Fic: "Fast As I Can" (20/20 J/Z AU)
Fait accompli! RIP "Fast as I Can": 08/2005-11/2008, 81 pages, 29,000+ words. Um, yeah, that's an average of about 25 words a day. Shush. The point is? Done. Except for that pesky sequel that I caved on writing :P
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen | Part Sixteen | Part Seventeen | Part Eighteen | Part Nineteen
x-x-x
Day 415
Mique didn’t wait long. Zekk had only just started his shift when the enormous man blocked his path. “So is she marrying that colonel?”
Zekk pushed past him. “I don’t know.”
x-x-x
Zekk worked late that night and, with the argument still fresh in his mind, he had never hated it more. He stayed longer, and even agreed to another shift out of sheer spite.
He returned to his flat to a comm message. He put it off for dinner, and a call to Peckhum (who asked about Jaina), and for a quick scan of the classifieds.
Tsing Xia was gruff and short. She left her number, and told him she was interviewing co-pilots. “I’d rather not blow up, either,” she said. “So you’ll be flying on-demand.”
He didn’t delete the message.
x-x-x
Day 418
The City Planet - with many other sources, a number of them respectable, soon following in news - published an article with photos. Although the quality was a little blurry, Zekk recognized Jaina immediately: hair pulled back, figure trim, and defiantly wearing her flightsuit in a classy area. Jag’s back was to the holo-grapher, but Jaina gave the reporter a sardonic expression that could not completely dampen her smile, and a wave with her left hand. It was, he thought, all very Jaina - except for the ring. Zekk could not think of anything less Jaina than the engagement ring she was wearing.
Jaina finally called Zekk that night. She left a comm message while he was still reading the “insider’s” gushing about Jaina’s happiness at finding someone with whom she could “finally” settle down.
“Zekk,” said the future Mrs. Fel, “I…” She sighed, and he turned to look at the message machine. “We need to talk. I - have to tell you something, but it’s not the kind of thing you tell a person’s voice mail. I just want to make sure that - that you’ll be there, at the Flash, at our usual time. But if you’re not, I’ll camp out at your flat door - you know I will. Zekk? Are you there? It’s important.”
The tabloids could be wrong, he thought. Before Jaina’s reaction to the proposal article, he would have completely dismissed the story - probably. But the holo-image - that had been pure Jaina, mocking the press, always aware of them, hardly unsuspecting prey as a Jedi. He had no doubt that it was Jaina, even looking happier - lighter - than he had ever seen her, expect perhaps during the snowstorm. And that source - there was at least one source telling the truth, and Jaina hadn’t known who it was to stop them. His fingers tightened on the edge of the data sheet.
What did you think would happen? he asked himself. What, besides Jaina eventually coming to her senses, and patting him on the head before sending him away from her?
He did not pick up his comm. Jaina hung up, and he deleted the message.
x-x-x
Day 419
Under-city Coruscant had no shortage of bartenders, and Mique produced an unemployed cousin not five minutes after Zekk talked to him. Zekk had been putting aside his money for nothing except Peckhum. He paid his rent for the upcoming four months with half his savings. For discounted rent, he let his landowner fill the extra room and living room with junk.
He answered five want ads before he showed up to Tsing Xia’s interview. She grilled him for an hour on everything Jaina had ever taught him before he was placed in a co-pilot’s chair for the practical part of the interview. By the end, he wasn’t sure he would get the job, but he knew - whatever her high-handed manner - that Jaina hadn’t bullied up a job for him.
x-x-x
Tsing hired someone else - a career co-pilot, she told him, or Zekk would have had the job. Zekk was called in for another interview for a captain who Zekk knew did smuggling on the side. Raven hired him on the spot.
Mique, Beryl, Peckhum, and other familiar faces threw together a party much faster than he had expected. “We just advertised half-price alcohol,” Beryl confided that night, already more than half-drunk.
Mique laughed, and slapped Zekk’s shoulder. Even taking the swing, Zekk stumbled. “Nah, man,” his former boss said. “We’ve been expecting this for months. That girl of yours was a little over-optimistic, I guess.”
“She is not my girl,” Zekk snapped, his mood souring.
Beryl snorted into his drink, and was soon laughing as drunkenly as Zekk had ever heard him. Mique settled with rolling his eyes. “You are an idiot. What’d she need to do, move into your apartment? Wear a frilly apron and make you dinner? Maybe make you a Jedi as well as a pilot? You had the fight, don’t forget the make-up - ”
“Jaina and I are just friends,” Zekk interrupted. “And at the moment, I don’t even know if we’re that much. And she’s the absolute last thing I want to talk about right now.” He looked down at his glass of brandy. It was his third, and almost empty. The buzzing around him suggested oncoming inebriation. But the brandy was an unusually nice colour, and it made him fuzzy. “I’m going to get a refill,” he told no one in particular.
