(Untitled)

[astral_brat]

Ben stalks into Milliways in a dirty and rumpled GAG uniform, clearly in a bad mood. Today, he's not just a Jedi apprentice or boy soldier: today, he's a teenager whose parents are being really unfair.

"Ughhh. Caf, please," he mutters to Bar

Comments

[val_von_doom]

"Why don't you just get 'Caf' flavored sugar?" Val asks from the next stool over where she's having her breakfast of fruit and cheese.

[astral_brat]

"Uh--"

Ben notices just how many packets he's opened, and puts the half-torn sixth down slowly.

"Yeah, well, that might be more efficient," he says with a faint smile and glance sideways.

[val_von_doom]

"And make less of a mess," Val replies with a smile to remove any sting. "What's 'Caf' anyway?"

[astral_brat]

Ben gives the pile of empty packets a thoughtful look. Then scrunches them up into a little ball (this is also good for his frustration) and tosses this ball towards the nearest trash receptacle ... with a nudge from the Force to make sure it lands.

Satisfied, he turns back to the girl. "It's a hot beverage, um, made from caf beans. Kind of a stimulant. Helps you stay awake. And tastes good with a lot of sugar," he adds before taking a sip.

(It looks and smells just like regular coffee, too.)

[favoredfire]

Leia almost opens her mouth in selfish protest until she remembers, Right, Milliways is magic. The boy can't consume ALL of Bar's sugar packets. She stirs a spoon in her own caf, and when she goes to take a sip, she looks at the teenager again.

There's something about his pouting and the honest naivety in his eyes that's very, very familiar.

[astral_brat]

Midway through depositing the eighth portion of sugar into his caf, Ben realises he can feel someone watching him. He frowns and looks over, ready to tell them to take a holo--

"Oh. Aunt Leia?"

He's still frowning. She looks young. ... She must be wearing a lot of make-up.

[favoredfire]

Leia's eyes nearly pop out of her head.

"I..."

She clears her throat, trying to buy time. Aunt Leia? She doesn't have any brothers or sisters -- oh, kriff. Did Winter have a child with Luke Skywalker in the future? Is that what's happening here?

No. No, there could be a hundred different scenarios.

Leia frowns back. "I suppose. What's your name?"

Wait! she thinks. I don't know how to be an aunt!

[astral_brat]

Ben's frown turns suspicious for a moment. What's his name? Is that a trick? Is she trying to pretend she doesn't know him so he doesn't arrest her? No, no, Aunt Leia would come up with a smarter plan than that ... wouldn't she?

"Ben," he says, implying the duh.

...but her confusion feels genuine. And then he remembers, Milliways.

He sighs.

[mandercommander]

Bonzo catches Ben out of the corner of his eye a bit after Ben comes through the door. As he's walking over, he notices two things: The not-exactly-clean uniform and the large amounts of sugar going into the cup.

"Ben? You alright?" Bonzo grins just a bit. "And you want some coffee with that sugar?"

[astral_brat]

"I'm fine," Ben replies in a tone that suggests 'fine' means 'angry and frustrated at the world'.

He does, however, concede with a slight grimace that he may have made his caf just a little bit too sweet. He puts down the sugar, stirs the drink with the spoon provided, and takes a sip.

...yeah. Little bit sweet.

He shrugs and drinks some more anyway, then gives Bonzo a wave of greeting with his free hand.

[mandercommander]

That's not a 'good' fine....

Bonzo plops down in a chair next to Ben at the Bar and orders himself something to drink as well. "Ok, Ben, what's wrong?"

I was your age once, too, you know? Even if I was at a space station playing wargames when I was...or I might have even been home then, actually.

[astral_brat]

Ben does not want to talk about it; his stiff posture suggests this.

At least, he thinks he doesn't want to talk about it. Because being mature and grown-up means being stoic, right? Jacen never whines about unfair his parents are being.

(He just puts out an arrest warrant for them.)

"...my parents are trying to make me go back to the Jedi Academy."