Test Run
Title: Test Run, 1/2
Fandom: Star Wars: EU - YJK era
Genre: crack?
Rating: PG-13ish
Characters/Pairings: geezus I never thought I'd type this Jaina/Tenel Ka, mentions of Jaina/Zekk and Jacen/Tenel Ka
Summary: Jaina's a practical girl. She's also a little crazyinsecure. Practice makes perfect.
Author's Notes: This idea came to me very late one night, and it wouldn't leave me alone and it just snow-balled and snow-balled until I couldn't ignore it any more. Please don't hate me. Or take this too seriously.
“I’m just never quite sure where I’m standing, you know?” Jaina continued, sifting aimlessly through the pile of junk parts spread out on the floor around her folded legs. “Sometimes we’ll be together and I think ‘this is it, he’s gonna do it’ and he doesn’t, or then I decide I’m not going to wait for him to make a move - I’m a perfectly capable young woman, why shouldn’t I be able to just - just kiss him and get it over with - get it out there!” Her eyes, previously unfocused, suddenly found the old-fashioned (and very broken) transponder still clutched in her other hand, and she started as though she was surprised to see it, continuing, “But then… I freeze. Or he freezes. Or something happens, and - and I know he likes me! I can feel it… when he looks at me. And I think I like him too, but-“
“I think perhaps you are thinking too much,” Tenel Ka interrupted gently. Her expression, to those who knew her well, was one of mild amusement.
“Am I?” Jaina asked, looking up from her place across the room. Tenel Ka’s response was to raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m thinking too much.” A tiny smile broke through her puzzled frown. “I don’t really have that problem a lot. I guess I’m just not sure how to deal with it. The thinking, I mean. I mean, I’m not sure how to deal with Zekk or this non-existent kiss either, but you’re right. I’m thinking too much.” Then after a brief pause, she continued, “But what if I’m not thinking enough?”
Tenel Ka’s answering exhale - a miniscule, almost inaudible thing - was the equivalent of outright laughter.
“Hey!” Jaina exclaimed, shooting her friend a defensive look. “This is a serious dilemma!”
“It is only one kiss,” Tenel Ka replied gently. “Not so serious.”
“How do you know that?” Jaina demanded. “Is it personal experience, or is this just more of your boundless crossbred Hapan/Dathomirian self-assuredness?”
Without the slightest bit of smugness, Tenel Ka answered, “The latter.
“So you haven’t kissed Jacen yet?” Jaina pressed, dropping the transponder and leaning forward, both elbows resting on her knees, hands clasped.
Tenel Ka seemed taken-aback by the frankness of such a personal question, but after a few moments she shook her head. “I have not.”
“But you want to, right?”
“Very much so, yes.”
“And aren’t you worried that you’re a bad kisser or something?”
Again Tenel Ka paused, and when she finally answered, slowly, choosing her words carefully, there was a tiny, barely-there smile on her face. “Jaina. Friend. I highly doubt Zekk is going to care one way or the other. He likes you. He will like kissing you. Your worry is unfounded.”
“You’re right,” Jaina agreed with a sigh, running a hand nervously through her loose hair. “And even if you weren’t, it’s not like I could practice.”
Shifting in her place on Jaina’s bedroll, Tenel Ka said, “That is not necessarily true.”
Jaina laughed. “Who am I going to practice with?”
She choked when Tenel Ka replied, “Me.”
A brief, silent moment passed between the two girls. Their eyes met, deep golden brown and steely, unwavering gray, and Jaina could feel the silence forcing the air out of her lungs, raising the blood in her cheeks. Her face felt impossibly hot.
And then the absurdity of the situation came crashing down on her, and she realized that the only appropriate reaction was laughter. She acted accordingly.
“Oh,” she sighed when she’d caught her breath, rubbing her suddenly damp eyes with the cleaner of her two hands. “Hilarious. Way better than any of Jacen’s jokes.”
“I’m glad you are amused,” Tenel Ka said, “but I was being sincere.”
Jaina choked again. “What? No, I can’t- I mean - What?”
“It was only a suggestion. You seemed so concerned, I thought perhaps…” Tenel Ka shrugged as she trailed off, but she seemed unembarrassed.
“Thanks,” Jaina mumbled. “I think.”
“It is not so uncommon, you know,” Tenel Ka continued, her tone conversational. “On my mother’s home planet - even on my father’s - many women -“
“Says the girl born of not just one, but two societies of warrior-women,” Jaina interrupted. “I don’t think that counts.”
“It is still a valid point,” Tenel Ka maintained, “if you need justification.”
Jaina snorted. “There’s nothing to justify.”