“He’ll have another Jaina Solo special,” Mique roared at the Flash’s bar.
Jone, Mique’s cousin and new staff, looked panicked. “…What’s that?” he asked, none-too-discretely flipping through a book of mixes.
Mique was unapologetic, even under Zekk’s blackest glare. “It was that, or Frustrated Jedi. Not too many people are that devoted to a drink. Wanna hear the new name for our brandy-based hot chocolate?”
Zekk gave up. “Now I’m really going to need that drink.”
x-x-x
Other than all the questions about Jaina, Zekk slipped out of his life far easier than he had ever expected.
“I’ll be back regularly,” Zekk told Peckhum when he was giving the old man a ride back to Peckhum’s flat. “And if you need anything - if something happens - you make sure you call me.”
“Who’s the kid here, and who’s the old man?” Peckhum said, snorting. “Survived this long, didn’t I?”
Zekk’s fingers were tight around the steering wheel. “I can put off my starting date a week; it’s ridiculously short notice, and just a short run anyway - ”
“What, because of me?” Peckhum scoffed. “Stupid boy. Could use a week to smooth things over with Jaina, though - never a good idea to take off while things are still bad.”
Zekk made a non-committal sound. He didn’t look at Peckhum.
The old spacer paused for a long moment. “She does know you’re leaving, right?” Zekk’s face must have betrayed him. “At least that you took the job - she told me, first time we met, you’d be getting out. She’ll be as proud of you as any of us.”
“This is something I have to do myself.” It was, he thought, mostly true. “Jaina will have to understand. She’s not so finished product, herself.”
x-x-
When Zekk got home that night, he tossed his keys onto the counter, and looked about his flat. It had been stripped almost bare; he would have his own room on Raven’s ship, and would spend most of his time there, or at Peckhum’s flat. He hadn’t unplugged his comm machine yet, but it was one of the few things that he hadn’t packed away.
He rummaged about the kitchen, drinking the last of his juice, and preparing a sandwich for the morning. The comm machine continued to pull his gaze, but Zekk managed to pack a lunch, and prepare his breakfast before he sat at the table. The message light blinked at him several times; when he had cleared out his cooling unit, he finally turned the comm machine to face him.
Jaina’s latest message - probably to remind him again to show up the next day - continued to flicker its staccato protest. Quickly, he typed in her comm unit’s number. He paused, and then pressed the green button. The comm dialled, and began to ring.
She picked up. Someone was laughing in the background. “Shut up, it might be - ”
A man’s laughter.
Zekk hung up, and unplugged the machine. It didn’t really matter, if Mrs. Fel or Jaina had answered; Zekk just couldn’t talk to her before he left. Jaina would just have to understand.
x-x-
Day 421
Jaina was ready. She had frittered away a week saying goodbyes, and hoping Zekk would go first or even just give her a sign. She’d lambasted her brothers for minor details, flown enough tricks to almost get grounded, and sparred with Kyp for more hours than was really healthy - she had bruises all over. “Which is a great way to start this conversation,” she muttered to the mirror, but she didn’t care enough to bother with any kind of healing.
She could do this, as was, bruises and all. No more being a coward who hung onto the past. Jaina Solo had fought evil masterminds, bounty hunters, and paparazzi. She was going to be better this time.
Her resolve brought her through the doors of the Flash, and found her a seat at the counter. When looking around revealed no sign of Zekk, she let her temper flicker. She knew where he lived now - did he really expect to avoid her just by playing hooky?
Mique sent an unfamiliar bartender over to her, which raised her eyebrow. She decided to give Zekk fifteen more minutes before she grilled his boss. She could stand to lose fifteen minutes, being better. Last week hadn’t gone well, but they could fix it. They could definitely fix it. She wouldn’t run this time.
Jaina wasn’t going anywhere.
So yes, that's the ending FaIC has always had. I considered making small changes--I even considered the more traditional "happy" ending some point while I was high on cold meds, or at least tacking on a quick-"fix" epilogue--but this is the ending that came with the plot bunny. I'll ramble explain more in the "soundtrack," but I'd love to hear you what your reaction is. So if you read, please review this time around :D
Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing!
