Imagine That

Dating Darth Maul means learning that love isn’t always spoken aloud. For most of his life, Maul was taught to be a weapon, not a person, so expressing affection with words doesn’t come naturally to him. Instead, he shows how much he cares through countless small actions. You’ll wake up to find a blanket draped over your shoulders after falling asleep somewhere uncomfortable, or discover that your belongings have been quietly repaired before you even noticed they needed attention. He remembers everything you tell him, from your favorite foods to stories from your childhood, and months later you’ll realize he’s been holding onto those details the entire time. For Maul, paying attention is an act of love.

Physical affection takes time for him to grow comfortable with, but once he does, it becomes one of the most important parts of your relationship. At first, he’s hesitant and almost unsure of himself whenever you reach for him. Gradually, however, he begins to seek you out without even realizing it. His hand settles naturally on your waist when you’re walking together, his arm drapes over your shoulders when you’re sitting side by side, and he always seems to find some excuse to be touching you. It isn’t possessiveness that drives him; it’s comfort. After spending so many years surrounded by betrayal, anger, and loneliness, your presence becomes something steady that he can rely on.

Despite his intimidating reputation, Maul secretly adores cuddling. The Sith Lord who can strike fear into entire systems becomes surprisingly clingy when he’s asleep. He likes wrapping himself around you at night, holding you close with an arm firmly around your waist while his face is buried against your shoulder. If you try to slip out of bed before he’s fully awake, he’ll tighten his grip and let out a sleepy growl of protest. The sight of such a fearsome warrior desperately trying to keep you from leaving the warmth of the blankets is something you’ll never stop finding adorable.

One of the things that makes Maul such a devoted partner is how observant he is. He notices changes in your mood almost immediately and often realizes something is wrong before you’ve said a single word. If you’re exhausted, he’ll quietly encourage you to rest. If you’re upset, he’ll remain nearby without pressuring you to talk until you’re ready. Sometimes his support comes in silence, simply sitting beside you and reminding you that you’re not alone. His instincts are sharp, and once he cares about someone, he becomes incredibly attentive to their needs.

Maul is fiercely protective of the people he loves, and nowhere is that more apparent than in the way he treats you. If someone hurts your feelings, the icy glare he sends their way is usually enough to make them rethink every decision they’ve ever made. If someone threatens you, his calmness becomes far more terrifying than his anger. Yet for all his strength, you’re one of the few people capable of calming him down. A gentle touch to his arm or a quiet word from you can dissolve tension that no one else would dare challenge.

Some of your favorite moments together are the quiet ones. Maul doesn’t always need conversation to enjoy your company. He often invites you to sit beside him while he meditates or works, content to simply exist in the same space as you. You might spend hours reading, working on your own projects, or simply enjoying the silence together. After a lifetime of conflict and turmoil, peace is something he treasures deeply, and sharing that peace with you becomes one of the greatest comforts in his life.

One discovery that surprises you is just how much Maul enjoys having his horns touched. The first time you absentmindedly run your fingers along his scalp, he freezes completely. For a moment, you worry you’ve crossed some boundary until you notice the faint flush spreading across his face. From then on, gentle scratches and soft massages around the base of his horns become one of his favorite forms of affection. He’ll never openly admit how much he enjoys it, but the way he leans into your touch tells you everything you need to know.

When it comes to romance, Maul is thoughtful rather than traditionally sentimental. He isn’t the type to shower you with flowers or grand declarations. Instead, he’ll spend weeks searching for something meaningful because he remembers you mentioning it once in passing. Every gift he gives feels personal because it’s chosen with care and consideration. He remembers anniversaries, important dates, and seemingly insignificant details that most people would forget. His love is intense, deliberate, and unwavering.

Maul would not recognize love when it first starts happening to him because he genuinely has no framework for it, not personally nor even theoretically. If he's ever felt something resembling love before, he either never identified it correctly or deliberately repressed it before it could be recognizable. He would probably categorize the feeling more like respect, strategic interest, usefulness, pretty much anything except what it actually is

The confusion about his own feelings about you makes him irritable and I think he'd be pretty hot and cold towards you. One day he's seeking you out and lingering in conversations longer than he really has to and the next he's avoiding you and acting dismissive. The inconsistency isn't intentional manipulation, he's just very internally frustrated

