Jysella sighed exaggeratedly and tucked her legs up underneath her body. She halfheartedly scratched a few characters onto her flimsy pad, careful not to let her brother see her scratching the name 'Solo' behind her own. She'd never hear the end of it, and then there was the possibility that her father would find out, and Jacen would die, and then there would be the whole complication of a funeral…better to keep her daydreams hidden, she thought, smirking. She liked Jacen in one piece. Her smirk faded into a glare after a moment, though, when she thought of Jacen. Jysella slammed her pen down onto the pad of flimsy and glared menacingly at Valin.
He didn't even look up. Nerf.
Nerf who was currently monopolizing the only holoterminal in the apartment. She only had a brief amount of time in which she could get a message off to Jacen, and stupid Valin was wasting that time looking at smashball scores! And, of course, there was nothing she could say to him about it, without blowing her cover, which brought her back to her initial thought—she much preferred the living, breathing Jacen to a version that had been skewered on her father's lightsaber.
Damn.
Jysella sighed again, louder this time. Valin glanced in her direction briefly, but soon went back to his smashball scores.
"What's with you?"
"I need to use the terminal."
"No, you don't."
Great bleeding stars, he was annoying.
"Valin, has anyone ever told you you're an ass-pain of monumental proportions?"
"Jysella, has anyone ever told you your nagging voice brings to mind a female hawk-bat laying eggs?"
She wrinkled her nose in distaste. Impossible man. Without response she picked up her flimsy pad and stomped from the room. You'd think that he'd have matured after all these years, but no. Valin's ability to behave like a four-year-old was still in tip-top condition.
Jysella could hear him typing furiously now, probably to one of his bimbo girlfriends. It wasn't fair. He had a new girlfriend every week, and got to talk to them all he wanted. She only had one boyfriend, only ever planned on having one boyfriend, and only got to talk to him at certain times! Why did Valin have to be romancing one of his little plastic dolls now?
Ugh, brothers. There were times when she liked him, sure, but most of the time his presence was like a constant pricklebush itch scratching the back of her neck. Most of the time she just wanted to scratch him out.
For now, she'd just have to settle for scratching words into her flimsy pad. As it was, she was unlikely to get her letter off now. There was only a half-hour left in the communication window that had opened as the New Republic ship Bourin passed over Corellia, and Valin didn't show any signs of giving up the terminal. Jys frowned momentarily, her heart sinking a bit. She and Jacen wouldn't have another chance for communication until the end of his six-month voyage as chief medical officer aboard the vessel—a voyage that wouldn't end for another month. Disappointment coiled through her body and squeezed hard enough to ache, centering in her chest and a dull throb behind her eyes. Jysella swiped at her eyes angrily and slammed her hand down on the glass surface of the table where she sat.
Sometimes she hated her brother.
Taking a deep breath, Jysella brought her pen to the flimsy.
Jacen,
I'm sorry I didn't get to write you before. It's not my fault my mother gave birth to the largest nerf in the galaxy who won't give up the holoterminal to boot. Since you'll probably never get this, I don't feel bad about telling you that I really want to cry right now. I kinda like you, you know, and I really wish…I really wished I'd be able to get you a letter off. I hope you don't think I've forgotten…
Kriff, I'm really bad at this. I miss you, you giant nerf, and I really don't wanna wait another six months before I can see you again.
Yours,
Jys
She laid down the pen and let her head drop to her hands on the table. That twist in her gut was growing worse, and Jysella balled her hands into fists to fight the shudder that was trying to rack her body. This whole secrecy thing really sucked. They were adults, for Force's sake…it shouldn't have to be this hard. She was going to talk to Jacen about it as soon as the Bourindocked next month.
"But I want to talk about it now."
Jysella leapt to her feet as her heart took up lodging in her throat. He was wet from the rain outside, dark hair falling into hazel eyes and a smile lighting his face like she'd never seen before. Within moments, she found herself wrapped in his arms and her head buried into a strong shoulder that smelled vaguely of rainwater and antiseptic. She leaned backwards to look at him, to cup his cheek with her hands as her mouth desperately tried to find the words for her surprise. Her mouth, however, was otherwise occupied shortly afterwards.
"How?" she gasped when they finally parted.
"As soon as we got into communications range, I got a call…"
"Because, you know Jys, you've been moping all week and it was getting really annoying."
Valin was standing in the doorway to the living room, elbow resting against the frame with an insufferable smile on his face. He nodded amicably to Jacen, as if they'd already spoken and everything that had needed to be said, had been said.
"You know?"
Valin snorted. "You've been acting all lovesick for weeks, Jysella. Moping around, writing all the time," he smirked. "Doodling Solo's name all over your notebooks."
Jacen quirked his eyebrow, and Jysella blushed. "Shut up, both of you."
"I've been granted a week of leave, and I was hoping I could spend it here…I want to talk to your parents." Jacen smiled at him, passing his hand over her hair.
"And I'll make sure he survives it."
Looking from one man, to another, Jysella laughed aloud and launched herself into Jacen's arms. As she clung to him, Valin winked at her from over his shoulder as he turned back into the living room and sat back down to his smashball scores.
Sometimes, she loved her brother.