#bar date

“I don’t really care, to be honest.” In truth, she’d only loved one drink, a bottle of Andoan wine she received a comp for a truly harrowing shipment in CorpSec. Most other drinks were just fine. 

The waiter arrived, “hey Jecki, new date?”

“More like an old friend. Can you get us the usual?”

Osha’s heart sank, just a little. 

“Of course.” The waiter left. 

“You have a usual order? For all the dates you have?” Osha was trying to make sense of Jecki’s life as she stared at her porcelain skin, currently tinted blue in the club lights. 

Jecki laughed, “yeah, I’ve been around a few times, met a few girls. Sol gave me a lot more leeway after the incident.”

Looking at me, take one shot, two shot—Hit deeper, taste sweeter

The waiter brought over a flight of shot glasses—whiskey, by the look of it. 

Jecki lifted one up and toasted, “to life.”

Osha followed suit, “to the light.” 

The two women drank. 

“Wow, it’s been a minute since I had Chandrila.” Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was the company, but Osha actually enjoyed the sweet heat. “It’s good.” 

“Glad you like it.” Jecki savored the moment. An aching eternity stretched between them, and she hoped to bridge it.

Good but it feels wrong—I can last so long

As the conversation continued, Osha let go of the tension she was gripping. “So what have you been up to lately?”

“You know, some typical Jedi business. But I was involved with a missing ship investigation.”

This intrigued Osha. “Oh? Can you tell me more?”

“Did you hear the news about the Free Enterprise?”

“Yeah, big colony ship from Eriadu, got lost in hyperspace. We still get news out in CorpSec.”

Jecki leaned in, “Tasi and I found evidence of sabotage.” Almost a whisper now, “The Techno Union transferred large amounts of money to a few crew members before the voyage left. Then they showed up to the destination and started their own mining operations.”

Osha and Jecki were now inches apart. Osha absentmindedly placed her hand on Jecki’s. “So what happened?”

“One of the Techno Union’s board members resigned and is currently awaiting a sealed trial.” Jecki’s face dropped. “We couldn’t find the colony ship.”

Osha lifted up Jecki’s chin, “Hey, you found the people responsible. Sometimes you can’t save everyone.”

“Yeah, but it still hurts.” Jecki was taking in Osha’s smile, “I don’t think they’re dead, just in a different place. Someplace we haven’t looked.” 

Looking at me take three shot, four shot—Throat heat up, get sweeter

Jecki leaned back, suddenly aware of how close they were. She picked up another shot glass. “To the Free Enterprise”

Osha followed suit. “To lost ships.”

The two women drank.

The cantina atmosphere caught up with them. Jecki, despite her best efforts, continued to stare at Osha. 

“What?”

“Your braids, I love how they change colors in the different lights.”

Osha blushed, “Well that’s the nicest thing anyone’s told me lately.” 

“That bad out in CorpSec?” Despite her initiative, Jecki was still more than happy to deflect.

“I just don’t get off ships much.” 

It's so hard babe, loving me—I'm like a whiskey, you can feel it Hit so strong but taste so sweet—There's no loving me, no way

“Must be lonely then.”

“It’s fine. I do my job, I get paid. No complications, no attachments.”

Jecki chuckled, “I’m pretty sure that’s not what you were supposed to take from the code.”

Osha felt like she had to defend herself. “Look, I’m not good with people.”

“You’re pretty great with me.”

You say you need me, but you don't know me—I'm the dark type, forever lonely Hit so strong but taste so sweet—There's no loving me, no way

“If you were gonna flirt with me like this, why’d you call me an ‘old friend’?”

“I didn’t know where we stood.” Jecki didn’t want to lose the moment. “I didn’t want to presume…”

“Jecki, I asked to get drinks with you at a cantina, and let you pick where. I thought it was obvious.”

Now Jecki was turning a bright shade of pink. “Well…” she started smiling, “…good, I hoped so.” 

I know you know what it is—I can tell you know it hits

“Can you tell me something you like about me?” Osha still wasn’t sure she even deserved a date like this.

“You’re gorgeous and resourceful. I feel like I could talk to you about anything.”

With that, any façade Osha still had left crumpled around her.

Let your feelings go, you've been working so hard Put the week down—Pray in a space with me, hand on my heart now

“Jecki…I…I don’t deserve this.”

“No, no, no, you’ve lost so much, you deserve just as much joy.” She reached out and intertwined her fingers with Osha’s.

“It’s just, you’re beautiful and a Jedi and successful and—”

Jecki cut her off, “—I’m everything you wish you were.”

“Yeah.”

“Well that’s Bantha-shit, because you’re everything I want. Well traveled, beautiful, resourceful, better-connected to the galaxy.” Jecki paused, then leaned in. “We can stop envying each other’s lives for a night and just enjoy the company.”

A thought, almost a whisper from Osha, “Stars, I need to kiss her.”

Jecki pulled her in and whispered back, “My lips are yours.”