His version of love would be very deeply tied to loyalty, more than romance or attraction or anything else. He desperately wants to be chosen by someone (not even necessarily in a romantic sense). Every meaningful connection he's ever had has ended in betrayal, loss, or destruction. So you consistently choosing him would affect him much more than any kind of traditional romance or direct affection or declarations. Loyalty is the closest thing he has to a love language imo

He gets attached pretty fast. Once you matter to him, you sorta matter too much, like it borders on obsession a little bit. There's very little middle ground with Maul and even though he doesn't really recognize what it is he's feeling for you exactly, it progresses very quickly

When he does have a vulnerable moment with you, he probably shuts down after and gets very cold. His instinct afterward is to retreat in order to regain control. I don't think this would ever fully go away though it might improve a little with a lot of time. I don't know that he'd ever be able to actually get super comfortable with vulnerability around you without compulsively putting temporary distance between you after each time

That's not to say he would never be vulnerable with you though, god knows this man fucking rambles, he'd trauma dump constantly without knowing he's doing it. Would likely end up confiding in you fairly often more intentionally especially after he figures out that you genuinely care. But afterwards he will need some way to make himself feel in control again and that often ends up translating to distance

Affection is very subtle to the point of being almost invisible. He is not physically affectionate, at least not naturally so. He doesn't really seek touch or verbal affection intentionally or at least not often. His version of caring about you is likely practical and potentially a little protective. He will remember everything you say. He will care when you are hurt or injured. He wants you to be safe. He values your opinions. He respects your strengths. That's affection to him

Any physical affection that does happen would take a long time. Starts out maybe with just physical proximity, then touches that can be disguised as something else (like letting you help him with his prosthetics and such), then slowly might get used to subtle touches to like the arm/shoulder and stuff like that. I do think he would eventually be able to take comfort in some touch, especially if it's very gentle, but he would never be a super physically affectionate person. When he does touch you there's usually a purpose to it, like gently tipping your chin up to look at him

Kissing would be rare imo. Often in more vulnerable moments and usually pretty impulsively. Like he might enjoy it but seeking it out does not come naturally to him. You're not really gonna get casual physical affection from him or romantic gestures and for him kissing is more often out of an impulsive desire for comfort than an intentional gesture of affection

Does compliment you relatively often. I think that it would be necessary for him to have some level of respect/admiration for you in order for him to fall in love. Some skill or competence or strength that he thinks is impressive. He'd often be very critical of you but when he does observe something you do or something about you that impresses him he'll say it

Kinda building on that, he respects strength and capability and the more you prove yourself reliable and resilient the more attached he becomes. He wants you to be able to stand beside him, not behind him. Being an equal means more to him than being adored at this point.

He seeks praise from you kind of desperately. Maul is, at his core, deeply insecure. He wants to belong somewhere. He wants to know all his suffering hasn't been for nothing. He needs reassurance and praise and validation but also has no idea how to get it or accept it.

I don't think he'd be able to tolerate any feelings of jealousy in himself. His trust is fragile and the moment he ever starts seriously questioning your loyalty, things will unravel. If he thinks there is a chance you could betray him, abandon him, choose someone else, his response is extreme. He'd convince himself that he was foolish for caring at all and the attachment would transform to anger rapidly. It's largely fear based; he's afraid of losing you, but he'll blame you for that fear

A relationship in a conventional sense would be nearly impossible for him to sustain because he cares in ways that are unhealthy and difficult to maintain. He has too much instability and defense mechanisms built around isolation and anger. You might become one of the most important people in his life (or THE most important), but even then the relationship would fluctuate between moments of startling intimacy and then emotional distance. Being loved does not magically heal Maul (at least not by itself). Worst case, it just gives him one more thing to lose

Like, you're going to have to deal with a lot of emotional volatility, his intense obsession with revenge, his fear and insecurities that manifest mostly through anger and controlling behavior. He doesn't want to control/manipulate you; he wants you to be there of your own volition. But goddamn will he (unintentionally) make it very hard. Having you there will in some ways be extremely helpful and comforting and good for him, and likely healing to an extent, but it could also very easily make some things worse

How long you laid there together was a mystery, and not one you were in any hurry to figure out. Your every breath was filled with the light scent of the laundry detergent Lucifer used, the fabric of his pyjamas ever so soft beneath your cheek. His hands moved constantly against you, in slow and soothing patterns. You found yourself lightly running your fingers over his shoulder, his jaw, never once raising your head.

