Suicide is Painless

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The Admiral cast a grin at her not-so-sneaky co-conspirator.

"Well, jyou have to admjit, jit wass the besst kept non-ssecrret everr."

T'yeellaa's eyes traveled from Samus, to Saa'ri and back. She let out an elated sigh.

"Look at uss. All togetherr jin one place. We haven't done thjiss ssjince jyou werre sshorrterr than jI am."

[Saa'riaana Dage]

At that, Saa'ri gave a chuckle.

"Then jit's cerrtajinly been a long tjime."

The Bothan returned with a third glass of water and another menu, and Saa'ri gave a nod in thanks as she took the flimsi. A brief, almost uninterested look was sent over both sides and the food listed.

"You know," she started idly before sending a quick look up to her father, then to the side at her mother before once more returning to her menu, "Speakjing of non-secrrets... "

She let out a cough before going on.

"Have you two everr thought about fjinally gettjing jit overr and done wjith?"

[Samus Dage]

It wasn't exactly what he'd expect to hear so soon out of the gate, and in the midst of taking a drink of his water, Samus let out a surprised cough as he set his glass back down.

"Ex... excuse me?"

Another moment of coughing, and he pulled his reading glasses off. The look he was getting from Saa'ri was enough to spark realization.

"Oh... "

And looking to T'yeellaa, his brain seemed to finally suss out what his hungry gut had brushed off. He very nearly went slack-jawed, but with a blink and a slightly puzzled look, Samus leaned back.

"Ooohhh... "

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Well, asss a matterr of fact, jit'ss been on mjy mjind."

Admiral Meorrrei exchanged a candid glance with her daughter, then turned to her gai'tou, who maybe could hear the same line in stereo this time.

"jIt'ss alwajyss been compljicated."

There was an awkward pause, and T'yeellaa elaborated with a glance back again to Saa'ri.

"jYourr fatherr and me, jI mean. jIt djidn't take me long to fjigurre out jI loved hjim, and jI thjink he came arround to that notjion not long afterr that. Forr a whjile, that wass all we needed. Then jyou came along, ourr ljittle blesssjing, and...we made the ssacrrjifjicess to keep closse enough sso that nejitherr of uss sstrrajyed too farr frrom the otherr and frrom jyou."

The rise in T'yeellaa's ears began to fall a little, and she traced her finger along her glass of water.

"And then, jyou got olderr. Went off to Academjy. And we werre both too sstubborrn to sstajy wherre we werre. jI went to fleet command, and jyourr fatherr went to worrk on Bothawuji. We haven't sstopped lovjing each otherr lesss. jYou jusst have a pajirr of verrjy sstubborrn parrentss who neverr felt rrjight about a housse and a whjite pjicket fence."

[Samus Dage]

Half-folded glasses were pointed at T'yeellaa despite his eyes being on Saa'ri. The old mischevious glint shone through like a radiant sun.

"Your mother is much more stubborn than I could ever hope to be."

A smile as he shared a knowing look with T'yeellaa.

"Though, it's true that I don't really care for that house or picket fence life."

For the briefest of moments he stared at the women he'd been with for decades. And while there were times that they weren't together in the flesh, not a day went by when his thoughts hadn't wandered to her in some fashion. Wondering what she was doing or where she was. If she was well, or if she was upset. It was a constant game of internal guessing that he occupied himself with nearly every night. It was true that he missed her sorely, but it was also the way of things. Yet, as they invariably do, attitudes and desires change with time, and he would be lying if he didn't admit that he was elated at this turn of events.

He was tired of being alone more often than not.

He smiled, let out a long breath, and returned his glasses over his eyes before retrieving the menu for what had to be the hundredth time. When he spoke, it was to Saa'ri, and the tone of amusement was unmistakeable.

"You're Aunties would have a collective stroke, I'd wager."

A hmph.

"Especially Aunt Rai'fa."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Pfft." T'yeellaa scoffed as she picked up her menu to hold it below her mouth, hiding her unguarded grin.

"jI can hearr jit now. 'Wherre-eeeverr do jyou parrk jyourr yacht, Sai'ella.'"

