Mondder

She curled up quite comfortably in his warm, powerful embrace, quite contented at the moment, though she would always regret the lost time. In spite of these feelings however, she couldn't resist a small inquiry of, "This is you not making a mistake?" Though, to be sure she was only quietly teasing him, as well as confirming that she was actually awake and this was not merely a dream, or wishful thinking. Besides, she felt that time had shown that the mistake was on her part, not his. After all, she had said 'no' all those decades ago.

As soon as he allowed her to speak again she did so, albeit in a semi-breathless fashion. "I'd say yes this time," she responded without hesitating as he offered her the smaller of the two rings. She smiled, reaching up to gently stroke his cheek before decisively removing a ring formed of small blue and green daggers around an obsidian center that she had worn for so long she'd nearly forgotten its existence. With a small 'clink' she dropped it on the table in front of them and accepted the ring he'd offered her.

Jade was again wrapped in a long silky robe that belonged to the Admiral. She'd rescued it from the depths of the closet in order to stay relatively warm as the atmosphere got cooler. "Unforeseen, but not unwanted." Sometimes things just moved fast. To an outsider it would probably seem dizzying, but they'd waited nearly half a century. Once she thought about it, she'd probably be surprised by the quickness of these recent developments, and while they promised future complications, she thought it was worth it. They'd deal with it together. Probably.

She padded silently back over to him and slipped her arms around his waist from behind affectionately as she rested her head against his back. "I wouldn't wish you to have been slower. I am more pleased than I can say that we have a second chance."

Jade pulled him down onto a nearby comfortable sofa, and settled herself in his arms to their mutual satisfaction before answering his question. Actually, she'd forgotten about that ring until it became necessary to remove it. But then, it had been worn constantly for almost half a century, so that was excusable.

"Well, back before I met you, I think two years prior?" She paused a moment to reckon up the time. "I was knocking about the galaxy and stopped in at a cantina for a drink. Do you know," she frowned, "I cannot remember anymore what planet I was on at the time, but, I needed something to do, and I was approached by the leader of a subversive group of revolutionary leaders. They called it the Bratstvo Svobodii. Anyway," she curled up sideways, snuggling against Z'har, "he asked me to join. Basically the idea was to help organize people that were being tyrannized into groups that could fight back and take over local governments. They were scattered across different worlds, but all the members were to carry a token of black, blue, and green by which they would be enabled to recognize their compatriots. It was supposed to be something unobtrusive to wear, and I chose this." She smiled, "Looking back, it seems a bit...odd. But, it helped pass the time and led me into contact with Vin-Tiale, a Vong merc lord that I did contract work for. Eventually, he put me in charge of his interests on Galantos, and that," she paused to look up at her companion fondly, "is where we met."

At which point, she slipped her left hand up and ran her fingers through his hair before leaning up to kiss him warmly. "I find your ring to be much more...pleasing, aesthetically of course," she broke off to punctuate her statement with further proof of her affection, before continuing in the same low whisper, "but more importantly, as representing your feelings towards me...indeed, perhaps even your possession?" She finished with a suggestive wink as she brushed a fingertip across his cheek.

She was too well-bred to say so, but she knew very well that his gift was much more valuable than her old ring of daggers. And mercifully it wasn't large and ostentatious either. "I suppose it is humorous, perhaps even ironic. Of course, I'll still make your life hard for you I daresay," though on the surface her words seemed innocent enough she didn't dare meet his eye at the moment, "and it'll certainly be complicated occasionally..."

It was odd how often that turned out true. The hardest things to acquire were usually the most worthwhile and rewarding. Also, the people one cared about the most, tended to be the ones who could also cause them the most hurt. Because when you really allow yourself to love someone, you give them the power to hurt you worse than anyone else in the universe, at the same time hoping and trusting that they won't. Or at least, that they'll stick around to fix it. All these things occurred to Jade, along with the fact that she had really missed him after he had left Galantos and practically disappeared from her life for several decades. Sure, her life had probably been easier. But, it had often seemed hollow and empty. This time with Z'har again had proved to her that she was ready to take the risk, provided that it was one he wished to take as well. 

She had paced over to the windows to watch as the storm broke over the Citadel. After a few minutes, she wandered back to the large closet from which he'd pulled her outfit in the morning, and quickly changed out of it. 

Moments later, she came back to him there on the bed, wearing a heavy silk-brocade kimono style robe loosely tied about her waist. Jade paused next to the Zabrak, then reach up and pulled out the jet and gold hairsticks he'd placed in her hair that morning. She gently dropped them on a nearby table, and shook her hair out before looking over at him, emerald green eyes framed by dark black hair.

"So, we'll be seeing each other more often then?" she inquired in a low whisper as she accepted his offer of open arms and settled into his embrace.

"As if!" was Jade's succinct reply. She couldn't help it that trouble seemed to find her on a semi-regular basis, now could she? If anything, he should blame the Force for that. The sound of the rain outside was calming. For now at least, Jade felt like the world was very small, confined to only this room with her and Z'har.

She gently kissed him, "Don't forget I have a claim on you as well..."

Jade smiled lazily, nestling just a bit closer to him and enjoying the warmth and protective embrace that he provided. Not that she 'needed' it of course, but after all these years it was comforting and highly enjoyable. So, she enjoyed it to the fullest extent possible at the moment, knowing that they were unlikely to be disturbed.

"In the morning, I must go to Coruscant." she was absentmindedly tracing patterns across his chest with her fingertips while thinking aloud in a musing tone of voice, "I will miss you I think, but we'll see each other again soon. And, I never forgot you before, so I do not think I am likely to forget you now."

Inexplicably she regretted the time she had lost. While he was nearly immortal, the same was not true for her, though compared to humans she would naturally live longer than the majority of that race. So, after an effort to speak in which the words had died upon her lips, she tried again in a whisper barely loud enough to be heard. "I love you." It was the first time she'd said those words in well over half a century, words that she'd never thought to use for herself.