Title: Poprocks and Coke
Rating: K+
Summary: Jacen might have fallen, but he's not the one with the nightmares. JTK.
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars/Young Jedi Knights, no money made, etc. etc. etc…
This was written during my double French lesson (boring!), and as I had Green Day on the brain, I accidentally put in some lyrics from one of their songs ('Poprocks and Coke', surprisingly enough!) and so I named it after that song. (Kinda random, I know.)
Oh, hang on a sec. I guess I need this.
Disclaimer No. 2: I don't own 'Poprocks and Coke' and my only association with Green Day is through my deep and undying love for them. Mmmm… Green Day…
Anyway.
Poprocks and Coke
He closed his eyes as he fell, his brown hair gusting around his face. The scream that had been torn from his throat had faded, and his limbs no longer fought the irresistible premise of gravity, just hung limb, buffeted by the winds.
Tiny tear squeezed out of his eyes and were whipped away, overtaken by his wild plunge, cast away, unheeded. For a second his fingers clenched into tight fists, railing against his fate and his eyes snapped open, the brown orbs brimming with determination.
And then, as he saw the drop before him, all hope drained out of his body, and his fists uncurled, and he fell faster and faster towards his death.
>>>>>>>>>
Tenel Ka jerked awake with a gasp, a cry of pain and grief on her lips, the dream still vividly imprinted on her mind. She was vaguely aware of warm arms around her, holding her close, a hand stroking her hair gently. A sob escaped her lips, and she rolled closer to Jacen, pressing her forehead to his bare shoulder, reassuring herself that he was still there, that he wasn't falling, that he was safe. "Ssh," he whispered to her, soothing her. "It's okay. I'm here."
"You… died," she managed, and she felt his stiffen slightly. Her shoulders had stopped shaking so much but she stayed in the same position, needing the safety that she felt in his arms. "You were falling…"
She felt Jacen lightly kiss the top of her head, his hands stroking her back gently. He just held her for a minute, and then drew back slightly, looking down at her. "Cloud City," he said softly, finally, not a question but a statement.
Tenel Ka nodded her head against his collarbone, her shaking fingers skating through the fine hairs on his chest. "Every night the same," she said softly. "You fall, and I know that…" She trailed off, her throat constricting.
"I'm not dead," he said slowly, deliberately, calmly. She could tell he was forcing his experience to the back of his mind, forgetting it, and knew that she should do the same.
But she couldn't.
She sniffed softly. "I thought you were," she murmured. "I thought you'd just fallen out of my life and that…" Her voice faltered again, but she swallowed determinedly. "I convinced myself that it was my fault."
"What?" His tone was incredulous, and she couldn't force himself to look at his face. "You thought what? How? How could you ever think that?"
Tenel Ka sniffed again, and then leaned against her head against his chest. "When we were first building our lightsaber, and in the first training session—"
He swallowed. "That was something I didn't need to be reminded about."
She ignored him. "I was so anxious to be ready, to impress you, that I rushed to complete my lightsaber, and it failed." She glanced down at her arm. "If I hadn't been so impatient, then I would still have my arm and I would have been able to catch you. I would've caught you before you fell."
"No," he said firmly. He slipped two fingers under her chin and tilted her head back, locking their gazes, his brown eyes boring into hers. "No," he repeated, firmer still. "It was never your fault. Ever. If anything bad happened to me, and it by the way, it didn't, it would have been no one's fault." He paused, thinking. "Well, maybe the guy who did the bad thing to me," he conceded, drawing a rare smile from Tenel Ka, even though tears shone in her eyes.
"You are right," she replied softly, her fingers moving up to his face and stroking his cheek.
"Damn right I am," he said sternly. "And don't you forget it." Laughter shone in his eyes and he reached up, pressing her hand to his face, holding it there. "Don't ever forget it," he repeated, his voice softer.
She smiled shakily. "When you fell, the thing I most regretted was never telling you what I felt for you," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "And I regretted that…" She swallowed, nervous, but he wound his fingers into her hair and kissed her forehead. She leaned her cheek against his neck, breathing in deeply, inhaling his scent. "I regretted that the only time I ever kissed you, I made it into a joke."
"Yeah," he said softly, the vibrations caused by the word thrumming against Tenel Ka's skin. "But it was a nice joke, if a bit… embarrassing."
She smiled. "I agree, my Jacen," she replied.
"Good," he replied, equally as quiet.
She pulled back slightly and leaned up, gently pressing her lips to his. He kissed her back tenderly, his hands sliding around her waist.
She finally broke the kiss, and looked up at him, granite-grey orbs connecting with brandy-brown. "Will you be here?" she asked softly.
Jacen smiled. "Always and forever," he replied, leaning his forehead against hers, their eyes remaining locked. "I'll never leave you. No matter what happens, whatever evils sweep through the galaxy, I'll be here for you." He smiled wider, breaking into the lopsided Solo grin. "Wherever you go, you know I'll be there."
Tenel Ka smiled back. "You don't have to," she murmured. "I don't mind. As long as you're somewhere."
"I don't care if you don't mind," he replied rapidly, still grinning. "I'll be there, and not far behind." His grin slipped a little, became more melancholy. "I'll go anywhere for you."
She leaned up and kissed him softly again, smiling. "Just be here when I wake up," she whispered.
He kissed her forehead softly. "I will," he replied. "I love you."
She smiled, contented, and leaned her head against his neck, brushing his skin with the tips of her fingers, feeling his blood pulse against her hand. "I love you too," she replied, and closed her eyes again.
He snaked his arms around her waist again, and leaned his cheek against her red-gold hair. "G'night," he said softly.
"…be here…?"
He smiled. "I'll always be here."
end