Redefining "Me" - 10.241

[James Prent]

"Oh, I like them," James hedged. "I haven't really watched the local ones...much." She smiled. "Soft-Step? Sounds like there's a story behind that."

The wetsuit racks were only a little shorter than she was, and James peeked over the top of one of them, pushing the hangers aside so she could see through the rack.

[Karin DeLumiar]

Karin shielded her mouth with a hand, but spoke at normal volume. "It's her first time. And before you ask: yes, I'm being gentle."

Gorial laughed, a boisterous chuckle that exuded cheer equal to its volume in decibels. "Yer a silly one, Soft-step," he said, one hand tousling Karin's hair. He clapped her shoulder and despite Karin's height and strength, she tilted a little at the impact.

"So," the Besalisk began, letting his hand fall to his side. "I calls her Soft-step 'cuz that's how I tells her apart from her partner, see? First day the two of 'em come in here, I don't see 'em first, I hear 'em. And the way they walk, he's all heavy an' loud and she's all quiet an' soft. After I get ta know 'em, I calls him Stompy-Boots and I calls her Soft-Step."

"Speaking of Pierce," Karin said, remembering his earlier cryptic message. "In his words, I'm a real washout."

"Ahhhh," Gorial's huge eyes widened even further with understanding. "Well, if yer gonna be a washout, ya gotta dress not ta get wet."

Squeezing back behind his shop counter, he bent down. The sounds of rummaging found their way to the countertop, followed shortly by a package and Gorial himself. "Got this here for ya, little lady. Go on an' open it."

Karin's face went flat. "If this is what I think it is-" she cut herself off upon opening the box.

It was exactly what she thought it was and exactly what she wanted as well.

Pulling a custom racing wetsuit with the same color scheme as her biking wear out of the box, she held it against herself. "It looks like it's a perfect fit," she said, setting it back down with a sigh. "That ass! I told him I wanted to get this for myself!"

"Ah, yer fella didn't get that for ya," Gorial said with a headshake. "I did."

Karin screwed up her face. Nice as he was, custom wetsuits cost and Gorial wasn't rolling in money. "But- why?"

"Well, about eight months back or so, yer fella wanders in her by his lonesome, see?" Gorial began. "Tells me he's gonna spend some time out in the Inner Rim, near Folthos Seven. Now, I got a brother out that way and it's awful coincidental-like that yer fella happens to ask."

"It would be just like him to know you had family there before he said anything," Karin added.

"Could be, could be." Gorial nodded. "Still, I ain't one to look a gift trask too hard in the teeth. Seein's how I can't just hop across the Imp Border meself, I ask him to check in for me. Time passes and Stompy-Boots comes back with a holo-recording from 'im, plus a handwritten letter and this chrono. Belonged to me Pops, it did. The letter says he passed on and wanted me to have this. At first I think the coincidence is too high an' it might be a fake, but it's even got a little acid-stain on the inside like I remembers. Ain't no one but family would know about it. So's it must be real."

Gorial's eyes rested on the silver chrono wrapped around his wrist. He gently patted it, then returned his attention to Karin. "I looks Stompy-Boots in the eye an' I tells him this means more 'n worlds ta me and ta name himself a favor. He looks me right back in the eye an' says he don't need any favors, but if there's anyone he knows what deserve one, it's you. Knowin' what I know of ya, I cash in a favor with a guy at the place what makes my wetsuits. Got here just a few days ago."

Karin's eyes fell to the wetsuit, then went back up to Gorial, then to the suit, then to various spots on the floor. "I wanted- but this- Tell me I should be mad." she said finally, looking up at James. "I mean, should I be mad? Your guy's gotta have done something like this for you, right? How did you feel when he did?"

[James Prent]

She shrugged. "It's a present. He didn't get it f'ya because he didn't think you can get it f'y'self, he got it b'cause he knew you wanted it and he cares about you, obviously." James grinned. "Jus' say thanks."

Had Byl ever done something for her that she was capable of doing on her own? It was a confusing question. Their partnership had been born out of necessity. They had lived on the edge of the galaxy, one step ahead of all the people who were trying to find them. And in that time of strife and fear, they'd...found each other. He was there for her, and she was there for him. It wasn't a complicated dance, it was... it just was.

And being there for him meant watching him find his place back with the Alliance. A world she was not a part of. It was the separation that she'd always feared - he would get his memory back, and she would be left behind. Each mission he went on without her...

Confused by her dark thoughts, James turned away from Karin's expensive present and looked at the rack of suits behind her. Byl already was leaving her behind, she'd just been too terrified of the thought to give it space in her head to breathe. She couldn't just be 'the girl on Dac' waiting for him to return.

[Karin DeLumiar]

Karin frowned.

When she'd talked to Pierce about it, she'd stated in no uncertain terms that she wanted to get the wetsuit herself, no matter what it took. She wanted it to be fully hers, picked out from tip top to bottom. Her own time, her own money, her own decisions.

And now she had it without expending any of those things.

Even worse, it wasn't just the present that felt wrong. She knew Pierce was a liar and a disguise artist; the feeling that he had engineered a chain of events to get around her express wish seemed entirely possible. She felt manipulated, maybe even dirty.

Then again, that didn't wholly square with the man she knew. The one who'd spent years telling her everything about himself - secrets she wouldn't have told anyone if the secrets had been hers. And Gorial was the one who'd gone to effort and expense on her behalf, not Pierce. Pierce had delivered a letter and a chrono to a sentient who needed it.

Plus, black and purple really were her colors.

She would talk to him about it later; one way or another, the issue would be put to bed. In the meantime, she had a waiting Besalisk to thank.

"I love it, Gorial," she smiled at him. "And I accept it. Thank you."

"Ain't no trouble, Soft-step," he inclined his head. "We all do what we can fer each other."

"Yeah, we do," she said, turning her attention to James. Her companion was staring intently at a rack of wetsuits. "Hey, James, you okay? Change your mind about going out for a ride?"