*OK, so I had to cut it down into two parts.

*scrap that. I just keep writing more and more. I can't help it!

*I don't own Kyp or Jaina, or Mara, or anybody

*Except Ben, in that fangirly way

~~

Jaina sat on the edge of the chair she'd been in earlier, this time with Kyp leaning against it. Tahiri and Tekli had just left, and now Danni and Jacen were saying their good-byes. Through the door, she saw the Sekotan sky glowing slightly purple and hazy as nighttime fell. Ben was curled up in Mara's arms, not quite asleep, but not quite awake either. Jaina smiled at him, and he smiled sleepily back.

"Bye, Jacen. Look out for yourself, OK?"

Jacen sighed and glanced over at Jaina ruefully. "Sure, Mom. I always do."

"And you, Danni. Make sure he does."

Danni grinned at Leia. "Ah, of course. I'm sure he'll be fine. I'll make sure he changes his underwear every day and everything."

Jacen turned slightly red, and Leia laughed at him. "Thanks."

Jaina jumped up and ran over to Jacen before he turned to go, grabbing him in a hug. "Nice seeing you again, Jace."

"You too, sis." Jacen glanced over her shoulder to Kyp, and then back at Jaina. "Look after yourself and all, right?"

She grinned that famous Solo grin at him, and shook her head mockingly. "I always do."

He shook his own head, smiling at her, and then pulled away to reach an arm around Danni. "Bye, everyone. And hope you had a good birthday, Ben!"

Ben yawned and opened his eyes, looking over at Jacen. "Bye Jasa, bye Danni. Thanks…" He trailed off and frowned thoughtfully, as if trying to remember something. Mara whispered in his ear, and he smiled again. "Oh yeah! Thanks for presents, very nice of you."

Jacen grinned and reached over to tousle Ben's hair. "Our pleasure, little guy." And then the couple turned to walk out the door and into the Sekotan night, back to home.

Jaina glanced back at Kyp as he straightened and walked over from the chair. He smiled at her and turned to face everyone else. "Uh, guess it's time for me to go too. Thanks for inviting me and everything, I had a great time today."

He reached out a hand to shake Han's, and Han batted it away and pulled him into a brief hug. "Great to see you again, kid. But, uh…" He lowered his voice, and glanced pointedly at Jaina. "Watch yourself."

Kyp smiled wryly and nodded, turning to Leia.

Leia had a diplomatic expression on her face, and her voice was steady and casual, offering no hint to her emotions. "Nice to see you, Kyp. It's good to see you're well…"

He smiled briefly at her and turned to Mara. Mara simply glared at him again, and he tried not to shiver as he quickly turned to Luke.

Luke tilted his head to the side as he stared at Kyp for a second, still with the same slightly amused expression on his face. He shook his head and sighed, and reached out to shake Kyp's hand. "Thanks for coming, Kyp. I'm glad you accepted our-" He glanced sideways at Mara. "-my invitation. I think it meant a lot to Ben." And, he added silently, Jaina.

"Yeah. Well, I had fun. Uh – good-bye, Ben. And happy birthday again."

Ben stared at Kyp for a second, then pulled himself out of his mother's arms and ran over to him. "Bye, Kee! Thanks for come to party, and see me and Jaya!"

Jaina flushed and tried to glare at Ben, but he was too cute and innocent to stay angry with, so she decided to glare at Kyp instead.

"What?" he asked innocently, smirking. "Nice to see you too, Jaina." He stepped over and pulled her into a hug, pulling back quickly as he felt Mara's glare on him yet again. "Don't leave it so long next time, right?"

She sighed and shook her head, then decided something quickly. "I'll walk you home."

Kyp stared at her curiously, then followed her glance at Mara and grinned with sudden understanding. "Right, Sticks. Better get going then, before it gets too dark."

Leia seemed about to protest, but she caught Luke's slight shake of the head and his still-amused expression. Instead, she settled for a warning. "Careful out there, Jaina."

"Yeah, Mom. Of course." Staring pointedly at Kyp, Jaina stepped forward and then followed him out. "I'll be back soon."

