Fortress Vader

Twenty-five - Persiflage

"Did you know Mustafar calms for two hours every day?" His smile fades as he gives me a curious look. He must've expected me to joke.

"I've seen it calm, of course."

I nod and settle deeper into my chair. "It's a two to three-hour event, and it happens an hour later each day. Every thirty-seven hours. I've deduced it has something to do with the planet's chaotic rotation and the closest moon. I think the delay in time has something to do with the moon because its axis is unique to this system. It changes. No one has bothered to figure out why, as far as I can tell."

I'm just babbling, talking to fill the silence. I don't sound particularly interested, though I am. I am just so nervous under his full attention.

"I'm intrigued," he says after a pause, his gaze finally off me and out into space. It encourages me to go on.

"I used those hours to explore the planet before I met you. I was...restless. I don't know why. As I said, I don't get bored."

"Your body's survival instincts, perhaps. Staying stagnant was more dangerous than seeing what was outside the compound."

"Hmmm." That's an interesting theory, one I hadn't considered.

I'm still tossing the idea around when he speaks again. "So, why bring a book then?"

"So you wouldn't feel obligated to entertain me," I say honestly, seeing no reason to lie.

"I am not obligated to do anything for you, Kitten."

"So you sent me books because you wanted to?" I try to tease, but I refuse to look at him.

"Precisely. I assumed you didn't know who sends them, as you never thank me." I hear the teasing deep beneath his tone, so I smile at the hyperspace swirls.

"I figured if you wanted thanks, you would have left a note. Nor did I assume they were mine. Just a loan. But thank you," I finish quietly, hoping he hears the sincerity.

"They're yours. You should look at someone when you thank them." My heart picks up speed at the low way he says it. I move slower than I should, but I'm scared. Not scared for my life, exactly. Just scared. Perhaps because this feels so normal, and neither of us is normal.

But, I do meet his eyes, pleased by the amusement in them. "Thank you, sir."

He lets out a little huff. "You really haven't figured out who I am? Or created a name for me? You've worked for me for six years years, Kitten." My heart picks up at this because is he going to tell me his name?

"I call you Yellow Eyes." I think his lips twitch.

"I am aware. You say it around the droids," he adds when I narrow my eyes at him.

We just stare for a moment too long, and when I do finally respond, I want to jump out of the airlock in embarrassment.

"I would like to know your name," I say in a tone so quiet, I must sound like the whisper of a human. I want nothing more—to know his name would change everything. He would become real to me, more than just the mysterious man I dream about.

He grunts and breaks eye contact, and I happily look away once more. My heart still seems to be going too fast, too hard.

"If I tell you my name, you cannot say it around people, and you cannot look me up. I need you to respect this about me, Kitten." I always respect him.

"Records of the Jedi are gone," I say with a shrug. So, maybe that is why Letty has never seen him, why he creeps around without being noticed. He is recognizable.