Future Reference

Title: Future Reference
Author: QueenofFerelden
Game: Star Wars: The Old Republic
Characters/Pairings: femSmugglerxCorso Riggs, mentions of C2 and Risha
Disclaimer: LucasArts owns Star Wars, BioWare owns Corso(until Silver steals him, at least), all I own is some dialogue and the personality/appearance of my Smuggler : )
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The XS Light Stock was supposedly easy to maintain and keep in good working order. As Silver tugged off the access panel to get to the smoking engine underneath, she decided her father had been lying when he told her that. This was the third time between Taris and Coruscant the fracking thing had started to overheat, and it was beginning to get on her nerves. She leaned in the gaping hole made by pulling off the panel and took stock of the problem inside. Great. Just great. Half of this thing is fried so bad it'll need to be replaced... Still, at least it had managed to limp to Coruscant before dying completely. Now she just had to figure out what to do to get a bit more out of the poor girl. She knew her ship well enough to know what wires to cross and which to leave alone.

Or so she thought. The sharp bite of electricity that stung her hand was unexpected and pulled a yelp from the redhead's lips. "C2, I thought I told you to reroute power out of this engine!" she hollered, shaking out the sting before sticking her head back inside so she could see what she was doing, and thus missed the droid's babbled apology as he corrected the oversight. The confines were tight, and the engine was not cooperating at all. Another wire sparked, despite the lack of power, and she instinctively jerked backwards, managing to smack her head against the inside edge of the access hole with a muffled thonk.

"Damn you to hell you franging piece of junk!" The curse exploded from her lips as she pulled out, rubbing the back of her head and glaring at the engine. Her expression softened after a moment and she sighed, swiping hair out of her eyes and smearing engine grease across her nose. "Sorry, Angel. I didn't mean it... but could you please, please, please be a good girl and let me fix you?" She rested one hand on the outside of the engine, leaning just inside the opening to play with some other parts. As she tinkered around with Angel's inner workings, she caught a glimpse in her peripheral vision of someone in the doorway to the engine room. A small smile tugged at her lips--only because she knew he couldn't see it--as she greeted her company with, "What's up, Corso?"

"Is this all you do?" he asked back, a chuckle edging the question.

"Is what all I do?" Silver returned, pulling partially out of the engine to look at him in mild confusion.

"Work, work, work. I mean, there's gotta be better ways for a beautiful woman to spend her time," he drawled, leaning back against the wall of the small room.

She pulled all the way out of the engine--carefully this time--and sat down hard, staring at him in complete disbelief. I must've hit my head harder than I thought... "Alright, who are you, and what have you done with Corso?"

He laughed. "I'm serious, Captain. While we're stuck here, why don't you let me take you off this ship and show you some fun?"

Silver blinked at him, still not entirely able to believe this was the same guy as the old-fashioned-in-a-good-way farm boy she'd picked up on Ord Mantell. Might as well run with it... even if I am hallucinating. She was half tempted to ask him if he was tipsy again, but decided playing along was the better option. "Didya have somethin' in mind?"

He shrugged and grinned at her. "I figure you, me, a bottle of Corellian red... I'm sure we can find a cantina with a back room and..." The grin faded and he shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose in despair. "Ahh... I can't do this."

Silver felt one eyebrow arch even higher than it already had been. "Do what, exactly, Corso?"

He shrugged sheepishly. "I thought I'd tried to be suave, like those guys who hit you up everywhere we land. But you get that every day. You deserve better. Someone who'll treat you like a lady."

She dropped a dubious glance down at her sweaty, grease-stained self, shirtsleeves pushed up above her elbows, wisps of hair escaping her ponytail to fall in her eyes, and let out an ungracious snort. "I'm no lady."

Corso shook his head, a much more sincere smile curving his lips, and knelt down so they were almost eye to eye. "Bein' a lady doesn't mean you can't have engine grease on your elbows--" He swiped the streak of grease off her nose with his thumb "--or a blaster at your hip. It means you deserve respect. It  means you make the decision of who to put up with and how to be treated." He brushed the loose wisps of hair back toward her ponytail and met her eyes. "No matter what you say, you'll always be that for me."

"O-Okay..." It wasn't much of a reply, but it was all she could think of at the moment. Stars, how is it you keep leavin' me speechless, farm boy? "Um, what now?"

His smile widened, and Silver was pretty sure he knew he had her off-balance without her saying a word. "Captain, I'm yours if you'll have me. I don't know how to play those games, and give those gifts and make you laugh like some guys." That was a reference to Darmas, she was pretty sure. "But I'll be here, when all of them are gone. I'm your man, Captain. Any way you want me."

Silver felt a wicked grin of her own curve her lips. I can't resist. Not when he gave me such a perfect opening. "Is that a challenge?" she whispered, sliding one hand up his arm to rest on his shoulder and desperately hoping Risha was still in the cargo bay and they didn't have an audience.

Corso chuckled. "Don't try to shock me, Captain. I have no doubt you'd succeed. I've got something to show you. But you have to close your eyes."

After everything he'd just said, she couldn't find it in her to tell him no, much as she hated surprises, so Silver squinched her eyes shut. "Oh, fine. You prank me and I'll make you regret it, farm boy."

He laughed. "I would never, Captain. That would be takin' unfair advantage of a lady." She felt him move away, heard him stand up and step out into the hallway before reentering the room.

"Can I open 'em yet?" she asked impatiently, drumming her fingers against the freighter floor.

"Hang on a second, Captain," Corso chuckled. She felt him grasp her arm just below the elbow, his calloused hand warm and gentle against her skin as he guided her to her feet. His loose grip lingered for a second to make sure she had her balance before sliding down under her hands, turning them palms up. Something cool and slightly heavy came to rest on her hands before she heard him say, "Now."

Silver opened her eyes and looked. "A gun?" Knowing how Corso was with guns, she wasn't really surprised, but he knew she'd just upgraded Flashy before they left Taris.

"It ain't just a gun, Captain," Corso explained. "This here is a WESTAR-18 bolt pistol. Antique. Custom-made dallorian-alloy exterior. I've been fixin' her up for years. She's polished 'til she shines on the outside, and has the firepower to knock you flat. I call her "Sparkles". I think you'd make a good pair."

For the second time inside a couple minutes, the witty and sarcastic Silver couldn't think of a single coherent thing to say. "I-- You-- Y-You're giving me one of your guns?" Knowing how he was with his guns made the already-gorgeous pistol look five times more beautiful. And I do have a weakness for all things shiny... "Thanks, Corso. It means a lot."

His boyish grin widened at that. "You're welcome, Captain."

"Now, about that Corellian red... I'm more of a Rodian ale kind of girl, just for future reference." She winked at him. "But I suppose fixin' Angel can wait if you're really interested..."

"S'long as we forget I mentioned a back room, that sounds good to me," he replied, still grinning even as his cheeks colored slightly. "And I'll make sure to remember about the ale. For future reference."

"Good boy," Silver laughed.

"D'you hafta have the last word?" he chuckled, reaching for her hand as they left the engine room.

"Always," she riposted, linking her fingers between his and giving his hand a squeeze. "Just for future reference..."

He just laughed--and squeezed her hand back.