~~

As soon as he and Jaina were into the tampasi and out of sight of the door, Kyp slipped his arm around her shoulder and smiled as she leaned her head on his own shoulder. "So what was that about?"

Jaina groaned quietly. "You saw Aunt Mara. As soon as you'd left, she would have trapped me in a corner and questioned me totally."

"I thought she did that this afternoon."

"Mm. But then you went and hugged me, and I stuck with you the whole time, and…" She sighed. "She just-"

"Doesn't like me."

"No-"

Kyp waved a hand impatiently. "Yeah, yeah… But I can see her point. She doesn't trust me and she thinks you shouldn't either, and after all, you are still with Jag." He glanced at her and kept his tone casual. "Right?"

Jaina sighed and leaned into him. "Yeah, I am." But she offered no further comment, and Kyp was forced to continue himself.

"So…" He hesitated. "What are we, then?"

Jaina sighed again. "We're friends."

"Friends," he repeated dryly.

"Yeah. Really good, close friends… but friends."

Kyp twisted his mouth and glanced at her again. "And that's it."

"It's – I mean, we're really good friends, but you know it can't be anything more than that."

He stopped and pulled his arm away, looking at Jaina as she turned to question him. Her eyes met his and he spoke softly. "Can't it?"

She chewed at her bottom lip, and when her answer came, it lacked the conviction she'd had. "You know it can't… But look, we're partners, and friends, and that's for always, right?"

He smiled ruefully at her. "I did promise that, yeah."

"Right," she said as if that settled it. "Always."

It was Kyp's turn to sigh, and he slipped his arm round Jaina again and continued walking. "Of course."

~~

They walked the rest of the way in a comfortable silence. Jaina leaned her head against Kyp's shoulder, marvelling at the way it fit so perfectly, how his arm felt so right around her. Well, it had done back three months ago – no reason why it shouldn't still.

When they reached Kyp's small house, he had to take his arm away to unlock and open the door, and Jaina shivered at the sudden cold that surrounded her. She looked up at Kyp and he smirked knowingly – so he had seen. She rolled her eyes and pushed him playfully, and he fell against the doorjamb, and then straightened again.

"Coming in?"

Jaina thought for a second. Well, why not? No point rushing back to her aunt's interrogation just yet. "Sure. Just for a while."

He waved her in and closed the door behind them, then moved over and fell into his chair. He opened his mouth to tell Jaina to sit down, but realised he only had one chair. How stupid. But then, he'd never really intended to entertain guests.

Jaina looked round, then shrugged and sat on the armrest of Kyp's chair. After a brief second, he slipped his arms round her and pulled her into his lap, and she only put up a mock struggle before relaxing there, her head back against his shoulder and his arms around her stomach.

"Stay," he murmured into her ear.

She smiled sadly and shook her head. "Can't. We're staying with Uncle Luke and Aunt Mara… just think what her questions would be like if I stayed here, huh?"

Kyp pulled a face, but had to agree. "No need to hurry back though, right?"

"Mm. I'll try and wait a while… I have no desire to go straight back and get my head bitten off. But then, the longer I stay here, the worse it'll be."

"Then forget about it, stay the night and put up with the questions tomorrow."

Jaina laughed quietly. "Seriously? I don't think so. You have no idea how bad Aunt Mara gets sometimes."

"I have every idea of how bad she gets, and that's why you need to forget about it for a while and just relax."

"You know I can't stay, Kyp. You know what would happen."

He did. But then, part of him said; that's why he'd asked. "Is it such a bad thing?"

She sighed and squirmed in his arms for a second – having entirely the wrong effect on him, he thought ironically. She seemed to realise and stopped suddenly. "I can't do that, Kyp, and you know it."

Yeah. "Because of Flyboy, right?"

She sighed again. "Partly because of Jag, yes. But also because you know it can't work. We're friends. We can't… We're not that. Not anymore." Still her voice didn't hold the conviction her words suggested.

"We can be both."

"But I'm selfish – I want you and Jag in my life, and I can't have you as more than a friend because then Jag and I won't work out."

