[ficlet] Heart & Home - Prelude
Finally got this finished! Nini requested this from the writing meme I posted a while back. A small prequel to my Star Wars cross-over, Heart & Home. Hope you enjoy! ♥
Another blazing day was just beginning as Sakito awoke, sluggish from the previous day's heat. They were all the approximate temperature of an oven, no matter what time of year, Tatooine only had one season - hot. For the past fifteen years he had been braving the heat, working off his slave debt under a mostly senile old Toydarian. But Momp finally kicked the bucket barely a year ago, leaving Sakito free to make a life for himself, if he could even call it that. Sure, he supposed it was better than indentured servitude, but only by a little. At least with Momp he didn't have to pay for food or rent. Dealing junk didn't afford even that most of the time. Jobs - honest, legitimate work - weren't easily found out in the wasteland of the galaxy.
If he had known how difficult life was about to become, Sakito might have gone back to bed. He didn't, however, and off to work it was, just like any old day. Since he had gotten up late, Sakito didn't have time for his usual morning routine, instead merely sticking his head in the freezer to cool off, and, finding it was broken, hauling his bag out the door. Outside, the heat rolled over him in thick waves, stealing the breath right from his lungs momentarily. Someday...someday he was going to save up enough money to move.
Sighing heavily, Sakito began to drag his sack of useless old junk toward the street market, where he likely would sell nothing, talk to no one, and end up shuffling home more depressed than before. Some days the ex-slave honestly thought about jumping in front of a moving landspeeder.
That is, until one hit him. The burning blast from the anti-gravity boosters sent him flying ten feet before he skidded unconscious into a wall.
* * *
I'm dead. I'm dead and this is the afterli- my ceiling? Indeed, it was Sakito's own ceiling, his own bed, but not his own hand pressing a damp cloth to the side of his throbbing head. Startled, Sakito made a faint, strangled noise, staring at the slightly guilty face next to him with widened eyes. As much as he wanted to ask, he couldn't find the words.
"Hi," said Guilty Face sheepishly. The voice was deep, masculine. He had shaggy dark hair hanging over one eye and a ring punched through his lower lip. Ooh, exotic.
"Who are you?" Sakito finally managed to get out, though he found himself to be rather hoarse from the heat. Testing out his limbs, he found most of his body felt like one giant bruise. Right...the accident... Wonderful. "And how long have I been out?"
"Not very long. Maybe a half hour." Guilty Face was being suspiciously evasive. "Er...My name's Niya....I kind of...hityouwithmyspeeder."
Letting his head fall back to the bed, Sakito sighed. At least this Niya had the decency to be truthful instead of trying to play hero. Should he be grateful or angry? It was a toss-up. He decided on neutrally inquisitive. "You were going awful fast."
"Yeah, well..."
"Wait, how did you get in here? More importantly, how did you know where I live?"
Niya looked somewhat relieved. "I just asked a couple of people. Then I used your key."
Simple. Why hadn't Sakito thought of that on his own? "Oh...I guess that makes sense. Thanks for...um...bringing me back."
Niya smiled, apparently more relaxed. They lapsed into silence for the time being while Sakito lay still and allowed the other to tend his wounds, which he quickly discovered were more extensive than he first thought. At the very least nothing was broken, but a good portion of the skin on the right side of his body was scraped off. The question of how Niya managed to hit him remained a mystery for about five minutes longer.
Outside, the stomp of booted feet and a rhythmic pounding on the door alerted them to the arrival of a troop of armed Imperial soldiers. Whatever relief Niya had received from finding Sakito rather complacent about the accident was immediately replaced by fear in his eyes. Sakito looked from him, toward the door, and back again. "I'm gonna take a wild guess...this is why you were driving so fast?"
Next to him, Niya broke out in a fresh sweat and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Can I stay here for a while? Just a day or two until this blows over."
The loud, mechanical voice of the commanding Stormtrooper drifted through the front door. "Open up!"
Searching Niya's pleading face, Sakito raised an eyebrow and pointed toward the bathroom. "Fine... Go hide in there." How dangerous could he be? Big time criminals around here didn't tend to get themselves into high speed chases. Niya hurried off to do as he was told, while Sakito hauled himself out of bed to answer the door. Though the pain of moving brought tears to his eyes, his injuries were the perfect alibi.
It was a month later that Sakito found out what happened, when Niya was feeling particularly talkative. He had tried his hand at smuggling, but had turned out to be pretty bad at it. Fortunately for him, Sakito was a good liar when it came to nosy questions, and after a while the search petered out to nothing, overshadowed by impending war and the fact that Niya was really not on top of their wanted list. The small bounty on his head remained, a fact Sakito would occasionally threaten him with when he refused to take out the trash.
