Title: Snowfall
Fandom: Star Wars
Characters: Jaina Solo, Jagged Fel
T
imeline: Approximately two years after The Swarm War.

Disclaimer: Jaina Solo, Jagged Fel, and the rest of the SW galaxy do not belong to me. They belong to Lucas, Del Rey, respected authors, etc.

Also, quotes borrowed from the following books: Dark Tide: Ruin, Dark Journey, Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream, Force Heretic: Reunion, and The Joiner King. Thus, those lines belong to their respective authors.

Summary: Sometimes a snowball fight can lead to something more.


The cold snow flakes fluttered around Jaina Solo's face as she gazed out towards the distant glaciers, the huge masses of ice jutting across the horizon, completing the planet's manifestation of a never ending winter. She shivered, despite the layers of clothing and thermal jacket, and reached up to tug on the earflaps of her hat, pulling it down tighter over her head. Sure, she had been to cold regions before, but never any place i this /i cold.

It still amazed her to think that anything thrived here, even if it was deep down beneath the surface, where a civilization flourished in their energy-efficient warrens. Where people made homes, even. A home Jaina thought she'd never find. It had taken her seven years to finally accept this invitation – seven years of missions and loss and war – but here she was. She finally did it.

She batted at a couple stray flakes, blinking as the cool wind gave them the push they needed to fall in to her eyes. Jaina turned in place, careful not to trip and fall into the knee-deep snow, wanting to move her face out of the wind's grasp. Another gust blew strands of her brown hair into her face, distracting her long enough to realize that her companion had disappeared into the winter scenery.

"Jag?" she called out, glove-clad hands cupping her mouth. "Jag! Where'd you-"

The query remained unfinished, however, as a snowball landed with a wet plop in the middle of her back. She stumbled forward, using the Force to regain balance before she landed face forward on the ground. Whirling around, not caring about being careful this time, she blinked in the snowy wind, scarcely able to make out the form of a barely-smiling Chiss commander standing near their snowspeeder.

Maneuvering best she could in the snowshoes, Jaina began to walk towards Jag, pointing a finger accusingly at him. From beneath the brow of her hat, her brown eyes had furrowed into an annoyed glare – hiding any amusement that she might otherwise posses.

"That was uncalled for," Jaina stated as soon as she was within hearing range.

The faint smile continued to lighten his features, and Jagged Fel's pale green eyes crinkled in mirth. "From my perspective, it was a perfectly reasonable opportunity."

"No, it wasn't."

A feral grin curved at her lips as she paused in her tracks, bending downward for a second to scoop up a handful of snow. She started to pack it into a ball as she resumed her walk towards the pilot.

"Wait just a moment there," Jag protested, holding his hands up in defense. The man looked torn between staying put, a moments worth of action to preserve his dignity, and fleeing behind the speeder for protection.

Jaina's smile widened when she realized that he had chosen the former, too dignified and too controlled to make a run for it. She shifted the developing ball from hand to hand, eyes not leaving Jag's grim features, even when the wind howled between them again, bringing a new cloud of snow to obscure her vision. But after she had brushed it away, he was still there. Waiting. Almost i daring /i her to try.

Even after everything, she was still the Sword of the Jedi. Backing down was not in her repertoire. Especially when it came to a little bit of snow.

Jaina tilted her head, clicking for a couple of seconds in an old, yet still familiar, habit. Finally, she stopped a few steps in front of him and smiled sweetly. Jag blinked, perplexed at her expression. It only took him a moment later, and the handful of snow Jaina had previously held meeting his face, to remember he shouldn't trust that smile.

She chuckled, watching with amusement as he wiped at his cheeks and forehead, trying to clean the mess off as quickly as possible. Standing on her tiptoes, she swept a chunk of ice from the white lock of hair above his right brow, giggling softly. "You missed a spot."

Jag nodded solemnly, if not in disbelief at her actions. "That was-"

"An entirely reasonable opportunity from my perspective," Jaina interrupted, flashing him a lopsided grin. "You just don't like being beaten in your own game, lover boy. Never-"

Again, her sentence remained unfinished, replaced instead by a small, surprised swear as Jag tackled her into the snow. Coldness seeped into her coat, passed the thermal clothing and through to her skin, causing her to shiver as she struggled to free herself from his grip. He held tightly on to her wrists as she tried to wiggle free from his grasp. His hands pinned hers tightly into the snow above her head as both their bodies began to slowly sink further downward.

Jaina sputtered and Jag removed one hand to carefully move the snow from her face, leaving the other to balance himself above her. Her eyes flickered open to see a half smile, almost a true grin, on Jag's face, his own eyes looking down at her in adoration. He dropped his head down to kiss her deeply, leaving Jaina suddenly feeling cold and warm all at the same time.

A shiver ran down her spine again, although this time she didn't think it was from the cold. Jag broke the kiss, lifting his head away. Smiling at her once more, he whispered, "Marry me."

Her breath hitched, and before the connections formed in her head, Jaina nodded, causing little bits of snow to creep in to her collar. But she didn't notice, didn't care. Her mind was a whirlwind of thoughts, each exploding as quickly as the other was introduced --

i …Oh no, I am /i not i going to let myself fall for some guy who thinks grim is the normal state of being…May I have the honor of shared evasive maneuvers...Everyone is going away. They keep going away and I can't stop it. I didn't want you to go away...I love you, Jaina. Please come back to me…We look forward to seeing you again sometime soon…You came. Didn't think you'd come…My offer still stands. Csilla, Jaina... /i

-- thoughts and memories that meshed together as she stared up at Jag, watching the love and joy radiate from every centimeter of his face. She beamed, laughing and running a hand, freed from his grasp at some point, lovingly running her fingers along the scar on his forehead and then down his cheek, cupping it in her mitten.

"Yes," she whispered, not taking her gaze away from him, "Yes, I will."

Jag smiled broadly, reciprocating her action by running a hand alongside the outline of her face as the other continued to prop up his body. She giggled at his touch, the feel of snow and tauntaun hide gloves against her skin. He leaned down to kiss her again, and Jaina wrapped a hand around his neck, pulling him closer to her.

Together, they lay in embrace as the snow continued to drift aimlessly in the sky above them.

--fin--