Kyp tried to make sense of this, but it was difficult. "So what you're saying is, you and Jag can't just be friends."

She nodded. "I think so, yeah. We're great friends just now, but that's just cause there's something else too. If that's taken away, I'm not sure our friendship can last. But with you, I've already got the best of friendships whether there's something more or not."

Kyp sighed. "So I'm relegated to second place as just the best friend, while Flyboy gets both."

"No! Being my best friend isn't second place… What we've got, it's something deeper… isn't it? We're partners and friends on a level beyond just normal…"

Kyp tried to smile. "I guess so. But it would be so much more…"

Jaina looked away, concentrating on a blank point on the wall. "I can't do that. I'm with Jag now... Sorry…"

Kyp pulled her into a tighter hug. "You don't have to choose, you know," he murmured. "I wouldn't mind."

Jaina shivered – why did his voice have to sound so good when he spoke into her ear like that? "You know I can't do that. I can't do it to Jag and I can't do it to you."

"I know." He sighed again. "You know I love you, Jaina… I can't help wanting more."

Jaina looked back at him, seeing the pleading and honesty in his eyes. Something quivered inside of her and she tried to ignore it. "Yeah. But I'm sorry…"

"OK. I suppose I can live with being the best friend." He looked seriously at her for a minute, holding her gaze. "But you know I'm always here for you, whatever happens, don't you?"

She smiled faintly and nodded, then started to pull away. "I should go." She flashed him a wry smile. "Or who knows what Aunt Mara will be thinking."

"Nothing true, unfortunately." He smirked at her, but it was without his usual cockiness. "Want me to come back with you?"

"I was supposed to have walked you home," she noted dryly, "it kind of defeats the purpose if you then take me back."

"Ah. Duly noted. But I'll see you tomorrow… right?"

Jaina nodded. "We're flying back to Mon Cal the day after tomorrow."

"OK." Kyp finally let go of her and she stood up carefully, yawning quietly. "You should straighten out your tunic," he commented, mocking her dry tone from earlier, "or who knows what Mara would think."

She laughed quietly, but did so. "See you tomorrow."

Kyp nodded, then stood up suddenly and drew her into another hug, tighter and longer than before. He quickly pressed his lips to hers for a half-second, and then pulled away, still holding her gaze. "Watch yourself," he told her softly.

She smiled faintly and nodded, stepping over to the door.

"Wait," he said, making her pause. "It's cold out, and this time you won't have my arm keeping you warm." He smirked again, then pulled off his cape and swept it round her shoulders, tying it at the neck. "Can't have you freezing to death now, can we?"

"Thanks," she said softly, reaching up self-consciously to touch the knot.

"Sure. Tomorrow, then."

Jaina nodded and turned, a brief blast of cold air entering the room as she left. But then the door closed, and the cold was gone, along with Jaina. Kyp sighed and fell back into the chair. Tomorrow. Why did it sound like a deadline?

~~

Mara looked up as the door opened, and tried to settle her features into a blank expression. But the effort was wasted when Jaina walked in, Durron's cape wrapped round her shoulders. The door closed again, and Jaina stood and looked at Mara.

"Tell me it's a souvenir of a kill or something."

Jaina rolled her eyes. "Kyp lent it to me cause he figured I'd be cold. And he was right," she added.

"Right. He's very caring, isn't he?"

"Well… yeah. Is that a bad thing?"

Mara held her niece's determined gaze for a second. "You tell me."

"Look, he's just a friend. I told you that this afternoon."

"Well, he's a very friendly friend, then."

"He just… we're close. But just close friends… Nothing more."

Mara lifted one eyebrow and studied Jaina again. She heard something in Jaina's voice that Jaina hadn't meant to show. Yes, she was hiding something. Whether Mara would be able to get it out of her or not, she wasn't sure.

"What have you got against Kyp?" Jaina asked suddenly.

"You want the obvious answer?"

Jaina refused to back off, her eyes still holding Mara's gaze.

"Fine. He's an arrogant, self-assured, cocky, nasty piece of work, that's what."

Jaina shook her head incredulously, and Mara had to hand it to her – she wasn't going to give up defending Durron.

