Previously on Galactic Bachelor…
It's still lunchtime in Senate City
And…
Wraiths should be put on high alert when Kyp and Jacen are within 5 light years of each other
And…
Oh, no… They're having lunch too?
Season 4
Episode 2
When you were young
And on your own
How did it feel to be alone?
I was always thinking of games
That I was playing
Trying to make the best of my time
But only love can break your heart
Try to be sure right from the start
Yes, only love can break your heart
What if your world should fall apart?
I have a friend I've never seen
He hides his head inside a dream
Someone should call him and see
If he can come out
Try to lose the down that he's found
But only love can break your heart
Try to be sure right from the start
Yes, only love can break your heart
What if your world should fall apart?
I have a friend I've never seen
He hides his head inside a dream
Yes, only love can break your heart
Yes, only love can break your heart
Yes, only love can break your heart
Yes, only love can break your heart
Yes, only love can break your heart
Only Love Can Break Your Heart/Neil Young
A Popular Sidewalk Cafe Near The Jedi Complex
Senate City, Coruscant
40 ABY
Nearly 11 Years After The Yuuzhan Vong War
Kyp watched Jacen. He saw the concern on his face and knew that what he was saying was being said out of genuine concern for both Jysella and him, but that didn't mean he liked listening to it.
He looked up into the bright afternoon sky, watched the speeder traffic flying overhead, watched the jammed space lanes as starships made their way to and from orbit, and briefly wondered if she was on planet yet. He knew she was going to be here today, though he didn't know why or for how long. Dex had comm'd him though, specifically to warn him to stay away from her; informing him that she hadn't really bounced back from Kyp's last 'visit' to the Errant Venture, and that frankly, Dex thought, she could use a little 'Kyp-free time'.
He knew Dex was right; knew that Jacen was too, but it was still painful to hear them say it. And then he caught what Jacen was actually saying at that moment and nearly gagged on his food.
"…should or shouldn't do, but what you are doing is cruel."
"Cruel?"
"Torturous really."
"I haven't exactly done it on purpose."
He met Jacen's shrewd look, tried to maintain eye contact, but finally dropped his gaze and heard his friend out.
"You've managed to stay out of trouble for almost two years, if you don't count Sakiya, then she joins Wraiths and you're picked up three times in two months? It's either the least cost-effective method of stalking I've ever heard of or you're subconsciously punishing her. At least that's how it looks to anyone who knows the situation."
Kyp looked up sharply. "Anyone who knows the situation? Is there anyone that knows about this other than you, Jaina and Dex?"
And Luke… and Luke's assistant… and the Wraiths… and the Wraiths' support staff…
The way Jacen waved off his remark as he swallowed a bite of his nerfburger, Kyp couldn't tell if he was evading the question or confirming that of course the only people that knew were him, Jaina and Dex.
And Luke… and Luke's assistant… and the Wraiths… and the Wraiths' support staff…
"And what would I be punishing her for?"
Jacen looked slightly incredulous. "Off the top of my head? Not being older? Being your apprentice before being hot? Changing the rules of your relationship on you without permission? Leaving the Order? Not keeping quiet about her feelings in the first place - thereby making them an issue in your life? Depriving you of your best friend and playmate by changing said rules…"
"Alright, alright, I get it, what's your point?"
"That you need to either stay away from her or admit to her how you feel."
"She knows…"
"Really? How?" Jacen asked around a mouth full of thykil slices.
Kyp shook his head, and set his food down, his meager appetite evaporating, hollowness replacing it, as he thought of the other things she had said to him the night they'd had dinner at Jacen's.
"She just knew." He sighed and pushed his plate away as he leaned back in his seat.
Or had always known… or bluffed; and I didn't have the energy to deny it anymore.
"Further evidence that she knows you, and if you think she doesn't, you don't know her very well…"
As if I needed further evidence.
