CHIRRUT'S LUNGS FELT CRUSHED AGAINST HIS RIBCAGE. He let out a faint wheeze, as the weight on his chest shifted, chuckling lightly.
Chirrut cracked open an eyelid. "Baze?"
"Rise and shine, 小卫 ," Baze said airily, "Today's your first day of training."
Chirrut groaned, trying to burrow deeper into his blankets, but Baze sitting on him was preventing him from doing so. He could feel Baze's form on top of him, all muscular and rigid and angled. Chirrut made a sound, annoyed. "I can't get up if you're sitting on me."
"Today's your first day of training," Baze echoed, "This is your first lesson."
He squirmed. "What does this have to do with the Force?"
"You can't guard the Force if someone is sitting on you," Baze replied smugly, "So make me get off."
Chirrut's hand went to Baze's side. The man above him froze under Chirrut's gentle touch, his breath catching. And then, Chirrut's hand raised higher, tickling Baze. Baze almost jumped off Chirrut, clutching at his side, holding back his laughter. He sat up quickly, so that Baze couldn't resume his previous position.
"Okay," Baze let out a short shaky laugh, "that, was cheating."
Chirrut grinned. "Guarding the Force doesn't seem like such a daunting task if the only people standing in the way are like you."
Clothes chafe as Baze crossed his arms. "Like me, huh?"
Chirrut swallowed thickly.
If the Force and all that existed, he would have prayed to it for mercy.
Chirrut currently was standing in the ring with one of the Temple's most skilled guardians -- Baze Malbus himself. Baze took off his staff which was strapped to his back, twirling it in his palms. Baze barely made a sound as he circled Chirrut, his footsteps light, his breathing a whisper.
There were times where Chirrut felt truly blind.
These were one of those times.
Chirrut's grip tightened on his own staff, which had been offered by one of the many spectators now encircling the duo. He walked forwards, into the middle of the circle, swinging the stick around, trying to find Baze.
A hand closed over his staff, halting it.
Chirrut grinned, almost relieved. "Found you."
"Yes," he said, amused, "you did."
Baze tugged at the staff, and Chirrut came tumbling down -- hard. He landed on the ground with an oof and a mouthful of sand.
"One," Baze tapped his own staff on Chirrut's shoulder. "When you fight, you don't talk. It distracts you from your one true purpose."
"And what's my one true purpose?" he mocked, as Chirrut attempted to stand up, and the staff comes down, whacking him square across the face.
"Don't talk," he reprimanded, circling him.
He murmured a sorry, before getting up and out of Baze's reach.
"Two," Baze continued, "always keep your eyes on the enemy."
Chirrut blinked. "I'm blind."
"Your ears, your nose, your sense of touch -- they are your eyes. Use them. Close your eyes. Cancel everything else out. What's important is me. Concentrate on that."
Chirrut frowned, and then nodded. He closed his eyes, breathing out slowly, concentrating on the sound Baze makes as the grains of sand crunch under his feet, Baze's musk -- prayer smoke, soap and oak, which only leaves --
Touch. Chirrut's hand closed around Baze's wrist, just as his fist was about to collide with his stomach. He pushed Baze's hand away, and held his hands up, in fists.
Murmurs rippled amongst the ongoers. Words like amazing and miracle and wonder were tossed about them, and Chirrut turned to Baze.
There was an edge of a smile in his voice. "Not bad."
Chirrut breaked into a grin. "Thank you."
And then, Chirrut fell.
~
BAZE'S LUNGS FELT CRUSHED AGAINST HIS RIBCAGE. Laughing for two minutes straight without breathing tended to do that. Chirrut was annoyed, not looking Baze in the eye.
"I cannot believe," Baze wiped away a fake tear, "you fell for that."
"Shut," Chirrut hissed through clenched teeth, "up."
Baze silenced, and gave Chirrut a look. He burst out laughing again.
Chirrut sighed.
"You still have a little dirt on your face," Baze said between his spasms of laughter.
Chirrut let out a grunt, lying down on his bed and turning away from Baze, a silent 'dick' comment in the air.
"Hey," Baze leaned forward from his chair and gently prodded Chirrut's shoulder. "Are you mad at me?"
"No," Chirrut replied. "I'm mad at the dirt on my face and that you put it there."
"When I kicked your ass," Baze added, not even sorry.
Chirrut huffed, curling up, trying to maximize the amount of space between him and Baze in the tiny room they're in.
"Hey," Baze prodded him again. "Sorry. I mean it."
Chirrut was silent.
Baze sighed. "I can't train you if you won't talk to me."
No response.
Baze scrubbed at the side of his face with his palm, thinking. "There's a hot springs place at the edge of town, and it's ten times better than the icy ones you'll get here. Maybe it'll help your anger against the dirt on your face."
Chirrut snorted in response. "I don't have the money to go to a kriffin' hot spring, Baze."
"I'll pay. For you." Baze offered. "My peace offering."
Chirrut sat up, turning towards him. "You will?"
"Yeah. I've been to the place a few times, it's clean and everything--" Baze paused, before adding, "I'll even go with you, if you'll have me."
Chirrut blinked. "Okay."
"Okay? As in you'll--?"
"Yes, Baze, I will go with you."
"Okay," Baze grinned.
Something in his chest wrenched, and Baze's face fell, as he realized how his proposition sounded like.
He just asked Chirrut to bathe with him.
And Baze didn't know why, but that made his heart beat a little faster.
小卫 - xiao wei / little wei
~
a/n: DO YOU EVER JUST CRY BECAUSE YOU MADE AROUND 500000 INNUENDOS IN A SINGLE FIC ALONE LIKE CAN YOU BELIEVE + remember that one line where baze just went "make me get off" when he was sitting on chirrut ??? the first draft of this had the words "get me off" in its place can u believe that i wrote those three words together in that exact order in the same sentence while a character was sitting on another dude i just cAN'T
also !!! baze calling chirrut xiao wei, bcus hes imWE geddit HAHAH i love chinese i can finally use this third ass language i suffer at to Good Use
and ooOoooh baze just messed up and made an ~indecent proposition~ and he doesn't know what to do oh well i guess he just has to get naked with chirrut oh bother ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) what ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) a ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) tragedy ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
and to keep y'all hyped for the next chapter here's what it'll include:
- chirrut talks to a bunch of gals at the hot springs and digs up some info on baze hMmm i wonder what it is
- chirrut finding out that his mentor is probably (most definitely) a hunk ????
- they're gonna sit on a rooftop that's like my no.1 go to Fuel The Romance theme song are y'all ready for the gay