Star Wars
RI 2000-2002
Disclaimer: I own only this fic
Notes: general craziness.
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It was the early in the sleep cycle.
Jag Fel was stretched out on the narrow bed in his quarters when his door sighed open. There was a blur between his door and his bed and then a weight crashed down on top of him.
Gently, of course.
Jaina's dark shiny hair formed a curtain around their heads as she smiled at him from atop his chest. "I found some time." She crossed her arms over his collarbone and brushed her hair back.
Jag slid one hand beneath his head. The other trailed to Jaina's waist. He searched her face carefully, seeing the weariness beneath the cheerful smile. He scooped her bangs aside and tucked them behind her ear. Softly he said, "You look tired."
The humorous glow faded from her face. She suddenly became a very wrung out young woman. "I haven't been able to get much sleep. Aside from the sessions with Sharr and Piggy and the regular paperwork that comes with a squadron, Wedge wants status on pilots, ships and parts for each squadron. It's just not leaving me enough time for trivial things like sleep."
Jag kissed her chin. "Anything I can do?"
"Yeah. Hide me."
Jag made a small show of looking around his small, sparse quarters. "Where precisely?" His moment of silliness had the desired effect to make Jaina smile again. She frowned again just as quickly. "I think they're getting ready to says something about our relationship," she told him.
"They who?"
Jaina rolled her eyes. "Who else? Piggy and Sharr. They-"
Jag stopped her with a gentle finger to her lips. Jaina watched him with large dark eyes. Jag could feel her lips tremble beneath his fingertip. He let his hand drop from her mouth and she remained silent. "Don't waste time and energy worrying about them right now." he lifted his head to kiss her, then slid her, settling her against his right side in the crook of his shoulder. Jaina pushed her left hand beneath his shoulder blade and rested the fingers of her right hand on the hollow of his collarbone. His skin was warm through his shirt and she felt the occasional tremor race over his skin.
Jag waited until she stopped moving and gently rubbed her back through her soft shirt, trailing his knuckles up and down her spine in a slow soothing rhythm. She reacted to his touch, her skin shivering and flinching as his fingers brushed down her back. He would stop as he found little knots of tense muscle and work them firmly until they loosened. She sounded drowsy when she spoke again.
"I miss my family. I miss Chewbacca and Anakin and Jasa, and the way we used to be as children." It was not a subject she had ever brought up before.
"How young as children?" Jag's voice was low and soft.
"No older than twelve, Jasa and I. That would make Anakin ten or so." Jaina shifted against him. "Sometimes very early in the mornings, we'd go out exploring. Jacen always found these fascinating things, like spiderwebs with dew on them, and Anakin was good at finding new spots. We explored the jungle all around the Temple.
"We'd do things at night, too. Sometimes all three of us would climb up to the Great Temple's roof and lay down. We'd spend hours up there looking at the stars." Jag felt her smile against his shoulder. "After we found all the known constellations, we made up our own. Jacen made animals. Anakin and I made up ships."
She was quiet for so long Jag thought she had fallen asleep. "We didn't do everything together. Anakin spent a lot of his time by himself. I didn't like animals the way Jacen did and he couldn't figure out why Anakin and I loved to tinker with the Falcon. Sometimes we'd go up there in pairs, or alone.
"I've been on hundreds of worlds and seen billions and billions of stars, but it was never like Yavin. Never exactly the same stars, never exactly in the same place. I still look at the stars, but it isn't the same. I'm alone because there isn't another choice. It's been so long since I've seen Yavin that I can't quite remember all the stars… I'm even having trouble remembering Jacen's and Anakin's constellations now."
Hot tears threatened to spill. She held them back, inviting the painful stinging as something to concentrate on, something else to think of rather than the deep-seated ache in her soul that wanted to push her to the brink of her sanity. She had been there once, and had almost lost Jag because of it. She would not go there again.
Jag held her silently in the midst of her struggle. He brought his hand from behind his head to rest on her elbow. Jaina turned her head, rubbing her stinging cheeks on the curve of his strong shoulder. He didn't seem to mind. She shifted, pressing herself more fully into his side. The scents of filter-scrubbed air and crisp-smelling soap were comforting.
"I'm sorry. I know how much you miss your brothers. I miss my brother and sister as well."