“Assurance, then. It would change nothing between us, between myself and Jacen, or between you and Zekk. It was not my intent to make you uncomfortable.”
Biting her lip, half in thought and half in lingering embarrassment, Jaina sighed again. “I know. You were just trying to help. Practice would help. I’m just… not so sure this is the right kind of practice.”
Tenel Ka nodded once in acquiescence. “Then let us forget I mentioned it.”
“No!” Jaina blurted, blushing again at her own sudden eagerness. “No, it’s… it’s not a bad idea. I’m just nervous, I guess.”
A hint of a smile ghosted across Tenel Ka’s face when she said gently, “So am I.”
Taking a deep breath, Jaina unfolded her legs and stood, wiping her left hand - the one sporting the most grease spots - on the leg of her jumpsuit. Her hands found each other then, and spent a few moments fiddling together, her fingertips touching once, twice, peeling back a loose cuticle, wiping away stray flecks of the grime that built up in machinery when the oil wasn’t changed frequently enough. A few scant yards away, on the edge of the bedroll, Tenel Ka’s chin tilted upwards, and the light caught the beads in her hair. One braid swung backwards over her shoulder when she sat up straighter. On the exhale, Jaina took a step.
She sat down at the head of the bed, pushing her pillow out of the way as she folded her legs beneath herself and squared her shoulders to mirror her friend’s position. Tenel Ka shifted once more and then they were face to face. Jaina swallowed the lump that was rising in her throat. Her face felt hot again.
“Okay,” she said finally, giving the nondescript brown bedspread one last, long look before forcing herself to meet Tenel Ka’s eyes. “Okay. Just like pulling off a bacta patch.”
“Deep breath.” Tenel Ka’s voice was quiet, amused, the corners of her mouth pulling ever-so-slightly upward as she leaned in.
Jaina nodded. “Just do it.”
Tenel Ka’s eyes were closed, and Jaina leaned in so that she could feel the heat rising off her friend’s cheeks, the breath coming from between her slightly parted lips. She let her own eyes flutter closed, and her last thought before they met - lips brushing , touching tentatively, breath mingling as the kiss deepened, a calloused, gentle hand ghosting across her cheek - was a thought she hadn’t had in over a year, since they had first been introduced.
Tenel Ka was very, very beautiful.
Part Two
Fandom: Star Wars: EU - YJK era
Genre: crack?
Rating: PG-13ish
Characters/Pairings: geezus I never thought I'd type this Jaina/Tenel Ka, mentions of Jaina/Zekk and Jacen/Tenel Ka
Summary: Jaina's a practical girl. She's also a little crazyinsecure. Practice makes perfect.
Author's Notes: This idea came to me very late one night, and it wouldn't leave me alone and it just snow-balled and snow-balled until I couldn't ignore it any more. Please don't hate me. Or take this too seriously.
“I’m just never quite sure where I’m standing, you know?” Jaina continued, sifting aimlessly through the pile of junk parts spread out on the floor around her folded legs. “Sometimes we’ll be together and I think ‘this is it, he’s gonna do it’ and he doesn’t, or then I decide I’m not going to wait for him to make a move - I’m a perfectly capable young woman, why shouldn’t I be able to just - just kiss him and get it over with - get it out there!” Her eyes, previously unfocused, suddenly found the old-fashioned (and very broken) transponder still clutched in her other hand, and she started as though she was surprised to see it, continuing, “But then… I freeze. Or he freezes. Or something happens, and - and I know he likes me! I can feel it… when he looks at me. And I think I like him too, but-“
“I think perhaps you are thinking too much,” Tenel Ka interrupted gently. Her expression, to those who knew her well, was one of mild amusement.
“Am I?” Jaina asked, looking up from her place across the room. Tenel Ka’s response was to raise an eyebrow. “Yeah, you’re probably right. I’m thinking too much.” A tiny smile broke through her puzzled frown. “I don’t really have that problem a lot. I guess I’m just not sure how to deal with it. The thinking, I mean. I mean, I’m not sure how to deal with Zekk or this non-existent kiss either, but you’re right. I’m thinking too much.” Then after a brief pause, she continued, “But what if I’m not thinking enough?”
Tenel Ka’s answering exhale - a miniscule, almost inaudible thing - was the equivalent of outright laughter.
“Hey!” Jaina exclaimed, shooting her friend a defensive look. “This is a serious dilemma!”
“It is only one kiss,” Tenel Ka replied gently. “Not so serious.”
“How do you know that?” Jaina demanded. “Is it personal experience, or is this just more of your boundless crossbred Hapan/Dathomirian self-assuredness?”
