Cipher Nine (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stabgremlin) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
revivalproject2020-06-03 03:08 pm
stabgremlin) wrote in revivalproject2020-06-03 03:08 pm
Keyword: Onomatophobia
WHO: Aden Nahain & Open
WHERE: Aden's Calibration Room!
WHAT: Calibrations! Aden will be angry about this eventually.
WHEN: During the calibration event.
WARNINGS: Uhh... Torture, violence, murder, xenophobia, brainwashing, drug use... Will add if more comes up.
On first glance, it looks like a normal boyhood room.
There's a small bed, and equally child-sized furniture like a desk and chair, a shelf with toys on it, and a white kite propped up against a wall.
The sheets on the bed are midnight blue and have clouds and stars on them and there's many soft-looking pillows, and a stuffed animal that's seen better days. Its fur is slightly dirty, and one button eye has fallen off. Though it's obviously been ripped in places, there's obvious clumsy attempts at patching it up with mismatched thread, and there's hairpin stuck onto its head.
There's a glossy button glinting beneath the bed, and further beneath the bed, there's a wooden practice blade.
On the wall above the bed, there's a large model of a space ship clumsily put together.
Looking around more though, there are things that are very out of place.
There's a blaster rifle leaning against a bookshelf, and on the windowsill where sunlight is shining in, and the wind is making sheer white curtains flutter, there's a holo of six young women and one teenage boy- not out of place, but what is out of place is the shiv next to it.
A bottle of pills lays open next to the small trash can by the desk, a few white pills having spilled out.
Looking in the trash can itself, there's a lot of discarded cards that have been crumpled up or torn to pieces- one card is still intact.
Even the toy shelf holds things that are out of place- there's a fragmentation grenade, and a strange metal mask.
There's a lightsaber hilt too, though that's next to the room's occupant- Aden himself, seated on the floor, looking toward the window at the clear skies outside. Somewhere in the room a music box plays, though it's hard to pin down where the sound is coming from.
WHERE: Aden's Calibration Room!
WHAT: Calibrations! Aden will be angry about this eventually.
WHEN: During the calibration event.
WARNINGS: Uhh... Torture, violence, murder, xenophobia, brainwashing, drug use... Will add if more comes up.
On first glance, it looks like a normal boyhood room.
There's a small bed, and equally child-sized furniture like a desk and chair, a shelf with toys on it, and a white kite propped up against a wall.
The sheets on the bed are midnight blue and have clouds and stars on them and there's many soft-looking pillows, and a stuffed animal that's seen better days. Its fur is slightly dirty, and one button eye has fallen off. Though it's obviously been ripped in places, there's obvious clumsy attempts at patching it up with mismatched thread, and there's hairpin stuck onto its head.
There's a glossy button glinting beneath the bed, and further beneath the bed, there's a wooden practice blade.
On the wall above the bed, there's a large model of a space ship clumsily put together.
Looking around more though, there are things that are very out of place.
There's a blaster rifle leaning against a bookshelf, and on the windowsill where sunlight is shining in, and the wind is making sheer white curtains flutter, there's a holo of six young women and one teenage boy- not out of place, but what is out of place is the shiv next to it.
A bottle of pills lays open next to the small trash can by the desk, a few white pills having spilled out.
Looking in the trash can itself, there's a lot of discarded cards that have been crumpled up or torn to pieces- one card is still intact.
Even the toy shelf holds things that are out of place- there's a fragmentation grenade, and a strange metal mask.
There's a lightsaber hilt too, though that's next to the room's occupant- Aden himself, seated on the floor, looking toward the window at the clear skies outside. Somewhere in the room a music box plays, though it's hard to pin down where the sound is coming from.
no subject
"We wish we could have met you during childhood. We think you and I would have been friends."
Vector reached out and touched the holo, so he could get a closer look.
no subject
The room changed- still Aden's bedroom, though there were no weapons to be found, and Aden himself as a teenager, hair much longer than he kept it as an adult, tied back into a braid. His face didn't have the scar yet, and he looked much more positive than his adult self ever could.
