Fic: "Fast As I Can" [1/?, SW J/Z AU]
No, this isn't new (yet), but seeing as I've managed to write 2.5 new chapters for FaIC, and as the ending has been sketched for near future-writing, and FaIC hasn't been updated in...a while, I thought I'd repost it here from the start. It'll probably be finished here, too, before being posted on JCF, or at least at the same pace, depending on how quickly I write. I haven't changed anything since the original posting, besides some obvious, minute edits, but hopefully I (and anyone who reads it) will be able to remember a bit more with it here :P
addendum: in case any of you *haven't* read this, FaIC is an "old" fic that went on hiatus a while ago because I kept focusing more on ItM, and my muse got distracted. Um. Like two years ago. So it only took me an internet forever to get seriously back to this. If you are reading again (or if you're one of those readers from its original posting) PLEASE kick me hard if I get distracted again. You have my permission--nay, my blessing. This will be finished before too long, let alone before another two years go by, yes. I won't say "before the month is up" because there is work, and now school again, but in two months? Hopefully. At least steadily.
Fast as I Can
By moonlightrick
Disclaimer: Prepare yourself for a shock: I don’t own the characters. Or the galaxy, or its concepts (ie: the Force). They actually belong to George Lucas. I am only playing around in his sandbox, and am making no monetary gain from this. Please don’t sue.
Summary: I'm goin’ fast as I can, please don't make me rush / this feeling's coming on way too fast / I'll tell you all of the things that you'll never forget / But I'm not ready say, "I love you" yet.
Genre(s): AU, romance, general
Author’s Note: This is definitively AU. Zekk and Jaina have never met before this fic; consequently, Zekk knows next to nothing about Jedi, and certainly doesn’t have any training as one. Nothing canon post-YJK has occurred: the Vong, Anakin’s death, Vergere, etc. The Jedi are still trying to save the galaxy, the NR is still…the NR, and the Solo kids are all alive, thank you very much. Of course, some (well, at least one in particular) NJO characters are going to show up. The feel of this story’s setting and characters are also a tad different. Both are more focused on the fame that Jaina’s family has to deal with, and on how Zekk grew up. You know me, though-I love these two, more than I do most of my characters. I’ll keep ‘em Jaina and Zekk ;)
A/N 2: The song title is from Great Big Sea’s song, which I felt really fits this story. The story-particularly the beginning-is inspired by a brilliant movie. Try to guess which one! Finally, at least some of Jay’s problems are inspired by Jen’s fabulous portrayal of her in milliways RPG.
x-x-x-x
Day 1
Zekk noticed her the second she walked through the door. She wasn’t the usual kind of girl found in this place. Although an obviously well-used multi-tool was clipped to her belt, her hair was pulled back and her clothing straight. Her eyes assessed the diner carefully, but not warily, nor with the hard glint she would have had if she was a bounty hunter. He didn’t know quite what to think of her.
Something whispered at the very back of his mind, something about a familiar face, but he couldn’t pin her. She walked like she was just waiting for someone to challenge her-just so she could get in a good fight. Yet when she reached the bar, she briefly chatted with Mique about general, pleasant topics before politely ordering.
She ordered a Corellian brandy and “any kind of salty cereal they had.” Pretzels-stale, dry, and falling apart-were the only snack the Flash served at this time of day, and she ate them carelessly. When Mique raised an eyebrow at her, she grinned and gave him the exact amount she owed. A second later, she tipped her hand and let an extra credit fall on the counter. “Keep the change.”
Intrigued, Zekk checked his path to the door. He had gotten off work thirty minutes late, but he didn’t really have anything to do. Peckhum was off-planet for the week, and most of his friends were still working at this time. Usually he used the extra time to scavenge the Coruscanti underbelly, but…
Curiosity killed the lynaxi. Hopefully, a grown street rat was a little more resilient.
The dark-haired man took a seat in one of the mini-booths. Beryl gave him a look, but took his order for a cider without comment.
As Zekk watched, the woman nibbled on the remains of her crumbly pretzel. Mique had moved onto his next customer, and she was left to her thoughts. When she casually turned in her chair, however, he realized she was observing everything carefully. She wasn’t casing the place-noting back entrances, blind spots and liabilities for theft-though, and he didn’t worry. He could tell she’d come out of a fight the winner, and she looked all-too-Corellian for him to ever try to out-shoot her, but she did not appear dangerous. Leastways, not to him, or any of the Flash’s patrons.
That worry firmly discarded, Zekk enjoyed his cider and the view. The woman wasn’t exactly beautiful. What he could see of her features was average, though slightly more crooked-her nose had been broken at least once. Her figure wasn’t pin-up material by any stretch of imagination, though she was clearly athletic. Her hair, although in a ponytail, fell straight and unremarkably brown. Still, she had a kind of clean prettiness that made her easy on the eyes. She didn’t chat with Mique any further, and no one appeared at her side to pick her up. If asked, however, Zekk would have guessed that she didn’t lack friends or attention.
He considered going over to talk to her. He seemed to have fixated on her, and scratching the itch would probably reveal a horrid personality, or at least bad breath. Every time he began to stand, however, he found a reason to stay down.
