Room 213 [Saturday afternoon]
Rory laid on her bed, staring at the ceiling and eating Red Vines.
If she let herself feel, or think about just a fraction of what Anakin had told her, she would start crying again, and she was so sick of crying.
So for now, it was numbness and counting the spots on her ceiling.
Luke
Luke bounced down the hall and knocked cheerfully at the door. "Hello?" he called.
Rory
"It's open," she called hollowly.
Luke
"Long time no...what happened?" Luke asked, seeing the look on her face.
Rory
"Nothing. Happy birthday," she said.
Luke
Luke sat down next to her on the bed. "Want to try that again?" he suggested quietly. "I'm not going to be happy when you're so clearly not."
Rory
"Your father and I broke up, I guess," she said dully after a moment. "Though I'm not sure how you break something that was held together by safety pins to start."
Luke
Luke's jaw dropped. "But...bu..oh, Rory, I'm so sorry," he said scooting a little closer. "What did he do? Maybe it can be fixed."
Rory
She gave a mirthless laugh. "Yeah, no, it's pretty broken."
Luke
His forehead furrowed. "Is he falling back into bad habits?" he asked, feeling a chill creep up his spine. "Because so help me..."
Rory
"Your mom didn't die in childbirth, Luke."
Luke
Luke gaped at her for a moment. "I don't understand," he said slowly.
Rory
"He killed her."
The dullness with which she said this was the only thing keeping her intact.
Luke
The blood pounded very loudly in Luke's ears as he stared at her, recoiling like he'd been punched.
"He didn't," he whispered, voice harsh. "He couldn't have. It's impossible."
Rory
"Except the part where it happened," she said softly. "I'm sorry, Luke."
Luke
His face drained of color. "But Leia said she..." he cut himself off, shaking his head. "I'm fine," he declared shakily, very clearly not, and just as clearly not ready to talk about it yet. "Why did he--" he hit the "he" just a little too hard for his "totally fine" argument to hold any weight, "tell you?"
Rory
"I have no idea," she said, shaking her head. "I asked what was wrong and for once he didn't brush me off."
Luke
"I really wish he had," Luke said, voice getting a little shaky as he reached for Rory's hand.
"He said that...really?"
Rory
Rory nodded.
Luke
The muscles in his jaw clenched as he fought hard not to break completely apart in front of Rory.
He did reach out to hug her, though. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.
Rory
Rory let him hug her, trying not to feel anything. "Why are you sorry?"
Luke
Luke held on. "I'm not apologetic," he said softly. "That's his thing. I'm just...sorry."
Rory
"Me too," she whispered, holding on tight.
Luke
"What can I do to help?" he asked, still clinging. "You've gone all...numb on me."
Rory
"Safer this way," she murmured.
Luke
Luke rubbed circles on her back. "It's not good to bottle it up, Rory," he whispered. "Let me help."
Dealing with her problems would distract him from the enormity of his own.
Rory
"It's working so far," she mumbled into his shoulder.
Luke
"It is because I look like him?" he asked in a quavery little voice.
Rory
"No. It's because if I feel anything I'm going to fall apart and I'm done."
Luke
Luke kissed the top of her head and fought back tears of his own. "It's just me," he whispered. "It's okay to fall apart."
Rory
"I don't know if I can," she said, trying really hard not to let her voice crack. "I'm just...it's all too much."
Luke
Luke held her close. "Because there was some evil you thought he wasn't capable of," he choked out.
Rory
"I always thought he'd never hurt me," she whispered.
Luke
Luke's eyes were suddenly as angry as she'd ever see them. "He hurt you? I'll kill him."
He was halfway off the bed and heading for the door before the words had gotten out of his mouth.
Rory
"Luke, no," she said tiredly, reaching to pull him back. "But he hurt her."
Luke
"He killed her," Luke snapped, wrapping his arms around himself. "I thought what he did to Leia was an exception...that he didn't know who she was." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Turns out he just didn't care."
Rory
"It's not something he's proud of," she said softly, moving to wrap her arms around him.
Luke
"Don't defend him," Luke said, clinging to her. "He doesn't deserve it."
It was probably the most unforgiving thing he'd ever said in his life.
Rory
"I don't know what else to do," she murmured, her voice breaking.
Luke
Luke cradled her head against his shoulder and rocked back and forth. "I don't either," he whispered.