Obviously he was getting ready to leave, working on packing a bag, and looking up toward the window, moved to snatch the holo of himself and his sisters, shoving it into his bag, before zipping it up.
Looking toward the door, he smiled, as a female Chiss stepped into view- she was taller than Aden, and didn't have the same freckles as he did, but the shade of her hair was similar enough. One of his sisters.
"You all done there, Dee? Ready to go?"
"Just about," The younger Aden responded, slinging his back up over his shoulder, "Not sure how I feel about leaving..."
"Once the baby, always the baby, huh?" His sister asked with a laugh, coming into the room to give him a hug, and ruffle his hair, "Come on now. Don't want to be late."
"I'm never late, everyone else's just early," Aden laughed, though as she let go of him, he moved to leave the room, and run downstairs. The memory's scene shifted, and they were outside in Copero's sunshine, with its peaceful streets and snowy mountains off in the distance, and all six sisters were there, along with Aden himself.
"Take care, kid," Two of his sisters said, speaking in unison. The way the two looked the same, obviously, they were twins.
"Take care to chew your food rather than inhale it, okay? None of us are there to keep you from choking," One said, with a cheeky smile, reaching out to mess up her brother's hair, until he swatted her hand away with a little hey!, though obviously wasn't making too much effort to stop her.
"Don't go out too late," The fourth woman said, and the fifth added, "Yeah, don't want to scare everyone on Csilla by making them think there's a monster lurking in the shadows."
Everyone sort of gave a snort of laughter at that, and finally the sixth of his sisters stepped forward and tugged him into a hug.
"Write," She said, hugging him tighter, "Call. Write and call, and let us know when everything's okay and when everything's not. Promise."
She let him go, and Aden smiled, though it was obvious enough that he was about to cry, "I promise."
All six of his sisters moved in then, sharing one last group hug before letting Aden go. And then the memory faded away, leaving the very much adult Aden and Vector back in the room.
no subject
When it shifted back to the present, he glanced at Aden. "They loved you very much. And you loved them."
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They were his family, after all. Even though it had been years now since he spoke with them, even wrote to them. Even with the lack of contact, familial bonds like theirs didn't really break. Of course, Aden never intended to see them again.
He imagined they wouldn't recognize him, due to what he'd become.
"They all took time off from their work to see me off. Only them though... My mother and father... Didn't consider it important enough, I guess."
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They were Aden's family, and thus they were Vector's family too. Hopefully they would be accepting that their brother was with a non-Chiss, because Vector had seen that Chiss could be untrusting of outsiders and he'd even met a Chiss who chose not to take his human bride back to meet his family.
"You never talk about your family."
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Once they got over the shock of Vector being a man. And not a Chiss. They'd get over it though, he was sure they would. No one made Aden happier than Vector could, and if his family couldn't accept that, then Aden could do without them.
Nothing could make him leave the other man. Not even disapproval from his family.
"I don't often have a reason to think about them, to be honest. When I left the Ascendancy, they became my past. And agents of the Empire don't really need pasts."
Or futures. But Aden had always seen a future. If he didn't, he would have lost his mind long ago.
no subject
Vector put the holo down and approached Aden, putting his hands on the Chiss's waist and leaning down for a brief kiss. "We always thought you would need to become like us to experience your memories."
It wasn't so much that Vector wanted Aden to become a Joiner, so much as it was a form of intimacy that he wished was possible without having to make such a commitment.
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Not that Aden liked his mind being on display for anyone to see. There were memories, thoughts, that people were better off not knowing. A mountain of sins that Aden himself preferred not thinking about, that he preferred running from.
He smiled slightly then, and leaned up to press a kiss to the corner of Vector's lips.
"I'm just glad you got a happy one. Though there are a few more happy ones in here."
A pause then, before he blushed slightly, "Want to see another one?"
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It meant a lot to Vector that Aden was willing to share this with him. He liked to think he would willingly do this for no other.
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He'd never physically written cards, of course. But he knew that the lot of them, the torn and the one still intact, was his trying to figure out of his feelings for Vector.