“Want breakfast?” He asked eventually into your hair, making absolutely no moves to get up.

You nuzzled your nose into the side of his neck, since you were allowed to do that now.

“Can we order from that place from before?”

Lucifer paused, fingers lightly drumming against your back while he thought.

“Oh! The all day breakfast place? Sure.”

He stretched beneath you to reach his phone on his bedside table, the blue light cutting sharp across his features as he began the order. Not five minutes later – literally – they texted him that the food had arrived. And this time, it was delivered directly outside of his hotel door as per his request. Of course that still meant that one of you had to get up to get it.

You grumbled complaints as Lucifer began to move, only to find he had gotten out of bed with you still in his arms. You tucked your face against his neck to stifle your laughter.

“Well how are you going to pick it up if you’re still holding me?” You asked, receiving a big, theatrical wink for your trouble.

“I’m not,” he told you, wearing a self-satisfied smile. At your look of confusion he grinned. “What, did you think you were just here for decoration?”

When he opened the door to his rooms, whoever had delivered the food was long gone. He walked down the few steps into the corridor and then leaned forward so that the giant takeaway bag was within arms reach for you. He nodded towards it when you didn’t immediately pick it up.

You scoffed, feigning incredulity.

“Seriously? You know, I think I would rather just be a decoration.”

You picked up the bag and balanced it between your arms, careful not to let it tip. You were sure Lucifer’s stack of pancakes would look more appetising if they were still upright. Lucifer’s voice dropped into something smooth and deep.

“But a decoration only ever gets left on some shelf gathering dust. And you’re far too pretty for that.”

The King’s grin was wicked, only sharpening further when your eyes widened and you glanced away from him. You tried to laugh through how flustered his little comment had left you, cover for it in some way. But Lucifer was far too quick for that. With his hands occupied with holding you, he leaned in close.

“What?” He purred, his gaze all-encompassing. “You gonna tell your King that I’m wrong?”

You really hoped he couldn’t sense the way that had turned your legs to jelly.

You pushed his face away from yours, because your stomach was flipping too violently for you to think straight and the burning across your cheeks and ears was almost painful. Lucifer’s laughter was rich. He set you down gently on your feet – back inside his room, when had you gotten there again? – but his hands stayed on your shoulders, his thumbs drawing easy circles. You were hugging the bag of breakfast foods to your chest, because you needed some sort of a barrier between you and Lucifer’s insistent flirting.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He teased, voice dropping low again. “Am I making you nervous?”

There was no need to wonder about Lucifer’s sin. His sharp grin, his posture, his very presence exuded pride. Heat crawled up the back of your neck – he could have probably sensed your nerves from the other side of the Pentagram. There was no need to make it worse by calling it out.

Unprepared as you were for Lucifer’s confidence and his silver-tongued way with words, you did the only thing you could think of in that moment. You grabbed Lucifer’s box of pancakes from the takeout bag and almost threw it at him, anything to distract him from flustering you.

“Well, thank you, my darling,” he said in a lilting tone, immediately falling back into his usual, slightly goofy demeanour. “You got the maple syrup?”

-

The hotel foyer was as busy as ever when you both arrived a while later. Lucifer’s celebrity status was still drawing far more attention than he wanted, but he had resigned himself to tipping his hat towards people and offering fairly convincing false smiles. You however didn’t receive a single glance. Until –

“O-ho! The lovebirds return!”

Anyone who hadn’t already been looking in your direction certainly was now that Alastor had projected his broadcast voice across the room. Embarrassment burned furiously across your skin, even as Lucifer’s already perfect posture seemed to straighten even further like he was squaring up to fight. You supposed there was nothing stopping you from taking a swing at your friend in the Devil’s place.

“Now listen here, red guy-”

“Alastor for the love of God please shut up,” you hissed, scuttling over to him at the bar so he wouldn’t have another excuse to raise his voice.

Lucifer followed you, and the eyes of the hotel’s entire suite of guests followed him.

“Come now, my dear. All I meant to say was that clearly your night on the town was a success, as you are yet to resort to Rosie’s methods to free yourself of your beau! This is an excellent start, I am assured.”

Lucifer looked like he was itching to start throwing punches, but with half of Hell watching, he grinned at the demon in a way which was really more a baring of teeth. You had to fight the urge to whack your head against the bar top.

“Husk, I need a drink. Please,” you called, desperation bleeding into your tone.

