Woman without a Country

Canderous was sitting at the table, checking over his weapons and seemingly oblivious to Visas in his lap. She was periodically giving him some of the food on the table in front of him, or holding his mug for him so that he could continue working. Atton grinned at the sight as he jumped down the stairs into the galley. Canderous looked at him, then down at Visas. "Why don't you run around half-naked like that?"
Visas flushed bright red, and snuggled closer to him without speaking.
"Good answer," grinned Atton, and pulled out a can of fruit juice and a plate of pastries for Ludmilla. "What do Mandalorians do when they don't have enough food?"
"We kill people until we can get some food." Canderous took another sip of ale. "So you better hurry up with that food, boy."
"Oh, don't you start, too." Atton shook his head in disgust and carried the tray back upstairs, humming to himself. Mira was sitting with Goto, using his communication network to send flirtatious messages to the seven or so Mandalorians that she was stringing along. Bao-Dur was fixing something, as usual, and Kreia was talking to T3 in a language that nobody else understood. Atton entered the cargo hold with a small smile, where Ludmilla was lying in bed, half covered with one of the blankets. "Hello, beautiful."
"Ooh, you brought me food," she said happily, and sat up, letting the blanket slip away. "You are good to me," she said sweetly, not bothering to conceal her accent.
"Wow." Atton stared at her. "You sound really different when you do that."
She laughed, a ripple of silver bells. "Of course it is different. Core Worlds have no accent, is all Standard there. But I am not from Core World, am I? Come," she beckoned to him. "Sit with me, I will tell you a story."
Atton walked up to her, slightly nervous, and she laughed again, taking the tray from him. She helped herself to a pastry, making a soft noise of approval, and drew him down to her, laid him down with his head in her lap so that she could play with his lovely dark hair and touch his skin while she spoke. He lay still, entranced, listening to her lovely voice recite a child's adventure story with dragons, peris, princes in distress, daring rescues by dashing heroines with flashing blades.
Ludmilla finished her story, even though Atton had drifted off into a peaceful sleep some time ago. She knew that part of him was still listening for the sound of her voice, and she talked until she had nothing more to say, then leaned over him and kissed him on the lips. He stirred, reaching for her, and she held him in her arms, listening to his heartbeat. Even in his sleep, Atton's mind kept up his walls. She couldn't sense his emotions properly, only slight flashes here and there, and she shied away from trying too hard. She leaned back against the wall, and watched him sleep, kissing him softly now and then.
Atton woke up to the touch of her lips on his, and held her close when she would have pulled away. "I fell asleep," he said disbelievingly. "What happened to the prince?"
"He was rescued and they all lived happily ever after," Ludmilla smiled, and kissed him again. "Of course you fell asleep. You were comfortable and safe."
Atton smiled at her. "Why were you kissing me?"
"I need a reason now?"
He laughed, soft and sweet. "No, I guess not." He kissed her again, still drowsy, and held her closer. "Do you do anything wrong? Ever?"
"Of course I do. I'm not perfect."
"I'm not sure I believe you," said Atton softly, and shifted so that he could lay with his head pillowed on her breasts. "At least, I think you're perfect for me, and that's all I care about."
Ludmilla laughed gently. "I'd scold you for being so selfish, but the way you say it is so cute."
"What? Visas has Mandalore, Mira has a bunch of admirers, Bao-Dur has the ship, and Kreia is an evil witch who doesn’t need love."
Ludmilla laughed out loud at that. "Atton!"
"Oh, come on. You know it's true." He kissed her again. "I'm sure she was young and beautiful once. Back when the Celestials roamed the galaxy."
"Atton," she tried to admonish him, but failed miserably at sounding stern.
"I love when you say my name like that," he smiled. "It sounds like you're kissing me with your voice."
Ludmilla kissed him properly, delighting in his sweet wickedness. "Atton?"
"Yes?" he grinned, and kissed her again.
"You know that you can tell me anything, right? If I do something wrong, or make you unhappy, or if there's something you want, anything. Just tell me."
"Well," he smiled wickedly at her, "I did think it was rather heartless that you made me walk all the way to and from the camp. It was hot, and sticky! And you didn't even ask me if I was tired." Atton laughed at the look on her face. "By the Celestials, you are easy to tease." He kissed her again. "I'm joking, calm down. But if that river is in flood next time we go to Dxun, you're carrying me over that thing they called a bridge."
"Okay," she said softly, and he wouldn't let her say anything more, silencing her with wild kisses.
"Stop looking like that! I was kidding!" He kissed her again. "Besides, you made up for it with the bedtime story. And the shower."
"We haven't taken a shower yet," she pointed out.
"Well then," he said sweetly, and smiled at her. "We should fix that."