Fic: It's Just Pretend, Chapter 1
*takes deep breath* Here we go. I've never posted any of my fics on my LJ before. I never thought I ever would post stories on here, but it really is a great idea.
Leaving this, uh, unlocked so that this can be linked to if others wish to read it. (Ha, as if.)
Title: It's Just Pretend
Author: kaladhwen, aka Mia, aka Alliana, aka...well, you get the idea.
Fandom: Star Wars, post-NJO
Rating: PG...uh...yeah.
Characters: Jaina Solo, Kyp Durron, OC
Genre: romance, humor
Keywords: K/J, romance, humor
Summary: Jaina is forced to take interesting steps to avoid unwanted attentions from a visiting politician's son.
Author's Notes: Yay, my first SW EU story I've written all by myself. The Steiners are mine, everyone and everything else belongs to Lucas.
Thanks to sparrows_girl for betaing and offering encouragement and feedback, as well as others in my FanForce. :) I blame queenmidalah for getting me into K/J and NJO and post-RotJ stuff. :-P
Already begun posting on the JCF here. Will continue to post in both places, though if you're not interested in reader comments, it may be easier to find the chapters and follow the story on LJ. And, hey, even if you're not a K/Jer, give this story a try! I've already got at least one J/Jer that I know of reading it. :-D
Chapters on LJ
It's Just Pretend
Chapter One
The room was filled with laughter as Han finished recounting one of his experiences from the good old smuggling days. Leia had her hand on Han's knee, laughing so hard she was wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Han, it's a miracle you ever survived to meet any of us," she laughed.
He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I wasn't about to let some small-time farmer from a backwater planet tell me what to do. No offense, Luke."
Luke was chuckling. "None taken."
Jacen stretched in his chair, making a very satisfied grunt. "Mom, that was a great dinner."
"Thank you, honey. Mara helped."
Mara was preoccupied making sure Ben didn't get food all over himself, but smiled at Jacen. "That was my casserole you and Kyp so quickly shoveled in."
"That was yours?" Jacen replied, looking at the near-empty dish with wide eyes. "Wow, Aunt Mara. That was something. I didn't know you could cook like that."
"Hidden talent."
"I'll say," Kyp replied. "Very hidden."
Mara shot him a glare.
Leia looked around the table at all the empty dishes with a tiny sigh. "Well, I'd better get started on clearing the table. And then it's time for dessert."
Most of them stood and began stacking dishes.
"Mommy, I have to go potty," Ben said urgently.
Mara helped him down from his chair. "Okay, let's go. The fresher's over here." Mara took him by the hand and started leading him over to the fresher.
"I's a big boy! I can do it mysef!!" Ben insisted and everyone chuckled as Mara assured her son that she'd let him do it all by himself.
"I think I need to lay down on the couch for a few minutes." Jacen patted his stomach and stretched as he rose.
Jaina scowled at him. "Don't be so lazy."
"Hey, digesting is hard work," he replied, moving over to the sofa and plopping down.
Kyp took the big armchair across from Jacen. "He's right, Goddess. Didn't you know that after you've eaten, most of your body's energy goes towards working to digest the food?"
Jaina rolled her eyes but smiled. "Boys."
Han chuckled. "Not all of us are lazy. I'll help your mother clear the dishes."
"It won't take us long," Leia said to Jaina. "You and Luke go on in there and join them."
Jaina smiled. "Thanks." She passed through the archway leading into the main room and sat down on the opposite end of the sofa from Jacen, pushing his feet aside despite his protests. Luke took a smaller armchair that sat a short distance from Kyp's.
"Luke, what's this I hear about Braxis Steiner coming to Denon?" Kyp asked as the older man sat down.
"It's only a rumor. I will be very surprised if Cal actually does invite him here."
"Why?" Jaina asked.
"It's rumored that he has ties to the Peace Brigade, Jay," Kyp answered. "Or at least sympathies. His brother was supposed to be involved."
"That's a lot of hearsay and rumor and not a lot of fact," Jacen interrupted.
