held so many emotions at once that it left you dizzy as you shuddered under his attention. Cal smirked and inched his face closer, his warm breath tickled your skin and lips, which only made your face flush a darker shade.
    "Let's give Cere a run for her money, shall we?" He roguishly whispered before molding his soft yet slightly rough lips against your pliant and soft ones.