“Yeah, yeah, we got those here,” he answered, the sarcasm almost vicious. “Which one?”

“Any one, I don’t care-”

He dropped a half full tumbler of something in front of you, and you didn’t stop to ask what it was. You were glad you hadn’t, because then came an even bigger problem.

“Dad?”

Your eyes widened where you were still looking down at the bar, your back tensing. You slowly turned to find Lucifer in a similar state of oh crap, before he spun to face his daughter. He took a very large step away from you in the process.

“Ch- Charlie! Heyy, how’re you doing?”

She looked cautiously between Lucifer and yourself. You raised a hand in greeting and paired it with a smile which you hoped didn’t look too strained, before waving Husk over for a refill of whatever he had already given you. You fully intended to let Lucifer handle whatever he hadn’t been telling his daughter.

“Well, this should be interesting,” Alastor crowed beside you.

You straightened to at least be on eye level with him – where he was sitting, you could just about manage – in order to glare at him more effectively.

“I’m alright… um, dad? Is there something we need to talk about?”

Lucifer waved his arms about in your peripheral.

“Talk. Talk! Yes. There is, but not here, ha ha. There’s, uh… too many people.”

He glanced nervously at you over his shoulder.

“Eloquent as ever, your majesty,” Alastor hummed.

You hissed his name as if that would make him stop talking. You then downed the rest of your drink, and gave Charlie what felt like a more convincing smile. Alastor allowed you to lightly take his elbow.

“We’ll go for a walk,” you said to disrupt the building tension, “you guys go and catch up.”

Yet another smile, this time towards Lucifer in the hopes he would ignore the fact that you were taking Alastor on your walk. Apparently, he was nervous enough about Charlie that it worked. You encouraged Alastor to his feet and headed towards the main doors, engaging him on the latest happenings in Cannibal Town. That would no doubt be where you end up, and it was quite a pleasant place if you ignored the eating habits.

Still, you were preoccupied. The very last thing you wanted to do was come between Lucifer and Charlie, but his terror about talking to her – clearly about you – had made you uneasy. You had no doubt that if push came to shove, Lucifer would make Charlie his priority. He would be right, too. No matter how it pained you, you simply wouldn’t be with him if it put his newly reformed relationship with his daughter at risk. You had a good idea of how things had been between them, even if Lucifer hadn’t ever talked to you about it directly. You weren’t going to get in the way of that.

But still, Lucifer was the first person – almost-god, whatever – that you’d ever trusted enough to even consider starting a proper relationship, one built on openness and understanding communication (though it might have taken you both a while to get there). And with how many fears and insecurities you both had, you had only just started getting to that point. It was selfish, but there was an undeniable ache in your chest.

You didn’t want to lose whatever you and Lucifer were starting to build.

-

Neither Lucifer nor Charlie were anywhere in sight by the time you and Alastor returned. Unable to decide if that was a good thing or not, you retreated to your room for a relaxing shower and to decompress. Eventually, you received a text from Lucifer asking if you were busy. You said you were in your room, and he was welcome to join you, and almost died a second time when he walked straight out of a portal which had simply materialised above your carpet without warning.

“Hey, sweetheart,” he murmured, taking a look around your room. You weren’t sure if he’d ever been here before. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”

That was accompanied by a smile and a wink which were far less enthusiastic than you were used to seeing on him. Your brows drew close together with worry. When he just kept standing there, you got up and slowly went over to him. You didn’t pull him into a hug or anything like that, just in case that wasn’t what he wanted, but he answered that question before you had a chance to voice it.

Lucifer’s arms wrapped around your shoulders and he drew you close to him, but everything was a little heavier than it had been earlier in the day. He laid his head on top of yours to avoid your gaze, sighing deeply. You found your hands were running up and down his back of their own accord, trying to bring him comfort.

“How’d it go?” You tried tentatively, since he hadn’t walked in and announced the end of your non-relationship.

Lucifer took a moment to answer.

“Oh… you know.”

That did nothing to settle your nerves. You worried at your lip.

“Um, not… not really? Was she upset?”

The Devil’s fingers drummed against your shoulder blade. Nerves. He pressed you to him more tightly.

“No, no. Not… upset. She – she just…” Lucifer shook his head lightly. “She misses her mom.” Then, so quietly you almost missed it: “I miss her mom.”