Kyp steepled his fingers in front of him. "Yeah, but it's the Peace Brigade. Not exactly our best friends, Jacen."
"If Cal does invite Steiner, it will probably mean that Cal intends to appoint him to the empty spot on the advisory council," Luke continued.
"Even with his ties to the Peace Brigade?" Jaina pressed.
Luke shook his head a little. "It's only rumored that his brother was involved, nothing was ever confirmed. Steiner himself has publicly been a strong supporter of the New Republic government."
"But why do I get the feeling you're still uneasy about it?" Jaina asked.
Luke smiled wanly. "Because I am. His brother was said to strongly dislike Jedi, and now we've heard he's dead. It won't be hard to guess who the Brigadiers blame."
Kyp was frowning. "And it wouldn't be a long step for Steiner to do the same."
Jaina leaned forward. "So what happens if he does come?"
Luke blew out his breath slowly and Kyp looked even more serious.
"Well, that will depend," Luke said slowly. "It depends on Steiner and whether he likes the Jedi or not. We'll have to be careful around him, just in case."
"Who doesn't like the Jedi?" Han asked as he and Leia entered the room.
Luke's comlink beeped and he excused himself and went into the kitchen to answer it. Jaina and Jacen explained the situation to their parents briefly.
"I've met Steiner," Leia said thoughtfully as Jacen scooted over to make room on the sofa for his parents.
"And?" Jaina pressed.
"He's a nice enough man, but our meeting was short and it was some time ago. I'm as much in the dark as the rest of you are."
Jaina exchanged a worried glance with Kyp. "Do you really think President Omas would appoint Steiner to the council if he was anti-Jedi?"
"I hope not," Kyp said seriously.
Luke came back in the room quietly, his comlink in his hand.
Jacen watched him in concern. "Uncle Luke? What is it?"
Luke looked up. "Steiner. He's coming, to Denon. I was just informed by Cal. He arrives tomorrow with his son."
~~~~~
The pleasant night air lightly ruffled Jaina's hair as the speeder traveled through the streets. The top had been left down because of the nice weather, and she sat with her chin propped in her hand, eyes unseeing the buildings as they went by.
"A credit for your thoughts."
Jaina smiled. "I was...just thinking about Jag."
"Oh." Kyp paused. "You miss him?"
"Sometimes. But not as much as I did during the war. We were together then but now that the war's over, I don't...need him."
"Needing and missing someone aren't the same thing."
"I know. I'm realizing that now. I miss him, and it'd be nice if he were here but..."
"Have you talked to him lately?"
She shook her head. "Not much. We've both been busy. He's contacted me a couple times -- I think he's finally accepting that we're not together anymore."
"Took him this long to listen to you, huh?"
She nodded. "Some time and some talk, and he's finding I meant what I said about him and I breaking it off."
There was a pause. "So no plans to move to Chiss space?" Kyp asked lightly.
She chuckled. "No, Force, could you imagine me living there?"
He smiled reflectively. "No, I can't. Well, I can, but--" He cut himself off quickly.
"But what?"
"Never mind. Where would you like to live?"
"Here. It's where my family is. What about you?"
He turned his head, caught off guard. "What?"
"You, where do you want to live?"
"Everyone I know is here, so I guess it's as good a place as any." He shrugged.
His manner was nonchalant but almost too casual. Jaina frowned but before she could comment, Kyp asked another question.
"Were you happy with Jag?"
"I was. Or...thought I was. I really don't know anymore. But I don't think I'd still be happy if I was with him now."
"Why is that?"
She chuckled. "That'll cost you a few more credits. It's complicated."
"Stang, your thoughts are expensive."
They both chuckled as Kyp pulled the speeder up in front of her apartment building. "Last stop, Jaina Solo's apartment."
"Thanks for bringing me home, Kyp." She smiled, though she knew it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"It's no problem, it's right on my way home. You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah." She put on a brave smile. "Worried about tomorrow. Uncle Luke wants me there to meet Steiner."
Kyp released an irritated sigh. "Yeah. I can't believe Luke's allowing this."
"Luke doesn't have a choice, Kyp, it's Cal's."
