I'm not strong enough to stay away
TITLE: Like Broken Cogs
AUTHOR: Ashe; promisethesun
FANDOM(S): Star Wars EU
CHARACTER(S): Jaina/Zekk
PROMPT: #052 Machine
RECIPIENT: digthenym
RATING: PG
WARNINGS: Nope
SPOILERS?: None
PREVIEW/SUMMARY: In the end, even their relationship can be defined in the aspect of broken machines.
WORD COUNT: 694
With a frustrated sigh, Jaina threw the tool she was using down hard on the ground, wiping her hand across her face. A smudge of grease smeared across her cheek, one that Zekk avoided wiping off. “It's broken.”
“That's the point,” he reminded, a faint smile flickering to life.
“I mean, really, Zekk. This is going to take some time to fix.” The younger Jedi glanced up at him, that look of hard determination and stubbornness on her face.
He nudged it with his toe before holding out his hand to her. She grasped it, using him to herself up off the ground. They held on longer than they should have, each finding the other's hand warm, comforting. It was with reluctance that Zekk finally let it go. Jaina smiled at him, a faint blush running up her neck to her cheeks, until she ducked her head and busied herself with something that wasn't Zekk.
“I thought... You would like it. It would give you something to work on in your spare time,” Zekk said, shrugging as if it weren't really a big deal. It was a piece of junk really, something he picked up out among some old wreckage. But Jaina wasn't an ordinary girl, and she didn't like things such as jewelry and flowers and things most girls who weren't her would like. No, Jaina enjoyed the challenge of things she could put back whole, to make things work again.
Jaina grinned brightly at him, hesitating only a moment before throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. His hesitation mirrored hers, his hands automatically coming up to pat her on the shoulder, but the longer she stood there, holding on to him, the more he relaxed until his arms wrapped around her as well.
“I'll fix it up for you,” Jaina promised. “And it can be something to remind you of me. That way you'll always know I'll be there to help you, Zekk.”
-
The pain is still raw, even though it's been a few months. There's a pang of loneliness that echoes within him. Anakin. Jacen. Jaina...
He falls onto the cot, his long limbs draping over the sides. His eyes close, and he steadies his breathing. The pain comes from knowing what has become of those closest to him, of what he has become.
Before she walks into the room, he feels her radiance in the Force, but he can't seem to make himself get up to greet her, to even open his eyes for that matter. He feels as though he has aged too many years in a matter of seconds, and how can he even begin to react to her? She hesitates outside of the door, knowing that he's inside, and they are both caught in a web of uncertainty. He almost wills for her to go, to spare them this awkward intrusion when she clearly doesn't-isn't-ready to see him.
But she's Jaina Solo.
And Jaina Solo ignores awkward, steps over things that would make her uncomfortable and pretends that she's okay with herself.
Zekk can't look at her. Durron may have brought her back, but the dark side never goes away. It stays to fester inside of you, remains once you have submitted to it, and he knows this as well as anyone else who had ever fallen.
She stands in the room, watching him, and he can feel her anger rise up.
“It's broken, Zekk. I can't fix it.”
He opens his eyes when she returns to him a gift he had almost forgotten about, placing it on a table as far from him as possible-she doesn't know how to be close to him now, and he's almost thankful for it at the moment. She whips around to stare at him, all fury and hurt and remorse, and he watches her, sitting up slowly before his eyes drift to the old object, nearly complete.
“You can't fix it.”
He spends a long time staring at it after she's stomped away from him, her words dying on her lips when they stare at each other.
AUTHOR: Ashe; promisethesun
FANDOM(S): Star Wars EU
CHARACTER(S): Jaina/Zekk
PROMPT: #052 Machine
RECIPIENT: digthenym
RATING: PG
WARNINGS: Nope
SPOILERS?: None
PREVIEW/SUMMARY: In the end, even their relationship can be defined in the aspect of broken machines.
WORD COUNT: 694
With a frustrated sigh, Jaina threw the tool she was using down hard on the ground, wiping her hand across her face. A smudge of grease smeared across her cheek, one that Zekk avoided wiping off. “It's broken.”
“That's the point,” he reminded, a faint smile flickering to life.
“I mean, really, Zekk. This is going to take some time to fix.” The younger Jedi glanced up at him, that look of hard determination and stubbornness on her face.
He nudged it with his toe before holding out his hand to her. She grasped it, using him to herself up off the ground. They held on longer than they should have, each finding the other's hand warm, comforting. It was with reluctance that Zekk finally let it go. Jaina smiled at him, a faint blush running up her neck to her cheeks, until she ducked her head and busied herself with something that wasn't Zekk.
“I thought... You would like it. It would give you something to work on in your spare time,” Zekk said, shrugging as if it weren't really a big deal. It was a piece of junk really, something he picked up out among some old wreckage. But Jaina wasn't an ordinary girl, and she didn't like things such as jewelry and flowers and things most girls who weren't her would like. No, Jaina enjoyed the challenge of things she could put back whole, to make things work again.
Jaina grinned brightly at him, hesitating only a moment before throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. His hesitation mirrored hers, his hands automatically coming up to pat her on the shoulder, but the longer she stood there, holding on to him, the more he relaxed until his arms wrapped around her as well.
“I'll fix it up for you,” Jaina promised. “And it can be something to remind you of me. That way you'll always know I'll be there to help you, Zekk.”
-
The pain is still raw, even though it's been a few months. There's a pang of loneliness that echoes within him. Anakin. Jacen. Jaina...
He falls onto the cot, his long limbs draping over the sides. His eyes close, and he steadies his breathing. The pain comes from knowing what has become of those closest to him, of what he has become.
Before she walks into the room, he feels her radiance in the Force, but he can't seem to make himself get up to greet her, to even open his eyes for that matter. He feels as though he has aged too many years in a matter of seconds, and how can he even begin to react to her? She hesitates outside of the door, knowing that he's inside, and they are both caught in a web of uncertainty. He almost wills for her to go, to spare them this awkward intrusion when she clearly doesn't-isn't-ready to see him.
But she's Jaina Solo.
And Jaina Solo ignores awkward, steps over things that would make her uncomfortable and pretends that she's okay with herself.
Zekk can't look at her. Durron may have brought her back, but the dark side never goes away. It stays to fester inside of you, remains once you have submitted to it, and he knows this as well as anyone else who had ever fallen.
She stands in the room, watching him, and he can feel her anger rise up.
“It's broken, Zekk. I can't fix it.”
He opens his eyes when she returns to him a gift he had almost forgotten about, placing it on a table as far from him as possible-she doesn't know how to be close to him now, and he's almost thankful for it at the moment. She whips around to stare at him, all fury and hurt and remorse, and he watches her, sitting up slowly before his eyes drift to the old object, nearly complete.
“You can't fix it.”
He spends a long time staring at it after she's stomped away from him, her words dying on her lips when they stare at each other.