#( merrin shhh ik you have a crush but geez girl )

[ofmagiick]

✧･ﾟ ——— ❛   somewhere in the back of her mind   ,   merrin knew that cal was talking   .   answering a question she ' d asked him   .   what was it about   ?   travelling   ,   maybe   ?   not like it mattered all that much  ,   given that all logical thought had fled her mind upon seeing the scarred   ,   muscled expanse of his back   .   each inch that his shirt rose higher chipped away at her self - control a little more   ,   leaving her with the overwhelming desire to trace her fingers across the revealed skin   .   so caught in her admiration of him   ,   she almost didn ' t notice his glance back towards her figure   . watching the shifting of his muscles under his skin as he tore the shirt   —   right   ,   fires need kindling   —   in the last vestiges of sunlight created an image she wished to sear into her memory   .   it was cosmically unfair for a jedi with their code of   ❛   no attachments   ❜   to look that good   .

the resistance fighter ' s movement   ,   leaning down to blow on the fire   ,   shook the nightsister from her trance   .   merrin lifted a hand to her cheek as she glanced away   ,   ostensibly to provide a rest for her chin   .   in reality   ,   she hoped to mask whatever blush might be highlighting the tattoos across her cheeks   .   when the red - head cleared his throat   ,   she turned to look at him once more   ,   watching the growing firelight dance across his chest   .   ❛   stars align i see   .   ❜   oh   ,   this man couldn ' t be more endearing if he tried   .   to trip over his words like that made her heart melt   .

❝   i make you see stars   ?   ❞   the confession brings a smile to her face   ,   lifting her heart with fondness   .   ��   normally   ,   that would be quite romantic   ,   i think   .   but   —   ❞    merrin leaned towards him   ,   her eyes drifting down to his collarbones for a full second before lazily dragging back up to meet his own   ❝   —   by your own admission   ,   you only look at the stars to navigate   .   does that mean you see me as mundane   ?   ❞   her tone was mischevious   ,   looking to tease more heartfelt words from the jedi seated near her   .

❝   your arrival on dathomir opened my eyes to more of the galaxy than i ever thought i ' d see   .   ❞   the witch ' s gaze drifts to the fire   ,   dark brown gilded by orange to become liquid amber as she stares deep into the coals   .   ❝   i ' ll never regret taking your hand and leaving behind my home full of ghosts   .   ❞   ducking her head in embarrassment of the weight of her last statement   ,   merrin turned away to collect herself   .   using the excuse of reaching for the rations of food she ' d pulled out earlier   ,   the witch centered herself before turning back towards cal   ,   one hand extended to offer him the food with a small smile   .

His form stiffened when her fingers made contact with his skin. Though it lasted only a moment, he felt like her hand stayed on his skin for eons. Kark. His emerald eyes followed her palm as she withdrew it. The Jedi compressed his lips slightly and his gaze shifted back down to the pile of sticks laid out. Cal wanted nothing more than to feel her touch again... But that goes against everything the Order taught him. And it was at times such as these that his resentment for the ways of the Jedi grew even more. It's outrageous. It's unfair. How could one's attachment be so controversial? Could it actually lead a Jedi down the path to the Dark Side? The resentment turned into rage as his brows furrowed, fists clenched-- Yet Cal's travel companion calling his face pretty brought him back to his senses. His expression softened and he let his fists unfurl. The compliment went completely over his head, with the man chalking it up to nothing but playful banter, and earned a small, melodic laugh from his lips. "I don't think my appearance had anything to do with the latero letting me on his ship," he admitted. Cal nudged the sand a little bit forward with his right boot and created a small crater in its wake. "I think it was Cere who convinced him that I hold some value." Do you have a favorite? The Jedi Knight and resistance fighter mulled it over in his head as he shed his blue vest from his shoulders. The scout droid consequently took this as a sign that it was time to hop off and rest on the sand. "Hmm," came a hum from his throat. "Don't think I have one. I just use them to navigate the Galaxy," the Force user admitted. He crossed one arm over the another and, with his fingers, tugged the hem of his white long-sleeve shirt up. As he dragged it up his torso, it revealed his lean, toned upper body, forged from years of intense training and intense combat. The defined grooves that outline the muscle groups highlight the tension underlying the skin. With his shirt now just covering his forearms, he tilted his head slightly at the Nightsister. "Do you have a favorite?" He stole a quick glance at her hips before he looked away. Oops. Cal then grabbed a part of the white shirt and pulled it off his arms. He utilized his strength to rip tear the fabric apart and tossed it into the pile. The man knelt in front of the pile of wood and revealed a lighter from the pocket of his cargo pants, using that to ignite the remnants of the top. Leaning over, Cal blew on the fire and watched it consume the tinder. The orange hue reflected in his eyes, the mirror image dancing in them as it did in front of him. He had an opportunity to flirt with the Nightsister that presented itself to him. Perhaps he should take it. Cal cleared his throat. "...There is always time to explore the Galaxy more and create our own constellation. Every time I look at you, Stars--" God he felt so awkward. He heard the sound of BD-1's head unit tilt with a gentle whir. "...Stars align I see." He fucked that up, didn't he? BD-1 let out a small concerned beep. It translated to Aw, Cal... It was one of empathy at how terribly he stumbled over his words. "Every time I look at you, I see the stars align," he corrected. And he cleared his throat again as he shifted his weight back to sit on the sand behind him. He felt so embarrassed he couldn't even get himself to look at her. Surely she's encountered others that he can't even hold a candle to, and perhaps they were better versed in the art of flirtation than he was.