You watched as a dark haired man limped into the room before Ken rushed over and helped him to a table that was surrounded with various tools. “I told you the adjustments would need to be tested out before you were back to taking on the races. I don’t know why you let Hyuk talk you into those stupid bets.” Ken fussed at the guy as he went about gathering tools and such before pulling up a stool and pulling up the guy’s pants leg.

“What bets are you talking about? I thought I told you both that Sanghyuk was to stay out of your reckless adrenaline junkie races and such?” Iris stood and stalked over to the pair, and you watched as both men cringed away from her. She hit the other guy on the arm and grabbed the back of Ken’s neck in a hold. “What exactly was the challenge this time? And where is that little , I’m going to set him straight.” She turned to the other man with a glare. “And don’t tell me it was rooftop jumping again. Because you know you have an advantage, but he’s stubborn enough to do it anyways.”

You watched in amusement as the other guy seemed to almost try to shrink away from Iris. “It wasn’t jumping. At least it didn’t-” He let out a small yelp of pain when she hit him again. “I made sure he wouldn’t get hurt, Iris. I promised you-”

Iris had turned to walk over to a cabinet along the other wall and pulled out a few things before walking back over and tossing some in the other guy’s lap. “Wash your face. I’ll deal with you after I take care of Star’s ankle.” She glanced to Ken with a look you knew was speaking some secret comment between them. “Just make sure I didn’t spend all that time looking after this buffoon for him to get caught or die. Maybe we should put a tracker in him so we can keep him from running off.”

Ken burst out laughing and reached to lightly graze his fingers with hers as she started back towards you, before he turned back to the other guy and started unscrewing things on his leg. “Maybe I should make him a shock collar to go with it. Even put a tag on the front with ‘Ravi’ engraved on it.”

Iris laughed as she knelt down in front of you and started to wrap a cloth around your ankle. You had been watching the interaction a bit curiously, trying to understand the dynamic and how exactly you were going to get back to safety and hopefully keep you and your sister out of the detainment centers. You weren’t sure about staying with the rebels, especially given the fact that there had just been a large scale sweep called for again. Although it looked like you were stuck here for the moment.

The main worry about staying here wasn’t yourself exactly. You were more worried about your what would happen to your sister. She had been your first thought for the last several years since your parents’ disappearances. Iris had finished wrapping your ankle and you could tell just by how it felt that you were going to be practically immobile for the next several days. You would have to trust the rebels to bring your sister here safely. There was no other alternative it seemed.

Without thinking about it, you found yourself staring at the guy they had called Ravi, trying to figure out how out how he was going to get your sister. He seemed to be nearly covered in tattoos with several droid limbs as well. All together he looked intimidating and someone you had warned your sister about. And while you knew she could take care of herself in a fight if something were to happen (as you had made sure of it after your parents disappeared), you also didn’t want her to have any reason to fight.

Ravi ducked his head, a light blush creeping over his face. “How long are you going to stare? I mean, is there a reason you’re staring?”

Ken burst out laughing before Iris covered his mouth with her hand. “Stop, the lot of you. I’m sure Star is nervous about her sister, and probably in a bit of pain from her ankle. We just set N to charge so it will be a few hours before he’s back to help, but I can give you some medicine and you can try to sleep?”

“N will be charged again soon, love.” Ken’s voice was softer as he moved to lightly rest his hand on her shoulder. They seemed to be having a silent conversation again and you turned your head as she flinched before leaning into the embrace that Ken pulled her into. You weren’t sure what exactly was wrong with Iris, but watching the two of them interact made your chest tighten.

“Ravi can get your sister. He’s completely safe. So there’s no reason to worry.” You turned to Leo, having almost forgotten about the enforcement droid who had been sitting silently beside you. “Is there anything he should know to help get your sister to come with him?”

“Uhm, if it will put you at ease, I have a younger sister myself. She’s ..” Ravi trailed off and absently wiped at his face with the towel Iris had tossed at him.

You saw Leo flinch out of the side of your eye and turned to him with a slight raise of your eyebrow, but rather than meeting the droid’s eyes, he had his eyes and head tilted down. That confused you even more.

“Here you go. This should help.” You glanced back to see Iris holding a small cup and bottle of water with a small smile. “It’s just a simple pain medication. It should help you to relax.”

“I’ll be finished with Ravi’s leg in just a moment. It wasn’t anything serious. Then Ravi and Leo can go get your sister. You can rest in one of the spare bedrooms.” Ken didn’t look up from where he had moved to sit back in front of Ravi. “Just a few simple basic adjustments and then he should be good to go.”

Ravi scoffed with a slight hint of a smile. “You do remember that this is technically my place? You can’t just throw around rooms and such without my permission.” Ravi turned to face you again. “You can take one of the spare bedrooms. Iris can show you which ones are free. I think there’s even a pair of rooms that are connected, if you were worried about your sister.”

You turned to him, trying to give him a smile and nod of thanks. They didn’t have to be as kind to you as they were being. A little voice in the back of your head warned you that they were going to try and get something from you. That there were ulterior motives. You tried to push those thoughts aside and just mumbled a soft ‘thank you’ before opening the bottle of water and taking the medication that Iris had given you. Because as much as you might hate to admit it, your ankle had started to really hurt again.

