Unexpected

chapter twenty-nine: unsure

The sun peeks through the window of Elara's small room as it climbs the side of Coruscant. Her eyes tiredly flutter open, still heavy from all of the crying the night before, to meet a pair of warm, chocolate eyes looking down at her.

"Good morning mesh'la." Fives hums.

The slight vibrations from his words cause Elara to realize how close they are and she quickly sits up in the bed. "Good morning." She takes a deep breath, trying to suppress her rising blush.

Elara glances over at Fives to see that he's still in his blacks, his hands resting behind his head as he looks up at her from the pillow.

"How're you feeling?" Fives asks as he sits up as well.

"Fine." Elara lies. Of course she isn't fine. Her head is spinning, her eyes are puffy, and her stomach... Well, the inhuman noises speak for themselves.

Fives chuckles softly. "Why don't you get ready and then we can get breakfast. How does that sound?"

She eyes the soldier for a moment before responding. "Aren't you supposed to be at training?"

"Aw c'mon cyare, it's just breakfast." Fives pouts.

"Alright, just breakfast." She agrees. "After that I have my own things to do."

"Right." Fives raises an eyebrow. "And these things would be..?"

Elara stifles a laugh as she walks to her closet. "Things that don't concern you, ARC Trooper."

As she browses her closet of dresses, a sigh escapes her lips at the lack of pants. She should probably fix that. Maybe Padme will allow her to make a trip to the market later while Anakin is visiting.

"If it concerns you, it concerns me." Fives points.

Elara sighs as she picks a slightly-fitted, red dress and smiles at it in approval before disappearing into the bathroom. "Well if you really want to hear about the duties of a handmaiden..." She speaks through the bathroom door.

"Handmaiden?" Fives asks. "So you're not joining the 104th?"

"Joining the 104th?" Elara laughs as she finishes dressing herself. She opens the bathroom door and looks up at Fives. "If I had to join any legion, it'd be the 501st."

Fives feels the heat rising from his neck to his cheeks as he looks down at her. His eyes freely roam her outlined body as his heart races.

"Is something wrong?" Elara asks, snapping Fives out of his trance.

"No! No, nothing's wrong." He clears his throat. Fives holds his arm out for her and Elara playfully rolls her eyes as she walks passed him. "Wait!" Fives calls, causing Elara to pause in her steps. "I don't have my armor."

Elara realizes that he did in fact show up in his blacks and sighs. "It's still early. We'll be fine." She assures him.

Fives is hesitant, but he follows her out of her room and through the Senate building, which is a lot busier than he'd hoped. They pass a Commander in red armor and Fives stiffens.

"Ellie.." He speaks quietly as the Commander turns in their direction.

"Relax." She hushes him.

"Hold it right there." The Commander steps in front of them. "Trooper, where is your armor?"

"I'm escorting this shiny back to the barracks." Elara speaks up.

"Under whose authority?"

"Senator Amidala." Elara lies. "I'm sure you're aware that she has me observing the training of you men. This soldier has just given an update to the Senator herself."