Title: Day Like Any Other
Author: DaenaBenjen42
Characters: Mara, Luke, three OC's, Jacen, Jaina...
Timeframe: Set after Obsessed With Flowers (How long? Oh... a while...)
Summary: So what happens when there's a surprise announcement and the twins have a meditation mess up?
Disclaimer: Other than the OCs, not mine. Am borrowing.
Notes: This was originally written for a Guess the Fanfic Writer challenge.
Mara stared at her daughter for a long moment, unsure of what to say. Probing with the force, she confirmed what the nineteen year old had just told her. Slowly, Mara sat down and massaged her temples. "Riana..."
"I really didn't want to say anything, you know?" Riana looked away when her mother looked up and glared at her. "But this is what happened. I can't change it."
"I know... Do you want it?" Mara's gaze turned hard when Riana glanced back at her. Riana hesitated, then nodded.
"Yes."
"And what did Solen say?"
"He's a man, mother. What do you think he said?"
"You haven't told him." It wasn't a question.
"No, not yet. I was afraid to... He'll be here later."
Mara stared at her. "What?"
"We had a date. You know, before I figured it out."
The stood there in silence for a long minute before Mara sighed again. "Fine, then. You go find him now and come back here. You will both tell your father. Together."
Riana waited outside the apartment door for Solen to arrive home, scared out of her mind that this would end their relationship for good. She couldn't shake the feeling that something more was going on. It was something... elusive, and Riana couldn't put her finger on it.
She considered the feeling for a little while, then shrugged it off when she felt Solen approach. She smiled at him as he pulled her into an embrace. "Hey."
Solen held her there a moment, then smiled down at her. "Hey, yourself... what's up? We were supposed to meet later."
"Plans got altered a little," Riana said earnestly. "Solen... you love me, right?"
Solen nodded. "I love you, Rye. I have since the first moment we met."
"Will you marry me?"
"Is this a proposal?" he asked playfully.
"Yes."
"Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" He had so wanted to be the first one to ask it.
"I'm taking the initiative," Riana said lightly. "Well?"
"Yes, Riana Skywalker. I will marry you. Will you marry me?" Here Solen pulled a ring box out of his pocket and opened it. "I was going to ask you at dinner, but since we're both here..."
Riana stared first at the ring, then at him. "You went ring shopping? For me?"
"I planned to ask you tonight... well?"
"Yes... but first, I have something to tell you..."
The following revelation didn't really surprise him much. He'd suspected as much for a while.
Riana walked with Solen into her parent's apartment, and found... her cousins arguing in the living room and both her parents standing on either side, trying to figure it out. "Uh..."
Mara saw Riana and shook her head, mouthing: "We don't know."
Riana nodded and tried to lead Solen back out of the room. "This isn't the best time, hon..."
Solen resisted her pull, and frowned. "What does she mean? Isn't Jaina a mechanic or something?"
Riana stopped and listened.
Jacen: "...and I don't even LIKE your crystal snake!"
Jaina: "Well don't like your engine parts all over the place!"
Jacen: "I'm not going on your date with Tenel Ka!"
Jaina: "Then I'm not going on yours with Zekk!"
Jacen: "Fine!"
Jaina: "Fine!"
Riana blinked, surprised. "What is this? Role reversal day or something?"
Jaina turned to see Riana and Solen standing there, and sighed in relief. "Thank you, Ri Ri. That's what we've been trying to explain."
Luke caught Mara's eye and he shot her a look that asked if she knew what was going on. Mara shrugged again. "Since when do you call her 'Ri Ri', Jaina?"
"She doesn't," Riana said calmly, shifting her gaze to 'Jacen.' "Or rather, if I'm understanding this correctly, SHE doesn't. But Jacen does... or at least he did. When we were little."
"Huh?" Mara asked. "I'm not sure I understand."
"He who likes animals is claiming not to like his own crystal snake?" Riana asked her, eyebrows raised. She waited for her parents to get it, then smiled openly when they looked at Jacen and Jaina with new understanding. "When did this happen, anyway?"
'Jacen' sighed. "Earlier today."
