This Isn't the First Time...

He grumbled to himself as he once again slammed his shoulder against the door, pulling back as there was no give and rubbing the offending area that now smarted. He was stuck. And he did not enjoy being stuck. She sat back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest and sighing, her steely blue eyes taking in his figure as he calculated his chances of brute force against the offending object of his bane.

"Why not just settle and relax?" She asked quietly, not to pleased too pleased to be stuck in the closet with him of all people. She noted with disdain that purple lightning was crackling ever so slightly around his frame, showing his agitation. "We can't break down the door and you've been at it for close to half an hour..."

He glanced sideways at her for a moment before growling and punching the wall, "I don't want to settle. I want to be out of this small, cramped place..."

"We did kind of deserve this," she replied, shrugging. "We did destroy the kitchen while Je'lie was doing whatever he was doing..."

He pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing greatly before sliding to the floor. "This isn't the first time..."

"What?" She asked, her eyebrows rising. She sensed quite the story behind this, and was slightly entertained to know that it wasn't the first time he had been stuck in a closet without the ability to get out. "First time for what?"

He sighed at that point, his iridescent eyes narrowing slightly in agitation, "I was locked in a closet another time with a rather beautiful woman, just like this time..."

She could barely contain her smile at his words. He thought her beautiful. Even though he wasn't himself - mostly - he still thought her beautiful. Maybe there was hope that Zeik could return to his old self and love her once again.

"And how did that happen?" She asked.

He blushed greatly, not too keen on remembering that day and the problems that arose from it. "It all started when Je'lie though it would be a good idea to make an appearance at the opera... If you ask me, he just wanted to go see it..."

~*~

 

He finally sighed upon closing the door to his apartment. He did not enjoy traversing in public. It just didn't feel the same anymore, as if it was wrong for him to be praised as if he was a god. And the women. They just would not leave him alone. Hounding and pestering him over and over again. It felt good... No. Safe. To be within the confines of his own dwelling.

 

Je'lie had bid him goodnight before leaving him at the door to his apartment building, probably heading back to the space port to shack up with Ulic, who had been busy trying to contact Mandalore about one thing or another. Upon entering the building, he already had three women squealing and pawing at him, and he courteously evaded them, whispering apologies about being tired and needing his rest. They seemed disappointed and angered, but he just couldn't enjoy their company. Something felt wrong whenever he even attempted to flirt with another.

 

A knock on his door had him standing from position on his couch that he had taken up, wondering what Je'lie had forgotten to tell him. But upon opening his door, he found a rather adamant woman standing there, beaming up at him. Before he could close to door on her face, she was pushing her way inside, grabbing at his robe and pulling at clothing, a wild frenzy within her movements.

 

"I want you, my Lord," she whispered to him, and he felt slightly nauseous at those words, loosing his bearings and ability to fight for a couple seconds. She took the opportunity to quickly push him towards his bedroom, and upon him finally getting ability back within his arms and legs, he grabbing her shoulders, hoping to dislodge her from himself.

 

But she clung to him, causing him to tip backwards and into his closet. She fell with him, and as the door hissed shut, he heard and audible click. Cursing to himself, he quickly shoved her off of himself, lunging towards the door and desperately trying to open it, only to silently seethe as he realized the door was locked.

 

"No!" He cried out, slamming his shoulder into the metal object that stood between him and freedom. "Open!"

 

"My lord," she murmured behind him, and she could feel her hands roaming across his back. Somehow, he didn't know when, but she had gotten his robe off. Maybe it was when he had lost himself in his thoughts of trying to keep his stomach from rebelling. But her hand played against his skin, and everywhere her fingers touched, a searing wrong was felt. It wasn't that the feeling was unpleasant, no, it felt good... It just didn't feel... right.

 

He wondered if it had something to do with the past that he couldn't remember, but didn't have much time before he felt her hand curve around over his ribs before making a trail down his chest, and he bit his lip. Just as he was about to yell out at her, he swore he heard Je'lie's voice.

 

"Je'lie!" He bellowed, banging against the door in hopes that his Imperial Agent would come to his rescue.

 

"Where are you, Zeik?" His voice was muffled, but it was definitely Je'lie.

 

"In here!"

 

There was silence for a minute, and Zeik desperately pushed at the woman that was pawing him, trying to get her to stay away from him. "Where?" Je'lie asked once again.

 

"Je'lie! I'm locked in my closet! Help!" He cried out. "This woman won't leave me alone! I need to get out of here!"

 

And then there was laughter before Je'lie's voice came once again, "It'll take me a few minutes, my friend. I'm just exiting my room on the ship... But I'll come and save you... How did you get stuck anyways?"

 

"She forced her way into the apartment!" Zeik almost whined, banging his fists off of the door. "Just please hurry! She won't stop touching me!"

 

"My Lord! Please! I don't mind! I want to have your child!" The woman squeaked out, placing her hands on him once again, and he jerked away from her.

 

"Je'lie! Please! Hurry!" Zeik almost sobbed. He knew he sounded pathetic, but at the moment he didn't care. His pride was nothing when it came to his body rebelling against him at the touch of someone. He hated being touched by someone against his will.

 

"Big mean Darth can't even take a woman advancing on him," Je'lie's snicker was not missed by Zeik, who frowned as he spun around to stare at the woman.

 

"It doesn't feel right... They all don't. None of them seem to be like the feeling I had felt once," he growled.

 

~*~

 

Ellona smiled slightly at him, laying her head on her kneels, "So, what happened?"