Soundtrack #1: "Not Ready to Say (I Love You)"
Sequel: "If You Call"
Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine | Part Ten | Part Eleven | Part Twelve | Part Thirteen | Part Fourteen | Part Fifteen | Part Sixteen | Part Seventeen | Part Eighteen | Part Nineteen
x-x-x
Day 415
Mique didn’t wait long. Zekk had only just started his shift when the enormous man blocked his path. “So is she marrying that colonel?”
Zekk pushed past him. “I don’t know.”
x-x-x
Zekk worked late that night and, with the argument still fresh in his mind, he had never hated it more. He stayed longer, and even agreed to another shift out of sheer spite.
He returned to his flat to a comm message. He put it off for dinner, and a call to Peckhum (who asked about Jaina), and for a quick scan of the classifieds.
Tsing Xia was gruff and short. She left her number, and told him she was interviewing co-pilots. “I’d rather not blow up, either,” she said. “So you’ll be flying on-demand.”
He didn’t delete the message.
x-x-x
Day 418
The City Planet - with many other sources, a number of them respectable, soon following in news - published an article with photos. Although the quality was a little blurry, Zekk recognized Jaina immediately: hair pulled back, figure trim, and defiantly wearing her flightsuit in a classy area. Jag’s back was to the holo-grapher, but Jaina gave the reporter a sardonic expression that could not completely dampen her smile, and a wave with her left hand. It was, he thought, all very Jaina - except for the ring. Zekk could not think of anything less Jaina than the engagement ring she was wearing.
Jaina finally called Zekk that night. She left a comm message while he was still reading the “insider’s” gushing about Jaina’s happiness at finding someone with whom she could “finally” settle down.
“Zekk,” said the future Mrs. Fel, “I…” She sighed, and he turned to look at the message machine. “We need to talk. I - have to tell you something, but it’s not the kind of thing you tell a person’s voice mail. I just want to make sure that - that you’ll be there, at the Flash, at our usual time. But if you’re not, I’ll camp out at your flat door - you know I will. Zekk? Are you there? It’s important.”
The tabloids could be wrong, he thought. Before Jaina’s reaction to the proposal article, he would have completely dismissed the story - probably. But the holo-image - that had been pure Jaina, mocking the press, always aware of them, hardly unsuspecting prey as a Jedi. He had no doubt that it was Jaina, even looking happier - lighter - than he had ever seen her, expect perhaps during the snowstorm. And that source - there was at least one source telling the truth, and Jaina hadn’t known who it was to stop them. His fingers tightened on the edge of the data sheet.
What did you think would happen? he asked himself. What, besides Jaina eventually coming to her senses, and patting him on the head before sending him away from her?
He did not pick up his comm. Jaina hung up, and he deleted the message.
x-x-x
Day 419
Under-city Coruscant had no shortage of bartenders, and Mique produced an unemployed cousin not five minutes after Zekk talked to him. Zekk had been putting aside his money for nothing except Peckhum. He paid his rent for the upcoming four months with half his savings. For discounted rent, he let his landowner fill the extra room and living room with junk.
He answered five want ads before he showed up to Tsing Xia’s interview. She grilled him for an hour on everything Jaina had ever taught him before he was placed in a co-pilot’s chair for the practical part of the interview. By the end, he wasn’t sure he would get the job, but he knew - whatever her high-handed manner - that Jaina hadn’t bullied up a job for him.
x-x-x
Tsing hired someone else - a career co-pilot, she told him, or Zekk would have had the job. Zekk was called in for another interview for a captain who Zekk knew did smuggling on the side. Raven hired him on the spot.
Mique, Beryl, Peckhum, and other familiar faces threw together a party much faster than he had expected. “We just advertised half-price alcohol,” Beryl confided that night, already more than half-drunk.
Mique laughed, and slapped Zekk’s shoulder. Even taking the swing, Zekk stumbled. “Nah, man,” his former boss said. “We’ve been expecting this for months. That girl of yours was a little over-optimistic, I guess.”
“She is not my girl,” Zekk snapped, his mood souring.
Beryl snorted into his drink, and was soon laughing as drunkenly as Zekk had ever heard him. Mique settled with rolling his eyes. “You are an idiot. What’d she need to do, move into your apartment? Wear a frilly apron and make you dinner? Maybe make you a Jedi as well as a pilot? You had the fight, don’t forget the make-up - ”
“Jaina and I are just friends,” Zekk interrupted. “And at the moment, I don’t even know if we’re that much. And she’s the absolute last thing I want to talk about right now.” He looked down at his glass of brandy. It was his third, and almost empty. The buzzing around him suggested oncoming inebriation. But the brandy was an unusually nice colour, and it made him fuzzy. “I’m going to get a refill,” he told no one in particular.