"Let me get this straight," Luke said, still trying to figure it out. "You're NOT Jaina?"
'Jaina' shook her head. "No."
"And you're NOT Jacen?"
'Jacen' shook his head. "No."
"Oh... How did this happen?"
'Jaina' shrugged. "We're not exactly sure."
"One moment, we were meditating, and the next thing we know, we're each other..." 'Jacen' continued to explain. "And because we didn't know what to do about it, we decided to wait it out..."
"...which led to me helping Dad fix the Falcon and doing poorly at it, and Jaina tending to my medical duties..."
"...with even less success than Ben had on his first day as a healer. I'm glad Ben was there, or it would have been a mess."
"More of a mess than it was," 'Jaina' muttered. 'Jacen' glared at her.
Luke stepped in before they could start in on each other again. "All right, you two. Let's go see what we can do about this, shall we?" He led them out of the room. At the entryway, he stopped and glanced back at Mara. "You have potpourri burning anywhere?"
Mara shook her head. "No. Why?"
"Nothing. Must be my imagination." He shrugged and continued on his way.
Riana looked at her mother for a long moment. "Potpourri?"
"Force is trying to tell him something," Mara told her shortly.
"With potpourri?"
"I was pregnant with you at the time, sweetie. It had nothing to do with potpourri." Mara turned and surveyed the man standing next to her daughter. "Speaking of which... hello, Solen."
Solen met her gaze evenly. "Mrs. Skywalker."
"Solen and I are getting married," Riana blurted suddenly, unable to keep it in any longer.
"Huh? I thought you were just going to go and get him and... wait. Now the two of you are getting married?" Mara looked first at Solen, then at her beaming daughter.
Solen smiled uneasily. "I was going to ask at dinner tonight, but she preempted me and asked first."
"So you know." At his nod, she turned her gaze to Riana, who was still smiling from ear to ear. "And?"
"Now he'll be less mad?"
"Less mad about what?" Talina asked, coming into the living room from the direction of the front door.
"It's not important, Talina," Mara said without taking her gaze off Riana. "Go take a shower."
Talina frowned. "But I just got here."
"Talina..." Mara said warningly.
"Okay, I'm going, I'm going."
Riana chuckled when her younger sister was out of earshot. "Did you really have to do that?"
"Yes," Mara said flatly.
"With all due respect, Mrs. Skywalker, I love your daughter and I want to marry her." Solen pulled Riana closer to him. "This just makes me love her more."
Mara's eyes bored into him, probing for the truth of that statement. Finally she smiled. "I believe you. It's the corniest thing I've heard since... well, all right... since my husband proposed to me. Twice. In hospital wear."
Riana looked at her funny. "I thought dad proposed while you were on a mission or something?"
Mara sighed. There went all her built-up allusions...
Luke came back into the living room with a heavy frown. "I don't know how they managed to do that, but..." He stopped when he saw that Mara was alone on the couch and reading a data padd. "Mara?"
Mara motioned for him to sit down beside her. "There's something you need to know, farmboy."
Luke sat down and turned to her. "All right. What is this mysterious thing you need to tell me?"
"Riana and Solen are getting married..." Mara waited for that to sink in, and then dropped the other bomb. "...and we're going to be grandparents."
"Oh? Are Ben and Myri going to have their first?"
"No."
Luke stared at her, not understanding. If it wasn't Ben, and Talina wasn't even seeing anyone, then that left... "Oh."
Mara winced at the emotional energy that was radiating off him. "The way I understand it, she proposed first, and he was going to ask her at dinner tonight."
"Is that the reason they're getting married?"
"I... I'm not certain." Mara scooted closer to him and made him look her in the eyes. "But what do you think? It's... our first."
Luke took her in his arms and breathed in the smell of her hair. "I think I like the idea. Not the way I expected and it's a surprise, but I like the idea of being a granpa."
"I love you, farmboy."
Talina came out into the living room in a bathrobe, her hair wrapped in a towel, radiating confusion. "Why are Jaina and Jacen in my room in a meditation trance?"
Mara and Luke looked at her, looked at each other, and burst into laughter.
"What? Was it something I said?"
Fini
