A Cosmic Match Route

Route summary for Nav and Jessa from A Cosmic Match.

## Nav

### Episode 1

It’s Sweethearts Day, and MC wants to start her yearly tradition of drinking alone. She enters a bar that looks promising but only finds couples and romance inside. When the bartender, Jessa,  mentions speed dating, MC quickly decides to leave, not wanting to be part of that at all. Before she goes, she’s flagged down by a familiar voice. It’s Nav Hexan, a “roguish” bounty hunter. MC seethes, and reminds Nav that he still owes her money. Nav says that doesn’t sound like him, but MC presses on, refreshing his memory of several months prior when he asked for her help as a private investigator on a case when he stole the reward money from her. Nav waves off her ire, saying that such a great PI shouldn’t need credits that desperately.

They banter back and forth, with MC raging at Nav and Nav simply smirking back at her. He tries to goad her more by saying how flattered he is that she’s trying to find him on Sweethearts Day. When she threatens him, he finally relents, asking if she wants to share the reward of his current bounty. She agrees, and Nav tells her that his target, Bo Imrik, is currently doing the speed dating activity. Nav knows everything about Imrik except what he looks like, so he needs MC to make the rounds to flush him out.

After suffering through many boring men, MC finally comes across a man who fits the personality description Nav gave her. MC relays the information back to Nav, and he smiles at her, telling her how impressive she is. She claims she’s just there for the money, but they gaze at each other before getting back to business. Nav wants to take Imrik out, but MC points out that Imrik is only meeting with women so Nav will have a hard time getting close to him. Nav says that’s never stopped him and his charm before, and MC watches as he approaches Imrik.

### Episode 2

MC watches as Nav interrupts Imrik’s current date, turning his charm up to turbo mode. He compliments Imrik’s taste, and Imrik immediately takes the bait. When Nav suggests they go to a classier place, he takes advantage of the moment and cuffs Imrik.

MC comes over then and says they should hand Imrik over to the local Union office. Nav protests, saying they’ll get a lot more money if they take him to the system office to collect the bounty instead. MC argues that they should be making an example of Imrik as a warning to others who deal in white collar crime, and that he’ll almost certainly be let go with just a fine at the system office because of his wealth.

They bicker back and forth about the right plan of action and how they’re doing the same things that annoyed each other during their last job. While arguing, Imrik is able to turn on a hidden earpiece and call for help before MC or Nav can stop him. A heavily armored woman appears - apparently Imrik’s bodyguard - and attempts to take back her client. They try to reason with the bodyguard to no avail. Nav bets that he can knock out the bodyguard before MC can, and will owe her a favor and an apology if she wins.

***Heart scene (15) -  Join Nav in the fight.***

*MC tells Nav he should get ready to grovel, and Nav smiles wide. The bodyguard gets annoyed, reminding them that she has a blaster pointing at Nav. Nav points out that he has a blaster aimed at her too. Just before she shoots Nav in the leg, MC dives in and knocks her arm away. The guard knees MC in the gut and she jams the butt of her blaster into the guard’s throat. While they’re both wheezing, Nav takes the opportunity to tackle the guard.*

*MC, not wanting to lose the bet, grabs Nav and pushes him out of the way. She rushes in to grab the guard, but Nav sticks a foot out to trip her. MC glares at him, but Nav goes back to the guard, elbowing her hard in the nose. He goes to knock her out, but MC grabs his arm to stop him. They wrestle for a moment, faces close enough to feel each other’s breath. MC headbutts him to get out of his grip and immediately hits the guard in the face multiple times until she crumples on the ground.*

*MC, still breathing heavily, turns to Nav to gloat about her victory. Nav says he should have known she’d play dirty. MC replies that they never set any rules, so technically no rules were broken. Nav calls them a “terrible twosome” and MC can’t stop her heart from jumping a little at the phrase. She ignores it and reminds Nav that he has yet to grovel. As he’s bowing low and about to offer his apology, they both notice the guard getting up.*

The guard tries to grab Nav but he headbutts her and pistol-whips her across the temple where she falls, unconscious once more. Jessa directs them to a back door where Imrik escaped, and Nav and MC give chase.

Outside, they catch up to Imrik, who’s still trapped in the handcuffs. While he struggles and complains, MC and Nav begin to bicker again about payment. Nav insists that he did all the work, but MC counters, reminding him that they wouldn’t have even found Imrik if it weren’t for her. They argue back and forth about who did what as they lead Imrik to a Union station. Imrik declares it to be the worst Sweethearts Day ever.

