Welcome!

[Res T. Solo]

Title: I Promise
Chapter: Origins
Cast: Res Solo and Cressida Margravine de Dauphine
Plot: Solo realizes he doesn't want to go it solo anymore. {Pun completely intended.}
Mood: AWW

~*~

"Do you have our heading Marco?" Res asked. Here it had been 6 months since Cressida had joined the crew again. The trip had been so long and strange to the point that she joined back up with them that it was like she wasn't gone at all.

"Corellia?" Marco confirmed. "Yep, that's where we're going."

Res nodded, "Thanks,"

Sitting in the back of the lounge, Sparxx was fumbling through a magazine. Mostly he didn't want to think about why they were heading for Corellia. His best friend was slipping away. Sparxx was not enjoying having a lady on board the ship as much as Marco and Res were. She kept the ship tidy, she made him wipe his feet and take care of his dirty laundry. It was all in all the worst decision Res had ever made.

Res on the other hand was heading back toward the back of the ship. He and Cressida hadn't been sharing a room and to this point he was taking things as slow as he ever had before. He didn't press Cressida into any situation she wasn't comfortable in. In a way, he didn't feel comfortable advancing on her considering how naive about things she had been. Res was in a place he wasn't comfortable. Being a smuggler of course he had this 'devil may care' attitude, but for whatever reason, when Cressida had arrived back to the ship, she had changed him a bit.

Marco wasn't opposed to Cressida being a member of the ship's crew. She made him feel slightly less wimpy when he whined about certain missions. She also protected him from Leroy's rude behavior. He had come to enjoy having her around.

"What's on Corellia?" Sparxx asked with a bit of a sneer on his lips.

"Well," Res said as if he had to explain things to his friend, "None of your business."

"Hey!" Sparxx snapped, "We have a right to know why we're going to Corellia."

"Its really nothing, its the easiest place for us to gas and go without having to explain to the Hutts why you dumped that last load of Spice." Marco laughed.

"That was necessary, we were being chased by frakkin Alliance cruisers." Sparxx argued.

"Still." Res said as he passed through the lounge and toward the back of the ship, "Its why we can't go back to Tatooine for a while."

"I don't like you now." Sparxx hissed. "When are we gonna sell that disk?"

"We've been over this." Res sighed in exasperation, "No one gets that disk."

"I don't understand why." He argued with Res.

"Because we agreed that it would be bad for the Hutts to get their grubby mitts on what's on that disk." Res murmured as he picked up his jacket and carried it with him. "Just pipe down about it, okay?" Res tried to reason.

Sparxx rolled his eyes and stuck his nose back in his magazine. Marco snickered, "I don't know why you're lookin at that magazine. There's no pictures in it."

Sparxx hissed, "Shut up".

Toward the back of the ship Res was going to his room when he passed by the door that led to Cressida's room. He looked at it and tilted his head. She was probably sleeping. The poor woman always had her hands full picking up after a trio of smugglers. Truth be told, Res was glad to have her around, and wouldn't trade the notion for all the spice on Kessel. Gently he rapped on the door to wake her, "Rise and shine Princess." He called in, a friendly smirk perched on his lips.

[Cressida Margravine de Dauphine]

As was her wont, Cressida was already prepped and trimmed for the day. She didn't like it for the rest of the crew to see her when she had just woken up, so she took the pains of getting up earlier than expected in order to do her hair and makeup and pick out suitable clothing. Just because she had abandoned the kingdom didn't mean she had to completely let go of all standards.

Cressida was happier than she had been in a very, very long time. Not since the days of ignorant childhood did she know so much joy. Though she was in the throws of danger, and though she was constantly annoyed by Sparxx's behaviour, being with Res made up for any of it. Having never known love, she didn't know if she'd recognize it when it came along. Being with Res, however, and feeling the flutter of warmth in her heart when he came near made her feel like it must have been love. She would have done anything for him if only he asked, and she loved him even more just knowing he would never take advantage of that. Despite his supposed disposition, he was really quite the gentleman at the end of the day.

