Fic: It's Just Pretend, Chapter 4
Title: It's Just Pretend
Author: kaladhwen, aka Mia, aka Alliana, aka...well, you get the idea.
Fandom: Star Wars, post-NJO
Rating: PG, pretty much.
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 and kasdie for betaing and offering encouragement and feedback, as well as others in my FanForce. :) Also posting this on the JCF here.
Previous chapters on LJ
It's Just Pretend
Chapter Four
Early the next morning, Luke smiled as Kyp entered his office and he stretched out his hand. "Kyp, it's good to see you. You have good news?"
Kyp grasped Luke's forearm in a friendly grip. "Yeah. We finally have custody of Steiner's brother's body," he said almost tiredly as they both sat. "One of our Jedi teams has him and are bringing him here. They think he was killed by a blaster, but we'll need Cilghal to run additional tests."
Luke smiled again. "That's very good news. Thanks for taking care of that, Kyp. I can't tell you how relieved I am."
"I think I can guess a little." Kyp gave a half-grin.
Luke tilted his head as if listening to something.
"What is it?"
"Jaina's early to see me. Very early."
Kyp started to rise. "I can take off, I've got things to do anyway."
Luke stood from his chair. "You're aware of the reception tomorrow night?"
Kyp nodded. "Do I have to go?" he asked reluctantly.
"Yes," Luke chuckled. "Are you planning on taking anyone?"
"I...don't know. I..."
"Well, if you're looking for a date, there's--"
Luke was interrupted by the sound of the door chime and both men glanced at the door.
"--Jaina," Kyp finished. He looked back at Luke, then with a small shake of his head, opened the door for Jaina as Luke came around his desk.
Kyp smiled at Jaina as the door slid open. "Good morning."
"Good morning." She looked surprised to see him there.
"Jaina, you're early," Luke remarked as he joined them.
"Yeah, I hope it's not a problem," she said apologetically.
"Of course it's not," her uncle responded. "I do have a transmission I need to make first, so I'll be with you in a few minutes."
"How was the Jedi meeting yesterday?" Kyp asked them as he and Jaina moved into the hallway.
"Kind of boring," she admitted, throwing a teasing look at her uncle. "Where were you, Durron?"
Kyp gave her a boyish grin. "Missed me that bad, huh?"
Jaina looked down suddenly, fighting to control a blush. "You wish, you... scruffy-looking nerfherder."
Luke's eyebrows raised high. Very high. "I'll uh, be with you in a moment, Jaina." He turned and went back into his office.
Jaina looked up at Kyp after glancing quickly around the hallway. "You never answered my question. Where were you yesterday?"
"I was helping locate the body of Steiner's brother."
"Oh. I guess that's a good reason to miss the meeting."
"How're you doing, Goddess?"
A brief smile crossed her face at the familiar nickname. "I'm okay."
"Just okay? Your worshippers not treating you well enough?"
His comment was a light quip, but Jaina's smile died all the same. And Kyp knew he'd definitely caught a flicker of something along their bond. And he knew she knew that he'd caught it.
"Jaina, what's going on?"
"Nothing's going on."
He looked at her in concern. She was being skittish and evasive, surveying the hallway every five seconds. "Jaina, you know you can't fool me."
"I'm not trying to fool anyone, Kyp. There's nothing going on."
Kyp didn't believe her, but when she was ready to confide in him, she would. He hoped. "You're sure?"
"I've got a lot on my mind," she said casually.
"If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me."
She nodded, turning slightly away. "Thanks, I'll be fine."
Kyp looked down at his boots, suddenly feeling nervous. "Goddess, there's something I was wondering--"
He stopped mid-sentence as his comlink beeped and he swore under his breath. "I've got to take this, it's about Steiner's body. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, sure," Jaina nodded distractedly, surveying the hallway again.
Kyp reached up and put a hand gently on her shoulder as he walked by. "Don't be a stranger, Goddess," he said lightly. "You know I'm here if you need me."
He felt Jaina's gaze on him as he walked away. He always told her he was there for her, but he had recently begun to realize all he ever did, though, was wait for her. And the one time he had the guts to try and change that, something got in the way. Kyp sighed as he answered his comlink. "This is Durron. I'm on my way."
~~~~~
A few minutes later, Jaina sat safely inside her uncle's office. There had been no sighting of Rune so far and she was counting her lucky stars.
They were making the regular idle chitchat when he suddenly asked, "So how are your plans for the reception coming along? Are you going with anyone?"
Stang, I hope not. Jaina cleared her throat. "No, I think I'm going to wing it alone. Go stag." Easier to avoid Rune if she was alone. She could also show up very fashionably late and leave early that way.
A frown crossed his face. "Oh, I thought..." Then it was gone, just as quickly. "Well, we'd better get started."