Rory
"This is what I get for being happy," she mumbled, the tears coming against her will.
Luke
Luke's heart cracked a little more. "No it's not," he said, leading her back to the bed. "There wasn't one part of this horrible mess that's your fault, Rory," he continued, "and I'm not leaving until you know that."
Rory
"It's so funny, because I keep thinking -- if it wasn't, you know, right...why would it have worked out? He left, he died, he was evil, he came back from the really, really dead, and he never stopped -- I never stopped. Stupid me. You don't get much more soulmatey than that. And then...and now there's this, and I was wrong," she mumbled, crying against his shoulder.
Luke
Luke wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he had to ask anyway. "So he didn't turn Dark Side because he loved her?" he asked in a small voice. "He was just...wrong?"
Rory
"He was trying to save her," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "But...I don't know. He says she was cheating on him with Obi-Wan, too."
Luke
"I'm sorry," Luke said, resting his head on top of hers. "You don't want to relive this with me."
Rory
"You need to know," she whispered.
Luke
"Not when it gets you this upset," he countered. "I don't need to know that badly." He sighed. "How can I make this better?"
Rory
"Can't. Nothing makes it better," she mumbled.
Luke
"I can beat the crap out of him," he said. "It'll make me feel better."
Rory
"It won't make me, but have at it," Rory said dully.
Luke
Like hell he was leaving her in this mood. Revenge could wait.
He ignored the little voice in the back of his head questioning whether he could hurt Anakin at all anyway.
"Or we could get drunk enough to forget this happened," he suggested.
Rory
"Drinking sounds good," Rory mumbled. "Forget it all."
Luke
"For this, I'll even drink schnapps again," Luke said, kissing her forehead.
Rory
She almost smiled. "Schnapps would be too light for me. I want tequila. Or scotch. Or vodka."
Luke
"Do you have any?" he asked. "If not, I can send Artoo on a shopping trip."
Because he wasn't planning on leaving the room.
Rory
"I'm out," she said, shaking her head. "I don't keep hard stuff."
Luke
"It's okay," Luke soothed, flipping open his comlink.
Artoo's happy chirped burbled through a second later.
"I'm in Rory's room," Luke told him. "Can you go into the closet and get that bottle of whiskey Han gave me after Endor?"
Artoo let out a low whistle.
"I'm sure," Luke said flatly. "Hurry."
Rory
"What'd Artoo say?" Rory asked, hugging her knees up to her chest.
Luke
"He wanted to know if I wanted to drink whiskey that terrible," Luke replied. "Han'd gotten it from one of the Ewoks."
Rory
"Will it make me forget?"
Luke
"It smells like shuttle fuel and kicks like a bantha. It'll make you forget," Luke promised as Artoo announced his presence by trilling outside the door.
Luke opened the door, took the bottle and was back on the bed in record time.
Artoo blatted a raspberry at them both, then returned to his room bitching about rude Skywalkers who never learn to say thank you.
Rory
Rory produced a couple of coffee mugs. "I don't have real cups, sorry."
Luke
"This stuff can etch glass," Luke said, "so don't worry about it." He poured generous shots into each mug and clinked his against hers. "To things that totally suck."
Rory
Rory didn't even bother repeating it. She just tossed back a good portion of her shot, ignoring the burn and the way her eyes watered.
"I need to be hazier," she muttered.
Luke
"I'm looking for a decent excuse to throw up," Luke admitted, tossing back his entire mug with a shudder and giving them both refills.
Rory
"I don't care about throwing up," Rory said, knocking her shot back and shivering. "I want to be so drunk I forget him entirely."
Luke
"That might also require blunt force trauma," Luke said. "So we can get drunk and then throw ourselves off the bed. Or the roof."
Rory
"Fine by me," Rory said dully. "Not for you. Roof sounds okay for me, though."
Luke
Luke's eyes snapped back into focus. "Bad idea," he said quickly. "Drunk is good. Visiting you in the clinic isn't an option."
Rory
"I just want to forget I ever knew him or cared about him, even for one night."
Luke
Luke let out a sad little sigh. "Yeah," he said, filling up their cups again. "Let's get started."
[OOC: OOC heads-up for violent themes. NFI, void where prohibited, OOC comments cherished. This was supposed to go up a little earlier, obviously, but apparently sleeping for half the afternoon seemed like a better idea, sorry.]
