Punchline
Title: Punchline
Fandom: Star Wars: EU, mid-YJK
Genre: romance/humor
Rating: PG-15ish
Characters/Pairings: Jacen/Tenel Ka, Jaina
Summary: Love is a joke with no punchline.
Author's Notes: There should be more skinny dipping. I'm sure everyone agrees with me.
Jacen had read this story, had this dream, and spent many long, waking hours in this fantasy. The fantasy had never left his head, and aside from the minor inconvenience it tended to cause him when he awoke in the morning, the dream was harmless, but bad things had happened in the story. Goddesses tended to get upset when mortal men came upon them bathing naked in rivers.
Even if he ended up maimed, he honestly couldn’t say he was sorry.
The raised eyebrow Tenel Ka was shooting him across the clearing didn’t seem particularly threatening, though Jacen was having a hard time keeping his eyes trained on her face. Only her shoulders and arms were visible beneath the river’s dark surface, moving in languid, powerful strokes to keep her afloat in the slow-moving water, her unbraided hair fanned out around her in a red-gold cloud. The sunlight caught the dimples in her collar bone. She didn’t seem very embarrassed, but then again, she never did.
“Do you require something, Jacen?” she asked, when the silence stretching between them had grown taut and uncomfortable.
Jacen felt like an immense idiot when the small and very simple word, “no,” got stuck in his throat. She had a lot of nerve, expecting him to form coherent sentences when she was all naked and wet and only a few meters away. Until exactly that moment, he had always thought of himself as being on a slightly higher level than the average hormonally-charged teenaged boy. Certain parts of his anatomy were working very hard to prove him wrong.
Her right eyebrow quirked a little higher at his choked, wordless response and the growing amusement on her face was enough to stop the blood flowing away from his brain. “No,” he finally managed, then added as an afterthought, “or if I did, I’ve forgotten it.”
Her face a picture of innocent concern - she was teasing him, he knew - she pursed her lips and asked, “Has something distracted you?” He couldn’t help noticing that she was swimming toward him. Her shoulders rose another few inches out of the water. “Usually you are not so careless.”
“Yeah, usually,” he agreed absently, his eyes straying to the neatly folded pile of emerald and scarlet hide and natural, unbleached linen that comprised everything she usually wore.
Yep, she was definitely naked under there.
“Perhaps it is the heat,” she went on, unusually chatty.
Tearing his eyes away, Jacen looked up into the cloudless sky. Yavin’s sun was just beginning the downward trek from its zenith. When he wiped a hand across his forehead, it came away damp. “Maybe.” He shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
Her pale hand skimming lazily over the top of the water, a hint of color finally creeping into her cheeks, Tenel Ka said, “The water is cool. You could join me, if you like.” Somehow she managed to look him in the eye and keep her blush under control.
Jacen could feel the tips of his ears burning, but his hands were already at his neck, undoing snaps and pulling at the zipper that closed the front of his jumpsuit. Don’t be a child, he chided himself as he bent to tug his boots off. He was sorely tempted to tell the little voice that had spoken up to kriff off, but the last thing he wanted was to be hopping around like a moron (or an over-eager boy) in front of the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen only seconds after she’d invited him to take off all of his clothes with her. That thought seemed to regulate some of the hormones still pounding their way through his bloodstream, and he continued with a little more care.
Still, he’d never gotten undressed so quickly in his life.
The water was more than cool, but Jacen had been visiting Yavin 4 on and off since his toddlerhood and he hadn’t been expecting anything different. Goosebumps shot up both his legs the instant his toes hit the water, spreading across his chest and arms as he splashed through the shallows, nearly slipping on the slick, mossy stones in the riverbed. He wanted very badly to look up - to look at Tenel Ka, to know whether or not she was looking at him - but he didn’t think he was ready to face either the embarrassment (if she was) or the disappointment (if she wasn’t). There would be time for both of those eventualities later, so he kept his eyes on his footing.
When the water was up to his waist, he submerged himself completely. Best to just get it over with. It felt a little like being punched in the stomach, but it was preferable to drawing the agony out. He resurfaced only a few seconds later, shivering, and waded farther out from the bank. Tenel Ka was watching him, her face warm, her smile wary. She had moved back out to the middle of the river and was once again treading water against the current.
Jacen swam out to her but stopped with almost two meters still between them. The river was deep, and slow, but the current was strong, and in only a few minutes he found that his heart was beating even more rapidly, forcing oxygen-rich blood to working muscles, and that the chill of the water had retreated from startlingly uncomfortable to coolly refreshing. He smiled back at Tenel Ka. The heat in his cheeks was beginning to recede.
“Better, yes?” she asked, unconsciously drifting closer to him as she spoke. He could feel the movement of her legs in the way the water swirled around him.