Ken’s voice caught your attention again as he stood and held out a hand to Ravi to help pull him up. “Okay, test it out. But don’t do anything crazy. And you can’t have any more of the races with Hyuk for at least a month.” Ken blanched at the look Iris turned and gave him before he corrected himself. “I mean, ever. No more races. Nope. None.”

You couldn’t keep from chuckling slightly at how easily he had been chastised and corrected by Iris. Their dynamic intrigued you. It was obvious they cared deeply for each other, the looks on their faces towards each other were more than enough proof of that. But unlike most of the other relationships that you had seen, aside from your parents’ relationship, it was generally the male who had the power and say in things. Theirs was obviously different.

“Okay, I think you’re all set. Be careful this time. I don’t want to keep building new limbs for you. I do have other things to work on, you know?” The teasing in Ken’s voice contradicted the harsh words, and Ravi seemed to be more than accustomed to this as he just rolled his eyes with a nod.

“Yes, of course. Your precious work.”

Iris hit him on the arm with a frown. “Half of your body is his ‘precious work’ so I would be grateful if I were you.” Ravi flinched back slightly, nodding in an almost hurried way as she stared at him for a moment. Iris turned back to you with a small smile. “You said something about a special knock?”

You nodded quickly, having nearly forgotten that you had yet to share the secret that you had come up with as yet another way to try to keep your sister safe. “Yes, of course. You have to know the secret knock when you tell her that I sent you to pick her up. She’s been taught not to trust people. Especially anyone who wants to take her somewhere.” You couldn’t stop sending a quick glance to Leo, who’s face blushed slightly. “After you say that I’ve sent you to pick her up, you need to do this.” You proceeded to tap out the knock on the table that you were sitting on before glancing between Ravi and Leo. “Don’t say anything in between or wait for a response from her. She’s been told to stay silent and hidden if anyone knocks, at least until they do the secret knock.” 

You glanced between the two of them again, making sure that they were both paying attention. “When you get to the door, knock like regular, tell her I sent you to pick her up, and then repeat the secret knock. It might take a few moments for her to come to the door, but when she opens it, whisper her name and use mine when you tell her to open the door. Her name is Selene. Don’t stand out in the hallway too long. If anyone sees you, it won’t be good.” You sighed, trying not to let the idea of leaving your sister’s fate in the hands of complete strangers overwhelm you too much. “Now, repeat the knock back to me.”

You glanced between the two of them, waiting to see who would be the first to try. Leo dropped his eyes before quickly tapping out the knock on the table. It was a little surprising that he managed to get it right on the first try, and your face must have shown it because Ravi laughed. “He’s an enforcement droid, remember? Even if we did reprogram some things and they abandoned him as scrap metal, he is still a droid.”

You turned to look back at Leo, frowning slightly to yourself. Ravi was right. He was still an enforcement droid. “You can’t be blonde. She will never open the door if you’re still blonde.”

Leo stood with a nod. “I’ll go change it again. When I get back, we can go.”

Ravi nodded in return before motioning to the doorway. “I need to change. Maybe wear something that hasn’t been cut by our resident mad scientist.”

“Hey! I’m not a mad scientist! I’m not even a scientist, I’m an engineer!” Ken’s voice was loud and you could hear the playful arguing tone. “But fine, next time you need any repairs or adjustments or even a new limb don’t come asking me.” You watched as he stuck his tongue out at Ravi and crossed his arms over his chest before stomping off to a corner where he started doing some sort of work.

Ravi just laughed before turning back to you with a small smile. “We’ll bring your sister back quickly. Don’t worry. I won’t let anything happen to her. Leo won’t either.” His smile dimmed a little and you were almost afraid he would say something about how impossible this whole idea was and how he was throwing you out onto the streets. Instead he just nodded before turning to Iris. “You can give her any of the rooms.” He turned back to you for a moment. “You should rest. You look exhausted.”

Before you could say anything in return, he had turned and walked out of the room. Iris moved to stand in front of you and held out a hand. “Come on, I’ll show you to a room you can take. He was right about one thing at least. You look close to collapsing.” You started to protest that you needed to be here when they came back with your sister, but Iris shook her head. “It won’t work. You can’t take care of her if you don’t take care of yourself as well. Trust me on this. Get some rest while they go bring her back. I’ll come let you know when they get back. Don’t worry.”

You could tell there was something behind Iris’ words, but you had to admit, you were tired. The pain from your ankle didn’t help much either. Carefully standing, you took her hand and let her help you walk out of the room. “You both will be safe here. Try not to worry.”

You were led to a small room that held only a bed and what looked to be a small desk. “It isn’t much. We don’t keep too much down here. I’m sure you can understand. But try to relax and rest a little bit. You can’t take care of your sister without making sure to take care of yourself, Star.” Iris helped you over to the bed, letting you sit down lightly. She turned back to the door. “I’ll leave you alone now. Hopefully the medicine will help take some of the pain. I’ll come let you know when the boys get back with your sister. Get some rest.”

You nodded as she walked out and shut the door. The medicine was starting to dull the pain in your ankle and you felt the exhaustion catching up with your body. You shifted on the bed to lay down, not bothering to crawl under the blanket. Before you could let yourself worry, you felt yourself falling asleep.