If she let herself feel, or think about just a fraction of what Anakin had told her, she would start crying again, and she was so sick of crying.
So for now, it was numbness and counting the spots on her ceiling.
Luke
Luke bounced down the hall and knocked cheerfully at the door. "Hello?" he called.
Rory
"It's open," she called hollowly.
Luke
"Long time no...what happened?" Luke asked, seeing the look on her face.
Rory
"Nothing. Happy birthday," she said.
Luke
Luke sat down next to her on the bed. "Want to try that again?" he suggested quietly. "I'm not going to be happy when you're so clearly not."
Rory
"Your father and I broke up, I guess," she said dully after a moment. "Though I'm not sure how you break something that was held together by safety pins to start."
Luke
Luke's jaw dropped. "But...bu..oh, Rory, I'm so sorry," he said scooting a little closer. "What did he do? Maybe it can be fixed."
Rory
She gave a mirthless laugh. "Yeah, no, it's pretty broken."
Luke
His forehead furrowed. "Is he falling back into bad habits?" he asked, feeling a chill creep up his spine. "Because so help me..."
Rory
"Your mom didn't die in childbirth, Luke."
Luke
Luke gaped at her for a moment. "I don't understand," he said slowly.
Rory
"He killed her."
The dullness with which she said this was the only thing keeping her intact.
Luke
The blood pounded very loudly in Luke's ears as he stared at her, recoiling like he'd been punched.
"He didn't," he whispered, voice harsh. "He couldn't have. It's impossible."
Rory
"Except the part where it happened," she said softly. "I'm sorry, Luke."
Luke
His face drained of color. "But Leia said she..." he cut himself off, shaking his head. "I'm fine," he declared shakily, very clearly not, and just as clearly not ready to talk about it yet. "Why did he--" he hit the "he" just a little too hard for his "totally fine" argument to hold any weight, "tell you?"
Rory
"I have no idea," she said, shaking her head. "I asked what was wrong and for once he didn't brush me off."
Luke
"I really wish he had," Luke said, voice getting a little shaky as he reached for Rory's hand.
"He said that...really?"
Rory
Rory nodded.
Luke
The muscles in his jaw clenched as he fought hard not to break completely apart in front of Rory.
He did reach out to hug her, though. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.
Rory
Rory let him hug her, trying not to feel anything. "Why are you sorry?"
Luke
Luke held on. "I'm not apologetic," he said softly. "That's his thing. I'm just...sorry."
Rory
"Me too," she whispered, holding on tight.
Luke
"What can I do to help?" he asked, still clinging. "You've gone all...numb on me."
Rory
"Safer this way," she murmured.
Luke
Luke rubbed circles on her back. "It's not good to bottle it up, Rory," he whispered. "Let me help."
Dealing with her problems would distract him from the enormity of his own.
Rory
"It's working so far," she mumbled into his shoulder.
Luke
"It is because I look like him?" he asked in a quavery little voice.
Rory
"No. It's because if I feel anything I'm going to fall apart and I'm done."
Luke
Luke kissed the top of her head and fought back tears of his own. "It's just me," he whispered. "It's okay to fall apart."
Rory
"I don't know if I can," she said, trying really hard not to let her voice crack. "I'm just...it's all too much."
Luke
Luke held her close. "Because there was some evil you thought he wasn't capable of," he choked out.
Rory
"I always thought he'd never hurt me," she whispered.
Luke
Luke's eyes were suddenly as angry as she'd ever see them. "He hurt you? I'll kill him."
He was halfway off the bed and heading for the door before the words had gotten out of his mouth.
Rory
"Luke, no," she said tiredly, reaching to pull him back. "But he hurt her."
Luke
"He killed her," Luke snapped, wrapping his arms around himself. "I thought what he did to Leia was an exception...that he didn't know who she was." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Turns out he just didn't care."
Rory
"It's not something he's proud of," she said softly, moving to wrap her arms around him.
Luke
"Don't defend him," Luke said, clinging to her. "He doesn't deserve it."
It was probably the most unforgiving thing he'd ever said in his life.
Rory
"I don't know what else to do," she murmured, her voice breaking.
Luke
Luke cradled her head against his shoulder and rocked back and forth. "I don't either," he whispered.
Rory
"This is what I get for being happy," she mumbled, the tears coming against her will.