“He’ll have another Jaina Solo special,” Mique roared at the Flash’s bar.
Jone, Mique’s cousin and new staff, looked panicked. “…What’s that?” he asked, none-too-discretely flipping through a book of mixes.
Mique was unapologetic, even under Zekk’s blackest glare. “It was that, or Frustrated Jedi. Not too many people are that devoted to a drink. Wanna hear the new name for our brandy-based hot chocolate?”
Zekk gave up. “Now I’m really going to need that drink.”
x-x-x
Other than all the questions about Jaina, Zekk slipped out of his life far easier than he had ever expected.
“I’ll be back regularly,” Zekk told Peckhum when he was giving the old man a ride back to Peckhum’s flat. “And if you need anything - if something happens - you make sure you call me.”
“Who’s the kid here, and who’s the old man?” Peckhum said, snorting. “Survived this long, didn’t I?”
Zekk’s fingers were tight around the steering wheel. “I can put off my starting date a week; it’s ridiculously short notice, and just a short run anyway - ”
“What, because of me?” Peckhum scoffed. “Stupid boy. Could use a week to smooth things over with Jaina, though - never a good idea to take off while things are still bad.”
Zekk made a non-committal sound. He didn’t look at Peckhum.
The old spacer paused for a long moment. “She does know you’re leaving, right?” Zekk’s face must have betrayed him. “At least that you took the job - she told me, first time we met, you’d be getting out. She’ll be as proud of you as any of us.”
“This is something I have to do myself.” It was, he thought, mostly true. “Jaina will have to understand. She’s not so finished product, herself.”
x-x-
When Zekk got home that night, he tossed his keys onto the counter, and looked about his flat. It had been stripped almost bare; he would have his own room on Raven’s ship, and would spend most of his time there, or at Peckhum’s flat. He hadn’t unplugged his comm machine yet, but it was one of the few things that he hadn’t packed away.
He rummaged about the kitchen, drinking the last of his juice, and preparing a sandwich for the morning. The comm machine continued to pull his gaze, but Zekk managed to pack a lunch, and prepare his breakfast before he sat at the table. The message light blinked at him several times; when he had cleared out his cooling unit, he finally turned the comm machine to face him.
Jaina’s latest message - probably to remind him again to show up the next day - continued to flicker its staccato protest. Quickly, he typed in her comm unit’s number. He paused, and then pressed the green button. The comm dialled, and began to ring.
She picked up. Someone was laughing in the background. “Shut up, it might be - ”
A man’s laughter.
Zekk hung up, and unplugged the machine. It didn’t really matter, if Mrs. Fel or Jaina had answered; Zekk just couldn’t talk to her before he left. Jaina would just have to understand.
x-x-
Day 421
Jaina was ready. She had frittered away a week saying goodbyes, and hoping Zekk would go first or even just give her a sign. She’d lambasted her brothers for minor details, flown enough tricks to almost get grounded, and sparred with Kyp for more hours than was really healthy - she had bruises all over. “Which is a great way to start this conversation,” she muttered to the mirror, but she didn’t care enough to bother with any kind of healing.
She could do this, as was, bruises and all. No more being a coward who hung onto the past. Jaina Solo had fought evil masterminds, bounty hunters, and paparazzi. She was going to be better this time.
Her resolve brought her through the doors of the Flash, and found her a seat at the counter. When looking around revealed no sign of Zekk, she let her temper flicker. She knew where he lived now - did he really expect to avoid her just by playing hooky?
Mique sent an unfamiliar bartender over to her, which raised her eyebrow. She decided to give Zekk fifteen more minutes before she grilled his boss. She could stand to lose fifteen minutes, being better. Last week hadn’t gone well, but they could fix it. They could definitely fix it. She wouldn’t run this time.
Jaina wasn’t going anywhere.
So yes, that's the ending FaIC has always had. I considered making small changes--I even considered the more traditional "happy" ending some point while I was high on cold meds, or at least tacking on a quick-"fix" epilogue--but this is the ending that came with the plot bunny. I'll ramble explain more in the "soundtrack," but I'd love to hear you what your reaction is. So if you read, please review this time around :D
Thanks to everyone who's been reading and reviewing!
Soundtrack #1: "Not Ready to Say (I Love You)"
Sequel: "If You Call"