"Jaina, the last thing we need after fighting a war for the past five years is for the delicate balance of the New Republic to be ripped apart and destroyed from within," he said vehemently.
She looked away, caught off guard by his sudden reaction.
"Sorry, Jay. I'm not mad at you. I wish we knew more about Steiner, though, so we knew what to expect."
"There is a way of finding out."
His eyebrows rose and she continued. "I'm going to do a search on the holonet and the government intranet, see what I can come up with," she said decisively.
Kyp looked thoughtful and she pressed on. "You could come up too, see what I find. And I still have that holocube I borrowed from you anyway."
Kyp finally smiled. "I like the way you think." He parked the speeder and got out with her. They quickly made their way to the elevator in the building and Jaina hit the button for the third floor.
"So why'd you ask about Jag, anyway?" she looked up at him.
"I asked because you were thinking about it, and because it's one of the few things that seemed relevant to me right now."
"What do you mean?"
"As far as I'm concerned, you breaking up with Jag happened for a kriffing good reason since you and I still have unfinished business," he said casually as if they were talking about the weather.
Jaina looked at him. "Huh?"
Kyp didn't answer as the lift reached the third floor. He held his arm out to hold the doors so she could go first.
Still puzzled, Jaina entered the hallway and got to her door before opening her mouth to ask him again what he meant, and he just shook his head. "Never mind. Let's concentrate on Steiner."
Jaina nodded, her mind refocused and punched in the code to open her door. Kyp followed her inside, looking around.
"You picked out a nice place," Kyp surveyed approvingly. They were in the main room with two couches facing each other, the kitchen was off further to the left. Ahead on the right was the console they'd be using, and further up ahead were doorways branching off to the fresher and a couple of bedrooms.
"Thanks. Everything's almost ready. I just need to repaint the walls in the kitchen and main room. I hate the color."
They put their things down as they made their way over to the console. Jaina booted it up as they sat down.
"If we can find any connection that Steiner might have to the Brigade, or that his brother did -- or even a hint of where to begin looking, we'll be in luck," Jaina said as they waited.
"I really hope Cal knows what he's doing." Kyp rubbed a hand over his face.
"Uncle Luke trusts him. And if Omas made a bad choice, Luke will convince him of it." Even so...Steiner was already coming, and it might already be too late.
Kyp noticed her worried expression. "Things'll work out."
"Yeah. Uncle Luke was just really worried."
"Your uncle is always worried."
"Well, yeah, but...he just seemed extra worried. I wonder if he sensed something."
"Don't worry on it. We can ask him tomorrow." Kyp pointed at the screen. "Look, the results just came up."
They both leaned in close to the screen and Jaina's attention was soon distracted by a scent...Kyp's cologne. She wasn't usually this close to the Jedi Master anymore, except for the occasional sparring match, and hadn't ever realized he smelled this good.
Kyp pointed to something on the screen that had come up, jerking her attention back to their task. "Look at this. Transcript of a speech Steiner made about the government."
"Seems innocent enough," Jaina said as they skimmed it. "But this was public -- he could've been saying it just for the benefit of the reporters."
The two spent the next while perusing what they could find about Braxis Steiner and learning anything they could that might help them while he was on Denon. They didn't find much and it was starting to dishearten Jaina.
Kyp pointed to a picture of Rune Steiner, a young man who looked to be about Jaina's age. "This is Braxis' son, it looks like. Luke said he was coming tomorrow too."
Jaina nodded. "And I have to be there to meet them." She suddenly yawned.
"I'd better let you get to bed, Goddess. I didn't mean to stay this long." Kyp stood up, looking apologetic.
Jaina followed and smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks for bringing me home, Kyp."
"Anytime, Jaina. You know if you ever need anything, I just live a few minutes away."
She nodded. "Even if it's to eat all your ice cream?" she asked cheekily.
Kyp lunged for her in a tickle attack and Jaina laughed, dodging him too slowly. He grabbed her, tickling her sides while she tried to get away. Her knees finally buckled in her futile attempts to get Kyp to stop, laughing too hard to do much. Eventually they ended up in a tangle of limbs on the floor, Jaina laughing and twisting away from Kyp.