He watched Jacen raise his chin in greeting to someone behind Kyp, who turned out to be Jag Fel.
Jag pulled the third chair at the table out and slapped Kyp on the shoulder as he seated himself, saying hello to Jacen at the same time. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"
Kyp looked down, not responding, but heard Jacen's noncommittal answer around another mouthful of food.
"Ah, you guys talking about Jysella?"
Kyp looked back up, his eyes darting from Jacen, who looked like a frightened animal, to Jag, who was grimacing, clearly having forgotten that he wasn't supposed to know about this, or at least mention it. But then, what did Kyp expect? He knew that Dex and Jacen were talking; of course Jacen and Jag were talking; and Dex and Jag … His friends were worried about them, the whole reason Jacen had dragged him out to lunch to begin with was to discuss what Kyp's recent brushes with death were doing to Jysella.
"Just so we're all on the same datascreen, is there anyone who does not know about the relationship I am not having with my former apprentice?"
"Corran?" Jag and Jacen ask in unison.
"Astral," Kyp sighed out.
Jacen resumed his lecture to once again assail Kyp with reason, logic, and a smattering of guilt. "As I was saying, if you don't want to have a relationship with her then don't. But if that's the case you have to stop injecting yourself into her life."
"Don't you mean ejecting himself into her life?" Jag chuckled.
Jacen snorted, and then continued, "I don't think that your rejecting her is so much about her…"
"You've been doing a lot of 'ecting' lately, Kyp." Jag said.
"In fact, in light of what you've managed to put her through in the last few weeks, I think this has less to do with shielding her…" Jacen continued.
"If he knew how to shield properly, he probably wouldn't be ejecting himself back into her life every ten days," Jag snorted.
Kyp looked directly at Jag and employed a trick he'd picked up from Jaina; using the Force to slap the back of his head, then smiled smugly as Jag rubbed it before turning his attention back to Jacen, who had tried to keep going without laughing, and only missed a couple of beats before starting again.
"This has less to do with shielding her and more to do with your own fear of being in an intimate relationship. She knows you. She knows how you are perceived and she knows how you believe you are perceived, but none of that matters to her because she sees who you are inside. Jysella knows you better than anyone else in the galaxy ever has or ever will, and she still loves you."
Jag was nodding his head now, eyebrows lifted, then weighed in with the first earnest comment he'd uttered since joining them. "That is a rare and beautiful thing; not many people are lucky enough to find that. Why are you giving me that look? I was being serious that time."
Kyp inhaled deeply, staring down at the table, trying to figure out if there was any validity to what Jacen was getting at. Was it possible that all this time his concern had been more for himself than Jel? Had he allowed his mind to fasten onto the obvious arguments against pursuing a relationship with her in an effort to avoid examining his own issues? Were Jella's age and their situation just convenient excuses he'd unwittingly used to distract himself from his own hang-ups? If she was ten years older, and hadn't been his apprentice, would he have held back? Would he have pursued her, or would he have been frightened off by the idea of being in a relationship that would require him to be totally open with his feelings? Or, was the issue not so much about being open and honest with her, as being open and honest with himself? Was Jella right in her assessment of him as a masochistic self-deprivist who didn't think himself worthy of love?
Did I just make up a word?
The tone of Jag's last remark suddenly struck Kyp as odd and he refocused to ask, "You don't think Noya knows you as well as Jel knows me?"
"Well, I don't know all the intricacies of your relationship…"
"Just what you've managed to glean from Dex and the Wonder Twins in the last few weeks?"
"We weren't gossiping if that's what you're concerned about… really… it just sort of… came up. And to answer your question; I find it doubtful Noya knows me as well as Jysella knows you. In fact, I know she doesn't. I mean, Force connection aside… it's not like I'm hiding anything from her... I just don't think that she's the type of person that looks that deeply."
That comment piqued Jacen's interest and he set down his food and, with clear sincerity in his voice asked, "Are you okay with that?"