 

"Je'lie came just in the nick of time," Zeik shuddered. "And Ulic refused to heal the scratches she left all over my back... Still have the scars from those..."

 

"She scratched your back?" Ellona asked, her eyebrows raising.

 

"When I wouldn't allow her to paw at me, she hit me hard enough to see stars and then slammed me against the door, raking into my back..." The shake of a head accompanied those words, "It wasn't until after Je'lie got me out of there that I found out she was Mandalorian..." He then rubbed his shoulder, as if remembering the pain, "I'm still leery of closets to this day... And now I'm stuck in another one with a woman..."

 

"Do I scare you too?" Ellona giggled, leaning towards him slightly.

 

He shook his head, a small smile flitting across his features before disappearing, "No. You don't scare me. And for some odd reason I feel rather safe with you here beside me..."

 

Those words had her heart pounding slightly in her chest, a very proud feeling bursting from every seam of her. Maybe he was getting closer to remembering her. Maybe, just maybe, she should hold onto the slight hope that she couldn't seem to extinguish. She so desperately wanted him back, to look at her like he used to look at her. To dote on her how he had on Taris.

 

He then sighed, running a hand through his hair before looking towards the door, "I'm sorry..."

 

"For what?" She asked, blinking at him.

 

"For causing you strife and angering you," he supplied, and she could hear the anguish that radiated from his words. "For harming my brother. For anything I have done without realizing it..." He placed a hand to his forehead, closing his eyes and looking rather thoughtful, as if something vexed him, "There are times where I can't remember doing something... black outs... Ulic fills in the pieces I can't remember, but it still irks me." He then opened his eyes to stare into her steely blue ones, "Sometimes I believe he doesn't tell me the truth of the matter. And I know he does it to try not to hurt me, but I feel horrible nonetheless."

 

He then rubbed his chest, a phantom pain radiating from his old scar on the left side of his chest, "I know I've done horrible things, and I cannot change that fact. It's something that will haunt me for the rest of my life and beyond that. But I just wish..." He then shook his head. "Just forget I said anything."

 

She stayed silent, watching him closely for a moment before placing her hand on his arm, causing him to jump slightly and look over at her. The small smile that worked its way to her delicate lips had him feeling more at ease. "You two are really close, aren't you?"

 

"Yeah, we are," he nodded, a smile matching hers coming to his face and lighting it up. "We have been for years, I guess... He's given up quite a bit for me..."

 

"He doesn't see it like that," she explained. "He seems to be the type of man that wants the best for everyone he comes across, be it enemy or friend..."

 

"Oh no," Zeik chuckled at her false sense of Ulic. "He only uses that side of himself for his friends. His enemies see the cold Ulic. The man he used to be when he was part of the Vizsla clan, one of their best." His face then darkened, "You never want to see that Ulic."

 

It was after those words that the door hissed before opening, showing a rather irate Je'lie standing there, his stance one of anger while the Force around him wavered with his agitation. "I'll let you out if you promise to stay the hell away from the kitchen for the remainder of your life!" As both just stared at him, he growled, "You're both forbidden from stepping foot on the floor that makes up Ulic's personal space! You cannot go in there to get a snack, to get a drink, to make anything or even grab a fruit!" And then he was standing to the side, indicating with his head towards the room that lay beyond the closet, "Now get out of there! And I swear if you even think of disobeying me, I'll introduce you to the old me..."

 

Zeik shivered for a moment before looking at Ellona, who looked ready to argue with him, "No. I don't ever want to meet Cipher Nine, Je'lie..."

 

She just eyed him, confused as to why he would be afraid of Je'lie of all people. The ex-agent didn't seem to be someone that was frightening. "There are things about his past that you never want to know, Ellona," Zeik just whispered to her before quickly walking out of the closet and sauntering out of the room, leaving a slightly confused Ellona behind him.

 

"You weren't that bad, were you Je'lie?" She asked, exiting the closet as well.

 

He smirked at her, "You should contact an old lover of mine and ask him... Vector would tell you the truth about me." And then he too was leaving the room, leaving Ellona to stand there and slightly wonder about the men she was traveling with.

 

Could it actually be? Could there be a sinister side to all of them? Zeik, yes, she had seen it, but Ulic and Je'lie? Both seemed down to earth and full of heart. They couldn't possibly be soulless. Could they? What were their pasts like? What horrors did they live? Now she was curious. Now she wanted to know. But she doubted she'd ever find out the truth. They seemed to be the type of men that kept things close to the chest.

 

And that caused her to sigh greatly in slight agitation before she exited the room and headed towards her own, mulling over her thoughts. Maybe one day... maybe they would open up to her fully. Until then, it would eat at her until she knew the truth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A little side story to a part that actually happens in the story where Zeik and Ellona get locked into a closet of their ship by Je'lie, who is incredibly pissed at them for incredibly trashing and ruining the ship's kitchen. He probably wouldn't have been so angry, except that the kitchen is Ulic's pride and joy. His "personal space" that's one of the only constants in his life.

Oh, and Je'lie's name is pronounced Gee-lay.

I'm finding it rather hard to write Zeik. Maybe it's because I've fallen in love with Ulic and Je'lie so much. They had more of a rough past then Zeik and Reilik (his name is pronounced relic). And I think I can relate to them a little more than I can Zeik and Reilik... Hmm. lol.

Well, I hope you enjoy it. I'm not too sure I like it, but I kind of do. I'm weird, I know.