Your gut twisted. Of course he missed Lilith. Their love was millennia in the making – you were just a blip. But Lucifer had started talking now, almost as if he’d forgotten you were there.

“You know, she just walked out one day. I mean – things weren’t perfect. When are they? But I had no idea it was that bad. And she’d been distant for a long time, kept finding reasons to leave, to take Charlie with her. Then one day, she actually left. Just gone. No note, no nothing. And even if I wasn’t enough, or I was too much, or whatever I was, she shouldn’t have left Charlie. Whatever kind of space or time she needed from me, she should never have just left Charlie.”

He was crying, but this wasn’t a fresh hurt any more. The tears fell silently, his breathing almost normal. You grit your teeth and resolved to be there for him in this moment, whatever it was he needed. He raised a hand to swipe at his eyes, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, honey. I shouldn’t be talking to you about this. It’s not fair.”

You pulled back just far enough to catch his gaze, hands still moving in what you hoped were calming motions against him.

“Hey, Lu… it’s okay-”

“No it’s not,” he said firmly. You gently brushed the tears from his cheeks. “You only just told me how you felt about me, and now I’m telling you I miss my ex. That’s… terrible. Oh, why don’t I ever just keep my mouth shut.”

Your attempts to get Lucifer’s attention failed miserably, and he spiralled fast.

“You know what? If you want me to go, I get it. Why would you want to be with someone who starts crying over their ex wife literally less than a full twenty four hours after a really good first date. I mean who does that? You probably-”

“Lucifer.”

You took his face between your hands, the use of his full name finally enough to make him listen to you.

“Look, I can see how hard this is for you, alright? So whatever you need to say, you can say it. But just… is everything alright with Charlie?”

Fresh tears lined Lucifer’s eyes as he shook his head again, near uncomprehending.

“I don’t deserve that,” he muttered, “not at all. But, yeah. She’s… she’s alright. It’s not like she never wants me to move on, but I think it was just a bit of a surprise. She’ll want some time to talk about it. Maybe to uh… her girlfriend.”

You acknowledged that as calmly as you could, a hand finding its way into Lucifer’s hair. He leaned into your touch without hesitation.

“I just don’t want to cause a problem between you two,” you said softly. “And if I’m going to, you have to tell me. Okay?”

Lucifer straightened immediately, frowning. He searched your gaze like he was looking right through to your soul. Maybe he was. Then his hands were cupping your face, his thumbs tracing beneath your eyes. You recognised his desperation from just before you had kissed him for the first time. He wanted you to understand what he was thinking so badly.

“You will never come between us, do you hear me? Never. Charlie cares about you just as much as everyone else here. She just needs a little bit of time.”

His voice was so honest, so uncharacteristically serious, that you believed him immediately. He hugged you back against his chest when you told him that, relieved.

“Do you want to stay in here for a while?” You offered, relief flooding through you now at his warm expression.

“I’d love to.”

-

Tag list; @bizzardvark @violescent-scrolls @yourlocalcryptidbee @kittenlover614 @damsel-loves-machines @thepaperbackdragon-blog @cr0-wz @hamthepan @m0ldybr34d @m0thprson @shaddow-darkcloud @bagofrice @mushy-mushroom04 @acrushedpomegranate @bbbisque @tessa-j-elliot @beanie-beebo @ronjasessan @hawke1917 @randomfan218-blog @mysoulforkyo @night-shadowblood-writes2 @the-reas0n-is-y0u @lazygirl966 @juniijai @blueish-flower @mightymeick @crafty-little-crow @squirrelgirl23 @mxvoid26 @kayanig @faintlyenchantedgriffin

-

You mind ran in circles as you looked out over the city. It was one of those days where nothing had actually gone wrong… and yet. You were bone deep weary, in a way that a good night’s sleep wouldn’t fix. Your shoulders and neck hurt with a tension you couldn’t ease, one which was beginning make your head ache. Your hands trembled, even as you wrapped your arms around yourself in some semblance of comfort. Breathing was beginning to feel like an effort, as if there was a solid lump of Beskar crushing your chest.

You didn’t turn when you heard the door to Maul’s chambers open, because it could only have been him. The joint mechanisms in his cybernetic legs whirred quietly as he walked up behind you. He laid a flat palm on the centre of your back, between your shoulder blades. The warmth of his skin, courtesy of his naturally elevated body temperature, seeped through your thin shirt and into your own immediately. You relaxed back into his touch without thinking, the feeling of his steady presence behind you grounding.