Jag shrugged slightly. "Honestly? It's not an expectation I have of this particular relationship." He then looked pointedly at Jacen, and smiled faintly, "That's what I have you for."
"I love you, Jagged."
"I know."
Kyp groaned and shook his head. "You two should put together an act and go on tour."
"I'd like to," Jacen responded after biting off more of his burger, and speaking through it, "but Luke would go nova if the Order lost another member to the entertainment industry."
"That's all that's holding you back?"
He swallowed, and then replied, "That, and Jag's steadfast refusal to run away with me."
Kyp sometimes found it hard to believe that these were the same men he had gotten to know during the war. Though he had eventually, obviously, come to respect Jag during their time on Borleias, he'd initially found the man to be painfully stiff and boring. And Jacen… Kyp remembered vividly his lament that it had been Anakin and not Jacen that had died at Myrkr. The idea that Jacen and Jag would eventually become such close friends was only slightly less surprising than the idea that Kyp would count them among his own closest friends. Close enough even that he was sitting here talking about Jel. Or rather, he was allowing them to bombard him with their opinions, and wasn't getting up and walking away. He had to wonder how much of his ability to endure this was because of Jella herself; was a result of how her presence in his life had changed him, taught him to trust people in a way he couldn't remember ever trusting before.
Kyp's chest tightened again, as it did every time he thought of her, which was roughly a hundred times a day. He had known he was going to miss her, had known that the emptiness would be more profound than any he had ever felt before, and it was still a million times worse than he had tried to prepare himself for.
Maybe Jacen was right about the stalking thing too.
He mentally plugged back into Jag and Jacen's conversation, mildly relieved that they seemed to be entertaining themselves with a topic that didn't pertain to his pathetic existence, but that relief only lasted a second before Jag brought Jacen's attention back to Kyp.
"I don't need to be Force-sensitive to feel the melancholy radiating off Master Durron."
"Right… we were attempting to straighten out the mess he'd made of his personal life before we were distracted by our own comedic genius."
"Please, Love Master Solo, continue on with your enlightenment."
Jacen popped another crispic into his mouth, chewed thoughtfully, swallowed, cleared his throat, and focused once more. He was no longer the joking man, but a thoughtful, concerned, wise man. "Alright, given what I know of both your feelings, I'm having a hard time understanding why you aren't embracing this, embracing her. I'm surprised that you, of all people, are allowing a possible public reaction to interfere with you doing what you want."
Kyp rolled his eyes and fought the desire to leave the table.
Or not so wise.
"Really Jacen, you don't see why I, a forty-two year old Master, with my past, am not embracing the opportunity to have a relationship with the apprentice I was assigned to teach when she was fifteen? Well, I'll tell you: I'd be eviscerated. Do you know what people would say? What the Council would assume? What Corran would accuse me of? The kinds of questions that would be asked? I can't put her through that. This has the makings of a holonet soap opera, and the press hasn't had any good Jedi fodder in awhile."
Jag chuckled. "Not since the pictures of Kenth Hamner and that baby Bantha got out anyway."
Kyp smiled in spite of himself, and closed his eyes for a second, raising his hand to his mouth, and rubbing his fingers over his lips.
He remembered that morning well. Remembered the horrified look on Jel's face when she sat down at her desk, cup of caf in hand, and turned on her data terminal to begin another day pretending that his denial of her feelings wasn't breaking her heart. She'd pulled up her favorite holonet news page to find that the image of Kenth Hamner that she had altered, and speculations as to what was really going on in it, was the top story. He could still hear her desperate attempts to explain that she wasn't responsible for this, that she hadn't passed it to anyone, that she hadn't really posted it on the Order's Holonet site, only made it look that way on Kyp's terminal, and that she'd erased the file when she'd gotten the TYG45, and then her stunned expression when she realized that it had to have been Kyp that 'leaked' the image.
