Stuck With Me: A Cad Bane Novel

Chapter 10

A/N: well we're about a third through this monstrosity, welcome to cad regretting his life choices

Warnings: swearing, pining, nightmares, chonky paragraphs, mentions of a past where reader was a sex slave, weapons, some bitch ass rat bastard weequays,

Word count: 1402

Don't ya dare apologise. Ya ain't got nothin' to be sorry about. Only if ya want to. I don't mind. It's okay. Yer stuck with me, now.

Maker damn him. Cad can hardly believe he let those words slip out. Careless, so fucking careless... And yet he can't help but wonder why he hates that he said them. Because he's the tough one, the emotionless one, or because he's worried that saying things like that will scare you away?

Angrily, he slams a fist against the dashboard. Todo skitters back, making a noise of alarm. Cad had just gotten rid of the Xexto's body and put the head on ice, ready for his return to Coruscant so he can hand it over to Tygrav, and he needs to get the ship refuelled since he doesn't have enough to last the journey to Coruscant. He's restless - he needs something to do, something to get his mind off how fucking warm you felt last night, curled up on his lap and trembling, needing him, seeking him. He's not sure what you were upset about, but he knows you get nightmares almost every night - he hears you wake up, hears your muffled, panicked gasp before it's abruptly cut off, hears you shuffle around before falling silent, trying not to wake him, even though it's hopeless with someone who's got instincts like his.

'Hey, I'm going to go and get some supplies,' you say, popping your head into the cockpit, face arranged into a measured expression that gives nothing away about last night. 'I won't be long.'
'Farewell, ma'am,' Todo chirps.
Cad grunts. 'What, restocking since I burnt yer fucking cooking?'
You turn your head away a little, and he gets the impression that you're hiding a smile. 'Yeah, that's right.'

Feet barely making any sound, you slip out of the cockpit, and he curses softly under his breath. He told you that you don't need his permission to leave, and yet every time you still tell him anyway. He's not sure whether it's in your own interest to do so, or if it's just some habit you picked up back on Uveth, but he can still recall the first time ever that you asked to go shopping for some food - he'd already taken you once to get a needle and thread since you'd refused to let him buy new clothes for you, instead pointing out that you could easily just alter some of his own old clothes to fit you. You'd shuffled up to him and spent too long apologising for disturbing him before you got to the point. He'd been surprised you'd even bothered to ask until he caught sight of the submissive expression you'd schooled your face into. You'd flinched when he chucked you a bag of credits, but a timid smile had pulled at the corners of your lips when you realised he was trusting you to go out alone with only a few curt parting words that instructed you to not get into too much trouble.

Standing up, he strolls over to the kitchen and roots around the cupboard, looking for something to eat, if just to kill the time. He hates these dead zones between hunts, because they leave him with too much time to think about you - and the more he thinks about you, the harder it gets to tear his gaze off you before you notice them. Eyes catching on a neat pile of containers in the cupboard, he begins to reach for them when three loud, hollow thumps sound in quick succession on the other side of the ship. Stiffening, Cad's hand drifts down towards the LL-30 on his right hip as he closes the cupboard door and cocks his head, listening intently. It can't be you, because even if somehow you couldn't get back into the ship, you'd never knock like that. Now he thinks about it, though, you should be back by now.

'Who could that be?' Todo asks.
'Don't ask me,' Cad growls.

Frowning, he walks over to the control panel set in the wall and readies his blaster as he lowers the ramp. Squeaking in fright, Todo retreats back up to the cockpit, ready to fire up the engines if he needs to. Outside, there stands maybe a dozen Weequays, and you in their grasp, looking absolutely terrified. Terrified enough that he almost starts shooting without looking at your captors' faces, but then a strong voice rings out.

'Pass by Florrum and not pay us a visit? Doesn't sound like you, Bane.' Hondo Ohnaka's second in common, Gwarm, pushes his way to the front and stands there, a smile on his face. 'And you know what definitely doesn't sound like you? Having a slave around. Gavinc Russ' girl, to be precise.' The Weequay jerks his head at you. 'We caught this little missus in the streets and she claimed that she's with you. I didn't believe her for a second but I decided we should check just in case the bitch is tellin' the truth.'

Cad looks at your face. You're terrified, eyes wide, each arm held by a Weequay captor. Shivering, huddled as far away from the pirates that hold you as you can, you stare up at him, and he feels anger rise up within him. Gwarm has the fucking audacity to talk about you as if you're not there, to call you a bitch... And all Cad can think of is you, in his arms last night, shaking, and so, so, vulnerable. His hands clench by his sides, his lips pulling back to show his fangs in an unconscious snarl. Maker, he hates it, that he gives a fuck about all of this, but he can't find it inside him to push you away; not now, not when you're so fucking close.

'Let her go, ya bastards,' he spits, too angry to appreciate the shock that registers on Gwarm's face. They release you, and you stumble, almost collapsing before finding your feet, hesitating slightly before walking over to Cad's side, relief etched into your features. Pausing just in front of him, you lock eyes with him.

'Th - thank you,' you mumble, turned away from the Weequays, so he doesn't need to answer if he doesn't want to. But then he sees an inflamed red print around your wrist where you were gripped too hard, and a sudden need to show them that not a hair on your head is to be harmed washes through him.
'Are ya alright?' He asks you softly, turning his body towards you just enough to show Hondo's gang that he's addressing you.
'I - I'm fine,' you stammer, and he nods, even though he can see one of your knees is scraped.
'There's some leftover bacta in the med kit if ya want to use it,' he reminds you, and you duck your head, still intimidated by the pirates' presence, and scurry into the ship.

Turning back to the pirates, he stares at them for a good long moment, then twirls his LL-30 languidly in his slender fingers, wordlessly threatening them before slamming the blaster back into its holster on his hip.

'I was jus' droppin' by to refuel,' he tells Gwarm casually. 'Was planning on payin' a visit tomorrow. Haven't seen Hondo in a while.'
'And the girl?'
'Got her on a hunt. Killed Russ and she was the only survivor. She wanted to stay with me.'
Gwarm scoffs. 'With you, Bane? Not tryin' to be rude, but I think she's just scared shitless of you. I bet you use her too.'

Cad wants to protest. He wants to point out that he held you in his arms merely several hours ago, that you came to him, you sought him out. He wants to point out that he hasn't laid a finger on you, that you're not a slave any more, not an object to be talked of as if worth nothing, but he clenches his jaw shut and scowls at Gwarm. Folding his arms, he ignores the itching in his hands to yank out his LL-30s and tell - or make - Hondo's insufferable second in command just shut the fuck up.

'Well, Gwarm, if she's scared shitless of me, she's even more terrified of ya.' He narrows his eyes. 'And I don't think that's a good thing. So ya keep yer dirty hands off her.'