Jaina sniffed. Jag didn't offer any further information and she didn't push. They lay silently. The tension in her body slowly slipped away. She was inclined to lie there for the rest of the night.
Jag's comlink chirped.
Jaina groaned. "I'm not hearing that." His shoulder muffled her voice. Jag gave her an apologetic kiss on forehead, then reached for the small device. He thumbed it on. "Colonel Fel here."
"Colonel." It was his uncle's voice. "I've been made aware that Jaina is not with Kyp Durron. Is she with you?"
Jag glanced down at Jaina; she had tilted her head up and was staring back. Her liquid brown eyes gleamed in the minimal light . Jag sighed inaudibly. "Yes, the Goddess is here." He solemnly winked at Jaina.
"Very well Colonel. Goodnight."
Jaina grabbed the comlink from Jag's hand and forcefully switched it off. She threw it in the near-pitch blackness of his room and Jag heard it bounce on a pile of dirty clothing. "I don't know what that was about," she said.
"Neither do I," Jag said thoughtfully. He glanced down as Jaina sighed and reluctantly sat up. "I need to go. Dad wants some quality time and I don't have the reports from the squadron techs yet."
Jaina nimbly climbed over him. Jag wondered if she was aware of what she was doing when her legs and fingers slid over his chest. He was certainly aware of it. Jaina stepped off the bed and leaned back over to give him a soft, lingering kiss. "Goodnight Jag. Get some sleep."
"You too." Jag winced when light from the hallway hit his eyes, but it was gone just as quickly as the door shut behind Jaina.
Jag stared up at his ceiling for a long time though he could not see it in the darkness. A shadow of a speculative frown crossed his face, replaced by a small grin.
* * *
Han Solo was upside down and feet over head in a compartment when Jaina found him. Still unaware of her presence he continued to work, occasionally grunting. Only if a listener was a Wookie or understood the language would they know than Han was muttering the most vile curses he could think of. There was a sharp clank of metal and another blistering curse--this time in Basic. Han's hand appeared at the edge of the opening, searching for a hydrospanner just out of his reach. Jaina picked it up and pressed it into his hand. Han was still for a moment, then closed his fingers around the tool and resumed his work.
As easily as that, they had slipped back into their old routine.
For nearly an hour Jaina sat cross-legged beside the hole that had half-swallowed her father, using the Force and basic mechanical knowledge to anticipate what tool he needed. They said nothing to one another; the only words uttered by Han were dire threats to cantankerous objects.
Jaina was aware that Leia had arrived and was watching them from the galley. The smell of brewing caf was what finally brought Han out of the dirty access shaft. He wiped his hands on a rag and kissed Jaina to share the wealth of grease on his face. She frowned and scrubbed her face. Together they got up and joined Leia in the galley, each with the own fresh cup of caf.
They talked of nothing important for twenty minutes, until the datapad in Jaina's outer cargo pocket began to beep. She sighed and pulled it out. The reports from the techs were in. Jaina drained the last of her caf. "I have to go. Goddess stuff and commander stuff to do."
"Bye honey." Han watched his daughter wearily leave the Falcon, then turned to his wife. "She's not sleeping."
Leia looked as concerned as he did but she made no move. "She has important duties, Han. There isn't always time for sleep."
"She's a goddess, right? She could demand the time to sleep." He argued.
"She could also insist that Kyp or Jag do her dirty work. She won't because we raised her to be responsible."
"Well, that was stupid," Han drawled. He leaned back and slung his arm over the seatback. "Now, about the Fel kid."
Leia hid a smile. "What about him?"
"Is there something going on between him and Jaina?"
"You'll have to ask them-"
"Cut it out, Leia. I'm not an idiot--I see the way he looks at my little girl."
"…Yes, there is."
Han scowled at the wall behind Leia. "I don't like this."
Leia laid her hand over his. "I don't think it's his intention to hurt her, Han. He doesn't seem to be the type who makes attachments or abandons them easily."
"Not what I'm worried about." Han said. "He's a good-looking, twenty-year-old hotshot and he's a full blooded Corellian. And my daughter is smart and beautiful and capable. And that's why I'm worried," he finished emphatically.
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Coming soon: part three of this nutball saga….