Author's Note: You know me and pervy, and this is definitely some of that. Hehe. I made sure to not mention her name until she drops her glass, cause it's the perfect moment of shock for her. She keeps her cool until that point, thanks to dorky little Jacen Solo. I don't remember where this idea came from, but it was one of those that amused me and annoyed me until I actually sat down and wrote it out. Written: 11/02/2005.

Afterglow

"I'm sure he's around somewhere, Kyp."

"Yeah, I just have to figure out where." Durron shifted his gaze from flicking around the room back the man in front of him. "Just keep your eyes open, Solo. Tell him I'm looking for him if you see him."

"Will do."

As Kyp meandered off into the banquets crowd, Jacen Solo turned his attention back to the front of the chamber. He was keeping his eyes open alright. What they were tuned to though was a whole different story.

He watched as she smiled faintly, politely, a flute of wine in her hand. She was talking to the ambassadors from Vortex at the moment, nodding intently at whatever it is they were speaking of. Jacen couldn't tell from the other side of the hall.

Coruscant was on it's way to being fully rebuilt and the Great Hall they all stood in was just one of many things they were commemorating at the banquet that was currently in full swing. Jacen noted the beginnings of a skyline out of the east wall of windows, a smile crossing his face.

Solo could feel her eyes on him, if only for a few seconds, and he turned his head back to the front, where all the politics were being discussed. Uncle Luke was up there, Pellaeon was up there -- she was up there. People were moving across his line of vision, cutting the shot he had towards her; they were just dark blurs in front of his eyes, passing through the line of energy between them.

Jacen could feel the spark every time she glanced towards him, or tilted her head in his direction. Their love was supposed to be secret, well masked. But anyone who knew the two well enough knew that it was difficult for them to keep it that way. He watched her toss her hair behind her shoulder with a shake of her head. He knew she cared for the peace of the galaxy and all that, but he could tell she was bored.

So with a glint in his eyes, he moved silently through the shadows at the back of the hall and leaned against a column near the side doors. They led to a narrow corridor that ran along the side of the Great Hall; the kitchen was back there, the guest refreshers, things of that sort. Jacen only knew because he had done a little exploring before, during a particularly tiresome speech from a Bothan official.

She was talking to some other stuffy looking men now, most likely from Fondor or some place of that sort -- and Jacen took that moment to open their connection and make it more sharp than normal. He saw her head tilt slightly; he knew she felt him through the Force. And for a split second he sent her a flash of something. Just an image. A picture of the future.

An arm around a set of broad shoulders, legs around a waist, lips brushing across the soft spot behind an ear.

He saw her tense up.

It made his lips upturn. He waited a few moments before feeding her another one through their bond -- this one being the same image, only this time it was a few seconds longer.

He knew what she was experiencing in her mind's eye; he knew exactly what he was making her see.

Copper hair thrown back, the Solo grin was apparent as she pulled him closer, his jacket falling to the floor.

Their connection went black. Jacen knew he was teasing her. She was good though, he could admit that -- she still looked tense, but she was carrying on conversation quite nicely.

"Oh yeah. Okay Princess. You want to play dirty." Under his breath he spoke, the music and the crowd so loud it drowned his mumbles out.

Another set of images.

The Solo grin was still there, and his hands were there as well, riding up her legs under her gown as he leaned forward, their lips meeting. He had her sitting up on the sink of the guest refresher, the door locked. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and the cloak that covered her bare shoulders had slid to the floor around his feet. She had been working at the clasps on his shirt while his lips trailed across her collarbone and up her neck to her jawline, where his breath shuddered in her ear.

At the front of the room, Tenel Ka dropped her glass.

Jacen hadn't realized he had poured emotion behind that last playful one-sided exchange, as well as the sudden heat he felt under the high collar of his dress uniform. He didn't look back up to her as he slipped from the crowd and the hall, out into the corridor, straight into the refresher.

He had no idea how long he had been in there, splashing cold water on his face -- but not long after, he was joined by her. She had locked the door behind her.

They exchanged no words as she stepped towards the sink he stood in front of; they just traded glances in the long mirror above the basin for a few moments.

After that, Jacen made no hesitation in turning around and pulling her towards him, his hands working over the silk of her gown.

Nobody knew anything about what went on in that guest refresher besides the two of them -- well, almost nobody knew.

After roughly an hour, a mere ten minutes after Tenel Ka emerged brushing her hand back through her hair and straightening her simple tiara, Jacen slipped out of the refresher, casually glancing around the empty corridor.

"Solo! Did you find Zekk?" Kyp came bounding up to him.

He shook his head in response.

Kyp was about to ramble on about something else when he stopped and narrowed his eyes. "What were you doing in there?"

"...cleaning up?"

"Mmmmhmm." Kyp paused, arching an eyebrow. He was enjoying the fact that he had caught Jacen Solo doing something that could almost be considered bad. "I think the correct answer to the question 'what were you doing in there' -- would've been 'the Queen Mother'..."

With a smirk, Durron spun around and swaggered back towards the Great Hall, leaving Jacen to exhale a breath he hadn't even realized he had been holding.

"Cleaning up. Good one, Jacen." he mumbled to himself, his lips proudly wearing the Solo grin.