Look at her, was the first one. She looks nice enough, but she’s probably nothing special. Her swagger could be unbearable arrogance. Knowing your luck…
The second one: Why would she want anything to do with you, street rat?
It was the latter that kept him in his booth. Kriff, it was the latter that kept him working at the Flash, and in his low-rent apartment in lower Coruscant.
His gaze began to move away from the mystery girl and down to his empty glass. Since his parents’ death seventeen years previously, he hadn’t lived a particularly easy life. He had escaped Ennth, his systematically destructive home planet, onboard a smuggler’s ship. Luck had introduced him to old Peckhum, who had taken the heartbroken nine-year-old under his wing. But even with a guide, Zekk had grown up largely on the streets of Coruscant’s pits.
When he had been sixteen, some old quack had kidnapped him. Brakiss, the blond man had called himself. He had sprouted idiot’s babble about Zekk’s “hidden power” and “grand destiny as Brakiss’ right hand.” Zekk hadn’t been interested, and had nearly lost his head-literally-during his first escape attempt. The second try had been no less successful; he survived the third time because of lax security as Brakiss had sent his army out after some target. He hadn’t heard anything about them-or his “grand destiny,” thank the stars-since then.
Life had calmed down a little in the past ten years; he had grown into himself, more or less. Still, he couldn’t escape the feeling that he was just a rejected street rat-the pesky orphan who scraped out a living for himself…
“You’re an idiot.”
Zekk paused, but the voice didn’t sound like his own mind. Blinking, he looked up into the liquid brown eyes of his mystery girl. “Um…excuse me? I’m a what?”
She sat across from him without an invitation. Close up, he noticed that her fingers-one of which was pointed at the table for emphasis-were stained with machinery grease. “An idiot,” she repeated firmly. Her eyes met his daringly. “I’ve been sitting over at the counter, waiting for you to talk to me, for the past half hour. But I have a meeting now, and I have to go.”
“I-” Zekk’s cheeks flushed, and he glanced away. A few of his colleagues were watching in amusement; he doubted they’d offer him help. “I’m sorry?”
“Well…” She sighed and glanced at her chrono almost regretfully. (Although, Zekk thought, that was probably fanciful thinking.) “Maybe some other time,” she stated. “You work here, right?”
“Yes.” There. That was something he could answer with minimal difficulty. “I just got off my shift a while ago.”
She shrugged. “I’m going to be in the area for a while, for…work. Maybe I’ll run into you again sometime.”
Run into? Steamroll over, more like. Despite his surprise, he felt a small grin come upon his features. “Maybe.”
“See you.” She flashed a lazy grin, and then she was gone.
OMG. Fingers crossed. Writer's block officially sucks, yes.
PS: Fast as I Can by Great Big Sea
Click for Part Two
addendum: in case any of you *haven't* read this, FaIC is an "old" fic that went on hiatus a while ago because I kept focusing more on ItM, and my muse got distracted. Um. Like two years ago. So it only took me an internet forever to get seriously back to this. If you are reading again (or if you're one of those readers from its original posting) PLEASE kick me hard if I get distracted again. You have my permission--nay, my blessing. This will be finished before too long, let alone before another two years go by, yes. I won't say "before the month is up" because there is work, and now school again, but in two months? Hopefully. At least steadily.
Fast as I Can
By moonlightrick
Disclaimer: Prepare yourself for a shock: I don’t own the characters. Or the galaxy, or its concepts (ie: the Force). They actually belong to George Lucas. I am only playing around in his sandbox, and am making no monetary gain from this. Please don’t sue.
Summary: I'm goin’ fast as I can, please don't make me rush / this feeling's coming on way too fast / I'll tell you all of the things that you'll never forget / But I'm not ready say, "I love you" yet.
Genre(s): AU, romance, general
Author’s Note: This is definitively AU. Zekk and Jaina have never met before this fic; consequently, Zekk knows next to nothing about Jedi, and certainly doesn’t have any training as one. Nothing canon post-YJK has occurred: the Vong, Anakin’s death, Vergere, etc. The Jedi are still trying to save the galaxy, the NR is still…the NR, and the Solo kids are all alive, thank you very much. Of course, some (well, at least one in particular) NJO characters are going to show up. The feel of this story’s setting and characters are also a tad different. Both are more focused on the fame that Jaina’s family has to deal with, and on how Zekk grew up. You know me, though-I love these two, more than I do most of my characters. I’ll keep ‘em Jaina and Zekk ;)
A/N 2: The song title is from Great Big Sea’s song, which I felt really fits this story. The story-particularly the beginning-is inspired by a brilliant movie. Try to guess which one! Finally, at least some of Jay’s problems are inspired by Jen’s fabulous portrayal of her in milliways RPG.
x-x-x-x
Day 1
Zekk noticed her the second she walked through the door. She wasn’t the usual kind of girl found in this place. Although an obviously well-used multi-tool was clipped to her belt, her hair was pulled back and her clothing straight. Her eyes assessed the diner carefully, but not warily, nor with the hard glint she would have had if she was a bounty hunter. He didn’t know quite what to think of her.