When he finally stopped the onslaught of tickling, Jaina had ended up flat on her back. When she looked up, still chuckling and out of breath, she found Kyp hovering right above her, his face not far from hers. Her face slowly grew more serious and she tried hard to control her breathing. He was looking right into her eyes, looking at her differently. His face seemed different somehow and she couldn't figure out why.
Jaina found herself going deeper into his warm gaze as time stilled for a moment, and she became very, very aware of the solid heat of his body so close to hers. Kyp seemed to lean in ever so slightly, as if...
Then he suddenly stopped, his throat working as he swallowed hard, and backed up. He got to his feet. The look in his eyes was gone, the trance broken.
The usual, friendly nature of Kyp's that she was used to was back, and he held out a hand to help her up. Jaina accepted it after a moment and she shook her head to clear it from...whatever had just happened.
"So it looks like whether we're using lightsabers or tickling, I can still beat you," Kyp remarked teasingly with a grin, gathering his cloak from the back of the couch.
She shook her head, accompanied by a roll of her eyes, and slugged him lightly in the stomach.
"Ow!"
"Wimp, that wasn't enough to hurt you."
"I'm mortally wounded, on the inside," Kyp said melodramatically, placing his hand over his heart.
Jaina just shook her head, unable to think up just the right insult to use to continue the bantering. Only thing was, at the moment she was thinking his actions were more endearing than anything else.
"Good night, Kyp," she said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
He stopped halfway out the door. "Just in the morning. I've got some Jedi stuff Luke wants me to take care of in the afternoon. But I'll see you around."
She nodded and finished closing the door behind him. Jaina turned around to lean against it and a slow, content smile crossed her face.
It wasn't until much later when she was in bed and trying to fall asleep that she realized she'd forgotten to give Kyp his holocube back, and he'd forgotten to ask for it. She laughed to herself and made a mental note to remember to give it to him tomorrow, and drifted peacefully off to sleep, thinking of Kyp.
Leaving this, uh, unlocked so that this can be linked to if others wish to read it. (Ha, as if.)
Title: It's Just Pretend
Author: kaladhwen, aka Mia, aka Alliana, aka...well, you get the idea.
Fandom: Star Wars, post-NJO
Rating: PG...uh...yeah.
Characters: Jaina Solo, Kyp Durron, OC
Genre: romance, humor
Keywords: K/J, romance, humor
Summary: Jaina is forced to take interesting steps to avoid unwanted attentions from a visiting politician's son.
Author's Notes: Yay, my first SW EU story I've written all by myself. The Steiners are mine, everyone and everything else belongs to Lucas.
Thanks to sparrows_girl for betaing and offering encouragement and feedback, as well as others in my FanForce. :) I blame queenmidalah for getting me into K/J and NJO and post-RotJ stuff. :-P
Already begun posting on the JCF here. Will continue to post in both places, though if you're not interested in reader comments, it may be easier to find the chapters and follow the story on LJ. And, hey, even if you're not a K/Jer, give this story a try! I've already got at least one J/Jer that I know of reading it. :-D
Chapters on LJ
It's Just Pretend
Chapter One
The room was filled with laughter as Han finished recounting one of his experiences from the good old smuggling days. Leia had her hand on Han's knee, laughing so hard she was wiping tears from the corners of her eyes.
"Han, it's a miracle you ever survived to meet any of us," she laughed.
He smiled and kissed her forehead. "I wasn't about to let some small-time farmer from a backwater planet tell me what to do. No offense, Luke."
Luke was chuckling. "None taken."
Jacen stretched in his chair, making a very satisfied grunt. "Mom, that was a great dinner."
"Thank you, honey. Mara helped."
Mara was preoccupied making sure Ben didn't get food all over himself, but smiled at Jacen. "That was my casserole you and Kyp so quickly shoveled in."
"That was yours?" Jacen replied, looking at the near-empty dish with wide eyes. "Wow, Aunt Mara. That was something. I didn't know you could cook like that."