~~~~~
After the meeting with Uncle Luke, which Jaina tried to drag out as long as possible, she headed to another appointment that she'd switched around with something else. The lengths she was having to go to just to avoid Rune were becoming ridiculous.
Despite all her efforts, he still managed to show up where she was around midday. Jaina ground her teeth together as she spotted him down the hallway. He was still unaware she was there, but it was time to go. Now.
She spun around, intending to duck into the nearest hiding place...and ran straight into her mother instead.
"Oh!" Leia said in surprise as they bumped. "I'm sorry, Jaina."
"Mom!" she replied. Jaina looked around wildly. Rune still hadn't seemed to have spotted her yet.
"Jaina? Are you all right?" Leia was frowning and peering at her.
Jaina sighed, beginning to tire of people asking her that. "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine," she said dismissively, only half-listening.
"You lie just like your father," her mother was saying.
Jaina's eyes widened as she caught sight of Rune. He was now weaving his way through the traffic in the hall and closing in fast on her. She spun a wild string of curses and quickly moved past her mother as she spotted a niche in the wall that led to a door, and hopefully, an escape route.
Leia, puzzled, followed her. "You curse just like your father, too."
Jaina palmed the door open and darted through it. It was an access hallway that had doors lining the walls, leading to Force knew where.
Her mother paused in the doorway. "Jaina? What in the galaxy is going on?"
Jaina pulled Leia in, then shut and locked the access door. "Shh! We can't be found."
"We?" Leia raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment further.
Jaina waited what seemed like several tense minutes. She heard someone on the other side try to open the access door, but the door whirred and beeped, indicating it was locked. Jaina backed up from the door and searched for another escape route.
"Jaina?" her mother questioned, sounding concerned. "What is going on? Who are you hiding from?"
Jaina moved down the hallway, which was lit only by dim lights. "I'll explain later, Mom. Can we just please keep moving?"
Leia sighed as she followed her daughter. "I think you owe me an explanation. We are wandering around, probably lost, in the access tunnels of a building because you're hiding from someone, or something."
"We're not lost," Jaina retorted without turning around. "Look, just trust me for now, I'll tell you later, okay?" Finally, after passing a number of doors and branching corridors, she stopped in front of a door.
"Where does this lead to?" Leia asked, stopping next to her.
"I don't know."
"How do you know it's the right one?"
"I do have the Force, Mom." Jaina rolled her eyes.
She palmed the door open and hurriedly pulled her mother through. The door slid shut behind them. The two women looked up.
"Oh, stang," said Leia.
Author: kaladhwen, aka Mia, aka Alliana, aka...well, you get the idea.
Fandom: Star Wars, post-NJO
Rating: PG, pretty much.
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 and kasdie for betaing and offering encouragement and feedback, as well as others in my FanForce. :) Also posting this on the JCF here.
Previous chapters on LJ
It's Just Pretend
Chapter Four
Early the next morning, Luke smiled as Kyp entered his office and he stretched out his hand. "Kyp, it's good to see you. You have good news?"
Kyp grasped Luke's forearm in a friendly grip. "Yeah. We finally have custody of Steiner's brother's body," he said almost tiredly as they both sat. "One of our Jedi teams has him and are bringing him here. They think he was killed by a blaster, but we'll need Cilghal to run additional tests."
Luke smiled again. "That's very good news. Thanks for taking care of that, Kyp. I can't tell you how relieved I am."
"I think I can guess a little." Kyp gave a half-grin.
Luke tilted his head as if listening to something.
"What is it?"
"Jaina's early to see me. Very early."
Kyp started to rise. "I can take off, I've got things to do anyway."
Luke stood from his chair. "You're aware of the reception tomorrow night?"
Kyp nodded. "Do I have to go?" he asked reluctantly.
"Yes," Luke chuckled. "Are you planning on taking anyone?"
"I...don't know. I..."
"Well, if you're looking for a date, there's--"
Luke was interrupted by the sound of the door chime and both men glanced at the door.
"--Jaina," Kyp finished. He looked back at Luke, then with a small shake of his head, opened the door for Jaina as Luke came around his desk.
Kyp smiled at Jaina as the door slid open. "Good morning."
"Good morning." She looked surprised to see him there.
"Jaina, you're early," Luke remarked as he joined them.
"Yeah, I hope it's not a problem," she said apologetically.
"Of course it's not," her uncle responded. "I do have a transmission I need to make first, so I'll be with you in a few minutes."
"How was the Jedi meeting yesterday?" Kyp asked them as he and Jaina moved into the hallway.
"Kind of boring," she admitted, throwing a teasing look at her uncle. "Where were you, Durron?"
Kyp gave her a boyish grin. "Missed me that bad, huh?"
Jaina looked down suddenly, fighting to control a blush. "You wish, you... scruffy-looking nerfherder."
Luke's eyebrows raised high. Very high. "I'll uh, be with you in a moment, Jaina." He turned and went back into his office.