He still felt his pompous fellow Council member deserved it, though. That kriffing mission to Sakiya had nearly killed Jel; all she'd asked for afterwards was that ship and a replacement for her beloved R9 unit, Darth Astro Mech, or DAM, as she called him, and Kenth refused to cough up either for weeks. He'd accused Kyp of favoritism, which Kyp had merrily owned up to. He'd declared that it was inappropriate to reward Kyp's bad example by supplying his smart-mouthed, speed-freak apprentice with a new model, top of the line starfighter that cost more, and out-performed the fighters currently being flown by almost anyone else in the Order. Kyp's response - that Jysella was a better pilot than almost anyone else in the Order - didn't go over so well, though he was pretty sure Corran's sudden coughing fit was an attempt to hide his proud and amused reaction to Kyp's aggressive assertion. Kyp hadn't given up though, and had eventually won.
Taking Jel down to the hangar and presenting her with that ship, seeing the joy in her eyes, even if it was overshadowed by what was happening between them, had been one of the few moments during their final months together that he could look back on with anything resembling happiness, and of course made the battle with Kenth well worth the effort. Allowing the holoimage out a few weeks later was just icing on the ryshcate for Kyp.
Kyp's mind locked on to a memory of standing on the ground on Ossus, watching Jel take the '45 out for the first time. Her flying mirrored her; smart, daring, graceful, always surprising him with the little things he had no idea she was capable of, or even knew about. His thoughts made him ache again and he began to wonder if he could get out of here soon and go home, or rather, back to Jaina's, and be alone to wallow in self pity, but Jacen's voice, calling his name, brought him back to the present.
Apparently, he wasn't finished fixing Kyp's life.
"Okay, first off, you weren't forty-two when she was assigned to you and she's not fifteen now."
Kyp shrugged, "Neither of which would make a difference to anyone who didn't want to look at this in anything but the most negative light possible."
Jacen wasn't deterred. "I'm not saying it would be easy at first, but if you're telling the truth about nothing happening while she was actually your apprentice…"
"Of course I'm telling the truth," he replied indignantly.
"Then the real questions are: is being with Jysella worth the maelstrom that the announcement itself would cause, and, more importantly, can you handle being with a woman who expects you to live up to your full potential all day, everyday?"
A tendril of fear shot through Kyp when he caught sight of Valin Horn dropping languidly into the fourth chair at the table, seemingly out of nowhere. His manner was easy, as usual, so Kyp prayed that he hadn't been close enough for long enough to have heard his sister's name. He knew having this conversation so close to the Temple was a bad idea; he should have fought harder against Jacen's stubborn insistence on this particular restaurant, or not talk about Jysella.
"Wow, you three are shielding so hard it's like I just sat down at a table of Yuuzhan Vong… what's up?"
"Nothing," Jag replied, shaking his head.
"Just… hangin' out," Jacen added, nodding his.
Kyp found himself frozen, no response coming to mind, and then the floor dropped out from under him.
"Ahh… you're talking about my sister."
The surreal sensation of falling was replaced by the feeling of ice water flooding his veins and he could sense both Jacen and Jag tense, as though preparing; wanting to be ready to pull Valin off of Kyp when the need arose.
Valin, though, seemed almost confused, and looked from Kyp to Jacen and then back to Kyp. "You honestly thought I didn't know about you and Jysella? It's only slightly more obvious than Jacen's thing for Tahiri."
Kyp continued to stare; embarrassment, fear, relief, and shock all fighting to dominate his mind, until he was finally able to clear some of the mental debris and ask slowly, "Why aren't you trying to kill me right now?"
"You mean fight to defend my sister's honor?" Valin chuckled mirthlessly. "I'm a few years too late for that, aren't I?"
Anger welled up in Kyp and he had a momentary urge to turn to Jacen and yell 'see!' but instead ground out to Valin, "Nothing happened between us."