Luke
Luke's heart cracked a little more. "No it's not," he said, leading her back to the bed. "There wasn't one part of this horrible mess that's your fault, Rory," he continued, "and I'm not leaving until you know that."
Rory
"It's so funny, because I keep thinking -- if it wasn't, you know, right...why would it have worked out? He left, he died, he was evil, he came back from the really, really dead, and he never stopped -- I never stopped. Stupid me. You don't get much more soulmatey than that. And then...and now there's this, and I was wrong," she mumbled, crying against his shoulder.
Luke
Luke wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer, but he had to ask anyway. "So he didn't turn Dark Side because he loved her?" he asked in a small voice. "He was just...wrong?"
Rory
"He was trying to save her," she said, trying to keep her voice steady. "But...I don't know. He says she was cheating on him with Obi-Wan, too."
Luke
"I'm sorry," Luke said, resting his head on top of hers. "You don't want to relive this with me."
Rory
"You need to know," she whispered.
Luke
"Not when it gets you this upset," he countered. "I don't need to know that badly." He sighed. "How can I make this better?"
Rory
"Can't. Nothing makes it better," she mumbled.
Luke
"I can beat the crap out of him," he said. "It'll make me feel better."
Rory
"It won't make me, but have at it," Rory said dully.
Luke
Like hell he was leaving her in this mood. Revenge could wait.
He ignored the little voice in the back of his head questioning whether he could hurt Anakin at all anyway.
"Or we could get drunk enough to forget this happened," he suggested.
Rory
"Drinking sounds good," Rory mumbled. "Forget it all."
Luke
"For this, I'll even drink schnapps again," Luke said, kissing her forehead.
Rory
She almost smiled. "Schnapps would be too light for me. I want tequila. Or scotch. Or vodka."
Luke
"Do you have any?" he asked. "If not, I can send Artoo on a shopping trip."
Because he wasn't planning on leaving the room.
Rory
"I'm out," she said, shaking her head. "I don't keep hard stuff."
Luke
"It's okay," Luke soothed, flipping open his comlink.
Artoo's happy chirped burbled through a second later.
"I'm in Rory's room," Luke told him. "Can you go into the closet and get that bottle of whiskey Han gave me after Endor?"
Artoo let out a low whistle.
"I'm sure," Luke said flatly. "Hurry."
Rory
"What'd Artoo say?" Rory asked, hugging her knees up to her chest.
Luke
"He wanted to know if I wanted to drink whiskey that terrible," Luke replied. "Han'd gotten it from one of the Ewoks."
Rory
"Will it make me forget?"
Luke
"It smells like shuttle fuel and kicks like a bantha. It'll make you forget," Luke promised as Artoo announced his presence by trilling outside the door.
Luke opened the door, took the bottle and was back on the bed in record time.
Artoo blatted a raspberry at them both, then returned to his room bitching about rude Skywalkers who never learn to say thank you.
Rory
Rory produced a couple of coffee mugs. "I don't have real cups, sorry."
Luke
"This stuff can etch glass," Luke said, "so don't worry about it." He poured generous shots into each mug and clinked his against hers. "To things that totally suck."
Rory
Rory didn't even bother repeating it. She just tossed back a good portion of her shot, ignoring the burn and the way her eyes watered.
"I need to be hazier," she muttered.
Luke
"I'm looking for a decent excuse to throw up," Luke admitted, tossing back his entire mug with a shudder and giving them both refills.
Rory
"I don't care about throwing up," Rory said, knocking her shot back and shivering. "I want to be so drunk I forget him entirely."
Luke
"That might also require blunt force trauma," Luke said. "So we can get drunk and then throw ourselves off the bed. Or the roof."
Rory
"Fine by me," Rory said dully. "Not for you. Roof sounds okay for me, though."
Luke
Luke's eyes snapped back into focus. "Bad idea," he said quickly. "Drunk is good. Visiting you in the clinic isn't an option."
Rory
"I just want to forget I ever knew him or cared about him, even for one night."
Luke
Luke let out a sad little sigh. "Yeah," he said, filling up their cups again. "Let's get started."
[OOC: OOC heads-up for violent themes. NFI, void where prohibited, OOC comments cherished. This was supposed to go up a little earlier, obviously, but apparently sleeping for half the afternoon seemed like a better idea, sorry.]