After that first night it just became a new habit for the two friends to share a sleeping bag. Every night  Evander fell asleep by Flint's side and woke up to the feeling of having his hair played with. Flint now understood why people have furry pets. It's quite calming.

They always walked a new part of the forest with all the food and water they'd need until dinner, when they arrived back at their ship. Although there was one night where they got lost and didn't arrive home until almost two in the morning. They laughed about that a lot.

When the final night came, Flint still hadn't taken Synyc's advice to him. He had thrown some subtle flirting his way, but hadn't actually told Evander how he felt. He had no idea how he would take it and was almost too afraid to find out. But, he figured, he'd realize when the moment was right and do it then.

The moment came the final night when they were stargazing on top of a grassy hill in the crisp night air. They were both laying down in the soft grass and Flint was using Evander's belly as a pillow. The sky was completely clear and Flint had been naming constellations for the past hour. Evander listened to each and every one.

"Hey," he finally said. "Do you remember that day a few months back on Wayland when you found me in the woods sulking?"

"Yes, why?"

Evander chuckled. "Looking back on that is kind of weird... isn't it?"

Flint was now confused. "I think you're on a different level than I am," he said with a slight laugh. "What's weird about it?"

"How oblivious I was," Evander said, his voice trailing off into the darkness of the night sky.

"Of what?" Flint asked as he sat up, turning his body to face his friend.

Evander looked like he was about to say something, but then he nervously laughed and shook his head.
"How shockingly peaceful everything would turn out."

Flint smiled and chuckled a bit, trying to hold back his disappointment. He had hoped Evander would say something else. "Yeah," he laid back down, this time a foot or so away from him. "Peaceful."

"Have you thought about where we should go next?" Evander asked, his eyes glued to the stars.

"Not really," Flint replied. "I picked Tython so it's your turn to choose."

Evander let out a sigh. "I'm gonna need to think about that. But it would be kind of fun take advantage of our legal status and go stay somewhere among normal people."

Flint chuckled. "True."

The next morning, after one final walk around Tython, Evander set coordinates for Naboo. He'd secretly always wanted to go there.

"I never pegged you for someone who would want to go to a wealthy place like Naboo," Flint remarked with a sly grin from the co-pilot's chair.

Evander shook his head and laughed. "Think about how good the food must be there, though!"

"Of course that's where your mind goes to first," Flint said with a laugh.

"Not true!" Evander countered. "They have really cool places to stay — hotels and stuff."

"Well those hotels had better have some good cereal for you."

It was only a 2 day trip, which left them getting there late at night. They ended up walking aimlessly through the huge city of Theed for an hour or so before they came across a nice enough looking hotel. They each only had a backpack with them and their credits, of course.

There was one poor girl working at the front desk. It was so late that Evander and Flint felt pretty bad for her.

"Good evening," she said rather sleepily with a small smile.

Evander smiled in return. "Hi, we need a room."

"And how long will you be staying?" The girl asked.

"Uhhh," Evander stammered. He turned to Flint. "Flint?"

Flint looked taken aback and unprepared to answer.

"I can book a room for a few days and you can always extend the stay accordingly," she explained nicely.

"Okay," Evander said with a nod. "Let's do three nights and we can come change that accordingly."

The girl smiled and nodded. "Perfect." She tyled some stuff into the keys of her holo-board and then handed them a sleek, brown card. "Here you are. Enjoy your stay."

Evander smiled and pocketed the card. "Thank you."

"You as well," Flint said awkwardly. The girl looked at him funny and laughed a bit, then Flint realized what he'd said. "Oh goodness, sorry."

Evander dragged him along behind him and they hopped into an elevator where they burst into fits of exhausted laughter.

They found their room on the fourth floor. They had two beds, a couch, a tv, a refresher, and a balcony. Flint dropped his bag on the floor and Evander followed suit. Flint climbed into bed and remained on one side, leaving a space open. Evander wandered to the other bed and sat down uneasily, knowing what was coming.

"What are you doing?" Flint asked.

"Sleeping..?"