"Hidden talent."
"I'll say," Kyp replied. "Very hidden."
Mara shot him a glare.
Leia looked around the table at all the empty dishes with a tiny sigh. "Well, I'd better get started on clearing the table. And then it's time for dessert."
Most of them stood and began stacking dishes.
"Mommy, I have to go potty," Ben said urgently.
Mara helped him down from his chair. "Okay, let's go. The fresher's over here." Mara took him by the hand and started leading him over to the fresher.
"I's a big boy! I can do it mysef!!" Ben insisted and everyone chuckled as Mara assured her son that she'd let him do it all by himself.
"I think I need to lay down on the couch for a few minutes." Jacen patted his stomach and stretched as he rose.
Jaina scowled at him. "Don't be so lazy."
"Hey, digesting is hard work," he replied, moving over to the sofa and plopping down.
Kyp took the big armchair across from Jacen. "He's right, Goddess. Didn't you know that after you've eaten, most of your body's energy goes towards working to digest the food?"
Jaina rolled her eyes but smiled. "Boys."
Han chuckled. "Not all of us are lazy. I'll help your mother clear the dishes."
"It won't take us long," Leia said to Jaina. "You and Luke go on in there and join them."
Jaina smiled. "Thanks." She passed through the archway leading into the main room and sat down on the opposite end of the sofa from Jacen, pushing his feet aside despite his protests. Luke took a smaller armchair that sat a short distance from Kyp's.
"Luke, what's this I hear about Braxis Steiner coming to Denon?" Kyp asked as the older man sat down.
"It's only a rumor. I will be very surprised if Cal actually does invite him here."
"Why?" Jaina asked.
"It's rumored that he has ties to the Peace Brigade, Jay," Kyp answered. "Or at least sympathies. His brother was supposed to be involved."
"That's a lot of hearsay and rumor and not a lot of fact," Jacen interrupted.
Kyp steepled his fingers in front of him. "Yeah, but it's the Peace Brigade. Not exactly our best friends, Jacen."
"If Cal does invite Steiner, it will probably mean that Cal intends to appoint him to the empty spot on the advisory council," Luke continued.
"Even with his ties to the Peace Brigade?" Jaina pressed.
Luke shook his head a little. "It's only rumored that his brother was involved, nothing was ever confirmed. Steiner himself has publicly been a strong supporter of the New Republic government."
"But why do I get the feeling you're still uneasy about it?" Jaina asked.
Luke smiled wanly. "Because I am. His brother was said to strongly dislike Jedi, and now we've heard he's dead. It won't be hard to guess who the Brigadiers blame."
Kyp was frowning. "And it wouldn't be a long step for Steiner to do the same."
Jaina leaned forward. "So what happens if he does come?"
Luke blew out his breath slowly and Kyp looked even more serious.
"Well, that will depend," Luke said slowly. "It depends on Steiner and whether he likes the Jedi or not. We'll have to be careful around him, just in case."
"Who doesn't like the Jedi?" Han asked as he and Leia entered the room.
Luke's comlink beeped and he excused himself and went into the kitchen to answer it. Jaina and Jacen explained the situation to their parents briefly.
"I've met Steiner," Leia said thoughtfully as Jacen scooted over to make room on the sofa for his parents.
"And?" Jaina pressed.
"He's a nice enough man, but our meeting was short and it was some time ago. I'm as much in the dark as the rest of you are."
Jaina exchanged a worried glance with Kyp. "Do you really think President Omas would appoint Steiner to the council if he was anti-Jedi?"
"I hope not," Kyp said seriously.
Luke came back in the room quietly, his comlink in his hand.
Jacen watched him in concern. "Uncle Luke? What is it?"
Luke looked up. "Steiner. He's coming, to Denon. I was just informed by Cal. He arrives tomorrow with his son."
~~~~~
The pleasant night air lightly ruffled Jaina's hair as the speeder traveled through the streets. The top had been left down because of the nice weather, and she sat with her chin propped in her hand, eyes unseeing the buildings as they went by.
"A credit for your thoughts."