Jacen’s eyes, which were fixed on the pale, perfect skin above her heart, flicked upward, and he swallowed guiltily. For the first time in his life, he’d found himself forming an opinion of the river that went beyond general approval of its existence; he’d been wishing the water were clearer. Under her frank gaze, Jacen found that the blood that had been rushing to his face was now draining rapidly. “Um, not really,” he mumbled belatedly, shoulders hunching as he sunk a little lower in the water. Though she did little more than smile, the amusement Tenel Ka was feeling rolled off her in gentle, rippling waves.
Her attention flickered to a spot on the bank over his shoulder, but when Jacen turned to look he didn’t see anything. It took him a few moments to realize that he could feel his sister drawing closer - she was reaching out to him, to both of them, but he’d been too distracted to feel it - and it was only a few seconds before he could hear her as well, tramping through the undergrowth with all the delicacy of a drunk Hutt. Jacen’s heart stopped.
“What are you two-oh sweet Force!” Jaina exclaimed as she reached the bank, doing an about-face so quickly that she nearly tripped on her own feet. “Why are you naked?! Can’t you swim in your underthings?!”
“I was just following suit,” Jacen explained, his voice unusually high. Then, even though Jaina wasn’t looking, he pointed to Tenel Ka and said, “She was naked first!”
Tenel Ka gave him a look. Jaina snorted, and peeked cautiously over her shoulder a few times before finally turning around. She crossed her arms in a show of ease, though both Jacen and Tenel Ka could tell she was agitated, and asked, “What are you doing, anyways? I thought you were going to ask Tenel Ka about Coruscant, and Mom’s birthday.”
Tenel Ka, who’d been giving Jaina her full attention, turned to Jacen. “You did not mention this.”
Jaina rolled her eyes at him, and caught sight of his clothes in the process. Jacen was so busy wishing that the river would just swallow him that by the time he’d noticed his twin’s interest she was already in action, sweeping his clothes up on one swift motion and tucking them under her arm.
“What - Jaina, what are you doing?” Jacen spluttered, splashing toward the riverbank but stopping just short of exposing himself. His sister was backing away from the bank with all the caution one would use when backing away from a rabid vornskr, but the smile on her face suggested she was anything but scared. “Come on, Jaina. You can’t - Put my clothes down, or… or I’ll tell!”
“You’ll tell?” she called back, disbelieving. “You’ll tell who? Our Uncle? You’re going to tell the Jedi Grand Master that you were naked in the river? With Tenel ka, who, I’m pretty sure you've noticed, is also naked? That’s what you’re gonna do, Jace?”
“Help?” Jacen asked plaintively, turning to Tenel Ka, who was still treading water.
She shrugged. “They are not my clothes.”
Jaina laughed, and then she was gone.
Jacen swore.
Fandom: Star Wars: EU, mid-YJK
Genre: romance/humor
Rating: PG-15ish
Characters/Pairings: Jacen/Tenel Ka, Jaina
Summary: Love is a joke with no punchline.
Author's Notes: There should be more skinny dipping. I'm sure everyone agrees with me.
Jacen had read this story, had this dream, and spent many long, waking hours in this fantasy. The fantasy had never left his head, and aside from the minor inconvenience it tended to cause him when he awoke in the morning, the dream was harmless, but bad things had happened in the story. Goddesses tended to get upset when mortal men came upon them bathing naked in rivers.
Even if he ended up maimed, he honestly couldn’t say he was sorry.
The raised eyebrow Tenel Ka was shooting him across the clearing didn’t seem particularly threatening, though Jacen was having a hard time keeping his eyes trained on her face. Only her shoulders and arms were visible beneath the river’s dark surface, moving in languid, powerful strokes to keep her afloat in the slow-moving water, her unbraided hair fanned out around her in a red-gold cloud. The sunlight caught the dimples in her collar bone. She didn’t seem very embarrassed, but then again, she never did.
“Do you require something, Jacen?” she asked, when the silence stretching between them had grown taut and uncomfortable.
Jacen felt like an immense idiot when the small and very simple word, “no,” got stuck in his throat. She had a lot of nerve, expecting him to form coherent sentences when she was all naked and wet and only a few meters away. Until exactly that moment, he had always thought of himself as being on a slightly higher level than the average hormonally-charged teenaged boy. Certain parts of his anatomy were working very hard to prove him wrong.
Her right eyebrow quirked a little higher at his choked, wordless response and the growing amusement on her face was enough to stop the blood flowing away from his brain. “No,” he finally managed, then added as an afterthought, “or if I did, I’ve forgotten it.”
Her face a picture of innocent concern - she was teasing him, he knew - she pursed her lips and asked, “Has something distracted you?” He couldn’t help noticing that she was swimming toward him. Her shoulders rose another few inches out of the water. “Usually you are not so careless.”
“Yeah, usually,” he agreed absently, his eyes straying to the neatly folded pile of emerald and scarlet hide and natural, unbleached linen that comprised everything she usually wore.
Yep, she was definitely naked under there.
“Perhaps it is the heat,” she went on, unusually chatty.
Tearing his eyes away, Jacen looked up into the cloudless sky. Yavin’s sun was just beginning the downward trek from its zenith. When he wiped a hand across his forehead, it came away damp. “Maybe.” He shrugged, feigning nonchalance.