By now, Samus had enough time to get her coven of sisters exact. They were all richer than Gunray and so very, very...different. No, she was different. Again, the choices T'yeellaa made sometimes caught her by surprise. Now, the Admiral lowered her menu, no longer hiding her smile.

"Let'ss do jit."

[Samus Dage]

His eyes looked at her from over the top of the menu.

Her smile was radiant.

And sitting beside her was the wonderful life they'd brought into the galaxy together. All grown up, off having her own career. It was a future that he'd never thought possible for a man such as him. And now?

Now.

Samus Dage finally lowered his own menu.

The reading glasses were slowly removed as he meticulously replaced them in their case. He snapped it shut, and returned it to the right breast pocket of his shirt.

"You're serious, aren't you."

His voice was a quiet rumble.

[Saa'riaana Dage]

She knew that look on her father's face. She could read him like a book at times, and now was just such a time.

"jI knew jit!"

She leaned back, a smile from one eartip to the other.

"Ha!"

Saa'ri stopped just short of slapping the table with the palm of her hand. Rather, she flagged the waitress, placing an order for three entrees for take-out.

Looking to her mother, she waved a dismissive hand.

"You've arrranged forr quarrterrs on the statjion, jI know that much. So how about we eat lunch therre jinstead of herre?"

There seemed to be a pause, and the halfbreed gave her mother a reassuring wink.

Of course, it also made it less awkward for when she decided to tell them the real reason for her seemingly spontaneous visit.

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

Now how in blazes did she know that? T'yeellaa began to look surprised, but the expression died mid-execution. That had been a regular part of this little ritual too.

"jYou know, jyou'rre a meddlesome ljittle thjing. jYou know that?"

Definitely a Meorrrei. The trait had merely skipped a generation. The Admiral shrugged her padded shoulders, falling in lockstep with her daughter's suggestion.

"jI ljike the ssound of that."

[Samus Dage]

* * *

The quarters that'd been provided were just like the ones provided the year before. And the year before that. And so forth and so on. Oh, a few things changed, but overall it was the same, and it was that familiarity that Samus Dage enjoyed. The trappings could change, so long as the company and layout remained the same. This year his 'company' included a wonderfully surprising extra, in the form of his and T'yeellaa's daughter. She was the perfect melding of mother and father, bringing together parts of the other into something wholly new and wondrous.

And now, half-sitting and half-reclining back into the comfort of a sofa, with T'yeellaa nearly curled up in his lap and Saa'ri busying herself with correspondence in one of the bedrooms, Samus happily kept his arms securely wrapped around the woman who'd kept him wrapped around her little finger.

"You know," he voice was low, "I have to ask... "

His head angled down ever so slightly so that he could rest his chin atop her head. Her hair smelled of Myomarian lilacs and sweet peas. He breathed in deeply through his nose, his eyes closing in content. Just another of the small touches that she paid mind to with incredible detail. It never ceased to amaze him.

"How long has this notion to tie the knot been rattling about in your head, Kitten?"

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

This was her favorite place to be, and the Admiral enjoyed the times when she could let down her defenses and lean into the embrace of the man she'd so improbably loved for so long. It didn't take long in Samus's close proximity for that low, familiar purr to begin as if it never missed a beat. They could be apart for weeks, months, even a year. The heart didn't mark time.

"How long?"

T'yeellaa hadn't marked time on a lot of things, it seemed. The lazy rise and fall of her tail slowed, and she reluctantly tilted her head up.

"jI don't know..."

Truth and lie tangled together to the point where they could be one and the same.

"jI thought about a lot of thjingss, Quentjin."

What was she afraid of saying? That it hadn't been a sudden plot to pop into her head? That she'd always wanted it in some way? Was she afraid that would make him seem aloof? She wrapped her arm around him closer.

"Don't thjink jI've rregrretted the chojicess we've made. Not forr an jinsstant. jIf we werre both lesss drrjiven, majybe jit would have happened ssoonerr, but majybe we would have neverr met."

[Samus Dage]

"I wouldn't be here if I thought you regretted anything we did," he reassured in a rumbling tone.