Jaina looked up at Kyp after glancing quickly around the hallway. "You never answered my question. Where were you yesterday?"
"I was helping locate the body of Steiner's brother."
"Oh. I guess that's a good reason to miss the meeting."
"How're you doing, Goddess?"
A brief smile crossed her face at the familiar nickname. "I'm okay."
"Just okay? Your worshippers not treating you well enough?"
His comment was a light quip, but Jaina's smile died all the same. And Kyp knew he'd definitely caught a flicker of something along their bond. And he knew she knew that he'd caught it.
"Jaina, what's going on?"
"Nothing's going on."
He looked at her in concern. She was being skittish and evasive, surveying the hallway every five seconds. "Jaina, you know you can't fool me."
"I'm not trying to fool anyone, Kyp. There's nothing going on."
Kyp didn't believe her, but when she was ready to confide in him, she would. He hoped. "You're sure?"
"I've got a lot on my mind," she said casually.
"If you ever want to talk, you know where to find me."
She nodded, turning slightly away. "Thanks, I'll be fine."
Kyp looked down at his boots, suddenly feeling nervous. "Goddess, there's something I was wondering--"
He stopped mid-sentence as his comlink beeped and he swore under his breath. "I've got to take this, it's about Steiner's body. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah, sure," Jaina nodded distractedly, surveying the hallway again.
Kyp reached up and put a hand gently on her shoulder as he walked by. "Don't be a stranger, Goddess," he said lightly. "You know I'm here if you need me."
He felt Jaina's gaze on him as he walked away. He always told her he was there for her, but he had recently begun to realize all he ever did, though, was wait for her. And the one time he had the guts to try and change that, something got in the way. Kyp sighed as he answered his comlink. "This is Durron. I'm on my way."
~~~~~
A few minutes later, Jaina sat safely inside her uncle's office. There had been no sighting of Rune so far and she was counting her lucky stars.
They were making the regular idle chitchat when he suddenly asked, "So how are your plans for the reception coming along? Are you going with anyone?"
Stang, I hope not. Jaina cleared her throat. "No, I think I'm going to wing it alone. Go stag." Easier to avoid Rune if she was alone. She could also show up very fashionably late and leave early that way.
A frown crossed his face. "Oh, I thought..." Then it was gone, just as quickly. "Well, we'd better get started."
~~~~~
After the meeting with Uncle Luke, which Jaina tried to drag out as long as possible, she headed to another appointment that she'd switched around with something else. The lengths she was having to go to just to avoid Rune were becoming ridiculous.
Despite all her efforts, he still managed to show up where she was around midday. Jaina ground her teeth together as she spotted him down the hallway. He was still unaware she was there, but it was time to go. Now.
She spun around, intending to duck into the nearest hiding place...and ran straight into her mother instead.
"Oh!" Leia said in surprise as they bumped. "I'm sorry, Jaina."
"Mom!" she replied. Jaina looked around wildly. Rune still hadn't seemed to have spotted her yet.
"Jaina? Are you all right?" Leia was frowning and peering at her.
Jaina sighed, beginning to tire of people asking her that. "Yeah, Mom, I'm fine," she said dismissively, only half-listening.
"You lie just like your father," her mother was saying.
Jaina's eyes widened as she caught sight of Rune. He was now weaving his way through the traffic in the hall and closing in fast on her. She spun a wild string of curses and quickly moved past her mother as she spotted a niche in the wall that led to a door, and hopefully, an escape route.
Leia, puzzled, followed her. "You curse just like your father, too."
Jaina palmed the door open and darted through it. It was an access hallway that had doors lining the walls, leading to Force knew where.
Her mother paused in the doorway. "Jaina? What in the galaxy is going on?"
Jaina pulled Leia in, then shut and locked the access door. "Shh! We can't be found."
"We?" Leia raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment further.
Jaina waited what seemed like several tense minutes. She heard someone on the other side try to open the access door, but the door whirred and beeped, indicating it was locked. Jaina backed up from the door and searched for another escape route.
"Jaina?" her mother questioned, sounding concerned. "What is going on? Who are you hiding from?"
Jaina moved down the hallway, which was lit only by dim lights. "I'll explain later, Mom. Can we just please keep moving?"
Leia sighed as she followed her daughter. "I think you owe me an explanation. We are wandering around, probably lost, in the access tunnels of a building because you're hiding from someone, or something."
"We're not lost," Jaina retorted without turning around. "Look, just trust me for now, I'll tell you later, okay?" Finally, after passing a number of doors and branching corridors, she stopped in front of a door.
"Where does this lead to?" Leia asked, stopping next to her.
"I don't know."
"How do you know it's the right one?"
"I do have the Force, Mom." Jaina rolled her eyes.
She palmed the door open and hurriedly pulled her mother through. The door slid shut behind them. The two women looked up.
"Oh, stang," said Leia.