Before - Legends ?When in Iziz? [Exile/Bao-Dur vignette]

[Elena asked me for some Ex-Dur. I figured she'd enjoy me poking fun at Bao, since she loves it... I mean, him, so much...

]

It was a long time since Lieutenant Bao-Dur had worn uniform. He didn?t precisely remember when the last time had been.

Then, considering that the General liked to play around with his memories for fun, perhaps that was no surprise.

He frowned, wondering if he should be more concerned with that, but he shook the thought off, and shrugged. He didn?t mind her doing it ? even if that was an opinion she?d constructed for him.

She was the General. She knew what she was doing.

Narrowing his eyes, he concentrated on closing the fastenings of his tunic.

It was a long time since he?d worn uniform.

In the war, they?d mostly improvised battledress, using whatever kit and armour and equipment they could find ? nothing out of any set of regulations.

Silently, he pulled a matching glove over his good hand, and twisted the cuff shut around the wrist of his prosthetic.

He lifted his head, straightened his back, and looked at himself in the mirror.

He looked different, he decided.

An officer of the Army of the Republic, with the black facings of a combat engineer on his green jacket; black trousers with red piping down the seams. The paired pips of a Lieutenant were pinned to the red facings at the throat of his collar, the red aiguillette of a General?s aide slung elegantly across his breast.

He reached up and brushed a speck of lint from one epaulette.

It was a new uniform, run up here on Onderon by a tailor he?d found in the Merchants? Quarter ? so it fitted far better than the regulation kit he?d been issued with before. He looked broad-shouldered and strong, and the bulk of his cyborg forearm was invisible beneath the jacket, unless you knew to look for it.

He picked up his cap, with its black cover, and tucked it under his arm. He smiled at his reflection, remembering the time she?d squashed a battered Fleet cap onto his head, in a playful moment in a dug-out on Malachor. It had looked absurd, perched on his horns.

It had made them both smile.

It was odd, that. To think that there had been good times on Malachor V.

?General,? he said, stiffening to attention, as she pushed off the wall beside the door, and strolled across the room towards him. ?I didn?t realise you were here.?

I wish she wouldn't do that, he lied.

The General smirked silently in answer, stepping up behind him and running her eyes up and down his reflection. Her gaze followed the creases and seams of his uniform, sharp and true as the edges of blades.

She likes what she?s looking at.

His own connection with the Force wasn?t nearly as strong as hers ? he had strength, but not sensitivity, she?d told him. But she had built the bond between them, creating a place for herself in his mind.

That was okay. He liked being trusted by her. He liked the way she was looking at him.

He liked the fact that he was able to fulfill her need for admiration, too.

His gaze flickered appreciatively, taking in her reflection in the mirror as she stood behind him.

?No uniform, General?? he asked.

?Queen Talia suggested it might not be a good idea,? she shrugged, and the movement sent a beautiful ripple through her dress. ?Are you complaining??

?No, not at all.?

She smirked at him ? that lopsided smile of hers, which he always thought of as Corellian.

?Notice anything different??

She looked good in it, he decided ? hair mounted in a braided stack at the back of her head, slipped into a sheer dress that showed off her curves to full effect, but didn?t diminish her strength or practicality.

But that wasn?t it. There was something else.

?You?re taller?? he asked.

?Well done, Lieutenant,? she smiled. ?While you were out getting measured up for that uniform, I was helping myself to a new pair of heels.?

?Very nice,? he nodded. Sometimes, the simple answers were the best.

?Thank you,? she smiled

 

*glomps ewok*

Elena