A/N: Replies at bottom of Chapter, Enjoy!

Part Five: Goodbyes

Wes opened his bleary eyes the next morning and looked towards his brother's bed; all he found was an empty bed that had already been made back up. That in itself was unusual for two reasons: Falren had never been a morning person, and because neither of the Janson brothers were exactly tidy. Hence the tidy bed being abnormal. Wandering into the kitchen, he found Imiary staring out the window aimlessly while nursing a strong cup of caf in her hands.

"Morning, Wes," she said quietly with looking around.

"Mornin'," he mumbled. "Where-"

"Irea and Falren went out early," Imiary informed him, still not turning around from the window. "They said they'd be back by lunch time."

Wes sighed before muttering a response and helping himself to breakfast. Sneaking another glance at Imiary, who hadn't moved beyond raising her arm to drink her caf, Wes went to slip a couple of slices of candied muja fruit into his cereal.

"And you keep away from those candied fruits, Wes Janson!" she exclaimed without having to turn around.

Wes scowled at her back. "How do you always manage to do that?" he asked, a bit perturbed at being caught out.

"Intuition, I guess," Imiary finally tore her gaze from the window and smiled at him. "And besides, I know you've been eyeing those ever since I bought them," she added with a small sparkle in her eyes.

"Ah," Wes remarked. "So it's more a case of you know all of us too well, eh?"

The glimmer in Imiary's eyes dulled as a faraway look crossed her face again. Wes mentally kicked himself for saying something like that.

"Sorry, Imiary," he mumbled before darting out of the kitchen and house.

Wes spent the rest of the morning trying to find where it was Falren and Deirean had gone, and after giving up on that, sat and brooded over the latest turn of events in his life. As promised, Deirean and Falren got back in time for lunch, but even that was a somber affair. After lunch, the two older boys resigned themselves to packing their belongings.

Falren was contemplating how he was going to fit his gear into his bag when Wes ventured into their room. Wes spent a few minutes silently surveying the room before speaking.

"It'll be weird having this place all to myself," he said finally in a subdued voice. Falren turned to face Wes.

"And I'll think it strange to wake up without some inane prank of yours falling on me, tripping me, or Force-knows what else," he retorted with a grin on his face, determined to keep the conversation from turning dark and gloomy.

"Oh..." Wes said with a smirk. "So you will miss my handiwork, won't you?" He passed for a minute a thoughtful expression on his face. "Maybe you'll be... lucky enough to get a room mate who likes pranks too."

"Force help me," Falren murmured. He thought of the strict discipline that was no doubt in place at the Academy, he shook his head at his brother. "Somehow I don't think that's going to be at all likely though, Wes."

Wes pulled a face. "Everyone behaving all the time... how boring," he said with a shudder.

The lull in the conversation soon turned in to an awkward silence as both of the brothers tried to think of something to say to the other. Finally, Wes rushed over and hugged Falren.

"Make sure you come back, Fal," he whispered. "Promise me."

Falren swallowed hard. It wasn't a promise he could be sure he'd be able to keep... "I will, Wes. Promise," he forced out, mentally wincing at the lie. "But you have to promise me something too, Wes."

Wes pulled away and looked at him. "What?"

A little half-smile crept across his lips. "Don't change. What ever happens, don't change. Keep pranking people, whatever, just don't let your sense of humour disappear," he told the teenager. 'Cause you're probably going to need it a fair bit over the next few years to keep you going...

The fifteen-year-old's dark eyes sparkled with glee. "You wait 'til you're leaving to tell me this?" he mock pouted.

All he got in the way of a reply was a pillow lazily thrown at him. Dodging the pillow, Wes grabbed it out of the air, and after snatching up a pillow from his own bed, flung them back towards Falren. Ducking as the two pillows thudded into the wall beside him, Falren snatched all the pillows from his bed and proceeded to pelt them at Wes.

"Hey!" Wes complained as he scuttled behind his bed for cover. "What are you chucking them at me for? You started it!" He grinned. "Although, I thank you all the same for your precious gift of ammunition." With that, he scooped up the pillows Falren had thrown at him and the impromptu pillow fight continued.

Deirean peeked his head in soon after and quickly became embroiled in the fight as well. Another half-hour later, all three of them collapsed in laughter on he rooms two beds. For the older two, it would quite easily be the last such laugh for a long time.

No one could believe how fast 1700 came around. But then again, time has that habit of doing exactly the opposite of what you want it to do. In this case, wishing it would slow down only seemed to make the chrono tick faster.

There were so many young men there, with facial expressions ranging from giddy excitement to obvious terror, as well as everything in between. The throng of family members surrounding the young men, boys really, fussed over them with combinations of pride, worry, and on some, thinly veiled disgust at the Imperials.

The Lomblyn's and the Janson brothers joined the mass of people reluctantly, knowing that doing so was the end of a calm period of time. Then came the hardest part: the goodbyes.

Deirean and Imiary drifted off slightly to say their own goodbye, leaving the two brothers staring awkwardly at one another.

Falren was the first one to move, grabbing Wes in a bear hug. "Don't forget your promise," he whispered in the ear of his little brother. "And be good for Imiary."

Wes pulled away, his eyes suspiciously damp. "And you can't forget yours either," he said solemnly.

"I won't," he said, ruffling Wes' hair.

At that moment, Imiary and Deirean came back, Imiary embracing Falren in a crushing hug. "Take care of your self, Fal," she said forlornly. "And stick with 'Irea as much as you can, for both of your sakes." She paused for quite some time before adding quietly, "I've loved having you in my house, thank you."

Falren swallowed hard, taking in Imiary's words while watching Deirean and Wes say goodbye. "No, Imiary, I should be thanking you, you've looked out for Wes and I for so long. There's no way we can repay you."

She pulled Falren back out to arms length, looking him in the eye. "Yes you can," she said seriously. "Keep yourself as safe as you can."

The four of them came back together for one last hug before the group of recruitment officers began herding the young men aboard the shuttle like a herd of nerfs.

Falren and Deirean somehow managed to stay together within the seething mass. Nabbing two seats next to each other, the two quickly stuffed their gear under the seat. While doing so, something small and soft fell out of an unfastened side pocket in Falren's bag. Frowning, he reached down to grab it, and then gasped.

It was Captain Jarren, the stuffed shaakdog that Wes owned, the signature symbol for his pranks.

A scrap of flimsy was wedged in between its paws. Quickly unravelling it, Falren read the note just as the shuttle began take off.

Fal,
I know what you said about the Academy was probably true, so I'm not going to ask you to use Jarren in the same way I have in the past. But, well, basically... I'm giving you Jarren because he'll remind you of all the fun we've had over the years. Please don't forget those good times, Fal. (That goes for 'Irea too) And you never know, maybe Jarren will bring you some luck too!
I'll miss you, big brother. Don't forget to come back.
Wes

Falren just buried his face in his hands as the shuttle smoothly made its transition into hyperspace.

Review? -sniffles- Just the Epilogue left... must finish before exams...

Replies:
Esteban T. Rodriguez: Thats fine, and thankyou! My lips are sealed as to what happens, you'll just have to wait. And I hear you on the fanfiction vs. published stuff... some of the newer SW books should be burnt. (Eh, I'm being cynical, but the angst-ness is just becoming... unbareable) Um, never mind my babblings, thanks for reviewing.

PrincessZeldaSkywalker: Thankyou! I love messing around with the less known characters, and Wes' past is open for speculation. But after all, everyone else in SW seems to have angst in their past, so why not Wes too? -scolds self for being cruel to one of her fave characters-

-Misha