Her pale hand skimming lazily over the top of the water, a hint of color finally creeping into her cheeks, Tenel Ka said, “The water is cool. You could join me, if you like.” Somehow she managed to look him in the eye and keep her blush under control.
Jacen could feel the tips of his ears burning, but his hands were already at his neck, undoing snaps and pulling at the zipper that closed the front of his jumpsuit. Don’t be a child, he chided himself as he bent to tug his boots off. He was sorely tempted to tell the little voice that had spoken up to kriff off, but the last thing he wanted was to be hopping around like a moron (or an over-eager boy) in front of the most beautiful girl he’d ever seen only seconds after she’d invited him to take off all of his clothes with her. That thought seemed to regulate some of the hormones still pounding their way through his bloodstream, and he continued with a little more care.
Still, he’d never gotten undressed so quickly in his life.
The water was more than cool, but Jacen had been visiting Yavin 4 on and off since his toddlerhood and he hadn’t been expecting anything different. Goosebumps shot up both his legs the instant his toes hit the water, spreading across his chest and arms as he splashed through the shallows, nearly slipping on the slick, mossy stones in the riverbed. He wanted very badly to look up - to look at Tenel Ka, to know whether or not she was looking at him - but he didn’t think he was ready to face either the embarrassment (if she was) or the disappointment (if she wasn’t). There would be time for both of those eventualities later, so he kept his eyes on his footing.
When the water was up to his waist, he submerged himself completely. Best to just get it over with. It felt a little like being punched in the stomach, but it was preferable to drawing the agony out. He resurfaced only a few seconds later, shivering, and waded farther out from the bank. Tenel Ka was watching him, her face warm, her smile wary. She had moved back out to the middle of the river and was once again treading water against the current.
Jacen swam out to her but stopped with almost two meters still between them. The river was deep, and slow, but the current was strong, and in only a few minutes he found that his heart was beating even more rapidly, forcing oxygen-rich blood to working muscles, and that the chill of the water had retreated from startlingly uncomfortable to coolly refreshing. He smiled back at Tenel Ka. The heat in his cheeks was beginning to recede.
“Better, yes?” she asked, unconsciously drifting closer to him as she spoke. He could feel the movement of her legs in the way the water swirled around him.
Jacen’s eyes, which were fixed on the pale, perfect skin above her heart, flicked upward, and he swallowed guiltily. For the first time in his life, he’d found himself forming an opinion of the river that went beyond general approval of its existence; he’d been wishing the water were clearer. Under her frank gaze, Jacen found that the blood that had been rushing to his face was now draining rapidly. “Um, not really,” he mumbled belatedly, shoulders hunching as he sunk a little lower in the water. Though she did little more than smile, the amusement Tenel Ka was feeling rolled off her in gentle, rippling waves.
Her attention flickered to a spot on the bank over his shoulder, but when Jacen turned to look he didn’t see anything. It took him a few moments to realize that he could feel his sister drawing closer - she was reaching out to him, to both of them, but he’d been too distracted to feel it - and it was only a few seconds before he could hear her as well, tramping through the undergrowth with all the delicacy of a drunk Hutt. Jacen’s heart stopped.
“What are you two-oh sweet Force!” Jaina exclaimed as she reached the bank, doing an about-face so quickly that she nearly tripped on her own feet. “Why are you naked?! Can’t you swim in your underthings?!”
“I was just following suit,” Jacen explained, his voice unusually high. Then, even though Jaina wasn’t looking, he pointed to Tenel Ka and said, “She was naked first!”
Tenel Ka gave him a look. Jaina snorted, and peeked cautiously over her shoulder a few times before finally turning around. She crossed her arms in a show of ease, though both Jacen and Tenel Ka could tell she was agitated, and asked, “What are you doing, anyways? I thought you were going to ask Tenel Ka about Coruscant, and Mom’s birthday.”
Tenel Ka, who’d been giving Jaina her full attention, turned to Jacen. “You did not mention this.”
Jaina rolled her eyes at him, and caught sight of his clothes in the process. Jacen was so busy wishing that the river would just swallow him that by the time he’d noticed his twin’s interest she was already in action, sweeping his clothes up on one swift motion and tucking them under her arm.
“What - Jaina, what are you doing?” Jacen spluttered, splashing toward the riverbank but stopping just short of exposing himself. His sister was backing away from the bank with all the caution one would use when backing away from a rabid vornskr, but the smile on her face suggested she was anything but scared. “Come on, Jaina. You can’t - Put my clothes down, or… or I’ll tell!”
“You’ll tell?” she called back, disbelieving. “You’ll tell who? Our Uncle? You’re going to tell the Jedi Grand Master that you were naked in the river? With Tenel ka, who, I’m pretty sure you've noticed, is also naked? That’s what you’re gonna do, Jace?”
“Help?” Jacen asked plaintively, turning to Tenel Ka, who was still treading water.
She shrugged. “They are not my clothes.”
Jaina laughed, and then she was gone.
Jacen swore.