The Bad Batch: Tech and Vel

34. Cohabitation

Author's Note: I forgot to mention this as I posted the other chapters!! I revised the fic in a few spots along the way (I think chapters 6-7ish, and then 25 onward where I deleted a couple entire chunks and rewrote the entire ending to give it a proper happily-ever-after). :) So if you read the whole thing and got notified for these last new chapters, I just wanted to give a heads-up that it might be worth it to go back and read over the changed parts as well. If ya want. ;)

A thick stew bubbled cheerfully on the stove, filling the cottage with the rich scents of local game and vegetables. Vel gave it a stir, sprinkling in a few pinches of herbs chopped from her windowsill planter boxes. Winter had fallen across Bendego, and while the seasons were fairly temperate, they were varied just enough to give the full experience of each. A light layer of snow was dusted across the ground, held back mostly by the thick canopy of trees above. Out in the meadow, there was a good few inches of fresh fluff that lay pristine and untouched across the curves of the hills.

The fire crackled in the hearth, playing its part in the soothing symphony of a cozy home. The light scent of smoke complimented the faint undertones of the heavy wooden furniture, the fragrant plants scattered throughout each room, and the mouthwatering dinner simmering in its pot. Sinking into the plush couch, Vel pulled out her datapad, reviewing the sector of the forest that she had planned to survey the next day. There were plants that only appeared in winter – hardy succulents and fascinatingly thin vines that somehow withstood the season's chill – and Vel could have sworn she spotted something new beneath a huge fallen tree trunk.

The door banged open and Tech clattered in, his arms full of wood, a few plants, a backpack, a datapad, and a hat. Vel would have been peeved at the startle it caused her but he was so irresistibly adorable in his thick winter layers that she couldn't help but smile. As he kicked off his boots and began dropping his items in their delineated spaces, she put the datapad to sleep and rose to her feet, waiting for him with open arms as he finished. The tip of his nose and the apples of his cheeks were red, and as she pressed her lips to his, she marveled at the cold, feeling more and more grateful for her day in.

"I marked the kalendor sprouts in the fern sector," Tech said, drifting off as he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, savoring the rich scents of their home. "But if tomorrow is similarly undesirable for outdoor work, I am certain they will remain identifiable for at least another week. So there is no rush."

"Thanks. Although... maybe we could both stay home tomorrow," Vel suggested, tracing an idle finger along the lapel of his dark plaid winter coat. "I can think of some things we could do..."

"I am sure you are an endless fount of excellent ideas, my love, but I assured you I would fix the creaky floor within the month, and there is still ample time in that deadline."

"That's not what I was thinking of," she returned, nuzzling into his neck and placing a few open-mouthed kisses in a trail from his shoulder to his ear. He shuddered, a shaky little breath accompanying his excitement, bringing a smile to her face.

They had been living together for the better part of a year, and the slow progress of physical intimacy had been a smooth and intoxicating journey of learning each other's bodies in new ways and growing in deeper understanding of one another. Tech was slow-moving, and Vel wasn't complaining, as she hadn't ever got much further than kissing with the couple of people who had shown interest in her. There was an undeniable hunger to dive into the deep end, but the tantalizing pace of Tech's exploration was as captivating as it was satisfying. But on each of the recent mornings that she'd woken up next to him, the look in his eyes and the weight of his hands as he glided them over her curves had a new intensity that had her shivering in anticipation.