And he wanted him to see just how far back his feelings stretched.
"It's... Something I think you should see."
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Reaching out, Vector took the card in hand.
no subject
"If I can manipulate a Hutt, I can handle a baron," He says, confidently, and perhaps it's strange for Vector to see himself from the outside like this. Or maybe it's completely normal.
"A Hutt? Indeed."
Perhaps he hadn't seen it then, but Vector's tone, the his expression, made Aden stand up a bit straighter, and there's a look in his eye that might just be the beginnings of infatuation. He's hanging onto every word, paying a sort of attention that while Vector might not have known then, but definitely knows now, that few ever get from him.
"We must proceed to the Dance of Unlighting, but we'll remain here for the duration of your mission. We suggest you present yourself to Cortess as an ally of the Empire. Show strength... And don't mention your Intelligence connections."
Aden nods, and gives a short bow, hissing as Kaliyo then punches him in the shoulder. But the two walk together, past all the Killiks, and out into the daylight of Alderaan. The pair continue walking in silence for some time and once some distance has been walked, Aden stops- and sinks down into a little ball, face going an impressive shade of purple.
"What in the hell was that!" He exclaimed, as Kaliyo rolled her eyes.
"And there it is," She said, "The rare loss of composure from mister professional. Didn't know you were into bugs."
"Shut your mouth, Kaliyo."
"Nah. So what's it about him, anyway? I haven't seen you act so damn pathetic before."
"Well, I haven't seen someone so-"
"Bug-brained?"
"Polite. Well-spoken. Intelligent. Do men accept cute as a compliment?"
"No."
"I'm not taking your word for it," Aden said, rising to his feet again, "Well, he's probably not into Chiss guys anyway, so... I'll leave it at this."
"How rational," Kaliyo answered, tone full of snark, "Now get a move on, I'm freezing my ass off out here."
It was Aden's turn to roll his eyes, but he began moving again, glancing back toward the direction they'd come from for a moment, before looking ahead. There was work to do. And he most certainly did not leave it at that- his emotions would grow deeper- Vector knew that already.
---
Back in the room, Aden hadn't gone quite as purple as he had in the memory, but he was still blushing just a little.
"See? Good memory."
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As the memory faded, Vector put the card down. "You felt this way about us for a very long time, didn't you?"
Vector knew that Aden had loved him for a while, but somehow Vector never pondered on the exact moment when feelings began to stir within the Chiss. All that time, Aden had gone along thinking that Vector would never return his feelings. How his heart must have ached.
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He would have been fine, being just friends. His heart would have continued to ache, but seeing Vector happy meant more to him than his own happiness. He couldn't say that about anyone else. He wouldn't ever feel this way about anyone else. He wouldn't ever change for anyone else, for better or for worse.
These feelings he'd carried with him were for Vector and Vector alone.
"I love you more for every day that passes."
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He wrapped his arms around the Chiss and held him close. "We believe we started to return your feelings after you turned on Lord Jadus. We even found ourselves jealous when you got married."
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Then he'd looked at Vector, seen the look on his face. And then he'd realized there was no place for kindness in what Jadus wanted to create. It wouldn't be a place for Vector, or for anyone who wasn't willing to bow, it wouldn't be a place where anyone could grow.
And despite his fear, he had turned against him.
Would he have done the same if Kaliyo was with him? He wasn't sure.
"I'm glad you were there. Though I wish you'd have spoken up about your feelings earlier."
They were together now though. A dream come true.
He couldn't help but smile at the admission of jealousy, wrapping his arms around Vector in return and burying his face against his chest, "So you were jealous. That's cute."
no subject
Between the brainwashing and other mental trauma Aden had been going through, Vector hadn't been sure how he could comfort the man. But, perhaps if he'd spoken up about his feelings, he could have instead helped Aden through it and provided emotional support. Perhaps having a lover would have helped.
Vector regretted that he never spoke up, and convinced himself that Aden didn't love him.
"Yes. We know why you did it, and it was for the sake of the mission, but we wanted it to be us."