"If you sleep there you'll only be kept awake by nightmares," Flint pointed out. He knew Evander understood this, but for some reason he was still trying to seem strong. "There is a good reason we've been sleeping within close proximity of one another recently."

"Yeah," Evander said with an embarrassed smile that made Flint's heart melt a bit. "You're right." There was a hint of disappointment in his voice — this troubled Flint because he didn't know where it was coming from.

Evander hopped down and ever so gracefully plopped himself down next to Flint. They both laughed and got under the covers. Evander turned the light off and they both got themselves adjusted.

As they got sleepier by the minute they also got closer. It was clear to both of them that the other didn't mind the contact. If anything, they both craved it at this point. Evander drifted off into a peaceful sleep in Flint's arms.

  
       The next morning they set about the city of Theed, looking immensely underdressed compared to the wealthy citizens. There were some tourists also taking advantage of the peacetime, but they didn't look like homeless, grimy, hermits.

"I feel weird," Flint said matter of factly with his hands shoved in the pockets of his sweatshirt.

"Well you are a bit weird," Evander replied. That earned an eye roll from Flint, but he had a smile on his face. It made Evander laugh. "Why?"

"Look at what we're wearing," he said as he looked down at his clothes. "Cargo pants and sweatshirts covered in dirt and distant blood stains."

"Who cares," Evander replied with a snort.

"The people of Naboo do. Part of their history snd culture is the attention to details, like what you wear. It also rains here quite a bit so the clothing they make her accommodates for the weather. Plus we look incredibly sketchy."

"So do you think we should go buy clothes?"

"Maybe a shirt or two," Flint said. "Or a Poncho would be a more practical option considering it's the rainy season."

"Let's keep our eyes out for a store then."

They ended up finding a more rundown shop on the edge of town. Evander and Flint went right for the clearance racks in the back. They knew they probably wouldn't wear these clothes after their trip.

After about twenty minutes of picking and choosing, they each had a few things picked out. Evander went to try them on and made Flint wait outside so he could tell him if he looked okay.

He had rolled up his stained, worn cargo pants so his ankles were well exposed above a pair of sandals and a shirt with an extra piece of fabric that hung down the side like a sash. Flint thought he looked very handsome.

"Looks good," Flint said with a grin.

Evander smiled. "Cool. One more thing." Then he disappeared into the dressing room again. He reappeared a minute or so later in the same pants and sandals, but had his plain white t-shirt on and tucked in. Over it was a surprisingly flowing, knit cardigan. This time Flint thought he looked adorable.

"That's my favorite," he said definitively, trying to fight alway a goofy smile.

"You think?" When Flint nodded he smiled and disappeared again. He decided to buy both things.

Flint picked out a scarlett colored poncho and some shorts. Of course everything looked a bit large on him considering his thin stature, but Evander still thought he pulled it off smoothly.

Flint stepped out shyly and looked both ways as if he were crossing a bush street. On the other hand, Evander was chanting, "Fashion show! Fashion show!" At an absurd volume that almost made Flint not want to associate with him. It just made Evander double over in the laughter.

The sales woman at the counter glared at him when they checked out.

"Clearly the people of Naboo don't appreciate fun either," Evander muttered close to Flint's ear as they exited the store and made way for their hotel.

Flint gave him a slight glare, but ended up chuckling to himself. "You aren't the most polite visitor in the world, you know."

"Oh really — and who made you the expert?"

"The Jedi, for one," Flint said flatly, then smiling at Evander's shocked expression. "After they discontinued the Explore Corps. they put me to work going with Jedi on missions as a translator and educator. I taught them about culture and the way did life for other planets and such so they could effectively communicate and respect them."

"That... explains a lot, actually," Evander said. After a moment he shook his head and laughed to himself. When Flint gave him a questioning look he explained. "Out of everyone you had by far the coolest and most important job."

"You guarded Senators and leaders and were entrusted to train a Palawan," Flint pointed out. "That's incredibly important!"

"Just take the damned compliment, Flint," he said with a smile.

Flint laughed and nodded. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks you, Evander."

Evander clapped him on the shoulder as they neared the hotel to change.