Within minutes, Kyp reached the biotics facility's roof. It was still dark, not quite dawn. There was a faint glow far off that hinted the sun would soon be ready to rise.
"Over here" he distinctly heard a voice call to him, and it was in fact Jaina Solo. When Kyp turned he could see her lazily sitting on top of a condenser-unit housing. He could barely identify her by sight; but he could strongly feel her presence. There were smaller silhouettes where she sat, something that resembled a basket, and bottle of wine.
Kyp snorted, "You woke me up this early to have a picnic?"
"That's right." There was much amusement in her voice. "And the Goddess commands you to attend."
"You're getting strange, Goddess." Kyp sprang up to the unit-housing top, and quickly landed cross-legged, mirroring her sitting position.
"Jaina," he spoke, deliberately amplifying his charm, "If you wanted to seduce me you should have done it properly."
"This isn't a social call." She paused momentarily, "Well, I suppose it is. Sort of."
"The suspense is killing me." He signed dramatically and rolled his eyes to the sky.
"This isn't just a picnic." Jaina ignored his blunt mockery and took the bottle, pouring some of its contents into 2 glasses. She handed one to Kyp and took the other for herself. "We need to talk."
"Ahh, and here I was expecting a party. Silly me."
She quickly silenced his retort with a glare and though he wasn't looking directly at her, he easily felt it flow through the force.
"We've got a problem, Kyp," Said seriously. "You me and Jag."
"I wasn't aware of any problems." He replied almost defensively.
"Then why has your manner changed so much recently? You pull yourself out our Force connection immediately, so long as it's not absolutely vital. It's like you're getting ready to bolt the instant we make contact."
Kyp glanced up, meeting her eyes. He tried to seem unaffected by her words, but Jaina knew him too well.
"What's going on, Kyp?"
"So where's Jag tonight?"
"Don't change the subject." She said sternly.
"I did no such thing. He's part of this situation as well. Does he know you're here?" he asked inquisitively.
"He was the one who suggested this talk." She voiced indifferently.
"He did, huh?" Kyp felt himself become agitated and instantly scolded himself for giving in to a moment of weakness.
Jaina sighed and decided to make her point. "We have a pretty sordid past, Kyp. We've both treated the other badly. We've lied and even manipulated each other. But I was under the impression, that when you decided to join my squadron, it meant you had forgiven me."
Her eyes studied Kyp, he sat there silently and unmoving, until she finally nudged him with the Force. "Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong."
"You're right on the mark." He said trying to sound casual.
"So are we partners, or aren't we?"
"We are. As long as Twin Suns Squadron holds out."
"No, don't do that." She said, exasperation creeping into her voice. "I know you're preparing yourself for the day you have to cut loose. Every time we connect through the Force, I can feel . Believe me, I understand that. I was doing the same thing until just a few weeks back. For reasons equally as dumb. And you break the link fast so that I won't know what you're doing, not that it's done you any good. I want you to quit doing that. I want you to quit thinking about going off and being by yourself. I know your brother's dead, your family's dead, your last squadron is dead, and I'm sorry. But you don't have to leave, and you don't have to be alone."
"Uhh…" Kyp struggled to come up with an answer, the right answer. "I also don't want to get in the way. In your way. Between you and… you know."
"Jag, you mean."
"It's uncomfortable." He finished with a nod.
"Yeah, I know. Jag and I are partners, too, in a different sense as well. And I agree, it has gotten to be kind of confusing… You were sort of chasing after me for a while. But Is it going to make you leave?"
"It should."
"Then you should leave now and stop wavering."
Kyp began to rise. "You're right. I'm sorry. I—"
"Sit down!"
Surprised at the strength in her voice, Kyp sat before he realized it. He gaped at her.
"That's better." Jaina sighed. "Kyp, it's uncomfortable because partnerships are uncomfortable. Families are uncomfortable. Look at my family. You've got to deal with it though, because the only alternative is to lose everything."
Kyp nodded in agreement, but made no move to speak.
"Once upon a time, you were a kind of a kid brother to my father, except it didn't make you my uncle. We have a relationship, just not a romantic one and it's no longer Master-apprentice. We're partners, whatever that means. Whatever we figure out for it to mean.
"Partners." he stated.
"If we're partners, it's something that lasts until one or the other of us is dead. And whether that pains Jag or not, he's keeping it to himself, because he's smart enough to know he can't control my relationships for me."
"So—once again—are we partners, or do you go off to die alone?"
Kyp sighed. "I see you inherited your father's considerable powers of negotiation."
"That's right. So?"
"So we're partners."
"Good." She raised her glass. "Drink to it."
"Do we have to?"
"We have to."
Author's Note: So a lot of people read the first chapter, but not many reviewed. But that's okay. :) I'd just really like to know if anyone is liking it. This chapter had only a few differences from the situation that took place in Rebel Stand; I tried to change it as much as possible. From now everything is going to be compeltely original though. I hope I'm not the only one who likes Kyp + Jaina :)