As with any other morning, when he knocked on the door she felt that little rush of excitement. The nights always passed so slowly, if only because she missed him. She practically skipped over to open it, and when she finally got there, it felt like an eternity. Pulling open the door, she saw him there, handsome as ever, and she beamed.

"Good morning," she said pleasantly, "I've been up a bit, I was working on that gigantic hole in Marco's jacket..."

Marco's jacket had lately been a sacrifice to a large Krayt dragon, but Cressida was sure she could fix it, even if she just made him a new one out of a giant patch. Despite her upbringing, she found the ship brought out a nurturing side of her that had never before been awakened. At the end of the day, she quite liked having people to take care of rather than the reverse.

[Res T. Solo]

With a 'good morning' such as that, Res couldn't help but find himself paused in a moment of awe. He shook it when it felt too long, still he couldn't believe just how much he grew to admire this woman.

She was but a young thing when she was abducted. It seemed like so long ago. Truthfully it was but a mere 6 or 7 months. In that time though, Cressida was allowed to spread her wings. She saw the galaxy and in turn Res for what they really were. There was a lot to understand about them still, and yet she took each new day as if it were the last. She sought to learn all about Res and the ways of the Galaxy at large.

He taught her with zeal. He showed her with patience and with calm. Res himself was learning along the way. He learned that he was capable of emotions like patience and calm. He learned that he was capable of holding a woman the way he held Cressida. She was kept at a safe distance. She wasn't exposed to the man that Res was before her. What she knew of Res Solo, she knew simply by watching him.

He wasn't hiding anything from her, no. She knew of his seedy past and his less than gentlemanly behavior. It had been something that he regretted sharing with her, but knew that he'd rather her hear it from his lips than from the lips of his cohorts or worse. Res had taken a step back from that man, the shallow, egotistical, foolhardy ne're-do-well and revealed this whole never version of himself. He had morals, he had restraint, he had the ability to care about someone other than himself. It was both off putting and yet very, very welcomed.

Marco in the mean time was EXCITED. "Oh You're fixing my jacket!" He yelped from the front of the ship.

"Pipe down!" Sparxx shouted at Marco. "The way you're carrying on, I think there's more than one girl on the ship."

Res looked over Cressida with eyes that would become commonplace for her to see. They were soft and welcoming. "Come," He said between them, "I made you something to eat." He made her breakfast. That was HUGE. Of course, what he made was the equivalent of toast and jam, burnt toast and jam, but it was something. He led her to his room, where he put the tray because he was afraid that Sparxx would eat it.

His bed was made, his room was tidy. Something strange was going on here.

[Cressida Margravine de Dauphine]

Looking around his room, she definitely noticed the difference. She wasn't in here very often, but it was often enough to know Res usually lived by the seat of his pants, and as such his room was usually a complete and utter mess. There were often piles of clothes, plates from meals long since past, and the clutter and mayhem that tended to collect when one went around smuggling and stealing. Had it not been for the furniture and the familiar air about the place, she would have sworn she was on an entirely different ship. Not only that, but he had made her breakfast. It was burned beyond recognition, of course, but it was breakfast nonetheless, and Cressida would eat it with a smile on her face. After being on this ship for a few months, she had built up quite the immunity to the mens' cooking.

"What's going on?" she couldn't help but ask. After all, it wasn't every day she got breakfast and cleanliness. It was a bit suspicious. "You're not planning on leaving me somewhere are you?"

[Res T. Solo]

Res felt a boyish smirk slide across his lips at the notion that he'd leave her anywhere else again. As he chuckled at the thought he shook his head and uttered a quiet, "No." between them as he shut the door to give them a little privacy. He had this sort of tunnel vision when she was around. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, nor could he imagine what the idea had been but it only compounded the feeling that had built up in him over these last few months with her.

They had gone from place to place and he showed her both the light and dark sides of everything they encountered. He showed her joy and pain, happiness and sadness. Res Solo had never shown anyone what made him enjoy the things he did. In his profession it was always about the money and the glory. To Res however it was the journey to the end that made his profession worth while for him. The bigger the challenge, the deeper the mystery was all the better for him.

