Unexpected

chapter thirty-five: scheme

As the sun rises on Akiva, so does the temperature. Elara groans as she rolls over, away from her cuddled position with Fives. His arms wrap around her and pull her closer.

"It's too hot." She whines.

"I don't wanna get up yet." Fives mumbles. He also doesn't want to get started with whatever Elara has planned.

"Let go." Elara huffs, prying at his arms. She turns in his grip to face him and her eyes widen at the sight of his bare chest. "Where's your shirt?"

"It's too hot for a shirt." Fives points. "You've seen me shirtless before, like when you barged into my shower and accused me of sabotaging your spot on the stealth team." He points.

"Yeah well that was different." She states.

Fives raises an eyebrow. "Was it? It was just the two of us, the steam from the shower made it almost this hot." He lists the similarities.

"I was mad." Elara says.

"And what are you now that makes this so different?" Fives asks.

Elara looks up at him from the pillow as the heat rises in her cheeks. Fives knows the answer to his own question, or he has an idea at least.

Before the Citadel mission, Fives and Elara were undoubtedly heading down a path that would've ended in a relationship. Losing Echo obviously sidetracked their journey as he was the closest thing to family either of them had, but in a way it also strengthened their relationship.

There's no doubt in his mind that she still has feelings for him, just like there's no denying the feelings he still has for her. It's the only explanation as to why he's the only one she'll talk to or spend her time with.

"We have a lot to do." Elara breaks out of his grip and jumps off of the bed. "There's no telling how far those catacombs stretch beneath the surface." She steps into the bathroom to change into her black pants and cropped shirt.

"Are you sure you want to do this? Maybe we should reach out to Rex, he could send reinforcements." Fives reasons.

"We're not here to destroy the base." Elara says. "I just need to get to Galen."

Fives furrows his eyebrows. "We're here on a rescue mission?"

"No." She secures the blaster in her holster.

Fives's eyes widen. "You're gonna kill him?"

"No!" She looks up at him. "A month ago you told me that blood is thicker than water." She points. "I'm hoping that, if I get to Galen, I can convince him to sabotage the Separatist plans. He'd be able to do it without being detected."

"You want him to be a spy?" Fives asks.

Elara maintains eye contact with him despite the worried look in his eyes. "It would be a significant help to the Republic. We'd have someone on the inside, telling us the enemy's every move."

"I don't know Ellie, I've got a bad feeling about this." Fives admits.

"You don't have to come." She reminds him.

He looks down at her as if she has three heads. "You've lost your mind if you think I'm letting you go down there alone."

A soft smile plays at the corners of Elara's lips. His protective tone and comforting arms remind her of Echo, but at the same time it's much different than with Echo. Echo would've informed the others somehow before they left—just in case, while Fives clearly didn't. Echo was always too worried about hurting Elara's feelings in fear of losing her, while Fives has always been brutally honest with her.