“My darling…” Maul murmured, his soft voice catching on a lower register.

The exhaustion threatened to overwhelm you at the thought that Maul had come here for you. He had to have known something was wrong, even if he didn’t know what. And he had to have left behind something important in favour of being with you. He was always working.

Your eyes almost closed when he reached around to cup your cheek with his other hand. You tilted your head into his touch, leaving a light kiss on the inside of his wrist when you found he wasn’t wearing his gloves. Maul huffed, amused. He still failed to understand why you thought he was deserving of such gentle shows of affection.

Whilst his gaze was sharp when you met it, and his amber eyes piercing, there was something just a little less harsh lying behind his hard exterior which you didn’t always get to see. Without wasting another moment, the Zabrak brought you against his chest. You ran a hand up his arm when he pulled you in, looping your own around his waist as he pressed you tight to him. Your eyes did close that time, in content. His arms crossed over your back securely. One hand found your hip whilst the other held your opposite shoulder, grip just hard enough to make you relax.

For the first time all day, you could just breathe. Maul smelled faintly of metal and smoke, like he always did. His chest shifted regularly against you, his entire presence steady and sure. Maybe one day you would find a way to tell him how safe he made you feel. You tucked your head closer against his neck, pressing a little kiss there too. You could never quite believe he would let you. Off of that thought, just because you wondered what he would do, you tilted your head to graze your nose along his collarbone. Maul didn’t talk much about Zabraki culture, but he had mentioned offhandedly once that this was a sign of affection.

When you went to rest your head against him again, you instead found his arm on your neck and his hand beneath your jaw. You couldn’t read his expression when he tilted your head up towards him, but it was nothing angry or violent. He stared at you intently, his grip still tight. You realised he had been weighing up a decision when he began to lean in. Holding your head perfectly still, he paused a moment again before returning the gesture, lightly running the tip of his nose along your cheek.

When he didn’t move afterward, you hardly dared breathe in his hold lest you break whatever was happening. He had angled his face away from you, as if he needed a moment to think. You were beginning to wonder if this perhaps meant more than you had realised. So, careful of his horns, you quietly rested your head against his. It was just to say you were there, but you weren’t going to push. He had appreciated that reminder in the past, and your confidence grew a little when he didn’t try to create distance between you.

After a few minutes, he laid a quick kiss on the side of your head. That was at least established territory, and likely intended to reassure himself as much as you (though he’d never admit it, and you’d never make the suggestion). Maul pulled back just far enough to lay his arm along your shoulders, directing you forwards through his quarters. You still had one of your own wrapped around his waist.

“Where are we going?”

He glanced at you from the very corner of his eye, because you had all but moulded yourself into his side.

“Full of questions, aren’t you,” he breathed, but he was watching you with keen interest.

He was teasing. You had to work hard to tamp down on your grin. Whether Maul possessed any amount of playfulness was something you had often wondered, and here was your answer. This wasn’t an opportunity you were going to miss.

You spun around to stand in front of him, letting your full weight fall against his chest. Maul stilled, but only because he conceded to. Your weight was nothing to someone with his power; he didn’t so much as shift his stance.

“Yes,” you hummed.

You purposely made yourself smaller through the way you were leaning for the fun of it, and quickly gave up on trying to conceal your grin. Maul stared down his nose at you with narrowed eyes, his lips pulled back into a light snarl to give you a glimpse at his canines. But the show didn’t fool you for a moment. He wasn’t upset at all.

The Zabrak brought his hands to your waist, grip once again tight enough to easily hold you in place. Not enough to hurt, though. He was far too careful for that.

“And if I refuse to tell you?” He murmured.

You took the opportunity to stretch up and loop your arms around his neck, bringing yourself to his eye level. Still nearly glaring, Maul acknowledged this only with a raised brow.

“Will you?”

He began to brush his thumbs over your lowest ribs, highly focused on the way the movement made you jolt. You couldn’t help a sharp intake of breath, which the Zabrak no doubt found very entertaining.

He hummed low in his throat in faux consideration.

“More questions.”

In a movement too quick to follow, he hauled you up over his shoulder. You hands flew to his back for support as you spluttered, the result of attempted laughter with Maul’s shoulder digging into your stomach. He held you there far too easily, even as you mock-struggled. The Zabrak ignored your attempts at his name, at drawing his attention, just walking on again as if you weren’t there. You gave up fighting when you ran out of air, trying and failing to hold yourself so that you could breath better.