"Really?" Valin seemed more surprised by that revelation than upset by his own assumptions.
"Really."
The idea that people would assume that he had been with Jella when she was younger sickened him, cheapened everything he felt for her. If even those closest to them assumed the worst about Kyp's character, which in almost any other circumstance, he had to admit, he could sort of understand, what would the people who only knew part of the story think? It was too much to bear, and precisely what he had been telling himself all along he wanted to protect Jel from.
"Look," Valin continued, "I didn't mean to insult your integrity; it's not like I thought you preyed on her when she was young and vulnerable... or young anyway. I'm not sure she was ever vulnerable. I just figured that… you know, you had the access and the desire… and your being together seemed to make you both happier people. So who was I to judge your relationship? It's really no big deal to me that you're older than she is. But, I guess I admire your restraint."
"We didn't have a relationship. Not that kind of relationship. And it was more than our ages that inspired my restraint."
"Then what was it?"
"Our positions, my respect for her, my lov…"
Am I really sitting here explaining to Valin Horn why I haven't slept with his little sister?
"Well, then; nothing happened…" Valin shrugged.
"Nothing happened." Kyp agreed.
Valin continued to look at him, puzzlement evident on his face. "Just so we're clear, what do you mean by 'nothing' in 'nothing happened'?"
Kyp let out a labored breath. He was so ready for this conversation to be over. "I mean nothing physical happened. I've never touched her. I've never kissed her. Our relationship was as physically nonexistent as it is possible to be."
Valin looked at him for quite some time, and Kyp mentally prepared himself to have to fight the disbelief that was about to come from him, but instead, Jysella's brother began to laugh uproariously, slapping his palm on the table, leaning his forehead onto it, then sitting back up, taking several moments before gaining enough control of himself to say, "So let me get this straight: you actually care about her, and had all the emotional trappings of a relationship, but with no sex? With Sithella? That is far more twisted than anything I ever would have imagined. I'm not sure whether to pity you or… no, I pity you."
"Thanks."
Valin finally caught his breath, then took a minute to stare at the edge of the lunch table, running his finger along it, clearly mystified.
"Look, to be honest, I never liked my sister growing up. In fact I couldn't stand being near her, but she matured a lot when she was with you, changed. And, up until these last few months, before she left the Order, I actually began to enjoy spending time with her; I think it was because for the first time that I can remember, she was happy. Being with you made her happy, and it showed in everything she did and said."
A lump formed in Kyp's throat. He hated the way Valin characterized her, hated that her own brother would openly admit to disliking her so much, yet knew, better than most people, how incredibly mean Jysella was capable of being when she was trying to retreat, to hide her pain. Worse than that, though, was that she hadn't just been retreating from Kyp, but from everyone she had established bonds with in the last few years.
"And now?" he asked sadly.
Valin's comm chirped before he could answer. He pulled it from his belt, pushing the engage button, and was instantly treated to the sound of his sister's furious voice, which was plenty loud enough for Kyp to hear.
"Where the hell are you?" There was barely an audible pause while she took a breath. "You make a big deal about getting me planetside to shop for Mom and Dad's anniversary gift and then don't even bother to show up to meet me?"
Valin rolled his eyes and leaned against the back of his chair, running a hand through his hair. "Sorry, Sel, I'm on my way."
"Well, don't rush on my account. My time means nothing. I couldn't possibly have anything better to do than stand around some stupid shop like an idiot, waiting on you while you're probably out chasing lekku."
"I'll be right there, sis. Bye." Valin cut the transmission and looked back up.
Kyp dropped his head and exhaled yet another long, sad breath; trying to release some of the pain hearing the anger in her voice caused him.
When he looked back up and met Valin's gaze again, the other man was watching him appraisingly, "I just spent a few days on the Venture, and I couldn't wait to get off; she's miserable and mean, and Dex may kill her soon. I don't know what your issues are, I don't know what happened, or why you guys broke up…"
"We didn't… we weren't a couple, there was no 'break up'…"
"Right, whatever. The bottom line is the same; you were happy together, you made each other happy. Now you are not together, or not whatever you were before… and you're both miserable."