Jaina smiled. "I was...just thinking about Jag."
"Oh." Kyp paused. "You miss him?"
"Sometimes. But not as much as I did during the war. We were together then but now that the war's over, I don't...need him."
"Needing and missing someone aren't the same thing."
"I know. I'm realizing that now. I miss him, and it'd be nice if he were here but..."
"Have you talked to him lately?"
She shook her head. "Not much. We've both been busy. He's contacted me a couple times -- I think he's finally accepting that we're not together anymore."
"Took him this long to listen to you, huh?"
She nodded. "Some time and some talk, and he's finding I meant what I said about him and I breaking it off."
There was a pause. "So no plans to move to Chiss space?" Kyp asked lightly.
She chuckled. "No, Force, could you imagine me living there?"
He smiled reflectively. "No, I can't. Well, I can, but--" He cut himself off quickly.
"But what?"
"Never mind. Where would you like to live?"
"Here. It's where my family is. What about you?"
He turned his head, caught off guard. "What?"
"You, where do you want to live?"
"Everyone I know is here, so I guess it's as good a place as any." He shrugged.
His manner was nonchalant but almost too casual. Jaina frowned but before she could comment, Kyp asked another question.
"Were you happy with Jag?"
"I was. Or...thought I was. I really don't know anymore. But I don't think I'd still be happy if I was with him now."
"Why is that?"
She chuckled. "That'll cost you a few more credits. It's complicated."
"Stang, your thoughts are expensive."
They both chuckled as Kyp pulled the speeder up in front of her apartment building. "Last stop, Jaina Solo's apartment."
"Thanks for bringing me home, Kyp." She smiled, though she knew it didn't quite reach her eyes.
"It's no problem, it's right on my way home. You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah." She put on a brave smile. "Worried about tomorrow. Uncle Luke wants me there to meet Steiner."
Kyp released an irritated sigh. "Yeah. I can't believe Luke's allowing this."
"Luke doesn't have a choice, Kyp, it's Cal's."
"Jaina, the last thing we need after fighting a war for the past five years is for the delicate balance of the New Republic to be ripped apart and destroyed from within," he said vehemently.
She looked away, caught off guard by his sudden reaction.
"Sorry, Jay. I'm not mad at you. I wish we knew more about Steiner, though, so we knew what to expect."
"There is a way of finding out."
His eyebrows rose and she continued. "I'm going to do a search on the holonet and the government intranet, see what I can come up with," she said decisively.
Kyp looked thoughtful and she pressed on. "You could come up too, see what I find. And I still have that holocube I borrowed from you anyway."
Kyp finally smiled. "I like the way you think." He parked the speeder and got out with her. They quickly made their way to the elevator in the building and Jaina hit the button for the third floor.
"So why'd you ask about Jag, anyway?" she looked up at him.
"I asked because you were thinking about it, and because it's one of the few things that seemed relevant to me right now."
"What do you mean?"
"As far as I'm concerned, you breaking up with Jag happened for a kriffing good reason since you and I still have unfinished business," he said casually as if they were talking about the weather.
Jaina looked at him. "Huh?"
Kyp didn't answer as the lift reached the third floor. He held his arm out to hold the doors so she could go first.
Still puzzled, Jaina entered the hallway and got to her door before opening her mouth to ask him again what he meant, and he just shook his head. "Never mind. Let's concentrate on Steiner."
Jaina nodded, her mind refocused and punched in the code to open her door. Kyp followed her inside, looking around.
"You picked out a nice place," Kyp surveyed approvingly. They were in the main room with two couches facing each other, the kitchen was off further to the left. Ahead on the right was the console they'd be using, and further up ahead were doorways branching off to the fresher and a couple of bedrooms.
"Thanks. Everything's almost ready. I just need to repaint the walls in the kitchen and main room. I hate the color."
They put their things down as they made their way over to the console. Jaina booted it up as they sat down.
"If we can find any connection that Steiner might have to the Brigade, or that his brother did -- or even a hint of where to begin looking, we'll be in luck," Jaina said as they waited.
