Chapter Ten
"Couldn't we please be happily ever after
We could be strong together for so long
Couldn't we please be happily ever after
Leaving you never stays forever strong
(No, no I will never leave you)"
-Case
"Sithspawned bucket of bolts." Zekk muttered as his foot connected with the lower paneling of the Lightning Rod's hull. The ships food-prep unit had decided to fritz out just moments ago, at the precise time Zekk had planned to leave. With a sour expression, he commended its perfect timing.
Sure, he could fix the unit easily enough, but he was eager to get away as soon as possible. He didn't think he'd be able to last if Fel and…and ah, his new fiancé came around expecting congratulations. He'd give it to them, he knew…and it would only add to the number of scars on his heart.
"I've got to get out of here." He murmured to himself, sighing as reached for his tools.
Then he stopped short, his emerald eyes widening fractionally. Reaching out with the Force, he could sense…but it couldn't be… Slowly, he turned around. It took a moment for him to find his voice, but when he did the sound easily conveyed his surprise and confusion…possibly even a little reluctance. "Jaina?"
"You're certainly observant this morning." She remarked dryly, her arms folded across her chest. "As a matter of fact, you're up rather early aren't you?"
"Yeah, guess so…I could say the same thing to you, though." Zekk remarked. An alarm rang in his head, warning him…Jaina was not happy. That was never a good sign.
She cocked her head at him, her narrowed, brandy eyes staring straight at him. Zekk got the faintest impression through the Force that she was feigning innocence. "You must be up early for a reason though, I know you…not exactly an early bird. You wouldn't happen to be leaving would you?"
Zekk's emerald eyes snapped down to meet Jaina's. Judging from the angry spark he found there, an angry spark directed at him…she knew.
Attempting to lie was no use. She already knew the truth. Maybe it was better that way, he'd never been able to lie to Jaina anyway. Averting his eyes from hers he sighed, "How'd you know?"
A small smirk crossed her lips then, though Zekk could see plainly that it held little joy, though there was a slight trace of amusement. "Well…Lowie and EmTedee broke in at ah, a very interesting moment."
There was silence for a long moment before Zekk shook his head, forcing the various images that had come to his mind away with a shudder. "On second thought, maybe I don't want to know…"
"Jag proposed." Jaina said suddenly, seeming almost as though she couldn't believe it herself.
If someone had whipped out a lightsaber right there and chopped him into pieces, Zekk wouldn't have felt any smaller or less worthless. His mind couldn't get around the facet- didn't want to get around the fact- that Jaina was engaged now…and to Fel.
"Yeah well, if you'll excuse me Goddess…I need to get going." He muttered, reaching for his tools that sat by his feet on the floor.
Just as his fingertips brushed against the toolbox's smooth, metal handle, it flew from his grasp. Zekk jumped in surprise as the box skidded across the floor, all the way to the other side of the hangar bay, where it thudded rather sharply against the wall.
Sithspawn, Jaina…
He turned to face the girl, running a hand back through his dark hair in an exasperated motion. She was still standing there, her arms were still crossed. Zekk noted that she seemed to be struggling to retain her defiance.
"You promised." She said, her voice a low whisper. Her dark eyes stared straight up into Zekk's emerald, and the older Jedi found himself rooted to the spot.
"Jaina, I-"
"No." She cut him off. She placed a small shove on his shoulder. "You promised, Zekk. There's no exscuse this time."
Taking a step back, Zekk shifted from one foot to the other awkwardly. He had promised, no denying that. But he had no response for her, no answer that he could speak aloud. He couldn't very well tell an engaged woman that every time he saw her, his heart tore a little more, goodbyes only made it worse.
"I never said anything all those other times." She continued, staring up at him angrily. "I've realized now that I should have…all that time you were just running away from your problems."
"Ja-"
"But this time…you weren't supposed to leave yet…this time you even promised." Her eyes moved to the Lightning Rod and then back to Zekk. "And yet here you go."
"I- I don't even know what to say." Zekk responded in a low tone, his emerald gaze focused on a spot in the material of her shirt. It was a tiny spot, right near the collar, and it gave him a distraction from meeting her eyes.
"Letting me know you were leaving might have been a nice start."
"Come on, Jaina…I'm sorry ok?" Zekk insisted, holding out his hands to the sides.