You were facing the wrong way to see where Maul was taking you, but you saw the doorway to his bedroom pass by in reverse. Then, the room pitched violently around you as he quite literally threw you onto the bed. You landed on top of a dark duvet and comforter, creature comforts you yourself had insisted he invest in. You scrambled up to sitting in time for Maul to lay down beside you with far more grace than he had offered you, neatly tucking a hand beneath his head. He watched you with eyes full of a casual surety as you made a show out of glaring at him, mocking the snarl he had been giving you a moment earlier.

You almost thought you saw his lips twitch at seeing such a foreign expression on a human face.

But he still said nothing, and Maul’s patience could far outlast your own. Even so, since you were both enjoying the game, you didn’t take the clear invitation he had left you just yet. You took the Zabrak’s free hand instead, his fingers lightly curling around your own as you lifted it to leave a soft kiss on his scarred knuckles. He didn’t react much at all, but you could see the way he tensed just slightly. It was just the merest hint of discomfort. Not at what you were doing, but rooted in how unused he still was to receiving affection, especially when it wasn’t be given in exchange for something else.

You tilted his hand to leave a chaste kiss on the inside of his wrist, again, then manually manoeuvred his fingers until he was cupping your face. Your eyes slipped closed once more as you just held him there, even though he had no intention of moving away.

Finally, after you had lost track of how long you had been sitting there in the quiet, you moved to lay down beside him. Maul’s arm seemed to wrap around your shoulders automatically as you curled into his side. You tucked your face against his neck, mindful of the horn at his temple, with a sudden want to avoid his gaze. You felt him tip his chin back in an attempt to draw your attention, but you just pressed in closer.

Maul sighed, theatrical, put upon, only for his other palm to skim across your lower back and pull you further against him. Now half laying on top of him, your hand found his shoulder. You took the opportunity to tangle your legs with his cybernetic ones, even as he shifted a little to avoid your clothing getting caught in his knee plate. When you tried to hold yourself even tighter against him, he angled his head just enough so that his horn couldn’t scratch you.

It made emotion well up in your throat. Maul was deadly in his own right, a terrifying opponent who most would run screaming from rather than fight. But he thought he was dangerous to you too, even if he never voiced it. The horns, the cybernetic legs… all too harsh and threatening for something as soft, as vulnerable, as a human. He had made a comment once about his prosthetic legs being cold for you, as if that would somehow be enough to stop you from wanting to be close to him. Your heart ached for him, even as you lay there holding each other. Even if you knew he’d hate how you felt.

“You are aware that I don’t need to see your face in order to read your emotions, my dear,” Maul said mildly, his hands settling into an easy pattern of drawing shapes against you.

It was soothing, even though Maul rarely did anything without intention. He would be trying to relax you for a reason. And you were going to lean up, to prop yourself above him and have whatever conversation he was angling at – but his hand traced up the back of your neck and into your hair, his nails scratching your scalp with just the right amount of pressure as he began to massage the back of your head. You sighed, utterly content, everything simply gone from your head in an instant.

“Later,” Maul murmured in answer to the unspoken question you had now forgotten about.

As your head lulled heavier against him, his chest rising and falling regularly beneath you, you slowly came around to the realisation that his very ribcage seemed to be vibrating… purring. He was purring. That thought managed to rouse you just enough to pay attention to your surroundings, to hear the rich, velvety sound of Maul’s purrs. The display of trust was immense, but you feared that by acknowledging it you might make him stop. So you just tried to hold him as close as you possibly could. You laid your hand at the open collar of his tunic, against his crimson skin and inky black tattoos.

This seemed to make his purring louder, the comfort it brought you something you never would have imagined. A moment later, he was nuzzling his nose into your hair. The air seemed to shift strangely as he took in a deep breath, then a second. It almost tickled, in a way. He pressed his nose harder against your head, breathing deeply again – was he sniffing you now as well?

An image of a red and black Loth cat sprung into your mind and you laughed openly about it. Only for Maul’s grip to tighten as he pushed you onto your back, almost seeming to curl around you where he held you now quite effectively trapped half underneath him. His chest still vibrated as he purred, though he at least conceded to still his fingers around your head long enough to let you think.

“You alright?” You asked through a smile, dragging your own fingers up the back of his head to lightly massage the skin around his horns.