Mon Calamari, Thursday Fandom time
The thing about the Solo family was that they were rarely all together at the same time. Which meant that if Jaina was coming back to the apartment after spending the day at headquarters- on her "vacation"- she couldn't be too surprised to run into Jacen alone there. Which wasn't great if she was trying to avoid some subjects.
"Everyone gone?" Jaina asked, pulling off her uniform jacket so she could make an excuse to change if he tried to go there.
Jacen nodded. "I'm starting to feel like a slacker. Everyone's rushing around doing work and I'm... not."
"You earned the vacation," she assured him.
He shrugged one shoulder, inclining his head towards the sofa to indicate that maybe she should sit. "Have time to talk?"
"I need to change," Jaina said immediately.
"Which takes maybe a minute. Go ahead. I'm still going to be here." Someone had apparently decided not to put up with the avoidance anymore.
The reason Jaina sat was because she didn't have another argument. Might as well sit till she created one.
"Call me crazy, but I've been getting the impression you don't want to talk to me," he began, his tone almost light. It kind of amazed her that someone who had undergone months of torture could even attempt levity.
"I came clean. Thought that's all that needed to be said." In fact, she'd almost cried when Luke talked it out of her. That was more than enough in her eyes.
"We kind of glossed over some things," Jacen pointed out. "Like are you okay?"
Things like that made her feel sort of bad for all the doubts she'd had about him being on the light side, or staying on the light side, no matter how much basis she had for it. Even when she knew she'd be keeping an eye on him. "I am now," she admitted. "It wasn't a great time."
"So if it's in the past, why won't you talk about it?"
"It's not really anything you should want to hear," Jaina said.
"You wanted to know what I was going through," he pointed out.
"That's different?"
"How?"
"It's not about me." It was mostly a joke, and she smiled briefly before going on, "The Vong did things you couldn't control. I could control every step I made and every bad decision. Allow me some wounded pride and embarrassment, okay?"
"I'd be embarrassed at following Kyp around, too."
She swatted at his shoulder, and he didn't even flinch. "He's changed," she said pointedly. "I did a lot of things I'm not proud of, and some of them, I truly don't want to discuss. Period." She thought he might take issue with the fact that she'd allowed someone to be tortured, first off. And then there was the mind-wiping one of her closest friends thing...
"Is that why you're so worried about me?" Jacen asked.
She didn't need to ask for clarification. "No, I'm worried about you because another version of you put me in the clinic," she answered, and making a face, added, "Dummy." She'd decided not to get into what yet another version of him was doing to Ben. Besides the fact that she didn't know nearly enough details, that was his hellish story, not hers. And their version of Ben probably couldn't run without falling down yet. Best not to add an alternate universe's history on him now.
Jaina did watch him, though, asking, "Why don't you freak out more at hearing about that?"
"Vergere talks a lot," Jacen said simply. "I've had time to think about things. Paths I could take, could have taken. I'm sure one of those could have led me to do something like that. Personally, this version of me prefers his sister in one piece."
"Good answer. One that won't get you hit again." As she watched him rub his shoulder- for show, not for actual pain- Jaina found herself asking, "Are you upset I didn't come back here right away when I found out?"
"No," Jacen said immediately. "I thought if you didn't show up, it was because you were doing something important and you'd be around when you could. Though... I'm surprised you actually managed it."
"Maybe I've grown up. Learned some restraint."
His eyebrows raised, clearly not believing her.
"Shut up," Jaina grinned, standing. "And I really do have to get out of this uniform, and I've got a call to make before Mom and Dad get back." Han and Leia both tended to get a certain Look about them when she mentioned John, so she tried to do so less because she just really didn't want to know.
"Let me guess." To be fair, Jacen tended to get a Look about him, too, but Jaina thought it had more to do with shock at the idea that she hadn't managed to successfully blow up everything around her after Myrkr.
"I'm inviting him to the ceremony," she explained. "The ridiculously pointless ceremony."
Mon Calamari had become the new capital of the Alliance. Or the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. Whatever they were calling it these days. This sort of thing tended to happen when you got her family and their friends together on one planet. And the newly-elected Chief of State wanted to put on a show, and put the Jedi in a good light, and therefore he wanted a ceremony to Knight the survivors of the Myrkr mission. ...Who were already Jedi Knights. So far Jaina hadn't been able to talk about it without rolling her eyes.
"Let Cal Omas put on his show. It wouldn't hurt us to have good propaganda out there," Jacen said with a shrug. "Go change already. I'll still be here. Doing absolutely nothing."