Something whispered at the very back of his mind, something about a familiar face, but he couldn’t pin her. She walked like she was just waiting for someone to challenge her-just so she could get in a good fight. Yet when she reached the bar, she briefly chatted with Mique about general, pleasant topics before politely ordering.
She ordered a Corellian brandy and “any kind of salty cereal they had.” Pretzels-stale, dry, and falling apart-were the only snack the Flash served at this time of day, and she ate them carelessly. When Mique raised an eyebrow at her, she grinned and gave him the exact amount she owed. A second later, she tipped her hand and let an extra credit fall on the counter. “Keep the change.”
Intrigued, Zekk checked his path to the door. He had gotten off work thirty minutes late, but he didn’t really have anything to do. Peckhum was off-planet for the week, and most of his friends were still working at this time. Usually he used the extra time to scavenge the Coruscanti underbelly, but…
Curiosity killed the lynaxi. Hopefully, a grown street rat was a little more resilient.
The dark-haired man took a seat in one of the mini-booths. Beryl gave him a look, but took his order for a cider without comment.
As Zekk watched, the woman nibbled on the remains of her crumbly pretzel. Mique had moved onto his next customer, and she was left to her thoughts. When she casually turned in her chair, however, he realized she was observing everything carefully. She wasn’t casing the place-noting back entrances, blind spots and liabilities for theft-though, and he didn’t worry. He could tell she’d come out of a fight the winner, and she looked all-too-Corellian for him to ever try to out-shoot her, but she did not appear dangerous. Leastways, not to him, or any of the Flash’s patrons.
That worry firmly discarded, Zekk enjoyed his cider and the view. The woman wasn’t exactly beautiful. What he could see of her features was average, though slightly more crooked-her nose had been broken at least once. Her figure wasn’t pin-up material by any stretch of imagination, though she was clearly athletic. Her hair, although in a ponytail, fell straight and unremarkably brown. Still, she had a kind of clean prettiness that made her easy on the eyes. She didn’t chat with Mique any further, and no one appeared at her side to pick her up. If asked, however, Zekk would have guessed that she didn’t lack friends or attention.
He considered going over to talk to her. He seemed to have fixated on her, and scratching the itch would probably reveal a horrid personality, or at least bad breath. Every time he began to stand, however, he found a reason to stay down.
Look at her, was the first one. She looks nice enough, but she’s probably nothing special. Her swagger could be unbearable arrogance. Knowing your luck…
The second one: Why would she want anything to do with you, street rat?
It was the latter that kept him in his booth. Kriff, it was the latter that kept him working at the Flash, and in his low-rent apartment in lower Coruscant.
His gaze began to move away from the mystery girl and down to his empty glass. Since his parents’ death seventeen years previously, he hadn’t lived a particularly easy life. He had escaped Ennth, his systematically destructive home planet, onboard a smuggler’s ship. Luck had introduced him to old Peckhum, who had taken the heartbroken nine-year-old under his wing. But even with a guide, Zekk had grown up largely on the streets of Coruscant’s pits.
When he had been sixteen, some old quack had kidnapped him. Brakiss, the blond man had called himself. He had sprouted idiot’s babble about Zekk’s “hidden power” and “grand destiny as Brakiss’ right hand.” Zekk hadn’t been interested, and had nearly lost his head-literally-during his first escape attempt. The second try had been no less successful; he survived the third time because of lax security as Brakiss had sent his army out after some target. He hadn’t heard anything about them-or his “grand destiny,” thank the stars-since then.
Life had calmed down a little in the past ten years; he had grown into himself, more or less. Still, he couldn’t escape the feeling that he was just a rejected street rat-the pesky orphan who scraped out a living for himself…
“You’re an idiot.”
Zekk paused, but the voice didn’t sound like his own mind. Blinking, he looked up into the liquid brown eyes of his mystery girl. “Um…excuse me? I’m a what?”
She sat across from him without an invitation. Close up, he noticed that her fingers-one of which was pointed at the table for emphasis-were stained with machinery grease. “An idiot,” she repeated firmly. Her eyes met his daringly. “I’ve been sitting over at the counter, waiting for you to talk to me, for the past half hour. But I have a meeting now, and I have to go.”
“I-” Zekk’s cheeks flushed, and he glanced away. A few of his colleagues were watching in amusement; he doubted they’d offer him help. “I’m sorry?”
“Well…” She sighed and glanced at her chrono almost regretfully. (Although, Zekk thought, that was probably fanciful thinking.) “Maybe some other time,” she stated. “You work here, right?”
“Yes.” There. That was something he could answer with minimal difficulty. “I just got off my shift a while ago.”
She shrugged. “I’m going to be in the area for a while, for…work. Maybe I’ll run into you again sometime.”
Run into? Steamroll over, more like. Despite his surprise, he felt a small grin come upon his features. “Maybe.”
“See you.” She flashed a lazy grin, and then she was gone.
OMG. Fingers crossed. Writer's block officially sucks, yes.
PS: Fast as I Can by Great Big Sea
Click for Part Two