Stuck With Me: A Cad Bane Novel

Chapter 2

A/N: i'm sorry i was planning to do weekly updates but it's been 10 days already T-T

Warnings: swearing, someone enjoying the view, mild mention of death, mention of sex slavery, thicc paragraphs

Word count: 1280

 Cad isn't really sure why he's taking you with him. He tells himself it's because the inner bounty hunter inside him is informing him that you'll sell for good money, but there's a part of his brain that is less inclined to agree with this statement, repeatedly whispering to him that it would like to keep you as something easy on the eyes which he can have on the ship. Thankfully for you, there's a rational section of him that rejects the latter idea, due to the common decency inside him that your old master lacked.

He glances back at you as you drag your feet, eyes large and mouth hanging slightly open as, dazed, you cast your gaze around your surroundings. Somewhere inside him, he's thankful that he didn't just set you free and leave you to fend for yourself because you would get absolutely nowhere with that look on your face. And, speaking of faces, he wonders if you're fully Human or not, because, on closer inspection, you certainly don't look it. Your eyes are a little too deep set - too far apart too, and too large, and it's a shame because they're what make you look so damn exquisite, and they're probably the thing that made you end up as a sex slave. As well as that, your skin seems pretty pale, (pale means for her skin colour) but he can't decide whether that's because of your obvious lack of exposure to the sun and the general outdoors or if it's because of some weird mixing of species. Well, whatever hybrid you are, he can tell for certain that you're warm blooded, and warmbloods...

Feeling his gaze on you, you glance up, looking through your long eyelashes, and he turns away quickly. Ahead, he can see the outline of his ship through the misty Uveth air, and he wonders if you're tired - you've definitely been starved, from the looks of it, and although it's not too far to the ship for him, you probably haven't had to walk distances this long in a while. With all that aside, your legs are also shorter than his.

For your sake, Cad slows his pace just a little, adjusting his wide brimmed hat and inhaling a chilly breath of air. He hates ice planets, or even cool planets like this - he's cold blooded, after all. He'd much rather be on Tatooine right now, because firstly he wouldn't have to spend so many credits on the ship's heating system, and secondly, he wouldn't have had to lend you his coat. Stars, he's pretty sure all his nightmares take place on Hoth - and what's worse, he actually ends up there a lot, because it's in the Outer Rim, and a lot of his bounties will run there if they know he's chasing them, since it's pretty much universal knowledge that he hates the cold.

You remind him of your presence with a squeak as you trip over the hem of his coat, and he struggles to keep a smile off his face. Pouting, you right yourself, letting out a quiet harrumph. Tapping a few buttons on his vambrace, he watches as the ramp of his ship lowers, glancing back to check you're still there.

'Welcome aboard the Justifier,' he says with a flourish.

Cad watches your eyebrows shoot up as you take in his ship. He knows it's small - it's made for fighting and hunting, not luxury, but the way you crane your neck to look up at it is enough to make a little burst of pride shoot through his chest. Ducking through a doorway, he chucks your old master's body in the corner, then strides to the cockpit, sitting down in the pilot seat. With the look of an abandoned loth kitten, you curl up in the co - pilot seat on his right, jumping in alarm as the engines roar to life. He chuckles under his breath as you gasp, hands gripping the leather arm rests of your seat as he skilfully manoeuvres the Justifier into the sky.

'Glad to leave that skug hole, aren't ya?'
You nod so much he wonders if your head will come unscrewed. 'Yes, sir.'
'Don't call me that.' The beginnings of a grin pull at the corners of his lips.
'Yes si - uh, Mr Bane?'
He guffaws. 'Don't call me that, either.'
'O - okay.' You don't try out Cad, to his amusement, most likely because you're too terrified for first name bases.

The hunter listens to your quick breathing with a tilted head, noting that you're trying to be quiet, but your body is protesting, tired from the walk to the ship. He navigates the ship out of Uveth's atmosphere with practised, instinctual movements, but as soon as he's done that, he sets the course, flicks on autopilot and turns to you.

'Alright. I've set the course for Coruscant. We'll find out what to do with ya there. What's yer name?'
You tell him.
'Alright then,' he says. 'Why don't ya go to the bathroom on the left and wash all of that makeup off?'
'You - you don't like it?' You ask timidly.
'Ya don't look very comfortable in it,' he answers, and when he looks back again, you've slipped out of the cockpit.

Soon, he can hear the sound of running water, and he wonders if he should have told you to remove your makeup. It means you'll think he wants you to look a certain way, and he wants to make it clear to you he did not spare you to become your new master, he just felt... pity for a poor soul? Cad snorts. Since when did he feel sorry for anyone but himself? And besides, if you don't know what to do with yourself once you arrive on Coruscant, he'll sell you. You're pretty enough to rack up good money, although he suspects there won't be as many buyers as normal - not many people would want hear their name in the same sentence as Gavinc Russ', let alone own his sex slave.

The cockpit doors hiss open, and you stay quiet as you arrange yourself back in the co - pilot chair. Cad glances around and almost - almost - does a double take. Stars, you are still pretty even when you're not made up. You must have done something to your hair as well, because now it looks different than before, framing your face. Eventually, he realises he's staring, and turns around. You've probably had enough unwanted eyes trained on you to last a few trillion centuries.

A silence settles over the cockpit, and he fidgets restlessly. He's not quite sure what it is, but your presence unsettles him - he's not used to sharing a space with someone so... so compliant.

'Ya aren't the chattiest, are ya?' He comments, the sound of his own voice penetrating the quiet of the cockpit almost making him jump.
'I - I only speak when spoken to, sir - Mr B - Bane - uh - C - Cad - um - '
He chuckles. 'Oh, shut up, will ya.'

The deadly silence that you produce startles him, reminding him that you're absolutely petrified of him, and you'll do whatever he says. He's sickened by that idea, sickened that if he asked you to, you'd probably do anything short of murder yourself out of fear of him. Sighing, he turns around to face you.

'Maker, I didn't mean that,' he tells you. You blink once, and he tries a different tactic. 'I'm not angry at ya, I...' He sighs. 'Don't worry, yer only stuck with me a little longer.'