To Heal Poignancy ■ TECH - The Bad Batch ■

Time Together

Butterflies fluttered rapidly around her stomach as she asked such a simple question, "Would you like to spend the day with me? After here, I was going to head to the market for some groceries. Unless you have something better to do — or just don't want to — that's fine."

Tech nodded slowly. "I will accompany you," he confirmed.

Adla brightened up immediately. Any previous nerves evaporated for the moment. "Great! Then let's go. I'm done here if you are."

Tech agreed, and together the two made their way outside. They strolled leisurely together through the market. Tech listened as Adla rambled about the different food presented in the market. A pang quickly hit dead center in her heart before it fizzled away. Adla was reminded of the market on Naboo; it similarly had a diverse selection of different foods. She missed Naboo, her home.

Tech had not eaten much besides rations during the war. When he was rarely planet-side, the mess halls didn't exactly serve exquisite gourmet meals. He hadn't even tried candy before! Adla pulled him over to the sweets table to grab a le'bi for him to try. It wasn't anything bizarre to test out for the first time. It consisted of thin, sweet, hardened candy on a stick.

"What is your favorite fruit?" she asked him as she surveyed the various colorful le'bi.

Tech looked over her shoulder at the brightly colored suckers. "I am quite partial to meiloorun."

Adla grinned and picked up an orange and yellow striped le'bi. She turned slightly towards her companion and handed him the sugary treat. Then, she turned back to the table to pick up a purple and white striped le'bi. "I'll take a jogan one." She paid the vendor, and they turned to continue their stroll.

Adla watched with unblinking eyes and bated breath as Tech tried the candy. She suppressed any interrogative question that rose to the tip of her tongue. She let the sugar disappear behind his lips and let his taste buds decide how he felt about the candy.

Tech raised an eyebrow as he swished the treat back and forth on his tongue. His eyes flashed with something that Adla couldn't quite place. "This has more sugar than I initially thought."

"Yeah, the meiloorun flavor is pretty sweet," Adla replied a little monotonously and robotically, her eyes still trained to his reaction.

He pulled the sucker out of his mouth and stared at it. "Omega would like this. So would Wrecker."

Adla grinned. "Yeah, they would." She studied him for a moment. Oh, he definitely liked it.

Tech placed the treat back into his mouth, and they kept moving. Formulating a plan in mind, Adla stopped at other vendors to grab ingredients for later. It was almost midafternoon by the time she finished her shopping. Tech, surprisingly, did not question her. He just thoughtfully watched her as he continued to suck on his le'bi until nothing but the stick was left. He reminded Adla of Omega, so it seemed as if Omega wasn't the only one to pick something up from her siblings. Adla thought it was cute.

When she finished, she turned to him. "Would you like to join me for lunch?"

Tech looked over the newly purchased food curiously. "Yes," he nodded, "of course."

They traveled together back to the shared house. Shortly after they all first landed, Shep had offered them a house rather than sleeping in the Marauder. The boys had accepted. Shep then tried to offer Adla her own separate accommodation, but Wrecker had actually interjected to say that he was uncomfortable with Adla being alone. What if the Empire found her and took her back in the middle of the night? The other boys, plus Omega, had looked to be in agreement. It was sweet of them; it definitely warmed her heart to know they all cared for her. She felt she was intruding, though, and thought she should really find her own place. Although, after Omega was kidnapped and the events on Tantiss, she agreed she should stay with them for a little while longer.