Another blazing day was just beginning as Sakito awoke, sluggish from the previous day's heat. They were all the approximate temperature of an oven, no matter what time of year, Tatooine only had one season - hot. For the past fifteen years he had been braving the heat, working off his slave debt under a mostly senile old Toydarian. But Momp finally kicked the bucket barely a year ago, leaving Sakito free to make a life for himself, if he could even call it that. Sure, he supposed it was better than indentured servitude, but only by a little. At least with Momp he didn't have to pay for food or rent. Dealing junk didn't afford even that most of the time. Jobs - honest, legitimate work - weren't easily found out in the wasteland of the galaxy.
If he had known how difficult life was about to become, Sakito might have gone back to bed. He didn't, however, and off to work it was, just like any old day. Since he had gotten up late, Sakito didn't have time for his usual morning routine, instead merely sticking his head in the freezer to cool off, and, finding it was broken, hauling his bag out the door. Outside, the heat rolled over him in thick waves, stealing the breath right from his lungs momentarily. Someday...someday he was going to save up enough money to move.
Sighing heavily, Sakito began to drag his sack of useless old junk toward the street market, where he likely would sell nothing, talk to no one, and end up shuffling home more depressed than before. Some days the ex-slave honestly thought about jumping in front of a moving landspeeder.
That is, until one hit him. The burning blast from the anti-gravity boosters sent him flying ten feet before he skidded unconscious into a wall.
* * *
I'm dead. I'm dead and this is the afterli- my ceiling? Indeed, it was Sakito's own ceiling, his own bed, but not his own hand pressing a damp cloth to the side of his throbbing head. Startled, Sakito made a faint, strangled noise, staring at the slightly guilty face next to him with widened eyes. As much as he wanted to ask, he couldn't find the words.
"Hi," said Guilty Face sheepishly. The voice was deep, masculine. He had shaggy dark hair hanging over one eye and a ring punched through his lower lip. Ooh, exotic.
"Who are you?" Sakito finally managed to get out, though he found himself to be rather hoarse from the heat. Testing out his limbs, he found most of his body felt like one giant bruise. Right...the accident... Wonderful. "And how long have I been out?"
"Not very long. Maybe a half hour." Guilty Face was being suspiciously evasive. "Er...My name's Niya....I kind of...hityouwithmyspeeder."
Letting his head fall back to the bed, Sakito sighed. At least this Niya had the decency to be truthful instead of trying to play hero. Should he be grateful or angry? It was a toss-up. He decided on neutrally inquisitive. "You were going awful fast."
"Yeah, well..."
"Wait, how did you get in here? More importantly, how did you know where I live?"
Niya looked somewhat relieved. "I just asked a couple of people. Then I used your key."
Simple. Why hadn't Sakito thought of that on his own? "Oh...I guess that makes sense. Thanks for...um...bringing me back."
Niya smiled, apparently more relaxed. They lapsed into silence for the time being while Sakito lay still and allowed the other to tend his wounds, which he quickly discovered were more extensive than he first thought. At the very least nothing was broken, but a good portion of the skin on the right side of his body was scraped off. The question of how Niya managed to hit him remained a mystery for about five minutes longer.
Outside, the stomp of booted feet and a rhythmic pounding on the door alerted them to the arrival of a troop of armed Imperial soldiers. Whatever relief Niya had received from finding Sakito rather complacent about the accident was immediately replaced by fear in his eyes. Sakito looked from him, toward the door, and back again. "I'm gonna take a wild guess...this is why you were driving so fast?"
Next to him, Niya broke out in a fresh sweat and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Can I stay here for a while? Just a day or two until this blows over."
The loud, mechanical voice of the commanding Stormtrooper drifted through the front door. "Open up!"
Searching Niya's pleading face, Sakito raised an eyebrow and pointed toward the bathroom. "Fine... Go hide in there." How dangerous could he be? Big time criminals around here didn't tend to get themselves into high speed chases. Niya hurried off to do as he was told, while Sakito hauled himself out of bed to answer the door. Though the pain of moving brought tears to his eyes, his injuries were the perfect alibi.
It was a month later that Sakito found out what happened, when Niya was feeling particularly talkative. He had tried his hand at smuggling, but had turned out to be pretty bad at it. Fortunately for him, Sakito was a good liar when it came to nosy questions, and after a while the search petered out to nothing, overshadowed by impending war and the fact that Niya was really not on top of their wanted list. The small bounty on his head remained, a fact Sakito would occasionally threaten him with when he refused to take out the trash.