"Alright, that I will admit to."
"Is this the reason she left the Order?"
"No… yes… she left after I asked to be relieved as her Master and…" Kyp left his sentence hanging, his discomfort at having this conversation with Jysella's brother returning.
"You know what… it's really none of my business, what actually did or didn't happen between you two, but in a weird sort of way, despite what a heinous bitch she can be, I do love her, and I would like to see her happy, if for no other reason than it might make family gatherings a little easier. But, you know… you have to do what you have to do."
"I somehow doubt that my having a relationship with your sister would make Horn family gatherings easier on anyone."
Valin's smile made it clear that if not easier, they would at least be entertaining.
"It might take some of the pressure off of me to show up with the same woman twice."
They were all quiet for a moment, until Kyp finally asked, "Does anyone else in your family think we were a couple?"
"Seriously? In all your years with Jysella did you not pick up on the fact that Corran and Mirax have made an art form out of not acknowledging the root causes underlying their children's behavior? Or the behavior itself? I mean, c'mon… Master Horn thinks I'm the paragon of discipline and self-control; clearly he has issues of perception as it relates to me. Oblivious kriffer actually blames Jace whenever he catches wind of my antics when he should be kissing Jacen's ass in gratitude because he's the only one who's ever been able to rein me in. But that would require Corran acknowledging that Jacen's the only one who's ever inspired enough respect from me to be able to rein me in. And I have no doubt Master freakin Horn's even less likely to want to look too closely at your relationship with Jysella since most of her anger seemed to stem from her daddy issues, and you were the one that helped her work through that.
"Frankly, I sort of figured that was what drew you together."
Kyp scrubbed a hand over his face tiredly before simply saying, "Yeah…"
"I don't know what it is about my sister that causes people to run, maybe because she's blunt and expects everyone to be as honest with her as she is with them. My parents have never wanted to face up to what their absence did to her, they just wanted her to magically understand that they were gone for the better part of five years so they could fight a war. But if they were honest with themselves they'd have to account for the fact that Mom didn't need to be out there, and Dad spent a big chunk of that time not fighting and still not with us. Maybe Jysella's straightforwardness is an over compensation for how un-straightforward my parents have been. Regardless, what they should have done in the beginning was face up to her being hurt, accepted her feelings, and then helped her get over them; she probably wouldn't have been so mean as a teenager if they had.
"And just for the record, I only began to suspect that there might be something going on between the two of you when you moved in together. But she was eighteen by then, and you guys clearly had a unique situation, I mean I can't see myself ever being in those circumstances."
Jacen snorted. "As much as you'd like the Order to turn its hot female adepts over to you."
Valin's eyebrows rose and he smiled as he turned to Jacen. "Are there any Twi'leks coming up in the ranks?"
"Blue ones?" Jacen asked.
"There's always the Chiss," Jag chimed in.
Valin winced. "Dude, they don't have pupils."
"I can see how that'd be a deal breaker," Jacen laughed out, "you spend sooo much time looking into their eyes."
"You don't know how I work…" Valin smiled.
Jacen sat back in his seat as he laughed harder. "After I've spent nearly a decade wingmanning for you, the fact that you even tried to say that with a straight face is astounding. I know exactly how you work."
Instead of rebuffing that Valin's grin became evil. "Fine, if we're all being honest about feelings and how we work, are you gonna admit to having a thing for Tahiri? I mean, c'mon… despite being the breathtakingly beautiful galactic hero that you are, with all the women who throw their knickers at you everywhere we go, you've hardly dated in ages." Jacen just kept laughing. "And name one woman," Valin continued, as he poked Jacen's arm, "that you've hooked up with in the last few years that couldn't have been a stand-in for her."