### Episode 3

MC and Nav are arguing about the payout - she doesn’t think it’s enough but he reminds her that not all bounties are high-profile. She says it’s not like him to take such a low-paying job and he retorts that maybe he asked for her help for another reason, and says that it wasn’t the worst way to spend a Sweethearts Day. They bicker with each other before he finally admits that he wasn’t planning on taking the job seriously until she walked into the bar. MC thinks to herself that she didn’t hate spending time with him, and it was moderately better than drinking alone.

MC declares that he still owes her a debt, but he doesn’t seem bothered by the prospect. He offers to buy her a drink to start making up for it and after flashing her a winning smile, he eventually convinces her to go with him.

They arrive back at Jessa’s bar, who immediately calls them troublemakers and tells them to leave. They try to convince her that they’ll behave, and she finally relents, with a condition: they have to sign up for speed dating or find another bar. They reluctantly agree, and Jessa enthusiastically announces that they’ll be paired together first.

MC and Nav sit at a table together, and she teases him when he remembers her drink order from their previous job. They ridicule each other for their drinks: MC likes whiskey, neat, and Nav likes sugary cocktails. While they banter, MC admits that she thinks Nav is kind of cute, but has learned that work and affection don’t mix, like whiskey and sugar.

They’re so lost in their conversation that they don’t realize that they’re supposed to switch partners. MC tells the next woman that she definitely won’t want Nav, and he agrees, putting his hand on MC’s. The woman walks away angrily, and Nav’s hand doesn't move. MC accuses Nav of flirting with her, and their chatter immediately devolves into banter about who’s flirting and who’s not.

MC, desperate to change the subject, notices a dartboard on the wall. When Nav asks if she’s ever played, she lies, saying she’s never tried. She thinks this will be a perfect chance to get Nav to start repaying his debt.

***Heart scene (26) - Let Nav teach you darts.***

*MC almost lets slip that she thinks playing darts is sexy, covering up her mistake by telling Nav that beating him at his own game is sexy. Nav doesn’t think she can beat him, but he shows her a few basic moves anyway. She pretends to be bad so he lets his guard down. She knows he’s got him when he says he’s going to go easy on her.*

*He moves behind her to direct her arm, and she suddenly notices how close he is: she can feel his breath on her neck as his hand runs up her arm. She’s too distracted to pretend to aim poorly, and gets a bullseye. He still doesn’t seem worried, and she remembers to pull back her efforts more as the game goes on. They continue long-standing arguments with each other as they play and goofing around. With each shot they declare something new about each other: who pays people on time, who’s flirting and who’s not…*

*MC then ups the offer: whoever gets the next best shot wins five hundred credits - more than MC’s share from the bounty. Nav feigns guilt at having to beat her so badly, but agrees, and instantly throws three bullseyes. MC tells him not to celebrate so soon, as she then throws three of her own bullseyes. Nav gawks at her, completely flabbergasted. When he accuses her of hustling him, she doesn’t deny it. She demands he pay up and he grumbles, but admits that he both hates and respects her. They head back to their table, where their hands find each other’s once more.*

As they nurse their drinks, Nav admits that he enjoyed having MC with him on the case that day. They both agree that they’re not so bad after all. When he smiles at her she melts, just a little. She reminds herself not to get too invested, because past experience has taught her not to believe in happily ever afters.

She suddenly stands and declares that she has to go, and Nav seems taken aback. He says that she has to take something memorable with her. When she asks what he suggests, he pulls her gently into his lap and presses her close against him. With his head tucked against her shoulder, they both agree that this is definitely, totally still not flirting, and that they’re *obviously* not about to kiss. [CG]

They’re pulled together and suddenly they’re kissing one another. His hands grip her tightly as her hands wind into his hair. Jessa wolf whistles at them from the bar and the speed daters begin to clap. Nav and MC flip everyone off simultaneously. MC tells him that they can finally agree on something: they’re both amazing kissers.

He asks if she still has to leave and she says yes, she does, and reminds him that he still owes her. He promises to pay her back, and she says that he now owes interest, too. He catches on, and smirks at her, saying she’s got his card. With her heart still singing, MC heads out to catch her flight, and thinks that this is the best Sweethearts Day she’s had in years.

[written by reddit user directormmn]

## Jessa

### Episode 1

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