Without the slightest bit of smugness, Tenel Ka answered, “The latter.
“So you haven’t kissed Jacen yet?” Jaina pressed, dropping the transponder and leaning forward, both elbows resting on her knees, hands clasped.
Tenel Ka seemed taken-aback by the frankness of such a personal question, but after a few moments she shook her head. “I have not.”
“But you want to, right?”
“Very much so, yes.”
“And aren’t you worried that you’re a bad kisser or something?”
Again Tenel Ka paused, and when she finally answered, slowly, choosing her words carefully, there was a tiny, barely-there smile on her face. “Jaina. Friend. I highly doubt Zekk is going to care one way or the other. He likes you. He will like kissing you. Your worry is unfounded.”
“You’re right,” Jaina agreed with a sigh, running a hand nervously through her loose hair. “And even if you weren’t, it’s not like I could practice.”
Shifting in her place on Jaina’s bedroll, Tenel Ka said, “That is not necessarily true.”
Jaina laughed. “Who am I going to practice with?”
She choked when Tenel Ka replied, “Me.”
A brief, silent moment passed between the two girls. Their eyes met, deep golden brown and steely, unwavering gray, and Jaina could feel the silence forcing the air out of her lungs, raising the blood in her cheeks. Her face felt impossibly hot.
And then the absurdity of the situation came crashing down on her, and she realized that the only appropriate reaction was laughter. She acted accordingly.
“Oh,” she sighed when she’d caught her breath, rubbing her suddenly damp eyes with the cleaner of her two hands. “Hilarious. Way better than any of Jacen’s jokes.”
“I’m glad you are amused,” Tenel Ka said, “but I was being sincere.”
Jaina choked again. “What? No, I can’t- I mean - What?”
“It was only a suggestion. You seemed so concerned, I thought perhaps…” Tenel Ka shrugged as she trailed off, but she seemed unembarrassed.
“Thanks,” Jaina mumbled. “I think.”
“It is not so uncommon, you know,” Tenel Ka continued, her tone conversational. “On my mother’s home planet - even on my father’s - many women -“
“Says the girl born of not just one, but two societies of warrior-women,” Jaina interrupted. “I don’t think that counts.”
“It is still a valid point,” Tenel Ka maintained, “if you need justification.”
Jaina snorted. “There’s nothing to justify.”
“Assurance, then. It would change nothing between us, between myself and Jacen, or between you and Zekk. It was not my intent to make you uncomfortable.”
Biting her lip, half in thought and half in lingering embarrassment, Jaina sighed again. “I know. You were just trying to help. Practice would help. I’m just… not so sure this is the right kind of practice.”
Tenel Ka nodded once in acquiescence. “Then let us forget I mentioned it.”
“No!” Jaina blurted, blushing again at her own sudden eagerness. “No, it’s… it’s not a bad idea. I’m just nervous, I guess.”
A hint of a smile ghosted across Tenel Ka’s face when she said gently, “So am I.”
Taking a deep breath, Jaina unfolded her legs and stood, wiping her left hand - the one sporting the most grease spots - on the leg of her jumpsuit. Her hands found each other then, and spent a few moments fiddling together, her fingertips touching once, twice, peeling back a loose cuticle, wiping away stray flecks of the grime that built up in machinery when the oil wasn’t changed frequently enough. A few scant yards away, on the edge of the bedroll, Tenel Ka’s chin tilted upwards, and the light caught the beads in her hair. One braid swung backwards over her shoulder when she sat up straighter. On the exhale, Jaina took a step.
She sat down at the head of the bed, pushing her pillow out of the way as she folded her legs beneath herself and squared her shoulders to mirror her friend’s position. Tenel Ka shifted once more and then they were face to face. Jaina swallowed the lump that was rising in her throat. Her face felt hot again.
“Okay,” she said finally, giving the nondescript brown bedspread one last, long look before forcing herself to meet Tenel Ka’s eyes. “Okay. Just like pulling off a bacta patch.”
“Deep breath.” Tenel Ka’s voice was quiet, amused, the corners of her mouth pulling ever-so-slightly upward as she leaned in.
Jaina nodded. “Just do it.”
Tenel Ka’s eyes were closed, and Jaina leaned in so that she could feel the heat rising off her friend’s cheeks, the breath coming from between her slightly parted lips. She let her own eyes flutter closed, and her last thought before they met - lips brushing , touching tentatively, breath mingling as the kiss deepened, a calloused, gentle hand ghosting across her cheek - was a thought she hadn’t had in over a year, since they had first been introduced.
Tenel Ka was very, very beautiful.
Part Two