"No, he's not. He might have been that once but he's changed."

Mara snorted. "Forgive me if I don't agree. You do remember what he's done, right? How he treated you?"

Jaina sighed, exasperated. "That was a long time ago. He's changed," she repeated.

"How can you be so sure?" Mara's voice lost its edge – she really was curious.

"Because I know him better than anyone and I just know it."

Mara shook her head, sensing she wasn't going to get anything better. "So you trust him."

"Of course."

Mara studied her niece for a moment longer, then shrugged. "I'm not going to say it's your own problem when he lets you down again, but you need to be careful, OK?"

"He won't. But I will be."

Mara nodded, and then failed to stifle a yawn. "I'm not even going to ask why you took so long. It's late, I'm going to bed." She turned to go, then glanced back at Jaina. "I mean it."

Jaina smiled faintly. "Right. Night, Aunt Mara."

Mara frowned slightly as she retired to bed, still annoyed and confused, but resigned. It was Jaina's life. Sure.

~~

Jaina turned over restlessly. She couldn't sleep and as she turned over for about the hundredth time, she realised why. Over the past four months she'd grown too used to having someone beside her, a warm body sleeping there. Whether it was Jag, as it had been most often… Or Kyp, like that first month.

She sighed and reached out in the Force, thinking to reassure herself. In the room next door was Ben, sleeping peacefully, dreaming childish, happy dreams. On the other side of her room were her parents, her mother worrying as always, but asleep, and her father, bright in that strange, non-Force way, sleeping soundly.

Her aunt and uncle were across the hall in their own room. Luke was asleep but still half-alert, always ready if he sensed anything out of place. Mara was the same beside him, but pre-occupied with worries. Jaina sighed. Why was her aunt so bothered about her and Kyp?

She reached further; out of the Skywalkers' house and letting her senses take in the marvel that was Zonama Sekot. There was so much life everywhere in the planet that it was hard to pick out individuals. But she tried, and eventually managed to sense her brother, asleep a kilometre or so away. Even further, she could sense Tahiri, stirring in her sleep.

Suddenly, she felt Kyp's presence – not asleep, but lying awake like she was now. She pulled back before he noticed her, and frowned. What was he doing still awake? It was far too late – or early, depending on how you looked at it, she thought wryly.

Apparently, her brush hadn't gone unnoticed – Kyp reached back questioningly, and she mentally smiled, trying to reassure him. He accepted it and left her with a comforting touch. Jaina shivered slightly – it had reminded her too much of what they used to be. And he probably knew that. She could almost see his classic smirk. Give it up, Kyp, she willed silently. Please.

She sighed. It was all good and well telling Kyp to stop, but what about herself? No matter how much she assured him that they were just friends… She couldn't help the feeling that hung around in her stomach. Even if she was with Jag now.

Jaina glanced round the room again and her eyes fell on Kyp's cape, neatly folded on the dresser. The smooth black material was lit softly by the glow from outside the window – although where exactly the glow was coming from, Jaina wasn't sure. There was no moon orbiting Zonama, and unlike most of the other planets Jaina was used to, no streetlights or vehicle headlights ruined the view of the night sky. The stars, she decided, must be shining brightly.

She hesitated, and then sat up on the soft bed and reached out for the cape. It unfolded and fell into her lap, a musky sort of smell drifting up and filling her senses. It was Kyp's scent and for a moment she inhaled it wistfully. Maybe she should have stayed with him… No. Of course she shouldn't have.

But, she thought as she lay back again, wrapping the cape round her under the blankets; but is that because I really don't want anything more, or am I just scared of Aunt Mara's questions?

The question hung in her thoughts as she tried to understand herself. She was with Jag. Of course she didn't want anything more with Kyp. Kyp was a friend. Her best friend. Nothing more.

Just a friend with a touch that was electric, a smile that haunted her stomach, and an embrace that made her shiver.

She didn't have that with Jag, and he was her lover. So if that was Kyp as a friend… Am I really with the right person?

An answer failed to present itself before sleep overcame her, and the question haunted her dreams instead.

~~