"Enjoy it while you can," she advised him, calling her words over her shoulder as she headed into the room. "Trust me."
[NFB, NFI, do si do, I don't even know anymore.]
"Everyone gone?" Jaina asked, pulling off her uniform jacket so she could make an excuse to change if he tried to go there.
Jacen nodded. "I'm starting to feel like a slacker. Everyone's rushing around doing work and I'm... not."
"You earned the vacation," she assured him.
He shrugged one shoulder, inclining his head towards the sofa to indicate that maybe she should sit. "Have time to talk?"
"I need to change," Jaina said immediately.
"Which takes maybe a minute. Go ahead. I'm still going to be here." Someone had apparently decided not to put up with the avoidance anymore.
The reason Jaina sat was because she didn't have another argument. Might as well sit till she created one.
"Call me crazy, but I've been getting the impression you don't want to talk to me," he began, his tone almost light. It kind of amazed her that someone who had undergone months of torture could even attempt levity.
"I came clean. Thought that's all that needed to be said." In fact, she'd almost cried when Luke talked it out of her. That was more than enough in her eyes.
"We kind of glossed over some things," Jacen pointed out. "Like are you okay?"
Things like that made her feel sort of bad for all the doubts she'd had about him being on the light side, or staying on the light side, no matter how much basis she had for it. Even when she knew she'd be keeping an eye on him. "I am now," she admitted. "It wasn't a great time."
"So if it's in the past, why won't you talk about it?"
"It's not really anything you should want to hear," Jaina said.
"You wanted to know what I was going through," he pointed out.
"That's different?"
"How?"
"It's not about me." It was mostly a joke, and she smiled briefly before going on, "The Vong did things you couldn't control. I could control every step I made and every bad decision. Allow me some wounded pride and embarrassment, okay?"
"I'd be embarrassed at following Kyp around, too."
She swatted at his shoulder, and he didn't even flinch. "He's changed," she said pointedly. "I did a lot of things I'm not proud of, and some of them, I truly don't want to discuss. Period." She thought he might take issue with the fact that she'd allowed someone to be tortured, first off. And then there was the mind-wiping one of her closest friends thing...
"Is that why you're so worried about me?" Jacen asked.
She didn't need to ask for clarification. "No, I'm worried about you because another version of you put me in the clinic," she answered, and making a face, added, "Dummy." She'd decided not to get into what yet another version of him was doing to Ben. Besides the fact that she didn't know nearly enough details, that was his hellish story, not hers. And their version of Ben probably couldn't run without falling down yet. Best not to add an alternate universe's history on him now.
Jaina did watch him, though, asking, "Why don't you freak out more at hearing about that?"
"Vergere talks a lot," Jacen said simply. "I've had time to think about things. Paths I could take, could have taken. I'm sure one of those could have led me to do something like that. Personally, this version of me prefers his sister in one piece."
"Good answer. One that won't get you hit again." As she watched him rub his shoulder- for show, not for actual pain- Jaina found herself asking, "Are you upset I didn't come back here right away when I found out?"
"No," Jacen said immediately. "I thought if you didn't show up, it was because you were doing something important and you'd be around when you could. Though... I'm surprised you actually managed it."
"Maybe I've grown up. Learned some restraint."
His eyebrows raised, clearly not believing her.
"Shut up," Jaina grinned, standing. "And I really do have to get out of this uniform, and I've got a call to make before Mom and Dad get back." Han and Leia both tended to get a certain Look about them when she mentioned John, so she tried to do so less because she just really didn't want to know.
"Let me guess." To be fair, Jacen tended to get a Look about him, too, but Jaina thought it had more to do with shock at the idea that she hadn't managed to successfully blow up everything around her after Myrkr.
"I'm inviting him to the ceremony," she explained. "The ridiculously pointless ceremony."
Mon Calamari had become the new capital of the Alliance. Or the Galactic Federation of Free Alliances. Whatever they were calling it these days. This sort of thing tended to happen when you got her family and their friends together on one planet. And the newly-elected Chief of State wanted to put on a show, and put the Jedi in a good light, and therefore he wanted a ceremony to Knight the survivors of the Myrkr mission. ...Who were already Jedi Knights. So far Jaina hadn't been able to talk about it without rolling her eyes.
"Let Cal Omas put on his show. It wouldn't hurt us to have good propaganda out there," Jacen said with a shrug. "Go change already. I'll still be here. Doing absolutely nothing."
"Enjoy it while you can," she advised him, calling her words over her shoulder as she headed into the room. "Trust me."
[NFB, NFI, do si do, I don't even know anymore.]