But, owing to her nature and the years they had been together, Samus gave a wry grin as their foreheads touched. She could be as off-hand as she wanted to be with whatever questions he asked of her, and he would always revel in the delight of sifting through the vagueness to get to the detailed heart. But in the moment, he only wanted to know one thing.

"Are you sure?"

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

The smile eased from T'yeellaa's face, and she looked up at her gai'tou with earnest eyes.

"jYou've been mjy gai'tou forr thrree decadess, Quentjin. Thjink of everrjythjing that hass come and gone jin that tjime. jYou sshould be mjy Arr'tai. jI haven't been morre ssurre of anjythjing jin mjy ljife."

[Samus Dage]

He thought on her words, staring into her eyes with a calm that seemed to radiate from his very core. She had always been his only. Ever since he'd first laid eyes upon her he just... knew.

And then he gave a gentle smile, tilting his head up ever-so-slightly to deliver a kiss to her lips.

"T'yeellaa Meeorrrei," he'd always imagined asking the question that he'd come to so desperately want to ask. He wouldn't get down on one knee, as she wouldn't want that. Instead his hold on her only tightened for a brief moment before one arm pulled back so that he could brush away an errant bang from her eyes.

His voice was low, so that only the two of them, sharing this moment here and now, could have all to themselves.

"... will you be my Rrou'tai?"

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"jI..."

A breathless look caught on T'yeellaa's face as her eyes were as big as moons. She smiled, which suddenly drew up into a smirk as her left ear flicked.

"...sshould be asskjing jyou to be!"

A stammer, and she blinked.

"Mjy, Arr'tai, jI mean."

It only made perfect sense that even in the act of that ever-important question, the two of them both wanted to lead in the dance.

[Samus Dage]

A rueful grin met her, and Samus leaned back just a little bit to settle himself a bit more.

"Then ask away, Kitten."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Hang on."

T'yeellaa sat up, then jumped off the couch, looking left and right for a moment. Oh, Idiot she flinched, thinking she was somehow still living aboard Jovan. No wonder none of her things were about. Her tail tuft poofed, and she glanced from Dage, then to the door, then back to Dage again.

"At the rrjissk of sspojiljing the moment, can jyou wajit ten mjinutess?"

[Samus Dage]

Now what was this?

Even after all this time, she still managed to confound him in some moments.

"If I must... ?"

There was no hint of any upset tone, but more a gravelly patience. Not to mention a bit of intrigue.

She seemed to hesitate, and Samus rolled himself forward, lifting himself up from the sofa to tower over her.

"Hurry though," he delivered the old threat with an ease that the both of them had become accustomed to, "... else I'll find some other tail to chase."

[T'yeellaa Meorrrei]

"Ten mjinutess!"

T'yeellaa held out a plaintive hand as she backtracked toward the door. Turning to face it as it opened, she bolted into a sprint, shouting back through the threshold.

"And orrderr champagne!!"

[Samus Dage]

Even before he could hope to answer, she was gone.

" 'Order champagne', she says."

Still though, he couldn't help but oblige, and leaning down to pluck his comm from the side table, Samus dialed in a number that he'd memorized ages ago. A voice on the other end answered, and with a healthy amount of relief he was assured that yes, the old wine and spirits shop on Jovan - Ara'Bar Cee's - was still kicking about and providing the occupants of Jovan with their wares.

"Da?"

He turned at the sound, watching as Saa'ri finally emerged from the second bedroom. He held up a finger in a signal to wait.

"Uh, yeah. One bottle. Yes. Yes. Oh now come on... "

Silence overtook him as he turned back away.

"I don't care what you're problems are you old cheat, I know what you used to charge, and for all the credits I've given you over the years... "

Another moment of quiet, and Samus pivoted back to flash a smile to Saa'ri.

"Good. And send it over quick-like, yeah?"

Before any further argument could be had from the other end, he ended the call, tossing the comm unit to the sofa.

"Now."

There was a peculiar slant to his daughter's ears, and just as in times past, he became instantly cautious.

"What's on your mind?"