The first moments were a quiet sonata, wholly different from the techno beats around them. Then it swelled into a jam session, an impromptu melody accompanied by tight harmony. Then it became a rock opera, a wall of sound drowning out the universe.

And the two women were stars.

Oh beat it up—I know how to mix it up Let your body go with the slow as we grow with the weekend—Take five shots, six shots, oh

As the kiss broke, one of them inhaled “stars, she’s good.”

“Want more?” Jecki teased.

“Please.” It was the neediest voice Osha had ever used.

Shot glasses were grabbed. The two women drank.

As the symphony of kisses continued, they began dancing to the cantina’s music. Bodies pressed together, moving to the thumping bass line. Osha traced her hands up and down Jecki’s curves. Jecki draped her arms around Osha’s neck.

They were utterly enthralled with one another.

The song drew to a close. After kissing Osha’s neck and cheek a few times, Jecki whispered, “can I come back to your hotel room?”

“Follow me.” Osha grabbed Jecki’s hand and pulled her out of the bar.

It's so hard babe, loving me (It's so hard)—I'm like a whiskey, you can feel it Hit so strong but taste so sweet—There's no loving me, no way

The two ran, hand in hand, a few blocks along side streets. Osha’s room was up one flight of stairs from the hotel entrance. 

Clothes started coming off before the door even closed. 

“I need you right now. You’re incredible, Osha.”

“Jecki, already? You haven’t even experienced half of me yet.”

Osha fell into her bed and pulled Jecki down on top of her yet.

You hadn’t even entered the said bar that your whole body was screaming you to go back home/ It was really tempting but you knew that somehow your friends would know about you not going and take you back to it another time, on their own. And you didn’t want to be under their radar.

The little bell above the door clung as you opened. Who you guessed to be the bartender came your way, a bright smile on his lips.

“Hello. Are you here for the Meetik event ?”

“Mh, yes.” You answered shyly.

He asked for you to follow him upstairs and quickly welcomed you on the rooftop of the building. It was beautifully decorated. Many green plants, comfy couches and chairs to sit, small lights and candles in numbers everywhere. A bar and a table covered in food were settled in a corner.

According to the number of people, everyone - or almost everyone - was there. And it stressed you again.

Everyone was talking to someone else, in small groups or face-to-face ; some were really impatient to find “Love” it seemed.

You went around the crowd to the bar and asked for a (soft drink) ; surrounding by strangers, you felt it wouldn’t be a good idea to alcoholise.

“I don’t think soft will help you ease.”

“I beg your pardon ?”

You watched next to you to the man who talked. He held his empty beer to the barman and asked for the same thing. When he had it in hand, he leaned on the counter in a way to face you.

“I said that you look nervous.” He took a swallow of his beer. “An alcoholic drink would hep you calm down. What’s that think women drink ? With white wine.”

“Kir ?” His tongue clicked to say you found it. “Not every women drink that.”

“Never saw a man sipping one through.”

He had a point.

You watched him as he took another sip of his beer and out it back on the counter. But your eyes suddenly drifted to behind ; you swore you saw him in good company when you arrived. The man was easy to notice in the crowd with triple pierced ear, a soft scar crossing his brow and eye on the left side of his face and short green hair. And now that you were closer, you noticed a beginning of roots, which colour was between a dark blond and light brown.

“Weren’t you... talking with that woman ? Shouldn’t you go back to her ?” He followed your eyes and fell on the said woman.

“I was. Or more like she was talking. About her make-up tuto account on Instragram. Or was it her friend’s one ? I stopped listening half-way.”

You chuckled at his disinterested behaviour.

“It’s true that talking about alcohol is much more interesting.” You said in a sarcastic tone.

But to your surprise, his answer was sincere, as well as the small smile on his lips.

“I am willing to talk about anything, even a make-up Instagram account, as long as my interlocutor is interesting.” Your lack of answer made him continued. “Long and awkward silences are good too.”

“S-sorry. I didn’t know what to answer.”

That’s how you met Zoro, Roronoa Zoro.

The conversation was going on naturally between the two of you, from a topic to another. And you were so engulfed in your talking, and at ease with him, you forgot about whatever was happening around. You even got for a (alcoholic drink) ; you somehow felt like you could trust him, and not only because he was a rookie policeman.

Time passed quicker than you thought and around 1AM, the bartender came to tell you the event was finishing and everyone going back home. Zoro and you had just left the bar, you were now on the pavement about to pull apart.

“Mh, (Y/N); do you have any project for tomorrow ?” 

Tomorrow was Sunday. If lie-in was considered a project then you had one.

“I don’t.”

“I know a bar that closed at 5.”

First, you were speechless. But then you burst out laughing. 

You expected him to invite you to get out, but no. He was thinking about extending the night a bit longer. He didn’t seem to understand your fit of laughter, yet waited patiently for you to calm down. When you were done giggling, you looked back at him and nodded.

“Yeah. Yeah, why not.”

“Cool.”