"You know you say that every time, right?" Jaina returned. Her eyes were no longer narrowed, and the threatening sparks that had been there were gone.
"Look, Jaina." Zekk said in a low voice, using all he knew of the Force to keep himself steady. "We should end this now before either of us says something we'll regret."
"I don't regret anything I've said, it's all true." Jaina responded.
"Okay, well…I don't want to say anything I'll regret, then." Zekk admitted before sighing and running a hand back through his dark hair. "You better get back to your fiancé before he starts to worry."
There was a pause. Jaina raised an eyebrow and her eyes found an interesting spot in the patching of the Lightning Rod. In a soft voice she murmured, "What fiancé?"
"Jaina, don't do this. You told me yourself about Jag proposing." Zekk groaned, growing more eager to just run into his ship and take off.
"I said no."
There was a long silence, and Zekk had to wonder if there was some sort of malfunction going on in his brain. His ears couldn't be working right.
"Wait…what?"
"Jag proposed. I said no." Jaina explained in a slow voice as a slow grin spread across her lips. "You seem awfully slow on the uptake today."
"You're not engaged?" Zekk asked, still unable to comprehend the fact that Jaina had said no to Fel!
"I've said this about two or three times by now, but if you really need it explained again…" Jaina murmured, rolling her eyes in a teasing manner.
"Uh, well. I'm sorry it couldn't work out..." He said, running a hand back through his hair once more.
"No you're not. I'm not blind you know, I can tell that there were a lot of people who didn't like Jag. It just didn't matter to me what anyone else thought."
Zekk grinned then. "Like when your mother didn't want you to be friends with me because of the whole orphaned street-kid thing?"
Jaina nodded and grinned. "Exactly like that."
It all seemed so long ago…the first time they had met, swimming in Dhalbreth square, that horrendous banquet- he skipped over the times at Shadow Academy- testing Lando's amusement park at Cloud City…and then the times during the Yuuzhan Vong war, when things had gotten really bad.
"So…" Jaina's voice broke into his thoughts. "What was Lowie doing in my quarters so early this morning? I thought you were supposed to be leaving together."
"Yeah well…he had to bail on the mission. Some emergency back on Kashyyyk I guess." Zekk responded, shrugging.
Jaina frowned for a moment, and Zekk could tell by the look in her eyes that she was working something out.
She grinned for a fleeting moment, and then the look disappeared entirely, and her brandy eyes swung up to meet his. "Well, are you in need of a co-pilot, by any chance?"
Zekk's face grew skeptical. "Only as long as it's not that Goddess I've been hearing about. Terrible mood swings, I've heard…rather violent towards the tools of innocent bystanders, as well."
"Shut up, you." Jaina said, thumping his shoulder as she moved past him and into the Lightning Rod. "Now I'm along for the ride whether you like it or not."
Zekk couldn't conceal his grin. He stood there for a moment, contemplating what had just happened. He got the distinct feeling that his life had just turned around.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" A voice called from in his ship. "I thought you had a mission to do."
With a grin, Zekk turned and followed Jaina into the ship. His last thought before the hatch closed, was that he had never ended up saying goodbye this time. And he wouldn't have to.
"I guess we didn't need a plan after all." Tahiri murmured, a ghost of a smile on gracing her lips.
Lowbacca roared his agreement as his golden eyes following the Lightning Rod as it lifted off. EmTedee had been switched off earlier, his tinny voice carried far too well, and even though they were in the Hangar Bay Control Room, they hadn't wanted to take the chance of Zekk and Jaina hearing him.
"I'm glad we got to see it." Tahiri spoke again, her bright green eyes turning towards Lowie and Han. They were a bit watery, and Lowbacca knew she must have been thinking of Anakin.
Han snorted over in the corner, where he still stood, watching the ship until it had flown from sight. "Yeah, yeah…real sweet and dandy. My daughter's flying off on a ship with a boy. Un-supervised and without a blaster."
Lowbacca chuffed with laughter, and grumbled to Han to lighten up a little, his daughter was perfectly old enough to have relationships and take off when she felt the need, anyhow.
"Lowie's right, Han. Besides, isn't it so…great to know that you had a part in all of it?"
Han finally turned from the viewport with a glum expression, heading for the doorway. The two young Jedi followed.
"All I know." He muttered over his shoulder. "Is that things are going to be getting pretty boring around here again."