Patron Saint of Snark

"That's how you're treatin' me," he hissed back, with a nod toward the duplex they'd staked out. "No way they hear anything shy of shouting this far back."

Silver shifted her weight foot to foot and kept her gaze on the distant windows. "They might if they're paranoid an' amped up security."

Tel's eye narrowed. "Silver, is there something you neglected to tell me about this 'favor'? Like why I'm here 'stead of Corso?"

"It's his turn to watch the kids," she joked. "I wouldn't deprive him--"

"Silver."

"Old business I don't want him knowin' is still business," she grumbled. "Hopin' I can make it a non-issue 'fore he has a chance t' go all heroic and overprotective." A wink to lighten the mood and hopefully loosen the furrow in Tel's brow. "Maybe I just wanna spend some time with my little brother and this is the only way, Commander."

The glint in his eye said he didn't fully believe her, but he let it slide. "Alright, then, sis. Just know, if you get me shot, I'm siccing Elara on you."

"Please, like you haven't done ten times worse to yourself," Silver snorted. "B'sides, she loves me."

A silhouette moved across one of the windows and both siblings hunched further behind their cover. Once it passed, unconcerned, Silver crowded closer to her brother. Like when they were kids huddled under a blanket together to watch a holovid past their bedtime.

Slightly higher stakes than Mom grounding them this time, though. "Alright, here's what we should be up against...."

--- ---- ---

Kazen/Elara [450 words]

The alarm's buzz cut off under the smothering press of his hand.

"We really should get up," Elara said, same as she had the last two times he hit snooze, with the same lack of heart behind it.

"Mmh," Kazen grunted, snuggling closer and wrapping an arm around her middle again.

Her shoulder shook with quiet laughter. "We really should, dearest. Just b'cause we're on leave--"

"Mmm," he grunted more insistently, his hand groping up to press clumsily over her mouth. "Leave's the only time s'gonna happen." Sure, he'd been awake for an hour, but he couldn't remember the last time he'd had a chance to just cuddle his wife. He'd be damned if he gave up so much as a minute.

"Be that as it may," Elara began, nudging his hand off her face, and Kazen smirked against the side of her neck. She wasn't even arguing his point. "We did have other things on our to-do list that aren't going away."

"Uh-huh."

She giggled at his unconvinced reply and started tracing her fingers along the tattoos on his forearm. "You wanted to visit your parent while we're here, and I have that article to work on, and we--"

He rolled up on his elbows leaning over her as he dismissed each one. "The article will still be there this afternoon, my parents are late risers, by our standards, and nothing else had a set date or time on it."

"Mm, have an answer to everything, do you?" Elara said softly, reaching up to cup his jaw. The fact she was making no effort to roll out of bed told him she wasn't any more inclined to get up yet than he was.

"When it's an obstacle to spending time with the most beautiful girl in the galaxy?" Kazen leaned down to steal a kiss. "You bet I do."

She rolled her eyes and laughed into the kiss. "That doesn't sound like an objective observation, Major."

"Oh, it's not, Captain," he agreed cheerfully, running a fiinger down her nose. "I'm terribly biased by how much I love you."

She bit her lip, face pink. "I love you, too," she murmured, fingers sliding into his hair, to the back of his neck to tug him down for another kiss. "But we really should get up."

"Come on, Ela," he wheedled, mumbling through the kiss.

"...mmm, five more minutes."

"Twenty," Kazen bartered, feathering kisses along her jaw.

"I believe the alarm will go off again in fifteen," Elara countered, her other hand sliding lazily around his back, under his shirt.