"You," Jacenbatted Valin's hand away as he worked to catch his breath, "are gonna call me out for having a type? How did I manage to get you knighted if this is how weak your powers of deduction are?"
"Because you're the bestest Master in the universe?"
"Clearly. Check back in with me when blue with lekku is a more common preference for human males than blonde and short."
Valin snorted. "I'm gonna comm Tahiri and tell her you called her short again. She'll beat your ass."
Jacen raised an eyebrow as he smiled and said, "How much you wanna bet I've told her myself that she's short, and can't cook, before you get a hold of her?"
"Do not take that bet," Jag advised. "He's got an edge since Ri's staying at Hotel Solo tonight."
Valin rolled his eyes. "Of course she is." Then, turning back to Jacen said, "You two already act like an old married couple, adding sex to your relationship might actually streamline your lives. And out of concern for her and devotion to you, I'd be the first to volunteer to assist in any plan to arrange for Governor Rancid's mysterious disappearance so you could swoop in."
Jacen's smile vanished and he shook his head and sighed. "I would pay anyone who could explain to me what the kriff she's doing with him, but his disappearance would inspire whooping, not swooping."
Valin leaned back into his chair. "The only bet Dex losing won't inspire universal joy from."
Jacen, Jag and Kyp all laughed at the reference to Dex's gambling, though Kyp could feel something brewing in Jag, knew Jacen could feel it too. Instead of addressing it though, Jacen asked Valin, "How long has Dex had creds on me and Tahiri hooking up?"
"Since Happy House. But he also has creds on Alema Rar going Dark and Tionne Solusar having a baby. I'm beginning to think he might have a gambling problem."
This caused everyone to laugh again.
"Speaking of Alema," Valin went on, "The reason I was looking for you was to tell you I'm not going to make slingball tomorrow. First thing in the morning I'm going out on a mission with Knight Rar."
"Spread a little Jedi lovin' across the galaxy?" Jag asked.
"It's a dirty job…" Valin's comm chirped again and he depressed the button only to be assaulted by Jysella's angry voice again.
"You selfish, inconsiderate kriffer…"
He triggered the button, cutting off his sister before she had a chance to get going and shook his head before looking at Kyp. "Really, I can't for the life of me understand what's holding you back from that." He laughed at Kyp's glare and then continued, alarmingly serious. "My sister has extremely high expectations of people; I don't know where it comes from… that's a joke, Kyp. Anyway, I suspect that you are one of the few, maybe the only person, who has ever really met her expectations. I don't know how you did it, I don't know if you even tried, but you did. Also, you managed to do what no one else ever has, and that was help her find joy in life. She seems to lack that ability when you aren't the center of her universe."
Kyp's comlink chimed and all four men flinched, then stared at it, cringing. Finally Kyp pulled it from his belt saying, "Oh c'mon, we all know she isn't comming me," and pressed the activation button.
"Durron."
"Hey Kyp."
They still all sighed out in relief at the sound of Jaina's voice.
"Hey."
"Have you seen Jag? We were thinking about sparring tonight but he's not answering his comm..."
Jag dug into his pocket and brought out his own comm and switched it on, the mechanical voice announcing that he had seventeen new messages.
"Sorry, Jay," Jag called out in the direction of Kyp's commlink. "We're still good. I have to run back to the office for a bit first though."
"Don't rush on my account…" All the men laughed as Jaina ended the transmission.
"That was the Force screaming at me for Jysella." Standing up, Valin gave the other men a lazy salute, and then looked pointedly at Kyp, clasping his shoulder and giving it a squeeze. "Good luck with…" Valin shrugged as he let the sentence trail off, and Kyp nodded to him, more touched by the kindness than he knew how to express. "I'll see you guys later," Valin finished, and walked away.
Next time on Fear and Love…
Much to Kyp's dismay… the boy's lunch isn't finished yet...