Title: Warning: Do Not Disturb the Glowfish
Fandom: Star Wars
Characters: Jaina Solo, Zekk
Timeline: Pre-YJK, and during Shards of Alderaan.

Disclaimer: Jaina Solo, Zekk, and the rest of the SW galaxy do not belong to me. They belong to Lucas, Del Rey, respected authors, etc.

Summary: Swimming in a fountain full of glowfish may lead to dangerous results.
The water sparkled in the Coruscanti night, its deep blue color mesmerizing to anyone walking by. As she ended her run by the fountain's edge, Jaina chuckled, her eyes watching the sixteen year old boy she had promised to meet. He looked hypnotized; too caught up in the ripples to notice she had finally arrived. Jaina shook her head. What was the big deal anyway?

"Hey, hey Zekk?"

She took a step towards him and tapped his shoulder to get his attention. The teenager reluctantly broke his gaze to finally look at her, a small smile curving on his lips. There, that was better, Jaina thought. Her best friend was supposed to pay attention to her, not some silly old fountain that had been built centuries before on the city planet.

Except, maybe, she reconsidered, not this much attention. Jaina shifted uncomfortably as he studied her, a small blush crept its way up her neck and to her cheeks. She was suddenly all too aware of the fancy dress her mother had made her wear to dinner tonight and her hair tied back in ridiculous braids. The nearby street light flickered, casting an ethereal blue glow around the two. It almost looked… beautiful.

Shaking her head, Jaina broke out into laughter at the staring contest that seemed to have developed. "Sorry I'm late, Zekk. There was a dinner engagement with some prime minister and it lasted longer than I thought and…"

And she was rambling. Why was she rambling?

"You look really pretty like that," Zekk answered softly and then blinked in shock, as if he couldn't believe he just admitted that. "I mean-"

Jaina felt the blush deepen and she looked down at the durasteel platform below her feet. "It's alright." She paused, and her voiced dropped to a whisper. "Thanks."

Only her father ever told her she was pretty. In that second, Jaina decided she sort of liked the utterance coming from Zekk much more than any of the times Dad had ever said it. As if to prove that point, she flashed the street kid a lopsided grin and then turned around so that her back faced towards him, and began to pull off her dress.

Draping the soft Alderaanian fabric in her arms, Jaina turned back to face Zekk again, trying desperately hard not to feel awkward standing in front of him just in her undergarments. They had done this many times before, sneaking off in the middle of the night to go swim in the fountain on Dhalbreth Square. But tonight, for some reason she just couldn't piece together in her head, it felt different, seemed different.

Determined not to let that eerie feeling overtake them again, Jaina walked up to Zekk and tugged at his shirt. "Not fair! You're still dressed," she began with a grin, reaching up to pull at his collar now. "You were supposed to change when I did."

Zekk quirked and eyebrow skeptically and Jaina rolled her eyes. "Come on, Zekk, Jasa can only cover for me for so long. What are you waiting for?"

He laughed, kicking off his boots and pulling off his ragged shirt. Zekk ran a hand through his black hair, trying to make it look neater, and Jaina giggled softly. He smiled at her and she beamed back in the blue light.

"This better?"

Jaina nodded in approval. "Much."

She grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to the fountain's edge. Jaina sat down and placed the dress on the ground beside her. Then she closed her eyes to use the Force to make small ripples of her own within the pool. Cautiously, Zekk dipped a hand into the water, trying not to shiver at the cold. She didn't notice when he dipped his hand further in with enough strength to send a wave of water in her direction.

Startled, Jaina gasped at the shock of the cold water hitting her leg, losing both her concentration and balance, landing in the fountain with a satisfying splash. She bobbed and sputtered in the water, wrapping her arms around her shoulders to stop shivering. Sure, they had been planning on going for a swim. But Jaina hadn't planned on being drenched all at once. Or so soon.

The thirteen year old girl glared at him, the remnants of surprise lingering on her face.

"Why you… nerf herder!" she shouted, wading towards where he still sat, bathing in the blue light reflected from the fountain surface rather than in the water itself.

"What?" he asked, shrugging almost innocently.

Jaina's brows knit closer together, looking as intimidating as she could for a small girl. It was enough. Jaina fought back the surge of satisfaction that swelled through her when Zekk swallowed hard in fright. "I didn't do anything."

"Yes, you did!"

No way you're getting out of this one that easily, vent crawler, Jaina thought as she swam closer to him. She latched on to one of his arms and used the wall of the fountain to push her body towards the center of the fountain. It was enough to cause Zekk to land in the water in front of her, with a big enough splash to bother some of the nearby glowfish. A bright yellow light started to illuminate from beneath the surface, giving the once-blue water a green cast.

Sharing a glance, the two friends started to giggle at the sight.

"We're going to get caught." Zekk stated as he began to swim lazily, floating on his back.

She laughed, ducking her head under the water for a moment to smooth her hair back. When she surfaced again, Jaina stared at him, a mocking smile on her face. "You're sounding like a scared bantha cub again, Zekk. Getting caught is half the fun."

Zekk chuckled again, standing in the water and wading towards her. His eyes seemed fixated on nothing but her, and Jaina felt a shiver run down her spine. He stopped less than a meter away from her, and looked down, smiling gently. Softly, he spoke, "You'd never think that the Chief-of-State's kids would be such a bad influence."

"You wouldn't want me any other way," Jaina answered smugly, unable to break eye contact with her friend. His head tiled downward, or was that her standing on her tiptoes? Either way, she could feel her heart pounding, louder than the hum of a passing cloud car overhead.

Both teenagers remained ignorant as the pale light emitted from the glowfish began to grow increasingly stronger, only able to focus on the other.

Zekk cupped her cheek in his hand, his head only centimeters away from hers. Now, it was her turn to gulp. "You've got that right, Jaina So-"

The sentence was to remain completed, however, as the familiar shout from a member of the New Republic security force caught his attention. Stumbling away from Jaina, Zekk looked up, an adventurous smile on his face. Jaina turned her head to look behind her, following Zekk's line of vision to see a couple of guards running towards the fountain.

It was then that she realized that the glowfish in the fountain with them had made enough light to make a definite disturbance at Dhalbreth Square. She looked back up at Zekk, matching his smile with one of her owns. "Think we better-"

"Yeah," Zekk agreed, not waiting for her to finish. Taking her hand in his, they hurried out of the fountain and down the street, one step ahead of the security team.

It wasn't until a year later, as Jaina watched Zekk slowly wade into a river on Yavin IV, a week or so after the Shadow Academy's attack on the Academy, did she realize how precious that moment was. How much everything had changed between them then and how everything was changing once again now.

Or, she considered, a tinge of regret in her chest, how much she missed the times when it was easy to be his friend.

-fin-