Taking a short shallow breath, Res sat down beside her and he rolled up his sleeves. Showing the scars he had been given over the corse of his career he looked at the freshest of them and even the ones that were still bandaged and said, "It wasn't until I looked at myself in the mirror this morning that I realized just how much I've grown to enjoy having you on the ship." He started slowly, hoping that this didn't sound as lame as it did in his head.

"When I was just starting in this business I didn't care what anyone thought of me. I didn't take into account the pain my body felt and the ways to soothe it. I didn't care that the woman I went to bed with that night didn't have a name...or an identity. I just cared about myself." He said shamefully. "That was before though..." He laughed softly, "I haven't told anyone this, let alone myself...until just now...but Cressida...I think you've liberated me more than I have you."

[Cressida Margravine de Dauphine]

She smiled at him as sweetly as she ever had. The sentiment he was getting across was one that made her feel lightheaded. She didn't really need to hear any of it. Cressida was a trusting person, though she probably had little reason to be. Growing up, no one had ever tried to harm her, and then the one person who did ended up being the love of her life. Even so, she supposed it was a good thing to know. After all, he could have been putting on the good old 'I've changed' face in order to take advantage of her. Res, she knew, wasn't like that. He'd tell her stories insisting he was, but she felt deep within her that he had a pure and honest heart, and she believed it.

Reaching out her hand, she touched his cheek tenderly.

"Don't be silly," she said genuinely, "I would have been rotting away on the third and best moon of Thyferra if it wasn't for you... Rotting away in the lap of luxury, of course, but rotting away nonetheless."

[Res T. Solo]

The touch of her fingers to his cheek was something soft and devine. Res was the deepest of contrasts when it came to anything tender and caring. The smile came forth small at first but continued until it consumed his entire face. Those eyes of his weren't locked on hers, but on the plate of burnt toast of all things. He was afraid that if he looked into her eyes that he'd lose himself once again and forget why he had planned all of this out.

"We're going to Corellia..." He said to her softly. "There's a place there I want to show you, provided Sparxx hasn't antagonized the spaceport staff into not letting us land."

What was it that he wanted to show her? Well, it was a home. It wasn't just any home, it was his home. It was the home he grew up in. It was a tattered beat up pile of bricks and sticks, but it could be remade. While he couldn't explain what it was she did to him, he knew that she was special. That feeling was one that he felt like he needed to protect. She probably didn't realize it then, but he was wrapped around her very small, slender fingers.

"Marco seems overjoyed that you've taken to fixing his jacket..." He said conversationally. "He would have probably worn it without the back if it couldn't be fixed. Its his 'lucky' jacket."

[Cressida Margravine de Dauphine]

"Well, I'm glad I could help," she replied in reference to Marco's jacket. She enjoyed being useful, and even more so being appreciated.

The mention of Corellia didn't stir her; she didn't know much about the planet. She had heard it was practically the hub of the galaxy, outside of Thyferra of course, and that many prominent figures had been born there. There were pictures in textbooks of green forests and grand cities, but Cressida wasn't sure how important those things could be to Res. Whatever the reason, se knew she would follow him anywhere, and at least Corellia was civilized enough.

"What's on Corellia?" she asked with a mild curiosity in her shiny eyes.

[Res T. Solo]

"On Corellia?" Res replied as if he had forgotten the question. "There's a lot on Corellia." He said softly. "There's...hills, and cities...and...and a home there." He stammered, his voice taking a listless sort of turn. Catching her eyes in his own he tilted his head a little and thought about what was going on between them. Res would never have admitted to being so completely charmed by a woman that he would call it love. He would never in a million years admit that to anyone, but as he looked in her eyes, he now knew otherwise.

As he looked into those eyes of hers he saw a future that may or may not have been the one she saw. What he saw her as was an escape from this life. Somewhere in him he wanted to settle down and stop this running. That part of him was small though. The majority of him was still an adventurer and a rogue, but that small part of him that loved her and loved to be near her always had gained a footing and was charging to the forefront of Res's personality chain.

"I love it there." He said with a smile. "Its where I came from. It feels like home. I want to show it to you." He said bashfully. Tell her you love her, idiot. he scolded himself inwardly. No other words came past his lips.