"I really hope Cal knows what he's doing." Kyp rubbed a hand over his face.
"Uncle Luke trusts him. And if Omas made a bad choice, Luke will convince him of it." Even so...Steiner was already coming, and it might already be too late.
Kyp noticed her worried expression. "Things'll work out."
"Yeah. Uncle Luke was just really worried."
"Your uncle is always worried."
"Well, yeah, but...he just seemed extra worried. I wonder if he sensed something."
"Don't worry on it. We can ask him tomorrow." Kyp pointed at the screen. "Look, the results just came up."
They both leaned in close to the screen and Jaina's attention was soon distracted by a scent...Kyp's cologne. She wasn't usually this close to the Jedi Master anymore, except for the occasional sparring match, and hadn't ever realized he smelled this good.
Kyp pointed to something on the screen that had come up, jerking her attention back to their task. "Look at this. Transcript of a speech Steiner made about the government."
"Seems innocent enough," Jaina said as they skimmed it. "But this was public -- he could've been saying it just for the benefit of the reporters."
The two spent the next while perusing what they could find about Braxis Steiner and learning anything they could that might help them while he was on Denon. They didn't find much and it was starting to dishearten Jaina.
Kyp pointed to a picture of Rune Steiner, a young man who looked to be about Jaina's age. "This is Braxis' son, it looks like. Luke said he was coming tomorrow too."
Jaina nodded. "And I have to be there to meet them." She suddenly yawned.
"I'd better let you get to bed, Goddess. I didn't mean to stay this long." Kyp stood up, looking apologetic.
Jaina followed and smiled gratefully at him. "Thanks for bringing me home, Kyp."
"Anytime, Jaina. You know if you ever need anything, I just live a few minutes away."
She nodded. "Even if it's to eat all your ice cream?" she asked cheekily.
Kyp lunged for her in a tickle attack and Jaina laughed, dodging him too slowly. He grabbed her, tickling her sides while she tried to get away. Her knees finally buckled in her futile attempts to get Kyp to stop, laughing too hard to do much. Eventually they ended up in a tangle of limbs on the floor, Jaina laughing and twisting away from Kyp.
When he finally stopped the onslaught of tickling, Jaina had ended up flat on her back. When she looked up, still chuckling and out of breath, she found Kyp hovering right above her, his face not far from hers. Her face slowly grew more serious and she tried hard to control her breathing. He was looking right into her eyes, looking at her differently. His face seemed different somehow and she couldn't figure out why.
Jaina found herself going deeper into his warm gaze as time stilled for a moment, and she became very, very aware of the solid heat of his body so close to hers. Kyp seemed to lean in ever so slightly, as if...
Then he suddenly stopped, his throat working as he swallowed hard, and backed up. He got to his feet. The look in his eyes was gone, the trance broken.
The usual, friendly nature of Kyp's that she was used to was back, and he held out a hand to help her up. Jaina accepted it after a moment and she shook her head to clear it from...whatever had just happened.
"So it looks like whether we're using lightsabers or tickling, I can still beat you," Kyp remarked teasingly with a grin, gathering his cloak from the back of the couch.
She shook her head, accompanied by a roll of her eyes, and slugged him lightly in the stomach.
"Ow!"
"Wimp, that wasn't enough to hurt you."
"I'm mortally wounded, on the inside," Kyp said melodramatically, placing his hand over his heart.
Jaina just shook her head, unable to think up just the right insult to use to continue the bantering. Only thing was, at the moment she was thinking his actions were more endearing than anything else.
"Good night, Kyp," she said with a smile. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
He stopped halfway out the door. "Just in the morning. I've got some Jedi stuff Luke wants me to take care of in the afternoon. But I'll see you around."
She nodded and finished closing the door behind him. Jaina turned around to lean against it and a slow, content smile crossed her face.
It wasn't until much later when she was in bed and trying to fall asleep that she realized she'd forgotten to give Kyp his holocube back, and he'd forgotten to ask for it. She laughed to herself and made a mental note to remember to give it to him tomorrow, and drifted peacefully off to sleep, thinking of Kyp.